Sunday, July 17, 2011

A Week in Raw Vegan Eating

This past week was good. I'm still participating in the ROCK*STARS Nation Challenge on Facebook and having a blast. The participating ROCK*STARS have been motivating, inspiring and encouraging. I fully expect the movement to continue beyond the challenge end date of August 4th. 

My ROCK*STAR moment of the week happened on Thursday at Crossfit. I completed 2 yes, TWO, WODS (workout of the day)! Usually I can barely drag myself out of the box (i.e. Crossfit location) but on Thursday I was full of energy! In fact, once I did get home, I headed out right back out again with Derek on a walk. Instead of just walking we ran sprints. Talk about feeling alive! I pushed myself and I was so much faster than I thought I would be. I'm not talking Usain Bolt fast but Kareen fast :)

I'm still plugging away with my daily morning push-ups, squats and daily devotional reading. My challenge has been getting to bed on time. As the week progresses, it gets more and more difficult to get to bed by 9:00 pm. Some of the delay has to do with food prep. 

I have been loving eating a high raw diet and my IBS has been responding well. If you're thinking of incorporating more raw whole foods into your diet understand that there is some prep work involved. Prepping lettuce for a salad plus any condiments (cukes, rads, scallions, etc) can take about 15 to 20 minutes. Not bad on a weekend but during the week when you've only got 60 minutes from the time you get home before heading to bed, it can be tight which is why I usually end up in bed between 9:30 and 10:00. I am not going to deviate from this path so I'm going to tweak the process this week to be more efficient.

Here are a few pics from this week in raw vegan eating. It's not complicated but it is delicious!

Grapes, blueberries and strawberries
Bananas, grapes and mangoes with fresh lime juice
VERY filling salad with cabbage, avocado and scallions. Added chipotle chili pepper for a kick and balsamic vinegar as the dressing.
Raw parfait: blended frozen bananas (replaces vanilla pudding) layered with blueberries and strawberries. Delish!
Mango, ginger, pineapple and lime juice smoothie
The final product - sooo yummy!
Start of green smoothie with spinach, strawberries, pineapples, ginger and fresh lime juice
Not necessarily the prettiest colour but certainly great tasting!

That's my week in food! I have a couple of recipes to try in the coming days and I look forward to sharing them with you.

What was your ROCK*STAR moment this past week?

- Kareen, RD

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Yeahhhh for progress!
Keep it up, Kareen!

I'm rooting for ya!

Your commitment has made me realise that I can do better, hence my getting back into the gym whilst on my trip to Trinidad. And hopefully it will continue. But, I'm going in small steps, day by day, as opposed to dreaming this grand picture of planning out my entire vacation in the gym. I fail though in the eating department. Not entirely what I eat but how often. Not going to stop trying though.

My cousin does Zumba and I am thinking of joining her to see what it is like and then move from there.

Looking forward to some pics of your progress.

Kareen said...

Thanks so much for the encouragement! Unfortunately my progress hasn't translated into weight loss so I look the same :( Gotta stay focused on getting healthy!

That's awesome that you were able to get back to the gym while away from home! Small steps is key! I had fun when I tried Zumba. Let me know what you think!

Keep me posted!

Sey said...

I would love to try raw vegan eating, but watching too many youtube videos about people attempting it is a downer. Many people seem to fall of the wagon because the are unsure as to what exactly to consume. And I'm sure if you're not use to eating meals at room temperature it will be a challenge.
Anyway, I will be trying this one of these days. You make it seem so easy. Have you heard about food combining? If, yes what are your thoughts on it?

Kareen said...

Hey Seygra! Thanks for stopping by! I'm definitely not a 100% raw type of person and so it's just about incorporating a lot more whole foods. That's not too difficult for me to handle :) Food can be warmed up to 120 degrees on a raw diet so that can help those people transitioning.

I have heard of food combining and I'm not a follower but I do believe in some of the principles. I am trying not to eat melons with other foods. What are your thoughts?