Pretty Foods Follow Up: Raw Blondies and Other Foods I Never Thought I Would Eat. #yum

I made raw blondies yesterday. Sometimes I don’t even know who I am anymore. Do you remember the Well Bread Loaf Blondies and Brownies? You could buy them at Delis, Bodegas and places like E.A.T.  throughout NYC in the 80’s and 90’s.  I don’t even know if they sold them outside of New York since they were a local brand. The point is, I loved them.  They paired particularly well with Cool Ranch Doritos around my menstrual cycle but that is way more info than you want to know. Forgive me. Though my palate has matured since then I still crave the feelings those snacks from my youth gave me minus the salt, sugar and unhealthy side effects. I want to bite into something and think yum, this taste so good and it is not actively bad for my health.

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You may remember a while back I wrote a post about Eating Pretty, a term coined by the book I was reading at the time titled Eat Pretty. In a healthy, raw nutshell I was writing about my genius discovery that eating well makes you feel “pretty” from the inside out. I was learning about the health and beauty benefits of specific foods and the ill effects of many others. Well, my journey continues. Since starting my “pretty foods” diet which is essentially a diet free of gluten, dairy, alcohol, refined sugar and what was the last thing? Oh, right Caffeine but scratch that one since I haven’t give it up. Sorry my my relationship with coffee runs deep. Anywho, I’ve shed 18 pound in the last six months, which is still hard for me to believe, and I just feel much better, inside and out. You are what you eat people! Now I know. Besides radically changing the way I eat I have continued to exercise 3-4 times a week alternating weight training, cardio and some, but actually very little yoga. I feel energized, toned and simply put, good.

I don’t consider my changed eating habits as a diet. It’s a lifestyle change. As soon as I started losing weight, feeling more energized and my skin improved I was hooked. Every meal was like a reward.  Whether prompted by health, beauty or weight issues I’m here to tell you that you can do this 85-90% of the time. That’s what I do. I love food too much to vow off anything entirely and forever. I am just much more thoughtful about what I eat and when. If I am on vacation or dining out I choose what sounds appealing even if it contains gluten or dairy. I also enjoy a glass of wine now and again (organic, of course) and it’s OK. Nothing should be forbidden. That’s a fast track to failure. Again, it goes back to making informed choices.  When I first started making changes in my diet I thought, ” This is going to be so hard. Why does being healthy and losing weight have to be such torture?!”  Guess what. It doesn’t have to be. In fact it can be beautiful! My plates look so much more colorful and appealing that I actually started texting pictures of my lunches to my sister. Here are some of those pictures and meal suggestions. If you are trying to make improvements in your diet I would encourage you to check out these two books, The Beauty Detox Foods and Eat Pretty. Try some of the recipes and lunch ideas listed below. Many can be made ahead of time and packed easily for work or a picnic. Don’t view it as a challenge where you must deprive yourself of all of the foods that you love. Use it as an experiment to discover some new foods and get excited about it. You will fall into what feels good, natural and practical for you. I am not a doctor, lawyer, nutritionist or anything like that so if this post inspires you talk to one of those people (except the lawyer) to get advice before making radical changes. Maybe I should be a lawyer since I love disclaimers so much! Enjoy the beauty.

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What about the kids you ask?  Well, I’m still working on this. I am the mom who routinely prepares different meals for different people. Right or wrong it’s reality. My husband encourages my efforts and has been very supportive but that man still wants his meat, gluten, sugar and alcohol.  I’m also not going radically change my children’s diet and not let them eat things that kids like to eat.  We make good choices most of the time but they can make independent choices about the way they eat when they are older. I provide them with as many different kinds of foods as I can whether I eat them or not. So there.

Now, about those recipes…

I don’t want to reprint without permission so check out:

1. Beauty Detox Foods for raw brussels sprouts salad recipe and glowing green smoothie.
2. It’s All Good for roasted cauliflower with chickpeas and avocado toast.
3. Smitten Kitchen for zucchini ribbons with almond pesto salad (not pictured), farro with parsnips and carrots (minus the feta).
4. My New Roots for raw blondies

Thankful for: Discovering the joy of eating in a whole new way.

I’ve learned: It’s not only possible, it’s a joy to do things that have a direct positive impact on your body and your mind.

Wanting: New sneakers!  I’ve actually worn my old ones down.