Squash: follow-up

*Sigh*

 

Dr. Graham was right. Who wants to eat plain cooked food with no oil, no salt, no spices, no condiments? Then you realize how bland and unappealing that food is! It obviously not meant as food for our species.

 

Yeah so my un-salted butternut squash for dinner was a disappointment. I didn't have much. (To make it worse, my husband sat at the table drinking a smoothie. Talk about role reversal.) My un-dressed salad tasted better (celery is so good lately!) <--- See how exciting the right foods are? And I don't need condiments.

 

Although I have been known in the past to binge on plain beans, straight from the pot when they're done cooking! Funny how they don't have the same addictive factor when they aren't warm. And I used to enjoy plain pasta. But last time I tried beans or pasta, it just tasted like bland mush to me.

 

The last few times I have tried cooked food, I realized how yucky it is and how I would much rather eat raw food. I am getting to the point where I honestly prefer raw food. It tastes better to me. If I want a break from my fruit routine, there are endless exotic salads to try. And if I need a stimulant, fine, add fats or dates to something. For instance, do you know what sounds so good to me right now? My raw pumpkin pudding - with date sauce!

 

 

SALT!

Oh my goodness, I am having this huge epiphany! I can't believe I never realized this before.

I used to eat all raw...and then binge on processed foods. This weird balancing act. It was always "organic" "healthy" stuff from Grocery Outlet. I never bought SAD junk food, but Grocery Outlet I couldn't turn down because it was the "natural" stuff. How did I overcome? I stopped shopping there. Period.

I haven't binged ... all year long, I believe. We had a wonderful 2009. But let's keep it that way!

Because this past week, feeling cleansing symptoms, it was hard. Finally after a poor night sleep, Sunday I just felt TIRED and SORE, and nauseas. I had had enough, and I did give it several days! But still detoxing? Needed something to stop it.

So for lunch on Sunday I made some cooked squash with salt on it. Magically enough, my back was suddenly all better and no more detox symptoms. Why is that? Because I poisoned myself with the salt. You cannot detox if there is salt in your diet, and salt is a wonderful medicine that will stop your detox symptoms in their tracks. Now I know this is why, in the past, some store-bought broth would always "strengthen" me.

Why is cheese so addicting? I am not addicted to milk. But we all know how hard it is to give up CHEESE! Because it is SALTED! And what about BREAD? Try making some pancakes with just flour and water, no additives, no chemicals (yes baking powder is a chemical too). You will eat until satisfied and save the rest. You will not crave them the next day. Try it!

I don't use salt in my cooking, or hardly ever in raw recipes. I only consume salt when.......I eat processed (or canned) foods! Bing! And there is a difference.

Anyway, how do I feel today? I feel CRAVINGS for more cooked/salty food! And I have been eating near 80/10/10 EASILY for MONTHS.....Why? Because I didn't have any salt! What got me through my pregnancy on just fruits and vegetables? NO SALT! Seriously, it seems to make all the difference on whether or not I am craving cooked foods. Whether or not bananas are attractive or if they are just "bananas....again." Whether or not I have the will-power to pass up on cookies (read: I don't even CARE as long as I am off salt).

So, it makes me wonder...to what extent is my food addiction a SALT addiction? And to what extent could I actually handle eating some cooked vegan foods?

I did 811RV for a week, well then I felt it was too much for me. I will get there someday. For now my main priority is keeping my overt fats under 10%, and at this time of year especially - my real goal is to be free from SAD food (processed foods, sugar foods) - because in past years I have not succeeded at this. That is my ONE BIG REAL goal under all this extremism, and all other lofty, idealistic goals (raw foods) are just secondary. So to keep from eating sugar this winter, if that needs to include some cooked squash and occasional whole grains, fine. (I know if I try to eat a raw Thanksgiving, I will binge on SAD foods. So if I just accept that, and meet myself half-way with a whole-grain, vegan, sugar-free pumpkin pie, I know I can handle it) Without salt! And if that is a diet that I feel energetic, strong, and mood-free on, and don't crave SAD foods, then I am a success.

(If you're wondering, I have not given into my cravings today. I STUFFED myself with bananas and flax so I would stay away from the kitchen! But I probably will be having cooked dinner later on)

Pumpkin!

Don't forget, your jack-o-lanterns are edible! Pumpkin is a great economical way to eat healthfully and fill up while avoiding heavier, acid-forming foods. Pumpkins are fairly low-calorie (compared to grains or beans) but just as filling. Only 3% fat, and 13% protein, and 84% carbohydrate. An incredible source of antioxidant beta-carotene, and a good source of iron and calcium too!

 

Pumpkin is a pretty tender squash. If you slice it up, you can munch on it raw as-is. Or put in your blender for a squash soup.

 

Raw pumpkin pie filling (or pudding): blend up raw pumpkin with honey or dates, and standard pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves), optional add coconut oil or avocado for creamier consistency (without, it will be more like applesauce). I love this! For me, it's a great alternative to cooked pumpkin pie.

Warning: TMI

So yeah, I ran a few times this week. My endurance isn't increasing as quickly as I thought it would, but even if it was... well I have a bigger obstacle on my plate. Let's just say I have had two pregnancies, and--Oops--I neglected to do any kegels with either of them....... I have been peeing myself as I run, probably half the time. Sparing you the details, I've tried a few different ideas, have yet to find a good solution. I guess kegels is my answer, and so any serious running is on the back-burner at this point until I can tone up!

80/10/10 Salad

Today I actually tried an 80/10/10 salad dressing for the first time. In the past, sure I've done fat-free dressings, like lemon juice with ginger, etc.--other quick fixes that you just squirt over your salad. But today I actually put some things in the blender and tossed some fruit into my salad. It was my own recipe, but I went off the pattern I notice in Dr. Graham's dressings - acid fruit, celery, sweet fruit. So I combined a mango, a few tomatoes, and a couple sticks of celery (and also green onions which are actually not on the diet, Sshh!!) Left it pretty chunky, and poured it over my lettuce/celery salad. YUMMERS! I am a fan! I like this fruity dressing thing. And it's a great way to add calories to your salad when it's dinner time but you don't feel like sweets.

A week of simplicity

This week has been great. I ate 811-RV all week, which worked out to be mostly bananas, applesauce, and romaine lettuce. I've been enjoying 2 mono-meals of bananas every day (yesterday I think I hit my record in quantity - 19 bananas consumed total!) I didn't mind at all, I actually really enjoy mono-meals, and so I haven't been doing many smoothies. Smoothies seem like a waste to me, you don't get to chew anything up, you just guzzle it down and then your meal is over. Like you got cheated! :)

Also it was really nice to simplify my life, and not have to plan meals or think about preparations, no cutting or recipes, no buying a list of groceries. In fact I didn't go shopping at all--the reason I ate bananas and apples all week is because that's what we have. It's apple season! I have purchased 100 lbs. of apples from a local family, for 30 cents/lb. They store well in the garage for as long as you need them, making them the perfect compliment to a banana diet (because with bananas, you're pretty much at the mercy of their own timing, as far as ripeness goes-and you have a short window in which to consume them). So with each meal, it is just a matter of saying "Do I have spotted bananas?" If so, that's my meal. If not, I make applesauce.

My back has been sore all week, which tends to happen when I am detoxing. I notice it when I do juice days. I didn't know why I was detoxing, unsure if taking out overt fats would really have that much effect, but I also think it could be from eating so simply. Maybe it really does free up a lot of digestive energy when you just consume 2 different foods for an entire week! But anyway, I've been waking up with a stiff back (I really need to try sleeping on the floor, like the Boutenkos! I did notice that I am more comfortable without a pillow) so I get up immediately and do some yoga. It just seems to turn my body "on" and get all the gears going.

I have also been doing more exercising than usual, now with my push-up routine, our daily dancing, went jogging a few days (and LOVED it! I think I prefer fall weather to summer!) and since I've had a lot more energy this week I have been doing yoga poses all throughout the day. I love yoga, it just makes me feel alive. It feels AMAZING. (Compared to a cardio/strength workout, where you just feel exhausted and sweaty, with yoga you feel renewed, relaxed, strengthened and have MORE energy after your workout!) I have really been on fire. I've been in a great mood, patient with my kids, doing all kinds of school activities, arranging several social dates, selling things on ebay, doing logic puzzles just for fun, organizing my clutter, reading several books and magazines. Whew! A busy week, lots of fun projects! There certainly is a difference when I don't need to "rest" (a.k.a. watch TV) or take some quiet time when my husband gets home from work. I just go-go-go, excited to LIVE LIFE and Be All I Can Be! And then I hit the sack early, around 9 pm. So I am still sleeping 10 hours or so (minus lost sleep for midnight mothering) and I feel that I am being rejuvenated and healing. My life feels FRESH!

Breastfeeding in Mongolia

Sorry, I don't mean to post after every Mothering article I read, but this one is HILARIOUS and very eye-opening indeed! Entitled "Breastfeeding in the land of Genghis Khan," it is one mother's account of her culture-shock when she lived in Mongolia for a few years and raised her baby there, in the land where breastmilk is valued higher than any other foodsource--or medicine! This article had me laughing out loud, with the images of old women jiggling their pancake boobs for all to see, co-workers stealing and drinking the stored breastmilk in the company refrigerator, and strangers in public coming up to a BFing mom and getting squirted in the face!