What a fun day!

Oh my! Rory and I had so much fun last night. I was in tears, tears of joy! It was one of the happiest moments I've had on this raw food journey. I hope that in a few more months, we can do it again. Want to know what we did?

Well, I said in a previous post that I lost 42 lbs so far, but I can't see it anywhere, except maybe a little in my face. Bummer, that's a lot of weight to lose with no obvious difference. If I GAINED that much weight, I would definitely see it!

Anyway, we are going on a trip next week to see his family, whom we haven't seen since our wedding day 2 1/2 years ago. Rory is super excited to show off his new, raw, muscular, sexy bod. I feel like I look pretty much the same. In fact, because we spent so much money buying Rory 2 new wardrobes (half way through we bought him a bunch of new clothes, then he lost more weight and we had to do it again) we never had any money to buy me some new clothes. So there I was whining and complaining that Rory is going to look really good, and I am going to look like crap, wearing rags and such. Rory looked in an old box of my clothes and finds this really beautiful winter wardrobe that I haven't worn since we first met 5 years ago. I gained a lot of weight since then, so I set that in a box saying to myself "maybe someday I will fit into them". I hopelessly told Rory, "Don't bother with those, they haven't fit me in years". He pulls out this beautiful jacket, made of brown woven cloth. It was actually what I wore the very first day we met. I picked it out because I knew I was meeting him and I wanted to look nice. He always loved it on me. I told him I tried that jacket on last year, and I couldn't even zip it closed. Rory, never the one to give up hope, begged me to try it on. I begrudgingly got off my butt and put it around my shoulders, slipped my arms in ("gee, this is kinda roomy") and to my astonishment, I was not only able to zip it up, but there were quite a few inches between me and the fabric. It looked great!

For the next hour or so, we tried on everything in that box, and everything fit wonderfully. In fact, we tried on some of my winter stuff that did fit me last year, and it seems that they are much too big. I guess my weight loss is showing after all, and now I have a whole new wardrobe! Thank you Rory! Thank you raw food! And thank you ME for sticking to my raw food diet!

Our Raw Thanksgiving

We had our Thanksgiving a day early since Rory is busy working Thanksgiving day. It was so delicious! We ate jalapeno burgers and avocado fries inspired by The Sunny Raw Kitchen. We changed the recipe a bit to appeal to our fav tastes and they were just wonderful! Rory made some great raw ketchup for the fries and burgers! I also made these green beans that taste JUST like buttered green beans. We don't eat legumes too often, but they are great for special occasions!



Bunch of green beans
salt to taste
pepper to taste
nutritional yeast to taste
hemp oil

Drizzle a little hemp oil over the beans, add seasonings and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 30 minutes.

I also made a refreshing green apple juice to wash it all down.

Mix of greens
3 apples
Blend and strain through a mylk bag.
Add ice AFTER straining.

For desert I made an apple ginger pie in a mug. Regretfully it didn't last long enough for a picture but I can still give you the recipe.

Crust:
2 cups soaked walnuts (if you already dehydrated them, add about TBSP water)
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp raw honey

Filling:
4 apples
1 cup raisins
2 Tbsp raw honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp ginger (this can be omitted or amount lessened if you want just apple pie)

Process the crust ingredients in your food processor. Press this into the bottom and sides of the mugs leaving some left over for the top of the pie.
Process the filling, straining the juice if there is excess. You will know if there is excess when you see little ponds in your processor. Put the filling in the mugs. Cover with the remaining crust. I added a little cinnamon on top of the crust to make it look pretty. This can be refrigerated or eaten immediately. This made 3 mugs of pie. It is super yummy!



I hope that you have a great Thanksgiving!

Our trip to the soup kitchen

Today Isabel and I went to the soup kitchen in Gettysburg, PA to volunteer along with Isabel's Brownie troop. I have been to other soup kitchens before, but this one was interesting. Of course, there just happened to be a parade at the exact time that we had to be at the soup kitchen, so we had to park about 12 blocks away and walk in the freezing cold. I didn't know exactly where the place was, so I had to ask people. "Excuse me sir, do you know where the soup kitchen is?". Finally I came up to a woman that said she didn't know, but her church pastor would. She hurried me along to meet him and she yelled, "Do you know where the soup kitchen is? This poor woman and her daughter need to get there before it closes!" Isabel was embarrassed, but I told her that so many people actually DO need to get there before the soup kitchen closes so that they do not lose their lunch. No one should be embarrassed about needing a free lunch. I'm sure we all could use one every once in awhile!

So anyway, we finally trekked up to the back door of the place (these kind of places are always in the back to hide them from view) and a very friendly woman was there waiting for us. I told her about our adventures of getting there and she said that a lot of people don't know where the soup kitchen is, and wondered how we could change that. (signs maybe???) A few minutes later, the rest of the troop arrived and we headed downstairs to the basement (not only is it in the back, but also in the basement!)

It was actually quite cozy there in the actual dining area. All of the tables were decorated in Thanksgiving style vinyl table cloths with little turkey center pieces in the middle. Their meals were served restaurant style, where a volunteer carries out each plate already served to each guest sitting at the table. All the other soup kitchens I had been to were more cafeteria style. All utensils and plates were disposable, to save on permit costs and from buying so many heated dishwashers. Also, many of the guests have illnesses that apparently could cause problems if the utensils were not cleaned properly. The guests were always allowed seconds, because for many, this was their only meal of the day. In one week they serve a little over 200 guests. More guests in the summer than in the winter since many children eat lunch in school. Although, because of the economic climate, especially in this area, the soup kitchen has been busier than ever.

The brownie troop, being too young to do any real work, made a fruit salad instead. The soup kitchen has been trying to offer healthier food to the guests, since many are obese and unhealthy. According to their statistics, 1 in 5 guest has diabetes. Are they sick because they are poor and can't buy healthy food? Or are they poor because they are sick and have too many medical bills and can't work? That's the eternal question. We may not be able to answer this question, but we can offer better choices and nutrition education to people in both categories. This is another step that the soup kitchen in Gettysburg is trying to take. Each month they have 1 or 2 guests come in to talk to the soup kitchen patrons about healthy food alternatives. I thought that this was a wonderful idea. So many of my friends, family, and acquaintances tell me that they don't know how to buy or make healthy food. This should be something that is taught in grammar school! I commend the soup kitchen for sharing such priceless information with those that need it most.

When we were leaving, Isabel said that she would love to come back and help out at the soup kitchen some more. Regretfully, she has to be 12 years old to actually volunteer, and she only just turned 9. I told her that in a few years, we could go to the soup kitchen and help out as often as she liked. At this point she pointed to the "good deed" pin on her brownie uniform and said "I did a good deed" as she flipped it over for everyone to see. Yes you did do a good deed, Isabel, and I believe that you will have many more to share with the world.

Nightmares!!

I have been so busy this week making Christmas gifts, that I barely had any time to weigh myself! That's a good thing though, since it seems that I have not lost any weight. *bummer* Another thing that has been going on with me is constant nightmares. For many nights in a row now, and none of them have anything to do with each other. Just a random string of bad events playing through my mind while I am sleeping. I wake up and try to forget what I just watched in my mind, and I fall back to sleep and have another nightmare. By the time I wake up in the morning, I am tense and exhausted. It's driving me crazy! I should probably not dwell in them.



My daughter and I are going to a soup kitchen to help out this weekend. She is pretty excited, and I am hoping that this will be a good learning experience for her. We are going along with her brownie group, and our goal is to help provide healthier options in the soup kitchen. I will let you know how that turns out.

More weight loss and enzymes

This week I have been craving so much fruit! We bought in season fruit, so we have a lot of grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, and of course we had to buy bananas. I am in my glory. By this time next week, I will probably have sores on the sides of my mouth from all of the citrus, but it's worth it. I did lose more weight, but nothing to throw a party over. The scale this morning said 265.6. Better down than up! It moves so slow for me, but in a way I am glad for it. Dr. Doug Graham says that it is best to lose only 1 lb a week, otherwise you will be hungry. Plus, I fear that if I lose too quickly, I may have too much excess skin.

The last thing that I wanted to mention was enzymes. I don't have much to say about them, but my husband wrote a really interesting and well written post about enzymes. He really breaks the science down into something that seems so easy to understand that I wish I had him for a science professor in college! I really hope that you check it out, here is the link Rawdawg Rory - Gotta Love Enzymes.



There is currently a tornado warning here in PA, and the weather doesn't look too good. I took 4 pics of the weather 15 seconds apart. Crazy!


I am going to sign off here. Thanks for cheering me on!

I'm all mashed

I caved today, ate some mashed potatoes. I just boiled the potatoes, added a little salt, and rice milk. Now I can't stay awake to save my life. Remind me never to do that again! Good night!

The scale moved!

It's been a few days since I posted last. Someone in my family was pretty ill, so I spent some time making "feel better' concoctions. I did get on the scale today, and it said 266! Yay, it moved! I've been working pretty hard, both with my exercise challenge and my raw challenge, but neither of them have been 100% all of the time. I am definitely working hard though.

Most of my meals are: bananas for breakfast, tomatoes for lunch, and a big salad for dinner, with a few green smoothies mixed in. Friday's are the hardest for me, because we always get something to eat at the natural food store when we go shopping. I always want to get dolmas - sometimes I have the willpower to get something else, but not always. I am hoping that when the Raw Fu challenge starts on the 15th, that will really get me motivated.

Rory is a real inspiration, he lost so much weight that today he lost his wedding ring :( We may never get it back, but now we have a plan to get it tattooed on him. I don't want to it be a tacky tattoo though, so we will have to work on the design a bit. He wants me to get one as well, but I never felt like a tattoo person, so I told him that we would wait.

Air Cars: A New Wind for America's Roads?

I just wanted to share this article, and let you know that I want one! I don't know how long this article will last, so I will give you the gist. "A new carmaker has a plan for cheap, environmentally friendly cars to be built all over the country".


These cars will run on air pressure. Now, the only problem is that they can only go 35 mph, but if you live in the city, that will not be a problem. Imagine how much money you can save and how much smaller your carbon footprint would be!

I thought that I wanted a smart car, but this tops it!


Plus, this air pressure car looks really futuristic, which shows that we are finally moving into a cleaner, better future.

Exercise challenge going great!

My 30 day exercise challenge that I have embarked on is going really well. I found inspiration from another woman from Raw Fu who said she made a chain link, and each day she ate raw she added to the link. I decided to take her idea, and incorporate it into my exercise challenge. Each day that I exercise, I add a link to my chain. I decided to make min holiday colors, since it is nearly that time of year. I am also doing it with my daughter, so she has her own chain, and when we are done, we have holiday decorations! She is super excited.
I weighed in today, and it said 270.0, so it is moving, though not as fast as I hoped. I think I will start to add juices to my menu, and see how that works out.