Backpacking adventures – McClure Meadows High Sierra's

McClure Meadows, Evolution Valley, High Sierra's – July 2009

How beautiful is this place? I mean, this was a breathtaking spot for a portrait. This is McClure Meadows, located in Evolution Valley in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We camped nearby and had perfect views of Evolution Creek. Now you can see why I am addicted to backpacking. This was July 2009 before I went raw, so those packs are filled with prepackaged Mac n Cheese and Clif bars! So I have a huge task ahead of me preparing to stay raw/vegan on the trail. When you are backpacking every ounce counts! So you just can't bring a bag of apples or my juicer along with me. I have a few ideas, like dehydrating fruit, crackers, bringing some Amazing Wheat grass powder, nuts, organic almond butter, oatmeal, larabars, pure bars, and dehydrated veggies. I will bring some GoRaw stuff as I love, love, love their granola and snacks! Backpacking burns at least 5000 calories a day so you are starving at dinner and ready for carbs! I am sure I will eat cooked at night and include some quinoa and other stuff. But, I hope I can get enough to eat!

Okay, I will post another gorgeous backcountry pic soon!
Hugs and prayers to my vegan/raw peeps!

PS – if you are wondering how I backpack with RA, well let me tell you it is very difficult. Lots of motrin, darvocet, and sheer determination. I really hurt ALOT when I backpack, but I will not bow down to RA, in fact RA can kiss my a$$. I have to tape up my knees and wrists and use lots of icy hot. Mornings are full of stiffness and pain. But I will crawl on the trail before I give up backpacking!

 

Oh, and Chocolate Covered Katie is having an awesome Vitamix giveaway! Go here to see!

The ugliest smoothie in the world! I name thee Primordial Ooze

Good morning all my lovely raw and vegan peoples! Only I could create the ugliest, most unattractive smoothie in the universe!

But hey it has a good personality!

It is almost camouflaged with my granite countertop

What does Lucy say in her vita-veta-vegamin episode? "And its so tasty too!"  NOT!…this was one of those "I know its good for me, so just chug it down cuz I dont want to waste it" smoothies. Why did it turn out this way? You are dying to know right?

Amazing Wheat Grass Powder! This was my first attempt to use it. Is it amazing for my insides? Yes. Did it make my smoothie taste good? Not so much.

Here is the rest of the culprits that formed the most ugliest smoothie in the world. Steamed spinach, blueberries, hemp seed, nut milk, chia seeds, and bananas. I also added a spear of fresh pineapple cuz its gonna go to waste. 

It tasted like bentonite clay. Yes, some of us have licked rocks and actually know what clay tastes like! Yes, geologists are weird, but we know how to party!

So i dub this smoothie "Primordial Ooze" cuz that is what it looks like…not that I have seen primordial ooze but I am guessing it would look like this.

So on the agenda today is:

• Workout with some type of Cathe weight tape
• Walk with hubby at lunch time
• Laundry eternal
• Figure out what I will uncook for lunch and dinner
• Take Cody to the Dr to remove stitches from his ear

So enjoy your raw and vegan day everyone!

Our two labs, Misty and Jake, littermates, being dorks in their kennels last night! They love to sleep in our room in their kennels. But they are definitely dork dogs! They escaped yesterday for like four hours, and you can see the results of their explorations…they were zonked out!

Say yes to carrots

Well, today I made 2.5 cups of fresh carrot juice so I could make the lovely Carrot Avocado Bisque recipe by Gena at Choosingraw.com and I have to tell you that this “boup’ (bisque+soup=boup) is so totally awesome.  You can drink it semi-warm straight from your vitamix or cold straight from the frig. Well, needless to say I had carrot pulp! What should I do..I hate to toss pulp into the garbage. So I made some carrot chia crackers and some carrot cupcakes with cashew vanilla cream frosting.

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Today is a bleh day. I do not know why.  Several mishaps these past few weeks include a traffic ticket, a blown out tire and a ripped up and stitched ear – all from the same kid. Is there a superfood that helps you not worry! lol…its called God! 

For lunch today I had a few cups of cut up veggies over organic greens with some Tahini dressing and chia crackers. I cannot figure out if I like Chia seeds or not! Do I like picking them out of my teeth for several minutes after I eat the crackers? I will get back to you on that.

I have a few items on my list that I want to make. Oh She Glows Angela has these breakfast cakes that she makes that sound yummy…I know, I know they are not Raw, but they are vegan. her site is wonderful and she is really inspiring. She seems so sweet! I have never met her, but her writing style seems to exude a lovely person (reminding me of my bestie). I want to order some of her gluten free glo bars and I cannot wait til she offers them. Anyways, I want to make those breakfast cakes and I also want to make a few of the Rawmazing.com goodies like her newly posted Whoopie Pies.

Ever since my hyst-o-whatever-omy in Sept 09 I have been a sluggo…yes I have hiked some miles on the good ole PCT and around the neighborhood but I am not back to my presurgery workout self! I need to start a weekly workout plan and stick to it. If I just wasn’t so dang tired all the time. Oh how I wish I had energy!  I have been off coffee for 3 weeks now, but I was in the store and had my nose glued to the Peet’s Coffee – literally I was hugging all the Peet’s 1lb bags!  haha, I know I am weird. But I love the smell of coffee and Iove Peet’s Coffee! Okay off to work out and if I see my bed calling me I will not succumb!

Presentation - its all about presentation!

 

We have been living with plastic glasses for like eons! Well, since my kids are older I decided to go buy some real glass glasses to drink my plant juice in. But now I am the one that drops and breaks everything (have you seen my hands! They dont work!) Anyways, Kristen at Kristensraw.com has great advice in her books about presentation and I am a firm believer. This juice just tastes better when I drink it out of a nice glass with a few little garnishes. Im weird I know..but whatever works right?!

The PCT thru hike is on my bucket list

What is my obsession with the PCT? I dont know..but I am obsessed. My hubby wont do the thru hike with me in 2010 - is it that hard to take off 5 months from work! haha...I fear that if we wait until 2015 when he retires I will be to old and crippled - nothing prednisone cannot cure I am sure! I will start stocking up now...but then I would be the only person to finish a 2,650 mile, 5 month thru hike fatter! This is a pic of me last week hiking a section of the PCT along Silverwood lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.

I want to go to cool places with you

 

Hey hey! Long time no blog! I have been busy (i.e. tired) and also busy I guess! This fab dish is from Choosingraw.com and it is "peanut" noodles - a really great tasting sauce with miso and lime and namu shoyu or something like that...anyways tasted awesome. I am really staying away from fruit the last 3 days except for the occasional banana in my smoothie.

The hubby wants to get away on Saturday and try this cool place which is a raw food restaurant in Costa Mesa called 118 degrees but he forgets we have the children to look after...you know, those one that have been living with us for such a long time! Why not leave the 17 year old in charge?  haha - those who know him would never ask such a question!

Lets see...about the RA (RA sucks - my new bumper sticker)...I had to take prednisone the other day as I was in agony..I sleep with both wrist braces on and rub icy hot all over my joints...and my hubby says icy hot is NOT an aphrodisiac...lol - well it is to me! I could bathe in that stuff. I was thinking of trying Epsom salt baths - anyone know if those will help me?

2010 and a neW YeAR

How ironic that the letters R-A-W are in the words New Year...me and my warped thinking...Well after a laid back New Years Eve with best friends and family filled with juicing and homemade pizza for the fam (salad and spicy and sweet veggie noodles for me) - I caught up on some ZZZZs today. I took a huge, fat nap and stayed in jammies all day. But I did get busy and make Mountaineers' Hearty Hemp Pancakes - that is a pic of them in my dehydrator..and the batter tasted heavenly, but I am hooked on hemp, what can I say. These babies are for breakfast tomorrow and then we head off to hike the PCT at Cajon pass on the 15 frwy. Join me followers! Penny and Leslie that means you!

Look at my 5 lb Hemp Seed bucket from Manitoba Harvest....yum! hemp seed tastes awesome plain and in smoothies, and in everything else you can think of...I love the fact that they are so good for me too!

And that hot girl in the picture behind the hemp seed bucket is me...lol


Oh, and I cannot wait to work with Gena of Choosingraw.com  - she will be my Raw food coach, friend, mentor, nutrition expert for the next month or so! She is going to help me realize my potential for a healthy new me in 2010...Thanks Kristen for the referral as I know I will love working with her!