Day 04: Mix and Match.

Somehow last night we managed to fall asleep ridiculously early. Like, 10:00. Being all warm and cuddling is a dangerous business in the winter, I tell you. However, because I had an accidental 10 hours of sleep, I have been very energetic and active and productive today.  I weighed myself this morning and I was at 170.8. That's 4 lbs lost this week with no effort on my behalf, even while having my period. Crazy stuff!

The down side of being so industrious today means I lost count of how many times today I washed a blender, dehydrator, magic bullet (tm!) or food processor. OK, granted, the second time I washed a blender was because I had to make my face scrub. Not food related. But still. Phew.

having said *that*, WOW!! So much good food was had today.

Breakfast was a smoothie of watermelon, orange, strawberry and fresh ginger and 20 almonds. Because if I scarf down my almonds too fast I get a stomach ache sometimes, I nibbled them slowly while doing some sewing prep. Voila! No tummy ache. Victory is mine; and, more importantly, almonds! Nom.

I was super full until lunch when I had the leftovers of that basil/parsley/mango/yellow pepper/broccoli salad I made yesterday. It was *way* piquant yesterday, but marinating overnight in it's lemon juice/ACV dressing really worked out! In retrospect I may have been rather intemperate in my use of spicy red pepper. Oh, who am I kidding. Spice is life.  I can't believe that I ate 4 cups of dense salad that quickly. Wow, that was good. I'm glad no one was around to watch me eat that- It got a little messy, as all proper food is wont to do. Then I had a banana. Mmmm, bananas.

HOWEVER- WE MADE KALE CHIPS.

Sorry, I shout when I get excited. We had some amazing fake sour-cream-chive kale chips yesterday and Johnny asked me if I could make something like them. Always up for a challenge, I hit up the internet and Lo! AKale Recipe Appeared On High. You should make these. Yes, YOU. You can make them in your oven, but I used my trusty Nesco American Harvest dehydrator (who comes up with these names??). Follow the recipe exactly and you will not be disappointed. Unlike regular chips, eating a giant bag of them only results in nutrition and happy tummies.

So I may or may not have eaten what felt like quite a lot of kale chips this afternoon. NO REGRETS.

Then we went grocery shopping to make amazing raw Indian food for dinner.  We made fancy schmancy mushroom curry. which took less time I think than it takes me to make a fancy schmancy cooked curry with trimmings the regular way- the usual amount of chopping, then 2 1/2 hours in the dehydrator. The sauce was a simple puree that I let steep while the veggies were dehydrating, and the parsnips were also a simple puree- and as a bonus, you can mix some of the parsnips with a little almond milk, dehydrated coconut and raw cocoa for an amazing pudding. Yes, parsnip pudding. Don't laugh.

Both of us have the belief that, when following a recipe, the first time you should do it exactly, see how it tastes, and then tweak it from there. The Great Curry Experience of Ought-Thirteen was delicious, but the vegetables were tossed in 2 tablespoons of olive oil (mixed with curry, and lemon juice and whatnot, but still) and I think next time we could definitely cut that down or out completely. Granted, the amount of vegetables we used made two enormous meals for us tonight, with enough leftovers for two enormous lunches tomorrow- but I am still insanely full for someone who's eaten about 1200 calories of food today. Raw curry is really good- in cooked curry, of course, all the different veggie flavours mix together, but in the raw, you can really taste the tiny diced veggie flavour niblets. It was a fun eating experience.

Here's my food diary for today! snacks!

Unfff. Time to go for a walk. So. Full.

A Traveller In A Distant Land.

Doing a food experiment on your body is like travelling.

Your wake up; your routine is disrupted- the regular, comfortable go-tos of your daily life aren't present. No tea or coffee in the morning, or the smell of toast or oatmeal. Instead, the whirr of the juicer and blender and the heady smell of fresh oranges, watermelon, pears and strawberries.

Everything is novel and exotic. Food aisles rarely travelled are stalked, list in hand, like the lesser trod roads of a distant city. In part because of it's newness, the change of routine is exciting and fun. Some people aren't meant to travel, don't enjoy the occasional discomforts or inconveniences that this exploration brings as part of it's very nature. It's easy to miss a favourite meal, or a regular haunt where your drink of choice is known by the bartender in advance.

after all, comfort is...comfortable.

But if you've chosen to take the leap, buy the ticket and land in Parts Unknown-well, then. You'll be back home soon enough, but for now; time to go exploring.

Personally, what I miss is curry. I'm pretty good at cooking Indian food and in the cold weather, I'd be lying if I wouldn't like a huge bowl of lentil and cauliflower curry...

and because my boyfriend is psychic, when I woke up today, he suggested we make this. and this.

gourmet raw food being what it is, I suspect we'll be eating it tomorrow (or having a midnight feast!) but for now, grocery list in hand, and dehydrator at the ready, I can't wait to go adventuring.

And for now, pass the bananas.