Yummy Ginger Blast

I've Fallen...

...off the wagon.  I was still eating so much better than I had before, but still, it's bad.  I started by taking a bite of this and a bite of that.  A drink of this and that soon followed.  It all added up and I had fallen back into a bad diet.  I hit rock bottom the other night when my husband had smoked up a pork roast.  I ate some against my better judgement.  It made me sick.  Nauseous, throwing up, hot flashes, joint pain and muscle aches for 24 hours.  I felt like I had food poisoning.  I know the meat was "good" because the rest of the family had ate it and felt "fine."  Not for me, ever again.  I'm back to 100% raw vegan.  I'm feeling better already.

Today is day 3 for me being 100% raw again.  I have been juicing a lot.  It seems that if I have a fresh juice in hand then I can conquer just about any craving.  Here's a picture of beautiful fresh veggie juice!

Forks Over Knives

I watched Forks Over Knives last night on Netflix with my hubby.  It was pretty powerful and I highly recommend the documentary.  My meat and potatoes man now wants to eat Vegan because he feels it would be beneficiary to his health.  I could not be happier.

Raw on a Budget

One of the things I hear all the time is that "I'd like to eat healthy but I really can't afford it."  or "It's so expensive to eat healthy."  I would agree with both of these statements.  Eating healthy can be expensive.  There are, however, ways to budget and save money while eating healthy.

Eating raw could get extremely expensive.  One of the first things I notice when I "went raw" is that I eat less.  My body requires less food.  I have more energy and I require less sleep as I am eating less.  The fact that I eat less food than before is the first way that healthy can = less money spent on food.

Organic foods can be expensive.  Here's a confession.  I don't buy organic unless it's something that is on sale and less expensive or the same price as conventional (non-organic) veggies and fruit.  Organic is better.  It is best.  I can't afford it right now so conventional fruit and veggies is my next choice.  To some this would be unacceptable.  To me, this is much better than the processed crap that I put in my system day after day before I went raw. 

If you are absolutely set on an "organic only" raw lifestyle then I would suggest farmer's markets, roadside veggie stands, CSA's (community supported agriculture) and food coops.  We have a food coop an hour away from us.  I go there once a month to get foods I cannot get in my small city.  Even when you go to the farmer's market or veggie stands, be sure and ask if the foods are organic.  It may surprise you how many are NOT organic.

The best advice I could offer to save money while living a raw lifestyle is grow a garden.  Whether on land or in a container.  Veggies, fruit or herbs can be grown.  I so regret not having a garden this year.  I love going out in a garden and eating right off the vine.  It is as revitalizing as food can get.  It will also save a lot of cash.

I have a budget of approximately $800 a month for a family of five.  That's $5.33 per person per day.  I consider that to be quite generous but we also have so many different things going on too.  I am 100% raw, my husband is a struggling vegetarian.  The children are meat eaters right now.  My oldest eats very healthy, the middle child is extremely picky and the youngest is allergic to all dairy and eggs.  Dinner in our household can be enough to drive a chef insane. 

Green Smoothies

I've been on a green smoothie fast for 4 days now.  I have been raw since July 10, 2011.  I am looking at a goal of 10 days for the smoothie fast.  If I make it that long then I will decide whether or not to proceed.  Since I've been raw, I have learned so much about my body.  I have also been redefining my thoughts on food.

I now think of food as fuel.  Pure fuel.  I feel great.  I feel healthy.  Even if you don't think that raw food is for you, everyone should try it for a week.  I lost 10lbs in the first week (mostly water retention) and immediately felt more energized and healthy.  One week can change your whole outlook on raw food. 

Peach and Mango Gazpacho

Oh how I have wanted this soup for so long.  My husband made it for me on Sunday.  It was so absolutely delicious.  I could have ate a gallon of it!

Ingredient List:
Mango
Peach
Water Kefir
Ginger
Scallions
Red Pepper
Basil
Lime juice
Coconut Oil
Chipotle Pepper spice (NOT raw) very little used

I don't have the amounts because I don't know.  My hubby just prepares things without thinking about how much is going in to it.  If I had to guess, I'd probably say "a little bit of this, a pinch of that, a handful of this.  Just try it and taste as you go along.  The following youtube link is the inspiration for the soup :)

What's For Dinner?

I came home to a wonderful gourmet dinner prepared by my hubby tonight.  After a fruit and greens smoothie for breakfast and fruit and veggies for lunch, this put a smile on my face.  He made me sundried tomato marinara over turnip ravioli stuffed with cashew "cheese" and fresh herbs.  It was so yummy and satisfying!!!!  I don't have the exact recipe yet.  When I get it out of him I will post!  Here's a picture.  It was the best meal he's made me so far and he's made a few good ones!

I Need an Intervention

Oh my goodness!  Why do I do this to myself?  There were leftover fried wontons in the refrigerator from my children's dinner last night.  Guess what I had for breakfast?  I feel like I'm going to throw up.  Raw food for the rest of the day.  I promise that to myself!

Just as a side note, my eyes have swollen to monstrous sizes.  I don't know if it has anything to with the bad food I ate today and last night but I have my sneaking suspicions.   

Very Bad

I was very bad tonight.  I had a miserable night at work.  When a coworker came in with a slice of pizza for me, I couldn't say no.  I'm not usually a stress eater, but tonight was brutal.  I'm paying the price.  Kind of like a hangover.  My stomach always lets me know when it is upset with the food I ingested. 

I'm not going to beat myself up over this.  It was just a bad day.  Tomorrow is a new day.

I Forgot to Take a Picture

I made a smoothie this morning for breakfast.  It was simple and yummy! 

1 part pineapple
1 part mango


I used frozen pineapple.  I'm sure that fresh would have been even better but I didn't have any on hand.  It was delicious!  What a way to start off the day!

What's For Dinner Tonight?

My husband made me a wonderful raw dinner tonight.  He made noodles out of zucchini and orange bell peppers.  He topped the "noodles" with sun dried tomatoes, raw basil pesto (nutritional yeast in place of any cheese) and pine nuts.  It was absolutely scrumdiddlyumptious!!!!!!!

Chocolate AmazeBalls!

This is a recipe that we whip up on any given evening when we get a craving for snacks or sweets.  I love them.  I got this recipe from another blog.  Check out Chocolate-Covered Katie for a wonderful, healthy dessert in the raw.

I would like to say that Cocoa is NOT raw.  I do use it but a 100% raw foodist would use cocao powder or nibs.  I don't use the vanilla extract.  It's really not necessary for my taste.  I do add dried unsweetened coconut or dried berries or both sometimes!  This is a recipe that is easily adjusted to your personal taste.  Play around and have fun with this dessert.  It's quick and easy.  Through the ingredients in the food processor, roll into balls and enjoy!

Raw Food Living

If you had told me a year ago that I was going to go completely raw...well, I wouldn't have understood what you meant.  I don't even think I realized that "raw foodists" exist.  I mean really, how could someone live on raw food alone?  What do they eat?  That would have been my very first question.  And just like so many out there, I would have answered my own question with the famous wrong answer in the form of a question, Salads?

Toppling the scales at 224lbs was unacceptable for me.  I didn't see any way to stop it though.  I have tried low calorie, low fat, low carb, low carb low fat, low fat low calorie and even low carb low calorie.  Dr Atkins, Dr Shapiro, Weight Watchers, The Zone, Protien Power, Dr Phil, Grapefruits, Cabbage Soup, vegetarian and vegan diets are a part of the past 15 years.  Nothing seemed to work for me. 

I have been raw for 5 weeks exactly today.  July 10th was the day that I decided to live.  That is the only way I can describe the way I feel.  I have lost 20lbs since day one.  I feel satisfied with my food and I am healthy.  I now eat to live.  Join me on this journey.  I promise to post everything good and anything bad that may come about.  Here are some pictures of me at the beginning of my journey.