Day 9: Feeling hot, hot, hot...

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Ran 2.5 fast miles today in preparation for my 4 mile race on Saturday in Central Park. Seriously, this will be my first race in 10 years, and my first one raw, so wish me luck! After the run, I had a big smoothie with bananas, kale, peaches and plums, along with e3live. Nothing much new there. For lunch, I went by Quintessence in the East Village and had an awesome raw club sandwich with a salad. I don't know how they make their raw bread, but seriously, I want to sneak into their kitchen and steal the recipe--it's freaking awesome. It doesn't fall apart, and it's probably the one aspect of a raw diet that isn't cutting it for me--I miss my bread and avo!!!

For dinner I made up a zucchini corn soup. Here's the recipe (and yes, it was good!)

2 large zucchini
1/4 cup TO 1/2 Cup cashews dpending on taste
1 cup corn, raw
tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lemon, juice
1/2 cup parsley
sea salt
pepper
3 cups water

I didn't have any avo left or I would have added one for more creaminess. Mix it all up in your blendtec (oh, how I love the simplicity of raw soups!!!) I like to add in some ice cubes to the mix so it doesn't get warm. This makes enough for 2 people, and it's great when you want to use up some of those zucchinis in your fridge and aren't in the mood for raw pasta.

I am doing great about not eating past 7:30 or 8 pm. Unfortunately, my weight has remained static since I began the challenge, at about 116-117 lbs. This may just be my ideal weight, so I am not budging from it. I would love to get down to 112, but don't want to watch what I eat (well, except for the obvious) so it may not happen. I do know I have put on a bit of muscle and we all know that muscle weighs more than fat, so that's it. I'll convince myself :)

Hope everyone is doing well. Well, the 1-2 people that read my blog, at least!!!

Day 8: Delish Day

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Ah, another wonderful raw day!!!!!! I am so happy right now. My mood is good. My mood is even. My son, who is 6, is having some defiance issues, and I am learning to cope. I was getting angry, but I have been reading some books and learning more about how to deal with him. Punishment is so not the answer. Keeping him close, validating his emotions, is. I am also doing "The Work" (read Byron Katie's books to learn more...her website is http://www.thework.org) and this is definitely at least 75% of my challenge: to learn how to accept situations and not change them.

I can truly say my openness to this stuff is due to raw. I am so much more clear than I've ever been before. I can 'see' things. I may not be ready to change my behavior, not always at least, but I can 'see' what I am doing wrong. I can more clearly 'see' what needs to change. It's all good.

Today I was a bit more tired upon wakening due to having a glass of wine last night ,but I don't regret it. It was nice to get out, see friends, and relax. I had a big smoothie this morning (but of course!) bananas, cherries, cacao and stevia. For lunch, a simple green salad with almonds and raisins. And now, late afternoon snack of corn soup: raw corn, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, jalapeno pepper. All blended up. Very simple and delicious. Since I shucked so many ears, I decided to make this soup in addition to some jalapeno corn chips--those of course won't be ready til tomorrow, but that's okay as I have run out of avocados (the horror!!!!) Later on, I will likely have a bit of salad and fruit, but that's all for the day.

Day 7: Life is good

So my period is VERY heavy, but utterly painless. Interesting. Yesterday was Day 7 and I did my longest run ever (well, since I ran the marathon 10 years ago): 4.1 miles in under 44 minutes (which is fast for me) YAY!! I felt GREAT. A bit of fatigue did show up around noon, so I took a brief 10 minute nap--the fatigue was definitely due to physical exertion. The fact that I can get up at 7 and be out the door and running by 7:30, without coffee, without the feeling of "oh, just 10 more minutes of sleep!" is nothing short of miraculous for this 38 year old, avowed non-morning person person.

When I returned from the run, I had a big smoothie, lots of bananas, e3live, cacao, and berries. For lunch I went by Whole Foods as I was out of lettuce (aaaack!) and went to their pricey salad bar. Since I wasn't getting any of their non-raw dishes, it actually ended up being only $5.50. I put in mixed lettuce, tomatoes, marinated carrots and peppers, raw almonds and olive oil and vinegar. I also ate 2 bananas as a snack. For dinner I made another yummy dish: Spicy Tomato Soup. Ingredients include roma tomatoes, raw red miso, garlic and water.

I went out with friends to a wine bar (my first time out with friends in ages) and I did have a glass of wine. That's okay with me. I didn't eat any of the cheese, olives, or other plates on offer, so all in all, living in the real world, I did good.

Of course, I felt tired this morning when I awoke!! But that's a post for another day :)

Rock on, rawies!!!!

Day 6: Hanging in there!!!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Heya heya-so...day 6 woohoo!!! Today was the arrival of Aunt Flo...and it was rough. All in all, I did pretty well, for breakfast I ate some raw oat groats that I had soaked and dehydrated with some hemp milk and almonds...pretty darn tasty!! I was really in a crabby mood for the majority of the morning, until Auntie arrived. I was seriously bloated so for lunch I had lots of watermelon and bananas, and for dinner more watermelon. I am hoping its natural diuretic qualities will help get rid of the bloating I experience during this time of the month. I didn't have time to get greens so there will be no salad tonight sadly. But that's okay, because I really don't like to eat after 7:30 at night, and it's already 8 pm. Some more watermelon and a big carrot juice will be just fine. My husband wants me to make the corn chips that I've been promising to make...corn is sitting in the fridge...so if I get up the mojo I will do that.

Missed my run today, just wasn't feeling up to it, but plan on a 4 miler first thing tomorrow morning. I am going to lay out my clothes and my sneaks so that I can just get up and go. Hubby has promised to watch the kids and feed them breakfast while I am gone. It's definitely a struggle finding the time to work out when you have young kids and no sitter!!!!

Okay, hope everyone is doing well!! Joy, I responded to your post from the other day right under where you posted. Click View Comments (I think that's what it says) to see what I wrote.

Day 5: Energy is great!

I am on Day 5 and despite bloating due to PMS, my energy is pretty darn good. I always get more tired for the 3 days prior to my period, and this month is no exception. However, I am not as tired as I normally am. I am bloated, so trying to eat less salt and had a cup of green tea this morning to act as a diuretic. Not raw, I know, but it has a particular purpose and it's the least evil cooked thing I can think of.

I had my great big smoothie for breakfast, and spent the day with my family at a birthday party for one of my son's friends. Luckily, the mom had lots of raw options out, so I ate lots of watermelons and green salad. When we got home, I made another enormous green salad with lots of tomatoes and hemp seeds. You could say I am not a very inventive cook, or that I just don't have that much time to spend in the kitchen! With two boys under 6, I guess running around after them leaves me just enough time to make my smoothies and my salads!!

My mood is good, again, considering I have PMS. I am trying to sleep more, but am still SO much more patient than I had been on cooked. I also haven't taken any anti-depressants for 10 days--can we say I am officially "off" them?? Scary thought since I've been on them for over 15 years......not willing to say that yet. But I am on my way!!!

How's everyone else's 30 day challenge going?

Day 4: Hmmmm

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Okay, so today was going well...smoothie for breakfast (forgot to soak the oat groats last night, so no porridge for me!) and a big salad and strawberries for lunch. However, had a hard conversation with someone in the afternoon, which made me stressed and anxious, and while I was making the boys their burritos, I nibbled on a tortilla. Not the worst thing I could have done, and I knew very well while I was doing it that I was doing it due to stress. I did manage to catch myself and take some deep breaths and stop nibbling. It can be hard when you're preparing cooked food for your family and want to be 100% raw yourself. I am only human LOL.

Anyway, didn't run today--spent the day with my family in the park. It was a gorgeous day in NYC wasn't it?? Oh, nearly forgot! Something weird happened to me this morning. I woke up and my face was SO puffy--have no idea why. Could it have been all the nuts I had for dinner last night? I also had congestion in my nose and throat. In any case, I definitely prefer lighter fare, like salads, than nut-heavy desserts and soup. Luckily, my weight remains steady at 117, although I think I mentioned I'd sure like to get down to 114 this month.

Signing off, going to make my big ass watermelon for dinner :)

Day 3: wahoo!!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Today was a really good day. I felt great all day, and ran my short run of 2.6 miles easily--I wanted to go longer! Tomorrow is my long run of 4 miles (hey it's all relative!) and I am psyched. My energy is great.

I had a blueberry, banana, cherry, raw cacao, and e3live smoothie this morning. For lunch I had some leftover celery soup, and for dinner I had Ani's Sweet Corn and Cashew Chowder and her Orange Cardamom Date bars. I think this is the first day in about 3 months that I haven't had a BIG salad, simply because I wanted to try the soup tonight and didn't feel hungry afterwards. Maybe later tonight I'll make one, although I am trying not to eat past 8 o'clock if I can help it.

Swung by Whole Foods today and they had coconuts on sale for 1.99--yay! I am going to make a Swiss Chard Soup tomorrow that calls for young coconut water, so that was perfect. I also got some bulk oat groats, which I am going to soak tonight and have for breakfast tomorrow morning with some pear, walnuts and cinnamon and raw almond mylk. I have been missing my breakfast cereal, although I wonder if I was "addicted" to it, in a way. Seriously, there was a time when I was eating breakfast cereal like twice a day. Gross. I so don't want to over-do the cereal thing. Anyway, I did go ahead and buy some raw granola from rawbakery.com, so let's just hope it's not TOO delicious, or I might be tempted to overeat.

Tonight I am going to get to bed super-early, around 10 pm, because a good sleep really helps not only my mood but also my cravings.

I hope everyone is doing well on the challenge!