A day at the beach...in Melboune, Australia

While roaming around Melbourne on the bike loaned to me by my host, I made my way to the beach. It was well over 100 degrees, which considering the temps in Minnesota, was over a 100 degrees difference. Quite something in a matter of days. I loved it. I'm not really a beach person, but Australia is well known for their beaches, so I figured I had to see at least one. Of course, it was a city beach and was quite crowded on such a hot day. It was pretty fun to go from bitter cold to a day at the beach, I must admit.

Along with a couple of really great oranges, this is a pic of my treat at the end of my long bike ride.

Water, sunscreen, and kale chips. All I needed plus some oranges.

Ingredients: Kale, cashews, carrot, coriancer, and sea salt

St. Kilda Beach, St. Kilda, VIC, Australia

Does anyone know what these water propelling boots are called?

I haven't posted much lately because I've recently spent a month in Australia and New Zealand and didn't want to post that I was away from my home while I was actually away. I had some drafts prepared to post while gone but wifi wasn't always reliable, so that didn't really work out. But I did keep a journal while traveling of all the great raw food I found along the way. No dedicated raw restaurants to be found but plenty of options for delicious food, especially chocolate. Normally when I travel I have to give up raw chocolate because it isn't so readily available, but it is plentiful in Melbourne. I tried every kind and flavor I found from every small business. So for awhile I'll be posting those discoveries, starting with the chocolate. It was so much fun for me to search out raw food while in Melbourne. I think I pretty much discovered every nook and cranny as it relates to raw ingredients and availability. I discovered some new things, contemplated new ideas, and met some great new friends who share my passion. New Zealand was a bit harder but mostly because I was with a group and meals were planned. Still, I did just fine. Any raw foodists out there can rest assured that these two countries are easy to travel to and still eat as well as you want to. (Well, getting there isn't so easy, but traveling within the countries is easy and raw food is plentiful.) And since the people are so nice and the countries are so beautiful, I highly encourage you to find your way there at some point in your life. Truly remarkable places.

Here are some of the raw chocolate bars I found. My favorites were by Pana, especially the cinnamon flavor. I also discovered these amazing chocolate truffles that about made me kneel and kiss the ground. I cannot even tell you how good they were and do them justice in the telling. With flavors like pistachio; orange blossom; coconut goji berry; coffee infused; sea salt; and my favorite, chili pepper, these were as much art as food. The chocolate bars I can confidently say I could make myself, but these truffles were something else. I haven't quite figured out the secret, but I'm going to try. I don't know the company that makes them but bravo to you. Really beautiful, really delicious, and oh, so satisfying.

Pana Chocolates made in Australia

Made in the U.K. but found in Melbourne

Also Australian made. I lived on Loving Earth's products while in Melbourne.

The amazing truffles: clockwise from top:  sea salt; coconut-goji, pistachio, and chili pepper.

Orange Cranberry Spritzer

Cranberries and orange go so well together in a relish that I thought I'd try a juice. I then used my Sodastream to make some carbonated water. Combining the two created a brightly colored spritzer.  The juice is great on its own as well. 

Orange Cranberry Spritzer:
1 1/2 c. cranberries
1 orange
1 pear
1 lime

Run all ingredients through a juicer. Combine with some carbonated water to create the spritzer. Garnish with a lime slice.