2018 - A Personal Journey

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. I pray you are blessed with good health, prosperity, love and peace. I know we’ve all got lots of resolutions for 2018. I’ve been taking time and focusing on even better ways to detox...

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Tip for Making Sprouted Oat Flour

*Tip: After your oats are sprouted and dehydrated, store them in the freezer prior to grinding. I find this makes grinding them into flour much easier. It also keeps the grains cooler, so they don't heat as much during the grinding process. 

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Tips for Staying on Track During the Holidays

Holidays and spending time with family can be challenging when we're transitioning. Planning ahead is your best strategy. Be sure to contribute something raw to the meal that others will enjoy, but that you'll also have to fall back on. It helps me to bring dessert, so I'm  less tempted to eat some sugary snack I'll really regret later.(By the way, the photo is of raw cookies wrapped for a holiday gift!)

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Purple Corn Water

Another fun find from The Raw Food World was Purple Corn Kernels. I originally purchased them with the intent of making blue corn chips, however, discovered just how potent these lil kernels are. What makes purple corn such a beautiful, deep shade of purple is a pigment called anthocyanin, one of the most active antioxidant substances in the vegetable world. 

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Mesquite Powder is Yummy and Helps Curb Your Appetite

Not only does mesquite powder taste great, it satisfies your hunger and helps to stabilize blood sugar, but it's a great source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc, and contains the amino acid lysine. Mesquite powder is also high in dietary fiber and protein! I use it in smoothies, drinks and other desserts. It partners really well with cacao powder.

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Green Smoothie Challenge - Day # 10 (9 and 8)

Woohoo! I did it. Today is the tenth day of my personal green smoothie challenge with at least one green smoothie a day for ten days. I notice increased energy and I'm walking several times a week, which I've not been motivated to or able to do in a very long time...and I'm loving it.

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Less of Me!!!

Update: Today I am minus 15 pounds!!! I have a feeling the program that Dr. Elgarten has me on this week will produce even more weight loss. The only problem is that I have to eat a lot of jasmine rice, nama shoyu and veggies. It makes it more challenging to eat raw meals, for sure, but I will do my best.

I have been chopping up celery, raw pecans and raw sesame seeds, and adding them to the rice/shoyu mixture, and it is pretty tasty. Also, this week, minimal onions and garlic, and no fruits, juices or sweets. Whatever the doc is doing, is helping.

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A Love Affair With Food

I titled one of my previous posts "I am having a rawnchy love affair with chocolate," but what I should have said, is I "am having a love affair with food!" Seriously. This is a huge transformation for me. I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food and struggled with cravings, never really feeling satisfied. My weight problem is not from eating too much, but from a combination of health issues and eating the wrong things. When I did let myself binge, I'd BINGE, fall into a spiral, and then make things worse by rationalizing, "Oh hell, I already screwed up, why stop here." Instead of having a few spoonfuls of ice cream, I'd eat the whole pint. I couldn't have it hanging around in my freezer, haunting me.

Since I have started this program, I have more energy, less mood swings, and  I feel elated. Here I am, home bound for the most part, still in quite a bit of pain...and I feel elated, excited and passionate about food.

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Broken... and a Lot of Rice

(Painting by Lindsey E. Shevkun)

I am on a more restrictive diet this week as it's been a really rough "IC" week and this is what my Doc "prescribed." I have to consume 2-4 cups of jasmine rice each day with Nama Shoyu, and lots of fiber dense veggies, raw pecans and walnuts. While eating all of this rice, trying to do raw veggies feels more daunting.  I have to get more creative.  I may consider slightly steaming some of the veggies or putting in the dehydrator to soften a bit.

I am really tired of feeling so "broken"...

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The Journey - Scrub it away!!!

(Painting by Lindsey E. Shevkun)

It has been about 2.5 months since I started "the program." I have been so immersed in getting this page together and posting recipes along with decent photographs, that I have been avoiding broaching anything personal. So here I go...

Some positive things noted: I am in better spirits with less mood swings. W and I are getting along better than ever. Although, the IC is still present in my life, I think I look better, my skin is clearer, eyes brighter. I have observed those things in W as well. 

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First Resolution for the New Year

It has been a rough ride this past  year. I was laid off over a year ago. I was Director of Customer Support. It was very stressful and I believe the stress and constant commuting contributed to the return of my IC, which slowly but surely has crept back into my life. It had been noticeable for over a year, but over the past 6 mos it has gotten progressively worse. At this point, I don't even venture out of the house too much. It hurts to walk and I am simply uncomfortable going places. Try to imagine the sensation of a football in your abdomen, well, not just any football, a football that looks and feels more like a porcupine! Seriously. Interstitial Cystitis is an awful disease and I will do whatever I need to do in order to eliminate it from my life.

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