My Raw Challenge Journal

I kept a daily journal when I started going raw (with my husband Grant) these are the entries..............

Dec 31st 2009
The raw vegan diet starts in ernest tomorrow

Plenty of salads, smoothies and fruit puddings yum yum! We have some raw chocolate bars so I wont have to go without a choccie fix they are so rich you can only eat a couple of squares, good job as they are over 3 quid each
We have been practicing since mid november when I was told to reduce my salt intake and in that short time and not doing it 100% I have lost 9lbs So I am starting the raw challenge at 11 stone 3lbs

Im impressed that raw butternut squash, chopped in the food processor, looks like rice and tastes fruity Amazing! 

Jan 1st 2010
Had a smoothie this morning - 2.5 pints - containing coconut, pineapple, banana, orange, spinach, tomato, red pepper and carrot fantastic!

Had half a Trek bar (raw fruit and nuts pressed into a bar) for a snack followed by big salad for tea with mixed nuts. Grant made a fab dessert, Fudge made from Walnuts, dates, honey and cinnamon rolled in dried coconut. Wow!

My brain has been trying to tell me how delicious pizza tastes. We had pizza on xmas eve and it wasnt all that impressive Its so strange how your body reacts when you are trying to kick an addiction. Sugar and salt are powerful substances

Been drinking morrisons fizzy water and not missing coffee one bit

Jan 2nd 2010

Got half a watermelon for my breakfast, cut into slices on a plate and the doggies are looking at me like I got slabs of raw meat!
Gave Mikey a little piece and he sucked it and spat it out


We can have sprouted seeds and stuff like Quinoa, mung beans (beansprouts) and green lentils. You sprout them and add them to salads tasty. In fact I can eat quinoa like that whereas I didnt like it cooked





Grant has made the most mouth watering raw lasagne for tea

Lasagne sheets are thinly sliced courgette and the layers are tomato sauce made from tomato and sun dried tomato, ricotta made from pine nuts and garlic and pesto made from pistacio nuts and basil.

The lasagne was absolutely fantastic

So tasty and full of flavour. Afterwards we had a slice of raw apple pie - nut and date crust, slices of granny smith apples and date and orange syrup on top.

My goodness! didnt eat this well before and not missing the bars of galaxy and toblerone cos the fruit smoothies and the dates are sweet and you can eat salad til it comes out of your ears and its so low in calories it doesnt matter




Jan 3rd 2010 
Sunday weigh in today! 11 stone 1lb.
So I have lost another 2lbs and Im not living on salt free toast with salt free marg on it anymore

Got fruit smoothie and crudites with dip for lunch and for tea we are having veggies in a cabbage leaf wrap with mock peanut sauce and salsa oh and raw apple pie for pud


Im not just after weight loss, I want to get rid of all these illnesses that I am plagued with. And I cant have half the recipes in the books we've got cos I found out Im allergic to avacados

The good thing about prep time is that when you have prepared all the food, you can eat it and dont have to wait another hour for it to cook


Well you are supposed to go thru a detox with headaches and frequent visits to the bathroom but we havent been too bad at all. The only headache I had was the day we said goodbye to Josh (had to have one of our Greyhounds put to sleep on December 30th 2009 after a long illness) and I hadnt slept properly for 2 weeks so I think that is good going. I was on 3 tablets a day for my Menieres disease and I have been able to reduce that down to 2 a day and one day only had 1 tablet.

At the end of Jan I will ask the Dr to do me a thyroid blood test and see if my thyroid level has been affected cos I had my dosage of Thyroxin upped to 125mcg a day a while ago and it will be interesting to see if anything has changed.

We are both really happy with the food and feel ok so far I am amazed that Im not craving sweets and choccy cos I am a sweetaholic but it seems fruit smoothies and the sweetness of dates and honey are kerbing it  


Jan 4th 2010
Been sewing this morning and then sitting here fancying cheese on toast with brown sauce when I suddenly realised all I have had in my tummy this morning is one glass of water and a dizzy tablet

So now I have a smoothie of watermelon, pineapple, apple, orange, nectarine, plum, grapes and orange with a bit of watermelon and nectarine on a plate with 6 brazil nuts. Mmmmm!!

Tea tonight is a giant salad with the last of the apple pie for pud and maybe some raw chocolate later

When I went to bed last night I was thinking of all the lovely fruit I would have in my smoothie today. Sad  
  
Jan 5th 2010
I must say, I have been having much more restful sleep the past few nights. I am sleeping more deeply as I dont wake up when the doggies have a shift change and I actually feel rested

Today I have a smoothie of coconut, pineapple, raspberries, plums, melon, apple, orange and banana. Have just eaten a Nakd raw snack bar, have leftover salad for lunch and for tea we are having courgette fettucini with garlic and (nut) cream sauce followed by raw chocolate bars



I thought I would miss cheese but so far, so good. When on Dr Atkins I used to eat whole blocks of cheese for a snack


I freeze the pineapple after I cut it up as I use a quarter of one so the rest of it gets frozen and saves using ice. I do like my smoothies chilled



Jan 6th 2010
Todays smoothie is melon, pineapple, coconut, plum, nectarine, banana, dates and red grapes. Had one glass of it with a small bowl of mixed nuts. Lunch will be more smoothie with a raw snack bar and for tea we have marinaded portobello mushrooms with cauliflower mash and mushroom gravy followed by summer berry cobbler
The dehydrater should come today so this evening will be an unbake fest  

Jan 7 2010
Got banana and grapes for breakfast and planning a salad style smoothie for lunch, spinach, celery, cucumber, red pepper, carrot and tomato.

Salad for tea with sprouted lentils and hopefully dehydrated mushrooms if they ever show signs of actually drying out

We didnt like the pud last night it was fruit cobbler, the base was made of pumpkin seeds, almonds and dates and tasted just too much of pumpkin seeds so I put the whole lot (minus the helping that I forced down cos Im a pig!) into the blender with some honey and agave nectar and blitzed it into a goo and put it in the dehydrator. Muhahaha! taste horrible will you? Take that!! So later on I should have some chewy fruity goo. The left over blueberries and blackberries got blitzed too along with 3 medjool dates for some sweetness and I spread that on a dehydrator sheet to make it into fruit leather. Mmmmm! sweeties


The dehydrated marinaded mushrooms are just out of this world!! Mmmmmm! really intense flavour (Marinated in 4 teaspoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce). We had them in the salad and they were delicious next time will try it with portobello mushrooms Im looking forward to trying carrot and pecan 'burgers' that are dehydrated.

Jan 8th 2010
Todays smoothie is canteloupe melon, coconut, apricots (fresh and dried) dates, red grapes, banana, apple, nectarine, lemon juice and lots of frozen pineapple it is delicious! I definitely prefer fruit ones to veg ones.

Yesterday was a detox day, cant count how many trips to the bathroom must be where all the weight loss is from cos cant see any reduction in my lumps and bumps

Tonight Fel is coming over for tea and we are having courgette noodles with marinara sauce. Delicious! Fruit leathers, dried banana slices and raw choc for afters


Jan 9th 2010
Have noticed that my hair is all soft and doesnt need washing as often. I was washing it twice a week but its not feeling greasy woohoo!

Today I had cherries for breakfast Mmmm! then shared a smoothie with Fel after shopping at the extremely packed morrisons Smoothie consisted of honeydew melon, blueberries, strawberries, orange, banana, apple, nectarine, apricot, grapes and frozen pineapple gorgeous! and a lovely purple colour

For tea we have salad with 'cheesey' brocolli. Ooh last night we had some raw choc with orange and star anise in it. Wow! like a chocolate orange with knobs on!! Yummy!! 

At the moment we seem to be spending a bit more than usual but when we get used to the food and find what we like and dont like it should calm down a bit. And we should eat less as we get smaller LOL! well some of us might But it does mean we are not spending 40 quid a week on takeaways cos we were having the monday night 'back to work after the weekend' chinese and the 'its thursday and theres nothing in the fridge' pizza


This is tonights tea

Salad with a dressing of apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and dill. Broccoli with topping of 'cheese' made with pine nuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, garlic and red pepper - dehydrated for 6 hours - fantastic and even tastes cheesey! So nice that we are having it again for lunch tomorrow


Jan 10th 2010
Sunday weigh in................. 11 stones exactly
So I have eaten like an absolute pig all week and lost 1lb. Woohoo!!

Todays smoothie is honeydew melon, grapes, orange, date, apple, apricot, coconut, strawberries and frozen pineapple. Mmmmm!

For lunch we have cheesey broccoli and for tea we are having the much awaited Carrot and pecan burgers with curry sauce. I cant wait to try them oh and turnip 'fries' but I will be amazed if they taste like fries

Wendy is popping in on her shopping trip later so Grant has made a raw apple pie in her honour. Thanks Wend, I love that pie


The carrot and pecan burgers are The Most Fabulous Veggie Burgers EVER!!!
and the curry sauce is just fantastic! Curry sauce made with orange, raisins, garlic, ginger and curry powder. I could eat them every day! Turnip chips were gross, I erased them from my memory LOL!

Here is a pic of carrot and pecan burgers with curry sauce and a side salad instead of the turnip fries  

Jan 11th 2010
Todays smoothie is banana, coconut, apricot, apple, grapes, frozen raspberries and frozen pineapple Mmmmm! Im having a Nakd apple pie bar with it and might have some raw apple pie for lunch. For tea we have 'meat' balls but cant remember whats in them with a spicy tomato sauce   They are the  'not meat balls' out of Jennifer Cornbleet's book. And very nice they are too and Grant made the spicy sauce by adding fresh chilli to the marinara sauce. Yummy! 
 

I thought that I would miss hot food in the winter but its not a problem. The coffee seems to have been just a habit and I have water instead and its fine. I even thought I would miss orange squash but no And with food you can make it spicy with chilli or curry powder and that feels like you just had an indian takeaway  

Jan 12th 2010
Todays smoothie is half a pineapple coconut, apricots, apple, banana, orange and frozen raspberries Mmmm!

For tea tonight we have salad with a dressing as yet undecided and marinated dehydrated portobello mushrooms. Yummy!

If you think raw food is weird then check out this far out lady
Kate Magic showing you how to do Portobello mushrooms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWlkBzjPfIk


Jan 13th 2010
Todays smoothie is watermelon, red grapes, apricots, apple, orange and frozen pineapple

Got raw apple pie for lunch and for tea we are having courgette noodles with a Thai sauce

I am finding my skin is very itchy a lot of the time and especially at night when I get into bed. Im wondering tho if its to do with my tablets cos the ones for the Menieres disease are a histimine based drug and if you have allergies you take anti histimines the sooner I can get off them the better I think


Jan 14th 2010
Todays smoothie is coconut, pineapple, apple, banana and oranges. Fel and I made some of her highly recommended chocolate brownies (even tho cocoa not raw ) they are fab, rolled them in coconut so they wouldnt stick together and they are yummy!

Jan 15th 2010
Had to make some more of those delicious brownies and this time I added a couple of squares of raw choc, chopped up as choc chips YUMMY!! what a fab breakfast

Cant believe there is no vid of Jennifer Cornbleet on youtube making these brownies

Todays smoothie is oranges, banana, apple and frozen pineapple. Such a lovely yellow colour I had to take a pic

Tonights tea is the carrot and pecan burgers with the curry sauce again. Yum! I love those burgers - got Grant to make enough for saturday lunchtime too


Jan 16th 2010
Had a banana for breakfast then after shopping trip with Fel have had carrot & pecan burgers with curry sauce and salad followed by a choc brownie yummy! For tea we have courgette noodles with mock peanut sauce
 
Our tea tonight was courgette noodles, spiral carrots and mock peanut sauce (made from almonds)

This gadget is called a saladacco and makes the noodles on one setting and the other setting makes spirals

We love gadgets we now have 2 processors - one big, one small, the vitamix blender, the saladaccogarlic press and the dehydrator oh and not forgetting the microwave oven for doggie dinners 

Jan 17th 2010
Sunday weigh in............. 10 stone 12lbs

Woohoo! lost 2lbs in last week even tho I pigged out like a right trougher all week

Todays smoothie is 2 and a half pints of melon, coconut, banana, apple, peach, grapes and frozen pineapple. Mmmmm!

Choc brownies for lunch and the for tea we are having portobellow mushrooms marinaded in soy sauce and then stuffed with sun dried tomato pate with meditteranean cabbage

Mushrooms are stuffed with a mixture including sunflower seeds, sundried tomatoes and herbs




Grant has made some sunflower and sesame 'bread'. Wow! dried in the dehydrator it is more like a pizza base and tastes fantastic. Sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, ground flax seeds and onion. Alissa Cohen's recipe. Delicious  




Jan 18th 2010
Todays smoothie is melon, apple, banana, orange, frozen raspberries and frozen pineapple. Bit heavy on the frozen cos Fel and I got brain freeze

Lunch was flax crackers, sunflower seed bread and dips - onion dip made from macedamia cream with chopped onion and pesto made with pinenuts basil and garlic. Followed by the last of the brownies and a drink of pineapple and orange juice

For tea tonight we have vegetable soup with sunflower 'bread'. If you leave the vitamix running for a few minutes the soup gets warm


I have got the breadmaker running making a loaf for the doggies dinners tomorrow and our naughty brains are telling us about the lovely cooked food we can smell. Mine is telling me I can smell bacon sandwiches with lovely brown sauce on and Grants brain is telling him he can smell fish and chips naughty brains trying to trick us but we are full of raw chocolate



Jan 19th 2010
Had a banana for breakfast and now I have a Nakd snack bar and a smoothie consisting of half a large pineapple, orange, banana, apple, peaches, coconut and frozen raspberries

For tea we have salad with marinated dehydrated mushrooms and coleslaw (the coleslaw is just cabbage, onion, carrot with agave nectar and apple cider vinegar) 

Jan 20th 2010
Measured my waist today cos my trousers keep falling down so thought I would check what size I am now. Measuring tape said 34 inches and I know I was 36 inches before xmas cos I got Lisa to make me a belt, so I have lost 2 inches off my waist only about 10 more to go LOL!

This morning I was craving pineapple and oranges so made a one pint smoothie of 4 oranges and 1/4 of a pineapple. Yummy! had that with some chunks of fresh coconut. Followed that with another smoothie that will last me thru the day and that consists of coconut, apple, banana, peach, grapes, 3 large oranges and frozen pineapple

For lunch I have left over salad from last night and for tea there is coleslaw with salad and nuts and flax crackers



ps I am down to 1 dizzy pill a day now and feeling reasonably ok, a bit swimmy now and then and still not 100 percent confident going out with the dogs on my own but I am a million times better than when this all started and the world was spinning round non stop so I am more than happy with the progress


We are buying nuts in bulk online and have found Tescos have a large selection of wholefoods so can get all the sunflower seeds and pinenuts and even flax seeds from there. Fruit and veg are really cheap at Lidl and Aldi, Fel cleared them out of mangoes last week LOL! they were 29p each And given that we were spending £40 a week on takeaways and £100 a month on running the cooker (AGA) I think its pretty much evened out. Also its a great way of using up the 5 kilos of raspberries I had in the freezer from the garden last summer


Its funny how your own brain tries to trick you into going back to your old eating habits by telling you how nice things used to taste I am determined to stick with this and get my health back on track  


Grant has lost loads of weight I think its one and a half stones since we started practicing just before xmas. He can get into the combats that I nicked off him cos they were too small, and now they are way too big for me and fit him perfectly He has had loads of comments at work about wasting away before their eyes He still has a way to go to get to his ideal weight - he lost 5 stones on Atkins and has gradually put it all back on. I lost just over 3 stones on Atkins but only put 2 back on  

Jan 21st 2010
Having fruit salad for breakfast - its such a big salad that Im still eating it LOL!  

Also I keep craving pineapple and orange so my smoothie today consists of 5 oranges and half a pineapple Delicious!

Probably have a Nakd snack bar for lunch and then we have salad for tea 

The advice on cravings is to go with what your body is telling you it needs so thought I would look up pineapple and oranges to see what my body is telling me................. Pineapple is rich in Vitamin A and C. It is also an excellent source for the important enzyme nutrient Bromelain which is a mixture of important protein and milk digesting enzymes. Bromelain helps the body's digestive system and has anti-inflammatory properties as well. Bromelain can aid the action of certain antibiotics and drugs. Bromelain may also aid the healing process in the cases of trauma caused by injury. Vitamin C – Oranges are an excellent source of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps prevent scurvy and also aids in the body's overall natural healing process. Potassium – One medium orange contains 260 milligrams of potassium – 15 percent of what the FDA recommends per day. Potassium plays a key role in many important health functions. Plus it provides energy for the body, which is necessary for the body's growth and maintenance. Folate – Oranges are a good source of folate. This nutrient helps to prevent neural tube birth defects, and guards against anemia. Fiber – Eating a medium-size orange provides 28 percent of the recommended daily value for dietary fiber. Oranges are an excellent source, providing more fiber than any of the top 20 consumed fruits or vegetables. Clearly important is the role of soluble fiber in maintaining already healthy cholesterol levels and promoting cardiovascular health. info from http://www.health-goji-juice.com/fruit-articles.html