Day 10 of our family's 6 week challenge!

We finally have a new computer, thanks to my husband's wonderful family! I'm hoping to get back into the groove of blogging since I loved it so much, and it definitely helped me to stay raw. I say this because, the entire time I wasn't blogging, I was only eating about 30% raw, pretty much when Rory fed it to me. I gained a lot of my weight back while not being raw, which shows me just how easy it is for me to gain weight, and how important it is for me to stay on the raw path. When I went back to a cooked diet I started at 249lbs and I gained weight and ended up at 273lbs. Still better than when I started at 306 before raw, but I knew it would only be a matter of time until I returned to my original weight.

Today marks my day 10 of being 100% raw once again, and I've lost exactly 10 lbs. I'm not the only one in the house trying to lose weight though. Rory's brother in law, Aaron, is also on a 100% raw food diet beginning 4 weeks ago and he's lost over 40 lbs already! Rory's sister, Danielle, (who doesn't have much to lose) has lost 15 lbs in the last 10 days of being 100% raw.

And what's even more exciting is that Rory's mother, Sandy, has moved in with us! She did a 50% raw transition for 3 weeks before she moved in and lost 15 lbs during that. She can only be weighed at her doctor's office, so we won't know how much she has lost until she leaves, but she intends to stay for 6 weeks. We can't wait to find out the outcome! We've been filming her since we arrived and have created 3 videos so far of her experience.

This first one is an interview during her transition period.



The next video is her moving in day:



This last one is my favorite, Thanksgiving dinner!



I'm not in any of them because I am a bit camera shy, and someone has to hold the camera!

Yesterday was International Juice Feasting Day, and in honor of it we all juice feasted for the entire day. I lost 3 lbs during the feast, Danielle lost 2, and I'm not sure how many Aaron lost, but I know he lost some. Rory's mom was not able to stick with the feast, mostly because she didn't like the juices I was making. Rory was working all day so I had to play 'chef', and I guess I can't hold a candle to Rory's food making! haha

Eating 100% raw food really is a lot easier when you are doing it with others. In the past I had done it with Rory, but it was no longer a struggle for him because he's been 100% raw for a few years now. What I needed was to share the struggle with others, and that has really helped me. That's why websites like Rawfu and Raw Food Rehab are so great, because you can share your feelings, needs, wants, pains, and happinesses with others on those sites. Even blogging helps because I used to get tons of emails from people going through the same thing I was going through. Thanks to everyone out there that has helped me or someone else through any challenge by sharing it with them!

It's good to be back!

Liquid Tooth Soap short review

Things are going really well. Last night we hung out with the Giannis at Catch a Healthy Habit cafe in West Haven, CT. They even did a live video with Rory at the cafe that was just for fun. Rory and I received a bottle of peppermint Liquid Tooth Soap from them, and it's pretty amazing. According to the label on the bottle:

"It cleans teeth and gums perfectly. It does not coat the teeth with glycerin and rinses off easily in 2-3 rinses leaving the teeth ready to re-enamelize from nutrients in the diet."

Kevin Gianni suggested to put 2-3 drops from the dropper onto the wet toothbrush, and that should be plenty. He told me that the first time he used the tooth soap, he put a whole dropper full and his mouth foamed up like a rabid dog. That's of course when my daughter, Isabel, started barking a growling at him LOL!

So I put 3 drops on my toothbrush and put it in my mouth. I was worried that it wasn't going to foam up, but it definitely did. It's ingredients list saponified coconut, palm, extra virgin olive oils, filtered water, and pure essential oils. That's it. So when I started brushing I immediately felt and tasted the oils and was reminded of oil pulling. It was definitely different than the toothpaste I am used to, especially in texture. I am accustomed to toothpaste that is grainy and foamy. This was more like oily and soapy. That's a new feeling for my mouth, but not a bad feeling. I spit it out and rinsed 3 times, like suggested on the bottle. The peppermint flavor was not as strong as most commercial toothpastes and did not leave an aftertaste. Rory loved that because he is constantly making food and does not want a toothpaste that will alter his taste buds. My teeth actually felt VERY clean afterwards, slippery even. In fact, I did this last night and my teeth still feel very clean. The Tooth Soap says that it does not leave a residue of glycerin like other toothpastes and therefore allows the teeth to absorb nutrients on their own in your mouth. So next time I drink a green juice or smoothie my teeth will be able to absorb the nutrients directly!

Tooth Soap does have a high price tag, but it lasts for at least 4-6 weeks and you know that you will be getting more nutrients from your possibly high priced raw foods and juices. I hope you get a chance to check Liquid Tooth Soap out and let me know what you think of it! (BTW, I'm not selling any or making any money from this, just sharing my experience with you.)

Still getting used to my new surroundings

Okay, so my last post was exactly 1 month ago. No, I didn't forget about my blog or raw food (for the most part). Actually, we are still not unpacked (Arrrg)and my computer broke! I've been using the teeniest tiniest laptop known to man. It's an HP 2133 Mini Notebook PC and it's okay but the screen is tiny and it has very few features. The battery only lasts about 90 minutes and it heats up so much that I constantly worry about starting a fire.

So this is what's going on in my new life. We moved to CT about 2 weeks ago and my life has been turned completely upside down. We moved in with some family, which is great because we can save up some money to start a business, but it's hard living with family, especially in-laws. My sister-in-law is a wonderful person, and so is her husband. They totally dig the raw foods and Rory has been commissioned to make a ton of food for them, especially desserts. They have 2 children that they also home school, so that works out wonderfully. And they only eat organic foods, so it's a perfect match! But I do miss having my own kitchen, and my own place in general. They live in a large home, so we do have the entire upstairs to ourselves, which includes plenty of storage, bedrooms, and a bathroom. So we pretty much only share a kitchen, but of course we spend a lot of time together anyway. I feel like I am in college again, but without all that darn homework!

Our home itself is beautiful. Long before I met Rory, he and his brother-in-law actually built much of the house, and they did a very good job! I only wish it was a little more sound proof! lol Out back we have about 1 mile of beautiful forest and a winding creek. We took a walk there the other day and I came back covered in ticks. I've since bought a natural tick repellent but I've been too chicken to test it. There are 3 local nature reserves that we can visit, plently of beaches around, and since we live only 10 minutes from New Haven, there is always something to do. Before we moved we lived next to a busy street, had no yard, and there were no public places. We are definitely having a great time. In fact, today is the first day since we arrived that we don't have any plans!

But, I cannot find any organic greens anywhere! We have gone into many, many stores looking for organic greens, and at most we can find small 7 oz boxes of mixed greens. No kale, collards, or anything to be seen for miles. I did find a Whole Foods about 45 minutes away, but the prices were very very high. Luckily we will be starting a garden, but in this climate we will probably only have fresh greens for a couple months. This is something I may never get used to.

I did join a gym the other day, just for fun. I'm excited about going because I met a few people there that I could really enjoy working out with. I got a good discount for the gym by signing up for 1 year, so hopefully I will keep up with it. It's only about 2 miles from my house, so I have no excuses.

As for the raw foods, well I've done better. Rory never fails to be 100%, but when I get stressed, I start eating cooked. Especially starches. I'm trying to get back to my ways, but it hasn't been easy. Hopefully the new 100 day RawFu challenge will inspire me to get back into the groove.

The Winner is...

Anastazia! Anastazia is a beautiful woman that I know through Rawfu who also happens to be a homeschool mom like me! Her and her daughter will be enjoying the book Food Additives: A Shoppers Guide To What's Safe and What's Not! by Christine Hoza Farlow, D.C. and hopefully learning a thing or two about food additives! This is seriously a great resource that everyone should have!

I wanted to send it to everyone, I really did. I honestly believe that the knowledge in this book should be shared and I hope that those who did not win will take the time to check it out on Amazon.com. Thank you to everyone who left a comment! It showed me that this is an important topic that many people are concerned about. When we learn what is really in our food we become angry, scared, and confused. Angry that someone would allow us to eat something like this. Scared because we don't know the long term repercussions for ourselves and our children. We are also scared because many of us just don't know what to do. I mentioned all of this to a friend today and she said that she didn't want to feed this to her children, but what else can she feed them? She felt like she had no choice and just gave up the fight.

We are confused as well. Confused because we assumed the FDA and the government had our backs. We assumed that the food in the cafeterias of our children's schools were good for them. Now we don't know where to turn, we don't know who to trust with our family's health. This is why so many people just give up.

This is one of the many reasons I turned to raw food. Raw food is the consumption of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds in their living, uncooked, unpasteurized state. When you eat raw foods you are only eating the food in its natural form, so there would never be any ingestion of harmful additives. The transition to a vegan, raw food diet and lifestyle at any time in a persons life may help to avoid many of the harmful effects of food additives, artificial sweeteners, pesticides, herbicides, and herbicides, carcinogens, etc.
Again, thank you for all the wonderful comments! Congratulations to Anastazia!

Smoothie Feast Ends-My Conclusions and Zukay Live Foods Quick Review

I made it through my smoothie feast with no cheats! In fact, on Tuesday I saw a piece of pineapple on the table and put it in my mouth, then I spit it out remembering that I am on my feast. I feel my willpower growing with each challenge I present myself with.

The reason I went on this smoothie feast was because last week my husband and I had some company, and we made them some raw jalapeno burgers. We made this twice that week and I gained 7 lbs. I am trying so hard to lose weight, gaining 7 lbs on raw food was a big blow to me. I wanted to make sure I released those pounds quickly so that I could move on with my original weight loss goals. Before last week the scale said 251.8 give or take a few ounces. After last week it said 259!! I was horrified! So now today, I get to step on the scale and see what a 1 week long smoothie feast can do.

Drum roll please... and the scale says....251.6!! And the crowd goes wild! Yay! I completely released the 7 lbs and reached my goal! I am so proud of myself for working so hard, even when I wanted to give up and just eat. Thank you everyone for the support and love. I know I could not have done it without you!

So what conclusions have I made from doing a week long smoothie feast? Well for one, the first few days are the easiest. By mid week I was really craving solid food. But then, by the end it was easier again; it became habit. I definitely think anyone can do it. Plus, creating all those yummy smoothies was such a treat!

I also think that I cleaned out my intestines a little. The first few days I was releasing much more than what I was ingesting. It evened out by the end of the week.

You can definitely lose weight on a smoothie feast. Just about anyone can! I would definitely go longer if I could afford it.

It's a great way to share the gloriousness of green smoothies. You tell anyone you are on a smoothie feast and they almost automatically want to know more. Even kids enjoy learning about the smoothies.

You have to make sure that you are getting enough calories. It's so easy to sip a smoothie or two all day long and only get a few hundred calories. The last thing you want is to put your body into starvation mode. Drink about 4 smoothies, or more each day. I added an avocado or 2 each day in one of my smoothies as well.

Smoothie feasts are a lot of fun! It's easy to stay motivated when you are enjoying yourself!

If I did it again, and I probably will, the one thing I would change is that I would buy even more ingredients. I would buy more non sweet fruit, because sometimes too much sugar is just that, too much. I would buy more high calorie foods. And I may even drink more green smoothies, and less fruit only smoothies. I do think the banana milk that I added about mid week was a great idea!

The first meal I had today was a banana. It was the best banana ever. I also ate a pear, yum yum.

This morning when I went shopping the local natural food store was giving out samples of Zukay raw fermented live products. I tried garlic dill relish, horseradish dill relish, mild salsa viva, and hot salsa viva. It was all really tasty, and I especially loved the hot salsa viva (I love hot and spicy), so I bought some. It was $4.99 for 11.5 oz, which was a little out of my price range, but after the smoothie feast, the idea of trying something new was intriguing.

So when I opened it today, it started to bubble up, a lot. I tried putting the lid back on, but I could feel the carbon dioxide pushing on the lid. For fear of breaking the glass, I took the lid off and some of the salsa spilled over the side. Rory said, "I never thought I would want to eat a salsa that bubbled like that when I opened it". I grabbed a spoon and put a spoonful in my mouth. It moved around on my tongue, splashing and playing, it felt like it was alive. It had a wonderful flavor! If you ever had fermented foods (kombucha, sauerkraut, etc.) it has that distinct fermented flavor, mixed with fresh salsa. This has to be the best salsa I ever had! The best way to enjoy it, I found, was in small quantities. Just adding a spoonful to whatever you are eating gives it just the right touch.

We didn't know what we wanted to put it on. We had no bread or chips made, so I decided to just make a simple guacamole, and put that over diced tomatoes. So it was pretty much a thick layer of diced tomatoes, a thin layer of guacamole, and a spoonful of salsa. It was heaven!

I did some research on the site and found that it is not 100% raw, but high raw. The Zukay website states, "The relishes are almost completely raw. The salsas are also mostly raw, though they do have tomato paste for taste and texture." Even so, I do plan on buying these again for their taste and probiotic properties. If you get any, let me know what you think!

Again, thank you to everyone for your support. The smoothie feast ends here, but the raw food challenge is still very much on!

Smoothie Feast Continued and Rebirthing Session 2

I just wanted to check in here with my smoothie feast first. I have still been drinking smoothies all week, but I have only 1 new recipe for you. I liked some of the ones I already made this week so much that I am just repeating most of them! Although today I did have 2 new yummy creations. The first was a curry pumpkin soup that Rory made for me. It was a surprise, so I did not get the ingredients for it.

The second was a cherry smoothie that I made:

2 cups cherries
2 bananas
water
Blend!

Very simple, and very tasty!
I'm not searching in the fridge anymore, thankfully, so I am much more adapted to "smoothiehood". I am also not using the bathroom as much, so I may have adapted in other ways as well. As I promised, I did up my intake of calories the last 2 days. I've added more bananas and banana milk, which should bring me to about 1300 calories, give or take.

I am looking forward to a solid meal. I make food for my daughter, and a salad for Rory each evening, and I really am craving them. I crave solid food now more than I ever craved cooked food! I am really enjoying the smoothie feast, but at the same time, I can't wait for it to be over.

Rebirthing

So Chris came over again this week, and I bravely did another Rebirthing session with him. It started out the same as the first time. I was in a lot of pain, especially in my shoulders, and breathing was a chore, like running a marathon. He kept telling me to keep going, and I hated him for that. I just wanted to stop. But I didn't, I stayed strong because I was determined to find what Rory found his first time.

Just when the session was about to end, and we both thought that I wasn't going to get "there" my breath slowed down, and I started to feel it. I have to say, it shocked me quite a bit, and I think that shock pulled me away from it a bit. I started to feel very light, and each time I took an in breath, I started to rise. I would breathe again, and I would rise another few inches. Then the room disappeared, and I was above the ocean. Each time I breathed, I floated higher on a wave. I felt so wonderful, and free. I honestly felt like I could just float away. Then, I started sinking, and the room came back. I realized I had to use the bathroom (darn smoothie feast!) and it was over.

I asked Rory if that is what he felt, and he responded, "not at all". Apparently I only got a small "drip" of what it could feel like. If only I could let myself go a little more, I would feel it so much more powerfully.

Ironically, Rory's second session turned out to be much like my first, which goes to show you that they can be different each time.

I'll let you know on Saturday the final results of my smoothie feast. I can't wait to step on the scale and see what I have accomplished. My goal is to lose the 7 lbs I gained last week from eating too many nuts.

I feel like a whole new person!

It's been 10 days that I've been 100% raw. Woohoo! I've lost 5.5 pounds and 3.5 inches in my waist in 10 days! I've also been drinking a lot more water, so much has changed for me this year!

Rory and I were watching a video by Freelea last week and she said that she drinks 1 1/2 - 2 Liters of water each morning. I said to Rory, "How could anyone drink so much at once? I can't even drink more than 1 cup without feeling bloated and sick." He told me that my bloatedness after such a small amount of water was not normal, and maybe I am chronically dehydrated. I rarely do drink much water, maybe 1 cup a day and sometimes less. I drink so much smoothie I barely think about water! We decided that I was going to start drinking a bunch of water each day. Starting out kinda small, we filled a 1.5 liter glass bottle of water and decided that I would start by drinking that each day. And I have! I actually do feel much better for it, except that I am going to the bathroom a lot. Rory thinks I am still adjusting to the sudden increase of water, and probably my bladder needs to grow as well. I'm sure in a few weeks I will feel normal again.

Another thing I've been doing different is I changed the way that I eat, completely. I've done this 100% thing before, but last time it was pure agony. I was always hungry, grumpy, tired, and craving cooked food. I seem to have low blood sugar, so when I am feeling hungry, I get really irritable. I would wake up in the morning and I had to cut up fruit and put it in a bowl with maybe some milk. It took time, and in that state of mind, I didn't have time. It really messed with me. It's always been easier for Rory because has has more options with raw food. I can't eat nuts and seeds, so everything I ate was different. So finally I would have my breakfast, but then a little bit later I was hungry again, so I did it all over again. When it was time to make food for my daughter, I was hungry and always ended up eating some of hers. I always felt like I was hungry on 100% raw food, and so I figured maybe it wasn't for me.

Oh, but it is! This time, I have done none of that. I don't have cravings, feel hungry, tired, or grumpy. I don't even want cooked food. In fact, the last time I even thought about it was when I decided to give up the food I was making for my daughter and just say no!

What I've been doing really isn't that amazing, or difficult, or anything. I pretty much wake up, grab a banana and some water. Then, about 1 hour later I am usually hungry again, so I either eat another banana or some other fruit. Around noonish I make a big blender full of green smoothie. I used to share it among my family and only have 1 glass, but now I am selfish and I drink the whole thing myself. This takes about 1 hour. I don't really feel hungry again until later in the evening, so then I make a big giant salad. I always liked salad, but I hate the same old salad. So I make different dressings, or I marinate something, whatever it takes to make it different. I eat a lot of salad, and usually Rory makes me some sort of yummy smoothie to go with it. This is really working for me. I just eat when I am hungry, stop when I am full. I have to eat much more often, but Rory says that I am going to boost my metabolism this way. Yay!



Of course, raw food has a reputation of giving a person a lot of extra energy. With all this extra energy, I've been exercising a lot more, and getting tons more done around the house.

Tonight Rory and I are going to a friends house for a raw dinner, with a special guest. I'm not sure who it is yet since it is a surprise, but I know that he lives in Britain and he is a raw foodie. He has a website, but my friend wouldn't tell me who it is so I can't relate it. When I find out, I will definitely post about it.

I hope that you are having a great weekend!

Just Say No

One of the hardest parts about raising a child that's only about 70% raw is making her dinner. Tonight I made her a box of Mac N Chreese (a vegan mac & cheese) and a green smoothie for dinner. Very often when I make the mac n chreese, I dish out a small portion for myself. Mostly because I don't fell like making something seperate for me, and the mac n chreese is convenient. Well, tonight was no different in that respect. I made her a big bowl of it and then put a little in a bowl for myself. I though, "Gee I've been 100% raw today, this will totally ruin that for me". Then I thought, "Oh well, I already dished it out, now the bowl and spoon are dirty, and besides, I'm very hungry". So at this point I added a bunch of pepper to the food in my bowl and stirred it up. My next though was...actually I don't think I had a thought, it was more of a reflex...I just put the bowl down on the table in front of my daughter and walked away. I poured a big glass of the green smoothie for myself and ate a big, juicy pear.

This is a major break through for me! About the only few times I eat cooked food any more is when I am making food for someone else and I feel like "I might as well eat some". I actually said "no" and found something else! I know I can keep this up, especially since, lately we've been super stocked up on raw produce.

If you make cooked food for other people, how do you resist the urge? Please, let me know how you keep yourself above the boiled water?

Man loses 430 lbs and raw food update

Today was a great start for a beautiful new year! The last few days I have been eating 100% raw with no complications and no real strong cravings for cooked food. Today though, I did eat some pretzel sticks at my moms house, but only because I was super hungry and she had no raw food available. As soon as I came home, I was craving a green smoothie and drank 48 oz of one in just a few minutes.

We didn't really do much for New Years Eve this year. Rory worked until late last night, and very early this morning, so we just kinda hung out. Of course, we made sure we were locking lips at 12:00!

I also have a small cold, but amazingly I hardly feel it at all. The only time I really notice that I have the cold is when I am really sleepy or when I just wake up. Once I am up and lucid, I feel great. I love eating healthy.

I did find on the news today that a man lost 430lbs! Congrats on the loss of the weight, but I was a little disappointed in the method that he chose. He decided to go with gastric bypass, which is great for him since he had so much to lose and he had to do it quickly. But what really got me worrying was when he said "I want people to feel inspired when they look at me". I really don't think that surgery is very inspirational. Maybe people that weigh 640lbs do desperately need it, but the majority of the people that are 50-100 lbs overweight have so many more options, and when they use them, it actually is inspirational. I am truly inspired by people like Philip McCluskey, my friend who goes by Earthmother, and even my husband, all whom lost the weight through their own willpower and desire to be healthy. That is truly inspirational to me, and that is what keeps me going on my raw path. Thank you to everyone out there who inspires myself and others to do the same.

Rory's Blind folded Adventure

Last week Rory and I were talking about what we were going to do for his next raw food recipe video and he decided that he wanted to do his Green Vanilla Bean Shake, mostly because everyone we know loves it. What's even better is that the shake is super easy to make, so easy that it could be done blindfolded!

So that's what he did, he did the video blind folded. You have to see!



It was a really fun experience for us, so I just had to share it here on my blog. I love the part where he is trying to find a glass and he is reaching out for the cupboard and cannot find it anywhere. Anyway, hope you like it!

Raw "hot" chocolate

Our Christmas holiday was a lot of fun. On Christmas day we opened gifts, did crafts, played games, and watched a movie. The following day we went to my mother's house and did the same thing. It was like having Christmas twice! I know Isabel loved it. I hope your holiday went well!

Rory created this wonderful, easy "hot" chocolate that we enjoyed Christmas day, and every day since. Of course, it isn't actually hot, but we did warm it a little in the Vitamix. If you don't have a Vitamix, you can do it in a pan with a thermometer.

3 cups almond milk
4 Tbsp cacao
4-5 Tbsp raw honey (do it to taste)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or about 1/2' piece of bean

Blend it! if you are using a Vitamix, allow it to get slightly warm. if you are using a regular blender, transfer it to a pan and gently heat it on low until it reaches your desired raw temp (around 115F usually) This will probably make about 3 servings.

It tastes really good, and almost as if it has marshmallows melted into it.

Do you ever get tired from all this fast food?

Everything was going so well, I lost about 1.5 lbs of the 2 that I gained in CT. I've been eating all raw, until today. I wasn't even really paying much attention to what I was eating today, since I was so busy. Tonight I was sitting around with Rory and complaining about how sleepy and tired I am. I was so tired I could barely get up to go to the bathroom! He asked me what I ate today...hmm I had french fries and some hot cereal. Rory jumped right up and made me a nice green smoothie and some salad and now I feel so much better.

It's amazing, and almost scary, how much cooked, and junk food affects a person. I used to feel tired all of the time, and I never knew it was from the food that I was eating. Now, when I do eat those foods again, the tiredness is almost a shock and I can't even function. There are so many people that I know in their 20s and 30s that say they feel so old and tired. I used to think, pre-raw, that it was the stress of our fast paced world, but now I realize that it is the food that we eat!

How are you celebrating your holiday? We have a family tradition of eating tacos on Christmas, and this year we will not be breaking that tradition. The non raw foodies in my family will be eating traditional tacos, and the vegetarians will be eating vegetarian tacos. We will be eating raw tacos. There are so many wonderful recipes out there for raw tacos, but since I don't like to eat a lot of nuts, and we are so busy during the holiday season, we will be making our easy raw taco recipe. So many of our non-raw friends have tried them, and they all love them. We are making enough to share with anyone who wants them.


Have a great holiday!

This is kinda a silly vid I did to share our Christmas tree on Rawfu. Rory is "singing" (you may want to turn off your speakers to avoid hearing him sing)

Back from CT

Wow what a vacation! I honestly don't know where to start, but I can tell you that we had a really great time. There is so much more to do in CT than there is in Nowheresville, PA. There was a Whole Foods (actually, a few of them) that we spent over 5 hours at one evening (no joke!). There are no stores like that within 4 hours of our home. Rory had a great time at the raw restaurant, Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe, and even visited a few times. We had such a good time, but I won't bore you with all the "spending time with family" details. We actually decided to move to CT in the early Spring!

This is me and Isabel on Rory's Moms' couch.

Regretfully, I was not able to stick to my diet 100%, so I ended up gaining 2 pounds :( I hope to lose those pounds quickly.

Taking a road trip

On Wednesday, Rory and I are heading up to Connecticut to visit his family. I am the one driving the entire 7 hours, and I am not looking forward to it! Rory is packing a lot of raw food for the journey, including, but definitely not limited to: salad, bananas, smoothies, citrus fruits, and trail mixes. One drawback to eating raw is that we have no need to stop at a restaurant to eat, which means I will be stuck in the car the whole time, besides bathroom breaks. Isabel will be doing her school work in the car so that she has less to do when we finally get there (she is home schooled). I am making a very large mix MP3 for some music, and maybe even a few motivational cds. Victoria Boutenko has one that I really enjoy, Spiritual Awakening with Raw Food. Also, I have a few of David Wolfe's that I have not even listened to yet.

Rory's family has embraced the raw food lifestyle very well. Following his footsteps, both his sister and his mom have incorporated many raw food dishes into their menus, and have already seen the health benefits from it. I am not concerned about finding raw food when we are there. Also, the grocery stores in CT have so much more variety than they do here in "nowheresville, PA". So that will be exciting. Last but not least, Glen Colello's cafe, Catch A Healthy Habit, is only blocks from Rory's mothers' home.

All in all, it should be a fun trip. But I am not looking forward to sitting in a car for 7 hours, staring at the same old boring road the entire time while Rory and Isabel play games and nap. booooo!

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.

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.

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.

Feeling good and close encounters

I feel pretty good today. I got on the scale today and it said 267.0! I decided to go to the bathroom and then see what it would say (I get so giddy over this stuff) when I weighed myself again it said 268.4! What!?! I hate scales sometimes. It's okay though, I know I am losing weight and feeling great.

For breakfast today I just had a banana, since I wasn't that hungry. For lunch I made myself a collard wrap with diced tomatoes and seasonings as the "meat". It was really yummy. I also had a green smoothie. I always feel so much better with green smoothies. In fact, I think that is how I lost the 30 something lbs to begin with.

It's Halloween season! Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love to see all of the costumes and the haunted houses. If I had more money, I would buy an old barn and really spook it out for Halloween. When I was going to college, there was an old barn on campus that someone had actually died in. That place was spooky! It was also on an old Indian Reservation. Once, at night Rory and I were out very very late walking around and we heard some creepy noises about 20 ft away from us. There was nothing there at all, but we definitely heard it.

Another time I was really creeped out was about 5 years ago at Devil's Den in Gettysburg, PA. I went there at around 1a.m. with a friend of mine and we were hanging out on top of the rocks talking about all of life's b.s. when this glowing light started slowly coming toward us. It moved really slow, and you could tell that it was coming closer, but the light wasn't getting any brighter or larger. My friend called out to it, but there was no response. It could not have been a flashlight, because no one could have walked where it was. My friend freaked out, and jumped off of the rocks. Those rocks are pretty high, so it was a very dangerous jump for him. I was pretty freaked out too, but I took the safer path and rushed my way down the normal path. We jumped into the car and drove away pretty quickly. Now when I see all of those "ghosts of Gettysburg" books out there, I don't just snicker at them, I feel like there may be some truth behind all of that tourism propaganda.