Bon Appetit!

My favourite part of the blogs I read daily is finding out how other people eat. It's like a raw food support group and for those just starting out it can be an awesome way to keep yourself on track and find inspiration. Personally, it helps me realize that i'm not alone on this journey which is very comforting.

With that said, I have decided to actively document my food intake. I've done some food montages, but never a full days worth of meals.

You will notice, I eat variations of the same stuff daily. Consistancy, is important. I used to eat a bunch of random stuff changing it up everyday. However, after watching a couple of Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes-Monarch clips from The Raw Food World TV Show, I learned just how important consistancy is and that sticking to whole food combinations is much better for digestion, thus resulting in more time the body has for healing and regeneration.

I don't think this get enough attention, but exercise is drastically important when it comes to raw foods. Sweating is one of the best ways our body has to detoxify! You should try to work up a sweat EVERYDAY whether it be through power yoga, bikram yoga, running, working out at the gym. I don't think people emphasize this enough because it does take the most amount of work. I used to dread working out, until I found something that I loved. For me, my sanity/meditation/workout comes in the form of Bikram yoga. It is the only exercise I have ever done that works both my body, mind, and soul. However, to each their own. Working out not only beats the cravings, detoxifies your body, but it also helps release endorphins - the happy brain chemical. Walking and hiking are great ways to begin if you haven't exercised in a while, but don't get stuck there! After a month or two (or when you notice that it has become too easy and you are no longer breaking a sweat) it is time to up the anty! Jogging is a GREAT way to beat the bulge, gain muscle, and work your heart! If you run, you definately want to vary your workouts and not run everyday as the muscle does need time to recover. So go for a bike ride or a swim instead! Bikram is the only exercise where you can honestly do it everyday since the room is so hott and you really work deep into your muscles. And being a raw foodist helps because you virtually require no recovery time.

Anyway, I do bikram everyday. And every other day I go to the gym on top of going to Bikram. Since I work from home, I like to get out for a walk or a run up the food store (2 miles) as well. However, the 90 minute Bikram is of course just fine. I just have a lot of energy to expel and I find that if I don't do this I am restless at night.

Workout: 90 minute Bikram + 30 minutes on eliptical

Breakfast: 1 cantelop (wait 15 minutes after eating as melon should always be eaten alone for optimal digestion) + 2 bananas

Lunch: Green Smoothie (oranges, bananas, spinach, Vitamineral Green, frozen pineapple, and one apple. Topped with these awesomely sweet and juicy raisins from Mother's Market (can raisins be juicy? I don't know!)

Dinner: Sprout Salad (sprouts, saurkraut + nutritonal yeast/ACV/organic mustard) and Cream of Tomat & Basil Soup (toms, sundried toms, avo, basil, spinach, parsley, green onion over more toms/mini-portobellos/spinach-basil-parsley) The soup turned this really awful color which usually happens when you mix reds and greens, but it was so velvety and good!

                Sprout Salad

Post-Dinner Snacks: Oh boy. Mmm, some orangic dates, clems, and a bowl of mini-apple pie cereal (apples, raisins, cinnamon, bananas, mixed with almond milk. plus two more bananas in almond milk. This tastes JUST like the bowls of cereal I used to eat. So good and comforting.

             Mini-Apple Pie Cereal