Happy St Patty's Day!

Hi Veggies!

I hope everybody is having a safe and relaxing holiday! :-) Anyways - It donned on me that I haven't been updating ya'll on my status as a wanna be raw vegan. Today went really well for me. This is what I ate:
Banana and peach smoothie
Apple celery and ginger juice
Banana and peach smoothie with a raw vegan taco
Salad
Banana ice cream
Lots of water!

Since I last logged on here, one of my prized possessions --- my espresso machine --- is in need of repair. I took that as a sign from God to ditch the daily habit. I spent the entire week in denial and in the Starbucks drive thru. FINALLY, I was able to survive without it today. I am OBviously addicted because without it I can become anxious! I will not give up coffee forever, but simply my daily habit. At least that's the plan.
I wanted to share the recipe for raw vegan tacos which I found on another blog called: Foods for Long Life. Here is the link: http://foodsforlonglife.blogspot.com/2009/05/celebrate-cinco-de-mayo-with-delicious.html
I copied and pasted it for your convenience --- but check out the site!!!!

4 leaves of organic butter lettuce, washed
1 cup raw walnuts (NOT soaked)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Nama Shoyu soy sauce
1 small avocado, diced
1 small yellow or red bell pepper (or ½ cup diced tomatoes)
3 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)

Please walnuts, chili powder and Nama Shoyu in a food process and blend just until the walnuts are course and resemble ground meat. Set aside. Gently combine the avocado, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Place 1/4 of the nut meat and 1/4 of the salsa on each of the butter lettuce leaves and serve immediately.
I tried to alter the recipe a bit to fit into my low fat meal plan. I also try to avoid additives, such as salt. I used Braggs Liquid aminos instead of the soy sauce because I have that on hand. It is still pretty salty --- but you don't need a large amount. I also didn't use the avocado because the walnuts are predominantly fat. I used a lot more salsa and less "meat" per taco as well. Stringent followers of the 80 10 10 lifestyle do not like to use spices. However, I have no problem with them! And so I added the chili powder and such. It was REALLY GOOD. REALLY EASY. Try it! Or one of the many other recipes from that blog. (Vegan - but not all raw).

I have been a bit lazy in terms of my work out routine. My husband has been working more, and we usually hit the gym together. Thus if he can't go, I often don't. However, that isn't going to fly if I want to see results. I have changed my workout plan to higher reps/lighter weights for toning purposes. And also to avoid injury, as I still consider myself a beginner in weight training. I learn more each time I go!

I talked to my old roomie about green smoothies today! She was looking for yummy recipes. I find it is best to experiment when it comes to smoothies. Personally --- I recommend using young tender greens, like baby spinach. I started with a smaller amount (about 1 cup per smoothie). The basic "recipe" for my green smoothies is 1 to 2 cups of greens (spinach or kale), 4 bananas, and 2 cups of another fruit, such as peaches. Sometimes I add two dates for more sweetness. I always put the dates and greens on the bottom of my blender. I add small amounts of water until I get the desired consistency. I usually start with 4 to 6 ounces of water and increase as needed.

My wonderful parents brought me a juicer when they came into town a week or so ago. I am in love with my juicer. It is produced by Breville, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in buying a juicer because it is easy to use, and fairly easy to clean up. I have found sipping fresh juice is a must for me, just because the volume of food you eat on a raw diet varies from the standard diet. Often times I undershoot --- as you def need to eat more on a raw diet. Anyways, keeping fresh juice is a good way to keep the appetite at bay and avoid the take out until you can get home to your fresh fruits/vegetables. My favorite juice recipe:

4 apples
3 carrots
Piece of ginger (About an inch sized piece)

But you can pretty much just play with it.

Peace and Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vegan "ice cream" (Oh --- and no more wholesalers for me!)

Hello Veggies!

Happy Friday!
I wanted to update you all on my progress with the raw vegan lifestyle.

Things have been going pretty well. I have been whipping up green smoothies to get in the vitamins and minerals I need to build muscle. Today --- for breakfast and lunch I made a green smoothie with about 4 to 5 bananas, 1 cup of frozen strawberries and 1.5 cups of fresh baby spinach. I threw in a few dates for calories. Very good. I really can't taste the spinach, and even my son liked the taste.
I have decided to nix the trips to the wholesaler. For one, I like variety and that is just to darn much fruit to have at one time. My bananas turned ripe soooo fast. I ended up having to freeze all of them. I cut them into pieces, wrapped them in plastic wrap and stuck them into freezer bags. The grapes started growing white fuzz (and I was unhappy to notice they had been treated with fungicide.) The oranges are hit and miss. Yesterday I sat down with a couple of them and they were just unripe. FYI oranges don't ripen once picked, thus you must make sure to pick ripe fruit from the store. The mangoes are nothing to write home about. This may have worked better if I had a whole family to feed. However, it is easier for me to just hand pick my fruits/vegetables and spend a little extra. The Triad farmer's market will be hoppin' soon. I'll check it out.
With all the frozen bananas on hand, I opted to make ICE CREAM. Here is what I used:
The equivalent of 4 bananas *frozen chunks
Unsweetened and organic almond milk or water
Add ins: carob chips, fresh fruit
Anyways, I added the bananas to my blender and added enough liquid to get it going. However, you want to avoid adding too much liquid --- then it turns into a smoothie. Everybody's blender is different. I don't have a fancy one, and I ended up adding about 1/3 cup of almond milk for my frozen bananas. I also tossed in some carob chips (vegan chocolate chip equivalent). The consistency was like a Wendy's frosty. Very convincing. My son liked this one too.
Again, I have to boast about pink lady apples. Buy organic ones. So good. And they taste very good chopped up with raw celery. Celery is an awesome food. If you are adhering to a raw vegan diet and crave something savory as opposed to sweet --- this can be your go to food!!!
FYI - I continue to drink almond milk for now --- it is packed with goodies like vitamin B12, D, E and calcium. I can't beat that!
I have wonderful news. I am building muscle!!!!!!! I entered the Gold's Gym Contest back in January. It has been about six weeks. I didn't think that I would see much of a difference just because I have been toying with my diet quite a bit. However, at my weigh in I learned I gained two pounds, lost two percent fat, lost one inch around my waist, and a bit at my thighs/hips. All in all, I think it is safe to say I have gained muscle! As I see it, eating more calories has really helped. I have been drinking a couple of liters of water per day too.
At the moment I probably eat over 75% raw on average. Trying to get as close to 100% as possible. I'll keep you all posted!

Peace and love!!!