Staying Off The Scale, More Detox and Green Goddess Dressing

I'm one of those weird morning people and to top it off, I love Mondays!
I love the feeling of a brand new start however it might come.

I am going to do several 100% Raw days this week.

Yesterday was 100%

PLANNING:
I have the next 3 or 4 days planned and figured out ahead of time, menus written, the grocery shopping in and I am good to go!  I have found out that for me I have to stay two days ahead of myself.  Mostly for soaking nuts and seeds and for the occasional dehydrated cracker/bread.. etc.

Day before yesterday I sort of pigged out on Organic peanut butter. And chocolate! The hubs did too.

I got organic peanut butter to make dressing for my Raw Pad Thai that I am making this week and it is so tempting to have PB in the house!


DETOX:
I'm still having sinus yuck and headaches (although more mild) late day and this AM I woke up with totally yucked up sinus.  Thank goodness for a Neti Pot!

All this week I am off coffee.  I lately have only been having coffee on the weekends with the hubs.  I enjoy our time together in the mornings because we really don't get it during the week.

This past weekend I made cashew cream for us to have in our coffee.

Night before last I made vegan stuffed bell peppers with this package of vegan hamburger:

 It actually was really good! I will try my best to stay away from processed psudofood just because it's Vegan but I had to try this... it's also soy free.

I would love to one day never need to use anything processed but it's good for transitioning and IMO I did great an ate a vegan dinner and I really enjoyed it.

This is high raw with the occasional cooked vegan food.



FOOD YESTERDAY
Fruit bowl for breakfast
About 2PM I made a great salad for lunch:

I mixed some fresh mango and campari tomatoes (the only decent tomato that I can find here without a trip to Whole Foods) and *dried tart cherries, poured balsamic on it...  had some of my RAW Pesto Pinenut Parmesan on top. (recipe here: http://highrawweightloss.blogspot.com/2010/10/day-4-in-vault.html ).  I love that stuff! Have to make some more.  

Re; *Dried Tart Cherries.. I have been ordering Montmorency Tart Cherries for their amazing anti-inflammatory properties.

 I get them here:
http://www.brownwoodacres.com/unsweetened-dried-tart-cherries/


I also ate lots of dried rambutan with my salad..  I got it from RawFoodWorld.com but they seem to be out lately.  I feel like I eat too much dried fruit but I am not going to worry about that just yet.

I have been eating a smallish handfull of these every day in one way or another.  They are tart but not too sour.  I love them in my fruit salads in the AM or in a veggie salad... lately I have been putting some fruit in my salads at lunch too.

DINNER:

Was another Salad!  and it was really good.

I made homemade Raw Green Goddess Dressing.




RECIPE:



1/2 cup raw tahini, soaked raw cashews, soaked raw macadamia or combo (I had soaked cashews and mac nuts)
Juice from one large lemon
6 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
6 Tablespoons chives, chopped  
Whole package fresh dill    (1 C approx)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
Garlic powder to taste (I know raw garlic would be better but for now it's just too strong for me)
2 Tablespoons Nama Shoyu orTamari
2 Tablespoons raw Apple Cider Vinegar
10 green olives

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth and creamy.



 RE: this dressing..
It's very herbal obviously.  and salty.  I was craving this and it hit the spot.  Don't give it a try until you are ready for something REALLY GREEN!

My Dinner Salad:  (a before and after dressing addition to see all the colorful veggies!

 Salad had organic mixed baby greens, fresh orange, celery, red bell pepper, shredded carrot, Vidalia onion, avocado, cucumber, campari tomato, my raw Green Goddess dressing, hemp seed and pumpkin seeds.

Lastly:  STAYING OFF THE SCALE:




I have actually stayed off the scale!...  and I'm not going to get on it for another week. I think that will make it like three weeks without weighing.

It's not that I'm NOT worried about losing weight, obviously I am, but working on a Raw food lifestyle to me is about so much more.  Like loving myself enough to just doing something GOOD for myself and for my health, freeing the real spirit inside me and working on my health, my beauty and my LIFE. That's a lot more than just the fat on my body.  I know THAT will be released. I'm absolutely 100% sure that this lifestyle works.

Loving myself enough to take the time to prep and do menus and READ!  I have studied so much over the years and I have not even scratched the surface of what this lifestyle can offer.



More to come~

Guacamole Stuffed Baked Potato with Kale & Sundried Tomato

I'm working on eating as much Raw as I can and yesterday I had a green smoothie with banana, pineapple, mango, baby kale and spinach for breakfast.

For lunch I had a salad with mixed organic greens, mango, pineapple, purple onion, sunflower seeds and grape tomato with balsamic vinegar for my dressing.  (Was so good!  fruit and greens are an amazing combo).

I'm working on a few days a week 100% Raw and a few days a week a cooked vegan dinner.  I HAVE to share my dinner last night!!!

I was missing good loaded baked potatoes and had recently seen guacamole with tomatoes and kale at While Food and put that combo to memory as I was going to make some homemade kale gauc soon.  Last night I decided to make gauc and use it to replace the butter and sour cream you would use normally in the standard American diet.

I had kale and sundried tomato and garlic in the fridge so I sauteed it and topped the potatoes and gauc.  Holy OMG it was awesome.

GUACAMOLE & KALE STUFFED BAKED POTATOES FOR TWO:

2 huge or 3 medium russet or yellow baking potatoes.. wrapped in foil and roasted at 350 - 1 to 1 1/2 hours till knife pokes thru potato easily).

2 Hass or 1 FL avocado
2 T lemon or lime juice or to taste (I normally like LOTS of lime juice and jalapeno in my gauc but didn't have a jalapeno this time)
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

Mix gauc with a fork.  Stick a seed in the gauc till served to keep it from browning.

Kale or swiss chard, 2 cloves garlic minced, sundried tomato (soaked if they are dried very hard) chopped.

Sautee greens of choice in coconut oil with sundried tomato and garlic.

Open potatoes..  top with guacamole and then greens..

DELISH I tell you!!

Catching Up... and DETOX~

I am having sinus detox..  it's always the first way I detox.  I have read our mucus membranes are one way our body detoxes.  

I got a headache and sinus issues about 5pm yesterday and finally it got so bad I went to bed a little early.

This AM the sinus yuck and headache were still there... this means for me it's pretty deep detox.  I've been doing high raw for over a week now.  

In the past when I wanted to slow down the detox, when it got so bad I couldn't deal.. I would eat heavier food (nuts and seeds.. muesli, etc.) and a cooked Vegan dinner or two.

This is what I am going to do for the next couple of days.  I am working hard on a major house cleanup because I have not been able to do much in a couple of weeks.  Because of the last 2 weeks of back, hip and leg pain I've really been down and the house is a horrid mess, so major cleaning.. 

Anyway because of needing to FEEL good and have energy (thank GOD!) I am slowing down the detox a bit for a couple of days.  I have too much work to do in the next couple of days to feel like shit.

I had muesli for lunch with coconut milk (processed, boxed) lots of grapes and I am having leftover cabbage, black sesame salad tonight.  My previous post was the Black Sesame Cabbage salad.. it was really awesome.
 
I am continuing 100% raw days with combo days for a while until I get caught up and can actually take a week and actually rest my way through some serious detoxing.  Eating raw till 5 PM anyway, STILL is amazing. 

I am getting my energy back a little bit and my back has is getting better... less pain and stiffness.   I still have this really sharp stabbing pain down my leg often. I can only work on cleaning for maybe 20 minutes and then I have to get down a half hour or so.

I am 99% sure this is a nerve problem from my back from just carrying so much weight. I have made it to 52 years old without having a whole lot of pain from my obesity but it is for catching up with me...

I know I need to lose weight so more raw food it is and soon I'm going to start green juices and maybe a short juice fast. The longest I've made so far I think was 10 days and I'm not ready to undertake another long juice fast yet, if I get too militant about it too soon it backfires. So I'm going to try my best to eat less eat lots of raw and keep babying myself and my body and hopefully start some good healing.

Black Sesame and Cabbage Salad w/ an AMAZING Zing of a Dressing.

I'm eating lots of raw.. alot of what I make is simple and not necessarily recipe worthy really.  NOT that I don't love it.. I am learning that I have to make it simple, fruit for breakfast... green smoothies and huge salads for lunches and occasionally a Raw gourmet dinner but more often I am making a simple salad or eating a simple cooked vegan meal.

I LOVE the amazing Raw Gourmet recipes and they can help keep you from getting bored but for me I have to learn to most often just eat to live.. rejoice in all the fresh produce and buy the very best I can afford in season.

THIS salad I just threw together yesterday and wow... I was amazed.

SALAD:
Soak a half cup black sesame seeds 8 hours to overnight...

Shred in food processor:  Small cabbage, 5 celery stalks, 1 red bell, 1 medium bag baby carrots, 4 green onion (I chop green onion ahead of time because my food processor leaves the pieces too big for my liking).

Stir in soaked black sesame... This is a pretty salad!

This makes a HUGE salad and would make approx 6 main meal servings.. we will eat on it for two days.

DRESSING:
1 inch piece peeled and chopped fresh ginger
Juice of one lime
3 dates
Salt to taste
Apple cider vinegar 2 T or more to taste (I love vinegar and poured in a bit more)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (not raw but I prefer the toasted taste)
5 drops Boyajian Tangerine oil  (there are other Tangerine oils but I love this company and they have LOTS of amazing flavors.. I have several... the wasabi one I use often.)
Enough H2O that your blender will whirl

 I was AMAZED with the dressing... I love it when I actually make something myself without a recipe that is so good!!

Raw Ginger Snap Chews

I wanted to share one of my favorite raw treats.. wonderful with a cup of hot green tea. 

1/2 C Medjool dates
 1/2 C finely shred coconut
1 x 2" piece ginger peeled and finely chopped
1/2 C white sesame seeds (soak overnight)
 3 T raw honey
pinch salt

You really do have to mince the ginger by hand and then mix in food processor with everything else... mix well.. I blend 3-4 times each time scraping down sides with spatula. 

Salt to taste but remember it will taste saltier when you dehydrate.

Drop onto teflex and dehydrate.  I like to make small teaspoon-full drops and flatten them into small discs using wet fingers.  The mix is fairly sticky so this really helps.

Dehydrate one day, turn over onto mesh and dehydrate another day.

These are totally addictive if you love ginger!

YUM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Working on Staying In The Now

I have SUCH a hard time just being.. just being in the now.  I am constantly thinking about how my life will be so much better in the future that I am certainly not enjoying every day I am LIVING RIGHT NOW.

I have really been suffering.. my back is out.. I hurt it pretty seriously ... I think while pulling a what I thought was dead azelia bush out of the ground.. it didn't want to come and I didn't give up.  And I am in some horrid pain and the pain and inflammation have also caused an Inflammatory Bowel flare.. it's been like the most mind blowing pain the last few days of my life.. but I realized today that all of this could really help me if I would just realize and accept I have done this to myself.. with my weight being so out of control and me being such a ridiculous couch potato.  I know If I can remember these days it will help me.  I tend to just forget all the struggles and pain as soon as it is gone.. and although in the past I've obviously had good intentions, once I forget and get over the pain I've had from time to time and start to get better, I get complacent.

Somehow I have to really remember this crap and use it to my advantage.  So  I am going to really focus on the NOW.

Well I can certainly write about the freaking AGONY I've been in lately.. and I need it documented so when I DO FEEL BETTER I might remember.. this back pain.. half my entire back is seized up.. from my waist all the way down to my tailbone.. I can hardly walk.  I also have pain in what I think is my SI joint.. down in my butt cheek.  It's deep and feels heated and angry.

Worst of all is the sharp front thigh pain. it feels stabbing and travels down the front of my thigh.  I know it's probably the sciatic nerve and it scares me most of all.  I know my poor spine and it's discs are smashed from the extra 100 pounds I am carrying around on my small frame.. I am barely 5' 4".  I've been carrying around this extra 100 pounds for 17 years.

I am also dealing with depression and agoraphobia to some extreme.. I am not sure it's truly agoraphobia because I do leave the house but if I can put it off or think of any reason not to go I do.. or if I can get my hubs to do it for me I do.  It's depression I know and lately it's worse than ever with this pain.. and not leaving the bed or recliner for almost two weeks now unless I absolutely have to... which I do to make our raw breakfasts or lunches.. or sometimes a raw dinner here or there.. I am TRYING.. I am making an effort but it feels monumental to even walk to the kitchen right now.  I have this bone deep pain and I feel so much sadness and I feel almost helpless.. but I know I'm not.

I know raw food helps.. I know I can do this for myself.. thankfully.

Ok.. wow. well there is enough living in the now for me.. for today.