Adventures of The Raw Food PunK

I ate fried tortilla chips on Friday night and drank beer. Not so bad. Then, that same night, I had an ice cream sundae. Woops! Oh well, that’s what being a Raw Food Punk is all about, right? Next day I went for all raw to balance out my healthiness and felt just fine. But then, at work yesterday, maybe due to another cold and tempting comfort food, I ate buttery mashed potatoes and peas, and then bought ice cream on my way home. Why!? I firmly believe in not restricting yourself unreasonably, but I literally bought that ice cream with this sort of “I was bad this weekend, let me be worse before I start being good again tomorrow.” I think that is a really lame mentality but once the idea comes into my head I can’t seem to get rid of it. Does anyone else experience this? How do we completely overcome the idea of going overboard when we’ve gotten off our ideal eating plans? All ideas welcome!!

I ate cooked food. I went five days raw, and I feel very proud of myself. I also think that my 4-5 full raw days already helped me remember how good it can feel and instilled some better eating habits in me. I had recently been going on weird food benders where I would eat crappy food late at night, in slightly inappropriate portions and then vow to be better that week. I feel pretty strongly that I won’t have any nights like that anytime soon. Eating raw just helps you appreciate food more. Food is fuel, why use it for any other reason? Fortunately we can receive great pleasure from the variety and flavor in our diet, but when it comes down to it, you eat when you’re hungry. Period. I’ve gotten back into making green smoothies. I do miss juicing a bit, but right now it is just much easier for me to make green smoothies. Additionally, I’ve gotten more raw veggies back into my routine and I really do feel cleaner already! Oh! And I broke my chocolate bar habit…I think. So its day 6 of my “raw reform” and the only cooked food I’ve had within those 6 days is popcorn (with salt and agave) and baba ganoush, which is practically raw anyway!

Hey punks, how’s raw going for you? I would love some stories!!

Eat happy.

Day three!!!! I’ve been so good, and I feel a lot healthier than I have in a while (other than this stupid cold!) I know it might sound silly, but I really do think it makes a huge, huge difference to stick to my healthy eating 100% instead of allowing little bites of the buttery veggies and sugary desserts at work.

Here is a run down of my meals the past two days:

Tuesday:

Breakfast: 1 orange, then a huge green smoothie-pineapple, kale, banana, and ice

Lunch/snack: Raw chocolate fudge (I should have had veggies…I know!)

Dinner: Sprout salad (recipe coming soon on Rawfoodpunk.com), baby carrots, and a banana

Wednesday

Breakfast: Green smoothie

Lunch: Apple and raw chocolate fudge (aka cashews, golden raisins, and coconut–still good for me!)

Snacks: Cold brewed iced coffee with stevia (this was my weak moment, I’m working on giving it up), banana, 2 apples

Dinner: Cherry tomatoes, pressed cabbage salad (recipe coming soon rawfoodpunk.com!)

I may make some chocolate avocado pudding too….

Enjoy your night and eat happy!!

The good news:  I am going for a 100% raw week.  Seven days. 100%.  It’s a challenge and I am up for it!  I’m so excited to see how my body will feel once I am consuming more raw food, getting more greens, and not drinking coffee and splenda!

I’m a little sick today, so my appetite is small but this is what I’ve eaten so far today/am planning to have later:

Breakfast:

Warm water with apple cider vinegar, raw honey, and cayenne pepper (its my favorite cold remedy)

1 Banana

Lunch:

2 bananas mashed with a touch of almond butter, agave nectar, and cinnamon

Snack:

Green juice with cucumber, spinach, apple, and lemon

Dinner:

Pressed Cabbage slaw

Baby carrots

Raw Chocolate fudge

Check out Rawfoodpunk.com for all the recipes!

Now for the bad news.  I think I need to give up Agave Nectar.  And I think you may want to think about it too.  Doing some research today for some raw food inspiration, I came across quite a few reports that agave nectar is really quite processed, contains a less than healthy amount of fructose, and just isn’t quite as awesome as I thought.  See this article and follow the links within it and judge for yourself: Agave vs. High Fructose Corn Syrup.  The truth is, I probably eat too much agave nectar to begin with.  I have gotten in the habit of mixing it with cocoa powder and eating it with nut butter as a very indulgent snack.  Raw, maybe.  Ideal for optimal health, probably not.  I am not going to swear off agave nectar for good yet but I am definitely going to take this opportunity to switch back to the really healthy raw foods.  Eating more of fruits and veggies and less of the “approved sweeteners” and heavy nut butters.  Clean body, here I come!!

Eat Happy Punks.

Can there be such a thing?  I’ve been really enjoying life lately and working much.  My health has not completely fallen by the wayside, in fact I’m still eating very well.  But, I have almost forgotten how much I love to write and share my experiences and the motivation I find in talking about my raw food punkin’ with you.  So here I am.  Another blog about how I’ve not been blogging.  But alas, my intentions are good and my creative (and green)  juices are flowing!

Stay tuned and as always; eat happy, be a punk.

I did almost nothing today.  I watched a lot of The Office, and I braved this NYC storm to get a movie…and coffee.  I also did a bit of self-taught yoga, and, yup, thats it.

As far as eating goes, I am trying to reach my goal weight by the end of march, which is still about 10 pounds away, so Im trying to keep my calories a day below 1500.  If you are using this as a guide to starting a transition into raw foods, please note that it is definitely possible and probably more ideal to consume more food than I mention below.  That being said, here is what I ate on this lovely snow day:

Green juice (1 cucumber, 1 head escarole, 1 lemon, 1 large apple)

Lots o’ green grapes

1 banana with raw almond butter (probably 2-3 tablespoons)

handful of dried fruit (pears and prune) and 3 cashews

1 large salad with romaine lettuce, escarole, grape tomatoes, 1 shredded carrot, red onion, cucumber, and scallions

1 sweet potato, baked in the oven with a little bit of olive oil and maple syrup

8 squares dark chocolate (Green and Black 70%)

black coffee with stevia and a little bit of non-dairy hazelnut creamer (I was tempted by my roommate’s purchase)

I also had lots of water and some green tea!  Not too shabby.

Hi all!  I’ve been very hesitant about simply reporting what I eat because it just seems so dull.  But, the truth is, I have really been ‘cleaning up my act’ lately and my body feels amazing and I’d love to share with you what I eat on a day to day basis, how it makes me feel, what challenges I face, and of course the results I get.  I used to drink soy lattes on a daily basis, then I cut down to just coffee with soy milk and right now Im down to only drinking coffee with a bit of soy or black with agave nectar about every other day!  That’s my big change that I’ve made but a lot of other ones have been developing too!  I’d be happy to hear any feedback, inspiration, or personal experience that you’d like to share as well!  Let’s get super, duper healthy together.

I’ll be back later to let you know what I’ve eaten today!