When Dinosaurs Roamed...our bodies?

The interesting thing about colon hydrotherapy, is that you get to see stuff you don't ordinarily see. Stuff that will curl your toes. Dr. Oz says 90% of humans carry worms, and turns out I'm one of them. Years ago, I met with a colonic specialist who actually kept jars of various wormy-parasity things in jars for clients to see. Please people, it's bad enough to see your own, why on earth would you want to see some stranger's? It's like living in a pre-historic world where bizarre creatures roam the planet with you, only they're roaming inside you. Although, as Dr. Oz points out, they aren't all bad. Some of them are your friends, like the nice dinosaur in Jurassic Park that sneezed on the little girl. It was a veggie-saurus, not the bad meat-o-saurus kind that wanted to eat your face.

I bring this up not to make you lose your coffee/tea/Margarita, but to say that we might feel better if once in a while we got these things, um, removed (as much as one can, anyway), as I am finding out during this cleanse. The good doctor's article (click his name above to read) goes in great detail about how to avoid parasites, and the symptoms they can cause so you'll know they might be there. Like his article, I have spared you a photo of said critters... because I'm that thoughtful.

Something else I'm discovering as I enter week three of this vegetable juice cleanse (and if I never have to drink something like this again it will be too soon) is that while I constantly think about food, I am not one bit attracted to sweets. This has NEVER happened before, even during other various juice fasting I've done over the years. Normally I eat sugar constantly, even to the point of, confession: considering a Snickers bar and a Dr. Pepper, lunch. You'd think a forty-something-ish person would know better....but, there you have it. So this is new to me, and in a good way. I'm seriously indulging in fresh greens and vegetable soup fantasies, and can't wait to start the eating part of my life again. It has to taste good or I'm not touching it. It's really the simple ones that appeal to me most...

Slicing open an avocado, sprinkling it with cumin, curry and cayenne, drizzling a fresh lime over it, tossing some chopped cilantro on top, and covering the whole thing with fresh Pica De Gallo.

Arranging some sliced bananas on a plate, sprinkling chopped pecans on top, and drizzling grade B real maple syrup--like Shady Maple Farms (forget Mrs. Butterworth's) over all of it. Energizing and yummy.

Downing a green smoothie favorite of one bunch dandelion greens, one banana, one mango, and adding the 'water' of a young coconut to the mix.

Here's a 'green' smoothie recipe I'm dying to try out because it looks so refreshing:

Orange, Yellow and Green Smoothie
1 bunch spinach
2 oranges (peeled with seeds removed)
¼ lemon with peel (seeds removed)
4 dates (with pits removed)
2 frozen bananas
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Blend and drink! Thanks to the Boutenko family for this one. (For more recipes click on their name).

Since I can't eat yet, guess I'll go watch some dinosaurs roaming Jurassic Park to take my mind off the ones roaming in my intestines. And have you ever wondered...what's roaming in yours?

Cleansing Body, Mind, and Spirit

It's been awhile since I've been prompted to write. But it makes sense, since I've gone into a type of February-esque end-of-winter hibernation. So much has been on my mind with the kidney episode and the resulting hospital bills that I felt something had to change. I suppose it's the state of our Healthcare here in the U.S. and hope I don't offend anyone, but frankly, it needs help. Because even though I have health insurance, and they have done their part in making it somewhat reasonable, it's still astronomical. And nowhere in the process was I told how to prevent the episode again.

So, mindful that the responsibility of my health care ultimately lies with me, I somehow landed in a cleanse and...Warning: about to get graphic, leave now if bodily things make you squeamish....colon hydrotherapy. And from there am finally ready for a transition--easing into a healthier, mostly raw food lifestyle, which frankly I have missed, but because of my addiction to food (yes, I am one of those people) have not been able to manage.

Also, because organic raw foods seem cost prohibitive. But reflecting on my past raw food experience, I actually ate less because my body was more nourished, cravings disappeared (woohoo!), and just wasn't as hungry as long as I made sure to eat regularly. Which, with my usual Standard American Diet habits, I tend to graze all day. And usually sugar is involved. In great quantities. Eating a highly processed diet, I never seem to be giving my body the nourishment it craves. So by taking that kind of care now, I'm hoping to save in preventative health care down the road, because as recent hospital bills attest, it's too outrageously expensive to afford long term.

The nice thing about this cleanse is that it is supervised; I'm working with a homeopathic practitioner who advises and provides me with nutritional support, as well as guidelines (and holding me accountable). Because of her, I have been remarkably detox  free--other than occasional tiredness/testiness, which is astonishing because in previous cleanses I endured high levels of detox symptoms (body releasing stored toxins) like headaches, skin outbreaks, etc. Thanks to my practitioner, the only symptoms are emotional; the effects of emotional withdrawal basically, from leaving a food addiction. Having the herbal supports are a lifesaver, because even though I don't currently work out of the home, as a single mom I have my children and our home and the day-to-day management and caretaking to tend to not to mention my farm(Ville)...

So 10 days in, with still more to go, I have some idea of where I will land, but will post about the results when in maintenance mode. Because for the first time in a long time I'm motivated again. And hopeful and inspired, and can picture finding quality work before long as necessity requires, and finally feeling confident that I can actually do it. I'm also feeling happier in my body again, a feeling I've missed since my raw food days. I feel stronger, healthier, more peaceful, and more clear. And clarity I have missed most. Underlying it all, there's an excitement brewing, that I'm getting back into the game of life.

Now, one of my sticky wickets is...exercise. Unlike my Ironman girlfriend from Massachusetts who astounds me with her discipline, and my ex who LOVED to go to the gym (probably to get away from me), I prefer a more lazy laid-back approach. I loved taking Tai Chi, bellydance, and yoga classes. But my favorite standbys (since I am more bookworm-ish than athletic) are yoga and Oxycise, in the comfort of my home (maybe I'm just comfort addicted). Since I also love hiking (and snowshoeing) hopefully I'll be healthy enough to climb a few local mountains--one of the more wonderful byproducts of living in Utah--by summer.

I'm excited to share this process with you; including photos (silly people, that's not actually me in the top photo), because the changes--inner as well as outer--are monumental. Oddly, the inner ones--feeling joyful and happy with whatever part of me I get to bring to life--are exciting me as much as the outer, more obvious ones.

Dare I say it? I'm a having a blast partying with myself. Come mealtime, I don't mind not eating the food my kids are eating, but drive them crazy by smelling it (the addiction part). Hopefully with time that will no longer be an issue. And don't tell them, but I'm hoping they will feel more like picking up some veggies and fruits themselves as this process continues. Healthy mom, healthy kids, who could ask for more?

Meanwhile, I look forward to the day when this fasting/cleansing stage is done and I can dine on green smoothies, salads, and fresh whole foods! I'm already salivating over a raw food pea casserole which another dear friend shared years ago (maybe she'll let me share the recipe with you) and is to-die-for (it has mushrooms, people!). And that's what I'm craving; fresh, crisp, savory flavors of whole foods again, instead of needing to medicate with old sugar/caffeine comforts.

It makes a body smile.

24 Coke-free and Counting...

The story goes I ate the mums at my parent's wedding reception...but, I digress.

It's been 24 hours without a vanilla Coke (my own personal brand of heroin, for all you Twilighters). And I haven't displayed any wierd withdrawal symptoms, like killing my neighbors. Yet.

Although I came close when a bored--and apparently unsupervised--child in the building pulled the fire alarm. Not only did the Star Trek Enterprise screeching (red alert! red alert!) drive me from the condo, it brought the police, firemen, and paramedics to our quiet little corner of the world.

And is it just me, but do you have to be eye candy to work those professions? Everyone of those guys looked like they were on their way to a calendar shoot. Because they were looking mighty fine I forgot all about tracking down that little kid who interrupted my well-guarded blog writing time. But, I digress.

My Coke elimination strategy based on consuming raw foods--besides making me forgetful--has worked its magic so far, so I'd like to pass on the magic to you (in case you cared):

• Camomile tea with raw honey and lemon.
• Blueberries in plain, non-fat yogurt (hey there, Brown Cow).
• A couple bottles of water.
• Odwalla green smoothie and a handful of blueberries
• Ambrosia for the gods chocolate smoothie: 2 bananas, spring water, lucama powder (Peruvian superfood), raw cacao and hemp seeds. Seriously, I could LIVE on that.
• Too many raw larabars; coconut creme, cherry pie, pecan, and key lime.
• A salad of spring mix, and goji berry trail mix topper with a dressing made of tomatoes, fresh garlic, green onions, cilantro, apple cider vinegar and virgin olive oil.
• Hummus
• Synergy Kombucha, Superfruit flavor

Okay, it was all a little heavy on the sugar, but it felt good just to get off the refined sugar and caffeine. And yeah, the cacao powder IS caffeine but my story is, it's still healthier than Coke, and I'm sticking to it.

Maybe I should try eating the mums garnishing the dining room table next? They're raw...

Yum Food Dichotomies

I must be really dehydrated these days, because I'm craving liquids out the wazoo. So I'm looking at what cravings are at the forefront and found what I call, "Yum Foods that Make Me Hum":

Perrier lemon sparkling water

Yogi gojiberry green tea (with raw honey and lemon)

Imagine Natural Creations organic vegetable soups

Milton's all natural multigrain crackers (okay technically, they aren't liquid but they go really well with the soups)

Synergy organic raw kombucha -- gingerade (although they make a delightful variety to tempt all tastebuds, including divine grape, guava goddess, strawberry serenity...)

Starbucks green tea soy latte

Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness drink

Pea green, microgreen sprouts

Bigelow chamomile tea (with raw honey and lemon)

Dannon all natural plain yogurt with berries and a dash of cinnamon

Campbell's homestyle chicken noodle soup with cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and dill weed (yeah I know, soup in a can!)

Of course, I'm also into icy bottles of vanilla Coca Cola and raspberry Krispy Kreme donuts...I'm all about the paradoxes these days. And, apparently, the brand names.



Credit: Photo courtesy of Coca Cola Company

Raw Religion

It's been 16 months since I left my identity as a raw foodist behind. Even though I was only raw a year, I don't think I'd ever felt as comfortable in my own skin as when I lived on raw foods, juices and green smoothies.

Being raw was not just a lifestyle, it became my religion, metaphorically speaking. So when I rebelled against events in my life at the time, I rebelled in a big way, leaving the raw food world behind with it.

It was Thanksgiving weekend 2007, and I remember because it was the same time that my 19+ year marriage ended, officially, and I'd been nursing a six-day migraine to boot. So I reached for a 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper and some pumpkin pie and became a cooked food eater again--just like that (hey, at least the migraine left).

The past couple of months I've been feeling like re-entering the raw world, to feel healthy and to look 'myself' again. But I don't want to approach it so much as a religion this time -- following specific rules and worrying about doing something 'wrong' -- but just be more flexible in my approach, more balanced. No all-or-nothingness this time around.

I'd do more greens, more minerals, and maybe not end up with extended migraines. I'd do more yoga and maybe just enjoy this amazing body more.

All things I could of course be doing right now, but....

I don't want another identity or religion defining who I am (or am not), but am ready to do what feels good. And I remember how good raw felt. So here's to the possible journey and enjoying the trip.



Credit: photo courtesy of free digital photos.