Juice cleanse/fast 2013

I got to test out Sissie #1's GreenStar juicer!!! I have to say first and foremost that it masticated greens and hard vegetables like a pro! And had the driest pulp I have ever seen from the many juicers I have ever tried! But... it was an evil beast to clean. It like all juicers did not take kindly to soft veggie/fruits.  So right there we know it is crushing all the possible juice from the hard stuff :)

I currently have been using the centrifugal Omega Mega mouth, it is damn fast, and strong, make sure you are holding it when you first turn it on as it kicks with the power on the upstart, it also is very very loud... it also makes the whole process faster because you do not have to cut up your produce very small, but it makes frothy, pulpy juice and will spooge a mess from under the lovely stainless steel basket and screen if you do too much soft stuff and do not clean it out occasioanally as you go, and the screen is a pain to clean but aren't they all? But to its defense I also need to add that I make giant batches of juice, probably more than the normal person may make. You have to make sure the basket/screen is sparkling clean as if old pulp dries in there it will not work very efficiently. So after using this one for a few months we are going to go back to the Omega 8006 masticating style, it is obviously slower than a centrifuge but it has way less pulpy, frothy, juice. Also the Omega 8006 is really EASY to clean, it is a single auger style. It still doesn't like soft produce but I can live with this fact. I also love the sound of this machine, its almost meditative, as it slowly goes munch...crunch...munch.... i love it that it sounds very meditative, like a cow eating grass :) It is not a efficient as her Green Star, but it is slightly less expensive and very easy to clean. Here is my 2012 blog post about the Omega 8006 :)
 

Currently I am (and Mr. B are) on day 9 of a Spring juice cleansing. Mr. B is doing so great and I am so proud of him! The first 3 days were quite difficult with wanting to pop something with texture into my mouth was excrutiatingly hard, this was a test of my willpower at its fullest! I will be honest and say that if Mr. B was eating food I would not of been able to juice fast. The temptation would've been to great. But as time goes on and in the fall when it comes time to do this again, I imagine it will just get easier and easier and with practice and I'm sure it wont even be an issue in the future. Kind of like the what my doctor said to me about smoking once, "don't think of It as failing to quit, think of it as practice quitting!" I do not know how, but after I heard that long ago it made it so much easier not feeling like a failure and thought of it as practicing and feeling what it felt like to go through those cravings and habits.  And this corelation is true fro me with this cleanse, I am seeing what my comfort foods are and am noticing the times and triggers when I want to eat even though you I am not hungry, hmmm it’s very interesting seeing these patterns. 


Last night I actually dreamt I mistakenly had eaten a cookie, oopsy! It was kind of funny when I woke I had to giggle at my cookie eating antics.
 

My words that keep me on the cleanse are, "this is only a very teeny-tiny block of time in my life, it is an opportunity for me to find out if i have any food allergies to alleviate some physical ailments, it is also flushing out my system of toxins...its only a small block of time with alot of benefit. SO what if I cannot "eat", I am not going to die that's for sure!"

 

It is really just emotionally uncomfortable, (ok and don't forget you have to pee alot!) I have not really physically been hungry, but that emotional uncomfortableness is there and this gives me another opportunity to look at why and how I make the food choices I do, it is very interesting, so I feel I am gaining insight into some of my emotional food issues which is also a bonus! I am finding when I think of grabbing a snack, it isn't an apple or vegetable. It is something processed. Instant gratification, fast, easy, salty, fatty.... yes it is making sense now the intentionally made addictive qualities of processed foods. But generally in my household and (definitely my family) we eat consciously and mainly lots of fresh organic produce. It is just interesting that when I am fasting that my fantasy pop-up thoughts immediately go to eating crap!? I was aiming for 10 days but may go longer now as I am starting to get a bit itchy and I don't think I am done getting some yuckies out yet, but I am starting to plan and able to change those thought of grabbing a cookie into grabbing a juice, a fresh veggie or fruit (did i say fruit!?) I am also looking forward to starting to want to be creative with cooking food and maybe even some healthy treats. So I have noticed that this is making me able to change my thinking, I actually want to make an effort to have meal plans so I don't panic when I am hungry and make those bad instant gratification choices, to take the time to care about my body, family and life. This may be the key for us to eating alot better. Having a plan vs. last minuting something together because we are tired and it is late.... Its all becoming a little clearer and feels alot more do-able :)
 

I have decided to juice fast because of many reasons. First and foremost is that I honestly physically and mentally feel like crap most of the time. I have juice fasted before and had very uplifting positive results, its just very hard to “start” one, but like quitting smoking, “practice, practice, practice!“ Another being my persistent eczema problems (possible food allergy). I have been playing with having a plant based diet for over a year now (after seeing Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and many other movies and research) but have now just decided to commit which I am very excited about! I am having new found determination and motivation to change my lifestyle, I am very excited to dive in and have new exciting food adventures. I also have current dental work happening and a lot more in my near future to come (heavy metal detoxing a must!), and lastly to lose a few unnecessary pounds to relieve pressure on my worsening aching joints. I am hoping that this will be a catalyst for cleaning up the toxins in my body and things in my life and will help me to have more mental clarity to focus on what is really important for my health, mental well-being and my family. I am feeling my mortality. One door opens the next door and so on….

“other happenings”

 

*During this time, sweet ebi had to go to the vet as her anal gland/sac had ruptured (just like Winty's rupture a few years back)
this just confirms I have to take them in minimum every 3 months, sigh. my fault for slacking off, lesson learned :( I am so sorry Ebbs...

*I have slacked off making my Brooches for the BAD 2013 project, I am 9 days behind. I am not sure why I hadn’t made the time to make them, it must be the fast, but yesterday finally I was able to start again and got 4 made. I have a sneaking feeling all my energy was going into making juice and keeping my sanity this week. But I am feeling grounded now and will be all caught up probably by tomorrow.

You can see all the brooches made so far here.

to see all the participants brooches here.

*This year I have started volunteering for a non-profit organization that helps families in need. It has been amazingly rewarding and am so grateful for the opportunity to be involved. Thank you Sissie #3 for introducing me to the program!

Ok over and out for now, thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Thrifty joy!

I said to Don, with this post, my sisters are going to think I'm more "nuts" than they already do! Oh well, welcome to my little world. I wanted to find a way to donate more to the food bank and not go out of my budget. It is also a less painful way to keep a few extra of the items you use a lot of.

I went to Albertsons and saved $9.64 shopping sales and using coupons and spent $6.63
I went to Walgreens and saved $24.73, and spent $7
I went to Fred Meyer and saved at least $20 and purchased everything on sale--there are a lot of good deals on organics and in natural foods right now. I got the brand of packaged Indian dinners that Aji loves for $2/ea vs the usual nearly $4/ea.
Audrey also got her favorite Coconut Milk Ice Cream - Purely Decadent on sale and with a coupon for $2.00. The regular price $5.49?

It is not hard. It is not actually that time consuming. I found a good coupon site called the discount queens. I compared them to many others. If you find one good site, it is not really necessary to use any others because they are all blogging the same deals.
If it seems too good to be true and wonder if it is "ok" to do, the store accepts this method of couponing because the manufacturer pays them too. It is like the "loss leaders" they use in the weekly flyers. They take the loss to get you into the store. It is a free sample. (The organic shampoo was an amazing free sample!) Everyone is happy you are getting their product and hope that you are so happy you will get some more! I got a dark chocolate Reese's p-cup regular price of 89cents on sale for 49cents and used a 55cent manufacturer coupon. My total sale got credited the 6cents and I got a free candy bar.


Here are 2 of my highlight buys I think might interest you...

A new item at Walgreens. This was FREE. It has a "peelie" on it: A coupon attached to the item. This was a buy one ($7) and get one free, EXCEPT, there is a rebate for the entire cost for each item. FREE Organic shampoo and all I'm out is an envelope, stamp and 3 minutes.

Donnie likes his sandwiches wrapped in wax paper. Its a thing. This roll normally costs $1.99 at Walgreens. This weeks flyer (you can get the flyer at the store) it was 89 cents. The limit is 3 for the shopping trip. They have no problem you picking up another coupon if you come in again during the coupon expiration date (Walgreen's coupons are for 1 week).

It's not about balance.

Yesterday I spent 5-6 hours helping host our Open House at Amrita. It was exhausting. I was dreading it because I do not like raw social contact. But I rolled up my sleeves and I girded my loins (so to speak) and plunged in because it had to be done. This meet/greet stuff sure doesn't come naturally. At the end of the 4 hours, I felt squeezed out like a sponge. Although it was exhausting it was fulfilling. People came who read about us in the newspaper or on the internet. Probably at least 50 people wandered through. Our goal was to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood and I think we accomplished that.

It is strange for me to be back into this area, having spent so many years(!) in Edmonds going to the EHRC. Because the drive is so familiar it doesn't seem long or a burden. I am coming up here more often then when the office was 7 mins away. weird.

With love

I am working on a wonderful project. It is a sweater started by my beloved late mother-in-law, Joan. I miss her. She was a kind and amazing woman. It feels almost sacred to be knitting her sweater. I think you have to be a knitter to really understand. I am extending every stitch that she placed on her needles and makes me feel so connected to her. I finished the knitting today, and now all I have to do is the sewing up. I am gifting it to Joan's sister-in-law who is about Joan's size. She will be surprised. She will love it. I will send it to her... with love, from Joan.
I'll post pic when it's done.