Immunity Boosting Low Calorie Snack!

Keeping on with this immunity boosting trend I so desperately need, let's talk about a quick and easy snack I can make even when I barely feel like I can stand up... like now.

By the way: spicy is good, but if your throat is too raw,
feel free to eat mild guacamole, or just mashed avocado.

What do we need?

• One Wholly Guacamole 100 Calorie Mini Packs of Guacamole in Spicy
• One Red Bell Pepper, small to medium in size
• A cutting board, a bowl & a good knife

Directions?  What directions?  Peel the lid off of the guacamole.  Cut the bell pepper into some kind of strips or pieces.  Done.

Get Well Smoothie!

The food supply in my house is running dangerously low now that I've been sick for well over a week.  I have a lot of cereal, oatmeal, and dried psuedograins.  I've been making a lot of overnight oats and surviving off of that, and the bag of potatoes that is very nearly spent.  The situation is dire, haha.  I certainly don't live in a food dessert, but it feels like it right now.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happens when you live alone and don't have friends outside of work in a new state.  You will starve, haha.

So today, I accessed what I had in the house.  Sadly, my frozen bananas never made it into a container, so they are beyond freezer burnt.  There's still a quarter of a tub of frozen spinach though!  All of my dried goods for smoothies are there.. and I still have some Silk Protein Smoothie in Strawberry Banana.  I have no idea when I opened it, but it still smells and tastes good..

This is what I came up with:

Also pictured?  My daily vitamins (Deva Vegan Multivitamin) & an Iron/Zinc tablet.
I've also been drinking a lot of Throat Comfort & Sinus Soother teas.

Ingredients:
1.5 c Silk Fruit & Protein in Strawberry Banana
2 tbsp Amazing Grass Raw Reserve Supergreens
2 tbsp Navitas Naturals Raw Cacao Nibs
1 c raw frozen Spinach
1 tbsp Whole Foods 365 Organic Raw Agave Nectar
2 tbsp Jarrow Formulas Rice Protein Powder

Place all ingredients in the blender.  I have found it's easiest to do liquids, powders, then top with leafy greens to keep your powders off the sides of the blender.  I started on dough and once it was just mixed, bumped it up to blend for a good 30 seconds to break down those nibs.

Nutrition breakdown:
Total Calories: 383
Total Fat: 5g
Total Carbohydrates: 63g
Total Protein: 22g
Total Iron: 38g
Total Vitamin C: 187%

If you have kale, please use it.  Basically, add any cruciferous greens you have!  Dried chili pepper would be a good additional to this as well for it's immunity boosting properties, though it may clash just a touch.

Book Review: the Top 100 Immunity Boosters by Charlotte Haigh

the Top 100 Immunity Boosters:
100 Recipes to Keep Your Immune System Fighting Fit

The good:
This book was a random Half Price Books find, as well as a Harvard written nutrition book and an actual nutrition textbook.. and my usual addiction; three plus vegan cookbooks.  I liked that it was small and quick, more of a quick digest than a full on nutrition book; but definitely great for anyone who cares less about the technical side of diet and nutrition and is solely looking for easy, breezy information on adding healthier foods into their diet.  This book is even better for people who are looking for specific nutrients, as each are listed with each item, or those looking to eat for a certain condition, as the index in the back shows.  I didn't think I'd learn a lot from this book, but the fun little pop up tips and facts were varied and mostly new information to me.

The bad:
In contrast, if you're looking for an in depth book about nutrition and the chemical reactions and things of that nature, this isn't the book for you.  If you're looking to change to better eating habits and don't have a nutrition background, this book could be a little overwhelming the first or second time you flip through.  To anyone with very basic knowledge on healthy eating and smart food choices, this book will be a fantastic addition to your collection and a quick tool to pull out for recipes and shopping ideas.

Here's an example of the page layout for most of the foods.

The layout:The layout in this book is simple and easy to follow.  It talks about each item, what makes it a immunity boosting food, gives a short list of ingredients, and provides a recipe in a colored box.  Most items are summarized on one page, but certain superfoods are given two pages.  It's cohesive and easy to follow, and the uniform pattern keeps it very fluid.  The items are given a number, as well as the page numbers, would could be confusing to some, but shows that you are literally counting through 100 items.  The recipes range from simple to fun and complex.  Several foods note when they are still beneficial cooked.  I would assume most nutrient dense foods are best raw or mostly raw, except where noted otherwise.

Worth it?
Yes.  I got it for just pennies under $5, and know you can find it used for a similar prices on Amazon.  Even at full price at $9.95, it's a steal for the amount of information and recipes you're getting in a sleek, full color book.  The the recipes seem entirely simple on first glance, some of them are more detailed than you think.  The glossary and ailment directory are also valuable add-ons in the book.

Since I stopped eating raw...

As the holiday season geared up in retail, it became increasingly difficult for me to stay on track with my raw diet.  I started eating more and more processed foods, and more importantly, more and more empty carbs, and specifically wheat.  Although I have not gained much weight (three or four pounds), the main differences I see are constant bloating and my face is broken out SO bad.  I haven't been this broken out in so long.  My face had very nearly cleared up, and now it is worse than ever.

What does this mean?  It means I need to get back on track with eating a primarily raw diet.  If that means keeping my blender bottle and Garden of Life RAW Meal mix in my locker at work again, so be it.  It worked well before, I am happy to do it again.  More importantly, I have a good blender now, so morning smoothies should be easier, but with hitting snooze more than I ever should, it's been harder and harder to get back on track.

Recently, since incorporated cooked, processed foods and wheat back into my diet.

As you can tell by the smoothie in my hand, this was when I was eating a primarily raw, vegan diet.

Mail Time: Graze Box #2!

What's in my box this time!?

LITTLE FIGGY WENT TO THE MARKET:  Figs are not for everyone.  Suuuure, we all like them heavily processed with sugars in the center of a famous fig cookie, but dehydrated or pure?  I like them, buuut, I will admit to not being crazy about the smell.  I don't know what it is, they just have a funny smell to me.  In this little package, dried figs, apples and cranberries are dusted with rice flour (to keep them from sticking, but also adds a touch of sweetness).  It's a delicious combo, and it's packed with carbohydrates to keep you on the move.

BOOSTER SEEDS:  As soon as I saw this in my package, I knew that I wanted to save them.  I just finally got a blender/processor, and have a dehydrator, and have plans to use these to make raw crackers.  It's actually pretty hard to not tear them open and eat them plain because I know how insanely nutrient rich these are, and I have been very ill since Saturday, but I have bigger plans for these babies.. they deserve it.

DARK ROCKY ROAD:  This is awesome.  I am a huge fan of chocolate, I'm not going to lie, so anytime you put chocolate in something, as long as the chocolate is good, the rest will be good to me.  The Belgian dark chocolate buttons melt in your mouth and aren't waxy, and layered with the pecans and cranberries?  Oh, hello heaven.

HABAS TAPAS:  You may have been fooled into thinking I was the most excited about the chocolate in the box this time, but you are wrong, sir.  I love, love, LOVE barbecue anything.  Habas Tapas has jumbo chili corn, roasted corn and chili broad beans.  In my brain, chili and barbecue go hand in hand, so this little package got my taste buds fired up.  The flavor in this is amazing considering the smell would lead you to believe it was going to taste bland.  I can't say I'm crazy about the dried bean texture, but it's sure as heck not keeping me from eating it.

Want to try Graze?  Here's a friend code here, here, and if those are gone, they created a unique code for my readers; BETHSNACK.

Mail Time: Graze Box!

I heard about Graze through the lovely Mo, or as many of you know her, the owner and operator of Madd Style Cosmetics.  Mo & I love sharing our favorite things we find, so I knew if she was mentioning Graze, it had to be amazing.


What's in my box?

TROPICAL DAIQUIRI:  This was bizarre.  The lime was pronounced with each piece you ate, but it wasn't overwhelming.  I'd gladly get this again, but I put them on my try list.

FRUIT & SEED FLAPJACK:  These were better than expected.  I wasn't sure what to expect out of this one, but I was happy when I tried them.  They seem less processed, and more like a snack bar you'd make at home.

BBQ CORN:  This reminded me of corn nuts, without tasting overprocessed and full of fillers.  These were delicious!  These are on my love list.

SOUR CREAM & ONION CASHEWS:  These were pretty good!  Anything that is vegan "dairy" tends to have some sort of artificial flavor, but with these it wasn't distracting.  I love cashews and I haven't had anything sour cream and onion in a decade, so these were a welcome treat.

Want to try Graze?  I have a limited number of friend codes right here to try your first box free!

Edit:  Want to try Graze but all of the codes above were used up?  Graze created a special code just for my readers!  Use code: BETHSNACK

Vegan, Semi-Raw Meal Ideas

I eat try to eat around five 300 calorie meals a day.  Maybe what I meal, you would call a snack.  Either way... here are two examples of what I eat in a meal; both of these are around 300 calories, give or take.

greens mix with Goddess Lite dressing, dehydrated sprouts and jicama;
two kinds of hummus with carrots and corn chips my roommate had, haha.
Total calories: 373; 19g fat; 44g carbs; 12g protein

1/4 c of mixed nuts, freshly ground chocolate almond butter, one apple
I didn't log this, apparently, so I don't have the breakdown.