2 RAW DAYS!

TWO DAYS OF RAW

THE RAW CHEF

Dear Megan,

I wish you were at Arnold's Way tonight! I made Thanksgiving potluck stuff, o m g, i wish you could taste it, I'm so excited! I hope the dishes last until sat night...it's Thursday!!! I was so exhausted i could only make 6 dishes out of the 10, someone will have to make the other 4.

I made the mashed "potatoes," like i usually do with cauliflower and cashew, but i jacked them up a bit with cayenne, garlic and onion, and added nutritional yeast this time, yum!

I also made a mushroom gravy with nama shoyu and thyme and garlic, which i was happy with, mmm...!

I made this most frickin unbelievable cranberry relish sauce which will probably be separated and dead by Saturday, uy, but it was so good! Arnold only had about 1 cup of cranberries frozen, so put them in the Cuisinart, added about a cup and a half of frozen pineapple, cinnamon, a slice of ginger, fresh squeezed orange juice, orange rind, a spinkle of celtic salt, agave, and S bladed the whole thing up. OMG! It is so delish, i almost died. Everyone who tasted it was like, OMG!!!

The other frickin unreal thing i made i'm so excited about!!! You know everyone always makes KALE salad??? We didn't have enough, so i figured, 'why not collards!!!!!?' I made "Gramma's Creamy Collards!!!" I shredded the collards really thin by hand and made a white sauce - nutritional yeast, olive oil, garlic, onion, cashew, salt, agave, lemon and raw vinegar, mmm! It was such a thick sauce, it turned out really to be a mayonaise! The thick mayo made the shredded collards all stick together, but when you tasted it, it tasted like like a CREAM SAUCE, CREAMED COLLARDS! Incredible! It will probably be brown and runny by sat, though!!!!!

The other thing i'm excited about is the creamed sweet "potatoes" I made from carrot, maple syrup, cashew, pumpkin pie spices, ginger, orange peel, coconut oil and celtic salt. SO YUM!

OH MY GOD, I also made STUFFING!!! I took about 20 slices of well seasoned assorted raw bread slices and put them in the cuisinart with some water, onion, celery, carrot, olive oil, salt, agave, a little lemon juice, thyme, pepper, lots of pecans, and pulse smooshed it up. I added more handchopped vegetables and whole pecans to the mix and it really LOOKED like stuffing! And tasted REALLY GOOD!! Tim tasted it and said, "Wow, you really captured something very thanksgivingy there!" We didn't have any fresh sage so tomorrow someone is going to add fresh sage for me. What is stuffing without fresh sage??? Fennel would be nice, too, make it taste a little sausagey.

Ahhh, making raw food is FUN...especially with the inspiration of a holiday...!!!

I was so tired after work, i going to write you about my day tomorrow because i was so zonked, but i guess i got my second wind! This morning i had a pear, then some raw cereal, just a handful. It was an all raw day, yay, but high fat and high salt and lots of tasting and no defined meals. I have a hard time at work, i really do. Anyway, i got to ARnolds and had a big green smoothie with kale and celery, yum, then i was hungry already and had a pack of raw toona on a slice of raw bread. Then, really the whole day i was tasting stuff I was making. I also recall snacking on 1/2 raw burger, a few salty walnuts, a few more slices of bread, leftover blenderized soup, etc.. I have a hard time at work not picking.

And i feel discouraged about it because when i eat the salty stuff, i gain.

I weighed this morning back down to 12 lb loss. I had gained 2.5 lbs, but i think it was water retention from the wheatmeat, then lost it after eating beans and veggies with no additional salt. Canned beans are already salted, but i always rinse them. They are tasty enough as is.

Anyway, i was discouraged again today because my bowels have not been working as good as they had been. Isn't it fun to talk about poop? But finally i made my 2nd poop late in the afternoon. i've really been making less poops the last few days. Maybe it's all of the walking and I'm dehydrated and don't realize it? Come to think of it, i don't pee much. Dr. graham used to say normal should be 10x in 24 hours. I probably went twice today during the day. I'm so prone to water weight and holding water.

I decided to start up my intake of Diatomaceous earth again. Maybe that will kick my bowels into action again and help with gas i get from beans!!! It does seem to help me digest. And i could take the Betaine like i used to. That's a big help.

When i got home, zonked, i was hungry curiously enough and had 3 oranges and now i'm drinking a thick mango blueberry banana "whip" (i make it in the blender) with agave.

FRIDAY tomorrow will be week 3, can you believe it??? Uy, i probably gained today again. Water weight. Raw pickles. I had to tell myself more than once today, "It's a lifestyle, not a diet." If i keep walking and eating healthy there is NO WAY i can't lose weight EVENTUALLY. Maybe i'll have to eat less or less fat or less salt or whatever, but it will eventually come off if i make overall lifestyle changes.

Guess what? My hour walk I was so proud of wasn't an hour after all, because this morning, i actually timed myself and i was like, "wuh???" It was a 45 mins walk. So what! I haven't been timing, just guestimating. Anyway, so what, I'm still doing it! I bring my book and love it! I read and walk!

I do get a little nuts sometimes in the head with my weight. I just KNOW that i COULD lose 30 lbs in a week doing all bananas. I sometimes think of that and get a little discouraged, but then i think, "But can YOU maintain that?" and i really can't, nor do i want to.

Hey, so today was an all raw day and tomorrow Talia is having a Bday party at Arnold's. I'm making a chocolate pie. I'm bored with that idea. I hope i can come up with some sort of inspiration.

I want to make tomorrow an all raw day, too, and take advantage of the Bday party dinner being raw. If i keep my breakfast a smoothie as it has been, and dinner is raw, i'll just have to make myself a raw lunch at home, and there's day 2 of raw!

Raw is a little HARD because i like the high fat stuff and the salty stuff.

Wish you were here.

xoxo mich

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GETTING READY FOR TALIA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Dear Megan,

Missing you tonight. Talia's Bday is at Arnolds tonight. I made a pie that i am DYING for you to taste!!! It has cherry chocolate LIQUOR in it!!!! That's, uh, not raw, and I don't know if any of the stricty's will eat it, but it is divine!!! It's called "Deep Dish Black Forrest Cherry Cordial Pie"!!! I marinated the cherries in chocolate cherry cordial!!!

"DEEP DISH BLACK FORREST CHERRY CORDIAL PIE"
* nut date crust with a hint of orange rind, delish
* layer of choco avocado mouse, very rich and chocolatey
* layer of white vanilla cashew cream, yum
* topped with sweet black cherries marinated in agave and Chocolate Cherry Cordial, ooh la la!!!

I"m SOOO excited! I hope it's good!!!

So, today was my 2nd raw day!!! But guess what i ate for bfast???? TASTE TESTS of FATTY FAT FAT choc cherry pie. Nothing like a big bowl of FAT for breakfast!!! I actually only had tastes, about 8 spoonful tastes....

Then i drank water the rest of the day and bypassed hunger, so i'm HUNGRY for tonight and can have a good time!!

Heading to Talia's party soon. Hopping in the shower now. Going to the DOG SHOW with Cliff tomorrow!

BIG HUGS! xoxo michelle

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TALIA'S RAW BIRTHDAY PARTY

Hi Bites,

Did you hear me yelling hello to you on the phone with the whole crowd tonight at ARnolds?? It was fun at Talias party, but you were definitely MISSED!!!

They loved my pie and devoured it! Arnold called it decadent! I put Hannukah candles in it and we all sang Happy Birthday to Talia! P.S. The cordial laden cherry juice leaked in the bag and the pie looked ugly when i unveiled it from the car ride!!! Arrrg! Note to self: use guar gum or some kind of thickener for the cherry juice next time, and use coconut oil in the white sauce to harden it up! The top layers were too loose... It was RICH but yummy! This pie has real promise, but needs some tweeking...!

Talia made yummy raw chicken salad and fabulous "NORITO" crackers from corn and sunflower seeds, and a cake that tasted like fig newtons, mmmm! Joan made an amazing raw sauerkraut. Carol made the most amazing cheesecake pie with blueberry topping. Nizar made the most incredible guacamole with THICK CHUNKY veggies in it and no salt! You didn't even MISS it! The food was exceptional!

I was raw all day, yay, but had fatty stuff tonight, hard to avoid at a potluck, not that i tried, i rather looked forward to it, but i didn't overdo it!!! My attitude about fatty raw food has changed. I accept it for what it is. Half of the 80-10-10ers do the fruit thing and abstain, and the other half bash fat all night and then can't stop eating it and pig out and blame the fat. I was happy to have what felt like a balanced approach. It seemed to work for me. I ate when i was hungry, enjoyed what i wanted, and stopped when i had enough. 2 plates was enough. I did good! No thirds!!!

I didn't eat all day except a little fresh orange and this morning tasting the pie contents.

You know, i have the WORST sore throat!! I'm sick! I can't believe it! Either it is a reaction to being raw for two days and my body is "ready" for a cleansing. Or the 2 raw days were the FATTIEST days i have had in TWO weeks and my body is saying NO MORE FAT! OR it's just a reaction from the D.E. I haven't taken it in a while and i took a whole heaping Tbsp, which is too much to start up again with.

It's hard to tell what our bodies are telling us, why we're feeling how we're feeling.

Arnold suggested green smoothies and light tomorrow.

Something i was thinking about in terms of raw - you know i NEVER go to the potluck or to these parties and it was SO NICE! Why don't i go? I'm so glad i did! I'm thinking that being raw is something like being Christian. You keep having to FEED the RAW spirit. I need to keep more in the loop with raw potlucks, events, etc... They help to keep one motivated. wow!

Dorinda was there tonight. I was feeling her creamy soft skin all night. I have NEVER felt such soft skin in my life. All from her soap that she makes from french fry oil. She has skin SOFTER than a babies bottom and it is quite remarkable. I said, "Does your husband just want to feel you all night?" She answered, quite matter of factly, "yes." I bought 2 bars of her fabulous soap last night. I freely advertise Dorinda's soap because i just LOVE IT!! Check out her website: http://www.washtyme.com/

Mostly everyone is going to hear Doug Graham talk tomorrow in Kinzers, PA. I am not going. I'd thought about it, but i still owe him money and, well, i can't pay him right now, so i don't even want to open that can of worms.

Arnold is running a sale at Arnolds Way this coming WED NOV 24th and FRI NOV 26th - 20% off of everything in the store and cafe, excluding equipment. We made flyers tonight at the party.

Everyone was also making plans to drive to NYC for a raw fruitarian dinner that a friend of Talia's is hosting. I can't go because i'm making TURKEY for my family!!! Maybe i'll get a TOFURKY for myself!!!

Everyone said i looked pretty and looked good tonight. Must be the 2 weeks of daily GREEN SMOOTHIES!!!

Missed you, xoxo michelle


xoxo michelle joy