Yesterday, I was soaking eggplant strips in a spicy sauce that I had concocted and spreading them out for dehydration. As usual, bits of eggplant were strewn across the floor and the island top was covered with spices, vinegar, etc. My husband passed through the kitchen, smiled while shaking his head, but didn't bother to ask what I was making. It was hard not to feel a little sorry for him. He's used to seeing me make a huge mess from baking. Goo on my face. Flour on my clothes. A true vision of grubbiness! But these days there isn't much baking action. I'm still pretty good at making a huge mess in the kitchen, though. "SAD"ly, I think he is longing for the old days when the smells of pies, crumbles, cakes and cobblers wafted through the house. Mental note to self to make a special dessert for John. Anyway, I was making my own version of eggplant "bacon." The last time I ate real bacon was 30 years ago, if not longer, but I can still remember it's taste. And my raw eggplant "bacon" - - - was nothing like it. No matter. I liked how it turned out, even though I didn't have the patience to wait until it got crispy. I kept sampling it at various stages of sogginess and before I knew it, it was all gone!


My favorite raw vegan

ha ! i did the same thing with my version of eggplant bacon i used a bit of liquid smoke and it turned out pretty good .. not bacony but was still good mine didnt make it to crispy either lol

i should make some more (to crispy stage) lol again for my salads

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Hey Jodi!!!! Wow it has been forever since i have been on here!!! I just saw an episode of Wife Swap, and there was a raw vegan family switched with a family that hunts for everything, but it wasn't the one we saw a couple years ago!!
Anyway, you were the first one on the diary page, and i remember how much i loved yoU!! you were so sweet and so wonderful to always talk to! My life has been a complete upside mess and i am doing so much better!! I just moved back to san diego this month as well which is very exciting, and scary!! I think it will be good for me to be out of orange county!!!
how are you??
love always
sachelle
xoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

For months, I had been keeping my fat intake at 10% or less and was feeling so good that I thought it would be fine to relax and go with the amount of avocado, seeds, and nuts that my intuition said was alright to eat. It was okay for a few days, but yesterday and today I have had indigestion and a slight sore throat from acid reflux, my old nemesis. Grrrr.

I'm embarassed that I recently wrote on other threads that I was finding it fine to eat 10 to 20% fat. (Sorry.)

Right now I am feeling bad physically and I can't help but feel discouraged, even though I know that all I need to do is go back to eating low fat and I'll be fine again. Nonetheless, BLEAH....

This past week I have been involved in a project that has prevented me from hiking in the mornings. I am missing those endorphins! So that too has affected my mood negatively.

And to make things worse, I haven't slept well for the last two nights. I'm sure that's because of not exercising.

All of a sudden I find myself in a downward spiral.
Why have I let things fall apart? I had been doing so well for months!

Okay, enough. Please pardon my moaning and complaining. Tomorrow I will eat right and exercise. When you fall off the horse (or donkey, as the case may be!), you just have to get right back up on it and ride, right?


My favorite raw vegan

Brief Update:

Back on low fat (10% or less) and no spicy additions to salad dressings.
(What was I thinking?)
Already I feel much better. (Whew!)


My favorite raw vegan

Things aren't really going so well. I thought getting back to lowfat and not spicy would get me back on track, and it seemed to be, but I have been derailed by fumes from my painting project. I painted our house when it was being built, but had some unfinished doors and woodwork that I have finally gotten to. However, for the first time, the fumes were irritating to me even though I had windows and doors open. I have finished the job, but my sinuses remain congested and the real problem is that my throat is sore from postnasal drip - at least, I think that is what is causing it to hurt. I couldn't decide if it was from that or from acid reflux or both or an infection? AAARRRRRGGGGG!!!!! I HATE feeling bad. I have (had?) a self-image of myself as a strong and healthy person, but I'm fighting to hold onto that.

Anyway, I figure that this current health issue is my body telling me to stay away from paint fumes, that the nasal congestion is detoxing and that the pain in my throat will go away when my sinuses clear up. Had I known how I'd be feeling, I wouldn't have done it, but here I am. No more house painting for me! My worry is that it has been a few days now and I am still not right. It really hurts to swallow. I wonder how long it will take for me to get back to normal. How long should I wait before I go to a doctor?

Oh, for the bad old days when I could and did eat anything and never feel a twinge. Now I'm eating 99.something% raw food and it seems that I am sensitive to lots of "foods" and irritants that never bothered me before. (Sigh.) The good side of it is that I LOVE raw food and don't feel deprived. It took me a long while to get better from acid reflux, but I did get better. I trust that I will heal soon from this setback from painting fumes too.


My favorite raw vegan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2010 01:17PM by Trive.

Today, we had window washers come to our house to wash some big windows, some that are small and high and others that are just plain hard to reach. I was talking with one of the men who was American-born (as I am). Since we have both chosen to live in New Zealand, we had lots to compare and discuss about emigrating from the US and living in a foreign culture. We chatted for a while, and then he asked me how my diet had changed since being in this country. I explained that I now eat an unusual, but very healthy diet of raw food. He said, "I do too!" I was flabbergasted! This is the first real life raw food person I have met - - ever. What a co-inkydink! In my own house!!!!

He said he ate 100% raw for three years, although now he includes small amounts of cooked in his diet. We discussed reasons why, etc. I enjoyed hearing him talk about loving eating seaweed and enjoying surfing. He said that sometimes he eats sea lettuce when he is out on his board! He thought that he was the only person who ate raw food in Whakatane and so did I. Now I wonder: Are there other raw fooders in Whakatane?????


My favorite raw vegan

The good news is that I'm feeling fine. Back to normal health. Yay!
The better news is that there is no bad news. Yipee!

What's working for me now is heavy on the fruit, few nuts if any, few seeds, some avocado, lots of lettuce, light on the harder to digest veggies, and very easy on spices. I have been trying to slowly wean myself from Braggs (which I put on salads), but the operative word is "slowly." It's my last "vice." I wish I didn't like how it tastes because I know it has too much salt and probably other stuff that's not good for me. Alas, I haven't had the willpower to quit using it yet.

Something I've noticed lately is that the smell of baking is an unpleasant odor now. I have no desire for sugary foods or fatty foods. I am grateful that I don't have cravings for cooked foods. It is fortunate that I love eating the way I have to eat.


My favorite raw vegan

I have been curious about fasting, but have never had the willpower to succeed at it. Whenever I have entertained the thought of fasting, my inner demons scream for me to EAT, EAT, EAT! It is almost as though I feel the "need" to cram in as much food as I can before winter hibernation or that I have an irrational fear of starving. It's an unhealthy mindset, so I avoid that neurotic scene and haven't ever fasted.

However, yesterday I didn't have anything for breakfast and then was out with a group of people the whole day. (It was a fantastic day, by the way. There has been a wild dolphin in town, called Moko, that loves interacting with people. We saw it by the river mouth early. Then midday, my husband and some others in our group got in the water and had an incredible time playing with him at Otarawairere beach. I didn't have a bathing suit so didn't get in with them. It was fun just watching. Moko would steal boogie boards and play keep-away with the owners!) When our group stopped at a cafe for lunch there was nothing I could eat there - NOTHING, so I drank two clear organic juices. We didn't get home until late and I went to bed exhausted from the day's activities. So, by default, I sort of fasted for a day. Oddly, I was so involved with the people we were with that I didn't miss food or think about it. Maybe there is hope for me to try fasting for real someday.

P.S.: When I woke the next morning I had a pimple on my chin. It's weird to be 54 and have a breakout. At least I know it was a detox symptom.


My favorite raw vegan

was just reading back up to yoru sinus troubles ..

Trive have you ever tried using a Neti - pot? I used one for the first time last year and my sinuses have NEVER ever been 100% clear both sides at the same time like EVER .. i had so much gunk come out after doing it once a day for a week strait my sinus are so clear now and i can breathe through both sides at once .. truly awesome in my books i use it now once a week or twice

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jodi,

I read about neti pots on a forum here somewhere. Maybe it was you who wrote about them a few months ago? I've never seen a neti pot in any store or even heard of them before, but was curious to see how it worked. So, I put warm salt water in a tea pot (that I had never used to make tea) and gave it a try. Yes, it dribbled, but it did the trick. Amazing. I expected to feel like I was drowning. Instead, it cleaned my sinuses. And I thought it was my fate to always have just one nostril at a time that I could breathe through. (I had just accepted that I had allergies to something in the air.)

Vegan raw food + drinking lots of liquids + a neti pot = clear sinuses. Who knew?

I'm glad you wrote to me about it, though, because I didn't follow up. I needed a reminder. Now I need to locate a store that has them or an internet source. A real neti pot would be great to have.

Thanks.


My favorite raw vegan

yes the neti pot looks like a mini tea pot just the spout hole is small enough to fit in the average nostril just make ing a seal so you dont get the leak

(i tried a teapot first time too )

mines just a plastic cheap one i got at a drug store but im always on the scout for a nice ceramic one or a non aluminum metal one or maybe a glass one !

i saw a bazillion of them in india when i was there wish id grabbed a bunch but wasnt into the neti thing then and didnt know what they were lol

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Drat! I blew up a blender this morning. There I was... all ready for a banana-blueberry, green smoothie. Mmmmmm. Mixed lettuces, banana, water, orange juice and blueberries (frozen). It's that last ingredient that gave me trouble. Zzzzzzt. I should have added just a few frozen blueberries at a time, but went overboard - as in all of the blueberries at once. Impatient. Dare I admit - stupid. Although it was a secondhand blender, I liked it better than my other one which is attached to the food processor. Unfortunately, it is smaller and sort of a hassle to use. Grrrrr. I wish I had the money for a superduper blender (and juicer, and dehydrator). Now is not the time. Alas, some day....

Another thing I have been overdoing is chia puddings. Consequently, I'm finally getting tired of them.

On another strand, I mentioned getting a large bag of mixed lettuce greens for $1.00 when the price is usually $7.50. What a deal! So now it's lots of salads and lots of green smoothies (made in the inferior blender). It could have been worse; when the blender died mid-smoothie, I could have been left with lettuce glop with frozen ball bearings (blueberries) for breakfast. The truth is: I am grateful to have a back-up blender.


My favorite raw vegan

On impulse I bought and ate some dried figs, even though I knew they weren't truly raw and have some kind of preservative. Not long after I got a headache. I figure that it has to be from that. It's okay as long as I don't move my head quickly or lean too far down. But, jeez, I KNEW better. Why, oh, why? I just though a little cheat wouldn't be a problem, but it seems that I have become so much more sensitive to bad stuff than I realized. So I am waiting it out for this headache to go away. Coco wrote that cucumbers were good for avoiding headaches in that long list of cucumber assets. I wonder if it'll help to get rid of this one. Hmmm... need to check the fridge for cukes.


My favorite raw vegan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/2010 01:53AM by Trive.

I am reeling from the ups and downs of a very strange day:

Three new investors in a business venture my husband is doing.
An earthquake.
No damage from it.
A friend's truck rolled down into a valley on our farm.
He wasn't in it.
May need to have a helicopter pull it out.
A critical email from an old friend.
Good news from a doctor's visit.
Ate too much dehydrated fruit.
The sun is just going down and tomorrow is another day.


My favorite raw vegan

Popeye's got nuthin'on me!
bridesmaid dresses
wedding dresses with sleeves
Spinach was on sale and I took advantage of it. Breakfast was a green smoothie with baby spinach. Lunch was spinach soup (blended spinach, zucchini, tomato, garlic, onion, Italian spices, salt, corn)... yum! And this afternoon I had a green lemonade with - you guessed it - more baby spinach! I'm not sure what's for dinner, but let's just say that the remaining spinach won't be wilting.

Sadly, today my adventures were OUTSIDE of the raw food world. I was unexpectedly long (many additional hours) in a situation away from my normal eating situation and was unprepared for the unexpected. I may be the world's worst faster. When I get hungry I want FOOD! What was available was not raw vegan food, but it could have been much worse than it was. (I won't post a list, but I figured that as long as I was blowing it, I might as well enjoy what I ate. I did, although not as much as I thought I would.) Surprisingly, I have not had indigestion or acid reflux all day. It's time for me to go to bed now, so I'll see how well I sleep.

Tomorrow is another day and I'll be back in the world of real (raw vegan) food.


My favorite raw vegan

I've had those days too. Then I just carry on with my raw food program...

Love,

Mona
[www.padremicky.blogspot.com]
[www.labuscador801.blogspot.com]

HOPE = Hearing Other People's Experience

Live for today. Yesterday’s history. Tomorrow’s a mystery.

Hi, All,

I went to the US on a two-week business trip. When my husband booked the flight with Air New Zealand he asked them about raw vegetarian as a food choice and they said yes! (I brought some dried fruit with me anyway, but didn't need it.) I stayed at a Hampton Inn where there is a free serve yourself breakfast. They serve fresh whole fruit (apples, oranges, bananas) and they leave the bananas out 24 hours. How fantastic is that!?!! (They may have regretted it and I suspect I may have been the cause for a search for a pet monkey hidden in the hotel.) I did fine getting salads for other meals. The last two or three days of the trip, I ate some foods I shouldn't have and got acid reflux again. But now I am home and all is well.

Glad to see the malware problem got fixed.


My favorite raw vegan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2010 12:58AM by Trive.

I have spent all day following up on your diary (that's not creepy)anyways your wit is much appreciated. My roomate has been giving me the occasional look while I find myself laughing into my iPhone. I am new to raw foods. I have experimented in the past. I failed so miserably that I almost lost my health. Happy today my colon and I are on speaking terms again and I finally feel ready to take on the challenge (and excitement!) of going truly raw. It has helped fill me with inspiration seeing you ladies truckin along through the ups and downs. Thankyou for sharing your stories and a piece of your lives with us I look forward to your next post in this new year ( and maybe moving to new Zealand in the distant future)! So beautiful..

Many blessings to you and your donkeys,
Jillian

Hi, JillianDay,

Thank you for your comments. I'm glad you've found some of my adventures amusing. It's good to keep things light, right? It sounds like you (...and your colon) keep a sense of humor too.

Best of luck going raw. You'll figure it out and come to what is right and best for you. For me, it is sort of a moving target. Right now I'm around 80% raw and feel happy with that.

A little over 10 years ago I moved here from the US. However, a business project in the US has come up and we can use the money, so my husband and I will be moving back to the US for a couple of years. It is breaking my heart to have to leave my two "babies" here (because of the stress on them from transport, the cost of flying them there and back in two years, and that they would not cope well in winter snow). Fortunately, the person who will be house sitting for us loves our donks and has cared for them when we've been on trips.

Happy Raw Year!


My favorite raw vegan

I love your donkeys!

I've had fun reading your ongoing story, I hope the 2 years goes fast for you so you can be back 'home' if NZ is your home now.

At the grocery this morning there were lots of young coconuts. I have bought them in the past and not been satisfied - too young and almost no meat or too old and very little coconut water. But the one I got today was perfect! While eating it I kept singing that silly song 9with a changed last line):

Ooh - ee - ooh - ah - ah
Ting, tang, walla-walla bing bang
Ooh - ee - ooh - ah - ah
I LOVE YOUNG COCONUT MEAT

The water was delicious and lots of it. I was surprised to find that the coconut meat was like eating custard. De-lish!


My favorite raw vegan

Hey Trive hun awesome on the move to USA for a bit that will be an adventure , sorry to leave the babies behind but it will be awesome when you reunite with them

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Very interesting Sounds like you are doing really well on raw foods. Think I will start a journal soon too.

The trip here to the US was hard and it has taken several days to get over jet lag, but I'm starting to settle in. My diet has suffered, though. I couldn't control what I ate on much of the trip - or wasn't assertive enough to take care of ensuring that I had raw food, so I ended up eating cooked food. I made the healthiest choices whenever possible, but I am really off track. Surprisingly, I have only had mild indigestion and not the other acid reflux symptoms that I expected to have (e.g., no sore throat, no coughing, etc.), although I know better than to keep pushing it. I desperately want a routine and to get control of my diet again. Tomorrow I will have a car. Yippee. And I can drive to get my own groceries.

There is a store not far away and the people who own it are great. We got there just as they were closing the front doors for the night. I said I'd be back tomorrow. They asked what I wanted and I said, "Some fruit." They practically insisted that I come in and get some, which I did. They wouldn't take money then - I guess because their registers were closed out - and they said to come in and pay for it another day. WOW! So trusting with a stranger. Very nice.

Then when we came home we found two bags of stuff from Whole Foods on our front porch. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, LOTS of dried fruit, Brazil nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, mangoes, organic tomatoes, organic bananas, and coffee - Whoops! No I don't drink it, but will keep it for visitors who do, I suppose. Anyway, it was FANTASTIC to get so much great food. But lettuce! I am in salad withdrawal. Restaurant salads just haven't been doing it for me.

It's getting late and luckily I am sleepy. Yay! No jet lag! Nitey nite.


My favorite raw vegan

Welcome back to the US (and Virginia?)! Glad you made it OK and are over your jetlag. All that fruit left on your doorstep sounds like a great surprise.

Thanks for the welcome, veghunter.

Yep, I'm in Virginia (at leas for a couple of years).

All is well, although I do miss my donks!


My favorite raw vegan

So things have not been going well for me raw food-wise since being in the U.S. We have been going out to restaurants often because everyday we're on the road for business-related meetings and activities. The little grocery store near where we live is a small country store with a limited selection. We have a cramped kitchen. It's just not "home" where I'm comfortable and things are familiar and easy.

True confession: I have gradually let more and more SAD foods creep into my diet. My skin has more blemishes. I've gained weight. I get headaches that I never used to get. Is it pollen allergies or is the mucous coming from bad diet? And, although my acid reflux symptoms are mild now, they're there when I eat some spicier foods. I just have been in denial about my dietary needs lately - - trying to make do and not bother anyone, going for convenience over good health, etc.

ENOUGH! I WILL to figure out how to make raw food a priority again.
I did well when we were out last night and this morning we had breakfast out at a restaurant with others and I had a fruit cup. For lunch I had a huge salad with romaine lettuce. I AM BACK ON TRACK. A healthy raw food diet is is what I want. It seems I can't be trusted to do a percentage thing without it becoming more nad more cooked and then less and less vegan. So I am making a renewed comitment. Wish me luck!

Best of luck Trive! Be easy with yourself, you're going through major life adjustments and that will surely affect everything for a bit while you find a way to regain balance. Be vigilant but also be gentle and loving to you while you're figuring things out. I know when I move or travel things get completely scrambled!

I sent you a NZ related message a while ago, did you get it? Let me know!