Hi Everyone,
I've been offline for about a month! I've been in Palm Springs soaking in the mineral springs hot tubs and swimming, catching some sunshine (Vitamin D) and relaxing.
I believe the hardest lesson we all have to learn is "how to nurture ourselves!" I don't know about you, but I have been putting in too much time away from nature and exercise. How about you?
Too much time with computer technology and social media is frying us all, and we know that frying is not healthy.
When I'm in the kitchen I love to prepare all of the lush greens, making certain that I have a good amount of them daily. When I prepare the food, I am thinking about their therapeutic benefits for good health and making my meal choices around those thoughts. Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I am cutting down on adding oils to my meals. My mother always taught me that if I was really hungry I would enjoy a simple meal.
As chefs we are all naturally trying to add unique flavors to the food, often it is with oils, and many high fat, rich foods as ingredients. This will eventually take its toll on the body, so be certain that you are balancing your meals with lots of raw vegetables and also simply prepared cooked veggies.
Good health is the one thing that money cannot buy, so we have to guard it by taking the time to nurture ourselves. Are we drinking enough water? Are we properly exercising? Are we eating a plant-based diet? Are we cutting down on all processed foods? Are we careful about the restaurants we eat out in and whether they are using healthy ingredients? Are we buying organic, making certain there are no GMO's in our foods? Are we spending time in nature?
Are we getting adequate sleep? Do we keep ourselves distracted so that we forget our creator?
Health is not only on a physical level. There is physical, spiritual and emotional, and environmental health, and if we are out of balance on any one of these levels than we best examine our priorities.
My goal as an author of Vegan Bite By Bite is to educate the readers about health, so I carry this subject of nurturing into the kitchen. Health is not a matter of luck, it is a matter of education and awareness, while doing the best we can to discipline ourselves to keep a healthy lifestyle.
After a good night's sleep, and waking at 4:00 AM for meditation, I went back to bed at 6:30 for another couple of hours.
So far, my focus is on the liver detox and taking those herbs three times a day. This morning I had some flatulence, a bit of feeling achy in my body, and lots of sneezing.
After taking the herbs this morning, I drank some water. Before I left the house I ate a few cut oranges knowing that fruit juice would not be enough substance for the day. I am feeling like the only way I could continue this fast would be if I just stayed in bed and rested, not because I am so tired but because it is the best for healing. Instead, I will be going to a friend's house for a massage.
Great natural morning elimination! An awesome massage at my friend's house too, except that it was very exhausting just being out in the day and driving, etc. At my friend's house I ate a nectarine and drank water until dinner. On the way home I stopped at Whole Foods market and ordered the only vegetable juice that could be verified "guaranteed" organic produce of carrots, parsley and kale.
Then I stopped at my daughter's house to drop something off and by the time I got home I was so hungry that I intuitively knew that it was time for me to break the fast. One of those times, where in spite of discipline, I knew that it was time to start my raw food diet. I also had previous business plans the next day that kept reminding me to end the fast.
I will continue the liver detox for another 1 or 2 days more, and instead of juicing I plan on eating solid food and modify the detox to raw foods.
For dinner I ate plain (no dressing) Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber. About 2 hours later I was so hungry again, I repeated the same meal only this time I added a no-oil sesame seed dressing.
It felt good to take a hot shower and go to sleep early.
Great natural morning elimination! An awesome massage at my friend's house too, except that it was very exhausting just being out in the day and driving, etc. At my friend's house I ate a nectarine and drank water until dinner. On the way home I stopped at Whole Foods market and ordered the only vegetable juice that could be verified "guaranteed" organic produce of carrots, parsley and kale.
Then I stopped at my daughter's house to drop something off and by the time I got home I was so hungry that I intuitively knew that it was time for me to break the fast. One of those times, where in spite of discipline, I knew that it was time to start my raw food diet. I also had previous business plans the next day that kept reminding me to end the fast.
I will continue the liver detox for another 1 or 2 days more, and instead of juicing I plan on eating solid food and modify the detox to raw foods.
For dinner I ate plain (no dressing) Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber. About 2 hours later I was so hungry again, I repeated the same meal only this time I added a no-oil sesame seed dressing.
It felt good to take a hot shower and go to sleep early.
After having a good night's sleep, I woke refreshed and feeling very energetic. I've started thinking more about the time I switch to another type of juice, and ultimately when I begin to break the fast.
I had great elimination today, which is somewhat surprising since I've had only juices for the past week..
I spent part of the day working on the raw mushroom veggie burgers and putting the mixture onto the dehydrator trays from the bowl in the refrigerator. At least if I am not eating, as I said before, I enjoy working with food while I fast. It seems to satisfy me in ways.
A friend came over this afternoon who I'm coaching through the watermelon fast, and we talked about the fast while we went for a walk.
This afternoon I switched to orange juice, diluted with water. I was feeling so full from liquids and still hungry, and began to feel that because of my increased work schedule commitments I should transition to solid fruits if the hunger continued. Later in the evening I cut up a few chunks of watermelon and a few chunks of cantaloupe, and chewed it slowly, while we watched another movie.
I made my husband an Amy's burger for dinner, and I didn't feel any temptation, as my determination and focus is on my goal.
I had great elimination today, which is somewhat surprising since I've had only juices for the past week..
I spent part of the day working on the raw mushroom veggie burgers and putting the mixture onto the dehydrator trays from the bowl in the refrigerator. At least if I am not eating, as I said before, I enjoy working with food while I fast. It seems to satisfy me in ways.
A friend came over this afternoon who I'm coaching through the watermelon fast, and we talked about the fast while we went for a walk.
This afternoon I switched to orange juice, diluted with water. I was feeling so full from liquids and still hungry, and began to feel that because of my increased work schedule commitments I should transition to solid fruits if the hunger continued. Later in the evening I cut up a few chunks of watermelon and a few chunks of cantaloupe, and chewed it slowly, while we watched another movie.
I made my husband an Amy's burger for dinner, and I didn't feel any temptation, as my determination and focus is on my goal.
After having a good night's sleep, I woke refreshed, but with a slight headache, which passed very quickly. We went to a spiritual discourse early in the morning where I made my juice into a "to go" bottle to carry with me, and brought lots of Kangen water. to drink.
I had some more hiccups a couple of times today (my mom taught me that hiccups were a form of gas) and my nose was slightly running. I still wasn't too hungry for the juice, so I mostly focused on drinking water.
I started the liver detox early this morning. Almost immediately I could feel a diminishing of my nervousness and twitching. I found this to be amazing! I'm having a lot of insightful clarity about my body and my life! I am now starting to love the way I am feeling, especially because of these visible results. The benefits of the fast are also showing less puffiness and darkness around the eyes.
My body feels MUCH CLEANER and my mind MUCH CLEARER! Naturally, my mind is still trying to tempt me into eating, but I know that is the job of the mind and the senses. I'm going for "the gold ring" for health's sake.
I decided I am going to go deeper into the cleanse by continuing on vegan raw foods, when I gradually do break this juicing fast. Because of this decision, I started preparations for it by getting the raw food diet organized so I will be ready when the time comes. I made 10 trays of onion crackers and 10 trays of mushroom-veggie burgers in the dehydrator which will have a great future shelf life. at a time when I am no longer fasting.
I also really enjoy being in the kitchen preparing food when I fast. I savor the aromas and since I love cooking, it's fun for me to handle the food, Besides, I have a husband to care for, and a panty and refrigerator to manage.
I allowed myself to get overtired with all of my kitchen work so I asked my husband to give me a "Raindrop Therapy" massage, with essential oils. Then he read me a few short spiritual stories.
I did not take any Melatonin and I drifted off to sleep.
I had some more hiccups a couple of times today (my mom taught me that hiccups were a form of gas) and my nose was slightly running. I still wasn't too hungry for the juice, so I mostly focused on drinking water.
I started the liver detox early this morning. Almost immediately I could feel a diminishing of my nervousness and twitching. I found this to be amazing! I'm having a lot of insightful clarity about my body and my life! I am now starting to love the way I am feeling, especially because of these visible results. The benefits of the fast are also showing less puffiness and darkness around the eyes.
My body feels MUCH CLEANER and my mind MUCH CLEARER! Naturally, my mind is still trying to tempt me into eating, but I know that is the job of the mind and the senses. I'm going for "the gold ring" for health's sake.
I decided I am going to go deeper into the cleanse by continuing on vegan raw foods, when I gradually do break this juicing fast. Because of this decision, I started preparations for it by getting the raw food diet organized so I will be ready when the time comes. I made 10 trays of onion crackers and 10 trays of mushroom-veggie burgers in the dehydrator which will have a great future shelf life. at a time when I am no longer fasting.
I also really enjoy being in the kitchen preparing food when I fast. I savor the aromas and since I love cooking, it's fun for me to handle the food, Besides, I have a husband to care for, and a panty and refrigerator to manage.
I allowed myself to get overtired with all of my kitchen work so I asked my husband to give me a "Raindrop Therapy" massage, with essential oils. Then he read me a few short spiritual stories.
I did not take any Melatonin and I drifted off to sleep.
I woke today feeling good and rested. I had some major sneezing this morning. In the morning I had a masseur come to the house and give me a massage, and of course it was wonderful to nurture myself this way. I had a good steady energy and decided to go out and see the movie "The Butler".
I can feel the withdrawal of this fast creating some physical tightness in my body, which is obviously coming from my mind! Other than thinking about food, I am having less and less cravings for it. In fact, I am not always even hungry for the juice, so I am drinking a lot of water, which seems to be more appealing for me.
Today I also started on an herbal detox. I took what I had left in the bottle from previous times, for detoxing the kidneys. Now I've finished with the herbal kidney supply, so I'll have to buy some more. However, I plan on starting the liver detox tomorrow.
I'm still having a lot of nervousness and facial twitching, which feels draining to me, but it's making me go deeper into the cleanse.
My mind was not as active and anxious tonight as it has been, but I still took Melatonin to get to sleep.
I can feel the withdrawal of this fast creating some physical tightness in my body, which is obviously coming from my mind! Other than thinking about food, I am having less and less cravings for it. In fact, I am not always even hungry for the juice, so I am drinking a lot of water, which seems to be more appealing for me.
Today I also started on an herbal detox. I took what I had left in the bottle from previous times, for detoxing the kidneys. Now I've finished with the herbal kidney supply, so I'll have to buy some more. However, I plan on starting the liver detox tomorrow.
I'm still having a lot of nervousness and facial twitching, which feels draining to me, but it's making me go deeper into the cleanse.
My mind was not as active and anxious tonight as it has been, but I still took Melatonin to get to sleep.
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