Love is a many splendored thing.........yes it is, yes it is, yes it is. And to all those who spread love and joy, I am forever grateful, and to those who know how to love unconditionally, you are my teachers. Last night I went to a darshan/satsang/kirtan with Swami Vishwananda. It was wonderful. I am not a follower of anyone.....but I do love to be around those who love to spread love and joy. And he is one....I will admit to having a bit of an issue with all of the praises being sung to only male deities.....but that is where he comes from....a male centered world/teaching, but love and joy are the main things he teaches......so I go for that.
Love. I have a dream to make a compilation of all of the wonderful songs I love that are about love. There are so many good ones of all genres.......to make a huge compilation and have it played on a local radio station on Valentine's Day. I wouldn't be happy til they played it exclusively 24/7 but for that I would have to own the station....hmmm...
I read something recently...basically a set of rules for having a blog...and one of the things that was on the list was not to just blog about yourself. I realize my life is not nearly as interesting to others as it is to me....and I admire and would love to emulate those whose blogs are so full of great things....but I just have no idea where they get their photos, info, etc. or how to put links into my blog, etc. Now I realize it is not that hard to do, but to even have the time it takes to figure it all out..........makes me think they are all cyber geniuses or they have way too much time on their hands.
My diet has been a mixture of good and bad....the bad being sweets, organic ruffles, (not truffles), and just cooked food in general. But I have seen that obsessing about it does not help..so I am just taking each day as it comes and making a concerted effort to get more live food into my day. Like today. um, yeah. Like today. Which had more cooked food than not. But what did I have that was raw....some blueberries. That's about it. Also had some Master Cleanse lemonade....is that raw? Made with maple syrup, so only partially raw. Had a bean burrito for dinner, canned beans with onions, bell pepper cooked in, and raw tomato added in, with cheese and salsa. And blue corn chips. And half of a Dagoba Chai chocolate bar...good but almost too sweet....and a handful of peanut m&m's....and a Dreyer's fruit pop with vanilla ice cream center....and a handful of roasted salted cocktail peanuts.....this is what I eat when I try and do the Master Cleanse. Can't seem to fast right now....not sure why. So...tomorrow I will stop kidding myself and just try and eat well. Apples and blueberries and salad with carrots, broccoli, tomato, pine nuts, a smattering of parmegiano reggiano cheese with Seeds of Change Greek Feta dressing. And for my carb fix...I will just not give in. No bread, no sweets, no carbs outside of raw foods. Will just have to put the kabosh on carb cravings with my Oil of Oregano capsules and my Primal Defense tablets and my Grapefruit seed extract tablets and liquid.
I will be 100% (okay 96.4%) raw......before the summer ends. That is my goal. So what steps do I need to take to achieve this? Make each day a bit more raw than the day before, use my raw uncook books to make more raw recipes.....fall in love with raw. It's all so luscious.....
SpringBlossoms
by bama spirit
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Cut My Hair/Food/Birthing Babies
I cut my hair this morning. It was getting a bit too far past my shoulders for me, and now it's a bit too far above them.......but I did a good job of cutting it. It needed some touch up tonight as I could see the underneath hair was sticking out.....so I took care of that and now, technically it looks great. However, I will like it better when it grows out a bit.
Had a fairly decent day today foodwise.......still not great but I wasn't overeating or secretly eating chocolate bunnie grahams, peanut M&M's etc. like yesterday. I brought lemonade to work......didn't drink any of it til almost 3pm......did eat 1/2 of a Dagoba dark chocolate bar, 1 or 2 small peppermint 'lifesavers', but no bad snacks from the kitchen. Drank about 16-20 oz of raspberry blueberry lemonade, in the late afternoon, then came home, made burgers, tater tots and salad for dinner......didn't eat anything before dinner.....except for a couple of tater tots right before dinner....also made another rhubarb pie......one of the boys had a friend over....so thought it would be a nice treat, as well as a good way to use up the extra cut up rhubarb that was sitting in the fridge. Put 6 cups of rhubarb in the pie, so had to double the sugar 'custard', made the crust with sunflower oil, but added about 3 tbsp of butter to it also....the crust turned out well, the 'custard' either was still too warm when I cut the pie, as it was a bit runny, or it needed to be baked a bit longer. I did bake it for over an hour.....I think it was just too warm. The sugar 'custard' gathered at the bottom, creating areas that were way too sweet, but overall the pie was very good...will have to think how to make it work out better next time. I like having a very full pie, with the extra 'fruit' in it....works great to double up the fruit in apple and cherry pies, but with rhubarb it's a bit trickier.
So had a burger, a few tater tots, a decent bit of mixed greens salad, a slice of pie with some vanilla ice cream...and that was it for today. That and the chocolate...but still, not happy with myself. This is not 'bad' eating for 'sad' eating, but it is not what I want to do...and I was doing so well, and now have pretty much lost all progress made. Silly silly me. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Good things. Green things, liquid things, raw things.
Up late tonight, it's after midnight, wanting to enjoy the full moon before it's too far gone, up because of sugar and chocolate......the night owl. I down loaded some new tiger pictures at work today, I love tigers. Esp. bengal tigers.......they look so cool......found some really great photos...so now have a new background on my computer at work, and new photos to add to emails.
I have been reading a few books..."The Future of Food" or "The End of Food"....anyways...a real eye opener and something that motivates me to work on our garden and compost as the world is so messed up in regards to food production, water usage, etc. and it is only going to get worse. I didn't realize that before the 1900's many countries went through regular periods of mass stavation and deaths, and that the average lifespan was maybe 40 years, the average height was barely 5 ft, average weight 134 pounds....for a man. And that many people were so weak from hunger they couldn't do anything. Not even go for a walk. Populations would outgrow food supply......and when food supply increased, population did also, so food supply levels were actually the same or worse. Strange....so many factors needed for a successful harvest....so many ways it could fail. Also lack of meat, and variety of foods made for poor health. I remember when my oldest son was born, my first, I went to Steve Gaskin's farm in Tennessee....where Ina Mae Gaskin lived.......and the source for the book "Spiritual Midwifery" which was my pregnancy bible. I loved reading all the stories in there, the wealth of information there was on pregancy and childbirth.....and I wrote and got permission to come there to have my baby.
It was early spring....March, when I arrived, 6 weeks before my due date, and I was very surprised at how little they had to eat. No fresh veggies, except maybe some kale and sweet potatoes that had overwintered, no broccoli, lettuce, carrots, celery.....nothing like that. No fruit...no apples, bananas, oranges, nothing, no peanut butter.........their flour was white flour as it was less expensive, and they had some bran you could mix back in..... I bought some groceries for myself from town as I couldn't get by on what little they had ( and needed to carry my own weight)...and I was shocked that they would eat white flour, and white sugar, that their big treat was to get together enough ingredients to make brownies. In retrospect I understand it all, but at the time I guess I was expecting a type of utopia. Found reality instead.
Great place to have a baby.......they were great....I am glad I went there....after that I thought I would just have my next baby by myself, under a tree......outdoors. Didn't quite happen that way (I had high blood pressure, a bit of pre-eclampsia, so birth was in a hospital) but I had my husband with me 24/7 while I was there, and we didn't let our baby out of our sight, so they didn't get to give him a Vit K shot (he didn't need one) or a Hep B vacination shot (what an awful thing to do to a newborn....) or anything like that. They didn't get to whisk him away in the middle of the night, my husband carried him when they wanted to check his vitals, and we kept him with us. When we got home, I bathed him in filtered water....couldn't stand the thought of bathing him in tap water.........that lasted for several months....til he was too big to fit in his baby bath tub. Used Weleda Calendula Cream on his bottom the entire time he wore his duck butt cloth diapers....I say duck butt as they were so bulky that's what it looked like.....a duck butt...and he was a wetter.......needed 3 diapers on with 2 pairs of plastic pants at night. But the calendula cream, which had a wonderful floral smell, kept his bottom soft and smooth and free of irriation.......awesome stuff.
Nostalgia........my last baby was born at a birthing center, with only the midwife...as he came too quickly for her assistant to arrive.........almost was born in the car......less than 1 hour from first sign of labor (my water broke) to his arrival. That was short, and intense...mostly fine, but we did miss having more time to emotionally integrate it all. Felt like we missed most of that movie. lol. But he was/is a sweet happy boy...22 months younger than his brother.....and that was also a bit hard........losing the older one as my baby.......losing that close close connection. I still nursed him....but it wasn't the same.
Well time for bed........the moon keeps moving on me.........can't see it anymore unless I go to the next room....
And what about all those wonderful books on raw foods I got for my birthday??? Yes. That is the $64 Million Dollar Question. One that needs to be addressed. Now.
So....bon soir et bons reves.
ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Had a fairly decent day today foodwise.......still not great but I wasn't overeating or secretly eating chocolate bunnie grahams, peanut M&M's etc. like yesterday. I brought lemonade to work......didn't drink any of it til almost 3pm......did eat 1/2 of a Dagoba dark chocolate bar, 1 or 2 small peppermint 'lifesavers', but no bad snacks from the kitchen. Drank about 16-20 oz of raspberry blueberry lemonade, in the late afternoon, then came home, made burgers, tater tots and salad for dinner......didn't eat anything before dinner.....except for a couple of tater tots right before dinner....also made another rhubarb pie......one of the boys had a friend over....so thought it would be a nice treat, as well as a good way to use up the extra cut up rhubarb that was sitting in the fridge. Put 6 cups of rhubarb in the pie, so had to double the sugar 'custard', made the crust with sunflower oil, but added about 3 tbsp of butter to it also....the crust turned out well, the 'custard' either was still too warm when I cut the pie, as it was a bit runny, or it needed to be baked a bit longer. I did bake it for over an hour.....I think it was just too warm. The sugar 'custard' gathered at the bottom, creating areas that were way too sweet, but overall the pie was very good...will have to think how to make it work out better next time. I like having a very full pie, with the extra 'fruit' in it....works great to double up the fruit in apple and cherry pies, but with rhubarb it's a bit trickier.
So had a burger, a few tater tots, a decent bit of mixed greens salad, a slice of pie with some vanilla ice cream...and that was it for today. That and the chocolate...but still, not happy with myself. This is not 'bad' eating for 'sad' eating, but it is not what I want to do...and I was doing so well, and now have pretty much lost all progress made. Silly silly me. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. Good things. Green things, liquid things, raw things.
Up late tonight, it's after midnight, wanting to enjoy the full moon before it's too far gone, up because of sugar and chocolate......the night owl. I down loaded some new tiger pictures at work today, I love tigers. Esp. bengal tigers.......they look so cool......found some really great photos...so now have a new background on my computer at work, and new photos to add to emails.
I have been reading a few books..."The Future of Food" or "The End of Food"....anyways...a real eye opener and something that motivates me to work on our garden and compost as the world is so messed up in regards to food production, water usage, etc. and it is only going to get worse. I didn't realize that before the 1900's many countries went through regular periods of mass stavation and deaths, and that the average lifespan was maybe 40 years, the average height was barely 5 ft, average weight 134 pounds....for a man. And that many people were so weak from hunger they couldn't do anything. Not even go for a walk. Populations would outgrow food supply......and when food supply increased, population did also, so food supply levels were actually the same or worse. Strange....so many factors needed for a successful harvest....so many ways it could fail. Also lack of meat, and variety of foods made for poor health. I remember when my oldest son was born, my first, I went to Steve Gaskin's farm in Tennessee....where Ina Mae Gaskin lived.......and the source for the book "Spiritual Midwifery" which was my pregnancy bible. I loved reading all the stories in there, the wealth of information there was on pregancy and childbirth.....and I wrote and got permission to come there to have my baby.
It was early spring....March, when I arrived, 6 weeks before my due date, and I was very surprised at how little they had to eat. No fresh veggies, except maybe some kale and sweet potatoes that had overwintered, no broccoli, lettuce, carrots, celery.....nothing like that. No fruit...no apples, bananas, oranges, nothing, no peanut butter.........their flour was white flour as it was less expensive, and they had some bran you could mix back in..... I bought some groceries for myself from town as I couldn't get by on what little they had ( and needed to carry my own weight)...and I was shocked that they would eat white flour, and white sugar, that their big treat was to get together enough ingredients to make brownies. In retrospect I understand it all, but at the time I guess I was expecting a type of utopia. Found reality instead.
Great place to have a baby.......they were great....I am glad I went there....after that I thought I would just have my next baby by myself, under a tree......outdoors. Didn't quite happen that way (I had high blood pressure, a bit of pre-eclampsia, so birth was in a hospital) but I had my husband with me 24/7 while I was there, and we didn't let our baby out of our sight, so they didn't get to give him a Vit K shot (he didn't need one) or a Hep B vacination shot (what an awful thing to do to a newborn....) or anything like that. They didn't get to whisk him away in the middle of the night, my husband carried him when they wanted to check his vitals, and we kept him with us. When we got home, I bathed him in filtered water....couldn't stand the thought of bathing him in tap water.........that lasted for several months....til he was too big to fit in his baby bath tub. Used Weleda Calendula Cream on his bottom the entire time he wore his duck butt cloth diapers....I say duck butt as they were so bulky that's what it looked like.....a duck butt...and he was a wetter.......needed 3 diapers on with 2 pairs of plastic pants at night. But the calendula cream, which had a wonderful floral smell, kept his bottom soft and smooth and free of irriation.......awesome stuff.
Nostalgia........my last baby was born at a birthing center, with only the midwife...as he came too quickly for her assistant to arrive.........almost was born in the car......less than 1 hour from first sign of labor (my water broke) to his arrival. That was short, and intense...mostly fine, but we did miss having more time to emotionally integrate it all. Felt like we missed most of that movie. lol. But he was/is a sweet happy boy...22 months younger than his brother.....and that was also a bit hard........losing the older one as my baby.......losing that close close connection. I still nursed him....but it wasn't the same.
Well time for bed........the moon keeps moving on me.........can't see it anymore unless I go to the next room....
And what about all those wonderful books on raw foods I got for my birthday??? Yes. That is the $64 Million Dollar Question. One that needs to be addressed. Now.
So....bon soir et bons reves.
ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Um...Chocolate...Fruit Lemonade.....Hmmm
I said once before that I was going to get Angela's book Raw Emotions, but I didn't do it. I really should. Having fallen off of the juice wagon I am finding it hard to get back on. Yesterday I ate saltine crackers, chocolate, nuts, rice crispy bars (EnviroKids somewhat 'natural' ones), wasted the wonderful juice I made, and today, I made a lemonade with raspberry juice and blueberry juice in addition to the lemon juice, and I've only had a little. Instead, I have had a bit of mixed roasted nuts, 2 rice krispy bars, chocolate...and smatterings of other things. I do need to drink more of my lemonade....but this is not balanced or healthy.....what am I going to do tomorrow? A green drink I think.....did take my fiber drink today....but I am definitely in the acting out zone....eating very schizophrenically....obsessed with the numbers on the scales.....but they aren't going to reliably go down if I don't eat properly. If I don't juice properly. I can do it. I can....but why don't I? This actually makes me mad..that I am not doing it. Eating/juicing properly is easy. And healthy and good. No reason in the world to not do it. So...from now on...enough with the acting out. Instead, I am going to act in. Do what I know I want to do, what I know I can do. Wasting my time and money is what I am doing...silly of me. I know what I want. And what I don't want. No reason in the world not to have it.
So...that's it. My confession and pep talk for the day.
Need to write up some goals....what I am striving for.
Bought some new shoes today, sandals to be exact. With a bit of a wedge heal...BCBG black sandals...my old ones are ripping out on the side...also bought a salad spinner, and epil machine to take care of all the stray hairs here and there (including my legs...I wear these leggings all winter which have pretty much gotten rid of most of the hair on my legs, so it is easy to just epil off the rest....but my legs. sigh. spider veins, fat ankles, peasant feet, cracked heels (even though I keep trying to fix them) allergic red spots near the ankles...almost gone...but still around....fat calves...at least my legs are long so they aren't as bad as they could be. My sister is 5 inches shorter than me and her calves are the same size as mine....) and they are pale. My face and arms have seen lots of sun so are nicely tanned....but my legs...hah. And I'd use some tanning lotion (I have several) but I am worried I'd be allergic to it...seem to be more allergic now adays...so just need more sun! I am not afraid of the sun. It is good for you...my skin doesn't mind it....and I do use a bit of sun screen when I need to....only SPF 4...which I know has some of you in horrors.....but my skin can take the sun...and SPF 50 doesn't let you know when you've had too much sun....it prevents sun burn, but not skin cancer...doesn't lessen the internal damage. At least with SPF 4 you have a more true idea of how much sun you are getting. I have also discovered that if you wash off your skin after a day in the sun you are much less likely to burn, turn red. I think much of the 'burning' is caused by the salt sitting on your skin when it's vulnerable.
I also bought a pepper grinder, and an alarm clock. Finally found one that I like...small...a Timex travel alarm. From Bed, Bath & Beyond. anyhoo.......enough of this silly stuff. Reading a great book on year round gardening with cold frames....getting ready to start a compost pile......and hope to expand our garden next year. And grow lots and lots of all kinds of things. The book is called...Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman....it's great! Very practical...not fancy, hi-tech etc.
Can't wait to get started.
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
So...that's it. My confession and pep talk for the day.
Need to write up some goals....what I am striving for.
Bought some new shoes today, sandals to be exact. With a bit of a wedge heal...BCBG black sandals...my old ones are ripping out on the side...also bought a salad spinner, and epil machine to take care of all the stray hairs here and there (including my legs...I wear these leggings all winter which have pretty much gotten rid of most of the hair on my legs, so it is easy to just epil off the rest....but my legs. sigh. spider veins, fat ankles, peasant feet, cracked heels (even though I keep trying to fix them) allergic red spots near the ankles...almost gone...but still around....fat calves...at least my legs are long so they aren't as bad as they could be. My sister is 5 inches shorter than me and her calves are the same size as mine....) and they are pale. My face and arms have seen lots of sun so are nicely tanned....but my legs...hah. And I'd use some tanning lotion (I have several) but I am worried I'd be allergic to it...seem to be more allergic now adays...so just need more sun! I am not afraid of the sun. It is good for you...my skin doesn't mind it....and I do use a bit of sun screen when I need to....only SPF 4...which I know has some of you in horrors.....but my skin can take the sun...and SPF 50 doesn't let you know when you've had too much sun....it prevents sun burn, but not skin cancer...doesn't lessen the internal damage. At least with SPF 4 you have a more true idea of how much sun you are getting. I have also discovered that if you wash off your skin after a day in the sun you are much less likely to burn, turn red. I think much of the 'burning' is caused by the salt sitting on your skin when it's vulnerable.
I also bought a pepper grinder, and an alarm clock. Finally found one that I like...small...a Timex travel alarm. From Bed, Bath & Beyond. anyhoo.......enough of this silly stuff. Reading a great book on year round gardening with cold frames....getting ready to start a compost pile......and hope to expand our garden next year. And grow lots and lots of all kinds of things. The book is called...Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman....it's great! Very practical...not fancy, hi-tech etc.
Can't wait to get started.
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Frolicking In The Ravine
Ah.....taking a hiatus from juicing.....and enjoying having company and all the perks that brings. I made shish kebobs for us on Thursday evening. Friday was pita pizzas with my favorite goat cheese, pepperjack cheese, salsa diablo along with a bit of pasta sauce (Bertolli's), sauteed mushrooms, fresh poblano pepper sliced on my mandoline, marinated artichoke hearts, yummy kalamata olives, fresh basil from our garden all topped with thinly sliced fresh onion. Had 1 1/2 of those along with 1/2 bottle of Sophia Coppola's blanc de blanc champagne. Twas delightful. And oh! The store had organic berries on sale....packets of raspberries for $1 each, and blackberries and strawberries...all organic all on sale. Bought tons.
Saturday evening we went out to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner. I had a salad nicoise that had some lovely asparagus spears, yummy sheep's feta, thinly sliced cucumber ribbons, artichoke heart, olives, yummy grilled salmon, cherry tomato....on a bed of arugula with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was wonderful.
For appetizers we had salmon toasts (with a fancy name) and bay scallop ceviche. Along with 2 glasses of a Spanish champagne, and a lovely black forest mousse cake that was light and delicious for dessert. I wasn't going to eat it all....but it was so light and yummy I just did. After dinner we walked around downtown and I felt like I was in this very open loving space and the evening was just wonderful. Felt very connected with humanity....with everyone out there...and there were some awesome drummers on the mall....the kind that stir my soul and bring tears to my eyes...as I remember......I remember......
Sunday we had a yummy brunch...I made scrambled eggs with parmesiano reggiano cheese grated in, some wonderful oat scones with currants and orange zest.....we had a little bowl of berries each....raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. And bagels and cream cheese and lox. I didn't have the bagels etc. but did enjoy the eggs, scones and berries.
Then we went for a nice long bike ride, and came back later in the afternoon to put up a trellis for our grape vine...and dinner is pesto with salad from these wonderful lettuces we got at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, with a truly yummy rhubarb custard pie that I made last night from my mother's recipe, with some Hagan Das Vanilla Bean ice cream.
And tomorrow it's back to juice feasting. But I love food...and this has been a most delightful, delicious weekend of food.....and such wonderful food and company it's been! So while I do despair of the couple of pounds that have come back to join me, I don't regret it one bit. It's been grand! And also also also...fresh cherries!!!!
Yum!
Saturday evening we went out to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner. I had a salad nicoise that had some lovely asparagus spears, yummy sheep's feta, thinly sliced cucumber ribbons, artichoke heart, olives, yummy grilled salmon, cherry tomato....on a bed of arugula with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was wonderful.
For appetizers we had salmon toasts (with a fancy name) and bay scallop ceviche. Along with 2 glasses of a Spanish champagne, and a lovely black forest mousse cake that was light and delicious for dessert. I wasn't going to eat it all....but it was so light and yummy I just did. After dinner we walked around downtown and I felt like I was in this very open loving space and the evening was just wonderful. Felt very connected with humanity....with everyone out there...and there were some awesome drummers on the mall....the kind that stir my soul and bring tears to my eyes...as I remember......I remember......
Sunday we had a yummy brunch...I made scrambled eggs with parmesiano reggiano cheese grated in, some wonderful oat scones with currants and orange zest.....we had a little bowl of berries each....raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. And bagels and cream cheese and lox. I didn't have the bagels etc. but did enjoy the eggs, scones and berries.
Then we went for a nice long bike ride, and came back later in the afternoon to put up a trellis for our grape vine...and dinner is pesto with salad from these wonderful lettuces we got at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, with a truly yummy rhubarb custard pie that I made last night from my mother's recipe, with some Hagan Das Vanilla Bean ice cream.
And tomorrow it's back to juice feasting. But I love food...and this has been a most delightful, delicious weekend of food.....and such wonderful food and company it's been! So while I do despair of the couple of pounds that have come back to join me, I don't regret it one bit. It's been grand! And also also also...fresh cherries!!!!
Yum!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Looking Up From The Ravine
OK, surprise surprise surprise. I fell off the juice feast. Yesterday I felt the need for some chocolate, so had 2 dark chocolate mini snickers, then 2 or 3 or 4 mocha chocolates (some fancy chocolates someone had brought in to the office....) and then later on at home had good food. I had salad, and a fresh blueberry with kefir smoothie, then made my birthday dinner again (chicken shish kebobs) as we have company....along with a yummy salad of mixed greens, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes, some potato "salad" which consisted of cooked baby yukon gold potatoes cut up and covered with Seeds of Change Greek Feta Dressing and some fresh chives from the garden. I made myself 2 vegetable shish kebobs, but I tell you, once I started eating, I ate....and even had at least 1 chicken shish kebob. And several small handfuls of Annie's Chocolate Bunnie Grahams. And a small packet of granola that I got at the Creek Festival. And finished off the whipped cream can. And woke up this morning dreading the scales...and hadn't even gained a pound.
So, I know this totally flies in the face of what I said I was going to do.....but it is typical behavior for me. Today, I woke up, had 3 oil of oregano capsules, then came to work. Ate some organic cracked wheat, flax crackers, and an EnviroKids chocolate rice crispy bar. But also brought the leftover salad from last night.
Will try and eat lightly today, and high raw. But if we end up where I'd like to end up for dinner, I am going to be having at least 1 glass of champagne. But champagne is raw right? lol
So....going to be as good as I can this weekend while company is here, and not gain any weight...
we are going to be doing some bike riding....
and then I will get back onto the juice wagon on Monday. I like it, it is working for me, but if I can only do short juice feasts, that is way better than none at all. And I do want to be 100% raw, but I may have to work up to it. I am looking at food now, going, I can make a raw version of that...and hopefully I will. I do plan on making my family some raw dinners....they won't mind as long as they like the taste (what's not to like?) and feel satisfied.
Easy enough to do. So that is today's post.....probably the last til Monday.
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
So, I know this totally flies in the face of what I said I was going to do.....but it is typical behavior for me. Today, I woke up, had 3 oil of oregano capsules, then came to work. Ate some organic cracked wheat, flax crackers, and an EnviroKids chocolate rice crispy bar. But also brought the leftover salad from last night.
Will try and eat lightly today, and high raw. But if we end up where I'd like to end up for dinner, I am going to be having at least 1 glass of champagne. But champagne is raw right? lol
So....going to be as good as I can this weekend while company is here, and not gain any weight...
we are going to be doing some bike riding....
and then I will get back onto the juice wagon on Monday. I like it, it is working for me, but if I can only do short juice feasts, that is way better than none at all. And I do want to be 100% raw, but I may have to work up to it. I am looking at food now, going, I can make a raw version of that...and hopefully I will. I do plan on making my family some raw dinners....they won't mind as long as they like the taste (what's not to like?) and feel satisfied.
Easy enough to do. So that is today's post.....probably the last til Monday.
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Stumble in the Boredom Phase
I violated one of the cardinal rules of juice feasting today....not really my fault, but the choice I made wasn't absolutely necessary, it was just facilitated by being hungry. I was out afterwork, til nearly 7 pm. Normally I am home by 5. I had been out of juice for at least 3 hours....so got quite hungry. We were buying Dakota a new bike, plus I got mine fixed. Came home, made dinner, had some lemonade drink already made....but that fruit tart that I bought to celebrate my birthday with was calling my name....so I had a piece. Could be worse, but I am feeling it. It is making me tired.....and I will have to fight off stronger desires to eat for a while. But I will do it. This will be just a hiccup in my juice feast. I can do it and I will. I did sign up for the support from Juice Feasting website and joined one of the Global Juice Feasting forums. (the Summer Juice Feasters).
So that should help....but ultimately it's all up to me. My green juice today was good, and my lemonade drink was as well...I diluted it majorly. It was way too strong. And took some oregano oil capsules and some Primal Defense tablets to help bring down my candida levels (esp since I had that fruit tart) Dreaming of making a raw one...
So, I am most definitely in the Boredom phase, and I need to try harder....to get past it successfully. I was down a pound when I woke up this morning, but I imagine I will have gained a little tomorrow. Tomorrow is Master Cleanse day as is Friday. Easy days. Well, fellow juice feasters, onward and upward. And all encouragements etc. are most welcome!
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Today I had
Double fiber drink (Dr. Natura's Colonix Fiber mixed with Blessed Herbs Ginger Toxin Absorber in 16 oz of water with stevia)
2 quarts of green juice....parsley, dandelion greens, kale, broccoli, carrots, apples, oranges. Forgot I have fresh spinach to juice.
1/8th of a fruit tart....it was good, but my husband was funny, he said he didn't think it was all that good, and that I haven't been eating for so long, that even burnt toast would taste good. And he told me that I am now on day zero...not day 12...but he is wrong on both counts.
1 quart blueberry nectarine, orange lime lemonade with maple syrup and raw honey with bee pollen and royal jelly in it...diluted quite a bit...(it needed to be....)
2 Gaia Oregano oil capsules
6 Primal Defense
So that should help....but ultimately it's all up to me. My green juice today was good, and my lemonade drink was as well...I diluted it majorly. It was way too strong. And took some oregano oil capsules and some Primal Defense tablets to help bring down my candida levels (esp since I had that fruit tart) Dreaming of making a raw one...
So, I am most definitely in the Boredom phase, and I need to try harder....to get past it successfully. I was down a pound when I woke up this morning, but I imagine I will have gained a little tomorrow. Tomorrow is Master Cleanse day as is Friday. Easy days. Well, fellow juice feasters, onward and upward. And all encouragements etc. are most welcome!
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Today I had
Double fiber drink (Dr. Natura's Colonix Fiber mixed with Blessed Herbs Ginger Toxin Absorber in 16 oz of water with stevia)
2 quarts of green juice....parsley, dandelion greens, kale, broccoli, carrots, apples, oranges. Forgot I have fresh spinach to juice.
1/8th of a fruit tart....it was good, but my husband was funny, he said he didn't think it was all that good, and that I haven't been eating for so long, that even burnt toast would taste good. And he told me that I am now on day zero...not day 12...but he is wrong on both counts.
1 quart blueberry nectarine, orange lime lemonade with maple syrup and raw honey with bee pollen and royal jelly in it...diluted quite a bit...(it needed to be....)
2 Gaia Oregano oil capsules
6 Primal Defense
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Today is my birthday....joyous day
Today is my birthday, and a good day it has been. Got to do the snack shopping for our office, and I really enjoy doing that....get to fill a whole grocery cart with granola bars, cereal bars, nuts, chips, crackers, non-perishables for the most part. I try and buy healthy, organic snacks when I can, but I also do buy a fair bit of candy and of course, soda. But it's even fun buying the candy. I buy large bags of peanut m&m's, mini-snickers, assorted tootsie rolls, tootsie roll pops, dots, starbursts, assorted mini candy bars, and gum. My total with coupons and store discounts was $299.17. Lovely that. 17 is my favorite number. I saved $66.16 with coupons etc. Good job. The only little glitch was that I left the large box of coke sitting in front of the elevator door, holding it open, and the mailman had to walk up to the third floor. He didn't much fancy that, but it wasn't really that bad.
My day started out well, I woke up earlier, made a wonderful green juice with all kinds of different greens in it, almost forgot the celery....so had 2 quarts of that, and for my evening lemon fruit juice, I juiced some blueberries and nectarines, and added that (strained several times) to a mixture of lime, lemon and orange juice along with the maple syrup and raw honey.
I made a birthday dinner for my family, marinating chunks of chicken breast in lime juice, and Annie's (formerly Consorzio's) Teriyaki Sauce, and put them on skewers with onions, mini bell peppers, and tomatoes...all coated in olive oil with pepper added.
Then I heated the oven to 500 degrees, propped the skewers over my lasagne pan, and roasted them for 10 minutes. They turned out wonderfully, but I should have put some foil in the bottom of the pan....it's quite a mess. I also cooked up some small yukon gold potatoes, cut them up, and while still warm added some Seeds of Change Greek Feta dressing... for dessert I bought a yummy looking fruit tart from WF...and that is dinner. I of course, am not having any, but I do enjoy everyone else enjoying my birthday dinner.
Now, I am off to take a walk, then we will come back and have dessert with candles even, I am 53 today, was happy when a co-worker thought I was in my late 40's.
So gotta go call my mom, it's her birthday as well. She is....81!! Happy Birthday Mom.
I sent her this cool purple orchid in a zen style arrangement. And yes, my books. Don't have them yet, but will soon.
My day started out well, I woke up earlier, made a wonderful green juice with all kinds of different greens in it, almost forgot the celery....so had 2 quarts of that, and for my evening lemon fruit juice, I juiced some blueberries and nectarines, and added that (strained several times) to a mixture of lime, lemon and orange juice along with the maple syrup and raw honey.
I made a birthday dinner for my family, marinating chunks of chicken breast in lime juice, and Annie's (formerly Consorzio's) Teriyaki Sauce, and put them on skewers with onions, mini bell peppers, and tomatoes...all coated in olive oil with pepper added.
Then I heated the oven to 500 degrees, propped the skewers over my lasagne pan, and roasted them for 10 minutes. They turned out wonderfully, but I should have put some foil in the bottom of the pan....it's quite a mess. I also cooked up some small yukon gold potatoes, cut them up, and while still warm added some Seeds of Change Greek Feta dressing... for dessert I bought a yummy looking fruit tart from WF...and that is dinner. I of course, am not having any, but I do enjoy everyone else enjoying my birthday dinner.
Now, I am off to take a walk, then we will come back and have dessert with candles even, I am 53 today, was happy when a co-worker thought I was in my late 40's.
So gotta go call my mom, it's her birthday as well. She is....81!! Happy Birthday Mom.
I sent her this cool purple orchid in a zen style arrangement. And yes, my books. Don't have them yet, but will soon.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Juice Feasting Stages: From David & Katrina
This is a long blog posting but it's worth the read. I'm going to start off by sharing something which was shared with me today. David and Katrina share this as part of the process of Juice Feasting:
These are very loose, and I am still working with this (for Juice Feasting: A Modern Hero's Guide to be out later this year), but basically we go through these stages:
Excitement - Days leading up to Feasting and the first 1-5 Days
Cleansing/Detox - this starts up pretty soon after beginning to Juice, and goes noticeably for as long as necessary. Those with high toxicity/weight levels will find it goes for many, many weeks.
Euphoria - starts to set in periodically as the body rehydrates, toxicity levels decrease, constipating waste matter leaves, body image improves, confidence grows, weight loss occurs, sleep is deeper, etc.
Boredom - A plateau occurs. Weight loss slows or stands still for 7-14 days in some cases. Physical transformation is not immediately apparent. Juices all taste the same, or one gets tired of Green Vegetable Juice, or all juices. Friends/coworkers/family keep asking you to go out, and if there is not a spiritual/emotional practice in place, boredom and the desire to return to the world of solid food is pretty strong.
Solidity - A new recognition sets in that progress has been made, and is being made. A significant difference can be seen in many aspects of one's being from the days before the Feast began. Confidence grows that a nutrient-dense plant-based diet and the degree of accomplishment one can realize on such a cuisine is not only possible, but desireable. The student has information that the world needs, and a willingness to teach and/or share sets in - even if it is just with one's acquaintences.
Freedom - The Juice Feast ends, and a solid move to a plant based diet (such as David Rainoshek's Four Means to Get Your Greens with other delicious prepared foods) sets in. With self-knowledge and understanding about nutrition and other aspects of being having taken a much deeper hold during the Juice Feast, the student finds themself more autonomous and self-actualizing, but not in a way that is limited to one's own ego. Living becomes a worldcentric Act of Love.
Anticipation!
I can't wait for tomorrow...my birthday!! I get to have my lovely presents, and our oldest son is coming by (we don't get to see enough of him!!) and I know there are a few more surprises in store. I also can't wait to have 30 days of juice feasting under my belt......1/3rd of the way finished. As it is, I am about 1/9th of the way finished.
However, feeling rather bleah today, not even very hungry for my juice. But maybe that is because I started my day all rushed (slept in a bit....really need to get to bed earlier!!!) didn't do my fiber drink at all...at least not yet, did take some Primal Defense....that could be the reason..not sure...didn't start drinking any juice til at least 10 or 10:30 if not later (not sure....) but drank my 2 quarts of green juice, came home and made a peach, blueberry juice, and even that didn't perk me up. It's probably the Primal Defense working on me...also took a couple of OregaResp capsules in case my candida levels are up and that is the reason...it's a mystery.
Then later this evening, I made a lemonade drink through my juicer which still had blueberry in it, so it came out a lovely red purple, sweetened it with half maple syrup and half raw honey ...the delectable raw honey with pollen and royal jelly in it. Not really doing it for me either, but this will pass.
Today's weight was the same as yesterday's....no biggie...I don't expect it to go down every day... I like it when it does... but have to be realistic. Am happy with my new low however, and hope to get down into the next lower set of numbers very soon. I know I am being vague here, but that is because I don't tell anyone what I weigh. I don't even let the doctor weigh me. And I am not that overweight. Seriously. But I feel that unless I am very over or underweight, it truly is none of their business....and doesn't even tell them that much. So I never let them weigh me. I do tell my weight when the knowing of it is important but I keep some things to my self.
Fought off little self sabotage gremlins today....pretty easily done...but they did come around, sensing my weakness...as I was feeling a bit tired of this routine, though aren't all routines sometimes tedious? and dissatisfied with feeling bleah....and not magically just being there...magically transformed. But I reminded myself of the magic, the transformation, the wonder and beauty of life in the raw....my new books will come just in time.
So.....Day 10 under my belt. Hurray for me. Now to do this 8 more times. I can do it.
Ciao bellas
Alessandra
Today's intake
2 quarts of green juice
parsley kale mizuna braising greens celery dandelion greens lettuces carrots 3 fuji 1 granny smith 2-3 oranges
8 Primal Defense tablets
2 OregaResp (oregano oil) capsules
1/2 quart of peach blueberry juice
1/2 quart of blueberry lemon Master Cleanse
Water
However, feeling rather bleah today, not even very hungry for my juice. But maybe that is because I started my day all rushed (slept in a bit....really need to get to bed earlier!!!) didn't do my fiber drink at all...at least not yet, did take some Primal Defense....that could be the reason..not sure...didn't start drinking any juice til at least 10 or 10:30 if not later (not sure....) but drank my 2 quarts of green juice, came home and made a peach, blueberry juice, and even that didn't perk me up. It's probably the Primal Defense working on me...also took a couple of OregaResp capsules in case my candida levels are up and that is the reason...it's a mystery.
Then later this evening, I made a lemonade drink through my juicer which still had blueberry in it, so it came out a lovely red purple, sweetened it with half maple syrup and half raw honey ...the delectable raw honey with pollen and royal jelly in it. Not really doing it for me either, but this will pass.
Today's weight was the same as yesterday's....no biggie...I don't expect it to go down every day... I like it when it does... but have to be realistic. Am happy with my new low however, and hope to get down into the next lower set of numbers very soon. I know I am being vague here, but that is because I don't tell anyone what I weigh. I don't even let the doctor weigh me. And I am not that overweight. Seriously. But I feel that unless I am very over or underweight, it truly is none of their business....and doesn't even tell them that much. So I never let them weigh me. I do tell my weight when the knowing of it is important but I keep some things to my self.
Fought off little self sabotage gremlins today....pretty easily done...but they did come around, sensing my weakness...as I was feeling a bit tired of this routine, though aren't all routines sometimes tedious? and dissatisfied with feeling bleah....and not magically just being there...magically transformed. But I reminded myself of the magic, the transformation, the wonder and beauty of life in the raw....my new books will come just in time.
So.....Day 10 under my belt. Hurray for me. Now to do this 8 more times. I can do it.
Ciao bellas
Alessandra
Today's intake
2 quarts of green juice
parsley kale mizuna braising greens celery dandelion greens lettuces carrots 3 fuji 1 granny smith 2-3 oranges
8 Primal Defense tablets
2 OregaResp (oregano oil) capsules
1/2 quart of peach blueberry juice
1/2 quart of blueberry lemon Master Cleanse
Water
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Day 9 - Come and gone!
Today was my 9th day of juice feasting. And it was a wonderful day. I woke up around 9am (I really do need to get to bed earlier), had a marvelous bm, weighed myself, (down another pound!)(I think I have lost 7 pounds so far... took a shower and then went downstairs to drink my fiber drink and make juice. Made 2 1/2 quarts of green juice....and went outside and sat in the sun reading Paul Hawkens new book, "Blessed Unrest" I didn't get that far into it but it looks to be extremely interesting.
It is about all of the people, groups, organizations etc. around the world who are doing their part for peace, environment, justice, poverty etc. These are independent, non-governmental organizations. Paul Hawken got the idea to write about them and there are many many many....after he took a look at all the business cards people had handed him on his speaking tours. He had thousands, and had estimated that he would find maybe 100.000 groups out in the world, but he found at least 10 if not 20 times that many. And this book is about his findings.
It has a wonderful quote in it from Martha Graham, which contains the phrase, 'blessed unrest'
"There is vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique....You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open....[There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the other."
and another from Mary Oliver..... which says" One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting bad advice."
I love these two quotes, I think I am going to write them large and put them up on my wall...everywhere, to always be inspired by them. Supported by them.
Today is Sunday and our new Sunday routine is to take a longish bike ride. Some times longer than others, todays was medium. Last Sunday's was long. No one rode any bikes yesterday, but we all did today. However it seems we shall keep the bike shop in business as I changed my gears when not moving, at a very bad time, and my gear shifter on the left side (for 1st, 2nd and 3rd) got sprung, and wouldn't stay where I put it...but just go back to 1st. I could get it into 2nd and 3rd gear, but I had to hold it tightly with my hand to keep it there....which I did, all the way back....as I couldn't ride home in 1st gear...at least not enjoyably. I had quite a cramp in my hand and fingers by the time we got back to the car. But it was okay. And so, I need to take my bike in, and Dakota, our 13 soon to be 14 yr old, has grown like a weed this past year, and even though we bought him a 26 inch bike, he needs a bigger one. or something. He can't straighten his legs out enough when riding...so it is not a very efficient ride.
I was proud of myself as I got all of the bikes down, put the bike carrier on the van, and loaded them all up. Mine has to go inside as the carrier doesn't work with women's bikes....hah! but that's fine...as then I can keep it in the car and get it up to the bike shop. After our bike ride we went to WF's which has a Barnes & Nobles near it, Dakota had some money he wanted to spend, and we needed dinner. And and and.....my birthday is coming up and my husband has been asking me all week, what do I want....so I looked through all of their cookbooks, and found some wonderful books of raw food recipes and info.....I do have at least 2 and some from the library, I have all kinds of cookbooks....and I looked at 6, liked 5, and picked 3. Liam, the sweetie, asked me if I liked some I had set aside and I said yes, and he said, so let's get them. So, I got 4 in all...but I can't have them yet, my birthday is not until Tuesday. One of them, isn't a raw book actually, but it's one of my favorites....."Vegan Planet". I would like for my family to be at least vegan and alot more raw (which they are open to...) There are so many great recipes in there which could be easily translated into raw recipes. Another book I looked at and do want to own at some point was Gabriel Cousens "Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine Book". However it costs $30, so that one can wait for another occasion, like Christmas.
Came back home, made dinner (chicken fajitas and bean quesadillas) f( I know!!) for my family with salad, and drank the last quart of my green juice. During dinner we had a great conversation about expanding the garden in our backyard, what we want to grow (everything!!), maybe planting a fruit tree, and also where best to put a compost pile. Very exciting conversation and love it that my kids are so into it. After dinner I went out with a pitch fork, digging fork, and went at the sage. We really like the sage very much, and I told it so, but it's taking over all the other plants. Hiding some really beautiful flowers. The flowers are also taking a beating from Otis, our 16 yr old cat. He lies on them. So we need to get some little wire fencing to keep him out. We meant to get it yesterday but forgot. We were at our favorite hardware, everything store, but I absolutely can not stand to be in there except in the winter. They have all of the bags of pesticides and herbicides out front right by the entrance as you come in, right by the cashiers, they are poisoning everyone!!! It is awful, and it happens in hardware stores all across the country. I don't know how they get away with this. They are poisoning their customers and their poor employees. I always cover up my face with something so I don't have to breath it when I am in there, but it is so strong I never can stay for long. I keep meaning to write up a report, test their air, let them know how bad it is and try and get them to change how they keep it. At the very least it needs to be outside, in a well ventilated, separate area. Or just not sold at all.
After all this, I was feeling a bit dehydrated so drank a tall glass of water, then made a yummy evening juice with 3 peaches and 3 oranges.
Can't wait until Tuesday when I can get my hands on all those wonderful books.....keep wanting to make my family a raw dinner...but haven't quite gotten it together yet. They do like this wonderful raw hummus I do with almonds....but haven't got a dehydrator or tried to make any raw breads yet. Need to get some flax seeds...have a coffee grinder that is no longer used that can grind them....oh I love all of this raw, vital energy that is coming into our lives because of this juice feast.
Ciao bellas
Alessandra
Oh yeah...so I thought I would start posting my daily intake like other blogs
AM Double fiber drink...scoop of Dr.Natura's Colonix fiber along with a packet of Blessed Herbs Ginger toxin absorber fiber herb mix...in a tall glass of cool water along with a dropperful of stevia as the ginger is quite strong...shake it up, drink it down. Great for the cleansing process.
1 1/2 quarts of green juice - parsley, mizuna, dandelion greens, kale, celery, mixed greens, carrots, 2 granny smith apples, 2 fuji apples and 3 oranges...
PM (after 5) 1 quart of same green juice
1/2 quart of fruit juice...3 peaches and 3 oranges
Water
8 Primal Defense
2 capsules of Ultra Colon Clenz, right before bed
It is about all of the people, groups, organizations etc. around the world who are doing their part for peace, environment, justice, poverty etc. These are independent, non-governmental organizations. Paul Hawken got the idea to write about them and there are many many many....after he took a look at all the business cards people had handed him on his speaking tours. He had thousands, and had estimated that he would find maybe 100.000 groups out in the world, but he found at least 10 if not 20 times that many. And this book is about his findings.
It has a wonderful quote in it from Martha Graham, which contains the phrase, 'blessed unrest'
"There is vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique....You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open....[There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the other."
and another from Mary Oliver..... which says" One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting bad advice."
I love these two quotes, I think I am going to write them large and put them up on my wall...everywhere, to always be inspired by them. Supported by them.
Today is Sunday and our new Sunday routine is to take a longish bike ride. Some times longer than others, todays was medium. Last Sunday's was long. No one rode any bikes yesterday, but we all did today. However it seems we shall keep the bike shop in business as I changed my gears when not moving, at a very bad time, and my gear shifter on the left side (for 1st, 2nd and 3rd) got sprung, and wouldn't stay where I put it...but just go back to 1st. I could get it into 2nd and 3rd gear, but I had to hold it tightly with my hand to keep it there....which I did, all the way back....as I couldn't ride home in 1st gear...at least not enjoyably. I had quite a cramp in my hand and fingers by the time we got back to the car. But it was okay. And so, I need to take my bike in, and Dakota, our 13 soon to be 14 yr old, has grown like a weed this past year, and even though we bought him a 26 inch bike, he needs a bigger one. or something. He can't straighten his legs out enough when riding...so it is not a very efficient ride.
I was proud of myself as I got all of the bikes down, put the bike carrier on the van, and loaded them all up. Mine has to go inside as the carrier doesn't work with women's bikes....hah! but that's fine...as then I can keep it in the car and get it up to the bike shop. After our bike ride we went to WF's which has a Barnes & Nobles near it, Dakota had some money he wanted to spend, and we needed dinner. And and and.....my birthday is coming up and my husband has been asking me all week, what do I want....so I looked through all of their cookbooks, and found some wonderful books of raw food recipes and info.....I do have at least 2 and some from the library, I have all kinds of cookbooks....and I looked at 6, liked 5, and picked 3. Liam, the sweetie, asked me if I liked some I had set aside and I said yes, and he said, so let's get them. So, I got 4 in all...but I can't have them yet, my birthday is not until Tuesday. One of them, isn't a raw book actually, but it's one of my favorites....."Vegan Planet". I would like for my family to be at least vegan and alot more raw (which they are open to...) There are so many great recipes in there which could be easily translated into raw recipes. Another book I looked at and do want to own at some point was Gabriel Cousens "Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine Book". However it costs $30, so that one can wait for another occasion, like Christmas.
Came back home, made dinner (chicken fajitas and bean quesadillas) f( I know!!) for my family with salad, and drank the last quart of my green juice. During dinner we had a great conversation about expanding the garden in our backyard, what we want to grow (everything!!), maybe planting a fruit tree, and also where best to put a compost pile. Very exciting conversation and love it that my kids are so into it. After dinner I went out with a pitch fork, digging fork, and went at the sage. We really like the sage very much, and I told it so, but it's taking over all the other plants. Hiding some really beautiful flowers. The flowers are also taking a beating from Otis, our 16 yr old cat. He lies on them. So we need to get some little wire fencing to keep him out. We meant to get it yesterday but forgot. We were at our favorite hardware, everything store, but I absolutely can not stand to be in there except in the winter. They have all of the bags of pesticides and herbicides out front right by the entrance as you come in, right by the cashiers, they are poisoning everyone!!! It is awful, and it happens in hardware stores all across the country. I don't know how they get away with this. They are poisoning their customers and their poor employees. I always cover up my face with something so I don't have to breath it when I am in there, but it is so strong I never can stay for long. I keep meaning to write up a report, test their air, let them know how bad it is and try and get them to change how they keep it. At the very least it needs to be outside, in a well ventilated, separate area. Or just not sold at all.
After all this, I was feeling a bit dehydrated so drank a tall glass of water, then made a yummy evening juice with 3 peaches and 3 oranges.
Can't wait until Tuesday when I can get my hands on all those wonderful books.....keep wanting to make my family a raw dinner...but haven't quite gotten it together yet. They do like this wonderful raw hummus I do with almonds....but haven't got a dehydrator or tried to make any raw breads yet. Need to get some flax seeds...have a coffee grinder that is no longer used that can grind them....oh I love all of this raw, vital energy that is coming into our lives because of this juice feast.
Ciao bellas
Alessandra
Oh yeah...so I thought I would start posting my daily intake like other blogs
AM Double fiber drink...scoop of Dr.Natura's Colonix fiber along with a packet of Blessed Herbs Ginger toxin absorber fiber herb mix...in a tall glass of cool water along with a dropperful of stevia as the ginger is quite strong...shake it up, drink it down. Great for the cleansing process.
1 1/2 quarts of green juice - parsley, mizuna, dandelion greens, kale, celery, mixed greens, carrots, 2 granny smith apples, 2 fuji apples and 3 oranges...
PM (after 5) 1 quart of same green juice
1/2 quart of fruit juice...3 peaches and 3 oranges
Water
8 Primal Defense
2 capsules of Ultra Colon Clenz, right before bed
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Gratitude
Today is all about gratitude. Mainly grateful that I am and can do this, and that my wonderful husband is so supportive. He isn't about to make me juice or anything, but he doesn't complain about all the fruit and produce being purchased and taking up all of the fridge space. Life is good.
Whereas yesterday was a crabby day, though overall a good day, today I was in a good space...with only a little crabbiness. I wasn't sure what was causing my crabbiness.....if I have had to many sweet juices, and raw honey or what, but today, I am thinking I am going through a bit of a detox. My bowel movements have been good....and today I have had 3 large ones already...rather amazing to me...but I have noticed that the green juice really flushes our your colon. It brings out lots of stuff!!! Way more than could ever be attributed to what is being ingested.
I did 2 whole days of the Master Cleanse, and it was yum and a welcome break from juicing. And the good part about it was that today, I was really ready to get back to green juices. So today I made a supergreen juice with a bunch of cilantro stems, a large bunch of italian flatleaf parsley, lots of kale, 2 stalks of broccoli, a whole head of celery, a fair bit of dandelion greens, lots of carrots, 2 granny smith apples, 2 fuji apples, and 3 oranges. It was yum. Now it is evening and I am out of juice, having small spoonfuls of this wonderful raw honey I just got that has royal jelly and bee pollen in it....it's so good. But I am mindful of not overdoing it. I may juice some melon either cantelope or honey dew....probably cantelope as it is cold...
We went to the Farmer's Market again today, no bike riding though, feeling a bit tired and Liam did a 13 mile run...really pushed himself....and he's a bit tired out...but not too. We got a lovely bunch of things at the FM....more basil plants 16 more as a matter of fact, for a total of 24, 2 more tomato plants (now we have 17 in all) , 2 yellow summer squash plants, and 6 parsley plants. We now have 49 plants in our garden....
Also got some lovely lettuces, mixed braising greens, and mizuna. Could have bought more greens, was wanting to get some spinach, but we have only so much room for stuff. So next time.
Feeling a bit tired, but love all the wonderful poo's....feel so good....really into the magic and the transformation....it's already here....feeling so much more connected with the earth, with people, so much more open and understanding.....and get these wonderful high moments of just pure joy and love of everything!!!
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Whereas yesterday was a crabby day, though overall a good day, today I was in a good space...with only a little crabbiness. I wasn't sure what was causing my crabbiness.....if I have had to many sweet juices, and raw honey or what, but today, I am thinking I am going through a bit of a detox. My bowel movements have been good....and today I have had 3 large ones already...rather amazing to me...but I have noticed that the green juice really flushes our your colon. It brings out lots of stuff!!! Way more than could ever be attributed to what is being ingested.
I did 2 whole days of the Master Cleanse, and it was yum and a welcome break from juicing. And the good part about it was that today, I was really ready to get back to green juices. So today I made a supergreen juice with a bunch of cilantro stems, a large bunch of italian flatleaf parsley, lots of kale, 2 stalks of broccoli, a whole head of celery, a fair bit of dandelion greens, lots of carrots, 2 granny smith apples, 2 fuji apples, and 3 oranges. It was yum. Now it is evening and I am out of juice, having small spoonfuls of this wonderful raw honey I just got that has royal jelly and bee pollen in it....it's so good. But I am mindful of not overdoing it. I may juice some melon either cantelope or honey dew....probably cantelope as it is cold...
We went to the Farmer's Market again today, no bike riding though, feeling a bit tired and Liam did a 13 mile run...really pushed himself....and he's a bit tired out...but not too. We got a lovely bunch of things at the FM....more basil plants 16 more as a matter of fact, for a total of 24, 2 more tomato plants (now we have 17 in all) , 2 yellow summer squash plants, and 6 parsley plants. We now have 49 plants in our garden....
Also got some lovely lettuces, mixed braising greens, and mizuna. Could have bought more greens, was wanting to get some spinach, but we have only so much room for stuff. So next time.
Feeling a bit tired, but love all the wonderful poo's....feel so good....really into the magic and the transformation....it's already here....feeling so much more connected with the earth, with people, so much more open and understanding.....and get these wonderful high moments of just pure joy and love of everything!!!
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Friday, June 6, 2008
SLOW FOOD - AND TGIF
I got some great books from the library.....saw them at the bookstore a week or so ago and luckily our library has most of the ones I wanted to read. The main topic is the future of food, what is currently happening to food production, how so many varieties of foods are being lost, how people are working to preserve what they can....just lots of interesting things to think about. I will write down the names of them and add them to this post.
I bought one book, Barbara Kingsolvers "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". I am in the process of reading it now...very interesting, informative, hopeful and dismaying at the same time. Large corporations have taken over much of the world's food production, in the process eliminating what they view as competition (Monsanto the notorious biggie, but they are not along...) buying out seed companies, eliminating the availability of heirloom varieties, using the World Bank to force developing nations to overthrow thousands of years of successful farming methods, so they can starve and go bankrupt buying and growing Roundup Ready seeds, importing soybean and corn products from America...it is all too depressing....as it has caused many people to be thrown into poverty and despair. However, there is the flip side, the positive side, of groups like the Slow Food Movement with their Ark of Taste who are preserving these precious heirloom plants.
Read the book...it's a good read as well as very informative.
I am doing well today. Had an awesome bm this morning...yes I know...eww..but really! It was alot, and there was something in it that looked like it had been around for a while....with a slight mucous coating....good sign and good that it's out of me...no longer in me. Have already had my fiber drink for the morning.
Never did get around to making a green juice yesterday, did fine with my Master Cleanse. Doing the Master Cleanse again today, this one with 4 lemons and 3 oranges and sweetened with half maple syrup and half raw honey. It is yum. Will do a green juice tomorrow. Just didn't have time this morning to juice.....sleeping is such a wonderful thing to do....love it!
Today is a beautiful sunny day, warm...tomorrow even more so. So....our Saturday routine..need to get Dakota's tire back on his bike, even if it's a bit flat...stays pumped up pretty well, and he can just bring the pump. However, hoping Liam does a run in the morning, and drives down to the FM just in case there is alot of stuff we want to buy. Really getting into the wonderful fresh greens, lettuces, etc. They aren't heavy but I do want to buy some more plants and those can be heavy....we shall see what we do.
Feeling good today......so glad I am continuing on....might have some time today to add some links to some of my favorite blogs.....there are so many wonderful juicy awesome raw blogs out there!! And if I link them to mine...maybe, just maybe I will get some readers....but even if I don't...I really do this for me...it's my journaling....
love and dandelion sunshine to all!
ciao bellas!
Alessandra
ps I have been seeing lots of lovely hawks recently.......so beautiful they are!
I bought one book, Barbara Kingsolvers "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". I am in the process of reading it now...very interesting, informative, hopeful and dismaying at the same time. Large corporations have taken over much of the world's food production, in the process eliminating what they view as competition (Monsanto the notorious biggie, but they are not along...) buying out seed companies, eliminating the availability of heirloom varieties, using the World Bank to force developing nations to overthrow thousands of years of successful farming methods, so they can starve and go bankrupt buying and growing Roundup Ready seeds, importing soybean and corn products from America...it is all too depressing....as it has caused many people to be thrown into poverty and despair. However, there is the flip side, the positive side, of groups like the Slow Food Movement with their Ark of Taste who are preserving these precious heirloom plants.
Read the book...it's a good read as well as very informative.
I am doing well today. Had an awesome bm this morning...yes I know...eww..but really! It was alot, and there was something in it that looked like it had been around for a while....with a slight mucous coating....good sign and good that it's out of me...no longer in me. Have already had my fiber drink for the morning.
Never did get around to making a green juice yesterday, did fine with my Master Cleanse. Doing the Master Cleanse again today, this one with 4 lemons and 3 oranges and sweetened with half maple syrup and half raw honey. It is yum. Will do a green juice tomorrow. Just didn't have time this morning to juice.....sleeping is such a wonderful thing to do....love it!
Today is a beautiful sunny day, warm...tomorrow even more so. So....our Saturday routine..need to get Dakota's tire back on his bike, even if it's a bit flat...stays pumped up pretty well, and he can just bring the pump. However, hoping Liam does a run in the morning, and drives down to the FM just in case there is alot of stuff we want to buy. Really getting into the wonderful fresh greens, lettuces, etc. They aren't heavy but I do want to buy some more plants and those can be heavy....we shall see what we do.
Feeling good today......so glad I am continuing on....might have some time today to add some links to some of my favorite blogs.....there are so many wonderful juicy awesome raw blogs out there!! And if I link them to mine...maybe, just maybe I will get some readers....but even if I don't...I really do this for me...it's my journaling....
love and dandelion sunshine to all!
ciao bellas!
Alessandra
ps I have been seeing lots of lovely hawks recently.......so beautiful they are!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Rain and Cleansing
It has been raining here off and on, mostly on, for over 18 hours....not a heavy rain, just a steady one. Which is great for all of the plants, it is very green around here.....nice to see in this high desert area. The mountain supposedly are getting 6 inches of snow. I am happy to see the rain, I enjoy a rainy day, and appreciate the cooler temperatures. I love blue skies and sunshine as well, but the sun here is very hot, making it difficult to do much yardwork, etc. I am going to try and get up earlier during the summer.....but I go to bed rather late so it's going to take a conscious effort. My normal schedule is up later, to bed later...I have never been a morning person.
Got up a bit late today, so didn't make a green juice this morning. Made the Master Cleanse drink with 4 lemons, 4 limes and 4 oranges, and sweetened with half maple syrup and half raw honey. It is quite good. Glad to have something to fall back on as I don't always have time to make juice. I will make a green juice this evening. Good to mix it up as well.....helps to keep it interesting.
After having my fiber drink late yesterday afternoon, and then taking 2 herbal laxative capsules before bed, I woke up to my usual bodily rhythm of having a bm shortly after arising. That felt good, and now I feel clean and empty down there rather than backed up and toxic. Need to have today's fiber drink right now....no postponing it. And start drinking some juice. Yesterday I was in a crabby mood, and close to messing up....not tempted by food so much as just veering towards that messing it up, self-sabotage edge. I am not sure if I am drinking enough juice. I have been having only about 3 quarts of juice per day, and was feeling a bit hungry last night, so had a little maple syrup, and then a little raw honey, just to take the edge off. It was late and I didn't want to go to all of the trouble and mess of making juice. Wasn't sure if I was going to fall asleep easily when I went to bed, but even though it seemed like I might have some trouble, it didn't take long before I was asleep...and I slept well, though I was a bit chilly and could have used another blanket on the bed. But I didn't mess up, and today I am fine. On course and feeling much better.
Today has been a good day. Will make my green juice this evening.....and oh yeah, weightloss has been up 1 pound, down 1/2 and down one pound....so slowly but surely I will reach my goal.
And this afternoon...just feeling good....that wonderful juice feasting high. Glad it's back...
Got up a bit late today, so didn't make a green juice this morning. Made the Master Cleanse drink with 4 lemons, 4 limes and 4 oranges, and sweetened with half maple syrup and half raw honey. It is quite good. Glad to have something to fall back on as I don't always have time to make juice. I will make a green juice this evening. Good to mix it up as well.....helps to keep it interesting.
After having my fiber drink late yesterday afternoon, and then taking 2 herbal laxative capsules before bed, I woke up to my usual bodily rhythm of having a bm shortly after arising. That felt good, and now I feel clean and empty down there rather than backed up and toxic. Need to have today's fiber drink right now....no postponing it. And start drinking some juice. Yesterday I was in a crabby mood, and close to messing up....not tempted by food so much as just veering towards that messing it up, self-sabotage edge. I am not sure if I am drinking enough juice. I have been having only about 3 quarts of juice per day, and was feeling a bit hungry last night, so had a little maple syrup, and then a little raw honey, just to take the edge off. It was late and I didn't want to go to all of the trouble and mess of making juice. Wasn't sure if I was going to fall asleep easily when I went to bed, but even though it seemed like I might have some trouble, it didn't take long before I was asleep...and I slept well, though I was a bit chilly and could have used another blanket on the bed. But I didn't mess up, and today I am fine. On course and feeling much better.
Today has been a good day. Will make my green juice this evening.....and oh yeah, weightloss has been up 1 pound, down 1/2 and down one pound....so slowly but surely I will reach my goal.
And this afternoon...just feeling good....that wonderful juice feasting high. Glad it's back...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Bioneers
Just got the schedule for next fall's Bioneers Conference. They last 3-5 days, feature speakers from all over the world on important world issues....issues important to real people, not the ones the politicians and corporations would have you talking about. Issues important to the health and survival of people and this planet. They are beamed via satellite to different cities around the country...our city being one of them. I have gone for the past 3 years, have volunteered at them for the past 2 years...love them. Please google Bioneers Conference for more info as I am not at all versed nor have the time or patience (yet) to figure out how to put links in, or give you a better bit of info. It is late here, so do apologize...when I read others amazing blogs I feel a bit unworthy here...but that's okay.
Today was an okay day, but I haven't done my fiber drink for the past two days, and since I am not doing enemas either, I really noticed the difference. I don't feel as well. So when I got home today, I took a fiber drink and I will take some laxative capsules when I go to bed, and get back on track with the fiber drink. Definitely important...either that or the enemas....which I have done, but I really don't have time right now, nor the inclination.
Morning juice.....cantelope...juiced 2 small ones, so got about 32 ounces of juice...then made a super duper green juice with a full bunch of parsley, 2/3's of a bunch of cilantro, a full head of celery, a bunch of kale, large stalk of broccoli w/head, bunch of carrots, 4 fugi apples and 1 orange. After the cantelope juice which was quite sweet today, the green juice didn't seem so tasty, but I didn't really start drinking it until around noon (having had the 32 oz of cantelope juice) and by then I was getting hungry for it, and it was good. Came home and finished off the little bit of Master Cleanse drink I had made last night...using that for something quick and easy in between....think that's okay, and then drank my fiber drink and later finished the other 33 oz bottle of green juice from earlier. Felt a bit hungry after that, so had some raw honey....
Definitely need to juice more....feel like I am heading into a danger zone here.....not enough juice..
silly me....doing so well too. OK. Tomorrow will be a very good day.
Ciao Bellas
Alessandra
Today was an okay day, but I haven't done my fiber drink for the past two days, and since I am not doing enemas either, I really noticed the difference. I don't feel as well. So when I got home today, I took a fiber drink and I will take some laxative capsules when I go to bed, and get back on track with the fiber drink. Definitely important...either that or the enemas....which I have done, but I really don't have time right now, nor the inclination.
Morning juice.....cantelope...juiced 2 small ones, so got about 32 ounces of juice...then made a super duper green juice with a full bunch of parsley, 2/3's of a bunch of cilantro, a full head of celery, a bunch of kale, large stalk of broccoli w/head, bunch of carrots, 4 fugi apples and 1 orange. After the cantelope juice which was quite sweet today, the green juice didn't seem so tasty, but I didn't really start drinking it until around noon (having had the 32 oz of cantelope juice) and by then I was getting hungry for it, and it was good. Came home and finished off the little bit of Master Cleanse drink I had made last night...using that for something quick and easy in between....think that's okay, and then drank my fiber drink and later finished the other 33 oz bottle of green juice from earlier. Felt a bit hungry after that, so had some raw honey....
Definitely need to juice more....feel like I am heading into a danger zone here.....not enough juice..
silly me....doing so well too. OK. Tomorrow will be a very good day.
Ciao Bellas
Alessandra
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Sleepless Night
Last night I was unable to sleep well at all. If I didn't know better, I would have thought I was hungry, but that sensation in my stomach was not hunger, but cleansing. Better not to feed it. I didn't have as much juice as I might of yesterday.....wasn't all that hungry and just got too busy, so today is going to be a very juicy day...but I just lay in bed, aware of the sensations in my stomach, and thinking good thoughts about them...they are cleansing sensations, the magic is continuing....just happy thoughts....even as I lay there unable to fall into sleep. And I was tired, and sleepy! So, yeah a bit frustrating, but I never let it bother me as that would only make things worse. When I can't sleep (which isn't often) I find just relaxing and lying peacefully is actually quite restful, and I do my best thinking on those nights. Last night I was too tired for any profound thoughts to come to me, but it was still a good night. I did get a little sleep, but I heard the milk delivery, heard the early birds chirping (I swear they start chirping at 3:30am....for at least a half hour, then they are quiet again til 5 or so. Closed the window, and our bedroom door, and put my arm over my ear.....zzzzz
So! Woke up hungry, had a good bm, weighed myself...a full pound down. ok! Went downstairs, made another lovely cantelope juice. These are different ones now, a bit smaller, so only got about 16 ounces of juice out of it, but it was a bit riper, oranger, and sweeter, the juice was so rich it was almost creamy. Very delicious, and yes, sweeter, but still seems to be fine with me. For some reason a juice of oranges and strawberries seemed to sweet for my system. Made me tired.
So, drank that, took 6 Primal Defense tablets, and then made my green juice of a full bunch of italian parsley, a bit of dandelion greens, fair bit of kale, most of a head of celery, large stalk and head of broccoli, carrots, 4 fuji apples, an orange and a lemon. It didn't make as much as I normally make, but that's okay. It's enough to get me through the day hopefully, til I can get home and make more. I am going to go back to the store and get more of those cantelopes. They are so delish and well priced. Also need more kale, parsley, and soon will need more carrots and apples. Do wish we had another full refrigerator as I don't have much room to store produce, but at least we do have one of those smaller, dorm size ones. It helps.
Feeling good today, good mood, a bit tired, and definitely hungry. Will have to get drinking my juice! No fiber drink til later, I like to take it a while after having the Primal Defense.
My birthday is coming up and we were going to go out for dinner to this new restaurant, which has organic vegan cuisine and raw cuisine, but I am not eating. I may call and see if they can make me some juice... or not....may just have to save this little outing for after my juice feast ends. I am hoping to make at least 60 days, if not 92. 92 would take me through August 30th, as I started May 31st. hmm......one day at a time.
So! Woke up hungry, had a good bm, weighed myself...a full pound down. ok! Went downstairs, made another lovely cantelope juice. These are different ones now, a bit smaller, so only got about 16 ounces of juice out of it, but it was a bit riper, oranger, and sweeter, the juice was so rich it was almost creamy. Very delicious, and yes, sweeter, but still seems to be fine with me. For some reason a juice of oranges and strawberries seemed to sweet for my system. Made me tired.
So, drank that, took 6 Primal Defense tablets, and then made my green juice of a full bunch of italian parsley, a bit of dandelion greens, fair bit of kale, most of a head of celery, large stalk and head of broccoli, carrots, 4 fuji apples, an orange and a lemon. It didn't make as much as I normally make, but that's okay. It's enough to get me through the day hopefully, til I can get home and make more. I am going to go back to the store and get more of those cantelopes. They are so delish and well priced. Also need more kale, parsley, and soon will need more carrots and apples. Do wish we had another full refrigerator as I don't have much room to store produce, but at least we do have one of those smaller, dorm size ones. It helps.
Feeling good today, good mood, a bit tired, and definitely hungry. Will have to get drinking my juice! No fiber drink til later, I like to take it a while after having the Primal Defense.
My birthday is coming up and we were going to go out for dinner to this new restaurant, which has organic vegan cuisine and raw cuisine, but I am not eating. I may call and see if they can make me some juice... or not....may just have to save this little outing for after my juice feast ends. I am hoping to make at least 60 days, if not 92. 92 would take me through August 30th, as I started May 31st. hmm......one day at a time.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Self-Sabotage (No I didn't but it was sniffing around)
Got up today around 6:30 am, should have gotten up about 15 minutes earlier. I was awake, and the closer it got to 6:30 the sleepier I became...I have noticed that that is my biorhythym. That I have a sleep cycle that comes on around 6:30 am....if I don't sleep right through it. Got up, did the usual morning routine...bm was less than expected, that's okay, the good shit will come. Weight loss....1/2 pound. I am happy as long as it continues south. Took a nice long bike ride yesterday, that always produces good results, and I didn't even have 4 quarts of juice yesterday...anyhoo...silly to obsess about weight, but I do so want to be thin. Not have this pillow that ages me. I want everyone to think I am still in my 30's.....which is entirely possible if I keep up this magic. And that brings me to the title of today's post. Self-Sabotage.
First juice of the morning was cantelope. About 24 ounces again (ie one average melon). I drank that, didn't seem very hungry for it which surprised me....usually really wanting the juice in the am. So, took my time drinking that, and also took 8 Primal Defense tablets....and postponed taking my fiber drink until later. I have everything I need for it at my office, so got that in around 9:30...and didn't start on my green juice until around 10. I had to consciously make myself drink it! Which got me to thinking about self-sabotage, as if you let yourself get too far behind with the juice, ie too hungry, you are in a dangerous zone....could fall off the path. And I was in a funny mood about it too. Almost not wanting to do it...and I said to myself....whoa now, this is not the direction you want to go in. So I googled self-sabotage and found a website that had some good things about it, that there are 4 main causes, low self-esteem, lack of self-love, lack of self-confidence and oh, I forget, and finding that website again is impossible. I forget what exactly I googled to bring up that website...and there are a gazillion websites on that topic.
Just doing that little bit of research got me back on track, and I have also decided to order Angela's book on Raw Emotions. I have read many good things about it, and know that it will be truly helpful.
So, here at work, drinking my green juice (same old same old) and doing alright. Nothing that a good enema wouldn't fix, but can't exactly do one here at the office. eeww.
OK....so later gators....on the lookout for more juicy cantelopes. I really like having the cantelope juice, and with the little bit of carrot that is in it....it is such a beautiful color!! And I really like the taste, sweet, but not too....refreshing!
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
ps...since Traditionally, to say goodbye in Italian (or most gender specific languages) the masculine form is used to mean everyone, I am using the feminine form....but I mean everyone!It's good for women to assert themselves and not allow the men to overrule, run over everything.
They rule most goverments, make most of the rules everyone lives by, are the main ones in charge of the destruction of this planet. We, aid and abet them (literally) by buying into their madness. Buying their products. It's time for an alternate way, an alternate economy. And don't fight them, just don't join them!!! Stop shopping at WalMart, etc. Stop buying Agri-business' non-food, tortured food, poisoned food. I know I am preaching to the choir here, but I am just so into this right now, at this very moment....need to follow this....
Support your local economy!!! Maybe a title of my next blog. love to all.
First juice of the morning was cantelope. About 24 ounces again (ie one average melon). I drank that, didn't seem very hungry for it which surprised me....usually really wanting the juice in the am. So, took my time drinking that, and also took 8 Primal Defense tablets....and postponed taking my fiber drink until later. I have everything I need for it at my office, so got that in around 9:30...and didn't start on my green juice until around 10. I had to consciously make myself drink it! Which got me to thinking about self-sabotage, as if you let yourself get too far behind with the juice, ie too hungry, you are in a dangerous zone....could fall off the path. And I was in a funny mood about it too. Almost not wanting to do it...and I said to myself....whoa now, this is not the direction you want to go in. So I googled self-sabotage and found a website that had some good things about it, that there are 4 main causes, low self-esteem, lack of self-love, lack of self-confidence and oh, I forget, and finding that website again is impossible. I forget what exactly I googled to bring up that website...and there are a gazillion websites on that topic.
Just doing that little bit of research got me back on track, and I have also decided to order Angela's book on Raw Emotions. I have read many good things about it, and know that it will be truly helpful.
So, here at work, drinking my green juice (same old same old) and doing alright. Nothing that a good enema wouldn't fix, but can't exactly do one here at the office. eeww.
OK....so later gators....on the lookout for more juicy cantelopes. I really like having the cantelope juice, and with the little bit of carrot that is in it....it is such a beautiful color!! And I really like the taste, sweet, but not too....refreshing!
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
ps...since Traditionally, to say goodbye in Italian (or most gender specific languages) the masculine form is used to mean everyone, I am using the feminine form....but I mean everyone!It's good for women to assert themselves and not allow the men to overrule, run over everything.
They rule most goverments, make most of the rules everyone lives by, are the main ones in charge of the destruction of this planet. We, aid and abet them (literally) by buying into their madness. Buying their products. It's time for an alternate way, an alternate economy. And don't fight them, just don't join them!!! Stop shopping at WalMart, etc. Stop buying Agri-business' non-food, tortured food, poisoned food. I know I am preaching to the choir here, but I am just so into this right now, at this very moment....need to follow this....
Support your local economy!!! Maybe a title of my next blog. love to all.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Magic Continues
I think fasting, and juice feasting (which is not fasting at all...) are very magical....they produce these magical synchronicities, which only increase the longer you do them. And they heighten your awareness, raise your frequency, so that you are able to feel and perceive so much more than before. You know what is going to happen before it happens, and you get all of these little in sync things happening that are just like the universe is giving you a wink....saying, yes, you've got it! My days are starting to be like that....and whenever I am tempted or craving a bite of something solid, I remind myself of that, of the wonderful magic that is happening, and I just stop. Because I love this magic...and I plan on having alot of it in my life from now on.
So...today...got up between 8:30 and 9am...and started cleaning my room. I have wanted to do it for a while now, so today...I did. I went through everything in my closet, found clothes that I had forgotten I had, went through all of my drawers, and sorted it all out, throwing away old socks and stockings that have holes, putting in a pile for Salvation Army the things I know I won't wear, and putting into another pile all of the clothes that I won't need til next winter. Then I bagged them all up, stashed one bag in the back of my closet, one went in the car to be dropped off and the other, along with several smaller bags of 'junk', papers, etc. went into the trash bin. Cleaned off the top of my dresser while I was at it, and pulled it out so I could retrieve some things that had fallen behind, like my favorite little chinese bowl...little as in about the size of a half dollar...with red floral design, and a print of a woman looking into a mirror and seeing herself as a coyote woman that my sister gave me on my 50th birthday. Love both those things. Also got a wet cloth and cleaned off all of the dust, of which there was a ton. I am so bad at dusting...basically never do it. So next thing I have to do is dust off the bookshelves which have some wicker bowls, ceramic bowls, skulls, coyote gourds, dried ears of blue corn that my dad grew for me from some seed I got from San Idelfonso pueblo in New Mexico. Need to dust all that, and vacuum, and one room will be done.
We are having some company this month, so I need to clean like a madwoman and get it looking good. It's not bad, but it has a bit of clutter and lots of things that need dusting. It is clean, just cluttered. It took me nearly 3 hours just to do what I did this morning, 3 hours without any juice, only a bit of water....as I was curious to see if I would weight less in 3 hours without taking anything in, than I did after I woke up and had a lovely bowel movement. I was down another pound...hurrah. Bike riding helps so much. But, alas, my body doesn't grant me any boons for not feeding it. At first I was feeling hungry and weak, but that passed and mostly I was quite fine. Definitely hungry by the time I did get downstairs to make some juice.
So...( a word I know I overuse) I juiced this cantelope that I had, it had a few bad spots as I have had it for a while, but mostly it was fine, and the juice was very very good....it had just a bit of carrot in it as I had to use a couple to push the melon through, but it only needed a bit of pushing through as mostly it went in just fine...not alot of backup....but pushing the plunger down through that back up can be like flushing the clogged toilet. You watch the liquid rise, and hope it doesn't overflow. Most of the time you are lucky.
Cantelope juice, about 24 ounces, and it didn't feel too sweet to my body, then I made a green juice, with a full bunch of cilantro, the mixed braising greens (lots) dandelion greens, some kale, 1 stalk of broccoli complete with head, most of a head of celery...which had grown all into one thick stalk about 2/3's of the way down, which was fine, actually made for more celery to juice, the last of my carrots, a decent enough amount, and 3 granny smith apples. Another yummy, slightly tart juice.
Wanted to take a good bike ride today, and we did. There is this loop, actually 2, a longer one and a shorter one, that was posted along the bike path with signs and painted arrows. We did the shorter one, but it was still somewhere inbetween 14 and 15 miles....and plenty of uphill. At the end I walked up a couple of the steeper hills, but mostly I did very well, and had my bike in the hardest gear for most of the time. We went over hill and dale, around pond and under roads, through a cattle pasture, lots of momma cows and youngun's getting bigger....still small enough to seem like calves...but more the equivalent of an 8 yr old human as opposed to toddlers or kindergarteners. Cute sort of, but yech! there are way too many cows on this planet.
Was riding our bikes for a little over 2 hours...oh was I saddlesore by the end. ouch. Then we went to the grocery story and headed for home. WF's had lots of good things to sample, cherries (not organic), breads, cheeses, chocolate somethings....needless to say, I had none, but I did have a sample of some organic sparkling cider...needed something to raise my bloodsugar levels, and my green juice just wasn't it. Saved the last bit for later. It's chilling in the freezer now, about time to take it out. Came home and made some orange juice. The boys made yummy smoothies with plain kefir, some strawberries and ripe bananas. It was so good...I had to lick out the food processor...I don't think that little cheat really will hurt.
Taking a break, writing this post, and soon, time to make another green juice and dinner. Dinner tonight is pesto...yum yum, will look forward to eating that after my juice feast. It's so lovely that pesto is raw. Missing my wonderful salads....oh, definitely time to juice. It is soooo good to be juicing. I love it, and I love it that my husband supports me in it. It's just the cat that is the problem.
(just kidding...my kitty is lovely and fine, beautiful and sweet and rarely a problem.) I lecture him about not fighting when he is out (which is limited but he takes advantage) and he is neutered, but he is also Siamese.....long soft hair, chocolate points, china blue eyes....Desert Sky we call him. I will have to post a picture. He is a gift....fated to be ours, to be mine.
Do you believe in magic? If you juice feast, you most definitely will!
love to all
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
So...today...got up between 8:30 and 9am...and started cleaning my room. I have wanted to do it for a while now, so today...I did. I went through everything in my closet, found clothes that I had forgotten I had, went through all of my drawers, and sorted it all out, throwing away old socks and stockings that have holes, putting in a pile for Salvation Army the things I know I won't wear, and putting into another pile all of the clothes that I won't need til next winter. Then I bagged them all up, stashed one bag in the back of my closet, one went in the car to be dropped off and the other, along with several smaller bags of 'junk', papers, etc. went into the trash bin. Cleaned off the top of my dresser while I was at it, and pulled it out so I could retrieve some things that had fallen behind, like my favorite little chinese bowl...little as in about the size of a half dollar...with red floral design, and a print of a woman looking into a mirror and seeing herself as a coyote woman that my sister gave me on my 50th birthday. Love both those things. Also got a wet cloth and cleaned off all of the dust, of which there was a ton. I am so bad at dusting...basically never do it. So next thing I have to do is dust off the bookshelves which have some wicker bowls, ceramic bowls, skulls, coyote gourds, dried ears of blue corn that my dad grew for me from some seed I got from San Idelfonso pueblo in New Mexico. Need to dust all that, and vacuum, and one room will be done.
We are having some company this month, so I need to clean like a madwoman and get it looking good. It's not bad, but it has a bit of clutter and lots of things that need dusting. It is clean, just cluttered. It took me nearly 3 hours just to do what I did this morning, 3 hours without any juice, only a bit of water....as I was curious to see if I would weight less in 3 hours without taking anything in, than I did after I woke up and had a lovely bowel movement. I was down another pound...hurrah. Bike riding helps so much. But, alas, my body doesn't grant me any boons for not feeding it. At first I was feeling hungry and weak, but that passed and mostly I was quite fine. Definitely hungry by the time I did get downstairs to make some juice.
So...( a word I know I overuse) I juiced this cantelope that I had, it had a few bad spots as I have had it for a while, but mostly it was fine, and the juice was very very good....it had just a bit of carrot in it as I had to use a couple to push the melon through, but it only needed a bit of pushing through as mostly it went in just fine...not alot of backup....but pushing the plunger down through that back up can be like flushing the clogged toilet. You watch the liquid rise, and hope it doesn't overflow. Most of the time you are lucky.
Cantelope juice, about 24 ounces, and it didn't feel too sweet to my body, then I made a green juice, with a full bunch of cilantro, the mixed braising greens (lots) dandelion greens, some kale, 1 stalk of broccoli complete with head, most of a head of celery...which had grown all into one thick stalk about 2/3's of the way down, which was fine, actually made for more celery to juice, the last of my carrots, a decent enough amount, and 3 granny smith apples. Another yummy, slightly tart juice.
Wanted to take a good bike ride today, and we did. There is this loop, actually 2, a longer one and a shorter one, that was posted along the bike path with signs and painted arrows. We did the shorter one, but it was still somewhere inbetween 14 and 15 miles....and plenty of uphill. At the end I walked up a couple of the steeper hills, but mostly I did very well, and had my bike in the hardest gear for most of the time. We went over hill and dale, around pond and under roads, through a cattle pasture, lots of momma cows and youngun's getting bigger....still small enough to seem like calves...but more the equivalent of an 8 yr old human as opposed to toddlers or kindergarteners. Cute sort of, but yech! there are way too many cows on this planet.
Was riding our bikes for a little over 2 hours...oh was I saddlesore by the end. ouch. Then we went to the grocery story and headed for home. WF's had lots of good things to sample, cherries (not organic), breads, cheeses, chocolate somethings....needless to say, I had none, but I did have a sample of some organic sparkling cider...needed something to raise my bloodsugar levels, and my green juice just wasn't it. Saved the last bit for later. It's chilling in the freezer now, about time to take it out. Came home and made some orange juice. The boys made yummy smoothies with plain kefir, some strawberries and ripe bananas. It was so good...I had to lick out the food processor...I don't think that little cheat really will hurt.
Taking a break, writing this post, and soon, time to make another green juice and dinner. Dinner tonight is pesto...yum yum, will look forward to eating that after my juice feast. It's so lovely that pesto is raw. Missing my wonderful salads....oh, definitely time to juice. It is soooo good to be juicing. I love it, and I love it that my husband supports me in it. It's just the cat that is the problem.
(just kidding...my kitty is lovely and fine, beautiful and sweet and rarely a problem.) I lecture him about not fighting when he is out (which is limited but he takes advantage) and he is neutered, but he is also Siamese.....long soft hair, chocolate points, china blue eyes....Desert Sky we call him. I will have to post a picture. He is a gift....fated to be ours, to be mine.
Do you believe in magic? If you juice feast, you most definitely will!
love to all
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Gifting myself with Juice
I went to bed last night around 11, but could not fall asleep. I stayed in bed for about an hour, then got up, and lo and behold, my body needed to release some matter.....couldn't really tell that while lying in bed, but something was keeping me awake. After taking care of that issue, I of course went over to my computer and got online. Read more juicy blogs, and realized that I really do want to juice feast......that for me it is best. If I do green smoothies, I am more likely to eat cooked food.
I was raw all day yesterday, until the evening, as I had some leftover bean quesadilla in the fridge that was calling my name. It was very tasty, and I only ate half of what was left, which was 1/4 of a quesadilla made like a tortilla sandwich ie not folded over, but with a second tortilla on the top. I really love the Mariposa tortillas I used to make it. They are fresh, and thicker than most. White flour as I just don't like whole wheat pasta, pitas or tortillas. I do eat only sprouted grain bread when I eat bread, but my tortillas etc are white. Or were, as I don't believe I will go back there for a long long time, if at all. I also had a small bowl of cereal before bed. It has become a craving. I use Nature's Path Multigrain Oat Bran Flakes mixed with some Barbara's regular shredded oats (pillow cereal) and fill the bowl with a mix of Rice Dream and Organic Whole milk, with a dropperful of liquid stevia added. It is yum. My favorite desert in all the world (one of them) is a bowl of these cereals, alone or together, with a huge pile of whipped cream on top. So delicious and not overly sweet....and yes, it's dairy....but omg.
So, I woke up this morning, had another bowel movement, did my morning ritual of removing all clothing after the bowel movement, before ingesting anything, no water, nada.....and weighed myself. One half of a pound down. Good. Trying to keep things moving in the right direction. Would love to lose 30 pounds. Even 20 would be great....30 pounds would be awesome. I have this dream of being lithe, thin and fit, strong and full of vitality and joy. That is what juice feasting will gift me with, what I will gift myself with, with juice feasting and raw foods.
Going to the local farmers market today, going to ride my bike in (I do drive a bit of a ways, but just to get to the bike path.) My family usually rides with me, but we are having flat tire issues, and my husband just took an 11 mile run, so he is not that interested in having a bike ride. We have amazing bike paths around here, you can ride on them for miles and miles and miles. Seriously, and much of it is along the creek. We rode in last week, and then on Sunday took another longer bike ride in the other direction. It was great!!! Would love to do 2 long bike rides this weekend as well. Don't see why not!
This morning's juice was made with a large bunch of parsley, a medium bit of dandelion greens, a large amount of kale, almost a full head of celery, some napa cabbage (doesn't give much juice), carrots, granny smith apples (3) an orange and a lemon. It is deliciously tart and green, about 2 quarts....one quart all greens, one quart apples, carrots, orange and lemon.
Whole Foods had organic cilantro on sale, a dollar a piece.....so I bought 4. They are acting like a regular grocery store more and more....making me call them Corporate Foods, which is really what they are. They like to stress how green, local and organic they are, but they carry as much, if not more non-organic produce than organic. And when they have sales of cilantro advertised as 10 for $10, it makes me feel like I am shopping at Albertson's. I greatly miss our local co-op, which went under due to lack of good business sense, biting off more than they could chew, and sadly, lack of support in this town of money. It felt so good to be there, so much closer to the reality of food, life, love. It was a wonderful place. People here have plenty of money, at least many people do, but most of them did not shop there. Many rich people like to live here, it is very nice, the weather is not too extreme, there is alot of natural beauty, mountains, streams, great hiking, biking, rock climbing etc. however most newcomers can not afford to live in the town (us included) as houses start at $500,000.
I like our house, but I don't like it's setting.....I like the relative peace and quiet of it, but it's suburban processed living boringness....with everyone having fenced-in back yards, very few neighbors interacting or even showing their faces save for coming and going. Guess I will have to make an effort to change that. There are some nice people in the neighborhood. Most of them. However there is nothing interesting to explore around here, though we are very close to "open space" but it's only truly open if you are a cow. People are told to keep out. That stinks both literally and figuratively. At least the cows are not around too often, but when they are, they ruin the land. There is a hill that is used for sledding when it snows, and it had a bit of vegetation on it, (the land is clay, semi-deserty, not much growing on it anyways) but now it is totally barren and eroding.
I wish I could float all of the cattle and all of the pigs up into space, as I think the earth would heave a giant sigh of relief. There are far too many of them on the planet. Way more than people, and the growing and the processing of them uses up way way way too many resources, not to mention all of the pollution they cause. Something overlooked by Al Gore in his book about global warming. They really do have a huge, significant impact.
I have some goals for the summer. One is to start a compost pile, the other is to really work our garden space, do more than basil and tomatoes, sunflowers and weeds. Another is to really take a look at our waste, what we throw away and try to reduce it as much as possible. Recyling is great, but not having it, producing it, in the first place is best. Much of our waste is plastic, the great number one, then glass jars and tin cans. We eat alot of canned beans. Use lots of jars of pasta sauce. Plastic comes with everything....and then there is paper....lots of junk mail.... kids school papers, etc. We don't take a newspaper, so don't have that daily waste, and I have tons of cloth bags that I use faithfully, and I have even started remembering to bring plastic bags to reuse when I buy produce, but I just cringe when I see what we have. And we have less than many people! So....enough lofty goals for one post. Off to enjoy this beautiful day!
The bike ride in to the Farmer's Market was wonderful, the bike path is lined with all kinds of green things growing, which I was eying as I rode by, wondering how many of them were edible greens that I could harvest to help lower the cost of my juice feast. I didn't see much I recognized, maybe one area that has tall dandelion greens, lots of thistles and other plants I don't know. There are also some beautiful blue/purple flowers blooming...look a lot like phlox, but I don't know if that is what they are.
Met my husband and son down at the Market, walked around, lots of yummy greens, spinach, arugula, lettuces, malvia ? a salad green, and lots of plants. Herbs, flowers, tomatoes, etc. I bought a large bag of stir fry greens for juicing, a large bag of young lettuces and 6 young parsley plants for our garden. Then, I took my son's bike to the bike shop to get the tire fixed and the gears adjusted. I love the bike shop. They are nice and very helpful, a local business. Naiche's tire had a goat head thorn poking through it into the inner tube, so that was removed, and this time (as he seems to get flat tires often) I bought the really thick, elephant hide inner tube. Hopefully that will end his flat tires. He rode his bike back to the parking area outside of town with me and Liam met us there.
Then we went and picked up Dakota and his bike, which also has a flat tire, but it stays inflated well enough when you put air in it....and we came home to water everything, make juice and dinner. They are eating pita pizzas..homemade and delicious...and I first made a fruit juice using a quart of strawberries, and 3 oranges. It was yum but afterwards I felt tired, so made some more green juice with a full thing of cilantro, a good helping of dandelion greens, 2 large stalks of broccoli, some celery and 2 Pink Lady apples and a few carrots. Getting quite low on carrots and apples so have to keep some back for tomorrow mornings juice. This juice is tart and green and slightly bitter but still very tasty. Keep feeling like I need to poo, but nothing quite there. Suppose an enema would help, but don't feel like doing one. I do take a double dose of fiber every morning....one scoop of Dr. Natura's Colonix fiber, and one packet of the Blessed Herbs toxin absorber...which is also fiber, clay, herbs, etc. I keep looking for those rubber tubes to come out, but so far, nothing much like that. Not sure what is up with that....is it all stubbornly clinging to the walls of my colon or what? But I will persevere, and time will tell.
In the meantime, long winded post that this is, I wanted to mention the sheer magic of juicing and being 100% raw, which I started feeling again today. Lots of synchronicities, lots of mellow thoughts and feelings, I bought something, my total was $7.77. I bought gas, and I got exactly 22.222 gallons, and the person before me had paid $67.17 and gotten 17. something gallons of gas. 17 and 22 are numbers that I gravitate towards and that gravitate towards me. I see the number 17 absolutely everywhere. So, very glad to be feeling the magic, and this is my magic thought that keeps me juicing......that if I keep it up, the magic will only increase. I don't want to lose the magic. So....if you have read all of this either you are truly bored or an avid seeker. Either way, welcome, and do say hello. It is nice to know when and if anyone is reading this.
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
I was raw all day yesterday, until the evening, as I had some leftover bean quesadilla in the fridge that was calling my name. It was very tasty, and I only ate half of what was left, which was 1/4 of a quesadilla made like a tortilla sandwich ie not folded over, but with a second tortilla on the top. I really love the Mariposa tortillas I used to make it. They are fresh, and thicker than most. White flour as I just don't like whole wheat pasta, pitas or tortillas. I do eat only sprouted grain bread when I eat bread, but my tortillas etc are white. Or were, as I don't believe I will go back there for a long long time, if at all. I also had a small bowl of cereal before bed. It has become a craving. I use Nature's Path Multigrain Oat Bran Flakes mixed with some Barbara's regular shredded oats (pillow cereal) and fill the bowl with a mix of Rice Dream and Organic Whole milk, with a dropperful of liquid stevia added. It is yum. My favorite desert in all the world (one of them) is a bowl of these cereals, alone or together, with a huge pile of whipped cream on top. So delicious and not overly sweet....and yes, it's dairy....but omg.
So, I woke up this morning, had another bowel movement, did my morning ritual of removing all clothing after the bowel movement, before ingesting anything, no water, nada.....and weighed myself. One half of a pound down. Good. Trying to keep things moving in the right direction. Would love to lose 30 pounds. Even 20 would be great....30 pounds would be awesome. I have this dream of being lithe, thin and fit, strong and full of vitality and joy. That is what juice feasting will gift me with, what I will gift myself with, with juice feasting and raw foods.
Going to the local farmers market today, going to ride my bike in (I do drive a bit of a ways, but just to get to the bike path.) My family usually rides with me, but we are having flat tire issues, and my husband just took an 11 mile run, so he is not that interested in having a bike ride. We have amazing bike paths around here, you can ride on them for miles and miles and miles. Seriously, and much of it is along the creek. We rode in last week, and then on Sunday took another longer bike ride in the other direction. It was great!!! Would love to do 2 long bike rides this weekend as well. Don't see why not!
This morning's juice was made with a large bunch of parsley, a medium bit of dandelion greens, a large amount of kale, almost a full head of celery, some napa cabbage (doesn't give much juice), carrots, granny smith apples (3) an orange and a lemon. It is deliciously tart and green, about 2 quarts....one quart all greens, one quart apples, carrots, orange and lemon.
Whole Foods had organic cilantro on sale, a dollar a piece.....so I bought 4. They are acting like a regular grocery store more and more....making me call them Corporate Foods, which is really what they are. They like to stress how green, local and organic they are, but they carry as much, if not more non-organic produce than organic. And when they have sales of cilantro advertised as 10 for $10, it makes me feel like I am shopping at Albertson's. I greatly miss our local co-op, which went under due to lack of good business sense, biting off more than they could chew, and sadly, lack of support in this town of money. It felt so good to be there, so much closer to the reality of food, life, love. It was a wonderful place. People here have plenty of money, at least many people do, but most of them did not shop there. Many rich people like to live here, it is very nice, the weather is not too extreme, there is alot of natural beauty, mountains, streams, great hiking, biking, rock climbing etc. however most newcomers can not afford to live in the town (us included) as houses start at $500,000.
I like our house, but I don't like it's setting.....I like the relative peace and quiet of it, but it's suburban processed living boringness....with everyone having fenced-in back yards, very few neighbors interacting or even showing their faces save for coming and going. Guess I will have to make an effort to change that. There are some nice people in the neighborhood. Most of them. However there is nothing interesting to explore around here, though we are very close to "open space" but it's only truly open if you are a cow. People are told to keep out. That stinks both literally and figuratively. At least the cows are not around too often, but when they are, they ruin the land. There is a hill that is used for sledding when it snows, and it had a bit of vegetation on it, (the land is clay, semi-deserty, not much growing on it anyways) but now it is totally barren and eroding.
I wish I could float all of the cattle and all of the pigs up into space, as I think the earth would heave a giant sigh of relief. There are far too many of them on the planet. Way more than people, and the growing and the processing of them uses up way way way too many resources, not to mention all of the pollution they cause. Something overlooked by Al Gore in his book about global warming. They really do have a huge, significant impact.
I have some goals for the summer. One is to start a compost pile, the other is to really work our garden space, do more than basil and tomatoes, sunflowers and weeds. Another is to really take a look at our waste, what we throw away and try to reduce it as much as possible. Recyling is great, but not having it, producing it, in the first place is best. Much of our waste is plastic, the great number one, then glass jars and tin cans. We eat alot of canned beans. Use lots of jars of pasta sauce. Plastic comes with everything....and then there is paper....lots of junk mail.... kids school papers, etc. We don't take a newspaper, so don't have that daily waste, and I have tons of cloth bags that I use faithfully, and I have even started remembering to bring plastic bags to reuse when I buy produce, but I just cringe when I see what we have. And we have less than many people! So....enough lofty goals for one post. Off to enjoy this beautiful day!
The bike ride in to the Farmer's Market was wonderful, the bike path is lined with all kinds of green things growing, which I was eying as I rode by, wondering how many of them were edible greens that I could harvest to help lower the cost of my juice feast. I didn't see much I recognized, maybe one area that has tall dandelion greens, lots of thistles and other plants I don't know. There are also some beautiful blue/purple flowers blooming...look a lot like phlox, but I don't know if that is what they are.
Met my husband and son down at the Market, walked around, lots of yummy greens, spinach, arugula, lettuces, malvia ? a salad green, and lots of plants. Herbs, flowers, tomatoes, etc. I bought a large bag of stir fry greens for juicing, a large bag of young lettuces and 6 young parsley plants for our garden. Then, I took my son's bike to the bike shop to get the tire fixed and the gears adjusted. I love the bike shop. They are nice and very helpful, a local business. Naiche's tire had a goat head thorn poking through it into the inner tube, so that was removed, and this time (as he seems to get flat tires often) I bought the really thick, elephant hide inner tube. Hopefully that will end his flat tires. He rode his bike back to the parking area outside of town with me and Liam met us there.
Then we went and picked up Dakota and his bike, which also has a flat tire, but it stays inflated well enough when you put air in it....and we came home to water everything, make juice and dinner. They are eating pita pizzas..homemade and delicious...and I first made a fruit juice using a quart of strawberries, and 3 oranges. It was yum but afterwards I felt tired, so made some more green juice with a full thing of cilantro, a good helping of dandelion greens, 2 large stalks of broccoli, some celery and 2 Pink Lady apples and a few carrots. Getting quite low on carrots and apples so have to keep some back for tomorrow mornings juice. This juice is tart and green and slightly bitter but still very tasty. Keep feeling like I need to poo, but nothing quite there. Suppose an enema would help, but don't feel like doing one. I do take a double dose of fiber every morning....one scoop of Dr. Natura's Colonix fiber, and one packet of the Blessed Herbs toxin absorber...which is also fiber, clay, herbs, etc. I keep looking for those rubber tubes to come out, but so far, nothing much like that. Not sure what is up with that....is it all stubbornly clinging to the walls of my colon or what? But I will persevere, and time will tell.
In the meantime, long winded post that this is, I wanted to mention the sheer magic of juicing and being 100% raw, which I started feeling again today. Lots of synchronicities, lots of mellow thoughts and feelings, I bought something, my total was $7.77. I bought gas, and I got exactly 22.222 gallons, and the person before me had paid $67.17 and gotten 17. something gallons of gas. 17 and 22 are numbers that I gravitate towards and that gravitate towards me. I see the number 17 absolutely everywhere. So, very glad to be feeling the magic, and this is my magic thought that keeps me juicing......that if I keep it up, the magic will only increase. I don't want to lose the magic. So....if you have read all of this either you are truly bored or an avid seeker. Either way, welcome, and do say hello. It is nice to know when and if anyone is reading this.
Ciao bellas!
Alessandra
Friday, May 30, 2008
Green Smoothies
Green Smoothies...yum. A wonderful way to get lots of greens and fiber, that is fast and easy and doesn't use up a ton of produce. Perhaps instead of a Juice Feast I will do a Green Smoothie Feast instead. That will be time saving as well as money saving, and I can still juice some, just not so much as to break the bank. Today's was an act of necessity as I did not get up early enough to make juice this morning. I even postponed taking a shower and washing my hair, which hopefully I will do this evening so as to get out of the house early tomorrow...we are going to the Farmer's Market....need to get there early to get the best of things and also so it's not so crowded. I do wish they wouldn't allow people to bring their dogs. It's crowded enough with all of the people, don't need dogs thrown into the mix. However, this is a dog friendly and a bike friendly town.....so that will never happen. I have noticed that drinking only juice all day long, and then eating some cooked food in the evenings is not doing me very much good. David Rainoshek of the Juice Feasting website did say that it is very confusing to the system and not a good thing to do. I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing, until, after feeling great all day, I woke up the next day, after eating a refried bean quesadilla that had fresh poblano and fresh tomato slices on it, just feeling and looking bleah. I didn't over eat, just ate cooked food. This was Wed. evening. And consequently perhaps, or because I am wreaking havoc on my candida with the juicing and the large daily dose of fiber and it's fighting back, I had cravings for sweets yesterday and succumbed to them. I ate 6 small dark snickers that are kept in the freezer (by me) here at work, then had 2 Corona beers and a blue corn espinaca enchilada (spinach) that was really good as the spinach hadn't been cooked, just put inside the tortilla and warmed. It had a bit of cream cheese or some creamy type of cheese (manchego or the soft Mexican cheese) and came with sides of black beans and rice. I didn't eat those, but did enjoy a few chips and some very tasty salsa. Overall, I ate lightly, and when we got home later, I had a small bag of some rice/corn tamari chips. I didn't gain any weight, which was good, and I feel fine today, but it isn't something I plan on doing in the future. I did indulge though, as we were out celebrating our 13 year olds graduation from middle school. Wonderful time that, he is such a great kid. Proud to call him mine. (ours). Today's fare has been just a wonderful green smoothie made with 2 ripe bananas, 3 oranges, 3 small lovely apricots, a half of a box of strawberries, with a large handful of italian flatleaf parsley and dandelion greens. All organic. It has a wonderful flavor and is full of fiber as I processed it in my Cuisnart with the S-blade, which does not blend it as smoothly as a blender might. I am thinking about getting a K-Tec Blender, but I think I have to be successfully raw for long enough for my husband to take me seriously before I request such a thing. However I do have a bunch of points with my credit card, enough to get a free blender! Not sure how long it will last, this blender, but it should do well enough if I treat it kindly. So...green smoothies, juice and raw foods...simple ones, nothing dehydrated, overly fatty or sweet. I make this lovely salad that even has my youngest asking for more....it's mixed greens with pine nuts, and a little grated Parmesiano Reggiano cheese. I know the cheese is not raw, and the dressing I use is not either (Seeds of Change Greek Feta Dressing) but it's close enough. For myself and my older son I also add fresh tomatoes. It is sooooo good! So starting now, this very day, I am committing myself to being 100% raw. (99.03%) With lots of green smoothies and juice. (And no more cheats like that smidgen of leftover danish I just ate....)
OK...later in the day, after finishing off the green smoothie, I got hungry in the afternoon, so ate my quart of strawberries I bought while out and about this morning. That lasted only a little while, so then I had this small sample of granola that I had picked up (not raw, but almost....) and that helped. Then I discovered this bag of raw pistachios I had under my desk....and had some of those. Those dark Snickers were calling my name but I said NO and did not succumb. Dinner is going to be a nice large salad of mixed greens, broccoli, tomato, carrot and avocado with pine nuts, Parmigiano Reggiano and the Greek Feta dressing. Yum. I will stay RAW!!
Ciao bellos!
Alessandra
OK...later in the day, after finishing off the green smoothie, I got hungry in the afternoon, so ate my quart of strawberries I bought while out and about this morning. That lasted only a little while, so then I had this small sample of granola that I had picked up (not raw, but almost....) and that helped. Then I discovered this bag of raw pistachios I had under my desk....and had some of those. Those dark Snickers were calling my name but I said NO and did not succumb. Dinner is going to be a nice large salad of mixed greens, broccoli, tomato, carrot and avocado with pine nuts, Parmigiano Reggiano and the Greek Feta dressing. Yum. I will stay RAW!!
Ciao bellos!
Alessandra
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Juice Feasting
There are so many wonderful juicy blogs out there about Juice Feasting. I was reading a few of them last night, getting inspired. I will pass along the links when I have more time. I have done a 17 day Juice Feast, it was last fall, and I am rather annoyed with myself for stopping when I did, as I had just passed through a major detox, which was mainly being tired for 2 days plus releasing an amazing amount of stuff from my colon. Couldn't believe there was that much stuff in there after 17 days of only juice!! My energy was good on the Juice Feast...very good, and I did lose some weight, though not so much as you might think. If you are underweight, I would not be afraid to try a Juice Feast. With so much nutrition coming into your body, you may lose a couple of pounds of excess waste, but I would imagine you could and maybe even would actually put on weight while Juice Feasting as your body would be getting so much more in the way of nutrients than with most ways of eating, and it would all be healthy, good tissue. So, I am planning to relaunch my Juice Feast on June 1st....there was no way I could join in with the global juice feast, my dad died, I was working lots of hours at work....just too scattered and distracted to want to start then. So, now, I am back, and wanting this time to be the time, that I achieve my goal, of completing a 92 Juice Feast, rising food costs not withstanding, hoping that with summer coming on, and more local produce available, that prices will at least settle in, if not go back down a bit. I recently completed 7 full days of fasting on apple cider (pasteurized but not from concentrate) along with taking Blessed Herbs toxin absorber 5 times each day. It was a grand high time, and I did lose some weight, about 7 pounds, and did eat well coming off of it, but after I started eating and gained back some of the weight, more than I wanted to, I had a bad day where I ate stuff I should not have eaten, even could have talked myself out of it, but I am so STUBBORN sometimes!!! Ate them anyways (3 large doughnuts ) even though I wasn't even hungry!!! And later that evening I also polished off an entire pack of graham crackers with milk. Classic disfunctional behavior. My rationale was to just do it, gross myself out, so that I would begin the next day with renewed commitment. Which I did do, but really......couldn't I have done it without the negative reinforcement? Actually, this time I probably could have, which gives me hope that there won't be a 'next time'. I have been juicing and eating well and doing a fair bit of bike riding, so have lost at least 3 pounds this past week, trying to eat lightly and well. That is encouraging, but possibly won't continue and is too slow for me. Everything is too slow for me!
So....the Juice Feast. Coming to this blog soon! And I woke up feeling good today, rather high, after my morning ablutions.... 2 decent bowel movements, aided by my taking a double dose of fiber in the mornings...the Dr. Natura along with the Blessed Herbs Toxin Absorber....then 2 capsules of Ultra Colon Clenz at night. Took an extra one this morning....need to get all of those toxins out!!
Today's juice approximately 66 ounces, consists of
Parsley, Celery, Dandelion Greens, Kale, Carrots, Apples (Gala) and 1 Lemon & 1 Orange
It is yum!
Got to get back to work.......and hurray! After 2 days of clouds and rain, the sun is back!
So....the Juice Feast. Coming to this blog soon! And I woke up feeling good today, rather high, after my morning ablutions.... 2 decent bowel movements, aided by my taking a double dose of fiber in the mornings...the Dr. Natura along with the Blessed Herbs Toxin Absorber....then 2 capsules of Ultra Colon Clenz at night. Took an extra one this morning....need to get all of those toxins out!!
Today's juice approximately 66 ounces, consists of
Parsley, Celery, Dandelion Greens, Kale, Carrots, Apples (Gala) and 1 Lemon & 1 Orange
It is yum!
Got to get back to work.......and hurray! After 2 days of clouds and rain, the sun is back!
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