Garden update and sunshine on my plate!

Everyone was so anxious to see and update on our garden so I took pictures from both sides of the garden so you can see our growth! Here is the first picture from the day we planted, almost a month ago. Here are the updated pictures:
The tomatoes and zucchini seem to be growing the most. I can't wait to harvest everything and taste mine and T's hard work! Having a garden is so worth it!

"You're closer to God's heart in a garden than any place else on Earth."-Dorothy Frances Gurney

The weather hasn't been the greatest here this week. Tuesday night I was planing on a big salad, but I had a chill I couldn't shake. So instead I made some lightly sauteed kale with garlic and olive oil, a little quinoa and some baked sweet potatoes. This has been my only cooked meal this week. It was very tasty, sometimes I just crave cooked kale. Although I do love it raw!

I made a super creamy smoothie one morning for breakfast. It was spinach, blueberries, banana, frozen durian, bee pollen, coconut water and chocolate flavored Amazing Grass greens powder. This was so filling and really delicious. The chocolate powder with the durian made it like a thick milkshake. Sans the chemicals and cow puss! :)

I am so happy to report that I can enjoy kale salads again! As you may have noticed, I went from eating them 4 times a week, to rarely having them at all. There are two reasons for this. First of all, raw kale wasn't agreeing with my stomach since I had been not feeling well, and second, every time I eat a kale salad I get a really bad toothache. My stomach is feeling better and I am chewing on the other side of my mouth! Problem solved! This salad had kale, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and oil cured olives.

Yesterday evening, the sun finally decided to show up! T and I enjoyed a lovely dinner outside on the new table he made! Yes, my husband is an artist, he can build tables! Ha ha! It's very beautiful, round, and made of cherry wood. Who could ask for more?

Here's my salad with avocado, cherry and sun dried tomatoes, sprouts, raw kraut, Parma, avocados, cucumbers and oil cured olives.

A few notes from this week:

*Check out this video on We Like It Raw of nine-year-old Olivia, a cancer survivor, trying to find out, What is real food?

*I also want to give a shout out to Debbie of Debbie Does Raw, Happy Birthday!! Debbie does so much for the Crazy Sexy Life community and her blog posts and support have helped me tremendously! Have a wonderful birthday!!

*Is anyone else watching So You Think You Can Dance? It's mine and T's favorite summer show! We look forward to it every year. We can't get enough, the contestants are so inspiring, the girls alone make me want to work my butt off exercising! The strength they have it unbelievable!

*Lacey at Livin Lovely and Healthy is having another contest. Check out her giveaway and enter to win!

*Gena at Choosing Raw had an informative post on Raw FAT, it is a must read for everyone!

*Sunday, T and I are going to the Raw Food and Yoga Expo in NYC with my brother in law and his fiancee. I will have a full report for you on Monday!

Have a nice weekend!

Busy weekend = Lots of fun, few pictures!

I had a wonderful long weekend! Friday night I went back into the city to Candle79 for my mother in law's birthday. I didn't take pictures but I ordered the Raw Tartare (again), a quinoa and avocado salad, and a side of sauteed greens. Saturday I had my sister's college graduation party at my parents house and Sunday we had some friends over for a BBQ. The BBQ was all vegetarian. I didn't take any pics but the menu was: veggie burgers, Sunshine Burgers, Tofu Dogs, corn on the cob, veggie kabobs, grilled eggplant, raw veggies and hummus, pita chips, regular chips, and a big salad. I stayed mostly raw and had my corn un-cooked, some eggplant, a big salad, Sunshine burger without a bun and a veggie kabob. We had a blast!

My sister brought over her dog, a Maltese. Ginger was not very happy about it..
Now to back track, on Thursday night T and I went to Whole Foods for dinner. I had the gazpacho soup..

And a big salad. This was all raw goodies and some baked sweet potato. Yum! Crunchy sprouts are my favorite so I filled my salad with them.

Yesterday for lunch I made this salad: sprouts, avocado, raw kraut, cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, oil cured olives, Parma, and kelp flakes.

I got my package that I won from Lacy! This is the first package I received which was from Amazing Grass.

This is the package that Lacy sent me with the Amazing Grass goodies from her. She also added some yummy naturally flavored lemon raisins and 2 granola bars that T enjoyed (they weren't vegan). I am really enjoying all these amazing products! I used the wheat grass powder in my smoothie this morning!

Have a nice short week everyone! We've been enjoying spending time outside in our yard. I need to post an updated picture of our garden! It's growing so fast! Can't wait to enjoy my own veggies!

Beam Green and Food Porn!

Good morning! It's going to be a beautiful sunny day here and I've got a lot planned so I am going to make this post rather quick!

Last night I attended a "Beam Green" meeting in NY along with Gena, Heather, and Melissa. Very cool to meet them, even though I was a little "off" because yesterday I had my Humira shot and I also lowered my Prednisone. Next time I will not do both on the same day..talk about fuzzy! The event was very interesting and I definitely enjoyed listening to Natalia Rose and Dr. Ginger speak. I recommend signing up for the pod casts if you aren't in the area, definitely worth the reasonable price, you can still ask questions for the speakers and interact as well. I will either attend another one or listen to the podcast online. Depending on if I feel like making the trek to NY during rush hour traffic. :)

I wanted to show you all the package that I sent to EarthMother for my giveaway. She received some raw Koko Crispies, Trader Joes Turkish Figs, Raw Pizza Crackers, 2 Pure Bars, a Nature's Gift Raw Cookie, a Gopal's Nori Power Wrap, and a Boysenberry Fruit Leather bar. What a lucky gal!
Earlier in the week, I made a pureed white bean and broccoli soup. This was very comforting on a rainy night. Sometimes I just NEED soup!

I also planted a few more herbs. From left to right I have parsley, stevia, chocolate mint and my amazing growing basil. By the way, the chocolate mint, smells exactly like it's name!! YUM!

This is a salad I had for dinner one night: lettuce, sprouts, cucumber, tomato, sun dried tomato, avocado and nori.

I bought some frozen Durian at the Asian market and I made this smoothie the other morning: blueberries, raspberries, banana, durian, kale, bee pollen, Thai coconut water and meat, and pro biotics. I was full for hours!!

Another salad I made for lunch: Mesclun, raw kraut, sun dried tomatoes, sprouts, tomato, avocado.

On our actual anniversary T and I made some brown rice pasta with homemade marinara sauce. We also made breaded (gluten free bread crumbs) eggplant in the oven and through it on top. It came out really well!

T took me for a ride in his canoe (probably won't happen again..I was frightened the entire time) on our anniversary. It was really nice and romantic, but totally scary! Here's a picture I took during the ride.

A few notes:

*One of my Twitter friends has a cool new blog it's about climbing, RAW foods, vegetarianism and healthy living! Check it out: The Organic Climber.

*Like I said I am weaning from the Prednisone (YAY!!!), now I have a new goal, LOSING THE 15 POUND OF WEIGHT I PUT ON FROM IT! YUCK!

*I will probably be back later in the weekend or Monday. Have a nice holiday weekend everyone in the U.S.!

Great surprise, BUT WHO?

Hi all!

Real quick, just got a package from UPS with Ani Phyo's new Raw Dessert book and I wasn't sure who sent me it! No note attached or anything.. if you were the gracious lovely person that sent it please SPEAK UP!!!

Thanks!!! XO
Lauren

3 years of BLISS!

Today T and I celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary! Three years ago today we were married in Nassau, Bahamas in a Catholic Church and had our reception at the historic Greycliff Hotel, surrounded by our loved ones. It was a beautiful intimate wedding of about 30 people and every person to this day says it was the best wedding they've ever attended. It really was magical, and so have been the past 3 years (and the 5 years before we were married)!

On Saturday night we started our celebration. We headed into the city to our favorite restaurant Candle79. This is not our first time there, we've been a dozen of times in the past 3 years. As always it was delicious. I am lucky enough to go back this upcoming Friday for my mother in law's birthday. I will probably not take pictures then, so you will have to drool over these!

I started with the Raw Avocado Tartare. I started eating before this picture, so it's missing a cracker! Opps! This was very tasty, T even enjoyed a bite!

For my entree I ordered the Raw Enchiladas. You know how much I love Mexican food!! Especially RAW Mexican food! This had so much going on and so many rich, tangy flavors! Yum!! I might order this again on Friday!
For dessert, I kept with the raw and I ordered the Raw Cherry/Orange Parfait. it had raw granola at the bottom and coconut ice cream on top! AMAZING!!! Beyond words, amazing!
T ordered a salad that was on the specials that had fava beans in it, for his entree he had the Caribbean Jerk Seitan which he loved, and for dessert he had the Strawberry Pie. All were perfect and he enjoyed every bite! By the way, T loves coconut water, he buys the boxed O.N.E. brand and drinks it all the time. I usually buy one Thai coconut at Whole Foods a week to enjoy on Saturday morning in my smoothie. For some reason T would never taste the water or meat from it. I've told him several times that he is missing out, but he continued to be stubborn. On Saturday night, I ordered a coconut water at Candle and he tasted it. He didn't even order another beer because he had to have his own coconut water! Yesterday, he made me go with him to the Asian market so he could buy 6 Thai coconuts!! He is hooked! :)

The best day of my life. Taken at The Greycliff, Nassau, Bahamas.

Tonight we are making brown rice pasta and homemade tomato sauce together. We might also go on a canoe ride (T owns a canoe), they possibly watch a movie. Have a LOVELY day everyone!

Rawkin' OUT!

Hello Gorgeous Daffodil's!

This week I plan on kicking it up a notch with the cleanse. I thought I did well last week but I found out I was eating some high GI fruits and to many Lara bars! This week I am going to try to keep it simple. Juice, green smoothies, salads, and a few cooked meals.

I am attending the Beam Green meeting on Wednesday night in NYC, where I am going to meet my friend Gena for the first time! So exciting!

I am going to wait until my actual anniversary with T on Tuesday to post all of the Candle79 yummies! So be sure to come back and check that out!

Here's a kale salad I made on Thursday night for dinner. It has red cabbage, avocado, sprouts, Parma, and olive oil in it. I haven't had a kale salad in awhile because my stomach couldn't handle it, but I felt fine after this! Yay!
This is another salad I made for lunch on Friday. Mesclun lettuce with avocado, cucumbers, and olives. I dressed it with Parma, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and stone ground mustard.
I picked up some un-toasted nori sheets at Whole Foods this week to made wraps for lunch. On Saturday afternoon I made this one with sprouts, raw kraut, sun dried tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Here it is all wrapped up! So good, you'll never miss the bread! One sheet has only 10 calories, imagine all the calories I saved! So nutritious as well, nori is rich in calcium, zinc, and iodine. Just make sure you buy the un-toasted kind, otherwise it's not considered raw.

Have a wonderful Sunday! Again, my Candle79 post will be on Tuesday. Check back for some delicious raw food!

Sunshine on my skin, on my plate, and in my glass!

What an amazing week! I hope everyone else had as much positive sunshine flowing through their veins! T and I went for a few hikes this week and I've been doing great on the ACT cleanse.

Last week I received an email from a fan of my blog. Julia (of Gluten-Free Gourmet) asked if she could send me some organic/vegan/gluten free treats to test out for her. Delighted at the idea I agreed, and my tummy can't thank her enough! She sent me hemp granola, carob cookies and raspberry muffins. T and I both LOVED the carob cookies the most. The granola tastes like an oatmeal cookie crumbled up, and the muffins were tasty. Please visit her Etsy site or email her at GlutenFreeBakes@gmail.com, I promise she does not disappoint for your gluten-free/vegan needs!
Yes, I did veer off the cleanse to taste her treats. but that was one day and now I am back at it. This was a lovely pink juice I made that has red cabbage, apple, and lemon in it. Spicy and refreshing!

This was a salad I made one night for dinner. Romaine, oil cured olives, raw kraut, avocado, green pepper, and a crumbled up Sunshine Burger. So filling and tasty! I am in love with salads right now, the possibilities are endless!

I received my co-op box yesterday, here's what it had in it: apples, salad mix, onions, cantaloupe, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, kale, romaine, oranges, and bananas. Lots of great goodies for next week!

Here's my favorite part, the bag of greens!

After listening to Kristen's interview on We Like It Raw, I was inspired to make a juice! Following her tip I used zucchini. I had never thought about using it until she mentioned it. It made for a nice creamy texture along with some oranges and broccoli stems. Mmm, (as Kristen would say) "plant blood!"

Some interesting things from this past week:

*Check out Meghan's post: I'd rather be chubby where she talks about how over coming Crohn's and being healthy are more important then being sick and extremely thin.

*I am reading a great book called The Fruit Hunters by Adam Leith Gollner. You've got to check it out, my mouth is watering for the fruit he describes in this story of adventure!

*Tomorrow night T and I will be celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary at Candle79! Our actual anniversary is on the 19th, but we wanted to head into the city on the weekend to celebrate. Don't worry, we will be celebrating again on Tuesday!

*Again, congrats to Earthmother on winning my giveaway of goodies! I will post a picture of what she is getting in the next few days or so! Don't be jealous, I will do another one soon!

And the WINNER IS...

Drum roll please....

EARTHMOTHER!!!!!!!

Congratulations!! Please send me an email at LNastasi519@hotmail.com with your information and I will ship your goodies out sometime this weekend! :) Congrats again! Thanks to everyone who participated! I will hopefully do another giveaway in the near future!

Last Day to Enter my GIVEAWAY!

Today is the last day to enter my giveaway! I have a few yummy raw favorites I am giving away, check it out before it's to late!

I have been enjoying lots of raw food on the ACT Cleanse, on Crazy Sexy Life. I feel so amazing. I think I am going to be eating a lot more raw now that it's warm out. I've noticed when I eat something cooked I don't feel as great. I will probably cut my cooked food consumption down to 2-3 dinners a week. I think this is best for me.

Green juice alert: Romaine, Apple, Lemon, Broccoli.
I made this big salad for dinner on the first day of the cleanse. It was lettuce, oil cured olives, raw kraut, avocado, Parma, Livin Spoonful Raw Pesto Pumpkin Seed Crackers (MY FAVORITE!) and I dressed it with stone ground mustard, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

Yesterday, I made this colorful juice. I took a picture of it before I poured it in my wine glass to show you how beautiful it looked. This was romaine, red cabbage, orange, and lemon. I red that cabbage juice is really good for healing Crohn's and Colitis. I am going to have another cabbage juice today!

For lunch I made this delicious salad that had red cabbage, oil cured olives, raw kraut, avocado, Parma and lots of sprouts. Really nourishing and totally hit the spot! YUM!

Last night I had a cooked dinner. I made brown rice with black and pinto beans, peppers, onions and garnished with avocado. Really curbed my Mexican craving but I felt really weighed down afterwards. I also noticed I was craving sweets last night. When I eat all raw I feel very light, I sleep well, and I don't have any cravings. Last night was the complete opposite. Don't get me wrong, this was totally healthy and filling, I just feel better when I eat raw all day.

Have a wonderful day filled with lots of positive energy and sunshine! Don't forget my giveaway!! I will post the winner tomorrow morning! Check back!

Filling my soul and tummy!

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! I hope you all had a special day! T bought me flowers on Friday, since I am sort of a mother..to Ginger that is!
Last week I made some broccoli rabe over quinoa. Quinoa is such a wonderful grain, filled with amino acids and is related to green leafy vegetables like spinach! I really enjoy having it every so often. Just make sure you rinse it well, otherwise it can taste like cement!

Friday night I made brown rice pasta with broccoli. I added some Miso Mayo and Parma to get a nice cheesy flavor. This turned out really well. I had some broccoli stalks left over that I planning on juicing this week!

Saturday morning I made a smoothie-shake. This was a young Thai coconut, banana, Amazing Greens Chocolate packet and some mango. It was so thick and creamy, just like a chocolate milk shake!

Feeling adventurous on Saturday T and I drove out to Pennsylvania. It took about an hour and half and we hit up a few different spots. One place we stopped at was Arnold's Cafe, an all raw cafe and health food store. I ordered "The Original Wrap" which was avocado, carrots, celery,
tomatoes, zucchini and olives wrapped in nori over a bed of greens. This has so much flavor and was so tasty, they didn't even use dressing! YUM!

I also got a dessert, because.. WHY NOT? I ordered the chocolate tart. This did not disappoint. Mmm..raw desserts are so amazing!

When we got home I had a lovely package on my door step! I had ordered some raw macaroons from Jaynel at The Greenwood Kitchen. Her Mint Chip and Peanut Butter Macaroons are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I DEFINITELY recommend you heading over to her Etsy page and ordering some. She has many different flavors, they taste just like the real thing! Feel free to send me some samples, I would love to be your taste tester, Jaynel!! :) Hehe!

After a busy Saturday some how T and I still had energy (probably the chocolate tart and macaroons, ha ha). So we went on a hike in the hills near our house. It was so beautiful and fairly strenuous. We took many pictures but this one is my favorite. The run off was so magnificent. We are probably going to go back again this afternoon. Being in nature fills our souls!

Have a fabulous week everyone! Today is the first official day of Kris Carr's Adventure Cleanse. I am going into it already off of gluten and most soy, so I feel amazing! Don't forget about my giveaway, it ends Wednesday and I will announce the winner on Thursday! I got a few raw goodies at the health food store that I am tempted to eat myself! I wish I won this package!! :)

My Energy is ALIVE!

Wow! What a terrific week I have had! I've been eating a lot of raw food and fresh green juices and smoothies and I feel so alive and well again. I've really focused on myself and healing this week and it has paid off big time. I am really motivated and I know I am going to heal my Crohn's. Most of my diet right now is raw, with a few cooked dinners here and there. But for the most part I am sticking with raw.

For lunch the other day I made a recipe that I got from Nomi Shannon's The Raw Gourmet. It was an avocado with olives and raw sauerkraut. Of course I sprinkled Parma on top. Totally perfect in every way! My new favorite dish!
The down side to my week is that I am losing a ton of hair. After being ill I usually have this reaction (as do most Crohn's and Colitis patients). It grows back and is usually thicker and nicer then ever, but for now I am dealing with thinner hair. My hair is natural wavy and thick so it's not THAT bad, but still disconcerning. Vanity can not play a part with my disease. I've just got to make the best of it. I decided to buy myself some new shampoo and conditioner to feel a little better about myself. I bought David Babaii for Wildaid. Kate Hudson teamed up with him and came out with this eco friendly, vegan, sulfate, paraben, petroleum free line. It even has volcano ash in it! My hair is super shiny, smooth and smells amazing! Great product, great price!

I had a major craving for tempeh this week. This is odd because I don't think I've ever even made it on my blog. When I first became a vegan I ate a lot of tofu and tempeh, now I rarely ever have either. Since it is allowed on Kris Carr's Adventure Cleanse, (which doesn't start until Monday) I decided to have some. It's a fermented product so it's not as bad as some other soy foods. I made it over some creamy cannelini beans (sorry about the color, the lighting was off) and lightly sauteed collards. Hit the spot!

In honor of Gena's raw food Wednesday I made myself a huge salad for dinner. It was romaine, avocado, raw kraut, olives (they were oil cured, I take that as raw..shh), and raw sun dried tomatoes. This was so filling and delicious! I love 100% raw days!

Just a quick reminder, don't forget about my giveaway! I picked up some raw and vegan goodies and Trader Joes and I am going to the health food store Sunday to get some more stuff. :)

Some other stuff you should all check out:

I am not sure if any of you visit the Raw Model blog, but Anthony is really smart and knowledgeable. His videos and pictures are always so great and very informative, he's really an inspiration in the raw community. Check out his blog for more!

Nicole from Nicole Raw and Awake and Lacey at Livin Lovely and Healthy are both giving away an Amazing Grass package! I hope I win one because Amazing Grass is wonderful!

Again, RawFu Magazine is HOT! Get yourself a subscription, I am telling you, soooo worth it! If you already get it, tell your local health food store they need to get on it and carry it!!

Have a nice weekend all!