Raw Vegan Almond Milk

Almond milk bought from the store is often processed and may contain vegetable oil, refined sugar, or other ingredients that are incompatible with the raw vegan diet/detox. Here is some additional info on the differences between store bought almond milk and homemade: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=203

I researched making your own almond milk and it looks pretty easy! All you need is a blender and a nut milk bag.

Unsweetened - Here is an easy recipe from Whole Foods:

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup almonds

Method: 

Put almonds in a bowl and cover by several inches with cold water. Cover and set aside at room temperature to soak overnight or 10 to 12 hours. Drain and rinse almonds. 

In a high-speed blender, blend almonds with 3 cups water until thoroughly combined. The mixture will be very frothy. Strain through a cheesecloth, a fine-mesh strainer or a nut-milk bag. Store almondmilk in the refrigerator and use within 3 days. Stir each time before using. 

The leftover almond pulp can be used for baking or added to oatmeal or smoothies.

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:Serving size: just under 1 cup, 5 calories (5 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 5mg sodium, 0g carbohydrate (0g dietary fiber, 0g sugar), 0g protein

Sweetened - Here is a pretty easy DIY recipe for almond milk (from eatingvibrantly.com):

Makes: ~600ml plus ~1 cup almond pulp

Ingredients

• 1 cup (160g) almonds
• pinch salt + water to cover
• 1½ cups (375ml) water
• 2 medjool dates, pitted
• ¼ tsp vanilla bean powder (optional)
• ½ cup (125ml) water
• ⅔ cup (125g) ice

Method

1. Add salt to almonds and cover with water.
2. Soak 8-12 hours or overnight at room temperature.
3. Drain almonds and rinse.
4. Add almonds to blender with 1½ cups water, dates and vanilla bean powder.
5. Blend until smooth.
6. Add ½ cup of water and ⅔ cup ice and blend again.
7. Strain through nut milk bag, squeezing pulp thoroughly to extract as much almond milk as possible.
8. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Preparation

Before: Soak almonds 8-12 hours or overnight
During: 15 min
After: -
Need: Blender, nut milk bag

Food Combining Chart

If you are struggling with gas, bloating or any other digestive issues, following these combining rules could help you alleviate those problems.

I like Fully Raw Kristina's chart because it is beautiful and easy to follow:

If this one does not work for you, you can simply google raw vegan food combining chart and find one that makes sense to you!

If it overlaps, you can eat it together. 

If it does not overlap, try to avoid putting things from both of these groups in the same meal.

ANYTHING (besides melons) works with vegetables.

Try to eat melons by themselves. 

xoxo,

Cecily

RAW INSPO! Fullyrawkristina

Hi babies! This is one of my FAVORITE Raw inspo sites!!! She is so adorable, positive and full of life!! (PLUS her skin and hair is AMAZING.)

http://www.youtube.com/user/FullyRawKristina

Here are some pics from different recipes she has made:

Raw burrito today!

Hope you guys' first day is going amazing! Today I made a raw burrito for lunch! I found these huge green cabbage leaves and wanted to use them! I threw anything that looked yummy and my leftovers from yesterday into the leaves! 

Such an important aspect of recovery during detox

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/04/exciting-study-reveals-sleep-removes-toxic-waste-brain.html

I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!

I am so excited for all of you as you embark on this journey! Please let me know if you have any questions or just need my support as you go through this detox! Lots of love!

xoxo,
Cecily

Tapping for Weight Loss and Body Confidence

Here is a link to the tapping exercise we did today:

http://gabbyb.tv/vlogging/tapping-for-weight-loss-and-body-confidence?inf_contact_key=f05370483b19b6fe99289e7a1f8da4585c4e14e3cc2e652820717a23c3a0bc22

Recipes

From Right to Left: 

Jalapeño and Garlic Mashed "Potatoes"

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2 c. soaked cashews
• 1 tbsp. olive oil (cold pressed)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp. of Bragg's Aminos
• Sea Salt and Pepper to Taste
• For Jalapeño version: add 1-2 jalapeños depending on what kind of spice level you like! 

Instructions: 

Drain the cashews. Put all ingredients in the food processor and 'process' until complete or until it is the consistency you prefer. 

*I also made this with curry powder one night which tasted so yummy!

Zucchini Hummus

Ingredients: 

• 1 c. raw sesame seeds
• 1.5 Big Zucchinis
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 tbsp. Cumin
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• Sea Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions: blend or put in food processor all of the ingredients 

Taco (Walnut) "Meat"

Ingredients: 

• 3 c. soaked walnuts 
• 2 tbsp. red chili flakes
• 2 tbsp. cumin
• 2 tbsp. curry powder
• 1 tbsp. Bragg's Aminos
• 2 tbsp. Pepper 
• Sea Salt (Optional)

Instructions:

Drain the walnuts; add in all ingredients to food processor and pulse until consistency desired (I like to keep it pretty chunky)

Taco Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 Avocados (diced)
• 1 Handful of Sprouts (I used Pea Sprouts)
• 1 Bag of Spinach
• 4 Big Green Kale Leaves
• 1/4 Zucchini (shredded) 
• 2 Small Persian Cucumbers (sliced)
• 1/2 Jalapeño (chopped)
• 1/2 Bunch of Cilantro (chopped)
• 2 Cobs of Corn 
• Crumbs of Zesty Nacho Kale Chips (Rhythm Foods)
• 4 Tomatoes (Chopped)

Raw Ice "Cream"

Ingredients:

• 5 Frozen Bananas (be sure to peel these before you put them in the freezer)
• 1/3 c. of raw cacao beans
• 1/3 c. of water
• 1 bag of frozen mixed berries (strawbs, rasps, and bluebs!) 

Instructions:

Mix everything together in your blender or food processor. It is a little difficult to get going so be patient and continue to stir it 

*I also love putting in fresh mint or basil! It is a fun taste! I made mint chocolate chip with raw cacao and fresh mint leaves and it was DELISH!

Protein

Protein - how do you get it and how much do you really need?

• you only need about 10% of your daily calories to come from protein 
• fruit is 4-10% protein 
• Greens like kale, spinach, romaine and other leafy greens are packed full of protein
• further, protein from plant sources is much more easily absorbable (90% of the vitamins and minerals will be absorbed into your blood stream from raw fruits and veggies) 

You can download an app called Cron-o-Meter if you are concerned about what vitamins, minerals and other nutritional values you are consuming! (https://cronometer.com/)

Check ya Cravings at the Door with these Tools!

1. Visualize your outcome

• how would giving into the craving make you feel vs. grabbing a peice of fruit and eating that instead

2. EAT MORE FRUIT

• when your body is fueled properly, you won't have as many or as bad of cravings

3. Exercise

• moving your body and sweating are great ways to distract yourself; get out in nature!

4. Call a friend/use a support lifeline

5. Brush your teeth 

• no one likes to eat after brushing their teeth! It's a quick cut out for any craving

6. Eat earlier and more rather than late at night - eating late at night is NO BUENO! You need that time to rest and recover and let the body do its job.

7. Fill your fridge and kitchen with fresh fruits and veggies! Get rid of the junk food and processed food. 

8. LET IT PASS. Cravings only last a few minutes. If you can avoid caving in for long enough, the craving will naturally pass and you will be further away from your next  craving! 

• Learn true signs of hunger vs. emotional eating or boredom eating vs. dehydration

I'm Detoxing! HELP! SOS!

Detoxing is perfectly normal! You may experience some weird reactions from your body as it will be working to get rid of the toxins and replace them with the living, nutritious, power foods you are putting into your body.

1. GET SLEEP! Rest = recovery on the inside. Make sure you sleep at least 6-8 hours per night, this is when the change happens. 
2. Drink TONS of Water. REAL WATER. (1-2L per day)
3. Exercise (20-30 mins/day)
4. Spend time in nature and be present
5. Journal. Write about how you feel, when you experience different emotions, what you ate that day, what cravings you conquered, how you exercised, difficulties, challenges, successes, etc. HEAR your own voice! 

Tips to be Successful!

Tips to make this a SUPER successful WEEK!

1. Have enough food!

• buy tons of fruits and veggies and get rid of the junk food

2. Always eat enough!

• food guild does not exist here; enjoy every bite; if you are restrictive with your consumption of these foods, you could crave and crash! It is better to just eat enough in the first place

3. Find a Support Team

• find someone who believes in you throughout this journey; you will feel safe and want to succeed

4. Keep Learning / Keep Inspired

• Stay interested in what is happening in your body; where the food is coming from; how to make new recipes; what nutrients are in each food; etc.
• Some of my fave websites:
• http://www.fullyraw.com/
• http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/
• http://www.rawfoodrecipes.com/
• The Book 80/10/10

5. Take it one day at a time.

• Quitting anything you are currently addicted to (this could be sugar, coffee, bread, etc.) is going to be tough. It is so important to take the journey one day at a time. 
• Be the change you want to see! 
• YOU ARE IN CONTROL of what goes into your body
• You are the only one who can change you!
• If you fall off the horse, get back on. If you accidentally cheat or have a moment of weakness, don't waste the whole day! Get back on the right track and finish off strong! 

Why go raw?

Among the many reasons to go raw, here are some of my favorites:

1) Live to eat Live Foods!

"A cooked seed won't grow, but a live seed will"

• Cooking foods over 118 degrees F destroys many of the enzymes and nutrients in food 
• For even just 3 minutes, the protein in food becomes coagulated; sugar becomes caramelized; nautral fibers have been broken down (i.e., it will take longer for food to move through the digestive tract)
• 30-50% of the food's vitamins and minerals have been destroyed;
• We lose 97% of water soluble vitamins (Vitamins B and C) and up to 40% of lipid soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E and K)
• 100% of its natural enzymes have been destroyed
• Cooked food depletes our body's enzyme potential and drains the energy we need to maintain and repair our tissues and organ systems

• Cooking food diminishes the natural life energy!

2) Raw foods are EASILY digestible! 

• It only takes 24-36 hours for raw food to pass through the digestive tract (40-100 for cooked foods allowing fermentation and the possibility for the food to putrefy in the intestinal tract)

3) Alertness/Sharpness of Mind! 

• Your memory and power of concentration will be increased;
• No feeling of sleepiness or lethargy after meals

4) White Blood Cells

• After eating cooked foods, the blood immediately shows an enormous increase of leukocytes of white blood cells--corpuscles (immune system warriors)
• No multiplication is seen after eating raw foods;
• Constant daily fight against cooked food can exhaust the system and the body's strength and vitality 

5) Energy!

• Eating raw will give you an amazing boost of energy!
• That afternoon slump around 2 or 3 will vanish from your life. 
• If you do get tired, a piece of fruit will quickly replenish and revive you! 

6) Better Sleep and Less Sleep Needed

• Never wake up groggy or tired

7) Eat as much as you want!

• You will never get the uncomfortable full feeling when eating 100% vegan raw. 
• You WILL feel full, but not weighed down or tired. 

8) Less clean-up time overall. (RINSE AND DRY)

9) More regularity with your digestive process 

• 2-3 passings/day is regular; if this is not happening, your intestines could be unhealthily clogged

10) Develop a Strong Connection with the Earth

• Eating freshly picked food just FEELS different. 
• You will feel more connected and grounded.
• By eating lots of processed foods, a bigger gap exists between consumer and the earth. By eating fresh fruits and vegetables, the gap grows smaller and smaller and therefore, the consumer becomes more connected with the earth.