Picture Update

We were on our way to a beautiful wedding that we were REALLY honored and excited to be a part of. Titus decided to take the pic, probably because I don't put on "real" clothes that often between work and homeschooling. Anyway, this old standby outfit is a good gauge for me to measure my size as it use to be a lil' snug to say the least. Anyway, just thought I'd give you a lil update.

 



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Look What I Made!!!

As you know I am making an effort to do the Lifeit Raw Food Detox. Today I made what I consider to be my first complete meal. When I tell you it was delicious, I mean every word. You must try these recipes!!!

Creamy Kale Pre-massage. I could have eaten it right then and it took all I had not to eat it. SN, don't add any extra salt. 1 tsp is plenty as it turns out. You are going to love this dish!!!

This is the Creamy Kale after being "massaged". David begged to have more after a little taste. Mari really loved it too. I want to see if my carnivorous niece likes it. Then I will know it's the bomb!!!



I can't even express how good this tastes. You just have to take 15 minutes out of your day and make it yourself!!!

Here it is all plated up. I knocked the chill of the marinara as suggested at the end of the video above. It tasted so flavorful and fresh. It feels good to know exactly what is in your food.

I know. I know. You hate okra. Well, I hated okra until I grew and made my own last summer, and now I'm sold. Anyway, this dish actually had me addicted...literally. It is totally raw and totally packed with flavor. This is from the Lifeit detox.

I was so excited to find organic stuff for cheap at my local Food Lion grocery store. I use the ground flax seed along with ground chia seeds in my banana smoothies. It makes them really thick and tasty. I made on for dessert today and used coconut water in place of my usual almond milk.

Yea, I know it's not organic, but it IS cold pressed and it IS available at my local Food Lion. Oh, AND, it was ON SALE!!!

Replacing MC with Raw Food Detox

I was sitting here sipping my "lemonade" and thinking about how the whole thing felt pointless. I didn't see a major difference the last time, but I didn't know what else to do. The other thing is that the point is to change my diet. Anyway, I talked to my husband about it he agreed that it was time for me to move forward from MC. I purchased the Lifeit 7 day detox packet and so far I am very pleased.

I broke my very short MC detox with a BEAUTIFUL salad. I made a dressing out of avocado, maple syrup, garlic, onion power, water, evoo, a lil salt, and a lil braggs. OMG!!! The dressing was sooooooo goooooood. My husband put it on the black bean burgers I made. BTW, this time I marinated some mushrooms in Bragg's Amino Acids before putting it in the bbb. I was eating the mushrooms while making the bbb because they were amazing...just wanted to put that out. I'm thinking that next time I might marinate and then dehydrate them. *wipes drool*

Anyway, just wanted to update you on the change.

The evening of the 1st day of MC 2011

Okay, so as you can tell from the vids I've been posting, I want to eat already. lol I've had a headache already, and in the spirit of transparency, yes I took something for it. Hell, I couldn't see. It was better for me take something than land in the emergency...again. I need to do this though. I really do. I can't wait to get started on the Lifeit Detox.

I am really excited about getting this vegan thing right finally. The main thing I need to focus on is planning and preparation. I totally messed up Sunday at Mama's house. I ate 2 plates of mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, white beans, string beans, sliced tomatoes, and bread. Oh, and I also ate some strawberry delight. Oh, and I also drank some Appletini before the prune juice before going to bed. lol

Now that we've had true confessions, let's move forward. So, I'm going to drink my prune juice before I go to bed again. I'll try to do it literally before I lady down in hopes that I don't have any interruptions in my sleep.

Indian Jambalaya

Making Sun Dried Tomatoes

Raw Recipe: Spicy Mustard Greens Soup

Raw Greens

Menstrual Cups!!!

I was talking to a friend of mine that is about to get married on Saturday!!! YAY!!! I'm so excited! Anyway, she was saying that her cycle started today. Luckily she has a short light cycle that should be off before her night of fun, but this led to a conversation about my Diva Cup. I didn't realize that I'd never told her about it. I won't do you the same injustice. I love it so much more than pads or tampons!!!

Here are two vids that compare the different name brands. I have only used the Diva Cup, so that's all I can speak on.

Why use something like this? For me it comes down to ease and the environment. Unlike pads and tampons, there is no leakage once you get the technique down. There is a learning curve to this. It doesn't flip your uterus inside out when you remove it. You don't have to change it as often so you don't have to watch the clock to keep your white pants white. As far as the environment is concerned, on menstrual cup will replace hundreds of pads and tampons in landfills. You only have to replace it once a year.

Please if you have any questions about my experience with this lovely little item let me know. Nothing is too personal, so go on and ask me. :)

I

Master Cleanse Day 1-Spring 2011

So last night I ended my night with 8 oz of prune juice. I did have a lil scare last night, but it was nothing. lol

This morning I drank 8 more oz of prune juice. As soon as my stomach began to let me know that the prune juice was working, my son and hubby decided that they needed to use the bathroom. I decided that I would use the one in our bedroom because I knew my hubby would be moving faster as he had been up for a while already. Um, no. He decided to discuss the fact that I should've told our son to get out of the bathroom so I could use it. All I heard was blah, blah, blah, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...I finally made it with no problem. That is the difference between the prune juice and salt water. There would have been NO waiting around with the salt water flush. NONE.

I have chosen to use lime to start with...

Let me back up. My intention was to start this yesterday, like I did, but I almost didn't do it because I didn't have time to go the Home Economist yesterday. So, I didn't get to get anything organic. :( Harris Teeter did have a bag of limes on sale and that is how I ended up doing lime juice first. These lil things did have any juice. I used a whole bag on a gallon of "lemonade". I'm going to have to go back out today and get the good stuff.

I bought some veggies for hubby since he claims he is going to go raw while I do MC. We'll see. I didn't buy a lot of stuff, but I bought stuff that could be either a burrito-type-of-thing or a salad-type-of-thing. The point is that I purchased things that he can make himself. We'll see how it goes.

Master Cleanse and a lil bit more...

So, I think I'm going to MC tomorrow. There will be some changes this time. I am going to start with prune juice tonight and in the morning. The reason? Because I don't have time to get the tea and prune juice works better imho. I have a client in the morning and will be starting the prune juice early enough to "get it all out" before starting her hair. I will do the "lemon" as directed. I will be doing it for a minimum of 10 days as usual.

After completing my 10 days on MC, I will go raw for a minimum of 7 days with the Lifeit Detox. To be honest idk what I will do after that. My goal is to go vegan. This time of the year makes it a lot easier. I do, however, have to plan ahead for winter because that is when I have strong cravings for dairy and starch as my comfort food.

Another goal of mine is to back off the starches. The only way to rid myself of this belly is to lessen my intake of starch. I have noticed when I take this step, I don't really lose weight, but my stomach is flatter. Trying to keep from looking and feeling like this again.

 I wanna get back to looking and feeling like this...

These pics came from this post.

My Jewelry

I wanted to share a slide show of my jewelry. The majority of what I create is one of a kind and intended to be as unique as you are. If you like what you see and would like to purchase some piece visit me at http://www.etsy.com/shop/abenaevolving?ref=si_shop

Pics!!!



My breakfast this morning. Quinoa and a ton of veggies!!!



Bought 6 more block to finish bed, only to realize that they were smaller, but it still worked out! Yay!

Newspaper to assist in keeping weeds from rearing their ugly lil' heads.

Kids helping...well most of the time anyway. lol

Taking a break. Notice the lil' one had his glove on. The right tool for the right job. ;)

Y'all what is this? It looks like a bee fly hybrid.

All done!!! Time to make another box!!! Donations can be sent to my paypal account. Thanks.

Aren't they cute?

Breakin' breakfast rules...

This morning I was supposed to do my 3 mile walk, but hubby wanted to sleep a lil late. I was hungry and decided to drink some water, because I didn't want to walk with food on my stomach...something I read. I drank my chlorophyll water. Of course that's when hubby decided to rise. He told me that I should be okay for a 45 minute walk. I doubted it, but tried anyway. At the .5 mile marker, I already had to pee. I called and told him I was on my way back.

That being said, I don't know I why I said all that, but I've decided not to eat cereal, oatmeal, or fruit. I know I should eat something like that, but I'm not. I'm eating quinoa with California veggie mix. I burned on pot of quinoa trying to type out this post, but I put another one on. lol Do you think that was an omen from the vegan breakfast gods?

Billion Acts of Green Contest

This is my African Dance teacher. I love her even more now!!!

Black Bean Burgers take two.

Okay, so I tried the black bean burgers again. This time I used the second recipe found here. They turned out really tasty. I did add mushrooms because I have a mushroom addiction. They fam said they enjoyed them, so I'm happy. The toppings I offered were tomatoes, broccoli sprouts, tomatoes, pickles, and spinach that never actually made it to the table. I will try to remember to take pics when we eat the rest tomorrow. Anyway, if you want a good dependable recipe for burgers, that is a good quick one.

Another cleanse...smh

So, I'm going to cleanse again. I'm tempted to do MC again, but the truth is that it won't help me break my bad habits. That is really what all this comes down to. I have food addictions. I'm thinking of trying this http://www.lifeitdetox.com/7daydetox.html.



Now, let me be clear. I'm not doing the 28 day cleanse until I see how I feel about the 7 day cleanse first. It looks really promising and I know I need to do something because I feel sluggish, fat, and out of control in my relationship with food.

Whatever I do, I just know I have to do something...

Sista doin' vegan and doin' it well!

Vegan Mac and Cheese

If I can master this, I will make my husband EXTREMELY HAPPY! I think I'll add bread crumbs as I've seen done in some recipes...

Black Bean Burgers

I'm going to try this after I failed miserably at making a bean burger. It tasted good, but the texture was like refried beans in patty form.



Purhaps, I'll try this one. It looks easier and more realistic to start with...



I'm thinking that I might as mushrooms for a more meaty texture/taste.

How to Make a Nutritious Vegan Salad Dressing