Daily Chat 1

[Guppy]

Hi Raw Folks!

I am Emily and I joined RFT awhile back with a few friends of mine. We are all at different stages in our raw journeys and some are not willing/able to participate in the June Challenge. We thought it might be nice to have a place to chat about the ins and outs of raw life. I hope this is OK with Alissa and the moderators.

All are free to join us of course!

So, here is a little about me: I'm a SAHM of 2 boys in Westchester Co, NY (just outside of NYC). I have 2 successful 30-day challenges under my belt and now suddenly I am struggling. I feel like my INTENT got cloudy. I have allowed myself to be confused about what I should be, and want to be eating.

Dinnertime is my biggest challenge. I make dinner for the family and it has become such a complcated ordeal! One child is a vegetarian and EXTREMELY picky. He also happens to be overweight. The other child eats anything and everything and is a little underweight! Dh is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Oh and did I mention that we also keep Kosher?! Oy! For the past 5 years or so I have been making everyone a different meal which worked OK, albeit it was a bit of a juggling act for me. I just want us to all eat the SAME THING each night! Quite often I will cook a vegan meal to suit everyone, but feel funny asking the kids to eat it and then not eating it myself. What kind of message does this send? It is such a fight to get my picky one to eat ANYTHING and yet he is fat. I have not found ANY raw entrees that he will even touch (and I am a pretty good cook/uncook so it's not my cooking, lol!)

So clearly I feel confused and pulled in too many different directions at dinnertime and that is reflected in the breakdown of raw I have been experiencing in the evenings. And I'm sure my eldest is picking up on my confusion and playing it to his advantage. I am hoping to find some quiet time to pray and meditate on this issue. Suggestions are welcome as well.

That is my story. My plan is to stay 100% simple raw today. So far I took a 4-mile run at dawn and am now having 2 oranges.

How is everyone else doing today? Feel free to talk about anything. It doesn't have to be about my kids, haha!

emily

[SparklePlenty]

Hi Emily, I am Jan. I am doing fabulously today! I walked 4+ miles this morning into the sunrise.

I am doing a master cleanser during the month of June so I had my first lemonade.

I am feeling invincible to dayl Committed to living on the leading edge, and leading others there!


I spent my walk envisionining all the things I want to Do, Be, Have and it was so joyful and FUN!!

Watched the movie Michael yesterday.....love it!

have a beautiful RAW day!! If you can dream it you can be it!!


Love
Jan

[Faithfullyfit]

Guppy,

Good Morning!

I am in your same boat.....I have a husband who is finally trying raw with me and 2 kids ....daughter, has effects of soy, estrogen and meat in her diet for years (Over developed at 8 and extra weight!) Son, 4 pick eater...very scrawny and underweight!

I am in the middle of reading "The China Study" and it has put a new motivation for me to incorporate more RAW or at least more plant based meals on the table for my kids......Extreme Creativity!

I would love to stay with this thread and share ideas with an struggles...maybe we should switch a portion of this to raising raw kids? although that's not all we will be sharing...moderator? what ya think?

Anyway, WELCOME - there is so much kindness and support on this board- you will love it!

Have a GREAT day!

FF

[gatorgrrl]

Hello, hello!

Emily, it seems like we all have some kind of challenge to overcome. Family having different eating habits is difficult. If I may suggest for you picky eater having him help you prepare recipes. Try to make them fun and exciting.

Hi, just call me gator. I am the dw of a very dh. I had a awful and wonderful time this week. And a extremly enlightning experience.

Saturday 2 of our relatives graduate from high school. They were nice graduations.
But, afterwards we had an enlightening experience about who some people were in our family and for the better. I think my healing process will now open up to better results. I am soooo happy about this.

We had a great time Sunday. We spent the day on top of a mountain. It was so beautiful and peaceful I never wanted to leave. WOW!

Yesterday we spent the day at home and in the evening we went to my husbands parents for the evening and had a very nice visit.

This morning I am snacking on a apple and strawberries. Yummy!

Oh yeah wowwww! Lots of food at the party and well everywhere I went and well I stayed 100% and I am very proud of myself. I can't sit here and say it was easy, but it was pretty tolerable and I know I feel better because of it.

[vm4him77]

Hi Ladies,

My name is Christy. I'm a raw baby. I just finished reading Alissa's book yesterday and finished Natalia Rose's, The Raw Food Detox Diet, this morning.

I've tried numerous recipes in Alissa's book and have enjoyed them all. My hubby will eat anything I put in front of him, so he's enjoying this process with me. Yesterday, he ate about 90% raw.

At this point, I still get overwhelmed with trying to stay 100% raw. I find that I do better around 70-90%.

I have two sons. One loves fruits and veggies and has really enjoyed Alissa's raw blueberry pie, fudge balls and date nut torte. My oldest son is an omnivore. He has a limited liking of fruits and veggies. Sigh!

I'm interested in trying the "Master Cleanser." Has anyone else actually done the entire ten days?

Thanks for starting this thread Em!

Christy
vm4him77

[Sharon in Colorado]

I also have a lot of mixed eaters in the family.

The easiest thing I've done is making sure there is a starter course of plenty of fruit, then a huge salad for the first course.

The main course can be whatever, either a cooked type of veggie or meat if that is what they desire.

My family eats a lot of meatless dishes but meat has not been nixed to this point although it's eaten infrequently.

Here's an example of the meal:

-Starter-

*Sliced up melon -or-
*Sliced oranges with the peel on, which makes it more fun and time consuming for the kids to eat -or-
*A large bowl of berries

-First Course-

*Huge salad with 2-3 veggie additions such as

jicama
shredded carrot
avo
onions
bell peppers
tomatoes

just adding 2-3 additions to the salad keeps the variations interesting with endless combinations every day.


* or a fresh corn or veggie salad or veggie slaw

-Main Course-

Steamed veggies
Healthier cooked starch like rice or potato
Animal food in small portions if necessary

They shouldn't miss bread or pasta the evil carbs here if you usually serve it during the meal.

Serve each course separately and relax, not rushing to the next course.

So by the time the main course rolls around everyone is almost full, and won't be over eating the cooked stuff. At first you can make everyone a full portion, but when you get the hang of it you'll find that you won't need to make that much.

And you can eat all the salad you want slowly while the others are eating their cooked stuff.

[Guppy]

How nice to have folks join me! Thanks for all the suggestions.

Sharon - You make it sound so simple, yet that is pretty much what I have been doing, haha! I wonder if I am over-thinking this. But I am so worried about my son who is overweight that I think my judgement has been tampered with.

Faithfully Fit - Omigosh! I got chills when I read about your daughter b/c that is what I am dealing with my son. He is also 8 and has begun puberty. I am so distressed about this. The dr wants him to see an endocrinologist which I suppose we will do in a few months. Has your dd seen one? You can email me if you would rather not discuss it online.

Jan - We watched the same sunrise this morning. How cool is that?

gator - congrats for staying 100% through all of that visiting yesterday! That is not easy.

Hi Christy, my friend!

I was out running errands this morning and really felt like ca-ca. I kept thinking I would stop and buy something cooked and bready, but I know in my heart that will never make me feel better. Not will it ever solve any problems. So I ate a Lara Bar I had and bought a pint of raspberries and ate them all while shopping!
emily

[Kima]

Hello A!!!

Thanks Emily for starting this up! Nice to meet the rest of you!

I am one of Emily's friends! I do not have kids. I do however, have lots of cats and they eat raw. Well, mostly. DH doesn't like it, and he gives them more canned food than he should. I have two that eat all 100% raw. And my husband -- well, he is definitely a COOKED omnivore. He doesn't like many vegetables (green beans, corn, peas, potatoes) and no fruit, although he will drink fresh squeezed orange juice or apple juice. Who needs kids? LOL!

I am in my second 30-day challenge. The first one went so well in terms of weight loss, 7 pounds, which, I will not lie, is the primary reason I am trying raw. The second month, well, I am up two.

I still have cooked cravings.

I manage to stay 100% on the weekdays, the weekends are what is getting me.

Jenn

[mathteacher]

Hi Gang,

I, too, am one of Emily's friends! I've been experimenting with raw for almost a year and just completed a 30-day challenge.

I look forward to benefitting (why doesn't that look spelled correctly? :confused: ) from everyone's knowledge and experience.

Mickie

[Guppy]

Hello Friends,
How is everyone doing today?

I did great yesterday. And for some reason we had a really peaceful evening where everything went the way I have dreamed it would! Ds ate a healthy dinner and even took some tastes of thing he has refused before. He did his homework w/o our usual stress. Then we even had time to go to the playground and let them run around for an hour. We took the bikes and my little one rode so well!

This morning I am fighting some real food demons. Send me some strength!

emily

[mathteacher]

Good Morning all,

I actually haven't had anything to eat this morning. I ate cooked last night and haven't been hungry.

Starting to get that way...I think it will be bananas for "brunch!"

I guess that's one of the biggest things I've learned/am learning from my raw adventure - listen to my body. I don't have to eat at prescribed times and I don't have to eat "normal" meals. This is huge for me....Of course, I'm still working on it, but I'm encouraged by the changes I see.

I have almonds and sunflower seeds soaking for tuna salad for dinner. I forgot to put up my sunflower seeds that I soaked yesterday and left draining before I went out; they were dark this morning and I was scared to keep them. So...more sunflower seeds under water! I left my almonds in water all night (I started soaking them around lunchtime yesterday)...I assume they're fine - they look OK.

I also want to make some brownies today.

I have macadamia nuts that are supposed to be delivered today; there will be cheese in the dehydrator!!!!



Emily - Hang in there, girl! I'm sending good vibes your way!

Better get lunch going for the kids...I want to take them to the library here in a little while.

Have a great day!
Mickie

[Kima]

Hi All!

Mickie, good to see you. I ate cooked last night. Lima beans. Way less fat than nuts.

I feel so good today. After having two really crummy days. And its not the weather. Its been very sunny! ;)

That cheez is so good. I am going to make some more tomorrow. I don't have any more macadamias, but I do have cashews, so I am going to try that. Emily has used cashews and it works out fine for her. And cashews are cheaper to boot! Tomorrow, I have lots of food related stuff to do.

Oh, Em, I am glad that you had such a pleasant night. :)

Okay gotta go. See you all later.http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=137747#
Smile

Jenn :)

[gatorgrrl]

I still have cooked cravings.

I manage to stay 100% on the weekdays, the weekends are what is getting me.

Jenn

I know the feeling. What I did was set a goal to go 100% raw for the weekend and then I challenged myself the next week and when I did that I learned that I like to snack on the weekends when others do. So I make snacks and I make quick rich fullfilling dishes to eat with friends and family on the weekends.

Today I am making onions rings, so I will have this for this weekend and I am also going to do some dried apples. And I LOVE HUMMUS! Preparing ahead helps alot. If you know its going to be a super busy weekend don't wait to the last minute.

I take a hour a day for ME! In that time I either prepare meals for the days ahead or I take some good old relaxation. This hour has cut into my reading time and tv time, but its well worth it.

[Guppy]

I just made a decision. Enough namby-pamby. It's back to 100% raw for me. I am doing a new challenge for June. I feel really good about the decision.

Wish me luck!
em

[vm4him77]

Hi Raw Pretties!

I'll have to find time to catch up on reading journal's later, but just wanted to pop in and let Em & Mickie know that I received Alissa's DVD's today. Dhubby and I are having a blast watching them. He's been home sick for the past two days.

Yesterday he insisted that I only feed him raw foods. Today he opened up Alissa's book and started studying the sprouting process, then he went over to the kitchen and has started up a batch of mung beans to sprout!

He wants to go 100% raw because he'll be free to eat as much as he wants without having to count calories and worry about gaining weight. Although, I don't see him doing it right away, I do think he'll get there.

BBL

Christy

[gatorgrrl]

well I have to say I am jealous. I sooo want Alissa's book and DVD, agghhhh, someday!

I've spent way too much of my spending money, so I need to cut back and wait. Oh well!

[Guppy]

Gator - That DVD has made the rounds among several of us. I know Christy has it promised to go to another person when she is done, but perhaps if you send her your address she can forward it on? The cookbook I can't help you with though!

Christy - I am jealous too! How great about your dh being interested in this!! Wow, if my dh would go raw 90% of my challenges would be gone.

emily

[gatorgrrl]

thanx, I will get it soon enough. I ordered Victorias book and dvds last month, I bought a new juicer, and filled my fridge and pantry, plus made over my dining room, bedroom, and bathroom. So I spent a bit too much. Maybe I can order in a couple of weeks or so.

[gatorgrrl]

Seems like there is always stuff on the want list. I also have RP's books in mind. i really want the one that has the mock egg recipes in it. I have soooo been craving eggs. Hmmm, why I don't know. Thought that might cure the craving. Well maybe later.

[vm4him77]

How could I forget Mickie? Duh! She never gets a break!

Gtrgirl - What does RP stand for?

Christy

[gatorgrrl]

raw priestess - one of the moderators on here

[vm4him77]

Ohhhhh! Thank you for clarifying, Gatorgrrl!

Well, not only have I learned about durians and cherimoyas today, but I've also learned that zuchinni is a FRUIT! Didn't know it!

Question: How do you clean a portabello mushroom? I've watched Racheal Ray (30 min meals) clean them. She just wipes off the tops with a moist paper towel, but I'm fanatical about getting every bit of dirt or residue off, especially if it's not organic.

I've heard you're not supposed to put them under running water, so how do you clean out the underside where all those brown fans are? Can't dirt or gross stuff get trapped in there?

Christy :rolleyes:

[Kima]

Hello!

Gatorgirl -- Nice to meet you!

What does one do with mung bean sprouts? I bought some at Whole Foods and I recall a recipe ......

My weekends are bad because we eat out and I am a HUNGRY person. A salad just doesn't cut it for me. Unless its a really big one.

How did it get to be so late?

Also, Gatorgirl, how do you make your hummus? The hummus I tried to make was NASTY. I am going to try to make Alissa's zucchini (the fruit!) hummus tomorrow.

I am finding that I really like my green smoothies and I look forward to them n the mornings. Didn't like the juices though. Weird.

Jenn

[gatorgrrl]

Ohhhhh! Thank you for clarifying, Gatorgrrl!

Well, not only have I learned about durians and cherimoyas today, but I've also learned that zuchinni is a FRUIT! Didn't know it!

Question: How do you clean a portabello mushroom? I've watched Racheal Ray (30 min meals) clean them. She just wipes off the tops with a moist paper towel, but I'm fanatical about getting every bit of dirt or residue off, especially if it's not organic.

I've heard you're not supposed to put them under running water, so how do you clean out the underside where all those brown fans are? Can't dirt or gross stuff get trapped in there?

Christy :rolleyes:

Christy I clean mine with a little water and sea salt.

[gatorgrrl]

Hello!

Gatorgirl -- Nice to meet you!

What does one do with mung bean sprouts? I bought some at Whole Foods and I recall a recipe ......

My weekends are bad because we eat out and I am a HUNGRY person. A salad just doesn't cut it for me. Unless its a really big one.

How did it get to be so late?

Also, Gatorgirl, how do you make your hummus? The hummus I tried to make was NASTY. I am going to try to make Alissa's zucchini (the fruit!) hummus tomorrow.

I am finding that I really like my green smoothies and I look forward to them n the mornings. Didn't like the juices though. Weird.

Jenn

I like mixing mung beans in my green juice, putting them on salads, adding them to other recipes to give them some living quality.And I LOVE to just take them to work and snack on them. I find them to be very tasty alone.

Hummus
Chick peas (Gabanzo beans)
cayenne pepper
hot peppers
garlic
lime juice
Tahini
(sometimes I add sprouts, including mung beans)
sea salt
olive oil

Place in food processor and pulse until it rolls in balls

[heabrook]

Hello Everyone!

My name is Heather. I had a good day today and the weather was absolutely fabulous. We had the windows open all day!

I made some more crepes today, this time I used strawberry & blueberry sauce. I also made what I call a "lemon cream cake."

I hope everyone had a good day today too. :)

This past weekend, dh and I went camping. It was so much fun! We went on a 6.5hr day hike and took lots of pictures. We saw countless chipmunks :D

[Faithfullyfit]

Hey everyone!

Had a really good day and- Mono foods all day until .....sorry, I had to pause because of a segment on the 10:00 o'clock news where a man just said he has found the TRUE "Weapons of Mass destruction" that are used against the citizens of this country...processed food- More people die from compromised health due to poor diet than all forms and acts of terrorism ...so why don't we go to war against the processed food manufacturers ? Hmmmmm? What a truthful statement!
I took my kids (5 and 8) to the movies today- it has been raining for day's and they are so ready to jump into summer activities. I was concerned because of the over priced trash that they offer at the movie theatre and if I would have to battle my kids begging and pleading for it.....well, I packed some PHI Plus from my whole food farmacy site , waters, almonds and dried papaya- we stuffed our faces on goodness, laughed and had a great time and were still so full from our feast we just had green smoothies for dinner...........the kids idea, not mine :eek: Can you believe that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I need to get some sleep- everyone have sweet dreams and well wishes to all those that are starting new 30 day challenges tomorrow :)

Good Night ;)

[vm4him77]

Gatorgrrl - I'm still confused. Do you scrub inside all those little ridges with sea salt and water and then rinse it out?

Christy

[Guppy]

Christy - I don't think you need to be so fanatical about getting ALL the dirt off. Just wipe the tops with a paper towel. The gills underneath should look pretty clean anyway.

Jenn - I seem to remember a Pad Thai recipe somewhere with the mung sprouts. We have all the same cookbooks so just look around. I am thinking "Raw Foods for Busy people" or RFDetoxDiet or Alissa maybe?? I know I have bought them to use in a recipe before and the never used them and they got slimy, ick.

FFit - What movie did you guys see?

Heather - Hi! It was nice in NY today too and we also had the windows open. I love the early summertime.

I can't sleep tonight - got a lot on my mind. See you all in the morning!
emily

[Nini]

Hi everyone!
Guppy, this chat is a great idea! I hope you all have a rawsome day!

I am Jan from Ohio. I am known as Nini to my friends and family. A litle bio: I have been 100% raw for about 6 months, so I am a "newbie", too. I looked for an alternative health plan after 2 bouts of cancer and now the dr. thinks I have alopecia totalis and that I'm just not bald from radiation. Either way, raw eating is healing my body inside and out. I hope to see my hair again. I am 50 yrs. old. Kids dd18-ds20-dd24-2dd5. One husband. No pets. 2 granddaughters. I have lost 52 pounds so far, but I need to begin exercising because I am at a plateau and need to lose at least 75# more. I'm a diabetic and I teach 5th graders. Whew!

My fave recipe for hummus is cashew based. But when I am eliminating nuts, I usually make the zucchini hummus. I just don't like the sprouted chick pea taste. If I could figure out how to cover up that taste, I'd be a happy girl!

Anyone juice wheatgrass? Once you begin it, you will be amazed at the energy it gives you.

Love and peace to you on this Thursday!

[Guppy]

Hello Nini! I have heard a lot of people saying that wheatgrass tastes terrible or makes them throw up. What is that all about? I am afraid to try it but when you say it gives great energy I am sure interested!
emily

[vm4him77]

Hi Nini & Heather!

Nini - I'm primarily trying the raw lifestyle to see if it will heal my body too. Fibromyalgia, CFS, neuropathy and back pain have plagued me for years.

Jenn - I used the Pad Thai recipe in Alissa's book. It was good.

Em - I know, I know....I am fanatical about getting all the germies out! Gills! I was wondering what those things were called.

Dhubby was so excited last night when the mung beans started popping out of their hard little shells! He was imitating a bean saying, "I'm free! I'm free! Let me out of this hard little shell." Silly man! He got up this morning and drained them and they're sitting on the windowsill. He said he thinks he'll enjoy sprouting because it's like a science experiment to him.

We finished watching Alissa's DVD's last night. I CANNOT believe how much food those two women ate!!! I'm anxious to try almond butter and honey w/ raspberries on flax crackers.

Dhubby said if we're still doing this around Christmas, then we'll get an Excalibur. Those Teflex sheets look hard to clean though compared to what I'm using with the Nesco.

BBL
Christy

[Kima]

Gatorgrrl, I assume that the chickpeas are sprouted. Well, that is where my problem lay, the chickpeas. I will not sprout. I refuse to. I've not had any luck! And thanks for the information on what else to do with Mung Bean Sprouts.

Christy/Em Pad Thai! Yes, that is what I was thinking of. Its Alissa's recipe. Thanks! I'll find it. I needed the name, since the index isn't by ingredient. LOL!

Yes, let's start a war on the food industries! The world would be so much better for it!

Well... I don't think I can put off working out much longer .... I have lots of food to prepare, I have to get ready for the weekend. And the Bagheera needs fed at 3:00. I am trying him on solid food today. Wish me luck.

For those of you who don't know me, I currently have a little foster kitten here. I have had him since he was 5 days old. He is currently 4 weeks old, and not yet 1 pound, where he should be. Doesn't want to give up the bottle, but needs to eat canned food. He has teeth. He has no excuses. He doesn't use the litter box yet either, but that is another story!

[Lay-Lay]

Kima,

Sprouting is alot of fun? What has been going wrong?

[sosiesmom]

Hi there,

Glad to join the chat, Guppy.

Heabrook, I love your blog. I used to live in Denver and those pics of Rocky Mountain Natl Park really made me home sick!

I too struggle with cooking for my family and then raw for me. My DH is a really picky eater but will not eat raw. My toddler loves juices,smoothies, etc., but also loves pasta, rice, and some meat. I am trying to include more and more raw in her diet. Cooking multiple meals for different family members was probably the hardest thing about going raw. Now, it's not so bad 'cause I have a set time during the day that I cook for myself (usually during toddler's nap) and make 1 or 2 things like a sauce for zucchini pasta or a dessert.

I am starting another 30 day challenge today (i was 100% for the month of May). I lost 5 pounds last month (I have about 10 or 15 more to lose - starting weight was 137 ) and have started marathon training for an Oct. marathon. I suffered serious detox last month, then went thru a period of being fine and now, I am finding that I get headaches from dates and avocados - the very foods that "got me thru the raw day" so to speak, when I first went raw. I wonder why that is? So, even though I love those foods and include them in desserts, I am trying to eat them less - only eat them if I include them in a recipe, not alone.

I'm also wondering about nuts - I eat a lot of nut based meals (not so much nuts by the handful) but worry about what this does to my weight loss.

This month I will learn how to use my dehydrator (which is still sitting in its box). Very exciting.

Happy to read your posts and learn from you...

Have a great day! :)

[Faithfullyfit]

Hope everyone had a GREAT day!

1 week......Still raining in South East Texas........UGH! I am stir crazy! I have not biked, run or worked out in a week- I balance out well on raw when I am active....but, I am stressed out and putting on weight- just in a week!!!!!!

I enjoy the raw gourmet meals and since I have been stuck indoors -I am "Creating" new dishes- So, I fear that I am overeating my goodies!!!! The kids are making sweet potato chips and fruit leather in the dehydrator and I just made "taco salad" = Soaked almonds with garlic, cayenne, cumin and sea salt-pulsed in the food processor- topped with diced avocado and fresh pico de gallo wrapped in romaine leaves. YUMMY!! You can see where my extra weight is coming from-haha!

Anyone in the Houston area will hear about this on the news....earlier today my hair stylist was in a car on I-10 when a truck carrying 80,000 pounds of gravel flipped over and crushed her car :eek: She survived and was trapped for 40 minutes- she is now at the hospital so prayers please for my dear friend Fabiola. She is so blessed to have survived this!!!


I will look forward to telling about a "sunny" day tomorrow and how I was able to get out in the sun to play with the kid's :)

Take Care,
FF

[Lay-Lay]

It's rainy here too and it is suppose too tommorow also. Im happy, it will be great for my garden.

[Kima]

Evening all!

Lay Lay, my problem with sprouting? The whole process! LOL. You don't know me very well yet, but you will. Basically, it takes too long and I am too impatient and inattentive to deal with sprouting. Dehydrating takes long enough. And I can't stand clutter, even just a bowl on the counter. And my cats would get into them, the sprouts start to smell and then I have had no luck with what I make actually tasting good. ;)

Sosiesmom You are a runner? So am I! I just finished up my fifth half marathon. My husband and I started running in August of 2004. He is training for a full in September. I am going to stick with halfs for a little while. I had a tailbone injury (Valentine's Day I hurt it) and was down and out and I never really got back to my previous form, even though the last race I ran was early May and I did really well. I am working on getting to where I was before.

Had a great day! Spent 3.5 hours preparing food. Now I am ready for the weekend. My first fully 100% raw weekend.


:D

[mathteacher]

Hi all!

Busy day...

Christy - You'd be amazed at the veggies that are really fruit! The way I've read it is that anything with seeds on the inside is a fruit. I haven't actually researched that myself, but I read it or heard it on the radio or something like that.

I just finished with ds's "family" party. My eldest turned 8 today...sniff, sniff....Where does the time go?

We're getting ready for a yard sale tomorrow...gulp....

Mickie

[vm4him77]

Mickie - Hubby says the same thing about fruit. If it has seeds than it's fruit.

FaithfullyFit - Your taco salad recipe sounds delicious! I'm glad to hear your hairdresser survived such a horrible accident. How is he/she doing? I posted a non-raw question to you on the challenge thread. If you have time, maybe, you could e-mail me with your info. vm4him@aol.com

Em & Jenn - You girls rawked day one of the challenge yesterday! I've tried three new recipes since yesterday. Raw Lasagna, Not Peanut Butter Cookies and Chocolate Mousse.....they were all really good!

Christy

[vm4him77]

Question: I've got a brand new food processor and when I threw in my 1/4 cup of almonds for a recipe last night, it wouldn't grind them. They were just kind of flying around getting chipped.

I'm curious if everybody else's food processor grinds their almonds? Trying to figure out if there's something wrong with mine.

Christy

[Faithfullyfit]

Question: I've got a brand new food processor and when I threw in my 1/4 cup of almonds for a recipe last night, it wouldn't grind them. They were just kind of flying around getting chipped.

I'm curious if everybody else's food processor grinds their almonds? Trying to figure out if there's something wrong with mine.

Christy

Christy,

My electric processor will not chop them either sooooo....I use a hand powered mini processor and get a little arm :p work-out in in the process. If they are dry and not soaked you can use a coffee grinder! Hope that helps!

[Lay-Lay]

Evening all!

Lay Lay, my problem with sprouting? The whole process! LOL. You don't know me very well yet, but you will. Basically, it takes too long and I am too impatient and inattentive to deal with sprouting. Dehydrating takes long enough. And I can't stand clutter, even just a bowl on the counter. And my cats would get into them, the sprouts start to smell and then I have had no luck with what I make actually tasting good.


:D

Well, they have to have time to actually sprout, LOL. Now I find sprouting easier then dehydrating, but thats just me. Theres always store bought ones. They tend to be no wait at all. LOL.

[vm4him77]

Thank you, FF!

Tonight I was making a pesto pate with pine nuts and the same thing happened again. Then I had a "lightbulb moment!" I told DH that maybe it was because the bowl was too big for the small amount of nuts. I threw everything in my mini food processor and it worked just fine.

I love my coffee grinder for breaking down flax seeds. I never knew it could grind nuts, too. Nice to know I have options. Now I'm wondering if the big food processor would grind a big batch of nuts. My old one would. I'm hoping this one will since it's nicer than the old one.

Tried four new recipes today:
Not Tuna
Walnet Pate
Pesto Pate
Lasagna

My favorite is the Not Tuna. Yum!

Yesterday I made Chocolate Mousse and Not Peanut Butter Cookies for the first time. The cookies are neck and neck with the Blueberry Pie for my favorite dessert.

BBL
Christy

[Kima]

I didn't know that a coffee grinder could do nuts. Mine specifically says do not grind nuts. I did use it for flaxseeds and it worked wonders!

I learn something new every day.

Lay Lay, the dehydrating thing gets to me too. Too long. But I love the nut cheez and the onions, so I deal with it. I can't really find sprouts in a convenient place. My mung bean sprouts are spoiled. Whole Foods, which is not convenient to me, does sell little packages of alfafa sprouts, broccoli sprouts and crunchy sprouts, which I put on my salads. And my kitty Skyler got into the crunchy sprouts. She liked them.

Oh -- sprouts are good for our pets! I just read that tonight in the re-reading of Ian Billinghurst's book about raw food for pets. (I feed them raw).

See you all tomorrow!

[Faithfullyfit]

I did not read anywhere that my coffee grinder should not use nuts....hmmmm? I just started grinding almonds one day and made almond flour for my lemon, cranberry and ginger cookies and just started using the coffee grinder and my vita mix exclusively that day forward- I get too frustrated with my food processor and have already spent my budget on my vitamix pro and the 9 tray excalibur. :p I may ruin the coffee grinder- hopefully not....I will let you know it's longevity before you ruin yours...but, having been doing this for 6 months with a $10 grinder!

I had the best day yesterday with the family- we found an organic Blueberry farm!!! in 2 hours of the 4 of us picked 12 pounds of the largest sweetest blueberries that I have ever seen. I also purchased Fresh RAW Blue berry blossom honey...they have to have the bees pollinate the bushes for greater volume!!!!- We had such a fun time and ate as we picked...."Organic" and got some sun and exercise- TALL bushes!!! So, Blueberries for weeks now :)

Any recipes for blueberry sorbet????

Hope everyone had a nice weekend- off to go for a workout outdoors before the Texas heat kicks in today!!!!!!!!

Much Love,
Faithfully FIT

[Vegan Diva]

I use a coffee grinder for grinding my nuts, seeds, garlic, and ginger. I have been doing this for about 8 years. It does a fabulous job.

Today is an easy day. My daughter (she's three) and I just came inside from our garden. We picked collards, kale, green onions, lettuce, fennel, sweet peas, and wheat grass.

i'll be headed to the gym early this afternoon after that I think I will experiment with a few raw dishes.

I joined this forum a few days ago. I ordered Allissa's book about a week ago. I'm looking forward to receiving it.

[heabrook]

sosiesmom ---

Thanks :) I absolutely love it here. My husband and I got married in the Rocky Mountain National Park, it was amazing! It is my favorite vacation spot and we only live about an 1-1.5hrs away.... Did you leave the Denver area for a job or? I couldn't imagine moving away.. but you never know, life can take you anywhere!!

A lot of nut heavy meals can also be hard on your digestion. Try to incorporate more veggies.. everyone should do a green smoothie in the morning. You can marinate veggies in olive oil/salt and eat them that way or pop them in the dehydrator to soften them up even more.

[vm4him77]

FF - Sounds like Blueberry heaven!!!! Organic too! You hit the gold mine there! Blueberrys are so expensive here. I made Alissa's raw blueberry pie a couple of weeks ago and would've had to pay $20 just for the 4 cups of organic berries, so I ended up going conventional. I hate that. Organic is always better.

VeganMomma - Garden heaven! Oh my! You picked wheatgrass! I love wheatgrass shots. 4 oz. here is about six dollars!


Christy

[Faithfullyfit]

FF - Sounds like Blueberry heaven!!!! Organic too! You hit the gold mine there! Blueberrys are so expensive here. I made Alissa's raw blueberry pie a couple of weeks ago and would've had to pay $20 just for the 4 cups of organic berries, so I ended up going conventional. I hate that. Organic is always better.

VeganMomma - Garden heaven! Oh my! You picked wheatgrass! I love wheatgrass shots. 4 oz. here is about six dollars!


Christy

I am so sorry that you have to pay soooo....much for the blueberries- If I thought I could ship them to you- I would go pick some, throw them in a cooler and drive to the Post office.....hmmmm....! I wonder how much shipping would be?- haha! I also LOVE the blueberry pie!!! I have made two of them already this week @$1.50 lb for the organic blueberries and the "Overly RIPE" bananas at the store for .50 for a 2-3 lb bag-....YUMMY! I am in heaven! I also made "jelly" with the blueberries....dates and the dehydrator :p

We have just purchased 16 acres and I want to plant a zillion fruit trees and hopefully I can start my very own garden- next spring!!!! I am so excited :)

I hope everyone is having a beautiful day!

Take Care,
Melissa

[Kima]

Hey, what happened to everybody? This was a pretty chat for a few days.

I just finished day 7! Yay!!!

Jenn

[Guppy]

Hi Jenn! I guess we all went back to commenting in each other's journals. I'm home with a sick kid today. He's not so sick really I just had a lot of compassion! So far he has had a fresh squeezed OJ and some of Chai Life's Cotton Candy smoothie. Funny how if you name it after CANDY, kids will happily eat it.

OK, the Grumpy One has found me up here in the office and he is booooorrrrreeed. Guess I better go be a Mommy!

Have a great Raw day!
emily