Sorry to have been so quiet lately!

Let's see, some of my latest kitchen exploits have been...

I have been into raw kelp noodles for the last few months, but I think I may be giving these up for a while. When I did have them, most of the times it was with a spicy thai-like sauce, and chopped basil. I love that combo. My sauces vary each time but are generally something like this;

• big spoon of some nut butter as a base (Pine nut, almond, etc...)
• tamari
• chili paste
• coconut or rice vinegar
• agave if needed

Sometimes I'll use some water from a young coconut and this give it a richer flavor. The trick is to balance the salty/sweet/acid components


My run up Boots road, training update

I ran 15 miles friday 3/5. It went well, except at the end my calves were just starting to cramp. I know this is a hydration issue, so I need to really make sure I am getting hydrated WELL before, and I mean like the previous 24hours before, not just the morning of.

I ran the Boots road loop (3/10)! It's a 6 miler that includes a major descent and a major ascent (have to check the actual milage/alt. change on my GPS watch). My quads are screaming today, but in a good way. I thought raw food was supposed to help clear lactic acid faster? :) Anyway, I think my ability to run continuously up each section of boots (I ran into, and took a 1 minute recovery at Mesa Hills, then a 20 sec recovery at the top of Boots before continuing) has definitely improved because of all the juicing. It has to be that. Last time I ran this loop was years ago. I've done it several times, but never without having to run downhill to recover before turning back up to continue. My lungs were fine, and I just picked a tempo and kept it even when it got very tough at the top of each section. I think the long term, slow cleaning out of my body has to be helping...

I am still shooting for Big Sur at the end of April. My next long run (16-18 mi.) will tell me a lot about where I am at readyiness-wise

ok, more next time....

Happy New Year!

For some reason, I'm feeling a palpable anticipation and excitement about this upcoming year. Like my mind knows something I don't consciously yet, and is excited about it. Can't wait to uncover what it is.... : )

Went to a party last Sunday and brought a raw paté and crudités. Carlos overheard one guy raving about the dip and when I went to collect the dishes when we were leaving, the hostess asked if he (her guest) could take some home. I said sure! and gave him the rest - he was really sweet. Telling me how great it was and "how well it would work as a sandwich spread, on fish tocas, etc..." Made me feel good.

Tonight I tried a suggestion for a salad dressing that has no fat - gotta try this, you guys. It's fantastic. Josefina even liked it, and dipped her meatballs in it. Ha.

It's this easy;
juice of two freshly juiced Oranges, with 2-3 cloves garlic (remove core), blended in the BlendTec. Yowza.

I heard a tip on one of the numerous youtube videos I watch for info and education, that removing the core of the garlic avoids garlic breath. And it seems to work!

Happy Jan 7th!

first rain!

of the season today. It's actually a pretty good, windy storm.

There is a beautiful, magnificent owl that has been sleeping in full sight in our oak tree, since I noticed him about 8:30am this morning. He is getting completley soaked by the rain, but apparently it does not bother him. It's 1pm and he is still there! The rain and wind are quite strong, and yet he sleeps. Thankfully Carlos came home around 11am and got some good shots with a long lens.

On the raw front;
Been using kelp noodles making Ani Phyo's thai noodle recipe (on youtube). Carlos loves these, and Josefina ate them as well, even though I made them wicked hot last night. Poor thing, next time I'll tone down the capsicum pepper now that I know she likes them so much. Per one readers comments on the youtube video, I too added in red bell pepper, red onion thinly sliced and some (fenugreek) sprouts for crunch. Yum!

Been sprouting regularly too, using a bag and a sprouting jar. The sprouts are delicious, and I use them in crackers, salads and we snack on them. I've sprouted buckwheat, alfalfa, fenugreek, and right now I have some green pea seeds going (they won't be ready for a few days. It is easy and I really enjoy it.

Made 'Not Salmon Pate' and served it in a red bell pepper boat the other night and it came out good, especially when topped with the Ranch dressing. Both recipes from Jennifer Corbleet's book.

Monday, Monday...

just noticed I need to update my photo since my hair has grown a lot, and I no longer wear bangs...

Hi There!

So many recipes to share I'm going to dive right in.

I have been about 98% raw now for four weeks! It looks silly when I see it in writing, but it feels like quite an accomplishment to me : ) The only non-raw meals have been on 4-5 social occasions where I could not keep raw, and didn't want to draw attention to myself or make a big deal about it. That's only 4-5 meals out of almost a month, if you look at it that way. When I'm at home I eat raw.
It would seem we've given up coffee completely. Carlos is the coffee maker, and for the last few mornings he hasn't made it, so we haven't had it! Before that, I was having less than 1/2 cup day, and never finishing that.

So, what have I been enjoying?

Carrot Pate (how do you get the accent grav on blogspot text editor? hmmm. Just pretend it's there)

• 4 carrots, 1 clove garlic

chop in food processor w/ S blade.
Add in, and blend thoroughly;

• 1/3 cup raw tahini (Artisana makes)
• 2T Olive oil
• 3T lemon juice (i juice whole lemon through juicer)
• 1T ginger juice (I juice ginger piece through juicer after lemon)
• 1/2 t celtic sea salt
• 1t dried mustard
• pinch cayenne

Pour into bowl, and fold in chopped scallions. We added chopped cilantro also, although the recipe didn't call for it. Serve with crackers, veggie stix, whatever!

Pasta Marinara
WOW, this is good. I could almost eat every night (*blush* for admitting)

I saw this on a youtube video and didn't catch the amounts so I wing it each time, but it works out. By the way there are TONS of youtube videos for raw food recipes, and I get a LOT of ideas from these.

into food processor with S blade, blend

• fresh tomatoes, quartered (4 or 5?)
• 1 lg red bell pepper or 2 med (this adds the sweetness - don't skimp here)
• 1 cup soaked sundried tomatoes. I've use oil packed, drained, and also dried reconstiuted with water. Both work fine. Rawfromthefarm.com sells raw sundried tomatoes.
  
• large clove garlic, pressed through garlic press
  
• olive oil (1/4 -1/3 cup?)
• generous sprinkle each of dried basil, and dried oregano. I haven't tried yet with fresh oregano, and I've used fresh basil a few times. The youtube vid recommends not skimping on these seasonings.
• celtic sea salt (don't need much if using oil packed tomatoes.)

After blending sauce, either pour over spiralized zucchini, or better yet (saw this on another vid and loved it) remove S blade, and replace with shredder blade. Shred zucchini right onto processor bowl with sauce.
Turn entire concoction out into a serving bowl and mix. Sprinkle Rawmesan, Parma, or nutritional flakes on top for extra flavor that mimmicks parmesan cheese.

Chocolate cookies
I made this up to use figs that were coming in faster than we could eat!

• fill processor bowl fitted with S blade half way with quarted figs (it's a lot!). Process into liquid, pour into large mixing bowl.

stir in

• three large heaping spoons of raw cacao powder (Zahhhh!!!)
• about a 1/4 c honey
• two scoops of protein powder we have called "Hemp Maca E3live" for added nutrition
• 1 cup Raw Bakery raw spouted 14 grain muesli

spread out on dehydrator tray with teflex sheets and score with back of knife into desired shapes, or drop by spoonful and flatten.
dehydrate overnight, then flip and dehydrate a few more hours.

there's more but I need to take a brake and do some work around the house. I'll post more recipes later!

School's in.....

so I'm back!!! Whew, summer was fun, but I'm happy to have the routine of the school year to help get myself re-organized.

I have been trying out lots of raw recipes, and I will be sharing them in upcoming posts. For now just wanted to reconnect with my blog and say hello.

hello!

this morning's breakfast;

• cherries
• manna bread with rose petal jelly
• black coffee

Paris lives on....

now back to unpacking...

green smoothie discovery

I've read how good green soothies are for you, but never quite got in the habit of drinking them. I preferred juicing. However lately I am reading about how more nutrient dense these are than juices, and I'm concluding each has it's nutritional 'place'.

I've always made my green smoothies with dark leafy greens and fruit. Well, I bought an ebook series on transitioning to living foods, and the woman includes some recipies that look really good. Level 1 is about incorporating 1 quart of green smoothies or energy soups in your current diet each day. I'm not starting from the standard american diet, and have been eating at least %50 raw for 6 months, however, her advice and reasons for the green smothies made sense to me. So I was considering a renewed focus on having a daily green smoothie (she gives lots of what look like great recipes for greens/fruit combinations too)

But the savory (soup) recipes seemed intuitively more intersting to me... Well, DUH!! My epiphany happened : ) Who says green smoothies have to be greens and FRUIT? I have more of salt tooth in general than a sweet tooth, and I lean even more toward savory now on raw foods. So I made a green smoothie with the following;

• big handful kale
• a few radish leaves
• small amount sweet onion
• very small garlic clove
• 2 tomatoes
  
• 3 small stalks celery w/leaves
  
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1/4 cucumber
• sea salt
• cumin
• sprinkle of Lydia's Seasoning (dried veggies, mostly)
• black pepper

Oh. My. Gosh!!!!!! Love it!!!!!!!

Granted I am drinking this and it's 1pm, so it's definitely more of a lunchtime flavor than breakfast. But even the fruit/greens smoothies were not doing it for me at breakfast. Too thick and sweet. It was hard for me to finish them and get them down.

Lately, I've gotten into manna bread for breakfast. Whole Foods sells a manna bread that tastes like the richest, moistest muffin. I have a small amount (it's calorie dense) with my black coffee. Yum! Around 10am I green juice with fruit, greens, wheatgrass and lemon (somehow lately I'm only juicing 4 or 5 days a week).

Now I will add my savory green smoothie for the afternoon!

: )

yummy salad

made this one up in my head last minute for dinner tonight, and thank goodness, it tasted just as good as I thought it might : ) Had it with some left over arugula salad, and an ear of steamed corn.

• jicama root, peeled and chopped
• cherry tomatoes, halved
• Papaya, peeled and diced
• 1 bunch basil leaves, chopped
• squeeze of lemon juice
• black pepper

toss well.

Enjoy!

reporting in

I have been doing so much reading regarding the raw food lifestyle, mostly books I have ordered and websites. There is so much information out there!! This movement is definitely alive and well, and many people have been eating raw for years or decades. I ordered a few DVD's, one I started watching and it's interesting. It's good to see the people speak "live" and also to watch the demos of the recipes. It's inspirational and motivational. There are lots of interesting videos on YouTube.

Hey, as I type this I am eating celery sticks with raw pesto dip that I made. yum.

The other day I tried a treat I ordered from www.rawbakery.com - chocolate macaroons. O.M.G. They were heaven. But only four came in the little package : ( They were dense and rich so I only had one at a time, but still, it left me wanting more and they were expensive. So, I decided I could make these myself (or try). They used cocoa powder, agave and coconut. I didn't have the cocoa powder so I went online and found a terrific one at www.sunfood.com. I am beginning to like David Wolfe a lot. Anyway, since I had to wait for that ingredient, I decided to make something similar, with what I had. A while back I purchased Artisana's Pecan butter to try. It was intense, but not naturally sweet like almond butter. I was left wondering what I would use it for. Bingo!

Into a small cuisinart I put:

• 1/4 c pecan butter
• 1/4 cup fine organic coconut - note - this is not raw. It is unsweetened Red's organic. I have found raw online, but want to use up my current stash of stuff before ordering new.
• 16 raw cocoa beans
• agave syrup
• chia seeds - I was thinking these would help with bulk since they swell. But they are also a nutritional superfood.
• a few raw cashews
• a few raw goji berries

ground this into a paste and made mini 1/2" balls that I then rolled in more fine coconut. They were good, but need a squirt of lemon next time for acid/balance. Also, I was missing the cocoa powder for a darker chocolate effect. But not bad for a first attempt!

A note regarding raw ingredients - a number of the raw food exerts I have been reading or watching have mentioned not to "sweat" the details making sure every single ingredient especially spices, etc. is raw. This is not the point of raw food eating. The point is to introduce as much raw live food into your body, because over time this will lead to the most healthful eating and state for one's body. This approach makes complete sense to me and feels right. It's unproductive to get dogmatic about things.

So for instance if a recipe calls for maple syrup or something not considered raw, it's not a big deal (for me anyway). It's the main/most ingredients that should be live or raw.

I read another "definition", that a raw foodist is one who eats 75% or more raw live food. This surprised me. In the past few days I think I have been doing that and yet I surely am not a raw foodist because part of the 25% is sometimes animal protein ( gasp!!) : )

So, while I am enjoying the journey of discovery and informing myself of this fascinating approach to nutrition and health, I have not lost myself in it. Yes, I am surely eating much more raw and health food in the past 5 months and I am happy for that! I love my daily green juices. I love being able to snack out of baggies filled with every fresh veggie that I take with me in the car, and not feel like I need to explain myself, even to myself! I love learning about the nutrition locked inside superfoods, about sprouting, about various preparation methods, etc. I've discovered some great raw foods that taste so good they easily replace non-raw snacks or foods I used to enjoy instead. But I sure will enjoy my 3 star lunch we're planning to attend in Paris. Or going to Aubergene. Or Carlos' roast chicken, for instance. Or baked sweet potatoes and squash. I still have coffee in the morning, and iced espresso in the afternoon. We're drinking less wine, but we still have it.

It's all a balance and an ongoing evolution. A trying out, and incorporating foods and practices that feel good and make sense, and shedding those that no longer work for me. And also keeping my head not to blindly follow advice or trends that while they might be good for some aren't for me right now.

: )

Food Stuffs, or, the Stuff that is Food...

a few my currents favs...

• Luscious Lemon Swirl cookies - These are fantastic. Coconutty and quite lemony. Not bitter as one other Lemon Macaroon I tried was (yuck). Alos like most raw food that I have tried, less does more. In others words, it takes more chewing and time to eat raw goodies, and they seem to be much more filling because of that. These are on the expensive side, since the package only contains 7 cookies. On average they are about $1 a piece.

• Mauk Family Farms Crusts - there are three flavors; Breakfast crusts, Mineral Crusts, and Wheat-free crusts. The Wheat free are the lighest and have a lovely light flavor. The Breakfast crusts are more substantial, have a little dried fruit, but still are not too heavy. The Mineral crusts use nori and onion powder for a really nice flavor! Not too strong and no bitterness. Love all these!

• Synergy Kombucha - I know, I know, bottled Kombucha is a no-no and we're all supposed to be brewing our own, right? But this stuff is good, and has the right amount of fizz. The fizz is hard to consistently master making your own (I hear), and flat kombucha is ho-hum. Now, if we could figure out a way beyond all the glass recycling (that part isn't so cool) but anyway.... Best favors are Original (citrusy, and better than their 'citrus' flavor), Cranberry, Passionberry, Botanical no.3 (has Lavander!)

• raw chocolate - you know, raw chocolate, when done well, is so much better than traditional!!! I am seriously getting hooked on raw chocolate. You all know my chocolate addiction, so I will be making a point to share with you my favs. Currently my fav is Gnosis, especially their Rose Lemon flavor. Stay tuned...
  

boo...

I'm baaack!!!!!!!!!!

OK, so much has been in my head that I have been wanting to capture in my blog! I'll probably break it up into several posts as I remember things. And I won't promise continuity or chronological order : ) .....

I have been doing so much reading (books and websites), internet searches, trying different products etc... I'll talk about each in more detail as I go. Since Feb I initially went through a rough period where I got away from eating raw beyond salads and veggie sticks, raw snacks, etc... I probably was at about 40%. "Low raw" hee hee.

I went to Tucson, we traveled to NY in Feb, and then there was a trip to Austin in April. In between hectic but usual 'life', somehow I allowed myself to stay off track. It really is a choice so I want to acknowledge that and not make excuses. However, when we got back from Austin I've been steadily getting back on track. These past days I've done really well eating raw the whole day until dinner. And I'm green juicing again. I'm not sure what percetage I'm at, but i'm feeling better and better, my nice nails are back, my skin is looking a little better, my hair is softer, etc. I am happy.

Today, look for updates to my favorite products list. I'll add some new things I am happy with. I am also going to delete Lara Bars. It's not that I don't like them now, but I find I've moved past these; they seem to heavy and dense to me now. I have a bit of a stash still, so I'll eat these (half or 1/3 at a time) and just not get any more once they are gone.

I'm also going to add some other list sections to this blog.

• "Favorite websites"- for shopping, recipes or inspiration
• "Rawfood lifestyle leaders" I'll comment on their books or websites, and my opinion of their teachings or advice.
  

row, row, row your boat....

Carlos has purchased a rowing machine. It is the kind that professional rowers practice on. We can't wait to get it. This is going to help us a lot in our indoor quest for fitness. He is using one right now at the gym during his training sessions, and really loves it. More on this soon...!

I'm back

I'm back from Tucson! Being gone for 6 days threw me off bit regarding my raw diet. I brought raw snacks (more than i needed, actually : ) and was able to munch on these during the days for the most part. But I drank a little more coffee in the am than I would have if I had my juice. Man, i missed my green juices! But I brought ground Cherry Bean Italian raost coffee with me and it was goooooood..... But I have definitely cut back. Because before this two month raw endeavor, I would need some kind of caffeine in the afternoon. And even with not drinking the juices, I only had a mid-day iced espresso two of the days, and I felt fine. So this is good.

The first day I went to a grocery store and got some snap peas (they were tough), a box of Earthbound arugula to munch over the days (I had pinches of this out of the box as I got ready in the a.m., and it actually was good. Strange), green grapes, some green apples (skin was tough; had to peel), and 2 gallons of water for coffee and drinking.

I packed snacks for the day, each day. My mom and I would skip a formal lunch or buying anything. We would just take a break and eat what we had brought. It helped that we ate a protein breakfast each morning at the lodge before leaving. I had a spinach/veggie omelet that was very fresh, along with some fruit (no toast or potatoes or juice). One of the nights I tried their Ventana salad and it was good, so I ordered it for breakfast one time also (no dressing) : ) It had a lot of fresh berries, mandarin orange slices, baby leaves, spiced pecans, a few blue cheese crumbles. It was really good! I must say the food at the lodge we stayed at was very fresh and good.

So for the past two days I am focusing on juicing. Although after my yoga this morning, I made a killer green smoothie. It contained;

• kale leaves (I take out the rib and save that for juicing)
  
• 1 banana
• 1 cutie tangerine
• green grapes
• fine unsweetened coconut
• ground flax seed
  
• raw chocolate nibs (unsweetened)
• hemp seeds
• goji berries
  
• lots of cold water

Yum!!

wheat grass

I never would have thought I'd be saying (or writing) this, but I really have grown to like wheat grass! I said I would never buy it again, and yet I have three pints in various stages of growth on my kitchen windowsill : ) I actually even craved it today and had a mid-morning juice just to accommodate my craving.

I bought an large yellow heirloom tomato yesterday at Whole Foods. Sliced it, topped with fresh basil leaves and raw olive oil, as a salad for dinner. Then come to find it the tomato was tasteless and pithy. Ugh. So today I juiced it in my second juice. Along with two small lemons, a few collard leaves, some kale, green grapes, an apple, a few 'limequats', and snap peas. Not too sweet, but not bad either.

Carlos is enjoying a full range of raw snacks now, and basically eats raw throughout the day. He likes raw sprouted grain granola with almond milk in the morning, and then crackers, seeds, a few nuts, and fruit during the day. At night we've been cooking, but eat as much raw as possible, and then the only cooked food is steamed or sauteed vegetables and a small amount of protein, and sometimes a wheat pasta or brown rice. The starch is mostly for the kids, but we'll have a few bites.

Overall, our diet has improved immensely!!

greens; smoothies vs juicing

I bought Victoria Boutenko's book that all the raw foodist biggies talk about as one of the bibles of Raw, "Green for Life". I haven't read it all, but just perused. One place I spent a little time was on her opinion of juicing vs smoothies (green) and I must say, I am no less confused, or should I say decided, on what is right for me.

Some experts rave about juicing and the ability for juicing to get maximum nutrition and minimal effort of digestion on the body, but with the obvious drawback of little fiber. While green smoothies contain the fiber from the greens, but also require more from the body in terms of digestion and elimination. But, I wonder, why can't someone juice and get their fiber another way??

So today when having the morning green juice I juiced all the greens first, pulled aside the pulp, and mixed it with water, while I juiced the rest of the ingredients. After, I used the pulp/water mixture with some bananas and additional water for a smoothie. Victoria illustrates in her book how she came upon green smoothies of Kale and bananas, by first blending Kale and being ut off by the smell after opening the blending top, so she added bananas and claims the smell wa "freshness" and very appealing.

Well, maybe because I juiced and then made the smoothie, but the pulp I think had time (even in that short amount of time) to start fermenting or breaking down, and the resulting smoothie was slightly sulfur smelling/tasting from the kale. Also I mixed a little of the pulp into the juice before deciding to separate it and then blend with the bananas. So even the juice had pulp and it was awkward to drink with little strings of pulp ending on my lips after each sip. Not nice, really...

So the end result of my experiment today is;

• Continue green juicing as I have been.
• Once a day make a green smoothie, but just blend everything in the blender and not worry about juicing first.

I don't like smoothies in general because they tend to make me thirsty for quite a long time afterwards, but I will try the green smoothie idea for, let's say a week, and report back my results and findings.

: )