Raw food menu for today

Thought I would post a menu of what I ate today because it seems like I have been receiving a lot of inquiries lately regarding what I eat on a daily basis. This morning I had a liter of green smoothie -- spinach, orange, banana, mango. Mid morning I had a bowl of mixed fruit. Today for lunch I had a delicious sprout salad from Whole Foods. It had sunflower, red lentil, white lentil, and some other kind of sprouts. If you have never had lentil sprouts, they are very tasty! They are a bit spicy and add great flavor. The kids and I ate some heirloom organic navel oranges for afternoon snack. YUMMY! For dinner I had a green leaf salad with dried cranberries and apple cider vinegar dressing and a banana. I feel so energized! I know it sounds weird, but eating this way makes me feel clean. My mouth feels clean, and I do not feel heavy or sluggish. I don't know how else to explain it. I remember when I ate a SAD diet I felt so full after eating meal and then I would be so tired, especially after lunch. Now, I feel revitalized every time I put something in my mouth.

Tomorrow I am going to go hear a raw food guru speak in downtown Dallas, Paul Nison. I am pretty excited about hearing what he has to say. You might be interested in checking out his website at www.rawlife.com. I know I promised a pic from the raw food meetup, but I can't get my pic to download properly. I will work on it and try and get it on here in the next couple of days. Here is a pic of me with my new (kinda funky) red hair.

3 days to go til Bahamas!

Sharing Dreams and Dreaming Visions

It has been a very good weekend. Friday night Wayne and I went to a vegan Indian restaurant in Dallas with some very good friends of ours. The food was great, and the company was wonderful! Have you ever had the type of friends with whom you just feel connected? These were those type of friends. It doesn't matter how long it has been since we have seen them, we are always just able to pick up where we left off. They accept you for who you are and there is nothing false or forced about being with them. We shared dreams and dreamed visions together so I have quite a list of things to do on my list for this week.

Saturday Emma had choir practice, Phillip had a soccer game, and Jake took an archery class. I got my hair done and became a red head. One of my high school friends told me "red in the head, better in bed." I'm not sure about the truth behind it, but it might be fun to experiment (ha! ha!). It is good to have a change. I like having a little spice in my life.

Speaking of spice, tonight Emma and I went to a raw food meetup. It was very nice and the food was outstanding -- I will post a pic tomorrow. I made raw pizza and raw "almost oatmeal" cookies from my Raw Revolution Diet recipe book. They were both a hit. Someone else made pina colada "cheesecake" (the cheese is actually made from cashews, not milk -- no animal products in it). YUM! My other favorite dish had zucchini and some kind of tomato sauce. We also had nettle soup (I had never had nettle before, so it was interesting and yummy), several different types of salads, and some organic blood oranges. It was fun to see everyone.

My Grocery Cart

I went to Whole Foods today -- just a quick trip through the grocery. Here's what was in my cart: kale, large bag of spinach, 2 large bunches of bananas, 12 heirloom navel oranges (yum! -- that was dessert), a dozen "Go Raw!" bars, potatoes (Jake and Emma love baked potatoes for lunch), and gluten free vegan cookies for Phillip's lunch box. Oh yes, and a few half gallons of Almond milk. The cashier said, "you sure do like almond milk, huh?" Then he asked, "Do you just use it like regular milk or only in smoothies?" I told him I use it just like milk -- on cereal, in smoothies, to make ice cream, making the kids macaroni and cheese, anything that calls for regular milk -- I just use almond milk. He asked, "Does it taste good?" I wanted to say, "No, it is really nasty," but I swallowed that thought and told him that it did taste good and that it took my children 2 weeks to even notice that they weren't drinking regular milk. He seemed impressed and said that I sold him on it, that he would definitely try it.

Speaking of trying new things I am getting the itch to change something. I made a hair appointment for Saturday so Wayne is worried that I will come home bald. It seems like every time I go to get a trim I have much less hair when I come home than when I left. I like change and I like to keep him guessing, so no telling what I will come home looking like. I like to see him sweat.

Tomorrow I see the urologist for a check up -- I am expecting great news!

Summer smoothies, swimming, and bikinis

Today it was warm again, but kinda rainy all day so we couldn't go to the park. Having a summer smoothie was the next best thing. We broke out some fruit we had frozen from the summer and made some wonderful freestone peach, blueberry, banana, spinach smoothies. They were very good and it was a nice treat to have some "summer" fruit.

Jake and Emma started swimming lessons today. They swim competitively in the summer and take lessons during the school year to keep up their skills, but last semester they took a break from swimming. When Emma went to put on her bathing suit it barely fit! I didn't realize how much she had grown in just a few months, but we got out the measuring stick and she has grown about three inches. Jake has passed me already, and Emma is close behind. Pretty soon I will officially be the shortest person in my family, which is saying a lot because I am not short. I am 5'9". It is strange to think of myself as being the shortest. They are growing up right before my eyes.

All of that thinking of Emma needing a new suit made me start thinking about the Bahamas. Good thing, because I hadn't even thought about trying on my bathing suit. I dug the bathing suits from last year out of my drawer and tried them on and they were way too big! This is definitely a blessing, but the curse is that I have to find a bathing suit I can wear in the next nine days. Let the great bathing suit hunt begin! Maybe, just maybe, I will be brave enough to wear a bikini this year. Wish me luck!

Wonderful Day!

Today was an absolutely GORGEOUS day in my "neck of the woods" (as Al Roker would say). It was 73 degrees and partly sunny with a nice breeze. After school today we headed to the park for some soccer and playground time, we even took the dogs. I don't know who liked it more the kids, the dogs, or me. It is hard to believe that two weeks ago it was 11 degrees. It made me hungry for spring to be here!

The day started out wonderful and stayed wonderful. I drank a liter of green smoothie this morning. It was kale, mango, banana, orange, and was it ever good! Later I had a Go Raw! bar. I also ate lots of fresh fruit and finished the day off with a large salad. I am considering making a batch of raw brownies this evening. It has been a while since I made some and they just sound so good!

At the end of next week my mom and dad are coming for a short visit and to stay with the kids while Wayne and I go to the Bahamas. We have had this planned for a while, but it just finally seemed real today. I am starting to get pretty excited! It is going to be a quick trip, only four days, but it will be a wonderful four days. Wayne and I are really making an effort to spend some adult time together as a couple. I think every marriage needs that. It gives us a chance to remember how much we like and love each other, a chance to remember why we fell in love with each other in the first place. Not that I have forgotten, but it will still be lots of fun to remember. :)

my core raw foods

I was on another raw food website today where someone had posted that every raw fooder should have 15 - 20 core items that they eat on a regular basis. I had so much fun reading everyones' responses. It gave me ideas about what new things I might consider adding to my diet. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy reading some of the things I usually always have on hand: 1. trail mix (I like mine with several different kinds of nuts and seeds, gogi berries, apple sweetened dried sour cherries or cranberries) 2. salads with LOTS of colorful veggies (red and yellow peppers, cucumbers, radish carrots, avocado, sprouts, and I even like nuts and dried fruit on them) 3. Green smoothies EVERY DAY -- LOTS! 4. Fruit salad 5. Nut butter with an apple 6. raw vegetable "sushi" 7. raw "spring rolls" 8. zucchini pasta with raw "tomato sauce" 9. Go Raw! bars 10. Hail Merry Chocolate tart 11. veggies with dip 12. raw date cookies 13. home made guacamole with yellow squash "chips" 14. raw taco lettuce wraps 15. young coconut mixed with almost any kind of fruit 16. almond milk 17. cucumbers, red onions, apple cider vinegar (with the mother), and fresh dill 18. green juice 19. kale (love it!)

Back in the Raw!

The holidays proved to be a pretty difficult time to stay high raw. Like many of you, I struggled to stay on my high raw diet. My body definitely felt the difference. While I still ate healthy and vegetarian, I was tempted by the cheese and the sweets. Needless to say, my percentage of raw foods dropped significantly. I felt it in my energy level, my skin blemishes, and bloating. There have been so many times in my past where I broke a diet thinking it would be just for a night or a week. If you are like me, it is easy to get stuck in a cycle of "eat bad, feel bad, rationalize that you have already blown the diet, eat more, feel even worse, rationalize..." I did not want to get stuck in the SAD rut. However a raw food diet is not the typical diet.

I found other diets were hard for me to maintain because I did not feel very good while I was doing them. I tried many ways to lose weight in my past, including The Zone, The South Beach Diet, Slimfast, and yes, even Atkins (I am ashamed to admit some of those, but it is the truth). Desperate people do desperate things. Anyway, all of theses diets made me cranky, hungry, and tired. My skin did not improve, either. However, a raw diet is completely different. Although I thought I wanted some of our traditional goodies, once I ate them I could immediately feel the difference in my body. I longed for my green smoothies! I was able to rationalize that if I did not like the way my food was making me feel, "the only way to get out is to change." And this time I knew exactly what would help me feel better! The last few weeks I have been revving up my raw diet again and kicking it into gear.

This morning I noticed my energy level has returned, my stomach is flat again, and my skin is clear. It is amazing to me how quickly and efficiently the body can work when we don't obstruct it. I am very glad to be back in the raw! The five pounds I gained are history and I learned that sweet and creamy didn't taste near as good as I thought it would.

Better than ever!

I have been thinking about my health journey a lot lately. I guess it is because more and more people are starting to ask me about it. Why exactly did I decide to go raw? After two years of being sick, and about 4 years of just not feeling like "me," I got tired. I was fed up with feeling lousy all of the time. When my calcium issues began it drastically changed my life. I was tired all of the time, got sick very easily, took handfuls of medicine, was gloomy all of the time, not to mention the real physical symptoms of my arms, legs, and face tingling and going numb. I did everything the doctors told me to do. I took all of my meds like I was told. I completely changed my diet like they advised -- eliminating phosphate almost completely (this left me eating a lot of white rice and sourdough bread). I was open with my doctors about feeling alienated from my body and emotions, and they told me to be patient. I was tired of being patient. I was tired a patient. I felt like I was just watching life pass me by. My life was ruled by lab visits and doctors appointments.

One day something just clicked and I knew if I was ever going to be better I needed to take control of my health. I was missing out on my children, my husband, and life in general. It was just chance that I happened to see a personal interest news story about a woman with breast cancer who went into remission after going to a raw food resort and clinic in Florida. Honestly, I decided I would try it, I never in a million years thought it would change my life the way it has. My rationale was that trying it at least gave me a sense of empowerment. I felt like I was doing something for me. Even if it didn't help, it was something I could do on my own, and surely the doctors couldn't criticize me for eating healthy.

In short, I decided to eat raw purely out of desperation. Hope was beginning to fade from my vocabulary as my health issues seemed more and more like they were going to be permanent and need constant monitoring. I had given all of my power away to the experts. I had been hoping they would "fix" me. They were doing their best, but my body just wasn't responding. It wasn't that the doctors weren't trying, they really were. They were relying on science and when science didn't respond they didn't know whet else to do, but something deep inside of me did. You cannot imagine how many times I have given thanks for seeing the ten o'clock news that night. Now, I feel like the "new and improved me." Raw food has given me my life back, and things are better than ever!

Laundry Warrior

We resumed our home school cooking program tonight. Emma made home made vegetable minestrone. She and Jake had their braces tightened this morning so were in the mood for soft food. I sampled it, and must say that it was very good! We had a little ingredients mishap, but recovered nicely. She was supposed to have a can of diced tomatoes, but we did not have any. Instead we added some tomato sauce, some sun-dried tomato paste, and diced some fresh tomatoes -- it was a very tasty substitution. Phillip was claiming he wasn't going to eat it and that he didn't like soup with vegetables in it the entire time Emma was preparing it, but he ate almost all of it. I gave her meal a 4.5/5. (She wanted to make sure I was going to post her picture, too!)

I made some delicious juices today, too! This morning I had spinach, carrot, and apple juice (1 red delicious and 1 granny smith). Later this afternoon I made kale, pineapple, cantaloupe, kiwi, grape. I had all the fruit left over from a fruit salad I made earlier this week so I just threw it all into the juicer. It is amazing to me how filling juice can be.

I have had lots of energy today thanks to all of my juices -- they have enabled me to be the "laundry warrior." I must have done 15 loads of laundry today. Seriously, I do not know how that much laundry creeps up on me! I wonder if I am the only mom who must do laundry marathons so that her hildren will have something to wear tomorrow.

Loving Life

I did not fall off the face of the earth this weekend, thing have just been crazy busy! They are starting to settle down a little bit, but the next few weeks are a little busier than usual.

We were driving down the street today and Jake looks and me and asks, "Mom, can we read more of The Inferno today?" Need I say more? His words were music to my ears! This weekend he finished the last of the series The Chronicles of Narnia, too. Tonight he was searching amazon.com for another book or book series to read in his free time (We read a book together, like The Inferno, as a part of school, but the kids also have a book of their choosing to read on their own.) If you have any suggestions for an almost 13 year old boy, please let me know. I sent him to bed with The Pearl and Bless the Beasts and the Children. We'll see which one he chooses.

Yesterday I took Jake and Emma to see Bodies, The Exhibit in Dallas. If you haven't heard of this, it is an exhibit of real human bodies that have been dissected and then coated with a polymer. The bodies are "posed" like they are throwing frisbees, giving a high-five, etc., and you can walk around them 360 degrees. In addition they have individual body parts as well like lung, the hear, the kidneys and CT scans. The exhibit is spectacular! I took gross anatomy in college, but this was even better. Maybe that is partly because I don't have the stress of actually doing the dissections or making the grade, but it was also because the bodies weren't laying on platform and they were displayed in different planes. Jake and Emma had the "gross factor" at first, but they warmed up quickly and I they ended up really enjoying it! The room that showed fetal development was their favorite. If you get the chance to see this exhibit, I think it is in several cities, GO!

The exhibit was really aimed at promoting health as well. It showed diseased hearts, arteries, etc., and had displays about smoking, drugs, alcohol, and fat. I couldn't help but thinking that less than a year ago I was 40 pounds heavier than I am right now. I feel very blessed to be healthy now. I feel very blessed to have found the raw food lifestyle. It has literally changed my life, and maybe even saved it!

E.R. Adventures and Cooking with Jake

Wayne and I decided to have a date night tonight. We went to see Avatar at the I-Max. We have already seen the movie once, but not in I-Max. Of course, you can tell that we like the movie. I have heard some say the graphics are awesome but the plot a bit shallow. I did not think that. I likes the plot and the graphics which were, by the way, AWESOME (and I am not a graphics person, believe me). Anyway, we got to the movies and watched all the previews and then Wayne got a phone call from his brother. He didn't answer it, but his brother just called right back and Wayne decided he better answer it. Turns out Wayne's mom fell and dislocated her hip (she has had 2 hip replacements in the past, and presently has a broken foot) and they were waiting on the ambulance to arrive. Needless to say, we did not get to see the movie. We left for the hospital immediately.

We actually beat the ambulance to the hospital, but they were not far behind. She was in a good deal of pain and popping it back in was pretty tricky because she did such a good job dislocating it. They gave her lots of pain medicine and then about twelve people manipulated her for quite some time before they got it to go back in. Luckily, she was pretty much out of it. When it was all over she didn't remember a thing even though she was awake. I told her it was too bad because she had 4 or 5 good-looking young paramedics in the bed with her. That part is true, they were actually standing on the bed trying to manipulate her hip back into the socket. She is going to be a bit sore for a while, but they will release her later on tonight.

So we had an adventuresome night! Not exactly what we planned, but I am so glad she is going to be okay. It is a little scary whenever a loved one is injured, and my poor husband and his brother are a bit wimpy when it comes to stuff like that. No one likes to hear their mama screaming. Their instinct is to look away and not touch, even though they wouldn't be anywhere else. Mine is to hold her hand and get her warm blankets. I am glad we were able to be there for her.

On another note, it was Jake's turn to cook tonight for he and Emma and Phillip. He made vegetarian chili covered baked potatoes. He gave himself a 5 out of 5, and Emma gave him a 4 out of five. He did a great job, even though he would not wear an apron and I had to bribe him to let me take his picture cooking. We discovered Jake has my knack for crying at the first slice of an onion (Wayne hardly ever cries). He ended up dry chopping the onion in the Vita-Mix (Gosh, I love that machine!) so we didn't drown one another out of the kitchen. The chili made the house smell very good, but I took his word that it tasted good. He was very proud of, and possibly even impressed with, himself.

By the way, Wayne is doing good on his renewed raw vegan diet, despite all of the cooking going on in my house. I am proud of him.

Home School: Emma's Adventures in Vegetarian Cooking

As most of you know, I eat a high raw diet. Wayne is trying to a high raw diet, and most nights I prepare two meals. One for me (and sometimes Wayne), and one for the rest of the family. This requires lots of planning, is sometimes tiresome, and can be tempting. I want my children to be healthy. I do not want to force them to be raw vegans, I want that to be their choice. So I came up with a plan to help me and teach them.

Yesterday I had Jake and Emma go through some vegetarian recipes and each choose three recipes they wanted to try. They were responsible checking the recipe list and we went to the grocery store where they had to find all of the ingredients they needed. Today was Emma's turn to prepare dinner. She made vegetable pasta. All of the kids like it. She gave herself a five on scale of 5 (with 5 being the best), and Jake gave her a 4. Not bad. Phillip ate it all, so that is really saying something. Emma was very impressed with herself.

She was so funny. She had to pick out an apron to wear while she cooked. My grandmother made aprons for me and I have a lot to choose from. Tomorrow is Jake's turn -- he is making veggie chili and baked potatoes. It worked out very well because tonight Emma cooked, so Jake did the dishes.

Having them cook for one another is GREAT for many reasons: 1)they learn to follow directions 2) math is in all the measurements 3) they see how much food costs (At the grocery store Jake said, "I can't believe all of this food is just for a few meals!") 4) They learn to cook and eat healthy and, 5) It is a big help for me! This way I can prepare a raw meal for Wayne and I without having to make two meals at once.

Stress Test -- he passed!

My dad's stress test went very well today! I am so glad. It really is a relief to know. I mentioned before that my dad had a heart attack at a young age. His father had multiple heart attacks, the first at a young age. This knowledge was not part of my switch to a raw diet because I had so many other health problems -- I wasn't even thinking about my heart. However, I do worry about my brothers. I hope they are aware of the increased risk since they run in our family. I know they know about the risk (technically), but being aware of it is a different thing all together. Being aware of the increased risk requires one's attention and vigilance, not, "One hamburger a week won't matter." I love them and want them around for a long while.

Speaking of loving someone and wanting them around, I spoke with Wayne about my concern for him. Since Thanksgiving he has been gradually wandering away from the healthy lifestyle he had adopted. A few cookies here, some holiday ham there, a few drinks at the party started to become, "can you brig home some of that from the grocery." I wasn't sure how he would take it, but when I mentioned it to him he was glad. He said he had really noticed a difference in how he looks and feels and is ready to get back to a healthy lifestyle again. He just needed a little push. It is so easy to get sucked back into a SAD diet. I am glad he is willing to make positive changes.

The kids and I started reading Dante's Inferno today. I had forgotten how much I like it. We have been through the first circle of Hell -- they were surprised to find out that Dante thought angels were there, existing side by side with all the people who sat on the fence. Jake didn't think that was very fair. He said, "But they didn't do anything wrong." I reminded him they didn't do anything right either, in fact, they didn't do anything at all. We had a great discussion about what makes a person virtuous.

In raw food news, I am really getting into this juicing thing! This morning I made juice out of two apples, 2 carrots, a handful of raspberries, a handful of blackberries, and two handfuls of spinach. Jake and Emma said it looked diarrhea, but thought it tasted delicious.

Staying enthusiastic, warm, and healthy!

Today was much better than yesterday -- thank you, God! We actually had a very good day. We spent most of the day at the library talking medieval art and the Greek Zodiac. Jake is learning about it in Latin and has become really interested in why they developed it. He has been studying the constellations and the Greek mythology behind the Zodiac. His enthusiasm has caught on with Emma, too. It is all good for me because I like to see them when their little light bulbs get turned on and I get see their enthusiasm for learning. Also, negative numbers are coming along much better.

On another note, it is so cold here! Texas is not supposed to be this cold -- mother nature obviously did not get the memo. Thursday it is going to be in the low teens. I got some UGGS for Christmas (I know, they are so ugly, but they are so WARM), and I refuse to take them off at this point. I think I will be sleeping in them tonight. I like them more than I ever would have imagined!

My green smoothie was YUMMY this morning! Kale, 2 apples, a handful of raspberries and a handful of blackberries. The color of it was not so pretty, but it was delicious. I just put it in a red cup so I couldn't see it. I also made the kids a smoothie that they thought was "the Bomb." It had a small carton of Naked's Green Machine, 2 Granny Smith apples (core, peel, and all), 2 carrots, and a small tomato. They loved it! It is nice to be back in my regular routine.

Monday

It is has been a rough Monday for me. The morning went okay and everything seemed to going well, but it quickly deteriorated from there. We started back to school today and the kids seemed to be moving at the pace of frozen slugs. I became very frustrated with them and just had to take a break from them for a few minutes. Jake is trying to understand negative numbers and had reached his max. Emma was trying to get away with doing as little as possible. I felt used and abused. Jake was telling me that I didn't understand the problem and did the same problem wrong five times before he would listen to me. Emma had to repeat her Grammar lesson on outlining 3 times because she was trying her best to learn outlining without actually doing an outline. FRUSTRATING!

I think what was most frustrating to me is that I had such big plans and new ideas for school today and they just didn't happen the way I had pictured in my mind. Funny how that happens sometimes. Then I was frustrated with myself for being so frustrated with them. Oh well, there is always tomorrow. I will recharge tonight and we will all try again tomorrow.

My dad also went to his cardiologist for a check up today and found out that things were not as good as he hoped. While it is nothing serious, it is a reality check that every little thing we do (or don't do) can effect our lives. The holidays were not kind to his diet -- a little too much bread with butter, pies, ham, and sweets for him. Under normal circumstances he eats pretty well (thanks to my mom mostly), but during the holidays it is easy to get caught up in the, "I'll just have a little bit of this and since I don't do it that often, it won't matter that much." I even found myself getting caught up in the holiday diet cheating. The fact is a consistent diet full of lots of fresh fruits and veggies is what our bodies need, and a little cheating can get out of hand very quickly. My dad had a heart attack a few years back and a anything other than a stellar doctor's report makes me a little nervous. He is having a stress test on Wednesday, so I will rest easier after that is over and we get the results.

On top of his not so stellar report from the cardiologist, he also found out that the pain he has been having in his back is the shingles. He really does seem to be fine, but I cannot help worrying about him. I want to tell him, "RAW, RAW, RAW," but I know that is something he will have to decide on his own, and that it is not for everyone. I just want him to healthy and to be around for a very long time! My best witness for the raw food lifestyle is to be an example, the rest he will have to decide. I just want him to know I love him very much! I want all of my loved ones to be healthy and happy!!!

So anyway, Monday is almost over and boy, am I glad! Tomorrow is a new day -- it will be better.