A reboot

Ok, I'm jumping back on the wagon again...the Raw food wagon.  I honestly don't know why I stop eating this way!  Well, it's not that I stop, it's more like I cut back.  Yeah, summertime is different..we ate out more, went on vacation (like I'm going to say no to all you can eat Maine lobster)..I'm just not that disciplined!  So after a few meals that ended with me saying to myself "why am I eating food that doesn't taste like anything?"  I'm over it.  I have a couple of people I make raw meals for every week, and Jb and I have gotten a couple of his work buddies hooked on raw foods..so it's practice what you preach time!
I read a few books this summer that gave me a new perspective on food.  The big one was "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer.  I won't go into details...it's NOT for the faint of heart (or weak of stomach)  but let's just say it made me more aware of things I already knew..things that none of us want to think about...or admit.  But at the end of the day, props to my daughter for consuming NO red meat or "other white meat" for the last 3-ish years.  JB and I have sworn off chicken as well...it's so hard to do..an extreme commitment!    
I guess the hardest part is figuring out what we WILL eat instead!  Obviously salads can get boring..and so can veggie burgers.  So I'm determined to come up with meals that we will devour, and enjoy, and feel great after eating them!

Something to look at, and perhaps someday try?  Kale chips.  Simply amazing.  I've made about 5 different kinds so far.  Cheesy, Chocolate, and today...sour cream and onion.  All raw ingredients, and "cooked" in the dehydrator.  Enjoy the picture, and there WILL be more to come.  Wish me luck!

snack it up

I'm addicted to kale chips..it's that simple.  I love the preparation of them, the smell of them "cooking" in the dehydrator, the texture, and of course the taste.  They are AMAZING!  And one of the great things..you can make them taste however you want!  I like a chipotle/agave mix...a little sweet/spicy.  You could make a few batches, different seasonings...and have a kale chip party!  I got 3 bunches of kale the other day for 3 bucks.  I have my dehydrator (9 trays) FILLED with them right now...that's a better deal than ANY bag of chips, and they are of course better for you.
I cut the kale into "chip size" pieces (removing the thick center stem) and rinsed them off.  In the blender I mixed 2 chipotle peppers (soaked for 4 hours, with the liquid) 1 garlic clove, 3 T agave, 2 T olive oil, 4 dates, and some sea salt.  After this was mixed, I poured it into the bowl of kale, and massaged the sauce into the kale. ( I suggest using gloves).  When it seems like the kale had wilted a little bit, I placed it on the dehydrator trays and will let it run for about 8-10 hours or so.  You could also put the kale onto cookie sheets and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes.  Either way, the goodness of kale with the yummy flavor of...well, whatever you want!  Enjoy!

it's time.

So I've been spending alot of time lately reading, educating myself on different aspects of raw foods..my latest book is "The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil" by Bruce Fife..pretty interesting stuff.  But sadly, with all that reading and educating, I've lost focus on the "doing"!!  How quickly we can fall off the wagon (for a special meal)..next thing you know the weekend ends and your meals have been a breakfast quesadilla, tacos, and a cheeseburger...a meat festival.  My body needs a total detox now!!!  I don't love red meat, I don't even really LIKE it..but if it's here, and being cooked, somehow it seems like such a delicious idea!  An hour later...not so delicious.  We love to punish our bodies though, don't we?  So today I'm back to what works...to what I crave and enjoy, and to what makes me feel good.  Shake for breakfast, a mid-morning snack of almonds, dates, and coconut..and juice for lunch, salad for dinner...with yummy avocado.
As an aside, JB and I have been downing a few "shots" of RAW apple cider vinegar daily, (for cleansing) as well as about 3 T. of pure coconut oil, (for it's healing properties)...(it also makes an amazing deep conditioner, AND face moisturizer).  We'll see if a difference is noticed...hard to tell when you're eating poorly..keep you posted!

As time rolled by...

Wow, I don't even know where the summer went..but it went fast!  Katina started school on Monday..my goal for her eating plan was never really reached.  I really went into the summer with a positive feeling about it, and a pretty solid action plan.  I guess that was unrealistic, since summer time (for kids) is pretty unstructured.  I shouldn't be too hard on myself for it, and I am considering the fact that maybe this WILL be easier with school back in session, and routines back in place.

I did use the time this summer to get more familiar with the whole "Raw" concept.  I have read bunches of books and blogs FILLED with information..so much information.  I played around in the kitchen and created some new recipes, as well as trying out a bunch of recipes I had found in the books and websites I perused.  I feel like I am armed with some great information and am ready to go.  It was a good summer, we had a great little family vacation in the middle, and JB and I even did a 4 day juice fast together.  I have to say I felt AMAZING after that!!  I will fill you in on the details of the juice fast on another day.  For now...time to get back on the horse!!

I thought season was over??!!!

Holy cow, it has been so crazy busy at work!  I don't know what's going on, or if half the country won the lottery, but season is still here!  I have been so tired by the time I get home at night that it's hard to even fall asleep..does that make sense?  At any rate, being busy makes you hungry..or at least it makes ME hungry!! So thank you Gloria, for giving me a boost tonight at work!
I am forever spouting about eating healthy, and raw, and do this, not that, blah..blah..blah..  Sometimes I bore myself!  Well, I work with a woman named Gloria, who grew up in the Dominican.  Now, if you are a half intelligent human being, you are aware that they have a TOTALLY different lifestyle in the Dominican than we do.  Gloria has been in the states for most of her adult life, and is married with 3 children..trying to raise them well in a COMPLETELY unhealthy society!!  It's hard enough to feed your children properly in this day and age, in this country..match that with the skewed information given by our government and media..and most people get confused about WHO to listen to!!  Gloria reminds me of a young child in this aspect..because she is always asking questions about food..which is GREAT!  I would have loved to know all this stuff when Katina was little..she would have been stuffing her face with avocado's like my nephew Mack (who is about 8 years younger than her).  So Gloria and I have had some great discussions about foods..more along the lines of what different things mean, what's REALLY healthy, and what the government wants you to THINK is healthy ;)

So along the way, we have shared recipes, and brought foods in to sample...long story short..I owe Gloria a bunch of thanks today.  She arrive at work a little before 5:00 today..( I had been there since 2:00).  At about 5:30 (just about "snack time") she said "Oh, Sarah, I have something for you..some juice"!  and she ran to the break room.  Bless her heart, she had thought to bring me some juice that she made today, something she remembered from the Dominican.  Beets, carrots, lemon, water, and I think ginger.  Anyway, it was so yummy (and I am NOT a fan of beets..never have been..I think it's the fact that the color gets on everything..come on, it's weird)..So thank you Gloria, you arrived with a healthy pick me up, right when I needed it!  It's so nice to know all of our information sharing was well received.
Now when will season end!!

Wrap it up B!

Yesterday all I could think about was having a nice wrap using collard greens.  Of course I didn't have any handy..but problem solved today!  Katina had cheer practice in town, so we had to leave the island.  I try to avoid leaving the island if I don't have to for a couple of reasons.  #1...money is spent that wouldn't be if I had stayed home.  #2...traffic is crazy sometimes, and so are the people.  #3...I just like to be home!  I know I sound like a snob..but it's much easier to relax and avoid bad money decisions if we just stay home!  Plus, when faced with all the fresh produce options in town, I end up buying a bunch of stuff I didn't plan on..which is fine except the "list" goes out the window.

So the wrap...SO delicious!  Katina and I each had one (she wasn't super hungry, but was good and ate most of it anyway)  See the picture above?  I took a big collard leaf and cut the heaviest part of the stem off (which kind of makes the bottom part straight).  I spread some homemade hummus on it (I used a can of chickpeas, 2 cloves of garlic, juice from a lemon, 1 T. tahini paste, 2 Tb. olive oil.  app. 1/2 c. water, and a sprinkle of chipotle powder, for kick).  I then cut up a red pepper, a cucumber, a tomato, and some snap peas (fairly thin slices) and filled the wrap with them.  Roll it up as tightly as you can, and cut in half.  The side dish is a summer squash salad.  Using my spiralizer (Spirooli..awesome gadget!)  I spiral cut a summer squash (then cut the pieces smaller so I didn't end up with 10 ft. long pieces) then tossed it with some halved grape tomatoes, cilantro, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper..all raw, all delicious! We followed it up with a nice run around the neighborhood..awesome at about 95 degrees!

The spiralizer is great, I highly recommend one!  I bought mine from Amazon..around $30.  It's amazing how much "spaghetti" you can get from a single vegetable.  It came with 3 different "blades" for different thicknesses..super cool!  I have also done one with zucchini, basil, tomato and mozzarella.  You could also steam the squash after you cut it (if you desire) in case people are freaked out by the raw texture.  Also a great tool for spiral cut fries (who doesn't love THOSE?)
A couple other pics from foods I made last week..

Kale chips with a chipotle bbq sauce..ready for the dehydrator

Almond cookies with cacao nibs and goji berries!  (also in there are banana chips and fruit rolls!)

Raw granola bars!  This was my first attempt, but they came out pretty good!

$25.00 for apples?? Really??

So on Sunday JB, Katina, and I met her Dad at Fresh Market for the "drop off"..I figured it was a nice in between spot to meet, and I could also run in and buy organic apples.  I used to buy them at Publix, but their selection is pretty bad..mealy apples are the worst!  Did you know apples are one of the main produce items you should really choose organic?  Since you are eating the whole fruit, skin and all, you aren't peeling away any pesticides as you would with,say, a banana or orange.  I guess the exception would be picking your own at a local farm, but we don't have that option here...so back to Fresh Market.

Long story short...we bought 16 organic gala apples..at a total price of $25 and some change.  I can get a 5 lb. bag of apples at Sam's Club for $6.  Why is it so expensive to eat healthy?  It's no wonder so many people in this country have cupboards stocked with junk food and processed items.  You could literally spend a whole paycheck on fresh produce..if you were go the all organic route.  The exception to this is during the main growing season..Nov. to April for us down here.  During that time I can drop $20 at the farmers market on a weeks worth of locally grown, fresh, organic produce. (still no apples though) That's a huge difference.  I wish I could figure out how to grow it all myself during the summer months..the sun really beats on us though..plus it hasn't rained in weeks.  Maybe an Aerogarden?  Do those things really work?  I guess if they did, everyone would have them.  I only know one person who does, and she only grows herbs.  Which is great, but I'm interested in actual produce items..

On a different subject, we have discovered an amazing substitution for sandwich making.  Obviously, there are huge numbers of people out there with gluten allergies, as well as people trying not to eat bread (or carbs).  That's all fine and dandy, but let's face it..without bread you have no sandwich.  And without a nice sandwich, what do you eat for lunch?  Or a late night snack?  We've been using Ezekiel bread for a while now, and it's great. (try a grilled cheddar and apple sandwich with dijon mustard on Ezekiel bread)   But a step away from that?  Try making a wrap using Collard Greens instead of bread.  Seriously!  Use hummus instead of mayo, fill it with any veggies, sprouts, even chicken or tuna if you desired!  Wrap it up  and eat it..so so delicious!  I know it may sound strange, but I promise it's such a neat thing!  The leaves are solid, they hold together so well...even better than most wraps or pita bread!  What a great way to get some greens into your diet and still enjoy regular foods!  I will pick up some collards tomorrow and make a few so I can take pics and show you.  If you can grow collards in your garden, then you have to try this!