The One Month RAW Challenge

[Sim]

...raw works in NYC -- dh and i ate at pure food and wine. it was beyond enjoyable (for both my non-raw, carnivorous, husband and me) and it was PACKED!!!!!...follow your dream...

Thanks, Kiropa...that's exactly what I'm doing...dreams are inspired by actions, thoughts, and the people who surround us, who give us love and insight. That's who you all are for me. And I'm taking you all with me into my venture and I'm working on that mantra, K. Thank you, thank you for all the encouragement. Sure, it'll be awhile before I open my place and it won't be like Pure Food and Wine (man, they have some extensive professional background those two...); besides, their prices are obscene...I wouldn't have the heart But they do delicious and absolutely gorgeous plates like no other restaurant I've ever seen. I've got a high mark to aim at. No problem.

Res, I can absolutely picture you with a grin on your face, plopped down on the sofa. Nice visual.

How's everyone doing today? Nice Fall-looking day here in CT; a little on the warmish side, not quite apple-pie weather, but getting there. I'm cleansing for ten days, started today, tea last night...but this is my "home" so I'll see you all right here. Have an excellent day, kids. Much love.

[Res]

Sim: Yikes! A cleanse?

Today is fabulous here in San Diego. A little cool and lovely gray clouds. I hope it stays this way because I'm so ready for the fall.

I picked up the cutest little pie pumpkin at the store this morning and spent some time in the yard digging, weeding, pruning and moving dirt around in a wheelbarrow. Now I'm taking a break from cleaning the garage and doing laundry. It's been a productive morning.

There are SO MANY amazing recipes in Cohen's/Cornbleets/Amsdens & Ani's books! I can't wait to try the chili recipes. They look amazing.

Last night I dehyrated a batch of pizzas and even made "sausage" for the first time. I didn't taste last night, but took a grain sized piece earlier and oddly enough it tastes like sausage! It looks like cute little pieces of sausage on the pizzas. This is such a fun path to be on.

All the best to you on your cleanse. We're here for you ya know.

Happy Sunday.

Love,
~Res

"Hows everybody else doing?"

[TeePee]

Sim,

Sooo happy to hear your news of enrollment!! I know it is right for you. I only wish I could join you!! You will be a smashing success, everyone here knows it! GO FOR IT!!

As for me, I have had soo little time for any fun raw food prep. I am wearing myself down with teaching. HMMMM, maybe I SHOULD go with Sim!!! I have to admit to having some breakdowns into a cooked food bit here and there. And I have to tell you all, I can't stand it. Sim is right when she says you know longer have to think about what you eat when you are raw. It is "theee best" path to be on. Since even having a bit of cooked food (5-10%) it consumes my every thought. I have a hard time admitting it to myself and especially here, because I feel like such a failure not being 100% raw for a while now. Not because it is "bad" or anything like that, but because I am having this internal battle over getting back my focus and I think I am setting myself up for failure many days, and I don't really know why. I still do not animal product of any kind. It has been the carbs. Bread, pita, cracker. Maybe not having the dehydrated version available is to blame.

I think it began on my vacation to Turks and Caicos, with all-inclusive meals and fabulous restaruants. It just seemed to continue on. Maybe it is the stress of starting back up at school, STILL trying to sell two houses and move. Bills, lack of sleep,, etc. But then I tell myself, those are all excuses and there is no reason to allow those things to interupt my path. I dunno. What I do know is this: what a huge difference in the way I physically, emotionally and mentally feel. Even though my weight has only fluctutated by about 10 pounds, I feel heavy, lethargic and don't sleep as well.

Sorry to vent. I guess this is a confession of sorts. But more than that a testimony to how staying 100% raw is truly the best way if you want to do it. That little bit of something here, something there leaves that window WIDE open.

So now onto my plan for getting myself back to where I was for so long and truly want to be!! I think first of all, I have to arm myself with a supply of flax crackers and onion bread!!! That means taking the time to prepare. I think even if I spend a couple hours on Sat morning, I should be okay for the week.

I am great all day, it's that after school time period, where I feel like the kids have literally sucked the life out of me and I want to feed something back in!!! I have squeezed GF juice every morning, then a green smoothie on the way in to work. Lunch is usually a tomato, avocado, maybe cucumber sliced with olive oil. Totally satisfied. Actually, I could probably not eat again the rest of the day, as far as hunger goes. So there you have it, I am feeding that emotional tiredness after school.

I guess I should try to leave before 7 pm also so I'm not exhausted!!

Sorry for the rambling. I will get back!!! It just feels to good not to!!!

[Res]

Teepee: *hug* You do the best you can and sometimes that means not being all raw. You'll get no negative word here! I think the GF and smoothies is fantastic! Even doing that is better than grabbing a Breakfast Jack on the way to work - know what I mean?

We're all still in a process of learning and balancing and I seriously don't know anyone who has it all down-pat.

I think you're doing fabulous. I believe you'll find your groove naturally. Don't beat yourself up.

Chop up a bunch of kale and garlic. Marinate in olive oil and lemon. When you're ready to eat it, sprinkle sea salt, pepper and chopped walnuts on the top. Easy.

Love you,
~Res

[Sim]

Awww, TeePee....
DO NOT BE UPSET WITH YOURSELF!
You are a raw girl, taking a hiatus because that's what your mind is doing right now. So what? It may be just what you need so that on the loooooong path of life, you can be raw and be happy. Alissa Cohen was raw, off and on, for years until she just didn't need cooked food anymore. It's a process, girl, not a race! With all the work and exhaustion in your life right now, food should not be an additional source of stress for you. You know, we turn to comfort foods when life gets the better of us. And being so new to raw, we haven't yet had the time to develop raw comfort foods, not really. So it's only natural that cooked carbs would be your safe haven for the moment. It'll pass when your life gets a little less hectic and you feel less imposed upon by the outside world. And even though my little diatribe goes contrary to what the raw foodies will tell us, we in the real world know that being 100% raw is dependent on far more than willpower and desire...you must have feasibility, too. Movie stars who buy Matt's box or who have personal chefs can afford that feasibility. The gurus who make their livings doing this have facility and a vested interest beyond good health (money!). But we teachers, secretaries, students, day laborers, supermarket checkout people, carpenters, businesspeople, stockbrokers...we do raw because we're convinced it's healthier. Well, that alone is sometimes just not enough. Look: we know that if we drink enough alcohol, we'll get really drunk and maybe really sick. Most of the time, a straight-thinking adult who isn't an alcoholic won't go that route on a regular basis. But every once in awhile, even though we know it's not good for us, even though we'll be sick, we'll indulge, go too far. And even though the reason we go there might be for something happy, like a celebration of some event or something awful like a tragedy, we'll go there, knowing we won't feel well for a day or two afterward. Well, why should food be any different? We have it so ingrained in our memories, so linked with emotional milestones, it's no wonder food is often our target. Please TeePee, don't beat yourself up over something that will pass. You'll finish with the stress, the raw life will come back at you full force, and you'll be strengthened by your new resolve. I'm so proud of you for wondering about it all instead of just accepting the slide. And it's not even a slide! It's life...you're accepting life and questioning. And that's all we're meant to do on this earth...keep questioning, keep improving. We don't have to arrive at perfection because we know it doesn't exist. We just have to resolve to keep improving.

So Res, I loved your kale and garlic marinated salad idea. So simple, so satisfying. You're the best! And yes, a short 10 day cleanse for the New Year, Yom Kippur being my impetus. Seemed appropriate and just at the right time...next cleanse not until January. No, I don't think I'll be doing a 40 day cleanse any time soon, not even in January...I don't want to disappear!

Your kale salad reminded me of the following, from Karen Knowler:

Winter Greens and Avocado Salad
Ingredients
(Serves one large portion)

* 4-6 large handfuls of kale sliced very thinly
* 1 handful of each of the following: rocket (arugula), watercress and spinach. (If you don't have all three greens just add in three handfuls of whatever you do have).
* 1 avocado
* 3 Tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon Himalayan Crystal Salt OR Celtic Sea Salt
* 6 baby tomatoes
* 10 sun-dried tomatoes
* Juice of half a juicy lemon or one not-so-juicy lemon
* OPTIONAL: Olives

Directions

1) Chop kale into small pieces (this makes the fibrous cells break down and therefore more palatable, so the smaller you chop you better the taste). A good size to aim for is roughly 1-2 cm squares.

2) Add oil and salt and massage into the kale until kale becomes wilted, soft and glistening.
3) Roughly chop the other greens (rocket, watercress, spinach) and add into the bowl. Mix well by hand.
4) Add avocado and massage again so each leaf is coated.
5) Chop tomatoes into quarters, add to greens.
6) Chop sun-dried tomatoes in small pieces and add to greens.
7) Squeeze lemon over entire dish
Add any other ingredients you fancy, depending on how hungry you are.
9) Serve and enjoy!

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

* Lemon can make or break this recipe (not enough leaves the meal slightly too bitter for some people's tastes), so definitely taste-test on this one.

* Grated raw veggies, fresh herbs, finely chopped nuts, a sprinkling of seeds - all of these can transform this recipe, making for unlimited delicious variations.

And here's one last funny thing: doing a 10 day cleanse seems so natural and--dare I say it--comfortable...and being here, looking at recipes, listening to food talk and all, doesn't even sting a bit. It's just not about the food, but about how we feel. I know Kale and Garlic Salad, pizzas, pecan carrot burgers, enchiladas and onion bread all await me when I'm done. I'm not missing anything just because I'm experiencing something else for the moment. It's all good. Love you, kids.

[mtmouse]

Sim, you're the best! (Well, we're all the best, but you know what I mean!)

But now I have a question that's been building for some time. Have you ever tried these recipes that call for sun-dried tomatoes without any kind of soaking? I've seen various recipes from various raw chefs that call for them, but it boggles my mind.

I can imagine using the ones from a jar, in oil, but I doubt those are raw. The ones I get from my health food store are like rocks. I can hardly cut them, much less chew them. Even my Vita-Mix has a hard time with them in some liquid!

So what do you do?

[Res]

My mouth is burning and my hands are on fire. Regarding my mouth, all I did was lick my finger - WRONG! What possessed me to think that Anaheim chili's were mild? WRONG! So I'll post this and then go soak my hands in baking soda.

These are currently in the dehydrator - I'm not eating them tonight. The bowl next to the chili's is "Mole" also in her recipe book. Stuffed inside the chilies is her "Pepper cheese" and honestly, I could've just sat there eating the cheese with a spoon. It's delicious!! I used minimal water to get the thick cheesy affect and it worked. Gosh my hands are on fire!!

[milo]

Wow Res,

Those look fantastic, let us know how they taste. I want to come to your house for dinner.

Milo

[Res]

Milo: I'm hoping they're worth the pain. The way the house smells right now (yummy mexican food) I'll bet they are! There's nothing like the smell of roasting peppers and that's what the dehydrator smells like!

Love,
~Res

[kiropa]

can you post the mole recipe? i adore good mole. i wouldn't need a dehydrator, would i?

how would you recommend eating the mole?

in X days when i am done cleanse/psot-cleanse of cousre!

kim
end of day 11
MC #5, i think