I've been a semi-vegetarian for nine years. I don't eat meat or dairy. Sometimes I eat fish. The last time I ate meat was while I was pregnant-- I just could not get rid of the craving for hamburger meat! I want to go raw, but I'm not really sure how to. I also want to start my little boy on it while he's young, so he grown up with it. Unfortunately, we live with people who go for processed foods because they're cheap and convenient. How do we get around the influences of the bad stuff?

-No need to 'get around' it......as long as you START at the level that you ARE comfortable with now....and set small goals....to increase 1-2% per week.....you won't notice much of a change....but your body will!

-One step ahead of where YOU are comfortable with is the journey to take.

-David Mason

I've recently realized that my eating habits are thoroughly disgusting. I repeatedly eat that which I know is unhealthy. Even things that look healthy but are not truly healthy.

It all started when I picked up a box of cereal the other morning. After I ate, I was putting it away, and I happened to glance at the ingredient label.

In Total Whole Grain. there are ingredients like calcium carbonate-- which is mainly used n the constriction industry as a building material, as a filler in plastics, and as an extender in paints. Ew. There is also a preservative called BHT-- or butylated hydroxytoluene. According to research done by the FDA, this stuff can contribute to carcinogenicity or tumorigenicity-- cancer-causing properties. Again, ew.

And that's just in "good-for-you" whole-grain cereal. I'm not even going to get into the stuff you find in Pop Tarts and fruit snacks. Things I can't even pronounce and that I'm afraid to look up.

Everything I put into my mouth has an effect on my health and my body. So why do I continue to put things that are harmful into my body? The answer-- I don't know. I have the option of eating healthier things. Granted, it means preparing all of my own food, but I'm willing to forgo the convenience of boxed cereals and packaged snacks for something that is going to improve my health in the long run.



Okay. That's all. I'm done musing about food for now. Later!

-I hear you. Even people that have been all raw for years (as I have) still have to deal with the same issues YOU do....(that is if they are continuing to improve their diet...which I am).

-You are certainly asking the right questions! The addictions counselors say: You can NEVER get enough of what you DON'T want. So if you are eating to cover some other deficiency...you will NEVER be full. Try working on acceptance of what you cannot change. Try accepting it fully for 1 week before trying to change it. Try it!

-Our emotions can often cause us to choose things we KNOW are not right. All you can do is what you can do!

-Ask YOURSELF what makes YOU feel loved - then give that to yourself. Then you are a self-actualized person...one of the highest stages of growth.

-David Mason

I just read the label. If I can't pronounce it, I won't eat it.OLOLOL!! !

I've been eating what I can as far as raw stuff goes. Unfortunately, my aunt (with whom I live) is a stay at home mom and goes grocery shopping for her family of six during the day. By the time I get home from work and have the time to go grocery shopping, the cabinets and fridge are full and there is nowhere possible to put those organic carrots or that organic watermelon!

On teh upside, I did win a (used) juicer on eBay today. Had to get it used-- a brand-new Champion Juicer is $300!!!

I gotta go rescue a friend who has stranded himself becuase he's an idiot who forgot to put gas in his car...

S

I have had a stroke of good luck this weekend! There's room in the fridge and the cabinets (sorta). My non-raw family members are out of town for the weekend, which pretty much means that I've got room to put the good food! I can see about claiming a small portion of the fridge and/or a cabinet to put my foods, if I talk to my aunt about it.

I kinda broke from my raw diet last night, though. I've been having a bit of personal trouble, and that was on my mind all day. I only had a little bit of good news, with the winning of that juicer and a small raise at work. Then I went to rescue the friend with the broken gas guage (his excuse for not putting gas in the car). We wound up going out to meet another friend. This other friend has been keeping a pretty big secret from me and it hurt to find out the way I did. After a not-so-wonderful day yesterday, discovering his secret that way really hurt. And so I went home and did the dumb thing regarding food. I went straight for the ice cream. I only ever eat it when I've had a day from h-e-double-toothpicks (as my cousin likes to say), and yesterday certainly qualified, but I'm paying for it now. After weeks of not eating dairy, my stomach is killig me.

Maybe today will be better...

S





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2006 02:38PM by sredrose12.

I've just gotten baqck from the grocery store. I filled a whole drawer with papayas, peaches, nectarines, celery, carrots, and cucumbers. I also picked up parsnips, because I've never had them before and I'm curious as to how they taste. I also bought a coconut (don't know why... I'll never manage to get into it!) and bananas. It isn't the greatest.. but it's a start!

S

are you having a beter day today, then? I hope so.

Yes, I am, thank you.

I haven't spoken to the friend who lied to me yet. I left him a voicemail on his phone last night to tell him I was upset and I left it at that.

I did my stuff today (grocery shopping, Father's Day card shopping, etc). My sisters were over today, too, so we spent the day hanging out.

I won the fod dehydtarot from eBay today, too, so hopefulyl within the week I'll have the juicer and the dehydrator and I'll be able to add more options to my diet!

S

since it's been so warm here in Iowa, I've been munching on just fresh fruit and some veggies here lately. I think if I put too much in my stomach at once, I'll hate myself soon after! We've had a lot of 90 degree days here. Yuck! It's good that you're in a better mood today, then! Many blessings to you and yours!

Owwwww....

Yknow.. I like yoga and all.. but I really should remember to MOVE THE COFFEE TABLE before I try to do it. It is much less than pleasent to come out of a position and smack your head on the table.

Oh, well. I'll do more yoga tomorrow.. I got an hour and a half in today, and now my stomach is gorwling.. so I'm off to eat a carrot!

S

good idea! Moving the coffee table I mean. I'm glad I don't have one of those! I'm clutzy enough just standing still!

... that every time things start looking good, they turn right around and start looking bad again?

A dear friend of mine-- practically my big brother-- has decided that he thoroughly HATES Florida and has gone back home to Missouri. Took the first Greyhound bus this afternoon. He's been having issues with his father since his dad's been home (drives for a living). His truck, cell phone, and wallet were all stolen on Tuesday. His job was dead-end and his father kicked him out of the house (got tired of his 24-yr-old son living there, I guess). His dad gave him enough money for a Greyhound ticket and a hotel for a week, and M decided Missouri (where he has lots of family and friends) was the only logical place to go. He has me and J here, and neither of us has a room he can borrow until he gets back on his feet. So he and I spent our last few hours together last night driving around being a mixture of melancholy and weird. He called me from the bus station this afternoon (I was at work, so he called my office) to tell me he loved me, he'd miss me, and he'd call when he got to Rolla.

THe ONLY thing I've wanted to do since he called me to say he was at the bus station was go home and make cookie dough and then eat it. And, stupid me, my emotions won. I didn't eat much, but still.

Oh, well. I'll go back to raw at dinner. It was just too much to handle tonight...

S

That type of situation is never an easy one to deal with. No one can blame you for having some comfort food. Do you belive in the "there are no accidents" theory? Concidering my religion, I do. My point is, everything happens for a reason. Even if we don't understand what that reason may be. Keep your friend in your thoughts and say a couple prayors for him, as will I. Many blessings to you and yours.

Anything that you are HIGHLY motivated to do.......even if it's cookie dough......you should DO.....but with GREAT consciousness......putting all your awareness into it.....and seeing how it REALLY makes you feel.

-When you come to some REAL honest and committed decisions about what you really want......you will be so MOTIVATED that you won't have to kick yourself.

-You won't have to use any more discipline to avoid poor food choices.....then you would toward playing in the street. How come THAT'S not hard to avoid? How come it's not hard to avoid herion? THAT would certainly make you feel good!

-Anyway: set SMALL and obtainable goals and feel successful my friend. Success breeds so success - so do yourself a favor and practice success....no matter how small!

-Bless you - and may peace walk with you hand-in-hand.

-David Mason

Well... here's a small update on the friend who left home. I got a call from a friend of his (I'll call him JH to make it easier) in MO. He got to St. Louis about 8ish. He apparently didn't tell anyone up there he was coming until he got to St. Louis, so JH was totally taken off-guard. JH told me he'd have M call me when he got there; he'll probably be another couple hours or so.

I know he has at least a couple resources up there, even if his arrival is a surprise-- JH told me he knew of a house that M could rent for a cheap rate, and he knew of a few places looking for employees. That will help, at least for now. He asked me if I knew whether M was planning on staying for short-term or long-term. I honestly couldn't tell him-- he said "a while" when I asked, and I don't know if "a while" means a few weeks, a few months, or a few decades.

Some other at least mostly-good news... my juicer and food dehydrator came in today. I'll open them and try to figure out how they run tomorrow.

Have a blessed day,

S

I guess some people just have nomadic temdancies. At least you made sure he's be safe though.

I unpacked the juicer and dehydrator today. I tried the juicer-- made a veggie juice using two small carrots, two celery stalks, half a cucumber, and one medium parsnip. Cleanup was a little difficult (trying to clean around the cutter blade), but the juice was great and the machine was easy to use.

I haven't tried the dehydrator yet (no instructions and almost nothing to dehydrate!), but I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow, so I'll probably get something to test it out with.

I love getting new stuff in the mail. Kinda reminds me of christmas.LOLOL! !

I made coconut ice cream tonight.

And BOY is it a workout getting into a coconut!!!!!

My uncle opened it for me, and then broke it into small enough pieces to pry the meat out. I would up cutting myself twice trying to remove it all from the shell. I got a little more than a quart of milk out of one medium-sized coconut. I've got the mix in the freezer, and tomorrow I'm going to homogenize it with the juicer to make ice cream. I kept the coconut shreds and put them in teh dehydrator to toast them (I should go remove them soon, I think!) to use as a topping.

Well, that's in for my update!!!
S

sounds good! I agree though, coconuts are a pain in the arse!

Tje coconut ice cream was... interesting. You have to try REALLY HARD to taste the coconut. It's really watery. I must have mixed too much water in when I was making the coconut milk... Oh, well.

I got some amazing news from my lawyer today. I can't really get into what it was (open case, all that legal secretiveness), but it was REALLY REALLY REALLY good news! I can't do a whole lot to celebrate, but I wanted to share! Afer a day from H-E-Double Toothpicks, I needed good news.. God took me to the very edge of what He knew I could handle, and just as I was about to walk over that edge, He brought me back! Faith has been hard for me recently because of all the legal situations, but at least (and long last!) one of them is over and I dont' have to worry on that one anymore!!!



*does several happy dances*

I'm moving in with a girlfriend and her daughter. Unfortunately, they don't have internet access, so I won't be able to be on several times a day anymore. I can't access the boards at work, either again.

SO, I'll be making a trip to the public library a few days every week to check in and catch up. Here's my email address for anyone who wants it (I can check this one at work): sredrose1206@hotmail.com

Have a lovely ( and hopefully dry!) holiday!