There's no place like home

So, I did it. I went on my first trip while on the raw diet.

Shall I start with the good news or the bad news?

Ok, so the bad isn't so bad, but when you're on a work trip in Illinois raw food is not so easy to come by. I had planned pretty well, though, by bringing a lot of nuts and dried fruit to snack on (I even managed to pack four organic apples for some raw enzymes). Thankfully the conference offered a vegetarian option for lunch. I don't know what I would have done without that.

Well, ok, I do know what I would have done. I would have picked the grapes out of the chicken salad and munched on the green leaf garnish. Yuck.

Thankfully, the vegetarian options were decent: cold cooked squash over spring mix. They also had plenty of fresh fruit. I know I lost some pounds on this trip, though, because there were no healthy oils (not even an avocado to be found at any of the restaurants). Overall, I ate a lot of salad with oil and vinegar, an entire bag of dried apples, almonds and cashews like you wouldn't believe and all four of my "real" apples before the last day of the trip.

We did a quick sight-seeing trip in downtown Chicago, though, which compelled me to try the famous deep-dish pizza. I tried some (started the meal out with a mega Italian salad) and as usual, the SAD food did not impress. It was fun to try, but more rewarding to know I am not "missing out" on SAD food.

And, I am happy to say, my pizza was, um, "eliminated" by my raw-loving digestive system the next day.

I texted a friend who asked me about the trip, "I love trips like these. They remind me how much I love being home." And I do love being home. I am off to Whole Foods right now to replenish my fridge and settle back into being home.

Breakfast of Fatties

I would just like to say that I ate cookies for breakfast-- a perfect blend of crunch and chewiness with a delightfully sweet flavor. Mmmm...

Did I mention they are amazingly, unbelievably good for you?!?! Like actually wholesome and nutritious? So wholesome, in fact, that I reached for them INSTEAD of my flaxseed pancakes?!?!

'Tis true. I was running late, didn't have time to mix the coconut oil with the ground flax, and was nearly about to resign myself to no breakfast at all when my eye caught the plastic bag on the counter: dehydrated oatmeal raisin cookies.

I had made them just last night and made an extra batch to turn into granola. Instead of the almond milk and granola, I grabbed two cookies.

I am still trying to convince myself that any shame I now feel is simply in my head. I feel like it was the breakfast of fatties; but it wasn't. I had a breakfast of champions.

How is the whole world not living this way?!?! Food tastes amazing, food nourishes my body, I have energy, I stay healthy, my tummy couldn't be happier.

Can I say it again: It's almost as if God had been trying to bless us all along--we just keep inserting our own thoughts and ways and ruining everything.

Thank You, Lord, for this food. And for the strength to be different.

A Wounded Spirit

For all the health hoopla I push and believe in, no food, medicine or therapy can cure a wounded spirit. This weekend has been first-hand experience and an unavoidable reminder for me.

For a variety of reasons, I am experiencing some emotional stress--trauma, even might better describe this situation. It's really come to a peak over this last weekend and I have not been able to ignore it. I even missed work on Friday because of it. And I really hate missing work for a day of crying at home alone. (I called in sick. And I was--heart-sick. But they don't really give you work-place compassion for heart-sickness.)

I tend to lose my appetite when I am burdened and this weekend was no different. While I eat about a meal a day during times like these, I was especially aware this time of the meals I was craving: pizza, macaroni and cheese, ranch dressing, baked potato, etc.

While I sat home and cried Friday, I ordered a pizza (no cheese, but still...). I ate three slices and slept the rest of the day. Saturday consisted of a baked potato (with salsa), macaroni and cheese (the cheap kind...from Souper Salad) and a very small salad (ok, so I had maybe three bites of the salad? I wanted the mac and cheese).

I was so glad to have the chocolate sauce around! I ate so much of that I really can't stand to think about it at the moment. But other than that, I ate junky and felt junky.

It turns out that no matter what I ate, though, I would have felt awful. Because my emotions are in turmoil! I know that eating raw improves energy, mental clarity, overall health and so much more, but it can't fix a broken heart. Not even medicine can. It can numb it, but it can't repair it.

So, in the meantime, I am eating better today. I don't feel any better, but I know I am making choices for a healthier tomorrow--when maybe my heart will be stronger, too.

Divinity A' Chocolate

I have found my living oxymoron--and it's beautiful. Check it out: wholesome, antioxidant-rich CHOCOLATE. And not just that commercial jargon about how chocolate contains antioxidants (that is, a few healthy molecules in there somewhere covered by refined sugar, hydrogenated oils and wax). I mean actually nourishing your body with chocolate.

I tried out a recipe for raw, vegan chocolate sauce. As I was blending the blessed, unadulterated ingredients, I dipped in a finger for a little tasting.

A few tears fell to my cheeks.

It was beautiful. I actually began to wonder what other great, miraculous, life-giving food we have been sacrificing for cheap, convenient, energy-depriving, nutrient deficient junk. Kiss the waxy, teeth-decaying, been-on-the-shelf-longer-than-the-dog-food-down-the-aisle chocolate bars away.

Dates, olive oil (what doesn't contain olive oil?!), cocoa powder, vanilla and agave syrup. Blend it all together (my blender is broken so I used the food processor) and voila! In less than five minutes you have an unbelievable dessert that your body (and spirit) will thank you for. It's all natural, it's all raw.

For a real thrill, slice a few fresh strawberries. Dip, bite, experience a few tears for yourself.

Recipe (from The Raw Transformation by Wendy Rudell):

1 cup soaked dates (I gave 'em about 45 minutes)

1 tablespoon of vanilla

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup cocoa powder/carob powder/cacao powder

Agave syrup to taste (for strawberries, I use a little less agave so it's not overly sweet)

Weekend--what weekend?!?!

Today is one of my random days "off."

It's Tuesday and I don't have to go into the office at all today. Ah. I love that. I even told my dogs, Roxy and Depot, to pray that someday soon I can spend everyday at home. I know they support me.

While I'd love to relax and hit up a coffee shop, book store, shoe store, etc., the one thing I want to do more than anything else is prep food! I actually get a little excited over it.

My husband and I scanned through our raw UNcook books over the weekend and picked a few recipes out that looked delicious. We got out the calendar and plotted out how to make these recipes happen around our busy schedule. Today is a critical day in the process.

My husband is addicted. To ketchup. I think it's weird, but I'm amazed at how many people can't live without the fructose-filled red sugar sauce. So what did he drool over in the uncook book? A picture of meatloaf...covered in red ketchupy, bbq sauce.

I just love that man.

So today, I'll probably juice for the morning meal and then soak the almonds, sunflower seeds and portobello mushrooms in preparation for the meatloaf.

The great thing about soaking is that you toss the nuts/seeds in water in the morning and then by night, they're ready. So I'll be slaving away in the kitchen in prep for a major meatloaf dinner. Er, I mean I'll sit around doing whatever I want while the nuts, seeds and mushrooms prep themselves.

I love raw.