Realistic Resolutions for 2008

After touting my own good intentions to the world wide web at the beginning of December, I feel as though I have already gotten a bit of the New Year's Resolution fixation out of my system. I have always been put off by the idea of making annual claims, yet each year I find myself gearing up once again, ready to right the wrongs of the previous year, purposing towards more glorious outcomes THIS time around.

So, as I awoke and checked email this morning, I had a great one from Raw Summit's, Kevin Gianni, that I'd like to share with all my readers. His reflections on making and keeping resolutions are certainly worth a read and worth taking to heart. He has also put together more help on is website, www.healthrenegade.com/blog and you can finish reading the article in its entirety there.

If you are making any resolutions or "intentions", I would love for you to share them with me. Sometimes it helps to put them out there and gain support. I am taking a little different approach this time around and I'll share those details with you in an upcoming blog. So, for now...my deepest wishes to you for a beautiful and healthful 2008. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution: Step #1

Set your intentions. To make this New Year’s Resolution last, you have to be very clear about your intentions. You have to set them with specifics as well as figure out why you really want to achieve them. It’s not enough to say “I want to eat more raw food and less animals.” You have to know why you want to do it. Is it to live better? Feel better? Be better?

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution: Step #2

Learn to fail graciously. We’re not perfect beings. Never were. So here’s the deal. You have to accept that you’re going to waiver a bit along the path. Most of us stop when the going gets tougher and revert to our old patterns. If you want to succeed with your New Year’s Resolution this year, know that you might fall off track a bit along the way. If you do, pick yourself back up and keep going. There’s never a straight line between point A and point B. Enjoy the ride.

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution: Step #3

Clean out your gut and keep your immune system in top condition. You may think this doesn’t have much to do with New Year’s Resolutions, but it surely does. You have to be clean physically to make good decisions. Does alcohol impair your thoughts? Of course it does. What about processed sugar or soda or a piece of kale. If alcohol can change the way you operate, so can those other foods. If you’re not clean on the inside, then you’re thoughts will be impure and lead you down the wrong path. Gut and immune system cleansing and maintenance are the first places to start even before you change the way you eat!

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution: Step #4

Learn the program for your own body type. Don’t just jump into any fitness or wellness program without knowing your body type. They are plenty of things you can do to improve or master your health and wellness, but without knowing if you run hot or cold or in between you could find yourself down the wrong path.

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution: Step #5

Learn how to deal with pitfalls. If you already know how to deal with the ups and downs of a healthy diet and fitness program… you’re going to know what to do when the hard times hit.

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution: Step #6

Create a wellness toolbox. This is simply a place where you can go for options. A wellness toolbox has ideas and items that will help you make decisions when you have little time or little mind capacity left (due to stress, work or anything else that drains you). This can be an idea file or even a physical box where you keep recipes or workouts or things that inspire you.

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution: Step #7

Know how you make decisions and know your personality type. I’ve identified 3 types of personalities when it comes to health and fitness and just about anything else. These are the caretaker, the go-getter and the researcher. Each one has specific qualities that helps them make good or bad decisions. If you know which one you are the better off you are keeing your New Year’s Resolution.

Loving Luscious Lavender

Photo courtesy of Oregon Lavendar Association

I ordered edible lavender online over a year ago when I was making Sarma Melngailis' recipe for Lavender Ice Cream (see Raw Food Real World). I somehow ordered enough lavender for an army so it still sits in my pantry, waiting with purpose, for another raw creation. A wave of artistry swept through me this morning and here is the sweet and delicate result....

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

1 heaping cup soaked cashews
meat of 1 young thai coconut
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup pure water
1/4 - 1/2 cup almond flour (finely ground cashews would work too)
1 tbsp. edible lavender flowers
1 tbsp + 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. gold quality sea salt
a little squeeze of fresh lemon juice, if desired

Put all ingredients, except flour, into your high speed blender. Churn on high until all ingredients are completely smooth. Use a spatula to scrap batter into a medium sized bowl. Fold in 1/4 cup nut flour, mixing thoroughly, adding in additional flour until you achieve a batter like consistency. Should be a bit thicker than pancake batter. Warning, this mixture is killer delicious and hopefully you won't eat it all before it makes it into the dehydrator. (However, I hope you'll feel free to lick the bowl clean as I did this morning!)

Using a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, put rounds of batter onto teflex sheets on a dehydrator tray. (Mine looked like little footballs more than circles). Very gently shake or tap tray until you have the desired thickness of your cookie. Place in a 115 degree dehydrator until cookies appear firm enough to peel away from the teflex sheet, about 12 hours or more. Put cookies back onto tray and continue dehydrating until they are a bit crisp or firm on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. Approximately another 12-24 hours, depending upon your personal preference. ENJOY!

'Tis the Season to be a Raw Foodie

It is a cold, windy and overcast day in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However, this weather somehow doesn't fit my feelings on the inside. Recently I've been aware of this warm humming deep down in my solar plexis. That grand feeling that something wonderful is happening, yet I am not exactly sure what it is or how to define it just yet. Maybe it's the feeling like one has when they are pregnant...that expectancy of knowing the baby is coming, but there's no idea of how everything will ultimately go or what the baby will look like or how he/she will be, once delivered and in your arms.

As many of you know, I am not 100% raw in my daily life. I eat a high raw diet, but I still continue to eat a bit of cooked here and there. That's just my life and I have a level of comfort with that, yet there is always the elusive, full blown, hard core commitment that I see in others I've admired. You know, those special ones, the 100% raw food elite club, the members of the raw Admiral's Club, you know those I speak of, right? I watch them....I study them....I am impressed by their level of commitment and discipline. I ponder this group with high respect and honor, yet, there I go again, a hand full of potato chips into the cake hole before I realize what I've done. Just lost my membership into the inner sanctum once again.

I know....Dhrumil says this, "People fail on raw when they look for it to define their Being. You are much greater than any diet could ever be. Go 100% raw if you like, treat it as a game or a challenge, not as reflection of who you are. Don't find or define yourself in your diet." The raw guru has spoken. Even though I could technically be this hipster's mother, I respect his wisdom and his experience with this whole raw game. His success in life is merely fueled by his raw diet. My new friend Justine adds, "Raw is alive and living and supports the life choices I make...definitely doesn't define me though!" Amen to that. Finally, Jennifer adds, "I am a flame burning by Divine Inspiration, My spark is fanned with nourishment alive & vibrant. I am the fire, the food is my fuel." Enough said.

So, here is my deal.....I will give up my attachment to being 100% raw for the sake of saying it. That whole percent issue is probably overrated because it is not about the food. And it certainly shouldn't be about a competition or about being holier than thou. Raw food is NOT a religion. It is only about the food choices we make for our health. The only reason those members of the Raw Admiral's Club are so amazing is because raw foods, full of enzymes and life, recreate the body, mind and spirit on a deep cellular level. When you give your body the best fuel possible, the body responds and is capable of doing and being more than if could ever be on a heavily cooked, processed, chemical infused food diet.

I've been circling the airport and now I am gonna land this plane....here's the deal - I am making a commitment, to myself and anyone that maybe reading this, to go 100% raw for this final month of December 2007. I am not doing this to earn my gold winged club pin or anything like that. I am choosing to do this because I want the next level of optimum health. Although I've been on that road, moving in that direction already....I want to start 2008 with the court advantage. I want to reduce the inflammation that comes from dabbling and tasting all of the treats that come around during the holidays. I want to wake up fresh and alert every morning...not partially hung over from overindulgences and foggy brained from one too many toddies. I would like to lose these lingering pounds that have clung on like a leech to my hips, thighs and stomach. I want to have my spirit clear and free from the attachments to wrong foods for the sake of tradition.

Many who read this may already be where I am going because you are living the high life and dining on a diet that is 100% raw. If you are there, save me a seat....I'll see you in January. And for any of you who would like to come along with me for this ride, hop on. Let's encourage one another. If we stumble, we can scoop one another up and get right back on track. Let me know your thoughts....I'd love to hear from you.

Photo Coutesy of Ancestry Family Blog

The Day After

Yes...I have survived another Thanksgiving holiday with my marvelous family and friends. We had a beautiful day that included dinner for 20. As a raw foodist, orchestrating a festive and appetizing menu for a guest list of cooked food eating carnivores was not a task I took lightly. The menu consisted of a combination of the best of both worlds....traditional Thanksgiving fare and the introduction, to the majority of my guests, of the beauty and health of raw foods. I guess it is good to know that my appliances still work and that I haven't lost my ability to produce gourmet cooked foods for a crowd when the occasion calls for such.

I won't be sharing my recipes in this entry, although I will get around to it. I just needed to blog my assessment of where I am today, in the aftermath of such a day as Thanksgiving. Preparing all of that food seemed excessive and I felt troubled as I was vigorously adhering to the traditions that my family has always observed. No one had a clue I was at odds with the whole affair, yet in my heart, I kept asking the question, "Will this be my last Thanksgiving to cook?" My family doesn't have a real concept of who I am or what I do as it relates to the whole raw food thing, nor do any of them seem to care. I am speaking in a broad sense because my immediate family..husband and children, get it because they live it with me on a daily basis. But parents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, etc. just look at me with a baffled look as though I am dabbling in some type of cult. Perhaps that is the reason I keep my diet so much on the down low...in an effort to simply not upset the balance of these family functions that seem to revolve around food, all cooked and always in excess.

So, through my personal discomforts of yesterday's activities, I think I've turned yet another corner. I have a great deal of acceptance and love towards my family and I am so very thankful for all they mean to me. It really doesn't matter to me if they understand or accept my diet/lifestyle. It really doesn't have to be a big deal. One or two days a year I can certainly compromise my diet and enjoy all the fun and love that flows through the crowd. (Albeit, I was popping digestive enzymes like a junkie). They need their cooked foods somehow...it completes the ambiance for them. They can see that I have made and continue to make personal changes that are having positive impact upon my health and my appearance. They can tell by my words that I am doing my homework as it relates to diet and health. I don't have to cram anything down anyones throat. If anyone wants to know more, they can ask me. That is just where I am with it all.

Yesterday made me proud to be a raw foodist. It made me realize how eating raw is so much kinder and gentler on my body, my kitchen and the resources around me. Washing raw dishes hardly requires soap. Yet today, I have pans that are soaking in my sink that may never come clean due to the residues of cooked, congealed foods. As troubled as I felt in the midst of a pipping hot kitchen yesterday, a sense of gentle peace and gratefulness has settled upon me today. My husband is waiting on me now....ready to start this day with a green power smoothie. Yes, I have much to be thankful for.

Smells Like Pumpkin Spirit

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I have been working on a smoothie recipe that fits the season. I have tried to incorporate a lot of healthy, delicious and super nourishing ingredients into this raw power refresher. It is really great if you are a raw vegan and trying to keep your B vitamin intake up (especially B12 and folic acid). Check this out:

PUMPKIN CREME POWER SHAKE

milk and meat of 1 baby coconut
1 frozen banana
1/4 cup chia seeds, soaked with one cup fresh almond milk
1/4 cup (or more) fresh carrot juice
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (add more if you prefer)
2 - 3 soaked dates
1 scoop maca powder
1 tsp. liquid vitamin B complex
1 heaping tbsp. Crystal Manna Flakes
large glass of crushed ice

Place all ingredients into your high speed blender and mix until smooth and frothy. This drink isn't only incredibly healthy and delicious, it is guaranteed to keep you rocking and fueled up for hours!

Crisp Fall Evening - Dinner for 4

Lately I have had a number of requests to share some of my recipes. I particularly like what we had last night and thought it I should share it with you. (Sorry - no pictures...I'm working on getting a camera so I can get visuals.) I gained my inspiration from our friend and hip raw food goddess, Tanja Andrews, who recently had a fantastic spot on a Bay Area home show. Check her out here: http://www.dreamhomebayarea.com/index.html
On this clip, she made a raw pumpkin soup and a kale salad. I took the base of her soup, but jazzed it up a little to suit my family's taste buds and it turned out to be a success! I made her kale salad exactly as she did and it was really fresh and delicious. I will include the recipe here so you have a copy to look at. Then finally, I served my raw corn bread recipe. I came up with this idea because of my old love of warm soup or chili and corn bread in the cold months. The raw results of my tinkering in the kitchen did not disappoint.

Marinated Kale Salad

1 bunch of Lacinato or dinosaur kale, chopped
olive oil
sea salt

Once your kale is chopped, place into a mixing bowl and add just a touch of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Massage and mix the oil mixture into the leaves until they are shiny and covered. Allow this to rest for at least an hour, or so, until the leaves have begun to wilted just slightly.

Add:
1 apple, gala or other crunchy variety, chopped and not peeled

And toss with a dressing made of:
1 tbsp. stone ground mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup basalmic vinegar
1/4 cup agave or raw honey
juice of 1/2 lemon

Serve!

Pumpkin Soup

1 pie pumpkin, seeds and insides removed, skin peeled and cubed
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup fresh hemp or almond milk
1 -2 tbsp. nut butter (I used macadamia nut, which was delicious!)
4 dates, pitted
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. curry

Add all ingredients into your Vita Mix, or other high horse powered blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more liquid if your soup seems too thick. I blended mine until the engine of the blender warmed it very nicely to around 100 degrees. I garnished this with diced red bell peppers and a bit of cilantro. Truly delicious!

Warm Corn Bread

4 ears of fresh organic corn - cut from the cob (you can substitute 16 oz. of frozen organic corn)
1/2 sweet yellow onion
1/3 of a large red bell pepper
3/4 cup ground golden flax seeds
1/2 cup ground sunflower seeds
juice of one lime
1-2 jalepenos (you can use a milder pepper, if you prefer)
1 tbsp. raw honey (I added just a bit more to mine ;-)
2 tsp. sea salt
1 clove minced garlic
and for good measure I added a few good splashes of Tabasco sauce - another ingredient I haven't given up)

Blend all ingredients in your food processor until you have a nice grainy texture. On Teflex lined dehydrator trays, begin scooping the mixture and build muffins or biscuit like formations. Mine were about 3 inches wide and 1-ish inch thick. My husband said they looked like little hockey pucks. Place into your dehydrator and set at 105 degrees overnight or for about 8 hours. Flip your muffins over and continue to dehydrate another 12 or so hours or until you reach your desired consistency.

We enjoyed ours straight from the dehydrator, while warm and the kids slathered on a little more raw honey....YUMMY!

Epiphany

This has been a meaningful week for me. Nothing dramatic on the outside......it's all about what has been happening on the inside.

I hope that many of you were able to catch our raw food sister, Kris Carr, on Oprah this week and/or the showing of her documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer, on The Learning Channel. She is a beautiful, groovy cool chick that has been learning to live with "incurable" cancer for over 4 years in both her liver and lungs. Whether you have ever had cancer infringe on your life or not, her message is universal. Watching her made a dramatic impact on me. It made me think about the way I approach my life and it caused me to re-evaluate my thinking: Am I really living my life to the fullest? Am I truly following my passions and making each day count? Am I making a difference in the lives of those around me or am I just sucking air? Am I fostering a positive outlook in the midst of difficult circumstances, or am I a frigging whiner? You've got the picture.

So.....what have I done with all of these deep thoughts and introspective visions? I made a final decision to go ahead and do what I have been thinking, desiring and talking about...I am now enrolled in a program in which I will officially obtain my licensing as a Certified Natural Health Practitioner. Not that raw food coaches NEED any type of certification, but it is just something I want to be able to have as an educational hook on which I can hang my hat, if needed. I already have done a great deal of formal study, years ago, in the field of nutrition and holistic healing, under to guidance of Dr. Joel Robbins, an MD, DC, & ND here in Tulsa. That's who first introduced me to the importance of maintaining a raw food diet, over 18 years ago!

Achieving this certification will involve LOTS of study, some travel and time. All of which I am eager to do. I don't have a specific outcome or a career path that I want to share with you at this point....I intuitively know that this will all unfold as I go deeper and follow my passion.

Green Smoothies are the new SlimFast

I finally ordered Victoria Boutenko's book, Green For Life. I had been wanting to drink green smoothies after reading The Green Smoothie Experience (see my post in late July), but I felt that I lacked knowledge. So I was delighted when I received my copy from Amazon. Once I started reading the book, I knew that I wouldn't put it down until I finished it. When I finished it, I immediately re-read it a second time because I wanted to have all the information assimilated and ingrained into my brain. If you haven't read the book.....get it and read it, ASAP!

So, not a shocker, I started mixing up and drinking green pronto. I jumped right into drinking around a quart of the delicious green concoctions within a day or two. My husband, Gordon, is such a good sport.....he started drinking them with me even before he read the book. But he did read it and he, too, is now a green smoothie lover. We are both blown away by the changes that have started occurring in such a short amount of time.

For the most part I only drink smoothies throughout the day. I have rarely eaten food until my evening meal each day. One thing that blows me away is that after a couple of days I became aware that I was never hungry. No cravings, no restless feelings, no desire to snack....I mean nothing! I've been a grazer my whole life so not having the desire to put food in my mouth all the time was new to me. What happens with drinking so many greens is that they hydrate, oxygenate and nourish the body on a whole different level. People are mainly overweight because their bodies are so depleted of nutrients that they are constantly hungry. They continue to stuff themselves, but the body continues to crave more. The problem is that the standard American diet is severely void of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc. With green smoothies, a person is truly being fueled as nature intended.

Personally, I have lost 7 pounds in three weeks. I feel more well rested and I wake up and get up without feeling groggy or tired. I require less sleep. My skin has a softer, more supple appearance. I swear my eye sight seems sharper. I have no inflammation and have zero bloating or gas. After struggling with IBS off and on for the entirety of my life, I have NO symptoms. My regularity is amazing.

Here are the ingredients of my most recent smoothie:

1 young thai coconut (meat and milk)
1 c frozen pineapple
1 frozen banana
1 bunch of collard greens (de-veined)
hemp nut milk
1 pkg. Stevia
ice

I put all of this into my Vita-Mix blender and it took 5 minutes tops. This made about 3 servings. I store the extra smoothie in drinking glasses filled to the very top and then tightly covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. I would recommend drinking within 24 hours.

Mentioned in the News

Check out the article that was written by my friend Natalie Mikles, Food and Lifestyle writer for the Tulsa World:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/article.aspx?articleID=070816_238_D3_hSupe44780

Getting back in the Raw Game

Yes.....I have been gone from blogging for a couple of weeks. Out of town because my mother in law passed away. I won't go into those details here, I'll just say that now she beautifully rests in peace.

All the while I served and loved my family, away from my home and my raw kitchen......I fell from raw food grace, once again.

But I as I am known to do, I learn from my fall and then I love to get back on that raw food pony and ride. I am at my best when I indulge in lush, ripe, fresh and raw foods.

My children start back to school tomorrow and I look forward to the gift of more time to focus on planning, preparing, exercising, breathing and just being. I also look froward to sharing a few of the nuggets with you.

Peace. Out.

Turbulance in the Night

I am pretty sure no one is reading my blog. I think it must just be a type of self therapy.....a self absorbed, sick past time for me. I am obviously getting something out of it or I wouldn't keep doing it, right? I guess I am asking myself that question, since no body reads this.

Anyway.....I fell from raw food grace last night. I have been all raw since July 16th and then last night I succumbed to temptation. One of my good friends owns the best pizza place in town. I never eat there for obvious reasons. This friend also owns the coolest little bar in town and I do go there to socialize because they don't allow smoking and I can actually have a cocktail and not pollute my lungs as I pollute my liver. Back to the point.....so I am down at the Cellar Dweller last night and my husband and some of our other friends decide to order Pie Hole and have it delivered. I say, "order a salad for me." They are nice to comply. Once the pizzas arrive, I start the sniffing. I smell the New York style goodness and they all gang up on me and say, "What would just one piece hurt??" I think....yes.....I am not a raw food maniac! One piece will not kill me! So I did it I ate one piece and half of a second. There, I did it. Who the hell cares?

I was awakened in the night with a churning cramping stomach. I felt hung over...yet I only had one drink. I went to the bathroom and that's when the fun started. YIKES! My body did not want that slop in there (no offense to my friend). I mean things were working over time to get it OUT!! I have visited the toilet a number of times now and I am quite confident that most of everything I have taken in this week is out! I suppose that is a good thing.

If I had any readership, I am thinking that I have probably just lost them. Bowel movement discussions are always a good way to clear a room in my experience.

I am back to my raw diet today. That's right.....gonna get back on that pony and ride.

Peace. Out.

raw euphoria

It's true. There is a raw food euphoria that comes over a person after they have been eating raw for a week or two. I had sort of forgotten about this fabulously light, clear, sexy feeling that I used to feel. I woke up thinking, "It's back!!" Mmmmmmmm......such a nice gift after all my commitment and devotion of the past two weeks.

So, today I am readying myself to venture out to the Wednesday Morning Farmer's Market. I always love strolling around, smiling at people, talking with the vendors and local farmers. It is a raw foodists passion to peruse these outdoor seasonal markets. One never knows what treasures will be found or what inspirations may surface. And in the mood I feel today, I sense something extra special on the horizon.

Don't worry, I'll let you know how the day unfolds ;-)

Just Over One Week - Totally Raw!

Within one week of changing up my diet, I have noticed these things:

- nearly over my month long bout with pneumonia
(only a wee bit of lingering chest congestion, but I continue to improve everyday)
- lost 4 pounds
- complexion has smoothed out and has a dewier appearance.
- spectacular regularity (2 - 3 poops a day!)
- energy levels are higher
- no more cravings for junk foods or sweets
- needing less sleep
- mind is less foggy and I am able to focus on unpleasant household tasks
- more enthusiastic and bursts of creativity
- general feelings of hope and well-being.

My diet has consisted of fruit smoothies, green drinks and raw foods for dinner. Last night I had shrimp ceviche and a marvelous salad. Night before last, I had zucchini angel hair pasta with arrabiata sauce and pistachio pesto.

I am not hungry or feeling deprived at all. I am not really exercising yet, but I plan to include a simple plan of daily walking and yoga to complete the plan.

Sunday - Day of Rest, HA!

Yesterday I went to Wild Oats to revamp my pantry. As a raw food backslider in preceding months, I have allowed my supply of staples to dwindle away to nothing. I was flabbergasted by how much I spent....just over $300!! Good Lord, Jesus! Yes, I went overboard in some respects, but I plan on entertaining this coming week and exposing a few of my friends to what raw food is really all about. My usual grocery bill, when raw, is much less.

So, right now I have this beautiful display of bowls sitting around my kitchen.....soaking nuts of all kinds and dates. I have dusted off my dehydrator in preparation to make Real Food's famous raw granola. That was the best selling item I had when I sold my food at our Wednesday farmer's market here in Tulsa. I will also be making spicy corn chips (my personal fave) and a decadent raw cacao ganache.

One last thing that is worth sharing before I close this post......my husband noticed last night that my face has changed. He commented that since I have returned to my raw diet, it's like my face has become more defined and less puffy. I guess I didn't even realize that my face had become swollen. Processed foods, meats and dairy products will certainly do that to a person. It is still hard to believe that a noticeable difference could happen in less than 1 week on raw foods. I've noticed other very encouraging changes too, but in my opinion, it takes a couple of weeks to really start to FEEL the amazing bursts of energy and SEE the change in the appearance of one's skin that begins to occur when super-hydrated and re-mineralized. Everyday is a new day and an opportunity to move closer to the body, mind and spirit that was intended for us.

Life since Monday

Yes.....this past Monday, I started eating exclusively raw food, again. I pretty much have been having the same thing for breakfast and lunch everyday and I would like to share that with you here:

BEFORE 10 AM - Fresh fruit Smoothie
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup blueberries
handful of strawberries
2 tbsp. golden flaxseeds
small handfull of goji berries
1/2 cup fresh almond milk
1/2 cup young coconut milk
1 tbsp. Crystal Manna Flakes
(Klammath Lake algae)

Place all ingred. into a high power mixer and blend until smooth.

This concoction is a power drink, for many reasons. It is full of super foods, you know
those antioxidant containing darlings we all need more of. The flax seeds are full of
omega oils and create enough fiber in just one drink to keep your colon skipping for
joy! The Crystal Manna flakes are the bomb because they contain a very dense
amount of trace minerals and oxygenating properties that bring life into your blood
stream. I order them through oneluckyduck.com


Around Mid-Day Green Goddess Green Drink
6 stalks of celery
a bunch of kale (any variety)
a handful of parsley
a whole lemon
a knob of fresh ginger (the size of your thumb)
2 apples

Push everything through your juicer, strain if necessary, enjoy!

This is a deluxe drink for health. I have heard that if we change nothing in our lives
but drink 16-32 ounces of green based drink per day, we're well on our way to a more
dynamic existence. I am convinced that it's true.


Evening Meals - I have been playing around with this one. Mainly I have just been dining on a
marvelous salad with assorted accompaniments. I've made raw cashew hummus,
fresh cilantro guacamole, blueberry ice cream, and dehydrated tortilla chips. I used
to make elaborate raw meals and I haven't done that yet.....in time I will crank out
some winners and of course, I'll take pictures and share them here.

reaching towards life.....

I really don't blog much, obviously, since it's been since March that I put out an entry. I suppose blogging makes me feel self absorbed. Apparently I am feeling that way today because this is going to be about me, the little science project.

So, my most recent claim to fame is having my personal health story published in a super model's raw food book. Yes, it is/was exciting to me. Carol Alt is a wonderful mentor and her writer, David Roth, has become a dear friend. A beautiful experience, there's no doubt about it.

The irony has happened recently. Life came at me. I became weary of being "different" and of constantly having to explain to people why and what I ate......why does anybody care anyway? At the high point of my life as a raw foodist, I was in perfect health, slender, humming with boundless energy and filled with an unstoppable enthusiasm for life in general. How could I have possibly gotten tired of that??? How was it that I slid back into the very patterns that threatened the core of my health just over two years ago? How did I go from being an inspiration to a lemming to the sea, again?

At my last weigh in, I topped my husband by five pounds. For over three weeks I have been run down, diagnosed with pneumonia (who gets that in July?) and I think I have fractured a rib and seriously considered a package of Depends from coughing so much. I have been prescribed an antibiotic, an inhaler, a nasal inhaler and some hard core cough syrup. I have taken it all but I still sound like I have been smoking a carton of Camel No-filters. I go to the health food store......woman asks when my baby is due. I crumble on the inside. "I'm not fucking pregnant, I am just a basic under-nourished glutton, lady! What's it to you?" That's what I felt like screaming but I just smiled and told her I was bloated. WOW....she made both of our days....HAhhahhhahahah.....I need oxygen, I need a colonic, I need to starve myself, I need to die right now here in the middle of Wild Oats!

Every woman likes to beat the hell out of herself from time to time, right? Weight is great thing to agonize over. I mean babies are dying and abused all over the world, we've got soldiers getting blown to pieces everyday in Iraq and I am whining about my fat ass?? Something just ain't right.

So, I have decided that I would throw all of this out into cyber space. Why not? I guess I could use a little support right now.

Since Monday (oh God, that was only yesterday), I am back to my raw food goddess ways. Not surprisingly, I have already noticed that the mucous is nearly gone. My attitude has lightened and I suddenly feel hopeful again. I don't believe diet is the answer to everything....I am not religious about this....I just want to be my true self again. I believe that our bodies need living enzymes in foods to help heal our old, worn out tired selves. I believe that eating fresh, ripe, organic and locally grown foods is a gift to ourselves and our planet. I believe that nourishing ourselves with the love of friendships, family and our animals heals our hearts. I believe that giving instead of taking once in awhile goes a really long way. I believe that the good Lord gave us some righteous common sense and it glorifies Him when we actually use it.

If you have read this far....you are with me now, you realize this don't you?? I am going to be charting my progress as I move forward. I'll record my stats and some of my great meals in case anybody wants to know. It'll be fun, right? A great science project to see if I can get my raw mojo back. Say a little prayer for me, won't you?