My Morning Smoothies – Lately

I haven’t been to into your typical green smoothies lately. But I do want to make sure I get my greens! I have been absolutely LOVING this recipe!

Sunshine Green Smoothie
2-4 oranges (depending on size)
3 tablespoons hemp seeds
1 cup water (depending on your thickness preferences)
1 cup frozen strawberries
Big bunch spinach and or romaine

Blend oranges first, then add the rest of the ingredients until smooth. I have also been adding VitaMineral Green and Earth (just because I have it).

It’s delicious! I hope you enjoy it!

My hubby will add a banana to it sometimes too.

Raw foodie vs. Supplements: Round Two – Vitamin D

A lot of raw foodies are completely aware of the importance of the sunshine vitamin, most of them make a conscious effort to get outside and enjoy the sun for a few minutes each day. Whether you can get the recommended 15 minutes or not, just getting a little bit of sun when it’s at it’s highest can be very beneficial! I have recently begun going out around lunch time and sitting on the hood of my car to enjoy a little bit to eat and then kick back and enjoy the sun! It feels so good, the fact that I am knowing I am doing something good for myself makes it feel all that much better! If you are fair skinned like me it really doesn’t require much time at all for your skin to make more vitamin D that you will ever be able to get through a supplement.

If my memory serves (I believe I read this somewhere a while back) Vitamin D stores in your liver for 6 months. For people with darker skin or who are in Northern climates it may be important to supplement, especially if you can’t get enough sun during the summer months (and in some Northern climates the sun never actually gets high enough in the sky for this to be helpful). For example, I grew up in Vermont. My sister had darker skin then I do and would experience bouts of depression come February. In Vermont you get your sun in the end of June, July and the beginning of August. I would be willing to guess that my sisters reserves had run out come February and that is why she had the experiences she did. Now she lives in a much warmer, sunnier climate and her health through the winter has greatly improved! Knowing what I know now, I am pretty sure she would have benefited from supplementing during the winter months!

This is only one example that I experienced personally. I had my own issues with depression that seemed to magically go away once I moved South of the Mason Dixon line. It took a couple years for my depression cycle to completely go away, but it did!

Sun block is another Vitamin D enemy! The use of sunblock means that they chemical reaction that takes place under you top layers of skin, when skin meets sun, can’t take place. Yes, if you wear sunblock, you don’t sunburn. That is well known. But you are also putting a layer of chemicals on your skin (in most cases) which has it’s own laundry list of side effects. If you aren’t raw, then you would be better off covering up after getting your needed exposure based on your skin tones (if you are concerned about cancer). If you are raw, your skin is much more adept at protecting itself. I rarely burn anymore. If I don’t take care to cover up after about an hour in mid day sun then yes, I will burn, but an hour is much more then I ever used to be able to endure previous to being raw!

So lets get to the questions that is on everyone’s minds!

Should you supplement Vitamin D?

There are many levels to this question. I am going to say that Yes, I believe you should supplement IF the following conditions apply to you:

1. You live far enough North that you have more cold weather then you do warm (This would include all of New England, Canada, Alaska and most of the other Northern states – I guess the same rule would apply if you were far enough South)
2. You wear sunblock religiously (you use skin care with sunblock already in it)
3. You experience seasonal depression (at this point, what’s it going to hurt! Try it! See if it helps! And talk to your Natural Health practitioner – the RDA may not be enough for you, I find that it isn’t for me)
4. You have darker skin and don’t feel that you are able to get enough sun between work and life!
5. You are a recluse! (I just had to cover my bases – and if you don’t go outside, no matter where you live you should consider supplementing!)

I am in no way an authority on this! I am just giving you my opinion. If you want to take a higher dose then the bottle says or feel that you might be Vitamin D deficient find a local Natural Health practitioner and work with them! If you are comfortable experimenting on yourself, do your research! Get on Natural News, read any book you can get your hands on, check out Mercola.com. Educate yourself!

Remember also, Vitamin D is important for bone health! It’s something you want to make sure you aren’t deficient in!

What’s the best type of Vitamin D to supplement?

Based on the research I have done the best supplement choice for D is D3. MegaFoods makes the supplement that I take during the winter months! There are other companies, I just choose to take MegaFoods supplement. It works for me. There are some very good sub lingual dissolving tablets, I just choose not to take them because of the artificial sweetener in them to make them taste good.

If you are taking a supplement because it tastes good and it’s not a whole food, you should really look at the ingredients. Even reputable companies sneak in “natural flavoring” here and there. If you don’t know what it is and want to continue taking the supplement you might want to call them and find out what they are using to sweeten that little tablet you put in your mouth every day!

Well I think that about covers my Vitamin D talk! I live in Maryland and still supplement during the winter. And I use more then the RDA. That’s what I am comfortable with and what I feel works best for me. As I mentioned in the previous article, I use Applied Kinesology and it works well for me! Do what works best for you! Educate yourself, get a Natural Health practitioner on your side and optimize your health!

Until Next time! Love and take care of yourself the best you can! You are the only person that is going to make you number 1!

xo

Caesar Dressing

This afternoon I was craving Caesar Salad. I looked in Bridgette Mars’ book “Rawsome” and found a great recipe (but didn’t have all the ingredients). So using it as a guide, I came up with this recipe! Enjoy!

Hemptastic Caesar Dressing

1 cup water
1/4 cup Lemon juice
1/8 cup hemp seeds
2 tsp granular mustard
1 tsp kelp granules
1/8 cup Olive Oil
1 clove garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste

Blend until creamy and smooth.

I didn’t use just romaine for this salad, I also used delicious fresh tomatoes from the farmers market and white onion (also from the farmers market) and for a little spice I added cayenne.

I hope you enjoy it!

Raw foodie vs. Supplements: First Round

Ding, Ding!

For those of you who aren’t neck deep in the raw foodie movement, this may be news to you; for those of us who have been around the block (or almost around the block) we are familiar with the ongoing controversy between raw foods and supplements. What, you may wonder, is this controversy? Well there are a couple different questions that are being asked by new and experienced raw foodies alike and I am going to attempt to give some basic information here (and possibly in following articles) to answer some of the basic questions! Please remember when reading this, these are just my thought’s, opinions and I am attempting to provide basic information. The key there is basic!

If I am eating a raw food diet, why should I need supplement?

Depending on the school of thought you follow (or the particular guru you are interested in that week) there could be a lot of confusion for you over this topic!

**A little disclaimer for those of you who haven’t been reading my blog or for those who don’t know me: I don’t subscribe to any particular school of thought. I am an intuitive eater and do a ton of research. My husband and I were at one of our favorite pre raw restaurants and have become friends with one of the managers, she was telling us all about how they are going to start having raw items on the menu and wanted to see if I wanted to try the new dressing on my salad instead of oil and vinegar. After this conversation, my husband said something to the effect of “Well, it’s starting to get trendy, I guess we will have to find something new.” He was joking, because he knows this is the only thing that works for my health, but the moral of the story is, I never do easy…or take the path less traveled. I enjoy doing my own research and making sure that I am listening to myself. The funny thing is, my intuition is what took us to the restaurant, I just had this nagging feeling we had to go. Well I think I have gone off on enough of a tangent! I will stay on point from now on.**

Are supplements important? As I said, it depends on who you listen to. There are multiple different deficiencies people are suffering from these days. For example, if you Google “Vitamin D Deficiencies in US” you will see statistics starting around 36% of American adults, but it doesn’t stop there! We’re just scratching the surface! Scientific America states in this article that “Three-quarters of U.S. teens and adults are deficient in vitamin D, the so-called “sunshine vitamin” whose deficits are increasingly blamed for everything from cancer and heart disease to diabetes…” This is only one of the umteen million supplements that stare at you from the shelves at your local health food store!

Well if you are a raw foodie, chance are you aren’t afraid of the sun! You probably fall in the 1/4 of Americans that aren’t deficient (during the summer months anyway). But what about the winter? What then? Should you supplement? We will cover this in a little more detail in a later article (Round 2 – Vitamin D).

If you were to listen to David Wolfe (this actually makes a lot of sense to me personally) there are a lot of good reasons to supplement. Shazzie also is a big advocate for supplementing. Bridgette Mars covers the importance of vitamins (and what whole foods you can get them from) extensively in Rawsome. These are only a few of our raw food celebs that cover the importance of specific vitamins (whether they are provided by whole foods or supplementation). Bridgette Mars gives a very unbiased position on vitamins (so I am not sure where she stands personally but LOVE her information!) David Wolfe, on the other hand, is an advocate of supplementation. His reasoning based on a talk I attended (and reading a few of his articles/books) is that our soils are depleted and a lot of them are essentially dead. Dead soil doesn’t grow healthy, thriving plants (same idea can be applied to humans – dead foods don’t promote supreme health). His views on agriculture are fascinating! His other point is that you aren’t always going to be able to get organic foods and even the organic foods aren’t as high in nutrients as they could be so it’s not a bad idea to take that extra step.

Shazzie also talks about the importance of supplementing. One of the major supplements that she talks about, which until that point I had never heard of, was K2. I am hoping to do another article on K2 in the near future, but that one is going to require some more research! She talks about a number of other supplements (mostly whole food supplements) in her book “Evie’s Kitchen.”

My conclusion (at this point – it could change! I am constantly doing research) is that supplementation is different for everyone. For me it’s important. I was pretty sick before going raw and can use ever bit of help I can get. Needless to say, if my health depended on taking a pill every day I would be in trouble. Whole living foods do make a HUGE difference on their own (I have seen that first hand!) I am not convinced that I will reach optimal health at this point without some supplementation though, because organic isn’t always an option and my body was so demineralized to start out with! I also came from the North East originally and am pretty sure that I had vitamin D deficiencies resulting in depression. Since moving South of the Mason Dixon line I am much happier. It did take a couple years!

I personally do supplement. I use applied Kinesology to determine how much and when I need certain supplements, but I do take them. I don’t freak out if I miss one, nor do I feel guilty. My health is 150 times better than it was a year ago and part of the reason I choose to supplement is because I want to be 200 times healthier then I was a year ago.

Do what works and resonates with you! In theory I shouldn’t have to take them, because my diet should supply all my nutrients. But it doesn’t. I also listen to my body. I don’t take a multi, but I do take K2, D3 (during the winter), an EPA supplement (which isn’t vegan – the vegetarian ones make me gag, I CHOSE to go back on Moxxor and I have had wonderful results) and B12. These are the ones that resonate with me. I also consume a lot of sea veggies to make sure I keep my Iron level’s up and dark leafy greens for calcium and other trace minerals. When I try to take a multi I always end up gagging and unable to get it down. There is something in the multi’s that my body doesn’t need/want, so I don’t take them.

It’s important that you do your own research, because ultimately you know you the best! Nutritionist’s and Doctors are great, but they should only be used as a guide (in my opinion). I don’t use either because I am confident in my knowledge and feel that I know myself the best and shouldn’t have to pay someone to tell me what to take when in general most Doctors and Nutritionists don’t know the first thing about a living foods diet. Just because this works for me doesn’t mean I expect it to work for everyone! Utilize any resource you can. If you have a receptive Doctor or Nutritionist, more power to you AND them!

Another aspect of this whole process (I believe) is intention. If you are taking the best supplements you can find with the intention for them to be for your greatest good, you are going to feel good! The supplements will work, and you will feel good about yourself. You still need to do this with a knowledge base, but how do you think people see a difference in their health when they take a “One-a-day?” Those things are “magic bullets” and don’t do a darn thing for you (in my opinion), but people that don’t know that take them and notice a difference, this is what we call the placebo effect. Why do you think that is? Intention. They are taking those things thinking that they are doing something good for themselves! And in a way they are. They are taking care of themselves (or making an effort to do so). It’s just like people purchasing Old Roy for their dog that they love instead of feeding table scraps because that’s all they can afford and their dog living until it’s 16 with perfect health. Love and intention play a roll in everything we do in our lives (for ourselves and the ones we care for)! Now imagine if you are taking one of the best supplements out there and doing it for your health because you love yourself! You are integrating supplements in with wonderful intention and love, you are doing a great thing for yourself!

If after reading this you choose to supplement: do your research, listen to your body and DO IT FOR YOU! If you are doing it because someone told you to and not truly for yourself, you won’t experience all the benefits! And most important, listen to your body! Really tune in. Don’t try to choke down that vitamin that’s making you gag (there’s a reason you are gagging – there may be something in it your body is allergic to or doesn’t want), pay attention to how you feel after (if you have a mini allergic reaction and are sneezing with a runny nose for the next couple hours – and this happens every time you take that particular supplement it might be time to find a new one), and do your research to make sure you are getting a high quality vitamin (you are just wasting your money on “magic bullets,” you might as well get something that is supporting your body with your wonderful intention and self love).

Until Next Time! (and I will be writing more frequently, I promise!)

xo

Being Defined by Your Food Choices

I am going to take this opportunity to discus something that I recently experienced for the first time. I went on a trip to visit my sister with my mother. My sister lives out West so it was a long plane ride and as I am sure most of you raw foodies out there are aware, planes aren’t very raw food friendly. On the way out I just had water, I was gagging at the smell of the ranch dressing the woman next to me was eating on her salad and I was appalled at what was being handed out for in flight snacks.  The reason I am telling you this is because I intend for it to be a segway into my main point of this posting.

My raw food experience has been surrounded by a protective bubble leaving me naive and rather taken aback when I enter the real world from time to time. Since going raw I have made exceptions for foods that I used to enjoy greatly like Sushi, but have not had anything made by Nabisco or any other similar processed food company. I was blessed with an amazing, aware, enlightened and supportive husband at the beginning of my journey down this path and that has not changed. He is still extremely supportive and understanding – and RAW! I love him profoundly!

Well the airplane was a shock, one that I overcame quickly. I admit I would have liked it better if I didn’t have my mother eating that junk next to me because she was hungry. I righted that on the trip back and brought all sorts of snacks for her! She is 100% capable (and entitled) to make her own decisions, but if there is an alternative to light 100 calorie Oreo cracker things, she is happy to eat that instead.

While on my little excursion out West I was amazed, I had to state on more than one occasion that although I am a raw vegan, my food choices (lets emphasize here CHOICED) absolutely do not define me. I CAN and DO eat whatever it is I want to eat; I CHOOSE not to eat certain things. One example was at the farmers market, I decided to try some raw goat cheese. I didn’t like it, but I tried it just to see if I might. Nope. Oh well… However, when I told my brother-in-law that this is what I was going to do the response was “I didn’t think you could eat that.” At this point please let me emphasize, he did not say this in a rude or disrespectful way. Erik is a very intelligent, polite and respectful person! But, this was probably the third or fourth time I had heard this, so I looked at him and said something to the effect of “What I eat doesn’t define me, I choose to eat this way but I can eat whatever I want.” I was frustrated, shame on me! He didn’t mean anything by it! I knew that!

Why is it when you choose to do something a little differently (or a lot) it suddenly defines you. It’s not about restriction; empowerment is the name of the game! I am convinced the only true way to make a change in your own life is by empowering yourself. If you want to change your lifestyle, empower yourself! Get your mind around it and then make sure no one can shake your resolve! Define yourself on your terms, instead of by the foods you CHOOSE to eat, the cloths you CHOOSE to wear or the friends you CHOOSE to keep! These are all choices which may change at any given point on your personal voyage through life, they are part of what makes you, you! They are not who you are, but instead they are a piece of what makes you unique and special! AND they can change as you learn and grow. Defining yourself within strict parameters leaves little room for growth and evolution, can leave a sour taste in your mouth and could ultimately be your undoing (whether it has to do with your health, your personal perception, clothing, friends…the list goes on).

What keeps you raw?

Right now I am sitting here at work (I know, shame on me) listening to Jim and Wendi Dee’s interview on Lets Talk Raw. I have been listening to a lot of Revvel’s interviews the past couple days – I think I needed the motivation. Revvel is amazing! She does wonderful interviews and includes the listeners on Lets Talk Raw and just does wonderful podcasts on Rawkin Radio. Yesterday I listened to some other wonderful interviews, one which spoke to me personally (Dhrumil). If you get a chance to become a member (or are already a member) of Lets Talk Raw I recommend downloading this interview. Dhrumil is WONDERFUL, INSPIRING, and just a beautiful person. He touched on family and this really rang true with me. I also listened to SunshineBoat! Sunshine was also amazing! Her interview is actually what inspired the subject of this post. I think her exact words were “(Re)Define your why.”

The reason this inspired me was because I have been struggling. Through willpower I was able to stay 100% raw for 3 months back in the beginning of the year. My why was clear! I had health issues and being raw made me feel better; leaps and bounds better! I’m not truly sure what happened but I detoured from my path. I started craving cookies! And I caved to the cookies! I was eating vegan, gluten free cookies. I am not sure why I was craving cookies or if it was directly related to the stress in my life (which had increased) but I wanted cookies (and carrot cake). If they weren’t vegan and gluten free I didn’t enjoy them but I would still eat them.

What was going on?! Was it emotions? I am thinking it was, but I am not 100% sure. As a result, I started eating some other non raw foods. For the last couple months I have been doing about 75-100% raw depending on the day. Some days I was eating out and having a vegan meal. I am not sure why this was happening, I was able to stay 100% raw through the coldest months of the year and then all the sudden I start craving white sugar, oil and flour! What’s up with that?

Right now I am having to redefine my Why. I have been experiencing anxiety and chest pain again. I also started noticing less energy and found that I crave chocolate a lot more? When I first went raw I wasn’t exposed to raw cacao and never wanted it. I tend to trust my body but part of me has to wonder about all the chocolate I have been consuming (it has tapered off recently). It’s interesting. The cooked foods I have been eating have been sugar loaded, and I am pretty sure that most of my health issues were directly related to my sugar consumption. Honestly I am not very surprised that I am experiencing health problems again but I do need to figure out a why that works for me because my health is my top priority. Emotionally I am not sure if I am prepared to be 100% raw, but for my health I need to be. It’s time for me to find a happy place with the two of those!

I am spending a long weekend with my mother and sister and am so excited about it! I think this will be huge for my emotional evolution! This is the first time I will be around them both since I have gone raw. I am so excited! This is where Dhrumil’s talk came in so handy! I really can’t thank Revvel enough for these wonderful interviews. I feel so empowered right now and am really looking forwarding to the evolution I feel coming.

Back to my new Why. I think I shall define my new “Why” as: To attain balance in my life relative to my health, both physically, emotionally and mentally. And as David Wolfe says “Have the Best Day Ever.”

I think that’s where I am at right now. Please forgive any babbling. I really needed this and greatly appreciate you reading this!

Love, Blessings and RAWhugs!

xo

Coping – Raw Foods and Energetic/Emotional Sensitivities

I decided it was important for me to write a blog post on the connection between raw foods and your energetic/emotional sensitivity. I need to point out that it is currently 2 am and I have had about 3 hours of sleep. I can’t sleep any more right now and am hoping that writing will give me an outlet and allow me to get a few more hours of sleep. On top of that this is just something that I have been needing to write about. I am not sure how many people out there experience what I have been going through but for those of you who can relate maybe this will shed some light on a piece that you were missing or had some sort of metal block with. I am also hoping that any comments that others may have might bring light on areas for me. Learning and growing with the help of others in the Living Foods community is such a huge part of being on this path in my opinion and my main goal is to facilitate a forum and get stuff on the table for others to think/talk about.

As I write this I am listening to “Singing Bear.” His music is very powerful for me and I find it incredibly inspiring. I look forward to meeting him this fall at the East Coast Spirit Festival. Perhaps if I am able to go to the RSF in Santa Barbara I will be able to meet him there too. I find his music to be on a different level and incredibly inspiring when I need to get my emotions out there!

I guess I should jump into the energetic/emotional sensitivities end of my post!

Part of my raw food path has involved energetic/emotional healing. When I say energetic, I am referring to my susceptibility to others negative energy as well as my ability to keep myself of a higher, more positive level and not allow myself to be drained by negative energies that are not uncommon to be exposed to on a daily basis. I guess for these purposes I will touch on the energy aspect first! What is energy? Well, it is something that is different to each individual. For this post I will be talking about my interpretations of energy and may get very specific, but that is where I am right now and this is part of my healing.

Energetic sensitivities can include a multitude of different “symptoms” depending on who you are talking to. My energetic healing process has led me to explore different energy modalities (healing touch & Reiki are the two that come immediately to mind) in an attempt to make myself less susceptible to others “negative” energies. I have always been very sensitive to what I refer to as “negative” energies. For as long as I can remember I haven’t been comfortable going to malls, large events with tons of people or family events where certain individuals are present. I would always walk away feeling drained and grumpy. Since going raw this has started to change. I have found techniques that keep me from being very susceptible to energy tapping situations. If you were to ask me exactly what these techniques were I don’t think I could put my finger on it for you. I try to remind myself to love myself, make sure that I am nourished with living foods through the event (or before the encounter) and any time I get a little on edge I remind myself to come from a place of compassion. This seems to keep me gyrating at a higher level which works for me. Since everyone is different I am sure this will be different for everyone. Also, at times I picture a white or purple energy force field around me and tell myself that anything negative is bouncing off of that energy field and that seems to work!

As with anything else there are certain “trigger” situations. Right now I am dealing with one. I have a friendship with a person at work that went sour do to a series of circumstances months ago now. I still care for him dearly and do my best to practice compassion towards him. Usually I don’t have to work with him so this works wonderfully from long distances. However, when I am in his presence he has a tendency to bring up past events in a very negative way and take what I like to call “underhanded” shots. His primary goal seems to be to try and push much buttons and this turns out to be very energetically draining. He is on a very different path than I am and is in general a very negative person. I ignore most of his comments the best I can but lately they have escalated because he isn’t getting a rise out of me. These type of people are very hard to deal with. They are people that you care dearly for but who are so miserable in their own life that their only outlet seems to be to project and bring those around them “down.” There are days when I have to leave work early because he has put me close to tears (today was one of those days). I have a very low tolerance for these tactics and have lost a lot of respect for him because of this. Although I really try to come from a place of understanding and compassion I have decided that there will always be people who are just so unhappy with themselves that it isn’t going to matter what you do you are just going to have to let them go.

Letting someone go is not an easy thing. Especially when all you want to do is love them because they are so unhappy. For the longest time I thought my love and compassion would help but it ended up manifesting into a very unhealthy relationship for both of us. He uses me as an emotional/energetic punching bag and I allow him to get to me. I am sure that is why I am awake right now, I was completely unable to sleep, searching for a way to better deal with him. This is where energy and emotion collide. His negative energy directly effects his interactions with me and in turn is very detrimental to my emotional state on certain occasions.

Emotions are something that is also specific to the individual. I was a very emotional person before going raw and that has just been exasperated by going raw. Allowing myself to be emotional in a world that suppresses their emotions is difficult at times. You need to strike that balance. Turn a blind eye to situations that won’t benefit from any emotional intervention (sometimes figuring out what these situations are is the hardest part!) and keep moving forward personally. You can’t help people that don’t want to be help and your purpose shouldn’t be to serve as a sounding board/punching bag for people that have no connection to their emotions.

Meditation is something that I am working on integrating into my daily health practice as well as becoming strict about my yoga practice. I am not there yet but I find that when I am keeping up with these practices it really helps me focus my energetic and emotional self. I have a much less difficult time allowing things to “roll off my back” and don’t seem to let people get to me as easily. Another thing that I am still learning is loving people who impact my happiness negatively from a distance. You don’t have to stop loving them or caring for them but it is important to take yourself out of unhealthy situations which may result in you loving someone from a distance. This isn’t something you need to tell someone you are doing. But it is important that you are prepared to deal with them if you are going to be near them and not allow yourself to fall into the energetic/emotional trap of wanting to help them when they are not yet prepared to help themselves! If they ask, then they are ready. But if you are just trying to talk to them and push them in a forward direction your energy is being misdirected because they aren’t ready for that part of their journey and may never be. This type of misdirected energy will generally have a negative effect of relationships and it is very important to be conscious of where you are coming from when helping a soul that is energetically/emotionally taxing.

For me it is time to let this soul go. He is not ready and may never be and we are just growing further and further apart. I need to sever the connection and love him from a distance before our relationship is totally destroyed. As of today I have lost a lot of respect for him and I don’t feel good about that. I wish to come from a place of compassion and love and that is very difficult when I can’t manage to protect myself from his energetic/emotional attacks. For him this is the only way he knows how to make a connection with me. I honestly think that he feels if he can’t get a rise out of me (his goal is usually aggravation/anger) then all is not well with the world. I have allowed him to do so up to this point and it is time for me to step to that next level! I can do this, I know I can I just feel like I am abandoning someone that would benefit from my help. But, you can’t help someone along their path if they are firmly rooted and have no interest in moving forward.

So here is my note to you Mr. Good, because as of this point, I am releasing you:
I want to tell you a few things that I probably will never be able to tell you in person due to the fact that my feelings tend to provoke an anger response from you. I love you. I am able to work with you but have to sever our personal relationship at this point because it is very unhealthy for both of us. Provoking me to snap at you is not a good way to get my attention and I can no longer reinforce this. When and if you ever decide to move forward on your journey I will be there for you. In the event that you ever wish to get your fears off your chest I will gladly listen. But our current relationship is very unhealthy for me and is not something you need to be partaking in either. I hope you find what it is you need to make you happy and you are able to create a place that is happy for you! I must let you go now, I will always love you but must do it from a distance. xoxo

Wow, incredible! I feel a lot better now. I do not think actually letting go is going to be as easy once I have to deal with him again in person but I am going to do it. Energy is a powerful thing. I am sure there is a reason we are drawn to the people that we are drawn to but when you are on a personal journey to heighten your energy and increase your health, negative forces are not a suitable addition. They can cause the process of healing to take longer and create anxiety like they have in my case.

I encourage you to take the time to write a letter to someone that you need to release and love from a distance. Just writing the letter makes all the difference in the world. I still don’t feel GREAT but I am working towards it. It’s all about moving in a forward direction and not getting sucked into the negative energy/emotional vortexes that are present in our every day lives. You are a celestial being, rise above it! You can! I have faith in you!

Please feel free to use the comments area to write letters to anyone that you need to let go. I am happy to share my web space here to create a forum for those who need an outlet! I will reserve the comments of this post for you only and will not respond to them in the physical post, I may however send you an ecard or email! We can move forward together encouraging health energy and supporting emotional expression of each other!

If you made it all the way through this post, thank you! I really appreciate you taking part in my emotional healing! I am a sensitive being and sometimes writing is the only way I can get all my thoughts out there and begin healing!

Love, Blessings & RAWhugs!!!

Spring has Sprung!

I feel like I have been gone forever! When I looked at my last post date it was nearly a month ago!!! How is that possible! I would like to apologize for my absence. Life has been CRAZY! This is just going to be a quick post to catch you up on the going’s on’s in my life and then I am off running again!

Well the weather is getting warmed and my energy (as well as my wonderful husbands) has spiked. We are go go going at full tilt! I was up until midnight the other night planting seeds and cleaning. It was WONDERFUL! I got so much done! My garden is starting to come along nicely. In case I hadn’t told you yet, it’s 3 times the size of our little house! I love it! Well it will be three times the size of the house. Right now it’s just a little plot with some cold weather goodies in it like kale, spinach and lettuce. I have been outside gardening like a mad woman! To go along with my little plot of greens I have planted my Asparagus bed, got 25 strawberry plants in the ground, planted 4 blueberry bushes and 2 rhubarb plants! And this is just the food end of things (outside). I have also started 5 trays of seeds and two trays of wheat grass! YUM! I love that stuff!!

Yesterday was the second beautiful weekend day we have had since I last posted. I got out and did a bunch of work! Then I sun bathed! It was amazing!

Part of the reason I have been go go going is because I took on a position with the Raw Spirit Festival as a support person to the Volunteer Coordinator (Arianna)! I love it! I have been going to events on the weekends and have a bunch planned for the following months leading up to the Raw Spirit Festival! I am super excited about this position! I have never done anything like it and I love it! I have been to a couple Expo’s in the past couple weeks and have been networking like a mad woman! How fun, and out of the box this is for me! I really enjoy it!

Aside from the running around and gardening my husband and I have been working on the little house! We are trying to get finances in order so that we can waterproof our basement, replace all our windows and build a greenhouse this summer!

On a different note, we have also decided to try to place our rescue pup. We love him to pieces but have finally decided that he would be much happier as an only dog. This was a hard decision but we have committed to it! I actually just talked to a good friend of mine from college (one of my sisters actually) and she is entertaining the idea of taking him. I think they would be a great match (both high energy, she wants and dog that will go with her everywhere and he wants to go everywhere!). We shall see. We aren’t in any hurry to get rid of him and have complete faith that the right home will come along when it’s meant to!

Alright, I have a volunteer call to get ready for so I will talk to you all later! I will be posting more often I promise! In the meantime grab a papaya, pineapple and banana’s and try this recipe!

Tropical “Yogurt”

2 Banana’s
1 Small Papaya
1/2 Large Pineapple
2 cups Almond Milk
pinch salt
1 tsp alcohol free Vanilla Extract or 1/4 Vanilla Bean

Blend until smooth. Play with the amount of milk to get a yogurt consistency or a milk shake consistency! ENJOY!

Love, Blessings & RAWhugs!!!

Through the looking glass…

“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.”

Well this wasn’t exactly the quote I was looking for and it’s out of the original “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” but I liked it just the same and it seemed to fit! I’ve been on a curious adventure lately and all I could think about when I sat down to write this was Alice and her adventures with all the crazy creatures and scenarios in Wonderland. When I was a child I always loved the movies, but had never read the book until about a year ago. I found the book to be even better then the movies (big shock I know).

Lately my reading has been of the nonfiction variety. I can’t seem to get enough of the stuff. I have at least 3 different books that I am working on currently and can’t seem to get enough knowledge! I just received another book that I ordered from amazon.com; “The Live Food Factor” by Susan Schenck which looks rather intimidating but I am itching to dive into it! Must finish other books first!

Now you may be wondering why I am resonating so much with Alice. Well, to be honest, I really don’t know. I have been on an emotional roller coaster lately and I am not sure why. I was having horrible food cravings last week and a lot of them for cooked foods. Sunday I “treated” myself to a hot Thai vegetarian dish (Green Curry, coconut milk and veggies) which was delicious but after that meal I decided to start a fast. I am juice fasting but also taking it easy because this is my first ever conscious fast. Today however, I didn’t have any juice until dinner time. The rest of the day it was water and tea. Monday was easy until dinner time, Tuesday was the same until dinner when I broke down and decided to eat a blended soup with the remainder of my oxidizing juice. Then today, all water/herbal teas until I got home, then I had coconut water a shot of wheat grass and some juice. I have not been hungry all day. I thought I broke my fast yesterday by eating the blended salad but think I did myself a favor by giving myself something more substantial that didn’t require chewing.

I feel a little disappointed with myself for decided to eat something last night, but at the same time I feel great today and intend to continue the fast. I think part of the problem was that I had a particularly stressful day at work and my body just needed the extra sustenance to support itself after the stressful day. I have also realized that the end of the day is the hardest for me.  I want to sit and binge, which I had stated doing so I think that this fast came just in the nick of time! I have found that my food addiction seems to rear its ugly head when I sit and eat in front of the TV. I also have become conscious of the fact that I like to eat when sitting in front of the TV “relaxing.” They just seem to go hand in hand to me – which I don’t particularly like but have just recently become conscious of. To be honest, this isn’t something I ever was aware of. I always used to sit in front of the TV and eat; breakfast, lunch…dinner…snacks. This mostly happened when I was at my grandmothers – which was most days of the week. My grandmothers is my number one comfort zone and I have noticed that a lot of my food addictions can be directly related to something I did at her house as a kid. Examples would be:

Wrapped up in a blanket on the couch with goldfish watching a movie and munching away

Eating my meals in front of the TV

Comfort foods that she always would make like fresh bread, BLT’s, sandwiches and soups

When I was at my grandmothers house there would also be constant snacking. And she always had goodies to snack on. You become so unaware of the amount of food that you consume when you sit down in front of the TV to eat your meal. This is something that I need to do better with because although I find that I eat a lot healthier now I also find that I still binge when I am in front of the TV. I will sit down and eat twice the raw dinner that my husband does!

I am still very unsure where the emotions are coming from but at least I am conscious of everything now. I am sure there will be another level but for right now I am happy figuring out this one. I have found that this fast (to this point) has been a very good thing for me. I am not forcing myself to do it, I feel like I need to…my body needs to. It’s amazing how good the juice or coconut water tastes too! There is a complete explosion of flavor. It’s also wonderful not to have to think about what I am making for lunch! I really enjoy that aspect of the fast…

If you are thinking about it, I would recommend fasting for 1 day. Start after dinner (or before dinner) and go for 24 hours…if that isn’t bad go another 24. It’s easy when you are sleeping 16 or so hours of the 48! I am plowing onward and upward while running through “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” quotes in my head.

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat,

how I wonder where you’re at…”

I hope that everyone has a wonderful evening and I look forward to posting again soon!

Love, Blessings & RAWhugs!!!

I am alive!

In fact…I am very alive! I have been managing to stay VERY busy lately and have not been making any time for myself aside from reading. I have been neglecting journal and my blog! GASP! I have to admit, I don’t feel good about it. I miss writing. I feel connected when I am writing. It’s empowering. I get my thought out there and sometimes they come back to me quickly (in good ways)! I love that about writing stuff down! Putting it out there!

So what have I been up to?

My life lately has been full! I am not complaining though. I have been super busy at work which makes the days go quickly. When we get home there are all sorts of things to be done. Last week I decided that I needed to “unplug” for a few days. I started around the first of the week and really enjoyed it. It was a nice break. I plugged back in on Thursday to get some work done. I had to get some stuff done for Capital City and do some research. Friday after work I unplugged again. The only things I did was watch a little TV and use my cell phone (as needed). It was wonderful! Next time I do it I intend to do it for a few more days and really take a break! I won’t watch tv even! I would recommend this to ANYONE! It was amazing!

I have been reading a lot. I just finished “Evie’s Kitchen” and recommend it to EVERYONE! It’s wonderful. Shazzie did a beautiful thing by creating this book. It also came along right when I needed it. She spent a good amount of time talking about the importance of certain vitamins and minerals. I had yet to find a good bit of information on that. She broke it down for me, and I felt like it was just for me! Everything she touched on was for children and everything she said spoke to me personally. She is an angle and I am so thankful for this book. I must admit, as soon as I finished reading her book I picked up “Naked Chocolate” and love it so far! I still have yet to finish the “China Study” and have set it aside for a bit while I read some more wonderful raw foodie books.

Now I’m off to finish watching “Crazy Sexy Cancer.” I think Kris Carr is amazing. I really like this documentary. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it! What a powerful woman!

I will be writing more often. I miss my blog and everyone that checks in! Sending lots of love and RAWhugs to everyone out there in blog land!