Needing Some Zest for Life???

A friend of mine suggested a meal blog focusing on breakfast, hoping to find inspiration to start her day. I thought that was a good idea. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet because I was moping through my morning playing internet junkie rather than getting to my "to-do" list that had only about three things on it.

Yep. Even the raw foodies go through the normal ups and downs of life. But hey, we can always turn to food to influence our mood...apparently I've upped mine to at least verbally playful by drinking my nutrients for brunch.

This recipe was inspired by the ingredients in my kitchen and by the fact that I knew that all of them give me some pep, and I sorely needed it today (nothing huge...just lacking discipline in getting things done when home alone, and some sore muscles from my upper body weight training yesterday!).

Here's my recipe for about 14 oz. of "Zest for Life" Juice:

1 heart of Romaine lettuce
1 peeled beet
1/2 bunch of curly leaf parsley (I like its flavor better than the flat Italian style.)
1/2 large cucumber
2 cloves garlic
1 in. cube of ginger
1 med. apple (I am in love with Cameos at the moment.)

I took pictures before the juicing because, frankly, a glass of juice may have a nice color, but it's not as inspiring as the ingredients beforehand. Look how lovely!

Now think about this when you look at the lovely purple juice below. Yummmmm. And so, so, good for you.

Ok, so there's a short to-do list with my name on it. Oh, and painting is on the list for today, so hopefully I'll have a new "painting in progress" to post to my other blog by tomorrow!

Oh wait! Don't have a juicer? Oh gosh! I so recommend them. There are much better ones now. My Juiceman is from about 15 years ago and spent about ten of those on the top shelf in my pantry (guess I knew I'd get back to it someday!), and I don't hear any of the raw foodies saying anything about this brand. They all seem to like the Champion, but they like the pricey, last forever stuff, so if you just want to give it a whirl, I'd try anything that your budget can handle.

I do know that not all juicers can handle parsley and such (mine didn't like it a whole lot because it was a wee on the dry side). But I hear there are hand juicers that give you a nice workout AND work great on the green stuff (especially wheatgrass, which I have yet to try). And those are REALLY inexpensive.

And the leftover stuff can go straight into your compost pile (I'm working on one and will be sure to let you know when I get it going) or if you like feeding the wildlife, birds enjoy it.

Give juice a try! (Did I mention it's really good for your skin?)

Let me know what you think too! =)

Raw Corn Is SOOOO Awesome!

I'm in love with raw corn and avocados right now, so I decided to finally put them together. I made my famous corn salad and added in some avocado cubes. And tonight, I used both red and orange peppers, and red onion because there were no more green onions in the bin. Still tastes great.

Here's tonight's recipe:

2 ears of raw corn kernels, cut off cob

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 small orange bell pepper, chopped,

1/8-1/4 C. red onion, chopped (depends on your preference for onion...we like a lot)

2-3 T. Bragg's vinaigrette to cover the vegs, but not pool in the bottom of the bowl

4-5 shakes of Bragg's liquid aminos

1/2 t. sea salt (about 10-12 twists of a grinder, ours at least!)

1 small avocado, cubed (the best way is to cut it in half, remove pit, then cut checkerboard pattern in flesh and then scoop out of skin with a spoon)

Eh, Voila!

It's so yummy. Usually, I say one ear of corn per person, so this would serve two unless you just wanted a little on the side of something and then it might serve four.

Enjoy!

SunBurgers and Corn Salsa

What this blog needs today is a new picture of some scrumptious raw food, so here's a house favorite (at my house that is!): Ani Phyo's Sunburgers with Sun-dried Tomato Catsup, topped off with home grown mung bean sprouts, and accompanied by a personally modified variation of her corn salsa!
Leave me a comment if you'd like the recipe! =)

A Tale of Two Salads

The "Cool, Crispy, Crunchy Salad," and the "Fiesta Five Salad" are the highlights of the weekend eating of raw food.

Cool, Crispy, Crunchy Salad

The Salad: handful of mixed greens; half of a Romaine heart (the inner half); 2in. of a seedless cucumber, quartered and sliced thinly; handful of snowpeas, snapped in half; 1 baby red bell pepper, sliced; handful of mung bean sprouts; sprig's worth of fresh Asian basil leaves.

The Dressing: 2 green onions, sliced; small cube of fresh ginger, grated (microplane grater) or pressed (garlic press); 1-2 T. Bragg's vinagrette; 1-2t. Bragg's liquid aminos.

Note: Soak sliced green onions in dressing while you assemble the salad for better flavor.

Fiesta Five Salad

The Salad: 1/2 avocado; 1/2 large mango; 3/4 C. sliced jicama; 1/8 C. chopped cilantro; 3 T. sliced red onion. (cup measurements are estimated)

The Dressing: lime juice; (optional) 2 tsp. Bragg's vinagrette.

Note: Mix avocado, cilantro, mango, and lime juice. Stir and let marinate while cutting jicama and assembling salad plate with a bed of 1-2 handfuls organic spring mix. Scoop mixture onto the middle of the plate. Sprinkle red onion over the top. (optional: sprinkle dressing over spring mix) Surround with jicama slices. Sprinkle with cayene pepper. Enjoy!

Yummmmmmmm! =)

Revision

Ok, so I've totally bitten off more than I can chew...pun intended.

I'll get back here with favorite recipes and pictures (started taking them yesterday! woohoo) of food, but I've already realized that trying to get on here and type in what I've eaten all day every day is too much.

I'm going to keep a notebook. That I can SCRIBBLE in. A blessed, time-saving notebook, because I have to face the fact that I am STILL trying to do too many things.

And the first thing I need to do is get my time organized. So. Off I go to do just that.

I'll stick to posting the highlights.

Oh, did I mention I have company this week? Yeah, that blew my schedule. So, I'll be back soon. With bells on. =)

Day 15: Daily Menu

This is actually my very first post, but I didn't quite get my head on straight until, oh, about yesterday, so I'm starting my raw journey log from here. I may mention stuff from the first two weeks, but from here on out, I will be keeping track daily (or as close to daily as is possible!) for my own benefit; however, for anyone who is curious, here it is, freely accessible to all.

BREAKFAST: Smoothie

Smoothie Ingredients: 2 raw eggs (nope, not yet a vegan); 1 banana; handful of frozen pineapple (1/2 to 3/4 C.?); handful of frozen mix: strawberry, papaya, pineapple; 1/2 C. ground flaxseed; filtered water (to desired consistency; in this case, probably about 10 ounces).

LUNCH: Salad and Friends

Salad Ingredients: two handfuls organic spring mix (hands are easier than measuring cups!); handful of bean sprouts; 10 or so fresh basil leaves (Asian basil); small handful snow peas; 1 roma tomato; 2-3 T. Bragg's Vinagrette dressing.

Friends: handful of green beans dipped in raw almond butter (under 1/8 C.); handful of fresh strawberries; half a mango; handful of raw, unshelled peanuts (of course, I didn't eat the shell); 8oz. filtered water (forgot to bring lemon or lime wedge to squeeze in it).

SNACK: Pudding

Pudding Ingredients: 2 bananas; 2 avocados, 1 T. raw agave nectar.

Pudding Directions: Process together, put in pudding cups or small bowls, chill (I put mine in the freezer for about 15 minutes), serve. Note: Three of us ate this, but it could easily have made 4-6 small servings. We eat dinner from 4-6, so it's more like the first course of our light dinner.

DINNER: Some "dead" food and some JUICE!

After sleeping off the pudding, which didn't seem to go over well with my blood sugar--I'm still not sure if I am intolerant of the agave nectar or what; will have to keep an eye on that--I had 3oz. of medium rare steak, several spoonfuls of my husband's chocolate pudding (hmm...it's tough when everyone in the home isn't "raw"), and some kick-butt juice**, ingredients to follow.

Juice Ingredients: 4 organic carrots; 3 "stalks" of a fennel bulb top (the part that looks like celery with fringe); half of a lemon, yellow skin peeled; 1 pear.

**I saved my JuiceMan juicer from a long time ago and it is really coming in handy now! If you've never had fresh juice, you're missing out on a wonderful treat. You'll have difficulty enjoying "cooked" juice ever again!

Note to self: It feels like once a week I get a major craving for MEAT. My body didn't want anything else, and believe me, I asked! I'm doing a lot of intuitive eating, and I hope that works out in the end. At any rate, it's what works NOW, so I'm sticking with it.