I'm feeling pretty good today - lighter and less hungry. I had a headache last night and this morning, but it's pretty much gone now. At lunch I had a shot of wheatgrass, which hit me hard - I was actually a bit dizzy! I can't remember the last time I had that reaction - well, since I had about 4 oz. at the Ann Wigmore Institue. Guess my body's feeling a little sensitive right now!

I had the rest of the corn chowder for breakfast and a 20 oz fruit smoothie for lunch with peach, raspberries and fresh apple juice. I'll probably finish off the carrot soup for dinner.

This afternoon I've been eating Cream of Mushroom Soup (from Angela Elliot's "Alive in 5"). I let it stay in the Vita-mix long enough to get a touch warm.

• portobello mushroom

• almond milk
• celery
• parsley
• almond butter
• salt
• olive oil
• black pepper

I also made Gazpacho (from a new book by Dorit - "Celebrating our Raw Nature") today to take to a dinner party tomorrow night. It's not completely blended, but I put all of the ingredients in the food processor except the scallions.

• roma tomatoes

• water
• cucumber
• red pepper
• lemon & lime, juiced
• olive oil
• garlic
• red jalepeno
• Sambal Olek (hot pepper puree)
• sea salt
• cayenne

I decided to do blended meals only for a few days to clean out my system for the summer. Yesterday, I had Tomato Soup and a 32 oz. green smoothie. Today, I'll have another green smoothie, but I made 2 soups because I'm planning on being hungrier than yesterday!

Corn Chowder (from Renee Underkoffler's "Living Cuisine" - my favorite gourmet raw cookbook!)

• fresh corn

• almond milk
• garlic
• green onions
• cilantro
• cumin
• sea salt

Carrot Soup (from Kim Wilson's "Everyday Wholesome Eating... In the Raw" - my favorite easy-preparation cookbook)

• carrots

• celery
• red onion
• garlic
• parsley
• apple
• dates
• water
• lemon juice
• cumin
• salt

Contact me if you'd like detailed measurements for the recipes.

I've become more and more wary of cooked nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant). There are common allergy symptoms from consuming nightshades: nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, inflammation, stiffness in the joints, migraines and weakness/fatigue. Nightshades contain SOLANINE, which is slightly toxic. Some bodies process this toxin better than others. The ones who don't experience the symptoms above, as well as muscle pain/cramping and arthritic symptoms.

I thought I was developing "restless leg syndrome", and thought maybe it was related to lack of exercise. But I started exercising more and the cramping didn't go away. My legs would get that feeling of needing to be cracked - those of you who crack your knuckles or back know the feeling. At night, I'd have to move them around and shift my weight again and again until I'd finally fall asleep. My elbows and wrists would also start to cramp up and need to be cracked frequently.

I heard a neat suggestion the other day...

Slice ALOE VERA into thin sheets and marinate them in beet juice to get raw SASHIMI. Serve the sashimi over veggie nori rolls. Mmm...

These questions come from my courses at the Ann Wigmore Insitute in Puerto Rico. It's so easy to fall into HABITS of eating, that I thought it would be nice to revisit the questions at the root of these habits...

• Is taste or nutrition more important to you when you choose your food? How about the food for your loved ones?

• Would you continue to eat your favorite food (such as pizza) if it made you instantly sick after you ate it, even though it’s your favorite food? What about sick after a week…a month…a year…after you turned 40 or 50 or 60?
• Do you think it would be possible for your favorite food to be a raw food? Why or why not?
• Do you believe that the foods you eat physically effect the body? Do you believe that stress physically effects the body? Did you read or hear that somewhere?
• Do you think an apple and a steak will provide for you body in the same way? What makes a food bad for you or good for you?
• Do you think you should do what other people tell you without examining the motives or the reasons why? (For instance, the dairy or pharmaceutical industries.)
• How much have you actually thought or studied about nutrition in your life?
  

• Corn & Avocado: I mash up the avocado with a fork, adding Himalayan salt, ground pepper & cayenne. If I have fresh corn I use it, but usually I run frozen corn under warm water for a minute or two, then add it to the "avocado butter". Mmm...

• Fresh Almond Milk: I soak almonds overnight in the fridge, or soak them for a day or two (rinsing twice a day), then blend them with 3 or 4x as much water in the Vita-mix. I love my nut-milk bag, which I use to strain out the pulp (the lactic acid in the almond skins inhibits calcium absorption - and I want all I can get from the calcium-rich almonds). I put almond milk in warm tea (not hot, because then it curdles) or on buckwheat crispies.
• Kale & Avocado Salad: Yes, I could not live without avocado. Click on the link to the left (under "How To") to see how I make my kale salad. I like to add cayenne for a little kick, not to mention heart health.
  

I've been focusing more on just eating at home lately, and less on eating raw. I've found that part of my attraction to raw food is CONTROL. Because I have control over something external (like eating), it makes me feel more control internally. I haven't decided if it actually affects my internal control or it only makes me FEEL more in control. I'd like to figure out internal balance without subjecting myself to external perfection, which seems to be my tendency. I either eat 100% raw, or 100% not. I want to eat healthy because it makes me feel good, not because it creates a false sense of control.

I just thought I'd share these feelings, in case any of you are going through something similar. Eating a particular diet, especially one as unique as the raw or living foods diets, requires a lot of introspection and often, for me anyway, struggle. I know I will improve... because I know from experience that raw foods make me feel better than any other foods I eat!

I made yam and sweet potato chips recently - both at the same time so I could compare the difference in taste (yams are more orange - sweet potatoes are off-white). The dried yams had a better flavor in general... the sweet potatoes just tasted very starchy, but had little flavor. Both were good with guacamole and decent with salsa.

I sliced them thinly on my mandolin. They shrunk quite a bit when dried, so the bigger the yams are around, the better. They also got quite wrinkly, as you can see in the photo. Andy liked the yam chips especially, enough to eat them on their own, without a dip!