DAY 14...Raw Cookies

I had a dilemma today. Remember I mentioned a while back that my husband might have the sweetest tooth on the planet? Seriously, it's crazy, this man could live on dessert. Give him a plate of cookies and his eyes light up, his smile broadens and suddenly he starts behaving like a five year old with a new bright red fire truck. It's an incredible transformation to witness.

Today he comes to me with this serious expression on his face and says 'Babe, I can't do this raw stuff anymore.'

'Why?' I ask, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. I know my success is based largely on his support, so I need him to be somewhat raw almost more than I need myself to be raw.

'I need dessert, I need sweets, I need cookies, I need...' his voice starts to take on that whiny quality. You know the one that you hear when said new bright red fire truck gets taken away from the five year old?

I hear myself saying something like - Okay, don't worry, I'll make some cookies - but my mind is racing to figure out a way of making them raw. Raw, but so good he won't even notice.

Now I have to admit, the blessing and the curse of being raw is not having to cook or bake.

It's a blessing, because timing a meal has never been easier. You don't have to figure out exactly when the meat will be done (without over cooking it) so you can make sure the potatoes are still hot when you serve them, while wondering if you'll over steamed the broccoli. You know what I'm taking about. It's that part of cooking I just never got comfortable with.

The curse is that you don't get to do fun things like bake. I love baking. I love my bright red Kitchen Aid mixer (it's the equivalent of a fire truck for girls). I love the expression on hubbies face when a new batch of something comes out of the oven. Or, when he walks in the door and says the whole house smells like cookie dough. Or wrapping up gifts of baked goods to take to co-workers. I miss baking.

So, I was determined to find something that was good. I searched and searched and came upon this recipe from The Sunny Raw Kitchen. http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/06/recipe-of-week-chocolate-chip-cookies.html and thought I would give it a shot.

Oh my goodness. I'll just say that we might have ended up with a few more cookies if the raw dough didn't taste so good. And if perhaps I didn't eat some of it right out the bowl on the kitchen counter while waiting for the chocolate chips to harden. These cookies are incredible.

Who knew you could do this with raw.

I told hubby that I had put them in the freezer to cool down quicker so he could eat them quicker, but that I had forgotten to take them out - okay, you can laugh, but I had to explain why they were freezing!
Of course, if I had that dehydrator, I could have faked them just coming out the oven.

Now, he may or may not have believed my tale about the freezing. After all, this man is no dummy.

However, the important thing is - What did he say? He said that they were the best chocolate chip cookies he had ever tasted and where did I get the chips, because they tasted nicer than the ones I normally used! Ha, I knew I could do it.

This recipe is unbelievable.

This is what I would do differently next time. Because, I just know there will be a next time.

1) In the batter, I only used 1/4 cup coconut oil, instead of 1/2 a cup. I think I would still reduce this and only use 1/8 of a cup - they were a little oily for my liking.

2) I used the full 1/4 cup agave nectar, and next time I will halve this too and only use 1/8 of a cup. Hubby liked it sweet - of course he did - but it was too sweet for me.

3) I used the 3/4 cup ground oat groats and LOVED them. They added a nice chewiness to the cookie. Next time I might add some more and reduce the cashew nut flour.

4) I added a drizzle (yes, a tiny drizzle) of agave into the chocolate chips to make them semi sweet - I liked it.

5) I didn't roll them in cashew flour afterwards and just dropped awkward shaped scoops on a piece of parchment paper - I was tired and wanted it to be over.

6) Next time I will mix them in my Kitchen Aid to pretend I'm 'real baking' and to remind it that it still has a place in my heart.

That's it, those are my suggestions to suit my taste.

If you modify or don't modify, that's up to you. But if you don't try these, you'll be missing a lovely treat in life.
(Photo - The Sunny Raw Kitchen)

DAY 15... What I've learnt part 2

I've just finished hugging my blender, so I have a little free time before it becomes needy again.

I have learnt so much since becoming raw that this could probably be a 10 part series, but for now I'll leave it at 2. One thing I do know, is that the more I learn about raw, the more I realise just how little I know.

There is a whole world out there of incredible food and unbelievable recipes that you can't imagine even exist. Seriously, raw pizza, raw quiche, raw cookies, raw, raw, raw... it's amazing. Add to that, small communities of people talking to each other and teaching each other and helping each other on this journey. It's wonderful.

I've also learnt that it's hard being raw. Not because eating the food is tough, but because society as it is right now just doesn't support it. While there is more awareness of healthier food, and healthier living, raw food is still a bridge too far.

Not only do people think you are crazy, but we are surrounded by bad food, ads of bad food, people eating bad food, pictures of bad food. You know what I mean. Every time you turn your head you see something boiled, dipped, dunked or fried in fat or covered in sugar. I know there are some good alternatives available, but I'm realising that unless you are preparing it at home (cooked or uncooked), most of the food out there is just unhealthy.

Another thing I've learnt is that raw can be expensive. I have found that because I am following a plan and have a very varied diet, it's hard to save money. I know this will change when I break out on my own and decide my own menu each day.

I'm also taking a ton of additional foods/supplements to regular fruit and veggies. I don't mean supplements of the capsule kind, I mean Maca and Lucuma powder - I know the Inca's did not provide cheap super foods.

And bee pollen - I'm thinking of starting my own hive.

And hulled hemp seeds - I'd grow my own, but would likely be arrested. All those extras and additions that start to add up.

However, when you balance that out against what you normally spend eating out every month, or what you spend on takeaways (yes, including those coffees you sneak in before work "because they're only a couple of dollars"), or how much you spend going to the doctor for heart burn or diabetes, or high blood pressure, or all those aches and pains you feel, I'm not sure it really is that much more expensive.

What I'm really saying, is you have to be clever with your shopping when you are raw. Look around, do some research, see what you can buy in bulk, see what you can order on the Internet. There are ways to save, but it's unlikely they will come in the form of your weekly grocery coupons.

And then, there are the gadgets. In the first part of 'What I've learnt' I told you about my blender and FP and the dehydrator I dream of owning. You can get by initially with just the basics, and you can get by with your regular blender from Walmart or wherever you got it from. However, the longer you stay raw, and the more varied you decided to make your meals, you will need to start improving the quality of your appliances.

My cheap 10 year old blender right now is like the Little Blender that Could. It just goes and goes. However, I know it doesn't give me the same results a Vitamix/Blendtec would. I also know I have to be gentle with it, and talk to it nicely and give it regular hugs so it doesn't mind working it's fifth shift of the day.

The dehydrator is the biggie. So far I have managed just fine without one. But I know that if I am to continue this journey and want to be able to either eat warm food that is still raw (quite a pleasant thought during the winter sub zero temperatures). Or, if I want to make raw wraps and breads and quiches I will need (read: desperately want) a dehydrator.

I also don't have a spiralizer and I'm doing just fine. Again, if you do this long term and want to have raw pastas, this is a useful (and not very expensive tool).

What I'm saying is that starting a raw journey can be daunting anyway. You don't need to worry about running out and buying a whole new kitchen full of appliances to do it. Depending on whether you stick with it or not, you can slowly buy the things you deem necessary as you come to realise what your needs are.

Just like the food you are transitioning to, remember to take things one step at a time.