Raw Sesame Tahini

I just made some delicious raw sesame tahini in my food processor, and I am really excited about it! :)

I took a couple handfuls of raw sesames seeds, added a dash of olive oil, and some sea salt, and blended it for about five minutes.

It made some really creamy, yummy, raw sesame tahini.

I ate some spoonfuls just like that, and then ate some more spoonfuls with raw honey.

It was the perfect dinner for me tonight.

25 Things About Me

This was a recent "game" going around on Facebook.

If you'd love to share your 25 things, please post them as a comment to this post!!!

Here are my 25 things:

1. There are currently 2275 people in my Microsoft Outlook contacts.
2. I cry often.
3. I feel deeply, and I am learning to appreciate this exquisite gift.
4. I love the beautiful peace lily that I have in my dorm room.
5. I love Facebook.
6. Singing brings me more joy than just about anything else I can think of.
7. I am constantly amazed by both the similarities and eccentricities of people.
8. Traveling is a state of mind for me, and has taught me most of what I know.
9. I prefer to spend most of my time with other women.
10. I experience every day is an epic adventure.
11. Every day, I trust myself a little more fully, and that is one of the most exciting things I can think of.
12. I love writing my blog. http://erinpillman.blogspot.com
13. I am learning to listen to my heart more and my head less.
14. My heart is tender and sensitive, and I cannot remember a moment in my life when it did not ache.
15. I have had to edit #1 about five times since I started writing this because the number keeps getting bigger.
16. Raw chocolate, avocados, berries, and coconuts, are some of my favorite foods.
17. Practicing Yoga with my teacher Dharma Mittra while eating a 99% raw vegan diet in 2006 in New York City transformed my being more quickly and profoundly than anything else I have done.
18. I yearn for so many things – complete union with the divine, fulfilling livelihood, a sense of purpose, a close circle of women friends, singing in front of large audiences, feeling fully supported and empowered, a deeper connection with Nature, growing my own food, living in a place where I feel that I truly belong, living more simply…
19. I’m constantly alarmed by all the plastic I see everywhere.
20. I wonder if our species will die out because we are acting like such idiots.
21. I don’t know where I want to live, or if I want to be in school next semester (which starts in a week), but I’m only mildly concerned.
22. I am in the process of recording a children’s album with Lynwood King, the dean of my university.
23. I am a certified yoga instructor, but I have not taught yoga in a couple of years.
24. I want to start singing and sharing my own music – be the star of my own show – touch people’s hearts – inspire and uplift audiences – bare my soul on stage.
25. I am really glad that I am me.

Back on "Raw"

Today is a very exciting day because it is my first day of being back on a raw food diet, something that I have been wanting to do for quite awhile.

Thanks to my dear friend Sarah's suggestion, and some inspiration from our "raw" friends Puki and Schuylar, we are doing a "30 day raw food challenge" to see how great we feel, and hopefully keep going after the 30 days are over!

I have done raw food diets before - once for about 9 months when I lived in NYC, and once for 6 weeks when I lived in New Mexico. I had really wonderful experiences both times, although it was sometimes challenging to find the balance.

When I was in NYC, I was a "raw food fundamentalist" and was constantly evangelizing, because I truly believed that everyone should be a raw foodist for optimal health! I was even in a "raw food cult" of sorts! Once I realized what I had been doing, at first I was angry and ashamed that I could have been so gullible to have believed that this is the only beneficial diet for every human being on the planet. But now I look back on it and grin. I had a great time, ate amazing food, and learned a lot about myself! And best of all, I will hopefully never be a fundamentalist about anything ever again! And I can empathize with people who do have fundamental beliefs about various things - certain diets, ways of life, and spiritual paths, like Transcendental Meditation and Christianity.

So...a new chapter begins today in the life of Erin. I am eating mostly raw, even though it means that I have to buy a lot of my own food while I am on a $1600 a semester meal plan at MUM. I am investing in my health. I am finding the balance - eating cooked foods when it seems appropriate when in certain social situations, and listening to my most inner Self to find out what is the most nourishing for ME!

Life is SO good!!!