chocolate was calling my name...

so that's what I had for dinner... my chocolate haystack pudding concoction.... followed up by a super EASY. RAW. salad... it's one of my faves... mini cucumbers (those persian pickles) and grape tomatoes.  Sometimes when I'm feeling really energetic I'll slice in a bit of onion... tonight it was sans onion.  The dressing.... super EASY... Truffle Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Agave, and a dash of pepper.... and I don't even bother mixing it up first....  I simply: 1- pour a bit of the vinegar, 2-drizzle aprx 1 tbls (or a little less) truffle oil (I get mine from Fish Creek in Wisconsin... online, of course cuz it's EASY --- but uhm, not raw....) and 3- drizzle some fab agave.  The sprinkle to in the Pepperman (everytime I think or say 'Pepperman' there is a tune that plays in my head... it's like an intro to a superhero... Da Da Da DAAAAA.... PepperMANNNN!)

So do I make the chocolate haystack pudding concoction.... EASY. RAW. this is definitely LIVING:
take a ripe avocado... chopped or whatever and put into your food processor... (I've got a perfect sized one for me or two... it's larger than the mini-chop, smaller than a full-on 14 cupper... I think it's a 4 cup or something) anyway.... add agave to the avocado then pulse or blend til it is somewhat mixed... then add in a tbsp or so of raw cacao powder... it's really however you like it..... taste it... make your adjustments (too sweet? add a bit more cacao... not sweet enough, add more agave)... then add in your raw coconut flakes... pulse a few times to mix.... then you can either refridgerate OR you can barely have time to put it into a bowl before you're eating it. For Dinner.  ; )  I'll take a pic one of these days.

This morning had my fave green smoothie.  Now you KNOW I love me some GREEN and this smoothie is about as green as they come..... can't you just see how full of live and love it is???? This one is about 4 oz water, 1 banana, 2 apples, 3 cups spinach..... YUM!!!!  It's an EASY way to increase your 'greens' consumption and it totally tastes like fruit....!

So uhm, yeah, tomorrow night I'm having over a few peeps to discuss a community garden plot we're sharing.... I'm making dinner.  All RAW... ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! WooHOO!!!!

oh... and they don't know it yet.  ; )

I'll be sure to take pics.  And you know me... it WILL be EASY. 

way to go RAW!

.... running late this morning.... rainy weather.... perfect time to go the easy route.... so that's just what I did.  Easy. Raw. LIVING.... stopped off at Jamba Juice this morning for my morning smoothie (they are great in a pinch AND they will absolutely substitute anything for you, so easy to have all fruit (and they have some new things on the menu which incorporate greens!) now I will admit that there was probably some juice which was pasteurized, BUT.... remember... for me it's not about perfection! ; )

This afternoon was all about the salad..... met two friends for lunch @ Hub 51... this restaurant is not  vegan/vegetarian nor raw... BUT they have some great things from which to choose... we all 3 had the same thing... the Sonoma Salad..... what an incredible treat.... I've never had a salad that incorporated ruby grapefruit.... DELISH.  Being Easy means being able to go anywhere and eat raw.... I'll share my secrets as we go along.... but I promise you... it really IS easy!  (I've even maintained my 'rawness' while being taken to a Steakhouse by an obnoxious co-worker who was doing his best to push my buttons).

And then, after a long hard day of work.... ohhhhhhhhhhhh take out............................. except this time, take-out was from my favorite FAST Raw Food place.... it's called RAW and it's located in the French Market in the Olgivie Transportation Center.  I highly recommend you check it out.... I picked up the garden burger trio (I use them in place of bread... lol... I slice them in 1/2 and then stuff with filling making a delight*FULL sandwich) as well as my fave dessert, Tiramisu. 

All in all it took me 5 minutes to get my dinner pulled together... I had a salad (I make big salads that last several meals), my 'sandwich' and of course, dessert...... Doesn't this look simply luscious???

For me to be successful, I have to be able to go with the spontaneous.... having a plan is great, but if you get derailed everytime something unexpected happens, or you simply don't feel like it.... well, you'll make yourself crazy.
Dig my green plates????  I have lots of mismatched pieces and somehow they all seem to work together.  I think it's the color....

Stop the Madness....

I started this blog a while back with the full intention of sharing my raw journey.... I got a little sidetracked, though, with a couple other blogs (one about my adventure in competing in my very first triathlon and the other about my adventures in life but mostly my art)

I'm ready to re-commit now, though.

One of the main drivers motivating me is this weird obsessive thing I seem to run across in the raw world, that being perfectionism.  I gave that up a long time ago and find it exhausting to constantly be monitoring and calculating to the nth degree what percentage of raw I'm eating at any given time.... seriously... I went to a raw food gathering and the smack that was being talked was enough to 'bake my pizza' so to speak.

So first things first.... I am NOT a doctor, don't play one on TV.... am not giving advice... am simply documenting my own weird journey towards trying to be as healthy as I can be.

I am also not 100% raw.... too much pressure, plus I love to cook too much.  On a daily basis I eat a high amount of raw.... I almost always begin my day with a green smoothie and somewhere in the day have a salad (lunch or dinner)..... and right now, I'm re-focused and wanting to eat a high amount of raw.... which works out in my favor since I'm documenting this.  ; )

I think there are a lot of conflicting ideas being bandied about.... the best I can say is listen to what makes sense to you... listen to your own body.... and if it doesn't feel good or taste good or you don't want to do it, then by all means, DON'T!   

I will be posting pics of my food as well as recipes.... I'll give credit where credit is due... and hopefully along the way, you'll find me, read me, and if you live in chicago, meet me for lunch!

...scatter joy...
lindy

oh..... and my new creation???? chocolate haystacks pudding.  easy peasy.  and seriously good. oh. my. god. orgasm good.

how is THAT for a teaser.....????