How often do you make a recipe?

[Queen Bean]

Once a week?

Every day?

What proportion of your meals are just whole foods ie some grapes/an apple/celery and carrot sticks/a handful of nuts, and what proportion are recipes?

[rawrawks]

Mostly I eat simple raw.

Lately I have been making recipes for my video series. I freeze the things because they are too heavy for my body. (nuts n all that)

I love simple but once in a while a recipe food is nice! It is whatever my body needs. I listen

[Dimond]

Usually simple ones daily. Since I make the same ones so often, I can automatically do it without a recipe or measurements. I try to have 2-3 liquid meals (smoothies & soups) and the rest whole foods, though it varies. Some days are just 1 liquid. Fats are usually kept minimum 1-2 meals, though again, it varies. Eventually I will cut back even greater on fats since I really don't need much.

[DebB]

I use a recipe just about daily.

Maybe 25% of my meals are just 1 whole food - usually bananas for breakfast (followed a bit later by a green smoothie). *Ü*

[RawKnitster]

If we are counting salad dressings as a recipe, then everyday. I usually have a green smoothie for brunch, and a recipe of some kind for dinner. The only time I eat a single food by itself is for a snack. There is no way I could stay on a raw food diet eating only rabbit food. That, and I love the process of making things. :)

[klomasius]

Is a salad considered a recipe?

If so then once to twice a day.

If you mean non salad, more involved and heavy recipes then maybe once every 1-2 weeks at the moment, sometimes once a week or so if I have the time.

I love making recipes but rarely ever get time to and can't eat too many heavy recipes in a row without feeling a bit heavy and yucky.

I'll be hosting an introductory raw food workshop soon and have had to think back on what I used to eat to charm people into loving raw. If I told them I just eat salads and fruits lots many of them would look at me as if I were mad!

[Queen Bean]

Thanks for your information everyone.

Klomasius, do you eat your salads plain, or do you make dressings?

[klomasius]

Queen Bean,

mostly my salad dressing consists of a dash of raw sesame oil and a sprinkle of himalaya salt. I find this tastes fantastic, but the main reason I do it is to save time. I just have so much on lately that making quick foods is just an ideal way to eat. This and easy pack fruits and veg.

I just don't have the cravings for involved raw foods anymore, but still enjoy making and eating them (as just another avenue of variety).

[Queen Bean]

Thanks Klomasius.

By the way, have you checked out Melbourne's first raw food restaurant? Le Cru in Albert Park.

[klomasius]

Haha! Most definitely I have, multiple times. And I'm going there tomorrow!

[Cynthia Z]

I eat the same thing everyday....
I have a fruit salad for breakfast with a green juice, I make a double recipe of onion bread every 2 weeks and have that with the Zucchini hummus which is sooo easy to make and crazy good! I also put some avocado, lettuce and sprouts on it. For dinner, I have a big salad with any veggie on hand and some dried mullberries. I use Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, a little lemon and just a tiny tiny bit of raw agave----it is sooooo YUM!

With thanks,
Cynthia Z

[Queen Bean]

Wow, Cynthia, it sounds like you have it all sorted.

Klomasius, I went there and took away the pizza, a cake and flax seed crackers. Servings were small and that cost me $26, but I understand it is labour intensive. It was delicious.

What's your stance on maple syrup?

What's Irish Moss?

[klomasius]

QB, it's lovely stuff but very expensive. I'd love to see a Vegie Bar type raw food place open up, casual atmosphere, hearty servings at decent prices.

Are you in or near Melbourne? A friend and I are holding a casual raw food workshop on behalf of our local veg organisation VNV (www.vnv.org.au) next wednesday in Fitzroy if you are interested. It's a $5 pitch in just for the cost of the food and we'll be making a bunch of stuff and having fun! Let me know if you are interested and I'll send you the details.

I don't eat maple syrup because it's been boiled for hours and is not raw. There are heaps of raw alternatives though.

Irish moss is basically unprocessed carageenan gum, it's used as a thickener in sweets like mousse and cheesecake etc. You can buy it here in Melb from the Living food Cooperative. I have some in my fridge.

p.s. I reckon I make FAR better pizza than Le Cru and have been challenged to prove it by a mate at the raw food workshop, so if you come along you can have some of my raw pizza!

[Queen Bean]

Hi Klomasius.

I really don't get the maple syrup thing. I go into a raw restaurant, buy a raw cake, and as I leave I'm told it has maple syrup in it. It just seems incongruous that it is used so much in raw recipes.

Where did you buy your dehydrator?

One day, raw will be easier and more accessible. One day. (Speaking of the Vegie Bar, I went there one night and asked for a raw salad. They wouldn't give it to me. I could only order what's on the menu, and the salad had roast vegetables in it!!)

I'm in Melbourne. I've lived in a number of houses in Fitzroy. (Am in South Yarra at the moment.)

I am extremely interested in your workshop. (Can you send details to chalupa.peabody@gmail.com?) Unfortunately for me I can only eat raw fruit and vegetables and no fat that particular day. I am on a self-designed transition plan (I eat a cooked dinner every second day). I've been on and off raw for 20 years!! But I would still love to watch. I really need to learn to un-cook.

So you think Irish Moss is healthy?

Where is the Living Food Cooperative?

I really want to learn to make pizza and flax crackers.

Raw pizza at Le Cru was quite delicious, but didn't look like the pizza I've drooled over in raw food photos. It was more like a flax cracker with chopped tomato and capsicum and a couple of different sauces.

[Green_Woman]

Green Smoothies, Crackers, Veggie Dips, Raw Soups and Mono foods popped into my taste-loving mouth are about all I do unless I'm trying to be creative for my fiance. :D

I haven't made a big fancy recipe since I tried the Calzone a couple weeks ago...

But I do enjoy recipes! I just don't have time this week. :eek:

[klomasius]

Hi Klomasius.

I really don't get the maple syrup thing. I go into a raw restaurant, buy a raw cake, and as I leave I'm told it has maple syrup in it. It just seems incongruous that it is used so much in raw recipes.

Where did you buy your dehydrator?

One day, raw will be easier and more accessible. One day. (Speaking of the Vegie Bar, I went there one night and asked for a raw salad. They wouldn't give it to me. I could only order what's on the menu, and the salad had roast vegetables in it!!)

I'm in Melbourne. I've lived in a number of houses in Fitzroy. (Am in South Yarra at the moment.)

I am extremely interested in your workshop. (Can you send details to chalupa.peabody@gmail.com?) Unfortunately for me I can only eat raw fruit and vegetables and no fat that particular day. I am on a self-designed transition plan (I eat a cooked dinner every second day). I've been on and off raw for 20 years!! But I would still love to watch. I really need to learn to un-cook.

So you think Irish Moss is healthy?

Where is the Living Food Cooperative?

I really want to learn to make pizza and flax crackers.

Raw pizza at Le Cru was quite delicious, but didn't look like the pizza I've drooled over in raw food photos. It was more like a flax cracker with chopped tomato and capsicum and a couple of different sauces.

Yeah, the maple syrup thing is just one of those misunderstandings that will keep happening for a while until raw is a bit more established. We just need to keep reminding them that maple syrup isn't raw and it'll finally stop. The same thing happened when veganism when it started entering mainstream.

I'll send you the details of the workshop, it'd be great if you could come!

We'll have big bowls of green salad there as well as a green smoothie if this fits in with your diet.

:D

By the way, the vegie bar's greek salad is raw, just get them to take out the olives, feta, etc. They definitely do this.

Also, the berry blast is raw and you can get them to blend spinach into it as well. You just need to make sure to tell them to blend it in, I've had it bought out to me with spinach leaves on the top!

The living foods cooperative doesn't have a location as such, but I can get you put on the email list of you like.

Any help you need locating raw stuff in Melbourne, you only need message me!

meg.

[Eva]

I make more recipes for my classes, but if it weren't for the classes.... maybe once a day? Or every other day? Not every meal or anything.... And "making a recipe" for me is generally throwing things together as I see fit, not so much looking in a book and using someone else's recipe. Throw togethers are so much more fun!

[Queen Bean]

Thanks Klomasius.

I've emailed you about the workshop.

I've been going to the Vegie Bar for years, but was frustrated by the fact that I couldn't get a raw salad. They said that after 6pm, they won't alter the menu. I even called them about this. So I had dinner there with friends and drank a juice. They wouldn't even give me a tofu burger minus the tofu burger (when it came with a side salad). It was farcical.

I'd love to know if I can get any raw products in Melbourne. I know that Spoil Me Raw raw ice-cream (amazing) (Qld based) is coming into some health food shops down here soon. I can get a range of raw bars and chocolate from a health food shop in Prahran. I'd really love to find flax seed crackers somewhere. Also, do you know anywhere you can buy dehydrators, or did you order yours on-line?

Eva, yeah I tend to be more intuitive with my recipes - not measuring things out exactly.

[klomasius]

Thanks Klomasius.

I've emailed you about the workshop.

I've been going to the Vegie Bar for years, but was frustrated by the fact that I couldn't get a raw salad. They said that after 6pm, they won't alter the menu. I even called them about this. So I had dinner there with friends and drank a juice. They wouldn't even give me a tofu burger minus the tofu burger (when it came with a side salad). It was farcical.

I'd love to know if I can get any raw products in Melbourne. I know that Spoil Me Raw raw ice-cream (amazing) (Qld based) is coming into some health food shops down here soon. I can get a range of raw bars and chocolate from a health food shop in Prahran. I'd really love to find flax seed crackers somewhere. Also, do you know anywhere you can buy dehydrators, or did you order yours on-line?

Eva, yeah I tend to be more intuitive with my recipes - not measuring things out exactly.

QB, a group of us have been targeting the Vegie Bar and getting them to alter the greek salad to raw and convert the berry blast to a green smoothie. We've had no problems so far, I think you might have gotten a crappy waiter on that night, come with me one day and I'll show you how I charm them! If I can manage to get a raw meal at an asian mock meat reaturant (possibly the most raw unfriendly type of restaurant ever!) then it's a cinch to charm a place like Vegie Bar!

I'd LOVE to know where to get the raw ice cream! Please tell me!

The bars are probably Livings Foods and the chocolate is probably Loving Earth yes? We sell both of those at Vegetarian Network Victoria (both at a discount for members).

Other raw foods that can be gotten include Raw Treaties, a company that sells raw sweet balls and various cakes at various places including Hawthorn, Albert Park and Brunswick. Organic Food Bar, an oversease import with a 100% raw Omega Flax bar, Loving Earth have a huge range of superfood powders and other products too.

I know a woman who was selling raw crackers to various outlets, but she is moving to Byron Bay so not sure if she still does it.

Some really raw friendly places to shop include Organic Wholefoods (both the Brunswick and the Collingwood stores but in particular the Brunswick one), Sprout in Hawthorn, CERES in Brunswick, Queen Vic Market in the organic section, hmmm.... can't think of the others at the moment but there are heaps.

If there's anything in particular you want to find to buy, let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.

For a dehydrator, I was lucky and spotted a ten tray Igloo second hand. The woman had only used it twice and had decided to give up on raw food. I got it for $250. You can get them almost as cheap new on the internet now. The Igloo has served me really well, I can also give you the contact details of a woman who sells teflex sheets for it.

Sprout in Hawthorn has the 5 and 9 tray excaliburs on sale there if you want to buy a dehydrator in person (they also have a bunch of raw foods there, I go there for lunch sometimes when I'm a work).

I can put you in touch with a whole bunch of raw businesses that sell stuff, mainly through contacts via the Melbourne Raw Meetup group.

Irish Moss is unprocessed seaweed that, when soaked, acts as a thickener. I think it's fine to use. It's basically the same as eating other seaweeds.

Ooohh, Also, if you dont have a blender, I can talk to you about a cheap and high alternative to the vitamix and blendtec if you like. I have a Sunbeam Cafe Series PB9600 and myself and other rawbies swear by it! It's a quarter of the price!

[Queen Bean]

klomasius. i've just spent nearly an hour writing a reply to you. when i went to submit reply it timed out and i lost everything.

not happy jan.

i will reply again tomorrow. but thanks so much for all your great info.

[klomasius]

klomasius. i've just spent nearly an hour writing a reply to you. when i went to submit reply it timed out and i lost everything.

not happy jan.

i will reply again tomorrow. but thanks so much for all your great info.

Aw, that's really sad and angry making at the same time *gives comforting pat on back*.

As for the help, anytime mdear, anytime. You are among friends here and now you've found some Melbourne friends too! :D

[anniez]

I am working my way through Alissa's book and will make every recipe in it, so I am making at least one recipe every day for now. But my normal pattern was to make a recipe every couple of days. I find that if I eat tasty food I am not at all tempted to SAD food. I eat only fruit in the morning and then have a green smoothie. Then I eat whatever I have fixed for the day. I find that I don't do well on a lot of nuts, so I have cut back on the nut recipes, and I am not eating nuts daily. Right now I am freezing things for Thanksgiving so I can have a variety of foods for myself - I am the only raw eater in my family. I will not be tempted by their foods because I know how I will feel if I eat it!

Good luck to you,

Annie

[Queen Bean]

Klomasius...a kind of briefer version of what I wrote on Saturday...

Regarding Vegie Bar, I remember calling them and speaking to an assistant manager or something. I asked her why I couldn't get a raw salad, and she said they would not alter their menu in the evening. I said 'Could I order a tofu burger without the tofu burger?' and she said 'We couldn't do that. It wouldn't be fair to charge you the full amount for a tofu burger and not give you the tofu burger'. I said 'I am happy to pay the full amount', but she would not budge. It was so incredibly ridiculous. But I am glad to see they are softening their hardline stance. It would be great to witness your ability to charm them. Things evolve quickly, and as people ask for more raw friendly dishes, hopefully it won't be as tricky for me there.

The ice-cream is Spoil Me Raw. I was told that it will start being stocked in Melbourne in late November, and that they will email me then about stockists. So I'll forward that onto you. Their website is www.fromearthandwater.com. If you are ever in Byron Bay or parts of Queensland you can buy it there.

Yes, those are the bars I get. Have you seen the new Raw Revolution flax bars? I like the spirulina one. (The chocolate ones are only 90% raw.)

Thanks for your information on dehydrators. I have to think about getting one soon. I want to find one with a proper temperature gauge, not just low, medium and high.

I have a transition plan I'm following. I can never seem to get through the first ten days. I keep ending up in social situations where I feel I can't get out of eating cooked food. For instance, on Saturday, I went to my boyfriend's nephew's 4th birthday. He (the 4 year old) brought me a slice of his birthday cake, that my boyfriend's mother had made. Plus she doesn't speak English (so it's hard to explain it to her). In their culture, food and hospitality are incredibly important. So anyway, I'm back to the beginning of my transition :( which means that on Wednesday night I won't be on a no-fat - fruit-and-vegetables-only day so there's no need to specifically have a salad and green smoothie, unless you were doing so already. Anyhow, it will just be good to watch you un-cook. I really need to improve my skills, although am still blown away by the raw dessert I made the other day. I do succumb to cooked social 'obligations' a lot, but then again, there are a lot of things I abstain from as well, such as biscuits and cakes at work.

How cool Anniez. If you had a thread with a picture of everything you make from Alissa's book, it would probably be the most popular thread on the forum.

[hellicat]

Queen Bean, I'm in Melbourne too (South Melbourne).

klomasius thanks for that great raw info - I haven't been to vnv yet but have been meaning to check it out. I'm also interested in your raw cooking demo - has that already happened?

Another good resource is passionfoods in south melbourne. They sell some raw stuff (like the loving earth chocolate) and I think I've seen larabars there too. The people are really friendly and I've even managed to score free stuff (like the wilted silverbeet and chard that's perfectly ok but they're not allowed to sell).

Oops sorry to detract from the original post. Now that it's warmer I'm eating heaps of fruit and have less hunger for heavier recipes. Usually I just throw together a salad for lunch and dinner. The most complex recipe would be something like a zucchini pasta and sauce or a veggie slaw with dressing.

[Queen Bean]

Hi Hellicat. I'm in South Yarra. So close. You seem much rawer than me though.

Have you checked out Le Cru? 137 Victoria Ave Albert Park? Melbourne's first raw restaurant.

The workshop is this Wednesday night in Fitzroy. I'm sure Klomasius will get back to you with the details. If not, I'll check in tomorrow and forward them to you.

[klomasius]

QB, I'd love it if you'd keep me posted about the ice cream, it'd be such a novelty to go and buy ice cream again!

As for the Vegie Bar, don't mention the word 'raw' it confuses them! And don't call either, just turn up and make some subtle selections.

Just go there (any time, I was there at night on Saturday) and ask for the greek salad to be made vegan (they just leave out the feta) and ask for the olives and balsamic vinegar to be left out too, then it's raw! I ask for olive oil and salt to be bough to the table, the salt is himalaya.

Also, the Berry Blast is raw, just ask for spinach to be blended in with it, and you've got a green smoothie! Just don't mention the words 'green smoothie' again this confuses them, they are easily confused!

This way, without any fuss, you've got two raw meals, and they are none the wiser!

You should come with me one day and watch me charm, I've had so much experience now I can schmooze asian mock meat restaurants to give me a raw meal!

The igloo dehydrator I have has an actual temp control on it. There are a number of round tray dehydrators that have temp controls on them too. I have a round one with a temp control as well but a friend has that on permanent loan.

Social situations can be hard, they get easier as time goes by. These days I don't even blink about them as people just accept my preferences.

Some great ways to break the ice include bringing your own yummy food to share, offering to help teach people how to make raw foods, training friends and rellies to have a plain no dressing salad at hand when you come around (you can always bring your own dressing) and eating before you go out.

I always leave the house with fruit in my bag, it's a must for me as I'm so darn time poor. So I always have something to eat.

We can talk about ways to help you through at the workshop if you like. :)

Hellicat, the workshop is on this Wednesday, details below:

Following a growing interest in raw food in Melbourne (and within VNV), a group of us will be holding an impromptu raw food workshop on the top level of Kindness House (Kindness Sans Frontiers), 288 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 3065 at 6:30pm on Wednesday November the 25th. This will be a fun evening and a great opportunity to sample some delicious raw living food recipes, discuss raw food and share ideas about food preparation and health. The workshop will be pretty casual – please just bring yourself and $5 to cover the cost of the food. Everyone is welcome – if you would like to come please RSVP to meghan.street-at-gmail.com by Monday the 23rd (but the sooner the better) so that we can get an idea of how many people we are feeding.

We'd love to see you there!

[laura-jane]

Generally I use my dehydrator once a week, and I make a big batch of crackers, veggie burgers, neatballs, cookies, and that kind of thing. Then I make smoothies for breakfast, salads for lunch, and something more interesting for dinner.

[Queen Bean]

Well Klomasius, that was a great workshop.

I have tried making a raw pasta using a vegetable peeler on zucchini and then a pesto. I found it disgusting. But I absolutely loved the zucchini you made into spaghetti strands and the tomato sauce. It was amazing. Also, I absolutely adored the carrot dip and flax seed crackers. Raw food can be so incredibly tasty. I was talking to someone when you made the carrot dip. I didn't actually see the food processor start up. I would have thought carrots would be too hard for a food processor. The spices in the dip made it divine. Also the fudge. Do you know anywhere in Melbourne that sells flax seed crackers (besides Le Cru)?

[klomasius]

Well Klomasius, that was a great workshop.

I have tried making a raw pasta using a vegetable peeler on zucchini and then a pesto. I found it disgusting. But I absolutely loved the zucchini you made into spaghetti strands and the tomato sauce. It was amazing. Also, I absolutely adored the carrot dip and flax seed crackers. Raw food can be so incredibly tasty. I was talking to someone when you made the carrot dip. I didn't actually see the food processor start up. I would have thought carrots would be too hard for a food processor. The spices in the dip made it divine. Also the fudge. Do you know anywhere in Melbourne that sells flax seed crackers (besides Le Cru)?

Glad you liked it QB, it was so lovely to meet so many new people and get some people along that weren't familiar with raw food!

The carrot dip is easy with a good blender, you just chuck the carrrots in and the rest of the ingredients and use the tamper to tamp it down while it's blending (it's usually a lot smoother than it was but I forgot to bring my tamper, another reason why I didn't make the beetroot dip!). If you don't have a vitamix, blendtec or the sunbeam cafe series that I have you can still make the dip but you'll need to chop the carrots up into manageable pieces for the blender (depending on it's capacity). Really simple and you can use heaps of different veggies as a base.

Unfortunately I don't know any place that sells crackers in Melbourne. I did know a woman who was selling them at CERES and a few other places but I'm fairly sure she's stopped as she moved to Byron Bay. Is there anyone you know in your area that has a dehydrator that you could borrow? I have two but my small one has been permanently loaned to a friend.

It won't be too long till they are in some healthfood stores, things are moving really fast down here now. :D If I do find somewhere (and I'm always on the lookout for raw products in the north at least) I'll let you know.

[lovenlife]

I looked up the Sunbeam blender you mentioned and it was prety close to a vitamix price. 279.00 and vita is 300. something.??

[klomasius]

I looked up the Sunbeam blender you mentioned and it was prety close to a vitamix price. 279.00 and vita is 300. something.??

A Vitamix for $300? Can you show me the link? Wow!

Also, I got my Cafe Series for $270 (Australian), but a friend recently got his new for $180 (also in aust dollars).

I think you'll find that vitamixes are a LOT more expensive than $300, but if you have a link to where they are that cheaply priced then SEND IT TO ME ASAP!

[Queen Bean]

thanks klomasius. yeah, i'll look into getting a dehydrator in the new year i think. i bought some flax seed crackers in byron bay that were so incredibly delicious. can i get flax seeds at any health food shop? (sorry, i think i asked you the flax seed cracker question previously, and you had to repeat yourself.)

[klomasius]

thanks klomasius. yeah, i'll look into getting a dehydrator in the new year i think. i bought some flax seed crackers in byron bay that were so incredibly delicious. can i get flax seeds at any health food shop? (sorry, i think i asked you the flax seed cracker question previously, and you had to repeat yourself.)

LOL, ask as many times as you like!

Flax seeds (also known as linseeds) can be gotten at pretty much any large healthfood store. They come in two main varieties, brown and golden. They are relatively the same nutrient wise, the golden are great for making lovely golden coloured pizza bases and crackers. Shops normally have the brown but can have both, just ask the sales person.

If I remember correctly you are down south? As Hellicat mentioned, Passion Foods is good for raw food and I'd be surprised if they didn't have flax seeds.

[Queen Bean]

aha. so linseeds are flax seeds. thanks for that.

(i live in the south, but i must prefer the north. much cooler. i only live in the south because i have free rent with my very fitzroy-esque boyfriend.)

thanks for all your help klomasius.

[klomasius]

Absolutely anytime, for you or anyone else! :D

[hellicat]

QB I'm so excited that you made it to the raw food thing last week! Hopefully I'll make it to the next one....

Klo thanks so much for all the raw food info in Melbourne. It's nice to know the hints from the locals. I'm not in your area a whole lot, but I'll definitely keep your tips in mind.

Oh and I went to passionfoods today and their flax seeds aren't as cheap as the ones at South Melbourne market (which is right next door). Oh but they do sell some raw food desserts like chocolate torte and truffles. I tasted them at World Vegan Day and they are DIVINE!

[klomasius]

Yay for World Vegan Day!

You might have seen me there, I had a stall for my business (I sell mineral makeup, health and wellbeing books etc.) and I did a raw banana caramel milkshake demonstration there.

I'm on the organising committee too, that was one BUSY day!

By the way, the lady that sells the raw cakes and treats you mentioned is Gemma from Australian Big Brother lol! She went vegan.

[freshlight]

how often? not at all.
No dehydrator for me, I love it simple :)