Step 1.

 

The first day of classes at the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute started on a Saturday, I wanted to give myself enough time to adjust to the small costal town surroundings before I jumped right into the learning part of my trip to Fort Bragg California. I was the first of my group to arrive at the Inn which was nice, I am very shy and it takes me a moment to warm up and open up to people. So I was very happy to have a moment alone to gather my thoughts before I began meeting a whole heap of new and different characters. To be completely honest, which is why I started this blog, in my head I was expecting everyone who walked through the Inn's door to have dread locks, be head to toe in hemp clothing and potentially smell of recreational drugs. Just goes to show how stupid and insulting my mind is, prematurely judging people who were coming to an unfamiliar place to do exactly what I had come there to do, and I was none of the things I assumed everyone else to be. The next person to arrive was my roommate, and the very first thing I noticed about her, other then her contagious positivity and pure joy of finally arriving, was that she had a luminous glow about her. I couldn't put my finger on it but something about her was just enlightening. She immediately broke the silence that I has been cowering in and invited me to meet the other girl she had arrived with, who was from Australia. Once again there was that glow, followed with a welcoming smile, and all my ignorant misconceptions of what my subconscious was expecting to come through the door vanished as one by one I met all the women who would be take the courses with me. Each of them drenched in the same luminous glow, and just oozing with excitement to begin the journey.


After a very successful trip to the school store to buy all our required reading, and materials we were all as ready as we could be for the unknown of what would be waiting for us on the first day of class. My fiancé had special ordered a hot pink chef coat for me that had "Chef Krysten" embroidered on the front, I was just itching to put it on and be in a kitchen. I was up at 6:45am, in the kitchen by 7:15, made a green smoothie and out the door by 7:30 to start the 0.6mile walk to school. It was a chilly morning and the bitter blasts of coastal wind did not help, but my anticipation was keeping me warm and motivated to continue walking. When we arrived we were given lockers, name tags, binders, asked to fill out paper work then led up to where class would be. For the first time in my entire life I made hast to sit at the very front of the class, and be one of the first students in their seat ready and eager to go. I gave my self a split second to breath as I patiently waited for the instructors and shivers of pleasure prickled my skin as I felt so positive that this is where I was meant to be. As soon as class started it was a whirlwind of learning, everything was meticulously mapped out, every demo and every lecture was timed perfectly to lead one right into the other. My brain was expanding at an exponential rate with all the new information being poured into it. So many door were being opened, so many myths being dispelled, all of my what ifs and hows were vanishing, all this in just the first day. I couldn't believe how much was crammed into 9 hours, and yet I couldn't get enough, I was at the edge of my seat waiting for the next day.
 

The Hippie House

I knew I was coming in to a culinary arts program, but what I didn’t know is that I would be walking in to a whole new world, community, family that would touch my heart and change my every thought completely.  The people I have met, from the moment I checked into the Inn have blown me away with the brilliant positive light they all glow with. People from all over the world, Australia, London, Rotterdam, Russia, Canada, and Korea.  Everyone with a different but intense and motivating story of why they are here, either their health depended on the life style change  or they are interested  in following their passion for good food with goodness in it. The place we are staying at is an old two story house till retaining its grandma charm from the gray colored carpets to the flower patterned wallpaper and has been transformed into an Inn

with ten rooms and one kitchen. There are 12 of us living at the Inn and there is never a dull moment. We start our day at 7am with multiple blenders and dehydrators going at once, everyone in the kitchen making green smoothies or creating snacks.  Along with the deafening sound of the machinery are the debates over the nutritional benefit of soaking or not soaking almonds; or if garlic is toxin or a tonic. The kitchen is small but with patience and a little understanding of the raw food inner workings we all manage to get something to eat, along with helping each other out by swapping produce or bartering for dates. When we gather in the kitchen all the different pieces of a full community shine through. We feed and support each other with zero judgment. Everyone is left to eat and “cook” how he/she would like but we are all there for each other to answer questions and find a solution even If we use a little help from Google to do it. Usually when you go to a group of people, school, party, sleep away camp, whatever gathering you may be at you will have an internal pull towards a particular group of people, or a person which is how we get our typical stereotypes of the popular group, nerds, jocks ect. I came into the house expecting cliques to form, and worried about which group would accept me, but that is not what happened at all. I did have that internal pull but not to a group or even to a person, but to everyone in the house. I could not tell you who my favorite person is, I could not tell you who I get along with most, and I won’t even call this a family because even in families there is a black sheep. That just is not the case in this fantastic group of brilliant individuals who, every day remind me that being her is right.

Its going to be a butt whoopin.

As I mentioned in my last blog post I have registered to go to school in California at the Living Light institute. I will be getting certified in Raw Food "cooking", but it wont just be schooling it will also be a life changing experience. I will be living a completely raw and vegan life for three months. So the moment I get on the plane and head to school, everything will be different and I plan on doing it justice by hopefully make it last for the rest of my life.

 

My New Years resolution for this year was not too complicated, I have tried the "I promise to work out more" or "I will focus on myself more", but I tend to forget what my resolution was and just go back to my slacker and distracted ways. So this year I thought I would try something different and just resolve to just finish what I have already started, becoming completely Gluten Free. So far (a whole 6 days) I am proud to say I have been doing a pretty good job at it. Being gluten free is just the beginning of  my preparation process for getting my mind, body, and soul ready for school, I have also cut back on how much meat I intake. I have been limiting myself to one animal product a day. I am hoping to cut out all meats from my diet at least a full month before I leave for school, my thought process for this is that I do not want to shock my body when I get there by all of the sudden not consuming any cooked foods or meat products. I want to be ready by also removing things like sugar, coffee, soda, cheese, and cooking with all fresh organic products. It hasn't been too hard like I said it has only been a week, but this is something I am so excited for and want to be at my best when I get to there so I can produce the best food possible. I am fairly confident i can do this, because I WANT to do this.

Gluten Free mix berry pie (thanks giving)

Tofu veggie stir fry

Gluten free southwestern turkey egg and cheese sandwich

 

saute veggies, with a quinoa patty topped with ham and fried egg

Hippie on Campus

So i am loving my new diet/eating life style, and i am not the only one who has noticed that when i do eat too many non raw meals i get angry and not as fun to be around. So i am not as strict but i am doing as much raw food and ZERO gluten, which is why i am blogging today.

My first day of school (again) was on Tuesday, and unlike most students going to a new school i wasn't worried about finding my classes or getting a parking spot, or even having all the required books (I'm a slacker). i was worried about what i was going to be able to eat. Here in Texas we don't get a summer, its more like Hell rises from the underworld and takes over the state for months. So walking from building to building with food in my backpack did not sound like fun to me. i decided that for the first day of school i was just going to wing it. i made myself an obnoxiously large batch of green tea and packed three KIND bars, hoping that would be enough to keep me from starving on a 8hr school day. i was all set and made it till around 3ish when i stumbled upon the Subway at school. The school i went to before had a Subway that provided gluten free bread, so i thought i would check it out. it did not have gluten free bread but it did have salads! i got myself a chicken salad and water bottle, i was excited about having some sustenance before my 3hr dance class. in my mind i was jumping for joy at the thought of having a salad every Tuesday and Thursday till i got to the register and the girl asked for $10somthing, ya a salad and water $10something at a school, as if students pooped cash. so scratch that idea off the list...

Today i took  different approach, even though the salad was tasty. My mom is still in town and the family was blessed with some delicious Latin (Bolivian) home cooking, Locro ( i don't know how you spell that). Its a yummy chicken, rice and veggie soup with a Spanish flare was served for dinner last night and is lunch for today, paired with some sub pare gluten free crackers, and yet anoter giant bottle of green tea (3cups) i have obtained victory over the how to eat gluten free at school battle. i am also having a more eco friendly lunch by not having any garbage to throw away. Winning!

YAY ME!

Cooking to clean your system

There are a few things i want to blog about today, but knowing me i will only get through one topic. i finished my full week of just RAW food and passed with flying colors. i was not hungry and i was not sick, a few times my organs were tender but that is just the toxins being released from all the bad stuff i had eaten trying to get out of my system. i loved it i felt lighter and more alive. When i was younger my mom made my family do a raw food detox at least once a month. i didnt really know what for then but i know now and i will be keeping up with it. The day right after my Raw week i went to my in laws for fajitas, and i LOVE me some steak so naturally i had just a plate of fajita meat with the beans, no tortilla because i have been very good about being strictly Gluten Free. The next day i did not feel good, its my own fault i should not have gone from Raw food to fajita meat the next day, so now i am trying to get back on track, and what i have noticed is i am reaching for more Raw foods  now on my own. i feel better when i eat better. i still have not reached my goal weight but, i do feel lighter.

i was craving a way to put all my yummy veggie together and eat them at once, so i looked for ways to make some sort of bread... and i found one. it is absolutely delicious and you can edit the formula to make it sweet bread or thinner to make a pizza crust. i have already made it three times.
The Rawtarian

Hippie in the kitchen

Growing up in a Latin family and traveling all over the world food has been one of the biggest influences in my life. i may not remember where exactly we were or who it was with but i remember the aroma and tastes of the meal, the warm or cooling sensation as the food traveled to my tummy and filled me with a yummy joy. My mother and grandmother always instilled a sense of pride in the food we prepared, being careful not to cook anything in a bad mood so we don't feed anyone negative energy. Every house my family has lived in has always been very warm, open, and friendly, no one comes in with out being ask if they are hungry or thirsty, and even if they are neither a drink and meal is brought to them anyways. Not matter how your day goes a good meal and a smile can change everything.

For years i have wanted to cook but i feared that if i finally let my little secret be known then no one would take me seriously. What kind of life will cooking provide for me, its not a real job. i figured it was best for me to just keep my passion for food under wraps and continue to look for something else to do. Wasn't till my mom came to visit and flat out said i needed to go for it that i let myself believe in me. So now i am working on going to a Raw Food culinary school and i am so excited i cant stop thinking about it, but because i am a little superstitious i will stop talking about it for now.

This is what i have been up to this week, busy busy busy. My mom has pretty much dared me to eat nothing but raw food this week so i am having fun finding different ways to eat my fruits and veggies.

 Raw veggie sushi. i marinated the carrots in apple cider vinegar, red chili flakes and honey to give it a bit of an Asian kick, and some extra flavor so i wouldnt have to use soy sauce. 

(Right:) the beginnings of raw creme brulee. Cashews, pine nuts, honey, vanilla, lemon juice, and coconut oil. it turned out the way it was supposed to but, it still ended up tasting like cashews. So i am going to stay away from sweet treats made of nuts and stick to more fruit based items. But over all not too bad.

(Above:) the finished product of my Raw creme brulee. looks good and tastes good 

silver lining

Things have calmed down a tiny bit in the trauma department, and by calm down i mean my cousin is once again heavily sedated. as long as she is feeling little to no pain it eases my heart and I'm sure brings my uncle the tiniest sense of peace.

i blogged a few weeks ago about my parents being in the country (they live in Romania at the moment i don't know if i mentioned that) my father and littlest sister are getting ready to head back tomorrow and i thought i should update on my diet that my mom has been so helpful with... i honestly could not be happier! in 3weeks i have lost 5lbs, and its not just the weight i am delighted with but i have lost 3 inches around my middle i can finally SEE the difference. i did not get a gym membership i am not "working my ass off" and i am not on any pills or juices or weird serums. All i am doing is using the My fitness pall app on my phone (get it! its amazing! My Fitness Pal) to restrict my calorie intake to between 800-1000 calories a day. i am eating only one cooked meal with an animal protein (i love meat, good hormone free meat is SO good for your body) a day so most of the foods i eat are raw, such as salads and veggies with humus. Nothing fancy just enough to not be hungry, which i haven't been hungry. I have COMPLETELY removed all addicting foods such as bread, sugar, dairy, caffeine and alcohol. i have not in anyway touched wine, beer, or liquor in three weeks, not only do i feel fantastic but it has helped my getting healthy process tremendously. i cant believe i didn't know that the key to wight loss was all in getting rid of the sauce. i was eating healthy and running but i was still having drinks on the weekend which was 2 steps forward and 12 steps back. So my tip to everyone trying to get healthy, in shape, and loose weight. Keep moving and stop drinking.


In the middle of all the family chaos i wanted to cook, cooking brings me a little harmony so i made some raw brownies with raspberry sauce. Very simple, it also takes a cup of dates but i threw the bag away before taking the picture. So you dump all ingredients into a food processor, smoosh into a baking dish, then let it set in the fridge for a few hrs. All i did for the raspberry sauce was process fresh raspberries with some agave and pour on top. it looks like meatloaf but i promise they are brownies.

Never focused

Seriously I am the worst blogger ever, I really hope I don't have any devoted readers because I just can't seem to focus on keeping on track with this thing. Which is ironic because I always have so much to say.

I can't remember where I left off so I will just tell you what is going on now. last weekend I went on a family reunion coast trip with my family in law, I'm sure in reading the word in law most people cringe a little well don't worry because I happen to be one very lucky girl who has found the family in law of her dreams. They are fun, loving, supportive and very accepting. My fiancé is a very successful person who has accomplished all of his goals before the age of 25 and I am well, slacking a bit in the motivation department, so for my in laws to still love me as sweetly as they do really is a blessing.

Yes I did say coast trip, yes that does mean bikinis and no I did not meat my weight loss goal, big shocker. I was a little self conscious but nothing a few beers can't fix. For the most part I avoided gluten by bringing my own sprouted corn tortillas for sandwiches, I also brought a bunch of mason jars full of detox and green tea too keep my metabolism up. The good thing about trips especially coast trips is that you tend to keep active. Even. Simple game of catch phrase kept me on my feet, an laughing till I hurt.

My parents had arrived from Romania (where then live for now) a few days before we left for the coast, so my mom along with her natural dieting was waiting for me when I got home. My mother is one of the smartest people I know when it comes to eating/cooking/living healthy. If there was every anything wrong with my sisters and I she would turn to herbs to solve the problem and it always worked. Growing up lots of people have given my family grieve for our unique ways of eating, but my mom has yet to be wrong. So now that she is here I am on a very very strict diet of only organic, healthy foods. No sugars no gluten or bread type products, no dairy, and limiting the amount of food I eat. Basically getting rid of all addiction foods as my dad likes to put it.

Americans in general tend to over eat, the portions that are served as huge. For example one of my favorite meals is a #2 at McDonalds which is TWO cheese burgers fries and drink, then the big Mac is two burgers on top of each other. We all just stuff our faces till we can't eat thinking the feeling of being full Is the sign of stopping, when really we should stop way before feeling full. With in three days of eating only heathy foods I have seen the difference in how much I can eat now.

If anyone lives in the Dallas Tx area and is interested in seeing what the Raw food movement is all about check this place out. Formally know as Bliss now known as Be Raw. DELICIOUS