Looking ahead: Raw Kitchen Design

Andrew and I have been getting really excited about planning for living in our first house together when I go for my PhD next year. One of the central things we've been talking about is our kitchen. As everyone knows, no matter what diet they are on, the kitchen always plays a central role in ones home. For me, finding the perfect kitchen will definitely make it or break my choice of one home over another.

But what about our raw food diet? How does that fit into your every day kitchen? Who needs a stove, an oven, and all of those appliances when all I want is, as my sister put it, for "my kitchen to look like one of those natural health food stores" (that's actually what she said when she saw all our bulk supplies of dried nuts and seeds when she came over for the first time, and you have no idea how much of a compliment I thought that was). By saying that, my sister actually planted a little seed in my head that I actually do want my kitchen to look a health food store section, mostly because the bulk section of any grocery store is always where I feel the most in touch with the food, and where I feel all warm and fuzzy for no discernible reason. Can you just imagine how pretty it would be if you could have all your bulk fruits, nuts and seeds lined up in pretty containers or bins just like at your favourite co-op or store? I'd be in heaven! That, a lot of counter space for prep, a place for our Vitamix, our food processor, and our dehydrator and I'm set for life!

The cooler thing is we've been meaning to sit down and draw out what we would see as being our perfect kitchen, keeping in mind some interior design kitchen basics, like the 'golden triangle' rule, when setting up our design. Though we intended on figuring it all out for ourselves on a whim, I fell upon an awesome resource today: Susanna's Raw by Design which has an entire section on Interior Design for Raw Food! See, ask, and you shall receive! If you sign up to her mailing list, she has a couple free ebooks to send on the basic of designing a raw food kitchen, and some kitchen equipment basics. Yay for free raw foodie porn! Though I haven't read them yet, I've looked through them and they look wonderful!

Having lived in apartments since we've met, I'm so looking forward to having a real-sized kitchen together! And I can't wait to incorporate our raw food lifestyle into it as well for the long-term. I can already just imagine what a warm, thriving, and alive place it will be!

Workout of the Day:

10 minutes of cardio warmup on the elliptical

200 crunches (targeting each section)

1 minute of plank

1 minute of side planks

40 squats

40 calf raises

10 minutes of stretching

Recipe of the Day:

Raw Man Cookies a.k.a. Protein Cookies

(Recipe concocted by Andrew and my leftover raw marzipan for man-muscle-creating goodness!)

You'll need: Raw Frangipane (ground soaked & dehydrated almonds, 1 tsp vanilla and almond extracts, agave nectar), sprouted quinoa, hemp seeds, and flax seeds.

Mix seeds and quinoa into frangipane. Shape in little patties/cookies/bars/whatever pleases your fancy.

Dehydrate at 110 for a few hours (or just chill, the photo is actually the unfinished product).