Day 22 - Answering Questions

May 17, 2008

I was so tired today and just could not get a good picture. Hopefully tomorrow.

I thought today I'd answer a couple questions that have been asked:

Hi Melissa, Congratulations on completing week 3! I am curious about how often you drink your juice, especially on a "run around" day like you mentioned today. How do your days out and about differ from a more typical day?

(I left off the name because I am unsure about blogging etiquette...)

I probably drink a half to a quart of juice every 1 1/2 or 2 hours I think (I follow my hunger). Usually I make my juice in the morning: at least 2 quarts of some sweet juice and 2-3 quarts of savory. When I go out I take at least one quart of sweet and one quart of savory just so all my cravings are covered. I put a couple ice cubes into my juice jars, and if I'm taking the car I will take a cooler and put all my juices in there. I also usually take a canvas bag so I can carry at least one juice around with me - usually I'll put in two (one sweet, one savory.)

Today I had:

• water, lemon and MSM (I also took an enzyme capsule this morning)
• juice of two oranges with water, bee pollen and chlorophyll
• 1 quart green vegetable juice from yesterday (the one with squash)
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil, honey, spirulina
• 1 quart: tomato, celery, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, lime, cilantro, spinach, parsley, with hemp oil and spirulina
• juice from a couple young Thai coconuts (shared with Ella)
• some avocado with lemon juice and salt
• 1 quart: celery, cuke, carrots, ginger, garlic, onion, pepper, mints, greens, apple, lemon, lime, salt
• nettle tea
• 1/2 quart water with lemon, honey and MSM

Another question I received:

I am curious about the small amount of avocado that I see you've had along with your feasting. Is that just something you're for a reason? I thought maybe you know something I don't.

No, actually, avocados are not really on the juice feast. They contain fiber and so should not technically be eaten - it slows down the cleanse. I don't know why I continue to eat them - probably some emotional crutch that I haven't let go of, yet. (I also don't filter all the pulp out after squeezing my orange juice - yikes!)

Finally, I'm asked quite a lot about fiber, as in, "but there is no fiber! That's not really natural..."

It is true this feast does not contain fiber. For the best and complete information, please see www.juicefeasting.com. From what I understand, this juice feast is not meant to be a diet that is followed indefinitely. It is meant as a healing diet which can safely be followed at home (due to the high nutrient and calorie content, unlike something like extended water fasting.) Once people have reached their ideal weight and have NO health issues remaining, it is best to go off the feast, or go to a modified juice feast (watch David and Katrina's Day 71 video on www.globaljuicefeast.com. Basically a modified juice feast consists of a diet high in juice: 2 - 4 quarts, plus fruits and veggies, but no nuts and seeds.) This juice feast is meant to span up to 3 months (92 days) or so, when tackling health issues. If after that length of time health issues still remain, it is still best to come off this feast and go onto a modified juice feast, in which you eat healthfully in addition to consuming lots of juice (the Gerson diet is one example of this.)

The lack of fiber allows the body to go into a cleansing and detoxifying mode. The purposes of this feast are to: rehydrate, alkalize, cleanse and rebuild.

I've also been asked for some recipes and more about the supplements, so I will get to those soon!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo
~Melissa

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....

Day 24 - "Love Who You Are and Forgive" - Louise Hay

May 19, 2008

I found such an excellent juice feasting blog today: Michelle's Juice Feast. She recently finished her feast, and her blog is such a wealth of experience and information! I found it as a link on Penni's juice feasting blog (which I read everyday!) I am going to have to update my list of links.

Today was a strange day: freezing cold here in Pittsburgh, I could not get warm. (Typically I am a "hot" person.) I'm still wearing my shawl/scarf, and I went on the rebounder three times just to keep warm. I also kept drinking cups of red roobios chai with honey.

I craved tomatoes and cilantro all day...all I wanted was green veggie juice made with cilantro and tomatoes! I know that cilantro is supposed to take out heavy metals, and I read recently tomatoes are cleansing to the liver...but I'd like to find out more about these foods. (Actually, Penni's blog, that I mentioned above, has a recent entry all about cilantro.) I didn't want fruit juice at all, but I did have lots of orange and grapefruit juice, because I could use the hand citrus juicer, and Ella was sleeping in the hammock in the living room and I didn't want to wake her by turning on a juicing machine.

My sprout bag ripped at the seem...pulp was squirting out at I was squeezing it through. I'm going to pull out my Champion Juicer, and I hope that spinach greens, cilantro and parsley (and the like) go through there well. I read (on Courtney Pool's blog) that you can apparently get some sort of paint straining cloth at places like Lowe's and Home Depot that can be used to strain juice, but I haven't been able to locate it either online or at a hardware store.

Today I had:

• a quart of green veggie juice from yesterday
• 1/2 qt honeydew juice with 1/2 Tbsp chlorophyll (I actually made a quart of this juice with a Tbsp chlorophyll...but the melon was not organic, and it really bothered me! I got a headache and felt a scratchiness in my throat, I just couldn't finish it.)
• juice of one grapefruit and one orange with water
• 3 qts (throughout the day) of GVJ: tomatoes, onion, yellow pepper, ginger, garlic, cilantro, spinach, carrots, cucumber, celery
• juice of five oranges with bee pollen and water
• 1/2 avo with dulse, lemon and salt
• coconut oil with honey and spirulina
• lots of red tea/chai with honey (naturally caffeine free)
• extra water

I had a pain under my left ribs all day today; really bothersome. Thought maybe it was all the tea or possibly not enough water so I drank extra water but it didn't help. I'll try an enema within the next couple days.

Also, I was a total irritable crankpot today! Just so grouchy. Still felt emotionally down and heavy with sadness from yesterday. I think that what is going on is that I haven't been able to forgive myself and that is what is coming up, because I need to do that. The quote in the subject line: Love Who You Are and Forgive is from Louise Hay. I just heard it today when I was listening to her interview on Raw Vegan Radio.

And, my face is breaking out a bit. Detox, detox, detox (I'm guessing.)

Has everyone noticed the beautiful full moon tonight? It's so lovely. Last night, it was amazing as black clouds covered and uncovered it in incredible ways. I am awake a lot at night. It's nice to be able to see the moon out the window.

Day 25!!!

May 20, 2008

Today, since my sprout bag sprung a leak, I dug out my Champion Juicer. It worked pretty well! I had to cut up the fruits and veggies much thinner than I was used to (I could just throw big chunks into the blender and the Jack Lelanne's opening was big enough for whole apples!) Also, the motor got very hot with all the juices I made; I had to stop and rest it a few times, and also take some pulp out from over the screen a couple times. But, all in all, it seemed to work well. It did well juicing the spinach, parsley and cilantro, which was my main concern. The Lelanne does not do greens well at all: just spits them out the back. I did run the pulp back through the Champion at the end to get some more juice out of it.

Today I had:

• 1 qt watermelon juice (juiced with skin and all - organic) with 1 Tbsp cholorphyll
• 3 quarts GVJ: tomatoes, cuke, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, yellow pepper, spinach, parsley, cilantro, lemon (drank throughout day...am drinking the last of it right now)
• 1 qt apple, strawberry, celery, spinach
• 1/2 quart orange, carrot, ginger, spinach, strawberry with 1/2 quart water and bee pollen
• Also: coconut oil with honey and spirulina, spirulina and hemp oil in GVJ, avo

Rebounded a bit today to stay warm, didn't go out with D and E to walk dog - too cold. Though I wish I had gotten a walk in. I took a hot bath today and when I got out was light headed and shaky. Juice helped, but I do notice shakiness that I never had before when I'm hungry, which I hope does not continue throughout feast (and I hope I'm not throwing my blood sugar/body off in any way.) It was way worse at beginning. Still had the pain under left rib. Other than that...wow...25 days!

Day 26...strong cravings to eat

May 21, 2008

I wanted food terribly today. Getting Ani Phyo's book Ani's Raw Food Kitchenfrom our library certainly did not help. I should not do this to myself! But that book looks fantastic, so I put some of my books up on half.com. Hopefully I will sell enough to warrant me purchasing Ani's book!

Another great question:

Congrats on Day 25 - that is so awesome. I gave up on greens in the Jack Ll also - but I have been able to get baby bok choy to go through pretty well. I also have been loving a few asparagus spears mixed with fruits. How would I do greens if I dont have the Champion?

I was blending my greens in my regular Kitchen Aid Blender (I don't have a Vita-Mix) with a bit of water and other veggies such as tomatoes, onion, garlic, etc. Then I would strain the mixture through a Sprout Bag. Alas, my bag, which was a gift, has ripped at the seem. However, Dave found some jam/jelly straining bags at the Kitchen store in the Strip (for Pittsburghers!) - 2 reusable bags for $3.99. I didn't see them, though, and he didn't know if the holes/mesh were too big, so I can't say for sure. I may order some more from the link I put in, I've heard their bags are very good. And it's amazing...even after I juiced carrots, apples, celery, cukes in the Jack Lelanne, I put the pulp into the sprout bag and would literally get CUPS more juice out!

Today's Juices:

• 1 qt apple, strawberry, mint
• 2 quarts (drank throughout day) of same green veggie juice, but today all the greens were greens/wild edibles from the garden! (with hemp oil)
• 1 qt watermelon juice with 1 Tbsp chlorophyll
• 1 qt orange, carrot, yam, spinach
• 1/2 quart grapefruit, orange juice with bee pollen
• coconut oil with honey and spirulina
• lots of red chai with honey

I also did an enema this morning, and it has helped with that pain under my left ribs. I also went to a Mommy and Me type of yoga class this morning with Ella. I am loving yoga, but I really want to add some walking/running and even lift a little weights. I love working out - it feels so good to me! I just need to get motivated.

I also arranged Ella's books on her shelves by color today: red through purple (and black and whites at ends.) I saw it on someone's blog and it looked fun. It was. I'd take a picture, but she only has a few little shelves and it's not really that dramatic. Also, my computer shuts itself down when I upload new pictures, so I won't do it tonight, but maybe I'll take a few pics to post in upcoming days.

Day 27's confession

May 22, 2008


My dog Maggie

I'm just so proud of my dog Maggie today! At the end of Ani Phyo's book Ani's Raw Food Kitchen she has pictures of her raw vegan dog with dog treat recipes and dog feeding ideas - including giving the dog the ends cut off veggies (the ends of cukes, etc.) And so I thought about all my pulp...

We've fed Maggie various diets, following various philosophies, cooked veggie, raw meat and veggies, etc, and she doesn't seem to do much better on anything. She's such a great dog...but kind of low energy, itchy ears, and she's getting older. But of course, I would love to feed her healthy foods again (versus the dry dog food.) So I scooped up a big bowl of veggie pulp (no onions, though! Onions are not good for dogs,) but I knew she wouldn't eat it. She is a very picky eater and doesn't even really like dog food (which probably shows good taste on her part, actually). So of course, she did not touch the pulp. I sprinkled nutritional yeast on it, and drizzled olive oil on top, but she still wanted nothing to do with it. Then I thought about cheese - her very favorite foods are beans and cheese - and I grated a bit on top. Of course she ate the cheese, but she continued to gingerly eat around the bowl and eventually she ate nearly the whole bowl of raw veggie pulp! Go Maggie! So now I'm thinking about her diet again....

Today my juices were:

• water with 1/2 Tbsp msm and lemon
• 1 qt apple, strawberry, mints from garden with chlorophyll
• 1 qt butternut squash, tomato, garlic, yellow bell pepper, celery, hemp oil, spinach, cilantro
• 1/2 qt watermelon juice with chlorophyll
• 1 quart veggie juice with the squash (as above)
• juice of 1/2 grapefruit and one orange with bee pollen
• will have more watermelon and/or veggie juice because I am hungry.)

I am out of coconut oil! I didn't even get my treat today (coconut oil with honey and spirulina.) I have some coming from iherb.com (remember - you can use code MEL526 on your first order and you will get $5-off.)

Also out of yellow bell peppers and avocados.

Today I have a confession. Along with my avocado (which isn't actually on the juice feast), I grated a bit of carrot and chopped a bit of tomato and ate it with lemon juice, salt and dulse. It was a tiny plate, but so filling and satifying. (I was so hungry and had made D and E amazing-looking veggie sandwiches! I should have made my juice first....)

But anyway...I'm still continuing forward. Still counting up my days. All in all I feel I am getting lots of benefits and I'm doing fairly well...so onward.

Added a bit later...

So, after writing the above entry (and trying not to feel bad), I read in Matt Monarch's blog about the book that started his raw journey: Become Younger by Norman Walker (our library doesn't have it! I'll have to try one of those interlibrary loans....) Dr. Walker's keys to vibrant health were:

1. Eating a 100% Raw Food Diet
2. Drinking a Variety of Vegetable Juices Daily
3. Cleansing the Colon Periodically

So, ok...still doing ok. I even did an enema this morning.

Pulp Ideas - day 28 (week 4!)

May 23, 2008


before (above), and at the end of week 4

starting weight: 182
today's weight: 165 (lost 17 lbs so far!)

I'm sleepy today and it's only 6:45 pm.

I went running this morning (23 minutes) and then to my yoga class, which was nice. Today I drank juice while the family and in-laws ate food from a delicious Thai restaurant, not easy! My juice was intense: most of the greens were wild edibles including garlic mustard, comfrey, plantain, dandelion.... plus chives, arugula, spinach, kale from the garden. I think the garlic-mustard, chives and arugula made it quite sharp (and it was bitter, too, probably from the dandelion greens.)

My juices:

• pineapple, mints, plantain and comfrey
• squash, tomato, cuke, celery, garlic and wild edibles + garden greens
• watermelon juice
• juice of a young coconut (but then I also ate the very young, pudding-like flesh
• yam, carrot, celery, ginger, garlic, spinach
• juice of 1 grapefruit and 3 oranges with water and 1 Tbsp bee pollen

I also took six tablets of spirulina, put hemp oil in my veggie smoothies and had MSM (which I think makes me feel nervous/anxious...I'm going to have to watch that.) Also had roobios red chai with honey.

It's also hard to type right now because the middle finger on my right hand has a painful crack. (That's not meant to be complain-y, I'm just noting a symptom, here.)

And here's a response to another question: what do you do with all that pulp? People wonder about all the pulp generated by juice feasting, so I was thinking about some suggestions of use for it (especially to people who are also eating with juicing.)

• We have started mixing it into our dog's food. Today I put it in with black beans, nutritional yeast, olive oil and cheese and she ate a good amount. Just be careful not to have onions in it...onions are bad for dogs.
  
• compost it. We do this a lot and at least then it goes back to the earth and nourishes the soil we will use for the garden next year.
  
• If cooking: put it into muffins, pancakes, cakes, etc. If it's savory (like mine was tonight) I put it into black bean/mung sprout pancakes that I made for the family for dinner (oh, my, did they smell good!)
  
• put it into dehydrated flax crackers...yum.
  
• When I was eating cooked foods but juicing a lot, I would mix some mayonnaise right into the pulp (mostly carrot and some celery) and this was excellent as a sandwich spread! At the time I used regular mayo, but you could use raw mayo, too. It would make a good sandwich spread, cracker topping or dip.
  
• Use it in raw mock tuna salad. Ani Phyo calls for carrot pulp in mock salmon recipes.
  
• Use for raw carrot cake - especially good if you've made apple carrot juice! Can use the pulp and mix some raisins and nuts in, with some cinnamon, cloves or other spices...very good.

There are lots of recipes for raw carrot cake and mock tuna salads in raw food prep books, and recipe sites on line, like www.goneraw.com or www.living-foods.com. (The recipes on goneraw seem amazing...I cannot wait to try them when I am eating again.

So...hopefully this is helpful!

And finally...

who is that crazy lady doing a handstand?
:-)