A Slow Cooker Kinda Day

   Hi Friends!

   Yesterday I woke up to the best text ever from my coworker:

best.message.ever.

   I love my job, but I love unexpected days off even more!  That's one of the perks of being a teacher, you still get to feel like a kid when schools close due to the weather.  We didn't get a whole bunch of snow but we did get some freezing rain which resulted in bus cancellations and some school closures.  I'm so glad that mine was one of them.  I was not looking forward to my drive in to work if I had to deal with slippery roads.

   I spent a good chunk of my morning trying to go back to sleep, giving up, and then cuddling with my Patchie girl while having a FaceTime session with my Godson.

Patchie's idea of cuddling: staring me down until I get out of bed and feed her.

   Whenever I have a "free" day off I always face the dilemma of what to do.  Do I treat it like an extra day where I get to do whatever I want or do I use this day to catch up on everything I didn't do during the weekend?

   Because truth be told I did nothing this weekend except for maybe this:

Girl Time!

   My sister was watching her friend's daughter this weekend so I went over to her apartment and we had some good old fashioned girly fun.  We watched movies (Parent Trap: the Original), ate junk food (chips and salsa), and did our hair and nails.  Actually, I did our hair, and the little one's nails.  She returned the favor by playing with my hair, too.  Did I mention that I've secretly adopted her as my little sister?  She is too cute.

   Anyway, I decided that I would do a bit of both: a tiny bit of chores, followed by whatever else I felt like doing including: not getting out of my pajamas, reading magazines, taking a bath, and watching a movie (Elizabethtown <-- I'm probably the only person who loves that movie.).  I also felt like cooking.  It was a soup kind of day so that's what I made.  But, I wanted my whole apartment to smell like soup so I turned on the slow cooker and threw all the veggies in there.  Mission accomplished:  my whole apartment smelled amazing.  I love using my slow cooker but I think I'm one of those people that should only use it when I'll be out for the day.  I must have checked on it a thousand times before it was done.  Don't worry, I didn't remove the lid.  <--- I had to add that because it's something that I would probably do and I know my mom would ask me after reading this.  Ha.  You know the saying "good things come to those who wait?"  I don't think I got the memo.  When I was little I used to sit in front of the oven waiting for cookies to finish baking.  That is, until my mom would tell me to get up off the floor.  But that's another therapy session story.
Read on for my recipe:

Root Vegetable Soup - Slow Cooker Style
Makes 6 servings

It's party time!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
2 cups parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp herbamare (or sea salt)
1/4 tsp each: dried oregano, thyme, and rosemary
cracked black pepper to taste
2 cups kale, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped

Directions:
Place the oil, carrots, onion, and celery in a 4-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high to soften slightly while you prep the remaining ingredients.
Add the rest of the ingredients, (except for the kale and tomatoes) and stir.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours until the veggies are tender.  Carefully stir in the kale and tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.  Turn off slow cooker and serve.  Enjoy!

*By the way, next time I would cook this soup on low for longer but like I said above, I'm not really good at waiting!

Til next time...

Love,
Ves xx

Vegan MoFo #10 - Zucchini Fries and WIAW #16

Hi Friends!

   Is anyone else feeling like this week is going by way too fast?  Maybe it's because I'm on vacation, but this week is flying!  Well, regardless, I have a fun and simple recipe plus a little WIAW fun for you!

Let's get to it!
First of all, here is a little taste (ha) of what I've been eating. I've actually been really bad about taking pictures of my food lately, so I thought I'd show you a couple of yummy eats instead of a whole day of eats.

First up: My Thanksgiving plate...

Lentil Walnut Apple Loaf, zucchini boats, mashed sweet potatoes, roasted red peppers, vegan stuffing with gravy, wheatberry salad, and a chopped green salad with apples, cranberries, and almonds. 

Next up, a special treat... RAW eats we found at a little tucked away store in Dundas.

What a surprise!

Almond 'Cheese' Burger, 'holiday salad', and quinoa salad.  My mom and I split the burger and both salads.  I thought that everything was super yummy.  The burger was my fave!

 And since we are talking about healthy treats this month, here's what I've been snacking on lately:

   Sweet potato English muffin, toasted, with homemade applesauce.  So delicious!  We found these English muffins at a local farmers market and I can't get enough of them!  That's saying a lot, especially since I hardly ever eat bread!

Now, onto the Recipe...

Baked Zucchini Fries
Ingredients
3 medium organic zucchini, sliced into skinny sticks
1/2 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
2 tbsp ground flax seed
6 tbsp water
3 tbsp. grated nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
pinch cayenne pepper
Celtic sea salt, to taste

Directions
Whisk flax seeds and water together with a fork until frothy.   Set aside.
Mix the breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, and seasonings in a bowl until well blended.
Coat zucchini sticks well in the flax mixture, and dip in breadcrumb mixture until well covered.

Line the zucchini fries on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Enjoy!

These fries were really yummy, but not very crispy.  Next time I would cut them a bit thinner and maybe bake them a bit longer.  I definitely loved the flavor, though!

Happy Hump Day!

Love,
Ves xx

WIAW #5 OR What I Drank While Cleansing

  Hi guys and welcome to another episode of WIAW!  Thanks, as always, to Jenn for hosting this fun foodie link up party.
  This past weekend I decided to do a 3 day juice cleanse.  I figured since it was a long weekend it would be the perfect time to do one.  You know, just in case I became a raving B-I-T-C-H while detoxing, I thought it would be best to not be around children.  I happen to like my job and would like to keep it a bit longer.  Ha!  I'm just kidding.  I was definitely NOT a monster during my cleanse. 
   I love taking small breaks to do juice fasts.  What I don't love is doing them in the summer when everybody and their cousin is outside barbequing!  Ugh.  I swear my neighbors were firing up their grill at like 9am.  It's like they were trying to torture me with the smells of grilled veggie burgers.   Mmm...  Okay, I'm lying, they were probably not grilling veggie burgers, but a girl can dream, right?  I know it sounds like I was tortured the entire weekend, but you have to remember that I'm dramatic.  Plus, I happen to make some very tasty juices so I was definitely not bored or deprived.  So let's get to it, shall we?  By the way, I really do drink out of fancy glasses.  I don't believe in saving the "good china" for company. ;)

I started my mornings off with some hot water and lemon followed by a tall glass of water.

Each morning I made a different variation of my favorite green juice.  This one had:
 {cucumber, celery, kale, lemon and ginger.}

{Sweet potato, carrots, pepper, beets, apples}

All of these veggies...

...made the yummiest juice!  This one is a keeper.  (so is the cat!)

{Beets, celery, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, parsley}

Another green juice...

...with a dash of turmeric on top!

This was a "kitchen sink" juice on the last day.  It turned out to be a winner!

I had about 100 glasses of water throughout the day.

As a treat I would make this simple lemonade when I was feeling like having something sweet.  It's so sweet and delicious, you wouldn't believe it's good for you! {apples, lemon}

  And since this month is also focusing on fitness, I'll share how I stayed active while cleansing.

   I mentioned last week that I finally dusted off Jillian's (we're on a first name basis) DVD.  Well, I've been doing it all week and I must say, the soreness in my muscles has definitely improved.  During my cleanse though, I really wanted to focus on being kind to my body.  For the first two days I went for walks, did some stretching in the morning and a bit of yoga in the afternoon.  I also took a bath every single day.  (I know, I'm so decadent!)  But on the third day I didn't feel like doing anything and allowed myself the luxury of vegging out (while studying, of course).
   So there you have it; what I drank and how I moved while cleansing!

Happy Hump Day!

Love,

Ves xx

What's your favorite juice combo?

Childhood Favorites all Grown Up!

   What a busy weekend it's been.  And I can't believe that it's already JUNE.  How did that happen and where did the time go?  I've been helping my parents pack up their house all weekend and I have to say, it's a lot of work to pack up a whole house!  My mom and I made the best of it and pretty much laughed our you-know-what's off the entire weekend.  Needless to say, I'm exhausted and so are my parents, I'm sure. 
  When I got home Sunday night I was craving a grilled cheese sandwich.  Weird for me 'cause I hardly ever eat sandwich's these days but who am I to say no to a craving?  Ha.  I'm thinking the craving was there because I had spent the weekend going through a ton of childhood things.  Nothing says "kid's food" like a good grilled cheese! 

Onto the "recipe"...  ** (apologies for my awesome camera)

   I'm actually kidding, there really is no recipe to this.  I basically made this with what I had on hand, combined with the flavors that I love.
   I recently found Tofutti Cheese Slices at my local supermarket and grabbed a pack to satisfy my curiosity.  The cheese slices actually taste more like cream cheese rather than processed American slices.  I'm not a fan of these eaten cold and on their own, but when they were heated in a sandwich they definitely tasted better.  This cheese doesn't really melt but rather becomes a bit creamy.  I really liked the texture.  If you're looking for a super melty (is that a word?) grilled cheese, Daiya cheese is better for melting and so is this soy cheese that I buy from the Farmer's Market... not sure what it's called? <--- I'll add the name once I remember.  Ha! 

   I used fresh French Bread that my mother forced generously gave me to take home.  I spread some organic yellow mustard and organic Dijon on the inside and just a touch of Earth Balance on the outside of the bread.  Then I added tomato slices and cheese slices, a touch of oregano and cracked black pepper and it was ready for the grill!  I rounded out the meal with a cucumber, tomato salad.  I dressed it with a bit of lime, cracked black pepper and some nutritional yeast.  This meal was so yummy and definitely satisfied my craving for grilled cheese!

What's your favorite way to eat grilled cheese?

Love,

Ves xx

Let's Have a Fiesta!

   Happy Cinco de Mayo, my friends!  I've been so busy preparing for my Bake Sale that I haven't had a lot of free time to post anything new.  But, there was no way that I was going to let a glorified American holiday Mexican Holiday pass by without a mention!  I grew up celebrating this holiday the way any self respecting American from California would:  I pretended to know what it was about while simultaneously participating in my school's festivals and eating Mexican food.  Ole!  And today is no different!  Except that I no longer live in California, and I know a little bit more about Cinco de Mayo than I did when I was a kid.  FYI:  From what I hear from some of my Mexican friends... no one in Mexico actually celebrates this day.  It's totally Americanized.  But guess what?  I don't care!  Any excuse to eat Mexican food is fine by me!  Pass the vegan Burrito, please!  In fact, that's what's for dinner tonight.

 Source

   Unfortunately, I didn't have time to cook, so 'dinner' is a frozen burrito from the "Amy's" line of frozen food.  I've never actually had anything of theirs so I thought I would try the burrito in honor of Cinco de Mayo.  You can microwave this for about a minute or stick it in the oven for 50-55 minutes.  I don't own a microwave so into the oven it went for about an hour.  I must say, even though I was starving by the time this was ready, I much prefer waiting an hour for something that's crispy on the outside and hot on the inside rather than a soggy half hot/half cold burrito from the micro.  No bueno.  Just before the burrito was ready, I whipped up a simple spring salad with tomatoes and a simple lemon vinaigrette topped with nooch and hemp seeds (of course!).

Here's what dinner looked like:

So yummy!

   The burrito was actually really good!  It had a bit of a kick to it which I like because I enjoy spicy food.  If I had an avocado left I would have made guacamole to go with this but, instead I dipped the burrito in some salsa.  It really doesn't need to be dipped in anything though, I just really like salsa! Ha.

   Bake Sale Update:  I've been super busy preparing lists of things to pick up before the marathon baking begins.  I'm happy to say that all of the containers and things have been purchased, flyers have been printed and are being handed out daily, and announcements have been made on FB, Kijiji, and Pinterest. (<--- every little bit helps!)

Sestres Coffee Shop has graciously offered to donate trays of vegan and gluten free goodies!  Yay!!  And starting tomorrow, the Marathon Baking begins!  Tune in throughout the week as I will be posting pictures of the goodies as I bake them. (and maybe a recipe or two as well!)

I hope you are all enjoying Cinco de Mayo in your own fabulous way! 

Adios for now...

Love,

Ves xx

My New Toy!

   So my Aunt came by yesterday with a house warming gift and I must say, I love presents!  She bought me a Spiral Slicer which I've been dying to try for a while now.  I was able to put it to use tonight and of course, made sure to take pics to share with you guys!
   What's a Spiral Slicer you ask?  Well this super fun contraption allows vegetables to become spaghetti!  How fun!  If you think a raw food diet is 'boring' think again!  It doesn't have to be salad's all the time and I think I've proven that in other posts.  And it doesn't have to be labor intensive either!  This meal took me 10 minutes - clean up included!

Spiral Slicer

Here's what I made:

Zucchini Spaghetti

Zucchini Ribbons

  (Please excuse my red cutting board! Ha.)  But seriously, how cool is that?  I made a super simple tomato sauce to go with my raw pasta and dinner was served!

For the Spaghetti:

1 Zucchini

For the Sauce:

1 large tomato

3 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and chopped*

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

pinch sea salt

Directions:

Spiralise the zucchini.  If you don't have a spiral slicer you can also use a mandoline or vegetable peeler to get your zucchini into super thin strips.

Add all of the sauce ingredients to your blender and process until smooth.  Mix your sauce with the zucchini well and serve!

*You can also use sun-dried tomatoes that are already soaked in oil, just use less oil in the recipe.

Fancy, no?

  I garnished mine with hemp seeds because I'm totally obsessed with hemp seeds.. but it really doesn't need any extras.  I also served mine over a bed of field greens... but I'm sure that doesn't surprise those of you that know me.  (I turn everything into a salad! ha.)

Happy uncooking!

Love,

Ves xx

A Mexicali Evening...

   The other night my sister and I got together for some dinner at my place and a catch-up on our current favorite show... The Bachelor.  Yes, we totally watch it, and no we are not ashamed to admit it!  The "Women Tell All" was super juicy, I can't wait for the next episode!
   But this post is not about the Bachelor.  No, it's about the delicious food we ate while watching it!  The meal was inspired by a package of Taquitos that I found in the frozen section of Whole Foods.  I don't normally by frozen food but I was so excited when I saw vegan taquitos that I had to snatch them up.  My sister and I love Taquitos, so much so that we've been known to buy them from the 7-Eleven back in California.  True story.  They were the perfect 'road food' for when we would make the long 2 hour drive from Orange County to the desert to visit our Dad.

Vegan Taquitos!

    To go along with the Taquitos I whipped up a dip inspired by a recipe from The Kind Diet.

Here's my take on it:

Cheesy Layer Dip

Ingredients

1 package Yves veggie rounds (I used Original)
1 large avocado
Juice of 1/2 a lime 
1 8-ounce containers non-dairy sour cream
1 1/2 packet taco seasoning (or make your own mix with chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, hot paprika or cayenne, and salt)

1/2 cup of diced green onions
1/2 - 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
 

1 cup(s) of shredded vegan mozzarella with jalapeno (you can use cheddar too) 

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Saute the veggie round and then add 1 packet of the taco seasoning.  Simmer until the liquid has evaporated.  
3. Spread the veggie meat on the bottom of an 8 inch by 8 inch quart baking dish. 

4. Pit and peel the avocado, and place in a bowl. 

5. Mash the avocado together with the lime juice, and spread on top of the veggie meat.
6. Stir together the sour cream and 1/2 packet of taco seasoning, and spread over the avocado.

7. Sprinkle the green onions over the sour cream.

8. Add the tomatoes, and sprinkle with the cheese.

9. Heat the dip for 15-30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is a bit melted.

10. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Our "Mexicali" meal... YUM!

   I also made a coleslaw to round out our meal with a simple vinaigrette.  My sister loved the Taquitos but said that the dip was her favorite part.  I ate most of the coleslaw so I guess that was my favorite part! Ha.  I wasn't a huge fan of the Taquitos but they sure smelled delicious coming out of the oven.  I would definitely buy them again but I would try a different flavor next time.
   This meal was super delicious and totally worth the stomach ache we had afterwards from overeating!  I think the next time we make this much food we should make sure to have more people over... Yikes!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
Love,
Ves xx

 

It's a Lean, Mean, Clean, Green Kind of Day!

   The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, my cat's napping and I'm feeling kinda green today.  Huh?? Okay, maybe I'm not feeling green, I'm just seeing it!  As in, every time I open the fridge.  So, I've decided to make it a theme... Today is GREEN FOOD DAY!!  Man, I probably should have saved this one for St. Patty's Day! Ha.  Oh well.

   I should start off by saying that my body is going to be sooo happy with me today!  Green foods are one of the best foods to feed our bodies as they are the most nutrient-rich foods on the planet.  I know I sang chlorophyll's praises here but it doesn't get old. Chlorophyll is known to help cleanse the body, help heal wounds, fight infection, and promote the health of the circulatory, digestive, immune, and detoxification systems. And where can we find chlorophyll?  Green foods, of course!  

   I hope I don't shock my body with the abundance of healthy meals it's going to receive today.  I'll probably have a slice of chocolate cake later (vegan, of course) just to balance things out! Ha.  Just kidding.  Or am I? 

   On to the Green Goodness!

Green Juice!

Ooohhh... doesn't that look pretty? 

Lean Green Juice

2 bunches Broccoli

4 Stalks Celery

4-5 Romaine Leaves

1/2 Lemon

2 Wheat grass Cubes

Juice, drink, and be prepared for the abundance of energy that you're about to have!

**I don't like my green juice to be sweet but if you're wanting a bit of sweetness add an apple or pear to the juice.

Green Smoothie!

My green smoothie today was so yummy and easy to make.  You probably already have all of the ingredients (even if you don't have some of the powders) so go ahead and make this for your snack today!

Mean Green Smoothie

1 - 1 1/2 cups of Almond Milk (or water)

1 frozen banana

1 apple

2 large handfuls of Spinach

1 tbsp Almond Butter (you can use natural peanut butter too)

1 tbsp Goji Berries (optional)

1 tbsp Hemp Seeds (optional)

1 tsp Spirulina (optional)

1 tsp Chlorella (optional)

1 tbsp Maca (optional)

 

Add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and process until smooth.  Pour into a glass add a straw and enjoy! OR do as I sometimes do and add a straw to your blender!  Why dirty a glass?? :)

* I know there are a lot of "optional" ingredients listed above but they will not change the flavor of the smoothie so if you don't have them go ahead and make this anyway.  I'm a little obsessed with adding "extras" to my smoothies. 

Green Soup!

   I made this soup last night because I wanted to use up some of the produce that was in my fridge before it spoiled.  I have leftovers for today which is perfect for my GREEN FOOD DAY!  Oh and just so you know, this is a RAW soup recipe.  Which really just means that I didn't cook it, I made it in my blender. (Man I love raw food!)  If you want a warmer soup you can definitely warm this on the stove until it's just "finger warm" - not hot, that way it's still technically raw (not heated above 108-115 degrees).

Clean Green Soup

1 1/2 cups water

2 (really) large handfuls Romaine/Spinach

1 small handful Parsley

1 large head Broccoli

3 Basil leaves

2 tomatoes, chopped

juice of half a lemon plus rind

3-4 Radishes, diced

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt

Pinch Cumin

Pinch turmeric

Pinch cayenne pepper

Place all the ingredients into a high speed blender and process until smooth.  For a smoother soup consistency add a half or whole avocado.  I would have done that except that I never have avocado's lying around - I eat them immediately!  

Pour into a bowl, grab a spoon and enjoy!  If you want it warmer add a pinch more cayenne or see my note above.

If you try any of these recipes let me know by posting in the comments below!

(Oh, and it seems that I have been on a roll with "S" titles in the last 4 posts.  See here, here, here and here.  How weird.  Anyway, this post broke that strange little kick I was on... thankfully.)

Happy GREEN FOOD DAY... AKA Family Day here in Ontario!

Love, 

Ves xx

Stuffed Shells!

  I just had to share this recipe that I made yesterday for a family dinner at my parents house.  My mom was making baked Mac and Cheese, Pear Salad, and a meat dish.  I decided to help her out by bringing a dish instead of having her make a separate dish just for me (even though she would be happy to do it!).  I made a stuffed shell recipe that I've been dying to try and I'm so glad I did.  It was really good and so easy to make! 
   I got the recipe from the Little House of Veggies blog.  I stumbled upon it a while ago and never got around to making it.  You seriously have to make this!  I had it for dinner again tonight and layered it on a bed of spinach with a splash of olive oil and brown rice vinegar.  So yum!  Oh, and the non-vegans that tried this liked it as well... so go ahead and make it!

Sun-Dried Tomato Tofu Ricotta

Stuffed Shells with Spinach

   Read on for the recipe or click here: 

Stuffed Shells  

with Sun-dried Tomato Tofu Ricotta, Spinach, and Garlic and  Herb Tomato Sauce

Step 1: Sun-dried Tomato Tofu Ricotta with Spinach:
1 Pkg. Organic Extra Firm Tofu, drained and crumbled
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
3 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh basil
3 Tbsp. Italian parsley
2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp  dried oregano
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ume plum vinegar, or red wine vinegar
fresh cracked pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
8 ounces organic frozen spinach, thawed. Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible.

In a large bowl, crumble the tofu up. Add all other ingredients and mix well to incorporate. Set aside.

Step 2: Garlic and Herb Tomato sauce
1 29-ounce can Organic Tomato puree
3/4/ cup vegetable broth (look for no salt added)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. ume plum vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes (add 1/2 tsp if you like more heat)
fresh cracked pepper

In a Vitamix or regular blender add all ingredients. Blend for just a minute until incorporated and mixed well. Set aside.

Step 3: Cook the jumbo shells
Using a very large soup pot,  cook the shells until they are very Al Dente. Think of it as under cooking them slightly. You don''t want the noodles to get too soft or it will be really hard to work with them and stuff them. Once they are cooked to very Al Dente, drain the noodles. Rinse briefly with cold water to prevent them from sticking together.

Step 4: Stuff the Shells

This is the perfect task to ask your kids to help you with!  First get a large Pyrex  or any large dish that you have that is oven safe. Cover the bottom of the dish with some of the sauce to cover it completely, reserving plenty of sauce to pour over the top of the shells. Fill each shell using a spoon and place in the dish. After you have stuffed all of the shells, pour the remaining sauce all over the top. Then drizzle an extra 2-3 Tbsp. of olive oil over the top.

Step 5: Baking the shells

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Loosely cover the shells with some foil and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil completely and continue to cook an additional 20-25 minutes, until all the shells are warmed and cooked and warmed entirely. 

Step 6: ENJOY

Serve the shells garnished with some extra parsley and enjoy!

 I followed this recipe almost exactly except that I substituted the dried herbs for fresh ones (except for the Oregano).

By the way, if you haven't noticed, I finally have the cables to the camera!  So check back here to see a photo for the last recipe I posted. 

Love,

Ves xx

It's (R)awesome!

   I apologize for the silence around here but I've been busy working and enjoying the gorgeous weather we've been having!  (Excluding last week's intense heat wave).  I've also been busy reading anything and everything I can get my hands/eyes on that has to do with good things for me (and you!).
   I've actually been feeling kind of sluggish lately which I know is partly due to this crazy heat but I also think it has to do with what I'm eating.  I kind of feel bad for my poor body cause I've been putting it through a lot of changes this year.  And, even though they were all good changes, I'm pretty sure my body is probably yelling "just make up your mind already!"  Or maybe not?  Ha!
   About two months ago I joined an intense (more like psychotic) boot camp type program.  It's 45 minutes of insanity 3-4 times a week plus kickboxing and cardio on the 'off' days.  Yikes!  Anyway, when you sign up you get to attend a Nutritional Seminar.  At the seminar we were told that we HAD to eat every 3 to 4 hours and each meal HAD to include 1 protein, 1 fat, and 1 carb.  The carb of course being in the form of mostly veggies and some fruit for at least the first three weeks.  It basically boils down to five or more meals a day, depending on when you wake up.  The protein is the size of the palm of your hand, the fat is a tablespoon (nuts, nut butters, seeds, good oils, etc), and the carbs are one or two fistfuls depending on what you are having.  I lasted about three weeks eating like this until I had had enough.  Maybe if I were a body builder I would need that much protein and fats but, for someone who rarely eats "meat" (animal or otherwise), this was too much for me.  I felt like all I ever ate was tofu this or tofu that, and then soy hotdog this and soy burger that.  Soy, soy, soy!  Ugh!  Once in a while is fine, but this was everyday.  And then if I wasn't eating soy protein I was drinking it with a vegetarian protein shake.  Anyway, I've decided that I don't feel my best when I eat like that.  I love my fruits and veggies too much to make them an afterthought in my meals.  BUT, I do enjoy eating mini meals throughout the day because It makes me feel lighter.  I slowly started adding things back in my diet and taking out some of the protein.  I was still feeling kind of off so I decided to eat less of the grains and beans as well.  I'm definitely feeling better.
   I've also been eating more raw food lately, and I don't know if that's because it's so hot outside but it's what I've been craving.  Last week I ate about 80% raw with maybe a cooked veggie or grain at dinner (and some pretzels for snacking!).  The cooked food has been making me feel kind of blah and heavy lately so I'm loving the raw right now.  I'm also learning a lot because when I get something in my head I have to soak up every last bit of information that I can.  And I have to say, raw food is pretty fascinating and unbelievably good for you!  So far my meals have consisted of smoothies and salads, which isn't much different then how I was eating before, but the ingredients have changed a bit.  My salads have been (thankfully) free of any kind of soy protein (sorry, I need a break!) but are full of yummy greens and seeds, and nuts and of course, nutritional yeast (yum!).  My smoothies are my favorite because I pack them full of yummy fruit combos, greens and superfoods (more on those later) all in one.  Next up I'd love to try juicing but I don't currently own a juicer.  However, my totally fabulous Aunt owns one and she may just find me on her doorstep one of these days with a basket full of fruits and veg!  (Thanks in advance Aunt V, cause I know you're reading this and I know you'll let me use it! :D)
    Anyway, I wanted to share with you the yummy dinner I made for myself tonight.  It was super nutritious, delicious and raw!  It filled me up but not in a sluggish kind of way.

Tomato and Spinach Lasagne

Yum!

Have a totally RAWesome weekend!

Love,

Ves