Nearly over

My raw food challenge is nearing its end. On Tuesday I can celebrate that I was disciplined enough to go without cooked food for one month and no fish and meat. And what a challenge it was at times. Standing in the kitchen cooking Pad Thai, Chicken Tacos, and other mouth watering dishes was not easy, but I made sure I had something to snack on while cooking.

So what have I been eating during this month? For breakfast I usually have a bowl of fruit, berries, seeds, nuts, and nut milk or granola. Some mornings when the weather is a bit colder I make porridge based on buckwheat or oat with fruit. And a glass of watermelon juice, which is my favorite drink during summer.

Since I am working, it has been easier to bring my own lunch to work. Usually salad with crackers.

For dinner I make an effort since I have the tools I need, such as my blender and dehydrator.

How about avocado soup with tomatoes.

Or zucchini noodles with marinara sauce and mushrooms.

And during the weekends when I have more time, I make pizza or wild rice and vegetable curry for instance.

So did I noticed any changes to my body? Not as much as I thought. Maybe you have to be on raw food for a longer period of time to notice significant changes. Also, I almost always eat raw food breakfast normally, no gluten, very little dairy and egg, and processed sugar and salt have been removed from our house. I guess the more unhealthy you are the greater the changes. I think the biggest change is the fact of knowing that I am feeding my body with really good and healthy produce and therefore I feel really happy. And for those of you who want to loose weight it is the best diet. You can eat as much as you want and the pounds just fall off. For me, I decided to eat food that contained more calories, such as nuts, olives, and avocados, so that I would not loose too much weight.

I do not think I will do a month of raw food again for the simple fact that I really love fish, shellfish, rice, noodles, and meat. Also, I do not have any health problems that require attention. However, I will try to change the amount of different foods that I put on my plate. How about 60 % salad and then add some rice/pasta/quinoa and meat/fish/chicken. I wish there were more progressive restaurants that took an interest in the health aspect rather than just pouring cream, butter, sugar, salt and other fatty and unhealthy ingredients into their dishes. I guess the best thing is to support the restaurants that do care about health.

For Seattle, these are some of the vegan and raw food restaurants to go to:

• Thrive
• Chaco Canyon
• Graces 5
• Jodee's desserts (I have not actually been here, but next time I go walking around Green Lake I will try it out.)

Summer sales in my web shop

I have a big summer sales going on in my web shop at the moment.

How about this teapot from Sagaform for only $35.00.

And cups for $25.00 each to go with it.

The cups come with a silicone tea infuser and a metal storage container for tea or cookies.

Check out my store for more products.

The easiest raw food strawberry jam ever

It is a very good idea to reduce white sugar in your diet, or actually remove it altogether if you can. If you watch this video about why you should cut down on sugar you might think twice about that next big cupcake that you want to have with your coffee.

When it comes to jam, there is really no reason to buy ready-made jam from stores that contains more sugar than fruit.

Instead you can make your own jam in less than 1 minute. And the only ingredients you need is fruit and dates.

To make strawberry jam, take one cup of strawberries and three dates and mix them together in a mixer or blender until smooth. It is really that easy.

And voilà, the strawberry jam is ready for your breakfast or pancakes.

You can use all kinds of fruit to make raw food jam. Perhaps you want to mix different fruits together.

Remember that it will only keep for about three days in the fridge, so make a small batch if you only plan to use it for one occasion.

Raw food challenge

I think most people in Seattle would agree when I say that the weather has been pretty shitty here for a while. And still is. I have been waiting for warm weather in order to get inspiration to eat more raw food. I fear that I will have to wait for a long time and then, suddenly, summer is over. Therefore I have decided to start my own raw food challenge during July. This means that I will only eat raw vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, spices. I have decided to include an occasional glass of wine and green tea. Wish me luck.

This morning I had raw oat meal with banana, pear, dates, cinnamon, and chia seeds. It tastes so much better than it looks.

My 14-year old decided to join me, but she is off to Costa Rica on Friday so it will only be for a few days.

Already at lunch my daughter decided that she cannot only eat raw, but maybe do 30% or so. It would have been nice with the company, but I think you have to be committed for this. Otherwise it won't work.

Lunch (no photo I am afraid) consisted of raw food zucchini and carrot noodles with cherry tomatoes and pesto. And for dessert, I made some brownies with pecan nuts, cacao powder, dates, honey, and a pinch of sea salt. Yummy!