The fresh start I began two weeks ago tomorrow is coming to a close. My purpose was to flush out some of the nastiness I had been experiencing and to also give my liver a rest and see if it changed my outlook in life.
My very important conclusions: 1. Sugar does not agree with me. At ALL. When I eat sugar, even just a little, I become short tempered, emotional, impatient and exhausted. Almost immediately. 2. Wheat or grains give me a bloated, tired feeling. Again, almost immediately. 3. Green juices taste nasty going down, but have long-lasting energy and feel-good effects. They also seem to help alleviate my desire for sugar. 4. I don't want coffee. This makes me sad. But I've discovered a new love of lemon/ginger iced tea. But I miss iced coffee. 5. I sleep MUCH better when I eat a raw, meat-free meal at night. Tested this the other night by having a large green salad and pork chop. Felt like I'd swallowed a bowling ball. Conclusion: I'm going to continue a modified version of the fresh start. I want to feel better longer. A few life changers that came as a result of this: I discovered that what I eat CAN make my exhausted. If I want to lose weight and actually enjoy my life, I have to focus on eating fresh, live foods and cutting back on the meat, grains and sugar. (PS - Dairy, even raw, has LOTS of sugar. Cream, not so much. I will be sticking to little bits of cream from pastured cows. ) This is a 'for now' thing, as I will keep monitoring myself to see when it's time to bring back certain foods again. I am going to cut back to meat 2-3 times a week, always at mid-day. Because this gave me more energy, I have been waking up early which has enabled me to begin to exercise before Trey wakes up. This is huge. 20 minutes of intervals up and down the small hills in front of the house (within earshot, so if he wakes up I can hear him) are helping me lose inches and have more energy. In short, I see a new lifestyle coming out of the fog. It's a bit inconvenient, as I now have to make two different meals for me and for the rest of the gang, but it's worth it to feel like I have been. Thank you so much for following me on this 'real food' journey! Hope you have been encouraged to try your own 'fresh start'! Blessings, Rosalyn Here is a last recipe for you. This is a no-grain breakfast or snack food. Yum! Buckwheat Cakes 1 cup buckwheat flour 1 pastured egg, beaten 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp sunflower oil, olive oil or melted butter 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp realsalt 1/2 cup milk (fresh or sour) pumpkin seeds (optional) sunflower seeds (optional) cashew nuts (optional) Blend together everything but the seeds/nuts. Best if allowed to rest for 30 minutes, but I don't usually have time. Add seeds and nuts, and a bit of water to make it a batter consistency. Heat a cast iron skillet with 2 tsp of olive oil or coconut oil. Fry in small rounds. Use as to-go snacks or add maple syrup for breakfast. I like these smeared with homemade no sugar jam as a snack.
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It's been a rather crazy week already - I can't believe it's already Wednesday!
I've continued making choices to eat cleansing, nourishing foods. I have however, eaten a few meals with the family. And enjoyed them, because even for them, I kept the meals real and nutrient dense. I am noticing a difference in how my taste buds are reacting. Yesterday I bought a small cup of coffee and two chocolate chip cookies. I couldn't finish either. They just didn't taste good to me. I'm grateful for the change in the taste buds. I was encouraged to wait and eat my lunch at home - a spinach, grated carrot, green onion and smoked tempeh wrap. Super tasty. As I begin to wind down these two weeks of my liver cleanse, I am encouraged that the whole package approach seems to have really paid off. By beginning first with getting enough rest, I was able to approach my food choices with clear thinking. By adding in exercise every day, I've found new energy and encouragement to make choices that don't undo the work I'm doing. And the new tastebuds make up for those moments when the 'old' way calls my name! I don't have a recipe for you today, just an encouragement to get one large dark green salad with vegetarian-based protein into you today. Your body will say thank you! Last night's snack, which I wouldn't have needed if I had gone to bed early, was simply a few prunes and some walnuts. We had a very busy, rewarding day, and I was craving some 'me' time before bed.
I'm learning that this 'me' time I crave generally includes me sitting on the couch, watching some sort of Netflix television and eating. Really, I just need to go to bed. This experience has been about reminders - the reminder that eating too close to bed means that I won't wake up rested. The reminder that feeling a little hungry won't kill me. (Still working on that one.) The reminder that the food I'm trying to step away from isn't necessary to my life, and indeed, is making me feel nasty. But what am I going to do with these reminders? This weekend I had more than one 'slip up' - except they really weren't. I made conscious decisions to suspend my 'fresh start' in favor of ________ - fill in the blank. Another reminder - there will ALWAYS be a 'fill in the blank' occasion. I will say that while these dark green salads aren't my favorite food in the world, and I wish I could wrap them in nice whole wheat tortilla, they are filling and satisfying, and I don't feel like I need a nap ten minutes after I eat. And I've also figured out that not only do I not need an iced coffee, they don't make me feel great. Just jittery. *gasp* And my 'wheat belly' is slowly going away, I have tons more energy to actually do what I want to do, and I have more patience. Today's breakfast will be a fruit salad designed to keep you full until a mid-morning smoothie! Fruit Salad with a Boost! Blueberries Pineapple Watermelon Cantaloupe Raw nuts - almonds, walnuts, cashews Avocado Mix up enough for a hefty three cup serving, save one cup for your snack later on this afternoon. (You may want to hold off on adding the nuts to the snack so they don't get too soggy.) Lots of good healthy fats and protein in this. What about you? What 'I love me' changes will you be making today? The carnival is in town. They have fried dough. Sigh. So last night we took Trey to the carnival. He had a blast. I had an hour to talk myself out of why I didn't want to eat the pizza, the hot dogs, the hot sausages, fried dough... Yada yada yada. I caved. I bought some fresh cut french fries. They were terrible. When we finally got home, hours later than we are used to, and no made-ahead dinner, I threw a pizza in the oven. Then I ate a piece. It tasted...okay. Then I went for another slice and realized that: a. it didn't taste THAT good b. I was going to have to 'fess up to YOU today c. I wasn't even hungry anymore. Interestingly enough, I slept well (thanks to the sugar crash from the white flour) but woke up exhausted. This flour/sugar stuff is just plain ole' BAD, folks. Seriously bad. So today I've done better. Not without struggle. This morning I really wanted that bacon and eggs I cooked for Trey. And toast. But I powered through and instead made homemade V8 juice with my juicer. I snacked on strawberries, almonds and walnuts. For lunch, I made a light version of Portuguese kale soup - no sausage. For snack I made some avocado chocolate pudding - and didn't want more than a bite or two. My point? Temptation can work in your favor. It's not always bad to be reminded that our choices are working - even if it takes a 'fail' to remind us. And, as I keep telling myself, this is only for 2 weeks. Except... I really don't want to go back to feeling so tired and sluggish. How about you? Are you feeling better? Do you notice a difference? |
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