Guest Post: Adventures in Healthy Cooking

It's Thursday and that means I am back home.  However, being gone 3 days and still being crazy busy with work means that I'm very happy to introduce another guest blogger to you!  Today, my friend Jen is going to share some adventures in healthy cooking she's had lately.  She's a brave one- not just adding familiar fruits and vegetables but actually going outside of her comfort zone and trying new things! I love that kind of spirit!!


Hey everybody! Jen here from Going With What We've Got. I know you're missing Liz but don't worry she'll be back soon. In the mean time I'll tell you about my culinary adventure.

 

So I tried some new things this weekend. Specifically, I tried some new foods. Or rather, I tried a new way to eat some familiar foods.

I tried a Strawberry Coconut Shake made with cashews, dates, and coconut oil. And no ice cream.

I tried Cauliflower Miso Mash and Miso Gravy. Neither one of those things sound immediately delicious to me.

Why in the world did I try them then, you ask? Because I would really like to be more healthy. And - I'll just tell the whole truth - I really want to lose some weight.

I have myself convinced that adding some raw food selections to our regular diet will help in both of these areas. They do go together after all. The good news is I've been down this road before so I already had a really great recipe book to search for something to try. (Is it called a "cookbook" if you don't actually cook the recipes?)

The book I have is Ani's Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo. I already had some pages folded over from the last time I looked through it but I'd never tried any of the recipes. Today I decided to try a cauliflower recipe since I already had a head in the refrigerator and I didn't want it to go to waste.

Trouble was, I didn't know what miso was. Turns out it's just soy paste. No biggie. If you go to the health food store to look for it, look in the refrigerated section. You're welcome.

Here's what I learned this weekend about my pursuing a raw foods diet.

• I'm going to need a bigger food processor. 
• I have quite a bit to learn about the grocery store. 
• I don't know what kefir is. 
• Healthy food can be expensive.
• I really like cauliflower. 

So how about the recipes? Well, the Strawberry Shake? Ridiculously delicious. Seriously. I'm making another one for breakfast in the morning. I've already decided.

  

And the Cauliflower Miso Mash? I had my concerns after we made it. I even said as much to my husband. I have a real issue with some textures. I'm just as likely to hate a food because of the texture as I am to hate a food because of the taste. I was scared. But? It. Was. Delicious.

 

The texture was perfect. The taste was fantastic. It was all around yummy.

 

And the Miso Gravy? It was really more of a dressing or a dip than a gravy. It was a little strong tasting but grew on me as I ate it. Again. Delicious. And it added quite a bit to the Cauliflower dish. I think it would be great on a spinach salad, too. Hmmm, maybe lunch for tomorrow?

 

Now the picture above is of the items I needed to purchase so that I could make these fantastic recipes. The grand total for the shopping trip? $59.32. Yep. That one hurt the budget.

 

But, I'm not going to have to buy coconut oil again for quite some time. And the miso will last a while. The organic wine wasn't on the list but i thought it was worth a try to see if those sulfites which were not there really do make a difference. We haven't opened it yet so I'll have to report back about that later.

 

Here's the thing. I'm not going to lose weight over night. But I do believe that making choices one meal at a time makes a difference in the long run. I ate quite a bit of cauliflower. Way more than I would have if I'd just roasted it or steamed it and eaten it. We also ate some really healthy fats and way more fiber than we normally would.

 

I really believe that the short term pain in my pocket book, is going to pay off with a long term gain in health.

 

If you want to follow my journey toward a more healthy life, you can visit my blog at Going With What We've Got. I'm also a Twitter addict. Find me @jencrutch. I hope you'll come on over and say hi!

 

Thanks so much, Liz, for letting me come over and play with your friends today while you're out of town!
 
I love this post! I totally want to find that book so I can check out those recipes- especially since I spy choclate chips in that picture.  I have to admit that the only time I think I've had miso is when I have miso soup at my favorite Japanese restaurants.  I do know all about kefir- it's a great addition to any healthy kitchen.  It's similar to drinkable yogurt but has more probiotics and does some cool stuff in the body that yogurt doesn't.  I like to buy plain kefir and use it in smoothies with a little bit of honey.  Jen, thanks for sharing your culinary adventure into raw foods with us!  I hope my readers will follow you so we can all cheer you on as you continue on this healthy living journey!  You all know the drill- leave some comment love and appreciation and go visit Jen's blog!