Leaving on our Music Tour...

This is my typical pose on our many singing travels...and I don't mind telling you, that I'm itching to back on the road, singing with my family, and having adventures. I'm really hoping I can get a hold of Internet somewhere so I can post or two times during our trip. We'll see.

Just thought I'd post a couple pictures of some of my "eating healthy while travelling" ideas, such as, what I call "Charissa's Healthy Traveling Box"...

Here's what I put in it (and what I have yet to put in):

~A small container of Stevia (to sweeten the tea or to make raw lemonade)

~Tea bags of all kinds (When we stop for fuel, my sister's and I like to go in, pay a little bit for the cost of the cup, and get hot water for free. In the van, we put in our teabags...this keeps us from spending money on other drinks, that just aren't worth the money anyway)

~Lemons (to squeeze into my water or make raw lemonade)

~Raw Granola (for breakfast on the road or just to snack on)

~Raw Trail Mix (to eat as is, or mix in with the Granola)

~A serrated paring knife, fork, and a spoon

~Good salt

~Seaweed wraps (to wrap up with veggies and avocado or just to eat as is)

~Supplements or daily vitamins (Emergen-Cs)

~A little coconut oil

~A couple of oranges and a kiwi or two

Now you can be ready for all those little hunger emergencies and still stay raw, or at least, eat more raw.

• Here's what made up my Raw Trail Mix:

  Raisins, dried Cranberries, cashews, goji berries, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chopped dates, dried coconut, chopped prunes, some chunks of Raw Granola, and some dark chocolate pieces (that's the part that isn't raw, but it is a treat! lol)

  I also added sesame seeds, flax seeds, poppy seeds, and dried coconut to my container of Raw Granola to make it that much better.

  

Well, we've got to pull out soon so I better scurry. See you all soon! ;0)

Raw Recipe Book

Here's my latest little project...a gift for my sister-in-love Rebecca. It's her birthday in a couple days and so I wanted to finish it before we left on our trip. So here it is...my 2nd Raw Recipe Binder (sorry, the picture is a bit dark)! (here's the first one I did) I designed it different and had lots of fun doing it so. Really, I think this would be a great gift for many people, whether they're trying raw out, or going "gung-ho" at it. It's fun to find lots of cool recipes on the web or good blogs and print them out and then organize them into different categories in the binder. It's a little more special too, than your regular, store-bought gift, because you put time and energy into it yourself. I think people like that.

We're running around like crazy here (still...). Today we moved Grandma and Grandpa's stuff over to Becca and Andrew's because that's where they're going to stay while we're on our trip. We'll miss them a lot, but it will be such a fun holiday! (well, sort of...I don't know if you can call tearing down sound equipment at 11 or 12 o'clock at night a holiday) But I know no matter what happens and how busy it is, it will be a wonderful time. I really can't believe we're leaving tomorrow! So very soon. I want to post one quickie before we leave tomorrow. Till then...

Raw Ice-Cream Floats

I have discovered a wondrous raw treat...and I'm so glad I did! I made a thinner Chocolate Banana Shake, poured a raw chocolate syrup down the sides of the glass, and then took a scoop of Banana Ice-Cream for the top. Silly me, I didn't even experiment to see if it would float or not (altho' I rather doubt it), but the principle is the same. Ice-Cream with a drink...sigh, just like the good old days. Now I'm imagining all the possibilities, such as fizzy Synergy Kombucha (in fun flavours) with ice-cream, thin fruity shakes, or perhaps even Green Smoothies with this delightful combo.

Just for you all, I made up a new ice-cream to grace your next raw drink with. I hope you enjoy it! I know I sure did and I know I will make it again (only I will double it next time, this serves one) Once again I tried to make it a more economical version, but I didn't skimp on flavours. Trust me! Creamy, dreamy, and white...I think you'll like it!

The Floaty Ice-Cream

1/2 can of organic coconut milk (or use your own raw coconut milk, if you're more comfortable with that...I sometimes use canned organic coconut milk, but only because it's really the only nutritional thing you can eat canned, because coconut is such a stable food, protected by it's high levels of vitamin E)

1/2 cup of cashews (soaked 1-2 hours beforehand)

small splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice

a few grains of pure salt

2-3 TB of pure maple syrup

1-2 packets of Stevia (or less, depending how sweet you like it)

Blend up in the Vita-Mix and process in your ice-cream maker. Delight in every cold, creamy mouthful on top of a fun drink (or sunken at the bottom, lol) or just as it is.

We've been incredibly busy here, just a whirl of activity from morning to evening. Why? Well, our family is leaving the day after tomorrow to do a 3-week music tour through the states (and a bit in British Columbia as well)!!! I can't believe it's happening so soon! We're going to and through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as B.C. Canada. We've got our trailer loaded with our sound equipment, our van is about to be filled with our abounding suitcases, duffel bags, pillows, and garment bags, and then we'll be gone. I'm going to miss blogging for 3 weeks, believe me, but I'm really hoping to be able to post a few times while I'm gone, providing I can get a hold of a computer with Internet access. Sniff, sniff...I'll miss reading you guy's blogs too, but I'm reminding myself it's just for 3 weeks. But I really cannot fully express how excited I am about this trip!!! I love singing with my family and travelling with them. We always have SUCH A LOT of fun and grow closer together (believe me, 3 weeks of travelling in a van gets you close, lol).

We're going to Disney Land in between times (I've never been!) and we'll be able to stay at lots of friend's places after our concerts. One family we know in California have their own orchard and they've promised to let us try oranges off their own trees (just the end of the orange season). I'm so excited about that! I hope to go to Whole Foods for the first time and pick up a copy of Get Fresh among other things (I've never been there either, just Trader Joe's). And I'm desperately hoping there will be a raw cafe or restaurant I can try on our trip. If any of you have any suggestions, let me know.

I'll try to post one or two more times before we leave, despite our hectic-ness (you wouldn't believe the million things one has to do before a 3-week trip! I'm about to have a nervous breakdown...just kidding, I'm quite stable). Have a lovely evening all..perhaps with a raw Ice-Cream float in hand? :0)

Easter Thoughts...

Today no pictures or recipes, just some quick thoughts and a good link. When I first clicked on this short movie on You Tube, I thought..."Wow, this is SO good!"...I warn you, it's really sad, but this little clip is well worth 6 minutes of your time, capturing the true spirit of Easter. I encourage you all to watch it (just click here) and let your heart absorb the beauty of the message.

It was a special day here, my brother Cameron and his beautiful family came for the day. We enjoyed spending time together, playing games, doing some music, laughing and chatting over the dinner table. I'm so blessed by my incredible family...I don't deserve them at all. But even in a small, small way it reminds me of the wondrous sacrifice that Jesus paid for me, undeserving as I am, to adopt me into His family. I'm so glad that I can serve a God, who is victorious over everything, even Death itself!!! He is risen indeed!

(What you can expect tomorrow: ...I think I've discovered the raw Ice-Cream Float!)

How's this for a title?

I really can't explain why I have such a weird heading...but I honestly couldn't think of anything interesting for a title. So I decided to be random. (admit it, it's fun to be random, lol)

Yesterday I finished my beautiful mint ice-cream (the picture is in dedication to it's memory and to it's short, but truly sweet existence) and I ate it for lunch. I'm really living the sweet life...cheesecake for dessert yesterday and this ice-cream today. But life wouldn't be as enjoyable with sweet things, right? Right.


Anywhoo...Bueller tagged me for 5 things. I actually already did this once, but oh well, I'll tell you 5 more short things about me, all random, of course. :0)


1. My Great Uncle was the Premier of one of the Canadian Provinces.


2. I'm younger than I look...or do I? :0)


3. I love any white flower, especially lilies or roses. White is a color that just speaks of purity, beauty, and youth. There's such a simplicity and elegance about it.


4. My childhood heroine was Cinderella...and dare I say it? Still is. But what girl isn't in love with the whole "Cinderella" story? I wanted pure, golden hair and bright, blue eyes so badly just so I could look like Disney's version of Cinderella. I still think she's a beautiful example of a forgiving young woman who makes life beautiful, despite horrible circumstances.

5. I love trying new things and embracing new adventures that life brings!

Here's a few people (I'm not being strict with 5...almost everyone has been tagged anyway) I've tagged: Karen, Tera, and Amy... Those who are tagged, tell 5 cool things about yourself on your blog and then if you like tag 5 other people with links to their names on your blog.

There. I'm done being random for today and tomorrow you can expect something more ----------- .(place your own adjective there...for once again, my mind is blank. :0)

My Raw Birthday Party!

Yesterday was the most fantastic day ever! My family (those are my siblings, my sister-in-love Rebecca, my niece Karina, and my best friend and cousin Emily above) spoiled me in a completely acceptable way and I had...as David Wolfe would say..."the best day ever!" :0) I was a little bit nervous hoping that ALL of my family would like the meal and the dessert. I need not have worried...they loved it!!! That just made my day!

We had all sorts of toppings for the main meal: big bowls of mixed greens, romaine, and coleslaw, "raw corn chips", "fried mushrooms", "taco meat", celery, green pepper, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, sprouts, carrots, Vidalia onion, radishes, green onion, "Green Delight" dressing, and "Catalina Dressing". It was very filling and I stopped after one big plate. It was so funny my family was really hyper after the meal, I'm serious...we were laughing so hard and having such a good time.

Here's the famous cheesecake! It tasted incredible and my family LOVED it! They all wanted a second piece. (There's only one piece left and I'm afraid it's mine! ;0) I sprinkled the top of the cake with cocoa and lucuma powder and then after we cut it, we drizzled it with raw chocolate sauce.

I wanted to show you the creamy texture of the cheesecake... (sigh) so good!

This is me and my wonderful Grandparents! God gave me the most awesome heritage! I'm so glad we have the privilege of having them live with us.

After dinner, I opened my presents. I won't tell you all of them, but I will say about the gifts that are more "health" related quickly. Mom and Dad gave me a Pilates Mat...wahooo! I was so excited because what I use right now is so short and I happen to be tall at 5' 10 and 1/2"! Hopefully I'll have time to try the mat out today. And then, a dear friend of our family's gave me a really awesome book called "The Juicing Bible" (the 2nd edition)! That got me really excited too, as I only have one little juicing book and it's definitely something I want to get more into, especially in the summer with all that lovely, extra produce from our own garden. My best friend, Emily gave me $15 certificates for Booster Juice! Yay! ...SO that's some of the awesome gifts I got (they really blessed me...aren't birthday's fun? lol)

During games in the evening we munched on Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, even dipping them in the left over chocolate sauce (from the cheesecake). I was really surprised, my one brother (who is not into this whole "raw" thing) even liked them and admitted it. :0) He's not that crazy about cheesecake, but he really liked the cheesecake I made.

It was an awesome day leaving me with one thought: "I love my family!"

Birthday's Eve and the Stars of Raw Desserts

What a long title, please forgive me...but today I've been long winded about everything! Today is one of those days where lots of little magical things happen. I spent my entire morning and a lot of the afternoon preparing some things for my raw birthday's supper tomorrow night, in the afternoon I went to town with my brother Andrew and got my hair layered at the hairdressers (I've never had it

layered before and I'm so excited about it!!!), and then I came home and to see what I've been waiting ages for...my bridesmaid dress had come for Lizzy's wedding!! Not only that, but my order from Raw Guru came! Needless to say, I was very excited, and that's why I was long winded. When I get a little hyper I talk a lot. My poor family deals with me so nicely.

Part of my order from Raw Guru was what the title picture shows: maca, lucuma, and mesquite powder. I've never used any of these things before, and yet, I was always drooling over all the recipes (especially desserts) that I saw the ingredients listed in. Finally, I was able to get them and although I haven't yet used them, I have a long list of things to use them for, starting tomorrow. Personally, I think these great things are the stars of raw desserts (hence the title...see, I'm not as disjointed as you think, it all came together).

Here's some cool things about Maca:
Balances hormones
Deeper sleep
Balances moods
Enhances memory and brain function
Increases energy levels
Helps adapt to stress
Slows the aging process
Lessens aches and pain, more endurance and stamina
Prevents osteoporosis, high calcium and vegetable protein

And here's what I promised...my birthday menu for tomorrow night!

Main meal: Taco-type Salad with assorted toppings (such as "taco meat", "corn chips", "fried mushrooms", tomatoes, assorted veggies, sprouts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and Catalina dressing)

Dessert: Cheesecake!!! Wahoo! Topped and drizzled with Vanilla Chocolate Sauce

Snack during games later on: Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

If you're clicking on the links for my B.D. menu you'll notice they're all from Gone Raw. I love this site and I like to try lots of fun things there. It would've be fun to make up my own cheesecake for dessert, but I didn't think that it was a good time to be inventing my own...you know, when I'd be trying it out on a lot of people. This cheesecake had a lot of good vibes and now I know why!! Wow, once I tasted that cheesecake batter today I nearly died of happiness. It is AMAZING! And it looks fabulous too in a very pure, creamy white! I only used the cheesecake part of the recipe and used a different crust, and I also halfed it. If you're going to make this cheesecake...I think you should reduce the amount of lemon significantly (I took nearly 1/2 cup off it). For my birthday, I am not doing the raspberry sauce that is used. A girl's gotta have chocolate sometimes...

Well, there's a few things I want to get done tonight before I'm a completely different age, so I better go.

Girl's Day Out

Today was yet another day in the city...only this time, it wasn't for groceries. My sister Lizzy had her first wedding dress fitting (she looks so beautiful!) and so us gals decided to make the day of it. We got makeup lessons, shopped at an antique store (Bueller would like that, lol), went out to a restaurant, did some fun shopping that only girls can appreciate...and had the most wonderful day ever! I adore my sisters, truly, I do!!!

The beautiful drink I had at our "lunch" was a Red Raspberry Lemonade. No, I'm certain it wasn't raw, but I must say...as soon as we have fresh raspberries around here, I'm simply itching to make it raw. I love revamping recipes to make them super duper healthy!

My sisters and I...aren't Lizzy and Anne-Marie beautiful!? I love my sisters! ;0)

Oh, and as for the Green Challenge that I did yesterday...well, I must confess, I did have some of the traditional Irish Baking Soda Brown Bread that my sister made from scratch, and then I forgot momentarily about my Green Challenge and had some cantaloupe before bed. Well, every other thing I ate yesterday was green, I must say. Even the salad dressing was green. I tell you...I'm quite certain green salad dressings are going to be the next big thing in the raw food scene. They sure are good! Tomorrow is my Birthday-Eve, so expect a totally RAW birthday menu to be posted!!! Yes sir, I'm going to have an ALL-RAW birthday party, whether or not people like it, lol! But I'm quite sure everyone will like it!

Till tomorrow...

St. Patty and Peppermint Meet

Because it's a holiday, of sorts, it's definitely time to celebrate again. This time, I made a Peppermint Patty Ice-Cream with Vanilla Chocolate Sauce. I wanted to make something more economical (rather than the pricey cashews or young coconuts), so here's what I came up with...

Peppermint Almond Ice-Cream

1/2 can of organic coconut milk (see note below)

1 cup of soaked almonds (germinated overnight)

small handful of mild greens (to give a green color, you could use a green superfood too)

a few drops of pure peppermint extract (however strong you like it) and a few drops of pure vanilla essence

1/4 - 1/2 cup of raw honey (depending how sweet you like it)

2 TB of liquid coconut oil

Add all the ingredients, except the coconut oil, and blend in your Vita-Mix or high speed blender. Once blended, add the liquid coconut oil slowly. You may need to add a little nut milk, coconut milk, or water to thin it out a wee bit. Then put it in your ice-cream maker till it's done. Garnish with Vanilla Chocolate Sauce and raw cacao bits (which I forgot to adorn it with).

Vanilla Chocolate Sauce

1-2 TB of maple syrup or raw agave nectar

Several drops of vanilla

About 1 tsp of organic cocoa or carob powder

I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I must say...there's absolutely no way you can enjoy the "ice-cream" without the Vanilla Chocolate Sauce, it just would not taste right at all. The texture is a bit different than, say a cashew or macadamia and young coconut base, not completely silky smooth, but it's fun to have variety. ;0)

Today I got pinched by Anne-Marie because I wasn't wearing green, she was gracious enough to pinch lightly. I was going to go out for a morning jog and I was going to change when I got in...so now I'm in green. During the noon hour here, I went around and decorated any available family member with green four-leaf clover stickers. They have to have green somewhere on them, or there was a danger of pinching. Thankfully, I saved them from such a threat. I'm so proud of G and G (short for Grandma and Grandpa), they're wearing green in full force. They're so great. I gave them some of my extra green smoothie this morning. Grandma pushed her empty cup away and said, "That was SO good, thank-you!" She's so sweet.

Here's what I put in my Green Smoothie today (which ended up being a very pale green, but still, nonetheless, green, lol): celery, broccoli, bananas, sesame seeds, frozen fruit pieces, and water.

A note on canned coconut milk: Coconut milk is actually the only canned product that can be nutritionally recommended because it's not very heat sensitive and is a very stable product. It's not "raw", but is most certainly healthy. Nonetheless, if you're more comfortable with the raw version, make your own coconut milk, which is actually quite easily done. But if you do decide to use canned coconut milk once in a while, make sure it's organic and says "pure" or "whole" on it, not "lite". Do not buy Coconut Cream, this is different and inferior). There. That's my two-bits on canned coconut milk.

All Things Green

Due to the fact that tomorrow is Saint Patrick's Day, here's my plan: Tomorrow I will eat everything green! If the food I eat isn't totally green, it must have something "green" in it, whether it be disguised spinach or smashed broccoli. So today is just a quickie post to let you all in on what I call the "One Day Green Challenge" (personally, I don't think it will be that hard, lol). So let me know if you're up for it and join me on a super-fun and super-charged "Green Day". Come on, you know we all need more greens in our diet, whether it be green smoothies, big, leafy salads, or snacking on celery sticks and rolled up Romaine.

Let's have some Green Time...

Rubber Booties and Springtime Cleaning

There's just something about Spring that makes you want a fresh start...whether it's a deep face mask or a scrub, cleaning out the closet, throwing out old clothes, or personal pampering time. The idea of Spring peeping around the corner just beckons alluringly. That's one of the reasons that the Raw Diva Detox felt so good, it was a Spring cleaning for my body. Really, there's few pleasures that are as nice as being all "clean" inside and outside, eating pure, feeling good in your skin, and then just to bask in contentment, glad to know that the "Spring Cleaning" is done for now. Oh, there's lots of things I need to do different and I'm always making mistakes, even after this detox, but that's okay. I think part of that contented feeling comes from being at rest with who you are, and having a striving heart with an attitude of "I never do it all right", but acknowledging the fact that I do make mistakes and that's just part of the journey.

Today I was tramping around emptying our ever-full compost pail (we eat so much produce) in the rubber booties that you see adorning the top of this post. I was SO excited when I saw them! Anne-Marie and I have been wanting to buy a pair of "fun" rubbers and we nearly flipped when we discovered them, and at an on-sale price of $11, how could we resist?! I got the brown and plaid and she got black polka-dot. I love things that are whimsical and not the usual. Besides...it's way too fun wearing these things, just for fashion sake alone.

Well, with all my big talk of Spring cleaning, I'm feeling way too convicted. So to ease this feeling, I'm going to Spring clean my room. ;0)

Celebration Time...I did it!

The Raw Diva Detox is over! So it's time for a big batch of raw ice-cream! ;0) This was the most incredible tasting confection ever, definitely going to make it over again...and again...and again. It's none other than the famous "One Lucky Duck Ice-Cream" recipe by Sarma, which is not only in "Raw Food Real World" but also Carol Alt's "The Raw 50". Ohhhh, the options are endless with this blessing from heaven. I made the standard vanilla and then added some cacao nibs to make, you guessed it, Cacao Chip Ice-Cream (that's the top scoop). And then, I swirled a stiff chocolate sauce (maple syrup or raw agave nectar mixed with cacao powder, cocoa powder, or ground carob) and peanut butter (all natural and organic, just ground up, pasty peanuts) in the other half of the vanilla ice-cream for "Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl". I'm already dreaming up other variations like Peppermint Patty, Cookie Dough, Strawberry Pink Perfection...oh dear, I'm giving myself an appetite. If you have either recipe book, "Raw Food Real World" or "The Raw 50", pull it out and make a batch of this angel's food.

Sigh, I think I need some more. But there's one really great thing about this ice-cream...you know when you've had enough. The commercial ice-cream just leaves you wanting to gulp down the whole gallon (come on, admit it!), but this is so creamy and rich, that you know exactly when you need to stop. One big scoop is seriously all I can eat at one time (and I'm the Ice-Cream Queen). This is very handy, since I'll have more on hand for later when another ice-cream attack comes on, lol.

I put the leftovers in four little containers and threw them in the freezer...now I have four instant desserts all ready for me, but somehow I don't think they'll last long.

Back to the detox...my thoughts: It was fun, hard (I admit it!), and it actually didn't end the way I wanted it to. Our family was invited to supper at the neighbors so I had to break the detox one meal early, but that's okay. I still did fine. I loved the way I learned to like salads in such a simple state, you know, just lemon squeezed on it or with a juicy tomato adorning each leaf with flavour. Now, when I think my body needs it, I want to go for the simplest simple. Maybe mono meals (if that's what my body wants) or just fruit for lunch or breaky. I'm so glad I did it and I HIGHLY recommend it!

I think I'll run downstairs and just have one more spoonful of ice-cream. ;0)

On the Home Stretch ~ Day 6

Only one more day...happy sigh. Don't get me wrong, this has been fun and so good for me, but I really need to confess that I'm absolutely and most totally craving raw ice-creams and puddings and oh-so many other things...like a jolly, fat avacado and olive oil. But I'm SO glad I did this.

Today we had to go to the city again and like before, I found it hard...why is that food is everywhere? ;0) I made the day easier by looking forward to a freshly squeezed juice at Booster Juice. That brought a big, sappy, contented smile to my face.

I'm really hungry now, so I'm going to go have a mango (one of my favorites!). It's one of the most moments where I'm actually craving something I can have, so I better go and embrace it! :0)

Food for Today:

B~ Green Smoothie and an orange

L~ Sugar snap peas, a few baby carrots, a half a red bell pepper, and an apple

Snack~ Pineapple, orange, and banana juice from Booster and a banana

S~ Salad with sprouts

Salad with Orange Juice ~ Day 5

We spent a great deal of today pulling up our old garden from last year and cutting down the dead stems. You don't know how good it felt! Spring is just around the corner (and happens to fall on my birthday...so soon!) and the weather proves it. It's just gorgeous here, so warm, bright, and sunny. I'm very pleased...I think I may have a few small freckles on my nose now. I found the beginnings of parsley and spinach in the garden and tasted a little of both. Now I just can't wait till we can gather produce for real!

I don't think it has anything to do with this cleanse, but I felt sort of weak and shaky this afternoon. I really don't know exactly why, but maybe my body was telling me to just take a bit of a rest or something. Anywhoo, I feel really great now, except rawwwwther starving for din-din. I was looking at recipe magazines before supper and that didn't help. It's so much fun looking through cookbooks and thinking about how you could make them raw. Once this cleanse is done (only 2 more days!) I can't wait to post lots of pictures and recipes of things I've been dying to make. Just hang on and these posts will get more interesting. :0)

Menu for Today:

B~ Green Smoothie

L~ Assorted fruit and veggies

Snack~ Apple and I think I may have had an orange?

D~ Salad

Stimulation...an Addiction?

One of the great things about this detox is just the whole idea of enjoying vegetables, greens, and fruits for how they are. You know, without all the dressings, dips, sauces, yogurts, or oils. I love these things, but I'm learning to enjoy a simple salad with the simplest of dressings. A juicy tomatoe, crunchy sprouted lentils, or maybe a few olives sprinkled on. I really like lemon juice just squeezed right on, so easy and somehow it just makes you feel sophisticated. ;) As if that's possible with me. Next time I have a salad I might try squeezing some orange juice on.

Something that really made sense to me in the Raw Diva Detox booklet was about how we, or I should say I, eat often for stimulation. I'll often eat because the clock says so, everyone else is eating, there's food in front of me, or I just want to. There's nothing really wrong with that, but the main point of eating is hunger, right? I'm guilty. I love food. Stimulation for food is stated as an addiction, well, I suppose that's true...but even though it is (sly smile) I'm still going to enjoy my raw ice creams and puddings while I read a book or watch a movie in the evening, even if I'm not hungry. But I want to make that more of treat, rather than a rule. I love having snacks in the evening, but I want to try to listen to my body more. We'll see how it all turns out. ;0)

Menu for today:

B~ 2 grapefruits

L~ salad and 2 oranges

D~ ??? don't know quite yet ???

Raw Diva Detox ~ 3 (and tagged!)

Today has been so much easier and so far, has been lots of fun! One thing that added to the fun was the fact that Pauline tagged me! Now I'm supposed to reveal 5 things about myself that most people wouldn't necessarily know. And then I'm supposed to tag 5 other bloggers.

1. I play bass guitar, flute, and mandolin in our family music group and have lots of fun doing that. It's so awesome to be able to do that with my family. God has been so good to us!

2. I have an insane habit of naming everything...my bass guitar is named Ellie, my mandolin is named Eppie, my guitar is named Livvy, my mountain bike is named Charlie, and my cats are named Finesse (after the hairspray) and Polly.

3. I am a writer...well, more of an aspiring writer. Stories, poetry, journalling, even a little non-fiction. Even if I never become a published writer (which I hope to be) if I have any children someday at least they can benefit from it. ;0)

4. I am the youngest of seven siblings and an Auntie of 10 children and 2 on the way! I'm so hyped!

5. I do NOT like knee reflex tests and pirhanas. (that was really random, sorry!)

Anywhoo, here's the people I tag. Britanie, Joyce, Shannonmarie, Penni, and Jayna.

Rules: Link to your tagger and post these rules. Share 5 facts about yourself.Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Today's menu for the detox:

B ~ Green Smoothie

L ~ Fruit salad

Snack ~ frozen cherries and wee bit of apple

D ~ Salad or Rolled up Salad Wraps

Raw Diva Detox ~ 2

I must confess...today was harder, in fact, it was really hard. Why? Because we were in the city shopping the entire day. Everywhere around me was food! Samples of food, pictures and ads for food, people eating food, walking by shelves of beautiful, marvelous FOOD!!! I think just for the simple fact that I am detoxing and am denied some foods just for a little bit, made me really alert to thing I couldn't have. But it all ended up fine. I find is really quite easy doing cleanses or detoxes at home. But I must say...refridgerated snow peas are absolutely incredible (hence the beautiful picture!). I ate way too many, but I really felt helpless to stop myself. I'll watch myself tomorrow, so that I'm listening to my body better.

One of my big problems was I lost my water bottle early on during the trip, so I didn't drink very much today, I'm afraid. Dreadful me! Yesterday I drank probably at least 12 glasses and today...maybe 3? I'm horribly ashamed of myself, but it wasn't totally my fault.

Anyway, tomorrow should work out much better. We have my two nieces here for the weekend and they're expecting to do lots of "dancing" and pilates (so tomorrow I should get lots of excersise)! They're so funny. The oldest is not even 3 yet and the other one is 1! It's so darling to see their beautiful eyes light up when we dance to ballroom music, they LOVE it!

Menu for today:

B~ a little bit of apple

L~ green smoothie (I brought it along in a Mason jar), snow peas, and baby carrots

D~ big salad with lemon, olives, tomatoes, cauliflower, and sprouted lentils

Raw Diva Detox ~ Day 1

So far so good. I started last night, stopping eating after 6:30. The last thing I ate was a raw chocolate cookie, trying to savour every morsel, knowing I would probably want one later. :0)

I drank water till supper and then I ate a mono meal of 2 grapefruits. Oh, you don't know how good that tasted! (sigh) After dinner I did some dry brushing and then had a hot bath. It must've been too hot because I felt weak and unsteady afterwards. So I had another half a grapefruit and felt much better.

I'm enjoying it so far and already, I feel so clean and light inside. I love that feeling.

I listened to the The Raw Diva's teleseminar today and it was so good! The thing that struck me most was what I believe Tera said...that so many people are trying to make all raw food their goal, but you know, that's not the ultimate goal necessarily! The ultimate goal is health!!! Right? I believe in raw food, and loads of it, is a major, major part of health and feeling healthy, but it was such a good reminder. Love the Raw Divas!

The 7-day Diva Detox

Well, I'm at it again. Perhaps it's the somewhat-guilty feeling from not doing the juice feasting that is driving me to do this, as it seems like that's what everyone else is doing. (actually, I don't feel that guilty, lol) No, I think it's because so far I've done one detox per month since the beginning of 2008 (yes, I know it's only been 2 months) and I want to continue doing that. Gotta keep a good thing going! Besides I think my body needs a cleansing time (my family might disagree, they think my body should be probably pretty clean by now, lol) January was a 7-day Green Smoothie Cleanse and February was a 3-day Grapefruits Detox and this month, in the merry month of March I'm doing the 7-Day Diva Detox. I haven't done this one before and was so excited to sign up and see all the goodies that had waiting for me. A print out "book" telling me all about it, a fitness and food journal, and an inspirational day by day checkoff list. Tomorrow after dinner, I start with a 24 hour water fast, broken at dinner the next day. This is going to be fun! (Then again, I think everything starts out fun)

Menu for today:
B~ Green smoothie and a Pop Tart (thank you, Shannonmarie!)
L~ 1 Avacado with Hollandaise Sauce (from Ani Phyo's book) and snacked absently on some nuts
D~ A sunflower seed pate with Hollandaise Sauce rolled up with veggies in Romaine leaves

My Raw Project

Here's my latest...there are so many gorgeous raw recipes on the web and many of my fellow bloggers sites that I couldn't help but drool over them and wonder when on earth I'd make them, and if so, how will I find the recipes again? Here is the answer to my problems. I bought a binder from Wal-Mart and some colored, velum seperators with tabs, decorated the cover and the spine.

Then I printed out all those recipes which I had been dying to try or my predictable, old-favorites (that I don't want to forget!) and put them in my binder under 5 categories...desserts, smoothies and drinks, main dishes, dressings and dips, and snacks.

It's so nice to haul out this binder instead of sifting through a pile of papers that so often tend to sit on my desk. Everything is organized and categorized, so it's easy-peasy. Not only that, but it's so nice to have room in the book to quickly scribble down a new recipe I invented.

At the back and front of the binder there are pockets that I use for brochures or pamphlets of organic, raw products I want to try, pictures of recipes I want to "rawify", or some natural body care prouducts I might try sometime, oh, and then there's the menus for Robeks and Booster Juice (sigh).

Yesterday, I wrote in my post that sometimes I'm sneaky when I eat food when company comes over so that they don't notice. I don't do this all the time, of course. It's just in the past there have been a couple people who have become very concerned about my eating habits (they see me eating salad) and have come to my Mother to see if I was alright and to offer a word of caution. They don't really understand the whole concept of raw food and Mom had to tell them, no really, my daughter eats a lot, you don't have to worry about her. So there are some people, who think that even though raw can be more than salads, who worry and I don't want that. And too, I don't want to dominate the mealtime conversation (my poor family! they hear the "speel" so often) especially, for example, on my sister's birthday we just had, the day is about her, not me or my radical, raw habits. But for the most part, I let my "Little Light Shine" as Keely says, concerning raw food. Just thought I'd clarify that. I love showing people what a lot of neat things you can make raw. (Today I made Shannonmarie's Pop Tarts! So divine!)

Today I ordered from Raw Guru and I'm so excited. I cannot wait till it comes, pulllleaaaseee hurry!

Well, I'm parched. I think I'll go downstairs and make a banana shake before bed. Goodnight!

Green Surprises

When I walked downstairs this morning the first thing I saw was Elizabeth, walking by me with a big green smoothie in her hand. Looking around, I then noticed Anne-Marie and my Mom quietly sipping green smoothies. My sisters have never made a green smoothie for themselves EVER! I'm so proud of them. Of course, I had mine later, since they didn't save me any.

My green smoothie was:

2 leaves of kale

a handful of spinach

1 banana

1 TB. organic flax oil

1 orange

a little ice

orange juice as a liquid base

Tonight we're having company over for supper. I've decided that I'm going to go 100% raw till after my birthday, which just happens to be the very first day of spring. So this means that I get sneaky when we have guest over for meals again. Sneaky Tip: Fill half your plate with salad and then add some bread and whatever cooked dish you're having on the opposite side of your plate. Only eat your salad, and act like you're too full to eat anymore. Trust me, I do this lots when we have company and no one ever notices!

Here's an up close shot of who you will know as the "Camera Snatcher", my beautiful sister Elizabeth. She was helping making stuffed green peppers for supper last night. Despite the poor quality of the pic...I thought all the green colors looked good together. I told her I'd put it on my blog. It's fun seeing my family become more aware of healthy living, raw or not. I'm really blessed.