Kale Chips

On many raw vegan websites and blogs, I've read about the hooplah of kale chips. I decided to make them this weekend, as well as sweet potato chips, to find out if they are as good as people say. For the most part I enjoy kale in my smoothies and juices. I marinated them in Braggs, olive oil, garlic and a dash of maple syrup. Then I dehydrated them for about 10 hours. Once they were ready, I tried a couple leaves and now I understand. They were fantastic! My husband loved them too. My son...well, for now he won't eat anything that is green except for green smoothies and juices. I packed some kale chips in my husband's lunch and he added it to his veggie empanadas. Last night I made him his favourite sandwich: a vegan burger on two slices of whole grain bread, with a nut butter spread, alfalfa sprouts, sliced tomatoes and kale chips. It may sound unappetizing but it is actually very good. My hubs raved about the sandwich and said it was even better with the kale chips inside.

I'm minimizing my intake of dehydrated foods to practically once or twice a month. I want to eat more fresh foods, however the kale chips rocked. I will add it to the family menu. The sweet potato chips....not so great. I should make them thinner next time.

80/10/10

My copy of Dr. Doug Graham's 80/10/10 diet finally came in the mail. I've read the first 2 chapters so far and it has been very interesting. I think he has really opened my eyes to my diet. This book couldn't have come at a better time.

Yesterday I had a craving for something sweet so I decided to have a slice of raw chocolate cake. It is made of walnuts, dates, raw cacao and carob, a little raw coconut butter and agave. It's blended and formed into a flat cake. I then top it off with sliced bananas and mango (sorry, no picture). I had a slice. It was delicious but then I felt terrible after. I was a bit agitated, my body felt irritable. I started to crave some comfort food. I was thinking about tofu or these Asian noodles I used to eat with oyster mushrooms. What the heck is going on? Luckily I went to the track and trained some more with my coach. During my training I couldn't stop thinking about comfort food and what I was going to eat. Once I was finished with the workout, the cravings subsided and I was craving for sweet mango and nothing else.

I looooooove my Breville Fountain Elite

I have an addiction for kitchen appliances. It's ridiculous. It doesn't help that my husband does as well. I can't even begin to calculate how much I may have spent on kitchen appliances in the last 5 years. The good thing is that I like to prepare foods and I only want the best. I see it as an investment. I've gone through 4 kinds of juicers to find the perfect one for me. Many years ago I had gotten a crappy plastic kind that didn't last when I tried to juice ginger (that was after the 4th time). Then when I started on the raw path, I had bought the Kempo. I used it for awhile but I didn't like how it took so long to juice and that I had to chop the vegetables and juices into tiny pieces. It is a good juicer but it wasn't for me. Then I got the L'Equip 110 and I enjoyed it but then I noticed that it wasn't extracting the maximum amount of juice from the greens but was great for fruits, other vegetables and ginger. Now I have recently caught my eye on the Breville Fountain Elite. A lot of other raw foodists use the Breville and I began to read up on it. I got that tingling feeling and I cracked down and bought one at a kitchen appliance factory that is 5 minutes from my house (I didn't know the factory was so close to my house! I'm in trouble now. I also bought a great mandoline there). Anyhoots, I convinced my hubs that it would be a great deal for us since we do a lot of juicing. Well, we got it and I just loooooooooooooove it. I noticed how easy it was to use and the colour of the juice is much brighter and richer than before. The taste bursts in my mouth. I have found my juicer!! The Breville! It has two settings, low for greens and low-juice-content fruits/vegetables and high for harder fruits and vegetables and high-juice-content fruits and vegetables. The pulp is nice and dry. It comes with a 1 litre container that has a froth separator. It's the best investment and I highly recommend it.

My article got published!

I did a raw restaurant review for Vitality magazine. Check it out.

Rawlicious Restaurant Review.

I have not disappeared, I have just eclipsed

I'm still here, still raw and loving it. A lot has happened in my life. I had some trying times personally and emotionally but I am now out of the darkness and back into the light. I have been completing my Masters and I'll be darned if I pay another semester. I have given my university too much money. I need to move on with my life.

Lately, I have been leaning towards what they call an 80/10/10 diet. That is 80% carbs, 10% maximum fat and 10% maximum protein. I have just naturally moved towards that kind of diet and found the results much better than before. The nuts were killing me. It's not that I have totally eliminated nuts but I rarely eat them. Another blogger, Going Bananas succinctly describes the types of raw diets; it's either high-fat or high in carbs. I choose to go the latter.
I've decided to order the Dr. Douglas Graham book on the 80/10/10 diet and see what it's all about. *chuckle* I think I've ordered any and every kind of raw food book out there. I've only had one regret buying a raw food book but I won't say which one because it is the man's livelihood and I'm not going to knock him down but the raw food book is high in nuts and fats and it is not that user friendly. Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't like his book but he may have a legion of fans. I wish him well but I'm going to have to try to get rid of it. Maybe I'll give it away. Hahaha.