Choosing Raw, Day 4

I'm four days into my 21-day high-raw "cleanse"! Until January 22nd, I'll be making Gena Hamshaw's raw and wholesome cooked recipes from Choosing Raw as a way to reset my system and start the year with healthy eating habits!

Today started with a 3-mile run. I'm working on my speed, so I've been doing a couple of shorter tempo runs per week. Before my run, I had half of a (not pictured) Pecan Pie Raw Fruit & Nut Bar by Nakd. After my run, I had a Green Elvis Smoothie! This is another recipe I've created using the new Vega One formula. I'll be doing a full review post (with original recipes!) soon, so I'll post the deets there. But basically, this is a peanut butter & banana smoothie.

My mid-morning snack and afternoon snacks were from Gena's 21-day meal plan in Choosing Raw. But they were the same snacks I had on Friday, so you may have already seen these — Veggie Bowl Juice (beet-carrot-cucumber-celery-spinach-ginger) in the morning and Superfood Trail Mix (cashews, pepitas, goji berries, golden berries, mulberries, and cacao nibs) in the afternoon.

Lunch was Leftover Raw Pad Thai made with kelp noodles, cabbage, zucchini, carrot, and an almond butter-tamarind sauce. This time, I remembered to top it with peanuts. Forgot that on Sunday when I first had this dish. On the side, I had Black Beans seasoned with garlic, onion, and Bragg's.

Dinner was one new dish and one leftover dish. The new dish was Carrot & Millet Pilaf. Wow! So flavorful! I always have millet in the pantry, but I never remember to use it in anything. It's such a fun grain. The pilaf is cooked in veggie broth and carrot juice, and it's spiced with curry. On the side was leftover Chickpea Tofu Tahini Scramble from Friday's breakfast. Plus, there was a side salad with radishes, sprouts, and balsamic vinaigrette.

It's so very cold here today, so having a mostly cooked meal was a nice. Sometimes winter bones need hot food!

For dessert, Gena's meal plan suggests dark chocolate. I have lots of sugary dark chocolate bars, but I figured this should be healthier since I'm trying to be good. Luckily, I had some of this left!

That's the Raw Girls Raw Chocolate and Almond Butter Ganache! The Memphis-based high-raw catering service included it in a sample box just before Christmas, and I saved some for this cleanse. It's very, very rich, and a little goes a long way. So I just had a little square.