Day 21 Raw food Challenge

So I`m on day 21 of my 100 days of raw food.  I have to say that although I am calling this a challenge, it doesn`t feel very challenging! One of the best things to come out of eating raw foods is that I feel satisfied   I eat a meal and then guess what I don`t feel like I need to eat to bursting!  Shocking I know.  Eating more moderately without trying, I`m in!

Most days I start the day off with a juice or smoothie and have some veggies and dip or salad with a juice for lunch or just a smoothie.  For dinners I have veggies and dip, raw pizza, raw pasta, or wild salmon sashimi or even a smoothie.

The hardest thing for me is snacking.  You know that curling on the couch watching a movie having a snack.  I have a hard time with that.  I have found that pomegranates make a great movie snack at least at home, as they take time to eat and are sweet and crunchy!  I have also been playing around with dehydrating different veggies, so far potato sucks, yam is ok, zuchinni was ok, cauliflower has been pretty good!  I`ve heard that sweet potatoes are yummy as well so maybe that will be the next experiment  The thing I don`t want to get into is snacking on nuts.  I love them and they are easy to go for so I am trying not to let myself because a few can turn into a handful and then all bets are off.  Sure it`s healthier then chips but they are loaded with calories and that I do not need more of!

So, so far so good, I`m feeling better, clearer and more focused.  I have better energy throughout the day, and I`m down about 6-7 pounds in 3 weeks:)

Day 10! 100 day raw food challenge!

Ok so I am 10 days into my raw food and juice challenge.  How am I doing.  Well I am down 4.5-5.5 pounds awesome.  I feel lighter already, my face looks less round and I have much better energy!  I have to say so far this doesn't feel like a "challenge" I'm eating super yummy raw foods, delicious juices, awesome smoothies, I feel good, I have energy.  Why stop?!  How many times do I have to do this before I stick with it for good?  I feel better, I look better, the food is yummy, seriously why stop?

This time round I have been doing things a little bit differently.  For one thing I try to have all my food/juices/smoothies at room temperature.  This has helped a lot!  I can't tell you how cold I use to get when I was eating this way.  Now I feel much warmer and therefore more keen on sticking to this.  I am sure if I lived in a super hot climate this wouldn't be such an issue but it's winter in the north west and -2 plus cold food just doesn't work.  

As I am eating some raw meals as well as juices and smoothies, I have been paying attention to not overdoing it with nuts and seeds.  They are delicious but high in calories, even on a raw diet you have to pay attention.  That being said just the other day a good friend brought over some raw pizzas she had made, which are amazingly amazing and oh I had some.  Everything in moderation.  Snacking is my weakness so I am making a point of packing vegetable sticks, mini oranges and berries with me to keep me happy and on track.

So far so good!

Low Potassium Juices

A friend of mine can't have foods containing to much Potassium and he asked me what kind of juices he could make to stick with his diet.  I came up with the following list.  Of course if you are in his boat try to limit the amount you have depending on your doctor's recommendations.  I based these juice recipes off of a list of low potassium foods from the kidney foundation.

Low Potassium Juices:)

Made in your juicer or blended and strained or drank like a smoothie

*Green Pineapple*

1/2 Whole Pineapple

1 chunk of ginger

1 stock of celery

3 stocks of kale

*Pink Lemonade*

2-3 apples

1 cup purple cabbage

1/2 lemon

*Supreme Green*

2-3 apples

1/2 bunch of parsley

1 chunk ginger

2 stocks celery

1/2 cucumber

2 stocks of kale

*Apple Pie*

1-2 apples

1 pear

1 chunk ginger

*Citrus Delight*

3 mandarines

1 tangarine

1 grapefruit

*Berry Smoothie*

2 cups grapes (juiced)

1 cup of blueberries (juiced)

-Blend-

1/2 cup Strawberries

1/2 cup Raspberries

1/2 cup Blackberries

Spring Water to taste

*Pepper Madness*

2 apples

2-3 red peppers

2 stocks of romaine

*Watermelon Yummers*

1/2 watermelon blended

Fresh Mint Leaves

Raw Coconut Curry Soup

Yummy!  I just made my first raw coconut curry soup for dinner!  It turned out really well, here's my recipe:

1 Young Coconut
1.5 red peppers ( I like to use the long skinny peppers)
1/2 avocado
1 chunk of ginger
1 clove garlic
1 tbs curry powder
Salt and Chili Peppers to taste

This video below shows you how to open a young coconut.  Any heavy knife will work and to take out the flesh I like to use a melon baller:)

Once you have your coconut open, empty water into a blender or food processor   Add in all your ingredients including your young coconut flesh.  But keep a 1/4 cup of coconut flesh and 1/2 a red pepper to the side.  Blend on high until it reaches a creamy texture and pour in your bowl.  Top with chopped red pepper and chopped coconut flesh.  If you are wanting noodles you can spirilize 1/2 a cucumber or zuchinni and add it in the soup as well.  This recipe will make a nice starter for 2 or a meal for 1.  Enjoy!

Papaya, Grapefruit, Carrot and Ginger Smoothie

Today I made a wonderful smoothie.  

The color is bright neon orange and it tastes, sweet, sour, tangy and delicious   Here's my recipe:

Juice the following

3-4 carrots 

1 Grapefruit

1 inch chunk Ginger

In a blender add

1 Papaya

The carrot/grapefruit juice and blend.

Super yummy and satisfying! 

So far day two is going well :)

What have I been doing....

Well as you can see it's been a long freaking time since I last blogged... What have I been doing you may ask.  Well nothing that fantastic.  2012 was not one of my favorite years. I spent to much time and energy working and was stressed out to say the least.  The unfortunate thing about me and stress is I eat.  A lot.  Cheese, chips, pizza, DESSERT, SUGAR.  All the oh so not good for you foods.  It's like the more stressed out I get the more I talk myself into eating crappy foods and out of eating what makes me feel good.

I feel like a broken record and like well a yo-yo.  Eat crappy for years, vow to lose weight, loose nearly 60 pounds!  Feel great, decide it's ok for me to indulge in a cookie that leads to 12 and everything is out the door.  All the hard work, all the good choices, flushed down the crapper.

So here I am back up to 180 pounds!  Yikes!  Seriously no good. On my small frame I look like a sausage.  But you know what, I don't feel hard on myself.  I really don't.  I made some bad choices or some bad and stressed out choices and it got me here.  It's not a mystery how it happened.  How I let it happen.  But I also know I can lose it because I have before.  That one thought or realization makes me feel lighter and happier about the whole thing.  I know I can take it off.  I know exactly what it is I need to do to get it off of me.

So this is my plan.  I have created a large 100 day calendar and it's smack on my fridge. As of today the 6th of January I am starting my 100 day juicing and raw food diet.  Everyday that I stick to my goal I will get a sticker and at the end of the 100 days I will reward myself.  I am not sure what the reward will be yet but I will give myself one.

I am super excited to be starting these next 100 days.  I will be checking in as I go along probably with juice recipes and the trials and triumphs I have along the way.