My Unconventional Thanksgiving

Shanelle and Ayoluwa at The Yabba Pot

For Thanksgiving last year, I made six entrees and two desserts, all from scratch (what was I thinking?). You can read all about it here:
http://therawmochaangel.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-i-made-for-thanksgiving-dinner.html

This year, I had NO desire to make a Thanksgiving meal from scratch. I do want to do a raw Christmas, and I'm planning that dinner now. But I was not feeling cooking, raw or not, on Turkey Day. Instead, I ordered a platter from the Yabba Pot in Baltimore. My family got to enjoy:

Vegan Turkee with Mushroom Gravy
Cornbread Stuffing Queens Greens
Mashed Sweet Potatoes…with crushed Pineapples and Coconut milk
Orange Mint Cranberry Sauce – from scratch!
Vegan Mac and Cheese
String Beans Almondine

And Ayoluwa and Shanelle looked so pretty that I had to take a picture of them. They were kind enough to say "cheese" even while the place was busy! Thanks, ladies!

This is Raymond at the restaurant with me. He could not WAIT to eat, so I let him try the food before we left to come back home.

Cilantro Sparkle and Basic Balance from Green Smoothie Revolution

So what did I eat? I mostly drank during the day. I wanted to keep my body light. I've been drinking smoothies from Green Smoothie Revolution. I asked Victoria Boutenko if it was okay to blog about my working through that book, as I am doing with Light Eating for Survival. She said "sure." But unlike LEFS, I won't be posting the recipes. I'll be sharing my experiences in terms of how I'm feeling, weight loss, etc., as I drink the smoothies. My favorite so far is Cilantro Sparkle. It's supposed to be a green pudding of cilantro, mango, and orange. Mine was more like a smoothie and it was fan-tas-tic. I like anything with cilantro in it anyway. Another hit is the Applesauce. I got Raymond to eat it, and that's his new breakfast.

One thing I've noticed is that I crave green drinks. Even if a smoothie or juice does not call for greens, I'll drop a few in there anyway.

Vegetable Elixir, Green Glow, and Waldorf Salad from Light Eating for Survival

Here's the recipes: (just put all the veggies and fruits through your juicer)

Vegetable Elixir
4 oz carrot
2 oz celery
1 oz beet
1 oz wheatgrass

Green Glow
4 oz comfrey leaves, parsley, spinach, celery
6 oz apple
mint to taste

Waldorf Salad
2 stalks celery
2 apples

More awesome, beautiful juices

I made more the next day. Rom's favorite was the Alfalfa-Pineapple Juice. He asked me for more, twice, and then said, "You got a future in juice." Alfalfa sprouts and pineapple juice may not sound tasty, but it is. I'd also thrown in a handful of romaine-parsley-cilantro-beet greens into the juicer. It's a refreshing, light drink that leaves you wanting more.

Simple Alfalfa Sprout Cocktail
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice

High Iron Smoothie
2 cups apple juice
2 bananas
1/2 cup raisins soaked in apple juice
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lecithin (optional)
1/2 sesame seeds (optional)
Blend in a blender!

Alfalfa Smoothie
1 cup alfalfa sprouts1

1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 banana
Blend in a blender!

Liquid Light
1 part carrot
1 part apple
1/4 part beet
1/8 part wheatgrass
3 comfrey leaves

Green Blood
1 quart carrot juice
8 oz any green juice
1 oz celery
1 fresh tomato
handful of parsley
kelp and cayenne to taste (optional)

Rejuvenator
2 oz wheatgrass
2 oz rejuvelac

Sweet Grass
1 oz wheatgrass
3 oz pineapple

Up next: the winner of Easy Raw Holidays!

Love,
Althea

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My Unconventional Thanksgiving