Monthly Archives: August 2009

Courtney on habits gets me into goals

August 30, 2009
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“small, consistent habits are what bring results” says Courtney over at Radical Radiance.  I couldn’t agree more.  Somebody, sorry, I forget who, once asked me, “what’s the one smallest thing you can do today to get yourself closer to achieving your goal?”   When I replied, that person came back at me with, “well then do it.”

It’s so Nike (just do it).  Or Nancy Reagan (just say no).  But simple is not easy as I always say.  The thing which holds us back is all or nothing thinking.  If I can’t do it all at once, I can give in and let myself slide.  If I can’t juice feast 100% for 90 days, then I’ll go straight back into SAD style eating.  It’s b*lsh*t.  It’s truly addictive thinking.  The addict inside makes any excuse to justify continuing in the comfortable familiar ruts.

So what’s the one smallest thing I can do each day to get closer to my goal? Um. I first need to articulate a goal.  A few days ago I said I was going to do that soon.  And I was going to make those goals SMART.  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-framed.

Well ok then.  We’re at the start of a new month.  It’s my birthday month (going to be 38), no better time to take on a challenge.   My goal for this month is to be 100% raw.  There.  I said it.  I’ve put it down in text. The proof is right there in front of me.  My other goal this month is to return to my old habit of cycling to work.  Unfortunately, I can’t begin cycling just yet.  I live in L.A. very close to the Station Fire and the air quality is dangerous.  So, I’ll return to exercising at lunch inside the gym.  I took my gym bag to work last week, so I”m ready to go with that.   I need to focus on the 100% raw.

What’s the one smallest thing I can do each day to help?  I can actually think of lots of small things I can do.

  1. Plan what I’m going to eat
  2. Prepare food each night for the following day.
  3. Set out my supplements so I take them every morning with my meds
  4. Have juice or green smoothie for breakfast (hey! I already do this! I’m making good progress already)
  5. Sip on water at work instead of coffee or tea.
  6. Tell my family what I’m going and ask for support I did this today.  Guess I’m on my way.
  7. Have a plan B in case I don’t prepare food ahead.

Steps 1-3 are practically the same, so I’ll amalgamate.  Step 4 is a non-starter, since I already to it. Plan B will be to eat at the salad bar at the campus cafeteria if I don’t bring my own food for some reason.

There.  I’ve figured out what  small things I can do.  Now to do it.  My eating plan for tomorrow:

Breakfast: Green juice – celery, apple, parsley, lemon.

Lunch: sprouted quinoa and hemp seed tabbouleh

Snack: Green smoothie: pineapple, banana, coconut water kefir, kale.

Dinner: Wrap’n'roll with mock salmon pate (if I’m hungry – I may not be after the hearty smoothies).

I need to make the juice tonight.  I’m procrastinating.  It’s well over 100 degrees F.  I will do it before bed.  update: I did do it before bed.  Can’t find the camera to take pix of the granola so that is going to have to wait.

Sprouted Quinoa & Hemp Seed Tabbouleh

August 28, 2009
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Our boyfriend N. is visiting from Berkeley, so I didn’t juice the past few days as planned.  I had a  bunch of green stuff in the fridge which needed to be used up so I decided to make tabbouleh.  This recipe is a variation of the old standard.  I prefer not to use measurements when making recipes as I like to adjust ingredients to taste as I go.  It feels more creative that way.   N. adores it and he’s not a raw foodie. I’m hoping there will be some salad left for dinner tonight.  He loves it that much.

Sprouted Quinoa & Hemp Seed Tabbouleh
Yield 8 cups. Serves 8 regular portions or 4 entree sized portions.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Salad
3 cups quinoa
3 bunches parsley, finely chopped
1 bunch mint, finely chopped
1/2 cup hemp seeds
3 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced
3 bunches scallions, minced
2 cups grape tomatoes

Dressing
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp hemp seed oil

Soak quinoa 8 hours.  Sprout quinoa until it’s as soft as you would like, minimum 8 hours.  Be sure to rinse every 8 hours of sprouting.  I usually soak the quinoa overnight, rinse in the a.m., and then make the salad in the evening after another rinse.

Put all salad ingredients into a large bowl.  Mix dressing ingredients. Add dressing to salad.  Toss gently.  Chill for several hours to allow flavors to blend and develop.   I like to bring the salad back to room temperature before eating.

Serve with love!

Golden Tortilla Chips – Matthew Kenney

August 28, 2009
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These smell exactly like chili with Frito’s when they’re dehydrating.

Golden Tortilla Chips

Golden Tortilla Chips

Golden Tortilla Chips

1 3/4 cups flax meal
4 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 1/3 cups water
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin
3/4 small red onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 tablespoon sea salt + more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon lime juice
Pinch cayenne
2 teaspoons chili powder

Place flax meal in a large bowl. Blend all remaining ingredients except chili powder in a Vita-Mix or high-speed blender until smooth. Stir in flax meal and chili powder. Spread one cup of batter over the entire Teflex sheet to no more than 1/8 inch thickness and place in dehydrator. Approximately 30 minutes later the chips will be ready to be removed and marked with a paring knife into the size and shape you desire. Sprinkle with salt and dehydrate 12-24 hours, until completely crispy. Yields 4 trays.

Serve with love!

Not fasting

August 26, 2009
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I didn’t end up juicing last night.  M. wasn’t up to it.  Bad excuse, I know.  I will do it tonight, come hell or high water.  I need a cleanse day.  I did make the raw corn tortilla chips from Matthew Kenney’s Everyday Raw.  Go me! They smell awesome – like Fritos and chili.  Can’t wait to try them.  Hoping they’ll be ready by tonight.  My buckwheat sprouts are coming along nicely.   I may let them go another day so they actually get tails.  Usually they require 5-6 days of sprouting to become truly sprout like.  I only sprout them for a day or so for Rawnola.  All depends on whether or not the tortilla chips are ready and whether or not I’m awake enough to make the rawnola.  I didn’t sleep again last night.  It’s my own fault.  I stayed up late reading a juicy novel.  You know.  The kind you just can’t put down.  I have a few chapters left.  Recipe making tonight also depends upon whether or not I choose to read instead.  Juicing will take enough of my time.

I’m not going to say what I’ve been eating today.  Let’s just say it starts with a bis and ends with a cotti.  Yummy, but not the bestest of choices.  It’s what I wanted this morning though.  I’m calling it a vegetable and moving on.

Coconapple Collard Kefir Smoothie

August 25, 2009
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I’ve had this tropical green smoothie for breakfast every day this week! I’m getting in those probiotics.

Coconapple Collard Kefir Smoothie
2 cups coconut milk kefir (I use one by So Delicious)
2 cups pineapple chunks
2 bananas
all the stems leftover from a bunch of collard greens I used for salad yesterday (about 1/3  – 1/2 cup broken into little pieces)
1 fl oz shot of E3 Live

Blend in high speed mixer.  Serve with love.

Another oops

August 25, 2009
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I didn’t get to make raw corn tortilla chips last night.  I didn’t have enough corn in the freezer :-( .  And I’d gone to the store on my way home from work! I’d forgotten my list and shopped from my head.  Figures that I’d forget the one most important thing.  I blame exhaustion from getting only 3 hours of sleep the night before. I definitely felt it at the end of the work day.

The trick is to keep on keeping on.  I did start sprouting my buckwheat.  And, I’ll stop by the store again this evening and get the requisite corn.   How can I avoid this type of forgetfulness in the future?  By sticking to my regular organizational habits.   I’m a big fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (a.k.a. GTD).  I use a GTD plug-in and Outlook to manage my schedule.  Everything is synchronized with my Blackberry.  Usually I write my shopping lists as an Outlook task.  If I want it on paper, I can print it out before I go to the store.  I tend to read my list right on my Blackberry though.  No need to waste the paper.

I haven’t been able to synchronize my Blackberry with my desktop computer as often as I’d like.  I’m a Mac user, but run Windows in a virtual machine (VM) on my workplace Mac.   I’ve been having many, many, many problems with the VM.  Blackberry software doesn’t play well with it.  So, I’ve not been using my GTD as much as I should.  I’m not offering this as an excuse, but as an explanation.  If I know how an obstacle presents itself, I can avoid those obstacles.  In this case, I can make sure to use the tools I’ve already got.

Of course, my computer has been crashing a lot today.  Just because the solution is simple, doesn’t mean it’s easy.  It will resolve itself soon however.  I’m getting a bona fide PC from my tech people at the office.  Once that’s installed it should be a bit easier to stick to the GTD habit.

Meanwhile, I’m planning another juice fast for tomorrow.  And, this is really exciting, M. has agreed to do the fast with me!  And she’s agreed to help me with the juicing and clean-up.  How rad is that?  I think this is M.’s first juice fast.  My goal, as usual, is to make it the entire day on beautiful green and fruity juice.  I’ve broken my past two mini-fasts at the dinner hour.  It’s difficult for me to resist the food M. and Z. are eating for dinner.  It will definitely help to have M. doing the fast with me.  Once I make it through one 24 hour cycle, my next goal will be to make 48 hours, then 72 hours, and so on.  I’d like to build up to one full week.   The idea of that is kind of scary right now.  I’m going to focus on just one day.  It’s just one day! And I know I can do three days – I’ve done that much in the past.  And I know I find it easy to do 3/4 of the day.  It’s only the evening that trips me up.  The key to success will be (a) keeping full on nutritious delicious juice and (b) finding things to do in the evening so that I won’t focus on food.   Perhaps a yoga class.  More likely that I’m going to be making  raw granola – the buckwheat sprouts I’ve started should be ready by tomorrow evening.   Good thing I don’t find the pre-dehydrated mixture very appealing as a snack.  I won’t be tempted to eat it while I’m fasting.  Oh! I can also post all the recipes and photos from all the things I’ve been making this week.  I should have enough to do to keep myself busy and fasting tomorrow evening.

I’ve had a few set-backs this week so far.  I know I can turn it around by thinking positively and by remembering that I have all the time in the world to nurture myself.  I don’t hurt anything by shifting my schedule up a day or so. Flexibility is key.  I always tell myself, “start the good work today.  Tomorrow never comes!” Which is true.  But it’s also true that I can’t stress out over timing.  I need to trust myself that things will happen.  The universe unfolds as it ought to … as long as you’re prepared, you can take advantage.  I will be prepared.

Oops

August 24, 2009
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I forgot to start soaking buckwheat groats this morning.  It’s ok.  I’ll start them tonight.  They’ll just sprout for a little less time.  Fortunately, they don’t need to get to the point of having tails.  And, I had a little wiggle room built in. You only need to soak the buckwheat for about 8 hours and sprout for another 8-12 hours.   If I start tonight, I’ll still be ready to make a rocking batch of raw granola tomorrow evening.

My excuse was that I didn’t sleep well last night.  I probably only got about 3 hours worth of shut-eye. It made for a very grumpy morning.  I was so tired, I forgot my vow to be vegan all week and had a few sips of the princess latte that M. brought to me in my bed (yes, I’m very spoiled).  The rest of the day has been the most vegan-y of vegan eating. I’ve made a 5 cups of pro-biotic packed green smoothie.  Enough for breakfast and afternoon snack.  Lunch was a big-ass salad with .25 cup slivered almonds and some fat-free balsamic vinegar dressing.  Dinner is going to be leftover carrot/cauliflower/tarragon soup and some steamed veggies done up in my own stir-fry sauce. I’ll post the recipes for all of those separately.

Weekends are relaxing?

August 23, 2009
By

JuliusOy! It’s been a busy day. I have washed, dried, folded AND put-away seven (yes seven!!) loads of laundry. I have washed Julius Seizure, our half-blind epileptic little doggie.  I have swept floors.  I have tidied.  I have cleaned and organized.  I started some alfalfa sprouts.  I made carrot, cauliflower and tarragon soup.  I shredded and marinated some collard greens.

M. and I have been eating a lot of recipes from Donna Gates’ Body Ecology book, including the carrot/cauliflower/tarragon concoction mentioned above. I’m still feeling utterly wretched in the digestive realm so I’m sticking to vegan-ism this week.    The best way to do that is to make sure I have good yummy food handy.  Keeping it anti-candida a la Body Ecology help the tummy troubles.  Fortunately the soup recipe yields an abundant amount of food.  M., Z., and I will be eating this all week.  Add a few salads or steamed veggie sides and it’s a full meal.  No need to think or do much when it comes to the food I’m eating this week.

That leaves me time to focus on some longer term prep.  It’s easier to stay raw when I have some staples stashed away in the pantry.  I try to make  a big batch of this type of food each quarter.  On tap this week: “Golden tortilla chips” , “Pizza flax crackers” , and  some “Grawnola.  These recipes are time intensive, although little of that is hands-on.  There’s soaking and sprouting to do.  And I need to consider the amount of space available in my dehydrator plus how long each recipe is going to be taking up space inside. It’s a little tricky to have things ready-sprouted in time for the dehydrator opening.

This is the food prep schedule I’ve planned on top of everything else I’ve accomplished today.

Tonight :  raw chocolate macadamia ice cream, peach cobbler, and my green smoothies for tomorrow’s breakfast & lunch.

Monday a.m.: rinse sprouts, rotate fruit, soak 2.5 cups of hulled buckwheat groats

Monday p.m.: drain and rinse buckwheat, start sprouting it, rinse alfalfa sprouts, make golden tortilla chips and put them in dehydrator for 24 hours.

Tuesday a.m.: rinse alfalfa sprouts, rotate fruit, rinse buckwheat sprouts, soak 1/4 cup each of sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, and flax seeds.

Tuesday p.m.: take tortilla chips out of the dehydrator, cool, and put into ziplock freezer bags, store in the fridge.  Make grawnola, put into dehydrator for 24 hours.

Wednesday a.m.: rinse sprouts, soak 2 cups of flax seed.

Wednesday p.m.: make pizza flax crackers, put into dehydrator for 24 hours.

I’ll decide what other staples to make on Wednesday.  By that time I’ll need a night or two off from food prepping.

Jump Start Smoothie

August 21, 2009
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So far today I have stayed true to my word regarding my renewed commitment to healthy eating practices.  I made a kick-ass green smoothie for breakfast.

Jump Start Smoothie
1 cup pure cranberry juice
1 cup water
1/4 cup coconut kefir
1 shot glass (2 fl. oz) E3 Live
3 big collard green leaves
4 frozen bananas

Place all ingredients into high speed blender.  Blend.  Serve with love.

OMG! Nom, nom, nom.  So delicious.  I’ve been sipping on it all morning at work.  I love tart drinks.  And it’s got superfoods and lovely probiotics.  I’m having digestive issues (as usual) and I know that if I’m consistent with the friendly bacteria that it will get better.

I’ve also managed to work on my other commitments – I brought my gym bag with me to work.  Lunchtime workout here I come! This will be the 1st time in exactly 5 weeks that I’ve done more than a gentle walk or bike ride.  I suffered a most unfortunate groin pull back in July and I’ve been resting in order to heal.  I’m very prone to injury (loose tendons and joints I’m told).  I really need to be careful that I heal fully and prevent further injuries.  I know that Iyengar yoga can help me with this, but I’ve yet to put that into practice.

I will be writing my goals and objectives down.  Making commitments is one thing but in order keep my initial motivation, I need to get SMART.  SMART = Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-framed.  That means formalizing exactly what I’m going to be doing.  That should provide a framework for keeping positive and letting myself know my progress.

Overcoming cynicism

August 20, 2009
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I have to admit – I have an overly healthy sense of cynicism.   I look at the regulars on the raw food circuit and think to myself, “are they really that freaking positive all the time?” It’s a great advertisement for eating living foods if they truly are.   I find myself alternatively inspired and incredulous.  Philip McClusky evokes these mixed emotions in me.  I know it reflects my own insecurities, so I keep reading his blog anyway, hoping something will rub off.

He once posted a poem by Portia Nelson which really spoke to me.  It illustrates the various stages involved in breaking patterns using a metaphor of falling into a hole.  Patterns are akin to routines, hence my interest.  Habits are a pattern.  Indeed, she says:

I still fall in (the hole). It is a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

I think I’m at the “think I don’t see it” stage.  It’s called denial. I have been indulging in my cravings for fudgesicles this week, undoing the beautiful juice fasting of last week.   My eyes are open again.  My bodily aches and pains remind me why I need to nourish myself.   In order to walk around the hole – or even take another path entirely — one has to recognize the obstacles.   In this case it’s being tired after a long day at work and needing to reward myself.

I can make raw fudgesicles.  I have a few ideas.  In the meantime, I recomit myself to my regular eating pattern:  fruit salad or smoothie (preferably green) for breakfast; big ass salad and soup for lunch;  more veggie and some sort of raw entree for dinner; fruit and/or nuts for snacks.  I also recomit myself to my lunch hour exercise.  My gym bag has been gathering too much dust.

When I perfect the raw fudge-sicle recipe, I shall post

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