Thoughts on RAW!

So, tonight marks my 5th day of eating Raw.  It's true.  I've made it this far.  You're impressed, right?  Well, you should be.

Raw Blueberry GRAWnola

First of all, let me tell you ten reasons why I am absolutely loving this:
1. After too many months of eating pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches, my family is consistently eating healthful, delicious, homemade food EVERY meal!
2. Every single recipe I have tried so far has been delectable.
3. I can eat as many treats as I want, because, after all, they are mostly just sprouted buckwheat, or coconut, or raw cacao powder!
4. I am losing weight - kay, maybe this isn't a plus: new pants are definitely not in the budget this month.  I guess back to junior high and baggy pants I go. There's a plus!
5. I have significantly more energy - this week I was motivated by Lindsay's comment on my last post about exercise, and I actually went to the YMCA to use my pass for more than just watching Eli's swim lessons. It felt great.
6. It is nice to have a motivation to actually cook (or un-cook) for my family.  It's been hard, living with my parents, to do much.
7. I'm teaching my boys to enjoy eating good, healthy food.  Silas mostly just plays with the food, but Eli has been a trooper and tastes everything and likes most of it.
8. I am equipping myself with some great recipes and habits to use once we aren't eating 100% raw.
9. Jared is doing it wholeheartedly with me, which is not only fun, but hopefully really good for his health too.
10. Spending time in the kitchen with my mom and my boys is infinitely more fun than hanging out in the basement watching the same movie over and over again.  It takes a lot of time, but all of that time has been totally delightful.

Eli helping to spread the Blueberry Crispies I invented.

Making Cheese.  We've really formed a close relationship with that food processor. I don't think I'll ever be able to live without one again.

There you have it. I'm sure I could come up with more, but those are the first that come to mind. 

What do I eat, do you ask?  Well, let me break it down for you.

I start each morning with a delicious green smoothie: spinach or kale with bananas, dates, mangos, flax, spirulina, maca and whatever other good stuff I feel we need.  And I'm not talking about just a glass of green smoothie, I'm talking about at least a litre, if not more.  Delish!  Jared drinks the same as me, and Eli and Silas have their own portions.  The smoothie is enough for me, but I usually give the boys some raw granola or buckwheat crackers as well.  I still have them drinking milk (raw, mind you) so they have some of that on it as well.

Eli and Silas eating breakfast. Eli refused to smile.

For lunch we have had leftovers from the night before.  Plus, so that I make sure I am getting enough calories and good healthy fat (no surprisingly, Raw Food is a low calorie diet) I share a whole avocado with Eli.  I never knew I liked avocado so much, but I really do.

For dinner each night we have tried a new recipe.  While the many salads don't take much to throw together, many other recipes don't just take time the day of, but require you to soak nuts and grains for days before hand, and often to dehydrate the meal for at least 24 hours as well.  We live in a society of instant gratification, so this is difficult to get used to.  But, I find that if I just prepare one meal a day, even if I will be eating it two or three days later, I haven't been too overwhelmed.  We have had cheese sticks (made with sunflower seeds), pineapple pizza (dehydrated onion crust, collard, sunflower seed cheese, raw marinara sauce, veggies and pineapples), cream of mushroom soup (the cream is just cashews and almonds), zucchini pasta, mock salmon wraps...  Really, the possibilities are endless!

Soaking almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and chia.

Breakfast in the dehydrator

 In between meals I find, when I get a little peckish, I just eat an apple with raw almond butter, or some celery with almond butter and raisins.  Kale chips are so good. A handful of nuts and dried fruit satisfies a lot.  I've been a little concerned that the low fat, low calories might effect my milk production, so even though the meals are very satisfying, I try to eat more than I otherwise would.  I'm not a big snacker, but raw snacks are good, so I'm surviving.

So, what's hard about it?  Well, it takes a lot of time and preparation.  I've got the time, but I'm not used to thinking days ahead for meals.  Spaghetti is definitely easier.  I don't miss meat, and dairy is easier than I would have guessed to live without, but I do love baked goods.  I don't mind eating all the raw food, but when I am offered something like banana bread I want to have less resolve. Also, because this is really new to me, it does not just take a lot of time to do, but I'm spending the rest of my time reading recipe books and learning about why to eat raw.  This is good, because I love to learn new things, but I've got a funny feeling that I am going to have to put aside crafty things during this adventure.

So, there you have it.  Five days in, and I'm going strong.  Despite the few things that are hard, I know I can do just about anything for 30 days.  When I'm done we certainly won't eat 100% raw, but I will definitely incorporate a lot more of it into our lives.  I feel healthier already!

Ten Things I want for my House

So, while we live in my parent's basement, we do actually own a house.  Actually, we own two, but one of the ones we own sits empty waiting for us to live in it.  We will live in it once a number of things happen:
1. We get rid of the water problem.
2. We redo all the flooring.
3. We paint all the walls and ceilings.
4. We figure out to fit all the stuff that fit into our glorious Michigan home into it.
5. Jared gets a killer job so we can afford to buy our own groceries.

But, in the mean time, it sure is fun to dream of how we are going to decorate it, and what we are going to do with it.  I would sure rather make these dreams with a bigger, more luxurious house in mind, but for now I'll make due.

As I search the web for ideas, here are ten things I LOVE LOVE LOVE, that I want to do in our house:

1. Make the boys room as cute as this one:

2. Except, instead of the super cute awning, I would put in this, right above the train table:

Okay, not the whole thing, but something kind of like it, inspired by it.  Trust me, it will be rad.

3. Have my living room be this color:

4. And my kitchen this color:

 5. This clock

6. Beadboard in the bathroom:

7. This amazing hallway (minus the light - cute, but I'm not going to do it.)

8. Crown Molding in my bedroom:

9. A new mailbox:

10. And, a beautiful back porch I can actually enjoy:

Okay, realistically not all of this is going to be done before we move in, but I can dream, and continue looking, and plan for one day when I will have it all! We've torn out a lot, but I will go in and take before pictures soon so you can see what amazing things we do accomplish.  Then we will have a big house warming party (but not too big, because really, we don't have that much room) and everyone can enjoy it with us.  It will be wonderful.

Ten places

There are many places that I love in the world, but my top ten places to be are as follows:

1. Sandpoint, Idaho - specifically, on the beach at my parents' cabin

2. Flying Goose Farm - so, so, so many happy memories there

3. Cardston, Alberta - in the temple

4. Rochester, Michigan - my other home

5. Newfoundland - bright houses, awesome accents, amazing views, puffins!

6. Waterton, Alberta - in the town site and a top any of the mountains

7. Ryman Ranch - preferably on horseback

8. Shuswap - okay, I admit it, the place has kind of grown on me

9. Banff National Park - not necessarily the town site, but definitely on top of the mountains

10. And, as cheesy as it might sound, but completely true, ANYWHERE my family is.  I've learned anywhere can feel like home as long as I've got Jared and the boys around: Michigan, Spokane, the room in the basement.  Hopefully we can settle down and my top choice will be in our dream house on a farm, but until then, my very favourite place to be is wherever I am with them!

Ten Things

Many blogs I read randomly do lists of 'ten things...' I like the idea, so here's my first list.  I'll keep it simple:

Ten things you may not know about me:

1. One of my biggest insecurities is my name.  Jenny is the 6th most common name in America.  Ever!  I have this great fear that people will meet me, but because my name is Jenny, they will promptly forget me.  I hate calling people that don't know me well, or don't know my last name, because I always feel I have to explain exactly which 'Jenny' I am.  It's awkward, trust me.

2.  I love to write and edit essays.  Yup, boring old school papers.  I will jump at the chance to proofread any college student's work. Sometimes I write essays on topics I'm researching just for my own personal pleasure.  Need an essay on my thoughts on birth? I've got one.  How about one on First Nations literature?  Got one of those too.  I LOVE essays. 

3. I've made my own saddle.  It's true, a real, full blown, western, horseback riding saddle.  It's one of my greatest accomplishments. (Adrienne will laugh, because the reason you may not know this is because I have never ridden in the saddle that I made.  I've already got two other saddles, and only one horse I ride, so I don't want to make the one I made dirty for no reason at all!) 

4. We use family cloth. 

5. I dream of one day living on a sustainable farm.  I want a big ol' garden in the summer, and greenhouses in the winter.  I want dairy goats for milk, and cows and chickens for meat and eggs.  I want to learn how to spin so I can have sheep and make sweaters from their wool.  I can't wait!

6. I LOVE rollercosters. 

7. My dream vehicle is a truck.  A big truck.  One that can haul horses all over the country side.

8.  If I could change anything about my body, it would probably be my toes. If you know my toes, you know what I'm talking about.

9.  I tandem nurse my boys.

10.  The first night I was reacquainted with Jared after I got home from college and he was back from his mission I wrote in my journal, "Tonight I hung out with Dave Lancaster.  He is roommates with Jared Wiebe, who I knew from the youth dances.  Jared wants to be a lawyer.  I think I will marry him."