Back in 2007 I went to San Francisco with my OH, and it was right around the time I was getting a bit obsessed about raw foods. I was already a vegan and had been for years, and the raw food movement was really taking hold in the US. Raw vegans recognise that the heat in cooking food destroys a lot of the enzymes and nutrients in food. When you eat brocoli raw, for example, youre likely to get a much denser nutritional profile than if you boil it for an hour.
I read countless blogs and testimonials about raw food online and although I could never commit to being 100% raw (nor do I now believe it to be something that is healthy), it was something I SO would have done had I had a little more cash and access to more ingredients. When we went to SF, I was so excited that there were actual RAW FOOD RESTAURANTS. My poor better half was incredibly supportive and tagged his cheese-loving ass along with me on endless visits to Cafe Gratitude. I bought their un-cook-book and took it home, and some of the simple juices and salads are to DIE for, but the more involved stuff took endless hours of dehydrating, chopping, juicing, mincing and messing so I never got past the few simple recipes at the front, except for an aborted raw burger episode which cost us at least €60 in ingredients and was inedible. We had another raw restaurant which we visited and my OH reached the end of his tether when he found a caterpillar in his salad. We headed to Wendy's after that for a boca burger.
I came home from SF completely psyched about raw food, convinced I'd be making my own nut milk and dehydrating flax crackers. Aint nobody got time fo dat. I gradually drifted away from trying to eat all raw, which was probably a VERY GOOD THING because I can be super-faddy about food. I tend to get a wee bit obsessive, and back in college I was very disordered about how I eat and my weight, size etc. That's a whole other story, but I have to keep a close eye on my patterns and faddishness with food to make sure I dont slip into any bad habits again.
I was absolutely delighted to see Natasha's Living Foods which set up shop in 2009 in Ireland. I've been a huge fan of her produce ever since then. Her range is all raw, and really gorgeous. She worries about all the sprouting and dehydrating and juicing and messing, and you get the delicious end result with zero effort.
Today's lunch was Natasha's Onion and Kelp crackers with Basil and black pepper sprouted chickpea hummus, avocado, red onion, and smoked almonds.
The onion and kelp crackers are made with sprouted flax seeds, sunflower seeds, onion and kelp (the sea vegetable). They're really lovely and have a rich, almost cheese and onion crisp flavour (the cheesiness comes from nutritional yeast flakes, a gorgeous if unappetising sounding cheese substitute for vegans or people who want to reduce their dairy intake). The sprouted hummus doesn't taste anything like traditional hummus. There is a spicy tartness and a strong umami flavour to it that would not be to everyone's taste, but I adore.
I topped these crackers with avocado and red onion. If you are one of the people who thinks they do not like avocado, I have news for you. Add salt. Avocado LOVES salt, and a pinch of slat brings it to life (same goes for chilli, and a dash of EVOO). If you had something gorgeous like Himalayan smoked salt or Maldron salt then all the better. But a pinch of salt brings avocado to the next level in the way strawberries dance with a little sugar and cream.
Now I want strawberries and cream. WAH. Strawberries and 0% Greek yoghurt would make a pretty epic substitute though....
PS
Before I finish, its with a word of warning that I recommend trying out some raw vegan food. Please do not go down the rabbit hole of eating disorders that are raw food blogs and forums online. They are loaded with people with incredibly disordered eating and if, like me, you can get easily sucked into that world, then you are better off steering well clear...
I read countless blogs and testimonials about raw food online and although I could never commit to being 100% raw (nor do I now believe it to be something that is healthy), it was something I SO would have done had I had a little more cash and access to more ingredients. When we went to SF, I was so excited that there were actual RAW FOOD RESTAURANTS. My poor better half was incredibly supportive and tagged his cheese-loving ass along with me on endless visits to Cafe Gratitude. I bought their un-cook-book and took it home, and some of the simple juices and salads are to DIE for, but the more involved stuff took endless hours of dehydrating, chopping, juicing, mincing and messing so I never got past the few simple recipes at the front, except for an aborted raw burger episode which cost us at least €60 in ingredients and was inedible. We had another raw restaurant which we visited and my OH reached the end of his tether when he found a caterpillar in his salad. We headed to Wendy's after that for a boca burger.
I came home from SF completely psyched about raw food, convinced I'd be making my own nut milk and dehydrating flax crackers. Aint nobody got time fo dat. I gradually drifted away from trying to eat all raw, which was probably a VERY GOOD THING because I can be super-faddy about food. I tend to get a wee bit obsessive, and back in college I was very disordered about how I eat and my weight, size etc. That's a whole other story, but I have to keep a close eye on my patterns and faddishness with food to make sure I dont slip into any bad habits again.
I was absolutely delighted to see Natasha's Living Foods which set up shop in 2009 in Ireland. I've been a huge fan of her produce ever since then. Her range is all raw, and really gorgeous. She worries about all the sprouting and dehydrating and juicing and messing, and you get the delicious end result with zero effort.
Today's lunch was Natasha's Onion and Kelp crackers with Basil and black pepper sprouted chickpea hummus, avocado, red onion, and smoked almonds.
The onion and kelp crackers are made with sprouted flax seeds, sunflower seeds, onion and kelp (the sea vegetable). They're really lovely and have a rich, almost cheese and onion crisp flavour (the cheesiness comes from nutritional yeast flakes, a gorgeous if unappetising sounding cheese substitute for vegans or people who want to reduce their dairy intake). The sprouted hummus doesn't taste anything like traditional hummus. There is a spicy tartness and a strong umami flavour to it that would not be to everyone's taste, but I adore.
I topped these crackers with avocado and red onion. If you are one of the people who thinks they do not like avocado, I have news for you. Add salt. Avocado LOVES salt, and a pinch of slat brings it to life (same goes for chilli, and a dash of EVOO). If you had something gorgeous like Himalayan smoked salt or Maldron salt then all the better. But a pinch of salt brings avocado to the next level in the way strawberries dance with a little sugar and cream.
Now I want strawberries and cream. WAH. Strawberries and 0% Greek yoghurt would make a pretty epic substitute though....
PS
Before I finish, its with a word of warning that I recommend trying out some raw vegan food. Please do not go down the rabbit hole of eating disorders that are raw food blogs and forums online. They are loaded with people with incredibly disordered eating and if, like me, you can get easily sucked into that world, then you are better off steering well clear...
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