Scatter-brained.

We've had some internet issues...ok, ok, you got it out of me. I may have forgotten to pay the bill, I swear they didn't send us one because I did not see it! (sorry, husb!) I leave you with a fudgy, chocolatey, RAW truffle. Be back soon with the recipe :)


Ps. Tasha over at Voracious Vegan is hosting a giveaway!

Don't ask, just eat.

Hello friends. :) Weekend is almost here. Wooohoo!

So I have been dying to try a vegan restaurant in the city, Chicago Diner. On yelp, our most trusted source for dining reviews, it boasts 4 stars out of 5..and that's with over 500 reviews! People rave about this place, meat eaters included. I took my hubby there last Saturday with high hopes. He was nervous as to what he would get and what exactly would be the special ingredients to imitate his 'meat' dish. I told him, don't ask, just eat. Hm. Easier said than done.

We started off with their sweet potato fries which were heavenly and perfect and also their nachos. The picture of those is strangely missing from my camera so no photo but basically it was a big plate of nacho chips with beans, fried seitan, vegan cheese, guacamole, and salsa. I was a big fan of those! You honestly could not tell the difference.
For my lunch I ordered the 'rabbit food' salad which was a huge portion of spiralized beet and carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and other veggies. I got the ginger dressing on the side and this salad was so fresh and packed with veggies! It was fun to eat too. Those spiralized veggies were like 12 inches long, lol.
Now you're probably wondering what my husband, D, ordered. I would rather not go there. :) I didn't take a picture but basically he asked the waitress (who was extremely sweet and a great waitress) what he should order and she recommended the BBQ sandwich with mac n cheese. It was your typical BBQ on a hoagie bun with peppers and onions smothered in BBQ sauce. Fried seitan was the 'BBQ'. I could tell immediately by the look on his face that he could not stomach it. Some people just aren't cut out for that type of thing, my hubs included. At first, I was a little upset I admit. But then I felt stupid. Stupid for being that wife who tries to shove vegan food down her husband's throat! I do not want to be that person. I love my manly, steak & ribs eating husband and will gladly make it for him! He did like the mac n cheese tho! And the beer! So D went and got a Caribou coffee while I savored every sip of this vegan chocolate peanut butter shake for dessert. There really are no words to describe this shake, so smooth and creamy. Better than any shake I've ever had from ANY place ever. Period.

It was so rich and decadent and I couldn't bear to waste a single drop of this. I finished the whole thing and was in a food coma until I went to bed that night! I definitely indulged that day but it was worth it. I can't wait to go back to Chicago Diner and try their other dishes. But maybe I will go with my veggie friend, Andrea, instead. :) If any of my local friends reading this want to go (you know who you are!) I'll be happy to take you!!

We went to a cookout and my good friend Kate went out of her way to provide me vegan options! How sweet. She had a huge fruit salad prepared.
Grilled vegetables and delicious chickpea salad. She got this chickpea dish pre-made from Costco. It was so good, I went back for 3rds!
Some other random eats included organic oranges and bananas.
Banana with organic jam and cinnamon.
I have something very exciting for you all!! I don't create a lot of in depth raw dishes because 1) they take a lot of prep time and 2) I hardly ever have the ingredients on hand. But I was feeling bored one day and wanted to make the corn tortilla chips from Raw Food Real World. All I did was take fresh raw corn, some flax meal, lime juice, and these seasonings and threw them in a food processor.
It became a nice thick, creamy consistency. I then spread it onto wax paper in my dehydrator and left them in there to get crispy for about 5-6 hours.
These turned out wonderful! They got very crispy and the seasonings reminded me of savory Mexican food. Sorry, no photo of the finished product. Are you catching on I scarf down my food too fast before I can get the camera out?!

My obsessive snack as of lately, tart red grapes. Have you ever tried freezing your grapes? Try it! Frozen grapes make the best refreshing snack.
And carrot/orange juice from Jamba Juice. I'm impressed this chain will make you fresh juice. I think its great and hope other smoothie places will catch on! I'll take this any day over a $4 latte.
Well I have a lot of packing to do...my friend and I are off for a weekend in Oshkosh, WI to visit family. I can't wait! Hope you have a great weekend!

Green goodness

Good morning! I started this AM off with a gorgeous green smoothie. I have been trying to up my intake of greens. I notice a huge difference in my skin and energy levels. They keep me satisfied for hours! This one had pineapple, mango, frozen banana, coconut water, and a ton of spinach. If you haven't noticed, I have a pretty average blender. An Oster I think, from Costco. Its not a Vitamix, but it works really well! This was about 32 oz and I also filled another 16 oz in another bottle. I drank the 32 oz for lunch around 2 pm and it kept me satisfied until 5pm and when I got home I drank the rest that I had left in the fridge.







For dinner I was craving something savory and warm. I decided to go very LOW raw...and picked up this Thai Jasmine rice from Trader Joes. Frozen of course, because thats how I roll. I loved this rice. So did my hubby!



I sauteed some brussel sprouts, green beans, and mushrooms in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and Italian seasonings. Sometimes I hate brussel sprouts, other times I find myself craving them! I loved how GREEN this was! I love eating BRIGHT meals! These veggies turned out to be great. Oops! I almost forgot, I added lentils too.



And, finally, dessert. This is Endangered Species 75% dark chocolate with cocoa nibs. I think this is my favorite dark chocolate I have found so far!



Lately I have been experimenting going to bed later, about 12:30, and getting about 6 hours of sleep. I think my body is doing better this way and this may be what feels natural now after being high raw for quite some time. I can easily go to sleep at 9pm and sleep until 7am the next morning but I always wake up groggy and extra tired. SO, so far, I think this may be the answer to waking up feeling refreshed!

Goodnight!

Before & After

I am just going to jump right into this. I've been avoiding it. But it needs to be done. I was not happy with the way I looked as a teenager. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted, and had not a clue how my health was affecting me inside and out. My skin was horrible. And I definitely had a few extra pounds. In my parents defense, we DID always have healthy food in the house. No sugary cereals were ever purchased, no little debbie snacks. Lots of vegetables and fresh greens and tomatoes from the garden. Occasionally we had ice cream, but my dad limited it to 1-2 VERY small scoops. Maybe thats why I went crazy everywhere else I went?? My friend still doesn't let me live down all the Schwan's 'mississippi mud bars' I scarfed down one night at her house. Only about 5 or 6 I think. Yikes. I know. No good. So here I was:





Here I am with my hubby, Duane. This was my first picture taken after going Raw for about one month. I love this picture so much. Compared to all my previous pictures my face is SO much slimmer and defined. My eyes are glowing and blue-r. (not sure how to spell that, lol) What a difference! I remember looking at this picture after taking it, and hardly recognizing myself. Raw can make some amazing transformations!