Ela, I am happy that you are listening to your body's craving for peas as they will help bring your protein intake up so your muscles will be safer.

Thank you SueZ, you are right, our body knows best what he needs, it's not the time to be purist about being 100% raw vegan. Actually, nothing is ever 100% sure in this world, especially in our days.

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Yesterday evening I asked my husband to buy me some frozen spinach as I intended to make something out of the trillions summer squashes I bought earlier this week. While he was in the supermarket, I started preparing a summer squash creamy soup in my blender. I put 250 ml sparkling water, 8 diced summer squashes, lots of dill and 1 diced tomato. The blender worked perfectly and in less than a minute he pulverized the squashes, turning them into a beautiful light green cream. It looked like I threw in there an avocado (but I didn’t).

Unfortunately, I didn’t like the taste as it was too sweet (because of the summer squashes, they were incredibly sweet, like they had lots of sugar in them). Like I said, I don’t like my green smoothies to be sweet (like adding a banana to a green smoothie), I prefer my veggie smoothies to taste like veggies, rather savory and naturally salty than banana sweet. So I tasted this soup a few times then I couldn’t eat it anymore, I felt like throwing up again. So I threw it away. I felt bad about this, but it was either eating this soup and being sick and full, or throwing it away and getting a good night sleep.

My husband’s mother offered to take the rest of the trillions summer squashes (they were more like 15 though) and use them in a squash stew or something. I did lose some money because of wasted squashes, but it was more like an exchange (except for the thrown away cream soup), since I will benefit from free fruits and veggies in summer when my husband’s parents will be like buying tons of tomatoes and watermelons and cherries, and I get to eat those too. So not all is lost.

I guess it comes with the territory. When on a raw vegan diet, your body is going through constant changes and you must expect your preferences to be different from one week to another and even from day to day. It is on this journey that you will really get to know your body, your likes and dislikes in terms of food, quantities and combinations. Nothing is for ever, nor are your personal preferences, tolerances, abilities to digest one food or another. Only by trying, combining, adapting recipes, adjusting quantities you will be able to get to know yourself. It is a never-ending process.

So I never got to mix the soup with the frozen spinach, as I realized I didn't like the soup before my husband came home from shopping. I already ate some of the spinach this morning, it is very good, again so fresh and almost raw tasting. I find it is easier for me to eat spinach in its frozen form when I make a meal like a spinach puree (just frozen spinach, mixed with a sauce of tomato and dill), rather than really raw spinach (as I find that raw spinach puree is rather too rough for my taste). But in smoothies I do always use fresh raw spinach, I love it in my green not sweet smoothies.

Also frozen spinach is another great compromise back-up plan especially when travelling and not having enough fresh raw fruit/veggie options. It's very easy to go to any supermarket and just grab few bags of frozen veggies and make a healthy sustainable menu, as they are so versatile and suitable for lots of versions of healthy dishes. Though I rarely buy frozen spinach, I prefer frozen green peas any time.

My menu:

March 08, 2014:

- (6 am) 5 long red peppers
- (7 am) 500 ml lemon orange juice
- (7:30 am) 5 dates
- (2 pm) 400 gr frozen green peas and 1 tomato
- (7 pm) 400 gr frozen green peas and 1 tomato
- (9 pm) 7 dates
- (11 pm) 8 dates

Energy: 1300 cals
Calorie breakdown: 82% carbs / 14.1% proteins / 3.9% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Yesterday I felt better and last night I had a great night sleep from 1:40 am to 11:30 am. I feel my appetite is back, not completely but it has improved a lot. Yesterday I have enjoyed my oranges and today I feel even better and ready to have my delicious banana ice cream.

My menu:

March 09, 2014:

- (6:30 am) 2 kiwis
- (7:30 am) 5 dates
- (10 am) 450 g frozen chopped spinach; sauce: 1 tomato, lots of dill; butter lettuce leaves
- (12:30 pm) banana caramel ice cream (750 g frozen bananas and 5 dates)
- (3 pm) 4 oranges
- (5 pm) 7 oranges
- (11 pm) 400 g frozen green peas and the rest of the sauce made for the spinach
- (1 am) 400 g frozen green peas and sauce made of 1 tomato
- (1:30 am) 10 dates

Energy: 2436 cals
Calorie breakdown: 85.1% carbs / 11% proteins / 3.9% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Last night I stayed up late waiting for my husband to come home (he went to take a friend from the airport, in the capital city). So I was eating my peas and watching great Youtube videos that really motivated and inspired me. So he came like at 3 am and we went to bed at 4 am. I slept only 7 hrs and I was kinda tired this morning, but I got up at 11 am, read my prayers and went shopping as it was warmer and sunny outside. I was not hungry at all. In fact, I realized something very important, but which I kinda knew from before. I can’t eat frozen peas anymore (or any other frozen veggies). This morning and then the whole day up until now (now it’s 10:30 pm) I felt incredibly bloated and heavy, not flat abs and light at all. I even had some stomach pain or something, which bothered me a lot while going shopping, as the bloating and pain were very disturbing. I’m still bloated and feeling uncomfortable so will no longer buy/eat frozen veggies of any kind starting tomorrow. Today I needed to finish the frozen veggies I have in the freezer – peas and spinach, and some frozen cauliflower I really wanted to try today.

So, as much as I like frozen green peas, I definitely need to remove them from my diet. My body is just totally against them, and since I can’t eat them, I will no longer include any other frozen veggies as well. I guess my body is telling me that he really needs 100% raw vegan and not even little blanched veggies are accepted. So, even if I said I am not a purist, I will need to be a purist for my health. I don’t regret these 3 days when I ate frozen veggies, it’s very clear that after only 3 days my body rejected anything that is not 100% raw vegan.

I’m somehow happy for this realization, because I know it in my heart that I want and I need to be 100% raw vegan. And now I have the confirmation from my own body. So everything is great, I just need to deal very well with the cold winter days when there is not much variety, now that I can’t rely on frozen veggies anymore.

Today I went to some second-hand shops and I bought some black clothes to wear when I’m going to my dear friend Laura’s house to celebrate the memory of her mother. I was happy to find a black blouse made of organic cotton – I never saw such clothes before. I also got some cruelty-free long skirts, as I only wear very long skirts. I like buying from second-hand shops, if you look carefuly you can find really lovely clothes for a good price. Then I went to the fruit/veggie market and I was pleased to see the abundance of fruits and veggies. I got lots of almost ripe bananas, some lettuce and tomatoes for today’s last frozen veggies. So I am confident that I will make it work even with little variety – long live bananas and oranges!

Yesterday I forgot to include in my menu the butter lettuce that I had with my spinach the other day:

March 09, 2014:

Butter lettuce – 150 g

Energy: 22.5 cals
Calorie breakdown: 69.3% carbs / 22.2% proteins / 8.4% lipids

My menu:

March 10, 2014:

- (1 pm) 450 g frozen chopped spinach; sauce: 1 tomato, a pinch of dill; butter lettuce leaves
- (2:30 pm) 25 dates
- (4 pm) banana ice cream (5 frozen bananas)
- (5 pm) banana ice cream (7 frozen bananas)
- (1 am) 400 g frozen green peas and sauce made of 1 tomato
- (3 am) 400 g frozen green peas and sauce made of 1 tomato

Energy: 2398 cals
Calorie breakdown: 85.5% carbs / 10.6% proteins / 3.9% lipids

This afternoon I bought more almost ripe bananas and my first Romaine lettuce, as it was on discount. It is a huge lettuce and I am sure I can't eat it in one day.

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2014 08:57PM by Ela2013.

I had an awful night and day so far, I got bloated from frozen peas and frozen veggies again and I knew I would. But this time it was a lot of stomach pain. Last night I could only sleep for 3 hrs and today I am feeling terrible and hoping I will feel light again soon. Also, after eating no fruits all day, yesterday evening I was feeling dizzy and like the room was swirling. So I ate those delicious gooey dates and I felt better. From now on I will only eat fresh fruits and veggies, I have learned my lesson. Oh, and no starch whatsoever.

My menu:

March 11, 2014:

- (7 pm) 450 g frozen chopped spinach; sauce: 1 tomato; butter lettuce leaves
- (9 pm) 450 g frozen mixed veggies (cauliflower, baby carrots, green peas and green beans), 2 tomatoes, lots of dill, butter lettuce leaves
- (11 pm) 400 g frozen green peas and sauce made of 1 tomato
- (1 am) 400 g frozen green peas and sauce made of 1 tomato
- (2 am) 20 dates

Energy: 1468 cals
Calorie breakdown: 77.5% carbs / 17.1% proteins / 5.4% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

My menu:

March 12, 2014:

- (12:30 pm) 4 bananas
- (2:30 pm) 10 dates
- (3:30 pm) 3 oranges
- (5:30 pm) 9 very tiny oranges (the size of clementines)
- (8:30 pm) salad: half a Romaine lettuce, half a long cucumber, half a green pepper, 2 tomatoes (the Romaine lettuce was very good and tender)
- (9:30 pm) 20 dates

Energy: 1451 cals
Calorie breakdown: 91.9% carbs / 5.3% proteins / 2.8% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

These last 3 days I wanted to spend more time in the sun and less time in front of the laptop. So I barely used my laptop and I spent great time outside in the sun, walking a lot, sitting on a bench in the main square getting some free vitamin D while eating bananas or dates. The weather was lovely, sunny, warm. Today I climbed to one of the ex-defence towers and it was a beautiful view of the town and the mountains from up there. Today it was windy and cloudy in the evening and tomorrow it will snow again or so they say.

I also tried to sleep more so I went to bed each night at 10:45 pm maximum and slept around 12 hrs, which was great too. I started to go to church more often now and it is a wonderful feeling.

I bought a 500 ml glass jar of 100% pure coconut oil for a very good price and I will start using it once the sun is too hot. I also bought my first Iceberg lettuce, it was on discount and I ate it all this evening and I liked it a lot, very crunchy and also tender, and somewhat sweet tasting. It was also the first lime I ever tasted, and I liked it, it tasted kind of sweet-sour to me.

I bought those salads in the boxes from a supermarket as I was in the mood for real take-out food. They were good, I didn’t like the celeriac (my mom used to make celeriac and carrot and apple salad with mayo and I didn’t like that too). I don’t like celery either so that’s no surprise. Plus, I don't like that much the sour lemon taste anymore. So I ended up eating only half of the cabbage and carrot and celeriac salads, but I liked the tomato cucumber peppers salad and the box was cute with those compartments.

I now feel that I definitely need my sweet fruits and less of the veggies/greens/non sweet fruits.

Today I went to Laura’s lunch in the honor of her mother. She forgot to save some tomato cucumber peppers salad for me without oil/salt/vinegar, so I just ate 3 oranges. She had many bananas too, but they were not spotty and I wouldn’t wanna mix oranges and bananas anyway. And it was good that I had no salad after all as I didn't want to eat the salad and then imediately the fruits. I ate only 3 oranges (though she had more) because I wasn’t hungry at all, as I ate bananas and dates back home, so I drank plenty of sparkling water before and after the oranges. She also gave me lots of bananas for home and some other sweets/juice that I saved for my husband. Plus some bread/margarine/vegetable pate that I gave to a poor lady and a jar of plum jam that I saved for my grandmom.

Everything at this lunch was great, we had a lovely time. The others at the table saw me eating only oranges and they said I was eating healthy and that was the reason I was so slim. One friend said he is always eating fruits for breakfast and also for dinner. Another good friend told me she never eats fruits after a meal because they ferment. But someone else ate a banana after lunch with no worry. But it was a wonderful lunch and talk with wonderful people.

I feel better now, just a little stomach discomfort, but most of the bloating and pain is gone now. I’m not feeling all great but it won’t be long.

My menu:

March 12, 2014 (sequel):

I felt very dizzy again in the evening, the room was again swirling, so I ate the bananas. But I still felt dizzy afterwards, I think I was just very tired. So I ate some dates too, which made me feel better. But I was still dizzy. I stayed up so late as my husband was leaving the next morning to Belgium for a month and I didn’t want to fall asleep first.

- (0:50 am) 4 bananas
- (1:50 am) 10 dates

Energy: 559.8 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93.9% carbs / 3.7% proteins / 2.4% lipids

My menu:

March 13, 2014:

- (1:30 pm) 7 bananas
- (5:20 pm) 21 dates
- (8:30 pm) salad: half a Romaine lettuce, half a long cucumber, half a green pepper, 3 tomatoes (this half of Romaine lettuce was the inner one, even tastier and more tender)
- (10 pm) 8 oranges

Energy: 1506 cals
Calorie breakdown: 92.1% carbs / 5.1% proteins / 2.8% lipids

14.03.2014:

- (11:20 am) 5 bananas
- (2:15 pm) 5 bananas
- (3:30 pm) 20 dates
- (9 pm) salad: 50 gr carrot, 50 gr celeriac, 50 gr white cabbage, 50 gr red cabbage, 100 gr tomatoes, 100 gr cucumber, 80 gr red bell pepper, 50 gr green bell pepper, 1 tomato, dill, the juice of 1 lime, the juice of 3/4 lamaie; 2 small heads of butter lettuce
- (9:30 pm) 3 bananas
- (10 pm) 20 dates

Energy: 2182 cals
Calorie breakdown: 92.4% carbs / 4.7% proteins / 2.9% lipids

15.03.2014:

- (6:30 am) 3 bananas
- (7:10 am) 20 dates
- (8:20 am) 3 bananas
- (9:35 am) 20 dates
- (12:30 pm) 3 oranges
- (3:30 pm) 5 bananas
- (8:45 pm) salad: 1 head of Iceberg lettuce, 5 tomatoes, 1 long cucumber (370 gr), 1 green bell pepper
- (9 pm) 6 dates

Energy: 2186 cals
Calorie breakdown: 92.9% carbs / 4.4% proteins / 2.7% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Yesterday I was in the mood for cucumber spaghetti. So I used 3 long cucumbers and I made a large portion, but in the end I noticed I kinda didn’t like the taste of non sweet fruits anymore. I did like the taste of lettuce though. So I didn’t finish all the spaghetti, it was like a cucumber left and I only picked the pieces of tomatoes and peppers, and I drank all the sauce. I am not sure why I don’t like non sweet fruits now, but I promised I would listen to my body, so I will have only sweet fruits for now and see what happens. Still, I am looking forward to our summer sweet tomatoes, as I really love those.

My menu:

16.03.2014:

- (2 pm) 8 bananas
- (3 pm) 8 oranges
- (8:30 pm) cucumber spaghetti (600 gr long cucumbers); sauce: 5 tomatoes, 1/3 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, dill; extra: 3 tomatoes, 1 green bell pepper, 3/4 red bell pepper, the core of 1 head of butter lettuce
- (10:30 pm) 30 dates

Energy: 2077 cals
Calorie breakdown: 90.1% carbs / 6.2% proteins / 3.6% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

My menu:

17.03.2014:

- (12:30 pm) 8 bananas
- (3 pm) 8 oranges
- (5 pm) 150 g butter lettuce (I just love butter lettuce, plain like this, leaf by leaf)
- (5:30 pm) 7 bananas
- (8:30 pm) 30 dates

Energy: 2332 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93.1% carbs / 4.4% proteins / 2.5% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

I did some research on coconut oil and shea butter and I found out that both are good protection against sun, so they both act as natural sunscreen. And they both are great for itchy scalp and skin. So I might try them on my itchy scalp.

However, I found out that the coconut oil brand I bought is actually refined, though it says 100% pure coconut oil. I read a review saying that they contacted the producer and they got an email saying that this brand is refined but pure from any chemicals and edible and safe to eat/use on skin. It is not raw/virgin coconut oil though.

So yesterday afternoon I went back to the place where I bought the refined coconut oil from, and I asked the sales lady there to allow me exchange it for a raw unrefined organic virgin coconut oil (I paid few extra money as the raw one was a bit more expensive). I explained my raw vegan situation and she totally understood. So all is great now and I'm happy

Also yesterday I saw for the first time real giant medjool dates in a supermarket here (they were from Israel). It was a revelation. They were so huge and moist. They were also very, very expensive, like more than $30 for 1 kg (they were packed in 200 g bags for $7, they were organic). But it didn't say if they were actually raw or without preservatives. I thought of buying, then I changed my mind, as the dates I usually buy are $7 for 750 g, not for 200 g, and they are more likely to be raw (as the producer said). But it was surely a pleasure to see those giant medjool dates - it said they are called "the king of dates".

Some update on my sleep program. In the past week I tried to go to sleep earlier at like 10:30 pm or 10:45 pm tops. And the other night I went to sleep at 9:45 pm. So far it's been great, I feel I'm getting used to this sleep schedule and I feel more refreshed in the morning. I have been sleeping 10 to 12 hrs/night and my mood is improving. I also feel sleepy once it's close to 8 or 9 pm and I already know that my bedtime is near. I really want to live in tune with the rising of the sun and with the sunset, so that I wake up easily at 8 am and go to bed at 9 pm the most.

So I'm getting there with baby steps. Last night I went to bed at 10 pm and I had a great night sleep, this morning I just woke up naturally at 8 am without alarm clock or something. Though I slept 10 hrs, I wish I can sleep more. Today I want to go to sleep at 9 pm and see what happens in the morning.

Getting more sleep and going to bed at no late than 10 pm helped me a lot. I don't eat more than I need because of staying up late (so more food), I go to bed with a light feeling, no heavy stomach, and I wake up with the same light feeling, flat stomach and true hunger. I am more and more living according to day light, and once the sun is down, I naturally feel the need to go to sleep. My advice is to really make sure you follow sun's schedule and be active during the day and get rest from early evening to the next morning. I had my doubts at first, but this program is really efficient in every way.

My menu:

18.03.2014:

- (9:40 am) 2 bananas
- (11:15 am) 3 bananas
- (11:45 am) 2 bananas
- (1 pm) 8 oranges
- (2:30 pm) 30 dates
- (8:30 pm) 1 head of butter lettuce
- (10 pm) 1 mandarin, 1 mineola, 1 orange

Energy: 1771 cals
Calorie breakdown: 92.6% carbs / 4.9% proteins / 2.5% lipids

The mandarin and the mineola were ok, very juicy but not very sweet. I like oranges better, they are the sweetest citrus and my favorite citrus actually.

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2014 09:18AM by Ela2013.

Today I had my first treatment day at a private medical center (of course, I had to pay $90 for 10 days, but that was half the price, because I used my health insurance to get the discount). The electric procedures were great, I just sat on a bed while the electric currents did their job. Then I went to the gym for medical gym session for like an hour and I did some light exercises and also some weight legs lifting. Some exercises increased the pain in my hip, but overall it was great.

Then I went for a quick shopping for more dates, some extra figs, lots of bananas, some oranges, some take out salads (fresh tomato, cucumber and bell pepper, nothing added) and some butter lettuce. For some reason, I crave greens like crazy these days...so I take advantage of this and eat lots of butter lettuce.

I tasted 3 wild garlic leaves today, as I found some in the kitchen balcony. It was the first time for this and they really tasted like garlic. Wild garlic is a leafy green from alium family which has even greater benefits than the actual garlic. But I didn't want to eat more, though I kinda liked the taste (I think I will always like the garlic taste, it's the after taste and the burning stomach that I get which annoy me). I hope these wild garlic leaves don't affect me in a negative way though.

[britishfood.about.com]

My menu:

18.03.2014:

- (8:40 am) 2 mandarines, 1 mineoles, 2 oranges
- (10:10 am) 20 dates
- (12:55 pm) 4 oranges
- (2:45 pm) 5 bananas
- (3:45 pm) 20 dates
- (5:50 pm) dill afternoon snack: 1 long cucumber (470 g), 1 tomato, lots of dill
- (9:40 pm) 20 dates

Energy: 2083 cals
Calorie breakdown: 94.2% carbs / 3.8% proteins / 2% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

The previous post was actually for March 19, 2014.

Today was a record day for me - I never ate 3 heads of butter lettuce in one day before. I’m thinking I should do this more often

My menu:

March 20, 2014:

- (8:30 am) 2 Romanian apples
- (9:30 am) 24 dates
- (12:30 pm) 20 dates
- (6:30 pm) take out: 330 gr salad (tomato, cucumber, green and red bell pepper), next to 1 head of butter lettuce
- (8:30 pm) take out: 330 gr salad (tomato, cucumber, green and red bell pepper), next to 1 head of butter lettuce
- (9:30 pm) take out: 330 gr salad (tomato, cucumber, green and red bell pepper), next to 1 head of butter lettuce

Energy: 1341 cals
Calorie breakdown: 90.9% carbs / 6% proteins / 3% lipids

I buy this salad from Carrefour supermarket, it is fresh, nothing added, and it tastes so good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Yesterday I had a full but great day...must be the figs lol
After a 10 hr night sleep and being lazy at home the whole morning, I had my second treatment day.
The electric currents were a lot of fun and relaxation.
The exercises in the gym were more intense and I liked them more than the first day, as on the second day I worked out with a medical trainer with a lot more experience (actually I think he is the "boss" in the gym). He is young but has a lot of experience, both medical and exercise-wise. He explained to me a lot of things about my condition and he showed me new and more interesting exercises. I had no hip pain today, but after 10 minutes of intense cycling I was kinda tired, but I felt amazingly great. I was just overflowed with good energy.

Then I went straight to the post office to get my health insurances and then I went shopping. I got lots of almost ripe bananas, lots of oranges, some more butter lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers. I think even carrying all this produce all the time by myself is a sort of work-out.
Then I went to church as we had an important celebration in the honor of Virgin Mary. The service was so beautiful and it lasted like 2 hrs.
Once I got back home I made myself my own "take out" box, except I was more generous
Since I'm so lazy, I decided to leave the skin on the tomatoes and cucumber (I used to peel them before).
I was tired but happy that I had a really good day. And because I had my banana pyramid back in my wardrobe - just needing to ripe a bit more.

Last night wasn’t a good night though. I went to bed late, at 10:50 pm (because the two salads were very large and it took me a while longer to chomp them) and I had insomnia from 4 am to 6 am, I just couldn’t sleep, I tossed and turned in the bed. Then I got hungry and I needed my sweets so I ate some very gooey dates, then I finally fell asleep until 10 am.

This morning I woke up tired, once again a bit like a zombie, I feel like someone has beaten me up the whole night. I guess it’s from yesterday’s exercises.
So maybe today I’m going to have a really lazy day, if I’m not going out for a nice walk in the sun. Yesterday was an amazing hot day, I was in a short sleeve T-shirt, it was like summer time.

I put another core of butter lettuce to test, it’s in the beginning, but I hope she will regrow. Am I crazy for talking and singing to the butter lettuce as she’s regrowing or it’s just something everyone else does?

My menu:

March 21, 2014:

- (9:10 am) 10 oranges
- (10:50 am) 10 sun dried Turkish figs
- (12:30 pm) 20 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates
- (10:45 pm) homemade take out box: 5 tomatoes (400 g), 1 long cucumber (314 g), 1 large red bell pepper (250 g); next to 2 very large heads of butter lettuce

Energy: 1349 cals
Calorie breakdown: 89.5% carbs / 7.2% proteins / 3.3% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Yesterday I had a beautiful day, the weather was again very warm so I decided to go out in the sun again instead of my lazy time at home. I climbed to another ex-defense tower, taller than the first, and the view from up there was amazing. I had with me bananas and dates and water and everything was great, I wasn’t even hungry.

My dinner was kinda huge, I had to make quite an effort to finish it and in the end I was left with mostly the outer lettuce leaves which I just couldn’t fit in. Seems that the green craving is over now.

Then I desperately needed something sweet so I had some dates. I wanted to taste some figs too but I didn’t feel like eating too many. For some reason I don’t like figs anymore now, so this morning I went back to the supermarket and returned the 2 remaining unsealed boxes of figs (I already opened the third one so I will finish it). I got a refund and I bought more boxes of dates.

Last night was again not a good night. I went to bed at 10 pm, but from 1 am to 3 am I just couldn’t sleep. I felt heavy and stuffed because of too much lettuce, it didn’t digest and I couldn’t sleep because of the discomfort. So I ate some dates and I finally fell asleep.

From now on I will focus mainly on sweet fruits and on a very light dinner.

My menu:

March 22, 2014:

- (5:40 am) 21 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates
- (10:50 am) 10 oranges
- (1:10 pm) 10 oranges
- (4:55 pm) 5 bananas
- (8:50 pm) dill deliciousness in a casserole: 5 tomatoes (400 g), 1 long cucumber (280 g), 1 large red bell pepper (250 g), 70 g dill; next to 2 very large heads of butter lettuce
- (9:20 pm) 10 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates
- (9:45 pm) 5 sun dried Turkish figs

Energy: 2570 cals
Calorie breakdown: 90.9% carbs / 6.1% proteins / 3% lipids

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Finally...a great night sleep. I went to bed at 10:50 pm and I slept almost 12 hrs. I woke up feeling fresh and well rested. The secret: sweet fruits throughout the day and a light sweet fruit dinner.

My menu:

March 23, 2014:

- (3 am) 10 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates
- (1 pm) 2 oranges
- (3:30 pm) 20 sun dried Turkish figs
- (4 pm) 10 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates
- (6:50 pm) 2 bananas
- (7:50 pm) 6 oranges
- (8:50 pm) 10 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates

Energy: 1560 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93.5% carbs / 4.3% proteins / 2.1% lipids

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2014 09:27AM by Ela2013.

My menu:

March 24, 2014:

- (11 am) 10 oranges
- (12:30 pm) 20 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates
- (5:15 pm) 3 bananas
- (7:15 pm) 8 oranges
- (8:30 pm) 20 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates (very small this time)
- (9 pm) 10 sun dried Rotab/Mosafati dates (very small this time)

Energy: 2030 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93.7% carbs / 4.6% proteins / 1.8% lipids

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2014 07:06PM by Ela2013.

Last night around midnight I woke up shortly to put a box with bananas in the freezer (as the kitchen was busy during the day) and I met my love in the freezer: frozen dill. So I knew I had to eat it. I also saw some tender butter lettuce leaves and I just stood there and ate lettuce leaves filled with frozen dill. Strange, right? I didn’t crave any sweet fruit after that, which means I finally got it right and ate enough sweet fruit during the day.

I guess getting up during the night for some midnight snack is ok, when you go to sleep so early. Michael Arnstein says in the video about grazing that he sometimes wakes up at 11 pm, goes in the kitchen and eats some bananas, then goes back to sleep.

I try keeping my early sleep schedule as much as I can these days, as in 10 days my husband will return home from Belgium and I’m sure I won’t be able to go to sleep early, as he stays up to 11 pm or even past midnight. And it’s hard to fall asleep with the tv and the laptop on. But I hope I’ll be able to, using my ear plugs and my eye mask…

Today when I got back from my medical gym session I had huge muscular pain. The session was great. Beside other exercises, I did 60 squats (I haven't done them in a very, very, very long time...). So when I left the gym, on my way home, I felt like I had 1000 kg on each leg. I practically had to drag myself home, it's good that I live very close to this medical center. Especially, going down the stairs...they were killing me. I was in bed resting for the rest of the day, I hope everything will be better tomorrow.

Last night was great, I went to bed at 9:30 pm and slept like 11 hrs. Today was cloudy and rainy, so it was time for a lazy afternoon.

My menu:

March 25, 2014:

- (0:10 am) butter lettuce inner leaves with dill
- (10:45 am) 7 oranges
- (12 pm) 20 dates
- (4:45 pm) 2 bananas
- (5:15 pm) 7 oranges
- (6:15 pm) 20 dates
- (7:50 pm) banana ice cream (700 g frozen bananas)
- (8:10 pm) 2 dates (for the final taste)

Energy: 2275 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93.1% carbs / 4.7% proteins / 2.3% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Random question but do you have a decent amount of freckles?

Well, jtprindl, I have like 15 freckles on my face (not all in the same area) and some more on my body, along with several moles/beauty spots. But on the whole I don't have that many, I guess just the average...

Are you making a connection between my melanin/melatonin production and the early night sleep?

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Ela2013 Wrote:
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> Well, jtprindl, I have like 15 freckles on my face
> (not all in the same area) and some more on my
> body, along with several moles/beauty spots. But
> on the whole I don't have that many, I guess just
> the average...
>
> Are you making a connection between my
> melanin/melatonin production and the early night
> sleep?
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


No, the reason I asked is because I went on a span a while ago where I was eating dates and noticed that I started to get quite a few very tiny freckles on various parts of my body, mainly my arms. I think excess sugar consumption, even natural sugars (dates are loaded in sugar) causes skin damage. That was my personal connection but I also found this: [www.medindia.net]

"Freckles:

When too much of sugar, jaggery, milk and fruits are eaten in excess the lungs eliminate these in the form of freckles."

Oh, I didn't know that, thank you so much, jtprindl, I will take this into account.
Anyway, I don't intend to eat dates much longer, and I want to eat way less of them, as soon as new fresh fruits will be available here. I'd rather have more banana strawberry ice cream or more oranges, and I will try do just that. You are right, dates are extremely rich in sugar and not hydrating, so this makes me definitely want to eat less of them.

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

In the past week I didn't use the shampoo (you know me by now, I'm quite lazy). But I did wash my hair several times a day with just water. For some reason, the itchy scalp is gone and my hair looks great every day, like it's freshly washed with shampoo (but it's not). It would be great to see the time when I no longer need the shampoo. It's easy for me as I have really short hair, so rinsing it with water it's fast, especially as it dries naturally in like seconds, no need to wait.

Also, Harley was right. When you eat the right food and when you do carb up (plus proper hydration and plenty of sleep), the desire to exercise comes naturally. I used to be lazy about exercise too, and I never wanted to exercise, I'd rather have my long walks. But now looks like the exercise in the medical gym just makes me want to exercise more in my free time. I used to have my doubts about this, but it's so true. It's like the more I eat sweet fruit, the more I want to exercise. Sweet fruit is my fuel.

In the past week while taking my long walks plus the gym, I used the liquid soap they had in the bathroom of the medical center and also when I went to public bathrooms like in a pub and in supermarkets. I only yesterday realized that those soaps were full of chemicals. I only used small amounts, but still...I will bring my own soap from now on.

Which leads me to my question: how do you avoid using chemical cosmetics when you travel, like when going to public bathrooms, or on the plain/train? And also blankets and pillows filled with down while you are staying at hotels or at someone else's house? I will soon go to the seaside for my treatment there and I'm sure there will be no cruelty-free items like these...I will bring my own cosmetics of course, but what about blanket and pillow? I think I will bring my own small pillow/blanket, especially since last year they only had very rough wool blankets and sometimes only decorative silk sheets to use, and I was so cold at night... and missing my blanket from home...

Last evening I went to bed at 10 pm, I was kind of full because of that ice cream I had in the evening, maybe next time I'll have less ice cream. But I had a great night sleep though, like 11 hrs again.
This morning I woke up with more muscular pain. I did 5 squats for trial, but I couldn't do more.

Still, today I had a great work out in the gym, I did all the yesterday's exercises by my own as I learned them by now. I also did the 60 squats again, it was easy despite my muscular pain. It's curious how during exercise (with proper prior warm up), the muscular pain is like gone...I only felt it after exercise, on my way home and for the rest of the day. But it somehow felt good...

My menu:

March 26, 2014:

- (10:15 am) 2 oranges
- (11:15 am) 4 bananas
- (12:30 pm) 20 dates
- (5:50 pm) the tender inner leaves of 2 heads of butter lettuce and half a red bell pepper
- (6:30 pm) 5 oranges
- (7 pm) 15 dates
- (9:30 pm) banana ice cream with strawberry topping (700 g frozen bananas, 14 fresh strawberries)

Energy: 2089 cals
Calorie breakdown: 92.9% carbs / 4.5% proteins / 2.5% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Today's work out was great again, the same exercises as yesterday, the same muscular pain. I am going to buy some leg wrist weights soon, to do these exercises at home too.

Yesterday, me, the instructor and another patient got into a conversation about food nowadays. That patient said he didn't eat pork and beef, just fish and chicken, so his body was clean. The instructor said he ate meat everyday, but a very small amount, as we needed meat, since we were designed as carnivores/omnivores. Just he didn't agree with those eating meat in excessive amounts. I said I didn't eat meat whatsoever and that meat had toxins and hormones. The instructor said that eating fruits and veggies from supermarket that were full of pesticides was the same as eating meat loaded with toxins and hormones. He added that even local food from peasants was actually from supermarkets and sold as being from their own garden.
He is kind of right, as today's food is not what it used to be...but I'd rather eat fruit/veggies with pesticides that meat with toxins and hormones...

Now I know why they call it "butter lettuce". Today I chomped a small head of tender butter lettuce and I was left with a buttery taste in my mouth and on my lips, like I had spread butter on the lettuce leaves. Pretty strange feeling, I felt that yesterday too. Is it just me or this is for real?

Btw, today on a tv cooking show, the cook said that if you ate a certain animal, you would get his energy. So she was making buffalo chili, saying that they would get the energy of a buffalo...yeah rigt...

Oh, and this morning I woke up from a great dream: I dreamed that Freelee came to Romania and we were going to a vegan restaurant so that she had dinner. How cool is that?

My menu:

March 27, 2014:

- (10:35 am) 10 oranges
- (11:50 am) 20 small dates
- (12:20 pm) 10 small dates
- (4 pm) 7 oranges
- (6 pm) 20 small dates
- (6:30 pm) 1 small head of butter lettuce (very tender)
- (9 pm) banana ice cream with strawberry topping (700 g frozen bananas, 13 fresh strawberries)

Energy: 2450 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93.2% carbs / 4.7% proteins / 2.1% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Today I had a great work out at the gym, I had more reps at some exercises and I increased the cycling time. The muscular pain is still there - if you have some advice as to how I can get rid of it, I would like to hear your opinion.

I went today to the veggie market and I saw some great ripe spotty bananas - I bought a lot of these as I just couldn't let them there. I put most of them in the freezer for future ice cream.

My menu:

March 28, 2014:

- (11:45 am) 3 oranges
- (12:45 pm) 20 dates
- (4:45 pm) 5 bananas
- (8 pm) 1 small head of butter lettuce, 1 large head of green leaf curly lettuce, 8 spring green onions, 6 small red radishes (I was craving green onions – they were sweet and very little hot, mostly the leaves)
- (8:25 pm) 11 dates
- (9:25 pm) 10 dates

Energy: 1494 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93% carbs / 4.7% proteins / 2.3% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

I had a wonderful day yesterday, I spent it mostly in church and out in the sun and shopping. I bought 2 large heads of cauliflower, lots of sweet large oranges, large red bell peppers, long cucumbers, lots of tomatoes, red radishes, spring green onion and spring green garlic, 2 heads of butter lettuce and 1 white cabbage for sauerkraut (which I put in a jar, together with some cauliflower – I never made salt-free raw pickled cauliflower, I want to see how it tastes).

I am also very happy because on Friday I went to my priest for confessing my sins and I also talked to him about my diet since I don’t eat animal products. As The Church set only certain times for Lent throughout the year, and I was basically in a permanent Lent, I needed my priest’s blessing for my personal dietary choice so it is accepted by Church too. Here only monks and nuns keep the Lent and don’t eat meat, and they have the blessing of their superiors. So my priest gave me his blessing and he talked to me in such a beautiful and kind way …I am so blessed to have such a wonderful priest near me, to guide me and help me in this life. He is very important in my life.

My menu:

March 29, 2014:

- (10:20 am) 5 oranges
- (11:15 am) 20 dates
- (12:45 pm) banana strawberry pudding (900 g frozen bananas, 250 g fresh strawberries)
- (1:10 pm) 4 stalks of spring green garlic
- (5:30 pm) 1 small butter lettuce, 2 spring green onions, 2 stalks of spring green garlic, 5 red radishes
- (6 pm) 20 dates
- (6:25 pm) 10 dates
- (9 pm) 5 oranges

Energy: 2401 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93% carbs / 4.6% proteins / 2.3% lipids

March 30, 2014:

- (8:35 am) 22 dates
- (4:30 pm) 3 oranges
- (7:40 pm) 1 bunch of Romanian stevia, fresh dill, green tops of spring onion and spring garlic
- (8:55 pm) cauliflower puree: 200 g cauliflower, 4 tomatoes, lemon juice, fresh dill, 1/3 large red bell pepper, 4 stalks of spring green garlic; next to 3 red radishes
- (10:30 pm) 22 dates

Energy: 1219 cals
Calorie breakdown: 91.6% carbs / 5.4% proteins / 3% lipids

The Romanian stevia is not the sweet stevia, it’s called curly dock and it’s a green leaf similar to collard leaves. I never ate it before so I wanted to try it. It was very good, with a neutral taste, the stems were very watery and a little sour-lemony tasting.
I also bought some nettle and I saved the leaves from the radishes for a green smoothie. I never ate raw nettle or radish leaves, but I will give them a try.

[eattheinvaders.org]

[www.aldentegourmet.com]

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

I had a great work out today, and very intense. I more and more feel like exercising.

I want to forever remove dates from my diet. I ate some dates before my work out and I didn't feel light and that good while exercising. Also I feel they don't suit me any more, I think I'm past transitioning and spring is here already, so I'll focus on water rich fruits. They also dehydrate me and I don't drink enough water, so I don't like the feeling.

My menu:

March 30, 2014:

- (10:30 am) 10 oranges
- (11:30 am) 20 dates
- (12:30 pm) 20 dates
- (4:55 pm) green smoothie: 500 ml sparkling water, the leaves from 4 bunches of red radishes, 1 tomato; next to 6 stalks of spring green garlic, 2 tomatoes, 1 red radish
- (6:55 pm) cauliflower puree: 200 g cauliflower, 3 tomatoes, lemon juice, fresh dill, few strips of red bell pepper, 2 spring green onions; next to 1 head of butter lettuce and a salad made of: 5 tomatoes, half a long cucumber, few strips of red bell pepper, 1 spring green onion, 3 red radishes (I ate only some of this meal)
- (7:40 pm) the rest of my 6:55 pm meal
- (9:15 pm) 20 dates

Energy: 2127 cals
Calorie breakdown: 89% carbs / 6.8% proteins / 4.2% lipids

The green smoothie was strong, but good, I liked feeling the green taste.

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Some thoughts about my eating habits in the past…as someone in a Facebook group brought this subject to discution:

I had my issues with weight gain and weight loss in the past, back when I was like 14 I think and then over the years. In my childhood as a kid I loved sweets and pastries so I wasn't very slim, but not overweight either. I guess just like most kids are when parents allow them all the food they wish. Then as I grew up I was at a better weight. Then I started rebelling against my parents food and I didn't want to eat like they do, cooked food, sweets, I started eating small portions, mostly fruits/veggies so I lost weight but I was on a good weight for my height. Then I met my husband and started visiting him (he lived in another town) and I was away from my parents and eating what I wanted, so I kept my weight. Then I moved to my husband's town and kept eating small portions and mostly fruits/veggies and lost more weight. At some point I was like 34 kg, 36 kg, 39 kg (I'm 1.63 tall). My mom and my husband told me I looked too thin and that I was anorexic. I got scared at that thought, but I also felt good and didn't want to eat more, I thought I was eating just enough for me. And I was exercising a lot.

At one point though I thought I looked too thin indeed, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat more for fear I would gain weight. So I felt I was caught in the mindset of ther weight gain fear. I thought that once I gained weight, everything would change for the worse, I didn't want to buy larger clothes. But all this time I didn't need to go to nutritionists or psyhologists or something like this, it didn't go that far. I guess it was just a crazy mindset of mine, just a stage in my life. Then at some point I was supposed to have a head surgery (to remove a tumour near my brain - which proved wasn't the case after all), so I got really scared and the doctor told me I need to eat more to survive the surgery. So I started eating small portions of everything, including animal products, and little by little I reached a better weight, and then up until 52 kg. Then I just didn't like the food I was eating so I switched to cooked vegan, then to raw vegan. I have always loved to eat huge quantities, but I have always been afraid to do that for fear of gaining weight. I had my phase in the past where I would eat huge quantities of food, sometimes I gained weight, but not that much, since I was already at a lower weight, and sometimes I didn't gain weight as I was eating very slow and chewing very well, so I wasn't assimilating much, plus I was exercising.

Switching to this raw vegan lifestyle was the best for me, and now, after experimenting with raw foods and quantities, I'm eating the food I like and until I feel I don't need anymore food. I still have the fear of eating too many calories (like when I see 2500 cals or more on cronometer), but with raw vegan food I know that calories are not the same. I hope in the future I will totally change my mentality about too many cals and just be completely at peace with myself.

So I can say I had my anorexic past, and bulimic too as I loved eating tons of sweets and pastries in one sitting, but also other foods. Except that I never liked to admit that. I was aware of these problems but never had the courage to confront them. Only when I faced medical issues I knew I had to change. I'm happy I changed my eating habits on my own and just in time, without having to go further, to nutritionists or even having to be in hospital and force fed, or developing serious problems. I have always had a very changing relationship with food, I never knew what I really liked, so maybe this explains my eating history. It's not something I like to remember though…

To me eating small portions made me feel good, like I was doing things differently. And this is a similar mindset to anorexic persons, like they are in control of their body, their diet. And then I got so much used to this mindset that it was like a barrier keeping me from eating more. I at some point wanted to eat more, but I was just not able to get passed that barrier.

This lifestyle helped me eat as much as I want, and in a healthy way, but, curious as it is, I don't even feel the need to eat that much. I sometimes have 1400 cals, I sometimes have 2400 cals but mostly when eating nuts or banana ice cream or dates which are dense calory foods. So if I I leave the dense calory foods aside (which I kind of did since I don't eat overt fats anymore, and soon I won't eat dates anymore - so I will only eat bananas as a caloric dense food), I guess I will very rarely reach 2000 cals.

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Yesterday I had another great work out. My instructor raised the leg wrist weights to 1.5 kg. Today I used 2 kg, as I will buy 2 kg weights soon for my work out at home.

My menu:

April 01, 2014:

- (11 am) 1 liter datorade: 40 dates soaked for 4 hours, 750 ml sparkling water in which the dates were soaked (excellent – pure caramel)
- (12:30 pm) 1 liter banana strawberry smoothie: 750 g frozen banana, 500 ml sparkling water, 250 g fresh strawberries
- (7:30 pm) raw nettle puree: a bag of nettle, 4 tomatoes, fresh dill, lemon juice, red bell pepper, 8 stalks of spring green garlic; next to 2 stalks of spring green garlic, 3 spring green onions, half a long cucumber, 5 red radishes, red bell pepper (I used 1 large red bell pepper for this meal)
- (9:15 pm) cauliflower puree: 200 g cauliflower, 3 tomatoes, lemon juice, 3 spring green onions; next to the tender inner leaves from 2 heads of butter lettuce, 2 tomatoes, 3 red radishes
- (10:30 pm) 18 dates (I chose the sweetest, the softest, the largest ones, I had to eat them like that, too wonderful to put in smoothies – I saved the smaller ones for smoothies)

Energy: 2769 cals
Calorie breakdown: 88.1% carbs / 6.5% proteins / 5.3% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Yesterday's datorade was amazing, so sweet and filling, it was my first datorade.
Today's banana date smoothies were even more amazing, incredibly sweet, creamy, filling. It was the first time I made a banana date smoothie also.

Still, I finished all the dates today and I will no longer buy/eat dates.

I feel that dates are not serving me at this stage, I used them mostly as an additional fruit during winter, but also because I fell in love with them. Now, even if I still have only oranges, bananas and maybe strawberries for smoothies, the weather is warmer and I feel dates make me heavy.

Also, I'm more and more concerned about the health of my teeth while eating dates, they stick to my teeth and I now feel a teeth discomfort when eating dates.

Plus, I feel guilty when eating dates, as they are very yummy and I started eating way too many in past week. They are very addictive. I only want to eat fruits that I can have unlimited quantities of. With dates I can't have that and it seems that the body doesn't have that "stop" button once I eat too many (like with oranges or other fruit, when I can easily stop after like 5-6 bananas or 7-8 oranges).

I feel dates are holding me back right now and I know I can do better on this lifestyle, I want to see what's next.

And I think I will gain weight if I keep eating dates - since I definitely can't stop at only 10 dates/day...

I think it will be hard at first to stay away from dates, but I guess I should thank them for getting me through the winter and just move on...

Today I finished my 10 day treatment and the doctor told me to come back after 3 months, and to exercise daily until then.

I need to catch up with my sleep as for the last 2 days I went to bed at 11 pm. Late, I know…Today will be late too, but starting tomorrow I hope I can go to sleep at 9 or 10, especially since my husband comes back home tomorrow night at like 3 am I think…

My menu:

April 02, 2014:

- (7:45 am) 22 dates (soft and sweet and gooey great dates, I again had to eat them like that, too yummy to put in smoothies)
- (10 am) 1.5 liter banana date smoothie: 39 dates soaked for a day, 350 g frozen bananas, 500 ml sparkling water in which the dates were soaked (amazing)
- (12 pm) 1.5 liter banana date smoothie: 350 g frozen bananas, 500 ml sparkling water (date syrup), 27 soaked dates (for few hours)
- (9:30 pm) cauliflower puree: 250 g cauliflower, 3 tomatoes, lemon juice, fresh dill, half a red bell pepper, 5 spring green onions plus the green tops from 5 spring onions; next to the tender inner leaves from 1 head of butter lettuce, 3 tomatoes, half a long cucumber, half a red bell pepper, 7 red radishes, 3 spring green onions

Energy: 2667 cals
Calorie breakdown: 93.1% carbs / 4.4% proteins / 2.5% lipids

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Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2014 07:49PM by Ela2013.