Seven-Day Juice Feast - Day 1

Every fall I do a seven day juice feast. It's called a juice feast because you drink as much juice as you need to to not be hungry. That's my kind of juice fast. People often ask me why I do it. Well, I do it not only for a physical cleaning out and resting of my body, but also for the spiritual reasons fasting affords. This is the third year I've done a juice feast. During my first year I mediated three hours a day with a Kundalini Yoga instructor. We started at 4am in her backyard and went til 7am. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was to start meditating under the starts and to continue through the sunrise. Last year I wished that I had incorporated more spiritual events into the feast. Business was tough and I was very tired emotionally. I did meditate a little, but mostly went about my day. The interesting thing is that I still had several deeply connective experiences and felt like I learned so many lessons. I journaled about it for my own personal use, but this year I thought I'd blog about it.

This year, these are my goals:

Watch the sunset everyday this week
Meditate every day this week
Drink only fresh juice and water for seven days

That's it. I'm a big fan of simple. Simple is often more and I like that I'll have so much time to just let life happen.

So with that explanation, here is a bit about my last meal and about how my first day of juice feasting is going:

Last night I had a simple meal of vegetables and fruit from the farmer's market. Roasted red potatoes with herbs and olive oil, sauteed zucchini and tomatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper, and yellow wax and green beans tossed with a bit of tamari and olive oil. For dessert I ate some grapes and some coconut (from the farmer's market, not locally grown, obviously). Afterward my boyfriend and I went on a nice long walk. It was the perfect way to welcome a spiritual week.

This morning I woke, ready to get some work done and then make some juice, but I got a call from my friend saying that we had a client in labor. Some of you know that in addition to owning Raw Melissa, I'm also a doula. I was thrilled. Welcoming a baby into the world is the perfect way to start a week like this. So I showered and made a bunch of juice and now I'm sitting here with our pregnant mama resting on a great big comfy bed, snuggled next to her hubby. Things are sure to get harder before that sweet babe is born so I'll be a lot more involved in helping our mama soon. How thankful I am to be a part of this.

So far today I've drunk a quart of blended crenshaw melon, one quart of tomato, carrot, cucumber and dill juice, and a glass of cantaloupe juice made from cantaloupe that my friend picked out of the garden, blended, and presented to me with a squeeze of lime. I'm feeling ok except for some low energy and an afternoon slump where I thought I was going to fall asleep where I stood. I just keep telling myself, "This is hard, but I'm doing it." The same phrase I'll suggest my laboring mama use in a couple hours.

Til tomorrow.

Always love,

Melissa

Speaking at the Mom's Who Make It Conference

I had the opportunity to speak to a group of amazing women at the first annual Mom's Who Make It Conference. I was able to speak, not only about my experience as a business woman, but also about FOOD! Good, health, nutritious, and DELICIOUS food. It was a great opportunity and fun. The news picked it up and of course didn't do it justice, but give it a look. Peace Everyone!

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Kumquats

Do you know what a kumquat is? I twittered that question and three people tweeted back with various responses. One said that it was a little orange ball. Correct. One said that it was a type of citrus. Correct. One said that she likes to make marmalade with them since she has a kumquat tree in her yard. Correct! haha!

Here is an excerpt from a kumquat farmer's site:

Kumquats (Cumquats-British spelling) have been called "the little gold gems of the citrus family". The kumquat has a thin, sweet peel and a zesty, somewhat tart center. The kumquat tastes best if it is gently rolled between the fingers before being eaten, as this releases the essential oils in the rind. Eat kumquats as you would eat grapes (with the peel).

{This is what will happen to you upon the initial burst of kumquat flavor}

That last sentence is key: Eat them WITH the peel. Once I taught a class on exotic foods. I passed around the mini little grape-sized kumquats for people to taste and they started peeling them! :) Pop the whole thing in your mouth and chew like crazy since the inside is as sour as a lemon and the outside is sweet. Chewing them up together gives your mouth the most beautiful flavor!

Recipe:

Juice them!

Food Photography!

Several weeks ago I was connected with the most wonderful food photographer. Her name is Quinn (adorable name for a girl) and she is magical with her camera. I hired her to come to the DVD workshop and here are some of the AMAZING pics she took:



Her website is limelightfoodphotography.com. Check out her other pics. She's amazing! And doesn't that food look delectable?!

The Amazing Heather!

My brother's birthday is today and he's mostly raw vegan. My amazing sister-in-law, Heather, who also happens to be my most trusted, valuable, efficient assistant, made these DELICIOUS raw vegan cupcakes for him. Check out the frosting! Are you kidding?! It looks and tastes like real cupcake frosting! She colored the red ones with strawberries and the green ones with limes. Who needs food coloring when you've got FRUIT!!!

The frosting is made from blended young coconuts and agave. Try some for your next celebration!

Follow Me

Follow me on twitter for giveaways, tricks, recipes, and tips!

My twitter ID: @rawmelissa

Have fun! Tweet ya later,

M

Upcoming Workshop and NEW RECIPE!

Hello All!

I've got a most fun full-day workshop coming up! Here are the details:

Eat More Fresh Fruits
& Vegetables and LOVE it!

Join us for a Fresh Food Preparation Workshop
April 18th, 2009 from 10am-3pm at the
Blue Lemon Restaurant Demo Kitchen
Taught by Melissa of rawmelissa.com
Sign up before March 31st & the cost is just $70, PLUS
you’ll get a Free Package of Chocolate Covered Macaroons!
At the workshop you’ll receive:
°Free Raw Melissa Basil Spring Roll & Fresh Fruit Lunch
°Over 4-hours of Fresh Food Prep Instruction
°TONS of Samples &
°A Packet of Handouts and Recipes
Email: heather@rawmelissa.com to register today!

The best part of all is that the whole thing is sponsored by these two WONDERFUL businesses:

BLUE LEMON

REAL FOODS MARKET

Now here's that recipe I promised:

Whatever-You-Like-Granola (Raw or Roasted)

8 C long cooking organic rolled oats

1-2 C one kind or a combination of any nuts (almonds, brazil nuts [chopped], macadamia nuts, walnuts, etc.)

1-2 C one kind or a combination of any seeds (flax, sunflower, pumpkin, etc.)

1-2 C one kind or a combination of dried fruit (cranberries, apricots, raisins, mango, pineapple)

1 C shredded coconut

1 C hulled buckwheat

2 C any natural liquid sweetener (honey, agave, or maple syrup)

2 tsp. vanilla

¼-1/2 tsp. salt (start with ¼ first and then add more if needed)

½ C walnut or almond oil

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients but dried fruit together. The granola should be moist and sticky, but not wet. If it’s dry, you can add water ¼ C at a time until the granola feels moist and sticky. In batches, spread on a cookie sheet to about a ¾ inch thickness and place in oven. Roast for 10-20 minutes or until golden brown. Pour into another bowl and continue with another batch. The granola will feel soft to the touch but will become crisp when it cools. When all the granola is roasted, you may stir in the dried fruit. You may also dehydrate this granola for a raw granola, but be careful not to start with a granola that’s too wet or it will ferment (add more oats if it's too wet). This granola can be served with fresh fruit and organic raw milk or nut milk.