B7DRC Day 3 - The July Edition

Happy Hump Day!! It’s also Day 3 of Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge and my creative juices are starting to really flow now that the move is behind me. I’m itching to get the dehydrator started and my juicer into use. I’m thinking about dehydrating some mangoes, possibly some cookies and maybe even some crackers! I’m also getting into the mode of making everything from scratch for my family including flour tortillas, which are almost impossible to find organic without them being frozen or made from multiple grains. My family has yet to let go of their favorite white flour tortillas. Change is a long journey that never ends but only improves over time. :) So here’s what I ate today as I continue my own raw lifestyle journey…

Early Morning: 

This morning I decided to grab a GT’s Trilogy kombucha as opposed to my typical lemon water.  If you have never heard of kombucha, it is, simply put, “a raw, fermented, probiotic and naturally carbonated tea.” Because of the antioxidants, probiotics, and vitamins, kombucha is said to help improve digestion, strengthen immunity, and even detoxify the body.  It’s one of my favorite drinks and one of the few drinks I will actually buy. While there are several good brands on the market I like to keep my business local. Some of my favorite local kombucha suppliers include MTO, Capital Kombucha and Barefoot Bucha, which I have YET to try! I will however, purchase me at least one GT's kombucha a week. I love the loaded fizziness and the awesome flavors (Gingerade!). I also love their chia variety as well. Chia PLUS kombucha is a total win win! If you’ve ever been curious about kombucha OR if you are trying to kick the soda habit, I highly recommend giving kombucha a try. It’s a great energy booster!

Breakfast:

For some reason the stone-fruit in my fridge was calling out to me so a nectarine, pluot and apricot it was. Honestly though, I didn’t eat the apricot after feeling guilty about “taking” it from my daughter and asking her to eat a nectarine instead. Yes. We fight over fruit in the house. There’s never enough! I know, serious mom problems. ;)

Snack:

I normally eat a large salad for dinner but since it’s raw challenge week I had to step up my game so I kept the salads for snack time. I made a quick and simple salad with romaine, carrots, green onions and tomatoes. The dressing? A raw, savory curried almond dressing. After yesterday’s raw sushi sauce fail I had to make a sauce that I knew would go great with sushi as well as with this. Mission accomplished.

Curried Almond Butter Dressing

Recipe by Beth Mickens

Makes 2 Tbsp (feel free to double or triple as needed)

• 1 Tbsp of raw almond butter
• 1 Tbsp water
• ½ lime, juiced
• 1 tsp raw honey or other liquid sweetener
• 1/8 tsp of grated fresh ginger
• 1/8 tsp grated garlic
• 1/8 tsp curry powder
• Pinch of salt

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and serve over salad.

Lunch:

It’s Day 24 of Simple Green Smoothie’s 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge and I have to say the most recent smoothie recipes have been rocking! I know we all have different tastes and preferences but I’m loving the berries minus the tartness. This smoothie was also a bit tart; nothing a banana can't fix :)

Berry Berry Quite Contrary

Recipe by Simple Green Smoothies

Makes 16 ounces

• 1 cup kale
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup raspberries
• ½ cup blueberries
• ½ cup strawberries
• 1 small banana
• 1 Tbsp goji berries, optional garnish

1. Blend and go!

Snack:

Go figure the day I don't bring an extra snack is the day I'm starving by 3:00pm! With my tummy growling I rushed home and enjoyed a couple of figs and a spoonful of nut butter alongside a cup of warm tea as I prepped dinner. Thankfully dinner didn't take too long to make!

Dinner:

Dinner was sort of a throw together. No recipe. No plans. Just freestyle "cookin'". I knew I wanted noodles but what to make as a dressing? I was thinking a sort of pesto but lacked certain ingredients to make your typical pesto so I made an Minty Avocado Kale Dressing instead. It was rich and creamy, yet earthy, light and refreshing in taste. It paired really well with the zucchini noodles and sweet, fresh veggies. As a result the meal was nice and cooling. If you have any raw parm on hand, which I did not, add some! I think the salty, nuttiness would add another dimension and would bring the flavors out a bit more.

Zucchini Noodles with Minty Avocado Kale Dressing

Recipe by Beth Mickens

Serves 1

Zucchini Pasta

• 1 Large Zucchini, spiralized or julienned into long, noodle-like strips
• 1/2 cob of fresh, sweet corn
• 1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 green onion sliced
• Any additional spring/summer veggies you'd like to add
• Raw "parmesan" (optional)

Minty Avocado Kale Dressing

•  1/4 avocado, roughly chopped
• Handful of kale (about 1/4 cup)
• Handful of mint (about 2-3 Tbsp)
• 1 garlic clove, grated or mashed well
• 1/2 - 1 lemon, juiced
• 3-4 Tbsp water to blend
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp of raw honey (optional)

1. Place all ingredients in a small bullet-like blender and blend until smooth

To Assemble:

1. Toss zucchini noodles with dressing until noodles are well dressed.
2. Add corn, tomatoes and any other veggies and toss lightly to combine
3. Garnish with chopped green onions and a sprinkle or raw "parm" if you have any on hand.
4. Best served immediately. 

Dessert

Yep! I'm still nom nomming on them yummy almond butter cups!

And there goes Day 3!

I'm curious to know, what's your favorite noodle dish? I need more ideas :)

*Beth*

References:

http://beyondkombucha.com/about/what-is-kombucha/

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/01/what-is-kombucha.html