Some days are a challenge with the smell of microwave dinners in the kitchen at work, or the "left over" birthday cake that someone brings into the office. I also know that being a "Raw Mom" creates a different type of challenges.

Even though my kids are teenagers, which brings a whole new meaning to motherhood, I'm still signed up for the "Raw Mom Summit"... care to join me?!??! (simply click on the link above)

I have to stop shopping :(

Well, at least for clothing, and that is not a bad thing :o)

Quick update: I'm enjoying my lemonade still!!! I bring two jugs to work with me everyday, and enjoy one glass at home before I leave the house. I am enjoying a raw vegan dinner every night, and even some fresh fruit after 3:00 at work if I feel hungry (which I do in most cases)....

I did make one GREAT purchase lately. I took part in a survey at work a few weeks back, and was sent a gift certificate to Chapters. I, of course, bought the book attached to that link, which I have had my eye on for quite some time! Dinners in my house have been pretty tasty lately!

Oh yes, but the reason that I have to halt my clothes shopping, the two new pairs of jeans that I bought on the March break with my kids (March 17th) are now too loose. PS - they were "snug" when I bought them, but I wasn't about to go up a size. GO ME!!!!!

This has been a very interesting week!

I am still on a modified Master cleanse. I didn't think I could go the week with preparing meals for my kids and not eating myself, that seemed a bit torturous for me. I decided to "Cleanse" during the day, and enjoy an evening meal with my girls each night. This process worked really well. I am still "detoxing" (probably at a slower rate) and I'm still shedding pounds. Although, funny thing about detoxing, my daughter asked me last night if I was "letting myself go" from the new facial spots (I don't think I've had this much acne since I was a teenager!). I guess in a matter of speaking, I am "letting things go"... :o) I have to say that I really look forward to that first glass of lemonade in the morning; somehow there is a refreshing feeling to it. I'm not entirely sure what I am going to do over the weekend, but I am sure that next week from Monday to Friday I will be on the same path. I think I will try the full cleanse when I don't have the children for 7-10 days in the summer.

Some times I really like "Crazy people". There was a few incidents in a near by town where someone had into at the grocery store. Well, they weren't exactly lunch meat packages I guess, but the news reports on the radio were saying they were. My children have never been big "sandwich" eaters, but this week, we tried a new tactic to replace the lunch box sandwich.... fruit. Now, they always get fruit in their lunches, but this fruit came with a twist, it was the main focal point of the lunch, so it was a fruit salad, or dehydrated apple sandwiches or chopped apples in cinnamon. So far, no complaints. I think this will be a continuing trend in my house, just hope the creativity keeps up on my part.

I have also successfully eliminated Milk this week... the cheese is still there... baby steps right? But I replaced the regular cows milk with a commercial Almond Milk. Eventually I hope to make nut milk that will be the main form of milk in my house, but I haven't gotten there yet... baby steps for me too.

Have a safe and happy weekend.... I'm out of Maple Syrup and have to make another trip to my favourite store!

When life gives you lemons....

I quit smoking almost four years ago. It was probably the fourth or fifth time that I had tried to quit. There are some things that you can try and try again and never be successful, and then that one time you are.

I think that you have to be ready, and you have to be doing it for the right reasons. A person will not quit smoking successfully if their heart is not into it; they will not quit if they are pressured or if it is a New Years Resolution or if someone threatens lung cancer. They have to come to a place in their mind where they are empowered by the decision.

The reason that I am telling you this, is that I feel the same way with my cleanse. On day two, I feel empowered by the process, I know I am going through this for me. I’m cleansing because I want to detox and get a fresh start, not because the entire world is doing it, or because it is the latest fad. I think that when you have that empowerment, whatever you are concurring becomes easy. Empowerment is such a powerful thing, I wish I could bottle this feeling!

I was surprised at how much energy I had this morning when I woke up. I felt awake and alive, not sluggish as I normally do in the morning. I have a good start under my belt, and I am still surprised at how satisfying the lemonade is, although I will confess that I did have a handful of cashews yesterday afternoon. Funny thing about those cashews, I could have taken or left them, I think it was more of a need to put something in my mouth and chew.

I have not done the saline flush yet. I thought I would be able to avoid that because I have never had a problem with my system :o) but on day two, I’m starting to think that my initial hopes were wrong. I think that I will try the flush tonight, when I am at home, safe and close to everything required at the time.....

So, looking ahead to this weekend, I’m making lemonade....

Spring is in the air!

There is something about that first warm breeze in the air. This past weekend I had my clothes on the line and began raking the lawn and cleaning the gardens. I remember thinking when I was younger that it was a funny thing to "spring clean", but I think that maybe there is something inherent about it.

Even though the air has a slight chill, I am the first one to open my windows and throw caution to the wind.... something about the long cold winter being gone and new sunny warm days ahead.

I think there is something about wanting to clean and renew both inside and out, both our surroundings and our selves. This year I have opted for the "Master Cleanse". Last year around this time it was the "Global Juice Feast" (or at least a mini version of it).

I am starting today, with lemons in my system and spring in the air and a new bounce to my step, a good cleaning from the inside out is exactly where I need to be right now.

I enjoyed my tea last night, I had my first glass of lemonade today. I was surprised at how good it tasted, and even more surprised at the fact that it was satisfying (hmm, lets see if I still think it is satisfying on day three when I am starving) :o)

The kids have gone to their fathers for the next five days (spring break); therefore, by the time they get home (hopefully) I will have the first five days under my belt.... I think that by the time they get home, my kitchen cupboards may be detoxed too, they might not like that too much :o)

Happy Spring Cleaning!

My Journey

I have been invited to join the "Raw Food Transition Carnival" and I was thinking about what type of article I would contribute to this forum.

I have decided, that just like Nathalie at Raw Food Switch maybe it would be a good article to write about how I started with Raw Food, and what changes have occurred in my life as a result. I found it co-incidental that Nathalie began her raw food journey on a quest after a tragic event in her life. The same can be said about me, but for different tragic events. Things happen in life for a reason, and we need each stage and excitement and disappointment to carry us on our journey and to learn and grow from and ultimately make us the people that we are and will become.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at an early age, but it wasn’t until I went to a Naturopath that I realized the correlation between what I was eating and what I was feeling. Seems pretty easy to understand, but when you put your faith in the medical community, sometimes you lose your common sense. I knew that I couldn’t tolerate wheat/gluten or dairy, I was tested for Celiac disease and Lactose intolerance. Both turned up negative and I was told that I could continue to eat those foods, which I did for years. It took a naturopath to take out the food groups and introduce them gradually for me to realize that a piece of paper with a test result on it didn’t matter. I even remember telling her that I COULD eat dairy because I was tested and I wasn’t lactose intolerant. It was the lightbulb moment when she said "but why would you want to if you know what it does to your body, regardless of what the test results showed".

I had been experimenting with food for a number of years, I was also experimenting and questioning my spirituality. Much of this was happening during the later years of my marriage. At the time, things were bad at home and I believe that I was "looking" for something I could put my faith in and then it was what I clung to after my marriage fell apart. It gave me something to focus on and learn about.

I discovered Raw Food by doing an internet search about detoxing; After about two years of being a vegetarian, eating whole grains and making healthy diet choices, I was hospitalized with a bowel obstruction and told that I would have to eat meat, white rice, white bread, basically anything that was "processed" because it was easier for my system to digest, no more "raw" veggies or fruit, everything had to be cooked. I was devastated. How could a medical community that I had put my trust in be telling me such things? They also put me on prednisone.

While I was searching for a "detox" to get the drugs out of my system from that week in the hospital I came across The Raw Divas’ Detox Program . I had never heard about "Raw Food" before..... this discovery changed my life, my diet, how I viewed the world and everything in it. That week in the hospital changed my life, be thankful for everything in life, even the "bad". Sometimes we don't see the forest through the trees.

I hope to get to write another article about the benefits that I have experienced on a Raw Food Diet.... I’ll save that story for another day.

Happy Carnival,
Kathy

Flaxing Away!!!

I finally did it!!! Yes, I ordered my dehydrator.... I was having one of those "down" weeks, where everything was seeming to go wrong. For a gal with a credit card and a wish list, there is definitely one way to make her feel better. I ordered my dehydrator from Upayanaturals and once again, I was very impressed with their service. If you need to order items, and live in Canada, I strongly suggest them.

I have to say, that dehydrator ran non-stop for the first week. Apples and Bananas were the first to be tested, along with grape tomatoes and mushrooms. I know, mushrooms seem like an odd choice. I was in the grocery store, explaining the wonders of the dehydrator to the kids and told them they could pick out something to dehydrate that weekend. Kristen picked mushrooms. I had my doubts, but I have to say that they reminded me of pizza. Strange but true... try a few for yourself and you will see what I mean.

After over a year of trying to be totally raw, falling on and off the bandwagon a few times... I must admit that having a dehydrator is a must for anyone who truly wants to be raw. I know it is an expensive purchase, and one that I contemplated for over a year, but also one that I am 100% satisfied that I purchased, and one that I know will keep me on my raw journey.

My favorite experiment (and great for guacamole or salsa):

1 cup flax seeds soaked in 1 1/2 cups water

3 vine ripened tomatoes

3 green onions

2 cloves garlic

4 soaked sun dried tomatoes

Sesame seeds

Process all through a food processor and dehydrate on Teflon sheets. I have found, through trial and error, that the thinner you can make these crackers the better (although there is such a thing as "too thin") :o)

Happy Dehydrating - can't wait to have my next batch with some home made sauerkraut!

PS - Still looking for a REALLY GOOD homemade salsa recipe... let me know if you have one, please

And humbly, I must say, that I am honoured to have made the "Top 50 Raw Food and Lifestyle Blogs". It is an honour to be mentioned alongside such amazing blogs! I think that maybe I shouldn't stay away so long next time.... so although it is well past New Years, here is to a New Year of Raw Food and Blogging....

Who wants chocolate pudding for breakfast?

Well, I can tell you that got a very excited response in my house. However, it was soon followed by a "this must be raw isn’t it"... which didn’t have the same exciting ring to it.

I can proudly say that two of my children enjoy a healthy lifestyle, at least food wise, one is a meat and potatoes type, and the other is a sugar junkie. As long as they have an open mind and are willing to try new things, I am proud of all of them. My chocolate and banana pudding was eaten by two and tried by two. A mother couldn’t ask for more.

I have every-other weekend "free" (the children are at their father’s house), so I enjoy trying new raw food recipes during those times. I recently ordered recipe books from Kristen’s site. I am looking forward to an experimental weekend in the near future to try some of her recipes. It has been an uphill battle getting back to raw, but one worth striving for.