Thank you to Mama Maple for taking this beautiful photo.

Some people ask me how I’m able to eat the way I eat.

They’re amazed that I don’t cook my food.

And that I don’t feel deprived all the time.

And that I manage to survive without cheese or sugar.

They think it takes will power, so they tell themselves they could never do it.

They think it requires a lot of time, so they tell themselves they could never do it.

But they totally can do it.

If I can do it, anyone can do it.

It comes down to this:

Are you willing to feel good more often?

I know it sounds like a weird question…

But I mean it…

Would it be okay with you if you felt good more often?

Would it be okay with you if you didn’t feel so __insert negative emotion of choice__ ?

Would it be okay if you felt open-hearted, peaceful, hopeful and happy about your life?

Most people would say, “Absolutely! Pass the Happy!”

But what they say and what they do are entirely different things…

The things they do DON’T help them get happier.

And I used to do this same thing.

I said I wanted to feel better. I said things like, “I just want to be happy…” “I want to feel at peace w/my life.”

But then I didn’t act according to that. It was just lip service. My actions didn’t back me up.

I’d go out at lunch and have a bunch of Thai noodles and peanut sauce and fried tofu, oily curry and rice, and then feel full, heavy, and exhausted.

Then I’d have to take a nap for 2 hours because the food made me so tired…

And I’d wake up feeling groggy – never really perking up all the way back up….

Then I’d eat my Thai leftovers and veg out in front of the TV until I went to bed.

Umm HELLO?

That’s not what someone who wants to feel GOOD does.

People who want to feel good don’t eat food that makes them feel bad.

Duh.

They don’t eat food that makes them tired, have a headache, or be unable to concentrate or come crashing down later.

People who want to feel good eat food that helps them feel good…if not better!

(They certainly don’t eat food that makes them feel worse.)

People who want to feel good eat food that gives them energy so they can do whatever they choose to do.

People who want to feel good spend time working through their own drama instead of spending hours watching TV about other people’s dramas.

I said that I wanted to feel good – and I loved the idea of it – but the truth was that I didn’t really want to feel good.

I wasn’t ready yet. That’s why I ate things that made me feel bad.

I just wasn’t ready to feel good yet.

I didn’t think it was okay.

And a really big part of it was that I didn’t think I could feel good.

I was kinda attached and stuck in the place I was at and didn’t get that I actually could feel better.

Now that I know I deserve to feel good, my food choices are easier…

I’m very clear about WHY I eat the way I do.

I eat what I eat because I know it’s going to support me in feeling good and celebrating my life!

My body and my mind feel great because of what I choose to eat.

Check in with yourself:

Did you intentionally choose the way you’re eating?

Or are you eating the way you eat out of default?

Do you know WHY you’re eating the way you’re eating?

Do you know WHY you’re eating the things you’re eating?

What do you base your food choices on? Taste? Texture? Price? Nutrient levels? Calories? Expiration date? Location? Convenience?

Doing that thing I do with my food isn’t even about the food…

It’s just one of many things that have changed in my life as a result of choosing to feel good.

Haven’t really stayed connected to my Trip metaphor…

Might be time to look at my relationship with it.

What happened? Why aren’t I having as much fun on my vacation as I was before?

What if nothing happened?

Is it okay for me to be on vacation and not be all crazy in love with it?

Is it okay to be on vacation and feel kind of…meh?

Yes. (I proudly assert to myself.)

And just acknowledging this is actually reconnecting me with the Trip.

Ta-Da!

Friday Rememberings:

Spent the first part of the day in my yard doing my calls and my typing. It was so great. I remember thinking, “Man, I’m so grateful I live in a place where I can do this!” I took pictures of ordinary things with my iPhone and I wore a sarong and my bikini top in the sun.

At night I went to dinner at Taleo Grill in Irvine with a vegan MeetUp group. We met on the patio. At night. It was cold. And I had totally forgotten my jacket.

Well, that’s not actually true.

As soon as I’d driven out of the neighborhood I realized I hadn’t brought my jacket…

But I told myself, “That’s okay. There’ll be heaters on the patio.”

And there were – which was awesome. But I wasn’t totally sitting under them.

There was a lot of laughter. And I paid way too much for a sorry looking spinach salad with no imagination. That really irks me.

Loved being around new people and sharing food together, so I came home and made a MeetUp group of my own where all I do is invite people over for Raw Food Potlucks.

I’m stoked about this!

I scheduled the first one for May 22. It’s a Saturday and we’ll meet from like 3-7 to eat and hang out.

Also on Friday – had a conversation with someone involving misunderstanding and disconnection. I know that can happen sometimes as part of relationships, but it still usually catches me by surprise.

I’ve started getting used to conversations going smoothly and easily. So when there’s a hiccup in one, it really stands out and surprises me now. It catches me off guard and then leads me to react, which can then contribute more to the misundersatnding. The cycle is really getting some momentum at this point.

Saturday:

At like 9:30 a.m. I was on my patio in sweats and a giant hoodie wondering, “Where is the sun!?”

Like really – I was almost taking it personally that the sun wasn’t shining brightly.

Friday I’d been outside in a sarong and my bikini…today, it was Look-Like-The-Michelin-Man weather.

I started feeling sad and frustrated that my day was being ruined by the sun not shining down on me.

(Interesting that I never get mad at the clouds – even though they’re the ones preventing the lack of sunlight in the first place.)

I think it’s safe to say I kind of moped around the house. Wasn’t really talking with my Scooby Friend much. Didn’t open all the windows and blinds like I usually do.

It was just kind of blah…

Then I saw on Chef Ito’s Facebook page that Ani Phyo was giving raw food talk 40 minutes from when I was reading it.

I used that as my reason to get out of the mopey dragging mood and energy I had. I got dressed, grabbed my stuff, and scurried along the highway to get there.

It was JUST what I needed. Like pushing a reset button.

Ani was inspiring and friendly and really knew what she was talking about.

I got my picture taken with her as part of my Good Memory Making focus. Love it!

And I got her to sign a copy of her book about raw food desserts for my sister. (Rose if you’re reading this, pretend you didn’t just read about my surprise for you!)

Fell in love with an amazing Sea Salad from Au Lac that I was so excited to see that I loved.

Some types of seaweed used to give me the heebie jeebies when I ate them.

But today I was saying yum to *all* of the different types of seaweed in my dish. Felt like a moment of growing up.

Plus this was a super creative, huge portion, of delicious nutritious salad and it was only $9.

So take that Taleo Grill! You and your $12 tiny arrangement of spinach, mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper can hang out in someone else’s belly from now on. Not mine. Grr.

(Ummm yes. The price of their salad really bugged me and continues to bug me. Gonna need to tend to this so I can see what’s causing it and give myself some ease and freedom around it. Yes please! Holding onto resentment about a salad is not how I choose to live my life. Doh!)

Sunday:

To say it more accurately this time, there are a lot of clouds in the sky this morning. It’s getting closer toward what they call June Gloom here in Newport. Where the mornings are kind of gray and gloomy because of whatever has been happening at the beach. Like fog and clouds and things like that.

Good opportunity for me to find something else to do in the mornings so that I’m not just sitting around looking at the clouds and feeling like my day can’t begin until the sun comes out. Addicted to sunlight. That’s me. I’d make a terrible bat.

Oh!

Instead of looking out the window at the clouds, I will do my Sun Salutations. My Dance of Shiva. And my Muscle-Making Movements that will get my heart rate up and make my body feel fit and toned.

So everyone thinks that juicing takes FOREVER which is a big reason that a lot of folks stay away from it.

But I just made 1.25 gallons (5 quarts) of juice in less than 50 minutes…

1.25 Gallons (5 Quarts) of Fresh Juice Made In Less Than 50 Minutes.

And that included set up and clean up time.

(Yes, I totally rock!)

Here’s what’s involved:

Juicer Set Up

This is easy if you have the juicer cleaned from the time before when you used it. Never let your juicer sit over night with pulp and food in it. That will be bad for your machine and also make it way less enjoyable to clean later on. The more it sits there, the more caked on the stuff gets. So always clean your machine so that it’s ready for your to put together in a jiffy when you’re ready.

Food Prep

I put a cutting board across the non-disposal side of my sink. That’s where you’ll do all your chopping. You will rinse things on the side with the disposal in case things fall down and off your foods.

Food Storage

Keep similar foods grouped together in your fridge. This makes it easy when you go to get things out.

• Spinach: all in one bag. The bag I have in the fridge has like 5 huge batches of it in there now.
• Romaine: Shove 3 or 4 heads in one huge plastic bag. Make sure you keep them in a bag or they will wilt like crazy.
• Celery: This will also wilt a lot if you don’t keep it in a bag. (I am all for using sustainable bags, but when I go to the produce store and they give me big sturdy plastic bags I reuse them for my storage for a long time.)
• Cilantro, kale, chard, red bell pepper: I keep these things in the same bag since I don’t buy tons at a time.
• Carrots: Do not require being in a bag immediately
• Apples, lemons, oranges, limes, tomatoes, bananas: I leave these on the counter top
• Strawberries: Rinse after buying and put them in ziplock bags. Use fairly quickly. They will go bad and get soggy even when in the bags. You can freeze them for smoothies, but frozen strawberries don’t go through most juicers very well. (Champion juicer is an exception. You can put frozen fruit in there and make sorbet.)

Recipes

Using recipes is going to make your job easier and go faster because you won’t be looking at all your produce thinking, “Okay, what the hell should I put in next?”

Here are some of my simple favorites:

Bugs Bunny:
5 Carrots
1 Head of Romaine

Green Monkey:
1 lb spinach
2 apples
2 bananas
Float ice cubes

Sweet Morning Juice
1 big orange (peeled)
1 apple
3 carrots
1 stalk celery
1 inch ginger (always put ginger in first so that it can be pushed through the juicer by the other ingredients)

Crisp Veggie Juice
1/2 head romaine
2 stalks of kale
2 stalks of celery
5 inches of cuke
4 carrots

Green Bloody Mary
2 big tomatoes
3 stalks celery
1/4 red bell pepper
2 stalks chard
2 cups green cabbage
handful cilantro
fresh baby garlic
salt/pepper/cayenne afterward

Pineapple Delight
1/2 of a pineapple
1/2 head romaine
3 stalks celery
1/2 cuke

(Some of these recipes are adapted from www.ChoosingRaw.com. Thanks for the inspiration!)

Storage

Mason jars are a beautiful invention. I got like 12 of them at Albertson’s for about $1 a piece…if that. It was awesome. Juice is best to drink right after you make it, but when you’re Juice Feasting and drinking THIS much juice, it’s totally impractical to make each batch right before you go to drink it. So store them in these jars, put them in the fridge and then enjoy them all day.

Clean up.

Clean up as you go and the mess won’t be so bad afterwards. Take the garbage can out from under the sink if that’s where you usually keep it and have it handy for scrap things that fall on the floor and extra pulp that pops out of different places. You’ll also need it for bags that are no longer usuable, rubber bands that were around your produce, stickers that were on your apples, banana peels, and wires that were wrapped around celery stalks and things like that.

A note on bananas:

Not all juicers like having bananas put through them. My JackLaLanne doesn’t seem to mind. I push them slowly and then push other hard fruit down to get the Essence of Banana flavor to come through. That’s all I’m looking for in mine. If your juicer does not like bananas, make your juice in your juicer then put it in your blender and add a whole banana or a half of one. You’ll get some fiber and if you’re okay with that, then go for it!

Timing

The way I timed myself this morning was by playing a CD while I juiced. (Actually it was my Erasure playlist on iTunes.) When I was done setting up, making the juice and cleaning up, I looked at how many songs had played and added them all up for the length of each song. It came out to 49 minutes and 57 seconds. Just under 50 minutes and I had ALL this delicious juice to last me all day long.

The more you do your juicing the more you’ll find your flow with it. I’ve been doing this for 20 days now, so I’m getting pretty good at chopping, prepping, juicing and cleaning my machine. You’ll get great at it to. I believe in you and you can do it!

I am Juice Feasting: Meaning that the aim is to drink at least a Gallon of fresh juice a day.

At first I thought it was going to be hard. Like that’s A LOT of juice!

But just yesterday I realized that my quart sized mason jars make it SO easy!

Drink 4 of my mason jars filled with goodness and that = a Gallon!

So simple.

So I have been drinking a Gallon of juice easily for at least the last week.

What this means?

I am getting stronger and my insides are healing.

Sa-weet!

When I first came out of the hospital on Jan. 31, I could barely drink 3-5 CUPS of water in a day.

20 days later, I am drinking at least a gallon of juice and at least 2 quarts of water. (I choose to upgrade the number of quarts of water I’m drinking as well.)

So it’s Amazing!

Some other things that are helping:

- Making juices that I love.

I am not getting fancy right now with exotic greens. I am sticking with spinach, romaine, kale, and chard. (Dandelion greens, stinging nettles, all these other interesting things from the farmer’s market can wait. They wind up going bad and I make juices that I don’t like the taste of, so they are off the list right now. And I love them for later.)

- Prepping all of my juice for the day at once.

It takes about an hour maybe? I haven’t actually timed it, but it’s all fine because I consider it major self-care time. It’s fun. I hum I love you I love you I love you to my veggies as I push them through the juicer. Such amazing colors come out of the juicer. And I like to stir the bowl I catch the juice in with a spoon like I’m a little chef making cool potions to taste.

- Using recipes.

Yes, I could just look in the fridge and grab what’s there, but I don’t always have the right proportions of things. By going online and looking for recipes to try and tweak to my liking it takes the brain work out of making the juices and I can trust that what I create is going to turn out to be something that I ENJOY drinking. Here’s one I made up:

Green Pineapple Juice:

- 1/2 pineapple
- 1/2 head of romaine lettuce
- 2 full sticks of celery

Juice and enjoy! Super refreshing.

- Straining

Some of my juices are coming out more pulpy than I would like with my JackLaLanne juicer. So I have a paint bag/nutmilk bag that I strain them with. That helps everything. Because of my intestinal issues in the past, I am really choosing to give them a break and not have them require breaking down food.

- Emotional Work

It’s essential that I continue to do my inner clearing and work as I’m doing this. Stuff comes up and if I don’t have tools and approaches for working with it, it would be a serious bummer. If you’re considering doing a serious juice feast/cleanse, make sure you have emotional support of someone who knows the road.

I do The Work every morning on the same thought: “This shouldn’t be happening.” Anything in my life that I don’t like, I apply to that inquiry and I question it. I learn something new about myself and my world every time.

I do 15 minutes of “square breathing” as some people call it. 7 counts in. 7 counts hold. 7 counts out. 7 counts hold. I count as fast as I need to do it comfortably without hurting myself or feeling stressed about running out of air. Each time I do it I’m able to do it better and better in terms of increasing lung capacity. I have different mantras that have 7 sayings in them too (sometimes all the same like “i love you” and I say those during this sometimes too instead of just counting.)

- Enemas.

I am doing these nearly every day and they help me feel fresh and clear. I am pooing on my own as well and it’s important to me to get everything I can out as I’m doing this juicing. I am planning on starting to do to Aloe Enemas also because aloe is very healing and I have had intestinal/color sores in the past.

- Imagination

I am doing a lot of inner child work (talking to parts of me) during my emotional work. This has proven especially helpful when the thought comes in like Ooo I want some french fries. Something i would never eat right now, but have an interst and thought focus on eating for a while anyway. So I pretend that I am eating french fries…and it totally does the trick. I imagine eating a big hot basket of them with ketchup and salt and having friends around. I put my fingers to my mouth and pretend I’m nibbling on them like a squirrel and I imagine how good they are. This takes about 30 seconds max. And then I’m done with it. As a result, I am not struggling with cravings of any kind.

If I think of a food that smells/tastes good, I give it to myself in my imagination and it is perfect. Most hunger is in the imagination anyway. We tend to be ruled by our tongues and what they want to taste. That’s it. My tongue isn’t in control of everything I eat anymore. I love you tongue.

- Oils

During the first week, I craved oils big time. I got a jar of Flax Oil. I drink 2 big spoonsfuls a day straight from the jar. I’m going to start upping that to 4 TBPS (2 of them 2x a day) and then also add in some Hemp Oil if I enjoy the taste of it. I am still taking oils.

- Watering My Insides

Giving my body fresh juice like this has really helped change the relationship I have with my insides. I often think about all the pink fleshy parts of my mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, intestines, colon, liver, etc.

I imagine that when I’m drinking the juice it’s coating all of the lovely pink parts and they are so happy to absorb the goodness like sponge. So much happier than if I were to throw a chomped up triscuit down there with some cheese on it or something. Or even so much happier than if I were to throw some raw food lasagna down there since I have been a raw vegan for a year.

My body is so happy to be receiving these liquid nutrients and to be “watered” with love like this.

Juice Feasting has been awesome. I love it. I am feeling good. I am healing. I feel good and I am healthy. I take great care of myself and give my body everything it requires. I dance and I walk around the block. I went on my first bike ride last night since being out of the hospital too. One of my goals is to be able to ride my bike to the beach. 15 minutes with some slight hills. I can do it! I will get there.

I love you and thank you for your support and kindness. My life is so beautiful. I am surrounded by support. And I love and respect my life path.

It’s a huge question that comes up when people find out that you have a 100% raw veggie based diet…

Where do you get your protein?

Sadly, we have been raised with very little education about where protein comes from and generally assume that you can only get it from animal products like meat, chicken, fish, or dairy products.

This is not true.

Protein is actually everywhere in nature – and there are tons of animals on the planet who benefit from protein without having to eat their own kind or other little living critters.

As I’m into raw food juicing right now, look at all the sources I have for getting amazing amounts of protein:

spinach–49% protein
broccoli–45% protein
lettuce–34% protein
cauliflower–40% protein
kale–45% protein
zucchini–28% protein
cabbage–22% protein
Chinese cabbage–34% protein
Mung beansprouts–43% protein
mushrooms–38% protein
lemons–16% protein
honeydew melon–10%
strawberries, oranges, cherries, apricots, watermelon, and grapes–8% protein

Source: Nutritive Value of American Foods in Common
Units, USDA Handbook No. 456

Any of the items on this list can be juiced or blended along with other fruits and veggies and turned into delicious drinks that will give me all the protein I require.

On a chart here with levels of proteins for cow steak, the one with the most protein is a boiled steak and it only has 32 % protein. Not too shabby, but fresh spinach has 49%!

Plus, when you blend your spinach and your protein-rich greens, you get to absorb the protein much better than if your body has to digest it out of a big hunk of cow muscle that you just swallowed.

Protein is EASY to get through fresh raw food if you’re leading a raw-food lifestyle (or vegan or vegetarian for that matter…)

You just have to know the truth about where it comes from so that you can give yourself plenty of these fresh green leafy veggies.

Here’s a quick fun recipe to get some protein in ya:

Fruity Green Smoothie (With Natural Protein!)

• 2 C water
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1 frozen banana
• 1.5 C frz blueberries
• 1 orange (peeled)
• Dab of agave to taste for sweetness

Blend and get ready to smile!

Last week I was in the hospital with a Crohn’s flare-up.

I required a blood transfusion from loss of blood and was heavily medicated with many things that I am now detoxing. Some I am still tapering off of. My weight has dropped significantly and it’s important that I am rebuilding myself with nutrients and lots of hydration.

I’m now staying with my friends in Southern California. I am grateful to be with them again. I am giving myself a retreat to heal myself and be healed and receive support from nurturing friends and food and community.

Being in the hospital around all the plugs, needles, cords, medicine, pain, etc. was not a happy time for the part of me that loves to have fun and be playful…

So I’m choosing to bring some fun into my healing so that I am enjoying every moment of this and getting the most out of it that I can.

Because I’m giving my insides a rest from having to do a lot of work with digestion as they’re healing, I’m doing what’s known as a Juice Feast – this means I can have as much as I want of any juice I choose to make out of fruits and veggies. It’s wonderful for sore insides because it’s very easy to absorb and assimilate.

So how to make this more fun for myself?

Here are some of the things I’m going to do to make this juicing experience more fun and creative:

- Draw a poster of my intestines and everything inside on a big piece of paper so that I can get intimately familiar with my parts and draw hearts on them and send them loving vibes several times a day as they are hanging on the wall.

- Create 3×5 cards with drawings of my favorite juice ingredients so I can see colorful representations of the foods that I enjoy the most. I can also deal them out like cards to create my ideal juice for that particular meal and make fun flavor combinations like a game.

- Design a little menu so that I can make sure I’m rotating foods and not having only watermelon juice or not enough spinach, etc. So I’ll be tracking how many different items I have in each day and I can know which I’m getting more of and less of. Still formulating in my mind how this chart will look/work.

- Host a Juice Party in 2 weeks. I’m going to invite my local friends over and have them bring some of their favorite things to put in juice and then we will put them all together and create delicious drinks for all of us to enjoy. I will have fancy glasses and straws and maybe party umbrellas. This will probably be combined with a game night where everyone brings their own game and we take turns playing them. (I love Bananagrams.)

- Draw a rainbow poster with pictures of the colorful fruits and veggies that go on each part of the spectrum. This will kind of go along with making sure that I’m having plenty of all the things from each of the categories and not having too much/too little of one thing.

Mmmm. Just listing these things out makes me feel so much more alive and ready to empower myself to take care of myself.

I’ll be getting out the markers, paper, crayons, and creativity on Wednesday as I spend this special time with myself.

Is there something creative you could draw or make a visual representation of that would help make taking care of yourself, your business, your family, your body – a little more fun and easy?

I love you. Thank you for being here.

When I make a big transition in my life (whether by choice or just because it “happens”) sometimes my mind needs a little extra help getting with the program.

It needs help to see that things really *are* changing in reality and it’s not just swirling around in my mind as an “oh, maybe things are changing, but maybe we can pretend it’s not happening type of thing.”

Right now my life is changing in big ways:

• 7-year relationship is transitioning into something new
• just spent a week in the hospital with bleeding intestines
• doing a juice cleanse to heal my Gutsies and let them rebuild and be happy again
• moving back to Orange County for a healing retreat,
• rediscovering who I am without the things I am typically used to…
• redefining myself in business and life
• making new friends
• taking ownership of my life and empowering myself with new choices and possibilities

Yep – things are in flux. And it’s pretty exciting…and emotional and all sorts of things like that…

If you find yourself in situations where things are fluxing – here are 7 things you can do to help your mind “get it” and get aligned with the changes happening.

7 Ways To Help Your Mind “Get It” That Things Are Changing

1. Buy a new pair of shoes.

They don’t have to be expensive. But when you look down at your feet with them on, you’ll see the “new you” the one who stands in those shoes and doesn’t have all those old memories and stories associated with them. Very powerful.

2. Download new music.

This could be from iTunes or a new CD or whatever. But the idea is that you pick songs that are empowering and exciting to you. Songs that represent your new energy and happiness and enthusiasm. Sure, you may have some favorites that make you feel great, but get into some new tunes (even by favorite old artists) and open your mind to new things. I’ll get your mind going in a new direction and be more proof that you’re a new version of yourself. I just got Pet Shop Boys: Love, Etc. and KT Tunstall: Black Horse & The Cherry Tree

3. Buy a fresh plant.

Not just flowers that will die, but a plant in some actual dirt that you can nurture and love and grow in your home. Let it be a reminder that you’re focusing on life and vitality and learn everything you can about taking care of it. Don’t beat yourself up if you’re blessed with a super green thumb. But educate yourself about your plant just as you’re educating yourself about your body. Be sure to name your plant and talk to it about all the healthy changes you’re both making.

4. Change your lipstick, or shirt.

Get out of your old colors and into something fresh and new. I got a kelly green shirt and when I wear it I feel different and more alive instead of the black t-shirts, or heather gray shirts I tend to wear. If you tend to wear no lipstick, go find one you like! If you tend to wear read, try something frosty. Mix it up. Wear glitter on your eyelids even just to go to the grocery store.

5. Get a new hairdo.

Seriously – this can make such a difference. I cut my hair shorter and had it slightly darkened. It was an amazing shift that I hadn’t done in YEARS. It was so worth it.

6. Get some new “fancy” glasses (or something you use A LOT)

Go to IKEA or Target or some store where they have interesting glassware that might be on sale. Get some pretty things for $2 each or something that will make having your smoothies and green drinks more beautiful and FUN. No drinking out of ugly plastic mugs or coffee stained tea cups. C’mon! This is your fun new lifestyle. Make it interesting. Have fun with it. You can even get AMAZING glasses that are creative and unique at the DOLLAR STORE! I’ve done this. It’s really cool.

7. Make new rituals.

Do you want to start having your evening meals outside on the patio? Maybe with two lovely tapered candles burning? Do you want some glass straws to make things more classy? Maybe sipping one of your juices with a spoon like a soup instead of a straw? Do you have a new prayer or affirmation you’d like to say before eat. Do you want to have a juice party every Friday and invite your neighbors over for one of your new creations? (These are great ideas if you’re transitioning into dietary changes – whether they be gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, cleansing, etc.)

The whole idea is that if we want to experience change, we have to become NOT US.

If we keep doing things the way we’ve done them, we’ll just stay the way we’ve always been.

Yes, it can feel weird to do things that aren’t “us” because that’s not who we are, or how we do things, but change comes from being NOT US and shifting into new ways of being.

So have fun being NOT YOU and I bet you’ll start loving you even more. xoxo

=====> Got some fun ideas to share for helping your mind “get it” that things are shifting too? What do you do to help represent your new choices in the outside world?

I saw a cool blog post by this girl named Swayze today…

I just discovered her site and it looks pretty neat for people who are interested in starting to bring more raw fruits and veggies in their diet. She had posted her article over at Pure Raw …

The article was all about people who get way too intense with their raw food lifestyles…

But that’s not what I thought was the best part about it…

And that’s not what I’m going to talk about here…

The coolest part was something she took from Dr. Graham’s book 80/10/10 Diet:

In The 80/10/10 Diet, Dr. Graham actually lists a total of *32* “Fundamental Elements of Health” that you should be concerned with.

Here’s the first ten on the list:

1.Clean, fresh air
2.Pure water
3.Foods for which we are biologically designed
4.Sufficient sleep
5.Rest and relaxation
6.Vigorous activity
7.Emotional poise and stability
8.Sunshine and natural light
9.Comfortable temperature
10.Peace, harmony, serenity, and tranquility

That’s a rockin’ list isn’t it?

Swayze’s point was that it’s not just about the food that we eat…or just about the exercise we get that makes us healthy.

There are LOTS of things that go into it. And apparently these are only the first 10 of Dr. Graham’s list of 32 Fundamentals of Health. We’d have to get his book to find out the others.

As I looked at the list I realized these are ones I’m focusing on right now:

# 3: Foods Which Were Biologically Designed

This means I’m doing a version of Michael Pollan’s advice from his new book Food Rules: “If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.” So no processed things that come in packages. And I’m choosing to stick to raw produce and nuts. That’s what works for me.

#4 Sufficient Sleep

The more I get in touch with my body, the more I realize that it doesn’t like it when I withhold sleep from it. And not just sleeping, but sleeping *soundly* and really staying unconscious the whole night so that I can rejuvenate. I’m supporting myself in this by having an 8pm computer cutoff time for myself.

Which leads me to the next one…

#5 Rest and Relaxation

In the evenings when my computer is sleeping (after 8pm) I can rest and relax and do other things than think about the projects I’m working on what needs to be done. I can read a book. Call a friend. Watch a movie. Try a new recipe. Color a mandala. Anything that will help me feel relaxed and rejuvenated and give not only my body a break from sitting in front of the computer, but also my mind.

====> Which of these 10 fundamentals of health are the most up for you to pay attention to right now? Which ones would make a difference in your life and how could you bring some intention to it?

Okay, this started out as my first attempt at making a savory green smoothie. (After 10 months of being raw, it’s shocking that I hadn’t had one before! Always just had green fruit smoothies.)

So my friend KJ had tweeted about a savory green smoothie she liked that had pear, tomato, cilantro, cumin, red bell pepper, and some greens (don’t remember which ones.)

I used that as my foundation & here’s the deliciousness that resulted…

I named the soup Green Buzz Soup because after having a bowl of it I’m in SUCH a good mood, have so much energy, and I’m seriously buzzing. It feels amazing. Like I could totally run a 5k and be feeling great afterward. (And I haven’t being running since April.)

I wrote the recipe down and then said to my mom (who had a few sips w/her regular vegetarian dinner and thought it was delish) “Oh I need to name this soup.”

She laughed because I was slip sliding my feet on the hardwood floor in excitement and said: Green Buzz!?

So Green Buzz Soup it is!

Green Buzz Soup

2 c water

1.5 c baby spinach (big handful)

1 med tomato

1 slice pear

1/2 med green bell pepper

1/2 c fresh cilantro (small handful)

2 heaping tsps of nutritional yeast (found in bulk bins at Whole Foods)

2 Tbs raw soaked cashews (at least for 5 hours – overnight is best)

2 pinches cumin

1 pinch cayenne pepper

Himalayan sea salt & pepper to taste

Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 cups

Blender notes:

+ If you have a VitaMix or BlendTec you know you can blend this all together no problem.

+ If you have a standard blender, blend in batches. Water & greens first. Then cashews. Then tomato, bell pepper, and pear. Then the yeast and spices.

Additional notes:

+ If you like heat, add a little sliver/wheel of jalapeno

+ For a creamier soup, add more soaked cashews.

+ I poured it in a bowl and ate it with a spoon. You could also pour it into a beautiful glass and drink it.

+ The green bell pepper really made this soup delicious. Loved how it mixed with the sweetness of the pear and the *whatever that is* of the cilantro.

+ I am so sold on savory green drinks now. Can’t wait to experiment more, find new recipes, and share more cool discoveries. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Lemme know if you give this recipe a try~