What I'm Reading

Reading Greens For Life by Victoria Boutenko...
You have to realize this is not a book I would have chosen for myself to read... I'm not a big fan of greens..
I know, and I'm trying to go raw .. you can roll your eyes now. It's okay, I roll my eyes at myself all the time.

Anyway, my dear, sweet friend Tricia (and fellow raw foodie) loaned me this book. Mostly because I've been moaning and groaning about fat and protein all week... and I'm reading it because I do like to read, but also because I'm a people-pleaser and I wanted to make Tricia happy...

Also, because she's such a smart, intuitive woman, she brought a raw kale salad to Ohio Renaissance Festival (where we're both working) today and shared some with me and I honestly said, "Don't be offended if I don't like it because I don't like kale." To be honest my only close to favorable experience with kale has been dehydrated kale chips that were vaguely nacho cheese flavored (think Doritos) .. so I tasted, ready to say, "I just don't like kale," but my brain said "Shut up, idiot, and take another bite." ...glad I took another bite, and another, and another .. until it was gone. I've thought about nothing but that kale salad all day long... I won't say I'm head over heels in love .. but I NEED IT and I'm in-tuned with my body enough to know that my brain response of thinking about this salad, which made my taste buds sit up and say "huh," is a direct result of my body craving something in this salad.

Boy, am I glad I got this book to read!
It answers the salad question fairly quickly:
KALE contains every essential amino acid.

What is protein? A molecular chain of amino acids...

Also, did you know that there is more nutrition in the green carrot tops rather than the orange carrot roots? Not that I want to eat a whole bowl of carrot tops but chopping some into every salad would add up over time... so would adding them to smoothies. Ditto for beets and beet leaves! And this is free food!! I'm been throwing this stuff away!!!

Well, no more...

I'm more excited than ever about my diet changes and yes, I'm still struggling with raw a little, but it's the baking I'm craving... biscuits, breads, cookies, cakes... crackers...

So, this week I am going to focus on one recipe a week and figure out a way to replace my love for baking stuff (3/4 of which I never eat) with a love for dehydrating foods I will want to eat! How's that for a goal?

Rewind: DAY ONE!

So, after completely blowing my Raw diet Sunday and Monday after only three days success. I sat and thought for a few days, toyed with my food, keeping at about 80% raw, and basically feeling like a complete and utter failure.

I didn't fail.
I learned my limitations.

I know staying RAW during Ohio's extreme's in weather is going to be difficult. I wasn't prepared for just how difficult. I think warm liquids are the answer and so have spent my time searching for raw drinks and soups to warm my body and soul. I am fairly anxious to try some of them...

But that will have to wait until I finish eating all of the mangoes, tomatoes, and melons, I bought for the next week or so...

Today I am going RAW...AGAIN! I am Meditating, Visualizing Success, and still watching Motivational YouTube Videos. I love Dan the Man...he struck a cord with me...he may or may not move you. Here is one of his videos:

How To Start A Raw Food Diet Today



I like Dan's simplistic approach.

In other news, HUBBY is now COMPLETELY ON BOARD!!!!!!
He isn't promising 100% raw, but he is willing to eat all-raw meals with me, and after sitting and holding my hand while I cried for two days over being such a pathetic loser (I know I'm not really...now) I think he's relieved I'm giving it one more go-around. I also asked him to be my raw-police in addition to being my MSG-police, since he does such an awesome job protecting me from MSG. Now he's being entrusted to protect me all forms of cooked food. Wish Me/Us Luck!!!

Today's Food Breakdown:


Breakfast: 150 Cal, 5.0 fat
Banana
8 Almonds
Hot Tea - an English Breakfast blend (I'll limit this one because it does have caffeine, but as far as warming the soul goes...this one is nice:)
24 ounces water - after, not during the meal


Lunch: 45 Cal, 0.8 fat
Heirloom Tomatoes
3 Ginger Carrot Crackers
24 ounces water - after, not during the meal


Snack: 115 cal, 0.1 fat
Orange Juice


Dinner: 250 Cal, 16.8 fat
Stuffed and Dehydrated Spicy Portabella Mushrooms and Mimi Kirk's Raw Caesar Salad  
24 ounces water - after, not during the meal


Total: 560 cal, 22.7 fat or 39% 

Food Summary:
The fat intake today is a disaster. Even when I was eating meat and cheese I never topped 28%. So this is bad. How am I ever going to maintain a less than 10% fat diet if every raw recipe calls for a bazillion nuts?
Time to do some nut research and see if the types of fat in nuts will make my RA go as crazy as the fat in meat and cheese...

Countdown to RAW

Okay, I know, I know...I keep saying (how many years now?) I am going RAW 100%... and a few days ago I made the decision to "go for it" because every day I was getting bombarded with MSG. I honestly believe it is in everything. Hot sauce shot me down...I was on the couch with a blinding headache and excruciating gut pain for an entire evening. Parmesan on my Caesar salad the day after that...same story. And then after every MSG attack I have joint pain for 48-72 hours! How am I supposed to figure out if the Simponi is working if I keep having MSG reactions?

Hubby has promised he is in for 30 days. Do I expect to change his life? No.
Do I expect to change my own life? Definitely.

I've always been the one to do the positive motivating and life coaching...as Sensei and as Guru. I'm entering new territory here. This is scary stuff. I have 47 years of SAD food conditioning to overcome. I talked to hubby about the standard three meals a day I've grown accustomed to. That model won't work for RAW. At least not for me. I've had too many blood sugar crashes. I'll have to learn to graze...

September 1,2011. That's my start day.
The cupboards are almost completely bare and ready to be filled with raw goodness. I have a grocery list.

I was so excited when I came up with this plan a few short days ago. I was on cloud nine. But as the deadline approaches, I'm getting worried. I've failed so many times. Will this be one more? And this after being 70% raw for most of this year. I know, insane right? I should be ready by now.

What's holding me back?
Dairy?
Bread?
Meat? I really don't think this is an issue at all. Seriously. Fifteen years of being ovo-vegan prepared me to go meatless, although that almost raw, rawer than rare steak two weeks ago was amazing. That was my downfall when I fell of the vegan wagon in 2007. Bloody steak. I think I've decided that my anemia was the culprit then. I was severely anemic. I'm still anemic but not nearly as bad. I may need to figure that part out sooner rather than later.

In the meantime I need the motivator to come to me...and what better way than via youtube?
Enjoy the show...



Now listen...same guy, no flash...really. listen.
http://www.markusrothkranz.com/rsf08_21m.mp3