Day 1

Since my yearly vegan challenge slipped my mind, I'm upping my ante. I am going raw to detox and kickstart my bridal health goals.

Today is DAY 1.

For the next 10 days I will be drinking deliciously fresh juices and for the 18 days following that I will be only consuming raw foods. I will be getting moral support from Jill and my friend Nancy, and we'll all get help from Raw Food Rehab.

So what the heck is going raw all about???

Sure, you might feel like you're being healthy when you order a nutritious salad (meaning: not a pile of iceberg lettuce saturated in creamy, fatty dressing, but actually vegetables), but would you want to commit to eating all raw food, all the time? The raw food movement, sometimes called the Live Food movement, is focused on eating only raw and unprocessed foods, often organically grown. Although many are only familiar with the vegan version of this movement, there are vegetarians (lacto-ovo and others), as well as omnivores who participate. A smaller component of the movement actually promotes a carnivorous (only animal product) diet. Similarly, fruitarians- those who try to only eat fruit- are a part of the raw food movement.

One of the main tenets of the belief that raw food is better lies in the loss of nutrients through cooking or processing food. While this is certainly true to a very large degree, it does not hold across the board. A more holistic approach might be to look at each food individually to determine whether it should be eaten raw, slightly cooked, or thoroughly cooked. As with most things in life, knowledge is power.

For some foods, scientists have discovered that light steaming actually makes nutrients available in food that the body would not otherwise be able to digest- broccoli is one such food. If the focus is truly bio-availability, then knowing that the nutrients in spinach are most readily absorbed by the body when it is lightly steamed and eaten with vinegar makes it hard to argue for eating spinach raw. With both of these foods, overcooking leads to a loss of nutrients, so attention paid to each individual food will allow you to gain the most nutrients from them. Likewise, freezing blueberries unlocks many of their antioxidant properties - increasing their health benefits, which is what exploring healthy diets is all about.

So, is raw right for everyone? Probably not. Is raw right for you? Maybe....you never really know until you try it. What it all boils down to is bioindividuality. What works wonders for one person may not for the next. You simply have to experiment to find out. Is raw right for me? I guess we're going to find out! Stay tuned for updates on my juice detox and raw foods journey.

~Keep it Fresh!

Terra

I'm RAWSOME!

Guess what? I am back! I have been missing you guys so much. Life got crazy and I neglected you. :( Thankfully the fabulous Lauren has been picking up my slack! it wont happen again dear readers, I promise!

Did I tell you guys I was in O Magazine? Yup! One of the Healthy Chicks made O! it's the March issue. Page 120. Check it out! Or you can read it on line too :)

Can you guys believe it's March already??? Hello, February? Where the heck did you go? For the past 3 years I have taken the month of February off from meat, animal products and dairy. My vegan Februarys have always been about getting out of my winter funk, dropping the winter weight and getting ready for a fresh spring.

Now it’s March 1st and I just realized that I have been noshing on things like salmon, pizza and fish tacos for the past month! (Ok, 28 days if you want to get technical). Either way, I completely forgot about my vegan challenge! Oopsie.

To make up for it, I’m going to Raw Food Rehab. Penni Shelton wrote a fabulous book Raw Food Cleanse that takes you through 3, 7, 14 and 28 day juicing and raw food cleanses. It’s packed with awesome raw and juice recipes. And to make up for completely blanking on my Vegan Challenge this year, I’m totally taking my ass to Raw Food Rehab and I’m starting on Wednesday.

I’ve dabbled with the vegan lifestyle and I’ve eaten raw foods, gone to Pure Food & Wine in the city. But never have I actually gone raw. A raw foods diet is one based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods including fruit and vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, nuts, dried fruit, and seaweed. It’s said that heating food above 116 degrees F destroys enzymes in food that can assist in the digestion and absorption of nutrients. Cooking is thought to diminish the nutritional value and “life force” or prana of food.

Side effects of going raw? Copious amounts of energy, weight loss and better skin. Three thing that every bride wants, right? There’s one little glitch though. Stephen and I have a cake tasting appointment on Sunday. While I love raw desserts, our wedding cake will not be raw. I’m going to have to cave, taste 42 different combinations of cakes and then get back on the raw wagon. Luckily, I wont’ be doing this alone. It’s always better with support and Jill is going join me! It’s a 28 day raw foods cleanse and detox. We’re going to be RAWSOME! And the added bonus besides the healthy digestion, clear skin and energy – it will be a hell of a kickstart to all of my bridal health goals!

Keep it Fresh!

~Terra

We all scream for ice cream!

The warm weather and the upcoming 21-day vegan challenge that Terra and some of our readers are taking on, has me thinking about none other than ice cream! As a vegan myself, people always ask me what foods I miss most, and my answer usually involves ice cream. Who doesn’t love ice cream? Before my vegan and healthy chick days I used to live on chocolate peanut butter ice cream, so on occasion I still reminisce about that hunk of fake peanut butter that I would dig out from the middle of the carton! And there is something about spring and summer at the jersey shore that makes you want to indulge in some cold creamy yumminess.

So what’s an ice cream loving, healthy vegan girl to do? Well, to be honest I have, and do on occasion reach for the soy varieties in the super market freezers. But, with all the soy, refined sugars and other unrecognizable ingredients, these are no healthier than the real thing. But have no fear, there are dairy-free, vegan alternatives that are actually good for you and have this healthy chicks seal of approval.

Coconut Milk Ice Creams - There are now a few non-dairy ice creams that are made from coconut milk versus soy. The thing that I like about these is that many (but not all!) of these are free of refined sugars and chemicals. Look for varieties that have as natural and as few ingredients as possible. My favorite is Luna & Larry’s Organic Coconut Bliss. This line is not only dairy free, but gluten free and sweetened with agave. Try the coffee, naked coconut or chocolate peanut butter! Purely Decadent makes a line of coconut milk ice creams as well that are equally as delicious, however some flavors are made with more natural ingredients than others, so be sure to read your labels!

Sorbet - While sorbet doesn’t exactly have the creamy texture of ice cream, I feel like it is a nice alternative, and the fresh frozen fruit can be really refreshing during those hot summer months. My favorite is Ciao Bella, made from simply fruit and organic cane juice. The coconut is probably the closest to an ice cream texture, but the raspberry and mango are also delicious! (Ciao Bella also makes a line of gelato made from dairy, so be sure to read your labels!!)

Raw Ice Creams - Raw ice creams are a bit more difficult to find, and will cost you a pretty penny, but on a rare occasion are definitely worth it! Raw means that it is made from completely unprocessed and uncooked ingredients. These dairy and gluten free ice creams are almost always organic and usually made from things like raw cashew cream, agave and raw coconut. Look for these at your local health food stores. If you are lucky enough to live in the big apple, vegan and raw restaurant Pure Food and Wine makes a line called One Lucky Duck. If you feel like dining there, order the hot fudge sundae (all raw).. it is the most amazing thing I have ever eaten!

Make Your Own - This is something I do often. Its cheap, its easy, its quick and its probably the healthiest option. Plus it saves me from throwing away and wasting fruit that is on its way out. Here’s what you do: keep a handful of bananas in your freezer. (Make sure to peel them first, then throw them in a zip lock bag.) I also usually keep some frozen berries, mango or pineapple in there too. Cut up one or two frozen bananas and throw them in a blender with a splash of water, coconut milk, soy milk, rice milk.. or whatever non dairy milk you prefer. Don’t add too much liquid though, cause you will end up with a smoothie and you want an ice cream consistency. You can throw in anything else you’d like to add some flavor - other frozen fruits, coconut, nut butters, etc. You can also add a little agave or other natural sweetener if you’d like. Blend till the desired consistency and voila!, homemade vegan “ice cream”. Another option is to just puree some fruit (fresh or frozen) and then pour it into ice trays or plastic cups with a popsicle stick and freeze. Instant homemade ice pops!


Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter “Ice Cream”
1 Frozen banana
Splash or two of unsweetened almond milk
1Tbspn of all natural peanut butter (raw almond butter can be used too!)
1Tbspn of raw cacao powder
1 Tsp agave

Add all ingredients to a blender or food process and blend til desired consistency! Add some optional topping: ground nuts, ground flax or dried coconut!

All of these options are great for the vegan and non-vegan alike. What’s most important is that they are healthier versions of the real thing, so we can indulge this summer (and who am I kidding, all year round) without feeling guilty! Feel free to leave a comment with your favorites!

Keep it Fresh!
~Jill

My new favorite dessert...

is raw and loaded with goodness!!!

I am a dessert junkie and a warrior that has battled the sugar blues. I have ridden the highs and lows of the refined sugar roller coaster and I am very glad to have exited that ride. Even though I ditched the refined sugars, I still want my cake and I want to eat it too!!! How exactly are you supposed to do that in a healthy way? Three words: moderation and raw desserts.

One of the things that attracted me to raw foods were the desserts. Not only are they packed with nutrients, missing refined sugars and much more healthy but they will gave you the sweetness you crave without loading you down with refined sugar that will inevitably make you crash and feel crappy!

When Lauren, Jill and I graduated from IIN we had a little celebration dinner at one of my favorite raw digs in NYC, Quintessence - The Essence of Food... just thinking about that dinner makes me smile. We were so excited to be IIN graduates and to celebrate it with gourmet, raw, organic deliciousness. Healthy foodies on top of the world!

I previously tried many "normal" raw desserts crafted by Red Bank's own vegan raw chef Adam Sobel of Certified Orgasmic such as key lime pie and strawberry cheese cake. But I never really ventured into raw, uncharted territories. At our little soiree, I chose something new for dessert, the chia seed pudding.

Here's a little secret: when I chose the chia seed pudding, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I knew what chia seeds were, but I don't think I had never eaten them and certainly had no idea how they were going to turn thenm into a delicious tapioca-like pudding. Wow. it was indeed amazing. Sweet and nutty and creamy and completely satisfying without a roller coaster ride. I found raw "tapioca" love.

For those of you that don't know what Chia seeds are, or look like, think of this:



Yeah, it's an Obama chia pet head! (I thought I would get a little political given the recent state of the union. Perhaps, I should stick to health, no?) Doesn't it make you giggle? The nutritional chia seeds are the same seeds that the novelty Chia Pet uses! I bet Chia Pet collectors all over are unaware of the nutritional and medicinal value of chia seeds. They contain more Omega-3s than any other vegetarian source and they're high in anti-oxidants, minerals and fiber. Basically, they do a body good. You can learn more about how amazing these little seeds are here. If you want to find chia seeds in your local health foods store, they look like this:



Tuesday night after consulting Elena's Pantry, I went on a little quest to make my own chia seed pudding goodness...and let me tell you, it's better than good. It's great!! This is the recipe I followed:

1 cup (raw) cashews
3 cups water
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
pinch celtic sea salt
¼ cup chia seeds

1. Place the cashews and water in a Blendtec and blend on high speed until smooth
2. Blend in the agave, vanilla, almond extract and salt.
3. Place the chia seeds in a large mason jar (½ gallon size), pour the cashew mixture into the jar and shake well (very well!)
4. Place in the refrigerator overnight
5. Serve

Here it is:


We may be in the dead of winter in Jersey and 3 years ago, I may have reached for homemade donuts as my comfort food. But this is 2010. Health is the buzz word and my comfort food right now is chia seed pudding!

Keep it Fresh!

~ Terra