Juice Feasting Postponed

I've decided to postpone my juice feasting on the advice of other raw foodists and raw mamas. As long as I am breastfeeding my child, it's best to wait until I stop so the baby is not exposed to any toxins. It's important that I don't deplete my body of nutrition so Santiago gets the best milk possible. I'm a little disappointed not to be starting right away but my baby is priority. I breastfed my first son for 18 months. It'll be at least that long before I do the juice feast. Oh well. It's not a competition and there is no rush. In the meantime, I continue to eat a raw diet.

Ack! She's back!

After 2 1/2 months since the birth of Santiago, I woke up one day with severe cramps...I went to the washroom and then I noticed....she's baaaack! My period returned! I was hoping for a reprieve of at least 8 months (like the first birth). I was shocked and sad and moody!! The pain has been excruciating. I've been breastfeeding my son but I guess one never knows when menstruation returns. Some women are lucky enough for 8 months to a year or more. I should've known it was coming because I was PMS-ing. I had a craving for heavy foods such as raw cashews and pecans, Larabars, dates. The lemon in the green lemonade was irritating me a bit so I kept eating more heavy raw foods.

I've never had periods this painful and heavy before and I get the feeling it's because my body has so many toxins. I am not a doctor but when I was 100% raw, my periods were light and painless. I really need to have a cleanse and the return of my menstruation has only confirmed that I will try the juice feast. I think it will give me a fresh start.

In the meantime, I'm doubled over on the sofa, barking at everyone and everything. Ugh! Not a pretty sight. I can't wait till it's over.

Juice Feasting

I'm considering doing a juice feast that a lot of my fellow raw foodists have been doing or done. I decided to seriously consider it after my hubs and I celebrated our anniversary. I made a Renee Loux Underkoffler chocolate pie. It was sooo good and I soooo regret having eaten so much of it. My hubs loved it. I realize that the kind of raw diet I prefer is one that is very light and that the food can just pass through me. That delicious pie just sat in my stomach for days. It felt gluttonous on my part. I don't know what to do with the rest of it. A spoonful would have sufficed. I enjoy sweets but the next time I make a pie like that I need to invite friends over.



I am a bit nervous about the juice feast because I don't know what it entails and if I can do the whole 92 days. My life is so hectic and I don't want to lose any energy juggling family, school and personal projects etc... If I do the juice feast, I will start this Sunday. I love my juices and I have been living on Natalia Rose's green lemonade for the last couple of weeks. I will check out the juice feasting website and see how to do it. I need that kind of cleansing.


Green lemonade

3 large leaves of collard greens
2 stalks of celery
1 1/2 - 2 Fuji apples
1 lemon
3/4 inch of gingerroot

Place ingredients in the order I have listed in a juicer (I use the L'Equip 2000. I love it!) and serve immediately. Enjoy.

Healing

I am seeing the results of my labour. My coach has gotten me to run. I'll run for a bit and then walk, run then walk. I really enjoy these times with my trainer. It's my ME time, trying to take care of myself. My face has gotten slimmer and I think I've lost some weight. I am not weighing myself because I don't want to be depressed or disillusioned. My trainer said not to bother and just focus on how your clothes are fitting you. He also said that I can do all the crunches and running I like but if I'm not eating properly and consistently, it'll be all for nought. True true. I want to be able to show him how the raw diet along with his training has helped me. He believes the "grazing" method of eating is the best way and not to starve yourself. I just try to eat when I'm hungry. I just need to make sure I'm putting in the right food in my mouth. Like this salad of shreddred cucumbers, carrots, chopped green onion , dill and lime juice. Very refreshing and light.

Rawlicious

Yesterday Tiago and I went to a new rawfood restaurant called Rawlicious, owned by fellow blogger Robin aka RawketScience. It is a cute, small establishment. I love the various types of seating. I ordered the Nutty Wrap, which was delicious. However, my favourite is Mono Blanco, a vanilla milkshake. It is made of vanilla nutmilk, almond butter, a banana and I think vanilla extract. Fantastic. I'll probably be going there again soon. Robin also has a Choco Monkey shake that I'll try next time.


Mono Blanco and Choco Monkey

Checkout the RawketScience blog under My Favourite Blogs.

Ups and Downs

I've been going through some weird emotional feelings lately. I've been a bit discouraged about my weight gain during pregnancy. I really let it get out of hand. It just makes me feel like a weak person. I know it will take time for me to take it off but I get impatient sometimes. My hubs is very supportive and hasn't said or done anything to make me feel bad. I just seem to be juggling a lot of things and not getting a good grasp on any one of them. I am so fed up with my Masters program and after 4 years and 2 babies, I'm still not done. Ernesto is going through his temper tantrums and I don't know what to do sometimes. A part of me just wants to escape to a tropical island and live on coconuts and pineapple. I feel such a sense of imbalance and I'm trying to find ways to re-establish and to reconnect my life. I would love to take an ashtanga yoga class. I do have DVDs but I prefer the classroom setting with the music and the instructor making sure my body is positioned correctly.

I haven't prayed in days and I also feel a disconnect spiritually. Last night my hubs noticed that and we read a Biblical scripture. It was from the book of Psalms about trusting in the Lord. We prayed afterwards and I led the prayer. It felt wonderful talking to God. That's how I see prayer...like a conversation. I just poured my heart out and I guess I carried on for a long time because my hubs was dozing off. *smile* I really need God's guidance to keep me moving and centered. I need to breathe, pray, move, eat raw and sleep. I need to organize my time to allow myself to enjoy my family and not be frustrated with them when in actuality I'm frustrated with myself.

Peace.

Blessings

Just wanted to share photos of my blessings, my family. I am so privileged to be a mother and a wife. It can be trying at times but it is so worth it. It's a vegetarian household with me being the only vegan/raw foodist....well, my newborn is a raw foodist for now by drinking only mama's milk.

My gorgeous hubby, pre-dreadlocks.


This was during our first date.


Our gorgeous boys: Ernesto and Santiago

Toronto Raw Food Potluck

It's been almost a year since I attended the Toronto Raw Food Potluck. I was so looking forward to it. I made a key lime pie made of avocados, lime juice and a coconut crust. I'm not a big avocado fan. The flavour of avocados make me want to vomit. I didn't taste it, my hubs did and said the pie was fantastic, especially the crust and there was no avocado taste. My hubs has supported my diet. At first, he wanted nothing to do with raw food. When we first met, he was a diehard carnivore, a typical Cuban that loves his pork. Slowly he began to change his diet when he was getting digestive problems. One day he told me that he was abandoning meat (with the exception of fish) and alcohol. He considers himself a vegetarian and he's not turning back. He enjoys the raw desserts I make but doesn't want to fully commit to a raw food diet. His concern is that the raw foodists are too skinny. He still thinks they may be lacking vitamins and other minerals.

We arrived at the potluck late and half the food was gone. I barely put down the pie when the people swarmed like vultures towards me. Hahaha. I managed to enjoy a salad of cabbage, cukes, dill and green onions. I will certainly be making this salad in the future. Another person brought a salad of marinated carrots, broccoli and something else. I wish they had written the ingredients as requested by the organizer. That salad was fantastic.

I enjoy the monthly raw food potlucks.

My key lime pie.


My hubs and Santiago

I am working with a track and field coach at my university 3 times a week and he has given me a diet plan. He is neither raw vegan nor vegan. I've basically thrown out his menu plan and worked around or replaced the dishes with raw vegan alternatives. I know protein is an important thing so I've included hemp seed powder in my smoothies. The results should be fantastic. I haven't started running yet but I am patient. My coach is excellent as he is aware of my post-pregnancy injury and has given me exercises to help strengthen my pelvic area. Once I've completed my training with my coach, I will show him an alternative menu plan for vegans and raw vegans. He'll be quite surprised and perhaps will incorporate it.

Santiago and me

I realize that there are so many pictures of my newborn with other people and not with his mama. So I decided to lie on my bed and take a picture of just the two of us. I couldn't see his face so I was just crossing my fingers for at least one good picture. Tiago is so precious.

Grawnola

My husband, my mother, my son and my babysitter devoured my raw granola. This makes me very happy. I've got orders to make more. See recipe below.

2 cups almonds, soaked
2 cups cashews, soaked
1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked
1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked
1 cup goji berries, soaked
Dash of sea salt
Raw honey

Drain all the soaked ingredients well. Blend the nuts first in food processor and place in large bowl. Blend the remaining ingredients except for raw honey and add to large bowl. Stir well and add as much raw honey in order for the mixture to bond well.
Dehydrate for at least 24 hours on Teflex sheets. When the top part of the granola is hard, flip over sheets and remove teflex sheets. Dehydrate for another 8-12 hours. Break apart the granola with your hands and keep in an airtight container. Enjoy with almond milk or alone.

Mango Pie

Yesterday evening I had so much fun with my friends and family. Hubs made a Spanish paella that looked fantastic. The guests devoured it. I enjoyed my salad of cucumbers and cabbage. I wasn't that hunger in the evening. I tend to graze during the day. Naturally my guests were wondering why I wasn't eating the paella and I explained about my diet. They were curious and understanding. The wife commented that one would certainly lose a lot of weight. I've dealt with a variety of attitudes about the raw food diet. Theirs was great even though I could tell they weren't interested (at least for now) to live on a raw food diet.

Dessert was a smash! They loved my mango pie and I did too. Hubs went crazy over it. So much so that I thought we were going to have baby #3. It was fantastic and so Über easy to make. I used ataulfo mangoes which are my favourite. These type of mangoes create a more richer and naturally sweeter filling.





Tonight, I will meet with a professional track & field coach about jumpstarting my training. This should help with my pelvic recovery. I am really excited about it and hope that he isn't too expensive. I really need to balance my budget and work within my means if I ever hope to accomplish my financial and personal goals.

Okra

Yesterday, I made my husband's favourite Indian dish: okra with tomatoes, onions in a non-dairy sauce served with chappatis. For the first time I was quite tempted to eat the okra. I will try to make the same version raw. Onions are pretty strong raw so I'm looking for a marinade that won't change the overall taste of the recipe and keep the flavour of the onions mild.

My hubs made a strawberry batido (Cuban milkshake) and so I made my own with mangoes, strawberries and some parsley. I thought mine was fantastic! I wouldn't say it was a green smoothie but the hint of parsley made it taste nice. Lately I've been obsessed with mangoes. I need to make sure I balance it out with enough greens.

Tomorrow, I'm having company over to see my newborn. My husband wants to do the cooking for the guests. Even though he is a vegetarian (with the occasional desire to eat some fish), he hasn't embraced raw veganism. He does support me though and that's very important to me.
I'll make sure I have a salad so that I may enjoy it and I'll be making a raw dessert...something with mangoes. Mmm... I'll post the pics tomorrow.

Returned to Running

Last night I decided to return to running. It's been a long time and I miss it so. I figured that I could take it slow. I wouldn't say that the pelvic injury is 100% healed rather 85%. I still feel some soreness at times. I pulled out all my running gear. Santiago and Ernesto were fed and rested, hanging out with papa.

Well as soon as a I stepped on the concrete and began to run, I felt pain. WoW! I'm not ready to run yet. It felt as if something was pressing down on my pelvic bone everytime I took a step. It was a premature move. I ended up walking instead. I realized while walking that I still walk like a penguin a bit. Until my gait is back to normal and balanced, I can't be running.

Nonetheless, I am very pleased with the progress. Seven weeks ago I couldn't even move my legs and get out of bed. Now I'm quite mobile.

I celebrated my accomplishments with a tasty raw concoction of mango, strawberries, an orange and dates all blended. It was delicious.

Having fun with raw foods

I had participated in a Frederic Patenaude contest a year or so ago. The contest was to create a visually enticing raw dish. I came in second place. I don't remember what the prize was because I don't think I claimed it or received it. Hahaha.

Tah-dah!!

Caterpillar
Button mushroom body, cranberry eyes, grape nose and cucumber legs

Porcupine
Green grapes, canteloupe body, red grape eyes, strawberry body

Car
Daikon car, cucumber wheels, cranberry hubcabs, not sure what the head is but the hat is a button mushroom

A lady
Daikon head, cranberry eyes, cucumber mouth, orange torso, dragon fruit skirt

Today was a great day. My eldest son who is 3 years old behaved very well today. Lately he has been acting out with temper tantrums and disobedience. I know it has to do with the terrible twos (which started late for him) and having another member of the family. It's been very trying for me but I have the wonderful support of my sweetheart.

A few days ago I had made some sweet plantain chips. They were delicious and sweet. I have to watch my love of raw sweets. I'll just make these once in awhile. I have such a hectic schedule that I need to make simple quick raw foods. I do love my crackers so I make those on the weekends, enough to last a month.

Feeling the difference

I feel the changes again with my body being slowly restored to its natural form. My body is detoxing and honestly, it feels great. The healing is wonderful even though I've been running to the bathroom after every bite of food. I have been eating mainly raw smoothies in the morning and a sunflower/almond pâté at lunch and a juice or water with lemon in the evening.

It's quite a challenge raising a toddler and a newborn while maintaining a decent household. I find I'm making two kinds of food: raw for myself and cooked vegan for the rest of the family. One thing that is wonderful is that I have the support of my sweetheart. He started out as a hardcore carnivore but I guess I influenced him with my juices and smoothies. He supports a vegetarian diet but not ready to take the plunge into raw. It's nice now to see the fridge completely filled with vegetables and fruits.

I started yoga again but couldn't complete all the poses as I still have soreness in the muscle and pelvic bone area. When I twist, the pain is there. In time this will pass. Tomorrow, I'm going to include running again, but I will be taking it verrrry slow.

Back after a 2 year absence

Wow! I can't believe it has been 2 years since I last used my blog...boo to me. I am back and dedicated. So much has happened. I have another baby boy, mi querido Santiago. I was off the rawfood wagon during my pregnancy (boo to me again). I had a rough pregnancy, which I believe had to do with my awful SAD diet. My delivery resulted in a pelvic injury and I was unable to walk. I was in the hospital for one week. Recovery has been faster than expected. I no longer need a walker and I can carry my son and walk at the same time. I have eliminated animal products (with the exception of raw honey) and I feel so much better. During my pregnancy I had a lot of mucus and I kept getting colds. No more colds and mucus now that I have brushed up on my diet. Now I need to release the pounds I had packed on. This was worse than the first time around but I am determined. If I intend to walk the walk and talk the talk, it starts now. Woo-hoo!!

WoW! It's been so long

It's been over a month since I've written. Back to work, back to school. Very exhausted. Lately I've been maintaining a 95% raw diet and I'm very happy about that. The key is planning and I've been planning my meals in advance and doing my grocery shopping with a list. I've been feeling a lot better and my skin is clearing up again. I've had my temptations but I've managed to overcome them.

I was tempted to make sushi (cuz I loooove sushi) but I distracted myself by cleaning my kitchen floors. As strange as it may sound, it was quite rewarding *laughter*. I make an effort to get more sleep.

Being raw is great! It is the diet/lifestyle for me.

Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day and my special Valentine and I are going to have a wonderful Valentine's lunch at my friend's raw restaurant. It'll be a wonderful time for mother and son.



This is my son enjoying his green smoothie. Trust me, it's delicious.

Recipe

1 large sweet mango, chopped
1 1/2 cups of diced fresh pineapple
1/2 apple (your choice)
1/2 banana (optional)
2 cups or more of chopped fresh spinach
Water

In a strong blender (like a Vita-Mix) add fruits, spinach and enough water to blend to your consistency. Serve immediately. Enjoy.

It's My Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy birthday to all of me!!!!!
Happy Birthday to me!

I think I'll go to my friend's raw restaurant and celebrate. There'll be a party for me on Saturday. I'll be honest, I'll be eating cooked food. The theme is Tropicanadá. We're going to dress up. I'll be munching on some arroz y tostones!! (So much for my 30 days)

LOL!! I love life!

New Year's Resolution

I had purchased the documentary DVD "Breakthrough" about Storm, Jinjee and their children...the raw-vegan family. It was well done, very informative. The daughter, Shale is soooo adorable. I am very impressed about the way they live and how they take care of themselves. It was very inspiring.

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to spend less money and to learn to live on less. Healthwise I'm going to try to eat a 100% raw diet for 30 days. I've done it once before and I saw the wonderful results. This may be harder because it is my birthmonth and I know a lot of friends will want to go out with me to restaurants and stuff. I'll just have to find a way to work around it.

Another of my resolutions is to get more rest. I'm not getting enough sleep and it shows. I've been getting a lot of headaches. The more rest I have the more I'll be able to enjoy my time with my son.