raw map

Day 4

ErikaFlorence — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 03:46:28 +0000

Breakfast
Iced Herbal Coffee with Coconut Sesame Milk
Banana Crackers with Chocolate Spread

The chocolate spread was made on the fly in my food processor. Here’s the basic run down:
12 small dates (I used black sphinx)
1 small avocado (I used a fuerte)
1/3 cup cacao powder
1 tbs. vanilla bean powder
1 tbs. coconut oil
2 tbs. water
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp maple syrup

The banana crackers are a recipe in development, I’ll share them soon. In the meantime a plain flax cracker would work just as well.

Lunch
Green Smoothie: pineapple, 1 head of butter lettuce, 2 handfuls of goji berries, vanilla powder & water

Snack
dates & cashew butter

Dinner
Marinated veggies:
broccoli
bell pepper
avocado
cucumber
sea lettuce

Mixed with some leftover dressing from yesterday nights sammiches. Then I made a simply tahini parsley spread (tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, miso, parsley & water). I put a dollop of that on top of the veggies with sunflower sprouts, spirulina crunchies, prl nutritional flakes & cayenne. Delicious!!!

Family Notes
For lunch today my husband and daughter ate leftovers from yesterdays dinner wrapped up in nori rolls. At dinner my husband cooked some brown rice and they ate that with what I made.

Day 3

ErikaFlorence — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:43:13 +0000

Pictures & a recipe! Hooray!

Breakfast
Iced Herbal Coffee & Coconut Sesame Nutmilk
Blueberry Goji Pudding Parfait

Blueberry Goji Pudding Parfait

16 ounces frozen blueberries
1/2 cup Goji Berries
1 tbs. Chia Seeds
a few drops of stevia
1 cup Really Raw Cashews, soaked
2 tbs. water
1 tbs Coconut Oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbs. liquid sweetener of choice
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Powder
garnish: bee pollen

Mix frozen blueberries with goji berries, allow to defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Add berries to a blender with chia and stevia and blend until smooth.

Add soaked cashews to a food processor, process until finely chopped. Add coconut oil, lemon juice, sweetener, vanilla bean powder and water. Process until smooth and creamy.

Get a few glasses for the parfaits. Spoon some blueberry pudding into each glass and sprinkle with pollen. Then add a layer of cream. Continue to alternate between blueberry pudding, pollen and cream. You can eat right away or allow to chill.

Snack
Trail Mix of choice

Lunch
Nori Rolls: Stuffed with leftover noodles from Day 2, avocado, Spirulina Crunchies and Premier Research Labs Nutritional Flakes

snack
Fresh apricots

Dinner
Raw Sammiches filled with:
Mock Chicken Salad
Italian Dressing
tomato slices
shredded carrots
sunflower sprouts
Spirulina Crunchies
Premier Research Labs Nutritional Flakes
Cayenne

Raw Chocolate Milk, no exact recipe but made with the following:
Hemp Seed Butter
Cacao Powder
Vanilla Bean Powder
Honey
Cinnamon
leftover Coconut Sesame Milk
Dates

Prep for Day4
Soak some sesames for sesame milk in the morning.

Treatments & Supplements
The early days of raw eating lead to a lot of detox. I find that keeping the colon moving is critical in battling cooked food cravings and detox symptoms. When transitioning or cleansing I find it helpful to take 2 Healthforce Intestinal Movement Formula Capsules before bed. I also find regular enemas to be helpful. After some time you’ll notice regular symptoms of a sluggish bowel and detox that will notify you that an enema may be helpful. While you do not want to overuse enemas in the days of transition and detox you may find a few enemas a week to be helpful.

Day 2

ErikaFlorence — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 02:59:26 +0000

So I still wasn’t great about writing out my recipes today or taking pictures. I promise to get better with these two points as I continue!!

Breakfast
Iced Herbal Coffee with Coconut Sesame Milk (recipe on Day 1
Juice: Romaine Lettuce, Beet, Lemon, Celery, Cucumber & Apple

Snack
Fresh Papaya

Lunch
Nori Rolls: Guacamole, Lettuce, Cucumber, Red Pepper, Spirulina Crunchies, Nutritional Yeast Flakes and Tomato Dressing

I didn’t write down the exact recipe for the Tomato Dressing but these were the basic ingredients:
lemon juice
olive oil
garlic
cumin
tomato
cilantro
chili powder

Snack
Dried Jackfruit
A few small pieces of raw chocolate

Dinner
Gingered Kelp Noodles with Veggies

Again I did not write down the exact recipe but it was pretty simple. I mixed kelp noodles with the following veggies:
avocado
jicama
shredded carrots
shredded beets
shredded red cabbage

Then I tossed it with a dressing which included:
lemon juice
orange juice
ginger
miso
olive oil
handful of Really Raw Almonds
garlic
cilantro (just a tiny bit)

Then I tossed it together. I garnished in with black sesame seeds, Spirulina Crunchies & Nutritional Flakes.

If you want a more specific recipe for a similar dish I suggest this dish.

Prep for tomorrow
Mix 1/2 cup of gojis with 16 ounces frozen wild blueberries. Let them sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Soak 1 cup of cashews in water. Cashews can get slimy when soaked for more than 4 hours. If you want to use them in the morning though it usually means soaking overnight. i soak mine in the fridge, hoping to reduce the slime factor.

Day 1

ErikaFlorence — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:46:40 +0000

Prep for day 1

Normally I’ll put prep notes for the following days at the end of each post. Since this is the first of these I’ll add it here
Coconut Sesame Milk Prep: Soak 1/2 cup black sesame seeds overnight.
Iced Herbal Coffee or Tea: Brew up a big pitcher of your favorite iced herbal coffee or tea. I’m using my favorite Herbal Coffee made by Mountain Rose Herbs.

Breakfast

Glass of Iced Herbal Coffee w/ Coconut Black Sesame Milk
Juice: Celery, Romaine, Lemon, Cucumber, Apple

Coconut Black Sesame Milk
1/2 cup Coconut Chips
1/2 cup black sesame seeds, soaked overnight
4 cups water
2 tbs. raw, local honey
1 tsp lecithin
1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Powder

Place coconut chips, black sesame and water in a blender. Blend on high until smooth. Strain through a nut milk bag. Put milk back in the blender (saving moist pulp in the freezer for future use) and add remaining ingredients. Blend until well-combined.

SnackFresh Papaya

Lunch

Nori Rolls

This is a common workday lunch for me because I can grab a bunch of leftovers and goodies, throw them in a bag and have a delicious lunch at work. Each day I have nori rolls at work I’ll list the ingredients that I rolled up.

Raw Nori Sheets
salt-wilted kale with a little lemon juice & olive oil
avocado
Shockingly Bleu-cheesy dressing
Sunflower sprouts
cucumber spears
Spirulina Crunchies
Nutritional Yeast Flakes
Cayenne Pepper
Shockingly Bleu-cheesy dressing

2 tbs. Tahini
2 tbs. Green Hemp Seed Butter
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. stoneground mustard
1/4 cup water
2 tbs. miso

Blend everything until smooth & creamy.

SnackChocolate Milk (blended cacao powder, cashew butter, honey & vanilla bean powder with water)

Dinner

Freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
3 slices of Rayo Del Sol’s Banana Bread with cashew butter

Family Additions
For breakfast my husband & daughter typically have a smoothie that my husband makes, my daughter also had some green juice.

For dinner I was not very hungry but I made a romaine salad, guacamole and quesadillas made with corn tortillas & raw cheese. I’m planning on using the leftover salad & guacamole in our lunch tomorrow.

Prep for coming days
My biggest prep chore today was starting an extremely large batch of sauerkraut. A meal is barely complete for me without sauerkraut. Its hot here now so I’m hoping to have a fresh supply after a few days of fermentation.

Optional Treatments/Supplements
Over the years of trying to find the right level of raw food intake for myself I have realized that whenever I increase my raw intake I get constipated for a few days. I also slip into a detoxification stage very rapidly. I find that two things are helpful: regular enemas and 2 Intestinal Movement Formula Capsules before bed.

The set-up

ErikaFlorence — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:24:07 +0000

I think I’m finally ready to start this project. I’m hoping as it continues and develops to add lots of photos and specific recipes. As I try to build the habit of creating a daily meal plan the details will be simpler. Once I get into the swing of things I think it will become a useful resource.

The basic premise is I will be posting a meal plan each day. One thing that drives me crazy about meal plans is they seem to be created in a vacuum. The authors rarely take into account things you made or brought the previous day that could be eaten as leftovers or otherwise incorporated into the following days meals. I’m hoping that since I am living this meal plan and letting it develop organically it should be easier to follow.

I plan on the main meals being as close to 100% raw as possible on a given day. There are condiments I do eat on occasion that are not raw (prepared mustard and wheat-free tamari being two of the biggies). Everything will be gluten-free as I have celiac. All recipes may not be vegan though. I do on occasion eat raw dairy and eggs. If I use these items I will try to provide vegan alternatives in my recipes.

Another thing I’m going to note are things I have made or adapted for my family. My husband and daughter eat a high raw diet and are not vegan. They tend to like something a little more substantial for dinner. If I’m making a fancier raw meal that will usually suffice. If I’m making a big salad I’ll usually make sure that there is some cooked side for them to eat as well.

I think those are the basic ground rules. I’ll be posting the first plan shortly. Feel free to jump in at any point or start at day one.

Creating What You Wish For

ErikaFlorence — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:36:00 +0000

Lately, it seems almost daily, I wish that I could open up my computer and get a road map of what to eat for the day. I have been a raw foodist to varying levels over the past 5 years. As I hear so many other people say in this community, I feel best as close to 100% as I can get. That being said between work, a young child and a desire to pursue creative endeavors outside of work I feel other than inspired to create interesting, simple and fresh raw food fare.

Even though I work for a raw superfoods company, consider myself to be a bit of a self-trained chef and am a Certified Holistic Health Counselor I still find myself hitting a brick wall when it comes to making food that best supports my health and vitality.

Over the course of my life I have always found that if there is something that I really desire that no one else is doing I should just create it myself. This desire for a daily food plan with recipes and tips has been something I wish for at least 10 times a day. Someplace that I can look at each evening to help me with the following days raw meal planning. Something I can follow somewhat blindly when things are busy and something I can use as a looser guide when I’m feel really excited about food preparation.

I see many impressive and inspiring food blogs, some where people log their food each day even, but nothing that is a comprehensive daily guide. This is a fairly large task to be sure. Today, while wishing lunch would flutter down from the heavens to my desk however I decided I should be a little more proactive. So no one else was doing the blog or newsletter I dreamed for? Time to make it myself. I realized that the next best thing to having food plans appear daily in my e-mail was having other people start to rely on my own food plans so that I would feel obligated to recommit to my ideal diet.

I’m not sure how this blog will pan out exactly but am hoping to have some of the following things:
+a daily food plan, a list of breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks
+recipes for many of the things suggested
+photos of course
+tips that will help you become more efficient at food procurement, preparation and storage

So now that the grand vision is laid time to get to work! That being said I am in the midst of a crazy week. A birthday bash is being thrown at my home for my daughter and I’m traveling to New York next week for the NY Yoga & Raw Foods Expo>/a< to represent Vivapura. I am going to use the next few days as development but don’t expect to get all of the kinks out before I leave for New York.