Dangers of Detox

Kath, over at KERF, posted yesterday about an article in this month's SELF magazine which talks about the Dangers of Detox and today Gena at Choosing Raw wrote a very thought provoking piece on the same subject. The SELF article says that it's no longer popular to say you are on a diet but it's ok to disguise your intentions by couching them as getting healthy. The article mentions the raw food movement as just another attempt to restrict eating to lose weight. Like that's a bad thing? Anyway, it's something to think about. I've been eating more raw foods. I'd say I'm about 60/40 and I have more energy than I have in a long time which is a good thing. Again, moderation is the key element here. Anything can be carried too far and those with disordered eating need to be careful but I don't see any harm in adding lots of fresh and unprocessed foods. Please read Gena's article and tell me what do ya'll think?

Green Monsters

I finally had my first green monster. It was a simple one like the one in Polly's video "Polly goes green". This morning I started the day with one - 1 ripe frozen banana, 1 c vanilla almond breeze and a bunch of spinach, blend til smooth. This is the first one I've had then gone to work so we'll see how well it will hold me.

*** Update ***

I didn't make it to lunch. I had to have a piece of fruit and a handful of almonds. I think maybe if I get some protein powder or get up the nerve to put Barney Butter in it would help satisfy me longer.

I worked nights this weekend. For those of you who have experienced working nights you can testify to the upside down feeling when you flip back to days. I'm going to go walk on the treadmill. Green monsters and a walk - good ways to start off the week.

Treadmill - Day 2

My walk this morning felt much easier. I was more steady and actually took my hands off the railings for a few. I didn't add minutes but I did increase speed so I went farther. I got up to 2.5 today. I think I could get used to this. I know this about walking for exercise: No matter how bad you feel when you start you feel better by the time you've finished.

Last night's meal was a nibbler's delight. I had fresh zucchini strips, red pepper strips, and organic baby carrots with a scoop of raw hummus to dip them in. I topped them off with an Activia prune yogurt and a bowl of sliced strawberries with a little brown sugar sprinkled on them. I also brewed some Lipton's Peach Tea and put it in the fridge to cool. So today I can have iced tea. I'm starting to crave fresh fruits and vegetables. That's a good thing !

For lunch today I had a baked chicken breast w/stuffing, carrots, and green beans w/almonds. I also had a cup of watermelon chunks. I wasn't going to eat the stuffing (it came w/the chicken) but I couldn't resist a bite. It was SO salty. Prepared foods are beginning to taste almost unbearably salty. That's good thing. My body isn't craving salt.

Treadmill Trek

This morning, during the time I usually allow for reading blogs, I went to the fitness center. It's just down the hall from the library so distance and convenience aren't good excuses not to go. I walked. Boy am I slow. I used to walk between 3.5-4.0 mph. This morning 2.1 was pushing it. I felt unsteady. I haven't done much exercise walking since my accident last fall and the lack of movement really shows. I'm proud though because I did something toward getting better. I felt good when I got off. I think it's better to do something than do nothing. Progress not perfection...

Contest

Hi folks! Raw Juice Girl is having a contest on her blog Healing with (Raw) Juices. She's featuring a couple of great products from Living Tree. If you'd like a chance to win just hop on over and enter the contest. I'd love to try out their products.

I did a great upper body workout yesterday evening. I used cans for weights and did 8-10 reps for each movement. I put on Collin Raye while I was lifting and then I danced for awhile to get some light cardio. It was fun and my shoulders and arms were humming. The cans were 16 oz each which isn't much but I'm just starting out. I've got some 3 and 5 lb weights which I'll start using soon - like next week.

Then this morning at Brekkie time, I tore open a bag of Bear Naked Granola in a new flavor - original protein. It smelled rancid which totally spoiled my appetite. I do plan on taking it back to the store when I get off this evening. It was $5+. They only had a few bags on the shelf so I'm going to assume that they're all from the same batch. Therefore I'm not going to ask for a replacement, I'm going to ask for a refund and then I'm going to go to another store where the Bear Naked granola is always fresh and tasty.


For lunch I went to the employee cafeteria. They had a Chili Bar (in this heat?). I made a Frito chili pie. I got a few chips. They also had a couple of kinds of french fries and fried potatoes but I chose the Frito's and put a couple of ladles of the chili and then a sprinkling of pepper jack cheese. Let's see how it effects my stomach this afternoon. Then there was only hard melon as a fresh fruit so I'll wait and eat my fruits at home.

I plan on getting a digital camera so I can share photos of my food more often but it will be a couple of weeks yet.

Not so reluctant

Today the Running Yogini mentioned the rereading of beloved books. I have a few that I reread every year:

Le Petit Prince,

Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, and

Alas, Babylon.

I first heard about Alas, Babylon when I was in library school. It was featured on a list of books recommended for reluctant readers. I'd never heard of it but I read it for an assignment. I LOVED it. It's about a small town in Florida which thrives after a nuclear holocaust wipes out most of the state. A librarian and her library are featured prominently in the storyline which is one of the reasons it hooked me. It's a great story of survival and it gives me hope.

Farewell Pizza Hut

I don't usually have computer access on the weekends cuz I use the library's wifi during the week. However, my daughter, Rachel, is visiting and I'm using her laptop. There are tornado warnings to the west of us and the storms are moving this way. I don't look forward to heading to the basement in the middle of the night so I hope it dissipates before it gets here, not that I want anyone to go through it.

This morning I woke up with what I think was food poisoning. I must have eaten something that upset my stomach. Of course, the terrible tummy complete with cramps could have been because I had a very upsetting experience yesterday afternoon. I had to leave work to come home and cry for awhile. All better now.

Today for breakfast I had a cup of Quaker Oatmeal Squares and a container of Activia prune yogurt. Then I slept for awhile. When I woke up I was still queasy so I ate nothing until mid afternoon when I had a few almonds and a whole wheat tortilla with some Athenos hummus. That was it until Rachel wanted pizza. It's been months since I ordered pizza and my stomach seemed to be all better so I said ok and ordered a Pizza Hut veggie lovers on a pan crust. When I want pizza that is what I am craving and nothing else satisfies. It finally arrived and I took a piece looking forward to that first bite, you know the best bite is the first one. It didn't taste good. I didn't enjoy it at all. I guess my tastes must really be changing. I won't be wanting pizza anytime soon and now I feel like I have a brick in my stomach. Hopefully the feeling will be gone in the morning.

I just got a call to come in and work midnight to 7AM. I would have done it but I'd already gotten a call for 7A - 7P tomorrow. When I work overtime I work as a patient sitter. I stay in the room mostly with patients who are elderly and confused. Although I never know what I am getting into until I get there. I also get a lot of the psych patients that no one else wants. I like the psych patients the best. I understand them. The hospital pays time and half so it makes for a nice check.

I'll see you all on Monday.

Bucket List

Yesterday my director had a meeting that involved lots and lots of cookies. Of course there were some broken ones so we got to eat those. I overindulged and wasn't hungry when I got home so all I had were some organic baby carrots and a big piece of watermelon. I guess that qualifies as raw though so I met my goal 3/4 days this week.

I wanted to share my "Bucket List" with you. I just started keeping one this year so it isn't too extensive but here they are :

1. hike the Grand Canyon


2. take an Alaskan cruise


3. visit the Arizona Memorial in Hawaii


4. stand under the Eiffel Tower


5. snow ski


6. visit the island of Santorini


7. stand before the pyramids


8. walk a half marathon


9. stand in the circle of Stonehenge


10. visit Mesa Verde


11. hold my first grandchild

It seems that most of the entries involve travel. Some are physical and those are the ones I'm working toward these days. I am hoping to travel extensively once I retire. No, my daughter isn't pregnant but I hope she will be someday. I look forward to hearing some of the things on your own lists. If you don't have one, start one today. It's nice to have fun things to look forward to.

TGIF folks!

I finally got some sleep. My co-worker, Sherry, loaned me her copy of Bucket List and I fell asleep watching it. I'm not much of a Jack Nicholson fan but I do like Morgan Freeman. I enjoyed what I saw of it so I'll finish it tonight. I have a sort of bucket list in the front of my day planner. I'll share it in my next post and yes, I keep everything in my day planner.

I ate totally raw for dinner last night. I had veggies leftover from the cucumber rolls so I made a salad. It had chopped cucumber, red pepper, carrots and a scoop of raw hummus. I also had a big piece of watermelon. I woke up in the middle of the night hungry but I decided I needed sleep more than food so I waited 'til breakfast this morning. My alarm went off at 6AM. I hit the snooze button and slept for 15 more minutes. Got ready for work and got to the library at about 10 minutes before 7AM. Since then I've had my granola, yogurt and blueberry mess, read my email, and listened to Adam's music while writing this post. I don't have to punch in 'til 8:30AM. Luxury.

Lack of sleep, diet coke...

I got called in for overtime again last night so this morning I am grumpy. I got ready for work in a daze. Sleep deprivation is not a pretty thing. After all one form of torture is forcing prisoners to stay awake for extended periods of time. I need at least 8 hours.

For breakfast I had my staple Bear Naked Fit granola in Vanilla Almond Crunch with yummy whole almonds, Kroger brand low-fat vanilla yogurt (can you tell I like Vanilla?) and frozen organic blueberries. I drank one of the two diet cokes I still have each day. About a month ago I was drinking between 8-10 a day. I've sworn for years that I would never give up my diet coke habit. I love diet coke. However, as I began cleaning up my eating I started questioning putting all those chemicals into my body. Enter water (not bottled) and the water has just taken over. I hope to let go of the last two in the next couple of week and be caffeine free. I may take a couple of days off while I go through what I hope is a mild withdrawal.

More later...

Gena's Cucumber Rolls

I have chosen to have my raw meal for dinner today. I was having a hard time deciding what to prepare and then I found this recipe over at Courtney's blog, The Hungry Yogini. She said it was originally from Gena. So I suppose the credit should be given to Gena over at Choosing Raw. The rolls include Raw Hummus from Raw Food, Real World, sliced avocado, slices of red bell pepper, sliced carrot and thinly sliced, lengthwise, cucumber. Courtney has wonderful instructions and pictures so for more info hop on over to her site (the link is above). I can't wait to try them. They look so light and refreshing, the sort of dish that has me craving raw foods. I'll also have some chunked watermelon to round off the meal. I am enjoying the way I feel after eating a raw meal - none of that brick in the stomach stuff. I'll be sure to let everyone know how much I enjoyed them.

Tuesday Meh

I didn't get much sleep last night. I got called into work overtime from 8PM-11PM and then it took me awhile to mellow down. On top of that, all night long the soundtrack from Mama Mia was playing in my head. I will write more later after my body has finally woken up. I think I need a green monster to pep me up.

Yoga Downloads Giveaway

Just wanted to let everyone know about a sensational giveaway for all you yoginis from Maria at Hearts Whole Foods <3. Pop on over and see what it's all about.

Vinegar - is it raw?

I decided that I would make lunch my raw meal today. I walked over to the company cafeteria. Their salad bar is pretty stingy with the selection of items. I wasn't very adventurous. I had a large salad made with spring greens salad mix, sliced cucumbers, chopped cauliflower, and shredded carrots. I also added about a tablespoon of sunflower seeds, some vinegar and a sprinkle of cold-processed olive oil. I also ate about a cup of honey dew melon and drank water (not bottled). Did I make it? I'm not sure about the sunflower seeds or the vinegar. Anyway, if I didn't make it "totally raw" I'm more concerned with progress than with perfection.I also picked up a still green tinged banana which will take a couple of days to ripen enough for me to eat it.

More later...

Raw Challenge

I didn't officially participate in Jenna's raw challenge from a few weeks ago but reading about other's experiences gave me ideas. For the next 10 days I'm going to eat at least one totally raw meal each day. I'm also going to see if I can find a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Raw Eating. I've got so many questions. Today I'm not willing to give up yogurt. I eat some every day. I'm hooked on Fage Honey and Activia prune flavor. Is honey raw or is heat used in the processing? I know I can eat my "go to" snack of Lara Bars. Reading Veggie Girl 's posts got me hooked on those. Fresh fruits and vegetables are easy and I can find raw nuts locally. A lot of Ani Phyo's recipes call for nuts. I found a recipe in her cookbook, Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, for Vegetable Pate that I'm going to try this week and it calls for raw cashews.

For breakfast this morning I had 1 cup of low-fat vanilla yogurt, mixed with 1/2 c Bear Naked granola, and 1/2 cup of frozen organic blueberries. First time I've tried it with fruit mixed in. Yum. We'll see if it holds me til lunch.

Island Girl is hosting her first contest. It's a great one! Check it out here. I know I'm going to enter.

More later...

Time of the Season

I enjoy the local farmer's market on Saturday morning. The produce is fresh (and cheaper than the stores) and the people are friendly. I can usually find home baked goodies as well and the produce is grown locally and is in season. Heather has a great post on eating seasonally with a chart of what is seasonal for each month of the year at Health, Happiness, and Hope. I wanted to share it with all of you. Give her a look see and tell her I sent you. Happy weekending to all of you.

Yummy mushrooms

It's Friday! I don't know why I'm so excited cuz I usually work week-ends.

I tried a wonderful recipe for Pepper Lime Portobello Mushrooms with Wilted Spinach by Liz at Raw Food Crafting. It was super easy and delicious. The only change I made was I didn't have hemp seed oil so I used EVOO. This is one that I will have again. It would be great for company because it's makes such a nice presentation.

More later...

Stress

My life has been very stressful. I used to eat over stress. Over the years I have developed my own ways of dealing with the stressors without using food. I have a list in the back of my day planner and when I feel my life getting out of control I do one of the things on the list. I thought I'd share it with you. Maybe you'd get some ideas from it and anyone who wants to share their methods is invited and welcome to do so. I am always looking for new ideas.

Breathe
Do a yoga tape
Brush teeth
Stretch
Go for a walk
Light a candle

Turn off the TV
Journal
Watch a movie
Read a magazine
Clean something
Shower and wash hair
Body scrub - head to toe
Get a manicure
Do hot oil treatment for my hair
Write an email to a friend
Listen to Collin Raye CD
Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Read the "Big Book"
Work on gratitude list
Listen to "A Medio Vivir", which is a Ricky Martin CD from way before La Vida Loca.
Go to Barnes and Noble or the library
Buy flowers

All these things stop the progression and enable me to sit back and breathe deeply. I look forward to hearing yours.

Collage Video

I'm so excited. The new Collage Video catalog came in yesterday's mail. I am going to order a yoga video done by the famous on PBS yogini Lilias. I used to watch her show in the 70's. In fact, it was her show that got me interested in yoga. All my fitness videos are VHS and since I no longer have a VCR I'll have to order new ones. Poor me ;-) Meanwhile I'll keep doing the DVD "Gentle Yoga" by a local instructor Mimi. I've taken her class several times at the local community center. Her classes are good for stress relief and strength building.

For breakfast I had a Bagel-fuls and a ripe banana. I have to get some more granola so I can have yogurt messes in the AM.

I'm off to work, More later...

Community Blood Center

The Community Blood Center is having a blood drive at the hospital where I work. They have one every quarter. I always try to donate. I take it as a personal failure when I am unable to do so. I like to donate packed red blood cells (2 units) when my Hemoglobin is high enough. It has to be 13.3 and this morning mine was 12.9 so I had to donate whole blood. It took about an hour from start to finish and I get to do it "on the clock." They told me to eat red meat the night before donating next time. Afterwards they always provide cookies and juice. I had two oreos (I forgot how delicious they are) and a small cup of apple juice. Now I have to drink LOTS of fluids to replace what I lost.

Adam

I start my day by reading emails, blogs and listening to beautiful piano music. My friend Adam is a wonderful composer, musician, and surgeon. I can't imagine not having his music to open my heart each weekday morning. You can listen to him too at Adam Dachman, click on songs.

I'm off to donate blood. More later...

Welcome to my world

I grew up in New Orleans but moved to Kansas 14 years ago (I missed Katrina). I became interested in raw foods when Jenna of the great blog Eat, Live, Run ate at a raw foods restaurant and reviewed Ani Phyo's book. The food sounded so fresh and vibrant that I wanted to try it. Of course, Topeka has no raw foods restaurants so I bought the book and dove right in. If any of you have suggestions for reading materials on the healthy lifestyle, raw food, vegetarian, yoga, exercise and fitness, etc. just let me know.

**Edit**

Today I found a raw food meeting group in Kansas City and a couple of veg/raw groups in Lawrence. I'll be going to a potluck in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to meeting some new people.