Christmas Came Early

Christmas came early in my house this year. It came in the form of a new Back To Basics Smoothie Maker. How did I know it was Christmas, because when I walked down the blender aisle at my department store and found that they had a smoothie maker, I yelled "YEAH!" (and I think I might of even jumped up and down). Embarrassingly, I stated to the other shoppers who looked at me quite stunned, "I've always wanted one of these!" as I hugged the box. Gee, what a girl...

My New Smoothie Maker is even better than the old one. It has a dispenser from the bottom, that powers up the blades as soon as you put the cup against it, fresh mixed smoothies with every glass. Today's breakfast consisted of 1/2 pineapple, one banana, 2 cups frozen strawberries and 1 cup of globe grapes. It was so smooth and creamie, I even had my kids "ooing and awing" this morning. This Smoothie Combination tastes just like a Strawberry Daiquiri, better save that recipe! Think it is time to start intoducing some more green smoothies to our mornings!

I even bought myself a coffee grinder last night. What on earth would a raw girl want with a coffee grinder you ask? Well, I need something to grind all of those raw cacao beans once I am off my detox! I found a list on one of the raw websites that listed a coffee grinder as a "must have appliance" for a raw food kitchen. So, I am glad that I have one (price was right), but my "must have" is definitely my SMOOTHIE MAKER!!!!!! Somehow a regular blender just doesn't make the grade!

Christmas is fast approaching (less than a month away and it will be all done!). As this is my first "raw" Christmas, I'm sure that I will be tempted by mash potatoes and gravy (never been a turkey girl), perogies and cabbage rolls, not to mention my mom's absolute best shortbread ever made! Sheesh, getting anxious just thinking about it. I have signed up for "The Raw Holiday Survival Guide" with Raw Food Right Now. I am looking forward to additional support as I make my way through the holiday season.

My 7-day detox is almost at an end. This week I am losing weight at a rate of about 1/2 lb per day. Add that to the 5 plus pounds from last week, and I am feeling really good about myself. Looking back at my detox week, it was much easier than I thought it was going to be. I think it also helped me from developing a dependency on nuts and oils, which can happen on a raw-food diet. I think that I am going to make a batch of my macarroon truffles to celebrate this weekend!

I know that my raw-food buddy, Tigerlily and I, will have a continuing journey for a long time to come. She survived Thanksgiving, we survived the detox and now we can look forward to Christmas together. I am also glad that I have someone I can talk to on an on-going basis. Without The Raw Divas, we never would have found each other!

Strawberry Daiquiri Smoothie
1/2 pineapple
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup green globe grapes (complete with seeds)
1 banana
Water
Place all ingredients into a smoothie maker, and enjoy - recipe makes a full blender!