Been there done that!

Part of an interview given with Angela Stokes:

What advice do you give to those who are brand spanking new to raw? What do you tell people who have no idea as to even how to put together a salad or who say to you its too expensive or complicated?
I usually encourage people to start out eating at least 50% raw and to take it from there, towards 100% raw, if they ever take it that far. This might mean that they eat a raw breakfast and lunch and a 'cooked' meal in the evening, or maybe it means that at every meal they enjoy at least 50% raw foods. Many people find green smoothies a good breakfast to start with, or fruit salads, grawnola mixes with nut/seed milk and so on. Lunches might include a big yummy salad with greens, sprouts, healthy fats like avocado/olives and seaweeds, or maybe nori wraps/lettuce wraps with some kind of simple seed cheese/pate and veggies. Snacks might be fresh fruit, pre–packaged raw bars, home–made raw truffle balls, soaked nuts/seeds/trail mixes, chopped veggies with a dip and so on.
Eating raw can be as 'expensive' or 'complicated' as you like – one could purchase the most costly items and create lavish gourmet raw dishes, or pick and eat some wild greens and berries straight from the wild – there is no exact 'protocol' for eating raw ;)
In terms of purchasing any new kitchen equipment, I feel getting a high–speed blender (e.g. Blendtec) is usually the ideal first choice for most people, as so many things can be created: smoothies, puddings, cake and cookie mixes, ice creams and even juices if you have a nut milk bag too...
I recommend people aim to drink at least one green drink a day, plus eat seaweeds and sprouts daily. Making the choice that everything sweet going into your body is going to be a raw food can revolutionise peoples' health journeys too.
I thoroughly recommend getting support from others who have gone down this path before you – whether in your local area or online. Be prepared with your own foods when you go out in public, keep yourself motivated by reading raw books/watching raw vids on YouTube/DVD, visiting websites, connecting with raw friends etc and above all...ENJOY ;)

Come Along With Me (Video)

Hey Wait A Minute!

I just realized that the movie Tangled has a few hidden messages in it. The first being, if a person is limiting himself to certain life experiences it might be time for him to look beyond that invisible tower he is living in. There is more to life than just a small space in which we live or limit ourselves. It takes courage to step outside the box to experience the unknown. It dawned on me that fear has pretty much ruled my life. I absolutely hate not having control over my environment; not knowing what's around that corner bugs me out something fierce so part of this journey for me is to step out of this way of thinking and embrace whatever lays ahead good or bad.

Every moment in our life is a learning opportunity or a teachable moment whether we are the student or instructor but first it's important to know a bit more about ourselves before we can teach others. The space that I am in right at this moment is beginning to feel like an inching toward my own tower window. The second message is, everyone has some kind of goal to accomplish and if that goal isn't reached than it kind of causes a snowball effect of disappointments. Having a little courage, just that little bit can go a long way toward a world of discovery.

On my way...

Or should I say 'Shania'? December 9th I have chosen as the day I begin eating raw. I have been contemplating which foods actually agree with me and have realized food combining is really a good thing to adhere to. For instance, I cannot eat bananas with ANYTHING or I get stomach cramps. Ouch! No fun at all! I think this goes for any fruit which should be eaten first at an hour or so in between switching types of foods. If anyone has information on food combining I will greatly appreciate it. Choices? I think choices are a powerful thing. When we choose to do something, we are empowered by the strength involved in making that decision. Perspective and perception are so subjective to what we desire. I think its good to evaluate our perceptions and perspectives of so many aspects of what we do in our daily routine. Maybe, something I perceive as being correct all along has been completely wrong. I think each person has that gut instinct inside of him that tells him what he feel works best. Now, back to square one and my original statement...I will NEVER push this type of eating style onto anyone (refer to my 'Just Me' post for clarification on the subject). After all my research,  trials and error etc.. for now this plan is what I need to do in order to feel better. Okay, for any guys out there reading this, you might want to cover your eyes right about now...I'm going to address the subject of Perimenopause.  GUILTY AS CHARGED!!! Another big reason I need to do this...the hot flashes are starting, (whoopie) the insomnia began a few years ago and overall I feel like well lets say not my true self. If any of you guys out there decided to tough it out by reading on, all I want to say to you is, IF you are married, or have a Mom/Sister or Friend around my age experiencing very strange things likes those mentioned above...please be very patient with them! I think it will end at some point... I think. Each woman experiences something different while transitioning toward and during the menopausal stage of her life. I remember my Mom pretty much behaving like...well a Tasmanian devil does come to mind
(Love you Mom but you know its true). Please lock me up and give me plenty of sedatives if I get to that point...this is all I ask.  Anyhoo, I'm happy to report my symptoms are very mild and sporadic at best. Yeah! I have been working on my shopping list for which raw 'staple' items to keep on hand in the fridge. I need healthy munchies at my disposal at all times.  I want to eventually post photo's of some of the dishes I create so you can get an idea of what I eat. Oh and I want to share tips on what to take along on a road trip, plane ride, visit to Disneyland..any and all situations I may be tempted to eat toxic food. I refuse to pay $3 for an apple after experiencing an exhilarating ride on Splash Mountain. It kind of takes the wind of the sails.  I'll keep you posted on all of that down the road here.

Just Me

Just an FYI, I decided to begin this journey BECAUSE I have one kidney...I'm getting older and have sustained a few injuries since moving to Hawaii. Therefore,  my life has slowed down quite significantly. For some reason and for the last 5 years I have had high blood cholesterol. The oddest thing is that I have been a  pescatarian (veggies and fish) for nearly that length of time. As far as family history goes there are a few  family members that seem to just make cholesterol naturally so I guess I was elected to carry on this same trait. So...I don't propose to push this eating lifestyle on to anyone, its just something I need to do and hope to carry on with. Yesterday I felt a little discouraged but today I feel just as strong about it as the day I decided to begin the plan. I did a trial run last week 4 days eating raw food. I felt so good I just had to strongly contemplate doing this as long as possible. I choose to do this, it's not a chore or a journey of deprivation..I'm not being sent to the naughty corner. I choose to not put toxic food into my body, my temple, as it were. The only missing thing right now for me is cardiovascular activity since I'm still recovering from a foot injury. Once I'm out of this walking cast, hopefully I'll get some rehab which will include swimming again then eventually back to the treadmill (man do I miss running). The less drastic form of exercise for me is Pilates and a little strength training exercises. I thank you for taking the time to read this and I know many of you might think this is a crazy thing to do but when you are a person in the 15 percentile of every odd thing, physically anyway...too many things to number in fact, you might be more of a candidate for a pure eating plan filled with identifiable fare .

Count Down

Yesterday I purchased a little personal journal to keep in my purse. Although I plan on sharing this new path with all of you, I want to have the journal to jot down my everyday thought processes or old thought processes negative and positive to help better understand why I have always grabbed for the toxic food instead of the pure and clean food given to me by the earth. These wonderful food gifts given to me or these fresh fruits and veggies which have always been at my immediate disposal, are often denied, dismissed, refused. Why? This is something I deeply want to find out.

Thinking Process

Working through and organizing this new beginning for me. I'm very nervous about it..for the first time I am actually afraid. I was reading about all the emotions that are drummed up as one goes through the detox process. Detoxing encompasses even the raw emotions that have been stored in fat. So as I write this I'm still in the planning phase of eating raw as a lifestyle choice. I'm making my lists while doing inventory. Comparing 'Trigger' foods vs 'Vigour' foods. I'll keep you posted as it all unwinds for me.