Day 120...

 Today's breakfast...

I found several detox recipes on the web and wrote down the ones that sounded most appealing. Now I am trying out different ones each time I play with my juicer. This one didn't call for an apple but I put a Granny Smith in it just for a bit of sweet.

 Detox (Revised)

1 cucumber

1 cup spinach

1 cup parsley

2 celery ribs

1/2 lemon without peel

1 granny smith apple

This is so tasty! Looks green, tastes green, but has a really nice flavor kick to it. Now I can't decide which one I like better. I guess that is good. Then I can alternate between drinks and not get bored.


Last night Hubby and I went out to red Robin and shared a chicken wrap. It felt good to know that we were being health conscious while not breaking our budget but still having different flavors. We also ordered a batch of their fried zucchini. Yum! I knowthe fried part isn't worthy of applause but it was still good.

We also started an adventure yesterday of taking our filtered water to the next level. We now have ionized water in our house. I have been hearing the benefits of it for quite some time now so we shall see how things go. Hubby says he can already feel a difference. Though his arthritis always gives him a hard time in the morning, he commented that there was nothing sore when he rolled out of bed. 
Hmmmm...very interesting.

Have a blessed and wonderful day today.

Day 40....

 Eating salads are way too much fun when we go out on the town. Many restaurants put together yummy combinations of fruits and vegetables that I haven't thought of on my own. And it is always nice to have someone else do the making instead of me.My husband and I have been going out on Friday nights lately to enjoy one another and try out different eateries in the area.

This particular salad was one I had last night from Panera Bread and Cafe'. It is called a Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. It is antibiotic free and I was thrilled to find that the chicken didn't taste "dead". I ate most of my chicken instead of shoving it to the side for a future hubby salad.
For my own personal preferences I omitted the onions and pecans. (Until my recent experience of liking soaked almonds I have never been a nut person and I am not brave enough to try pecans just yet.)  I think also next time I will omit the Gorgonzola as it reminded me a bit too much of blue cheese.

 This salad was my husband's choice. It was a Thai Chopped Chicken Salad. It was slightly on the spicy side for his personal taste but he enjoyed it all the same and felt happily full when he bowl was empty.

 This salad was one that I went nuts over while having dinner recently with a friend at the Roadhouse Grill. I was silently sceptical at the thought of being able to order a healthy type of dinner there but was tickled with delight at my salad and am already thinking on when I will soon be able to go back again.

This was a Veggie Style Harvester Special with lemon dill dressing. I omitted the feta cheese because that makes me think of blue cheese also. It was my first experience of having artichoke hearts (aside from spinach artichoke dip) and I loved it! I wonder how many other foods I am going to find that I love that I was never brave enough to try before?

As I type away this morning, I am enjoying my breakfast smoothie that has become a staple for both myself and my husband. Then I will be going grocery shopping to fill up our dwindling produce stock. I find getting groceries to be more fun now that I am buying all of these amazing fresh colors and flavors instead of processed salt and "empty" carbohydrate filled boxes.

Happy eating and God bless your day with encouragement as you discover the many blessings He put here just to make you smile.

Week 2 - Day 3.....

I am feeling really off kilter today but not totally sure why. I put way too many errands into the day so I am genuinely tired. But I think it is more than that. I know for sure that I didn't think to drink near the amount of water that I should have. I know that makes a difference.

I stopped and had one of those all fruit smoothies today and decided to also give a try to a shot of wheat grass. I had assumed they would put it in my drink but that was not the case. I had to throw my head back and swig it like bad medicine and then chase it down with an orange juice. I really didn't think it tasted all that bad. Don;t know if I will ever CRAVE it but it wasn't bad. Afterwards though I felt nauseous for a couple of hours. I am not sure if it was the intensity of the wheat grass  or the acid of the orange juice mixing with my reflux stomach (one of the many things I pray will change as I get more healthy with this raw foods thing).

I made cheddar potato soup for my family with ham chunks and fresh hot biscuits. Nothing looked good to me at all and normally I go nuts over soups.

For now, I must get myself to bed and I vow to drink more water tomorrow.

Week 2 - Day 2.....

My mom was asking me the other day what exactly I am eating and how I get through a day. So I thought I would share my current list of foods that is posted on my refrigerator.  This list is subject to change as I do my eating and shopping but it is the basics and will help you get an idea of what I am doing.

Dairy & Travel Foods
string cheese, activia yogurt, honey sticks, fruit cups

Fruits
pineapple, apples, pears, mango, avocado, tomatoes, bananas, dried prunes, dried mango mixed with berries, dried cherries and cranberries

Veggies
carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, edemame, broccoli, lettuce, chard

I also usually have a bowl of Kashi cereal each day that is very high in fiber and protein. I started out using soy milk but found that my usual skim milk has more and less of the things I am looking for in a milk product without the larger price.

There really is too much to eat in one day and my biggest decisions now are "What do I want to enjoy next?"

I know there are tons of cookbooks out on raw foods recipes but right now a basic plate is all I have interest in. When I want to get wild and special I mix a cup of fruit in wit my yogurt and I am quite satisfied. 
Then of course we can't forget the coffee that I let myself have every day. I have read so many different things that either say it is good for you or bad for you. I have decided for now that it is what you make of it just like anything else. As long as I only have a cup or two a day and I feel good then I am not going to worry about it.

The biggest deal is to drink WATER.  Always our bodies need water but especially with this detox thing right now for me. I am working at giving my body all the help it can get. If I am putting foods in to clean my system but not giving it water to flush it out then it will just make these headaches last longer.

 ~~~~~

Hubby took me out to dinner tonight and wanted me to explain why I am eating the way I am. Poor guy. I never told him what I was going to do. I just did it. I figured if I explained myself before hand then I would mentally set myself up for too much self judgement and fail before ge4tting started. I know I am twisted that I feel better keeping an online truth journal but am too scared to tell my home family.

He was very supportive and even ordered a salad right along with me. He is starting to see changes in me as well even though it has only been such a short time. He says I haven't been snoring the last few nights. I find that interesting because I was just thinking my sinuses feel more clear than they have in quite a long time.

I have to confess that I was pretty emotional tonight. I had received something in the mail that made me a swirl of mixed feelings I consequently willingly chose to eat 3 of the dinner rolls with my salad.I know it is not the end of the world and I am only human. It is okay to be extravagant at times. I just don't want to flip some imaginary switch in my head that clouds my thinking and getting me to feel like eating raw foods is some sort of twisted jail term.  It is healthier and tastes better. I did notice that those rolls didn't taste as ravenously amazing as they did the last time.

This was a longer post. It helped me to air things out so thank you. I hope in some way it helps you too.

Have a blessed and amazing day!

Day 4....

Here I sit at 11pm with a content belly and a full day behind me.
I didn't plan out the day quite so well but chose not to give up on myself.
I had the day off today from daycare and that made me want to be lazy. It wasn't until the afternoon when I was running errands on my way to pick up Puddin' from school that I realized I hadn't eaten more than a banana all day (along with coffee and water).  I decided to pull into a local smoothie shop for nourishment to make my tummy settle. Wow so many selections to choose from! I picked a concoction that promised to be only mixed fruits with ice and made it a large. Yum!

I didn't think through dinner very well for my family either. Thankfully our freezer is stocked right now. I toasted up a box of frozen popcorn shrimp and made smaller side salads for Hubby and Puddin'. I myself had a huge dinner salad with butter lettuce (my favorite), carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes.

I have to confess that I did allow myself to eat not 1, not 2 but 3 of the small popcorn shrimp while I was fixing plates.  It was quite a temptation to have made something like shrimp which is a favorite of mine. I know that it's not the end of the world to eat it and only three at that.  I just don't want to allow myself to start throwing things in my mouth with excuses all the time.  A little bite here and a little sample there is what got me to this point to begin with.

 But the positives.....no candy, no bread, I refused the chocolate chips cookies as well as the soda and popcorn offered to me at the furniture store.
And I chose well with my "fast food".
And I don't feel the need to beat myself up and give up for not having a perfect record. Now THAT is progress.  Thank You God!

Day 4 is complete and 3 more to go.