Today was the first full day that my boy-child spent with us, in quite some time. I was actually not looking forward to winning Buffalo Meat in the Community “Christmas” Drawing….but, then I did….and when I saw our actual loot, I was STOKED. Digressing for just a minute……last year when Maddie was part of the deal, she won ground buffalo and our neighbor did, too – - and since he didn’t eat it, he gave it to us. I still have some of that – - and I was just not looking forward to more.
As it turned out, it was Buffalo Ribs, Buffalo Steaks and Buffalo Minute Steaks…..plus some fish. (Can you cook fish in the crockpot? Actually, I have never made fish before, so if ya’ll got some ideas…please enlighten me!!)
Also, you will probably all remember that after the first of the year, we will go RAW for at least 30 days. (I suspect that if we do go back to cooked food, in the summer, we will go back to being raw!!)
Anyway, I went shopping yesterday to get “side” items and fruits/veges for both my boy-child’s visit and our pre-raw raw trials.
Today we had Buffalo Ribs in Onion BBQ sauce (crockpot) with mashed potatoes, creamed peas and Collard Green and Cabbage Salad. (It was actually Kale and Cabbage…but, I couldn’t find any Kale, so I went with Collards.) It was actually pretty good – - I did note some things I would change for next time; however, the base was really very good!! Since most people don’t get enough fresh veges into their diet, it is actually a very good salad for anyone! Enjoy!!

Kale (or Collard) and Cabbage Salad

½ bunch of Kale (or Collards), cut thin *
½ to 1 t. Natural Salt
½ small head cabbage, cut thin
1 Tomato, diced
1 T. Red Onion, diced (don’t add too much, it will be STRONG!!)

Dressing
1 T. Olive Oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cold Pressed)
½ T. Other oil (Sunflower, Flax etc.) – if you don’t have other “good” oil, use the Olive Oil
1 T. Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed
1 T. Honey
1/4 t. Dry Mustard (more if you like the mustard taste)
½ t. Onion Powder (to taste)
1 T. Light Miso (I didn’t use this and it was fine)
¼ t. garlic powder (to taste)

Cut the Kale (or Collards) into very small thin slices. * I cut the collards in half, along the stem, then threw away the stem. Cut them in half twice more and then chopped them fine. Put Collards/Kale into the serving bowl and sprinkle with Salt. Massage the salt into the Collards/Kale. (Continue to Massage throughout the process in order to get the greens to wilt a bit.)
Cut or dice the cabbage, tomato and onion, then add them all to the Collards/Kale, after it has wilted a bit. Toss lightly.
Mix all of the dressing ingredients. (I used a very small food processor.) Add to the Salad. Toss lightly. Let rest for a couple minutes. Toss again just prior to serving.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side item or 2 to 3 as a meal.

I got this great recipe on-line, but have tweeked it a little since I didn’t have all of the ingredients it called for.  Thank you to the original author!!

I really did not mean to blow off the “are you still raw” requests….but, it sure appears that way. In all actuality, I have been kinda stuck in my pondering mode.

The short answer to the “are you still raw,” is no. The longer answer is more important, though. LOL!

 

A brief overview:
About a year ago, after doing tons of research, I decided to try eating raw. It didn’t last long (less than 3 full days) because although I did do tons of research, I didn’t do enough – - and I suspect that my blood sugar crashed. Then, I lived “like usual” EXCEPT for that nagging little voice that kept saying, “go back, read more; learn more; try again!” When I read Steve Pavlina’s blog, I FINALLY realized what I had done wrong….I wasn’t eating enough – - PLUS, I wasn’t tracking my calories. I decided to try it again. This time, I succeeded – - for two weeks (at or above 90 percent raw). The day before my son’s birthday party, I decided to break my streak. The biggest reason for this was because I didn’t want my son to think I was dissin’ him by not eating his chosen dinner or birthday grub (cake and ice cream). (The reason I broke it the day before was because if I were to have an adverse reaction, I wanted it to be at home……not at his party.)

It probably would have been okay, but then I also got lazy. The next day, we mowed all day (6 hours) and when we got home, I didn’t want to cook for Honey and Boo – - and I sure didn’t want to make anything for myself. And since I had already “broken” my raw streak, I decided to completely broke down and have cooked leftovers. That night, Honey told me that he was missing the tea – - so I busted out the tea maker. After that, for several days, I tried to limit my tea consumption to only after Honey came home – - but, then I noticed that I wasn’t drinking the water as I should, ’cause I was “jonesin’” for some tea. Once I went back to the tea, it was all pretty much over….I was back to my Sugar Whore self. It doesn’t take much. Damn.

I have gotten back to MOST of my pre-Raw BAD habits. I eat very little during the day (don’t need to since I drink sweet tea) and at dinner, I usually have a small portion (1/2/ cup or less) of whatever I cook (if I am in the mood) with a LARGE salad (4 cups or more). Then, after everyone goes to bed and I have some quiet time to read, I usually get some sugar, in the form of ice cream or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough…..and since Halloween, oh, dear lord, I am inundated in the sweet, sweet nectar that is sugar. (**Bad Whore, Bad Whore**) Anyway, even though I do eat more raw than I did pre-raw, it is not enough to make a difference. (I am tired, gaining weight, my poops are not as they should be, my face is greasy…I am back to feeling as crappy as I did pre-raw.)

I am trying not to feel too guilty, ’cause I made this decision (to fall off the wagon) and I can always go back. The problems I am pondering on are: 1) What am I getting out of eating like this? There has to be some sort of “compensation” – - otherwise, why wouldn’t I jump back on the bandwagon? 2) Is this like smoking, where I needed to “psych myself” on the lifestyle change? (Once I quit smoking, 99 percent of the time, it is like I was never a smoker….) 3) Why am I not strong enough to do this?
Most of the thoughts/questions stem from those three questions. If you all have any thoughts/ideas/advice, I would really appreciate it.

Today, we went to town, ’cause Hubby’s Truck needed a new battery. (Damn those unexpected expenses…)
On the way, we talked about the transition a little more. I think we have decided to go ahead and use what we have now (at the house) and incorporate some of the raw into our diet. Then, when all of the SAD (Standard American Diet) crap is gone, we will begin the 30 100% full low-fat raw vegan trial. (Now, I know that vegans differ about the use of honey – - some are okay with it – - some are not. We will be on the pro-honey vegan team…LOL!!)
The last time I was on the raw kick, I purchased the book Living in the Raw Gourmet by Rose Lee Calabro. I thought that is how you are suppose to do it. There were several problems with my method before and one of them was trying to make a SAD meal using raw foods twice a day. I was spending SO much time in the kitchen – - with minimal results. It also used many ingredients that I don’t have on hand, difficult and/or impossible for me to get (in any sort of convenient way, in any case.) Like I said before, I also was “limiting” what I was eating – - and had no real idea what I was doing. What I HAD read made sense – - and I was so excited to get started – - I just jumped in with both feet – - unprepared for the reality of this way of life.
Today, I found Alive in 5: Raw Gourmet Meals in Five Minutes by Angela Elliott. It has more “common” ingredients; however, most of them are higher in fat – - so we will use this at a max of once per day. Since the meals are simple, we could use them for the basis of our evening meal, as that is when your body handles the fattier parts best (you have all night to work through the digestive process – - WITHOUT – - having to worry so much about stressing your body or mind functions.)
The first big change that we will make is to remove deep-fried foods from our diet. The next time I shop (this weekend), I will plan for raw breakfasts smoothies. I will also add more fresh fruit and veges to me and Boo’s lunch meals. We will use up the drinks in the house (coffee, tea, kool-aid and soda) and then will go to water (with lemon/lime/orange added, if desired). That may not seem like a big deal – - but, it is essentially removing one habit and reducing another (caffeine and sugar, respectively). Then, we will work towards a 90 percent or more raw dinner. The last big step is getting James’ lunches raw – - and once that happens, we will go completely raw for a minimum of 30 days. I am hoping to have this all done no later than October 15, that way, the 30 day trial is over before the “holiday” and winter season starts – - and if the Hubby and the Kid go back to cooked foods, they won’t feel like they were deprived. LOL!!
We also discussed doing weight/measurements/pictures – - and he and I both agree that since this MAY only be a temporary thing, it would be best to have some sort of record to show us whether or not it made a difference. I do want a good record of this – - so I will blog about all those interesting statistical bits of information – - along with how things were for the day (emotions, energy levels, things that were easy/hard, etc. I also think that weekly photos will help to show us HOW our bodies are changing to the diet. I will probably post my photos – - not sure if he will want his posted, though. We’ll see.
We stopped by one of the grocery stores with a bigger produce section than where we usually shop – - just to kinda check out prices and see how we can make this work with our budget and our goal weight caloric intake minimums (mine is 1200 and Hubby’s is 1800). Since most of what we will do is basic fruits and simple salads, it should be fairly easy to do some of the figures once I get a basic “menu plan” established.

Oh, I thought I would share this too….
We decide to go out to eat – - our little hearts were set on Chinese cuisine – - but, neither of the two places which offer good food were open. So, we decided to take a last dip into the deep-fried foods and went to LJS. He gets about three-quarters of the way done with his food and says that all of this talk about raw has actually made him notice the texture and stuff of the food more than before. At one point, he popped a fry into his mouth and almost gagged on, what he said was a mouth full of “wax-y feeling gunk that just coated his tongue.” EEWWW!!! I told him that sometimes knowledge is not power – - really, being ignorant (and blissful) is sometimes the desired state of being. It’s hard for me to justify my actions (especially to myself) when I know something to be “true.” Does that make sense?
Anyway, I better work a little bit more on the proposed menu plan – - so, I will call it a night.