Day 1

Date: April 1, 2012
Weight: 145 lbs
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Daily Goals:

ü  Meditation/Yoga/Journal: Doing a small journal now!

ü  Daily Physical Exercise: Gym with Lizz- a bit of machines, nothing too crazy

ü  Limited Television: Only watched an episode of Community. If you're going to watch SOMETHING, better be brilliant and hilarious.

ü  Clean House: Folded laundry and swept

ü  Of Course, Stay Raw: Big time *check*
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Daily Breakdown: Today was the very first day! I wasn't SUPER prepared, but that's alright because our potluck was this evening. Basically, I had two bananas for breakfast, like five oranges for lunch, some kale chips, and then our AMAZING potluck later. I brought marinated veggies (recipe below), Yvonne provided finger foods (fruit/veggie plates) and a cashew dip, Jackie made amazing raw burritos and cole slaw, and then Mrs. Jordan brought pineapple draaaaank. It was.. a... feast. My plan was to do mono meals for Monday-Wednesday, but with all of the leftovers, I'm going to have to fudge that a bit.

Feelings: The first day of something like this is always the easiest, you're amped, full from days of culinary sin, and fresh for the picking. Basically today felt great- I wasn't so focused on food at all today and mostly just concerned with enjoying my life. That's the way to be, I guess! Every time I stopped, I got a bit tired, but I've been tired since I got back from my trip... so it's sensible. Also, I'm a wee bit hungry now, but it's been 3 1/2 hours since I ate, so that also makes sense. Hope I have enough to get me through tomorrow! Doing my real big shopping then...

Ahhhhhh so glad to be doing this!!

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Veggies
cherry or grape tomatoes
sun-dried tomatoes
portobella mushrooms
red onion
carrots

Chop all veggies into bite-sized pieces. 

Marinade:
Sweet and Sour Ginger Dressing 

Mix veggies and dressing in large bowl and marinate overnight. YUM! You will be the hit of the party if you make this. An excellent alternative is to just marinate portobella mushrooms, if you want a more simple veggie marinade. 

  1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar 
1/2 cup olive oil 
1/4 cup Shoyu
5 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme 
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger 
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Makes about 1-1/4 cup

Place all the ingredients in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to combine. Refrigerate.

- by Alex Ferrara, The Raw Food Primer

*Comments: Note from Sharon, raw foodist who prepared this as a Baby Shitake Mushroom marinade at a Raw workshop I went to says: "I used fresh garlic instead of the powder, and also added a pinch of oregano and basil to her recipe. I prepared the dish on Thursday evening allowing the vegetables to marinate for about 24 hours. I recommend simply tossing the mushrooms in the marinade and layering any additional vegetables underneath the mushrooms so that any of the vinegar that might drain to the bottom of the dish would not soak into the mushrooms. I used red pepper slices, broccoli, zucchini slices, and red onion slices. I used a one gallon size glass jar, which allowed me to turn the vegetables several times throughout the day, re-coating the mushrooms without loosing the layer of vegetables underneath. I tossed everything together just prior to serving. This is a GREAT salad dressing, too!"