Tags: Korean, RAW FOOD, Recipe, salad dressing, spicy
raw confessional & renewal: falling off the raw bandwagon…and getting back on!
27 Jul
i’ve been really good with trying to stick to raw for the past couple months: through traveling for work, through weddings, through social dinners, through going to the movies. but i finally met my match these past few weeks: STRESS.
the past few weeks have been incredibly stressful at work. stress is such an intriguing thing: it can be physical, but the most potent (i think) is mental/psychological.
my main vice of a meal: DINNER.
preparing raw meals is fun and usually doesn’t take too much actual prep time…but they do involve a significant amount of planning ahead:
- making sure your kitchen is stocked with raw nuts & seeds, and spices, and fresh produce.
- most “hearty” recipes call for a nut or seed base, which requires pre-soaking for at least 2 hours.
- if you’re looking to dehydrate something, the minimum dehydration time i’ve seen is 3 hours.
none of these things are very conducive to a NYC working gal who gets home from work at 9pm, and has to get to bed before 10:30pm each night, in order to get to her 6:30am yoga class the next morning.
so, admittedly, i’ve fallen off the bandwagon slightly — mostly with dinner. it’s easy to stay raw during the days: green smoothies in the morning with a hearty salad for lunch….EASY. but when your body and soul are aching after an physically & mentally excruciating day at work…it’s hard to get your scruples together to figure out what’s raw for dinner.
HOWEVER: i am making a new commitment to myself. sorta like renewing my wedding vows…to my health. after listening to a podcast on We Like It Raw, it made me realize that i fell off the raw bandwagon because i was using cooked foods as an emotional crutch — not because my body was actually craving it.
so just with any renewal, i’m publicly stating that i am re-committing myself to…MYSELF.
and with fashion week coming up, it sure won’t be easy…but as Bikram says: the most important person in your life is YOU. if you are not well, then you won’t be able to take care of anyone or anything else in your life.
wish me luck!! 
SAVE the DATE: 8/21 gig @ The Shrine Auditorium, Harlem NYC
23 Jul
hey fam,
hope summer’s been treating you kind & cool. but if you’re in NYC, “cool” is probably not part of your summer vocabulary. 
the project is moving along: mastering the tracks for the album and we’re gonna be shooting another
wanted to send a Save the Date for Saturday, August 21st. i’ve been graciously invited to do a full set with my full band up at Shrine Bar in Harlem, NYC. here are the details:
HP LIVE @ SHRINE, NYC
DATE: Saturday, August 21st
TIME: 6pm
WHERE: 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Junior Boulevard (btwn 133rd & 134th Streets)
COST: $5
hope to see you there!!
xxox,
hp
today’s brainfood: mango, orange, spinach & kale green smoothie
16 Jul
straight up: last night & today were uber stressful. so when i woke up, i knew i needed my brain to be functional and full of nourishment!
lately, i’ve gone “off book” with my green smoothies and have begun improvising with what i put in them. today:
- 2 small mangos
- 2 small organic oranges
- spinach
- kale
- 1/2 cup water
- 6 ice cubes
i try to keep a general rule of 50% fruit, 50% dark leafy greens. another thing, i usually put something “fiber-ous” like a mango or banana in there, so it can make the smoothie nice and thick!
verdict: brainfood = yummy.
Nail Sabbatical: dare to be bare (and short!)
14 Jul
I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a nail design post…and that’s because I have no fun news to report! Since my last nail sparkly design, I haven’t had time to visit any of my Calgel haunts. I think I’ve decided it’s time for a…NAIL DESIGN SABBATICAL!
Here’s what my nails look like now…
←gasp!
I know…I’ve been adorning my nails with wacky designs for nearly 18 months — it’s a little strange for me to have bare AND short nails. But there are a few plus sides to it:
- I can type faster!
- no “gunk” removal from under my nails… (ew)
- I’m $50 – $120 richer every paycheck, since I’m not splurging on my nail addictions
- I can now practice the piano and get my keys game to a place where I can play & sing my songs for my own gigs…. YES!
Do I miss the crazy designs?? Absolutely.
But I think for the next few weeks, I’m going to let my nails breathe and air out. But rest assured, I’ll do it up for Fashion Week again!!
trying to eat raw: ordering lunch from Spring Natural, NYC
13 Jul
those who know me, know that i try not to be pushy.
while i have chosen this raw foodie lifestyle, i don’t want to impose it, or inconvenience other people with it. i don’t believe in excluding yourself from social situations, just so you can maintain your raw food ways…isolation is no fun for anyone! you can usually find something to eat on a menu, and make it raw-food friendly by asking them to adjust it.
today, i was ordering lunch with a few co-workers from Spring Street Natural in Soho. in my pre-vegan days, this was one of the best places to order from: all their food is very healthy, with many vegan options for diners. but i hadn’t ordered from there since becoming raw.
i ordered the Spring Street Natural Taco Salad: red onions, guacamole, sour cream, queso fresco, organic black beans and salsa over organic brown rice; served with tri-color corn chips…but with the following requests:
- no sour cream
- no queso fresco
- no black beans
- no brown rice
- no corn chips
unfortunately, they forgot to remove the sour cream…and unfortunately I forgot to ask for no ”salsa”…#heatherfail!
so i ended up scooping out the sour cream, and eating around the slop of salsa in the middle. methinks i’m going to be ordering from elsewhere later this afternoon!!
Tags: NYC, Raw Vegan, spring natural
IT’S FINALLY HERE! my dehydrator has arrived!
12 Jul
from what i can gather, there are 3 very essential appliances for raw vegans who want to “un”-cook at home:
- Vitamix Blender
- Food Processor
- Dehydrator
luckily for me, Momma & Poppa Park are very supportive of my decision to go raw vegan. they got me one for my birthday!
i requested the Excalibur 5-Tray Dehydrator with the 26-hour Timer. why this particular model?
- i’m the only gal in my household, so i think 5-trays is PLENTY (vs. the 9-tray model they offer)
- the 26-hour timer was very important to me. a lot of the raw vegan recipes (especially for sun burgers) require 6+ hours of dehydrating. having the time function is perfect!
i placed my order on may 29th, but unfortunately for me, the Excalibur offices were closed that entireweek for the July 4th holiday. so it wasn’t until TODAY, that the final appliance in my raw vegan trifecta arrived!!
hurray! can’t wait to start un-cooking with it!!
Tags: dehydrator, excalibur, Raw Vegan
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