Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Out sick

Sorry for such a long break.
I had surgery. It went well but I am slow to heal.
I will return as soon as I am able.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

corn salsa over tomatoes

As my juicing increases I find a lighter evening meal is all I am craving.



Simple corn salsa

corn kernels cut from the cob of three ears of corn
1/2 Avocado diced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, well drained and sliced into ribbons
1/4 cup black olives
1/4 cup diced red onion
pink Himalayan salt to taste.

Mix ingredients in small bowl until the avocado becomes a cream.
I sliced 8 Campari tomatoes and arranged on a plate of torn fresh basil leaves.
I heaped about half the mixture over the tomatoes and then
garnished it all with the other avocado half.
I left the avocado pit in with the rest of the salsa so that the avocado would not turn brown.

I am still juicing everyday.
Still the small raw meal in the late afternoon.

The weight loss has slowed.
I weight 152.
It is what it is, but I miss seeing the scale go down every day.
I have managed to keep by body fat from shooting up so the exercise video must be working.
I would love to test if the non organic fruit and veggies are the source or the weight loos effect starts to balance as my body gets used to the juicing.



I am excited about my newest toy:





I used it for the first time this morning.
My skin feels as if I have been to the spa.
Usually after a shower I dry off and rush to apply lotion.
This morning I was surprised how moisturized my skin felt right out of the shower.
Lovely.
Why had I not heard of a dry skin brush before?

Small victories.

Friday, June 25, 2010

spiced cashews

I found this recipe in the book everyday raw.
I was put off by the amount of time it would take to complete this recipe at first.
As of late I am looking to build my pantry with crunchy things I can add to my foods.
Things seem soft all the time, dish after dish.
After drinking juice all day I am looking for some crunch to bite into for my evening meal.
I was out of the sweet curry I love so I used the Madras Curry. I have about six different curries because I kept buying new ones until I found the one I like.
I used raw honey instead of the agave and maple syrup, and skipped the cayenne for allergy reasons.
My cashews actually took an extra twenty hours to dry out completely.
Well worth the wait.
I will make a trip to get the sweeter curry for my next batch.
Sweet, salty, curry crunch!

Can't wait to crumble them over my salads.

Monday, June 21, 2010

juicing colors

from left: carrot, cucumber, spinach, apple, beet-plum, and watermelon


I am surprised how the different fruits and veggies created different amounts of juice. The glass of spinach is from an entire bag of spinach, with a few kale leaves thrown in.
I mixed each glass creating complex drinks all day long.
I usually chop all the veggies and fruit and let it juice together giving me a juice that ranges from a red brown to a green brown color.
I tried cutting the juice with some water in a glass. I didn't care for it. I will drink more water between my juices but watered down juice took away all the flavor for me.
I have found my favorite... cucumber, pear, beet, watermelon and spinach.
What is your favorite juice combo?

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Veggie Salad


I made a  simpler version of this salad a few weeks ago so that I could use my new peeler and I really like it,
but I found that it made me hungry after eating it. It was just too light. ( zucchini cut into ribbons, chopped black olives and sliced sun dried tomato's)
I doctored it to get the right balance.
 I wanted to make a larger amount to get me through the week. I added dehydrated marinated portobello mushrooms, and dehydrated red onions to give me more substance.
It keeps pretty good. I need to drain some of the juice off before I eat and I usually let it warm to room temperature or heat it in the dehydrator, but it's good cold.
After days of marinating I found the Zucchini softened and resembles pasta noodles.

Cold Zucchini Portobello Salad

4 Green Zucchini sliced into ribbons
2 Yellow squash sliced into ribbons
corn kernels from 3 ears of corn
red onion (dehydrated until softened) (one small onion)
1/2 cup diced black olives
fresh Basil julienned 
Place in large bowl


4 portobello mushrooms marinated in 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes and sun dried tomato oil  for 1/2 hour, then dehydrated  103 degrees until cooked (or flattened) about two hours alongside sliced red onion. Slice  mushrooms into bite sized ribbons.
 Add mushrooms and onions to the bowl of veggies and toss.




 packing dinners for the week

I ordered a book from the library and read it. It's The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. I started adding what I could this week.
When I first began to eat more raw foods I came across this book years ago. It seemed extreme to me then.Now having read the book (instead of skimming through it as I did before),I realized how ready I am ready for it. I went shopping and had the right foods and my plan laid out. I started on Monday.
I had specifically bought only organic items.

I did the Tracy Anderson video three times for about twenty minuets- with loads of breaks.
I love the results so far. I weigh 155. Down Four pounds.
My waist is now 33.5. One inch smaller.
I ordered a copy of the book last night as a present for losing four pounds. I love the results so far and the recipes are very easy to prepare, so I want a copy I can keep.
I have some organic carrots and green apples left from the week.
For this weekend I had to look for the most food for my buck and stopped in a tiny grocer in East La for the first time. I look the posters of fresh produce and the really fantastic prices whenever I drive to work and wonder what the produce really looked like.

 organic produce before juicing during the week


Everything looked as fresh as it does at the farmers market. The only missing were greens, so I had to get some spinach elsewhere. I need to give the kale a rest for a bit. I have had it for two weeks with out a break in smoothies, salads and juices.
Time to try out veggies I have never used before.
I spent around nine dollars and have enough to juice the weekend and get through work on Monday. I will consume between 1.5 and 2 liters of juice a day.
Nothing was marked organic in the store.
It will be interesting to see if this weekends produce food hinders weight loss.
I have been drinking a version of Green Lemonade from  the Raw Detox Book. I drink it all day long getting in about 2 liters by evening.
This week I had the same dinner, the zucchini salad I made on Sunday with some Yogi berry detox tea every night. I made enough for the week so that I could relax when I got home in the evening. I would have it cold or warm it for a few hours in the dehydrator.
  Having a great big bowl on hand allowed me to concentrate my energy on making fresh juice each night.


So far so good.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

to fast or to feast...




I have been thinking.
The questions are: What I am going to do about getting so sick and being sick for longer periods each time I am sick?
How can being raw get bumped up a notch and still be fun?
I have been eating high raw for a few years now.
I used to live in the dream that eating 100% raw will cure what ails me.
It hasn't. 

I think deep down I have given up on the idea so much so that I have stopped trying for more.
I feel better eating raw. Tons better. I feel even better if the raw I eat is organic, but that is not always possible.
I find eating raw easy.
It tastes great. I like the art of it all. 

Playing with the ingredients food feeds the Foodie in whose favorite meal ever was at eaten at The French Laundry.
I keep practicing with each dish so that I can have my food look as good as the food I was served there.

A hobby of sorts.
But playing with my food has done little to serve getting to a place where I see doctors and the hospital emergency rooms less.
Now I am curious to see what kind of balance I can create and have the body I dream of; one that is healthy, functional and attractive.
So far I have been enjoying the play- being in the kitchen with fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, herbs, spices and sea greens. Because the food on my plate always all looked great I thought that hit the healthy part. A functioning body was a side effect I assumed was attaining.
I lost weight and maintained at a weight that looked great for my height:117. 

I had the attractive part down after the first six months of eating raw.
The medications I have had to take this year have altered the way my body looks. The thing that bothers me most about being so much heavier now (again) is that I can see how unhealthy I feel. 

Losing weight is not my main concern. I know eating raw will get me looking the way I was and exercise will get me back in shape.
The thing that eludes me is having a body that functions.
I have never hit a place where my body functioned at it's optimal.

That is my Holy Grail.

I see people going on raw juice fasts or feasts for days on end.

I did the Master Cleanse. I stayed on it for 40 days. If you have not heard of this it is a simple lemonade made of grade b maple syrup, fresh lemon juice and cayenne pepper, all proportioned to water and consumed through the day.
I was pretty proud of myself. I didn't mind that my brain was loopy and I was in a constant mood of irritation because I was loosing weight.
The thing that pissed me off  was what happened after breaking the cleanse.
As soon as I started eating the weight came back in the next month. (I did the Master cleanse before I had a proper allergy test. Turns out I am allergic to peppers and citrus.) 

I mention the Master Cleanse because it's after effect is was what lead me to search the internet for more information. That's when I found out about eating raw.
I think the whole thing about how I eat could use some maturing.
I will start by looking for balance.
My thinking is to juice feast most of the day, have a raw meal in the evening, then a bite of a raw dessert.
When I read this it looks as off balance as the Master cleanse but I think my body could use a little break and let go of  all the Prednizone I have taken this year.
So my first step looking for balance makes me laugh.



the mess of juicing


The photo above is the juice of:

1 medium sized watermelon
6 peaches
3 cucumbers
7 small apples
2 bunches kale

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

pudding on the fly





                    chia almond coconut pudding ready for a few hours chilling


I am staying with a friend.
She doesn't eat raw and because she is a single girl and eats out a lot, her pantry is empty.
I was surprised how empty.
It seemed barren to my raw eyes.
After days on end of green smoothies for most of my meals my palate is begging for something else.
After searching behind everything I found yellow raisins, sweetened shredded dried coconut, Mexican vanilla and raw almonds.


I have boxed rice milk, chia seeds (sent as a sample with the last book I ordered) and some psyllium powder.



The mixture was chunky and tasty.
I am hoping not soaking the nuts first won't be a problem. I have been reading in some cook books that soaking the nuts in water for a few hours and then blending them will give you a creamy texture.
I actually can't imagine the mixer getting anything smooth- and I didn't want to wait for the nuts to soak.
I could not get her bottle of vanilla open so I didn't add any.
I can't wait for the chia seeds to expand and firm my concoction into puddin'.

I let some cherries defrost on the counter while the mix set.
I went back to my sick bed and enjoyed.
It was really sweet.
I can't wait to try it again with unsweetened coconut, fresh rice milk and more chia seed. I would have to taste test the amount of raisins or use dates instead.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

open sandwich

I used the last Crabby cake for lunch today. It was much softer today, but just as tasty.
(with avocado, sun-dried tomato, chopped olives.
It fell apart as I tried to eat it because I cut the stems out of the kale. I piled the skinny strips trying to make a flat surface.
I think my sweatshirt will be permanently stained from the sun-dried tomato oil  that fell all over me.
Next time I will use the kale like nori and make sushi style rolls.
I made a green smoothie to drink all day:
spinach, watermelon, apple, frozen blueberries, bananas,  frozen cherries, cucumber, celery
My taste buds are getting used to less nut milks, less raw chocolate and fruit and more greens in each new batch.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

A NewToy for the kitchen!

                                                 Pasta Peeler
I usually cut my veggies with a knife to make pasta.
I have been trying to decide between two items for far too long. I finally made a choice and ordered the one you see above- but I was eyeing a more substantial looking competitor made of metal. I chose this one because it came in a set of the different peelers.


 It is very light in the hand ( and sorta borders on feeling cheap...but it was cheap. Three peelers for $15.08). I am worried after one use how long it will last, but I am so happy with the noodles it made.
When and if it fails I will upgrade to the other model.




The zucchini at the market were tiny and my sister (bless her) had to go to three stores to find those.
I made a quick pasta dish for lunch.

I small zucchini
1 Raw Crabby Cake chopped
large drops of olive caviar
1/4 ripe avocado
1/3 cup organic tomato sauce from the pantry
I loved this dish. The sauce had some kick to it.
I will be sure to pick large veggies to get longer noodles next time.


Just as I was starting to feel sorry for myself my sister just came over with this for me.
surprise...surprise
Desserts really do do it for me sometimes!
My mood is instantly lifted.
Yummy! Creamy and light. I loved it.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

more kale



I am too weak to juice myself so I bought store packaged.
The wrap is made from kale, a Good Mood Food Crabby Cake, avocado, and cabbage crunch slaw.
I forgot to look at the ingredients before I bought this. I think maybe it was the shock to learn all the fresh prepared raw food to go has been removed from wholefoods.
I didn't have much to choose from and was so relieved to find this in the case I just bought it. I am hoping the lemon and the Bragg's liquid amino's cause little problems. And I will skip the Tahini Dip.
This is my first time having this Crabby Cake or anything from Good Mood Food. I think I will let it rise to room temp when I have the others from the package.
It had a mild flavor and really needed the crunch of the kale because the cake is very soft in texture. I liked it. Three cakes are included and the one I had was plenty filling as I made it. Twenty minuets along and I am feeling very full.
I am looking at the photo right now and it looks like a beef patty in the photo.
How funny.
In person I can see the carrots, bits of onion and other veggies in the very raw looking puck shaped disks as they look in the package. Funny how the photograph transformed it into looking like food I used to eat.
It was easy to put together and quick.
It has been such a long time since I have been this sick. I am not used to having to use so much effort to eat raw before.
This morning I made twice the smoothie and put three times the kale in so I can grab it later for something quick. My energy seems to be fading as the day goes on.
The smoothie tasted better with more kale. And it was a  nice deep purple green color.
This weekend is for resting, and recuperating raw.

Friday, June 4, 2010

smoothies on a mission


After a recent emergency hospital visit I am working on upping the potassium and iron levels in my body. The First suggestions included pills but they do not work for me and eating beef, mainly organ meats.
In my head it was really funny.
My family had a long conversation with the doctors and my mission is to boost my juices and smoothies until my next visit when I am to be retested.

  This mornings smoothie:
3 organic bananas
2 cups organic blueberries
rice milk to liquefy
chi spices
raw chocolate powder
1 cup frozen organic cherries
1 big bunch organic fresh finely chopped kale (center vein removed)
7 big fresh strawberries


I am increasing the amount of organic I purchase. I have been flip flopping in the store and farmers market thinking ...I'm not dead, maybe there is not that much difference. I was not paying attention really. I was getting sick and sicker as time went by until now. After a  visit to the emergency room a few days ago- back to organic I head.
See if I get better.

I am asking for help.

I was born with Thalassemia Major, a genetic disorder of the blood. I also suffer from severe asthma.
I am allergic to dairy, wheat, salmon, shrimp, soy, peppers of any kind, kidney bean, peanut, lemon and any citrus fruit and coffee. I have many other allergies but I wanted to include the ones I have the most trouble with.
I am open to new information and any suggestions!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Holiday weekend

                                                                 My lifesaver cake.




 This is the view from my sick bed......


I have been working on nursing myself back to the living since my last post. My chronic illness and my many allergies have taken over.
I have been relying on a lot of raw foods prepared and purchased from various places around town.
I am happy to be on the road back and able to prepare some food for myself again.


Part of this weeks haul:
I usually go through four or five baby watermelons, two apples a day, 2 more bunches of bananas and loads more greens for the week depending on how much juicing I do and green smoothies I have.

I also picked up a fresh mint slice of cake. This week it really saved me. Having a bite to look forward to was my lifesaver all week. It inspired me to look for a new cook book for raw sweets. I want Matthew Kinney's Everyday Raw Desserts but it isn't set to come out till the fall.



            This cake was so good. I am now looking for where I can find a recipe to make it myself.


This morning I made cucumber soup.


1 1/2 cucumber peeled
4 fresh Basil leaves sliced
15 cherry tomatoes
dehydrated tomatoes
dehydrated sweet onions
1/4 avocado
Corn kernels from one ear of corn.
Blend.

                                                   I garnished the soup with diced Avocado.


Looks kind of pretty.
I was impressed with my own gumption to make a soup on my own. That was easy, I actually thought as I poured some into my serving bowl.
Please be warned:
Do not try this at home 'cuz it was awful!
I'm not sure what went wrong- I think it was the dehydrated onions; but something made the entire soup bitter, bitter, bitter.
I ended up skimming off the garnish.
Oh well.
(Mishaps like this make me inspired to attend 105 Degrees Academy!)
Next time I will start with a tried and true recipe for cucumber soup and go from there.
I feel rusty in the kitchen after so much time away.

I have been buying my raw onion bread pre-made to save my energy. I use them to make my own pizzas, using different toppings each time.

I have one of these for lunch -

                                                                     Open Face Pizza
 1 slice Rawvolution Onion Bread or your home made raw bread of choice
heavy slathering of eggplant spread
(peel eggplant, slice, mix in bowl with 1 clove garlic pressed through a garlic press and 2 tablespoons olive oil) dehydrate 105 degrees until soft and fully cooked. Cool. Blend in blender until chunky and spreadable)
Dehydrated and sliced Portabello mushrooms
sun dried tomatoes
fresh Arugula
Kalmata Olive Cavair (Ingredients : 8 ounces whole, pitted kalamata olives ,1/2 cup chopped pecans, 4 cloves garlic, peeled, 2 tablespoons olive oil. Directions - In a food processor, blend kalamata olives, pecans, garlic and olive oil. Adjust amount of olive oil as needed to attain a pesto-like consistency.
Heirloom Tomatoes Sliced
To transport. Place Arugula on small square of wax paper, covering surface. Place other desired fresh ingredients. Finish by "icing" with the eggplant spread. Place wet toppings in to go container. Keep raw bread wrapped separate until its time to eat. Place raw bread on top. Flip. Eat.



                                                 This is what I leave the house with every day.
The pizza in in the bottom box. Watermelon steak in the box above. An apple. Coconut curry soup. Blueberry, beet, kale, cherry and almond milk smoothies. The first one of the day always has added fiber (Psyllium) in it.
The baggie holds a watermelon and strawberry mix.

Dinner is most often either another smoothie or a small salad.

Bored and on line-I have been ordering stuff from bed:

These are my June book reading list.
Reviews to follow.

Enjoy the weekend.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Leaf

I just learned that Leaf Cuisine is closing.

(I posted about treating myself there last month)
RIP to a great raw vegan restaurant (styled like a fast food place to eat).
I will miss being able to stop by Whole Foods, grab something and take it into the movies with me.
What a rough year it has been financially for some of my favorite places in Los Angeles.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

a take out kind of day: leaf cuisine


I thought I would treat myself today.
I never forget how lucky I am to live in Los Angeles. There are several raw cuisine restaurants that I like.
One place is called Leaf Cuisine.
They have a dish that I love, a  raw version of Pad Thai.
While I was waiting  for my to go order-I could not look away from the dessert cubby and chose a slice of vanilla caramel cake. It consisted of thick creamy custard layers with a darker strip of custard sandwiched in the middle.
The top was sprinkled with coconut shavings.
It was really beautiful, but kind of melted in the car, so I didn't get any good photographs. (The "cheese"cake is the brown spoonful on the edge of my plate in the photo above.)
The Pad Thai was $11.99 and the cake was $7.99.
Twenty dollars for such great tasting food that I didn't have to make has really made my day. I can get three meals out of the generous portions, and the thing that hits home today-no clean up in the kitchen!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

fiber in the morning



I woke this morning not quite feeling my regular self so I tried to make up a porridge that would include some fiber.

1/2 ripe avocado
1 banana
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons psyllium powder
2 cups blueberries (frozen left out to room temperature)
2 handfuls spinach
2 tablespoons chia seed
 small handful of the pulp and skin from apple juicing

I divided the mix into three servings.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

portabello steak and asparagus -saturday late brunch


my try at raw-cuisine mushroom steaks



inspired by...
Gena's steak and potatoes.



photo from choosing raw blog
http://www.choosingraw.com/steak-and-potatoes/

I was thinking about this dish everyday (every meal, actually) this week. It's been my food porn photograph of the week from the time I saw it on my blogroll last Tuesday.
It's from a great blog and website: http://www.choosingraw.com/ 
The recipes for the dishes in the photo above are on this site.

I have a few food allergies so I needed to make up my own marinade.

Portabella Steak
2 large Portabella mushrooms (I cleaned the gills and snapped the stem off)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
dash of black pepper
3 sun-dried tomatoes sliced into thin ribbons
fresh basil
 dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, slightly smashed.
Mix ingredients.
Pour over cleaned Portabella mushrooms. Let sit just long enough to coat bottom of mushrooms with seasonings. Drain oil, keeping sun dried tomatoes, garlic and herbs for use.
Place mushrooms face up in food dehydrator. Spoon sun dried tomatoes, herbs and garlic into bowl of mushroom, placing 1 garlic in each bowl. 115 degrees until shrunken in size.

My sides:
washed cherry tomatoes
dehydrate along with mushrooms
Asparagus
marinade- 3 finely diced Kalamata olives, 1/4 cup red onion, 1 teaspoon olive oil, tiny dash cayenne pepper
Toss asparagus with ingredients. Drain olive oil. Arrange coated asparagus and onions in dehydrator at the same time.
My dish took about 5 hours (One movie: The Young Victoria and a visit to the bookstore).
I was home for a few minuets until I had had enough of the gorgeous smells filling my office, distracting me from my work. It was actually warm when I enjoyed it (after I took some photos).
I loved the sweetness the mushrooms picked up for the marinade.
(Next time I will make two large mushrooms per serving if I'm only having asparagus on the side. I would also double the amount of garlic.)





weekend grocery haul from fresh&easy
( first time shopping there)

I didn't make it to the farmers market this morning so I'm going to try fresh & easy this week.
I looked up what should be in season for my area. It's so hard to tell what's really in season when I go to the supermarket to shop instead of the farmers market.

I used this site to find my choices for seasonal and local for my area:



California (Southern): Late January

Artichokes Asparagus Avocado Beets Blood Orange Broccoli Cabbage Carambola Cauliflower Celery Chard Cherimoyas Dates (Medjool) Grapefruit Green Onion Green Peas Kale Kohlrabi Kumquats Lemons Mushroom Mustard Navel Orange Passion Fruit Strawberries Tangelos Tangerines

    I will need to get bananas, frozen blueberries, strawberries,kale and more avocados the next time I go out.

    Fresh&easy store review:
    This store has small packages in the produce section. Great for me- I am usually cooking for one. Not much organic to choose from, in the location I went to.
    This store is good in a pinch, but I found the prices on the non organic produce similar to organic food from trader joe's.
    If I'm going to the movies again I can pick up a bottle of carrot juice at fresh&easy to sneak in with me as I am still searching for glass travel containers (that are drip proof and attractive).

    I loved this recipe.
    It's easy and quick preparation. I used the same bowl to marinade each item.
    My (so-not-raw) sister Rachel had to admit it smelled great when we came back from the movies.











    Tuesday, January 19, 2010

    on the go raw


    photo from 105 Degrees

    This photo has inspired me to get creative with the look of how I store my raw food on the road.
    I use glass in my own kitchen but still travel with Rubbermaid sealable boxes.
    Gone are the recycled plastic containers I have been using for on the go food transport.
    I like to pack what I eat for the day when I know I have to leave the house.
    Now I'm on the hunt for great looking glass travel containers.
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