I ate lots of fruit and half of a persimmon today. The persimmon cost a lot and wasn't as sweet as I remembered one being last year, so I probably will not buy anymore.

I also ate a lot of leftover green smoothie from Friday night and it still seemed fresh and good, although I'm sure there was some nutrient loss.

My daughter went to a concert as well as that play this week and was tired and grumpy today. We got into quite a fight and I sent her back to bed. She said she was still mad at me later but we watched some TV and talked like normal so that was good. I took my son out clothes shopping and he actually talked and joked with me more than he usually does on these rare shopping trips (he hates shopping). It was pretty enjoyable actually and I think he was excited to get some new clothes.

My daughter is proud of me for sticking with the raw food diet. She is getting bored with pizza and some of her usual weekly meals, but she has tried a raw food diet before and it doesn't work for her right now. So tonight she had a salad and a baked potato with cheese and then ice cream from Whole Foods for dessert. I am not pushing anyone to eat like me, but I am trying to eliminate transfats, high fructose corn syrup, artifical colors, preservatives, etc. from their diet. Can't hurt and maybe it will help to clear up my son's acne.

hi karen! i know what you mean about holding yourself back. i catch myself doing that alot. sometimes, if i do not have an outlet for all the energy i have on raw, i will feel like i need to binge on something. but really, my body is trying to sabotage me, making me think i want something. maybe that is the same reason why you are doing this as well.

so nice you and your kids can do stuff together. and even better you are setting such a great example of taking control of your life and your health through clean healthy living.

Thanks, Camille. That sounds exactly like what I am doing!

Today's raw inspiration from Shazzie hit home with me:

"I was always the worst ever at cleaning my house. Even when I was little, I'd pay my sister 50p a week to clean my room. I just couldn't get to grips with cleaning yet I hated looking at all the mess. When I went raw, I found myself going through all those drawers, throwing out all that stuff and scrubbing up. Over time, my ability to clean ebbed and flowed. It got worse after having Evie and it actually felt impossible to keep anything clean. I'd wonder what was the point in trying. I certainly didn't have any motivation to do it when I'd finally get her to sleep at 10 or 11pm each evening, because it would be a mess the next day. Then, after a liver cleanse, I suddenly found it easier again. It seems that every time I cleanse myself further, I cleanse my house further. We are what we live in, everything around us is a total reflection of us. Right now, my house looks so beautiful! I can't believe that I didn't know how to clean. You just enjoy it and enjoy yourself and it happens. Wow. All these years. What would further inner cleansing help you with?"

So, maybe there's hope for me yet! I am overwhelmed by our cluttered house and someday hope that my internal cleansing motivates me to do some house cleansing. :-)

So far today I've had pumpkin seeds, bananas, and muscadine grapes.

I think I need to look into a colonic. My house is such a mess. I just don't know where to start some times. Today I washed several loads of dishes and worked in the kitchen trying to clean it but alas it is a mess again so when I wake in the morning I will have to clean it again. I did start boxing some stuff. I think I am doing it because it looks so cluttery. I hope to just put it away and see how it feels to have no clutter. I asked my 25 yr old daughter to help me clean however she ended up just sitting around watching t.v. The younger girls came home from school and mostly did home work. I get so overwhelmed with the house cleaning. I also get side tracked a lot. I think I will try to make a list to keep on track to get it done. It does make a difference to get some of the clutter boxed up. I took some things off the shelves and it looks a little better. I hope that will make me feel better to just unload the clutter and simplify things.

thats really interesting karennd thank you for sharing that !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

thanks for sharing, karen! i am off today, so i think i will go do some house cleaning! i think having a clean environment also motivates me to be clean inside. its all connected.

sorry i wanted to add to my above post becacuse it seems like such an odd coincidence you mentioned this

back when iwas living alone in my apartment i was on a kick for 2 years i lived there doing colon cleansing (by a professional) and home enemas ..not really sure why i stopped other then i moved out of the area where the cleanser had his shop

but my apartment was always clean and tidy and i didnt feel overwhelmed by clutter eetc .. and yet before that and after that my places seemed/seem hard to keep up with

strange !!!

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

pampam, I can so-o-o relate. I am overwhelmed and don't know where to start either. I end up concentrating on dishes and washing clothes. There is a pile of stuff in one room that my husband is supposed to take to Goodwill, but it just sits there. I hate fighting with the kids to get them to do any chores. Yeah, I would like to just unload a bunch of stuff and simplify - but where to start? You know, at times in the past I have gotten motivated and really cleaned up and decluttered an area of the house but then it seems to just get cluttered again and that is very demotivating for the next time. But sounds like you are making progress - boxing things up and simplifying. Good for you.

I agree, Camille. It works both ways. A cluttered house puts a constant low level of stress on us, so it is hard to have a strong immune system. But then eating junk food and being full of toxins makes it hard to clean house. Hope you made progress with your house cleaning.

That is so interesting, Jodi. That seems to validate what Shazzie said for sure. So staying clean internally helped you to keep your apartment clean.

I finally remembered what my colonic kit is called - it is called a bib kit and I think I got it on this website and it looks just like this [www.bibkit.com]. I really like it over the colema boards made out of plastic that you have to pull up a chair for.

I made a smoothie out of the following and it was great: 1 large yellow tomatoe, all the small internal leaves of a bunch of escarole, 1 orange bell pepper, 1/2 of a large zucchini, and 1 nice black avocado. Not too sweet, just perfect.

I forgot to mention that I am 3 months raw as of yesterday! Whoo-hoo.

I can do this - forever. :-)

I can't wait for my blood tests on October 12th to see how well this has all paid off.

great news karen! that is such an accomplishment, as anyone who has embarked on this journey will tell you. especially for someone with t1d! i admire your tenacity. congratulations. cant wait to see what happens on the 12th.

will you know right away or do you have to wait to get the results after the 12th?

thats awesome Karen i had the same feeling at the 90day mark .. i was like wow . that wasnt so bad lol

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Thanks, guys! Yes, 90 days feels like quite an accomplishment and it wasn't that bad. I would say the worst was a couple of times when it got in the way socially. But that has all worked out by now with my work group understanding why I am doing this (the Type 1 Diabetes card does help sometimes ;-) ). The best part is no rebound action on my blood sugar levels from the foods I eat. With the colonics, the cravings were not that bad. And the simplicity of eating this way is nice, less to worry about.

Camille, I will have to wait a few days after the 12th before I can find out the results. Since the 12th is a Friday, I will probably know by Tuesday the 16th and I will call and ask for a copy of my labs. My appointment with my endocrinologist isn't until the 23rd and I don't want to wait until then to see them.

Our Sunday School group is meeting Saturday night at someone's house to watch "The Ultimate Gift" and bring and share desserts. I am going to try to make a raw dessert to take. That way I can eat something and I won't be the only one not eating anything. I found a strawberry pie I'm going to try from the www.happycow.net website. The crust is made of dates and pecans or almonds (I think I'll go with pecans) and the filling is made of strawberries, dates, and lemon juice. I am going with the option to add dark chocolate chunks into the filling too. That should be tasty, I hope! It could start conversations about raw food too, who knows?

I liked Jinjee's quote today:

"What we believe is very important. I can be eating the healthiest diet in the world, but if I still worry that I’m eating poorly, it won’t do me as much good. Or I can be eating what I believe is the best diet, and even if it isn’t, it will do me good, and it will lead me to a better way of life. The thing is to do what we really believe in. The other thing is to not focus only on diet. The focus is on good health, or on being a balanced person. Then everything falls in place."

So true, attitude is even more important than diet. It's hard to remember that sometimes...

nice quote i heartily agree .. so many people just focus on the *diet* part ..when really its just a peice of the pie/puzzle .. and even worse some people seem to think everything negative is caused by diet and everything cured is caused by diet when in fact there are so many variables .. to say that .. to me seems irresponsible

i beleive that balance cant be achieved untill one addresses all aspects .. and maybe some of us will never be truly balance (myself included lol !) but im working on it and to me thats whats important

thank you for sharing that !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I'm glad you liked it, Jodi! That's neat that you added it to your signature too.

Douglas Graham and Frederic Patenaude are always talking about how we are only as healthy as our weakest link. So, you are right, diet is only one piece of the puzzle.

I think my weakest link right now is not getting enough sleep. Like you, I am still working on that balance. yawn :-0

Hmmm, I just thought of something. I think I will start a weakest link thread on this board. That ought to be interesting.

sounds good im always in for peoples opinions hehe nothing like stirring up a good debate !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

karennd thank you so much again for the quote it was what i really needed to reaad at just the right time ... funny how things like that work isnt it?

i cant wait to hear about your test results too .. ive been quietl following and reading your journal for awhile and im excited to see how its going for you

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Thanks, Jodi. That is funny, isn't it, how the universe provides us with what we need at the exact right moment? I've had that happen a lot to me too.

Today, I liked this quote:

"Relax. I think relaxing is the key to life. I learned this during my childbirth labors. It is an essential ingredient to a good labor. It is an essential ingredient to a good life. It is an essential ingredient to health. It is an essential ingredient to letting the all-live diet work for you and your family."
- from Jinjee & Storm's eBook, Raising Raw Vegan Children

hi karen! i like those quotes as well. especially the last one. i am always telling people this. "just take it easy. relax. its not worth getting upset about"! people always let such small things get them in a tizzy. not that labor is a small thing! ha ha ! lol!

hope your day is going well. my was great.

Oops, I find another great quote!

"Remember: if we don't figure out how to live with nature, nature will most certainly figure out how to live without us. We are not a necessary component for this planet. We are not in charge and, frankly, we don't own anything around here. We are just guests." Mike Adams of [www.newstarget.com]

I've felt for a long time, that if we don't turn things around the human species will not survive. So this quote hit home. But the movement is spreading, so hopefully we will turn things around in time.

I forgot to say earlier, that one of the reasons I made it 3 months this time is the support of this group. Thanks to everyone!!

Hi, Camille. So true, labor is not an easy thing. But I remember when I tried to fight it and tightened up those muscles it was horrible and once I learned to relax those muscles, it went so much easier. With my second, a 9 pound 15.4 ounce girl it went so much easier because I learned to relax those muscles. My first was a 7 pound 7 ounce boy and that labor was horrible, because I was fighting it. I guess that's why you hear great things about those water births, because the water helps to relax you...

I had a good day. I ate too many concord like grapes this afternoon (they looked like big blueberries) and my blood sugar shot up because I didn't take enough insulin. But then I took the insulin and I was good.

I bought the ingredients to make a raw strawberry pie tomorrow for a social outing.

I also bought all the ingredients to make a nori wrap like the one I saw Karen Knowler make on youtube. I wanted something other than a smoothie or a salad and that had been playing over and over in mind as something that might be yummy. It was pretty good and a nice change of pace!

this is completely insignificant...but you mentioned nori wraps, so i had to mention this...i love nori! i actually eat it by itself a lot.
if you like sea vegetables, you will probably love dulse. it is my favorite sea vegetable by far.
i absolutely cannot digest raw veggies at this point, so sea vegetables are great...softer and easier to digest.

what do you put in your nori wraps?

Hi, y_c! I put avocado, tomato, raw olives, mushrooms, bell pepper, lettuce, and sunflower sprouts - just a little of everything and it was great!

Here's Karen's video that inspired me! [www.youtube.com]

The vegi wrap sounds yummey. I wonder where you get raw olives. I got some little grapes from my dads house and they have tough skins and are a little tart. I dont like the skin so much so I was thinking of juicing them. That would make a potent drink, dont you think?

That does sound good! Let us know how it tastes.

I get raw olives at our local Whole Foods that has an olive bar. They have a few kinds that are unpasteurized. Other than that, you can order them online like from David Wolfe's site or I am sure the wraps would be fine without them.

Aaaggh. I am up too late again. Good night. :-)

The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison.
- Dr. Ann Wigmore, N.D.

So true.

I was bad yesterday. I bought a small container of blanched almonds with sea salt on them. They looked so good! I ate some of them and they made me feel bad, so I threw the rest away. And today my stomach was a little upset and I was a little constipated. After a big movement with lots of long, stringy bms - I felt much better. I think those passed and I am good now. That'll teach me! Now let's see if that experience helps me to not partake of my company's nuts that they provide tomorrow or the next day in the breakroom. I have still been eating those up until now, just not as many.

Other than that I have done good. The family went on an outing yesterday and I made sure to pack a banana and an apple in case my bs crashed. Good thing, because I did need to eat the banana and all they had for sale was BBQ and ice cream. We had a good time though. Rode an old fashined train and sat in the upper part of the caboose, the cupola. It was cool.

I have tried some marinated mushrooms lately and now I want to marinate mushrooms yum yum.
karen you have so much great information. Thanks for sharing what you know and learn it is so helpful.

the nori wraps sound great...except (don't atttack me!) avocado. for some reason, i can't make myself like them.

hmm...was it the almonds that made you feel sick? i can only eat a few at a time, or else i belch all day. weird. almond butter is another story...i can eat that without a problem. must have something to do with it being pureed...

Thanks, pam, that is sweet of you to say. You have helped me too on my journey.

y_c, I didn't use to like avocados either and I tested as allergic to them once a few years back, but now I am eating them on occasion again. Have you tried one when it is black and slightly soft to the touch? That is when they are ripe and taste the best - like in a smoothie to make it creamy, as the base in a dressing, or in a nori wrap. But we all like different things and I may hate them someday too, my tastes do keep changing.

I think it was because the almonds were blanched and covered with salt. Yuk. I can handle a few raw almonds with no salt, but we can't get those anymore anyway since they irradiate all of those. You know, I was belching more today, maybe that was why! Thanks for mentioning that. I can eat a little raw almond butter without any problems, raw with no salt.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2007 04:44AM by karennd.

I haven't tried raw almond butter yet. I say the price and got very scared of it haha. When I started eating raw foods I had at least an avacado a day now I am tired of avacados. I only have them every once in a while. I guess I fixed the yin for nuts by having bad teath. That sure took care of that problem. I can't chew them. I think I was wanting to feel a heavy food in my stomach and so I ate the almonds. They were very addicting. I really felt good having green smoothies though and hope to start making more of them. I am lazy and sometimes would prefer to open a banana rather than clean the vegies. Thats bad isnt it?

You have a good day karennd.