changing habits....

Part of my goals this New Year, along with eating tons of raw foods, is changing habits that are no longer serving me. So far I have quit my daily coffee and replaced it with antioxidant rich green tea. Yes, I was head achy for a bit but so worth it for me now! Coffee just was NOT working for me on a daily basis.... When I came down from my coffee buzz I would just crash... made me really hungry, moody, nervous & even more tired, needing to drink more coffee to get through my day. This is *my* experience with coffee, everybody is different. Yes, green tea does still have caffeine but less and does not effect me so dramatically. Plus green tea has so many health benefits to boot. I'm in love with jasmine green tea right now...I got a huge bag of Numi Monkey King Jasmine Green Tea for Christmas & it's really light & lovely! I have also quit my (almost) daily evening wine ritual....I use to enjoy a couple of glasses while cooking & eating dinner but it was packing on the pounds among other things. At first I replaced it with Kombucha, but that gives me energy, so I have moved that to the morning time instead. I'm playing around with "mocktails" now. I made this fun & tasty drink last night from Diana Stobo's book, "Get Naked Fast!", PINK GRAPEFRUIT COSMOPOLITAN ..... my kids really enjoyed it as well. Cheers!

Spinach-Basil Pesto on Zucchini Noodles

Ella's last delicious post got me craving some raw pasta big time! So I whipped this up yesterday! I really enjoyed it. The pesto would also be great on some raw flat bread with cherry tomato's on top. This is a lighter (less fat) pesto than most using hemp seeds instead of pine nuts. You could easily sub pine nuts if you wanted a heavier more traditional pesto. I was really happy with how this turned out and will be making it part of my regular menu.

Recipe can be found at the RAW FOOD RECIPES site; we just discovered this gem of a site with delicious looking recipes and so user friendly!!!

Spinach Basil Pesto

Lunch: Zucchini + Marinara

Mr. B and I had a little kitchen fun while whipping up a simple marinara (vine ripened tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, olive oil, basil, oregano, cayenne and sea salt) and making noodle art with zucchini. Simplicity tastes best!




Zucchini Marinara of our own design.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

baby steps...

My week has been filled with lots of positive changes in my lifestyle...
I'm starting to get in the swing of things with the "Resolve to Evolve" initiative over at Raw Food Rehab. I think the accountability has been a good thing for me. I've lost 4lbs. thus far eating a high raw vegan diet this past week...I've also quit the coffee and the evening wine ritual. I am starting to feel better, more positive, more even keeled emotionally, energy starting to return, & skin looking better. I feel happy. I have a long way to go, goal wise, but I'm just taking it one day at a time, baby steps....I am excited about all the things to come this upcoming year. I've replaced my coffee intake with organic green tea....I hope to reduce my caffeine intake even more over time. I've had a bit of a small lingering headache for the past few days...nothing major, mild headache...detox perhaps or caffeine withdrawal. I'm rather new over at the Raw Food Rehab site, but everyone is so nice and POSITIVE...the site is filled with lots of positive affirmations....a really lovely atmosphere. I've been eating pretty simply...lots of smoothies & salads! Will be whipping up some raw recipes these upcoming weeks though. Here's a pic of a lovely smoothie I made the other day that was so delicious. It is so simple to make but so luscious! Just one papaya and bag of frozen strawberries and a squirt of agave. My family ate this whole raw blueberry pie today! Sooooo good!!!!! It is Alissa Cohen's recipe from her book, "Living on Live Food".