Who eats raw in Alabama?

Nobody, is the answer. So after a short break from eating raw, I'm back to it. The other night I made a delicious Pineapple- Cucumber Gazpacho. It's more of a summer food, but I enjoyed eating it with my slippers on in front of the fire. My friend Ginger gave me a great raw recipe book, Raw Food Real World, and this one's from that...

4 cups chopped peeled cucmber

4 cups chopped pineapple

1 cup fresh pineapple juice (I didn't do this)

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

1 green onion, white and 1 inch of green, chopped

1 Tablespoon lime juice (I used lemon)

1 handful cilantro leaves, plus a few for garnish

3 Tablespoons avocado, macadamia or olive oil (I used olive)

1 handful finely shopped raw macadamia nuts (I used almonds)

In a blender, add 3 cups each of the cucumber and pineapple, the pineapple juice, jalapeno, green onion, lime juice, and salt. Blend until smooth. Add the remaining 1 cup pineapple and 1 cup cucumber, the handful of cilantro, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil. Pulse the blender quickly a few times - it should remain chunky. Taste for seasoning. Can chill or serve immediately.

Before serving, add the nuts to the gazpacho and stir to distribute evenly. Drizzle with remaining oil. Garnish with cilantro.

Raw Recipe

I'm snacking on raw macadamia nuts as I'm writing this. It's been two weeks since I've gone raw. And I'm still loving it. mostly. My energy level is still higher than before, and my moods seem less extreme. I'm just generally in a better mood. My body seems to like eating this way, and it's been fairly easy. The past few days I've had very minimal joint pain, but Im not sure that's due to the diet. It will take more time to evaluate that.

The negative: it's freakin' expensive to eat this way! I'm trying to learn how to do it more frugally. The raw crackers, cereals and ice creams are super good, but really pricey. If I end up doing this for a long time, I will make a lot of that stuff myself, but I'd need to buy a sprouter and dehydrator. And some of the specialty items I've bought, I didn't like. For instance, the sea vegetables. They literally made me gag. Nothing makes me gag. It was that bad. But overall I love eating this way.

I modified a recipe I found online, and it turned out pretty good. Here it is...

COCONUT ALMOND TREAT
There is a "crust" and then a icy topping. Serves 2-3
Crust:
2 cups germinated raw almonds (germinated=soaked in water for 8-10 hours)
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 Tablespoon agave syrup (or raw honey)

mix the almonds and oil together in blender or food processor. Mix in agave syrup and form 2 "pancakes" out of it all.
Place on wax paper and put in freezer aprox. 2 hours.

Sauce:
1 young Thai coconut (has to be carefully opened with a big knife)
1 Tablespoon agave syrup (or raw honey)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Open up the coconut and put the milk and "meat" in a blender. Add the syrup and vanilla and mix.
Place in a container and freeze aprox. 2 hours.

Once they're ready, place the almond "pancake" on a plate and spoon the sauce over the top. It's a refreshing treat.