Food Fog

RawFu Challenge - Day 50

Sunday, 27 September 2009

Pardon the extremely long blog entry. I have just written a sentence or two in my word processing program every day for the past couple weeks, hoping to have time to string them together into a paragraph or two worthy of posting. It’s evident that won’t happen, so this is the awkward compilation of our continued RawFu adventure. It’s going fairly well. The challenges I occasionally have are not so much related to being on a raw food diet, but more just trying to accommodate everyone’s food needs within the confines of our schedule and my energy level. Some days I get a creative whim and come up with some really yummy stuff. Most days, Darren and I eat green smoothies, chia seed “pudding” parfaits, salads, fruit and chopped veggies. The kids eat a lot more salad now, and sample many of our raw creations, too. I supplement them with stir-fries, beans and rice, and gluten-free spaghetti with veggies, gluten-free oatmeal, buckwheaties with hemp milk, and a variety of fairly healthy snacks. I think we’re doing pretty well.

So, here’s a recap of the past ten days…

On Day 40, Flo and I went to Gold’s Gym to try a yoga class. The instructor is Flo’s former kid’s yoga teacher, so we thought we’d try out her class since it’s included in our gym membership. It was nice to see her, and it was relaxing to have an hour of solitude. I’d like to make a habit of going at least once a week.

The next morning, we were up early for our homeschooling co-op. I’d had a couple days where I’ve taken a green smoothie break. It’s not rocket science to make one, but I’m often in a rush, and it’s easier to just grab a couple pieces of fruit on the way out the door. But, this day I did manage to bring along the “green goodness.” That night I got in a nice long walk in the evening with Zofia. Walking isn’t always relaxing with the kids in tow, but tonight Zofia complied, and I enjoyed the exercise and fresh air. Unfortunately, it was followed by a rather restless night of sleep. I had been up late obsessing over how to simplify our overly busy schedule, and I guess that was just too much to think about right before bed time.

Thankfully, the next day was a rather lazy Saturday and we got a quiet interlude in the afternoon while my mom had Flo, Zofia took a nap, and Joe played by himself. We had quite a few butternut squash in the fridge from our co-op, so we decided to make raw butternut squash soup. We didn't really follow a recipe; it's pretty simple. We kept it more on the savory side, rather than sweet. We warmed it up a bit in the VitaMix, and topped it off with some of the leftover shredded cabbage for a little texture; “souper” yummy! The leftover cabbage was from our first batch of raw kimchi. We've just started dabbling in fermented foods. Fun!

The following day, Day 43, we headed down to Arlington, Virginia to watch Joe compete in a hockey shoot-out. He got to meet his favorite goalie, and is moving on to the final shoot-out at the Verizon Center on October 15. It was fun watching him, but quite a marathon with Zofia in tow. We stopped at My Organic Market in Frederick on the way down to get a few “raw” goodies, and then hit the produce section of Whole Foods after hockey. We didn’t get home until after 9pm, so it was a long day, and I was really dragging by the end of it.

Day 44, a Monday, was a busy day. I started out feeling kind of bloated from the previous day’s trip and haphazard eating in the car. Then we were off to a birthday party at the ice rink… back home for a few hours… then out to a board meeting at church… back home… took a walk with dog, Flo and Zofia… everyone asleep by midnight… But, then I was up until almost 3am trying to catch up with my to-do list. That’s a lost cause.

Day 45 was our weekly organic produce delivery day. I sorted everything, and then went over to my friend, Jessica’s, to drop her stuff off and visit for awhile. I left Flo there for the afternoon, so it was more quiet than usual when I got home, since Zofia napped for a couple hours, and Joe worked on his reading and math with Darren. We also opened the first batch of kimchi on this day. I really liked it, though I think we could tweak the amount of salt next time (too much). Darren thought it smelled bad and is hoping it’s an acquired taste. We’ll try another batch, or try some different cultured veggie recipes at some point.

Again, those feelings of being a bit overwhelmed lately with scheduling and my food prep responsibilities came to the forefront mid-week. I know I’ve been stress eating a lot lately. Rarely are my meals ever able to be enjoyed slowly and without constant interruptions. I was also been nibbling on too much dried fruit and nuts. We got a bunch from our co-op, and I guess having a lot around makes it easy to be more creative with recipes, but also lends to an extra handful or two here and there. So, I’ve been trying to be more conscious of that.

Regrettably, sleep deprivation doesn’t always lend to conscious eating, or conscious anything for that matter. I got up early the next day, after almost no sleep, to take the kids down to Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary for a field trip with our homeschooling group. Darren was on his way home from DC, so he stopped by and took the tour with us, then took Joe home with him afterwards. Flo, Zofia and I had intended to find a nice state park somewhere and take a little hike, enjoy the picnic lunch we brought along, and head home in the afternoon. As it turns out, Zofia got car sick, causing us to detour to find a place to clean her up. We then ended up down in Sterling, Virginia, in the parking lot of Borders. Flo enjoyed a salad from Chipotle, which was in the plaza, and I cleaned up Zofia. We then headed home on Route 15, which apparently is carsick-inducing, as well, because Zofia got sick again! We had just stopped at a produce stand to grab a couple pieces of fruit, and on our way out, she threw up all over herself. I pulled over again at a small park and cleaned her up, but we were out of extra clothing, so she was down to just her diaper in her stinky car seat.

We finally made our way to Frederick, and decided to look around the Good Will store for an excuse to stretch our legs and get Zofia a cheap outfit, so we could go grab a few groceries at the natural foods store without carrying Zofia around in a diaper. So, we went over to the Common Market, grabbed a few things, and sat at a picnic table beside the parking lot; me enjoying a nice salad from my cooler, and Flo, enjoying a sampling of a new hemp ice cream. Zofia must have been hungry, because she gobbled up half of my salad, too!

After getting almost home, then hitting grid locked traffic on I-70, we detoured through town and finally made it home around 7pm. I then put away the groceries, removed the cover from Zofia’s car seat and hosed the seat down. Then it was out the door for a half hour walk and back home to make Joe something else to eat. Then, finally, a little potential downtime availed itself around 10pm, but Zofia foiled that plan again. Drats!

Since I had given up trying to accomplish anything with Zofia awake the night before, and just went to bed with her around 11pm, Day 48 started off with a good night’s sleep behind me and a much more optimistic outlook of what I could accomplish in a day. The day was basically filled with a few household chores, lessons with the kids, making coleslaw for the next day’s monthly vegan potluck and taking a long walk with Flo around downtown Hagerstown, while Joe and Darren were at hockey practice at the ice rink.

Of course, to every high, there is a low, and the previous day’s good night sleep was negated by a night of insomnia. I was up until 4:30am, not particularly agitated about anything specific, though my mounting to-do list and overly-filled calendar are definitely fodder for anxiety. I had got a burst of culinary inspiration, and was up until around midnight making a raw pie to take to our potluck the next day. It turned out well, so at least it was worth the effort, but I made a note to myself to not start any kitchen projects after 9pm.

For our potluck on that Saturday (Day 49), we brought the pie, along with some raw coleslaw, smoothies and some bananas. Our meal was so yummy that we didn’t even feel deprived foregoing the array of vegan vittles. And our lovely friend, Shawna, even made a spicy raw carrot/coconut soup, and there were some nice salads, so we felt indulged. Despite not sampling all the dishes, it is still fun to see what people create and I enjoy sharing recipe ideas. After getting home from our potluck in the evening, I was watching a YouTube video on seed yogurt, and got inspired! So, I put a batch of pumpkin/hemp seed yogurt in the dehydrator (doubles as a yogurt maker). It’s always fun to have something in the dehydrator to check out in the morning.

Thus, Day 50, the halfway point, commenced with checking on the yogurt’s progress, then putting it in the fridge to try with lunch. It was definitely a bit tangy, and not very thick. I’ll have to work on tweaking it a bit. I have another batch in there now. I didn’t put any of the non-dairy yogurt starter in this time, so we’ll see how it turns out.

On that note, Day 50 comes to a close. We’ve reached the peak, and I think it’s all downhill from here, with the exception of the arrival of my in-laws the day before Halloween. They’re staying for a week, so, we’ll see how much salad they can eat before they throw up their hands and head out to McDonald’s! Ha! Well, I’ll try not to starve them anyway, but having guests is always a bit of a source of anxiety for me, when it comes to meals. I’m very aware that our eating habits have deviated pretty far out of the mainstream, and not everyone will be excited by our culinary offerings. But, I do my best, and we haven’t scared anyone away yet, though I think we’ve given a guest or two a case of increased fiber induced gastrointestinal distress!

RawFu Challenge - Day 38

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Today was a busy day, and far from perfection with regards to balance. I had a green smoothie of kale and pear for breakfast. Then, around noon, I ate sun gold cherry tomatoes and raspberries while I was sorting the produce from our co-op. If that wasn’t a bad enough combination, while putting away the month’s delivery from our other natural foods co-op, I ate four or five handfuls of cashews, almonds, raisins, a few dried apricots and figs while trying to sort them into containers before Zofia got into everything. After that, I was too full to eat a salad, so I ate a few handfuls of lettuce while making a salad for Darren and the kids. I topped off that completely unbalanced meal with a cup of tea with almond milk and one dark chocolate truffle ball from Natural Zing. Eww… I feel like I ate a brick.

But, on a positive note, my mom stopped by briefly in the afternoon, and Darren and I got a chance to take a walk alone for an hour. He rode his bike, so I could keep a good pace walking beside him. It was nice to have a chance to talk. He works at home, but sometimes I feel like we hardly see each other!

Later on, we actually went to the gym for the second day in a row! I rode the bike for about 20 minutes, walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes, and did some crunches. It wasn’t a superbly intense workout, but it felt good to be moving and doing something a little different.

I rounded out the day with a quick trip to the bookstore to pick up Dan Brown’s new novel. Now if I can just sequester myself in a corner for a few hours here and there, I’ll be able to enjoy reading it!

So, not a bad day, but I’m really craving veggies. I’ve got to get more organized and prepare some things a day in advance, so I have healthy stuff on hand when I’m actually hungry. I got cherry tomatoes, butternut squash, pears, watermelon, crimini mushrooms and raspberries in today’s produce delivery. I think I’ll go surf around for some interesting recipes.

Bon nuit!

RawFu Challenge - Day 37

Monday, 14 September 2009

I impulsively decided to mix things up a bit today, and had Darren drop me off at Gold’s Gym on his way to take Flo to her ice skating lesson. Zofia and Joe came along with me, and enjoyed an hour in the kid’s area while I walked on the treadmill in the “cardio cinema” watching the movie, We Are Marshall. It was very relaxing, and I don’t know why I don’t take more advantage of our membership. Every month, we say if we don’t use it more, we’re going to cancel. Then I go once or twice, and delude myself of the possibility that we’ll ever get our money’s worth. Nonetheless, we’ll defer cancelling a couple more months, and enjoy our occasional visits, before giving our budget its New Year’s overhaul. Flo’s former yoga teacher now teaches a class there once a week, so I think we’ll try to make it to that, too.

I brought my green smoothie along for after my workout. It was particularly “green” this morning, consisting only of a lot of kale, 2 pears and water. It was surprisingly not bad, and even Zofia drank quite a bit. I find I’d rather eat my fruit, than drink it, so I’ve been trying to use as little as possible in my green smoothie; just enough to make it palatable.

Our Natural Zing order arrived today, so we’ve restocked some of our raw food favorites, like hemp seed, almonds, chia seeds, and kelp noodles. Some new things I got to try are lucuma powder and Irish moss flakes. And, of course, our order wouldn’t be complete without a couple raw chocolate treats. We got UliMana mint truffles, and a Righteously Raw caramel bar.

Yesterday, I sliced up a couple of the many eggplants we have in our fridge from our produce co-op. I was looking for ways to use them up and saw a recipe online for raw eggplant “bacon.” I loosely followed the recipe for the marinade, letting it soak for about six hours, then dehydrated it overnight. It is very tasty, but more like chips. So, I think we sliced it too thin, and will give it another try with thicker slices in a day or two.

I also spent awhile this evening cutting up a huge surplus of very ripe bananas we had sitting on our counter for awhile. They make a good addition to smoothies, or as an occasional raw “ice cream” treat. I love bananas. Aside from the fact that they’re not grown locally, they’re almost the perfect food; sweet, filling, nutritious and packaged to go.

Flo had her first music lessons of the new school year this afternoon. The store is next to Starbucks, and last year, I quite enjoyed taking her and spending an hour or so daydreaming there, sipping my usual decaf Americano with soymilk. Today, I brought along my own decaf coffee, made with a teaspoon of organic instant coffee, a pinch of vanilla and homemade almond milk. I sipped that and strolled around with Zofia, who was sleeping in her stroller, while Flo was in her lesson. Coffee is still an indulgence for me, and the quiet interlude was a good combination.

The day is coming to a close, and I’m going to yield to sleep and go to bed soon.

RawFu Challenge - Day 36

It’s becoming apparent to me that blogging regularly is more of a challenge, than the raw food challenge itself. So, I’ve resolved to not hold myself to the goal of a daily entry, but to just write when I have something to say or have the time.

I’m struggling with balance a bit, I think. I might be in kind of a food rut with my own routine of green smoothies, fruit and salads, and I’m still adapting to eliminating wheat and soy from Joe’s diet, on top of everything else he was already allergic to. I’m finding it very mentally draining to be having to think about food all the time; what the kids are going to have for their next meal; what Darren and I will eat; when we’ll have time to prep stuff with our busy schedule; what Joe needs in his lunchbox for his hockey travels; what we’ll make for a potluck; what we’ll feed visitors; what I need to order from our co-op; what I need to get at the grocery store! AHHH! To be honest, I’m rather stressed sometimes and find myself eating a little haphazardly, as a result. However, I know I’ve evolved somewhat over the years, though, because rather than succumb to the stress, I just realize is a transitional phase to something new, and I just have to be conscious and trust in myself, and things will work themselves out. Still, I have my moments!

Yesterday, Flo, Zofia and I headed down to VegFest in DC at George Washington University. Joe had a hockey game early in the morning, and Darren worked overtime. So, it was a girls’ day out! It was a good opportunity for Flo to absorb some information and enjoy some treats without having to worry about her pesty brother. She managed to stick to her gluten-free trial at the festival, despite her anticipation that she’d be miserable not sampling all the vegan baked goods and treats. But, she found some gluten-free vegan donuts from Emily’s Desserts, and a big dish of vanilla vegan soft serve. To balance out her sweets, I was happy to find the Mojo Juice Club was a vendor there, too. They had an amazing raw food platter. I’m not sure what it was; a sandwich with some sort of raw burger and bbq sauce, with a side of marinated kale salad. Lish! That, along with another vendor that was selling some really good apples, I quite enjoyed the diversity of food for the day. We also stopped at Whole Foods on our way out of town for a salad and to pick up a few items for the week, so it was definitely an indulgent day.

Today, Joe had more hockey down in Rockville, then over to Baltimore. He had a great day, but it was lots of driving this weekend, and a bit of stress for me figuring out what to feed everyone. It’s easy at home, but on the road, making travel foods for Joe with no wheat, nuts, soy, or legumes, and trying to keep his lunchbox healthy, and not full of gluten-free vegan junk foods, is a challenge! I’m still working on some staple items for him. I did make a really good chia seed “yogurt” for him. We used to use plain soy yogurt to soak oats and fruit overnight. Since the soy yogurt is out, and nut/seed yogurts aren’t an option, I made a sort of yogurt by blending chia seeds, water, vanilla, a little lemon juice, a tablespoon of coconut butter and a few dates in the VitaMix. I soaked his oats in that, with some frozen raspberries and it was consumed in its entirety, so I think it was a success!

Well, the great experiment (life) continues. Stay tuned for more fragmented dietary musings and philosophical ramblings…

RawFu Challenge - Day 30

Tuesday, 08 September 2009

I think I overdid the dehydrated goodies yesterday. I was really busy with the kids, and never felt like I got a minute to myself. I kept eating handfuls of raw granola and these little almond “cookies.” Top that off with a few flax crackers, and I was feeling pretty bloated and sluggish by the evening. Oh well, occasional episodes of dietary imbalance are to be expected. I chalk it up to experience, and move on.

Today was much the same, in terms of being busy, and not having much time to plan or enjoy a meal. But, I did make a decision to avoid any grains or nuts today, sticking to fruits and veggies. I was hoping to alleviate the bloated feeling I still had when I woke up, and the accompanying intestinal discomfort. Sometimes I wonder if I have some possible food allergies, but I just never have the time to really delve into doing an elimination diet. Some day.

Anyway, after a hectic day, Flo and I headed out for a walk around 6pm. Zofia dozed off for a late nap, so I figured we should take advantage of a little time to get some fresh air and exercise. We walked around town for a couple hours, and the Darren, Joe and, now awake, Zofia, came to pick us up. Darren is used to rendezvousing with me at various spots around town. It’s so much fun to walk to different locations, than it is to circle our neighborhood. Though, circling our neighborhood in the dark, walking the dog, is often quite relaxing, too. Just some of the ways this busy mom tries to squeeze in exercise and not feel like I’m neglecting anyone.

As a result of today’s produce delivery, I know of quite a few eggplants, wax beans, broccoli, red peppers, portabella mushrooms, microgreens, and watermelon in my fridge. I think I’ll go Google raw eggplant recipes… Not quite sure what to do with them. We’ll see what I come up with!

Today’s Green Smoothie: 1 bunch of dandelion greens, 1 small pear, 1 cup frozen cantaloupe, half a frozen banana & water.

RawFu Challenge - Day 29

Monday, 07 September 2009

Too tired… Must relent to the completion of other tasks… but the adventure continues!

Today’s Green Smoothie: 1 bunch of dandelion greens, 2 small pears, 2 cups concord grapes picked from an arbor at our church, 1 frozen banana & water.

RawFu Challenge - Day 28

Sunday, 06 September 2009

An interesting byproduct of a raw food diet (for me) is the clarity I’ve gained about the roll of food in our lives, and about all the things that nourish us, beyond what we put in our mouths. Though I definitely believe in the healing and health-promoting power of whole natural foods, I know that it would be futile to attempt to theorize the ideal diet, even based on scientific data. When it comes down to it, we get one life (well, in this body, anyway), and there is a whole gamut of factors that contribute to a healthy body. I probably wouldn’t have said so in my younger years, but I now believe that the mind and how we think/feel is equally important as caring for the body with respect to our health, longevity and the pursuit of happiness. That sounds simplistic, but when I was in my early 20’s and weighed 250 pounds, my only objective was weight loss. If I could just lose the weight, everything would be better; I’d be healthier, better-looking and happy. I didn’t have the wisdom back then to realize there are lots of skinny miserable people!

In the years since then, I’ve had the opportunity to experience an array of lifestyle changes and have been everywhere on the dietary scale from overweight junk food eating binge-eater and yo-yo dieter, to strict vegan and now raw food enthusiast. I’ve seen the impact the improvements in the quality of my food have made on my physical health, and even feel I probably averted a couple rather serious health issues. But, there really is only so far food can take you. I think I could probably be an overweight raw foodist without much effort. It’s individual behaviors and other lifestyle practices that complete the health spectrum, and without attention to the balance of those things, it’s easy to maintain less than optimal health on any dietary path.

That said, I’m enjoying our raw food challenge tremendously, and am looking at it as a learning experience. We are trying to do as close to 100 percent raw as possible during the challenge. Afterwards, I’d love to maintain what I hear termed a “high raw” diet. I don’t want to ever hold myself to any 100 percent standard for anything. That’s too inflexible and mentally exhausting right now.

So, just a little reflection of where I am at close to the month mark… though I’ve been at this for a few months now, actually. My major challenges still seem to be planning, and preparing separate things for the kids. This isn’t a struggle in terms of food cravings or wanting to eat what I make them, it’s just the time management of doing it all. If it weren’t for Joe’s allergies, ninety percent of the time, I would just make one raw food dish and serve it to everyone, like it or not, supplementing with additional cooked items for the kids. But, I haven’t been elevated to the level of allergen free kid-friendly raw food chef yet. I’ll keep working on it!

Dehydrator Fun for the Day: Last night I made a batch of flax crackers, mainly out of the need to use up a ton of tomatoes we have. So, I soaked a cup of golden flax seeds for a few hours, then into the VitaMix I put 1 green onion, 1 clove of garlic, 6 Roma tomatoes, 3 small maroon carrots, 1 soaked fig, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp black pepper, half tsp chili powder & 2 tbsp of chia seeds. I blended that all up, then poured into a bowl, adding the soaked (and rinsed) flax seeds. I mixed it together and let sit covered in a bowl for a couple hours… it got quite a bit thicker… then spread it on two dehydrators sheets and dehydrator overnight… flipped in the morning… enjoyed with dinner…

Today’s Green Smoothies: 1 bunch of dandelion greens, 1 pear, 1 orange, & water.

RawFu Challenge - Day 27

Saturday, 05 September 2009

By mid-afternoon today, two of my three children were unable to control themselves due to fatigue. Joe had gotten up at 6am to head down towards DC for a hockey game, and he and Darren didn’t get back home until around 2pm because of the holiday traffic. Flo had a sleepover at our house last night with two friends, and she stayed up late. So, just about the time Darren and I were hoping to relax, the meltdown ensued.

Our solution for this was… Darren taking Joe out in the yard to play baseball, while strapping Zofia (who was being a challenge herself) into the stroller to sit on the sidelines and watch. I took Flo and headed out for a walk for an hour or so. When we got back around 7pm, everything went fine because the kids were occupied watching Little House on the Prarie. But, around 9pm Flo and Joe started squabbling again. At this point, we finally had enough and sent them to bed early.

I hate days where there’s so much drama and yelling. It’s exhausting! My experience as an only child was so much different. I remember being dramatic and certainly challenged my mother’s nerves at times, I’m sure, but the constant competition and bickering with a sibling is something that I’m just not sure how to mediate most effectively sometimes. My general approach is to just TRY to keep calm and not engage in the drama with them. Also, distraction is often a good tool!

Anyway, I digress… on the raw food front… all is well… nothing new or adventurous today. We did take a break from the standard salad, and made a yummy kale salad with creamy cashew dressing. We’re trying to be frugal and use up stuff we already have before our next co-op delivery in a little over a week. We had a big bag of cashews we had been saving to try to make a raw cheesecake for a potluck, but decided to just use them to make nut milk and in recipes. Of course, Joe can’t eat them, so it’s a constant challenge to find tasty alternatives for him, so we can offer him as many raw veggie dishes as possible. Beans and rice are still a staple in his diet.

I’m falling asleep at my desk as I write this. I guess that’s a sign that I should go to bed. Over and out.

Today’s Green Smoothies: 1 bunch of dandelion greens, 1 pear, 1 orange, & water.

RawFu Challenge - Day 26

Friday, 04 September 2009

When I’m tired, I feel like it’s easier to eat more for sort of an unconscious attempt to get more energy. I did okay today, but didn’t really have any plan, and kind of nibbled all day long… maybe munching on a little too much fruit and too many handfuls of raw granola. But, I got in my greens with two green smoothies and a simple salad for dinner. Oh… and still a cup of instant decaf organic coffee with almond milk. Although, I got some really good rooibos tea that I’m going to try to start substituting for my coffee here and there. All in all, a pretty standard day these days.

Our first homeschooling co-op of the “school” year started today. The kids had a great time. I’m exhausted. Flo’s having a sleepover with two neighbor girls tonight. They’re having a great time downstairs playing with my camera and coming up with all sorts of creative stuff. I think they’re going outdo me when it comes to staying awake. Zofia fell asleep at 7:30pm… and she’s still asleep! Oops... spoke too soon... now she's in my lap, half asleep. Darren and Joe have to be in Alexandria, VA by 8:30am tomorrow for a hockey game, so they went to bed early, too. I think I’ll forget the housework I hoped to accomplish tonight, and go check in on RawFu.com for a little inspiration. Then I’ll go watch something on TV for awhile. My DVR has been seriously neglected.

Nighty Night! RawFu!

Today’s Green Smoothies: 1 bunch of dandelion greens, 2 frozen bananas, 1 pear, & water.

RawFu Challenge - Day 25

Thursday, 03 September 2009

We’ve made it a quarter of the way through our raw food challenge! I’m finding it fairly effortless at this point, though I’m sure I could often do better with balance. Today I was down in DC for dentist appointments, and we went to Whole Foods Market for lunch. My mom tagged along to help out with the kids. I think she thought my snack of raw corn with pepper, strawberries and grapes was an odd, and unsatisfying combination. It probably is odd, but it’s just what looked good to me. I generally consider my trips to natural food stores, where there’s an abundance of organic produce, to be a luxury, and I indulge in whatever appeals to me (and fits the budget). For later, I picked up a box of locally grown herb salad mix, an organic avocado, a bottle of organic hemp oil, some sea salt & a fancy pepper shaker with some exotic pepper. I also got a couple little containers of pre-cut shredded zuchinni, and red onions, to add to the mix, along with a bottle of kombucha. I had also packed a small cooler for the ride with a little container of chia seeds soaked in almond milk with goji berries, a container of melon from our co-op, and a green smoothie. So, I felt well fed today.

Sometimes it seems a little narcissistic to be journaling daily about what I eat…. Oh well, I’m sure my two dedicated blog followers are riveted to their computer chairs, in great anticipation of finding out how my day went. Ha!

Anyway, this experience is certainly bringing to the forefront the necessity for pre-planning. If I don’t plan well, I often end up hungry. I don’t worry about going crazy and eating poorly, and I don’t even mind feeling hungry from time to time. It’s just the fact that other people rely on me to have food prepared, too. And now with Joe’s additional allergy concerns, there’s practically nothing I can feed him that I don’t prepare myself. With our often hectic schedule, I’d be lying if I said it was always easy. Some days are great. Some days are pretty challenging. On the more challenging ones, I have elaborate dreams about a raw food, allergy-friendly drive thru restaurant!

Today’s Green Smoothie: 1 bunch of dandelion greens, 1 cup frozen red watermelon, 1 pear, 1 frozen banana & water.