Raw Food and a Cute Baby
I only have 4 days left on my raw food reboot. Can I just say that I am jonesing for a big hunk of homemade whole wheat bread? I'm ready to be done. I miss carbs. I miss hot food. I have some thoughts on the whole thing in case you're interested:
1)I'm never going to go raw for good. There are too many good (and healthy) foods you miss out on. Plus, I cannot stand cold soup which, I've found, is big in the raw food realm. It's not that it tastes bad, I guess. There is just something innately wrong with cold soup. And it makes me gag. There's a lot of joy in eating to be missed out on if you are a raw foodist. Like beans and rice, for example, and like the simple joy of putting warm food in your mouth.
2) There's too much eating. It takes a looooong time to eat a raw meal. There is a lot of chewing involved, and you have to eat more often to keep up with needed calories. I do not think I have eaten enough overall, because I lost about 5 pounds. So I have obviously been accruing a calorie deficit. However, I would not say I am malnourished, just in need of those few extra calories I would've gotten if I had included some starchy cooked foods into my diet.
3) Kale is a wonderful green. Where I might have used rice as my food base, I used finely chopped kale. Of all the raw vegetables out there, kale is the most filling because of the incredible amount of fiber it contains. It's tough, yes, but that's what makes it so good for feeling full. If you use a vingear-based dressing on your food, you can really let it sit a while to help the kale get a little softer, and it has a marinating effect. Check out this yummy salad I made:
I know it looks a lot like the last raw recipe I posted but it tastes totally different. And yum! It contains about 2 cups of frozen defrosted peas, 2 cups of finely chopped kale, 1.5 roma tomatoes diced, a little bit of red onion minced, 1 teaspoon of oil, 1Tbs balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. It was soooo good. The only thing that would have made it a perfect meal is a big hunk of whole wheat bread. Or something similar.
4) The other thing that has been a staple for me is tomatoes. I have eaten a LOT of tomatoes. And to prove it, check out this picture I took of the tomato section at Wal-Mart today where I went to get MORE tomatoes:
The produce manager saw me coming and ran for the phone to make a new tomato order, Stat!
Hahaha! Just kidding... this is actually the norm for Williston. There is invariably some section of the produce department that is completely out. The previous time I was there, it was the apple section that was empty. That's how we roll out here.
5) My new favorite snack is sugar snap peas! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I have been eating them almost every day.
6) I also have gained a love for apples and peanut butter (I know, not raw, but I at least used the non-processed kind).
7) For our anniversary, I got myself a masticating juicer (which I have wanted for a long time) and told Brad it was from him. Don't worry, he bought himself speakers to replace his busted ones in the Prius and told me they were from me. We are just so thoughtful, aren't we?
I have distaste for supplements. I just don't believe in pills in any form even though I begrudgingly take them on occasion. I like the juicing thing, because I see the veggies, and then I drink them and I get a boost of veggie/fruit in concentrated form. I like seeing the process, so I can believe there's actual goodness in the glass. And I prefer juicing to smoothies, although I have done both over this past month. You can get more in the glass with juicing as well as better flavor. You really can't beat having all that fiber in a smoothie though, so I'll probably continue to do both.
I feel good with where I'm at now. I've been forced to experiment with different veggies that I don't normally use. And I've gotten comfortable with incorporating more of them in my meal and mixing ones together that I wouldn't normally. That can really help with getting out of a cooking rut. So we'll see how I ease back into the swing of things next Monday.
One last unrelated but super-cute thing:
I've been waiting for Keshet's eyes to change to some recognizable color, but it would seem that this is going to be her color. The question is, what color are they exactly? I can't tell. This picture shows them pretty accurately so what you see is what you get.
Here's another picture to show you just how dark they are. Iyov's are so light blue and her's look black by comparison.
What's your vote? If she were filling out a driver's license application, what color would she label them?
1)I'm never going to go raw for good. There are too many good (and healthy) foods you miss out on. Plus, I cannot stand cold soup which, I've found, is big in the raw food realm. It's not that it tastes bad, I guess. There is just something innately wrong with cold soup. And it makes me gag. There's a lot of joy in eating to be missed out on if you are a raw foodist. Like beans and rice, for example, and like the simple joy of putting warm food in your mouth.
2) There's too much eating. It takes a looooong time to eat a raw meal. There is a lot of chewing involved, and you have to eat more often to keep up with needed calories. I do not think I have eaten enough overall, because I lost about 5 pounds. So I have obviously been accruing a calorie deficit. However, I would not say I am malnourished, just in need of those few extra calories I would've gotten if I had included some starchy cooked foods into my diet.
3) Kale is a wonderful green. Where I might have used rice as my food base, I used finely chopped kale. Of all the raw vegetables out there, kale is the most filling because of the incredible amount of fiber it contains. It's tough, yes, but that's what makes it so good for feeling full. If you use a vingear-based dressing on your food, you can really let it sit a while to help the kale get a little softer, and it has a marinating effect. Check out this yummy salad I made:
I know it looks a lot like the last raw recipe I posted but it tastes totally different. And yum! It contains about 2 cups of frozen defrosted peas, 2 cups of finely chopped kale, 1.5 roma tomatoes diced, a little bit of red onion minced, 1 teaspoon of oil, 1Tbs balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. It was soooo good. The only thing that would have made it a perfect meal is a big hunk of whole wheat bread. Or something similar.
4) The other thing that has been a staple for me is tomatoes. I have eaten a LOT of tomatoes. And to prove it, check out this picture I took of the tomato section at Wal-Mart today where I went to get MORE tomatoes:
The produce manager saw me coming and ran for the phone to make a new tomato order, Stat!
Hahaha! Just kidding... this is actually the norm for Williston. There is invariably some section of the produce department that is completely out. The previous time I was there, it was the apple section that was empty. That's how we roll out here.
5) My new favorite snack is sugar snap peas! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I have been eating them almost every day.
6) I also have gained a love for apples and peanut butter (I know, not raw, but I at least used the non-processed kind).
7) For our anniversary, I got myself a masticating juicer (which I have wanted for a long time) and told Brad it was from him. Don't worry, he bought himself speakers to replace his busted ones in the Prius and told me they were from me. We are just so thoughtful, aren't we?
I have distaste for supplements. I just don't believe in pills in any form even though I begrudgingly take them on occasion. I like the juicing thing, because I see the veggies, and then I drink them and I get a boost of veggie/fruit in concentrated form. I like seeing the process, so I can believe there's actual goodness in the glass. And I prefer juicing to smoothies, although I have done both over this past month. You can get more in the glass with juicing as well as better flavor. You really can't beat having all that fiber in a smoothie though, so I'll probably continue to do both.
I feel good with where I'm at now. I've been forced to experiment with different veggies that I don't normally use. And I've gotten comfortable with incorporating more of them in my meal and mixing ones together that I wouldn't normally. That can really help with getting out of a cooking rut. So we'll see how I ease back into the swing of things next Monday.
One last unrelated but super-cute thing:
I've been waiting for Keshet's eyes to change to some recognizable color, but it would seem that this is going to be her color. The question is, what color are they exactly? I can't tell. This picture shows them pretty accurately so what you see is what you get.
Here's another picture to show you just how dark they are. Iyov's are so light blue and her's look black by comparison.
Dark
ReplyDeletebrown eyes, of course. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I might say, that salad looks DIVINE!!!! I love me some peanut butter and apples. It's my pregnancy snack of choice EVERYTIME because it seems to fill me up longer then a plain apple. Cold soup? Ugh. Just the SOUND of it sounds like a swear word. ;)