Raw Way - The Way to Health

Danielle: Day Three (Part Two)

danielle — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:34:43 +0000

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the delay in the post, I curled up in bed to write my next entry with my laptop and fell asleep before the page loaded! Guess I didn’t feel as tired as I was from the long day..
Here’s a short and sweet post of what I had to eat yesterday:
Breakfast – Fruit Platter with apples, strawberries, melon and banana. Wasn’t too creative but it sure hit the spot!
Lunch – had some more GRAWnola with the Coconut yogurt (same as the day before) because I was craving that. No apples slices this time and tried it with the cinnamon almond bar – still just as tasty!
Snack – Finished up my kale chips that I had and snacked on two Lean Green Crunch RawWay bars throughout the day.
Dinner – I’m not going to lie, I had my dessert before dinner yesterday. Had a big helping of Bethany’s Chocolate Mud and it was just as, if not more fantastic than the day before. (I also plan on having some later tonight!) For my actual dinner, Bethany threw together some Raw taco “meat” which I will have to get the recipe for and post it here for you. Mixed that with some guacomole and wrapped it up in some lettuce and there you go – Raw tacos! It was actually better than I thought it would be, it really filled the void of where the meat would typically be in a taco. I also had a bite of Lylah’s dinner (Vegan Pizza) before she decided to let the dogs have a slice. That was fun to clean up

So that was my meal plan for yesterday! Stay tuned to hear what I have today (I’m about to face another BBQ and avoid temptations – wish me luck!)

Danielle: Day Three (Part One)

danielle — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:50:08 +0000

Just a little mid-day post! I woke up feeling refreshed and helped myself to a fruit platter breakfast (details on that later) and now that it’s getting toward lunch-time, I’m still not feeling hungry. I felt like I had to let everyone know about this because it’s really surprising to me – when your body gets what it needs, it doesn’t crave anything else. Sometimes your mind will trick you into thinking you need it, but really it’s just temptation. I was worried about having some sort of withdrawal from the junk food, but my body almost seems thankful to be rid of it. I crave water and I love it! Again, it’s only day three, but I thought this was fascinating and I wanted to share.

I’ll post again later with my meals of the day! Excited to have some more of Bethany’s deeeelicious dessert (I snuck a taste a minute ago and it’s super tasty!). Hope everyone is feeling good and that this sunshine will last today. Until later!

Danielle: Day Two

danielle — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:49:19 +0000

Day two and I’m still feeling good! I’ve noticed that my hunger is more intense toward the end of the day before I get to bed, but when I wake up in the morning I don’t feel starved. I’m starting to appreciate that feeling because I wake up with more energy and don’t feel as sluggish. Unfortunately, I forgot the little chip that goes into the camera to save pictures today, so I’ll do my best to paint you a picture of what I ate.
Breakfast – an apple, an apple pie RawWay bar and lots (and lots) of water. Wasn’t too hungry this morning, which surprised me!
Lunch – Bethany set aside an awesome lunch recipe for me that I wish everyone could try! It consisted of So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Yogurt, GRAWnola (apple pie RawWay bar crumbled up into granola pieces), sliced apple and topped off with Organic Cinnamon. It was absolutely delicious! I’m going to invest in all of these ingredients so that I can make it all the time (even if I decide not to stay Raw after this month). I am going to try it with the Cinnamon Almond bar this weekend.
Between lunch and dinner, I was starting to feel really tempted with some cupcakes my mother had made for me before I started this. It wasn’t so much a craving, just that it was there and I wanted to have it! I fixed this by distracting myself and snacking on some walnuts and a Lean Green Crunch bar. When I went back into the kitchen to get some more water, I walked right past the cupcakes without thinking twice. Out of sight, out of mind, problem solved!
Dinner – I made some guacomole (avocado, tomato, onion, a bit of lemon juice) and ate it with these soy-free, gluten-free chips a vegan friend of mine let me take home to try. The chips are seasoned with lime and the combination of the two were just perfect. I will have to ask where to get these chips (They’re made right in Ann Arbor) because I’m definitely going to get some more.

Dessert – I was excited to try Bethany’s dessert that she made (check out her blog for the recipe!) but made a decision before startnig this that I wouldn’t eat past 8pm (unless I absolutely had to). As I had a bit of a busy night, I got back quite late and didn’t want to break my promise to myself so I’m saving it for tomorrow! I did have a taste of it earlier and I’m excited to have some more!

Today was full of running around and keeping busy again, so it was easy to be distracted from temptations. There was a get together that I went to later where people had a BBQ and lots of junk food, and the smell made me a bit hungry. I snacked on a Banana Bread bar and let a few friends try it to show what exactly I was eating/doing and educate people a little more. They liked it a lot and their support and interest in what I was doing helped motivate me to avoid any temptations.

So far, so good! Day three – bring it on

*I would also like to give a mention to Mandy who left a comment about the balsamic vinegarette dressing – the recipe sounds delicious and I can’t wait to give it a try. I’ll let you know how it goes, Thanks for the suggestion!

Raw Chocolate Chip Chocolate Mud*DELISH and RICH

Bethany — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:56:05 +0000

Had a few extra Avacado’s, a nanny whose trying Raw now , and sometimes you just need some chocolate. So I figured I’d throw a treat together for us!

As I started throwing things in my food processor Here’s what I came up with…

Chocolate Chip Chocolate Mud

2 Avacados

1/2C Cacao or Cocoa; If using Cacao add a tad more agave or honey!

1/3C Agave or Raw Honey

1/2t Cinnamon

2T Coconut Oil

1/2C Sweet Cacao Nibs Like This

* Blend all ingredients in food processor- EXCEPT the Cacao Nibs- until Smooth, Add more Cacao or Cocoa if a rich chocolate color is not yet attained. Stir in and sprinkle with the Sweet Cacao nibs.

VOILA! You have yourself a sweet rich Raw Treat!

Enjoy

Danielle: Day One

danielle — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:31:59 +0000

I’ve decided to take pictures of what I eat and list the ingredients, that way you can replicate anything that looks good! Then I will list how I felt about everything, what I was craving, and how I managed those cravings and just how my overall day was. So, here’s Day One:
Breakfast – Banana-Strawberry-Pineapple smoothie (sounds delicious, but the frozen strawberries and frozen pineapples made it very cold and very thick! Will have to play around with that recipe), and a RawWay Banana Bread Bar (This is starting to become one of my favorite bars). I ate around 9 in the morning and started getting hunger pangs around 11. I settled this with another RawWay bar (Cinnamon Almond) and with that and a bit of water, the hunger went away.
Lunch – I had already been snacking on some Kale Chips that Bethany had for me before I made my Raw sliced bread, organic honey, almond butter and sliced banana sandwich. Let me tell you, as hard as it is to figure out how to eat (I actually tried to make it into a proper sandwich, which Rudy later suggested I try eating it “open face”. I wasn’t that clever.) it was actually quite tasty! I love bananas, so I didn’t mind having another meal based around that, but I can’t wait to try new things and venture out of my comfort zone more when it comes to food. Here’s a picture of the aesthetically confusing but great tasting lunch I made :

Now for dinner! I had a few more kale chips and some cheesy chips the Bethany had made the night before and then made dinner around 7pm. It was a salad with celery, apples, walnuts and different kinds of lettuce. Tried to get a good picture, but I’m sure you can get the idea!

About halfway through eating, I realized it wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped – it was missing dressing! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fill that dressing void, or any good organic alternatives to make salads more exciting? I only had a few items to work with at my house, so I think I did alright with what I had.
Alright, so this way day one! So far, my hunger hasn’t been too bad and the day overall was a lot easier than I anticipated. I’m sure that goes along with the excitement of what’s to come, and my Wednesdays are always quite busy so it was easy to be preoccupied. Let’s hope this lasts! I’m not feeling any different straight away, but I do feel more energetic when I eat more fruit and drink more water, so I know I’m on the right track. I’ll keep you guys posted on any positive, or maybe negative, changes that I go through.
Until tomorrow, I wish you a good night and great health!

This is Me.

danielle — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:29:40 +0000

.
Hi everyone! I’m Danielle and I’ll be posting about my 30 day journey living and eating the RawWay. I wanted to give you a bit of a back story to better understand where I am coming from and what I am hoping to gain (or if we’re talking about weight, lose!) from this experience.
I’m your average American 20 year old *(although I will be turning 21 in two weeks, halfway through this experience) and have lived in Michigan for all of my life, apart from my time in Europe. Growing up with a Greek family (and my grandfather being a chef!) I didn’t put much thought into what I ate until my high school years. I’ve always been interested in the vegetarian, vegan and raw way of eating and was always drawn to the people that had the will power to carry out such “diets”. With many attempts at becoming a vegetarian, I realized I needed some sort of support or knowledge of what I was getting into and eventually gave up. I settled on being a pescatarian (no meat apart from fish) and got along quite well with that with just a few slips here and there. As I mentioned previously, after spending time in Europe, any grasp I had on a healthier lifestyle went out the window.
When I met Bethany, I was very interested in what she was doing and what her family believed in. It seemed I had found that support I was looking for before, and her and Rudy were very supportive and encouraging with trying to educate me to make healthier choices. This brings me to today! It’s finally September, and after doing a month or so of cutting out meat from my diet to prep for this, I have successfully completed my first day being Raw.
If you guys have any questions along the way, or any stories that you would like to share, please feel free to leave comments/questions/suggestions! I would love to know that people can learn or relate to what I am going to go through this month and would love any feedback you have.
Following this, I will post pictures of what I had to eat today and let you know anything I felt or craved or caved into eating! Let me just say now, the RawWay bars are fantastic for curbing my mid-day hunger. I can’t wait to try some new things with them tomorrow! Here’s to a fantastic journey and 30 days the RawWay

30 Days the Raw Way

RawWay — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:21:51 +0000

We are so thrilled to announce that we will be starting a new blog on our site called “30 Days the RawWay” . This Blog will be a diary of our newest Recruit to the Raw Foods lifestyle! September will be Covered by Danielle Betley, she is a great friend and happens to be our nanny too Danielle is 20 years old and currently on the SAD (Standard American Diet) so it will be very exciting to read her daily diaries about what she’s eating, how she’s feeling and all of her progress! If your interested in transitioning into the Raw Vegan lifestyle, this will be great reading for you. Please email me @ RawWayLife@Gmail.com if you’d be interested in being our next 30 days the Raw Way contestant. We’ll be providing a months worth of free bars to incorporate into your daily diet, meal plans and support!

Stay tuned for Danielle’s first post on Wednesday, we’re all so excited about her upcoming journey!

**ETA: Please submit your entry by commenting below that you are interested in being our next “30 days the RawWay” Contestant!! I will announce the next contestant by September 15th, so you’ll have some time to prepare for your October Journey!

Lets change the world, one healthy, beautiful, clear minded raw foodie at a time

Bethany

RawWay/Raw Food Naturals UnCooking Contest

Bethany — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 04:14:27 +0000

Raw Way Life\Raw Food Naturals Uncooking Contest

Raw-Way Life\Raw Food Naturals Uncooking Contest

Love making Raw Vegan recipes? Here is your chance to show off your culinary skills and win an assortment box of the delicious tasting Raw-Way snack bars!

The rules are simple:
-You must use 3 in-season fruits or vegetables in your recipe
-It must be your original recipe
-Submissions must have recipe included
-A picture is required. Included in the pic you must have a legibly written note saying “My Raw-Way\Raw Food Naturals Contest Recipe”. Videos are also acceptable and encouraged.
-Multiple submissions welcome!

The contest will run until August 31st and winner will be chosen and announced on September 4th on the Raw Way & Raw Food Naturals Facebook pages. Also, depending on the number of submissions we will post the winner and the runner ups recipes on both the www.rawwaylife.comand www.RawFoodNaturals.com web sites!

Work out Tips the RawWay

Bethany — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:49:44 +0000

Working out and being in shape have always been big priorities in my life. As I’ve had kids though I’ve found its harder and more challenging to get my workouts in and stay motivated. I will say eating raw foods gives me so much more energy then I ever had when I was a strict low calorie diet eater! So I believe what you eat is key to getting a good work out in. You can live in the gym, but if you go home and eat the wrong way you’ll never see that beautiful muscle you worked so hard for under that body fat!

My husband, Rudy, and I come from very athletic backgrounds. I’ve always been a gym rat and he has played professional basketball for the PBA on and off for the last decade. We’ve both found that eating raw foods is best for our bodies as far as performance goes! There are a few tips we’ve found that give you some short cuts to simply get into your bathing suit with confidence or train on an athletic level.

1) Brown Rice Protein- I’ve personally found that the higher intensity my work out the more I do need a boost of protein. I mix Ice, Almond Milk, shredded Coconut, Banana, One scoop of Brown Rice Protein, with a dash of cinnamon in the blender and treat myself to this Raw Protein smoothie always within an hour after working out!

2) Water Water Water Water Water- The more Water the better! Your body can not perform optimally if its dehydrated and most of us are! If your getting thirsty with in the first few minutes of your work out your dehydrated. I’ve been drinking soley water (other then the occassional green tea or Dandy blend) for 5 years @ about 100 oz’s a day. I’m STILL dehydrated from the years I did not drink enough water! (Just a side note on water: My father, who has actually been my Raw Mentor if you will, has been telling me about the effects of thoughts and words on water for years. I recently found this video. Please take the time to watch it and ingest the magnitude of your thoughts and words on what your drinking! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAvzsjcBtx8

3) Yoga- Although Rudy and I are both high intensity people we’ve both found that we get better results by incorporating yoga! The longer I’ve been eating this way the more I gravitate to yoga and I’ve found that it works the other way as well, finding that many yogi’s organically become raw foodists too! I love this gravitation towards each lifestyle.

4) Group Fitness- About 2 months ago My dear friend, Courtney, Talked me into doing group fitness classes at our local lifetime fitness. I’ve really found that working out in a group setting is optimal for myself! I push myself past my normal limits and since Courtney always gets spots for us at the front of the class, I typically like to be in the back , it really makes me focus on not slacking off!

Eating raw foods and incorporating these tips on a weekly basis have gotten me to the point where I feel so comfortable in my skin and my energy is through the roof! I’m in the best shape yet and after having 2 babies, I’m proud of that!

To your Health,

Bethany

Raw Beauty Tip #1- The Beauty of Coconut Oil

Bethany — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:53:10 +0000

Been too long since I last posted, I apologize. Life has gotten so busy, but that’s a whole other post in and of itself . So today’s post is not an actual food recipe but if done consistently its definitely the best recipe for your skin!

I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Coconut oil. They’re so many uses for it and the most amazing accomplishment that has come out of my last tub of coconut oil is glowing skin! I use Coconut oil as my facial cleanser/moisturizer in the morning and at night. Simply take 1/2 t and mix it with a little water and wash your makeup away (helps take mascara off really well too!) then after your done rinsing I actually take another 1/2 t and apply it as I would moisturizer. My skin has gone from being combination/dry/tired/bumpy looking to glowing and fresh, coconut oil has drastically changed my complexion! Don’t be scared of using this oil even if your skin is oily, my skin used to be oily in certain areas as well and it completely cleared up my skin! I saw results using coconut oil as my face wash 2x’s daily after 2 weeks, but my skin felt amazing immediately!

I highly reccomend buying a large tub of it just bc Coco oil is amazing for many different reasons. Here are just a few more that I can attest to:

Diaper rash, use the same way you would diaper cream. CO has cleared up Lylah’s DR faster then any creams I’ve used

Hair Restoration, I massage CO into my scalp and hair while showering once a week and its really helped the damaging effects of coloring my hair. Its quickly made my hair more silky!

Dry skin, My oldest daughter Bella constantly has dry skin patches. I use Coconut oil at night on her hands or elbows and by more morning they’re no longer cracked and dry!

These are just a few of the benefits, there are SO many more! You can pick up Coconut oil at most grocery stores, health food stores, or try one of my favorite online stores

www.rawfoodnaturals.com

www.sunfood.com

www.vitacost.com

To your new skin!