This is just about our lives - four cats, two kids, a musician and a preacher.
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This is where you stick random tidbits of information about yourself.
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Sunday, May 26, 2013
I seem to be stuck at 30 pounds. Temptations have been strong. I encountered a magnificant cheese table at a wedding reception tonight. There were at least a dozen fabulous cheeses out. The trio had that table all to ourselves after the guests went on to dinner. Who could resist? I didn't.
I don't really mind giving into the temptation of good food. I do feel shame and frustration when I give in to junk food. Cheez It boxes multiply in this house. I wish I could abolish them permanantly. After everyone else is in bed, those Cheez Itz throw themselves at me.
Even when I give in to cheats, the majority of my nutrition is coming from juice. I'm going to stick with this for the long haul. All of the food that I miss will still be there in September.
The palms of my hands may or may not be turning orange from all of the carrots I'm juicing.
12:36 AM
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Wednesday, May 15, 2013
30!! The pants in the next size down fit again.
Sticking to just juice is so much harder at home. Last night I got home at about 9:00 and there was leftover Shells and Cheese on the stove. I asked Randy to get rid of it. There is no way I could have resisted those leftovers.
As long as food is already in the fridge or freezer, I'm usually okay with leaving it there. Usually. I haven't had a cheat since Saturday. Here, Saturday means soup. Justin Crandall is a master soup chef (and owner/chef at Pangea Cafe). He creates and donates the soup that we serve at our church's soup kitchen. This past Saturday he fixed Spicy Beef Stew. Of course I had to have some.
I realize that I talk more about the food that I can't have than the juice that I'm making. I do like the juices that I fix, but they aren't all that exciting. The avocado blending still pleases me greatly. Fennel, red pepper and poblano peppers are also favorites.
Here is my shopping list:
Spinach
Cilantro
Kale
Asparagus
Hearts of Romaine
Cucumbers
Celery
Fennel
Poblano peppers
Red Bell peppers
Carrots
Sweet Potatoes
Naval oranges
Grapefruit
Apples
Ginger
I buy whichever oranges and apples are on sale. For eating, I prefer big crunchy Gala apples. I've found that juicing the bagged apples works fine and I can save a few dollars there.
Juicing is definitely expensive. I'm not spending money on eating out, buying cheese and Greek yoghurt, or snacks at the gas station. But the veggies and fruits that fill my shopping cart cost more than what I'm saving by not eating junk. That's fine. I would rather be healthy and (more) broke (than usual).
12:56 PM
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Sunday, May 12, 2013
The salad dressing that Mom made for the Taco Salad came from the Forks Over Knives cookbook. It had pureed white beans, cilantro, tahini, soy sauce and red pepper flakes. It was really good. I'm looking forward to fixing that one once I'm back to eating.
Forks Over Knives promotes a vegan diet that does not include any oils. I'm not sure I would eliminate coconut oil or olive oil.
Someone asked the other day how long I'll keep going with the juicing phase. I have Labor Day set as the end of juicing only. Then I'll keep juicing and add whole fruits and veggies. I really hope to be close to my goal by then.
Another someone asked how much weight I hope to lose. I would like to lose 100 pounds total. I've already lost 27.
I do feel time tick tick ticking. I know that menopause is in my not-so-distant future. No sign of it yet, but at 44 it couldn't be too far off. There is no way I want to enter menopause with that much extra weight hanging on.
My knees have been screaming at me to get rid of the extra pounds. There are 16 very steep hardwood stairs to get to my teaching studio. Those stairs are far too painful for someone my age. I hope that getting my weight down will take care of the pain. I'll let you know!
9:41 PM
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Tuesday, May 07, 2013
The "cheat" that I ate tonight was so very good! Mom made a Taco Salad from the Forks Over Knives cookbook for Graves and Natalie tonight. I couldn't resist. You chop Romain lettuce and mix it with corn, several kinds of beans, tomatoes, broccoli florets. The dressing is made from blended white beans and herbs. I wasn't around when Mom made the dressing, so I don't know exactly what's in it. But it is GOOD! It's so tasty, you could eat it with a spoon (okay, I did eat it with a spoon).
I only had a small ramekin serving, so it wasn't a bad cheat. Some people eat fruits and veggies along with their juicing and still call it a fast.
Yesterday, I juiced enough for two days. A day without juicing felt a bit like a vacation. I haven't even gotten the juicer out of the trunk yet.
9:16 PM
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Monday, May 06, 2013
My avocado juice was amazingly good! I wish I had more for tomorrow.
Today was my reset day. I had five iffy days in a row. It started with little cheats - a spoonful of peanut butter, an plump almond while I made the almond milk. Then it just snowballed. I refuse to even name what I ate last night. It was Lila's favorite fast food meal. She said her tummy hurt and she didn't want the rest. She left it in front of her chair, then stole my place on the couch. I sat in her chair and ATE that horrifying fast 'food'.
It felt good to get back to a clean juice day. I juiced enough this morning that I don't have to unpack the juicer tomorrow. That almost feels like a vacation.
I watched Forks Before Knives the other day. Graves described it as compelling and I agree. Eating a vegan diet makes so much sense to me. The movie presented research from several different sources that all show evidence that meat, dairy and the Standard American Diet all lead to heart disease and cancer.
The juicing phase of this diet is just the beginning. I've been reading vegan blogs, poring over recipes and drooling over pictures of fantastic looking food.
9:14 PM
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Sunday, May 05, 2013
Tomorrow is a new day. I think that's all I'll say about that!
Mondays are usually hectic, trying to get out the door with juice made for two days and packed for an overnight. This week I have to pack for four nights plus concert black. So tonight I'm thinking of the juices I'll make in the morning.
Kroger had a special on avocadoes today for $1/each. I've wanted to try avocado with a green juice so I picked one up. I'm picturing what's in the fridge, and this is the green juice I have planned:
Pineapple
Apple
Romaine Lettuce
Cilantro
Kale
Asparagus
Ginger
Cucumber
Avocado
I have a big chunk of pineapple left. The last time I juiced an entire pineapple and put some in each of that day's juice, I wound up with a painful sore on my tongue. My tongue is still kind of tingly. It tastes so good, but then I pay.
I'm glad to have all of my morning juice favorites stocked:
Strawberries
Orange
Red Pepper
Carrot
Sweet Potato
Ginger
I can't believe I made it home with that huge stash of produce and still forgot the spinach. Bummer.
This upcoming week away will be really busy. It's a good time for a reset. The pull of temptation has been very strong at home these past few days.
9:20 PM
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Friday, May 03, 2013
Today was a much better day. I made it through with my plan intact.
I also got my walking shoes out! Yesterday I walked in the neighborhood. The azaleas are absolutely gorgeous right now. Friday is Family Night at the HealthPark. Randy has the only membership, but we can all go on Family Night. Randy and the kids swam and I walked the indoor track. I hit a few of the machines, too.
Six weeks until Kings Island! I looked at the online tickets today and I think we can swing two days this year. I tell you, roller coasters are a strong motivating force behind my fitness drive. Do you know how teeninsy those seats are? And the shoulder restraints?? I've been able to squeeze in these last few years, but it hasn't been fun, comfortable, or pretty.
I want to move my body a lot between now and then. Wouldn't it be nice if a day at the park didn't just about kill me?
9:20 PM
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Thursday, May 02, 2013
Uh oh. Another infraction, this one far more serious than a few bites of potato pancakes and spaghetti. I had a slice of pizza tonight.
Lila and I came home from her soccer practice, and there it was - warm pizza in the box. I tried to resist, but it called to me. I cut one slice in half. Then Lila deconstructed hers and I ate the cheese. Then half a crust. It was a slow and guilt filled nosh. And, honestly, it wasn't as good as the pizza of my dreams. Papa John's tastes . . . processed.
Tomorrow is a fresh day. I make a pact to plan my juices and stick with them. No bites of anything. Just juice, herbal tea and water.
My Republic of Tea delivery should arrive tomorrow. I think it's Coconut Chocolate Tea. Earlier this week I got a tin of Cinnamon/Cardamom tea. It's very tasty! Herbal tea has been my friend on this fast. It warms me up and gives me a bit of flavor.
I also vow to stop looking at vegan blogs until I'm actually ready to make the recipes. I found several recipes for veggie burgers that look amazing! Smokey Sweet Potato and Garlic Aioli burger with avocado slices, a Black Bean Corn Chipotle burger, and one veggie burger that had so many ingredients that it defies titles. They all look so good!
The peanut butter jar also needs to go back in the cupboard. That's some major temptation sitting on the counter. We actually have two kinds of Jif right now - Reduced Fat and Regular Creamy. The Reduced Fat Jif used to be my snack of choice. It's sweeter and more stiff than regular. Now it doesn't even taste like peanut butter to me. The Regular tastes better to me now.Labels: Juice Fast
11:37 PM
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Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Today makes 31 days of juicing!
My two long teaching days are still a bit of a challenge. Juicing enough for two days takes longer than I think it will every week. Now I know that I need to leave a full hour to get through all of that chopping, juicing, bottling and cleaning. Juicing is a rather messy affair.
Traveling with the juicer when I'm staying with family is not a big deal. I'm still trying to imagine how our four days at conference will go. I think I'm going to try juicing at the hotel. We'll have a fridge. Containing the mess will be tricky.
Call me crazy, but I want to take a separate cooler to bring the peel and pulp home. I can't stand the thought of sending all of that pretty compost to the dumpster.
I don't know why I'm thinking of this right now. Conference is still over a month away.
So far my biggest weakness has been leftovers sitting out in the kitchen. I came home from teaching last night DEAD tired. Last week was incredibly intense - 9 rehearsals and 5 performances in 11 days. That would have been enough, but we also had Lila's bout of food poisoning in the middle of that run. She was up every hour, all night.
When I walked in the kitchen, there were potato pancakes on the counter. I squeezed all of the grease out of 1/2 a pancake and ate it. Then I had a bite of Lila's cold spaghetti. Both were quite tasty.
When I was chewing the spaghetti, my ear popped. I didn't realize that it was congested, and probably wouldn't have without that bit of chewing. It made me stop and think about the fact that I haven't chewed anything for a month.
I've been thinking of Indian food lately. Chicken korma, samosas, raita, kheer, chai tea . . . I could go for some of that right now. Or in about six months.
I've lost 24 pounds. Some days that feels great. Some days all I can see is the 76 left to go. I'm looking forward to shopping the sale racks in regular people sizes. I'm also looking forward to bra shopping with color and style selection. They just don't make the good stuff for plus sizes. Labels: Juice Fast
12:41 PM
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