Raw vegan chili and a raw meal plan for the lazy chef in all of us

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 Hearty bowl of raw chili

Ok, it's been a great great weekend for many reasons: went to an amazing clothing swap put on by V. A. S. T., went to my adorable niece's birthday party, attended a wonderful raw potluck (yum!!), and went to my uncle and dad's joint bday lunch at my uncle's place. And to make everything even better, there were amazing people and conversations throughout it all!

So that part has been great. Of course, all the family get togethers mean that I haven't been eating as raw as I normally do. And I'm really noticing how much better my body does when I'm eating mostly raw. I feel much more grossly full and sluggish on cooked foods. And my throat is burning as it's giving me some serious acid reflux issues. I've also been on this stupid cleanse (I bought it a long time ago and figured I had better use it before it expired and I wasted all that money). I'm sure it's great and everything, but it involves swallowing 4 HORSE PILLS in the morning and SIX AT NIGHT. Omg, it's brutal! My throat closes up like one pill in! Ugh, next time I am sticking to tea based cleanses; SO much more enjoyable.

Oh yeah, AND I'm giving a presentation to a bunch of clients tomorrow with some senior people. I don't mind giving presentations in general but I'm still kind of nervous. OH AND my eyebrows are a MESS; but I can't do anything about them because I have an appointment on tuesday for them. I would feel much better about all of this if I didn't look like I lived in a forest before the existence of mirrors. Anyway, this is not helping with the burning throat issue. AT ALL.

Anyway, back to happier times...at the potluck, I was speaking to a bunch of people about going raw and the inherent challenges of doing so. And it came out of that that one of the biggest challenges were: what to eat on a daily basis. So, here's a meal plan for a delicious raw day (and yes, I snack A LOT). All these items are super easy to make - perfect for a rawbie (newbie + raw?) who wants more than just salad (though, you know me and salad so god knows why! :P), a busy girl/boy who appreciates delicious food and/or the lazy chef in all of us. BONUS: these are all delicious items your non-raw friends and family will also enjoy!:

• breakfast: cinnamon banana pancake topped with strawberries and banana slices and a drizzle of agave nectar
• snack: fruit
• lunch: chili (recipe below)
• snack: chocolate chip cookie dough balls (the linked to recipe, just rolled into balls instead)
• dinner: simple salad (lettuce with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. maybe with some pumpkin seeds on it too.), portabello mushroom streaks and cauliflower mashed "potatoes" 
• dessert: chocolate chip cookie dough balls and/or some fruit

Easy as can be!

Now for the chili recipe...Ok, so note that this recipe can be made with whatever veggies you have one hand really. This is just how I make it. It's very flexible, so you can customize to flavours you like best :)

To make
1 zucchini
2 beefsteak tomatoes (or the equivalent in other types of tomatoes - beefsteak were just the only canadian ones around. and they're deLICOUS!!! Seriously, how have I not known about their wonderfulness before!)
1/3 red onion (or 1 small yellow onion)
3 cloves garlic, derooted
1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded
1 medium carrot
3-4 portabello mushroom caps
1/4c coriander
1 red pepper
cumin, to taste (meaning I didn't measure well...maybe 2tsp?)
tumeric, to taste (see note next to cumin...)

OK, so remember in a previous post I was ranting about how wonderful food processors are because you never need to hand-chop anything ever again?? Well, guess what! For this recipe, we are not going to chop one thing by hand. Yay!!
So, have a big bowl nearby. Using the S-blade of your food processor, chop one veggie at a time, achieving the desired texture with each before moving on to the next (meaning: don't just go for over processed mush for all of them, strive for a little variety!). Once you're done with one veggie, empty the contents of the food processor into the big bowl, and move on to the next veggie!

I stir in the spices at the end, once all the veggies are in the big bowl.

For a protein punch, add some curried lentil sprouts (mix lentil sprouts with olive oil, cumin, tumeric and cayenne until well coated) or walnuts ground with a bit of cumin.

Enjoy your day in the raw!! Told you it'd be easy!!