my nourished vibes

on the second day of "vegetablowing" chaz's super carnivorous mind,  i had to pull out all the bells and whistles. my main priority is getting him hooked on veggies but to also have him feeling full and satisfied...seeing as how he's a really big guy and can eat a lot. typically these types of men think the only way they can be full is by eating a meal loaded with steak, wings, or chaz's favorite, chicken breast. oh how glorious it was to see his satisfaction upon feasting on these cute little rolls! now for me this could have been a really filling meal, but for him this is an appetizer. so when i pulled them out of the dehydrator we just snacked on them until i was finished making the rest of the meal...which included roasted squash and easy tatziki sauce. don't miss the recipe posted in a few days! RAW VEGAN CHEEZEY ZUCCHINI ROLL UPS with a creamy cheesy texture, these rolls would be great to serve to someone not used to this diet and lifestyle to bas

this miracle started to unfold just a few days ago. the story began with a phone call from my unpredictable husband while i was grocery shopping. he called and said "i need you to buy veggie burgers," which was followed by my immediate response of "WHAT?" this is quite the unusual request coming from the guy who says the way to woo him would be to cook him chicken twice everyday. he continued to press for it, so i agreed happily that i would make him homemade veggie burgers, that infact contain real vegetables and no fillers. still a little weirded out by this odd request, i finished my shopping and went back to my parent's house where were staying for the weekend. later in the evening when we started our trek back to our apartment, he grabbed this pile of my brother's "men's fitness magazines," (which coincidentally my sister and i were laughing earlier how ridiculous those magazines are, filled with "power foods" and "flat ab

in honor of my new camera i've been taking pictures of all the food i've been making. and of course thinking of sharing it all with you! so have some fun in the kitchen and see if you can get inspired by these easy, life giving recipes;)                                                   MY GREEN JUICE THAT TURNED OUT                                                     TO BE ORANGISH JUICE.....but tasted delish! ok this is what i call a "wake up call!" this drink will fuel you through your whole morning, break up the waste from the day before, and completely recharge you to make healthful decisions all day. GREEN ORANGISH JUICE 2 carrots 2 collard greens 1/4 of a cucumber 1 green apple 2 small cloves garlic *run all ingredients through your juicer (if you don't have a juicer....get one! or you could blend the ingredients in a high powered blender and strain through a nut milk bag)                                                           MALTED

with thanksgiving just a few days away i thought it might be time to give you some guidance for avoiding the inevitable food coma of the holidays. and this advice goes straight back to me too;)  through clever advertising and shows on food network, the thanksgiving we accept today is all about stuffing your face with waaaay too much food and then retiring on the couch for the rest of the evening watching parades and football, only to get up later to a table laden with sugary foods.  if your invested in your health, this could be a challenge to avoid, especially since the day is usually spent with your family members. so if everyone else is going blindly with the american trend of worshipping overeating, and being motionless the rest of the day.......what do you do? well lets think about what thanksgiving is supposed to be about anyway. being thankful! this is a real day devoted to our gratefulness for all that our heavenly father does for us and how he continually loves us.  if yo

unfortunately for me, i looooove baking. obviously this is great for all my friends and family seeing as though they have yummy surprises to taste all the time. but for me this is almost tragic. i love the art of being in the kitchen whether im cooking, baking or rawing, using my talents and my love to create the physical form of nourishment. however, if i didnt stop myself i could probably be in the kitchen all day baking gluten free cookies, only for them to sit on the counter later and call my name. because i am one of those people who can never stop at one. i dont know why i have this quality, but ive learned to accept it and recognize that voice that tells me to "just have another..." and kindly tell her to be quiet. that being said, i have to work really hard this time of year because so much comfort from the cold weather is intertwined with heavy meals and sweet baked goods. on top of that im working on creating my seasonal items for my baking business, project glute

oh the enjoyment of a surprise trip..... for veteran's day, chaz decided to surprise me with a little get away to pittsburgh to visit our friends that live there. it was the greatest surprise and i could not have been more excited about it! especially when all i knew were my instructions to have overnight bags packed for us by the time he got done with class last night. i had a great day with my family and friends that are basically family and happily ate the abundance of food we had...even though it was completely out of balance today.

after eliminating processed food, who in their right mind doesnt miss the unmatched feeling of sipping on a brand name latte? yes thats right....im talking about how holding starbucks in your hand instantly makes you look and feel cool. i used to love coffee (and occasionally still enjoy it at greek events) and sweet creamy drinks. so my life suddenly got brighter when i accidentally made a raw latte this fall. the point of a raw latte is not a caffein/sugar rush, but rather a healthy drink, thats sweet, creamy and something that will make you feel as cool as mary kate olson and that venti thats never left her hand. so the texture is thinner than a smoothie yet thicker than an average drink. to achieve the right consistency i usually use either half a banana or a big spoonful of almond butter. the combinations for your lattes are infinite, making them as sweet, or as creamy as you desire and using any superfoods to boost you through your day. so heres my recipe for today: a "la

well im back! the last two weeks have been very busy with lots of travel, reading, playing with a certain cute baby and eating. just shortly after my decision to eat all raw some deciding events began to unfold. like digging up emotional connections to my food choices and letting them go.  although i proved to myself that its entirely possibly to stay completely raw even while travel by planning ahead and packing delicious food so that any time others are eating, i can eat and feel good too. however, as winters around here are particularly cold i decided to revise my plan. after meeting up with my family for  my cousins wedding in nashville and then staying in florida for a week i ate many scrumptious things. some raw, some cooked, some healthy and some not so healthy. greek pastries at weddings are a major weakness for me;) so after having a great time on vacation with my family and occassionally straying off the narrow course, my modified food plan is to eat HIGH raw. high raw for

so why do i drink this "green juice" everyday? what do i put in my green juice? and how do i make it? no matter where you are in your health walk or what your goals or beliefs are, everyone will benefit from  having a diet rich in greens. you can eat as many fruits, nuts, seeds, superfoods or whatever else you want...but bottom line, you'll never achieve optimal nutrition without greens. the body will always strive for perfection no matter what. our bodies function best and are meant to function in an alkaline environment. this means that inside our bodies our blood needs to be at a ph of 7 at all times for our survival. eating the standard american diet lowers the ph significantly putting the ph at an acid level. all diseases thrive in an acid environment. to really heal the body, one needs to focus on eating foods that will keep the body alkaline. and what foods do that best? greens! however, when your not feeding your body alkaline foods, it will strip your bone

day two of raw mom cooked dad summit is continuing to blow my mind. i love being inspired by where other people are and what they have gone through to get there. and i think i slightly have a crush on david wolfe now.... anyways...its always good to look back to the past and reflect on where we are and how far weve come. just yesterday as i was driving through the surreal transformations of autumn, i was thinking about all the stages of transformations ive gone through to be where i am right now. i remember when i first got into raw, id get upset or discouraged when the author of a raw book would say something like "you could be in transition for a few years," or even encourage people to transition for lengths of time because jumping into raw foods overnight would be too much for their bodies to handle. i think i was almost offended at these instructions because i had already cut all the bad things out of my diet and i would think "oh thats not me...i want to go comple

happy world raw food day!!! what an exciting day to be a part of as this movement gets bigger and bigger, reaching more people to be liberated from the decay of western living. to continue the celebration of raw life ill be listening to the raw mom cooked dad summit happening over at rawmom.com. its a multitude of audio interviews with over 40 raw food specialists and top nutritionists. im so excited! i was pregnant the first time these lovely ladies put together a summit and it was super inspirational to sit listening to the interviews with my sister while we both enjoyed delicious raw treats. so if you havent checked out rawmom.com yet, get with it and head on over there for inspiration, articles, blogs and more!

welcome to my blog! to start things off let me share with you a little about myself. i am 22 years old and have been gluten, dairy and sugar free for the past four years.  this wasnt always easy for me, considering i come from greek descent, where not eating something thats put in front of you is considered one of the seven deadly sins. after being sick with candida, flora imbalances, and a few parasites (from travels to third world countries) for most of my high school experience, i knew that if i didnt completely cut out these "drugs" i would never feel like myself again. oh how glorious the results to take these out of my diet!!! i lost the extra 15 pounds my body was holding on to, my acne disappeared, i had increased energy (actually having energy at all was new), was able to concentrate, noticed my work outs were better and even more enjoyable, and was finally comfortable in my own body again! if youre questioning taking these out of your diet...listen closer, your body