Day 30 of the 30 day raw vegan challenge

Wow - I can't believe how quickly 30 day has gone by. Honestly, I could easily continue with eating raw vegan - I enjoy the food & how I feel immensely.  My clothes are looser (I lost 5.5 lbs. in the last 30 days), my energy, skin & digestion are great, I am sleeping more solidly than I have in years.  My taste in food has changed as well (I guess that 21 days to break a habit is true) - when I feel snacky now I crave a banana or an apple or some Goji cocao clusters - rather than a cookie or a cheese bun.  The fresh, delicious raw vegan meals I've been having from www.healthyfunkyfoods.com are amazing - I'd happily continue on eating like this - if I could afford to have someone continue to make meals for me everyday.
The thing I haven't done in this 30 days is learn how to make raw vegan meals - so today I want to go out & buy recipe book - for beginners that looks fairly easy & start out slow.  I do have a dehydrator & a blender (but not a good one - which is important) & I think there will be a lot of salads as I transition & learn how to tackle creating my own food.  Healthy funky foods at The Crossroads Market is open Fri., Sat & Sunday so I'll continue to pick up fresh pre-made meals from there to supplement what I make - Rayna just does it so much better!  She also is at a Farmer's Market on Tuesday so I will probably be tracking her down there as well.
So - the journey continues. But I leave you with the raw vegan raspberry cheez cake. I am actually not a huge fan of cheesecake I find it too creamy & sweet & it kind makes me phlegmy & feels heavy in my stomach - so I've always avoided it.  This raw vegan chez cake from www.healthyfunkyfoods.com is the opposite of what I've had for cheesecake ever before.  It's light & smooth & not too sweet & with tart raspberries blended on top - super, super good. One of my favourite desserts I've eaten - ever. I don't see it often over at Healthy Funky Foods - but if you do - try it - you won't be sorry.

Day 29 - Menu for a day

Be prepared if you go on the 30 day raw vegan challenge - it's a lot of food! There's no rumbling tummy going on over here.  Lots of food helps keep energy levels up & my mood good.
So, how it works is either I pick up the pre-made (or self assemble) meals, snacks & drinks or Rayna (www.healthyfunkyfoods.com) drops them off & I'm good to go for 2 or 3 days - depending on which week day we've planned the pick up for.
Here's an example of the incredible food you might eat in a day:

Banana nut pancakes:

smoothie:

veggie wrap salad:

coconut bar:

Juice:

Stuffed avocado:

Nanaimo bar:

Day 28 - Meal time bonding

Having meals pre-made for the raw, vegan 30 day challenge with www.healthyfunkyfoods.com has certainly helped with having to decide, shop for & prepare meals for me - however surprisingly it has made it harder for Matt.
My kids are curious about what I'm eating & willing to try a bit here & there, but Matt likes to eat steak. He also likes to cook & for the family to eat together - preferably somewhat similar meals. I guess it's part of the nurturing, bonding part of family meal time.  I really didn't expect that he would miss cooking for me - such a sweetie.  On the plus side - I have been encouraging my kids to take more responsibilities in the kitchen this last month & it has been great to see their confidence & skills in the  kitchen grow.  This is something I also need to work on.

Last night I had an amazing double decker burger with onion bread crust from www.healthyfunkyfoods.com.  Loaded with tomatoes, avocado & peppers, along with a side salad, it was super satisfying.  Too bad it was raining & my family couldn't have burgers too!  Oh well, definitely something that's easy to have on hand for the upcoming bbq season.

Day 27 - Where's the cheese?

Mac & Cheese has always been my comfort food. I love the kd version, the gourmet versions with sharp cheddar, and everything in between - the cheesier the better. Really - one of my favourite meals is plain white pasta with marble cheese grated & melted on it with a bit of butter - it was an easy meal for a vegetarian when I was in my 20's.  Hmmm. Now that I think of it there was zero nutritional value in that meal. At all. But, boy did it taste yummy.
On the 30 day challenge needless to say there has been no carb laden, creamy gooey melting cheesy meals.  But - there is a raw vegan mac'n cheez at www.healthyfunkyfoods.com - surprisingly.  The noodles are made from zucchini & the cheez is creamy & a bit spicy with a pecan chilli crumble on top. It's not bad at all, actually - but definitely not the mac & cheese I'm used too. I find with raw vegan food if you don't expect it to taste any particular way it will surprise you & be really good.  But does it taste like what it labelled as (ie mac & cheez)?  No.  However I am always pleasantly surprised & found myself enjoying this dish.  The good part is that instead of zero nutritional value - it's 100% nutritional.  Which is a great reason to enjoy it.

Day 26 - RAW chocolate...heaven

Recently I took a Raw chocolate making course through The Light Cellar & it was amazing. I took Mim along - my little chocoholic - to see if I could infuse a bit of love for alternative chocolate into her repertoire. Though she loved the class & was super proud of her dark orange flavoured chocolate concoction, she hasn't requested RAW chocolate since.  I think Cadbury has won her back, which means...more chocoaltely goodness for me!
Rayna at www.healthyfunkyfoods.com is aware of my weakness for desserts & I was thrilled this week when in my meal pick up there was not 1, not 2 but a trio of delicious dessert to enjoy; the coconut- hemp-almond bars (which have to be my favourites), then a chocolate brownie with nuts & finally another chocolate brownie with a green layer with what looked like caramel drizzled on it. I was in heaven.  I felt pretty spoilt & it was easy to satisfy that sweet tooth with raw vegan tasty treats. My girls were only too happy help me test out each of these treats - which they liked but I think the nanaimo bars (aka delicious bars) are their favourite still - hands down.

Day 25 - Energetic & good to go

Day 25 - only 5 days to go on the 30 day challenge & I am feeling really good. It's amazing - about day 10 I felt like this was going to be a really long time but at day 25 I wish I was going longer! Having amazing raw vegan delicious meals prepared for you everyday is pretty awesome. Now to start learning how to eat like this for myself....I think I'll have to figure out stage 2 of raw veganism.
I haven't been as hungry lately & finding snacking on an apple or banana or some cocao-goji clusters or even a quick fresh juice totally help keep my energy levels good & feeling sustained between meals.
I had an a pretty crazy breakfast yesterday from www.healthyfunkyfoods.com - raw vegan heauvos rancheros - with salsa, guacamole & a almost coleslaw tasting mixture, portobello mushroom & some asparagus.  Best heauvos I've ever had for sure. I haven't missed eggs but this was a really yummy egg-like breakfast.

Day 24 - what I miss...

After 24 days of eating raw vegan & gluten free I have to say the thing I miss the most is warm food.  Funny - it's not what I expected - I thought I'd miss chocolate & banana bread & bread in every form - but no - it's the warmth. I mentioned this to Rayna at www.healthyfunkyfoods.com who's supplying all my amazing meals for the 30 day challenge & when I arrived to pick up my last set of meals she had something special for me. Warm oatmeal! It was so good - made with steel cut oats (gluten free), cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom, fresh raspberries & almond milk. It was so good - smelt like fresh oatmeal cookies & tasted creamy & gritty & sweet & a bit spicy (in that cinnamon, cardamom spicy way).  I have to admit. I took 2 portions home & ate them both immediately. I really, really enjoyed that warm feeling in my belly & I love gritty food so it was dreamy.  The photo doesn't do it justice - but this is really, really satisfying.