Raw Crackers

So far today:

Tropical Kefir Smoothie- soy milk kefir, mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, banana
Coffee - two cups with soy milk and stevia/sugar mix

Big salad made of spinach, green onions, avocado, broccoli, cucumber, red pepper, topped with a bit of Trader Joe's Goddess Dressing
Raw almond meal crackers made in dehydrator all day yesterday
Fresh strawberries and raspberries

YOGA!

SHOWER!

If I could eat like this all day everyday, that would be great. I always start out my day so fabulous, then things fall apart in the afternoon when I get major munchies and cravings. I also am thinking (again) that I need to get rid of the coffee in order to really get rid of the candida issues, and to lose weight. But the very idea makes me feel sad. I know that I would feel great after detoxing from it (and the caffeine), but wow. I have quite an emotional attachment to coffee.

I have been walking with a friend twice a week (when it's not raining!), and it feels good. At first I was really sore, but it has gotten easier, and I can do the same two miles in less time. Now I am starting a yoga routine on days that I am not walking. This is major progress for me, who couldn't walk two blocks without being in agonizing pain less than a year ago.

These crackers rock my world. Alas, I am now out of almond meal, and I don't think I can afford to buy any more, unless I find it at the B&D for 75 cents again. At the HFS it costs about $10 for the same size bag.

I love my dehydrator. I plan to use it even more.

I now have baby sprouts! This is day two and they are growing so fast! I think tomorrow they will be ready to be put in the sunshine to get a little green. Then I can eat them up! It is so easy, I can't believe I was hesitant about doing this. Kefir is way more complicated, and I can handle that.

These crackers are healthy and addictive and raw. Well, if you use all raw ingredients. I used tamari sauce instead of Nama Shoyu because I don't have any of that. And if you keep it below a certain temperature, which I can't think of right now. Maybe 150 degrees? And I used my own parsley! Nothing better than making your food, realizing you need parsley, and getting it right on your front porch, picked fresh off the plant. Yummy! I did not have any tomato so I skipped that part. Same with the cilantro.


Almond Meal Crackers

1 cup sweet white onions, chopped
1 cup tomato, chopped
1 cup almond meal (or ground up soaked almonds)
1 cup golden flax meal
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Nama Shoyo (or tamari, or soy sauce, or Bragg's liquid aminos)
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup cilantro
2 cloves garlic

Blend all in food processor. Process until smooth-ish. Spread on teflex dehydrator sheets 1/4 inch thick. Score with a dull knife or pizza cutter. Dehydrate for 5 hours, then flip over onto mesh screen and dehydrate another 2-3 hours until dry and crispy.

I just finished my lunch, but I am craving more food. Maybe more crackers and fruit? Something to drink? A raw sweet treat to curb the cravings? I don't know. I have some work to do, but I think I can do it.

I used a new template for the blog, and my label cloud magically reappeared! I like the fresh new look.

Have a great weekend, and take care of your body and mind. :)

Food Rut

It occurred to me the other day that I am in a rut. I have not cooked anything new for a long time, and have been very scattered about my blogging. I just haven't even felt like it much. I have also been really bad when it comes to eating sugar lately. I fell off the wagon again, and I need to get back on. I really want to work on making my diet include a lot more raw foods. This summer should be a good opportunity for that. I need to detox, I need to walk, and I need to feel good.

I have even been forgetting about my kefir lately. I have had to throw out a few batches because it sat too long. I have yet to do anything worthwhile with my water kefir. I just now started a batch that should turn out really good. I put a slice of organic lemon in it, and I plan to make lemonade when it's done.

I must also confess that I have, from time to time, fallen off the vegan wagon. Before you freak out, let me explain. Every single one of the incidents involved sugar, and 98 percent of them were chocolate. I have found that when I get desperate, even the fact that there is a bit of milk in it hasn't stopped me. Blech! I can't believe I did that. It makes me double-pissed at myself, both for eating crap that is bad for my body, and for eating something not totally vegan.

But alas, I am human, and therefore I make mistakes all the time and hopefully learn from them. I need to work on listening to my body again, and only putting things in it that make it happy. That will work to make my mind happy as well.

So hopefully I will be blogging more, and sharing my cooking (or not cooking) experiences now that summer is upon us. I can hardly wait to eat the local organic produce, to freeze the organic strawberries I am going to buy from the Amish, to sit outside and eat a lot of fresh nectarines while I write my best-selling novel that will make me rich. HA!

Kefir Smoothies

Success! I actually made my own batch of kefir out of soy milk. Or else we just drank some rotten milk, I don't know. But it was delicious.

I had originally tried to make it with coconut milk, but I am ridiculously air-headed sometimes, and I used unsweetened. I'm pretty sure there needs to be some sugar in there, but I could be wrong about that too. I don't have a clue what I'm doing. So I tried it with soy milk.

I rinsed the grains (they were grown in goat's milk) with spring water and placed them in the glass container with soy milk, then let it sit for two days. I strained it, then did it again for two days. I noticed that there seemed to be more grains, and the milk was thicker. It looked quite nasty, to be honest. I strained the milk and took a tiny sip. It tasted a bit like yogurt. I made strawberry banana smoothies out of it, and it was delicious. Garrett and Grace loved them too! I have another batch that I think will be ready later today.

Am I on the road to finding balance within my body? I hope so. At least it will be a yummy adventure.

Delays and Fermentation

Well, the weather is making life difficult for those people who have family get-togethers planned. Do we make the turkey, or not? What about the pies? I don't have to worry too much, because all of my cookies are in the freezer.

I made the chocolate coconut cups last weekend as well, but we ate them up already. Sooooooo delicious! Just like a Mounds bar, only better. Luckily, I bought ingredients to make more of them, this time a double batch.

I also made a lot of vegan chocolate truffles. What a freaking mess that was! The filling never got hard enough to roll into a ball, even after being in the freezer. Then I had to dip the "balls" in melted chocolate. They look like crap. All of this work would be worth it, but they aren't even that great tasting. True, I have still been eating them, but I don't think I'll bother with that recipe again.

After the holidays are over, I am seriously taking a vacation from sugar. It is doing some crazy things to my body that I don't even want to talk about. I have recently discovered Kombucha tea through a friend. It is a fermented tea that has many heath benefits, including detoxifying the body, helping with digestive issues, and many other things. It is full of probiotics and good at getting rid of candida problems, which I believe is my main issue. I bought some at the health food store (a small bottle for $4) and tried it out. The smell reminded me of beer at first (which I hate), but I tried it. It was bubbly and tasty. The more I drink it, the more I like it. They sell different flavors. It is also easy to make at home. I have not tried it yet, as I need to get some of the culture from my friend to start my own batch. It's hard to explain the feeling I get from drinking it. It makes me feel clean, I guess.

This friend also makes her own kefir, which is kind of like yogurt, only better for you. She makes hers in goat milk. I have done extensive research on growing it in water or soy milk. She gave me some kefir grains and I am working on converting them to coconut milk. The kefir also has many probiotic benefits, and can be used anywhere milk is used. I think the coconut milk kefir will make for a delicious smoothie. Yummy! I don't really know what I am doing, but hopefully I get the hang of this. I believe I can restore balance to my body and start feeling better soon.

I'm craving kombucha right now. When I start brewing my own, I will share the results with you.

Enjoy the delicious food with your families, and enjoy this clip; everyone's favorite Saturday Night Live skit: