Juicy Juice

I can't believe I haven't posted any news for 3 weeks now.  I'm not sure if I've been that busy but time sure flew.  During this time I broke down and bought a juicer.  Maybe that's what's making me so busy, but I've been juicing up a storm.  Here's are pictures of the ingredients in my first two glasses of juice.

Day 1 Juice

Day 2 Juice

I was so excited that I didn't even take a picture of the glass of juice.  I LOVE juicing and will be doing quite a bit of it.

So, today is January 31 and I'm pleased with my progress.  I've lost 11 lbs. and I've been able to swim several lengths in the pool.  Okay, I'm swimming 1 length, hyperventilating for 5 minutes, walking in the pool for 5, then swimming another length.  But I couldn't do this a month ago.  I'm very happy!  Thanks to Fresh Picks I've been eating new veggies, too.

I really enjoy eating raw foods and believe it's the path to health for me.  I have completely eliminated acid reflux and my cholesterol has come down to just about normal.  HDL is up and LDL is down.  February goals are:  lose another 5 lbs., swim a lap, get cholesterol into the normal range, try new recipes, and keep up with my blog. 

Arommmmmah!

I made a raw pasta dish with an aroma that I can't wait to smell again.  Just smelling it made me very happy.  And I already have a few ideas to change it up a bit.

Raw Pasta with Porto/Garlic/Lemon Sauce

INGREDIENTS

2 zucchini, peeled

1/3 Cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

1 Tsp. salt

1 Tsp. dried herbs (thyme, basil, or oregano)

4 Cups cut up portobello mushrooms (or use any kind of mushrooms you have on hand - the portobellos add a meaty texture and earthy aroma)

Peel zucchini into long thin strips resembling fettucine directly into a bowl. 

 Cut the portobellos into bite-size pieces.

 

Mix olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and herbs.  Pour over mushrooms to coat.  Let sit for 30 minutes. 

Add mushroom mixture to zucchini.  You may add toppings such as a chiffonade of basil or chopped parsley.  Next time I'll add spinach to the marinade to see how that comes out.

I loved this.  It's fast, easy and you need no special equipment and smelled so good.  Enjoy!

If you have leftovers, store the mushrooms and zucchini separately.  Put them together the next day.

Day 4: The 5th Challenge

Well, a few days ago I identified the 4 challenges I expected to encounter.  I'm adding a 5th that is pretty important.  I had to cook dinner for Bruce and Rob tonight.  Yes, they had a salad.  But I also made chicken and a side of sauteed potatoes and onions.  (I threw in some zucchini, too. mwahaha! They ate a vegetable.)  Well, I had to keep tasting the potatoes as they were cooking so I ended up eating about 1/2 cup of the concoction.  Yup, it was delicious - and warm.

And now at 8:00 p.m. I'm too tired to make my dinner.  Gotta figure this one out.

Day 3: Do I Hear 4?

My goal for the next few months is to be 80-90% raw.  So, to get there I'm shooting for 100%.  And that's just where I am after 3 days.

I knew that being at work would be a challenge.  I drank my smoothie in the car this morning.  I packed a beautiful salad for lunch.  I had some dehydrated kale for a snack.  Then I had one of my emergency raw snack bars for another snack.  Will finish yesterday's raw pasta for dinner.

I feel great and can't wait for Day 4!!

Day 2: Raw

So, I'm 100% raw since yesterday morning.  That includes dinner out last night (Sweet Tomatoes) and grocery shopping today (so many cheese samples).  I just popped 2 bunches of kale into the dehydrator and will make my raw pasta with marinara sauce for dinner.  I'll have enough for lunch tomorrow - back to work after a lovely holiday break.

Day 1: Happy New Year

Today's the day.  My transition has been going fairly well considering I've been about 60% raw over the past couple weeks.  Today I'll strive for 100% - the same tomorrow and beyond.  Actually, I love the raw foods that I've been eating.  So, the food is not my problem.  I've used these few weeks to identify my real challenges and figure out how to meet them.  

1)  More effective planning is really my biggest problem (duh!).  Lack of consistent meal planning all these years has meant pizzas or popcorn for dinner a few times too many.  So just because I looked, I found this very simple 1-page tool - a meal planner /shopping list.  If I plan my meals for the week and have the ingredients on hand, I can't make too many excuses.   You might find it helpful no matter what you eat.  Why haven't I been doing this all along?  I also signed up for weekly delivery of organic produce from Fresh Picks.  The produce has been beautiful and reasonably priced.  I'm even incorporating the weekly selections in my food planning.

2)  Variety has been a smaller challenge.  I'm planning to incorporate at least 2 new recipes a week in my menu planning.  

3)  Another challenge has been exercise.  I've been to the gym every morning for a week now (not so tough when I'm not working), either walking in the pool or taking an aqua aerobics class.  I also do my physical therapy in the water.  It feels great and I'm glad to have started moving again.  

4)  Restaurants are a killer.  I need to make a list of all restaurants near both home and work that have raw options.  Goodbye 5 Guys and Smokin' T's Barbecue.

4)  Work - 'nuf said.

I'm off to made a green/banana/apple/date smoothie and walk in the water.

Happy New Year to all!