Raw Bento

It hits me time and time again that the way I eat is very unusual and I am at a stage where I would like to keep it more to myself. I have raw food at home but I am hesitant to bring it out for other people to eat.

Sometimes the food looks great when you prepare it, but once it sits around for a while, it starts to oxidize or melt.

So to give you an idea of how I socialize with this raw lifestyle of mine, I’ve taken some pictures of the food I brought to a friend’s house party last weekend.

This raw onion dip was a hit at my place the last time my friends came over so I was happy to make it again.

Although this is a cooked pasta dish, the sauce is a raw pesto one with pine nuts, basil, garlic, salt, black pepper and lemon. One friend couldn’t get over that there wasn’t any cheese in it. Garlic and salt are the answer…

I also made onigiris — a mix of vegan ones and a meat one. As you know, I live with the non-raw fiance so am used to making raw/vegan and meat dishes side by side. I figured not everyone would be into ume (preserved plum), or konbu (kelp), or wakame (Japanese seaweed), so I stuffed some rice balls with teriyaki chicken.

Why would I post such a random non-raw food shot? Well, I think it’s important to compromise when you are with friends who don’t eat or understand raw food. I could very well have marched out my flax crackers and an array of dips and salads, but it is winter after all, and I think cooked food was more appropriate for this event.

I think it’s also more comfortable for me not to be militant about raw food — for my own sake and for others’. When I force myself into fixed boundaries, I tend to rebel and crave junk food, and I also came to realize that not everyone is concerned about food and health, let alone vegetarianism and much less, veganism.