Dec 2012 - 30 day raw challenge... join any time of the month!

[Aleesha Sattva]

Welcome welcome welcome!!! :excited:

Welcome to the 30 day challenge and welcome to our new monthly format.

This is our monthly challenge thread. We are choosing to do one (or perhaps split into two) continual threads so we can create a community of support within this challenge. You can join this thread at any time during the month. Don't be shy... we love new posters!!! So if you want to join us... please do!

I welcome people who are already 100% raw to join in the conversation - supporting our challengers in their quest! :cheer:

This thread is specifically for those of you who are eager to commit to 30 consecutive days of eating 100% raw foods and seeing miraculous results!

I will start a new challenge thread on the first of every month. If I forget... send me a quick email and remind me... I'll get the challenge thread online for you quickly.

The focus of the monthly challenge is on staying raw and accountability. Therefore, if you have eaten all raw and then slip up and have something cooked, don't beat yourself up over it or dwell on it - but this is not space to discuss it. You are more than welcome to document it in your journal/blog or ask for help in the discussion area, but it is not necessary (and not allowed) to discuss your slip-up here in the challenge threads, just get right back on track and keep going! This thread is about celebrating what you are eating that IS raw!

I welcome you all to share pics of your dishes, ask questions, share what you are consuming (as long as it's raw). We are here to listen to your emotional and physical challenges. So share share share!!! :hug

OH and the best part of this (not only the support but...) you can subscribe to this thread and get notified every time someone posts to it. This way you will be connected!

So let's get this party started!!!:throwhearts:

[Aleesha Sattva]

Please do not post in this thread until the first.

[SUSA]

:kisses:AM INNNNN

[MysticTree]

Happy month everyone :) Let's make it a good one :)

[Aleesha Sattva]

starting mine with oranges... as many as I can eat.

[appifanie]

Breakfast - smoothie! 3 leaves dino kale, 1/2 a big orange, 1 1/2 bananas. Tummy feeling blech already - probably because of crap I ate last night.

[MysticTree]

We went out for breakfast this morning. There is a place that does fresh orange. They do squeeze a jugful at a time but they are always busy so it gets squeezed quite often. I looked at the juice and it looked like weak squash so I asked when it was juiced . . wait for it, wait for it . . . LAST NIGHT! I declined so I grabbed some fruit about lunch time and am only now finally having an actually meal. What a day!

[Aleesha Sattva]

although... chances are it was squeezed using a citrus juicer and juice made that way does have a pretty long shelf life (2-3 days)... but fresh is always best!

[MysticTree]

yes. They have one of those machines that takes in whole oranges and slices and juices them, discarding the skins and putting the juice in a jug. It was probably 12 hours old, stored in an open topped jug (probably in the frig). It looked wrong which is why I turned it down. The works Christmas do is 2 weeks away. I have arranged to take my own food even though there is a cooked, vegan option. I bought new underwear today and some killer black satin and gold shoes. I will probably kick them off under the table. I need a lace insert for the plunging black dress a friend is lending me. I wonder if I can get thermal lace! Anyway, I love raw. I wouldn't be wearing such outrageous clothes without it :)

[appifanie]

Old orange juice! Boo. Actually, I could go for a ton of oranges and orange juice right now.

I had 1/2 of a not very flavorful slightly mushy Gala apple (I love Macs and Ginger Golds and Jazzes) and a citrus kombucha and some almonds and raisins. More food any minute now and more water. I got a migraine today but we went to the mall and it was warm and crowded so no big surprise there. Also, there are huge chunks of pollen flying through the air, so definitely no surprise.

[ReneeH]

On in for this month (in case anyone didn't know...). But I'll be posting mostly in the thread I just set up for nutless recipes.

I made Thai Coconut Soup for lunch hours ago and I'm still satisfied from it!!! I can STILL taste the Cumin & Pineapple, which is cool!!!

Photo posted over there...

[appifanie]

oh and I have lentils sprouting and i'm soaking some sunflower seeds for a pate, and I have romaine and collards and kale and avocadoes so I can have wraps and kale salad and all sorts of yummy things.

also, we went to whole foods today (it's an hour away from me) and my husband told me i could go crazy and get whatever I wanted (I usually try to restrain myself b/c there's so much awesome at WF). I was standing in front of yummy vegan non-raw things and I walked over and got some EVOO and some coconut and raisins and a kombucha.

[appifanie]

renee, i'm going over there! :throwhearts:

[appifanie]

finished making the sunflower seed pate and had some with celery sticks. also made some date nut torte and had a tiny bit but will have lots of bites later :D

[SekhemNefer]

I made 3 raw dishes to store in Tupperware, especially something to take to work. All should last me about 3 to 4 days.

[appifanie]

Breakfast - green juice! Kale, lemon, celery, green apple, 1 carrot.

[SekhemNefer]

breakfast: gaucomole, and cauliflower dill mash plus and orange
lunch: an orange, or two, and shredded cabbage with onions and tomatoes with a spicy cilantro, lime and raw cashew sauce

[appifanie]

I have 15 unripe bananas and I wish they'd hurry up already! They're only selling very green bananas all over town. I got 8 more today and my husband was really confused about all the bananas I was buying :D

I had more date nut torte and some sunflower seed pate with celery. I didn't want to get so many nuts and seeds in the middle of the day but I was starving and they were ready immediately.

[appifanie]

headachey so I had a nice hot shower and then an apple. more water and then more food b/c i'm feeling kind of hungry still.

[appifanie]

dinner - sushi! 2 pcs nori each filled with avo, sprouts, shredded carrots, green onion

really sad i don't have frozen bananas right now. or cacao nibs.

[Aleesha Sattva]

spent the day making Alissa's chill recipe, some raw crackers are soaking for the D tomorrow and then I'm making some more apple chips (already started... need to hit the D)

mmmm yummy raw day!!!

[Aleesha Sattva]

since :useless:

pic!!!

[robh]

That looks good Aleesha. I love the nice deep red color.

Hi everyone, I am in for December. :)

Today, I'm going to do my Monday water fasting. I love how it makes me feel on Tuesday! The plan right now is water today and most of tomorrow, but breaking my fast Tuesday night with a raw v8 (tomato juice, carrot juice and celery juice). Wednesday, I'll start up my normal fair probably with watermelon.

Good luck to all. :)

[MysticTree]

since :useless:

pic!!!

I never get such a vivid red when I make tomato-based things. Even with really red tomatoes I get a pinky result. Is there paprika in there as well as cayenne/chilli?

[appifanie]

rob, good luck to YOU! :D water fasting seems way beyond anything I could ever do. maybe someday!

i'm going to go juice this bowl of fruits and veggies I saved from leftover bits yesterday. also, every night I make a list of the foods I can eat next day so I know my options.

ALSO, as I always do (it seems) I had a tiny bit of cooked food yesterday (vegan, but cooked) and immediately after I felt flushed and feverish and shortly thereafter the migraine I'd had earlier in the day (the day before?) came back. good reminder!

oh and I have SO MANY GREENS so I'd better get on that :D

eta: my lentil sprouts are almost ready! and I forget the real reason I hit edit.

[appifanie]

okay so the juice was carrot/apple/clementine/lemon/celery but it only made about 8oz so then I made the apple porridge from Ani Phyo's second book. The porridge is apple, flax, walnuts, and dates food processed together and it was really good! I'll get a pic up later.

I decided lunch will be a kale salad - kale, avocado, evoo, lemon juice and some other veggies. I'm also going to dehydrate some kale chips and buckwheaties and something else buckwheatie maybe.

[appifanie]

lunch:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/ltlghiagrl/IMG_0400.jpg

breakfast:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/ltlghiagrl/IMG_0399.jpg

[ReneeH]

YUMMMMM!!!!! I'm on my way!!!!!!!!!!!!

[appifanie]

oh good! :D i'd love some renee-company!

the kale salad was kale, evoo, salt, avocado, cayenne, carrots, black pepper. i haven't had one in awhile and it was AMAZING. scarfed it down.

have had 6 cups of water so far today so i'm 1/2 way to where i want to be there.

[RedCedar]

I'm still in for the month, just not going to be posting much again, busy month just got way busier. the pictures are gorgeous. Love how red that chili is, aleesha.

[appifanie]

fun morning of stuffed sinuses!

[appifanie]

3 small bananas

[appifanie]

have three diff kinds of sweet potato chips from LOLF - almond butter, spicy, cheesy. my buckwheat has tiny sprouts so I'll D that too

[appifanie]

you guyyyyyys i'm lonely! :D

sushi rolls for lunch. celery and seed pate for a snack. not sure yet what dinner is - maybe a collard wrap or a smoothie. i also made ani's raw coconut ice kream - should be ready in a few hours!

[ReneeH]

Aaahhh!!!! Woo....woo...woo!!!!! I'm still here, boo!!!! :D. I've just been visiting up the street at another thread! :hug

You're still loved!!!! :throwhearts:

Leftovers for me today! Still really LOVING my Marinated Collards from LOLF!!! This could easily become a comfort food for me!!!!!

Appifanie, I'm SO glad you're still here!!!!!! :hug

[SekhemNefer]

I went grocery shopping yesterday only to buy cauliflower, but I saw they had carrots, blackberries and raw cashew, almonds and pecans on sale. I also, bought mushrooms and small pack of purple shredded cabbage.

I am going to fix food to last me about 3 days, but I don't know what I shall fix yet. I already have a cabbage salad in a 6 cup tupperware of white cabbage, tomatos and yellow onions chopped up.

I think I will take the button mushrooms take out the stems (save them later for another dish) and just use the caps and stuff with an almond, carrot, celery and dill stuffing.

I have a cup of coconut butter, so I will probably add an ear of corn and a handful of cashews.

Then make a dessert of cranberries, apple, celery and ginger.

I am so bored with guacamole, because I have been making it for a week and a half. But I have a lot of avocados left. I will probably try to make some kind of sauce out of them, or eat them plain with tomatoes and onions in a salad.

I haven't make a smoothie in about 2 months, instead I've been just drinking water. I will use my fresh and frozen fruit for smoothies in order to add more calories in my diet.

[Aleesha Sattva]

red cedar, (chili) it tastes GREAT. even better with every meal. LOL i'm going to put some in the D in a few minutes and have it in an hour for dinner. my raw crackers are almost done. my apple chips turned out AMAZING as usual.

i'm pondering what to make in the D next.... hmmmmm.... perhaps bread sticks. I saw pics of Nee's the other day and have been dreaming about them ever since!

[appifanie]

Yesterday! Hmm. I totally forget what I had. I know there were bananas involved, and I made Alissa's apple pie (which is yummy, but a bit moist) and I ate it with some of Ani's coconut ice kream.

I weighed myself this morning on the Wii because my scale is crazy - I replaced the batteries but it's still crazy - you step on it and it goes to a number and it'll tick down almost endlessly, and if you weigh yourself like 3 times in a row you'll get 3 pretty different numbers. So anyway I weighed myself on the Wii about a week ago after a baked good binge and I'm down from that number - it says down 4.6 but I know that number isn't exactly accurate.

[Shine]

Morning All!

So trying to get back in the swing of things and figure a good way is to do the challenge. :) The only difference is this time I am 24 weeks pregnant! Transitioning a bit slowly as I don't want much detox but feel I am making good strides. I am a bit low in iron so I need to up my greens/lemon intake which I plan to do with green juice.

Two green smoothies on tap - 2 cups berries (straw and black), 6oz spinach, 1 banana, 8oz fresh OJ
A bunch of clementines

I think I will need more for the day so I might go get an avo and greens for a salad at lunch or something. Going to do my best to stick with this and stay accountable :) Good to be back!!

[appifanie]

doing it pregnant! brave soul :D good luck!!

i just had a green juice recipe from the reboot website - collards, cranberries, orange, sweet potato, apple. super yummy!

[Shine]

doing it pregnant! brave soul :D good luck!!

Thanks :)

The culinary arts students just brought me a HUGE spinach salad with tomato and cucumber YUMMY!!

[appifanie]

awesome!

i just made a smoothie that did not make my tummy happy - almond butter, agave, bananas, cinnamon. ugh. such yummy things gone wrong.

[appifanie]

You guys, no one ever told me that the almost tuna from LOLF is AWESOME.

[ReneeH]

You guys, no one ever told me that the almost tuna from LOLF is AWESOME.

Yes, I DID!!!!!

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?52787-Alissa-s-30-Day-Plan-Daily-LOG-PHOTOS-included!!!!/page2&highlight=Alissa%5C%27s+plan

3rd photo down...

[appifanie]

d'oh!! :D I didn't have kelp so I added some lemon and I didn't have alfalfa sprouts so I used all lentil sprouts. I was glad when I saw her note about salt because I kept salting it. AWESOME on celery!

[appifanie]

i just realized that the coconut oil i've been using for the past few days and smoothies and ice kreams listed an expiration date of september which might explain why it tasted weird to me. ugh. i guess it's okay (as long as it doesn't make me sick) because the artisana is not right for me - sort of . . i don't know. the mouth feel was wrong for me. any recommendations ?

[Shine]

Tough day today as I want warm things as winter sets in...so this am I gently heated some almond milk and added bananas and cranberries for breakfast. I really liked it!!

Lunch is a salad - just greens and clementines and I think I'll do warm water with honey to get that warm comfort thing going!

Appifanie - don't know what to say about the coconut oil. I switched to coconut butter a while back as I prefer the taste. Maybe try a few days without it or invest in a new jar of the same brand and see if it makes a difference?

PS - LOVE Alissa's Almost Tuna. It's got a great tang :) I also love Sunny Pate - as a matter of fact, maybe I'll make some for the weekend!

[appifanie]

thx shine! i think my artisana actually was coconut butter but since I don't know this I definitely have stuff to look into :)

i went to help at my kiddo's school and was there 3 hours and hungry! i came back and ate the tuna with celery. there's an orange/banana vitamix juice in my future. the husband is getting chinese food tonight which is super easy for me to say no to so i'll figure out dinner later.

[appifanie]

i made 1/2 the apple pie recipe and divided that between two tiny springforms and I froze them. when refrigerated it made kind of a soup which was too moist for me.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/ltlghiagrl/IMG_0419.jpg

collard wrap the other night

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/ltlghiagrl/IMG_0411.jpg

[appifanie]

okay it isn't chinese, it's something else and it smells good but i imagine that it will make my throat scratchy and make me sneezy and my tummy ache and my head hurt.

[sjpersonal]

I am on my 5th day

[sjpersonal]

I am doing smoothies green and Sun Warrior Vanilla & Chocolate and Fresh Juices until January just to see fast results then I plan to add in raw cuisine.

I am turning 50 next year and I promised myself that I would be on myway to a healthier lifestyle. I will never be 100% raw but will be High Raw.

[appifanie]

I had a few bites of something cooked (vegan and gluten free) and it was a total let down and made me feel flushed and like there was a rock in my tummy. Helpful!

[appifanie]

breakfast - 3 oranges, 2 bananas, ice all blended up in the vitamix for a yummy smoothie/juice (I call them smooce). i gave some to my kiddo (she's 6) b/c she seems to have a cold. she's been sick a bunch since starting school this year.

[appifanie]

also I am celery crazy lately i just can't have enough! maybe it's the sodium.

[MysticTree]

Still eating lots of raw but not 100%. Focussing on the raw, I just ate lots of clementines and a persimmon :)

[appifanie]

lunch wanted to be a chickpea salad wrap but instead I raw'ed it and made it romaine leaves with avocado, shredded carrots, green peppers, and radishes with a side of green juice (collards, lemon, ginger, apple)

[appifanie]

i had a crap night - the kid has a cough and i went to bed at 10:30 and I was up with her at 11:30 and from 12:00-12:30 and up for another 1/2 hour around 3 or so and I slept til 9. I was feeling really hot so I decided it was milkshake time - water, almond butter, frozen bananas. not sure about lunch yet but I better figure it out soon b/c lunch is NOW

[appifanie]

made an okay-ish salad. bibb lettuce, shredded carrots, cucumbers, mustard-y vinaigrette, nooch, s&p

[Juicin' in Houston]

Hello Everyone! :)

I haven't posted on the forum in quite some time but have been lurking, i guess you can say haha. I'm happy to join you all on this challenge. I'm on day 9 of being 100% raw and everything is going great! I wanted to send happy thoughts the way of everyone else who is embarking on this journey! Best of luck!

[appifanie]

hi juicin! glad things are going well!

i have a blech sore throat :( drinking chamomile tea with agave and ginger slices.

question: i buy fresh local honey and it's solidifying and getting crystalline and it tastes GROSS - i tried to give my coughing kid some last night and she cried and said "no honey, no honey!" while sobbing and I didn't understand until I tried it today. ick.

[appifanie]

throat still store! made some tea, added some honey, it was too gross to drink. ate a pear.

[Shine]

Weekends are SO HARD for me. Did okay but poor enough to make me groggy and tired. I need to carve out some time to pre-make some food I can have for those "emergencies" and try to check in here over the weekends too. Glad you all did better than I!

Clementines this morning. Lots of clementines! I have spinach and strawberries for a salad for lunch and I think I'll pop out and get an avo and some nuts at the HFS to add to it.

[2 husky girl]

Had a great, all raw day yesterday! Chia seed pudding for breakfast, marinated veggie wrap for lunch, and cucumber/watercrest soup and salad for dinner. Alissa's granola and almond milk for breakfast today. I've had such a hard time adding pictures lately, so I just changed websites. I think they're working now. Here is a picture of Alissa's reubon sandwich from last weekend and my granola today:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8495/8261594706_5eb34879f6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/90932447@N02/8261594706/)
Reubon 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/90932447@N02/8261594706/) by 2huskygirl (http://www.flickr.com/people/90932447@N02/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8364/8261592692_6677711fcc.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/90932447@N02/8261592692/)
Granola with Milk (http://www.flickr.com/photos/90932447@N02/8261592692/) by 2huskygirl (http://www.flickr.com/people/90932447@N02/), on Flickr

[appifanie]

looks yummy!! i've got to make some granola . . . and buy almonds for milk!

had a smoothie with 2 bananas and an orange. had nori. got horrible tummy ache so just drank some water and now have some peppermint tea. not sure what else i'll have today - liquids it's looking like, if anything.

tacos tomorrow i think! and a kale salad.

[Shine]

appifaine - I hope you are feeling better! Peppermint tea always helps me :)

A small tweaked version of Alissa's Key Lime Pie (LOLF) was dinner tonight. Just made it with fewer dates and more coconut butter. Holy Cow yummy!!! and baby liked it to :drool:

[Shine]

Have a giant green smoothie to start my day. Some clementines for a snack. Large amount of greens with olives for lunch (need to add some more veggies to this one.....) and carrots for another snack. I wanted to make Alissa's Sunny Pate last night for a dip for today but it didn't get done. Maybe tonight! Or Mock Salmon as that one goes a bit faster I think. Happy Tuesday!

[appifanie]

Shine, thanks! It did help a lot :) Getting coconut oil into the baby is awesome! I'm going to try to make the key lime pie soon too - I bought a ton of limes but my nuts are low and they're so expensive where I am that I like to get them in Raleigh but that's like an hour away.

Yesterday I was all raw except for like 1/2 of my morning coffee (I'm weaning off to help avoid migraines) which is the best I've done in awhile! Right now I'm having a juice I made out of my kale stems, 2 stalks of celery, 1/4 lemon, about 1" of ginger, and a green apple. I don't like eating green apples but they're great in juice!

It's getting to be that time of the month so I bought some raw cacao nibs yesterday. I put them in a smoothie last night but that didn't feature them enough so I'll be thinking on that. I also bought a citrus kombucha - yum yum. No one around here who sells their SCOBYs on Craigslist will email me back, so I'm still working on that.

[appifanie]

chia seeds on sale at the vitamin shoppe! woo! got some coconut oil too - unexpired coconut oil :D

[appifanie]

green smoothie for lunch!

taco salads for dinner - vegan for the kid and hubs, raw vegan for me! same lettuce, same salsa, same avocado, diff "meat", diff "sour cream"

[appifanie]

this morning's green juice - cuke, celery, pear, lemon, ginger. normally I would juice a pear but I cut it open and it wasn't ripe enough to eat.

when I think about eating some cooked food i remind myself of all the raw food I have that I haven't tried yet and I hold off.

maybe some pumpkin mylk chia pudding next, and a green smoothie for lunch and a kale salad for dinner. snacks of apples and/or bananas. yummy :) oranges too!

sometimes I wonder if I'm getting enough calories and I start to track food, but quite frankly, one of the reasons I'm doing raw is b/c I am SO SICK of counting calories. honestly.

[Shine]

Another Key Lime Pie for dinner and what's left for breakfast - although I wish there was more!!! Kinda stuck on this right now but whatever works!!

Blended soup for lunch and more clementines for a snack. Woke up late so not so creative as I would like to be!! Like your taco idea appifaine so maybe I'll do some for dinner tonight!

[robh]

appifanie and Shine, you're doing great. :)

I'm still here. Aside from the normal fruit and salad, I have been eating sprouted grains in moderation. I find it helps fill the calorie gap left by the lack of fruit this time of year. Last night, I had the RTF raw ranch with broccoli. I love broccoli, but it causes a weird stomach sensation that lasts for days after eating it. I was hoping after months and months of being raw that I could finally eat it again (I can eat raw onions again, after all). Doesn't seem to be the case. I have that sensation again.

Anyway, good luck being raw folks.

[appifanie]

hi rob!

i just had an awesome green smoothie. 2 handfuls kale, 1 small celery stalk, 1 orange (w/o peel), 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp ground flax, 2 medium bananas. really yummy.

[appifanie]

dinner is going to be a kale salad - kale, evoo, salt, avocado, cayenne, carrot shreds. i made up a dessert - 1/2 dried cherries, 1/2 a mix of cashews/coconut/walnuts

[appifanie]

got distracted, ate dessert first, too full for kale :D

[Shine]

Hmmm, I need to remember to be adding flax to my green smoothies! Didn't have time to make one this morning so I am enjoying a grapefruit and have more clementines to stick with the citrus. Got some Ezeikel bread and have it with coconut butter and banana for later, lunch is another blended soup with corn frozen from my garden this summer.

Dinner last night was Alissa's Chocolate Pudding (added coconut butter) in her Graham Cracker Crust from RFFE and holy catfish it was YUMMY!! Diggin' the dessert for dinner thing. But I really needed to eat more greens yesterday. So I think I'll have chocolate pudding again tonight but have it follow a green smoothie or something.

Happy Thursday!

[Shine]

Fruit day today! Wish I had some chocolate pudding though....... I don't want to go into today with feelings that it is going to be a hard one, so I go in with a challenge to myself to enjoy my fruit and make pudding when I get home!!

Happy Friday :)

[Conscious Midwife]

kudos to all

[appifanie]

slipped but back! big ginormous green smoothie. kale, bananas, strawberries, and I forget.

[Conscious Midwife]

I really need to be in here.

[Shine]

Join us CM!

Ok weekend but paid the emotional price for some ill-nutritioned decisions and I DON'T want to go there again.....so I wont! :) Banana and almond butter this am. Need to make a green smoothie but the thought is kinda turning my tummy. I'll have to come up with something super yummy, or just do a small one to start then a bigger one for lunch.

Enjoying a snow day today so I think I'll come up with something delicious to make for dinner - I have the time!!

[Conscious Midwife]

Kale is calling me...lil evoo, cherry tomatoes and avo plus Nut, yeast will be a divine lunch

[MysticTree]

Kale is calling me...lil evoo, cherry tomatoes and avo plus Nut, yeast will be a divine lunch

That sounds good. I might do that for supper myself :)

[Shine]

I think I need a juice and fruit day! As long as I eat the fruit I should get enough calories. I don't want a detox but I feel the need for a bit of a cleanse or somthing.

Maybe it's too much chocolate nd key lime pudding.....is there really such a thing!

[RedCedar]

Um, it is still december. and I am eating an apple. I rock.

[ReneeH]

Since its still December, I'll post this here:

Breaky: Buckwheaties & Fruit w/fresh Almond Mylk:

http://i517.photobucket.com/albums/u336/Pioneerspiritnee/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4606.jpg


Pizza


http://i517.photobucket.com/albums/u336/Pioneerspiritnee/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4607.jpg


Salad

http://i517.photobucket.com/albums/u336/Pioneerspiritnee/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_4608.jpg

[RedCedar]

beautiful Renee!