Summer has arrived (whether the weather proves it or not)! But now the desire to cook food has left me. I love to eat and my kids aren’t gonna let me get by without feeding them, so now what? Go raw!

Since I’m not homeschooling I have more time to experiment and if I go raw I can avoid heating up the kitchen. And going raw doesn’t mean you have to eat salads and fruit three meals a day. There a lots of fun recipes to try. I will list a few of my favorites.

Now salad is one of my favorite foods, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. There are so many variations. And my favorite part of a salad is the dressings. There are so many choices! Here is my favorite classic salad:

I fill up a large plate with lettuce (go for the green kind, not iceberg) and your choice of fresh veggies. I like red bell pepper, avocado, olives (the raw kind, not the canned), onion, cucumber and tomato. Next comes the dressing! Now I make mine right on top of my salad. First I put all the dry ingredients: onion powder, black pepper, and a salt-free seasoning (or add sea salt if you want the salt). Then I sprinkle on a bit of minced garlic, a little maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Yummy!!

Now for an untraditional salad, I enjoy a base of sprouted quinoa. This sprouts very quickly, so soak in the morning and then rinse and serve for dinner. I will make a Greek salad out of this, piled high with tomato, olives, feta cheese (if you aren’t 100% raw), bell pepper, cucumber, marinated mushrooms, pine nuts, and onion. Top with black pepper, sea salt, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.

And for one of my favorite salads . . . rice salad. Take wild rice and soak for 2-3 days. (Make sure you rinse the rice daily.) Once the rice is budding open, rinse and place in bowl. Mix with veggies of your choice and salad dressing of your choice. A vinegar based salad dressing suits this recipe as well. It is amazingly filling.

Other non-cooked meals (although not all are raw) that would be great for the summer months are sandwiches (get creative – you don’t have to stick to the same ol’ sandwich), marinated vegetables (let veggies soak in olive oil, Braggs liquid aminos and seasonings), fruit and yogurt parfaits, cold soups (like gazpacho), chips and dips (there are so many creative recipes for tasty dips away from the regular), sprouted beans, seeds, and rice add a nice touch, and ice cream is always good (try making your own and avoid all the artificial stuff).

For fun, I will post my favorite homemade ice cream recipe.
In an electric ice cream maker (I use a 4 qt) pour 2 cups agave nectar, 1 T lemon juice, 1 t vanilla, 2 cups half&half or heavy whipping cream, 2 qts milk, and if you want it fruity add 2 cups pureed fruit. Turn on the ice cream maker and eat when thick. So very yummy and great for those of us with blood sugar issues.

I hope I motivated you to turn off the stove and turn on your creativity!