Quite often I find myself throwing away produce because I forget I have it. When I purchase it, I have every intention of making smoozies with it or juicing it or SOMEthing. By the time I get it home and put it away, I often forget my intention or something else takes my attention and I never get to it.

Also as many of us have partners who tend to eat less healthy than we do OR, just keep food in the house we tend to crave, here’s a quick suggestion to cover both scenarios ~

Take sticky notes and, on any food (package) or shelf of foods containing something you prefer NOT to eat, write something on it like ~ “Do You Really Want to Eat This? Options” (depending on what you have available):

Bananas
Apples
Grapes
Green salad w/
tomatoes
cukes
marinated veggies
carrots
beets (shredded)
Olives
Orange juice (maybe you’re really thirsty and not necessarily hungry)
Coconut water
Water with lemon juice
Water

You might also want to add on the note ~

“You’ve just eaten! Are you REALLY HUNGRY?

Also, remember my program “Fit or Fat?” Ask yourself before you reach for “comfort” food out of habits or cravings.

That may give you a chance to contemplate what it is that may be eating you which turns you towards stuffing yourself with food.

Please, comment here and let me know what’s working for you!

Injoy!

Revvell

Bodacious Living

A unique and different un-cook book than any I’ve received so far. Why? It doesn’t just give you recipes, it shows via step-by-step pictures how to create each of 15 or so recipes. That’s all? 15 you say? well, for those of us knowledgeable about raw food prep, this may not be of use but for beginners, and there are a LOT of them, this is a truly useful addition to your library.

At the beginning of each recipe, it states equipment needed, then ingredients, then come a series of 4-color pictures with each series depicting a part of the process. For instance, in the Dressing ~ 2 pics for the lemon, cutting and juicing (yeah, yeah, I know. How hard can it be? Yet, I once had a 63 year old client/student who had never peeled a banana so, take nothing for granted ~ some people have hardly stepped foot into a kitchen before going raw). Then we have 3 pics for adding lemon juice, olive oil and agave to the blender; two more for chopping and adding ginger; 2 more for de-stemming the hot pepper and adding to blender, two more for adding herbs; 3 more for blending, pouring into the cup and what the final looks like. Whew! That is a LOT of pictures, a lot of work and well done!

You know what? I was introduced to raw 14 years ago and I’M going to use this book because I want to make the Mango Jam Pie, Chocolate Cake, Mousse Cake, Truffles and Scones!
Oh, hey! Cultured vegetables??? I’ve been wanting to do them for awhile.

There’s also a section on sprouting ~ with pictures; benefits of sprouts; benefits of flax; and more.

Since I pretty much have all of Victoria’s books, I most likely also have these recipes ~ somewhere ~ in a bookcase ~ on a shelf yet, right now, I have THIS book right here now, AND the step-by-step directions to making all the recipes.

Also, consider this. Know anyone you’d like to introduce to the benefits of raw but they think it’s too hard, going to take too much time? Well, this is a GREAT gift for them!

What’s really cool about this book? The price! Listed in the US as $18.95. As of this writing, you can get it here for:

Yesterday started out wonderfully. First thing in the morning, I turned on the shower to get it hot; then turned it off and used one of my home-made sugar scrubs everywhere I could reach. (BTW sugar scrubs are soooooo easy to make there’s not reason to pay horrendous amounts of money for them. All members of Let’s Talk Raw have access to my ebooklet which included the recipe ~ for that and more.)

Lately, I’ve been using quite a bit of citrus oil ~ lemon on my neck and hands for focus. Whether that’s what it’s actually for or not, I don’t know. All I know is, I love the feel of it and it perks me up. Did some just a moment ago.

So, back to the shower. I used the one I made with grapefruit extract because it’s suppose to work on cellulite. How a 23 year vegetarian has cellulite, heck, who knows? I DO know, quite a bit of it has disappeared over the last few months but, there are two areas it seems to be hanging on and that’s inside thighs and biceps. Why there? I dunno. So, is it the grapefruit essential oil or is it the scrubbing with the sugar scrub? I’m thinking more the scrubbing but then, maybe it’s a combination of both. Whatever. It feels good, smells good…so, I’ll continue.

For those who don’t have the ebooklet , what I do is scrub my whole body (wherever I can reach and if he’s awake, he gets to do the rest), while my skin is dry. I do my face and neck wet.

Well, the morning went well. He and I spent it shopping for my favorite foods ~ cabbage, fruit, greens, etc. Then I went into the bedroom to read a book I’m creating some trainings around. About 1 p.m., that’s all she wrote. I’d had a HUGE salad and was still hungry so had a small round of Ani Phyo’s Breakfast cake. Knocked me out! I mean, for almost two hours, I slept the sleep of the dead. I woke up groggy. I haven’t done that in quite some time. So, what was it? I’ve had the Breakfast Cake in the mornings for the last two mornings and not had that happen. A combination?

So, here’s the “major” crime against wisdom.

In the evening, I made some “raw jicama fries” using a medium sized juicama. Oh man, were they good! It was late for me to eat. I usually shut down my computer and stop eating about 6 p.m. and it was probably closer to 7 when I ate those. I got to watching a t.v. series on HULU and about 11 p.m. I was feeling REALLY hungry. Couldn’t talk myself out of it. In my head, I had visions of raw sushi so, went downstairs, got out some nori, tomatoes, red bell pepper, then looked in the fridge. Oooops!

We had guests here and one of them was from Zimbabwe. She’d made some rice and beans and left them in the fridge. I’d been looking at them for waaaaay too long. Way faster than making sushi AND, I was hungry AND they were there! So, after over 50 days of 100% raw, I gave in to the lil monkey mind voice telling me, it was o.k.

Well, I made a bigger bowl than I’d planned and ate it all! (The whole bowl of it, not all there was). That’s all she wrote. I, who normally is asleep by 11 was up until 3 this morning. My stomach was growling; felt like I had to go… went but didn’t go (if you catch my drift); and now, here I am, 8:53 a.m. telling my story after getting up at 8 a.m. which is about 3 hours later than I prefer.

Well, here’s the thing. Most people I know who’ve done something similar to what I did would call it “falling off the wagon”; beat themselves up; eat more or what’s left (what difference does it make now?); etc. Well, there’s no wagon to fall off of. I chose to eat some cooked food; I’m experiencing what that feels like and how eating that late affects me; beating myself up would take away from the true experience and slow me down from making more positive, conscious choices so, here’s what I’m going to do… go downstairs and make up a half-gallon of smoozie and drink it throughout the day.

I’m still here! I’m alive! I’m healthy and I can make better choices which support me in my aliveness.

Done deal! It’s all about the journey and if I were to die today am I going to die in the middle of beating myself up and missing out on the joys of life (unless, of course beating myself up IS a joy in my life ~ NOT!)? Noooooo! Oh! Going to get rid of the rest of the rice and beans. Seems he’s not going to eat them and I certainly am not. Just going to make more room in our fridge for more good, healthy, raw stuffs.

Oh yeah! I purchased some zucchini yesterday to make some of Russell James’ Thai Pillows. THAT will be tonight’s dinner.

One more thing… the reason I did what I did ~ I’d not prepared anything ahead. One way to stay raw.. be prepared because if something is already prepared, that’s more likely to get eaten than something that needs to be prepared when hungry. Would I have slept better if what I’d eaten had been raw ~ that late at night? Well, I’m sure one of these days, we’ll find out. heh!

Please, enjoy your day as I’m enjoying mine!

Revvell

Afterthought ~ Wish I knew what knocked me out in the afternoon… could have had that and slept… maybe. But then, my lil monkey mind told me that the breakfast cake was too heavy for that time of night. Rice and beans weren’t? Tricky lil feller ain’t he?

O.k., completed day 1. Fairly easy. Only had a short period where I almost succumbed to actually eating something and that’s because of smells, visuals, etc.

Besides my husband making cooked food, we’ve got guests who were cooking as well. One soaked beans overnight and the fragrance…!!!! Just rude! lol Anyway, I went through my half-gallon of smoozie, plus about 3 glasses of 1/2 water, 1/2 pink grapefruit juice. I feel fabulous! Went to bed about 9:30, woke up around 4:30. I am so focused lately on my projects, really getting stuff done. Napped a bit yesterday since I got up at 3 but that was no more than about 20-30 minutes.

Yesterday I was on Twitter and received a DM (Direct Message) from a new friend @joshonefitness who asked if I had time to do an interview with him on his online radio program. Yep! Always take the opportunity to share my story/knowledge/experience so, here it is! No Gym, No Problem Radio.

I’ll be back with an update tomorrow!

Oh! by the way, tower racer/athlete Tim VanOrden will be joining me on Let’s Talk Raw, Monday evening, 5 p.m. Pacific. If you’re a member, and can’t be on the live call, you can ask on the site before the interview, have your questions answered and listen when you can!

Injoy!

Revvell

I’ve been heading towards this for awhile now and couldn’t see how to get myself to do it yet did what it took over the last two days to really get started and that was to make 1/2 gallon of smoothies per day, drink that and eat whatever, whenever. I didn’t eat much. Mostly eliminating things that needed to go if I were going to do any length of time doing the feasting.

All that needs to go is gone now. I’ve only got food in my fridge to make my smoozies. The part that may be trying is that on Saturday, I’m holding a raw food potluck here. By that time, I’ll be on day #4 so, should be o.k., long as I keep up with having the smoozies on hand.

Currently, just from drinking them the last two days, I feel really good. Got up this morning after about 6 hours sleep.

What I hope to attain ~ Well, I’ve been raw on and off for about 12 years now. (To me raw means, 100% minus the questionables such as cashews, Nama Shoyu, agave, spices, and an occasionall eating-out dressing, etc.) Today will be day #43. The longest I’ve been consecutively was when I was first introduced to raw and that lasted about 3 months. Since then I’ve had spurts of 100% yet, mostly quite “high-raw”.

When I met my husband I was doing a good job with raw. After getting married though, lots of what I was doing stopped ~ no more hiking in the hills, much less raw.. more SAC (Sad American Crap), less working out/training. 5 years later and 30-35 pounds heavier, I’m ready to let go of all the stuff I (unconsciously) have done to “survive” this change in my life ~ full-time, live-in, 27/7/365 partner. (Never been married before; never even had a long-term relationship).

I’ve been training more; focused more on me and my biz (old habit pattern was to focus on him ~ whoever he was ~ and whatever he was doing). Well, I just turned 60 and it’s MY time to fly! (Been building toward this for the past 23 years (think I may be a slow-starter?); got way-laid/detoured with the marriage ~ my own unconsciousness, not his as he is VERY supportive of all I do).

So, drinking a smoozie as I type. This is Day 1. How long will I go? *shrug* As long as it feels good to me.

In eternal-harmony,

Revvell