Ravishingly Raw

and so..

2009-09-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

it still goes.

currently i am at about a 80/20 split raw/vegetarian.

its just working out that way.

i am happy with it although i do want to try to get creative enough to try some of the great recipes that have come across, especially the ones from Susan at Rawmazing

here is her latest recipe for Raw Spinach Mushroom Tart

..just delicious looking..

i had an exchange with my aunt about eating better and of course i suggested eating raw to her.

i told her that i have gone from a size 20 to a 16 and (i have only been on this raw journey since 7/4/09)

and i totally believe that its been mainly diet because i have slacked off on my workouts majorly and her response was that she "can't eat anything raw"

i didn't go any further with the conversation but i wondered if she thought i meant raw meat or something outlandish..

why else would she respond that way?

i just can not imagine a person not eating ANY fruits, vegetables or nuts..which is at the heart of my raw eating..

last night i arrived home late and tired and hating the fact that i didn't stop off to at least grab a few pieces of fruit because i didn't have a single piece

for one the kid is home and well, she is like a human disposal and i am buying very little because as good as organic is for you, it does not last long and i was wasting a lot of dough because i was throwing so much away

i am hoping that within the next few weeks we will start dehydrating

this will help push the raw quotient up

i am still finding it tremendously challenging in some ways and its simply a matter of creativity

in the beginning we were eating so many salads that i actually started hating them

but now i just try to make them as colorful and varied as possible and its not as much of a pain

i have added tofu back to my diet..

at this point its a matter of having something to eat and i am ok with that.

for now.

lacking...

2009-09-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

i have been so lacking in updating this blog..

i am hoping that today will be a new start. i have already had my morning smoothie.

but its one of those times when i have so many things going on and i am trying to get the schedule down.

it does not hurt that the kid is back home and summer's sweet slowness is coming to an end..

anyway, i am still exploring this raw world.

now i add my barleans greens to all of my smoothies, just to get more green nutrition

we went to a great health seminar back in july @ kennedy king college

i wish that i would have taken pictures or made more notes but i did have a couple of brochures but they are not handy at the moment and i want to get this post up

we also went to a fun event with the folks @ cousins incredible vitality

it involved a bunch of eating and food demos, which i really like

i am really hoping to go to nyc to a class at the natural gourmet institute

its called raw food made easy it sounds like it would be a great hands on intro to exploring raw food..not to mention an excuse to get back to new york..

i have totally fallen in love with the raw trio from totally vegan

its obviously not totally raw with the nachos but its a good go to meal when i am downtown and desperate to have something other than a salad.

the plan going forward is to get to dehydrating..i am hoping this happens within the next couple of weeks.

cravings..

2009-07-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

as mentioned yesterday..

because this whole raw deal is mainly about health and not deprivation, i know that i will have non raw food at times and well i did and what i meant by not worth it is this..

i had fried fish and Doritos (which have always been a major craving in my world) and a chai tea latte and the thing is..

they tasted good but i didnt get that "ahh" feeling that i thought i would since i thought i was craving them so much..

and the next morning i was starving!

i mean stomach grumble the whole nine and i have not had that feeling once when eating only raw..

its weird..

but a good thing..

its a confirmation of what i have been reading and hearing @ seminars about raw eating..

if your body is getting the right nutrition, and you are consuming "real food" that your body was made to process and use properly, you rarely experience the hunger sensation..

so, i will still acknowledge and indulge in some of my cravings (which really are rare) at times but i much prefer the feeling that i have been experiencing from my raw foods..

just a true fulfillment and the energy, physically and mentally that goes along with it.

today we are going to a natural health awareness expo..

and of course i will blog about it..

2009-07-24T09:31:00.001-07:00

Not good..

Yesterday was a day of raw and non raw and lets just put it this way..it was so not worth it..

I will blog more about it later

sproutin..

2009-07-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

i know i have been a little lacking on my updates but hopefully now that will change since i am working on setting up mobile bloggin..

anyway, i will start off by answering my girl coco cooks question about the last post on the t:

glamah16 said...

Was the Masa cooked or steamed. Sounds good. Love carmelized onions. So how do you feel?Is their any weight loss. Fascinated!

The food at karyn's raw is as far as i know, just that: raw..so the masa was not cooked or steamed

they do however warm certain things

in the raw community it varies depending on who you are talking to but certain things can be warmed up to 118 degrees

as to how do i feel, i feel lighter and less bloated and i have an abundance of energy

re the weight loss, i am not sure. i dont know what i weigh to begin with but i am told that i look like i am losing weight and i know my clothes are fitting differently

maybe i will find a scale somewhere to see how much i weigh and track it every once and a while

anyway, here is today's lunch:

as you can see i love guacamole!

and the little sprouts you see are wheat berries, which are sweet & chewy..

speaking of sprouts, today we went to the chicago indoor garden

they sprout 12 varieties of sprouts and sell some of their products at Whole Foods and i assume other stores also

for a raw foodie, it was like walking into sprout heaven just knowing that there were so many available under one roof right here on the northwest side of chicago

we wanted to tour their facility but to keep it clean and disease free, they don't give tours

it's a bummer but i can understand

we purchased three different varieties to start..

garbanzo bean, mung beans & lentils.

the other day we went back to karyn's for dinner and i had a fantastic dish called the Portobello Napoleon

it's Thinly sliced Portobellos layered with scented vegetables, fresh herbs and a cashew blue cheese Drizzled with homemade primavera sauce

and it is divine...

i wanted to order a second helping!

this morning we had a green shake made from Barleans Green, bananas, mango, coconut water & apple juice

it took a moment to get use to but then i was gulping it down

appreciating..

2009-07-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

karyn's raw even more every day

we went for dinner last night

i would have taken pictures but my phone was out of juice

we started with the nachos..Crispy corn tortilla chips with guacamole, sweetened sour cream, black olives, marinated red onions, caramelized jalapenos

i can not wait to figure out how to make raw tortilla chips

for entrees we had the Empanadas - Flax and corn masa pastry dough stuffed with three pepper chorizo and house blend chili spice Served with a side of authentic raw chocolate mole and a salsa verde

and the Tamales - Corn husks filled with organic masa, tomato puree, mushrooms, asparagus, olives, extra virgin olive oil. Drizzled with a raw béchamel sauce and side of chipotle salsa

i loved the nachos and the tamales.. especially the guacamole
they are becoming more and more of a favorite

went to buy avocados from the grocers but they were not that great

gonna check stanley's or wholefoods..

today i am going to try the Barleans Green drink that i have

green drinks are supposed to supply your body with an enormous amount of "superfoods"

today we are going to a live food nutrition class

that should be interesting

i will write about both next time

delish..

2009-07-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

ok.

the other day at karyn's raw my honey and i got a smoothie that i completely fell in love with the taste of (mind you i did not love the price or the size of it)

needless to say, i have since mastered it at home (for way less)

and it will be a saving grace for me..because i love sweets and it is yummy sweet..

i also tried Greens Plus Orange Greensicle powder which tasted a lot like a dreamsicle but was so gritty and almost too sweet for even me..

and i am a sweet lovah lovah.

anyway, we have officially made it past week one today!

YEA!

and it has been rocky at moments but overall i feel really good about it

there is so much to learn

and so everyday we are reading up and taking in the "community" online

and it is a very big community

which i guess really isn't a surprise but yet in a way it is because i honestly had never given the possibility much thought

but reading that i can possibly lower my cholesterol a significant amount is really a good motivator

because i am grateful for them but i HATE taking the drugs that i have to take

meals currently consist mainly of salads chock full of veggies and nuts and fruit

and i am liking it more than i thought i would

because i have always liked salad but i normally did not eat it a lot

i was the type of vegetarian who basically abstained from meat but not much else so strangely veggies were not a big part of my diet..

lol

this raw adventure will be really significant in the sense of really paying more attention to what i put into my body and not just what i don't

and we have decided right from the beginning that we will do what works for us individually and not feel like we have to follow any one philosophy or rules

but to pay attention to our bodies and how it responds

and if that turns out that we are 95% raw or 75% then so be it..

so now is the time to explore the farmers markets and grocers in a different way

getting into fruits and veggies that i normally would walk right past

learning how to sprout and dehydrate

and i think that these are the things that are making this exciting...

this having to learn and do something so completely different

especially when it comes to food.

something i guess we usually took for granted and definitely don't give much thought to

because there was always a restaurant or something in the fridge or freezer that could be easily nuked to answer the i'm hungry grumbling..

anyway, off to make a smoothie..

oh and if you are interested here is the recipe

Banana Smoothie

- 1 frozen banana
- 2 teaspoons of flax (currently using Barleans)
- coconut water (currently using Zico)
(to taste but i start with up to 1/2 a cup but may need more depending on desired consistency)
- almond milk (currently using Almond Breeze but this will most likely change when i learn to make my own)
(amount is the same as coconut water)
- ice
- simple hand blender

dump it all in a container. mix it for a minute or less and ta da.

so simple and so dang good

the journey begins..

2009-07-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

not sure why we decided to start our new raw lifestyle on independence day..

i think it just organically happened...

we talked about it

thought it would be a good idea

and saturday would be a good day to start

it was really simple like that..

but nothing has been simple since..

mind you, its only 4 days in

but i have had my moments..

not bad enough to make me want to quit but definitely challenging

but i like challenges..

and so it begins..

ravishingly..and 100% raw