Eating Raw

Eating raw for me can be challenging. Fresh fruits and veggies are easy enough to come by but I need variety or I get bored easily. I also need to have dessert every once in a while - I've got a huge sweet tooth!

I subscribe to Purely Delicious, a raw food lifestyle magazine. It comes quarterly and in it are wonderful articles about living raw, organic and as green as you can imagine. This issue, Spring 2010 has a few dessert recipes that I'm going to try. One of them I'm trying tonight. Here's the recipe;

Banana Caramel Cake
This cake is best described as "ooey gooey and downright fabulous!" ...I'll be the judge of that!

Fudge Cake
3C dry walnuts
2/3C raw cacao powder
1/4t sea salt
1 1/2C Medjool dates, pitted

Caramel Sauce
1/4C agave nectar
3/4C macadamia nuts
1 1/2T vanilla powder or liquid
4T almond milk
3T yacon syrup
4T cacao butter
1/8t salt

Filling
3C bananas, sliced

Combine the walnuts, cacao powder and salt in the food processor and process until mixed. Avoid over processing. Add the dates and pulse until mixed well. Pour one-half of mixture into a 8x8 dish and press lightly then add a layer of sliced bananas and set aside. To make the caramel sauce, blend all sauce ingredients in high-speed blender until smooth. Pour one half of the sauce over the bananas. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from freezer and add the remaining cake mixture. Next, add another layer of sliced bananas and frost the top and sides. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours until firm. Enjoy!

I'll let you know how it goes. But to me, it sounds like heaven!

And on a side note, my husband and I did the p90x workout for shoulders and arms yesterday and after that we did the AbX workout. OMG, I never realized how out of shape my core is...I was grunting like some of the men do when lifting really heavy weights. It wasn't pretty but I survived another workout and I'm very proud of myself and my honey. Life is always better when you go through the tough stuff with someone you love, don't you agree?

Ah Monday

I'm sluggish today. Over the past 5 weeks I've been eating a 90% raw food diet. Yesterday we celebrated Mother's Day with my cousin, her husband and their two daughters. Since they're not vegetarian, my husband and I made some typical dips (mayo, sour cream and spices) to share, along with chips and pretzels. We also made a pasta salad - I can't remember the last time I ate pasta! So, long story short, I feel bloated, tired and sluggish.

I had a bowl of fresh fruit for breakfast and I think I'll have a Shakeology Greenberry Shake for lunch. Here's my simple recipe; I add all these ingredients into a blender
*mango sun tea (I brew the tea outside in the sun)less calories than fruit juice
*1/2 frozen banana
*1/2 C frozen mango
*1 scoop Greenberry Shakeology

Blend for a few minutes and I have an instant pick-me-up lunch filled with 70 vitamins and nutrients and it doesn't weigh me down...thank goodness.

I'd better get back to basics for a few days to kick start me back into feeling light and healthy again.