RAW THANKSGIVING

Trying to explain a Raw Food Thanksgiving to someone who doesn’t fully grasp the idea of Raw Food can be challenging. A year ago I probably would have had a hard time visualizing it myself. “It’s all made from fresh and natural ingredients--nuts, seeds, mushrooms, vegetables, fruits and herbs.” I tried explaining it several times this week but it just didn’t seem to make sense. My mother worried I wasn’t going to get enough to eat. Friends thought I was being difficult. My elderly neighbor was just confused. But it made perfect sense to me. The image of all the ingredients coming together in my head was beautiful and delicious.

I tried to make it more relatable: “Instead of turkey we’re having meatloaf, but it’s made from almonds, sunflower seeds, and mushrooms. The stuffing will be made from walnuts, pumpkin seeds and fresh herbs from the Farmer’s Market. The mashed potatoes are actually whipped cauliflower. And the apple and pumpkin pies are just as they sound, only not cooked.” The nods of recognition and “oh, I see’s” came a little easier now. Still, I didn’t have anyone begging for an invite.

But as I labored over the various dishes on Thanksgiving morning I wished they were all there with me. I was sure if they could see and taste the food I was creating they would understand. It’s not that I’m gifted in the kitchen by any means, but if they were to experience the freshness and goodness of the locally sourced ingredients and the simplicity of nature’s greatest gifts along with the love I poured into each dish, I was sure they’d find the pleasure and beauty of a Raw Thanksgiving irresistible. Maybe next year I’ll be able to convince them all to join me. But for now, I’ll have to rely on these iPhone photos to tell the story.

"Meat Loaf" from Juliano's RAW, Mashed "Potatoes" and Savory Herb Stuffing from Matt Amsden's RAWvolution, Caramel Apple Pie from rawon10.blogspot.com, and Pumpkin Pie from Ta-Raw.com.