DAY 15!!!!

WE MADE IT! It's Day 15 already!

Now for the decision . . . .  do we keep going? What do you think?

Meal Plan - Day 14

Day 14! Only one more day to go for the 15 Day Challenge!


BREAKFAST: Chia Seed Pudding
Using the same recipe as Day 7. This pudding is so filling, light, and packed with energy -- and it tastes great, too!

SNACK: Fruit
Today I cut up a banana and kiwi, and added blueberries. You could also scoop out some coconut butter to put on top.

LUNCH: COCONUT!
I didn't intend on having only a coconut for lunch, but it is so filling! Get a young Thai coconut from a natural grocery store and cut open the top. Check youtube for different ways to open it. Once you drink the coconut water from inside, you can scoop out the coconut meat on the inside. Yum!

We dumped the coconut water out of this one to see how much fluid was inside. I took two big sips (through the glass straw in the measuring cup) before taking the picture. There were more than 2 cups of coconut water inside this coconut!

 

DINNER: More Leftovers!
One of the great things about dehydrating is how long your food will last. Once dehydrated and stored properly, some of these food items can last quite a long time! So, I'm still trying to finish the veggie burgers and sweet potato chips that I made last week, along with the pesto that I made this weekend.

Josh's green juice with beets. Notice the nice pink color with the green. Oh, and Elmo's eye ball!
Lentils sprouted. FYI. ready to be used.
I was so excited to go shopping at Farmer Joe's today:
5lb bag of carrots
baby carrots for snacks and dipping
grapefruits for juicing
rainbow chard
kale
1lb spinach
beets
lemons
onion chives
onions
garlic
celery
red cabbage
cauliflower
apples
zucchini
quinoa, sesame seeds, flax seeds, and cashews
Snack
tomatoes and avocados with my raw tahini dressing
My smoothie after my green juice this morning:
Almond milk
A handful of ground almonds
Chia seeds
oats
agave syrup
frozen berries
a banana

My dinner tonight was romaine lettuce leaf(sandwich style) avocado, tomatoe, mustard, red onion, capers, and a drizzle of my Raw tahini dressing on top. Messy but so good.

So I have been soaking some stuff. Quinoa, wheat berries, lentils, pumpkin seeds, and buck wheat. Now their done soaking so I have drained and rinsed them. They are sitting in either sprouting trays or jars right now. Each one has a different sprouting time. I rinse them several times a day until they have a nice little tail. Super yummy on top of salads. I am going to use these for making my veggie burgers. Well see how that goes! The buck wheat I will use for making more cookies;)

Meal Plan - Day 10

Congratulations! You've made it to Day 10! Hopefully you've got as many leftovers as I do, so you can coast through today -- and maybe even the next few days. Enjoy leftovers, leftover, leftovers. I was noticing the other day how much time I was spending in the kitchen, and now I'm noticing how much time I'm NOT spending in the kitchen, thanks to all of the leftover food.

Meal Plan - Day 9

BREAKFAST: Fruit

LUNCH: Curry Sprouts

Sprouted lentils
Sprouted sunflower seeds

Curry Sauce (same sauce used on Day 3 for the Curry Noodles)
2 heaping TBS coconut butter
1 TBS coconut oil
1/2 C water
1/2 red bell pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder

Mix sprouts with the sauce. Spicy, sweet, crunchy, and fun!

 DINNER: Potluck & Food Exchange!
Have a community potluck, and invite people to bring raw food dishes. We had one, and it was fabulous! Dishes ranged from simple to complex, and EVERYTHING was yummy and fun to share. At the end, we exchanged leftover potluck foods. I was able to bring home fabulous dishes and snacks from several people, and enjoy them throughout the rest of the day.

The cashew cheese i made for the potluck:
Soaked maybe a cup of cashews for 4 hours in water.
Added a cup of water
a dash of sea salt
2 Tblsp brewers yeast
1 juiced lemon
A little cayenne pepper
And blend


The dish I made was spring rolls. Not all raw.
Rice paper
rice noodles
tofu
spinach
red onion
green onion
carrots
radish

I soaked the rice paper for about 15 seconds. Laid in down on cutting board. Filled it with rice noodles (cook for about 3 minutes) tofu and all the veggies. Wrap like a burrito.

Dipping sauce:
Raw tahini
Almond milk
lemon juice
crushed garlic
Blend


For our potluck Lunch we had an amazing spread.

I am having fun with this. It does really challenge me to try a little harder than I normally would. I was not a 100% raw Saturday during a B-day party I went to and today for our potluck but would like strive for it tomorrow.

I am trying to find things that will really fill me and fast. Sometimes a salad can't do that. So I am in the process of sprouting some nuts and seeds to combine with some veggies to make a veggie burger. I'll post a pic when done. Also I am thinking about making some kind of protein packed bars to have in my purse.

Today for breakfast I had my green juice and for a mid morning snack. Smoothie with almond milk, ground almonds, banana, cacao nibs(raw chocolate), and agave syrup.

Meal Plan - Day 8

BREAKFAST: Kid-Approved Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
Wow! Even my child gobbled this up! I am quite excited about that.

 1 C almond milk
1 banana, mashed

1/4 C chia seeds
1 T raw cacao powder
1 T maple syrup

Let the kids help to make this super simple dessert/breakfast. They can scoop out the seeds, pour the milk, and put all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Blend everything together. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Come back and stir the mixture, then let sit for another 10 minutes. Divide the portions and eat it up!

LUNCH: SALAD

Green leafy salad & dressing.

DINNER: Veggie Burgers

2 C sprouted sunflower seeds
2 C sprouted lentins
1 C flax seeds
1 C mushrooms
3 carrots, shredded
3 celery stalks, shredded
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
1 handful of parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjorum
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp pepper
splash of lemon or lime

Blend 1 1/2 C lentils and 1 1/2 C sunflower seeds until thoroughly mixed. (I had to mix the entire recipe in 2 batches). Add mushrooms, onion, parsley, garlic, spices & salt, and lemon. Blend. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Add the shredded carrots and celery, flax seeds, and the remaining lentils and sunflower seeds. Blend by hand thoroughly. Form the mixture into patties and dehydrate 12 or so hours.

Meal Plan - Day 7

BREAKFAST: Chia Seed Pudding
This really is yummy! Try it! It's light yet filling.

1/4 C chia seeds
1 C milk (coconut/almond/rice)
dash of cinnamon
1 scoop of nut butter (I used almond)
1 banana

Mix the chia seeds and the milk in a bowl. Add cinnamon and nut butter and blend. Add banana and mash into mixture. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Stir again, and let sit another 10 minutes. Gobble it up!

LUNCH: Salad with Creamy Avocado Cucumber Dressing
I just started throwing different veggies into the food processor until I came up with this creamy yummy dressing.

Salad
Mixed greens
Green onion
Tomato chunks
Fresh sprouts

Dressing
1 1/2 avocado
1 cucumber
1 garlic clove
1 stalk of celery
2 handfuls of parsley
1 handful of cilantro
1 TBS raw honey/agave
1 lime, squeezed
salt to taste
water to blend

Blend all dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.

DINNER: Spicy Chips & Chipotle Dip 
If the spicy chips and chipotle dip aren't enough, add your own salad to the meal as well.

Chips
Sweet potato, sliced
salt
cayenne pepper

Soak sweet potatoes in water with a squeeze of lemon overnight. Spread onto dehydrator trays, and sprinkle salt and cayenne pepper on top. Dehydrate for 8-12 hours, depending on how crispy you'd like them.

Chipotle Dip
1 C cashews
1/2 C sunflower seeds
1/2 red bell pepper
1-2 cloves of garlic
2 T olive oil
1 lemon, squeezed
2-3 tsp chipotle powder
salt to taste
water - add until you like the consistency (1/4 - 1 C)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Yum!

Cold Weather Planning

Hi everyone! I just enjoyed a hot cup of green tea. On cold days like this one -- well, cold for the Bay Area (52 degrees!) -- it might be nice to enjoy a little bit of warmth. At this time, I'm still sticking with raw foods. However, if I wanted something cooked, I will steer toward whole foods. For example, cooked quinoa and steamed veggies, brown rice and black beans, miso soup, or even cooking adzuki beans and putting them (warm) on top of my salad. This will make it easier to stay on the challenge and keep the body clean.

This what I am making right now. Raw chocolate cookies. They are dehydrating as I speak. Raw chocolate, soaked flax seeds, sesame seeds, buckwheat, coconut butter and agave syrup.
My breakfast this morning:
The same thing as before but I added ginger.
Made another one at lunch for Willow and I. also had my raw hummus and carrots for snack.

Meal Plan - Day 4

Leftovers! I've got so many leftovers at this point from things that I've made the last few days. Mix it up -- have a smoothie for dinner or a taco wrap for lunch!

I am feeling really good! I feel cleaner and have more energy, so this challenge is a good thing for me so far. Like Holly said, I too have been about 100% raw. My plan, however, was to be maybe around 75%. I think giving myself that permission has made it easier for me to do whatever feels good. And staying 100% right now is feeling great!

That said, any little bit that you are doing is just perfect. Everything counts.  :)

So Far.

So this is day two and I am really liking this. I was aiming for about 80% raw but have done a 100% so far. And it feels lovely:) So I would like to keep it up but won't be too hard on myself if I don't. I do keep thinking about that cup of coffee. Mmmmmm.... That's raw, right??? :P
I wanted to add that right when I woke up I had a green juice. the same one I posted yesterday. And with my raw hummus and veggies for dinner I had another green juice. Also I am in the process of making some raw cookies. They are sprouting as I speak. And a raw macadamia nut cheese. It still has to sit in the cupboard one more day. Then I get to season it. Hope to share that at park day. I'll post pics and how i did it when it's done.

Raw hummus

My light dinner.
Raw sprouted hummus:
2 cups sprouted garbanzo beans
2 Tblsp. raw tahini
3 cloves garlic diced
1 cup water
2 juiced lemons
1 tsp sea salt
Blend together and garish with paprika and onion chives.
I ate mine with veggie sticks. Yummy! And a lot left over.

salad

My salad I took to the beach today for lunch:
Romaine and spinach
Tomatoes
shredded carrots
spicy radish
capers

Tahini dressing
equal parts raw tahini and water, maybe a cup of each
2 Tblsp olive oil
2 Tblsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
pinch of black pepper
blend together!

Pudding

My mid morning snack
Chia seed pudding:
Blend about a cup and a half of almond milk with a handful of frozen berries and 3 pitted dates.
Add about a 1/3 of a cup chia seeds and stir well, let sit for two hours or overnight. It will thicken up. Chia seeds are rich with nutrition, filled with omega 3's, gives you energy, and is a good source of protein. And not very many calories. You can also play with it in smoothies and even make in a chocolate pudding.

Meal Plan - Day 3

 BREAKFAST: Sinful Smoothie

1 C almond milk
1 TBS raw cacao nibs
1 banana
1 heaping TBS raw almond butter

Blend together until smooth. I did not use any sweetener, but taste it and see what you think.

If you are going 100% raw, make your own almond milk at home. If you are only going partially raw, use whatever almond (or rice or coconut) milk that you have.

LUNCH: Taco Wrap
I really enjoyed the "taco" spread that I made yesterday, so I wanted to use it again. This time, I added a few extra ingredients to spice it up.

1 C walnuts
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
pinch of cayenne
pinch of salt
1 tomato
slice of onion
1 jalapeno pepper
Romaine lettuce leaf

Blend walnuts and spices in a blender or food processor. Add water if necessary. Add the slice of onion,  1/2 of the tomato, and the jalapeno. I blended until smooth, but feel free to keep it a bit chunky if you'd like. Spread creation on lettuce leaf, and add the other 1/2 of the tomato, finely chopped, on top. Store unused portion in fridge. 

SNACK: Apples and Almond Butter
Just slice some apples, and scoop out some almond butter. Fun, easy and filling snack!

DINNER: Coconut Curry Noodles
I love just throwing things together that are already in my kitchen. That is my favorite kind of recipe! So for dinner, I made a curry dish.

Curry Sauce
2 heaping TBS coconut butter
1 TBS coconut oil
1/2 C water
1/2 red bell pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder

Blend until smooth.

Noodles
Approx 1 C Coconut flakes (modify this depending on how soupy you like your curry)

Topping
Any shredded veggies that you have around. I used:
Shredded Carrots (that I made yesterday!)
Cilantro

Pour the sauce over the "noodles" (coconut flakes). Top with the veggies of your choice. Viola!

In the mean time

So in the mean time I have started to sprout some things. Garbanzo beans for hummus. And some sesame seeds, buckwheat and flax seeds for crackers. More of this process to come.

smoothie

For a mid afternoon snack:
A handful of almonds ground
about a TBLSP flax seeds
almond milk
cacoa powder
agave syrup
a half of banana
Turns into a nice chocolate banana smoothie

Raw sandwich

Lunch time:
Romaine lettuce as "bread"
Mustard
tomatoes
Avocado
capers
sprouts
jalepenos
And another peice of lettuce to make it a sandwich!!

Juice

This is what I juiced for breakfast
Rainbow chard
a carrot
celery
1 orange
a handful of spinach
1 broccoli stem cut in half

Brussel sprout salad

Tonight I had a Brussel sprout salad shaved thin with the mandolin slicer.
Brussels
carrots
red onion
broccoli

Dressing:
Apple cider vinegar
olive oil
agave syrup
Cayanne pepper
pepper

Dessert!

CAROB PUDDING
1 avocado
1 banana
1 TBS raw honey
1 TBS raw carob

Blend until smooth. Yummm!

Meal Plan - Day 2

BREAKFAST: Smoothie
1 banana
1/2 C blueberries
1/2 avocado (makes it more smooth and hearty; omit if you'd like)
Water to blend
Splash of agave if necessary

LUNCH: Salad
Heaping handful of spinach
1/4 C shredded carrots
1/4 C shredded beets
1 handful of cherry tomatoes
1 tsp sesame seeds

Dressing
1 Avocado
2 tsp raw honey or agave
1 handful of parsley
1/2 cucumber
5-6 beet green leaves
Water to blend

Blend in food processor or blender until smooth. Store unused portion in refrigerator.

TIP: I shredded several carrots and two beets in my food processor. This will be a great addition to my salads for a few days. I changed the blade but did not clean out the pitcher. I then threw the dressing ingredients into the blender, so the dressing has some of the left-over carrots and beets that were just shredded.

DINNER: Tacos
I've never liked calling my raw creations the name of their supposed cooked-food counterpart. At home, I usually don't give it a name, or I'll call it something that probably doesn't "sell" very well, like "shloppy shlop". However, I'll try to use some "normal" names on this blog and see how it goes. Hence, tacos...
1 C walnuts
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
pinch of cayenne
pinch of salt
garnish with fresh tomato, green onion, and/or avocado
Romaine lettuce leaf

Blend walnuts and spices in a blender or food processor. Add water if necessary. Spread creation on lettuce leaf, and add garnishes. Store unused portion in fridge. Enjoy!

Soaking, Sprouting, and Sweets -- Day 1

To help get ready for lots of snacking, I soaked some almonds and alfalfa -- separately! I also stocked up on fruit to help curb my sweet tooth.

ALMONDS
I took about 5 cups of almonds and placed them in a bowl with water. I also added about 1 tsp of salt. After a few hours, I needed to add more water to keep them covered. Tomorrow I will drain them, and place them on my dehydrator sheets.  I'll keep them in the dehydrator at around 110 degrees until they are crispy and yummy (this may take a day or so). After that, I'll store them in different size glass jars, making it easier for me to just grab a jar when I'm on the go!

Soaking almonds helps to make them more digestible, which also helps to increase their nutritional value. I also think they taste better. If you don't have a dehydrator or just don't want to soak your almonds, that's fine!

SPROUTS
Today I placed about 1/4-1/2 C of alfalfa sprout seeds in a glass jar with a wire mesh lid, and completely covered it in water. The alfalfa will soak overnight, and tomorrow we'll begin the sprouting process. First thing in the morning, I will drain the seeds and rinse them while still in the jar. Then I'll tip the jar upside down at an angle to allow for more drainage. Several times throughout each of the next few days, I'll rinse the sprouts and allow them to drain, always returning the jar to its mostly-upside down position. After a few days, the sprouts will be about 2 inches long, and I'll move them to a glass storage container, and keep that in the refrigerator.

Tip: I angle my jar by placing it mostly face-down in a strainer. I put the strainer on top of a dish (bowl, plate, etc.) on my counter, so the water has somewhere to drain.

SWEETS
I have the most amazing sweet tooth. Oh, how I love sweets! Chocolate especially. While eating raw, or mostly raw, I definitely make a lot of raw desserts (you'll see!). However, I also might need to have sweet things that are easy to grab -- hence the fruit. I currently have in my kitchen some kiwi, mango, banana, apple, and grapes (yes, I know they are all out of season and not even local). Persimmon is also a fabulous thing to grab while having a sugar craving. Having these things handy will help me to stick with the raw challenge when I'm needing some extra sweetness.

Getting Started: Day 1

We're going to start Day 1 (Jan 10th) as the getting ready day. This is the day to go grocery shopping and start compiling your recipes. Here are some things that you may want to get:

Lettuce
Spinach
Banana
Celery
Avocado
Lime
Parsley
Apple
Almonds (raw)
Crackers (raw)

Feel free to add or subtract from this list. Perhaps make a smaller grocery run at first, just to get into the swing of things. After a few days, you'll know which foods are more appealing to you, and then make another shopping trip.

I added crackers to the list since it might be nice to have a quick snack to grab during the day. Most natural grocery stores have a selection of pre-made raw foods, like crackers, cookies, and other snacks.

Remember to go easy on yourself throughout the 15 Day Challenge. It's up to you how much you'd like to put into this. Every little bit counts, so just have fun with it! There's no "cheating" or "being bad", there's just acceptance for wherever we are at any given moment.

Let the Challenge Begin

Thanks for joining this supportive community around healthy and inspiring food choices! The inspiration behind this is to add more raw foods into our diets. You do NOT have to go completely raw during this challenge -- YOU get to set your own goals. Some of us will aim for 80-100% raw, while others may just want to add a salad or vegetable juice every day.

Days 1-7: We begin our 15 Day Challenge! We'll start with super simple raw food recipes and ideas for meals and snacks.

Days 8-14: We'll add more complex raw food recipes and ideas for meals and snacks.

Day 15: Which aspect would you like to continue on with in the future?

Our first 15 Day Challenge begins on Jan 10th. Stay tuned for the date of the next challenge!