kimberly March 17th, 2010

Now that spring appears to have sprung (17C here today!) I’m feeling more motivated to cook, or not cook as the case may be, since I’ve been enjoying some raw delights this week.

First up are these yummy brownie bites, recipe courtesy of The Domestic Vegan.

I was a little doubtful about sticking them in the freezer instead of the oven, but I quickly got over it once I tasted them. Delicious! Next time I might adjust the date to walnut ratio a little to make them slightly more moist, but I was really pleased to find an easy-to-prepare chocolate treat (that also satisfied my sugar cleanse requirements).

And speaking of the sugar cleanse, I’m done. I really wish I could have stuck with it for the full 30 days, but I just couldn’t. My love of vanilla soy lattes is just too strong. That being said, I have a newfound appreciation for looking more critically at what I am consuming. After all, just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Congratulations to all who are able to make it through to next week! You deserve many vegan cupcakes when you’re done.

My other new-to-me raw culinary experience involved making Cashew Ricotta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Basil (Choosing Raw). It blended up easily in the food processor (soaking the cashews really did help to make them creamy) and was a filling meal served in little mounds on tomato and cucumber rounds.

Todd and Adam both liked it as well, which was a nice bonus. I particularly liked the strong flavours of the sun dried tomatoes and basil — it helped make it feel a little more substantial. And, best of all, it looks super cute.

Tags: brownies, raw, sugar cleanse, uncheese

• Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse , raw
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kimberly March 8th, 2010

First, an update on my week of raw food. I managed to last six-and-a-half days before succumbing to some leftover pasta in the fridge and completely abandoning all thoughts of raw anything. While I didn’t make it the entire week, I was very proud of myself for a) lasting as long as I did and b) managing not to strangle anyone while struggling with caffeine withdrawal. And did that first cup of coffee on Monday morning ever taste good!

Going forward, I’m hoping to keep up a more-raw-than-not sort of eating pattern; I really felt energized by all the fruit and vegetables I ate (and I developed a real appreciation for trail mix which both Adam and Leah shared). I will need to figure out how to best incorporate more raw food into my diet (I like the idea of “raw till dinner” so that I can focus on smoothies and salads for breakfast and lunch but still participate in eating the normally-cooked family dinner).

As for the sugar cleanse, I am currently allowing myself a short hiatus while I’m on a family vacation of sorts and am very thankful to welcome vanilla soy lattes back into my life, at least briefly. I plan to be back at the cleanse later this week, though, with a renewed energy to get through the rest of the month.

• Raw Week Challenge , Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse
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kimberly February 26th, 2010

The good news is that I am on my fifth day without coffee and I am still standing. Well, sitting at the moment, but you know what I mean. In fact, all this raw food combined with a lack of sugar is making for a pretty energized me.

The bad news is that I am on my fifth day without coffee and I miss it so much and how am I supposed to make it till Monday without a steamy 20-ounce mug of caffeinated deliciousness? By Tuesday afternoon I was feeling headachey, cranky and desperate, but resisted the urge to brew a pot. I find it especially difficult to work without coffee, since it seems to go hand in hand with slaving away over Illustrator files (a holdover, I think, from when I worked at a design agency and could easily drink three pots a day). However, I refuse to give in and I will make it through the weekend.

I’m still drinking smoothies, since they last forever and keep me feeling fairly full. Of course, Adam and Leah also love the smoothies (Adam gets his own each morning and Leah usually shares a few sips) so they’re usually lurking around waiting for me to leave mine unattended. I do find it slightly ironic that I’m using a Starbucks cup for the smoothies, but it’s double-walled and prevents condensation from dripping down the sides of the cup.

I’ve been snacking on trail mix (raisins, raw walnuts, pistachios and sunflower seeds) in the afternoon when I would usually be downing an iced coffee and bagel. This snack, too, has proved popular with the kiddos, and Adam, who for the longest time hated walnuts, has decided they are healthy and yummy. Who knew?

Lunches and dinners have all been variations on a theme, the theme being avocado. Yesterday I made guacamole with diced tomatoes and it was delicious served with pepper strips for dipping. Or eaten directly off the spoon. Not that I would ever do that. Hee.

Tags: coffee, raw, sugar cleanse

• Raw Week Challenge , Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse
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kimberly February 22nd, 2010

Most people know that I have quite the sweet tooth, which is often sated with less-than-healthy options, like cupcakes, brownies and vanilla soy lattes. So when Andria invited people to join her on a 30-day Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse, I happily jumped on the bandwagon. After all, I do like a good challenge, and surely I could go for a month without refined or added sugar. Right? It would just mean giving up my beloved lattes, iced coffee and baked goods and instead focus on fruits and black coffee.

Then Lindsay of Happy Herbivore welcomed people to join her in eating raw for a week and since I still like a good challenge, I figured I could last a week without cooked food. So I happily signed on, knowing that I could really stand to up my raw fruit and veg intake.

Last night it sunk in that coffee is not part of a raw diet. Yikes.

However, pressing on, this morning I woke up knowing that a delicious breakfast smoothie was waiting for me in the fridge (Todd made it for me before he left for work — that’s love).

Made with frozen blueberries, strawberries, mango and banana (along with some soy milk and OJ), this is our family’s favourite smoothie. At some point in the not-too-distant future, we will likely blow out the motor on our blender from all the smoothie blending. Then we’ll get a Vitamix (so I’m secretly willing the blender to give up).

Smoothies take me forever to drink — I finished mine just as I needed to start prepping lunch. Today I enjoyed Mango Avocado Salad, which Leah insisted on sharing with me. Even though I left out the cilantro, it was delicious; I will definitely make this again.

By mid-afternoon, I was feeling pretty desperate for coffee, but managed to make do with some trail mix (raw walnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds and raisins). Surprisingly, this kept me feeling full till about 7:30 p.m., at which point I ate an another avocado. Now, I’m really full and can’t even contemplate snacking this evening.

Day 1 was a success and I’m looking forward to tomorrow!

Tags: raw, sugar cleanse, vegan

• Raw Week Challenge , Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse
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