Slump in the Eating

So today was a little rough. The day started out great. I had an appointment with a woman to do a Journey process. I got up, made my green smoothie, put it in a big travel container, packed some nuts and an apple and headed out. I felt great.



The appointment finished up around 12:30 and I wasn't really that hungry so I had a handful of nuts and went to Whole Foods. A little later I had my apple. By the time I got home I was dragging. I was so tired that I couldn't stand it. I decided to just eat a cooked sweet potato that I had because it required no preparation. It didn't help. I decided to rest on the couch.



For dinner I had some cauliflower soup. This was really yummy and I enjoyed it. I felt a little better but still really tired. I hope I get some more energy tomorrow.



Cauliflower Soup

I sauteed 1/2 onion and 2 garlic cloves, minced in some olive oil until soft. I threw in 1/2 head cauliflower and 2 carrots chopped up and covered the vegies with the vegie stock I made. I added some salt and pepper and cooked until the vegies were soft. I pureed it up and yum, yum.



That's it. Short and sweet today.

I love Belief Changes!

I am so excited today because after realizing my backwards thinking I was able to do a 15 minute process and clear it. It was so powerful to realize what I had been holding onto all these years and set myself free from it.



For those of you who don't know I have spent the last year and a half in a practitioners program for The Journey. This is where I learned this powerful process and so many more. It has been life changing for me and if you want to read more about it you can go to my website www.RealLivingToday



So today I had a green smoothie for breakfast. It had 2 bananas some fresh squeezed orange juice and a load of spinach. It was a vibrant green color and tasted beautiful and sweet. I couldn't even taste the spinach. If you haven't tried a green smoothie, go for it.



Mid morning I got hungry again and decided to bring out my juicer. I was listening to Mike Nash on Raw Summit 2 and he was talking about green juices so I went in the kitchen and juiced away. I used kale, spinach, apple and lemon. It tasted pretty yummy and looked great. I got a bit of headache from it so I need to do a little research to find out why. I will keep you posted.



For lunch I made the kale cole slaw again.



For dinner I had the same thing as yesterday, stew and sweet potato. I know I am a bit boring but I am trying to be cost efficient and not waste any food. It is shocking how much food you get from a head of cabbage!



I took the leftover vegetables and threw them in a pot with some water to make a vegetable stock. I will use that for the next dinner I decide to make. I plan on shopping tomorrow and preparing a new group of foods.



I really enjoyed listening to Mike Nash. He said a lot of things that make sense to me. He talked about getting in the game of health. If that means incorporating just one thing into your life that leads you to health then good for you, you are in the game. By looking at it that way it makes it easier to stay in the game and win. Makes total sense to me.



He also talked about an experiment they did with animals. There were 3 groups. Group 1 was fed the best, raw and healthy diet. Group 2 was fed the worst, most horrible processed diet. The results for these two groups were obvious. Group 1 showed signs of excellent health and group 2 showed signs of degeneration and aggressive behavior.



The cool thing is that group 3 was fed the unhealthy diet of group 2 for half the study and had the same results. Half way through they were switched to group 1's diet and by the end of the study they were showing the same results as group 1.



It just goes to show that even if we have screwed up in the past that there is still a chance to turn in around. He said that within 2 years people can get everything back in balance. Now there is some hope! He is starting a v-log where he will be sending out weekly email tips. You can check it out here .



OK, so that is it for today. I am feeling really happy and uplifted today. I am grateful for the wake up and for the opportunity to start again. Woo Hoo!

Day 2

For breakfast this morning I had the leftover fruit salad that I made yesterday. That stuff is good. I only made 1/2 the recipe which I think was a mistake. I am going to have to make some more.

I had an orange for a snack

For lunch I had a delicious kale coleslaw that I found on the 30days raw site. The recipe is posted on Episode 6 and there is even a video of her making it that you can watch.


The last time I went raw I would have never made this recipe because it has miso in the dressing which isn't raw. I was very strict about it. This time I am being flexible especially in the beginning stages of this shift. I am so glad because I LoVeD, LoVeD, LoVeD this salad. It is truly yummy so check it out.

For dinner I had the second half of my moroccan stew and I had some baked sweet potato drizzled with olive oil. Oh boy is that a good winter meal. So satisfying and fulfilling.

A couple of days ago I was sick and lying in bed with a pounding headache. I couldn't sleep and I started talking to myself. "Why do you do this to yourself?" was where it started. "Why do you continue to eat such unhealthy foods that make you sick and overweight?"

The answer I got was a bit surprising to me. It was definitely a light bulb moment for me and I hope I am able to express it here in words because I struggled to explain it to my husband but here goes.

I read this book called The Astonishing Power of Emotions by Esther and Jerry Hicks. The premise of the book is that the more time you spend feeling good the more you are doing what you are meant to do. They explain it as navigating a river. So often people spend so much time paddling up river in their lives with the struggles and the unhappy feelings, it is all upstream. The goal is to turn the canoe and head downstream. Relax and enjoy life and when you are doing this you know you are on the right path.

Now here is where my lightbulb moment came. I realized that my thinking was backwards when it came to what I put in my body. I guess I always felt that when I ate something unhealthy I was going downstream because it was easier or because it tasted good and gave me enjoyment.

What actually occured to me however is that it is the complete opposite. When I am eating healthy and nurturing my body I am going downstream. It may require willpower, stamina or some extra thought and planning and it is still downstream because in the end it makes me feel good about myself and it puts me on the path to a healthier physical body.

I guess maybe I should call it a "duh" moment because it is so simple. When you have a thought pattern that is unconsious, however it is very powerful. Recognizing this pattern is a good first step and now I will clear it out by doing a belief change process. Yippee! Another big step for Michelle.

Here I go!

I am beginning this blog to keep track of my ongoing (and soon to be ending) battle with food. I went raw for about 4 months in the summer of 2006. I lost a good amount of weight, looked good, felt pretty good, and then I fell off the wagon.

I can remember while I was raw hearing people say that they had fallen off the raw wagon and I couldn't understand how it could happen. Well, now I know. For me it was a mixture of the cold weather approaching and the feelings I was having that I was missing out on something. I started by saying to my husband, "I will just eat a cooked meal when we go out for dinner". Then I was at a hypnotherapy class and it was cold outside so I ate cooked food that day and by the end of the week, I was off raw.

The funny thing is I didn't just go off raw and start eating a healthy cooked food diet. I went crazy! I ate processed foods, sugar, pizza, beer, anything and everything I could get my hands on. I went berserk and in the process I have gained back all my weight and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror yesterday and it scared me. My skin is dull, my face is round and I have more than one chin. I have lost that vibrant and healthy look that I had.

OK, so I screwed up. I need to deal with that and move on! Now, what to do? I am going to ease back into the raw thing. I have decided that for right now I am going to be gentle with myself. I am not up for a heavy duty detox and after listening to Sergei Boutenko on Raw Summit 2 talking about the detox symptoms being unnecessary I have decided that makes a lot of sense.

I will not rush it and I will not allow myself to feel like a frozen popsicle. I will begin by eating one cooked meal each day; something warm and comforting. I will drink tea to keep me warm. I will not punish myself for not being 100% raw. Every step I take will be a step in the right direction so I intend to take it easy and not get too freaked out about everything.

I think this is a good path for me because it isn't too radical. I tend to do things full force for a while and then I back off. This is new for me so it is an experiment. I will keep track of what I eat, how I feel and I will share any recipes I enjoy.

So here is what I ate yesterday:
For breakfast I had 2 bananas
For lunch I made a RAW cranberry cole slaw. I didn't really like it so there is no sense sharing the recipe.
I made this RAW cranberry fruit salad that was yummy. I had that for a snack. My 7 year old shared it with me.
For dinner I had COOKED Moroccan Vegetable Soup which was simply lovely.

I felt good for most of the day. I ate dinner rather early because I was so hungry. I was worried that I was going to want to eat all night long but I didn't. In fact it was probably the earliest I stopped eating in a long time. I had a cup of herbal tea about 9:00 and that was it. I am feeling excited. I think this is a good move for me!

The two recipes I will share with you are ones I got off the Internet. I didn't think I was going to be starting the blog so I am unable to give credit to the creator of the cranberry salad.

Cranberry Salad (raw) -
1 orange (grate the peel and then cut up the flesh)
2 C. cranberries chopped (I threw them in a mini food processor)
2 pears chopped
1 sweet apple chopped
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans chopped
4 ribs celery chopped (I used less cuz I am not a fan of celery)
1/2 c raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 c raw honey (I didn't have any so I used a drizzle of agave)

Moroccan Vegetable Stew
by Kendra LaPreste, Massachusetts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 med. carrots, chopped chunky
14.5 oz can diced organic tomatoes
1 large pinch saffron threads (I didn't have this so I threw some turmeric in instead)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
15 oz can cannellini or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 C. peas, fresh or frozen
1/2 lb spinach, washed, stemmed and chopped

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and saute until softened.
2. Add tomato paste and cook additional 3-4 minutes
3. Stir in tomatoes, saffron, red pepper flakes, cinnamon and ginger and simmer uncovered for 5 min.
4. Add beans, salt and pepper and 1 3/4 cups water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 min.
5. Add peas and spinach and cook uncovered another 2 minutes, just until the spinach is wilted.