and so..

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.

sproutin..

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

delish..

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