Random Updates

• And the winner is... the only person who entered! Despite the fact that I had 115 unique visitors during the week the contest was open, only Franz wanted those Chili's vouchers so he shall have them. Congrats Franz and send me your mailing addy.
  
  
• I did get a cool, supportive comment on that entry from Tonya Kay, she of Stomp and Who Wants to Be a Superhero fame, who was featured in the YouTube clip I posted. Thanks Tonya! You're my superhero!
  
  
• A couple of other bloggers, HiHoRosie and LouLou, were nice enough to post comments too, but declined the invitation to enter the contest. I've got to get some raw-friendly prizes so that other folks who are reading will at least say "hi" -- I won't bite, I promise (I do get plenty of food on this regimen)!
  
  
• I was written up in another Pomona blog this week, Goddess of Pomona. Thanks goddess! GoP is one of my key sources for Pomona-centric info -- I get even more info there than by talking to my neighbors (don't worry, I do actually talk to my neighbors too).
  
  
• My biggest honor? I was stunned to make the "Top 50 Raw Food and Lifestyle Blogs" list on MassageTherapyCareers.com! Pretty neat -- and amazing I got noticed considering how new I am at this. Thanks Kelly Sonora!
  
  
• A highlight in the last week was attending a raw cooking class taught by Elaina Love of Pure Joy Planet and Chaya Ryvka of Cafe Gratitude. I volunteered, so I worked hard but ate a fabulous meal in exchange and learned a lot. The entire meal, truly, was to die for -- as good or better than any cooked meal I've ever had. I won't write much more about it, because blogger Debbie Does Raw, who was also volunteering, was documenting it in photos and video and will no doubt do a much better job than I in her blog (UPDATE: here's her post - complete with videos!). Debbie was chatty and fun, full of helpful tips and encouragement. I connected with her right away because we both entered the vitamix contest, had daughters later in life, married younger men, and turned to raw food for health reasons. Here's how part of the conversation went (paraphrased, of course, to the best of my recollection):
  
  DDR: Does your family do raw too?
  Me: No, my husband is younger than me so he still thinks he's immortal
  DDR: Mine too! 6 years younger.
  Me: So is mine!
  DDR: So we need to stay raw to stay young and keep up!
  Me: Oh, mine is going grey early, so that's good.
  DDR: Mine is going bald!
  
  
• One last update: I did a massive overhaul and relaunch of my other site, Spiritualitea.com. Spiritualitea has been around since 1998. Along with my deepening interests in health, I've expanded the focus of the site to include alternative health as well as spirituality. If you share any of these interests, do join our community -- it's free! If you're interested in writing for the site (including getting free copies of books to review), read more details on how to submit here.
  

Another Sleepless Night

I woke up around 3 am when my daughter cried and haven't been able to go back to sleep. Bear with me if my train of thought is a little choppy.

We hung out with friends today and when my husband ordered pizza, I was pretty proud of myself that I didn't even allow myself to be tempted. I immediately hopped over to the kitchen and made myself raw tacos: collard green "shells" filled with raw vegan sour cream (actually a plain nut cheese cultured with probiotic powder -- the thickness helps to keep the taco from being too messy), taco filling from Matt Amsden's Rawvolution book, homemade salsa, guacamole, cucumber slices and hot sauce (not raw).

I haven't always been pleased with the results of recipes from Amsden's book, but this simple recipe for taco filling is really satisfying and super easy/quick to make. I think this will be a staple when I go back to work. That being said, it is heavily nut-based, so I am looking forward to possibly taking this raw foods class where one of the recipes is a taco filling described this way: "keeping with her low to no nut agenda, Elaina will demonstrate how to take root vegetables & turn them into the most flavorful, juicy, mouthwatering taco filling that can be eaten in a taco, on your salad, in your Enchilada Spirals or dehydrated into crunchy snacks or burgers." It's taught by Elaina Love and Chaya Ryvka. I've volunteered to be an assistant in exchange for tuition -- I hope they take me!