Updates, improvements, eating more raw!

Shortly after my last blog, I got sick. Not terribly ill or anything, just a runny nose that got worse and worse until I felt congested everywhere, was exhausted, and just plain felt like crap. The common cold, I guess is what it is. The reason this is even worth mentioning (since I know most people catch colds regularly) is because I've only been sick twice in the past year; now and just after my last bout with over-eating a few weeks ago (when I was eating two large slices of raw cheesecake a night following two overstuffed nut pate raw tacos, and similar meals.) Since I've now gotten sick while eating 100% raw and while eating a lot of cooked foods, I can only guess that it is caused by the stress of overeating and having to rapidly detox all the excessive crap out. If it's not that, then I'm not sure what it is. I haven't been too overly stressed about much else besides food. (Well, I'm still questioning what path I should be following to be on purpose with my life, and that can get me a little worked up.) I'm a believer that most sicknesses are caused by stress and internal issues that manifest as physical symptoms, that's why I'm trying to discover what common stress could be causing these two colds so close together after going so long without getting sick. Hmm...

Onto my improvements. I'm still sick but I think I'm on the recovery. Like I said, it wasn't too bad. I did get sent home from work because I was so low on energy, but after sleeping all day yesterday, I did feel a little better. And I've been taking much better care of myself eating-wise since! Every day, I've slowly been improving my diet.

March 2nd was the first day I went without dessert in weeks. I had a Vega Chocolate Flavor Snack Pack Shake mix for breakfast (a new supplement shake I'm trying out. I read about all the health benefits and vitamins and wanted to try it out for myself. The snack packs make it really easy for me to take to work and get a decent meal instead of spending money at Juice Plant or taking a banana to work only to find it browned or squished by someones bag! As of now, I only drink these when I have an early opening shift at work, since that is the only time I can't make a homemade smoothie myself. So far, I like this product! It gives me energy and makes me feel good!) followed by an apple for lunch, Go Raw gingersnaps from Fresh Vitamins (good selection of some raw stuff, you gotta check it out if you live in West Seattle) for snack, and then dinner, which consisted of a salad and half a vegan (cheese-less) pizza from Stellar Pizza in Georgetown. It wasn't the healthiest dinner in the world, but my day's eating was definitely an improvement.

March 3rd my cold symptoms that started the day before worsened. I had a BIG green smoothie (my first green smoothie/juice in at least a week or two) for breakfast:

Green Smoothie of the week:

4-6 leaves kale, de-stemmed
1 cup frozen mango and berry fruit mix
1 cup frozen banana or 1 fresh banana
water

I place the ingredients in a blender, starting with the kale, and then slowly add filtered water until it just about reaches the 1 cup mark on the blender (you only need enough the liquify the kale a bit, which will then liquify the rest). Blend until smooth!

For lunch I had a grapefruit, followed by Go Raw gingersnaps, raw cashews, goji berries and figs (I was pretty snacky all day) and a dinner consisting of salad w/avocado, cucumber, tomato and carrot (my current regular every day salad) with brown rice pasta, portobello mushroom covered in warm (bottled) marinara, and sprouted grain toast. After dinner, I snacked on more goji berries and figs. I don't really advocate after dinner snacking, but this is much better than full-blown dessert.

March 4th was when I knew I was sick for sure. I had a big green smoothie, a nice long nap, a pear, dried figs, lots of water all day, and a dinner consisting of my yummy veggie salad topped with Raw Ranch Dressing, spriralized zucchini pasta topped with warm (bottled) marinara, and two slices sprouted wheat toast.

The dressing was really easy and yummy, so I'm going to share it with you! I think it would have been tastier with fresh herbs but I only had dried:

Raw Ranch Dressing from Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet

1 cup soaked (for 2 hrs) raw cashews
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh basil (1 tsp dried)
1 tbsp fresh dill (1 tsp dried)

Blend cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a blender until smooth and creamy. Add the basil and dill and pulse briefly until mixed.



Zucchini pasta is one of my favorite raw dishes, and it's also one of the easiest. All you need is a spiralizer; and if you don't have one of those, just slice long ribbons of zucchini with a vegetable peeler to make "fettuccine" noodles that taste just as good. After I spiralize my zucchini, I like to let the noodles soften a bit so they become more "noodly." I place them in a strainer and cover them with a light layer of sea salt, mix well, and then set aside while I make the sauce. (I thought I remember reading this technique somewhere so one day I just decided to try it, but I haven't been able to find the reference...but it really does seem to work!) After I make the sauce, I mix a tablespoon or so into my noodles to help them soften even more. When you do this, you will notice a bit of liquid draining out of the strainer. It is from the zucchini softening and releasing water. Have you ever noticed how soggy your plate gets when you eat zucchini pasta? Ok, maybe it's just me, but either way, this technique has improved my "noodles" and the physical presentation greatly! They look better and taste way better! Anyhow, after I get the right texture, I put the noodles on the plate and cover with my sauce of choice!



I had a lot of fun making this meal. It was my first high-raw dinner that I have had in weeks and it felt great. I ended my night with some unnecessary snacking on spoonfuls of peanut butter, but still, a great improvement in my diet.



Now today I'm feeling a little better. I actually lost a few pounds over night. Maybe from drinking so much water? Eating better and losing waste matter? For breakfast I made my boyfriend's favorite smoothie, which is adapted from the Acai Smoothie recipe in Eat Drink and be Vegan by Dreena Burton:

1 1/2 cups Living Harvest chocolate flavored hempmilk
1/2 cup frozen bananas or one fresh banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 packet Sambazon Acai frozen pulp

Blend! Serves two. This isn't exactly a raw smoothie but I do feel pretty good drinking it. And I LOVE hempmilk! It is my favorite packaged non-dairy milk ever. I'll have to learn how to make my own raw hemp milk! Yum! And I gotta find some raw acai. Most brands are flash pasteurized.

Anyhow, for lunch I had a grapefruit, during my breaks at work I had goji berries and then a Raw Pure Bar (brownie flavor), and then for dinner I had my regular veggie salad with avocado and raw ranch (this time tossed with the salad instead of drizzled over the top; this made the flavor come out better)



And raw zucchini pasta topped with easy raw pesto...

Easy Raw Pesto (adapted from Raw Food Life Force Energy by Natalia Rose)

1 cup (packed) basil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
pinch of salt or to taste

Pulse in food processor until well chopped and combined. Serves 1 (or two if you don't love basil as much as me!)



This was my first ALL RAW DINNER in so long! It was amazing! In fact, besides my non-raw ingredients in this morning's smoothie, this was nearly an all raw day! It feels good to be eating lightly again.



Tomorrow, I'll probably eat a baked sweet potato for dinner with my raw salad, since we bought a big bag and need to eat through them. Not raw, but still delicious and healthy as far as I'm concerned! So here's to eating better, feeling better, regaining my perfect weight, and taking control of my life! Hooray!