Farmer's Market Brunch

Halloween morning my husband and I attended a free yoga class at lululemon in Walnut Creek at 9:30am. They served some Halloween treats, but I didn't touch those of course. I did happily accept a banana and split it with my husband.

After the wonderful restorative yoga class we headed down the nearby farmer's market and I had a delightful time sampling everything in sight. For an incredibly small amount of money we left with bags of produce, which I detailed in this post.

Breakfast: A bowl of raw granola with fruit on top.

Brunch: Half a banana and a cup of water.

Lunch: (At the farmer's market.) Four to six slices of apple, two slices of persimmon, five grapes, seven or eight pieces of dried fruit, one slice of pear, one sip of raw pomegranate juice, one sip of raw apple cider, and one bite of sorrel. (There may have been a few other things as well that I'm forgetting.)

Snack: A smoothie with yellow mango, nut milk, spinach, two spoonfuls of pumpkin pie, several slices of frozen peach and a fresh organic banana.

Dinner: A salad with avocado, lettuce, spinach, onion, seeds, sorrel and parsley.

Pumpkin Pie

Breakfast: Raw granola consisting of a few spoonfuls of buckwheat oats, raw cashew nutmilk, a few slices of banana and most of a kiwi.

Brunch: A slice of an orange and a sip of coconut water.

Snack: Three grapes

Lunch: Fresh nuts that my husband and I cracked out of the shell. They taste so much more fresh and delicious when they are cracked and eaten fresh.



Dinner: Three slices of pumpkin pie.

Today I wrote a blog entry about being raw for eight straight-weeks.

I may also eat some avocado with lettuce and seeds in a bit, but I'm not yet decided.

Cahsew Nut "Bread"

Breakfast: 90% of a surprisingly sweet and sour yellow mango, four thin slices of a sweet orange bell pepper, about a half-cup of cashew nutbread and a large smoothie.

The cashew nutbread: The nutpulp from making a cashew milk from about one cup of cashews and a quarter cup of assorted nuts including flax seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, and sunflower seeds, and a palm full of dried currant berries.

The smoothie: One nearly full tall glass of the above mentioned cashew milk, one fresh banana, a small piece of a frozen banana, a small piece of a frozen pear, two slices of frozen peach, 60% of yellow mango and about seven spinach leaves. (You can't taste the spinach; I add them for nutrition.)

Smoothie Tip: Always add just a little bit of some fresh green vegetables, especially ones you don't like very much so that you can benefit from their nutrition. A blended vegetable is fully digested better than a chewed one because the blender does more than your teeth can.



Brunch: Raw granola; raw soaked buckwheat oats, raisins, one sliced banana in fresh-made home-made cashew milk.

Lunch: A washed organic "Ambrosia" apple.

Dinner: Three sticks of washed organic celery with raw organic almond butter down the spines, two cups of tea made from fresh oregano and thyme, and one very large delicious smoothie.

Smoothie: One fresh banana, one fresh scrubbed kiwi with the skin still on, two slices of frozen peach, one slice of frozen pear, one cup of coconut water, two cups of raw cashew nutmilk, two round slices of cucumber, and a handful of spinach.

Smoothie-making tip: Put the glass you're going to drink out of in the freezer while you're blending to make it a little extra cool. Then, after pouring the glass, put it in the freezer during the couple of minutes it takes to wash the blender. When you put it out it'll be chilled even if most of the ingredients were not cold to begin with. (Don't leave the full glass in the freezer for more than six or seven minutes.)

Raw 'Noodles' & Raw 'Chips'

Breakfast: A washed organic "Ambrosia" apple.

Brunch: A smoothie, two cups of tea, a salad and a part of a stick of celery with raw almond butter.

The Salad: Butterleaf lettuce (about five leaves), avocado (about 80% of a whole), spinach, oregano (the leaves of two stems), thyme (the leaves of two stems), seven to nine seed chips (made from flax, tomato and other spices and seeds), cucumber, a bit of onion and a little bit of chopped endive.

The Tea: Made from six stems of thyme and four stems of oregano and a bit of dried leaves from a tea called "Lung Ching Dragon Well." I drank two cups.

The Smoothie: Made from 1 banana, 2 spoonfuls of leftover raw pudding (made up of soaked raw buckwheat oats, banana, pear, etc.), 2 slices of frozen peach, a handful of spinach and coconut water.

Lunch: An avocado, a handful of spinach and spicy seed chips.

Dinner at Cafe Gratitude: "Chips & 'Bean' Dip" and "I am Honoring" 'Noodle' Special

Chips & 'Bean' Dip: Five large dehydrated seed chips in a 'bean' dip made from spices and seeds, as well as a spicy tomato salsa, a creamy 'cheesy' dip made from nuts and a guacamole. I love all four of those dips, but the creamy 'cheese' dip and guacamole are exceptional.

"I am Honoring" 'Noodle' Special: Noodles made up of long slices of zuccini or cucumber (I forget which) over fresh oiled and spiced greens topped with fresh sprouts and 'neat balls' made from dehydrated nuts. The 'neat balls' were very soft and delicious and went very well with the 'noodle' dish. This was the first time I had 'raw noodles' and really enjoyed them. The spices used makes a huge difference.

Note on entry completion: I usually create a new entry mid-day meaning that I don't finish the entry until later in the day or the following day. If it doesn't list a breakfast, lunch and dinner and an additional meal somewhere (without a note about me fasting or something) then it's unlikely that the entry is finished.

Note on photos: I upload photos about every three days, meaning that the entries complete with photos are usually a day or two back.

Yellow Mango & Thyme Tea

Breakfast: A washed organic green apple and a sip of a raspberry (unsweetened) raw kombucha.

Brunch: Half a grapefruit.

Lunch: A smoothie with; raw nutmilk, a handful of fresh spinach, a kiwi, three spoonfuls of leftover banana buckwheat pudding, a handful of frozen raspberries, and some soaking mulberries including the water they soaked in.

Snack: An apple and a spoonful of almond butter.

Dinner: A salad and a tea.

The Salad: Butterleaf lettuce (about six leaves), avocado (about 60% of a whole), spinach, oregano (the leaves of four stems), thyme (the leaves of four stems), seven to nine seed chips (made from flax, tomato and other spices and seeds), half of a yellow mango (a much smaller mango than the orange variety -- surprisingly tangy and better than orange mango in my opinion), cucumber, and a little bit of chopped endive.

I also had a bite of asparagus. I learned today that I really dislike it. My husband's salad was the same except his had asparagus and celery on his as well, and much less lettuce and much more spinach and cucumber.

The Tea: Made from six stems of thyme and four stems of oregano and a bit of dried leaves from a tea called "Lung Ching Dragon Well" as well as some water that mulberries were soaked in. I added the water after the tea was only luke warm so as not to "cook" any element of the mulberry water. It tastes as though it had been very mildly sweetened with honey. I drank three cups.

That was a more satisfying dinner than I've had in a while. The desserts I make are wonderful, but sometimes they are so much work (since a lot of time is spent tasting and adjusting flavor, experimenting with texture, and clean up). And when I spent a long time making a dessert I don't really have the energy or motivation to make a salad, 'sandwich' or something else satisfying. Also, since my desserts are not overly sweet and tend to contain a lot of seeds, nuts and often soaked buckwheat oats or other wholesome things, they can be very filling. But regardless of how filling they are, nothing beats a very balanced meal full of variety, flavor and fresh greens.

Note: I took pictures but I have not uploaded them yet. If you've been following you may notice that I've been adding pictures to entries from two or three days ago quite regularly as I upload photos every two or three days.

Simple Smoothie

Breakfast: A bowl of raw granola: half a kiwi, half a banana and three spoonfuls of buckwheat groats covered in raw nut milk.

Brunch: Smoothie made up of : two cups of home-made raw nutmilk (made from almonds, cashews & seeds), 5 frozen blueberries, 1 frozen banana, 1 slice of frozen pear, a pinch of vanilla, and a pinch of cinnamon. Really refreshing and simple in its flavor. I feel excellent!

Lunch: Half a grapefruit and some raw pudding.



Snack: An washed organic green apple and spiced pistachios.

Dinner: Half a grapefruit and a fruit smoothie with a a few leaves of spinach added. (It still tasted like a banana milkshake, but I try to sneak in leafy vegetables into all my fruit smoothies.)

Snack: Raw spiced pistachios.

Banana Cream Pie

Breakfast: Scrubbed and washed kiwi with its skin on.

Brunch: Handful of spiced & soaked sunflower seeds.



Lunch: Coconut Vanilla Cream Pie

Snack: A few nuts.



Dinner: Banana Cream Pie

Snack: Seasoned pistachios and a washed organic honeycrisp apple.

Avocado & Seed Chips

Raw Food Daily Log

What did you eat today?

Breakfast: An avocado sliced over three types of butter-leaf lettuce with seed chips and part of a banana.



Brunch: Smoothie with slices from three different pears, a little kale, some banana and frozen mango with nutmilk.

Lunch: A washed organic honeycrisp apple.

Snack: Washed and scrubbed kiwi with its skin on.



Dinner: Smoothie; pear, kale, banana, home-made nutmilk, kiwi, mango.

Cafe Gratitude

Saturday, October 23rd 2010

Exactly one year ago I wrote my husband for the very first time. I had no idea at the time that the person I was writing to would be my husband by June 2010. To celebrate the occasion, we had lunch at Cafe Gratitude in Berkley.

Breakfast: Buckwheat granola with homemade nutmilk topped with strawberries.

At Cafe Gratitude

Lunch: At cafe gratitude I was completely astonished by the number of things on the menu that sounded good. We ordered a seed-chip & dip appetizer, which I really loved. There were four large dehydrated seed chips in a dish with four different 'dips' somewhat mixed together, but mostly separate. There was a "bean dip" made up of seeds and spicy seasonings, a salsa of tomato and seasonings, a guacamole and a "sour cream" which was made up of nuts carefully prepared.

My main order was a "sun burger" which contained a "bun" made up of dehydrated seeds and such which was surprisingly soft and bun-like and a "burger" made up of similar ingredients which was also just as amazingly soft and delicious. It did taste like a burger, except better to my taste. There were also sliced cucumbers, lettuce, assorted greens, and onions which I piled onto the burger along with more guacamole. Imagine, a completely raw vegan burger!

For dessert, I ordered the only thing on their dessert menu that didn't contain agave, which was the coconut cream pie. I felt that the appetizer and meal was a good size for it's price, but despite how delicious the dessert was, I felt it was overpriced for its size.

Back At Home

Snack: Strawberry nutmilk smoothie with a small amount of kale.

Dinner: Strawberry, raspberry, mango, coconut nutmilk smoothie with a small amount of kale.

Smoothie & An Ancient Log

Breakfast: A tall smoothie containing half a kiwi, two slices of frozen mango, two frozen raspberries, one frozen strawberry, two fresh washed organic strawberries, and a glass of home-made raw nutmilk (made from almonds, pecans, cashews, chia seeds and some other assorted seeds and nuts in small quantities.)

Snack: A handful of heavily spiced (with lime, cilantro and many other things) pistachios.

Lunch: A small bowl of raw buckwheat granola with fruit on top.

Dinner: A washed organic honeycrisp apple.

...

Note: I'm going to start an eight-day "juice feast" which will mean absolutely nothing solid during that period of time. I'm interested to see how this effects the way I feel and my level of energy. I'm also hoping to hone my smoothie-making-abilities.

...

I happened to find a log I almost started a couple of times in the past. There wasn't a date on these, so I gave it a good guesstimation:

[Estimated] August 2010

Breakfast: Raw sherbet cake and a very small bowl of granola. (Home made raw pecan milk over sprouted buckwheat oats coated in dates, with raisins, almonds, pecans, seeds, and ginger.)



Brunch: Delicious salad with vineigar made from currants! The currant-berry balsamic is very sweet and delicious.

Lunch: Carrot juice containing carrots and their carrot tops from the farmer's market, and a very sweet little white plum.

[Estimated] September 2010

Breakfast: Home made raw pecan milk over sprouted buckwheat oats coated in dates & raisins, almonds, pecans, seeds, and ginger.

Lunch: Spinach, lettuce, shredded carrots & fresh ginger, diced celery and radish covered in balsamic currant berries & cold pressed olive oil.

Buckwheat Granola

Breakfast: A slice of raw strawberry banana cake, a celery stick filled with raw almond butter, some heavily spiced lime seeds, and a bowl of buckwheat granola with nutmilk and chopped strawberries. It was awesome.



Brunch: An avocado, butterleaf lettuce, and assorted seeds and seasonings.



Lunch: A slice of raw cake bathed in home-made mango/banana ice cream with fresh chopped strawberries on top.



Dinner: A variation of lunch.

Snack: Raw buckwheat granola with raw nut milk and three strawberries.

Strawberry Cake

October 20th 2010:
Raw Food Daily Eating Log

Breakfast: An apple (a washed organic honeycrisp apple.)



Brunch: Celery sticks filled with raw crunchy almond butter.

Lunch: Kiwi (scrubbed with it's skin on.)

Snack: A few raspberries and nut milk.

Dinner: A slice of raw banana/raspberry cake, a slice of raw strawberry/chocolate cake, and a bite of a raw ginger cookie.

Breakfast Banquet

What I Ate On October 19th 2010
A Raw Food Log...

Breakfast Banquet: (Shared between my husband and I); Half of a grapefruit, one quarter of a mango, an avocado with assorted seasoned seeds, and a hefty slice of raw pie. (We didn't finish the slice of pie, we were full.)

Brunch: A few seed chips

Lunch: Part of a green drink (Lots of Kale, a banana and some orange juice.)

Dinner: Two bites of pineapple, and the remainder of that piece of pie from breakfast.


Note: I feel oddly stuffed despite how little I ate today. Perhaps there really is something to that whole 'big breakfast' thing, but generally I don't feel like eating so much early in the morning.

Apples & Grapefruit

Food Intake Log For October 18th 2010

Breakfast: Raw Granola with kiwi topping and dried mulberries.

Brunch: Half a grapefruit.



Lunch: Most of an avocado, a handful of raw seed-chips and most of a head of romaine lettuce. Also one bite of a "Mineral Seed Crust" with almond butter on it.

Snack: One dried cherry, one dried currant, and a pinch of seeds.

Dinner: Two apples (And yes, I did all 'four-hundred count' to earn those two apples as is laid out in my fitness plan.)

~ Raederle Phoenix