Today my girlfriend brought me a load of spices! I spent a little time putting together some spice blends: Chinese 5-Spice blend, berbere, garam masala, and mole spices (for which I used ground raw cacao nibs!) The house smelled wonderful all morning. The picture above is of green cardamon pods. She also got me black ones. They smell heavenly! Other spices she brought (all whole): cumin seeds, allspice berries, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, fenugreek, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, whole cloves, and anise seeds. We already had cinnamon sticks, turmeric and paprika, which I made use of. The only problem I had making the spices was the pain in my hip from all the standing and bending. If I move the wrong way, something moves out of place (I'm guessing) and I'm in severe pain for a minute or two until it goes back to where it should be. I really don't want to go to the doctor for this because I'm already losing weight, so what is there for a doctor to do for me? I will grin and bear it for now.

I made sushi today, using the ideas I got from the raw restaurant. I threw some yam into the food processor and processed it twice- once to grate it and then again to create more of a "pulp" (that word that is so unappetizing to me). I liked the fact that it was relatively dry, so I didn't have to worry about the nori getting too wet. It was a different story with the carrot, which I processed the same way. I had to literally wring out handsful of carrot pulp before spreading it on the nori. I didn't put much seasoning on the yam but I did spice up the carrots with the 5-spice blend and some dill weed. The end result: large pieces of sushi that weren't too moist to slice through. I got a thoroughly satisfying meal out of it!

TODAY'S FOODS

BREAKFAST
Orange Juice, 2 cup
Banana, fresh, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)

LUNCH (Sandwich)
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread, 2
Hummus, 1/4
Avocados, California (Haas),2 oz

DINNER (Sushi)
Yam 1/4 medium
Avocados, California (Haas), 3 oz
Taboule Salad, 6 tbsp
Carrots, raw, 1 large
Soy Sauce, 2 tbsp
Sushi Nori, Raw 2
Kikkoman Soy Sauce, 4 tbsp

SNACK
Taboule Salad, (about a cup)

CALORIES 1,310 CARBS 201 FAT 37 PROTEIN 43