Friends

Today I had a friend, who is transitioning to a high-raw, vegan diet, and her children over for an 80/10/10 lunch. I served our regular carob jello, with some cut-up pears and date sauce. Her kids loved it and wanted more and more! It was fun for me to host them and demonstrate how we eat.

 

Then this afternoon we shared some snacks with a friend who comes over twice a week. She is 11 years old and loves food! She always enjoys my food, and that makes me so happy! Today they had bananas dipped in extra date sauce (dates blended with water) and she was so excited about it, it was the first thing she told her mom when she got picked up!

Cheesy spread/dip

Here's my dinner. It was so darn delicious!!  Just romaine, green onions, and my cheese sauce.

 

To make cheese sauce, blend up equal parts celery, red bell pepper, sunflower seeds, and sun-dried tomatoes. Then when you have a completed mixture, you know it is 25% overt fats. So you can consume about a cup of this as part of your dinner, and that's your fats for the day.

6 weeks in

I've been eating 100% 811rv for 6 weeks now.

For a few weeks I was really tired.
Even the entire first 5 weeks, I was disappointed with my workouts. It seemed I just didn't have the energy. I was discouraged because I indeed felt the difference running without stimulants. And then I would be ready for bed by 8 pm and nauseous at nighttime (I felt like I was pregnant!) and it would take me at least 2 days to recover, before I felt like I could run again. I was having such a hard time working out, that I questioned whether it was really good for me! I wondered if maybe I should be resting more, if I needed to focus more on healing as I adjusted to the new, clean diet.

Even last year, eating some cooked foods and salt, I had an easier time running but recovery was difficult. I could not run two days in a row.

Well baby, all of that is changing!

Perhaps my body did need some weeks to heal and adjust to the new diet. And now, things are suddenly different. Suddenly I have such endurance, and recovery in no time flat! No soreness, no early bedtime. This week I feel incredible.... I am amazed that I can run 3 miles, and not be exhausted the rest of the day. I am ready for more! I haven't been tired for an early bedtime for more than a week. I ran 4 of the last 5 days! And stayed up til 10 pm, a bedtime I can feel good about. And I'm not sore at all!!!! This is so wonderful.

I am so excited to see my endurance improve as I train for my upcoming races. I plan on running 4 miles this weekend and 5 miles the next! I was planning on running only 3 days a week, as typical training schedules include days off for recovery. But on the 811rv diet, rest days are not necessary because recovery is dramatically quicker. So maybe I will run more, who nows? I will just do what I feel like doing. I am so excited to excel! Time to find out what I'm made of! How wonderful :)

Seattle Rock 'n Roll

Surprise!

I am signed up to run the Seattle Rock 'n Roll half-marathon June 26th! I will be running with some of my husband's family members.

A miracle happened today. Remember how down I was? Specifically: "I wanted to run to be a part of a group and that backfired on me. But now I am doing it for me." Well just a couple hours after writing that, my Father-in-law was encouraging me to run with them. He even paid my entry fee. Wow, it had me in tears. Well I felt pretty humbled. I had just spent my day in self-pity and unapologetic anger directed at them for not including me and rejecting my efforts to invite them into my life. Well I was wrong.

My sister-in-law, like me, has never run more than a 5K. So she and I will be training together and rooting each other on! I am so excited. That pretty much sealed the deal.

This is going to be such a wonderful bonding experience for us all!

So here's my chance. You know I have been dreaming of being an "811 athlete." So I am serious about this. Now I have even more motivation. Stick to the diet 100% including not getting casual about my overt fat consumption, and getting as much sleep as possible! I am not looking for any injuries, and now it's time just to see what I am capable of!

Some thoughts

I don't know how many days I've been abstinent now but I am ready for a new season!!!! I still love oranges but nothing else is appetizing to me, at least nothing affordable. I have been disguising bananas in every way I can imagine. I have been eating overt fats for dinner so that I can look forward to my meal (by making a great recipe).

And yet these pictures I've seen on various blogs lately look so scrumptious!! Can I get some farm fresh tomatoes please? Some mangoes at a decent price? Loads of spinach and herbs? mmmm I could make so many yummy dishes but I feel like I'm stuck in winterland.

Today has been sort of a low day. I haven't been emotional since those first few days of 811rv but I guess after such an active day Saturday-- running my 5K and spending all day in the yard--I have unleashed some things. Luckily I had a good chick flick to watch and just cried it out :)

The work isn't over yet! I have 7 miles left to go for the month, to meet my goal of 50 miles. It's pouring down buckets this week but watch me go! I will do it. I wanted to run to be a part of a group and that backfired on me. But now I am doing it for me. It's been so long since I had a goal and actually pushed myself physically! I am looking at running a 15K race in Eugene May 22nd. That would be incredible. I have never been a runner, I've never been athletic. I played tennis in high school but could never complete the warm-up run! Likewise, a few other ladies from church ran their first ever 5K with me on Saturday, Hooray for them too!

Transformation is so much fun. It is never too late!

My first 5K

I did my first 5K run today. I feel great, I am so glad I set that goal and accomplished that. Actually yesterday I wasn't looking forward to it, and I figured I could always just walk it. I have only run just over a mile recently so I thought I would be running 1 mile and walking the rest. But I actually did it! I jogged the great majority of the course, and only took a few breaks to walk the hills.

 

I found that one huge factor for me was being in a group. When I workout, I never push myself. I enjoy going for "runs" to get out and be alone, but I am not really doing it to push myself (I don't like feeling sick/tired/sore afterward). But today, I was in a group of people about my same fitness level, running toward the back. So naturally I couldn't walk!! I was NOT going to be last! So I kept up with the pack, and as we got around 2/3 of the way through, I picked up my pace and made myself RUN the last mile or so. There was another woman just ahead of me, a woman I know has been training for several weeks, so it was motivating to me to think that I could come in at the same time as her.

 

My body hurt but I did not let myself walk! I ran and ran, thinking positive thoughts instead of thinking things like "C'mon, you're almost there" (my husband is reading a book about the mental aspect of running and told me how this is actually a negative thing because it is confirming the fact that you're not having a good time, etc.) So I was thinking thought similar to what I think when I am in labor - just focusing on how amazing it's going to feel when I'm done. How great I feel already, that I didn't need to walk and I was doing much better than I predicted. I was thinking I wanted to make my family proud of me.

 

So I am satisfied with my run today! It was 32:55 which isn't really anything to brag about but it was just my first race, and I am so glad I didn't have to walk it!! Now I feel motivated to do that same course on a regular basis and see if I can improve my time. It will be so great when I can get it less than 30 minutes. So maybe that will be my Saturday morning routine :) 

 

By the way, this was a 5K run I set up myself, inviting friends from various associations to join in. I actually didn't get much of a turn-out from the homeschool or moms group crowds; it was just people from church. I gave them maps of the course I mapped out; provided water, bananas, and oranges for refreshments; and set up a kids race around the empty parking lot afterward. So it was a lot of fun for the families to come out! It went really well. I'm glad I could join in with some other people who have been working out. But in the future I hope to motivate some unathletic friends to come in and give it a shot!

Fruity hubby

My husband posted this today on his running blog, and it just made me smile ear to ear! Of course I see how he eats every day, but it's fun for me to hear him tell about it in his own words, even justifying it and persuading his audience to improve their diets as well! It's almost like 4 years of tip-toeing around him, or watching my words, not wanting to boss him around, hoping my enthusiasm and example was shining through--has finally culminated in commonality, a union, a partnership, and now such relief that I don't have to live that life separate from him anymore! And now he's exploring the idea of writing his own ebook for runners about improving their performance with 80/10/10 principles and visualization methods. How exciting! I'm thrilled to see him passionate about what he's doing.

New Layout Feature

I'm experimenting with this new layout feature, in the upper left-hand corner, where I can share what I ate (and usually what I gave my kids) on that day. I will update it as many evenings as I can remember to do it.

eBooks Coming Soon!

I'm excited to announce that I am working on a few eBooks, for sale soon! Here are some titles you can look forward to:

• The Fruit Predominant Diet based on my experience these past 4 years
• Unassisted Pregnancy & Childbirth on the Fruit Predominant Diet based on the archives of this very blog, as well as experiences of others
• BLISS: The Fruitarian Diet based on my future experiences as a 100% low-fat raw foodist (writing as we go but won't come out until my year anniversary, at least)
• maybe something on raising "Fruit-Predominant" children, and hopefully (fingers crossed!) a book about fruitarian pregnancy and childbirth, once I experience my upcoming successful 811rv pregnancy!

I feel confident that I can offer something that isn't already out there in the raw food world literature. Indeed, I am not aiming for the raw food audience at all; "Fruit Predominant" is a term I coined, which I will use to bring the benefits of a high-raw, low-fat diet to the mainstream audience, without requiring a 100% raw food, or even vegan, diet. I want to offer some inspiration and hope to normal, every-day people who may not be ready to give up their cheerios, but nonetheless are seeking some sort of diet information that rings true to their natural selves and motivates them to make permanent changes for the right reasons!

Emotional perks

Eating raw will change your physical health in a number of days. But it doesn't stop there! One of the biggest reasons I love eating raw is because it opens your eyes and your heart on an emotional level, opening the gates to real healing since most disease may be founded on buried negative emotions.

The Family Bed

Great book, by Tine Thevenin.

"The wants of a well-adjusted child are his needs. It is when his needs are unfulfilled that his wants become excessive in an attempt to fulfill suppressed needs."

 

Another great book about bed sharing is called Good Nights.

Celebrating 30 days

Never before have I achieved this. 100% low-fat, raw for an entire month! Even with all my previous ups and downs, I have never even come close to this. And not once have I craved cooked food or regretting my decision.

I still feel the same way as when I wrote this. Nothing has changed. Personally I consider that a miracle--that the excitement is still alive and kicking......

 

Changes so far

• gained 1-2 lbs.
• hair is definitely cleaner! (I haven't used any shampoo)
• more sensitive to my level of wellbeing  - if I don't sleep enough I feel it
• moods are even, a few periods of bliss but generally a calm, moderate feeling of wellbeing (which is definitely something I didn't have before)
• physical energy constant and sufficient for all my activities and daily exercise (which is a new thing for me, so wahoo!)
• bloating has subsided when I take a probiotic and drink plenty of water
• acne subsided after initial detox period
• complexion clear, brighter
• teeth whiter

Changes I'd like to see

• quicker recovery after working out
• more strength and endurance to work out longer
• dry skin problem go away
• improvement in nail biting habit

Goals

• Consolidate eating into 3 meals a day
• Be more dilligent about bedtime
• Minimize overt fats 
• Work on emotional eating

We're in this for the long haul!

Pesto Lettuce Boats

Fun, simple 80/10/10 dinner.

The filling is 50% sunflower seeds and 50% green veggies - fresh basil leaves (a handful!) and celery.

Spoon it onto a lettuce leaf and top it with rehydrated sundried tomatoes. 

Optional: scallions, other chopped veggies. Also if you're not 80/10/10 you can add a garlic clove and pinch of salt to the filling when you blend it.

Biggest Loser

I really enjoy the show The Biggest Loser. Last night it was about nutrition so it was interesting to watch. Altogether I am satisifed with it, and I do feel that if America adopted these food principles, disease would decrease dramatically! It would be absolutely amazing if America could give up refined sweets, fast foods, and other empty calories. That being said, here are my criticisms from last night's show:

 

1. As-few-calories-as-possible idea. They looked down on any dinner having more than 500 calories. That might be fine for an obese person, but I hope the general public doesn't get the idea that calories are "bad" and ought to be avoided. Instead, why don't we teach what calories ARE? That carbohydrates are FUEL? (Funny, they worship protein but don't make the logical step that protein is calories. So is it good or bad? Hmmm)

 

2. Milk Does the Body Good. So, in one of Jillian's marketing clips, she teaches the contestants why they need to drink their milk. All the same stuff we've heard before. Good "source" of protein and calcium. Little does Expert Jillian know, the two cancel each other out and leave the body not only in a deficit for calcium, but in a state of toxicosis as well. Anyhow, it was an interesting experience for me, personally, to watch, since I haven't looked at our thought about commerical milk in such a long time; my only experience with milk drinking would be when I squirt my breastmilk into a cup and put some cinnamon in it for my 4-year-old to have a treat. So when I see some adults holding glasses of white fluid and drinking it, I felt sick! My first reaction was "OH MY GOSH THEY ARE DRINKING BREASTMILK!!!!!!!!!!!"

3. Protein as a Synonym for Meat. I had somewhat of an epiphany, and now I understand exactly where people are coming from when they ask where vegetarians get protein. On the show they had various whole foods sitting out, from various food groups. This represents the idea of a "balanced diet," as you have your complex carbs (grains), your protein (meat), your fruits and your vegetables. To the mainstream dieter, this is a complete meal, a balanced diet, the sum of all its parts. So when a person excludes a food group - a vegetarian takes away that "protein" - the uneducated, mainstream person is left questioning "How can you remove your protein? Then where do you get protein from?" Since to them, grains equate to carbohydrate, and fruits and vegetables are neither. So to answer their question, they only need a sentence or two of information. No sarcasm or wit required. When somebody asks you where you get your protein, simply inform them that grains actually do have quite a bit of protein, and that fruits and vegetables actualy do too; in fact, fruits and vegetables have just as much protein as the World Health Organization recommneds and that all credible research indicates that humans require.

 

This whole idea of compartmentalizing foods irritates me. It makes the public grossly ignorant. To think that meat = protein, grains = carbs (even that whole grains = "good carbs"), banana = potassium, orange = vitamin C as if they contain no other nutrients!! On one clip of the show, Bob teaches them how to make a healthy sandwich, combining a "protein" (lean meat) with a "healthy fat" (avocado) and a "good carb" (whole wheat bread), completely ignoring the obvious fact that both the bread and the avocado actually contain all three!! If you want to make sure you are getting carbs, good fats, and protein, and fiber all in one meal, look no further than eating 1 whole food!

Update on my son

I found a blog about some autistic boys eating low-fat raw vegan and how much its improved their symptoms. Their doctor was shocked and verified that their guts are healing, and they won't be sick again. I personally was intrigued when the author wrote that even cooked vegetables caused some adverse reactions.

We've been dealing with my son's Aspergers for some time now, and since he's been off his allergens he's been so much more bearable. But I am curious how much further he could improve on a 100% raw diet. He has eaten this way for periods at a time, and I'll tell you the difference.

Right now, as a matter of fact, it's been 7 days since he's eaten anything cooked. His cooked meals for the past month have been very small, and next to a large sprout salad which he enjoys just as much. But when he eats 100% raw there are some changes, definitely. He is not sad and whiny....... but he is more energetic and giddy. Sounds like a good thing right? Well it's difficult either way. An energetic Aspergers kid can be really difficult. I hate to say it, but he can be down right annoying. Or just too much. Like, chattering away, singing, saying nonsense all day long; being extraordinarily hyper (and disobedient); following me around and begging for more attention (he has never played well by himself the way most kids do). So it's just a different ballgame but it's difficult all the same.

That being said, I admit that these traits are probably wonderful, healthy traits in a child! Yes they ought to be energetic and full of life. More reason to live in a sunny climate where they can play outdoors all day long! Secondly, I also wonder if this is just a phase since it's only been a week! So I think I will keep him on the diet and watch what happens.

Here's his diet:
-various fruits all day long
- green smoothies
- nuts for dinner probably half the time
- sprouts almost daily (he loves them! He calls them "popcorn" and eats them plain!)
- carrot juice

He's not fond of too many vegetables, except carrots and cucumbers. He will eat lettuce if there is a good dressing on it. And of course he drinks his green smoothies, so I'm not too worried. Besides, I believe in following Appetite so generally he just eats what he wants to.

We have introduced tangelos, which he seems to handle just fine (remember he is allergic to oranges). If he can eat a raw diet for a month at least, I would be curious to try oranges also.

Fruit: the Ultimate Diet

Fantastic book, by some guy I've never heard of. He says a few very profound things I'd like to share.

On the importance of physical health, above all else (and above all other financial investments):

"There is nothing worse than being captive in a body that won't let you do what you want to do." (p.101)

This sentence struck me like a bolt of lightning. I am going to do my elderly self a favor and prevent this situation from ever happening.

Also this keen insight, from the epilogue:

There are so many similarities between the vegetarian vs. vegan & the raw food vs. fruitarian movement. There will probably always be more vegetarians than vegans and more raw fooders than fruitarians, at least in my lifetime. People tend to flock to vegetarianism or raw foodism for health reasons, whereas many people are drawn to being vegan or fruitarian for more spiritual or environmental reasons. Vegetarians and raw fooders tend to concern themselves with a lot of needless data regarding nutrition because they're not certain if the diet is nutritionally sound. Vegans and fruitarians don't do this much because they usually have a knowingness that their diet is correct and therefore must be nutritionally superior, which it is.

I just love that last part. How well said!! If you know a diet is correct, you don't need any data. If you trust nature to have given you a correct diet for your species, then it must be nutritionally sound. Elephants don't analyze their vegetation, they trust Mother Nature and thrive on what She gave them to eat.

The author's diet is somewhat different from Dr. Graham's recommendations, however. He does not limit his fat intake, and his diet is rich in avocados. I guess if you're not prone to candida, this might not be a problem. But I wonder if that habit has caught up to him in the ten years since he published this book? Another difference is that he does not consume any vegetables at all, focusing on how our species is attracted to the bright colors, rich aromas, and juiciness of fruit. He says he is not attracted to eating vegetables plain; however, he should not assume that others are not as well. As a matter of fact, I am currently eating handfuls of spinach leaves like there is no tomorrow. My body craves spinach. It is delicious to me. To each his own!

Coming out of the closet

Today we had some people over (acquaintances who don't know our dietary habits) and were enjoying some casual conversation. Our plans for the evening came up, and suddenly I hear my husband telling our guests: "My parents invited us over for roast and potatoes, but that's not really our cup of tea. We'll just stay home and have smoothies." I was cringing!! I couldn't believe he told them that!! Let's just wear a sign on our foreheads that say "We are freaks!" Honestly, you'd have to be crazy to turn down an invitation for roast, right??

 

Why am I so shy about being truthful about our lifestyle? Especially considering it is so important to me. I haven't yet uttered the words in public "I am a raw foodist." But I am. I am a raw foodist. I have zero plans or intentions to eat cooked food. I am ready to make that declaration when I need to. I am just delaying it until then...

 

Or I can just let my husband declare it to the world!

 

(If you're wondering, I got over my embarassment quickly. Reading this blog post will actually be the first time my husband hears my side of this!)

Not the person I used to be

I had an interesting experience last night. I went to my sister-in-law's show (she is a singer/songwriter) - now, I love her music. Very poetic and beautiful, a haunting/enchanting voice, clever lyrics. But she sings a lot of sad songs, which I used to really enjoy. I loved the sentimentality of it all. I loved the honesty of those sad songs. Anyway, last night she sang a new song she's written recently, and of course I was really excited to hear a new song. The words were very clever, the tune a hit for sure. It was a beautiful song......and yet..... it made me sort of uncomfortable. I just didn't like the sadness of it. I didn't find myself enjoying it the way I used to.

This struck me... Realizing this, I drove home in deep introspection. A change has come over me. I mean, I used to really love that "honest" haunting, beauty-in-sadness type of music. Not so much that I could identify with it, but I had a real appreciation for somebody being honest about sadness. Because we are all sad, right? Well apparently not. Because I went home in a daze, realizing all of my sad feelings are gone. That is just not a part of me anymore. I think my heart has been changed.

I can't remember the last time I was sad... Last spring/summer I had a difficult time in my life, felt very unstable, called my mom crying on a few occasions. I remember I had a lot of anxiety - fear about my children's health, or not feeling adequate to handle my own children, etc. But that seems so far away. I haven't felt like that in a LONG time. I have been free of my anxiety since last August, I believe. I think that period I went through was a sort of detoxification, cleansing out buried anxieties. I got them out and haven't felt it since.

I still have my problems. Today my 4-year-old drove me CRAZY. But my problems don't have the same effect on me. Now, they are just life. And you go with it. Or, like I heard in church today, we still have our burdens, but the Lord carries them for us. I think that is a good way to put it. I honestly don't feel any burdens in my life right now. The biggest burden in my life these past few years has been the ongoing struggle with my addiction to cooked foods, and the mental-case I was as a result of that. And now I have chosen to release that--a HUGE leap of faith--and now, more forward and grow as a person!

And I have never been happier. To be specific, I feel more at-ease. I feel more relaxed, confident, resilient, calm, and just joyful. I can honestly say I feel excited ... for what? For the future, I guess. For more personal growth. For more mysteries to be unfolded to me. For my convictions to be challenged, and for me to overcome those challenges. For more children to come, and to nurture and teach those children in sovereignty.

I've never felt closer to God, and I'm not sure if that's because my addiction was in the way? Or maybe before I was blocking Him out. I was so busy numbing my feelings, being insecure, or being defensive, that I never took the time to be still, to listen, to hear Him. How many people are living day to day in a subconscious attempt to escape? To escape stillness? To escape reality? Because numbing our feelings is NOT reality. That is not truth. That is not integrity. I fear too many of us sabotage ourselves and stand in the way of our own personal growth.

Favorite yoga poses

Acrobatics on the playground!

Codependent relationships

Have you ever been stuck in a totally unhealthy relationship, maybe where one of you was co-dependent on the other? And you just don't see it. You're not even aware of your own bad situation--at least consciously--even though your trusted friends are trying to open your eyes and warn you, before it's too late! And by some miracle, you finally get out of the relationship. And after a while you are able to look back with new eyes--eyes opened in consciousness--and you are shocked, aghast, and how blind you were! At what a terrible, damned, unhealthy situation you were stuck in. You can't believe you didn't realize it sooner, because once out of the situation it is so clear and so obvious.

I had a relationship exactly like that, with a guy I dated before meeting my husband. I am ever so grateful that I didn't marry him, that I had the courage to get out while I could, and allow my eyes to be opened.

I also had a relationship exactly like that with food.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Meat-eaters and sugar-eaters are blind to their folly. They are addicts, living high off their drugs, refusing to admit to the fact. Refusing to see how stuck they are in their ways, how damned their health situation is, wondering why they can't lose weight, why they are tired all the time, why they get headaches, why they so easily "catch" whatever is going around.

Pizza is one of The Hardest foods to give up. T.C. Fry taught that the substances of wheat, cheese, and cooked tomatoes combine to form a substance quite similar to marijuana. Indeed, pizza gives you a "high" and lets you mellow out and forget your worries. As with any toxic cooked food, you can zone out and get lost in the rich flavors, the grease, the salty stimuation, surrendering to your carnal appetites and forgetting fully your Divine self.

But what is pizza, once you have left that co-dependent relationship, looking backward? It's obvious. It's not appealing in the least. It's a bland sugary crust swamped in grease and processed animal corpse. You are digusted that that would ever appeal to you. You are ashamed to think that you stayed in that relationship, blind, for as long as you did; ever so grateful that you had the information and the courage to break up with that unhealthful lover, and seek true, wholesome, pure delight and joy that is found in fresh, raw foods. -- A kind of pleasure that is due not to chemical stimulation, carnal appetite, or drugging emotions; a kind of pleasure that came from God himself, that He created for you, intending for you to have pleasure in your food! And a healthy relationship with food!

Life is not Standardized

This post is so simple, and so true. Why are parents so afraid to teach their own children, and feel so inadequate? Why are we all so afraid of failure, afraid to speak up because we might be "wrong"? We have been judged and categorized our entire lives.

Beautiful breastfeeding video

21 days to break a habit

If that theory is correct, then my cooked food "habit" is over.

At my in-laws house today, they were discussing their plans for dinner. I had images of fettucine, chinese food, and restaurants floating through my mind. We were having such a nice visit, and I thought "Wouldn't it be nice if we could join them for dinner?" so naturally my next thought was "What the heck am I doing, am I honestly going to live on FRUIT the rest of my life?!"

I am telling you this so we can be honest with each other. Yes, sometimes this happens. Actually it usually happens, when I am around other people talking about or eating typical food. My old response would have been "I better take a more moderate approach to the raw diet," but now I have learned a new coping mechanism. I have learned that certain thoughts enter my mind when I am away from home, and I may temporarily forget why I have chosen this path. But if I can just put off any further thought (or decisions) until I get back home, I will inevitably return to my happy place and remember why I am choosing to eat fruit for the rest of my life.

That moment usually comes when I am playing joyfully with my kids and I think I never felt like this on cooked food or when I look in the mirror and see a glowing face grinning back at me. And I say Gee, that sure is a happy, healthy person! Or once I sit down to my luscious, juicy fruit dinner and think This tastes delicious! Cooked food has nothing on this! and then I am back in my warm, fuzzy, happy place. I know I'm right where I need to be. Life is alright, things have never been better.

By the way, another strategy I have learned is to allow myself to enjoy smelling cooked food. I fully enjoy the moment, relishing my memories, and I am not tempted to taste the greasy disaster. My favorite smell is rotisserie chicken as I walk through the grocery store :)

I am so grateful that my in-laws have accepted how we are and that we share fun activities together that don't involve food. We never discussed this at all, but apparently it's what we were both thinking. It took some time; they kept inviting us for dinner for a year or two after we stopped eating their meat. For a while we got snide remarks. Eating together was always awkward. And now, they stopped inviting us for dinner. I took it personally at first but now I see it was wisdom, and I am so grateful. We only eat holiday meals with them, to which we invite ourselves, and we eat our own food. It's still a bit awkward but you can't eat holiday meals without family, can you? :)

So we've had some wonderful visits lately. We talk about shopping, running, gardening, sports, politics, what the kids are up to. We watch American Idol or Survivor. They watch the kids while we go running, or out on a date (the kids bring their own snacks). At our kids' birthday parties we still serve raw desserts, and they still decline. But that's okay. It has just worked out so beautifully. I hope they know I love them.

Creating a new blog

I decided to leave this blog public and just delete some of the less-relevant (or dumb) posts. But still, I do feel that I am a new person, especially now as a committed 811-raw-vegan foodie. My husband and I would like to keep a blog together about our "fruity" family, where the focus is our diet so we can help publicize the fruitarian diet and Natural Hygeine, and helping other families transition to a healthier lifestyle. It will have a more formal, article-like feel to it, hopefully with interviews with other 811'ers, and a complete list of resources. That blog is located at http://811family.blogspot.com.

I will continue to post on this blog, as it is my more casual, day-to-day blog about my personal life; but most of the food-related stuff will be at 811family. Pulling Daisies will be about natural mothering, unschooling, and my goals. When I am pregnant again I will post here about my unassisted pregnancy and birth.

Reflections about this blog

I've spent the past hour re-reading much of this blog from 2007-2008. Wow, I am astounded..... I am NOT that person anymore. It is so interesting to read that "journal" of mine and see what a different person I am now. In some regards, it is embarassing. Those posts were obviously written by an insecure person, judgmental, and sometimes quite pessimistic and negative. I don't really want to keep that up on the internet, because that's not who I am anymore. So I am thinking of making this blog private so I can keep it as a journal and starting a new one.... I'll sleep on it. Goodnight!

Vanilla cake and Caramel frosting

I got this idea from another fruitarian blog, and I think it's awesome! She says her favorite dessert is mashing Medjool dates over soft bananas. She said it's her "Vanilla cake with caramel frosting." Superb!

A mild, subtle way

Natural foods, such as fruit, improve one's health in a mild, subtle way as there in nothing in fruit which has an immediate stimulating or depressing effect on the bloodstream or various organs of the body. They are not like coffee, tea, alcohol, cocoa, salt and sugar (refined) which have a stimulating effect because of their toxic content or their reaction on different glands such as the pancreas. Once  stimulation has worn off, and the body begins to eliminate the poisonous element, one can become depressed from the withdrawal symptoms.

 - Morris Krok, Fruit the Food and Medicine for Man

I love this phrase, "a mild subtle way." It is so true - any substance that is truly improving your health will not show immediate improvements, a "high" or a sudden jolt of energy. It takes time to digest, assimilate, and reach your cells, and then to actually nourish and replace your cellular structure with living molecules. This is a healing process that takes time. 

Reminds me of how I felt last summer when I was using raw cacao. I loved it of course! I had "so much ENERGY!" I was running fast and doing gymnastics, and couldn't stop! Of course the fact that I couldn't stop should have been a red flag. And the fact that I had a splitting headache when it was all over. But no, I kept on eating that raw cacao because it had such a hold on me and I didn't want to admit that it was a stimulant. How many of us have been duped by "superfoods" because of the instant stimulation you feel from it? 

Read more about how stimulants work in your body here.

Day 18

It's been 18 days since my last cooked meal. In those 18 days I have had probably 4 overt-fat meals. I'm still doing a lot of oranges, pears, and bananas; and parsley is my green of choice for smoothies. But this week I found an awesome deal for Mexican papayas so I bought 7 of them! They're about 40 cents/lb (usually .99) I hope I can keep getting this deal because I LOVE papayas! Their flesh inside is bright orange/pink and just luscious!

Random menu sampler: Yesterday's food

1:00 pm - 5 pears, few medjool dates

4:00 pm - large slice carob jello, 1 banana, several medjool dates

6:00 pm - carrot sticks and green tahini dip

Green Tahini dip:

sesame seeds pureed with parsley, spinach, and squirt of lime juice

So... the transition has been good for me. I had a couple emotional days at first, and a few really energetic days, and since then I've been very balanced and smooth sailing, as long as I get enough sleep. I've been working out every day now, which is something I never had the energy to do before! As far as detoxifcation goes I have had some pimples. But I can keep that to a minimum with hot water washing. I also use water on my hair, haven't washed it for a while. Other than my pimples my complexion is looking a lot better. When I eat cooked food I get bags under my eyes, or there is just this sullen look to my face (I don't wear make-up). My bloating was an issue until I started taking a probiotic, and that took care of it. For now, at least. But it seems my microflora is always up/down. We'll see how the 811rv diet helps with that, over time. I'm also interested to see if it helps with my nail biting tendencies - either via emotional detox, or a deficiency correction.

I have not had much cravings at all. And several times I have eaten a raw dinner after preparing and serving cooked food to my family, but it doesn't tempt me. The only thing that almost tempts me is watching commercials so I am sure to skip through those, to avoid those feelings.

At times I'm like "Wait, what? I'm not eating that ever again?" as it sinks in, another level deeper. I had some interesting introspection when my husband had several fruitarian days in a row, and I was surprised to find I wasn't quite comfortable with that. Like it's an adjustment with just me, right now, and if my husband does it too, that's just too extreme or I can't deal with it in some way. I am not sure why it made me uncomfortable, but it was a good time to explore myself. It's just so shocking for him to suddenly care about raw foods. He's supposed to be the "anchor" and I'm the extreme, over-zealous, crazy one. But I think I know deep down that we're headed that way, and soon we will be a fruitarian family.

Salt doesn't have parents

That's right! Just heard Dr. Graham say that in a video interview with Frederic Patanaude. "Salt isn't living. Salt doesn't have parents." That is SO BRILLIANT! 

In addition, I just read in two different books yesterday (Fruit the Food and Medicine for Man; Just What is the Word of Wisdom?) about the difference between organic and inorganic minerals. An inorganic mineral is what you'd find in a rock, or ore, iron, etc. - or sea salt. These are noxious to the body. The body cannot use them in this inorganic form. These crude minerals are plant food. Once the plant life has "eaten it" and converted it into an organic mineral (the actual sequence of elements changes, as it now contains carbon) only then is it usable as a nutrient to animal life.

Inorganic minerals can be used medicinally in that they control detoxification (in other words, they cause or suppress symptoms. That's what a medicine is). But they are not food for our cells, and they do not further the cause of health at all. Most often they build up as kidney stones, calcium deposits, arthritis.

For love of fruit!

I invite you to follow a similar blog, For Love of Fruit. Another LDS mom like me, eating 80/10/10 raw-vegan so that we can better fulfill our mission on earth! Love it!

Family dinner on different diets

We've done family dinner off and on over the years, with me on and off of cooked food dinners, or my husband eating something the kids couldn't have, etc. Over time we developed some patterns that have worked for us, as a family with different dietary needs. We have found ways to keep family meal time in tact, even with different foods. And it's not complicated - I never felt like a "short order cook." Here are some tips.

• Keep various leftovers and ready-to-eat meals in the fridge so each person can choose their foods and warm them up
• Have family "fruit time" or family "salad time" even if it means the entrees will be eaten separately later on
• Make easy variations; keep veggies separate so some people can add them on
• or keep some veggies raw, others stir-fried for those not wanting cooked food
• Have both raw food and cooked food on the table to choose from, even knowing that one person will only have one, and not the other, and vice versa with a different member of the family
• Have "Salad Bar" for dinner, with optional beans/ham/cheese toppings for non-raw family members, and lots of fun raw toppings using spirilizer, mandolin, or saladacco
• Cooked food eaters can eat a raw appetizer with the family, and their cooked food later on privately

   

Currently our family is following the first rule. It is very convenient and easy! We all eat a raw dinner together (and if my husband desires cooked food he just eats it later, after kids are in bed) but we still want different foods for dinner. So our fridge is stocked with various options, ready to go, and we just take what we want. None of us like to eat something that isn't appetizing to us at the time, so we accept this and encourage the kids to eat according to their appetite.

 

Right now here's what's in our fridge - options for any given meal:

• Carob jello
• Sprout salad
• soaked raisins
• soaked almonds
• ground sesame seeds
• cut up veggies for dipping
• romaine/celery salad
• pitcher of smoothie
• half-eaten apple for Elisabeth to come back to
• cooked millet (we usually have either this or homemade refried beans ready in the fridge)

And of course, besides the prepared food, we have cupboards full of fruit ready to be sliced and enjoyed!

 

It really isn't complicated or difficult. You CAN please all the members of your family without being a "short-order cook"!!

Impressed!

So proud of my sweetheart ... Now it isn't a rare occurance for him to have a "fruit day" a couple times a week. Yesterday I took a picture of our dinner together. I ate oranges, he had 1/2 gallon of banana/strawberry smoothie.

Sweet girl, wound healing

Two weeks ago, Elisabeth tripped against the trampoline and had a pretty bad gash on her forehead. We took her to the ER but decided to leave and just use butterfly bandaids. It was my first experience with a bad wound as a mom (since my son has always been very reserved, practically spent the first 3 years of his life on my lap) so I was very nervous, and not sure how it would heal. I was mostly concerned about it re-opening. But God has been with me - even taking her to the ER which would normally be a very uncomfortable thing for me, I was calm and collected and remained totally rational. Anyhow, she had a Priesthood blessing which promised her complete healing, and our various prayers were answered, even the smallest prayer for her to sleep deeply and not wrestle too much, or to not try to play with her bandages. (and amazingly enough, she remained oblivious to her wound the entire 2 weeks!)

 

So here is her picture today. It has healed up pretty nicely so far. I feel very relieved, and so grateful!

 

By the way, she never had any bruising, nor even a bump! It was interesting to read a story in the 80/10/10 book today about a women who had previously had unexplained bruises for many years, now doesn't bruise with even bad accidents.

Steve Pavlina: part 2

In this post, Steve has decided to become a raw foodist, and details his experiences with various trials and diets, how his body has become more sensitive, the challenges he anticipates, and some interesting introspection. Here is a wonderful quote:

This particular change sits well with both my logic and my intuition. My left brain likes it, and so does my right brain. I think my cells like it too.

I would have to agree :)

 

Euphoria, for sure. After 2 weeks now, I am on Cloud 9. Life is so perfect. No, my life hasn't changed at all, but my energy is totally different. Unhindered.

Steve Pavlina 30-day LFRF

Read this great summary of Steve Pavlina's 30-day trial on low-fat raw foods. If you're an athlete, you will be very impressed with his "exercise" results section. And his return to cooked food is quite the story to show its damaging effects!  I also thought it was interesting to read all the numbers comparison, about his detox period, and his feelings as a real individual coming off SAD. 

Euphoria

Gotta love this blog post. I think she's right, it's time to start talking about it. A great place to start is at the check-out lines. I have been thinking I should print out some business cards saying something about the 80/10/10 diet and hand them out when people ask me what I'm doing with all those bananas. But if nothing else, I will not be afraid of who I am anymore. I am public about it. I'm on Facebook and now everybody knows what a goofy fruity family we are. I am glad they know! And it's better for me mentally now, not feeling like I have a secret identity that I need to hide. It's not weird at all to eat fruit, and lots more people would, once it occurs to them that fruit can be a meal, not just a snack! This movement has amazing potential to gain popularity and turn people's lives around!

Benefits of 811rv

Here is a great video of Michael Arnstein's transition story to 811rv. I like how he says he used to crave certain foods but once he gave them up, he no longer missed them. Also the very end is really funny, about his reaction when he first heard about 80/10/10!

 

Also, here's a second video about the benefits of eating this way. I'll sum it up for ya:

 

*no body odor

*pee and poop don't stink at all

*hear better

*see better

*hair regained color

*no mucous - no snot (no colds, etc)

*greater lung volume, more efficient breathing

*faster marathons than ever

*fungus disappeared

*no hunger or cravings
*mental clarity, better focus, no brain fog, very alert

*not hard to stick to this diet because it works!

I also appreciate his testimony at the end about investing in his health rather than buying cheap foods and paying for it through doctor visits, hospital bills, etc. (although our grocery budget hasn't changed in this house)

 

He has several other videos that are interesting to watch. Watch the tour of his house- the amount of food is astonishing! He has 3 refrigerators and produce laying out all over his kitchen and dining room! (Granted he runs a marathon every day so he eats like 10,000 calories a day!) Now that is absolute commitment...Wow.

811rv & Pregnancy

I am looking forward to conceiving sometime this year, but feeling a bit nervous about it making me go off my diet. I have heard so many stories of raw fooders who were just overcome with cravings and fell off the wagon. But maybe that's because of their high-fat diet? Maybe it doesn't happen to such an extent with a low-fat raw vegan diet? I am hoping to get all my detoxification done and get my body acclimated so that pregnancy doesn't totally throw me off. And I am opening my mind to following my body in a simpler diet - I know greens can cause aversions, so instead of throwing out the baby with the bathwater, I can steer clear from greens and other specific nauseating foods, but still focus on the juicy or heavy fruits I like.

 

I don't know, just some thoughts. Anybody with experience?

Self-love and fruit

I feel that I have always desired fruit, but kept this desire from my consciousness in a self-defeating attempt to keep myself away from my heart's desire.

I was realizing this recently as I became emotional eating fruit. I realized that before, I didn't believe I deserved it. I didn't deserve the pleasure. I didn't deserve the simplicity, or the extra energy, or the extra time I would have when I wasn't preparing recipes, cooking food, doing dishes, planning the week's meals, etc.

I was overcome with emotion - sitting down with a feast of bright colors for me to eat with pleasure. Allowing myself to actually nourish my body with no guilt. No rationalizing why I chose to eat something less than ideal (whether conscious of not). I was overcome with emotion, feeling finally "Yes, I deserve this!" and releasing all the subconscious blockage that was preventing me from this in the past.

It takes self-love to allow yourself to have your heart's desire.

And if that means convincing yourself that you "need" more protein, or that fruit "doesn't work" for you, or for whatever reason just directing yourself elsewhere, focusing on what your body craves as stimulants versus what your heart desires for true pleasure and nourishment, then you subconsciously will do these things.

So for the past couple years, I have been under this impression: "A fruit diet! That sounds so romantic! That sounds so lovely. Yes, I believe that is the ideal diet. But it's not practical. So I will just eat a high-fruit diet, and eat some healthy cooked foods too." Sounds rational right? It was just a subconscious strategy to keep myself from it. For me at least, if there is a cooked food dinner, that is the main meal of the day and everything else is just insignificant. You can't really enjoy or take pleasure in your fruit when you are waiting for dinner. You don't really understand the pleasure that comes from a large fruit meal until you do it, as a staple in your diet, as the primary food, or as the only food.