Continuing with the raw...

Busy, busy, busy these days. I haven't had the time to dedicate anything to this blog but I am happy to report I did in fact get 30 days of raw in....and as of now - my days remain mostly raw. I naturally find it simple and satisfying to have a smoothie for breakfast, fruit for snacks and a salad for lunch and or dinner. I have been having some warm vegetarian food because I miss it. My next goal is to get good at making lentil curries, soups and stews - yummy! Food is great and I've learned so much from going raw. What a great journey getting back to appreciating REAL food and I never want it to end.

Yummy dinner tonight I made a quinoa dish but ended up cooking the quinoa because it was pretty gross soaked as the recipe called for. Added some kale salad to the plate and had my first taste of the kefir - fabulous! I will have to ask Debbie how to get more carbonation though, it had the flavour but not a lot of bubbles. I like lots of bubbles!! I threw some frozen banana into the food processor and some cacoa nibs and shredded coconut. Mmm, instant soft ice cream!

So I just checked the calendar and wow, I have almost done my 30 days...I plan to add a couple days because I slipped up on a few meals. I feel like I've learned so much yet have so much to learn. Does that makes sense?

This way of eating has brought on a range of emotions from intense euphoria to anxiousness and anger. It has been quite the experience. I am learning a lot about detoxing the body. Although I would say I am only mildly detoxing since I made an effort to keep from going too far while breastfeeding.

There have been some weird and wacky things happening that I am better off not discussing on a blog. lol...raw food - pretty crazy stuff!

My very own Kefir farm!

Thanks again to my sister in law for the Kefir hook-up! She had me try Kefir a long time ago and I instantly liked it. The way she brews it, gives it a nice lightly carbonated, slightly sweet and sour (lemonade) taste. If you drink enough of it, it actually goes straight to your head because of the fermentation. I am researching more about the benefits of Kefir but the main thing is it's ability to add probiotics to your system. Something I could definitely benefit from after my previous repeat strep throat ordeal. Which btw (knock on wood) has not return since going raw. Hmm!

I made a refreshing fennel salad with lemon and olive oil, nuts and beans. (Inspired by Linda and Mike :) Watermelon: the perfect dessert on a hot day like today!

Raw support...

I grew up in a family of carnivores and my family always made sure I ate well. I adore the food my Mom makes, yet times like this I am eternally grateful that my in-laws are mostly vegetarian/vegan.

We went to visit family this weekend and we stayed with my sister and brother in-law. They have been vegetarian for longer than I can remember and are well versed in raw cuisine. It was awesome!! I didn't have to survive salads alone as my sister in-law thoughtfully prepared some wonderful raw sushi, smoothies and dehydrated burgers. It was so cool. Thank you Debbie!

My Mom (who doesn't know I am eating this way) did happen to make a rockin fresh salsa - which goes to show you can find healthy bites anywhere :)

Family, sunshine, clean food and fireworks make for a fantastic weekend.

I am truly a lucky gal!

Kale: Cheers to you!

Oh Kale - where have you been all my life? Long before I knew your name I'd pass you by in the produce aisle. I'd wonder what type of personality you had: sweet, bitter, earthy? How would we get along in the kitchen? Well I am sure glad we met in 2010!

I am giving a great big cheers to kale today! I absolutely LOVE kale and it is on pace to knock out my long time sweetheart asparagus, sorry asparagus.

It's such a great addition to anyone's diet and honestly one of the main reasons I am able to sustain myself on a raw diet. It fills me up and gives me such a mellow feeling, I am in true bliss after eating this wonderful veggie!

"Massaged" kale is by far the most palate friendly way to consume Kale. I love this recipe...Wash the leaves and cut into ribbon type pieces and add: olive oil, tahini, sea salt, agave nectar, lemon juice and cayenne pepper to taste. Next add raw cashews, red cabbage or whatever else you like...delish!

Mike and Linda if you read this - toasted kale rocks too!!! I made it to see if Van will try it :) I know Derek will love it. I challenge you to try this: Wash kale leaves and cut leaves in half, coat with olive oil and sea salt...spread onto cookie sheet and back @ 350 degrees until wilted/slightly brown. It is so yummy and it does rival that of potato chips!

Give Kale a chance - you won't be disappointed!

Cheers!

My lunch today: shredded red cabbage with sunflower and hemp seeds, mango, cashews and raisins. I tossed some sesame seed oil, lime and apple cider vinegar on top. Delish!

So is eating raw cheap? I believe the answer is yes and no. If you simply want to eat traditional raw food (kinda like I've been doing) then yes very cheap but the more gourmet you get the more you have to stock your pantry. Irish Moss?! That's a special order...things like that are annoying. I try to find substitutes or leave them out because I know the Chef is simply just adding it for nutrition and not for taste.

I must say nowadays a trip to the Bulk food barn does make me wince. The price of nuts does rival that of steak. Which makes me seek out more seed based recipes. One head of kale can last me 4 meals - impressive!! It's all a learning experience!

Our Farmer's market is OPEN!!! Yay - Van, Wyatt and I dropped in and picked up some beautiful tomatoes, pears and blueberries. It only cost a small fortune but I don't mind spending $$ on good food...usually! I'd like to address the Q is eating raw cheap? I'll give my two cents later.

Tonight I enjoyed collard green leaf wraps with a whole bunch of greenery, seeds and nuts inside - nice tahini coating. Yummy!

Clean me out please!

Those two slices of pizza which btw (before going raw would have only been an appetizer) completely rocked me. It sounds silly but physically and psychologically it was bad. I ate a hearty salad for lunch today but stuck to a no frills dinner of raw crudites (sounds fancier ;)

I know it was only pizza but my wedding bands didn't fit. I was tired and crampy. Hmmm?! I felt hungover.

Did that really touch my lips?!

Ooookay I had PIZZA for dinner, oooey goooey sundried tomato, mushroom and cheese pizza. It was awesome. I'll consider it a tiny hiccup. I think I just needed something warm and to tell you the truth I could of picked so many healthier options but it literally called my name! lol

Now for a nap, two slices seriously made me tired!

Simple Pleasures...

The first thing comment out of everyone's mouth when you talk about raw food is "isn't it so restrictive"? I guess you could take the half glass full approach if you are so closed-minded to what real food ought to be. I think society has gone too far the other way and our taste buds have been warped by too many processed foods and artificial flavours.

I've been eating the most beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables. The flavours are bursting, especially when I buy organic.

So to complete this thought full circle...how can raw food be restrictive when wine is considered raw and you have the opportunity to indulge in the most amazing desserts. I made these incredible truffles tonight with coconut oil, agave, cocoa powder and vanilla. No processed this and that to dilute the taste and goodness of true food. Bliss, absolute bliss!

Tonight's dinner is all about texture. That's what I looooove about raw cuisine, texture! The pic below is some cauliflower couscous. Dessert is an orange with walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. Mmmm, delish!

I really find that my system is clearing out if you know what I mean. I feel much lighter, it's good!

Fresh...

It was everything but the kitchen sink dinner tonight. Mmm! Fresh fennel, spinach, apple, and red grapefruit. I topped it with cashews, raisins and a nice sesame seed oil vinegarette.

...a glass or two of red wine later, delightful!

Tonight was sushi night at our house. I bought some vegetarian rice paper wraps for myself. The wraps are not "raw" but the insides are.

Today, I could see myself doing this for much longer than 30 days. When I transition back, I plan on doing at least 50-70% raw long term. I'd like to do vegan but at the very least vegetarian for the remainder of my diet.

I've never felt better and I am so thankful my hunger, mood and cravings are (for once in my life) in check! I don't want to say I'll never eat poultry or fish again...because never is always a set up for failure but I know I don't think it'll be something in my regular meal planning. :)

Mmm, dinner was fabulous tonight. I spiralized a sweet potato and grated a carrot. I threw in some raw cashews, sugar snap peas and raisins, topped with the dressing from yesterday. I made my kale salad to go with it. That always fills me up beautifully.

Derek and I headed to Costco today to get our passport picture taken and we stopped by their fast food counter for lunch. I knew it was all fried nastiness so I brought up a salad from the back of the store. Can you believe no department cashier could ring me up expect for the ones at the front?! The lines where massive. I left the salad and watched Van and Derek eat a slice of pizza while I had a coffee. lol. I looked up and saw a sign that said "how are we doing" and I told them EXACTLY how I thought they were doing. lol. I was pleasant but said it would be nice to offer their customers one healthy menu option OR at least let me ring up a salad at their cash. Geez! No loss, I came home and grabbed a Vega bar and it was rewarding! I WIN

So I was really excited to finally see the documentary: Simply Raw. Although I was a bit disappointed at the production quality and content of the film.

It does a good job of proving how eating a raw food diet can REVERSE and CURE Type 1 &2 diabetes, something the the American Diabetes Association says is impossible. That's pretty cool.

I also thought they did a good job of accurately listing all the changes the body feels while going 100% raw. I could attest to that BUT overall it was pretty boring on a VERY heated topic.

I craved more from this film. It's too bad. Maybe I am just so hooked on the Michael Moore way of filming ;)

Also on the go is Eating Animals, a novel I am excited about reading. The reviews are pretty good and it gives a pretty non dogmatic point of view to the pros and cons of eating meat. I like that because let's face it...I may have easily given up most meat over the years but before going raw it would be very hard to give up poultry and fish. I will let you know what I think when I am finished.

Tried and true...

Sometimes you have to just go back to what works until you figure out where to go next :)

Tonight I had a trusty kale and mixed green salad.

I was impressed with my dressing. (Walnut oil, vinegar, dijon, tarragon and agave) I don't bother being totally raw with the dressing because I would go nuts!!

I made a yummy dessert, the family loved. Raw cocoa pudding made with coconut and avocado on a walnut crust. Mmmm!

Wow when raw food turns out bad, it reaaaally turns out bad! I was looking forward to a zuchinni pasta dish and the cashew based sauce was gross. It turned out super soggy. I felt like I was eating food dug out of our green bin. I cut up some cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and called it a night. The mint, lime agave drink turned out well though. :)

Above is the terrible dinner and my sweetheart (Raw foodist in training) Van helping Mommy and eating along the way!

My first milestone, week one complete! I am grateful for that little accomplishment.

I didn't know what to expect when I first started out on day one but I knew it would be a learning experience. I've gone from a person who could barely contain urges to over indulge in sweets to someone who says "no" to anything processed. I find I am growing. I feel stronger and more in control. I like it!

Looking forward to week two and hoping I can get more organized with meal planning.

So tonight is a BIG night...my first time attending a BBQ and eating raw. I gave my friend a "heads up" and of course she is very supportive. It was funny because she said "you can still have the grilled veggies right"? lol, well, technically,... It's hard to explain to people (briefly) what you're doing without getting a huh?

I picked up some sprouting seeds from the health food store and noticed an energy bar that claimed it was raw. WOW! I can't believe how mainstream (within the health community) this is becoming. Neat!

I will be enjoying a dish from Wild Seed tonight. I could make something myself to bring but hey it's Mother's Day. Maybe Pete will give me some tips on salad dressing!

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Back on track today! It was a good day despite the rain. I love the rain but with the boys it's hard to keep them entertained from morning to night indoors. Derek is away tonight so I am popping a movie on for sanity purposes. I don't want to stress eat!

I really need to learn how to make a good salad dressing, mine's lacking something!

It's Mother's day weekend so I am going to get a massage and pedicure, my favs! Relax-a-tion!!

Okay so today was upside down. I had a great raw day until dinner. I went to grab my zucchini to make pasta and it was going soft and it was next to a pepper that went moldy (GROSS!) Wyatt was crying, I was trying to rush before going to my Photography class - I ate left over rice and tofukey sausage. I admit it felt great to eat something warm but I felt the difference later. My energy wasn't up and I guess the rice made me crash a bit.

So the addictive part of my personality is saying "crap, I failed, all or nothing"...but really I know this mis step is normal and I really need to chill and give myself a break...back to full raw tomorrow :)

My body is buzzing after a spectacular day with the boys at the farm. There's nothing like nature to reset the switch. Maybe it was the wonderful sun or the new diet but my energy and mood are through the roof!

Van and I enjoyed an amazing lunch at the farm cafe. I had a spinach salad with walnuts, apples and cranberries. Van had the "sandbox lunch" which was a grilled cheese sandwich, carrot sticks and fresh peach juice. They gave it to him in the cutest sand pail and shovel keepsake. Clever! Wyatt enjoyed what I had :)

I can't express enough how much the farm warms my heart. It really makes me feel connected to the earth. The hard work it takes to harvest the beautiful food makes me happy I am enjoying raw food. Simple abundance...a great gift to share with the boys.

P.s.

One good lesson learned, not all left over raw dishes are edible the next day. lol Maximus will be enjoying my broccoli tonight. Yuck!

After a trip to Goodness Me health food store I was able to expand beyond a Kale salad and I made this dish: Chipotle and tahini broccoli with parsnip rice. It was really yummy! I am always amazed at the texture of raw food. The parsnip rice was very cool. I would like to experiment with trying to make a "fried rice" using sesame oil. I think that would work. Very interesting.

I was REALLY craving sweets today, tough day that way!

Today was my first day going to a restaurant. It was successful! I met up with Derek for lunch and I had a nice greek salad & water with lemon. I was contemplating saying "hold the feta" to adhere to the strict raw standard but (I was pretty darn hungry) all in all success I would say.

I really have to say my morning Vega smoothie with cacao nibs is really helping to sustain my appetite.

I was a bit tired come late afternoon but I really think my body is somewhat detoxifying, it has too right? So I guess fatigue is to be expected. Thankfully Derek was home to watch Van and I laid in bed to nurse Wyatt...we had a wonderful cat nap.

I am looking forward to picking up some miso at the health food store tomorrow. I am getting a bit tired of my meal rotation and am excited to try out some new recipes. The smell of BBQ was a bit overwhelming tonight but I held true to my goal and it felt great to accomplish that. Still having excellent success with no after dinner snacking...I did grab a coffee though. I am hoping to wean off of that vice soon.

We got invited to a BBQ at a friend's house next weekend. I am feeling a bit anxious about it. I don't want to be rude and refuse their food but I know if I made an exception that it could really spiral downward. I will have to think of something if we go. They'll understand I'm sure.

Hope the scale catches on to these new changes...maybe it's stuck..lol if only!

Well I don't mean to be counting my days like it's a prison sentence but fyi its day 3! :)

I am enjoying this more than I thought...not only is my energy picking up but my appetite is shrinking significantly. That in itself is an amazing feat!

Usually I have a ton of snacks after dinner but yesterday I gave my apple and almond butter to my husband because I realized I was eating out of habit and not need.

I am really liking this!

Well I had a successful first day of eating an only raw diet. Although they say it takes approximately 21 days to form a habit :)

I've been volunteering at a raw food bar here in town, called Wild Seed. I was super excited that it opened in a city with a population less than 200,000. No need to trek to Toronto all the time for a raw meal. As expected, the guys are super awesome. I am hoping to gain some great skills in the kitchen from my time there...who knows where that might lead?!

I also bought a collection of recipes from world renowned raw food Chef, Russell James. The

e-book is gorgeous and I am super excited to start moving beyond my beloved kale salad.

Feeling awesome this morning after my Vega vanilla chai soy shake with cacao nibs Mmmm!

My Raw Adventure

How did I come to discover Raw food? Your guess is as good as mine. I think it found me! I don't remember the exact day or moment I first picked up a raw food "cook" book but it was a few years ago now. My journey has been slow to move but I am happy to report it is in fact moving in the right direction.

Just like religious figures say they've had an epiphany or calling; I to believe raw food was an epiphany or awakening for me. I am so excited to find the courage to finally dive in!

So it begins...I am going entirely RAW and seeing what will happen...