As Easy as A-B-C-De-tox

Since the post-race week is all about rest and recuperation, I decided that I would R&R my whole system as well. This has involved lots of sleeping-in, lots of swimming, and an entirely raw diet.

Now, during an average week, I'd say I'm 70-80% raw. I'm always RBD (Raw Before Dinner; patent pending) but since I'm responsible for feeding my roommate too, I usually cook something for dinner. And to be honest, since I started eating more raw-ly, I had never gone more than two or three days totally raw. After my success with the half-marathon I felt this was the week to try it.

Let me preface my list of things I've eaten/raw recipes by saying - I FEEL AWESOME. I'm rarely hungrier than I was eating cooked food, I think I'm sleeping better, I'm definitely better hydrated, and I think my skin is clearer (though that might have something to do with the lack of sweating I've been doing this week). I FEEL AWESOME.

Anyway, the first few days I kept things pretty simple. Green Lemonade for breakfast, lots of raw salads and veggies with raw dressing for lunch, and salads with raw nuts and dried raw fruit for dinner. Carob nibs or raw chocolate chips for dessert and lots of tea.

Last night, though, I thought I'd get creative. I borrowed a new raw cookbook from some friends and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites. Raw Food/Real World has a lot of recipes that are complicated or labor intensive (lots of dehydrating and cleaver-ing open young coconuts) but I really like the mind-set behind it. The authors (like myself) advocate raw eating because it makes them look and feel good. Plus, they're adorable.

That combined with the new Dry Blade container for my blender (thanks mom!) resulted in two very interesting "rice" dishes. Here's last nights dish:

Jicama Coucous with Red Peppers and Currants

1 jicama, chopped
1/2 cup ish of pine nuts
scant cup of currants
scant 1/2 cup of walnut oil
1 red pepper, chopped
3 bulb onions, chopped
Sea salt


In a dry-blade blender (or food processor) pulse the jicama until it resembles coucous. Transfer to a fine-mesh colander and rinse until the water runs out clear. Press with paper towels to remove as much of the water as you can. Scrape into a large bowl.
In the same blender, pulse the pine nuts until finely ground. Add to the jicama.
Stir in the currants, red pepper, and onions.
Pour the oil over everything and stir well.
Add salt to taste (I used about 6 turns on a small store bought mill).


Roomie and I ate this over a bed of romaine and it was delicious. Crunchy and sweet and nothing really like couscous, but still filling.


Dessert was raw almonds and dried pineapple. I have a cheap-o, infomercial-style dehydrator. It was an obviously re-gifted wedding present that, at the time, quickly found a home in the back of my parent's basement. I recently unearthed it (yes, I put another appliance in my tiny apartment kitchen) to begin experimenting with raw flat breads. I figured I would start fairly easy and dehydrate some fruit. I will never eat store bought pineapple slices again.


Tonight I turned to my raw bible (The Raw Food Detox Diet) for a rice and salad recipe. It is hard to describe how much fun it is to have two different containers for my blender base. I feel like an actual chef when I can whip up some sauce in one container and then put on the dry container, chop up some salad and then combine the two. Seriously high speed.


Anyway, parsnips were one the menu tonight:


Japanese Rice Salad w/ Raw Teryaki Sauce


1 large parsnip, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tbs. raw honey
1 tbs. rice vinegar
3 tbs. Raw Teryaki Sauce (recipe below)


Pulse the parsnip in a dry-blade blender or food processor until it resembles rice grains. Transfer to a wire-mesh colander and rinse well until the water runs out clear. Pat dry with paper towels and scrape into a bowl.


In the same blender container, pulse the pine nuts, honey, and vinegar until they reach a crunchy-PB-like consistency. Add to the parsnips and mix well to coat. Add the teryaki sauce, mix well to coat, and set aside.


Raw Teryaki Sauce


1/2 cup tamari
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cheater garlic
1/8 tsp. sesame chili oil
1/4 tsp. sesame chile oil


Blend all the ingredients until emulsified. Feel free to adjust the ratio between the sesame oils if you like your teryaki spicier.


While the "rice" is sitting, prepare the salad.


1 cup-ish fresh pineapple
1 red pepper, chopped
1-2 green onions, chopped well
1-2 tsp dry basil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbs rice wine vinegar
1/2 head of napa or celery cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots


Place all the ingredients except the cabbage and carrots in a very large bowl and mix well. Try and mash the pineapples a bit while you're mixing to release some of the juices. Add the cabbage and carrots and toss to coat.


Spoon the teryaki rice onto beds of the salad mixture and serve.


This dish was a-to-the-mazing. The multiple layers of sweet (maple syrup in the teryaki, honey in the rice, pineapples and peppers in the salad) make for a really complex dish. I didn't have any wine on hand, but crisp sauv blanc or pino grigio would've paired nicely.


This weekend I'm traveling to Cleveland for Easter so I'll have to break my raw fast for a day or two. But you can bet your dehydrated banana slices I'll be back in the raw come Monday morning.