Hey, everyone, I have a few questions.

1) A lot of people say that avocados are important for digesting fat deposits in the body with the enzyme lipase, but still others say that they should be included in the diet sparsely. How many avocados do you usually eat in a day? My grocery store sells abnormally small ones (about 1.5-2 inches in diameter sometimes) so I'll occasionally have 2 in a day when I eat them.

2) How well does your body digest sprouted beans? I saw sprouted lentils for sale at the grocery store for 1.99 but they seemed strange because I haven't eaten them in ages.

3) Has anyone used psyllium husks or caplets to do cleanses? When I worked at a health food store last year I actually designed the sign for those pills, but now I'm considering taking them myself, haha.

I don't mind anyone's comments on my behavior lately. I'm not so much trying to get help as I am just letting you know what's going on, because I felt like I was hiding something from you guys. It's an over the counter pill so there's no amphetamines or anything in it, just green tea extracts, taurine, hoodia, and other plant derivatives.

Hope everyone's day is going well.

Hi Everyone! I hope this Memorial Day weekend won't be too much of a bummer challenge for all of us.

Khale: I know it must be a real downer not to feel comfortable with all the commotion this weekend with restaurants, partying around junk food etc. Usually at those family gatherings someone always brings a raw fruit platter and fresh fruit salad. It might not be organic, but you can get by. My husband and I, too, said no to an invitation to a Japanese restaurant for Sat. nite. Instead, I offered to babysit for my 22 month old nightmare-in-a-restaurant grandson. (The 4 & 5 1/2 yr old are pretty good).

Suncloud: How awesome you swim with your husband. Great exercise. I wish I liked to exercise. I'm working on it. This AM we walked 2 miles and are planning to walk again this evening. It's a start. I'm so envious of those of you who just love exercise! I hope I will be one of you one day in the near future. Great that you have a 4yr old grandson. Is there anything better in life than grandbabies? My daughter and son-in-law have a 5 1/2, 4 and almost 2yr old. The total delights of our life!

Rawfrancois: I'm saying prayers for you every night that you will deep six those *!@*?!@^*!! f_ _ _ ing diet pills and treat your body with the respect it deserves. Just think of how good you will feel and look (skin, hair, nails etc)
when you get back on track like I know you WANT to! Every single person on this board has physical, emotional or any of a multitude of various challenges at one time or another. We all stumble and sometimes even fall. Somehow, something eventually "clicks" and we stand up, dust ourselves off and start all over again. Don't beat yourself up over what's happened in the past. You can't change it. But you CAN take charge of what happens today, this very minute. Don't worry about tomorrow. There's no promise of tomorrow. Instead cherish WHO you are, how LOVED you are by all of us and take today and do your best. It doesn't have to be perfect. The important thing is you're working on it. You'll make it. XXX000

Earthangel: I wish I could be satisfied on what you eat. In fact, I think I'm going overboard and eating too much even though it's raw. How do you know if you've gotten enough of the vitamins, nutrients etc. that you need in a day?!?
Is it strictly on the fitday website? Should I cut smoothies etc. in 1/2 so I get results for just me? (I always make double of everything except during the day) I found it difficult to record on there because of the amounts not matching. Any suggestions? You sound so busy busy busy. I hope it's a good busy. I'm always inspired by your support and giving on this site. Your Mama must be proud to have a daughter like you!

I've rambled long enough. Have a great weekend all. We're just hangin' out and WALKING (finally!!!!!!!!) Yeh!

P.S. WE CAN'T CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF THE WIND, BUT WE CAN ADJUST OUR SAILS

Joan

As usual this thread is uplifting!!

So thanks again to everyone, EA and Khale especially..

Today I had

Water

Juice of two oranges

2 sundried apricots

Salad : Beetroot, frisee, various chinese leaves- lemon juice for dressing(fresh squeesed)

----

Slowly easing down less and less solids, starting juice feast properly tommorow. Have now got everything I need, enough lemons/oranges to sink a ship lol..

Cleared my second fridge so now have one full of fruit and one full of water

Am determined not to fall back into ED but its very very hard- sometimes replacing one obsession with another just feels even more distructive. Then just find obsessing over being 100% or being right all the time- is tiresome sometimes.

For now feeling good.. hopefully just having juice and not worrying about solids etc will help and have a further healing effect on my crohns.

Thats all for now

Xxx

Rawfrancois,

I'm glad you're not peeved at us for speaking up.

Glad also to hear the diet pills are herbal, not chemical, BUT, permanent healthy weight loss can never be found in a pill. Those NV (envy? - wierd) pills are a crutch, and they'll only serve to keep you from finding your true way.

But good for you for telling it like it is! It's your choice of course. Hope you won't mind if people here give you a hard time about it ocassionally. Maybe you'll wise up with all of us giving you a hard time, and you'll throw those things out the window (no don't, the little birds might eat them. Take them to a hazardous waste dump and bury them in a tamper-proof jar, so the little worms won't eat them).

Love you.

PS: Do you feel you're overweight by a lot, or just a little? Or are you just right? Or are you actually underweight? Do other people ever comment about your weight, and what do they say? Also, I don't know if this is relevant or not, but are you a male or a female?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2007 09:20PM by suncloud.

Hi everyone,

Choosing to be on this Raw Journey is no less than a MAJOR spiritual, emotional and physical feat. We are raised in a culture where suprressing our emotions, our lives, with food (one example) is so prevalent. We are very much out of touch with our spirits, our selves and each other, of course. When we begin to give our bodies the life force that is in whole living foods, we begin to heal from the inside out, body, mind and spirit. Slowly, but no less than like being hit by a freight train, we are bombarded with emotions, cravings, experiences, memories, etc. which have been literally stuffed down into our cells by the dead foods which we have consumed all of our lives. When we give our bodies dead foods, devoid of life force and living enzymes, we are taxing our bodies to deal with a whole lot of junk, instead of emanating the pure love, joy, energy, health that our bodies were Created to do/be!

Now, our bodies are nothing less than miraculous...they CAN deal with the junk...for a time. We are run down, emotional, craving, deprived, dis-eased because our bodies frankly don't have anything left over after dealing with all the crap, so to speak. Cooked foods make us crave cooked foods because they leach nutrients and energy from the body in order to be dealt with, so indeed we are left needing nutrients, hence the cravings. Cravings are also very emotional and psychological, of course. That's part of my initial statement that this is quite a Journey!

I'm saying all of this because I'm trying to remind us all here, myself included, of a perspective that we have in our core. This is not a diet. This is a lifestyle choice. There is no right. There is no wrong. And there is absolutely no cheating. There's no such thing as that. Every moment is a choice. Do I choose in this moment to honor my body, my temple of being, with the highest quality fresh raw foods that will support great health, vitality, PEACE? If not, am I bad? Am I cheating? Am I wrong?

One of the greatest lessons I am learning through choosing to eat whole living foods (raw vegan) is to be gentle with myself. I am learning to love myself despite the choice to eat something that does not support my greatest health, vitality, and PEACE. I am learning to BE IN MY BODY!!! Our entire lives we have been programmed, taught, scared, whatever into not being in our bodies, not being present. All of us now have chosen to experience being in our bodies and IT'S SCARY! It is a lot easier to return to the numbing status quo of the SAD. And that's OKAY, but is that what you truly want in your life? Is that going to support you in fulfilling your life's purpose? Is that what you want to pass on to the following generations? Is that what's going to lead you to your greatest health, vitality, PEACE, joy, love, beauty, sex, happiness, enlightenment, etc. etc. etc.....

I am so grateful for all of you. Each one of you offer great lessons and gifts to me each day. Tread Softly...on YourSelf!

Peace,
Shawna

I ate today:

1/4 large papaya

1 mango

1/2 small Korean melon

1 tiny avocado

1 big apple

4 raw lemon cookies

1/4 of my green smoothie (baby finished it off)

Portabello Beet Burgers - you all, this was positively the best raw dish I think I've ever tasted... Here's what I layered (bottom to top)
romaine leave
slice of portabello mushroom (lengthwise so I had a big round piece)
live ketchup
red bell pepper & corn salsa
pickle
tomato
sprouts
Beet patty (I made these the other day in the dehydrator - beets, carrot, walnuts, onion, garlic...maybe something else)
slice of onion bread

I am "feeling" beautiful,
Shawna

Hello all

2 bananas, orange

Lunch: small salad

Later: 2 dates

5:00: large typical salad with additional sunflower sprouts and yellow squash
3 sundried olives

8:00 papaya, small apple

Orange juice later, I know, for sure!

slept 8.5 hours last night, felt good today. I want to take a bath and get in bed and read. Feel very quiet inside. Happy Sunday everyone, eat well!

Hi everyone !

Haven't posted for about a week or so - I went through some major detox last week and just wanted to rest - did only minimal posting in my journal and that was about it - BUT - I AM still 100% raw and loving it .

Feeling much better now and will be posting my foods again here

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Today I had bananas, oranges, strawberries, surinam cherries, about 2 cups coconut water, 1/4 cup sprouted brown sesame seeds (measured dry), 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (measured dry).

Exercise: 1 hour yoga, ran 3 miles, walked 1 mile, 50 minutes aerobics with weights.

hey guys,

i am sooo sleepy. i was out since 10 helping my best friend find a car and then we hit up jamba and saw pirates 3. it was way too long, but visually it was really cool. but i am dead tired now.

-smoothie w/ 2 bananas, strawberries, mango, blueberries, splash of OJ
-lara bar
-6 dates, banana
-smoothie @ jamba- asked for just bananas, strawberries & fresh-squeezed OJ. i noticed this didn't taste as good or fresh or...not sure what, just not as RIGHT as my home-made smoothies. weird.
-was starving later on and the only thing i could grab was another smoothie, this one was from this cafe called "the farm" and it was MUCH better! strawberries blueberries & a banana...way too small but very good!
-apple
-just had some carrots w/ raw hummus and some mango/watermelon when i got home

i've become so high-maintenance, i get so cranky and get a killer headache when i can't drink water constantly! or when i don't have access to tons of fresh fruit all day long! oh well, i think these are both good things

time for some zzzzzzz

Hello all you wonderful raw beautys!!!!

khale don't feel bad...all of us struggling with Ed pasts are going to struggle whether this thread was here or not...but like suncloud said it is something that is helping us all and giving us support!! it is really wonderful....and we are all learning and trying!! so thank you!!!

rawdanceruk...thank you hun..you are doing so great i am sooo happy for yoU!! keep up the good work hun!!!!

suncloud...oooh how fun..i love swimming and playing in the big huge waves..oh but i love snorkeling too..i would divide my time haha...and i would love to see turtles!! i love turtles i have some of my own!!!!!

rawfrancois..i know it is tough hun especially with pills and them being all natural..i have tried them before...actually i have probably taken every pill out there before..i remember when i was 11 i wanted this pill i saw in the store that was 11.99 and it said you can lose 10 pounds in 3 days..and i saved my allowance for two weeks and snuck and bought it while i was in the drug store one day!! it didn't work...but that was the start of my diet pill addiction....i have been thinking about us all giving you advise and telling you this and that about the pills...(knowing i had a whole medicince cabinet full of them but havent taken them since january) but last night while cleaning out my cabinets and packing i threw every last one of them in the garbage..probably 200 or 300 dollars in pills.....and took it staight to the dumpster before i opened the trash back open....so i know what you are going through and it is hard!! so good luck to youa nd keep fighting it huN!! take care and enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!

hey meow..oh i love jamba haha it is one of the only places you can grab something on the go and it still be raw....it is like raw fast food haha...but i know what you mean it isn't the same..but the fresh oj is amazing!! they squeeze it to order love that ...i usually get only that or add a little frozen banana...that way it is fresh and tasty!!!! oh i am glad you saw the movie youknow my gals loved it!! i think i might go see it monday afternoon if i get everything packed and finished


Miss Joan..thanks hun..but i don't want to eat that little it is how i feel somedays..i am just not hungry....i will wait till i am..and sometimes if i don't have time i won't eat..it just depends..they are all very bad habits...except for eating when hungry a lot of raw foodies think that is good but sometimes that means i don't eat till 5 in the evening..and that means i am not going to stuff food in you know??? so i will just eat al ittle and be done...like today i woke up early..went to the gym...showered came home and slept all day cuz i was so exhausted from like no sleep for 2 weeks..and slept the whole day!! then woke up late afternoon early evening..and i knew i wasn't going to eat a lot of food cuz the day was almost over you know???
so that is usually how my day goes..but i think i need to add more food so my body isn't in starvation mode..that happens sometimes with my ED brain..so you stick with what you are doing!! you are doing great...oh and fitday...you can make your own sizes or adjust it to what you had!!!

love always
earthangel
xoxoxoxoxoxo

here is what i ate today!
1 orange
1/2 watermelon
1 cup of kale
1/2 cup of raw pudding...
3 cherries

i might have a smoothie in a little bit but it is 1:32 in the morning and i am going to finish up some packing and get some sleeP!!! i am getting so close to being done packing yay!! i am excited....i have like 8 totes full already and still have 5 more two of them being big totes!! so i don't know if all of my stuff is going to actually fit in the truck i am starting to worry!!!! but i don't know i hope it all fits....i will take as much home as i can..but i only have one big suitcase and one small bag...so my mom and cousin might have to take an extra suitcase home when they fly out too!!!

well i gotta get going finish up some of the work and get some sleep!!!
talk to you all later!!
much peace and love to all!!

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

shawnasong wrote:

"I'm saying all of this because I'm trying to remind us all here, myself included, of a perspective that we have in our core. This is not a diet. This is a lifestyle choice. There is no right. There is no wrong. And there is absolutely no cheating. There's no such thing as that. Every moment is a choice. Do I choose in this moment to honor my body, my temple of being, with the highest quality fresh raw foods that will support great health, vitality, PEACE? If not, am I bad? Am I cheating? Am I wrong?"

Strong and wise words Shawna! In fact, everything that you wrote was a big help to me. Thank you so much!

You are "lookin" beautiful too kid!

Yesterday I ate:

fresh lemon water and two digestive enzymes

sliced maradol papaya

Then I made a 6 cup blender full of carrot, celery, and apple juice blended with an avocado and fresh basil - I drank this slowly over a 3 hour period

lemonade sweetened w/ stevia

1 cucumber with tahini thinned w/ umeboshi vin and water
the remainder of my sunflower tabouli and coupla cured black olives

2 dates "stuffed" w/ almonds

1 avocado quacamole w/ cukes

4 squares of dark chocolate (not raw)

I have some "attitude adjustment" issues this morning. I've hit my first crisis on raw and need to take some time to get my head straight. You guys are all a big help. thank you.

I'll check in later,

khale

oh and suncloud: thank you for the sprouted wheat suggestion. I'll look into that.

I think I'd benefit from some bibliotherapy. I've actually never read a book that deals with an all raw diet and probably need to. Any recommendations?

khale

I liked a book called "Blatant Raw Foodist Propaganda", by Joe Alexander. Kind of funny and light, but a lot of good information about the benefits of raw food over cooked. The emphasis is on being raw vegan, rather than being restrictively raw vegan (which as you know is my pet peeve).

On the more restrictive side of things, Arnold Ehret will always be AMAZING for his understanding and ability to teach the art of detox and his insights on the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. I part ways with him on his opinion of nuts and seeds, and I don't think he ever considered sprouted nuts and seeds or sprouted grains. I would say definitely read him if you never have, but read with caution. He's very convincing, and if you experiment on yourself with his methods, the results are usually dramatic. Long term though I believe is a different story. Unfortunately Arnold Ehret died relatively young - early fifties I believe. He slipped on the pavement and died from a head injury. "Mucousless Diet Healing System" is good.

"Survival Into the 21st Century", by Victor Kulvinskas is an interesting and informative read, and now a classic.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2007 06:53PM by suncloud.

To Earthangel,

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo back to you!

Hey Earthlangel,

That's great you threw out all those pills. Congratulations! And congratulations on being free of them since January! Hooray for Earthangel!

Hey hey all checking in for today

Been reading about Valerie Winters the Green Smoothie experiment lady, very intresting and inspiring heres her blog :

[greensmoothieexperiment.blogspot.com]

She logs everyday calories/ vitamins using Nutridiary.. certainly got me thinking, I made an account today to use for the duration of my juice feast. Intresting more than anything. I barely get over the 500cal mark, but to see what vitamins I am getting would be ace. I crunched todays and it was over 100% for vitamin A and C.. was shocked!!

Todays eats (all that cleaning got me hungry)

Brekkie : Raw homemade museli mix with water - dried apricot, crushed nut, sunflower seed, whatever else was hanging about!!

Peppermint tea x 3

Lunch :

1 Mashed banana

Mixed with :
Lime juice
Lemon juice
Chopped chilli

Dinner

Big salad : Frisee, beetroot, lemon juice, lime juice, 1 clementine chopped tiny.

Looks like a lot..

Anyways the house is all cleared out now ready for the juice feasting..bring it on

Hey guys!!! I didn't fall off the planet, in case you were wondering. I have been incredibly busy and now I have a cold that is giving me a headache.

Thursday my husbands company took us to a very fine italian restaurant. I was full when we got there but after about an hour and a half I was famished. I normally eat all day. Then they started bringing out all these wonderful appetizers. I was considering every one of them. I ordered a vegan salad and it was very good. I did have some bread and cheese. I just couldn't say no, and I didn't want to. I did say no to pizza and many other things so I feel like I was successful and I left feeling good. If I would have eaten too much cooked and dairy I would have really felt it in my back and tummy.

This has been a tough week for more than just me I read. Thank you for your wise words Shawna. Everyone should remember these feelings will come and go.

Well, here is what I have been eating.

Thurday:
banana, dates, figs, dates, figs and trail mix
Vegan salad and bread and blue cheese

Friday:
Dates, figs, apple, dates, figs
tea
Strawberries and bananas with chocolate sauce (honey and carob)
gazpacho (tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, garlic, olive oil)
tea

Saturday:

tea
Spinach, pinapple and banana smoothie
tea
marinated vegetables (fantastic recipe on fromsadtoraw.com)
taco salad (lettuce topped with chili [another fantastic recipe on fromsadtoraw] guacamole and hot salsa)
tea

Sunday (so far):

tea
watermellon
leftover marinated vegetables
tea

To Khale,

As an alternative to bread and other cooked grain foods, you might try raw wheat germ if you haven't in a while. Raw wheat germ doesn't have the vitality of sprouted grains, but the advantage of it is you don't have to start preparing it 2 days before you eat it.

Raw wheat germ is absolutely fantastic in salads with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing. It's usually much fresher if you buy it prepackaged than if you buy it from the bulk bin. It needs to be refrigerated after opening.

I always keep some raw wheat germ on hand. If I feel I'm wanting something more substantial than my everyday fare, and I don't have sprouted wheat available, I make a salad and add raw wheat germ, and the cravings are gone.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2007 09:31PM by suncloud.

hey everyone. sounds like some of us have hit a rough patch but it's ok! just keep doing what feels right. we have all come a long way in the past few weeks and i am excited to see what the next month or so has in store for us.

i've been super busy this weekend. yesterday i was helping my best friend buy a used car (2 tiny young girls looking at used cars=probably not the best idea! but it worked out well and we tried to act like we knew what we were talking about..lol). then we went out at night. i was sooo hungry and ended up eating 3 smoothies as my meals for the day b/c when you're out, that's one of the cheapest (and only) raw options. i think i posted last night when i came home ??? i really don't remember, i was pretty sleepy and hungry!

today i met a friend for lunch & shopping. we went to this really cute, painfully trendy vegan place in beverly hills, it was soooo delicious. i just got an organic mixed greens salad but for some reason it just tasted so good. probably b/c i'd been craving salad all day yesterday but couldn't eat it since i was out and didn't want to spend more money than i needed to! i've been really hungry again today. i ate more fat than usual just b/c i felt like my body really needed it. i'm totally fine with that- as long as i'm listening to my body it's all good.

-7 raw almonds at like 7 AM when i woke up too hungry to sleep!
-lara bar & 2 bananas (this is a lot for me to eat in the morning! i was just sooo hungry that i was dizzy so i needed some extra food)
-2 dates, apple, handful of raw cashews that may or may not have actually been raw, but they're gone now so i don't really care!
-salad w/ organic spinach & baby greens, 4 slices of tomato, balsamic vinaigrette dressing (the vinegar was probably not raw, but i was ok w/ this for today)
-banana
-about a cup of mango and a cup and a half of strawberries
-went for a walk- 50 minutes
-carrots w/ raw zucchini hummus

i'm not hungry anymore but i should get in another salad w/ spinach, romaine, carrots, tomatoes, red pepper and raw ACV before bed, maybe in an hour or 2. i haven't wanted much fruit today, which is weird b/c i ALWAYS want fruit, but i've been craving dark greens instead- spinach especially. i wonder what is behind our cravings?? so strange.

enjoy memorial day, i hope you all have off from work and can maybe get outside and have fun!

thanks everyone for your suggestions and support.

pakd4fun - good to see you.

I've had a really tough weekend but that's okay. everything has its up's and it's down's. tomorrow is another day and the beginning of Week 3! and I'm looking forward to it.

see ya all tomorrow,

khale

I have to work.

I like Blatant Rawfoodist Propaganda, too. Very entertaining format and style.
(He also drank coffee for some time during his rawdom) (I will work on this soon, but not now) (also like reading Ehret, always go back to his writings for nitty gritty motivation. Too bad about his early fatal accident! Selfishly, I always wonder what else would have come from him, and how long he might have lived. I think he was even younger than that when he died.)

Early- 2 bananas
1:00- salad (ususal)
Later- raisins
Later-avocado
Dinner-Humungus platter (literally on a small platter) of salad: lots of romaine, one tomato sliced big, bits of cucumber and red onion, long strips of red pepper, and I made a runny guacamole (1/2 avocado, tomato, olive water) to put all over top as dressing. Beautiful. I thought "I can't eat all this!"
Guess what?!?

Recently had 2 oranges which I split open when I was smacking them from the top of the tree. I got 9 in all. I will have customary orange juice later when I am in bed, figuring out how much sleep I am going to get.

Enjoy your memorial day, hope it is memorably fun, and very very raw!
Smiles, Elakti )))))))))))))

Here's todays eats - in no particular order

2 bowls : raw oat groats, raisins, banana, pine nuts
4 or 5 bananas
fresh peas
watermelon
cucumber
green pepper
almonds
honeydew melon
wheatgrass juice
large plate of zucchinagetti

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Today I had bananas, oranges, 1/2 avocado, 2 cucumbers, lemon juice, 1 handful goji berries, 1/4 cup sprouted brown sesame seeds (measured dry), 1/4 cup sprouted hulled sunflower seeds (measured dry).

Exercise: 1 hour yoga, 50 minutes aerobics with weights.

hey sunshines!!! well another beautiful week of raw we are starting!! yay us...everyone is doing so amazing i am soooo proud of each and every one of you!! yay for raw!!!
well thank you suncloud..yes throwing those pills out was tough as i wanted to keep them haha..but i know that i don't need them and they aren't part of me or my life!!!

well today was another long day packing and getting things ready!!! i did eat a lot more today!! i told you guys there are days haha
well take care everyone and have a fabulous night and morning!!
Happy memorial day to all our loved ones and service men and womeN!!!
take care

love always earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

well i ate a lot today!! i got hungry this evening after all that packing and working out!!
so i had including what i already posted the watermelon and sprouts
1 orange
1 cherimoya
1/2 small banana
1 huge kale sald ( one head of khale, 1/2 cup of sprouts....1/2 head of spinach...with lemon juice)
1 raw kookie karma granola bar!!!
1 4 oz package of blackberries
1 cup of watermelon
1 cup of pineapple
1/2 cup of cantelope

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Here we are at Week 3 already!

It's been a good first 2 weeks and I've learned a great deal about myself and about this way of eating. Some of the words of the more experienced raw foodists; words I've questioned in the past year or so since joining this forum, are now coming to life for me and making better sense. I know now from within my own body and experience why too many fats can be a bad thing; why plenty of fruit is recommended and why keeping the food simple is more sustainable long-term than too many complicated combinations or overly rich recipes.

I've also realized a personal need to more adequately trust my own body and to follow its lead in choosing what I eat, rather than letting my head get in the way with its predilection for "shoulds" and "what-ifs" and "yes, buts". I realized this past week that there are elements of fear and distrust at work; doubts about whether or not an exclusively raw fruit and vegetable diet is truly nourishing enough to sustain us; fears of detox and too rapid weight loss and looking shriveled, haggard and old; concerns about becoming "food crazy", obsessed and thereby marginalized and circumscribed into too small a box that results in a lessening of freedom rather than an expansion of it.

There has also been a realization that the life I'm leaving behind is already dead for me and that to try and recapture old patterns and habits or more specifically to eat what I used to eat or what my friends and family eats is like eating the ashes out of the urn: the dead eating the dead. The only discernable value in forays backward is the inevitable craving for real, live food that it engenders. very valuable lessons.

For me, today represents a new beginning: a continuance of all raw but at another level. I feel fortunate to have so many good companions along the way. Thanks to all of you.

have a raw and juicy day,

khale

Khale, thanks for the great post.

"There has also been a realization that the life I'm leaving behind is already dead for me and that to try and recapture old patterns and habits or more specifically to eat what I used to eat or what my friends and family eats is like eating the ashes out of the urn: the dead eating the dead. The only discernable value in forays backward is the inevitable craving for real, live food that it engenders. very valuable lessons."

Well stated!

Feeling great today.. or should I say.. RAW-SOME!!

LOL

Had 700ml mango and papaya juice- mixture, chucked it all in/ blended with around half water

Then another 200ml clementine/ with water just a touch.

A pure 1.5 litre water- only when thirsty. But soon got through it.

So far feeling good

Know I should add green smoothies this week, got to work upto it.

Yesterday I can't recall the things I ate but I remember making nori rolls for a friend and myself and she liked them.

Today:

- papaya
- cherries
- berries (blueberries & raspberries)
- avocado

I'm probably going to make a salad or something later.

Here are some pictures!


This was at Grand Central Station in New York. I didn't spend any money until we went here so I could get amazing looking fruits and veggies.


I tried raw chayote here but didn't have any of the dressing because it had oil in it.


My skin is looking really awesome lately. "Revenge is a dish best served raw." Even though I have no one to exact revenge on, I love that quote.

Khale, You expressed that so beautifully! I hope I get to the place you're in soon. This weekend started out (I thought) to be a piece of cake. However, my husband and I got caught up in the frills and got things we shouldn't have. ie: for both of us Japanese cuisine, and at the parade with my grandbabies I ate a couple of the candies they tossed. My husband played golf and had a cheeseburger (the ONE thing that is his total downfall). I've been eating walnuts, dates since I've been home which I know are fattening and I NEED to lose weight. I did, however, walk again which is a BIG thing for me since I loathe exercising. Fortunately, the neighbors on either side of me must be somewhere else because I don't have any barbecue smells which are so inviting.

You're doing such a great job at this. I hope I can be as good soon. It seems like I vacillate between 100% and 75%. YUK! Whenever I did waver, though I was still vegetarian.

Let's have an awesome week!

Joan