Coconut-Apple Cake

Oh man I just threw together an amazing coconut-apple cake with a cashew creme frosting and had it with some delicious coconut vegan ice cream. Life doesn't get any better!! I'll make sure to post the recipe soon. Oh and after my fast yesterday I'm back to being productive and having energy again. Thank god!

Just Sleepy

So, I've been feeling extremely lethargic this past week. Since Wednesday all I've been able to do is sleep. Initially I thought it was stress, or me procrastinating... but I think there may be a bit more to it than that. I think my body is rebelling. I'm going on a detox for a week and then hopefully I will be over it. Im slowly but surely coming out of it. However, I don't exactly have all of the time in the world. I have 3 papers due in the next week, two of which are a combined total of 50-60 pages. Heaven Help me! Does anyone else have any good recommendations for how to get over lethargy?? I cant remember the last time I've felt this exhausted.

Short and Sweet

I dont quite know what on earth has been going through my head lately! I don't know what it is about being in college that makes you want to shove the worst thing you could possibly eat down your throat as quickly as possible.. but I'm soo not a fan! And that whole concept certainly isn't a fan of be because when I start reverting back to old habits other old habits being to resurface. So, I finally made a raw corn tortilla that wasn't as hard as a rock the other day! I'm so proud of myself! So this week is taco week! I love it! Now I need to make some good granola or something that I can take to school with me. Does anyone have any good suggestions???

Oh and in other news.. I couldn't be happier right now!! Things are finally coming together.. 4 years in the making. :)!

Birthday

I'm sick, but I know that its something I've totally brought upon myself. I was eating like total and utter crap which totally weakened my immune system. Its funny how your body constantly reminds me that I'm supposed to be eating a more natural, raw diet and I keep ignoring it.. or finding excuses. I refuse to keep making the same mistakes over and over because that is the true definition of insanity.
I just celebrated my 22nd birthday, yay! I'm more determined now though that by December, and certainly by the time that I turn 23 there's certain battles that I no longer want to be fighting. I don't want to struggle with my weight or with an ED.. its not the business. Quite frankly I know that once I get this taken care of I'll have so many doors opening up to me because I can move on to accomplish new tasks. In the next few days, I'm getting my old dehydrator and food processor sent to me as well as some of my supplements and seasonings from my old apartment. I cant wait!!!
I'm learning that its not about having time, its all about making time. So, before I go to bed I'm going to make some snacks to get me through tomorrow. I have a midterm tomorrow and I already know I will be spending most of the night studying, so it will be helpful for me to have healthy snackage that I can turn to, so I don't crash, or binge on bagels and cream cheese.
I've been 100% raw since monday and I plan to keep it that way!!! So now I'm going to start saying I've been a raw (85%<) since 10/12/09 that way its more apart of my lifestyle than it is something temporary or something that I can just throw away with a bad food choice.

Focus

Aural Pleasure: Chrisette Michele~ Epiphany
I'm excited! I've been on this journey for the past week and some change now and I've been doing... ok. I have slipped up quite a bit but at the same time its a process and I can feel myself improving. especially in terms of my health. My asthma was under control in about 4 days and so I'm thrilled about that especially since I don't have health insurance or a regular doctor.
I need to stop procrastinating so I can get back to this paper.... excuse me these papers. Lord help me!!!

Frustration Station

Aural Pleasure: Adele~ 19

In reality, really, I feel as though I'm--as a wise woman so aptly put it, being held emotionally hostage. I don't know what to do however, I just feel trapped inside myself fighting between my only two real options: (1) Surrender to just living in the gray area, in the in between realm of being and not being in a relationship or (2) Move on and pretend that I'm not in love with him. In my personal opinion both options are equally unattractive. Its driving me crazy and I hate the fact that things feel as though they are so far from falling into place. I just wish I knew what to do so that I can live my damn life because right now I feel as though I'm living some imitation preview version of what should be right around the corner. I love this man unlike I've loved anyone else... but sometimes I have to wonder if its supposed to be... I mean its been damn near four years and we haven't figured it out yet. I can't live in the gray anymore I refuse and I deserve better. I don't care how good it feels... because as good as it feels it hurts ten times as much.And i swear I hate that whenever I voice my frustrations he's like "well how can I fix it"??? I mean really sir?! In reality we both know that you are no where near ready to be in the position to be in a relationship.. shit you are already in a relationship!!! Ugh Men and their shenanigans!!!

Ok so I fucked up hard core yesterday! I mean I was eating like I was about to win an award for obese female of the year or something! It was insane!I wish I could blame all of this emo mumbo jumbo and foolish eating on something logical like PMS or pregnancy but my cycle has yet to start... and I know I'm not pregnant because I havent gotten any in a LOOOOOOONG time( lawd help me)! I fell off and rolled under the raw food band wagon all of yesterday. I've decided that I'm going to lay off of the weed and the booze for a little while... ok who am I kidding?! I'm about to have a birthday next weekend! After my birthday though, seriously I aim to just leave it alone until the new year. I need to maintain as clear and level headed as possible in these next few months in order for me to get as much accomplished as humanly possible. I am thankful that today has been most excellent. I made a wonderful salad and a big raw black forest brownie to go with some of the raw ice cream I made that's in the fridge. I cant wait till Monday so I can start hitting the gym again!!!

"If we're not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn't settle for junk food."
Sally Edwards

Sankofa!!!

As much as I love the Biggest Loser, its terrible for my self esteem, yet inspiring all at the same time. I mean good lord these folks are running around losing 30-40 lbs in two weeks!!! I'm just trying to lose that much in 2 months! However, I do love the fact that it motivates me to get my ass in the gym and push through a work out. I think of it this way, if these people can go from off the couch at 400lbs there's no reason why I cant get my butt up and do an hour on the treadmill!
Speaking of gyms, I weighed myself yesterday and my starting weight is 177. Ugh!!! I hate the fact that I gain weight so quickly!!! I also lose it relatively quickly once my body realizes that I've regained my sanity so I suppose that its not all bad. I just hate that I let myself gain 17lbs in such a short time!!! Damn you Indian food, alcohol, and big big ass burritos!! I'm honestly not even worried or focused on that because its a starting point, everybody has to begin or rebegin somewhere right?! What is most important is the focus upon the end result.
So, my new goal in raw life is to figure out how to make amazing raw ice cream sandwiches without an ice cream maker. I know how to make banana ice cream, but that's a whole different situation. I think I want to have a raw dessert party soon!
On another completely random note I really need to stop playing around when it comes to school!!! I cant seem to bring myself to actually focus on by reading for longer than five minutes. Its driving me crazy! Especially since I have two papers and a research paper proposal due. For a Libra I am extremely unbalanced. I feel as though the more I'm beginning to grow emotionally and spiritually, and the more disciplined I become in regards to my health... the more I'm slacking in school... Now let me make myself clear, when I say slacking, I'm getting the work done.. kinda, but its about the same amount of me getting stuff done as it was in undergrad... I still dont understand how my GPA was as good as it was then. However, I want to hold myself to a higher standard, but at the moment my head just isn't in it. I know that a lot of it is because I went in expecting San Francisco State and got SUNY.. which of course logically makes sense. Every department is different. I guess I never realized how much of a believer in Afrocentrism I am until it was missing, completely from the curriculum!... ok let me not say completely, I may be wrong its only been five weeks. I just need to get over myself and begin to dig deeper so that I can get my school work done and make time to do my own research and study things that I can relate to.... its all about organization.

Rebirth of Slick Challenge : Day 1

I've been away for a while. I know that consistency has never been my strong suit but I'm working on it. Life is about the journey right? Well I have decided to challenge myself once again to go 100% raw for 60 days starting today . I've had a lot going on in my life since I've last posted... I broke up with my bf, quit my job, became a certified raw chef, started grad school and moved to Albany, Ny. Since moving to Albany, I've found myself slipping into a rather unhealthy lifestyle that I'm not a big fan of. I've been drinking alot more and eating alot more cooked food... neither of which are the business. It has been a major culture shock living out here. I dont know many people that are vegetarians, vegans or raw. There is little support in the community and not a single vegetarian resturant which stuns me. But now, I need to get over it and get back to being primarily raw again. I miss that, I feel so out of control here and I've started regressing into the habits I've formulated through having an ED. I'm gaining quite a bit of weight ( ok maybe I'm the same size as I was in march... I'm not sure at the moment) and my asthma is beginnning to become a problem. I dont want to have to depend on albuterol or any other inhalents so I'm realizing that cooked food just isn't for me. My body is not happy with it. So, I'm going to go raw until 2010...yes 100% raw. 94 days, its on!... I know it may seem crazy, but I need to do this for myself so that I can develop my own focus and self-discipline.... which is something that I know I need to work on. Also, I've decided that I'm not going to be bulemic or any variation thereof for the rest of my life. I'm tired of it. So, I've been 3 days ED free thus far and it feels good. I know that having this blog will keep me accountable. In addition to going raw, I'm working towards growing out my hair by not doing anything with it outside of washing and twisting it on a weekly or bi weekly basis.
My goal is to post a minimum of three times a week and although this is a blog thats focal point is my raw journey, I plan on just allowing this space to be my outlet to emotionally detoxify because all of that is apart of the process. So honestly, anything on my mind is fair game. I'll be posting pictures from time to time so I can see whether or not I'm making progress. I'm not quite sure what I weigh right now, I'm going to the gym in the next couple of hours so I will check when I go today and update. I'm also going on a water fast today. I'm aiming for 5 quarts by the end of the day which is a gallon and a quart. I need to clean my body out a bit which will allow me some time to meal plan and figure out how I am to navigate the next few months. I'm really hoping that my asthma subsides within the first week or so. I hate the feeling of not being able to breathe fully... but I refuse to make myself dependent upon western medicine.
Ok, So here it goes, this is the first day of the rest of my life.... baby steps in the right direction. Wish me luck!
~Justice

Happy and Nappy

So I have had natural hair for... over a decade now. My main goal is to grow my hair back to as long ( or longer) than it was when I was little. I have been somewhat conflicted in where and what to research because I know that there are indeed major differences between the makeup of "ethnic" versus "non-ethnic" hair and haircare. So I've been trying to find sites that have info on natural growth and maintenance regimens that would be effective for me as a sistah gurl. I cant wait to venture on the journey to regrow my hair and start maintaining it to its fullest potential. Tonight I am going to comb it out, wash it, blow it dry and trim it and start from there. Everlasting light, health and nappturality here I come!!!
Here are some of the things I have learned and aim to incorporate thus far
1. Rosemary:is used to combat the fall of hair, stimulate the growth of new locks, strengthen hair roots, support hair follicles, eliminate dandruff, and clean the scalp and hair of impurities.

2. Horsetail: Horsetail has been used for centuries as a hair growth herb. It stimulates blood vessels in the scalp. Horsetail contains a high amount of silica which is essential for healthy hair.
3. Coconut Oil/Avacado Oil/Jojoba Oil: Excellent for moisturizing the hair without clogging the follicles
4. WATER!!!!
5. Inversion machine???: So my mom bought this new inversion machine and she was saying that it can also be used to promote hair growth seeing that all of the blood in your body will be rushing in the opposite direction and stimulating ones hair folicles.... so hang upside down guys!!!

The two best things I've seen about being raw/vegan on Youtube

Vegan is Gangsta


My Name is Zion... and I'm 3!!

The Return

Its been a while since I have been on and blogging. Normally that would be an indication that I have once again fallen off of the raw raw sis boombah movement, however I've been doing really well .... ok so I fell off for a little bit but the good news is that I have been raw for the past 15 days and I am LOVING it!!! My boyfriend and I are currently going raw for three weeks and we are both successfully on day 15. I am beyond proud of him going from a deep dish pizza loving, burger eating, carnivore to asking me for more kale chips. He's doing extremely well and loves virtually everything I make. I'm just having a hard time getting him full.
I'm also finding that being raw just keeps getting easier and easier. I love it. I feel so alive and it really is teaching me how to get in touch with my creative side seeing that I rarely follow recipes exactly( mainly becaue I never have all of the ingredients lol) , I find myself creating new deliciousness. Today for example I created my own adaptation of avo mayo.
I just wish I could remember what I put in it. That is my next goal to write all of the recipes I make down because I find myself always changing and subbing ingredients it would be good to write something down every once in a while to work from.

In other news, I'm a little stressed out but I am determined to not be defeated. I just found out that I wasnt accepted into two of the four schools I applied to. I'm applying to another one in the next couple of days. I know everything will be fine however its just such an extremely stressful process, applying to grad school. Howver, regardless I'll be starting on my masters in Holistic Nutrition via Clayton College. So, in reality, I shouldnt beat myself up especially shince the two schools I got rejected from I didnt really want to go to in the first place. Everything will be just fine.

I ran across some old pics of myself before and after I went raw and it just served as a reminder that I am indeed on the right path.
Me at 16. Somewhere between 220-230lbs.
This was taken about 3 years ago. I was about 198 here.
174lbs, just after I left OHI (optimum health institute). July '08

Gramma and I July '08

Mmm Mmm Juice

So I am super disappointed in myself. Wednesday and Thursday I wasn't raw and I went waaaaay off program. However, I'm realizing what I did wrong. I wasn't prepared. Often I'll leave the house and wind up running errands or doing various other things, and then I'll forget to bring enough food with me. Then I'm starving and just about ready to eat a cow ( lord knows I've been a veggie my whole existence) and so I get very tempted to eat junk. I find that when I dont eat raw it brings back a lot of emotional frustrations because I am still struggling with an eating disorder and it makes me want to revert back to old habits. But, its not about how many times you fall down, but how many times you get back up again. I know I can do this and I will not sabotage myself anymore. I refuse to. So I'm not sure whether or not I should restart from day one or if I should just keep going and add on additional days. I think i'm going to do the latter.
So starting today I'm going to be juice feasting. I'm just going to juice feast through Tuesday. I figure that this will help give me some time to prepare some food and snacks for myself for the rest of the week.

The Day of the 3rd Prime

Today is day 5 of my raw food experiment. Its going amazingly well. The other day I made some amazing Kale chips for the first time and I made some Sweet And Spicy Pecans that were quite delicious. I also attempted a lemon berry cake that was out of the Cafe Gratitude Recipe Book, however that one didn't work out quite as well for me. I weighed myself this morning and I have already lost 11lbs. I still cant believe it. I am beyond amazed. In addition, I can see and feel my body detoxing in the form of a huge zit on my face which I've named Sally Mae. My nose is also stuffy in the morning but I know its just my body trying to get rid of all of the crap I've shoved into it recently. Perhaps next week I'll start going to the gym again.

Genesis

In the beginning, there was..well there just was. I decided to create this blog to aide me in the process of changing over to a raw foods lifestyle. I know this will be far more than a challenge, however I know that my mind and body is up for a change for the better. I have lived my life far to long being the "big girl" and being frustrated with the person staring back at me in the mirror. So here I am ready to begin the first day of the rest of my life.
My main purpose for this blog is to chronicle my experiences transitioning to an all raw lifestyle. I was recently inspired by the documentary Simply Raw Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days . Although I have no major health opportunities, I have decided to take the plunge after being raw off and on for the past 7 months. Presently I have decided to undergo a challenge to be 100% raw for the next 100 days. By the end of this challenge I am looking forward to seeing and feeling major changes in my body. I want to have released at least 30lbs, eliminate the need for an inhaler ( I have asthma), as well as improve my eyesight. I am also looking forward to learning more about holistic nutrition and the benefits of a living foods diet.

Hotep,
Justice