I can’t believe school has already started, it feels like summer is quickly slipping away. Looking back I had a great summer filled with so many fun trips to visit family. Here are some of my summer highlights.

We had fun visiting the Country Living Home Green in Battery Park City.

And playing with the NYC cousins in the park.

Hanging out on Long Island with Cousin “A”.

And visiting Old BethPage.

A month later we visited the Tampa Aquarium. Loved the anemone.

We also enjoyed spending time in Clearwater Beach. There is nothing better than spending a relaxing day on the beach making sandcastles.

Walking on the beach.

I really enjoyed this quick and delicious red pepper stuffed with avocado. Summer is just so much fun.

One thing I loved most was visiting my Dad and picking fresh food from his garden to make our meals and then composting the scraps. These cucumbers were absolutely delicious.

Living foods are so beautiful too look at, even when they scraps ready for the compost bin.

Taking my son to visit family is my favorite thing to do over the summer. Now it’s time to shift gears and think about school lunches and homework. Gone are the long lazy days of summer.

Yesterday I had the most amazing durian experience. I can now officially say that I LOVE durian. My son complained the whole ride home from the Asian market that I was buying it again. I told him that I was going to open it outside, eat it outside and compost the shell right away so that he wouldn’t have to smell it. He kept on complaining. When we got back to my Dad’s house he made up a song about how much he hated durian. Durian, Durian I hate you. Durian, durian you are so stinky…. I smiled and left him inside to play with his legos while my Dad and I headed outside to open the durian.

My first durian experience was not a positive one. My family complained nonstop about the smell. It was hard for me to judge how I felt about the taste. This time I was sharing it with my Dad, who was very curious about the taste. As I opened the durian I realized the one I had in San Antonio was spoiled.

This time the sulfur smell was very mild and the fruit tasted very sweet. Last time I tried it, it was not sweet. As I ate the delicious fruit I finally understood why people are absolutely obsessed with durian. My father loved it as well. He said that the flavor and texture reminded him of a French custard.  I was a little sad my son didn’t want to try it, but I understood. I know that if  he wasn’t so scared from his last experience with it he would give it a chance. He will come around one day.

It was so nice eating the durian outside with someone who enjoyed it. I did think about my sweet angel Lisa and wished I could share it with her. I’m sure this won’t be the last one I eat. I’ll be sure to share the next one with my sweet dog.

I’m in Tampa this week visiting my father, as I do every year at this time. I was thinking back to last year, I had been raw for about a month and I was a little nervous about flying. I was worried that I would face an unexpected delay and get really hungry and I would be stuck eating horrible cooked airport food.  I also wasn’t sure how my father would react to my raw food diet. It turned out I had nothing to worry about staying raw on the airplane was easy and my father welcomed my diet. I have been raw for over a year and I don’t worry about going out or traveling while staying raw anymore. It’s just a part of my life now. I make sure I take some food with me and I don’t stress about it. What a difference a year makes.

I love staying at my Dad’s house he has a huge garden and an awesome kidney shaped pool.

My Son enjoys swimming so much, it’s difficult to get him out of the pool. I was craving basil pesto and a huge plate of vegetables for dinner. I headed to my Dad’s garden and picked a big bunch of basil.

My pesto turned out really delicious. Smelling it made me crave kale wraps, but we didn’t have any fresh kale. Instead I had paired it with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and red peppers. It was really delicious.

I was very happy to see my Dad’s juicer, what a great sight. Just knowing there is a juicer around relaxes me.

This morning I was treated to a nice glass of freshly pressed juice.

It was so nice not to have to make my own juice! Plus it was fun to taste a different recipe. Today we also went to the Asian market to buy a durian, much to my Son’s dismay. I promised him I would open it outside. I think that is going to be my dinner tonight. Let’s hope things go better that the last time I had durian.

I have been using my dehydrator a lot lately, which is very unusual for me. I’ve had it for about 8 months and have barely used it. I’ve made juice pulp crackers a few times and used it to marinate vegetables, but that’s about it. When I bought my dehydrator I thought that I would be making flax crackers, desserts and tons of raw granola. I’d see all these delicious recipes on the Internet and in cookbooks that looked really good, but were often complicated to make. Many times they would involve multiple steps and a long list of ingredients that I didn’t have on hand. This put me off using my dehydrator for a long time. I came to the conclusion that a dehydrator was for raw foodies who liked to bake before they went raw. I was never one who embraced baking, too strict. I’m more of a fan of eyeballing ingredients and substituting for what I’ve got on hand.

This week I decided to dust off my dehydrator and give it another chance. Maybe I would grow to love it, or at least like it. This change of heart came about when I was driving in the car with my son. I asked him to write down 5 things that he would like to have for breakfast. Lately he has been eating the same foods in the morning and I was a little desperate for ideas. The last time I tried something like this I got nowhere, but he was older now so I gave it another shot.

One of the foods on his list was granola. So I searched the internet for the some raw granola and I stumbled across this old recipe from Bitt. I was looking for a recipe that had buckwheat groats and that was simple. The recipe was delicious, my son LOVED it and so did I. I made a small test batch yesterday and so today made a bigger batch.

Yummy raw granola

I also dehydrated some buckwheat groats. just have on hand.

raw granola and buckwheat groats

I was feeling inspired to dehydrate some more, so I also made some eggplant “bacon”. I think it’s insulting to the eggplant to call it eggplant bacon. I’ve never been a bacon fan even in my meat eating days and now I can’t even tolerate the smell. I prefer to call it crispy eggplant.

Crispy raw dehydrated eggplant

It was really crispy, slightly sweet with just a hint of spice. It was fun making all those foods in my dehydrator, I started to like it more than I used to. However I still love simple water rich foods the best.

It’s summertime and for most of North America that means enjoying longer days in the warm sunshine and shopping at the farmer’s market. I love the Summer, but I miss the variety of greens that I enjoy in the Fall, Winter and Spring. In San Antonio it is way too hot in the summer to grow lettuce and other greens, that means I have to buy these staples at the grocery store. The downside to that is I’m greatly limited in what I can buy. It makes it very challenging to rotate my greens in the Summer.

My winter lettuce

Lately I’ve been eating only a bunch of greens a day, which is about 1/2 of what I normally eat.  The reason for this drastic reduction in my consumption of greens is that I’m tired of eating the same ones day after day.  This is my first full Summer on a high raw diet, I started eating this way this time last year. Since the diet was new to me then I didn’t notice that I would be faced with a lack of variety in the Summer. I know I’m lucky that we have a farmer’s market year round and that I can even get locally grown greens in the Winter. But still I really want more variety. To make up for this I tend to eat more sprouts and drink more wheat grass in the summer just for a change. I need more choices, after all greens are the main part of my diet. They are what keep me balanced, happy and craving free.

Variety is the key to success on the raw food diet, and lately variety is what I have been missing. I suppose I should go foraging for some wild edibles to solve my problem, I’m not confident enough in my plant identification to do that alone. Where is Sergei Boutenko when you need him? I do know that eating wild edibles will solve my problem, so I need to order some weeds from Seeds of Change and plant them. We all know that weeds are the only thing that will grow in extreme heat. I love summer, but I’m looking forward to fall when I can get three types of organic chard at the farmer’s market.

Yesterday I decided to do a one day juice/blended food fast to give my body a break. I have been eating a lot of salt lately, mainly in the form of miso.  In just 6 days I had 6 bowls of miso soup, I love the flavor of miso, but that’s way too much salt for one person to consume in just 6 days. Doing a short fast was a great way to rehydrate my body so it could flush out all the extra salt. When I’m on a juice fast I consume a lot of greens and that makes my mind clear. It makes it easier to make decisions and to get myself organized.

And organizing is just what I needed to do. Lately I been noticing a lot of clutter around my house and have come to the realization that I may not be as neat as I think I am. I knew if I felt really good on the inside it would be easier to clean up what I had been putting off. The strategy worked well for me yesterday. I was able to clean up a lot of the clutter that I wanted to get rid of. I still have some more to do, but it was a great start.

I drank so many great juices yesterday. I started off with a carrot, celery, cucumber and kale juice.  I also had a nice bowl of tomato, red pepper, celery, cucumber and garlic soup that was really delicious and very satisfying for my lunch. Throughout the day I had more green juice and my summertime favorite, watermelon juice. I added the blended raw soup in so I could have something savory and filling. When I drink nothing but juices all day I usually feel too hungry by the end of the day.

The next morning I woke up and had a shot of wheat grass juice followed by a delicious fruit smoothie. I was back to my salads by dinnertime. I enjoyed my fast, is was short but effective. My body feels better and my house looks better.

I’ve stopped eating fish. When I look at a fish I don’t see food, I see a living being that I don’t want to eat. I knew this day would come soon because the last few times I ate fish, I didn’t enjoy it like I used to. I’ve been slowly cutting out animal products from diet for the past 2 years. Red meat was the first to go. I decided to stop eating it when I read that the FDA approved cloned meat. That was enough to make me lose my appetite for a food I once loved. Now when I look at a cow I can look into its eyes and see that it is a beautiful living animal with feelings. It is not food.

I’m really happy that I took it slowly, that was the key to my success. For most of my life I was a meat eater. I did have some periods where I stopped eating animal products, but I always went back to them because I thought I needed them for my main source of protein. I had a brief period where I ate a vegetarian diet, but stopped after a few months because I didn’t want to fill my body with soy products. It wasn’t until I started eating a lot of raw foods that I was able to stop eating all meat and dairy naturally. Eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and especially greens made me crave animal products less and less.

Last month when I was in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix I realized I was ready to make more changes in my diet. One night I was having dinner with a group of foodie friends and everyone wanted to order the tasting menu, which was 5 courses and full of meat. If one person wanted the tasting menu the whole table had to get it. When you are eating with foodies they always want to get the tasting menu. The waiter was nice enough to make me a meat free, dairy free version with seafood.

The problem was that by the 3rd course I’d had enough, but the food kept coming. There was a time when I thoroughly enjoyed eating this way, I don’t anymore. I did enjoy having a long leisurely dinner with friends I just didn’t want to see another course with a piece of fish in it. It was just too much food. When I got home from my trip I was pretty sure I was done eating fish.

When you stop eating animal products you almost have to teach your body to know when it’s full. Meat and dairy have a lot of fat in them so it’s easy to feel very full after eating these foods. Greens, vegetables and fruits are very water rich and contain little fat so when you eat them you will not feel as full as you would if you had a steak. The benefit of eating a plant based diet is that you will feel light and happy after you finish eating your meal, not stuffed and lethargic.

The past few weeks I’ve been adding more cooked vegan foods in my diet just to experiment with feeling full without eating fish. I didn’t feel as light as I normally feel eating this way, but it was a good way to teach my body to feel without relying on eating fish once a week. I think I’m ready to go back to eating a higher percentage of raw foods I miss the clarity I had before. I will most likely save the cooked vegan foods for when I go out to restaurants and keep it raw at home. I’m much happier this way, a raw vegan diet is the best diet for me.

A few weeks ago I tried durian for the first time. Durian, also known as “the king of fruits”, grows in tropical climates and is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. Some say it smells like stinky gym socks, rotten eggs and sulfur. Although it has a reputation for being stinky, it’s also known for being delicious and healthy. After hearing people in the raw food community go on and on about how good they feel after they eat it, I knew I just had to try it. I headed to my local Asian market in search of some. I was expecting to find the durian in the frozen section and was happy to find fresh ones. Southeast Asia is a long way from San Antonio so I was hoping mine would not be spoiled.

I bought the fruit home and just stared at it. I wasn’t sure what to do next. I wanted to try it, but I was a little intimidated by it.  It was so big and so spiky and it hurt my hand every time I touched it.  I remembered that one of my favorite raw food chefs Ani Phyo did a great video about opening a durian, so I watched the  video again. The next morning I decided I was ready to open my durian.

I woke up early and went to the kitchen and took it out of the refrigerator and quietly cut into it. I may have been quiet, but my durian wasn’t. The smell was so intense that it quickly filled the room after I made just a small cut into its flesh. If a smell could make a noise this one was screaming. My whole kitchen smelled like sulfur. It was intense.

I managed to get a section of fruit out just as my husband walked into the kitchen with a smile. His smile faded quickly as he was hit by the intense smell of my durian. He was coming over to give me a good morning kiss, but instead decided to hold his nose and proceeded to ask me “what is that horrible smell?” My son came into the kitchen shortly after that and was equally revolted by the smell. I must admit I had a hard time with the smell as well, but I still wanted to give it a chance. I put my small section of durian on a plate and sat outside on the back steps with my loyal dog. She was the only one who didn’t complain.

Isn’t she cute!

As I sat outside in the fresh air the durian smelled a little bit better and I was able to take a bite of it. It has a strange consistency, firm on the outside and soft on the inside. The outside reminded me of the “skin” on a custard that was left out to cool. I had only  eaten two bites when my son came outside to tell me how stinky the kitchen was and that he hated durian. It’s hard to eat something when people keep telling you how stinky and gross it is. I gave the rest of the fruit to my dog, who couldn’t get enough of it. She ate the plateful and wanted more.

It’s not the most beautiful looking or smelling fruit so why does it have such a strong following? It’s because of its many health benefits. Durian is rich in amino acids, copper, potassium, vitamin C and vitamins B5 and B9.  Although durian is mainly grown in Southeast Asia,  it’s also grown in Florida and Hawaii. Next time I’m in Florida I’ll be sure to look for some so that I can taste what a fresh durian is supposed to taste like. Have a great day and be sure to check out my delicious recipe for a raw vegan pumpkin seed curry on mySA.

It gets hot in the summertime so it’s important to keep hydrated. Drinking water is important, but sometimes it’s nice to have something with a little more flavor that will still quench your thirst. This delicious watermelon lime smoothie does just that. I went to the farmer’s market yesterday and picked up a locally grown watermelon. It was big and really heavy, I could tell right away it was going to taste sweet.  I prefer the taste of a seeded melon to the seedless variety. Besides it’s unnatural for a watermelon not to have seeds. Seeds are life. Sure its more work getting the seeds out, but it’s worth it.

This drink isn’t quite as thick as a traditional smoothie, it’s more refreshing and easier to drink in large quantities without feeling too full. Begin by filling your blender with cubed watermelon and add to that the juice of 1/2 a lime. Add more lime for a sharper taste. If you want a little spice add in a little jalapeno.

Simply blend and enjoy.

It’s the perfect drink to along when dashing out the door in the summer heat. Enjoy.

I was in Montreal this past weekend with some friends for the Canadian Grand Prix. I loved watching the F1 race, but let’s face it raw food is hard to come by at most sporting events. It was a three day event so on the first day I took a few apples, a banana, raisins and some cashews with me. It wasn’t enough food.  I was really hungry by the afternoon so my husband and I decided to walk around.

We came across this place called Liquid Nutrition. They sell fruit smoothies, nuts, pasta salads and meal replacement bars.

I was so happy to see that all of their smoothies were made from frozen fruit and fruit juice. I ordered one immediately. It was very good, a little sweeter than I’m used to drinking, but I was thankful to be drinking it. It filled me up long enough to stay at the track for a few more hours to watch practice rounds.

By the time we got back to the hotel I felt like crashing. My husband asked me why I was so spacey. I wondered the very same thing, until I realized I hadn’t had any greens the whole day.  I told him I needed to go to Crudessence, a raw vegan restaurant in Montreal, immediately. I needed a green juice and some greens stat! I couldn’t get there fast enough. We were meeting some friends for dinner later that night, but I knew I needed to load up on greens before I went to dinner so that I could feel like myself again. I had been away from my juicer for a long time.

Before I got to Montreal I was in NY for 5 days visiting family.  I did manage to sneak in a visit to Pure Food and Wine,  but I was way past due for another green juice. By the time I arrived at Crudessence I was full of emotion. I was excited because I could finally have a green juice, I was also sad because I wanted to stay for dinner and finally I was feeling lucky to be there at all.

I ordered a delicious green juice. It was light, delicate and refreshing.  I sipped it slowly as I looked at the menu. I decided to order a salad as well. I knew I was going to have a large salad for dinner, but I needed to make up for the greens I didn’t eat at lunch. The salad I ordered was mainly sprouts on a small bed of greens. It was really delicious.

By the time I got to dinner, I felt balanced and happy again. I felt ready to socialize. I love fruit, but if I eat too much of it with any greens I tend to get spacey. The next morning I decided to have a salad for breakfast and just take my own food to the race track. We went to MBCo, a local boulangerie, for breakfast. I loved the ambiance there. They are super friendly, play great music and take great care in preparing the food the serve. We go there every time we are in Montreal.

They made me a delicious arugula salad loaded with tomatoes, cucumbers, grilled asparagus and mushrooms. It was delicious. I ordered the same one for lunch. They packed it really well and put the lemon vinaigrette dressing on the side for me so that my greens wouldn’t wilt.

When I was ready to eat my lunch I paired my salad with some delicious “craque-lin” crackers I got from Crudessence. It was such a great lunch. The crackers were really good; they are a mixture of ground flax seeds, sprouted sesame, sunflower and buckwheat. They also have a slight hint of onion, garlic and sea salt.

I’m so glad I took my own food with me I felt balanced and happy all day. Staying raw while traveling doesn’t have to be a challenge. If you plan ahead and research what is around you will be successful. If I can manage to eat high raw at the Canadian Grand Prix, you can do the same at any sporting event.