Guest Post: Day 5 Raw Food Challenge + Banana Strawberry Basil Ice Cream

Thankfully, it was much cooler today in Santa Cruz, California. We have a beautiful breeze blowing through the new screen door our wonderful landlord installed to make us more comfortable. He is so kind.

Fridays and Saturdays I generally try to do a bit of volunteer work. This helps me to feel like I am still useful to society on some level.  In speaking with other people who have/are suffering through a severe and/or chronic illness like me, no matter what type of illness you have, it is really easy to become self-consumed. You can spend your entire day focused on trying to recuperate or maintain some stability in your health. Doing volunteer work helps me stay positive and in a peaceful frame of mind. It gives me a sense of purpose, even when some days “purpose” has seemed to be a thing of the past. Because it helps me maintain joy, I am more bearable to everyone in my family and circle of friends. They see I AM trying to get better and be a part of normal things. This in turns motivates them to offer much needed compassion and support.

The trick is setting a pace that is within my limitations. My husband is really good at encouraging me to care for myself and not use up my energy. For that, and so many other things, I am thankful.

Day 5 of 30 Day Raw Food Challenge

Upon arising I have been trying to drink 24-32oz of Purified Water.

In preparation of going out for a couple of hours, I packed my Breakfast and Lunch.

IMG_20140516_085841

Purified Water with Lime (24oz)
Coconut Water (1 quart)
Large Green Salad (carrots, cucumber, celery, tomato and mixed baby greens with lemon juice)
DoughNot Holes (which I shared with a few people)
Frozen Lime Cream Sandwiches (which I shared with, and blew the minds of, some fellow volunteers)
Ozuke “Kale & Collard” Raw Vegan Kimchi (pictured below)

If I understand the Ozuke label, the actual word Ozuke literally means “the best pickled things” in Japanese. It was so scrumptious. I was weirdly craving Raw Vegan Apple Beet Sauerkraut the other day and found the Ozuke at Whole Foods. It looked interesting and really hit the spot. I love it and will totally try some of their other flavors. Don’t worry Christine; it does NOT have vinegar, just ginger garlic cayenne and some other spices. It is then fermented and kept refrigerated. If you like things like Sauerkraut, Southern style Collards and/or Kimchi, you may really like this.

When I got home this afternoon I made the raw vegan Banana Strawberry Basil Frappe (or you could call it Ice Cream) in my Vitamix and drizzled Raspberry Sauce (see my post from last year) and some Pecan pieces over.

Banana Strawberry Basil Ice Cream

Cashews (1/2 Cup soaked overnight and drained)
Medjool Dates (1 Cup)
Coconut Water (2/3 Cup)
Vanilla Powder (1/2 teaspoon)
Basil Leaves (large handful)
Banana (4 peeled, chopped and frozen overnight)

Strawberries (3 POUNDS washed and stemmed)

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream with Raspberry Sauce

Puree in the Vitamix til Creamy smooth. Taste and adjust the balance of the Basil and the sweetness of the Dates. Once it is to your liking, pour the mixture into individual 16oz containers or baggies for freezing. Freeze overnight or til you are ready to use them. (I filled four 16oz plastic freezing containers, then I made 4 Popsicles out of the rest of the mixture. This means I can make 4 individual servings of my “Ice Cream” and still have an occasional Popsicle over the next couple weeks. )

Raw Vegan Strawberry Basil Banana Ice Cream

To make 1 serving of the Banana Strawberry Basil Frappe: (IN THIS ORDER) Drizzle about ¼ cup of Coconut water into the Vitamix. Add 1 frozen chopped banana to the Vitamix. Add 1, slightly thawed (just enough that it will slide out of the container), 16oz container of the frozen Strawberry Basil mixture into your Vitamix. Use the plunger attachment to help move the ingredients while the Vitamix is running on the “Frozen Dessert” mode. (You may have to do the Frozen Desserts mode twice if you have super frozen items or you can add a smidgen of Coconut water at a time.) Pour into a bowl, top with your favorite ingredients and enjoy! You can see from the picture how thick and creamy it turned out.

I think I will just drink Coconut Water tonight and maybe have a couple of Apricots later for Snack.

Until tomorrow…

me8.09

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find Heather on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter @hpesthetics. For more information on TSA/RSS, check out www.itsan.org, the International Topical Steroid Addiction Network. You can also read about Heather Petersen’s experience at: www.eczemancipated.com

6 Comments

  1. jasmine on May 16, 2014 at 9:47 pm

    This looks so good but the instructions are so confusing to me.. 🙁

  2. Heather on May 16, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    Hi jasmin. You want to make your cashew cream first to perfect the flavor. But if you aren’t overly picky: throw everything in the blender. Freeze individual servings in baggies. After its frozen throw it back in the blender to make it an ice cream texture.

    Or you don’t have to freeze it at all you can just drink it straight away as a smoothie. Please let know if you have more questions. I hope that was helpful.

  3. Cathy Rose on May 17, 2014 at 10:09 am

    Aw! I love reading your blog! Such greats recipes and sweet ideas to try out! You’ve put a lot of hard work in this blog I Can tell! Please visit my health blogs and please stop by, I would love to learn from the best! http://www.rawfoodspregnancy.blogspot.ca and http://www.holytempleunderrenovation.blogspot.ca Hope to hear from you!!!

    • Christine on May 22, 2014 at 9:25 pm

      Thank you so much Cathy, I’m so happy to hear you are enjoying it! And yes a lot of work really does go into this so I really appreciate your kind words. I had a brief sec to look at your blogs but I look forward to taking some time to really look over them in detail.Lots of love! Xo

  4. Joan Gonzales on May 19, 2014 at 10:48 am

    Hi Heather
    So glad to see you are doing better. You look so healthy in your picture. Been having some problem myself lately! Glad to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

    • Heather on May 22, 2014 at 9:39 pm

      Hi Joan. Sorry to hear you are not doing so hot. Actually the picture of me in this blog is from 2009 I think. I don’t look that young anymore. Haha! After I heal from the Red Skin Syndrome I will put new picks of me up. 😉 hang in there.

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Christine Roseberry

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Hi, I’m Christine, thanks for stopping by! As a fibromyalgia thriver (symptom-free for over 10 years now thanks to diet and lifestyle changes), it is my passion to share the healing power of food.

As an RN and Holistic Nutrition Practitioner, it is my desire to empower you to take charge of your life.

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