High Raw Detox: Final Thoughts and Sunny Chia Burgers!

Hello lovelies! Yesterday was the final day of my high raw detox. If you're just joining me now, for one week I ate about 85% raw foods and 15% cooked. I enjoyed all sorts of delicious, natural food and I felt great!

In addition to the other foods I blogged about, I enjoyed many snack plates! Several of them included my Garlicky Lemon Cannellini Bean Dip. 

Served alongside a little army of celery, and pears with cinnamon,

And with carrots, celery, broccoli, and grapes! I think the dip is awesome with grapes...then again, I also love hummus + grapes so proceed with caution.

One of the best things I ate was these...

Sunny Chia Burgers

makes 6 appetizer sized patties

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

2 TBSP cilantro

Chunk of red onion, roughly chopped (about 3 TBSP worth)

1 small carrot, roughly chopped

1/2 stalk of celery, roughly chopped

sea salt to taste

water, as needed

1 TBSP chia seeds

In a food processor, chop up the sunflower seeds so that they are beginning to become powdery, but still have some bigger chunks. Transfer them to a bowl.

Add remaining ingredients except salt, water, and chia seeds to the food processor. Process until very finely diced. Add water as needed to make a thick puree, adding the sunflower seeds back into the mixture. Once you have a thick goopy (though still malleable) mixture, add salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl and add the chia seeds.
Let sit for 10 minutes.

Form into 6 small patties (or any amount you want!) and bake or dehydrate until you like the texture. I baked mine on an olive oiled sheet for 30 minutes at 300*F. 20 minutes on one side, then 10 on the other side. 

This is what they looked like after flipping.

And after baking:

They tasted extremely similar to Sunshine Burgers Garden and Herb, if you've tried them. So good!

I served mine up with lots of veggies on the outside, and mustard.

Yummy!

After going high-raw for a week...I noticed that I was sleeping well and waking up without an alarm clock, and that my nails and hair seemed healthier. I also feel much more focused and attentive- especially when it comes to homework! Finally, my clothes were fitting better than usual and I did not feel overly full or bloated at any time. I was consuming about 1600-1800 calories per day and enjoying a lot of healthy fats from nuts and coconut oil, as well as protein from nuts, seeds, beans, and sprouts (and nutritional yeast!). 

I did have many cravings though! For now, I think I am going to aim to eat high-raw for the majority of the week, and enjoy cooked meals once a day or less. 

And, since I don't want to give up bread (!!!!), I think I am going to save bread/crackers/baked goods for special occasions and for when I eat out, or at the very least, buy them less. When I have bread or baked goods in the house, I have no will power! 

Something else I noticed was how great I felt without added preservatives and synthetic ingredients. A year ago, I was relying on protein powders and taking in waaaay too many artificial sweeteners. They always left me feeling bloated and "puffy" and even though I was getting a lot of protein, I didn't feel as good as I did this past week. So, another goal of mine is to focus on eating whole foods that haven't been refined or processed too much. Of course, I will still have allow myself to indulge in things I enjoy- hopefully I will not go overboard on them!

All in all, it was a great week and I feel wonderful! I have been coming up with some great recipes for y'all too and I can't wait to share them!