Detox....

Ugh! Last night and today detox really hit me hard. My sleep was completely screwed up, and I'm feeling terrible today. I need to remember that this is what wheat does to me whenever pastry or bread looks good to me. I have this photo on the pantry cupboard to remind me what I am working for. It was taken in 1993.

I've not made the buckwheat bikkies yet, and will hopefully be able to do that tomorrow. I'm looking forward to them. Though I need to melt the coconut oil before adding it because it is solid!

I've made some butternut pumpkin (squash) bikkies and cheesecake, however I think the pumpkin is too rich for me as my innards weren't as appreciative as my taste buds were. I'll have to go through my "Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too" recipe book ~ http://tinyurl.com/lwfcsu ~ to see what other yummy treats I can find.

If you would like my recipe for a guacamole smoothie, then go to http://tinyurl.com/dfqdd7 and type "guacamole" into the search box. I have also been making a normal guacamole to eat. Here is what I use:

* avocado
* 1/2 loose leaf lettuce (remove the core as this is bitter)
* two roma tomatoes
* clove garlic, crushed
* teaspoon kelp powder
* teaspoon turmeric
* teaspoon cummin
* pinch chili powder
* small lemon, juiced
* a little water to help blend

You can add some red capsicum (bell pepper) as well if you like. I use the pulp from the lemon as well as the juice: just make sure no seeds go in! This is a lovely, thick guacamole and is full of flavour as well as goodness. If you are wanting something crunchy, then you could spread the guacamole onto corn thins or rice cakes. I don't do this any longer, as it triggers my desire to binge on wheat. Corn thins and rice cakes are a fantastic intermediate food when first transitioning to raw.

Tonight I'm having a lovely mango smoothie with soaked chia seeds, bananas, and baby English spinach. Mmmm.......

Blessings,
Gypsy Queen

Where did the time go?????

Oh, my. I can't believe that I've not entered a blog here since February. I've finished the 90 day detox and have embarked upon a 6 week deep tissue detox. You can check these out at the Raw Divas.

I've been rather up and down with the raw food/SAD food, and have rediscovered this past week what the results of having wheat and dairy are:

* bloating
* weight gain
* sluggish mind
* sluggish bowels
* poor sleep
* fibromyalgia flare-up

So I'm back on the wagon again, and am looking forward to some delicious guacamole for lunch tomorrow. I'm also going to make some buckwheat bikkies (cookies) to nibble on. I really need to take the time to sit down, read through my uncook books, and make some menu plans for me.

I was going through old photos, and have found one that I will put up on the fridge in a magnetic frame to remind me what my goal is, and to be a deterrent to poor eating. I think that once I achieve my goal weight, I'll buy some beautiful fabric to sew up something nice for myself.

Blessings,
Gypsy Queen

I feel good!

I went for my first morning walk in I don't know how long today, and I feel good! The boys paid off their lay-by for a Wii Sport today, and I had a play with them. I might be 'old', unfit, and sick; however I can still kick butt! lol It was fun playing and it sure did give me a workout.

My goal this week is to gradually pull back the time that I'm having my last meal of the day so that I'm not eating after 6pm/nightfall (whichever comes first). That combined with being grain free, dairy free, and caffeine free has helped me to shed 2kg (4.4lb) over ten days without doing any extra exercise!!! Yippee!

Yesterday I saw my doctor, to be informed that I have 'weak' bones. So walking each day will help me to get extra vitamin D, which will help with calcium absorption. Hopefully she will refer me to a physiotherapist so that I can start doing more specific exercises, and build up to weight lifting again.

Today I had:

2L carrot, orange, ginger juice
green smoothie: 3 bananas, wheatgrass powder, celery/pear/ginger juice, raw honey
handful muscatel grapes
punnet of yellow grape tomatoes
small handful cashews

Blessings,
Gypsy Queen

Still going strong

Yesterday was a busy one for me. I did my first "real" proof reading work as well as helping to put our community newsletter online. Normally I'm completely worn out the day after doing this, however today I'm feeling really well. A little tired, but my brain is still functioning well enough that I did some more proof reading. I can't describe how good it feels to know that I'm regaining my health, day by day.

For lunch today, I splurged on a sweet potato pudding. Hubby put the sweet potato (nice orange one) through the juicer for me, recombining juice and pulp. I added a splash of vanilla extract, teaspoon of coconut oil, generous shake of nutmeg, and sliced banana into it. YUM! Just writing about it now makes my mouth water. lol

The skin around my fingernails is slightly tinged yellow, so my liver is being cleansed. I'm still really enjoying my carrot juice, so will keep that up until my skin is clear again with no yellow at all.

I enjoyed a delicious fresh salad for lunch yesterday: celery, grated carrot, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, capsicum. No salt or seasoning, and it tasted G-O-O-D!!!

Gypsy Queen

Learn something new everyday...

If you haven't yet visited Paul Nison's site, then I highly recommend going there to take a look! It is very refreshing to read such a commensense approach to the raw food lifestyle coupled with Biblical reasoning.

As a result of listening to the teleseminar where Tera interviews Paul, I've made a couple of decisions:
1) to give up chocolate; and
2) to eat during daylight hours.

I ate the last of the Power Balls today, although I did have some help from my sons. :-) I enjoyed them, however I'm looking forward to being completely caffeine free.

I'm enjoying my carrot, orange, and ginger juice immensely and am thinking that I may have some celery, pear and ginger juice tomorrow as well.

Hubby put organic wheat berries into glass jars with water last night, and tonight he will rinse them and let them drain overnight. Then they can be planted tomorrow night. It's going to be great to have wheatgrass juice again, and I'm also going to see how it tastes in greensmoothies.

Blessings,
Gypsy Queen

One week on...

I'm feeling FANTASTIC!!!

I've been "FREE" - caffeine free, dairy free, wheat free - for three days, and this is the fourth day. It is great to be eating healthily again and to avoid those nasty things that weigh down my body and my spirit.

I've been having 2 litres (quarts) of carrot, orange and ginger juice each day, a salad, and something 'extra'. We don't have fresh greens, so for my green smoothies I use two bananas, two small peaches, wheat grass powder, and water. Hopefully hubby will plant out wheat grass this week.

On Wednesday I made up some grawnola, and ate half that night and the other half on Thursday night: this got me through my monthly munchies without resorting to coffee, chocolate, or wheaty-badness!!!! Yippee!!!!

Early last evening I found myself “searching” in the fridge and pantry, then thought of chocolate icing. I made some up and it is G-O-O-D!!!! Completely indulged, completely took care of my cravings, and I completely stayed raw!

1 cup dates (best fresh, however I used dried)
cocoa powder to taste
1Tspn coconut oil
splash vanilla extract

Whip up in food processor until smooth!

I have been looking for coffee, however this seems to be more out of habit than actually ‘wanting’ it. I found myself trying to think of things to substitute for that “full” feeling, however realised that this is what got me into a health mess in the first place: so I’m looking for that “clean, healthy” feeling instead!

Gypsy Queen

90 day Deep Tissue Detox

I started a detox today with a juice fast: carrot, orange, ginger.

Tonight I may have some fruit - I'll see how I feel.

Click here to take a look at the detox info. It is FREE, and has fantastic information and support.

Blessings,
Gypsy Queen

A New Start

The past couple of months have been crazy, and sadly I slid into comfort eating with wheat and dairy. :-( Yesterday I started fresh, and I'm concentrating on eating to live rather than on eating to numb emotions.

Yesterday I had:
2 litres (quarts) carrot, orange, ginger juice - not all at once! lol
Green smoothie: baby English spinach, banana, peach
Large salad: two types of parsley, mignonette lettuce, tomato, continental cucumber, eschallots, green & yellow capsicum (bell pepper), endive, basil
1 iced decaf coffee

Today I've had:
2 litres carrot, orange, ginger juice - again, not all at once!
Green smoothie: banana, peach, raw honey, wheatgrass powder
More large salad
1 iced decaf coffee

After binging on biscuits (cookies) a couple of days ago: my lips broke out in heaps of small blisters; psoriasis came up on my nose, behind my ears, and on my eyelids; and my joints (mostly wrists, hands & ankles) ached with arthritic pain.

So I've decided that wheat is NOT good for me! I've given up on red meat completely, and have eaten hardly any chicken or fish over the past couple of months. I've started taking B12 supplements again, though I slacked off that for a while as well.

Gypsy Queen