WOW was that crazy !

I think sometimes when one behaves badly and they realize that things are catching up with them they have a moment where they think : OK ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !! I will be a new person tomorrow ! That's it !! I have acted out with food for a loooong time. And once in a while I punish myself for a short period of time. Starving ... working out like a crazed fitness buff, and preaching to everyone around me. Then in an exhausted, starving moment of madness I'll eat a half a pizza and put back a bottle of wine ! I'd LOL now but I'm dead serious.

So time for something new ... something refreshing. It's called feed your body .... and exercise. I KNOW ... it's CRAZY ... but I have been reading that it really works.

I have been reading on high blood pressure, on being overweight, I have been calculating and weighing and I think I may have a formula. I will eat 6 small meals a day (which if you have ever done this feels like you eat all friggin day) and I will work out for 1 hour a day 6 days a week. Word up. That's all. In fact I have to eat enough that I am not even hitting my calories in a day before getting stuffed !! Weird !

I'll tell ya a little about today :)

I woke up and made a green tea ... had a big glass of water .... did a 1/2 hour of yoga and strength on the Wii fit board .... had a super smoothie for breakfast (recipe to follow) ... and started my daycare day ... at 11 had my snack of a glass of fresh juiced carrot, green apple, and ginger juice, and a 1/2 cup of 1% cottage cheese. Now don't roll your friggin eyes at me ... it is FILLING !! Ginger is warm in your tummy and the juice is delicious over ice with a splash of mineral water ... and the cottage cheese was necessary for protein with my snack. And I happen to love it ! then lunch was at 1 pm : 3/4 cup lebanese rice salad with a grilled 3 oz chicken breast ... and then off to the library with the kids and a Vanilla Oolong tea in hand ... home and my snack was due at 4 but I was still full (seriously ) so I had an earl grey tea with skim milk and waited till dinner ... I had more of the rice ( I LOVE RICE) and chicken and a glass of skim milk .... then a home made power granola bar and I'm done for the days eating .... my end of the day work out was a combination of first 3 abs sets and then a strength series which was my second 1/2 hour of the day.

Seriously do-able ..... seriously.

Now I am sure as hell not going to loose weight like I would if I was starving to death ... but this is something I am prepared to do every day for the rest of my life. That is when you are truly ready. When you don't say ... for 6 weeks or for 8 weeks ... but you say ... OK this is how I want to eat ...how I want to live.

I'm gonna tell you something RIGHT now ... someone allot busier then you is working out RIGHT NOW ..... while you read this post on motivation.

Don't wish .... DO IT !!

My tummy hurts :(

Well it turns out that I was not just suffering from indigestion yesterday after all. So I was not literally killing myself with food (well perhaps a little ) but I was coming down with a tummy bug !!! Having said this I am going ahead with my plan to start to cut out some of the garbage this week and get ready for the big day on Saturday.

Today for a start to the day I decided to not have my regular coffee, and instead to put on a pot of green tea. Not only is green tea great for weight loss, appetite suppression, & great scource of antioxidants, but it is also beneficial for people with high blood pressure (among countless other things ) I would urge people to make this one change if hoping to cut down on ones toxicity levels. It still contains caffeine (although less of it) but it is a clear fresh beverage enjoyed hot or cold.

My personal favourite green tea is one that a friend of mine created. (Take Charge Tea) This gifted woman has managed to come up with a beautiful blend of Green tea, ginger, and fennel that is lively, refreshing and great on the tummy ..... I adore this blend.

One last thing I will say about green tea is that many people don't enjoy it because it can be bitter. I learned from my friend BJ that the secret is in the brewing process. I am NO tea expert on any level but I will share with you how I make mine, and it is never bitter or too strong.

1 ) Get your hands on some of BJ's Take Charge Tea's green tea with fennel and ginger.

2) either in a pot or in a 4 cup measuring cup scoop out 2 heaping tablespoons of the loose tea.

3) put on the kettle and bring it to a boil .... then turn off the kettle and DO NOT POUR IT OVER THE TEA !! Wait a full 5 mins for the water to cool down before filling up your pot.

4) after the water is cooled for 5 mins .... cover your tea with 4 cups of this hot water and ...

5 ) set your timer for 5 mins ... once this time has passed, strain your tea and don't let it sit in the leaves.

I strain mine into a mason jar with a lid. I then enjoy a cup hot, and place the rest in the fridge to enjoy through the day. I usually use 1/2 of the remaining tea in a green tea, green smoothie in the later part of the morning (frozen banana, a few handfuls of kale or spinach, and one full cubed mango, covered with green tea and blended), and I usually have the last of it as iced tea, in the after noon (3 ish for that 3 o'clock brick wall I tent to hit where I have no energy for the later half of my day ) I fill a glass with ice, pour in the tea, and stir in a teaspoon of raw agave nectar for a refreshing bevvie.

Now I have to honest ... I don't have allot of experience with other green teas although I am pretty sure the brewing process would be similar.

On another note I tried someting today that I always wanted to do for breakfast. I had raw green lemonade. I have read of this mixture in several detox manuals that I have read .... and today I did it !! The recipe is simple and to my surprise it was pretty good ! I will make a few adjustments tomorrow ... but I think it will become a part of my daily cleanse routine.

Here it is ......

1 head of romaine

5 leaves of kale

1 lemon ( now they said you don't have to peel it ... and I didn't ... but I will tomorrow. The lemon oil from the rind was a tad much for me ... and I love lemon more then anyone)

2 apples (I used green because they are my personal fave ... not because they are green)

& 1 or 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger (optional. I like ginger and I had a sore tummy so I went for it)

Now juice all of the above in a juicer (not blender ) and enjoy.

Now I didn't have kale on hand (shocking ... I know) so I used dandelion greens (which are friggin bitter) but I like it. Again I think the one thing that was yucky was the lemon peel. I quite liked it. I added about 2 oz of fresh spring water and had it over ice. I am quite used to the taste of greens so I loved the idea ... for some it may take some getting used to.

For lunch I had pesto pasta ! Well raw vegan pesto over zucchini pasta that is :) I have a spiral slicer that I use to make pasta out of zucchini, but I used to just grate it with a grater or use a carrot peeler to make ribbons like fettuccine noodles. Zucchini is soft and bland and spongy, SO it really takes the flavour of what you then cover it with. Today I made a beautiful pesto and was in heaven eating my raw and satisfying lunch.

PESTO :

2 cups fresh basil,

2 cloves of garlic( I know some may use more if planning to cook the pesto after.... but raw garlic is pretty strong, I think 2 is max !)

1/2 cup of some kind of nut ... usually pine nuts, but today I used raw brazil nuts and a few tablespoons or hemp seeds as well. It gives it the nutty and creamy texture we love in pesto even with no dairy.

about 1/2 cup of olive oil

Now I place everything in the food processor (except the oil ) and I start it up .... I then slowly drizzle the oil in the top opening so not to add too much ... once it is a nice goopy saucy texture you don't need any more oil. That's it !

I then toss it with my zucchini (just coating the noodles) and yum ... a low cal raw version of a fave dish.

Add sea salt to taste. I always use pink sea salt.

This recipe makes more then you would eat at lunch ... save it for a dip or a spread through the week.

I am not 100% going raw this week ... baby steps. I will have a broth tonight, with veggies, and some wild rice. And a green salad as well.

Tomorrow I will make a great raw tabbouleh salad !!

I hope you have all had a healthy start to your day as well ! I know what a great jump start the green lemonade gave me this morning. I am already looking forward to tomorrows :)

TTFN,

B.

The final feast :)

So I have been really excited to get going on this cleanse !! Especially with the sore tummy I have from totally pigging out all weekend ! Easter at my home is a bountiful time where we eat drink and be merry ..... all of which have left me with serious indigestion :( And yet somehow I will manage to stuff in my Mothers home cooked turkey dinner (Turkey, tofurkey, roasted potatoes, mashed and sugared sweet potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower with the best cheese sauce on earth, baby carrots, stuffing, cranberry sauce, all covered in a rich gravy ) .... and a wonderful Thimble cake cupcake for dessert to boot. Not to mention white wine spritzers in the afternoon, red wine with dinner (and after ) a coffee and baileys with dessert and champagne to toast another beautiful Easter together.
My stomach is sad just writing that down .... and I am yet to eat it.
I think after a time of over indulgence one is more prepared to do such a cleanse. You are so sick of food, and wine that you are thirsty for water and lemon, green tea, and of course green smoothies. Heal the tummy ..... goodbye to the bloat of the holidays ..... see ya later cheese !!!

I want to do this cleanse so I feel clean, empowered, healthy, nourished, strong, and conscious. I want to do this because I know my body is sad ... and the green will heal me. I need to make amends for the gluttony I have indulged in over not just the weekend .... but the past several years .... and pray my body forgives me for the torture of eating and drinking far too much .... for not exercising and doing yoga regularly, ..... and for the ultimate sin of giving birth to my three beautiful soles. Your living self, on every level suffers while creating life. It is no easy task on the body, mind or spirit. My body was not happy after having my sweet boy ..... thank God for vasectomies !!

I will focus not just on the food side of the cleanse .... but focus on getting my body rehydrated, strong, clean, and on other techniques (which I will go over in detail) for detoxing. Things such as dry brushing , tongue scraping, etc. And I can't lie to you ... I have a beautiful pair of too small jeans hanging on the back of my bathroom door... patiently awaiting my ass.

I hope that you take the time to comment if you have thoughts or questions ... I hope you will do this with me too .... even for a day :)

Off to help Mom get the bird done for the final feast !!

Cheers,
B.

The beginning ...

So I have been toying with the idea that I would like to do a 100% green smoothie fast for a looong time. Not that I wanted to continue with a green smoothie fast for a long period of time ... just that I have pondered it for months now.
I have the VitaMix ... I LOVE green smoothies.... I work at home so have access to my fridge and blender at all times of the day .... and I have some health concerns that warrant some life style changes.
With the Easter weekend upon us I thought that going into Spring, and having no major holiday distraction to well ..... distract me, that now would be a great time to do this.
I have picked this Saturday April 30th as my start date. I will take this week and get prepared (mentally and physically) by cutting out some of the crap that my body is addicted to. Things like red wine, coffee, pasta, bread, etc and I will eat minimum 85% raw, and start to really focus on fluids, and having at least 2 of my days meals as green smoothies. This should minimize the uncomfortable physical side effects that your body can feel with any detox program.
I will have a large green smoothie every 2 - 3 hours to get the old metabolism up and running. This also cuts the cravings down while your mind settles and becomes happy with all the lovely nutrients you are giving it :) After the initial few days where you are hungry, (perhaps cranky ) and a little tired, it is reported that you (and hopefully me too) becomes quite settled and happy with what you offer the body.
So we shall see just how I feel during this month .... I will use this blog as a journal on this journey .... I hope you will follow along as I share thought, feelings, and recipes (and hopefully some reported health improvements too !!)
Cheers,
B.