Holiday Potluck

Last night was our very first holiday potluck. I thought it was a huge success! It was held at Speedy Greens - this is a holistic center w/ small dining area in Cicero, NY. There were 15 people in attendance - Cherrie, Diane, Kelsea, Joe, Marci, Dawn, Tanja, Betsy, Cathy, Brandon, Whitney, Cathy and her husband (I apologize, I forgot his name already!!!), Terry and Myself. If I'm forgetting someone, it's because they didn't sign in... sorry!

We had some wonderful savory dishes - Not-Tuna Pate on romaine wraps, home made salsa (which, is always one of my favorites!), Chicken Patties, a beet casserole, Carrot Juice, and my Asian Noodles. I know that Cathy and her husband made the Chicken Patties and Kelsea made the Not-Tuna and Salsa. I believe that Cherrie made the beet dish. Cathy is now making and selling germinated and dehydrated seasoned sunflower seeds - they were really, really good and she was nice enough to send home some leftovers with me :) Thank you, Cathy! Oh, and I believe it was Dawn who brought the Kale Salad. If I'm leaving out a savory, dish, I apologize.

As always, the desserts stole the show. Thank you to Marci for bringing with her a delicious Avocado Chocolate Raspberry Pie. I personally don't enjoy a lot of raw crusts, but I do enjoy a good Avocado Chocolate Mousse. Yum! I also brought with me 2 Pecan Bars and 2 Fig Bars that I had purchased from the girls at Good Stuff by Mom & Me. Everyone seemed to like them... remember, if you liked them, please request them at Nature Tyme or the Food Co-op or any of the Vegan restaurants. The owners, Claire and Tanya are super nice!!! What else did we have for dessert??? Hmmmm Oh, I made Matthew Kenney's Chocolate Hazlenut Torte, but I omitted the Hazlenut part :) Nothing against Hazlenut, but the extract is so expensive! There were Mint Chocolate Truffle Balls, Cookies, Coconut Truffles, Coconut Chocolate Truffles, Fresh fruit and berries, nuts, seeds... wow! Lot's of wonderful and exciting dishes and they were all super!

Thank you all for coming and for bringing your delicious snacks and treats! I can't wait until February!

SYRACUSE RAW

So, I've become the Organizer for a local raw group - www.meetup.com/syracuseraw We have had our first meeting/potluck and Don and Carmella from The Sunny Raw Kitchen were nice enough to come and spend the day with me at my home and then accompany me to our first "meetup". While spending the day with Don and Carmella, I learned how to make home made Raw Kombucha! Such great knowledge to have! I am comtemplating offering a "how to" class for Kombucha making! As soon as I perfect it!

We had about 15 members at our first meeting - I was pleased with this turnout. We had a lot of raw goodies. I made Raw Goddess Kale Chips, Pumpkin Squares and a Bruschetta Pasta Salad. We also had a nice Watermelon Gazpacho, Rich and Gooey Fudge Brownies, Apple Avocado Salsa w/ veggies, Red Beet Salad, Beet/Apple/Carrot Pie (honestly, I have to figure out a better name for this because it was absolutely delicious!!!), Onion Bread and more!!! Everything was delicious and the raw company was fabulous!

Since this meeting, I had the opportunity to attend a get together with Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes-Monarch. I was so motivated! These 2 wonderful people just exude love and kindness and warmth. I was just so motivated and moved by both of them. I was also able to meet a few wonderful people - including the owner of the Turquoise Barn, the owners of Good Stuff by Mom and Me, a wonderful raw chiropractor and the 2 people who put on this wonderful event! What a great day! I was so "high" on the peace that I felt when I left this wonderful event! I highly suggest it if Matt and Angela are in your area - or any other raw speakers.

We are having our next raw potluck/"veg-out" this coming Sunday, December 6th from 4-6 at Speedy Greens in Cicero, NY from 4-6. Stop by, we'd love to see you!!!

LONG TIME...

Still raw :)

So, i've come to the conclusion that there's no one in Syracuse who is a fellow raw foodist - how very disappointing! I was at the messeuse tonight and i was talking about being raw and she told me that i should open my own raw restaurant or juice bar. How i would love to do just that! About 2 weeks ago, i was on vacation and attended a raw class. I sat in the class thinking "I can do this, but better!" So, i'm now on my quest to become certified to teach raw classes. I anyone is interested, please let me know! The more, the merrier! I'm hoping to be certified by the fall and will start classes immediately following certification. Who knows, maybe i will open my own raw restaurant... lets see how the classes go :)

GREEN JUICE

Not much to mention right now.... i've been drinking my green juice every morning and afternoon (breakfast and lunch) for about 2 weeks now and i've been feeling fabulous - except for the one morning that i must've left something out of the juice and it tasted horrible and almost made me gag! Yeah, i won't leave the house again without tasting it first! I even made 2 servings of it that day! I played around this week and used spinach but i'm not a big fan of it. It tastes fishy to me... odd, since it's a leafy green plant! I have to do some research on greens and where you get the most nutrients. I like the Kale the best so far. Any suggestions would be great! Well, i'm off to bed now. Have a great night!

GREENS

So, in an attempt to actually lose the weight that i desperately want and need to lose (about 20 pounds will help!), i've started drinking a green drink for breakfast and lunch. I've been doing this for almost a week now - i started last Friday. Now, i'm not sure what i'm doing wrong, but these drinks taste nasty! It was recommended that i start to take Wheat Grass, Spirulina and any sea veggies... so, i bought myself a greens powder and some Wheat Grass that is Fresh Frozen into cubes... I've been drinking that mixed with about 5 stalks of kale, one apple, 1/2 a head of celery and a lemon. It doesn't taste that great, so any suggestions would be really, really helpful! I'm trying to keep an optimistic outlook on this... we'll see how it goes :)

I created this Thai dish tonight that was really good - and really simple. I took matchstick carrots, beansprouts, tomatoes (diced), mint leaves (chopped), basil (chopped), green onions... i put that all in a bowl. In another bowl, i blended some Red Curry Paste (again, not sure if this is raw, but i cannot find the ingredients that go into this!), sesame oil, cilantro, Almond Butter, 1 lime, salt & some Adzuki Bean Miso (not necessary, but it gives it a good flavor)... i just blended that until it was smooth and blended together. I poured over the veggies and topped with some pumpkin seeds. It was very good.

I also made my first batch of Ice Cream this past week. I also made my 2nd batch since i ate all of the first batch in less than 2 days ;) The first was Vanilla. I made some almond milk and then added agave and vanilla extract. I put it in the ice cream maker until it was cold and smooth (about 45 minutes). Yummy! Then, i made Strawberry Ice Cream... same way but without the vanilla extract and i threw a full tub of strawberries into the blender. It took a little while longer in the ice cream maker, but it was well worth it.

I also made my first Chocolate pudding! I was actually quite surprised because it used Avacado's - I love them so much that i find it hard to use them for anything other than Guacamole or just diced up in Salads or by themselves... I had 1/2 an avacado left over so i decided to brave it and attempt a pudding. I blended up the 1/2 of avacado with some Agave and some Carob powder. HOLY COW! It actually tasted like real chocolate pudding! I was thoroughly surprised!

So, that's about it for my week. I'll post pictures of my Thai concoction as soon as I upload my photo's...

I DON'T KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS

Sorry i haven't posted in a while - life has been crazy! Since my "one pinch full" of cheese on one of my last blogs, i've been 100% raw and i'm feeling great. I haven't weighed myself yet - i'm too afraid too! I've been feeling great and I don't want the scale to ruin that for me! Oh, you know what? I am not 100% raw because i began taking my Goji Juice again. I remembered how great i felt while taking this so i figured i'd give it a try while i'm raw. So, that's the only non-raw item i've drank/eaten. Again, i feel great! I feel healthier and my brain is clearer! I also feel like i've lost weight, but again, i don't want to disappoint myself if I haven't. I haven't really been hungry the past 2 days, so i'm taking advantage of that - that's my "side effect" from taking the Goji. Most people notice an improvement with their allergies or whatever might ail them... me? I don't want anything sweet and i eat very small quantities. I'm not sure why it has this effect on me, but i'm not arguing :)

So, I've been thinking about a lot of things in life... for instance, i'm changing my family over to Sigg Swiss bottles instead of drinking out of plastic water bottles. I know this is an important change for us - we don't buy many bottles, but we do re-use them all the time! I just never really knew how bad they are for you! I've also been thinking... it's okay for us as humans to kill animals and eat them but if a human is attacked by an animal, that animal is shot and killed! It's just kinda funny to think about. It's always bothered me that we eat meat (of any kind), but as a child, i was forced to eat it and i grew up thinking that's what i had to do! Once i moved out on my own, i changed my eating habits and was pretty much a vegetarian (with the exception of fish and sometimes an Egg & Cheese Sandwhich). I just preferred to eat fruits and veggies! It bothers me that i see packaged meats go bad in the grocery store - those animals died for no reason at all... These are just some thoughts that I've been having lately. Once i started eating this way, i've realized that i don't actually like the taste of meats or fish or pasta, but the sauce that goes on those things. Those sauces i can generally imitate with raw foods. I don't miss cooked foods at all. This Saturday my husband and I are going to a comedy show for his birthday and we're going out to dinner before hand. We're going to a Thai Restaurant because Thai food seems to be the only cooked food that doesn't bother my stomach. So, i'll probably have cooked veggies in a curry sauce - that's always what i have when i have Thai. So, it will be cooked, but it will still be vegetarian - possibly even vegan.

Anyway, i won't bore you with what i ate anymore ;) Unless i make something truly wonderful and I happen to take a photo of it! I have a million recipes that i need/want to try out but i haven't had time to write out my weekly food/meal plan/list. I decided that this would help me to stay more on track with my weight loss efforts. Hopefully i'll be 10 pounds thinner in a month :) I'm optimistic!

Have a great day!!!!

DAY 5

Well, i think I forgot to post something for the past 2 days and I cannot remember everything i've eaten... I pretty much cleaned out the fridge today so my lunch consisted of everything left in there :) For breakfast i had a grapefruit - this is my normal breakfast. So, i went shopping this afternoon for some good veggies! I had a nice Taco Salad for dinner - I made this with mixed greens, chopped onion, diced cucumbers, halved grape tomatoes and then i made a taco meat that consisted of ground up sunflower seeds and a kalamata olive tepenade. If you mix them together with some olive oil, it comes out looking like ground beef! Then, i drizzed the salad with my favorite dressing - it's just a blended up red pepper with some sesame oil and a little cayenne. I love this salad - thank you Bryan Au! I would normally make a guacamole to go with this salad, but i'm trying to stick with only one fat per meal (if any), so it's either the guacamole/avacado or the taco meat and tonight i wanted that taco meat - my family had taco's tonight. I was fixing my son's taco - which consists of the meat and cheese - and without even realizing it, i ate a pinch of cheese. I wasn't even craving it or wanting it, it was just out of habit. So, i felt really bad after that :( I've been feeling great these past few days of eating 100% raw... I haven't even wanted anything that wasn't raw! So, it was just really disappointing for me to have eaten that cheese tonight. I mean, if i were to choose something non-raw to eat, it wouldn't have been cheese! However, after eaten that bite of cheese, now i want chocolate... but, i'm resisting that! I'll make myself some more Almond Joy's tomorrow w/ some chocolate sauce. I wish there were some inexpensive and tasty choices for "bad" snacks to keep on hand. I wasn't a huge fan of the raweo, so that's not an option. If anyone knows of any good pre-made snacks to keep on hand, please let me know!!! I'm in the process of making something like a "chip" right now. I ground up flax seed and then added some sesame seeds and then i made a mixture of Red Curry Paste, Miso, Sesame Oil, Water, Onion powder... i think that's it. Then, i mixed it and spread it onto the teflex sheet. It's almost dry and should be done tomorrow when i get home from church... I'm also in the process of making some fresh salsa for it. I plan on that pretty much being my lunch :) I know it's not the healthiest, but i really want to have some! Anyway, i've got to get to bed now. I'll try to be better about posting on here everyday...