Russell James' Nutfree Bread

So I finally done-did it! Made the Nutfree Bread I've been threatening to make for a while now.Sprout buckwheat ahead of time. Do this by putting 2-1/2 cups dry buckwheat in a big jar, add three times more water, cover it and leave it for a few hours (3-8/overnight.) Some say don't soak buckwheat very long, hence the 3 hours, because they say it gets waterlogged. I did mine overnight, no problem.) Once they have soaked, rinse them really, really, really well and then rinse them again. Buckwheat groats produce the starchiest, slimiest water. Rinse them in a colander with tiny mesh holes until the water runs clear and is not slimy.

Then wash out your jar and throw your freshly rinsed buckwheat back into the jar, this time, covering the mouth of the jar with either mesh or nylon stocking held by an elastic band.

Then tip the jar onto a 45 degree angle into a bowl and let it sit like that, draining into the bowl, on your counter, for a couple days. Be sure to rinse them twice per day; this is important.

Sounds like a lot of messing around? Well, yeah, it is, actually. But it's always a kinda neat rhythm you get into. Also, buckwheat is very satisfying to sprout, as it rewards you with little tails within the first day! It's also way worth it for this bread :)

Nutfree Bread - Russell James

Makes 18 slices

1/2c olive oil
1 ½c sun dried tomatoes
3c sprouted buckwheat (you get this by sprouting 2 ½c dry)
1 ½c flax meal
3 ½c peeled zucchini, roughly chopped
2c apple, cored and roughly chopped
3T lemon juice
2 avocados
1 large onion
½c minced parsley

- Process the olive oil, sun dried toms, sprouted buckwheat, zucchini, apple, lemon juice, avocados, onion and herbs until thoroughly mixed.

- Transfer to a large bowl and mix with the flax meal by hand. The reason you do this separately (not in the processor) is that you are likely to have too much mixture for the size if the processor at this point, and when you add the flax meal it will become quite heavy and sticky and overwork your machine.

- When mixed, process the whole batter in the machine again, but in small batches to achieve a light fluffy texture.

- Divide the mixture in half and place on Teflex sheets on dehydrator trays.

- Use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly to all 4 sides and corners of the Teflex sheet. If mixture is too sticky you can wet the spatula to make things easier. With a knife score the whole thing into 9 squares.

- Dehydrate for 2 hours and then remove the Teflex sheets by placing another dehydrator tray and mesh on top and invert so that your original sheet of bread is upside down. That will allow you to peel the Teflex sheet off and continue to dehydrate the underside of the bread.

- Dehydrate for approx 8 hours more (do this overnight so you’re not tempted to eat it before it’s ready) or until bread feels light in your hand. If the pieces don’t fully come apart where you scored, use a knife to cut them.

*****************************************

And then what did I do? I made a spread with nuts in it! (Eggless Egg Salad has cashews!) DOH! But ask me if I regret it. Go on, ask me... ;)

This was the most delicious freakin' sandwich in the history of my rawness. Spread both sides of the bread with the Eggless spread, then add spinach leaves, then red pepper, chopped jalapeno, and tomato, and MAN! El-Yummerino!!! So good it makes you say weird stuff like El-Yummerino.

Honestly, worth the buckwheatin', this one!

Ya know, it wasn't until after I had this bread going in the dehydrator that I realized, hey, no spices...not even salt! It's just fine without, and it's refreshing to me to go that route. Me likey!

Russell James' Nutfree Bread

So I finally done-did it! Made the Nutfree Bread I've been threatening to make for a while now.Sprout buckwheat ahead of time. Do this by putting 2-1/2 cups dry buckwheat in a big jar, add three times more water, cover it and leave it for a few hours (3-8/overnight.) Some say don't soak buckwheat very long, hence the 3 hours, because they say it gets waterlogged. I did mine overnight, no problem.) Once they have soaked, rinse them really, really, really well and then rinse them again. Buckwheat groats produce the starchiest, slimiest water. Rinse them in a colander with tiny mesh holes until the water runs clear and is not slimy.

Then wash out your jar and throw your freshly rinsed buckwheat back into the jar, this time, covering the mouth of the jar with either mesh or nylon stocking held by an elastic band.

Then tip the jar onto a 45 degree angle into a bowl and let it sit like that, draining into the bowl, on your counter, for a couple days. Be sure to rinse them twice per day; this is important.

Sounds like a lot of messing around? Well, yeah, it is, actually. But it's always a kinda neat rhythm you get into. Also, buckwheat is very satisfying to sprout, as it rewards you with little tails within the first day! It's also way worth it for this bread :)

Nutfree Bread - Russell James

Makes 18 slices

1/2c olive oil
1 ½c sun dried tomatoes
3c sprouted buckwheat (you get this by sprouting 2 ½c dry)
1 ½c flax meal
3 ½c peeled zucchini, roughly chopped
2c apple, cored and roughly chopped
3T lemon juice
2 avocados
1 large onion
½c minced parsley

- Process the olive oil, sun dried toms, sprouted buckwheat, zucchini, apple, lemon juice, avocados, onion and herbs until thoroughly mixed.

- Transfer to a large bowl and mix with the flax meal by hand. The reason you do this separately (not in the processor) is that you are likely to have too much mixture for the size if the processor at this point, and when you add the flax meal it will become quite heavy and sticky and overwork your machine.

- When mixed, process the whole batter in the machine again, but in small batches to achieve a light fluffy texture.

- Divide the mixture in half and place on Teflex sheets on dehydrator trays.

- Use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly to all 4 sides and corners of the Teflex sheet. If mixture is too sticky you can wet the spatula to make things easier. With a knife score the whole thing into 9 squares.

- Dehydrate for 2 hours and then remove the Teflex sheets by placing another dehydrator tray and mesh on top and invert so that your original sheet of bread is upside down. That will allow you to peel the Teflex sheet off and continue to dehydrate the underside of the bread.

- Dehydrate for approx 8 hours more (do this overnight so you’re not tempted to eat it before it’s ready) or until bread feels light in your hand. If the pieces don’t fully come apart where you scored, use a knife to cut them.

*****************************************

And then what did I do? I made a spread with nuts in it! (Eggless Egg Salad has cashews!) DOH! But ask me if I regret it. Go on, ask me... ;)

This was the most delicious freakin' sandwich in the history of my rawness. Spread both sides of the bread with the Eggless spread, then add spinach leaves, then red pepper, chopped jalapeno, and tomato, and MAN! El-Yummerino!!! So good it makes you say weird stuff like El-Yummerino.

Honestly, worth the buckwheatin', this one!

Ya know, it wasn't until after I had this bread going in the dehydrator that I realized, hey, no spices...not even salt! It's just fine without, and it's refreshing to me to go that route. Me likey!

Update on me

Well for heaven's sakes, look at the time!! How did this weekend go by in 5 minutes?

I'll tell ya how... I was pissing away the time setting up a Myspace page. Good gawd, they wrap that thing up like cheese, like they don't want you to open it. I didn't find it user-friendly at all. Been workin' and re-workin' and that's where my time went.

Here it is, though. We are starting recording on our 2nd cd on June 1&2 and I figured it was about time to get with the Myspace program. If anybody knows 'code' to make all the text white, even after a link has been clicked, I'd appreciate it rightly!

Anyway, had my head up my...computer ;)

Did manage to sprout buckwheat and build some out-of-this-world, delicous cinnamon buns ala Brigitte Mars.

I've always said I wished the entire cinnamon bun was as gooey and yummy as the centre, and these are! It's such an intense dessert that you don't need much at one sitting. (Unless you're like me, and go for it anyway.)

And the icing!! Whoa, Mama. This stuff isn't kidding when it calls itself Deluxe Frosting.

I'll re-post these in their permanent home in the dessert section, but for now, thought you might like to know the recipes:


Cinnamon Buns

These delicious buns have convinced some of my friends to go raw! - Bridgitte Mars

*Yield: 24 buns - see note under Directions

2 cups buckwheat, sprouted 2-3 days
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped dates, soaked for 20 minutes
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamon
¼ teaspoon celtic salt


Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mince. Shape the mixture into 2-inch rounds on teflex and dehydrate for 6 hours.

*Rawkin' note: The original recipe says it yeilds 24 based on 2 inch rounds. I doubled this recipe and yielded 18 large 'cookies' about and inch thick each. I stayed at a low 105 and dehydrated these about 20 hours.)

Remove from teflex, turn the rounds over on the the tray, and continue dehydrating for another 6 hours. Frost the buns with Deluxe Frosting. Store uneaten buns in a container in the fridge, where they will keep for a week.


Deluxe Frosting

This frosting makes any cake taste sensuously rich.

Yield: 1 ½ cups

½ cup coconut butter - (not oil, butter. I had to go to a specialty health food store to find it.)
½ cup dates, soaked for 20 minutes
½ cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or ½ vanilla bean)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree.

They are worth the 20 or so hours of waiting. The prep is nuthin; 5 minutes if that.

**********************************************************

I've been keeping up with my walking :) I took my dog, Gracie and let her have a splashabout in the lake, which she thoroughly enjoyed! I have a little movie of it. Caution: There will be barking dogs, so tweak the sound before playing it at work!


Other than this n' that, I've been busy with music lately. I'm learning a song in time for Friday night when I have to sing back up on it at a cd release party. I was on the record, now they want me to sing it live. The best way to learn a tune is to repeat repeat repeat. So I'm hearing it even when it's not on now, I've heard it so much. I'll be doing my open mic on Friday as usual, and then zipping downtown to the other club, where I don't go on stage until after midnight...yikes! Looking forward-ish to it, lol.

Been eating things like raw veggies dipped in hummus, sprouted grain tortillas, smoothies, and went out to supper and ate a cooked but tasty 'Goddess Bowl' with brown rice and seaweed sheets, pickled ginger, steamed spinach. Not raw but it went down well ;)

Been out Harley-ing a lot and here's a newsflash... been out looking to get my own. Yeehaaa I feel ready now, after years of dancing around the issue. I've been doing EFT on some of my fears and WALLA they are leavin' me! Or should I say, I'm leavin' them. Either way, they are outta here. I attribute this readiness to get my own bike to these sessions! EFT is SO amazing.

So that's my update! See you soon with the Russell James Nutfree Bread.

Update on me

Well for heaven's sakes, look at the time!! How did this weekend go by in 5 minutes?

I'll tell ya how... I was pissing away the time setting up a Myspace page. Good gawd, they wrap that thing up like cheese, like they don't want you to open it. I didn't find it user-friendly at all. Been workin' and re-workin' and that's where my time went.

Here it is, though. We are starting recording on our 2nd cd on June 1&2 and I figured it was about time to get with the Myspace program. If anybody knows 'code' to make all the text white, even after a link has been clicked, I'd appreciate it rightly!

Anyway, had my head up my...computer ;)

Did manage to sprout buckwheat and build some out-of-this-world, delicous cinnamon buns ala Brigitte Mars.

I've always said I wished the entire cinnamon bun was as gooey and yummy as the centre, and these are! It's such an intense dessert that you don't need much at one sitting. (Unless you're like me, and go for it anyway.)

And the icing!! Whoa, Mama. This stuff isn't kidding when it calls itself Deluxe Frosting.

I'll re-post these in their permanent home in the dessert section, but for now, thought you might like to know the recipes:


Cinnamon Buns

These delicious buns have convinced some of my friends to go raw! - Bridgitte Mars

*Yield: 24 buns - see note under Directions

2 cups buckwheat, sprouted 2-3 days
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped dates, soaked for 20 minutes
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamon
¼ teaspoon celtic salt


Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mince. Shape the mixture into 2-inch rounds on teflex and dehydrate for 6 hours.

*Rawkin' note: The original recipe says it yeilds 24 based on 2 inch rounds. I doubled this recipe and yielded 18 large 'cookies' about and inch thick each. I stayed at a low 105 and dehydrated these about 20 hours.)

Remove from teflex, turn the rounds over on the the tray, and continue dehydrating for another 6 hours. Frost the buns with Deluxe Frosting. Store uneaten buns in a container in the fridge, where they will keep for a week.


Deluxe Frosting

This frosting makes any cake taste sensuously rich.

Yield: 1 ½ cups

½ cup coconut butter - (not oil, butter. I had to go to a specialty health food store to find it.)
½ cup dates, soaked for 20 minutes
½ cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or ½ vanilla bean)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree.

They are worth the 20 or so hours of waiting. The prep is nuthin; 5 minutes if that.

**********************************************************

I've been keeping up with my walking :) I took my dog, Gracie and let her have a splashabout in the lake, which she thoroughly enjoyed! I have a little movie of it. Caution: There will be barking dogs, so tweak the sound before playing it at work!


Other than this n' that, I've been busy with music lately. I'm learning a song in time for Friday night when I have to sing back up on it at a cd release party. I was on the record, now they want me to sing it live. The best way to learn a tune is to repeat repeat repeat. So I'm hearing it even when it's not on now, I've heard it so much. I'll be doing my open mic on Friday as usual, and then zipping downtown to the other club, where I don't go on stage until after midnight...yikes! Looking forward-ish to it, lol.

Been eating things like raw veggies dipped in hummus, sprouted grain tortillas, smoothies, and went out to supper and ate a cooked but tasty 'Goddess Bowl' with brown rice and seaweed sheets, pickled ginger, steamed spinach. Not raw but it went down well ;)

Been out Harley-ing a lot and here's a newsflash... been out looking to get my own. Yeehaaa I feel ready now, after years of dancing around the issue. I've been doing EFT on some of my fears and WALLA they are leavin' me! Or should I say, I'm leavin' them. Either way, they are outta here. I attribute this readiness to get my own bike to these sessions! EFT is SO amazing.

So that's my update! See you soon with the Russell James Nutfree Bread.

A Walk in the Park

Last night, I was thinking that I'd like to start walking in the mornings. I want to combine my body's daily need for exercise, with its need for fresh air and sunlight.

I used to power-walk with a friend on a daily basis years ago, and enjoyed its many benefits. It toned my body, cleared my mind, helped digestion and sleep, to name but a few. But I wasn't doing it for any of that back then. I just wanted to firm up and lose weight. While that's never a bad idea, my aim now is health.

So this morning, I took my camera along and took in the sights. This is a lake about 5 blocks from my home. It's a lovely oasis from all things city, and it was a wonderful way to start my day. I said hello to many different people during the hour I was there, and saw moms with babies, seniors doing Tai Chi, dogs frolicking in the water...it was a tonic for the senses.

And I enjoyed the morning sun. Truth is, I'm not getting enough sun light. Like most people, I've fallen prey to the notion that it's best to stay out of the sun. But in the same way that eating sustains us, but over-eating leads to consequences like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc... sunlight heals us, providing we don't stay in it so long we burn our skin to a crisp. This means getting an hour of morning light per day, and not hanging out in the noon-day sun.

Raw foods are so profoundly healing and life-changing, that it's easy to think it stops there; that eating raw is all you have to do. And while eating raw does bring about pretty stunning changes, there are other factors that contribute to our glowing health; exercise and sunlight being among them.

Believe me, there are days when I'll be all, "What? Now you want me to go outside? Don't be ridiculous! My computer is inside." Those days will be more challenging, but I'd like to stick to my plan of daily walks.

I'm already going to the gym, but that can be hit n' miss with me, so if the walks are there, I've got movement covered, lol. It's good mentally, as well. I got a big-time sense of well-being when I was out walking this morning.

I remember back in the day when anything 'good for you' made me roll my eyes, and when anything 'wholesome' made me gag.

Now I write about it, and take my camera along.

Life is funny, Rawkers! Enjoy your day!

A Walk in the Park

Last night, I was thinking that I'd like to start walking in the mornings. I want to combine my body's daily need for exercise, with its need for fresh air and sunlight.

I used to power-walk with a friend on a daily basis years ago, and enjoyed its many benefits. It toned my body, cleared my mind, helped digestion and sleep, to name but a few. But I wasn't doing it for any of that back then. I just wanted to firm up and lose weight. While that's never a bad idea, my aim now is health.

So this morning, I took my camera along and took in the sights. This is a lake about 5 blocks from my home. It's a lovely oasis from all things city, and it was a wonderful way to start my day. I said hello to many different people during the hour I was there, and saw moms with babies, seniors doing Tai Chi, dogs frolicking in the water...it was a tonic for the senses.

And I enjoyed the morning sun. Truth is, I'm not getting enough sun light. Like most people, I've fallen prey to the notion that it's best to stay out of the sun. But in the same way that eating sustains us, but over-eating leads to consequences like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc... sunlight heals us, providing we don't stay in it so long we burn our skin to a crisp. This means getting an hour of morning light per day, and not hanging out in the noon-day sun.

Raw foods are so profoundly healing and life-changing, that it's easy to think it stops there; that eating raw is all you have to do. And while eating raw does bring about pretty stunning changes, there are other factors that contribute to our glowing health; exercise and sunlight being among them.

Believe me, there are days when I'll be all, "What? Now you want me to go outside? Don't be ridiculous! My computer is inside." Those days will be more challenging, but I'd like to stick to my plan of daily walks.

I'm already going to the gym, but that can be hit n' miss with me, so if the walks are there, I've got movement covered, lol. It's good mentally, as well. I got a big-time sense of well-being when I was out walking this morning.

I remember back in the day when anything 'good for you' made me roll my eyes, and when anything 'wholesome' made me gag.

Now I write about it, and take my camera along.

Life is funny, Rawkers! Enjoy your day!

Mmmm Donuts *poof* I mean Sprouuuuts

Now
THAT
is rewarding!
You nurture them, you love 'em...
then one day, it's time to let them go... sniff...they grow up so fast!

:) These are my sprout success story!! (I didn't take any photos of the moldy no-goods that I tossed. Yep...those little tiny broccoli sprouts turned blechy and stinky! And the seeds were too small for this model of sprouter, because they got stuck in the little ridges of the trays. Another dang lesson. Simple one, though! :)

But these beauties are ready to move on to greener pastures...my salad!

UPDATE: I just had a *wonderful* lunch! Ezekiel sprouted grain bread with Sunflower Pate (scroll down to the latest recipe on the page) mixed with chopped celery, and a handful of my new sprouts! Walla! Mmmmmmmm :)

Mmmm Donuts *poof* I mean Sprouuuuts

Now
THAT
is rewarding!
You nurture them, you love 'em...
then one day, it's time to let them go... sniff...they grow up so fast!

:) These are my sprout success story!! (I didn't take any photos of the moldy no-goods that I tossed. Yep...those little tiny broccoli sprouts turned blechy and stinky! And the seeds were too small for this model of sprouter, because they got stuck in the little ridges of the trays. Another dang lesson. Simple one, though! :)

But these beauties are ready to move on to greener pastures...my salad!

UPDATE: I just had a *wonderful* lunch! Ezekiel sprouted grain bread with Sunflower Pate (scroll down to the latest recipe on the page) mixed with chopped celery, and a handful of my new sprouts! Walla! Mmmmmmmm :)

The Lil' Dehydrator that Could...

I'm preparing a raw meal that I am going to enjoy with a good friend of mine this evening :)

Our dinner menu is:

Kale salad
Enchiladas wrapped in tortillas
Rawritos
Appleflax cookies

I've been at it since last night... that is one busy dehydrator. I need more shelves! 9 isn't enough this time!

I'm making a double batch of Rawritos because they are that good. (Well, and because I'm sharing! And sharing should never mean less for me!! hahaha that sums me up rat theyah!) I sprouted my sunflower seeds a couple days ahead of time in preparation for these and now they are taking over the dehydrator, using up 4 shelves. I've got flax crackers in there as well, and the tortillas have taken over the cookie shelves, temporarily. The flax will be ready first, then the cookies can go back in.

For this week's menu, I took care not to include any nuts in any of the recipes, as I'm still not interested in eating them these days. I feel so much better without the heavy denseness.

This will be my first meal of gourmet raw since my no-fat week. Today, I am eating tons of greens and fruit, and keeping it light, as it seems to be the way my body wants to go. But I'm up for a treat this evening! :)

The Enchiladas are from a Brigitte Mars recipe. I usually make the fabulous Enchilada recipe from Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Foods, but I wanted to try something new! I'm wondering when exactly I grew a pair, cause I'm serving it up tonight, un-tested! (Yeehaaa!)

While they were out in plain sight ;) I tried one of the cookies (I HAD to, didn't I?) and they are simple and delicious. The recipe is from Juliano's 'RAW' and it's a keeper. I wish the book was. It's a loaner that has to go back in a week.

For months I'd been checking different library branches on my various routes around town, waiting for raw books to become available. It's great news that raw is becoming more mainstream and the books are in demand. Used to be the stuff of 70's hippies in brown-paged, hard-cover books.

Well, one day, I was sitting here at the computer, and it occurred to me that I could go onto the library website, and put books on 'hold' via my account. So I did a search of raw food lifestyle and recipe books, went down the list and checked off all the ones that interested me and put a 'hold' request on them. They were all to become available at different times, and so for the past several weeks, I've been in raw book heaven. As I type this I have a stack next to me:

Leslie Kenton's Raw Energy Bible
Brigitte Mars Rawsome
Juliano's Raw
Matthew Kenny and Sarma Melngailis' Raw Food Real World

And that's just this week. Last week, I had Ani Phyo's book, as well as the Raw Food Primer...and I'm sure there have been more but they are blurring together in my memory. Of all of them, the ones I'm going to 'have to' buy are Rawesome and Raw. Too juicy to return forever.


Quick update:
My sproutees are doing well :) Wanta see?

Have a great day, Rawkers!

UPDATE: Here I am with my sweet friend, SW.

Our dinner was most tasty!! The Kale salad had some kick to it, different type of cayenne this time, and it was really nice with the coolness of the avocado and tomato. (Listen to me sound all foody! heh!) As I mentioned, I'd never made this enchilada recipe before and it was very nice with the tortilla wrap. The appleflax cookies were yum, but the hit of the day...the thing that made us keep eating (I can only speak for myself here, but even after I was full)... those addictive and delicious RAWRITOS!! Oh BABY!!!

SW's partner was with us for a bit and before she left, I gave her a Rawrito and she put it in her mouth and crunched it and waited a moment. Then her eyes widened and she said "OMG!! So good!" Then, pointing to SW, she said, "We're getting a dehydrator!" haha

If you click the photo you might be able to see our wee feasty! I've come to love our weekly raw dinners! We chow down and yak about raw, and this n' that, have a bunch of laughs, it's great!

The Lil' Dehydrator that Could...

I'm preparing a raw meal that I am going to enjoy with a good friend of mine this evening :)

Our dinner menu is:

Kale salad
Enchiladas wrapped in tortillas
Rawritos
Appleflax cookies

I've been at it since last night... that is one busy dehydrator. I need more shelves! 9 isn't enough this time!

I'm making a double batch of Rawritos because they are that good. (Well, and because I'm sharing! And sharing should never mean less for me!! hahaha that sums me up rat theyah!) I sprouted my sunflower seeds a couple days ahead of time in preparation for these and now they are taking over the dehydrator, using up 4 shelves. I've got flax crackers in there as well, and the tortillas have taken over the cookie shelves, temporarily. The flax will be ready first, then the cookies can go back in.

For this week's menu, I took care not to include any nuts in any of the recipes, as I'm still not interested in eating them these days. I feel so much better without the heavy denseness.

This will be my first meal of gourmet raw since my no-fat week. Today, I am eating tons of greens and fruit, and keeping it light, as it seems to be the way my body wants to go. But I'm up for a treat this evening! :)

The Enchiladas are from a Brigitte Mars recipe. I usually make the fabulous Enchilada recipe from Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Foods, but I wanted to try something new! I'm wondering when exactly I grew a pair, cause I'm serving it up tonight, un-tested! (Yeehaaa!)

While they were out in plain sight ;) I tried one of the cookies (I HAD to, didn't I?) and they are simple and delicious. The recipe is from Juliano's 'RAW' and it's a keeper. I wish the book was. It's a loaner that has to go back in a week.

For months I'd been checking different library branches on my various routes around town, waiting for raw books to become available. It's great news that raw is becoming more mainstream and the books are in demand. Used to be the stuff of 70's hippies in brown-paged, hard-cover books.

Well, one day, I was sitting here at the computer, and it occurred to me that I could go onto the library website, and put books on 'hold' via my account. So I did a search of raw food lifestyle and recipe books, went down the list and checked off all the ones that interested me and put a 'hold' request on them. They were all to become available at different times, and so for the past several weeks, I've been in raw book heaven. As I type this I have a stack next to me:

Leslie Kenton's Raw Energy Bible
Brigitte Mars Rawsome
Juliano's Raw
Matthew Kenny and Sarma Melngailis' Raw Food Real World

And that's just this week. Last week, I had Ani Phyo's book, as well as the Raw Food Primer...and I'm sure there have been more but they are blurring together in my memory. Of all of them, the ones I'm going to 'have to' buy are Rawesome and Raw. Too juicy to return forever.


Quick update:
My sproutees are doing well :) Wanta see?

Have a great day, Rawkers!

UPDATE: Here I am with my sweet friend, SW.

Our dinner was most tasty!! The Kale salad had some kick to it, different type of cayenne this time, and it was really nice with the coolness of the avocado and tomato. (Listen to me sound all foody! heh!) As I mentioned, I'd never made this enchilada recipe before and it was very nice with the tortilla wrap. The appleflax cookies were yum, but the hit of the day...the thing that made us keep eating (I can only speak for myself here, but even after I was full)... those addictive and delicious RAWRITOS!! Oh BABY!!!

SW's partner was with us for a bit and before she left, I gave her a Rawrito and she put it in her mouth and crunched it and waited a moment. Then her eyes widened and she said "OMG!! So good!" Then, pointing to SW, she said, "We're getting a dehydrator!" haha

If you click the photo you might be able to see our wee feasty! I've come to love our weekly raw dinners! We chow down and yak about raw, and this n' that, have a bunch of laughs, it's great!

Raw Calm, Baby!

After my week of no fat, I find myself leaning toward light eating. Leaning, get it? I just ate a giant mixing bowl of salad, and this morning I enjoyed a green smoothie.

Off I went to the gym, where I noticed something different. There I was on the treadmill, loud, thumping music coming from the loft, with an aerobics teacher yelling HO! every now and again to get the group moving. (HO?) Hm.

Same busy, noisy place and the difference was that my mind wasn't busy. At all. I realized this last week, that as the days wore on, it got quieter and quieter in my mind. Where I am usually very chatty, I've been noticing lately that unless there's something to say, I'm feeling calm and quiet.

On the treadmill, this translated to an empty head (in a good way.) Not looking at the TVs, not checking my heart rate, not checking the time left, just running, running, running, running, running. It was so beautiful.

I had forgotten this benefit of eating lots and lots of greens...it gets quiet inside. Monkey Mind goes away. That right there is worth any effort it takes to go raw. There's this beautiful stillness from within. It's so awesome!!!!

I've come to see that this happens not on gourmet raw alone. It happens on raw with a heavy greens component. Not to say you can't also have gourmet raw as well...just not instead, as I was doing since taking my chef courses. BALANCE, Libragirl, BALANCE. I'm excited about this! Quietly excited. ;)

The rest of my workout was good. You know, I hadn't been to the gym in over a week, since all this swine flu news...I was originally thinking that the gym is such a hotbed of germs, I'd wait it out. But you guessed it, the hell with that. I don't want to live that way. I'm far better off getting the benefits of exercising my body than I am not exercising and worrying about it. I missed it, and it's wonderful to be back to the gym and to my senses.

After the gym, I stopped in a couple thrift stores on the way home, those great Ladies Auxiliary types. I love those. I am on the hunt for large glass jars with lids, for my sprouts. I don't want those two part metal canning lids because, well, blech to metal & sprouts. But that's all I found. Oh wait, I did find a little summer skirt ;) (above)

In other news... I've got sprouts going again! I found some little organic seeds packets at the store and found them irresistible. They're called BioSnacky, and I got one with 'Mild Aromatic Mix' which contains lentil, mung, and white radish seeds and one packet of broccoli sprouts. They are in my Biosta sprouter now. I still want glass jars so that I can have more than a couple things going on at once.

But this will do until that happens. These say 3-5 days, and already they have cracks and tails. Haha cracks, you know what I mean...the seeds are crackin' open!

The broccoli sprouts (the tiny brown seeds below) are not appearing to be doing much of anything yet, but I just put the whole business in there last night, so it's early.

**************************************

I've got flax bread in the dehydrator right now, and it will be ready to accompany tonight's meal. I've made hummus for it, and I'll make a salad.

Off I go into my sunny afternoon, gonna go enjoy this beautiful spring day!

~Have a wonderful everything, Rawkers~

Raw Calm, Baby!

After my week of no fat, I find myself leaning toward light eating. Leaning, get it? I just ate a giant mixing bowl of salad, and this morning I enjoyed a green smoothie.

Off I went to the gym, where I noticed something different. There I was on the treadmill, loud, thumping music coming from the loft, with an aerobics teacher yelling HO! every now and again to get the group moving. (HO?) Hm.

Same busy, noisy place and the difference was that my mind wasn't busy. At all. I realized this last week, that as the days wore on, it got quieter and quieter in my mind. Where I am usually very chatty, I've been noticing lately that unless there's something to say, I'm feeling calm and quiet.

On the treadmill, this translated to an empty head (in a good way.) Not looking at the TVs, not checking my heart rate, not checking the time left, just running, running, running, running, running. It was so beautiful.

I had forgotten this benefit of eating lots and lots of greens...it gets quiet inside. Monkey Mind goes away. That right there is worth any effort it takes to go raw. There's this beautiful stillness from within. It's so awesome!!!!

I've come to see that this happens not on gourmet raw alone. It happens on raw with a heavy greens component. Not to say you can't also have gourmet raw as well...just not instead, as I was doing since taking my chef courses. BALANCE, Libragirl, BALANCE. I'm excited about this! Quietly excited. ;)

The rest of my workout was good. You know, I hadn't been to the gym in over a week, since all this swine flu news...I was originally thinking that the gym is such a hotbed of germs, I'd wait it out. But you guessed it, the hell with that. I don't want to live that way. I'm far better off getting the benefits of exercising my body than I am not exercising and worrying about it. I missed it, and it's wonderful to be back to the gym and to my senses.

After the gym, I stopped in a couple thrift stores on the way home, those great Ladies Auxiliary types. I love those. I am on the hunt for large glass jars with lids, for my sprouts. I don't want those two part metal canning lids because, well, blech to metal & sprouts. But that's all I found. Oh wait, I did find a little summer skirt ;) (above)

In other news... I've got sprouts going again! I found some little organic seeds packets at the store and found them irresistible. They're called BioSnacky, and I got one with 'Mild Aromatic Mix' which contains lentil, mung, and white radish seeds and one packet of broccoli sprouts. They are in my Biosta sprouter now. I still want glass jars so that I can have more than a couple things going on at once.

But this will do until that happens. These say 3-5 days, and already they have cracks and tails. Haha cracks, you know what I mean...the seeds are crackin' open!

The broccoli sprouts (the tiny brown seeds below) are not appearing to be doing much of anything yet, but I just put the whole business in there last night, so it's early.

**************************************

I've got flax bread in the dehydrator right now, and it will be ready to accompany tonight's meal. I've made hummus for it, and I'll make a salad.

Off I go into my sunny afternoon, gonna go enjoy this beautiful spring day!

~Have a wonderful everything, Rawkers~

Day Seven Fat Free Update - Final Day

Eating right out of 'nature's fruit cup': spooning out some passion fruit

Day 7 Fat Free Journal Sunday, May 10, 2009

10 am 2 glasses smoothie containing mixed baby greens, banana, blueberries, blackberries, apple

12:30 pm 2 passion fruits, ½ pineapple

4:30 large salad with mixed baby greens, cucumber, red pepper, and dressing made of papaya, celery, and spinach

8:15 pm green smoothie containing mixed greens, beet greens, red leaf lettuce, 2 bananas, squeeze of lemon, 2 apples, black/blueberries…the best damn smoothie I ever made!!

10 pm banana

My boyfriend and I had a long “Good for you, Honey” hug. We had different experiences of the same week. Well done, both!

I learned that, in general, when we crave cooked foods, it’s likely fat we are craving. Through the week, I surprisingly didn’t crave anything at all, but on the last night, I was laughing that I wondered if I was going to go from a figurative monastery of eating to an orgy of S.A.D. junk food, when my next thought surprised me: picturing that doing so would be so satisfying ‘right about now’.

As fun-in-the-moment as an orgy of S.A.D. food porn would be, it ultimately would be foolish and rather crushing, actually. Especially once I realized that if I added avocado and oil, etc, back in, that this in itself would be luxury enough to quell those thoughts and any fleeting desires. It would be like going back to smoking after successfully quitting for a whole week, something I know well from years past. Pretty lame ‘victory’…

But still, today, Day 7, the very last day, was the day I felt like I’d had enough of this kind of eating. To clarify, I’ll always love and include smoothies and salads, but today, I’m missing variety. I'm certainly glad to have given my digestive system a well-earned rest.

It has been a rewarding experience, one that graciously reminds me to eat lighter; to approach raw with a lot more leafy greens on the menu, because in just a week of this, I have experienced more benefits than in 3 months of near-100% gourmet raw. I’m convinced that the benefits have nothing to do with the no-fat aspect, but with how one has to eat to maintain that…lots of greens, fruits, and vegetables in all their forms. I know from past experience that including oils and avocados in there, and nuts to a lesser degree, gives one the same glowing benefits.

So what benefits, you ask? Well, all this good eatin’ shows all over my face, to the extent that my neighbor noticed a difference in me! And I noticed that my skin is its softest ever. I’ve lost a total of 6 lbs. Even though this wasn’t behind my reason for doing this, it’s still a sweet bonus!

It’s been a great detox from all the nuts, albeit a gentle one, as nothing adverse has occurred. Not that I view detox as adverse, only its pesky symptoms! And not to say that detox isn’t around the next corner. With deeper levels of raw, it’s to be expected.

All in all, I’m very happy I did it. The experience sharpened my focus and deepened my understanding of my personal raw journey.

Onward!

Day Seven Fat Free Update - Final Day

Eating right out of 'nature's fruit cup': spooning out some passion fruit

Day 7 Fat Free Journal Sunday, May 10, 2009

10 am 2 glasses smoothie containing mixed baby greens, banana, blueberries, blackberries, apple

12:30 pm 2 passion fruits, ½ pineapple

4:30 large salad with mixed baby greens, cucumber, red pepper, and dressing made of papaya, celery, and spinach

8:15 pm green smoothie containing mixed greens, beet greens, red leaf lettuce, 2 bananas, squeeze of lemon, 2 apples, black/blueberries…the best damn smoothie I ever made!!

10 pm banana

My boyfriend and I had a long “Good for you, Honey” hug. We had different experiences of the same week. Well done, both!

I learned that, in general, when we crave cooked foods, it’s likely fat we are craving. Through the week, I surprisingly didn’t crave anything at all, but on the last night, I was laughing that I wondered if I was going to go from a figurative monastery of eating to an orgy of S.A.D. junk food, when my next thought surprised me: picturing that doing so would be so satisfying ‘right about now’.

As fun-in-the-moment as an orgy of S.A.D. food porn would be, it ultimately would be foolish and rather crushing, actually. Especially once I realized that if I added avocado and oil, etc, back in, that this in itself would be luxury enough to quell those thoughts and any fleeting desires. It would be like going back to smoking after successfully quitting for a whole week, something I know well from years past. Pretty lame ‘victory’…

But still, today, Day 7, the very last day, was the day I felt like I’d had enough of this kind of eating. To clarify, I’ll always love and include smoothies and salads, but today, I’m missing variety. I'm certainly glad to have given my digestive system a well-earned rest.

It has been a rewarding experience, one that graciously reminds me to eat lighter; to approach raw with a lot more leafy greens on the menu, because in just a week of this, I have experienced more benefits than in 3 months of near-100% gourmet raw. I’m convinced that the benefits have nothing to do with the no-fat aspect, but with how one has to eat to maintain that…lots of greens, fruits, and vegetables in all their forms. I know from past experience that including oils and avocados in there, and nuts to a lesser degree, gives one the same glowing benefits.

So what benefits, you ask? Well, all this good eatin’ shows all over my face, to the extent that my neighbor noticed a difference in me! And I noticed that my skin is its softest ever. I’ve lost a total of 6 lbs. Even though this wasn’t behind my reason for doing this, it’s still a sweet bonus!

It’s been a great detox from all the nuts, albeit a gentle one, as nothing adverse has occurred. Not that I view detox as adverse, only its pesky symptoms! And not to say that detox isn’t around the next corner. With deeper levels of raw, it’s to be expected.

All in all, I’m very happy I did it. The experience sharpened my focus and deepened my understanding of my personal raw journey.

Onward!

Day Six Fat Free Update

Day 6 Fat Free Week Saturday, May 09, 2009

6:30 a.m. a couple glasses of lemon water

11:30 a.m. ½ honeydew melon

5 morning hours with no desire to eat whatsoever. Unusual for me. Am I really re-training my body??

Went riding the Harley on this gorgeous and sunny Saturday, and didn’t even think about food all day. Just peckish now (it’s 4) so I walked to the store and bought stuff for a fab smoothie. I’ve thought a few times how funny it was that at the beginning of the week, I shopped for produce and said we were ‘set for the week’. Well Bahahaha to that! We’ve been back 3 times for stuff. You go through the fruit & veggies fast when that’s all you’re consuming!

4 pm green smoothie, containing romaine and red leaf lettuce, passion fruit, bananas, apple, frozen blue and blackberries… YUMMY!

And that’s all I ate today! That's honestly all I felt like. For this day. For all I know, tomorrow, I'll need to eat more.

We had a gig at that pub on the beach again, and my big ol’ smoothie kept me just fine throughout the night. Didn’t even eat when I got home; just went to bed.

This is where my boyfriend parked his flag, though. At the gig.

On the drive there, he was so distracted by hunger that he said it was all he could think about. So when we got there and the waitress asked if she could bring us anything, he ordered a veggie burger and yam fries.

I thought I might have to go busy myself elsewhere while he ate but I honestly wasn’t suffering through it, so we just continued chatting and that was that.

I was still full from the smoothie, and I personally wouldn’t want to stop a day short. What’s one more day? We’re in the home stretch now, Baby! But he clearly had enough as of that moment!

So good on ‘im.

He said, “Wow, Baby, I commend you for being so strong, holy crap!” And honestly, if I was white-knucklin’ it, I would have probably caved, but the truth is, I was just fine and it didn’t take strength.

Stubbornness, maybe! Lol!

Day Six Fat Free Update

Day 6 Fat Free Week Saturday, May 09, 2009

6:30 a.m. a couple glasses of lemon water

11:30 a.m. ½ honeydew melon

5 morning hours with no desire to eat whatsoever. Unusual for me. Am I really re-training my body??

Went riding the Harley on this gorgeous and sunny Saturday, and didn’t even think about food all day. Just peckish now (it’s 4) so I walked to the store and bought stuff for a fab smoothie. I’ve thought a few times how funny it was that at the beginning of the week, I shopped for produce and said we were ‘set for the week’. Well Bahahaha to that! We’ve been back 3 times for stuff. You go through the fruit & veggies fast when that’s all you’re consuming!

4 pm green smoothie, containing romaine and red leaf lettuce, passion fruit, bananas, apple, frozen blue and blackberries… YUMMY!

And that’s all I ate today! That's honestly all I felt like. For this day. For all I know, tomorrow, I'll need to eat more.

We had a gig at that pub on the beach again, and my big ol’ smoothie kept me just fine throughout the night. Didn’t even eat when I got home; just went to bed.

This is where my boyfriend parked his flag, though. At the gig.

On the drive there, he was so distracted by hunger that he said it was all he could think about. So when we got there and the waitress asked if she could bring us anything, he ordered a veggie burger and yam fries.

I thought I might have to go busy myself elsewhere while he ate but I honestly wasn’t suffering through it, so we just continued chatting and that was that.

I was still full from the smoothie, and I personally wouldn’t want to stop a day short. What’s one more day? We’re in the home stretch now, Baby! But he clearly had enough as of that moment!

So good on ‘im.

He said, “Wow, Baby, I commend you for being so strong, holy crap!” And honestly, if I was white-knucklin’ it, I would have probably caved, but the truth is, I was just fine and it didn’t take strength.

Stubbornness, maybe! Lol!

Day Five Fat Free Update

Day 5 Friday, May 8, 2009

8 am - ½ mini watermelon, which gave me indigestion. My thought now about watermelon is that I eat them much too quickly, and gulp down a lot of air. I’ll try putting them in smoothies or juicing them… I am not giving them up! (is there an echo in here? Seems to me I've said the same thing of a lot of things that are now distant memories...but watermelon?! Come on!)

I could try to eat them less voraciously, I guess…but it’s just that they’re so juicy and sweet and there’s not much to chew on and I just go for bite after bite after sweet sweet bite! But then I feel like Shiite, so I’ll just grow up and slow down. ;)

8:30 Fennel tea to get rid of the indigestion, which it promptly did.

9:30 Glass of green smoothie containing spinach, kale, chard, black/blue/raspberries, apple Purple-y DELICIOUS!!

1 pm At times, it seems I’m trying to get too fancy with these smoothies!! This one tasted like shiite!! 2 pears, 1 banana, blueberries, way. too. much. parsley. . . then, when I tried to fix it with raspberries, the whole frozen clump fell into the blender and sank to the bottom! Blarg!! But I drank it. Most of it.

3 pm ½ pineapple

4:45 green smoothie containing 2 bananas, 2 apples, blueberries, big handfuls of spinach…delicious and it really hit the spot!

11:15 pm back from the gig, ate a Bartlett Pear, went to bed.

Some thoughts I've been chewing on...

Well, if anything in my body has been 're-set' this week of no-fat eating, it's my hunger and its signals.

What's come out of this is the feeling that hunger is not an emergency state in my body. I can only say this from a place of abundance. If I were desperately hungry due to lack of options, and this was not a choice I'm making, I would be singing a different tune.

But in this controlled study, so to speak, I'm able to keep not only optimistic, but very, very satisfied on very, very little.

It raises my awareness of just how priviledged I am to be in the position to make such a choice. Funny that focusing on less has made me more aware and grateful of my abundance.

A mere few days ago, I called myself a Dinner HO, (fear not, it's a term of endearment!) and many times, I've talked about the feelings of entitlement I get come dinner time.

Prior to last night's gig at the fish n chips place, I was thinking I'd have to bring pitchers of green smoothies, a giant salad, and some fruit for the car so I'd be able to zip out on breaks and eat feverishly to battle the temptations inside the restaurant.

But I went to the gig fuelled by a blender pitcher of green smoothie at 4:45 and it was pretty darned filling. Good thing, because in our rush to leave the house on time, I left the salad sitting on the kitchen counter, lol. When I realized this on route, I had a fleeting, "Oh, no..." but then I just took a firm stand with myself and thought, Suck it up, Buttercup! :)

Well, I was able to sail through last night with aplomb. (not a plum, aplomb.) I liken it to the same way I've been able to untangle my emotions from bottles of beer or the smell of dope. In years past, all it would take was seeing or smelling those things and I was a gonner. And I think that I, like most folks, am the same with various foods. But last night, I didn't connect the platters of food I saw, with myself. And come to think of it, the smell of food didn't trigger anything in me.

I guess I just know I'm on a different mission this week, and that's that. I'm very strong in that way. When it's time to knuckle down, I'm your girl.

I've been going longer and longer stretches in the day time this week without needing to eat, so at no point in the evening did I even think of food!

I just sang my set, then hosted the night. It was pretty cool, actually, a bluegrass ensemble came in...there were about 7 or them, and we all settled in thinking it was going to be smokin' hot licks and they announced that this was their first time playing together as a group! Aw, man, they had the place in the palm of their hands!! It was great! The owner, who has a big heart, offered that they can have the place on Wednesday nights to come play and practice. What a gift, heh? The whole night was a lot of fun.

On the drive home, my boyfriend and I discussed how it was for us, and he said he was fine, but starving. And I totally knew what he meant. Hunger is coming from a different place. It doesn't feel all messed up with emotions.

That's why when I came home, at 11 or so, I took 2 Bartlett pears, ate one, and put one back and went to bed.

I find this fascinating. :)

Day Five Fat Free Update

Day 5 Friday, May 8, 2009

8 am - ½ mini watermelon, which gave me indigestion. My thought now about watermelon is that I eat them much too quickly, and gulp down a lot of air. I’ll try putting them in smoothies or juicing them… I am not giving them up! (is there an echo in here? Seems to me I've said the same thing of a lot of things that are now distant memories...but watermelon?! Come on!)

I could try to eat them less voraciously, I guess…but it’s just that they’re so juicy and sweet and there’s not much to chew on and I just go for bite after bite after sweet sweet bite! But then I feel like Shiite, so I’ll just grow up and slow down. ;)

8:30 Fennel tea to get rid of the indigestion, which it promptly did.

9:30 Glass of green smoothie containing spinach, kale, chard, black/blue/raspberries, apple Purple-y DELICIOUS!!

1 pm At times, it seems I’m trying to get too fancy with these smoothies!! This one tasted like shiite!! 2 pears, 1 banana, blueberries, way. too. much. parsley. . . then, when I tried to fix it with raspberries, the whole frozen clump fell into the blender and sank to the bottom! Blarg!! But I drank it. Most of it.

3 pm ½ pineapple

4:45 green smoothie containing 2 bananas, 2 apples, blueberries, big handfuls of spinach…delicious and it really hit the spot!

11:15 pm back from the gig, ate a Bartlett Pear, went to bed.

Some thoughts I've been chewing on...

Well, if anything in my body has been 're-set' this week of no-fat eating, it's my hunger and its signals.

What's come out of this is the feeling that hunger is not an emergency state in my body. I can only say this from a place of abundance. If I were desperately hungry due to lack of options, and this was not a choice I'm making, I would be singing a different tune.

But in this controlled study, so to speak, I'm able to keep not only optimistic, but very, very satisfied on very, very little.

It raises my awareness of just how priviledged I am to be in the position to make such a choice. Funny that focusing on less has made me more aware and grateful of my abundance.

A mere few days ago, I called myself a Dinner HO, (fear not, it's a term of endearment!) and many times, I've talked about the feelings of entitlement I get come dinner time.

Prior to last night's gig at the fish n chips place, I was thinking I'd have to bring pitchers of green smoothies, a giant salad, and some fruit for the car so I'd be able to zip out on breaks and eat feverishly to battle the temptations inside the restaurant.

But I went to the gig fuelled by a blender pitcher of green smoothie at 4:45 and it was pretty darned filling. Good thing, because in our rush to leave the house on time, I left the salad sitting on the kitchen counter, lol. When I realized this on route, I had a fleeting, "Oh, no..." but then I just took a firm stand with myself and thought, Suck it up, Buttercup! :)

Well, I was able to sail through last night with aplomb. (not a plum, aplomb.) I liken it to the same way I've been able to untangle my emotions from bottles of beer or the smell of dope. In years past, all it would take was seeing or smelling those things and I was a gonner. And I think that I, like most folks, am the same with various foods. But last night, I didn't connect the platters of food I saw, with myself. And come to think of it, the smell of food didn't trigger anything in me.

I guess I just know I'm on a different mission this week, and that's that. I'm very strong in that way. When it's time to knuckle down, I'm your girl.

I've been going longer and longer stretches in the day time this week without needing to eat, so at no point in the evening did I even think of food!

I just sang my set, then hosted the night. It was pretty cool, actually, a bluegrass ensemble came in...there were about 7 or them, and we all settled in thinking it was going to be smokin' hot licks and they announced that this was their first time playing together as a group! Aw, man, they had the place in the palm of their hands!! It was great! The owner, who has a big heart, offered that they can have the place on Wednesday nights to come play and practice. What a gift, heh? The whole night was a lot of fun.

On the drive home, my boyfriend and I discussed how it was for us, and he said he was fine, but starving. And I totally knew what he meant. Hunger is coming from a different place. It doesn't feel all messed up with emotions.

That's why when I came home, at 11 or so, I took 2 Bartlett pears, ate one, and put one back and went to bed.

I find this fascinating. :)

Day Four Fat Free Update

I found this photo of myself at age 40...on the beer & hair dye diet ;)

See the inflammation in my face?

See the pain in my eyes?

I don't know if anyone can look at this picture and see what I see, but to me, there is no comparison and I only feel compassion when I see my lost self.

I had a steady diet of beer, pot, fried foods, take-out foods, canned foods... this was going nowhere good. Three years later, I was several lbs up and looked as I do in that photo on the right, in the striped shirt. My official BEFORE photo.

Before photos are not before photos when you take them, unless that's your intention.

They are just photos of your sweet self, posing, hoping for a nice picture, like always. It's only when you later see it, that you surprise yourself. "OMG, I didn't realize I ___________!"

That's ok. There can always be a new photo. There can always be a new choice. And there can always be a new you.

Below, age 45, with my drink of choice . . . feeling so much better about my choices, myself, my life!!!!


Day 4 Thursday, May 07, 2009

Boyfriend down 2 lbs! Much better mood.

Been up a couple hours but haven’t needed anything until now…

9 am smoothie containing black/blue/raspberries, bananas, pear, and romaine…delish!!

Holy crap, it’s 2 o’clock…this hasn’t happened in a while… actually, since the last/first time I went raw. Long spaces between needing to eat. Sure I could have eaten at 11 or something, but I decided to go out to poke through a thrift store, then I took Gracie on a long walk in the park. Here it is, 2 pm and I honestly could wait another hour or more. But! I just cleaned out the vitamix and I’m gonna make a smoothie.

2 pm smoothie containing: pineapple, mango, spinach Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

4 pm 3 oranges

So, yeah!! My boyfriend is in a much better head space today. Musta got it all out yesterday. Good boy!!!! He just didn’t feel so deprived today; he felt he got over the hump. He got up and weighed himself and just felt more on purpose. He says his reasons for doing this week are about ½ and ½ …weight loss and the way he feels. He had more energy today. It’s the first day he’s noticed a difference in his energy level.

Me, Same weight today, but my energy rocks!!

7:30 pm giant salad with romaine, kale, red chard, tomato, celery, orange peppers and dressing made of mango, celery, and spinach, blended.
That sweet dressing was so good, I had seconds! Who has seconds of salad??! Well, me. And prolly lots of rawkers, right?

10 pm 2 slices pineapple

11 pm Goodnight! Not going to bed hungry. But I AM really, really happy! That internal happy, about nothing in particular, and everything at once. Grateful.