Newsletter #16 ...

If you do want to eat all raw at a “cooked food” restaurant it is possible.

At Mexican restaurants, order a salad and pile it high with guacamole and salsa. You can also bring a few flax crackers with you to have instead of the chips.

At Japanese restaurants, order a either a regular or vegetarian sushi roll, but ask for avocado and vegetables inside instead of the rice.

And at elegant French and Italian restaurants, the salads are delicious. You may want to order 2 or 3 of them if the portions are small.

If you’ll be eating out at a less than elegant place, bring a small jar of lemon and olive oil dressing with you, and maybe even and avocado, to make sure you can end up with a decent salad.

When you eat out for dinner, you might decide not to eat 100% raw. If that’s the case, I recommend eating a raw breakfast and lunch that day, so that you can allow yourself a little cooked food for dinner in restaurants, while still maintaining a mostly raw diet. Just try to stay away from bread, pasta, red meat, and fried foods. And if you have wine or dessert, limit yourself to a few sips and a few bites.

Here is a delicious flax cracker recipe, by Cherie Soria, the director of the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. You can also buy delicious flax crackers from www.rawfood.com or www.highvibe.com. Bring these crackers to Mexican restaurants, and you’ll never miss the chips!

Pizza Flax Crackers

Makes approximately 8 dozen crackers (4 dehydrator trays)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 2 hours in a little water to cover
• ½ cup water
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 cups flax seeds, soaked 12 hours in 3 ½ cups water (do not rinse or drain)

Directions:

1. Place the sun-dried tomatoes and their soak water in a blender and process to form a paste.
2. Place the sun-dried tomato paste, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and sea salt in a blender or food processor.
3. Blend or process the vegetable mixture, adding additional water to thin if necessary. Blend until smooth. Add the basil and process until smooth.
4. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large mixing bowl, add the soaked flax seeds, and stir well to combine.
5. Spread 2 cups of batter on a dehydrator sheet lined with Teflex.
6. Dehydrate the crackers at 105 degrees for 12 hours.
7. Flip the crackers onto mesh sheets, cut into squares, and continue to dehydrate for another 12-24 hours, or until completely dry.
8. Allow the crackers to cool completely, then store in glass jars.

Crackers will keep up to 3 months at room temperature, longer if refrigerated or frozen.

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