Post Skiing and Post Blood Donating

We had the most awesome time skiing...so crazy and wild. I hadn't been on skiis since my accident and I had the most wonderful time! I crashed and fell, went through the trees, got stuck off the path, slid down the hill on my stomach since one or both of my skiis had flipped off (due to my lack of caution or control), above all...it was absolutely FUN!!! Anne-Marie and I skiied in between each other's legs and landed in a heap, laughing so hard. I skiied past the place where I crashed and got my cracked skull and my crazy brother even videoed it with camera. By now, you can probably guess at how wacky I can be and so I'll let know a little secret (this IS a secret!) of how truly wierd I am. Take note of my beautiful mittens in the above picture. They are actually...SOCKS! My flimsy, pathetic mittens I had brought got soaked withing minutes of being on the slopes, they were holey and thin and the pain of my frozen fingers made me tear up. (Yes! I know, I should've invested in good ones, silly me!) So my caring brother Andrew donated two pairs of his black socks to me. Those are my "mittens"! I assure you, do not try it...BUT it did add to the zany fun of it all, but believe me...they were soaked very soon and it is very hard to hold onto your skii poles without a thumb. My other bro Cameron was an absolute angel and bought me some handwarmers which I kept in my "mittens" all day, those were my lifesavers truly. On the skii lift I swapped gloves with whoever I was with and then put on those long, black, soaking socks again. I allow you the freedom of being totally shocked at my carelessness. Note to self: buy good mittens before I go skiing next.

Now you can see who some of my bros and sisters are. To the left is Andrew and his wife Rebecca. And then there's me. Next is Elizabeth (the camera snatcher) and Anne-Marie and Cameron (his wife Lisa couldn't come skiing, she's too near her due date). I have two other brothers who didn't come skiing.

As for the blood donating...it wasn't as bad as I thought. The needle was absolutely gigantic and of course, they had to keep on adjusting (I have a lovely bump on my arm), but I lived. While A-M and I were lying there, and old man came in for his 100th donation. That was inspiring! I decided that I want to donate as often as I can, as does Anne-Marie...besides they do give you lots of juice afterwards. ;0) At the beginning, when the nurse informed me that they would be taking a 10th of my blood supply, I was feeling rawwwwther nervous. Doesn't that sound like overkill? I mean, really! Overall, it was a mostly good experience and I'm ready to do it all over again. Life is truly the most wonderful journey!

Aerobic Oxygen

Lately I've been taking "Aerobic Oxygen". It's a liquid that you add to your water that actually has oxygen in it. You're supposed to take it 3 times daily, adding 15-20 drops in your water.

It is used for lots of things from purifying your drinking water, general health maintaining, athletic training, energy and stamina, to using it for a mouthwash. Here are some other great things it helps cure:

angina attacks
asthma & emphysema
bronchial infections
sinus infections
epilepsy and Alzheimer's
poor circulation
candida
headaches
gives higher energy levels

Well, I gotta grab my Green Smoothie and run soon, so that's it for today. Tomorrow, all day skiing and today...(involuntary shudder) blood donating! Life is made of adventures.

Donating Blood...Ahhhhh!

Okay! I have this horrid fear of donating blood or of getting my blood taken. I squirm when I look at the picture even...and get this odd feeling all over. But tomorrow my sisters and I are going into the city and in addition to our long to-do list, Anne-Marie and I are donating blood. It gives me a hot and cold feeling. Every time I've had my blood taken at the hospital for tests I've nearly fainted each time and had to lie or sit down in an obliging wheelchair or bed. When I read "Medicine and the blood" in studies I get a funny feeling in my feet. I'm not kidding. It's wierd because I don't mind dealing with blood or seeing it in the least...but reading about it, that's another story.

Anne-Marie (A-M) likes donating blood. She says to drink lots of water beforehand and that, really, it's not so bad. Then she laughs and says that they give juice and cookies afterwards. I don't want a cookie! As she scheduled our appointments on the phone she just looked at me with a big grin. I think she's enjoying this!

At supper this evening, I was laughing (with a hint of dread), "I'm going to conquer this fear! I will do this!" Grandpa replied, "Your blood ought to be really healthy." Well, whatever the case it's a good thing to donate blood, and additionally it's good to not be afraid of things. SO I WILL DO THIS!

I might do a quick blogpost in the morning, but we'll leave pretty early. Elizabeth, A-M, and I will stay the night at our brother's family's place and the next day...hurrah! We're going skiing (so don't expect a blog post on Thursday)! I haven't gone skiing in years! And I'm soooooo excited! Last time I went skiing I cracked my skull four inches (my family laughs that I haven't been the same since!), ripped tissue severely in my arm, and other "minor" things. It was quite a bad accident (my first ambulance trip...I always wanted to do that!), but God had his angels around me (my family ALSO says that I must have a lot of guardian angels for all I do). Putting that aside, I can't WAIT to get up on skiis again. Hopefully I won't kill myself. We're going, just us siblings (well, most of us...like I said, I have a big family) and my Mom will come to look after my baby niece at the lodge. So it should be FUN, FUN, FUN!

Oh dear! I just remembered the blood donating!

Better Late than Ever!

Well, I've been the naughty one...as you might've noticed I didn't blog for about 3 (or was it 4?) days. Bad, I know! But our weekend was super busy and I find blogging so much more fun when I take pictures...and I'm happy to report, the camera is back! May it not leave me for a least another month!

I don't know why I'm always eating chocolate shakes, but they're just so lovely! Here's the one I'm having tonight while Anne-Marie and I snuggle up and read "The Fellowship of the Rings". We're just about to meed the River's daughter, Goldberry and have an enchanting chat with Tom Bobadil (a good friend of the family's), lol. When Annie heard I had made a chocolate shake (I thought she wanted tea) she immediately went downstairs to make on too, armed with my simple instructions.

Here it is:

1 banana (preferably frozen)

about 6 or so ice-cubes

almond milk (tonight I used the almond "silt" at the bottom of the pitcher and added a wee bit more water)

1 big teaspoon of organic cocoa

1 big teaspoon of raw honey

Blend to creamy perfection. Top with raw cacao nibs or a dusting of powder.



This afternoon I made my Daddy some raw halva. He loves it and I like to make him the homemade stuff so he doesn't go out and buy the bad, sugared stuff. It's the most simple thing ever to make.

Raw Halva

Just mix ground sesame seeds (use a coffee grinder, I did 3 batches in there), salt (just a little), about 1 TB. of flax oil or coconut oil and raw liquid honey till you get a pastey, lovely dough. Pat in a container that is oiled lightly with a raw oil. Refridgerate.

Now my LOTR book awaits us, so I'm off to visit Goldberry, chocolate shake in hand. Till tomorrow (hopefully! I'll try to be a better blogger. :0)

Fluffy Summer Dreams

Tonight was special ...the night of the "Eclipse of the Moon", a very rare thing indeed. Some of you probably stood outside the same time I did and watched as the shadow of the earth as it fell across the moon's face. The clean white of the moon now reminded me of butterscotch, the stars shone all the brighter, the constellations more distinct...I felt sorry for those who lived in the city under streetlight's hazy orange glow. But the cold of the evening (heightened by the wetness of my just-washed hair and the fact I had just fallen through a puddle of ice in Mom's summer sandals, which I had hurridely sluffed on) made me just long for spring and for summer. Oh, I've been thinking about it lots, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I think God was so wise to change the seasons, every time He does...I just fall to pieces with excitement. Like right now...(sigh) Can you imagine always winter or fall, spring and summer I could handle better, but even then...we all need change.

I'm looking forward to a refreshing glass of raw lemonade, while I sit in the hot sun, slowly sipping. Sun tea, of all kinds, will be waiting on our front porch until it's completely at it's most succulent best. Perhaps I'll even give sun-drying a go and see how it all turns out.

And I CANNOT wait until I can go out in the early morning to our big, organic garden and slowly, and thoughtfully choose what I want for my green smoothie. Carrot tops, spinach, romaine, parsley, cilantro, beet tops, dandelion greens, wild greens...oh, how will I choose? And all those gorgeous greens...I'll juice them and I'll make giant salads out of them. I will wander our property and find all sorts of "weeds" and wild "things" to make salads out of, providing I know they're safe.

Oh, and the fun of running outside without worrying about shoes or even flip flops. I love making my feet brown and the soles hard, if I go barefoot enough I can run on gravel (what an accomplishment!) There's the wonder of jogging in the early hours while watching the sun rise. Or those lovely, warm evening walks watching that same sun set in glowing reds and oranges. During the spring and summer, my family and I are so active, tending the garden (and it's big), taking care of a few flower gardens and our secret garden (yes, we have a "secret" garden complete with pond and stream and innocent goldfish), mowing our grass (we have a LOT!), and working on home and grounds improvements. That's just the beginning of the hard, sweaty, but oh-so rewarding work we do. I'll often stay outside from the early hours till supper, just working in the earth, getting glowing (sweating is more accurate, but glowing sounds nicer) and brown. I love the outdoors, so I'll often spend my evening outside. We have an 18 ft. swing and I love going high with it, making the wind tangle my hair to such a degree that I wish I had braided it. There's not a pleasure so dear as swinging!

Well, enough drooling over summer for today...I need to tell you the most incredible green smoothie I had this morning. I've thought of a billion names (ok, not really) such as "Green Buttermilk", "Green Probiotic", and "Sweet Sourness". But I've finally got a stable name. May I present the...

Milky Greenery

1 big bunch of parsley
a handful of cranberries
1 orange, white pith on
1 TB. of flax oil
big handful of sesame seeds (incredible source of calcium)
2-3 big TB. of goat's milk yogurt (you can get this raw, or use a raw nut yogurt, which are usually fermented and so are like "real" yogurt)
some probiotics (I forgot to add this, but you can just open a capsule or two of acidophilus or some other probiotic and slip that in)
some ice
almond milk to thin


This is a nice, banana-less drink that seriously tastes like buttermilk (oh, sweet memories), only green! Oh, I'm going to make it tomorrow morning too, you can count on that. Add a lot of almond milk to thin, because it'll seriously make you think you're drinking something "milky", not a thick green shake. A very refreshing change. Hope you enjoy!


oday I had "Milky Greenery" and a half a grapefruit for breakfast. For lunch I had some vegetable fritata (not raw, but still healthy) with organic carrot sticks and a raw dip (if you do eat something cooked, always try to eat it with something raw to help it digest). Supper was a big rainbow fruit salad and dessert was 3 Medjool dates. What's wierd is I didn't have any snacks, not today or yesterday. This is rare. I'm the Snack Queen. But I tried to listen to my body and I didn't need or even really want a snack. I think what's helping is I've been drinking so much water and tea, I don't feel very hungry.

Before I head off, I just have to say something about my dinner fruit salad, it was just too good. And, oh my goodness, I was craving it something fierce. My family was having a hearty soup with feather light whole-wheat biscuits, but me, no sir...I wanted fruit! This is definitely the 3rd time I've posted about my fruit salads, but I have to write down the combination for this one too. (sorry! :0)


Rainbow Fruit Salad

• Green ~ avacado and kiwi
• Yellow ~ banana
• Orange ~ orange (naturally)
• Red ~ apple
• Pink ~ grapefruit
• Purple ~ grapes

If only I had blueberries it would've been perfect. I didn't add any fruit type of dressing, just the simplicity and beauty of their own juices. SO refreshing.

Awareness...

My diet has barely changed at all, but my whole attitude about raw food in general is so refreshed and exciting. Why? Because of the choice that I made yesterday. I don't think I did a very good job of explaining it, but, in a nutshell, I decided that the period of "counting to see how many raw days I could do" was over and that raw food and listening to my body was to become more of a lifestyle, not just a period of detoxing. Because of this choice, I have given myself freedom...I'm not bound by my own food rules anymore. This sounds like I'm letting go of all my health and raw principles. No way!!! It's like this: I have the freedom to eat macaroni and cheese. But I WON'T touch it! It sounds disgusting and gross to me. My mind knows it's bad for me and my body does NOT want it. It doesn't even appeal to me. If I could help it, I would NEVER eat it! But still, I have the freedom to eat it. Do you understand now? I'm not continually telling myself, oh, I can't eat that, it's not raw. No, I promised myself I wouldn't eat that. Nope, I made a rule I can't do that. Even though I follow those previous "rules" and "regulations" pretty much just the same as always, the "do" and "do nots" do not follow me around, making me feel like I'm denied the priviledge of even making a choice, which would probably be "no" anyway. I don't like that feeling. I'm allowing my body to choose what it wants with freedom and a new sense of liberation, even though I'm doing pretty much the same thing anyway. Make sense?

Tonight the only thing I had that wasn't raw for supper was some parmesan sprinkled over my salad. I had a raw soup with some lovely "meatballs" I had whipped up a couple days ago. I had the option of heatlhy cooked food, but I didn't need it or even want it. The soup was comforting and just what my body needed.

Still, this "listening" to my body thing is harder than I thought it would be. Even with raw food, it's easy to eat lots of this and that, mixing and matching all sorts of combinations, simply because it's raw and healthy for us. Raw is ideal, but always eating or ignoring what your body wants isn't. But when you're listening to your body, your choices change. You don't eat at a certain time, because you're not hungry. You eat fruit and veggies because it feels the most refreshing and energizing. You drink more water and you stop when you're full. I'm used to having a snack when I want one, whether I'm hungry or I feel I need it or not. See what I mean? I think it'll take me a while to get a hang of this, but I'm trying and I feel really great!

Hopefully my last post wasn't too confusing for you, this one might sound a bit more clarified. See? Things aren't changing drastically at all, just my perspective has.

Breakfast was a big green smoothie with superfoods. Lunch was a salad with a tahina dressing and a few slices or oranges for dessert. I didn't really have any snacks, which was odd for me. Supper was raw soup with "meatballs". I had some raw halva for a sweet at the end of the meal. (I make it for my Daddy, so he doesn't go and buy the toxic, sugary version. He loves halva!)

Here's the gorgeous soup I had for supper and the recipe for the "meatballs". I wanted to post a picture of the vibrant orange soup I savoured, but lol, my sister has the camera again. Go figure. :0)

Comforting Carrot” Soup“ (with sundried tomatoes and “meatballs”
(Serves 2, I wanted enough for another day)

3 organic baby carrots
2 cups of water
Herb salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
About ½ cup of sundried tomatoes (these were packed in olive oil, so if you use the dry kind you’ll have to add a wee bit of oil to the soup)
About a teaspoon of pasta seasoning (use your imagination on that one or skip it, if you don’t have that)
A pinch of paprika
Just a pinch of ground red pepper to give it a bit of zing
1 big teaspoon of organic, brown miso
½ cup of soaked cashews (soak for an hour or two beforehand)

Blend up in the Vita-Mix till warm/hot. Add the “meatballs”.

Meatballs
(Serves 1)

About ½ cup of walnuts
Montreal steak spice to taste (well, yes, I’m quite certain that isn’t really raw, but close enough…next time I make it I’m going to choose a healthier spice)
Cumin to taste
Salt, if needed (I didn’t use salt)
Add a wee bit of water or freshly squeezed orange juice (I used soaked date water) to get it to stick all together

Mix together in the food processor and then shape in little meatballs (they're very cute and look just like the real deal). Put them in the dehydrator to dry out some. I did that first and then for about a half hour or so later I let them heat up some more, so they were warm in the soup.

I love my new attitude to raw food and just food in general. I really feel so euphoric. Now I'm going to spend some time in my Bible with the Lord before bed. Goodnight!

A New Choice...

I've been thinking about this all day as well as yesterday, not wanting to give over to a whim or do things for the wrong reason. But I've decided that I'm going to be more balanced and flexible in my life. It all clicked today for me. I felt so burdened and bound by one of the things I love the most...raw food. This was very odd. I mean, raw and whole foods is one of the things I get very excited about. But today...raw food just didn't feel right. (hello? Is this really me talking?) But it didn't. I felt so out of the loop, so burdened. I didn't know what to do. A good part of my afternoon I spent on my bed just scribbling out reasons to stay entirely raw or just do raw till supper or even, eating some raw before supper. Paper was strewn all over the bed as I tried to figure out what I should do and why was I making an issue of this. A while later, it hit me. Two things.


1. I asked the Lord this morning to decrease my love for raw food just a little bit, because I felt like I was focusing on the gift of raw food, rather than the Giver of raw food more than I should be. I had forgotten about it. I feel that right now anyway, the Lord wants me not to be "bound" to my own rules that I have concerning raw food, but be "bound" to Him, focusing on Him more than anything else, being "absorbed" with Him. It's the Lord that I need to be in love with, not raw food. I believe the Lord wants to renew that love to greater things.

2. I need to listen to my body (with the influence of common sense). When I feel like I need to eat light, eat light. When I feel like I need something heartier, eat something heartier. When I'm hungry, eat. When I'm full, stop. Yes, I know, they're basic principles, but they seemed so new to me today. Right now, with all that's happening around me, I know it's the right thing to do.

You wouldn't believe the freedom I felt this afternoon. Once I had decided I just felt at such peace. I felt so liberated. My family had spaghetti tonight and you know, even though I had given myself "freedom" to eat some of it, my body didn't want the spaghetti. I had a little tomato sauce, but no noodles. Right now the thought of it doesn't actually appeal to me, despite the fact I haven't had cooked food for nearly 49 days (tomorrow it's 50). I'm going to listen to my body more. When I have supper if I feel like I could do with some baked yam or some brown rice, I'll have some, but if I don't feel like I really want to or need to...I won't. My body, for the most part, craves raw and whole foods. Tonight I just wanted almost all salad and then a little healthy cooked food.

This might sound untrue or really wierd, but now that I feel like I just want to hear what my body needs... I think it may end up to be a healthier than the all raw diet. Ok, now you're thinking that I'm really off my rocker. Before you click the X button on my blog, just hear me out. Take today...I really wanted my sister's homemade cinnamon buns and trying to get rid of that craving I stuffed myself with heavier raw foods such as nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. I didn't feel wonderful after that and yet, I still wanted the buns. It would've been just a better idea to eat a cinnamon bun rather than slugging down my digestive system with things that my body wasn't asking for (which are, btw, a hundred times better than the store bought, just junky cinnamon buns. We use good ingredients and healthy flours for ours, even growing our own wheat). Of course, there is a certain element of reason to this. Just because your body wants sugar, doesn't mean you should shovel down a package of candy. Use common sense. Eat something that cuts your sweet tooth that's raw, or at least, that's really healthy. Your mind knows sugar is practically poison, as does your body.

I think that the more I learn to listen to my body, the healthier I'll become...raw or not. Why? Because you're paying attention to your body's needs, not the wants and whims that can even become commonplace in a raw food diet. If I'm tempted by something, I can ask myself, "Do I really want this? Am I hungry? If so, is this really what my body needs? Why do I want to eat this?" Once again, it's important to pair commen sense and what your body needs together. If you're eating something because you just like the taste, your emotionally unstable, or bored, those are not good reasons. Eat for your body's needs.

As I learn to listen to my body better, I think, more than anything I'll be craving those raw and whole foods even more. My family and I went to the gym tonight for floor hockey, and when we came back I craved citrus, and lots of it. I listened to what my body wanted, though I still had the freedom to have some granola or a piece of whole wheat toast. I feel very free. And I know that sometimes it'll be hard to listen to what my body needs, but I really want to try my best.

There is, of course, a general list of things I want to avoid (and I'm not making them hardfast rules as much as I want to, because then I feel too "bound" again by food rules...but since I don't even really want them too often it shouldn't be too much of problem)

• AVOID sugar
• AVOID dairy products
• AVOID all processed, canned, packaged, refined, or processed foods

So for now, that's my plan. There'll be days where I'll be all raw and there will be days where, shock of all shock, I might even have some toast for lunch, lol. You never know. My goal is to continue eating A LOT OF RAW and to eat good, healthy whole foods at supper. Cheer me on! :0)

Valentine's Banquet

DAY 48

Today was such a special day, with most all our family together (wearing pink or red, of course). We had the most wonderful time together (actually, they're all downstairs playing a game, but I got "out" of the game first, so I thought this would be a good time to quickly do a short post). Our supper was most romantic and beautifully decorated, as you can see above. Mom got my hint about the Lara Bar and on my plate (on top of my Valentine from Mom) it lays. I can't wait to try the cherry flavour, because I haven't tried it yet. I must confess, people, that I did have a bit of cooked food tonight, but healthy cooked food. But really I don't mind and I'll just continue on as I have been. I'm not going to beat myself over the head about it. I'm not that fanatical. (my family won't believe that!)

For supper I ate a few raw chocolates (yes, during the meal...aren't I bad?) and salad. But it was dessert I was most longing for. My family had a Hot Fudge Pudding Cake and I had prepared myself well for it. I made a raw duplicate and I am very happy with the results. (Even one of my brothers was dully impressed...for raw! lol! He was shocked it was warm, yes, my dear brother you can have warm raw food. It is possible. My sister's boyfriend tried one of my raw chocolates and he didn't not like it, in fact, to my memory... He did like it. My sister-in-love and her husband, my bro, love my raw chocolates!) On to the Pudding Cake...It really does has the texture of a cake, truly it does. Can you guess which one is raw?

Well, it happens to be the one without ice-cream (I didn't have the time or resources to make a raw ice-cream). I plopped a little raw chocolate on top.

Here's the recipe: (I think you'll like it!)

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake (serves 2)

Now I really have to brainstorm…I really don’t measure when I make up recipes so hopefully I get this all right and I don’t forget anything. If it doesn’t taste right, switch around things until they do. Ah, the fun of tasting.

Ok, for the ingredients:

½ cup or so of almonds

Grind this up as fine as possible in the processor. Then add:

2 big tablespoons of organic cocoa powder (or cacao/carob)
1 big tablespoon of oat bran
1 small teaspoon of vanilla
About a ½ cup of dates (previously soaked for an hour)
A pinch of fine salt
1-2 tablespoons of coconut milk

Mix until it’s like a thick batter, add more coconut milk if you need to, (or perhaps some maple syrup. It depends how sweet you like things) or add more cocoa powder, almond flour, or oat bran if it’s too thin.

Now pat it into two big square cake slices (or three smaller ones) and put it in your dehydrator for a few hours (my dehydrator is hotter than most, so you’ll probably need a longer time), flipping the sides of it for even distribution of dryness. An hour or two before supper add this chocolate sauce on top of the cakes. Coat in gooey-ness on the sides and even the bottom of the cake. Make a little depression on the top of the cake and put lots on top. Serve warm (it truly tastes like a pudding cake!)

Here’s the sauce:

About 2 tablespoons of cocoa
About ½ cup of dates (previously soaked)
A teaspoon of coconut milk
A little splash of vanilla

Now you can puree this up adding maple syrup to the thinness of a typical chocolate sauce or else you do what I did (which may be considered cheating, lol) for a coffee chocolate sauce, which I desperately wanted.

Grind up about a big teaspoon of good, pure coffee beans and add to your sauce. Yes, not raw. Coffee is given a bad rap, but if you get good coffee beans it is a source of anti-oxidants, believe it or not. Still, I stay away from coffee stuff usually, especially right now...excepting tonight! But hey! It’s a treat and a rare treat it shall remain, lol.




And to the left, is my Valentine's gift from my best friend (who happens to be my cousin). She knows me well and gave me a mango, all wrapped in ribbon, signed by her nickname...Brad. She's such a kick! My sister, Anne-Marie, most sweetly, lent her hands for the picture.

Because I'm still in the Valentine mood and because I wanted to...I'm posting a poem I wrote to the Lord, thanking Him for His incredible love to me (I usally do NOT post my poetry to the world, so feel priviledged!!!). I'm not a very good poetress (if that's what you call it), but dispite the fact I cannot make the words sound entirely right, it's just one expression of my love and gratefullness to the Lord.

You call

invite

arms open

You wait

just longing

to show

Your love

offering

grace to be

space to become



I turn

with grateful heart

walk towards

Your light again

though I fall

arms help me stand

grace illuminates

this path



I walk

being still

just to know

You are God

my heart aches

to know

You more

I need

I'm wanting

gasping

hoping

come in

unveil

Your beauty

enjoy me

this praise

I sing

heart of mine

take it

walk beside

hand in Yours

eyes say

my love

is Yours...

Thick Smoothies and Donuts

DAY 46

I have found a dear friend...raw chocolate donuts! Shannonmarie invented these incredible donuts! I love them to bitsies! Ohhh, they are so incredible. If you had not tried them, I beckon you to do so. You will be well rewarded! I made only chocolate (as you can tell from my last post I'm a bit of a fanatic) donuts, but she has a bunch of different kinds you can try, such as, "Better than Peanut Butter Donuts, Plain Donuts, even Raspberry-filled donuts. (Now I think I'd like a donut, lol.)

In a few days you can expect some more pictures of raw donuts. Tomorrow my sister will be home, bestowing the camera upon me again...yay! (my brother's camera is already back)

And these last couple days I have been eating Green Smoothies in a new way. Not just mixing your bananas with some spinach or kale and drinking that up, nope...I've taken it to a newer level. Superfood Smoothies! I was inspired reading Sarma's article about green smoothies, mostly by the recipe she posted at the end. So here's my version (more or less) of Sarma's standard green recipe (what I've been throwing in my blender these last two days).

• grapefruit (peeled, but if you don't like savoury smoothies, skip this and add bananas...I like them frozen)


• lemon (peeled)


• maybe an orange


• frozen cranberries


• sesame seeds (good calcium)


• some aloe vera juice poured in or aloe vera straight from the plant


• 1 big TB. of Barley Green or other green powder


• a splash of vanilla


• coconut water


• a little stevia to sweeten


• maybe some honey to sweeten more


• frozen bananas


• heaps of parsley, kale, or spinach (I like parsley a lot!)

And then, I blended it up with the Vita-Mix and poured half of the smoothie over this lovely mix to eat with a spoon (when you just need to chomp on something):

• some goji berries


• raw cacao bits


• pumpkin seeds


• chopped almonds


• big TB. of bee pollen


• big TB. of freshly ground flaxseed


• an apple or grapes (my favorite is the grapes!)


• hemp seeds

And today, for my lunch, another mixture that is lovely...(Drizzle with honey when mixed)

Just a simple fruit salad of:

• grapes


• apples


• kiwis


• bananas

Back to green smoothies, I've discovered that the best container to drink from is a quart jar, as you can see above. It's perfect!!! I never drank as much green smoothie as I could've in the morning, my glass was too small, even the biggest glass we have. So now I'm perfectly content with a jar. Plus, a quart of green smoothie is the optimal for ingestion and so this shows me exactly how much I'm drinking.

And quart jars aren't just for smoothies...I've been carrying that same jar around with me ALL day, sipping water from it often (I add a straw). It makes me drink WAY more than I would normally. My Mom got this idea from a friend of hers and it's a super idea. I had been doing that a couple years back and gradually just forgot about it. I drink an average of 10-12 glasses a day when I carry the jar with me, but when I just grab a glass here and there, I feel good if I manage 8 glasses. So I'm sold on the jar idea, especially since plastic isn't the best thing to drink out of anyway. I wanted to find a nice glass travel bottle (we travel a lot with our family's singing), but then the idea came to me...just a Mason Jar with the lid! Happy sipping!

Valentine's Day Delights

DAY 45 of RAW

Well, I am happy to report that I finally borrowed a camera from my obliging brother Andrew until my sister (the camera snatcher, lol) returns home this Saturday. So here are the chocolates that I dreamed up on Wednesday. You can't imagine how horrible it was to have to wait to eat however many I wanted of them, without worrying that "there won't be enough for the picture). Now many of the chocolates you see in the picture above are now safe forever in my tummy. (happy sigh!)

These are raw chocolate Turtles (you can see the carmale peeking through on the first one) and around it are "Chocolate Carmel Bites". I originally found a carmel dipping sauce at Gone Raw by Mish. I tweaked it a bit and made it into just plain caramel.

Caramel

about 4 TB of tahina

about 4-6 medjool dates (depending on how sweet you like it, but this will make it thicker too)

a wee bit of vanilla

and a few tablespoons of maplesyrup until the consistency you desire...but you want it thick, like a dough almost)

Mix it up in the food processor.

Dipping Chocolate

about 3-4 BIG heaping tablespoons of melted coconut butter

a few TB. of organic cocoa powder (you can use carob or cacao, if you have it on hand)

equal parts of agave nectar and maple syrup

You want this to be a bit thicker, not a sauce, but just a nice, smooth dipping chocolate. Because coconut oil is such a stable cooking fat you can melt it by warming it over the stove on the lowest setting. It's still raw. ;0)

RAW TURTLES

Make little balls of the caramel and slide a pecan in the middle of it. Flatten it a little and with a fork, dip it into the chocolate mixture. Put on wax paper. Do this with all of them and then put them in the freezer to harder.

Caramel Bites

With the caramel mixture make little balls and with your finger make a deep dent in the middle. Fill with liquid chocolate. Freeze till hard.

Caramel Chocolate Bites

Do the same as above, but just mix in some carob/cacao/cocoa powder in the caramel.

These are nice little nibbles when you need that little "sweet" during the day.

Caramel Almond Smacks

Just make flat, thin circles in the palm of your hand with the caramel. Place on wax paper. With a spoon drop on some chocolate and garnish with an almond.

And now for my favorite of ALL! Oh, these are to die for! (drumroll, please!)

Dark Truffle Fudge

4-5 TB. of melted coconut butter

enough organic cocoa till it's a very thick fudge consistency

equal parts of pure maple syrup and agave nectar to sweetness

And then...thin it out with Coconut Milk for a creamy, milk-ness. It should thicken more when it's been in the fridge or freezer for a while. Place in a small square container and when more firm, score or slice into little fudge bars.

Oh, I could go on and on about the fudge. And I've tried lots of different fudges, or at least some, and I liked it, but this TOPS it! The ingredients may seem simple, but this really just melts in your mouth. It's so creamy and silky smooth (one fudge I can think of, seemed a bit granular, you know). If you're crazy about dark chocolate like me, this if for you! My mind spins when I think of all the incredible things you can do with it. Make balls and cover with a different type of glazing chocolate sauce or use as a layer in a sweet pie...sigh. After this, I'm going downstairs to have a little piece.

As you can see, I topped one or two of them with raw cacao nibs. It's funny, in the picture to the left you can see me (or at least my lips) taking the picture in the reflection. I was drooling over the chocolate, lol! I shaped the fudge into hearts and put a little bit of caramel into the middle of it.

Valentine's Day is a fun family tradition here. We always have a family banquet together, wear red or pink (it's a rule!), and decorate the kitchen table. My Mom always writes out a Valentine for each of us on a red or pink heart and leaves it on our plate, along with a whole pile of chocolate treats for us. This is always special, because she always writes out character qualities that she sees in each of us and tells us how much she loves us. I always save those heart, they are definitely a dear treasure! I wasn't very sneaky about it, but I hinted about a Lara Bar for a treat for me, lol. (I think she got the hint!)

This year, we have to postpone our Banquet till Sunday, when my sister Elizabeth comes back from visiting one of my other brother's place and my other two brothers and their wives come down to our house (are you confused yet? I have a big family! Lucky me!) on Sunday. That is also the time, when my sister Elizabeth's boyfriend, James comes to visit us all (oh, and of course, Lizzy). They're engaged, so this will be a special Valentine's for them. I'll probably post some pictures of our feast in a few days.

And because it is Valentine's today I wanted to say one more thing...

...HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

A Green, Green Day

DAY 44

First, I started out with a Parsley Green Smoothie (a newbie favorite). That was breakfast, alongside a grapefruit (I didn't get sick of them from the detox apparently, lol) and an orange.

Lunch was a quick, but a lovely salad. Once I tossed all the fixings I wanted in there I squirted in some apple cider vinager, pure olive oil, organic flax oil, salt, fresh cracked pepper, and some maple syrup. This is fantastic, quick and absolutely delish (the fad word for raw fooders, it seems...but pefectly accurate, lol)!

And my dinner (that I just finished) was Cream of Broccoli soup. I made the soup a little different this time (Shannonmarie, I love this soup!!!) and tossed in not just broccoli, but some organic greens. The soup was green in color and just filled with GREEN POWER! It was also loaded with garlic and onion (I love it, but I added too much for this particular day, due to the fact I'm going out this evening...people may not come too close to me, lol) I topped the soup with my leftover Parmasen Cheese Sprinkles (they even melted).

A couple nights ago I learned more about the absolutely incredible powers of Chlorophyll. I already wrote a blog post about it a while back, but here's some more healing properties of Chlorophyll for you to get excited about. (taken from "Green for Life" by Victoria Boutenko, we all know her!)

• builds high blood count
• helps prevent cancer
• provides ions to organs
• makes body more alkaline (yay, greens!)
• counteracts toxins eaten
• improves anemic conditions
• helps purify the liver
• aids hepatitis improvement
• aids hemophilia conditon
• improves milk production
• helps sores heal faster
• eliminates body odours
• resists bacteria in wounds
• cleans tooth and gum structure in pyorrhea
• eliminates bad breath (lol, I need some chlorophyll for my garlic mouth)
• relieves sore throat
• makes an excellent oral surgery gargle
• benefits inlamed tonsils
• revitalizes vascular system in the legs
• improves varicose veins
• improves vision
• reduces pain caused by inflammation

And that's just some of it...

So drink your green smoothies, your green veggies, and salads. Every bit just revs up your "Green Machine" that much more to a healthier lifestyle.

The Art and Music of Uncooking

DAY 43

Granted...perhaps a banjo isn't that romantic, or artsy, but at least it has to do with music, lol. I thought today, partly since it's so close to Valentine's to write out some words that has incorporated the "romantic" and creative side of raw food.

This is an "musical" excerpt (which I read for fun, it's so well written) by Serene Allison (from her raw recipe book)

"...In some dishes I want to pull out the high notes and concentrate on the zings and ttingles of flavors such as lemons or citrus, sea salt, or tangy herbs. In other dishes I might want to dabble in the low notes of deep flavors achieved by warming eastern spices and foods that have more depth. Sometimes I may want to mute the notes of the dish by using neutral tone ingredients and blending subtle flavors together for an understated but delicate and fine aria. There are also times to harmonize the highs, lows, and middle notes to create an incredible well-rounded orchestra with nothing lacking.

Raw ingredients have great versatility. There are times when you may want to get all dressed up and wear something dazzling or other times lounge around in simple attire. In the same way you can either dress your ingredients simply or dress them up to the hilt to dazzle the senses.

Sometimes you might want to make a certain ingredient sweet or other times use it as a base for a savory dish. Ideas are endless. Each meal is a new blank canvas on which to create a beautiful picture of color and texture. Preparing food is an ART. It is an opportunity for artistic and personal expression. Try uncooking. It is fun, new, and exciting. It is like putting a charged battery on you plate. As soon as you eat it and plug it in, your body is ready and rearing to go.

Foods have different depths. Some jump out with an intense boom and peter out quickly. Others slink in the back way but linger on your palate longer. By combining these different depths you can create a harmony with any flavor sensation you desire. You can create a harmony with any flavor sensation you desire. You can create something with pizzazz that dances on the tongue or a simple smooth delicacy that rolls down with the ease and richness of the crooning notes of a jazz saxophone. You can make charming little tinkling side dishes or main meals with the fulness of a symphony of violins. You can create flavors that shout boom or arrange a delicate savor that whispers a lullaby. You can make a dish that says, "Let's party" or create a meal that carries you across the oceans and back in time. It is all possible by understanding the unique essences and personality of the incredibly versatile foods cGod created for us. He is the father of all creativity and we are created in His image. I believe He loves to see us being creative."

...And now I'm off to be creative with myself. I'm going to see if I can invent raw chocolate Turtles in honor of Valentine's Day. :0)

One of those days...

DAY 42

...when everything goes a little bit wrong. I spent over two hours waiting in the doctor office today (not for my appointment) and when we finally got home (after our other business) it was supper. I hadn't had time to prepare anything and the thought of salad just didn't appeal to me at that moment. So I decided that while my family ate, with my Mommsie's permission, I would hop into the tub and have a relaxing soak with a good supper of a chocolate shake. Alas! With an accidental tip of the finger my beloved supper tipped and entirely spilt on the floor. I tried to be calm and whispered a prayer, "Lord, help me to have a right attitude about this, but that's my supper." But He did help me in my attitude and not bemoan my loss too much. I licked some of it up (yes, I know, I guess I shouldn't of...but it was soooo good) and had my bath anyway. The water was cooler than I like it. Of course. And then I headed downstairs about to greet all the dishes that I needed to wash with a grim smile. But you know, that's all good. Sometimes everything doesn't go perfectly, in fact, almost all the time it doesn't. Tonight I just ate bits and pieces of things that I found lying around (that were raw, of course) and I'm planning on loading up on some hot chocolately-chai tea with honey soon before bed.

Life is great, despite the fact I felt that most of my day was wasted at the doctor's office, or that my supper spilt, the bath wasn't piping hot, and the feeling like I didn't get much accomplished. Sometimes those little annoying things roll right off your back and sometimes they bother more than they should, but the whole point is...Life is beautiful and you can look at the good side of things or see those annoying things as horrible. I think that we grow in character when we accept things we don't like and make the best of things. So tonight, I choose to look at the silver lining in the clouds.

Ok, enough of a sermon for today, lol. ...Tomorrow: The "Romance of Raw Food"

Avacado and Grapefruit Salad

DAY 40

Such an un-original, yawning title, but I'm afraid my creative juices have really run dry today. I expect a fresh shipment of such "juices" tomorrow, or at best, this evening, lol.

The above salad is not my picture (because as everyone knows I'm camera-less at present), but a beautiful picture from somewhere that I cannot for-the-life-of-me remember. Anyway, it's the same salad I had for lunch, minus the mint and a few other things we didn't have (or I didn't feel like putting in) I was in a hurry to eat lunch; therefore, I barely scanned the recipe (from Raw Food Real World) before it was made. Unfortunately, that was our last avacado I used for the salad. I certainly enjoyed every morsel of it; yet, I cannot help but feel a sense of remorse that there are none left (sniff, sniff). If I could eat one fruit the entire day, that is what I would choose.

Oh, and here is the scrummy breakfast I had today:

FRUIT SALAD GALORE

~ Grapes

~ Pineapple slices

~ Orange slices

~ Banana slices

Mix it up and eat as is, or coat lightly with honey and a raw yogurt. An additional idea (which I thinks sounds deluctable) is to coat whatever cut up fruit you wish with a leftover fruit smoothie.

I love my In-Loves (in-laws)

DAY 39


Today was such fun! I went over to my sister-in-love, Rebecca's house and we made cards together in the afternoon. She's into raw too (not quite as radically crazy as me) and she made the supper thinking especially of me. One of my brothers and Anne-Marie came over for supper later and she had a "Taco-Salad" meal for us, salad + whatever toppings you wish. She made chicken for the "normal" eaters, and a walnut "meat" and raw dressing for me (and whoever else wanted it). I simply skipped the toppings of cheese, chicken, and eggs. It was so filling and so incredibly good.

She didn't stop there, the little monkey! Lol, she made a raw chocolate shake for us all for dessert as well as raw caramel dip with apples and kiwi slices. She's incredible that one! It just makes me sigh with gladness to think of the incredible, supportive family that God has given to me. I just don't deserve it. In the evening we played games galore (I didn't win any...sigh)


We finished off a bottle of organic flax oil today, but there was little bit left at the bottom. So I used it as a lotion for my lips, legs, and hands. I try to use only natural products on my skin and am still replacing every body care product/cosmetic with a natural counterpart. I gave away pretty much all of my lotions, bodywashes, lip balms, deodrants to my sisters or the garbage quite a while ago. Recently I just bought some mineral makeup which I am really starting to like.


Here are some great counterparts for the common skin care products that I often use:


~ Olive oil (makes a nice gloss for lips, lotion, eye cream, sheen for eyelids, conditioning mask for hair)
~ Coconut oil (eye cream, face cream, same as above)
~ Flax seed oil (same as above)
~ Sesame seed oil (very fragrant, same as above)
~ Grapeseed oil (eye cream, same as above)
~ Honey (lip balm, softening face mask)


And...I'm too sleepy to think of anything else right now. :0)

Raw Day for Two

DAY 38

Today my lovely sister Anne-Marie decided to join me on an "All-Raw" day (yay, Annie!), so we planned our menu, making it lots of fun. We decided on a simple salad for lunch and for supper, Shannomarie's (www.rawdorable.blogspot.com) Cream of Brocolli soup as well as a spicy, walnut Taco meat served on Romaine lettuce, with chopped tomatoes, and a lovely red sauce/dressing (one of my favourites) leftover from lunch. I'm sold on the idea of Taco meat rolled on leaves with sauce and the "fixing". I'm excited to have the leftovers tomorrow for lunch.

Here's the secret sauce/dressing that is so deluctable. I use it as a Catalina/Russian/Ketchup dressing, lol, because in my opinon it works just like all those dressings do...except, it's raw and healthy. Hurrah!

CATALINA DRESSING (also a good BQ sauce and ketchup)

about 1/2 c. sundried tomatoes (these were packed in oil)

about 3-4 T. apple cider vinager

about 1/2 c. olive oil

a small slice of onion

about 1 tsp. paprika

about 1 tsp. of sea salt or herb salt

about 2-3 dates (medium)

1-2 T. raw honey

1/2. of medium red pepper

Note: You may need to add a little water or more oil depending if you're making a sauce or dressing. The oil tends to seperate a bit, so give it a shake or stir before serving.

Blend up. Adjust to taste the way you like it. As you can see, these are just approximates of mine (I don't measure as much as I used to). Some people like it more vinagery, some sweeter, some spicier, so dabble as much as you like, but the above recipe is how I like it...sweet and vinagery.

Sorry I don't have pictures of the meal or the dressing. My sister Elizabeth has the camera again, bless her! Lol, oh well, such is life.

Coconut Banana Cookies and Coconut Milk

DAY 37

It's so nice to be off the grapefruit cleanse (as much as I thought it was fun), but I just love the normal raw food I like to prepare and let any bottled up creativity I have just soar. Sorry, I didn't post yesterday but the day in town was long and we were extremely rushed and busy. So here are the cookies from coconut pulp leftover from the milk. They reminded me a lot of the peanut butter cookies with the chocolate kisses in the middle that we had often as kids, those were so good. The fun thing about these cookies is that that cookie part doesn't really, really harden. Even after a whole night in the freezer, it stayed soft and melty-in-your mouth. Next time I make them I'm going to make them with some sort of natural almond/peanut butter base just like the kind I used to have. I had got the recipe from http://www.rawinspiration.blogspot.com/ but I didn't have all the ingredients so I tweaked it to what I thought I wanted. The middle was a chocolate recipe I just threw together with almond butter, liquid coconut butter, cocoa, honey, agave (I think!), and carob. It became a beautiful hard chocolate in the middle of the cookie. Isn't it easy to see why I'm crazy about chocolate!?

The coconut milk was (another recipe from www.rawinspiration.blogspot.com) absolutely great! It gives such an awesome twist to an ordinary smoothie and makes it gourmet! I can't wait to try the coconut flare to granola. Yesterday evening, needing a desperate pick up from shopping, I had a hot, long soak in a bubble bath and I must tell you I made the most delicious chocolate shake ever right by my side. It was so creamy due to the coconut milk. I wish I could've taken a picture, but one again my sister Elizabeth has taken the camera as she visits some of our family. (I may have to borrow my sister-in-love's camera, if she doesn't mind, lol) Here's a list of ingredients to create your own decadent chocolate shake. I kid you not, that was the creamiest chocolate shake I've ever eaten, like soft-serve ice-cream.

Decadent Cocolate Shake (a delightful mix of coconut and chocolate)

Bananas (frozen)

Organic cocoa (I just picked some up)

Honey or Agave

Coconut milk to desired consistency

A tad of pure vanilla

Whiz up and top with a pool of coconut milk and cacao nibs. The next part of the instructions is the easiest part...devour.

Grapefruit, grapefruits, I love grapefruits, Day Three

I've quite surprised myself. I thought for sure I'd be tired of grapefruits by now, but I'm not. Nonetheless, I've very happy about eating my normal, but increbile raw food fare tomorrow. Today I felt tired still, but a bit better than yesterday, yet, I still had some bursts of energy when I had to try to contain myself, lol. During the morning I had a slight headache, but that's normal for detoxing.

After I did Pilates with one of my sisters, we made ourselves some fresh grapefruit juice (above) and enjoyed with a striped straw while we read more of Frodo and Sam's beginning of adventures as they travelled to Buckland. It was so refreshing! I loved the way it got all foamy at the top. I just scooped out the fruit and put in the Vita-Mix and then added a tad of water.

Tomorrow my Mom and sisters and I will be going to the city to shop, shop, shop. Sigh, I love "Girl's Day" out; although with the way we shop we're always racing, never a moment to stop and take a breather. We're the speedy shopper girls! We live about an hour and a half from any city so you can imagine how we stock up on goods and produce. We're far from any good stores so the entire day is spent in necessary things, although on the way home we usually enjoy something cheap to eat on the go (my favourite is Booster Juice, although not exactly cheap).

Tonight I made coconut milk (for the first time) and then cookies out of the pulp with chocolate on top. I'll post pictures tomorrow, when I can actually eat a cookie (but they do look good, impatient sigh) Till then.

Grapefruit Detox, Day Two

Here I am, day two and doing great! Although I must say, I feel really tired and a bit cold today, but that's normal for a cleanse, besides it's Sunday, a day to relax. Tomorrow I'll have more energy I'm sure.

So here is way I eat grapefruits...I even took pictures for you, lol.

1. First I take a normal table knife (that has a little bit of a serrated edge) and cut inside the "pockets" of fruit out. 2. Lovely nugget of fruit 3. A whole bowl bursting with flavour!

I wanted something hot this morning so I squeezed 1/2 to a whole orange into warm water. It tasted like orange tea just punched with flavour. I imagine you could add some orange zest or bits of peel into that too, providing the peel is organic.

We had company for lunch and the menu was the traditional roast beef dinner with an incredible chocolate pudding cake for dessert. I just sniffed the pudding cake longingly and resolved to make a raw version of it soon. I was very sneaky and our guests did not even noticed that behind a plate of salad and a whole wheat bun I was eating grapefruit (once again, I sat in the corner). After the meal was over I put the salad back in the bowl and my brother very obligingly ate my bun (or as the Americans say a "roll", lol). For dessert I had previously frozen a bowl of grapefruit and ate it just like that. I can imagine it being so deluctable on a hot summer's day.

Speaking of which, it's minus 17 Celcius today (Daddy says it's warming up) in a world blanketed in snow, meanwhile my fellow bloggers are watering their gardens and picking oranges off their trees. Sigh...No, just kidding. I'm enjoying myself completely, though I am excited for summer. A few weeks ago my Mom and I picked out some seeds on the internet we wanted for this year's garden. We bought them from an organic seed company, which needless to say, I was very pleased about. When wishful thoughts of a hot summer sun come to mind, I remind myself how much more happy and grateful I'll be about it when it does come!

Grapefruit Cleanse, Day One

So here am I, starting another cleanse-a-roo. I did the Green Smoothie in January and now I'm doing the Grapefruit Cleanse in February. I think it would be a good idea to do one intense cleanse a month, whether it's from one day or five. Of course, I doubt I shall...but that doesn't change the fact that the idea still might be good, lol.

The grapefruit we have is SO good. They're so sweet and huge. I've already discovered that when you take the grapefruit flesh out and put it in the freezer it tastes absolutely incredible. We don't have a good citrus juicer, just a little one that does lemons or small oranges, so if I want to have fresh grapefruit juice I'll just take the pink flesh out (tomorrow, I'll tell you the coolest and most efficient way I like to do it) and pop it in the Vita-Mix and whiz it up. You could mix a bit of pure water in with that too, to make it a little less intense and to make your juice longer. My sister Anne-Marie and I are absolute fanatics of grapefruit juice. It especially tastes so good when you've just finished working really hard or did a good workout.

Quite a few days ago I decided to try the Lychee fruit. I bought 3 little lychees for 27 cents. I had no idea what they're like, but I love trying new and exotic fruits. So when I brought them home I opened the "shell" outside and couldn't help but think how cute they were. It's white flesh tasted like a really sweet and really sour grape. Don't aske me how it works, but if you try one you'll know exactly what I mean. It was fun to try, but I don't think I would get it again. There was a big brown pit in the middle of it, so there really wasn't much fruit inside. Every time we grocery shop I can't help but look around and see what's new in the fruit and veggie department, or else, I just open my eyes wider to see things that were always there but I never tried. I have yet to try lots of some special fruits, nuts, vegetables, and superfoods that God so graciously gave us. He wants us to take good care of the bodies He's given us and to know what's good to eat and what's bad to eat, and to be creative and imaginative with what we make. But by the same token, just like the good Father He is, He gives us these awesome foods, but He doesn't want us to be all caught up in the food, but "caught up" with Him, thankful for the things that He has given. It's the Giver, not the gift, that should be the most important.