Day 230: Finding PURE Joy

I hope everyone has enjoyed the summer, for us ... this is back to school week so life will surely be returning back to normal. 

It has been about a month now and I have to update you on Lindsey's health at this point.  She is still in the thick of the storm of dealing with her Lupus outbreak and bless her heart, she is amazingly strong.  Still not able to go back to work, she is weak, tired and handling complications like an angel.  Every text, every call, every email every time I see her she sounds as if God has given her the ability to tackle this with strength and courage like I could ever only dream of.  After each and every encounter, I would find myself look around my house at my frustrations that were getting me down whether it be my messy house, the undone laundry, the fighting siblings - and it reminded me that it's all in how we handle things.  God never gives us more than we can't handle.  Thank you for your prayers.

Now, back to the green talk ...

Here is my question that I have been pondering this week as I enter back into my routine in less than 12 hours.  Pressure and joy.  Do you feel pressure when it comes to eating? Do you find joy in eating? 

I heard a quote the other day:

~ Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale. ~

As I was making my green smoothie (yes, I am making a batch of smoothies tonight so they are ready and waiting for me in the morning ... no excuses!) and I was thinking about the joy in foods and wondering if the amount of pressure to eat green and healthy is overtaking my joy?
 

A friend told me over the weekend that she felt too much pressure trying to eat raw/green and it became unpleasureable.  We put so much pressure on ourselves (or maybe I just do) - to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, to fit into the perfect jeans, ... but I know through my relationship with God that we are far from perfect (except for those great new jeans sometimes that are very close to perfection!) but that doesn't mean we don't strive to try for perfection.  We are human.  

However, it did make me realize that I need to recapture the joy that comes from eating and I do know that eating green and healthy does result in happiness.  Mentally, physically and emotionally.  Now it's the pressure.  The pressure to eat green and healthy sometimes outweighs the reason for joy behind it.  I think I just confused my myself.

Tomorrow, it's back to basics to enjoy the YUMMY green goodness that I am now excited for!  I hope you find joy and pleasure out of what you put in your mouth and it makes you feel GOOD!  

HAPPY GREEN!!!

Day 203: A call out for prayer ...

I know that I have been missing for a while ... summer is getting the best of me along with a spilled sippy cup on my computer that no longer exists. But this post deserved borrowing my husbands computer to not quite discuss greens but to ask for your prayers.

You have all heard me talk and write about Lindsey who suffers from Lupus and who was the reason behind all of this ... she needs us and needs our prayers. After a wonderful trip with her husband to celebrate their anniversary (on her pretty pic below!) she is now in the hospital with an unusually strong flare of her lupus condition. Remember, I am in no way a doctor (even though I think I am after many seasons of Greys Anatomy) and cannot tell you exactly the reasons behind all of this but know she is not doing well. The doctors think traveling, stress and the sun could all be factors knowing she is on a healthy eating path but the body is a strange phenomenon that nobody can be exact how and why this is all happening.

Please pray for her, keep her in your good thoughts, enjoy a green smoothie in her honor, make a good choice in your food selection knowing how quickly our bodies can fail us, anything ... but please lift her up! You all have been such an encouragement to me and I know it will pass along in great lengths to her!

I promise to keep you posted and to get a new computer soon to be back with many green stories!

In the meantime, stay green and enjoy the summer...!!

HAPPY GREEN!!!

Day 169: Exercise and Raw

Here is the thought of the day (actually the week if I am honest).  How is eating raw going to give me all of the energy and strength I need with all of my exercising??

Let me back up - I have a love/hate relationship with working out.  When I became a mom 4 years ago - it definitely became more of a love.  It's a good release of stress, some 'me' time and all around good for the soul!  Every blue moon, I decide I need to do something crazy and sign up for something to keep me motivated - this time around it was my little brother (can you still call him 'little' after he turns 30?)  that got me to sign up for a trail run in Atlanta this fall.  You could call it peer pressure, needing a goal to achieve or stupidity but I said yes - so my brother, sister in law, husband and my sister (whoo hoo) will all be doing the 12 mile trail run in the mountains of Georgia.   Mystery Mountain Marathon, here we come ...

Ok, back to the raw thing.  Am I getting enough protein to be working out like crazy like I am?  It has all been trial and error - I have noticed I am eating more and craving more - but I have been doing a lot of research and most say that you get more energy and stamina from the raw diet.  I have been eating a  lot of Subway for lunch - but I order the kids mini sub on wheat bread with only veggies and no dressing - can you say YUM?!  Normally, I wouldn't eat any grains during the daytime (only for dinner) but I am changing things up a bit now that I am burning a lot of calories and need more energy. 

Any suggestions??

It's been a GREAT week and such a good reminder of how good it feels to sweat like crazy and feel sore from the exercise, combined with my eating ... good things all around.

HAPPY GREEN!!!

Day 163: Summer Time

Hi, my name is Erin ... and I am a summer-aholic!  I am not sure where the time goes or what I have been doing but June is almost OVER and I haven't written forever ...  Happy Summer!

I will be honest with you - there are some days when I sit down to blog and wonder what to write! Trust me -- there is A LOT on my mind that I want to share with you but am not sure where the days go.  I could share that ...

I have been making some wonderful meals for the summer that are light and easy - lots for friends and bbq's that they don't even realize they are eating raw (it's kind of fun not to tell!) 

or 

all of the amazing people that surround me that are dabbling in raw and loving every second of it 

or 

the countless ideas I have of starting a business that caters to pre-made raw items or green popsicles for kids to name a few. 

Lots going on in this green mind of mine!

But mainly, I am not sure if it's the heat or the bikini that has to be worn with the summer being here - it's easier to eat raw and healthy this time of year.  Who wants to eat big meals that make you feel tired and bloated when you have to chase your kids around in your swim suit (and I mean that literally - chase!!!).  Not me! So I find myself eating in such regular habits that I constantly crave my greens and love being outside and making it to the gym.  It's good for the soul - and mind these days : )  

I am hoping to share a few other stories with you over the next month to let you in on others who have tried going raw - their good, bad and ugly of the program.  I love reading in magazines the 'real stories' so I thought you may too!

I hope your summers are going GREAT, please share!

Hugs and love ... and 

HAPPY GREEN!!!

Day 144: Mission complete.

Hooray!!! For those of you that did a cleanse (of any kind...!) YOU DID IT, WE DID IT!!! Well, technically not yet ... but we are so close I can taste it!

I hope you feel amazing like I do ... I would love to hear how you feel!  I do know that when I take on challenges like this it makes me feel so good about a lot in my life.   Four days seemed like a long time in the beginning but now I am not sure where the week has gone.  I can sometimes feel like there is never enough time in the day - that there is always something more I could be doing - and I am never doing quite enough.  But doing something like this reminds me to slow down and with the drive and the desire - it all can be done.  

I realized how beautiful eating can really be.  I am definitely one of those people that chews without even thinking what just went in my  mouth - or I look back on the day and never remember some of the things that went in my mouth.

So not only do I feel better about what I put in my body the past few days - I was reminded that food is meant for nourishing the body.  What we put in our bodies directly effects so many things - our thoughts, our moods, our health, our pant size and much more.  

Thank you for your support, for encouraging me and for allowing me to remember that eating green is a choice and one that I am grateful for making.

Happy weekend ... and 

HAPPY GREEN!!!

Day 141: Day ONE of Round TWO Cleansing

Day ONE of cleansing is almost to an end ...

I have to admit - this was not an easy day! I woke up excited to start this and that is half the battle ...

I had my green lemonade for breakfast and was off to the races.  I dropped the kids off at school and headed to the gym - I felt really good but was hungry as can be afterward.  I even tried to go through McDonald's for a smoothie but their machine was being cleaned. I think I had a brief moment where I wanted to crawl through the intercom and find the person responsible for this! I quickly composed myself and filled my water bottle.  Did you know that you can order one of the fruit smoothies from McD's without the dairy and it's raw??  Brilliant. 

The rest of day was full of green smoothies.  I know that body is thanking me for this but my tummy is wanting some of those bad yummies so it's been a battle that I will win.  One hour at a time, one meal at a time, one day at a time.

I am ready for bed - maybe it's because I am tired but also ready for Day TWO!

Day 140: Prep & More!

It's time to cleanse and I am excited that some of you will be joining me on these next few days ...

Most detox mixtures (like the lemon/cayenne pepper/honey mix) just lift the toxins into the bloodstream. When you stop the detox your body re-absorbs the toxins hence weight again. 

Solution: practice a deeper cleanse (green smoothie) as the first meal of the day

(Lunch too!)  to not only lift but to release toxins so weight drops completely. 

Here are my recipes that I will be using for now ... let me know what you are using and we can share!

Green Smoothie (made in the blender)

                             

(~4 servings)

1.5 cup spring water or more

1 head romaine lettuce

4 stalks celery

1 bunch cilantro (optional)

1 bunch parsley

1 bag spinach

1 whole lemon

2 apples

2 pears

1 banana

- Rinse all fresh produce

-Chop into small pieces then feed into blender.  IMPORTANT – otherwise your blender will get stuck!

-Add small amounts of water as you go to keep solution moist.

-Container will fill 2-3xs!  Please empty into large pitcher each time.

-Makes ~4 -5 servings.

*Its an acquired tastes so beginners may also like to add unsweetened fruit juice or carrots to the drink. 

 

  

I will also be mixing in my Green Lemonade ... here is the recipe again:

 

Green Lemonade (made in the juicer)

 

1 head romaine lettuce

5-6 leaves of spinach, kale, collards, celery, or dandelion greens, etc. (I use kale

1 whole lemon – peel, seeds, and all (Meyer lemons are sweeter)

2 fuji apples, cored (use 3 if you want to make it sweeter)

 

Juice and drink up right away.

Ok ...

There are a few ways you can do this -

1. Drink the green smoothies/lemonade for breakfast and lunch ... then for dinner eat a piece of fish or chicken with steamed veggies. 

or

 

2. Drink the green smoothies/lemonade for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

 

I like to do things in small steps - try it out for ONE day ... see how you feel - you may be ready to stop or you may be ready to try ONE more day ... before you know it, you have done it longer than you could have imagined.  You can do this and we will do it TOGETHER.

 

 

 HAPPY GREEN!!!