Dinner Menu

[T-Leaves]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not... oops if it's not!

I have a question about choosing a menu for dinner. I'm fairly new to raw dinners and need some help figuring out exactly what to make for dinner. I generally will look at recipes and think "Oh that looks good!" Only to realize I have to dehydrate it for a day, or marinate something forever, etc. Maybe I'm just unorganized, lol, but what kinds of dinner do you guys put together and how far in advance do you genereally start.

Another quick question, hope you don't mind is what kinds of staples do you keep on stock, in freezer etc. I don't seem to ever have anything made to make a good, well rounded meal! I REEEAALLLY appreciate any tips and help you can give me. I think this kind of information will help me move closer to being 100% raw!

[shannsu]

As far as organizing stuff in advance... if you set aside a day (the weekend works best for most) to prepare some dehydrated stapples, say some bread, crackers, maybe a raw dessert cake or something...

Then during the week, you want a pizza for dinner, for example. Well, since you have a dehydrated bread, you can whip one up fast. All you need is a spread and a few veggies. You then it as is or pop in the D while you unwind a bit from work.

I usually have one type of pâté/spread that I make for the week. I try to start out with a fairly mild tasting pâté/spread and then I modify it by adding hot peppers, celery, onions... which ever ingredients match my mood.

If you want to have sprouted greens around then you can do a big batch all at once but I think it's preferable to start a smaller batch every couple of days (you can vary the kinds of sprouts: alfalfa, sunflowers, mung...) and have some really fresh ones all the time.

Someone suggested, quite aptly, that you should think of the day's menu ahead of time (in the morning or at night) and plan to have the menu items handy for what you plan.

During the week, I keep it simple (and I work from home!). I go more elaborate on the weekends, depending on how much stuff's on the agenda!

Sometimes, it's just playing the "old switcharoo": substitute a raw bread/cracker for a leaf of lettuce/collard... and you have a wrap!

That's my take on it. I'm sure there are as many as there are raw fooders out there. Just find something that works for you.

[ani]

i am definitely into planning. things don't always go as planned, but if i have a rough idea of what i'm making in the week, then i know what to shop for to have on hand. then, even if i don't make what i intended, i tend to have enough ingredients around to "whip something up". we tend to eat salads, soups and bread/crackers and sauce/dip during the week. pretty simple. (some grain etc. sometimes, too) and make more involved things like deserts and such on the weekends. have fun!!
i love planning in advance. i'm a stay-at-home-mom, though, so i have time to plan and prep, which i know a lot of people don't. but i really enjoy sitting down with a nice cup of tea at the beginning of the week and thinking of all the yummy nurturing things i'm going to make!

[T-Leaves]

Great ideas, thank you I'm pushing my last day at my current job up one week, so I have an entire free week before I start my new job, so that will be great time to plan meals and start making stuff ahead of time!

[Carmella]

I usually plan my dinner a day ahead. I try to keep the freezer stocked up in dehydrated staples such as breads/crackers, pizza crusts, burgers, wraps... which allow me to have what I call 'raw fast food'. Whenever I want to use them, I let them thaw for a couple of hours or place them directly in the D (short for dehydrator )

Other quick no-brainer meals for me include pasta and sammies.

You might want to check the following threads for inspiration!

What did you eat today?

So, UH, whad you eat today?

[T-Leaves]

Thank you! I just put together a batch of the Black Sesame Bread, and Almond Bread and it's in the dehydrator (one thing I love about raw food is that you can eat the raw "batter", I couldn't stop licking the spoon!! Yum!)

[shannsu]

Yeah, hear ya! Sometimes, there is hardly anything left to dehydrate! LOL