Avocado Boats

I have a wonderful book on raw foods, called "Raw Foods Made Easy: For 1 or 2 people. When I first started out experimenting with raw foods, I bought a few books, but all too complicated. My advice? Start slow, start simple. As my high school band directer always told us, "Keep It Simple, Stupid." (nice). Don't worry about getting a dehydrator, juicer, or food processor right of the bat, work your way up. On that note, I so happened to come upon a dehydrator this past weekend from a friend, and that thing has been going all day, with fruits, homemade flax crackers, and nuts to make walnut flour. mmmm... I love my days off.. Anyways, onto this delicious little lunch.

You would think it wouldn't be very filling, but it is. The combination of the flavors satisfies every single morsel. And its ridiculously easy. So here it is:

Ingredients:


1 avocado
1/2 cup diced ripe mango
dash salt (I use Himalayan)
2 tsp lime juice

-Cut the avocado's in half and remove the pit by using the large end of large knife. (It should come right out.) Scoop out a little of the avocado to make a larger hole for the filling. Fill with the diced mango until it is heaping.  Sprinkle on salt to taste, and drizzle the lime juice all over. (I use a fresh lime and just squeeze from there.) Dig in with a spoon!!  Makes 2 servings.

So simple, yet so divine. Enjoy!

Cilantro Tofu Burgers

I was feeling creative tonight so I decided to come up with this mouthwatering concoction. TOFU BURGERS mmm...... I guess you can pretty much throw whatever you'd like to your taste in the mix, but I was feeling some Thai flavors. It came out milder than I expected, but still delicious. I made a cilantro guacamole to top it off, and it was a hit. Keep in mind, these measurements are all guesses, so experiment as you will.

Ingredients:
1 package firm tofu
1 cup shredded carrots (I just used one carrot)
chopped green onion (I used 2)
fresh garlic (from 1 clove)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste (make sure to use a natural salt, such as sea salt, or himalayan)

-Mix all ingredient in a bowl and form into patties. Bake for 15 min at 400 degrees, then flip (carefully), and bake for another 15. Then eat, and jump for joy at how tasty these are! You're welcome. :)

Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

It's official- this is my new favorite soup! Next time, I am going to try making it with almond milk instead of skim to cut down on sugar.

Ingredients:
2 Tbls olive oil
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and rinsed
4 cups chopped cauliflower florets (from 1 medium head)
2 1/2 cups low-fat milk, divided
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white or black pepper
3 Tbls flour
1 1/2 cups shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese ( I prefer 2 cups)
1 Tbls lemon juice (I just juice a whole lemon and use it all)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring, until very soft, about 5 minutes. Add cauliflower, 2 cups milk, water, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is soft, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup milk and flour in a small bowl. When the cauliflower is soft, remove the bay leaf and stir in the milk mixture. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the soup has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat. Stir in cheese and lemon juice.

I found this recipe on www.eatingwell.com . This recipe was pretty easy as well and really quick for such enjoyable soup. 

Spinach Enchilada Verde

Not all of the recipes I share on here will be raw food, as I am still dipping my toes into the water with this whole nutrition change. Its a lot to take in, so I am working on it. For now, I am successfully 75% raw. Meaning, I eat 2-3 meals a day of raw, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. Then for dinner I will most likely have a cooked vegetarian meal. Last night I made the below recipe. It was AMAZING! And incredibly simple.

• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1 (7 ounce) can green salsa
• 1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 (10 ounce) package corn tortillas

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, stir together half of the sour cream and the green salsa. Spread enough to coat the bottom into a 9x13 inch baking dish. On each tortilla, spread a small amount of the salsa and sour cream in the center. Lay a small handful of spinach over that, and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese. Roll up, secure with a toothpick and place into the baking dish. When all of the tortillas are in the pan, pour the remaining salsa over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the enchiladas are browned and heated through.

The major changes I made were, instead of making enchiladas, it was just easier to make this into a casserole, so I did layers and made it more of a mexican lasagna. Don't let the spinach scare you, it is quite tasty in there. It was probably a little too spicy for my daughter, so maybe next time I will experiment and make my own milder green sauce. Sorry for the absence of a picture, this was scarfed down! Yum! Enjoy! 

Accountability

So since I started this blog 1 1/2 yr ago, I lost nearly 20 lbs. I put back on 10. Then I lost some more. Then I gained some more. Very frustrating! Basically for the past year, my life has been a little hectic, and I have gotten away from the strict nutrition I was following that had led me to such success. I also didn't make exercise such a priority.
So here I am again, deciding to hold myself accountable to my blog. Maybe someday I'll even have a few readers! Who knows. But one thing I've learned in this insane past year is; no matter how stressed and distracted you may be with life's curveballs, never neglect your own health. Ever. Stress can do some pretty off the wall things if you don't do anything about it. I have gotten pretty sick in the past 6 months or so, and I chalk that up to stress. Never did I consider that exercise might help to ease the tension. Well, now I am learning that. I am starting to train for a 5k, running/walking every day, and strength training 2-3 days a week. I must be dedicated, because I'm pretty sure I've got the flu, and yet, there I was, at the gym this morning. First song on my playlist? "My Body" by Young the Giant. When the words, "My body tells me no, but I won't stop, cause I want more", played in my ears, I literally laughed out loud, I ached so bad, but I'm not letting anything stop me now. I have too much at stake.
I have recently entered the world of raw/whole foods. I watched a documentary a few months ago called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". It moved me so much that I went and bought a juicer the next day. I have been dabbling with all kinds of fresh juices/raw foods, and the more I learn, I realize how little I have really known about nutrition. What, may you ask, is my reason for doing this? 2 main reasons: 1st, weight loss. 2nd, to fight cancer.
That's right, cancer.

I may not have anything, or I may have something. All I know is, when a nurse is yelling at me on the phone that if I don't get taken care of the cells that were found, and get further testing and biopsies, I would have cancer. Really? Nice phone skills, lady. One of the risks of having this more serious biopsy is increasing chances of miscarriages/infertility. So that's scary. On the other side, if I have the biopsy done and something is found, I would have to more than likely have to have a hysterectomy, and not be able to have kids at all. So I say, to heck with them all, I'm doing what I can to fix myself first. And Raw nutrition is the number one way to go. Thomas Edison stated, “The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” ...Smart man.

So from now on, I will be doing what I can to get better, look better, feel better. I will be posting recipes, tips, results, information, and whatever else I can to share my ever expanding knowledge.

My tip for the day: Don't constantly subject yourself to a stressful situation. If you can remove the unnecessary and unwelcome stress and unhappiness, by all means, do it. Do it to save your life. Stress can be as toxic as a disease. It's time to detox. :)

Banana Bran muffins

So I have a bran muffin addiction, and am going to try out new recipes each week. I have yet to taste these, but they baking in the oven as we speak, making my kitchen smell gloriously.

2 cups Fiber One Bran cereal
1 1/4 cups milk (I used Silk light vanilla soy milk)
1/3 cup raisins
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Splenda
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 egg
1/4 cup applesauce
2 bananas, mashed


 Mmm.. they smell purdy good! Enjoy!

Low-Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins

I'm a sucker for bran muffins, so I had some left over blueberries and thought I'd try this recipe out. I found it on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups wheat bran
• 1 cup nonfat milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or use paper muffin liners. Mix together wheat bran and milk, and let stand for 10 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in bran mixture. Sift together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into bran mixture until just blended. Fold in blueberries. Scoop into muffin cups.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped.
  
  
  *I used light vanilla soymilk instead of the milk (its all I had), and it cut down on the calories even more. By doing that these bad boys came in at less than 100 calories per muffin. I also used regular Raisin Bran instead of plain bran. Next time I will add in some wheat germ and ground flax seed. All in all, they were SUPER good, and a keeper.

A little help from my friends..

wow, since I've started my fitness journey almost a year ago, I've lost 20 lbs. Granted, I'm not where I thought I would be at this point, but going through a divorce and starting my life over kind of put this journey on hold. But now here I am again, to finish the job I started. Some things I've learned is that you most efficiently lose weight when you have friends and support in this along the way. The biggest help to me so far has been myfitnesspal.com. I've gotten a lot of support, tips, and encouragement from there, and the site is really easy to use.

Recently I purchased an herbal cleanse system from Advocare called the 24 day challenge, and am looking forward to the results and the jumpstart that will give me to get back into the swing of things. I am on day 4 so far and have been feeling really great. I will post some pictures from last year before  I started and current pictures when these 24 days are up.