Still on it.....

Hello Again -

I've been excited to use my new dehydrator I just haven't had the time to go shopping for all the yummy ingredients to make breads, crackers, wraps, dried fruit treats and much, much more. A dehydrator gives a raw foodie so much more versatility in their "cooking" repertoire. A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to go to The Bliss Cafe on Greenville and had an awesome dish of kale enchiladas. I was so impressed with the wrap and sauce used I really want to play around and create some of my own fabulous dishes. I hope to this weekend. I have guests coming over so I'm going to try out some new dishes on them. I will let you know how it turns out. 'Til then eating raw for health.... Mary

Update - Mary

Hi All -

Sorry for the delay in posts. I have been acclimating myself to this lifestyle change. It really is a lifestyle change for me. I haven't eaten meat,dairy,noodles,rice or unsprouted bread since the first of March. That is not to say I haven't had fish. I have almost made salad sushi a daily staple. It provides the density I am feeling the need for of late. I also have cooked some of my vegetables to create soups. I have a fruit smoothie or green juice once or twice a day. I am really focusing on making sure I am getting the nutrients but satisfying my taste buds at the same time. Overall I feel much better than I did before I started and I am consistently losing weight. Not the major concern of mine right now - my health has been my driving force behind this. I am looking forward to getting my dehydrator on Tuesday. I can't wait to try some of those wonderful recipes on rawmazing.com. I will try to be more faithful on the postings - talk to you soon. Mary P.S. Thanks for the support Sandra. :)

Mary is doing awesome!

I know Mary hasn't mentioned anything about her latest progress, but I gotta tell you... she's lost 10lbs! yeah, you heard that right... 10lbs in less than 2 weeks!! She's been doing incredible and she's been doing a lot of raw food eating, experiencing with different recipes. She bought raw bread at Whole Foods and has been making avocado sandwiches. Way to go Mary, keep going!

Signs of Spring

I'm so glad the weather is getting nicer, I love opening the back door and feeling the nice spring breeze.

I love eating fruit and I can live on it all the time, papaya is one of my favorites! So I'm happy to be making this juice again:

1 grapefruit
2 oranges
1 lemon
1 small piece of ginger

I usually don't take the skin off the lemon but for this juice I do. You can use a knife and it's a lot faster, you cut the ends off first then you turn the lemon straight up and take off the sides, you can do this for all of the fruits. It's really easy. This juice is wonderful to dissolve cellulite and to move candida and it tastes quite good.

Checking in

I actually juiced until Friday and the last two were the easiest! I drank water and juice that entire Saturday until I finally hady first meal that night ...it was so good. I love food. I have to say that my goal for this juice was solely to lose weight and I lost 5 lbs in that one week. I felt fabulous! Even with my pizza slip... It was a good week. I think I'll stick to juicing during the day and then having a healthy meal for dinner. This works best fore so I can keep my taste buds happy and not have some kind of a binge breakdown :~) I will probably try the all juice with a little raw in a few weeks and see if I can make it for the 5 days again!! Hoping to lose these last 9 prego lbs

Where has Sandra been

Well... My husband and I juiced until Friday and didn't eat so well over the weekend. Total weight I lost 4 lbs. and he lost 8 lbs. We decided to revise our diet, trust me I think the benefits of juicing are completely AMAZING!! I had great sleep last week and it was wonderful for my skin, but I honestly can't imagined juicing for 92 days. Now, I'm a great believer of a raw food diet. So this is what I'm thinking. Green juice for breakfast, raw food lunch and a green juice or fruit juice for dinner. Then juicing maybe 2-5 days at a time.

For breakfast I made my signature green juice, but instead of Kale I used the most fabulous spinach that I got from the local Farmers Market (a HUGE bag for $2.00!!) and used to gayla apples and one lemon... Delicious!!!

Here's a recipe that I've made before and it's so easy! Mark loves making these and he gets pretty creative with his mixes.

Ginger Almond Nori Rolls
Ingredients:
1 tblsp ginger
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan salt
1 cup almonds dry
1 lemon's juice
1/4 cup filtered water
2 sheets of Raw Nori Sheets
2 cups of spinach
1/2 carrot, cut lengthwise
1 cup of mung bean sprouts

Ginger Almond Pate:
1 tblsp ginger
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan salt
1 cup almonds dry
1 lemon's juice
1/4 cup filtered water

How to make the Nori Rolls:
1. bed of spinach
2. ginger almond pate
3. carrot
4. sprouts
5. roll

Use a food processor for this recipe, it takes absolutely no time at all! Blend the ginger and the garlic first, blend then add the salt. Follow up with the almonds (make sure these have been soaked - usually 30 mins to an hour. Drain then dry) Blend all of that together then add the lemon juice, blend again and finally add the water. Also, when cutting the rolls use a bread knife the ridges will not tear the Nori sheets and you're ready to eat! I like to use raw soy sauce. Enjoy!

Sandra's Day 4

Wow! Yesterday morning was really, really hard. I woke up STARVING! and craving a Subway. I know it's because I didn't drink enough juice the day before, but like I said I really needed to get a break. I do love the way I'm sleeping - so deeply and peacefully and I really don't have any cravings for any sweets. I feel like I'm in a bit of a "zen" state and I really can't get over on how soft my skin has become and my husband's! I also like the "light" feeling I feel, so far I've lost 3 pounds. I do however; think I'm going to revised my plan. I'm aiming for 2 green juices a day and a raw meal.

Here's a recipe for Kale Chips - I made it before and it was delicious!!

Kale Chips
Inspired by a dish from Blue Hill New York

If you cannot find Tuscan kale (aka dinosaur or dino kale) at your grocer, it's OK to substitute the recipe with another type of kale. Just make sure you remove the leaves from the tough parts of the kale. Don't discard the stem and ribs though — use them to make a veggie broth!

Ingredients

1 large bunch Tuscan kale (10 to 12 leaves)
1 tablespoon oilve oil
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275°F.
2. Remove stalks and ribs from kale. Rinse and dry leaves.
3. Toss leaves in a large bowl with olive oil. Sprinkle leaves with sea salt and ground pepper.
4. Arrange leaves in a single layer onto a baking sheet.
5. Back for approximately 30 minutes or until crisp.
6. Transfer and let cool onto a wire rack or paper towels.

Katy's day 4

Feeling pretty bad... Laying in bed with a headache. I'm not sure if my body is detoxing or if my cold I had last week is turning for the worse. One things for sure, my stomach can scream bloody murder! Did cucumber/ lemon and then pineapple,spinach and strawberries. Need to load up on the water tomorrow. Forgot to take my MSM today

Day 3 - Mary

Okay today was much better able to get up and out of the house. Had Sandra's Spinach,Blackberry, Pineapple combo definitely better. I believe my body is just not ready for a solid juice diet so I will be doing a juicing / raw food combo from now on. I still believe lots of liquid is necessary so juicing in the morning, raw food, juicing or equivalent amount of liquid possibly green soup or salad at dinner more liquid and herbal tea before bed. Liquid helps digest any foods put in the system raw or otherwise it also helps make you feel satiated throughout the day. Still losing weight about a pound a day so far. Will keep you posted.

Katy's Day 2 - the aftermath

Okay, so I'm posting my day 2 on day 3... Yesterday was crazy. I had too many things to even think about food which was good, however, I don't think I drank enough juice and I didn't get to whole foods until afternoon.

Thank you Miss Sandra for sharing that delicious apple, kale, lemon recipe! When I got home, I made this and it was like heaven in my mouth with the sweetness. I didn't use the lemon at all but will make this again today!! Now I'll have to try the other recipe.

I too started thinking this is a really not a practical goal for 92 days. Maybe I'll make small goals like 1 week, 2 week etc. :-) Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow because I'm going to a mommy wine tasting... hmm... is wine considered a cleanse?

So yesterday I got my MSM and dry brush (don't think I could handle the salt water flush and not brave enough). Today, I quickly started brushing before my shower and can anyone say "YOUCHA!!" dude! that hurt... maybe it gets better as Sandra said but I will stay away from brushing the girls for now. I will say that after doing the hot, cold, hot, cold and stepping out of the shower, I felt very fresh!

So part of the journal is to write down as well as admit things (confession time). I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I already had a breakdown. My husband does not know what I'm doing and he ordered a pizza last night. The smell was so over powering that I had a slice and it was the best I ever had. Okay, admission done. I'm back on the wagon again and will NOT let this deter me. I've already explained to him that I would grill some chicken for him so he can eat it the rest of the week but I would be juicing. I'm sure that greasy slice of pizza will show itself as a huge zit or crater somewhere and as pay back. Pooh!

Over and out!

Sandra's Day 3

I had a juice this morning and honestly felt I couldn't juice anymore for today. So I've been drinking obscene amounts of water, green tea, sparkling water with lemon.... anything but juice. I honestly don't know how people make it 2 weeks, 30 days or 90 days on just green juice. It's really hard, I think right now I'm just going to focus on finishing a week at a time and then take it from there. Maybe incorporate a an all raw food diet, which that I have no problem doing at all and then going back to juicing for a couple of days. We'll see, will let you know as the week unravels.

I did want to share some information that has been helpful; one of the books that I've read is: The Raw Food Detox Diet: The Five-Step Plan for Vibrant Health and Maximum Weight Loss. It's a really easy read, it explains about the different food combinations, I found this book extremely helpful and I highly recommended. http://bit.ly/cUEq8A

Everyday, I have to look for inspiration and motivation to stay on this journey. Today I found this video: http://bit.ly/dzISjb

Good night. Oh! one more thing, this guy completed 100 days of juicing!!! How in the world did he do it? http://www.lovingraw.com/

Day 2 - Mary

Ok yesterday was really tough for me. I drank my lemon water in the morning proceeded by the green juice made of chard ,squash and yam made me get really nauseous. I spent the rest of the day trying to get out of the funk. I'm not sure what the cause of it was , the drink or detoxing either way it was bad. I had water and fruit juice the rest of the day along with my supplements. Hopefully today will be better, I'm going to try Sandra's spinach blackberry combo today and see how that sits. Will keep you posted.

Sandra's Day 2

For my second day I decided to wait and post till the end of the day. The mornings are easy for me, usually I struggle around 1pm - yesterday was really hard. Today was around 3pm, but easier than yesterday and was feeling a bit sluggish by then.

This morning, I started my day with 32oz. of warm water with lemon; then I drank my usual: Kale, lemon and gayla apples with a teaspoon of Maca. I made a similar pitcher for the rest of the day, but I added more spinach to that one. Kale unfortunately doesn't really juice a lot. Now I'm drinking blackberries, pineapple and spinach with a teaspoon of bee pollen and 6 spiriluna tables. I gotta say, I really like this juice - it's a bit thicker so it's a bit more like a smoothie and the texture feels good in my mouth.

I know this is really good for me to try, but I do have thoughts wondering whether I will accomplish the whole journey. I'm definitely not giving up yet, but it hasn't been easy. I was supposed to go to a party tonight, but decided to stay away from temptations. Such as wine and cheeses - two of my very favorites. I would also like to acknowledged my sweet husband, he's attempting to do two weeks of green juice and so far he's doing very well. He sends me messages periodically during day with things like "I want to eat a carrot", "What if I eat a salad out of a glass and I pretend is a juice". He also did say, he had Katy's dream last night and was dreaming of Cheeseburgers; oh! and how everyone smelled like food today at work. The funniest one has been on how he's threatened to put our dog on a juice diet also.

Aside from everything else, this has definitely been one of the hardest things that I've done. I know Mary wasn't feeling well today and hope she hangs in there, looking forward to hear how my dear friend Katy is doing. For now another day has gone by.

Katy's First Day

Oh my goodness... Day one almost over and I think I might start chewing my tongue off! I some how jumped in this whole thing a little half and un- prepared. Regardless, I was able to use all my veggies I had on hand: carrots, celery, cucumber, spinach, kale, parsley and grapes. I intentionally waited to post my thoughts because I knew day 1 in the morning would be easy... I usually juice my breakfast and lunch anyway with a nice meal at night. I will be honest, day 1 has not been easy for me. I'm so desperate to find something else to think of that I've gone down that sad sad road of watching the final bachelor episode.... eeek!!

So, focusing on other thoughts besides food... I am very intrigued about the brushing the skin thing and will go find some MSM tomorrow. More veggies for sure!

While I drink my green tea with ginger and say my good nights... I will be dreaming of little cheeseburgers. Over and out!

Day One!!

Ok I'm excited and scared at the same time. This is an enormous amount of liquid!!! I am not a big drinker to start with but wow... I started off my day with a quart(4 cups) of lemon water a Tsp of MSM and a digestive enzyme capsule. I then proceeded to juice my greens for the day. I used carrots, spinach, romaine lettuce, zuchinni and lemon. I made about 48 oz. worth. I dry brushed and took a shower. In another 1/2 hour I will drink a pint of oj with a spoonful of bee pollen followed by some more of my green juice at about 12:30pm. I am full so far but kinda bloated too. Hoping the cleansing and such will even it out soon. My goal is to drink every 2 hours or so for the next 92 days yikes!! Will keep you posted.- Mary

Ok update: a really lot of liquid. This is not an easy process I don't know what the norm is on how you are supposed to feel - I definitely feel full but hungry bad combo. I just reviewed some youtube videos to put my head back in the game I'm still here - talk to you tomorrow.

Sandra's Day 1

This morning, I got up early and started juicing away. I made my usual - that I just love! Kale, 2 gayla apples and one lemon with a teaspoon of maca. I'm so comfortable with that mix. I also made 16 oz of cucumber with lemon - I've heard this is wonderful for the skin for later today.
Before I actually had my first juice, I did a Salt Water Flush (32 oz of luke warm water and 2 teaspoons of seasalt) http://hubpages.com/hub/salt_water_flush then I did my usual dry skin brushing technique before jumping in the shower http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/healingtechniques/dry_brushing_technique.htm. I've actually been doing this for about 2 months and really like it. My skin feels extremely soft. The first time I did it, it was a bit painful since the brush was brand new; I remember the first time I came out of the shower it was an amazing feeling - very invigorating. Now I do it every morning, without thinking about it.

Made a red swiss chard with pears and lemon - a little bitter. I've had this with kiwi and it's much better. I will drink it and check it off as not one of my favorites. :)
I did add a teaspoon of bee pollen.