Adventures in Raw Food with Reiko

Our second client from Japan arrived 2 days ago. Among other things, Reiko Ueda is interested in sampling American-style raw food. I am no expert in raw food, but I am an expert in trying new things and doing research. Over the next month while Reiko is staying with us I intend to incorporate one complete raw food meal each day, some days we will have two and occasionally three. So far eating raw is much easier than I anticipated. I love fresh fruits and vegetables, so what is there to be intimidated about? Like everything else in life, raw food diets can be as easy or as complicated as you want them to be.

Today we made a green smoothie for lunch that turned out to be delicious. Here is the recipe if you feel like putting your blender to good use. I'll keep you posted if we discover any other winning recipes.


Kale and Pear Smoothie with Herbs
Serves 2

2 cups kale

1 1/2 cups water

2 ripe pears, cored
1/4 cup herbs (parsley and cilantro both work great)
1 frozen banana (remove the peel, cut into 1-inch slices, and freeze in a plastic bag overnight)
1 cup ice
1 Tablespoon flax seeds (optional)
Protein powder (optional)
1/4 avocado (optional)

Blend water, greens, and herbs for 15 seconds - 1 minute (depending on your blender) on high. Then add the pear, banana, ice, flax seeds (if using), protein powder (if using), and avocado (if using) and blend for an additional 30 seconds - 1 minute.