These look really, really good:
Showing posts with label raw food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raw food. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Loving This Book!
I have gotten back into books. I had, for a while, gotten so busy doing things on the computer that I had stopped reading. I purposefully made myself stop using my laptop after supper for about a week and it was all that it took to get me back into books.
One of the books I have out right now is David Wolfe's "The Sunfood Diet Success System." It wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. I had watched some DVDs that got me more motivated to eat more raw foods and ended up requesting some of David Wolfe's books (even though, I have to admit, I can't stand those NutriBullet commercials of his). Opening up this particular book, I was surprised to have him get into life transformation--beyond just diet--and looking at your thoughts and beliefs and having you do things with each lesson (yes, they're lessons and not chapters) like writing down 100 goals to accomplish in the next year...
It's been very interesting and good for me so far. Writing down 100 goals took me more than a day to do. "How am I going to come up with 100 things I want to do/accomplish in the next year???" I did it though. And I keep adding to it. And with those goals now out there and more in my mind, I'm naturally taking more steps to accomplish them. I've done more natural visual improvement stuff in the past few days than I have in months. I've resumed my physiotherapy stretches for my rotator cuff problems. Just little things here and there, but those little things add up and over time become great.
I also have his Longevity Now book out from the library. It's food-focused and what I like about it is he's not about, "Oh, you have to become raw now! Get rid of eating this and that and the other!" Yes, the reasons for avoiding certain foods (especially cooked foods) are given, but all the reasons to just starting adding in these other good-for-you foods are given, with the idea being that you just keep adding good foods in and eventually, there won't be room--or possibly even a desire--for those other things. It's nice and gentle. No sense of "failing" if you can't meet some standard.
Are you reading a health/food book right now that you're loving? Share about it!
One of the books I have out right now is David Wolfe's "The Sunfood Diet Success System." It wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. I had watched some DVDs that got me more motivated to eat more raw foods and ended up requesting some of David Wolfe's books (even though, I have to admit, I can't stand those NutriBullet commercials of his). Opening up this particular book, I was surprised to have him get into life transformation--beyond just diet--and looking at your thoughts and beliefs and having you do things with each lesson (yes, they're lessons and not chapters) like writing down 100 goals to accomplish in the next year...
It's been very interesting and good for me so far. Writing down 100 goals took me more than a day to do. "How am I going to come up with 100 things I want to do/accomplish in the next year???" I did it though. And I keep adding to it. And with those goals now out there and more in my mind, I'm naturally taking more steps to accomplish them. I've done more natural visual improvement stuff in the past few days than I have in months. I've resumed my physiotherapy stretches for my rotator cuff problems. Just little things here and there, but those little things add up and over time become great.
I also have his Longevity Now book out from the library. It's food-focused and what I like about it is he's not about, "Oh, you have to become raw now! Get rid of eating this and that and the other!" Yes, the reasons for avoiding certain foods (especially cooked foods) are given, but all the reasons to just starting adding in these other good-for-you foods are given, with the idea being that you just keep adding good foods in and eventually, there won't be room--or possibly even a desire--for those other things. It's nice and gentle. No sense of "failing" if you can't meet some standard.
Are you reading a health/food book right now that you're loving? Share about it!
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Has Your Eye Colour Changed?
I'm sitting here watching the film Food Matters (fantastic movie, by the way! I should do a proper review) and Charlotte Gerson of the Gerson Institute is in it. She has a light German accent and these blue eyes, both of which bring me back to my childhood and time with my Grandpa. This had me thinking of my own eyes. I was born with blue eyes. They remained blue until sometime in early elementary school. Mixing those blue eyes, thoughts of my grandfather's eyes and mine and all of this information about food and its effect on us, I was reminded of people's eye colour supposedly changing after eating a raw food diet for a while. A quick search online confirmed that I wasn't remembering incorrectly: there are people whose eye colour has changed from going raw. One of the articles mentioned about the eye colour being affected by toxins and such stuck in our liver or colon. My diet has not been anything close to optimal my entire life. It started on formula, then I lived on prepackaged and canned foods my entire childhood with few fresh fruits and vegetables, lots of dairy products which I'm allergic/sensitive to, lots of sugary foods. Having watched Supercharge Me yesterday and now Food Matters today, I do wonder what's stored in my liver and colon--and now wondering if this has affected my eye colour.
My eyes now are typically a kind of greenish blue, not like any of the colours in that chart. But they were blue enough, plus I was blonde enough, when I was about to turn 6 that my mom was stopped in a shopping mall by a woman for the local German language program who said, "That child must be German!" But they've been this kind of greenish colour for many years. I'm starting to now wonder: Are my eyes their natural colour or did they become more green due to diet?
I've looked up online when a baby's eyes normally change if they are going to change. One site said that babies eyes will change by the time they are 9 months. Another site said usually by 9, but you might still see some change up until 12 months, or rarely, up until age 6.
So... What's going on with me? Unless my information about myself is incorrect, my eyes became green after age 6. My mother was surprised to see how green my eyes were in high school; they're actually not that green anymore. But this is the mother who didn't notice my eyebrow scar until junior high--a scar I got before turning 5. Then there's my daughter, who we've in the past couple of weeks come to realize she is definitely gluten-sensitive and needs to get that out of her system and has likely been gluten-sensitive since her early years. I wonder about her eye colour: she has an unusual amber/hazel colour, nothing from either side of the family. Is this amber her natural colour or is it the result of things in her system that are blocked, possibly due to years of damage from consuming gluten?
I want to see what photos I can find of my younger years and see what I can tell about my eye colour and have a look at my daughter's pictures and when her eye colour started changing. And while I do that, I will be increasing as I can my consumption of raw fruits and vegetables and encourage her to do the same.
What about you? Are your eyes the same colour as when you were a child? Or have you changed your diet and noticed a change in eye colour as a result? I would love to hear more!
From http://ygraph.com/chart/2990
My eyes now are typically a kind of greenish blue, not like any of the colours in that chart. But they were blue enough, plus I was blonde enough, when I was about to turn 6 that my mom was stopped in a shopping mall by a woman for the local German language program who said, "That child must be German!" But they've been this kind of greenish colour for many years. I'm starting to now wonder: Are my eyes their natural colour or did they become more green due to diet?
I've looked up online when a baby's eyes normally change if they are going to change. One site said that babies eyes will change by the time they are 9 months. Another site said usually by 9, but you might still see some change up until 12 months, or rarely, up until age 6.
So... What's going on with me? Unless my information about myself is incorrect, my eyes became green after age 6. My mother was surprised to see how green my eyes were in high school; they're actually not that green anymore. But this is the mother who didn't notice my eyebrow scar until junior high--a scar I got before turning 5. Then there's my daughter, who we've in the past couple of weeks come to realize she is definitely gluten-sensitive and needs to get that out of her system and has likely been gluten-sensitive since her early years. I wonder about her eye colour: she has an unusual amber/hazel colour, nothing from either side of the family. Is this amber her natural colour or is it the result of things in her system that are blocked, possibly due to years of damage from consuming gluten?
I want to see what photos I can find of my younger years and see what I can tell about my eye colour and have a look at my daughter's pictures and when her eye colour started changing. And while I do that, I will be increasing as I can my consumption of raw fruits and vegetables and encourage her to do the same.
What about you? Are your eyes the same colour as when you were a child? Or have you changed your diet and noticed a change in eye colour as a result? I would love to hear more!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
I Bought a Young Coconut--And Don't Know What to Do With It
We bought a regular coconut a few weeks back, it sat on the counter for more than a week, which meant that when I finally opened it up, it was already starting to rot.
I decided to try my first ever young coconut. I was, as it turned out, not very educated on the matter. I was surprised by the texture, the amount of water... But now it's been a few days and I still don't now what to do with it and I don't want it to go to waste!
What's your favourite simple recipe (I have some Medjool dates in the house, only some raw cashews for nuts, no Stevia, no bananas, (and no guarantee that there will be a single ripe banana at the store); not sure what else I have for a recipe) with young coconut? Peferably NOT a yoghurt or a smoothie; I've found a lot of recipes for those and it's not what I'm wanting to make. I guess I'm looking for a sort of treat?
I decided to try my first ever young coconut. I was, as it turned out, not very educated on the matter. I was surprised by the texture, the amount of water... But now it's been a few days and I still don't now what to do with it and I don't want it to go to waste!
What's your favourite simple recipe (I have some Medjool dates in the house, only some raw cashews for nuts, no Stevia, no bananas, (and no guarantee that there will be a single ripe banana at the store); not sure what else I have for a recipe) with young coconut? Peferably NOT a yoghurt or a smoothie; I've found a lot of recipes for those and it's not what I'm wanting to make. I guess I'm looking for a sort of treat?
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
A Yummy to Share
Yes, I know, I've been a little AWOL. Lots going on around here.
And even now, I'm not going to post much, but saw this in Facebook and decided to share:
And even now, I'm not going to post much, but saw this in Facebook and decided to share:
She calls it a Raw Snickers Tart. Since she uses boiling water, I'm not sure it qualifies as raw (it's nearly raw if not), but it is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan (if you don't use the honey)...!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
I'm Baaaa-aaack!
(What show is that from? Was it one of Urkel's lines? I'll have to look it up.)
One more week until spring break. Lots to do around here, although, admittedly, I can't blame how much there is to do on my lack of posting: I've spent gads of time playing Candy Crush Saga in Facebook. And I discovered how to keep getting free lives. Which means I continue playing beyond just a little break! I'm just really feeling this loooong winter (we've had close to another foot of snow the past few days...) and a need for a break from everything.
Anyhow, my pseudo-niece realized she was feeling blah and we were tweeting about fasts and cleanses. She went for a juice fast and very quickly, was feeling very good. She inspired me to hop back on the healthy food wagon. I thought about joining her for a juice fast, but I don't have a juicer, so that's out for me. So then I was thinking about doing a sort of "green smoothie fast" but the idea of having nothing but green smoothies doesn't feel very appealing and I think I might go crazier with that than when I drop wheat. (Oy, I dropped wheat again for the day the other day--went back to those "I feel like I'm going crazy, what will I eat that will be satisfying?" feelings. I don't like it. And it's a bad sign. I've got to cut out wheat long-term, don't I?)
So, other than planning to start each day with as much green smoothie as I can handle, I sat down and went through my Raw Food: A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day book, which is a great book if you are looking for meals for just one person (which I am) and don't have a dehydrator (which I don't), and picked a bunch of recipes to make for lunches this week. Or as a raw food side dish for suppers. I haven't planned everything out yet, which I should absolutely do, especially plan when I'll do the prep required for each one, but have selected the following (I'm going to babble here because then it's all written down and I can come find it when I'm looking for it :D) and made sure to get the necessary ingredients today. I have sooooo much raw fruits and veggies in the fridge now that I absolutely have to make sure I follow through and don't waste anything
*Granola p. 39--this recipe has almonds, which I'll have to not mix in right away since it's always an unknown as to whether I'll react or not; also requires soaking the nuts, which means I definitely need to plan which day I'd like to have it. I don't think I've ever soaked nuts before, although I know many resources recommend it. The recipes I've used didn't require it, so I didn't do it. I'll have to look into that.
*Mango and Pineapple Smoothie p. 43--I actually picked this with my daughter in mind since it's a smoothie recipe that doesn't have bananas. But it sounds tasty, so maybe we'll all share. ;) Doesn't really require much prep since I'm using frozen mango and I'm cheating and using up some canned pineapple that we have.
*Broccoli Salad with Raisins p. 89--I'm leaving out the apple cubes (makes my mouth itch, usually), or might put them in a side dish and serve this salad with a supper and let those who can eat raw apples put them on their salad. There isn't a whole lot of prep for this one, so it could be done easily right before a meal.
*Friday Burritos p. 93 (which I probably won't eat on Friday lol)--I'm missing the alfalfa sprouts (couldn't find them anywhere at the store I was at today), but I think it'll still be fine. There's more chopping to do for this one than some of the other ones; I should possibly actually keep it for Friday when I'll have more time--and the avocado should be ripe by then.
I also bought myself a zucchini to make some raw pasta (I'm pretty sure there's an easy marinara-style recipe in one of my books) and I think I have everything to make the amazing Caesar salad I've raved about before from Mimi Kirk's book. And that carrot, raisin and seeds salad I showed not long ago. And I bought lettuce to make sure to have greens available for each and every supper. (My kids actually like just taking a couple of leaves of green lettuce and eating it just like that!)
What's my plan with all this? Let myself feel the craziness of not getting grains for the first half of the day and some. Green smoothie as much as I can handle, then perhaps granola or the flax seed "pancakes" or fruit to finish off the morning; raw lunch; raw afternoon snack. Essentially, my plan is raw all day (but with that green smoothie to start--best way for me to really get in a lot of fruits and greens) until supper. And I have in mind largely wheat-free suppers for the whole week (I should do up a Make-a-Menu Monday post; I should, but will I?). I'll probably feel like I'm going crazy the first couple of days, but I know it'll be fine. I do have an inkling now about what cigarette and drug addicts must go through! It's got to be sheer torture for them to resist.
---
Brief interruption: I just saw a little ad about kids being safest in a booster seat until 4'9" or 80 lbs. My daughter is 15, 4'11 and about 80 lbs. She's taking after my mother and hasn't had a real growth spurt yet--expecting her to end up eventually around 5'1"-5'2". But she was probably 4'9" and 70 lbs at age 13! A booster seat at age 13??? My mother was 75 lbs when she started high school. Anyhow...
---
I've been meaning to post my recent (mis)adventures in gluten-free baking. That will have to be a separate post. Let's just say that I had some difficulty and have pictures to show it. lol. The cookies are absolutely delicious though. But I apparently have a sugar addiction, too, because when I have some on Sunday (not a part of Lent!), I don't stop at just one.
I also read The Heavy during my blog hiatus.
I'm
going to do a post with a book review. Maybe sometime this week. Maybe next week during spring break. I'll keep my opinion a mystery until then. :D (Oy, that's another thing to plan food for: My brother-in-law and his wife are heading down to Arizona to visit the grandparents during spring break, without the kids, and the kids--a 5yo, an 8yo and a 12yo--will be staying with us!)
I think I'm going to have to keep things simple for tomorrow, so none of the above recipes (except maybe the smoothie). I have an online class to run at 11 and then my in-house class from 1-3, then it's pick up the above-mentioned nieces and nephew from school from 3-4, and then a meeting at 7 for parents who have a child doing the Confirmation prep classes, so time is tight in terms of trying to get school work done with my kids, prep the house and finalize the class lesson plan AND do food prep at any point during the day. Smoothie and a simple salad and whatever I want for raw fruits, veggies and maybe a handful of nuts or something will be fine. And then something super simple for supper.
What have you all been up to? (Even though it's only one of you who ever tends to comment, but I know in the stats there are more of you reading! :D) Are you feeling the effects of a long winter? How are you managing it?
One more week until spring break. Lots to do around here, although, admittedly, I can't blame how much there is to do on my lack of posting: I've spent gads of time playing Candy Crush Saga in Facebook. And I discovered how to keep getting free lives. Which means I continue playing beyond just a little break! I'm just really feeling this loooong winter (we've had close to another foot of snow the past few days...) and a need for a break from everything.
Anyhow, my pseudo-niece realized she was feeling blah and we were tweeting about fasts and cleanses. She went for a juice fast and very quickly, was feeling very good. She inspired me to hop back on the healthy food wagon. I thought about joining her for a juice fast, but I don't have a juicer, so that's out for me. So then I was thinking about doing a sort of "green smoothie fast" but the idea of having nothing but green smoothies doesn't feel very appealing and I think I might go crazier with that than when I drop wheat. (Oy, I dropped wheat again for the day the other day--went back to those "I feel like I'm going crazy, what will I eat that will be satisfying?" feelings. I don't like it. And it's a bad sign. I've got to cut out wheat long-term, don't I?)
So, other than planning to start each day with as much green smoothie as I can handle, I sat down and went through my Raw Food: A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day book, which is a great book if you are looking for meals for just one person (which I am) and don't have a dehydrator (which I don't), and picked a bunch of recipes to make for lunches this week. Or as a raw food side dish for suppers. I haven't planned everything out yet, which I should absolutely do, especially plan when I'll do the prep required for each one, but have selected the following (I'm going to babble here because then it's all written down and I can come find it when I'm looking for it :D) and made sure to get the necessary ingredients today. I have sooooo much raw fruits and veggies in the fridge now that I absolutely have to make sure I follow through and don't waste anything
*Granola p. 39--this recipe has almonds, which I'll have to not mix in right away since it's always an unknown as to whether I'll react or not; also requires soaking the nuts, which means I definitely need to plan which day I'd like to have it. I don't think I've ever soaked nuts before, although I know many resources recommend it. The recipes I've used didn't require it, so I didn't do it. I'll have to look into that.
*Mango and Pineapple Smoothie p. 43--I actually picked this with my daughter in mind since it's a smoothie recipe that doesn't have bananas. But it sounds tasty, so maybe we'll all share. ;) Doesn't really require much prep since I'm using frozen mango and I'm cheating and using up some canned pineapple that we have.
*Broccoli Salad with Raisins p. 89--I'm leaving out the apple cubes (makes my mouth itch, usually), or might put them in a side dish and serve this salad with a supper and let those who can eat raw apples put them on their salad. There isn't a whole lot of prep for this one, so it could be done easily right before a meal.
*Friday Burritos p. 93 (which I probably won't eat on Friday lol)--I'm missing the alfalfa sprouts (couldn't find them anywhere at the store I was at today), but I think it'll still be fine. There's more chopping to do for this one than some of the other ones; I should possibly actually keep it for Friday when I'll have more time--and the avocado should be ripe by then.
I also bought myself a zucchini to make some raw pasta (I'm pretty sure there's an easy marinara-style recipe in one of my books) and I think I have everything to make the amazing Caesar salad I've raved about before from Mimi Kirk's book. And that carrot, raisin and seeds salad I showed not long ago. And I bought lettuce to make sure to have greens available for each and every supper. (My kids actually like just taking a couple of leaves of green lettuce and eating it just like that!)
What's my plan with all this? Let myself feel the craziness of not getting grains for the first half of the day and some. Green smoothie as much as I can handle, then perhaps granola or the flax seed "pancakes" or fruit to finish off the morning; raw lunch; raw afternoon snack. Essentially, my plan is raw all day (but with that green smoothie to start--best way for me to really get in a lot of fruits and greens) until supper. And I have in mind largely wheat-free suppers for the whole week (I should do up a Make-a-Menu Monday post; I should, but will I?). I'll probably feel like I'm going crazy the first couple of days, but I know it'll be fine. I do have an inkling now about what cigarette and drug addicts must go through! It's got to be sheer torture for them to resist.
---
Brief interruption: I just saw a little ad about kids being safest in a booster seat until 4'9" or 80 lbs. My daughter is 15, 4'11 and about 80 lbs. She's taking after my mother and hasn't had a real growth spurt yet--expecting her to end up eventually around 5'1"-5'2". But she was probably 4'9" and 70 lbs at age 13! A booster seat at age 13??? My mother was 75 lbs when she started high school. Anyhow...
---
I've been meaning to post my recent (mis)adventures in gluten-free baking. That will have to be a separate post. Let's just say that I had some difficulty and have pictures to show it. lol. The cookies are absolutely delicious though. But I apparently have a sugar addiction, too, because when I have some on Sunday (not a part of Lent!), I don't stop at just one.
I also read The Heavy during my blog hiatus.
going to do a post with a book review. Maybe sometime this week. Maybe next week during spring break. I'll keep my opinion a mystery until then. :D (Oy, that's another thing to plan food for: My brother-in-law and his wife are heading down to Arizona to visit the grandparents during spring break, without the kids, and the kids--a 5yo, an 8yo and a 12yo--will be staying with us!) I think I'm going to have to keep things simple for tomorrow, so none of the above recipes (except maybe the smoothie). I have an online class to run at 11 and then my in-house class from 1-3, then it's pick up the above-mentioned nieces and nephew from school from 3-4, and then a meeting at 7 for parents who have a child doing the Confirmation prep classes, so time is tight in terms of trying to get school work done with my kids, prep the house and finalize the class lesson plan AND do food prep at any point during the day. Smoothie and a simple salad and whatever I want for raw fruits, veggies and maybe a handful of nuts or something will be fine. And then something super simple for supper.
What have you all been up to? (Even though it's only one of you who ever tends to comment, but I know in the stats there are more of you reading! :D) Are you feeling the effects of a long winter? How are you managing it?
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Saturday Mishmash
Okay, a mishmash of sorts:
I neglected eating greens for a while and restarted this past week. When I've had a lack like that and start up again, my body kind of goes, "Omg! Greens! Give me more!"
Being tired this morning (had two pieces of white toast, to boot), I decided to have an energizing--or at least non-energy-depleting--lunch:
I feel great after eating that for lunch. I almost turned to some banana bread as a kind of dessert, but decided against it because I know it'll make me feel more drained--I'm already so tired today!
Random fact: Frogs can not swallow with their eyes open. (Why am I sharing this? My daughter's rattling off random facts she's reading from her iPod. ;) )
I neglected eating greens for a while and restarted this past week. When I've had a lack like that and start up again, my body kind of goes, "Omg! Greens! Give me more!"
Being tired this morning (had two pieces of white toast, to boot), I decided to have an energizing--or at least non-energy-depleting--lunch:
I've probably shared a similar salad before. It's just so easy, combines different tastes so it makes it tasty and it's nutritionally satisfying! Super simple (and raw vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free...):
*bed of lettuce (green leaf above)
*shredded organic carrot (if you don't normally eat organic carrots, have a look and see if the organic carrots available where you live are better than the regular; here, the regular carrots seem to be old and dried up and don't taste great and the organic are just gorgeous, fresh and delicious--absolutely worth the little bit extra $!)
*raw sunflower seeds
*raw pumpkin seeds
*raisins
*some olive oil
*some lemon juice
*sprinkling of Mrs. Dash
I feel great after eating that for lunch. I almost turned to some banana bread as a kind of dessert, but decided against it because I know it'll make me feel more drained--I'm already so tired today!
---
I have a new favourite chocolate milk.
I've been seeing things with cheese and things like ice cream lately and have been really wanting to indulge in them. Which is crazy since I haven't wanted anything like that in ages and I know I won't actually like the taste and it will make me seriously ill.
But it is a sign I've had before: I'm not getting enough calcium.
Other than trying to make sure to eat in a more balanced fashion, I was wishing I actually liked to drink the almond and rice milks and all that. I used to drink the Silk Soy Chocolate Milk when I'd get all cheese-cravy, but it left me mucousy, so I gave that up. I discovered this last week at the grocery store
and I love it! It tastes delicious, doesn't leave me mucousy and has helped me easily satisfy my calcium needs. I hesitated getting it since it is Lent and I had decided to not partake of sweet treats, but I figured that as long as I'm treating it like milk/calcium source rather than going nuts with it, it's okay. It also has more iron than the unsweetened Silk PureAlmond and lists it as a decent source of vitamin E. (Yay for dark chocolate! :) )
---
Random fact: Frogs can not swallow with their eyes open. (Why am I sharing this? My daughter's rattling off random facts she's reading from her iPod. ;) )
---
A friend of mine extolled the virtues of arnica to me a few years back,
and then another friend more recently. The first friend really extolled them after she
gave her 5-year old son doses of arnica after he was hit by a pickup truck (reckless driver! he's okay today!), fractured his skull and had swelling. When they went for the first check up, the doctor was quite surprised by how much the swelling had gone down, something my friend attributed to the arnica. Not having read a lot about homeopathy, I didn't know what to think.
My daughter bruised her ribs not long ago and the second friend reminded me immediately of using arnica. Okay, why not give it a shot? A single dose of arnica and the pain was completely gone. Coincidence?
I ended up with a nasty migraine a couple weeks ago. Looked up online if arnica might help with a migraine at all. I can't remember what the actual result of that search was, but I did end up stumbling on an article talking about arnica and some research done. The research was trying to discount arnica, having used it on patients who had had surgery (I think it was for carpal tunnel). A control group was given a placebo. The results? Both patients reported approximately the same amount of relief.
If I'd stopped reading there, I wouldn't have gotten the full information. Turns out the the people doing the research didn't pay attention to traditional recommended doses of arnica and gave way more than what a homeopath would ever give. The article went on to say that research has been done on cell responses to arnica and it has to be a low enough dose for the cells to respond. (I'm sorry, I find that fascinating!) We live in a society where we tend to think more is better, including for pain killers and inflammation reducers, but our bodies don't necessarily respond how we think they will.
In any case, I decided to use some arnica on my migraine and it did help a little. The real clincher was the following week, not this past Thursday but the Thursday before, I had my parent volunteer day. I woke up with a headache and tried the arnica; it helped a bit and Advil didn't. Got to the church for the volunteer day and noticed right away that the stairs seemed easier. Could my at-home stair training really have made that much difference in just a week? Ended up having another dose around lunch time, which didn't help the headache at all (had that darn thing ALL day) but I noticed, again, distinct ease with climbing the stairs.
I'm absolutely convinced now that the arnica helps with the inflammation in my iliotibial band, which meant that it was easier and there wasn't the usual pulling on my knees, causing pain. I will have to remember the arnica for my next parent duty day! The unfortunate thing: the brand I bought has lactose. *sigh* I will be looking for a dairy-free/vegan version!
My daughter bruised her ribs not long ago and the second friend reminded me immediately of using arnica. Okay, why not give it a shot? A single dose of arnica and the pain was completely gone. Coincidence?
I ended up with a nasty migraine a couple weeks ago. Looked up online if arnica might help with a migraine at all. I can't remember what the actual result of that search was, but I did end up stumbling on an article talking about arnica and some research done. The research was trying to discount arnica, having used it on patients who had had surgery (I think it was for carpal tunnel). A control group was given a placebo. The results? Both patients reported approximately the same amount of relief.
If I'd stopped reading there, I wouldn't have gotten the full information. Turns out the the people doing the research didn't pay attention to traditional recommended doses of arnica and gave way more than what a homeopath would ever give. The article went on to say that research has been done on cell responses to arnica and it has to be a low enough dose for the cells to respond. (I'm sorry, I find that fascinating!) We live in a society where we tend to think more is better, including for pain killers and inflammation reducers, but our bodies don't necessarily respond how we think they will.
In any case, I decided to use some arnica on my migraine and it did help a little. The real clincher was the following week, not this past Thursday but the Thursday before, I had my parent volunteer day. I woke up with a headache and tried the arnica; it helped a bit and Advil didn't. Got to the church for the volunteer day and noticed right away that the stairs seemed easier. Could my at-home stair training really have made that much difference in just a week? Ended up having another dose around lunch time, which didn't help the headache at all (had that darn thing ALL day) but I noticed, again, distinct ease with climbing the stairs.
I'm absolutely convinced now that the arnica helps with the inflammation in my iliotibial band, which meant that it was easier and there wasn't the usual pulling on my knees, causing pain. I will have to remember the arnica for my next parent duty day! The unfortunate thing: the brand I bought has lactose. *sigh* I will be looking for a dairy-free/vegan version!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Lent and Fasting
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I have always had an issue with the whole fasting part of Ash Wednesday, and the fasting recommendations for Lent, and probably have never really "properly" fasted. I tend to lean toward hypoglycemia, so perhaps I don't even really qualify for the typical Lenten fast. I didn't do too badly today, just said no to food when I really wanted to eat something, but did give into a snack when I started feeling myself get shaky (not supposed to have any snacks yesterday!) or like yesterday evening, I could feel the drop in my blood sugar, so I ate half of a banana.
But it got me thinking: There are other kinds of fasts I could try during Lent. They may not be calorie-restrictive, but they are having me fast from all kinds of other foods! Juice fasts and raw food fasts are the first two to come to mind. Even if I just pick a single day here and there or something. Challenge myself a bit. The priest at Mass yesterday was great and said that fasting--be it from food or TV time or computer games--does pinch a bit, does cause discomfort. "But that's the point!" he said on more than one occasion. That pinch, that discomfort, it's all about our comfort zones. We attain real freedom when we just deal with the discomfort and push through the walls that would keep us from leaving. We grow from it.
In the spirit of encouraging myself to try a raw food or other fast, I've done some research and found the following that I thought I would share!
Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease
I actually saw this book at the library once and didn't pay any attention to it. Now, this would be more for people looking to fast for health issues, but I do have (minor) health issues (allergies, water retention...), so it could be a good book for me and others.
Laura London's 7-Day Goddess Juice Feast
A day-7 program she says you can do once a month. While she does talk about the weight loss benefits, there is also information about various health benefits people have experienced.
Juice Fasting and Detoxification: Use the Healing Power of Fresh Juice to Feel Young and Look Great
This looks to be a serious fasting book! Gives the why and the how-to and recipes you can use.
Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life: Unleash the Healing Power of Fresh Juices and Cleansing Diets
This one's not actually just juicing: there are recipes for smoothies and vegetable soups, as well. This is really focused on using fruits and vegetables in those ways for optimal health. (Oh dear, one of the books shown on the page was The Wrinkle Cleanse which looks very interesting, especially since I'm getting closer and closer to 40! Not specifically on fasting, but on the use of raw foods and juicing.)
Fasting for Weight Loss and Detoxification - This isn't a book. It's actually a membership program where they send you things each week for 9 months to guide you. They encourage just one day a week of fasting. He does have books you can buy, too.
Of course, a raw food fast wouldn't need a book. Just grab any raw food book and spend a day or week or whatever the time is. (Yes, I'm telling myself this, yet have I actually done it yet? Hm... I will, at least one day during Lent, I will do a full raw food day!)
I found so much more I could post, but it might be silly to post it all! I'll stop here. :)
But it got me thinking: There are other kinds of fasts I could try during Lent. They may not be calorie-restrictive, but they are having me fast from all kinds of other foods! Juice fasts and raw food fasts are the first two to come to mind. Even if I just pick a single day here and there or something. Challenge myself a bit. The priest at Mass yesterday was great and said that fasting--be it from food or TV time or computer games--does pinch a bit, does cause discomfort. "But that's the point!" he said on more than one occasion. That pinch, that discomfort, it's all about our comfort zones. We attain real freedom when we just deal with the discomfort and push through the walls that would keep us from leaving. We grow from it.
In the spirit of encouraging myself to try a raw food or other fast, I've done some research and found the following that I thought I would share!
Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease
I actually saw this book at the library once and didn't pay any attention to it. Now, this would be more for people looking to fast for health issues, but I do have (minor) health issues (allergies, water retention...), so it could be a good book for me and others.
Laura London's 7-Day Goddess Juice Feast
A day-7 program she says you can do once a month. While she does talk about the weight loss benefits, there is also information about various health benefits people have experienced.
This looks to be a serious fasting book! Gives the why and the how-to and recipes you can use.
Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life: Unleash the Healing Power of Fresh Juices and Cleansing Diets
This one's not actually just juicing: there are recipes for smoothies and vegetable soups, as well. This is really focused on using fruits and vegetables in those ways for optimal health. (Oh dear, one of the books shown on the page was The Wrinkle Cleanse which looks very interesting, especially since I'm getting closer and closer to 40! Not specifically on fasting, but on the use of raw foods and juicing.)
Fasting for Weight Loss and Detoxification - This isn't a book. It's actually a membership program where they send you things each week for 9 months to guide you. They encourage just one day a week of fasting. He does have books you can buy, too.
Of course, a raw food fast wouldn't need a book. Just grab any raw food book and spend a day or week or whatever the time is. (Yes, I'm telling myself this, yet have I actually done it yet? Hm... I will, at least one day during Lent, I will do a full raw food day!)
I found so much more I could post, but it might be silly to post it all! I'll stop here. :)
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Day 9 Pre-Christmas Challenge--Christmas is Coming!
"Where did day 8 go?" you might be asking. Well, here's a brief recap of my day 8:
Any wonder I didn't write? :) I did eat raw in the morning. Actually, I have a picture. Know what's better than Ani Phyo's Coconut Breakfast Cakes? Let's have a peek at before and after pics:
lol. Coconut Breakfast Cakes with blueberries! Soooo amazingly good! We've got a very low supply of fruit, so I was kind of stuck with what to eat that would be raw and fill me. Technically, the blueberries are frozen, which means they probably aren't raw, but I'm not going to be a stickler with this. It's fruit. No sugar added or anything. It's all good.
And yes, I did my exercises and yoga!
Now we are on Day 9 (I wish I could write it the way that sounded in my head):
It may be Day 9, but it is also December 1st! Nothing like hitting December 1st to really feel like Christmas is coming. I weighed myself this morning, as I did a couple other mornings, and let's say that it's prompted me to up the ante on this challenge. I had lost three pounds right off the bat when I was eating lots of fruits and veggies; when my appetite started dwindling in the morning and I have not been getting a whole lot of fruits and veggies, the weight's gone up a pound or so. Those fruits and veggies are so crucial to our well being, but especially my water retention issues!
Trying to convert what's going on in my head to something measurable to challenge myself with is, well, a challenge. I know I need more fruits and veggies; I know I need fewer grains. I know I need to keep up the water. Maybe for right now, that's just what it is: Trying each day to improve my fruit and veggie consumption beyond the previous. Well there, that's given me an idea: I will track my food the next few days and see just what is it that I'm eating, how much, where can I really tweak things to improve. With busy days, it's easy to just eat out of habit rather than consciously!
There are 23/24 days until Christmas. Lots of time to start up your own challenge! What will you do today?
- Woke up with a fever and headache and had a runny nose on and off all day
- I had 5000+ words to finish for NaNoWriMo (yes, I managed to finish! woot!)
- I was looking after my nieces and nephew yesterday (they had a day off school), which involved my 5-year old niece showing me magic tricks she created, making cupcakes, seeing my son come upstairs with a Nerf gun and sunglasses on and oh, so much more
- I still did school work with my daughter in the morning, and she had dance class in the evening, which I drive her to and stay in the waiting room
- Had a Christmas card design to work on
lol. Coconut Breakfast Cakes with blueberries! Soooo amazingly good! We've got a very low supply of fruit, so I was kind of stuck with what to eat that would be raw and fill me. Technically, the blueberries are frozen, which means they probably aren't raw, but I'm not going to be a stickler with this. It's fruit. No sugar added or anything. It's all good.
And yes, I did my exercises and yoga!
Now we are on Day 9 (I wish I could write it the way that sounded in my head):
It may be Day 9, but it is also December 1st! Nothing like hitting December 1st to really feel like Christmas is coming. I weighed myself this morning, as I did a couple other mornings, and let's say that it's prompted me to up the ante on this challenge. I had lost three pounds right off the bat when I was eating lots of fruits and veggies; when my appetite started dwindling in the morning and I have not been getting a whole lot of fruits and veggies, the weight's gone up a pound or so. Those fruits and veggies are so crucial to our well being, but especially my water retention issues!
Trying to convert what's going on in my head to something measurable to challenge myself with is, well, a challenge. I know I need more fruits and veggies; I know I need fewer grains. I know I need to keep up the water. Maybe for right now, that's just what it is: Trying each day to improve my fruit and veggie consumption beyond the previous. Well there, that's given me an idea: I will track my food the next few days and see just what is it that I'm eating, how much, where can I really tweak things to improve. With busy days, it's easy to just eat out of habit rather than consciously!
There are 23/24 days until Christmas. Lots of time to start up your own challenge! What will you do today?
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Day 5 -- Pre-Christmas Challenge: Eat a Salad!
Already at
So far so good here. I've been meeting all my general challenge goals (raw mornings, exercises to help strengthen glutes to help with IT band problems, still keeping up the yoga) including the daily extra challenge. I got 8 cups of water yesterday, but it doesn't seem to have been enough. When I got several days without enough and get dehydrated, rehydration seems to require more. I am soooo thirsty this morning, it's just crazy. I'm not even hungry, I just want water and am probably on my third cup already (it's only 8:30 am here).
I did stay away from junk yesterday, too, to carry over the previous day challenge. That made three days in a row because I didn't have any junk on Saturday, even though it wasn't set up as a challenge then. I am already feeling somehow better than I've felt in sometime, even though my neck glands are super swollen today. Hard to know if it's my system clearing out due to the improved food consumption, the fact that it's that time of year where illness about and 5 of my 11 students yesterday did not show up due to illness, or a combination thereof. I don't have a desire at the moment to say okay to junk. Why would I want to mess it up by succumbing to sweets that give me headaches or junk that just makes me feel gross? Although, really, corn Tostitos and Daiya cheese don't make me feel blah, but dang, the salt and fat content can't be good for me as a regular part of my diet! I keep toying with the idea of cutting out junk completely, to thinking that I'm not against the occasional treat--and a treat that doesn't make me feel worse (Sarma's truffles don't affect me negatively at all, for example)--just against the idea of having bad treats every single day, which is what I had slipped into. I suppose raw treats would be the thing to really allow myself.
In any case, enough of that rambling!
Are you following along? Did you do the water challenge yesterday?
What to do for Day 5? I was thinking last night today is a good day to do something extra for physical activity. But then I caused a minor back spasm before going to bed and this morning, my one knee is not cooperating. My back isn't in spasm anymore, but I massaged my lower back this morning just to see and the whole area is super tender. So, pushing myself more physically is out of the question today! It's already a challenge to go up and down the stairs. lol. I figured another food choice could be good. And salad sounds delicious, probably because it's been (shamefully) days since I had one. My challenge today, therefore, is to eat a salad! Our bodies will thank us! I'll be taking the time to make Mimi Kirk's Raw Caesar Salad. It is sooooo good and very worth the effort! I know I've shared it before but dang, it really is that good!
Written recipe: http://youngonrawfood.com/caesar-sala/ I use Bragg's instead of Tamari and it works just fine!
See you tomorrow!
So far so good here. I've been meeting all my general challenge goals (raw mornings, exercises to help strengthen glutes to help with IT band problems, still keeping up the yoga) including the daily extra challenge. I got 8 cups of water yesterday, but it doesn't seem to have been enough. When I got several days without enough and get dehydrated, rehydration seems to require more. I am soooo thirsty this morning, it's just crazy. I'm not even hungry, I just want water and am probably on my third cup already (it's only 8:30 am here).
I did stay away from junk yesterday, too, to carry over the previous day challenge. That made three days in a row because I didn't have any junk on Saturday, even though it wasn't set up as a challenge then. I am already feeling somehow better than I've felt in sometime, even though my neck glands are super swollen today. Hard to know if it's my system clearing out due to the improved food consumption, the fact that it's that time of year where illness about and 5 of my 11 students yesterday did not show up due to illness, or a combination thereof. I don't have a desire at the moment to say okay to junk. Why would I want to mess it up by succumbing to sweets that give me headaches or junk that just makes me feel gross? Although, really, corn Tostitos and Daiya cheese don't make me feel blah, but dang, the salt and fat content can't be good for me as a regular part of my diet! I keep toying with the idea of cutting out junk completely, to thinking that I'm not against the occasional treat--and a treat that doesn't make me feel worse (Sarma's truffles don't affect me negatively at all, for example)--just against the idea of having bad treats every single day, which is what I had slipped into. I suppose raw treats would be the thing to really allow myself.
In any case, enough of that rambling!
Are you following along? Did you do the water challenge yesterday?
What to do for Day 5? I was thinking last night today is a good day to do something extra for physical activity. But then I caused a minor back spasm before going to bed and this morning, my one knee is not cooperating. My back isn't in spasm anymore, but I massaged my lower back this morning just to see and the whole area is super tender. So, pushing myself more physically is out of the question today! It's already a challenge to go up and down the stairs. lol. I figured another food choice could be good. And salad sounds delicious, probably because it's been (shamefully) days since I had one. My challenge today, therefore, is to eat a salad! Our bodies will thank us! I'll be taking the time to make Mimi Kirk's Raw Caesar Salad. It is sooooo good and very worth the effort! I know I've shared it before but dang, it really is that good!
Written recipe: http://youngonrawfood.com/caesar-sala/ I use Bragg's instead of Tamari and it works just fine!
See you tomorrow!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Make Things Simpler?
I'm starting to think my life--when it comes to food I eat, as well as what I serve to my family--would be much simpler if I just really made the effort to go raw, or at least high raw. And, to be honest, the idea of going high raw feels incredibly complicated and difficult!
My 14yo has been showing some signs of wheat intolerance, possibly celiac. She also wants to be vegetarian, at least most of the time. And she knows she doesn't eat enough fruits and vegetables, but just picking a plain fruit or veggie is rather boring. And now there's an issue with how much rice you can eat each week (have you heard about that? high arsenic levels found) and food recalls here in Canada (beef, popcorn, Mini Wheats...) this and that and the other. Then there is me, with a known dairy intolerance/allergy and signs of soy sensitivity. It really hit me today that if we could find a number of raw recipes that we love, it would solve a lot of problems: grain-free, junk-free, meat-free, egg-free, high fruits and veggies...
Of course, I just got a pressure cooker for an early Christmas present, but I suppose I can still make use of it even if we end up high raw--and for the transitional period. I do have to find some recipes to try, which could be a whole other issue. I found this one book at the library and it seemed to have a lot of strange recipes, a lot of them with lamb and I can't remember what else. Turns out it's from Australia. I guess they have different staple foods in their diet than here in North America!
Where am I going with this? Not sure. It's Friday night and almost time for bed. I don't think my brain is fully functioning. :) But I suppose with all this in mind, I need to throw a question out there: Would going high raw vegan be simpler than going vegan with trying to avoid gluten, soy and I can't think of what else? Anybody been there, done that?
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Hopping Back On Board
Well, baby-hopping my way back on board!
Today is the first day of school here which is a good time for new beginnings. Somehow, it's just easier to push ourselves through with something new on a day that seems "new" anyhow.
I have decided it's time to hop back on board and baby step my way over the next week or two. I was feeling so good when my mornings were almost entirely raw, lunches were raw or mostly raw and then supper was cooked but high veggies and often a salad. It's been weeks since I've eaten like that and the results are clear: low energy, headaches and sinus problems are back, skin's a mess, my ears constantly feel slightly plugged, allergies are through the roof... I hate this. I keep getting mentally stuck on the "perfect" (sic) way to eat and some part of my mind broke through and finally said,
I can do something, can't I? Of course I can.That something for me is starting off my day with fresh fruit or a green smoothie. I actually did so yesterday, but that was just a "bonus day" of sorts. Today is the beginning of the actual commitment to do this. I know I'm going to feel so much better!
At the same time, my daughter and I have plans to have a gluten-free day this week. Clearly it's not today. Tomorrow's probably too soon and Friday probably wouldn't work, so I guess Thursday will be the day. I'll see what I can come up with for simple meal suggestions and we can even buy necessary items if we need to tomorrow. She is very used to eating wheat of some sort at lunch and often breakfast, so it could be particularly hard for her. I think people in general tend to get into ruts with what they eat and to pull themselves out and try something different doesn't always feel satisfying!
Btw, I'm still doing my 100-day yoga challenge. Yesterday was the 22nd day in a row. It's never too late to create your own challenge and to join me in either yoga or healthier eating!
Today is the first day of school here which is a good time for new beginnings. Somehow, it's just easier to push ourselves through with something new on a day that seems "new" anyhow.
I have decided it's time to hop back on board and baby step my way over the next week or two. I was feeling so good when my mornings were almost entirely raw, lunches were raw or mostly raw and then supper was cooked but high veggies and often a salad. It's been weeks since I've eaten like that and the results are clear: low energy, headaches and sinus problems are back, skin's a mess, my ears constantly feel slightly plugged, allergies are through the roof... I hate this. I keep getting mentally stuck on the "perfect" (sic) way to eat and some part of my mind broke through and finally said,
"Just do something each day that's better."
I can do something, can't I? Of course I can.That something for me is starting off my day with fresh fruit or a green smoothie. I actually did so yesterday, but that was just a "bonus day" of sorts. Today is the beginning of the actual commitment to do this. I know I'm going to feel so much better!
At the same time, my daughter and I have plans to have a gluten-free day this week. Clearly it's not today. Tomorrow's probably too soon and Friday probably wouldn't work, so I guess Thursday will be the day. I'll see what I can come up with for simple meal suggestions and we can even buy necessary items if we need to tomorrow. She is very used to eating wheat of some sort at lunch and often breakfast, so it could be particularly hard for her. I think people in general tend to get into ruts with what they eat and to pull themselves out and try something different doesn't always feel satisfying!
Btw, I'm still doing my 100-day yoga challenge. Yesterday was the 22nd day in a row. It's never too late to create your own challenge and to join me in either yoga or healthier eating!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Why Honesty Is Ultimately the Best Policy--from Karen Knowler
I could relate to this so much, except I haven't made it back into the food that makes me feel good! /D.
August 24, 2012
Why Honesty Is Ultimately The Best Policy
There's a theme that runs through my coaching work and it's been (and still is) true for me, and I know, if you too are a human being also, then it'll surely be true for you.
When you begin dabbling with raw food to any significant degree (say 50% +) chances are that you will start to think and feel differently to how you did before.
You will find yourself, automatically, asking bigger questions around a lot of things, but at the very least about the foods you have eaten previously, comparing their purity and integrity to the raw foods you're now eating...and finding yourself very much feeling the divide.
Over time this divide becomes increasingly apparent, and it's here that we face the hurdle:
When you begin dabbling with raw food to any significant degree (say 50% +) chances are that you will start to think and feel differently to how you did before.
You will find yourself, automatically, asking bigger questions around a lot of things, but at the very least about the foods you have eaten previously, comparing their purity and integrity to the raw foods you're now eating...and finding yourself very much feeling the divide.
Over time this divide becomes increasingly apparent, and it's here that we face the hurdle:
Do we jump the fence into the field of 100% honesty and find what really works optimally for us or do we do a U-turn and stay in the twilight world where "bad" food is sometimes "good" and "good" food is always "good" (but that feels annoying!)?
Looking back to the start of my own journey, I recall many more times than I care to remember, that I flat out refused to believe that raw food could make so much difference to me.
I fought it. I denied it. I tested it. I closed my eyes to the results and talked myself out of it. And finally, as you would expect, I turned my back on it.
But of course, truth being as it is, it kept tugging at my conscience and so turning my back for a day, week, month or more was never, ever the end of it!
And so later, when I was going through a good patch, where life was good and the food was good too, eventually, after seeing things with open and honest eyes, I would admit it. Raw food DID make the world of difference. How annoying!! (This whole little routine happened many, many times over the first 5 years).
At that point, when I was 100% honest with myself and all was aligned, I would very happily jump that hurdle into raw food land and enjoy those fairer pastures, where I would run around joyfully for days, weeks or even months at a time with no desire whatsoever to jump back over the fence again and into that twilight zone.
And then there would be times, after a little while, when I'd look back over my shoulder and realise that 99.99% of the people I knew (and cared for) were in fact not even on the horizon, let alone approaching that jump out of the twilight zone or U-turning away from it.
And that felt bad. And wrong. And sad. And lonely.
And more often than not I would weigh everything up and say, "You know, I would rather be with people than raw and virtually alone."
And back I would go. Jumping back over into oven ready meals, tubs of ice-cream and bottles of vino, "celebrating" my return to "the real world" and greeting my friends and family with "I'm taking a more balanced approach; this is much more realistic." (And they would sigh with relief and welcome me back to the fold, and say "here, have a cheese sandwich and a glass of wine. Now you can enjoy life again!!")
And then I would crash.
Before not-very-long-at-all I'd feel awful physically, sad emotionally, confused mentally and disconnected spiritually.
And then I'd just feel even more confused because I wanted the best of both worlds, but as far as I could see that just wasn't going to happen.
So what to do?
Well, as I said, after many many times of doing this whole "hang out - jump - hang out - jump back" routine, I finally had to have a good chat with myself!
"Karen," I said, "Let's be honest here: How do you really feel when you're on raw?"
Relief.
I could finally be honest with myself; I was being direct, I was asking the right question and I was waiting to hear my own answers. Big relief. And scary and exciting too...
And my list went something like this:
Happy
Energetic
Creative
Fun
Young
Playful
Alive
Excited
Brave
Visionary
Connected
Strong
Vibrant
Radiant
Invincible!
And the next question of course was:
"And how do you feel when you go back to cooked? Yes, even a little?"
And my list read...
Sad
Confused
Frustrated
Disillusioned
Dark
Blue
Supressed
Compromised
Gloomy
Lost
Off-track
Misaligned
You get the picture!
When we have evidence in front of our eyes like that we have a choice. We can either continue to go against what our own self tells us and try to go back or fit in or even try to walk the line between two worlds (not easy or fun), or we can commit to following what I affectionately term "the yellow brick road" and commit not to raw food per se (this is my truth and it may not be yours), but a life that is built on 100% honesty and commitment to our own truth however that shows up.
As it turned out, the moment I committed to my own truth my whole world changed. No exaggeration.
After years of yo-yoing and jumping back and forth trying to avoid the truth about raw foods and me for fear of what it meant, once I had matured enough to realise that "to thine own self be true" was the ultimate philosophy to live by (not just for me but for all of us I believe), I took my mixture of fear and excitement and turned it into action. There just wasn't anywhere left to go!
I committed to being raw (and now I had clarity it felt very joyful and easy now at this stage), I committed to finding my life purpose, I committed to finding a place to live that would support me and act as a "cocoon" while I metamorphosised into the more fully congruent me, and I committed to doing whatever else it took to stay on that yellow brick road, to walk it with a spring in my step and a song in my heart and not to look back.
It's been a few years now since that happened. It was the spring of 1998 and when I committed to me and to my truth, and not only did I go 100% raw, but I left London, went to work in a meditation centre, manifested a car, a flatshare and very soon after a wonderfully positioned and perfectly sized house (all for me!) overlooking Ely cathedral, and needless to say my whole life changed completely. I truly felt I was living my bliss.
Since then, it has changed way further still. To go into details would take another 5 articles and some I'm sure, and I'm still walking that yellow brick road today.
Can I honestly say I never turned back?
No, I can't. There was a time between late 2003 and late 2005 where I really did turn my back on the whole thing. Three very emotionally turbulent events all hit within the space of one month and they threw me so off beam that I really didn't care what road I was on, because I felt so much pain and loss and so many other painful emotions at that time that nothing else mattered apart from getting out of that place in one piece, re-aligned and feeling sane!
Eventually, after my two years in the wilderness where I was semi-raw I woke up from the half-life I had cocooned myself into and decided I was ready to get back on the road again. It was a fairly slow rise from my couch potato status to reach the end of that particular story, but once I had got my faith back in life and the perfection of it again (seeing that in spite of the pain and turbulence, everything had worked out for the best after all) I rejoined my path with a renewed sense of joy, purpose and understanding that I never had before.
And as I got back into raw foods again once more the magic began to kick in. Once more, as reliably predictable as the sun rising and the sun setting, the way I felt on raw foods returned and it was as if I had never been away.
Once more on purpose my life moved back into the "magic zone". Things flowed, I felt aligned and in the right place headed in the right direction. What a huge relief.
And with that faith once again renewed and knowing that live food would NEVER let me down and had a level of integrity, energy and purity that no other foods seemed to have, I once again gravitated towards my own truth and kept on walking.
Ever since that time I have found increasing delight in plunging the depths of honesty, integrity and even intimacy with myself (from my cells out physically and from my heart out emotionally), which really is a non-negotiable fundamental when it comes to living a truly fulfilling, heartfelt, soul-led life.
Today I find that naturally as part of my work I now very much attract clients who are at all stages of that journey. Some are in the twilight zone, fighting it like I did (not just the food but the whole kit and caboodle of what being truly honest means!), some have made the leap but are now wondering what they've let themselves in for, and others are happily and consciously walking the yellow brick road but need ongoing assistance and support and handholding from someone who has trodden that path before.
Whatever stage of the journey you are at, my main message for this time is to know that, although the journey to rawdom can appear very scary at times, it really is the safest territory on earth that we are walking when we start that journey towards our highest, most vibrant and fully alive version of truth.
What else is there, really?!
I fought it. I denied it. I tested it. I closed my eyes to the results and talked myself out of it. And finally, as you would expect, I turned my back on it.
But of course, truth being as it is, it kept tugging at my conscience and so turning my back for a day, week, month or more was never, ever the end of it!
And so later, when I was going through a good patch, where life was good and the food was good too, eventually, after seeing things with open and honest eyes, I would admit it. Raw food DID make the world of difference. How annoying!! (This whole little routine happened many, many times over the first 5 years).
At that point, when I was 100% honest with myself and all was aligned, I would very happily jump that hurdle into raw food land and enjoy those fairer pastures, where I would run around joyfully for days, weeks or even months at a time with no desire whatsoever to jump back over the fence again and into that twilight zone.
And then there would be times, after a little while, when I'd look back over my shoulder and realise that 99.99% of the people I knew (and cared for) were in fact not even on the horizon, let alone approaching that jump out of the twilight zone or U-turning away from it.
And that felt bad. And wrong. And sad. And lonely.
And more often than not I would weigh everything up and say, "You know, I would rather be with people than raw and virtually alone."
And back I would go. Jumping back over into oven ready meals, tubs of ice-cream and bottles of vino, "celebrating" my return to "the real world" and greeting my friends and family with "I'm taking a more balanced approach; this is much more realistic." (And they would sigh with relief and welcome me back to the fold, and say "here, have a cheese sandwich and a glass of wine. Now you can enjoy life again!!")
And then I would crash.
Before not-very-long-at-all I'd feel awful physically, sad emotionally, confused mentally and disconnected spiritually.
And then I'd just feel even more confused because I wanted the best of both worlds, but as far as I could see that just wasn't going to happen.
So what to do?
Well, as I said, after many many times of doing this whole "hang out - jump - hang out - jump back" routine, I finally had to have a good chat with myself!
"Karen," I said, "Let's be honest here: How do you really feel when you're on raw?"
Relief.
I could finally be honest with myself; I was being direct, I was asking the right question and I was waiting to hear my own answers. Big relief. And scary and exciting too...
And my list went something like this:
Happy
Energetic
Creative
Fun
Young
Playful
Alive
Excited
Brave
Visionary
Connected
Strong
Vibrant
Radiant
Invincible!
And the next question of course was:
"And how do you feel when you go back to cooked? Yes, even a little?"
And my list read...
Sad
Confused
Frustrated
Disillusioned
Dark
Blue
Supressed
Compromised
Gloomy
Lost
Off-track
Misaligned
You get the picture!
When we have evidence in front of our eyes like that we have a choice. We can either continue to go against what our own self tells us and try to go back or fit in or even try to walk the line between two worlds (not easy or fun), or we can commit to following what I affectionately term "the yellow brick road" and commit not to raw food per se (this is my truth and it may not be yours), but a life that is built on 100% honesty and commitment to our own truth however that shows up.
As it turned out, the moment I committed to my own truth my whole world changed. No exaggeration.
After years of yo-yoing and jumping back and forth trying to avoid the truth about raw foods and me for fear of what it meant, once I had matured enough to realise that "to thine own self be true" was the ultimate philosophy to live by (not just for me but for all of us I believe), I took my mixture of fear and excitement and turned it into action. There just wasn't anywhere left to go!
I committed to being raw (and now I had clarity it felt very joyful and easy now at this stage), I committed to finding my life purpose, I committed to finding a place to live that would support me and act as a "cocoon" while I metamorphosised into the more fully congruent me, and I committed to doing whatever else it took to stay on that yellow brick road, to walk it with a spring in my step and a song in my heart and not to look back.
It's been a few years now since that happened. It was the spring of 1998 and when I committed to me and to my truth, and not only did I go 100% raw, but I left London, went to work in a meditation centre, manifested a car, a flatshare and very soon after a wonderfully positioned and perfectly sized house (all for me!) overlooking Ely cathedral, and needless to say my whole life changed completely. I truly felt I was living my bliss.
Since then, it has changed way further still. To go into details would take another 5 articles and some I'm sure, and I'm still walking that yellow brick road today.
Can I honestly say I never turned back?
No, I can't. There was a time between late 2003 and late 2005 where I really did turn my back on the whole thing. Three very emotionally turbulent events all hit within the space of one month and they threw me so off beam that I really didn't care what road I was on, because I felt so much pain and loss and so many other painful emotions at that time that nothing else mattered apart from getting out of that place in one piece, re-aligned and feeling sane!
Eventually, after my two years in the wilderness where I was semi-raw I woke up from the half-life I had cocooned myself into and decided I was ready to get back on the road again. It was a fairly slow rise from my couch potato status to reach the end of that particular story, but once I had got my faith back in life and the perfection of it again (seeing that in spite of the pain and turbulence, everything had worked out for the best after all) I rejoined my path with a renewed sense of joy, purpose and understanding that I never had before.
And as I got back into raw foods again once more the magic began to kick in. Once more, as reliably predictable as the sun rising and the sun setting, the way I felt on raw foods returned and it was as if I had never been away.
Once more on purpose my life moved back into the "magic zone". Things flowed, I felt aligned and in the right place headed in the right direction. What a huge relief.
And with that faith once again renewed and knowing that live food would NEVER let me down and had a level of integrity, energy and purity that no other foods seemed to have, I once again gravitated towards my own truth and kept on walking.
Ever since that time I have found increasing delight in plunging the depths of honesty, integrity and even intimacy with myself (from my cells out physically and from my heart out emotionally), which really is a non-negotiable fundamental when it comes to living a truly fulfilling, heartfelt, soul-led life.
Today I find that naturally as part of my work I now very much attract clients who are at all stages of that journey. Some are in the twilight zone, fighting it like I did (not just the food but the whole kit and caboodle of what being truly honest means!), some have made the leap but are now wondering what they've let themselves in for, and others are happily and consciously walking the yellow brick road but need ongoing assistance and support and handholding from someone who has trodden that path before.
Whatever stage of the journey you are at, my main message for this time is to know that, although the journey to rawdom can appear very scary at times, it really is the safest territory on earth that we are walking when we start that journey towards our highest, most vibrant and fully alive version of truth.
What else is there, really?!
© 2012 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now atwww.TheRawFoodCoach.com.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Mish Mash
It's been an interesting couple of days. I've had a few blog post ideas run through my head, but not the time or thought when I had the time to sit down and do them. I apologize in advance for the mix that will make up this post!
***
One thought I started having yesterday was about how, really, I've made so much progress with my family and their food consumption. Is it the perfection/ideal I would like it to be? Not even close. But I have realized that I've still nonetheless made progress with them. Some things I can think of:
***
One thought I started having yesterday was about how, really, I've made so much progress with my family and their food consumption. Is it the perfection/ideal I would like it to be? Not even close. But I have realized that I've still nonetheless made progress with them. Some things I can think of:
- My husband used to take to work each day a Gatorade-sized bottle of those awful drink crystal beverages. I don't remember how it was done, but he now brings real juice (just juices, no added sugar or anything) with him.
- A year and a half ago, I had set the intention to have all processed foods out of the food I made my family--within 6 months. Um... that didn't happen. But it hit me just how far we have come. It used to be that most of our meals weren't really "homemade"--unless you call using a taco kit or Hamburger Helper truly homemade. We used to eat those Uncle Ben's and Lipton rice packets all the time (the ones with all kinds of stuff added into them) and more. Those kinds of things are barely eaten around here now. And I have some rice packets that have been sitting in the cupboard for many, many months. Nobody seems to want them.
- There are so many more fruits and vegetables in our fridge now. I don't know what our fridge used to be filled with, but it wasn't stuffed with fruits and vegetables!
There were some other things I was appreciating on Thursday, but they've escaped me at the moment. All to say that sometimes progress is slow, but it's okay: you still eventually get to where you want to be.
***
I had a serious sugar craving today. But not white sugar: fruit. It started yesterday. I didn't have what I needed to make green smoothies I like, so I didn't have a green smoothie. I can't really remember all that I ate yesterday, but I know I did not get as many raw fruits and vegetables as the rest of the week. I even ended up eating a thick pita as a snack last night. The result? I woke up feeling puffy, swollen. I don't like it. Especially since I could tell the chronic puffiness had finally been easing up with my increased intake of raw foods. This morning, I was craving fruit so badly, I pulled out what I found in the fridge: cherries, apples, pears, a peach and grapes. Although I did manage to eat a peach the other day without any reaction (I don't think I posted about that--it was the first peach I've eaten in years that I didn't react to), I wasn't able to eat an apple today without my tongue starting to itch badly. I only succeeded in eating a quarter of it. It didn't surprise me much given I felt puffy and was sneezing like crazy. My body was already feeling "toxic" and would likely react.. But that meant I shouldn't try to eat the peach nor the pears and I don't like cherries. So, grapes it was even though there weren't many. They satisfied me a bit, but not like my green smoothie. Or even just a banana. I then resorted to having a small bowl of gluten-free granola with almond milk.
For lunch, instead of doing raw, I decided to have some steamed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. It was kind of strange: I did not feel satisfied after eating the cooked veggies as I did from eating my mini veggie wraps the other day.
I physically feel blah. Two days of not eating with a focus of raw fruits and veggies and a slightly increased grain intake and I feel blech. I just want a green smoothie in the morning! Fortunately, I did stop at the grocery store this afternoon just to get some fruit I love: strawberries, bananas and a cantaloupe. Tomorrow, back to predominantly raw! At least with this, I know what I'm pretty much going to want on our camping trip this summer: lots and lots of fruit and veggies. :D
This has really had me realize how quickly my body is adapting to an enjoying the raw fruits and veggies I've been eating. For probably over a week, my mornings and afternoons were probably about 75%-90% raw. Then the past two days, not even close. My body really does, like so many other people, better on raw. I didn't even have any meat during the day today nor at all yesterday nor the day before, but that change in raw food consumption... I'm feeling it. And the way I was craving fruits today, I started thinking that maybe the 80/10/10 might not be such a crazy idea for me after all. ;)
Monday, June 18, 2012
Today's Raw Lunch
My daughter was going to eat veggie sushi for lunch (a recipe from Gillian McKeith's You Are What You Eat Cookbook: More Than 150 Healthy and Delicious Recipes
), but didn't end up doing it (had a sandwich instead), but I was going to base my lunch off the sushi idea. I don't like the seaweed (I've tried more than once; I just can't handle the texture, taste nor smell) and I didn't want the grains, so I decided I was just going to have lettuce wraps. Well, the first greens I came across in the fridge were a head of romaine. Since the rib is too stiff for wraps, I sliced that part out and ended up having a kind of sushi roll. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture until I'd already eaten 4 of them:
I'd call this a recipe share, but it's almost not a recipe: I put some store-bought hummus on some of them, not on others, just for variety. For filling, I kept it simple: cucumber matchsticks, shredded carrot, alfalfa sprouts. For one, I tried some very thin slices of avocado. The ones with the hummus definitely tasted better than the ones without and I liked the taste and texture of the one with the avocado (but that one didn't have hummus). I'm sure there is so much more I could consider using as a filling. (If anybody reading this has some suggestions, I'm all ears!) Okay, let's make it more formal:
*romaine or other green, sliced long and thin
*shredded carrot
*matchstick cucumbers (just cut your cucumber in matchstick pieces)
*avocado
*alfalfa sprouts
*hummus
*other filling you can think of
Spread some hummus on whichever leaves you wish, put down the sprouts first (seems to help with the rolling to have the sprouts UNDER the rest) in the middle, perpendicular to the length, then put your fillings down in the same direction. I folded the one side over, then rolled into the sushi shape.
This is definitely a keeper on my menu ideas. (Oh, I just had an idea: Is there a way for me to include something like this with a supper for my family? Slowly ease them into more raw foods as a focus of the meal this way?) I should have made more than I did; I definitely could have eaten more than I did. But I'm feeling lazy today, the weather's changing (was sunny and bright and all of a sudden, dark clouds are starting to roll in and it's getting chillier; I'd like to just wrap myself up in a blanket and hole up somewhere--do you think it's an instinctive thing since there are threats of a thunderstorm this afternoon?) and I just didn't want to make more. I did have a bit of coconut "yogurt" as a little dessert of sorts and feel satisfied now.
I foresee the rest of the afternoon being just fine in terms of eating only fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, but do have to remember to have a look at the Shepherd's Pie recipe to make sure I start it early enough! I find I sometimes have wonderful intentions and plans, then I go to make something and discover that it needs to cook for much longer than I had anticipated. 8-/
), but didn't end up doing it (had a sandwich instead), but I was going to base my lunch off the sushi idea. I don't like the seaweed (I've tried more than once; I just can't handle the texture, taste nor smell) and I didn't want the grains, so I decided I was just going to have lettuce wraps. Well, the first greens I came across in the fridge were a head of romaine. Since the rib is too stiff for wraps, I sliced that part out and ended up having a kind of sushi roll. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture until I'd already eaten 4 of them:
I'd call this a recipe share, but it's almost not a recipe: I put some store-bought hummus on some of them, not on others, just for variety. For filling, I kept it simple: cucumber matchsticks, shredded carrot, alfalfa sprouts. For one, I tried some very thin slices of avocado. The ones with the hummus definitely tasted better than the ones without and I liked the taste and texture of the one with the avocado (but that one didn't have hummus). I'm sure there is so much more I could consider using as a filling. (If anybody reading this has some suggestions, I'm all ears!) Okay, let's make it more formal:
*romaine or other green, sliced long and thin
*shredded carrot
*matchstick cucumbers (just cut your cucumber in matchstick pieces)
*avocado
*alfalfa sprouts
*hummus
*other filling you can think of
Spread some hummus on whichever leaves you wish, put down the sprouts first (seems to help with the rolling to have the sprouts UNDER the rest) in the middle, perpendicular to the length, then put your fillings down in the same direction. I folded the one side over, then rolled into the sushi shape.
This is definitely a keeper on my menu ideas. (Oh, I just had an idea: Is there a way for me to include something like this with a supper for my family? Slowly ease them into more raw foods as a focus of the meal this way?) I should have made more than I did; I definitely could have eaten more than I did. But I'm feeling lazy today, the weather's changing (was sunny and bright and all of a sudden, dark clouds are starting to roll in and it's getting chillier; I'd like to just wrap myself up in a blanket and hole up somewhere--do you think it's an instinctive thing since there are threats of a thunderstorm this afternoon?) and I just didn't want to make more. I did have a bit of coconut "yogurt" as a little dessert of sorts and feel satisfied now.
I foresee the rest of the afternoon being just fine in terms of eating only fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, but do have to remember to have a look at the Shepherd's Pie recipe to make sure I start it early enough! I find I sometimes have wonderful intentions and plans, then I go to make something and discover that it needs to cook for much longer than I had anticipated. 8-/
Putting my intention out there
I am going to write about my intentions today as a means of trying to keep myself accountable!
What are my intentions for the day?
*Lots of raw today. How will I accomplish this? Smoothie and fresh fruits for the morning. Lettuce wrap with veggie filling for lunch. (Might have some hummus with that; it's not raw, I don't think.) Veggies or fruit as snack in the afternoon or even some seeds and nuts.
*Vegan day. How? The above, and for supper, I'm making something from
.
It's a Shepherd's Pie recipe I've been wanting to make for sometime. I want to serve it with salad and maybe some green beans. My husband has been really commenting on a mainly fruit and veggie diet, but I'm not sure he's really that ready. lol. I suspect he'd be the type where I would have to go all gourmet at first, but I really don't have the tools I need for that (usually requires dehydrator, a good blender and a food processor; my food processor died recently, my blender can barely handle some of my smoothies and I don't have a dehydrator).
*Wheat-free day. How? None of the above has any wheat. Actually, none of the above includes any grains, I think. Not sure if I've done a completely grain-free day before. So, another intention: grain-free.
I have a further intention: To keep going with this type of eating tomorrow. A few weeks back, I had some great days, then I seemed to cancel it all by eating lots of grains the next day and almost no fruits and vegetables. I know I should take it one day at a time, but I want to set the intention for tomorrow, just tomorrow, now so that hopefully it stays with me when I wake up tomorrow morning.
(Slight worry has just set in: "What am I getting myself into??")
What are my intentions for the day?
*Lots of raw today. How will I accomplish this? Smoothie and fresh fruits for the morning. Lettuce wrap with veggie filling for lunch. (Might have some hummus with that; it's not raw, I don't think.) Veggies or fruit as snack in the afternoon or even some seeds and nuts.
*Vegan day. How? The above, and for supper, I'm making something from
.It's a Shepherd's Pie recipe I've been wanting to make for sometime. I want to serve it with salad and maybe some green beans. My husband has been really commenting on a mainly fruit and veggie diet, but I'm not sure he's really that ready. lol. I suspect he'd be the type where I would have to go all gourmet at first, but I really don't have the tools I need for that (usually requires dehydrator, a good blender and a food processor; my food processor died recently, my blender can barely handle some of my smoothies and I don't have a dehydrator).
*Wheat-free day. How? None of the above has any wheat. Actually, none of the above includes any grains, I think. Not sure if I've done a completely grain-free day before. So, another intention: grain-free.
I have a further intention: To keep going with this type of eating tomorrow. A few weeks back, I had some great days, then I seemed to cancel it all by eating lots of grains the next day and almost no fruits and vegetables. I know I should take it one day at a time, but I want to set the intention for tomorrow, just tomorrow, now so that hopefully it stays with me when I wake up tomorrow morning.
(Slight worry has just set in: "What am I getting myself into??")
Monday, June 4, 2012
Some observations
So, I haven't been blogging each day about my 10-Pound Shred book journey. It just seems like there isn't much to comment on: "I did the workout. It was hard. I ate this." Blah, blah, blah. If I'm bored writing it, then others are surely going to be bored reading it!
That said, today is Day 14 (because I missed a day). It is a "motivation day"--a day where he writes a little thing to help you keep motivated and you get to choose your physical activity. I had been thinking of walking from my daughter's dance studio to the library--Google Maps said 2.1 km/1.3 miles--dropping the books off, picking up the holds, then heading back and getting to the studio before the end of her lesson. But then I looked outside and wasn't too sure about the wind, fairly strong and occasionally gusting, and darkish grey clouds. While I looked up the forecast, I never really trust it too much; even then, it said the winds were milder than they actually were. I have seen it rain on days where they said there was a 30% chance of raining and I've seen it not rain on days where they said there was a 99% chance of raining. I decided to not take that chance. Walking in wind and wind gusts with the potential of rain, while carrying a bag full of books, just didn't seem that appealing anymore.
I then had the thought that I'm feeling so tired now, it's probably best. This thought lead to an observation: I had just had burritos for supper, with ground beef, wheat tortilla, lettuce and burrito sauce. I did not feel tired like that before supper. I did not have that energy drain earlier in the day when I'd had my green smoothie for lunch and continued it after lunch. Which then reminded me of a pattern I have noticed since I started this 4-week program: the days after I have had a lot of raw foods, few grains and little or no meat, I wake up feeling fine; the days after I've had lots of grains and almost no fruits and vegetables, I wake up feeling sluggish, allergies are acting up worse than on the other days... How much do I really want to test this out? Do I want to keep experiencing these highs and lows because of my neglecting to eat a lot of raw food on the previous day when it's become fairly clear that raw food makes me feel better?
This has all lead to another observation: I have had more days of lots of raw food in the past two weeks than I have ever done in a "cluster" like that before. Not only that, but I'm having days where I easily have 50% or more raw, don't think twice about it, it's not hard at all... There was one day where it was probably more like 75% raw. It has been easier to start moving more in that direction than I had previously tried to plan out or try to force myself to do. The only thing I can think that is different is that I've been inconsistently using the following affirmation:
Can affirmations really work that easily? I'm starting to think so!
Another observation: My sinuses, despite allergies being a problem, have not been acting up like they did not so long ago. How can I not attribute this to my dramatically increased consumption of raw foods? Sure, I'm doing some more strenuous exercise than previously, but I've never heard of exercise improving allergies and sinus conditions. I've read many accounts of people's sinus issues clearing up after consuming more raw foods. This means, too, that I have had fewer headaches than I was having not that long ago, given most of my headaches are sinus-related.
It's so good to see and feel progress! I have no idea what the numbers will show tomorrow when I do the mid-point weigh-in and measurements, but my fitness has improved and so have my eating habits. How can I possibly be disappointed with that?
That said, today is Day 14 (because I missed a day). It is a "motivation day"--a day where he writes a little thing to help you keep motivated and you get to choose your physical activity. I had been thinking of walking from my daughter's dance studio to the library--Google Maps said 2.1 km/1.3 miles--dropping the books off, picking up the holds, then heading back and getting to the studio before the end of her lesson. But then I looked outside and wasn't too sure about the wind, fairly strong and occasionally gusting, and darkish grey clouds. While I looked up the forecast, I never really trust it too much; even then, it said the winds were milder than they actually were. I have seen it rain on days where they said there was a 30% chance of raining and I've seen it not rain on days where they said there was a 99% chance of raining. I decided to not take that chance. Walking in wind and wind gusts with the potential of rain, while carrying a bag full of books, just didn't seem that appealing anymore.
I then had the thought that I'm feeling so tired now, it's probably best. This thought lead to an observation: I had just had burritos for supper, with ground beef, wheat tortilla, lettuce and burrito sauce. I did not feel tired like that before supper. I did not have that energy drain earlier in the day when I'd had my green smoothie for lunch and continued it after lunch. Which then reminded me of a pattern I have noticed since I started this 4-week program: the days after I have had a lot of raw foods, few grains and little or no meat, I wake up feeling fine; the days after I've had lots of grains and almost no fruits and vegetables, I wake up feeling sluggish, allergies are acting up worse than on the other days... How much do I really want to test this out? Do I want to keep experiencing these highs and lows because of my neglecting to eat a lot of raw food on the previous day when it's become fairly clear that raw food makes me feel better?
This has all lead to another observation: I have had more days of lots of raw food in the past two weeks than I have ever done in a "cluster" like that before. Not only that, but I'm having days where I easily have 50% or more raw, don't think twice about it, it's not hard at all... There was one day where it was probably more like 75% raw. It has been easier to start moving more in that direction than I had previously tried to plan out or try to force myself to do. The only thing I can think that is different is that I've been inconsistently using the following affirmation:
I eat mostly raw vegan foods.
Can affirmations really work that easily? I'm starting to think so!
Another observation: My sinuses, despite allergies being a problem, have not been acting up like they did not so long ago. How can I not attribute this to my dramatically increased consumption of raw foods? Sure, I'm doing some more strenuous exercise than previously, but I've never heard of exercise improving allergies and sinus conditions. I've read many accounts of people's sinus issues clearing up after consuming more raw foods. This means, too, that I have had fewer headaches than I was having not that long ago, given most of my headaches are sinus-related.
It's so good to see and feel progress! I have no idea what the numbers will show tomorrow when I do the mid-point weigh-in and measurements, but my fitness has improved and so have my eating habits. How can I possibly be disappointed with that?
Friday, June 1, 2012
I love this book!
I took a book out from the library this week that I thought was just going to be another typical raw food book.
I was WRONG!
The book in question:
This book is AMAZING! I flipped through it last night while at my son's gymnastics lesson and finally had to find a scrap piece of paper to rip in pieces to mark recipes I'd like to try. There are so many, I started thinking I should just buy it. That led to a guilty thought of having other raw food books I barely use, but I am going to go ahead and get it anyhow.
What's so great about this book?
1) There is a picture for each and every recipe. To me, this alone places it above almost all other cookbooks I've ever looked at. I like to know what something is going to look like before I take the time to try. I'm much more likely to try a recipe in a book if I've seen the picture. Seeing the pictures for these recipes is practically a God-send.
2) No dehydrator needed for any of them! (Unless I skimmed too quickly, but pretty sure there is no dehydrator used.) This makes it far more desirable for those of us who aren't sure about getting a dehydrator. Standard blender needed, some require a grinder or hand blender, and I think that's about it.
3) Normal ingredients. Most of the ingredients are pretty easy to come by.
If you are interested in raw food cuisine or just interested in getting more fruits and veggies into your diet, I highly recommend this book! (Of course, I say this without having tried any of the recipes yet, but based on recipes I have tried so far and looking at their ingredients, I would say there are definitely some yummy recipes in this book!)
I was WRONG!
The book in question:
This book is AMAZING! I flipped through it last night while at my son's gymnastics lesson and finally had to find a scrap piece of paper to rip in pieces to mark recipes I'd like to try. There are so many, I started thinking I should just buy it. That led to a guilty thought of having other raw food books I barely use, but I am going to go ahead and get it anyhow.
What's so great about this book?
1) There is a picture for each and every recipe. To me, this alone places it above almost all other cookbooks I've ever looked at. I like to know what something is going to look like before I take the time to try. I'm much more likely to try a recipe in a book if I've seen the picture. Seeing the pictures for these recipes is practically a God-send.
2) No dehydrator needed for any of them! (Unless I skimmed too quickly, but pretty sure there is no dehydrator used.) This makes it far more desirable for those of us who aren't sure about getting a dehydrator. Standard blender needed, some require a grinder or hand blender, and I think that's about it.
3) Normal ingredients. Most of the ingredients are pretty easy to come by.
If you are interested in raw food cuisine or just interested in getting more fruits and veggies into your diet, I highly recommend this book! (Of course, I say this without having tried any of the recipes yet, but based on recipes I have tried so far and looking at their ingredients, I would say there are definitely some yummy recipes in this book!)
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Day 7 and Day 8 combined!
I didn't blog about Day 7 yesterday! It was an "active rest" day for the program, so do something mildly active. I didn't do anything first thing in the morning, did some ballet pliés and relevés while getting ready for the day (still feeling my calf muscles on those) and did some yoga/stretching in the evening. Food-wise... Hm. Trying to remember. Oh, yes, green smoothie in the morning and leftover coconut breakfast cakes and... hm... lol. I can't remember. What did I eat for lunch? No clue. Had spaghetti with sauce for supper. And munched on watermelon throughout the afternoon and as a small snack after supper.
Today is Day 8 of my 10-Pound Shred book: resistance day. I guess because the first week is over, he stepped it up. Oh boy, did he step it up! I couldn't do all of the exercises as much as he said to. My shoulders, in particular, just aren't strong enough to do some of the stuff he focused on today. But, I pushed myself and that's what counts. (And I do mean I pushed myself: on one of the exercises, it was the last round and I still had 10 seconds to go but I knew if I bent my arms at all, I was simply going to collapse to the floor!)
Food-wise... Well, I have a confession to make: I made cookies. With white flour, white sugar, margarine and eggs. The cookie dough was amazing, but... After a few minutes, I had my usual "sugar headache". Drank some water, kept going and it went away. But then I had two cookies. But now I feel done. I've got a sugar headache again and I'm just done. The craving was satisfied and I will just move forward. Other than that naughtiness on my part, I had oats and almond milk for breakfast and a largish salad (red leaf lettuce, some parsley, chopped up cauliflower, salad dressing and hemp seeds) and leftover pork chop for lunch. I like to avoid meat at lunchtime, but nobody was eating it and it had already been in the fridge since Sunday. If the pig had to lose its life, I figure the least we can do is not waste it.
I now have to figure out supper. :P
I'll leave you today with a video from the Raw Food Family/Ka Sundance (nothing related to my post, I just liked it!):
Today is Day 8 of my 10-Pound Shred book: resistance day. I guess because the first week is over, he stepped it up. Oh boy, did he step it up! I couldn't do all of the exercises as much as he said to. My shoulders, in particular, just aren't strong enough to do some of the stuff he focused on today. But, I pushed myself and that's what counts. (And I do mean I pushed myself: on one of the exercises, it was the last round and I still had 10 seconds to go but I knew if I bent my arms at all, I was simply going to collapse to the floor!)
Food-wise... Well, I have a confession to make: I made cookies. With white flour, white sugar, margarine and eggs. The cookie dough was amazing, but... After a few minutes, I had my usual "sugar headache". Drank some water, kept going and it went away. But then I had two cookies. But now I feel done. I've got a sugar headache again and I'm just done. The craving was satisfied and I will just move forward. Other than that naughtiness on my part, I had oats and almond milk for breakfast and a largish salad (red leaf lettuce, some parsley, chopped up cauliflower, salad dressing and hemp seeds) and leftover pork chop for lunch. I like to avoid meat at lunchtime, but nobody was eating it and it had already been in the fridge since Sunday. If the pig had to lose its life, I figure the least we can do is not waste it.
I now have to figure out supper. :P
I'll leave you today with a video from the Raw Food Family/Ka Sundance (nothing related to my post, I just liked it!):
Sunday, May 27, 2012
First week almost done!
I'm working on Day 6 of the program today. It was strength/resistance day. Boy, was it HARD. lol. Definitely got me sweating and wondering how sore I will be tomorrow. Food-wise, I probably didn't have the best supper last night and other than that, just had the grapes and the coconut breakfast cakes I mentioned yesterday. Very unusual for me.
This morning, Tommy's food plan said two pieces of whole grain toast and although I was going to try to avoid wheat today, I decided I really, really wanted toast, so I had sprouted grain toast (no margarine! I've had far less margarine this week than usual, so that's good) with peanut butter (with sugar; still haven't gone to the grocery store to replace the natural stuff) and a little bit of honey. As a snack, I had some of my leftover coconut breakfast cakes. For lunch, I had a HUGE salad. After I'd already eaten more than half of it, I thought about taking a picture to show:
Super simple to make! I just sort of invented it based on things I've been eating lately:
*6? red leaf lettuce leaves (I didn't really count, I just took as much as I thought I would eat)
*small amount of parsley
*6 or so large red grapes, cut into quarters
*sprinkle of raw sunflower seeds
*sprinkle of raw pumpkin seeds
*splash of lemon juice
*small splash of extra virgin olive oil
Tossed it all together and sprinkled on some hemp seeds (why afterwards? because I remembered I had them). It was delicious! I feel so proud: I created something without following someone else's recipe. lol. I may make a similar salad to accompany supper tonight. (Mmm, corn on the cob as part of supper tonight. I'll try to remember to avoid the margarine!)
I have to say that I'm finding my eating habits this week a little odd. I thought with more exercise, I'd have more of an appetite, but I actually have less of an appetite. It makes me wonder so many things:
The program doesn't have you weigh yourself until Day 15, which is another 9 days away. I'd love to see if there's been any change yet weight-wise, but I'll "obey" and wait. Hard to say if my clothes are fitting any different because I bought new jeans last week and have been wearing mostly them. :P I haven't really noticed anything with any of my shirts. I'm not at a point of having a doctor say I'm overweight, so not much weight might come off me (if I lost even 20 lbs, I'd probably be too skinny), but I sure am feeling fitter! If I can stick with this healthier eating, and even improve on it, I know the small amount of excess weight will eventually come off although perhaps not within the 31 days. I'm just starting to feel excited. :D Before, it was kind of an, "I really want to do this," but then I didn't really do it. And now I can say, "I am doing it! I'm working out harder than I have in ages, my diet is getting better, I'm feeling stronger and healthier..." Feels good. :D
This morning, Tommy's food plan said two pieces of whole grain toast and although I was going to try to avoid wheat today, I decided I really, really wanted toast, so I had sprouted grain toast (no margarine! I've had far less margarine this week than usual, so that's good) with peanut butter (with sugar; still haven't gone to the grocery store to replace the natural stuff) and a little bit of honey. As a snack, I had some of my leftover coconut breakfast cakes. For lunch, I had a HUGE salad. After I'd already eaten more than half of it, I thought about taking a picture to show:
(Oops: didn't mean to get my hand and my reflection in there. lol)
Super simple to make! I just sort of invented it based on things I've been eating lately:
*6? red leaf lettuce leaves (I didn't really count, I just took as much as I thought I would eat)
*small amount of parsley
*6 or so large red grapes, cut into quarters
*sprinkle of raw sunflower seeds
*sprinkle of raw pumpkin seeds
*splash of lemon juice
*small splash of extra virgin olive oil
Tossed it all together and sprinkled on some hemp seeds (why afterwards? because I remembered I had them). It was delicious! I feel so proud: I created something without following someone else's recipe. lol. I may make a similar salad to accompany supper tonight. (Mmm, corn on the cob as part of supper tonight. I'll try to remember to avoid the margarine!)
I have to say that I'm finding my eating habits this week a little odd. I thought with more exercise, I'd have more of an appetite, but I actually have less of an appetite. It makes me wonder so many things:
- Does cutting things out of my diet this week leave my body better able to process the good stuff?
- Have I been eating more good stuff so my body needs less food?
- Have I had more energy due to the exercise and/or cutting out lots of bad food, so I'm less likely to do the eating-cuz-I'm-tired thing?
- Have I been better at just ignoring little hints of boredom eating?
The program doesn't have you weigh yourself until Day 15, which is another 9 days away. I'd love to see if there's been any change yet weight-wise, but I'll "obey" and wait. Hard to say if my clothes are fitting any different because I bought new jeans last week and have been wearing mostly them. :P I haven't really noticed anything with any of my shirts. I'm not at a point of having a doctor say I'm overweight, so not much weight might come off me (if I lost even 20 lbs, I'd probably be too skinny), but I sure am feeling fitter! If I can stick with this healthier eating, and even improve on it, I know the small amount of excess weight will eventually come off although perhaps not within the 31 days. I'm just starting to feel excited. :D Before, it was kind of an, "I really want to do this," but then I didn't really do it. And now I can say, "I am doing it! I'm working out harder than I have in ages, my diet is getting better, I'm feeling stronger and healthier..." Feels good. :D
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