So the past week has been hard for me emotionally. I felt sooo out of whack, and this in turn throws everything else out of whack. I wish that I was stronger, but I'm one of those people who's every aspect of life needs to be balanced in order for me to function normally. I swear I'll never get a stress related ilness because I'd shut down way before I'd get to that point! I think it's the fact that winter is almost over, and I'm depressed because it's not ending fast enough. I can only take so much of winter before I start going crazy! My mom had me borrow this book of hers called "Eat, Pray, Love", and it's just what I need to read right now. It's really helping me feel less crazy, and happier - more insightful. It's helping me see that I'm not the only one who has freak out sessions!
Anyway, so I've eaten way too much crap this past week, and I can feel it. I am waking up stuffy again, I feel bloated, and I really hope I'm not gaining back pounds/inches. Bottom line: I don't want to undo all the good I've done because of 1 crappy week. So, today is "officially" the first day of my 100% raw challenge, lol. Also, I don't want to get discouraged by measuring myself, in case I packed on a little more, so I'm only going measure myself once a month (the next update will be March 1st!)
First off, I wanted to share some good deals that I found! I went to Costco over the weekend and found a huge jar of sundried tomatoes for only $8. Also at Costco I found a 3 lb. bag of dried apricots for about $7.50 (they have other fruits too) which will last me forever! They also sell raw nuts in bulk bags, which are slightly cheaper than if you were to buy them at a health food store (but not by much). Also, all the produce I bought over the weekend was organic, and it really wasn't that much more expensive at all. I got a whole head of romaine for something like $2, which is enough for 3-4 large salads. Same with spinach. On a side note, why is spinach so dang dirty when I buy it? Anyways, all I did was put my greens in a colander, clean off the leaves bit by bit, then stored them in a huge ziplock bag for easy grabbing when I want a salad! My system is working out well. I used to be intimidated by lettuce, as stupid as that sounds, and I always just bought the bagged stuff. But now that I know how easy (and much cheaper!) it is to prepare heads of lettuce for salads I am much more confident when it comes to eating greens!
my lovely romaine! what tasty, leafy delights
Please keep in mind that I am still sort of a novice when it comes to dealing with fresh fruit and veggies, since I grew up in a processed, boxed, frozen fooded world. Anyway, so this morning I had an organic banana and apple for breakfast, and a yummy salad of romaine, spinach, cucumbers and tomatoes with raw caesar dressing for lunch (the one from Alissa's book). The dressing was so good! The pine nuts really do resemble a parmasean or feta type of cheese. I didn't thin it out enough though, it could use some tweaking. I also didn't use all the ingredients, like the date and the garlic. It probably would have been more flavorful if I had.
Raw Caesar Dressing - (from Living on Live Food)
1 C pine nuts1
Tbs flax oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 C olive oil
1 date, pitted and soaked
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic
2 1/2 Tsb lemon juice
2 Tbs water
1/2 Tbs white miso
salt as needed
1. In a food processor, blend the pine nuts, flax oil, and sea salt until grainy
2. Remove and place in small bowl
3. In a blender combine the remaining ingredients until smooth
4. Pour this mixture in with the pine nuts and mix by hand
**Try not to cream the pine nuts, because the grainy texture will give it a cheesy taste.
