Food in the Raw

Okay, so I’m not talking about eating my meals in the nude—I mean food that’s mostly raw, fresh, vibrant, and full of flavour.

Lately, I’ve been leaning into some of my favourite mostly raw recipes that are not only super scrumptious but also quick to make (which is ideal, since my little bambino is a cat-napper some days—these recipes are often prepped, eaten, and cleaned up before she’s awake and ready to play again).

So I thought I’d share one of my go-to favourites:

Lettuce Salad Wraps

For the last three years, every time I went to Melbourne to attend the Wellness Summit, I made it a tradition to visit The Vegie Bar (check them out here). One of their standout dishes was a lettuce wrap served with warm jackfruit on the side—next level delicious.

When I manage to get my hands on jackfruit from a whole-food store, I recreate their version at home. But most of the time, I keep it simple and fresh with this combo:

What you’ll need:

  • Cos lettuce leaves (nature’s perfect little wrap!)

  • Grated carrot (don’t hold back)

  • Sliced avocado (the chunkier the better)

  • Sliced capsicum

  • Sliced cucumber

  • Lemon wedge

  • A drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Just layer your toppings onto each lettuce leaf, finish with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of balsamic, roll it up, and enjoy.

Honestly, in my book, there’s no such thing as too much grated carrot or too-big chunks of avocado in these wraps.

They’re colourful, crunchy, satisfying—and best of all, ready in minutes.

Then place one of each topping in your lettuce leaf and dress with lemon and balsamic and roll it up and enjoy. In my mind you can never have too much grated carrot or too big a chunk of avocado slice in these little wraps!

 

Asian Carrot Avocado Salad (with ginger dressing)

This is seriously my favourite salad ever! Its such a quick and easy salad to make and even better, the dressing can be made in advance and added on just before you eat – so lends itself well to those healthy ‘foodie’ get togethers.

Salad:

4 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1 shallot, sliced (white and 1 inch of green parts)

1/2 cup raw sesame seeds  (with 2 Tbspoons set aside)

1 medium avacado, chopped

Dressing:

2 Tbsp linseed oil

3 Tbsp lime juice

1 1/2 Tbsp tamari sauce (or soya sauce)

1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

1Tbsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp rice syrup (maple syrup)

Toss: grate carrots and toss in a large bowl with parsley, cilantro, shallots and sesame seeds (reserving 2 Tbsp for later.) and set aside.

Blend: in a food processor, blend oil, lime juice, Tamara, ginger and ground coriander and rice syrup.

Combine: pour dressing over salad and toss well. Gently fold in avocado and sprinkle reserved sesame seeds on top before serving.

 

Chia Pudding –

This is just seriously so delish! Chia pudding is my go to dessert now for after kids have gone (the kids love them and we often have them for breakfast too but its sometimes nice to eat in silence!). I just love how nourished and good I feel after eating them! I often serve mine with pear and cashews cream (blended up in food processor) and fresh berries and macadamia’s but seriously you could pretty much go crazy and put anything on top and it would totally rock!

Chia Pudding:

90 g chia seeds

600 g almond milk

4 Tbsp Maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and stir while heating briefly till mixture warms a little and ensures there isn’t any lumps. Then put into a glass container and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

Cashew cream:

2 cup raw cashews (soaked in warm water for 2 hours and drained if you have time)

1 container of pears in natural juice

blend in a food processor until smooth and creamy

 

Serve layered with chia and pear cream and top with fresh berries and macadamia nuts

 

So go and enjoy eating in the RAW…with your clothes on!