LJ’s Raw Fusion Food Diary – January 2nd
What I ate Wednesday 
Featuring Vegetable Provencal Batter Bake
Starting a new semi-weekly post — a diary of a day’s worth of eating, raw fusion style. Many people tell me that they are intrigued by my concept of combining raw living foods with mainstream favorites, but they would like more guidance and direction. So I thought giving you a snapshot of some typical meal plans, with tips and recipes it could be helpful. I’ve seen this done in a few excellent healthy eating blogs that I admire and follow.
The Raw Fusion Lifestyle is not difficult, it’s just different. Because how we eat is so deeply ingrained in our subconscious, making significant changes does not usually happen overnight. The fact that you can eat well, not feel deprived and find delicious alternatives for your favorite comfort foods and have them actually be good for you has definitely shifted my family’s eating habits and the great results are showing up in many ways. Not all of us eat the same or even at the same time, but I will also share variations, which include vegan, vegetarian and animal protein dishes.
Feel free to comment, question, post feedback on recipes and touch base. I will also be posting updates and photos throughout the day on our Facebook Fan Page. Shall I list virtually all I eat in the day or just highlights? This is brand new so I really want your input.
Morning – Typically I start each morning with a 16 ounce glass of (LeVai) Alkalized water with a few drops of liquid trace minerals and mint-flavored chlorophyll. Liquid chlorophyll functions as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory is an “internal deodorizer” and cleanser for your colon and digestive system. You can easily find this at your local health food store or online.
Green Smoothie – If you are new to green smoothies, check out the many blogs I have along with recipes by typing this in the Search box above.
Today’s: Half bunch of kale (ribs removed), pineapple, half an orange, frozen strawberries, frozen banana splash of Noble’s blood orange juice, water and ice.
Mid-Morning: A couple of the Almond Cookies I made for my first “sugar-free-year” recipe along and a cup of Trader Joe’s ruby red chai (2 bags) – this is a naturally decaffeinated rooibos tea blend with a splash of almond milk.
Mid-Afternoon: Two slices of toasted gluten-free chia bread (a new item I found today) with mashed avocado sprinkled with sea salt and crunchy garlic nuggets and a Persian (small) cucumber sliced and splashed with a bit of umeboshi plum vinegar. I very lightly spread the bread with some organic coconut oil first. Avocados, chia, coconut oil, garlic and umeboshi are all in the superfoods category, so this was a completely guilt-free, yet utterly yummy light lunch.
Dinner: Adapting a recipe I found in a “one-pot cooking” book (author Jenni Fleetwood) I was curious to see how my family would like this battered veggie dish. Served with a very simple salad of baby spinach leaves, cucumbers and grape tomatoes. Dressing for the salad: Just whisked some black sesame paste with a splash of orange, brown rice vinegar, maple syrup and crushed garlic. Glad I made enough to have for tomorrow’s salad!
From the photo in the book the crust looked a bit more like deep dish pizza but mine had more of the consistency of a dumpling or potato kugel. This could be because I substituted the all purpose flour with gluten-free flour and the dairy milk with a combination almond/coconut milk.
Note: This recipe includes an egg – for vegan variation you can try egg replacer or mix 1 tablespoon ground flax or chia seed with 3 tablespoons of water.
This was really tasty, in spite of the unusual texture and got the “Make again” thumb’s up from the family. My husband had some goat cheese crumbles on top and used bar-b-que sauce (this is how he loves his pizza) but had the leftovers with my Almond Sesame Ginger sauce (recipe will be in next week’s blog) and even liked it better that way. I am going to make this again with some variations and update you on how it turns out.
After-Dinner Snack: Today was unusual as I had a few artichokes that needed to be used so I steamed them for about 45 minutes and enjoyed with a dipping sauce made from lemon juice, black truffle olive oil and sea salt. Later on I had the other half of the orange from the salad dressing.
Vegetable Provencale Batter Bake
Ingredients:
1 small egglplant – halved and diced into medium-sized pieces
1/2 large red pepper – cubed or sliced
6-8 mushrooms, sliced thickly
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/2 red onion, sliced medium
1 medium zucchini, sliced medium, discarding ends
3-4 sundried tomatoes, tear or cut into pieces
5 TB. sunflower or grapeseed oil
Sea Salt
1 egg
1 cup gluten-free flour
1 1/4 cup of milk (I used almond/coconut)
Provencal herbs (thyme, rosemary) or herbs or your choice
Directions: Place the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle on about a teaspoon of salt and let stand for about 10 minutes. Rinse and drain, patting dry. In the meantime prepare the rest of the veggies.
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Using a baking pan or pyrex dish, spread the oil, reserving a small amount. Place in the oven to get the oil hot for at least 10 minutes and then toss in the veggies, making sure to coat them well. Place in oven and roast for about 20 minutes. Remove and reduce temperature to 375 degrees. The batter should be added while this is very hot, so make the batter ahead of time.
Make the batter by whisking the egg with a small amount of flour and milk, adding more to make a smooth paste until all is combined. Sprinkle in herbs and some salt, to taste. Pour over the veggies and mix gently to distribute them. The batter should make a sizzling noise or the oil is not hot enough and the batter may not rise well.
Bake for about 30 minutes until batter is golden and is browning at the edges. I took mine out midway when the batter had hardened up on top and brushed on some cooking oil.
You can sprinkle this Batter Bake with some parmesan, vegan or goat cheese. I tried some with nutritional yeast and it was very good.
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