Winning...

Last week was tough, winter finally settled in and I started adding beans and rice back in.
Worse I added all those things that go well with beans and rice... sour cream, cheese, guacamole...
Lots of fat...

Fat makes my joints hurt. The fatigue comes back...
So after three days of that I knew I was in trouble.
It doesn't take long to start feeling bad again.

So I've made peace with winter.

I love looking outside at the gray stormy skies. The ice clinging to the trees is wondrous.
And I'm eating raw through it all.

My morning:
I eat a banana (or two) and drink a glass of orange juice.
Then I warm up with a cup of hot herb tea...

Snack: more fruit or more juice

Lunch: Huge Salad and small bowl of warm (raw) soup

Dinner: Small Salad, Fruit
And usually another cup of herb tea...

Snack: Fruit

I'm learning to love fruit. My favorites are watermelon, bananas, grapes, apples, and tomatoes.
Tomatoes with balsamic syrup is amazing... I don't think balsamic syrup is raw or even available raw, but its helping me stay high-raw and low fat. And that's the most important thing.

Salad is my favorite...and the huge salad I eat at lunch is about 4 cups of greens. It takes a while;)
My favorite dressing is
My second favorite is blue cheese (only raw when I can get the raw blue cheese and make my own dressing which isn't always possible, in which case I have a backup organic brand I bought at the health food store. It isn't vegan but it is so amazing I sometimes use it even though it is my fat gram intake for the whole day in one meal, which leaves me juicing the rest of the day. I plan on that. And sometimes, it's worth it.)

The best thing I've done for myself is to stop labeling myself. Raw. Vegan. Vegetarian. Whatever. I'm eating to improve my health and staying below 10 grams fat and eating live whole foods tops my list. Condiments like a tablespoon of dressing in an entire day may make me no longer able to call myself vegan, but I can call myself healthy and feeling good.

Today I'm winning.

Za'atar Dressing and Salad Recipe

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern Spice Combination that really answered my need for a new zesty salad dressing!

Traditional Za'atar is a mix of sumac, sesame seeds, and thyme. I've also seen oregano and basil used but feel those additions makes the dressing seem a little "Italian" for my preference.

Za'atar Dressing:
Whisk together Juice half lemon + equal amount olive oil 

(I use less because of my fat gram limitations and it is still wonderful, though the oil does help the dressing "cling") 

4 cloves minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp black pepper 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Za'atar (grind together 1 part sumac, 2 parts thyme, 1 part ground sesame seeds in mortar)

Salad:
3 tomatoes, eighth-ed

1/2 sweet onion

1/2 cucumber, diced 

head romaine lettuce torn into bite size pieces 

3T fresh parsley

3 T fresh mint

(add banana peppers and kalamata olives will give the salad a distinct Greek feel)

Toss dressing with Salad and let "rest" at room temp about 30 min for flavors to develop... keeps well in fridge "mixed" overnight if use mix of romaine and iceburg.

Cheaters Never Win

Not having a great day...

Sure the weather has sucked big time... rain, ice, snow...48*F to 2*F and back to 48*F all in the course of a weekend...

But more to the heart of the matter, I've been taking chances with my diet, adding things here and there I know my body hasn't been able to handle well--like a bowl of rice or ounce of cheese. The first day I didn't notice a problem, so I thought, "I can get by with that." I believed a "little won't hurt" but each little added up to more and more... until several weeks later... I looked at my fitday.com averages, not just by day, excusing one here or there, but really looked... and was shocked to find that my average this week was 24g fat, and the average of the last 2 weeks 22grams...and the farther out I went it didn't get much better. The average for the last two months? 19 grams! My goal is supposed to be a 6-10g daily, or roughly an 8g average based on 800 calories a day = 10%. Even on a 1000 calorie day going over 10 g would be unacceptable.

So what happened?
I could blame the holidays...again.
Or I could just face that my food addictions are a major battle. I don't know anyone who struggles with cravings as much as I do, but I do know breaking this latest cycle has to be priority one. 

Whether my unhappy colon triggers my achy joints or vice versa, the end result is a flair. A big pain day (guts and joints) A fatigue day (how many hour naps do I really need? and how long is long enough to stay awake between naps to justify another?) ...an unhappy day (I'm struggling with depression, I don't want to believe my doctor was right all along and I did just get to enjoy a long remission...)

I want to believe I can win again the diseases shackling my body.

I'm trying to struggle and work through it, but what I really need to do is address the problem. I'm thinking another juice fast and this thirty day recipe plan was just what I was looking for.

I'll keep you posted...

Raw Body Butter

I love body butter... it's just so creamy and luxurious...
And sadly expensive...
And loaded with chemicals...

So when RAWMAZING posted a raw body butter recipe, imagine my excitement!!
I am going to try it this weekend;)

For now, go there and see all the beautiful pictures...
and here's the recipe:

Body Butter

• 1 cup shea butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup almond oil

1. Melt shea butter and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes. 

2. Stir in almond oil and essential oils of your choosing.

3. Wait until oils start to partially solidify then whip until a butter-like consistency is achieved. This should only take a few minutes. 

4. Place in clean, glass jar and enjoy! A little goes a long way.

I'm sharing this video from the article on this page.
The article is Saving Animals From The Plate by David Clein and you can rad the full article at the aforementioned link. It focuses on the efforts being made at the Star Gazing Farm in Virginia.


The Perennial Plate Episode 87: Animal Sanctuary from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

How to Succeed in "The I Eat Raw Food" Conversation - Round # 2

Heard of FORKS OVER KNIVES?

When two friends from two different parts of the US call within days of each other to say, "You have to watch this movie, it will change your life...you go in search of the movie!"

From the website: "The feature film Forks Over Knives -- http://www.ForksOverKnives.com -- examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.

Now I'm in search of the movie, I've been told it is on Netflix...