Friday Night Splurging

Good evening! Hope you all have had a great start to your weekend so far! I know I have!

I had a great appointment with my colon hydrotherapist this afternoon! I know it sounds weird to talk about such things, but if you’re embarking on any sort of cleansing or raw food routine, then paying attention to your “eliminations” is important stuff! You have to awaken toxins AND release them to truly detox! The only type of colonic I recommend, though, is a gravity colonic– which uses only gentle gravity and pure water to cleanse the entire length of your colon. There are tons of pressurized systems out there, and those are the ones that can actually be harmful!

I’m sure some of you still think colonics sound crazy or “out there,” but please realize that I used to think that, too! Now, I’m a total convert. Go figure.   For more on the importance and benefits of colon cleansing, I highly recommend you read The Raw Food Detox Diet– it’s the book that turned my whole lifestyle around! (and I swear, it’s not a “raw food” diet– you can eat bread, meat, cheese, and chocolate– so don’t be scared away by the title!)

Because of my colonic appointment, I ate really lightly throughout the morning. Prior to having a colonic, you should avoid dense foods, like meat and cheese, and should ideally not eat 2-3 hours before your appointment, so that you’re not digesting during your session. I can’t imagine it would feel very good to have a fully belly in that situation… ha ha.

I started my morning with a green juice:

I love the colors in this one! Romaine, beet greens, small apple and 1/2 a lemon–> very tasty!!

The rest of the afternoon, I pretty much just munched on fresh watermelon:

I think I ate at least half of that sucker today! It was just so refreshing! And watermelon takes a mere 20 minutes to digest when you eat it on an empty stomach, so I didn’t have to worry about it affecting my plans later in the day!

After my appointment, I ended up having some free time on my hands! I fueled-up with an (un-pictured) banana, and figured it was the perfect time to workout!

I had already squeezed in a 2-mile run this morning, but I really wanted to get a strength workout in, too! I ended up doing Jackie Warner’s lower body circuit today, and it killed! That lady knows what she’s doing. I love how she really emphasizes a particular muscle group during each circuit (there are 4 circuits in each workout)– my glutes and thighs were on FIRE by the end!! I have a feeling I’m going to be feeling my lower body tomorrow…

Boy, oh, boy was I ready for dinner after that!!

I started off with a mixed green salad, topped with organic cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and my lemon-oregano vinaigrette. (which is quickly becoming my new favorite dressing!)

Then, came the fun stuff.

You know, one of the things I was MOST excited about when I got my Vita-Mix a few months ago, was making my own nut butters– and yet, I hadn’t tried it yet! Well, tonight it all changed! I had a specific dessert in mind for tonight, and it called for cashew butter. I don’t know about other places, but here in Los Angeles a jar of raw cashew butter costs $17!! Um, no thanks.

But with my Vita-Mix, I can turn this:

Into this:

I simply put 2 cups of raw cashews into the blender, and blended them for 1-2 minutes–> Voila! Homemade Cashew butter!

Almost every weekend I let myself REALLY indulge in some sort of treat, and tonight I was hankering for cheesecake! Raw, vegan cheesecake pudding, that is. Natalia Rose has a great recipe for Raw Cheesecake Pudding in The Raw Food Detox Diet, and the only thing I change is I reduce the amount of cashews by a 1/4 cup, and add some raw zucchini puree instead. Weird sounding, I know, but it makes the recipe a little lighter, and more pudding-like! I topped mine off with some “graham cracker crust” crumbles:

Raw Graham Cracker Crust

1 cup raw pecans
2 tablespoons raw agave nectar, or maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Grind pecans in a food processor until almost smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend in food processor until it all sticks together, like cookie dough. Press the dough into a greased or lined pan, and place it in the freezer to set. You can use this crust as the base for any raw dessert, or as a crumbly topping!

©HealthyHoggin

This crust is by far one of my FAVORITE raw treats of all time. I like to eat it straight out of my food processor! It strangely reminds me of the Mexican Wedding Cookies I always enjoy at Christmas!

Holy moly, was this good! I don’t think it’s a great idea to eat nut-based desserts all the time, but weekends are made for splurging, right? Right.

Okay, bloggies. I’m off to sleep– I’ve got an early morning hike ahead of me!!

Hope you all have a great night!

Related posts:

1. Friday Night Fail
2. Back to the Basics
3. Friday Macaroons!
4. Saturday Night Splurge
5. Detox Chocolate Pudding