Ayurveda

Today I spent three hours researching the ancient studies of Ayurveda--all thanks to my sweet friend Melissa who mentioned it on the blog awhile ago. I am pretty sure I have a kapha dosha--lucky me--the kapha dosha is encouraged to stay away from all wheat, dairy, tomatoes, avocados and bananas. Anyone who knows me knows that I basically could LIVE off the aboved mentioned foods. Sigh. But, I think I'm going to try eating the recommended foods and see how it goes. It's pretty simple. I should have more apples and pears than oranges. I should eat barley and quinoa instead of wheat. I should not eat dairy. I should exercise daily (apparently the Vata doshas don't have to do that...sigh again). I should avoid sweets as I tend to over do it. I am just so curious about these ancient methods of taking care of our bodies and understanding them.

All the reasons they gave as to why I should avoid certain foods made a lot of sense. I have alway instinctively known that I shouldn't eat a lot of dairy and red meat--that is just makes me very sluggish. I've know that wheat tends to be a trigger for bad things in me. So, as I read through the dosha descriptions, it all made a lot of sense.

Have any of you had experiences with doshas?

So, what is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is grounded in a metaphysics of the 'five great Elements: earth, water, fire, air an ether)—all of which compose the Universe, including the human body. Ayurveda deals elaborately with measures of healthful living during the entire span of life and its various phases. Ayurveda stresses a balance of three Humors or Energies: vata (air in space - wind), pitta (fire in water -bile) and kapha (water in earth -phlegm). According to Ayurveda, these three regulatory principles— Doshas (literally that which deteriorates)—are important for health, because when they are in balanced state, the body is healthy, and when imbalanced, the body has diseases. Ayurveda hold that each human possesses a unique combination ofDoshas. Ayurveda focuses on exercise, yoga, meditation, and massage. Thus, body, mind, and spirit/consciousness need to be addressed both individually and in unison for health to ensue.

Slow Going..but Going Just the Same

Lest you doubt, I've been true to my training for my 1/2 marathon that I will run at some point this year. I have to check out the race offerings in my new home town.

I've been clocking in the miles. I've been walking/jogging on the slow, pitiful looking side. Trust me, it's not pretty, but it IS happening. Today, well, today I felt a little better. I was jogging one way and for the first time I saw someone jogging as slowly as I was--coming towards me. He was slow, he was a bit heavy, and he was full of determination. The smiles we exchanged and the hellos we said were a bit more poetic than the other "Bonjours" I said today. We both just got each other and I felt, silly as it sounds, that we kind of virtually gave each other a big high five. It made me smile and made me hang in there with more spunk than I anticipated. Sometimes, by mile four, you need a little pick me up.

Sigh. I wish I had a workout buddy. They are nice. They can be inspirational. The man I saw today inspired me, though I am sure he wouldn't ever have thought so.

My Breakfast is RAW!

Yum. I've been trying to delight, savor, and enjoy the times I am eating my food. I try to stay present in each meal. I try NOT to think or obsess about what I will eat and when I will eat it. I have a tendency, with so much of my time in life, to have a constant worry about when to eat, what to eat, will I over eat, will I under eat, why am I eating...and on and on and on.

I'm trying to get those thoughts out of my head. I'm trying, hard, to just eat simple meals that don't trigger anything in me (over eating) and that taste divine.

Breakfast this morning--freshly sliced mango with a sweet, fresh lime squeezed over it--all designed on a beautiful white plate.

Eating is Fun.

Tomatoes provided by Spain

Mozzarella provided by Italy

Basil provided by France

All eaten for lunch two days in a row--in Switzerland.

Yum. Eating is fun.

Reminders

Yesterday a funny thing popped up on my email inbox. It was a reminder that I was going to run a half-marathon on April 15th (yeah, with my sister--remember that, Sis?) I decided to do this sometime last fall, but I think with my move, with my job change, with my broken heart, with so many things--I guess I just pushed it aside.

So yesterday it sat teasingly looking at me. It raised its eyebrows at me, I raised mine back. It shrugged is shoulders at me, I shrugged mine back. It said, "How about it kid?" and I said, "Why not?"

Simple.

So, the thing that I have NEVER wanted to make public (because somehow you just have to stick with it when it goes public) is that I am going to start training for a half-marathon. To me that seems like a pretty big damn deal. Since I work ten to twelve hour days, it means I'm going to have to wake up pretty early to start clocking the miles. It means that I don't really know what I'm doing. It means I'm going to have to do some of the pathetic walk/jog/walk/jog that people who can't jog for very long at a time have to do. It means I could fail. It means I could succeed. It means I could fall. It means I could fly. It means that Swiss men will probably WALK past my slow gait, but it also means that I might just get these legs ready for swimwear season in Portugal.

It means....wow.

It means...hmmm.

It means...let's do this thing!

Advice? Goals I should set? Songs to add to my iPod?

Inspiration

A man--handsome, strong, fit, determined--rides his bike past me each day. The first time I saw him, I did a double take...something didn't seem right. I wasn't sure if I had seen him correctly. This man has one arm. He rides faster than many of the bikers on the trail. He works hard. His balance looks more graceful than you can imagine--his bike sways farther to the left and right than if he had both arms to balance him out. He rides past me and I watch him for a minute or two before he is out of sight. He helps me put things into perspective. He creates motivation and inspiration in my life--those things, being motivated and inspired, are higher energy feelings. They make all of our atoms and cells ring at a higher frequency. They, in fact, create strength within us. I thank him for his grace and dedication.

I heard a story the other day about an event that took place at the Special Olympics. Nine children, many with Down's Syndrome, were starting off on a race around the track. The gun went off and the kids began running. One young boy tripped and fell. He didn't get up. A small girl, running her race, realized that the boy was not running. She stopped and went back to him. Soon, all the runners had seen what she saw. They stopped and returned to him as well. Then, the small girl helped up the fallen boy and linked arms with him. The rest of the kids linked arms too, until all nine of the runners had linked arms and ran across the finish line together.

No ego. No first place. No winners. No losers.

I think about this story because, more often than not, this world values ego. We place value on the thinnest model, the richest banker, the highest paid actor. Why? When we just let go, when we get quiet, when we look inside ourselves--I think we gain a level of awareness that helps us not only know how to care for ourselves, but also, instinctively, how to motivate and inspire others right along with us, so we all cross the finish line together.

Thank you all for the inspiration and love I feel from each of you. You have been supporting me during my ups and downs and I am incredibly grateful for it. Today was a day of perfect eating, perfect exercising, perfect work, and no battles in my head. It was nice to have a down day.

Grocery Shopping

Today I walked my regular four + miles and it felt good. It felt familiar. As I was walking, there were several joggers passing me by. I admired the way they ran, the way their bodies moved in sync with their heart beats. I use to run. I loved it. I loved the feeling when I was done. I loved the way my body felt. I loved the happiness it brought me. It's been a long time since I have run. It's been 15 years.

I decided that it would be pretty incredible if I could run 6-8 miles a day as a part of my daily life. What if I could do that in about an hour time period, and what if I could be in a beautiful place when I did it? I really wanted this to become my reality. I realized, with a sigh, how far away that goal seems for me...but I wanted to bring it closer. So, to bring it closer, I decided to walk for 7 miles instead of 4. And I did. And it took a long time, because I can't speed walk for 7 miles...I just walk walk. The whole time I walked, I imagined the time when I would run the same distance.

Then I went to the grocery store. I don't know if it's habit. I don't know if it was cravings. I sometimes get in this stubborn state where I feel like I should be able to eat whatever I want and not feel bad about it. I took a shopping cart and I went around the store. I put in that frozen pizza that I wanted yesterday, I put in creme brulee, I put in some crackers (that I promised myself I wouldn't eat anymore), I put in some pudding. I put healthy things in too. But when I looked at my basket, I knew it was full of trigger foods and possible bingeing items.

I went to the check out line. I stood there. I fought the same battle I fought yesterday. Somehow I thought that fighting it yesterday would mean that I wouldn't have to fight it today. But, I had to fight it and fight it harder because this time I had the food right in my hand.

I got out of the line. I walked back through the grocery store and put everything back. EVERYTHING. And then I got out of there. I was NOT in the right frame of mind to grocery shop. So I left until I was. After the drive up the mountain, I felt better. I went into another grocery store and bought the things that I knew I REALLY wanted and that were good for me.

Update

The pants I am wearing now are simply too big. They are falling off. It's time to downsize. I knew this would happen, but I kind of forgot that was the goal too. Sounds weird, I know. I've been trying to just be the best I can each day--that, well, I sort of forgot all that effort would add up to weeks and results.

I'm not sure how much I weigh or how much I've lost. I don't really feel that different and it's been slow going. But the reality is that the pants that I couldn't quite get done up last month, the pants that are a size smaller than I've been wearing for the past two years, well, these are the pants that now fit.

The others--I'm giving away.

High Energy People

"SURROUND YOURSELF WITH HIGH-ENERGY PEOPLE! Choose to be in close proximity to people who are empowering, who appeal to your sense of connection to intention, who see the greatness in you, who feel connected to God, and who live a life that gives evidence that Spirit has found celebration through them." ~ Wayne Dyer

I've been thinking about the people in my life today. I've heard that no one is in your life who isn't supposed to be there. Do you think that is true? Right now--my life-- I spend it with three people only. Just three people. The three people are pretty remarkable people. I love them deeply. In each of their ways, they are adding so much to my life.

But, three people only--that leaves lots of time for me. Lots of time. I live a pretty solitary life right now. I'm more solitary and spend more hours alone in a day than I have ever in my ENTIRE life. And yet, I'm more at peace, more thoughtful, more creative, more more more. I look forward to it and savor it every day because I know it won't last. I rejoice in the time I have to listen to myself and speak to myself and hear myself and really dig deep on issues and set backs and old habits.

I am grateful for this time. It's not going to last much longer. Just four more weeks really. Will that be enough time to center me for the high stress and stamina I'll need at that time? I hope so. I hope I'm solidifying my foundations. I am hoping this quiet time will center and teach me to put myself first (even if it's just for ten minutes in a day) and that from that--all other things fall into place.

Going Naked

Last night I didi some research on my nail polish and decided I needed to remove it and stop ignoring the warnings. It was hard to take it off, my toes are ALWAYS red and cute and make my feet pretty. Plus, I had PAID someone to paint them, so I didn't want to take it off, but I did. Now my feet are very naked. But it's a good naked...a healthy naked.

Regular nail polish has three bad toxins:

Toluene

Toluene is a human reproductive and developmental toxin. It may affect the nervous system with symptoms like tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, and memory loss. It is thought to cause liver damage and skin irritation. In high levels it may affect the kidneys. Toluene has been linked to birth defects.

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a carcinogen and a common indoor air pollutant because its resins are used in many construction materials. Formaldehyde has caused cancer in the nose and throats. Inhaling the fumes can result in watery eyes, headache, burning in the throat, and labored breathing.

Dibutyl Phthalate

Phthalates are used to soften plastic, and are known to affect hormone function. Studies have linked phthalates to early puberty in girls and low sperm counts in men. Environmental groups claim phthalate exposure may contribute to the rising number of uterine problems in women and testicular cancer in men. It could also be one of the contributing factors to a rise in infertility in both sexes. Repeated and heavy exposure to dibutyl phthalate may cause nausea and/or vomiting, tearing of the eyes, dizziness, and headache. Long-term exposures may cause damage to kidneys and the liver. Pregnant women must consider that dibutyl phthalate may harm the developing fetus and the male testes.

I just can't do it anymore because it's pretty. So, in researching I found some new items you might like! Here is a list of the top five Eco-Friendly nail polish brands. My favorite is PRITI, it's made with essential oils!!

It is Safe

I went for another long walk yesterday and had a lot of time to think. Sometimes I try to release thoughts and reach a peaceful zen and other times I like to process through things and come to conclusions that are working for me.

I've realized something this week. Eating is safe. Eating the right amount of food for my body is safe. The word "safe" probably comes to you as being out of place, but I'm using it very intentionally. I never realized how many of my thoughts fight against food at every moment. White bread is bad for me, I shouldn't be eating this chocolate, I probably am going to gain weight from these potatoes and gravy, I can't believe I just put honey in my tea--hello blood sugar increase...maybe I shouldn't eat this fruit, cheese goes right to my thighs....and on and on and on. I have gotten SO used to constantly thinking these thoughts that they were more of a humming in my brain than something I was thinking consciously. Do you have similar thoughts that make you feel bad when you eat something, but you eat it anyway and then feel guilt on top of feeling bad?

I eat many meals with my sweet boss. As as I'm trying to be healthy, my initial route would be to avoid certain foods and stick to strict outlines of what is GOOD for me. I've tried this and failed for YEARS. She says that this just doesn't work. She said to just focus on eating normal amounts of food for now. When we eat together, she explains what's in each dish she makes and then she always says, "It can't hurt you, honey." Sometimes I like to believe that I'm pretty tough, that I have things pretty figured out and that I'm above simple phrases like that actually making a difference in my day. But EVERY time she says it, I believe it and I feel fine eating these foods. I don't feel the guilt and the shame and the fear and all the other things that I believed caused me to hold on to extra weight because I believe that it WOULD bring on extra weight.

I've been an advocate of "thoughts become things" for a long time, I've manifested lots of amazing things in my life--but never with my body or with food. So to start to believe that eating food is a "safe" thing and that it can't "hurt" me is actually pretty revolutionary and I can feel its affects on my body already.

It is safe. It really is.

Guest Post-Rock Your Body!!

Dear Stella,

I wanted to share something with you. It’s a letter to a man who was not attracted to my body GASP! My own personal nightmare, right???? But it is this sort of friction that brings revelation and healing. Your post about loving your body is exactly what this letter is all about…you may post parts of it if you think it will help you or anyone else who reads…It is very personal, but ah! What is life if not sharing our personal moments to create movement?

Readers--I just had to post the whole thing. It's from one of the strongest, most beautiful and talented women I am privileged to know.

Dear Love,

Today I took a bath. I used that fizzy bath bomb my mom sent me for Christmas and I cried the kind of tears that shake the soul. I contemplated the imperfections of my body, the soft hills and sharp angles and I wondered why God would make me go through this earthlife with such a flawed, wreck of a vessel. And just when I thought the pain would overtake me, an analogy came to my heart.

I am a burn victim, but I’ve been on fire from the inside out, like a microwave from a very young age. When I was a little girl, I was sexually abused. I didn’t even remember it until I was much older, but it affected many aspects of my development both emotionally and physically. I abused my own body in my attempts to anesthetize and make sense of a seemingly fractured world. I separated myself from my body – it was a ‘thing’ that I could blame for everything. That way, I kept my spirit safe. But you and I know that we are meant to be whole. The purpose of this entire earth life is to have a spirit and a body together…working together.

God needs me whole so I can do his work. And so I’ve been running into the fire, pulling myself out one charred limb at a time. An arm here, a calf there, and eventually the piece that would put it all back together again; my heart. The Savior has been my surgeon and like other burn victims, the reconstruction doesn’t happen in one fell swoop. It is a process…the greatest process of my life. But it has left me bruised, swollen, lumpy, soft in places that the world tells me I shouldn’t be.

The thing is, I’m proud of this body. I’m proud of my strong shoulders, my muscular calves that have walked through fires, and borne me up with I didn’t have any other strength. I’m proud of my cracking, bungled, arthritic knees that so quickly bend to worship my Savior and my soft belly- a monument to my willingness to change, forgive, stay soft though life has not always been easy or kind. My body is a work in progress and it is certainly not perfect by any standard, but this is why I love it. And this is why loving me means loving all of me. Because I am not separate from my body. Without this particular vessel, I would not be the woman I am. It was a gift from a loving and merciful father who teaches us in the ways that are most meaningful to each of us as individuals.

This part is important: In sharing these thoughts, I do not seek any particular outcome. You are under no obligation to see my body the way I do. We didn’t even know of each other’s existence when this plan was set into motion and you are not responsible for reconciling the consequences of my years of self-abuse. I can not and do not expect that of you. What I do hope is that you can understand how I can love myself as I am and why I must be careful in my desire to please someone else where my body is concerned. I do want to be and fully intend to get as healthy and as strong as I can. And I will continue to work hard, but there will always be ‘scars’ from my battle.

In the end, the initial revelation that I received when we first talked about the lack of attraction still stands, “don’t worry about it’ seems to patiently flood my veins in moments when it all seems too overwhelming to bear. The admonition is a mantra borne of my deep and abiding faith in the healing power of Jesus Christ. I will have peace because ultimately He paid the price for it and through repentance (and I consider my process toward a healthy, strong body and away from self-abuse to be a repentance process of sorts) I am made whole. I am connected to that great power which makes me full of love for myself including my body and by extension you and the rest of the world.

I am so grateful that you are the man that you are and I hope that in the span of our relationship, I can recognize the fissures and pressures that have shaped the rock of your faith with all of your unique crags and fixtures. I’m glad for your honesty; it opens doors to a depth that is otherwise impossible to explore.

Apple Cider Vinegar

In packing my few bags to bring to Europe...what do you think I would bring? Shoes and sweaters and sweet things for my hair? Yes, that's true, but somehow I had to make room for my Apple Cider Vinegar. This stuff works wonders on anything from skin conditions, alkalizing the body, ear aches, varicose veins, acid reflux, losing weight and a million and one other uses. I bought the above book and LOVE it. I adore it! I want to marry it! Not really!! But seriously, I feel like I learn so much when I read it.

I take apple cider vinegar in a shot glass in the mornings and you can bet I slam that shot glass down on my counter and make a big "whoop!" sound when I do. (Straight Vodka would be nothing after this!!) I fill half a shot glass with ACV and the other half with water and I down it. I do this three times. It's truly disgusting. If only you guys could see my morning routine in the kitchen! You would look at me with more respect, I think, because this stuff is DISGUSTINGLY hard to swallow. However, many people mix it with honey and do just fine. I have a friend who puts hers in grapefruit juice and can get it down that way. I just go for it. I don't like to add the extra sugar to my diet because I save those calories for chocolate.

Please note that not all ACV are the same! I only buy Braggs WITH THE 'MOTHER'- (the 'mother' is a cloudy substance at the bottom of the vinegar that shows it's in the natural state and not distilled)-this is very important because other ACVs could be processed and clear and pretty, but they will be too processed to do much good for your body. So always look for Patricia--she's the lady with the hat, she's super cheesy and likes to quote poems about angels, but I love her anyway.

My Enemy, My Friend

May I send out some love and thanks to each of you. I've received some pretty powerful emails from a few special girls this week and it's encouraged me in some marvelous ways. One thing I hear again and again (and often times I say it in my own mind) is that we just want to be there, right? The finish line. The end goal. For some, like me, this can seem so far away. It can seem unreachable. It has to be taken in baby steps. Here are a few of my baby steps.

My body is no longer my enemy. I've decided it. Thus it's my new reality. My body is my friend.

This is REVOLUTIONARY in my new world.

Yes, perhaps it is a slow process. But may I ask what the hurry is?

There is none.

Relax. Breathe. Be gentle.

The American culture is constantly feeding our minds with the idea that we must lose 30 pounds in a month, that we must do this and this FAST FAST FAST. It can be easy! It can be quick!

I say, why? I'm on a journey.

I am not even focusing on losing weight. I don't want to focus on that. I've been focusing and obsessing about that since I was 6 years old. I'm over that. That is no longer part of my life story. What I am focusing on is just getting to know my body.

"Hey stomach, are you in need of food yet?"

"Hey stomach, is that enough food?"

"Hey body, how did you feel after I ate that, was that ok?"

"Hey body, what do you need? Have I been denying you of anything lately?"

"Hey body, thanks. Thanks for breathing and circulating and walking and running and feeling the fresh air that filtered down from the top of those beautiful Alps this morning. Just thanks."

What are your baby steps?

That Negative Mind

This week I have been hard at work. I work with people who are sick. I help to make them better. They are mentally and physically sick with an overwhelming negativity about life. They don't feel like they are worth anything. They don't feel like life is worth living sometimes. They starve or stuff or cut themselves. They hurt. They don't want to think these thoughts. They want to feel good and happy. They can't.

I help.

The biggest way that I help is to be a daily presence in their life of positive love energy. I bring kindness with me. I spread compassion. I bring possibility and love and empathy. I do it all in the face of the negative. And I slowly help the negative pathways reconnect to create positive pathways in the brain.

Repetition is key. Every day. For at least a year.

Please, please, for your sake, for your husband and children and family's sake, please be kind to yourself. Right now, this moment. Be gentle. Be loving.

Please do not cultivate guilt, shame, hate, sorrow and negative thoughts about yourself in your mind. Each time you do, you make it more of a habit. These habits ARE breakable. They are! I've seen young girls on the verge of death, 60 pound girls not wanting to live, saying they don't deserve life, I've seen them heal, be whole, be real, be normal, and go on to be shining lights in this world.

I'm sending each of you love and kindness and honor and support. I want each of you to now that you are sensitive. That you try to put others first, and that it's time to start thinking that you are worth it. Because you simply are.

Love is an enegry. It's a force. I'm sending it to you now. Feel it. Let it grow.

You are simply divine.

One Week

It's been exactly a week since I have over eaten. I know that sounds small. But for me it feels huge. I mean, I haven't binged at all. I don't think I've gone without bingeing in over a week since November 2008 (when I did the master cleanse diet). I really feel like I've eaten perfectly this week. That doesn't mean that I didn't have some chocolate, because I did. It doesn't mean that I didn't have some white bread with my tuna fish yesterday, because I absolutely did. When I say eating perfectly, I mean, eating only when I felt physical hunger.

To the people out there who this in normal to, I know you don't get it. And that's ok. To those of you who know exactly what I'm talking about, then maybe you see how big this is for me. It makes me happy. It makes me feel in control. It makes me feel...well, kind of normal concerning food.

Just wanted to share and gush!!

Emotional Hunger vs Real Hunger

My breakfast this morning...double yum!

As I've been on this journey, there are a lot of things you have to sort through. One of the things within me that I am trying to honor right now is hunger.

That may sound weird, but to those of you who have not listened to your actual hunger in a long time, I think you know what I'm talking about. So much of what each human eats each day can be more emotional hunger than physical hunger.

When I suffered from my eating disorder I ignored my physical hunger so much that it just went away. My brain stopped wasting the energy to tell me my body was starving because I wasn't listening.

During the times that I have overeaten, I remember not feeling actual hunger for a really really long time because I never let my body feel it. I was eating too much and my body never got to have a break to process food, and then register an empty stomach. Have you ever had days or weeks like this? When was the last time you felt hunger and let your body just feel it for a little bit?

So, my new goal right now is to eat only when I actually feel physical hunger. This is harder than you might think because my body hasn't registered normal hunger feelings for many years. So, as I have been keeping my food journal, I'm not worried right now so much about carbs and fat and calories and all those things that get in the way. Right now my main concern is to eat only when hungry.

I encourage each of you to honor the wonder of your body by doing the same.

I'm posting a few of my recent food journals because a few of you have emailed me out of curiosity. I've been eating only when hungry. However, I'm hoping my hunger signals will improve. Just so you know, my boss/mentor looked this journal over and said that I actually wasn't eating enough, so I'm trying to see if my body can take time to adjust to a better hunger level. I think as I eat smaller meals more frequently then my metabolism with rise and I'll get more hunger feelings.

I really think another week or two of listening to my hunger will give my body the signal that it can start functioning normally in that respect. That might sound like a long time, especially when people on the biggest loser are losing double digits each week. But I'm not looking for a quick fix these days. I'm willing to put in the time, get to know my body, be kind and gentle and patient with myself. To me that's more of a revolutionary way of thinking than ANY quick fix!!

Sample Food Journals

(please note that I don't wake up until about 9:30 am each morning, and I go to bed around 1 am...I know! Crazy schedule!)

2/26/10

10:30 am—1 cup prune juice with 1 tbs spirulina

12:00 pm—2 eggs with tomatoes, spinach, fresh garlic, onion

1:00 pm—mint tea with spoon of honey and small cookie

4:00 pm—Salad: mixed greens, beets, carrot, cucumber, and rotisserie chicken. 2 tbs Caesar dressing

6:00 pm—Greek style honey flavored yogurt

9:30 pm—one apple

Supplements: fiber pills, garlic oil, turmeric, egg shell (pure calcium), Liquid kelp, 2 tbs apple cider vinegar in water

2/27/10

11:00 am—1 mango with ½ fresh lime squeezed over it, 1 banana

1:30 pm—mint tea, 1 tsp honey

2:30 pm—water with ½ lemon squeezed into it

3:30 pm—Salad: mixed greens, beets, carrot, cucumber, and rotisserie chicken. 2 tbs Caesar dressing

5:30 pm—small handful of almonds, 1 square of chocolat

6:15 pm—small handful of nuts, 1 glass milk

8:00 pm—cheese burger (gourmet from the best Swiss cows!), 15 fries, small salad (a work dinner with my patient)

Supplements: fiber pills, garlic oil, turmeric, egg shell (pure calcium), Liquid kelp, 2 tbs apple cider vinegar in water

3/2/10

11:00 am—1 plum, 1 natural yogurt (bio), 1 handful blueberries

1:00 pm—1 cup tea with 1 tsp honey and a dash of peppermint essential oil

3:00 pm—orange

4:00 pm—apple

5:30 pm—2 slices of brown bread (with nuts and oats) with 2 tbs organic peanut butter and 2 tbs strawberry jam.

6:30 pm—lavender tea (no honey) one square chocolate

8:00 pm—1/2 pita with hummus

9:30 pm—1 bell pepper stuffed with tuna (and mayo) and grilled with small slice of gouda on it

Supplements: fiber pills, garlic oil, turmeric, egg shell (pure calcium), Liquid kelp, 2 tbs apple cider vinegar in water

Spirulina!! Yum! (Sort of)

I got some Spirulina from my awesome Raw Food Teacher Friend Linda! She has a cool health blog herself and she has a post on Spirulina. Check it out if you like!

I eat it in crunchy form! Add to yogurt or smoothies. It's not the tastiest of foods, but honestly, it doesn't taste like much either, the texture is a little hard to handle, that's why I recommend the smoothie and drinking it down instead of chewing it much.

Spirulina is a blue-green algae. It is a simple, one-celled form of algae that thrives in warm, alkaline fresh-water bodies.

Spirulina is being developed as the "food of the future" because of its amazing ability to synthesize high-quality concentrated food more efficiently than any other algae. Most notably, Spirulina is 65 to 71 percent complete protein, with all essential amino acids in perfect balance. In comparison, beef is only 22 percent protein.