Journey, Days 4 & 5

Yesterday (day 4) went well!  I did hot yoga in the morning, and sweated buckets.  Morning smoothie was tasty and the salad was pretty good (although I realize now that I'm not a fan of capers!).  This morning's smoothie was probably my favorite (the banana shake).  Walnuts + banana + cinnamon = yum!  I soaked the walnuts overnight (soaking nuts is not my forte, I tend to forget that I'm supposed to do it).  It's good to soak the nuts for a couple of reasons:  1) it releases the enzyme inhibitors (which are basically the things that keep the nut from sprouting without water), 2) they're easier to digest, and 3) they blend a lot smoother when their soaked, especially for people like me who can't afford a fancy-schmancy high speed Vitamix.

I am snacking a bit during the day (sorry, Ani!), but I'm sticking to 100% raw, even when snacking.  Yesterday, for example, I had a teensy raw chocolate bar that I split in two, had half in the morning and half in the afternoon.  Then, before dinner, I had a small banana cut up and drizzled with agave and sprinkled with dried coconut.  Agave is simple sugars, so it's a good idea to keep that as an "every once in a while" treat.  I also had some raw sprouted sunflower seeds with cacao and cayenne (it was branded as "mole" but it didn't taste anything like true mole.  Whole Foods is awesome for raw vegan snacks, but you have to be careful.  I was seriously digging Hail Merry's coconut macaroons (this was a couple of months ago) until I flipped the bag over and realized that only one ingredient in the whole thing is raw.  I think it was raw coconut oil, but I'm not sure, but I was kind of shocked because on the front of the bag it's touted as being "RAW".  I guess since there's no agreed-upon rules for what constitutes raw or not, people can say anything is raw (just like the term "all-natural" is heavily abused today).

A word on snacking:  I know that I'm not going to lose the maximum amount of weight by snacking.  That being said, the instructor from the raw foods meetup the other night made a great point: you shouldn't have to suffer.  Eating raw is not about suffering, it's about being healthy and having fun in the process.  I'm sticking to raw, definitely, and I'm trying to be smart about my snacks.  I don't want to eat 3 raw chocolate bars and 5 cups of cashews, then cry that I'm not losing weight.  I'm trying to listen to my body.  It'll all work out in the end!

Today's lunch is another salad, this time with the "Thermo Dressing".  I had a little taste of the dressing this morning, and it's AWESOME.  Can't wait to try it on my salad.  I'll update a little later today and let you all know how the rest of the day went!

Everything's A-OK!