You are a girl of my own heart RGN, still waiting for that desserted island, with a box of Medjools (oh, if it's both of us....2 boxes!) and beaches lined with coconut trees........

Standard fare for us, just thought i would share!! lol

I've got some lovely Custard Apples, fresh coconut and nice ripe pawpaw for this afternoon. I am adding mesquite to my fruit purees and it is devine! .......maybe i can make a cake out of them1

i think freshly grated coconut blended with big fresh Medjool dates then moulded into a cake on a nice plate sprinked with more coconut and freshly ground vanilla bean would be devine!!!

Hey it's a Birthday, you are supposed to overindulge a bit aren't you??

Oh....don't forget the candles.

Hello my dear,

thank you for this one.....that's about all i have left...coconut and apple, this is going to be breakfast tomorrow morning for the gang....sounds really refreshing.... i will add some greens to it.

love to you both.
Karen

A milestone in the making, well worth all of the hard work and effort!

It looks amazing, have a great dinner tonight and

"Have a sleep Piers, all work and no play makes one a tired puppy!" to sat the least!

Congrates,
love
Karen

Sprouted buckwheat makes a great crunchy cracker, just sprout it rinse it really well and blend with you favourite vegies, tomatoe with herbs is nice and carrots always goes well in buckwheat crackers.

but if you don't want the buckwheat, thinnly sliced zucchini or sweet potoato with a little flavouring on it is lovely, especially curry! or just good quality sea salt and herbs - the best chips ever. A little coconut oil makes them even better, but it's up to you what you want to eat!!!

Have fun!
Karen

Yeah!!!!!!! Thank you guys for your hard work getting them back to base!
can't wait to get them.
love, Karen

I tend to make the same one every night too! but lately a they alway have to include corn, lentils sprouts and mushrooms and baby spinach is very tasty again.

Blended tomato with a little oregano is my fav dressing.....oops forgot the avocado....then smother it with dulse or kelp.

Can't live without this daily fix.

chow, Karen

Hi there,

I really think Carl should be congratulated for sticking with it. I think it is hard for the men at times, especially because there caloric needs are much higher than ours.

My husband (who is not 100% raw but getting there) really enjoys dehydrated crackers with guacamole, and have you tried the Sunflower dip, it is great and sunflower seeds are not expensive which can become an issue with a family - i have 3 kids, a teenage boy and girl-she's 100% raw, and a 10 yr old boy -very fussy but green smoothies a curing that .) The pizza idea is great too, so easy and very filling. Spirlalized pasta with an alfredo type sauce is also very filling, add some crackers and maybe make some of the pasta out of sweet potato.

Breakfast for us is buckwheat granola, full of nuts and seeds with the buckwheat, great for the guys and i make a quick nut milk to have with it in the morning, plus a green smoothie...... a big batch as everyone has one each day. You may find that the green smoothies help with the itching - blended greens are amazing. When i make the granola i make a huge batch so it lasts a while, so it's there for breaky and snacks, you can also make it into granola bars....good to take with you as a snack for the whole family. Also make up big batches of crackers....good for dips, sandwiches and pizza, just make some a little thicker and bigger.

With Sheryl's burgers you can even make a burger sandwich, add lots of avocado, tom and seed or nut pate, i'm sure he will feel satisfied, and have it with a big salad.

Hope these suggestions help, like you my biggest challenge is keeping the boys satisfied, but i love a challenge, that's why i am raw.....maybe......no.... i'm just addicted to feeling Great!!!! and they are fast catching the bug - fantastic!!!

Hope this all helps,
cheers
Karen

Hi Joybell

So glad to see that you are now on the Natural thryroid hormone. I am hypothyroid and have been on Natural Thyroid for about 2 1/2 yrs now. I was very lucky to find a doctor that is very natural, she put me on the natural first up. It has made a big difference to how i feel. I often felt like i had cronic fatigue but would trudge on anyway, never letting a little tiredness get in my way. I now feel great and have never had any problems with it.
i used to get a feeling of heaviness in my chest and shortness of breathing, feeling like i could not take a full breath.  I never knew what caused it but assumed it was a hormonal thing, this may be what you are describing.

I find my green smoothies really clear my breathing. Anyway great to have you on board so that we can compare notes and see if we can get our medication right down. Although i haven't found any evidence yet of anyone curing thyroid conditions through raw food.

All the best, cheers,
Karen

Neet your salad sounds divine!!! i will have to try that one.

We all had sushi tonight, amazing that a raw dinner on a cold winters night is so satisfying, who says you need hot stoggy food.

Very much like Jen's.
Cauli, parsnip, jicama and a little parsley in the blender, spread on nori then add avo, tomato, carrot, sunflower sprouts and cucumber, very nice. Even better when you add home dried tomatoes!

for the boys I alway add nuts or seeds to the nori spread, usually cashews or sunflower, mine is always full of Kelp as i am a kelp fan, it looks too green for them!

Just like you Jen this is our Thursday night treat! Great that the whole family enjoys it but a lot of work for me......i don't mind though, It's all good!

Nearly forgot,

for dessert it's everyone favourite 'Bliss balls'

dates, sultanas, walnuts, almonds and freshly grated coconut processed to a paste then rolled into balls covered in the fresh coconut

and 'Choc Balls'

Cashews, dates, vanilla and Cacao Powder processed to a paste, rolled in balls then covered in the fresh coconut, the verdict from all the first time i made them was - 'that's real chocolate'.

have fun all
cheers
Karen

tomorrow night i am trying Neets!

So good to see you getting on top of it all, we seem to be very much alike so it's great to compare.......not so much trial and error.....get to the bottom of it all much quicker....they say listen to you body..........it does not always give me the answers!! thanks to all on this forum we certainly sort things out much quicker.

Very grateful to all.
Karen

just reading through this tread has made me aware of how important it is for us women to make sure we are getting enought fats in our diet. I think we have been made to believe that they will make us fat and that is hard to let go of, but in reality they are what will keep us trim and keep our bodies working properly. Our hormones rely on them, and i also feel that the lack of fats may be another reason why menses cease. It's hard to fathom though when eating a fairly low fat diet and you feel fantastic!!, heaps of energy, with spirits high!!!

As for the coconut oil I have been told that it helps the body to utalise, assimilate and break down other fats, especially bad fats, which none of us eat anyway. The other thing is that coconut oil and flax oil are supposed to be a great combination, David Wolfe i think said that. I have some other great recipes with the grated coconut, will post them in the right place though.

I fully understand your grief with fats Neet, i am the same but am finding coconut, olives, avocado and occassionaly flax great! Nuts make me feel like i am trying to digest concrete!!! it's not good. Small amounts now and then and have to make sure they have been soaked.

As for my big run on Sunday, well i didn't do it, Wintersun was on and it was packed around here so we wondered around there instead, will get into it next week, quite like having my weekends off though!!!!!

As for the itching thing, interesting......it does make you wonder about all the sugar in the fruit, but like Sheryl said we are all different. Is anyone on low fat/high fruit getting dry skin and hair, i would be interested to know. It is wonderful that you all share your experiences with raw, fitness and how diet affects us. We can all only become so much more fitter, healthier and happier! Fantastic.

chow for now
Karen

If you can find some whole red lentils they are very nice Fig. I haven't been able to buy them but i do buy a crunchy combo that has them in it. I sprouted some Quinae (forgot how to spell it!) you know the stuff pronounced kee-wah, it did really well, my daughter and hubby had it for lunch today in their salads, both liked it and it gave them a 100% raw lunch.

and Neet.... my daughter is 17. She had always appreciated wholesome healthy food..........the boys in our family think we are wierd......they can't believe how excited we get about a great piece of fruit or a fabulous new recipe we have just put together...... then at the dinner table as my 15 yr old son tries ever so hard to eat well to clear his skin it becemes blatently obvious that those that are raw have a clear complexion!!!! He is getting the idea and trying lots of new things.......it's great.

better go..... the hordes are getting hungry!!
chow
Karen

Sheryl yours sounds great!

If it where just my husband and I we would go to the retreat you just went to and i would have a daily massage and one other treatment like a pedicure, facial etc.....one day we will, i also plan to do the bike thing to.

But for now it will be a family one...............which to my shock and amazement, we planned last night....and i wasn't even the instagator!!!

We plan to take our newly aquired caravan (for our business... it's making us feel like we should be retiring so i had to say that to make me feel better!!!) away to a nice quite little coastal town with awsome surf, beaches, hiking trails, organic fruit and veg shops and the boys want to join my daughter and i and be 100% raw for the whole 7-10days!!! Yeh....how awsome!

My brain is ticking over..........give them the best of raw and they will never go back.

Can't wait, let the good times roll,
Cheers
Karen

Have you tried taking the seed out and replacing it with a raw cacao bean, it's real raw chocolate, also blending the dates with freshly grated coconut and rolling into balls then roll in the fresh coconut, these are amazing!! (coconut and cacao beans from RP-so totally raw and organic!)

Add some goji berries and you will be amazed at the energy you will have, the combination of cacao beans and goji berries had me on an energetic high for about 24hrs.

Maybe i will start making a date and coconut paste and we can put it into the celery sticks.........that would be awsome i think, and so balanced.

My only problem and does anyone have an answer..........how do you only have a few dates...........once i start i just can't stop...maybe the celery will help!

chow, Karen.