Aim for Simplicity

It feels like Fall is creeping in already.  I feel a much cooler breeze coming in at night.  But I haven't had my fill of sunshine, fresh fruit, or summer nights outside yet.  This is the only time of the year when I really come out to play.  During winter I'm in hibernation mode and during the Fall, I'm prepping for hibernation mode. 

It has been about  2 months since I've been eating a steady RAW food diet and I realized something today.  I have gotten totally swept up in recreating all these cooked dishes into LIVE versions (burgers, tacos, pizza, crackers, hummus, etc) that I have put aside my most cherished meals of all...SALADS!!  I used to make the most exquisite deep dark green salads, filled with sea vegetables, tangy dressing and topped with olives and hemp seeds.  I miss those...a lot!!  I've still been eating a lot of fruit, but my kale salads are definitely MIA.  So today I decided to put aside all those yummy dehydrated creations, okay, maybe I'll still have them once a week or so.  But for the most part, I'm going back to salads and green juices. 

In other (cafe) news, we have an exciting line up this weekend.  Solo piano, latin flute, and an African kora player.  Yes, we have it all at this little cafe.  Where else can you hear a renowned kora player while chomping on the best LIVE/RAW food in NYC?  No where else.  

I have to go now, need to wake up early to shop for ingredients and hopefully go swimming again.  I have not been to the pool since June, which also probably coincides with the last time I had a really excellent (homemade) salad.  So those 2 items are on the agenda for tomorrow. 

Sweet dreams. 

together again

I seem to be averaging 1 post per month. Isn't this something people do daily? Well, big ups to them.  I aspire to write more frequently. 

This past month marks the first 4 weeks of operation at our lovely, Vegan, Live Food Cafe.  The food is insanely delicious and everyone is totally smitten with the menu, space, vibe, and of course, the plants that make up our eatery.  

Over the past four weeks, I've spent more time here (I'm writing at the cafe) than just about anywhere else.  So much so, that today (on my day off) I still find myself here.  But I'm not preparing any food today, other than the yummy RAW vegan chocolate mylkshake I just had mmmm.  (Did I mention how delicious this stuff is...?)

Today I slept straight through till noon.  I don't think I even rolled over in my sleep, I was that tired.  Which brings me to my next adventure...a new cleansing program.  I learned from my time in Honduras that I actually feel more energized when I eat less (and my body can clean out more efficiently) by spending less time digesting, etc.   I know that by drinking more smoothies, juices, liquids, etc and eating less, I will actually have more energy.  Much more.  Which I can definitely use since it's just me and my boyfriend running this show (cafe).   So I am excited to begin this new cleansing program.  Yes, these are the things that get me excited.  Like picking fresh mulberries and eating them right off the tree on the streets of NYC.  Thrilling.

I've been eating RAW food for a while now, and with the weather warmer, it's a perfect time to begin a new cleansing program.  The program was formulated by Robert Gray.  (I never heard of him either, but my boyfriend introduced me to his book The Colon Health Handbook, and the herbal formulas that he put together.)  It's only been a couple of days, but so far so good.  I will keep you posted on our results and happenings. 

And of course, I will continue writing about our cafe.  We are going to start giving cooking classes soon and have more live music. So stay tuned!!

yay! i found my blog spot!

Congrats to me.  Not because I've actually been eating all raw--(though I have been : ) thank you very much)...but simply because I managed to find this blog spot.  Finally.  It took me a minute.  (Hey, don't laugh, I'm new at this). 

My last post was the day before my all raw diet began.  Scratch that...it was the day before I had planned to (re)start my all raw diet.  Turns out, I still had a few more days of popcorn snacking, and eating other cooked foods ahead of me.   Timing is everything.  And finally, after a dinner of veggies, rice, and a few other cooked starches, I finally said ciao! to cooked foods.  I realized I wasn't actually getting anything from the meal other then completing a routine, mundane habit I had lost all interest in a while back.  

That was about 2 weeks ago, maybe, I'm not one for keeping track of those kinds of details.  Like the other day I went swimming and someone asked me how many laps I swim, I told him I had no idea.  I just swim. No counting.  Just enjoying each lap. 

Which brings up another development in my life...I rediscovered the joys of physical movement and exercise.  Though I don't really consider it exercise, hence the lack of counting (laps).   Swimming plus yoga gave me a great boost of energy over the past few weeks, until lately...when I stopped going as often.  I'm working on opening a cafe and though our opening is still a week or so away, I am already feeling like a small business owner.  That is if lack of sleep, constant work, little (if any) time to eat, and less time to devote to swimming and yoga is a bit of what small business owners feel. 

Still, there is a joy that comes from spending 24 hrs a day implementing your own ideas, brainstorming, problem solving, etc (even if it means MUCH less sleep).   So, okay, maybe I have a bit less (read: zero) time to devote to my own beauty/health/wellness routine.  And maybe I feel a bit like a hamster running on a wheel that never actually stops and I'm not wholly sure I am making it anywhere, but hey, at least it's MY wheel that I'm sweating for...right?    

Okay, must sleep now.  My only chance to swim is in about 5 hours, so I'll sleep until then.  Last night I had a dream about some really delicious RAW vegan marble muffins that I made and came out wonderfully.  Don't remember the actual recipe or even making them, but the fact that I woke up reminiscing on their perfection gives me some comfort that I'm headed in the right direction. 

More on my RAW foods journey later.  Sweet dreams.  

raw food jitters

Tomorrow I start my Raw Food journey, again.  I first started eating a raw food diet a couple of years ago, when I was working at a healing village in Central America.  

Of course, there in that small rural village, the diet was not referred to as a Raw Food Diet with all the percentages of Raw vs. Cooked that exist here.  Nor would you find any 'Raw Food Experts', (a phrase that still makes me laugh out loud).  It was simply eating what was given from nature to nourish us all...plants, fruits, sunshine, and clean air.  There were no high powered blenders to make cheese from nuts, or dehydrating ovens to create uncooked breads.  And yet, I thrived on this way of eating.  My stomach shrank and I basically ate one meal a day.  For a chef to realize that eating was just about unnecessary, well, it was a bit shocking to say the least. 

I remember the moment when the depths of this new level of health really hit home for me.  I was walking up a hill that leaves many people out of breath, it used to leave me a bit winded when I first arrived.  But on that day my legs moved up the hill with almost no effort at all.  My arms moved as if riding invisible waves that carried them. Every muscle I had seemed in perfect synch with the universe surrounding me, supported in every way as it carried me up the hill.  This diet puts me in synch with my surroundings.  Living off of nature fulfills an ancient truth.  Support nature, by welcoming with gratitude the gifts nature has to support and nurture you.  Total balance. 

And the food is delicious to boot! 

Then I returned to NYC.  And old habits crept back in as they sometime do.  Before I realize what's happened, I'm back in the belly of this beast.  This food matrix.  Yikes!  It's no fun in here.  So tomorrow begins my long planned escape.  And I'm armed to the teeth with medicinal herbs to support my cells, long cherished activities like swimming and yoga to engage my body and mind, and my companion in life, love, and work to accompany me.

So why do I still feel jittery?  Is it fear that in spite of all this support, I'll find a way to slip up?  Or is it fear of letting go...letting go of the immediate comfort that comes from consumption.  Well, I'm jumping right into this adventure. Cold feet and last minute jitters in tow.  I'll keep posting on how it all goes. 

RawChefNess