Transition Slowly?

I am reposting the above picture of my beloved junk heap because it went to junkyard heaven this week. The final straw was a major gas leak. So, Greenmama's family just got greener now that we're down to a single vehicle. Less money for insurance should mean more banana money, too!

I recently joined Nora Lenz's Raw School Yahoo group and have enjoyed reading through old posts this evening. One of her early teachings that intrigues me is her suggestion that transition foods, such as dehydrated foods, nuts, and non-optimal combinations, are a good idea for many people to use in the beginning. Her argument is that many people try to go to a 100% optimal raw diet too fast, and then give up quickly when the going gets tough. (I don't know if she still advocates this... the posts I was reading were from 2005.)

My first reaction is to reject this option... why continue to poison the body unnecessarily? I know that dehydrated foods are downright difficult for the body to process and salt and onion powder and cayenne are basically excitotoxins (emphasis on the toxins). If my intention is to adopt an optimal diet, why not just DO IT and not look back?

On the other hand, Nora's approach certainly would allow me to not beat myself up today for again indulging in those darn Sprouted Salad Crunchies, that I promised that I WOULD NOT eat again after my discomfort 2 weeks ago. The question is why. After thinking about this for awhile, I think I am trying to numb myself from feeling the fear and pain of making so many "radical changes" and having many decisions and anxieties about the way forward for me and my family in many areas of our life.

In the short term, I am thinking about lending my dehydrator to a friend and buying some dates. The middle road?

Tomorrow, I plan to rest and read in bed for much of the day and fast. If the last time I ate like this was any indication, I will probably not be feeling well.




Today's Eating (and eating and eating and eating)



7:30 A couple of tablespoons of Sprouted Salad Crunchies
9:30 5 bananas, 1 small head bok choy
12:00 4 bananas blended over a lot of Four Seasons and Black-seeded Simpson lettuce
1-2 p.m. About 3 cups of black raspberries while picking
4 p.m. About 1 1/2 cups of Sprouted Salad Crunchies, 1 avocado
6 p.m. About 1 cup of bok choy with a bit of lime juice
8:30 p.m. A banana "shake" with 4 bananas



Approx. 2200 calories

Reflecting on my Raw Adventure

sample photo from Microsoft

Looking back, I realized that it has been officially 18 days into my raw adventure, with no non-raw food cheats. I am amazed at how easy it was to go raw, but also at how difficult it was to not abuse my body with food (albeit raw food). I had to give away trigger foods, like cashews. I learned a lot about why grains, high fat foods, and dehydrated foods can be harmful, and I felt the effects of various foods on my own body.

And I learned that if I want to be able to eat this way, some of my food is going to have to come from a dumpster. Luckily, I love the thrill of the hunt! (Did I mention that last week we scored 21 cantaloupes?!?)

How has 18 days of raw food affected me?

• I have lost 6 pounds, which I attribute to water weight from a decline in salt consumption, since my body fat percentage is still about the same.

• In the beginning, I did experience some detox symptoms, such as mild headaches, acidic nasal drainage, sore throat, etc. But those passed fairly quickly.

• My bowel symptoms such as bloating, gas, and constipation go away, as long as I don't eat lots of nuts, dried fruit or dehydrated foods. When I eat those things, however, I am very uncomfortable.

• I don't crave cooked food, salt, or sugar. However, I don't like watching food commercials on t.v., because I have a combination of revulsion and attraction, almost like the feeling you get when you pass a fatal car accident on the road.
  
• My normally sharp sense of smell is even sharper. My friend came over with gum in her mouth and the smell almost bowled me over. Very chemically!

• My skin is clearer and seems to have a glow about it.

• I am anxious about other's reaction to my diet. I feel fearful about people's views about my parenting skills. I am also anxious about being able to afford good quality fruit.
  

• I feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster, going from ecstasy and joyfulness to frustration and depression.

Thanks to all of my supporters who have helped me on my journey!

Marjorie

Sleep deprived

I normally am a DEMON if I get less than 8 hours, but I only got 4 last night and was just my usual mildly-crabby self.

My son woke up in the middle of the night and threw up everywhere. This morning, he got up later than usual and complained of a headache. So, he had his first sick day of the year. Actually, he was fine once he drank some water, laid around for about an hour and ate some fruit. I should have known he was just dehydrated from the vomitting. But it was probably better that he rested instead of going to school.

I lazed around a bit online in the morning, talked to one of my sisters (her birthday!) on the phone, and then got motivated and did some more cupboard cleaning in the kitchen. I got together 3 huge boxes of stuff to give away to various friends. It feels so great to "detox" my kitchen.

I ate a whole cantaloupe around 9 a.m. Mmm, juicy and good. I'm glad I waited until it was really ripe.

At 11:00, I sampled some of my sweetpotato chips that I spent so long on last night. Well, when the hours that it took to make them is factored in, the verdict is... not worth it! I had trouble getting the chili ones to be coated the right amount with chili powder. I tried dipping them in the lime juice and olive oil and then dipping them in dry powder, but that resulted in way too much powder caked on. Then I tried sprinkling the powder on the wet chip, but that resulted in uneven coverage. I got irritated and dumped the powder into the lime juice and olive oil, but that was a mistake, too. I need one of those shaker thingies that people use to put powdered sugar on their French toast. Or I just need to give up making complicated food. LOL!

Anyway, the plain lime chips were better than the chili ones, although they were a bit too sour. Perhaps diluting the lime juice would have been better.

At around 1:30, I had about 2 cups of romaine, with a few small stalks of chopped celery and 12 ounces of thawed raspberries.

We headed to my friend's house to give her some of our pantry excess. The kids romped in the backyard while we sat in the sun and chatted. I enjoyed the time, but was feeling a bit lethargic and generally down.

After running to drop off more stuff at another friend's house, we headed home around 5 p.m. I threw together some cooked food and started a salad for the family, but was depressed about what I could possibly eat. Also, I was beginning to feel time-crunched. I really wanted to plant more out at the farm before it rains tomorrow.

My husband reminded me that he actually gets paid Thursday night, not Friday, so I ran to Aldi and spent $70 on fruit and veggies. Woohoo.

I then sped out to my friends' farm while eating my dinner--3 apples and way too many raisins and soaked walnuts. My mood instantly improved, though.

I planted lots of lettuce and all of my cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts for the spring. It was dark when I finished and I know my rows are going to be quite crooked. My friends' gave me some of their asparagus harvest, which I sampled on the way home. Mmmmm! Nothing like really fresh raw asparagus.

Now, I'm really headed to bed as I am utterly exhausted!

Crabby

My husband had a senior awards banquet to attend tonight and so I had the kiddos all to myself.

I was desperate to get some planting done at my big garden out at my friends' farm, so I picked my son up from school and we all headed out there. I brought a huge container of grape tomatoes and a quart of soaked, dehydrated walnuts since I knew the kids would complain of hunger if I didn't have food along. We also brought our brand new library books to read. Unfortunately, they polished off the food and read the books in record time. Bored, they began to systematically demolish the inside of my car. Well, o.k., that's an exaggeration. My car is a glorified compost heap with a failing muffler, leaks in the windows and dashboard, a broken side mirror, an engine badly in need of a tune-up, one working radio speaker, and a great big pile of junk in the back (it's an '85 Celebrity Wagon). So, there isn't much more damage that can be done to it. But they dumped out seed packets, spilled water bottles and walnuts, tore some paper into little confetti bits, turned on the windshield wipers to squeak horribly, adjusted all the speaker levels, moved all of the mirrors out of whack and generally created havoc.

We had to make two bathroom trips and take one extended nursing break and they pretty much whined and complained nonstop, so after less than two hours, I had had it! At least I got 48 square feet more of lettuce planted. I hate wasting the gas and the trip out there, though.

We tried to dumpster dive again at Aldi on the way home...man, we need fruit!...but an employee was out back taking a smoke break, so we were out of luck.

For dinner, I had about 4 cups of romaine, a stalk of celery, 1/2 C. grated carrot, 1/3 C. broccoli sprouts, and more of that creamy nut dressing.

Tonight I started making some dehydrator sweet potato chips marinated in lime and olive oil. To one batch, I also added chili powder and sea salt. I am interested to see how they turn out. I know they probably aren't the greatest--basically raw junk food. But I can't let those sweet potatoes go to waste.

Now it is almost 1 a.m., definitely too late for me to be up! I have to volunteer all day tomorrow at my son's school, so I should be in bed.