Raw Challenge: Day Two. Banana Almond Butter Smoothie and Tomato Stack with "Cheese," Basil, and Balsamic Vinegar.

I'd like to think that, although sloppy, my lunch yesterday looks like art!  Stacking food always makes it look cool, doesn't it?  I made this little tomato stacker super fast yesterday and it made a wonderful lunch/dinner before I had to go in to work.  I found a recipe online for "cheese" to use up my pine nuts, layered it with slices of fresh tomato and basil leaves, and topped it all off with a drizzle of balsamic, yum!  The pine nut cheese recipe is from a site called thehealingfeast.com but I added some more pine nuts to mine because I wanted it a bit thicker.

Pine Nut Cheese

1 cup raw pine nuts

1/4 cup water

1 clove garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt or Celtic sea salt

Process all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth.  

Tomato Stacker

1 tomato, sliced thickly

pine nut cheese (see above)

a few fresh basil leaves

balsamic vinegar (I don't think balsamic vinegar is really raw, optional)

Place a spoonful of pine nut cheese on the a slice of tomato and top with 1-3 basil leaves.  Place another tomato slice on top of the cheese and basil and continue layering in this manner.  Top layer should be a dollop of pine nut cheese and a few leaves of basil.  Drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar and serve.

Okay, next up on the agenda, I am on day two of my all raw challenge!  Yesterday went pretty well!  I actually had absolutely no problem eating all raw (I did have some steamed cauliflower but that barely counts as cooked!)  I had my peach raspberry smoothie in the morning, tomato stacker and some butterscotch pudding for lunch, a huge salad at work, and some steamed veggies as a midnight snack.  Not bad, huh?  Not as green as I would have hoped, and I did have some tea which is technically not raw, but I am proud of the integrity of everything I ate yesterday and look forward to another day just like it!  It was a bit challenging to walk away from the free pumpkin apple muffins at work last night, but I left empty handed and opted for the steamed veggies at home.  It paid off because I felt great all day yesterday and woke up feeling pretty good today.  My body didn't feel like it was still trying to process yesterday's food, so I could start fresh today!  

Unfortunately, I am fighting off a cold right now and don't feel 100% today.  I always crave junk food when I'm sick, even though my appetite is barely there.  Instead of making juice this morning, which probably would have been better for me, I made my new favorite raw treat, a banana and almond butter smoothie.  I have been drinking this slowly all morning and its soothing my throat a bit.  Plus, it's delicious, that never hurts either.  So day two of this punk's all raw challenge has started off a little heavier than usual, but absolutely raw.  I plan on having some raw coleslaw for dinner since I have a bit of leftover cabbage to get rid of and I don't have to work tonight so I won't have to be tempted by muffins and brownies!  

Okay, I will leave you with the smoothie recipe, it really is delicious, you must try this one!

Banana Almond Butter Smoothie (1 serving)

1 banana

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 cup ice

1-2 tablespoons raw almond butter

1 tablespoon maple syrup (agave nectar can be substituted here if you don't eat maple syrup)

Throw everything in a blender and blend til smooth.  Enjoy!

Music Fix: 3-string George- Gov't Mule

Eat Happy. : )