Balance

The noise of my own crunching and chewing was drowning out all other sounds.

I don't want to do this raw thing anymore. It's not so much that I can't handle it (I *do* really miss coffee though); it's more that it has made this month all about me. It's just... a little much.

If anyone's a little *much*, it would be me. I create drama out of any situation, like squeezing water from a rock. Maybe a youngest/only-type child thing? Who knows.

Grocery shopping, at least every other day, was predominantly for my mass amounts of leaves and roots. Me me me. Conversations with people were drowning in questions about raw food, the "rules", the side effects, the poo. Me me me. Outings with friends had to be somewhere near a juice bar, or where tea was available, or that served raw vegan salad/salad dressing. And who wants to tuck into a cheeseburger while their friend is eating farm animal food? My friends would eat beforehand just to avoid the situation entirely. Me me me.

And THAT is GROSS.

Balance is good! But this month of raw food served its purpose for me. My food-choice pendulum swung from one extreme (coffee sludge and melted chocolate chips on white toast) to the other (broccoli and hemp seeds) and now it has settled somewhere in the middle, a much healthier (holistic) lifestyle (grainy bread broken with friends, topped with cheese, side-saddling a colourful salad and peppered with quality conversation). You me you me.

Much better.

August 19

Oopsiedoodles.

I baked fresh bread this morning. BAD IDEA.

Yeah. Need I say more? I'll just chalk this up as a day off, and resume my crunchy hippieness tomorrow. Now, I should go and wipe off the melted honey and butter that's running down my fingers from atop my fresh slice of warm bread.

*burp*

August 18th

Wow, is it really the 18th already? Incredible! Today was a bit of a weird meal day, and not the best I've ever had but that's okay.

Breakfast

-Rooibos tea
-sliced banana mixed with pecans, cashews and pumpkin seeds, topped with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice and some agave nectar

Lunch

-slice of manna bread with almond butter
-cantaloupe
-a couple of seed/nuts/raisins balls coated in coconut

Snack

-a big soy chai tea latte

Dinner

-a big bowl of blueberries
-a big bowl of edameme beans
-raw food bar

Dessert
-a small soy chai latte (a splurge, especially two in one day)
-hunk of dried papaya

August 17th

Wow, I don't know if I can remember everything I ate today but I'll try. Today was one of those days that just about killed me. The kids are fighting nonstop. I'm pretty sure they fight in their sleep. It's so blinkin' hot out. This food might be raw going in, but it probably gets cooked in my intestines because my body is ON FIRE. This was one of those days where grocery shopping becomes extremely appealing. Hellooooo air conditioning.

Anyway, wah wah wah. I'm an idiot for complaining about my kids and the heat. Total loser. At least I admit it. Speaking of loser, here's my menu:

Breakfast

-tea
-some almonds
-dried pinapple

Snack

-green smoothie (spinach, blueberries, banana, pineapple, orange juice)
-edameme beans

Lunch

-big leafy salad of spring greens, sundried tomatoes, dates and pine nuts with a balsamic/olive oil dressing
-small slice of banana manna bread with almond butter

Snack

-iced rooibos tea with almond milk
-banana with some almond butter
-blueberries

Dinner

-collard green wraps filled with kale and cashews dipped in soy seasoning/garlic/rice vinegar/almond butter
-handful of cashews and almonds

Snack

-dried pineapple, mango and papaya
-hunk of manna bread

August 16th

Is this getting boring? Yeah, kinda. It's really helpful for me though! I just posted on my other blog about food, so check it out if you want to read something other than this: *yawn*

Breakfast

-tea
-almonds
-HUGE green smoothie (two glasses worth)... (spinach, banana, pineapple, orange juice)

Lunch

-tonnes of blueberries
-big green salad of mixed greens, kale, grated carrots and beets, and balsamic/olive oil dressing
-small slice of banana walnut manna bread

Snack

-carrots and cucumbers
-almonds
-watermelon

Dinner

-not sure what these were, but let's call them Asian rolls (sprouts, avocado and cashews stuffed into and rolled up in a big huge green collard leaf) dipped in sauce (peanut oil, soy sauce and garlic). Yummers. They dripped down my arm while I ate 'em... the classic sign of a good meal.

Dessert

-medjool date, some more watermelon

August 15th

Breakfast

-tea
-smoothie (banana, blueberries, spinach, orange juice, hemp seeds)
-handful of almonds

Lunch

-salad (greens, with leftover salsa that I made yesterday)
-handful of cashews

Snack

-cantaloupe
-iced green tea
-raw food bar

Dinner (we were at a wedding)

-salad (just plain greens and vinaigrette)
-tomatoes and onions in balsamic vinegar
-plain veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers, yellow and red peppers)
-Greek salad without the feta

Dessert (stashed in my purse)

-dried pineapple and mango and papaya

August 14th

Breakfast

-2 cups tea
-green smoothie (spinach, peach, 2 medjool dates, banana and orange juice)

Lunch

-big salad (greens, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, grapeseed oil and avocado)
-slice of date manna bread

Snack

-blackberries (picked on side of the road)

Dinner

-big salad at a restaurant (greens, pecans, cashews, figs with an olive oil dressing... YUM)

Dessert/Snack

-rooibos tea and a slice of manna bread
-2 glasses of orange juice

Thoughts

The biggest most major difference that I notice since starting this raw food thing, is that I don't have that 3 o'clock eyelids-stuck-to-my-eyeballs feeling anymore. And, I don't need as much sleep either. Before, I'd need 10 hours of sleep to feel the way I feel now with only 8 hours of sleep.

Drinking so much coffee woke me up, but it would also give me that constant cat-darting-in-front-of-my-feet feeling. My movements were always super! charged! and now I'm way more chill.

I love feeling chill. I was slothing through the Old Navy parking lot today, and I almost annoyed myself at how chill I was. Chill people used to tick me off, because I was jealous I guess. I wanted to light a fire behind their butts to see if they were really alive or not. Must stop saying chill.

Chill.

I can't even obey myself.

Anyway. So. That's the big difference, is that I'm not exhausted and needing caffeine anymore.

Today I ate less greens and I feel a difference. I feel more bloaty and blech when I load up on too many nuts and dates and stuff like that. I can certainly tell when I don't have a green smoothie, so I make sure I have one before I eat anything else. Ideally, it feels really good when I have a green smoothie, and a big green leafy salad later in the day. Those two elements are a must-have for me for sure. I'd like to keep that going forever, even when I add back my precious double tall latte and my king-size Coffee Crisp.

Oh, I must add that I still get zits. Why? Because. I don't know. I was kinda hoping that this raw food cleansing thing would free me up in the teenage face department but apparently not.

It doesn't stop me from saying "chill" though. Chill chill chill.

Chill.




Chill. Chill.



Chill.

August 13th

Breakfast

-tea with almond milk and honey
-half a Lara bar
-green smoothie (spinach, 2 peaches, apricot, frozen blueberries and a bit of orange juice)

Lunch

-other half of Lara bar
-watermelon
-2 apricots
-handful of almonds

Snack

-avocado sliced and dipped in Braggs soy seasoning
-a really small cup of soy chai tea at a coffee shop

Dinner

-2 slices of Manna bread (not technically raw, but it's made with sprouts and cooked at very low temps)
-raw corn on the cob
-2 cups of orange juice

Snack

-raw food bar (mainly dates and nuts mixed together)
-orange juice
-tea

August 12th

Breakfast

-a cup of tea with honey
-banana with almond butter
-4 dried apricots

Snack

-dried mango
-some cashews and almonds
-watermelon

Lunch

-watermelon
-raw energy bar
-grapes, blueberries, pineapple
-carrots and cucumbers

Snack

-a soy green tea latte from Starbucks (not raw, but I needed somethin' somethin')
-more dried mango

Dinner

-a big leafy salad with mixed greens and a bit of kale (last time I had kale, I had major stomach cramps... I'm a bit nervous...) with dressing (Balsamic, olive oil, garlic, salt, Braggs seasoning, and a bit of maple syrup)

Dessert

-a few of these

Snack

-half a Lara Bar and a glass of orange juice

August 11th

Today was a strange meal day in that we spent the day packing and then driving 5 hours for home, so I pretty much munched on whatever we had around. Here's the list:

Tea
Pineapple
Cantelope
Raspberries
Papaya (not very much though--it wasn't ripe enough)
Grapes (a LOT)
Avocado
Blueberries (a LOT)
Frozen edemame beans from a bag, a bit thawed while driving
An apricot
Some smoothie
A salad of iceberg, cucumbers, tomatoes, and banana peppers (from Subway)
Some raisins and a couple of glasses of orange juice when we got home

Raw Reflection

I realize that I'm not eating very much. I haven't entered my food information into a calorie counter thingie, because a) I don't care, b) I'm merely eating to stave off the discomfort of hunger and c) it's way too much work to figure all that out. There are a few things I might be accidentally leaving out, like cups of orange juice and fistfuls of raisins. I just don't want anyone getting all parental on me and worrying about caloric intake. I'm a big girl, I can handle it.

Real raw foodies would do a much better job at making sure they are eating a balanced healthy diet in order to healthfully meet the required needs for vitamins and minerals etc, but I'm cutting myself some slack because a) this is new to me and I need some time to learn, b) I'm not near home, nor am I near any sort of normal grocery store and all of my resources brought from home have quickly depleted and c) I quite enjoy the routine of eating the same yummy things (ie bananas and nuts and avocados) day in and day out.

If this moment happened to be 12:01 am on September 1st, I would consume in no particular order, a) a warm fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookie, b) a double tall latte with extra foam and c) a bag of ketchup chips.

But until then, I'll trudge along this unbeaten path towards freedom. Not really, it just sounded good.

August 10th

Breakfast

-two big mugs of tea with honey and almond milk

-bowl of chopped up sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and raisins and sliced banana drizzled with agave nectar and topped with a splash of almond milk

Snack

-strawberries and raspberries

Lunch

-a bowl of edamame

-a bowl of cherry tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

-an avocado, sliced with some salt

Snack

-smoothie (blueberries, banana, spinach and orange juice)

-a bunch of watermelon

-cup of peppermint tea

Dinner

-corn on the cob

-a big salad with spinach, sliced zucchini and strawberries with balsamic and olive oil dressing

-two coconut carob balls

Snack

-I'm loving my bananas with almond butter, so I think I'll have one of those now

August 9th

Breakfast

-mug of tea with agave nectar and almond milk

-big green smoothie (frozen blueberries, banana, chia seeds, spinach and orange juice)

Snack

-dried apricots and papaya

-carrot sticks

-apple with almond butter, agave, and coconut

Lunch

-big salad with spring greens and fresh tomatoes with a balsamic dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and pine nuts)

-raw coconut carob ball

Snack

-carrot sticks, apple slices with almond butter

Dinner

-"sushi": Stick peeled/chopped carrots, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, oil and Braggs soy seasoning and some fresh lemon juice in a food processor to make the "rice". Blob the "rice" along the edge of a seaweed paper thingie, stuff some thinly sliced avocados, cucumbers, peppers etc along the edge of the "rice" and then roll the dang thing up. Let it sit for 5 minutes then slice it up into segments. Drown it in some more soy seasoning and shove it all in your mouth and go "Mmmm!!!" (ps. everyone loved it, even the kids!!!)

Snack

-I'm full, so just some lemon tea

-got hungry later, so had a banana and a hunk of dried papaya

August 8th

Breakfast

-2 mugs of tea with almond milk and honey

-a big green smoothie made up of frozen blueberries, a banana, spinach and orange juice

Lunch

-1/4 of a watermelon

-a big ol' salad made with bean sprouts and field greens with an asian dressing (Braggs Soy Seasoning, raw almond butter, half a clove of garlic, a tablespoon of ginger and some cashews)

Snack

-tropical smoothie (coconut milk, banana, pineapple and orange juice)

-2 coconut carob balls

-1/4 watermelon

Dinner (I didn't have much of an appetite for dinner so it was pretty bland and smallish)

-banana pudding (banana, cashews and coconut milk mixed in blender) topped with ground nuts, raisins and coconut meal (I couldn't eat it all so I put the rest in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow)

-a fistful of raisins

Snack

-bowlful of frozen edamame pods

-tea

-on my way downstairs for a bowl of pineapple

August 7th

Breakfast

-cup of tea sweetened with a bit of almond milk and raw honey

-bowl of ground up raw cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and walnuts, chopped dried apricot, a spoonful of coconut and a splash of almond milk with a drizzle of agave nectar

Snack

-carrot sticks, a bunch of green grapes, and some cantelope (it says the spelling is supposed to be cantaloup, but it looks weird to me)

-a coconut carob ball

Lunch (not much because Carmen and I had gone shopping during lunchtime)

-half of a raw food bar (can't find the link)

-banana

-handful of raisins

-mug of tea

Dinner

-HUGE taco-ish salad made up of: spring greens, tomatoes and avocado with a dressing of: cilantro, garlic, Braggs seasoning, avocado, jalepeno pepper, and lime juice

Dessert

-hunk of dried papaya

-2 coconut carob balls

Snack

-banana split: smeared with raw almond butter and sprinkled with raisins

-mug of tea