Raw Dining Adventure

Yesterday, I went to a Raw/Vegan Restaurant for the very first time...I lost my raw dining virginity so to speak ;) My friend Heather, who is a newbie vegetarian was in town from college and we decided to go have dinner at Chaco Canyon.

That would be Heather (on the left) and me (in the big sunglasses!).

So needless to say, the experience at Chaco Canyon was great! The food was delicious, the selection of smoothies and juices was fantastic. I really wanted to get a juice but knew better than to do that.

I apologize in advance because though I reminded myself before we got to the restaurant to take pictures of all the food, I somehow ended up forgetting regardless. I know, I'm an awful blogger...I'll do better next time. I ended up getting a housemade raspberry kombucha tea and raw green curry (which isn't even on their online menu). It was delicious, it was served with all sorts of yummy veggies and it was very filling. Heather got herself an Elvis Smoothie (not vegan) and a pesto melt (not raw but looked yummy). For dessert we ended up splitting a raw chocolate fudge brownie. Which I did get a picture of!

Doesn't it look absolutely delicious? Good, because it was! So rich and creamy yet it didn't leave me feeling heavy and sick to my stomach! It was delicious. Actually the Kombucha was amazing too! It wasn't overpowering and it was sweet so very easy to drink.

Sadly, I am not capable of coming home and not eating so I supplemented my dinner with a banana and a plum. Just looking at that brownie makes me drool though. With it's tempting hazelnut-date crust...who could resist?

Okay, well enough salivating. Next time: Thrive it is! I've really been wanting to go there, too.

And now for the pictures from two weekends ago...the one where I ate like a pig and drank like a teenager (sort of) with my friend from the Marines. The first picture is me with my friend Tim and the second one is us taking The Rock's infamous jell-o shots out of giant syringes! Classy, huh?

Well okay, that's all for this round! I'm going to be trying a new recipe tonight and will post it tomorrow if all goes well. TTFN!

Going Raw: Day 15

15 days already? I can't believe it's been two weeks now.

This weekend, as is usual, I over did it just a bit. On Saturday, I had my normal breakfast smoothie and had some watermelon for lunch (I was in a care-giving class from 8:30-5:00 pm) and caved and had some cherry tomatoes with Alfredo sauce (recipe to follow). Again...I just don't learn. Then for dinner I met my friend and we went to Whole Foods and had dinner there after which I went shopping. And had a Jocalat bar for dessert. On Saturday night/Sunday morning, I had to pick my friend up from the airport. I was so excited/nervous, I hadn't seen him in two years (he's a Marine). He was my drinking buddy back in my "party girl" days. He was surprisingly understanding of my new lifestyle. But we had to have a few drinks (unfortunately they were not raw) that were hanging out in my fridge from a previous life. And wow, was everyone right: when you're eating nothing but raw food, your body processes the alcohol a lot faster and I was tipsy after just one drink. I only had one. We stayed up until five in the morning just talking.

On Sunday, I woke up at eight and had my breakfast smoothie (the dog refused to go for a walk) then a big salad with Heathy's Italian Dressing. When Tim left, I went to my parents' house and got some things that my mom picked up from Costco for me. At home, I made a sweet basil dressing and a sweet n' sour sauce and some raw chocolate. I took a nap before I made all of this and overslept and was completely rushed to make this stuff. Needless to say, the experience was not the best un-cooking one I've had. The things didn't turn out so great (except for the chocolate which was AMAZING!). And I ate so late that I didn't give myself enough time to digest and I definitely felt the consequences this morning: I overslept slightly and was so sluggish that I barely made it to work on time. Then I wasn't even hungry until lunch time rolled around (which wasn't really a big deal). So I really have to remember to give myself enough time to digest a big meal or have something lighter if I don't have the time.

So what have the results been so far? I'm not sure if it's just my mind convincing me that something is happening but I do feel better about myself, I feel happier and that is the best result I could ask for. I don't feel weighed down by my decision to change diets and I don't feel like it's a hassle or that I have to make sacrifices that I don't want to make. The sacrifices I'm making or only the ones I want to make. My friends may not understand why I'm doing this but I'm not phased by it because I'm not doing this for them or for any reason they may think I'm doing it for. I'm still not happy with my body yet but hey, it's only day 15! I think six pounds in 12 days is a pretty incredible number.

Okay...now for the recipes:

Cashew Alfredo Sauce adapted from Gena's recipe:

Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup cashews, soaked for a few hours (I just put them under water when I left for work in the morning)
¾ cup water
1 Medjool date, pitted
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
½ tsp sea salt
2 tsp miso
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
Combine all ingredients (use only 1/3 cup water to start) in blender until everything is combined and smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the remaining water until the sauce is the consistency you like and everything is well blended and smooth.














This recipe calls for using zucchini noodles but since I'm not a big fan (I find that they have too much water and dilute any sauce I put on them) I used kelp noodles and some cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas.

Chocolate by Snowdrop on RFC

Ingredients:
3 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp raw cacao powder
3 tbsp agave

Direction:
Combine all three ingredients until smooth. Add any fillers you like (i.e. nuts, dried coconut, fruit, etc.) and pour into a mold or onto wax paper or aluminum foil and place in freezer until solid. Pop out of mold (or break into pieces) and enjoy.
Another (fantastic) use for this chocolate is as a self-hardening chocolate coating. Before the chocolate has solidified, pour it on top of your favorite raw ice cream (such as banana soft serve) and give it a few seconds to a minute to solidify. Enjoy.

This chocolate really is amazing! It has a very subtle coconut taste and solidified perfectly. The only problem I see with this is that I cannot control myself around it. And it's so easy to make! I guess I should only make enough for one use on top of my ice cream to avoid temptation.

Here are the links to the other recipes I used this weekend but they weren't my favorites...the dressing was much too sour and runny (I couldn't seem to rectify the issue). And the sweet n' sour sauce was just not right...I think I may give it one more shot today after I run it through the blender one more time. By the way, I used the sweet n' sour sauce on top of kelp noodles so I added some of the tomato soaking water to thin it out.

Gena's Sweet Basil Dressing and Fairygirl's Sweet n' Sour Sauce.