Raw Food Cleanse - Day 8 (And final day...)

Today I have decided not to continue the cleanse for several reasons, because as I have learned since beginning school this past summer it is very important to listen to your body. I've had eight days of no energy, being freezing and not seeing much improvement in my skin. I think part of the issue is the time of year. I feel like I am depriving my body of what it wants as we get closer to the winter months. Fall is one of my favorite times of year because I get to make soup. I don't want to miss out on any more soup making time! I do not regret trying the cleanse as it really has been a great learning experience. However, I do not think it is healthy to have only 2 very small bowel movements in 8 days!! It very well could have gone a lot differently if it had been Spring or Summer. During the summer I love to eat salads, even crave them. Right now I feel like I can't eat another one anytime soon. I couldn't stomach the cold soups. I sat here today wondering what I would eat for the next six days and realized this just isn't working. I have a lot of respect for Raw Foodists that can continue to eat so much raw foods throughout the year. So, I am going to enjoy a nice warm bowl of soup, then curl up on the couch with my boys.

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 7

Well, today hasn't really gone how I had hoped. I was still pretty low on energy and really wanted something warm to eat...had a hard time not giving in! I think part of the problem is the time of season. As my friend pointed out, this is when our bodies want foods that are more grounding and warm. When I read a book about doing a raw cleanse at the end of the summer I thought I would like to try it, but would wait until spring because that seemed to make more sense. Then when a woman from school had a group together with an online support network I thought I would give it a try, but it is a struggle. The damp, cold, cloudy, weather is not helping. However, I have reached the halfway point and am telling myself I can make it through next Thursday. Maybe I am a "late bloomer" when it comes to cleansing. I still am struggling with being cold, especially in the evening. Wow, not too cheery tonight. Doesn't it make you want to do a raw cleanse? :) Maybe tomorrow will be better. Patience...

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 6

So today I got to have a smoothie for breakfast which was delicious and a beautiful salad at lunch. I felt like my taste buds were in overdrive because being able to chew food made everything taste so delicious! Dinner was not as great...tried a cold tomato soup. I think because I love hot soups so much it just didn't do it for me. Also, I think I added too many shallots and garlic. It was overpowering and didn't sit good in my stomach. Tomorrow I think that I will stick with smoothies and salads. On day 8 we move to a high raw diet, I guess including more than just smoothies, salads and cold soups. Should be interesting...although I have been intrigued with the Raw Food Diet when we studied it in school, I think there are certain things about it that would be really hard to follow. It will be fun to try some of the recipes and see how they are. I will be sure to share any that are really good! I am still waiting for the vibrant energy that apparently I should be having by now and haven't seen too much improvement in my skin yet. Maybe it is just taking a little bit longer for me...

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 5

Well, all I can say is that I am so glad to be done with juicing and drinking them tomorrow! Today was hard as I was hungrier and really craving some fats, like cheese and avocado. Made my salad tonight for lunch tomorrow, lots of yummy fresh green, parsley, cucumber, purple cabbage, red pepper, sunflower seeds and avocado. Yum!! Plan to make a yummy Blueberry Kale smoothie in the morning. Yes, fiber!! It was actually kind of hard to drink the juices today, where as the other days they were refreshing and delicious. Still haven't seen much improvement in my skin. :(  Hopefully it does start to improve more, as its one of the main reasons I did the cleanse. Really tired tonight, still waiting for the bright, vibrant energy to happen. The cloudy, cold, rain that we have been having here in Portland certainly is not helping the energy level.

I keep forgetting to mention the gross liver cleanse I have been drinking in the morning! Um yeah, it is warm water, lemon juice and olive oil. I have been using flax seed oil but still not fun to drink. It is supposed to help get things "moving" in the morning, but let me tell you that certainly hasn't been working for me! We do continue drinking this for the whole 14 days...we will see if I make it. Going to head to bed early so I can have sweet dreams about avocado and actually chewing my food.

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 4

Another day down and only one more to go before I can have a salad! Yay! I am dying for some avocado...yum. Today was a little harder in dealing with hunger. Maybe because I dropped 3 lbs. from yesterday or just because I haven't had anything but juice for 4 days!! :) Energy was good today and no headache. As long as I don't get the stomach flu that my son and husband had I should be good to go...yikes. That would really mess up the cleanse, wouldn't it!

Juicing with the Vita Mix has turned out to work pretty well. I like the fact that I can throw in a hunk of ginger to the mixture with the Vita Mix which you probably couldn't do with a juicer unless you had a really good one. I took some pictures to load that show the process of juicing with my blender. I made my juice for breakfast and lunch tomorrow so I don't have to worry about it in the morning. First day of working while on the cleanse, hope it goes well! Stay tuned...

Full blender of veggies!

Don't over blend

The flat  wooden spoon worked well to squeeze out juice

Voila! Dinner is done

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 3

So, I can tell that my brain wasn't working too well yesterday as I forgot to mention that I have been FREEZING. Can't get warm to save my life, slept the last 2 nights in several layers of clothes. However I have been sleeping like a baby, deep sleep with vivid dreams. Today I do seem a bit warmer though, and my other detox symptoms seem better as well. I wasn't as tired and only had a dull headache for a short while in the afternoon. Much to my surprise my hunger level hasn't been bad at all. I do find when I feel hungry I am actually craving the fresh juice that I have made, guess my body really loves it! Only 2 more days to go on the juice portion of the cleanse. Overall, except for the exorbitant amount of time I am spending in the kitchen juicing, this cleanse has been much easier than I thought it would be (so far anyway, need to remind myself it is day 3). Until tomorrow...

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 2

Well this morning went a little bit better using the Vita Mix and then a mesh strainer to make the juices. Still a lot of work though, probably wouldn't do this if it was more than 5 days of juicing! I have been a little more hungry today but not too bad until about 2pm. Then I got a monster of a headache and had to lay down. Slept for an hour or so, body has been a bit weak and tired. I am so glad the cleanse started on a Friday! Hopefully by Monday I will be through most of the detoxing and having a lot more energy for work.

I did experience some food cravings today but mostly when I opened the fridge and the food was right in front of me. Luckily the juices I have made really taste pretty good and I just grabbed my mason jar full of juice for a few swigs when I felt hungry. I am hoping the hunger level is not too bad tomorrow. I am pretty calm though, not feeling stressed out or regretting doing the cleanse. I will probably hit the hay early again tonight letting my body get plenty of rest during this detox stage. I am looking forward to a smoothie and salad on Wednesday!

Raw Food Cleanse - Day 1

I have been wanting to do a raw food cleanse/detox for a while since my interest in raw foods has grown. I notice I feel more energetic and happy on days when I have incorporated more raw foods into my diet. When a fellow student at IIN said she had a group of 40+ people starting today together and there was an online support group I jumped on the bandwagon. I even got a friend at work to join me so we can support each other. I am hoping to clear up my skin on my face and jump start my energy which has been low since the weather started changing.The cleanse is 14 days...about the longest I think I would ever want to do. The basic layout is: Day 1-5 drink fresh squeezed veggie/fruit juices, Day 6-7 adding in Smoothies and salads, and soups, Day 8-14 eating a high raw diet.

So, Day 1 has been okay. Had a few issues this morning trying to strain my juice that I blended in the Vita Mix since I don't have a juicer. It was over blended and pretty much impossible to strain so I did have some fiber today, oh well. The next batch I made was much better. I haven't really been hungry, just a bit tired and running on the cold side this evening. Luckily I had made a batch of the Grounding Soup broth last night that I could warm up and sip, which has helped me warm up a bit.

I can already tell I am going to get sick of the juices and that work that goes into making them. At least it is only 5 days. Also, I think I am really going to miss chewing!! Until tomorrow...

Cozy Lentils

I love lentil soup and my grandmother's simple recipe is delicious on a cool fall day. The simple ingredients simmering on the stove create a lovely meal. I like to pair it with a salad or if you have problems digesting lentils, serve it over some brown rice. I also have recently been using red lentils. I made a yummy Red Lentil Roast that was really tasty. It bakes in a pan and when finished has the consistency of corn bread.

Grandma's Lentil Soup

one bag of dry lentils
10 cups chicken or vegetable stock or 5 cups stock, 5 cups water (whatever is on hand)
chopped carrots, celery, onion
1 clove garlic
1 bay leaf
1/2 thyme


Wash and drain the lentils and add to boiling stock. Simmer for 1 hr. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 2 - 3 hours. Season with salt and pepper.

Red Lentil Roast

1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
3 cups water
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup canola oil (it's optional on the recipe, but I use it)
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp sea salt
dash nutmeg

Simmer lentils in water, covered, until soft (about 25 minutes). DO NOT DRAIN.
Saute onions and garlic in oil (if using it) til lightly browned.
Mix all ingredients together and turn into a well oiled oven dish. (The consistency is kind of thick and gloopy.)
Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. When done, it'll have the springy feel of cornbread.

My favorite soup

My favorite soup recipe for the past couple of years has been a Coconut Chicken Butternut Squash soup. I usually am not a big fan of squash, but I love it in this soup. It has an amazing flavor and is the perfect comfort food on a cold, rainy day. The red pepper gives it a little kick and is perfectly paired with the earthy butternut squash. Try serving over some steamy brown rice. If you give it a try, let me know what you think!

Coconut Chicken Squash Soup

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 t red pepper flakes or 1/4 t ground cayenne red pepper
1 T butter
2 T olive oil
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
1/2 t salt
1/4 t white pepper
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 t freshly grated lime peel
Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 T)
3 cups butternut squash (@ 1lb, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 coconut milk
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

In medium stockpot over med-high heat, saute the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes in the butter and olive oil for 1 minute.
Add the chicken, salt and white pepper. Cook for 4 minutes or so.
Add the stock, grated lime peel and lime juice.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 10 minutes.
Add the squash, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to low. Add the coconut milk and cilantro, cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes (do not boil the coconut milk or it will separate).
Serve with a green salad and/or over brown rice.

I should add that I usually double or triple the recipe to have lots of leftovers since it is a bit labor intensive. New Seasons and Trader Joe's both have cut butternut squash that comes in handy for saving time. Enjoy!!

Cook once eat two or three times

I LOVE this concept and Andrea Beaman's handout that we got from her lecture about whole grains, but I do not seem to be very good about incorporating this into my weekly cooking. I think I am just so excited about all the new recipes that I want to try that I end up buying WAY too much food at New Seasons, especially fresh produce and trying to cook too many meals in a week. Tonight, I don't want to cook...so we shall eat the hodge podge of leftovers in the fridge and it will do. Just need to make sure I get through all my fresh produce this week...hmmm, maybe I will just make a giant salad of all the beautiful greens that are in the fridge topped with some leftover chicken, feta, tomato and sunflower seeds. Yep, that sounds good. At least there isn't too much "cooking" involved in making a salad. I do love how making a big pot of soup last 3 - 4 days. Sometimes just doubling the recipe (if you have a giant pot!) makes at least 2 dinners and enough for lunch. Easy. Yummy. And simple to pair with a fresh greens salad. Oh soup. I think I need to make my favorite soup this weekend, Chicken Coconut Curry soup. It's the best!! I will post the recipe soon. What do you do to make your healthy meals stretch into more than one meal?

Health and happiness,
Julie

Simple zucchini "spagetti"

So someone from my class who can't eat wheat mentioned using raw, shredded zucchini as pasta topped with your favorite tomato sauce and parmigiana cheese. I was pretty skeptical at first, but thought I would give it a try since I had some zucchini's from the farmer's market. I was pleasantly surprised that it was delicious and I didn't miss the pasta! The recipe is simple:

1 large zucchini, shredded (I used my food processor)
Jar of favorite tomato sauce (I doctored mine up with some garlic, onions and mushrooms I had in the fridge)
Parmigiana cheese, optional

I paired it with a salad and it was a filling, satisfying meal that I will definitely be making again in the near future. Note: Do not reheat the zucchini and tomato sauce together for lunch...my husband learned the hard way that the zucchini is meant to be RAW or it turns to a watery mush! :) Give it a try and be sure to post if you like it!