Melissa's Juice Journal

Day 2 -

2009-03-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today's juices:

grapefruit, apple with spirulina (in some) and bee pollen (in the rest) less than 1 quart
2 quarts tomato, red pepper, onion, garlic, lemon, cilantro, romaine lettuce, celery, carrot
1 quart apple, celery, banana, vitamineral green

Also had comfrey tea and nettle tea, and hot water with lemon and honey.

Wanted dinner, so did an experiment and made juice/soup from:
tomato, red pepper, onion, garlic, shiitake mushroom, celery, carrot and lemon... strained that,
then blended with 1/2 avocado and miso
then added small avocado pieces and dulse on top.

Bananas and avocados are not technically on the juice feast protocol, so am taking some liberties, but the soup did not sit well with me anyway...to much shiitake? maybe the miso?

Also had a tsp of coconut oil mixed with a bit of honey and vitamineral green for a sweet snack.

xoxo,
Melissa

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Day 1 - Time For Fun!

2009-03-21T06:28:00.001-07:00

I'm back!

I'm starting another juice feast today...here are the juices I made:

kiwi, strawberry, apple, lemon, banana (a bit under a quart)
tomato, onion, red pepper, celery, Romaine lettuce, carrots, lemon - 1 1/2 quarts
orange, carrot, apple (will likely add chlorophyll to this when I'm ready to drink it), 1 quart

I am remembering how freeing it is...preparing all the juice in the morning, which only takes me about 1/2 hour total, including clean up, and then the rest of the day is free from wondering what to eat, preparing food, clean up, etc.

I'm really ready to feel great again!

xoxo,
Melissa

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Black walnuts and paw paws

2008-09-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

I just put a couple posts about foraging Black Walnuts and Paw Paws on my other blog: http://birchcenter.blogspot.com.

I'm trying to consolidate...it's so confusing to know which information to post where!

I hope you'll check out the posts on the Birch Center blog, though.

xoxo
~ Melissa

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Vitamix RAW nut butter tip

2008-09-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

So, many of you probably know this, but wow, that Vitamix can sure heat food up! Last entry I posted about my pistachio yum bars. Well, I had used nuts right from the freezer for that recipe. Today I tried it again with room temperature nuts (so like 85 degrees!) and they got quite HOT in there. I didn't even blend them down all the way to nut butter.

So, the tip is: FREEZE the nuts first before attempting nut butter in the vitamix, especially if you're trying to keep the nut butter raw.

Love and light,

~ Melissa

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chocolate pistachio yum bars

2008-09-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well, today is my third day all raw, and my total and complete energy crash didn't happen until 6:30 pm (and I got up much more easily this morning), so I'm moving in a good direction. The only reason I'm not sleeping now is that Dave was working and Ella wouldn't nap. She's going to sleep now, but I have an update phone call for energy mirrors (at 10 pm!), which is a kind of energy work I do. I actually haven't done it in a while, which may be part of my problem: I do feel much better when I do. But in general I like listening to the woman (Mary Lynch) who does the calls...it's interesting to just let my mind go and become more aware of possibilities......

But anyway. Do you remember (or did you have) those peanut butter bars in high school with the chocolate on top? They were little squares (brownie size) of a layer of peanut butter and a layer of chocolate. I've been thinking about them for a while, and today I created:

Chocolate Pistachio Yum Bars! (the piece in the picture is a bit heavy on the chocolate layer...but isn't it neat how the pistachio nut butter is green?)

I put raw pistachio nut meat in the vitamix to make nut butter.
I mixed the smallest bits of salt and honey into it (when I make again, I may make this layer a tad sweeter, but maybe not.)
I pushed the nut butter into the bottom of a glass pan, about 1/4 inch thick.
Chocolate layer: I mixed softened coconut butter/oil with cacao powder, lucuma powder, maca powder, raw honey, salt, vanilla.
I poured it on top of the nut butter and put in the fridge to chill/harden.

Voila! Instant yumminess. I've actually been only eating tiny pieces of it - it's very rich. I just cut that big piece for the picture, then I put it away.

****

And, if you haven't seen it, I wrote about raw foods from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective on my Birch Center blog. I'm actually working on another entry about it for today, but I may be too tired to finish.

Perfecting Raw Chocolate Sauce...

2008-09-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

The past couple days I have been 100% raw to try and shake this incredible fatigue that has overtaken me.

I've also been taking the last couple days to try to perfect a raw chocolate sauce, which I plan on serving at our Raw Foods Demo and Dinner on Wednesday, September 24 (please call soon to register...(412) 381-0116, the spaces are filling up!)

Today's version was so delicious: hemp oil, raw honey (I plan to use agave nectar at the dinner, though, in case there are vegans there), raw cacao, lucuma powder, and vanilla. Wow, it was so incredibly good.

I also wanted to mention my good friend Wendi Dee of Pure Jeevan, who has started an amazing new ALL RAW DIRECTORY! It is an interactive website, so you can add your own or your favorite blogs, restaurants, businesses...anything raw related! What an incredible resource, thank you Wendi!

Much love,
~ Melissa

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sketching again...

2008-08-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I began sketching daily, and I kept an online journal of some of my sketches.

Yesterday I began sketching a bit again...inspired by the yoga I've been doing (and a bit by the Olympic gymnastics.)

They're a bit light because I did them in pencil, but I think you can see them.

And I did post this on The Birch Center blog as well...it's confusing having two blogs. I wonder if it's time to consolidate...?

Much love,
~ Melissa

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Birthday Cake!

2008-08-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

I've had lots of comments and emails about the blueberry cardamom birthday cake/pie I made...so there it is (above.) It was truly heavenly! So incredibly good. I may make another one very soon...I just bought more cashews at the coop yesterday.

I decorated it with bananas, goji berries, frozen blueberries and a strawberry. Four candles for forty years old!

Below is a slice of the pie:

I did adjust the recipe a bit: instead of using macadamias in the filling I used soaked cashews, I used frozen blueberries instead of fresh, and instead of almond milk I made some pecan milk to use. I also used maple syrup (not raw) instead of agave. (The link to the original recipe is in my last post.)

For the crust I used pecans, more dates than they said (I used about 8, they said 4), and I added some vanilla and a touch of salt.

Much love,
~ Melissa

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Back from vacation

2008-08-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

My birthday is tomorrow! I think I'm going to make this cake. (Blueberry cardamom...looks so good!)

We were on vacation and just got back - I have pictures to share and lots to update!

Anyone doing the Raw Fu 100 day raw food challenge? I'm signed up, but haven't been quite perfect. Though I'm still starting every day with green smoothies, and am eating such a lot raw all day.

I'll update more soon. We have to get the house ready for a visit from my brother, who is coming later today.

xoxo
~ Melissa

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What's going on

2008-07-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

My posting has been sporadic. I've gained 4 pounds since stopping my juice feast about 1 1/2 months ago. I've been totally enjoying GREEN smoothies, sometimes drinking close to a gallon a day, but that is on top of regular eating (raw and not so raw.) Today I had a totally raw day with 1/2 gallon green smoothie. The other exciting news: We ate two fresh peaches off our very own peach tree!

Recently I read: what is the one thing which you need to get rid of, and when you do would totally change your life for the better? Or maybe it was phrased: you know you have to get rid of this one thing to be living closer to where you want to be. What is that one thing? (and get rid of it now!)

For me, it is the computer. I am just so much more present and engaged in life without it. And I am addicted to it/drawn to it when it's on. Our computer is slow and old, so it takes forever to load things and surf around. It can suck so much time.

I will be turning it off. However, I do use the computer in my business, so at least (or at most?) once a week I will be on: checking and responding to emails, updating blogs (this on and our Birch Center one), working on newsletter and business handouts, and checking in at Raw Fu.

What is Raw Fu? It's a website created by Bunny Berry, and starting August 1 she will be leading a 100 day raw food challenge. I'm taking it. I hope you'll join in with me. Here's her promo video, with all the info:

See you soon!

xoxo
~ Melissa

Please sign up for our monthly newsletter! We have raw recipes, information about Acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and overall wellness information. Thank you!

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Those yummy green chips

2008-07-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

After reading the post about kale chips on We Like it Raw, I just had to try some! I substituted broccoli greens from the garden for kale and made this marinade for them:

olive oil
wheat-free tamari
lemon juice
garlic
chili powder

I dehydrated overnight...they were sooo good! I love how they don't shrink away like zucchini chips. I ate them up and the next night I made them with collard greens from a friend's garden, with one plantain leaf thrown in there to see how it would turn out. Yum!
So today I went out and harvested a lot of plantain:

marinated it, and it is now in the dehydrator. I also decided to try some daylily petals:

Here they are marinated and on the tray (before dehydrating):

Being flower petals, they did shrink a bit and I only left them in for three hours and now I've eaten them all.

Speaking of the garden, here are some carrots I harvested the other day: (I've never been able to grow carrots)

I grated them and an apple, chopped some broccoli greens and some dates and made a dressing by blending soaked cashews, miso, garlic and a bit of water, and mixed it all together. It was also quite delicious.

Greens in my smoothie

2008-07-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a typical mix of greens, flowers and weeds that I have been putting into my green smoothies. I'm just going to post a quick update now, but I hope to post more about some or all of the weeds/herbs that are going into my smoothie: all from our little yard/garden!

The yellow flower is calendula, so beautiful! We've not had much luck with them in the past, but this year Ella planted them, and we have a huge patch of big, lovely, multi-flowered calendulas!

I also see in there:

Shephard's purse
Plantain
Chard
Quickweed
Mint
Lamb's Quarters

Other things that have been going in:

Red Clover (blossom and leaves)
Lady's thumb (Polygonum persicaria...related to He Shou Wu/Fo Ti - Polygonum multiflori - more about that later!)
Borage Leaves and Flowers
Comfrey Leaves
Mulberry - berry and leaves
Bachelor buttons (edible flowers)
Chickweed

Sometimes instead of water I add nettle or raspberry leave infusion (strong tea, steeped overnight)

And lately I've been added a spoon of powdered dong gui, he shou wu (fo ti), spirulina, and now I've given in and bought a pound of Vitamineral Green so that has been going in as well. (It was so fun to get that package in the mail from Matt Monarch's Raw Food World! It had all these yummy little sample packets of stuff - fun!)

All that with fruit to make it yummy.

The green smoothie challenge is going really well! Is anyone else doing it? Let me know how it's going.

Green Smoothies and teeth health

2008-06-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

I have begun a green smoothie challenge! The daily emails I have been receiving by signing up for this challenge have been so great. Really inspiring and I recommend signing up for this. I've been picking so many greens from my garden daily, and blending them with fruit (and adding some of the supplements and superfoods I have on hand). Fun and delicious.

Also, I am working on the health of my TEETH! I have black spots (and lots of yellow/brown ones, too) along the gumline. I had a totally surreal experience at a (holistic, biological, mercury-free) dentist on Friday -- really awful! He just began berating me, and I honestly could not understand where he was coming from or what he meant. I literally ran out of the office in tears. The bizarre thing: that is the second time I've gone to a dentist (different ones, both recommended to me) to take care of those cavities and get some dental care, and neither one did the work. The first one charged me $50, just for looking at my mouth and agreeing I needed dental work. At least this time I didn't have to pay (for being insulted and condescended to....) So, I guess either I haven't found the right dentist, or I'm meant to solve this problem myself (truth is, I am not a fan of dentists, anyway, and that is an understatement.)

I am working on a regimen that I hope results in healthy white teeth. It includes lots of greens, minerals, herbs, mouthwashes, perhaps supplements. The teeth are related to bone, and I feel like one's teeth most likely reflects one's overall health and state of bones (and in Chinese medicine, kidney energy), so I'll do my best to boost that. I'll report back with specifics. Unfortunately...I did have some Thai food today and now my one tooth (with the big black spot, on the left) is aching. So at least I know.

In general I have been doing great with raw. My plan is: smoothies in the morning and evening, and seaweed/veggie salad during the day. If hungry: raw seed "breads", veggies, fruits, juice, or more green smoothie. And lots of water. I do notice that I do lots of grazing almost all day, which I don't think is the best thing for my teeth. I noticed yesterday because I made up a cell salt formula for my teeth (calc phos, calc fluor, kali phos and silica) and I am supposed to take it away from food...and there was hardly ever a time that I hadn't eaten for a while or wasn't just about to eat.

Mulberries, mulberries, mulberries

2008-06-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

I love mulberry season!
Right now I have two trays of mulberries drying in the dehydrator (first time I've done that!), I had loads off the tree, a cup or so in my smoothie, there's some out at the office for clients (and Dave) to munch on, and yesterday we made a raw mulberry pie!

Recipe for the pie:

Crust:
In the food processor: pecans, walnuts, dates and dried apricots blended together until sticky, then pressed onto the bottom of a pie pan.

Then, we took half the mulberries (about 3 cups?) and put them through the food processor (just pulsing lightly, not liquidizing!) and then mixed it back in with the other half of un-blended mulberries, then poured it onto the pie crust (the crust will absorb the liquid.) We topped with shredded coconut and a daylily.

And I've been having Green Superfood Smoothies, here's my recipe:

1 banana
1 cup frozen or fresh fruit (I used mulberries today, of course!)
1 handful greens (I used garden greens and wild edibles, including mulberry leaves!)
1 Tbsp chlorophyll
1 tsp or more spirulina powder
1 Tbsp cacao powder
1 Tbsp honey (optional, the fruit is often sweet enough)
1 Tbsp bee pollen
1 handful Goji berries
1 cup ice
2+ cups raspberry or nettle infusion (strong tea, made the night before and refrigerated.)

I watched a really inspiring youtube video about Superfoods and wild foods yesterday by Shazzie. It's in four parts I believe, here is the first part (if you like it, I'm sure it will lead you to the next three parts.) This one is nice because she takes you into her yard and cuts dandelion greens, clover greens, plantain, cleavers, nettles, and although she is in the UK, you will find the same "weeds" in our yards over here!

Raw Food Potluck

2008-06-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

We just went to another amazing raw food potluck with the Pittsburgh meetup group. What an amazing event! It was held at Love Street Living Foods, where I bought an amazing raw chocolate sauce that I can't believe is not already gone!

We brought mulberries picked this morning by Dave and Ella (while I was enjoying my outdoor yoga class up on Mt. Washington), and a wild edible green salad topped with edible flowers (and my miso-orange dressing.) What I can't believe is that we forgot to take pictures of our food! It was really so beautiful. I topped the salad with the daylilies, so at least I can put a picture of those (above) on here.

Also, here is a picture (taken two years ago!) of Dave and Ella picking mulberries...time flies!

It was great to see people again at the potluck, and to meet new people as well. These raw food and raw food-interested people are just so amazing. Full of life and vibrant energy!

We met Jody and her daughter Bethany, who have such an amazing story. If they post online I will definitely post a link. Bethany is on Day 16 of a juice feast right now. Here is a short bit of her story...she had been in a wheelchair for three years (paralyzed below her waist), went raw in April (I believe), and now she is walking with only one crutch. There is even more to it than that...this young woman is just incredible. I am so grateful to have met them!!! I really hope to be keeping in close contact with both of them.

Anyway, I am so tired tonight. But I will leave you with a picture of mulberries on our tree. I hope you are enjoying these wild edibles! They are so amazing and sweet. I just wrote a blog entry about them on my Birch Center blog, I hope you'll check it out if you are interested.

I feel so full of love and appreciation right now!

Super Easy, Superfood Crepes (and Goji Berries)

2008-06-19T05:19:00.000-07:00

I made some delicious crepes for breakfast with only 6 ingredients! They were so easy (though you need a dehydrator) that I thought I'd share the recipe.

This recipe is for three crepes (though I do have some filling and syrup left over for other treats!)

You will need:

2 bananas
handful strawberries
3/4 cup cashews
juice of an orange
6 dates
handful goji berries (if you don't have these, just omit and soak a couple more dates)

These first steps do in the evening before bed:

For the crepe base:

1. Blend two bananas and a handful of strawberries (I used the food processor.)

2. Making three crepes: pour in thirds on teflex dehydrator sheet and spread in circular fashion to make three thin circles that don't touch.

3. Dehydrate on 100 degrees overnight.

Also overnight:

4. In one bowl: soak cashews in enough water to cover

5. In another bowl: soak dates and goji berries in water to cover, plus a little more

In the morning:

1. Blend the soaked cashews, juice of one orange, and a bit of the soaked dates and gojis for the filling.

2. Then blend the rest of the dates, goji berries and soak water for the syrup on top.

To assemble:

1. Peel the fruit off the teflex and lay out on a plate.

2. Put the cashew filling in a line on one side.

3. Roll crepe.

4. Top with syrup.

5. Enjoy!

Oh, and by the way: Goji Berries look like this:

They are like little red raisins, and can be eaten as is, added into recipes as is, or soaked first. They are considered a "superfood" in the raw food community because of their nutritional and healing content. These are organic raw goji berries that I ordered from iherb.com (if you feel like ordering anything from there, you can use code MEL526 for $5 off.) Locally (in Pittsburgh) they sell them at the East End Food Coop and Whole Foods.

In Chinese Medicine, goji berries (also known as gou qi zi, lycium berries and wolf berries) are a very valuable and fundamental herb. It is known to strengthen the Kidneys and the Liver (Yin and Blood), and has special benefits to the eyes.

Please visit our Birch Center blog. Today's entry is all about Gou Qi Zi (Goji Berries)!

Mulberry Season!

2008-06-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's mulberry season! Here is a picture of Ella from two years ago - she enjoys mulberries to this very day!

We had a very nice weekend camping, despite the rain. I stayed raw throughout the trip - I had made such delicious food it was actually easy! The orange-miso-shiitake soup/dressing was so incredibly good that I ate all the greens the first day, just to eat more of the dressing! Then I peeled my zucchini into pasta-like strips and put the rest of the dressing on that.

I also brought large broccoli leaves to use as wraps, and made burritos with a brazil nutmeat (spiced with cumin and coriander), avocado, tomato and cucumber with a squeeze of lemon on top.

For breakfasts I made sesame milk (which only lasted one day, though) to top fresh apples and my mix of sunflower seeds, raisins, dates, prunes, brazil nuts and goji berries. A breakfast of champions.

Speaking of champions...there was a triathlon happening at Yellow Creek State Park (where we were staying - we were actually in campgrounds across from the park) on Saturday morning! It was a sprint one: 1/2 mile swim, 9.5 mile bike and 3.5 mile run. I wish I had known! But as it was, I had no bike or running shoes, so I had to let that one pass me by. We had a beautiful Saturday instead visiting Smicksburg - Amish country. We stopped into an Amish owned harness shop (to post a wanted: land sign. If anyone knows of any rural land around Pittsburgh please let us know! We're looking for a couple acres to build a cob house, have chickens, bees, organic gardens, etc.) Ella and Dave waited outside and watched the horses and buggies go down the street (they move at quite a clip!) and when anyone came to the store Ella would ask, "What's your horse's name?" Very sweet, as were the Amish, who graciously replied.

The campground, however, wasn't the best kept place. The first site they gave us was full of trash, which we cleaned up, but then when I noticed how much broken glass there was everywhere, we had to move.

The second one had trash, too, but a toad was waiting there for us, so I knew it was to be our site.

A few years ago when we stayed at a house in Nags Head with some friends, we stayed on the ground floor and at night frogs would come out and guard our door. That's when Molly was with us, so when I saw this toad, I just felt we had to stay at that site.

However, there was still quite a bit of broken glass and rusty metal, so everyone had to wear their shoes at all times at the campsite, which Ella was able to accept. (My fingertips are stained purple in the picture below from mulberries!)

Her favorite part of camping: roasting marshmallows for s'mores. Here she is in the car during the rain, digging in:

Camping

2008-06-12T20:09:00.001-07:00

We're going camping tomorrow and over the weekend to celebrate Dave's birthday! I have flax crackers and Ani Phyo's flax/seed bread in the dehydrator right now...I've made nori rolls, salsa, orange-miso-shiitake soup/dressing, and also little sweet date/cashew balls. We're bringing lots of fresh fruit, oranges and the citrus juicer, tomatoes, avocados, tomorrow I'll pick garden greens for salad and collards for wraps...I think I'm all set (I hope.)

When we get back I may revisit juice feasting; I'm playing with the idea. Though I am definitely loving eating, I overate (raw) foods today and felt quite unpleasant. I think maybe I did end my juice feast too soon. I don't know, we'll see. I'm also wanting to take another day of water fasting again: I really enjoyed that day so much!

But anyway, I'll be away from the computer for the weekend, but I'll update when I come back.

Have a great weekend!

xoxo
~ Melissa

Post-Feast Retrospective

2008-06-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to take a few minutes and share what shifted and changed for me on my 40+ day juice feast:

I was never able to allow liquid (juice, smoothie) to be a meal. This was both physical and psychological. I always still felt hungry as I was used to eating large amounts, and psychologically, it just didn't seem like enough. If ever I said I was hungry and Dave said, "Make Juice," I would get annoyed and not even consider it. In the morning, I'd try to have a green smoothie for b'fast, but then afterwards I'd also have French toast, eggs, whatever else.

Now, I am able to feel when I am really hungry, and juice is incredibly satisfying. I can easily have it as a meal, or even go a day (or two, or forty-two) with just juice and feel satisfied.
I lost 21 pounds. I wish I had done measurements like many other people did, but sadly I did not.
I totally enjoyed water fasting for a day.
I was able to survive and thrive on just juice for 6 weeks. I began doing yoga again, continued to nurse my daughter, began running and ran a race (5K), gardened, worked and did many other things while only drinking juice.
I felt so much better, almost immediately, to how I felt before feasting. I was anemic from the hemorrhage and was able to sense healing on a body, mind and spiritual level.
I got more connected to an online raw community, met people through their blogs, twitter, and their comments on my blog! I also heard from people from Pittsburgh who knew of me through the Birch Center, and I hope to meet the people I have met only virtually soon! This aspect was amazing.
learned about things I hadn't before: enemas, bee pollen, MSM, and revisited closely greens and spirulina.
found I have a taste for savory juices! Juiced onions, garlic, yellow bell pepper...who'd have thought they'd be so delicious?
I have such an appreciation for raw foods! Now raw food eating feels decadent and so far I have no desire to eat cooked foods! Wow, this is amazing.
Have clarified my healing goals and started in that direction (what a great beginning!)
Am loving gardening and am amazed at the abundance of our garden! Am also loving those Anastasia books that I bought. She says that as your garden gets to know you (through your presence, touch, bare feet on the soil...) that it creates the fruits and veggies you need specifically to heal yourself. How funny that we have literally hundreds of volunteer tomato plants shooting up all over the place! (And at one point during the feast, I stopped eating tomatoes, though I craved them, because I thought maybe the nightshades were bad for my joints.) The mind knows so little compared to the energy field!

That seems about it for now. If I think of more I will add them. I am also going to continue posting on this blog...about my raw foods journey, my garden, wild edibles, a possible water fast now and then, and maybe even revisit juice feasting. I hope you'll stay with me!

Today I had:

green smoothie with garden greens, banana, frozen pineapple and frozen strawberries
quart of beet, carrot, apple, celery, cuke, onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, green juice
flax/seed bread with avo and tomato
juice and flesh of very young coconut (shared with Ella)
flax crackers with miso/coconut oil "butter"
raw fudge: raisins, pecans, shredded coconut, cacao nibs and powder, coconut oil, honey, salt and vanilla
nori rolls and seaweed salad with miso/orange dressing
green smoothie with lamb's quarters, red clover, banana, frozen pineapple and frozen mangoes
lots of water

Guacamole at Cheesecake Factory and 'Zine-making

2008-06-09T19:54:00.001-07:00

Two additional restaurant finds are:

~ At the Cheesecake Factory: made-to-order guacamole with a small tossed salad (not-so-small beautiful raw salad with lettuce, carrot, zucchini, beets and cukes.) I asked for sliced cukes to replace the tortilla chips with the guac order and I brought my own miso-orange dressing (but the guac itself actually made a great dressing, with a little extra lemon juice and salt over the greens.)

No tomatoes or salsas, though, because of the recent "Salmonella scare", which I feel may be being used as a scare tactic to make people fear raw veggies and so people will want the gov't to "take care of us" by doing things like pasteurizing almonds and mangoes and genetically altering things for our "safety." Of course, this is another entire issue, but I really do think the money is in keeping people sick but alive, and fresh raw fruits and veggies defeat this purpose and so are a big threat to the powers that be!

~ At Kassab's Lebanese restaurant: fatoush without the pita chips. Parsley, lettuce, tomatoes (oh yes, they used tomatoes...not that I trust these pale wilty restaurant tomatoes, mind you...I'm not saying there isn't salmonella out there, especially with factory farm grown tomatoes), onions, cukes with lemon juice, sumac, salt and other spices.

I wouldn't make it a habit of eating out on raw, but since my parents only want to eat out, I have been happily surprised to find these lovely options around town.

Of course, I did bring a big beautiful salad from our garden, with a delicious salsa I made with our luscious cilantro and some more of my marinated portabello. I ate that for dinner along with the fatoush. I also munched flax crackers and the flax/seed bread throughout the day, and had some soaked prunes this morning. Oh, and I ate the mint cacao raw bar Wendi gave me, and I did make (and eat a little) raw cacao fudge: pecans, shredded coconut, cacao powder, coconut butter/oil, honey and a tiny bit of salt and vanilla.

Today's juice:

1 qt of the beet, carrot, apple, green etc juice from yesterday
1 quart (split into 1/2 quart am and 1/2 pm) of orange juice with water and chlorophyll. The morning juice also had bee pollen.

I heard that the Carnegie Library in Oakland is doing a girls and women zine exchange at the end of July! I love zine-making, though I haven't made one since college. But I thought I'd make a zine about my 42 day juice feast. I am very excited about it. I'll probably write summaries/highlights/experiences of each week and add artwork, pictures, quotes, whatever! I'll put recipes and resources and lots of other juicy things.

Moody mood ring, or miracle?

2008-06-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

I had a nice day today: starting with an outdoor yoga class up on Grandview Park (Mt. Washington) overlooking Pittsburgh, through Breathe Yoga Studio. Before class I had 1/2 qt orange juice with bee pollen and chlorophyll.

I felt a very spiritual connection at yoga today. Most (all?) the instructors at Breathe have you silently sent an intention or dedication at the beginning of class and then check back in with that at the end, and today was just very moving/spiritual/connected for me in that way.

After class E D and I were walking around and E gave me her little ring to hold: a heart shaped white stone. When I gave it back to her I noticed it had turned this most beautiful shade of rosy/pinkish/red. I hadn't realized it was a mood ring (we'd only ever seen it white) so I explained to her what a mood ring was. But the whole rest of the day, no matter who held or wore the ring or for how long, it stayed white! Is it a mood ring? Did some kind of plastic kid's ring miracle occur? We heated the ring up, cooled it against ice, wore it, held it, etc, and it did not change. Hmmmmm....

Getting home I made beet, carrot, apple, ginger, garlic, cucumber, celery and greens (from the garden) juice...about 2 quarts. I only drank a quart of it today, though, which is less juice that I'd have liked.

I marinated a portabello mushroom (in olive oil, tamari and garlic) and had some of that with my delicious salad, ate an apple, some flax crackers and some of the flax/seed bread with avo, tomato and cuke on top. I also ate some of a raw cacao bar that my friend Wendi had given me because Ella was just so anxious for me to open it. She actually ate most of it. It had blue-green algae, cacao and maca in it and was quite good. There's a bit still left in the freezer.

Then we went to dinner with my parents and I had a lovely salad: mixed greens, raw corn, avocado, grape tomatoes. Simple but lovely. I had the cilantro lime dressing on the side, but the vinegar was too strong for me so I topped it with some of the orange miso dressing that I had made and brought with me.

Symptoms today: Constipation! I did another enema last night which was helpful, but I am back being bloated and painfully unable to go. I soaked some prunes and had them with me today, but didn't have the opportunity to eat them. Now it's late and I'm not hungry so they are soaking in the fridge until morning.

Moving into eating again

2008-06-07T16:17:00.001-07:00

Today I drank 3 quarts of juice, and ate some delicious raw food. It feels so nice to be eating again. However, last night after eating the cooked food I developed a symptom: a feeling of bloating, bearing down and slight pain (not really pain, just sensation of an area I usually can't feel), of my reproductive organs: mostly on the left but now it's both sides, around my ovaries. I did go for a very light walk/jog this morning which did not exacerbate the symptoms, but they have not gone away. I also did an enema this morning which I'm sure was good but didn't alleviate. I'm hoping that as I stay on raw food and juice it will go away, but if not I wonder if it indicates I really need to continue juicing (especially since the main reason was to heal my reproductive organs!)

I think (know) that the non-vegan cooked foods last night - though not a large amount - was just too hard on my system and not the best thing to do. I think that a raw food diet in and of itself is very healing, so we'll see. I'll revisit this mid-week, (when my parents leave), and see if it may be better to go back to only juicing. Though I'm sure I will juice feast again, I am hoping that the raw diet and juice will help me since I am really loving eating.

Also: thanks again to everyone with your words of support! It really means so much to me that you are following along this juice journey, and that you take the time to read and comment and email. Your support is so incredibly helpful!

Today's juices:

2 1/2 quarts beet, carrot, apple + the green juice from yesterday
1/2 quart orange juice with chlorophyll and bee pollen

And I ate:

a couple pieces of flax/seed bread (Ani Phyo's bread recipe), split up throughout the day
beautiful salad with greens and peas from the garden and tomato, celery, yellow pepper and cucumber with orange miso dressing (orange, unpasteurized white miso, olive oil, water, garlic and ginger blended.)
flax cracker
couple of dried sweet potato chips...after 17 hours of dehydrating they were still not crunchy! Just chewy, like dried mangoes. Do they just not ever get crunchy?
slices of tomato and 1/8 avocado with dulse
a prune and a date
strawberries

I know the seeds are a bit hard on the system, too. I didn't eat all the seed bread at one time...I cut some into little pieces for crutons on my salad, had a 1/2 slice with the tomato and avo on top.

Other than the symptom I mentioned above (which is significant to me), I feel great, though, and very happy to be eating.

Week 6 Pictures

2008-06-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Top: Today, after 6 weeks of juice feasting; Below is the before picture

Wow, I really do see a difference. Which makes it stink even more that I ate some (cooked) food tonight. Yes, I am annoyed with myself. I was so tired and hungry after having been out all day and my green veggie juice was so oddly tasteless and uninspiring, which I have no idea why. I'm also stressed that my parents are coming Sunday and I know they'll want to eat out and they don't know I'm juice feasting and they are not usually supportive of things like this. But as my husband says, "there's no reason you can't go and juice again tomorrow."

Starting weight: 182 lbs
Today: 161 lbs

Today's juices:

almost a quart juice of a bunch of oranges with water and bee pollen and chlorophyll.
1 quart beet, carrot, apple and greens with hemp (very good)
1 quart watermelon with chlorophyll
1 1/2 quarts green veggie juice: greens (I'll write about them below), yellow pepper, ginger, garlic, onion, tomato, cucumber, celery, cilantro, parsley.

Above are my garden greens and weeds that went into my juice today. You will see some nice big red clover blossoms on top! Today I've included information about some of the herbal greenery that goes into my drinks: comfrey, plantain, borage, red clover, lamb's quarters.

Comfrey: Peter Holmes, in The Energetics of Western Herbs Volume II, writes: "There is no doubt that Comfrey has always held pride of place as the foremost botanical for promoting tissue healing." It is mainly used for treating bone fractures, hemorrhages, wounds and ulcers, as well as all types of lung ailments, especially bronchitis. It is also particularly effective in treating painful arthritis, gout and the like.

Plantain: In Holmes' book plantain is categorized as "clears heat and toxins, reduces infection, inflammation and relieves swelling; promotes detoxification, removes lymph congestion and benefits the skin."

Plantain: Plantago Minor

Borage: Similar to comfrey, borage also clears heat in the lungs. It also relieves constipation and promotes lactation (great for me!), supports the heart and lifts the spirit. Nice. I had some in my juice today...I'll be sure to add some more leaves tomorrow. (The blue star shaped flowers haven't bloomed just yet in my garden.)

Red Clover flower: According to Holmes, red clover flower promotes detoxification, clears damp (a term used in Chinese medicine), dissolves deposits, relieves eczema and reduces tumors; promotes urination and relieves irritation.

red clover blossom on the left, lamb's quarters to the right

Lamb's Quarters: my herb book does not contain lamb's quarters...but this is one of my favorite edibles! Here is what wildman's website says: "This European relative of spinach and beets, which grows throughout the North America, bears large quantities of edible, spinach-flavored leaves you can collect from mid-spring to late fall. It's one of the best sources of beta-carotene, calcium, potassium, and iron in the world; also a great source of trace minerals, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, and fiber."

close up of lamb's quarters

Much love,
~ Melissa

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Day 41 - Greens to the rescue

2008-06-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here is the big colander full of GREENS, mostly from the garden, but there were some beet tops from store bought organic beets in there. I juiced all of it for my green juices today. I think that must have been 2 pounds? I don't know, but it was a lot of greens! Plus, of course, the bunch of celery and the cucumber.

Our garden is amazing this year. I am in awe of it! The cilantro - which I've tried to grow many times - unsuccessfully - in the past, is flourishing. The spinach, lettuces, kale, chard and collards are overflowing. And then the wild things...! Last year I really started getting into wild edibles, combing our yard for lamb's quarters to add to my green smoothies. They were there, but I had to search and once I harvested them I had to wait for them to grow back to harvest again. This year: there must be well over a thousand, WELL OVER, little plants shooting up all over the place! It's like they said, "You want us? Here we are!"

And then our tiny tomato sprouts that I was lamenting over a few weeks ago...they are still small, but starting to grow. But, we have found two much bigger tomato plants that we did not purposefully plant...one growing in a large pot on the porch with a cucumber, and one in the garden in the beet patch, that are doing very well! And then...Dave moved our big compost barrel (not an easy task, but it was taking up prime sun/gardening space in our little 20 by 60 foot yard), and now, where the compost was, hundreds of little tomato shoots are coming up. Wow. I am so in awe of the abundance of nature.

So, today I made a gallon of green veggie juice. Celery, cucumber, tomato, ginger, garlic, onion, yellow pepper, green apple, and greens galore. Included were beet greens, cilantro, spinach, lettuce, chard, (I didn't even make it over to the collard patch today!), lamb's quarters, comfrey leaves, plantain leaves, quickweed...hmmm, what else? There was just so much to harvest out there! Oh, I thinned the carrots (carrots! we have never been able to grow carrots either!) and I didn't use their greens because I don't know if they're ok to eat or not (though I know I have sauteed them in the past when I was macrobiotic), but I put the tiny baby carrots in my juice. Fun! So, I made three quarts of that green juice (and drank it today), and then I used some of the greens in a carrot, beet, apple juice, which I did not get to today. My fourth quart was: apples, strawberries, raspberries, mint and plantain leaves. In that juice I added bee pollen and chlorophyll. In the GVJ I added hemp oil. I also had my coconut oil, honey, and spirulina "dessert."

But, I must admit, I did eat some raw food again today...and felt so full! I nibbled a couple peas right from the garden this morning (sooo good). Later I had a bit of avocado and the homemade sauerkraut, two small tomato slices with dulse, some green salad from the other day, and a grape or two and a strawberry. I was thinking, "Should I just be on a modified juice feast?" But then I think if I decide that, I'll just give myself permission to skimp on the juice and eat more, and it's a slippery slope from there to cooked foods (the pita pizzas (lunch), potatoes and peanut noodles I made for my family today sure smelled good!) So, I'll just buckle down and keep cheering myself on.

Day 40!!!

2008-06-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, day 40. Today has been such a better day.

Last night was pretty bad: I must have been having some kind of blood sugar reaction, which I've never had before going on this juice feast. I think for me having too much fruit juice (the lack of fiber in everything, the sugar just makes my blood sugar sky rocket and then drop) throws me way off. Also, the honey in the lemonade I had last night seemed not to do me good. I should have done that blood sugar monitor thing before starting. Anyway, last night I was very woozy and light-headed, even as I lay in bed focusing on my breathing. I drank some really strong nettle tea and some water with chlorophyll, which helped but did not totally alleviate. I felt better by this morning.

Today I had mostly green veggie juice. I juiced my entire bunch of celery, plus a huge bag of greens from the garden (but was it 2 lbs? I don't know,) and parsley with tomato, ginger, garlic, onion, pepper, cucumber and one green apple, which made 3 quarts of juice (almost.)

I had two quarts of this (with hemp oil added) before having one quart of watermelon juice for lunch, and the rest of the day finished up the green juice. Wow, so much better!

I also had some coconut oil with honey and spirulina.

Twice I almost had an avocado or the rest of my green salad from yesterday, but a voice in my head said, "No, let the cleansing continue," ...or something like that, and I was able to walk away.

I read Penni's blog entry for her day forty (way back in April), and I really like what she had to say about the significance of the number forty. Interesting.

Day 39 - Tips from David Rainoshek

2008-06-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight I listened to the hour long interview that Kevin Gianni did with David Rainoshek, the man behind the 92-day juice-feasting program (though he explains that he learned about the concept of raw foods and juice feasting from his friend John Rose - ? - oops, not sure if I have his name right...should have written it down. Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong.) The interview can be listened to on www.globaljuicefeast.com.

Here are some of the notes I took:

Before juice feasting, it is recommended to buy a blood sugar monitor and test your fasting blood sugar first thing in the morning. Do it for 10 mornings and get an average, then follow this protocol:

1. 70 - 85 is normal, you can have 2 qts fruit juice and 2 quarts green veggie juice

2. 85 - 100 is pre-prediabetic, should drink only 1 qt fruit juice and 3 quarts gvj daily

3. 100 - 115 is prediabetic (according to Dr. Gabriel Cousens) and should consume only gvj with no carrots, apple, yam, beets. At this point, you are considered insulin resistant.

4. 115 + means you are diabetic and should see a doctor and maybe go to a center such as Tree of Life (his recommendation).
We need to be juicing 2 lbs of leafy greens and 1 bunch celery a day (more on why to follow)
Magnesium is 17 times as prevelent in the human heart as in other tissues. The chlorophyll molecule is identical to blood, except that chlorophyll (the green pigment in plants) has Magnesium in its center whereas blood has iron. The color of the heart chakra is green and greens literally feed the heart.
Although fiber is an essential nutrient, we take it out on the juice feast so that the body can do cleansing and house cleaning, ridding itself of old scar tissues and inflammation.
Reasons for juice feasting: cleanse, rebuild, rehydrate, and alkalize. Organic sodium (not table salt) is the main alkalizing material the body. When our body's pH drops the pH of our bile drops toward acid and gallstones form. Celery contains abundant organic sodium. In fact, David Rainoshek claims that 1 head of celery a day for two weeks is a cure for acid reflux (which he suffered from before finding the living foods diet.)
other books and authors he mentions are: David Wolfe's Sunfood Diet Success System, Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell, Helen and Scott Nearing's The Good Life, Eliot Coleman's Four Season's Harvest, Thich Nhat Hanh (Buddhist monk, poet, peace activist) and Hanh's Plum Village.

Today has been a slippery day for me, in that I ate a bit. I collected greens from the garden, massaged them with salt, oil and garlic and ate some with a bit of avocado, tomato and pepper and lemon juice.

I also was craving seaweed and so I soaked some wakame and made a dressing of honey, tamari, hemp oil and lemon juice. I felt quite full and tired after that and had to lay down a bit. The tamari was wheat-free, but not Nama Shoyu, so it was indeed a pasteurized food.

For juices:

1 quart watermelon, mint and chlorophyll from yesterday
1 quart green veggie juice from yesterday, which had kelp, hemp oil and spirulina
1 quart apples, strawberry, mint and chlorophyll
juice of 3 oranges with water and bee pollen
1 quart of lemonade: water, juice of a lemon, ginger, handful frozen blueberries and honey, through straining bag
3/4 quart of the remaining green veggie juice from yesterday

I'm actually quite hungry now and could use more green veggie juice, but Ella is asleep in her hammock and I don't want to wake her by making more juice.

I've also taken MSM in water and lemon juice a couple times today, and am drinking water, nettle tea, and a bit of chai with honey (earlier.)

Day 38

2008-06-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ran the Greenfield Glide (5K = 3.1 miles)...slower than slow! And then my ankle hurt the rest of the day and I was asleep by about 6:30 pm. But I had fun, and E and D ran, too...Ella got a medal for finishing! Yeah, Ella! And our friends also went and their three children also all finished.

I drank a whole gallon of juice by noon, though. (2 quarts green veggie, 2 quarts watermelon.) I think I must have made more, but I don't even remember, and it was only yesterday!

Today I made:

2 quarts (though a lot of it was water) peach, raspberry, green apple, mineola orange + chlorophyll and bee pollen
3 quarts tomato, yellow pepper, ginger, garlic, onion, greens, cilantro, parsley, cucumber, celery, green apple + hemp oil, spirulina, kelp
Also had about a Tbsp msm in water with lemon
tiny salad of avocado, tomato, yellow pepper with lemon juice, dulse and fermented veggies
I'll probably make some watermelon juice to take with me into work tonight (along with some of the green veggie juice)

Also, I must say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has been following my blog and encouraging me along the way! Your comments and emails are so great, and it's amazing to be out and about and run into people who tell me they've been following my blog. I really appreciate the support. Thanks again.

xoxo

end of week 5! (Day 36)

2008-05-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to post yesterday, but above is a picture taken this morning: after 5 weeks of juice feasting! You can visit here for "before" and "week 4" pics.

A couple days ago I learned about Black Locust Flowers from Anthony (The Raw Model)'s blog, and we had to go out in search. We found one just down the street, overflowing with ripe flowers! We harvested them and of course I had to try them (or I'd have to wait until next year.) They were sweet and delicious and would be lovely in juice. The one we found was really just past it's prime, but driving around we see them everywhere, so if another opportunity presents itself, I'll harvest a bunch more for juice and report back.

Here is a closer view of the flowers:

They look like pea flowers and the tree is in fact a legume. Here is more information about Black Locust Flowers.

My juices today:

2 quarts watermelon with 1 Tbsp chlorophyll
1 1/2 quarts beet, carrot, apple, garlic, ginger, celery, cucumber, parsley, cilantro, greens with hemp oil, kelp and spirulina
1/2 quart orange juice with water and bee pollen
1 qt tomato, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro, celery, basil, olive oil, lemon, salt - I decided to add the nightshades back in because a week without them didn't make any difference in my achiness

And back from grocery shopping, so I did chop up a bit of avocado with DULSE (which I was absolutely craving...still am) and fermented veggies. I wonder if I'm craving salt/sea veggies because I haven't been quite getting my full bunch of celery in every day? That would put me lower in sodium and probably craving it.

Oh, a special note: those jam/jelly bags from the kitchen store work brilliantly! Really, really well (dare I say better?) They are nylon, but don't have the tie string, instead they have an elastic band around the top. So I couldn't hang it up, but it didn't really matter - I hooked it around my big measuring cup and held it open, poured in the blended juice (yeah! The blender is sooo much easier to use and clean than the Champion!) and squeezed it through. So easy! So sturdy! I'm so happy about that! They were: Fox Run Kitchens (TM) 2 Jelly Strainer Bags for $3.99 at "In the Kitchen" - a kitchen store in The Strip (Pittsburgh.)

Day 34: Another rawking pulp idea - fermented veggies!

2008-05-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

Today I had another idea for using the pulp: include them in fermented veggies!

I had decided to make fermented veggies so as not to waste the beautiful organic cabbage that I bought but did not like in juice. I LOVE making (and eating) fermented veggies. I even got to see Sandor Katz recently at our coop: I love his book Wild Fermentation.

I cut up the cabbage, added some of the pulp from my beet, carrot, green juice from today, added some broccoli from the fridge and some arugula from the garden (I love arugula in salads, and it is at its peak right now in our garden, but it tastes too overwhelmingly spicy to me in juices. Yesterday I gave most away to a good friend, and today I chopped some into the fermented veggies.) I mixed it all up with salt, kelp and some unpasteurized mellow white miso (which I have been craving!) and water. I've never used miso before in fermenting veggies, but I've heard of it being used. Then I stuffed it into a couple of jars (picture below), and it'll ferment on the counter top for a few days and then I'll refrigerate it until after my feast.

My juices today:

1/2 qt: watermelon, apple, ginger, lime and greens from yesterday
1 qt: strawberry, apple, celery, cuke, mint
1 1 /2 qts: beet, carrot, celery, apple, ginger, garlic, cuke, parsley, cilantro, sprouts with hemp oil and spirulina
3/4 qt: apple, orange with water and bee pollen

I haven't drank all the juices from today yet, and I'll possibly make more of green something later. I'll add if I do.

Day 33

2008-05-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

this is a beautiful salad I had made once for Molly, before I blended it for her to eat

Today is a rough day in that all I want to do is eat. And not just fresh beautiful salads...potato salad, the bean burgers my family is eating with melted cheese on bread.... It's 6:30 and I feel too tired to go for a run (but maybe I'll go take a walk). My energy has actually been quite low. I go to bed early and don't feel much like getting out of bed in the mornings. And my juices don't seem fantastic to me anymore.

Juices:

1 qt pineapple, carrot, strawberry, orange, mint (OK, this one was quite good, but now we're out of pineapple. If we had more I'd have drank only that all day.)
1 qt beet, carrot, celery, apple, greens, ginger, garlic
2 qts watermelon, lime, ginger, apples, greens, chlorophyll
water of 1/2 young coconut (shared with Ella) and also ate about half the very young pudding-like flesh (shared with Ella again)
Tbsp coconut oil with honey
red roobios chai with honey

Though "bigger picture" motivation usually doesn't work for me, today I did think about "the big why" (as Karen Knowler says) ...about my past miscarriages and ill-health and my desire to have another child, that kept me from eating all sorts of things.

Day 32 - fruit juices yum, veggie...not so great

2008-05-27T15:35:00.001-07:00

Cacao Tree at Phipps (surrounded by some kind of brilliant ferns)

Today I haven't been overly excited about my juices. Well, that's not entirely true...the fruit juices have been out of this world!

Juices:

1 quart: pineapple, orange, strawberry, carrot and mint
1 quart: borscht - cabbage (I'm not a big cabbage juice fan, as it turns out. I'm planning to make raw sauerkraut out of the rest - for after my feast), beet, ginger, garlic, scallions, celery, parsley, greens, apple, hemp oil
1 quart watermelon juice
1 quart celery, cuke, apples, cilantro and greens, hemp oil
juice of three oranges with water, chlorophyll and bee pollen

I'm still waiting for my coconut oil! I really thought it would arrive today. And - you'll notice - no longer are avocados gracing my menus.

Edit: It's here! I'm eating it now with honey and spirulina. It's so good! Hooray!

It is not good when you notice while making juice that the juicer is smoking! I turned it off and opened it up - my pulp was burning hot! The engine was so heated up by the fiber on the celery and all the greens. So, I assume most of my juice was raw, but some of it certainly was heated above 105 degrees, sadly. Tomorrow Dave will pick up those jelly bags when E and I are at yoga and hopefully they'll work out. Oh, I can also sew the hole of the nut mylk bag closed. Then I can use the blender and squeeze method again for celery and greens. That worked quite nicely.

Here are some more picture of my day at Phipps (where we go so often that the cafe workers come up and ask me what juice I have today!)

close up of the cacao pods growing on the tree - they look like delicata squash:

there is a chocolate exhibit going on now (at Phipps):

Monsieur Mousse is a lucky fellow...imagining, of course, those are all raw ingredients: ;-)

And from the butterfly room:

Side note:

Maggie (our dog) is totally grooving on her new diet! She loves it, we love it, it's awesome. While not all raw, she is now vegetarian and she loves her meals. Tonight I made some white bean/mung bean pancakes for E and D. I left out the onions (substituting garlic, which is supposed to be ok) and so I was able to give her some of those. Also: lentils and rice mixed with chopped raw bean sprouts, yogurt and olive oil. In her earlier meal she had other supplements: nutritional yeast, kelp and egg shell for calcium.

Day 31 - first tomato-less day

2008-05-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

Teeny tiny tomato plant from our garden. Why isn't it growing? Maybe it's saving me from myself...

A day without tomatoes.

After 31 days of juice feasting, I still have quite a lot of joint pain: right ankle, left elbow, low back. Plus stiffness still in the morning as I get up and get going. I do plan to increase the MSM and I've begun to take enzymes now, but I decided to forgo the nightshades for a bit.

Here is what Frederic Patenaude says about tomatoes on pp. 62-63 of Sunfood Cuisine:

"The tomato is the most famous member of the nightshade family....but with all members of the nightshade family, it is wise to not eat too many tomatoes, or at least to not eat them everyday, because of their oxalic acid content.....people suffering from arthritic conditions should avoid foods from the nightshade family completely. This includes eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes and peppers."

And in Juicing for Life,Calbom and Keane say this on pay 52, under osteoarthritis:

"Try eliminating the nightshade family - tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant and tobacco. If symptoms improve even slightly, continue to avoid these foods."

So, of course, bummer. But, hey, once I am totally healed and free of all pain and conditions, I'm sure eating a tomato or two won't bother me!

Today's juices so far:

juice of one orange and 2 apples plus chlorophyll and bee pollen
1 1/2 qt cucumber, celery, apples, orange, and garden baby greens and weeds (kale, collards, lettuce, spinach, lamb's quarters, lemon balm, brocolini.)
peppermint tea (from a tea bag) with honey
about a quart of butternut squash, celery, sprouts, cilantro, garlic, ginger, lemon with salt, pepper (oops! shoot), kelp, dulse, spirulina and hemp oil.
red roobios chai (oh, does that have pepper I wonder? I'll have to check) and honey
I'll add the rest tonight or tomorrow, probably some watermelon juice or some beet/carrot/apple...nothing made yet.

Other symptoms I'm having are strong pain (much less today, though) in my left armpit, and left outer ear pain (to the touch.)

Exercise:

I've been doing yoga in the morning for about 3 mornings in a row, now. Just a few minutes of cat/cow, down dog, plank, sun salutes, warrior, twists, squat, and then I end with handstands.

I ran (well...slowly jogged) for 30 minutes today.

So...how long is this feast going to be?

I still haven't decided how long to go for! I made the 30 day mark which was my first goal, because David Rainoshek says on juicefeasting.com that every day after 30 days doing juice feasting you go back 120 days. So, now I've started to go back in time!

The end points I'm deciding between are:

60/61 days, (two months) and then going into a modified feast, with pretty much the same amount of juice but adding a salad or other raw meal here and there (after the prunes and feast breaking, of course.)

92 days: the traditional end. The catch is that my mom will be visiting days 88 - 92. So, we'd drop her off at the airport and I'd come home and eat my prunes. Her visits are go-out-to-eat-every-meal type visits, so it may be nice to still be juicing, so as not to have to deal with temptation at my favorite restaurants.

100 days: because that's a nice round number, and it would end on August 3, and a week later is my birthday.

Possibly going to my birthday (107 days.)

Right now, the 61 or 92 day mark seems right, but, I'm not troubling myself too much about it just yet.

Day 30 + Garden pics

2008-05-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

harvesting comfrey from our garden - to dry

Day 30! For me that is monumental because I am often unable to stick with positive dietary changes for very long. I actually have quite a bit to write, but I am soooo tired. Last night (water fasting), I slept from 6 pm until 9 pm, and then was awake all night! I finally did fall asleep from about 4 am until 7 am, but wow, I am tired.

Today I wasn't into my juices at all. Nothing tasted great to me. I decided to go a week without nightshades (tomatoes and peppers) to see if that helps my joint pain and stiffness (more on this tomorrow). I did juice the last 2 of my tomatoes today, but I made another green juice without tomatoes and it was just yucky. Carrots, celery, beets (orange beets), garlic, lemon, greens....

I also made a quart of watermelon juice and a couple quarts of apple, pineapple, strawberry, mints and greens with chlorophyll. That was more palatable (as was the w'melon juice.)

The final quart was squash, tomato, garlic, greens, celery, lemon...and even that did not thrill me. I didn't drink all the juice for today and I am hungry now. Dave is squeezing me orange juice and adding bee pollen right now.

I'll write more about the tomatoes tomorrow, but now I'll leave you with pictures from our garden:

I never realized that sage flowers look like this:

Here is one section of our garden...see the cilantro in the close row:

Our fig bush (maybe we'll get figs this year!) with our blackberry bush in the background:

the bed of greens - lettuces, spinach, collards, chard:

Look at all the mulberries getting ready to ripen:

Our peach tree's first year for peaches! I hope they get big and ripe:

Day 29: Water Fasting

2008-05-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

my water, next to chive flowers and dandelion

Yesterday evening I sat down with the book Fasting and Eating for Health by Joel Fuhrman, MD(mentioned in David and Katrina's Day 71 video.)

Here is a quote from page 58:

"It is not aging that makes us sick; it is the stresses we place on ourselves that continue their insidious work over the years and eventually cause damage to the body."

After reading through some of the book, I was motivated to do a water fast today! Tomorrow I'll go back to juicing. One day of just water is sufficient for me for now. I'm quite hungry right now...but it's 5 pm and I made it through the day relatively easily (though I did drink a lot of water! Over a gallon, but I didn't keep track so I'm not sure how much exactly.)

I jogged slowly for 20 minutes today, and soaked up as much sun as I could. I have really missed the sun, and have been so cold lately (I'm usually a "hot" sort of person.)

But right now I'm inside, winding down, and it'll probably be an early evening so I can wake up bright and early tomorrow and have some juice!

Pulp Ideas - day 28 (week 4!)

2008-05-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

before (above), and at the end of week 4

starting weight: 182
today's weight: 165 (lost 17 lbs so far!)

I'm sleepy today and it's only 6:45 pm.

I went running this morning (23 minutes) and then to my yoga class, which was nice. Today I drank juice while the family and in-laws ate food from a delicious Thai restaurant, not easy! My juice was intense: most of the greens were wild edibles including garlic mustard, comfrey, plantain, dandelion.... plus chives, arugula, spinach, kale from the garden. I think the garlic-mustard, chives and arugula made it quite sharp (and it was bitter, too, probably from the dandelion greens.)

My juices:

pineapple, mints, plantain and comfrey
squash, tomato, cuke, celery, garlic and wild edibles + garden greens
watermelon juice
juice of a young coconut (but then I also ate the very young, pudding-like flesh
yam, carrot, celery, ginger, garlic, spinach
juice of 1 grapefruit and 3 oranges with water and 1 Tbsp bee pollen

I also took six tablets of spirulina, put hemp oil in my veggie smoothies and had MSM (which I think makes me feel nervous/anxious...I'm going to have to watch that.) Also had roobios red chai with honey.

It's also hard to type right now because the middle finger on my right hand has a painful crack. (That's not meant to be complain-y, I'm just noting a symptom, here.)

And here's a response to another question: what do you do with all that pulp? People wonder about all the pulp generated by juice feasting, so I was thinking about some suggestions of use for it (especially to people who are also eating with juicing.)

We have started mixing it into our dog's food. Today I put it in with black beans, nutritional yeast, olive oil and cheese and she ate a good amount. Just be careful not to have onions in it...onions are bad for dogs.
compost it. We do this a lot and at least then it goes back to the earth and nourishes the soil we will use for the garden next year.
If cooking: put it into muffins, pancakes, cakes, etc. If it's savory (like mine was tonight) I put it into black bean/mung sprout pancakes that I made for the family for dinner (oh, my, did they smell good!)
put it into dehydrated flax crackers...yum.
When I was eating cooked foods but juicing a lot, I would mix some mayonnaise right into the pulp (mostly carrot and some celery) and this was excellent as a sandwich spread! At the time I used regular mayo, but you could use raw mayo, too. It would make a good sandwich spread, cracker topping or dip.
Use it in raw mock tuna salad. Ani Phyo calls for carrot pulp in mock salmon recipes.
Use for raw carrot cake - especially good if you've made apple carrot juice! Can use the pulp and mix some raisins and nuts in, with some cinnamon, cloves or other spices...very good.

There are lots of recipes for raw carrot cake and mock tuna salads in raw food prep books, and recipe sites on line, like www.goneraw.com or www.living-foods.com. (The recipes on goneraw seem amazing...I cannot wait to try them when I am eating again.

So...hopefully this is helpful!

And finally...

who is that crazy lady doing a handstand?
:-)

Day 27's confession

2008-05-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

My dog Maggie

I'm just so proud of my dog Maggie today! At the end of Ani Phyo's book Ani's Raw Food Kitchen she has pictures of her raw vegan dog with dog treat recipes and dog feeding ideas - including giving the dog the ends cut off veggies (the ends of cukes, etc.) And so I thought about all my pulp...

We've fed Maggie various diets, following various philosophies, cooked veggie, raw meat and veggies, etc, and she doesn't seem to do much better on anything. She's such a great dog...but kind of low energy, itchy ears, and she's getting older. But of course, I would love to feed her healthy foods again (versus the dry dog food.) So I scooped up a big bowl of veggie pulp (no onions, though! Onions are not good for dogs,) but I knew she wouldn't eat it. She is a very picky eater and doesn't even really like dog food (which probably shows good taste on her part, actually). So of course, she did not touch the pulp. I sprinkled nutritional yeast on it, and drizzled olive oil on top, but she still wanted nothing to do with it. Then I thought about cheese - her very favorite foods are beans and cheese - and I grated a bit on top. Of course she ate the cheese, but she continued to gingerly eat around the bowl and eventually she ate nearly the whole bowl of raw veggie pulp! Go Maggie! So now I'm thinking about her diet again....

Today my juices were:

water with 1/2 Tbsp msm and lemon
1 qt apple, strawberry, mints from garden with chlorophyll
1 qt butternut squash, tomato, garlic, yellow bell pepper, celery, hemp oil, spinach, cilantro
1/2 qt watermelon juice with chlorophyll
1 quart veggie juice with the squash (as above)
juice of 1/2 grapefruit and one orange with bee pollen
will have more watermelon and/or veggie juice because I am hungry.)

I am out of coconut oil! I didn't even get my treat today (coconut oil with honey and spirulina.) I have some coming from iherb.com (remember - you can use code MEL526 on your first order and you will get $5-off.)

Also out of yellow bell peppers and avocados.

Today I have a confession. Along with my avocado (which isn't actually on the juice feast), I grated a bit of carrot and chopped a bit of tomato and ate it with lemon juice, salt and dulse. It was a tiny plate, but so filling and satifying. (I was so hungry and had made D and E amazing-looking veggie sandwiches! I should have made my juice first....)

But anyway...I'm still continuing forward. Still counting up my days. All in all I feel I am getting lots of benefits and I'm doing fairly well...so onward.

Added a bit later...

So, after writing the above entry (and trying not to feel bad), I read in Matt Monarch's blog about the book that started his raw journey: Become Younger by Norman Walker (our library doesn't have it! I'll have to try one of those interlibrary loans....) Dr. Walker's keys to vibrant health were:

1. Eating a 100% Raw Food Diet
2. Drinking a Variety of Vegetable Juices Daily
3. Cleansing the Colon Periodically

So, ok...still doing ok. I even did an enema this morning.

Day 26...strong cravings to eat

2008-05-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted food terribly today. Getting Ani Phyo's book Ani's Raw Food Kitchenfrom our library certainly did not help. I should not do this to myself! But that book looks fantastic, so I put some of my books up on half.com. Hopefully I will sell enough to warrant me purchasing Ani's book!

Another great question:

Congrats on Day 25 - that is so awesome. I gave up on greens in the Jack Ll also - but I have been able to get baby bok choy to go through pretty well. I also have been loving a few asparagus spears mixed with fruits. How would I do greens if I dont have the Champion?

I was blending my greens in my regular Kitchen Aid Blender (I don't have a Vita-Mix) with a bit of water and other veggies such as tomatoes, onion, garlic, etc. Then I would strain the mixture through a Sprout Bag. Alas, my bag, which was a gift, has ripped at the seem. However, Dave found some jam/jelly straining bags at the Kitchen store in the Strip (for Pittsburghers!) - 2 reusable bags for $3.99. I didn't see them, though, and he didn't know if the holes/mesh were too big, so I can't say for sure. I may order some more from the link I put in, I've heard their bags are very good. And it's amazing...even after I juiced carrots, apples, celery, cukes in the Jack Lelanne, I put the pulp into the sprout bag and would literally get CUPS more juice out!

Today's Juices:

1 qt apple, strawberry, mint
2 quarts (drank throughout day) of same green veggie juice, but today all the greens were greens/wild edibles from the garden! (with hemp oil)
1 qt watermelon juice with 1 Tbsp chlorophyll
1 qt orange, carrot, yam, spinach
1/2 quart grapefruit, orange juice with bee pollen
coconut oil with honey and spirulina
lots of red chai with honey

I also did an enema this morning, and it has helped with that pain under my left ribs. I also went to a Mommy and Me type of yoga class this morning with Ella. I am loving yoga, but I really want to add some walking/running and even lift a little weights. I love working out - it feels so good to me! I just need to get motivated.

I also arranged Ella's books on her shelves by color today: red through purple (and black and whites at ends.) I saw it on someone's blog and it looked fun. It was. I'd take a picture, but she only has a few little shelves and it's not really that dramatic. Also, my computer shuts itself down when I upload new pictures, so I won't do it tonight, but maybe I'll take a few pics to post in upcoming days.

Day 25!!!

2008-05-20T19:02:00.001-07:00

picture: the champion juice from amazon's website.

Today, since my sprout bag sprung a leak, I dug out my Champion Juicer. It worked pretty well! I had to cut up the fruits and veggies much thinner than I was used to (I could just throw big chunks into the blender and the Jack Lelanne's opening was big enough for whole apples!) Also, the motor got very hot with all the juices I made; I had to stop and rest it a few times, and also take some pulp out from over the screen a couple times. But, all in all, it seemed to work well. It did well juicing the spinach, parsley and cilantro, which was my main concern. The Lelanne does not do greens well at all: just spits them out the back. I did run the pulp back through the Champion at the end to get some more juice out of it.

Today I had:

1 qt watermelon juice (juiced with skin and all - organic) with 1 Tbsp cholorphyll
3 quarts GVJ: tomatoes, cuke, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, yellow pepper, spinach, parsley, cilantro, lemon (drank throughout day...am drinking the last of it right now)
1 qt apple, strawberry, celery, spinach
1/2 quart orange, carrot, ginger, spinach, strawberry with 1/2 quart water and bee pollen
Also: coconut oil with honey and spirulina, spirulina and hemp oil in GVJ, avo

Rebounded a bit today to stay warm, didn't go out with D and E to walk dog - too cold. Though I wish I had gotten a walk in. I took a hot bath today and when I got out was light headed and shaky. Juice helped, but I do notice shakiness that I never had before when I'm hungry, which I hope does not continue throughout feast (and I hope I'm not throwing my blood sugar/body off in any way.) It was way worse at beginning. Still had the pain under left rib. Other than that...wow...25 days!

Day 24 - "Love Who You Are and Forgive" - Louise Hay

2008-05-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

I found such an excellent juice feasting blog today: Michelle's Juice Feast. She recently finished her feast, and her blog is such a wealth of experience and information! I found it as a link on Penni's juice feasting blog (which I read everyday!) I am going to have to update my list of links.

Today was a strange day: freezing cold here in Pittsburgh, I could not get warm. (Typically I am a "hot" person.) I'm still wearing my shawl/scarf, and I went on the rebounder three times just to keep warm. I also kept drinking cups of red roobios chai with honey.

I craved tomatoes and cilantro all day...all I wanted was green veggie juice made with cilantro and tomatoes! I know that cilantro is supposed to take out heavy metals, and I read recently tomatoes are cleansing to the liver...but I'd like to find out more about these foods. (Actually, Penni's blog, that I mentioned above, has a recent entry all about cilantro.) I didn't want fruit juice at all, but I did have lots of orange and grapefruit juice, because I could use the hand citrus juicer, and Ella was sleeping in the hammock in the living room and I didn't want to wake her by turning on a juicing machine.

My sprout bag ripped at the seem...pulp was squirting out at I was squeezing it through. I'm going to pull out my Champion Juicer, and I hope that spinach greens, cilantro and parsley (and the like) go through there well. I read (on Courtney Pool's blog) that you can apparently get some sort of paint straining cloth at places like Lowe's and Home Depot that can be used to strain juice, but I haven't been able to locate it either online or at a hardware store.

Today I had:

a quart of green veggie juice from yesterday
1/2 qt honeydew juice with 1/2 Tbsp chlorophyll (I actually made a quart of this juice with a Tbsp chlorophyll...but the melon was not organic, and it really bothered me! I got a headache and felt a scratchiness in my throat, I just couldn't finish it.)
juice of one grapefruit and one orange with water
3 qts (throughout the day) of GVJ: tomatoes, onion, yellow pepper, ginger, garlic, cilantro, spinach, carrots, cucumber, celery
juice of five oranges with bee pollen and water
1/2 avo with dulse, lemon and salt
coconut oil with honey and spirulina
lots of red tea/chai with honey (naturally caffeine free)
extra water

I had a pain under my left ribs all day today; really bothersome. Thought maybe it was all the tea or possibly not enough water so I drank extra water but it didn't help. I'll try an enema within the next couple days.

Also, I was a total irritable crankpot today! Just so grouchy. Still felt emotionally down and heavy with sadness from yesterday. I think that what is going on is that I haven't been able to forgive myself and that is what is coming up, because I need to do that. The quote in the subject line: Love Who You Are and Forgive is from Louise Hay. I just heard it today when I was listening to her interview on Raw Vegan Radio.

And, my face is breaking out a bit. Detox, detox, detox (I'm guessing.)

Has everyone noticed the beautiful full moon tonight? It's so lovely. Last night, it was amazing as black clouds covered and uncovered it in incredible ways. I am awake a lot at night. It's nice to be able to see the moon out the window.

Day 23 - I need a blue sky holiday...

2008-05-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to gray
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on
...Daniel Powter, Bad Day

I did juice today, but what made the day so BAD was that in Trader Joe's, I saw the doctor who was responsible for Molly's "care" (read: death). I always wondered what I'd do if I saw him...all I managed was to leave the store and retreat to a nearby yarn store and wait for Dave and Ella to finish shopping (and cry and cry.) To top it off: he has the reputation of being THE BEST doctor in all of Children's Hospital. Yes, the best they offer is a doctor who would not listen to us, over medicate to the hilt (until she was unconscious, therefore "more comfortable" in their view,) and not feed her for a week, then insist she's too thin (duh!) and needs G-tube surgery. This is why we all need to stay as healthy as possible and keep away from the doctors! And the sad thing is - I knew that - but I was at a point where I thought I needed some help figuring out what was wrong/why she was so uncomfortable, and I walked right into the lion's den.

Ok, enough of that. Later that day I asked Dave to take my week 3 picture, and that did not go too well, either. When I related the story to my friend Wendi of www.purejeevan.com, she told me to post the pics (and story) anyway, so here it is:

So first, I ask him to take my picture so I can put it up. He stays sitting on the couch and when he takes the picture it's at an "up" angle, and I look like a giant:

So I ask him to please stand up so he can take a level picture, but instead of standing up he just holds the camera above his head and clicks, but of course his hand moves and it turns out fuzzy and out of focus:

And finally, by the time he gets up I am so annoyed it's impossible to smile for a nice picture:

But anyway, you can still contrast it to my "before" picture (just 23 days before):

My juices today:

orange juice with bee pollen and chlorophyll
quart of gvj from yesterday
quart watermelon juice
quart delicious: tomato, cuke, celery, carrot, pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, spinach, sunflower sprouts, cilantro
I also had my MSM, hemp oil, coconut oil with spirulina and honey, and avocado, which must totally be a crutch because after seeing that doctor all I wanted to do was EAT, so I settled with the avocado....

Day 22 - Answering Questions

2008-05-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

I was so tired today and just could not get a good picture. Hopefully tomorrow.

I thought today I'd answer a couple questions that have been asked:

Hi Melissa, Congratulations on completing week 3! I am curious about how often you drink your juice, especially on a "run around" day like you mentioned today. How do your days out and about differ from a more typical day?

(I left off the name because I am unsure about blogging etiquette...)

I probably drink a half to a quart of juice every 1 1/2 or 2 hours I think (I follow my hunger). Usually I make my juice in the morning: at least 2 quarts of some sweet juice and 2-3 quarts of savory. When I go out I take at least one quart of sweet and one quart of savory just so all my cravings are covered. I put a couple ice cubes into my juice jars, and if I'm taking the car I will take a cooler and put all my juices in there. I also usually take a canvas bag so I can carry at least one juice around with me - usually I'll put in two (one sweet, one savory.)

Today I had:

water, lemon and MSM (I also took an enzyme capsule this morning)
juice of two oranges with water, bee pollen and chlorophyll
1 quart green vegetable juice from yesterday (the one with squash)
1 Tbsp coconut oil, honey, spirulina
1 quart: tomato, celery, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, lime, cilantro, spinach, parsley, with hemp oil and spirulina
juice from a couple young Thai coconuts (shared with Ella)
some avocado with lemon juice and salt
1 quart: celery, cuke, carrots, ginger, garlic, onion, pepper, mints, greens, apple, lemon, lime, salt
nettle tea
1/2 quart water with lemon, honey and MSM

Another question I received:

I am curious about the small amount of avocado that I see you've had along with your feasting. Is that just something you're for a reason? I thought maybe you know something I don't.

No, actually, avocados are not really on the juice feast. They contain fiber and so should not technically be eaten - it slows down the cleanse. I don't know why I continue to eat them - probably some emotional crutch that I haven't let go of, yet. (I also don't filter all the pulp out after squeezing my orange juice - yikes!)

Finally, I'm asked quite a lot about fiber, as in, "but there is no fiber! That's not really natural..."

It is true this feast does not contain fiber. For the best and complete information, please see www.juicefeasting.com. From what I understand, this juice feast is not meant to be a diet that is followed indefinitely. It is meant as a healing diet which can safely be followed at home (due to the high nutrient and calorie content, unlike something like extended water fasting.) Once people have reached their ideal weight and have NO health issues remaining, it is best to go off the feast, or go to a modified juice feast (watch David and Katrina's Day 71 video on www.globaljuicefeast.com. Basically a modified juice feast consists of a diet high in juice: 2 - 4 quarts, plus fruits and veggies, but no nuts and seeds.) This juice feast is meant to span up to 3 months (92 days) or so, when tackling health issues. If after that length of time health issues still remain, it is still best to come off this feast and go onto a modified juice feast, in which you eat healthfully in addition to consuming lots of juice (the Gerson diet is one example of this.)

The lack of fiber allows the body to go into a cleansing and detoxifying mode. The purposes of this feast are to: rehydrate, alkalize, cleanse and rebuild.

I've also been asked for some recipes and more about the supplements, so I will get to those soon!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo
~Melissa

Day 21 - Three Weeks!

2008-05-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

Day 21 - Three Weeks - Yeah!

Today I have been juice feasting for three weeks! Unfortunately we did not get a picture today because it was a running around sort of day, but tomorrow should be more low-key so hopefully I'll get a picture and get it up there. I did lose some more weight:

start: 182 lbs
week 3: 168 lbs

Today I went to a blissful and amazing yoga class again at Breathe. I just love the teacher, Maggie. Today we did handstands...lots of great fun. I used to be a gymnast and at one time in my life I felt as at home on my hands as I did on my feet. I have been thinking of handstands lately...especially with my tight painful right shoulder - which isn't so tight and painful anymore! (I literally just noticed that.) I had recently been thinking it would be nice to get back up-side-down and also to be able to do a back bend again (which, even when I was doing flips and twists galore, I would wince at a "simple" walkover, because my back was never that flexible.) So perhaps tomorrow's picture I'll be on my hands (if not tomorrow, then in the near future) and maybe by the end of the feast, I'll be in a back bend! Stranger things have happened, right?

Today's Juice:

juice of three oranges with water, bee pollen and chlorophyll
1 1/2 qts yesterday's GVJ (green veggie juice)
1 qt pineapple, spinach, cilantro, and parsley (wonderful!)
1/2 qt apples, celery, lime with water and chlorophyll
1 1/2 qts butternut squash, celery, tomatoes, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, spinach, cilantro, lime, lemon (this juice was delicious before adding the b'nut squash and celery, which I juiced separately in the Jack Lelane. Once I added the squash it became much sweeter and took on a totally different taste and was still quite good.)
Also had 1/8 avocado with lemon juice and salt

Didn't have my regular oils today (hemp and coconut) because of all the running around. Also missed the spirulina and haven't taken MSM in quite a while. Must start that soon...I'm noticing at night that my elbow is quite stiff.

A final note: I did get my period today...fairly light and a little cramping, but I am so happy that my body is back into a cycle after the miscarriage/hemorrhage on April 9, and all the FEAR-based warnings the nurse-midwives had for me if I didn't get to the hospital right away, (which I didn't go at all) etc etc. So anyway, yeah for my body!

Day 20 - Encore of Squash Soup

2008-05-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

I made it again - the delicious butternut squash soup (above.) By soup, of course I mean juice poured into a bowl and eaten with a spoon.

I posted the recipe yesterday, but it was so easy: juiced butternut squash, tomato, garlic, ginger, yellow bell pepper, celery with some lemon squeezed on top.

The rest of today's juice was loaded with greens...greens from the garden! Some kale, spinach, chard, and arugula, but more than that: lots of lamb's quarters and plantain leaves and other "weeds" that I now harvest for health! (When I weed and thin the garden now, I do it with a big bowl next to me.)

Sad news about the garden: we went to plant our 50 strawberry plants and when we opened the package they were all moldy :-( Luckily, when we called Miller's Nursery they agreed to replace them, because they are supposed to be OK for two weeks after shipping, and they just sent it out two weeks ago (phew.)

So we did our three sisters planting: squash, corn and beans. And we did it Anastasia-style: giving the seed information about us by putting it under our tongue and holding it in our hands up to the sun first. That way, the plants are supposed to learn about us and our health needs, and they will produce the fruits and vegetables in a way which helps us! (All that information is in the first Anastasia book, by Vladimir Megre.)

The rest of the juices for today were:

1 quart: pineapple and mints from the garden (spearmint, apple mint, peppermint, lemon balm)
1 quart: Green Veggie Juice (leftover from yesterday) with hemp oil
about a quart of watermelon juice leftover from yesterday
about 1 quart of the soup (above)
and I still have 2 quarts of today's GVJ made that I didn't drink yet. It had the usual: celery, carrots, cucumber, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, lemon, lime, green apple, orange beets and greens greens greens! (I'm tasting it now, and I really notice the lack of cilantro. It's much better with cilantro and tomato.)
1 Tbsp coconut oil with spirulina and honey

I'll probably drink at least a quart of that green veggie juice, and maybe also have a little orange juice with bee pollen before the day is through.

Days 18 and 19

2008-05-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

Life gave me a kick in the pants yesterday, but by this morning I was able to look at the little glitch as a blessing and hopefully will move on gracefully. Just a little business glitch...the family is A-OK, thank goodness.

But the stress of yesterday really took it out of me. I tried to be present yesterday - even listened to some of Eckhart's webcast with Oprah to help me stay focused, but today I found myself out of breath at the littlest things (going upstairs, etc.)

BUT: I did have a marvelous and wonderful massage this morning - just what I needed! I noticed a big difference since being on this juice feast, too. Usually, as good as massages feel (I love massage, being a massage therapist myself), getting up off the table is painful: my lower back has usually seizes up and I'm stiff. But today, I only had a twinge of lower back pain (right side) at the end, and everything felt looser during and after the massage. Yay!

Yesterday I had only about 4 quarts of juice...which is the recommended amount, but I usually have more. I had the usual:

* juice of three oranges with water, chlorophyll and bee pollen

* strawberry, apple, mints, spinach, sprouts with 1 Tbsp chlorophyll - 1 quart

* watermelon with chlorophyll - 1 quart

* Green Veggie Juice (GVJ) with the usual suspects: carrots, cuke, celery, pepper, onion, tomato, garlic, spinach, cilantro, lime, lemon, sprouts, green apple - 2 quarts.

Today I made same as above, except the GVJ had orange beets and arugula as well, and so made 3 quarts.

So far I only drank the oj, apple/strawberry/mint/etc, 2 quarts of GVJ and some watermelon juice.

BUT, I made the most amazing soup (juice eaten with a spoon from a bowl) for dinner! Dave made lentil soup which smelled sooo very good, so I had to create something besides my usual.

Here is the recipe:

Juice:

* About 4 inches of the top of a butternut squash (mine was about 2" diameter)
* 1 tomato with a garlic clove pushed in (to get the garlic to through the juicer better)
* ginger
* 2 celery stalks
* 1/4 yellow pepper

To the bowl of delicious orange soup I added a squeeze of lemon and some hemp oil (optional). It was simply divine.

I wish I had taken a picture of this beautiful creation before gobbling (slurping) it up. Maybe I'll make it again tomorrow.

For eaters: some chopped tomato and basil in the soup would be amazing, I think.

The strawberries, watermelon and sprouts are gone (though I have sunflower sprouts starting in the old FreshLife Sprouter.

But a pineapple awaits, and Penni's mint julep recipe may be just the thing for tomorrow!

Day 17: Making the Juice

2008-05-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

picture: my wonderful FreshLife Sprouter

Not much new to report today...the strawberry, apple, lemon balm mint juice may be the best thing on the planet, though. I did write an article about meditation, posted on the Birch Center blog (my sister blog to this one.)

Today my juices were pretty much the same as yesterday. I made them all in one sitting, though, so I thought I'd discuss how I go about making 5.5 quarts of three different kinds of juices and clean up all in less than an hour (or about an hour.)

First: I make the fruit juices first. That way, I don't have to rinse the equipment before making the veggie juice. A little sweet apple in veggie juice (there's apple in there anyway!) is a lot better than onions and garlic in my fruit juices.
I like getting something in the nut mylk bag, so I can hang it on a cabinet and get it dripping while I do other things. I saw this tip in David and Katrina's juice feasting blog a while back.
In the blender I put my apples, strawberries, and mints (today there was an orange that Dave started to eat but didn't like, so that went in, too.) Oh, also some lovely fresh clover sprouts which just finished growing in our amazing FreshLife Sprouter - I love this thing! It is my favorite piece of equipment I've bought since going raw.
I blend it all with some ice (I have a Kitchen Aid Blender, and if I blend too long the juice will warm up, so I add a little ice to keep the temp down. It works great.) Then I pour it in the nut mylk bag and hang it over an oversize measuring cup on a plate (I don't want to lose any precious juice!)
Then I move over to the Jack Lelane juicer, and juice my watermelon - skin and all (it's organic - with seeds!! Since I will be trying to have another baby, I like to eat fertile fruit (with seeds), versus seedless.) I juiced 1/4 of the watermelon which makes about quart of juice. Pour into a quart jar, and put the lid on right away, so I don't accidentally spill it. If it makes extra, that is great because I will drink it right there.
Then still on the Lelane, I juice carrots, celery (an entire bunch), cucumber, tomatoes, apples, bell pepper and a lemon with skin (organic.)
Back to the blender to mix the greens: today was beet greens, sprouts and cilantro, with corn, onion, garlic and a lime, with a bit of water and ice.
I squeeze out the rest of the fruit juice from the nut mylk bag, put it in a quart jar (drink any extra).
I empty the pulp from the bag and pour the green juice in and squeeze that out.
Then, I gather the pulp from the Lelane, which is still QUITE JUICY, stick that in the bag and squeeze that out, too. Today I got 2 extra cups of juice from the pulp!!! Yikes. Not a plus for the old Lelane Juicer. I may dig out our Champion Juicerbefore I'm done with the feast.
I mix the two veggie juices together and that is my green veggie juice (GVJ)for the day (Today was 3 quarts!)
I just rinse all my equipment, wipe the counter, compost the pulp, sweep the floor and I'm ready for the day!!

Day 16 - Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

Here I am, making my Mother's Day juice: strawberries, apples, and lots of mint and lemon balm from the garden - it was really good!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! Cheers!

For Mother's Day this year, I got myself ANASTASIA, the Complete 9 Book Set, By Vladimir Megre - yes, the WHOLE set. I've already read the first one, and it was really great.

My juices:

Leftover apple juice from yesterday
1 qt: Mother's Day juice: strawberries, apples, bunch lemon balm and mints with water and chlorophyll
leftover savory juices from yesterday (about 3/4 quart) with hemp oil
coconut oil, spirulina and honey
1/4 avo with lemon and salt
shared the water of a young coconut with Ella
made 2 qts: corn, tomato, cuke, carrot, celery, lemon, lime, cilantro, sprouts, spinach, green apple, onion, yellow pepper, garlic, ginger - drank a quart so far
also made a quart of watermelon juice

Yesterday I cleaned out my freezer and found old spirulina tablets, so I am finishing those.

Today I am cleaning out our spice and herb cabinet...it is overwhelming. So many little plastic baggies from the coop -- some so old the writing is gone. I put my newly bought dry herbs: raspberry leaves, nettle, and hawthorn berry, into jars. I've organized the seaweed. Washed the cabinets...it looks great in there...but I still have about 50 little baggies that are in limbo (I've thrown out a bunch) - maybe I have enough little jars to store some, I'll have to see.

And, as promised, here is Kermit the Frog, singing "Lime in the Coconut":

Day 15 - Lucky Clover

2008-05-10T15:45:00.001-07:00

Here's a four leaf clover my friend Tara found in our garden the other day

Yesterday on our walk I found a four leaf clover. And today, weeding in the garden, I saw a five-leaf clover! I took a picture...if it uploads well I'll post it.

Today, we were at Phipps again, taking in all the beautiful sights, and experiencing floods of butterflies (their butterfly room has NEVER been this good). We were outside in their chocolate exhibit when the stroller that had my quarts of juice on it tipped back -- and one of my jars broke! Oh, my precious juice! It was my savory one, too...all mixed with hemp oil and spirulina. I did have another quart of that juice, but without the oil (the oil really yums it up) or spirulina added.

After Phipps we made our rounds: Coop, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, and this time we tried to get enough for the whole week. It will certainly save us on gas money, the past two weeks we've been running across town for this or that every other day. Filling up our gas tank cost us $80 now, so one trip a week will be much better. Plus, more time in the garden. We spent $160 on my organic produce plus a couple extra things like bread, cheese, tomato sauce for the family. But we aren't eating out much (Ella still gets lunch at Phipps or Lulu's noodles when we're in Oakland), which hopefully balances out the increase in groceries.

I also did my caloric intake on Fitday again (just to be sure, since I've been so hungry) and I had about 1700 calories, which seems like it ought to be enough. 25% fat (with the 1/4 avocado - which I don't have every day, 1 Tbsp hemp oil and 1 Tbsp coconut oil - without the avo it was still 22% fat), 67% carbs, and 8% protein (34 grams, which is surely enough. Plus, I watched a great video of Tonya Kay talking about the protein question...I put it at the end of this entry. It's awesome.)

(Hey - it is my lucky day! Lime in the Coconut is on the radio right now! I'm listening to WERS's weekend kid's show The Playground - I used to live in Boston; WERS is a public radio station from Emerson College.) Now I feel I should put the video of Kermit the Frog singing this song (it's GREAT!)...but two videos in one entry? I'll have to post it tomorrow...something to look forward to.)

My juices:

grapefruit, orange juice with water and 1 Tbsp liquid chlorophyll
1qt: watermelon juice with rind, plus 1 Tbsp liquid chlorophyll
1 qt: apple, lemon, water and 1 Tbsp liquid chlorophyll
1 qt: veggie juice: carrot, celery, cuke, tomato, spinach, sprouts, lemon, cilantro, onion, garlic, pepper
1 qt: corn, tomato, pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime, lemon balm (huge amount from garden) baby lamb's quarters, sprouts, spinach some apple juice from above, hemp oil, spirulina
1 Tbsp coconut oil with bee pollen and honey mixed in
1/4 avocado with salt and lemon

Tonya Kay's response to "Where do you get your protein?":

Day 14 -- two weeks!

2008-05-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

I think I'm going to post pictures monthly, because there doesn't seem to be a lot of change. ... To see Before and week 1 pictures, visit this entry

Today's juices:

1/2 qt: yesterday's fruit with spinach juice
1 qt: watermelon juice (organic! Juiced with skin)
2 qts: salsa juice + hemp oil and spirulina
1 qt: beet, carrot, celery, cuke, apple, parsely, arugula, mung bean sprouts, spinach
3/4 qt: apple juice+ water + 1 Tbsp liquid chlorophyll
Tbsp coconut oil with spirulina and a drizzle of honey (yesterday, Ella said this tasted like frosting, and it totally does! I will frost a raw cookie or cake with it when I'm done with the fast. Though I might put raw cacao in for the spirulina ;-)
(I'll probably have some watered down oj with chlorophyll and bee pollen later)

Yoga class today at Breathe yoga studio was divine, but difficult.

Then we went to visit D's parents...went on a walk in the park, but then back to their house while they ate Chinese food (oh, it smelled good) and I sipped my salsa juice. At least I wasn't alone: Dave finished Day 10 of the Master Cleanse today! He is so ready to eat. He usually can't stand Chinese food and says the smell makes him sick and today he said it was the hardest thing not to eat yet, it smelled so good.

He's hungry!

I'm hungry, too, though. Last night all I dreamed about was eating and eating and more eating and when I wasn't eating I was talking about going to the grocery store to get more food to eat. I woke during the night with such huge hunger pains! I tried having my leftover fruit juice, but it tasted too bitter (though this morning it tasted fine.) I'm hungry right now, too.

Start Weight: 182 lbs
End of week 1: 175
End of week 2: 172

Day 13 - post 2 - Feeling Sad

2008-05-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

Baking holiday cookies at Wendi's

Today I wanted to eat again. I tried to convince myself that a raw food diet is just as good. I didn't eat, but later, while doing yoga in a quiet space, I looked up a picture of me on the beach, holding my beloved Molly, and the sadness just flowed: I cried and cried.

I'm grateful to have had 8 years with my loving daughter, but it went too fast. When she died, at first I could not accept the present moment at all. My mind literally tried to figure out how to go back in time (if all time exists now, why can't I go back?) Or, if not that, then how do I jump to a parallel existence (the ones that all the people in quantum physics talk about), - one where she is still alive?

Eventually I let go of that, but then I latched on to the anger I felt at the doctors - and myself for allowing her in their clutches (I can't possibly say "care", that's for sure.)

And finally, I just sometimes feel this incredible sadness and emptiness that she is not with me physically on this earth anymore.

One week on the New Earth webcast with Eckhart Tolle and Oprah, they talked about how when loved ones pass, you can actually feel their spirit with you more, if you can be open to that. I haven't experienced that peace yet, but it's comforting knowing that.

Leela Mata, of Peaceful Valley Ashram, told me that my sadness holds Molly to this past incarnation, and to do my best to let that go so she can move on with her journey. Mostly I feel like I do a good job, but sometime I just miss her so much.

Day 13 - MSM

2008-05-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

I just noticed I didn't have any MSM today. I haven't noticed a difference yet in my joint pain and stiffness...but to hear/read people's experience with it, it sounds amazing! (I added information about it below.)

Tomorrow will be 2 weeks of juice feasting! I'll post pictures.

My juices today:

1 qt watermelon juice with a squeeze of lemon
2 qts salsa juice: carrot, celery, cuke, tomato, onion, garlic, pepper, lime, homemade sprouts, spinach, cilantro and lime + spirulina, hemp oil, kelp
2 slices of avocado with lemon and salt
1 Tbsp coconut oil with spirulina and honey
1/2 qt: apple with lemon and water
1 qt: sprouts, spinach, apples, oranges, strawberries, banana with 1 Tbsp bee pollen
dried nettle, fresh mint and fresh lemon balm tea
2 cups water with lemon and MSM (I'm drinking it now.)

Here is information about MSM from the www.Juicefeasting.com website:

"MSM or methyl sulphonyl methane, is a sulphur compound that occurs naturally in our bodies and in our most common foods. Sulphur is found in all body cells, and in many amino acids, vitamins, enzymes and hormones essential for our health.

Sulphur in the form of MSM is needed for the formation of collagen, which is the fibrous substance in connective tissue. Sulphur is therefore essential for the production of cartilaginous tissue whose elasticity is especially suited to provide support to the body. Sulphur is a significant constituent of skin, hair and nails, and has been called the "beauty mineral".

This is a supplement that we use on a daily basis. Many of my students have had inflammation and scarring issues that have been mitigated or resolved due to therapeutic use of MSM. Here is a statement from Bill Rich of Rich's MSM on his experience:

My name is Bill Rich, and in 1970 when I was in an auto accident. The seat belt would not release and the engine caught on fire, trapping me in the car and cooking me for twenty minutes. I was charcoal from my arm pit down to below my knee and was never was unconscious.

For seventeen years, I cried at night trying to sleep because the scared tissue and adhesions hurt so much. The pain would not allow me to walk, for more than a total of 1 block a day without hurting real bad.

Eleven years ago a veterinarian introduced me to the nutritional sulfur (MSM). Three days later I could out march my troops, I am a 60 year old sergeant in the Oregon State Defense Force.

Later I got reports that our lotion with MSM made scar tissue go away, so I rubbed it into my burn area. That entire portion of my body was flat, purple in color, and was covered by 65 feet of grafting marks. By using the lotion I was able to concentrate the MSM in the areas that weren't getting enough. The collagen grew in along with new blood vessels and I turned round in shape, pink in color, and now I am down from 65 feet of grafting marks to about 3 inches, and those have nearly faded out.

The MSM has made it possible for me to do all that I do today. And if you know me, you know I hardly ever stop, I just slow down.

- Bill Rich

On the Juice Feast: Up to 1 Tablespoon in your Morning Water, and 1-2 more Tablespoons during the day in your water. If you are new to MSM, make sure to place lemon juice in your water, and begin with 1 teaspoon per quart and work up. MSM is completely non-toxic: it has a toxicity level the same as water. However, you can, early on, use more than your body knows how to access. This will result in loose stools, and perhaps a sulfury burp, nothing more."

Thank you David and Katrina (of juicefeasting.com) for that information.

I also read that to make your own lotion: mix the msm powder into aloe gel or coconut oil.

Day 12: Lotsa savory veggie juice

2008-05-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

I am craving lots of savory, onion-garlic-pepper type of juices with lots of greens! Though the fruit juices still taste yummy to me, it's just not what I want.

Today's juice:

water with lemon and 1 tsp MSM
1 qt borscht: beet and beet greens, carrot, celery, cucumber, spinach, fermented veggies, lemon, garlic, with hemp oil, kelp and salt.
1 1/2 qt: fruit juice: strawberries, oranges, apples, banana, spinach + 1 Tbsp bee pollen
nearly 3 qts tabouli juice: tomatoes, celery, cukes, carrot, parsley, mint, orange bell pepper, garlic, onion, lemon and greens and weeds: arugula, lamb's quarters, comfrey, dandelion greens, plantain leaves.
1 cup apple juice with water and lemon
bite of an avocado (!!!)
I took a sublingual B12 from Trader Joe's, which was made like a homeopathic remedy in that it was a big sugar (lactose) pill. It didn't seem to give me any extra energy. In fact, I'm quite tired right now (and hungry! After all that juice!)
nearly 1 quart of watermelon juice

I had lots of juice today and I'm still hungry. I have 1/2 qt of the borscht juice left and maybe I'll drink that. Also we bought a big organic watermelon at Whole Foods, so perhaps I'll dive into that. (I ended up going with the watermelon, as you can see from above list.)

My raw friend Wendi of www.purejeevan.com came over and said I was glowing - so that's good news.

Day 11 - Butterflies

2008-05-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

I woke at 5 am today shaky and hungry. I knew I should have made a green veggie juice last night, but I went for what was already made: the sugary yam/apple/carrot/beet. I guess it threw my blood sugar off. I had a Tbsp of cholorphyll in 1/2 water, but it didn't help too much, though I was able to fall back to sleep eventually.

Today's juices:

3 qt: tomato, cucumber, celery, carrot, pepper, lemon, lime, onion, garlic, thyme, arugula, spinach, cilanto with hemp oil, kelp and spirulina
1 qt: strawberries, orange, apple, spinach
just under a qt: grapefruit, orange, lime, cilantro and 3 types of mint from garden with honey and 1 Tbsp bee pollen
2 Tbsp coconut oil with honey and spirulina (after the first Tbsp, was so good I had to make more)

We're out of tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, limes and onions!

I ran a bit today. Maybe not even a mile, but I was out there. I also had the 1/2 hour walk back, and the walk around Phipps Conservatory...the butterflies were incredible there today.

Day 10: Back on Track

2008-05-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

I had a much better day today! What I love about this whole juicing experience is the EASE of it all. I either use our juicer, which I then rinse out immediately, or I use the blender, gigantic measuring cup and nutmilk bag. Everything just rinses right out. I also use a colander to wash the greens and produce, a cutting board and knife. I use 2 one-quart jars (one to put my juice in, one to store extra in fridge), and that is basically it. It's just so simple.

Today I also thinned and weeded the garden - and I collected all the microgreens and edible weeds as I went along, and had a HUGE bagful when I was done. (Dave and Ella helped, too.)

My juices today:

1 tsp MSM and lemon in 1/2 qt water
1 qt: pesto juice! : tomato, basil, garlic, spinach, salt, hemp oil, kelp, water
1 qt: pineapple, orange, strawberries, and tons and tons of microgreens!
1 1/2 cups blended watermelon
1 Tbsp coconut oil with a drizzle of raw honey and some spirulina mixed in - like a decadent dessert!!
1 1/2 qts: tomato, carrot, celery, cuke, orange pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro, arugula and more microgreens, salt, lemon and lime.
1 cup orange juice (4 squeezed oranges) + 1 cup water
1/2 qt leftover yam, apple, carrot, beet (from a couple days ago...but it still tasted good. I added a cup or so of water.)

I also did 1/2 hour of yoga, with pandora set onto Enya station - delightful.

And I went overboard on the rebounder...10 minutes, then 2 minutes, then 10 minutes more after yoga, which was a mistake. BUT, I can tell I am craving more exercise, and need to get out walking or even jogging again. I'd love to run in the Greenfield Glide 5K on June 1!

Day 9 -- Blip

2008-05-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Baby lambs quarters in my juice!

Well, today was a little blip in the journey.

I totally panicked about the constipation thing, I realize now. I had a headache a few days ago, and I didn't think twice about it. But constipation....wow! Interesting....

So, I did do some things today to get fiber...had a couple smoothies without straining them, and I did (gasp) eat some soaked prunes. But I stuck with juices for the most part and I think I will forge ahead with this now not-so-perfect juice feast.

Today I had:

water with lemon and MSM
1 qt smoothie: orange, banana, water with 1 Tbsp liquid chlorophyll
1 qt juice: tomato, microgreens from thinning garden (with itty bitty lamb's quarters!! Yeah!), celery, cucumber, cilantro, lime, fermented veggies, hemp oil, orange pepper, garlic, onion, water mixed with yesterday's leftover green juice
1 Tbsp coconut oil drizzled with raw honey
Raspberry tea
6 soaked prunes and drank the soak water, too
ate a few pea sprouts and arugula microgreen from garden
1/2 qt smoothie: juice from a couple oranges, strawberries, apples, soaked prunes and soak water, baby lettuce
wheatgrass in 1/2 qt water
juice of 2 oranges with 2 tsp bee pollen

I read more about enemas in a book called "Prescription for Herbal Healing" by Phyllis Balch. I liked her explanation of how, and also she recommended putting lemon juice in the water.

Ok...going to try to not focus on the constipation. Just do what I need to do (enemas, movement/exercise) and move on.

Speaking of exercise, we dusted off our rebounder and I did 10 minutes today, in small segments (2 minutes, 3 min, 2 min, 1.5 minutes, 1.5 minutes). Ella and I took turns on it, and I stretched a bit while she jumped. I took a tiny walk, too.

Day 8

2008-05-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

Last night I dreamed my teeth (and fillings) were falling out. In my dream, I had a nervous habit of pushing on my teeth, and then they'd just come out. I used to have this dream all the time, but I haven't had it in a long time. As usual, upon waking I checked my teeth, and they felt fine...strong, actually. (though still furry/fuzzy.)

Enema this morning...seemed like more went in that came out. Hmmm. I put salt into the water today, and a few drops of lavender oil.

Juices:

1/4 tsp MSM and lemon in 1/2 qt water
1 qt: 2 oranges, 1 grapefruit, spinach and 1 Tbsp bee pollen
1 2/3 qt: tomatoes, cuke, celery, cilantro, arugula, garlic, onion, hemp oil, spirulina, keop, orange pepper
1 tsp coconut oil
1 qt strawberries, 2 apples, 1 banana, 1 orange -- YUM!
1 Tbsp liquid chlorophull in 1/2 qt water
1 qt yam, apple, lemon + yesterday's apple, carrot beet (mmm...sweet. The sweet potato is more starchy/powdery than the butternut sqash)
1 capsule cascara sagrada

Today, I entered all my foods into fitday.com because I read on Angela Stokes's juice feast blog that you are supposed to get at least 1500 calories. My breakdown was:
1735 calories: 14% fat, 79% carbs, 7% protein.
I'm sure it's slightly different, because I put in the raw foods, instead of juices.

I did a second enema tonight, though I didn't really want to (didn't listen to myself!) Suddenly I got a shooting, stabbing sharp pain across my intestines and into my anus. I couldn't sit or stand...I just had to hobble into bed and sleep. I used to get this years ago (in 1991-ish, when I was in massage school) because I had such awful constipation. But since having my first child 8 years ago (actually being pregnant with her) I haven't had a problem with constipation since...until now. So I'm not too happy with that.

Symptoms today:

low back pain
constipation
rt shoulder tightness/pain
shooting pain in intestines (while evacuating during enema)
fuzzy feeling on teeth

Also...I haven't lost any weight since Wednesday. I'm not focused on the NUMBERS, but I think this is indicative of the constipation.

Pictures from before and week 1

2008-05-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

On the top is me just before starting the juice feast. Below is me on day 7. Hmmm. Maybe the slightest difference? Suddenly I have a neck, although I did just return from a yoga class in the second picture.

Before (top) = 182 lbs
Day 7 (below) = 175 lbs

Today's Juice:

1 Qt Grapefruit, orange, dandelion greens, spinach, peppermint, spearmint, applemint, lemon balm + 1 tsp bee pollen
1/2 Qt tomato etc from yesterday
1/2 Qt Butternut squash, apple, ginger and water with cinnamon (yum!)
1 Qt and 1 cup tomato, arugula, cuke, celery, lime, onion, garlic, yellow pepper, salt, onion powder (not a great idea, ick), tumeric, 1/4 tsp kelp, 1 tsp spirulina, olive oil
1 1/2 qt carrot, apple, beet and water
coconut oil
1 cap cascara sagrada

I did do an enema tonight, which released some stuff, though I still feel bloated.

Felt very sad missing Molly this morning. Went to a great yoga class, though. Very inward focus, just what I needed.

Day 6

2008-05-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Juices:

1 qt: grapefruit, orange, spinach + 1 lg tsp bee pollen (I love the bee pollen!)
wheatgrass in water
1 1/2 qt: tomato, cuke, celery, lime, pepper, arugula, dandelion greens, cilantro, salt, kelp, onion, garlic, water
1 tsp coconut oil
raspberry leaf tea
1 qt: banana, young coconut flesh, pineapple, apple, lime, water, spinach
1 qt watermelon juice
1 qt: comfrey, chives, onion, garlic, arugula, dandelion greens, cilantro, lime, tomato, cuke, celery, pepper, salt, water, avocado, olive oil, spirulina

Today I really wanted to eat, and then I didn't, and then the real feelings came up: I was so sad and missed my daughter Molly so much.

Symptoms:

slept great! the whole night through and I hardly ever have done that in my life
hungry
right thumb and middle finger still cracked
phlegmy
teeth not as fuzzy
irritable this morning
very tired by 6:30 pm
fuzzy teeth returned in the evening

Today I asked "what is the answer to everything?" and then opened A New Earth to a random quote. The answer is: (from page 245)

"All you have to do is watch it happening."

Day 5

2008-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Juices today:

2/3 qt: grapefruit, orange, mint, lemon balm, 1 tsp bee pollen
1/2 T coconut oil
nettle tea
1 qt: tomato, cuke, celery, collard, cilantro, lemon, kelp, fermented veggies, carrot, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, salt, water
1 2/3 qt: coconut water, lime, pineapple, papaya, mango, banana, mints, lemon balm, spinach, spirulina
1/2 qt: celery, cuke, lime, apple, collards

Sx:

exhausted today.
fuzzy teeth (brushed a lot)
pain in many joints (ankle, foot, wrist) -- anxiously awaiting my MSM!
cracked right thumb and middle finger -- also awaiting my hemp oil! Should probably add olive oil and more coconut oil meanwhile.
woke feeling shaky and weak during the night

I added the fermented veggies to the blender in hopes of getting probiotics. Dave assured me they would go through the sprout bag.

Dave started the master cleanse today! (He is experiencing lots of allergies and asthma this year: wheezing, coughing, itching eyes, etc.)

Here are some of my reasons for doing this juice feast:

To get as healthy as possible, and ready to have another baby
For best chances of a healthy and easy pregnancy and childbirth
If possible, to change Rh factor, or at least make it into a non-issue by being so healthy
To live an energetic and long life
To achieve ideal weight
To adjust physically and emotionally my way of eating/nourishment
Connect to the earth
To be free of joint pain, stiffness and achiness

Day 4: Salsa juice

2008-04-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at the zoo I was craving the salsa we brought for Ella. It was from Mad Mex (a great local restaurant) and it was their fresh raw salsa. Today I tried to create the salsa as a juice: success! It was delicious and very satisfying.

Today I drank:

1/3 qt: grapefruit, mint, lemon balm, and lg tsp bee pollen
2/3 qt: yesterday's carrot, etc
wheatgrass juice in water
1 qt salsa juice: tomato, cuke, celery, collard, cilantro, lemon, salt, yellow pepper, garlic, onion, water
1 qt: pineapple, orange, spinach, with 1 tsp spirulina and water
1 1/4 qt: carrot, apple, beet
nettle tea

Did another enema tonight. They recommend morning, which does make more sense in terms of Chinese medicine: the bowel time is 5 am - 7 am. But I am more likely not to be disturbed when Ella falls asleep in the evening. From wee hours of the morning until she wakes up, Ella is a light sleeper who nurses quite a bit.

Symptoms today:
stickiness in teeth when molars meet
stiffness
slight headache and heavy head (frontal, above eyes)
right ankle pain
shoulders, upper back and neck achy after end of long day out with Ella

Day 3

2008-04-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

I woke early because I was so hungry! I did EFT: tapping on the points saying "even though I am hungry, juice is nourishing me" (or something to that effect.) But I got up at 4:55 am and made juice. Today I had:

3/4 qt: orange, banana, spinach, 1 tsp spirulina, water
1 3/4 qt: beet, beet greens, collard, apple, carrot, water and 1 tsp bee pollen
1 1/4 qt: celery, cuke, collard, apple, lemon, romaine lettuce and water
1 qt: orange, papaya, banana, spinach, mint, lemon balm and water
1/2 qt: mango, water, ice and pinch real salt in blender (no filter)

Went to the zoo today and had good energy, but felt hungry. Brought the juice with me. Making three different quarts of juice and washing all the machines took less than an hour. (I used our Jack Lelane juice and the blender with nutmilk bag.)

I haven't had a bowel movement in three days and according to juicefeasting.com I should have 2-3/day! I decided I needed to try the enema thing. First time ever so was trying to get a feel for the whole thing. Did get some stool out, though.

Day 2: Rooting out cravings

2008-04-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

Today's juices:

1/2 Qt Pineapple Spinach Water
1/2 Qt Blended watermelon
some granules of bee pollen to try it out
1/2 Qt water
1/2 qt plus 1 cup carrot + juice from yesterday
juice of about 2.5 oranges (I juiced four, but Ella drank some, too)
1Qt: tomato, garlic greens, onion greens, yellow pepper, cucumber, celery, collard, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, kelp, dulse and water
1/2 tsp coconut oil with a drizzle of honey, followed by water, which made my stomach burn a little. And the pain went up to the front of my right shoulder.
1/2 Qt. water with chlorophyll
1 1/2 Q pineapple, orange, spinach and water
wheatgrass juice in water

My random quote from Eckart Tolle today is:

"What is it in humans that loves to feel bad and calls it good? The pain-body, of course." (p.153 of A New Earth.)

That is a big WOW for me when it comes to food. While making my daughter's mashed potatoes and lentils today I thought, "I want it!" But how could I? It makes me feel so bad when I eat that way. But the food is so good! How can that be? I never thought it was my pain-body creating that craving. Calling that food good just to make me feel bad, because the pain-body, of course is all about pain.

I was used to understanding the pain-body in terms of my irritability, anger, and what-not. I can usually catch myself, knowing it is my pain-body feeding on those emotions. But to think of it this way sheds a whole new light.

What I realize with the juicing (and raw foods in general), is the ABSENCE of fullness, bloating, pain. And really I don't notice the absence, so it feels uncomfortable to me. The pain is not there, and so my pain-body (for more info about the pain body, look at Tolle's A New Earth or The Power of Now) is saying, "Eat this! Mmmmm, doesn't that pizza look good? Oh, yes, that is soooo good" because it wants me to feel bad, because the pain-body is like another being living inside me, and it lives on pain.

I ordered my supplements from iherb today! If you've never seen iherb, check them out: great prices.

In fact, after this last order they gave me a referral code to pass along. If you order from them, use referral code: MEL526 for $5-off.

Enjoy!

Symptoms:

My left foot hurts so much! I broke it two years ago, but it healed so quickly and has never given me pain.
rt ankle also hurt a lot. That is from a bad break when I was in high school.
insomnia last night - barely slept at all

yesterday: day 1 during my nap: dreamed I gave birth - easily, unassisted. The baby came out still in her sac (not sure if it was a girl or boy, actually.)

Day 1: letting go of definitions

2008-04-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Here we go!

1 Qt: smoothie (after this I don't use frozen fruit, and this drink is not strained through a nut milk bag, though the rest will be): banana, fzn pineapples, fzn mango, comfrey leaves, arugula sprouts, mint, lemon balm water.

wheatgrass juice in water

1 Qt + 1 cup: celery, apple and water

1 Tbsp chlorophyll in water

1/2 Qt: pineapple spinach juice (blended and strained through nut milk bag)

Raspberry leaf infusion (strong tea)

1+ Qt: carrot, cucumber, chard, apples, water, and 1 tsp spirulina

Today I opened up Eckart Tolle's A New Earth for a random quote, this is what it said:

"Give up defining yourself - to yourself and to others."

So here I was yesterday, in my intro, defining myself.

I am not all those things I said yesterday; I just AM.

That will be a little something to ponder.

Also, I plan on adding more supplements: MSM, digestive enzymes, hemp oil, and bee pollen at least. They recommend these and other supplements on www.juicefeasting.com.

Here is what Paul Pitchford says about bee pollen, in Healing with Whole Foods, pp. 111-112:

Bee pollen, the food of the young bee, is a rich source of protein and vitamin B12. Considered one of nature's most completely nourishing foods, it contains nearly all nutrients required by humans. About half of its protein is in the form of free amino acids that are ready to be used directly by the body. Such highly assimilable protein can contribute significantly to one's protein needs. ...

... Pollen is considered an energy and nutritive tonic in Chinese medicine; ... improving endurance and vitality, extending longevity, aiding recovery from chronic illness, adding weight during convalescence, reducing cravings and addictions, regulating the intestines, building new blood, preventing communicable diseases such as common cold or flu (antibiotic properties), and helping overcome retardation and other developmental problems in children. It is thought to protect against radiation and to have anti-cancer properties. ...

... ****When eating bee pollen, consider that a 6 gram (about 1 tsp) dose takes one bee, working eight hours a day for 1 month to gather. Each bee pollen pellet contains 2,000,000 flower pollen grains, and a teaspoonful contains 2.5 billion grains of flower pollen."

Also: Pitchford recommends trying just a grain on your tongue to test for allergies, which is a great idea because my husband tried a few grains and had a severe allergy!

Care, presence and gratitude.

Intro -- Day before beginning

2008-04-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Yuck - that is how I feel.

Full - I ate a huge burrito from Mad Mex at the in-laws, after being out and about and having Indian buffet for lunch AND a deli sandwich BEFORE dinner!

We were out looking for land...we live in Pittsburgh (which I love), but I yearn for country living. The dream is to build a cob house, have organic gardens (which we do, in our 20' by 60' backyard), fruit trees (we do!: peach, pear, cherry (all dwarf, haven't fruited yet, just planted 2 years ago) and fig. AND we just ordered three varieties of Asian pear. Where will they all fit? And our neighbors yummy mulberry happily stretches over our porch.)

So, I am ready to go raw...again. But not just raw, I am really ready to take back my health, and try to turn around my life.

This has been the worst year ever...in December my beloved 8 year old daughter Molly died. I won't say more now, I'm sure that says quite a bit. Then I miscarried a few weeks later, and then, just a few weeks ago, miscarried again but this time I hemorrhaged as well and actually passed out, which has never happened to me before. Thank goodness a friend was here to call my hubby home and get me laying down and feet up.

The past few weeks I've been mostly raw with lots of wheatgrass and chlorophyll drinks. But obviously, by how I feel tonight, not enough.

I have a beautiful, lovely and wonderful three year old daughter, who I am so incredibly grateful for every day. I had a raw pregnancy with her and had little to no problems or discomfort at all! Why I didn't stay raw is a mystery (well, not really, but hopefully I will fully explore my addictions and release them during this upcoming juice feast.)

And I would like to have more children.

One thing that concerns me is that I have Rh negative blood. After my first daughter I did have the Rhogam vaccine, but I didn't/don't feel good about that: it contains mercury and live blood products. It was also never fully studied and has only been around since the late 1960's. I had my second daughter at home unassisted, and then the two late miscarriages, all with no Rhogam.

Here is some hopeful information that I found in Polly's Birth Book by Polly Block, pp 207-208:

"On three different occasions in my midwifery classes as we discussed the Rh factor someone told the class her Rh status had changes. These women had each begun their childbearing years Rh negative. When they had continual problems with pregnancies, they began seriously to build their blood and their general health."

Polly says the doctors found the change, not the mothers, who at the time didn't even know it was possible. Polly also said she didn't believe the stories at first, but she became aware of others (six to date of writing). She continues:

"These women all shared something in common. In each instance, these women had concentrated on purifying and building their blood by changing their diets so they had exceptional nutritional intake. They did the following kinds of things:

1. They ate fruit (or vegetables, if hypoglycemic) for one week, then followed what is essentially the Good Program (see Polly's Birth Book, chapter 9). They ate fresh, raw (as often as possible) home grown foods and foods uncontaminated by additives or sprays. They also eliminated sugar, tea, coffee, alcohol, and soft drinks, as well as white flour, prepared boxed foods, and other refined products from their diets.

2. They used the herbal lower bowel tonic (LB) and had occasional enemas to keep their bowels evacuated thoroughly during body cleanses.

3. They used herbs to cleanse and build the blood. Several of these mothers gave periwinkle special credit: they drank one cup of periwinkle tea per day. Other herbs also used were capsicum, angelica, blue cohosh, goldenseal, peppermint, borage, coriander, sorrel, mistletoe (between pregnancies), holy thistle, tansy, valerian, vervain, hawthorn berry, bloodrood, and wheat and other grasses. Sometimes they added supplements.

4. They ate foods that built blood: grapejuice, molasses, beets, etc."

So I'm jumping in late, but there is a global juice feast going on, and the founders (David and Katrina Rainoshek of Juicefeasting.com) claim that people are healing themselves from everything, so I'm coming on board.

Other symptoms right now:
Overweight: 182 lbs.
Overall feeling 2 out of 10.
full belly, diarrhea, burning with evacuation, exhaustion, thirsty, cracked right thumb, black spots on three upper teeth at gumline, toothache on and off (bottom left capped one), ankle ache, neck pain around C4, tired back and shoulder tightness and pain.

I am ready to go.