Friday, May 28, 2010

Win a $50 shopping spree @ iherb!

Oooh! I just found a great giveaway at Pure2raw blog! You MUST check this out! The girls who run this blog (fabulous twin sisters) were given a shopping spree by iherb and they bought this:

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What would you buy? I am eager to try SOOO many new things in the raw food world that I am overwhelmed! This giveaway would be the perfect opportunity for me, or YOU to get a little $50 shopping SPREEEE (sing that!) over at wonderful iherb !! Just click on the Pure2raw link and leave a comment by Sunday, May 30th (there is still time!) to enter! I will probably win, but good luck to you too! ;) Thanks Pure2raw for having this giveaway!

Day 5: 30 days Raw

Hello! Friday is here! Two kids home sick, so I'm a bit worn out. This a.m. I had water first. Don't forget your water!

Today I enjoyed:
Green Smoothie: spinach, banana, bluberries and water
about 9 dates! Maybe 10.
1 tspn raw honey
iceburg salad w/toms, red onions, oil/vin and fresh rasps s&p
WATER
Romaine hearts (2 big 2 tiny) stuffed with my slaw, chopped avos, toms, sprouts, sunflower seeds & fresh lemon juice...I just LOVE eating this! It is so filling and I was stuffed!
2 dates
1 very vanilla silk milk coffee drink (I added coffee concentrate) (not raw, obviously, but satisfying)
1 tsp (less really) of raw honey
Amazing HUGE mixed baby greens salad w/chopped grn peppers/grape toms/brocc/carrots and a fresh orange, ginger and honey dressing I put together. DELISH

Today was nice. I had some tired moments, but overall I feel very alert, mentally clear and just joyful! I really enjoyed my mixed green salad and that is saying A LOT. I am NOT a salad lover, so this raw journey is a mixed feeling thing for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE veggies, but I am so used to having them steamed and hot! I have never liked lettuce type salads very much, I just don't crave them. I didn't want to end up eating oil/vinegar dressing every day, so I thought, what else is there that is raw? Fresh squeezed lemon? Mmmm, sure, ok, but no. So I just mixed some honey, some coconut oil (it is liquid in our house, it's warm), chopped garlic (the kind in oil in a jar..McCormick(not raw but whole and all I had), a little ginger powder and fresh squeezed orange juice and a sprinkle of citrus sea salt that I found on clearance for about $2. I think reg. sea salt would be fine. It was about a 1/3 of cup worth when I was done. I drizzled over the salad and let it sit a bit as I made my girls a smoothie. When I ate it? OH MY! It was the perfect blend of honey, oj and oil I guess! It was unbelievably good and sweet yet tart. I loved loved loved it! I now have another dressing recipe..yippee! :) I also like the coconut oil for my hands and rough spots and it makes me smell divine! Joy...til tomorrow.
warmth,
Tracey

Day 4: 30 days Raw

Hello! It is Thursday and I feel pretty good! I'm a little cranky if I don't eat early (I usually don't) because my food is light, it digests faster and I get HUNGRY! Weighed in today (put some new batts in the scale) and was at 176 even. Hmm! That is a drop in weight, albeit a small one. I like it though. At the end of the day I can tell you I did cheat, but I avoided a HUGE bread cheat that was looming..all because I watched a few videos about others being successful and that motivated me! The big cheat today? A DONUT! Yes! With sugar and icing and filling..it was really good, but it was TOO MUCH. I felt pretty yucky almost right away while also feeling happy. Weird. Anyhow, I immediately went and ate some greens and sprouts on my endive to combat just that sugar sitting in my gut. The raw food really helped.

Today I ate:
Larabar: choco-coconut bar
water
1 banana
couple bites avo apple salad (I added cinnamon to this batch, like a dessert!)
several dates
4 romaine leaves (dinner)stuffed/spread with: Hummus (sabra, not raw but I didn't eat it with bread which is how I ALWAYS eat it, it was good with my greens though), toms, sprouts, my slaw, avo/apple salad and it was sooooooooooooooo good!
small smoothie with water (I drank what was left of one I made my hubby, spin, ban, blues and water.
2 romaine heart leaves (lunch) with sprouts/diced avo/lemon/toms/pepper
1 soymilk (Silk) and coffee concentrate drink.
Lots of water
small spoonful of raw honey

There is raw hummus. I have made it before. It was ok. I am used to Sabra hummus (cooked chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, tahini (sesame seeds ground), etc. So smooth! One of my FAVORITE foods. I always eat it with whole wheat pita that I toast then cut into triangles. But, bread is a no-no right now. So I gave in to the hummus only. Here is what I did:

Spread my long romaine hearts with hummus, added slaw topped with roms and then with sprouts. Nosh Nosh Nosh!!! So very yummy. SO VERY filling! And, water! I felt pretty good today energy-wise. But, as you can see, the cravings!!! I think going to the grocery store hungry was a very very bad thing! I was only there to get meds for my kiddo, but the 20 minute wait sent me browsing through the store while I was hungry. So I got donuts and hummus. Sigh. Not too bad though!! I ate almost all raw today and I'm still encouraged! Yay raw!!

Til tomorrow,
Tracey

Day 3: 30 days Raw

Hello! Day 3, Wednesday. Tired again. (but you know, this is not unusual for me to be tired or sapped of energy, this is one of the reasons I am doing this!)

I find it good to make a big bowl or two of my favorite salad foods to have on hand, ready. If you get hungry, you can grab it and start gnoshing! This is true of the Asian salad I love. It is easy and yummy! Today I bought some endive leaves to make lettuce rolls or tacos. I saw someone online eating their salad mixings all rolled up, it looked good and I miss sandwiches! It worked ridiculously well and I loved it!

Today I enjoyed:
5 raw almonds
10oz bottle of Naked Grn Machine juice from Starbucks (was out with my daughter)
1 2oz size (ate half) Raw blueberry bar (from Two Moms in the Raw), it was ok.
Endive leaves spread with my slaw, topped with avocado and toms, squeezed lemon and sprouts (not my own, living alfalfa from the store) and raw sunflower seeds. YUMMY! I had 2 1/2 of them and my kids ate them with me..they loved them!
Smoothie: ban, spin, 1 date, apple chunks
5-7 dates (pitted, no preservatives)
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1 tbsp raw honey
2 almonds
bowl of apple avocado salad
bowl of asian slaw
big fat swig of soy milk

I ate alot today and that is ok. I am not limiting how much I eat right now. I am just limiting WHAT I eat! I had a non-raw juice..but not much cheating today. I was mostly satisfied! :)
I also understand that many raw food lovers do not eat ANY animal products, including honey. I understand their reasons and I am grateful for their input. For myself, and for now, I am enjoying the honey and the healing and amazing nutrition content it contains. It also satisfies my sweet tooth. It is THICK and so sweet! It is like candy and a scoop on a spoon can cure a craving!

I think knowing I can eat when I want to will help me not feel deprived and help me to stick to it! If I want a whole avocado, then I will eat it! I know it is high in fat, but it is raw and that is my goal right now. They are yummy! Again, having stuff available is so important! Also, I am a snacker, so almonds, dates, carrots, apples, good to have on hand ready to eat.

Day 2: 30 day raw

Hello! Tuesday is here. VERY tired today all day. Grumpy too!
Today I ate:
bowl of mixed fresh fruit (cantaloupe, straws, blues, pineapple)
1/3 of an orange
3 tblspns RAW honey (it is organic too, and it is SO GOOD!)
Spinach Salad (vin/oil, straw, avo, sea salt, pepper)
2 soymilk and coffee extract drinks (Like Barnies coffee cooler)
1 mango cookie
1 baby tomato
water all day!
1 baby carrot

The soymilk is not raw, but I have debated having the soymilk since before I started. It is non-dairy, but it IS processed. It is Silk brand and I feel pretty healthy in general, but is not raw, so don't yell at me, I KNOW! :) It DID however stop me from going a little nuts when the cravings hit in the evening. I added my concentrated coffee (no sugar or anything) and made a coffee drink. Sigh. It was SOOOOO good! I can make my own nut mylk from say, almonds, but my blender is just an average blender. I may try anyway.

I do not have the great tools that make raw easier. Like what? How about the VitaMix? WANT ONE!!! Or a dehydrator, or a good food processor! This is good and bad! I can be a poster child for the average raw person, with average items in the kitchen.

The mango cookie was just dumb! My kids were eating them and I just stuffed it into my mouth! Sugar! It didn't even taste good, it was one of those wafer kind...yuck. Should have cheated on something like chocolate! LOL! So, I was tired today, yes, but I didn't eat much , so maybe that is why. Truth is I slept alot, so not much time to eat. My scale has no batteries so no weighing myself. I should probably only do that once a week.

Day 1: 30 days Raw

Hello! Well, I am actually on day 5, but I am going back and using my journal to add what I have been eating, how I have been feeling, etc. I will add my "before" picture soon! I already took it, just haven't uploaded it. Please feel free to encourage me, tell me about your struggles trying raw or just comment in general! I do ask you to please be kind, I would like this to stay family friendly, thank you so much!
Well, as listed in my about me info, I am 39 years old and currently weigh between 175 and 178. I weighed myself yesterday and was at 177.8, but this does fluctuate. I have low energy. I am often tired. I have dealt with severe depression after the birth of my twins. It has often been difficult to watch myself "pack on the pounds" but I have nobody to blame but myself! Eating is just something I do. I know what is generally healthy, but I eat what I like. I love carbs! I like bread, doritos, sandwiches, sometimes cake, always pasta and lots of dairy! I have only recently begun looking HARD at my diet choices. Not just the choice to eat junk, but the choice I can make to eat WELL. This may only last 30 days, but I hope to make a lifestyle change and incorporate much, much more raw food into my life, and the life of my family.

Today I ate:
Water with fresh squeezed lemon
Some Odwalla Green Juice (not raw, but avail and minimal processing) about 3 chugs
2 baby carrots
Salad: lettuce/onion/toms w/oil & vinegar dressing
avocado apple salad (recipe HERE)
asian slaw (recipe HERE)
Banana bread Larabar
Corn chips with Salsa (jarred)

I found that my cravings were HUGE today. Especially in the evening when I usually eat junk like chips and salsa, hummus and pita, doritos. I almost went nuts! I totally caved and ate about 20-25 corn chips and about 1/2 cup of mango salsa. If they are available, the temptation is great! I urge you to remove the offenders BEFORE, not during (in your mouth) your raw journey. It's ok, I did great today and my cravings are strong! I'm also quite tired. This is to be expected from what I understand and will likely get worse.