My first raw Christmas

The thought of having a 'raw Christmas' did not phase me in the slightest. This was my first Christmas as a raw vegan. Last year, I had a plate of turkey with all the omnivorous trimmings (well, it was put in front of me but I barely touched it, being dosed up on anti-biotics and pain-killers for a nasty bladder infection.)

This year that has all changed. This is probably one of the most stressful run-ups to Christmas I've had in a long time, and I have not been ill with anything this winter. (I was ill over Christmas 2006 but not 2007) I can't prove it, but I'd say it was down to raw food.

I will put my Christmas recipes in a separate post. I found them all on the internet and liked the look of them. The sweet potato dish and the 'mock turkey' were, unfortunately, not very nice. I didn't expect avocado, almonds and parsley to make anything like turkey, but hoped it would be nicer than it turned out. Never mind. As my first raw Christmas, I was pretty pleased. The stuffing was amazing. It would have been better straight out of the dehydrator after about 4 hours on each side, but I went out and overdehydrated it, and it was made 2 days in advance so not as great on the day. Will do that again next year for sure and time it better. Cranberry sauce, Kate Magic's Hi-Cake (from 'Raw Magic') goji-fudge (another of Kate's), Christmas Puddings and Cashew Sauce (again, Kate's, from 'Eat Smart Eat Raw') were all outstanding.

Here are some photos. (I didn't take any of the Christmas puds and sauce, or my jar of cranberry sauce! I am out of the habit! New Year's resolution is to get back into it of course.)







Hi-Cake. It was awesome



My dehydrator taking pride of place on the hob. My housemates all went home for the holidays and I had the kitchen to myself. I spread my food prep over 3 days! It took some careful forward planning, (more than a 'normal' Christmas dinner I don't know, but I expect so)

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The sage and onion stuffing, with celery and walnuts. Not the best picture, but you can see where I have been nibbling from the edges!!

I went to my sister's on Boxing Day for a few days. Being organized to take food over was a pain - I ended up taking far too much! Was better than not having enough. I usually like to do a batch of buckwheat bread (an adaptation of Russel James's recipe) to take with me when I travel as it is very convenient to make sandwiches and they are a good filling supplement to any veg or salad items you might be able to get your hands on when travelling. The cake also came. Majority liked it.

My Christmas presents were a spiralizer, a mandolin, a salad spinner and two raw food hampers very thoughtfully put together by my mum and sister! I was very spoiled. I have got pretty much all the gadgets now (apart from a vita-mix - I will get one one day). Makes me think how far I've come since I discovered raw food a year and a half ago. I feel I got there properly with it after about 9 months but I still feel the journey is continuing...

Here is a picture of the food hampers!!