08 June 2011

Italian Dinner - Raw Style

Our raw food adventure has been going on for five months now. Crazy!  We aren't eating 100% raw anymore, but we are trying as hard as we can.  Jared is my inspiration: he is way more devoted than I am.  We all feel great, and there are so many things I will keep making FOREVER!  Like, for instance, raw alfredo sauce.  Real alfredo sauce is so bad for you, and so expensive, and so hard to make. I've only made it a handful of times, ever.  And then came raw food, and raw alfredo!  I love this stuff so much.  It tastes just as good as real alfredo without the heavy, want to just lie down on the couch and sleep for the rest of your life feeling that you get after you eat an entire plate of real alfredo.  And the marinara sauce whips up in minutes and is so fresh and delicious, no need to eat tomatoes from a can ever again!  I like to mix the both together best.

Now, if this meal were truly raw I would make Zucchini pasta by either cutting zucchini into very thin, long strips, or shaving it with a vegetable peeler, or spinning it through a spiralizer.  The boys aren't overly fond of zucchini pasta, so we have started making them rice pasta instead (still staying away from gluten as much as possible.)  There is no reason not to use the raw sauces on cooked pasta!  They are delicious either way. 

I'm constantly telling Jared that raw food is an art, not a science, but that's only because I'm really bad at following recipes.  There are so many different alfredo and marinara sauce recipes out there, but I don't use any of them.  I need quick and easy recipes, so I've made my own, and here they are for you to try out!  Do enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Alfredo Sauce

2 cups of white nuts (cashews, macadamia nuts or pine nuts, or any combination of the three), soaked for 8 hours
1 1/2 cups of water, divided
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-3 cloves of garlic
Spices to taste

In a high speed blender mix nuts, garlic, spices and 1 cup of water.  Add more water until you reach desired consistency. 

For spices you can just as salt and pepper, or you can experiment with others, like nutmeg, or thyme, etc. 

Marinara Sauce

Three tomatoes
10-15 sun dried tomato halves
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of salt
Spices to taste

In a high speed blender, mix all ingredients until smooth.  For spices I might add pepper, oregano, onion...

And, just so you know, my taste testers approved whole heartedly.
Eli has two plates because he finished off mine before I could.  He loved it!


  1. So I take it you eat the sauces cold then? I'm interested in trying the alfredo sauce, but I'm not sure I would like it unless it was hot. If I warmed it up would it ruin it?

    Are you already done your adventures in BC???

  2. @The Pratts
    You could heat it up. It wouldn't be "raw," but it would still be good for you. We find though, that if you pour it over hot pasta, it gets pretty warm.

    We are back in BC. I had to go home for a doula birth, but came back yesterday. Wait for more posts.

  3. Looks so yummy! I want to try it out!

  4. I think I may have to try this one. I can never get normal alfredo sauce to work and have resorted to bottled sauce, which is likely even worse for us than the homemade kind!

  5. mmmmmmmm alfredo.... think we'll have it tonight!


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