Day 2 and too many nuts

We had Mexican tonight. It was yummy. My hubby was still a little hungry so he had some of the marinaded mushrooms.

My tummy is a little upset today. I did have a lot of nuts so I will lay off them tomorrow.

Our menu tonight was

Walnut Tacos

Corn Tortilla Chips

Simple Guac

Fruit Cobbler

Day 1 of our 30 day all raw challenge

Well, we have our first day under our belt. My husband loved telling me that it was National Donut Day. I think that is a good a day as any to start new habits.

I have been uncooking all day, prepping meals and making a yummy dessert. I made Ani Phyo's Mango Cobbler but I used peaches, apricots and strawberries. So I guess that makes it more of a fruit cobbler. So yummy.

I made a variation of my Get You Green on Greek Salad.

Now I have Corn Chips in the dehydrator for our chips and guac for tomorrow night. I did have coffee this morning but I not planning on doing that every morning.

Tomorrow it is off to the farmer's market !

Get Your Green on Greek Salad
1 hothouse cucumber
1 red bell pepper,
1 yellow bell pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 medium zucchini
1/2 red onion, sliced in half-rounds
1/2 cup raw walnuts roughly chopped
2 avocados cubed
1/4 cup fresh basil chiffonade

For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon whole grainy mustard
1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon agave
1/3 cup good olive oil

Directions
Chop all vegetables in large cubes then place the cucumber, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, Italian seasoning, mustard, vinegar, agave, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the walnuts, avocado, basil and toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature. This dish can enjoyed alone or a top of a bed of baby lettuce greens.

Limping in

Menu planning

I have been pouring over my raw cookbooks and recipes that I have saved over the past year. Now I think I have more recipes than I could make in a month. For me the planning is key. If I do not have ready to eat food on hand, I stray from healthy eating to convenient eating.

Since my DH is going raw with me, I asked him what were his favorite raw dishes I have made over the past year. He had a hard time remembering what things were called but described to me what he liked. We now have a list of about 15 staples that we can make on a seconds notice.

Preparing to go raw for 30 days

I think I love to plan. I love researching, preparing to plan and there is where it sometimes stops. My husband and I have been talking about going raw for an extended period of time for several months. We wanted to wait until produce is in abundance and farmer's market were up and running. This plan has been slowly building. I started my date with green smoothies in the morning almost 18 months ago. Then I found Raw Food Rehab and Penni Shelton last June and participated in an experiment that lasted 11 weeks. Many members did go 100% raw at that time, I was not one them.

I used that time to research recipes, try fruits and veggies that were unfamiliar to me and connect with others that were wanting to restore health. At that time I was sick. I had a blood transfusion and iron treatments. The hemoglobin was dangerously low. Doctors were unable to find the blood loss source. I was desperate to feel better. That is what motivated the green smoothie routine in the first place. At the end of the 11 weeks I was consistently 50% with sometimes close to 75%, my skin looked great, lost about 7 pounds, (which is not a lot but I have since found out that when you are iron-deficient it's hard to lose any weight) lost my fear of the scale and released the power it had over me. I can now accept the number it reads for the day and move on. I used to let that number paralyze me now it really is just a number. A number that I would like to see go down but it no longer defines me. My relationship with food has changed as well. My interest in food is not just for taste and enjoyment, it is for health, refueling and vitality.

This line has become a little fuzzy lately so this is a great time to go raw. I look forward to the next few weeks and will post often about all the changes in our house.

1st Friday Night Raw Food Fight

Last Friday night, I had several friends over to try some yummy raw food recipes. We had a great time. It has been 16 months since I had started my green smoothie routine, and many of my friends tease me about this new habit. They also have many questions about green smoothies too. Although I am not authority on this subject (I still haven't read Green for Life yet) I know what it has done for me.

Here is the finale menu and photos from our fun night.

Penni Sheltons Clean Sweep Juice with kale

Sun-dried tomato crackers

Raw tortilla chips

Rawkin Guac

Bean-free hummus

Nori veggie rolls

Thai Confetti salad from my friend Jodi Clark

Ani Phyo's Chocolate Gouache Cake with Strawberries

Green Smoothie Challenge

I am on day 3 of a Green Smoothie Challenge. Not all smoothies need to be green. Yesterday I made a mixed berry green smoothie and it became this beautiful shade of purple. I will be posting my smoothies for the rest of the 2 week challenge. Let's recap the smoothies I have had this week....
Day1
Ok, so I didn't have a smoothie for Day 1.
I made a green juice instead. I was a little low on bananas so I made my new favorite juice from Penni Shelton's book Raw Food Cleanse. It includes kale, parsley, carrots, celery and green grapes.
Day 2
Mixed Berry Smoothie
Mixed green lettuce, frozen berries, banana, coconut water and mango's. SO good.
Day 3
My Stand By-the one that started it all for me
Spinach, coconut water, banana, mango's and strawberries.

Tomorrow I think I will be making something with kale. I take a smoothie to a friend on Thursdays so my blender will be working overtime in the am!