Day 59: Are we rabbits?

Excuse me, but I believe that I am the rabbit here.

In the time before raw (BW, as it were), Madeline and I were junk food vegans. Discovering that Sweet Chili Doritos were vegan was cause for celebration. We would proffer up Oreos to any skeptical omnivore who wanted to know what we could possibly eat. We were not vegetable eaters. We rarely even kept fruit in the house. Tofu was made to be fried. And whenever we found ourselves in a social situation when the only vegan fare was salad, we'd sigh and roll our eyes at the 'rabbit food.'

All that, of course, has changed, and it happened fast for us. We were tired, gaining weight, unhappy with our bodies, but with little motivation or energy to make changes. We discussed going on a diet, but the prospect seemed bleak. Then Madeline came across a sample meal plan from David Wolfe's Sunfood Success Diet, and we were hooked. That night, we decided to go raw. We gave ourselves 1 month to prepare and research, and then we just jumped right in.

It was a rocky transition at first, going from pretty much 0% to 99% overnight. But I have no regrets and there's no turning back. In two short months, I am happier, healthier and more energetic. Which is not to say that being raw is a cure all. I still get frustrated by daily tribulations and overwhelmed by my coursework. I'm still tired at the end of a 18 hour day on 4 hours of sleep. I still rummage through a full fridge on occasion, exacerbated that there's nothing to eat. Being raw has not made me a shiny, happy person, and it's not a spiritual pursuit. But I feel better about myself and better nutrition gives me a better grounding to handle what comes my way. I do think I'm better for it.

So powered vegetables and fruit with a metric ton of greens and a few nuts and seeds leads me to believe that rabbit food is not all that bad. And maybe, perhaps, we are rabbits. Mr. Bingley, the English Angora who kindly shares his living space with us, is not so sure, but he certainly enjoys partaking in mealtime these days.

-Eloise

P.S. Mr. Bingley was neutered yesterday (which is very important for all animal companions). He's 6 months old, and it's amazing how fast he's grown. On the right, he was 6 weeks old, a little powder puff. And now I've successfully hijacked my own post with pictures of cute bunnies.

Day 57

Ethel keeps asking, What are you making for me?

Our dehydrator arrived, and it's been humming away from within an hour of taking it out of the box. We had to rearrange the kitchen a bit because the cord is so short. Not a big deal, really; the sprouting station moved onto the desk and the dehydrator took its place. Since the sprouts are close to the window, though, I'm actually going to try covering them with a towel to keep them out of the light. We'll see how this goes, because the cats seem to think it's a surprise for them and keep sticking their heads under to peek. Like the rubber drain stopper and my dishwashing gloves, it's very possible that I might wake up one morning to find the towel in the hall or at the foot of our bed.

In addition to my new batch of soaking sprout seeds (2 jars of clover and red wheat this time) is my jar of chia gel in the forefront. More on that later.

So the dehydrator! It's a refurbished Excalibur 3900, and as far as I can tell, its defect is an unglued temperature control knob. It works fine, though, and my instant-read thermometer tells me that all is as it should be. Last night, I put it a double batch of corn chips that are finishing up that will be dinner with salsa and coconut chutney tonight. I also sliced up a bunch of banana to make a tray of banana chips. We'll see how many actually make it to the chip stage, though, as every time Madeline and I have a reason to walk by, we slip another one or two slice out to eat. They're leathery and chewy and taste like banana candy. SO GOOD.

This morning, it was my intention to make kale chips with my assistant chef, Naomi*. We had two big bunches of purple and white kale in the fridge that I deveined, cut into 2" pieces, gave them a good wash and thoroughly massaged them with some olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, garlic powder, nutritional yeast and cayenne. Then I tried a bite. It was so incredibly delicious and un-kaley that I ran down the hall to make Madeline try a bite.

See, earlier in the week, Mad had been seduced by the purple leaves and pulled the bag of kale out of the fridge to try some. This resulted in a face and the proclamation that it was unfit to eat. Fair enough. I love kale in my smoothies, so more for me. When she tried the seasoned kale I made today, though, she asked if it was lunch. I hadn't actually considered lunch and our fridge is pretty bare at the moment, so as it turned out, I made a kale salad instead of kale chips.

I am now even more in love with kale than I was before, and our shopping list for tomorrow says KALE x 100!!!. I need to look into the effect of oxalates on a healthy person more because if I let myself, I could eat it during every meal. It seems silly to limit myself from eating such a nutrition packed green because of the possibility that it might be too much of a good thing.

Another thing that I picked up this week were chia seeds. There are a lot of "superfoods" out there, and I have to say that I pass over most of them. They're often over-hyped and definitely over-priced. But after wading through a ton of reviews, I decided to give them a try. They're very high in fiber, low in calories, a complete protein and can be digested whole (unlike flax). One of the things that I've noticed eating raw is that I'm frequently hungry very shortly after eating, so I'm hoping that adding these to my diet will help me to feel fuller for longer. So far, I've mixed them into my banana ice cream, sprinkled some into granola and blended them into my morning smoothies. In the first picture, I was making chia gel, a ratio of 1/3 c chia to 2 c water. It makes a thick slime, although it's pretty much tasteless and it's supposed to be easier to add it to liquidy or creamy recipes this way. I bought them at Whole Foods, since I could return them if they were gross (they're not), but you can also find them for a good price at The Raw Food World. I am itching to place an order from that website!

-Eloise

*I know that some people may find it repulsive that I let my cats hang out near food preparation, but it's the sunniest window in the evening and I couldn't stop them even if I wanted to. Plus, those without cats may not realize just how clean they are. They shed very little on a good diet (ours eat Halo) and although their breath always smells fishy, they have reserve shampoo spit which is used exclusively for grooming. It makes them smell like they've been drycleaned. Tru fax.

Day 55: Sprouts

Houston, we have sprouts.

I harvested my first batch of sprouts today! It's really amazing how quickly they go from seed to fully grown and ready to be eaten. As seen on the left are my clover sprouts in the half-gallon jar, pre-hulling, and my lentil sprouts in the quart jar, dried in the salad spinner and ready for storage (no hulling reqired). They didn't make it that far though. We ate them with dinner. And I have my eye on the clover for a smoothie in the morning.

The growing process was relatively painless. I rinsed three times a day, in the morning, when I got home from school and before bed. I never did get around to covering them with a towel per Becki's suggestion, but they were really only in indirect sunlight for part of the day in that corner of my kitchen. I placed the clover in the window to develop some chlorophyll on the last day, and I think it greened nicely.

I'm ready to place an order for more seeds online from Sprout People, but I'm having trouble making up my mind. I made a list of everything I wanted, and the total was exorbitant. It's their blends that get me. The combinations all sound so good. Madeline's going to have to help me narrow it down.

I took the pictures in my currently (but temporarily) defunct balcony container garden, and look what I discovered! I had no idea that chives were annuals, but apparently they can go 2-3 years without being resown. After that, they start to lose their flavor. I took a small taste test of these, and they're definitely chivy. I can't wait for my local nursery to open in a couple weeks so I can get the rest of my garden going. This year I'm thinking plenty of tomato plants and copious amounts of parsley and basil. Focusing on just a few varieties of plants is probably a good idea so that we'll yield a significant quantity in our limited space. We'll see how that goes once I actually get there and am confronted by the numerous choices.

I did get to go on my hike, and it was even better than I thought it would be. I was actually really tired and dragging my heels when I got out of work, but I'm glad that I pushed myself to get out there. I have never once regretted a hike once I'm actually doing it, no matter how reluctant I was in the first place.

I trekked one of my regular trails and then decided to explore a new one. I was enjoying it, but it seems like it's also one of the more popular trails with the mountain bikers. I normally encounter a few, but after a while, I was jumping off the trail so frequently it was starting to get ridiculous. I felt like the original Super Mario hopping over those incessant rolling balls... know which level I'm talking about? I think I'll avoid that trail for a while, at least on a Friday at that time of day.

-Eloise

Day 55

Scenes from a hike

The combination of spring fever and senioritis (5 weeks to graduation!) is hitting me hard. On a gorgeous day like today, there's nothing more that I want to do than to get out there and take a hike. My day ends early and I will get the opportunity to in a few hours, but in the meantime, being stuck in a climate controlled office is torturous.

This is a fairly recent development, my love of the outdoors. Being paler than pale* and prone to horrific sunburns, as well as being less than athletically inclined, I was rarely allowed to even play outside as a kid without heavy armor. I have gone through cycles of being a gym bunny; there was a summer in high school that I logged 3 hours a day at the gym. However that (and my newly attained waist) quickly deteriorated during the school year. There's only so many hours a girl can log on the treadmill before feeling like she's turned into a hamster.

I never feel that way when I'm hiking. We live in a city (albeit in a less urban neighborhood) and it's rare to be able to look around and not be within 50 feet of at least a dozen cars But we are extremely lucky to live near an extensive park system with great trails, and you can really feel like you've gotten away from a couple hours, even though the traffic is just on the other side of the hill. I never feel more powerful or capable than when the sun is shining, I'm trekking up a steep incline and I can feel the core of muscles in my legs working to propel me forward. Going raw has completely shifted my perspective way beyond what I consume. I'm much more sensitive and responsive to my body and my environment.

Now, there is an ironic side to this extolment of the great outdoors (and disavowal of gym culture). Madeline and I have made it our goal to purchase a treadmill in the next few months, most likely from a second-hand sporting goods store. A large part of this has to do with her new job, which requires her to be there 12 hours a day, 5 days a week. We've been going for walks around the neighborhood when she gets home at night, but it's already dark and to get any real exercise in, she needs something more. I must say, I'm looking forward to it, too (as are our downstairs neighbors, they just don't know it yet). But I know that it won't supplant my love of getting out there and taking a hike.

-Eloise

*Fun party trick: find someone complaining that they're "so white!" and bet them that you're whiter... I've never lost and only tied once.

Day 54: 'Peanut' Sauce

I'm having a very lovely morning. I checked my email this morning, which is unusual, as I don't typically have time, and found out that my first class was canceled. So instead of running out the door, I'm curled up on the couch in the living room with a giant green smoothie. I'll still have to head out in about an hour (and it's my late day), but it's a nice reprieve.

Two nights ago, I made the "peanut" sauce from The Raw Food Detox Diet. It was absolutely delicious. We tossed it with shredded carrots and then rolled spoonfuls up in spinach, mini burrito style.

In the back of my mind, though, was a slight nagging guilt. The sauce was heavy on expensive ingredients, namely almond butter and maple syrup. In fact, I'd halved the recipe from the start, as the full batch calls for a full cup on almond butter. That would have been our whole jar, and on our limited incomes, we need to save where we can. As it was, the half cup made a huge dent.

We were also concerned about the high caloric content of the almond butter, since both Madeline and I are trying to get into shape. Now I know that a hundred different raw sources will refute me in a hundred different ways. Every raw book I've read tells me that extra weight will magically melt off on a raw diet, no matter how many nuts and avocados you eat. I can see how that may be true if you're coming from the typical standard American diet and cutting out fast food, meat and dairy all at once and have a significant amount of weight to lose. But Mad and I were already vegans (albeit not the healthiest), and we're only looking to drop about 10 pounds apiece. When we went raw, not much happened for the first month. It was only once I started paying attention to the good old fashioned calories-in-vs-calories-out and curbing the nuts that I begun to notice changes to my body.

So long story short, I wanted to make a healthier recipe. Last night I experimented with using zucchini as the base, and if I say so myself, it was pretty damn good. It's a bit thinner, but all of the flavor is there. Instead of heavy nuts, it's chock full of water-rich zucchini. I'm pretty proud of this recipe.

Guilt-free 'Peanut' Sauce
1.5 c peeled and chopped zucchini
3 T raw almond butter
1.5 T fresh minced ginger
Juice from 1 lemon
2 T agave
1 T maple syrup
3 T Nama Shoyu
3 cloves garlic
1 dried red chili pepper, including seeds

Throw all of the ingredients into a food processor fitted with an S blade. Save the chili pepper for last and crumble it on top. Process until a smooth, creamy consistency.


We ate it as a veggie dip last night with cucumbers, bell peppers and celery, but it would work equally as well tossed with noodles or as a salad dressing. As for how it adds up, by my calculations (using the CRON-O-Meter), a half cup serving of the original recipe is about 494 calories and 40 grams of fat. My version is 128 calories and 7.5 grams of fat. I'm bringing leftovers today for lunch!

-Eloise

Day 52

Exhibit A to the left shows a small corner of my (small) kitchen two days ago. Since going raw, we'd removed the toaster and the waffle maker from the living room, but the microwave has just sat there, taking up room. It did make a pretty good fruit platform, but I think it was a bit over-qualified for the job.

I've been reading a lot about sprouting. I had fun gardening on our balcony last summer (even after the stink bugs ate most of my vegetables), and I'm always down for some instant gratification, so it seemed like the best of both worlds. I purchased The Sprouting Book by Ann Wigmore, which is a great resource if you're considering getting started.

Getting set up was a bit of a process that's taken me the better part of a month. I decided that the jar method would be the most economical, and Ace Hardware had the best prices on mason jars. They deliver free to the store as well, which seems beneficial on all levels when you're talking about mailing a metric ton of glass. I got a case of pints, a case of quarts and a case of half gallons. Although I'm using the half gallons to sprout (per Ann Wigmore's specifications) I've come up with a dozen different ways to use the other sizes. I may have to order more in the near future.

I also purchased these mesh lids from Sprout People. Cheese cloth would work as well, but this seemed like it would make the job a bit easier. A dish drying rack from Target later, and my hardware was complete.

As for the sprouting seeds themselves, I will eventually purchase them online in bulk. In the meantime, however, my local-ish health food store has them in stock. I picked up clover, lentils and red wheat to start. Although it was more expensive this way, I wanted to make sure that I would stick with it before committing to a pound plus of seeds.

So far so good. As you can see, the microwave is gone and lovely sprouts are growing in its place. I have room for six sprouting jars eventually, but I figured that two was enough to get started in the event of major catastrophe. I still need to figure out what to do with our appliances. There had been a small fire (very small, really) in our toaster (though we kept using it....), so throwing it out was really the only thing that could be done at that point, but the microwave, waffle iron and crock pot are still perfectly serviceable. I think I may post them to Craigslist and see if anyone's willing to purchase them.

Sprouting is very satisfying. It's been a day and an half, and I've begun to see little sprouty tails. As for the fruit, it's found a new home. I dragged a desk into the kitchen that we hadn't been using, and surprisingly it fit. It will be great for when the dehydrator gets here (on Thursday!!), because I wasn't really sure where that was going to go.

The cats approve:

Ruth, Naomi, Fred and Ethel

-Eloise

Day 51

I could have sworn I vacuumed that corner yesterday.

As awesome as the first day of break had been, the last day was the opposite. I'm just really not looking forward to losing the free time I've had, and it really doesn't help that it's that time of month when my bras don't fit and that sappy Taylor Swift song makes me teary. I've been peckish all day, which sounds cute and dainty, until you realize that it means I've spent half the day with my butt hanging out of the fridge looking for yet another snack.

It was one of those days when everything was a little off. I had planned to be out on the trails at ten, but lacked the motivation until almost noon. I attempted to make sunflower milk, but have come to realize that no one makes sunflower milk because it tastes like a plant. I got out my tools to mount a ceiling hook for a three-tiered hanging fruit basket in the kitchen (we have plaster ceilings so the hook needed to be anchored. It took my drill, hammer and pliers) only to put the apples in and have one of the chains snap. It was just the apples! I had mangoes, plums and avocados that were meant to go in there, too, Though even I wasn't ambitious to hope that the four bunches of ripening bananas would also fit... I'm going to have to take it back to the store and hope that I can get a refund.

To be fair, though, it was really a productive day overall. I have realized when I said the other day that I don't have any more energy than before, it's because I'm still tired at the end of the day. What I hadn't taken into account was everything that I've been doing during the day. Pre-raw, a normal day off would have found me typically sleeping in, knitting and catching up on shows on the DVR. I would have showered and gotten something ready for dinner eventually, but really, that would be it. This is what I did today (and keep in mind, it was a grumpy, pms-y day):

1. Woke up at 8:30
2. Set walnuts and sun dried tomatoes to soak for dinner. Set clover and lentils to soak for sprouting.
3. Attempted (and failed) to make sunflower seed milk
   
4. Went for a 90 minute hike
5. Stopped by the produce market to top up the fridge
6. Hung the fruit basket and watched it fall (it's extraordinarily difficult to hammer and screw things into the ceiling)
7. Removed the microwave from the kitchen and set up a sprouting station in its place
   
8. Did two loads of laundry (requires 4 trips up and down four flights of stairs)
9. Took out the garbage (more stairs)
10. Prepared zucchini pasta with puttanesca sauce, not-meat balls and sunflower parmesan for dinner (comfort food)
11. Made lunch for tomorrow
12. Made zucchini hummus for the rest of the week
13. Washed three sinkfuls of dishes (what I wouldn't give for a dishwasher...)

I sat down for ten minutes while eating lunch, but that was about it until Madeline got home and we had dinner. No wonder I'm tired! I do admit that as reluctant as I am some days, I always feel better after I get out and go hiking, or even just take a walk. It's important.

More kitchen news: our raw kitchen is soon to be complete. Mad decided we couldn't wait any longer, so we ordered a dehydrator. I do admit that more than anything, I miss my crunchy, carby foods. We got a really good deal by purchasing a refurbished model from Excalibur. It's not the model with the timer, but I'm going to purchase one of those automatic Christmas tree light timer, so hopefully that will work. I have a list of recipes to try, starting with this corn chip recipe. It's challenging, though, to find recipes that are more vegetable, rather than nut based. As good as they are too eat, I try not to eat too much heavy food.

When we first went raw, setting up the kitchen was the most daunting part. We estimated that it would cost us around $800 to purchase the appliances we'd need ($400 for blender, $250 for dehydrator, $150 for food processor). By shopping around, reading reviews and figuring out where we could cut back, though, our grand total is around $400. Not pocket change, certainly, but by budgeting, we were able to make it work. I'm so excited for the dehydrator to get here!!

-Eloise

Day 50

Elegant coffee table dining...

Fifty days seems like a rather auspicious milestone. The picture is actually one mentioned in an earlier post: zucchini pasta with puttanesca sauce and sunflower parmesan. I think it may be my favorite thing that I've made so far. Although Indian coleslaw and walnut pate are certainly up there... It's an enjoyable dilemma.

I was only half kidding in my postscript yesterday. The carpets and the couches got a thorough vacuuming, though the walls and cats were spared (but only for lack of time). I do dearly love my parents, but we rarely see eye to eye. I think we're both bewildered at times how their staunchly Catholic, meat-and-potatoes Republicanism produced queer liberal me.

Tomorrow is my last day of spring break, which I think is making me a little sad. Despite working extra hours, I got so much done. I had plenty of time to un-cook and took numerous hikes. I'll be glad when the semester's over (and I graduate!). It was a difficult decision for me not to apply for a resume-building internship before grad school, but the flexible schedule that I'll have will be amazing. I think it's hard sometimes to rein in my over-achieving nature to focus on what's really important to me, but I'm really looking forward to taking that opportunity.

-Eloise

Day 49

Ethel is not a morning cat.

I, however, am unexpectedly becoming a morning girl. I'm not sure if it's the result of becoming raw or simply learning to listen to my body, but if I've had a full night's sleep, I'm finding it easier to get up the morning. On my days off, I used to sleep well into the afternoon and feel tired and sluggish the rest of the day. If I set the alarm for 8 hours after going to bed, though, I feel much more alive and awake, not to mention the fact that I have extra hours in my day. Now if only 8am classes after 6 hours of sleep were any easier...

Yesterday was a great day. Madeline and I had tickets (since November!) to see a Wanda Sykes show, and we've been looking forward to a night out for so long. Mad had to be at work during the day, but I was productive at home. I took a hike, stopped by the produce market, cleaned the kitchen and prepared a raw meal for us to take. I'm really going to miss all this extra time when my spring break ends on Tuesday.

We had been planning to eat at a raw restaurant the was located near the theater, but the website was deceptive. Despite looking fully functional, they closed in 2007! We were really looking forward to eating out, but we are lucky enough to have a vegan restaurant with a raw night in walking distance that we'll try one of these days. And most importantly, at least we figured it out before getting there. Instead, I packed us a car picnic. I was really happy with the meal. I'm going to post the recipes so I don't lose them in cyberspace.

Indian Coleslaw from Raw and Living Foods
3 cups green cabbage, finely chopped
3 cups tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1/2 cup peanuts, ground (make sure they're raw, not roasted)
1 large date, soaked, pitted and mashed
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. peanut oil (Flora Oils) or use olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground brown mustard seed
1/2 tsp. ground cumin seed
1/4 tsp. turmeric
pinch asafoetida (see Glossary)
1 tbsp. minced Jalapeño, or to taste (optional)
Nama Shoyu and/or Celtic sea salt, to taste

1) Mix first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside.
2) In a small bowl, mash the soaked date, add in the balance of the ingredients, and blend to a smooth dressing.
3) Pour the dressing into the cabbage and tomato mixture and mix well.

Serves 4. This salad keeps well for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

My adaptations: I doubled the dressing, since the cabbage seemed too dry and used a red chili pepper in place of the jalapeño. I left out the asafoetida because I didn't realize we had it in the house. Madeline said that it tasted south Indian and recommended adding some tamarind, so we'll try that next time.

Dessert was experimental on my part, and I was very, very happy with the way it turned out.

Mango Pie
Crust and topping:
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Dash of salt
4 dates
1/4 cup raisins

Filling:
3 peels, pitted and cubed champagne mangoes

Put the pecans, coconut, cinnamon and salt in the food processor with an S blade and process until a fine meal. Add dates and raisins and process until mixture begins to clump together. Divide into 4 equal portions. Press one portion each into the bottom of two dessert cups. Puree the mangoes in the food processor until smooth. Pour into dessert cups and top with remaining nut mixture. Refrigerate to set (or put it in the freezer to speed up the process).

We have a ton of mangoes in the house at the moment. They were on sale, and there was nothing more that I wanted in the world at the time, so we bought two cases: 36 mangoes! We've been eating mango salads and mango puddings, but mostly just straight up mangoes. I had five for lunch the other day. Fresh fruit used to be such a luxury for us. It was too expensive and too often went bad before we ate it. I love that we're eating as much as we want, whenever we want. Produce no longer gets the chance to go bad anymore.

-Eloise

P.S. Blogger is driving me nuts! Despite my best efforts, the computer is choosing font sizes all willy nilly- though mostly extra small. Will work on resolving that soon.... though not tomorrow morning. My parents are coming for a visit, which is my personal equivalent of hearing The British are coming! I will be vacuuming the carpets, couches, walls and possibly the cats in preparation.

Day 47: dulse is not bacon

What do you mean, we're out of kale?

The picture really has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but it's a funny one of Madeline and me from last week. We were in my school's library and if I recall, I was making some now forgotten emphatic point, and she was playing with Photobooth. We so rarely agree on photos of ourselves (one of us usually thinks it's the best picture ever! and the other wishes to immediately delete it from the memory card), so it had to be shared.

Last week, on a whim, I purchased dulse seaweed. I'm not sure, it seemed like a good idea at the time and it's really healthy for you. I wasn't sure what to make with it, though, and it sat in the cabinet, making everything smell like the ocean. Last night, Mad read the package which said that it could be used in place of bacon (!!!) and suggested making BLD (get it? like BLTs with dulse...heh) lettuce wraps for lunch today. So I obliged, even though I was not convinced and a small taste test did not assuage my concerns.

Verdict? Dulse tastes nothing like bacon. It was more like salty and slightly fishy lettuce and tomato. I couldn't finish, but luckily I had made myself a salad, as well, with the golden elixir dressing from The Raw Food Detox Diet. I like the dressing a lot, although I make it in half-batches because the first time I made it, it went rancid in the fridge in less than a week.

Lesson learned: dulse is not bacon and now I have to find another recipe for the rest of the package. Luckily, not all of my un-cooking is such an epic fail.

One of the things that Mad has really been struggling with since going raw is a lack of Indian food. Her parents are from India, and while I was raised on microwavable dinners, she had freshly made Indian food every night. It's fairly easy to eat Indian as a vegan, and after a few lessons from her mom, I was able to make some pretty decent daals. It hasn't been easy for her to maintain connections to her culture. Being gay and in a relationship with a white girl are huge obstacle. Not eating brown food is another huge blow.

So I went looking from some raw Indian meals. There's really not much out there, but I was fortunate to come across this blog of two Indian brothers, one of whom is raw and the other is high raw. Last night for dinner, I made their malai kofta recipe, which was quick, delicious, and most importantly, authentic tasting. My only deviation from the recipe was to substitute the coconut oil with 1/2 tb of olive oil and 1/2 tb raw shredded coconut, since I had none in the house. We're overdue for a trip to the local Indian grocery store. I'm inspired to rawify other curry recipes in the near future.

In sad news this week, we are out of kale. With all the green smoothies I've been drinking, I was consuming 6-10 cups of spinach and kale each day. Then Mad read something regarding spinach and the effect on the thyroid, which led me to research the small amounts of toxins in different greens. Of concern for both were oxalates. I'm not overly concerned because I am healthy and I don't have any conditions that would be aggravated by their ingestion, but it did underscore the importance of rotating greens for their different nutritional highlights. So I skipped my beloved kale and the big bag of spinach we usually buy in favor of romaine, turnip greens, collard greens and chard this week. Unfortunately, all except the romaine still contain oxalates, so next week I'll be looking for more variety. Should have done my research first, I suppose. It's not bad, but I had my smoothie recipe perfected and now I'm all thrown off. Chard, in particular, was difficult for me to make palatable. It's really, really salty. A lot of citrus was called for.

Other quick highlights: we have Egg (less) salad from Awesome Foods in the fridge for dinner tonight. I think we're really lucky to have this great raw food company local to us. We're able to buy the whole range of their products at our rockin health food store, but they deliver on Wednesday and if I wait until Saturday when I work in the city to stop in, their stock is already depleted. So we made a special trip to the store last night just to snag some egg (less) salad, which we've heard rave reviews about. After the dulse debacle, I'm super excited for dinner tonight!

-Eloise

Day 41

Observe... the hippie in her natural environment

You know those weeks that you have so much to get done, you just know that you're either going to die or completely fall apart in the middle, but somehow you make it through to the other side and you feel like you can do anything? Yeah, it was one of those weeks for me. I had midterms, and in addition to exams, I had a 30 page lab report, a 5 page paper and a 20 minute solo PowerPoint presentation (with an automatic failure for the use of notes). Somehow I got through it with everything on time and complete and my sanity relatively intact (as I have every midterm and finals week for the past four years. Just don't try telling me that in the midst of everything... ask Madeline how she knows).

So I finished early today, and it's spring break for me with no course work to attend to. I'll be working more hours, but at least work does not give me homework, and we're going to try to take some time to take at least a day trip. Madeline was at work studying for a certification exam today, which has been delayed since she was sick so long, so I went to the produce market to pick up some veggies and suited up to go on a hike. What you can't see in the picture is my exciting outfit. It was crisp and cool, rather than cold, today, so I broke out my shorts and wore them with wool knee socks and my hiking boots. It was the perfect amount of clothes for the weather, other than the fact that I have some lovely thigh chafing going on now (do thighs develop calluses? Cause I swear this only happens the first couple times I wear shorts in the beginning of the season). Also, I ran into my neighbor on the stairs, and she told me that I looked like a Swiss hiker. I'm going to take that as a compliment. My hike was really great. There were very few people on the trails and I completed the route that usually takes me an hour and a half in an hour flat.

When I got home, I made myself another green smoothie. I have been ravenous for green smoothies lately. I've been drinking about 40 ounces per day- a giant one for breakfast and another in the evening. I'm pretty consistent with my formula: blenderful of greens, 1 banana, 1/2 cup fruit and 2 cups water. I've learned a few things, though, that make life easier. If you add the juice of a lemon, it takes away the bitter taste of greens. This is a magic trick when it comes to kale. I don't even taste it! Obviously it's not necessary for greens like spinach, though. Also, frozen fruit is a huge money saver and you can stock up your freezer so you'll always have enough fruit without worrying if it's going to go bad. My freezer currently contains blueberries, cherries, strawberries and pineapple chunks.

While drinking my smoothie, I got busy in the kitchen. I made raw parmesan, based on this recipe. Here's my variations:

Raw Parmesan

• 3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
  
• 3 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
  
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Process sunflower seeds and sesame seeds into a fine meal, then add yeast, salt and garlic powder and process until well combined.

It was so good, I wanted to eat it with a spoon. But I didn't because it's for tonight's dinner: zucchini "pasta" with puttanesca sauce from RFMEF1o2P. The sauce is made and I'm just waiting for Mad to come home to process the zucchini. I don't have a spiralizer, but I find that if I run the squash through the food processor with the shredding disk, it comes out a good size. I have walnuts soaking to make a pate tonight for topping salads to take to work this weekend, and I even washed all the dishes, so the kitchen is spotless. It's been a good day.

-Eloise

Day 37

Happy, happy raw vegan ice cream... stay tuned!

My new blender is a thing of beauty. It's sleek and sexy with an entirely stainless steel base. It's quiet, yet powerful and has a smoothie button that whips greens into smithereens. In short, I love it (I have briefly paused to consider whether it is natural for a 23 year old to adore a blender so completely when it isn't making margaritas, but I suppose I was never one for convention anyway).

It sits on the counter next to the food processor now, occupying the space where the toaster and waffle maker used to reside. It arrived on Saturday, so after work, I unpacked it and immediately put it to use. So far I've made 4 green smoothies, Kristen's Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce (subbing the hemp with 1/2 c flax meal and adding more nutritional yeast), carrot, apple, ginger juice (pulp included), and butternut squash soup. Later, I'm going to make the ranch dressing from RFMEF1o2P.There probably would have been more blender usage, except Mad's been incredibly sick and really just starting eating a bit today, so I've mostly been cooking for myself.

She has been feeling better, though (and it was definitely a stomach virus), and tonight I orchestrated a delicious collaboration between my blender and food processor: chocolate, strawberry, cherry banana ice cream. Heh. At the end of last week, we had a bunch and a half of perfectly ripe bananas, so I froze them for later use. I also recently discovered Green and Crunchy, the blog of an amazing raw vegan mama of five (5!) raw vegan kids. Taking inspiration from her all fruit ice cream and having just stocked up on frozen fruit for smoothies, I made my own:

Cherry Berry Chocolate Ice Cream
4 frozen bananas
6 frozen strawberries
8 frozen cherries
4 TBS cocoa powder
Toppings (optional)

Pulse in blender until combined. Transfer to food processor and processes until smooth.

It was amazing. Madeline ate hers au naturale and I topped mine with dried coconut (and then I finished Mad's when she couldn't.... thanks, stomach bug!). This raw transition hasn't always been easy, but moments like this, the synergy between gastronomy and nutrition, are pure bliss.

-Eloise

Day 34

I had a weird raw food moment today. I was at work and my supervisor was heading out to a farmer's market on her lunch break. She said, "I've really been craving veggies lately. I'm going to get a bunch of fresh vegetables and roast them!" And I smiled and nodded because she doesn't know I'm eating raw, but in my head I thought, You're going to kill them! It's an odd day when a plate full of cooked veggies seems unhealthy.

As for telling people I'm raw, I've decided not to volunteer the information. Everyone knows I'm vegan, which isn't a big deal in my circle of friends and acquaintances. I do hate when people start to rationalize their own behavior, though. "Oh, it's great that you're vegan! I only eat meat a couple times a week... And just chicken, never red meat... Only free range, of course." Really? Because most omnivores I know eat meat at least once a day, if not more. The poultry industry is far more revolting than the beef industry, and if you eat out and it's not advertised to the hills, that chicken has never seen a door to the outside world. I am generally not a preachy vegan (except to the Greenpeace volunteers who accost me on campus. Because, really, if you're trying to convince a college student who works three jobs to support herself to donate money to fight global warming, shouldn't you not be contributing to its major cause?). I think it's best to live by example and feed omnivores delicious food when given the opportunity, but I really hate apologists. Be unabashed or don't eat meat if you know it's wrong.

But I digress. Raw foodism seems to strike a different nerve in people. One of my coworkers at my weekend job is a 60-something Indian grandmother, and ever since she found out I'm eating raw, she takes every opportunity to tell me how unhealthy it is to eat cold food during the winter. I'm really hoping that will abate as the weather gets warmer, cause it's really irritating. And, of course, there's the ubiquitous protein comment. I don't know. Here's to hoping that the living by example works in this case as well.

Tomorrow is blender day! I'm so excited!

-Eloise

Day 33: Books

I'm a reader. I love books, and I always have. I was the kid who got in trouble for reading under the covers with a flashlight half the night. Once, when I was around 7, I did something particularly atrocious (that I can no longer recall) and my punishment was to have my weekly library books taken away. All 13 of them.

In an effort to spiffy things up around here, I found this really cool widget: the Shelfari. I read a lot, so I'm not probably not going to list everything, mostly the books that I heartily endorse. Some will be raw, but others will just be for the pleasure of reading.

Fair warning: I'm in a bit of a Barbra Kingsolver glut at the moment. She's increasingly one of my favorite authors, and I just received four or five books of hers that I have yet to read from Paperback Swap (another really great site if you're a reader). So there might be an overabundance of her books on the shelf, but I'll try to limit myself to my favorites.

Day 33

Our blender shipped out and it's supposed to arrive on Saturday. I'm so excited! And it's good, because I have been craving green smoothies lately. I've made one each morning for the past couple days, and despite the lime rind debacle the other day, even the bits-o-green that that require chewing haven't deterred me from enjoying them.

Heh, I just found my blender online on Amazon. It's a Toastmaster with a 350 watt motor and the first review says:

This is not a real blender. You have to blend in parts because it doesn't have power. Avoid my mistake to buy this garbage.

That about sums it up. The rest of the reviews are equally glowing. I'm very glad that I didn't pay money for it. The Breville blender we ordered actually has a smoothie button that goes through a program that blends and pulses to mix everything up. I watched a video online. It was very cool. I think that might make me very uncool. :) Don't care.

So the smoothie I made this morning rocked. I'm really wishing I had more, even though I had 24oz. I have these smoothie cups that I bought a year ago when I thought I'd get an Oster blender ( they attach directly to the blender to make single servings). Even without the blender, they're still really convenient for bringing smoothies to go. My only complaint is that they're kind of heavy, since they're meant to double as a blender container. So my routine is to make a smoothie in the morning, fill the to-go cup and drink the leftovers as I'm getting my lunch ready.

Here's today's recipe. Deceptively simple, but so good.

Blue and Green
About 3 cups spinach (not heavily packed)
1 cup blueberries
1 small banana
Water to desired consistency (I used about 1.5c)

Blend and enjoy!

I made myself a "milkshake" last night with frozen bananas, water, soaked cashews, vanilla, cocoa powder and agave, since I thought it was the meals-through-a-straw thing that I've been craving, but no. It's definitely the greens. The fruit and chocolate was nowhere near as satisfying.

In other news, Madeline is sick. She seems to have some sort of stomach bug and the fun details that implies, as well as being very dizzy and easily winded with a slightly elevated temp. She's just not feeling well at all. I'm not convinced that it's not some sort of hardcore detox, but it could also be the Noro virus, which has been taking out people left and right in our area. It's crappy timing, because she has an important certification exam she has to take for work, but there's not really much to be done beyond waiting it out. She home resting and taking in fluids today. *Feel better, lady.*

-Eloise

Day 31: BLENDER!

One of the biggest obstacles in going raw for Madeline and I has been outfitting our kitchen with the right equipment. Basically, a food processor, a high speed blender and a dehydrator are critcal to making anything beyond a salad. We really don't have a lot of extra money, so saving up has been sloooow going. We did get the food processor last week, which was the least expensive of the three, and I have to say that it's changed my life; making dinner has gotten much easier.

On the expensive end of the spectrum, was the blender. The two that are constantly recommended in books and on raw sites are the Vitamix and the Blendtec, which both retail for around $400. I love green smoothies as a really easy way to take in a bunch of greens, but my free-from-my-coworker blender is pitiful at making them. Last night, the one I made wasn't too bad (some chewing involved, but it was tolerable), but I made the mistake this morning of following a recipe that said to throw in a whole, unpeeled lime. The taste was fine, but the chunks of lime rind that were in my drink had me gagging. Not good.

So, by coincidence, Mad came acorss a Breville blender that is the daily special today on Buy.com. It's normally $299, but for today only, it's $149.50: Buy.com's daily special

I did some research and here's the comparison at a glance:
Vitamix: 1380 watt motor
Blendtec: 1500 watt motor
Breville: 1000 watt motor
Oster Professional: 373 watt

So it's not as powerful as the "big two," but it's definitely beyond your typical blender. I found another review that said that the Breville 750 watt blender is the only blender at a lower price point that comes close to rivaling the Vitamix (source). By that logic, I figure that the 1000 watt must be even better.

I have no personal stake in this blender (other than hoping I made a good purchase!), but this deal was too good for me to not spread the word to others who have been lusting after a high speed blender. I'll let you know how it works when I've had a chance to try it out.

-Eloise

Day 30: snow day!

There is nothing more disappointing than a snow day on your only day off. Oh well. It's still a good excuse to spend the day sleeping in and then lounging in pajamas on the couch, catching up with the DVR. It was definitely a day that called for comfort food, so for breakfast I went looking for a raw food pancake substitute. We don't have a dehydrator yet, which eliminated most of the recipes, but I wound up making an adaptation of Coconut Breakfast Cakes. My version is pretty different from the original, so I'm going to post what I did:

Coconut Breakfast Cakes
2 1/4 cup milled flax
3/4 cup shredded coconut
2 T almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water

Mix in food processor until well combined and form into cakes. Top with fresh fruit if desired and enjoy!

They kind of tasted like bran muffins. I had mine with some sliced banana and Madeline topped hers with a little more maple syrup. Perfect comfort food.

-Eloise

Day 30

I was hoping to make a March 1st post, but missed it by 30 seconds. Drats.

So one month raw! Whoo!

I got my food processor in the mail the other day, and it's been a regular gourmet feast around here. I've been so excited about it that there's a song and dance that accompanies my trips to the kitchen. So far, I've made:

Banana pudding from Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People
Hummus with crudites*, also from RFMEF1o2P
Pesto from here with zucchini "pasta"
Brownie Bites from The Raw Dessert
Marinara sauce, again with crudites, again from RFMEF1o2P

And our taste buds have been happy, but last night after the brownies, both of us felt rather ill. Way too much heavy, nut-based foods. So week, we're going to keep the desserts to a minimum and up the greens. But the food processor is AWESOME. I love being able to throw ingredients in there and have a great dip or sauce in a matter of seconds. And I used the shredding disk to make zucchini pasta and it was done in all of two seconds. Love, love, love it.

So one month raw. It's been good, but, admittedly, it hasn't been easy. There are times that one or both of us would kill for a french loaf. But for the most part, our entire way of eating has changed, no doubt for the better. I know that I feel better after eating, and I'm much more mindful about what I'm putting into my body. I've had almost no stomach aches and far fewer headaches, and my complexion seems to be a bit smoother and clearer.

The negative? Well, so far, I haven't lost a pound, which is a bit disappointing. Most of that, I'm sure has to do with the avocados and and nuts we've been eating, but it's kind of frustrating to alter everything about my diet and not see any significant physical changes. But honestly, I'm not willing to actually diet, to count calories and restrict myself when I'm hungry. I'm not overweight, I'd just like to look better in my clothes. And I think that what I eat will continue to evolve over time. We would not have made it through the first week without avocados, but it's been about a week and a half since we've had one. We made a lot of dressing in the beginning, but for the last week, I've been having spinach salads with red bell peppers and a couple olives, no dressing. We're getting used to eating more simply. And when it comes down to it, losing weight is not the bottom line. As the weather continues to get warmer, we'll hopefully get out and hike more, and I think that will help.

Onwards to the next month!

-Eloise

*Crudites, for those who don't know, are just chopped up veggies that can be eaten with dips. There's a "recipe" for it in RFMEF1o2P, which made Mad and I laugh when we first looked through the book, but now we find ourselves saying it all the time.