RAW SUSHI ROLLS

  I´m a newbie to sushi. It has never been appealing to me for two reasons: nori seaweed and fish. But these mouthfuls I just tried don´t have either, and are really uplifting and energizing, not to mention tasty:

Thin slices of zucchini wrapped around veggies and a thick, creamy dill sauce! Dip them in soy sauce and you´re in heaven...

  The recipe (for two):

dill cream:
5 dl soaked sunflower seeds (soak 4-8 hours)
a handful of fresh dill (adjust the amount to your liking)
a little water

veggies:
1 zucchini
2 carrots
50 g alfalfa sprouts
1 fermented cucumber

to serve:
soy sauce

+ Place the sunflower seeds in a food processor and run until finely ground. Add the dill and enough water to make a paste-like sauce.
  Slice the zucchini with a cheese slicer and cut the carrots and fermented cucumber into matchsticks.
  On a slice of zucchini, spread some dill sauce, add some carrots, sprouts, and cucumber. Roll up and dip in soy sauce when eating.

  I had no idea that raw food could be this versatile!

BYE BYE BUMBLEBEES

  It is time for bumblebees to give it in for winter, but I still managed to catch these on camera:

This is probably the last one I will see this fall. It was already moving quite slowly, so I took advantage of the situation by snapping a good close up.

After a while it got company! Aren´t they just beautiful?

  Fall is taking over, it is enevitable. After all, it is past autumn equinox already. It just feels difficult to understand, because due to my raw food experiment I still have a lot of energy to buzz around. That energy usually fades as days grow shorter, but apparently this Mabon it is different. I can but consider it a good thing, since I still have quite a bit of yard work to do before frost is allowed in our premises... =)

RASPBERRY PIE

  Dessert is the most important meal of the day for me, the highlight.
  I know I can not give up sweet delights, so I´m learning to make raw desserts now. With all natural and unprocessed ingredients, to replace my usual sugar-loaded ones. Sounds impossible, but definitely worth a try. And I must say that this pie, although it is totally healthy and good for me, is a real treat!

Sweet raspberry filling in a soft and creamy cashew crust... Heavenly.

This is my own variation of the peppermint pie I had the other day. Both are soo delicious, and very satisfying.

The recipe (for one):

the crust:
1 dl cashews
1 Tbsp shredded coconut
1 dl dried cranberries, soaked to reconstitute
a pinch of salt
(a few drops of honey)

the filling:
1 1/2 bananas
1 dl raspberries
1 Tbsp shredded coconut

+ Run the cashews in a food processer until turned into a fine powder. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Add a little soaking water from the cranberries if otherwise too crumbly. Place in a serving dish ( like a small pie tin) and press to form the crust.
  Process all the filling ingredients in the food processor until nice and smooth. Pour over the crust.

  I love to eat my pies with a 1/2 liter jug of warm green tea. Many health gurus advice not to drink while you eat, but my stomach likes a big cup of tea or water along with my meal. We´re all different and need to listen to our own bodies, our temples.

SMOOTH GREEN BREAKFAST

  Breakfast "porridge" made entirely of fruit and veggies makes me feel good and energetic. Unlike I imagined, it is not too light a meal. The key is to add something more heavy in it too, like banana or avocado, besides the usual apple and celery.
  This porridge does the trick for me:

Mild and yummy green porridge. Eating my greens as a porridge, instead of the usual smoothie, feels more satisfying. I do have green tea on the side too, to rehydrate me after the night´s sleep.

So smooth... Spinach breaks down very well in a blender, but other greens are just as good. Actually it is important to use different types of greens for variety, not stick with just one or two.

The recipe (for one):

1 pear
70 grams spinach
half an avocado
water

+ First blend the spinach and some water in a blender until the spinach dissolves. Then add the pear and avocado. Give it a whizz, adding water if desired.
  So simple, so soft and healthy.

  Have an energetic super-day!

PEPPERMINT PIE

  It is now 10.15pm and I´m still stuffed from the raw peppermint pie I had for dessert five hours ago! This pie is soooo filling and satisfying, not to mention yummy. My new favorite!

100% healthy!

The recipe (5 portions):

crust:
5 dl almonds
1 dl shredded coconut
10 dates
pinch of salt

filling:
6 bananas
1 dl shredded coconut
1/2 tsp ground vanilla
5 drops essential peppermint oil

+ Process the almonds in a food processor until turned into a fine powder. Add the coconut, dates, and salt and process until well mixed. (I added a little water to make it more dough-like.) Press into a pie tin.
  Process the ingredients of the filling until creamy. Spread over the crust.
  (The original recipe from Erica Palmcrantz Aziz´s book called for frozen bananas, which would make it ice-cream like. But I prefer room temperature and made it with ordinary bananas.)

  I ate a quarter of the pie, and it was more than enough, even for me.  =)
  Apparently my sweet tooth can be quenched with something other than pure sugar. What a lovely surprise!

THE LAST DIP IN TO THE SEA

  Past weekend I went swimming for the last time this year. The sea water is getting so cold that I have no business in it anymore. No doubt my husband and son will continue for who knows how long, but this is it for me.

Yes, I know... What a wuss, wearing a wetsuit! But I swear, without it I would not have been able to swim much at all this summer. I can´t force myself into the water if the temperature is below 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit). Thank goodness for technology these days!

Never before have I gone swimming this late in the fall (nore have I owned this wetsuit either...). So this is a big deal for me, honestly.

Freezing, freezing...

But I did it! Yey! Well done me!

  Now the summer is officially over. It will take another long, cold, and dark winter before I can even start dream about swimming again. Some people go and keep swimming in natural waters throughout the winter, even cut holes to the ice to get in it, but that´s not for me baby. I´m more about comfort and relaxing. Let that start right now!

BASIC RAW LUNCH

  I like to think that raw equals fresh. Who wouldn´t prefer fresh? It is always the best. And fresh this lunch is!

Inspired by Erica Palmcranz Aziz, I eat a big salad for lunch every day. The base is always a pile of green leaves, which I like to strip thinly. Another staple of mine is fermented cucumbers, which is a newcomer in my diet. Up until now the only fermented product I ever tried was sauerkraut, many different kinds, and for some reason it is so repulsive to me that I gag. But these cucumbers are from another planet. I´ve grown a little addiction to them actually. Having a varied salad for lunch every day is totally handy. I can throw in any veggies, or even some fruit, I have in the house, and therefore hardly anything is wasted! Like today I baked scones to my kids and their friends. I added peeled and grated zucchini into the dough to make the scones more juicy, and was left with a pile of zucchini peels. Well, into my salad they all went without trouble!  How cool is that?

Today´s salad was made of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, zucchini peels, papaya, fermented cucumber, and arame seaweed. On top I always add a rich dressing to combine the flavours. The dressings vary from day to day.

  The recipe for the salad dressing:

3/4 dl sunflower seeds
1-2 dl water
1/2 - 1 dl fresh herb(s)
a pinch of salt
1/2 avocado

+ Run the sunflower seeds in a food processor until finely ground. Add water, herbs, and salt. Process until smooth and the consistency as thick or runny as you like. Add the avocado. Process one last time.
  Pour over the salad, give it a mix, and eat it all!

The original recipe for this dressing (called the coriander dressing) is from Erica´s book. It called for lemon juice and coriander, neither of which I used. I did not have coriander ( I used basil ), and I´ve decided to omit lemon and lime juice. They make my teeth erode more, which according to my dentist, they have done quite a bit already. (Maybe I´ve eaten too much in my life  =).

  So far this dive into raw foods has been a pleasant experience. Non-cooking is easy and quick, and very little dirty dishes producing. I feel lighter, and even after a meal (when I still stuff myself!) I can run the stairs up without trouble. Although avocado and nuts/seeds are eaten a lot in raw foodism, I have not yet gained any weight. Even my stomach has stayed happy. So far so good!