Raw Diet Day Four: ¡Raw Fiesta!

I found myself grazing most of the day yesterday. A piece of fruit here, handful of nuts there, a piece of cheese, a raw no-bake cookie, and before you know it, I really only ended up with one complete meal. My lunch consisted of olives, a piece of Jarlsberg Swiss cheese, and a Diet Coke (Is diet Coke a cooked food? Do they boil those chemicals? lol)

These olives were amazing… not raw, but part of my 20% or so that wasn’t.

Sadly, they’re all gone now. I finished off the whole half-pint in 2 days. So salty, so YUMMY! I guess the olives qualify as my one and only cooked food for the day, besides the dairy products.

I came up with dinner while thinking about what to use baby bella mushrooms for. Then it hit me: Raw mushroom tacos!!

Raw Mushroom Taco “Meat”

• About 8 small baby bella mushrooms (or any mushrooms), chopped up in small taco-filling sized pieces
• Chili powder to taste
• Cumin to taste
• Garlic powder and garlic salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• A few splashes of Cholula hot sauce (or any hot sauce that you prefer)
• 1 cap-ful distilled white vinegar
• Generous drizzle of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

Toss all ingredients together, cover, and let sit at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours until you are ready to eat it. Makes enough filling for 3 romaine lettuce leaves.

Raw Mushroom Vegetarian Tacos

• 3 romaine lettuce leaves spread with Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt as the “sour cream”; raw mushroom taco filling, fresh Haas avocado, grape tomatoes, and the rest of my raw milk cheddar cheese, about 1.5oz

These were SO GOOD! JUST like a taco! They were a little watery from the mushroom filling, but it tasted just like eating a taco salad. I wasn’t crazy about the creamy avocado texture with the soft mushrooms and lettuce shell — it was a little too much for my preferences, but other than that, these were a very successful raw recipe! Ways to improve it: Drain the mushroom mixture so that it’s not so watery; use crisper lettuce, like iceberg; or, use a food dehydrator to help with the mushroom filling. If you remove the dairy components, you have an honest to goodness raw, vegan dish.

Raw Diet Day 4 Menu:

• A few pieces of Jarlsberg Swiss cheese
• Olives from olive bar
• Diet Coke
• Handful of raw cashews
• 1 medium banana
• 1 Anjou pear
• Raw mushroom tacos: romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, mushroom taco filling, Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt, raw milk cheddar cheese, Cholula hot sauce
• 2 scoops organic nectars cherry chocolate raw non-dairy frozen treat
• Raw cacao nibs
• 1 raw no-bake cookie
• A few licks of raw almond butter from butter knife

I’ve arrived at day 5 of my high raw food trial without any noticeable improvements in my stomach situation. All I have noticed so far is that certain raw foods and possibly dairy make it even worse. I’m still much hungrier than I usually am with cooked food, but like I said yesterday, I’ve been managing that much better. Shockingly, I don’t miss bread that much, I just miss warm food in general. All of my food fantasies have revolved around grilled salmon and cooked vegetables. Weird, for me anyway. I’ve gotten to this point where I’m eating less because cold, raw foods just don’t sound appealing, so I’d rather go without than munch on something I’m not interested in. I can see this type of diet leading to an unhealthy relationship with eating in general because it can be so unattractive and exhausting. It takes a lot of work to chew a raw carrot and 10+ other raw fruits and veggies a day. Then it goes into your stomach cold and there’s not much comfort in a heavy, cold fibrous meal. Not to mention, all of the nutrients that you’re NOT absorbing from the raw foods. So in essence, upwards of 25-50% of the raw foods that you eat are taxing your metabolism, but not providing nourishment. Good for satiety and creating a deficit, but not good for optimal health.

Soooo… after today, just 2 more days to go!!! I’m so excited, but a little nervous, lol. I really do feel like I’ve been on a vacation outside of my body. It’s crazy. I still have some raw recipes up my sleeve, in fact, I’m going to finish one right now! Be back later.

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Tagged as: anjou pear, banana, Diet Coke, Fage Total 0% plain Greek yogurt, Haas avocado, Jarlsberg Swiss cheese, mushroom tacos, olives, organic nectars raw vegan non-dairy gelato, raw cacao nibs, raw diet, raw menu, raw milk cheddar cheese, raw mushroom tacos, raw tacos