So that was a nice 2 days...

I had a big green salad and two green smoothies on Friday but then after work I was pretty hungry still (a very unsatisfying smoothie that day) so I ate a ton of fruit. I probably had ten pieces (granted some were really small but still). Saturday I hit the nuts and fruit pretty hard and then again on Sunday, even worse.

I know it seems a little rash to say "hit the fruit and nuts" like it's hitting the bottle or something. Nuts and fruits are good for you though, right? Then why did I make myself so sick that I couldn't even go to work on Monday? I don't know if the terrible stomach pains were a DIRECT result of the binge over the two days preceding but I can't imagaine that the two were unrelated.

I don’t know how to measure my progress anymore. Am I 90% raw? Yes. Am I still a binge eater? Yes. Old habits die hard and I DO still have binges, although not as often. It’s harder for me to define a binge now than it use to be but binging on healthy food is still BINGING. It’s easy now that there aren’t any processed carbohydrates in the house but when my roommates move back who knows how it will be.

When I binge I feel full to the point of practically making myself still but somehow I’m still not satiated. In a discussion thread on GI2MR, we were discussing the fact that low levels of serotonin can cause binges. I had no idea. I’ve heard people say that a binge is caused by your body’s cravings for proper nutrition and that’s how raw can help to correct it. I ordered some 5 HTP to balance the serotonin and hopefully that will be a big help, we'll just have to see I guess.

I identify the following things as triggers for binges:

-Eating a large breakfast and then not eating for a long period of time.

- Improper hydration

- Stress

- Having certain things in my house…dates, dried fruit, nuts, seeds and sometimes shredded coconut.

- Not exercising in the morning

For now I'm going to stop buying the things above. I’ll be getting some spirulina and wheat germ for my protein intake and avos and oils for my fats. I know I’ve written that before in here but apparently I’m not such a quick study, haha. I’m also gonna keep my Kleen Kanteen filled all the time and drink a full one every day (40 oz). I’m also going to make it a point to work out every morning and then take some time to sit down and think about the day, do some stretches, breathing, meditating and thinking about my goals and priorities for the day. I also want to try to stop eating late at night. I hope I can obtain all of these resolutions. They seem easy enough but still might be too much for me to handle right now, ugh. I always make up challenges for myself like this one and always set myself up to fail by making things too restrictive. I can’t stay with a workout plan for more than 3 days, I swear. I need to just be more accepting of the fact that my goals are guidelines and it's okay if I don't do them all 100% all of the time. It's not all or nothing, just something to strive for and if I fall a little short, I'll still be helping myself and not giving myself an excuse to binge. Ok, that's it for now.

We’ll see how it plays out once school starts.

Green Goal Day Two

Today's green smoothie was


6 cups of green tea
3 cups of parsley
1 cup of celery
1 cup of mango chunks
2 cups of banana slices
I had this for breakfast and dinner & it made me one happy camper, yum.

For lunch I had some pesto with squash pasta, tomatoes and pine nuts. The fresh herbs accounted for 25%+ greens part of my meal. It was deee-lish. Everyone in the break room was commenting on the amazing smell.

I guess I should mention a little something about the insanity that is my life as of late. Well, for the two weeks before school starts (one almost down and another to go) I'm working two jobs. I go to job #1 from 8 am- 4:30 pm Mon-Fri and then on the 5 or so days a week that I work job #2, I go straight from job #1 and work at 5:00...craziness. Then I get home, prep all of the food for the next day, check GI2MR, facebook, myspace, e-mail ect and crash out. I have been sleeping way less than the 8 hours a night that I soaked up almost every other night this summer. I always hear raw foodies saying that they only sleep 4 hours a night or something like that which sounds AMAZINNNG but I've never been able to pull it off. I'm not exactly sure how to go about it. I've gotten in a habit since starting college of pretty much always setting an alarm even if there's nothing especially pressing about getting up. So now I wonder if I should drop the alarm and see when my body wakes up naturally and that's how many hours of sleep I am suppose to be getting? How do you know what your body needs exactly? Sometimes you're tired and know your body needs rest but you can't fall sleep for one reason or another. I've been getting 6 hours for the past few nights (4 one night) and haven't had any major energy crashes or anything. My thoughts have been very clear (which they generally are NOT when I'm sleep deprived). I could attribute this to the ammount of greens I've had in the past few days and/or the fact that I've been working out at least a little each morning, I think that really helps my energy levels. I do get lulls in my energy during certain times of the day. When I get off work I always have all kinds of energy though so I'm thinking maybe it's not the lack of sleep but rather the lack of excitement in my life right now. haha. It's okay though, only a week left then my awesome roomies move back, school starts and I have a life again. Whooo-hooo!

Gimme Greens!

I read Victoria Boutenko's book Green For Life a while ago but like many lessons in life, it took some time for me to REALLY learn the importance of eating a diet that's rich in dark leafy greens. Boutenko points out that chimpanzees (our closest cousin in the animal kingdom) eat about 40% greens! Well, maybe I'm going bananas but I'm aiming to do the same. I'm doing a go green experiment in which I will eat 2 meals a day that are 50% greens and 1 meal that's at least 25% greens. Here's how day one went down ....

Breakfast & Lunch were each a quart of green smoothie made up of

1 banana
1 apple
1/2 a cup of mango
2 cups of green tea
2 1/2 cups of spinach
about a tsp of MSM

Dinner was a huuugggee taco salad which included

1/4 cup sunflower seed "taco meat" with taco seasonings (cumin, paprika, chili powder, onion powder & fresh pressed garlic) and 2 TBSP EVOO, 1 TBSP of flax seeds, tomatoes*, peppers*, cilantro, sprinkle of Lemon Juice & Celtic Salt.

* from my GRUB box

Had I had it them on hand I would have added: avocado, romaine lettuce and bell peppers to use as taco shells instead of eating it out of a bowl but it was seriously still so good! The seasonings were perfect (see list mania blog for a link to the Mexican food site where I got the recipe. Note: I used one clove of fresh garlic instead of powder).

Clicky Click Click

You may have noticed my new "Worth Clicking" list. In case you weren't convinced, here's why these links are very click worthy...

e n j o y

• American Apparel : Cute clothes, respectable business practices & a new line of organic gear. Did I mention a 15% student discount? That's right, stay in school kids.
• April's Uncooked Blog : Funny lady, ammmmazzzziiinnng looking raw desserts *drool*
• Give It To Me Raw : Lively discussion of all things raw. Share your story, get guidance, make some friends :)
  
• Good Search
• : Just like google only every time you search, sponsors donate a penny to your charity of choice.
  
• Kristen's Raw Blog : Cute recipes, eco-friendly beauty advice & more.
  
• One Lucky Duck: Shop, read and be happy.
  
• Raw Faith's Blog: Another great blog that I follow
  
• The Greater Good Store
• : Fair trade and organic items. Sponsors donate cups of food to hungry families all over the world. No purchase necessary, you can make a difference by just clicking their Click to Give button.
  
• The Resident : New countercultural videos every week.
  
• World's Heathiest Foods :Not a raw food site but it does have lots of good info on fruits and veggies. The book is a great resource too. I love it!
  

PART 2: Ignorance Is Bliss...

Ok, this is kind of a two-part blog rambling on from my last post but going in a slightly different direction. I had too much to say about this topic and evidently not enough juice left in me to go on the other night. It's been quite a long day as I worked both of my jobs and I've gotta get up pretty early tomorrow so I'll keep this one short and just hope that it's coherent enough to follow.

American's are always being viewed by the rest of the world as stupid or more accurately, ignorant; specifically about world issues. Not to use my nationality as an excuse but I'll admit it, I am fairly ignorant about the history and politics of other countries too. To be honest, I'm not that educated on history and politics of MY OWN country either. Now that I am doing more and more research about things, it's becoming a little overwhelming. There are so many things I feel need to be changed in the way we live our daily lives that it's often hard to know where to begin. I've never really considered myself a radical or extremest person so it's hard for me to imagine relinquishing mainstream American culture altogether.
So, how do we make informed decisions without getting overwhelmed and taking the EXTREME approach? I need baby steps here people.

I guess my basic question is, if "Knowledge is Power" but "Ignorance is Bliss", can we be INFORMED and not DEPRESSED?

PART 1: Knowledge is Power

Let me start off by saying that I recently watched the trailer for
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard. If you haven't seen it yet, please click and watch before reading on. Now I can't help but look around my house and see the blood, sweat and tears of the overworked, underpaid (if paid at all) workers who slaved to make these poorly crafted items for pennies, the chemicals put out by the machines that made them and the greedy corporations sitting back and getting rich off of it all.

Of course, this information isn't coming out of the clear blue sky or anything. In this country we are getting completely use to seeing "Made In China" on everything we buy. But when did we learn to accept it without question? How can the most powerful country on earth thrive when the vast majority of the things in the typical American home are made in the third world. How are we allowing this to happen? We keep consuming more and more and more and WHY???

I wish I could say I was above it but alas, I am not. I'll admit it, I like to shop. No, I wouldn't consider it one of my favorite activities and I wouldn't refer to myself as a "shop-a-holic" or anything along those lines but do I spend money that I don't need to? Yes. Do I buy things that are made in other countries, probably under horrible work conditions? Sadly, I must say yes to that as well. How then do I remove myself from this vicious cycle without doing something TOO drastic? Don't get me wrong, I admire those who can just give up civilization and live a completely natural lifestyle with no ecological footprint but I don't think I'm ready to give up on society just yet. What to do, what to do?

Lista Mania

Every so often (okay, quite frequently actually) I get a random idea in my head on how to make a raw variation of some type of SAD food. Then I start doing research and experimenting with different recipes. I call these my "projects". Here's what's in the works:

- The Hummus Project -

This one isn't really my own invention, I use the "Real Hummus" recipe from goneraw.com (the link is posted in one of my blog entries) and just do my own variations like add tomato & cayenne or Italian spices (You can see pictures of this further down in my blog). The main breakthrough with this recipe was adding a little bit less olive oil (1/2 - 3/4 cup instead of a whole cup) for the purpose of cutting down a little bit of the fat and thus being able to eat more of this amazing recipe and adding CUMIN!!! It makes such a difference. I'm guessing the author of the recipe omited herbs and spices becuase they might not be raw but the way I see it, they aren't hurting anything. They are low in calories and therefore, if you season your food with herbs and spices, the percentage of your daily calories coming from cooked foods is still pretty insignifigant. They add so much flavor and by using organic you're not consuming pesticides or anything so I say, why not. Okay, that was kind of a tangent...anyways, I'm going to keep slightly tweaking this recipe until I find it to be perfect. :-)

- The Pasta Project -

I've used a bunch of different sauces for my summer squash noodles but haven't found the PERFECT combination quite yet. I like there to be something crunchy in there to add a little texture along with some big juicy chunks to make the dish more interesting. The hemp pesto with tomatoes was pretty good but needed that crunch, I think I'll add a few TBSP of pine nuts next time around.

- The Taco Project -

This is the newest project of them all. I've only semi-attempted them once but I'm ready for a second try. The basic concept goes as follows:
Soaked sunflower nutmeats dried out and seasoned with taco seasonsings (found this recipe on a mex-recipes.com), salsa cruda, romaine lettuce and avocado inside a bell pepper taco shell. I know that green bell peppers are unripe but I wonder if they're bad for you... It just seems like the taco shell would be better if it wasn't sweet.

- The Stir Fry Project -

The idea for this one comes from marinating veggies in nama shoyu and sesame seed oil. I've never been a BIG fan of soy sauce so I think I need to find a way to incorporate more raw veggies and then mix in the marinated ones along with maybe some raw cashews.

- The Pie Project -

I'm working on developing the perfect crust. Bellow is a picture of one that I've tried. I make them in mini form since it's still very experimental (and I don't want to eat an entire pie by myself). I like how the coconut oil holds the crust together once refrigerated but I also feel like it might taste a little too waxy.

Strawberry Short Pie

Sliced strawberries mixed with Happy Day Raw Vegan Vanilla Mousse in a
wheat germ, shredded coconut, coconut oil and ground flax seed pie crust

In Other Lists...

Here's an update from my beauty blog. Turns out I might not be quite ready to abandon my beauty products after all....

FACE:

-Honey- 30 minute facial mask
I actually use to do this all of the time anyways but now I only do it about once a week. It makes my skin super smooth though. I'll definitely continue to do it more and more regularly when school starts and I start to get into a routine of some kind. I also sometimes put a dot of honey over a blemish before I go to bed with a band-aid over it and in the morning, wah-lah, it's vanished (or at least a lot better).

- Poppy Seeds- for exfoliating
Hm...I'm actually still doing this but I'm not sure how well it's working to be honest. I'll tell you what though, there's nothing like finding a poppy seed stuck to your neck later on during the day...

-Avocado slices- 30 minute under-eye treatment
This is another one where I can't really tell if it made a difference or not. I've only tried it once though. Too be honest, I'd rather eat an avocado than put it on my face. I don't really have dark circles anymore anyways...thank you sleeep!
-Shea Butter- moisturizer
I don't use moisturizer very often simply because my skin is pretty self-sufficient so to speak. I don't have to use much to keep it clean so it doesn't get dried out very often. I do keep this on hand and use it when my face needs an extra little bit of help.
-Aloe- After-sun treatment
I don't really put anything on my face after sun since my make-up has SPF in it and I put that on before I go out and there's no need to mess it all up.
-Coconut Oil- eye make-up remover
If I remove my make-up at all I use this...
-Baking Soda- toothpaste
mmm...I tried this for a few weeks but then I just couldn't hack it. I need to find a healthier alternative that more resembles what I'm use to sadly. After this tube of (probably toxic) toothpaste is done I'll definitely be trying something more natural.

BODY:

-Coconut Oil- as shaving cream, soap & moisturizer
Always!
- Aloe- after sun
I will still continue to do this. I try to every time I lay out but sometimes forget.
-Shea Butter- moisturizer for dryer skin (elbows & bottoms of feet)
Neither of those places seem to be super dry since I just slather myself with coconut oil in the bathtub while I'm greasing up my legs for shaving. It works very nicely an doesn't leave you with that oily feeling that it would if you were to use it as a lotion after showing.
-Lemon Juice- deodorant
I never actually went through with this. I was using coconut oil for a while but it felt weird so I changed to an all natural deodorant which I'm beginning to have my doubts about... the search continues.

HAIR:

-Apple Cider Vinegar- cleansing wash
- Apple Sauce- conditioner
I'll just lump these two into one and say that I tried the "no-poo" method for 3 weeks and my hair was SOOOOO oily and disgusting that I reverted back to my old ways. Again, I'm ready for an all-natural alternative that looks and feels like shampoo and doesn't make my hair transform into a greasy, knotted mess. I'll be refering to Kristin's blog when my old bottles are done and I'm ready for a healthy upgrade.

-Lemon Juice- to lighten it.
The jury's still out on this one. I've been using it but can't tell if my hair is getting any lighter. I'm giving it 20 days until school starts then I'm going back to highlights...
-Mashed Avocado and Honey- deep conditioner
I'll get back to you on this one as I haven't actually tried it yet...I plan too though. Like I said, it's just so hard not to EAT the avos, hee hee.

Twisted Monkey Smoothie
2 cups pineapple green tea - 2 cups banana slices - 2 cups spinach
& a twist of lemon
So simple a monkey could do it.

More Strawberries...
This one is just simple layers of sliced strawberries, wheat germ and Happy Day Raw Vegan Vanilla Mouse.

Salsa Mountain
I was randomly inspired to chop up a bunch of salsa at about 2 am this morning which I then ate today...
No, I'm not weird, not at all.

Sunny-side Gazpacho

OK, I'll admit, I had never actually eaten gazpcho or looked at a recipe, only seen the stuff. So this is my interpretation. It's actually more like a soupy salsa which I then added sunflower seeds and cayene pepper too...still, it was amazing.

Sprouted Tabouleh
I took the recipe from George Mateljan's book and replaced the bulgar with sprouted quinoa.
Next time I'm adding garbanzo beans.

Okay, now just ONE more list, I promise....

.: RAW Blogs I'm currently reading

1. RawFaith

2. Go Green Go : April's Uncooked

3. Kristen's Raw


All 3 are amazzzing and I'm always looking for more so if you know of something I don't, please clue me in. That's all for now.



NnnnIIIIiiiiGGGGGgggHHHHHhhhhTTTtttT!!!!

Is Raw Foodism an Eating Disorder?!?!

I've been thinking a lot about what the ULTIMATE raw diet is made up of. Going by the FDA daily recommended amounts of fat and protein it appears that you could eat almost A CUP of nuts or seeds (assuming that's your only source of fat and protein) but many raw foodists agree that you need a significantly smaller amount of protein and fat in your diet. Furthermore, that am mount of nuts and seeds would be pretty hard to digest. Some people swear by the 80/10/10 method or fruititarianism but I am apprehensive about having a diet that is comprised of SO much sugar. Anywyas, I've been doing a little research and ran accross this article which discusses the pros and cons of fruitarianism. What I did not expect to find was some interesting observations regarding the links between obsessive food behaviors found in people with eating disorders and obsessive food behavoris displayed by raw foodists.
"Fruitarians often display food-obsessive behavior. Take two pieces of bread, give one to an anoretic [an individual suffering from anorexia nervosa; see note (2) at end], and another to a fruitarian. The anoretic thinks, "I can't eat this bread, it will make me fat!". The fruitarian may think in a similar matter: "I can't eat this bread!" - with the reason(s) cited being one or more of the following delusions:*The bread is cooked, hence toxic.*The bread will produce mucus, which is the cause of all disease, and hence will make me "impure."*The bread contains protein (and/or starch), and all protein/starch is toxic and a horror.Here the point is the obsessive attitude toward food and the pathological fear, that are common to both the anoretic and the fruitarian.#On fruitarian diets, it is very easy to overeat and to fall into the nasty trap of sugar addiction. Sugar is well known for its ability to promote food cravings, which often leads to binge eating and/or overeating."

As someone who has both suffered from eating disorders in the past AND is now a raw foodist I wondered where this left me. I mulled over the idea for a while thinking that maybe become a raw foodist ISN'T the healthiest way to heal food obsession as it does require you to think about food quite a bit. Then I thought about one of my favorite quotes "Don't let food be your comfort or you enemy". Just then it hit me, I don't look at cooked food and think of it as an enemy. I don't think that eating it will make me inpure, sick or diseased. I simply see that the nutritional benefits are sorely lacking and that my body would be better served by eating something delicious and raw instead. I think that's a very healthy way of thinking about things. In mondern life we have very twisted ideas about food and nutrition. Who can even really understand how to define an eating disorder anymore?? I want to be very intentional with the fuel I put into my body. I don't want to become obsessive, just mindful.

Holy Mother of Internet Connections

I'm baaaaacccckkk. The wifi in my new house is finally up, thank god. So, you may ask, WHAT has been cooking (so to speak) in my raw kitchen?? Let me hit you with an update...

Nanner-nut mash

Beautiful Blueberries Stuffed Peppers Super-Star Salad

Zucchini pasta with tomatoes and hemp pestoHummus Recipe from goneraw.com

Above hummus recipe with Italian herbs & served with spinach leaves

Spicy tomato hummus (with cayenne)
Another variation of the "Real Hummus" recipe

Simple Watermelon Pops

Sliced strawberries rolled in wheatgerm and ground flax seeds

Homemade almond milk

Strawberry cereal with almond milk

Marinating Veggies in Nama Shoyu and Sesame Oil

Raw "Stir-fry"

The early stages of Basil Tomato Sauce

Big Squash = Big "Noodles"
Remember that.

Told you...

The finish product wasn't as pretty as anticipated but it was yummmm-ay

Wrapping up some sprout sushi