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.

The Program

This is basically what i've done so far...

3 day water & juice fast....

purified water is reccomended. distilled water. i just used my brita filter, with generous amounts of fresh lemon.

juices. i drank coconut & pineapple juice, carrot juice, coconut water, blueberry, (pure juices or juice blends with no added sugars). and v8.

here's the deal with v8: it has sodium, and it's pasteurized which isn't recommended, but i drank it because i like it, i had it, and it made me feel full. next time though i might opt for a better vegetable juice blend, but really, it didn't seem to affect the detox at all and i am still drinking it.

Why I chose these Juices:

coconut juice blends have essential and good fats that your body needs.

coconut water, has electrolytes. you need these too.

carrot juice has potassium. very important. also vitamin C

and blueberry juice has b vitamins.

pineapple has carbs.

v8 has calcium, vitamins A & C

What about protein?

spirulina is an amazing thing.

it helps with all of this:

AIDS/HIV, arthritis, athletic nutrition, enhancing natural cleansing and detoxification, supporting cardiovascular function and healthy cholesterol, strengthening the immune system, improving gastrointestinal and digestive health, reducing cancer risks with antioxidant protection, general and long term health.

And contains a hell of alot of awesomeness:

offers 60 - 70% all-vegetable protein, essential vitamins and phytonutrients such as the antioxidant beta carotene, the rare essential fatty acid Gamma-linoleic acid (GLA), sulfolipids, glycolipids and polysaccharides. Spirulina is rich in iron, magnesium and trace minerals, and is easier to absorb than iron supplements. It also contains very high levels of calcium – far more than milk. In addition, Spirulina is one of the few plant sources of vitamin B12.

it helps curb your appetite to boot.

I took one tablet three times a day. which is half the recommended dosage.

So, to re-cap... drink plenty of water and juices for three days making sure to get a bit of each type of juice per day. 4-8oz. will suffice. get hungry? drink some juice. take spirulina 3X's a day with the juice meals.

Onto the mono trophic Diet...

(The following is a take from the quintessence of natural living with minor changes)

Breakfast:

melon only. Eat as much as you like and feel satisfied that you have had enough. All types of melons are good, Honeydew, Cantaloupe, Gala or watermelon.

Lunch:

only oranges or pink grapefruit or pineapples or plums, whatever you fancy but don't mix the fruits. Eat till hunger is satisfied.

4pm. drink 12oz. of carrot juice

Dinner:

Eat only apples, pears, grapes or bananas. Eat only one fruit at a time and eat till hunger is satisfied. During the week you can vary daily the fruits you want to eat on that particular day.

You can resume your household duties or light office work but do not exert yourself physically. Conserve energy. It is possible that some of you may feel some reactions, like light-headedness, nausea at times, a little listlessness and feeling of tiredness and mental irritability. Persevere, Rome wasn't built in a day. After all it took you years to get into the toxic state that you now find yourself in. The symptoms will go away eventually. Lots of sleep and rest are essential at this stage, so do not plan any social events.

Disclaimer:

I'm not a doctor, a nutritionist, an expert on detoxing, or responsible for anyone's health but my own. this blog is meant to document and share my good experiences with others. not everyone will be affected by my experiences as i have and i claim no responsibility for the shortcoming of others experiences.

The Plan

ten days of detox, thirty days of raw.

the challenge... being a mother of two with a heavy background in culinary arts and a history of cooking rich delicious meals for my family, still having to nourish them and keep my pesky paws out of their dinner. sitting there watching them shovel in spoonfuls of creamy parmesan bechamel coated macaroni... (who wants the recipe?) while i sit there and drink water for dinner. yes. it is going to be a challenge for certain.

perseverance. there is little more satisfying than knowing you've pulled something off in spite of obstacles. and that's just what i plan to do.