Sixth Day Raw

So far everything has been going well with the new raw diet. I haven't really had any cravings for cooked food, other than one day when it was really cold and yesterday when I went to a vegan event and there was lots of delicious looking samples from various local vendors. Otherwise, I'm doing well! I'm experimenting with mixing different foods together to see what I come up with and trying to drink more green juices. I'm hoping I'll be able to go to the grocery store today to pick up some more spinach & kale for green smoothies.

A couple days ago I started feeling sort of sick, which I thought may have been from my husband Macy, who had a sore throat about a week ago. However, he's better and I still feel just kind of run down & my sinuses are killing me. I talked to a friend who is also doing the raw challenge and she mentioned she and one of the other girls had felt that way too for a couple days. I didn't even really think of it as being a detox symptom, but that's probably what it is. I'm going to drink mass amounts of water & green juices today and hopefully speed up the flushing out process.

Another interesting thing I've noticed is that I'm not hungry as much. I only ate lunch and dinner last night because I felt like I should, not because I was hungry at all.

I'm excited about continuing this and looking forward to experimenting with more recipes. I pulled out my dehydrator last night and am trying to make crackers with flax seeds, corn, a red pepper, some spices & a tomato. We'll see how it turns out!

So far I think my favorite thing has been the cashew cream I made-- I used 2 cups of water, probably 2 cups (maybe a bit more) of cashews, 2 big handfuls of sunflower seeds, 1 banana and one apple. It has a really creamy consistency, so I'm eating it like yogurt. For lunch yesterday I added some walnuts, dehydrated strawberries and some sunflower seeds and it was really good.

That's it for now!

Going Raw!

A couple days ago I decided to go raw for 30(+) days. I'm already vegan, but I tend to eat mostly beans, pasta, breads & processed junk. A few friends talked about starting a "Girls Gone Raw" challenge and I decided that it was time for me to do this too. I've been interested in the raw lifestyle for about a year now, but never had the willpower to try it. Food is my weakness and if I crave something, there isn't much I can do to control myself. So far, everything has been good though. The first night (Monday) I ate a spoonful of peanut butter that had been made from roasted peanuts, but other than that-- nothing cooked!

I think this semester is going to be a very enlightening one. I'm eating raw for awhile, possibly for a long time (I'm hoping for 90 days, but I also don't really trust myself to go that long... though I hope I will!), I'm exercising- something I really don't like, but know I need to be doing and I am taking a darkroom photography class-- something that will really be different from the normal photographic work I do. Everything this semester seems to be pointing me in the direction of a calmer, slower and more patient life... hopefully.

Macy and I have also been having a lot of trouble with money. It's been awhile since he's had a job, my job doesn't pay a whole lot and he's having trouble finding a salon job... and it's winter, so bills are higher. It's stressful, but I'm seeing the side of being broke that I almost am thankful for, as crazy as that sounds. I am thankful because we have a home. I'm thankful because we have parents who will help support us when we need it. I'm thankful because we're not going to be living like this forever. But I'm mostly thankful for learning about balancing money and not just buying whatever we want. We've always been pretty good about not throwing our money around, but being forced to not buy every kind of food we want, camera supplies, books, etc. has helped us to not waste and be appreciative of what we do have.

I'm very excited about my raw journey, though... and excited to blog the experience. I've only been doing this for three days (and kinda cheated a little on my first night) but I feel this will be a wonderful experience. I'm experimenting with foods and making lots of things that I never even considered, like cashew/sunflower "ice cream"-- which is amazing. And avocado burritos (using a variety of veggies an avocado and wrapping it in lettuce leaves). I'm looking forward to where this journey will take me!