May 2012 - 30 Day Challenge - Join at any time of the month!

[RawOlympia]

Kcoishmeh, Thanks for the recipes. I don't have a dehydrator yet, but will hang on to them for when I do get one. I LOVE Kale Chips!

LexieW don't feel bad, I fell off the wagon last night. Just get right back on it! I think in my case I wasn't getting enough B12 and have been feeling really run down. I make sure to get a B12 supplement in now.

robh, fruit never killed anyone and it's really high water content. Yesterday I ate a lot of fruit again. Today not so much, 2 green juices though they did have grape in them and some strawberries. Tonight will be a salad and some more fruit. The severe nuts craving seems to have gone away since I added the extra B12 in addition to remembering to take my multivitamin. I also take fish oil and D3 because those are really good for clearing up psoriasis and mine is almost gone. I spend a lot of time rubbing my arms and marveling that they aren't a mass of scabs like they were in the beginning of March. I feel a lot better with the B12. I was starting to really feel run down and couldn't figure out why.

I made a raw chocolate cake with strawberry sauce and will have that when kidlet #1 gets home from school.

Raw Chocolate Cake (From Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 people)
1 1/2 c walnuts, unsoaked
dash salt
8 pitted medjool dates (I used regular and added a few extra)
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa or carob powder ( I used raw cacao)
1/2 t vanilla (optional)
2 t water
1/2 c fresh raspberries for garnish (optional)

process walnuts and salt until finely ground. add the dates, cocoa, and vanilla and process until the mixture sticks together. add the water and process briefly.
transfer to serving plate and form into 5" round cake (I lined a bowl that is about 5" across and flat on the bottom with saran wrap and pressed it into that. To serve, I will invert onto a plate. Keeps 3 days in the fridge or 2 weeks in the freezer.
Serves 4

Since it didn't seem sweet enough to pass muster with the kids (must be the regular dates instead of the medjool), I made a strawberry sauce to top it with.

Strawberry sauce (can use pretty much any other fruit too)

1 cup fresh or frozen and thawed strawberries
1/4 c pitted medjool dates, soaked

Process until smooth. Again, I used regular dates and just went a bit heavier with the amount than the recipe called for.

[RawOlympia]

Ok, I just had a piece of that cake. REALLY yummy. The kids didn't want theirs (what do they know, they're 2 and 5 years old!) so I guess I have a treat for the next 3 days lol. If that's all the nuts I eat over the next few days, i've cut down my cunsumption by at least half what I was eating.

[LexieW]

RawOlympia, I've had that cake... so good! I'm doing all right today - I made sure I brought plenty of food to work, so there would be no excuse for eating something bad. All my colleagues just went down to Starbucks for half-price frappucinos. NO THANKS!

My poor boyfriend was planning to make pasta for me tonight - poor dear, he tries so hard but he doesn't really understand raw means RAW

[magglepie]

Jumping in "Late" again this month, but here! April was challenging. I've been doing better so far this month (but not perfect.) So, I'll hopefully make it through the rest of this month raw. I feel like going raw has been such a huge struggle for me. It's challenging too that I feel like there aren't that many local people who are into raw foods around me, and many people around here even think that being vegan is this huge stretch... BUT, I'm gonna keep at it and give it my best shot this month.

[Traceyraw]

Im in too. If you fall down just get back up. You wouldn't stay lying on the floor all day would you.

That cake reciped looks great. I just made some really good cookies.

1 batch with coconut 1 without.
Soaked seasame seeds with dates, almond butter, agave, and raw chocolate. They are in my dehydrator right now. Yummy.

Made Kale chips, sunflower seed milk and green juice. I am trying to get prepared for my busy week. I bought 10 mangos. Made a salad for tomorrow. I am sprouting lentils for my salads this week. I love them with carrots. yummy.

Hope everybody is enjoying there weekend.

[yoru]

RawOlympia, I've had that cake... so good! I'm doing all right today - I made sure I brought plenty of food to work, so there would be no excuse for eating something bad. All my colleagues just went down to Starbucks for half-price frappucinos. NO THANKS!

My poor boyfriend was planning to make pasta for me tonight - poor dear, he tries so hard but he doesn't really understand raw means RAW

Jumping in "Late" again this month, but here! April was challenging. I've been doing better so far this month (but not perfect.) So, I'll hopefully make it through the rest of this month raw. I feel like going raw has been such a huge struggle for me. It's challenging too that I feel like there aren't that many local people who are into raw foods around me, and many people around here even think that being vegan is this huge stretch... BUT, I'm gonna keep at it and give it my best shot this month.

good job to both of you!!

meanwhile, i made THE MOST AMAZING SMOOTHIE LAST NIGHT!!

frozen coconuts

frozen pineapples

pineapple juice

dash of cinnamon

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (yes this is an ingredient, after you take your first sip that is)

but i'm all out of frozen coconuts, and i don't even know how to cut those things. someone else put those in the freezer. and i don't really like those young coconuts. so i guess i'll go to the store and try it out

[Shel]

Hello all!

Your smoothie sounds lovely Yoru. :)

I'm feeling good, feeling great! I had a GREAT weekend cleaning and uncooking. I made a raw cheesecake, which came out very very well. I'm proud of myself. It'll come in handy when I'm having a craving, because it's so rich, after having one small piece last night I was good and full. Cashews pack a mighty punch for creams, dips and such. Dates are great too, even though nus and dates are expensive it's well worth it to me. I made a strawberry topping to go on it.

I also made kale chips, sesame crackers, raw cookies (they didn't turn out too great...gotta pretty them up somehow...maybe with a fruit topping, I don't know but I don't want to waste them), no bake brownies and Brazil nut milk (no, I've never ODed from selenium, lol). I did things a bit backwards (laughing) and found when it was time to make foods for lunch this week, I was pooped, lol. So, today I'll follow up with making cole slaw, cauliflower salad and some other green type salad....not sure yet.

Have a GREAT day and here's to Rawsome Bliss!

[LexieW]

Hello all!

... Dates are great too, even though nus and dates are expensive it's well worth it to me.

Absolutely. When people ask me about the expense, I just tell them I'd rather pay for food now than medication/surgery later!

I was doing really well this weekend - brought a lot of food to my bf's place and stayed raw while he had his cooked food.

...And then he sprung an impromptu family celebration on me. Had to go to his parent's house and look! All this cooked food everywhere. And I didn't want to be rude, so I did have some rice noodles. At least I managed to keep it vegan!

I'm feeling great - my body feels lighter, my head is clearer. My eyes are brighter. I swear this forum and the online community is making a big difference for me

[robh]

LexieW, don't beat yourself up. That's a hard situation to be in. I probably would have done the same thing (it was a client, after all). Maybe next time, you can fake an allergy?

TheRawPilgrim, sorry to hear you were struggling.

It does get easier, everyone. :) Not too long ago, I was falling off the wagon weekly, or more. Hang in there!

Shel, it sounds like you really enjoy creating raw goodies. I enjoy it too, but all the setup and clean up sure takes time.

I made an awesome banana bread over the weekend. The taste was really good, but I dehydrated them too long. It came out more like crispy cookies - very very good, though.

Banana Bread:

3-5 RIPE small bananas (depending on the size)
1/2 cup soaked sunflower seeds (makes them softer)
1/2 cup quick oats (or chop rolled outs in food processor, same thing)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Put everything except the chopped nuts in the food processor. Process until you have a batter. Mix in the nuts by hand with a spoon. Spread the batter out thick on your dehydrator teflex sheets (1/2 inch). Dehydrate until the top is dry (3-4 hours). Flip it onto a dehydrator try and peal off the teflex sheet. Dehydrate another 3-4 hours for a soft bread. If you want it to keep for a long period of time, you'll probably want to dehydrate it until it's crispy. They doin't last long, though!

[jenolioyalio]

Hi there! My new juicer just arrived in today's mail, which means I can start the Raw Challenge tomorrow! I am super excited about starting. I have been preparing and planning this for several weeks.

I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts and I'm looking forward to joining in the fun. I'm a little worried about the first few days, and the detox period, especially without coffee.

[robh]

jenolioyalio, congrats and welcome. Be strong through the detox; life is good on the other side. :)

I made raw zucchini bread. I looked around and all I saw were recipes with ground flax (I'm getting tired of it). Instead, I found the cooked zucchini bread recipe and removed/substituted the sad ingredients. This is what I ended up with:

Raw Zucchini Bread

2 cups rolled oats food processed into flour (measure after you process)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup raw agave
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Sift oat flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Beat oil, vanilla, and agave together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the wet mixture, and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined.

Your zucchini may be wetter than mine or your oat flour may be fluffier than mine. Therefore, you may have to add more oat flour and or more zucchini. Remember you want a batter that's dry as possible so it doesn't take forever to dehydrate. Give it a taste too. It it's not sweat enough add more agave.

From here dehydrate like you would any other bread. Or, you can use a small ice cream scoop to make nice balls that you can place right on the trays and you don't have to flip. (Worked nicely for me.)

Anyway, it came out great. It tasted just like the cooked stuff. Even the SAD food eaters in my house liked it.

Today, I'm eating lots of fruit in the morning and for lunch. When I get home, I'll be having a large salad with raw ranch and raw pumpkin seeds (that was good last night). I will also have some raw zucchini bread, I'm sure.

The scale hasn't moved much. Over the weekend, I had an issue where I ran out of ripe fruit. Looking at green fruit that you can't eat and simultaneously being really hungry sucks. I ended up eating mostly nuts, raw granola, egg plant jerky, oranges (those were ripe) and a salad in the evenings. I also tend to eat a lot more when I'm at home. I graze. At work, I only have what I bring. As a result of the extra fat, salty jerky and all the grazing, I went up two pounds. Today, after a day of being back to normal, I'm back down to 264. It was probably water form the salt, but I hate seeing it go up.

[Traceyraw]

Wow I love all of your recipes. It inspired me last night. I wanted something I could just grab for my son in the morning.

Oatmeal Cookies uncooked.

1/2 cup whole grain oats
1/2 cup sprouted seasame seeds
1 cup sprouted sunflower seeds.
Pulsed them in the blender put aside.
soaked dates
1 apples
maple syrup
lemon
cinnamin.
pulse blended then combined
dehydrated over night.

They are so good. The oats are not raw. I did buy raw oats. Its for the kids anyway.

Last night I had my sunflower seed milk..Boy is it energizing.

If you really want a good cleanse blend watermelon with a squeeze of lemon. First its soo good you can't stop. 2nd it really goes to town doing some house cleaning. Then you definitely will feel lighter.

ROBH. get off the scale. Maybe do a weekly weigh in. I know its hard to stop. Try to go by the way you feel. Try adding some more greens they seem to help me. Try blended spinach/ water. Add about 2 fresh squeezed oranges. This is a good tasting green drink. Hope this helps.

[robh]

Yeah much like most of the nuts on the store shelves, rolled oats are not raw. Nuts are pasteurized or roasted. Oats are steamed. If you want raw oats, you can get steel cut oat groats and soak them overnight before you use them. You can also sprout oat groats.

That being said, my body tells me when I eat something toxic. I detox a couple days after. I eat nuts off the store shelves and I eat rolls oats. I have never had an issue.

[ShantiDass]

Hi All,

I'm jumping in like I did in April. Today is 51 days raw and I'm loving it. I'm down 25 pounds and feeling so much better. My challenge has been finding things I like that are raw besides the fruit that I already like. For some reason, every time I go raw, I start getting all crazy with textures. I'll make something, like it, and then have it later or the next day and can't stand the texture. I'm just going with the flow.

My main food is salads with tahini lemon dressing. I also am eating whatever fruit I'm craving. Today I put watermelon chunks, lime juice and a touch of agave in my BlendTec and made a drink. Last night I dehydrated kale and made some cheese dip and cut up broccoli and bell pepper for dipping. All of that is with me at work so I have food to choose from. I put a fridge in my office and it's so much easier being able to keep food in there for the week that I can grab when I want something. I also made jalapeno poppers over the weekend that are my new favorite and brought them to work.

I am going to try the onion bread that robh posted. I've had some at one of our many raw restaurants here but never liked it as it's always way too tart. Maybe this will be different. I want to also try a few other bread recipes I have and make a BLT. I have some eggplant bacon I've made and just need to find bread and mayo that I like and then it's on!!

[LexieW]

Good for you, ShantiDass! 51 days is awesome!

I'm doing all right, have been either very hungry or not hungry at all the last day or so. No big deal, going with the flow. I find that I want to eat simpler foods - salads with various types of greens, fruit, some avocado and chia seeds.

I have a dehydrator and food processor, all that stuff (except a Vitamix), but I don't use it because I can barely stand to be in the kitchen -my roommates are the WORST sad eaters. Just terrible. I can't stand the smell of what they make, so I make my meals really quickly and head back to my room!

Maybe when I get my own place again (soon!) I'll go back to trying some of the fancier stuff. I've never tried to make bread before, and I'd like to.

In the meantime...ugh, today is rough. It's freezing in teh office, and all I want is something HOT. Tea/ hot water isn't cutting it.