Fighting Goliath

It’s the conditioned traditions of food and the responces that makes it nearly impossible if not extremely difficult to be raw vegan.

What are the incentives of eating food today?

Food has  become so largely integrated into our lives that we end up being the ones eaten alive.

I have observed.

Every holiday is greatly associated with food, or a food tradition. It is difficult to celebrate these holidays without these foods.  From Memorial Day weekend BBQ’s and Beer to the Holiday honey baked ham.

Potluck’s at school meetings

Hot dogs and (a favorite concession stand food) at a (insert your favorite team here) game.

Morning meetings with coffee and donuts.

Friday night with the girls (drinks and appetizers after work).

A movie date (popcorn, coke and candy)

Shopping with friends (stop at Chipotle or The Habit)

Rainy night stay in and watch a movie (order a pizza or Chinese take-out)

Half our lunch (forgot something healthy at home?) Taco Bell here we come!

Beautiful sunny day in Santa Barbara? Let’s grab sandwhiches and head to the park or the beach.

Late night stroll in the summer heat. Boy an  ice cream sounds wonderful. Cold Stones anyone?

An invite to dinner somewhere? Don’t want to be rude.

Many times the excuse is something along the lines of “today is an exception, i’ll eat better tomorrow”.

This is the normalcy of today’s world with food. Because it’s normal, it’s okay.

It is so brutal to live any other way sometimes.  Sometimes you might wonder how anybody can enjoy life without these things, even when someone might point out that the food your about to consume is very harmful to you in the short term and in the long term.

This is something that has been so ingrained in me for 26 years. That I find it hard how to survive any other way, even though I have proven to myself that I have lost 25 pounds, and that I feel great.  I must be doing something right. Then I have this benign voice asking me “Why can’t I just go out with Tyler and enjoy some Indian food tonight.”

Am I really upset about not eating Indian food?

Indian food is probably the one thing I miss more than anything. It is still my favorite. I have come so far and yet, I wonder if I can make this journey.

I have gone out into this madness with nothing but over confidence and strange abundance of positivity and now that I have really looked this monster in the eye, I wonder how I will slay it.Will I run out of guts? What am I made of anyway?

Really? All of this fear, uncertainty and nostalgia over food. I never really “saw” how powerful food really is. I am fighting Goliath. I really am facing this beast up close and personal now.

There is no running away now, that would be foolish. I have been brave and I will continue to be brave. How will I know what I am made of if I can’t do this.

Addiction is something I always have associated with drugs. Now I know better.

 

 

Withdraw is a real beast.

 

…And don’t forget the gravy!

I certainly don’t want to bore you with another boring article on water. I don’t want to bore myself either…

So let’s just pretend that I just bored you with a two page article on how water is good for you.

Okay, whew! Boy are my fingers cramped, I am so glad I got that out of the way!

 

Let’s face it water is the most boring dull thing you could ever put into your body.

Yet, it is the most precious.

For a month, I worked my butt off on buying only raw, organic, vegan food. I basically became a food brat. You can only imagine me going to a farmers market and asking the vender in the front if his vegetables were organic. (not all venders are organic)

I have become a freak about making sure everything I throw in my mouth is kosher and nutrient filled. I look up what I eat so I know what types of vitamins, nutrients and minerals I am getting…etc..etc..  Yet, I drank so little water.

I felt like I was getting lots of water from the food itself.  Don’t get me wrong I am getting lots of water from the foods I am eating (more so than before) but I didn’t make an effort to drink enough water on the side.

One of the things I learned about being raw vegan is that I need to flush myself out or detoxify. I really should have been doing this from the start. Better to learn this now than never I suppose.

I know too much water can be harmful but for a couple of days now I have been trying to form a habit that when I get up in the morning I drink 2 liters of water before I eat anything.

Why?

1. This certainly helps me wake up more so than an energy drink or coffee.

2. It makes me feel vibrant and healthy.

3. I have a very intimate relationship with my toilet seat.

The benefit of doing this in the early morning is so that I won’t forget during the day. You know the excuses! No time, I don’t have water, I don’t have money for a water, I left my water container at home. Plus, If I drink early in the morning I won’t have to worry about bathroom issues when it’s time for bed.

Also, I am not really that hungry until around lunch time. I eat lightly through out the day and then if i feel the need to drink more water I do so at my leisure. My food choices have done me a world of greatness because of their healing powers but I shouldn’t forget about the most healing element to the human body, and next time I won’t forget the gravy.

 

 

The Results are In….

Today is November 5th. I started being a raw vegan exactly 1 month ago. I have lost exactly 20lbs. No starving, No pills, No exercise (yet-still working on that one). Just eating 100% raw vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts. The stomach problems I have been dealing with are completely gone. No headaches. My knees are not bothering me and neither is my left hip.

This is ONLY the beginning. It’s only been a month but I feel like I have been doing this for a lot longer.  As far as my goal weight, I have another 80lbs to go.

Everyday I am feeling refreshed and I feel thankful for the choice that I have made. I hope one day I can make a difference in other people’s lives but for now I can only work on me. I am just happy that Tyler has decided to join me. If it wasn’t for his great amount of support and effort I probably wouldn’t have made it this far. Day in and day out I am being discriminated against because of my food choices (although not obvious it is difficult) it’s nice to come home and know I can be myself and do what I need to do to be happy and healthy.

I am far from getting this down completely. I have JUST taken off for this flight. I have learned a great deal but there is still a wealth of information in raw vegan nutrition….nutrition in general.

I have not really missed food from my past…although I have fond memories and associations with it. I am so proud of myself and I know if I have made it this far, I can do this forever.

Today is November 5th and Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

Come in, I want you to meet somebody special

I want you to forget that I’m raw vegan for one day. I want you to meet somebody very very special to me.

I want to make this very clear to you that i was always very well taken care of and was fed the BEST food in the world. I don’t care what you think. I had hot, fresh, healthy, wholesome food and it was always served with love. I have grown up with the fondest memories of delicious food because of her.  My expectations of food were very high and I became spoiled rotten. If it it wasn’t made and served by her than I wasn’t fond of it.  Weekend breakfasts were the best! Biscuits and gravy, chorizo and eggs, dutch babies. Sometimes cereal was the easiest thing but that usually meant she needed more time to fix something extra wonderful for lunch or dinner. She was a slave in the kitchen all the time and I don’t know if I ever thanked her enough for doing more than her fair share as a mom.

She always made my birthday cakes, not only were they beautiful or creatively molded and decorated but they tasted great. My lunches were always comprised of a perfectly prepared sandwich. I’m talking, never smooched always proportionate. Perfect amount of meat, cheese, mayo..etc. Always the way I loved it. My sandwhich always had some sort of cookie and chips to go with it. I don’t know if I ever told her this but I always looked forward to eating my sandwich first. I always did. Sitting with what seemed like hundred of kids in a cafeteria (always afraid of sitting outside because of the bees) my lunch always looked the most appetizing. My lunch for sure had the most love and precious energy. It reminded me of home, and would remind me that my mom loves me. Even though I didn’t have a cool barbie lunch box, I had the brown paper bag, it was never crumpled on top (like everyone else) but folded in 3 folds at the top, with my name beautifully written on the bottom of the bag, with a sharpie.

Thanksgiving was always my favorite holiday. I was never much of a turkey fan but man i sure looked forward to her yams and stuffing. I’m not a pumpkin pie fan but I could have had her yams for dessert easily…if there was any left. It doesn’t matter how much she made those 2 dishes always get eaten up first. There was this one year she made the BEST turkey EVER. I’m glad I got to enjoy that.

My birthdays were always good. I can’t remember what it is exactly but it’s the green punch she used to make, i believe 7up and green sorbet of somekind? I liked that. I liked the dips she always made to accompany the chips. I loved when she made stuff to bring to my class, even up and through high school. I remember her making homemade breads and desserts.

I still wish she would open up her own restaurant. She has gotten better and better as the years have passed. She has even spoiled the co-workers she works with. Pot-luck anyone?  I believe they are embarrassed to bring anything homemade because they know they can’t compare to her fried chicken.

I was a very lucky kid growing up.  Food was my life, it still is and it’s because of her. Very tasty, delectable, savory, scrumptious food you have ever had in your life. 10 stars.  I believe she would put some of these food network stars in great shame, if she became well known in her cooking. Limiting rachael ray’s air time for sure. Who needs meals in 30 mins or less. Every one knows it’s the hours spent in the kitchen day in and day out that makes the best food and no mom was willing to do that for their kid except mine.

I never grew up on Mcdonalds (only a special treat when i was with the grandparents) or any other fast food. I had wholesome food all the time. I never went without and I more than enjoyed the food she spent hours in the kitchen making for us. I love watching her cook too, it’s very therapeutic for me.  Probably because it reminds me of my childhood.

It’s more than the cooking as well. Her perfection goes without saying. I love her very much and wanted to thank her for everything she has done as far as being mom and also making the most wonderful meals on top of it all.

Come in, I want you to meet somebody special. I want you to meet my mom.

Eating Technology

What’s in a name?  That which we call a rat by any other name would smell as rotten.

I never used to think twice about walking down an isle in a grocery store. Rice, crackers, sauces, pasta, soup, sausages, cheese, soy milk, frozen dinners. We pass by all these beloved names that we have grown to love, trust and adore, from Nabisco to Kraft, from Pepperidge Farm to Foster Farms. We see these familiar characters that are more than just shown on cereal boxes but represent the very facet of that cereal to date. The beloved logo printed on our sugary, chemical infested soft drinks are what we have come to trust and crave on a psychological and physical level.  We sometimes become weirded out when the food company logo has a slight change in it. We think, wait…is this STILL 7up? The logo changed, has the product change?  We know these products so well that we notice the slightest change in their product, either from taste or packaging. Even the way it feels! The psychology behind it all is astounding and it’s no coincidence. There is a hidden agenda behind it all.  If you don’t believe me, start doing some deep research on your own. I recommend it.

What is sad and corrupt is that these brands represent what food is to us. A false idea of what food really is.

You don’t think twice before dipping into a box of wheat woven crackers and accompanying it with cream cheese or some sort of spray cheese… It’s the same brand that has been on the shelves for how long? You have been eating this stuff for how many years? Have you ever dropped dead from eating this stuff? No. Of course not, because if you did it would not be FDA approved and therefore not on shelves.  Over time you will see results. It’s called aging and we are taught that this is completely normal from our health care providers and even our families and friends. It’s the toxins around us and the toxins in us that are eating us from the inside out.  This kind of food causes disease. Dis-Ease.

When I first started going to farmers markets a couple weeks ago I found it a little bizarre. I did expect to see fruits and vegetables but I kept looking around thinking…nothing looks appealing. Where is the food? There was nothing that was really, grab and go.  There was more fruits and vegetables than i knew what to do with. I”m still getting used to eating purely from nature.  Made from nature and prepared in a way that does not destroy the nutrients in it (aka: cooking).  I know I am a product of 26 years being conditioned to believe food comes from boxes, packages and containers. So when I’m standing in front of bunches of swiss chard and beets I just don’t know what to do. It’s like forgetting how to eat.

We have come to a point where we think it’s odd that somebody would only eat fruits, nuts, and vegetables completely raw. What is wrong with this? Nothing. We have been conditioned to think otherwise. To think that baked chicken and rice is a healthy dinner. It’s a conditioned normalcy. Although congrats if you didn’t go for greasy fast food.

I bring wholesome food to work with me and I’m dumbfounding people! I get this everyday at work. “what is that?”. I reply with “Food”. Have we forgotten what food is? Have we forgotten how to eat?

Technology can be wonderful but lets keep it out of our foods! Poison is poison. It doesn’t matter if it is prepared this way or that way. It doesn’t matter if you are having a lot of it or a little. You are still consuming chemicals and useless food that doesn’t optimize your health.   Ignorance is bliss.

Even though I am fairly new at this I am starting to get grossed out by the SAD (standard American Diet). I still have to go into grocery stores to get non-eatables and I still see all this food that is proclaimed to be healthy for you.

For example: you look at this beautifully labeled glass jar with beautiful font and floral designs on it. It’s pretty expensive compared to the other surrounding juices.  It says Acai/ wild blueberry juice (something along those lines). On the back it will have something like why this company loves what they do and it will have the history of how they make the product. The brothers or family of this company started this product because they care about your health and the environment..etc.  They may even have their signature on the bottles.  Read the ingredients. I doubt these people are sitting at their homes squeezing blueberries and acai through a juicer and bottling it up themselves. BESIDES even if they did, by the time it would get to you, it would completely oxidize. There IS added sugar and corn syrup and dyes and about 30% (if your lucky) 100% natural fruit juice.  So you buy it, it tastes refreshing and you think “I’m being healthy because I’m drinking acai juice”.

People drink this stuff up. Literally. Because it says 100% or the fact that it has Acai or Blueberry in it.  What I have to silently giggle about is that we have made these fruits trendy.  I believe this to be a false luring into health.

Acai is the fruit that’s in style because of it’s health benefits, but how can we take something so healthy and process it to the point where it becomes toxic to us and then it’s labeled in a way that convinces us it’s healthy. We are so behind on health it’s not funny. I cannot be fooled anymore by these false food companies. Doesn’t anybody ever notice this stuff. Okay, so maybe you do notice and you are aware of the bull that they are feeding us…(also, literally).  You think, whatever, its not going to kill me. BUT it’s the trend of eating this way that really kills people.

People are so worried about the polluntants in the air and yet they willingly and knowingly put polluntants into their bodies AND enjoy it too…

With their diet cokes! DUH!

 

 

 

 

Say this 3 times fast

They say it’s better to eat something you can actually pronounce or understand without having to consult wikipedia or some sort of expert in chemical science.

I’m not going to name any names but next time you crave fast food think twice about it. In this #1 fast food chain you can find over 1,000 different cows plus these wonderful….uh…chemicals in the hamburgers. Most of these chemicals can be found in plastics, rubber and some of them are found in metal cleaners…etc.  I’m sorry, are we robots?! Because all we are putting into out bodies are pure junk.

Say this list 3 times fast.

1,1,1,trichloroethane

1,2,4,trimethylbenzene

BHC,alpha

chloroform

chlorotoluene, o-

chlorpyrifos

DDE, p,p

DDT, p,p

Dichlorobenzene, p-

Dieldrin

Dyphnyl 2-ethylhexyl phosphate

Ethyl benzene

Heptachfor epoxide

Lindane

Octachlor epoxide

Styrene

Tetrachlorethylene

Toluene

Trichlorethylene

Xylene, m- and or p-

Xylene, o-

Chlorpyrifos

Chlorpyrifos Methyl

Cumene

Diazinon

Dicamba

Ethyl bezene

Ethylenelhiourea

Iprodione

Malathion

Primiphos-methyl

Propylbenzene

Trichloroehylene

 

 

I don’t think I should have to mention a whole other slew of things wrong with fast food to convince you do I ?

You are what you eat.

I’m a fruit and a nut, sometimes a vegetable. What are you?

 

Please pass the chlorophyll

I wonder if some of you might wonder when I will deflate with enthusiasm or deflate with my interest of eating nothing but mostly leafy greens. I wonder when I will too.

I am doing more than just forcing myself to eat organic, vegan and raw. I am enjoying it and my body craves it. I never thought I would crave it, but I do.  Now, if I smell something delicious walking downtown, yes I do start to want whatever it is I smell but my self-control is strong (take me shopping it’s a different story). Plus, i know if i eat how i was before i will be on the floor sick! However, I am never short changing myself. I’m never hungry. I am still eating great tasting food and I still get to have my salt and sugar fixes (no problem!).

At this point my only complaint is how pricey raw, organic macadamia nuts are ($10 for half a pound). They are my new favorite nut! I love to mix them in a bowl with sun dried Goji berries and raw cacao nibs. Although I will substitute walnuts if i have to. Since I am not spending money on meat anymore I guess I will be fine with spending that meat money on nuts. I guess you have to be a nut to spend money on nuts like that, but it is appropriate for my lifestyle. You would think I would be fat with all the coconuts, avocados, nuts and olive-oil i am consuming. I have lost 17 pounds so far. It hasn’t been a month yet. Dang!

I am starting to really feel comfortable and at home with my new lifestyle. I wonder where I will be in a year from now. I wonder how this lifestyle will affect me in the long run.

First I am curious how I will survive the holidays being raw vegan. I guess I shouldn’t say how will I survive the holidays but how will the holidays survive me? Especially in all of my raw vegan glory…

No turkey, no gravy, no stuffing, cranberry sauce, christmas cookies, bread, ham, mashed potatoes, eggnog, sees chocolates, jellybeans, pumpkin pie, pecan pie…I will pace myself and take it one day at a time. As Tyler would say, “baby steps”.

For now, just pass the chlorophyll my way and I’ll be a happy woman.