Monday, October 18, 2010

hello people's !!!

Hi everyone soo sorry I haven't been on here for awhile ...You know how it with life ...and I have had just been very busy and , and , and ......

Anyway just thought I'd drop a note to you all and let ya know I am still here...

I have been hanging out at Raw Food Rehab and during their last initiative I lost 7 pounds !! (YEAH!!) We have started another one (we are in week 3 now) and I am maintaining at the moment ..haven't lost anything but I'm working on it !!! I have a goal of trying to get in 1 pound of greens per day  drinking more water and getting reconnected with with my blog and trying to make some recipe's...

Thats about all that is going on for now (sorry nothing more exciting !)

Well til next time....

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Okra : Health Benefits

I got this from a post in Raw Food Rehab in the "kitchen" room and thought I'd pass it on... If you haven't checked out Raw Food Rehab be sure to click link above they offer great support,recipes,how to's, etc!!!!


Health Benefits of Okra
1.The superior fiber found in okra helps to stabilize the blood sugar by curbing the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract.
2.Okra's mucilage binds cholesterol and bile acid carrying toxins dumped into it by the filtering liver.
3.Okra helps lubricate the large intestines due to its bulk laxative qualities. The okra fiber absorbs water and ensures bulk in stools. This helps prevent and improve constipation. Unlike harsh wheat bran, which can irritate or injure the intestinal tract, okra's mucilage soothes, and okra facilitates elimination more comfortably by its slippery characteristic. Okra binds excess cholesterol and toxins (in bile acids). These, if not evacuated, will cause numerous health problems. Okra also assures easy passage out of waste from the body. Okra is completely non-toxic, non-habit forming, has no adverse side effects, is full of nutrients, and is economically within reach of most individuals unlike over-the-counter drugs.
4.Okra fiber is excellent for feeding the good bacteria (probiotics). This contributes to the health of the intestinal tract.
5.Okra is a supreme vegetable for those feeling weak, exhausted, and suffering from depression.
6.Okra is used for healing ulcers and to keep joints limber. It helps to neutralize acids, being very alkaline, and provides a temporary protective coating for the digestive tract.
7.Okra treats lung inflammation, sore throat, and irritable bowel syndrome.
8.Okra has been used successfully in experimental blood plasma replacements.
9.Okra is good for summer heat treatment.
10.Okra is good for constipation.
11.Okra is good in normalizing the blood sugar and cholesterol level.
12.Okra is good for asthma. Okra's vitamin C is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which curtail the development of asthma symptoms.
13.Okra is good for atherosclerosis.
14.Okra is believed to protect some forms of cancer expansion, especially colorectal cancer.
15.Eating okra helps to support the structure of capillaries.
16.Some information shows that eating okra lowers the risk of cataracts.
17.Okra is good for preventing diabetes.
18.Okra protects you from pimples and maintains smooth and beautiful skin. We understand the reason why Cleopatra and Yang Guifei loved to eat okra.
There are other medicinal uses of okra, like its protection against trans fats.

ASIAN COLESLAW

I just made my own version of an ASIAN COLESLAW and it was really good !! so thought I'd post it here..
Sorry no picture by time I thought of that it was eaten up hahaha)

ok my measurements are estimates you may need taste as ya go)


ASIAN COLESLAW



this makes about 2 servings (I made it as a "side salad")

DRESSING:

2 Tbsp tahini
3 or 4 sprays Bragg's liquid amino's (can use soy sauce of choice)
(4 sprays is about 1/2 tsp maybe?)
4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
grated ginger (or can use powder) to taste
1 clove garlic (or can use powder to taste)
about 4 tablespoons olive oil (I try not to use much oil)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp honey (or agave)
black pepper to taste
**if you like a little kick add some cayenne pepper to taste (OPTIONAL)
then add water until at consistency you like ( I added maybe 5 tbsp water)

Also if dressing seems too strong for you try adding more tahini ( or whatever nut butter you use) and thin with water if needed to get consistency you like ...

SALAD:

1/4 purple cabbage shredded (you can use reg green cabbage or mix them together - I just like the color of purple haha)
1 grated carrot
one green onion (I snip mine with scissors)
add some raw almonds chopped or your favorite nut
and some raw sunflower seeds



I hand tossed everything together and massaged dressing in real well and my Mom thinks it tastes better if let sit overnight haha (thats her 2 cents haha) if to salty use less soy sauce (or less Bragg's) you can also try using any mild nut butter you have on hand if you don't have tahini...

I was just getting a bit tired of the same old coleslaw and this turned out to be very tasty!!!


Til next time ,


    Keep on RAWKIN !!!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Garlic Spinach Facaccia Bread



HI there,
  I know I haven't been on to post in awhile - sorry about that !!!

I just started an 11 week initiative at Raw FOOD Rehab and we are on day 5..I made a Raw Garlic Spinach Facaccia bread using Raya Belna's Recipe  (click to see video of her) .I altered it some cause I didn't have all the ingredients ..SOOO I used spinach (she uses basil) and I used 2 small apples (she used an Asian Pear) I also used regular Chia Seeds (she uses Mila) Oh and I used some garlic powder along with a clove a garlic ( I taste tested "batter" and it needed more garlic for me)..It turned out great !!!(am posting pictures!) See recipe below:

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Dishwasher powder recipe...

I use this myself and it does work well...I also use vinegar for my rinse agent to remove any residue instead of the drying agents you can but at the store (like Jet Dry etc)

ok here are the recipes:


Fabric softener recipes....

Here is another money saver!!


Inexpensive Fabric Softener Recipes!!!

laundry soap recipe...

Ok so this isn't a RAW recipe however it will save you some money and I thought well, anything thats money saving means I will have more money to use in order to buy organic more often and make it easier to afford to stay RAW. Sooooo if you don't mind taking the time to do this it will save you TONS of money in the long run...This soap costs only about a penny per load!!!

I find the liquid recipe works best for cold water washing (I only use cold water for laundry) and for extra cleaning boost use oxyclean type product or what I do is just add 1/2 cup extra washing soda to the load of really grimey clothes.I personally just use ivory or homemade soap bars not Fels Naptha as stores in my area don't carry it...you can however find it online if you want to use it.Dr Bonners bars cost a bit more but they smell nice haha..

Here is the recipe :

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Gourmet dinner...

Well tonight I went out for my first ever RAW gourmet dinner at a restaurant.Now this is a regular restaurant however they offer a 3 course gourmet raw food dinner menu once a month to the raw/vegan community - I live in a small town...I was sooo excited to go !! It was a nice restaurant but I wasn't thrilled with the food to be quite honest.First off understand you didn't order ..Everyone got the same thing and in this case the meal was a lasagna but was full of basil (had a basil pistachio pesto) looked very pretty though lol...The appetizer was a cold  soup - wasn't too bad but had mango in it (I am not a fan) the one thing I did like was desert (almost can't go wrong with desert lol) It was a blueberry sorbet that was soooo creamy it was great!! but a shame it served with a star anise syrup (urgh) it was too sweet with that under it - so I ate from the top in order to avoid the syrup..hmmmm I guess my taste for the "gourmet" isn't there lol - I would have rather had a great salad ,a green smoothie or something...Oh well ...maybe its just that I prefer MY un-cooking hahahaha!!!! I think it just seemed that there too much going on in the food - my tastes are simple ..

hmmmm

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Hope everyone had a great Mothers Day !!

I had a great moms day !! my son helped get some yard stuff that I have really been wanting done!!!

Sorry I didn't post about the new thing I am trying yet - no battery for camera and I want to post pics WHAAAA : ( ..... Anyway still slowly adding more raw into my diet..tomorrows lunch - salad with organic local lettuce ,goats milk feta cheese (local), raw soaked almonds and no idea what my dressing will be til tomorrow haha...One of these days I need to try making some cashew cheese for my salads but I just haven't gotten around to it ...I will say raw prep sure takes some getting used to - not like ya always just whip stuff up like the cheese - gotta soak stuff over night or ferment stuff or whatever ...so am working on that...I am not usually a meal planner so it's something that will take me awhile to get used to ...I think learning to Uncook is definately my challenge !!! Well short blog post tonite ...have a great week and will get a picture or video posted soon !!

til next time !!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Great Magazine ...




Check out this magazine for great inspiration for RAW recipes and for great food eye candy !!

to subscribe go to their website:  www.PurelyDelicious.net





Friday, April 30, 2010

well ...here I am again.....

HI everyone !!!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile...been kinda busy lately with life in general ...ANYWAY haven't made anything new and exciting lately BUT next week I will trying something NEW and EXCITING !!! Not gonna give it away just yet....hehe.....but I am awaiting something in the mail and hopefully by next weekend (May 8th) I will be making something I have NEVER had before and I will be sharing it here with you !!! So keep checking back !!!!

OK now as to how I am feeling -- I feel GREAT WONDERFUL and just SUPER FANTASTIC !!! I have now totally given up all diet soda no more nutrasweet crap or Splenda!!  WOW what a difference in the way I feel !!! I would have to say the pain I have been experiencing has been almost 100% because of that !! (not including my knee issue due to knee cap not riding properly) HOWEVER the all over body pain is almost ALL GONE !!! am hoping after all the garbage has been released from my body it will all be gone!!! AMAZING !!!!!! Talk about a mood lifter!!!! sheesh I was so depressed and touchy about stuff due to the pain I was in all the time...and NOW after a long day at work I felt like I could still hike a mountain !!! now that is AMAZING !!!! ( even more amazing considering how I sleep awful with insomnia and I STILL have energy!!)

I have no idea if I have lost weight cause my scale broke (it wasn't a good scale) but I don't think I have lost much if any but I don't think I have gained anything...I haven't been totally on my transition diet as of late but with my health improving in spite of my falling off the wagon habit lol I am feeling extra empowered !!!! I think I will be able to soon add some exercise!! (just have to be careful of exercise induced asthma) but inhaler in hand I will persevere !! hahaha...I am thinking of just starting with some dogs walks with my dogs (remember I have 5 of them!! so that will keep me walking ALOT haha) and some stretching...in order to get some flexibility back plus maybe some sit ups to tighten my stomach and help my back pain...I have been "walking around" my store where I work ,doing "laps" up and down the isle in between customers when I can just to add SOME exercise in my daily routine...

I am still getting more fruit and veggies in my diet ...and am not eating a bunch of junk at night...As a matter of fact tomorrow am making some almond milk so I can make some of that SUPER YUMMY ice cream I LOVE so much!! I do need to find something different for breakfast as smoothies don't seem to work as a regular thing for me...I don't want that sort of "food" for breakfast - I normally am not a breakfast eater and smoothies seem a bit too "sweet" in morning....eating actually fruit like a banana is ok but doesn't stick with me long and seems to actually MAKE me feel hungry - I know I am weird haha.....Oh Kyle (my son) made some dehydrated fruits -- some were good some were not...by the way dehydrated watermelon is really good and so is Kiwi...We are gonna try making some fruit leathers too maybe this weekend - if I do will post some pictures!

Well gonna close for now have a great weekend !!!!! OH one more thing before I go - If you are looking for some GREAT support while learning to go RAW check out Raw Food Rehab !! It's a free website and has TONS AND TONS of info and videos and great recipes and MOST IMPORTANTLY ---- SUPPORT !!!! That is where I hang out DAILY!!! so check it out !!

Til next time.....

Monday, March 29, 2010

GreenMommyBlog: Green Mommy Blog's 3rd Awesome Giveaway

GreenMommyBlog: Green Mommy Blog's 3rd Awesome Giveaway - MMI Zen Detox Hair & Scalp Therapy http://bit.ly/9lQasg

Go here for a chance to win at GreenMommyBlog's giveaway!!!!

Awesome giveaway !!!

here's a clip from her site :

It’s easy to participate! Simply answer the question (both parts) in the comments section for this blog post. Entries will be accepted until March 31st at 11:59pm. I will randomly draw a name and announce the winner on Green Mommy Blog April 1st. *Please note: this giveaway is open to United States participants only.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

YUMMMYYYYY Ice Cream !!!!!!!!! I LOVE learning how to UN-cook!!!!

Oh and here is a picture of my CHUCKY MONKEY ICE CREAM !! talk about YUMMMYYY!!!!

1 frozen banana
1 cp almond milk
1 tsp raw agave nectar
2 tbsp raw cacao powder

blend away and WELLA ...ice cream
 lactose free,low glycemic,vegan/vegetarian,raw

Til next time....

Tropical smoothie ...YUMM!!

OK i decided to experiment ..I wanted to try something that I normally do not like..Mangos....I LOVE pinapple (fresh never canned or anything -yuk) and so I made a smoothie using :

1 mango
2 1 inch slices of pineapple (Including core)
2 small oranges

and for my greens - organic Romaine lettuce heart - one whole heart

Blended with some ice in my blendtec and .......

It's FABULOUS!!!!! I think this is my FAVORITE smoothie so far !!!!!!!!!! I love the lime green color from the Romaine!!

Til next time ...

Friday, March 19, 2010

Fell off the wagon ...but am back on track!!


Well had a few days where I "fell off the wagon" but I am back on track again!! I was feeling so great last week !! Soooo much energy! I lost 2.4 pounds. I was bouncing off the walls and I felt GREAT!! however had a family emergency and fell into the same old way of eating when i was stressed (didn't realize I was so stressed til I had a emotional melt down) however after letting off some steam I realized I was eating "wrong" and felt sooo tired!!! and had I NOT let myself eat "wrong" maybe I could have handled the stress better !! and it dawned on me what a contrast it was to how I felt just last week!!! WOW!!! never had a side by side comparison before because every "diet" I ever tried always still made me feel tired!!! all I can think now is WOW WOW WOW!!!! I will do everything I can to keep on track now that I have realized the difference!!!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Why I am choosing to go RAW..

Well I have been researching a way to lose weight and get out of pain ..I have all over muscle pain and a bad knee (my knee cap does not ride properly over the joint) I get lots of headaches bad and almost daily ,I live on advil all day and am just tired all the time!! I have no energy and to top it off I have insomnia and run on about 4 to 6 hours of not so restful sleep - needless to say I HATE mornings!!

lost some weight......


Almond Milk I made ..TASTY!! (sorry I drank most of it before pic haha)


Berry smoothie with alfalfa my son made....


Flax seed crackers ...yummmm.........

Sorry I hadn't had a chance to post my original weight but it was 225.6 when I started this...Guess I am doing ok cause I just weighed in and now I am at 223.2 so that is a weight loss of 2.4 pounds !! WHOO HOOO !!! Wanted to share !!!
Oh and before I go I FINALLY made something with my new blender thats YUMMYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! I made cashew ice cream !! You have to try this wonderous stuff !

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Saturday nights dinner....


Well tonight Kyle and I had a salad for dinner ...he ate 2 bowls of it !!! and then said he couldn't believe he was actually FULL on just salad !!! this is a short note cause I wanted to show the salad we had...This picture is actually of my salad (his was a tad different...here it is !! It had baby spinach,romaine,alfalfa sprouts,red pepper, sesame seeds,raw almonds,tomato,and a few thin slices of cheddar cheese, just some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some red wine vinegar for a dressing....it was yummy!! his was missing tomato (he hates those) and he has raw cashews instead of almonds...he also used regular Italian Dressing on his (grocery store kind)

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Smoothie trials hahaha.......

Well we have been having fun with our new "toys' !! My son LOVES the Hurom juicer!!!! I am partial to the blendtec Blender...My first "green smoothie" didn't work out so well..haha..I tried "winging it" and mixed some strawberries,blueberries,raspberries,blackberries,banana and some kale - it was "OK" but to me tasted like grass haha...soooo Kathy and Memaw drank it instead hahaha....My son however did great "winging it" with his juice so I showed him how to make a slushy using the blender and he was thrilled with his homemade icy!!!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

MY BLENDTEC BLENDER ARRIVED !!!

HI everyone,
Just wanted to let you know my blendtec blender,excaliber dehydrator and my Hurom juicer arrived today - I ordered the juicer and blender from Raw Food World (see link under link section) and my excaliber dehydrator direct from the company ( http://www.excaliber.com/ ) ..both have GREAT service and shipped FAST!!

Ok well after eating my last totally cooked meal for while my son and I cleaned out the fridge and went SHOPPING for all kinds of RAW foods such as :

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Well here we are.........Day One (sort of)....

Well today is day one of my blog journal. I say day one but I have been researching about ways to improve my health and let's face it, those of us that are over weight have tried soooo many "diets" and "lifestyle changes" that we know them all by heart and we also know they NEVER work. HOWEVER ...It seems to me, that for first time, I have found one that MAKES SENSE!!!