Superfood Granola recipe

1 T flaxmeal
1 T raw cacao nibs
1 T sesame seeds
1 T goji berries
1 t maca powder
1 t agave
1 t coconut oil
1 T chopped dates

Combine and add unsweetened almond milk for a delicious breakfast!

Day 10 Master Cleanse

Yesterday, day 9 of my master cleanse, I felt stressed out and hungry. I wanted to eat anything and everything! Today, day 10, I've only had 4 servings of the cocktail and I feel fine. Great actually! The coating is disappearing from my tongue and I suspect if I were to continue for another few days I would lose the excess weight I still would like to lose and detox entirely, but I don't have the time. I will have to see how the NR diet treats me and do this again in a few months if I desire. As part of the NR diet, I will be juice fasting/feasting one day a week.

I went for a colonic today. The moment the water started flushing inside me I felt really high and totally blissed out. It last for a little more than half of the session. I now feel so damn clean inside! I went to Wet Moore in Berkeley, which was a very different experience from Body Therapy in SF. A great deal more privacy, and the machines don't have a clear tube where you can see what is coming out. Plus, today they had already added cleaning chemicals to my waste so when I took a peek, you couldn't really tell what was going on. Lisa did say I should do two days of psyillium to really get the walls of the colon clean, so I will take that this evening and tomorrow am and pm. I bought ten navel oranges to put in my Breville juicer tomorrow. I plan to just drink that throughout the day. Thursday will be more for breakfast and lunch and then vegetable broth for dinner. Friday I plan on getting back on the Natalia Rose Life Force Energy Diet.

Here is my plan for the next few days and the soup recipe:

First day after the fast:
4 ounces fresh orange juice mixed with 4 ounces water. Sip slowly,
every three hours.

Second day after the fast:
Breakfast: 8 ounces fresh orange juice
Lunch: 8 ounces fresh orange juice
Dinner: 8 ounces vegetable broth

Vegetable Stock

2 onions, chopped
2 potatoes, diced
1 parsnip, sliced
1 turnip, sliced
2 pieces of kombu
fresh parsley
fresh thyme
fresh or dry bay leaf
mushrooms to taste or preference (about six crimini did it for me)

Fry two chopped onions, 2 diced potatoes and 2 celery sticks.
Stir in 1 sliced parsnip, 1 sliced turnip, and 2 pts of water.
Put in the bouquet garni (traditionally fresh parsley, fresh or dried
thyme, and bay leaf), bring to the boil, then heat and simmer for one
hour. Strain the broth from the solids using a colander.

Note: I will not be frying the onions and I may just simmer and not boil the soup.

I did it! 10 days, WOW. My aha moment was when I realized what an amazing willpower I have. I would like to carry this with me, as I hope it will help with my eating past fullness habit. Always a healthy eater, I simply eat too much and too much of a good thing is still too much. So to remember: I HAVE WILLPOWER!

Almost done Master Cleanse

I'm near the end of Day 7 on my Master Cleanse. I look and feel great. I am going 10 days, so Wednesday I will toss a bunch of oranges in the juicer and drink that for an entire day. Going forward, I plan on following Natalia Rose with a vengance. I want to lose more weight and get healthier, and not undue all this hard work (which really isn't that hard). This will include a one day per week juice fast. I'm excited. I feel like I have a really good plan.

Next Saturday I will be out of the country for a week, which I am a little concerned about. But if I stick with fresh juices and fruits for breakfast, avocado on whole grain with a salad or fruit or avocado salad for lunch, fruit mid afternoon and steamed fish and veggies for dinner, I should be just fine. Not sure I want to bring the 70% dark chocolate bars NR recommends with me, that seems like a slippery slope.

I can do this.

RAW Uncooking fun!

I am having SO MUCH FUN!

Uncooking is really enjoyable. I currently have raw ice cream with chocolate sauce thawing next to me that I made last night. This evening, after a great bowl of kelp noodles with tomatoes and basil and a cucumber avocado bell pepper alfalfa sprout salad, I whipped up a batch of cinnamon rolls, currently in the fridge. Normally I would be terrified to eat this because it's all nuts, but I know how to combine it now (with other nuts or dried fruits and lots of veggies) so I am not worried.

Cafe Gratitude is opening at my Whole Foods in a few weeks! Have I mentioned this yet? I am SO excited! All that luscious, raw food right here in Oakland.

My dermatologist put me in aldactone today, I start it tomorrow. She says it will help with my oily skin, occasional cystic acne and inconsistent periods. It's typically used for high blood pressure, never an issue of mine. It's a weak diuretic. The instructions say to minimize high potasium foods like bananas. Acck! I'll have to find new fruits to eat in the morning. Which, I guess, is not really a bad thing. For the past few years I have had trouble with my adrenal gland regulating my hormones, so hopefully this will help.

RAW Food Combining

I've lost some weight and learned a lot in the last few days. I want to share that wisdom here.

There are four categories, and they all mix with raw vegetables:

1. Starches (Whole grains, brown rice, sweet potatoes, young coconuts, avocados, legumes and cooked corn)
2. Flesh (Fish, eggs, dairy, meat, poultry)
3. Nuts/Seeds/Dried Fruit (includes mature coconuts & bananas)
4. Fresh Fruits

Here are the combining rules:

Wait three hours between categories.

Raw vegetables mix with any category

Avocados are a fruit but combine as a starch and can combine with dried fruits but not nuts

Only eat fruit on an empty stomach (at least 3 hours) and wait 30 minutes before eating anything else.

Bananas need a 45 minute wait.

If you must miscombine, only do it at dinner so your body has the whole night to deal with it without other foods being eaten.

If you are still hungry, better to eat from within the same category then mix. For example, have a second avocado rather than a handful of nuts after a meal of guacamole.

Best and worst foods, starting with best:

BEST

Raw fruits and veggies

Lightly steamed, low starch veggies with maple syrup or raw agave

Organic nuts and seeds

Stone or Cold Pressed plant oils

Cooked starchy vegetables

Raw Dairy (goat or sheep are best)

Whole grains (brown rice, millet, wheat, buckwheat)

Pastuerized animal flesh

Not whole grains

Cooked animal flesh

Chemicals, artificial sweeteners

WORST

What are good fats? 

Raw fats. It's that simple. Of course, plant based are best, like cold pressed oils, avocados, nuts, coconut and coconut butter.

RAW Natalia Rose's book

Today was the second day of the Natalia Rose book. This morning I checked the scale and I had lost the excess weight I picked up since we returned from skiing a week ago. The diet seems high in fat and I have gas and am bloated, but I think that's just adjustment. Will be curious to check the scale again tomorrow. many raw fooders say high fat doesn't work for them, but I wonder if that's a food combination thing. I have a feeling high fat works well for me. Time will tell.

Here's what's been super interesting: eating breakfast. I've been conditioned to wake up and eat, regardless of how I feel. Yesterday I wasn't hungry and didn't have anything but water till lunch at 12:30. Today I was hungry and had two bananas at 8:30 am. Why would I always wake up and eat, rather than **listen to my body**? Isn't that what it's all about?

I loved the salad I had this afternoon, with avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, agave and romaine, followed by raw chocolate pudding. Tonight's dinner was also great - coconut soup with shitake mushrooms and basil, and an avocado, zucchini, carrots and cabbage with an almond butter based thai sauce. The sauce was incredible! Not sure if I can post the recipe since it's from a published book. Anyone know?

Raw it's been a while!

Yep, I'm still raw. The ski trip was rough, being without a blender for a week, eating out nearly all meals, and with my baffled parents! I started each day with 2 bananas and a Lara bar a couple of hours later. Fortunately, the ski resort had an incredible salad bar, often with seeds, nuts and even seaweed. Once or twice I fell off the wagon, eating oatmeal and a chai nonfat latte one morning (or was it two?) and a vegan enchilada one night.

We're back now and for some reason I am feeling overwhelmed and confused. I returned home to find I've lost a total of 8 pounds and feel super good about that. Since our return, however, I've gained back two and yet I am back on the raw! Not skiing 7 hours per day, however. Maybe that's it. Anyway, I've just ordered 80/10/10, which may just be an overblown fruitarian diet. I am also interested in Natalia Rose's book. Please let me know if you have any experience with that.

I ate over two pounds of bananas today and feel kinda weird. Curious to see what the scale does tomorrow morning. I'm super tired after an 8 am presentation and I need to get out of the kitchen before I eat anything else.

Our trip to Costa Rica is in 6 weeks and I'd really love to lose 2 pounds per week until then. If I worry about it too much, it's not going to help, of course! A 10 day Master Cleanse started two weeks before departure may do the trick. That will give me three days to adjust. Hmmm....food for thought!

RAW One Month Tomorrow!

I haven't posted all week - it's been one of the most difficult of my life. 3 days after the surgery, my grandmother died. There I was, with my 98 year old grandfather and my uncle, waiting for the rest of the family to fly in, still unable to eat solid food. Then F got sick, and I was like a single mom too. I'm emotionally and physically fried. I'm thankful, though, that my health is good and the foods I am eating are improving my health and not the other way around.

I made an amazing smoothie this morning. It's like a green smoothie but with a serious, nutritional kick. It's raw but does contain raw honey, which is optional if you want it truly vegan.

The Best Green Smoothie Ever

Serves 2

3 cups water
2 tsp raw cacao powder
2 Tbs goji berries
1 tsp maca powder
2 Tbs hemp seed
2 tsp raw honey
2 tsp yacon syrup
2 tsp Vitamineral Green or other green powder supplement
2 Tbs raw coconut, from the fruit or shredded and dried
a few handfuls of spinach or romaine
1 banana

Mix in blender and enjoy!

I spoke with a friend at the party last night who has healed her "melancholy" with juices and had a juice bar party for a few friends. It sparked the idea for a raw food party and screening of 30 Days Raw for any friends with or pre-Diabetic. Could be fun!

Now, since my kids are at my MILs, my smoothie and I are headed back to bed with the NY Times. It's 8 am, after all!

RAW Three Weeks

My weight had climbed back up a bit, so I reduced the amount of raw cashews I was eating and that did the trick. I've now lost 6 pounds in 3 weeks. Perfect! I've added hemp nuts for protein, an alkalyzing nut, rather than the cashews which are acid. I've used this chart to help.

Thank god for this Vita Mix blender. Because of the dental work, I'm on a liquid diet but am by no means starving. I tired eating a banana yesterday and it hurt, so I'll stay liquid for another day or two and then try again.

I've made the avocado carrot soup from the Cafe Gratitude cookbook, "I am Grateful" as well as the pecan porridge. Both were last nights dinner; the leftover porridge will be this morning's breakfast with a bit more fruit added to it.

In the mood for a salad? Toss some greens, 1/2 an avocado and a couple bells in the vita mix and drink it down. Ice cream? Freeze some berries and mix em up with some water and raw almond butter.

I met L and her daughter, I, for the first time yesterday. We're going in on a dehydrator together! I'm very excited. We're going to be able to make things like pizza, nachos, pancakes and crackers. We went for the 4 tray economy Excalibur with the high end non stick trays.

RAW After the surgery

Yesterday I had periodontal gum flap surgery on eight teeth in the roof of my mouth. What a blessing the vitamix has been! I'm able to stay raw, get in all my fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, and only intake liquids.

I've discovered a great site that discusses the difference between alkaline and acid foods, and why the raw diet helps your body get into and stay alkaline. This is how the body gets healthy, slim and happy! The site is http://www.thebestofrawfood.com

This morning I've made the oatmeal recipe on their site:
http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/raw-food-breakfast-recipes.html

- Raw Food Breakfast -
Oat Meal

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 apples
1 banana
1 tablespoon golden flax seed
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Pure water

Directions

Put the flex seeds in the purified water and let sit overnight.

Peel the apples and cut them in smaller parts (for the blender). Peel the banana en break in parts. Rinse the flaxseeds.

Put all ingredients in a blender. This can be a hand blender or high speed blender such as vitamix. Add 1/4 cup water, just enough to let the mixture blend well. Blend all ingredients until smooth. You may want to add a little more water if it's too thick.

Tip

You make make this recipe even better by replacing the water with almond cream or fresh juice. You may also add a tablespoon of hemp seeds. My daughter likes to add (germinated) nuts and raisins. You can prepare this recipe the night before (but put the banana in there in the morning). Especially with nuts and dried fruits in it, it will only taste better!

This is my children's favorite breakfast. My 6 year old daughter has been eating this for more than years almost every morning. I like this breakfast because it has healthy ingredients that are easy to get: the fiber, good fats and protein of the flax seeds.

RAW Day 15

TWO WEEKS!!!!

I've lost five pounds and am very happy about that. I also feel amazing, and people keep telling me I look great. They look, they comment, I can tell they can't pinpoint what it is. Funny. If the weight loss keeps up at this rate, they'll know for sure soon! I feel like I'm just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of what raw can and will do for my body.

A quick rundown of my food today:
green smoothie (water, banana, spinach)
banana
grawnola w/ nut milk
nut balls
Lara bar
apple
whole, sliced avocado wrapped in a nori roll
Raw hummus (recipe at the end of this post)

A friend recently asked me what I have removed from my diet in order to go raw. Interesting question. For the past two weeks, I have not had any of these foods commonly found in my diet:
fish
eggs
brown rice
quinoa
buckwheat flour
soy sauce
rice milk
raw dairy
oatmeal
granola
vegetarian soups (miso, tomato, minestrone, coconut)
Coconut Bliss ice cream (pasteurized at 165 degrees)




RAW HUMMUS:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups dry garbanzo beans
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or to taste
• 1 cup filtered or spring water
• 1 pinch paprika

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak the beans for 24 hours. Drain, and let sit for 2 to 3 days, until the bean's sprouts are about 1/2 inch long. Rinse the beans once or twice a day.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove from heat, and let stand for 1 minute. Place the sprouted beans in the hot water, and let sit for 1 minute. Drain. If you do not do this step, the hummus will be awful.
3. Place the sprouted beans into the container of a large food processor. Add the tahini, sea salt, lemon juice, and garlic. Process until smooth, adding water if necessary. It will take 3 to 5 minutes to blend. Let sit in the food processor for 5 minutes to allow the beans to absorb as much of the water as possible. If too thick, add more water, and blend again. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Spoon into a serving dish, and garnish with paprika.

RAW Day 14

Today is Day 14, which means when I wake up tomorrow I will have been 100% RAW for two weeks. W@@T!

I was really worried about brunch this morning. We met up with some friends at Doyle Street Cafe, known more for it's pancakes, coffee and eggs bennie than it's health food. Not a good place for a diet, no less eating raw. I was getting ready to order the side order of fruit and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice when I saw they had a salad section on the breakfast menu. Lookie there - grilled shrimp and avocado salad! Perfect. I'll take one, please. Oh, and leave off the shrimp. And the parmesan cheese. And the russian dressing. Oil and vinegar on the side. And yes, I would still like the glass of oj. It was amazing to eat that while surrounded by all the other foods. One friend even asked, "What is that?" like he wasn't familiar with vegetables. "They're vegetables, Steve, it's called a salad," was my reply, tongue firmly in cheek. Hilarious!

I ate a couple of nut balls and had a bowl of grawnola with almond milk mid afternoon, went for my walk, and had a banana and a handful or two of raw cashews. Probably more of those than I should have had, I was scarfing them in front of the computer screen while researching a new cell phone. Not wise.

Dinner was simple but delicious. Here are the recipes:

Nori Rolls:

2 raw nori sheets
1 large avocado
2 fresh tomatoes
Red onion
Dandelion greens, arugula, spinach...

Roll everything into the nori. Wet the final edge of the nori with water to seal it. Let it sit for a minute or two to seal. Slice into bit sized pieces or just pick the whole yummy thing up and enjoy.

Strawberry Tibetan Goji Berry Smoothie

1 fresh young coconut 1 cup strawberries chopped into small pieces 2 tbs. Agave 1/4 cup soaked Tibetan Goji Berries How to: Carefully scrape the coconut flesh and pour the coconut water into a bowl and take out all the splinters and fibers then pour into a Blend-Tec Blender, then add all the rest of the ingredients and blend to desired consistency. If you do not have access to fresh young coconuts then you may also use almond milk instead. The Goji berries give this smoothie such a vibrant unique energetic flavor that will delight you while giving you amazing super vitality. I know that the more people discover and try Tibetan Goji Berries, the more blissed out they will become! -Bryan Au Author of the rawsome new book "Raw In Ten Minutes"

Mine always turn out more pink than the one above. Probably because if the amount of strawberries. Also, I leave the green leaves on the strawberries. And why not? Greens are healthy! Did you know the green leaves on broccoli, the ones we slice off and throw out, are the most nutritious part of the broccoli? True!

At the market this afternoon, the clerk asked me why I was buying young coconuts instead of the other ones. "Are those old?" he asked. I told him I bought the young ones because they were so much easier to work with. Here's what I do:

Opening a Young Coconut
Using a sharp knife, cut the triangular point off. Shave down to the hard shell. With the tip of the blade, poke a hole on the shell. Take a pair of kitchen shears and cut a circle out of the shell. Pour the coconut water into the blender. Take a spoon and scoop out the flesh inside the shell and add to the coconut water. Blend and you've got coconut milk. Yummy and healthy!

RAW Day 13

I made raw nut balls today. Is that a great name or what? They are also friggin delic!!! Here is the recipe:

Raw Date & Nut Balls

2 cups Medjool dates, pitted and soaked 30 minutes

1 cup almonds OR pecans OR walnuts, soaked overnight and drained
1 1/2 cups shredded, unsweetened coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla OR 1/2 vanilla bean, ground

Place nuts in a bowl and add 2 cups distilled water. Cover and allow nuts to soak overnight. Next morning, drain and set aside. Pit dates and place in a bowl; cover with distilled water and soak 30 minutes. With "S" blade in food processor, add soaked nuts and pulse until nuts are finely chopped; add 1 cup of coconut, cinnamon, and vanilla, and pulse until well mixed. Add soaked dates, a few at a time, processing until well mixed. Transfer to a large bowl and knead. Roll into desired size balls, and roll balls in extra coconut, or chopped nuts if desired. These date/nut balls will keep about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!

My dry garbanzo beans are still "sprouting," but nothing much is happening. Wondering if that's because it's been raining and they aren't getting any sun, or because they aren't really raw? I'll wait one more day.

We watched Raw for 30 Days last night. What an amazing story! Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with 'incurable' diabetes switching their diet and getting off insulin.

The film follows each participant's remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this diet and lifestyle change. We witness moments of struggle, support, and hope as what is revealed, with startling clarity, is that diet can reverse diabetes* and change lives.

Had an interesting dinner with my parents. They definitely think I've gone off the deep end, but they also fully know that food can heal. Dad has become a pescatarian on the advise of his doctor, and it cured his chronic lung infection. After 9 months off meat and poultry, he at chicken for 10 days and got sick. Stopped and hasn't been sick since.

Meanwhile, no matter how well I am eating if I don't get some sleep I may get sick. Good night!

Please comment!

If you are following, I want to hear from you. What do you want more of? Less of? Do you have any tips or resources for me and my readers? I'd love this to be more interactive, so if you are reading along please let me know. Thanks!

DAY 12 Raw

This is getting easier.

Not that it was ever hard. This morning I had my usual green smoothie. I'm finding that a simple combo of 2 bananas, 3 handfuls of spinach and 2 cups of water are perfect for F and I to share. After the gym, I have a bowl of grawnola. Basically, I toss 1/4 cup of 3 different nuts, say walnuts, almonds and cashews, into the mini Cuisinart along with a handful of raw cacao nibs, sunflower seeds, and soaked goji berries. Chop it up and into a bowl along with raw agave, cinnamon and shredded coconut. Pour in some almond milk (1 tbs raw, unsalted almond butter with 2 cups of water in the vita-mix) and enjoy. I'm full for hours. Here's the recipe.

I had meetings all afternoon. There was a buffet lunch at the first meeting. I chose the fruit salad, carrots and the vegetarian sandwich. I pulled apart the sandwich, scraped the avocado off the bread, and tossed the bread and the cheese. Voila - a salad, with lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers and avocado. A bottle of water and I was happy.

A few hours later I had a cocao mole Lara bar and a glass of water. By dinner time, I was starving. Too starving, in fact. I scarfed up the rest of last nights pie. Fortunately, it was raw and amazing from Cafe Gratitude. If it wasn't there, I probably would have eaten a handful or two of raw cashews and dates. After that, I wrapped dandelion greens, grape tomatoes and 1/2 an avocado in a sheet of nori. That was 5 hours ago, it's now bedtime and I am not hungry.

This morning I had lost 4 lbs since day one. I'm very happy about this. I feel clear and clean. Other diets I've done in the past have made me feel like, well, this is good for now. Not so with this one...I can't see myself eating any other way. I feel like I've found the fountain of youth! I don't want to jump the gun, though. Let's see what happens in the next few weeks. Still, two pounds a week...that would put me at my old Weight Watcher goal in 7 weeks, which is early March. That would be nice!

RAW Day 10...12 hours late

We went tothe SF Ballet Gala last night and had an amazing time. So fun to dress up, see and be seen, and watch the incredible dancers. It would be really nice to be able to attend on an annual basis. During the performance, I kept thinking, I can't wait till my little girls are old enough to attend this with me! But then, they are such great ages now (3.5 & 6.5) that I don't want to rush it.

I'm eating an incredible bowl of grawnola right now with almond milk. I made the almond milk with a tablespoon of raw almond butter and 2 cups of water in the Vita-mix. I tossed 1/4 cup each of almonds, walnuts, cashews, cacao nibs, and pumpkin seeds in the food processor (mini Cuisinart) and chopped it up. Once in the bowl, I added some raw agave, raw honey, cinnamon and Himalayan sea salt. OMG it's amazing! I also had a spinach/banana/water smoothie this morning. It was a a beautiful shade of green and sweet and yummy.

Last night I ate dinner in the car on the way to the ballet - a cupful of nuts, seeds, dates and shredded  coconut. I also ate a banana. I had a few sips of champagne during the reception. I've been munching on the rawsagna wich is so super amazing!

I've been recommended to Reggie Bass and Billy Page by Dr. Liz Dobbins, a chiropractor I met at an Oakland eWomen Networking event this week. She said they prepare raw foods for their customers to take home. It would be nice to have prepared meals around! I'll be contacting them this week.

Tonight is F's birthday. I'll be calling Cafe Gratitude for a raw cake, making Simply Yum Salad, and searing some ahi tuna (which I probably won't eat). I've been on the scale and it's going in the right direction! 

Here's something suprising: I wear a heart rate monitor at the gym, and lately my exercise has been fantastic. The heart rate monitor shows a higher heart rate than normal. Typically, I have to work very hard to get my heart rate above 120 to get a decent work out. Not any more! Same workout, better results!

RAW Day 9

I almost didn't post this evening, but I run a marketing company and I know what happens when you skip a blog post. My clients do it all the time. You miss one and then it's really hard to get back on track. Kind of like taking a year off from college.

Today's been great. My Rawsagna turned out amazing! It's so fresh and delicious, that tomato sauce would be good on anything!

I started my day with the usual green smoothie. I had some raw muesli and almond milk late morning and a salad for lunch. I was at a networking event and had brought my own but I didn't need it. I did need to remove the candied walnuts, however. So sad, they ruined a perfectly good handful of nuts! 

At the lunch, we all had to say something about us that was unique. I said I've eaten nothing but raw, organic food for nine days and feel amazing! A woman told me to find Reggie Does Raw, or something like that, a local chef who prepares a weeks worth of raw foods for about $50. Sign me up! It took me two days to make that rawsagna! I love to uncook but it's tough with a business in it's third year, another business plan in the works, two little kids (6 1/2 & 3 1/2) and a workaholic husband (I'm just glad he's still employed in this economy so I don't complain anymore). 

My mid afternoon snack was a couple of apples. Dinner was a salad with avocado and two pieces of rawsagna. After dinner I had a handful of raw cashews and two clementines. Before bed I'll have the long life cocktail. 

I'm bringing my scale upstairs.  I want to know for sure if this is working.

RAW Day 8

I've made it a week! Monday to Monday! And you want to know something? It was super easy. I feel great.

I've also gotten over my parents freakout. I'm a grown-up. Whatever.

I had the usual green smoothie this morning (shared with F, I put in 2 bananas, some kale and some water. I topped it off with some raw agave. I've had a sweet tooth all day today! My mid morning snack was raw granola and an apple. I walked for 30 minutes, then had a nori wrap (nori seaweed with 1/2 avocado, dandelion greens and tomatoes) with some baby carrots. Mid afternoon I had an amazing goji berry smoothie. I started to make Rawsagna this afternoon. What a process! For dinner I redressed the leftover salad from my uncle's party with agave, sprouted sunflower seeds and avocado to make it more like the Simply Yum Salad.

I've still got a sweet tooth and may make myself a raw chocolate drink, or just eat raw cacao with shredded coconut.

I read earlier about drinking flax oil in the morning and at night followed by lots of water and a glass or two of cranberry juice as a way to get rid of cellulite. I think I'll try it tonight before bed and see how it makes me feel. Note: Make sure it's real cranberry juice, not sweetened and definitely not from concentrate!

I've just come across another Blogspot blog that I think I will follow:

http://smoothiesandrawfood.blogspot.com/

RAW Day 7

Wow, tomorrow morning will be one week!

I went to my uncle's housewarming this evening and was greeted by my favorite caterer. I looked around at all the delicious food and was very glad I had eaten that pear before I left the house. I had a glass of water (the pitcher had lemons, limes and parsley in it, very pretty!) and a plate of salad. No one even noticed. When you are eating differently, you always expect someone to say something. The truth is that most people are so absorbed in themselves that they don't notice what anyone else is doing until you mention it. This goes for more than just food, and is a bit of wisdom I wish I had realized as a teenager!

I had a green smoothie for breakfast. Truth is, it sat for a while before I had the desire to eat it. It was nice to not be starving when I woke up! I worked out at the gym, ate a banana, some flax crackers, and a giant salad of romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, 1/2 avocado, tomato and olive oil with a handful of raw cashews. It was interesting to wander the market listening to my body tell me what I want to eat.

Later I had a banana and then the aforementioned pear. Then we went to the party.

When we got home, I had celery and carrots with almond butter and a few strawberries. It's now 9 pm and I feel sated.

I spoke with my parents today about what I am doing and really wish I hadn't. They were very critical, telling me I am damaging my body, my metabolism, and why don't I just do what dad is doing, how he's lost 25 pounds recently. But that's always his way, to get everyone to do what he's doing. When will I ever learn to not talk to them about weight and food? I'm going to keep on with this for a month, weighing myself once a week, and see what happens. At the very least, I've learned how to eat more fruits and vegetables, and I love the green smoothies.

RAW Day 6

The bloating is gone, thank god. My fingers and legs are back to normal. I'll give it a few days and then eat some dried fruit and see what happens. I have to admit, it is kind of cool seeing my body respond to foods like this. I'm feeling way more in touch.

The girls woke us up early this morning so we didn't get much sleep. That was the third night in a row and more than I can take. I made it through most of the day just fine. I had a wonderful green smoothie for breakfast:

dandelion greens

kale

chard

3 bananas

3 cups of water

Felix and I shared this. I had a large glass and was full for about 5 hours! I carried another glass of it around in a travel mug and never got to it.

We took the girls to Cafe Gratitude for lunch today. We loved it, A. loved it, H. not so much. We spent a ton of money, too. The girls ordered the chocolate milk and noodles with sauce and cheese. A. was super happy, like i said, but H. was not fooled by the spiral cut veggies. She thought the milk tasted like coffee (ie bitter). The spring roll had avocado and she freaked. She had an allergic reaction to it when she was a baby and has never liked it. Poor thing, I couldn't exist without avocados!

I had the raw coconut soup and nachos, which were amazing. For dessert, I had a raw, healthy version of an almond joy. YUM! The girls had a macadamia nut butter vanilla something or other, which they loved (but H. thought the chocolate was too bitter). 

H. asked me a fantastic question this morning. "Mama, what foods don't you like? Not what foods don't you eat, but what don't you like?" I thought about it for a while, because while there are long lists of food I won't eat (white flour, sugar, chicken, red meat, pork, lamb...) there aren't a lot of foods I don't LIKE. But I had a few for her: gefilte fish, cranberry jelly, and brussel sprouts. YUCK.

After lunch we ran some errands (H. got 100% on Friday's spelling test so she was rewarded with a toy)  and came home. At this point, I was so wiped out that I could barely behave. I was impatient with the girls and super cranky. Interesting because I've really been rolling with the punches quite well this week and laughing at life instead of yelling at it. At 2:15, I went to bed and slept for four hours!

I woke up hungry but not starving. I ate all the leftovers from lunch (mostly H's food with a little of mine) and now, an hour later, I'm hungry again. I'm thinking raw granola with almond milk. Gotta learn to trust those cravings, right? I do want to be careful to avoid that "full" rather than "light" feeling I blogged about yesterday. I am doing this for health but I also want to lose weight. I have a hard time losing weight, so too many nuts and seeds will do me in. I think tomorrow I will pull out the scale and start weighing myself each Sunday. I'm hoping for 2 pounds per week, which seems about average for this type of diet.

I'm a bit confused about coconuts. I'm completely on board with it's health benefits, and I have a gallon of coconut oil in my kitchen. I'm just not sure how to incorporate it into this diet. In the past, I've used it to fry my eggs and in my smoothies and on my rice cakes. Perhaps on my flaxseed crackers? I haven't heard of anyone putting it in green smoothies, but that might be another idea.

Have I mentioned my periodontal surgery in two weeks? I've emailed a friend who is a natural medicine doctor for her recommendations. When I needed penicillin during A's otherwise natural home birth, she recommended probiotics and arnica, which helped a lot. Oh, forgot to mention I swallowed a probiotic this morning with my green smoothie. I'm considering digestive enzymes but F recommends allowing my body to adjust for a few more days and seeing how it goes.

Off to follow my cravings!

RAW Day Five

It's late and I'm tired so I will make this brief.

I'm so bloated! I woke up this morning and couldn't even get my rings off. My pants went on like my legs were two balloons. After dinner this evening I did a Google search on raw and bloated and found tons of sites. It turns out to be related to dried fruits. I have been eating a lot of dried fruits, which is common to those new to the raw diet. Listen to this:

From www.rawfoodinfo.com:

If you cut out the dried fruits and the bloat abated - that might be the answer to your problem right there. Many dried fruits are not really raw because they have been dried at high temperatures, and it's hard to get a straight answer from the suppliers as to what temperature their fruit was dried. The exception would be sun-dried fruits. But I would just cut out the dried fruits altogether and go with fresh fruit instead. Dried fruit is difficult to digest unless it has been soaked for a while in filtered water. Remember it is dehydrated, which means it has no water content in it. The body has to supply the missing water if you do not rehydrate the fruit and supplying the missing water is hard on the body.

In the beginning of changing to a raw diet a person may unconsciously look for the foods which are heavier and more filling. This is only natural since the previous processed and cooked diet was very heavy and stuck with the body longer. Raw foods are very light and so, many times you don't feel like you've eaten because you don't feel the heaviness or satiety in your stomach that you may be used to. Eventually you will become accustomed to the new feeling of lightness after eating. You may be using dried fruit and nuts to compensate for not feeling the usual feeling of fullness.

No more dried figs for me! This morning I had a green smoothie with bananas and chard. I had some raw granola and an apple late morning and a small bowl of the leftover gazpacho with flax crackers mid afternoon and another apple. About an hour before dinner I ate a raw cookie. Dinner was incredible: guacamole (avocado, tomato, garlic, onion, red bell pepper and lime, which I ate with cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery and jicama, Simply Yum Salad and an amazing coconut-goji (soaked) berry-strawberry smoothie. I ate a banana around 11pm and now at midnight I am going to bed.

Tomorrow, no dried fruit!

RAW Day Four

Today, day 4 of my raw diet, was a little more difficult. Overall, not too bad though. We went to sleep really late last night so I was tired and even a little head achy this morning. It all went away once I ate the delicious spinach, mango, banana smoothie F made for me though. Yum! I dropped the kids at school, went to the gym, ate some fruit and worked for a few hours. 

For lunch I had the most amazing nori rolls with avocado, fresh tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, onion and dandelion greens. I had two rolls and was full for hours, which really surprised me.

Late afternoon I had an apple and a banana.

While making dinner, I snacked on (I was hungry!) carrots, raw cashews and dried figs.

Dinner was gazpacho soup. I got the recipe from 12 Steps to Eating Raw. We ate that with flaxseed crackers I had picked up from Whole Foods.

Late evening I had a small handful of goji berries with raw cacao and shredded coconut.

I got on the scale today for the first time in five months and I really didn't like the results. I'm trying not to put too much energy towards that and remember that I only did it so I would have something to compare to in a month.

I've been super gassy today and (not sure if you want to read this but here it is!) my poop is very sticky and green, and it feels very urgent when I have to go. I'm so glad to get that out of my body! 

On the other hand, F mentioned that my skin look amazing. I have oily, acne prone skin so that's a huge change for me. Yay!

Our CSA box arrives tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it. In addition, I need to go back to the store to pick up a few things like strawberries, garlic, tomatoes, parsley and celery. It's so nice to buy vegetables and actually eat them!

RAW Day Three

Another great day eating raw!

Again, I woke up at 5:30 am, this time after not going to bed until 11 pm. I'm doing the same tonight, amazingly I feel great after being up all day, and a busy one at that.

I made a raw muesli this morning which was delicious and the envy of everyone around me at my meeting this morning. I had a kale/peach/banana smoothie for lunch, and some trail mix a couple of hours later. More trail mix (goji berries, raw cacao, shredded coconut, raw cashews and dates) at the movie so I wouldn't eat the popcorn. I wasn't even tempted. Dinner at Cafe Gratitude YUM!

Interestingly, I solved the word scramble at the gym, a weekly event, in record time. Normally I really struggle but today it was a breeze. Coincidence?

My neighbor's husband has lost 30 lbs in 3 weeks and may be diagnosed with esophogus cancer. I lent her the raw book and she was amazingly grateful. Felix read the book last night and is seriously considering trying it out. At least he's not giving me hairy eyeballs about this whole thing anymore.

I'm going to get myself weighed and measured at the gym tomorrow. I haven't done that since August, and I want to see what happens in the next month. I promise I won't get bent out of shape when I see the numbers on the scale.

RAW Day Two

I woke up this morning feeling amazing!

An hour earlier than usual, I snuck out of my quiet home and went for a 45 minute hike through my neighborhood hills. I ran the flat part of the run, something I often think about doing but rarely do.

I had the last glass of yesterdays smoothie (chard, pears and mint) for breakfast at 7:30 and a banana at 9:30. A bit later I had a bowl of the green soup I made yesterday and an apple.

By mid afternoon I was developing a head ache and felt like I was on overdrive but unable to concentrate (lights are on, no one home!) so I drank a bunch of water and ate some dried mango and figs. That really helped.

For dinner I made Nori wraps with a Vita-mix blend of walnuts and sprouted and soaked sunflower seeds, 5-spice seasoning, olive oil, lemon juice and Himalayan sea salt. I spread the pate and thinly sliced avocado, bell pepper and green onion. My family thought I was crazy but it was yummy and very filling.

I have a 7:30 breakfast meeting and have already set up my raw muesli to take with me. I'm very dissapointed to learn that almonds are flash pastuerized and not raw, but my almond butter is made with raw nuts, so I used a tablespoon of it in two cups of water and it made a great milk! Breakfast should be yummy.

It's 9:30 and I am totally wiped out and going to bed. Interesting that before this, I never felt tired and never went to bed and suffered insomnia. Hopefully I will fall asleep quickly tonight.

Going Raw, Day One

I've decided to go raw for two weeks, evaluate how I feel, and decide on whether or not to continue. I'm using 12 Steps to Raw Foods by Victoria Boutenko as my guide. My family is not joining me, but as the sole pescatarian in the family, I'm used to eating differently. In fact, we all eat differently from one another and I've always embraced that. Dinner time can be a bit hectic but I like honoring our different needs and cravings. F is a big meat eater, and he loves pizza. He's got health issues and I would love to inspire him with eating raw, but he is who he is. H is 6 and loves miso soup and shrimp tempura. A is 3 and loves rice, beans, chicken, avocados. Both my kids love carrots, broccoli cauliflower and edamame.

I started my day with a bowl of buckwheat groats. I soaked them in water overnight and this morning, I drained and rinsed them and blended them with water in the vita-mix. I reblended them with a few dates, a tsp of raw coconut oil and a dash of Himalayan sea salt. I then ran around and took the girls to school, went to the gym, the grocery store, and got some work done at my desk and wasn't even the slightest bit hungry. For lunch I had a cup of green smoothie, which included chard, mint, pears and water along with a banana and a few flax crackers. I'm feeling fantastic!