Mission accomplished! 30 days RAW!

Hello once again,  my lovelies! It is a beautiful day here in the "A": 72 degrees and sunny. I likey. April definitely brought the rain which is great and all, but I'm ready for some consistent sun in May. I've got cute ensembles to rock =)

So, what's been going on with my 30 day raw journey you ask? Well freshen up your (healthy) drink, sit back and follow me. We left off on day 20 when I was finally out of my seemingly emotional slump due to what I believe were detox symptoms. Days 21-30 were pretty much a breeze, and I didn't want it to end, except when I started having dreams of cooked food--namely hummus and flaxseed chips-on day 28. Whatever, chile. Who knows what that was about?

Let's go...

Days 21-30

Day 21 was a rainy Sunday. I woke up feeling pretty refreshed, which was surprising seeing that we stayed out late at our 80's Throwback party the night before. I made a big brunch for the fam (which they had no shame in devouring it in front of me!), while I enjoyed 1/2 an avocado with sea salt and pepper and jasmine tea with a dash of coconut sugar. I pretty much drank tea and water for the rest of the day. I had an orange and 2 bananas for lunch and my usual salad for dinner. Meals are starting to get a bit repetitive, so I'm constantly searching for new recipes, otherwise I just end up not eating enough or grazing on fruit.

Days 22 & 23 felt like I was in a groove. It was if I had been eating this way all my life and didn't feel like a "challenge" at all. My emotions were in check...I was just plain happy. At work, people were side eyeing me when I didn't participate in ordering out. I side eyed them right back. Cooked food just wasn't appealing to me at that time, especially "junk" foods.
On both days breakfasts were smoothies (I made an especially delicious one that I called "Tuesday Sunshine Smoothie" that made me rub my tummy and dance as I drank. Ha! Judge not lest ye be judged!
Lunch was a variety of fruit such as bananas, grapes, bananas, mangoes, figs, dried apricots, dates, strawberries, and blackberries. Dinner on both days was a very large (think huge silver mixing bowl!) mixed greens salad with veggies, avocado, and seaweed. On day 22 I did a great kickboxing routine, and Tuesday was a boot camp style workout. Good times!

Mixed greens, veggie & seaweed salad

 Sunshine Smoothie

1 & 1/2 bananas

1 yellow mango, peeled & diced

1/2 cup frozen peaches

1 medium orange, peeled, sectioned & seeded

1/2 cup pineapple & juice

1/4 cup frozen red raspberries

add purified water to desired consistency

blend & enjoy!

Day 24 was an all fruit day. All fruit...all the day long. Don't know why, but it sho was yummy. You know bananas was up in there (4), oranges (had about 3!), 1 yellow mango, grapes, and pineapple. Also drank tons of water, about 7 cups, and 3 cups of herbal tea. I don't need to go into my bathroom situation that day, do I?

Days 25 & 26 were like BOOM! POW! I mean, I felt like a damn superhero. This raw ish can get you in trouble; got you thinking you can climb trees barefoot and jump off of buildings and ish. Man! Anyway, since I didn't eat any veggies on day 24, day 25 started off with a deelovely green smoothie that was packed with veggie power. I also added 1 tablespoon of Trader Joe's "Very Green" dietary supplement powder for insurance. It has tons magical goodness in the form of alfalfa leaf, barley grass, chlorella, spirulina, etc. I'll post the label below. Breakfast on day 26 was a simple fruit salad.
Lunch was a raw avocado soup on both days (2 avocados, juice of 1/2 lime, 1/2 cucumber (peeled), 1/2 red pepper, cilantro leaves to taste, cumin to taste, dash sea salt, red pepper flakes, 3/4 cup of water, all blended. Um, hello..yum!) Dinner was nori veggie wraps on day 25 and mixed veggie salad with curry dressing on day 26. I drank 10 cups of water on day 25 and 12 on day 26. Go me.
Skin clear, allergies are much improved with very little mucous in the mornings (sorry), and my clothes are looser. Down 12ish pounds.

Green Super Powers Smoothie

handful baby spinach

smaller handful kale

3 leaves green leaf lettuce

1 banana

1/2 cup pineapple & juice

1/2 cup strawberries

mint leaves to taste

1 tablespoon Trader Joe's "Very Green" powder

1 cup purified water

blend & bottoms up!

Trader Joe's (Darwin's) Very Green Supplement, $19.99 (35 servings per container, so it lasts quite a while)

Alfalfa leaf extract, barley grass juice powder, pea fiber, spirulina powder, green tea leaf extract to name of few of the powerhouse ingredients. Good stuff.

 

Days 27-30 had me feeling very apprehensive that this challenge was coming to an end! I felt like I wanted to stay raw a bit longer...then reminded myself that, duh, I could if I wanted to. No one was forcing me to go back to cooked food! Smh. Then, as if right on confused girl cue, I wanted to take a bite out of the black bean burgers I was preparing for my fam on day 28. Smh again. I didn't, but it did show me that I was putting too much pressure on myself to choose raw vegan vs cooked vegan. I decided to stay high raw (75-80% raw), and cooked healthy vegan whenever I feel like it. Done. Sheesh. Fruits and salads pretty much ruled these last 4 days. I had a fruit smoothie that my love made for me on day 29, but other than that, it was just fresh fruits. I made a new raspberry vinaigrette dressing on day 29 that came out of nowhere. I tossed it in a fruit, kale, and spinach salad that lasted 2 days. Day 30 was a raw guacamole dip and mixed salad that was pretty good. Ended on a really tasty note. Proud of me.

Fruit, kale, and spinach salad

Kale, spinach leaves (as much as you want)

strawberries

orange sections

pineapple chunks

1 banana

1/2 cucumber

red pepper

sea salt, black pepper to taste

raw pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top

Raspberry vinaigrette dressing:

1/2 cup raspberries

1/4 cup pineapple juice

red pepper salsa puree left over from my black bean burger recipe

(3 garlic cloves, 1/2 onion, 1/2 red pepper, 1 Turkish hot pepper)

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tbsp spicy mustard

1 tsp raw coconut sugar (or your choice)

dash salt & pepper

mix well in blender/food processor

Raw Guacamole w/salad



Well, that's IT, lovelies. I did it!!! Did anyone join me? Is anyone planning on testing the raw waters?If so, let me know. There's no experience like this one. Truly. Mental clarity, physical and emotional healing, and just increased overall appreciation for all things is what I toook away from this challenge.
Like I said above, I will be continuing my raw journey; it doesn't stop here. It's now a part of my life. I'll also be experimenting with more recipes, including desserts and will continue to blog about the experience.
Thank you again for ALL the support, emails, texts, encouragement, and shout outs! Love you guys.
To your health,


Love and happiness,


Nikki

Baking Bread...My New Obsession!

Ok lovelies, this post is completely off topic of what I've been talking about lately. Hell, it's not even vegan-related. However, in my quest to find the perfect tasting gluten free bread for my youngest son (aka the manchild), I've given up on the store-bought stuff and went back to baking my own.

Some may know that he is on the autism spectrum and gluten is not an ingredient I want in his food for various reasons. Gluten is a protein that exists in many grains such as wheat, barley, rye, etc. Some people cannot digest the protein (as in celiac disease for example), but for my son and others like him with autism, there has been a link between autism and the inability to break down gluten in their gastrointestinal tracts. This prompts the release of opiates. Yep! He basically gets high off his own supply. Poor guy! There is debate about this of course, but let's just say it has been medically proven in my son.

Since his gluten "addiction" has seemed to worsen over the past few months, I'm slowly removing it from his foods. The main source for him being bread, why not start there? I baked breads from scratch before, but with the use of a bread maker. I was nervous about how my "real bread" would turn out. I started out with a gluten free flour pre-packaged mix that I found at Kroger (about $4.99).

 

 

It turned out pretty good!He and the fiance LOVED it. Still, I wanted to use my own flours and other ingredients, so I searched the web.

 

 

I found this site, which has an amazing variety of not only gluten free breads but also paleo, yeast free, dairy free, refined sugar free...it goes on. Man! My head was spinning, but I did spot a multigrain recipe that looked good. I based the bread I baked on this recipe, but tweaked some ingredients. I went back to the Dekalb Farmer's Market here in Atlanta and did some shopping.

 

I subbed organic oat flour for the almond flour (although I will try it in the future), and since I couldn't find sorghum flour in the store, I subbed coconut flour. Megan stated coconut flour "would not work" with this recipe, but it turned out just fine for me. It just calls for a bit more liquid to be added to get the right consistency. I use almond milk in my breads because I find it adds a bit of lightness to the bread. Total liquid I used was about 1 1/2 cups. 1 cup water, 1/2 cup almond milk. I also used agave syrup instead of honey. I later found sorghum flour online at Amazon.com, and it should be arriving any day.

 

Fresh out the oven. Smell it?!!

Sliced easily. Think I'll slice smaller next time. He had ginormous sandwiches at school =)

 

 

That's it. It was simple to make, and smelled deeelicious! Of course, I'm doing raw now, so I couldn't taste it. Still was another hit with the fellas, so I'm excited to see what else I can come up with. I'm thinking raisin bread, or something vegan friendly. I have also started using organic coconut sugar, which is so much better for you than agave (in my opinion), and you can also bake with it so I will be trying it out in my baked goods soon.

Thanks to everyone who has been asking for the recipe. I'll keep posting more as I make them.

 

 

Love and Happiness,

 

 

Nikki



Emotionally Raw...20 Days

Back again, my lovelies to update you on this raw journey of mine. Are you all well? Good! I've got lots to share so let's get to it. Days 16-20 were a roller coaster, but I held on!

Days 16-20

Day 16 was like a gift from the perfect life fairy. I kid you not. Tuesday is usually a good day for me. Don't know why. I don't question it, I just ride the wave. Ha! I woke up feeling so clear headed and light inside. Very energetic. Still congested and "sneezy" since my arch enemy pollen was lingering around like an unwelcome house guest. I had resumed my intense workouts in the past few days and was about to do a kickboxing class, when my fiance said he wanted to "go shopping". Screeech! This from the king of frugal?! I quickly ate 2 bananas for breakfast, along with 2 cups of water. I also take water with me wherever I go. After shopping (he bought me 2 GORGEOUS summer dresses!), we went to lunch at Macaroni Grill in Marietta. I had a really great HUGE house salad and water with lemon. I was hungry by dinner time, so I had lots of fruit and raw nuts-I find that helps with any cravings. Grapes, blueberries, bananas, raw cashews & peanuts, and pineapple. I also had a cup of herbal tea before bed. Still sleeping well with vivid dreams, 6-7 hours/night.

My lunch salad at Macaroni Grill

Day 17 found me with a ton of energy, but not much of an appetite. Boooo!
I only had a small breakfast of 6-8 Medjool dates (I swear they taste like candy) and that was it. About 2 or so hours later, I had a banana and herbal tea for a snack. Lunch was a smoothie made with oranges, pineapples, and bananas. Dinner was a big veggie salad made with red leaf kale, carrots, avocado, onions, raisins, and spinach. Going to the bathroom is now my most frequent past time =\
I'm also noticing that I am always burping or gassy (not stinky tho! That's another plus to this whole raw thing). Morning breath is also waaay less offensive! Almost non-existent. I said almost. Skin is soft and clear. Wish my allergies would disappear.

Day 18 was quite interesting. I woke up feeling pretty good. Worked out first thing (kickboxing and some yoga), and had a deeelicious Berry Banana Smoothie for breakfast. Snack was a handful of raw pumpkin seeds and 2 Medjool dates. Drank lots of water this morning, about 4 cups already. The day was uneventful until about 1 or 2 pm. I began feeling very anxious and wasn't sure why. I used to suffer from panic attacks, and it almost felt like the beginning of a panic attack which was very concerning. I also started to feel very tired physically and mentally. I don't know if I was having an emotional detox ( I talk about this in my first "raw" video), but it was not fun. I went on to eat a couple of oranges and bananas at work and drank about 4-5 more cups of water for the day, not including 2 cups of herbal tea. I didn't eat my salad for dinner.

Berry Banana Smoothie:

1 med-large frozen banana

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup strawberries

1/2 cup pineapple chunks w/juice

3/4 cup frozen peaches

Blend!

Day 19 had me feeling a little better, but still emotionally flat.Wth? I wanted something crunchy with my breakfast so I had raw cashews and a fruit salad. I have to say my taste buds appreciate food in its natural state now. I can actually taste the flavors of each food I eat without having to season it or drown it in sauces or dressings. I was off from work that Friday, and slept most of the early part of the day. Maybe I just needed some rest because I woke up and had a smoothie my fiance made for me and went back to sleep for the night!

Day 20 Hallelujah. Woke up feeling like my fabulous self again! Lol. My energy was back. I jumped out of bed, but not before reminiscing on the dream I had about being married to Lil Wayne and...well, never mind. I've lost about 8-10 pounds so far for those who are asking. I didn't really weigh in on the first day, so yeah. I had a green smoothie for breakfast (spinach, kale, 1 banana, and pineapple). So good. I caught up with my best friend on the phone, talked with another girlfriend, went to the nail salon, and then shopping for the 80's Throwback party my fiance and I were invited to that night. Somewhere in there I fit in a mango and 2 bananas for lunch, 4 cups of water, and 2 nori rolls with lettuce and avocado for dinner. The party had an open bar, and this was the first time in recent memory that I partied while drinking only water all night...and had a blast!!! Go figure. Btw, I was Jody Watley and he was a B-boy =)

Nikki "Watley" wearing the fiance's B-boy glasses

MC Roc in the house!

There you have it...my crazy emotional detox days. I'm thankful for them, though because it means I've let go of whatever was buried deep down unbeknownst to me. I'm currently on day 24 and am almost sad this is coming to a close. I do miss rice and beans, and hummus, to be quite honest. Other than that, I feel amazing. We'll see what happens! Thanks for hanging with me again. Be well.


Love and Happiness,

Nikki