What's up with Debbie?

Once again it’s been a while since I blogged – so forgive me. The truth is, I don’t like writing unless I have something to say or share. Although I have made quite a few things that I felt were delicious and easy to make, the photos came out terrible. So, I didn’t feel inspired to share them. I’ve also made some things that were just awful…edible, but not mentally edible. I definitely didn’t want to share those things with you – yuk! Then I viewed a post that Bunny left on Raw Fu about raw food disasters. Boy, is it ever true sometimes. So I know that many aspiring rawfoodists suffer from this too.

Anyway, I’ve been going through a lot of different things over the past couple of weeks, and I thought I would talk about that. I am participating in another 100-day raw food challenge on Raw Fu. It started on January 1st. I have been so dedicated to following this challenge through up until about 5 days ago. I’m still about 80-90% focused, but having trouble. I don’t know if it’s from the cold weather, anxiety, or what, but I broke down and started sneaking Trader Joe’s organic corn chips again. Usually when you crave something, it’s because you are supposedly lacking in a nutrient of some kind. Well, the only thing I can think of is salt or sodium. The ingredients of the chips are just organic corn, organic sunflower seed oil, and organic sea salt. So it has to be the salt, since I have been getting plenty of fat lately through avocados, nuts and seeds – probably too much fat. Anyway, I also noticed that I feel thirsty but nothing is satisfying me. I’ve been bloating a lot, and feeling constipated again. So it has to be the chips, and some raw food combining. Maybe too many nuts and seeds carried over from the holidays. Something has to give!

Well, over the past couple of weeks I have also been reading several different books. I'm currently reading The Raw Food Diet Myth, which is an excellent book. I truly have benefited from reading this book, because it helps me see where I'm fitting into this whole raw food thing right now. You can learn more about this book by reading the review posted by Raw Food Right Now. The other book I'm reading is the book my son got me for Christmas, Oneness With All Life: Inspirational Selections from A New Earth. It's more of an inspirational daily reading book than anything else, but it has been a real help to me - a lot like The Secret, has been to me - another book I highly recommend you read. In addition to these two books, I decided to read Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days, Second Edition. This will be the second time I read this book. This time around I'm more serious about actually doing the Master Cleanse.

In fact, yesterday when I was at Whole Foods I came so close to not buying any food, and just getting the lemons for the cleanse...but I chickened out. I figured, "I just made carrot burgers - can't let them go to waste." What an excuse right? Well, I believe that in order for any kind of fast, or change to happen, you have to be mentally and spiritually committed in order to make the physical commitment. I'm ready spiritually, but not quite there mentally. I have a lot of anxiety related to the fear of failing in seeing the cleanse through the whole 10 days. This is pretty much the reason why I haven't committed to the global juice feast yet. I know one day I'll be ready - just not now. Part of my fear of failing is that I have had so much personal stress in my life that I have been dealing with over the past 8 months that just being raw has been major. I'm so happy for changing to a raw diet, but it came at a time that wasn't acceptable to my family and coworkers. Now it is, because they have seen the miraculous transformation in me. So now I get the support I need to make it happen.

I have been hit with financial stresses, work stresses, relationship challenges, scheduling challenges, sleep deprivation, and such, that it has been a juggling act - plus I have so many damned interests that I want to pursue. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for each and every day that I have managed to find the balance I need in my life, but I am still striving for more. Life is definitely looking up in my eyes, because I feel it in my heart, and I'm in a different place mentally. Don't get me wrong, I'm still suffering from the occasional anxiety though. What do you expect from an obsessive compulsive raw foodie like myself? Lol... :)

Well, I did decide that I truly need to finish my vision board (which is half way done and in my closet - good place for it - not!). Also, I am going to start the cleanse probably next week. This way I can save on groceries and start my very needed cleanse. I realized while writing this, that part of my bloating and constipation is not just due from food combining (cause I really haven't been that bad), but it could very well be from just eating too much - even if it's too much raw food, too much food is too much food, and it's hard on the digestive system! My body needs a break!

I've been watching Matt Monarch's and Angela Stoke's show, Raw Success, every day, and Matt has been talking a lot about the importance of colon cleansing. So I realize I really need to get myself mentally geared up to do a colon hydrotherapy session and soon! I started looking into it after Raw Fu's Bunny did one, but then chickened out. So, I'm going to definitely add this procedure to my vision board of things I want and need to do.

There are so many things that I want to do and accomplish, but prioritizing them or even grouping them is difficult. I'm just now relearning how to balance my life to make time for myself and those things that serve me and my family better both spiritually, mentally, and physically - but it's not an easy task. We get so stuck in our ways, right or wrong, and habits are hard to break. I just try to take one day at a time, and set mini goals as well as big goals. Plus I'm learning not to be so upset, or disappointed when things don't work out as I thought they would or should, and learn to see the value in all experiences. That is truly a part of being grateful. I have a journal to start writing in each day of what I'm grateful for. So far, I have mainly written it on my computer - but I will write in this journal...I will...lol...

Well, I want to write more, but need to close for now and take care of some other things around the house. The next post will be about the books I finish reading, yoga, and hopefully the beginning of my master cleanse. Maybe I'll write sooner and post some recipes, we'll see. Until then, have a blessed fill week!

Peace!

- Debbie :)

Day 3, my 100-day Raw Fu Challenge...

Well, today marks the 3rd day of the 100-day raw food challenge through Raw Fu, hosted by a very special lady, "Bunny" Betsy Berry. For the most part I have been doing very well to keep it 98-100% raw all three days. The only set back I have had is that I have been suffering from a lot of detox issues.

It actually started on Friday evening, so I'm not sure if it's related to anything specific -- but possibly it could be I have caught a bug...or it could be nerves, or bad food combining. I honestly don't know. Anyway, Friday I suffered from great stomach pains, constipation, indigestion, and bloating. I still went ahead and rode the recumbent bike, and did some yoga. I should not have had anything else to eat, but I went ahead and had my usual evening green smoothie. That added more physical grief. And to make matters worse, my chronic back and joint pains were giving me a hard time as well. But I refused to take any pain meds, since I was suffering from such digestive issues. I decided to drink some detox tea, and a wedge of lemon, and later went to bed. All night I tossed and turned, moaning, and so forth.

When I woke up Saturday morning I was still in pain, urinating frequently, but no real bowel movements. This is frustrating to me, since I had finally conquered these issues upon changing to a raw lifestyle. I could barely move too. My joints were terribly sore, and my overall feeling of well being was lost. I felt like I had the flu, but without any cold symptoms. It was awful. I couldn't eat anything, nor drink anything. Even water triggered more bloating and discomfort. I could barely get around, but I went ahead and did our shopping, and took care of my usual Saturday errands. When I went to pick my son up from Band Camp, I was still feeling bad. It was sad, cause his return came across anti climatic - which was not all the case. But he understood. I did manage to have 2 smoothies on Saturday. Both were made with just mango and spinach. I also managed to have two bananas, and water. Still no real bowel movements. I went to bed earlier than I usually do for a Saturday and slept in till late this morning.

Today I feel much better, and had much more energy. I made the usual breakfast smoothie, and had a couple of chia crackers. Then for a late lunch I had a green smoothie, and a couple of celery sticks with raw almond butter and a touch of honey. Plus plenty of water. All was well, and joint pain was barely noticeable -- except for the back (still not as bad). Only problem is, by the this evening as I write to you now, I'm feeling a bit bloated again. Still no bowel movements to speak of. So, I just had a cup of detox/smooth move tea. I'm hoping that helps me feel much better tomorrow. Normally it does.

I'm beginning to think that my IBS, and spastic colon are inflamed due to the amount of stress I have been under lately. It must be that, cause I really don't think I'm doing anything different with my food. Well, one thing is for sure, during this 100-day challenge I'm starting off cleaner than ever, so it may be a blessing in disguise. So for now, I'll just deal with the detoxing issues, and hope that the stomach gets free soon! I'll write more later.

Have a fabulous evening, and a terrific day tomorrow, and a blessed week!

Peace! - Debbie

The "diet-food" rollercoaster (my story and thoughts)

Recently there have been several articles within the raw food community regarding the diet scams that have been popping up with misleading testimonials. In fact, one of the diet pill companies was actually trying to misuse the “before and after” testimonials of some very well known raw-foodists. It just amazes me what people will do for the almighty buck! But it proves even another point. And that is, “DIET PILLS AND DIETS DON’T WORK!” Because if they did, that company wouldn’t need to lie about the success of it’s product by using other people’s testimonials, and lying to the public about it. It truly amazes me.

Reading about all this made me start thinking about my own self, and how over the years I allowed myself to be so mislead by promises of quick weight loss, and feeling super healthy and energetic. My “diet” life has been one major rollercoaster ride after another!

Have you ever been at a big amusement park, where you paid a lot of money for a thrill ride, waited for at least an hour, only to get on the ride, have a quick thrill, and then it’s over within seconds? It’s great, and it sucks all at the same time. Yet, for whatever crazy reason, you go and you pay, and wait in line again, for those few seconds of euphoric pleasure. Well, that’s kind of how I look at diets – or dieting, so to speak. You see, get hyped up about a great new diet. They say it’s the best, and you hear all the testimonials, and you’re like, “Wow, I need to do that!” So you go and you spend hundreds of dollars, and weeks of your personal time, using the “diet” plan you bought into. At first, you feel that the money and the wait were worth it. Only to discover shortly afterwards, that it was no big deal, and you are right back where you were…and sometimes even more let down.

I know first hand what I’m talking about. For years I have been on that “diet” food, or “diet” pill, or “diet” regime rollercoaster. I spend so much time, money, energy, thinking, “Wow, hey, I’m losing weight.” But then within a few weeks, and only about 5 pounds maybe a little more, the ride stops. The weight stays, and slowly…but surely, it creeps up again. Then, worst off, I feel disappointed, cheated, depressed, and fatigued, and sometimes broke, because I got fooled again by the diet food rollercoaster!

Just to give you an idea of how many “diet-food-park rides” I’ve been on, here’s a little list:

- 5-HTP
- Alli Diet Pills
- Atkins
- Beverly Hills Diet
- BioSlim
- Blood Type
- Caffeine
- Carb blockers
- Chitosan Supplements
- Chromium Supplements
- CLA
- Colon cleanser products (commercial)
- Cortislim
- Counting Calories
- Counting Carbs
- Counting Fat
- Cytolean
- Dexitrim
- Diet Pills Containing Ephedra
- Diet Pills Containing PPA
- Diuretics
- Ephedra
- Fasting (but not the healthy way – basically starving myself is more like it…)
- Glucomannan Supplements
- Green Tea
- Herbalife
- Hoodia Gordonii
- HydroxyCut
- Kellogg’s Special K
- Laxatives
- Lean body meal replacement
- Mega-Thin
- Metabolife
- Nestlé’s Sweet Success
- Noni
- Phen-Phen
- Quickslim30
- Slimfast
- Soup Diet
- South Beach
- Spirulina Supplements
- St. John's Wort Supplements
- Subway
- Susanne Somers Diet
- Tonalin CLA
- TrimSpa X32
- Ultra 90
- Ultra-Slim
- Vegetarian Diet
- Weight loss patches
- Weight loss teas
- Weight Watchers
- Xenadrine without Enphedrine
- Zetacap

I’m sure you get the jest of what I’m getting at. You can see how I probably have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars over the years on this crap; and all the time wasted, and the harm I have caused my body from all that. It just goes to show you, “DIETS DON’T WORK!!!” The only thing that does work is feeding your body “REAL LIVE LIVING FOOD”, CLEANSING IT REGULARLY, getting SUNSHINE, taking OXYGEN (you know, “breathing”), and drinking “PURIFIED WATER”! So, the bottom line, “RAW FOOD” is the ticket! But not for a week, or a few months, or even a few years. It has to be a lifetime commitment to take care of yourself, and live well, eat well! I’m not saying you have to be a purist. I am saying that you have to make conscious effort, and just “live it”! I can promise you, it will make the world of difference. In fact, the next ride you get on will truly be euphoric! And it won’t be costly, it won’t be disappointing, or tiring, or short-lived. It will become the ride of your life!

I’m no raw food coach, or nutritionist, or expert of any kind. For that matter, I’ve only been truly living this way for almost a year. I’ve toyed with it for many years, but never took it seriously. I just know that although, “yes”, I have emotional attachments to food – but truthfully, I only feel my best when I simply eat living food! You just need to get over – I need to get over, the need for eating whatever it is that you, me, we are being subjected to at the time (i.e. television, radio, restaurant drive-bys, the influence of friends and family).

I hope that I never lose sight of my healthful goals, and that I continue to stay focus on what is truly important for good health and physical, and mental well-being…living food is where it’s at! I mean that!

Well I’m done standing on my soapbox for one day. I just had to share that with all of you. I think it’s important to understand what we go through when we get caught up in trying to take shortcuts with our lives. It’s costly, it wastes time (what an oxymoron), its potentially dangerous, and most of all it just doesn’t work.

Smoothies and more...

Yesterday I spent a couple of overs going over the benefits of raw living smoothies and juices with my Mother-in-law. My husband was concerned about her, and felt that I could help her out. So, we had her get her favorite raw fruit, and we brought over some of own stuff too. I then showed her quick and easy ways to make smoothies daily. We separated the fruit into several smoothie packets, so she could just take them out of the freezer, add water and blend...great idea!

Today we finally purchased a new "professional style" blender. We purchased a Cuisinart 7 cup blender, 500-watt fast, that also doubles as a food processor.

My new Cuisinart Blender/Food Processor


My old 30-year old Blender (Seriously)

It's great! I actually used it today to make a super-charged chocolate banana smoothie. My recipe goes as follows:

Super-charged Chocolate Banana Smoothie

2 bananas
2 scoops raw cacao powder
1 handful raw cacao nibs
1 scoop raw carob powder
1/2 scoop raw mesquite powder
1/2 scoop raw lucuma powder
1 handful raw oat groats or (organic uncooked oatmeal)
1 handful goji berries
1 to 1/2 cups raw almond mylk
drizzle or more of raw agave nectar
water to cover, and icecubes to chill

Blend well until smooth!

Very yummy and energizing!

I also purchased two new raw uncook books, and a smoothie book to add to my collection. The first was Dining in the Raw, written by Rita Romano; the second was Raw Food Life Force Energy, written by Natalie Rose (I can't wait to read this one. It's packed with all kinds of information and recipes). And lastly, the smoothie book is called Smoothies!, written by Stella Murphy. This books is quite the beauty with all it's color and great pictures! I got a second copy for my Mother-in-law to give to her on her birthday next weekend.

So now that I have my blender, and I got some more books, and I copied some more great recipes from www.goneraw.com, I have been inspired again to start doing some major raw uncooking. I went to Whole Foods today and bought lots of delicious veggies and fruits. But before I start making stuff, I had to get my "snack foods" out of the way. You see, I've been cheating an awful lot with Sun Chips. No, these are not raw chips, these are processed chips called Sun Chips. And they are damned good! But, they are not raw, and they are my weakness these days. So, I dehydrated a big batch of raw spicey corn chips, and some really delicious flax-chia crackers with all kinds of great spices, to curb my salty taste buds! I'm currently dehydrating some flax-chia, almond date cracker/cookies. I think they will be pretty good too. I didn't want to waste any food, so I threw this together with the almond pulp from my raw almond mylk I made. I'll definately let you know how they come out.




Oh, I almost forgot to share with you the delicious fruit parfait I made with orange juice, and coconut cream. I got the coconut cream recipe from another new raw book I purchased about 2 weeks ago, called Everyday Raw with Matthew Kenney, written by Matthew Kenney of course. It's a great book, with great recipes and beautiful pictures!



Well, that's it for now. I just wanted to give some kind of update, since I have been taking long breaks in between blogs. Maybe sometime soon I'll get back into blogging regularly. Until then, I hope you enjoy the few I do post.

Have a fantastic Memorial Weekend!

Keep it raw! Peace! :)

- Debbie

Vacation breakdown...

Well, I have to confess. I kind of, sort of, fell off the wagon over my vacation. The family and I went to California over Spring Break. We drove to Hollywood, and Universal Studios for my birthday (St. Patty’s day), and then drove down the coast to San Diego, to Ocean Beach for the remainder of the week – I love the beach!

I know I said in my previous blog that I planned to cheat a little while on vacation, which I don’t feel totally guilty about. I also said I wouldn’t eat any fried foods, or dairy, or chicken or beef – which I didn’t. The problem is, although I did plan, and did eat some of the seafood I desired, such as raw tuna, several pieces of sushi (on my birthday), some steamed lobster, shrimp, and grilled fish. I do feel like I may have over done it.

The good news is, I did drink my smoothies every day, and ate my raw treats and fresh fruit I brought with me, and drank lots of water. I also managed to write down my daily food intake every day. And, we did a lot of walking, hiking, and “running” around while on vacation. So, I did get exercise, even though I wasn’t officially “exercising”.

During the “Easter” weekend, I had another breakdown. I ate a couple of Lindt’s chocolates, because of Easter (that’s my excuse). I didn’t need to, but I did. They used to be my favorites, and they are my son’s favorites now. I had planned to make more of my raw chocolates, but didn’t have time or ingredients until after Easter, because we were on vacation.

So, now I feel somewhat depressed and guilt ridden, because now I can no longer say that I am 90%-100% raw. Yet, I only broke down for a total of 7 days. Should I feel guilty? Am I a fake? Do I have the right to call myself a “rawfoodist”? I still ate at least 50-75% raw while on vacation. Actually, it was all raw, except for the seafood…and the few chocolates. What do you think? I should probably do a complete detox program, and just cleanse the heck out of my system…but, right now I’m hungry for my smoothies, and daily raw food routine. I still haven’t had time this week to create any raw goodies, except for the smoothies. I think I need to do that first before I fully detox myself. It’s kind of a mental thing. I don’t know. I told myself I wasn’t going to beat myself up over this, yet I can’t help but obsess over the whole deal.

Well, regardless of what I did, or how I feel about it, or what others may think of it, I know in my heart I am still committed to this way of life. I haven’t “cheated” since, nor do I have a craving to again. As of this week I am over the need. I plan to work really hard from this point forward to keep my 90%-100% raw way of eating.

Well, that’s it for me tonight. I know I haven’t blogged in over 2 weeks, and that I still need to list my daily raw for the past 2 weeks too. I’ll have to do that later. It’s late, and I need to get to bed. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow. I’m still playing catch up at work, and in my personal life, because of my vacation.

I wish you all a fabulous evening, and a fabulous week!

Peace. :)

- Debbie

Accomplishments, and goals...

It seems like I ate a lot of "junk" food over the weekend. What I mean by that is I ate a lot of nuts and raw sweet treats. Even though it was all raw, it was still a little higher in fat and calories. I need to be careful too, since I'm unable to exercise like I had been. Hopefully, I will get back on the road to recovery when I can start going back to the chiropractor. I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm serious when I say the pain is chronic, and unbearable. And so far, I found the most "pain" relief that's natural is through the chiropractor!


I was so happy this weekend, cause I actually got a lot of work done. I updated my one website with over 2,000 products; I finished the business cards for my friend - which is half the project he is paying me for; and I read up on a lot of my raw food blogs. Now I just need to catch up with my internship program, and finish the other part of the graphics project, and update my kid's website. Then I can really start focusing on my raw-riffic food website. I really want to start doing more and more with the whole raw food lifestyle, and incorporate it into my career as well as diet. I don't know to what capacity yet, but I do know I really dig all of it. And since I absolutely love the web, art, and computers, I think eventually I can figure out something to tie it all together, and include "raw" as my theme...

Anyway, a while back I brought up the idea of doing a juice feast. Then I brought up the idea of doing the master cleanse. Just for the record, I'm still very interested in both! However, the fact of the matter is, I need more information on it as far as how fasting or feasting will be on me, if I'm still forced to take the pain meds to deal with my chronic sciatica. I know it wouldn't hurt, but I really would like to wean off the "drugs" first...if you know what I mean.

Well, I need to get off to bed. I'm taking a day off tomorrow from work to rest, and then go to the doctor. I'll post more tomorrow. To follow is my daily raw for the past three days. Hope all of you have a pleasant evening, and a fantastic tomorrow!

Saturday, 1/26/08
4 almond vanilla snackeroons
3 pieces cherry, walnut, orange raw granola
1 sandwich (sprouted buckwheat sun bread, with avocado, cucumber, tomato, romaine lettuce, marinated portabello mushrooms)
2 bananas
6oz berry smoothie
handful raw corn chips
1 piece sprouted buckwheat sun bread with avocado
3 pieces of sushi (not truly raw -- only the fish)
1 sesame snap smart monkey bar
5 dates
1 cup symfre tea
lots and lots and lots of water

Sunday, 1/27/08
6oz berry smoothie
24oz berry breakfast shake with maca powder
1/2 banana
2 sandwich (sprouted buckwheat sun bread, with avocado, cucumber, tomato, romaine lettuce, marinated portabello mushrooms)
handful corn chips
2 almond vanilla snackeroons
1 small bowl cherry, walnut, orange raw granola, with almond nut milk
1 date
1 carob brownie
1 piece of an Asian pear
12oz mango, parsley, romaine lettuce, and water smoothie
1 bowl of cacao, macadamia nut, coconut iced cream, and cacao sauce with lucuma
lots and lots and lots of water

Monday, 1/28/08
6oz berry smoothie
24oz raw body shake
1 carob smart monkey bar
1 almond vanilla snackeroon
12oz mango, parsley, romaine lettuce, and water smoothie
1 banana
1 small bowl of cacao, macadamia nut, coconut iced cream, and cacao sauce with lucuma
1 bowl of buttery pasta (zucchini, portabello mushrooms, tomato, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sea salt, and cold pressed olive oil)
3 slices of the sprouted buckwheat sun bread, with raw coconut butter and sea salt spread
lots and lots and lots of water


Ta-ta for now!

- Debbie :)

Not enough time for me...

So, I feel like I'm always running out of time to do the things for me I truly enjoy, in addition to the things I need to do too. Recently I talked about my participation in the Frederic Patrenaude Internship Program. It's great opportunity to learn about web marketing in the natural industry, and it's fun too! The problem is I am getting so far behind. Each week you get about 15 hours worth of tasks. They are fun tasks, and educational too. But they are time consuming, and they have to be completed correctly.

I also talked about how I am working on brochures and business cards for an old co-worker. I finished the business card design, but now I'm lagging behind with the brochures.

I also keep getting behind with my blogging, and when I do blog it's short and not very meaningful. At least I feel that I'm not putting as much into it as I'd like. In addition, I have forums I've been participating in, and two other websites that I manage. As well as I work full time, and I have a family that I'm very involved with too. So, I feel a little overwhelmed, and frustrated.

To add to my frustration, my sciatica, and arthritis in my back and joints have been truly giving me grief for about three weeks now. It's too the point that I have increased the number of pain pills I consume in a day, I had to stop exercising because of the excruciating nerve pain, and I can't sit or stand or lay for any length of time without it just "killing" me. To make matters even worse, I'm having a menstrual cycle, when I've been in menopause for over a year, and haven't had to worry about it for over a year. So you see, I'm overwhelmed.

The good news is, I'm still in great spirits, which has to be credited to my raw lifestyle. Since I went raw I have felt more energized, happier, and healthier overall. I think if I were still S.A.D. I'd be 10 to 20 times more miserable with all the stuff that's going on. But I don't.

So, I think if I could get my pain under control, and get back to feeling physically better, it would make the rest of my needs easier to cope with and manage. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday of next week. It's the earliest they can see me. Meanwhile, I just have to deal with the pain. I'm thinking about starting a discussion regarding pain management and raw food. I'm hoping that it will provide me with some positive feedback that I can use for my own situation.

One of the things that I miss and hope to start up again real soon, is going to the chiropractor on a bi-weekly basis, and to a massage therapist a couple times a month too. When I did that, I had almost no pain...just occasionally. But because of insurance, I ran out of visits, and had to wait until the new year. So here I am in the new year, starting over...oh well...it will get better.

Anyway, as usual, I'm blogging very late, and need to get in bed. I still need to list my daily raw, but will have to save it for tomorrow. I will need to list my daily raw for yesterday, today, and obviously tomorrow when I blog again.

Thanks for reading. I'll write more later. Seriously, if you have any suggestions for how I can use manage my nerve pain and arthritis while on the raw diet, so that I can reduce the pain meds, I'd love to hear from you.

Well, good night! Have a great tomorrow!

- Debbie

Blog "catch up"

It's been a week since I last blogged. I've been busy, and haven't been able to find the time to just blog. However, I still have kept a short list of what I've eaten every day so I can fill in the blog-blanks.

Part of the reason I haven't had time to blog is because I signed up for an Internship program through Frederic Patenaude to learn about having a successful online business. It's something that I've been interested in for a very long time. Also, I've been doing some side work for some old friends that I worked with. I'm creating business cards and brochures for their engineering company. Anyway, I've been busy around the clock...lol.

Well, let me go ahead and start listing my daily raw...

Friday, 1/4/08
6oz berry smoothie
berry breakfast smoothie
berry winter smoothie
mango smoothie
2 fudge brownies
2 rawreo cookies
3 dates
apple
lots of water
1 smart monkey bar

Saturday, 1/5/08
½ of kale salad, and ½ of bell pepper salad from whole foods
1 date almond raw bar
1 smart monkey raw carob bar
4 pieces of raw fudge brownie
½ a berry smoothie
lots and lots of water
2 shot glasses of schnapps
3 dates
apple

Sunday, 1/6/08

On Sunday I spent most of the day making raw treats that I found on the Sunny Raw Kitchen. I made Mediterranean bread (I made it a little too spicy for me...but it was still very good), seed cheese (which was good and tangy, but the raw garlic killed my stomach), avocado mayo (a new simpler recipe and still very good), and egg less salad (absolutely fabulous, out of this world, and super delish!) So, I made myself a sandwich to eat, and took a picture:

Small raw sandwich made with Mediterranean bread, avocado mayo, egg less salad, seed cheese, lettuce, tomato, red pepper, Persian cucumber
1 smart monkey raw carob bar
2 cups raw hot coco
1 banana
2 dates
lots and lots and lots of water

Monday, 1/7/08
Didn’t feel well due to the raw garlic I ate the day before, so my menu was different for this day...I didn't start eating again until mid afternoon.
1 Banana
1 smart monkey for late breakfast
1 berry breakfast smoothie for lunch
1 raw vegan omega bar
lots and lots of water
4 dates
handful of jungle peanuts
1 rawreo cookie
mango, parsley, romaine smoothie
water, water, water
1 more smart monkey bar for a desert snack at night


Tuesday, 1/8/08
Better than coffee raw drink
Berry breakfast smoothie
2 smart monkey bars
lots of water
mango smoothie
2 rawreo cookies
6 dates

Wednesday, 1/9/08
Better than coffee raw drink with nut milk added
1 raw vegan bar
1 apple
Banana and spinach green smoothie
2 rawreos
Lots and lots and lots of water
Banana, pineapple, romaine lettuce, parsley, and water smoothie
5 dates
2 handfuls of raw almonds

I decided to make a batch of raw corn chips to munch on for the remainder of the week. I also purchased a nice group of fresh "salad" produce to share a "big" salad with my family for Thursday...

Thursday, 1/10/08
6oz berry smoothie
16oz raw body shake
2 smart monkey raw bars (ginger snap, and carob)
Banana and romaine lettuce smoothie (mmmm very good)
Lots and lots of water
raw corn chips

3 dates

big salad with red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, mushrooms, cucumber, red bell pepper, roma tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts, bragg's amino acids

lots of water

Friday, 1/11/08

6oz berry smoothie

24oz raw body shake

vegan raw bar (cacao and coconut)

raw corn chips

raw nuts mix (cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, raisins)

banana and romaine lettuce smoothie

raw vegan bar

more corn chips

mango, parsley, and romaine lettuce smoothie

3 dates

lots and lots of water

Well, that's it for now...I plan to make a banana cream pie tomorrow. I got the recipe off the www.goneraw.com site. I'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow. I'm sure it will be delicious, since anything with bananas is grrrrrrrrrreat!!!

Have a good night, and a terrific tomorrow!

Bye, bye...

My daily raw for January 2-3

Yesterday was quite a nice day for me. I felt good, and energetic, and happy for no real reason. I had my normal 6oz berry smoothie in the morning, and then when I got to work I made myself a berry breakfast smoothie with maca powder and bee pollen added. It was super delish, and made me feel real good! Later I shared a piece of my raw fudge with some of my coworkers. They really enjoyed it, and so did I. For lunch I made a Winter Green Smoothie, which consisted of the kale, celery, apple, pear, and bananas. It was hard on my travel blender, but well worth it. I have to remember to do my smoothies in small batches when using the travel blender -- I absolutely love that thing! That was the best Christmas present ever! Thanks son!

For late snack, I shared some of my delicious cheesecake with coworkers. They really liked that. They were so impressed by the texture, taste, and look of the cake, as well as the berry sauce that I drizzled on top. For dinner I had a another mango green smoothie which has mango, parsley and romaine lettuce leaves. Yum, yum. Then I closed with another slice of my cheesecake, and two dates. I just can't seem to leave the dates alone. LOL. Oh, and of course, I drank plenty of water.

Today was another exceptional day, but much busier at work. I pretty much had the same smoothies today, with the exception of lunch. My lunch smoothie actually was a berry green smoothie that consisted of romaine lettuce leaves, bananas, and mixed berries, plus water. Very yummy and refreshing! I did end up having a raw vegan bar, since I wasn't sure what time I would be able to have my evening smoothie. This was because our nieces were in town with their kids, and we wanted to visit with them. So our schedule was off. In fact, I was supposed to work out tonight, but will have to make up for it tomorrow. In addition to the raw vegan bar, and the three smoothies, a slice of cheesecake, and one fudge brownie, I also ate three raw walnuts that I took out of the shells, and two pieces of cauliflower, one piece of broccoli, and one baby carrot. I also ate two dates, and licked the remaining chocolate frosting that I made for my additional batch of raw brownies. And as always, I drank plenty of water.

Tomorrow I plan to make another attempt at bread. I found another recipe that was shared on the Sunny Raw Kitchen site, that actually is a Russell James recipe. He always has great recipes. Well, that's it for tonight. I'm going to bed, it's really late again! Have a great tomorrow!

Bye bye.

New year's day follow up

This evening I made another smoothie for dinner. This time I made it with a mango, some romaine lettuce leaves, Italian parsley, and water. It was actually very refreshing and filling. For dessert, I ate another wonderful slice of my raw cheesecake, with some of the mixed berry sauce. I really like that cake recipe...it's really good!

You've probably noticed that I've been having a lot of smoothies the past couple of days. That's because I recently received a set of "smoothie" cards from joining Frederic Patenaude's Raw Health Inner Circle. His site contains a wealth of information. Besides Frederic's site, there are so many other informational sites and people in the raw food community. I actually receive e-newsletters from about 10 different ones. The more information you gather and read, the more things make sense, and help you decide for yourself how this whole thing works for you. At least that's how it is for me.

Well, I'm going to wrap it up for tonight. Hope you all enjoyed your day. Have a wonderful evening, and a terrific rest of the week. Till next time.

Good night. :)

A raw gourmet weekend

I definitely felt like the "raw gourmet" this weekend. After reading Carmella's most recent email and blog from her site, The Sunny Raw Kitchen, I just got inspired and started "uncooking". I decided to make a couple of the recipes I found on her site, such as Snow Drop's Sesame Chicken, Fudge Brownies (I actually used the recipe link for brownies that I found on Jayna's blog site, Loving Raw Food and Fitness, I also made a Cheesecake and Whipped Cream that I found on Carmella's blog site too. I finished my gourmet uncooking weekend by making my own recipe of Chocolate Banana Iced Cream, and a version of popcorn using brussel sprouts that I hope meets my liking. I'll know more tomorrow.

Since I had fun making all this food, I of course ate some of it, as well as shared it with my family. On Saturday I started out with my own made up chocolate shake, called the Black Forest Maca Super Shake. It consisted of bananas, maca powder, raw cacao powder, organic cherries frozen, organic pineapple chunks frozen, 2 medjool pitted dates, raw honey, almond nut milk, and purified water. It was super thick, and super delish! For a late meal, I had some of the sesame chicken and veggies while it was dehydrating, a fudge brownie, a couple of dates, a banana, some raspberries, lots of water, and my cheat for the weekend was three shots of butterscotch schnapps (sipped) while watching the UFC 79 live fights on cable on demand. Yes, I am a true UFC fan...don't laugh...well, go ahead, laugh!

Today I made a berry breakfast smoothie with some maca powder added, as well as bee pollen, and flax seed oil. I ate an apple, two dates, then a serving of my chocolate banana iced cream, with a small piece of the fudge brownie, and some of the whipped cream, and a couple of blueberries with a slight drizzle of maple. I later had a plate of my sesame chicken, and licked the spoon of the cheesecake I made. Oh, and I had plenty of water today...lots of water...

I have to agree with a statement that Jayna recently made in one of her blogs. As much as I love all the gourmet goodies made of the nuts and stuff, it does have a tendency to bloat me. I know part of the reason is my stomach has shrunk, and when I make these goodies I have a tendency to eat too much of it at a time. All things in moderation...no matter how good it is...lol

Well, that's it for tonight. Thanks for stopping by. In case I don't blog tomorrow, I wish everyone a Safe, Healthy, Raw, Happy New Year!

Goodnight!

My daily raw for December 27th and 28th

You've probably noticed that I have changed the look of my blog page. I decided I wanted a fresh new look, so not only did I change the look of the blog page, but as you can see I changed the style of my hair (lol).

Well, I decided before the year was up, I would invest in some of the raw ingredients that I haven't had the opportunity to try. So, I purchased quite a few things online, including Maca powder, Raw cacao butter, jungle peanuts, and some other items that I'm still waiting to receive. Consider it a personal Christmas present to "self".

Today I plan to make "Sesame Chicken", based on a recipe I found through The Sunny Raw Kitchen (http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/). Sesame Chicken was always one of my favorite cooked dishes, and the raw version looks fabulous. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Anyway, I need to update you on what I ate on the 27th, yesterday the 28th, and later on what I ate today.

On the 27th I had a 6oz berry smoothie, and a 16oz raw protein shake. Later I had 2 monkey bars, raw corn chips and raw guacamole, one apple and one banana, a few dates, and a handful of nuts. When I got home from work I exercised, and stretched my back muscles. I then made a fabulous salad I prepared for dinner, which included Persian cucumbers, baby zucchini's, spinach, kale, pepita seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, and almond slices, as well as celery and carrots, topped with tomato and avocado, with a little bit of Braggs amino acids. For desert I ate the last raw cupcake and banana iced cream. Oh, and lots of water...of course.

Yesterday, the 28th, I had (of course) a 6oz berry smoothie, and a 16oz raw protein shake. Then for a mid-morning snack I ate a raw vegan bar. For lunch I had some more of the salad I made the night before, topped with tomato and avocado. I also had a side of the raw corn chips - no dip. Then I drank a cup of yerba mate. I also ate a little more than a 1/4 of a raw Fontina chocolate bar that I purchased through www.sunfood.com. It was mighty delicious! The best chocolate I have ever had! When I got home from work I exercised, and then had a 12oz berry breakfast shake, a couple of dates, and a couple of jungle peanuts, and lots and lots of water.

So far today I all I had is two dates, 3 jungle peanuts, and some water. It's only 8:30am in the morning on Saturday, so I will definitely have more to report. Well, I need to run now. My son is getting ready for karate, and his ride will be here shortly. I then need to get dressed to go to Sprouts and purchase some of the other items for my Sesame Chicken meal I'm making today.

I'll write more later. Have a wonderful day!

Christmas, and playing catch-up with my blogging

So the last time I blogged was on the 21st...that means I owe input for the 22nd through today. Wow, that's a lot!

I think I'll start out with what I've eaten since the 21st. Okay then, here we go:

12/22/07 - Well, being the holidays and all, I didn't eat the best, but it was still all raw, with a few exceptions. I started out with a 12oz breakfast berry smooth, then I had about 4 dates, a banana, a rawvolution carob cashew bar (while shopping), and a small bowl of nuts which included raw sunflower seeds, raw pepitas, and raw almonds. I also drank lots of water. My down fall was the 2 ½ shots of butterscotch schnapps I drank while wrapping presents.

12/23/07 - For breakfast I just ate a banana, and some peppermint and orange spice tea. Then I took, my son with me to go to Whole Foods. We bought lots of goodies, including the three raw salads that I had for lunch. One salad had kale and cranberries, another salad had figs and cashews, and the other had sprouted seeds with a hint of curry (well it tasted that way). Then later I snacked on 2 monkey bars (trail mix, and carob brownie - very yummy). I also had a handful of raspberries and lots of water. I spent the rest of the day preparing food for Christmas Eve.

12/24/07 - Christmas Eve turned out fabulous. I made two salads. One salad had kale, red and yellow bell peppers, and dulse, all mixed with a little bit of cold press extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. The other salad was made up of mixed baby spring lettuces, including spinach, radicchio, and other leafy greens. I topped this salad off with dehydrated veggies such as tomatoes, cucumbers, napa cabbage and some red bell peppers. I also added sliced raw almonds, and baby portabello mushrooms and avocado slices. I made two types of dressings, mango and a basic oil and vinegar recipe from the Raw Food Coach site. Both very yummy. To add to the festive menu, I made a nut nog drink made from almonds, water and spices. This recipe I got from Frederick Patenaude. Then, for desert I created my own recipe for a raw chocolate chocolate cupcake with banana iced cream. It was truly delish and a big hit with the family! So, for what I actually ate, this is how it went.

I had a banana for breakfast, and 1/2 of a monkey bar, which unfortunately did not stay down. So you see, I couldn't eat until later in the day when we took our food over to my in-laws. When I got there is when I ate some of my salads, my nut nog, and I also ate some of the raw veggies that I brought for the family to snack on before dinner. This included cucumbers, carrots, celery and cauliflower. Then for desert I ate two of my cupcakes with the banana iced cream. The good news is the family all tasted my dishes, and enjoyed them quite a bit. The bad news is, I caved in and had 3 shots of the butterscotch schnapps with my hubby to celebrate. Oh well...overall I think I was a good girl. I did manage to drink a lot of water too. LOL...

On Christmas day, 12/25/07, I had the other half of my monkey bar from the day before. I also ate a banana. Then for lunch I had some of my kale salad, with apple slices and avocado. You see I got an apple corer, and avocado slicer from my son for Christmas, so I had to try it out. I also had another monkey bar later in the day, and then used my new travel size blender (that I also got from my son) to make a breakfast berry smoothie. Then for desert, later in the day, I had another cupcake with banana iced cream. Very yummy day. Oh, and of course, lots of water.

Today, 12/26/07, I had a 6oz berry smoothie, a 16oz raw protein shake, kale salad with avocado, and apple slices, a raw vegan bar, 2 raw cupcakes with banana iced cream - topped with raspberries, a banana, raw corn chips (hot of the dehydrator), and homemade raw guacamole...yum-yum! Oh, and I ate two dates too. That's it! That's enough! LOL.

Well, Christmas is now over, but it was truly a delight. Oh, and I also got my hair cut over the holiday weekend. It's very short, very different, but cute...I think...lol.

Have a great evening! I'll write more soon!

My daily raw for today and yesterday

Tonight I'm keeping it short, cause it's very late, and I need to get in bed. I've been pretty busy today, but very happy. The holidays always make me feel good. I enjoy the music, decorations, holiday spirit, and just the whole idea of it. I also enjoy finding or making that special gift for those who I love and care about. Also, I weighed myself tonight, and I've lost another two pounds. Plus during my exercise routine tonight, we increased the weight and reps, and added more exercises. I'm definitely getting stronger, and feeling better again. And finally, it's been two full days without my pain pills for my back. Yippee! Anyway, here's what I've eaten over the past two days.

Tuesday:
6oz Berrie smoothie (blueberries, bananas, raw protein, pineapple, water, bee pollen)
Yerba Mate tea sweetened with Stevia
Vegan Raw Bar (85% raw, 100% vegan - I think I have the ratios right)
Mixed baby spring lettuces (spinach, radicchio, leaf lettuce, red lettuce)
Crimini mushrooms, sliced almonds, sliced red, orange, and yellow bell peppers
6 Raw Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
1 piece of raw freezer fudge rolled in almonds
1 cup Green Smoothie (bananas, celery, water, green superfoods powder). Could not drink this, the green superfoods powder killed it for me.
1 banana, and 1 apple
Symfre tea
lots and lots of water to drink

Wednesday:
6oz Berrie smoothie (blueberries, bananas, raw protein, pineapple, water, bee pollen)
12oz raw protein shake (bananas, blue berries, raspberries, pineapple, blackberries, raw orange juice, raw protein, raw oats, raw almonds, water)
6 Raw Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies
Vegan Raw Bar (85% raw, 100% vegan - I think I have the ratios right)
Mixed baby spring lettuces (spinach, radicchio, leaf lettuce, red lettuce)
Crimini mushrooms, sliced almonds, sliced red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, dehydrated cucumber and tomato pieces, and dehydrated egg plant pieces. I used this to garnish my salad and add a little more flavor. Very yummy.
1 banana
lots and lots of water to drink
Oh, I did cheat today. I had two small shot glasses of Butterscotch Schnapps with my husband to celebrate receiving a bonus for Christmas...I sipped them very, very, very, very slowly...

Tonight I made raw corn chips. They are dehydrating right now. I also am dehydrating more tomatoes for my salad, and some napa cabbage. I have no idea how the cabbage will taste. We'll see.

Well, that's it for tonight. It's late and I need to go to sleep. Have a great day tomorrow!

Monday blog...

Well another day has come and gone. Today was a rather nice and peaceful day, with the exception that I feel like I over ate, and gave myself a tummy ache that lasted most of the day. But other than that, it was very nice. While working a way, I listen to beautiful Christmas music on my pc.

It was my husband's birthday today, so I let him pick the meal he wanted to eat. He chose fish, cauliflower, and rice. He ate it all and said it was delicious. Than my son and I sang "Happy Birthday to him". They ate some more of the ice cream cake I made for my son to celebrate. I enjoyed watching them enjoy the moment.

Today I made a new recipe I found on www.goneraw.com, for strawberry thumbprint cookies. They came out great, and I ate about 4 or 5 of them before they were even done in the dehydrator.

So with that, let me break down the food for the day. Well, to start out with, I ate a 6oz berry smoothie, than a 16oz raw protein shake, later I ate a raw vegan bar, then I ate my lunch - which was the remaining edame salad I had from the day before. I also ate an apple, and then another raw vegan bar, and a Larabar. I was hungry and craving something...In addition I drank yerba mate tea sweetened with stevia, and then some stevia tea to settle my stomach. It was upset from all the food I ate. Then when I got home, I had a very tall raw banana, strawberry, nut shake, with super food nutrients mixed in. That really filled me up, not to mention adding the raw cookies I made, plus the two dates I ate. I even drank a ton of water. I mean a ton! I was truly filled, packed, and uncomfortable. I can't do that anymore. Tomorrow I must be better.

Before I started blogging, I finally wrote out my Christmas Letter, so now I can send off the cards. Well, that's about it for tonight. Hope you all have a nice evening, an d a great tomorrow. Write to you soon!

- Debbie

Breakdowns...and forgiveness

I just realized it's been since Thurdsay that I posted anything. I can barely remember what I ate on Friday or even yesterday. I'm so hung up on today because I kind of brokedown today. It was my son's birthday today, and I promised him for his birthday I would take him for sushi. This is something that we absolutely love doing together. The problem is, of course, I'm raw...not just raw, I'm a vegan raw foodist now for about 122 days. I wasn't too bad. I only had about 4 pieces of a variety of sushi rolls...some rice, and some tempura...most of it was raw vegtables, and fish. I did order a plate of sashimi (raw fish) which was okay with me too. At least the majority of it was raw. I just feel bad that I ate the little bit of tempura and rice that were in the rolls I ate. Also, I made my son an icecream cake...that's what he really wanted. And, I only ate 1 spoonful of it (cause I licked the serving spoon). So, I feel like I broke down today. But I know I shouldn't beat myself up about it, but it still bothers me a lot. I know I won't break down again, cause I only did it for my son, based on a promise I made to him earlier in the Fall (before the raw food change).

Well...I'm gonna go watch a movie. I'll write more later. I still owe my daily diet for Friday, Saturday, and the remainder of today.

Be back shortly.

- Debbie

Feeling nutty on Sunday

Well, before I get started with today's adventures, I need to finish up with last night's.

Forgive me if I repeat anything...yesterday afternoon my husband and I went to a sporting goods store to look at their weight equipment. We want to replace the equipment we have since it's about due (it's very old). Then we decided to take our son, and go to our Home Owner's Association Christmas Party in the park.

Even though the ground was wet from rain (yes rain in Arizona), and it was very cold, it was still a lot of fun. I ran into some neighbors I hadn't seen in forever, and began talking to them about a variety of things. One of the ladies mentioned that her husband was on a juice fast, and that he wanted a Vitamix for Christmas. One thing led to another, and I told her about my raw lifestyle change. Her husband came over to us with another couple, and the five of us began to talk about raw food, vegans, and more. It was a lot of fun. The only problem was, during this time, my husband and son were munching on a lot of S.A.D. bad food! Even though the smell was delicious, the food had been sitting out in the cold, with lots of people handling the utensils...if you know what I mean. I'm telling you this, cause it leads to another story later that night. Well, the party was over, so we headed back to the house.

When I got home I needed to eat, so I had my raw mock tuna on iceberg lettuce, a couple of dates, an apple, and a handful of almonds, and dates, and lots and lots of water. Later that night I made another batch of the Cacao Pistachio Florentine Mint Ice cream Cookies (I know I list it differently every time I mention it - sorry), which I ate lots of pistachios in the process. I then wrapped more presents, and watched television with my husband. My son did his usual of playing World of Warcraft, and City of Heroes. Everything was fine, until we all went to bed (which was very late...I mean late...) That's when it all changed.

My son was snoozing hard, which was good. But my husband ended up having the worst indigestion ever. The pain was so bad, it made him short of breath. Tums, Zantac, even Stevia tea, did not relieve the pain. Finally around 4:30am he was able to get some relief and fell asleep. Needless to say, Sunday left him in the restroom most of the day, to make up for the night before. He realized the culprit was the food he over-ate at the park. You see, he's been trying very hard to incorporate 50% raw or more, and keep it as healthy as possible for the remainder. Even though it's okay to slip once in a while (not really), he truly over did it. It was a good experience for me, cause it reminds me of how great I'm feeling, and how important it is to stay committed to this life style change no matter what.

Today my son and I slept in (well we all three slept in, including the cat, obviously)...I woke up around 10:30am and began reading my raw mails. I joined the new raw community called www.giveittomeraw.com. It's so exciting to see familiar faces, and meet new faces in the raw community. The site is newly launched, and is growing ever so quickly. In fact, I sent many emails to friends to invite them to the community...you should to, if you're interested. It's a great site!

For breakfast I made my son and I a raw protein shake. I then took off for the mall to get my FREE pearl earrings from a new jewelry store. I'm giving them to my niece, since I can't wear posts. The earrings were actually very beautiful, and they are real (real small too...lol). I also went and purchased a few stocking stuffers for my son's Christmas, and then headed out to Sprouts to buy some last minute groceries I forgot yesterday.

When I got home I ate some more raw mock tuna on iceberg lettuce, and then ate 1/2 of the ice cream cookie I made last night. I then decided to start painting some ornaments with my son. It was fun. We kind of have a family tradition that we always make a few ornaments each year. We listen to Christmas music on my computer and painted for about an hour. After that I read some more raw mails, and then started working a little more on our family Christmas letter. I need to get it out soon, since Christmas is just around the corner.

Anyway, I didn't really eat dinner. I had planned to make a smoothie, but I as still full. So, instead I ate a bunch of nuts, 1 1/2 bananas, an apple, and about 5 flax almond crackers - some with raw nutella spread, and some with raw almond butter. And of course, lots and lots of water. I then got the urge to make raw granola. So, I created a new recipe for it, called "Everything Goes Granola". It's in the dehydrator now, so I'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow.

Well, that's it for now...I've said a mouth full! Have a great night, and a terrific week!

- Debbie

Saturday already...

Oh my gosh. I just realized I haven't blogged since Wednesday. The problem with that is, I don't quite remember what I ate on Thursday. So, I'll guess at it. I know I had a 6oz berry smoothie, and a 16oz or maybe even a 24oz raw protein shake. I'm sure I had either monkey bars, or raw vegan bars, at least one - if not two. For lunch, I believe I had the rest of the raw tuna, and some flax almond crackers with raw nutella spread, an apple, and lots of water. The thing of it is, I truly don't remember what I ate Thursday night. Oh, I remember now. I had a celery and banana smoothies for dinner. I love those...there very good. I also had the last 1/4 of the pistachio cacao Florentine mint ice cream cookie for desert.

Thursday night I exercised my back, legs, and rode the stationary bike. I also wrapped as many Christmas presents as I had wrapping paper for my son. That was fun!

Let's see, for Friday I wasn't really prepared. I did have the same morning smoothies and shakes - just not sure of the raw shake size. For lunch I had a banana, an apple, flax almond crackers with nutella spread, and 2 bars - one monkey and one raw vegan. I didn't eat the best this day, cause I forgot to prepare. But for dinner I made up for it. I made another batch of the raw mock tuna with avocado mayo, and placed it on iceberg lettuce. Yum, yum...I'm glad I ate some! And, as always lots and lots of water, and a couple of delicious dates! Oh yeah, I also ate a banana, and some more flax almond crackers with raw nutella spread.

Last night I spent more time wrapping presents, and watching t.v. with my husband. I ended up going to sleep early, because I was really, really tired. Plus my son has karate early on Saturday, and I have to make sure he's up and ready to catch his ride to class.

Today I finished putting together my sister's Christmas package to ship to her and her kids in Hawaii. I'm really excited that I was able to do that this year. I haven't been able to do something like that for her for a long time. I hope it all gets there in one piece, and that they love it, and enjoy it! Cause I definitely enjoyed finding all the items, and sending it off! I also went shopping for some of my other nieces and nephews on my husband's side. I'm almost done. It's just that they have a lot of kids...I mean a lot of kids! I hope I can also do some crafting tonight. I'm making some ornaments to give to friends and family. I also need to finish my Christmas letter to send with our Christmas cards...so much to do.

Today I had a 24oz raw protein shake, a vegan raw bar, and a banana so far. As well as plenty of water. I'll have to blog later on what else I eat for the day. Well, I need to close for now. I still want to get a little more shopping done before I settle in for day, and start crafting...I forgot to mention that I also need to make more of the delicious minty ice cream cookies we've been feasting on all week. My husband absolutely loved them, and wants me to make more. By the way, speaking of him. He is slowly but surely eating more and more raw. He is up to about 50-60% raw...more or less. He's starting to feel the difference, and really likes the feeling. The only thing bugging him is that he's losing to much weight (which he easily does), and wants to keep the bulk for muscles. He is a hard core workout fanatic. Actually he's calmed down a lot, but still lifts, and works on building his muscles. He will be 45 next week, and has a very nice body still!

Well, again, need to close for now. I could go on and on, but then I wouldn't have much to tell tonight! LOL. Have a great afternoon!

My raw Wednesday

Today was a much better day. Work was much more peaceful, and I didn't feel as blue as I have been. I ate my usual 6oz berry smoothie, and then a 24oz raw protein shake. I had nice conversations with friends and coworkers, and shared my raw creations by letting coworkers sample my lunch. For lunch I ate the raw mock tuna fish sandwiches that I made the night before, my apple, and 2 raw vegan bars, and lots of water.

When I got home, I exercised, concentrating on my arms and upper body. It was tough, since I've neglected this area for quite sometime. Afterwards my husband went with me grocery shopping...it's been a while, but it was nice for him to go with me. I made him and my son dinner when we got back, and then made a "raw" nutella spread to go with the almond flax crackers I made last night. For dinner I ate one almond flax cracker with the raw nutella spread, 1/2 of a cacao Florentine pistachio mint raw ice cream sandwich, a banana, and lots of water. Oh, and two dates. I know, I haven't had any night-time juices or green smoothies this week. I've just been too busy, and don't feel like cleaning up any more than I have to, plus I just haven't been hungry enough or in the mood. Maybe tomorrow I'll start up again. Anyway, that's it for the day. I'm cutting it short. Plus my son just scared the living bajesus out of me by sneaking up behind me and grabbing my leg. It truly startled me. You see, I'm typing my blog in a dark room...LOL...

Well, that's it. I'm going to bed. Have a great night, and a great tomorrow!

See ya!

- Deb

Making new things...

Today I was very productive, and tried to have a more positive, less depressed outlook on work, and life. For the most part I'm a pretty happy person, but I do feel blue when I'm not feeling well, or if I'm under tremendous stress...I guess that's normal for anyone. Anyway, today went well.

For breakfast I had a 6oz berry smoothie, and then a 16oz raw protein shake. I also had 1 monkey bar (or maybe 2, can remember), and a raw vegan bar. I also ate an apple, and a great tasting banana, as well as lots and lots of water. For dinner I decided to make the raw mock tuna recipe from www.goneraw.com. It was absolutely fabulous! I mean, really tasty. I'm taking some to work tomorrow to share with coworkers and friends. For desert I had a 1/4 of a piece of the Pistachio Florentine mint ice cream cookie. Very delicious, and refreshing. A perfect way to end the meal. Oh, and I ate 3 dates while cooking...

Well, that's it for now. I'll write more tomorrow. Have a great evening, and a great tomorrow!

Bye. :)