2014 Raw Food Re-Boot

Welcome back, Me!  It sure has been a while since I checked in with myself here.  I realize no one else may read this, but I'll just  keep it as a running monologue.  ;)

I had become really unbalanced with my eating and exercise this past year (longer, if I'm truly honest with myself).  So in 2014, I'm going to use this space to launch my own Raw Food Re-Boot.  I know that eating 100% raw is best for my body at this time, so I intend to record what I'm eating each day.

A little background
I went vegan overnight in April 2006 from the Standard American Diet.  I also started a vigorous exercise program.  I lost a substantial amount of weight and felt great, but over time, started to feel less than stellar, and my enthusiasm for continuing to exercise at that level waned.  I realized that eating 100% vegan didn't necessarily mean I was eating well - there are a lot of processed vegan junk foods out there!  So in April 2008, I embarked on a 100% raw vegan diet.  Once again, I was full of vitality and joy and shed more weight (some had crept back on). 

In the fall of 2008, I juice-feasted for 45 days successfully.  In the fall of 2009, I juiced for 30 days.  In the fall of 2010, I juiced for 15 days (see a pattern there?!).  In 2011, I juiced for the first 7 days of *some* (not all) months.  Although I've juiced here and there since, I haven't done a longer juice feast since then.

Back up to the Fall of 2009, just after the 30 day juice feast.  I found it *really* difficult to come off that feast in a good way as we went on a 3 day vacation on day 31 and I didn't have my regular routine and kitchen nearby.  I blew it totally, going from consuming nothing but fresh juices to eating pizza within 72 hrs.  Don't recommend it at all.  It has been tough since then to stay 100% raw.  Most of 2010 I ate *mostly* raw (80%?), in 2011 it was about 70%, 2012 about 50%, 2013 maybe 25%.   And of course exercise also had a similar pattern - in a word: sparse. 

So here we are, entering 2014, and in many respects I feel like I'm back at the starting gate.  Except this time, I have years of experience behind me.  Not failed attempts, just experience, both good and able-to-improve-upon. 

I love when I am honouring my body with daily movement and nourishing it with 100% raw vegan foods that my skin has a beautiful healthy glow, my thyroid seems to function better, my roseacea is managed better, and my weight stabilizes on its own, not to mention emotionally I'm more stable and full of joy.  I do know that it can be a challenge to go out socially when eating 100% raw, so will try to better prepare myself for those moments (and learn to ask for more support).

Tuesday January 7th

• 2 bananas
• 1 mandarin orange
• 2 mugs herbal tea (1 - ginger mint lemongrass, 1 - chamomile) with stevia
• 1/2 avocado with lime and sea salt
• 1.5L smoothie (2 bananas, 2c frozen berry blend, 1/4c coconut palm syrup, 1 Tbsp each: bee pollen, wheat grass powder, tocos and maca, and 2 Tbsp hemp flour (has similar protein content to hemp protein powder, fyi) and water to blend)
• Kale salad: 1 bunch kale, marinated (EVOO and lemon juice and sea salt), carrot, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, and 1/2 avocado
• 2 Tbsp tamari almonds (I make them myself: sprouted almonds, gf tamari or nama shoyu, ginger, garlic, medjool dates)
• 2 squares (10g) fair-trade (not raw) organic chocolate

Monday January 6th

• 2 mandarin oranges
• 1 pint water
• 1 banana
• 2 mugs herbal tea (1 - ginger mint lemongrass, 1 - local herb blend with seaweed) with stevia
• 1c (1.5c?) muesli with 1c (1.5c?) brazil nut mylk and 1 banana (muesli had: organic rolled oats (not raw), chia seeds, goji berries, mulberries, raisins, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, black sesame seeds, hemp hearts, almonds, coconut sugar (not raw). I use Jennifer Cornbleet's recipe for muesli as a base from "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People", and add whatever goes well)
• 1c tamari almonds
• 1 avocado with lime and sea salt
• 2 squares (10g) fair-trade (not raw) organic chocolate

Sunday January 5th

• 3 bananas
• 1 mandarin orange
• 2 mugs herbal tea (1 - ginger mint lemongrass, 1 - chamomile) with stevia
• 1.5c tamari almonds
• 1 pint water
• 750 mL Chocolate Mylk (2c brazil nut mylk, 1 Tbsp cacao powder, 1 Tbsp agave, 2 bananas)
• 2 squares (10g) fair-trade (not raw) organic chocolate
• Kale Salad: 1 bunch kale, marinated with 1 tsp each EVOO and lemon juice and a shake of sea salt, carrot, sunchoke/jerusalem artichoke, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, and 1 avocado

Saturday January 4th

• 1 mug herbal tea (ginger mint with lemongrass) with stevia
• 2 bananas
• 1 orange
• 2L smoothie (2 bananas, 1 peach, 2c frozen berries, 1/4c coconut palm syrup, 1 Tbsp each: maca powder, tocotrenols, bee pollen, and spirulina, and water to blend)
• 1/2c dried pineapple
• 1/2c tamari almonds
• 2 pints water
• large green salad with romaine, carrot, beets, alfalfa sprouts, and 1 avocado and a vegan store-bought Sweet Onion dressing.

Friday January 3d

• 4 bananas
• 1 mandarin orange
• 1 orange
• 1/4c chopped tomato
• 1 avocado with lime and sea salt
• 1c muesli and 1c brazil nut mylk (to make my nut mylks I use 1c soaked nuts to 8c filtered water, blend, and strain; makes ~2L mylk, so each 1c of mylk has ~1 Tbsp nuts in it)
• 1c tamari almonds
• 3 mugs herbal tea with stevia (bitches' brew, ginger mint lemongrass x 2) with stevia
• 1.5L smoothie (2 bananas, 5 brazil nuts, 1 Tbsp each: spirulina, bee pollen, maca powder, tocotrenols, 1/4c coconut palm syrup, 2c frozen berries and water to blend)

Thursday January 2nd - slight headache by evening from caffeine withdrawal; slept it off

• 1 orange
• 1/2c tamari almonds
• 2 pints water
• 1 banana
• 3/4c dried pineapple
• 1 avocado with lime and sea salt
• Green salad with cranberries and sunflower seeds in a honey mustard (?) vinaigrette dressing (White Spot "Spot Salad")
• 2L smoothie (3 bananas, 1 1/2c frozen berry blend, 1 Tbsp each: maca, tocotrenols, bee pollen, and 1.5 tbsp (2 tbsp?) spirulina, 1/4c coconut palm syrup, and water to blend)

Wednesday January 1st

• 2 bananas
• 1 orange
• 1 avocado with lime and sea salt
• 2 mugs herbal tea with stevia
• 1 kiwi
• 1 Tbsp goldenberries (inca berries) and piece of dried pineapple
• handful alfalfa sprouts
• 2 Larabars - apple and cashew
• 2 L smoothie (2 bananas, 2c frozen berries, scant 1/4c macadamia nuts, 3 or 4 brazil nuts, 1/4c coconut palm syrup, 1 Tbsp each: wheatgrass powder, maca powder, bee pollen, and tocotrenols, and water to blend)

So yes, definitely some patterns there - a little water, a mug or two of tea, 3 or so pieces of fruit, home-made raw/sprouted tamari almonds (which are all gone now, boooooooo!), a very large smoothie, and hopefully a salad.  I try to eat an avocado most days (people will have opinions on this, for sure, but I am not going to limit fats when I'm trying to eat 100% raw and imo, the fats in an avocado are whole-food, nutritious, and just fine when I'm not eating anything processed or junk food of any kind). 

I do think I could be drinking more water, and probably eating more vegetables and less fruit (would be beneficial for my roseacea; I don't think the sugars in fruit help it any) but I'm not quite mentally there just yet. 

Haven't incorporated a daily exercise habit as of yet.  Have a lovely Concept 2 Rowing machine (Erg) sitting right there, just waiting for me to get onto it... Could also be going out for short runs (well, it's like about 3 kms of run 30s, walk 2 mins for the first little while until I ease down on the walking and increase the running splits).  In 2013 I ran two 10K races and finished both (both times were around 1:05 & 1:09 I think).  I would *love* to run more this year as well as procure a good road bike with the eventual goal being to participate in a sprint triathlon.  Forty is approaching faster than I realize, so that might be one of those things to do then.

All in all, feeling great after 7 full days of 100% raw vegan.  Not having much difficulty saying no to cooked or non-vegan food (even made vegetarian sausage rolls today (which I *looooooove*) and didn't eat a single one, and there are sweets in the house I haven't even touched either).

Here's to a healthier me in 2014!  :)