Lucid Nutrition

A Raw Vegan Thanksgiving

Yesterday I attended 'Holiday Celebrations', the Debut Gourmet Raw Food Preparation Class at Beets Cafe in Austin Texas. It was taught by the creative Chef Alicia Ojeda of EZRawFood101 and Chef Elaina Love of Pure Joy Planet. They taught us how to prepare some of our favorite fall and winter holiday meals in a whole new light. Each recipe was prepared with organic, raw, and vegan ingredients and prepared using a Vita Mix blender, a Cuisinart Food Processor, a Food Dehydrator, and an Ice Cream Maker. No cooking involved! 

Here is the list of recipes they demonstrated:

Sparkling Apple Ginger Ale

Rich Holiday Nut Nog

Creamy Spinach Dip with Caraway Rye Crisps

Cranberry Relish

Marinated Broccoli with "Butter" Sauce

Wild Rice Pilaf

Waldorf Salad on Arugula Greens Sprinkled with Candied Pecans

Mashed "No-Tatoes" with Savory Gravy

Zucchini Mushroom Croquettes

Elaina's Fantasy Stuffing

Pumpkin Flan with Creme Anglaise

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Special Guest was Dr. Rita Marie Loscalzo (pictured above) about to enjoy her delicious meal. If you are interested in preparing your own Raw Vegan Holiday Celebration and were unable to attend the class, you should get a copy of Rita Marie's Thanksgiving E-Book.

The Fresh 'n Fun Thanksgiving Feast e-book is filled with delicious Thanksgiving Recipes.

• More than 20 delicious recipes, made exclusively with with fresh, gluten-free, dairy-free, wheat-free and vegan ingredients, with raw and cooked options
• A shopping list to take to the store and use to purchase the ingredients needed to make the complete menu
• An equipment list
• Detailed step by step preparation timetable so you can prepare and make dishes in advance and have everything ready in time for your Thanksgiving meal
• Ideas for re-connecting to the attitude of gratitude around which this holiday is based
• Everything you need to allow you to enjoy your Thanksgiving feast, knowing that your taste buds and your entire body are being nourished and delighted

  

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them". ~JFK

Beets Living Foods Cafe. Austin, Texas

Nourish your body and soul. Celebrate Life. Honor the Earth. A new addition to Austin's restaurant scene, Beets Living Foods Cafe features an upscale raw food dining experience. You can enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack or dessert, and take pleasure in discovering how delicious healthful cuisine can be.

I am so glad to have another place in town to enjoy raw vegan living foods! We vegans deserve an upscale place to enjoy our meals and not just holes in the walls that reek of patchouli and eighty year old furniture. This place is unique and well designed. The menu is beautiful and it is so hard to choose what to order.



Thanks to our friendly waitress, my partner and I opted to split the daily special. Out came two good sized enchiladas with tex mex cabbage salad (cabbage, tomatoes, green onion, and peas marinated in sundried tomato powder, olive oil, garlic, spices, and crystal salt) It also came with a  small side rainbow salad topped with seasoned seeds and a sweet yet tangy cilantro lime dressing. So fresh!!



We also ordered a cup of curried carrot soup, a velvety blend of carrot juice, orange juice, miso, garlic, lemon, spices, pine nuts, crystal salt. It is hard to believe a cold soup could be so warming! It had just enough kick to make it addicting. To drink we ordered a 'Green On Me' Juice (kale, celery, romaine, parsley, lemon, and ginger) and a Grapefruit Fizzy Lizzy :)

Even though I was satisfied after about three bites (all those nutrients tend to set the hunger switch off) we still decided to have something sweet. Naughty!? ;) For dessert, we ordered the oatmeal cookies. Next time we will try the 'I-Scream!' If I wasn't so full then, I would have went for it. Did I mention they gave us complimentary bites of chocolate cheese cake? It was divine. Totally worth the $6.95 a slice. People don't realize how much work and time goes into preparing raw vegan desserts. It takes practice and is a high form of art!

Overall, it was a wonderful and fulfilling experience having lunch at Beets Cafe.  We even got to meet the owner Sylvia Heisey and the super creative Chef Alicia Ojeda. They were both so approachable, friendly, and informative. They have a great selection of raw vegan books by Victoria Boutenko and dvds by our own local raw foodist informer Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo who I had the pleasure of meeting last year at her Magic in the Kitchen cooking class.

Beets Cafe will have their grand opening on Saturday, November 14, 2009

Time: 2:00pm - 10:00pm

2:00pm--Rip Esselstyn speaks about the benefit of a "plant strong" lifestyle
3:30pm--Cheryl Lynn Van Kirk demonstration Organic Food Grade Cosmetics and Hand Facials Star Flower Essentials
4:30pm--Dr Ritamarie Loscalzo speaks about fresh n fun living
5:30pm--On View "The Meatrix" http://www.themeatrix.com
7:00 pm-- Alicia Ojeda Culinary Demonstration
8:00 pm-- Live Music, Organic Wine, Signature Beet's Treats

I'll be there early. Come say hi!

Hours are Monday- Wednesday 8am to 8pm
Thursday-Friday 8am-9pm
Saturday 10am-9pm
Closed on Sunday

Location: 5th Street Commons
               1611 W 5th St. Suite 165
               Austin, TX 78703
               512-477-BEET (2338)

Go in and experience the vitality of living foods. Your body, soul, and mind will thank you.