You may have looked at yesterdays post and thought, ‘Why has he posted a non raw recipe?’ well the reason is two fold really.
Firstly I always said I would post things that I made for Baz as well as posting things I was eating, and the honey comb was something I enjoyed making and I know the non raw people out there will do too, and secondly I was off to do a Alissa Cohen level one ‘Living on live food chef certification course’ with a great trainer Anna Marcon (the raw food coach check out her link if you live in the UK for classes)
When I turned up at the beautiful venue in leafy south London I was greeted by a bubbly person that was a shining example to everything raw. Looking at Anna you would say she’s in her early 30’s, she has a toned body and radiates wellness.
And like the best hosts in the world I was greeted with my fist bit of food for the day, but no way my last. This is one Bear that proved you could eat raw and feel very full…
So back to the class, we were a group of six hungry to learn people in different stages of rawness, from the toe dipper who tried it now and again to myself the jump straight in and take your chances and learn as you go.
Anna started buy setting out the day and providing us with a little hand book with all the recipes we could take with us… basically it was a menu to our next 4 ½ hour raw food fest…
The first dish we saw her make was a Blueberry Pie, I think in total it took about 10 minuets to make. This dish had to set and so off it was whisked to the fridge to chill. Next up was Mock Salmon Pate, again this took a matter of minuets to make and looked like can salmon that had been made into a pate. Now I should point out at this point mock foods that taste like the real thing are no longer my big thing, for example mock tuna salad just taste to much like the real thing for my now vegan pallet, but as far as the salmon goes I may have to eat my words… and a lot of mock salmon… Oh my god it was so good, this dish will be the first one I make at home as I am sure you will find out about…
Moving on past the salmon and a few more tempting treats that came in bountiful supply all day long we moved onto a great lunch/dinner idea. Collard (cabbage) Roll-ups, with two fillings. I should point out that I had till this point never eaten cabbage raw without tones of mayo and a carrot thrown in for a bit of colour, but boy was I in for a treat. The first roll-up we tried was with marinated mushrooms and Guacamole; the cabbage leaf gave this dish a peppery twang to it with the cooling sensation of the guacamole soothing it down. To follow this some of the mock salmon was use to make another variation of the same dish. I thought I had died and gone to food heaven, this is what had been missing from my vegan diet all along, food that tasted real and fresh, I could feel my body responding to it already.
Some of the other dishes that followed where; Pesto Raw Pasta, Date Nut Tore (frozen this was so good I can’t wait to make it for Baz as I know it will be a winner in our house)
Then but not finally was Portabella Mushrooms Caps stuffed, I have to be truthful with you here (as I always am) I have never eaten a raw mushroom in my life and thought I may even pass this one up as all my food phobias kicked into place, but the little Bear inside my head was saying ‘go on if you don’t like it at least you can tell every one who reads your blog how brave you were’ but I have to hold my hands up and tell you ‘I like raw mushrooms’ they were so nice and not a bit like I had imagined them to be.
At this point we moved onto deserts and drinks with the introduction into making our own nut milks. Anna talked us through the benefits of nut milks and demonstrated how easy they were to make, letting us taste them at each stage so we could see how the taste developed. I have always been a bit frightened of making my own nut milks as I’ve never felt I had the skills to do so and turn out something that would be nice to drink, but this not only to a matter of minuets but looked a lot like fun, and tasted so good.
By this time not only was I feeling very full but the Blueberry Pie was set and ready for us to sample… by now you must be getting a bit sick of me going on about how good all the food was but it was, the blueberry pie was fresh and the taste was clean and fruity without being over powering and stodgy.
To round up the day Anna then talked us through supper foods and let us try some of them so we could see how they tasted and talked a bit about the best things to add them too. We then moved on to sprouting and she explained how important, cheap and easy they were to introduce into your diet.
I could of stayed for another few hours chatting to this Anna talk about all of her knowledge of raw food. I thought I had a good grasp of raw food but I found the day excited me and made me feel part of a movement of like-minded people on the path to wellness and longevity.
If you do one thing in your life you should look at taking an introduction course into raw foods, you’ll be glad you did, as it will add another diminution to you eating and put aside any thought that raw foodist only eat salad and sprouts.
Well this has to be the longest post ever, but I really wanted to explain how my day went.
So forward I go with day 7 of my 30-day raw experience with new ideas and recipes to try out.
Keep an eye out for some of my photos that I will be posting over the next few days and weeks…
Bear. X
For the recipes I got to try throughout my raw chef day you can find them in Alissa Cohen ‘Living on Raw Food’ book and DVD.
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