Since the world doesn’t seem like it’s ending today, and since the in-laws are at work and the husband is at the dentist, I figured its the best time to sit on the computer and post something on the blog that has been neglected for far too long now. Its been almost two weeks since my last blog post, but with my current schedule of traveling, socializing and erratic net connections, I just haven’t been able to find enough time to devote to the blog.

Today, too, its going to be a quick post. Kind of befitting the recipe that I plan to share. I have, in the past, shared a recipe for homemade puff pastry. And also made mille feuilles and aloo puffs with homemade puff pastry. But, sometimes certain situations arise where your mom invites some guests over and swears there’s store bought puff pastry in the refrigerator and asks you to make the mushroom tarts you constantly rave about, only to see that the puff pastry she so confidently had said sits in the refrigerater is actually a packet of phyllo dough. The phyllo dough is then used to make some channa dal cocktail samosas by one of the three cooks in the house leaving you, the blogger (who your mom has, of course, bragged about to the guests), to think of an alternative way to shine. True story.

Its situations like these that this rough puff pastry comes to your rescue. And you will be pleasantly surprised by the flakiness you can achieve in just a matter of few hours, as opposed to the waiting and turning and folding of actual puff pastry that takes two days to get the desired result. Of course if you want to be all professional about it, the real deal puff pastry is the way to go. But if you are short on time this rough puff pastry recipe is the ticket.

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By the time this post goes live, I will have finished my One Week Raw Diet and most definitely will be feasting on some hot, cooked food. I plan to make dhoklas for my breakfast and in all probability that is what I will be eating the time this post goes live.

It definitely was a difficult week, with the dinner time being the toughest but honestly not as difficult as I thought it would be. I was sure I would quit by Day 3 or Day 4, and my body would be really weak, and would have a constant headache. The last time I went on a diet (quite a few years back) was when I tried the GM diet. By Day 4 of the GM diet, I had a headache and decided it wasn’t worth it and quit with a bowl of Maggi in my hand.

This diet, though, has been different. I did not feel weak at all. My skin improved- I had my periods when I started so I had the occasional pimple before that but I could feel my skin more bright than usual. I have lost about 5 pounds since the start of this month- which includes the one week of the gluten free sugar free diet and then one week I went raw. It might not seem much, but I was never going for anything drastic. My goal is to lose about 5-6 kgs (10-12 pounds) by the end of this month. I will be continuing on my gluten and sugar free diet till end October, with Halloween being the day I quit. I will talk more about how my raw diet went and share any other information that could be helpful to someone planning to do the same. But all that will be in another post. Today I will be sharing this lemon yogurt cake, which is neither raw, nor gluten free, nor is it sugar free, but if what I have heard about it is true, its one cake recipe you would want to try.

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One week. I survived a week!

Well, it is still a little premature to say it, since there are a few more hours left for the day, but I think I can safely say that these hours should pass without me faltering on the diet.

One week of raw food. 21 meals of uncooked food. Nothing heated above 115F, and since I don’t have a dehydrator that meant only room temperature food. But I survived and live to tell!

The basic principle of eating raw is to consume a diet of primarily (or exclusively) un-cooked whole plant food (75-100% of the time). The diet is centered around fruits, vegetables, nuts (in moderation), and seeds (in moderation), nothing cooked above 115F. While you can choose to be only 75% raw, I thought since I am doing it for a week, I would go completely raw.

This is the first time I have ever tried a crazy diet idea and seen it to full completion.

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