A Refreshing Vlog

If you haven't already run across "Bunny Berry's" blog, you owe it to yourself to take a look. She's a gal who is chronicling her 100 day Raw Food Challenge in daily video blogs (vlog). As of yesterday, she was on Day 31.

http://bunnyberry.blogspot.com/

She's refreshing in that she isn't this uber-thin, already-got-the-"glow", high raw, I-can-do-this-it's-as-easy-as-breathing type of gal. She makes you feel like all us regular folks can perhaps give raw another shot -- and succeed.

WLIR featured her blog the other day. So, I started poking around on there and really enjoyed her candid, seemingly unscripted commentary.

More fuel for the "Let's Jump Back on the Raw Bandwagon" -- hee hee

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Holdin' My Own

The last three days have been more or less 70% raw around here. Mostly because I am in need of a run to the store and partly because ... well, just because.

I've found that I like raw and find myself to be full on less amounts of food and am more aware of when I am just "eating to eat" and when I am truly hungry. So far, I haven't gained anything back but I haven't really lost any more either. Can't complain on that front, though.

I notice that I am picky about what non-raw food I eat though. I don't just want any ol' thing. And the stuff I do eat tastes faintly like cardboard. The flavor of raw fruits and veggies is so amazing now. I know... I know... I sound like one of "them" but it's true! I love how even bananas have a really good taste to me now. I think one of my favorite things in all the world right now is EVOO and lime juice (freshly squeezed) on my salad with just a hint of black pepper. Wow! Lime rocks!

But I've gone a wee bit overboard on citrus lately (grapefruits, lime, lemon, oranges, etc) and have a nice fever blister to show for it. Anyway, I digress ...

Here are a few more sites for you to peruse ...

1. Love Raw Life
2. Raw Food Talk -- the forum at www.alissacohen.com
3. Health Freedom Resources -- some recipes here
4. Green Smoothie Girl -- can't remember if I posted this or not
5. Rawdorable - a blog -- check out the two posts on Raw Dough that she used as 'Trix' cereal
6. Julie's Raw Ambition -- another blog
7. Ann Wigemore Institute
8. The Raw Table
9. Pure Raw Cafe
10. Wheeler's Vegan Ice Cream -- it ain't raw but sometimes you just need a little ice cream

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Two Raw Sites from Kristen

I've been wanting to introduce you to a website I found the other day. Before I was able to do so, the funniest thing happened ... The author of this site actually left a couple of comments on this blog. (Yes, this obscure, mostly-for-my-friends, we've-discovered-raw/vegan-now-what-the-heck-do-we-do-with-it blog) But I didn't realize she was the one and the same Kristen until after her second comment.


So, without further ado, I would love for everyone to check out her website and accompanying blog:

Kristen's Raw

Kristen's Raw Blog

According to her website, she "is a former competitive bodybuilder and Associate Chef and Instructor in Raw Gourmet Foods, certified by the world-famous Living Light Culinary Arts Institute in Fort Bragg, California."


You can read more about her personal story here.

Before you jet out of here to explore her site, though, let me break it down and give you some direct links to the nooks and crannies in her site you will definitely want to visit.

For starters, the website is well laid out and each of the pages conveniently lead you through the bulk of the site with connecting links at the bottom of each page. She writes well, is easy to follow, and never tries to overwhelm you with technical jargon. In fact, you will find her approach to this raw journey to be "real" and inspiring. Which is good for me, because I prefer the non-fluff, 'you can do it' version of things! :o)

The FAQ Page is well thought out and answers a bunch of questions I didn't even know to ask. I found the last entry to be especially helpful. It's about food combining which, the more I learn, seems vital to the success of any raw food lifestyle.

Kristen's Raw Recipe books
One of the first things you will notice is that she has several extensive Raw Recipe Books for sale. They are all ebooks, which is uber-convenient and quicker than waiting for the postman to deliver your latest purchase. She even has one specific to Holiday Cooking (view the list of included recipes)

Kristen's Newsletter
Be sure to register for her newsletter. I received my first one the other day and it was quite informative and useful. It even included three recipes for raw salad dressing that I can't wait to try. YUM~

She's based in Arizona. So, anyone reading this blog from out that way should definitely check out her classes and live events. (Click here view her event calendar)

Kristen's Blog:
Last, but certainly not least, you will want to subscribe to (or at least bookmark) her blog.
http://kristensraw.blogspot.com/


OK -- now that you've read my short review, head on over to her site and don't forget to sign up for her newsletter!

Enjoy!

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Wowser ... I am SO trying this!

OK boys and girls. Just a quick entry before I commence to scrubbing my house in preparation for company this weekend.

I just checked my Google Reader and found a recipe that is SCREAMING to be attempted for Thanksgiving. Seems I will brave the store later today to grab ingredients that I lack for this one.

So ... run, don't walk, over to the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog (have I told you how much I adore this blog?????) for her --- drum roll please ---

Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

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Blogs to read and ... a Challenge!

Sorry for the many days without a post! Let's take a look at some blogs today that I have been introduced to in recent weeks. (Again, please note that I do not condone 100% of everything a website - or blog, in this case - contains.)

Side Note:
Before I dive into the blogs, I just want to mention a quick upgrade that was added to this blog. You will notice a 'chat balloon' icon near each link now. You can hover over that to see a preview of the website that is linked.

Quick Lesson on RSS:
For all my non-geek readers :)

If you aren't familiar with the benefits of RSS, you might want to acquaint yourself with it. To put it quite simply, an RSS file 'feeds' information to any device that checks it. This allows you, the end user, to subscribe to any RSS and receive automatic notification of updates to the feed WITHOUT having to physical check each website or blog. Nice, huh?!?!

OK, so how do you use that feature? Simple.

Choose an RSS/feed reader and then plug in the feed address of any blog (or RSS file) and the reader does all the work. For instance, I utilize Google Reader to keep up with all the blogs I regularly follow. I then use iGoogle as my homepage and it lets me know when the reader has new content. Easy as pie!

I currently track over 50 blogs this way and have them organized into folders. This saves me SO much time and effort because the reader does all the work and then I skim through the entries and read the ones that interest me. So, give it a try. Go over to www.google.com to get started.


Now ... on to the blogs:

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen: Pastor introduced me to this one. Her blog features recipes and other tidbits of healthy living info. I like the great photos of each of the recipes, and the archives run all the way back to Dec 2005.

• She's even got a HUGE list of other foods blogs that she follows. Check the list out here.
• Also, you should really look at the parent website to which this blog belongs. http://fatfreevegan.com/ -- you will find absolutely TONS of recipes there as well.

Raw Food, Right Now: I realize not everyone is a full-on raw foodie, but they have interesting recipes and good tips to boot. A recent post featured Chewy Chocolate Freezer Fudge. Sounds yummy!

• This blog features a list of other Raw Blogs. See the list here
• Sign up for their Free Mini eCourse on how to make Raw Ice Cream

The Raw Divas blog: I introduced their website in the last post and wanted to include the blog in this one -- just in case you missed it.

• Check out the links in the right hand column for more blogs
• They even feature workout tips and ideas. See this one on Poi

The Daily Raw Cafe: Here's another one that I just started reading. Interesting recipes and I also noticed that they link to two other blogs

• The Daily Raw Recipes
• The Raw Test Kitchen - where you help test the recipes

We like it Raw: This seems to be a conglomeration of news, recipes, and links to other Raw websites and blogs. Check out the interesting post on The Importance of Organic Tea. To learn more about this blog, check out this page.

The Challenge:
So, now that I've introduced you to a few of the many blogs I follow, here's your challenge. Find a blog -- Raw, Vegan, or other Healthy lifestyles - that you like and think has information worth sharing and send me the link. I'll post a list of the blogs for everyone to enjoy.

(In case you are having trouble finding one ... visit one of those listed above and then check out the blogs that they link to. )

This challenge will end on Friday, October 26 -- so get your entries in ASAP.

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