who says super bowl snacks have to be bad for you!?!?

Beet Tartare & Citrus Avocado Mousse Canapes

Ingredients:

3 endives (leave in refrigerator until you are ready to serve)

1 large red beet (peeled and diced)

2 medium golden beets (peeled and diced)

1 cara cara orange, juiced 

1 meyer lemon, juice 1/2 (set the other half aside for garnish)

10 basil leaves (messy chop)

1/4 tsp salt

2 medium limes, juiced

4 avocados 

"cooking" time : 30 min

serving size: 2 leaves

Servings per batch: about 10

*You can wear gloves if you want to prevent your hands from turning red when peeling and cutting beets.

Directions:

Beet Tartare - Combine diced beets, chopped basil leaves and salt into a large bowl.  Squeeze the juice of cara cara orange and 1/2 of meyer lemon onto the beets and blend ingredients.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave out at room temperature while you make the avocado citrus mousse.

Avocado Mousse - Scrape the meat of the avocados into food processor, discarding the skin and pits. Finish with lime juice and mix until avocado become smooth and fluffy.

Endive - Wash endive and pat dry, discard any leaves with bruises or imperfections. 

***  Time for plating ***

Place a dollop of avocado citrus mousse on an endive leaf with a small spoonful of beet tartare on top of it.  To finish, squeeze a few drops of meyer lemon juice on the beets.

Photo credit: Sayf Khidir

Day #1 Let the raw begin!

Ok lets get down to business!  Today is Day #1 of my transition back to the raw food lifestyle.  This process will take my body about a week to become accustom to only eating raw fruits and vegetables.  One thing to keep in mind is that everyones body will shift differently, meaning some may become super tired while others more energetic.  As well as how you are digesting your food and in what combinations they are being consumed.  No matter how you are adjusting to the raw lifestyle you always want to be aware of how your body is feeling during the process.  Also drink water and lots of it!!!

I started my day off with 16 ounces of water, an iced coffee and a cashew lara bar.    I know what you might be thinking, "iced coffee isnt raw!!" Well all I have to say about that is... I will give up wine, spirits and beer but not my cawfee!

In the spirit of kicking this off right I decided to step up my workout and run the lyon street stairs.  Let me tell ya this girl was a strugglin'!  I can feel the difference in my body now in comparison to just a few months ago when I was a raw food rock star.  If you live in the Bay area I encourage you to push yourself and get moving on these stairs... they do a booty good!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lyon-street-steps-san-francisco