A new year. . . I’ve been avoiding you.

That’s not true.

Yes is it.

It’s really taken me this long to get back to normal from the holiday season. I spent most of the month of December working/traveling/eating food I wouldn't even think of eating any other day of the year. What a joyous time! I have no pictures.

Long before we decided we were finally going to get married, I had taken up a crusade of health. When the end comes, I know I will not be one of the strong so I know I must be one of the fast to survive. Heloooo treadmill. I know, I know, but it’s wintertime and I’m a beginner so cut me some slack. Then I found this website posted on a friend’s Facebook page. So I’m about to start that as well. In 2 months, if I work hard, I should be able to do everything this program says I can. I will be a beast. rawr.

On the nutrition front, I’m heading in a new direction as well, mostly for amusement and love of the scientific process. Today is the first post in a series called “Miss Crow goes raw(ish) for a while to see if all the crazy stuff people say is true”. I’ll need to come up with a better title soon but that’s good for now.

So, yeah, people DO say all kinds of crazy things about the benefits of a raw food diet:

• excellent detoxification
• Increased energy
• Improved skin appearance
• Better digestion
• Weight loss
• Reduced risk of heart disease
• euphoria
• relieves PMS/PMT
• cures cancer

ummm. . . . Now, I’m skeptical of anything that says I can cure cancer, especially when there’s only some sketchy science backing it up but, hey, it’s a free country, you can say what you want as long as you have a disclaimer stating that it may or may not be true. (scientists have studied that eating fruits and veggies protect from free radicals and also seems to change how blood supplies are directed to pre-cancerous areas, but “cure”? I don’t know.)

However, even if half of the stuff they say comes half-way true It’s worth the experiment. I’m ready for clear skin and weight loss. Increased energy, YES! Euphoria may take some getting used to.

The only other thing that freaks me out it all the talk of “purity”. It makes them seem a little cultish. I asked Mr. Crow last night if I freaked out and got really new-agey after eating a bunch of green smoothies if he’d still love me. He said “yes”. Whew!

So, I’ve been easing myself into it for a while now by eating about 40-50% raw on most days in the forms of salads, crudité, and whatnot. Today is day one of 75% or greater. For breakfast I had a green smoothie, upon which I am totally sold:

3 clementines, peeled and split up
1 fuji apple, cored and chunked
1 kiwi, peeled and chunked
5 big leaved of romaine, washed and torn
brita water

I put the fruit in the blender and pureed it. Then I added some water and the romaine and pureed it again. It mostly tasted of apple with a romaine aftertaste which was surprisingly fresh and definitely not offensive. I’ll be going to the store today to pick up some baby spinach and kale for the rest of the week.

I’m also heading to the library to pick up some raw “cookbooks”. Can you really call it a cookbook if there’s no cooking in it? I wish the library had delivery. I REALLY don’t want to go outside in the cold.

Okay now for the science part. (Some of this is going to be somewhat subjective since I’m not going to sit and count every little blemish that’s working it’s way through my skin but I’m a sociologist so I’m okay with that.) Mood and Energy numbers are on a scale from 1-10:

mood: 4
energy: 5
hours of sleep: 10
Appx% of raw food consumed yesterday: 30%
notes: Craving noodles. Curse you wheat.

Tomorrow I’ll be back to document again.

Le Menu

Lots of good things start out with a plan. That is not to say that impromptu goodness doesn't exist(the Universe is full of it, after all) but, when you're hungry and a random assortment of aging fruits and ramen noodles is staring back at you balefully from your kitchen counter you kind of wish you'd organized your week better. So, with my college graduation looming in a matter of weeks and a newly "veggefied" partner to feed I feel that we could benefit from a little bit of planning.

So, I have assembled the troops: Major Mixer, General (Electric) Food-Processor, Lieutenant Colonel Immersion-Blender, Captain Bowl, Sargent Whisk et al to aid me in my crusade. Our mission: non-boring vegetarian food, for two, on a budget. We have the maps, the measurement tools, and, so long as the trains are running, the supplies to make it through. We will slog through the jungle of nutritional misinformation with the power of our mental fortitude to forge a bright, delicious new future for us and our people! HUZZAH!

So, now that we've gone over the mission statement, let's continue on with this week's menu briefing. First, Then this website told me to have a potluck. Then Mr. Crow brought home a little treasure for me this week: someone from his work gave him the latest issue of Vegetarian Times which is chock full of inspiring recipes. Thus, the potluck was born of cosmic alignment. On top of that, last Friday was my fiend Blake's birthday and I'm making her a food-gift. Okay, now, with the exposition over, let's get to the heart of the matter:

For the potluck tomorrow I'm making a samosa pie (Vege Times) and an orange-apricot crumble (Vege Times) as well as a tiramisu cheesecake for my dear Blake. The rest of the week will be these recipes in no particular order:

1. slow-cooker Chili

2. Black Bean Burgers

3. The corresponding enchilada recipe from that

4. Spaghetti Squash with tempeh Bolognese (vege times)

Unfortunately for whomever my audience is, last night's dinner was oven roasted brussel sprout medley with nori over rice noodles. That was super-delicious and you can find that recipe in the latest vegetarian Times issue as well.


That's it. We're diving right in with the recipes and the power. There will be a second post today after I find out what Mr. Crow wants for dinner. And, before you ask, yes, there will be pictures.