My short series on the raw burger is on hold for a couple days - I lent my cookbook to a dear friend who is hosting her first raw dinner party - I cannot wait to hear how it goes! Before the handoff, she encouraged me to put sticky notes about each recipe I’ve tried in the book so once the book returns, I’ll have much to say here - I forgot how many of the recipes I’ve already tried.

In the meantime, this evening was looking a bit drab with a bunch of vegetables on hand and no idea what to eat. I found an easy recipe for zucchini ratatouille - which goes quite well with a tossed salad.

UPDATE: This recipe has been moved to Gone Raw, our new raw recipe sharing site.

My Take: This was absolutely delicious. I made a third of the recipe, which was perfect for two with a salad. I didn’t notice that a Teflex sheet was needed and therefore didn’t use one - everything turned out fine! Also, I didn’t have the fresh tyme or rosemary so I used dried. I believe fresh would have been much better, but it worked! What I love about this recipe is that there is no time-consuming soaking or planning ahead - this one is going into the rotation!

You might be worried about setting the dehydrator to 145°, as we’ve often hear that enzymes are killed at 105°. However, based on recent research by the Excalibur dehydrator company, we now know that:

…many have come to believe that 105ºF air temperature is the temperature at which the enzymes are destroyed, which is entirely inaccurate.

Dr. Gabriel Cousens, author of the zucchini recipe, suggests that dehydrating food for 145° up to 3 hours and then switching to 110 to 115° not only does not kill enzymes, but it inhibits bacterial growth. And makes dehydrating that much more quick and convenient!

So far, so good on the mostly raw diet - and I expected this weekend to be a real test as we rushed from house searching to preparing and hosting our own garage sale. What culinary delight sustained us through this flurry of activity? The perfect raw burger. So, throughout the week, I’ll be posting recipes for the various ingredients to this delicious raw meal. Coming up, raw:

• Onion bread
• Vegetable burger
• Ketchup
• Cheese

All of these recipes were inspired by (or found directly in) Matt Amsden’s RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine. This is an excellent first raw cookbook, with many of the items resembling foods that you might have been used to in your pre-raw days (pizza, burgers, pie…). Plus, the book is filled with incredible, inspiring photography - which always gives me the confidence to take on the task of making something entirely new. Hope you’ll have the opportunity to flip through this amazing book! Until then, the raw burger series…

This is a decadent, delicious Sunday morning treat I learned from watching a raw cooking video. You’ll want to start this one the day before you actually want to eat it - and the wait is well worth it!

UPDATE: This recipe has been moved to Gone Raw, our new raw recipe sharing website!

Ray and I absolutely love taco night - at least a once a week occurrence here. Our goal is to convert our taco’s to 100% raw, which is a change from the previous fish taco nights of the past! I wrote earlier about making an easy walnut meat and fresh tomato salsa and this is the next step - raw tortillas:

UPDATE: This recipe has been moved to Gone Raw, our new raw recipe sharing site.

Yesterday, I took a short quiz out of Dr. Cousens’ Conscious Eating (it felt sightly akin to those Glamour Does he really love you quizzes, so of course I was game)! The quiz help one know if they are a slow or fast oxidizer. I scored a whopping 22 for the fast and 8 for the slow - looks as though I am in the speedy category.

What does this mean?  A fast oxidizer generally needs a diet that is 50-55% protein, 30-35% carbs and 20-25% fat. For protein, add in spirulina, chlorella or Klamath Lake blue-green algae. A perfect lunch would be a high-protein drink and salad with avocado. Stay away from: sugar, candy, coffee, tea, salt, potatoes, white rice or flour, dried fruits, sweet fruits. Hey, why not add rainbows, clouds and balloons while we’re at it!

It appears that, the more one listens to their body, the more it will crave what is actually good for you instead of that which harms you. Looking at the list above, it all falls pretty well in line with the foods I crave the ones I naturally stay away from; I’ve craved avocados since I was a child. I remember my late Grandma Martin hollering at me, Kandi, you’re gonna grow up fat if you keep eating all those avocados. Turns out, I was just listening to that fast oxidizing body of mine!

This weekend has seen us bustling with art, design and fabulous food! In search of a delicious vegan meal before Adam Arnold’s fashion show last night (impeccable tailoring, just impeccable), we headed to Nicholas’ Restaurant. Their vegan mezza (an order for one is plenty to share) was heavenly - even without the usual flat bread. And, their vegan grape-leaves were perfectly spicy and tasty. I’ve never ordered vegan at Nicholas’s before and this was by far the best meal I have ever had there.

Today, we walked downtown and enjoyed a visit to Blossoming Lotus and Art in the Pearl. If you are in the Pearl, stop by booth #65 - you won’t want to miss seeing Briana Linden’s encaustic art!

Blossoming Lotus has published a really well-put together cookbook, Vegan World Fusion Cuisine. The book is all vegan and about half live foods and includes a forward by Jane Goodall, whom I have great admiration for (and even once had the pleasure to meet for about 5 seconds at a book signing). I haven’t seen the book online, so it may need to be purchased at their cafe. I’ve been reading through it all day and am giddy about making all of these new treats! They also send out a recipe each week through their online mailing list (see the bottom of the page).

weight 138

Today marks the beginning of the days after our cleanse. We are able to eat raw fruits and vegetables today (along with salad dressings), which is a marked contrast to the boiled-down and steamed vegetables of yesterday. Today also begins the decisions about which routines from the fast will stay in our everyday lives. So far this morning, the breathing and stretches and tongue cleaning have all remained.

Morning affirmations and gratitudes will also remain, for these have had such positive momentum for me and feel much like something I thought I had lost long ago. In my early twenties, I was fascinated by the idea of the power of positive thinking. I believed that I could move a mountain (literally) if I could get to the point of real concentration. Although I never did move that mountain, I spent hours thinking and quitly being. Somewhere, I lost my focus on such ideas and the world around me began to feel much more overpowering. I began to feel overpowering, so I did what many students do - I went back to school for my masters degree. Yet, I failed to look at what was missing within me.

During the course of the last two weeks of cleansing, I have began each day with an affirmation. Something similar to I am increasing my abundance and health each day and drawing towards my dreams - it changes each day, as I am barely lucid at the time of the thought. Regardless, I’ve started to see life change around me dramatically.

Most of my goals right now are about happiness and health in friends and family, passion in our business and some prosperity of life (say, a home and student loans paid away). In each of these, I have seen a change for the positive; my family has become interested in raw foods and cleansing after my experience - and this is so exciting, as there is much illness within my family. Our business is increasing in projects we have passion for and we’ve recently upgraded our computer set-ups to eliminate obstacles to creativity and joy! Plus, I have been able to make goals and headway on the loans - and even begin thinking about a home.

I’ll never again forget or dismiss the power of thinking positive.

w 137.2

Last night was our third and final meeting with our cleansing group. I was glad to see the group once again and hear that everyone was so excited about their experiences this past couple weeks. This program has been absolutely amazing. I’ve read about many cleanses in books, but I would highly recommend going through this program with Dr. Ariel, who is about the most passionate and sincere doctor I have had the pleasure to know. I felt at every moment that she cares deeply about helping people learn to be healthy - and there is nothing like the feeling of having a doctor looking after your progress and having other to talk to about the experience. Cleansing is not always and walk in the park, but I cannot begin to explain what a positive experience this cleanse has been - not only for how I feel now, but also for what I have learned about how to stay healthy in the future.

What surprised me the most in this time was the relative ease of the three day fast. There is a part of me that wants to keep going, but with at least a week of slowly returning to normal eating, I’d best begin the change now. I have a fun night of Neighbormates next week (sure to include a drink or two) and a trip to the coast coming up!

Today begins the move into a more normal routine and there is much that is still up in the air. The basic question - what is the most healthy diet for my body and mind - is a difficult one to answer. It appears that everyone has their opinion and just about every food is on someone’s no list. For example, Dr. Gabriel Cousens would have one stay away from mushrooms completely, while the healthy and much recommended live kombucha tea is dirived from a mushroom. In the end, we each need to find a balance that not only feels good, but compliments our lifestyle. As Ray mentioned, we live among the living. Health, for me, is as much about what I put into my body as how I feel spiritually and emotionally, which means finding a balance between the ideal diet and the world I live in. And, that is the journey that lies ahead.

weight 137.2 - I lost about 7 pounds during the 2-week clense and 18 in the last month or so since moving to a largely raw diet.

Slept fairly well last night, save a 15 minute tummy ache, although I haven’t been remembering my dreams at all lately. I woke this morning to the lovely sound of rain on the rooftop - one of my absolute most cherished Portland sounds. Made me even more excited about our upcoming days at the coast - just a couple weeks away! Morning breathing and stretches had an extra feeling of serenity. Overall, I am feeling quite well today, this final day of the Master Cleanse. Oddly, I believe I’ll need to go to a grocery store to get ready to begin eating tomorrow. Pretty sure I’ll make it through!

I am looking forward to finishing this overall cleansing program. The experience has been really good for me, but I am beginning to feel (internally) a bit like I’ve been put through a washing machine. I suppose that is why this is a two week program, not longer. Tonight is our last meeting with the group that has been going through this cleanse with us. Looking forward to seeing how everyone is doing and learning about life after the cleanse.

pH 6.1, weight 137.6

My friends, fasting is not as difficult as I had imagined! I say this after only one of three days, but so far, so good. Overall, I was mostly satisfied (save a couple tummy growls) drinking seven glasses of the Master Cleanse drink - out of a recommended 6-12. The mix is easy enough (read The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs for the complete instructions):

• 2 T fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
• 2 T grade B maple syrup
• 1/10 t cayenne (or to taste)
• Water, medium hot

Throughout the day, the most significant obsticles were my habits of timing. For example, since I didn’t have a lunch to eat, I stayed at my desk and worked straight through lunch time - I didn’t consider what I might want to do instead. This left me much more worn out in the evening. Today, my goal is to remember more small breaks and to take short walks during our studio hours instead of before and after. Time and time again during this cleanse, I have been so grateful that Ray and I have our own studio and are able to support each other in these adjustments.

Finally, I was pleased as punch today to break into the 130’s in weight. Beginnign all of these healthy diet changes, my thought was that 135 (from a previous 155) would likely be the optimal weight for my body. I am curious to see where it all levels out.

pH 6.1, weight 139.4