sleepy sunday.

avocado/lettuce/mushroom "rice" nori rolls

carrots and sprouted bean dip with roasted garlic (not raw)

chinatown is ma new hometown.

i bought 3 young thai coconuts for $6, and a lb of GOJI BERRIES for $5.99 compared to $24.99 for half that much at the local health food store.

cool. except i need a sweet goji berry recipe, and a lesson on how to open these thai coconuts.

smashing them against the sharp part of your locker does NOT work.

LIVE! organic food bar tomorrow :)

soaked goji berries.

Raw?

My super clean diet halted yesterday.

I had lentil soup, and some tortilla chips.

As well as apple crisp (vegan) with a crumble made out of oats.

So no bread, or peanut butter which is a HUGE plus.

I think for the next few days I will have only 1-2 raw meals, and also there will be an upcoming review of the raw vegan restaurant LIVE! Organic Food Bar.

http://www.livefoodbar.com/

Who knows creativity might hit me at some point, and I may post a picture of a newly invented recipe.

totally ALMOST died from a street snow shoveler today.

IT WAS FRIGID TODAY.

silly me, thinking I could wear a vest and be fine.

I made a super delicious marinara sauce tonight which I am verrrry proud of. No picture, use your imaginations!

I used a carrot peeler to make ribbons like fettucine pasta, (yummy but without the stomach pain or bloating), and added some spring mix salad leaves into it. The sauce was one ripe tomato, half a red pepper, ton of oregano, thyme, some celtic sea salt, kalamata olives, 1 T shelled hemp seeds, extra virgin olive oil and one small garlic clove (I HATE GARLIC AND ONIONS, but sometimes you need to suffer for flavour's sake).

About the cold weather, it is possible to eat raw during freezing temperatures! I had fruit today and some hummus with carrots and bananas. Also, LISTEN UP COOKED FOODERS. I had a certain brand of cereal today, gluten free, only 6 grams of sugar. It was the first non-raw "meal" I had in about 2 weeks. Whatever sugar was in the cereal started an instant migraine, and less than 30 minutes later an insane stomach pain.

Ingredients: Organic whole grain corn meal, organic evap. cane juice, organic brown rice flour, organic inulin, organic quinoa puffs, organic flax seeds, natural vanilla, organic buckwheat flour, organic quinoa, sea salt, organic amaranth, organic molasses, natural vit. E.

I'm off to go drown myself in water, and rid my body of this toxicity..

THE SULTAN.

THIS WRAP. BLEW MY MIND.

I just created it on a whim right now.

My mom soaked buckwheat overnight.

I blended it after draining the water in my magic bullet with:

-cumin

-ground cloves

-lemon

-sea salt

-tomato

-ground coriander

-golden curry powder

-reverse osmosis water to blend

-black olives

-add chili powder for more of a kick.

Put it all on a big cabbage leaf, with some baby spinach or sprouts, WRAP. and eat!

Life is worth living!

11: 30 am, studying like a newb.

I think the next step after stabilizing my 100 percent raw-ness is to eat when I'm hungry. Arnold, from this raw cafe in Pennsylvania insists on earning your breakfast and starting with lemon water to cleanse your system. So here I sit, typing with lemon water, and a grapefruit.

In terms of challenges usually anything out of my comfort zone is a challenge, and if my comfort zone is my house, then pretty much anything that goes on outside of the walls of my house are challenging, like maybe parties, work, etc. Last night at work what would usually make me fall nutritionally, or tempt me didn't! There was pizza, cookies, and chips. I made my fruit smoothie and enjoyed the night! GREAT SUCCESS.

I wrote another journal entry (on paper) last night with regards to my feelings about this diet and my emotions, and I realized most of my destructive thoughts have literally disappeared! Things like, the "all-or-nothing" attitude, the "see-the-#-on-the-scale-go-up-and-abandon-all-dieting-aspects" attitude, the "eat-out-of-spite" attitude, THE LIST GOES ON GUYS. But really, they're all gone! I love what I'm eating, it's beautiful, and who cares if the number on the scale goes up, how do I feel is the important question!

So ask yourself that today, How do you feel? Good? Bad? Happy or sad? If it's negative change something small this week. Drink more water, sleep earlier, make a to-do list, go for a brisk walk, or just JUMP up and down! Life is worth living.

GRRR.

stepped on the scale today and for some reason it has gone up by five pounds...

the last time i weighed myself was on tuesday.

IS THIS NORMAL.

HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?!

it's okay. breathe.

my rational for this is: i love what I'm eating. it's beautiful, I'm happier, maybe..it's detox?

I read this woman's story just now and she said that up until a year after her dive into raw foods she was the exact same weight, but then lost over 30 in the progressing years.

Foodwise, I made a green smoothie this morning, with a spinach handful that was a tad too large, and with fruits (banana and one peach) that were not ripe at all. It seemed like a catastrophe, plus it was slightly..dare I say it..warm. ugh.

BUT! I turned it around, sprinkled some cinnamon and shelled hemp seeds on it, put it in a bowl first, and VOILA! BREAKFAST PUDDING!

It was delicious after I psychologically tricked myself into thinking it was pudding.

Look at this beauty!!

ginger, olive oil, tomato, yellow pepper, spinach, balsamic vinegar and olives with some celtic sea salt.

sleeping less!

i don't know if this is a new trend, but last night as well as the night before i found myself awake for an extra two hours. I was tired but I felt like I could still force myself to work if I wanted to.

I slept a total of 5 hours and I'm fine now..

Is this because of my extra energy? or maybe it is just a phase.

b-pear sliced, cinnamon, flax, nut mylk.

s-carob sauce: carob powder, nut mylk, dates. with pecans for dipping :) and an orange.

homemade miso soup for dinner with definitely NON-raw tofu.

as the first non-raw meal, i say this is pretty good. I'm going to drink a ton of water to counteract this odd headache i have..would miso do that?

nori nori nori.

LOOK AT THIS!

total random invention with whatever I had in my fridge.

I think since I'm on reading week I'm going to take advantage of this time and make alternative recipes to the "bad" foods that I like. sushi being one of them, pad thai another, and pie/crumble.

Here's my nori roll!

I used celeriac and chopped it up into tiny tiny pieces, then swirled some sesame oil over it, with some nama shoyu (use soy sauce if you don't have), celtic sea salt, and some ground ginger powder. IT WORKED! after I stirred it the combo of seaweed, ginger, and sesame literally tasted like my favourite maki roll. Inside I put sliced mushroom, and pickles thinly sliced! Make sure to leave space at the edges to roll it up nicely.

Update: I just had ice cream for dinner. How many non vegans can say they've done that..guilt free. Here's a poor picture of the strawberry version. I liked the banana version the best hehe.

Also, nut milks take a while to strain/blend..I hope I get used to making them..

-vanilla extract

-1 frozen banana

-almond milk

-hemp seeds

or

-vanilla extract

-almond milk

-6 frozen strawberries

It's like sherbet consistency!

WOOOOO.

day 4.

today's breakfast is a variation of the "magical strawberry breakfast" that I made, go look at it http://thisiswhyyourethin.blogspot.com/

this one is with bananas, chia seed mix, shelled hemp seed, some sprinkled flax, cinnamon (A TON), and a little bit of carob powder.

So today is pretty much day 1 of my reading week, and I have made it my goal to go to the library and start studying. I have a biology exam the day I get back, and my plan is to ace it. I have convinced myself to go because I will be rewarding myself with breaks where I get to read Raw Food Read World by Sarma Melngailis.

Beginning of my Raw Pie. (Dates/Almonds in a processer), I'm going to freeze this and buy strawberries later to make a coulis for the top!

Finished product, haphazardly sliced and decorated.

L-157 grams of spinach..not as bad as the whole container with sprouted chickpeas on top!

D-spring mix, mangoes, poppy seed, balsamic vinegar, no salt, extra virgin olive oil, lemon. made by my mum!

day three.

Today I will focus on more greens, and upping my water intake, I think part of my excitement comes from the fact that Chinese New Year has given me a great reason to restart my New Years Resolutions, which are going just SWIMMINGLY well. Being on Reading Week also contributes to my surprisingly positive mood.

B-green smoothie: 7 strawberries, 1 banana, 1 icecube, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 Tbsp shelled hemp seeds, and 1 Tbsp carob powder. EXPLOSIVE CREAMY GOODNESS. except the colour was not pleasant. (It's family day today in Toronto, and my fam freaked out at the colour, but were reassured of its harmlessness after a taste).

L-strawberries, pecans, spinach, olive oil, mushroom, balsamic vineagar, aghhhhhhh yummmayy.

D-tabouleh, Mediterranean style but without the onions (UGH, messes up my system) and cracked wheat (bulgar), so just parsley, lemon, hint of chile powder, and LOVE since my mom made it (I don't know the exact recipe).

Ran for 30 minutes today, I feel amazing. It's like my entire system is just working properly, with circulation, digestion, even mentally I feel clearer.

DAY 2!!

yo i'm actually SO happy. it's ridiculous, I woke up with energy and for the past two nights I've been sleeping for roughly 5-6 hours. This is yesterday's food list.

B-green smoothie: banana, spinach, 5 strawberries, Nutivia hemp seeds shelled

L-half a cantaloupe, raw chia mix, tea, and 5 almonds

L2-This wasn't planned, but I ended up going out for lunch with the family, ate a garden salad, with gluten free pizza, and felt not as bad as I thought after, but I realized how little water I'm drinking.

D-green smoothie: banana, spinach, 7 strawberries, 2 almonds, 1 date=DELICIOUS.

Valentine's Day-vegan raspberry pie, immediate headache after finishing my piece. I had an apple with cinnamon after this, plus tea.

Wow, more food than I thought..

DAY ONE!!

okay so since reading week has begun my friend and I decided we were going to go raw for the whole of reading week and see what happens. Here's what I had so far today.

hemp protein smoothie (DELCIOUS) -1 banana, 1 pear ripe, 3 shredded kale without stalks, and 1 tbspn hemp flakes

romaine lettuce with some ginger olive oil lemon dressing with hot water to drink, and homemade guacamole with half an avocado, half a tomato, cilantro, and tons of lime with "sauteed kale" in it.

dinner: half a cantaloupe, 2 cups grapes, 2 strawberries, 15 almonds raw, three cups of tea.

going to ikea to buy room furniture!! :D

312 grams of spinach.

i had a choice between a tiny bowl of wilted iceberg lettuce leaves for $3.79, or a 312 gram family size organic baby spinach salad box for $4...

i picked the organic baby spinach.

and actually ate the entire thing over the course of a day.

i felt so stuffed, like i was just made out of spinach.

and the backsides of my teeth felt weird.

next time i will put them in smoothies.

GIVE ME DETOX NOW! GIVE ME DETOX NOW!

okay, so i have had enough of this little medium ocean of nontransitory raw veganism.

this phase of my life is officially over and I am ready to give up my gluten-free bread, my pad thai, and my sushi. I feel lethargic, unbelievably. I ate what I thought to be the healthiest lunch today, all vegan of course, but I felt like going into hibernation after!!

THIS IS NOT NORMAL. I had to get through 4 more hours of class and I was falling asleep!

No more ups and downs, no more baggy eyes, no more unhealthy nonsense.

I don't know when this will begin but I'm presuming the sooner the better.

Earn Your Breakfast!

Since Chinese New Year is just around the corner, I've decided this is a perfect time to revamp aka restart my new year's resolutions. Earning my breakfast is going to be the main thing, just went on a morning run, it was UNBELIEVABLY cold, but blueberries for breakfast always

makes things right!

homemade applesauce is DELICIOUS.

for breakfast I made applesauce without realizing.

1 big greenish yellow apple

1 small ripe pear

water

romaine lettuce (4 leaves)

BLEND.

sprinkle shelled hemp seeds and TONS of cinnamon on top.

guaranteed 5 hours of fullness.

AMAZING.

Matt Monarch says..

foods to FOR SURE eliminate from your diet out of these categories:

Refined Sugars

Processed Starches

Dairy

Animal Protein

Raw Food

------

REFINED SUGARS AND PROCESSED STARCHES

-bread

-white sugar

-cookies, candies, cakes

-potatoes

Alternatives:

quinoa, millet, gluten-free things, buckwheat, brown rice

"stay out of the middle aisles, get back to nature"

*lots of salads, remove red meat, no bad combination*