Newbie questions

[Momof3]

Hey all! I'm a newbie here and began YESTERDAY with ALL RAW! My DH is doing this with me and we plan to include the children in as much as we can as well.
I have ordered organic raw veggies, nuts dates etc. online and a dehydrator but they haven't arrived. Our local selection of organic food is nearly non existent and I usually drive to Memphis (1 1/2hrs away) to shop at Wild Oats for our organic produce. I read Alissa's book this past weekend and watched the video as well.
So on to the newbie questions... As I said, I'm waiting on most of my items but I don't want to wait until they arrive to eat all raw. Other than salad and fruit I'd love a recipe that doesn't call for Braggs, Cashews, Macadamia nuts, avocado, nori or a dehydrator that I can make for dinner TONIGHT. No pressure or anything. ;) LOL
What do you do when organic foods aren't available? Is it ok to eat non-organic produce?
How do you plan extended vacations away from your raw kitchen and its wonderful gadgets? Certainly restaurants are not going to have all organic produce on hand. We have two big vacations coming up in May and July and I want to be prepared.
TIA for all your help!
Deanna:o)

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi and welcome Deanna!

Well, let's see...about eating organic vs. inorganic...of course organic is best, but you can't NOT eat just because you don't have access to organic (or in my case, can't afford to buy ALL organic with my family size). So, you do what you can.

As for something you can fix for dinner tonight under the stipulations you provided...

You can make Alissa's Mock Salmon Pate' which is posted on her website but I'll copy and paste here for convenience:

Mock Salmon Pate

A delicious pink pate with a hint of salmon flavor! I eat this all the time on top of a large salad with a vinaigrette dressing. It’s such an easy pate to prepare and oh so delicious!

* 2 cups walnuts
* 2 stalks celery
* 1 large red bell pepper
* 1 large scallion
* ½ -1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serving suggestions: This can be served on a plate as is, over a salad, rolled up in a green leaf, or spread on (dehydrated) crackers.

And for dessert, you could whip up some banana "ice cream" or the butter pecan icecream posted here on this site (get the bananas into the freezer now so they'll be ready) I'll try and dig up the recipe right quick.

From Melissa's post:
Butter pecan ice cream

A couple of frozen bananas, a generous dollop of raw honey, vanilla extract, a big pinch of salt. Toss it all in the food processor and process until smooth (add a tiny bit of warm water to help blend if needed.) Then add the pecans and pulse chop them, not finely ground if you like chunks in your ice cream like I do. That's it. It's divine.

OR...you could do the Date Nut Torte (also on Alissa's site, but I'll post here):

Date Nut Torte

Fudgy, creamy and sweet!
I bring this with me when I’m visiting someone I’d like to introduce to raw food. People can’t believe it’s raw! And it’s one of the quickest and easiest desserts to make.

Base of Tort:

* 2 cups raisins
* 2 cups walnuts

Frosting:

* 1 cup dates, pitted and soaked
* 1/2 lemon, juiced

For Base:
1. In a food processor, combine raisins and walnuts and blend until well blended and moist. (This will take a few minutes and you may see it forming a ball. Just make sure the raisins come out looking like a fudgey mixture and are not still grainy)
2. Remove from processor and mold onto a plate in a round circle about 1 1/2 inches thick.

For Frosting:
1. In a food processor, combine dates and lemon juice until smooth and creamy.
2. Spread the frosting on top of the torte

Note: I like this served at room temperature as the frosting and torte are still sticky, but if you want a firmer texture that will be easier to slice, refrigerate it for a few hours.

If not these, check out http://fromsadtoraw.com as there are many recipes posted there and I'm sure you'd find something that you could work with until your appliances and goodies arrive!

[Momof3]

Thanks for the suggestions! I need to run to the store for a red pepper (only have green) and change up the walnuts for pecans due to an allergy but it sounds great! My DH is a little worried about eating only salads all the time so I will be thrilled when the dehydrator comes. Do you have any experience with traveling/vacationing raw?
Deanna

[DotfromOz]

Alissa's book has several recipes for fruit leathers as well as for breads, cakes and crackers. Any of those would be great to make in that dehydrator you're getting and to stash for travel. Flax seed crackers are especially good crumbled over a restaurant salad, I think, particularly if you can't get a very creative salad wherever you are.

[vegangelist]

Mom of 3,

Good luck on this new journey.

You will find that there are tons of things to eat/make that don't involve dehydrating.

In fact, I don't use mine that often. maybe a few times a month.

Lots of food processor recipes or blender soups, sauces, etc that don't require dehydrator at all. So, you will be living the raw high life by the time the dehydrator arrives and you will wonder why you were so anxious for it :)

kristi

[Momof3]

Thanks ladies! I'm so excited I am having a hard time sitting still. Dinner was awesome! My husband keep going...mmmm....mmmm with every bite and the kids totally pigged out on the bananna ice cream! Who needs all that processed food when this is so good AND easy?! :D

[Rawkinlocs]

That is so WONDERFUL to hear that your raw dinner was a hit with the family!!

I know that must have been a great feeling :)

[FinallyRaw]

MomOf3 - I have been raw for 11 months and didn't get a dehydrator until a couple of weeks ago and have only used it twice so far. There are PLENTY of recipes that don't need a dehydrator, one of my favs is fettuccini alfredo or spaghetti with marinara sauce. I would definately recommend Alissa's book or just search a lot of sites for recipes.

Good luck and keep up the rawsome job.