Living Rawesome

Day #57 Eggplant Bacon pg. 164 entertaining in the raw

September 20, 2009

I have made this recipe before, but it was from Everyday Raw. This bacon was so delicious I am excited to make it again. I ate it alone last time, but this time it will be a topping for a soup. Eggplant Bacon is one of my favorite recipes so far. I was a bad shopper today and didn’t get the olive oil I needed. I wanted to make the taco shells for my tomato recipe from last night. I bought the corn, but I still need olive oil. So tomorrow I will buy some at work. I will be eating good meals this week.

Soup with Bacon which is titled caldo verde, jicama broth, eggplant bacon, marinated chard, and garlic and onion bread
Tomato Tacos with Citrus Cream is titled tacos de tomates al sol con crema citric
Saffron avgolemono, portobello “meatballs”, oregano cream and lemon balm

My birthday is Wednesday. I will be 33. So I will have to figure out which cake I will make for Jason and my birthday potluck on Saturday.

Eggplant Bacon ingredients:
sea salt
dried chipotle chile, soaked
1/2 cup soaking water from chipotle chile
maple syrup ( I used stevia)
olive oil
nama shoyu (I used Braggs Liquid Aminos)
apple cider vinegar
chili powder
paprika
cumin
cayenne

I chopped the eggplant into small pieces. Last time I used the mandolin to form long pieces of bacon. This recipe is supposed to be similar to bacon bits. So I chopped the pieces small, they will become even smaller after dehydration. I blended all sauce ingredients in the vitamix, and poured the sauce over the eggplant in a medium size bowl. It will soak for 2 hours then I will dehydrate overnight. The recipe calls for the bacon to be dehydrated for 2 hours. It is late, so I think I will just let it go all night. If I wake up in the middle of the night I will take them out, if not I will get them at 5 am. Either way they will be great.

My mom is coming over tomorrow and we are going to make flax crackers. She loves these crackers so much. I can’t believe it. I will make our first raw recipe together. Life just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait. I will take some photos. I am off to bed. I am exhausted, but first I am going to study more anatomy.

The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf.
— Shakti Gawain, Bestselling Personal Growth Author and Motivational Speaker

Day #56 Sundried Tomatoes part 1/4 pg. 190 entertaining in the raw

September 19, 2009

I had a great day today with my kids. We went to see the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I just found out today that the book that I loved so much when I was a child was made into a movie. I was so excited. We laughed alot and I felt so blessed to have such an awesome family. Tonight we sat on our bamboo floor with a blanket laid out and ate our dinner. I ate portobello meatballs again with zucchini spaghetti. It was delicious. They ate raw green beans, broccoli and vegan tacos. Then we finished up our “Mom and Sons Day” with a walk with our dogs.

I came across this recipe tonight in the book. It looked so delicious. I love the taste of chipotle peppers and sun-dried tomatoes are excellent. I have never had them together but I am sure it will be perfect. This recipe goes with tacos, citrus cream and spinach, that I will make later this week.
I am sure I will be eating this lovely “sun-dried tomato” recipe before the tacos are ready, but I will save some for the taco meal. I can’t wait to eat it. Maybe Christian and Sebastian will like them too.

Tomatoes Ingredients

2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 30-45 minutes
4 chipotle chiles, soaked 1 hour (reserve soaking water)
salt to taste

Other things may change us, but we start and end with family. Anthony Brandt

Leg Cramps on My Low Sugar High Raw Lifestyle

September 19, 2009

I am up at 6 am. I have been suffering from Leg Cramps, since 3 am. I fell asleep on my couch around 10 pm, which I often do. I woke up a few hours later and felt that I had been kicked in my right calf causing it to cramp. I was so exhausted from my studying and working and my “normal” routines of life that I ignored it and went to bed. My mouth was also extremely dry. I didn’t bother getting water either until 3:30am when I finally decided I needed to get up and get water. I tried to stretch and bam they hit. I know how leg cramps work, I’ve had them many times. When I was pregnant I got them on many nights, also it seems EVERY SINGLE TIME I STOP EATING BANANAS! So I did the normal routine, walk around my room, put my hands on the wall and tried to stretch my calf but when I did that cramps started in my foot. I tried to walk, or hobble and made it to the kitchen to get water. In the back of my mind, I really just wanted to reach for a whole tree of bananas and just start eating them up! I drank about 32 ounces of water and tried to lay down again to bed. I managed to get comfortable by resting my feet against blankets so my feet wouldn’t point (that helps sometimes) and I just prayed. I drifted off to sleep for about 40 minutes and they started again. I woke up again with cramps that were worse than the first time. I didn’t want to wake Jason, he normally rubs my legs if I have cramps. He has been so exhausted that I didn’t want to disturb him. But he must have heard me, because he asked me if I had leg cramps again. Yep, I said. I was very frustrated because I feel so good eating this way, but I must be missing something. I don’t think it’s withdrawals from cereal, bananas, or high sugar desserts. Humans were not meant to eat that stuff, maybe bananas, but not the high sugar hybridized fruit we eat today. They are high in sugar, but oh so yummy. Well, I got some more water and he rubbed my legs so I fell asleep, but again I woke up at 6 am. I was tired and frustrated so I decided to get on the internet and search around. I googled “leg cramps on a low sugar diet”.
No surprise to me, I found many blogs and complaints about low sugar diets and leg cramps. Many people say that leg cramps may be caused from magnesium deficiency, dehydration, potassium deficiency, and over working your legs from exercise. The more I searched the more my heart tells me it is potassium. Humans need 4.7 grams of potassium a day (that is 4700/day milligrams). That is more than we need of magnesium (420 milligrams/day for males and 320 milligrams/day). When I started eating low carb/low sugar I decided to look up foods that are high in potassium, I found most of them to be fruit and meat. Fruit is something I am trying to ignore for now, especially bananas, I do have an addiction. I like to refrain from eating meat. I don’t want to consume meat for more than one reason. I found some great websites that display foods that are high potassium (which I need) and low potassium foods (for people that are needing a low potassium diet for medical reasons for example medications they are taking).
http://www.essortment.com/all/potassiumfoodh_rkyn.htm
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/potassium-foods.htm
After viewing these sights I decided to figure out how much potassium was in the regular vegetables I eat. Tomatoes seemed to be an excellent source of potassium. I loved this website about calories and all nutritional information called Calorie Count. I am very passionate about what is actually in the food, hence my decision to do dietetics! The website is AWESOME! You type in what food you want and you can see what is in it according to the RDA. I know RDA isn’t GOD, but I do believe there is validity in it. After viewing the internet I am going to keep in mind that I do need more potassium. There are so many options when it comes to potassium choices that are relatively low in sugar that will not cause a blood sugar spike.
1 raw cup each:
Tomatoes 400 mg
Kale 299 mg
Broccoli 278 mg
Spinach 167 mg
Sprouted Lentils 248 mg
Sprounted Mung beans 155 mg
These are just a few of my staples.
I am hoping to improve on my low sugar diet. I love my raw journey that I’m on. I really believe that if I keep listening to my body it will guide me to where I need to be. I am going to get a mineral test done soon. If the leg cramps don’t go away it may be a mineral difficiency, but I only started doing this 7 days ago and I’m already feeling the effects from it. Weight loss, better energy (happier thoughts, stamina and positive well being) and stable blood sugar. The leg cramps are the only real downer. I am going to see how it goes with eating more potassium rich foods and increase my water intake.

“Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.”

** DISCLAIMER** I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. EVERYTHING I SAY ON THIS SITE IS FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND I DO NOT CLAIM TO HEAL ANYONE OR SAY THAT I CAN. THE NUTRITION CONTENT PROVIDED ON THIS SITE IS NOT INTENDED TO SUBSTITUTE MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND SEEKING APPROVAL FROM A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE YOUR DIET AND LIFESTYLE.

Day #55 Portobello Meatballs pg. 97 entertaining in the raw

September 18, 2009

I made a few delicious recipes today. I have been wanting to make a cheese from carageenan. So I finally made up the recipe. I am quite impressed with this new creation. It’s a red pepper cheese. I used Matthew Kenney’s recipe for the red pepper sauce that I made on Sept. 1st. I changed it a little bit, then I added carageenan. It’s so yummy. I can’t wait until it hardens. I will have a sandwich on some onion bread.

I attempted to make a dessert from carageenan. It turned out to be a disaster. I threw it out. I could not tolerate it. It tasted like seaweed and stevia, but worse. The smell of irish moss/carageenan reminds me of riding on the Pirate’s of the Caribbean at Disney World. I don’t know why, but it always comes to mind every time I smell it. I want to make a delicious dessert that has low sugar. I will make something soon I hope.

My recipe for today is portobello meatballs. They turned out very meaty flavored. The mushrooms and walnuts together make the flavor of meat. I made them this morning before work, I stuck them in the dehydrator so I could eat them when I got home. Oh my they were so good, with zucchini spaghetti, and raw tomato sauce. These portobello meatballs go with another meal that I will make tomorrow.

Portobello Meatball ingredients
portobello mushrooms
walnuts
tahini
olive oil
zucchini
parsley
salt and pepper

I cut up all ingredients and placed them into the food processor.

I pulsed it several times. Until the consistency was pasty.

I used a tea spoon to make the balls. They formed fairly easy. They are not completely round but they look nice.

When they were done they were exceptionally darker than when I made them at first. They actually looked like meat. They were very good, I would make these again. Jason suggested making burgers with this recipe. That would be great with a melted cheese and dehydrated carmalized onion. Oh man, I want to make that now. I think it’s a great idea.
I had a delicious lunch today!

I absolutely love this project. I am having so much fun with it. I am pretty much eating a diet of all living food, some of it is not, but I’m not really concerned too much with a percentage. I know how I feel, and I FEEL INCREDIBLE. i will continue to do what I’m doing:)

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

Day #54 Marinated Tomato Salad and Basil Oil pg. 38 entertaining in the raw

September 17, 2009

To show love to my wonderful and romantic husband, I decided to get somewhat romantic. I made him this Italian flared dish. He loves Italian food. I went to the store today and bought heirloom tomatoes for this dish. The recipe calls for red, yellow and green cherry tomatoes, but I figured I would use heirloom tomatoes that were similar colors. It turned out more beautiful than I expected. Before Sebastian got home I decided to make it. I took more photos than I have the last couple of recipes. I finally got the new camera figured out. The camera is really Sebastian’s but I am using it until we figure out which camera we want to purchase. I picked out the most beautiful tomatoes that I could and made this dish with lots of love.

I cut them up into small slices then put them all into the bowl to be mixed with the olive oil. Before serving, I poured the basil oil onto the tomatoes, and sprinkled the “Parmesan” cheese onto the salad.
I loved the aromatic scent of the basil oil.


Tomato Salad ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T agave
salt
pepper
1 1/2 pounds of halved red, yellow, and green cherry tomatoes

Parmesan was made on 8/23/09

Basil Oil Ingredients
1 bunch of oil (I used about 1/2 packed cup of basil)
1 cup of oil
Mixed in Vitamix.

Jason enjoyed his salad. I served it to him at Papa Johns. He was working here in Inverness so he was close to us. I love it, now that he works closer to home. I took the kids and my books to Papa Johns tonight to do homework. I did homework from 6 until 10:30 tonight. It’s been a long day. It’s Thursday, so I was off from work but I had school today. It’s my longer lab day. I needed to get most of my lab homework done tonight, so I don’t have to worry about those this weekend. I’m going to read about Tissues this weekend for Anatomy and study for my first test in Chemistry. I am really amazed at how I am understanding all of it. I am grateful for Jason’s support. If he was not helping me, I’d be pulling my hair out, or winding it into dreads. The latter sounds alot better. Maybe one day I will do it. But for now, I like to run a brush through it.

I am off to bed it’s 11:00pm, I have been up since 5:45am. I am sugar free still, I feel incredible. I felt stable all day. To be successful, I must have food prepared. This project helps me so much with all the great raw food lying around the house. Of course, I can’t have the agave laden food or fruit, but I can give that stuff away. It is delicious but makes me CRAZY. I am feeling much cleaner everyday that goes by. This morning I woke up and realized I’m in a better mood and not waking Jason up, telling him, I ate too much yesterday, or crying about how sick I feel. He must love that I’m not waking him up with complaints about how I want to change the way I eat. I know raw food is the way for me, but when I eat the pies and fruit it seems to send me down a spiral, where I don’t desire to be. I desire to be the best of ME!

Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

Day #53 Basil Wrappers pg. 82 entertaining in the raw

September 16, 2009

I made the red pepper wrappers two days ago and I already ate them before my recipe was complete. I have to make them again. They were so delicious. I ate them with lettuce, tomato, purple onion and avocado two days ago. Then I ate the rest today.

I enjoyed my meal so much that day the only thing missing was my Jason! He seems to be gone all the time lately, it gets very lonely. If you can see I divided the meal up for 2 people. I had 2 of everything, just in case he came home. He didn’t but I sent him a photo on his phone. We are very fortunate that we can send pics and text messages back and forth. I feel like that is our main communication these days. It is very difficult with both of us working and both in school. It was hard before when he was the only one in school. Now with both of us in school, we literally have to squeeze time for eachother into our busy schedule. I am hoping that we can have a raw meal together this weekend.
The basil wrappers look dark green and not very appetizing. I know they will turn out fantastic, though. I just hope I don’t eat these before I finish the whole meal. I am soaking the almonds tonight, so the meal should be ready tomorrow.
Basil wrappers ingredients
4 cups thai coconut meat
1 cup basil
1/2 t sea salt

These were easy to make. I put the ingredients in the Vitamix and poured it out onto the parchment paper. I smoothed it out into a square about 10 inches by 10 inches. It is in the dehydrator right now, it will be done tomorrow.

I am having serious issues with the cameras lately. My regular camera broke last night at the Gainesville Potluck, so I had to use my cell phone. The pictures didn’t turn out as beautiful as I would’ve liked. I can’t wait to buy a new camera. Then my pics will be 10 times better:) I used my son’s camera for these photos.

Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some-Robert Fulghum

Day #52 Chocolate Pieces pg. 134 everyday raw

September 15, 2009

I just finished my homework for tomorrow night’s Anatomy class. I am in a hurry to go to the Gainesville Potluck. I had to do my recipe in a short time. I made delicious chocolate pieces made with

Ingredients
2 cups coconut oil, melted
6 cups cacao powder
1 3/4 cups of agave

I am now out of agave and coconut oil. I ordered a whole case of agave this month. There was a sale so I received a deal I couldn’t pass up. I will have to order a mammoth size coconut oil, too.

I didn’t try the chocolate pieces. I am so proud of myself. I am hungry but not for the sugar laden food. I know it’s not processed but I am staying away from all of it. I hope Theresa brings her cheese sticks, I am in the mood for them. I have to leave, but the recipe was very easy to make. Added all ingredients into the blender and revved it up and it was done in no time at all. This is enough chocolate to last a few months I am sure. Unless Sabby really likes it. Which I hope he does. I spread out the mixture on a parchment lined pan and stuck it in the freezer.

My red pepper wrappers turned out so delicious, I had half the recipe for my lunch today. What a filling and nutritious lunch. I will definitely make them again. I just thought of something, I am going to have more:)

TTFN

Day #51 Sweet Pepper Wrappers pg. 82 entertaining in the raw

September 14, 2009

I just got out of Anatomy. I got my test score back. I got an A! I’m so excited. I was nervous about getting the grade. Many people were dreading getting their grades back. The test was tough, it was 166 questions, but he only counted 150. I was worried but I conquered it!! Now on to the next 2 chapters, Tissues and Integumentary System.

Well, I am going to report what last nights project tasted like. The foie gras, in my book, was the worst thing I’ve made yet. It reminded me of liver pate. I didn’t like it at all. I haven’t eaten liver since I was probably 8 or 9 years old. Ugh. I will never make this again. I don’t really like to make food that resembles meat this much. I had to take a picture of it before I threw it out. I did taste it by itself and then on the flat bread. It was terrible both ways. If you really like liver pate, you will love this. It reminded me of meat so much it really grossed me out. I feel bad saying this, but I have to be honest.

The flat bread was delicious. I would make this again, but I would add basil and some spices. The sun-dried tomatoes were delicious and chewy. The bread tasted sweet, because of the walnuts. It was easy to make. I love going into the dehydrator and pulling my goodies out of there after a whole day at work. It’s nice to come home and have food to eat. It really helps when I am trying to eat mostly raw food.

Tonight I made sweet pepper wrappers. I have made something similar to these before. Cherie Soria has a recipe in her book The Raw Revolution. They were very good. I used to make about 12 at a time. They are low in calories, because they are made with zucchini and red peppers, and they are perfect for sandwiches.
M.K. recipe is a bit more fattening because of the coconut meat, but I am sure they will have a sweeter flavor than the other wraps I usually make. I put all ingredients into the vitamix and poured it out onto the parchment paper. This didn’t take long, maybe 5 minutes. This will be done in 5 hours. It is in the dehydrator now.

Sweet Pepper Wrappers ingredients
coconut meat
red peppers
salt
beet juice

I am very tired, it’s only 10 pm. I’ve been up since 5 am and I need to study. I need strength, I am going to pray and God will lead me to do what I should do tonight. I am very grateful that I passed my test with an A, and had an awesome day. I finished another day of my project, sometimes I feel like I can’t do anymore but I just do and when I’m done at the end of the day, it feels like I’ve conquered again! I will continue.
One may go a long way after one is tired. ~French Proverb

Day #50 Portobello “foie gras” on Sun-Dried Tomato Flatbread

September 13, 2009

Well another day without fruit or agave. My mood and energy were great again today. I even did the stair stepper for 45 minutes. It feels great to clean my body out. I am not craving any cereal, granola, or any sweet things. One day at a time. I will take things one day at a time. I went to work tonight, so I could catch up on making food for the deli. I made a new recipe. I named it Mediterranean Pate. It is sunflower seeds with sun-dried tomato and basil. I think it’s very good. I am going to try to sell it this week. I love to make new things each week. My job is great because it allows me to be creative.

As for my project, I made two interesting recipes. The sun-dried tomato flat bread is not so different but the portabello “foie gras” is the strangest thing I’ve made since I started this project. I didn’t even know what “foie gras” was until Jason asked if it was fattened goose. So he looked it up. It is liver of a duck or goose that has been force fed corn according to French law. I can’t believe that this is actually a delicacy in France. People know that the animals are force fed and they still think it’s great!?! I don’t understand why someone would want to eat that. I wouldn’t. I have never had goose or duck of any sort. I won’t be able to tell if this tastes similar to duck/goose or foie gras, but I will let you know how it tastes. I am going to try it tomorrow. It is hardening in the refrigerator now. The sun-dried tomato flat bread was easy to make. I know this will taste delicious.

Ingredients:
Foie Gras
portabello mushrooms, brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and it has to be dehydrated for 2 hours
1 cup olive oil
irish moss carrageenan
salt

Flat bread
1 cup flax meal
1/2 cup well-chopped sundried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups walnuts, soaked 8-10 hours
2 yellow squash, chopped
1 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 t chili powder

I will have an excellent dinner tomorrow night, before anatomy. I finally get the results from my test tomorrow night. I can’t wait!

I am off to bed:) to sweet dreams!

Day #49 Creamy Sesame Dressing pg. 84 everyday raw

September 12, 2009

Today was a relaxing day. I was supposed to go to Gainesville but because of my hospital trip last night, I wasn’t able to go:( They cancelled and hopefully we will reschedule this month. I spent the day running errands, and homework. The new produce market opened and I went to buy some veggies. It is spacious and appealing. Very nice colors and comfortable. I bought many veggies and came home to clean a little, then off to my parent’s. Christian and Sabby played with their friend and cousin. We had a fire down by the lake. The fire and the breeze from the lake really helped me calm down and get my head clear after studying Chemistry all day. Gosh, I do love it!

I came home and I was so hungry for a salad. I decided to make this creamy sesame dressing. It was so delicious. I will be addicted to this for at least a few weeks. Sitting here now I would love to make more, but I’m not hungry:) I have cut fruit and agave out of my diet. Ahhh my head is clear and I feel stable in my energy levels. If I eat too much fruit I feel like I could eat everything in sight. This dressing is definitely one of my favorites.

Creamy Sesame Dressing ingredients
nama shoyu (I used Braggs Liquid Aminos)
tahini
sesame oil
agave ( I substituted stevia)
apple cider vinegar
ginger
olive oil
lime juice

It has a hint of peanut butter flavor. I really enjoyed my dinner tonight (a huge salad, with creamy sesame dressing and tomato slices with the red pepper sauce from my gnocchi recipe). Yummy!!

I am trying to form new habits. Working with food has been so challenging for me because I have an increasing desire to eat all of the time. I know it seems silly, but it really is a bad habit I have formed over these last few years. I am working on switching my old habits with new ones. Starting with overcoming emotional eating and my addiction to sugar. I will conquer!

“Good habits result from resisting temptation.” Indian Proverb
“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.”Anonymous
“We are what we think; as we desire so do we become! By our thoughts, desires, and habits, we either ascend to the full divine dignity of our nature, or we descend to suffer and learn.”
J. Todd Ferrier
“Divide each difficulty into as many parts as necessary to resolve it.” Rene Descartes