Day 28 of 30 – 2 to go!

I am happily at the 28 day mark.  This entire experience has been up and down.  The up side is the postive feelings I have and the way my body feels.  The down side was the illness early on.  I am quite pleased with all of the experiences.  For the most part I was able to stay calm no matter what was going on.  Unfortunatly I allowed someone else’s baggage to upset my disposition.  That was only for a moment however.  I know now that I need to continue concentrating on my vibration.  My life work.  It isn’t always easy.

Problem solving skills are appreciated when you are able to be calm.  Things only become difficult when it isn’t fluid.  That’s okay.  I will remain fluid and natural.  I will make the commitment to love in moment.  Listen to my heart, and follow my dreams!

Last night I finally had the RAW mashed potatoes.  I scoured the internet for different recipes relating to this dish.  I tried to figure out what the mistakes were and what was helping the dish.  However, none of my research worked :/

I followed the recipe and information I found on this link.

Here is the picture of my potatoes before I added to the meal…

I made a simple gravy with a handful of pinenuts, marinated mushrooms, and some Nama Shoyu sauce.

Here is the plate as it was served…

I made a little pecan sausage and mixed it with the rest of the tomato pizza sauce I had left over from the evening before.  I also served it with a salad and avocado!

Overall the meal was good.  I didn’t like the Mashed Potaotes.  AT ALL! :/  Maybe the key is a Vita Mix???  I will continue to perfect this recipe.  I will also try it with Jicama instead of Cauliflower.  Maybe I should have done what the recipe says and put marinated mushrooms on top?  Whatever the case most of the meal was okay.  I will continue with my culinary adventure into the world of RAW foods!

Update: No pains in my knees, elbows, and back.  I have no more rash on my neck.  My feet don’t hurt at all.  I can enter yoga poses much easier!

I will have another Yoga Mala end the cleanse.  I feel good. I feel healthy!

Namaste!

Day 25 of 30 – 5 to go!

Sunday was a beautiful day!  The sun was out shining her beautiful face on Southern California.  I had the house to myslef! I was able to do laundry and meditate a lot

Meditation is another essential part of manifestation!  It was in meditation I first began this quest.  I had to make the decision in the depths of my mind in order to dedicate the energy to my body.  It has really helped me get through some of the most difficult moments in the first two weeks.

The most difficult part was in the beginning when I was vomiting and suffering from the headaches.  Once that stopped, I have been really enjoying new foods and great experiences.

Sunday Evening I made RAW CHILE RELLENOS!

As mentioned on Day 24 of 30, I started thinking about all of the fresh chiles in the store.  The Ancho Chile is the biggest one at the market these days, and I wanted to make a Chile Relleno Raw stylie.  Usually this dish is made with egg, cheese and green sauce.  Mine was made with the Ancho Chile, Cashew Nut cheese, and Marinated Mushrooms.  It was a tasty meal.  Here is the recipe!

RAW CHILE RELLENOS

1 Ancho Chile

2 cups cashew nuts, soaked

2 T Nutritional Yeast

2 Vegan Probiotic Capsules

2 T Fresh Oregano

2 T Fresh Cilantro

2 Garlic Cloves

1 T Olive Oil

Marinated Mushrooms – (Recipe is as follows)

2 Portobello mushrooms

1/4 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos

1/4 cup olive oil

1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Crushed Garlic Cloves

Preparation: 1 Day Ahead-Rinse soaked cashews and process in the Food Processor until chuncky.  Add Oregano, Cilantro Garlic, Nutritional Yeast and Probiotic Pills.  Process again until smooth.  Set aside in a bowl on the counter covered.  This gives the nut cheese time to “sour” a bit with the probiotic capsules.  The cashew cheese will be ready the next day.  (NOTE: I usually let the cheese sit for 24 full hours.)  Mix the marinade for the mushrooms.  Slice the Portobellos and marinate for 1 full day.  (NOTE: I usually do the mushrooms the same day I do the nut cheese.) Cut the Ancho chile in half.  Take out all the seeds and de-vein the pepper.  Mix in the Tablespoon of Olive Oil into the nut cheese to smoothen it a bit.  Take the nut cheese and pack the inside of each pepper half with cheese.  Add the mushrooms on top.  Place the chiles in the Dehydrator for 4-5 Hours @ 115 degrees.

This was a really good.  I think I will develop a tomatillo sauce for this dish.  I will also try to think of some kind of breading or coating for the chile itself.  Usually a Chile Relleno is the full chile stuffed.  You could do that, but I felt it would be too much food.  We also enjoyed it with a salad and fresh avocado! Delicious!

Thanks for visiting!

Namaste!

Day 23 of 30 – 7 to go!

The beautiful sun is out in the sky today!  Yeah!  It’s warmth and beauty had filled me with happines!  Life is a beutiful gift!  How lucky we are to experience life, breath, water, earth…all of the elements we take advantage of at times.

And the food.  Glorious health inspiring food! Through the decades people have really appreciated food.  It’s taste, it’s history, the wonderous world of gastronomy!

These last 3 weeks have been a lesson.  Discipline, Preparation, Dedication, and the daily reminder of “What am I willing to do to meet my goal?”

It has been an excercise to my sub concious mind.  Discipline and Preparation are essential to manifestation!

No doubt I will not stop eating raw food after my 30 days raw.  Last night I meditated and went to bed.

All I did was eat fruit all day and drank lots of water with my supplements for the Parasite Cleanse.

Tomorrow is Sunday again.  I will update food tomorrow.  I must say I am pretty hungry today!

Namaste!

Day 19 of 30 – 11 to go!

All of Sunday was consumed with laundry and drinking water.  It was a nice and quiet afternoon.  I had the opportunity to think about some personal situations in my life.  I literally feel as though there is another vibration to my body.  A much calmer vibration.  I should have measured what it was on the 29/30 of December and what it is now.  Then see what it will be at the end of the 30 days.

A few people that I have spoken to are pretty interested in what it is I am doing.  I will continue on this path. I would like nothing more than to heal pain in someones body by what they intake.

Let your food be your medicine… And your medicine be your food!

For dinner on Sunday we enjoyed a squash fettucini with tomatoes, olives and basil.

Here it is…

Squash Fettucine

2 Medium Sized Italian Squash

1 Handful Cherry Tomatoes

1 Handful Basil, chopped into slivers

8 Kalmata Olives, Diced

1/4 cup olive oil

Preparation: Slice squash into strips using a peeler, mandoline or Cai Bao.  Place in bowl with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.  Mix with your hands and allow to marinate while you are dicing the olives.  Add the olives to the bowl.  Throw in Cherry Tomatoes.  (Note: I usually score an X on top of them to allow the juice to come out of the tomatoes.  I think it adds a nice flavor to the marinade. ) Slice and add basil.  Meanwhile, Soak dried morels or porcinis in water.  Place mushrooms in Dehydrator at 115 for approximately 45 minutes.  Save the soaking water for a raw soup.  (Note: It adds  a nice flavor to the raw broth!)  Once the mushrooms are ready add to the mix and serve! Garnish with Black Truffle oil on top! (Optional)

It was quite a simple dish.  What made the noodles a cinch to make was my new tool.  The Cai Bao is working wonders!  If you order the tool from here let them know you found them thru my blog! I also added a few morel mushrooms.  Since the morels are considered a relative of the truffle I drizzled Black Truffle Oil on the dish as well. Yum!

That was it for my Sunday.  I meditated for awhile.  I feel so content and still inside.  Not nervous.  I also feel strong in my spirit.  I love life.  I love people.

Thank you for visiting!

Namaste!

Day 15 of 30 – 15 to go!

I am officially 1/2 way through my cleanse!  Yeah!  

As noted I haven’t been enjoying my smoothies.  However, I am going to try the opposite side of the spectrum.  I am going to make some smoothies with vegetable juices and nut milk now.  Maybe the problem had been me trying to add fruit to sweeten. I suppose that will be next weeks task.

Today, I brought lots of fruit.  I have been really good at using what I buy until it is all gone.  I am very happy about that.  If I’m cooking with heat, I usually have left overs.  And then the left overs go bad. On goes the cycle of waste.  BUT with the RAW food diet, I know the exact amount I am going to need.  I haven’t thrown anything away and thus far, I haven’t wasted anything.  Great for the planet! Great for the home! Great all around!

Last night I decided to try my hand at a sort of casserole, use the buckwheat I had sprouted and use some of the nuts I have had soaking.

BUCKWHEAT CEREAL

The recipe for the cereal is in the Matthew Kenny & Sarma book called RAW FOOD REAL WORLD.  I made both the coco cereal and the cinnamon cereal.

Cocoa Buckwheat Cereal & Cinammon Buckwheat Cereal before the Dehydrator….

DINNER

Zucchini Pasta Casserole

I had made pesto earlier in the week and wanted to do something with it.  I figured I would attempt to be creative with the zucchini pasta again since it was so good.  I also had some cashews soaking and spinach in the fridge.

Spinach Cashew Pesto

1/2 cup premade pesto (Recipe here)

1 1/2 cup spinach

1 cup cashews, soaked

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup water

Preparation: Place cashews in the food processor.  Process until creamy.  Add all other ingredients except water.  Process a few times until you see a bright green color.   If it is too thick add the water a little at a time.

Marinated Mushrooms

15 Cremini Mushrooms

1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice of 1 Lemon

3 Garlic cloves

2 T. Oregano (Fresh)

Preparation: Place all liquid ingredients in a good sized bowl.  Slice mushrooms and add to bowl.  Mix up and allow to marinate for 1 hr or more.

To put casserole together:

1. Place zucchini on a teleflex sheet.  (I spiralized 3 Good sized zucchinis)

2. Form a flat mount on sheet.  Roughly 8 x 10 sized square.

3. Scoop the Spinach Cashew Pesto onto the zucchini noodles.  Spread the pesto all around the top.

4. Add marinated mushrooms.

5. Place in the Dehydrator at 115 degrees for 1 hr to 1 1/2 hours.  Just until warm.

So that was my culinary adventure for the evening.  The cereal should be ready by the time I get home.  I also have a sundried tomato crust in the Dehydrator.  I will update those pictures tomorrow!

Update: Very positive feelings.  Happy to be alive! Thankful for all the wonderful food! Health, Spirit, Life!

Namaste!

Day 13 of 30 – 17 to go!

Today was the first time in a little over 2 weeks since I wanted anything cooked.  It was a simple craving, that although is still there, I will not give into.

A Flour Tortilla.

When you grow up in a household like I did, you get used to certain foods.  My mother made most all dishes from scratch.  If we went out to eat it was usually because she felt we needed to be exposed to other foods besides what was being served in the home.  Although my father didn’t like that idea to much we still went.  Middle Eastern, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Persian, Basque Cuisine.  The list could go on and on.  If it wasn’t for this exposure to various cuisines I don’t think I could have been so open to various foods when I decided to become a vegetarian.  (15+ years ag0, btw)

And from a vegetarian to vegan I am here.  Here in this RAW for 30 day quest of cleansing my body.  Although I had a craving I knew at that moment I needed to clean my mind.  In meditation I thought of a process taught in Raja Yoga.  Cleansing the mind and preparing the body.  I think in addition to what I have been doing I will do a long meditation session to clear my mind field.  The mind field can trick you and it if full of ego.  I would like to be open to all the wonderful energy this food and lifestyle had to offer.

Yesterday for lunch I had a salad and a smoothie.  I also had a few pieces of fruit, which was nice and refreshing.

I made a smoothie and added some Vega to it.  I didn’t like the sweet taste at all.  I didn’t take a picture of it eiether.

For dinner I made pesto and a marinara sauce.  I decided I was ready for zucchini pasta with two different toppings.  It was very delicious I might add.  But again no picture. (I will update the picture later.  I can’t seem to load pictures today???)

I made three piles of the zucchini pasta.  On top of each pile I put a different pasta sauce.  Each was adorned with a different topping.  The Pesto had a black olive tapenade on top of it.  For the marinara I put a few mushrooms that I had marinated on top.  The white macadamia cheese I added I put Basil and Black Truffle oil on top.  It was a damn fine meal I would say.

Marinara Sauce

3 Cloves Garlic

2 Tomatoes

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (soaked)

1/4 cup olive oil

Dash of Cayenne

Diced Green Olives

Preparation: Place all ingredients into the Food Processor with the S blade.  Turn on and wait until it makes a paste.  You can add water if you would like it a bit thinner.

Pesto Sauce

4 oz Fresh Basil

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup pumpkin seeds

Juice of 1 lemon

3 cloves of garlic

Preparation: Place all ingredients in the Food Processor with the S blade.  Turn on Processor.  Scrape sides every few moments and finish to desired consistency.

Update: Physically I feel great.  Sleeping really well.  The pesky cough is gone for the most part and I have my voice back.  I feel as though the cleanse is going from the top of my head down.  Almost 14 days into the cleanse and I feel like it is now is the area of my solar plexus.  By the 30th day it should have passed Muladara (Red Chakra) and reached my feet.  No pain in my elbow and No pain in my knees.  I feel alert from the moment I wake up to when I go to sleep.

I wish you well!  Sweet Dreams!

Namaste!

Day 10 of 30 – 20 to go!

My parasite cleanse is coming along nicely.  I am feeling clearer in my thoughts and vision is definitly better.  Last night I went to drop food off for a client.  Usually in the evening I struggle to see street signs but to my happy surprise I saw them clearly.  That’s not to say that I didn’t get lost.  I was just able to see where I was going a lot better.

Day 10 Smoothie recipe:

1 Banana

2 Handfuls of Blueberries

1 Anjou Pear

1 Green Apple

1 Avocado

Kale

Oxygen Water

Preparation:  Put enough water in the blender to begin breaking fruit up in the blender.  Once it is pureed add kale.

I think after I finish the Parasite cleanse, I will do an organic essential detox.  This will clean all of my organs from toxins.  Not just parasites.  This will be the first two weeks of February.  But before I count my veggies before they sprout, I will continue on this quest to be PARASITE FREE!

This entire week has been quite an adventure in food.  I have enjoyed making all of these RAW food surprises.  Preparation. Preparation. Preparation!  I cannot stress this enough.  I think this is the reason most people feel as though they CAN”T.  I don’t like hearing I can’t or it’s too hard.  Rubbish.  If you set your mind to something you can do it!  But again, What are you willing to do to meet your goal?

Last night I saw a DVD I had ordered a few weeks back.  It was my second time watching it and I thought since I am doing what I am doing it would serve as a good inspiration.  The DVD is called “RAW for 30 Days”.  The DVD is a documentary on individuals diagnosed with diabetes.  Each individual is placed on a RAW FOOD diet.  They are taken off their meds and onto a healthier routine for 30 days.  The entire documentary takes place in Arizona at the Tree of Life Resort run by Gabriel Cousens.

Although not everyone stuck it out, it was nice to see all the different things they were being fed and there is even a bonus DVD you can order.  (I hope to be offering this in the future on my blog, but for now if you do a google search you will find lot’s of outlets. )

The nice thing about the bonus DVD is the recipe ideas and information given.  I have looked up many of the people featured on the Bonus DVD and it was really great to see some people who I never thought would have been on it.  Brenden Brazier has a few excerpts on the DVD interviews.  Woody Harrelson, Michael Beckwith (The Secret), Tim Robbins, and more.  Check it out.  If for no other reason that to prove that VITAL food is a VITAL source we need for our bodies!

DINNER

Last night and tonight I am determined to use up the rest of the ingredients left over.  I had a few buckwheat pizza crusts left, 2 Wraps from the Falafel meal, Tortilla Chips, Nut Cheese, Pumpkin Pesto, Raw Marinara and mole.  The mole is a difficult one.  I don’t know what else to make with it.  I noticed a sage type of nut pattie on another blog I was looking at.  The blog is Beautiful Living Food in Vermont.  You can visit the website by clicking over the name above.  Maybe that will go good with the mole.  I will have to think about it.  I made the tamales already so I will have to put my brain to work.

I had one huge green zebra tomato left, a few buckwheat pizza crusts -   all of the neccesities to make a RAW Italian Plate.  I made the Living Lasagna with the green zebra tomato, a few thin slices of zucchini, and all of the fixins.  I also made up a slice of pizza and a nice salad with avocado on the side.  Avocados! Avocados! How I love them.  They are food of the God’s!   When I was a little girl I didn’t like avocado unless it was made into guacamole.  Now I can eat it with a spoon out of it’s shell.  Delicious!

So this is what I ended up with for dinner…

I attempted to put some moons to the right hand side, but I don’t think I have a good handle of my new digital enhancing program yet.  If you couldn’t already tell.

Update:  Still no voice, but overall I feel good.  I am happy that I have managed to make it to day 10 without feeling like giving up or without any more sickness.  Onward and Upward! Thank you for reading this posting.

Namaste!

Day 3 of 30 – 27 to go

I really enjoyed the surprise smoothies I had to intake yesterday.  It was a Mint Cooler and an Avocado Citrus Smoothie.  I got up too late to make enough smoothies as planned.  I had two more than expected!

Mint Cucumber Cooler (Above)

Handful Mint

1 large Cucumber

1 Fiji Apple

Splash of Agave

Ice

Avocado Citrus Smoothie

1 Avocado

1 whole orange

1 tbl Agave Syrup

Add enough oxygen water* to desired consistency

Needless to say I am hungry.  I will have a big Kale Salad when I get home.  I will also try my hand at making pizza crusts with Nut Cheese and Basil Pesto.  Tamales, Corn Chips and Fresh Salsa RAW stylie as well.  I will update with pics later.

Since it is New Years Eve the above listed projects will be easy since I will be closing the store a bit early.

Lemon Squeeze

1 lemon

½ inch fresh ginger

1 mango

1 banana

1 tablespoon maca powder

1 tablespoon hemp seed

1 handful of cilantro

Coconut water or plain water

Add water until desired consistency is reached.

Oxygen Water is a water I found a few years back when I was doing some research on the effects of oxygen in the body.  I usually purchase the water from Whole Foods.  It is a brand called Hi Ho and I really like it.  The bottles are glass and you can get it for about $7.99 a 6 pack.  I go through the water pretty quickly.  You can find the link to the company here.

I use this in the smoothies since it seems as though it would be the closest to pure “healthy” water I can find.  Most water comes in plastic bottles and I would like to keep as much plastic out of my experience as much as possible.

UPDATE: I began writing this entry the evening before.  When I woke up on Day 3 I had a terrible headache!  I had it through the morning and I just kept drinking water.  As the day progressed I began feeling nausea.  It was horrible.  Luckily I was able to close the shop early since it was New Years Eve and business was slow.  Whew!  I lost it a few times! Including my delicious smoothie!

I got home about 5:30 and slept until about 9:45 pm.  I was pleased that I had a bit of an appetite when I woke up.

I had a salad and a Kombucha Toast to the New Year !  Although my head was a lot better, I still had a faint headache and felt the need to rest and be in a dark room.  I meditated a bit on cleansing and went to bed shortly there after.

Happy New Year! Lot’s More to come!

Namaste!

Day 2 of 30 – 28 to go!

These are the smoothies I am going to prepare for tomorrow.  Today I have tried the recipes on the previous day’s posting.

I plan on having 4 – 5 smoothies a day and then having 1 raw meal a day.  Today’s meal is the Thai soup and tomorrow is the Kale Yummo Salad.  This recipe is here.

Kale Orange Smoothie
1 bunch dino kale
2 oranges
6 strawberries
1 cup of grapes

Kale-Strawberry-Peach (Unable to make since there are no peaches in season.  I thought I would leave this recipe anyway.
1 bunch green kale
1 pint strawberries
3 small peaches
2 cups water

Peach-Spinach (Unable to make since there are no peaches in season.  I thought I would leave this recipe anyway.
6 peaches
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
2 cups water

Apple-Kale-Lemon
4 apples
½ lemon juice
5 leaves of kale
2 cups water

Pear-Kale-Mint
4 ripe pears
5 leaves of kale
½ bunch of mint
2 cups water

Strawberry-Banana-Romaine
1 cup strawberries
2 bananas
½ bunch romaine
2 cups water

These recipes are from the website green diva mom.

My body is sore from the Sun Salutations kick off yesterday, but I will do them again today.  I think I am also going to put together an evening series of yoga poses so I can relax in the evening.  The other person who was going to do the cleanse has backed out.

A few pains that I have are: my left knee, my feet, my right ankle feels like it wants to pop or crack like a knuckle sometimes, itchy eyes in the evening before bed and a small rash on my neck.

I have two businesses and end up on my feet a lot.  I think I will need to make a complete career change on one end.  I will never give up my cooking and yoga however.  That is the primary business I have had since I was 22.

Well I will update with pictures and information tomorrow.  Just a lot of gurgling in my stomach for now.

Day 1 of 30 – 29 to go !

9 Sun Salutations!

12 postures each set!

108 Asanas!

This morning I did my own yoga mala to begin this cleanse in a spiritual and fundamentally healing way!  The heat this series of poses brings to the body is amazing.  It had been a few days since I had practiced, but I must say it left me quite positive!  I have had a smile on my face since!

Smoothies made with fresh fruit and greens will be a prevalent part of my routine throughout the day.  I have one other person partaking in the cleanse.  I couldn’t get anyone else to do the cleanse since New Year’s Eve is just around the corner.  All the partying you know!

Note:

These are the recipes I will begin the cleanse with.  I will also be making my own capsules of Wormwood and Clove.  Each set of pills will be made in 3 – 5 day intervals.  I will also make a list of “ailments” as well as a diary of what I feel from beginning to end.

Thai Soup

Sergei Boutenko
2 cucumbers
1 large avocado
1 lime, juiced
3 cloves garlic
6 leaves curly kale, stems removed
½ teaspoon dried turmeric powder
½ inch fresh gingerroot
2 cups water
Yields 2 quarts

Coco-Tango

Sergei Boutenko
Thai coconut, meat and water
5 leaves kale, stems removed
2 nectarines
2 peaches
1 mango
Yields 2 quarts

Party in Your Mouth Green Smoothie

Sergei Boutenko
1 small pineapple, cored
1 large mango, peeled
½ head romaine lettuce
½ inch fresh ginger root
Yields 2 quarts

Morning Zing Smoothie

Unfortunatley there were no peaches at the HFS (Health Food Store) So I will have to go to the market in the a.m.)

Victoria Boutenko
4:½ bunch dandelion greens
2 stalks celery
½ inch fresh gingerroot
2 peaches
½ pineapple
Yields 2 quarts

Parsley Passion Smoothie

Sergei Boutenko
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 cucumber, peeled
1 Fuji apple
1 ripe banana
1–2 cups water
Yields 2 quarts

This cleanse will also allow me to prepare to make yogurt from Thai coconuts! Exciting!  I will then use this yogurt in my smoothies to add the good bacteria I will need as well.  I will also be able to kick on the dehydrator!  Here I come my beautiful 9 tray Excalibur!  Raw Pizza and more smoothies to come tomorrow.

Pictures will be updated tomorrow.

For more smoothies and information on the Boutenko Family, please go to the following link —->
http://www.rawfamily.com/