Mix and Match

(One of the good things about New York =)

I took that photo when my mother and I had our 'raw day' in New York City. Lots of people crowded around this store window where one guy was applying body paint on another guy. He was really toned and it was amazing to me that someones body (and gorgeous face) could attract so many people on the street. But at the same time, I had to remember that a good body doesn't always equal good health. I know other people whose physiques are similar to this guys, but their diets are terrible. Soda, chips, smothered meats and sweets play a role in their everyday diets. Clearly, some people can get away with eating junk and still looking good, but it will certainly catch up with them eventually.

Moving on to today's topic...my diet has been largely vegan lately, and that is partly due to the fact that I have trouble finding the right combination of raw foods at each meal. In other words, I don't know how to mix and match my foods. I've heard that some raw foodists prefer to only eat one food at each meal, which I would like to do eventually but I have to train myself to do so...which could take a long time. I've learned to be very patient when it comes to my diet because I make much better progress if I give myself the time I need to adjust. It took me longer than I would have liked to lose 20lbs and get a hold of my health, but I'm happy that I was patient enough to go at my own pace.

Here is an example of what I'm talking about when I say that I have trouble matching up my raw foods correctly:


I went to Jills in Brooklyn with my mom a couple weeks ago, and I ordered some of their zucchini pasta with pesto. We took our food to go, and drove down to Chinatown afterward to buy some tai coconuts. When I got home, I ate the pasta and drank the coconut water...together. This was obviously not a smart decision on my part. I thought I was old enough to make food selections that made sense, but I guess I was wrong about that. I felt fairly sick in the hours following my feast.

This seems like something that will just take practice and some serious trial and error. I've been hearing a lot about food combining and what it apparently does to your system. I don't think that any of the smoothies I make follow the food combining guidelines, which could mean that my digestive system will run into problems. From the looks of it, virtually none of my green smoothies are 'digestion safe.' If anyone has suggestions, thoughts, or opinions, let me know.

On a side note, I wanted to make a comment about the zucchini pasta with pesto from Jills Cafe.


At first bite, I fell in love with this dish. The different flavors that are combined seemed to make a perfect blend. The zucchini makes a great pasta substitute and the addition of tomatoes in the pesto sauce was great. Everything was smooth sailing when I started eating, but a little later on, I began to feel sick from the amount of oil in the pesto sauce (I promise, this had nothing to do with the coconut water). Since this dish is made daily at their 'deli' bar, I'm sure it changes day to day. My pesto experience didn't change my view of Jills, I still love their food, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat the rest of it after I got an upset stomach.

Oh, and I got to see Jill when we were at the cafe. She looked like she was there to just drop off some things and then she went on her way. Such an honor! I'm thinking about enrolling in her juice feast program.

Raw. Love.
-Natalie

Hemp. Shake.

(A whole ounce of wheatgrass)

I went to my local health food store last week and bought my very first 1oz shot of wheatgrass. Let me tell you, I don't think that there is anything you can tell someone that would prepare them for an experience like that. I thought I was big and bad enough to handle downing the whole shot in one go, but I was about ready to pass out after one sip. I later ended up throwing the rest of the wheatgrass into a green drink I made the next day (I wonder if the wheatgrass was still potent??), and get this, it was still just as powerful as drinking it straight. Unbelievable.

Rewinding back to the local health food store...while I was in the back ordering my wheatgrass, I noticed a Hempshake packet made by Nutiva. I'm not hugely into chocolate, but I like to have my fix every now and then. Since the hempshake packets were only about $2 a piece, I got two; one for me and the other for my mom.

I was pretty excited after I bought the Hempshake, so I went home right away and prepared it for myself. I initially thought that I would only need almond milk and the hempshake packet contents to make the mixture, but the back of the packet called for a few other ingredients...all of which I happened to have laying around my house.

Other than the powder in the packet, the Hempshake called for:

1 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil

Handful of Hempseeds

And...A cup of Almond Milk (not my image)

So I blended up all of these badboys in my trusty blender and the end result was a glass of chocolaty goodness. I know this is supposed to be some kind of healthy, superfood, energy type of drink, but it tasted more like dessert to me, and I certainly wasn't complaining. The blender really got the drink to a nice and smooth consistency which I really enjoyed, because no one likes a lumpy chocolate drink. It took a little longer than I thought to get all of it down because it was pretty thick and rich...but I actually like that about it. I'm a little too quick when it comes to eating and drinking, so being forced to go slow with this was a positive. Here's a photo of my shake:

And for the first time in awhile, I got to make a little chocolate milk mustache (a bit hard to see because it's brown on brown):

Raw Love Babyyyy
-Natalie

Fresh Squeezed....Kind of

Pictured above is the ghetto contraption I was talking about last time. It works well for me when I need to strain my juices, but the downside is it takes FOREVER to get all of the juice out (as I do not like to waste anything).

This morning, I opened up the refrigerator and saw a six pack of oranges from Westerly's (health food store in NYC). Oranges didn't sound so good to me for breakfast, but orange juice did. I knew that making the juice would be a long process...but an intense craving kicked in and I just knew I had to do whatever it took to make it. I had no idea how the juice would taste or whether or not I'd like it, so I used three oranges instead of blending up the whole pack. My Mom has been buying a lot of the discount produce from Westerly's lately and I make it a point to use it right away because the discount fruits and veggies are usually pretty close to expiration...much like these oranges were. Don't get me wrong, they were definitely good, but they'll be useless within a few days.

Moving along, I peeled up the oranges a threw them in the blender. I didn't want to use any water because there is nothing I hate more than diluted juice, so I just let the blender do its thing. When it was done blending, I had to transfer what was blended into a plastic cup and pour the cup contents into the spaghetti strainer which was on top of the blender (above).

The orange pulp in the strainer looked like this:

When I saw this, I was hit with a bit of nostalgia because it looked just like the yellow grits my Mom used to make before she stopped cooking and started focusing more on raw foods.

Even though I was using the spoon to press out whatever juice was in there, it still took a good ten minutes to get everything out. Once again, I was tempted to experiment with the remaining pulp, but that's something I have to plan out for another time.

I woke up late today, which meant that I was extremely hungry when I was putting this together, so I devoured a grapefruit while waiting for the strainer to do its job. That grapefruit really hit the spot...it was tastier than usual, probably due to my empty stomach.

After straining the juice to the max and re-blending the non-pulppy juice, I was finally able to sit and enjoy what I had put so much work into. Turned out that the amount I made fit my glass perfectly...the glass was filled to the very top, no more, no less.

I was in such a state of euphoria after drinking it. I don't even think I could go back to juice from concentrate after experiencing this.

Bye Bye Tropicana

Experimentation...tation...tation

So today was another one of those days where I was home alone for what seemed like an eternity. The lack or air conditioning around here doesn't really help matters much, and it makes it so every move I make is like a strenuous workout. The heat was so unbearable today, but I really did my best to lay low and reserve energy. As a result of my trying to chill out, I didn't make my green drink until around 7ish. I normally try to make it between 5 and 5:30, but it's such a long process and it was still smolderingly hot during that time. The cool air finally came around at 7 and I went ahead and made my drink and then went for a little walk with my Dad.

I didn't take a photo of it, but I came up with this ghetto solution to my pulp/froth problem. What I started doing recently was put a spaghetti strainer on top of the large glass that I drink out of, and pour whatever I blended up into the strainer and then the liquid would fall through into the glass. I usually have to take a spoon and squeeze out whatever liquid doesn't come out on its own, but a good amount normally comes out.

Lately, I've been doing straight up spinach juices with hemp seeds, lemon, and cayenne pepper, but I switched it up a bit today...I tippy toed on the wild side. I got some produce yesterday because I recently ran out of greens. I loaded up on some collard leafs, carrots, lemons, and beets. I was really excited to see what I could do with this stuff since I'm used to just one ingredient. I blended up the carrots, beets, and collards individually and here's what it looked like:


This was with pulp and all, so what I did next was put the strainer on top of the blender and pour out each container. I thought that maybe I could do something cool with the leftover pulp, but maybe I'll save that for another time.

Anyway though, these three ingredients blended together looked like this:

And let me tell you, this drink was 10x easier to drink than my normal green juices.
It was nice and smooth. I think I had the right proportions for each veggie I used.
This had two carrots, one beet, and a big handful of collards.
The drink wasn't overwhelming at all, and it's held my hunger up until this very moment (10:15pm).

I shared this with my Mom. The amount that I drank is pictured above, but my Mom wanted me to throw in a few other ingredients for her so I made her a small cup with some hemp seed, lemon, and cayenne pepper added in. Here's what it looked like in it's entirety:

It wasn't that much, but I think it got the job done for her. She had a large salad about an hour after downing this, so I think she was set for the day as far as greens go (she also had a large green drink for breakfast...that woman is dedicated).

I've got some progress photos coming up soon...

Coco Loco

I recently acquired a passion for experimenting with coconuts.
The first time I blended up some coconut meat with coconut water,
I was absolutely blown away by the taste.
I used to be a milk addict, and this is definitely a tasty substitute for when my milk cravings are plaguing me. The smooth consistency coupled with the amazing richness of the milk satisfied my taste buds for hours.

My Dad drove me down to Chinatown last week and I picked up a few Thai coconuts.
I drank one on the spot and got two to go. The vendor told me that the coconuts would be pretty easy to open on my own, but I was in for a rude awakening when I got home and tried opening one the next day. I don't have a clever, so I had to use one of the heavy duty knives I have instead.

The kitchen was somewhat of a mess by the time I finally opened it up. Coconut flesh was all over the place and with a gimp leg, I was unable to do a good job when clean-up time came around. But it was all worth it...my large glass of coconut milk was such a great treat after all of the love and effort I put into making it.

My trusty blender got the job done...Here it is in the limelight:

So pictured above is the water and meat from one coconut. It was extremely filling and satisfying. I would have loved to pour it over some of my favorite vegan cereals, but I thought it would be best to just enjoy this raw delight solo.

The coconut that was blended in the photo above was refrigerated overnight before I used it.
I did not have to use any ice cubes to chill it...it was still cold when I finished blending it.
Since then, I've tried a few 'coconut combinations'...some were successful and some not so successful. One concoction was a blend of coconut milk (meat + water), raw cacao nibs (ground in a coffee grinder), half of a banana, and some agave nectar. I have to admit, the taste wasn't so great at first, but I let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and when I drank it the next day, it was to die for. I don't know why the taste changed so much from one day to the next.

Anyway though, enough of my coconut rambling...Here are a couple more photos for your enjoyment.

Juicing Woes

Since I don't have a juicer, I have to make due with my (NOT high powered) blender whenever I need to make my green juices...or any other juice for that matter.

Even though this blender has been very good to me over the past couple of years,
I think it's time for me to move on and get a juicer as well as a more efficient blender.

In the meantime though, I have to deal with what I have. Actually, there's really only one problem that I'm running into when I make juices with my blender.
The problem is pictured below:

Froth.
There's this absolutely vile tasting frothy concoction that layers the top of my green juice. I know that this has to do with the fact that EVERY part of the plant that was thrown into the blender is still there when you drink it. Nothing was stripped from my spinach...it's all there.

Now my question is...is it, in fact, healthier for my to down the whole drink, froth and all, or should I just focus on drinking the liquid part...which looks like this:


I noticed that when I stripped that layer of froth from the juice, my stomach was better able to handle the amount of spinach that I was ingesting. This batch had about three handfuls (not all of it is pictured).

I think that as long as I'm getting my greens in daily, I'll be just fine. I don't think that whatever I scooped out will make much of a difference. I'm still heavily in the transitioning stage, so I'm still trying to figure stuff out for myself and feel my way around for things that work for me. I'm really trying to get myself into a raw, daily routine...that'll make things a lot easier

I'm a good vegan, but now I have to work on being a good raw foodist.

Food for Thought

(Homemade Nori's - This picture doesn't even begin to describe how good they were)

I've finally gotten over my 'green fear' and have actually come to enjoy my daily dose.
I recently started to make my meal times just a time for meals. No television (not like I have one anyway), no internet, no reading...just eating.
I find that sometimes I'll get a little impatient and eat quicker so I can get on with my day, but I should get over that soon. Eating is slowly starting to give me enough pleasure by itself.

These last few days have been excellent in terms of my diet.
I've been downing these monster green juices and they just get easier and easier to drink the more I incorporate them in my diet. I feel so much cleaner after I take in a large amount of greens. My stomach isn't getting as upset as it did last week, so maybe it's finally starting to appreciate what I'm doing for it!

For breakfast today, I actually didn't do my tea and Emergen-c...I went straight for the food.
My thinking was that since I woke up late today, I would eat first and then do my usual drinks.
I guess I just got so caught up in eating that I forgot to go back and take in my liquids. I'm probably still going to grab a tea and an Emergen-c, but probably closer to bedtime.

So what I ended up eating was a grapefruit and half of a mango. Let me tell you, I stocked up on some more grapefruits from Trader Joe's recently, and theirs are really the best I've had.
I'm not 100% sure if they're organic but I can definitely inquire about that the next time I
shop there. I bought the mango from there also. It was pretty hard when I first got it,
so I threw it in one of those Trader Joe's paper bags overnight and it was ready to be eaten the next day.

One last Trader Joe's comment...I would advise anyone who goes there to not be afraid to
ask for a discount. I went to grab some cantaloupes and since it was the end of the day, there were only two left. I'm not even completely sure if it was damaged, but one of cantaloupes had a light circular portion on it. All I did was ask the cashier if I could get a discount because it was a little discolored, and he gave it to me for free!
The power of asking is really amazing.

I'm finally feeling more settled in to my daily nutritional routine...and posting on here really helps keep me in check. Keeping myself in check is really my key to success on this journey.