A formal complaint was filed today about the lack of cooked food in this house. Zak asked if I would do some more cooking again “like I use to”. Oops. OK, ok. Noted. But this request gave me pause to reflect.

Do you know what my New Years Resolution was? Stop over committing myself. I have not done that all. Completely the opposite actually.

I recently heard someone say “If you have 40 priorities, then you have none.” That’s me. I have too many priorities. I take on too much and before I know it the things that are supposed to be at the top of the list get lost in the shuffle and I can’t give ANYTHING my best effort because I’m spreading myself too thin.

I need to loosen the reins on myself a little bit here, slow down and take a step back. I really like the benefits of eating more raw foods. I’ve really noticed a difference in my mood, cravings (or lack there of really) and energy levels since incorporating some of the concepts from the Raw Food Detox Diet into my life. I’m going to continue to make an effort to incorporate lots of foods in their natural state into my diet, but I’m not ready to commit to a high raw diet. I thought I was, but it’s a huge step and making a ton of changes all at once is just not sustainable.

I definitely like green juice and want to keep that juicer cranking. I think there’s a lot of benefits to juicing, provided you still eat plenty of other fruits and veggies and are getting enough fiber in your diet to be able to bypass the fiber you lose from juicing.

I like some of the food combining concepts. It’s a little confusing and overwhelming at first but you do get the hang of it. I do think it has some merit, but I’m not ready to go balls to wall with that either. I like the idea of eating fruit alone, but I still want to enjoy fruit on oatmeal in the morning.

Hummus. Not raw. Not properly combined. But that’s ok. Progress, not perfection. (And no I’m not the Alison that Gena refers to in this post!)

We took these Newman’s Own Organics Soy Crisps on a test drive.

These were good, they reminded me of mini rice cakes. The only reason I would hesitate to buy these is because of my concerns over processed soy and how much is in our diet already. But taste wise these get a thumbs up.

Straight out of the food processor bowl YO!

These are absolutely my new favorite food. My grocery store didn’t have Newman’s Own Organics Dried Apples so I went with my fav Almond Butter maker, Woodstock Farms.

Ava loves them too. How have I gone this long and never experienced the awesomeness of dried apples?

For dinner I cut into my second kabocha squash to make fries.

I also made lentil sloppy joes. These taste like any sloppy joes I’ve ever had – it’s all about the seasoning, not the meat!

This recipe is pretty quick and easy.

Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 c rinsed lentils (I used red)
2 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 c diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
1 small onion, diced

Saute peppers and onions in olive oil until soft. Add lentils, broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add sloppy joe sauce.  Cook on medium low for about 30 – 40 minutes.  (red lentils cook quicker, brown lentils might need more time.)

Sloppy Joe Sauce

1/4 c ketchup
2 Tbsp soy sauce or Braggs Amino Acid
1/2 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp pure maple syrup (or brown sugar)
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Served here with half of a Ezekiel roll, kabocha fries and tossed salad.

It was such a perfect summer evening, Ava and I went for a little post-dinner ride around the block.

A heavy post. Back to my regularly scheduled silliness tomorrow.