I had my usual smoothie for breakfast (raspberry, if I recall correctly). Lunch consisted of Collard Rolls some with pâté and some with Cheeze. Still delicious, accompanied with lots of fresh veggie sticks, rolled in and on the side.

Supper was a simple salad. No time to fuss over anything else. Pile it on and eat in good company!

That’s it folks! It’s been a blast. Hope this helps demystify a bit what a raw foodist’s menu looks like. My usual menu can go to a lot simpler; this week I felt like experimenting. And I’m glad I did: I discovered raw Cheezes, which have a very authentic cheesy taste and smell to them. I did miss cheese, I have to admit, but since milk products are a big no-no for me, I had given up on them.  

A change of pace is always nice and it keeps things fresh, tasty and new!

Thanks to SimplyRaw for organizing this Challenge!

Have raw-some days!

Shannsu

www.CrusineSante.com

In French – here!

Saturday is food foraging day for me. I head downtown (my pudding in a glass take-along bowl) and once the kids are dropped off to their language school I make my way to the small Organic Farmers Market at Bank St. and Hunt Club Road. It’s not a big market, but most of the fresh greens and veggies I need for the week are there. I bring cash and my enviro bags and walk away with my hands full of produce. In my bags today were two types of kale, rainbow chard, lots of spinach, purple carrots, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, parsley, local apples and equitable bananas - all organic and grown locally (except the bananas  : – ). Today I even left balancing one of the last-of-the-season fresh basil plants under my arm (I can already a taste the lovely pesto this will become).

Since the weekends are so busy with shopping and activities drop-offs/pick-ups, I usually start out very light (not really because I plan it this way, it’s just a bit hairy getting 3 kids out of bed, getting them dressed, eating breakfast and out in the car on time). I take my firewater upon rising and then a good few tablespoons of E3Live. I quickly prepare my pudding and take it with me, to be enjoyed when the rush settles. Later on I usually enjoy some fresh fruit on the go, sometimes I take a tomato or a red pepper instead. At lunch time, I wandered by the Wild Oat Cafe looking for a raw cookie as a treat. Alas, there were none, the only raw treats they had today were their truffles. What could I do? I was there… I had to have one. Tasted smooth as silk going down, mmm…

When I got back home I got started on some food preparation. I had soaked flax seeds and sundried tomatoes last night for flax crackers, so I finished the batter and started the dehydration. I also made a big batch of TuNo with cilantro, instead of parsley – very nice!   For dinner I rolled the pate up in rainbow chard and enjoyed with sunflower sprouts, regular sprouts, arame seaweed and shitake mushrooms.

Some weekends, when the schedule is extremely busy and I feel I need something “more” than greens, I may whip up small treats, either to take along or to enjoy during a short stop at home. One of my favourites is tahini-cocoa nibs-agave-peppermint oil. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s quite delectable. I just stir it up in a small bowl in seconds. Tahini is very rich and with a bit of sweetness added, this treat is extremely rich and a small amount goes a long way. Another favourite is almond butter (raw, of course) with coconut, cinnamon and sliced bananas – again, very rich and filling.

Tomorrow, after my daughter and I have enjoyed our yoga class together, I will get ready for the week ahead by preparing a kale salad with sundried tomato and avocado, a pesto and a couple of salad dressings. The mediterranean flax crackers will be ready, so mid-week I will likely make a guacamole or another type of spread to enjoy on top.

Eating raw takes a little getting used to, but it does wonders for your body. There is so much variety, as you can see by reading our blogs, and once you get used to spending some time soaking and dehydrating, your options for a varied menu, with different taste sensations, are endless.

Thank you Natasha and Mark for organizing the Raw Challenge!

Healthful wishes to you all,
Marie

So what did I eat yesterday??? Now for breakfast, a smoothie? NO! Fooled ya! I decided to go for a bowl of “cereal” ie, a banana in some homemade almond milk and a few tablespoons of nut-based granola. For lunch, I had lovely cucumber slices garnished with some of the pâtés I made earlier in the week. For supper, one of my favorites : a Waldorf Salad. A huge plate of mixed greens which I garnished with sliced apples tossed with a few walnuts, raisins and “sour kream” (made from cashews).

That was not the surprise!!!

I woke up this morning to rush hour : get everything ready for the guests. So breakfast was a nice wild blueberry smoothie. Lunch… Ah! Lunch! Lunch took some planning but I had to try this at least once (might actually “try” it again soon…) This was my first attempt at making raw cheeze (made from cashews, rejuvelac and probiotics). Absolutely divine stuff! Smells like goat cheese, I thought. I divided the recipe up in three kinds of cheezes : garlic, paprika and au poivre (pepper-crusted). So with this wonderful ingredient I made… PIZZA!!! I had some Mediterranean Bread which served as the crust, I put some cheeze on top and a simple bruschetta topping (tomato-garlic-thyme). Popped the whole thing in the dehydrator for an hour to warm it up and … delicious! Fantastic! Wonderful! Superlatives are lacking.

As wonderful as the meal was, I fond it a bit heavy (too much dehydrated foods do not sit well with my digestive track). So a nice light, thin green smoothie for supper will do it for me.

I recommend trying out the cheeze making to anyone : its a lot easier than it appears. I am by no mean a “chef” or talented in the kitchen in any way. The recipe is from the Raw Food Community Forum, if you want to try.

Have a lovely weekend, until next time!

Shannsu

www.CrusineSante.com

Want to read this in French? Click here!

It was a beautiful fall day here in Ottawa. I snapped a quick pic of my crimson maple that we planted on our front lawn a couple of years ago. The colours are amazing!

After a busy day at work, my son and I shared a real smoothie. I say real, since I tend to “pretty” them up for the kids (less greens, more fruit). This one was organic frozen blueberries, rainbow chard, romaine lettuce and at least a cup of sprouts + water. He stated that it was not very sweet (no kidding!) but that it was still good. He ended up drinking most of mine as well. Whenever the kids share in the raw lifestyle, it makes me feel so good. I don’t force it, since I already feed them quite a healthy diet and don’t allow much junk.
The kids and I went skating at the local rink this evening, a fun workout after a busy week.

For lunch at work I had an avodado with sauerkraut and hempseeds, together with spinach, lots of sprouts and thinly sliced beets + a handful of dulse (have to get those sea veggies in there…).

I promised that I was going to share the recipe for my favourite salad dressing, so here it goes:

TAHINI DRESSING
2/3 cup raw organic tahini
3/4 cup (or more) RO/distilled water
1/4 cup lemon juice (or freshly juiced orange)
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp salt and a shake of cayenne
1 soaked pitted date (this “makes it”)

The dressing is lovely on any salad. I also use it as a dip, since it tends to thicken overnight, with cut up celery, cucumbers, broccoli and cauliflower the day after. If you prepare a couple of dressings on the weekend, making salads to bring to work is quite quick.

Before I head off to bed I will soak walnuts in order to prepare Natasha’s TuNo tomorrow. I’m also planning to make a pesto for tomorrow night.

Enjoy your weekend!

Marie

Yesterday, I had a Berry Cream Mylkshake for breakfast consisting of three kinds of wild-harvested berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries). Divine!

Lunch was made of of Collard Rolls. I used nice big collard leaves and some of the pâtés I had made earlier in the week plus tons of julienned veggies, rolled the things up and munched away happily! Very tasty. If you are a fan of cilantro, try making a pâté with it! It’s out of this world! I also had sprouts in there. (The picture is borrowed from Raw Freedom Community Forum, as my own camera is broken!)

The evening meal consisted of Fruit Medley. Basically different fruits cut up and eaten plain. I like simplicity.

Voilà! Nice and short. That was my day in the raw!

Have fun!

Shannsu

www.CrusineSante.com

French? Click here!

It’s been another busy day. Since I was up late last night learning how to blog, I did not have the time to prepare much for me to eat today. Luckily I eat the same thing every morning. With making lunches for three young children and gettting them off to school on time, having the same thing every day makes it so much quicker.

When I first starting eating raw, I did not have a blender. Trying to make green smoothies in the food processor was not ideal (unless you like chunky greens…). My compromise was a green pudding, essentially the same ingredients but with less water, eaten with a spoon.  I have since acquired the famous VitaMix blender (wow!), which will whip those hard kale stems into fluff in no time, but I have kept with the puddings. My typical morning pudding – taken after a glass of firewater and a few tbps of E3Live – consists of one kind of fruit, usually mango, lots of heavy greens, sprouts, hemp seeds, chia seeds (soaked overnight), ground flax seeds, Vitamineral Green, and water, topped with some bee pollen.  If I have a good oil on hand, like Udo’s with DHA, I usually throw in a tsp of that as well.  Today, I also added some blueberries.

My lunch at work consisted of raw cruciferous veggies, celery and kombu seaweed (which I soaked as soon as I arrived at work in order to soften it in time for lunch) with a tahini dip w/ parsley which I quickly mixed up before leaving home.  I had no lemons on hand today, so I used raw apple cider vinegar instead and it tasted good.

When I arrived home, I had a nice cool green juice made with cucumber, celery and kale, notice the wineglass : – ) I had already drunk most of it before I thought of taking the picture…

Together with the raw food, I try to incorporate as much excercise as I possibly can into my life. Last night I took an awesome Zumba class. For those of you who do not know Zumba, it’s a high-energy, high-impact dance class set to very fast Latin music. My local yoga studio offers a couple of Zumba classes a week and we have a blast every time. Check it out and give it a try – especially if you love to dance.
My workout today consisted of hitting the gym at work. I did a good 30 mins. on the eliptical and then weight training for another 30 mins, finishing off with lots of good stomach crunches. It’s amazing the energy you get from a good workout. Every health book I have read lately all talk about the importance of incorporating excercise as part of your healthy lifestyle. I only wish I could make it outdoors more and do some hiking, but with numerous hockey and figure skating practices on the weekends, we always seem to run out of time.

Well, here we are again…another late night…time to prepare some veggies for work tomorrow…
Take care,
Marie

Marie here, finally getting going, after signing up over the weekend. My husband just got back from a business trip and together we figured out how to pull the photos off my cell phone : – )

I have been enjoying the Living Food lifestyle since January this year. I took the Detox program with Natasha and Mark and just continued from there. After the initial detox shock we all have to endure, I’m amazed to say that I have not had any trouble with cravings for cooked food. There is so much variety and taste sensations with the raw food that you just don’t miss the cooked stuff. The only thing I may miss is the convenience of just being able to quickly grab something (that I didn’t have to soak, germinate or chop). I’m reading many books on the topics of health, longevity and living foods and I love trying new recipies on the weekends. Back in the summer I went as far as putting together a detailed weekly menu, with a (laminated : -) shopping list and day-by-day preparation schedule. Now I feel more at easy about preparing for my day at work, keeping it simple during the week and getting more elaborate on the weekend if I feel I have the time. At this time I’m trying to simplify my diet, to ensure it’s nutrient packed and also to eat less to give my body and digestion system a nice long break between meals and snacks. I do find that on the days I eat less, I always feel better and have more energy (contrary to what I thought was good for you in the past).

I hope  you all  had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I wanted to share with you what I prepared for myself and brought along to my sister-in-law’s house, while the rest of the family feasted on turkey … For starters, I enjoyed a simple salad of sunflower sprouts, alfa-alfa sprouts and arame (seaweed).

For my main meal, I tried a recipe from Purely Delicious magazine (all their recipies are great!) – Almond Cheese Manicotti – which was really delicious and dead easy to make. Nut cheese with wonderful herbs rolled into thin slices of zucchini on a bed of marinara sauce decorated with shitake mushrooms – yum! 

Since it was Thanksgiving I went all out and made a blueberry pie as well, with an almond/date crust filled with blended blueberries, bananas and a little honey. Very satisfying!

Now that the holiday is over and the left-overs are gone, I’m getting back to basics again.

I’ll tell you about my favourite breakfast tomorrow and on Friday I’ll share my number one most delicious salad dressing.

Healthful wishes to you all,
Marie

Today, breakfast was a chocolate smoothie (had carob in it actually). I lunched on tacos made with walnuts and homemade salsa. For supper, I felt like… cereal! So I had granola (about 2tbsp of a nut-based granola) on bananas and almond milk. That was my day food-wise.

The flu is getting better. I actually got out and planted some spring bulbs!!! It was pleasant outside, cloudy with some sunshine. Then it rained after I finished (wouldn’t you know!).

This is going to be a short post. Running short on time as usual.

To your raw health!

Sheryl

www.CrusineSante.com

In French? Click here

Here I am doing my famous “chair dancing” and typing away! This is fun! I’m having loads of fun with this challenge. Since I describe all I eat to the world (albeit, a small world!!!), I tought I should at least try some new things this week.

For breakfast, same old smoothie. I like those in the morning. So I made one with almond milk (home-made), a banana and maca. Delish, and filling.

Sushi! Never had those before. So I made myself three kinds of pâtés (one curry, one cilantro and one sesame) that I plan to reuse in different dished this week. I had some sprouts (alfalfa and another more complex blend) and I julienned some carrots, radishes and red pepper. Rolled all that up in nori sheets. I also made a very nice Nuac Cham (dipping sauce) to dip my precious rolls in. Exquisite! Lunch never tasted so good!

For supper, I made myself a nice kale salad, with olive oil and lime dressing. Nice and simple. Toppings included radished and yellow peppers. And olives.

My flu is getting a real beating out of all this nutritious food I’m throwing at it! I’m almost all-better. Compared to the rest of the family, I’m doing a lot better. I wish they would eat my “rabbit-food”! They’d be less sick, I think!

Anyways, that was my day food-wise. I have tons of work to do so I’ll get to it. I’m trying to set up support and help for all the francophones that would like to go raw (full or part-time). Lots of work, I tell ya!

I can’t provide any photos : I broke my camera (dropped it on the floor!). Sorry!

Hope your days were all as fun as mine was! Keep the Challenge alive! Blog on!

Shannsu

www.CrusineSante.com

This post in French, click here

So here I am on day 3 and the thing I’m struggling with the most is staying away from high fat foods… mainly nuts. As much as I love love love fruit and salads and sprouts, I still crave the salty fatty bad-for-me foods. The closest thing in the “raw world” is nuts and seeds. I’ve read that it’s a problem most people have when transitioning. I bought some raw convenience foods that are nut-based, so that doesn’t help either. I’m usually a grain addict, and gravitate mostly towards rice, so I wanted to have something available for when the craving hit.

For me, I overindulge in high stress situations, which is quite often since I have a very high stress job (including plenty of overtime). I think the biggest challenge will be to dissect my cravings for the junk in the vending machine and realize that it’s not food I’m looking for, it’s comfort.

It should be interesting to see how the next few days play out!