hey there...awesome awesome day...of course your body will tell you when it wants something else...i have a love for somethings but there are days or weeks when i am like oh i just don't want that really...like i went through a cauliflower stage..a khale stage..collard green...melon..orange...carrot...zucchini....tomatoe....and now i am doing other things haha i just vary..sprouts are my number one food though i never want to give up haha they are soo good...but you don't need a sprouter.....you just soak them in a bowl overnight...anything...broccolie seeds..alfalfa seeds...cabbage seeds...sunflower seeds....anything...then you just rinse and drain them...then put them in a strainer or colander..i put a wet paper towel on the bottom or cheesecloth or something..then put the sprouts on them..cover with another wet breathable item...and put in a dark place...you just rinse 2 times a day and in a 2-3 days you will some yummy sprouts!!! no sprouter needed!!!
good luck and thanks for the pic of the green smoothie looks yummy!!!
love sach
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

HA HA great PIC!!

gimme some of that BUDDWEISER!! ( so funny

glug glug gGREEEENZZZZ!!

Hey there leafdrinker .....have you tried parsley in your green drinks yet??? i find it not very good..but was wondering if you had success in putting it in there without killing it .....i put like a whole bundle and fruit and kale but it was too much parlsey....but it gives it a nice taste if you are careful...refreshing...hmm anyways just thought i would see if you had experimented with it yet...
love sach
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Hey EA, thanks for the sprouting advice. I'll try it. I did actually make some wheat sprouts in a nylon bag, which worked, but I didn't like the way they tasted and they gave me a headache. Now I've got some garbanzos going, in hopes of making hummus. Your way of sprouting sounds easier than using a bag. How long do you let them grow? I've heard "until the sprout is as long as the width of the seed". The machine I ordered is more for the kind of sprouts that look like a small plant, or growing wheatgrass. We'll see. I was sold by their promotional video.

I think I've tried parsley once or twice, not as the main green, but as an addition, and it was good. I like it more in soups (no fruit) than smoothies, and I often prefer cilantro. Has anyone ever tried basil? That would be intense.

This morning my smoothie had spinach, banana, peach and strawberry. It was a bit too mild and smooth tasing for my palette, with no acidity (no citrus) or bitterness. Would be great for someone trying their first one! It also wasn't as filling as some others, or else I was hungrier than usual, because I really needed some other kind of food later in the morning, so I made almond/date milk and had a bowl of oats with that and strawberries. Last time I tried oats they didn't agree with me but this time I liked them. Note to self: experiencing rapid change, so don't assume you won't like something just because you didn't a week ago.

Also this morning, my 10-year-old wanted blueberry pancakes, so I made them, and was pretty tempted to have one, but I resisted. (That would have been functionally equivalent to a glass of scotch for a recovering alcoholic.) Speaking of her, last time we were at the store she picked up one of those young coconuts we've heard so much about, and last night we managed to get it open and have some. I must say, I feel about coconut the way some of you feel about druian (with which I also agree). I find the smell nauseating and literally gag after more than 2 sips of the water. Strange! Most people love it (unlike druian).

My weight this morning was 149, down from 160 before I started this. I'll be happy if it wants to go down to 140 and settle there. Also, I started testing my PH this morning. It came out dark purple, somewhere around 8.0. My next task is to figure out whether that's good, bad or indifferent...

I'll probably have a late lunch of dandelion soup.

Hi there, Leafdrinker! Great name, BTW. So I've been away for a few days but am very happy to see you here after hearing so much about you on Starfruit's diary. WELCOME! Your Guacamole looks amazing. I am an avocado addict!


www.inaia.com

Update: I'm still not thrilled with how the oats make me feel a while later. I've got a mild ringing in the ears, a slight headache, and a dull feeling -- like I felt most of the time when eating cooked food. So, revised note to self: avoid unsprouted grains. Also, like last time, I'm having other cooked food cravings now (the local chinese all-you-can-eat buffet...) I think it may be best to avoid specific connections with my former diet (in this case the oats), and stick as much as possible to things rarely ate, such as blended greens, flax, sprouts, etc.

Hmmm very smart. Although i still think your note to self is good in general. I have cooked craving some time s after pure food and wine cuase there food tastes so much like cooked. YEah your right about the smoothies if i don't get some orange or apple in there it doesn't satisfy. Here is the almond pulp recipie. It is really good! I'm sure you could season it diffrently if you wanted but it has bready texture. Also the reipie says it serves twelve so I cut it so it serves 4 so I'll give you both:
Almond Cinnamon Bread
6 (2) cups of almond pulp
2 (2/3) cups of flaxseed meal from 1.5 cups flax seed
1 (1/3) cup olive oil
1/2 (1/5 aprox) cup of date paste, honey, agave, maple syrup whatever sweetner you want
1 (1/3) tsp of cinamon
1 (1/3) cup of raisons or currants
2 (2/3) tsp of celtic sea salt
Mix almond pulp and flaxseed meal together by hand in a large mixing bowl .add olive oil sweetner cinamon raisons and seasalt nad mix with hands.
Press onto a dehydrator tray liend with a telfex sheet. the dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Use your nads to smooth it flat. Flip the bread using another dehydrator try and remove teflex sheet. Dehyrate at 105 for about 4 hours. Store in firdge for up to a week.

xoxo,
Starfruit

K, thanks for the recipe, sounds excellent!

My afternoon soup was so delicious today that I will post the exact ingredients:

- about 2 cups of dandelion green tops (the wide part, discarded the stems)
- half an avocado
- 1 fresh tomato
- about 5 sun-dried tomatos
- 1 date
- 1 tbs olive oil
- juice from half a lemon
- half of a clove of garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp cayene
- between 1 and 2 cups of water (kept adding until medium thick)

Blend thoroughly. It has "all five flavors" and is great!

Hey there....hmm the coconut situation was mine at the beginning as well...when i first started raw i bought like 4 of them cuz everyone raved about them and i finally. found them...well when i got that first guy open EWW haha it was soo gross...i remember i posted all about it and how anyone could like those things were crazy but now i like them in my smoothies...and the water feels so healthy going in lol...but i said i would never like them...did you try the green young ones or the older ones that are brown?? that makes a difference too!!!

hmm no ihave never tried basil...that would be interesting i am sure!!!!....hmm maybe i will try it lol....parsley about killed me though haha....

sounds like you have a lot of your food and feelings under control right now!! good for yoU!! that is awesome.....glad to hear that.....

i posted the cracker recipe in my diary in case you didn't see it

have a wonderful evening...keep up the good work..congrats on the weight loss that is awesome!
lots of love
sach
xoxooxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

That soup looks amazing!

I do LOVE coconuts. I like the Thai ones, though. The ones I used to get in the states don't taste like much to me. and I LOVE basil. I agree about the grains though and I feel a difference even when I eat them sprouted so I try to not eat them frequently. I totally flipped when I tried the corn here though. It was incredible & sweet & juicy. I think you are doing a good job of observing how your body feels & reacts with different foods & tastes.

Anyway, looks like you are doing fabulously well.


www.inaia.com

Hey i forgot to comment on the whole sprout thing haha...i sprout all sorts of things...into the leafy plant looking things...like the sunflower sprouts or alfalfa sprouts you can buy?? or broccoli?? i sprout out of seeds and make them..a.nd usually soak overnight..then sprout for about 2-3 days....and then on the last day i put them near the sun so they develop the chlorophyll(sp) i hope this helps!!
love sach
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Sach: thanks for the posts! I'll check out your cracker recipe. Good to know about your sprouts. I'll probably do a mixture of slightly-sprouted seeds (eg. for rejuvelac) and tiny plants like you described.

Inaia: thanks so much for your posts. I've looked at your journal too, and it sounds like you're doing great as well! I love your affirmation lists. The coconut we had the other day was one of the young Thai ones, which they just recently started carrying at my local Whole Foods Market. I'll try it again in a week or two -- things change.

Yesterday I said my PH was around 8.0, but I think that was not accurate. I waited for the paper to dry before checking the color, but you're supposed to check the moment your pee touches it. This morning (and, thinking back, yesterday as well), it was a nice deep green at first, then turned purple later. So that means my reading is around 7.2 - 7.4, which according to the book that came with it, is about ideal. By the way, that book is full of excellent information, and I'd highly recommend it. You can get it from [www.feelgoodfood.com].

Before going raw, I used to have a glass of red wine (usually a bold cabernet type) most evenings. I had a small glass last night for the first time in a couple of weeks and it tasted totally different to me. It used to taste kind of tart and dry, but now it tastes almost too sweet, more like grape juice. It is so interesting how the palette changes! I didn't really like the taste, or the way it made me feel, so I'm going to continue to happily abstain. Along the same lines, my morning smoothies are starting to taste too sweet to me, so I'm going to gradually cut back on the fruit. I assume what's going on is that I'm saying goodbye internally to some of the molds, fungi etc. that I was formerly feeding with starch, sugar and alcohol, so as I shed those, they're no longer making me uncomfortable when I haven't consumed enough of their fuel.

Anyway, onwards and upwards! I'll post my full food list at the end of the day.

Hi Leafdrinker. I still occasionally have a glass of red. Ilove Shiraz and Zinfandel but sometimes I also don't like the taste so then I don't drink it. I'm enjoying the insights I am getting from reading about your journey.

And thanks for checking my journal. I responded on it to you as well. Best..


www.inaia.com

As promised, today's food:

Breakfast: smoothie w/lacinato kale (whole bunch, stems removed), 1 banana, 1 orange and 5 strawberries, plus a few flax crackers

Lunch: hummus I made from sprouted garbanzos, tomato, celery, parsley, lime, oil and salt (roughly the recipe for "Sergei's Hummus" from the 12 Steps book", plus a few more flax crackers. Since I only ate half the hummus, so I dehydrated the rest into crackers to save for later.

Afternoon Snack: 1 apple, then later 2 small carrots.

Dinner: soup from spinach, avocado, cilantro, lemon, red bell pepper, with dulse flakes and a few more flax crackers.

Evening Snack: 1 peach.

I just realized I had no nuts today. Interesting. I felt "just right" all day, never too hungry or too full, consistent energy. The only food-related problem today was a consistent runny nose, due to the fact that I added a bit of garlic and cayene to the last batch of flax crackers I made. I don't know why I keep thinking I need these flavor distorters, but they definitely do not agree with me, so I'll be giving the rest of this batch to my daughter (who loves the hot stuff) and making some nice boring ones for myself.

I'm really enjoying the food preparation now. Getting out the ingredients, washing, cutting, blending, cleaning up as I go along (about which I'm slightly compulsive) -- it all puts a smile on my face. It's very satisfying to live a day in which everything I ate (except the dulse, oil and salt) was made from scratch using leaves, fruits and seeds.

I feel more conviction every day about staying with this long-term. Today I dumped out all my old wine and liquor bottles, and (sigh) threw out my old favorite comfort snacks: ginger snaps and dark chocolate. It felt great, and provided some nice extra cupboard space as well!

Have a nice evening everyone.

Hey thanks for the crackers in advance! Yum yum yum. OH wow you are doing so well. I love the simplicity of the food preperation too and oh my goodness i can't believe you threw out all that stuff. i'm so proud of you. Well i will see you tomorrow. Hooray.

xoxo,
Starfruit

Hey there ....awesome awesome day..cleaning out your cubboards....getting rid of all that stuff and really getting the place healthy and clean!! yay you!!! i am soo glad things are clicking for you and feeling good about things!!! you seem to be doing really welL!! i am sooo happy and proud of yoU!! keep up the good work
aww how sweet...i wish my daddy was sending me some crackers..haha oh well he sent me a mall gift card for 200 dollars for some new clothes..you daddies sure are great
take care
love ya sash
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Wow! Big step throwing out your wine stuff. You're a bigger man than me. Good going!


www.inaia.com

hey there..well i know you are in NYC...cuz i called earlier to wish luck and good energy to your daughter tonight....hope you had an aweosme day and things went welL!!!
enjoy your time with the family...
love sach
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Happy father's day to you...happy father's day to you..happy father's day dear leafdrinker..happy father's day to you!!!
hope all is well
take care
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Happy Father's day! That's right!


www.inaia.com

Hey leafdrinker...i think i got the perfect amount of parsley today! haha good thing...i was going to try basil but decided against it i will do that one day though..the parlsey was good gave it a kick...not too much though cuz the stuff makes me gag in larger amounts...glad i gave it another try thanks to you!!
hope you are having a great daddy's day
love sach
xoxoxoxox

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

I'm back from NYC now, and all is well with the leafdrinker family. My dear starfuit sang marvelously at her cabaret and as always it was a thrill to see her perform! Now she's got a good friend from Boston staying with her for the week, so forgive her if she doesn't post as actively as usual.

EA and Inaia, thanks so much for thinking of me on Father's Day! I really appreciate that. I am very grateful to my wife and daughters for letting me be a father. It is a true privilege.

As for my food, I think I'm about ready to make a shift towards a more strict focus on food combining, and inclusion of more sprouted and fermented foods. While I continue to feel very good on my mostly Boutenko-influenced diet, I'm still gassy more often than I'd like to be, and sometimes (like after lunch today) still have times when it feels like all my energy and then some is going into the digestion process. While in NYC, I looked through the course notes my daughter has from Raw Soul, which are based mostly on Ann Wigmore's teachings, and they made alot of sense to me. I'm just starting to read "The Hippocrates Diet" and also just started my first batch of rejuvelac.

Quick recap of food for the past 2 days:

Friday Breakfast: kale, banana, grapefruit, peach and plum smoothie with a few flax crackers.

Snack: a few hummus crackers (from the hummus I made Thursday)

Lunch: blended chard, dandelion, tomato and lime with more of the hummus crackers (I was surprised how good the drink tasted, and will try to have more fruitless green drinks)

Snack: an apple and some almonds

Evening in NYC: sampled food gifts from my daughter, including raw sauerkraut, raw olives and raw chocolate, which were all extremely delicious. Also ate some lentil sprouts that I brought, and some organic cherries. This strange combination, and/or the NYC smog, gave me a mild headache.

Saturday Breakfast: kale, banana, orange, kiwi. Didn't really enjoy this smoothie. I'm really moving towards not mixing fruit and greens anymore.

Late Morning: lentils, sauerkraut, olives

Early Afternoon: double shot of wheatgrass from the juice bar where starfruit works, plus a small cup of overflow berry smoothie that my younger daughter ordered. Probably should not have mixed those, but I'm particularly bad at resisting other people's leftovers.

Later: had a piece of raw lasagna prepared by Raw Sole and sold at the juice bar. Although it was delicious, I felt that it was way too complex, too many flavors, too many kinds of food simultaneously. It gave me gas. Some day my digestive system will be fully mended, and I'll be able to enjoy these beautiful raw gourmet dishes, but I'm not there yet.

After we got home, I finally broke down and tried one bite each of some of the most beautiful bread and cheese ever, that we got at a farmer's market in NYC. Interestingly, I did not want any more than that, and it had no ill effect. (Not too long ago, I would have totally pigged out on such fare.)

This morning I had another green/fruit smoothie: lacinato kale, grapefruit, banana, strawberry. It was delicious, but I could tell I wasn't digesting it quite right, and my energy wasn't so good later in the morning. Part of the problem may be my preference for having them cold. According to Ann Wigmore, food eaten cold is harder to digest. Starting tomorrow, I think I'll have a room temperature fruitless drink to start each day.

For lunch I made more hummus, from a new batch of garbanzo sprouts, with cilantro, tomato, celery, lemon and olive oil. It was delicious again, and I had it with flax crackers. Afterwards, I had more of the raw chocolate and some mint tea. Somthing in that combination (probably the chocolate and tea) really knocked me out, I had to take a nap, and it took me an hour afterwards to get my energy back. It occurs to me now, this may also be another round of detox symtoms I'm having. I seem to remember other people having trouble after 2-3 weeks, which is the point I'm at now. I've also had several times in the past two days when I've considered a return to SAD eating, so that's another sign of detox.

For dinner, I stuck to good food combining and had blended chard, dandelion, cucumber and lemon, and ate some 2-day sprouted wheat berries (which begin to have the syrupy taste of wheatgrass) with it. I also had more of the sauerkraut and olives. I'm just now starting to feel a bit off-kilter in the stomach from this meal too, so I'm not sure what's going on. I have a feeling the rejuvelac will help, but it won't be ready for 3 more days.

That's all for now. Sorry to be so verbose. If you're read this far, you have my sincere appreciation!

Hi there Leafdrinker! or, my name for you, Mr Chlorophyl...same meaning! You do like your greens, don't you? I do too, especially lettuces. I used to like kale a lot, but that is lessening. Have you tried the "massaged kale" salad yet?

Glad to hear you are sticking with it. I've tried a few times. Read a lot. I am learning! I would like to recommend to you that you look into high fruit low fat. The book 8-1-1: I am telling everyone to read it! (and there are so many many good books, but this one is a real how-to-do-raw-and-why book.) Take from it what you want, but read it...you may or may not agree, but it also could save you a lot of trouble. I wish I had come across this book earlier on. Yes, there are so many conflicting ideas among the rawfoodists! There are different views and opinions on this that and the other---that said, it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with several at the same time while you begin and not just one. ... believe me, it could be a lot easier if you read Dr. Graham's book. Maybe, maybe not. I am trying there to temper my enthusiasm and firm belief in the rawfood diet the way Dr. Graham has presented it in his book.

You'd think I am a spokesperson! I don't mean to sound so strong or imposing. It is merely that it sounds like you are really intent and I am merely suggesting that you look into the other viewpoints and see what makes more sense. Just friendly advice! And, of course, do the personal experimenting accordingly.

We are here to support and share. I hope you think I am sharing and not busting the door down!

Elakti 's

Wow. You are doing very well. You rdiet looks incredible. I am steppin git up taday and you have definitely been an inspiration in my making that decision.


www.inaia.com

Thanks, Elakti -- I am definitely here to learn and am open to all advice.

Inaia, it's good to know my example is uesful to you! Thanks.

It is clear that to take on a radical diet such as this, we need to have a strong and specific motivation, that we can keep referring back to during moments of uncertainty. In my case, I was tired of being mildly depressed most of the time, being grouchy with my kids, being 20 lbs overweight, and not knowing when I would next have that nice feeling of good energy and a clear mind. So my motivation is to improve myself in all these areas, and so far, that has been enough to keep me going.

Oh, and HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!! And you have a beautiful daughter! And your family is so receptive to raw eating! I think you are doing so much so well!

Elakti

hey there...well i am glad you had so much fun in NYC with the family!! yay for wheatgrass juice it has amazing benefits!!!
keep up the awesome work....food combining that is awesome i am a stickler for food combining too haha so it will be nice to have a buddy in it...
take care and have a great day!!!
love ya
sach
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Hi. I know exactly what you mean. My sense of purpose is so strong for being healthy, vegan and vibrant & young & agile and clear-headed and to have all the edge I can get to help accomplish the things that are important to me that I am never tempted to choose a less-healthy and life-enriching lifestyle. I feel like this diet and lifestyle give me a huge advantage.

I gotta stand up there in those body-hugging gowns while people are staring me up & down & my sinuses have to be clear, I have to feel the emotion and tell the story. imagine if I had a big zit or was lacking energy!

Anyway, "I can relate" is what I'm trying to say in my long-winded way. I''m DONE for the day. Hope you had an awesome day.


www.inaia.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/18/2007 04:32PM by Inaia.

Hi leafdrinker, I have been reading on your progress and I am very impressed. You seem to have a strong grip on changing your eating habits. I too have been reading the ann wigmore books and have recently been making the rejuvelac. I have been also sprouting the grass to grow. There seems to be a lot of preperation on these things. The last batch of my rejuvelac molded so I had to throw it out. So I am now without the rejuvelac for a time until the sprouts start growing again. My wheat grass is almost ready for planting though and I purchased some trays of the green stuff last friday. As for the rejuvelac I did not like the tast and found if I miked some honey and let it sit for a couple of days it was a rather tasty drink. It tasted almost like a fizzy lemon drink and it seemed to be a great aid for digestion.
I am grateful for your input......keep up the good work
Pam

LOL about my long winded message last night. I was SO exhausted! Anyway, your awareness makes your progress move at a quick and steady pace. Looks like you are doing great! Best... Inaia


www.inaia.com