Ick, Monday again. I’m still trying to figure up how I ended up back here so quick, my action packed weekend flew by way too fast. I just wish time flew by that fast at work today, it was an annoyingly slow day partly due to me not feeling 100%. The last two days my stomach has not been happy and I’ve been getting sinus/pressure headaches. Turns out there’s something flying around because my sister, niece, mom and a few co-workers are complaining of similar symptoms. I guess I should be thankful it’s only been mildly annoying and not work-stoppage – yet. But it did make working out extra challenging.
Anyway, these raw foodies are doing much better than me today.
But after the first three days, we felt so much more energy, joy, lightness, mental clarity and intuitive knowing—all due to pure, fresh uncooked foods. It was a profound feeling, and a life-changing week.
This article annoyed me a bit because it was too peppy and overly glowing about the raw diet. You might see improvements after just 3 days, but I don’t think they’ll be as overwhelmingly amazing as this couple claims. I’ve read and heard multiple times it takes 21 days to start noticing anything like this and to adapt to raw foods, craving less of the cooked foods formerly eaten because your taste buds refresh about every 21 days. Instead of recommending a week, they should really be recommending 3 weeks to a month to test a high-raw diet. After just a week when someone does not see this amazing transformation and still crave their old foods, they’ll most likely give up. And to recommend someone just shift to 100% right away? Not even Kris Carr, who did do exactly that, would recommend it.
Anyway, I’ve been focusing on skipping big market trips over the last two weeks, eating what I can from my garden, quick stops and what I can mooch from friends and family’s gardens. Partly for an experiment and partly because I just have not had time lately. Also I’ve been growing my own sprouts for salads, smoothies and what ever else I can top with them. In just 4 days, two tablespoons of seeds turned into this.
Fresh, room temperature sprouts are considerably more flavorful than chilled store-bought and cheaper. Plus it’s just fun watching the growth progress in the kitchen.
Some of my garden eats were pretty interesting as I improvised recipes using what I had. Here I steamed half a spaghetti squash from my dad’s garden, scooped out the insides and poured a raw marinara sauce I threw together using cherry tomatoes, a pathetic little red pepper and basil from my garden and topped with Italian Brazil nut topping. Funny thing is hubby was also craving spaghetti that night and we played dueling chefs in the kitchen creating our own versions. His was more traditional with ground turkey, pasta and jarred spaghetti sauce and took him longer to prepare boiling the pasta and simmering the sauce.
This salad was a great excuse to use my new corn zipper and included hemp seeds, carrots and broccoli, kale and cherry tomatoes from my garden. I dressed it with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and nutritional yeast.
My little butternut squashes aren’t so little anymore and they’re multiplying. I spiralized one into noodles and created a tomato pesto sauce to drown them in using more cherry tomatoes from my garden since that freaking bush has pretty much taken over an entire planter bed, I can’t tie it up fast enough. Anyway, I added plenty of garlic, basil, olive oil, pine nuts and a little balsamic vinegar to the sauce and topped more pine nuts because, well, can you ever have enough pine nuts? It was a wonderfully filling dinner with a lot of garlic kick.
A huge lunch salad using more kale and tomatoes from my garden and a cucumber from a co-workers over producing garden. Guess I need to return the favor and bring in cherry tomatoes and butternut squashes since I seem to have an excess of them now.
Finally I’ve been meaning to try Gena’s Cauliflower Rice w/ Mint, but didn’t quite have all the ingredients for it tonight. I did have fresh pistachio butter and cherries from my Dixon Market trip Saturday, so I improvised using the pistachio butter and hemp seeds in place of the pistachio nuts, pitted fresh cherries in place of the raisins and I added carrots to make up for not having enough cauliflower. The basil and mint came from my garden and the results very still great, adding sweet fruit and mint to processed veggies makes it seem more of a dessert and reminded me of Ani’s Cranberry Butternut “rice”. I think the pistachio butter made it creamier and richer and it seems like this would be a hit with younger and perhaps pickier eaters with the creamy sweetness. Eventually I will try the recipe un-altered … really. :-)
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says
“new corn zipper “—i dont even know what that is but for the first time in about 2 mos, I made corn tonite and just got slicing it off the cobs right before i read this post! 3 yr olds need it sliced and honestly i hate gnawing on cobs and like it sliced off too
the salad with nooch/marinara looks awsome, and faster than traditional, love that
you feeling icky…i think it’s going around, i know a lot of sick ppl right now
going raw and seeing miracles in a week, yeah, sure :) I mean yes it happens but i agree with you, the ether and euphoria is still there; any real change needs a month or longer i think.
christine says
I’m terrible at cutting raw corn kernels off and seem to send most if it across the kitchen, this has made it much less messy.
http://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-2216-Corn-Zipper/dp/B001UOCYLI
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg says
So glad you posted this! I’ve seen all sorts of articles and posts that act like the changes you see going raw happen IMMEDIATELY. 21 days sounds more like it! I feel good right now after three days, but now life-changingly so, ha!
Katie says
I hope you are feeling better today girl : )
LOVE that you grow your own sprouts now, the sprouting jar is so cool!!!! I need one of those!
THANK YOU so much for reading my story and for telling me that you had struggles too, all of us woman really do and it is a rough time, Im glad I got through it and you did too : ) yes my eating was not good at all, I ma ashamed of that very much especially now because I am so against unhealthy eating habits like that, but we have to learn from it, and I did : )
Have a great day and thank you again! U are such a great friend! xoxo
Madeline - Greens and Jeans says
Those squash noodles look really good and you’ve definitely inspired me to having my own kitchen sprouts project!
kalli@fitandfortysomething says
love the new look of the blog!!!! so sorry you are not feeling so good. love the butternut squash pasta-it looks so tasty!