Day 4 - Much Better Today

Day 4. I didn't wake up feeling refreshed, but I did wake up with a happier attitude today.
I am excited about dinner tonight. I'm trying out a new recipe I found in my new "cook" book: Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney for portobello steaks and rosemary-garlic mashed potatoes. And after finding the image for this blog, adding asparagus sounds good!

Portobello Steaks
2 portobello mushroom caps, stems removed
olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
balsamic vinegar

Combine all ingredients except mushrooms. Gently toss mushrooms with mixtures. Dehydrate for 1 to 2 hours, until soft.

* Portobello mushrooms are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals, and eating them regularly has been linked to a lower risk of breast cancer and also may prevent prostate cancer. They supply hard-to-get nutrients. One medium portobello mushroom supplies 21 percent of the recommended daily intake of selenium and one third your need of copper; it also has as much potassium as a medium-size banana.


Rosemary-Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4 cups peeled and chopped jicama
2 cups soaked cashews
1 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp nutritional yeast
black pepper to taste

Process jicama in food processor until grain-like consistency is achieved. Press out excess liquid with a cheesecloth.
Place in VitaMix with remaining ingredients and blend until well combined.
Warm in dehydrator until ready to serve.

* Jicama belongs to the legume family and is also known as the Mexican potato. It's extremely high in vitamin C and low in sodium.


Asparagus
I'm going to prep the asparagus by breaking the rough ends off and drizzle them with olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt.
Then dehydrate them along with the rest of the meal.

* Asparagus is a "Hero" food! It contains folic acid a powerful heart-healthy nutrient. Asparagus also contains vitamins A, B6, C, K, and thiamine. This tasty veggie also has some beta carotene, potassium, zinc and fiber. Here are other reasons to fall in love with asparagus: It has no fat, contains no cholesterol and is low in sodium. It could improve your mood because it provides vitamin C and folic acid, which spark production of the “happy” brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine.

This too shall pass....

The normal, day 3, depression and irritability has hit.
"Why am I doing this??"
"I just want some chocolate!!"
"These kids are driving me crazy!!"
"I can't do this stupid diet anymore, I need some cooked food!!"

But in the back of my mind I remember that this is a transition. The toxins and bad bacterias can't survive without refined sugars and flours. I'm starving them by eating raw, natural, organic foods. They are fighting for survival.
I also remember that on day 4, I usually wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face the world. I will feel better. The cravings will lessen.

I can do this. I am a strong woman and know that I can do anything I set my mind to.

And a chocolate brownie sounds soo good right now :P

Starting Day 2

I was mostly successful with Day 1 of my RAW detox. (fresh banana bread was too hard to resist!)
Last night I made RAW ice cream. It turned out pretty good. Not as good a real ice cream. But it settled my craving.
Today the taco shells are warming up in the dehydrator, making this house smell yummy!
Started with Green juice, I'll be having the fresh fruit juice this afternoon as well as some other fruits. Then snack on some trail mix I made yesterday. Tonight, RAW tacos!

Recipes:
RAW Ice Cream -
2 cups soaked almonds
3 cups water
1 cup coconut oil (can get anywhere)
1 cup soaked Irish Moss (ordered through http://www.livingtreecommunity.com/store2/product.asp?id=132&catid=38) Make sure you follow the directions on the package or it will taste sandy
1 cup agave nectar (I used honey)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt
Blend almonds and water to make milk, strain and dry pulp for flour. Blend 1 cup almond milk with Irish moss until completely smooth. All all other ingredients, last add coconut oil slowly. Pour into a freezable container and freeze overnight (or until you can't resist waiting any longer. Serve with fresh fruits.

Tacos - See Blog: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 and add your favorite raw taco toppings. I soak quinoa with Taco seasonings for the "meat"

Green Juice - See Blog: Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Trail Mix - take all your favorite RAW trail mix ingredients (cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, cranberries, gogi berries) and mix with raw honey and sea salt. Dehydrate for 2 to 4 hours. So yummy!

Detoxing

Time to detox again. We went camping last weekend and my body has felt the effects of unhealthy foods like S'mores, and my personal favorite road food: In-N-Out cheeseburger, animal style, with french fries! I have acne, headaches and feeling depressed. All related to what is in my body right now.
My favorite method to detox is to eat all RAW foods for two weeks. That was the plan, but since next weekend is the 4th of July and we are going to my parent's house for the weekend, I will only be able do a 5 day RAW week.
Today I started with fresh fruit juice: oranges, strawberries, grapes, and since it's in season, peaches. Blended up in the VitaMix and strained to get the pulp out. (I juice the oranges before I add them to the VitaMix)
This afternoon I'll be having a big salad with all my favorite raw veggies.
And tonight it's RAW Lasagna. I've made it many times before, so if you want the recipe, go back through the blog. It's on the second blog I wrote and somewhere in the middle too.
I will also be prepping raw corn tortillas tonight since they need to dehydrate overnight, so we can have raw tacos tomorrow!