The weight is falling off!

I've been dieting off and on for 1 1/2 years. Last June I decided to give the Raw Food lifestyle a try.For a few months I was doing great. Like I've always done in the past with dieting,but then I decided to resume eating junk especially fast food. Then I decided that if I was going to continue eating junk I would at least make an effort to be healthier so we had a Raw Thanksgiving & Christmas. Which meant I wasn't overly bloated like everyone else AND I didn't gain any weight.

Fast forward to the New Year. I'm not one for making New Year's Resolutions. I'm an all or nothing personality so this year I decided to shift it into high gear by going Raw AND exercising. I'm currently doing a Master Cleanse and this is Day 11! For me this is huge because I've always been addicted to food and I never thought I could go this long without eating. The great thing is I'm not doing this to starve myself I'm doing it to clean out the toxins in my system and give me the edge on staying Raw.

As of today I've lost 70 lbs on my Weight Loss Journey- 43 lbs since going Raw! :-)

5 days ago I made it under 200 lbs. I don't think any woman should ever weigh this much unless she's really tall! I'm only 5'3" LOL I haven't been under 200 in 6 years so you can imagine how excited I am. When I lose 4 more lbs this will be my weight 5 1/2 yrs ago when I met my fiance. So you can say he's pretty excited about this as well. :-)

I hope this can inspire someone because I have truly been inspired by many of the raw foodists that have lost a significant amount of weight!


The picture I posted isn't me,but I can't wait until I'm having the same results!

Raw Chocolate Fudge

by Chef Jana Adjani

This healthy treat is very versatile with different ingredients and measurements. Play around with it. You may prefer to try other butters with it like cashew or macadamia nut. Or leave out the coconut if you don't like the subtle coconut flavor. However I find the addition of the coconut butter to make it far lighter and creamier.

Chocolate Fudge Ingredients

* 1/3-1/2 Cup Raw Cocoa Beans (to taste)
* 1 Cup Raw Almond Butter
* 4 Tablespoons Virgin Coconut Butter
* 1/4-1/2 Cup Agave Syrup (to taste)
* 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Seeds
* 1/4 teaspoon (Optional)Sea Salt

Optional Ingredients

* 1/2 Cup Walnuts
* 1/3 Cup Dried Coconut

Instructions

To Start, In either a powerful blender or food processor, blend the cocoa beans until it becomes a soft fine powder.

Usually about 1-2 minutes. Then add to the blender the rest of the ingredients. Blend until it is well mixed like a thick cake batter.

Then pour the batter into a square cake pan (preferably glass). At this point you may wish to stir in additions to it like walnuts, dried fruits like cherries or mangoes or dried coconut. Then cover it and put it in the freezer for about an hour to set.

Remove it from the freezer making sure it has been in long enough to become firm and hard. Cut it up into squares or any shape you wish. Transfer the pieces to a serving plate. They are now ready to indulge.

You can keep the plate in the freezer or the fridge depending on how hard you like it. I usually keep in the fridge. But it does need to stay cool or it will melt very quickly. Within about 20 minutes at room temperature.

You could also use carob powder instead of the cocoa, but I haven't tried it. I like cocoa way better. You would need less sweetener though with carob because it is not bitter like cocoa is.

This recipe can also be adapted using less expensive ingredients like regular cocoa powder.


These are sooo delish! :-)

I put coconut in them so they tasted a bit like no bake cookies
and also reese's peanut buttercups because of the almond butter...MmMm!

And in case you're wondering I haven't eaten any I'm still doing the Master
Cleanse. :-)

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

I wanted to combine Cherry,Chocolate, AND Cheesecake

It sounded good......It tastes even better! :-)


Adapted from Emily Lee Angell's Just like Cheesecake

For the Crust:
1 1/2 cup Walnuts
Pinch of salt
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1-2 tablespoons agave (or honey)
1-2 tablespoons cacao nibs
1 teaspoon vanilla


For the cheese:
3 cups chopped cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
3/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon psyllium husk ( this makes it firm like real cheesecake!)

Cherry Sauce:
1 bag Organic Frozen Cherries
1 1/2 Tablespoon Agave

DIRECTIONS
To make the crust blend the walnuts in a food processor then add the remaining ingredients. Press into a spring form pan.

To make the cheese, blend the cashews, lemon, honey, gently warmed coconut oil (do not use microwave), vanilla, sea salt (if using), 1/2 cup water,and 1 1/2 tsp of psyllium husk. Blend until smooth and adjust to taste.

Pour the mixture onto the crust. Remove air bubbles by tapping the pan on a table.
Put it in the freezer if you want,but I placed it in the fridge since I used psyllium husk it stays firm. Slice it and garnish with Cherries. MmMm!

I made this for our Christmas dessert and surprisingly everyone else
decided to try it and said it tasted really good.
Another Raw Success! :-)

I survived 30 days of eating RAW & Exercising!

I've really been stepping it up and it's paying off!

This month I lost 12 lbs and 2 1/2 inches off my waist! :-)

I don't keep track of Total inches lost,but I can tell
that I've lost all over.

My fiance said I no longer have a flat indian butt,
it's round now Ya'll! LOL

I also wanted to mention that the skin on my face used
to be splotchy now I'm glowing Baby!
( Thanks for bringing this to my attention Kathy!)

My goals for next month are:

To do the Master Cleanse for 10 days anything longer is a Bonus!
To fit into jeans 2 sizes smaller comfortably.
To lose 15 lbs which I think is reasonable since I'm doing the MC.
When I accomplish this I will be a weight I haven't been in 5 years!

Raw Food, Right Now! ...You Rawk! :-)

Hey there Heidi AND Justin!

If you're reading this I just wanted to let you know
that you both RAWK! :-)

I just created this blog very recently and I was doing
a little updating and I wanted to create a list of my
favorite raw blogs. By the way those of you that haven't
made the list so far don't worry I haven't had time to check
out ALL of them.

Heidi and Justin have been so gracious to compile a COMPLETE
list of all raw blogs and keep them updated and list whether
they're active are not.

Thanks ALOT!

You made it so much easier to locate them. :-)

RAW Frito's

Shannonmarie is sooo creative!

I've been looking over her blog now and I found this
recipe to make Frito's! I don't wanna forget it so I'm
posting it here. :-)

Here's her message when Carrie asked how to make them:

Carrie, the raw Frito's are easy. You just process corn and yellow bell pepper together with some ground golden flax, sea salt, pepper and nutritional yeast (I wanted a slightly cheesy flavor since I removed the cheese from the original taco salad recipe). Then, pipe the mixture out into Frito shapes and dehydrate as usual.

RAW Girl Scout Cookies

OMG You're not going to believe it.
Those little temptations that they
sell once a year are not going to tempt
me at all this year. Why? You ask.

Because Shannonmarie has rawified
5 of them! 1 of which is my VERY favorite! :-)


Rawgalongs -Peanut Butter Patties®/Tagalongs®

For the cookie
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup sesame seeds, ground into a powder
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 soft pitted dates
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt

For the filling
3/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 Tbsp. lucuma
1 Tbsp. mesquite
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt

*melted raw chocolate (I won't be offended if you don't use my recipe)

In a food processor, grind cashews, almond meal and ground sesame until it reaches a flour-like consistency. Add the agave, dates, vanilla and sea salt, and process to create a ball of dough.

Flatten the dough into a sheet, and cut out cookie-sized circles. "Bake" the cookies in your dehydrator, flipping once, until crisp.

In the meantime, combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Top each cookie with the filling in a mound shape. Chill to set.

Then, either make my chocolate recipe or your favorite tried and true version. Use the melted chocolate to dip the tops (or if you are adventurous, the whole cookie), and allow the chocolate to harden in the freezer. The chocolate will remain stable chilled in the refrigerator or freezer (I keep mine in the freezer since it reminds me of how my mom would keep a stash in hers; my sisters and I used to sneak them all the time).

To find the recipe for Chewy Trawfoils-Shortbread/Trefoils® ,Do-si-raws-Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos™, and Samoraws- Samoas®/Caramel deLites™ go here:

http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/2008/01/raw-girl-scout.html

To find the recipe for Thin Mints go here:

http://rawdorable.blogspot.com/2008/01/chocotastrophy-do-try-this-at-home.html

Thanks so much Shannonmarie for these Rawlicious creations! :-)

Master Cleanse

I'm starting a Master Cleanse on Thursday. You can do it for 10-40 days. I've never done something like this before. So anything after 10 days will be a bonus. :-)

Tomorrow is weigh-in, set new goals,and take some after pics to see my results so far.
Unless I lose more weight while I sleep tonight I've lost 12 lbs this month!
I've also lost a lot of inches,but I haven't recorded stats. I think that's too
tedious and the results will show in pics.

I think that's pretty good considering I'm not starving myself and I'm eating
healthier than I ever have.

Anyways here's more info about Master Cleanse and how to make it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qouF3MoWlho

Black Forest Cherry Brownies

I couldn't wait one more day to make these!

My fiance's stepdad's birthday is in 2 days,but
we're celebrating tonight so it was just the excuse
I needed to make them! As if I needed one. :-)

Black Forest Chocolate Brownies
by Elaina Love

This recipe is recommended for people with wheat
sensitivities, but it should be avoided by anyone
with tree nut allergies.

4 cups soaked and dehydrated walnuts
3/4 cup or 9 oz. pitted dates
3/4 cup or 2.75 oz. carob powder
2 tsp. cherry extract or vanilla ( I used cherry!)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried walnuts
1/2 cup or 4 oz. coarsely chopped dried cherries
Soak the walnuts for 8-12 hours.
Rinse them well and dry them with a towel.
Dehydrate the walnuts in a food dehydrator at
105 degrees for 12 hours. (This optional step
will give the brownies a more cake-like texture).

It's hard to believe these aren't baked!

Puree the nuts in a food processor until it becomes a flour.
Add the dates and puree until well mixed.
Add carob powder and extract and puree again.
Mix in the cherries and chopped nuts by hand.
Press with very firm pressure into a brownie pan.
Refrigerate and slice into squares.

Double the recipe for a large pan.

These brownies will keep refrigerated for 2 weeks or more.
Not sure why you would need this information. These go VERY fast! :-)

Spanish Rice

I forgot to mention I also made Spanish Rice.

This deserves a post of it's own! :-)

Spanish Rice

This recipe is taken from How We All Went Raw by

Charles Nungesser and Stephen Malachi

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, grated in a food processor
• 4 green onions, diced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup cilantro, diced
• 1 avocado, mashed
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ tablespoon sea salt
• ¼ cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

Mix together well and serve.

Someone that normally doesn't care for cauliflower said she really liked this recipe!

First Raw Food Potluck

I attended my first raw food potluck last night!
WoW it was amazing! I forgot to take my camera
though. :-(

We had a Mexican theme

Someone made mini flaxseed taco shells- 1 with
spinach and 1 with red peppers. I made raw taco
meat with pumpkin seeds, sour creme with cashews.
Someone else made guacamole and salsa.

There was also almond cheese, a nice salad, zucchini
pasta with pine nut pesto.

And for dessert....Black Forest Cherry Brownies. OMG
These were so delicious and hard to believe they weren't baked!
There were also some chocolate decadent candies rolled into a ball
with coconut or sesame seeds, and some dates stuffed with almond
butter topped with a pecan...These were like nature's candy bars! :-)

I had so much fun and it was nice finally meeting everyone. We hooked
up with each other on http://www.giveittomeraw.com

I waited over a month for other locals to join and it FINALLY happened!
I look forward to many more raw food potlucks in the future at least once a month.

* The pic isn't the actual tacos I ate,but they are RAW

Eggless Egg Salad

MmMm this was very delish! :-)

1/4 cup water
juice from 1 lemon
1 clove garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups raw cashews ( I soaked them)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp turmeric, for color, add as needed
1 TBS apple cider vinegar

Place the water, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt,
and cashews in a food processor, and blend
until very smooth. With a spatula take the mixture
from the blender and place in a medium sized bowl.
Slowly stir the mustard, apple cider vinegar,and
turmeric until it reaches the color and flavor you desire.
I had to add more of each of them.

Serve it on top of crackers, celery sticks, or add a bit of
water to make a creamy salad dressing.

I decided to put it on a bed of spinach with some pumpkin
seeds and tomatoes topped with some paprika...Yummy!

Raw Fudge Balls

I'm a reformed chocoholic...

OK, OK, Sort of :-)

At least it's now guilt free
AND Raw!

Check out these Fudge Balls...
Betcha can't eat just one!

2 cups dates (soaked)
2 cups almond butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Blend dates then add the
rest of the ingredients.
Form into balls.

You could put coconut, pecans,or raisins in them.

Whatever turns your crank. :-)

I never use that expression. It's my attempt to
entertain those bloggers that lurk on here late
at night.