Raw Dehydrated Sweet Wood Almonds. From "Living Cuisine" of Renee UnderKoffler.
Sweet & Savory. With Garlic, Ginger, Chili powder, and sweetener.
Sweet & Savory. With Garlic, Ginger, Chili powder, and sweetener.
One Thanksgiving I was browsing online at the Pure Food and Wine's "Raw Vegan Thanksgiving", and the price was pretty high. Not that I wouldn't have considered it, if we lived in the same time zone. So I looked through Sarma Melngailis's latest book, "Living Raw Food" and found most of the Thanksgiving recipes there!!! So I went all out and actually made the whole meal. Not all of these photos are from those recipes, but I did make the Raw Vegan Stuffing, the Raw Vegan Mashed Potatoes, the Raw Vegan Gravy. Before I knew it, my husband was starting getting into the holiday vibe, and decided to to make cooked versions of all the "traditional" stuff! We had only a few people over and a major feast!
A raw dish that everyone already eats! Guacamole!
Raw Vegan Cashew Cheese.
Vegan Stuffing.
Raw Vegan Cashew Cheese. Cashews with Chives, spice, and Vegan Probiotics (to help ferment). Just a Food Processor needed. Easy.
Raw Vegan Sweet Spiced Sprouted Walnuts. From Renee Underkoffler's "Living Cuisine"
Walnuts, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Sweetener (Coconut Syrup would be my current choice, or stevia).
Walnuts, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Sweetener (Coconut Syrup would be my current choice, or stevia).
Hubby's take on "Sausage Cheese" balls with MatchMeat and Daiya Cheese. He wasn't happy with the outcome-they were a thing from his childhood. A bit dry. Meat & Cheese has SO much fat in it that to get the same effect, you really have to add a lot of oil to the recipe, and we are both so "over" extra oil. There was already some oil in the MatchMeat and Daiya, so he didn't want to add a ton more. They were fine though. I never had these growing up. I don't think I have ever even had sausage in my life.
Hubby also always makes a healthier, veganized Chex Mix. Flax Crackers with Raw Vegan Taco dip from "Cafe Gratitude" in background. My aunt brought some delicious Spicy Jelly from her Herb Club. The band-aids are for my lack of cutting skills. Oh, and can't forget the splurge on olives from Whole Foods.
A Feast!
Raw Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake from the "Cafe Gratitude" sweet collection.
Amazing what Raw Butternut Squash and Coconut oil will create in the Vita-Mix. I actually prefer Raw Pumpkin pies to cooked!! Sometimes I just throw some yams or winter squash in the Vita-Mix with some dates, water, and spices and make a "Pumpkin Pudding" in minutes.
Sweet Gratitude: A New World of Raw Desserts
Amazing what Raw Butternut Squash and Coconut oil will create in the Vita-Mix. I actually prefer Raw Pumpkin pies to cooked!! Sometimes I just throw some yams or winter squash in the Vita-Mix with some dates, water, and spices and make a "Pumpkin Pudding" in minutes.
Sweet Gratitude: A New World of Raw Desserts
Raw Vegan Cheesecake from Cafe Gratitude Book. |
Raw Vegan Marinated Portabellas in Ginger Vinaigrette from Alissa Cohen's "Living On Live Food" Book. Just pop them in the dehydrator! I used to make these all the time, so easy, and yummy. If I made them now, I would skip the olive oil and hope they would still pack in the flavor.
Living on Live Food
Living on Live Food
Shrooms Vs. Breast Cancer?
Never thought the Mushroom would be the best defense!
Raw Vegan Brussel Sprouts from the "Living Raw" book. These were better than expected but I kind of prefer the ease of frozen brussel sprouts......
Raw Vegan Mashed Root Vegetables from the "Living Raw Food" book. With Nuts, Celeriac, Jicama, Parsnips, Olive Oil, Nutritional Yeast, Truffle oil and more. Other people liked this one but I wasn't 100% sold on it. It was good though, maybe just the texture and the denseness.
Raw Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Juliano's "Raw" book. Super easy, but a lot of sweetener. These days I would choose the Coconut Syrup in hopes that it is better than the agave or maple syrup as far as glycemic level and health.
Miss Hamlin's Cranberry Sauce from "Living on Live Food" of Alissa Cohen.. This was hands down the best cranberry sauce dish I have ever had. It was the only raw one I have ever had, so that could very well be part of it. And incredibly simple & cheap to make.
The Raw Vegan (Lemon) Cheesecakes are an all time favorite of mine. Okay, this particular recipe is heavy on the raw nuts and coconut oil. So it isn't on the Engine 2 or Esselstyn plan. But then again, I wasn't either. I am still not, but I am favoring less fats and try to avoid oil now. I would never turn down a piece of raw cheesecake though. From the "I am Grateful" book of Cafe Gratitude.
Raw Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake.
Raw Vegan Cheesecake.
And here is the Raw Vegan Stuffing from the "Living on Raw Food" book. Surprisingly, it went over really well. Full of Cauliflower, Pecans, Celery, Carrots, Onion, Truffle oil and herbs. I liked this better than the "Mashed Root Vegetables".
Raw Vegan Pad Thai Kelp Noodles from Ani Phyo's. More coconut oil......bad girl. Super easy recipe though. All you need is a blender and you don't have to use Kelp Noodles. I use Zucchini a lot.
Raw Vegan Pad Thai Kelp Noodles. Okay, this didn't go with the whole Thanksgiving theme at all. But no one had tried Kelp Noodles yet, so I had to make them!!
Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food
Gold Mine Kelp Noodles, 16-Ounce (Pack of 6)
I used "Sea Tangle" brand. But it looks like GoldMine makes them too, and you can buy 6 packs from Amazon.
Gold Mine Kelp Noodles, 16-Ounce (Pack of 6)
I used "Sea Tangle" brand. But it looks like GoldMine makes them too, and you can buy 6 packs from Amazon.
Cooked Vegan Sweet Potatoes.
Cooked Vegan Traditional Green Bean Casserole made with organic green beans and then some super earthy crunchy type of fried onion topping. (I think my hubby knew I wasn't very likely to eat the Durkee or whatever the regular brand is)
Vegan Stuffing.
Sweet Potatoes.
Cooked Vegan Mashed Potatoes. My hubby makes the BEST comfort food. With Earth Balance (before we gave up oil!)
This is where he went crazy. He got THREE types of thanksgiving roasts from the store. I think his excuse was "to compare" them. I only had small bites as I was eating gluten free. He likes that kind of stuff more than me. MatchMeat Roast, Field Roast & Tofurkey. I totally rolled my eyes but he loved trying all of them.
Just one of a zillion reasons to skip the meat.....especially Turkey! 42% of Turkeys were infected with C-diff...something that doesn't "cook" out in everyday living. Think of it as the .5% that Anti-Bacterial Gels/Soaps don't destroy. Not a pretty picture! MRSA in the Meat Supply?? 50% of Farm Workers carried MRSA. And it's in the Meat Supply too! In the hospital you have to "gown up" and get "gloved" to be in the same ROOM as people with MRSA in their system. Dr. G. suggests "gloving" up before touching anything "meaty". And maybe even "Meat Eaters". Have a safe Thanksgiving. Stick to Touching Vegans.
I love this little girl!!!!
And Ellen's Chef making some Vegan Thanksgiving Eats.
And no arguments that Big Strong Men can't be Vegan!! Here is John Salley on the Rachel Ray show.
Recent Posts:
Recent Posts:
* Weiner Warts. STD's from Meat? HPV in the Kitchen. "No Honey, it wasn't another man. Just a slab of bacon". "Cock Cancer". It's not Just For the Chickens.
Fiery Eggplant from "The Indian Slow Cooker Book" by Anupy Singla.
What are your Thanksgiving plans? How is everyone dealing with the Turkey Eaters this Holiday? What are you favorite Vegan Holiday Dishes?
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This is so great! I'm so happy to see such a high raw Thanksgiving, especially when a lot of people stop eating raw for the cooler months (myself included). The raw root veg mash is especially interesting. Mmm.
ReplyDeleteI also love the picture of the table setting! Your dining room looks straight out of the Addams family with all that dark velvet and antique lighting! (That's a compliment.)
Wow, what a feast! It's so great that you & your hubby have tried such a variety, raw & cooked. I love that stained glass lamp. Pretty!
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I was already eating a lot of mushrooms when I got my estrogen-negative breast cancer, but you can't win them all! Your Thanksgiving feast looks awesome. I am really looking forward to some great food this year - might take some of your references!
ReplyDeleteI have never felt so hungry! What a delicious post!
ReplyDeleteYou were very busy! We love mushrooms! Good videos I want everyone to watch the one about chicken/turkeys but now I don't even want to touch any family members and I want to bring my own cutting board and stuff so it doens't get contaminated. Blah! Veggies rock!
ReplyDeleteBoy, what a feast you had that year! Such a wonderful variety of dishes to please almost everyone's tastes. It seems like you have a mysterious reader tucked in the background in one of your pics. As far as shrooms, one of my faves, I'll have no trouble digging into even more of them. The video on the superbugs is causing me to call my mom once I leave this comment. I'm going to have her look at that and link her to the doc's website. I love her too much to just let her harm herself. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks amazing! Great job on the pumpkin pie(I used to be a pastry chef at Cafe Gratitude! For real!) What kind of probiotic did you use in the cashew cheese? I've been dying to make a fermented raw cheese, but I have yet to. Also, can I come over and nosh out? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning feast! I can't decide what looks best here, it's all making me so hungry.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, there's so much good stuff in this post my head is spinning!
ReplyDeleteI think my plans just changed. I coming to eat with you! :o) I've never seen such a fabulous feast.
ReplyDeleteI need to check out some of those books. I think I have "I am Grateful" in my wish list on Amazon.com. I'm going there right now to add some of these books. Great post!
There is so much to admire in this post. I remember thinking how much I'd love to have a raw Thanksgiving last year after reading a few blogs who had one. I will definitely try to add some raw dishes this year. The stuffing looks interesting, and I could go for the raw cheese dishes.
ReplyDeleteP.S. is that your home? I love the purple chairs.
ReplyDeleteraw vegan mashed root vegetables huh? sorry, looks ...really nasty! surely it must have tasted better, and maybe it's the light in the photo, but that greyish colour? pass the potatoes.
ReplyDelete@Jenny. We did the pictures after the pies had been sitting out for hours. It is an art to get them the exact temperature!! I think after they have been in the freezer to "set" for the short time, then they seem fine in the fridge. But if they get left out for too long then the coconut oil gets too soft and they are still yummy but don't have that beautiful slicing quality. @graceunderpressure. Yeah. It was funny that everyone else seemed to like the raw vegan mashed potatoes and for whatever reason they were not my favorite. Maybe too "fatty" tasting with the nuts? The raw vegan stuffing was good though and I loved all the other raw dishes. It was all an "experiment" and it was fun! We did have cooked vegan potatoes also, compliments to my husband who is delicious raw or cooked! :)
ReplyDelete