The Latest with Me

Flax Bread

I did make the bread as promised. It actually tasted good. My husband, ever the loyal taste tester, actually liked it. If he doesn't like something, then it really doesn't taste good. I made this last week, so it's a little fuzzy now. But it was 1 cup of ground flax seeds mixed with ½ cup of water, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves. I added a little mashed avocado and various herbs to the mix. Spread in the dehydrator and leave in for at least 12 hours. I left mine in for 13 hours. We ate it up in 3 days.

The past week has been VERY emotional for me, and I have not been 100% raw. Not that I'm stressed about it, but to blog means to be honest what is happening in my life. Too much to process right now. I've been sick for 15 days now. I'm at the end of it; I can tell because I'm coughing up less mucus and need less sleep. I'm also sore, part of which is due to these flu-like symptoms. I've been eating lots of raw garlic, soup, greens, teas, and rice.

The other part of this has to do with my in-laws. Any good vibes you all can send my way would be appreciated. I need all the light, goodness, and positivity, and prayers you can send to me. Remaining grateful in the midst of sorrow and chaos is a tough thing to do, but I am hanging in here. Just pray for a positive outcome to this situation and that a way is being made right now.

Angela Stokes of RawReform.com

On a light note, here are some exciting news in the raw food world. Angela Stokes of RawReform.com has been featured on CNN. You can watch the video here:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/09/23/gupta.fn.raw.food.stokes.cnn

In case the link is cut off, click here: CNN video of Angela

Bernando LaPallo

Also, I saw this link in Angela's blog about 107 year old Bernando LaPallo. That's right ONE OH SEVEN. Not a typo. You can read about Mr. LaPallo at Paul Nison's blog: http://paulnison.blogspot.com/2008/09/107-years-young-and-still-going-strong.html


And here's another good blog post at We Like It Raw: http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/2008/09/the-trap-of-100.html It's Anthony of the Raw Model blog talking at the Raw Spirit Festival about being compassionate with yourself. Don't get caught up on the "perfectionism" of being 100% raw. We really are too hard on ourselves for any mistakes that we make. And eating, being full of emotion and attachment, is where we as human beings can get so mad at ourselves. Let's all take it easy and enjoy food, rather than condemn ourselves for what we don't or do eat. Love yourselves and learn to detach from the all or nothing approach.

Love,

Althea

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The Latest with Me

Juice Fast Days 20 and 21

Elmo enjoying his beet juice

On Day 20, I had:
3 apples/1/4 lemon/ 4 collard leaves juice
3 apples/ 1/2 beet/ 1/4 lemon/ 1/4 knob ginger juice
onion tea 3 times


On Day 21, I had:
peach/banana smoothie
3 apples/3 carrots juice
2 apples/ 1/4 lemon/1/2 beet juice
2 apples/2 celery/1/2 lemon/4 kale/ 2 romaine leaves juice

Alpha child drinking my juice

Beta child after he rebuffed the juice

So how do I feel? I'm still sick, but I do feel better. And I know I've lost weight, but I haven't left my house in a week. I plan to weigh myself on Tuesday, so I'll let you all know how much weight I've lost. I'm ready to get started on some recipes. I still want to make the raw bread, but I'm going to focus on basics. I looked at Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Food again this afternoon, and she has a lot of extremely simple things in there. I keep thinking basics. Learn basic recipes and build on those. That is my plan...so let's go!

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Althea

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Juice Fast Days 20 and 21

Juice Fast Days 15-19

On Day 15, I had:
Ginger tea
Peppermint tea twice
2 apples/ ¼ ginger/ 2 celery ribs/4 collard leaves juice
2 apples/1/2 beet /¼ ginger/ ¼ lemon/ 1 celery rib juice
2 apples/2 carrots juice
2 apples/ ½ beet/ ¼ ginger/ ¼ lemon juice
lots of water and lemon

On Day 16, I had:
Peppermint tea 4 times
1 peach/2 bananas/ kale/collard smoothie
2 bananas
2 apples
lots of water and lemon

On Day 17, I had:
2 apples/2 carrots juice
3 apples/5 collard leaves juice
Peppermint tea twice
2 peach/2 banana/collard/kale smoothie

On Day 18, I had:
Peppermint tea twice
2 apples/1/4 lemon/ ½ beet juice
lots of water and lemon

On Day 19, I had:
2 Bolthouse green smoothies
onion tea twice
Hot toddy twice
lots of water and lemon

No pictures today...In short, family...I have the flu. My children had recovered from their colds pretty quickly. I have not been so lucky. I think the intensity is in part due to the juice fast itself. My husband took off work twice this week so I could stay in bed. This is not fun. But I also intend that this is the last time I am sick :-)

But I got some clarity on how much fear has governed my life since I graduated from college in 1993. It's too long to go into here, but what I've done over the past few days is call people that I felt like I had wronged. I also called someone else to talk about an incident that hurt my feelings. All of the calls went really well and ended on a positive note. What was I so afraid of? Fear itself is more scary than the actual event it seems.

Breaking through fears puts you closer to the life that you really want.

Love,
Althea ◦

Juice Fast Days 15-19

Juice Fast Days 11-14 and Steps to Raw

Apple-Beet Juice

On the rest of Day 11, I had:
2 carrots/2 celery ribs/handful of parsley juice
1 apple/ 1/4 lemon/handful of parsley juice
2 apples/handful of parsley juice
lots of water

On Day 12, I had:
1 apple/1 celery rib/handful of parsley and cilantro/1/4 lemon juice
2 apples/1 celery rib/handful of parsley/3 kale leaves/5 collard leaves juice
1 apple/1 huge carrot/1 celery rib/1/4 lemon/handful of parsley and cilantro juice
lots of water

Day 13, I had:
1/4 beet/2 carrots/1 apple/1/4 lemon/1/2 inch ginger juice
1/4 beet/3 carrots/1/4 lemon/1/2 ginger juice
2 peaches/2 bananas/5 collard leaves/handful of parsley/ 1 cup water smoothie
lots of water

Apple-Collard Juice

On Day 14, I had:
1 peach/1 banana/4 collard leaves/1 cup water smoothie
1 apple/1 celery/4 kale leaves juice
2 peach/2 bananas/ 5 kale leaves/1 cup water smoothie
3 apples/2 celery/6 collard/ 1/2 lemon juice
lots of water

The only updates I have today is that I am still losing weight. All my clothes are too big. (That's a good thing!) And I feel good energy-wise, but I've caught my children's cold. Blah. I'll be drinking teas along with my juice until I get over this cold.

I found my notes about The Steps on Your Raw Food Journey. I had started this back in June, but I hadn't posted all of them. So here they are! I will follow up on Steps 5-15 later.

1. Know Why You are Doing This
2. Read a Ton of Books
3. Meet Other Raw Foodies
4. Drink Your Greens
5. Learn Basic Recipes
6. Learn How to Sprout
7. Stock Your Kitchen
8. Acknowledge Your Emotions
9. Practice Gratitude
10. Be Kind to Yourself
11. Pay Attention to Your Body
12. Know Thyself
13. Practice Mind/Body/Spirit Exercises
14. Smile & Laugh & Love
15. Lead by Example

This isn't lock-step: step one, step two, etc. They more blend together as one, but taking each piece of your raw food journey and breaking it down makes it easier to do. It can be overwhelming, can't it? Just take one step at a time, and set small goals for yourself.

I was telling my mom about one of my favorite blogs, Dar Kush. Author Steve Barnes writes this blog. A few days ago, he wrote about the power of inertia. When people attempt major life changes, something tends to pop up to get in their way. His advice was to take it sloooooooow.
That post was a big help to me. We don't have to do everything all at once. :-)
Here's the post: http://darkush.blogspot.com/2008/09/power-of-inertia.html

Let me know what you all think!

Love,
Althea

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Juice Fast Days 11-14 and Steps to Raw

Colon Cleanse: Days 8-11

Beet Juice

On Day 8, I had:
lemon and water, lots of it
tomato and avocado nori
kale salad

On Day 9, I had:
4 apples/1/4 lemon/3 collard leaves/2 kale leaves/1 tbsp psyllium juice
1 apple/4 carrots juice
1 apple/3 carrots/5 collard leaves/4 kale leaves juice
1 banana/1 peach/6 collard leaves/1 cup water smoothie
tomato and avocado nori kale salad
1 peach
watermelon

On Day 10, I had:

2 apple juice

kale salad

2 carrots/1 celery/1 apple juice

1/4 watermelon/5 collard juice

lots o' water and lemon

lemon/ginger/olive oil/1 cup water shake

On Day 11, I'm having:
2 peaches/2 bananas/5 collards/1 cup water
2 apples/1 celery/1/4 bunch cilantro/handful of parsley/1/4 lemon juice
2 apples/1/4 lemon/5 collard juice


So I switched some things up. I feel great drinking all of this juice. I decided to do a straight juice fast through September 23. Following the Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life book was getting too strenuous and stressful. I still like the book, and the recipes in it, which I am using, but to follow it to the letter was stressing me out. And food should be fun, whatever kind you are eating.


I also read in Cleanse and Purify Thyself by Richard Anderson, N.D., N.M.D., that bentonite should only be taken in liquid form. Oh, great. I didn't ingest that much of it in clay form, but things didn't move as much as I thought they should. So for now, it's pure liquid.


My strongest advice to anyone is to read a whole lot (see Step 2: read a lot of books) before making any major food shifts in your life. But I will say that going raw has been the best move I have made in a long time. What's been the best decision you have made regarding your health and food?

Love,
Althea

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Colon Cleanse: Days 8-11

Colon Cleanse: Days 5-7

Watermelon Juice

On Day 5, I had:

apple/green beans/collards/lemon juice

carrot/kale/lemon juice

peach/banana/kale smoothie

watermelon

carrots

lots o' water

On Day 6, I had:

apple/collard/lemon juice

peach/banana/collard smoothie

Bolthouse green smoothie

kale salad

peaches

lots o' water

On Day 7, I had:

watermelon/collard juice

banana/peach/collard smoothie

watermelon/kale juice

water and lemon juice

lots o' water

I feel great even though I stopped taking the fiber mix of bentonite, flax, and psyllium. It wasn't doing much for me. But I will say that I haven't been exercising like I should and that does help move things along. But emotionally and mentally, I feel clear and positive. I think I'll start the liver/gallbladder cleanse on Sunday.

And I realized that being simple with the raw food is working for me. I'm eating simple mono-meals and, for now, that works. I really want to experiment with raw breads to break from using lettuce or collards as the wrap. The concept of a raw bread fascinates me. They are also portable which would help when I'm out with my children. But that's coming later, after I finish this cleanse.

Talk soon. And thank you for all the emails!

Love,

Althea

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Colon Cleanse: Days 5-7