Having a Love Affair with Tahini
Almost one week into my trial and I’m nearly halfway through this jar. The last time I purchased tahini, I think it took me two months to get through it. This brand blows the other out of the water!
Tahini – Healthy and Versatile
I’m starting to realize how versatile this gem of a raw food is for anything needing creaminess. I made a new batch of yesterday’s tahini dressing, doubled it as a salad dressing, and mock alfredo sauce over warmed zucchini noodles and broccoli. I was amazed at how delicious it was warmed up! I’m starting to imagine all kinds of other uses: creamy dips, spreads, and sauces. It even tastes great as a spread on my flax crackers.
When you mention a raw diet to people, the first thing they usually ask is, “where do you get your protein?” They also wonder about many other deficiencies you must have.
In just 2 Tbsp of tahini, there are approximately 5-6 grams of protein, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 15% DV (daily value) of Calcium, and 5% DV of Iron.
The next time someone asks me about calcium (I don’t eat dairy), I’ll tell them I get 15% of my daily value of calcium from my salad dressing alone (not to mention all the calcium in the leafy greens)!
How I’ve been feeling
Today was probably the best day so far. I had been feeling crummy since day one.
I’ve been having a difficult time falling asleep at night, despite waking up at 5am each morning, resulting in about 6 hours of sleep per night. I’ve heard that a raw food diet allows you to feel better with less sleep (your body doesn’t have to work so hard to deal with the digestion of meat/dairy, and get rid of toxins), and have found this to be the case. I still like to get 6½ -7 hours of sleep if I can.
I’ve also been feeling queasy, and turned off by some of the foods I’ve been eating. My appetite has diminished, so I definitely don’t feel like I’m deprived.
Cravings
Cravings haven’t been nearly as bad as I expected. I actually had far worse cravings in Nov and Dec, before I started this trial (I was eating a much looser version of a raw vegan diet). These intense cravings were mostly for cooked food. I started eating cooked veggies and organic vegan soup. Up until Dec, I was still having meat on occasion, and eating many rich, raw desserts.
My cravings so far have been out of the blue, and very short lived – for things such as M& M’s & peanut butter.
The Food
Early morning:
Lemon water
Spirulina
Breakfast
“Granola” crackers with almond butter
Lunch
Green smoothie
1 cup almond milk
4 Tbsp Hemp seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
Large handful of spinach
A few ice cubes
I hoped using more Hemp seeds would make it thicker, but it didn’t. Apparently ground flax is the best way to go. I think chia seeds would work too.
This was just ok. I REALLY miss my banana and cacao smoothies. The ice made it a bit more appetizing for some reason.
Finished flax crackers
I had some with dinner below.
Dinner
Broccoli, spiralized zucchini, Tahini dressing
Side salad of romaine and sugar plum tomatoes
Onion flax crackers
I decided to put the broccoli in boiling water. I’ve never been a huge fan of raw broccoli. I thought that 10 seconds in boiling water couldn’t do much harm. They ended up a bit more cooked than I expected, probably about cooked halfway through. Next time I’ll cut back the seconds. I warmed (not cooked!)the zucchini noodles, broccoli, and tahini dressing in a pan. It was probably the best dinner I’ve had yet!
I intended to spread the pistachio pesto (in the photo) on my onion flax crackers, but didn’t like the combo. My MVP of the day, tahini, sprinkled with salt on my crackers did the trick. YUM.
No late night snacking tonight.
My beloved stevia drops have gone empty, so only plain water tonight, with Spirulina tabs.
See you tomorrow at the one week mark!
