4th and last week of my Challenge

Hi Guys!


This is my last week on my $34.60 week challenge. This week I spent 25.12 which leaves me with $8.88 left over for the month. My grocery list included the following: collards, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, corn, black beans, lentils, bananas, strawberries and cashews. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to take any pictures this week because my camera is not working. I mainly stuck to collard wraps, dehydrated veggie wraps, smoothies. I was able to use my camera phone for some pics but I the color wasn’t that great. Check out some of my meals.

Blueberries Hemp Protein Smoothie

Chocolate Almond Butter Hemp Protein Smoothie

Basic Salad with any veggie I could find in an Avocado Ranch Dressing

 

Collard Wrap with cooked onions, black beans and raw corn, spinch and tomato

Eggplant Bacon, Tomato, Spinach and hummus wrapped in a Sun dried Tomato Flax wrap

Collard wrap with alfalfa sprouts, carrots, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and more.

Challenge Week 3 Day 21

Today was a good day! Check out today's meals

Breakfast: Mango Shake

1 large Mango, pinch of cinnamon, 1 Tbsp cashews, 1 tsp bee pollen

Lunch: Corn Chowder

1 large Corn Cob,1/4 cup carrots, thin slice onion, 1 tbsp Walnuts, 1 tsp Olive Oil, salt, pepper

Dinner: Basic Salad with tomato and chilis

Dessert: Plum Blueberry Cobbler w/ Banana Soft Serve

Challenge Week 3 Day 20

Today was pretty eventful. I’ve lived in my (1st) house for about 3 ½ years. I had no idea how much maintenance went into keeping up a house, from the backyard, bushes, plumbing to the irrigation system. Wow! At the moment I feel like my whole house is leaking; the bathtub faucet, a few sprinklers and the toilet is constantly running. Early tomorrow morning I will be heading out to Home Depot with a friend to figure out what’s fixable and what parts I need.


Moving on, here are today’s meals. Oh! I did go to Whole Foods for a mango and brussel sprouts and spent 3.89 leaving me with $10.75 for the rest of the week.

Breakfast: Nectarine Smoothie

2 nectarines, 1 Tbsp Hemp Seeds, 1 tsp bee pollen

Post Workout Shake: Chocolate Shake

2 Tbsp Hemp Protein, 1 Tbsp Hemp Seeds,

1 tspChia Seeds , 1 med ripeBanana,

1.5 tsp Cacao powder, 1 tsp bee pollen, cinnamon

 

Lunch: Cream of Broccoli Soup and Steamed Brussel Sprouts tossed w/ Olive Oil and seasoning

 

 

Dinner: Miso Noodle Soup and Spring Rolls with Chili Lime Dipping Sauce

Dessert: Peach Berry Sorbet

1/2 cup raspberries, 2 peaches, small piece banana blended

Challenge Week 3 Day 19

Monday was a routine day for me. I worked early in the day and later worked on some home projects. My meals were simple too. Check them out!

Breakfast: Almond Butter Shake

Almond Butter, Banana, Dates and Brazil Nut Milk

Lunch: My version of Alissa Cohen's Boccoli Soup

Almond Milk (1/4 cup Almond, 2 cups water)

1 cup broccoli

tiny piece of onion

garlic clove

cumin

cayenne

Dinner: Cobb Salad w/ Avocado Italian dressing (still working out recipe)

Dole Romaine Blend, Corn, Broccoli, Radishes, Cucumber, Tomatoes and Carrot

Tried it Again! Trip to Ahwatukee’s Farmers Market

The first week of my challenge I went to the Phoenix Farmers Market and only scored some herbs. The herbs were great but I was looking for more. Well, this morning I made it to Ahwatukee’s Farmers Market at 8 and was pleasantly surprised. There were many more vendors than last time I visited and they were so friendly in spite of the ridiculously hot (kind of humid) weather. I scored a lot for only $12.

After the Farmers Market, I went to the grocery store for some almonds, sunflower seeds, pumkin seeds, bananas and medjool dates. I got them for 7.95.

From last week: cucumber, plums, broccoli; Farmers Market: green and red apple, nectarines, tomatoes, zuchinni, micro greens purple basil, corn, mint; Store: medjool dates,limes, bananas, almonds, sunflower seeds and pumkin seeds 

Around noonish I met up with a couple of friends for lunch at the Blue Nile Café. Every 2nd or 3rd Sunday they have a special raw food menu. We split a Caesar Salad and two of us ordered the Baha Burrito served with guacamole, sour cream sauce and mango salsa. The Caesar Salad was good but I did not like the soft croutons. The Baha Burrito looked familiar to me. I spoke with the owner and found out that they got the recipe from the book 'The Art of raw living Food', which I have.

Baha Burrito

I spent the rest of my Saturday defrosting my fridge, cleaning and creating my weekly menu. Tomorrow, I'll pot my menu for the next couple of days.

'til then, 

Chelz 

Challenge Week 3 Day 16

Happy Friday Guys!!

I didn’t have any greens yesterday so, I made sure to have lots today. For breakfast I had a Purple/ Green Smoothie filled with lots of blueberries, dark purple grapes and spinach. Lunch was a salad with bib lettuce, peaches and walnuts. The dressing was a blend of honey, lime juice and olive oil. Dinner was marinated veggie bowl served with Kelp noodles. Take a look~

Blend of Spinach, Blueberries, Dark Grapes

Banana Filled Vanilla Walnut Cookies

Bib Lettuce and Spinach Salad with peaches and Walnuts

Kelp Noodle Bowl With Marinates Broccoli, Carrots, Mushrooms

Dessert: Dark Chocoate and Almond Butter Filled Cookies. (Yes! One cookie is dipped in chocolate)

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Chelz

Thrifty Raw Food Challenge Update Days 13, 14, and 15

Hey Guys!

It’s been a couple of days since I’ve posted. I apologize for the delay as I’ve been having slight migraines. Today marks the beginning of week for my Thrifty ($34.60) Raw Food Challenge. The challenge has been going quite well. At the moment I’m under budget by about $9 but I must admit I’ve eating a lot of fruit and less greens. Since my migraine as significantly subsided, I will be researching different low preparation meals.

Sunday, I dehydrated some Walnut Hemp crackers and Monday I made some rejuvelac for Sunflower Seeds cheese. Unfortunately, I did not use the rejuvelac in time and had to throw it out. So, no cheese yet.

In the meantime, I was looking on Kristen’s Raw blog and discovered she having a giveaway. She’s giving away a complete set of ebooks.  If you’re not familiar with her blog, you’re missing out on some great information. 

Take a look at today's meals so far. Strawberries have been on sale! This morning I had homemade strawberry granola cereal! 

Strawberry Pineapple Swirl Shake

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

My little Sis from Big Brother Big Sister wanted some dipped in White chocolate. 

Yes I know, I have eaten my greens yet, but I will have a very green dinner. I will update soon! 

Challenge Week 2 Day 12 Monday

Happy Monday Everyone!

Today was an extra hot day. My dogs just laid in front of their doggy door wishing they could go out. Every time they would go out their door return in less than a minute. My AC was running all day long. Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do if I did not have central air.

Today's meal were light and VERY simple; Fruit and Veggies. I had whole grapefruit juice for my pre-workout meal.

Just Juiced by Vitamix

Post Workout Shake:

Strawberries

Hemp Seeds

Hemp Protein Powder

Banana

Spicy Lime Dipping Sauce:

Lime Juice

Scallions

Shredded Carrot

Rice Wine Vinegar

Tamari

Agave

Chili

Ginger

Spring Rolls:

Rice Paper

Butter Lettuce

Kelp Noodles

Basil

Mint

Chili Slivers

Ginger Slivers

Snack:

Cantaloupe

Strawberries

Hemp Seeds

Basic Salad:

Dole Greener Selection

Spinach

Cucumber

Tomatoes

Red Onions

Avocado

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Challenge Week 2 Days 10 and 11

Saturday morning I had so much going on that I did not get a chance visit the Farmer’s Market. Before I headed out the door at 6:30 in the morning, I made a 32 oz Green Smoothie with Hemp seeds, Spinach, ginger and Green Apple and a 24 oz Fruit Smoothie with the rest of the peaches, banana, and strawberries I had left over from the week. Since I was too late to go to the Farmer’s Market, I went to Whole Foods where I spent $5.02 on kelp Noodles, 1 Banana, 2 plums, wheat berries, zucchini and buckwheat groats. My next stop was Sprouts for medjool dates, nectarines, peaches and pecans for $5.38. My last stop was Fry’s where I purchased green onions, butter lettuce, 2 bags Dole salads, 2 packages Strawberries, bananas, rice paper, bunch of carrots and 1 small bag of 'slaw' mix for $11.17.

My total for Fry's was low because I had coupons for the produce department and for the dole salads that were already on sale for $1. I ended up spending .25 for each bag. I received $5.00 off the produce section. My non organic items are: nectarines, green onions, pecans, and peaches. My total so far is $22.15. Last week I was under budget by $2.87 which makes this weeks budget $37.47. So far I have $15.32 left for the week of July 11- 17.


My smoothies lasted throughout the day. Later Saturday evening I ate the slaw mix with hemp seeds and an asian inspired dressing consisting of, sesame oil, lime juice, 1 chili, and spices. 

Sunday, was a juice/smoothie and prep day. After church this morning, I went to the grocery store for oranges. I purchased 9 for $3.03. Now I have $12.29 left. I prepared Walnut Hemp Crackers from a great book, Raw Food Real World. Next, I chopped and sliced my veggies for easy access and made a big bowl of salad for the next few days. Finally, I place my wheat berries, sesame seeds, almonds and sunflower seeds in a bowl to soak in preparation for Almond/Sesame Seed Milk, sesame seed pate and rejuvelac for making cashew cheese (from the left over cashews last week.)