A Day of Raw #17 of 365

Today I didn't feel much like preparing anything so I had my favorite tomato soup with some cheesy Kale Chips (leftovers). Earlier in the day I snacked on some crackers with RAW almond butter and banana slices on top. I have wanted to make some veggie wraps with nori sheets. I know just what I want on the inside. I will have carrots, beets, sprouts, and “mock” tuna (sunflower seed pate’). I will wrap them in a nori sheet and serve them with a nice sauce.

Another dish that I have thought about lately is RAW pizza and lasagna. I know that I will get around to making these dishes soon but right now I really don’t want to eat anything. Maybe my body is completely happy and wants nothing more than to slurp on smoothies and cool glasses of filtered water.

I have been finding myself with extra time on my hands. I used to wonder where the time went and now I look for more things to do. There are things that I need to concentrate on that take time and attention but I am not sure that I want to tackle those items yet (lol). So what kind of things do I involve myself in so that I don’t become bored?

I have all kinds of projects some include:

Video editing: The small company my husband and I just recently (within the last couple of years) launched is involved with the development of videos for musc, television, and internet usage. This means that I write lyrics for the music in the video’s, develop the story line, act in (sometimes) and develop the marketing idea for release.

Product/service review: This involves my BcPrettyGirly.com website and is pretty much just a personal passion of mine J I love makeup, hair, nails, and fashion so I have taken this love and created a blog page, website, and you tube video channel. On this channel I review products that I have used or have won through various promotional/marketing campaigns. I also do “Daily Looks” with my own makeup. Which just means that I video tape myself applying my makeup (lol). It’s fun and it gives me a place to keep up with the different looks I create with my makeup.

Music (vocal) arranging: This is another area of concentration that my husband and I have given considerable attention to in our small business. We have developed an extensive repertoire of our musical interests. Our profession catalog includes many different music genre’s such as, Funk, pop, rock, jazz, and instrumental.

Writing/Journaling: I have kept a journal for years and love the idea of it. There are so many different ideas and experiences to write about so I always find time to make a few entries in my journal. For the past few years I have been feeling the urge to write a book. I began jotting down ideas and before I knew it, I was already into my second chapter (lol). I am not in any rush but it’s exciting to know that one day I will have a book to publish.

These are just a few of the things I have that will always keep me busy. Can’t wait for the warm weather so I can get outside in my (urban)garden again J

Thanks for taking time to read my blog page. Please feel free to leave me your comments (add your blog URL’s if you would like). I really enjoy writing these blogs and hope you enjoy reading them.

"Raw Foodie Anjii B"

The Living Vision Blog page...Get ready to drool :-)

Spring Roll Wraps from thelivingvision.com

I saw a pic on a blog page and thought I should try to find the recipe so I can make the. I really love spring rolls and nori rolls and collard rolls...heck just about any kind of roll that allows you to add your favorite flavors and dishes to it. I like to take some of the dishes that I have made in the last couple of days and figure out how to put them into a nori roll or collard wrap. I haven't made any dish with spring rolls (wraps) and am just wondering what it would be like to make them. So wish me luck and come back soon to see the progress.

A day of raw #15

For the first time since I began my 365 day raw food journey, I actually got hungry. This surprises me and I don't really know what to make of it because yesterday I had a very filling meal at the end of my day. Today I started out without my usual tall glass of filtered water. I didn't even have my green smoothie. I guess I kinda set myself up for the hunger then. By the end of the day, I began to feel the hunger. My husband and I had to drive to our daughters college to drop a package off to her so I thought I could wait until we returned before feeling anything. I was fine on the way and it wasn't until we were returning that I began to think about food. Thankfully it was RAW food thoughts but nonetheless, I wanted to eat some. I thought about my Raw tomato soup with bits of chunky veggies and dulce flakes sprinkled on top.

RAW maple nugget treats

I thought about my maple nugget treats and how moist they are on the inside with a slightly crispy/flaky outer covering. I remembered how delicious my RAW salad dressings are and how I wished I had made the RAW HONEY MUSTARD dressing to put on my salad. I couldn't stop thinking about how good the raw meals were gonna taste once I got home. I didn't want any interruptions. I didn't even want to video tape my meal. I just wanted to think about how good it tastes and how good it is for me. I wanted to think about how full I was gonna get without the heartburn or bloated stomach afterward.

RAW carrot bread

Then I remembered the carrot bread! I had just finished making the RAW carrot bread from the Hi-Rawkus website. OMG, I was gonna have the BEST RAW SANDWICH WITH GREEN CHEESY SPREAD there was.

raw carrot bread slices

 I grabbed a couple slices of tomato, shaved some green bell pepper, re hydrated some of my marinated mushrooms, and grabed a couple slices of romaine lettuce from the fridge. I also added two thinly sliced pieces of sandwich cut pickle.Then I thought...."Why stop there?" I quickly pulled out the ingredients for my raw tomato soup and threw them into the vita mix. "BAM!" quick, tasty, and good for you...I had soup and sandwich for my final meal of the day (actually, my ONLY meal of the day).

Raw bread  w/veggies sammy

tomato, romaine lettuce, pickle, red onion, green cheesy spread

stack 'em up and let's EAT!

Then I said to myself..."A nice fruity smoothie would really set this meal off!" So I grabbed some freshly cut pineapple out of the fridge along with the rest of my baby Thai coconut water and approx. 1cup of orange juice (from concentrate....I know, I know).

Banana Berry Smoothie w/baby Thai coconut water

frozen blue berries, banana, pineapple

After I finished blending the smoothie and plating everything, I looked at my kitchen table and thought, ..."There is NO WAY I can eat this without taking at least one picture." So here they are folks!

Day 15 of 365 RAW meal

A day of raw #14

Day #14 RAW meal

I had a GREAT day today and yesterday. I did lots of video editing and recording I even created a few new recipes (woooo-hoooo). My collard greens (yesterdays meal)  looked very tasty but unfortunately (for me) I think I need to get back to the kitchen on those because they were slightly bitter tasting :-(

Day #13 meal...RAW collard bowl

 The good thing is, after I ate a few fork fulls, it was as if I didn't taste the bitter flavors. I mixed some green bell pepper, leeks, and freshly cut tomato on top. I sprinkled a few raw sun flower seeds and dulce flakes all over. Some sea salt and black pepper was added before I ate the bowlful. Anyway, I will be trying new recipes with those soon. I also made a wonderful "mock" red posta with a green cheese sauce. It was so good I think I ate it before I could notice it was gone (hahaha).

"mock" Red Pasta with tomato and green cashew cheese

For my treat/desert, I chopped a very ripe bosc pear and fresh pineapple. Then threw some coconut flakes all over it (Oh the yum of it all). I really liked this treat and will definitely have it again and again.

coconut, pineapple, and pear desert/treat

All in all it was a very good day (both days) and I will be exploring new meals and new drinks in the days ahead. Please stay tuned and come back as often as you wish. Also, I would love to read any comments you might have.


As always, thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to read my posts, I love to write them and look forward to my readers!

-Anjii B.

Collard Greens (RAW)

I have been hearing so much about the raw version of collards that I wanted to give it a try. I was apprehensive in the beginning but now that I have looked at some different recipes I think I have found what I would need in order to make this dish palatable for me.

Collards are one of the varieties of leafy greens that tend to be tough and in need of preparation before serving raw. Due to the thickness of the leaf it is perfect for various raw dishes and delivers a spectacular nutrient benefit.I discovered how to make the greens softer. My method is to break down the cell walls of the vegetable without using heat (which is most often used). I purchased them fresh from my local fruit and vegetable market then washed them thoroughly. I removed the stems and placed the leaves flat, one on top of the other. I put them in a plastic bag and into my freezer. The next day I removed them and let them thaw to room temperature. When this procedure is done the leaves are as if they were cooked (not overdone though). In this stage, you can prepare your collards anyway you wish. I proceeded to do the following.

Raw collards, frozen then thawed. Sliced into strips

To get the flavor I like in collards I would have to use a smoked turkey leg (lol). Since I am doing my 365 Day Raw Food and Fitness Fun Daze Craze for 2011, I am using a 95%  raw foods diet (without flesh foods of anykind) for my nutrition needs. The only other way I know to get flavor without cooking is to marinate. My marinate was easy because I only like certain flavors when it comes to my greens. I used Braggs organic RAW apple cider vinegar, sea salt, and a raw salad dressing I prepared earlier that night (see Day#11 for recipe). I don't have any specific measurements for these flavors because I like to approach my raw meals from the standpoint of my mood and physiological need.

In my RAW collard greens I also use sweet red onions, Leeks, and green bell pepper.

Once I have the flavors in place for marinating the greens I add any extra veggie that I may be craving at that time. In this case it was sweet red onions, leeks, and green bell peppers. I add these into the mix and let them all mingle with one another (lol). This meal is full of healthy enzymes and many other wonderful green benefits.

I cover my collards with plastic wrap to allow them to warm and let them happily blister with flavor.

Once all my ingredients are assembled in one bowl I give them some "alone" time (lol). I let them plan their mission of attack against any harmful agents, pollutants, and other toxic elements that they find when I deliver them (via eating them) to my system (hahaha, when you think of it, you are kinda helping your body fight when you eat RAW).

 The plastic wrap helps keep the warm air circulating while the flavors are releasing and coalescing. I will have pictures of the greens when I plate them with one of my RAW meals so please stay tuned!

As always, thank you for taking a moment and reading my blogs I really do appreciate the attention. Feel free to leave a comment if you like.

A day of raw #12

Today is the 12th day of my 365 day Raw Food and Fitness Fun Daze CrAzE for 2011 and I don't feel like really eating (lol). This isn't because I feel frustrated or starved or anything like that. I don't feel a need to feed (lol) is all. I a previous post I spoke about being driven to think about food while on the S.A.D. (standard american diet) and today marks a very special certainty within me and that is...

OUR MINDS DICTATE OUR NEED TO FEED when there is no hunger or other physiological reason. I don't think anyone really gives this any thought because we are so caught up in the midst of it. If you have ever been on a diet or situated yourself on a program that focussed on redesigning your eating habits, you have probably come to this realization before. I like to think that everyone has the ability to change unwanted habits. Believe me, if there were a way to get a phD just because you have mastered the ability to change unwanted habits, then I would be FIRST in line (lol). It's difficult but NOT impossible.

So let's get on with my RAW meals for today. Well....I had a salad for lunch (the same one pictured in yesterday's meal). For dinner today, I didn't eat a meal. I wasn't hungry and felt completely satisfied due to having had a few snack periods throughout the day. For my breakfast I slept in (lol). Worked late in the studio with my hubby on our music/entertainment projects (we write t.v. commercials, radio jingles, sitcom theme songs, and music for film). The current project has us making cellphone ringtones...hahahha. More on that later.

SNACKS TODAY

I made some absolutely mind blowing Maple coconut-pecan nuggets (Oh the Yum of it all). These were super easy to make but a little time consuming because I actually made it up as I went along (hahaha). I have a video going up on You Tube demonstrating the entire procedure but I must warn you. I use little or no measuring in this video because I have never made them and wasn't following a recipe. I can tell you that I was inspired by the recipe in the book "Raw Food on a Budget" by Brandy Rollins. Her's is called donut holes and when I read it, I thought to myself "Dangit, I don't have all the ingredients to make these." So I thought about it and figured I could make something similar. The rest (as they say) is history...hahaha

Maple coconut-pecan nuggets after dehydrating overnight

The amount I made was only to test them and make sure all the ingredients I wanted gave good flavor. I have the batter in the fridge and will put another dozen in the dehydrator soon.

This is how I presented them to my family..30 minutes later they presented the bowl to me...hahaha

I made a granola treat/cereal after making the nuggets. I make raw granola all the time and the recipe is almost never the same. There are some key ingredients that I like to have but the others are determined by my mood/appetite....hahaha. I love pecans, rasins, and cashews so most of the time those will be present. I eat almonds too (but they are not in my fav's list). In a pinch I will make the granola with almonds as the only nut in the entire batch.

This is my Raw granola. I usually eat it as a snack but it can also be a very filling cereal.

If you look closely you can see that there are 3-tray's filled with granola. I just broke the one large piece into several small pieces to make it easier to eat as a snack or a cereal.

A day of raw #11

Wow! I had to get that out because I have had that type of day. First of all, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone's 8am alarm and had a tall glass of filtered water since I was up. Then I got busy editing some vids and updating some of my blog pages. After that I had an impulse to prep some raw snacks, cereals, and treats....so I did just that. Funny how time flies when you're having fun because by the time I looked up, it was almost 11pm. I had prepared about 5 different snacks, cereals, and treats. All of them were recorded so as soon as I edit (they are all long because I just let the camera record...hahaha) them I will upload them either on my Youtube channel (313HealthyMe) or on my FaceBook page (313HealthyMe)

So what did I prepare for my raw meal today? I had the best tasting "mock" pasta with RAW marinara sauce. It was the most amazing taste I have ever had in this raw dish. I have made it quite a few times in the past and never could get the sauce "just right." Now, I think I have it but then again, my taste changes often (lol).

With that I also had a salad with raw dressing. The salad had some marinated mushrooms, sweet red onions, dulce flakes, chopped leeks and green bell pepper. The greens were a combo of spinach, romaine, and red swiss chard.

The dressing is one of my quick oil and vinegar dressings. In it I used Hemp oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, braggs Raw Organic apple cider vinegar, Herbamare, Braggs Sea Kelp seasonings, and lemon pepper. I love that dressing because it's simple, light, and easy to make quickly (lol). I have another dressing that I sometimes make on the fly and that's my lemon Tahini salad dressing. I also use this with a minor variation (fresh parsley) when I want something to dip my Nori Rolls in.

To wash the meal down today I had a wonderful tropical smoothie. It had papaya, fresh pineapple, and banana. I also added a little bit of pineapple juice to stretch it. My family LOVES the smoothies I make and I can't keep them away...hahahahaha.

That was an amazing day for me not only because of how fast the time flew by but because I have never felt so satisfied when it comes to nutrition and food. It seemed that no matter how often I would eat on the Standard American Diet, I was never satiated. I always snacked in between meals and always had my mind on the next meal. Funny how you never notice these things while they are happening. You know what they say..."Hind sight is always 20/20."

Thanks for reading my blogs and I certainly hope you will come back tomorrow on my day of raw #12.