Raw Serendipity

Juice Fast/Feast No. 2

2010-11-16T16:50:00.010-06:00

GOALS:

Similar to my first juicing adventure, this time will be a combined FAST and FEAST since my body refuses to allow that much in on a consistent basis...Some days I will FEAST on juice (4+ qts), others, I will FAST with less than 4 qts. Whatever my body wants. I am looking for continued and deeper clarity and connectedness. Clarity on many levels: spiritually, mentally, and physically. Detox is another main goal as well as weight loss (15 lbs). I want to go 41 days, but I am open to cutting it short or even going longer depending my body and my mind. The time frame for this fast will be mentally and emotionally challenging as it will go through the Holiday season. My last extended Juice Feast (Feb '10) I went 14 days. I felt I could have physically handled going on, but gave into the mental temptation. When this Fast/Feast is over, I intend to return to a High RAW lifestyle with some days or weeks being 100% RAW.

Chocolate Coffee Explosion Party Parfait

2010-07-24T16:33:00.101-05:00

After deciding to participate in Heather Pace's (of Sweetly Raw) Summer Party Parfait contest, I started thinking about several conventional treats that I wished I could enjoy in the RAW...I wanted them to look virtually identical in presentation and texture as the conventional treats. One of the first ones to come to mind ~ inspired by my Mango Apricot Sunny Parfait that I "accidentally" created yesterday, and the mason jar I used to present it, was a true Southern banana pudding served up in a Ball mason jar. This has, in the past, been one of my very guilty pleasures...Often looking forward to the times I would make it over to Pappadeaux's on FM 1960 (in my opinion, the best Pappadeaux's in town) where they serve it this way. (They even let me take the mason jars home!) The atmosphere is absolutely lovely! Like time traveling back to old New Orleans, LA when Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Ella Fitzgerald, and the other greats of the time were often performing. It has Louisiana style brick inside and out. Live jazz bands on their brick covered patio complete with overhead strung light bulbs, a court yard fountain with a baritone and bass toad orchestra, and crickets...Truly a delight! It's a mini getaway tucked away in lush surroundings right off one of the busiest streets in North West Houston.

Thus, my parfait challenge inspiration: Southern mason jar treats, brick, vintage jazz, and the love of light raw versions of old-fashioned comfort deserts. For this creation, I would need to replicate the mousse-like pudding textures (vanilla and banana creme) with bits of mild crunch through out ~ to mimic the vanilla wafer cookie that has been soaking in the pudding ~ and, of course, bananas.

As all intentions go, this was the treat I intended to make last night...However, I found there was a little girl in my house who had a craving for bananas and ate all the available ripe ones...No problem, there should be some ripe ones at the store. No such luck at 9 PM. I bought the ripest ones available (still green on the tips) and paper bagged them. What could I do in the mean time?! Well, I had just ordered a coffee flavored extract from Medicine Flower and I had been looking for an excuse to play with it. I love coffee and milk chocolate combinations, so I decided to mix Heather Pace's Triple Chocolate Parfait with her Chocolate Explosion Parfait making a couple changes to the recipes: omitting a few and adding two additional items per contest rules. My imagination could not have known how stunning the flavors and textures would be once they settled overnight in the fridge...My rendition: Chocolate Coffee Explosion Party Parfait! The title fits appropriately! It satisfies the coffee lover sans the caffeine, and the need for mousse-like pudding textured, cold creamy treats. BLISS!

For the first half of my Parfait challenge, I used two mousses from the Triple Chocolate Parfait. First, I used the Milk Chocolate Mousse ~ adding a table spoon of mesquite and an additional tablespoon of lecithin.(I used a RAW sunflower lecithin since that is what I had on hand.) This was my first experience using it, though I've had it stored in the fridge for months. The consistency is like molasses and it seemed to have made this particular mousse's texture more thick and airy/whipped-like after it sat in the fridge overnight.

I like how mesquite rounds out the bitter tones in raw cocao, so this was my first addition to the recipe.

Second, I made a different version of the Milk Chocolate Mousse ~ omitting all of the cacao powder and cacao butter, while adding seven drops of Medicine Flower's Coffee Extract and again adding another tablespoon of lecithin (for a light brown coffee color like one would find in coffee ice cream) and the thicker mousse texture.

The coffee extract was my second addition to the overall recipe.

Thirdly, I wanted a creamy white layer with more of a whipped creme flavor, so I made the White Chocolate Vanilla Mousse omitting the melted cacao butter and vanilla bean and adding and additional half cup of Irish moss gel. (I did this as I had just slightly under the amount of coconut pulp needed to make the creme as white as I wanted and I needed this layer to be mouse-like without adding the dark lecithin.) The reason I omitted the vanilla bean is that I am not terribly crazy for the intense flavor it provides, especially in the raw, as well as I wanted this cream to be as pure white as possible...no specs of vanilla. I decided to call this altered version White Vanilla Creme Mousse.

I used agave as my sweeter in this mousse as I wanted a very neutral flavor with no color.

*From the Triple Chocolate Parfait, I completely omitted the Dark Chocolate Mousse as a layer option. My goal was for creamy caramel tones...

The second half of this creamy treat came from Heather Pace's Chocolate Explosion Parfait. I knew I wanted to incorporate bananas and a crunch factor and I had already used my two allowed additions in the recipe, so I had to be creative. Thus, from the Chocolate Explosion Parfait, I used bananas and the Chocolate Cookie Crumbles. At first, I was going to also use the 1-2-3 Easy Chocolate Sauce adding two drops of the coffee extract, but I wasn't impressed by how thin it turned out ~ even after sitting in the freezer for a while.

To the Chocolate Cookie Crumbles, I added two more tablespoons of maple sugar and a tablespoon of maple syrup since the mixture was way too dry and not sticking like crumbles should.

I labeled the mousses, and set in the fridge over night to firm up.

Various pictures from around the kitchen during my preparations:

In total I used six young Thai coconuts...I needed seven. You never really know until you crack them open.

This is my cocao butter and coconut oil melting method: tiny mason jar floating in HOT water.

My mini taste tester: Eliya with a 250 ml mason jar.

The assembly:

The first layer is the White Vanilla Creme Mousse, followed by a few slices of banana and a middle (hidden) layer of Chocolate Cookie Crumbles. Next, I added a thick layer of Milk Chocolate Mousse, more bananas and a visible layer of Chocolate Cookie Crumbles. I topped that with a thick Coffee Mousse layer, followed by a thinner layer of the Milk Chocolate Mousse, and an even thinner layer of the White Vanilla Creme Mousse. Finally, the creation was completed with a topping of tiny slices of bananas and Chocolate Cookie Crumbles.

Outdoor photo shoots:

This last photo is one of my favorites because it shows the green flowering bushes, a weathered bench, and a bit of the brick which helped inspire the creation...It's a cooling outdoor setting in a humid southern climate! I have a love for vintage weathered items, and I think the weathered wood bench really brings out the spirit of my Southern mason jar inspired treat. The light brown handkerchief, and natural wood platform adds neutral caramel tones...hinting to the flavors awaiting the viewer.

This treat turned out beyond what my imagination thought it would be. Once the flavors melted together, it was absolute BLISS!

Raw Summer Treats

2010-07-23T13:56:00.007-05:00

I've been craving light sweet summer-inspired treats and have been playing around with combinations...being inspired by Heather Pace's Sweetly Raw site and recipe's. Last night, I was up a little past midnight making my first RAW cake/pie which I have named Mango Apricot Sunny. There were plenty left-overs ~ as I am still overshooting portions ~ and threw together a parfait which turned out just as stunning as the Sunny!

This parfait inspired me to enter Heather Pace's parfait contest http://www.sweetlyraw.com/. Wish me luck! I will be posting more pictures as I create my "official" entry.

DAYS 6 - 11

2010-03-12T09:01:00.003-06:00

DAY 6 found my jaw locking. Strange. However, when considering the order of healing: top down, inside out, and in reverse order - it makes sense. (Having a memory of jaw being X-Rayed in 8th grade after a silly incident with one of my best friends.) It only lasted for a day and a half. Not too bothersome.

DAYS 7 & 8 were not too interesting as far as physical detox goes. Lost two more lbs in this time period. I did laser hair removal on DAY 8. Since they refuse to put me under general anesthesia for the treatment, I had to apply a prescription strength topical anesthetic to get through the torturous procedure. All in the name of beauty. Or, is it vanity? Either way, I love the results. I barely need to shave areas being treated. Soft. The only thing I hope with my detox and higher nutritionally available diet - being RAW - is that the hair follicles don't decide to regenerate. Only in those spots I don't want them... Otherwise, please hair, feel free to grow strong!

DAY 9 I felt physically amazing in the AM and decided to do Jillian's 30-day Shred workout. I could have sworn I felt the fat melting over the muscles. It was a great workout. Did my skin brushing, shower with hot cold treatment, enema, and felt roaring to go. After all this, my lower left side (basically felt like my left ovary) decided it was going to heal something... Felt like something tearing. Of course, this is something I am used to having endometriosis. (Which, by the way, I am confident will heal during this process.) I was feeling this during a time in my cycle I don't ever feel these sensations, so I felt better knowing it was healing on some level. I just laid down with my heating pad and it disappeared by evening.

DAYS 10 & 11: I am finding more spiritual enlightenment. More confidence in where I am heading...Some synchronicity if you would like to call it that. I will go into more detail another time, but I feel bright and happy. Like I am in love with the entire world. One lesson I learned: Don't smile at a cop when sending positive energy their way. They will pull you over to get a closer look...or verbal warning on an expired inspection tag... ;)

Day 3, 4 & 5

2010-03-06T14:44:00.004-06:00

The last three days found me not physically hungry, but rather wanting to eat many different things. Something triggers the thought and memory or a certain food eaten and it goes on for a while. I call them "string thoughts". For example, on Day 3 I made mint MSM lemonade. The mint reminded me that my Noni makes her meatballs using mint... Now, I can live without meatballs, but I couldn't stop thinking about how absolutely delicious they are that I must have one...when I am done juicing...

Anyway, I have this obsession with food thoughts right now. Tuna melts, meatballs, lasagna, french fries, Thai food, lumpia... I can keep going. On Day 5 (yesterday afternoon) I entertained just going to Chick-Fil-A and getting loads of criss-cut fries. In my mind I was thinking I could suck on them until they dissolve. Trying to justify the out-of-no-where craving, I figured it wouldn't technically be 'eating'. During the same five minutes of almost taking action, I had made a Starbucks run for a "Venti Ice Water ~ extra ice" (my beverage of choice ;)) I had to buy something so I didn't look like a cheap-o. I decided my daughter could have the double fudge brownie (with all the extra white sugar). I seriously thought for a second I might buy all five that were on the display dish. I didn't. I didn't even look at the brownie I bought her. Not a sniff. Nothing. Very proud of myself during my weak moment on Day 5 juicing.

Speaking of juicing. I haven't done well with getting even close to what I need the last three days. I couldn't get my mouth to accept any liquid green. I felt nauseated at the thought. The smell of green made me feel ill. I decided to just listen to my body. Not force it down. So, I made MSM lemonade. Doing this, I also realized that honey and maple syrup are no where near appealing either (for the Master Cleanse lemonade). I have been using Stevia. That's the only thing that tastes okay as a sweetener.

I can't say that I have had any major detox symptoms. I had a strange wave-like sensation in my left ear for a few minutes. Never had that before. Also, the area between my shoulders and going up my neck have been sore. Extremely sore to the touch and even on Day 3, I had some restricted neck movement. It makes totally sense as they (the Juice Feasting experts) say that in cleansing and detox one will notice that we work backwards while healing ~ starting with the last injury. We heal from the Top down, inside out and in the revers order. I see this in the soreness and sensations that I have been observing. It's interesting and very promising. I am sure I will feel many things in my back ~ especially the neck area ~ as this has been a big issue for me the last 6 years.

In the evenings for Day 3 and Day 4 I felt slightly flu-like, but nothing major. Took enema and things were fine. Speaking of Enema, I haven't really been passing anything. I took Cascara Sagrada the evening of Day 4. Still nothing, which I am sure is lack of calories and really not enough water for a detox. I think the most notably interesting detox symptom I have seen was on Day 3: my urine had an interesting smell. It was cloudy and smelled like the white clear liquid (blood plasma) that comes out of healing sores...Hmmmm...Will have to check what that may mean. Overall, I am feeling better today (Day 6) and am drinking green. So, hopefully, I will see some change soon.

I lost seven pounds in the first five days. I don't expect it to be that dramatic the whole way through ~ as long as I get calories from my green juice.

Feeling amazing and not feeling physical hunger. I have been feeling confident that I can go 41 days. Though, I still have thoughts that I will not be 100% Raw Vegan when I finish. It may just be all the food thoughts that I think I don't want to give things up "FOREVER". But, we'll see if that changes after. I feel right this moment that HIGH RAW will be my goal.

Peace!

Day 2

2010-03-03T11:06:00.002-06:00

Day 2 I consumed 2.5 quarts of juice. Still not quite where I need to be. (Trying to get to 4 quarts.) I did feel hungry, but also a bit off. Since I am still in a "fast" mode as opposed to "feasting" I am probably detoxing a bit faster and that is why I felt so yuk in the PM. I had a headache in the evening and it felt like the right kidney was pulsing... Took my first enema and water and it eventually went away.

I created a new yummy juice: one whole honeydew melon and a half TSP of coconut oil. It was light and a nice change from the deeper green juices. Refreshing! I have been taking in my MSM (in the form of MSM lemonade concoction) in the early part of the day as well as adding chlorella and dulse. Taking two E3Live Brain On tabs ~ which I feel are already having a positive impact on my mood.

Dinner last night was green juice of: celery, red leaf lettuce, cilantro, cucumber, pear, carrot, garlic, dulse, and cayenne. Warm savory flavor!

Making my daughter's school lunches and preparing dinner (which was baked potato with cortege cheese, dulse, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper) is somewhat torturous. I still want to eat... I started to wonder if I chewed the potato ~ until it completely broke down in my mouth, would it then be considered "juice"? Yeah, that's where I am. I think I read somewhere that this (obsession) will cease in a week or so.

So, the enemas...(Good way to take mind off of food.) I have to say, they start off feeling like some sort of torture treatment (picture driving home - petal to the metal - because you have to go-so-bad - that feeling). It takes a bit, but in the end, I almost hate to say, I may grow to love these "treatments"... ;)

I lost three lbs on Day 2 ~ which I am sure was all water weight...

DAY 1

2010-03-01T22:01:00.002-06:00

I feel HUNGRY! LOL Today was really a 'juice fast' as I only drank 2 quarts of juice when I should be getting a minimum of 4. Definitely a lesson. Must drink, though I don't feel like it. Luckily, I didn't give in to the food around me: I made a sprialized salad today for family dinner, dealt with the grocery store, and successfully ignored the smell of chicken and fries from Chick-fil-A. Everything looks and smells delicious. Right now, I want to chew something...

Okay. No more food talk... I still have juice to drink. It's late. I don't want it, but I suppose I will force it down and start anew tomorrow morning.

Didn't get any of the protocol done. Totally off schedule this morning starting with a massive string of texting. Will consider ignoring that tomorrow if it happens. I need to wake up bright and early so I can get all this done on schedule. Skin brushing, exercise, shower (hot cold treatment), enema (yay!), MSM drink... OH! And, laser hair removal tomorrow. Should be very exciting day! ;)

I don't feel like I learned much today. Though, overall, I did enjoy it.

Day .5 Juice Ffeast

2010-02-28T10:31:00.006-06:00

Let's just say today was my "practice day" for juicing on the Juice Feast. I started juicing too late in the day, so hunger took over and I (gasp) ate a mango...Also, had a bite of egg and falafel...So, today is Day .5. All was not lost though, as I learned that I need an hour and a half to get approx 4 quarts of juice (veggi's cleaned, juiced, and jarred).

I had an idea of what I was committing myself to when I decided to start this Feasting journey, I now just need to actualize it by forcing my self out of bed early enough in the morning to make it realistic. I don't want to say that I am not a morning person since there have been many phases in my life when I have enjoyed waking up with the sun and getting my day started early. ~ It's just that I enjoy being awake late into the evening as well...We'll see what happens as I continue down this path for the next month-and-a-half.

GOALS:

The primary reason I decided to Juice Feast was for clarity and connectedness. Clarity on many levels: spiritually, mentally, and physically. Detox is another main goal as well as some weight loss. I am hoping when I am done with my 41 days, that I find myself in state of balance and clarity in all the major aspects of life. More connected... That I will return to a High RAW ~ if not 100% RAW ~ lifestyle. Also, I am sure I will discover many interesting things about myself, the world around me, and others I love. I fully look forward to enjoying this journey and any challenges that arise!