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.

A day of raw #10

Although today marks the tenth day of my 365 day Raw Journey, I am starting this blog with day number nine activities (because I didn't post yesterday...Eeek!). So Let me start out with the end of day number nine. I had a wonderful Raw soup and Salad with a Raw homemade dressing.

I video taped the preparation of the entire meal so you will be able to view it on my 313HealthyMe You Tube channel. The RAW soup actually started out as two different types of dips! One was a somewhat ranch tasting dip that doubled as a salad dressing at times just by adding filtered water or EVOO. The other dip was a wonderful cheesy dip that could also be made into a cheese cracker reminiscent of cheez-it snack crackers. When I make dips/sauces/dressings, I always take the last little bit and make a soup or cracker with it. Today I had enough left for more of the dip but I was getting bored with the same flavors and decided to make a soup and Ooooooh, what a wonderful decision I made (lol). Take a closer look at this soup and tell me if it makes you just want to grab a spoon and dig in with me (lol).

Now the mushrooms were marinated with a delicious fresh/raw marinate that I created. You will be able to take a look at the You Tube video in two days from now (lol, I'm a bit slow today). After the marinate, the mushrooms take on a meaty consistency and the soup flavor gives your taste buds a real treat with such a smooth texture. The sweet onions and freshly chopped dill weed are two more exciting flavors that you might not have expected to find in a RAW soup all at once. There is also a hint of fresh garlic that is oh so sublime to the palate. The actual soup recipe is red bell pepper
macadamia nuts
extra virgin olive oil

It was inspired by a cheese sauce/cracker recipe discussed on  The Raw Food World episode #292 on You Tube. I don't believe they actually listed the ingredients but more like discussed them with the creator of the recipe. I tasted the soup as I made it to get just the right taste for my palate. Another flavor that is in my soup is a dip/dressing that I made with

sunflower seeds
fresh lemon juice
chilled filtered water
sea salt
onion granuals (or powder)
dill weed
black pepper

It was inspired by Raw Dawg Rory's (aka xmantidx) Raw Sunflower Seed Ranch Dressing on You Tube. I always make this ranch dressing for my salad and when I get bored with it or run out of lettuce (lol) I turn it into a soup or in this case an ingredient for a soup.

The salad was a wonderful precursor to this wonderful dish. It boasts greens that are "butter soft" to the touch and almost melt on the tongue. It's labeled Red Leaf lettuce and gives wonderful color to the dish. In addition, the Swiss Chard leafy green gave an unexpected and delightful flavor to the salad. It was the red variety of Swiss Chard and worked wonderfully with the salad medley. Take a look up close and let me know how your eye perceive the taste to be (lol).

To wash this delightfully RAW meal down I couldn't do anything more than cool refreshing crystal clear filtered water (lol). Not because of a lack of ingredients but because I couldn't think of a fresh juice or smoothie that would compliment this incredible meal. Therefore, I opted to forgo a wonderful smoothies and utilize the benefits of fresh tasting and oh so good for you water. It made the entire meal a pleasant experience and nothing was out of place or overdone. My favorite ingredient from the salad was the seedless cucumbers. From the soup it has to be the flavorful red bell pepper that was used in the original form of the cheesy sauce. For the salad dressing my favorite ingredient is the Hemp Oil by far! I only wish that I had made more because I can honestly say, this is one recipe that I will definitely make again, and again! Thanks for reading come back tomorrow to see what I made for my meal.

A Day of Raw #08

Today is day number 8 in my 365 day raw food and fitness fun daze craze and I am as excited as I was during my 7 day water fast. I prepared some mushrooms for a recipe I am going to be making in the coming days. The mushrooms had to marinate in the fridge. I used some apple cider vineger and  some nama shoyu. To add a bit of sweet flavor I used some raw coconut sap. I had a salad for lunch today and a smoothie for breakfast. I was reading through an email from a long time friend of mine and she mentioned getting older and getting flabby in the same sentance. I totally understand what she means and have experienced this myself. I pointed her attention toward my 313HealthyMe video channel on YouTube. I told her to check it out and see what I did to lose weight and get healthy.

Chunky Garden Salad smothered with RAW G'Ranch dressing

Last night, I ate a wonderful salad for dinner. It had grape tomatoes, cucumber, romain lettuce, tabbouleh salad and freshly chopped onions as a garnish. I sprinkled the top with some seasalt and pepper. The dressing is something I made a few days ago and it has raw sunflower seeds that had been soaked, dried dill, hemp oil, seasalt, and filtered water. I have made a variation of this raw salad dressing in the past and love it. I make it quite often so I didn't video tape it this time. On my video channel it is searchable and I believe I called it raw ranch dressing. The salad was quite good and I made it chunky with the garden veggies.
For a light snack today, I had a berrysmoothie. This one is alot like the green smoothie pictured here but it has spinach added and no frozen berries. I drank this Green smoothie with my salad and together it made a very filling meal. The smoothie had some orange juice in it and spinach, banana, dates, and fresh papaya.
I woke up today earlier than I exspected to. I didn't feel sleepy or tired in anyway and throughout the day I didn't feel as if I needed to rest. I have been thinking about the summer months and hope that we have a good summer full of fun and outdoor activities. We'll see what the weather brings.

A Day of Raw #7

Today I participated in a "call-in" for people who are participating in a 21-day Raw Food Challenge. This is being organized by the good folks over at Living Well Now. It was a great conversation and very informative. I took notes and posted them on my discussion board over at my 313HealthyMe Face Book page. I will post a few excepts from my discussion board in just a minute. For now, let's talk about my DAY #7 today marks that day and it feels great. I haven't had any adverse feelings or affects from eating the raw food. I didn't expect that I would but you never really know. I started my day with a nice smoothie. It was a nutritious green smoothie made with dates, banana, oranges, pear, and spinach. I always make enough for my family because they love the taste and they look forward to my smoothies. So every time I make my morning smoothie I always make enough for five people to have a tall glass. Later in the day I enjoyed  a snack that I made with  raisins, apples, sunflower seeds, and honey. This is a quick treat that satisfies hunger and provides various levels of nutrition.

Well, as promised, I thought to share an excerpt from my discussion board and here it is:

I am listening to a call in conference with the folks over at livewellnow. The number of rebirth is 21 is what Christopher says. He is very excited and energetic in his delivery. Brandi Rollins is the author of Raw Foods on a Budget and she talked about chapters 2 - 3 of her book. She provided a free download of these chapters available from her website http://www.rawfoodsonabudget.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/RFBudgetchp2-3010110c.pdf

Buy what you need and eat all you have is what she says. When you get down to a few little ingredients you become really creative. These are some strategies that she outlines in her book.

Eat in season is another tip that she has for raw foodist.The food that is in season is cheaper than the food that isn't in season. "Season" food is food in your current environment and it is fresher.

She created a menu plan to give certain experiences. "Lightness" is one of the experiences she described for breakfast. Fresh fruit in the morning will fill you up and keep you satisfied. She says have 2-3 of that fruit in the morning. It is a mono meal! She wants everyone to experience that satisfying feeling. Mid-morning snack is a handful of soaked nuts. She says take your time and eat them. Savor them. For lunch she says experience satisfaction. Collard greens and peppers is a filling meal. It will give you tons of vitamin c. Brazil nuts are a part of that recipe as well. She has a recipe that includes sunflower seeds, apple, carrots, dijon mustard or mustard powder. The meal she outlines will last for two days and the price will be about six dollars. She says you will be satisfied and you shouldn't be hungry until dinner.

The feeling for dinner she wants you to experience is sensuality. She created.....

To read more please click on this link

A Day of Raw #6

I have been really enjoying my Raw Food and fitness fun daze craze and last night is a good example. Normally, I enjoy making something in the gourmet category as raw food goes. I like to refer to the gourmet side of raw food as any recipe that requires you to take a food from it's original form and put it into another form like making smoothies, nut butters, cereals, etc. Last night, however, I was so moved by my decision to go raw that I just wanted to eat some veggies unadulterated. I almost never eat my raw food meals like this just because I have so much fun preparing them. I had a different vibe last night. I just cut up some veggies and used a cheese dip that I had prepared earlier along with the last of my tabbouleh salad. It was like having a healthy snack and my cheese sauce was unbelievably delicious too. I thought I should dress them up a bit with some dulce flakes. This is a very quick and nutritious meal. tastes great and feels light on your stomach. Give it a try and add your favorite dip or sauce.

For breakfast I had a wonderful recipe that I created from an inspiration I had during my 2009 100 day raw food and fitness journey. I call my recipe RAW Macada-APPLE cinnamon cereal. It looks like a raisin brand with the crunch if a corn flake and the taste of cinnamon granola treats. Soooooo multi-delicious :-) I snack on it as well as have it for my breakfast along with some chilled FRESH Almond Milk.

FRESH Almond Milk (RAW)

Raw Macada-APPLE cinnamon breakfast cereal

A Day of Raw #5

Today I had one of my favorite raw soups for lunch. I sprinkled a generous helping of Raw Cheesy Kale chips on top. This  is an easy meal to make. I love this meal and I find myself eating it throughout the day. I can make a variation of it that is reminiscent of a V-8 juice drink. All the ingredients are fresh and if you are able to grow a garden (check out my Urban Garden) then you could have an Organic tomato soup experience (lol). I also made a wonderful fruit smoothie to enjoy after eating this savory treat. the smoothie was made with frozen wild berries, banana, papaya, and fresh squeezed tangerine. How nice the flavors, how nutritious the meal. If you wold like to have the exact recipe then please check out my You Tube videos and watch how I prepare this meal. It is easy and nutritious too!

Overhead view of my Tropical Berry Fruit smoothie treat

A Day of Raw #4

This is a raw meal I made for my dinner on Jan. 4th. My fourth day of raw food and fitness fun. I had the camera set to view the tomato tabbouleh salad up close. It was sooooo tasty and easy on my digestive system too. Tabbouleh is one of the foods that I enjoy at anytime. I fell in love with this salad when I had my first experience with middle eastern food. There was a restaurant just outside of the city that had a great middle eastern food community. Once I tasted the salad I was hooked. I learned how to make it and the rest is history. This meal also included a Raw marinated mushroom burger on Romain lettuce (used in place of bread).

There was tomato and a Raw cheesy sauce. When you look closely, you notice that I shredded romain lettuce into the tabbouleh. I also sliced some cherry tomatoes up on top and sprinkled Dulce flakes over everything.