Published: · Last Modified: by Caren · This post may contain affiliate links
I’m so over this week.
It’s been a hairy one, to say the least, but fortunately, tomorrow is Friday, and that’s my cue to head north to the bay area for a little much-needed girl time.
Have you ever moved to a city and just clicked with it immediately? That was my experience when I moved to Silicon Valley in the dead of winter from my hometown of Toronto. It was miserably cold when I left TO, but when I landed at San Francisco airport, the sun was shining all the way down 101 as I drove to my temporary abode in Milpitas, CA. I was so full of hope and excitement about my new life and it was awesome.
I lived in the bay area from 2006 to 2009. I adored it there, met some amazing friends and completely transformed who I was into a better being on all fronts. I knew that was my home and I would never go back to Toronto.
But then the hubs and I decided to take an adventure to SoCal, and we’ve been here ever since. After a 4-month stay in Solana Beach (which was more like an extended vacation), we ended up buying a home in LA, and now here we are. We’ve been here 4 years this month.
The crazy thing is, I’ve never felt at home here. It’s always felt like a place where I’m “staying” until we get ourselves back home to the Bay Area. I’ve met some really great people here and my best friend moving here from Toronto is just a cherry on top of a great experience, but really, it’s always felt like a transitional city to me.
The reality is that we’re not leaving LA for a while (much to my chagrin). Maybe never. So every once and awhile, I feel a need to head north to my “real home” and reconnect with dear friends, enjoy the gorgeous outdoors and just soak up the vibe of an amazing corner of the world.
I can’t wait!!!
Have you ever felt totally connected to a city?
On to the Pad Thai
I actually made this a few weeks ago, but I’m only now doing a camera dump from my photo shoot. The lighting was not the greatest, so I’m not super happy about the images, but the pad thai was out of this world!!
Now as the weather is starting to warm up (okay, that’s one point in favor of LA living), I’m dabbling in the raw stuff that I promised you back in January.
The noodles do require a Spiralizer, but I highly recommend having one of these in your kitchen anyway. They are way too much fun to use (says the girl who clearly doesn’t get out much)!
Why Raw Pad Thai?
There are some that argue that eating a raw food diet can be beneficial to your health as it aids with digestion and food loses some of it's nutritional value in the cooking process. While both of these facts might be true, I personally believe that it depends on your constitution and where you live. Obviously, eating a raw food diet in January when you live in Canada, might not be the best idea.
I can't even bring myself to eat salads during the winters in California. My body craves the warmth of cooked foods, so I go with it. The problem with scientific evidence is that there's a study out there to prove anything and everything, which makes all food rules either untrue or all true. Either way, it makes no sense, so listening to your body while aiming to eat whole and unprocessed is the best thing you can do for yourself. BTW, I have zero studies to back that up, so feel free to question me, too.
Raw-some in the Summer!
Now, that said, I do love eating raw food in the summer. One of the great things about living in LA is that I have about 6 amazing raw food restaurants within a 10 mile radius of my house and I love them all. Have you ever tried Cafe Gratitude? Oh, that's by far my favorite place to eat in the world. It's not all raw food, but a ton of it is. I am never disappointed when I go there.
Don't have a spiralizer?
No worries, many grocery stores are now selling pre-spiralized (is that a word?) veggies, so you can buy them frozen or fresh. Also, if you're not as concerned on the "raw" front, this recipe would be equally as amazing with miracle noodles. These are a calorie free noodle made with (gosh, I don't know what), but you can find them in the same area of your store that you'd buy tofu and tempeh. Typically in the produce section.
[nutrifox id="64001"]
Raw Vegan Pad Thai Recipe
Yield: 2
A quick and easy meal with a VERY impressive taste. A great way to get your veggies in!!
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini
- 2 large carrots
- 1 T ponzu or soy sauce
- 1 T lemon or lime juice
- 1 t hot sauce, optional
- 1 T mustard, I used a flavored one to be fancy
- 1 t fish sauce, optional
- 1 T of PB2 powdered peanut butter, or the real stuff
- 2 T raw, unsalted cashews
- 1 t minced ginger
- 1 t minced garlic
- 1/3 cup cilantro
Instructions
- Spiralize your zucchini and finely chop the carrot (I just popped it in the food processor for a quick second)
- Chop the cilantro
- Make the sauce
- Add all the remaining ingredients (except cashews and cilantro) to a small bowl and mix well. until fully combined.
- Add the sauce to the zucchini and carrot mixture and garnish with cilantro and cashews.
