Raw Wednesday Challenge!!

If you follow any other foodie blogs around, Wednesday seems to be the day where most will try and do a completely raw foods day, even if they aren't raw foodists any other day.  Raw foods are incredibly good for your body.  Juicing is EXCELLENT for your body since it brings nutrients quickly into your body, ready to enter the bloodstream, and gives your digestive system a break!  For those that are even remotely interested in upping your nutrition, tapping into more raw foods, join me, even if for only once per week, on Wednesdays...for RAW WEDNESDAY CHALLENGE!!  Try it, if only for your meals until dinner...that's a start and your body will thank you!

If you don't have a juicer, that's okay to get started.  Try whipping up your favorite raw smoothie.  Let your tastebuds be your guide.  Don't worry about counting calories, weighing or measuring...just pick your favorite produce and go to town!  Mid morning, eat some more fruit...perhaps whole this time.  Then for lunch make a gigantic salad...throw on some nuts, avocados...real filling foods that will stick to your ribs!  And let me know how you feel....I'm curious!

So to begin my Raw Food day I decided to juice instead of my typical smoothie.  

Included 3 carrots, 1 apple, 4 pieces of kale

After juicing it, I decided it needed 1/2 lemon juice.

It was actually fabulous!  I pour most of it into my glass, but kept some aside to add 2 scoops of my Greens N' Things.  I chugged that down separately so that it would alter the taste of my entire drink.

It's now mid morning and I'm eating my new favorite fruit, two Pixie Seedless Tangerines!  These tangerines ROCK!  So sweet, NO SEEDS, comes off the peel so easy...just divine!!!

For lunch I hate a big salad (for some reason in this picture the salad portion looks rather small while the hummus looks HUGE....I promise I had more greens than chick peas!)

Salad consisted of mixed baby greens, sprouted mung beans and various other sprouts,

red pepper, tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, green onion, fresh lemon & lime juice

and of course the dallop of hummus 

When I was at the store the other day I picked up this RAW sharp cheddar cheese and wanted to try it (although I've elminated dairy from my diet with the exception of special occassions, etc.)  But it was actually really really good!  I probably only had about 1/2 oz.

It's now time for a midday snack and I've got a hankering for another Amazing Grass Superfood Chocolate RAW Bar...so that's what I'm going to have!  These are the bomb!

I haven't gotten a real hankering for any type of sweet in quite a while.  I still really don't feel the CRAVE I so often used to feel for anything sugar/chocolate laden...however, while reading this new book I got from the library, Raw Food Real Food, they have some pretty AWESOME food ideas that I'm just dying to try...including, but not limited to, Chewy Chocolate Freezer Fudge!  Last night I decided to whip some up...

Got my ingredients out and went to town!!

Mix 1 jar of Almond Butter, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, 1/2 cup of maple syrup,

1 T coconut oil (butter-like texture), 2 tsp. vanilla extract & 1 tsp. sea salt.

Pat it out into a baking dish (or you could put them in cute candy molds) using wax paper.  Place in freezer for one hour.

Take it out of freezer, flip it onto a flat surface and cut into bite-sized squares (Makes about 50 1 inch bite sized squares).  You need to keep it in the freezer or else it will melt at room temperature.

I ate several of these last nigh...they were GREAT!  Again...I don't crave this type of stuff that much anymore (which is sooo crazy considering the power sugar had over me not too long ago) but this will definitely "hit the spot" should I desire something sweet after dinner or such!