I have read a lot of books that recommend doing a detox before switching to a raw diet. Cutting out caffine and breads. I am not planning a dramatic full switch to be a high raw vegan (eating 80% raw), but rather a slow and casual increase of more raw foods in to my daily life. Doing a casual transition should help to prevent some of the negative side affects that some people report having.
As I have mentioned before, I have a killer sweet tooth. One of the ways that I appease my sweet tooth is with blended drinks. This includes coffee. Now coffee definitely isn't raw, but I have enjoyed adding raw cocoa to my cold coffee as you can try in the recipe following. If you have never tried raw cocoa, you should. The taste difference is amazing! I use Navitas Naturals brand and am super pleased with it.
Raw Chocolate Coffee Drink:
3/4 cup cold coffee
2 Tbs raw cacao powder
1 Tbs raw agave syrup
8-10 drops of flavored stevia of your choice
3 cups of "milk"
Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Serves 2-4
Friday, January 6, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
New Years resolution 2012
Hello all, and welcome to my new blog! My name is Ivy and I would like to invite you to join me on my journey as I work on transitioning to a raw diet. I am a long time vegetarian (about 20 years). I have wanted to go vegan for some time, but always found it difficult to get away from cheese. Never been a fan of eggs, but have eaten items they are baked in to, and not really a fan of milk. I am the mother of one amazing little boy named Cyrus (23 months old) and wife to an herbivore that while supportive of my vegetarian diet, would be perfectly content eating white bread and processed food every meal.
My diet, while healthier than most leaves something to be desired. I eat a lot of cooked vegetables and mostly whole grains. I am a carbohydrate lover though and eat entirely way to much bread. Sweets are another weakness of mine. Unfortunately, I believe that these food choices are taking a toll on me physically. The symptoms, fatigue, joints that ache, headaches, frequent breakouts, eczema, and weight that I just can't seem to loose.
For the last month I have been experimenting with raw foods and have found even with the small choices I was making a major improvement in the symptoms I mentioned above. I started out with dropping my normal toast for breakfast and going for a green smoothie instead. I also experimented with raw desserts and an occasional raw meal. I definitely felt more energy on the days I included more raw foods, the joint pain subsided, and I had no headaches. Then I had a set back when we moved a few weeks ago. We started eating out nearly every meal for a week as we worked on packing and unpacking. Within a day I was hit with a migraine headache.
With this blog I will b tracking my progress and the changes I go through. I also hope to share recipes, meal plans, support, resources and more. To get you started here is the recipe for the green smoothies that I have been enjoying so much and even my husband and son love:
Mango green smoothie:
1 cup of frozen mango
1 banana
1 cup of greens of your choice (Chard, Spinach, Kale, or Collards all work or use a mix)
.5 to 1 cup of milk alternative of your choice (I have been using rice milk)
1 Tbs of hemp or flax seed oil
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Add more or less milk to get your desired consistency. Serves 1-2. If you are having it for breakfast, you might want to drink it all yourself, but as a snack you could split it between 2 people.
My diet, while healthier than most leaves something to be desired. I eat a lot of cooked vegetables and mostly whole grains. I am a carbohydrate lover though and eat entirely way to much bread. Sweets are another weakness of mine. Unfortunately, I believe that these food choices are taking a toll on me physically. The symptoms, fatigue, joints that ache, headaches, frequent breakouts, eczema, and weight that I just can't seem to loose.
For the last month I have been experimenting with raw foods and have found even with the small choices I was making a major improvement in the symptoms I mentioned above. I started out with dropping my normal toast for breakfast and going for a green smoothie instead. I also experimented with raw desserts and an occasional raw meal. I definitely felt more energy on the days I included more raw foods, the joint pain subsided, and I had no headaches. Then I had a set back when we moved a few weeks ago. We started eating out nearly every meal for a week as we worked on packing and unpacking. Within a day I was hit with a migraine headache.
With this blog I will b tracking my progress and the changes I go through. I also hope to share recipes, meal plans, support, resources and more. To get you started here is the recipe for the green smoothies that I have been enjoying so much and even my husband and son love:
Mango green smoothie:
1 cup of frozen mango
1 banana
1 cup of greens of your choice (Chard, Spinach, Kale, or Collards all work or use a mix)
.5 to 1 cup of milk alternative of your choice (I have been using rice milk)
1 Tbs of hemp or flax seed oil
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Add more or less milk to get your desired consistency. Serves 1-2. If you are having it for breakfast, you might want to drink it all yourself, but as a snack you could split it between 2 people.
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