Raw Friday

Don't be scared - the raw food is not back for good. I just ended up eating a lot of it today. And I loved it! Incorporating a little bit into my diet is a much more sane approach. The raw day began with, of course...


Green Monster! Delish as usual. Although my bananas are getting a little too ripe. I like the flavor better when they're just barely ripe. I didn't have anything else for breakfast today, because I made plans to go out to lunch with Liz and Carissa on the early side. It was a beautiful day out and its Friday - we thought that deserved a special lunch excursion. So we walked over to Grezzo, the amazing raw food restaurant in the North End. I've been here once before for dinner and loved it. I was not disappointed today.

I really wanted some coconut water, which they had on the menu. But unfortunately they were out, so I just had water. With a cucumber slice!

I love cucumber in my water. I should really do this at home. For my lunch, I ordered the Mushroom and Kelp Bistro Burger.

It was awesome! The burger came between 2 big cucumber slices and was topped with guacamole. I couldn't exactly pick it up, but it was still good with a fork and knife. It came with a side of crunchy pickled vegetables and sweet potato fries. I didn't love the sweet potatoes - they were a little hard and dry. But it added a nice texture and flavor contrast. I talked the girls into sharing the brownie sundae for dessert - which wasn't too difficult.

Out of control good. Its so hard to believe this is raw. The brownie (way better than my "brawnies") was topped with vanilla gelato (made with coconut water and coconut flesh), chocolate sauce, and shredded coconut, and there was a yummy mango sauce on the side.

Obviously, we hated it. I was definitely full after this meal, but not the gross full you usually feel after a big, rich meal. Late in the afternoon I snacked on some berries. I've been raw all day!

Dinner, much to Derek's relief, was cooked. And it finally wasn't leftovers! Inspired by Bon Appetit's "New American Classics" article I made the new American burger - a crab burger!

I baked the burgers instead of sauteing them in butter, and layered them with tomato and romaine, along with the amazing red pepper dressing, which I made with yogurt instead of mayo.
These were really good. I served the burgers with a salad of spinach, blueberries, goat cheese, and pecans tossed with balsamic vinegar and grapeseed oil.

Dessert was the last 2 raw peanut butter cups.

Definitely going to have to make more of these. Happy weekend!