I made JUICE

and it is FANTASTIC!

I used this recipe from {gone raw DOT com}, a truly wonderful resource, both for its RAW recipes and for its forum community.

The recipe had only three ingredients, most of which I had on hand -

• 1 apple
• 2 peaches
• half a can of pineapple with its juice

It called for fresh pineapple, but because I'm on a tight budget, I used the canned variety that I had on hand. I found it to be extra handy, since it had the juice and all.


It's so smooth and light! Delightfully refreshing and tingly on my tastebuds! And all I needed was my food processor and a paint-straining bag-thing! It took all of 5 minutes to prepare the fruit, blend, and strain, leaving me plenty of time to enjoy!

This healthy eating thing is just so darn novel, I can't get over it!

Watch out for my post later this evening (or in the morning), for I am preparing a Vegetarian meal, as promised!

Bananas and I ...

... don't seem to get along.

I have a love/hate relationship with 'nanners. I love them, they hate me! It's happened a few times - I eat a banana, and then have to run to the bathroom to allow it a hasty exit, stage left. It sours my stomach, usually very suddenly, and I have the uncontrollable urge to hurl.

I (foolishly) tentatively tried one again today. I needed a quick pick-me-up. My sugars were low, and I didn't want to make a sandwich. My roommate's bananas called to me quite beguilingly, only to prove once and for all, that bananas are not for me.

So I made my first bowl of cereal with Almond Mylk instead of Milk-milk. I was a bit trepidatious, as milk often has the same violently disasterous result with my stomach chemistry that bananas do, but ...

It. was. delicious!

And my stomach is calm as ... something that is very calm!

Now I'm off to conquer my day-off from work. I recently found out from Bitt of Raw that I can make juice using only a Blender! So I'm off to Home Depot for to buy some paint-straining bags. I want to experiment with juices before I try a juice fast next week that I was inspired to do after reading Raw Goddess Healthy's post.

Toodles!

Salad. I enjoys it

Much has happened today which made my planned trip to the grocery store fall through, but I remain undeterred. Salad fixin's to the rescue! I had hoped to make a full-fledged Vegetarian meal this evening, but putting it off an extra day never hurt anyone. So I'm sitting here enjoying the fruits vegetables of my labours and leafing through my (many) Veg' recipes, planning tomorrow night's meal.

While I'm doing that, here's a photo of my tres delicious salad, with

• iceburg lettuce
• 2/3 of a green bell pepper
• one whole vine-ripened tomato
• a handful of chopped yellow onion bits

topped with Kraft Italian Dressing and freshly-grated parmesean cheese.

Bon apetit!

Going Veg.

I have been remiss in my blog-maven duties. For that, dear readers (assuming I had any...), I offer my deepest apologies.

This blog, for anyone who may remember its old incarnation, has ... evolved. Lets just call it like it is - it's completely re-vamped! There's a new theme. No longer am I merely chronicling my daily escapades (if they can even be called that), this blog now has a purpose. I have a purpose.

Lemme 'splain you:

January rolled around (as it often does), and I took stock of all the things I'd like to accomplish in 2010. It's a new year ... hell, it's a new decade! What do I want to do with my life?

Without hesitation, let me share with you the goal I wrote smack-dab at the top of my list:

I WANT TO GO VEGETARIAN.

Last year ... no, before that. In 2008, I started buying cook books. I wanted to eat healthier by eating at home. I was getting tired of fast food burgers and other overly processed foods. I wanted to go back to the basics.

My body was telling me something, and I was finally pausing long enough to listen to it. But there was something missing ... I needed something more. Eating at home was not enough, and I knew it. At the tail-end of 2008, I was going through a period wherein most foods sounded repulsive, and I had a hard time keeping anything down. I was under extreme amounts of stress, both at home and at work, and I wasn't coping with it well.

That was when I first started making the connection that what I put in my body has a profound effect on the way I feel. It was also the first time that I began to pinpoint specific foods and the way I reacted to them. Milk was my first observation. Milk aggravates my already frustrating post-nasal drip, and if I'm not careful, will make me throw up. Beef, regardless of how well prepared, makes my stomach go sour. I began clinging to my "safe" list and making a conscious effort to omit the worst offenders.

It wasn't until a few months had passed that I was hit upside the head by the Cosmic clue-by-four, and realized that the diet that I was beginning to follow had a name - Vegetarianism - and that there must be books about how to do it, and do it properly.

Being a voracious reader, I went to the local bookstore and sought them out. Another clue-by-four later, it dawned on me that there must be websites and blogs about it, too!

In January of 2009, I excitedly wrote a goal of becoming vegetarian in my New Year's resolutions. My motives? While I know it to be a highly ethical lifestyle, I frankly loved the way I felt after eating a fresh, Vegetarian meal. It was novel. My body was telling me something, and it was right! And furthermore, as I started removing certain things from my diet, the urge to throw-up began to dissipate.

As we all know, however, resolutions - especially of the New Year variety - are often broken. For many reasons, I was not a Vegetarian by the time January 2010 rolled around. I was daunted by the prospect of restocking the entire kitchen. I was daunted by the fact that I have no working repertoire of what constitutes a healthy Vegetarian meal. But I was also frustrated by the fact that, as the only aspiring Vegetarian in a three-person household, cooking two separate meals seemed like the only option. One for me, one for them.

Instead of being frustrated at my (lack of) progress, or being daunted by the sheer magnitude of The Goal, I simply added VEGETARIANISM to the top of my list of Resolutions this year.

My dear wife had a wonderful idea:

So that I don't burn out on the idea (again), why don't I plan just one meal per week? I don't work on Sundays, so that'd be a perfect day to do some meal planning, then hit the grocery store for just the meal's-worth of produce. It'd allow me the chance to slowly build my confidence in the kitchen without feeling overwhelmed. As I get more and more proficient and ambitious, I can begin adding meals. Breakfasts, for instance, would be an easy meal to plan Veg.

AND she offered to help in the kitchen. I'll make a Vegetarian meal for myself, which will be a side dish for the others. SHE will be in charge of cooking the meat for the meal.

Problem solved.

=^.^=

The purpose of this blog, then, is to record my progress on the path to Vegetarianism. Each Sunday, I'll write an entry about my newest culinary creation, possibly posting pictures along the way.

So wish me luck! And be sure to tune in this Sunday for the first installment!

mmmm

I've never considered myself to be much of a cook. My repertoire has mainly comprised of ... macaroni and cheese, very basic quesadillas, and a mean turkey sammitch.

Of late, Merry and I have not been eating at home much, and it has not only hurt our pocket book, but our tummies as well. We've both been feeling a bit worse for the wear, and eating fast food has a lot to do with it, m'thinks.

I've already mentioned my tentative foray into the culinary world... well, its success has inspired me to delve further into the Art. I've been printing off (simple) recipes and compiling them in a binder, and have made one or two more dishes (which have had mixed review from my hostage captivated audience of One - namely, Merry). I however am undeterred (and rather liked the meals to boot)!

I'm simply beside myself. I'm addicted to recipezaar {dot} com and allrecipes {dot} com, and unashamed to admit it.

Huzzah!

Success is mine!

I have successfully followed a recipe, and it turned out marvelously. I made an apple salad with a dressing consisting of mayo, applesauce, honey, lemon juice and salt. I then mixed in diced apples, celery, sunflower seeds, and raisins.

Delicious!

Going Green

... greener, anyway.

I bought a book at Half Priced Books t'other day: basically a Vegetarian 101. I love animals - they're delicious - so why a book on vegetarianism? I have been eating hella unhealthily and desperately want to overhaul my eating habits. While I don't want to give up meat, I do want to incorporate tons of Freshies into my diet.

The book is pretty cool. It demystifies the whole "cooking" thing (I am by no means a goddess in the Kitchen), and has pretty awesome recipes to boot.

I picked one out and Merry and I went grocery-shopping this morning. We spent less than usual and got more food out of the deal, which was pretty awesome. We got salad stuffs, things for the new dish tomorrow, sandwich things, and hamburger meat. So, a few meals and a bunch of lunches. Sounds like a winner to me!

I'm excited.

We've been talking about overhauling our food intake for a while now, even merely in portion size, but every time I think "Cut back, gotta cut back", I feel the need to eat compulsively. Not cool.

But for some reason this morning felt like a fresh start. I've had a few light snacks and have eaten healthily on the whole.

I think this is going to stick.

Yay!