This Is Our Last Good-Bye

Hello, everyone -

This will be my last post on "What This 'Raw Vegan' Eats." This has been a roller coaster of a ride. What started out as a blog to document my daily diet as a high-raw vegan has transitioned into an account of my diet as a local, organic, whole food kinda thing... very far away from vegan, though I'm still incorporating a lot of the raw. I am quite thankful to those who have inspired me along the way, especially when it came to listening to my body and doing what was right in the moment.

To stay in touch and learn more about my journey with food, tune into Sweet Peas Podcast at http://ritefoodandcompany.com/Podcast/index.html.

Thanks to everyone for reading.

Love,
Lisa Marie

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

What are the signs that an old habit is ready to be let go? Do you recognize the signs and abide them? Or do you try to ignore them and hope they'll go away? Change can suck. But sometimes not changing can suck even more.

Note: Capitalized recipes are my own.

Day 142

• cup of spring water
• cup of hot yerba mate and Frank's Finest Cosmic Chai with raw cream and stevia
• cup of Spicy Herbal Blend (my own concoction of rooibos, carob pods, cinnamon, and stevia... I think) tea; one of my Salvaged Brownies (chocolate candy-making nightmare that was saved by inventing another recipe)
• handful of corn and flax chips; Sunspire chocolate-covered peanuts
• cup of Chaga brew
• cup of cold horsetail and nettle tea
  
• big green salad (mixed greens, yellow bell pepper, cucumbers, black pepper, balsamic vinaigrette); bowl of Beatrix Potter Soup (cannellini beans, carrots, celery, onions, leeks, mushrooms, water, Bell's Seasoning, black pepper, sea salt) ladled over brown rice and raw butter; two Salvaged Brownies; spring water
• spring water
  

Today's Observations
Weird food day. Was really thirsty today and not hungry so much. Hmm.

Hot-Headed

I had a dream that I was standing alone in the middle of a forest of birches. The animals were all making a ton of racket. I stood there with my hands over my ears. "Quiet! Damn!" The animals quieted down. The forest got unbelievably silent. I closed my eyes to listen. The Divine filled the middle of my head with a hot white light and spoke: "The chaga has been put here at this time for a reason. It eats all the viruses the humans have created and uses them for nutrition. When we consume the chaga, we have the antibodies it has created for us."

Note: Capitalized recipes are my own.

Day 141

• cup of spring water
• cup of hot yerba mate with stevia
  
• bowl of Mo's Garbage Cereal (oats, walnuts, sesame seeds, chia seeds, dried apricots, raisins, cinnamon, ginger powder, homemade raw goat's milk kefir, honey)
  
• small cup of Chaga Brew; few pieces of my Top Secret Raw Chocolates
• lunch out at a salad bar (big salad with various veggies and 2 boiled eggs); bottle of spring water; Sunspire chocolate-covered peanuts
• baked acorn squash with raw butter; brown rice with raw butter, black pepper, and sea salt; Veggie Frittata (eggs, raw goat's milk kefir, spinach, mushrooms, garlic, Tabasco, black pepper, sea salt); spring water
• cup of hot Thai tea; 2 pieces of my Top Secret Raw Chocolates
  

Today's Observations
Gotta spend some time re-evaluating my relationship to sweet foods.

Stupid Dream

Sometimes your dreams are stupid. And that's o.k.

Note: Capitalized recipes are my own.

Day 140

• cup of spring water
• bowl of Mo's Garbage Cereal (oats, raisins, chia seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, homemade raw goat's milk kefir, honey)
• cup of hot yerba mate with stevia
  
• few pieces of my Top Secret Raw Chocolates
• small cup of Chaga Brew
  
• cup of hot ginger and mint tea with honey; samples from teaching a friend of mine how to make raw vegan food (nut cheese; salsa; blueberry-raspberry sorbet; zucchini hummus)
  
• take-out from Thai Dish: 2 fresh veggie spring rolls; 1/2 portion of veggie Pad Thai with tofu and extra veggies (though I ended up giving half my tofu to Jim); spring water
• cup of hot yerba mate with stevia
  

Today's Observations
GREAT day listening to my body's portion needs today. Really feel good.

I'm So Excited!

How often to you say, "YES!" to the idea of preparing food or consuming food? Folks, we gotta get a little more thrilled about what's going into our bodies. What we put into it is what we get out of it. I mean, if you're looking for survival, then just eat. But if you're looking to thrive, then let's hear some excitement!

Note: Capitalized recipes are my own.

Day 139

• cup of spring water
• cup of hot yerba mate with stevia
• 2 pieces of my Top Secret Raw Chocolates
• cup of hot jasmine green tea with honey
• big bowl of leftover Vegetable Soup (water, tomatoes, purple cabbage, onions, sweet potato, broccoli, honey, curry powder, garam masala, black pepper) with a bit of raw butter
• small cup of Jim's Coffee Smoothie (espresso, Chaga Brew, spring water, ice, frozen bananas, frozen blueberries, sprouts, oats, lucuma, maca, cacao powder... I think this is everything...)
• sips of spring water; chocolate-covered caramel (BUZZ!)
• baked Carola potatoes from Maine with raw butter, homemade raw goat's milk chevre, black pepper, and sea salt; baked onion; kale salad (kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, garlic, nutritional yeast, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, black pepper, sea salt); spring water; more of my chocolates
  

Today's Observations
OK. I don't think Lisa Marie should be doing the coffee. I had that coffee smoothie and that chocolate-covered caramel back-to-back and my skin was literally CRAWLING! LOL! So funny. Good lesson though. Yeesh.

Streaming Thoughts

There is so much freedom in thinking that our lives, our food choices, our friends... everything... is all on a continuum. If we get too attached to one way of thinking, to one idea, to one person, then we tend to lose the plot. Stay in the flow and keep it moving all downstream, as Esther Hicks/Abraham would say. Life is so much more fun when it's easy.

Note: Capitalized recipes are my own.

Day 138

• cup of hot yerba mate with stevia
• cup of spring water
• 2 pieces of my Top Secret Raw Chocolates
• apple slices dipped in tahini
• 2 pieces of my Top Secret Raw Chocolates
• 1/2 of a baked Delicata squash with homemade raw goat's milk chevre
• cup of Chaga Brew
  
• mug of Miso Soup (miso, spring water, brown rice, black pepper)
• quinoa (quinoa, raw butter, garlic, chives, black pepper, sea salt); Vegetable Soup (water, tomatoes, purple cabbage, onions, sweet potato, broccoli, honey, curry powder, garam masala, black pepper); few more pieces of those lovely Raw Chocolates dipped in tahini; spring water
• cup of hot yerba mate with stevia
  

Cooking my pot of vegan Vegetable Soup. Look at that crazy stock colour! Beautiful!

Today's Observations
Chocolates dipped in tahini? Ooooh, YEAH! My new favourite. Kind of like a peanut butter cup... but better. : )

Try This for Sighs

Expectations have simultaneously destroyed and saved. How do we figure out which ones are which?

Note: Capitalized recipes are my own.

Day 137

• cup of hot yerba mate with stevia
• cup of spring water
• small bowl of Mo's Garbage Cereal (oats, raisins, dried cranberries, chia seeds, banana, cinnamon, homemade raw goat's milk kefir)
• small cup of decaf Earl Grey tea with honey
• Veggie Fritatta (eggs, spinach, mushrooms, garlic, water, black pepper, sea salt) topped with homemade Sauer Kraut
• few pieces of my Top Secret Raw Chocolates
• cup of Chaga Brew
  
• brown rice with raw butter, black pepper, and sea salt; baked Delicata squash with raw butter; kale salad (kale, tomatoes, sprouts, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, sea salt); few bites of homemade raw goat's milk chevre; spring water
• cup of Chaga Brew
  

Today's Observations
Kefir, butter, eggs, and chevre all in the same day... Phew. I think this was a bit much for me. Felt like a ton of rich food! Tomorrow... Let's go lighter, shall we?