CHALLENGES

Yikes - I don't even want to read my post from yesterday - what a disaster! But every second is an opportunity for a new beginning :) I slept like crap last night and my stomach is in knots this morning - I guess thats what alcohol and SAD food do to you. Probably a good thing. It just reinforces how good I feel when I am eating raw. So, my friend is coming over today again - geez. And I am going to another friends house for the fireworks tonight. So......today will be another challenge. BUT I AM READY :) The weather is icky and so I think I will drag my friend to the coop with me so I can get some great ingredients for a huge raw salad to bring tonight. I came up with a GREAT idea (I think)...I'm going to bring a very inexpensive bottle of red wine tonight and just put a splash of it in my pellgrino water!!! It will be so pretty and oh so perfect for sipping! I may add a slice of lime too :) Right now I'm drinking water to rehydrate myself. I will post my meals as I have them.....

Breakfast:
Green juice of beet tops, parsley, celery, carrots and grapefruit juice - it doesn't look too pretty (those beet tops are an awful color), but I'm trying to use up the stuff that may go bad soon and taking inventory before I go to the coop today - I'll also check my garden to see what's ready to be harvested.

Day 6 - 18 day challenge

Woke up this morning with a tiny headache - must have been those two glasses of wine on an empty stomach!!! Today will be a BIG CHALLENGE!!! I'm having a good friend over for the day - he is getting here at 10:30am! We are going to go boating and sit at the pool and stop at restaurants on the lake - well....you get the idea. Staying mostly raw isn't the problem, its the wine. I will just do my best today - again, its not about perfection, its about being kind to my body and realizing how different foods make me feel. And on that note, I felt a bit sluggish this morning and I'm sure thats due to the fact that I didn't eat enough food yesterday and of course, the wine. Anyway, I'm having my tea right now and will post my meals as I eat them or at the end of the day. Hopefully, knowing that I am writing down what I'm eating and drinking will make me think twice today!!!

A small rant - its about 11am and my friend still isn't here - he's running late (as usual) - and I have a "thing" about being on time. Its one thing to be late occasionally, another to be late chronically. He is the latter :(....So, I'm blogging this to get it all in perspective so I don't over react or eat poorly or drink like a fish because I am upset :)....so...now its off my chest and I am okay (not really)

Breakfast:
I had the rest of the cherries - I thought I was crunched for time trying to get ready for my friend!!! (Can you tell I'm still not over it???)

Okay...so this is what I do - old habits die hard as they say....upset, ride on the boat, stop for lunch, have a martini and a glass of wine, a salad with dressing on the side, drunk (sort of), home, in the pool, more wine, sex, he leaves, I go to McDonalds, feed half to the dogs because I am so full, snooze on the couch, wake up with a headache and regrets....and now tomorrow will be another challenge....I am NOT giving up....but I no longer want to call this an 18 day challenge...it is a life challenge and I am NOT GIVING UP :)....you will still hear from me every day, because I want to be accountable to ME...I AM OK :)

Day 5 - 18 day challenge

Life is good - learning to feel instead of "stuff". And to tell the truth, feeling "feels" way better!!! I've been a bit lonely since so much of my social life involves wine/alcohol and appetizers, but I'm also getting reacquainted with ME! I'm getting LOTS done in my garden :) I LOVE eating RAW and the power and strength it brings me. It also brings a new appreciation of nature and feelings of contentment and joy :)

Breakfast:
Cherries again - they just taste so good in my mouth and I'm not that hungry right away.

Lunch:
Green juice made up of Collards, carrots, apple and pineapple - going to sip it while I read on the porch :)

Snack:
Was quite hungry and trying to listen to my body, so I had some peas from the garden with red pepper sauce :)

Dinner:
Oops...was invited out for cocktails with some friends, so I quickly ate a banana before I left (5:45pm) - I had one glass of red wine and then we went to another place and I had one more glass of red wine. I'm home now (9pm) and not really hungry...I know I should eat something, but I'm REALLY not hungry and I'm on my way upstairs to watch some TV and then go to bed....more tomorrow......

Day 4 - 18 day challenge

FEELING POWERFUL!!!! LIFE IS GOOD :)

Breakfast:
cherries (just didn't have time - so much energy, I went right out in to the garden to weed!)

Lunch:
Green juice of kohlrabi greens, wheat grass, carrots, apple and pineapple

Dinner:
Raw beet & apple salad with raisins, raw pine nuts & orange tahini dressing - I'm in HEAVEN :)

Dessert/Snack:
Peas from my garden with raw red pepper sauce :)

Day 3 - 18 day challenge

Still going strong :) and I feel AMAZING. I've been finding myself worrying though about situations that I have coming up that are going to be difficult for me. I've decided to just "let them go" and take each moment as it comes, making my decisions minute by minute (but of course still doing SOME planning for the day!)....this is NOT a diet, its a lifestye and I DON'T have to be perfect - nor do I want to. But I'm trying to keep in perspective that I am doing this challenge to see how I will feel - it is an experiment that is important to me, so I am trying to keep that thought foremost in my mind.

Breakfast:
Green juice with kale, wheatgrass wrapped in one collard leaf, apple, celery, carrot and grapefruit - YUM :) I am feeling VIBRANT!!

Lunch:
Falafel burger with hummus and cherries

Dinner:
cucumber salad with orange tahini dressing and a banana :)

Dessert:
raw banana chocolate ice cream with coconut!!!

DAY 2 - 18 day challenge

Day one went GREAT and I slept like a BABY last night. I woke up feeling so AWESOME :)....

Breakfast:
Green smoothie with peaches, cantelope and parsley

Lunch:
Falafel burger with raw hummus and 1/2 avocado :)

Dinner:
Peas from my garden with raw red pepper sauce and some cherries :)

Dessert:
1/2 canteloupe

I'm not sure why I'm feeling so full. I wasn't really hungry for dinner, but knew that my body needed some nourishment. I'm feeling so POWERFUL - strange word I guess, but its how I feel. I'm going to have some pellegrino with lemon, watch a couple of shows and go to bed :)

Raw Food Cleanse - 18 days :)

I've gotten off track a bit. Yeah, it happens. I'm not upset about it, but I want to get centered again. As I've mentioned before, I feel so alive when I am eating raw. So, Raw Food Naturals is doing a 15 day raw food cleanse starting July 1. I've decided to start mine a little early - TODAY :) Yes, I am ready. I'm going to post what I eat each day in an effort to show some accountability. It is not my intent to be 100% raw my entire life - I will strive to be 80% or above. BUT, for these 18 days, I am going to be as 100% as I can be!!! I don't expect to be perfect, but close to it would be lovely!!!

Breakfast:
Green juice - kale, collards, wheatgrass, carrots and pineapple - YUM!!!!

Lunch:
Raw falafel burger with raw hummus and cucumber and a few cherries :)

Dinner:
Large salad of napa cabbage, shredded rutabaga, carrot, red pepper, zucchini "pasta", in a red pepper dressing :)

Dessert/Snack:
Raw strawberry/banana ice cream!!!

Day 1 - experiment

Yesterday went GREAT!!! I ate well, no alcohol - life is good, and I even slept fairly well (kids had a party till 4:30am!) I'm keeping VERY busy. Actually, I'm a bit overwhelmed....but not in a bad way. I have a huge group of kids here today and will be making quesadillas on the grill for them :)....My farmer harvested tons of greens from my garden last night, so that will be my lunch. I'm not really tempted by the SAD food - but I am a bit by the alcohol. I'm having dinner tonight with 3 friends from high school - it may be a challenge.....

30 DAY EXPERIMENT

Okay, I'm ready - I think :)....I've been talking lately about how great I feel when I eat a high raw diet. But often, I end up overeating on foods that are not very good for me at the end of the day. I'll also have a cocktail at the end of the day that usually ends up becoming 2 or 3 glasses of wine! I'm finding that I just don't feel as well emotionally or physically when I do that. So, starting today, I am going to undertake a 30 day experiment (until June 24th - my daughters 21st birthday!) to see how my body reacts to no alcohol and a high raw diet :) Its going to be a huge challenge for me because I am so social. Its also going to be hard because I think I am going to have to face some of my emotions head on - you know - those emotions that have been hiding under the surface for YEARS - the ones I don't want to feel - the ones I mask with food & alcohol. I've already figured out how to explain to my friends why I am not having any wine (they all know that I am high raw) - I am going to tell them that it is an experiment with my night sweats - which, in a way it is. I am on bioidentical hormones - which are great, but I'm starting to figure out that I still have the night sweats when I drink alcohol at night. This will either confirm or deny that :) So...my 30 day journey begins - geez, right before memorial weekend!! But my excitement is high. I will try to blog during my rough spots and maybe I will be able to figure out my emotions and work through them to become the "real me" :)....so.....here goes!!! Wish me luck!!!

Bumps in the road :(

Yes, since my last post, I've had "bumps" in the road. Its okay - I'm learning from them all :) Life is so good and I'm proud of all the positive changes I've made in my life. However, it seems as though there is still "something" deep inside that I run from...that I don't want to "sit" with...that I want to drown out with food and/or alcohol. What is it? It will bring me close to God so I'm going for it - it will just take time for me to figure it out - PATIENCE!! I have to keep reminding myself how much better I feel when I am eating high raw and drinking very little...summer is a hard time for me. There is so much going on, and I feel so overwhelmed with my yard. I will figure it out and just try to stay present.

Technically, DAY ONE

So...I cleaned the frig yesterday evening - not much to clean really, but I felt cleansed, uncluttered and organized. I guess its just the way I work. So, today I start applying the principles of Women Food & God. Some days I will do well, and others not so well and I'm okay with that. I'm not trying to be perfect. I'm trying to change some habits, honor my body and stay healthy. I've actually done quite well on my journey since the beginning of the year. I just want to step it up a notch. I will continue to eat high raw because I BELIEVE in it and have seen the changes in my body - two warts and one bunion have mysteriously disappeared!! AND my fibroid issues have lessened. Coincidence? Maybe....but I don't think so. The exciting thing for me is that for once in my life I am NOT on a diet - I am NOT black & white - there is NO perfection :) How liberating!!!! So....you will have to wait until tomorrow morning to get the upate on day one......smooth sailing :)

Continuing.....

Oh....so many bumps in the road!! Just finished watching the Oprah show - Geneen Roth was on. They will be doing an update show two months from now. So...I am making a commitment to follow the principles in her book and blog about it every day until July 12th (these next two months) - a sort of journal of my progress and my journey of really looking at who I am and what is really bothering me at my core. And when I am eating, following her 7 "rules". So, I am off now to go through my frig - not to necessarily get rid of the "bad" stuff, but to "clean out" and throw out the outdated and rotting things....knowing in my heart, that nothing is "bad". I do however, still believe in the "raw" lifestyle. It is NOT a diet, but a way in which I prefer to eat 80% of the time, knowing that I am nurturing my body in the best way possible!!! So....until tomorrow.....

Going Raw

Its been awhile - it took me some time to figure out how to access my own blog :) So.... I've been "leaning" in to the raw food lifestyle since the beginning of the year...I've read TONS and I really believe in it. When I am eating 80%+ raw, I feel AMAZING!!! My energy is off the wall and another incredible change takes place - spirituality, love and joy....how does that happen? Maybe eating "live" food makes ME more alive...whatever it is, I LOVE it. So, you may ask, what is the problem? Well, I still have that nasty habit of using food to comfort and/or numb myself. I am a work in progress. A BEAUTIFUL work in progress :) The new book by Geneen Roth - Women Food and God - is SO AWESOME!!! It has helped me to understand. More later....