Not much has been happening lately so I haven't had the urge to write. But! I am excited because tomorrow I get my first box of vegetables from the organic farm I'm working for.

Did I mention this?

It's a CSA program, and you can either buy a share of produce for the year, or you can participate in the workshare program where you work 4 and a half hours every week to get your weekly farm fresh veggies. I work every Saturday morning 8 AM-12:30 PM. It's been wonderful so far. Hard work? It's difficult for me to say that it is because I enjoy it so much, but it definitely is physically a bit of work. My body feels good and sore every Sunday...just the way I like it. So far we've been working on weeding certain crops, and we just harvested the spinach this last Saturday.

Check it out!

Working on Saturday was a challenge with my newest tattoo...

It's basically a symbol of my dedication to eating and living a cruelty free life. (Eating) Hence the placement of the tattoo. It didn't hurt much to get it done, but the healing has been a struggle. Oh boy...no more stomach tattoos! (We'll see if I actually live up to that threat, haha)

My friend does tattooing at a shop in town, and she's been doing mine (and my boyfriend's) for free... so I baked her some very naughty vegan confetti cupcakes as a sign of my appreciation. Man, I hate baking. I mean, I actually love it. But I hate all the frosting I just HAVE to lick off my fingers every 30 seconds.

Since I began the journey to RAW, I still allow myself to indulge in some cooked or baked vegan delights every now and then, and vegan cake is one that I just can't resist. It's horrible. It makes me feel horrible...and it makes me feel horrible BECAUSE I can't seem to control myself around it. I never liked having dependencies on ANYTHING...which is why I quit smoking, coffee, soda, etc. It makes me feel all icky inside to feel that something else has control over me. And I feel like cake totally does. It sounds silly... but I'm sure some of you have felt what I'm feeling.

Anyway, I've been blending up cucumber soups...making sweet potato chips on the dehydrator... but nothing worth taking a photo of.

Hmm...I'll write more when more interesting things are happening :)

So! I've got big news. I'm officially free of the nasty hormones!
This is a huge step in my raw journey, and it makes all the effort that I put into eating healthy seem so much more worthwhile. Honestly, the effects of Raw were so incredibly hindered by that tiny little pill that I took everyday that it's mind boggling. It's only been a couple weeks off of the pill, and I already feel like a new woman. Like MYSELF again.

With that said, I've also started my pursuit to finding a doctor that will give me a referral for a tubal ligation. This is something I have thought very long and hard about, in addition to doing plenty of research about my other options and the procedure itself. I've never wanted kids, and I would look forward to having a little spontaneity without having to worry about the possible consequence. My mom has been so supportive and has even offered to take off of work the day I'd have my procedure done whenever I do find a doctor to do it for me. It's really nice knowing that I have her support while I know a lot of mothers wouldn't be so supportive of the idea of never having grandchildren. It's refreshing to know that her interests are pure and unselfish.

At any rate, I've been eating good, exercising, and feeling better and better. My creative spark has returned and I came up with a simple and unique, but delicious recipe with a photo :)

Pineapple-Raisin Salad

Julienned carrots
Sliced zucchini
RaisinsDiced pineapple
Diced red onion
Chopped basil
Olive Oil
Agave
Sea Salt
I apologize for the lack of measurements, but when I create, I don't pay a lot of attention to measurements. I also made this as a small side to an entree, so it was not a portion large enough to record measurements for. Never the less, the method is as follows:

On a plate lay down a "bed" of julienned carrots. Arrange zucchini slices atop the carrots, and gently sprinkle a bit of sea salt over the zucchini slices. In a separate bowl, combine raisins, diced pineapple, red onion, chopped basil, a few drizzles of olive oil, a couple drizzles of agave, and a dash of sea salt. Mix well, and pour over your carrot and zucchini plate. Garnish with basil for visual effect ;) ENJOY :)

I know it sounds like such an odd combination, but I promise you it's delicious. If you want to give it a go, I suggest making the pineapple and onion in approximately equal parts, and approximately equal parts of olive oil and agave as well using maybe only slightly more olive oil. You can have fun with how you go about eating it. I liked eating the zuc slices with my hands with the pineapple-raisin mixture on top, but it was good all mixed up too. You could certainly rather chop the zucchini for eating with a spoon or fork a bit easier, but the slices were mainly for visual effect. :)

I ate this in addition to a zucchini pasta, because I'm a total zucchini freak!


That was my hefty plate of food. It's still shocking to me how thin I'm able to stay just by eating raw foods... I eat SO much!

The pasta was simply spiralized zucchini with some mushrooms topped with Fresh Corn and Avocado salad. When I make that salad I always use basil... I never use the olive oil (totally unnecessary), nor do I use pepper. It's sooo dee-lish! It's something I make a couple times a week! I'm addicted.

I've also recently tried apricots for the first time ever! I don't know how I never tried them until recently!

Anyway, I shall be off to tend to the rest of my duties for the day...hope everyone has a happy and safe rest of the week!

xox