I put off doing a blog update all weekend because I didn’t want to get the images off of my mom’s memory card, lol. I brought her camera to the restaurant we went to with my cousin Tricia last Friday, it’s so much easier to use a small point and shoot cam than my DSLR. The restaurant was in a nice location on the river, but the food was unremarkable. Probably why I haven’t been too excited to transfer the images, lol.

I’m happy to report that I haven’t gained back any of the weight I lost while eating a semi-raw diet! When Aunt Flo was around I did gain 2 lbs, but they came back off when she headed out of town. Glad she took her baggage with her!! And that’s even after overindulging in sodium this weekend — deli sandwiches, my weakness. So when Monday morning came around, I decided to continue this positive downward trend and set out for a long, long walk. But first: breakfast!

I had a container of Fage Total 0% Greek strained yogurt with just about .50-.75 serving left in it, so I took advantage of not needing to dirty a dish and piled on some tasty toppings. No fuss, no muss!

I defrosted an Udi’s gluten-free blueberry muffin (240 cal) the night before…

… WOW! Cannot believe these are gluten free! They taste SO amazing! They’re moist, chewy, soft, and absolutely delicious. You can’t tell that they’re gluten-free, they’re THAT good. Udi’s, you rock! If I ever go gluten free, take stock out in Udi’s, my friends! LOL

With a full belly, I headed outside to walk with my mom on her favorite road trail. This is where I got overambitious. We walked for just over 1.5 hours, and it damn near killed me, lol. It wasn’t just a leisurely sidewalk stroll, it was a very hilly path where eventually you hit a patch of mud and rocks — no pavement, minimum maintenance road — I wasn’t ready for such an ambitious climb. I thought it would be a breeze, but it was tough. We covered 4-6 miles, I’m not sure exactly. I tried to figure it out on mapmyrun.com but the road names weren’t matching up for some reason. My mom walks around our 1400-acre subdivision on an almost-daily basis, so she’s used to it and stayed about 1/4 mile ahead of me the entire time, lol. And she had my drink in her nap sack, Thanks Mom!! She kept turning around to make sure I was behind her, but apparently my flailing arms weren’t a good enough indication that I was thirsty, LOL. I was so sore when we got home, and even more so the next day. Even my shoulders hurt. What the heck? It was a brutal walk. I’ll have to do it a few more times to adjust, but it’s definitely not easy. I’ll master it, though.

After a much-needed shower and some rest, I was starved for dinner (skipped right over lunch). Turkey or salmon burgers always sound so good to me after a challenging workout, so I kept it simple and made Market Pantry turkey burgers on the George Foreman grill:

Along with a bountiful side salad with lots of Melissa’s steamed beets + Lindsay low sodium black olives. Yum! <3 salad <3

• One Market Pantry turkey burger (140 cal) on a Food for Life sprouted wheat bun (150 cal) with 1 slice Sargento reduced fat Swiss cheese (60 cal), Heinz no salt added ketchup, no salt added mustard, and red onion
• Side salad with a bed of romaine lettuce, a plum tomato, red onion, Lindsay low sodium black olives, Melissa’s steamed beets, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, and lots of red wine vinegar — Cento is my favorite brand. So sour!

Fish Fest

Dustin’s been so busy programming that he hasn’t had time to go anywhere with me. So, I went to Shop Rite with mom this evening and picked up a special dinner for him: snow crab legs. Meanwhile, I had a nice piece of grilled Mahi mahi. Crab legs are a wee bit too salty for me when I’m trying to keep my sodium intake in check, so I settled for just one bite of his and a very nice fish dinner of my own. Mahi mahi tastes just like chicken to me, anyone else think that? I swear if I didn’t know better, I would think that it is chicken. I <3 it, it's my second my favorite non-shellfish, salmon still has my heart. hehe Ok, maybe third... tuna is up there as well.

I topped it with some Bubbie Jeanne’s all purpose cooking sauce that I picked up at Mother Earth’s last Friday…

It actually reminded me a lot of Trader Joe’s no salt added fire roasted salsa, minus the jalapenos. It was tasty, but not something I’d spend $7+ on again. I think I had higher expectations when I spotted it in the store, lol.

Big piece ‘O mahi mahi I ate it all, too! I also ate almost a whole bunch of grilled asparagus. Told you, I’m greedy with the greens, lol.

• Grilled mahi mahi fillet topped with Bubbie Jeanne’s all purpose cooking sauce
• Small boiled red potato topped with Chobani 0% fat plain Greek strained yogurt
• Grilled asparagus with EVOO + fig infused white balsamic vinegar

Calories: 500-600

Delicious. Honestly, I was feeling full halfway through, but finished my plate anyway. I only had about 300 calories from a sandwich + plum earlier, and it’s definitely not good to under-eat when my body is trying to recover from that brutal walk. I’m not being dramatic, I swear. I’ll probably have another small meal before I go to sleep. I’m going to tackle that hilly walk again tomorrow, so I better not P.O. my body in the meantime, lol.

I’m going to relax now, maybe load some new songs onto my iPod.

Question: What’s your favorite fish?

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

My transition back into eating cooked foods was seamless. No problems at all, it was just like riding a bike. Except I’m riding a bicycle built for two this week because Aunt Flo and her heavy luggage decided to join me for the ride. Figures, I lose a lot of puffiness last week and here she comes immediately after. *sigh* I haven’t gained back any of the weight I lost, though. Mainly because I am being diligent about watching my sodium intake. I also haven’t felt up to working out since she rolled into town, but I’m hoping to get a workout in this evening.

There were a few things I was craving all last week when I was eating a primarily raw food diet. I’m happy to report that I fulfilled most of them this week.

#1 – Mock potato salad made with cauliflower instead of potatoes

• 1 head cauliflower
• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 1/2 cup Hellmann’s olive oil mayo
• About a TBSP yellow mustard
• Half of a small red onion, diced
• Fresh or dry parsley
• Paprika
• Black pepper
• Salt, optional (I used AlsoSalt salt substitute)

Makes 8-12 servings

1. Cup up the head of cauliflower into medium sized pieces; about the size of a potato in potato salad. Do not overcook the cauliflower. Steam it until it’s soft, but still firm enough to stand up to tossing around with other ingredients.
2. Let cauliflower drain well, remove as much water from it as possible; let cool for about 10-15 minutes at room temperature
3. Mix cauliflower, mayo, onion, eggs, spices, and whatever other veggies you want to add together
4. Sprinkle with more paprika on top once mixed together

Note: I planned to add green onions and carrots to it, but it slipped my mind at the last minute.

This was REALLY good! Obviously it’s not exactly like potato salad, but it’s a great lower calorie, lower carb version that’s perfect for summer cookouts. Plus it’s vegetarian and an extra tasty source of veggies.

Eating a lot of raw vegetarian foods last week drove me straight into the arms of meat, namely BEEF! lol Gawd, I ate more meat this week than I usually do, or would like to for that matter. My breakfast on Monday morning was steak and a salad. I can’t get enough fresh salads! It just needs some cooked components along with it to make my belly completely happy.

It was a wee bit on the charred side, but I ate around that being it was mainly fatty parts that I wouldn’t eat anyway. My mom is the grillmaster in our house, and boy does she love charring things, lol. This was beef tenderloin, but it wasn’t the greatest cut of meat, so it was just alright.

Now the salad, that was AWESOME! I finally opened the package of Melissa’s steamed beets that I bought at Price Chopper awhile back. There’s no salt added to them, which makes them perfect! I used an entire bag of mixed greens, I was greedy. I always see beets paired with goat cheese, so I gave it a try and loved it! Tossed in EVOO + red wine vinegar = YUM

Soooo purdy!

#2 – Salmon burger!!

Along with a giant mound of leafy greens tossed in EVOO + red wine vinegar + black pepper, and mock potato salad…

Just a little bit of yellow mustard on mine. Nothing else, simple deliciousness. I took most of the inside out of my roll. They said they were only 90 calories for 2.6oz, but when I weighed it they were 3.5oz, so I gutted it until it got down to 2.6oz. I wasn’t worried about the calories, but the sodium adds up just as quickly.

<3 LOVED! <3

#3 – Pasta e Fagioli (pasta fazool – pasta with beans)

This would have been vegan, except I used Campbell’s pork and beans and mixed it with a can of Eden organic no salt added pinto beans to cut the sodium in half. It still tastes just as good. Wish food manufacturers would take a hint from me: food doesn’t need astronomical amounts of sodium to taste good!!!!

Big bowl of mixed greens with black pepper; I added EVOO + red wine vinegar after the pictures.

I was hungry, so I had 3oz of ziti. Nothing like a big bowl of warm pasta on a cloudy day. YUM!

I might have added a few heaping TBSP of grated cheese before I ate it. So delicious! Kept me full for hours. Incidentally, pasta + beans makes a (verrrry carby) complete protein.

#4 – More beef! Homemade hamburger

Being I’m watching my sodium very closely, I used Heinz no salt added ketchup and opted for 2 slices of Harvest Pride no salt added (toasted) white bread (120 cal) so I could have a serving of dill pickle sandwich toppers. Mmmm! My burger was 96% lean ground beef, but I wasn’t crazy about it. I like turkey, salmon, and veggie burgers way more than beef burgers. It was still good, though. My sides were fabulous, too. Orange + red grape tomatoes tossed in a little EVOO, red wine vinegar, AlsoSalt, and black pepper, and some mock potato salad that no one else was interested in. Oh well, more for me!

#4 – A Vegetarian Tofurky Reuben!!

I typically don’t eat “diet foods” anymore, but I remembered how awesome this Beefsteak light rye bread is for just 80 calories, 220mg sodium for TWO slices!! Hard to beat that when all you want is the flavor. It was also the lowest sodium rye bread I could find outside of baking my own, so do I feel bad about eating “light bread”? Pfft. NOOOOOOO! I think it’s friggin’ awesome.

The best organic cherries I have had in a long time! They were so crisp and flavorful, YUM!

Plus a side of mock ‘tater salad. I’m telling ya, I’m the only one who will go near it. YAY! hahaha

Vegetarian Tofurky Reuben on Light Rye Bread

• 2 slices Beefsteak rye bread (80 cal) or any rye bread will do
• 4 slices Tofurky warmed up in the microwave with 1 slice Sargento reduced fat Swiss cheese (60 cal) and 2 TBSP sauerkraut until cheese melts
• Dressing: 1/2 TBSP Hellmann’s olive oil mayo (25 cal), 1 TBSP sweet relish (15 cal), 1/2 TBSP Heinz no salt added ketchup (10 cal)

1 sandwich, 275 calories

Place warm Tofurky, Swiss, and sauerkraut on bread, then spread on dressing.

So easy, SOOOO delicious! Not exactly a ginormous NY deli style Reuben, but it tasted amazing and satisfied my craving without nearly as much sodium as a deli or restaurant sandwich would have been. LOVED it! I will definitely keep this in my sandwich rotation.

By the way, I got my replacement Canon Rebel 50mm lens 2 Fridays ago, but haven’t used it yet! What am I waiting for?? I’m probably subconsciously worried about breaking it and trying to preserve it, lol. I’m such a weirdo!

Anyway, so like I said, going back to cooked foods was easy, but I wanted to mention some other things about my raw diet experiment:

Raw Diet Takeaway Points

• I’ve been practicing–and I do mean practicing–intuitive eating for a long time now. I haven’t always been successful at it, but eating a primarily raw diet last week really got me in touch with my hunger. When I was hungry, I was actually hungry and not just bored. I experienced very little “I’m bored” nibbling last week mainly because whenever I ate something, it was completely healthy with the exception of raw agave gelato. I feel that I reached a new level of peace with eating, and now I focus on eating what I want, when I am truly hungry. I won’t always get it perfect or hit the right balance, but it’s a step in the right direction.
• Nuts are high in omea-6′s, and you need to find enough omega-3 sources for an optimal balance. One of the major, less talked about raw diet issues.
• In just 7 short days, I found that it changed my food preferences in the sense that I gravitate towards the veggies, especially salad, part of my meals more than ever. I’ve always enjoyed a hearty salad, but lately I want one with every meal I have. I think about having peanut butter and jelly AND a big leafy green salad, lol. It’s awesome.
• I want fruit more than ever and have cut way down on other desserts. I haven’t had a cookie in 2 weeks, I’d rather have a banana or a pear lately, if anything at all. That isn’t ALWAYS the case, but again, I think it’s a positive change. I don’t know how long that will last, but any improvement, even temporary, is cool.
• I’d like to say I had extraordinary physical changes, but during the semi-raw diet week, I actually broke out in acne in places of my face that I NEVER get a zit! And there weren’t any noticeable changes in my digestive issues. Plus I felt low on energy in general.

Who knows, maybe I’ll do raw food cycling where I eat high raw every other day for a few weeks. Summertime is the best time to do it when fresh produce is in abundance. We’ll see, so many possibilities! I love experimenting and changing things up, keeps food and its preparation interesting. But to reiterate, a raw diet is definitely not for me, but I’ll still flirt with it now and then. hehe

I better get going if I want to get a workout in tonight. We’re meeting up my cousin early in the morning and we’re not on an early morning schedule, lol. This should be interesting.

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

Saturday was the last day of my semi-raw diet experiment. And the conclusion couldn’t have come soon enough. I had the worst night’s sleep on Saturday, my last day of raw eating. I couldn’t fall asleep for hours, I had all sorts of pinching nerve pains throughout my body as I was lying in bed trying to get comfortable; I felt very unlike my usual self and definitely felt like something was off.

Raw Diet Day 7 Menu

• 2 slices Sargento reduced fat Swiss cheese, Hellmann’s olive oil mayo
• Handful of raw cashews
• Nectarine
• Giant salad with a mix of leafy greens, carrots, celery, cucumber, Lindsay low sodium black olives, 3 TBSP grated parmesan cheese, a generous drizzle of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, black pepper, AlsoSalt, fig infused white balsamic vinegar, and raw honey
• Cumber slices; celery sticks, and celery stuffed with raw almond butter, plus about 1/4 cup Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt with splashes of Tabasco
• Raw vegan banana split: medium banana, 3 scoops organic nectars raw vegan agave gelato, raw cacao nibs, raw slivered almonds, raw almond butter, fresh pineapple
• GoRaw raw fruit + nut pumpkin bar

This salad was humongous! And I ate every last bite of it. Sooooooo gooooooooooooooood!

After the delicious rawchos I had the day before, I found that I like just plain yogurt with Tabasco sauce for dipping in veggies. It’s yummy, try it!

Big salads like this are something I could never get tired of. YUM!

For my grand raw finale: 100% raw, vegan banana split!!

Pure, unbridled decadence…

• 1 medium banana sliced down the middle, 2 scoops organic nectars raw vegan cherry chocolate agave gelato; 1 scoop organic nectars raw vegan chocolate hazelnut agave gelato, raw cacao nibs, fresh pineapple, raw slivered almonds, and a generous drizzle of raw almond butter

This was the best banana split I have ever had in my life! Oh. my. GAWD! Heavenly!!

Thoughts On My Raw Food Experiment

While I never intended for this to be a lifestyle change, a seven day trial really isn’t enough time to gather an extremely elaborate report on eating a primarily raw food diet, especially because I kept dairy in. I can tell you though, without the dairy I wouldn’t have made it past 1 or 2 days. When you eliminate so many options from your diet all at once, and then can’t even cook or warm up the remaining ones, you have to have an extremely strong will and desire to commit to this type of lifestyle. That is something I do not and probably never will have.

It took me a couple of days, but I found ways to pacify the intense hunger I was feeling on this type of eating plan. Even though I was eating copious amounts of fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, and other fat sources, I never achieved complete satisfaction. I often felt water-logged and full, but not necessarily satiated. As if something was still missing from my bloated belly. Most likely warmth, protein, and variety. I love all of the things I ate, but I found myself so bored and uninterested at times that I’d rather go without than eat another cold carrot or bowl of salad. My lack of interest in the food trumped my hunger nearly everyday. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t starving to the point of agony, I was just hungrier than usual and felt the choices available were hopeless in the sense that they didn’t adequately meet my needs. Whether that was psychological or not, I don’t know. All I’ve ever known is a primarily cooked diet for 30 years, 7 days on a primarily raw diet is obviously going to be awkward and feel incomplete. I imagine I would adjust eventually, but without dairy, meat and fish, or some cooked foods, that would be a hard and unhealthy road to travel down. I know it can be done, but I don’t believe that is the healthier option. Raw fibrous foods like fruit, seeds, nuts, and vegetables, are extremely good for you, but please keep in mind that we do not absorb nearly as many nutrients from raw food and they often leave us half-undigested, so you can run into a lot of dietary deficiencies if you do not take the important precautions and do extensive research on a balanced raw diet.

Costs

Being my high raw food experience was just a 7 day trial, I went overboard with all the raw novelties they sell at Mother Earth’s Storehouse. Most of the things I bought, like raw agave gelato and raw sweetened cacao nibs definitely aren’t necessary, but I’ll give you an idea of what the raw foods items that I ate cost:

• Bag of sweetened raw cacao nibs – $12.99
• Jar of raw almond butter – $10.99
• Raw nuts and seeds – $6.95 to $9.95 per lb
• Raw fruit + nut bars – $2-$3 each
• Jar of local raw honey – $8
• Fruits and veggies – vary
• Bottle of organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil (50 servings) – $16.95
• Jar of extra virgin coconut oil – $12.95

I probably spent about $100 on fresh produce this week. Some of it was organic, some of it wasn’t; some of it was local, some wasn’t. I also live in NY state where groceries tend to be more expensive than other areas, plus I shop at expensive specialty stores like Mother Earth’s when I could find many of the products cheaper in other stores, but I’m a sucker for convenience and novelty. You could easily find better deals on the items I overpaid for, but in general, eating raw with novelty items is more expensive compared to diets that include cheaper staples like eggs, rice, canned veggies, canned tuna/salmon, beans, and bread. I went through so much fresh produce in one or two days, like a tub of organic lettuce and a pint of grape tomatoes. That’s $10 bucks right there and not much sustenance. I have a lot of nuts and seeds leftover, so they lasted longer than the week. But I went through 3/4 of the jar of raw almond butter and half the jar of raw honey. But like I said, you can find better deals on the things I purchased, or make your own nut butters, etc. I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison of high-raw vs. traditional diet, so I could be wrong, but I know that fresh produce is quite expensive in general, unless you are buying from a local farmer’s market. So when it becomes the majority of your diet, it could get pretty pricey, especially for more than one person. But again, I haven’t done the comparison and factored in the novelty items that you can do without if you really wanted to. A lot will also depend on how much time you want to invest preparing your raw food, or just eating it as-is, etc.

There’s a lot of variables for sure. All in all, where I live, fresh produce is expensive, and you need a lot of it to be on a raw diet. It’s a very high volume diet that doesn’t provide as much nourishment or bang for your caloric-buck compared to cooked food. It takes 2 to 4 times as much fruit, nuts, and veggies to get the same nutrients you would get from say 1 serving of cooked veggies, a piece of salmon, and a baked potato. Costs aside, I was most bothered by the lack of variety and preparation methods. I didn’t exactly try every option available, but you’re still left with very little to keep the food alive.

Health Issues

Not everyone can comfortably subsist on a primarily raw diet due to digestive issues. One of the reasons I did this trial was to see how certain foods effected my digestion, and to see if omitting others helped at all. I didn’t experience any improvements in my digestive issues while doing this trial. In fact, my symptoms got much worse during much of it and they never fully subsided at any point during the week. This could be linked to dairy, or any other the other variables, I’m not sure as I didn’t do a strict elimination diet. That wasn’t my intention, per se. I mainly wanted to reduce my sodium to lose water weight, explore my raw foodism curiosity, and then see how certain foods did or didn’t effect me over the week.

The Scale

I’m happy to report that I lost 10 lbs this week. I imagine at least 60-70% or more of that is water weight, which is exactly what I was going for. I didn’t exercise at all through the week, and I’m sure I would have lost even more if I had, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. We went shopping yesterday, and even though I was eating cooked food and hydrating myself, by last night both of my legs were having the worst muscle spasms you can fathom. Obviously I lost too much water, potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium over the past week. Not good! Even though I ate foods rich in potassium and magnesium, I still depleted my stores too rapidly, especially because I am on prescription diuretics. So if I had exercised, I might be in the hospital right now because it would have made things much worse as evidenced by 2-3 hours of leisurely walking in hot degree weather yesterday. You must keep your electrolytes balanced. I really should have known better being I’m on RX diuretics, but I didn’t feel the sting until yesterday. Luckily I got over it quickly, but I need to be more careful in the future.

Conclusion

Raw foodism is not for me! lol I already knew that, but it was fun to try, and I did enjoy everything that I ate. I do have a new appreciation for the low-calories that raw food offers, so I’m going to make a conscious effort to include a lot more raw foods and meals in my life. I would definitely eat a semi-high raw diet for a day now and then, and perhaps even every few months I would do a week-long marathon to shed some water weight or just to change things up. I like variety, so I don’t regret doing this, but I am glad that it’s over!!!

My first cooked meal was half of a grass-fed cheeseburger + 4 brewer’s fries at the Hyde Park Brewing Company and Steakhouse. I wish I had my camera with me! I ate half of the burger, and picked at Dustin’s raw salad a LOT! LOL!! The burger was “ok,” nothing special. Then, we picked up a cheese pizza and a turkey sub for dinner. I had a slice of pizza and half of a turkey sub. I was hungry. Ironically, eating all of that crappy food I had the least tummy woes since starting the raw diet. My stomach didn’t bloat immediately after eating, or any other the other lovely symptoms I usually experience. I had minimal veggies all day, probably less than one serving combined, lol. I remember telling my stomach doctor in Atlanta the exact thing thing; that the last time I felt “normal” is a day I ate terribly. Interesting.

So now I’m back to normal and loving it. I love cooked food. <3 So looking forward to dinner!! Cannot wait.

Have you ever tried any special diets for any reason? What was it like?

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

I’m in the home stretch now! Actually, I’m on my last day of the semi-raw diet, but the last post will have to wait until tomorrow.

Raw Diet Day 6 Menu

• 1/2 cup Cabot fat free cottage cheese
• Handful of raw cashews
• Anjou pear
• Raw nachos “rawchos”: raw flax seed hemp crackers, nutritional yeast, bell pepper, celery, an entire avocado mashed into fresh guac with a squeeze of lime juice, grape tomatoes, Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt, and lots of hot sauce
• Roasted sweet potato with raw almond butter (didn’t eat much of it)
• Ginormous salad with romaine, fresh baby spinach, no salt added cheddar cheese, carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and sugar snap peas dressed with cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, raw honey, fig infused white balsamic vinegar, and black pepper
• 2 pieces organic nectars raw 70% cacao bar
• Licks of almond butter
• 2 slices Sargento reduced fat Swiss cheese with Hellmann’s olive oil mayo
• PURE organic raw fruit + nut bar

Rawchos (mostly raw nachos)

My “cheez and sour cream” components…

Nutritional yeast is so awesome, but not a raw food unfortunately. Smells like popcorn to me, tastes cheesy.

Tell me fresh guacamole isn’t one of life’s greatest gifts.

These were RAWsome!! After a few splashes of Tabasco and a big blob of Greek yogurt, it was a lot like eating regular nachos. LOVED them! Wasn’t too crazy about the raw hemp flax seed crackers due to the earthy taste which doesn’t belong in a plate of nachos, they got extra Tabasco. Loved the bell peppers and celery as my chips, though. So. much. volume. I ended up leaving half of the guac and yogurt, but ate everything else. Super delicious!

Something went terribly wrong with the sweet potato I roasted for dinner. I thought I’d be rebellious and have a baked sweet potato with my dinner salad, so I asked my mom to pop one in the oven for me when she made whatever she was eating. She comes up to our office awhile later to inform me that something weird happened to the potato: half of it oozed out! What the hell????!!

I’ve never seen this happen before. The potato literally exploded and oozed out, but only half of it. It must have had a very high water content or something. So strange. My mom said it was perfectly normal before she put it in. So, I don’t know if I was a little freaked out by it knowing that it exploded in the oven, or if I’m just out of touch with warm, mushy foods, but I took 2 bites and threw the rest out. It tasted ok, I just wasn’t interested in it. *shrugs*

Such a shame. I liked the raw almond butter on it, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

My salad was phenomenal, though. I love salads, they’re definitely in my top 10 favorite meals, even when I’m off of the raw kick. hehe

By now I am officially done with my raw diet trial, but I still have today’s food to do in an update tomorrow. I’ll give my thoughts and scale results in my last update. I’ll tell you one thing, I have a major energy deficit this week; I’m exhausted! Can’t wait to hit the hay — or eat it!!! No, no, no. I can have cooked food starting tomorrow. SO EXCITED!!!! It feels like Christmas Eve. Can’t wait to sleep and wake up to warmth in my belly.

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

SpongeBob SquarePants!!

…’cause I ate his house for dessert!

Sorry SpongeBob, it was delicious.

The avocados I bought on Sunday are perfectly ripe all at the same time, so I’m eating them like it’s my job. I was thinking about making banana soft serve, but decided to kick it up a few notches after remembering how much I liked the avocado banana “mousse” I made a few months ago. So the blender got a little more crowded…

Along with a GoRaw banana nut bread raw food bar (120 cal) that really did taste like banana nut bread. The texture was like a crunchy Fruit Roll-Up or fruit leather, yet it almost tasted like it had grains in it even though it didn’t. I liked it a lot; one more yummy thing I’d buy even when I’m not doing a raw diet.

Strawberry Banana Avocado Pudding

• 1 ripe avcado
• 3 small frozen bananas
• About a cup of fresh strawberries
• 1 TBSP raw honey

Method: Add all the ingredients to your blender; blend until creamy and smooth, but do not over-blend or it will get too airy. I had to use the Vita-Mix plunger to move things around a couple times.

2 servings, serve immediately

I had about 1.5 servings in my bowl. It was sooooo yummy! And FILLING! I sprinkled some raw pumpkin seeds and raw cashews on top and enjoyed every last bite. <3

The day before, I started the process for making raw vegan meatballs. After I made the mixture, I took my food dehydrator out of the box for the first time ever and gave it a whirl. The end result? Huge success!

They even look like real meat

Raw Vegan Meatballs

• 1/2 cup (40g) rolled oats
• 2 oz raw Brazil nuts
• 1 TBSP raisins* (Technically not considered raw if dehydrated above 118F degrees. Most commercials brands are dehydrated @ 200F degrees)
• Dried Italian herbs: parsley, oregano, garlic powder, thyme to taste (I used about 2 TBSP combined)
• 1 garlic clove
• Garlic salt or salt to taste

Method: Soak the oats and Brazil nuts in water overnight; the next day drain them well in a strainer, use cheesecloth or a paper towel to remove as much of the water as possible. Add all the ingredients to your food processor and mix until a dough forms. Roll 4 or 5 balls, then put in your dehydrator for about 4-5 hours; no higher than 118F degrees.

Unfortunately, I realized that mine doesn’t have an adjustable thermostat, nor does it say anywhere on the box or instruction manual what the default temperature setting is. So today, I looked it up online and found that it reaches different temperatures for each layer, but all of them were well above 118F degrees, the lowest tier being 190F degrees. Ooops! Although, the trays and balls didn’t feel hot when I touched them, not scolding anyway, just warm. They were definitely not thoroughly cooked, though. They tasted REALLY good! Especially because they were warmish when I ate them. They would have been even better if they had been cooked through, but alas, that’s not my plan this week. The texture isn’t like meat, but they did rival a lot of vegetarian meatballs I have had. The flavor was nearly perfect, and they held together nicely. One day I’ll buy a food dehydrator with an adjustable thermostat and try these again below 118F. I’m actually excited that I took it out, I want to make salmon jerky next week! Doesn’t that sound good? It sounds amazing to me, lol.

I ended the meal with SpongeBob’s house, which I reluctantly shared with Dustin. Fresh pineapple is soooo goooooood! Love the texture! I could seriously eat the entire thing in one sitting.

Raw Diet Day 5 Menu

• Piece of Jarlsberg Swiss cheese
• Remaining olives from half-pint of olive bar
• Bowl of banana strawberry avocado pudding with raw cashews + raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 banana nut bread GoRaw live food bar
• 2 pieces organic nectars raw 70% cacao bar
• 1 “raw” vegan meatball
• Leafy greens salad with fresh baby spinach, romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Garlic Gold nuggets, pitted kalamata olives, black pepper, 2 slices Sargento provolone cheese, and 3 “raw” vegan meatballs
• SpongeBob SquarePants’s house fresh pineapple
• 1 anjou pear

My stomach is in knots today. I had some cottage cheese this morning, maybe that was the culprit? I don’t know. I’m not ready to eliminate dairy right at this moment, so I guess I’ll just suffer, lol. Honestly though, it seems like everything upsets it. There’s a specialist in NJ that I want to try to see, I’m going to try to make an appointment on Monday. Obviously there hasn’t been any improvements with diet alone, plus I’m on day 10 of Culturelle and that hasn’t helped yet, either. Ah well, I’ll get to the root one day soon.

I’m going to have a baked sweet potato with dinner tonight. SO looking forward to that!! I’m in the final stretch now… just over 24 hours to go, ok 28 hours, but who’s counting? lol I might do another update later tonight so that I’m in sync with the end of the trial. We’ll see. All I can concentrate on right now is the smell of that sweet potato roasting… Mmmm! Heavenly.

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

I found myself grazing most of the day yesterday. A piece of fruit here, handful of nuts there, a piece of cheese, a raw no-bake cookie, and before you know it, I really only ended up with one complete meal. My lunch consisted of olives, a piece of Jarlsberg Swiss cheese, and a Diet Coke (Is diet Coke a cooked food? Do they boil those chemicals? lol)

These olives were amazing… not raw, but part of my 20% or so that wasn’t.

Sadly, they’re all gone now. I finished off the whole half-pint in 2 days. So salty, so YUMMY! I guess the olives qualify as my one and only cooked food for the day, besides the dairy products.

I came up with dinner while thinking about what to use baby bella mushrooms for. Then it hit me: Raw mushroom tacos!!

Raw Mushroom Taco “Meat”

• About 8 small baby bella mushrooms (or any mushrooms), chopped up in small taco-filling sized pieces
• Chili powder to taste
• Cumin to taste
• Garlic powder and garlic salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• A few splashes of Cholula hot sauce (or any hot sauce that you prefer)
• 1 cap-ful distilled white vinegar
• Generous drizzle of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

Toss all ingredients together, cover, and let sit at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours until you are ready to eat it. Makes enough filling for 3 romaine lettuce leaves.

Raw Mushroom Vegetarian Tacos

• 3 romaine lettuce leaves spread with Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt as the “sour cream”; raw mushroom taco filling, fresh Haas avocado, grape tomatoes, and the rest of my raw milk cheddar cheese, about 1.5oz

These were SO GOOD! JUST like a taco! They were a little watery from the mushroom filling, but it tasted just like eating a taco salad. I wasn’t crazy about the creamy avocado texture with the soft mushrooms and lettuce shell — it was a little too much for my preferences, but other than that, these were a very successful raw recipe! Ways to improve it: Drain the mushroom mixture so that it’s not so watery; use crisper lettuce, like iceberg; or, use a food dehydrator to help with the mushroom filling. If you remove the dairy components, you have an honest to goodness raw, vegan dish.

Raw Diet Day 4 Menu:

• A few pieces of Jarlsberg Swiss cheese
• Olives from olive bar
• Diet Coke
• Handful of raw cashews
• 1 medium banana
• 1 Anjou pear
• Raw mushroom tacos: romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, mushroom taco filling, Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt, raw milk cheddar cheese, Cholula hot sauce
• 2 scoops organic nectars cherry chocolate raw non-dairy frozen treat
• Raw cacao nibs
• 1 raw no-bake cookie
• A few licks of raw almond butter from butter knife

I’ve arrived at day 5 of my high raw food trial without any noticeable improvements in my stomach situation. All I have noticed so far is that certain raw foods and possibly dairy make it even worse. I’m still much hungrier than I usually am with cooked food, but like I said yesterday, I’ve been managing that much better. Shockingly, I don’t miss bread that much, I just miss warm food in general. All of my food fantasies have revolved around grilled salmon and cooked vegetables. Weird, for me anyway. I’ve gotten to this point where I’m eating less because cold, raw foods just don’t sound appealing, so I’d rather go without than munch on something I’m not interested in. I can see this type of diet leading to an unhealthy relationship with eating in general because it can be so unattractive and exhausting. It takes a lot of work to chew a raw carrot and 10+ other raw fruits and veggies a day. Then it goes into your stomach cold and there’s not much comfort in a heavy, cold fibrous meal. Not to mention, all of the nutrients that you’re NOT absorbing from the raw foods. So in essence, upwards of 25-50% of the raw foods that you eat are taxing your metabolism, but not providing nourishment. Good for satiety and creating a deficit, but not good for optimal health.

Soooo… after today, just 2 more days to go!!! I’m so excited, but a little nervous, lol. I really do feel like I’ve been on a vacation outside of my body. It’s crazy. I still have some raw recipes up my sleeve, in fact, I’m going to finish one right now! Be back later.

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

I’m trying to find the joy in this raw diet, which isn’t always easy, lol. There haven’t been any noticeable changes in the tummy situation, though I haven’t eaten much today and I also have a lot of questionable contributing factors, such as dairy. I took some Gas-X a few hours ago, but haven’t noticed any changes yet. I’ve started to expand my raw diet menu beyond the typical salad. Yesterday morning, I made a batch of no-bake raw cookies:

No-Bake Raw Cookies

• 1/2 cup raw rolled oats
• 2 TBSP raw almond butter
• 14g raw sweetened cacao nibs
• 14g raw slivered almonds
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• A few Tablespoons water

1. Mix all the ingredients by hand, in a blender (I put mine in the Vita-Mix for a few seconds), or food processor until dough forms
2. Roll little balls of the dough (it’s sticky!!) into as many balls as you like
3. Set on plate and let air dry with ventilated cover (I used a colander) for 6-7 hours. You could speed up the process by using a food dehydrator, but I was lazy, lol

So easy, so tasty!! I ate 2 of them. You can imagine my heartbreak this morning when I went to eat one and discovered that fruit flies had found them to be delicious, too. After they were dry enough, I covered the plate with plastic wrap, but the little buggers got underneath it anyway! I made a new (double) batch right away. This time I put them in the oven to dry, lol. Not turned on, of course! Surely my food dehydrator would work so much better, but alas, I’m not up to taking it out of the box yet. I’ve had it new in the box for over a year now. I hoard appliances, LOL.

In other kitchen news: I’m going through fresh produce at the speed of light! I went to Hannaford with my mom yesterday afternoon to replenish the dwindling supply. I ate an entire one pound tub of organic mixed spring greens in 2.5 days. Plus, a lot of the fruit that I bought at Shop Rite on Sunday isn’t ripe enough yet, including 6 avocados!! So, I went shopping once again. Don’t have to convince me to shop 2… 3… 10 times a week. I got another cart-full of assorted fruits + veggies, but before we left I had an amazing lunch to stave off hunger while in the store. So incredible that it’s something I would eat even when not following a semi-high raw diet!!

Raw pea salad, strawberries drizzled with raw almond butter and raw honey, and sprinkled with raw pumpkin seeds, anjou pear, and PURE raw food bar

Lovin’ these organic PURE raw fruit and nut bars! Veronica, you’re A-Ok.

A bowl of defrosted frozen peas with chopped red onion, tossed in cold pressd organic extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt + pepper

Pure, unadulterated raw decadence… fresh strawberries drizzled with raw almond butter, raw honey, and raw pumpkin seeds <3

This was my favorite meal, thus far! I LOVE peas with EVOO + vinegar, it’s so good. Typically, the peas are cooked every other time I’ve had it, but it tastes just as good raw. YUM!!!! And the strawberries… WOW! What a truly magnificent combo. LOVED them.

I did something I normally don’t do yesterday: I hit up the olive bar at Hannaford. *chorus of angels* I usually avoid them because they’re sooo salty, but I’ve kept my sodium ultra low this week, so I felt like I could indulge. And indulge I did. Holy scrum-da-dilly-umptious!!! I only got a half-pint, but I haven’t been able to stay out of it ever since I brought it home, lol.

Just like I said, my dinner included a boiled potato with a generous helping of Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt…

Assorted olives on my leafy greens <3

I felt kind of weird to eat something cooked and warm! My mom cooked it for me, and I think it was overdone because it was sort of mushy–unless I’m so far removed from warm cooked foods already, LOL. It still tasted VERY good to me. I ate it all, BUT I kept moving it to the side to eat my salad. I’m telling ya, I have an affinity for olives. They are SO YUMMY! Bitter, salty, fun texture. Mmm! Wish they weren’t so high in sodium, I’d seriously eat a pint of them a day! I’ve never come across a raw olive in my life, I’m hoping to find them one day. That would be a dream come true.

While we were in Hannaford yesterday, I remembered a raw vegan non-dairy frozen ice cream that I tried not-so-long ago: organic nectars gelato

Move over Ben & Jerry, there’s a new chocolate cherry frozen treat on the block!

I’ve had the chocolate hazelnut before, but the chocolate cherry is new to me. It was AMAZING! Dustin loved it, too. It’s so hard to believe that it’s dairy-free and made from cashew milk! It’s so creamy, and a little creepy — it doesn’t melt very fast! LOL It’s perfect. And so delicious. I had a little taste of each flavor for dessert…

Not only is organic nectars raw gelato made with 100% pure, raw, wholesome ingredients, but it’s also low in calories: 120 calories per serving, 5 servings per pint. I’d buy this even when I’m not on a raw diet. Yum!

I’ve been managing my bouts of hunger better by snacking when the tummy calls. After eating the boiled potato last night, I honestly felt fuller and more satisfied than I have since I started this trial on Sunday. I haven’t eaten anything cooked (besides cheese + yogurt, technically) today and probably won’t. I’ve been picking at cheese and olives all day. I have an awesome dinner planned, which I’m totally excited to make and eat. That will be on tomorrow’s update. Only 3 more days to go! I’m looking forward to cooked food again, but I still have some raw recipes to try. I’m REALLY surprised that I’m not craving bread AT ALL! Weird, right? Probably because I know I’ll have lots of it in 72 hours, lol. I’m sure if I was trying to give them up permanently I’d be in the corner shivering with cold sweats, LOL.

Alright, I’m going to start on my mystery dinner now. Yay!

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

Soooooo hungry! Not directly after I eat, but within 2 hours I have been ravenous. And bloated, ugh, SO bloated! Since starting this high-raw diet experiment, my stomach troubles have gotten worse. Shortly after eating any type of fruit or veggie my stomach has been reacting badly. I’ve always eaten raw foods in one form or another, but never to this extreme, and apparently my tum tum does not love! I’ve lost 3 lbs, but my stomach is so bloated that my pants feel skin-tight, needless to say I am extremely uncomfortable. Last night, my entire body felt so weak and sore, as if I was covered in bruises. I’m pretty sure that my irritated, swollen digestive tract is pressing on nerves and other parts of my body. This sucks. Being I’ve kept dairy in while I am doing this trial, it could be that or a combination of the fruits and veggies. Not sure yet. The only gluten I have eaten in 3 days would be in cross-contamination form from oats, but other than that, I haven’t had any other grains. I don’t know if my stomach symptoms are food-related, or if certain foods just aggravate an entirely different underlying issue, but so far this semi-high-raw diet hasn’t been the solution. I’m not giving up on it, though. I’m going to keep going for the remainder of the week.

The unofficial definition of a high raw diet is 80-99% raw foods, obviously I’m on the lesser end of that spectrum with my dairy consumption and various other things, like condiments and nutritional yeast. Most raw foodists that I know of still keep some vegan cooked foods in their diets for 1 or 2 meals a day. I’m typically not one to do things down to the letter, so I modify the heck out of everything I do, lol. For instance, being I’m past the initial 3 days (my blog updates are lagging by a day), I’m going to include one cooked food per day besides dairy, like a potato or lentils, and then eat raw around the rest of my menu. This is the list of “rules” I made up for myself…

Jenn’s 7 Day High Raw Diet “Rules” — that are made to be broken !

• Eat at least 80% raw vegetarian foods
• 2 to 3, maybe 4 servings of dairy per day is ok (yogurt, milk, cheese)
• One cooked food per day, e.g., a potato, lentils, or cereal
• Eat a large variety of foods, not just raw foods bars and raw ice cream
• Condiments like vinegar, hot sauce, mustard, mayo, salt, pepper, dressings, etc., are ok
• Coffee, tea, seltzer are ok
• Keep raw grain servings to 2 or less a day
• Nutritional yeast is ok
• Olives are ok
• You can change your mind and get off this raw ride anytime you want, the food police are not going to arrest you!

Silly, right? That’s how I roll. Just to clarify: this raw diet isn’t a punishment or a crazy weight loss tactic, it’s simply an experience that I was curious about, and hoped to see some signs of improvement in my health. Raw food diets have fascinated me for a long time now, and while I could never commit to this as a lifestyle, I am sort of enjoying it despite my gripes. Mainly because I know that I can end it anytime I want, and I just might. Last night I was feeling like you do when you’re little and staying over a friend or family’s house for the first time; in theory you’re all excited about it, but as the night wears on you find yourself feeling completely out of your element and wanting to be back in your own bed. That’s how I felt all day yesterday, especially before I went to sleep. I was seriously considering ending it right then and there. Not just out of hunger, but out of the exasperated discomfort I was feeling from whatever I ate. By now I’m all but used to my tummy troubles, but they have definitely increased in the past few days. Whether that’s a coincidence or not, I don’t know. All I know is that I’m looking forward to Sunday, lol. If it gets completely unbearable, I’ll throw in the towel, but I think I can hang for a few more days. I’ll just be hungry. And whiny.

By the way, I’m also on day 7 of taking Culturelle, and that also hasn’t shown any signs of helping matters. I’ll stick with that, too.

Raw Diet Day 2 Menu:

• Granny Smith candy apple: almond butter, raw honey, raw sweetened cacao nibs, raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 small container Breakstone 2% cottage cheese
• 1 Pure trail mix raw food bar
• Caprese salad with Price Chopper reduced fat mozzarella cheese, grape tomatoes, basil, fresh baby spinach, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, and cold pressed EVOO
• Raw hemp flax seed crackers with raw almond butter
• Mixed spring green salad with raw defrosted frozen peas, raw milk cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes, red onions, cold pressed EVOO, red wine vinegar, fig infused white balsamic vinegar, and a drizzle of honey
• Grass-fed yogurt – not eaten, exchanged for another piece of cheese
• Half-handful of raw cacao nibs

Breakfast

LOVE these organic PURE bars! They’re so tasty.

Breakstone cottage cheese — I wasn’t crazy about this. I like Friendship cottage cheese better. I haven’t had Breakstone in awhile and noticed that it’s much creamier than Friendship, which I don’t particularly like.

Guys, you HAVE to make this raw candy apple!!!! It was AMAZING!

Just take an apple of your choice, core it, slather almond butter on it, sprinkle with raw sweetened cacao nibs and raw pumpkin seeds, then drizzle with raw honey. OMGAWD!! It was DELICIOUS! Tasted even better than any candy apple I’ve ever had. Yum x bajillion! Not to mention, HEALTHY!

Lunch

Yes, Dustin was eating a microwave pizza right next to me. It smelled REALLY good! lol

Raw hemp flax seed crackers with raw almond butter

Pitiful green grapes. They weren’t that firm.

The most incredible caprese salad made with: fresh grape tomatoes cut in halves, 2oz Price Chopper low-fat mozzarella cheese (120 cal), 1/2 TBSP cold pressed EVOO, red wine vinegar, and fresh basil from my pot on the deck, tossed with fresh baby spinach and sprinkled with a little salt + black pepper. Wish I had some crusty bread to go with this!

The raw hemp flax seed crackers are slimy. I need to take out my food dehydrator and make some of my own!

Dinner

This is the grass-fed lemon yogurt I bought at Mother Earth’s — I didn’t like it, so I swapped it for another piece of cheese. The yogurt consistency was just too liquid-y and I wasn’t feeling the flavor.

Simple leafy green salad topped with raw milk cheddar cheese, defrosted frozen raw peas, red onions, grape tomatoes, cold pressed EVOO, black pepper, and red wine vinegar. Plus a drizzle of raw honey and about a TBSP blue cheese crumbles added at the last minute when my dinner didn’t look like much sustenance, lol.

The salad was delicious, but not very filling. I ended up refilling my bowl with more leafy greens being I had a pool of EVOO + vinegar sitting there, and my tummy was egging me on. hehe This salad also inspired me for today’s lunch, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see it! Ooooh, the suspense! hehe

Ok, I’m going to eat dinner now. I’m really looking forward to this boiled potato with my salad. I can’t wait actually. Today’s menu was much better than the first 2 days, so that’s probably why I’m still going through with the rest of this trial, lol.

What’s your favorite raw food?

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

No, not this one…

I made sure to have an ultra starchy last supper before going on my 7 day high-raw diet. Thin linguine with vegetarian meatless meatballs in Classico roasted garlic tomato sauce and (over)grilled shrimp cocktail:

I still enjoyed the shrimp even though they were overcooked.

Of course I had to have a small mountain of grated cheese on the last pasta I’ll have for a week.

Obviously not much planning went into this last supper, lol. But it was still tasty and hit the spot.

Raw Diet Day One – July 11th

Breakfast started with overnight (raw) oats in sheep’s milk plain yogurt. I’m still keeping some grains in during this trial, only they’ll be raw or sprouted, and in far less quantity than usual.

• 1 small container plain sheep’s milk yogurt (140 cal) mixed with 1/2 cup Quaker rolled oats (150 cal) and 1 TBSP chia seeds. I made them the night before and let them sit in the fridge until the morning.
• Toppings: 1 very ripe medium banana, ~1/4 cup fresh blueberries, ~TBSP raw slivered almonds, ~TBSP raw pumpkin seeds, a few raw cashews, and a heaping teaspoon of New York state raw honey

Yummy and filling. I didn’t notice much difference in sheep’s milk yogurt compared to cow’s milk; it was a little tangier, though. I decided to keep an unofficial journal of how I feel after eating certain foods, and about an hour after this, I had the worst heartburn for about 1-2 hours. My best guess would be the banana, but I’m not sure. Could have been the yogurt, or anything else! So many variables.

That kept me satisfied for about 4-5 hours, then I had a Raw Revolution food bar (260 cal) made with cocoa, dates, cashews, and a couple of other raw ingredients. It was SO delicious! Tasted like a brownie. Yum! My cousin Tricia came over for a visit around noon, so Dustin and I made homemade Italian ice in the Cuisinart ice cream maker + VitaMix while we chatted with her. We cut up an entire mini seedless watermelon and pureed it in our Vita-Mix with 1/3 cup of sugar. While Dustin played with that, I ate the remaining watermelon out of its rind. It was warm, but I was hungry, so it tasted pretty good. Then my stomach started burrrrrrrrrrrning and bloating. Ok, so far I had an adverse reaction to watermelon and possibly the fruit involved in breakfast. Wonderful.

After Tricia left, my mother and I went to Shop Rite for some much-needed fresh produce. Can’t be on a vegetarian raw diet without a nice assortment of raw fruits and veggies!! We were stuck in traffic that was NYC bound for about an hour; it usually only takes 20 minutes to get to Middletown. Ugh! Anyway, by the time we got to the store, I was pretty hungry again. Not good. All I could smell throughout the store was the intoxicating rotisserie chicken aroma. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! haha I resisted and filled up the cart with a rainbow of fresh produce. I was pleased that most of it was local, too! Yay!

By the time we got home, I was ready to gnaw my arm off. I quickly put away the groceries and started on dinner: A great big salad with raw milk cheddar cheese, a Golden Delicious apple, and Buffalo mushrooms

Buffalo mushrooms? Say whaaa? Yeah, this was brilliant! Dustin was eating chicken wings and they smelled soooo good, even though they usually repulse me, so I must have been pretty dang hungry, lol. I decided to drizzle Dave’s Gourmet hot sauce over some raw mushrooms. Of course hot sauce isn’t a raw food, but that’s part of my 10-20% that’s not going to be. It worked like a charm. Zapped that craving right in the bud. Mushrooms are pretty meaty, so it actually worked out very well. I’ll definitely do this again.

I went crazy with the salad dressing… 2 vinegars (not considered raw), loooooooooots of cold pressed organic extra virgin olive oil, and a drizzle of raw honey. Fab-uuuuuuuuu-lous!

• The salad: bed of mixed spring greens, sliced cucumber, grape tomatoes, a generous piece of raw milk cheddar cheese, raw mushroom slices, about 2 TBSP EVOO, a drizzle of fig infused white balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, and a drizzle of honey.
• Sides: Golden Delicious apple and raw mushrooms drizzled with Dave’s Gourmet hot sauce

Absolutely delicious! LOVED the raw milk cheddar cheese! OMG, I could have eaten the whole 6oz block, lol. It was creamy and a little smoky. YUM! I also loved the assortment of vinegars + EVOO all over the salad. I was full and satisfied after this, but had room for a little dessert in the form of raw cacao nibs. Just half a handful-ish.

Raw Diet Day One Menu

• Overnight oats: 1/2 cup Quaker rolled oats, 1 container sheep’s milk plain yogurt, TBSP chia seeds, 1 banana, 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, TBSP raw pumpkin seeds, TBSP slivered almonds, a few raw cashews, and a heaping teaspoon of raw honey
• Raw Revolution food bar – chocolate, nuts, and fruit
• About half a cup of watermelon
• 5 or 6 green grapes
• Salad: mixed leafy greens, grape tomatoes, raw mushrooms, raw milk cheddar cheese, fig infused white balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, cold pressed organic EVOO, drizzle of raw honey
• Raw mushrooms with Dave’s Gourmet hot sauce
• Small handful of raw cacao nibs
• Woke up hungry in the middle of the night: piece of raw milk cheddar cheese, 2 raw Brazil nuts, drop of raw honey on nut

I’m not keeping track of calories, whatever it is, it is. Raw food isn’t digested or absorbed the same way that cooked foods are, so we’ll see how the scale behaves by the end of the week. The main thing I don’t like about this diet is that it FEELS like a diet. You know the type that you used to dread when you thought about losing weight? Well, that’s how it feels to me when I’m hungry in between snacks and meals. I’ve had hunger pangs for the past 24 hours that I haven’t had in the longest time and I don’t like it, LOL. I keep telling myself to just eat if I’m hungry, that’s what I’m supposed to do, but it’s hard to adjust to. I’m not going to ignore my hunger signals, though. For instance, before I started writing this post, I had a handful of raw cashews. You’d think that would tide me over for awhile, but I’m actually still ravenous. I noticed it all throughout the day yesterday, too. I’ll eat and I feel hungry while I am eating. Don’t get me wrong, the salad and overnight oats fill me up, but not to the same level of satisfaction I get from other foods, despite the amount of volume involved. Being hungry also gives me a headache and makes me irritable, so I definitely have to find a way to better satiate my tummy. I haven’t noticed any remarkable changes in my stomach problems, either. I have the usual discomfort, but I don’t know if that’s a mix of hunger + other issues, or what. However, I did wake up feeling like my stomach was slightly less hostile this morning, but I don’t know if I can attribute that to simply being empty (less food to digest) or if I successfully eliminated something that causes it. I’m not sure, lots of testing will be needed.

It’s been about 45 minutes since I ate the cashews and, I’m hungry, but my stomach also burns; feels bloated, and all of the other usual daily symptoms. I feel pretty weak today, too. As if I had an exhausting workout yesterday, but I didn’t. I’m going to have some cottage cheese, fruit, and a food bar now. We’ll see how the rest of the day goes. I’m not completely miserable eating like this, just hungrier and still experiencing my tummy woes. But it’s only been a day, so I haven’t come to any official conclusions yet.

Ok, I’m starved! Be back later… unless I pass out from starvation, lol. I’m a little theatrical when I’m hungry!

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.

We saw Eclipse at the drive-in Thursday night!!

First, we had dinner at Andiamo’s in Newburgh:

I had the vegetable lover’s “mini pizza.” Loved the assortment of veggies! Eggplant, broccoli, onions, and the mozzarella seemed like fresh mozzarella, not the plastic-y stuff.

Dustin had the all meat. Polar opposite pizzas, lol.

What is that green thing on his? Must have fallen off of mine or something. Green usually doesn’t appear on his plate unless I place it there or he drops George Washington in his food, LOL. Andiamo’s is a wood-burning pizza and Italian restaurant, this was our first time trying it. The inside was nicely decorated, and the service was prompt and friendly. Of course, we were the only ones there other than three people in military uniforms. So I can’t say for sure what it’s like when it’s busier. The pizza was really tasty, and REALLY hot. I burned my tongue, it still hurts a little! Totally worth it, though. I had 2 slices and took the rest home. We’ll definitely go there again, we liked it.

After we satisfied our tummies, we went to Mother Earth’s with ice pack-filled coolers in tow. My Mother Earth’s mission was simple: I was in search of raw food options, as I have decided that I’m going to do a 7 day raw (vegetarian) food diet, starting on Sunday. Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend I nerded it up and read an entire book in 48 hours. The book I read was called Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangham. It was an excellent read that makes a compelling argument. Now, how does a book about the evolution of cooking and humanity inspire me to go on a RAW diet? Well, throughout the book it talks about how raw foods are extremely hard to digest and absorb nutrients from, which is completely true. So I decided to do this 7 day challenge as an experiment, and as a means of losing some water weight by significantly reducing my sodium intake for the week. I need a little jump start in my summer weight loss goal, and to me, this is a reasonable, yet healthy trial. I like to change things up, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating certain ways for a few days or months at time. I like variety, it keeps life interesting. Besides, if you never try out anything new, how will you know what works and what doesn’t, right? Trial and error, for sure!

Before you think I’m doing some kooky detox diet, please note that I don’t plan to adhere to strict calorie limitations; I plan to eat a lot of natural, raw foods in abundance, so I will not be starving in the least. I’m mainly doing this for medicinal purposes. I’m on day 4 of my Culturelle experiment, and to be honest, I can’t tell if it’s making my digestive woes worse, better, or no change. Probably too soon to tell, but guys, my stomach is on the fritz and getting progressively worse. So while I wait to see a specialist, I’m going to do some light experimenting. No, I’m not considering becoming a raw foodist or vegan, or even a vegetarian. I’ll never give up cooked food or seafood, I’m only doing this temporarily, as in a vacation from the norm. I’m mainly doing this to reduce some of the puffiness from eating way too many salty foods over the past month yearsssss, lol. My body needs a break, a dedicated 7 day break. So I’m taking it on a tour of raw foodism.

I’m not going completely raw, though. I’m going to keep 2 or 3 servings of dairy in my diet for the week, mainly in the form of yogurt. I’m simultaneously doing the Culturelle and probiotic experiment. This is also the ideal time of year to do this type of experiment: it’s hotter than hell outside, who feels like cooking anyway?! Personally, I don’t feel that eating a diet that consists of primarily raw foods is healthier than a cooked food diet or even healthy in general. But I do think that you can take breaks from the ordinary at your discretion and still keep it healthful. Like everything else, it’s the balance that matters most. I know I’m going to miss a lot of my favorite foods, but it’s only for a week. People can (and do) go weeks without food, certainly I can persevere on an overabundance of delicious foods at my disposal.

Aside from the obvious plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables that I’ll be consuming, I also stocked up on a ton of modern raw foods at Mother Earth’s:

Raw nuts and seeds: almonds, slivered almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds

Raw, New york state honey

An assortment of raw food bars — I don’t want to subsist off of these, though. They’re just a one-a-day deal. Americans can even find ways to make raw food unhealthy and full of empty, sugary calories, lol. Not all of them contain sugar or honey, though. Most are just blended fruit/nuts/seeds/grains.

Raw almond butter — this was $10.99, but the organic version was $22 bucks! I’ll take my chances on pesticides, kthx bYe

Raw hemp and seed crackers

I tried one. They taste earthy, hence the hemp. They’re good, though. I like the texture and can see myself slathering raw almond butter on them, LOL. See? I told you I won’t be starving.

I even scored some raw milk cheese!!

Not raw, but I picked up some grass-fed cow yogurt…

…and some sheep’s milk yogurt, just to try it out.

Raw chocolate: just keepin’ it real, gotta haz yummy flavas!

Raw sweetened cacao nibs. OMGawd, these are SO gooooooood!! TOOOOO good!

Grocery store raw food is expensive! How humanity went from free berries in the forest to charging $22 bucks for a jar of almond butter is insane to think about, LOL. The smarter we got, the harder the little corporate cogs churned inside our great big brains. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, makes convincing arguments about how cooked, nutrient-rich food made us stronger and smarter. Yes, cooking makes foods lose nutrients, BUT we also absorb the remaining nutrients far better than in the raw state, so it’s a worthy sacrifice. And I say this as someone who is about to embark on a 80-90% raw diet for the next week, haha. Don’t get me wrong, many raw foods are healthy and good for digestion (fibrous), but I believe cooked food is really where we benefit the most. So, believing that, why would I still decide to try raw foodism for a whole week? Why not? It’s fun, it’s experimental, and if I’m truly miserable and feeling ill, I can stop at anytime. It’s not like getting a tattoo, I can change my mind right after my first raw meal if I choose, LOL. And I just might. Who knows? Either way, I’m really looking forward to the artistic and creative aspect of this little journey. Coming up with new and tasty ways to stay satisfied on a raw diet is a challenge that piques my curiosity. If all goes well, I can see myself doing this a few times a year, but never ever on a permanent basis. Ever. No, really, never!

So, after spending a biz-oat load of cash at Mother Earth’s, we went to the drive-in to see Eclipse. We got there about 20 minutes before it started, it was still light out. We got a great parking space, plus some popcorn and bottled water at the concession stand. We left our car running with the AC on the whole time. There were people smoking cigarettes and burning small campfires on both sides of us, so screw it, we added our own pollution. Yeah, our comfort always trumps our greenness. We’re selfish like that, lol. Don’t judge me.

The movie started while it was still a little light out, so the first 10 minutes wasn’t the greatest picture. It also started with no introduction; no previews or announcements. Cool, but if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss a good chunk, lol. LOVED the movie! It was exactly what I expected, and much like I imagined while reading the book. It seemed very short, though. Before I knew it, it was over and credits were rolling. I still maintain that the books are better than the movies, especially because the movies skip over so many details that I feel are imperative to the storyline. For instance, Dustin remarked that Edward is a better choice because Jacob will die sooner. But if you read the books, you know there’s more to that than the movie lets on. I’m looking forward to seeing Breaking Dawn! Can’t wait to have all 4 of them on video so I can watch them back to back to back to back. Vampire love marathon! Ch’ea! <3

The acting is kind of lame, but Edward Cullen's hair makes up for the lack of talent throughout the movie(s), lol. I'd still rather watch the high school drama club acting in the Twilight saga than the overrated special effect end-of-the-world movies that Hollywood spits out every 3 weeks. Borrrrrrrrring! lol Don’t even get me started on True Blood. Why people love that show is beyond me. I watched one episode a few weeks ago, expecting it to be Twilight-esque, and what I saw can only be described as: 3 parts Jersey Shore, 3 parts Deliverance, a pinch of Twilight, a generous scoop of the redneck comedy tour, and 3 parts softcore cable porn. I’m not kidding. Watching that crap will rot your brain. I couldn’t ignore the HORRIBLE acting, much less the completely ridiculous storyline. At least Twilight is a little believable as far as fiction goes. I would offer my apologies to anyone that likes that show, but I’m afraid I have none.

/rant

I’m going to enjoy my last day of cooked foods now. I’m looking forward to my little raw food romp, it sounds refreshing! Have you ever done a raw food diet? Did you like it? What’s something that you wouldn’t eat raw? I’d have to say meat, especially chicken. *cringes* Yuck! Lovely mental picture, eh? I’ll leave you with something prettier…

© Jenn (J3nn.net) | Jenn's Menu & Lifestyle Blog, 2010.