Day 15 - Lucky Clover

May 10, 2008



Here's a four leaf clover my friend Tara found in our garden the other day

Yesterday on our walk I found a four leaf clover. And today, weeding in the garden, I saw a five-leaf clover! I took a picture...if it uploads well I'll post it.

Today, we were at Phipps again, taking in all the beautiful sights, and experiencing floods of butterflies (their butterfly room has NEVER been this good). We were outside in their chocolate exhibit when the stroller that had my quarts of juice on it tipped back -- and one of my jars broke! Oh, my precious juice! It was my savory one, too...all mixed with hemp oil and spirulina. I did have another quart of that juice, but without the oil (the oil really yums it up) or spirulina added.

After Phipps we made our rounds: Coop, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, and this time we tried to get enough for the whole week. It will certainly save us on gas money, the past two weeks we've been running across town for this or that every other day. Filling up our gas tank cost us $80 now, so one trip a week will be much better. Plus, more time in the garden. We spent $160 on my organic produce plus a couple extra things like bread, cheese, tomato sauce for the family. But we aren't eating out much (Ella still gets lunch at Phipps or Lulu's noodles when we're in Oakland), which hopefully balances out the increase in groceries.

I also did my caloric intake on Fitday again (just to be sure, since I've been so hungry) and I had about 1700 calories, which seems like it ought to be enough. 25% fat (with the 1/4 avocado - which I don't have every day, 1 Tbsp hemp oil and 1 Tbsp coconut oil - without the avo it was still 22% fat), 67% carbs, and 8% protein (34 grams, which is surely enough. Plus, I watched a great video of Tonya Kay talking about the protein question...I put it at the end of this entry. It's awesome.)

(Hey - it is my lucky day! Lime in the Coconut is on the radio right now! I'm listening to WERS's weekend kid's show The Playground - I used to live in Boston; WERS is a public radio station from Emerson College.) Now I feel I should put the video of Kermit the Frog singing this song (it's GREAT!)...but two videos in one entry? I'll have to post it tomorrow...something to look forward to.)

My juices:

• grapefruit, orange juice with water and 1 Tbsp liquid chlorophyll
• 1qt: watermelon juice with rind, plus 1 Tbsp liquid chlorophyll
• 1 qt: apple, lemon, water and 1 Tbsp liquid chlorophyll
• 1 qt: veggie juice: carrot, celery, cuke, tomato, spinach, sprouts, lemon, cilantro, onion, garlic, pepper
• 1 qt: corn, tomato, pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime, lemon balm (huge amount from garden) baby lamb's quarters, sprouts, spinach some apple juice from above, hemp oil, spirulina
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil with bee pollen and honey mixed in
• 1/4 avocado with salt and lemon

Day 16 - Happy Mother's Day!

May 11, 2008

Here I am, making my Mother's Day juice: strawberries, apples, and lots of mint and lemon balm from the garden - it was really good!



Happy Mother's Day, everyone! Cheers!



For Mother's Day this year, I got myself ANASTASIA, the Complete 9 Book Set, By Vladimir Megre - yes, the WHOLE set. I've already read the first one, and it was really great.

My juices:

• Leftover apple juice from yesterday
• 1 qt: Mother's Day juice: strawberries, apples, bunch lemon balm and mints with water and chlorophyll
• leftover savory juices from yesterday (about 3/4 quart) with hemp oil
• coconut oil, spirulina and honey
• 1/4 avo with lemon and salt
• shared the water of a young coconut with Ella
• made 2 qts: corn, tomato, cuke, carrot, celery, lemon, lime, cilantro, sprouts, spinach, green apple, onion, yellow pepper, garlic, ginger - drank a quart so far
• also made a quart of watermelon juice

Yesterday I cleaned out my freezer and found old spirulina tablets, so I am finishing those.

Today I am cleaning out our spice and herb cabinet...it is overwhelming. So many little plastic baggies from the coop -- some so old the writing is gone. I put my newly bought dry herbs: raspberry leaves, nettle, and hawthorn berry, into jars. I've organized the seaweed. Washed the cabinets...it looks great in there...but I still have about 50 little baggies that are in limbo (I've thrown out a bunch) - maybe I have enough little jars to store some, I'll have to see.

Day 17: Making the Juice

May 12, 2008

Not much new to report today...the strawberry, apple, lemon balm mint juice may be the best thing on the planet, though. I did write an article about meditation, posted on the Birch Center blog (my sister blog to this one.)

Today my juices were pretty much the same as yesterday. I made them all in one sitting, though, so I thought I'd discuss how I go about making 5.5 quarts of three different kinds of juices and clean up all in less than an hour (or about an hour.)

• First: I make the fruit juices first. That way, I don't have to rinse the equipment before making the veggie juice. A little sweet apple in veggie juice (there's apple in there anyway!) is a lot better than onions and garlic in my fruit juices.
• I like getting something in the nut mylk bag, so I can hang it on a cabinet and get it dripping while I do other things. I saw this tip in David and Katrina's juice feasting blog a while back.
• In the blender I put my apples, strawberries, and mints (today there was an orange that Dave started to eat but didn't like, so that went in, too.) Oh, also some lovely fresh clover sprouts which just finished growing in our amazing FreshLife Sprouter - I love this thing! It is my favorite piece of equipment I've bought since going raw.
• I blend it all with some ice (I have a Kitchen Aid Blender, and if I blend too long the juice will warm up, so I add a little ice to keep the temp down. It works great.) Then I pour it in the nut mylk bag and hang it over an oversize measuring cup on a plate (I don't want to lose any precious juice!)
• Then I move over to the Jack Lelane juicer, and juice my watermelon - skin and all (it's organic - with seeds!! Since I will be trying to have another baby, I like to eat fertile fruit (with seeds), versus seedless.) I juiced 1/4 of the watermelon which makes about quart of juice. Pour into a quart jar, and put the lid on right away, so I don't accidentally spill it. If it makes extra, that is great because I will drink it right there.
• Then still on the Lelane, I juice carrots, celery (an entire bunch), cucumber, tomatoes, apples, bell pepper and a lemon with skin (organic.)
• Back to the blender to mix the greens: today was beet greens, sprouts and cilantro, with corn, onion, garlic and a lime, with a bit of water and ice.
• I squeeze out the rest of the fruit juice from the nut mylk bag, put it in a quart jar (drink any extra).
• I empty the pulp from the bag and pour the green juice in and squeeze that out.
• Then, I gather the pulp from the Lelane, which is still QUITE JUICY, stick that in the bag and squeeze that out, too. Today I got 2 extra cups of juice from the pulp!!! Yikes. Not a plus for the old Lelane Juicer. I may dig out our Champion Juicer before I'm done with the feast.
• I mix the two veggie juices together and that is my green veggie juice (GVJ)for the day (Today was 3 quarts!)
• I just rinse all my equipment, wipe the counter, compost the pulp, sweep the floor and I'm ready for the day!!

Day 20 - Encore of Squash Soup

May 15, 2008



I made it again - the delicious butternut squash soup (above.) By soup, of course I mean juice poured into a bowl and eaten with a spoon.

I posted the recipe yesterday, but it was so easy: juiced butternut squash, tomato, garlic, ginger, yellow bell pepper, celery with some lemon squeezed on top.

The rest of today's juice was loaded with greens...greens from the garden! Some kale, spinach, chard, and arugula, but more than that: lots of lamb's quarters and plantain leaves and other "weeds" that I now harvest for health! (When I weed and thin the garden now, I do it with a big bowl next to me.)

Sad news about the garden: we went to plant our 50 strawberry plants and when we opened the package they were all moldy :-( Luckily, when we called Miller's Nursery they agreed to replace them, because they are supposed to be OK for two weeks after shipping, and they just sent it out two weeks ago (phew.)

So we did our three sisters planting: squash, corn and beans. And we did it Anastasia-style: giving the seed information about us by putting it under our tongue and holding it in our hands up to the sun first. That way, the plants are supposed to learn about us and our health needs, and they will produce the fruits and vegetables in a way which helps us! (All that information is in the first Anastasia book, by Vladimir Megre.)

The rest of the juices for today were:

• 1 quart: pineapple and mints from the garden (spearmint, apple mint, peppermint, lemon balm)
• 1 quart: Green Veggie Juice (leftover from yesterday) with hemp oil
• about a quart of watermelon juice leftover from yesterday
• about 1 quart of the soup (above)
• and I still have 2 quarts of today's GVJ made that I didn't drink yet. It had the usual: celery, carrots, cucumber, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, lemon, lime, green apple, orange beets and greens greens greens! (I'm tasting it now, and I really notice the lack of cilantro. It's much better with cilantro and tomato.)
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil with spirulina and honey

I'll probably drink at least a quart of that green veggie juice, and maybe also have a little orange juice with bee pollen before the day is through.

Day 21 - Three Weeks!

May 16, 2008

Day 21 - Three Weeks - Yeah!

Today I have been juice feasting for three weeks! Unfortunately we did not get a picture today because it was a running around sort of day, but tomorrow should be more low-key so hopefully I'll get a picture and get it up there. I did lose some more weight:

start: 182 lbs
week 3: 168 lbs

Today I went to a blissful and amazing yoga class again at Breathe. I just love the teacher, Maggie. Today we did handstands...lots of great fun. I used to be a gymnast and at one time in my life I felt as at home on my hands as I did on my feet. I have been thinking of handstands lately...especially with my tight painful right shoulder - which isn't so tight and painful anymore! (I literally just noticed that.) I had recently been thinking it would be nice to get back up-side-down and also to be able to do a back bend again (which, even when I was doing flips and twists galore, I would wince at a "simple" walkover, because my back was never that flexible.) So perhaps tomorrow's picture I'll be on my hands (if not tomorrow, then in the near future) and maybe by the end of the feast, I'll be in a back bend! Stranger things have happened, right?

Today's Juice:

• juice of three oranges with water, bee pollen and chlorophyll
  
• 1 1/2 qts yesterday's GVJ (green veggie juice)
  
• 1 qt pineapple, spinach, cilantro, and parsley (wonderful!)
  
• 1/2 qt apples, celery, lime with water and chlorophyll
  
• 1 1/2 qts butternut squash, celery, tomatoes, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, spinach, cilantro, lime, lemon (this juice was delicious before adding the b'nut squash and celery, which I juiced separately in the Jack Lelane. Once I added the squash it became much sweeter and took on a totally different taste and was still quite good.)
  
• Also had 1/8 avocado with lemon juice and salt

Didn't have my regular oils today (hemp and coconut) because of all the running around. Also missed the spirulina and haven't taken MSM in quite a while. Must start that soon...I'm noticing at night that my elbow is quite stiff.

A final note: I did get my period today...fairly light and a little cramping, but I am so happy that my body is back into a cycle after the miscarriage/hemorrhage on April 9, and all the FEAR-based warnings the nurse-midwives had for me if I didn't get to the hospital right away, (which I didn't go at all) etc etc. So anyway, yeah for my body!

Day 23 - I need a blue sky holiday...

May 19, 2008

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to gray
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on
...Daniel Powter, Bad Day

I did juice today, but what made the day so BAD was that in Trader Joe's, I saw the doctor who was responsible for Molly's "care" (read: death). I always wondered what I'd do if I saw him...all I managed was to leave the store and retreat to a nearby yarn store and wait for Dave and Ella to finish shopping (and cry and cry.) To top it off: he has the reputation of being THE BEST doctor in all of Children's Hospital. Yes, the best they offer is a doctor who would not listen to us, over medicate to the hilt (until she was unconscious, therefore "more comfortable" in their view,) and not feed her for a week, then insist she's too thin (duh!) and needs G-tube surgery. This is why we all need to stay as healthy as possible and keep away from the doctors! And the sad thing is - I knew that - but I was at a point where I thought I needed some help figuring out what was wrong/why she was so uncomfortable, and I walked right into the lion's den.

Ok, enough of that. Later that day I asked Dave to take my week 3 picture, and that did not go too well, either. When I related the story to my friend Wendi of www.purejeevan.com, she told me to post the pics (and story) anyway, so here it is:

So first, I ask him to take my picture so I can put it up. He stays sitting on the couch and when he takes the picture it's at an "up" angle, and I look like a giant:



So I ask him to please stand up so he can take a level picture, but instead of standing up he just holds the camera above his head and clicks, but of course his hand moves and it turns out fuzzy and out of focus:



And finally, by the time he gets up I am so annoyed it's impossible to smile for a nice picture:



But anyway, you can still contrast it to my "before" picture (just 23 days before):



My juices today:

• orange juice with bee pollen and chlorophyll
• quart of gvj from yesterday
• quart watermelon juice
• quart delicious: tomato, cuke, celery, carrot, pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, spinach, sunflower sprouts, cilantro
• I also had my MSM, hemp oil, coconut oil with spirulina and honey, and avocado, which must totally be a crutch because after seeing that doctor all I wanted to do was EAT, so I settled with the avocado....