Tuesday, May 31, 2011

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!

Monday, May 30, 2011

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!!!


Sunday, May 29, 2011

Day 139: One more Day!

One more day of this ... then it's a FOUR day cleanse!  Anyone ready to join me??

Also, I created a page for Raw For A Reason on Facebook ... please click here to join:

Raw For A Reason Facebook

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Be safe : )

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Day 138: Cleanse anyone???

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

I am cleaning my house ... as my daughter sleeps I am going over in my head all of the yummies (but not so yummy) things I have eaten this month and have not helped my summer wardrobe or my internal highways!  Graduation parties, birthday celebrations, holiday bbq's, and more ... I need a cleanse (just like my house did today). Anyone want to join me???



I, like everyone else ... will fully enjoy this holiday weekend but am ready to start Tuesday off with a 4 day cleanse to get me back in the right mindset to eat clean and raw day in and day out.  Or maybe you just need to cleanse out your weekend eats and need to feel better about summer - whatever your reason may be - let's do it together.   I will be drinking my delicious smoothies and lemonades starting Tuesday morning through Friday evening at every meal (you could do something a little different) ... that doesn't mean it won't last longer but I like to think in baby steps.  I do well with an end date in sight ☺

So - anyone care to join me? Let's do it together ... we all are better when we have accountability!  We can keep each other excited, share recipes and conquer this short term goal together.

Load up on the greens this weekend (even if it's Monday night after the festivities wrap up!) ... and let's start off our summers together.  

I will be buying LOTS of:
Romaine Lettuce
Kale
Lemons
Apples
Pears
ANY fruit that looks yummy! (strawberries, blueberries, etc)
Parlsey
Celery
Coconut Water
...I'll let you know if I find more.   Go by your local farmers market!


Let me know ... hopefully we are friends on Facebook (if not, let's be!) and I will make a group page for us - this is the way to reach a goal for yourself, take the first step to say YES and we can do the rest together ... as Nike says, LET'S DO IT!

Happy Weekend and ...

HAPPY GREEN!!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Day 134: Thank you!!!! And a little something for you ...

THANK YOU to all that came out tonight!  I honestly was hoping if there were a handful of people that came I would be okay with it ... and it was a full house! Sweet Tammi from Mama Jeans said it was the biggest turnout they have had for anyone that is not nationally known - I am humbled and thrilled. 

I am inspired by all of you that are interested in knowing more about eating raw - enjoying a healthy lifestyle and living a green life.  Please let me know if I was not able to answer any questions or you need anything - I would LOVE to get a group together to support, encourage and be there for one another.  You amaze me.

As a THANK YOU ...


The first person to sign up as a new 'follower' on my blog will receive a $20 gift card to Mama Jeans that attended this evening - hopefully it will help you begin your new raw journey! Please leave a comment that you were there tonight and it's all yours - and again, thank you for coming ... you all made my week ♥

HAPPY GREEN!!!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Day 132: You're Invited!





I wanted to invite everyone (ok ... I guess just those who live in Springfield) to join me (and hopefully my friend Lindsey) to Mama Jeans tomorrow evening to TALK RAW!  They have graciously asked me to speak tomorrow evening about my journey, I am both flattered and excited!

Mama Jean's Market
North Store
1727 S. Campbell
417-831-5229
Tuesday, May 24th
6-7pm


I am bringing some goodies ... a giveaway and I'm sure the word 'poop' will be used ... good times all around. There will be LOTS of great info about eating a clean and healthy diet, how to eat raw as much or as little as you would are ready for in your lives!   But puh-lease stop by if you can!!  Would love to see your smiling faces and meet some new ones. ☺

And to all that cannot make it ... I still love you and for following this journey!  To my dear friends Tasha and Loren who live in different states, I REALLY wish you could be there as  you get ready to start your own journey ... I am cheering you on from afar and can't WAIT to hear your successes, big and small!

I'll be back to let you know how it goes, wish me luck!  Do you think anyone will show up??? Ahhhhhhhh!!

HAPPY GREEN!!!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Day 119: Proper combining ... and the AHA moment!

Life is crazy these days ... and I have missed writing about my journey!! So, I am back ...

Raw is going well. Not so much over Mother's Day weekend but a girls gotta indulge, right??

BUT, the great thing about eating healthy and raw is ... you always come right back to making your body, mind and spirit healthy after actually seeing and feeling the benefits. So as good as that yummy ice cream was to finish off my Mama's Day ... it was right back to 'doin' a body good' on Monday.  

I thought I would share with you my 'blueprint' on how I eat and the categories that I have mentioned a few times.  No matter how you eat, this is and hopefully will be an 'aha' moment for you.


Here goes:

There are 4 basic foods for the purpose of our body - 

1. Starches
2. Fleshes
3. Nuts/Dried Fruits
4. Fresh Fruit

To give you the Easy 101 behind all of this, these food groups should NEVER be combined.   I have described to you before that our digestive tract is much like a highway - if you block the lanes, you have a traffic jam which means it doesn't properly digest and that is extra weight we are holding on to. Yes, weight...the extra pounds we all would like to go away!  Sooooo, if you follow these groups, then your highway will always be traffic-free and your body will start to shed the extra weight it is holding on to!  IT'S THAT EASY, I promise!

Here is a chart that I LIVE by and basically plan my meals around:


I know the picture didn't come out so well ... let me know if you want a copy and I can email it to you!  

How do you do use this chart?  It maps out how you should combine your foods throughout the day.  Vegetables (fresh and steamed) can be combined with the first 3 categories ... Fruit should always be eaten by itself. I know, I have told you that before ... it even got it's own post!  

If you're going to have a 'flesh' for dinner, eat a wonderful piece of fish, or anything else you see on the list above (preferably organic but who am I to say!) and have a great BIG side of steamed vegetables on the side.  And my goodness, have another piece of meat/fish that you made, better to eat more in the same category than go to another food group.   BUT don't put rice with the meal because it's in a different group.  At our house, I used to make a meat/fish for an entree, vegetables (my mom always said there had to be a color on the plate) and some brown rice ... I was wrong!  The meat (flesh) and the rice (starch) cancel each other out and don't properly digest in your system.  Basically (mom, cover your ears) ... the two get stuck in your digestive tract and it could be weeks before you poop it out!  GROSS, I know but I have never talked about poop so much.  But that's the way it works, folks! You eat, you poop. There is no extra 'weight' in your body that turns to fat.  

And don't get my started on fruit ... if you were to eat the yummy meal I mentioned above and then have a bowl of fresh fruit afterwards for dessert, it ferments that delicious meal you just ate ... yes, ROTS the food and it doesn't come out.  Yes ... this was MY 'aha' moment in eating.  It's all about the 'Quick Exit combinations'.  And it works.  Try it for a week but don't forget to let me know how it goes.  There is A LOT you can eat on the table above that most of you didn't know!


Ok, that was exhausting ... I hope that makes some sort of sense to you.  Let me know if you have questions or if I can send any info to you!!  Summertime is right around the corner ... that goes for me too! Happy combining ... and 


HAPPY GREEN!!!