Cleanse Day 4: Everything's Peachy.

It's true.  The cleanse is going well on Day 4.  But there's another side to the title of this post.  Everything's Peachy is also the name I gave my juice for Elena's Juice Contest.  I see that Antony has his entry posted.  Where is yours?  HiHoRosie is going to help with the judging and the winner gets all three of Elena's ebooks.  Fun! 

Everything's Peachy:

2 yellow peaches
2 golden beets
1 lime
2 fuji apples
1 orange (late for the photo shoot)
1 inch nub of ginger root

*Made in a Power Juicer

Sweet & yummy with a little spice.  BF and I enjoyed these in my fancy crystal wine glasses that were a gift from my sister.  My juice has class.  It's also cleansing and packed with vitamin C. 

Now, back to the cleanse.  I've gone back and forth between feeling great and then getting tired with a headache.  I'm not even sure if this is detox related because a few friends are sick with an icky summer cold.  Regardless of what's causing it, I'm just going with my body's signals and resting when I feel tired, drinking a lot of water and detox tea to support the flushing out of toxins, and enjoying the spurts of energy as they come.  I've definitely been exposed to whatever bug is going around, so hopefully all of these nutrient packed smoothies and juices will help me fight it off. 

Oooooh... here's a little teaser.  BF and I worked together to make a raw vegan French onion dip that looks and tastes like the old school soup-powder-packet-mixed-with-a-tub-of-sour-cream version.  I'll post that recipe tomorrow.

Happy Sunday!  I'm so glad I still have one more day of weekend tomorrow.   How are you spending your weekend?  Have you made juice? 

Raw Vegan Cleansing Foods Day 3

Today is my third day of eating raw and I'm feeling pretty good.  I felt a little tired this afternoon with a headache and I'm pretty sure it was a symptom of detox.   I'll just keep drinking a lot of water and encourage those nasty little toxins to flush out.

We've been blending up lots of smoothies with various combinations of greens, fruit, veggies and herbs.  My bf has really been into the smoothie makin' and has introduced me to new flavor additions like basil and lime.  One of the great things about sharing a kitchen is being exposed to new ideas. 

And juice.  This one was inspired by HiHoRosie.  We were chatting on twitter about making a gold juice from gold beets and she made her beautiful Sunflower juice.  I gathered up some golden ingredients and made the Gold Standard.  It's more of an orange color because of all the carrots, but the gold beet flavor really stands out.

Made with these:

 

I was craving some crunchy greens, so I made a simple salad with butter lettuce, arugula, avocado, hemp seeds, and a sweet ginger vinaigrette.  So fresh and delicious!

 

This afternoon Chef T and I have spent some time in the kitchen making some raw vegan snacks.  Post about today's creations coming soon. 

Hope you're holiday weekend is off to a great start!

More Thoughts On Cleansing

 blueberry, banana, orange, spinach, spirulina, chia, coconut milk

Why cleanse?  I was enjoying a meet-up with my favorite work ladies this morning and this question came up as I sipped my yerba mate and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice while they chowed down on sweet smelling pancakes and lattes.  This was my response:

• Overall, I feel much better when I eat unprocessed foods, especially mostly raw - 100% raw.  The more raw I consume, the better I feel.  My body just happens to thrive on it.  

• My energy levels have taken a dip recently and I know my body well enough to know that processed food has this effect on me.  Actually, my body is letting me know in a few other ways that my nutrition is off:  horrible monthly cramps, bruising, and dry skin patches.

Shanonmarie left a thought-provoking comment on my last post about eating as an on-going cleanse.   I like to think that I am ultimately moving in that direction, but it does ebb and flow.  I am grateful to have enough physical awareness that I can change directions as needed.  That said, I do believe that making permanent healthy changes to diet with a focus on fresh, whole food is the key to healthful longevity. 

I've been enjoying mega-smoothies, fresh juices & fruit, and had a delicious Live Taco Salad at Blossoming Lotus yesterday.   I'm going to spend some quality time with my Vita-Mix and dehydrator making raw vegan treats this long weekend.  Anyone else have kitchen marathons in their holiday plans? 

Oh, yeah... I've switched my comments to disqus and as of now all of my past comments have disappeared, but I've been assured that they will reappear sometime in the next few days, after blogger & disqus have finished the importing process.  Fingers crossed!  I wanted disqus because it allows for a direct reply to specific comments.

Happy Friday!

Hello, September. Hello, Cleanse.

Hello, September, I welcome you with open arms.  One of my favorite months of the year!  September usually brings beautiful, warm, sunny weather to the Pacific Northwest and is also the bearer of Autumn (9/23 this year), my most favorite season.  Last year in September I moved to Portland.  Best decision EVER!  This September my sister is moving here. Yes!

I've decided to celebrate by making myself feel healthy and awesome with a super-cleanse.  It's been a happy year full of new and exciting events.  I've enjoyed a lot of tasty vegan food.  Most of it on the heavier side of things, like this avo mac-n-cheeze:

 

I've loved all of the rich comfort foods, but I'm feeling the need to lighten things up and get this month off to a fresh start.  Today is going to be all about juices & smoothies. This morning's smoothie was spinach, avo, banana, chia and spirulina courtesy of Mr. CatMan, smoothie maker extraordinaire. 

 

Any good suggestions for detox/cleansing information?  I have some great resources and good old standbys but am always looking for new material.  

Ok, Have a great first day of September and bring on the greens! 

Yummy Vegan Seattle Weekend Eats!

You've already heard me whining about missing out on Vida Vegan Con this year.  Thanks to Twitter I've been able to follow the action and it's making me look forward to 2013 even more.  You can bet your britches I'll be buying my ticket the day they go on sale.

I just happened to plan an out of town get-away for the same weekend.  Mr. CatMan and I drove up to Seattle for PAX, but the highlight ended up being all of our little vegan food excursions across the city.  Here's the rundown:

Day One:
Pho Cyclo - Hot, flavorful, and fragrant, this is my favorite pho in Seattle.  Fresh brocolli and cauliflower florets swim between rice noodles, straw mushrooms and tofu strips in a light and savory anise-veggie broth.  I use a heavy dose of hot chili paste in mine, along with some hoisin and fresh basil.  This is the ultimate welcome-back-to-Seattle lunch.

Healeo - Green juice! With ginger.  Healeo is just down the street from my old apartment so I was spoiled by convenient fresh juice when I lived here.  This place rules.  Totally healthy with vegan, raw, and gluten free options.  Sweet wheatgrass shots? Yes please! Gluten free pizza? Gimme some!

Honey Hole - We stopped in for a late dinner and found ourselves in sandwich heaven.  There's only one vegan sandwich on the menu, the BLT, but I keep coming back for it over and over again.  It's that good.  The fries are the perfect combo of crispy on the outside with a soft, piping hot center.  And the atmosphere is dark and relaxed with super friendly service. 

Day Two:
Healeo -  Starting day two with a buzz!  We were supercharged after downing wheatgrass shots and smoothies packed with greens and superfoods.   Makes mornings happy.

Porchlight - Let's start with me admitting that I'm a coffee snob.  Seattle is known for coffee and Porchlight is THE BEST.  Seriously, Zack, the owner, knows his stuff.  I always get an Americano and I make happy noises after each sip.  Every shot is rich and smooth.  No bitterness found here.  And he carries (vegan) Mighty-O Donuts, sells records, and shows good local art.  Stop by and you'll forget all those other coffee shops even exist. I was excited to add a Porchlight coffee mug to my collection!

Madison Market - Oh, how I adore Madison Market, my neighborhood co-op when I lived in Seattle.  I had to take Mr. CatMan on a tour and he agreed that this is a fabulous place to shop.  I could go on and on... but the highlight for me is the raw vegan section.  After wandering through the aisles we bought some raw snacks to keep our bellies purring between meals.

We had another delish Honey Hole BLT for dinner, then stopped by the uber-hip Unicorn to meet up with friends.  Despite Unicorn's menu being mostly meat-n-cheese laden "circus food" our friend got a vegan burger that looked yummy in the most greasy bar-food sort of way.  Perfect for filling the belly when drinking boozy summer libations.

Day Three:
Mighty O:  Grasshopper, French Toast, Raspberry, & Coffee vegan donuts.  There's not much more to say.  Started today with a sugar high.

Back to Madison Market to buy more of these: 

Sage Cafe: Where we had to die for vegan crepes.  We tried the quinoa stuffed crepe with jalapeno aioli and the sauteed mushroom & chard crepe.  Both were plate-licking good.  At the end of the meal our plates were bare and we were tempted to eat a bite that had landed on the table.  We managed to refrain, but it was hard to leave that bite behind. 

Flying Apron:  One last stop before leaving town.  I couldn't drive away with a Peanut Butter Joy, Banana Chocolate Chip Square, and Pumpkin Ginger Square.  Everything at Flying Apron is vegan and gluten free and will blow your mind.  Mr. CatMan fed me bites of the Peanut Butter Joy as I drove South on I-5 towards Portland.  That's love. 

I enjoyed every delectable bite of tasty vegan food that made it into my mouth over the weekend.  Thank you Seattle for a delicious visit!

Veggies From Grandma's Garden, Comfort Food, and Cats

Hello!  We're finally settled into our new home.  I love it here.  Especially the kitchen! It's big enough for two people to cook simultaneously.  Awesomeness.  Here's a peak at some comfort foods we've been cookin' up:

My grandma gave me a box of produce from her garden last week.  There were green tomatoes.  I had to fry them.  I sort of followed the recipe from Vegan Yum Yum, using bread crumbs instead of corn meal.  They weren't bad for my first attempt.  The sides are steamed kale with lemon & sea salt and oven roasted rosemary potatoes, also from grandma's garden.  Food grown with love.  The best.

Oh boy.  This pizza was a little out of hand.  We put tahini-kale salad on it.  Yep.  And balsamic marinated portabellas.  On a rosemary crust.  The flavor combo was delicious. 

And for some balance:  Giant super dark green smoothies with lots of spirulina. Every single morning.  The perfect way to start the day. 

The cats are enjoying the new home too.  Kupo & Poopers had fun exploring their corner of the living room aka the kitty lounge.

And Miss Pixi is happy to have her very own room where she can relax away from the humans and younger cats, who can be too loud and annoying at times.  We haven't told her that she'll have to share this space when visitors are in town.

This is going to be a super fun weekend for a lot of vegan bloggers here in Portland.  I didn't get my tickets in time to attend Vida Vegan Con. *sniff*  But will be getting my tickets for next year's event as soon as they go on sale.  I'm going out of town for some fun visiting vegan stuff in another city.  I'll be following VVC on twitter :)

Happy Friday!!!

Moving Again! And Vacations!

Even though I've only been living in Portland for 10 months I feel more at home here than I have pretty much anywhere else I've called home for the past, oh, 15 years.  I guess growing up in Oregon has made moving to Portland feel like coming home.  It's nice.  Being closer to my family and joining forces with another awesome human and 2 more cats has made it even better.  We finally found a home big enough for the 5 of us and our expansive collection of kitchen gadgets in our most favorite neighborhood, and have started relocating.  Yay!

This is our new kitchen.  It's not fancy, but it's functional and has lots of space!  Plenty of room for an island and all of our toys.   It happens that we also planned 2 vacations in August.  Yeah.  How's that for a busy month?  It's all fun and exciting and makes me really happy, but we are going to be super duper busy.  So, I might not be posting as much the next few weeks, but I'll keep you updated on how the move is going.  Also, I'll twitter more often than I'm posting here, so you can catch up with me there if you want.  I'll be tweeting about my vacations too! 

Hope your summer's been fun so far.  I'll be back with recipes once my new kitchen is all set up.