HELLO I AM BACK!

Quick post but I am back! You all will be hearing a LOT more from me in November as I take on the Saved By Sugar 'challenge' with Tina Grundin (@tinagrundin) and Jil (+Jilicious Journey). Needless to say, I am so excited!


Other updates, because this is a lifestyle blog.

• Breakup with my best friend who I love very much but the feeling was no longer mutual. Still struggling to stay positive on that one.
• My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, however it was caught very early and she is recovering wonderfully.
• Cross Country started and is ending on Thursday with sectionals!! I am thrilled to be a part of my schools sectionals team and truly grateful for the friends I've made.

So I know I'm not super interesting but I'm so excited to be back.


Love you all,
Riley

Vegan skin care

I'll say this before I even write anything else. I don't have perfect skin to say the least. I have moderate-severe acne. My doctor and I have ruled out everything and the acne I have now is from hormones and will hopefully clear up within the next year or so. In this post I'd like to talk about what I'm using to control my acne, as well as the vegan makeup products I use. So without further ado, here we go. 

Facial scrub, face wash, and spot treatment: I use alba botanica AcneDote. It works really well for me (and also leaping bunny program certified). 

Toner/astringent: Just plain old apple cider vinegar (I use braggs). It works wonders, trust me, it's worth the sting. 

Moisturizer: It took me forever to find a reliable moisturizer that hydrates my skin without making me breakout. The one that works for me is Lush's 9 to 5 cleansing lotion. It feels amazing on the skin and one bottle with last you forever. 

Foundation, primer, concealer, powder, and setting powder: Tarte! The worlds best skin makeup in my opinion. It feels so light and stays on all day. 100%vegan and cruelty free, and it's the only brand I've ever truly loved. 

(Products from left to right: clean slate pore less primer, Amazonian clay waterproof concealer, Amazonian clay full coverage foundation (liquid), Amazonian clay full coverage airbrush foundation (powder), smooth operator Amazonian clay pressed finishing powder) 

So that's basically it for my skin care and skin covering routine. Right now I'm too insecure to go without foundation but I go makeup-less around the house whenever possible. I've had great luck with tarte though, it's never added to my skin problems which I'm thankful. 

Questions or comments? Let me know. 

Contact:

Instagram: @riley.in.the.raw 

Email: riley.in.the.raw@gmail.com 

Much love,

Riley 

P.S. I apologize for the photo quality, I hope it doesn't bother anyone too much. 

Salt, what's in it and where does it come from?

So I get a lot of grief about my refusal to eat basic salt. The salt sold in most grocery stores and supplied in most restaurants is iodized salt. So you might think it's no big deal, salt is salt right? Nope not exactly. Iodized salt is not only salt and iodide. Iodized salt is full of dextrose which is a "flavor enhancer" made from corn. What's in dextrose you may ask? High fructose corn syrup and maltodextrin. Two ingredients that are not included in most lifestyles based on eating whole, natural, foods. 

Another thing I get a lot of grief about is the amount of these ingredients that are in iodized salt. Here's some food for thought. 1 (1/4tsp) serving of salt isn't a lot, right? Well 1 tbsp of peanut butter isn't a lot either, but who eats just one tbsp of peanut butter. Most people I know eat well over a tablespoon of salt per day. That's a ton of salt and most salt isn't real salt. Anything in moderation right? Sure, but we don't consider salt something we should be eating less of. It is calorie free, right? Yeah, but so is MSG and we all know that's no good, correct? So limiting/cutting out iodized salt is an important move if your striving to live a whole food lifestyle. 

Now I should probably talk about what kinds of salt are part of a whole food lifestyle. 

•Himalayan pink salt (yes, it's pink naturally)

•Sea salt (make sure the ingredients are just sea salt) 

•Hawaiian black salt 

•Celtic sea salt 

• Ok this one may surprise you. Salt! Yes if you can find just pure, natural salt, go for it. It's usually used in products like peanut butter and crackers but rarely available to purchase in large quantities. So if you find salt with just salt in the ingredients, that's perfectly fine. 

Much love, 

Riley. 

"Positive Self Talk" and My Story

Positive self talk is something I've always struggled with. It's something most people struggle with in fact, some more than others. Whether you struggle with body image or self esteem/ self worth issues, it's draining. I spent too many years of my life hating my body, as well as myself. It hurts now, knowing that I wasted so much time hating myself that forgot to enjoy life. I still struggle some days with my body image and the way it see myself in general, however, since devoting myself to a compassionate lifestyle, my self worth has significantly increased. Here's my story. 

In 2012 I entered middle school (I'm going into highschool now). I entered middle school kinda chubby, eating a SAD (standard American diet). However I was healthy for the most part, and I was active. In September-October 2012 an event happened that turned my whole world upside down. I won't go into detail but it through me into a downward spiral. I ate minuscule amouts (rarely healthy) and I would workout for up to 4 hours a day. There were days I would only eat popcorn with spray butter. However my body could only take so much abuse. In January 2013 I became vegan after watching the documentary vegucated. Soon after this my starvation and over exercising caught up with me. I started over eating and I couldn't stop. It was scary, I gained back all 25 lbs I had lost and I hated myself for it. (I was 100% vegan this whole time).  I now realize why this happened to me, I deprived my body for so long and eventually my body couldn't take any more abuse. I stopped binging in November of 2013 when I began a raw till four lifestyle. I am now 8 months binge free. I honestly never thought I'd make it out of the disorder I was pulled into. Here's my tips on how to love yourself. 

•Realize that your body is your home and your body carrys you and keeps you on your feet and to abuse yourself by depriving your body, also deprives you of living. 

•Eat a balance of foods that nourish your body and foods that nourish your soul (yes, I mean foods that are usually considered unhealthy)

•Don't be afraid to get up and move. Something as simple as a walk can increase your mood and make you feel better about yourself.

•Avoid body checking. It's hard I know, especially for me, but you'll find stepping away from the mirror and just appreciating how much your body does for you is a big step in the fight against negative self talk. 

And last but not least,

•Take a moment everyday and realize that you're not alone in this fight. People all over are fighting this battle right alongside you. Reach out and talk to people, that's including me. My email is riley.in.the.raw@gmail.com and my kik is riley_loves_21 if you ever needs to talk. 

Never forget that at the end of the day, you can't love anything else, if you can't love yourself. 

Much love,

Riley. 

Recipe: Thai peanut sauce- single serving size

Ok so I'd first like to apologize for my absence, life just got busy the past month but I'm back now. So without further ado, I have created the perfect single serving size Thai peanut sauce. Here's the recipe 

Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp organic peanut butter

1 tbsp maple syrup

1-2 tbsp rice vinegar

Water to desired consistency 

Himalayan salt (optional)

Directions: 

Just mix together and enjoy. 

I love to eat this sauce over rice noodles or even as salad dressing. I personally prefer it thinner so I add more water (it just makes it go farther) this peanut sauce is easy, simple, and delicious. It's perfect for any Thai dish. Enjoy!!

Much love,

Riley. 

Meatless Monday recipe!

I apologize this wasn't posted on Monday, the publishing failed but it's here now!

So for my delicious dinner tonight I prepared some low fat vegan tostadas! They were so so yummy and I'm excited to tell you about this lovely meal. 

Ingredients:

For the tostadas:

Corn tortillas (I used food for life brand sprouted organic corn tortillas)

Organic  black beans (if using cannedj  beans, rinse and drain) 

Diced Tomato 

Avocado 

For the sauce:

Sriracha (I use an organic brand)

Organic Spicy brown mustard

Apple cider vinegar

Agave if desired 

I broiled the tostadas at 500 degrees farenheit for 5-7 minutes because I love them crispy. To prepare them just place the tortillas on a baking sheet and put everything on them! Feel free to add anything else you'd like on them.

The sauce is optional but adds lots of flavor and spice. In my opinion it makes the dish just that much better. 

I served them with broiled crispy Brussel sprouts over a bed of spinach. It was a satisfying and delicious dinner. 

Happy meatless Monday everyone!

Much love,

Riley 

Easy, refreshing tomato soup!

I've been posting a lot of recipes lately but I've really been enjoying creating in the kitchen. I recently found this delicious tomato soup recipe and I just had to share. 

Ingredients 

Stewed tomatoes (no salt, the ones I used were frozen) 

Herbs (basil, oregano, onion, garlic, thyme, etc.) 

salt to taste (I used a pinch of Himalayan salt but it's totally optional)

Heat  up the tomatoes simmering, and spices and salt, stir, pour into a bowl and enjoy. 

Much love, 

Riley