So far there has been easy days, and some rough days on my “All the way RAW May” adventure. I am feeling good, clear headed, lighter, and brighter. I am experiencing some detox as well. Headaches, especially after I smell fresh coffee being brewed. My sleeping patterns are a little off too (That is really nothing new for me.)

The food is just yummy. The time to prepare it, a little harder to come by. When I can I go to the Café Gratitude its easy, otherwise I am either up late or up early chopping, blending, or food processing away.

My easy go to: Big salads; they rock. I sound like such a boring nutrition nerd when I hear myself say that, but its true. I feel so much pleasure munching on those leafy greens, crunchy fresh cucumber, lively local sunflower sprouts, and homemade creamy garlic-tahini dressing.

Wile on my journey, I am listening to my own advice to my nutrition clients. Slow down, take a few deep breaths before eating, and chew your food. Really chew it. Not only are you getting to appreciate the flavors and textures intimately, you are really grabbing all of the nutrients out of these foods. Getting all of the vitamin C from the crunchy red bell pepper, and absorbing the Zinc from a well-chewed raw pumpkin seed.

Two weeks is always a turning point for me. It’s when my body starts to feel different. My cravings for bad foods disappear. My overall big lesson so far is the big picture of a healthy balanced life. Even if you have the perfect diet, it does no good if you are not exercising. Or perhaps you take a time out and treat yourself for a massage, doesn’t help much if your stress level is so high you can’t relax. My big thing is over-committing to big projects, hence all the way raw in May haha.

This just comes back to creating a healthy balanced life. One of the healthiest things I have done for myself all month is take a true day off from work and my other responsibilities to enjoy a Mothers Day Beach Day, at Sea Bright beach yesterday. It was so lovely. Playing Frisbee with my brother, visiting with everyone, and digging in the sand with my nephews. I still managed to be raw: brought some coleslaw, got down with some watermelon and shared my chocolate macaroons.

Chocolate Macaroons

3 cups dried, unsweetened coconut flakes

1 ½ cups cocoa powder

1 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup coconut butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon sea salt

One of the great joys of living in Santa Cruz, is not only the beach, but having a local Café Gratitude. I worked at the Café when I first moved to town. It was then, and is now, one of my favorite places to eat. It has raw and cooked organic vegan food.

Because I was preparing meals for others all of last week, feels great to be a lazy raw foodist the last few days and eat the café. My favorites include “I am Pure” (Spinach salad with fig-balsamic vinaigrette)“I am Peace” (Raw bagel and lox) and “I am Berry-Sweet” (A strawberry smoothie made with almond milk and dates, and I added kale.) I even got myself an “I am elated” to-go for dinner tonight.(Raw spicy enchilada) I am so spoiled. Back on the food budget tomorrow…..

A usual all-raw day for me looks is pretty simple. I start with a morning smoothie or a couple of pieces of fruit. Maybe a handful of nuts, flax crackers or kale chips for a snack. Huge salad for lunch. And some experiment for dinner. If I am not in the mood for raw creative experimenting in the kitchen, I can just go for the simple salad again, but I like to keep it interesting. At least make up a new wild salad dressing. I always add tons of sprouts as well, to get my fair share of life-force and protein.

The hardest part for me this month so far, I find it hard not to celebrate with others when it comes to special events. While everyone is having beer or wine this week, I have grabbed a kombuccha or made up a different fun drink. Maybe poor a little kombuccha in a wine glass with some fresh unpasteurized pomegranate juice, or some mineral water with agave, mint, and orange slices or raspberries. It is not that I need an alcoholic beverage, its just cool it have a fun drink and feel included when everyone else is having a fun beverage.

I was fortunate enough to go to the giants game this last week, and brought my own kombuccha, it was delicious, and about $5 less than the beverage my friend was having haha. SCORE!!!

Day 3 –  All Raw for a month, and it’s going great.  Boy I tell ya, be careful what you wish for. Just the other day I was whining about not having anyone to cook for, and now I have too many people!

When I shared with my co-workers what I was up to, they were pretty intrigued….. You are going all raw, I don’t understand what you eat besides kale?! Make me something! That is how is all started…..

Wait let me back up….. I have a confession. I have been hesitant to tell my raw food community about my “real job” if you will, because it is so far away from the divine healthy lifestyle that most strive for. In fact, my current profession to pay the bills has the WORST reputation… I think… of any profession??!

I am just going to come out and tell you, I sell cars….What? gasp! Who? When? Why? Well, my raw cheff-ing, schooling, and dream following needs to be financially supported at the moment. It was truly divine intervention how I got this job, and on top of that, deciding to take it.

I am happy to report I have been successful so far, not only selling a ton of cars, but also being true to who I am and not giving up on the dream. I have many dreams with the Raw Chef adventure, but the main idea is being of service in the world helping people live healthier lives, and have a ton of fun doing it.

So back to my point…. I have a ton of people to feed now because I am making raw food lunches for my co-workers and bosses. I am SUPER busy, but it is great and I love being a health educator between car deals. I am bringing 5-6 extra meals a day, some breakfast, mostly lunch, and one dinner. I have never had such a big smile on my face until today when I overheard one of my managers say to another, “Vegans and Vegetarians never made sense to me until I ate Stephanie’s food. I have really liked everything I have tried.” That to me is HUGE…. Especially when you have seen the diets of the car industry first hand.

What I ate today:

Breakfast: Smoothie with fresh strawberries from the farmers market, spinach, frozen blackberries, moringa powder, Chocolate Vega protein powder, and a banana.

Snack: Some earl grey tea and Macro Bar

Lunch: Mixed green salad with shredded carrots, beets, cauliflower, sunflower sprouts, avocado and homemade Honey Mustard dressing. Also some Penne Zucchini pasta with pesto sauce made of basil, spinach, pine nuts, hemp seeds, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. (I should probably be sick of zucchini pasta by now, but it is so simple, easy, and affordable, I just love it)

Snack: Collard wrap leftover from yesterday and a few celery sticks with macadamia nut and pumpkin seed cheese topped with black pepper.

Dinner: The same big salad and I had some onion rings which just finished in the dehydrator (for lunch tomorrow)

“All the way May” is back baby! For those of you that don’t know, I go 100% raw for the month of May every year. In normal life I am honestly about 50% raw and 50% cooked food. I have found that I need some cooked food in my life to keep me grounded, or else I might just fly away. But I like to go all raw for 30 days as a little cleanse before summer time.

So, today is May 1, 2012, and even after 24 hours I am feeling that raw buzz. Which feels great!

So what did I eat today? Smoothie for breakfast: Peach, mint, spinach, moringa powder, Vega protein powder, and almond milk. Big kale salad for lunch, along with a few bites of some manicotti rolls I made for others who are also going raw with me. Dinner: Lovely collard wraps filled with shredded zucchini, carrots, and beets topped with homemade tamari almonds and dipped in my cilantro cashew cheese spread.

I would call that a successful first Day-O-May.

Feel free to stay tuned and follow along. I will be posting recipes and my experience. I also have a little workout routine going. I have been attending CrossFit West Santa Cruz and also just bought a yoga class package so I am ready to put the good stuff in and sweat the bad stuff out.

I have some others going raw for May as well, about 5. Anyone else want to join?

Zeppelin and I taking a break from the kitchen…

It is my pleasure to introduce you to my dear friend and fellow Leader in the Awakening of Love, Eric-James. Eric-James is a man of integrity, very unique, lovely to be around, and just straight-up talented in the kitchen. I personally dig the name of his Health Coaching company and a little bummed I did not think of it first, Conscious Nosh. Check him out….

What do you love the most about raw foods?

I love how fresh and alive raw foods are. And forgiving with preparation!

What started your journey with raw foods?

I was eating a standard American teenager diet consisting of candy, cheap beer, ice cream, chips and turkey sandwiches. I developed something called intussusception, where my colon telescoped inside of itself causing severe pain for years until it was fixed with major surgery and 2 weeks in the hospital. Although western doctors failed to give me a reason why this happened at 19 years old, I knew it was from the way I was living. I met a guy who was eating only raw foods and intuitively knew that I needed to give that a try. I went to Safeway and bought lemons, carrots, almonds and water and started to eat only raw foods. 2 months later I found Cafe Gratitude and began my journey down the abounding river. I suffered from whole body hives for more than 6 months, every night as a detox symptom. A annoying as that was, eating raw foods taught me to learn about wellness as a whole, veganism, my spirituality, organic farming, and conscious community.

What projects are you working on?

I’m teaching some simple cooking classes in Berkeley and San Francisco. I am selling a Men’s Calendar that I created as a project to generate scholarships for men to become Health Counselors. Male enrollment is about 5% at the school I went to and I want to invite more men to do this work. www.menofiin.com . (I’m Mr. October, by the way).  I work with individuals who are wanting health counseling for specific health goals like stress management, weight loss, food addictions. My wife and I are currently looking for property to buy and create a Healing and Wellness Education center where we will live with other practitioners and hold workshops, retreats, grow Organic food and raise our children.

What are some of your favorite gadgets to use in the kitchen?

I have this AWESOME veggie peeler with a julienne blade! It’s perfect for grating raw veggies for salads, wraps, grain bowls, for 1-4 people. I think every kitchen could use this handy device. Also essential is a good sharp chefs knife.

What are some quick tips or hints for raw newbies?

Don’t suppress your cravings for cooked food if you are going “all raw.” If that’s the goal, work up to it and give yourself a break. It’s a process, not a race, and perfection doesn’t mean anything if you’re stressed out, hungry, or having intense cravings. Learn to tune into your bodies nutritional needs. Is this a sugar craving because I’m dehydrated, I need protein, I want to be comforted, or I have an addiction? Get with friends to enjoy raw foods!

Can you share a favorite raw food recipe with us?

Toss shredded carrots with diced jalapeno pepper, orange juice, lemon juice, gomasio and salt to taste. Serve on a bed of arugula dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.

Thank you for your contribution Eric-James, but what is gomasio?

Check out the goodies that Eric-James provides at www.bayareahealthcoach.com