Thursday, May 31, 2012

Goodness my week has been crazy busy!  I was all planned up for making my raw meals, then WHAMMO all the planning went out the window!

However, that doesn't mean that I haven't been eating mostly raw like my Mostly Raw June plans!  Even though it's not June yet!

We decided that we didn't want to wait another week, so we went mostly raw this past Monday, May 28th.  Why not right?  Take advantage of the enthusiasm!!

To the right is what I bought for week one.  Yes, that's the ENTIRE length of my (admittedly small) kitchen!  Isn't it beautiful?

The container on the bottom left is hemp protein powder, and the orange and black bag just past it is hemp hearts.  I figured I'd buy enough for the month right away.  Hemp is a great source of protein and micro nutrients! 

I use hemp protein powder in my smoothies, and hemp hearts sprinkled on just about anything.  Hemp hearts have a delicious nutty flavour, and are chewy.  I tried them for the first time only a month ago, when I found there was a bag of them in a swag bag I got from a meeting I attended.  They're also not super expensive, especially when you figure you only sprinkle a tbsp or two per meal.

We're doing well eating mostly raw so far, with lots of different meals, everything from simple fruit salads, to chocolate breakfast smoothies (yes, a healthy and delicious version!), to raw burritos, to "popcorn" made with cauliflower!  The only thing I changed, was exchanging chili powder for the cayenne.  I really like the chili powder/nutritional yeast combination, so I figured it would be great on raw popcorn.  And you know what?  It was totally awesome!

That's all the time I have tonight unfortunately, but as my parting gift:

Raw (and healthy) Chocolate Smoothie

2-3 cups raw almond milk
1/4 ripe avocado
5 honey dates (or to taste)
Bit of real vanilla
Coconut milk (optional)
1-2 tbsp dark cocoa
1-2 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 banana

Blend together in a blender.  Drink.  You can thank me later. : )

Tuesday, May 8, 2012


Have you ever thought about the saying, “You are what you eat”?  We’ve all heard it many times over the years, but what many people don’t get is that it’s quite literally true.
People who eat junky, processed foods all the time, and people who avoid anything remotely resembling a fruit or *gasp!* a vegetable, don’t know how bad they feel all the time, because they’ve never known any other way.
When we put “food” in our bodies (which are essentially biological machines) with little to no nutrients, we’re forcing our bodies to somehow make use of the fuel we’ve given them, a fuel that we’re not designed to run on.  What would happen if you put sugar in your gas tank?  A whole lot of nothin’—your car would be trashed.
Yet we put substances in our bodies all the time—in many instances every day—which our bodies aren’t designed to run on. 
So OK, most of us know that we should eat more real food:  More whole grains, more fruits and veggies, more low-fat dairy, more lean meats.  But what does it really MEAN if we eat the Standard American Diet?  What does it mean to our bodies?
Each and every microscopic cell in our bodies is made from the fuel we put in it.  Every single cell that makes up our eyes, our skin, our heart, our lungs, our stomach, our bones, our hands…  Every single part is made up of what we put into our bodies.  So if we eat a lot of processed food--food full of chemicals and preservatives to make it “look better” and “taste better”, every single lab-created chemical substance that is added to make the franken-food product in the package seem more like food you might want to eat—everything horrible and poisonous that masquerades as food, is what every single cell of your body is made of.
How well do you think your biological machine is running?  How long do you think your biological machine is going to continue to run?  Are you going to be surprised when your body no longer runs, because you’ve put sugar and chemicals in your gas tank?  Will it seem worth it in the end?
Your body makes new cells continuously, with the food you eat each day.  You can halt and begin to reverse the effect of the chemicals right this moment, simply by removing them from your life.  Every healthy, whole food you put into your mouth will put you one step closer to being the vibrant, happy person you’re meant to be.  The person with energy and vitality. 

It’s time to leave your unhealthy body behind.  All it takes is one small step, and then another.  It’s time.
And no, it’s not more expensive to buy real food than processed food--it's all about where you shop.  It IS more expensive to buy food than to eat chemicals which are formed into the shapes of burgers which sell for 39 cents.  Stay tuned for a future post about that! 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

I'm so excited I could SPEW!!

I bought a spiral slicer from Amazon last week, I got it on Wednesday, and I got to eat the benefits today!

Better yet, I got to SHARE!!

I gotta say, it was totally fun making the zucchini spaghetti.  It was kind of like playing with those Play-Dough people, where you put the Play-Dough in the head, and then press the person down, so that it grows hair! 

It was also was really satisfying in an odd kind of way.  Just one single zucchini made about 3 cups of curly cues, enough to share with friends. 

To go with the zucchini pasta, I made Thai basil pesto.  I brought it to work, and heated it slightly, because I didn't want it to be super cold (I find a lot of things taste much more flavourful when they're neither super cold nor super hot), but I also didn't want to heat up the noodles at all--zucchini gets pretty squishy when you cook it!!

A co-worker walked by when my friend and I were enjoying our lunches, and she sniffed, sniffed again, and said, "Something sure smells good!"

And the best part?  The recipe is squeaky super clean!  Love that!

Here's the recipe:

Zucchini Noodles with Thai Basil Pesto and Hemp Hearts (serves 2)

Ingredients (all ingredients adjustable to taste):

1 large zucchini, spirulized
Hemp hearts (optional)

Olive oil (about 2 tbsp)
Garlic cloves (3 or so)
Sea salt (pinch)
Cashews (1/2 cup)--soak them for a couple of hours if your blender isn't very powerful as it makes a more smooth sauce)
Nutritional yeast (2-3 tbsp)
Garlic powder (1/2 tsp)
Onion powder (1/2 tsp)
Lemon juice (2-3 tbsp lemon juice)
Fresh basil (regular basil is fine, or experiment with other kinds of basil--like lemon basil!  That would be delish!)

Add all ingredients in a blender, except zucchini and hemp hearts, and blend until very smooth.

In a large bowl, thoroughly toss together zucchini noodles and sauce.  Plate, and sprinkle with hemp hearts if using.

That's it!  Delish!