Not So Chilly Chili

Through much experimentation, I keep coming back to eating a high raw diet. I think that eating a diet of whole, unprocessed, cooked foods is certainly healthy - and works for many people. But I feel so much better, physically and emotionally, eating most of my food raw. It's a hard lifestyle to keep, but one that becomes feasible as you practice and change habits. I've gotten more successful at it over time.
Anyways, I recently tried a raw chili that I thought was delicious and so I made it to take to our Chili Cook-Off last night. I didn't enter it in the contest, but I always bring my own food, so that was my dish for me. The fun part was that I had some friends who have recently become interested in the raw way of eating and we all ate together. Yay. I didn't have to be the only one eating my own "weird" food :-)
I got the recipe from a Raw Food Challenge that my husband and I did a few weeks ago. I was excited to find quite a few recipes that worked for me through that challenge. I am sure you can warm it up slightly (to make it feel a little more like the real thing and because warmer food is always appealing in the chilly weather) and it would still taste yummy. I haven't done that because I think it's so good the way it is.

Not So Chilly Chili

www.renegadehealth.com

Ingredients:

1 cup crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped (I omit)

1 stalk celery, diced small

1 Roma tomato, diced

1/2 cup red onion, diced small

1 red bell pepper, diced small

1 cup carrot, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and pureed

1/2 cup almonds, soaked 6-8 hours, roughly chopped

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp Ume plum vinegar (I just use apple cider vinegar)

Splash apple cider vinegar

Process:

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Adjust seasoning to

desired taste.