Totally Rawesome Blog!

Okay, these are so beautiful and amazing and I TOTALLY want one!!

Earthships, in case you haven’t already heard of them are Uber-sustainable houses made from natural and recycled materials.  They are totally off the grid, using thermal/solar energy to heat and cool the home, wind and solar for electricity needs, a contained sewage system, “water harvesting” from rain and snow AND are set up so that food can be produced indoors.  I LOVE IT!  I have known about Earthships for years.  When I lived in Hawaii, there was a flyer posted on the bulletin board of the natural grocery inviting people to New Mexico to learn how to build Earthships.  I totally wanted to do that, but was not financially able to get myself to New Mexico at the time.  Now more than ever, I feel like I would love to learn how to build one!  There are educational workshops available at the Earthship headquarters in New Mexico, if anyone is interested…

If you’re interested in checking out an Earthship for a night or more, rentals are available here: http://earthship.org/rentals.  If nothing else, I hope that you’ll check out the site and the pics of all the beautiful structures.  They truly are amazing!  Enjoy!

I thought that title might get your attention!  Well, it’s not what you think!  Tuesday night I had dinner with my dear friends, Marc and Stephanie.  I love getting together with them because we always collaborate and make the best raw meals, which is really special for me, since my husbands isn’t into anything raw besides salad.   Dinner with S&M is a chance for me to get creative and share it with others, my very favorite thing about food!

This week, Stephanie made another meal from The Complete Book of Raw Food, a book that so far has been full of excellent recipes!  I actually just went out and picked it up last night because I am always looking for new ways to enjoy raw food.  The really great thing about this book is that it’s a collection of recipes from TONS of raw chefs.  You get a lot of different styles and all of the recipes are pretty simple, which is great for me because I’d rather spend more time eating and enjoying the food   In this case, Steph was the creator of the entree and I was responsible for making the dessert.  That’s usually the way we work it because I LOVE making desserts!

Stephanie decided to make Rawvioli, which is something I have never attempted in all of my years enjoying raw food, so I was excited to check it out.  And I was not disappointed!  The only issue we had was not being able to adjust the mandoline close enough to slice the turnips paper thin.  No problem, we had open faced rawvioli  and it was delicious!  Steph also made a gorgeous salad with the best Caesar dressing I have ever had.  I swear, it tastes better than SAD Caesar!  I love this dressing because it’s easy to make, has a longer shelf life because of the ingredients and is an easy go to dressing if you need something quick.  So, here are the recipes!

Raw-Violi by Robert Yarosh & Lisa Soto

serves 2-4

Ingredients:

Rutabaga, daikon or turnip (we used turnip and it was great)

For the cheese:

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup macadamia nuts

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon,  juiced

Blend or process until smooth

Tomato Sauce:

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

7 large basil leaves

1/4 tsp sea salt

5 medjool dates, soaked 20 minutes

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 20 minutes

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/4 cup chopped red onion

3 cloves garlic

1 Tbs Italian seasoning

1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Blend all ingredients in Vita Mix

Stephanie also made an awesome “sausage” recipe that we threw onto our Rawvioli.  Check it out:

Italian Rawsage by Sergei and Valya Boutenko

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 head lettuce

1/4 cup olive oil

5 cloves garlic

1/2 cup onion powder

1 Tbs caraway seeds

1 Tbs dried sage

1/2 bunch fresh basil

Process all ingredients until well combined.  Form into sausage shaped patties.  If preferred, dehydrate at 110 degrees until firm on the outside.

These recipes were delicious and it was really hard to stop eating them, but we had to save room for desert, the most imporatant part of the meal, hee hee!

I am still tweaking the recipe for my Strawberry Dream Pie, so for now, I’ll leave you with a teaser photo with the  promise of a recipe for it later!

That’s it for now!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to pop in and plug one of my new favorite raw books/websites/projects-Raw Foods on a Budget www.rawfoodsonabudget.com. Brandi Rollins is a raw foodist living in the northeast of the US and has started a beta project called, you guessed it, Raw Foods on a Budget. The project is set up with weekly challenges and a constantly updated e-book that can be purchased for very little, further assisting you with staying on a budget. I have been having a lot of fun with the first challenge, which is to eat ALL of the produce in your house BEFORE going to shop for more. It’s easy in the beginning, but obviously gets more challenging as you get down to fewer and fewer ingredients. The cool thing about it is that it forces you to get really creative with what you have to work with.
The book has lots of great tips on substitutions, an entire chapter on gardening and a price breakdown of each recipe, which is really helpful.
If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it!
Cheers!

I know that seems impossible, but it’s true!  After much thought and research and just 2 days of construction, Chris and I are the proud owners of a Death Star!  However, our Death Star will be used for good, not evil.  The truth of the matter is, our Death Star is actually this really cool composter called the ECOmposter from Eco Options, and let me tell ya, it’s WAY cool!

It’s a 71 gallon sphere that has a locking door on the top and the bottom and all these crazy tubes going into the center of it.  It also comes with 2 different bases, one is an off the ground stand with wheels on it so you can tumble it while it stays on the base and the other is on the ground so you can push it off and actually roll it around.  It’s made of recycled and recyclable materials and it makes dirt out of your yard and kitchen scraps in 4-6 weeks!  We are super happy with it so far and look forward to making lots of dirt with it!  The cost is around $195.00 and it can be ordered from several places including Amazon and Home Depot – google search link.

There are ALOT of pieces to put together, we did it in a couple of hours over two nights. But was pretty easy and actually kinda fun – like putting together a 3-D puzzle.  Just make sure that you don’t assemble the entire sphere inside, or you’ll never be able to get it out the door!   Other than that, this composter is a dream!

Entertaining in the Raw

Well, another week has come and gone and I am looking forward to having friends for dinner again this weekend.  Chris and I seem to have dinner guests just about every week, which gives me an opportunity to try some more elaborate gourmet raw recipes!

Last weekend, we had his sister Kylin and her daughter Bey and I decided to give one of Mathew Kenney’s recipes a try from his book Entertaining in the Raw, which can be purchased here : http://www.amazon.com/Entertaining-Raw-Matthew-Kenney/dp/1423602080.

I have been craving egg rolls something fierce, and as I thumbed through the book, I came across a recipe for spring rolls with tamarind fondue, bingo!  I decided that I would make a stir dried teriyaki to go with it and with that, I set out to create these two divine looking dishes.  I have to say, both dishes turned out amazing, however, the spring rolls took a lot longer to dehydrate than stated in the book, so I ended up serving dinner 2 hours later than planned, not great with a hungry 11 year old. L  Good thing the spring rolls  were delicious, and VERY filling!  I really could have done without ,making the teriyaki and just done a nice soup or salad.  Oh well, the teriyaki was great for lunch the next day, as the flavors were really able to meld with the veggies.  Here are the recipes!

Spicy “Fried” Spring Rolls With Sweet Tamarind Fondue

By Mathew Kenney from Entertaining in the Raw

Wrappers

2 cups flax meal

2 cups  chopped yellow squash

1 cup young coconut meat, chopped

2 Tbs lemon juice

4 cups water

¼ cup agave

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

2 scallions, sliced thin on the diagonal

Blend all the ingredients except scallions in Vita-Mix until smooth, stir in scallions.  Spread thinly into 6”-7” rounds on Teflex sheets.  Dehydrate 5-6 hours until dry but very pliable.

*FYI-this recipe made about 14 rounds and I dehydrated them at 125 for the first hour, then backed the temp down to about 114 degrees.  These still took almost 8 hours to dehydrate to the right texture.

Filling

1 cup julienned carrots

¼ cup sliced scallions

1 cup shredded Napa cabbage

1 ½ cup dried shitake mushrooms, soaked 1 hour and dehydrated 2 hours

½ tsp sea salt

Black pepper to taste

¼ cup olive oil

Fold ingredients together.

*FYI-I also added some broccoli slaw, about 1 cup.

Tofu

1 cup cashews, soaked 1-2 hours

½ cup fresh young coconut meat

½ cup Irish Moss gel

¼ cup water

¼ tsp sea salt

1 ½ tsp ancho chile powder

¼ tsp cayenne

¼ cup cilantro

Line the bottom and sides of a small pan or square container with plastic wrap.  Blend all the ingredients except cilantro in Vita-Mix until completely smooth; stir in cilantro.  Pour into lined pan (tofu should be about 1 ½ inches thick); cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate about 2 hours until firm.  Remove tofu from container by lifting plastic wrap out of pan and gently transferring to a cutting board.  Cut tofu into 2” squares with a butter knife.

*FYI-I skipped this recipe, since I am trying to cut down on excessive nut consumption.  The recipe was still delicious without it!

Chile Sauce

¾ tsp chipoltle chile powder

2 cups cashew, soaked 1-2 hours

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup tamari

¼ cup + 1 Tbs water

Blend all ingredients in Vita-Mix until smooth

Sweet Tamarind Fondue

1 cup dried tamarind paste

½ cup agave

3 Tbs lime juice

1/4 cup coconut water

2 Tbs water

½ tsp sea salt

Blend all ingredients well in Vita-Mix.  Strain through a chinois.

FYI-Make sure there are no seeds in your tamarind or it will wreck your blender!  This should be soaked at least a few minute to be able to feel for seeds or seed pieces.  I bought seedless tamarind paste and still have bits of seed in it. Just be careful.  Also, trying to strain this through even a sieve with lager holes proved to be nearly impossible and very frustrating, so I ended up spreading it generously on the inside of the wrapper when I began assembling the spring rolls.

Assembly

Fold the chile sauce into the spring roll filling and adjust the seasoning.  Place a large tablespoon of filling on each wrapper and spread it out in a row.  Fold wrappers tightly.  To serve, cut each wrapper on the bias lengthwise, lean one against the other and garnish with Sweet Tamarind Fondue and cilantro leaves.

As I said, these were really delicious and filling and totally worth the effort!

Here is the recipe for  Vegetable  Teriyaki from Cherie Soria’s book The Raw Revolution Diet.  You purchase that book here: http://www.rawfoodchef.com/store/marketplace.html

Vegetable Teriyaki stirred, not Fried by Cherie Soria

Teriayki Marinade and Pinapple

1/4 cup tamari

2 Tbs evaporated cane juice

1 1/2 Tbs Raw sesame oil

1 Tbs flaxseed oil or olive oil

1 Tbs onion powder

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp grated ginger

1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 large pineapple, peeled, cored and cubed

Combine all except pineapple and blend briefly, just until combined.

Arrange pineapple in a shallow baking dish and pour the marinade over it and toss.  Let it sit at room temperature while you prepare the vegetables.

Remove Pineapple from marinade and place 4-6 pieces on 4 (6 inch) skewers.

Vegetables

3/4 cup snow peas, cut in half lengthwise

3/4 cup thinly sliced shitake mushrooms

3/4 cup thinly sliced baby bok choy

3/4 cup mung bean sprouts

1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli with stems

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

1/2 red bell pepper, finely julienned

1/2 carrot, finely julienned

1/4 red onion, finely julienned

Combine veggies a glass baking dish, add marinade, toss and dehydrate at 125 degrees for 30 minutes to 2 hours.  Also, the pineapple skewers can be dehydrated on a teflex sheet and served warm over the veggies.

*FYI-For simplicity’s sake,I just marinated the veggies with the  pineapple  and dehydrated  them all together.

Yummy and really easy!

And of course, I made a dessert, although, we had to revisit that about an hour and a half after dinner

With all the time I had spent in the kitchen by this time, I just wanted something quick and easy to prepare that would still be really tasty.  So, I decided to make a recipe from Jennifer Cornbleet’s book, Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People, which can be purchased here: http://www.learnrawfood.com/books

Tropical Fruit Tart

Coconut Crust

1 1/2 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups walnuts, unsoaked

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup dates, pitted, unsoaked

Place coconut, walnuts and salt in food processor fitted with the “S” blade and process until coarsely ground.  Add the dates and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and begins to stick together.  Don’t overprocess.  Press into a pie plate and put in the freezer for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling.

Mango Pudding

1 1/2 cups chopped, fresh mangoes ( 2 mangoes)

1/2 cup dried mango (cut into pieces with scissors), soaked 10 minutes and drained

blueberries, kiwi, strawberries, blackberries for garnish

Place fresh and dried mangoes in high speed blender and blend until smooth.  Transfer to pie plate and refrigerate for an hour.  Garnish with any combination of the above listed fruits.

FYI-I found the pudding to still be a bit runny.  Next time, I will add a little psyllium to help firm it up a bit.

Wow, that was a TON of food and all of it was AMAZING!!  We’ve got friends coming this weekend for dinner…not sure how I’m gonna top this!

Hi All,

Just wanted to pop in and post a quick pic and recipe from last night’s dinner, hope you enjoy! 

I love hanging out with my friend Mitch.  We always make the most gorgeous and delicious meals together and tonight was no exception!  Mitch’s partner is quite the foodie and when Mitch showed me his collection of vinegars, I just about lost it!  What an interesting collection of flavors!  Pomagranite balsamic, honey balsamic, fig balsamic…..yummmy!!  Even though balsamic vinegar is not raw, it tastes amazing and with so many flavors to choose from, I had to try at least one

So,we made a marvelous salad with spinach, zucchini, red bell pepper and carrots, topped with a sassy little vinagrette dressing I whipped up.  Sorry I didn’t measure anything, just winged it!

SASSY VINAIGRETTE

cold pressed olive oil

Honey balsamic vinegar

dijon mustard

pressed garlic

sea salt

black pepper

Italian seasoning

Wisk until creamy and pour over salad immediately!

We followed that with a simple zucchini fettucini with a luscious marinara sauce and added to that some chopped red bell pepper. Amazing!

Luscious Marinara Sauce-this one, I did measure

2 cups tomatoes, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/8 cup basil, packed

1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced

1/8 cup fresh oregano, destemmed

2 Tbs cold pressed olive oil

1/4 cup organic red wine-really added depth to the sauce

1/2 tsp seat salt

3 Tbs minced shallots

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes-NOT soaked

1-1 1/2 Tbs agave

Blend in Vita Mix until smooth.

Mitch also lightly steamed some kale and collards that we enjoyed with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper.  And for dessert, we had some warm herbal tea along with some raw almonds dipped in raw honey.  Such a simple and delicious meal!

You know, I’ve been eating 80%-100% raw now for the past 2 ½ years and feeling pretty freaking amazing! I definitely don’t get sick when most people around me are dropping like flies and I have TONS more energy to get all the things I pack into my busy days done. However, I’ve been seeing a lot of attention being given to having your blood checked for vitamin and mineral deficiencies and it’s got me wondering, is it possible to eat as well as I do and still be in danger of having a major deficiency in these important components? Well, that depends on who you ask. Some people believe that if you eat 80%-100% raw, there’s no way you could be deficient. Others believe that our soil is so mineral deficient that it’s not possible to get enough minerals and therefore, supplementation of some sort is necessary.

I fall somewhere in the middle of those two ideas. First, I believe that eating a high raw diet definitely puts you at the top nutritionally. However, unless you are eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies, juicing lots of greens on a regular basis and drinking herbal teas like Alfalfa, I think there’s a possibility that you can be deficient in some areas. I also believe that regular colon cleansing is EXTREMELY important if you want to have optimum absorption of all of those incredible things that you are eating and drinking.

Now, what does regular colon cleansing mean?  I feel that when you are first going raw, it is best to do a round of colonics.  I had a series of three over the course of ten days and really released alot of stuff!  My eyes and skin were glowing after and I felt so light!  It was amazing!  After that I  did one a month and now am doing one every 3 months.  I know that I should probably do it more often, but it has not been worked into my busy schedule.  My intention is there to do it more, so that will be happening soon!

Another important thing that is missing from most diets is the consumption of wild foods.  Alot of the arguments about vitamin and mineral deficiencies in foods are really focused on domestic foods and give no thought to wild foods and herbs.  Foods that have not been domesticated contain mass amounts of necessary nutrients as well as other elements that would limit the amount that a human or an animal would be able to  ingest at one time.  These elements are a way to keep the plant from being eaten to extinction, since it encourages us to eat a variety of different plants, thus exposing us to different vitamins and minerals.  Isn’t nature awesome?  If you aren’t familiar with foraging for wild foods and don’t know what’s available where you live, get online and look for guided wild food walks in your area.  Get ready to be wowed by new and intense flavors, as well as a feeling of deeper connection to the earth.   Happy foraging!

So, bottom line, the best way to make sure you are within healthy ranges of all vitamins and minerals is to get your blood checked, make sure you are eating a WIDE VARIETY of fruits and veggies including as much wild food as you can, drinking a quart or more of green vegetable juices daily on an empty stomach and cleansing the colon regularly.

So, another year come and gone, and with the new year comes all the resolutions, I know I made mine. It is not making the resolutions that is hard it is keeping them that becomes the challenge. All the “I will eat right”, “I will work out everyday”, and the “I will pay off my debts” turn into “I will start to eat right tomorrow”, “I will get to the gym tomorrow”, and “I will pay minimum payments for now”. So, how about I share a few tips on how to keep those resolutions you took the time to think about and make.

“I will eat right” – eating right can be made super easy. First, do not say “I can’t eat that” instead say “I choose not to eat that”. If you make it a choice instead of a limitation you are more likely to stick with it. Second, too much of anything, good or bad, is not good, so, make sure to allow yourself at least one meal a week to indulge in your favorite foods. Third, prepare and eat at home this eliminates the temptation to eat unhealthy foods that usually comes with eating out. Lastly, eliminate temptation from your immediate environment, meaning don’t buy junk that will ruin your healthy lifestyle choices. Instead, stock up on raw almonds, raw fruits and veggies, and remember to drink plenty of water.

“I will workout everyday” – Ok, this one is a little more tricky, however, still doable. Instead of making it a chore to workout everyday try to make it fun. Exercise does not mean going to the gym and hitting the weights or cardiovascular equipment. Exercise could be as fun and easy as dancing around the house to your favorite music, walking to one of your more localized daily stops, or hula hooping like when you were little. If all else fails you can always get your exercise by doing your daily chores with added intensity this can be done by adding ankle weights, weighted vest, or increasing the speed in which you do said chores.

“I will pay off my debts” – This is really not my expertise, but I do have a few helpful tips. One, all the money saved from not eating out can be collected and added to the minimum payments increasing the principle payment, and thus, paying the debt off more rapidly. Two, give yourself a weekly allowance pull that amount out in cash once it is gone, it is gone. Do not use debit or credit cards, and do not pull out any more cash. Lastly, research pricing, and specials and shop where you find the cheapest, deals, then add that savings to the minimum payment, as well, again allowing payoff to happen more rapidly.

I hope these few tips were helpful and productive in your endeavors to keep your New Years Resolutions!

I find myself today taking inventory of my life as well as things within it. As this world gets more chaotic, and consumed with technology and time consumption and wastefulness, I find myself looking for simplistic and realistic things to grasp onto, that allow me to get done what needs to be done in the most effective and efficient way possible. With that being said I have went on a mission to simplify my life  and also be conscious of our planet, and found some really great things. Let me share:

1.) Time to workout because  there is no time due to having to go to work and family responsibility, which, we all have someway or another, right? Well, I found this thing called a trek desk $479 at trekdesk.com it is a desk that goes right on your treadmill you can walk and work thus working out while being at your desk doing your job, WOW! Simple and realistic. Even if you walk for 6 hours at a minimal 2.0 pace you burn “drum roll” 924 calories if you amp it up a notch or add a slight incline that number goes up! FYI most people walked at a 2.5 or 3.0 and easily worked without effort and burned “drum roll” 1265 calories WOW!

2.) I also found that if you shop on sunday wash and prep your fruit and veggies then throw them in an airtight container in the freezer you cut down your preparation time for morning smoothies and fruit snack and lunches by 10 minutes. Also, a very simple and realistic way to stay on the healthy track, and out of the drive thru’s that suck us in when we are in a pinch for time.

3.) Eliminating unnecessary drama and stress whether it comes from People, things, or places will help your immune system and your risk of illness will decrease by 35% according to a study done at Harvard medical. FYI leading cause of illness is stress related, number one way to relieve stress that can not be avoided Exercise! So, get off your tush and on the treadmill! Also, simplify your life and eliminate the drama and stress that can be avoided.

4.) Make a plan, list, and budget doing these things eliminates unneeded purchases, financial stress, and makes the end result concise and way to get there clear. Thus aiding in the reduction of stress.

5.) Reduce waste by eating and buying fresh and local or find companies that use bio-compostable packaging. Check out www.shoptoearn.net/crystalh the green side they ship in all bio compostable material AWESOME. Also, don’t forget www.totallyrawesome.com for your all your raw cracker, crust, pate’s, and desserts, we use bio-compostable packaging too. I also suggest building or creating a rain water catch system you can use this water to wash cars, water plants, and even boil in case of emergency.

6.) Reuse, instead of tossing that empty jar wash it out and use it for something else. I peel the labels off and make really cool durable drinking glasses. I also use small jars and dishes as lotion container for my homemade lotions or storage containers for leftovers. Old shirts make great rags to clean, and dust with. Old baby clothes make an awesome quilt of memories for your bed, the list of ideas and things go on and on, be creative and hey, share your ideas! I would love to hear them.

7.) Recycle, people there is no excuse this is not your planet it is your children’s planet and there children’s planet. You would not give your child trash or toxins so don’t trash or fill their earth with those things either. Most cities have recycle pick up and many are now incorporating a reward system for recycling, not that recycling needs a reward but the reward can make it interesting (although I think recycling in itself is a reward ). Make a lesson out of it include all your family members, even my one year old helps separate. Trust me this is easy and important.

8.) Stimulate your local community visit garage sales and local fruit stands, as well as, have your own garage sale! One mans trash is another man’s treasure.

I hope in all these tips you found a way to simplify your life, de-stress, and help yourselves and our children’s planet.

I just received a very interesting email from our www.totallyrawesome.com website from a girl in Louisiana asking us to open a place in her neck of the woods because there is NOTHING there. Being a sweet southern girl from Mobile, AL myself, I could sympathize immediately. Of course, I would love to open a raw restaurant in New Orleans or Lafayette or even my home town of Mobile! I know how totally frustrating it is to have a diet and lifestyle preference and not have anywhere outside of my own house that supports that. And since so much socializing is done around food, it sort of makes for social suicide if you can’t go out to eat with people! So, where do you eat out when there isn’t a raw restaurant?

Well, two types of eateries come to mind immediately; Mexican and Sushi.

Now don’t get grossed out on me now, when I say sushi, I don’t expect you to eat raw fish (unless you eat raw fish), but sushi restaurants usually have quite a few different veggie rolls that you can order WITHOUT THE RICE! Nice! You’ll need to ask them to double up on the veggies so you don’t get a super skinny roll, but you can have a nice variety of things, paired with a salad, it’s a yummy meal! Now, you can also ask for Kimchi to put on your sushi. If you’ve never tried Kimchi, you’re in for a tasty surprise! Kimchi is a garlicky, peppery, pungent sauce made with pickled cabbage and ginger salt and spices and blended together to make a beautiful reddish sauce. It’s amazing with sushi and if you bring your own Nama Shoyu (a raw soy sauce), you are in business! I never shy away from bringing my own condiments with me to a resto, things like Shoyu or my own salad dressing are usually in my bag if I know where we are going to eat.

And as far as Mexican? No brainer! Huge salad with tons of fresh guacamole and salsa? Can I get an Amen? If you have a dehydrator, you can make tostada shells like to ones we sell at totallyrawesome.com and if ya don’t, you can order them from us and we’ll do the work! Throw a couple of those in your bag if you are doing Mexi, pile all the veggies, guac and salsa on that bad boy and see how many people will want to try what you’re having! You could also whip up a mexican pate’ and bring that along too and really impress your friends and fam!

If you happen upon a Sushi/Thai resto that serves green papaya salad, GET IT! Ask them to leave out the fish sauce and add a splash of your own Nama Shoyu at the table for the salty flavor you need to round out the dish. Green papaya salad is one of my favorite things in the world, and, it’s almost zero-fat! Do make sure to let them know how spicy you like it because they use fresh thai chillies accordingly.

If you aren’t in charge of where the dining takes place, at least try to steer the the decision to a place with a really good salad bar. Also, if you know in advance, give the restaurant a call and let them know that you have special diet requirements and would like a raw veggie dish. Most resto’s will be happy to accommodate you and will appreciate the heads up BEFORE you get there. You may have to explain a bit about what raw means and sometimes this means telling them not to put raw potatoes on the plate (sounds silly, I know) and also, no condiments. But, you can also ask the chef to be as creative as he wants, which can really be enjoyable for him or her. You’ll be surprised at what comes out of the kitchen for you!

Anyway, I hope this helps. And keep the faith, Louisiana, something will open up there!