YAY-I think my blender is going to burn out! When I use it I can smell burning rubber. I’m really excited because this means I’m getting a vita mixer soon, ahh the life of raw luxury. I know they’re an arm and two legs but I think it will be worth it and I have been saving my pennies for one.

Other cool updates-I got a garden! There are some community gardens in NYC and I rented a small plot for 25.00$ for the year and a few volunteer hours. I can’t wait to see if I have a green thumb, in the past gardening has not really been my thing. I hope that I have enough room to grow some kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and some herbs-only the legal kind;) I’m just thrilled to be doing something outdoors, the garden has a lot of community space and a koi pond with some turtles too. The pretty picture below isn’t my garden but hopefully mine will look as good.

The local Green Market is back in action, this is my favorite place to grocery shop. It’s all local produce some organic, some not but still farm fresh. There’s a cool vendor that sells buckwheat sprouts out of a hippie bus, another vendor sells raw honey and bee pollen but my favorite is all the fresh greens. It’s fun, not to mention it’s usually packed and makes for great people watching. Those tomatoes and peppers look tasty, tasty.

I’d read a motivational story about John Wooden, he was a basket ball coach at UCLA. His team won the NCAA championship 7 years in a row, this is an amazing accomplishment. He’s considered to be the most successful college basketball coach of all time, he was also a great teacher. He would ask his new students, “Do you know what your weaknesses are?” He told them, “If you will work on your weaknesses for 10 minutes a day, when you graduate in four years, it will no longer be a weakness, it will be a strength.”

John’s 10 minute strategy applies to anything! I’m applying 10 minutes daily to a muscle toning plan. I get plenty of cardio in with all the walking I do in New York, I also jump on my rebounder daily. I do however lack in the muscle toning exercise department.

I know 10 minutes doesn’t sound like much but so far it’s been very effective. I’ve already noticed a big difference in the definition and tone of my arms. 10 minutes of toning up is also 10 minutes that I wasn’t toning up before. Every day I’ve been spending 10 minutes on a different area of my body. I’ll keep this up until I become an expert at working out that area. Maybe it will take four years and maybe it will take four months, no matter how long it takes, I can take the time for a 10 minute workout:)

Here’s my motivation, since incorporating raw foods into my life I’ve lost 17 lbs. I been exploring my closet trying to figure out what to wear, what still fits and what I need to buy, most things aren’t fitting-yay and boo all at the same time. I was out shopping for some new summer threads and even though I’m buying smaller sizes I realized I need to tone up a few areas.

More importantly, it will be beach weather soon and I want to have an awesome bikini body:) Ok, so the bikini is a good motivational tool. I have several teeny bikinis that I am dying to wear so I hung them up where I can see them to serve as motivation. Watch out Coney Island my raw food bod is coming your way-you won’t know what hit you!

Welcome to my laboratory! Sometimes I feel like a mad scientist in my kitchen, strange things growing and soaking in jars. Wierd ingredients that no one has ever heard of before. The whirr of a blender and buzzing of a food processor has my roommates constantly wondering, what is she doing in there? When it’s all done I get to scream, it’s alive, It’s ALIVE, IT”S ALIVE MWAHAHAA!!!!

As a mad raw foodie when I come up with my own raw concoctions I usually get two kinds of results-really good or really bad. Fortunately for me, today It was not the latter! Here is my raw version of a Mediterranean salad. The inspiration came from my favorite falafel place in Brooklyn.

Ohhh lala, Mediterranean Salad In The Raw!

1/2 head thinly sliced nappa cabbage

1/4 cup raw tahini

1/4 cup Lemon juice

3 Tbs fresh Cilantro

2 Tbs Black Sesame seeds

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half

2 stems of diced green onion

Serves 4. Prep time 20 min.

Directions: Slice cabbage into thin strips, place in a large bowl and sprinkle with sea salt. Mix well and let sit to soften. In a blender combine the tahini, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne pepper and cilantro, blend till uniform. If the dressing is too thick add a little water. Dice the green onion and slice the tomatoes into halves. Strain any excess water from the cabbage. Pour tahini dressing onto the cabbage, mix in the sesame seeds, tomatoes and green onions. Stir well and eat up:) My mad raw scientist creation turned out to be a good one-phew.

P.S. Olives would have been an excellent addition to this recipe, next time:)

Who knew the same seeds that are used for Chia pets (yes the tacky clay animals, as seen on TV things) are raw and crazy good for you? It’s a nutty world in which we live. Chia seeds are a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, they have twice as much potassium as bananas, are high in protein, iron, calcium and fiber. Chia seeds are also hydrophilic, they can absorb 12 times their weight in water making them an excellent food for athletes, diabetics and dieters. Because they hold a lot of water and fiber, chia seeds will help you stay hydrated, feel full and digest foods slowly keeping blood sugar levels steady.

Once a staple food of the Aztecs, Mayans and southwest Native Americans. The tiny chia seeds are referred to as “running seeds” because they supplied a great deal of energy to Indian runners. Chia seeds were carried in a small pouch and eaten by the runners for sustained energy during long runs.

I eat my Chia seeds for breakfast in a recipe I call Mango Chia Bliss. I love, love, LOVE mangoes! Mango Chia Bliss also my #2 easy raw recipe to make in under ten minutes.

Mango Chia Bliss

1~Peel the skin off 1 fresh mango, if it’s really ripe you can do it with your hands. Cut the Flesh away from the mango seed.

2~Put the mango flesh in the blender with 1 cup filtered water. Blend until smooth.

3~In a bowl combine the mango puree and 3Tbs of Chia seeds. Whisk together and let sit for 10 minutes or till chia seeds become a gel.

4~Grab a Spoon and Dig in-YUM:)

Thanks MSN for this interesting and informative photo gallery . Check it out and see what conventional foods are best bought organic due to high levels of pesticides-ew. Share it with all your friends who still think going organic isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, they will love you!

http://green.msn.com/galleries/photos/photos.aspx?gid=164&ocid=T003MSN51N1653A

It’s Friday (WaHOO) and I’m sure we could all use a good laugh, this site CRACKS ME UP, I hope you will LOL too! http://icanhascheezburger.com/

I went to the Successfully Raw event this last Saturday in NYC and had a great time. Karen Knowler had a ton of great information, she shared her tips as raw coach to help everyone become as raw as they want to be. Karen is pretty funny in that cute English accent way, I am a huge fan of dry English humor, she even called her brand of humor arid:)

One thing Karen mentioned was how important it was have 20 raw recipes under your belt that you can be made in ten minutes or less. This way when your searching through the fridge and can’t figure out what to make you will have some ammunition to combat those ramen noodle cravings-hahaha (I don’t have any ramen FYI). This is where I fall short, I have a green juice every morning a huge salad for lunch and then if I have something raw on hand for dinner I eat that or make more smoothies, but this girl needs a little diversity!

Paul Odhner also spoke, he is Dr. Oz’s (from Oprah) personal raw chef. He prepared a Kale salad and it was tasty, tasty, tasty so I decided to add it to my list of 20 raw recipes. Unfortunately I tried this out at a dinner party and it was gross, I put too much salt in it, no one was very crazy about it, not even me:( Being the determined donkey I am, I remade the recipe the next day and put my own twist on it. I’m proud to report that it ROCKS! Both versions are tasty, I was just disappointed that my salad didn’t taste as good as Paul’s did.

Paul’s Version of Kale Salad:

1 Head of chopped Kale

1 Whole diced red bell pepper

1/4 Hemp Seeds

1/4 Olive Oil

Juice of one lemon

Sea Salt to taste

Then Massage together with LOVE:) Awww

Lesley Anne’s Rockin Curried Kale Salad:

1 Head Chopped Kale

1 Diced red bell pepper

In a bowl whisk together the following ingredients:

1/4 Olive Oil

1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/4 cup Sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds so they are hard to see)

1/4 Cup Raisins

1 Tsp Curry Powder

2 Tsp raw honey or Agave Syrup

Salt and Pepper to taste

Juice of one lemon

Place the Kale and Peppers in a large bowl the pour the whisked dressing over the Kale and massage with more Love-awww.

This recipe is perfect for busy people because it’s hearty, it stores in the refrigerator for almost a week, the olive oil and lemon mix tastes live vinegar (good to know for salads, sauces ect), there were only two dishes to wash and it’s super quick! I will start posting all the quick and easy recipes I find so we can be raw gurus together, the Rockin Kale Salad is recipe #1.