Raw Food in Utah – Day 18-23

 

Omar takes a break to sit with us.

While quickly flipping through Sunset magazine the other day I read about a raw food restaurant in Utah. I called and got their address and current website.

 

While on the plane from Denver to Salt Lake City today I announced that I wanted to go to a raw food restaurant I had read about in Sunset magazine, Omar’s Rawtopia/Omar’s Living Cuisine, near the Sugarhouse district. Surprise, surprise… not everyone was in favor of this eating adventure.

 

Miriam wanted to stay in the rental car while the rest of us took a look at the menu but decided to come in. Once she saw the middle eastern dishes, she decided to stay. The four of us who stayed loved the food!

 

The spices and sauces used are flavorful and the meal sizes were large and filling. See video below of Miriam taking the first bites of our dessert. It is so delicious she was speechless! Everyone agrees that we will be back on Monday before flying out. We even got the other two to join us.

 

The toughest part of eating raw on this ski vacation was not eating the morning bacon. I love bacon!!!

 

The second toughest part was my lack of energy, especially while out skate skiing in Park City.

 

menu

 

Omar's delightful Mom

 

only raw food restaurant in Utah

Raw Food Diet and No Scotch – Day 15

raw protein

weight: 106.6 (-3.4)
body fat: 21.1%

 

exercise:
P90X Core Synergistics (day eight) performed in a less than dedicated way, even though the tip of the day was something about focusing. I also ran around the block, three times for a total of 15 minutes.

 

The “simplicity” of eating raw foods turned to boredom yesterday. So, this morning I “cook” or on a raw foods diet perhaps that is “food preparation” or “food combining?” Walnut Pate, guacomole, salsa, flourless chocolate cake (yes all raw). This evening I also made creamy cucumber dressing for a salad. I was actually craving a salad! Crazy.

 

This evening I was also craving a scotch. What is scotch made of? Could I somehow justify having this indulgence? Google said malted barley and whole grains. Sadly, I pass on the drink and just listen to the ice clank in my sweetie’s drink.

 

I bet after two weeks of abstinence from coffee a big cup would give me a really fantastic energy jolt. Still waiting for this raw food plan to provide me “boundless energy.” The hemp protein powder this morning did nothing to add to my energy. 

 

good eats today:

breakfast
- 1 glass green smoothie
- 2 glasses of green smoothie with hemp protein powder

lunch
- baby carrots
- mix of guac and salsa

snacks
- star fruit
- kiwi
- sugar snap peas
- walnut pate
- zucchini hummus
- flourless chocolate cake 

dinner
- mixed baby greens 
- creamy cucumber dressing

Raw in Denver – Day 14

My calves are still so sore I can barely walk. There is no way I could have skied this weekend and I just hope that my calves recover in the next 5 days for skiing Alta, Utah. Actually, I hope that my calves still fit in my tele boots. By the time they recover/rebuild I’m sure they will have doubled in size!

My energy was normal until about 9 pm… I started falling asleep waiting for pictures to load on this blog.

Today I felt hungry most of the day. I was being too lazy to sit down and eat so I just grazed… hence the long snack list.

 

whole foods: $150
(not sure which is more painful… my sore calves or today’s grocery bill)

 

good eats today:

raw breakfast
- green smoothie left over from yesterday

 raw lunch
- creamy tomato soup left over from yesterday
- flax crackers
- 1 dried fig
- star fruit

raw snacks
- raisins
- 2 bananas
- 1 baby carrot
-  5 prunes
- 1/2 grapefruit 
- 1/2 avocado 

raw dinner
- zippy zucchini hummus
- flax crackers 

Recipe – Zippy Zucchini Hummus

zucchini hummus

 

tools:
- food processor
- knife
- veggie peeler
- cutting board 

 

ingredients:
- 2 small zucchinis, peeled & chopped (1.5-2 cups)
- 2.5 tbsp of raw tahini
- 1 lemon juiced (2 tbsp) 
- 0.5 clove of garlic crushed or chopped
- 0.5 tsp of sea salt
-  0.25 tsp of cumin
- 0.23 tsp of paprika or dash of cayenne

 

ingredients

 

 

 

directions:
- blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth
- serve with veggie sticks (crudites), flax crackers or salad

 

note:
Adapted from Raw Food Made Easy.

 

 

 

 

 

serve

Denver Raw Food Resources

Raw Denver
A site dedicated to connecting people who live in Denver who live a raw lifestyle. Check out raw food events on their calendar, post a question on their forum.

 

The Denver Living and Raw Food Cafe
Join over 200 Denver members, post your picture and profile, connect with other raw foodies and attend a Denver event.  

Raw Utopia
Over 100 members supporting the raw food community and sponsoring “raw lucks”. 

 

Heirloom Gardens
Want to garden in Denver but don’t have the space or resources? Join Heirloom Gardens in the Denver Highlands neighborhood! Eat where you live!

Heirloom Gardens Blog
Pictures, tips and updates on gardening in Denver

Raw Food Diet – Day 13

Creamy Tomato Soup

weight: 106.6 (-3.4 lbs)
body fat: 21.6%

exercise:
P90X, Stretching (day 7)

Sore back muscles from yesterday’s Kenpo workout and my calves are so sore from previous day’s leg workout that I can barely walk. Being sore is good, right?

energy:
I felt normally energetic this morning but after my lunch of hummus I almost immediately felt like a lead weight and my chest felt tight. I licked the hummus container clean, just to make sure there was none of it to eat tomorrow.

health:
Still have nasal and chest congestion but none of that thick horrible mucus that sits at the back of my throat and won’t go anywhere. Terrible hand itching and cracking. Not sure if it is from a food allergy, my contact solution, or just a detoxing process. A friend wrote on my facebook page today that it could take 3-6 weeks to see results. More than anything I want to feel energetic  without the use of my favorite drug, Cup-O-Joe.
 

realizations:
As much as I would like to continue a very simple raw foods diet, I’ve got to start looking more at recipes… put the “modern” in Eat Like a Modern Chimp. Why? I’m getting terribly bored of the food I am eating, except those Naked Sushi Rolls. Yes, I need more fabulous recipes like that! 

I also must need to mix up my green more. I couldn’t even bring myself to drinking all of my green smoothie today. 

Is there such a thing as “citrus tongue?” My tongue felt raw while eating a grapefruit this morning. 

 

side note:
The mountain view from my desk is really nice in the winter with the leaves gone. In the evening I can see the lights from Lakewood and Golden twinkling. It will be a sad day when the houses across the street get their tops popped.

 

good eats:

raw breakfast
- 1/2 grapefruit
- 1 clementine
- 1 glass green smoothie

raw lunch
- hummus
- flax crackers, Indian spice flavored
- asian apple-pear
- star fruit

raw snacks
- 1/2 glass of green smoothie
- banana 

raw dinner
- creamy tomato soup
- mixed green salad with Drew’s natural dressing 

Recipe – Creamy Tomato Soup

 

This Creamy Raw Tomato Soup is adapted from Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People. It makes enough for one hungry person or 2 people if other food is served.

 

Creamy Tomato Sou

tools:
- blender
- knife
- cutting board
- garlic press (optional) 

 

ingredients:
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 ripe tomatoes, 4 if they are small
- 1 clove garlic, 1/2 if large
- 1/3 teaspoon sea salt
 - 1-2 tbsp of diced onion
- 1/2 avocado 
- 1/4 tsp of dried basil (optional)

 

directions:
- blend water, cut tomatoes, garlic pressed or chopped, onion, and sea salt.
-  add avocado and dried basil, blend until smooth
- pour into bowl and serve with flax crackers and a salad 

 

raw ingredients

 

blend

 

serve