I feel like I should be a member of the Circus...

because all I have been doing is juggling my health, school (and all the work that goes with it), food, and keeping a smile on my face (which is last priority). And, SURPRISE! It hasn't been working. So, after (unnecessarily) stressing myself out and succumbing to my comfort food of pizza last night, I have decided to try a new approach. Health, getting enough rest, and eating well are top priorities. Without those, nothing else can happen. Next, is exercise so I can turn that frown upside down! If all those things have been satisfied, then school work will get done, and probably more effectively at that. 


Alright, now that everything is figured out, back to the pizza cheat. It was delicious going down. So cheesy, warm and bready! But, after I felt like someone had punched me in my stomach and my whole stomach was cramping up! Yuck, I went to bed right after. I feel good now, but THAT will NOT be happening again. 


Now, let's backtrack to Saturday. Bassnectar was WAY beyond amazing and totally exceeded my expectations. I knew he would be good, but wowzers! It was great to be around friends, good music, and have spectacular, jaw-dropping people to watch! It made me very excited for the Ultra Music Festival in Miami in March (which is SOLD-OUT by the way)! 


Sunday was major grocery shopping and cooking. After getting back from Whole Foods and unpacking all the food, Ashley said I should take a few pictures of the fridge. So here you go.. 

Lots of cauliflower (for our cauliflower couscous-stay tuned) and a drawer full of fruit! Ignore the soy milk and juice-that's Adam's. 

Many, many greens (kale, beet greens, parsley, cilantro, spinach) for smoothies! 

And a shit-ton of kombuchas! Again, ignore the tequila that is Adam's. 

So, what did Ashley and I make for our meals? Creamy Asian Salad and Dressing, Simple Pasta Marinara, Raw Caprese Salad, Raw Lasagna (a different one) and Coconut Fudge (for our sweet treat). All the recipes are below, including some smoothies I have been making the last two days. 

Creamy Asian Salad and Dressing (from the Raw Food Detox Diet book)

For the Salad:

• 2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 2 cups shredded green or purple cabbage
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 cup sugar snap peas
• 1/2 cup mushrooms (shittake or button)
• 1/2 cup watercress, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped 

For the dressing:

• 1 inch ginger, chopped
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp fresh minced ginger
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp sweet white miso
• 6 whole pitted dates
• 2 tbsp nama shoyu soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water

For the salad: Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside. 

For the dressing: Blend all ingredients together until smooth. One hour before serving, pour half the dressing over the salad and mix. (Side note: the dressing is the BOMB). 

Simple Pasta Marinara (from the Raw Food Detox Diet book)

• 5 vine-ripe tomatoes 
• 1/3 cup packed fresh basil
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano (optional)
• 1 or 2 dates
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 shallots 
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large zucchini or spaghetti squash (we used spaghetti), cut into thirds. 

Place all ingredients except zucchini/squash into a blender and blend until creamy. Then using a vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini or the squash into noodle-like strips. Pour the tomato sauce over the squash. 


Raw Caprese Salad (from the Raw Food Detox Diet Book)

• 10 thin slices of Alta Dena raw cheddar-style goat cheese
• 2 Holland or plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick
• 10 leaves of fresh basil
• Drizzle of balsamic vinegar
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp ginger, diced (optional)

Layer cheese slice, tomato slice, and basil leaf until each plate has 5 of each. Whisk balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and ginger together and spoon on top of the salad. 


Raw Lasagna 

• 5 mushrooms of your choice, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp tamari
• 2 zucchini, peeled
• 1/2 package spinach
• 6 tbsp marinara sauce (recipe below)
• 1 or 2 avocados, sliced

Marinate mushrooms in olive oil and tamari for 10 minutes. Thinly slice the zucchini making noodle-like strips. Put the spinach and a little water in a food processor and process until it becomes a sauce, set aside. Cover the bottom of a rectangular baking dish with 2 tbsp marinara and put 1/3 of zucchini on top of sauce. Add 2 tbsp of marinara and half the mushrooms. Add 1/3 of zucchini, 1/2 the avocado slices and half the spinach sauce. Add the last 1/3 of zucchini, 2 tbsp marinara. Add the rest of the spinach sauce and avocado. Top with mushrooms. (THIS RECIPE WAS YUMMY!)


Marinara Sauce

• 2 tomatoes
• 5-6 sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt, garlic and cayenne pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to food processor and blend. Keeps 3 days in fridge. 


Last but DEFINITELY not least...
Coconut Fuge (from RAWvolution book)

• 3 cups walnuts
• 1/2 cup carob or coco powder
• 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 5/8 cup agave nectar

Grind walnuts in food processor until they have a buttery consistency. In a large mixing bowl combine carob (or coco) powder and coconut and mix. Add walnuts and agave nectar and mix well. Press mixture into glass baking dish and freeze for about 10 minutes. Cut and serve (makes 9 bars).