Sunday, March 2, 2014

B7DRC February 2014 - Day 7: Congrats!!

Welcome to the last day of Brad's 7 Day Raw Challenge. As I mentioned in the beginning of this challenge, today I had planned to break the challenge to celebrate my dad's birthday at one of his favorite restaurants. While my meal was predominantly raw (a salad loaded with veggies, fruit and nuts) my dressing and delicious cocktail was not. Neither was dessert. I would have loved to finish this month's challenge, but sometimes there's a need to put others before yourself, especially when celebrating. In my opinion, today was worth it.

I don't have any recipes to share. It was a busy day so I grabbed a raw, Eco Hemp bar for breakfast then headed out for a day of grocery shopping and celebrating. However, our challenger's have plenty of recipes to share! Enjoy and See ya next month!

CHALLENGER'S RECIPES

(Coming Soon)

Saturday, March 1, 2014

B7DRC February 2014 - Day 6: I'm only human. Bad decisions happen.



Day 6 was a complete fail. Contrary to what you may believe, my diet is not perfect. I fall victim to cravings from time to time, especially at my most vulnerable moments when I’m busy and starving. I know there’s no excuse, and trust me, I’m not making any. All I’m saying is that I’m human. Like most, I fall off the path from time to time and instead of accepting failure, I look at it as a simple mistake from which I grow from. I learn my lesson, take it with me and move on. 

This morning I started the day off as normal with a warm tea; a green one with raw honey. An hour later I made and sipped on a Tropical Citrus Smoothie as we contemplated what we do today. We had promised our daughter we’d go ice skating sometime soon so we decided today was the perfect day to do so. 

On our way to the rink, my family grabbed some snacks to hold them over until we were done with our skating adventure. I, being me, decided I wasn’t hungry at the moment and ate nothing, but threw a raw bar into my purse for later. Bad idea all around. We locked my purse into a one-time use only locker and the smoothie that had me full and satisfied prior, was burned through within minutes of skating. By the time we were done I was exhausted and famished. I had no energy left. As a result I made a very bad diet decision.

On our way out we spotted an old favorite: Einstein’s Bagels. They had shut down all locations in our hometown when we were younger so seeing one here brought back old memories. As the starving individuals that we were, we made the decision to visit this old favorite. I figured I was already going to fail the challenge when I joined tomorrow’s birthday dinner, so why not. Bad idea, round two. I haven’t had a bagel in years because I normally avoid any and all gluten whenever possible, let alone a processed bagel. Even though it was full of raw veggies, it didn’t change the way It affected my body. 

Minutes later I was feeling groggy and fuzzy and my stomach, empty. It was like I hadn’t eaten anything. We came home, took a nap and when I awoke I still had a headache. My stomach felt icky and my head was aching. I already knew what was causing it and I’ve been beating myself up all night for the decision I made. It wasn’t worth it at all. The bagel wasn’t even that good and the way I feel now is far worse than the hour I could have spent feeling starved waiting to get home to eat. Lesson learned. Of course. But I’m sure it won’t be the last.

For the rest of the evening I drank lots of water, nibbled on my last jicama burger and had a few dates and raw nut butter for a snack. 

Overall my day was great. I took my baby girl ice skating for the first time. I enjoyed a wonderful day with my family. I feel on my butt a few times. And best of all, I learned another valuable lesson: Don’t let your stomach rule your head or your heart. Being hangry is just not fun; and neither is a headache. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

*Beth*

Tropical Citrus Smoothie
By Beth Mickens


  • 1 orange, peeled
  • 2 kiwi, peeled
  • ½ cup mango, frozen
  • ½ cup pineapple, frozen
  • ½ cup berries
  • ½ cup coconut water
  • ½ cup raw almond milk
CHALLENGER'S RECIPES

 Simple Taco Wraps
By Lucia Morrison

  1.  1 large lettuce leaf filled with 1/2 sliced avocado, 1/2 diced tomato, 1/2 tbsp diced onion, 1/2 Tbsp cilantro, squeeze of lime jice and squeeze of lemon!
Strawberry Banana Sorbet
By Nick Lassonde 

  1. In a high speed blender, blend frozen strawberries and frozen chopped bananas with stevia and vanilla.
  2. Blend until smooth texture is achieved. 
Indian  Spiced Pulp Crackers
By Kristin Lassonde


  •  3 cups juice pulp
  • 3 heaping tsp unsweetened almond pulp
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 handful of fresh cilantro
  • 1 heaping tsp cumin powder
  • 1 heaping tsp coriander powder
  • 1 heaping tsp curry leaf powder
  • 1 heaping tsp turmeric powder
    1. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor. You may need a little water.
    2. Spread onto a dehydrator sheet and score into desired size/shape
    3. Dehydrate for 24 hours.
 OTHER
http://www.choosingraw.com/the-only-raw-vegan-granola-recipe-youll-ever-need/