Raw Tomato Basil Soup

For most of the summer I've eaten a High Raw diet, meaning that I've included a high percentage of raw foods each day. Typically I've done raw until dinner. On the high raw diet I've never felt better. It really is incredible what eating whole, living foods can do for you.

Over the past week or so I've really gotten away from this style of eating and have been eating more cooked foods, more left overs, and a lot more carbs. I woke up this morning knowing that something needed to change. While I always include a variety of vegetables, and eat mostly healthy foods, nothing nourishes my body like raw foods do. So today I am back on the high raw diet, and in just this one day can already feel a difference in my energy levels, in my mental clarity, and in the waistline of my pants!!

This delicious raw soup is a fantastic way to savor the last of summer's tomatoes, yet hearty enough to enjoy on a cool day as well. An added bonus is that raw foods are often quick and easy to prepare and require very little clean up.

Raw Tomato Basil Soup
enough for 1 bowl

3 medium tomatoes, peeled and cored

6 or 7 basil leaves

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 tsp Raw Blue agave

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Put all ingredients in to a blender and puree until desired consistency. You can leave some of the tomatoes slightly chunky if you prefer.

Mexican Sunflower Salad

Hopefully by now you've all heard about and are promoting Meatless Monday. A campaign aimed at reducing meat consumption in America by encouraging everyone to go meat-free for just one day. If everyone adopted a plant based diet just one day a week the environmental impact would be huge. Not to mention the impact for the animals. Some estimates say that nearly 28 million land animals are slaughtered DAILY in the United States for human consumption.

Meatless Monday has been being promoted on Twitter for awhile now, and eventually morphed into adding Tofu Tuesday to the mix. A few weeks ago Lindsay the Happy Herbivore thought it would be a fun idea to give each day a veg related theme, and promote it as Veggie Awareness Week. We've had a lot of fun with Veggie Week so far, and continuing with the theme, today is Raw Wednesday.

I eat raw nearly every day until dinner. Raw food is not only incredibly filling, it is also packed with nutrition. The vital nutrients in the food has not been cooked out, therefore providing an added punch of vitamins and minerals. Raw foods will provide you with energy rather than sapping your energy like cooked foods will. I love to start the day with a glass of fresh fruit juice and a raw smoothie. Fruit and raw food bars are also great choices when you are in a hurry or on the go.

My contribution to Raw Wednesday this week is this beautiful raw sunflower seed salad. I was given this recipe during my yoga teacher training and it's been a favorite ever since. I was handed the recipe on a sheet of paper, with no acknowledgement as to where the recipe comes from, so I guess it's safe to re-print it here. I have a made a few changes, so we should be good!!

Mexican Sunflower Salad

1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds, hulled

1 large carrot, shredded

1/2 large red onion, sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbs Olive Oil

1 tsp Raw agave nectar

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (if you don't like spice decrease this amount)

1 tsp dried oregano

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Alfalfa Sprouts to garnish (optional)

Bib lettuce leave for wrapping (optional)

Soak Sunflower seeds for 30 minutes, rinse and drain. Place sunflower seeds and sliced onion in food processor and process until sunflower seeds are chopped (but not pasty) and onion is diced. Remove from food processor add remaining ingredients up to Alfalfa Sprouts, and mix well. Serve wrapped in bib lettuce leaves and garnished with alfalfa sprouts.