Great Green Smoothie Day!

I have had a great green smoothie day! They really make me feel so good! For breakfast I had a mango, banana, spinach smoothie -- just add ice and a little water and blend in the VitaMix. Then for lunch I had a Thai green soup from Victoria Boutenko's book Green Smoothie Revolution. Both were very yummy. I am hoping all those live greens will help me work out some of this muscle soreness. My poor quads and hamstrings are aching from boot camp.

I also found a really good website today for those of you who are trying to keep track of your calories. It is www.caloriecount.about.com -- I really like it because it also gives you an analysis of carbs, protein, and fats as well as the nutrients you have consumed over the day. That is really important for me because of my calcium issues, and this way I can see exactly how much dietary calcium I am getting. Check it out.

On a totally separate note, I have to get on my soap box for a moment. I have been reading about the Texas Board of Education's decision to change our history textbooks in order to rescue their language from liberal academia. How RIDICULOUS! This is the 2010 version of burning the books we don't want our teens to read. I never knew it was such a shame to be educated about capitalism, imperialism, and the consequences of how we have chosen to live. How will we ever learn from the past if we can't own up to the present?

What my food looks like

Let me be the first to say, I am NOT a chef. I am a regular person preparing raw foods in my home for my family. Oftentimes, dinner preparation in my house involves Emma peeling carrots, Jake chopping onions (he is the only one who doesn't cry) and me chopping other vegetables, using the Vitamix, or the food processor. Phillip is usually chasing the dogs through the kitchen with his hot wheels. It gets crowded and sometimes tempers flare if Phillip accidentally rams the car into someone's toe or one of the dogs gets too excited and jumps on someone. There may even be tears and/or yelling in my kitchen during meal preparation.

That being said, I am always surprised how most of what we prepare turns out beautifully! My ordinary, everyday kitchen, with mail piled on the countertop and trash that desperately needs to be taken out can still produce some of the most colorful, tasty, and healthy food that I have ever put in my mouth! I love the way our food looks and smells.

These pictures are from my dinner tonight. I made "raw family green soup" from Victoria Boutenko's book, Green Smoothie Revolution. It has chard, celery, parsley, lemon juice, water and avocado in it. As she suggested, I topped it with some grated carrots, dulse leaves, and sprouts. I attached pictures of the soup before blending and after I put it in the bowl. Believe me, if I can do this, ANYONE can do this. It is so easy! Victoria's books have been a life line for me!

I also made the kids a smoothie out of butter lettuce, pears, blueberries, water and ice. I didn't think they would like it, but they drank it all without complaint. I did not include a picture of it because it was gone before I could snap a picture. I adapted this smoothie from the same book. Boutenko users miner's lettuce, but I did not have any (nor do I know where I can find any around here).

I was also having a major craving for some chocolate. I think I mentioned in a previous blog that I have a sweet tooth, so I made some raw brownies to LIVE for! The recipe was from the book Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet. I think they took about 10 minutes max from the time I opened the recipe page until I put a brownie in my mouth. If you are just starting to enjoy raw foods I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed this book! They are so good! Jake and Emma LOVE them! There is a picture of what remains of the brownies.

What's for Dinner?

As you all know, my family has been trying some raw foods (mostly smoothies and desserts, which they all love), but I am also still cooking for them.  Tonight when I made my dinner I made extra.  I put a little bit of their normal cooked food on their plates, and a little bit of my raw food on their plates.  I told them they did not have to like it, but that I did want them to at least try it.

Since I just devoured Victoria Boutenko's book Twelve Steps to Raw Foods, I tried out some of her recipes.  We had Live Garden Burgers, Live Fries, and Tomato Basil Sauce.

Emma helped me make the Live Garden Burgers so she really liked them.  Jake did not care for the texture, but liked the taste, and Phillip ate it all without complaint (I was shocked since he is my pickiest eater).  The Live Fries were a hit for the whole family.  Wayne did not eat any cooked food at all.  He even said that he would not mind having this dinner again.  He said he was surprised because he felt comfortably full and did not feel like he had just eaten "rabbit food" at all.  He also liked the clean feeling and taste of the Live Fries and sauce.

The meal was really good!  In all honesty Jake was right, the texture of the burgers was a little off, but that is my fault - I ground the nuts a little too much.  However, I have made a note of it and next time I will know better.  You should check out Victoria Boutenko's website:  www.rawfamily.com.  You can read about her journey and order her books from the site.

On another note, I am glad it is Friday!  I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with my family and friends.  A friend of ours, Matt, will be in town and is going to try the raw restaurant with us.  The name of it is Bliss.  Matt is not a raw foodist, but is willing to humor me, so it will be interesting to see what he thinks of it.  We are also going to visit the art museum.  Wayne and I are looking forward to catching up with him.  Fine art, fine food, fine friends and fine family -- what more could I ask for?