The One Month RAW Challenge [Archive] - The Master Cleanse / Raw Food Bulletin Board

Res

April 2nd, 2007, 08:17 PM

Skinny: Yup, this is going to be fun, exciting and educational for all of us. I'm looking forward to it. We're entering that time of year where fresh food abounds. I'm kinda thinking I'll be going crazy over mango smoothies for breakfast. I can eat a mango day or night - I just love em! :)

I made almond butter today in my Vitamix: the almonds have less oil than peanuts so I had to add a bit of olive oil. It turned out great. :)

A dehydrator is pretty nifty: Check out Excalibur Dehydrators. You can use it to dry all kinds of things, fruits, veggies, yogurt (like roll ups) and make food that you can cart around as snacks and meals.

Teri: So if your Vitamix and Dehydrators are on the way you should be in position by the time we kick this thing off! :D

It will be a committment similar to the cleanse, but the fun part is you get to eat! :) Plus the recipes in the Lemonhead recipe box and After the Cleanse threads are so doable. This will give us all an opportunity to go through those recipes and either try them for the first time or do it again. Yay! :D

There's a Raw Apple Pie in there that I love. I've made it for years. It's so easy and tasty. Mtmouse made a banana cream pie and said it was great. She's eating raw dehydrated pizza. If you haven't seen the picture you should go check it out. The thing looks amazing. You can freeze them or refrigerate them for eating at a later day.

Gosh I'm dead tired. Gonna get going for now.

Hey Peanut!! I see you lurking in the Foodie threads! Thought you banned yourself. :p lol *hug* You should be just about done by the time we start this thing. It will be fun to have you along for the ride! :D

Love to all,
~Res

kiropa

April 3rd, 2007, 09:29 AM

i'm in! been raw since the end of my 31-day cleanse of feb/march. raw truly rocks. i have never felt better in my life -- light with good digestion.

to some, please don't be deterred by not having the gadgets. all i have is a food processor & $30 blender & a $15 spiralizer and i've made TONS of awesome meals.

my fav is cauliflower cous cous. brought it to passover seder last night & it was a HUGE hit.

Ginger

April 4th, 2007, 11:34 PM

angelica

April 5th, 2007, 11:30 AM

This sounds like a great idea! Kiropa, can you tell me what a spiralizer is? I don't have a dehydrator, and I don't know that I could really afford one right now, but I don't want that to deter me from taking on the one month challenge. :D

starz

April 5th, 2007, 03:21 PM

Wow, you must be in tune with me. Since I finished my second 10 day cleanse on March 29th, I have been eating raw! I was looking at the books on-line but couldn't decide. I need some recipes. Any suggestions? So far I am just eating salads and munching on vegetables. I am in school and working full-time so don't have a lot of time to prepare food.

Thanks for all your wonderful support. I could have never done the cleanses without you! I am on my way to being a new person.

Gratefully,
Starz

Res

April 5th, 2007, 08:14 PM

A resource that gets bypassed quite easily is the LemonHead Recipe box (and the *After the cleanse thread has a lot of recipes). There are a LOT of no brainer recipes posted there. Really all you need is a blender and food processor. The other gadgets are just "convenient" but shouldn't deter you from taking the 30 day challenge.

Tonight I had stir fried (in olive oil) swiss chard with tahini, soy sauce and raw cashews. It was delicious but I was trying to figure out how to eat it raw. There will be challenges and it will be different (cooked food is such a comfort) but it will be another ~WILD RIDE~ that I wouldn't miss for any reason. ;)

I figure if anyone can drink lemonade for 10 days without cheating we can certainly eat raw food for 30 days and live to tell about it! :p

Some of us are starting in a week or so. Jump on board when you can. It's an ADVENTURE! :D

Love,
~Res

mershwista

April 10th, 2007, 11:26 PM

Ooooh, I love raw...I'm about 80% at the moment, and I was 100% for a while, but it got rather expensive and inconvenient. But best of luck to all of you who are participating!

Ginger

April 14th, 2007, 08:32 PM

I am totally clueles. Where do I get seeds for sprouting?

mtmouse

April 15th, 2007, 01:40 AM

Wow, you guys! I just found this thread! :o

And I'm going to die if my Costco had a Vitamix sale and I missed it! Ack! Ack! Ack! I even looked the last time I was there, but I didn't ask.

Res, did you ever answer the question in another thread that asked about the differences in the Vitamix models? Like if it's really important to get the more expensive ones?

Today I was going to make a spinach/watermelon smoothie for breakfast, but I scarfed the watermelon first, LOL. Then I remembered I was going to do "wheatmeal" cereal (sprouted wheat berries, processed with apple and agave), so I had that too.

And then for lunch I did indeed have my sprouted wheat bagels, mac nut cream cheese, tomatoes, and broccoli sprouts. It was delicious!

And for dinner I was making a curry for DH, so I decided to try Cohen's curry sauce for the carrot-pecan burgers (which I had already made and in the fridge). Another winner!

I've also enjoyed some chocolate fudge and then bananas and nuts with TeePee's DIVINE chocolate sauce! (Can you tell I'm into chocolate, LOL?)

But I am already feeling so centered, so satisfied, so very happy with how I'm eating! I'm really happy we're doing this.

And in the other thread I posted my weight, but I'll post it here, because it's more applicable here. I started yesterday at 165. I'm going to weigh every morning but only report the weekly average, which I think is a better way to track weight and which "irons out" unpredictable ups and downs. Hoping to lose 5-8 pounds during the challenge (and hoping to continue that downward trend afterward, too).

Glad to be here, and hope to hear from all of you regularly!

http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/dance007.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

mtmouse

April 15th, 2007, 01:54 AM

Oh yeah, I forgot to say: I made a new batch of toona today, and now that I know it freezes well I went ahead and made the whole recipe for the first time. I then froze half.

When I do make it and eat a lot of it over time I get kind of tired of it, so I'm always amazed when I make it again how absolutely great it tastes! It is SO good!

peanutterb

April 15th, 2007, 10:40 AM

mmmm toona

Ginger

April 15th, 2007, 10:41 AM

Talk about inspiration for going raw...Check out these before and afters:
http://www.beautifulonraw.com/html/transformation.html

Still looking for an answer as to where to get seeds for sprouting.

mershwista

April 15th, 2007, 10:43 AM

I am totally clueles. Where do I get seeds for sprouting?

You can sprout all sorts of things that you may not have even considered...when I can't get up to the health food store to buy things like alfalfa seeds or radish seeds in bulk, I purchase dry grains and seeds that will sprout. I've managed to sprout dry chick peas, lentils, soybeans, etc. that I purchased in bags at the regular grocery store.

peanutterb

April 15th, 2007, 10:51 AM

wanted to repost these awesome links that are in the newbies thread to help you guys out

Raw Food FAQ
http://therawfoodsite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2150

Raw food websites:
http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/RawRecipes.htm (http://www.loloville.com/rawfoodrecipes.htmhttp://www.fromsadtoraw.com/RawRecipes.htm)
http://www.shazzie.com/raw/recipes/
http://www.rawbc.org/
http://freedomsrawrecipes.blogspot.com/
http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/list.php?4 (http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/list.php?4)(online community)
http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/home/home_a.html

Raw Cookbooks:
http://therawfoodsite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1183 __________________

i plan to join you guys when i'm done cleansing in a week or two.
here's a book i want to get - a two weekk meal planner -
http://www.ezhealthydiet.com/vegan-meal-plan.html

update - oh, i just realised the book is only availablee thru paypal and i don't do paypal. so oh well, i'll have to create my own menus.

right now I have 3 breakfast options - green smoothie, fruit salad or banana cereal (sliced bananas, chopped dates, raisins, chopped almonds and/or walnuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon)
but I'll have to go thru my raw food book and find more recipes and things to make for when I break my fast. I plan to do 10 - 14 days raw.

Funwithfood

April 15th, 2007, 11:06 AM

Ginger

April 15th, 2007, 11:14 AM

You can sprout all sorts of things that you may not have even considered...when I can't get up to the health food store to buy things like alfalfa seeds or radish seeds in bulk, I purchase dry grains and seeds that will sprout. I've managed to sprout dry chick peas, lentils, soybeans, etc. that I purchased in bags at the regular grocery store.

Thanks mershwista

mtmouse

April 15th, 2007, 11:18 AM

Talk about inspiration for going raw...Check out these before and afters:
http://www.beautifulonraw.com/html/transformation.html

Still looking for an answer as to where to get seeds for sprouting.

Wow, Ginger! Those photos are amazing! Really inspirational. I guess we should all take photos, huh? I know on Alissa Cohen's raw challenge she encourages people do to that.

And I love that the difference is usually years, not days or months. It makes it credible and it makes it real.

peanutterb

April 15th, 2007, 11:21 AM

I am So excited to be here!! I am starting the MC this Sat and am eating really healthy this week so that I don't completely freak my body out when I start this coming Sat.

QUESTION: I love peanuts, but they give me heartburn/indigestion! :( I want to eat raw for the 1st week after I finish the MC, but am not sure about eating all the nuts b/c of heartburn/indigestion.
DO you think it might go away after I do the MC b/c of all the toxins? Could they be creating it? Any ideas anyone?
THANKS!!! :D

i would recommend holding off on the nuts in the beginning. they are harder on the system so i actually don't even add them back into my diet until day 5 or after when I'm breaking a fast. After the cleanse, your body is even more sensitive - so it may actually react even worse to peanuts. or maybe better. so just take it slow and reintroduce peanuts slowly and on a day that that is the only new thing to have so you can truly see how your body reacts. Peanuts are one of those things that are delicious and healhty but can be the source of so many problems. What about almonds? walnuts? pecans? etc? I would kick a nun in the shins to get some raw almond butter on a celery stick right about now.

skinnyminnie

April 15th, 2007, 11:58 AM

Hello PeanutterB and all my new friends! I'm ready to do the RAW CHALLENGE for 30 days! I'll be starting on May 1st and look forward to hearing all the good news and encouragement on this thread! I need to get a food processor first. Good luck to all! YOU CAN DO IT! I can too since "I can do ALL things through Christ who strenthens me" (Phil. 4:13)

peanutterb

April 15th, 2007, 12:21 PM

i checked out the book - i linked above - the recipes aren't all raw. and it has alot of stuff i've seen before so what i'm going to do is make my own 2 week meal plan from the websites and books i have and post it here.

peanutterb

April 15th, 2007, 01:12 PM

Ginger - posted something on sprouting in the raw food faqs for you. it's already on a thread on here too - if you do a search for sprouting you'll find it and more info.

Res

April 15th, 2007, 01:21 PM

I'm only here for a moment. Kathy, I have the newest model (Vitamix) and supposedly it's more powerful than the earlier models. Sorry ladies, it's been 24 hours since food poisoning and although I'm not throwing up and having the runs at the same time I'm still weak from it.

I'll catch up soon.

Love to all,
~Res

mtmouse

April 15th, 2007, 02:03 PM

Sorry ladies, it's been 24 hours since food poisoning and although I'm not throwing up and having the runs at the same time I'm still weak from it.

Oh poor Res!

Hope you're better soon! You've had a rough past couple of months, and you don't deserve it at all!

http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/love005.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

Ginger

April 15th, 2007, 02:59 PM

Ginger - posted something on sprouting in the raw food faqs for you. it's already on a thread on here too - if you do a search for sprouting you'll find it and more info.

Thanks Pnut -I'll check it out.

peanutterb

April 15th, 2007, 07:31 PM

whoo fricking whoooo. I've been working on this since earlier --- my 1 week raw menu - breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack/dessert :)

Please have a look and let me know what you think (esp let me know about typos)

http://pbrawmenu.blogspot.com/
:p

Ginger

April 15th, 2007, 08:08 PM

Peanuterb - Let me know how the mashed cauliflower tastes!

peanutterb

April 15th, 2007, 08:23 PM

Ginger - you'll be eating sooner than i will

Ginger

April 15th, 2007, 08:39 PM

Oh yeah :o

luanova

April 15th, 2007, 11:33 PM

When do we start? I am so excited to be in this challenge. I finished my first MC 2 weeks ago and have been eating pretty much everything raw since. Cooked food just does not appeal to me, and the few times I ate it didn't make me feel good. Plus I read Patricia Boutenko's books last week which were very inspiring and educational. Have fun everyone and bon appetite!!!

Natalyawoo

April 16th, 2007, 12:37 AM

I'm finishing day 3 of the 30 day raw challenge. I've turned down the pizza I fed my students, the carrot cake, champagne and bread at lunch today, and a tempting (but NO) dangerous encounter with Desert Swirl Frozen Yougurt. I'm not quite getting into the rhythmn of the whole raw thing, so tonight I prepared all my veggies so I can just throw them into "something" for the week.

My only complaint, this stuff ain't cheap! Eating raw may be easy on the body but it isn't easy on the checkbook!:(

Peanutterb I really appreciate the menu. I think that's what I need to do or else I'll get bored and just start eating handfulls of nuts. That's been my demise lately; I won't put stuff together, I'll just down a handfull of something like nuts, fruit, veggies. It doesn't feel like I'm sitting down for a meal.

Res feel better soon! I've been there with the food posioning and thought I'd die before it was over!

Well, I'm pluggin' along. Stick with it, those of you who've already begun. Good luck to those beginning, and join in everyone else. It'll be fun!

:)

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 12:50 AM

Natalyawoo,

Good for you to stay strong at the party! And I think you have a good idea to make an eating plan for yourself, too, at least at the beginning, so you feel like you know your way.

Interestingly, I did a comparison check of how much I spent on food since the beginning of the year compared to the same time period last year, and I was really close! So I haven't noticed quite the same financial drain as you eating this way. (I've been mostly raw since January, including a cleanse in there.)

Anyway, make yourself up a few good staples (toona is the best!) so you've got something good on hand, and away you go!

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 01:41 AM

I called my Costco today and learned that they do occasionally offer Road Shows selling the Vitamix, but the next one won't be until late July. :eek: I don't know if I can hold out that long! (However, I must hold out through estimated tax payments in June, so maybe it won't feel like so long to wait after that. But I still think I'll look online and see if I can come up with anything.)

Natalyawoo

April 16th, 2007, 10:35 AM

mtmouse have you tried ebay? I've had friends get tons of things they couldn't afford for super cheap.... If you can handle a used blender. A little bleach... you might be able to find one new, too. Thanks for the advice. I'm writing down everything I eat and am working on a meal plan today for the rest of the week. Perhaps if I have a plan I'll find myself spending less, too.

I'd like to drop 10lbs. Do you think it's possible? I'm still trying to watch how many calories I consume. Is this a good idea while eating raw, or is that no longer a good measure for how much I should be eating. Thanks for the advice all.

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 11:23 AM

Natalyawoo,

I've thought about eBay but haven't gotten serious about actually looking yet. Good idea, though.

I don't think it's a good idea to count calories when you're eating raw. The best approach, IMO, is to have a large variety of veggies, pates, blender sauces, fruits, and nuts and seeds. And then check in with yourself every time you're hungry and eat what it is you want. Eat until you're satisfied, and then stop. Wait until you're hungry again, and eat what you want.

Trying to squeeze yourself into predetermined rules is self-defeating, IMO. So what if you overeat for a few days or gain a few pounds? (Especially if you have just finished a cleanse--that in itself will often put some weight back on, just by filling up the colon again.) If you stick to all raw for the 30 days, I'm willing to bet you will learn all sorts of things about yourself and how and why you eat, and I suspect you will have fallen into a pattern of eating in a way much more likely to achieve and maintain your goal weight.

As to whether you can lose 10 pounds, I would think it's certainly possible. But it definitely won't happen if you starve yourself into overeating! It's fine to have the goal, but it's also very important to get out of deprivation mode.

But if it helps, I also have the same goal (well, my stated goal was 5-8 pounds--I'll take 10 if I get it, LOL).

:)

Res

April 16th, 2007, 02:58 PM

Kathy, Sim, Teepee are you on? Ok, I'm on Amazon right now ordering Tibetan Goji Berries and need to know which book to buy next. I have two, the eating for 1 or two, and one from the green smoothie lady. Anyway I'll check the other threads, I just don't remember and I'm not 100% yet in being back to health.

Love to all,
~Res

Res

April 16th, 2007, 03:07 PM

Ugh I don't like paying full price for books - and so far Cohen's book is $29.99 and it doesn't get any better than that. And it's Paperback! Egads. :(

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 03:08 PM

Hey there Res,

I love Cohen's book (Living on Raw Food). It's expensive and it's heavy (4-1/2 pounds!) but it's great. All I have is that one, Cornbleet, and Matt's book which I think you already have.

I ordered the goji berries too, but I'm not very impressed with them. I also ordered cocoa butter and cocoa nibs, neither of which I would bother with again.

Have fun!

Res

April 16th, 2007, 03:10 PM

Well the Goji Berries Extreme Health's Tibetan Goji Berries are excellent. You can get some that are nasty, but those are great and the price is amazing at Amazon.com.

Is your Cohen book Paperback?

p.s. thanks for the response. :)

Oh, the cacao nibs you MUST get from Wildernessfamily (something or other maybe Naturals). They're the best and worth it. Where did you get yours?

I don't have Matt's book - I'm almost inclined to buy it if he'll promise to eat something.

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 03:14 PM

I didn't mean to say the berries didn't taste good. They do! But they are hard to eat, it seems to me, and to take a "therapeutic dose" can get really pricey.

Yes, Cohen's book is "paperback". But it's the size of a medium-sized-town phone book (!) (over 500 pages), and it has great recipes. And not only that, but she has a four-week menu plan already laid out, including what and how much to buy each week, which can be very useful. (I do so much substitution I didn't follow it too closely, but it was a great start.)

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 03:19 PM

Cacao nibs I got from Cohen's site too, along with all the other stuff.

So far Matt's book is gathering the most dust around here. It's pretty slim (like him, LOL). But I think it's just because I had Cohen first, and then Cornbleet's stuff is often so fast I just make it on the fly. I checked out Matt's soup recipes last night and they look really good, so I'm sure I'll use his book, but his stuff is usually a bit more complicated than the others, and I'm not so much into complication these days. :)

(Some of Cohen's are complicated, too. Every one I've tried has been great, so I'm not against complicated. But lately I've needed my time more ...)

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 03:24 PM

If I ever want goji berries again, I'll look on amazon.

I did find the same brand of raw cacao powder (Navitas) on amazon for a great price, almost half of everywhere else ($12.50/pound, with free shipping if you order over $25, which is easy). I just don't appreciate the nibs: if I want crunch, I like nuts. The nibs get lost in the dish. If I want chocolate, I use the raw cacao powder and make TeePee's fabulous chocolate sauce.

(All that said, last night I did add nibs to my frozen banana split with chocolate sauce!)

:p

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 03:43 PM

Ah, I must say: I just made the most delicious green smoothie! Watermelon and spinach! :D :D :D

I bought a watermelon at Costco recently and it wasn't too great. It had "sweet spots" but also a lot of not-sweet spots. I've been cutting it up and eating the good parts and tossing the rest. But then I got the idea of using the less-tasty parts in a smoothie.

So I put the watermelon in the blender first and whirred it to a liquid, then added a big handful of spinach leaves and blended it completely. Added a little agave and it was really refreshing!

And now I've moved on to my carrot-pecan burgers with curry sauce, on onion bread. Yum!

Res

April 16th, 2007, 06:40 PM

You're SO lucky I'm feeling better now with that Green Smoothie comment! http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/sick006.gif :p

The Amazon Goji that I mentioned are so good and much, much cheaper than what you pay in a health food store. You get 16oz for around $13.00. You pay $6 for 4 oz, or something horrendous like that.

Isn't Costo amazing? I just picked up a huge bag of frozen strawberries for 7 bucks. (the good thing about frozen is they can't pick the berries/fruit/veggies *BEFORE* they ripen) I've been craving a strawberry smoothie. Then I bought a bag of lemons for salad dressing, Medjool dates (they are sweet, soft heaven) and lastly a big bag of garlic. Next week it will be the dried Shittake mushrooms. :)

This morning was raw oatmeal and almond milk (very little but it was nice). Then a few bites of toona. I was worried the nuts would bug my stomach but really it's mostly seeds (I'm useing the Cornbleet recipe at the moment) and I just took it easy. Lastly I ate an organic red delicious apple which was nice. Have to comment on how close the toona is to tuna. I pour on the dried dill and really it's SO close in taste.

Ok, tired just hit so I'm going.

Love to all - we can do this you know AND with our experts (Kathy :)) around we'll all learn a lot and have a fun experience. :D

~Res

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 06:49 PM

You're SO lucky I'm feeling better now with that Green Smoothie comment!

Love to all - we can do this you know AND with our experts (Kathy :)) around we'll all learn a lot and have a fun experience. :D

Envious Res, you crack me up!

And with REAL expert TeePee out of commission (BTW, where's Sim?), I guess the bottom of the barrel moves up! LOL

Res

April 16th, 2007, 08:16 PM

Silly Woman if you're referring to yourself as the bottom of the barrel. No way! :p

By the way Kathy and Natalyawoo: thank you for the get well wishes. I'm beginning to feel better. :)

Peanut: thank you for the sweet card & message. Mwah! :)

Dinner tonight was going to be red leaf salad with green onions and chopped zucchini, radishes and a bunch of other raw stuff BUT, I had a real craving for strawberries.

http://www.christinespies.com/images/strawberries.jpg

So I bought a huge bag of frozen strawberries at Costco. I had the salad just about ready and then decided to go with the smoothie first. Heh, well I only used 1 cup of almost milk, but I threw in about 5 dates and about 7 giant strawberries and oh my - no salad tonight and the Strawberry smoothie absolutely did the trick. Delicious. I gave a few tablespoons to my dog and she loved it too. Woof! ;)

Oh, btw Kathy: I used to always strain my Almond milk because it was too thick and grainy (pre Vitamix days) in a blender and I'd press out the liquid until the left over pulp was practically dry. Yesterday was the first time I've made almond milk in the Vitamix - and still feeling too sick to do much about straining it - so I left it. Well, I'll never strain it again. It does separate a little and when I shook it I thought it would be a big glob of thickness and it's really not. Like I said this morning I had a little on raw cereal and it was fantastic. :D

The smoothie looked just like this: :D :D :D

http://static.flickr.com/43/103204165_eb37ccc530.jpg

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 09:08 PM

So I bought a huge bag of frozen strawberries at Costco. I had the salad just about ready and then decided to go with the smoothie first. Heh, well I only used 1 cup of almost milk, but I threw in about 5 dates and about 7 giant strawberries and oh my - no salad tonight and the Strawberry smoothie absolutely did the trick. Delicious. I gave a few tablespoons to my dog and she loved it too. Woof! ;)

Oh, btw Kathy: I used to always strain my Almond milk because it was too thick and grainy (pre Vitamix days) in a blender and I'd press out the liquid until the left over pulp was practically dry. Yesterday was the first time I've made almond milk in the Vitamix - and still feeling too sick to do much about straining it - so I left it. Well, I'll never strain it again. It does separate a little and when I shook it I thought it would be a big glob of thickness and it's really not. Like I said this morning I had a little on raw cereal and it was fantastic. :D

Yum! That smoothie made me want to have one, and I was eating frozen banana-and-strawberry "ice cream" at the time, LOL!

Did you mean to type "almost milk"? I think that's adorable, and it's a perfect description!

I'm never going to strain mine again either! Even just in the blender it's fine! Today I tried TeePee's "30-second almond milk" using almond butter, but it's no better than my "instant almond milk" using whole almonds. So I decided to save my almond butter (which I make myself in the Cuisinart, since I'm still pre-Vitamix!--and I also do add a bit of walnut oil, BTW).

The other day we made pecan milk too, and that was also very yummy. I just love my morning buckwheat grawnola with "milk" of some sort and fruit!

And glad to hear the get-well wishes worked. Let me know any time you need to get rich, LOLOL!

peanutterb

April 16th, 2007, 09:18 PM

i hate all of you

:p

mtmouse

April 16th, 2007, 09:21 PM

Outta here, you sneaky interloper! Back! Back! Back!

http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/shocked002.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

Ginger

April 16th, 2007, 09:34 PM

i hate all of you

:p

LOL @ Peanut. I'm jealous too, but tomorrow is my last day. 3 days of grapefruit juice, then I have the most beautiful tomatoes that I have ever seen waiting for me. I bought them today at Trader Joe's. They are a marbled dark purple or green and the size on a ping pong ball. Plus some pretty yellow and orange ones. MMMMMmmmm:p

peanutterb

April 16th, 2007, 09:45 PM

*PB adds Ginger to the list of people she doesn't like.*

Ginger

April 16th, 2007, 10:24 PM

*PB adds Ginger to the list of people she doesn't like.*

I love you anyway:D :D :D

Natalyawoo

April 17th, 2007, 01:27 PM

Day 5!

YAY. I made chocolate pudding last night with avocado, MS :D , dates and raw cocoa. SUPER YUM! I only made 1/2 the recipe but ate the WHOLE THING! Raw food can be good.

Mtmouse Thx for the words of encouragement. I'm going for 10... (that gets me back to where I was before the holidays and a super stressful semester.)

Peanutterb Stay strong ... we'll be waiting for you when it's time. And so will some delicious chocolate pudding....;)

Res Feeling any better? I don't think I could even look at food for a week after food posioning and I was SO weak.

So here's my big concern for the week. I'm going to a bachelorette party on Thursday. We're having fondue. I know that most of the stuff isn't raw (I'm praying for fruits and veggies to dip). So what do you recommend? I'm already planning on bringing my own snacks for the rest of the night. Do I skip out on dinner? Do I just watch my friends eat without me? I don't want to be offensive to the bride, but I feel SOOOOO good doing raw food. I don't want to give that up now. Recommendations anyone?

Menu for tonight.. Zuchini spaghetti with maranara sauce.... I LOVE marinara sauce. I added some fresh basil to make it taste like Pesto, garlic, roma tomatoes, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, thyme, oregano, a little sea sauce and red peppers. If you put in just a touch of agave it makes it a little sweeter, too. :p

And where do you find RAW WALNUTS? My health food store is Sprouts. They have walnuts but they don't specify raw.

Have a great day all.

Res

April 17th, 2007, 02:45 PM

Peanut whined i hate all of you

:p

OMGosh that was so damn funny I love you! :D hahahahahaha

Res

April 17th, 2007, 02:57 PM

Kathy, 'no' I didn't mean to type "Almost milk" that would be too quick witted and lately it's amazing if I remember where I am. :o

Natalyawoo, Thank you yes, I am feeling better. :) I think somebody up there loves me because others threw up the entire weekend while I only did for about 10 hours. BUT, since I'd rather die than throw up 10 hours was more than enough. blech....

Okie Doke: here's this mornings menu.

Black seedless grapes (uh, I found out these little gems are packed with sugar) but a small bunch.

Then: soaked steel cut Irish oats, with "Almost Milk" ;) and a squeeze of Agave. Yum.

Lunch: Toona, celery and Rosemary crackers. Egads this Toona is amazing. I'm not big on eating celery (although it's great for the body) but if I can scoop toona with it it's a deal! Also I just munched the Red leaf lettuce from yesterday.

Although the Rosemary crackers have WAY TOO MUCH ROSEMARY - I brought some in and put Toona on it and WOW! It's all pretty amazing.

Dessert Snack: Simple, but killer. Does anyone else need something sweet after eating? Medjool dates (the seed comes out so easily) stuffed with Raw Cacao nibs (crunchy) then rolled in raw dried coconut. Talk about playing with your food!

YUM!

Ok, cough it up - what are you guys eating today? Hmmm :D

Love,
~Res

Res

April 17th, 2007, 03:00 PM

Menu for tonight.. Zuchini spaghetti with maranara sauce.... I LOVE marinara sauce. I added some fresh basil to make it taste like Pesto, garlic, roma tomatoes, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, thyme, oregano, a little sea sauce and red peppers. If you put in just a touch of agave it makes it a little sweeter, too. :p Mmmm, okay, I see that "little sea sauce". Give it up! What is sea sauce??? ;) Trying to sneak that in there.... :p

mtmouse

April 17th, 2007, 03:01 PM

LOL. Res, we've got a new staple. Almost Milk! :)

One thing I've been forgetting to mention that I think is a terrific snack is sugar snap peas!

Costco sells them in 2-pound bags at a much better price than in any grocery store I've seen.

They're sweet, juicy, and crunchy! Yum!

mtmouse

April 17th, 2007, 03:07 PM

Okay, so far I've only had breakfast.

I made a pink smoothie using some of my less-than-stellar watermelon as a base, adding broccoli, spinach, carrots, cabbage, beets, and frozen blueberries, peaches, and strawberries, with some vanilla and agave. Had a small amount of this.

Then we had "wheatmeal" using the rest of my sprouted wheat berries processed with apple and a little salt and agave. This was topped with some fresh bananas and instant Almost Milk. :)

Guess I'd better start thinking about lunch now, because I have an appointment in less than an hour and without lunch I'll be really hungry after it. Ants on a Log (celery, almond butter, raisins) sounds good!

Res

April 17th, 2007, 03:09 PM

Mmm, Kathy I was getting mine at Trader Joes, but it's so far away and the bags of peas aren't all that big (I can go through one in about 30 minutes. ;))

I'm going to have to check that out at my Costco - I didn't see it yesterday when I was there.

Yeah, Almost Milk - a pretty funny accident at the expense of my senility. ;)

My lunch break was lovely but it's back to work. :)

I Hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

Happy EATING! MUAHHAHAHAHAHA http://www.kurts-smilies.de/zwinker.gif

mtmouse

April 17th, 2007, 03:26 PM

If I remember right, I paid $5.99 for the 2 pounds of sugar snap peas at Costco. (Eating some right now, yum!) That compared to $3.99 at Albertson's for 4 ounces!

And YES to Medjool dates! Again, Costco rules! They're now selling 2-pound tubs of them for $7.99. That's half the price at my food coop. I've been buying 2-3 tubs every time I go there, stocking up (partly because I go through a lot and partly because you never know when the supply of anything at Costco is going to run dry!).

Natalyawoo

April 17th, 2007, 03:54 PM

Mmmm, okay, I see that "little sea sauce". Give it up! What is sea sauce??? ;) Trying to sneak that in there.... :p

Oops! Sea Salt.... :o Mmm... but maybe adding some seafood flavor with kelp or something might make it like a seafood marinara. Good idea, Res! I'll let you know how it tastes!:)

peanutterb

April 17th, 2007, 04:29 PM

is there any way i can be banned from this thread Res?

TeePee

April 17th, 2007, 05:43 PM

CONGRATS!!! Sounds like you are all doing awesome on the RAW CHALLENGE!!

Quick dessert idea- if ya gotta have that sweet bite after eating, RAINSINS!

Keep up the great work!!

Even after not eating and having an upset tummy, you guys are making me hungry!! Maybe I'll branch out from my 2 days of bananas!! I have marinara in fridge. Just bought zukes. Maybe I'll have pasta with Natalyawoo!! Or I have left over enchiladas from sunday. Hmm. Maybe I better start with almond milk/ fruit smoothie......

mtmouse

April 17th, 2007, 05:45 PM

LOL!

You're definitely sounding more chipper, TeePee!

I just had half a raw bagel, mac nut cheese, broccoli sprouts, and an orange. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

peanutterb

April 17th, 2007, 06:08 PM

mail me a bagel.

please

Res

April 17th, 2007, 06:52 PM

HAHAHA Peanut *hug* Now get outta here! :P

I couldn't wait to get here and tell you all (ya'll heh) this.

So I'm looking in the fridge at all the produce I bought!! (I need to learn to buy for a few days, could barely see through the jungle) and I pulled out some stuff for salad and spied the Zucchini:

So I sliced it real thin: Added chopped up leeks (leftover from the crackers I think THEY SMELL AMAZING) then sliced garlic and poured virgin oil over all and lemon juice with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper (IT smelled Divine! :)).

NOW, I'm going to let it marinade for tomorrow night's din din and ADD IT TO THE Cauliflower cous cous that I've never made before but will make tomorrow and then eat with sliced tomato's drizzled with olive oil, lemon, sea salt, pepper and chopped fresh basil and Onion bread!

*SIGH*

Dessert will most likely be a strawberry smoothie (kind of on a kick until it wears off) but this time I'll only use 1/2 cup *Almost Milk* ;) and lots more strawberries with a few dates.... Now let's take the word 'date'. If only 'dates', were as good as *dates*. hahahaha lol, okay, it's this raw food euphoria. It's getting to me. :D

Din din tonight will be: the salad I didn't really eat yesterday (have to keep the fresh greens up) with avocado, red leaf lettuce, spring onions, tomatoes, zucchini whatever else moves. Olive oil and lemon dressing. Mmmmm, my favorite. Then a strawberry smoothie. :D

Oooh, I just remembered the "brownies" from Kiropa....hmmm - decisions, decisions....

Now, to everyone drooling who's still on the cleanse, "WHAT are you doing here?" ;) Just kidding sort of. :p Look at all the fantastic recipes and tips that you have to LOOK FORWARD TO when you are off your cleanse for a bit. We're actually doing this REAL TIME and you're going to benefit from all of it because WE LOVE YOU. Now GET OUT OF HERE. ;)

Love,
~Res

Res

April 17th, 2007, 06:54 PM

TeePee: Raisins really are the bomb! And I agree with Kathy, you sound a bit better and I'm so happy about that. :)

I bought the Jumbo raisins because they were a bit cheaper and they're so soft and good! Hmm, I might throw a few into the salad tonight, along with a few almonds...yeah, that's it. hahaha :)

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

April 17th, 2007, 07:05 PM

Din din tonight will be: the salad I didn't really eat yesterday (have to keep the fresh greens up) with avocado, red leaf lettuce, spring onions, tomatoes, zucchini, whatever else moves.

Um, Res, I hate to be the one to tell you this ... but when you eat 100% raw, you can't eat anything that moves!

http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/gen157.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

heeheehee

Res

April 17th, 2007, 07:12 PM

One more thing: Never in a million years would I ever have considered doing this "all the way" if it wasn't for you amazing group of people.

It's similar to the people doing the cleanse for the first time, but lurking and reading and researching and preparing and then FINALLY deciding to take the plunge. This can't be anything but successful when you're prepared and REALLY want to do it.

I used to think RAW was lettuce. I had no idea until you guys started talking about raw food I never could have imagined! So hats off to you and much thanks to Kathy, Teepee, Sim, Kiropa, Ginger and others who have "lit the fire" and keep the ball rolling. :D

Love you guys, er girls!
~Res

Res

April 17th, 2007, 07:13 PM

There is an ace up my sleeve ya know; I'll dehydrate it. ;)

Mmm, shark. lol

mtmouse

April 17th, 2007, 07:14 PM

Hahahahaha! And all this time I thought I was doing it because of YOU!

And it's true! :)

TeePee

April 17th, 2007, 07:44 PM

ah, Res, you are on a roll!! You are kicking butt!!

You are right about the people here. I would never have made it thru my first cleanse, going, vegan, and now raw without this board and the awesome people on it!!! It is such a great place to be!!:D :D :D :D :D :D

Ginger

April 17th, 2007, 08:08 PM

MTmouse, are the costco dates very good? I've had some bad date experiences in grocery stores *snicker* :rolleyes: Today is my last last day cleansing and you guys are making me hungry!!!

I finally found zaatar in a little market today. In the cookbooks, it's called a middle eastern spice. The store owner told me that it's actually best from Jordan. They use a wild thyme that grows there. And he showed me this beautiful flatbread they sell. It had olive oil and zaatar folded into the middle. My first craving.

mtmouse

April 17th, 2007, 08:53 PM

Ginger,

All the Costco Medjool dates I've had (I've bought perhaps 7 cartons and eaten 3) have been fabulous!

But if you buy them and they aren't, Costco is very good about taking things back.

Res

April 17th, 2007, 09:42 PM

I 2nd that about the dates! I'm probably not going to buy any others. These are sweet, sticky, buttery smooth YUM! haha

I'm so full - the salad was heaven, the strawberry smoothie was great but too much! And that's after using only 1/2 cup of *Almost Milk* ;). Of course with all the strawberries I threw in...

OH! I made Alissa's Toona (I think it's from her book, the recipe I think you posted Kathy?). I've been using Cornbleets which I really like . This one though, threw me for a loop with the carrots and I wasn't patient and processed the walnuts after only 1.5 hours. This one has a "sweeter" flavor than Cornbleets, but I really like them both!! I can't believe I thought raw would be boring. I've barely scratched the surface.

Hahahahaha! And all this time I thought I was doing it because of YOU!

And it's true! :) Hahahahaha, ho boy. The blind leading the blind. ;)

Well now that I'm full I'm tired - but happy because I know that I'm actually "Nourishing" myself and not damaging myself. :) Well, one final thought for everyone:

DRINK LOTS OF WATER! ;)

Goodnight Buddies! :D

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

April 18th, 2007, 12:01 AM

You keep attributing all this stuff to me!

I make PB's toona; not sure where it comes from. (Trees? LOL) That's been so good I haven't branched out (so to speak, LOL--this is getting to be too much :p )

Today I had my first close call. Well, not really, but first real pull to non-raw.

I grilled lamb for DH, and it smelled so good. In the past I've just had one or two of the crispy little pieces from the edge, so I could "taste it without eating it", LOL. So I almost popped one piece in my mouth! But (whew!) I caught myself in time and just put my attention on other things.

Now that I think of it, I should have stood there and savored the smell more. That's what I do during my cleanses. But I essentially just put it out of my mind. In a few moments it was no big deal and I had a yummy dinner of my own. I then made more of TeePee's chocolate sauce, and out of what was left in the blender when I poured it into a jar I made a chocolate almond milk smoothie. I felt a bit too full by the time I'd drunk all of that (kinda reminded me of your strawberry smoothies, Res, so of course it's your fault!), but now I'm fine. (I've decided to eat any "dessert" I want pretty close to dinner, and then not eat for the rest of the evening.)

I've now eaten all my carrot-pecan burgers (still have a little curry sauce left) and it's time for me to start planning for some more meals. I think starting tomorrow I'll try one of Matt's soups. I still have some onion bread (since TeePee doesn't live with me after all, so she can't sneak it all even if she wasn't throwing up all the time). I started to make rosemary crackers this afternoon, only to discover that I don't have enough flaxseed, so that'll have to wait a while.

So soup it is! I've got beets, celery, and cucumber, and I think those are the bases in some of his soups. I'll report in tomorrow!

peanutterb

April 18th, 2007, 12:35 AM

i got the toona recipe from the complete book of raw foods that probably got it from somewhere else since it's a compilation. i have the recipe posted on my raw menu blog (link below)

peanutterb

April 18th, 2007, 10:41 AM

posted a recipe i get from a weekly newsletter in the lemonheads recipe box. sounded good - for a chili
i think this is the website www.fredericpatenaude.com (http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/)
check out the recipe and make it and tell me all about it. in detail. looks, smells, tastes, textures. everything. :p

mtmouse

April 18th, 2007, 11:30 AM

Looks good, Pnut!

peanutterb

April 18th, 2007, 11:36 AM

hey - those of you who have cookbooks etc, can you write recommendations/ reviews of the books in the uncookbook thread please. i think that'll be a great resource for people looking to get a raw food cookbook.

http://therawfoodsite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1183

mtmouse

April 18th, 2007, 11:42 AM

Where is it?

I think it would be good, if it hasn't already been done, to organize it by book. Thus, the first time a book is mentioned it will get its own mini-thread. Then everyone who has something to say about that book can write in there. If we all just yap about any book at all, it'll be no easier to find comments about a particular book than it is now.

Oh, I just realized that we can't do that within a thread. Right? Maybe the uncookbook thingy could be a BB all of its own?

Maybe I should just jump off the end of the pier? :)

peanutterb

April 18th, 2007, 11:47 AM

lol mtmouse. being a little overzealous there.

but what i can do, seeing that i like to give myself projects, is organise it by book after people post their reviews.

and i posted the link above, if you opened your eyes and looked :eek: lol

mtmouse

April 18th, 2007, 11:56 AM

Hee. Well, I did see the link after I'd posted, but I wasn't going to say anything then, was I? :o

If you can organize it by book, I think that would definitely be the most useful.

peanutterb

April 18th, 2007, 12:01 PM

ok well you guys with the books get to posting and that will be my weekend project.

mtmouse

April 18th, 2007, 12:11 PM

Well, yeah, but posting about them might have to be MY weekend project!

LOL.

I'll do my best!

Res

April 18th, 2007, 01:37 PM

Since this thread is really a LAB Experiment I'm going to go ahead and post this. I was hesitant but I don't know why. I think I'm trying to shield everyone. :)

I think I may be "detoxing", whether from crap in my system or still trying to purge the poison from my body from the weekend food poisoning fiasco.

I was so sick this morning I almost left work. I'm looking full circle at why I might feel this way;

- eating too much
- having a reaction to all the nuts
- detoxing because I really am all raw
- leftovers from the weekend fiasco
- allergies? maybe?

I don't know but my head was plugged this morning, dizziness, nausea - ugh, weak, hot/cold etc.

I suppose anything is possible and I almost came here to whine earlier and seek support. I didn't want to eat anything (no appetite) and couldn't swallow my own saliva. I stressed over the possibility of driving home. My body was asking for a COKE and I almost did it. A Dentist actually recommended it to me a few years ago when I was sick from an absessed tooth. He did say, "just a couple of sips" and it actually took the nausea away. So I think that's why I was leaning that direction. Instead I had mint tea - and although I'm not "fine", I'm fine enough for now.

What do you guys think? No disclaimers about not being doctors. :p We're all in this together. ;)

I was able to hold down some strawberries. hah. I'm going to cut back on almond milk (i really haven't had that much) and nut stuff and see if that helps. I should be having more veggie juices and green leafy veggies anyway. I would really hate it if I have a nut allergy. *see me pitch a fit* :mad:

About your close call Kathy, indeed this is a 30 day challenge and I don't really want to veer but I was wondering this morning about Pepperocini in salads? I don't know if they gave the things a water bath or how they processed them or if they "processed" them but I'm proud of you for not taking a bite.

Carrot Pecan burgers with curry? Oh my - do I have that book? Is it Cornbleet? There I go again with nuts....:o

I'll check back later.

Love to all,
~Res

Res

April 18th, 2007, 06:36 PM

Well I kind of hate to mention this, but has anyone seen or used a "Magic Bullet"? My son gave it to me 2 weeks ago and well, I hadn't used it because I'd never seen it before and didn't want to read the manual. I know, I know.

But in order to make the Raw Fudge, I had to grind my Raw Cacao beans and I'm not feeling all that great so I decided to get this thing out and just use it "logically". Well my brain didn't blow a fuse and HOLY CRAP it ground the cacao in seconds. I don't have to clean anything because what I ground it in has a lid that I can snap on for storage and that's that. :eek: Think of the possibilities, flax seeds, sesame seeds, nuts and anything you can imagine. It's amazing. :o

mtmouse

April 18th, 2007, 06:50 PM

Hmm. I've heard people on this board mention the Magic Bullet before, and I saw one at the store the other day. I guess I thought they were another blender-type thingy. What you're talking about sounds more like my seed grinder. (Except I have to pour them out of that.)

What I liked about the Bullet was that it was "upside down". So I used that concept on my Hamilton Beach blender with a pint Mason jar, blending my sauces right in their jar. It worked okay, and I can't remember now just why I went back to using the regular blender despite having to clean the sides all the time, but I did.

Hopefully someone else will chime in, because I know a bunch of us have this.

As to the carrot-pecan burgers and curry sauce, that's all Alissa Cohen's stuff. And very tasty, too. The sauce started with a whole orange and 1/3 cup of raisins, and then added garlic, cumin, curry, and fresh ginger in the blender. But really, once you have a nut burger recipe and some ideas for sauces, you really can make all sorts of stuff just off the top of your head. (I know, when your head isn't working, the recipes are good to have. But still.) :)

Anyway, as you say: Happy Eating!

Ginger

April 18th, 2007, 08:01 PM

I have a magic bullet too. It seems to run very fast and is pretty powerful. I think you found a great use for it. I tried to gring up my dehydrated veggies in it the other day and it wasn't strong enuff for that.

My daughter had one too, and she threw it away shortly after getting it. She said the plastic started breaking up on her.

I haven't had that problem with mine, and we got them at the same time.

kiropa

April 18th, 2007, 08:57 PM

hi all

haven't checked in -- but thought i'd do so. i've been 98% raw since my cleanse ended (at the end of february). i say 98% b/c i still use maple syrup and i've sashimi a few times (raw, but not vegan).

that all said, i feel fabulous. weight is pretty good (up 5 pounds from end of cleanse -- but had even lost a few on raw, so up 7 from low). it's okay though. i am eating A LOT. i adore everything i try!

my all time favs are: cauliflower cous cous, all sorts of nori wraps, this awesome mexican spicy walnut taco meat, collard wraps, raw fudge, salads, mock tuna. it's all good.

the mexican pate goes something like this:

walnuts 1-1/2C soaked a bit
coriander 1-2 tsp
cumin 1-2 tsp
cayenne
salt to taste

whirred in the food processor. wrap in lettuce leaf w/ avocado, tomatoes, mango, guac, whatever. spicy, yummy deliciousness!

Res

April 19th, 2007, 01:02 PM

Glad to hear from other bullet users out there. :)

Well Kathy it looks like I'm going to have to add Cohen's book to the list. Everything sounds great so far. :)

Kiropa: The cous cous should come with a warning. ;) Don't misunderstand I LOVED it. I made mine with olive oil, lemon, lots of garlic, cracked pepper, sea salt and let it sit. Later at dinner I added the marinated zucchini and leeks. Oh my, I only use 1/2 a head of cauliflower but I stopped myself from eating the entire thing! It was so good! BUT, I'm not sure exactly what was responsible for the gas. :o It could be the cauliflower or maybe the 5 cloves of garlic I added. I brought some in to work today but I won't be eating it. lol

I love it though and will have it often during the week.

Love to all,
~Res

mtmouse

April 19th, 2007, 01:16 PM

Well, humph.

I started our challenge at 165. I have weighed myself every day this week and my first week's average is 164.3. :(

Not too thrilled about that, but it's better than the alternative. I don't even feel like I've eaten very much, either. Oh well. Three weeks to go! I can still drop 5-8 pounds in three weeks, right? LOL.

Res

April 19th, 2007, 02:46 PM

We're weighing in? :eek:

I don't believe "weight-loss" will be as crazy as it is on the cleanse. Funny thing is I don't think I thought about weight loss. Who can lose weight eating all these nuts?

So you haven't lost a lot of weight. You're probably glowing though. ;)

Have you even frozen the Toona? It makes more than I can eat in 3 days. The Cornbleet recipe makes a days worth. You should try it. It looks more like tuna and it's really good too.

And thank you for the mention of refrigerating the Rosemary crackers. I forgot about the fussy flax seeds. And good Idea about the darker flax seeds!! Sheesh we get forced to buy the more expensive seeds and there's really no difference! Grrr.

I think - I'm going to make "sesame seed" milk and see how that goes. I did make a more liquidy almost milk ;) yesterday and it still turned out fantastic - even though I only allowed myself a sip. :)

Be Back later.

Happy Eating!

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

April 19th, 2007, 03:05 PM

You don't have to weigh in, you skinny thing! :p

And of course, no one has to weigh in. No rules here except all raw, right? But one of my goals is to drop some more weight and keep it off, so I figured I'd start keeping track. I'm really good now at maintaining (~90 pounds lower than some years ago, yay!) without "dieting", but there are those last 20 ... :)

And yes, I've frozen both my pesto and my toona, very successfully. Now I make the full huge batch of toona and split it into three containers and freeze two. Lots less work over time!

I've frozen onion bread, too. I'm sure the rosemary crackers would freeze, but I usually eat them up quickly enough that it doesn't matter.

mershwista

April 19th, 2007, 05:34 PM

Haha...talk about weight, eh? Well, I am 5' 3" and people always guess me 30 lbs lighter than I am...literally! They guess that I am 115 lbs, and I weigh 145.

And most of it is muscle mass! So forget about the scale numbers. It's about your health and how you feel!

By the way, I eat tons of nuts and seeds and avocados, and I don't gain weight....but then again, I am fairly active and mostly raw.

frannyknight

April 19th, 2007, 07:01 PM

Hello. I am sorry I missed the beginning of the 30 day challenge. I am currently doing the Blessed Herbs Colon Cleanse on Day 4 of a 5 day. Wow! The Mucoid Plaque coming out of me is unbelievable!!!! I probably have shed 5lbs at least of that stuff.

After my MC 10 day in January, I have been about 80% raw and really loving it. It is funny how I have really just narrowed my choices of food down to 2-3 choices per meal and it works really well for me. My taste buds have really, really changed. When I try to cheat - it just doesn't taste very good.

It is kind of sad, because my partner and I are eating differently, although he has adjusted quite a bit to what I am eating. Also going out to eat just isn't much fun anymore. I can't hardly eat anything because of the HIGH salt content - totally dehydrates me.

I am looking for ways to move to 100%. After I am done with the colon cleanse, I will do the final 2 weeks 100% with you all - that is my challenge and maybe I will do the next 2 on my own - or if anybody else wants to join in.

Loving, loving, loving my new lifestyle!!! (and a drop of 25lbs is kind of cool too).

TeePee

April 19th, 2007, 07:47 PM

mtmouse,

The weight will come off. I started cleanse dec 28 at 172:eek: ( I am only almost 5'4") Most I've been seen I had daugther 7 years ago!! Lost about 10 pounds on ten day cleanse. Have been raw ever since-- around the beginning of Jan. I am now down to 141.5 That's 30+ pounds and mostly on the raw, not the cleanse. AND I EAT!! I eat a ton of nuts, dehydrated stuff, all of it. I simply eat now when I'm hungry. I think that is what you are doing. I CRAVED guacamole, and I believe that helped the weight come off, for sure. I still have 20 more I want to lose, to be where I was about 5 years ago. I think if it was meant to come off of my frame, it will on RAW. I am not setting any time line whatsoever (although summer would be nice for the beach!!) I felt like I was really eating a lot at first, too. Sometimes I catch myself feeling "guilty" for eating something really yummy, then I remember i'ts okay!! Some weeks the weight comes off faster than others. So I think you will be fine!! Just keep yourself focused on the other benefits!!!:D

BTW, as if I haven't spent enought on raw toys, my fridge started dripping onto my hardwood floor at 10pm last night. Kept me up all night! New one comes on Saturday!!! I choose the kind with the fridge on top. That way the crisper bins are at the right height when I open the door. Great for my bad back!!! I think this happened b/c I went looking at them last week. Or maybe b/c it is probably 25 years old!!

TeePee

April 19th, 2007, 07:52 PM

I think RAW should be an accronym for Really Awesome Women!! ;)

sorry guys!! ;)

TeePee

April 19th, 2007, 07:58 PM

Magic Bullet

I have one for a few years. It will grind dry flax seed into powder. Also great for grinding fresh spices, like cumin and coriander. Used to use it everyday before raw to make my banana soymilk smoothies to take to work in right in the mugs. Still great for almond milk-banana smoothies!!! Also good for a quick vinagrette when you don't feel like washing Vitamix!!

Tried to use juice attachment when I went raw. That was a joke. Have never tried the whole blender attachment. My sister uses hers everyday. (she's not raw, but uses it for family of 5!!)

mtmouse

April 20th, 2007, 08:56 PM

It's awfully quiet in here today!

I unfortunately just had a not-very-satisfying meal. I made Amsden's Ruby Tuesday beet soup. It's really nothing but juiced beets, carrots, and celery, with lemon juice, salt, and (unfortunately for me) a clove of raw garlic. I should have known better, because except in pesto I just don't like raw garlic, and I didn't like it here. Luckily I made only one serving, so it's all gone now.

I don't know if it's just me, but somehow merely blending juiced veggies and putting it in a bowl to eat with a spoon doesn't make it "soup". I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that.

Nevertheless, I'll try some of the other recipes, because the flavors sound interesting (one has a daikon radish juice base, one cucumber and almond milk). If I had a Vitamix I'd blend (instead of juice) at least one of the veggies, to provide some thickness. Maybe I could do that even with my regular blender.

Anyway, I had that with the last of my onion bread, the last batch of which I didn't much like either. However, I have a new batch of rosemary crackers, and they do not disappoint!

I finished off my meal with my current fave dessert, banana split with sliced bananas, chopped pecans, cacao nibs, and TeePee's chocolate sauce. I'm feeling better now, LOL.

Oh, I forgot! When I was in the store this afternoon some people had set up in front of the door for some reason (sales? charity? dunno), and they were frying SAUSAGES! Even before this challenge I didn't eat sausage, but these smelled absolutely delicious. This time I ignored it but did think to myself that perhaps a raw walnut-based sausage might be a nice weekend project.

Hope all of you are faring well!

Res

April 20th, 2007, 09:56 PM

Kiropa: I like the Mexican Pate recipe. It's printing now. :)

Kathy: cool, it's ok to freeze stuff. I was hoping that was the case.
p.s. my green bags arrived :)

OH, I wanted to tell you. Don't run out and buy a Vitamix just yet. You might want to pick up a Magic Bullet. I did so much with it today. Obviously it can't handle the BIG jobs but I got so much done in so little time with so little clean up! I think it's much cheaper too.

Cranberry Scones are in the dehydrator and I made the RP fudge. :eek: I didn't freeze it though, I put it in the fridge and then took a bit 5 minutes later and it IS fantastic! :D

I may have to never eat raw cauliflower again though folks...I won't elaborate. :o

Franny, you didn't really miss anything because I have a feeling people will be coming and going through here, so you may pick up a RAW buddy or we'll still be here and you'll get us. :)

Teepee: There you are! You mentioned guacamole again and it sent me running for the avocados! You started this the last time too!! :p

Oh dear, the fridge is a BIG toy. Sounds like you're getting a good one though. Come to think of it my fridge is just about the same age. Yikes!

Love the acronym. lol

About the Magic Bullet, someone else told me the juicer was a joke too. I don't really care about that really because I have a good juicer. But on the positive side, I made a lemon juice/avocado/tomato/sea salt salad dressing in about 25 seconds today and clean up was a breeze. :)

Back to you Kathy: Work was so busy and will be for the next 6 weeks. I try to sneak a peek at the board during the day but barely get to. :(

Oooh one of my favorite things is red wine and raw garlic. :D

Speaking of favorite things, there's a new love in my life. He's a young aussie and his name is Curtis Stone. He's the "Take home chef" on TV! I just love the show. I got bored with a sitcom I was watching and switched the channel (I never watched TV until I got the flu back in February...). I saw the show for the first time about two weeks ago and the rest is History. ;) I get two 30 minute shows and although he's far from raw, he makes these amazing meals (I swear I can smell them at my house) in a simple fashion (but elegant) and then gives the recipes on the web site. The recipes cover the entire dinner. It's something I'll definitely do for my family.

Hmm Amsdens beet soup? Another recipe book? I hear you about eating juice with a spoon as soup. One of the things the Vitamix does IS it does make a really good soup. You can probably do most of it without the hot water but I think there's a few raw soup recipes in the book. You could probably make it in a blender or food processor too.

I'm going to make a new batch of crackers (I've eaten half) but omit the rosemary entirely. I think I might make a bunch of dill crackers. I love the basic rosemary cracker recipe, but think of it - Mexican crackers, italian crackers, just about anything we can imagine. :)

Oh shoot I have to find Teepees chocolate sauce. I knew I was missing something. Your banana split sounds AMAZING. Mmm

Right now I'm really in the mood for spaghetti. I have some tomatoes that I either need to eat or I can whirr it up in the vitamix and make a raw Marinara sauce. I do have a few zucchini that I can slice into "noodles" and then go that route. I'm looking forward to experimenting with this. :)

Walnut based sausage? You're kidding, right? :confused: I would crack up!

This is probably Officially Day 5 of my 30 day Raw challenge. Although I didn't eat a thing last Saturday, on the contrary I didn't eat anything because I was sick - I did have white rice on Sunday - ER's orders and I kept it down - which was nice. So really it's been 5 VERY DOABLE and exciting days. :D This is EASY STREET compared to the cleanse.

Well, it's raining like crazy, there's thunder and lightning and I'm home with my dog and happy as can be. :D

I hope everyone is doing well.

Love you tons,
~Res

I'll let you know how my scones turn out. 8)

Ginger

April 20th, 2007, 10:00 PM

OK I need help here. I tried to make almond milk today. I mixed in in my new vitamix. Then put it in a mesh strainer to separate. WHen I got home, there was a small amount of milk in the bowl. VERY SMALL!! The recipe said to put it in fine mesh and press. Everything goes through the mesh. What am I doing wrong? What is in the strainer looks more like whipped cream than pulp. (It tastes good though)

TeePee

April 20th, 2007, 10:16 PM

SAUSAGE: I had some on raw pizza at Quintessence in NYC back in Jan. I tried to copy it. This is what I came up with and it works. I know someone posted a recipe on here somewhere. But I just used:

Ground walnuts
ground fennel seed
bit of nama shoyu or braggs

I think I started with 1/2 cup or so of walnuts then added other two things a tiny bit at a time to taste. Can't really give measurements.

Mix all with fork. crumble on pizza. you can "warm" in DH if you like too! Same look, color and texture you would get on a cooked pizza. I am telling you, no one would know it wasn't "animal"!! :eek:

Res

April 20th, 2007, 10:16 PM

Ginger it's not you - it's the Vitamix, and it's actually not a bad thing. The Vitamix REALLY mixes! That's why if you make any nut butters in the Vitamix you'll never see a pool of oil. It REALLY mixes it. That's one of the things that sold me. The nut butters can be left out too because the oil won't separate. It like storing nuts in a jar outside of the fridge. :)

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

April 20th, 2007, 10:16 PM

Res,

Your mention of the day made me realize I hadn't updated my signature in a while!

The red wine and raw garlic is all yours, dear! Then again, maybe the wine would detract from the stomachache!

That sausage recipe is on here somewhere. Probably on After the Cleanse. I put it on one of my raw pizzas, crumbled. But Cohen has a sausage recipe in her book that I haven't looked at for some time; she actually suggests forming links! :p

I also bought a jicama yesterday for making Cohen's "raw fries" recipe. I won't believe it until I try it.

TeePee's chocolate sauce recipe is also somewhere on the board. Here's my final favorite version of it. In any iteration, you just cannot believe how good this stuff tastes. This one is thick and creamy. This makes a pint:

In blender:

1/4 cup (heaping) of raw cacao powder
1/2 cup olive or flaxseed oil
1/2 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp maple extract
1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/2 cup Medjool dates
1/2 cup raw agave nectar

I usually whir everything up, then let it sit in the blender for an hour or two to really soften the dates, then blend again. Add more water if you want it, well, more watery. :)

You probably don't have to do that, with a Vitamix.

Keep refrigerated and don't tell anyone it's there or it won't be! :)

And finally, dear, I think you need a new love a little closer to home?

Res

April 20th, 2007, 10:18 PM

TeePee: Raw sausage? This is crazy!! (in a good way ;))

Res

April 20th, 2007, 10:26 PM

"raw fries" recipe. I won't believe it until I try it. I read that as, "I won't believe it until I fry it". Then went back and read it and laughed my head off. :D Cornbleet has a "fries" recipe too with Jicama. Now that I think of it, I did have a potato moment sometime this week. It may have been when I was driving home. It was a weird combo of enjoying the smell of cooked potatoes and being grossed out at the rancid oil odor at the same time.

Hey about my new love, he lives in London (which I'm fanatical about) and entirely too young for me. ;) Heck London's just a hop away. A fifteen hour hop away but that's not bad. :D

Thanks for the Chocolate Sauce Recipe, Kathy. I just printed it. It sounds amazing. What happens if I get FAT? :eek: I really do need to go through the recipe box and take it page by page to see what I like.

I'll check both of the other threads for the sausage recipe too. Apparently I need another recipe book....:rolleyes:

Love,
~Res

TeePee

April 20th, 2007, 10:28 PM

I am soo excited that you girls are doing this RAW challenge!! I love it!!! It inspires me to see more and more people diving into this!! KEEP IT UP, LADIES!!!

Here's to the red wine and garlic!!! Although, I will let my belly have a few days rest before I enjoy!!

Love to all!!

mtmouse

April 20th, 2007, 10:32 PM

Well, I looked at Vitamixes on eBay today. There are a lot of the old 3600 model, which apparently has an instant reverse switch which the new ones don't have, and I'm not sure if there's an advantage to it.

But it's stainless steel, even the carafe, which means you can't see what's in it, which I don't like very much.

And even those are selling for $200+, it seems. So if I can get a brand new one with a full warranty for ~$350 I'm not sure I'd risk that much on eBay.

Anyone got a Champ HP3? Those are being touted as very similar, better in some ways--and they fit under cupboards. :)

At least I don't need a "dry blade", because I have other appliances that cover grains and seeds.

Res

April 20th, 2007, 10:48 PM

TeePee said, "Here's to the red wine and garlic!!! " http://www.kurts-smilies.de/trink5.gif

Kathy: You may want to take a peek at the Magic Bullet. ;) I'm kind of leary about making a big purchase on eBay too. Although a friend of mine does it and he's never had any problems. Ya never know.

Well, I'm deciding on whether I want to go sip some almond milk or munch on chopped carrots or eat RP fudge. Soon it will be time to turn the scones over...heh, scones. This is so much fun. :D

Love to all,
~Res

mtmouse

April 21st, 2007, 12:49 AM

I want to hear about those scones. I've been wanting to make them ever since they were first mentioned here, but I've never gotten around to it. Did you make a full recipe?

I've bought some big things on eBay before, so it's not like I'm worried about the actual purchase. I'm just worried about spending almost the same amount (well, over half, like $200+ instead of $350) for something I might need to replace soon. If I could get a used one for $50, it would be no question; that would let me see if shelling out for a new one would be worth it.

I can buy new ones on eBay, too, so I may just do that, since my Costco isn't going to have them until August.

I'll just stew over it some more, that's the ticket!

:eek:

Res

April 21st, 2007, 11:27 AM

You said "stew". :o

:D I did make the scones but only made half a batch because I didn't have enough apples for the entire recipe.

Keep in mind I'm still very new to this whole dehydrating thing so I have no knowledge of my own to compare with. I went on a tirade in the -After the cleanse thread - about what the recipes definition of "spoonfuls" means and I still have no clue. So I used a Tablespoon, heaping, and dropped the "batter" on to the sheets. Oh, I also chopped the cranberries in my bullet. I didn't grind them to powder, but I did chop because the recipe doesn't call for much sweetner (I actually like that) and I know the cranberries can make your mouth pucker. :) Well, they turned out FANTASTIC and beautiful and I've just stored the rest in a Green Bag.

Regarding the sweetness aspect of the scones, heating in the dehydrator and then drizzling agave or maple over them is an option. They don't need it but if you need that "sweet" boost why not! Oooh or, I have a few mangoes that are ripe and I like the idea of puree'ing one and possibly pouring the mango over the scone. Hmm, maybe dipping the scone in the puree. The possibilites are endless. ;)

The scones are now on my Staples List. ;)

I would like to move a bit from all the nut recipes though to more veggie recipes. I'm working on it. Since I grow collards, I suppose I can take your "wrap" suggestion and just shred a bunch of veggies and come up with some sort of "salty-ish" sauce to dip the wraps in. Peter's wife posted a dip recipe that I'll have to revisit. I can't remember the ingredients.

ALSO, I need to veer towards the GREEN SMOOTHIES. :p Boutenko has a bunch that are doable. I was checking out her book again last night.

*Hug You* for doing this with me. :)

You know the "calm" on the cleanse? I'm finding that very same calm but with a full stomach on the Raw Challenge. :) I'm really quite happy, content and excited about this all at the same time.

So what's on the menu today? :)

Love,
~Res

I'll be back, heading out the door for a bit.

Res

April 21st, 2007, 11:28 AM

TeePee: Thinking of you and hoping you're feeling better. :)

Love,
~Res

Ginger

April 21st, 2007, 01:39 PM

I think I'm going a little food crazy and need to back off. I had GF juice for breakfast. Then made toona. Yummy. I put it on romaine with some sprouts and avacado. I ate too much. And some pickled bok choy and THREE handfuls of spicy almonds. I'm soooooo full. But, I just wanna TASTE things!!! I'm stopping now.

I'll prolly just have a small salad for dinner, if I can even eat.

Res

April 22nd, 2007, 02:22 PM

Ginger: ;) Things will calm down. I think we've all been through the phase of wanting to taste everything. :)

Love,
~Res

Res

April 22nd, 2007, 02:39 PM

:)

I made "lasagna" last night but didn't get to eat it because I had company. I did taste the Marinara sauce though and it was almost exactly what I was hoping for. :)

I had to run a bunch of errands thing morning and didn't get home until now (11:22 am) but I've been out since 8am. Well, I was so hungry when I got home that I decided to have lasagna for breakfast.

The pictures don't do it justice and I didn't have avocado last night when I made it. I can see how the avocado would give it a more noodly-cheesy texture. But even without OH MY GOSH. I think the flavors "Married" very well overnight and the zucchini softened up quite a bit. The only thing missing is extra garlic, french bread and a bottle of wine. ;)

This pic is big and too dark:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w166/resonnant/RawLasagna.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w166/resonnant/Lasagnadish.jpg

This one is better. Mmmmm

While out shopping I picked up "Jerusalem Artichokes". I've searched for these things for years. I'm going to eat a few and then plant the rest. I've never had them before but one thing is for certain they'll be eaten raw.:)

I picked up some Sweet Potatoes too. Does anyone have a good dehydrator recipe for them? They're so good raw but "chips" sound good.

OH! Trader Joes has Grey Celtic sea salt cheap! Their's is called "Coarse Sea Salt, product of France". Well, it looks the same, smells the same, tastes the same as the Celtic. I pay $8.00 for 12 oz at the Health food store and paid $3.99 for 15 oz at Trader Joes. So go there! :) lol

Still unpacking, will be back.

How's everyone doing today?? :)

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

April 22nd, 2007, 03:14 PM

I just spent 3 hours in the kitchen uncooking, LOL!

First I made wheatmeal for breakfast, processed with leftover pineapple instead of apples, and it tasted great with bananas and instant almond milk. We had it with warm scones. Have to say, I liked 'em but didn't go wild over them like y'all do! But DH likes them, and I think maybe he'll start having them as snacks. Hope so.

Then I made my cats three new batches of food (turkey, chicken, elk). (They've been eating raw for lots longer than I have, LOL.)

Then I made up some new pizza crusts. I didn't have red pepper, so I substituted broccoli. So they aren't as pretty as usual, but then they get covered up for eating anyway!

By the time I was done with all that I was really thirsty. I had some leftover so-so watermelon and still had some pineapple, plus I had carrot juice left over from the scones last night. So I threw all that into the blender. As you can imagine, it tasted terrific. It was beautiful, too. But, always looking for more GREENS, I threw in a bunch of spinach too. Still tasted terrific, but it wasn't as pretty. :(

But I totally forgot that I had saved out soaked flaxseed after switching to flax meal last night for my scones. I intended to put those in the pizza crusts and didn't see them until way too late.

One of the things I'd love to find is a raw recipe site that lets you search by ingredient. Even the books I have don't let me do that. I like to look in my fridge, see what I've got that needs to be eaten, and go from there (as opposed to deciding I'm going to make a particular thing and then buying the ingredients for that). Well, actually, I do both. But you know what I mean!

Anyway, does anyone have a favorite recipe that uses soaked flaxseed? If so, bring it on! :p

And Res, that lasagna looks fabulous! Which book did you use?

And I can buy Celtic salt in bulk at my health food store and coop. I think it runs around $3.99 or $4.99 a pound, so that Trader Joe price is really good!

Res

April 22nd, 2007, 06:42 PM

I just spent 3 hours in the kitchen uncooking, LOL! http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/happy051.gif I'm feeling your pain.

I'm also trying to organize my refrigerator. What a pain! :o

The Lasagne: Cornbleet, page 114. The Marinara is on page 65. She said use 1/2 cup of marinara and I just realized if it made more than that I used the entire thing. It's almost gone though - I'm down to just about one more small serving. I'm definitely making this again but will have avocado on hand. :) Oh, and I didn't have sundried tomatoes so I just used the tomatoes I had. They weren't even Roma's but it still turned out great.

I picked up sundried tomatoes at Trader Joes. Not the ones in oil. While I was putting everything away and getting food ready for work tomorrow I munched on almost half the bag of tomatoes! They're so good and they make you work for it! This would be a great treat to give kids. It's good for them, they have to work hard to be able to chew and swallow which could provide parents/grandparents about 10 minutes of quiet time. :) Then give them another one. lol

When I came home earlier my house smelled like someone was cooking sausage. Mmm, it was all the garlic I put in the Marinara sauce. ;) Didn't Teepee or someone just post a recipe for sausage? :)

I'm out of here. Sort of tired. I hope everyone is doing well today. Kathy you're a fun raw Buddy. ;)

Oh yeah, flaxseed: I'm a novice, but couldn't you just grind up a few walnuts to the flaxseed, add some coconut, raisins and cinnamon and make cookies in the dehydrator?

I'm not sort of tired, I'm exhausted. I really hope the RAW bit will help with hypothyroidism.

Love to all and have a great week!
~Res

mtmouse

April 22nd, 2007, 06:51 PM

The Lasagne: Cornbleet, page 114. The Marinara is on page 65. She said use 1/2 cup of marinara and I just realized if it made more than that I used the entire thing. It's almost gone though - I'm down to just about one more small serving. I'm definitely making this again but will have avocado on hand. :) Oh, and I didn't have sundried tomatoes so I just used the tomatoes I had. They weren't even Roma's but it still turned out great.

Yum! I'm making that next!

This afternoon (this was after my marathon uncooking session of this morning) I made new marinara sauce and cheeze sauce for my pizza crust for dinner tonight. I can just use those for that lasagna! Or make up a new batch of mac nut cheese. (Note on p. 115 Cornbleet gives ricotta cheese variations. I don't usually eat avocado, but I can make up some good cheese--or use today's.)

Hope you sleep well and wake up refreshed and ready to take on the world! Again! :D

TeePee

April 22nd, 2007, 10:31 PM

Res, thanks for the well wishes. ya know, I really am wondering if what i experienced as the possible flu was one of these "healing crisis"?? I am also researching the um, "changes" in women's cycles on raw. Hmmm.

Feeling much, much better. Two days of driving in 75-80 sunshine with the top down (car that is!!) will help anyone. oh, and eating a the best raw restaurant in the world works wonders....especially the drinks!

Res, your lasagne looks exactly like the one I saw at Pure Food and Wine last night. GO, GIRL!!!

mtmouse, searching recipes by ingredient would be amazing wouldn't it?

I just made a batch of chocolate pudding. And I have "corn chips" in the DH. I have not been very successful with those and they are a long running craving for me. This recipe is from "The Raw Truth" and I am hoping better than all the others. It is different because it has coconut meat. Supposed to make the chip crunchier or something. I know I won't be up in 5 hours to flip..so it will have to go a little longer.

Isn't this FUN?!?!?!?

mtmouse

April 22nd, 2007, 10:43 PM

Yes, TeePee, it IS fun!

Res, I forgot to say: I just threw out all my yam chips. On my first batch I cut them with my spiralizer and they worked okay, but weren't consistently sized and many ended up paper-thin.

So then I got the mandolin slicer. Its thinnest slicing setting made them thick enough for dipping after drying. Unfortunately, they turned out hard instead of crisp, and I kept biting my lip or the insides of my cheeks while trying to eat them. And they never lost that starchy taste. It finally simply became not worth it to me.

So I'm sticking with eggplant chips! :) They really do seem to provide the best of both worlds.

Ginger

April 22nd, 2007, 11:14 PM

Feeling much, much better. Two days of driving in 75-80 sunshine with the top down (car that is!!) will help anyone.

I spent the day driving in the ragtop miata, with the music cranked up, singing at the top of my out of tune lungs. It does wonders for ya, don't it? 8)

Res

April 23rd, 2007, 12:54 PM

Kathy,
I poured over Cornbleets book last night and somewhere else located a Cheez recipe. I did see the "variations" for the lasagne and although I love dairy I think it would really hurt to eat that right about now. My stomach would do flips.

Thank you for the sweet thought last night. I'm doing well today! How are you? :)

Most likely I'll just eat the sweet potato raw. I like it that way anyway. OH and the Jerusalem artichokes are fantastic! They aren't as juicy (in the same way as Jicama) but almost like a firm peach. The flavor is MUCH better than Jicama (in my opinion) and they're sweeter, nuttier, crunchier and I'll buy them again. Yum. I haven't made your eggplant chips but I'll do so soon. :)

TeePee: I'm glad you're feeling better and driving in 80 degree weather and sunshine. Nice. :)

The lasagne tastes better than it looks. :)

Ginger: I love to hear of people singing at the tops of their lungs. :D
At work - I'll be back later.

Happy Eating!!!! http://www.kurts-smilies.de/essen.gif

Love,
~Res

Ginger

April 23rd, 2007, 04:58 PM

Bf came home from work, and smelled my zukes dipped in ol oil, salt, and garlic drying in the DH. He was miffed cos he thought I had cooked him a meal. :rolleyes:

I'm putting together some food to take with me to Philly so that I don't have to eat in alot of resturants. Salad dressing, raw cereal, pates, snacks and fruit. I just had the sweetest mango. Bought 10 for $10. in Shoppers Food Warehouse the other day. Yummy.

So far I have no desire for cooked food.

mtmouse

April 23rd, 2007, 05:53 PM

Ha! I think I'm losing it.

Res, I decided to make your lasagna, and since you'd talked about the weirdness of having it cold I thought I'd make it early and let it sit in the dehydrator for the remaining approximately 3 hours before dinner. (However, I will also say that when I first started on raw food I was a bit put off by having food cold, but that's actually changed quite a bit over the last several weeks. It's so fast and easy, I often find myself simply making stuff and eating it, whatever temperature it is.) I had some mushrooms that needed to be eaten too, so I put them in the lasagna as well.

Anyway, I decided to warm up this meal. And imagine my surprise when I opened the dehydrator and found yesterday's batch of pizza crusts! Very crusty, I can assure you, despite having never even been turned over. :eek: Anyway, I got them out of there and into the freezer, and now I'm looking forward to dinner.

Also, in hunting for the mushrooms, I found some collard greens that I'd forgotten about. And forgotten to put in a green bag! :eek: Never again. I put them right into a new green bag, but I'm sure I'm going to have to use up those little puppies really soon!

In fact, maybe I'll make Cornbleet's marinated Mediterranean kale salad with them. That sounds perfect!

Natalyawoo

April 23rd, 2007, 06:23 PM

Hey All!

I'm back. This was one of the most stressful weeks ever and I have to confess, I'm starting over. The wedding, bachelorette party and good times with friends won out. Sigh. That's okay, because I know I'm ready to go again. I feel so much better eating raw. So here it is: Day 1. I'm going to make that spaghetti with zucchini tonight and the marinara sauce. (I love marinara sauce)

I'm curious about dehydrators. I don't have one, but it sounds super fun to make all that stuff. Can anyone steer me in the right direction of some information. What do you use?

I did get a really nice Cuisinart Mandolin slicer. I'm thrilled about it. It's all adjustable and takes a genius to work :). Oh well. That's part of the fun.

Good to see everyone's alive and well. Take care!

p.s. I missed you guys. :D

mtmouse

April 23rd, 2007, 06:33 PM

Welcome back, natalyawoo!

Those things happen to the best of us. Hopefully our bodies will give us appropriate feedback so we're motivated to return to the fold, LOL.

I'm all for moderation in all things, so I include times like those as part of my future. At the same time, I know when I was "allowing" myself even a few bites of this here, a few bites of that there, it wasn't nearly as easy to figure out what to eat and I wanted a lot more. So I'm sure you'll find your rhythm again.

And I really hope you don't join Sim and me in the "lose-your-thumb-to-the-mandoline" club! :eek: Yours is probably a lot more expensive, so I hope it's a lot safer!

My dehydrator is one I made myself (with DH's help) about 30 years ago (the company still sells the plans; there's a thread on homemade dehydrators on the BB that has a link in there). Presuming you'd rather have a ready-made one, I probably won't be of much help to you in that department and will let others chime in, most of whom have recently bought the Excalibur.

Res

April 24th, 2007, 02:54 PM

Definitely not buying a Mandoline - definitely not. ;)

Res

April 24th, 2007, 03:12 PM

Kathy & Gang,

SO, I'm thinking Lasagne again tonight for din din. I'll have to make more because I ate it all.

Funny thing though - I noticed that my "NEED" to eat is diminishing but not my NEED to experiment and make new foods.

So naturally my body is acclimating to this new way of eating and loving it. I'm back to SLEEPING WELL again which I *love*. I'm still amazed at how "calm" I am daily. I still have my own issues that I'm working on but this challenge is going REALLY REALLY well. :) It's what I've needed AFTER THE CLEANSE all along only I didn't know it and I was mostly resistant to it. Live & Learn. :D

TTDRC (The 30 Day Raw Challenge) is setting the stage for the rest of my life...I'm actually thinking out loud again. lol :)

OK, I'm ready for a new UN-Cook book and I think I'll go with Cohen's unless someone can convince me otherwise.

How's everyone doing? We need a new recipe! ;)

Well, my bag of snap peas is gone and it's time to get back to work.

I hope you're all having a lovely day!

Love
~Res

Natalyawoo

April 24th, 2007, 04:02 PM

So I looked up some dehydrators at Target, and I think I'll just try a real basic one. I haven't tried the lasagne, but it's surely on my list. Tonight I think I'm going to make some zucchini hummus from Cornbleet's book. I'd be curious to try some dehydrated stuff once I get one.

Res You're right; going all raw does change the way you feel- inside and out. I feel so much better because I know I'm getting those good veggies and all the things that aren't part of the average "American" diet. I don't really miss meat, either.

I'm back to ground zero (day 2 on a repeat...sigh) but hey! One day down! Take care all.

Thanks for the warning on the mandolin. I'll watch my fingers. 8)

peanutterb

April 24th, 2007, 04:38 PM

I want your recipes

PM them to me and I will put them on my raw food blog so others can benefit as well. And by "others" I mean me. :D

mershwista

April 24th, 2007, 07:44 PM

You could post them here, too : )

mtmouse

April 24th, 2007, 08:46 PM

Well, tonight I made Matt Amsden's cucumber-watercress soup, and it was actually pretty good! Like his others, it starts with a juiced veggie, in this case the cucumber. I did juice it, but then I added about six times the amount of watercress called for and blended that in, so the soup had some thickness to it. It called for raw garlic, which I left out entirely though next time I might try a tweensy bit of. But overall I was pleased.

I had it with Mediterranean kale salad (made with collards) and a piece of rosemary cracker topped with the cheeze (one of Cohen's recipes) I made for my pizza the other night and also used in my lasagna last night.

And then I had my fave: banana split with chocolate sauce!

Like some others who have posted, I certainly do feel a calm centeredness eating this way. I'm still not losing weight, but even if I don't this month I'm okay with that. I'm planning to cleanse in June, and maybe if I stay raw I'll be able to maintain whatever I lose during that.

But I'm sure enjoying this way of eating!

mtmouse

April 25th, 2007, 02:47 PM

Oh my, I'm sitting here sipping Cohen's watermelon soup (with mango, lime juice, mint, and fresh ginger) and it's divine! And I only made a half batch and still have some left over for another time.

And BTW, I discovered last night that Amsdens' book is indexed via ingredient as well as recipe name. That's really useful.

Happy eating, all! :)

Res

April 25th, 2007, 02:57 PM

One word:

"Fresh salad with olive oil/lemon and onion bread". Oops more than one word. ;) Talk about the best crouton ever. I love this onion bread and it's time to make more. I'm going to do what you do Kathy and instead of slicing the onions (too stringy) I'm going to slightly chop them instead. :)

Kathy your food sounds lovely. Anything with the word Mediterranean in it makes it much more appealing. lol

Natalyawoo: I love your attitude. :D

Peanut: To keep my sanity, I'm going to post recipes in the Lemonhead Recipe box. I'm guilty of posting recipes in more than one thread but I'm stopping! ;) They're too difficult to find! :)

mershwista:
You could post them here, too : )

:D That was so darned cute I'd pinch your cheeks if I could! :D I'll type up the "Lasagna" recipe when I get home and post it in the Lemonhead recipe box. I have my 2nd batch of it waiting for me when I get home. I like it best the next day and THIS time I had an avocado to throw in like the recipe asks for.

I never ever ever thought I'd do this (raw). What's more surprising is I never ever ever thought I'd enjoy it! :D

I'll try to make sure that I Type and Post all the recipes of what I eat because it's been amazing.

The really cool part is like what Sim said, she (and I) doesn't worry about what to eat. It's right there if you're starving; raw nuts, fruit, celery/nut butter, goji berries, raw oats for cereal, grawnola - I mean really. It's not all "Just Salad" but ya know, I love the salads and haven't got bored with them at all. OOh, and then there's the marinated stuff like Kathy was talking about. The skies the limit folks! :D

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

April 25th, 2007, 03:04 PM

I love this onion bread and it's time to make more. I'm going to do what you do [B]Kathy and instead of slicing the onions (too stringy) I'm going to slightly chop them instead. :)

I'll type up the "Lasagna" recipe when I get home and post it in the Lemonhead recipe box. I have my 2nd batch of it waiting for me when I get home. I like it best the next day and THIS time I had an avocado to throw in like the recipe asks for.

I never ever ever thought I'd do this (raw). What's more surprising is I never ever ever thought I'd enjoy it! :D

We are such twins! This foray is just so surprising to me every day. :)

In my onion bread, I actually do half and half. I slice some of them, and coarse-chop the rest.

And I don't eat avocados, so in my lasagna I used some cheese (from Cohen--IMO she has the best cheese recipes, and she has quite a few of them) I'd made for my pizza crusts. Wow! As I was eating the lasagna, and the zucchini was sliding all around as I was trying to cut it with my fork, and so the marinara sauce was going everywhere, I noticed that the cheese was soaking up the sauce! It kind of mushed together and got thick on the plate and just seemed, well, "real". LOL. Anyway, it was yummy.

And I just finished off my watermelon soup (and rosemary cracker and "cheese") snack with a cranberry scone! What's not to like? :D :D

Natalyawoo

April 25th, 2007, 04:38 PM

OK guys... where are those recipes for things like "onion bread" and "cranberry scones." Granted I don't have time until the weekend to make them but....mmmmmmmmmmmm! You're tempting me. Are you posting them in lemonhead recipes? Also, what ones are easy to make when your time is next to NOTHING.

Last night I had tomato soup and zucchini hummus. YUM! I felt like I was reeking of garlic today, but I love it. I just won't get too close to my students in class. :o

Res I'm so proud of you! Isn't it great when we do things that we never thought we'd be able to? That's how I felt about this first Master Cleanse. I didn't think I could go 3 days without eating, but I made it for 10!

This is my new challenge. It's been a learning experience, but I'm getting better. Once I get a way of "cooking" down, I never stick to the recipes and just start throwing things in. My hummus had red peppers in it and a little cayenne and green onions. It was like a "roasted red pepper" hummus. I love just throwing things in and seeing what happens. I'm going to purchase a dehydrator, too. One thing about eating raw in Phoenix; it's going to be in the 90's this week- no hot kitchen, though. :D

Have a splendid day everyone. :)

Have a great day all!

mershwista

April 25th, 2007, 05:25 PM

I'm with you on the never having I'd have stuck with raw....I even tried to get away from it, but it kept pulling me back...so I stayed

mtmouse

April 25th, 2007, 05:55 PM

Natalyawoo,

Unfortunately, half those recipes ended up being posted in the After the Cleanse thread, and half in the Lemonhead Recipe Box.

I'd go to the After the Cleanse first and do an advanced search to "onion" (it doesn't really work to search a phrase in this system) and then "scone". Set your search settings to Posts and not Threads at the bottom, and then look for the earliest ones and you should be able to find them pretty easily.

mtmouse

April 25th, 2007, 05:58 PM

I'm with you on the never having I'd have stuck with raw....I even tried to get away from it, but it kept pulling me back...so I stayed

Indeed! I have to say it's appealing in a way that no other approach to eating I've ever tried is. And, unlike "diets", I think it's easy to come back to after having "strayed". I have no sense at all of "I can't stand doing that again". Quite the contrary. It feels like coming home and nurturing myself.

I never thought I'd hear myself saying that! :o

mtmouse

April 25th, 2007, 07:49 PM

Unfortunately, half those recipes ended up being posted in the After the Cleanse thread, and half in the Lemonhead Recipe Box.

Hey! Maybe PB can find those recipes and move them to the LH Recipe Box? Huh? huh? pretty please? I'm sure we'll all give you our firstborn! :D

Sim

April 25th, 2007, 10:41 PM

Hi all~
Okay, here I am! Instead of "After the Cleanse" thread, I'm here. Thanks, Res, for asking me to join you.

I just posted in that thread so I'll just say two more things here (hey, you know what? You all are getting to be my best friends because I spend a lot of time in here talking...now I have two threads to monitor? Okey doke, more friends!)

First of all, stay away from the mandolines! (unless you're talking about the musical variety). My thumb is now back to normal, but it wasn't fun for quite a few weeks with a huge bandage and gap that looked like the parting of the Red Sea. Ewww.

Second: Yes, Raw is definitely different than anything we'll ever encounter in the other Standard American Diet food world. It is simply the best, most creative process...but you don't have to get crazy! You can just enjoy simple things if dehydrating and chopping don't fit into your schedule.

And Cornbleet's simple Lemon Herb Salad Dressing is the greatest...try it. Doesn't matter which herbs you use or even if you use dried, if that's all you have at the moment. It always comes out right.

New cookbooks: I've got Juliano's on hand at the moment and even though his stuff seems way too fancy, he has plenty of things in there that are simple and delicious...his Mac Cream was to die for over raw pasta. I'm not kidding. He also has five or six different recipes for cheese, of the kind that you put in the dehydrator and they won't spoil! I can't wait to try them. The book is a little too slick for me, but i'm a sucker so I bought it anyway, even if just for the joy at looking at him in his belly shirt. :D

Now that I've found you all here, I'll see you soon. this is just too much fun!
Be strong, kids. Remember that food is only food and it's gotta be fun so no stress allowed. Be happy! Love you all.

Res

April 26th, 2007, 08:42 AM

This is a quickie: We have to talk "gas" and I don't mean petrol. It's becoming a real problem. I haven't looked in Cornbleets book to see if it's addressed or not but I did go to the Internet and (taking with a grain of salt, sea salt ;)) this is what they say about gas and some raw veggies.

(This is in pieces) Gas (http://www.everydayhealth.com/Publicsite/Healthology/VideoTranscript.aspx?category=gi&cvalue=gi_gas)

MARK POCHAPIN, MD Gas can really get into the intestine in two main ways. One, it's swallowed, and it just doesn't leave the intestine. People, after they eat a meal, may belch, and the gas can escape through the mouth. Or food itself is actually fermented by bacteria, or malabsorbed, and some of the products of malabsorption are then utilized by bacteria in the intestine, mainly in the colon, and the bacteria look at that as food to produce a lot of byproducts, and some of the byproducts are gas.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: I think one of the most common causes of gas is food that doesn't get absorbed well. And it may be a natural phenomenon or an unnatural phenomenon. A natural type of process would be artificial sweeteners. For example, something called sorbitol, which is put in a lot of gums, sugar-free gums. People who chew that may have a little more sensitivity. The sorbitol doesn't get absorbed. Again, the bacteria utilize it, and produce a lot of gas.

Unnatural, meaning not necessarily a disease per se would be milk sugar. Milk sugar, lactose, is really a baby food. The only reason we see it in our adult life is because we have domesticated animals. But the body isn't necessarily engineered to digest milk sugar. So if people have more of an enzyme problem digesting that, then actually that will be malabsorbed too. And, again, the bacteria will work on it and produce more gas.

There are certain fruits and vegetables, especially when they're raw, like cauliflower and broccoli that, again, we don't have the right enzymes to digest it completely, so a lot of the byproducts will then be utilized by bacteria to make, once again, more gas.

DAVID MARKS, MD: But cooking helps?
MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Yes, actually, if you break down some of the complex carbohydrates and sugars to something that we can better digest and absorb, you'll have less gas.

I have more research to do on raw/gas (no pun intended) because my stomach is pooching and really shouldn't be and the gas is really bugging me. This started about 5 days ago and I'm not entirely sure why or how to get rid of it.

It's so funny to me that I come here thinking that just you guys are reading this when it's actually accessible to the entire world. I'm a fairly private person so I'm in denial. ;)

Love to all!
~Res

kiropa

April 26th, 2007, 02:11 PM

real quick -- the gas abated for me. it was awful the first two weeks of raw, it is now non-existent. there's lots of literature on food combining. i am not too careful about that & i'm okay. too much cauli or cabbage causes gas, but fruit, salads, wraps are all fine. hang in there

This is a quickie: We have to talk "gas" and I don't mean petrol. It's becoming a real problem. I haven't looked in Cornbleets book to see if it's addressed or not but I did go to the Internet and (taking with a grain of salt, sea salt ;)) this is what they say about gas and some raw veggies.

(This is in pieces) Gas (http://www.everydayhealth.com/Publicsite/Healthology/VideoTranscript.aspx?category=gi&cvalue=gi_gas)

MARK POCHAPIN, MD Gas can really get into the intestine in two main ways. One, it's swallowed, and it just doesn't leave the intestine. People, after they eat a meal, may belch, and the gas can escape through the mouth. Or food itself is actually fermented by bacteria, or malabsorbed, and some of the products of malabsorption are then utilized by bacteria in the intestine, mainly in the colon, and the bacteria look at that as food to produce a lot of byproducts, and some of the byproducts are gas.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: I think one of the most common causes of gas is food that doesn't get absorbed well. And it may be a natural phenomenon or an unnatural phenomenon. A natural type of process would be artificial sweeteners. For example, something called sorbitol, which is put in a lot of gums, sugar-free gums. People who chew that may have a little more sensitivity. The sorbitol doesn't get absorbed. Again, the bacteria utilize it, and produce a lot of gas.

Unnatural, meaning not necessarily a disease per se would be milk sugar. Milk sugar, lactose, is really a baby food. The only reason we see it in our adult life is because we have domesticated animals. But the body isn't necessarily engineered to digest milk sugar. So if people have more of an enzyme problem digesting that, then actually that will be malabsorbed too. And, again, the bacteria will work on it and produce more gas.

There are certain fruits and vegetables, especially when they're raw, like cauliflower and broccoli that, again, we don't have the right enzymes to digest it completely, so a lot of the byproducts will then be utilized by bacteria to make, once again, more gas.

DAVID MARKS, MD: But cooking helps?
MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Yes, actually, if you break down some of the complex carbohydrates and sugars to something that we can better digest and absorb, you'll have less gas.

I have more research to do on raw/gas (no pun intended) because my stomach is pooching and really shouldn't be and the gas is really bugging me. This started about 5 days ago and I'm not entirely sure why or how to get rid of it.

It's so funny to me that I come here thinking that just you guys are reading this when it's actually accessible to the entire world. I'm a fairly private person so I'm in denial. ;)

Love to all!
~Res

Res

April 26th, 2007, 02:56 PM

Kiropa: Thanks so much! I was really worried. I'm not even going to elaborate because obviously you already know! :o

The protruding stomach is really bothering me. Nothing else is growing or bulging except for my stomach. I think I'm going to do a SWF this weekend. I feel "plugged up" which makes no sense! If I was just eating nuts I could understand but I'm eating mostly vegetables and really only minimal fruit. I suppose this is an adjustment and I should just go with the flow. Eating raw is another journey of uncharted territory for me so like a newbie on the cleanse I don't really know what to expect.

I'm steering clear of broccol and now cauliflower cause holy moly!! :eek:

Something else that I've already mentioned is that lately I'm waking up with allergy type symptoms and I'm not consuming ANY dairy or anything that would cause congestion.

I just ordered Cohen's book and I have Cornbleets but I went right to the recipe section and bypassed the rest. lol :) Most likely something is mentioned about gas and adapting to eating raw but I didn't bother with it. I will now!

Thanks again for putting my mind at ease. :)

*Smooches*
~Res

Res

April 26th, 2007, 03:10 PM

Sim: So glad you're here. :D

Cornbleet has dressing recipes? I think I went straight for the Main Dishes section. :)

Mandolines: I'm not going anywhere near. I can cut myself on a blunt knife. :o

Thanks for mentioning the new recipe book. Since I'm a novice I'm going to steer clear of anything fancy because I think it would overwhelm me. Cornbleet so far has been pretty good and of course the recipes everyone posts helps me to try new things and everything has been great.

Someone (sorry) posted a Raw Fudge recipe that instruct to freeze. I put mine in the fridge and it turned out fantastic! Really takes the sugar/chocolate edge off. :) So all of this is really good.

I think there's a certain balance that's achieved from being raw for a longer period of time. For me in the beginning I'm trying to figure out "which staples" work for me so at the moment I'm not balanced yet. I'm way over to the left or the right because I don't know what I'm doing. I think it's Much easier in the longrun than it is right now (not that I think it's difficult - just different). I can foresee that mostly I'll stick to salads, onion bread, dehyrated snacks (those scone are lovely) nut butters, fruit salads - stuff like that because it's simple. Plus I'm not in my groove yet which I think will be doing all the dehydrating and preparation on the weekend to prepare for the work week. There's too much going on to be fancy during the week.

All in all I'm so happy I'm doing this. Again I have to mention that Sleep is so satisfying http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/sleep002.gif - it was pretty bad prior to this.

Kathy: You're quiet today. How are you? :)

Well lunch is almost over - have to get back to work.

Love to all,
~Res

Natalyawoo

April 26th, 2007, 04:00 PM

Res I've been having the same with the bloating and all. I think it has something to do with changing what's been in our tummies. I know that I'm a person who internalizes everything in my stomach so I'm sure that the reason I'm so bloated and "gasy" is because I'm doing something new and a little stressed. I remember that I was this way the first 5 days of my cleanse, too.

On another note, I'm on day 4! Yay! I'm still struggling with balance like the other newbies. I'm trying to find combinations of foods that leave me feeling satiated but are also good and healthy for me. I'm also a little bored with the same 5 veggies, so I'm going to try branching out. My problem is that I'm working full time and taking 9 graduate credit hours.... Term papers anyone? I thought I was done with that. :( Where's the time to be creative? I'm doing some serious menu planning this weekend so I can enjoy a better variety of foods next week.

Anyone have a good raw pico de gallo recipe? I'm craving something onion, tomato and SPICY!

Well. Lunch is over for me, too. Take care.

mershwista

April 26th, 2007, 05:45 PM

I usually only have that problem if I eat large quantities of something different than what I usually eat. For example, I started eating a lot of sprouted chick peas, and it was a problem, but after a few days I was back to normal but still eating the chick peas.

mtmouse

April 26th, 2007, 06:37 PM

Been gone all day, Res!

I've been having the gas problem, too. It's not smelly at all, but it's certainly present. My stomach is a little poochy but not too different from usual.

But I haven't had any raw broccoli or cauliflower for several weeks now, so it isn't that. During the weeks that I was eating mostly but not all raw, I had a smoothie every morning, usually with broccoli in it. It seems I might have more gas now, but I can't really remember. Since it doesn't smell, I tend to forget about it.

It would be nice if it abated, though, Kiropa, so I hope I have your experience!

Res

April 26th, 2007, 07:08 PM

Natalyawoo: Most likely it really is the body adjusting but I'm so ready to be done with the bloating and protruding stomach business. :rolleyes: I like digging deep into whatever is going on so that I can "know" what my body is doing.

I'm not taking the same amount of credits as you, YIKES! (I'm only taking 4) but I work full time too and know how precious time can be. I like the idea of preparing on the weekends and then just picking up fresh salad fixins or fruit during the week. Hang in there with the Term papers - I remember those days! 8)

Mmm, pico de gallo. Well, since I had to cook tonight for something at work tomorrow I threw together quacamole w/pico de gallo and ate it with raw carrots and Rosemary crackers so that I wouldn't be hungry while cooking.

So my quickie version of pico de gallo:

2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 inch jalapeno (seeds removed)
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tbls chopped cilantro
1 tbls lemon juice
garlic powder
sea salt

Just mix together and let sit for at least 10 minutes so the flavors can marry. Boy o Boy Yum.

mershwista: I "wish" I knew what it was and I'd stop eating it immediately! ;)

Kathy: Out all day? Ok, what new gadget did you buy? ;)

I'd like to say all the same things you just said but I can't. http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/toilet08.gif :o
I'll just have to wait it out. Oh no, I have class tomorrow night!

TeePee

April 26th, 2007, 09:22 PM

Wow! It was a lot easier to keep up with everyone's posts when I was home sick!!! You guys are doing awesome!!!

I took the Sarma's chocolate pudding to a work function today. It was a beach theme get together. They had virgin pina coladas, crackers and cheese, homemade salsa (i wanted to drink it) and fruit. so the chocolate pudding went over very well and people could not believe it was coconut and not dairy!! and yay! they had fruit!!

I'm so glad you all are flying thru this challenge and more importantly, HAVING FUN!!

Love yas!

TeePee

April 26th, 2007, 10:10 PM

FYI!!

I may have missed if someone already posted this in the last few days, but it is important enought to repeat anyway.

Check out on oneluckyduck.com on the link for "eat" You will see that the government wants to make pasturization of almonds madatory in the US. There is a link to click to take you to a petition to sign against this!! Everyone on this board needs to do this!!!

Sim

April 27th, 2007, 09:10 AM

Hi kids~
Oooh, we're having fun with gas!
Res, you found good articles on gas production but it made me wonder if the problem can also be resolved by taking a daily probiotic even now, way after a cleanse? I'm still taking one every day and I can't really say I've had a gas problem, which is unusual for someone who, pre-cleanse, pre-raw, could go TWO to THREE WEEKS without going to the bathroom. No, I'm not kidding. Ouch. When I say I was looking for a better way to eat, live, and feel, I wasn't kidding. Along with that little constipation problem came tons of bloat and gas...all gone with the MC and Raw. Definitely stay away from the cabbage family, which includes broccoli and cauliflower, until your body can rev up to digest all the raw stuff better. Also, as I found out, collards are hard to digest and are actually part of the cabbage family too. Maybe kale is too. I love those things but I have to be careful, not eat them every single day, and chew them really well. Maybe all this will help. For my part, it's hysterically funny that every morning's elimination (and the ones I have after almost every meal!) are joyous occasions for me because it's a totally new existence for me. Now, when someone tell me, "Sim, you know what? You're full of sh*t," I can honestly laugh and say, "Oh no I'm not!!" (Just a little scatalogical humor there...you all know I just can't resist :D )

And another funny thing....well, not funny. Those congestion symptoms? I HAD THEM TOO!! Anyone else experience this? I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on since I am dairy-free, but I'd wake up with a post-nasal drip that was nasty and it would continue all day. I thought maybe it was an adult-onset allergy or hay fever but it's almost disappeared, even as the trees have just started to blossom (the worst time for allergy sufferers)...so I think it's the adjustment to Raw. Hang in there. And it could also be a reaction to something, some fruit or veggie you're eating that you didn't even know affected you. Trial and error, Res. Frustrating but interesting.

I think you are all right about finding your stride and achieving balance in Raw. Look at it this way: you ate SAD your whole life and NEVER found balance, otherwise, you wouldn't be looking for some better, healthier way to eat! But it was fun to try and Raw is fun to try, too. As most of you know, I've been Raw since January 19 and I'm just beginning to slow down on the recipes and dehydrating. This is fascinating to me: in the beginning, I used my juicer/homogenizer (Omega 8005, not Champion--and I love it) and my Cuisinart (11 Cup) the most. I thought I wouldn't really need a high-speed blender (VitaMix) because I hardly used the blender. Well, now I'm really saving for that VitaMix because almost everything I make now requires the blender and the Cuisinart, plus the citrus juicer. The juicer gets used for "special" things, like ice cream and nut butters, but I don't make those often. It's also interesting that for some of us, our staples will be some things, while for others, they will be other things. For me, I always now have on hand raw nori sheets for sushi roll ups, which I often don't even cut but eat as a "cigar" roll, collard greens for making wraps, cashews and pine nuts because they don't have to be soaked (in case I forgot to soak almonds or walnuts), medjool dates and turkish apricots, salad greens, of course, and avocados. When I have no fixin's for guac, I just eat an avo with a spoon or rolled up in nori. I love eggless egg salad and it's so easy to make...and no, you don't have to have expensive macadamias to make it. And tomatoes...if you have tomatoes, there's always soup in your very near future. See? I didn't know these would be my staples, they just grew. In the beginning, I was dehydrating like a maniac...then I discovered that I could not control myself around Onion Bread or Crackers and those things DEFINITELY caused bloat and gas for me! And salt retention...that onion bread! No matter how little Bragg's or nama shoyu or tamari or even salt that I used, it was still a source of water retention. But I had to find that out for myself because my body, like your bodies, is like no one else's. I love onion bread, but I save making it for special occasions now. Dehydrated anything is delicious to me and makes me "overeat" if you can do such a thing on Raw. I think the only time I really think I've overeaten is when nuts, nut butters, and patés are involved. Not Tuna (Cornbleet's) is awesome, but when you eat a whole container in one day, ooooh, ouch. So I've learned: half the recipe if it's just for me for one meal. She already has done us the favor of presenting recipes for one or two. And even though she says it's hard to halve her recipes sometimes because you need a certain amount of liquid for a blender or processor, it can be done. Trust me. Trial and error.

On to the next thing: I am having "company" on Monday and I decided to make pizza. Everyone loves pizza, right? So I made Cohen's recipe but I used buckwheat groats, which I have not used before, and the batter came out too thin and the pizza rounds too thin and crispy. I'll use them for crackers, no problem. But I had soaked more flax and buckwheat than I needed, so I used Juliano's recipe for pizza crust. Beautiful! On paper, it looks almost the same as Cohen's, but it isn't. Here it is:
1½ cups sprouted buckwheat groats
1/4 cup Olive oil
garlic, spices, herbs; up to you whichever you like
2/3 cup carrot pulp (a good excuse to drink the juice!)
2/3 cup soaked flax seeds
You can also add: lots of fresh garlic, scallions, sun-dried tomatoes, whatever)

Okay, so his directions are really complicated, needlessly in my opinon. I just put everything ( I didn't even have carrots! I ran out earlier in the week) in the food processor and pushed the button. Spread it rather thickly on a Teflex (½ inch thick, made a 10 x 10 inch square) and dehydrated 8 hours at 100º, turned in onto the mesh screen and then dehydrated again for 8 hours at the same temp. Easy.

Make it easy, friends. The gourmet stuff is great once in awhile, but if you begin to think you always have to soak, rinse, sprout, and dehydrate, you will get impatient and frustrated and will think you have nothing to eat if you didn't plan ahead. And out comes the steak from the freezer or the bag of cookies. Don't do it...just think about which fresh things you like the best. I never thought I'd be satisfied with salad, but my salads are now gorgeous...all it takes is some red and green and white and sprouts on top. And avos! With a delicious salad dressing, you can't beat it!

Wow. I'm so rah-rah my arms are getting tired. Thanks for putting up with me. But if I help anyone at all, I guess it's a good thing, right?
Love to you...stay warm and dry...is it only the Northeast that's under water these days?

mtmouse

April 27th, 2007, 09:40 AM

Great post, Sim!

I didn't like my pizza crusts (or my calzone pouches) when I used buckwheat either. They broke up too easily and tasted too starchy.

My solution: sprout wheat berries instead of buckwheat groats. Buckwheat has no gluten (which of course is important for some people), but it's the gluten that gives dough strength and flexibility. So now I use wheat for anything like that and it works out fine! (Well, actually, I haven't tried calzone again, because it makes too much and then I eat too much, but I suspect it would be the same.)

For me, rosemary crackers are still a staple. I haven't liked my onion bread the last two batches, so it's currently on the back burner. I used to eat a lot of dried fruit, but I've noticed that I hardly ever do any more. Still do eat quite a few nuts. It seems that as long as I have some marinara sauce and spreadable cheese available, I'm good to go. (Of course, that's in addition to a slew of fresh fruits and veggies.) And I love the macadamia nut "cream cheese". Not only is it tasty, but it comes out pure white and looks just beautiful.

Starting week 3, the second half of this experiment!

mershwista

April 27th, 2007, 12:00 PM

I'm thinking about taking the challenge. Probably not till the end of April though. I've been looking at the vitamix blender on line and thinking hard about spending the money. And doncha know I went into Costco today. Lo and behold there was a booth set up selling the 5000. They wer closing up shop, so I didn't get to see the demonstration. I'm going back Saturday and may buy it. Geez, I really can't afford it right now, but I want it and they're asking $359. for it. Anyone know if that's the best price. They swore you can't get 'em cheaper.

I have a blender that I bought for $20 and use daily. Especially with my limited financial resources, I find it totally unnecessary to purchase a blender that costs hundreds of dollars! And I can make soups and smoothies like anyone else.

Res

April 27th, 2007, 03:07 PM

Kathy I can't believe we're going into week 3.

Funny thing - the last batch of my onion bread turned out so-so SO it's pretty much on the back burner as well. One thing that will always be in my fridge is the Fudge Recipe posted here somewhere. If you're looking at the fudge - something says, "No NO NO!" until I realize "Hey it's not fudge already!!" It looks the same and has a different taste but it's pure decadence and a nice treat.

I still haven't tried the pizza crust yet. I might do that this weekend and I'm anxious to make "cheese". :)

Sim I love the way you simplify things AND I've copied that pizza crust recipe to add to my collection. :)

Ok, so you went through congestion too. Interesting. Yesterday the bloating and gas was so painful I thought I was in labor. It was SO NOT FUNNY and I was so perplexed about it happening again tonight (I have 4 hours of school). I'm not sure what to "stop eating" because it's nothing that I would think would cause gas. OH! I have been taking the probiotics once a day but last night I took 2 and I do believe it was a short time after that that I began to feel better.

I think I have to simplify things even more but going to just salads, juices, fruits until this dies down. I'm so thankful no one is staying with me right now because it would be horrible for them. lol

TeePee: nice to see you again and I'm so glad they liked your pudding! Coconuts rule! :)

Lunch is just about over and I have to get back to work.

Love to all,
~Res

mtmouse

April 27th, 2007, 09:27 PM

Okay, sorry Res, but I have to share this.

After all this talk about gas and all, I discovered a cauliflower head in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so I thought WTH and made up some cauliflower tabouli last night.

And wouldn't you know it, I've had LESS gas today than the past several days! :p

Today I had an interesting dinner, though. I had a jicama in the fridge so I looked in Amsden's book (since he does index by ingredient) and found jicama cheese pierogies. They sounded interesting, and I had some cheese already made up, so I went for it. But my jicama was huge, and there was no way to spiralize it into thin strips. So I tried cutting it REALLY thin, and it was about 25 times too thick, LOL.

So then I cut it down to a spiralizer size and shape and ran it through. What a disaster! The pieces were thin enough, but they were way too tiny to make into any little "pockets".

I eventually just mixed the pile of jicama pieces with the cheese, poured on some marinara sauce, and let it warm in the dehydrator. Delicious! Not as impressive as little pockets of cheese-stuffed pierogies, but definitely tasty. So that was a good save.

I think it was Sim or TeePee who talked about the failures tasting fine? Well, they do!

:)

I made that fudge, but I eat five pieces at a time! Sometimes several times a day! :p But Res, if you haven't made that chocolate sauce, you haven't lived!

mershwista

April 27th, 2007, 11:29 PM

I hear you with the fudge...I simply don't make it anymore because I know I'll have too much!

Res

April 28th, 2007, 10:00 AM

Raw Buddies: I just woke up and I'm feeling terrible. This headache is gaining on the food poisoning headache I had 2 weeks ago. My neck hurts too. Perhaps it's a "sinus" issue/coincidence but I'm starting to get concerned. I should be feeling better! I really lucked out that it happened today because the severity of the headache would've kept me home from work (which is almost impossible at this time).

What could it be? It's hard to fathom that cooked food is the answer. :confused:
There has to be something documented out there that talks about a raw food transition.

Right now I'm doing a swf to hopefully get rid of the bloating and maybe even the headache. We'll see. I'm heading for the couch and my pillow hoping this will pass. Any ideas are welcome.

Love to all,
~Re

Res

April 28th, 2007, 10:05 AM

ok, so the words, "raw food transition" stuck with me so I googled it and came up with a bunch of hits > which I'll read later. Heading towards the couch. :o

ok I lied, I scanned this: http://www.naturaw.com/raw_food_diet.html

mtmouse

April 28th, 2007, 10:42 AM

Interesting article, Res!

peanutterb

April 28th, 2007, 10:43 AM

sounds like you're going thru detox Res. A swf may very well help.
Hope you feel better soon love.

Cooked food is not the answer!

Res

April 28th, 2007, 01:14 PM

Kathy I just read about 2/3 of the article and had no idea it was quite as indepth as that. It is interesting. I'll read the rest later.

The swf - believe it or not - didn't work. You'd think with only raw food in my system for the past 2 weeks that it would be a very "smooth move". Instead it's as if I didn't do it! I have no clue but the headache is still pounding away.

Peanut: This HAS to be detox. I can't imagine what else it could be. If I was eating NEW fruits and veggies daily I might suspect some sort of allergy or sensitivity to them but I'm not.

As of yesterday I really toned down my eating. I didn't eat from 11:30 am yesterday to about 8pm when I got home from school and all I had was the rest of the lasagna and water. I had high hopes that I'd feel much better today (bloating) and was really disappointed when waking to realize I felt like I'd been run over by a steamroller. And OH - the emotional roller coaster kicked in about an hour ago. I feel emotionally as if I'm on the cleanse!!

I AM truly thankful that I feel like crap today and not so bad during my work week. It's easier to feel bad at home when I can cancel just about any plans I might have made. But work is highly intense and will be for the next 6 weeks and I can't afford the time off of work. SO, that's a positive. :) There are actually a lot of positives. :)

Well - I do need to get to the bottom of this. I'm hoping the Raw Transition article has more info about what to expect when transitioning. If not I'll keep searching.

I hope everyone is doing well. Back to the couch for me. :)

Love you guys!
~Res

Res

April 28th, 2007, 01:18 PM

Here's another one that I can't read all the way through because of my headache....this may be the one I'm looking for and could provide a good bit of info for anyone Raw or going raw:

The hardest part of going raw: http://www.rawschool.com/basics.htm#hardestpart

Transitioning to going raw: http://www.rawschool.com/basics.htm#transitioning

Ginger

April 28th, 2007, 01:49 PM

Wow! You guys have been busy while I was gone. I'm ready to go after tonight. I did eat some cooked food while in Philly. I decided to try a real philly cheesesteak. Only I thing I got from it was constipated. :mad: I also had sashimi. Again, constipated. :mad: I tried mochi in the japanese restaurant. It's bite sized ice cream wrapped in a rice pastry. I had mango ice cream. It was good, but I prefer raw. My Bf bought me an ice cream bar. I ate a couple of bites, to be polite, then threw it away. Other than that, Over 4 days I ate raw. Tonight I'll eat vegetarian at the dinner. I do plan on having some red wine.

I feel much better when I eat raw. Going another 30 days with no alcohol will be more of a challenge than eating raw, I think.

Sim - I really enjoyed your post from yesterday.

Mershwista - If a cheap blender works for you great. But, I'm addicted to my vitamix. It's wonderful. It'll even heat my soups. It's so quick to blend foods, and cleans quickly. Well worth the investment, IMHO.

Res - I'm still having some detox symptoms. Occasionally a headache. I think I remember reading that when you first go raw, the gas is normal. It takes awhile for your body to learn to digest all raw. I think they said you have to build up the enzymes in your system. I'm not sure that's the correct terminology. But, it'll get better. I haven't had the problem yet, but i'm sure I will.

TeePee

April 28th, 2007, 07:09 PM

Hi everyone,

Again, I have to go back pages and pages to "catch up" with all this energy here!!

Sim said it beautifully, you wil find your staples that you have to have on hand and gues what, once you find them....they will change on you!!! That is one thing that is awesome about raw. It is alive and changing, never dull!!

Res, so sorry you are feeling bad! I think pure peppermint tea really helped me when I was feeling bad. Stick to mono meals too if you can. Bananas worked well for me. That would be easiest to digest.

I am enjoying the simpler raw too. Probably because when I do make something gourmet or elaborate, I am making it harder for myself. My new "thing" is taking several different versions of the same recipe and trying to tweak it to fit my tastes. For example last night I wanted to make mashed potatoes and gravy. I looked thru every last book I have and then took parts from each one. I also tried to mimic a "cooked mashed potatoe" version from an organic restaurant that was heavenly. I relied on Cohen and Juliano for the basic mashed potato. Just califlower and cashews. One says soak, one doesn't. I didn't. I don't really care for califlower, so I added some carrots. Thats what the cooked version was potatoes, tiny bits of carrot and BASIL. I also added a bit of onion and garlic. BF said it was amazing. Gravy I used Juliano's but modified. Served it with that marinated herb-encrusted mushroom steak by Rhio. But that I also deydrated overnight and it was even better that way. Oh, and Cohen's pesto stuffed mushrooms. WOW! I did the same when I made lasagne earlier in week. Which by the way lasted 3-4 days for me. So when you do make something it will give you lots of good days of eatin!! I took Cohens and Sarma's and sort of combined them and used the easiest way.

It is so much fun. I am so proud of you all for doing this!!:D

mtmouse

April 28th, 2007, 07:27 PM

Man, TeePee, you make me tired! :D

But I do the same as you--tweak and combine to suit my needs. Luckily I don't need mashed potatoes and gravy, LOL!

Res

April 29th, 2007, 12:33 PM

I just got back from the local health food store. It was so much fun and this week the groceries are a bit different (except for loading up on flax, almonds, raisins). :) Oh and I finally found RAW Macadamia nuts! :D

Question for the guru's though; Kathy you said you use Sprouted Buckwheat for the pizza dough? Well, all I could find was Buckwheat groats - will that work? Remember I have barely a clue as to what I'm doing. :rolleyes:

And a heart-felt "Thank you" http://us.a2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/a/ya/yahoo_personals3/personals_heart.gif to everyone who chimed in on my gas/bloating/feeling like crap demise. It took an amazing half a day for the swf to kick in and even then it wasn't what I was hoping for. I do feel better and the bloating and gas seem to have diminished. I did up my probiotics and I wonder if that's what helped? I'll never know for sure because I started eating "lightly" too. Oh well. :)

So I have to put the groceries away and then I'm going to post a Raw Spinch Soup recipe in the recipe box (if it isn't already there) and an AVOCADO SMOOTHIE recipe which looks really good. :)

Oooh, Cohen's book should be here soon. :)

Love to all,
~Res

Sim

April 29th, 2007, 01:22 PM

Hi all~
Every single time I'm away for 24 hours (or more) and I come back, I'm reminded how much I love you all. :)

Res~Since I just got here and wanted to write you all, I haven't read the articles yet, but I will. But even without reading the articles, I want to echo Peanutterb: cooked food is not the answer.

And I'm going to go even further for everyone's sake and say this: not every ailment, ache, emotional rollercoaster we have is due to de-tox or Raw food transition. I know, I know...we want to believe that any physical or emotional spike, either upward or down, has to do with our nutritional nourishment and our heroic efforts to rid ourselves of toxins. We want to believe that since we are now taking excellent care of ourselves and what we eat, that since we are making such effort to eat Raw, which goes against everything we're accustomed to, that since we've bought all our contraptions and are spending time soaking, chopping, dehydrating...that all of that will insulate us from every ailment on the planet. I'm sorry, friends. Not so. Oh...it helps!!! If we didn't believe what we've read, we wouldn't attempt to do away with our lifelong favorites in favor of "substitute" chocolate sauces or raw pasta instead of the real thing. We're thinking we will never again have a cold or the flu, sinus problems or allergies. We read all the stories about arthritis being cured, eczema being cured...heck, Dr. Gabriel Cousens claims he has an 80% success rate in curing schizophrenics when he puts them on a Raw diet at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona!! Frankly, I don't know whether I believe that. I'm not being negative; I do believe that what we eat has incredible influence on our thoughts and actions in addition to its influence on our health. But an 80% cure rate? Wouldn't every psychiatric facility in the world put schizophrenics on a Raw diet first, before giving debilitating medications, to see if Raw were truly able to "cure" schizophrenia? I guess what I'm trying to say is that Raw is fabulous, but may not be able to ward off every single ailment we might experience, nor will it cause every single ailment we might experience. Sometimes our bodies just get sick from a germ, a bacteria, a virus and even though we might be healthier by eating Raw, certain strains of those things might just be a tad too powerful for our bodies to resist on any certain day.
So Res, I'm so sorry you, of all people, feel so sick, because you are so sincere in everything you do and say AND you have a wicked sense of humor to boot!:D I'm sending you good, white healing light thoughts so you get better soon. Oh! And while you're feeling bloated, don't have any tamari, shoyu, Bragg's...if you need some salt, use a little Celtic mixed with water.

Ginger~ Thanks! I never know whether I'm being annoying or not when I write long posts. I give you all permission to scroll right through me if you think I'm horrible and pontificating!:D By the way, I don't think our bodies "build up enzymes" at all. Supposedly, we are born with a certain amount of enzymes or enzyme-producing capacity. When those enzymes are used up or are getting used up, we age, our organs physically age, from being overburdened. The reason we eat raw is because our bodies don't have to manufacture or use up our own enzymes to digest cooked food because the raw food has its own enzymes. Therefore our bodies, instead of using up energy on manufacturing enzymes, can use our own energies to do other work, like produce hormones, have good circulation, kidney and liver function, etc. I am such a Raw food geek!

I have just GOT to get a Vitamix!!! I'm so tired of stopping my blender to scrape down ingredients and/or adding water!!!

TeePee~ You have more energy to experiment with recipes that anyone I know! You are my hero!!!!

A question: have you all tried making sushi rolls? I would not believe how filling they were if someone told me, but I guarantee that if you try them, ONE ROLL is enough! Take a sheet of raw nori, lay it shiny side down on the counter. Put a DRY collard or romaine leaf on it, near the edge closest to you. (There are lines in the nori; have the lines in a vertical position). On top of the leaf, put some kind of paté: Not Tuna, Sunny Paté, Mac or Cashew Cream, any kind. Then put a strip of carrot, red pepper, daikon, cucumber, mushrooms, apple slices, avocado, sprouts or any combination of those. If the collard is large, fold up the far side of the collard over the veggies. If you used Romaine and it's not big enough, put another Romaine leaf on top of the veggies, then roll it all up. The reason you want the veggies covered is because you don't want the nori to get wet because it will get soggy. Okay, before you get to the very end of rolling, with your fingertip and some water, wet the far end then finish rolling. This will hold the nori in place. The roll should be tight, like a cigar. Cut the roll into ½-3/4 inch pieces and you will see a beautiful sight! If you like, you can use some wheat-free Tamari for dipping. I usually don't because the flavor is so good, I don't want to taste salt, just veggies. And don't be fooled: the apple is delicious with those veggies!

Have fun, everyone. Make it a beautiful day...and for you, Res, I hope your day just feels better, even if it doesn't feel beautiful yet!

TeePee

April 29th, 2007, 07:13 PM

Sim --You Are Amazing And You Rock!!!

mtmouse

April 29th, 2007, 11:06 PM

Sim,

I have just GOT to get a Vitamix!!! I'm so tired of stopping my blender to scrape down ingredients and/or adding water!!!

WHAT!!!!! I don't have to scrape down a Vita-Mix? Are you serious?

Ginger

April 30th, 2007, 08:38 AM

Once in a while I might need to scrape, but not often. And sometimes with the thicker ingredients, I have a tough time getting it all out. But, it's so easy to clean. Just fill with water and a dropor two of dishwasher liquid. Let it run and it's clean.

mtmouse

April 30th, 2007, 02:59 PM

Question for the guru's though; Kathy you said you use Sprouted Buckwheat for the pizza dough? Well, all I could find was Buckwheat groats - will that work? Remember I have barely a clue as to what I'm doing. :rolleyes:

Sorry, I almost let this one slip through the cracks.

Yup, buckwheat groats are exactly what you want to use for sprouting. They sprout fast, too. Soak for 4-6 hours, then sprout for a day or so, until little tails start to show.

But I don't like buckwheat for my pizza dough; too fragile. I much prefer sprouted wheat for that. Takes a few more days for the sprouting, though.

Res

April 30th, 2007, 03:05 PM

Haha, Sim I agree: If I stub my toe I can't blame it on detox. ;) lol However when something out of the ordinary happens like this, and the only thing I'm doing different is completely changing my eating habits, ;) it *could* be detox. Most likely my body is wondering what's going on. :confused:

Toning things down food-wise has been VERY nice and I really do hate to focus on weight loss so I won't - but I will mention that a pair of pants that were tight last week are no longer tight. And something even BETTER - my face (I know it's only been 3 weeks but...) looks "younger". And for me to notice is a big deal. And for the most part - I feel good now. :)

I hope everyone is doing well! :)

Kathy, not sure where I posted or if you responded but are "Buckwheat groats" okay to sprout for the pizza? Anyone? :)

Love,
~Res

Back to work!

mtmouse

April 30th, 2007, 03:11 PM

Hi Res,

Yes, I finally remembered that question and answered it above.

peanutterb

April 30th, 2007, 03:40 PM

today's my first day raw. (well technically yesterday was but whatever) just stopping in to say hi.

hi.
:)

mtmouse

April 30th, 2007, 03:44 PM

Welcome, peanut!

Lotsa good eatin' going on here! Jump on in!

peanutterb

April 30th, 2007, 03:52 PM

Raw food Events in a city near you

http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/2007/04/upcoming_raw_fo.html

Raw Food Karaoke Party (New York City, NY)

May 6th - Sunday
Hosted at Karaoke DUET (53 W 35th Street #2F)
4:00pm to 8:00pm
Enjoy the company of your fellow raw fooders, while you croon some tunes
More info: Raw Food Meetup 12 - New York City (http://rawfood.meetup.com/12/) Rejuvenation Retreat (Hot Springs, Arizona)

May 2nd - 6th
Raw vegan cuisine, invigorating yoga, inspiring lectures
More info: dancingbutterfly.net (http://www.dancingbutterfly.net/retreats/arizona_hotSprings_052007.html) 30 Day Living Raw Program 2007 (Kittery, Maine)

June 22nd to July 22nd
30 Day raw transformation with Alissa Cohen
More info: alissacohen.com (http://www.alissacohen.com/rawfoodprograms_30day.html) (http://www.alissacohen.com/rawfoodprograms_30day.html) Detox your world Retreat 2007 (UK)

October 1st to October 4th
Three amazing nights with Shazzie and David Wolfe
More info: detoxyourworld.com (http://www.detoxyourworld.com/acatalog/retreat_2007.html) Raw Spirit Festival (Sedona, Arizona)

October 12th to October 14th
The biggest, baddest raw food festival on the planet!
More info: rawspiritfest.com (http://www.rawspiritfest.com/)

TeePee

April 30th, 2007, 06:54 PM

YAY PEANUT!!!! KEEP IT UP!!:D

Res

April 30th, 2007, 06:58 PM

Peanut: Welcome to Good Food again! We're really glad you're here with us. It's a secret part of the board that nobodys knows about except for us... so shhhh. Views:1.754 Replies: 180 ;)
Yay!! http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/bounce017.gif

Res

April 30th, 2007, 07:00 PM

I WANT WHAT SHE'S HAVING!! http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/bounce016.gif

peanutterb

April 30th, 2007, 07:45 PM

aw, what a great welcome!
thanks. You know I had to ban myself from this thread while I was fasting because I was truly beginning to hate all of you. :p

Today's been going great. Not having any fruits or nuts (trying to make sure I clear up candida/yeast/whatever's going on "down there")

had a whole bunch of carrots to make up for the lack of crunch aka nuts.

breakfast - Carrot sticks. and PH balance juice from the juice place - celery, cucumber, lemon, spinach and parsley (www.ardensgarden.com)
lunch - Carrots sticks, sugar snap peas, celery sticks dipped in very garlicy guacamole
dinner - salad with sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes sprouted peas and avocado dressing (watered down guacamole)

I really thought it was going to be harder eating veggies only but it's not been bad at all.

looking for a recipe for cauliflower tabouli right now. had some at a raw restaurant on the weekend and would like to make it.

the one thing i don't like about eating is how full/bloated my belly has been feeling. it's a strange and ugly feeling.

mershwista

April 30th, 2007, 09:13 PM

That bloat may even just be the body adjusting to the changes: I get that way if I drastically change my eating habits, and then a few days later, it is gone. Hope your tunny feels better soon!

peanutterb

April 30th, 2007, 09:41 PM

That bloat may even just be the body adjusting to the changes: I get that way if I drastically change my eating habits, and then a few days later, it is gone. Hope your tunny feels better soon!

thanks. i really hope so. because i'm really worried i'm doing something wrong or hurting myself, but i know i'm not. i'm not eating alot and i'm eating raw. i stopped eating nuts, and still, i feel full even when i'm not. my belly feels like it just doesn't want to digest stuff. lol like it wants to go back on vacation. anyway, maybe it's just a case of the mondays :p

Sim

May 1st, 2007, 08:28 AM

[QUOTE=peanutterb]aw, what a great welcome!
thanks. You know I had to ban myself from this thread while I was fasting because I was truly beginning to hate all of you. :p

Today's been going great. Not having any fruits or nuts (trying to make sure I clear up candida/yeast/whatever's going on "down there")
had a whole bunch of carrots to make up for the lack of crunch aka nuts.

Peanut!
I met a lady one day at the Wild Oats juice bar who has studied in no less than three different Raw "institutes" and we got to talking. She said that carrots and carrot juice are the WORST things to have if you have ANY candida/yeast suspicions...something about the high-sugar content feeds into the candida. No carrots, no beets for you until you're all better!!!!!!! And you'd better listen to this mama because you're too valuable to be bothered by yeast!!!! :)

Sim

May 1st, 2007, 08:46 AM

My Friends~
I know this is not the place to ask, but since all of you are the best sources of knowledge (and have some pretty clever wiseguy answers which always make me laugh, even as I read), I'm asking here.

I'm starting my second 40 day cleanse this month so I'm ready to go to Ireland with a healthy mindset. Here's the question and yes, I've already been to the Newbie thread to read about this and yes, I did read Peter's post on it but I wanted YOUR opinions...I have rosacea and it's been under complete control for a year. Great! But about a month ago, my face started to itch and burn and then I started to look like a monster, so I did the only thing that's "cured" it in the past: almost against my will, I started taking Zithromax, the wonderful antibiotic. I have to take it every day for a solid 30 days! Horrible for my body, great for my skin. I was hoping that between the cleanse and Raw, I wouldn't have to go through this anymore but no such luck. When your skin hurts to much that you can't sleep, it's time to do something about it. I've been on the antibiotic for twelve days and sure enough, it's helping (but I feel like I'm being traitorous to my body. Sigh.) So the question: does anyone know if the MC while taking this particular medication will hurt me or rather, will this particular medication will hurt me while I do the MC? Do I have to wait until I finish the meds? I could do that, but it means I will be breaking my fast for only a day before I leave for Ireland and I'm worried about the adjustment back to eating too soon (after a 40 day cleanse, I need at least a week, if not 10 days to transition...and I don't even know how much Raw I'll find on the Dingle Peninsula. We're backpacking all the way.) I know Peter said, "talk to your health care practitioner" about fasting while taking meds, but I happen to know that my "practitioner" doesn't recommend the MC at all and we all know that the MC has major benefits, so I can't listen to him. (He's my doc of the past; I'm searching for a good holistic MD now). Any thoughts or knowledge of this my friends? Please let me know when you get a chance. Thanks all :o

peanutterb

May 1st, 2007, 09:47 AM

Peanut!
I met a lady one day at the Wild Oats juice bar who has studied in no less than three different Raw "institutes" and we got to talking. She said that carrots and carrot juice are the WORST things to have if you have ANY candida/yeast suspicions...something about the high-sugar content feeds into the candida. No carrots, no beets for you until you're all better!!!!!!! And you'd better listen to this mama because you're too valuable to be bothered by yeast!!!! :)

crap that sucks cus i sure at an entire bag of baby carrots yesterday.
thankfully i'm feeling better today. no itchiness.
but i will keep that in mind for the next time. wish you'd told me that 24 hrs earlier :)
that reminds me - i have a delicious carrot beet salad in the fridge i made yesterday to enjoy today. :)

i plan to still take it easy with the sugars and probably do one day a week of veg only. but maybe veg and nuts.

Res

May 1st, 2007, 12:51 PM

Sim: I say "go for it". I put myself in your place and I would take the Zithromax while cleansing if I needed to. We do the best we can, right? Right! :D

Gotta go, work calls. :)

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

May 1st, 2007, 05:11 PM

I just had a very interesting lunch!

As I've mentioned before, I've been trying Matt Amsden's soups. I was a bit disappointed with the first one, because I followed the recipe and it turned out to be really nothing more than a mix of various juices.

So today, when I wanted to try his Dixie Chicken Chicken-Less Noodle Soup, which calls for a base of juiced daikon, I decided to just blend the daikon with enough water to make it "soup-like" and go from there. Worked like a charm! In the end I decided to dump in some leftover curry sauce I'd made for a batch of burgers that were long gone. I had it with some rosemary crackers and mac nut cheese with broccoli sprouts. Between the daikon and the curry sauce, I've never had such hot cold soup, LOL! But it was tasty.

Winks

May 1st, 2007, 07:57 PM

Hi there,

Has the one month Raw Challenge started yet??? I am in ..if I am not too late.

I finish my 21 day fast on May 4, 2007... after couple of days on OJ , I then plan a week of green smoothies.. So I won't have started to eat before May 14, 2007. I am looking for support with a one month raw food challenge to keep me accountable and on track when I actually start eating raw.

Any one up for a buddy system?

Here's to ya

Winks
MC 1; 27 days; MC 2; 21 days

mtmouse

May 1st, 2007, 08:07 PM

Yes, it's begun--as you can see from my signature, we're well into it. But you'll find lots of support here anyway. Some of us (TeePee and Sim) have been eating 100% raw since January!

So definitely drop by as soon as you're ready to start your own challenge. We'll be here for you!

Ginger

May 1st, 2007, 09:28 PM

The last few days have been so busy, that I couldn't start the challenge. Now I'm going to go "official" on the 6th or 7th. My daughters birthday is the 6th, so I'm waiting till after her party. But, I'm only eating raw till then.

Pnut - I saw your post on the carrots and meant to tell you they were pure sugar, but then I forgot. So I'm glad that Sim caught it!!

peanutterb

May 1st, 2007, 11:02 PM

carrots are pure happiness and you can't tell me otherwise.

peanutterb

May 2nd, 2007, 12:34 AM

Good news and bad news.

Good news is I got a freelance job at an agency in NY and start on Monday.

Bad news is I want to eat at one of my favourite restaurants (ethiopian or indian) before I leave and that means I'll be having a non-raw meal.
I'm 90% sure I'm going to do this. But I haven't fully decided. This will be on Friday. Or maybe Thurs and Fri so I can get both in. But there's still that 10% of me that's rational of course, so maybe she'll stand up and say something sensible to the rest of us.
:p

Sim

May 2nd, 2007, 01:32 AM

[QUOTE=peanutterb]Good news and bad news.

Good news is I got a freelance job at an agency in NY and start on Monday.

Bad news is I want to eat at one of my favourite restaurants (ethiopian or indian) before I leave and that means I'll be having a non-raw meal.

CONGRATS on that new job!!! You'll be in NY and I have a GREAT solution for your Indian/Ethiopian dilemma. First of all, DON'T DO IT. It kind of reminds me of "back in the day" when promising myself I'd diet tomorrow and I'd pig out on everything I could think of the night before I was supposed to start. And guess what? I never quite got it ALL out of my system so I constantly found reasons to sabotage that diet! So here's the answer: skip the Ethiopian/Indian (hey, if youreally want them after you leave, you can find great Ethiopian/Indian food in NYC) and come here for Pure Food and Wine! It's a trade off but ooooh, you'll feel so empowered by the fact that you didn't let the food thing get to you. Of course, all that said, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do :D New jobs deserve applause!!!!!!!!!!!!!

peanutterb

May 2nd, 2007, 02:54 AM

yeah, you're right.
i know what you're saying Sim. But these are my special atlanta places. my bf and i have a booth at the indian place and the people at the ethiopian place treat me like family. it's more about the experience than the food.
eating is about communion too you know. i was thinking of inviting a couple friends to the ethiopian spot on friday night bc they have live music.
plus i'd been saying i'd go to both places when i stopped doing raw week after next. and honestly, i donno where i'm going to be staying initially in ny and all that stuff is up in the air so will i really be able to continue being raw in ny next week is still a big question mark to me
:confused:
so we'll have to see

Res

May 2nd, 2007, 03:00 PM

Kathy,

That "does" sound like an interesting lunch. Next will be Amsden's book to purchase. :p I'm still waiting for Cohen's to arrive.

Winks: Welcome Aboard this ship and another new adventure. ;)

Don't worry about the 30 day challenge already in progress. I think mine is going to turn into the "360 day challenge". I really like eating raw and I really like how I feel - now that is. ;)

I think I had a few heavy detox days but I'm good now. :)

Peanut: Congrats on the new job! Is this is keeper? :)

Hi Sim, Hi Ginger: :) More later - have to get back to work.

Love to all,
~Res

Ginger

May 2nd, 2007, 05:47 PM

PB - I'm SOOOO happy for you. That's awesome. :D 8) :D How's the BF gonna handle you being so far away? :eek:

Sim

May 3rd, 2007, 09:32 AM

Hi Res, Kath, Ginger, Skinnyminnie, Winks, everyone!
And yes, please remember, everyone here is absolutely perfect even if we revert to cooked food or mess up a cleanse midway. That's 'cause we're ever in search of ourselves...and that makes us perfect.

Kathy: you are 100% dead on about food being a communion. Back in the olden days, "breaking bread" with someone meant that they were supposed to be friends for life and that once a meal was shared, there could be no treachery between the two. That's biblical and sure, things have changed, but I love the concept. So of course, go ahead and be in your favorite places and eat some favorite foods. In the great scope of life, it's not going to "harm" your body...on the other hand, it might "harm" your soul not to!! Have a good time...it is NOT always about the food.

Okay, kids...I'm gearing up for my 40 day cleanse by winding down my eating just a bit and by NOT purchasing more greens and avos this week. BUT, I have two canteloupes, 14 mangoes (these are actual numbers!), 5 pounds of apples, a container of Eggless Egg Salad and one of Not Tuna, and 8 avos to consume first...good thing I didn't plan on starting this week! Of course, I could invite some people over to help eat it all...any takers?:)

Have a good day...talk to y'all later.

mershwista

May 3rd, 2007, 09:39 AM

Hi Res, Kath, Ginger, Skinnyminnie, Winks, everyone!
And yes, please remember, everyone here is absolutely perfect even if we revert to cooked food or mess up a cleanse midway. That's 'cause we're ever in search of ourselves...and that makes us perfect.

I like that. I would argue, though, that it is our higher self that is perfect, and sometimes in this physical world we fall short of that which we are capable of.

Ginger

May 3rd, 2007, 10:02 AM

mershwista

May 3rd, 2007, 11:32 AM

Hey Sim - Those mangoes will freeze. Just peel 'em and put 'em in frezzer bags. Then, after the cleanse you can use them to make sorbet. Just let them thaw for a few minutes, toss 'em in a blender with a splash of oj. Don't forget to remove the seed. Yummm!!

I'm not completely raw yet, but about 98%. Yesterday, I had sudden sugar cravings. I'm a total sugar junkie, but haven't had the problem since coming off the cleanse. I totally lost it yesterday and ate a bunch of jelly beans. Then, to top it off, Baskin Robbins was having a fundraising. Each Sccop of ice cream was 31 cents. :eek: :eek: :eek: . So I had THREE!!!!!!

For breakfast yesterday I ate grapes, mango and blackberries. That was all it took. Lesson learned (again).

I'm with you about the sugar! It has such nasty effects that I must avoid all refined sugar completely--no exceptions! If I have a bit of refined sugar, I have a REALLY hard time preventing myself from going overboard later that day and just gorging on sugary foods. One reason I love raw--the problem of refined sugar doesn't exist!

Res

May 3rd, 2007, 01:01 PM

Sim: We're with you whether you're starting a cleanse or not! And if I was close I'd help you out with those mango's. (I could marry one). ;)

When are you starting? I'm so excited for you! :D My next cleanse (4 or 5 months down the road) will be a 40 too. We're your Cheerleaders! :)

I've been officially RAW 18 days as of today (or 20 if you count the days I was throwing up) and really loving it. :) I'm not here a often as I'd like because work and school are really busy at the moment. Finals in 2.5 weeks at school and a huge workload at work.

How's everyone doing?? :)

Kathy: Yikes! DVD's arrived yesterday! :eek: I hope the other did too. :confused: Let me know.

So much to do so little time.

Now for my new favorite line:

HAPPY EATING! http://www.kurts-smilies.de/essen.gif http://www.kurts-smilies.de/yumyum.gif

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

May 3rd, 2007, 01:07 PM

Sim: We're with you whether you're starting a cleanse or not! And if I was close I'd help you out with those mango's. (I could marry one). ;)

Res,

For an old maid you have more fiances than anyone I've ever heard of!

hehehehehe

:p

peanutterb

May 3rd, 2007, 01:33 PM

hey all, just checking in.

tummy still responds funny to stuff.
made cauliflower tabouli and toona yesterday. and almond milk this morning. gonna make ice cream today. wanna make cheese but who am i really making all this food for?

really gonna miss my blender and food processor and huge kitchen when i move. and my bf. but that's a whole nother story.

gotta go run some errands. i am still debating going to the indian or ethiopian spot to eat friday night but my bf doesn't think i should and he's really the main reason i wanna go, so i can share and have communion with him one last time. not that i'm not coming back, but i just donno when yet. but whatever. we will see. we've been fussing with each other alot lately so we've got to work that out first too.

did i mention my belly hurts? i'm having good bms at least. but i consistently feel bloated like i drank too much water. and i burp quite a bit. i'm trying to work it out and figure out what's causing it, if it's any food in particular, but it seems to be everything.

i'm thinking of going to buy some flax crackers from this restaurant around here so i can enjoy my guac, tabouli and toona. but i can also use cabbage or raddichio or however it's spelled.

anyway, hope everyone is doing well.
i haven't started packing yet. what's wrong with me? :eek:

mtmouse

May 3rd, 2007, 01:38 PM

Okay gang,

End of week 3.

Here are my weight stats:

Start weight: 166.0. My subsequent weekly averages:

After week 1: 165.3
After week 2: 165.3
After week 3: 165.1

All I can say is HUMPH! So much for losing 8-10 pounds during this challenge, huh? :p

peanutterb

May 3rd, 2007, 01:42 PM

mtmouse: any change in inches or body fat percentage or energy and general well being?

mtmouse

May 3rd, 2007, 01:44 PM

Yeah, unfortunately pants feel a bit tighter and fat percentage is up. Obviously, I'm overeating. Duh.

However, my mood is up too, as is general well being! :)

peanutterb

May 3rd, 2007, 01:47 PM

oooh yes, overeating probably is it. cut back on fatty products, nuts, avocado etc. i think that'll help.
i'm trying to switch my days up, so one day if i have alot of nuts, the next i have very little. and same with fruits and veggies. i've read that it's good to switch your calorie intake amount as well as type so your body doesn't get used to the same thing and your metabolism doesn't adapt/ adjust so you'll keep losing.

perhaps try that.
hopefully tomorrow i remember to measure all my food so i can trackk my calories (www.calorie-count.com or www.fitday.com) and work out about how many calories and of what type i'm eating per day.

Res

May 3rd, 2007, 02:51 PM

Res,

For an old maid you have more fiances than anyone I've ever heard of!

hehehehehe

:pC'mon now. Who wouldn't marry a mango? ;)

I wish I could take a picture of my plate of food. It's a beautiful green salad with beautiful not tuna with not rosemary crackers, green onions, red red bell pepper, raisins, sunflower seeds. No dressing the not tuna works great.

Dessert is: fudge! :) (the fudge recipe from the recipe box.)

Someone walked through here at lunch time with an amazing smell: Italian food with garlic bread. So my next "crackers" will be Italian themed topped with a massive amount of fresh garlic then dehydrated. I'm hoping it tastes like garlic bread. :)

Love to all,
~Res

mtmouse

May 3rd, 2007, 03:22 PM

Hee! I love all your not food. :)

Sounds yummy!

Res

May 3rd, 2007, 03:23 PM

Kathy, regardless of the weight loss you said your mood is up and that's what matters really. You're certainly not doing yourself any harm by being raw for 3 weeks. :)

Peanut is on to something though. I was feeling "too full" so I started reaching for carrot sticks/celery/red bell pepper/chunks/limited fruit instead of crackers and onion bread. I felt lighter and better after that. I'm not experiencing weight loss either at the moment but really my mindset isn't that.

egads the window has been sitting here for an hour and I haven't typed anything....have to get back go work, more later.

love love love

mtmouse

May 3rd, 2007, 03:32 PM

Yeah, it's just a little discouraging, is all. My rule was "anything I wanted as long as it was raw", and that's what I'll stick to. But I guess I want too much!

Actually, I have lost a little and am maintaining just fine, which means I'm not overeating for this weight, just for my goal weight.

And while I do eat a ton (hehe) of veggies, I also eat a lot of fruit. I don't eat a lot of crackers, probably 2-3 per day, but I do have nut cheese on them usually. And of course, I eat my favorite chocolate things regularly and a lot of dates. Probably too many dates, LOL.

But I'll keep on keeping on, as they say. I do love eating this way, so maybe I just need to get some "desires" out of my system. I'll try to make just little shifts in focus, looking for slow change over time. I'll start cleansing around June 13 or so, and it would be nice if I were at least a little lower by then. And hopefully if I come off that raw I'll be able to hold most of any loss I achieve with it. We shall see!

Meanwhile, I'll whine and you''ll just have to put up with me! :p

Res

May 3rd, 2007, 07:07 PM

I'm more than happy to put up with your whining. :) I could stand to lose 10 lbs I think.

Are you feeling any different like in your thighs or your face etc? Could be the inches thing instead of lbs. I don't know but I love this whole raw thing. I'm going to take a picture of my fruit salad later. I try to limit my fruit because of the hypothyroidism - but it was here and and Tropical! And I had a fresh coconut so what I'm going to do next is;

LOOK THROUGH COHEN'S BOOK THAT'S ON MY LAP AND NOT OPENED YET! :D It's here!!! Finally! I'm hoping she has a fresh coconut milk/macadamia nut fruit salad dressing. I'm going to lay the fruit over the red lettuce from my garden. Hopefully the picture will turn out - we'll see.

What I wanted to say earlier but WORK got in the way - is that I'm finding myself drawn to the raw veggies & fruits more - you know, wet things instead of dry things like crackers and nuts. It's weird because I'd rather reach for a handful of raw cashews, but pushed them out of the way to get to the raw carrots. Now THAT's strange for me. :eek:

Now that the book is here my entire nights plans are shot to hell. I SHOULD be studying....by the way, after working for the past 4 years with men, I learned in January how to swear and I'm doing really well with it so - um, pardon me. :o (I just opened the box and I can't begin to convey to you how exited I am and I'm glad I took your advice Kathy and got this one. :D *Sigh* :D)

OH MY GOSH did you see those Strawberry Crepes on page ---- no page number for the page the picture is on...hmm, doesn't matter! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Eggplant Parmesean? :eek: I love Eggplant Parmesean!! :D

Darn, no tropical fruit salad dressing. So onward in the search. I really should go and study...pthththth. ;)

Love to all!
~Res

Res

May 3rd, 2007, 07:09 PM

P.S. Don't be discouraged. I like your rule and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. You haven't "gained" weight in 3 weeks. ;) Plus we don't want ya looking like Matt! :eek: I'd have to come over there and stuff a sandwich in your mouth. lol ;)

*Smooch* :)

Res

May 3rd, 2007, 07:20 PM

Oooh, I found this by accident: Health Freedom Resources (http://www.healthfree.com/raw_food_recipes.html#2) No coconut dressing recipe but so far I LIKE what I'm seeing, especially this:

Coconut Cream
from Vital Creations by Chad Sarno
1 c coconut meat
1/2 c coconut water
1/2 c cashews soaked in water for 10-12 hours
1/3 c dates pitted
1 t vanilla bean
1/2 t Celtic Sea Salt
In a high-speed blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.
This is great as a dip for fruit or frosting for raw cakes and pies.

It could be the base for some very interesting experimentations. ;) Muhahahaha.

I love you guys. You make me happy. :D

~Res

p.s. bookmark this site

mtmouse

May 3rd, 2007, 07:29 PM

Well, if you really want something yummy for dinner, try Cohen's pad thai sauce!

I'm having that over spiralized zucchini and it's scrumptious! I'm sure she has a great dressing for fruit salad. (Book not in front of me at the moment.) If the dressing doesn't contain coconut, stick it in the salad instead!

Sandwich! Yum! :eek:

But you can get your exercise for the day just picking up Cohen's book, LOL, so that counts for something!

Enjoy! :)

Res

May 3rd, 2007, 07:43 PM

Yes this little sucker is heavy! :)

Ok, here's my salad, the lettuce isn't quite as black as it's showing up - more a deep cranberry color but here goes:

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w166/resonnant/Rawfruitsalad.jpg

Fresh, mango, papaya, kiwi, coconut, orange, strawberry. :)

mtmouse

May 3rd, 2007, 07:50 PM

Ooooooooooooh, looks fabulous!

Ginger

May 3rd, 2007, 08:35 PM

I tried to make Alissa's Lasagna last night. Problem is I don't have a decent dehydrator. My oven is electric and won't go under 170 degrees. And I bought a cheap Ronco dehydrator. So, I tried to improvise. But, it caused one of the plastic trays to melt. I guess I was lucky I didn't have a fire. I have spent so much money already and I was hoping to wait a bit to buy a good one. But, the lasagna was good. Even cold. talked my guy into taking a taste. He's resisted everything raw. He said it tasted pretty good, except that it was cold.

Added: I just figured out the points on the macadamia "ricotta" cheese in the Cohen Lasagna. It says 51 points for 1/4 of the recipe!!!! I'm only allowed 23 points for an entire day. This is insane!! 1 cup of macadamias has 962 calories and 1 cup of (ground) almonds has 594. :mad: :mad: :mad:

MTmouse - no wonder we're not losing weight with all the nuts we eat!

Sim

May 3rd, 2007, 11:21 PM

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh, my poor babies!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing my evening entertainment! You are all too funny, smart, clever, and fun. And oooooooooooooooh, the salad! IT'S GORGEOUS! And oh, how we support each other!

Okay, on to the "poor babies" comment: I used to be a Weight Watcher leader, my darlings...you absolutely, positively cannot and should not count points when eating raw. If you do, you will never have nuts, nut patés, dessert, avocado, dried fruits. And you will not have enough protein or iron in your diets if you live by counting points. Raw is not SAD. It simply doesn't work the same way.

It is a lie that Raw people can eat and eat and not gain weight. (I think we're experiencing that fact as I speak!). Here are my stats: started the cleanse at 141 pounds, ended 40 days later at 111. After being on a 100% raw diet since January 19, I weigh 113. Occasionally, if I eat too many nuts or too much nut paté, too much dried fruit (I can't control myself around medjools, dried figs, or dried mango...I'm with you Res. I WOULD marry a mango if I thought it would hang around long enough and I wouldn't care if it were fresh or dried!), or too many dehydrated "breads" or crackers, I gain weight. Once, during the first month of all the experimenting with a raw diet and all those cookbooks, I actually weighed 121...but two (not one) days on water-packed veggies and fruit (lettuces, kale, cukes, celery, red peppers, apples, pears, canteloupe, grapefruit) and the friggin' 8 pounds went away! This was not "fat" weight, obviously, but water. I have also been lifting weights and I look different today, at 113, than I did at 113 back in February. People tell me, Oh, you've lost more weight! Your face is so small! (oh, how I love that; when in my life has anyone said my face was small?) But no, it's the redistribution of weight. If I weigh 113 now after running and lifting weights and I weighed that seven days after the cleanse ended when I wasn't exercising, then I believe I've lost inches and fat but gained in muscle. All I know is that I'm wearing very small pants and really nice shirts that I wouldn't have dared to wear at any time in my life.

I guess I want to say that just because we're eating raw doesn't mean we can't gain weight. BUT this is not SAD, (Standard American Diet) and we can't live by the rules of SAD. We have to experiment and listen to our bodies...if nuts make me fat, then I only eat nuts a few times per week, not every day. If Matt's onion bread makes me fat, then I make it only when I'll be having company over (I think he should eat some of his own bread...that boy is emaciated!) If medjools are a problem, I'll have to keep them locked up, because a house without medjools is a house without sunshine :D But I didn't know any of that when I started to eat Raw...I found it out by having my pants get a little tighter and me wondering what was going on and then making the adjustment. And it worked. Two pounds, friends. I can live with the two pound gain from my lowest weight ever. I don't want to look like Matt!

Moving to a new place is so stressful...and relationships often suffer. So... people start to fuss and be mad at each other in preparation for the separation. Almost like it would be easier to leave someone if you're already mad at them. It'll all work out, I promise.

Today I ordered 4 FOUR! 64 oz. bottles of MS, more pro-biotics (I'm already thinking ahead to the end of my 40 day MC and I haven't even started yet!), Alissa Cohen's book and DVD, raw carob, raw cacao, and two nut milk bags. I also bought Peter's book, which I've never read...I did my first MC with the info I got right here from all the best people in the world. But even when I cleanse, I'll be lurking, kids....gotta keep up with my peeps! I'm starting as soon as my MS gets here and I'm really excited about it because (yes, I know I'm strange) I love that lemonade!

In the meantime, I'll be here. Just remember that it's all an adventure, an experiment in good health. We are all learning that what affects one person has no effect on another...but I'm so glad we're all here to share with, moan with, celebrate with, and talk to.

Off to bed...Oh, one more side effect: I have so much energy that I'm almost never tired and I actually don't want to go to sleep (waste o' time...I have so many other things to do!). This is polar opposite to life before the cleanse and raw. I love it!!!
G'night everyone. :)

peanutterb

May 4th, 2007, 12:21 AM

I am miserable you guys.

i have extreme stomach acid, am burping constantly, having stomach cramps and throwing up. I consistently feel full and bloated even when i'm eating only a little and all raw. Today I had breakfast of "cereal" (chopped banana, celery, dates, almonds, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds) and almond milk at around 11 or so and I didn't feel like I could eat again til 8. The entire time in between there I felt fully and gassy and like my food wasn't even digesting. When I ate at 8 I was fine but then two hours later I started burping and the food kept coming up. I tried eating something else because I was hungry, but my belly wouldn't accept it. It burned and I felt every bite burning all the way down, then crashing in my stomach with cramps.

Tonight I had to talk myself down from the ledge of eating a brownie because if i feel this bad eating good, then why even bother? but i'm ok. mentally. physically still miserable. i'm really just upset that i feel this awful and confused about what to do. Tomorrow i'll swf, then i'm going to do no nuts all day (which means i can't eat that toona i made yesterday):(. But everything hurts when I eat it, even fruits and juice. Which leaves me with what?

I'm actually debating going back on the cleanse, even for a few days, but I think the problem is deeper than that. perhaps my digestion is still lagging and i'm not taking it slow enough (tho what's slower than a week of raw?) or perhaps my body is creating too much acid - which it does sometimes (especially since i'm kinda stress/anxious about this move/job situation).
... I really don't know but even when I was eating regularly, my acid reflux never got this bad. I woke up the last night with cramps. From what, I don't know. I'm taking my probiotics and having good BMs, 2 - 3 times a day.

This is ridiculous after such an awesome cleanse and this time of taking such good care of myself.

on another, more positive note:
I did make an awesome cauliflower tabouli that was absolutely delicious and is amazing on a salad. It's in the recipe box.
And my sister has narrowed down her wedding dress choices, finally.
And my bf really loves me.
And my mother still treats me like her little girl and tries to look after me even though she's in another country.
And I've got really good friends that will let me sleep on their couches while I'm in ny.
And the sun is shining and the weather is nice. (not right now, it's 12:30am, but in general)
God is good.

I feel a little better now that I've switched my focus to the positives.

Sim

May 4th, 2007, 08:26 AM

I feel a little better now that I've switched my focus to the positives.
Oh Peanut!

I seriously felt like crying when I read your post! You poor thing! But your last line says it all...hang in there! I don't know if you'd remember, but awhile back, I wrote about getting really sick and vomiting after eating a meal. And it happened to me twice, with the same symptoms you're describing, only it happened fast. I narrowed it down to three things: very thick collards that were too tough for my body to digest, a meal that was very heavy on nuts (and toona!), and eating too much. Also, very interesting, when I'm too acidic, my pinky turns black from my white gold wedding band...and that sucker was blacker than black for days! I didn't go back on the cleanse when that happened because I was afraid of reverting to "bad habits" (anyone remember, pre-cleanse, starving themselves for a couple of days because you had eaten too much at a big meal?) and I want to keep the cleanse for just that one purpose: cleansing. I'm afraid that if we use the cleanse for in-between moments, it will not work as well when we actually want to cleanse. Anyway, here's how I got myself back to feeling better: For one day, I had four lemonades, no swf of course, and some canteloupe for dinner. For the next day, I ate canteloupe in the morning and afternoon and a very light lettuce salad for dinner. I felt all better. The third day, I ate normally, but no nuts. I didn't have any nuts for a week. I also stopped having Bragg's, shoyu, or tamari.The black pinky went back to normal, the heartburn/reflux was gone, and I felt great...I even dropped those couple of water weight pounds in a hurry. (Isn't it funny how you can have good BM's and vomit and still have a weight gain?)

Oh, I feel so terrible for you! And move to NYC on top of it. Be the positive girl your last line indicated; you have so much to look forward to! And we can meet in NYC, if you've a mind. That would be fun...we can get TeePee there, too.

Feel better, feel better, feel better...that's going to be my wish for you all day!!!! Sending you tons of hugs :)

Ginger

May 4th, 2007, 08:30 AM

Okay, on to the "poor babies" comment: I used to be a Weight Watcher leader, my darlings...you absolutely, positively cannot and should not count points when eating raw.

Sim - That is so funny! I'm a former WW leader too. And I agree with you about counting points. But my weight had jumped up about 8 lbs since coming off the cleanse. I am trying to work out why. So, I decided to use the WW website to check a recipe or two. When I realized that the 2 portions of lasagna I ate was 102 points, I freaked.:eek: But, this morning I'm down 1/2 lb. I was eating a massive amount of nuts after the cleanse and I think that was my problem. I'm now at 5 1/2 lbs over cleanse weight. And I know that if I continue what I'm doing now, it will melt away.

PB - I feel so bad for you. I wish I could send you some of my easy cleanse/transition feelings. I'll try to do it mentally....MMMMMMMMWWWAAH!!! Feel it yet?

Sim

May 4th, 2007, 08:58 AM

And I know that if I continue what I'm doing now, it will melt away.

Yay! Go Ginger!!! So....what are you doing now that's working??:D
Oooh, if I checked a recipe and saw it was 102 points, I don't know what I'd do...I think WW is a great guideline but it pales in comparison to Raw. Core is closer to what we're doing here, but the bottom line is that we can't be little piggies no matter what we're eating, 'cause that just ain't right!

peanutterb

May 4th, 2007, 10:28 AM

thanks sim and ginger.

i def agree with you on not using the cleanse incorrectly and i really don't want to go back on it anyway, but if i have to, i will. i am sure it will help, but i'd want to do it for at least 3 days and i can't right now with the moving anf job and everythibg. i'm going to eat less and eat no nuts for a few days and see how it goes.

i'll also try to control my anxiety, which i know isn't helping the situstion. im so anxious i'm actually calm, so the energy is manifesting itself in my stomach. typical virgo.:o

i almost took meds last night, that's how desperate i was. tums or prilosec. but i just toughed it out. waiting for my swf to work so i can get on with my day. i haven't done any packing yet and i leave tomorrow.

i'd love to meet up sim! we'll have to make plans when i figure out my life. but we can have a raw food potluck. :D

mtmouse

May 4th, 2007, 10:35 AM

i'd love to meet up sim! we'll have to make plans when i figure out my life. but we can have a raw food potluck. :D

Oh, I'm so jealous!

But I sure hope you're feeling lots better soon, PB!

Sim

May 4th, 2007, 11:20 AM

i'd love to meet up sim! we'll have to make plans when i figure out my life. but we can have a raw food potluck. :D

COUNT ON IT! I know it's a small thing, but it's something to look forward to and might put a teeny smile on your face. NYC is a hop, skip, and a jump away for me!

peanutterb

May 4th, 2007, 12:43 PM

my swf is done and my bloated stomach is down and feeling better. i haven't eaten anything yet but i have a list of high alkaline foods that i plan to eat today. also some apple cider vinegar in water which is good for acid reflux and candida/ yeast. so that'll be good.

as for the weight convo, i got a little curious, and checked my inches today. i'm down another inch since i ended the cleanse everywhere except my waist, which i expected since i'm so bloated, but i'm still down 2 inches there from when i started the cleanse. so i guess i'm doing ok. but i do plan to cut back on nuts etc. i am debating having my tabouli because it has cauliflower, onion, garlic and parsley, which are alkalising foods but it's got pine nuts too, which i should avoid today. so perhaps i'll pick those out.

i'm trying to figure out how i'm going to pack all this food to take with me to ny. i know you didn't think i was just going to leave all my fruits and veggies and nuts here right? :p

ooh the doorbell just rang, i think it's the postman with my lunchbox!!! i can't wait!:D i'm such a kid! (www.laptoplunches.com)

Res

May 4th, 2007, 06:16 PM

I'm in agreement that it's the Nuts making you feel bad Peanut. Maybe even just too much too fast. Even though the "almond milk" is liquidy, it's still made from nuts and I thinks it's WAY to hard for your body to assimilate after 32 days of not eating!

I was sick not too long ago and remember the pain *hug*. TAKE PROBIOTICS and if you ARE taking them UP the dose. I did and then cut back on the amount of food I was eating. Coming off the cleanse has you wanting to taste and try everything but that's just a weird mental state. You'll balance out soon. :)

Sim said, "If Matt's onion bread makes me fat, then I make it only when I'll be having company over (I think he should eat some of his own bread...that boy is emaciated!) "
EXACTLY, I want to Feed that boy! :rolleyes:

Waves to Kathy and Ginger http://www.kurts-smilies.de/wink2.gif

Well, I'm flying out the door to school. I hope I can stay awake - and I'm so excited that it will all be over shortly. :)

Love to all,
~Res

peanutterb

May 4th, 2007, 06:32 PM

hey just wanted to check back in. I'm feeling much better right now. Been sipping all day on a glass of ACV and water, drinking lots of water and eating little, alkaline full meals.

So far I've had green juice called "salad in a glass" that had in beets, cucumber, celery, spinach and carrots. Then a chopped up pear with celery. Then later, guacamole with cauliflower, sugar snap peas and celery and a very small mixed green salad.

The only thing I've had that maybe I shouldn't have is a piece of dried papaya and dried mango, but that didn't cause me much discomfort. I hope to eat fresh papaya and mango later (in a salsa!) if my stomach continues behaving well. If not I'll have more guac and veggies for dinner or tabouli (sans pinenuts) on a salad for dinner. I really have to be careful at night time because that's when I'm in the most pain.

Thanks for the advice and the hug Res.
I am taking probiotics (huge advocate of them) and I am feeling much better at this point.
I was tempted to have almond milk earlier but stopped myself. It's really hard for me not to eat nuts since even before the cleanse they were always such a big part of my diet, but I am full and satisfied and not in the least bit of pain or discomfort right now so I can't complain.

I'm actually packing too. (not that I had a choice - unless I wanted to walk around NY naked) and cleaning up and getting my life in order. I guess I really am leaving. :rolleyes:

Can I say the best part is putting aside clothes to sell at thrift stores because they don't fit anymore. tho some of my favs, it feels good to say that once they were tight and now they are falling off.

Anyway, hope you're all having great days. Sign in and say what you ate today.

Res

May 4th, 2007, 07:08 PM

I ate - chuckle - :) oats with strawberries and sliced almonds for breakfast.

For lunch: Not tuna stuffed roma tomatoes with home grown lettuce...MMM it was so good! Dessert was 1 piece of Raw Fudge. Yum :)

Now I'm at school accompanied by Goji Berries. :)

Peanut: so glad you're feeling better Sweetie. :)

Love to all and THANK GOD IT's FRIDAY! :)
~Res

Ginger

May 4th, 2007, 09:29 PM

Facing the last day "unraw" tomorrow. I have a big work function that I have to go to at 6 am. (up at 4) then my daughters big 3_OOOh birthday party tomorrow evening. I won't be able to take any food with me, it'd have to sit in a hot car all day. The work thing includes a huge picnic style meal along with alot of work stuff. So, I gonna eat LIGHTLY, and then try to avoid food at the party.

Sim - I ate ALOT of nuts at the start. I've cut back. For example today I had a veggie smoothie and some coconut milk for breakfast. A snack was a cuke salad. Lunch was a geen salad with Alissa's ginger dressing (yummm..I'm am addicted to that dressing). Dinner was a huge portobello, marinated in shoyu, topped with "not tuna", sprouts, avacado and tomatoes. My "treat" for the evening is a fruit medley, with mango, grapes, banana and fresh coconut. So the only nuts were the in the tuna.

Hi Res and Kathy.

PB - I'm glad to hear you're feeling a bit better. My mom's a virgo, and her stomach drives her crazy when she's stressed. She's developed a bad case of IBS as a result. Take good care of yourself.

Gotta crash. 4 am comes early. YAWWWNnnn:rolleyes:

TeePee

May 4th, 2007, 10:00 PM

"I ate - chuckle - oats with strawberries and sliced almonds for breakfast." by Res

Res, that sounds great!!!

Just a 30 second quick check in. BUSY BUSY BUSY at work and a sinus infection to boot!! How long does this healing nonsense last!!!!

Keep up the great work ladies!!!

mtmouse

May 4th, 2007, 10:05 PM

I ate - chuckle - :) oats with strawberries and sliced almonds for breakfast.

I must be missing something, because I can't figure out why you're chuckling over your breakfast.

But I'm thrilled that you mentioned it--and that TeePee mentioned it again--because for several days now I've intended to soak my oats :) overnight for breakfast and have forgotten. Now they're in the fridge!

TeePee

May 4th, 2007, 10:10 PM

Res,

have fun with the book!! I bet you are still reading! That is the one I wish I would have started with ten books ago!! And I made those strawberry crepes for Easter. YUMMY AND EASY!! I didn't have mac nuts so I used brazil nuts. Mac might have been better! Enjoy and let us know what you make. Oh and the enchiladas rule!!

Isn't Sim the best advice giver in just about the whole wide world!!! :D

Peanut, Gosh I hope you are feeling better!! Ah, to live in NY with all the raw food restaurants!!! Heaven!! Sim and I will visit!!

TeePee

May 4th, 2007, 10:11 PM

mtmouse,

I am so glad you just posted that. I am off to bed, but I will stop and throw some oats in to soak too!!

Nite all!

Res

May 5th, 2007, 11:32 AM

Good Morning Buddies,

Kathy, that chuckle was about Peanut asking us what we ate. I'm not sure "why", but anytime anyone asks it cracks me up. :)

How was the Oatmeal? :)

Teepee: So sorry to hear about the sinus infection. Make a tea of Raw Ginger and honey (maple/agave nectar). It's supposed to help a lot! *hug* :)

Most likely every bit of food that I make from now you'll all know about. lol That's the beauty of this BB and thread and YOU GUYS. :) I get all these ideas from all of you and can't wait to come here and tell you about it. :)

Peanut: How are you feeling? :)

Ginger: Hang in there at the party and have fun. :)

Sim: Thanks so much for your encouragement and wisdom. :) And all the best to you on your cleanse. You know we're still here for you. :)

OK, I ate raw macadamias a few hours before bed last night and woke up with a headache and rumbling stomach and slight pains. More and more I'm convinced it's the nuts! I have "sinus headache" symptoms with the running nose etc. AND OH! Cohen confirms that you can detox from week 2 to year 2! :eek: I'm not going to focus on detoxing for 2 years because then I will - I'm going to focus on the good that's happening with my body. And with that I hate to bring this up and actually wrestled with keeping it to myself but I'm going for it....

Here's a controversial topic for ya: When Peter sent out the info on hair loss, I'm one of the few who mentioned it to him because I lost MOBs of hair - this is not an exaggeration, last year I lost 3/4 of the hair on my head. SO - what do you think?

Now onto something less serious: FOOD :) - I'd really like to up my Veggie intake and lessen my "nut" intake. So this weekend will be fun researching Cohen's book.

Also I'm craving baked eggplant. :o Yesterday they ordered Pizza at work and although I wasn't really tempted the idea of cooked food appealed to me hugely! I suppose it's all part of the journey. Realistically I've only been doing this for 3 weeks and it is a huge change and as Cohen said the transition period could be up to 2 years.

So much for this being brief. ;) I have to run out the door!

Huge Hugs to Kathy, Sim, Teepee, Peanut & Ginger! http://www.kurts-smilies.de/gruppe.gif

Love,
~Res

mtmouse

May 5th, 2007, 12:33 PM

Kathy,

How was the Oatmeal? :)

Delicious, I must say! Eating it as I type, actually. Having it with blueberries, mango (sorry, Res, he's mine!), banana, and "watermelon milk" (instant almond milk/watermelon smoothie).

Wow, I hope you figure it out about the hair loss! You look probably about like me now, LOL. But I've never had thick hair, with or without animal proteins. The jerky sounds like a good experiment. You could dry salmon, too! :)

peanutterb

May 5th, 2007, 06:27 PM

hey all
just checking in real quick

i'm in ny now. just got back from hanging out with Sopheetsa. We went to a farm and had a delicious mixed green salad with apples and guac i made at home (yes i made guac and travelled with it from atlanta, so what? :D)

anyway, i'm over her mashing up a papaya half i just got at the caribbean market down the street. i've been craving papaya for days.

my belly hurt a bit today, but perhaps my own fault. i did have a bit of nuts. but feeling better now. drank of ACV and water again and have been taking it easy.

so far today i've had a bowl of chopped banana, dates, celery, apple and cucumber. Guacamole with cualiflower, celery and carrot sticks. The mixed green salad with guac and apple. And now papaya - which I'm dangerously close to eating an entire half of. For dinner I'm planning to have some cauliflower tabouli (yes i packed that and brought it from atlanta too. waste not want not.)

my cousin has microwave popcorn and tortilla chips in plain sight. evil.

Res - crazy about your hair. i hope the beef helps.

Sim & TeePee - let's eat! Recommend me some places to check out.

peanutterb

May 5th, 2007, 07:22 PM

and just for those who were wondering - I did in fact eat all of the papaya and then proceeded to eat some dried papaya.
So I'll be having a good time in the bathroom tomorrow.

mtmouse

May 5th, 2007, 07:25 PM

LOL, peanut!

I was going to say I had papaya today too, but it was mango (as I wrote in earlier).

I just finished putting in whole batches of both onion crackers (made with new Vidalia onions from Costco and with pecans instead of sunflower seeds--and I see no reason to call it onion bread) and rosemary crackers. The house smells divine!

Res

May 5th, 2007, 09:08 PM

Peanut: Sounds like a wonderful time! :D

Kathy: You mean Mr. Mango is two-timing us? ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the kitchen

In the fridge: Chili - I won't make it again - it wasn't what I hoped for.

Soaking: Sunflowers seeds and Almonds for Cornbleet's "Not Tuna".
Oat groats for tomorrows breakfast

On the counter: Mr Mango, or how I like to refer to it as "Mr. Right" ;)
Salad fixin's for tonight (I like it room temp)

In the dehydrator: Oregano from the garden, parsley from the store.

Cranberries scones made a bit sweet and with a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. I left the cranberries whole this time too.

Next up: Cohen's chili - which looks like it feeds an army but has fresh corn as an ingredient. Yay! :)

Boutenko's pizza recipe dehytrated but with the toppings not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's already 6pm here and I can't believe how quickly this day has gone by. So the plan is to do as much as possible on Saturday's and then relax on Sunday. :) I'm still trying to get the hang of this.

So - what's in your fridge, on your counter, soaking and in your dehydrator? ;)

Love,
~Res

Res

May 5th, 2007, 09:09 PM

"So what's in your wallet?" ;)

peanutterb

May 5th, 2007, 10:01 PM

I ate some nuts. but i feel ok thankfully. I am at least sticking to my goal of not eating past nine. hopefully next week i can make it 8.

Anyway, anybody have any recipes I can make with sprouted beans? it's a mix of lentils and other flat beans.
right now i just add them to salads.

mtmouse

May 5th, 2007, 10:11 PM

Res,

Mr. Mango must be two-timing YOU. He's very clearly happily settled in here and plans to stick around! :D

What didn't you like about the chili? I may not want to go to the trouble of making it.

Had a big salad tonight with jicama, sugar snap peas, carrots, celery, red pepper, and red cabbage, accompanied by a raw wheat bagel and an ounce or so of raw medium cheddar cheese.

My counter: bananas, tomatoes, mangoes, oranges (the last three in green bags).

My dehydrator: onion crackers and rosemary crackers.

My fridge: chocolate sauce! :), leftover pad thai sauce, leftover marinara sauce, Cornbleet's flourless chocolate cake! :), mac nut cheese.

At my "sprout station": broccoli seeds.

What's in my wallet? Need you ask? :D :D :D :D Zip! Nada!

HealthyBiz

May 6th, 2007, 12:05 AM

So much to say, I'm not sure where to begin! I've had just enough time to read a few posts before I had to scurry off. Haven't posted in ages, but I've been with you in spirit.

For many reasons, I can't go 100% raw right now. One is the strict calorie diet my nutritionist has me on. So I'm counting and measuring everything. But I'm 100% raw most days. I just had to modify some recipes ... for example, my walnut burgers have more pumkin seeds in them and no added oil, plus they're smaller. I've had loads of fun with my new dehydrator, except for the day I tried a bunch of plain raw veggies and my husband's allergies went haywire ... he wanted me to get rid of my new toy, but I convinced him to let me keep it with scones and raw bread - which I guess don't release as many spores or whatever had him going that day. I've never heard of anyone reacting to a dehydrator, but it was the worst allergy attack he'd ever had. It took us a day to figure out what was causing it. He started feeling better as soon as we put the Big E outside in the garage.

Since I live in southern Cal, I decided to buy The Box from Matt Amsden. I live about 50 miles from his shop, but drove down to pick up my box just so I could see his place. Anyone else been there? It's just a few blocks from the beach and is a tiny place. I'd planned to pick up some raw macadamia nuts since I've had trouble finding them. Don't plan on picking up supplies there! It's not that kind of place. As I waited for the boxes to be ready, I strolled around his building. Dozens of Excalibur Teflex sheets were hanging in the window to dry. Cute. ;) I knew I was in the right place! I enjoyed everything in the box and it lasted longer than a week for me. I ordered a pizza and learned that he mounds it up with diced sweet peppers, tomatoes, olives, onions, etc. That was the only thing he did differently. I tried it at home and it was great. But, I really like my raw pizza crusts better than his! shhhh! My secret is making them with sprouted brown rice. I've had trouble sprouting my own, but I found a brand that Ralph's is selling now (local grocery store). It's sprouted and vaccuum packed in 1/2 cup serving sizes, so all you have to do is rehydrate. Back to Matt's box, I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to try out raw 'cooking' and doesn't have time. I really enjoyed everything and had fun putting together my meals from the box.

Sim - When I went raw, I had the same trouble with my sinuses and had the same questions! I had had only minimal sinus problems since going dairy-free, so it must have been detox. Oh, and thanks for posting the recipe for the sushi rolls. Can't wait to try them!

mtmouse - Thanks for giving me the idea about the sugar snap peas at Costco! I had walked by them many times and hadn't thought about picking them up. So after reading your post, I made a dash to Costco and have been enjoying the ssp's solo and in my salads and green smoothies - which are still my breakfast of choice. :) What, btw, is a raw wheat bagel? Sounds good.

Res - I made my Cranberry Scones with whole cranberries the first time and wouldn't do it any other way. I was tempted to chop them up, but since the recipe didn't mention what to do with them, I just left them. When you catch them just right, they'll pop open in your mouth with an audible *pop* and flood your mouth with cranberry flavor. Mmmm.... I think it must be the dehydration that makes them do that. I will add the cinnamon next time, though. Great idea!

Peanutterb - Are you sure NYC is ready for you and Sopheetsa together! ;):D;):D What a riot! It's one of my favorite cities and at least in the right time zone for you and your BF to chat! Good luck in your new digs.

I'm just a few days away from my next MC, so I'm cleaning out my fridge. Slicing up and freezing mangoes and apples, daikon radish, etc. My DH tells me there's no room in the freezer for my new watermelon, so I guess I'm going to be eating watermelon in everything until I start my cleanse. Sure wish you all lived closer and I could just bring by my leftover walnut burgers, raw bread and scones. But they all freeze pretty well.

Hugs all around!!