eats.

dolls, it looks as though a few posts have been eaten by the internet. no matter, i'm back with a few thoughts on food. i am back to eating high-raw high-vegan*. i begin every day with a green smoothie or juice. this is my breakfast. i love the feeling of charging up for the day with fresh veggies and fruit. (but then i do drink a cup of coffee or tea afterwards, which is a necessary evil for this time in my life. seriously. baby does not need to see me without caffeine right now!)
my newest favorite smoothie ingredient is... BASIL! here are a few ways it has jazzed up my mornings this week.

watermelon cocktail:
1 cup fresh watermelon
1 cup water + dash of coconut water
1 handful of basil.
{blend on high. drink! enjoy!}

mango healer:
1 cup fresh (or frozen & thawed) mango
1 cup coconut water
1 handful of basil.
{blend on high. it's a vacation to thailand in your mouth!}


i have also been using the heck out of my food spiralizer. this is one of those weird gadgets that has been absolutely indispensible for eating raw. it makes sweet potatoes edible raw! and it makes the best "pasta" from raw zuchini and squash. i made a sweet potato pasta last week coated with edamame pate that knocked my socks off! the pate is super easy to make.


soak shelled edamame in enough water to cover. toss into the blender or food processor with 1 tablespoon of cold-pressed olive oil, a touch of salt or shoyu and a dash of apple cider vinegar. blend until smooth. smear on whatever looks good. it's amazing.

xxoo
kel

* labels often make me act crazy. i aim to eat about 80% raw vegan. it's better for everyone if we make that aspirational and not a strict rule. when i am rigid about food, i tend to stress myself out. that's not healthy and healthy is my goal.

the week's eats.

This week, we kept it pretty vegan. Emphasis on pretty.
Monday. Barbeque tempeh (vegan). Smashed potatoes (veganized with rice milk + earth balance). Beautifully green salad with lots of spinach (raw vegan).
Tuesday. Take-out from Blossoming Lotus-- living nachos (raw vegan). Four "cheese" lasagne (vegan-- lots of kale).
Wednesday. HUGE green salad with spinach and bok choy (raw vegan). I was in the process of making a vegan lentil curry when baby-girl had a collosal melt-down, so that burned.
Thursday. Jasmine rice (vegan). Baked tofu with asian marinade (vegan, recipe from The Veganomicon). Salad of Bok choy, corn, and plums with spicy mustard dressing (raw vegan).
***TOnight, we are hosting my mom & dad from out-of-town, and I HOPE we can go out to the Farm.***

I made the most delicious smoothie this week--- cucumber juice + frozen strawberries + handful of baby spinach. RAWmazing. (Inspired by a juice I had a Por Que No? a few weeks ago.)

To be fair, I also ate a slice of rhubarb pie topped with ginger streusel and a side of whipped creme from Random Order.

Have a beautiful weekend loves.

Getting Organized.

"Take a minute to get organized," is something I often whisper to Baby-O when she is worked up and trying to nurse. It's something I've had to do much more of myself since adding this beautiful bundle of joy into the mix. Gone are the days of waiting until dinner time to decide what to eat, for example. I have really taken to planning out a week (or so) of meals before heading to the market on Sunday afternoon (once my little bear is a bit older and we no longer need papa's assistance, we'll go back to a weekday grocery shopping trip-- Sundays are insane). Here's what we're feasting on for dinner this week:

• Baja-style tempeh tacos (vegan) & gunsmoke slaw (raw vegan).


• Minestrone (vegan).


• Curried butternut squash soup (vegan) and mixed grains (vegan) with sauteed chard & parsnips (vegan).


• Tortilla bake (i vegan-ized this recipe and added more veggies) & cornbread (dairy-free).


• Indonesian tofu stew with jasmine rice (vegan).


• Dal (vegan) with Garlic Naan and green veggie salad (raw vegan).

I like to make a bit extra so we'll have leftovers for lunch and for freezing.

Also, I'm slowly reclaiming my high-raw, high-vegan lifestyle by adding more raw vegan choices to my diet. (Choosing Raw, one of my favorite sites, recommends ADDING what you want more of rather than starting off by subtracting or limiting yourself. I love this. It definitely corresponds with my personal philosophy of beginning where you are.) One of my favorite ways to do this is with breakfast. I'm back on green juices and smoothies. Here are two favorites for the week:

Thai Spinach Smoothie

1/2 bag of organic baby spinach leaves

1-1/2 cups frozen mango

1 organic banana

1/2 can organic coconut milk

1/2 cup orange juice

Blend ingredients & enjoy.

Easy Way to Meet Kale Smoothie

1 bunch organic kale

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen pineapple

1 organic banana

2 cups orange juice

Blend, drink, and watch a love affair with kale begin.

Hope you are having a delicious week!

Made by a Mama-Bear

Darlings, I've finally emerged from my postpartum babymoon (sort of). That's right, our little birdie has hatched! On March 5, after a marathon birthing, we welcomed Oona Cassini (also known as Oona-bear, Seahorse, Baby-bird, Little squeaker, little Shaver, Blueberry and Tangerine. We are a family of nicknames) into our family. She is absolutely perfect in every way (I know every Mama knows this about their little one!) and has been delighting my days and exciting my nights (perhaps the lack of sleep is affecting my judgment as I write this!). Anyhow, my sewing machine has been silent since Oona arrived on the scene, but I have been cooking and baking as time permits and thought I'd share some of the goodness with you here. * I had to abandon many of my favorite raw treats during pregnancy, because they made me feel HORRIBLE (so sad, since they are high in folate and other goodness). However, I'm happy to report that the juicer is back up and running and I'm adding raw treats back into my diet as I can. For now, I'm avoiding nuts, since I am nursing and think my consumption of almonds and cashews was giving my little Seahorse some horrifically painful gas. For now, kale seems to be a safe choice.

* While I'm nursing, I need to consume 500 extra calories per day. That is 200 more than during pregnancy even! It's not as hard for me to eat more, because I'm ravenous! One thing I've been craving, though trying to consume in a responsible way, is dessert. At present, I'm making only dairy-free desserts and would like to cut back on the sugar as well. Two new favorites for me are baked treats made with olive oil-- who knew this could be so lovely?! The first is a blood orange pound cake I found over at Smitten Kitchen. This is absolutely amazing and I suggest you make it tonight to eat for breakfast tomorrow. The second is a lemon sugar cookie I adapted from the basic sugar cookie recipe in the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook. Instead of butter, I used olive oil. Additionally, I added lemon zest and lemon juice to the mix!

* Another treat I whipped up were these ridiculously delicious chocolate cupcakes and vanilla buttercreamiest frosting. These are both completely vegan (no animal products at all) and completely amazing. I think that most people are either frosting folks or cake folks. Usually, I fall into the frosting category, but this cake is so moist, you really don't even need frosting (did I seriously just type that?!). The cake recipe is from the Veganomicon. It's called the "lower fat deep chocolate bundt cake." I obviously didn't make it a bundt cake, and adjusted the baking time significantly (down to 25 minutes) to compensate for that. If you happen to make this one, I would suggest omitting the vanilla and almond extract unless you have some high-quality stuff. I made it with stuff I had from who knows where and it was over-powering. The frosting is from Oh, She Glows, though I made it with vanilla instead of almond. I think this recipe is DELIGHTFULLY salty, almost like salted caramel. Tasty.

* That's what I've been making in between marathon sessions of staring at my baby and watching the first season of Teen Mom (I wish I were joking). Love to you all!

substance.

dears, i have missed you. i have begun this post many times in my head, but then i couldn't ever quite make my fingers type it here in my blogspot text box. the truth is: i'm struggling with the purpose of this blog right now. with all of the blogs and other content coming your way, i am determined to make each trip to the kelly loves whales blog *worth your precious time*.

&

so i wonder if my creative endeavors,
yoga journeys,
fragmented sentences about life with the world's cutest dog & sweetest husband
are good enough...interesting enough...fresh enough... enough-enough.

when i began this blog, i was only just remembering my creativity, my dreams, my time, and this blog was a way for me to do several things: motivate myself to make art every day and chart my growth (if you will).

but what is it now?

i'm still not sure. i do hope you will keep reading.

*

so, that being said, what is on my mind?


i'm finally feeling better after my war with pig-flu. good health is something i treasure. while i was ill, i began tinkering with the idea of going high-raw all-vegan (HRAV). it's going swell. my favorite new habit is beginning each day with a green juice. today's juice was turnip greens, kale, granny smith apple, golden crisp apple, + 2 carrots. the turnip greens are spicy. it's fun. why am i doing this?

{well, i already am vegaquarian (we have eaten fish about once a month for the past 6 years. before that i was a 7-year vegetarian who would eat a hamburger once a year.) and i had all but cut out dairy & eggs in order to alleviate asthma symptoms.}

I want to be my healthiest self. It's that simple. And I feel amazing having made this switch.

more on this later. feel free to ask me anything about it.

*

YOGA

as you might have guessed, i have been devoting a major chunk of time to my yoga practice & teaching. what a blessing. there is always something new to love about the practice. if you care to, please do check out my podcast over at http://sunroseyoga.com/. it is my dream to share the yoga with anyone whose heart is open to it-- so much goodness for the body and mind. seriously.

*

okay, i think i'm done writing for today. thank you for your patience with me. i am grateful for each of you!!

peace. & LOVE. always.

k