I'm in a much better mood today

Things are working like they are supposed to be working, and I'm getting through my lists. Sorry for being such a downer yesterday--I hate being that way. When I get like that, it seems to permeate every aspect of my life. (We had to go to the grocery store last night and I was a royal B.)
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So I mentioned here a while back that I was going to do more raw foods. I have been doing breakfasts, lunches, and snacks raw and doing a mix of raw and cooked vegan for dinner. Physically, I feel really good. I don't get that "full" feeling after raw meals but I'm perfectly satisfied and content with what I've eaten. I get hungry more often, but it's not a "eat everything in sight" type of hunger and an apple or carrot or something takes care of it.
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I've become really fond of dehydrator bread--in fact, I've got some more wheat sprouting right now so I can make another batch.
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And, on another good note, I'm finally heading the right direction on the scale again (I had gained 6 pounds up from my maintenance weight)--I've only got 2.5 more to go.
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Plus, I've had enough energy to exercise regularly again. In two weeks, I've exercised all but 2 days.
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All the reading I've done has talked about nasty detox symptoms when first going raw. I haven't experienced anything, but I was already eating a fairly healthy vegan diet with quite a few raw fruits and veggies anyway.
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I was reading in my latest issue of VegNews the other day an article about the meaning of "Vegan" and how it encompasses the commitment to a compassionate lifestyle as well as the dietary aspects. I thought it was well said, but I thought that maybe the author should have acknowledged that sometimes the commitment to all aspects of the lifestyle evolve from what started as a "diet". Even if one commits to being a "vegan" because of health issues, the ripple effect will result in fewer animals getting killed and possibly more people moving toward the vegan lifestyle. Also, I think that what starts as a movement for "health" can't help but evolve as the person learns more about him/herself and our environment.
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I started for a combination of reasons--both health and horror at the atrocities my former lifestyle was promoting. As I've evolved over the last 10 months, I've certainly found that my thoughts and feelings in both areas have strengthened.
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Well, I had better get back to work.
Ciao for now.

Happy Anniversary to me!

Yes I got married on Tax Day. It wasn't planned that was just the day we did it (Elko County courthouse basement). But it is weird that I got married on April 15th and went on to become a CPA. (I don't work in public practice anymore and I don't do taxes--except my own--but I am still a CPA.)
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So anyway, today is our 24th anniversary. Hubby came home and took me out for lunch (with some money we had stashed away just for today) and tonight we are going to go out to dinner as a family. We usually don't go out twice in one day, but this way we get a family celebration as well as a personal one. We didn't do gifts this year--nothing we really need bad enough to justify spending money we don't really have--we're just spending time together.

Above is what we woke up to. This picture was taken out my front door just before I took the kids to school. On the seat of the swing it was 3 inches. It snowed a whole lot more after that but never got any deeper because it was just warm enough that it was kind of melting as it fell. Since I've been married, I don't remember ever having snow on April 15th.

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I sprouted some wheat and now have dehydrator bread drying. In addition to the sprouted wheat, I added some almonds, some flax seeds, a little salt, and a little cane syrup. Then I just processed it in my food processor (added a little water to make it more doughy) until it was like dough. Then I made flat rounds on the silpat sheets (dipped my fingers in water so the dough wouldn't stick). I'll dry them for a few hours and then flip them off the silpat and continue drying until they are done.

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Last time I made this bread it was pretty good. The dough tasted even better this time so I'm betting the bread will be even better, too.

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Ciao for now.

I got a new peeler...

Yeah, I know. That doesn't sound really exciting, but I was excited. I saw an infomercial for the "Titan Peeler" and it comes with a julienne tool and a plastic thing that makes it into a mandolin. It looked so cool and hubby said to order it so I did. It is really cool. They are heavy tools--I expected them to be light and feel cheap. And it worked great! I made butternut squash soup for dinner last night and I have never peeled a butternut squash as easily as I did with that peeler. My old peeler just wouldn't even peel one--I had to do it with a knife.
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Below is a picture of the soup. Son used the "triangle cutter" on the mandolin attachment to make citrus crowns. I thought he did a pretty good job.

I was really nervous about purchasing based upon an infomercial, but I'm glad I did this one. It was supposed to be a 'buy one get one free' offer so with shipping, they ended up being $15 a set (14.99 for the set, 13 some-odd for shipping, 0.00 for the second set). I haven't gotten the second set yet, the paper said they were shipped separately so I would guess I'll get it today.

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I haven't tried the julienne tool yet. I'll do that later--probably for a zucchini salad.

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Yesterday, I also made blueberry-coconut fruit leather and apple chips. This time I turned off the dehydrator while it was still leather so we didn't end up with blueberry/coconut chips. Both the leather and the chips were really good.

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Speaking of fruit leather, daughter couldn't seem to get "leather" figured out when I made the strawberry leather. It got called "strawberry felt" and "strawberry velvet" before she finally got it straight.

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Right now, I have crackers dehydrating. The recipe is from Ani Phyo's Raw Food Kitchen. I hope they will turn out good. The certainly smell good, but I think they are more of a savory vs a sweet cracker. They will go better with soups than with almond butter and jelly.

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I had to get up at the crack of midnight this morning--well, not quite, but early. Son had his sixth grade ski trip today and he had to be at the school by 6:45. I think he'll have fun. He took his own skis and stuff so he could get on the hill faster. I hope he's careful! I'll pick him up (exhausted, probably) at around 5:30, feed him and send him to scouts.

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Well, I ought to get back to work now.

Ciao for now.

My Birthday Present

First of all, sorry I haven't blogged for a while. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, I was busy. Thursday, I was busy playing. I got my birthday present from the Fed-Ex man. (Actually from my family, but Fed-Ex delivered it.) It is a GooD4U 6 tray dehydrator--ain't she purty? As soon as I had a break from working, I called hubby and asked if he minded if I got out my present and played. He didn't mind. So Thursday, I made dehydrator bread, banana chips, and dried parsley. FYI-Banana chips take a lot longer than I would have ever thought. They weren't ready until Friday. Right now I have carrot crackers going.

I got online and got Kristen Suzzane's dehydrator cookbook--I'm going to make some fruit leather after I get done here.

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hubby and son are up skiing today. Well, son is skiing; hubby is probably drinking coffee in the lodge. Daughter and I are taking it easy. We are still our my jammies as a matter of fact.

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Well, that's it for the time being.

Ciao for now.