Happy Friday, y’all! I hope that you’ve had very healthful, happy, productive weeks. I’ve discovered a few things about myself this week.

1. I HATE chunks in my shake. Seriously. They make me gag. So. Now I that I’ve cleared that up, I will be using my Vita-Mix to its full potential. YesIwill. 

2. I LOVE kale in my smoothies. Seriously. It’s an obsession. L.O.V.E. With green goodness, you cannot go wrong.

3. I prefer simple salad with ROCKIN’ dressing to high-maintenance raw dishes (this is of course because my Excalibur is still pending shipping, dammit!). So salads it is for awhile.

4. Cooking raw for just myself isn’t terribly time consuming, as long as I plan ahead for the boys. They’re still on a veg diet, but cooked food (for the most part…although this morning Smalls downed 1/2 cup of of pumpkin oatmeal, a small banana and 1/2 an avocado for breakfast so he’s about 50/50 at the moment).

5. I cannot live without my Mandoline Slicer. CANNOT LIVE. It cuts my prep time to almost nothing, and makes quick work of my salad veggies and other accruements.

6. I also love my Turning Slicer. It’s fantastic. Did you know that spiralized zucchini is even more delectable than sliced? Also, Smalls LOVES veggie noodles. Carrots, zucchini, cucumber, squash, turnips….

7. I love, love, love, love, love Argan Oil for a nighttime moisturizer. My skin is OHSOHAPPY!

8. Dry brushing rocks. My skin is GLOWING, y’all. Try it.

9. I’m sleeping better. YAY ME!

10. I need to get rid of cable. After the Super Bowl. Yup. I’m gonna cut the cord. I’m having a *slight* panic attack about this, but my hyperventilating will NOT deter me. We say goodbye to our good friend on Monday. YAY for more family time!

…I have a feeling that y’all are going to be seeing a lot (and by a lot, I mean as much as I can bear to share with y’all) about simplifying. I’ve found that cleaning out the clutter has helped me to focus on what’s really, truly important. And I am no where NEAR Donesville. Not even close.

So. Day 1 was a success!! I ate 100% raw, and felt great, until I realized that I was slightly dehydrated. I ended up with a headache that not even Advil could cure. It was HORRIBLE. Other than that, I would say that day 1 was great! I had tons of energy, slept great, and got a ton of stuff around the house accomplished.

As for exercise, Smalls and I danced our respective asses off to some good tunes for about an hour. Then we dissolved into giggle fits, which also burns calories. Score one for mama and son!

So…what did I eat yesterday?

Well…

For breakfast I had a smoothie that consisted of 3/4 of a pineapple, 4 bananas, and 5 chard leaves. It. Was. Delicious. Seriously, you should try it.

Lunch was a large meyer lemon tart (I’ll get the recipe up here eventually…

And dinner? I had raw ‘sushi’ with avocado, carrot, zucchini, tomato, and bell pepper, all wrapped in collard leaves. I love collards. They are SO good for you.

Happy February, everyone!! I’ve decided to issue a challenge to myself. February is a short month…although it is 29 days this year.

Not the point. What was my point…Oh, yeah. Sorry. Wednesdays are hard for me. It’s hump day. I’ve always hated hump day. I should probably get over it and move on, huh?

…

Okay. I’m over it. It apparently wasn’t a very strong hatred.

Moving on.

So. Now that I’ve got some nifty new kitchen gadgets, they’ve got to get used. And fast! So. I’ve decided that I’m going to eat 100% raw this month. I have been eating raw, and am LOVING how I’m feeling. I am actually super-duper excited to see how I feel after 29 days! I really want to focus on quick and easy raw meals (which makes sense, if you have met Smalls).

My goal is to have my food accessible, fresh, and ready to go. I am also committing to you, my faithful readers (LOVE YOU!) that I will exercise every day. Whether we go on a walk, I pull out my rebounder, or I do some Essentrics, I’m going to get my butt moving all month long. I’m really hoping to get through a cycle of Metamorphosis…

So. There it is.

Wish me luck!!

OMG.OMG.OMG.OMG. I am SO stoked! I FINALLY get to upgrade my dehydrator to THIS.

HOLY SMOKES, y’all. Before, I was relegated to a 5-tray, round, piece of shit (excuse my fronch) that was only good for kale chips (YUM!) and not much else. Least of all any raw food goodness that I wanted to ‘cook’…pizza, pancakes, crepes, fruit leather.

So. I am so stinkin’ excited for my amazeballs new toy. Now the problem is finding a place to put the monster, which will take up 15 square feet of precious counter space. I’m thinking that it’s going to be at home next to the juicer, and Ish’s beloved toaster can be relegated to moving down below into the depths of the cabinet.

It’s amazing just how quickly counter space has been snatched up lately. With the addition of two fantastic new toys for my newly-raw kitchen, I’m quickly running out of room of my now-rarely used pots, pans, and baking apparatuses. But Ish isn’t raw, and neither is Smalls (at least not 100%, although he definitely prefers eating the majority of his food as nature intended…stems and all!). I’m hoping to do a seriously deep spring cleaning of both my closet and my kitchen over the next month, and hopefully I’ll make room for some fun new kitchen gadgets, and make my house happy by decluttering.

So. Excalibur dehydrator? CHECK. Now I’m just waiting on my red Vita-Mix…

Happy Monday, y’all! Or you two. Pretty sure that it’s just Thai and Irene out there. Love you both. MWAH. Moving on. So. I’ve got cramps.

Don’t you feel better now that you know that? I know that I feel SO much better having shared this tidbit with you. They suck. Seriously. I’m almost 100% positive that cramps suck WORSE after you’ve had a c-section. At least Smalls and I are both miserable. Poor baby is cutting his incisors and having a heck of a time at it.

So. Cramps. Not only are they leading me down a path toward definitely NOT-raw waffle sammiches (OH.MY.GOD. Another post, but OH.MY.GOD. These things are like crack…not that I’ve ever done crack, but I assume…it’s okay to assume, right? I can’t get enough of them…which reminds me of why I stopped making them….) and chocolate.

DEAR LORD, do I want chocolate. So I got creative. I’m currently totally in LOVE with chia pudding.

Remember Chia Pets? They totally rock. AND, turns out, chia seeds are awesome. And they’re super healthy. BONUS!

They’re a great source of Omega-3, fiber and protein. Sign me up!!

So far, I’ve used them to make a strawberry pudding (YUM!), and tonight, I got creative and made myself some chocolate chia seed pudding. It rocked my world, y’all. And I think it’s gonna rock yours, too.

Here’s the recipe:

Raw Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

1 cup raw vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup Chia Seeds
3 tbsp raw cocoa powder
1-3 tbsp raw agave nectar (depending upon how sweet you like your pudding)
dash of salt

So. Put everything in a bowl, adding the chia seeds last. Whisk until lumps disappear and everything is well blended. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The longer it sits, the better it gets, trust me.

Then dig in! Enjoy a SUPER healthy, period-appropriate dessert.

So. Happy Friday, lovelies! Or lovely, since it appears that only ThaiHoa is reading this. LOVE YOU!!

Okay. Moving on.

I got the brilliant idea yesterday to make some raw almond butter. Yup. I’m a full-on domesticated-type goddess-person…at least I like to think so. Apparently I’m NOT.

Not at all. My almond butter is more like almond paste. In all fairness, my little 8-cup food processor probably doesn’t have a motor powerful enough to justify using it to make nut butters…at least that’s what I discovered as smoke started to come out of its base and a horrific screeching noise came from the actual blade. Yeah. Not my proudest moment. So.

Now I have almond paste. It will serve it’s purpose for this morning’s breakfast sushi. It was surprisingly yummy. I dare you to try it!

I did have a modicum of success in the kitchen yesterday, even though my almond butter was a #EPICFAIL.

I made more kale chips (I can’t keep them in the cupboard!!), and make some spicy zucchini chips…wait. What? You’d like the recipe? Sure thing!

Raw Spicy Zucchini Chips

Juice from 2 1/2 lemons
3 tbsp cold pressed olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
dash oregano
3-5 zucchini (depending on size. I used 5 small)

Start by mixing everything but the zucchini in a large bowl. slice your zucchini into thin disks using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Add zucchini to your sauce and stir to coat. Place the chips into the dehydrator. Allow to dehydrate for 24 hours at 105-110 degrees. Enjoy!!

Okay…moving on. It’s good, y’all. You should try it. If you have been craving potato chips, these are WAY better. Just sayin’….

AND, I made raw almond milk. SO yummy! Now to make some chia pudding….

Okay. So I went a little bit overboard with the zucchini buying this week. I have 1 large and 6 tiny (they’re adorable!) zucchini. I made some zucchini pasta last night to go with my RAWsome green smoothie (recipe follows). It was DELISH. I am going to use the rest of the zesty marinara to top some avocado crostini for breakfast. YUMMY!

Moving on. So. Zucchini surplus. What is it with me and an overabundance of vegetables this week? Not that I’m complaining. I love veggies. And fruit. It’s an equal partnership to keep my body happy. So. Too much zucchini (since I don’t like having pasta every night, and I’ve already made some wraps…). I’m going to make some crunchy zucchini chips.

Yes, you read that correctly. ZUCCHINI CHIPS. Spicy ones. If they turn out, I’ll share the recipe. I just have to wait for the kale chips to crisp before I spice up my zucchini and start dehydrating it.

Now for that recipe that I promised…

Green Sunshine Smoothie

2 ripe bananas (make sure they have brown spots)
1 kiwi
3 tangelos
3 kale leaves, stems removed

Place all ingredients in your blender, with the wettest (tangelos, everyone. NOT bananas. Don’t be like me.) ingredients on the bottom, kale on the very top. Blend away. ENJOY!

Happy Wednesday, y’all! I pick up [one of] my co-op shares on Wednesdays. I always look forward to my day on Tuesday night…little did I know that I’d be receiving not 1, not 2, but 6 BUNCHES OF KALE.

Yes, you read that right.

6 bunches.

DEAR LORD.

Know, I love, love, love me some kale. I juice it, make (FANTASTIC) kale chips that disappear in a day, and I love making kale-sesame and kale-tahini salads…but 6 bunches?!

What’s a girl to do with THAT MUCH KALE?!

So here’s what I need: ideas. Help me out. What’s your favorite way to prepare kale? Raw, preferably, as me and cooked food are a little at odds right now. I’m loving being raw!

So. know you know.

I have a confession: there is one thing that I love [possibly] more than my hubby. Want to know what it is?

Really? Are you sure, because if you continue reading, then you may be an accessory to a miserably failed attempt at humor….

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Here goes: Kale. And collard greens. And spinach. Romaine! Green lettuce… *le sigh* Just the though of greens makes me SO happy!! 

Why do I love greens so much? They’re super rich in protein, enzymes, antioxidants, and they make my shakes TO. DIE. FOR. Seriously! Don’t believe me? Add a handful of spinach to your next fruit smoothie. It will be creamy and delicious. I promise that you WILL NOT taste the spinach. Seriously! Of course, with the way that I make my smoothies now, I can taste the green goodness, but I actually (shocker!) enjoy it!

Do you add greens to your smoothie? Which are your favorite? Do you prefer romaine over spinach? Collards over kale?

Speaking of kale…have you heard about THIS GUY?! Chick-Fil-A needs to find a hobby. Seriously. And as soon as I have a spare $25.00 I am buying a tee shirt.

Happy Monday, lovelies! Have you heard of mocha? NO, it’s not RAW. Bad me. I know, I know. But it’s SOOOOOO delicimous! Serioulsy. You HAVE to try this stuff (recipe follows).

Oops! I forgot. How are you feeling? Did you have a good weekend? How are your resolutions (just because I didn’t make any doesn’t mean that you didn’t) coming?

Okay…back to what I was saying. I. LOVE. MOCHI. It’s gooey-ooey-yummyness all rolled up into one. It’s pretty much as perfect as a food can get…a cooked food.

So what is this stuff? Well, mochi is made by soaking short grain glutinous or sticky rice overnight, cooking it, and pounding it into a sticky paste. The paste is molded, and sometimes blended with other flavors, such as mugwart and sweet brown rice
(my FAV). It’s OMIGODDELICIOUS.

And I totally binged on it. Yup. I had TWO FULL PACKS (that’s SIX blocks, or 12 individual servings, y’all). It was HEAVEN. OOEY, GOOEY, SMOOSHY, DELICIMOUS HEAVEN. No regrets, except that it is NOT raw, and I felt like crap waking up the next morning…weird how cooked foods do that to me know. I just felt…

HEAVY.

Now, that’s not to say that you won’t enjoy mochi and not feel that way. If you’re used to cooked foods, and haven’t been eating entirely raw for any length of time, you’ll probably die of pleasure. Seriously.

How to prepare it? Okay…one more thing, though. If anything, this little experiment has convinced me that being 100% raw is a GOOD thing for my body. YAY for revelations!

Sweet Mochi Puffs

3 squares mochi, halved
1 tbsp olive oil
powdered sugar
brown rice syrup

Heat skillet (preferably cast iron) and olive oil over medium heat. Add the mochi halves, so that they do not touch. Cover with a lid for four minutes (set the timer!!). After 4 minutes, remove the lid, and carefully flip the mochi. They should be starting to puff a little, and will be sticky. Recover with lid and allow to cook for three minutes more. move to a plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with brown rice syrup (agave would also work). Dig in!!