Monday + Raw Day

I’ve been playing with this fun new book I got for Christmas:

Obsessed!

Sarma is amazing, and I love how this book is laid out. Pages are filled with bright colours and there are glamorous food shots galore. It’s really just a beautiful book. Sarma’s outlook on food is one I can relate to- she doesn’t label herself as a vegan or raw foodist despite both being her usual diet, because sometimes she will try a bite of sushi or whatnot if she’s out at some other restaurant. She eats mostly raw for her health, but doesn’t put herself in a label box that might prevent her from trying something new. This definitely makes her more approachable- I just want to learn about raw foods and incorporate more of them into my diet. I do not have any plans of becoming all raw or even high raw, so the label thing kind of stresses me out. That being said, I am having so much fun reading her recipes and trying some of them myself. A lot of the entrees are kind of complicated and time-consuming, however I could definitely see myself trying out her raw sushi! I’m mostly drawn to the shakes and juices chapters. I will admit that I am trying to figure out a way to make her raw buckwheat crispies cereal without a dehydrator, so we’ll see how far I get with that one.

Anyway, let’s backtrack and start with Monday, which started out high raw and then ended in a super fabulous cooked meal

For breakfast:

Banana, Orange, Eggnogg'n Tea

I’m doing well with this cutting back on coffee thing! Only one headache last Saturday, and then I had to drink it Sunday or else I would not have functioned at work, but otherwise I am taking myself completely by surprise and doing ok. You may not grasp how huge this is for me- I started drinking coffee in high school (admittedly with huge scoops of sugar and cream back then) and have had a cup pretty much every morning since then. Cutting back is hard! My goal though is to have it as a treat, or when I really need it, and not every morning.

I had a snack later on of my favourite, Ezek.

Ezekiel English Muffin with Barney Butter and Four Fruits Preserves

For lunch I had leftovers which I dumped onto a bed of mixed greens, Whole Foods salad bar style.

Channa Masala with Basmati Rice, Mixed Greens

I was super hungry all day so I had a snack around 4, a whole wheat pancake with chocolate chips and maple syrup. Um, my kind of snack. And I wish that I had pictures of dinner, because it was beyond delicious! Steve’s dad is Italian and he makes some of the best Italian food I’ve ever tasted. Tonight he made this marinara sauce that was spicy and sweet and just all around perfect. I had a big bowlful of whole wheat spaghetti with that sauce and parmesan. It was worth every bite. And I would know, because I took a lot of bites.

I woke up Tuesday and wanted to try something new and fun so I made the Thai Green juice from Raw Food Real World.

Swiss Chard, Lime, Pineapple, Cilantro

This was so good. I loved the cilantro in there, though I was a little skeptical at first how it would turn out. Major yum.

For lunch I had a smoothie with raspberries, banana, water and raw Agave nectar, and a Larabar (which was only 90% raw but really who’s keeping track).

I worked last night so I packed half an avocado and some fruit (apple, blueberries, strawberries) for dinner. I also picked up a random (on sale!!) fun ingredient from Whole Foods that I dipped all my apples slices into:

Artisana raw cashew butter! This was way better than I thought it would be (haha). It is silky smooth and has caused me to desire all of the other Artisana nut butters, which will eventually leave me broke, but at least it’s for a delicious cause, right??

I had a lot of fun with my raw day. It was easier that I thought it might be, and I am definitely excited to experiment with more raw foods and play around with my diet. I don’t think I’m going to be making any drastic permanent changes (chicken is on the menu for tonight) but learning about raw foods has sparked a different kind of interest in health in me and I like the way eating raw makes me feel.

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