Zespri Kiwifruit 14 Day Challenge Kick-off Dinner

Ladies and Gentlemen, for the next 14 days you are going to be inundated with kiwi delights (not the bird or the man, but the fruit) as I embark on Zespri’s 14 Day Daily Scoop Amazing Challenge.

Everyone knows the benefits of eating fruits, but did you know that Kiwifruits are one of the most nutrient dense fruits around? Kiwifruit has 5 times the nutrition of apples and contain twice the Vitamin C of Oranges! So the next time you fall ill, grab a kiwi instead of an orange! Don’t worry, I won’t drown you guys with too many facts (for now), although if you want to read up yourself you can definitely do so at http://www.zespri.com.sg/. For now, I’ll just share with you the wonderful kick-off dinner I had at The Living Cafe, courtesy of the good people of Zespri.

Oh just a short plug for The Living Cafe, they are into organic as well as raw food, prepared in a way that still makes the food taste great! Check out their menu here. Gotta bring my super healthy parents!

Group photo after the amazing kiwi inspired and laden meal. I have to say, this is the 1st food blogger’s meal I have ever eaten where I didn’t feel sinful and guilty after gorging on the food! This is really the way to incorporate more healthy fruits into your diet in an interesting and fun way to eat. I mean we all know that we have to eat more fruits, but after our main meal, sometimes there just isn’t space for anything else. So the best way may just be to incorporate the fruits themselves into the main dishes!

Raw Bruschetta with Pesto and Kiwi Salsa

And you thought that bruschetta can only be made with bread and tomatoes.

Raw Kiwi and Apple Gazpacho

A really refreshing soup that wasn’t heavy and instead prepared the palate for the main course. You would think that fruits might go better in a dessert rather than a soup, but it isn’t so at all. This is very similar to tomato gazpacho which is more commonly found.

Grilled Salmon stuffed with Cauliflower, Served with Mixed Salad and Kiwi Citrus

Ha, I wish they kept in line with the raw theme. I would have liked a raw piece of salmon! The highlight of the dish for me was the cauliflower enveloped by the grilled salmon. Unfortunately it can’t be seen here, but it looks like finely chopped up cauliflower with a generous amount of garlic. Really loved the taste and texture and it felt as if I was consuming rice (aka carbo) rather than a healthy vegetable!

Raw Kiwi Pie

For dessert, we had raw kiwi pie. Frankly, I wasn’t really looking forward to an unbaked dessert after perusing the menu. But once again, I was pleasantly surprised. By this time, I have to admit that my tongue was protesting the sudden overload of kiwi. Some people get the tingling sensation when they eat pineapple or kiwi, and I am one of those people if I consume too much. I secretly pushed away the kiwi topping and walloped the nut cream filling instead.The nut cream filling was amazing. It had a mild milky taste, but a really fantastic texture. It was soft yet it had a little bounce to it. LOVED IT. And it’s not even cooked! Need to ask Zespri for this recipe but I’m not sure if The Living Cafe would care to share it!