Day 2 ....

Oh look! i'm blogging! ha! well, last night i didn't sleep so well. this morning, i am not particularly tired and barely hungry so i am drinking a cup of black coffee and eating some grapefruit. i reserved the juice to make a grapefruit vinaigrette for the fennel salad i plan on having for lunch and i am about to get some mushrooms marinating for my dinner of stuffed mushrooms later. i have a ton of work to do today, filing etsy orders and finishing and starting drapes for some local customers. housework, etc! i'll come back later to share my recipes!

Late Night Snacking and Immediate Slip Ups

So, i already screwed up. after eating practically nothing all day, (aside from the available slice of carrot cake with my maple soy latte! whops!!!) my first raw meal was devoured in ten seconds with no picture of proof! ha! well, it wasn't glamorous anyhow and i am certainly not going to beat myself up over my raw faux pas. so i am starving. and this is what my late night snack is. a raw young coconut. as perfect as can be with a ton of fresh young water. these are simply amazing to me. the meat is tender, the water is sweet and nutty. not to mention the fact that it is one of natures perfect foods.

2011 Raw

A year has gone by since my raw challenge. It went really well, i wish i had kept up with the blogging better so i can contrast and compare experiences. Today marks the first day of my 2011 raw challenge. the idea i have in mind is there are four of us ladies who want to do it. in order to keep it up, be inspired and encouraged i propose the idea of getting together one night a week at a different house each week and share a raw dinner.
last time i tried a vegan diet at first and then strayed. this time i am allowing myself to use raw fish, and raw milk cheeses as part of my raw experience. i am also allowing myself hot coffee and cold teas. many raw enthusiasts would probably disagree with this. i say, oh well.
I am going to try my hardest to blog everyday, and post pictures of my meals. so here i go...

weighing in at approximately 40 pounds at 5' 2"
1/10/11
this is what i look like... well my face anyway. i couldn't get a full body shot.

Spaghetti?

i make spaghetti at least once a week for my family, it's my sons favorite, and i miss it! with time and money constraints, it was only appropriate. my one year old son loves it too. he traded his vanilla treat for bites of this fresh easy and raw version of spaghetti. well, it's not really spaghetti at all!

Zucchini Spaghetti

1 medium sized zucchini

1 ripe tomato or 8-10 petite tomatoes, cherry or grape

1 small garlic clove smashed and minced

a small handful of fresh spinach chopped

5 basil leaves chopped or chiffonade to your preference

a pinch of dried thyme leaves

2 Tblsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

raw parmesan if you preffer

with a medium blade on the mandoline, shred the zucchini. place in a bowl sprinkle with salt and toss. let it sit while you prep the other ingredients. Toss the rest of the goods with the zucchini, plate it and finish it off with parmesan if this is your desire.

Day 15

Today marks my fifteenth day of raw! it certainly doesn't feel like i've been doing it that long. fifteen more days to go!

so here's a kale recipe, it's my very favorite right now. this one is plain jane. nice and simple.

Raw Kale & Avocado salad

As much kale as you can stand, i usually use three leaves for myself. i love the stuff. cut up in bite sized pieces. i usually chop it up pretty good because i like my ruffage manageable when chewing.

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Sea salt to taste

combine the above ingredients in a bowl and massage the dressing onto the kale with your bare hands. don't be afraid to get a bit rough, you want to soften the greens a bit.

8-10 cherry, plum, or other petite tomatoes

1/2 shallot thinly sliced

1 avocado, pitted, sliced and scooped from it's shell

Toss the above into your bowl of greens, dish and enjoy.

Beets

I haven't been keeping up with this blog the way i had intended. My one year old son who has spinal issues hasn't seen his Osteopath in over a month and it has really been affecting his sleep. and when he loses sleep, i lose sleep, and i get emotional and depressed. it's really yucky. i was so excited because i felt like i was on a good path, but alas, obstacles. i also haven't been able to do my daily jog because i sprained my ankle, and i can barely even walk! so, i'm a bit bummed. also, haven't really doing much in the way of raw food experimentation. i've had the same stand by salad several nights in a row, which is super de-lish, but i needed to get my mojo back and start creating! So tonight i made a super great beet salad that i want to share. it's simple, fast and really really good.

Sexy Beets with Pesto and Raw Parmesan

Pesto:

1 C. baby spinach leaves

1 C. basil leaves

1 large garlic clove

1/4 C. olive oil

sea salt to taste

This is a super simple nut and cheese free pesto, just throw everything into the food processor except the olive oil and salt, and whir it around until leaves are no longer whole. slowly drizzle in the olive oil until blended very well, and season with salt to your liking. This will make enough pesto for several servings, or for use in another meal!

Beets:

1 medium sized beet

1/4 tsp. raw honey

1 tsp. raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar

Shave the beets very thin on a mandoline, or by hand. place in a bowl, and over them, drizzle honey, and vinegar and mix very well. let them marinate for five minutes. beet juices will seep and combine with the honey and vinegar and make a super sexy dressing.

(one beet per one serving)

Raw Milk Parmesan:

I bought raw milk Parmesan at whole foods, it is so lovely.

Plating:

Stack your beets a few at a time and in between stacks, place a dollop of pesto. pour over the beet juices, and then finally place a dollop of pesto and shavings of Parmesan on the very top. (i use a veg peeler, it works perfectly.) Micro greens would be a great addition to this salad. or a small pile of watercress dressed lightly in olive oil, lemon juice salt and pepper.

bon apetit!

Raw

So, i love this raw thing. i think i've been on raw foods for about fiveish days now, it's such fun! it gets me excited about being in the kitchen again. it's been a while. so far i've made four different recipes, and two of them were knock out delicious, and the other two, just needed some minor tweaking. tonight we made a mushroom burger complete with a raw bun and "special sauce" which was a garlic and tomato "mayo" made from cashews. yummy. the bun needed work. but i'm going to try again next week, and we will have a delicious "mc rawnold" burger... tee, hee. and right now i'm making fermented nut cheese, which so far has taken two days, it should be finished by tomorrow, and it better be yummy!

the only complaint i have so far is that some of these ingredients are EXPENSIVE. i had a really hard time throwing down eight dollars for a bottle of nama shoyu, and i sure wasn't going to pay twelve dollars for a bag of almond flour. yikes. i have plenty of time though, i'm sure i will acquire some eventually. i have the feeling that raw foods are in my life for good. doesn't mean i'm giving up my meats though. i have a weak spot for rare beef, and raw fish.

eating now goes like this: i have fresh fruits for breakfast, and lunch, and then i have a raw dinner. plenty of water after each meal to help out with digestion, and if i'm feeling snacky, i have a glass of carrot juice or coconut juice. with every meal i have a spirulina, and i've started taking pro biotic capsules.

i feel amazing. everyday i jog for 20-30 minutes, and do fifteen minutes of light exercising. so far on the ten days of detox, and five days of raw food i've lost 12 lbs., two cups sizes, and two inches off of my waist, hips and thighs. i have more energy and feel more centered than i can ever remember. best of all, i'm relaxed. which i haven't been at all in almost two years. yes, i am definitely loving this.