8.20.15

NOURISHMENT

Today was a day of left overs.

I started the day with fresh squeezed orange juice.

I placed all the leftover rinds and peelings in water to make orange water. I find that is a nice way to adds some flavor to just plain water while upping the vitamin C intake in the rinds and increasing the microbial benefits of the essential oils that are in the peelings. The longer you leave them in the water, the more they break down and increase these benefits. I often pour in 2 or 3 rounds of water, over several days, before tossing them into the compost.


FRUIT PEEL NUTRITION FACTS






Throughout the day, I still nursed the big batch of Sassafras Tea I made the other day as well.

For lunch I had some more of the Broccoli, Carrot & Raisin Salad.

I did sneak in another Chocolate Carmel square at work.

Also snacked on some more of the Green Figs.

I finished the day with the rest of the Green Smoothie I made from the other day as well.



MOVEMENT

Today I took the initiative to go to the beech and walk in the water for about 45 minutes. I have been dealing with some lymphatic drainage issues in my lower extremities and I felt the cool salty ocean water, its pumping rhythm with the tide, and the pumping rhythm created by waking itself would be of benefit. I did seem to help.

REFLECTION

My little jaunt to the ocean, by myself, ended up causing the same jealous reaction that prevented me from doing this so many times before. How much do I NOT do because I don't like the reaction I get for doing things he can not physically do because of his heart condition? Even when I know it will be good for my own health and well being?

I see this as a repetitive pattern as a factor as to why I never seem to stay on the raw diet as well.

I am told it is because he wants to do those things with me, but when we do try to do these things 'together'....he ends up complaining of being too tired...which limits the amount I get to do. Hence, I am operating within HIS limitations, and never really expanding my own horizons to test their limits.

8.19.15

NOURISHMENT

Another simple day food wise, with a lot of hustle and bustle otherwise.

For breakfast, I finished off the smoothies from 8.18.15.

Before leaving to do errands I had a handful of fresh green figs. Oh, so sweet and yummy!

Throughout the day I continued to drink my water and the Sassafras Tea I made on 8.17.15 .


For lunch time I was out of town and in a place with no 'raw' food. Trying to pick something that would be the healthiest option, I bought a bag of sunflower seeds (roasted & salted). By the end of the day I could still taste the not so fresh (rancid) oil sitting in my tummy. A good reminder why fresh uncooked is better for the body.

CAN YOU GET SICK FROM EATING RANCID OIL?

For dinner I had a handful of fresh Cherry Tomatoes.

I finished off the day with a Carrot, Broccoli & Raisin Salad. Ended up with a big batch, so I am sure it will last a few days.

Mix together...
2 heads & stems of Broccoli, chopped
4 Carrots, shredded
4 stalks of Celery, diced
1/2 cup of Raisins
5 T of Rice Vinager
3 T of Black Strap Molasses
1/4 cup of olive oil (I used the left over from the eggplant recipe from yesterday.)

Of course, the Molasses is not raw and some find it offensive. It is still a very nutrient dense food, for getting minerals, without having to eat large quantities of other foods to get the same amount.

BLACK STRAP MOLASSES?

 

 

MOVEMENT

Visited 4 businesses today within a 30 mile radius of our business to cross promote with. We then went 'into town' and I did some shopping for the spa. Got lots of walking in that way. When we arrived home we found out one of the cats had peed on the couch. So, we spent the next several hours cleaning and scrubbing, and cleaning and scrubbing, the couch. That was labor intensive enough for me today.



REFLECTIONS

Tonight is the first night my husband is back home after our fall out a week ago. We spent much of the day together with my momma doing the business errands. I reminded him he still has to do the 'homework' I told him he needed to do to regain the trust in him that was lost.

I do find it interesting that I found the email sent from the woman he 'contacted' right about the same time the Ashley Madison Hacker event was going down. The synchronicity of the collective (un)conscious always is an interesting study. It is not so interesting though when it becomes so personal.

Hackers Dump Ashley Madison Data; Some 15,000 Government Email Addresses Included

8.18.15

NOURISHMENT

Today I kept it pretty simple.

I drank some more of my teas and finished the rest of my fresh squeezed grapefruit juice from 8.17.18.

Couldn't resist two Chocolate Carmel squares that were not raw at work.

For dinner, I just made a green smoothie. Made so much I have plenty for tomorrow's breakfast. It consisted of Frozen Bananas, Frozen Strawberries, Greens, some of the left over pulp from yesterday's grapefruit, left over avocado pits (with the bitter brown skin peeled off) and 2 scoops of Garden of Life's 'Raw Meal'

* After several different ways of saving Avocado Pits for smoothies, the best way I have come up with is to place them in a bowl of water and just store them in the refrigerator until you want to make a smoothie. I usually use one large pit or two smaller pits per Vitamix container. I ALWAYS peel off the brown skin. Not only because is it the most bitter part, I suspect it is likely where most the potential 'toxins', you may hear about, are stored when eating such seeds.

* I like to sometimes give my smoothies a boost. The Garden of Life Raw Meal is the one I am using the most right now:

MOVEMENT

Today I mostly again worked doing massage and resetting up things after the renovations in the spa. Maybe getting up and down off a chair counts when I was rehanging draping over the bright lights on the ceiling?

REFLECTIONS

My husband and I have been on the outs this past week. The outs far enough that I am questioning the integrity and soundness of our marriage. Today we spent nearly 4 hours talking, really talking. Hopefully, honestly enough for the seriousness of the situation to sink in for both of us....for it has been the unknown dishonesty that shattered my trust in him. Can it be rebuilt?

8.17.15

8.17.18

NOURISHMENT

So I once again begin The Garden Diet journey, today being the 1st day for the 21 day cleansing diet program. This time I my goal is more about adapting to what is readily available rather than trying to stick so much to the menu plan.

I have a stash of Sassafras Root Bark that on rare occasion I make a tea with. I drank this through out my day. A few spoonfuls made several jugs of tea that will last me for several days. Drinking this tea brings me back to my childhood and growing up in the health food store my mother owned. Some have concern with drinking this brew, but I do only drink it rarely and far between.

IT'S ALL NATURAL, BUT SASSAFRAS TEA CAN CAUSE LIVER CANCER

The following should temper some of that concern, being it is a natural liver and gallbladder detoxifier. I used pink grapefruit which is sweeter as well.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF GRAPEFRUIT

I took the picture at the end of the day, showing that I drank half of it. Plenty more for tomorrow. Oh, so good.

I set the pulp aside to make a smoothie for tomorrow.

Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice

Throughout the day I snacked on some really squishy, ripe and VERY sweet plums.

FIVE HEALTH BENEFITS OF EATING PLUMS

My final meal was Corn & Sweet Pepper Salad (my adaption to the Tabbouli today), Eggplant Patties with Curly Leaf Lettuce and Raw Hummus (of which I ate before remembering to take a picture). I did have some left over Corn & Sweet Pepper Salad though.

Here are the basic recipes for my dinner:

Corn and Sweet Peppers Salad

Combine the following.
2 ears of sweet corn with the kernels cut off
a bag of sweet peppers, diced
1 red onion, diced
a dash of black pepper (red pepper might be good to try next time for a bit of kick)
the juice of one lemon (I use the rind to soak in my water to drink later)
about 2 tsp of rice vinegar
about 5 T of olive oil (I used some of the left over oil from the following recipe and put aside the rest for later use.)

* It is common for the corn silk to be thrown out...BUT DON'T DO IT. The corn silk is a natural anti-inflammatory and diuretic and is very good for you. I tend to eat it right as I am cleaning the ears of corn but it can also be dried and used as a very mild tea.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF CORN SILK

Eggplant Patties:

Slice an eggplant into 1/4 (or less) inch patties. Mix olive oil and Braggs Amino Sauce together and place the patties into the oil to where they are covered. Soak overnight. (I actually put it in the refrigerator for several days...so they were soaked REALLY good). Remove the patties from the oil and squeeze off the excess. Place the patties in the dehydrator for several hours at the 'raw' temp settings. (I think I had them in for about 6 hours.) When ready roll the patties in Nutritional Yeast.

* My momma said the eggplant was a bit chewy for her. I left the skins on, so I might try it next time without.

*Some have issues with Braggs Amino Sauce and Nutritional Yeast. I would love to hear good alternatives to these.


MOVEMENT

I didn't do any real 'exercise' today, just worked (massaging clients). Does that count?


REFLECTIONS

Relationship and trust is at the forefront of my emotional journey at this time. I am at a point of honesty...and nothing but. BUT, is that really possible?

Emotion In Motion

Just finished the last day of my first round with the 21 Day Cleansing Raw Diet from The Garden Diet.

http://21daysraw.com/

I am sitting here pondering the differences in how my body feels after being mostly raw for well over a month now. For the most part, I have noticed a deepening sense of self awareness and calm.

For the most part...

This past week, the 3rd week of the cleanse, was also a time of recokoning and reconciliation. It was a time of mismanaged emotions surfacing and demanding to be dealt with.

I am trained in Breema, and in Breema I was reminded often to not just look at the body as this physical mass of tissue, fluids and bones - but to also recognize that our 'body' is much more than this. It is important to take moments and remember that there are also psychological, emotional and spiritual 'bodies' integrated with our experiential being to take care of.

Over these past weeks, as I feel extra weight coming off of my frame, I am also feeling the need to let go of extra 'weight' from the other aspects of my 'body.' Unfortunately, this 'extra' doesn't always surface in the most pleasant way, but like any healing crisis, sometimes you have to bring to the surface the irritants before they can be expelled.

And that is what these past few months have been for me. The various 'bodies' that make up my being have had enough of the unhealthy irritants and it has became mandatory that they either be transformed or expelled.

But interestingly, the paradox is:

The transformation and expulsion must come from within my own being. Only there. In many ways I am realizing...

I have also been my own irritant. My own thoughts, emotions, thinking patterns, beliefs...

These are what need to be transformed, not all the things and people that I felt were the causes.

It is interesting how life's events often mirrors prior life's events. In this case, with my own husband, I was reminded of what I watched my mother go through with my biological father. The circumstances are different, but the pattern is evident. The triggers for the memories, to cause the emotions to surface, still very present. It appears we repeat ourselves. Slow learners we be, it seems. Self created repetition to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves through our interaction with others?

Cleansing the 'body' is definitely a constant work in progress. It will take much more than 21 days, maybe even more than a lifetime.

Now on to the 'transition.'

http://28daysraw.com/

Pulp Julius

When I was a child my mother would sometimes take us to the local mall. When there, when we would beg for a treat, she often went with the healthier option and would stop by the Orange Julius stand and we would get one of their famous orange smoothies. Orange Julius now has many options to their menu, but back then, the menu was pretty basic. I loved watching them put the orange smoothie together and was always amazed how something so simple to make could taste so good. Fresh oranges, some ice, raw eggs and a little milk...and viola.

As I began my first day with The Garden Diet 21 day cleanse, every time I took a sip of my home made raw vegan version of an 'Orange Julius'  it made me realize that, much like how we are drawn to not so healthy 'comfort foods', often created from childhood memories, we can also draw from memories of eating healthy foods. Simple adaptations can still 'comfort' us and create new experiences and memories to pull from.

This time, no dairy or egg. Instead of squeezing the juice from the orange, I peeled the oranges, added some ice water and blended them into a simple smoothy with a bit of clove added for another layer of bliss.

Here are some interesting links about drinking orange juice with the pulp. Blending in the pulp has many advantages over just drinking the juice, even when its in its raw state, especially for those who are sugar sensitive.

http://thewaterygourmet.blogspot.com/2010/02/is-orange-juice-with-pulp-better-for.html

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/oranges-lots-fiber-4551.html

http://justjuice.org/2012/juicing-fresh-fruit-is-fresh-fruit-juice-good-or-bad-for-you/ 

Lighten UP

I made it through the holidays! For the most the part, I did manage to stick with the raw food outline that I learned while doing the Raw Rapid Weight Loss menu plan. I had a few days of snacking, including the New Year's Day party posted here...but I feel good that I kept to a few bites here and there and didn't stuff myself. At this party I even brought my own juiced drink with me (I hid it behind the woman pictured with me) to fill me up and help with all the temptations! I do think the results are showing. My challenge is I am on lite duty/medical leave at work. That has helped with the transition and made it easier. I've been getting more regular sleep and am not on my feet as much. Bringing those changes to my enroute duties, on a regular basis, will prove to be interesting.

The new year is here and I do feel I am ready for a complete and refreshing over haul. Time to 'lighten' up. In a few days I think I will be ready to start the 21 day cleanse. I also plan to try out random raw recipes on-line and post my results.