I am a heathen.

I cracked. I had pizza. However, in Chelsea's words: "Sometimes you just gotta eat." I think it was more so knowing that i couldn't have it, which made me want it even more. I've noticed how much I would eat just because, its ridiculous!

As many people (including my mother) have pointed out, how lucky I am that my mom does eat raw as well. She makes my 'breakfast' for me, and glares at me when i decided to have pizza. But it is nice to have someone to help you out. I would defiantly recommend trying to have a family member, or friend do it with you if you want to try. Quiet frankly, I have no much to say right now. Swamped with homework. However I really will write about The Omnivores Dilemma tomorrow, being that it was one of my main inspirations!

Oh, and I'm hoping to try to make a dessert on Thursday night! So wish me luck, and maybe stop by for a piece :) Night all.

Un-Cooking Class

Sorry I fail at updating everyday, I guess I didn't realize how many people ACTUALLY read this!

So yesterday my mother and I took an "un-cooking" class at the Ecopolitan in uptown. Its like a private lesson where you get to pick 5 items, and the chef teaches you how to make them, AND you get to take them home! So we chose:

"Eco-Chips"

"Taco Meat"

Hot Sauce

"Sour Cream"

"Falafels"

and Humus.

(.... I guess that was more than 5?)

Everything was surprisingly really easy to make! (Granted you know how to sprout and own a dehydrator) Considering most people that are thinking about going raw, or wanting to try it out, or even eating healthier don't own a dehydrator I will put a recipe on here for things you can make with out!)

[If you do not know how to sprout/ soak and want to learn the benefits, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmQvnL5AeZg]

My personal favorite would be the "Taco Meat" with the Eco-chips, the best part is it ACTUALLY tastes like nachos! However, they are kind of spicy. BUT, one nice thing about these recipes are that you can just kind of add whatever, more Italian Spices if wanted, or whatever!

So we'll start with the Eco-Chips which I guess are called Spicy Seed Chips::

1) Start by soaking 1 cup sunflower seeds, 1 c. pumpkin seeds, and 1 c walnuts

(They only need to be soaked for one hour, and you can soak them all in the same bowl)

2) Place 3/4 c sesame seeds and 1 c. ground brown flax

IMPORTANT: make sure to GRIND the flax. You can just grind it in your vitamix, however I would recommend you grind the flax first, because it becomes your base, and sticky/ glue like. If you grind it first, you don't have to wash out your vitamix after!

NOTE: The first 2 steps are the necessities, From here on out feel free to play with the recipe, just make sure you have 4 cups of liquid in your Vitamix!

3) Place in Vitamix

2 c tomatoes

1 c. onion

1 c. red pepper

1/2 c. lime

1/4 c. cilantro

2 T cumin

2 T cayenne

1 T sea salt

1 T pepper

Process the soaked nuts in the cuisinart and place in a bowl with the mixture. Stir it all together for the dough. Spread 2 c. on a tefelx sheet, dehydrate for 48 hours, and cup into chip like shapes!

This isn't my recipe its Lexi's from the Ecopolitan, if you ever do a special class, request her. She was amazing.. even though she doesn't eat raw.

Anywho: Some observations thus far.

While doing homework or when I come home my first response is to eat. It makes me question weather or not I'm even hungry. Or just eating because.

I've lost 5 pounds. I think due to the fact that I don't like carrots, or basically another vegetable. And apparently nuts have fat? Fantastic, and fruit is to be my desert from now on, so I don't want it to be my snacks. So, to clarify. I'm not anorexic. I'm just not eating when not necessary. I guess no other better way to explain it then by quoting the raccoon from Over The Hedge who said something to the effect of "Humans life to eat, where we eat to live."

Profound I tell you.

Well I'm disgusting from my Vinyasa yoga class (which I think I want to become certified in.) And desperately need to shower (and yes chelsea, that includes washing my hair.)

OH! And i went to a Raw Potluck with tim and my mom. It was very...interesting. I would recommend checking it out. ALSO, I am thinking about having my own version of a raw pot luck. Inviting people over, making taco salad and maybe watching Food Inc. Let me know if you'd be interested!

And I have pictures of my yummy dinner on my twitter. I'm not to sure how to work this whole blog thing yet. So hopefully it'll get easier, and prettier looking!

Our journey thus far: our fridge appears to be growing things :)

Day 3... Oh, The Struggles.

Well, I think it has been about 3 or 4 days since I've started this raw eating. And honestly, its a LOT harder than you'd think. And I'll admit, I have caved. In my defense, I have not been feeling well, and needed something to settle my stomach!

The first morning was by FAR the hardest. I went to go see Erwin McManus talk at Bethel, and what did they have there? Donuts. Powered donuts. Donut holes. Pastries. But i stayed strong (thanks to timmy, and my pear) and stayed with my oats.

I'm realizing that this raw eating is going to take massive amounts of preparation and thinking ahead. I wish I could just eat at the Ecopolitan (Raw food restaurant in uptown. AMAZING. BEST desserts ever) everyday. However, thats not going to happen. So when Tim and I went there I made sure to save the extras! We ordered the "Not-cho Cheese" Platter. Which is Eco-chips, pine cheese (super spicy, and yummy), 'sour cream', spinach, and a side of 'taco meet' which is sprouted lentils (which we will be learning to make tomorrow :)) It was amazing, it tastes JUST like nachos. We also had a shot of wheat grass, and CHEESE CAKE. So amazing, I think I'm going to try to make their glaze sometime this week. Its made out of dates and something else.. I'll attempt it and upload the recipe. For dinner after the Ecopolitan I attempted my first raw meal alone, well all i really did was take a piece of lettuce, throw the leftovers in it, and seeds, and called it dinner!

So I will start preparing for the week ahead:

Tomorrow my mother and I are taking an 'un cooking' class at the Ecopolitan and going to a raw potluck, which should be fun :) Hopefully I will get some more ideas while there. Because salad tastes so incredibly bland, and I do not even like carrots, but my hands have turned orange from eating so many!

HELP:

With 6 papers to write, and 4 tests this week I find myself at coffee shops ALL the time. What else can I have besides coffee and a cookie? Homework is 3243849 times harder without coffee.

Sorry this was thee boringest blog ever. I really should start posting everyday for a few reasons

1) helps me stay accountable

2) I can actually REMEMBER what i was going to say

3) People keep telling me to.

I'll update more tomorrow after my 'Un-Cooking class" maybe with some recipes! Oh, and being that I'm writing a paper on grass versus corn fed animals, and organic versus "industrial" organic. Be prepared for some rants!

1 Hour 57 min..

It has officially been almost 2 hours since my decision to eat raw.

I realize not many people are going to read this, if anyone at all... and I'm okay with that. This is more for my personal use, to keep myself accountable. I feel as though if I have something/one to share my troubles, recipes, and so on that I am more likely to stick to this. (and the 100 days just seemed like a good number.) yiiikes. Help me LORD.

So why raw? A few reasons:

1) The obvious health reasons.

2) My mom, (and basically my hero) has been a vegetarian/ vegan/ raw(ist?) for as long as I can remember, and just recently decided to go 100% raw. (Minus the occasional popcorn-fest while watching The Big Bang Theory...big monday night t.v. around here) And since my parents split up, my mom and I have become really close, basically best friends. She has been joining Raw Food groups, and pot lucks, taking shots of wheat grass, attempting to learn to sprout, along with bi-weekly trips to the Ecopolitian, etc. And being the only other person that lives here, I 'volunteer' to eating her concoctions. So I figure, why not go all out, do it to?

3) When I do something, I tend to go all out. Example: I can never just get a hair cut, instead I have to chop it all off, and put in 90 different colors. When I want something/ someone (yes, I'm talking about you timmy) I'll fight for it, and go all out until I get it.

4) This Current Environmental Course has changed my life. No joke, thank you Rob Bursik. We have been reading The Long Emergency by Kunstler, and The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

The Omnivore's Dilemma has seriously changed my life, and I am only on chapter 9.

(I'll discuss this more later, so incredibly influential)

5) Food Inc. (enough said) watch it.

Ultimately my goal for this, is to write my struggles, findings, recipes, excerpts from articles/novels, and such. I really hope to not only improve my own health, but life. Starting on April 11 I plan on only shopping at the Farmer's market. (I will post more on my reasons for this soon) And attempting to create a sustainable society (or start smaller, a sustainable house hold.)

Being we live in a condo; compost, and growing a garden is not too plausible. However, we do have a greenhouse, so i am HOPING to begin growing some organic (not INDUSTRIAL organic, but REAL organic..again i'll explain more later.) peppers. Start with something small. Maybe eventually grow my own partially sustainable garden. (partially because the good 'ol Minnesota weather will not allow me to garden all year around.)

So now that it has been 2 and 1/2 hours... I am starving. I suppose I will have some oats that i dehydrated with raw honey (and no worries, it was not over 120 degrees, so it is still considered raw)

Wish me luck. And I am hoping this will be a growing experience!