strawberries

I’m trying to find the joy in this raw diet, which isn’t always easy, lol. There haven’t been any noticeable changes in the tummy situation, though I haven’t eaten much today and I also have a lot of questionable contributing factors, such as dairy. I took some Gas-X a few hours ago, but haven’t noticed any changes yet. I’ve started to expand my raw diet menu beyond the typical salad. Yesterday morning, I made a batch of no-bake raw cookies:

No-Bake Raw Cookies

• 1/2 cup raw rolled oats
• 2 TBSP raw almond butter
• 14g raw sweetened cacao nibs
• 14g raw slivered almonds
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• A few Tablespoons water

1. Mix all the ingredients by hand, in a blender (I put mine in the Vita-Mix for a few seconds), or food processor until dough forms
2. Roll little balls of the dough (it’s sticky!!) into as many balls as you like
3. Set on plate and let air dry with ventilated cover (I used a colander) for 6-7 hours. You could speed up the process by using a food dehydrator, but I was lazy, lol

So easy, so tasty!! I ate 2 of them. You can imagine my heartbreak this morning when I went to eat one and discovered that fruit flies had found them to be delicious, too. After they were dry enough, I covered the plate with plastic wrap, but the little buggers got underneath it anyway! I made a new (double) batch right away. This time I put them in the oven to dry, lol. Not turned on, of course! Surely my food dehydrator would work so much better, but alas, I’m not up to taking it out of the box yet. I’ve had it new in the box for over a year now. I hoard appliances, LOL.

In other kitchen news: I’m going through fresh produce at the speed of light! I went to Hannaford with my mom yesterday afternoon to replenish the dwindling supply. I ate an entire one pound tub of organic mixed spring greens in 2.5 days. Plus, a lot of the fruit that I bought at Shop Rite on Sunday isn’t ripe enough yet, including 6 avocados!! So, I went shopping once again. Don’t have to convince me to shop 2… 3… 10 times a week. I got another cart-full of assorted fruits + veggies, but before we left I had an amazing lunch to stave off hunger while in the store. So incredible that it’s something I would eat even when not following a semi-high raw diet!!

Raw pea salad, strawberries drizzled with raw almond butter and raw honey, and sprinkled with raw pumpkin seeds, anjou pear, and PURE raw food bar

Lovin’ these organic PURE raw fruit and nut bars! Veronica, you’re A-Ok.

A bowl of defrosted frozen peas with chopped red onion, tossed in cold pressd organic extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt + pepper

Pure, unadulterated raw decadence… fresh strawberries drizzled with raw almond butter, raw honey, and raw pumpkin seeds <3

This was my favorite meal, thus far! I LOVE peas with EVOO + vinegar, it’s so good. Typically, the peas are cooked every other time I’ve had it, but it tastes just as good raw. YUM!!!! And the strawberries… WOW! What a truly magnificent combo. LOVED them.

I did something I normally don’t do yesterday: I hit up the olive bar at Hannaford. *chorus of angels* I usually avoid them because they’re sooo salty, but I’ve kept my sodium ultra low this week, so I felt like I could indulge. And indulge I did. Holy scrum-da-dilly-umptious!!! I only got a half-pint, but I haven’t been able to stay out of it ever since I brought it home, lol.

Just like I said, my dinner included a boiled potato with a generous helping of Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt…

Assorted olives on my leafy greens <3

I felt kind of weird to eat something cooked and warm! My mom cooked it for me, and I think it was overdone because it was sort of mushy–unless I’m so far removed from warm cooked foods already, LOL. It still tasted VERY good to me. I ate it all, BUT I kept moving it to the side to eat my salad. I’m telling ya, I have an affinity for olives. They are SO YUMMY! Bitter, salty, fun texture. Mmm! Wish they weren’t so high in sodium, I’d seriously eat a pint of them a day! I’ve never come across a raw olive in my life, I’m hoping to find them one day. That would be a dream come true.

While we were in Hannaford yesterday, I remembered a raw vegan non-dairy frozen ice cream that I tried not-so-long ago: organic nectars gelato

Move over Ben & Jerry, there’s a new chocolate cherry frozen treat on the block!

I’ve had the chocolate hazelnut before, but the chocolate cherry is new to me. It was AMAZING! Dustin loved it, too. It’s so hard to believe that it’s dairy-free and made from cashew milk! It’s so creamy, and a little creepy — it doesn’t melt very fast! LOL It’s perfect. And so delicious. I had a little taste of each flavor for dessert…

Not only is organic nectars raw gelato made with 100% pure, raw, wholesome ingredients, but it’s also low in calories: 120 calories per serving, 5 servings per pint. I’d buy this even when I’m not on a raw diet. Yum!

I’ve been managing my bouts of hunger better by snacking when the tummy calls. After eating the boiled potato last night, I honestly felt fuller and more satisfied than I have since I started this trial on Sunday. I haven’t eaten anything cooked (besides cheese + yogurt, technically) today and probably won’t. I’ve been picking at cheese and olives all day. I have an awesome dinner planned, which I’m totally excited to make and eat. That will be on tomorrow’s update. Only 3 more days to go! I’m looking forward to cooked food again, but I still have some raw recipes to try. I’m REALLY surprised that I’m not craving bread AT ALL! Weird, right? Probably because I know I’ll have lots of it in 72 hours, lol. I’m sure if I was trying to give them up permanently I’d be in the corner shivering with cold sweats, LOL.

Alright, I’m going to start on my mystery dinner now. Yay!

Tagged as: anjou pear, boiled potato, cheese, Fage Total 0% plain Greek strained yogurt, gluten-free, high raw diet, no-bake raw cookies, olive bar, olives, organic nectars raw dairy-free ice cream, organic nectars raw gelato, pumpkin seeds, PURE fruit and nut bars, raw, raw almond butter, raw diet, raw pea salad, raw recipes, strawberries

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