Chelz EZ Raw Budget

4th and last week of my Challenge

2010-07-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys! This is my last week on my $34.60 week challenge. This week I spent 25.12 which leaves me with $8.88 left over for the month. My grocery list included the following: collards, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, corn, black beans, lentils, bananas, strawberries and cashews. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to take any pictures this week because my camera is not working. I mainly stuck

Challenge Week 3 Day 21

2010-07-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day! Check out today's meals Breakfast: Mango Shake1 large Mango, pinch of cinnamon, 1 Tbsp cashews, 1 tsp bee pollen Lunch: Corn Chowder1 large Corn Cob,1/4 cup carrots, thin slice onion, 1 tbsp Walnuts, 1 tsp Olive Oil, salt, pepper Dinner: Basic Salad with tomato and chilis Dessert: Plum Blueberry Cobbler w/ Banana Soft Serve

Challenge Week 3 Day 20

2010-07-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today was pretty eventful. I’ve lived in my (1st) house for about 3 ½ years. I had no idea how much maintenance went into keeping up a house, from the backyard, bushes, plumbing to the irrigation system. Wow! At the moment I feel like my whole house is leaking; the bathtub faucet, a few sprinklers and the toilet is constantly running. Early tomorrow morning I will be heading out to Home Depot

Challenge Week 3 Day 19

2010-07-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Monday was a routine day for me. I worked early in the day and later worked on some home projects. My meals were simple too. Check them out! Breakfast: Almond Butter ShakeAlmond Butter, Banana, Dates and Brazil Nut Milk Lunch: My version of Alissa Cohen's Boccoli Soup Almond Milk (1/4 cup Almond, 2 cups water)1 cup broccolitiny piece of oniongarlic clovecumincayenne Dinner: Cobb Salad w/

Tried it Again! Trip to Ahwatukee’s Farmers Market

2010-07-19T02:46:00.000-07:00

The first week of my challenge I went to the Phoenix Farmers Market and only scored some herbs. The herbs were great but I was looking for more. Well, this morning I made it to Ahwatukee’s Farmers Market at 8 and was pleasantly surprised. There were many more vendors than last time I visited and they were so friendly in spite of the ridiculously hot (kind of humid) weather. I scored a lot for

Challenge Week 3 Day 16

2010-07-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday Guys!! I didn’t have any greens yesterday so, I made sure to have lots today. For breakfast I had a Purple/ Green Smoothie filled with lots of blueberries, dark purple grapes and spinach. Lunch was a salad with bib lettuce, peaches and walnuts. The dressing was a blend of honey, lime juice and olive oil. Dinner was marinated veggie bowl served with Kelp noodles. Take a look~ Blend

Thrifty Raw Food Challenge Update Days 13, 14, and 15

2010-07-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys! It’s been a couple of days since I’ve posted. I apologize for the delay as I’ve been having slight migraines. Today marks the beginning of week for my Thrifty ($34.60) Raw Food Challenge. The challenge has been going quite well. At the moment I’m under budget by about $9 but I must admit I’ve eating a lot of fruit and less greens. Since my migraine as significantly subsided, I will be

Challenge Week 2 Day 12 Monday

2010-07-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday Everyone! Today was an extra hot day. My dogs just laid in front of their doggy door wishing they could go out. Every time they would go out their door return in less than a minute. My AC was running all day long. Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do if I did not have central air. Today's meal were light and VERY simple; Fruit and Veggies. I had whole grapefruit juice for my

Challenge Week 2 Days 10 and 11

2010-07-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I had so much going on that I did not get a chance visit the Farmer’s Market. Before I headed out the door at 6:30 in the morning, I made a 32 oz Green Smoothie with Hemp seeds, Spinach, ginger and Green Apple and a 24 oz Fruit Smoothie with the rest of the peaches, banana, and strawberries I had left over from the week. Since I was too late to go to the Farmer’s Market, I went

Challenge Week 2 Day 9

2010-07-10T23:51:00.000-07:00

Friday was another busy hot day. During the summer in AZ I just don't feel like spending much time in the kitchen. Take a look at Friday's meals. Green Chocolate Protein Shake: few spinach leaves cacao powder bananas hemp seeds dates vanilla extract Nectarine and Trail Mix cashewssunflower seedsdried cranberries Marinated Kale and Spinach w/ Ranch: kale spinach cucumber red

Challenge Week 2 Day 8

2010-07-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a busy day form me. After my morning ritual, I made an extra large Peach Cobbler in a Glass for breakfast and packed my lunch and some snacks for the day. *Actually, the previous night I frozen some of the peach cobbler mix into popsicles. Thursday morning I took 3 and blended it with water.* I walked out the door to my car and drove half way to my destination just to realize I

Challenge Week 1 Day 7

2010-07-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

Today's Meals Breakfast: Buckwheaties and FruitBuckwheaties and Fruit:Buckwheat groatsappleblueberriesbananastrawberrieswalnutssunflower seedsdried cranberries Breakfast: Blueberry ShakeBlueberry Shake:1 cup Blueberries1/2 banana1 Date1/2 cup cashew milk Breakfast: Zucchini Pasta and MarinaraZucchini Pasta and Marinara:1 large Zuchinni2 Plum Tomatoes2 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil1

Challenge Week 1 Day 6

2010-07-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

It's a HOT Hump Day! Here are my meals for Tuesday and Today! Tuesday's Meals Breakfast: Green SmoothieGreen Smoothie:1 cup Blueberries1 Pink Lady Apple1/4 Avocado1 Date Lunch: Veggies and Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus Dinner: Salad and Strawberry ShakeSalad:Bib LettuceSpinach CucumberSproutsBell PepperTomatoRed OnionSunflower Seedsw/ Olive Oil and Lemon dressing Strawberry Shake:1 cup

Challenge Week 1 Day 5

2010-07-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Monday's Meals Breakfast and Snack: 1/2 Honeydew Melon w/ orange flesh Lunch: Apple ShakeSour Apple Shake:2 Dates, Cashew milk, 1 granny smith apple, lucuma powder, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg Lunch: Spinach and Butter lettuce Salad and Sauteed Brussel SproutsSpinach and Butter lettuce Salad:Butter LeavesSpinach LeavesTomatoesRadishes Red OnionAvocadoSunflower Seeds

Trip to the Farmers Market and Weekend Meals.

2010-07-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

The best Farmers Market I’ve ever been to is the Eastern Market in Detroit, Michigan. Many Saturday mornings, I was excited to go to the Eastern Market with my family. It was like a big event. We, along with thousands of others, would spend half the day there. Upon arriving at the market around 9 am, we would make our rounds sampling and purchasing fresh produce. Afterwards, we would visit the

Challenge Week 1 Day 2

2010-07-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

Since I had to defrost my freezer, I took the opportunity use all of the frozen fruit that had thawed. I usually buy fruit in bulk and on sale. On any day my freezer is filled with strawberries, bananas, pineapple, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and frozen peaches. So, take a look at Friday’s meals. Breakfast: Strawberry

Challenge Week 1 Day 1

2010-07-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

So, I did not get a chance to go grocery shopping for my challenge for two reasons. My fridge needed to be defrosted and I could not locate the Mesa Farmers Market. Here, in Arizona they have many little Farmers Markets that can be hard to locate. Saturday morning I will head out to the Phoenix Farmers Market for the first time. I'm still making out my list and will post it soon. I had frozen

Thrifty Food 31 Day Challenge

2010-06-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

In these current economic times many people are on a tight budget. I am no exception. Now that I’ve cut down on my other expenses I’m working on cutting down my food budget. As I mentioned in other posts, many believe that a high raw food diet is too expensive, especially when buying organic produce. While researching the internet for tips on budget shopping I ran across this article about the

How I buy Organic on a Budget

2010-06-29T00:14:00.000-07:00

Purchasing organic food on a budget can be a bit difficult but following these few tips will help get you started. Visit your local Farmers Market. Local farmer usually grow organic produce with getting accreditation. Buy a Share from a CSA. Community Supported Agriculture is a system where people purchase-in advance-fresh, usually organic, products from their neighborhood farm. The average

Blog Change- Chelz High Raw Lifestyle

2010-06-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Since I have completed my original raw food challenge, I’ve decided to change the focus on my blog. While eating mostly raw a few friends asked me how I afford it and how can I stay on track. As for “staying on track,” I’ve decided to continue on with a high raw diet (85- 90%). I will include cooked foods such as whole grains and beans. I’m sure you’ve heard people say healthy eating is more

Trying new Recipes

2010-02-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

As much as I would like to purchase a ton of raw food books my budget will not allow me to. However, with the abundance of information on the internet I am able to learn a great deal about eating raw. In the past few months I’ve copied many recipes from authors like Alissa Cohen, Sarma Melngailis and James Russell. The last couple of recipes I tried were, Turnip Ravioli (Alissa) with macadamia

Week 3 Raw...Blend Away

2010-01-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

As promised, I tried a few new recipes this week. Pictured to the left is Ani Phyo's Black Sesame Sunflower Bread! This is the first raw bread I've tried and truly enjoyed. I think the recipe says to cut it into 9 squares but I cut mine into 12. I made some small changes like using less whole flaxseeds and grinding more of the sunflower seeds. I made a couple of hummus and veggie sandwiches with

Week 2

2010-01-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

This week, I prepared more liquid foods such as smoothies, juices and soups. They're the easiest to prepare while eating mostly raw. They're very enjoyable whether you're eating raw or not. Fulfilling, flavorful, packed with nutrients and protein, how can you not like them? My new experiences this week were Kelp Noodles and someone's Just Like Ritz Crackers crackers found on the RCF. And yes!

1 Week Raw...Almost

2010-01-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

So, I've been on a 80-90% raw food eating plan for the past couple of weeks....even when I not feeling well. Last night I went to a potluck Bible study and did not eat any of the processed cake, cookies, muffins etc....!! Instead, I ate before I arrived. I was not tempted with anything. Well...I guess I shouldn't say that. You know, when my family and friend get together we eat. So, I was tempted

Took a time out!

2010-01-10T09:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, so a lot has happened in the past few weeks. I actually got sick twice which Is why I haven't posted in a while. But I'm back!! For Christmas I made granola and candied walnuts, pecans and cashews. My enjoyed the walnuts (which she can't stand normally) and the pecans. Here are some photos! Maple Walnuts and Maple Cinnamon Pecans Middle Jar- Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Granola bowl- granola,