ANDRE'S REVENGE DAY 16- When Raw Food Goes Wrong

As a budding raw foodist, I can tell you that what comes out of your kitchen is not always going to be pretty. Or edible. Come along. Experience when raw food goes wrong. And go ahead, let it out. I know you have a raw food gone wrong story.

Talk to me, baby.

HOW IS YOUR DAY 16 GOING?

ANDRE'S REVENGE DAY 15- The Disco Ball is Always Turning

Today I added spirulina to my blackberry smoothie, and drank down something that looked like a black tar soup for breakfast. It didn't taste bad, but just the color was off-putting, and set the tone for my day.

I didn't sleep well last night, so I went back to bed after Beckett left for school, and had a nightmare that I was kidnapped and tortured by some maniac. I escaped, and found the police station in my dreams, and while I was standing there tattered and bloody, with my teeth falling out on her desk, the clerk behind the counter was giving me attitude about not having filled out the right paperwork to file a report. I think I've been spending too much time at the unemployment office.

I shook it off, and changed my attitude because HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE, and had a productive day, working on a design project, updating my portfolio site, making a coffee date with a dear old friend, and gabbing on the phone with a recruiter.

I love being a creative person. My visions of grandeur can sometimes carry me through dark times and make me come out on the other side laughing. I do have them, you know. Vision of grandeur. I see myself larger than life, capable, worthy, beautiful. There is beauty all around us. And love is everywhere. Sometimes I imagine myself in the middle of a dance floor, but instead of balloons falling from the rafters, I imagine little bubbles of love falling all around me, surrounding me, until the room is so full of love that it can't hold another drop.

Rejection has been a constant hurdle in my daily life so far during this challenge. But my relationship with food has changed. I am not trying to fill the void of the rejection with food. I'm not using food as my friend, my companion, my comforter. I'm using food as the fuel to keep my heart light, and to make sure the disco ball is always turning on my imaginary dance floor of love.

HOW IS YOUR DAY 15 GOING?

ANDRE'S REVENGE DAY 14- Bunny's Bee Pollen Brownie Bites

Today I am back on cutting board cam! Things get a little shaky, but I swear I haven't been drinking. The Birthday Fairy sent me the recipe for brownies, and I was eager to get into the kitchen and make them for you. But the recipe calls for walnuts. I found out in my first challenge that walnuts make me retain serious water. So, I whipped up my own version of brownies based on the recipe. My ingredient list is kind of wild, but don't be afraid. They're delicious! And even extra nutritious since I threw in a shot of bee pollen!

1/3 C pine nuts
1/3 C sunflower seeds (I probably say sesame seeds in the video. I always do!)
1/3 C pumpkin seeds
1 C pitted dates
1/4 C cacao powder
Pinch of vanilla powder
1 TBS BEE POLLEN!!

Soak the nuts, seeds, and dates. Then blend all in food processor until smooth and sticky. Spoon onto a plate and put in the freezer to flash freeze. When flash frozen, put bites into an airtight container and leave them in the freezer until you're ready to eat them. Pop them into your mouth, or put in dehydrator to warm them up.

Bee pollen has been shown to help people:

* lose weight
* increase energy, vitality and stamina
* enhance the immune system
* relieve allergy and asthma symptoms
* improve sexual function
* correct digestion problems
* slow the aging process
* prevent cancer and other diseases

Learn more about Bee Pollen Here: http://www.bee-pollen-health.com/

HOW IS YOUR DAY 14 GOING?

ANDRE'S REVENGE DAY 12- Charting New Territory with Spirulina

Believe it or not, I have never made a "raw food order" online to buy thing like cacao or maca or any of the other goodies I hear other people talking about. So, I was pretty excited today when my box from www.RawVeganBooks.com arrived, and I got my first taste of things like spirulina, cacao powder, and vanilla powder right in my own kitchen! Of course I had to bust out the Cutting Board Cam since I was really charting new territory.

As promised, here are the benefits of the ingredients I added to my smoothie.

Coconut Water is a natural isotonic beverage, with the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. Read more about the benefits of coconut water here. It's amazing! And the coconut meat gives the smoothie a mild coconut flavor and makes it creamy.

Romaine Lettuce is packed with vitamins K, A, C, folate, manganese, iron, and so much more. Read about it
here.

Spirulinacontains the most remarkable concentration of nutrients known in any food, plant, grain or herb. It's the highest protein food- over 60% all digestible vegetable protein. It has the highest concentration of beta carotene, vitamin B-12, iron and trace minerals and the rare essential fatty acid GLA. Read all about it here!

Cacao has over 300 identifiable chemical compounds, and is one of the most complex and pleasurably satisfying foods on the planet. In its raw form, cacao contains anandamide (a euphoric substance), arginine (a natural aphrodisiac), neurotransmitters that stimulate and balance brain activity, tryptophan (an anti-depressant), antioxidants and other beneficial compounds known to have rejuvenating and anti-aging elements. Read more about it here!

Dates are one of the best natural sources of potassium. Potassium is an essential mineral your body needs to maintain muscle contractions including the vital heart muscle. Potassium is needed to maintain a healthy nervous system and to balance the body’s metabolism as well. Read more about dates here!

Vanilla has antioxidant and anti-tumor super powers and also is aromatic and make everything taste good!

Andre's Revenge Day 9- Partying Like Babysitters

Tonight we are in Atlanta, partying it up with the kids crew. My sister in law, Kristine, is amazing, and not only had dinner in the crockpot for the kids and Basil, but also had the fridge stocked with raw food goodies for me.

The 4 year olds are in the bathtub, the dogs are wrestling next to me, and my 8 year old nephew, Blake, is kicking Basil's butt in Tiger Wood's golf for the Wii.

Being unemployed has it's advantages. Being able to drop everything and come stay here for the weekend with the kids is one of those things you miss out on when you have a job. We slept in until 10, leisurely got up and cleaned out, and then reported for babysitting duty. I have a feeling I'm getting a job offer next week, so I'm trying to relish every moment.

She carpes the diem.

ANDRE'S REVENGE DAY 6- BODY Mine is Perfect, Thank You.

The Circles of Raw Fu are the circles of your lifestyle change. Changing your lifestyle to a raw food diet isn't just about what you are eating or not eating. It is an important life shift that runs through every aspect of who you are, and will effect and touch every part of your being.

During this challenge, I am going to try to share with you the vision boards that I create around the Circles of Raw Fu. Here is my vision board for the first circle- Body...

I encourage you to visualize what you want out of this challenge. What do you want out of the next 100 days? What do you want out of the next year? What do you want in your life? See it, and keep it close to you. Look at it often, and remind yourself why you are here.

The Italian artist, Michaelangelo, said "I saw the angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free."

Set yourself free. Love yourself.

HOW IS YOUR DAY 6 GOING?