Maintenance

Wow!  I learned more than I ever wanted to know about maintenance while visiting my auto dealership.  My car has 130,000 miles after ten years of minimum maintenance and the Service Tech had to refrain from saying, “I told you so”.  My maintenance expense was $3,000 to replace brakes, sludge in the brake fluid, power steering fluid, oil pan, battery and more! The condition of my old faithful and fully paid car was so bad, I had to trade her in.

I guess if my car has 130,000 miles on her after 10 years, I must have 780,000 miles after 60 years; a cliche comes to mind, “rode hard and put up wet”!  Kimberly Snyder speaks of sludge during detox and I am grateful I have not been traded in for a new model, but have a wonderful opportunity to get the maintenance I need! (I promise to treat my new Hybrid better, too!)

Forge ahead!

(1) Carecia Waters / Pinterest

(1) Carecia Waters / Pinterest.

 

Here is the link of one of my favorite cabbage salads!  I do not use the olive mixture and I do not limit to cabbage, except the beautiful cabbage leaf to serve a scrumptious salad.

What I really like are the candied onions.  They really give greens or cabbage a fresh taste and  are especially good as a coleslaw dressing replacement.

 

Enjoy!

Diversion

Remember the Hemp Protein Smoothie I decided to supercharge with a banana? I do not think I will do that again. I failed to eat anything else and the next day (yesterday) I was OFF.

Today I am back on plan and after returning from aquatics, I had a delicious collard green salad, caraway crackers (Mary’s Gone Crackers, gotta have them) and a fiery hot tomato hummus.

Dinner tonight is all vegan, and I am excited about feeling good today and even better tomorrow. My tummy is flat and lean, which is a great improvement from bloated and fat! My hubby asked me to turn around slowly just so he could see my shapely self, too funny. I did indulge him.

Speaking of hubby, he has a very sensitive pallet and decided a long time ago he does not like tomatoes, avocados, cauliflower, asparagus, sauerkraut, broc…..you get the picture. Last night I served shrimp with his miso soup, and cabbage salad, and limas and this morning he said he was both pleasantly surprised and disappointed that I prepared shrimp, he preferred all vegan most of the time and I served him meat two nights in a row!  Now that is progress. I will make it up to him, I promise.

I am running out now for a walk to the park just to soak up more sunlight!

Let’s talk Detox

Toxins love to hide out in my body, I think some may have super glue molecules! A wholesome raw diet shakes the digestive system up and I had a rude awakening from my honeymoon with VEGAN.

First, the two biggies I gave up cold turkey were caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine was simply not appealing to me after starting my morning with warm lemon water and I did not want to use dairy or soy, so there went my creamy lattes and hello headaches! I brewed some white tea, which has a small amount of caffeine and when I really needed help, I poured a cup of green tea. It took about two weeks to overcome caffeine addiction, but it was worth it.

Putting the cork in it was harder. I never considered myself a problem drinker, but I polished off a bottle of wine in one evening.  After I started my vegan and Beauty Detox, I found out my wine drinking days are limited!

When I started the Beauty Detox I chose not to drink wine for several days, then I discovered organic wine with only trace sulfites so I had to have it!  The next day withdrawal was a little scary. I developed a nervous tick in my thumb and Googled the symptom and number one on the list was alcohol withdrawal. Other symptoms included chest pressure and rapid heart beat. I did not realize how alcohol was impacting my blood sugar level and nervous system.

I found the best foods to eat for blood sugar balance were seeded fruits like strawberries and blackberries; the seeds regulate the fruit’s sugars , releasing sugar gradually throughout the day.  Otherwise, I just had a crappy day and waited to detox.  DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU ARE UNDERGOING WITHDRAWALS FROM HEAVY DRINKING!  Alcohol withdrawal can be life threatening, so seek professional help; I am sure a few berries will not be the solution!

Detox also impacted my system in other ways not related to these addictive drugs. I was suddenly tired and sluggish and I was bloated. UGH!

Fortunately, I knew I was detoxing and it would pass and I knew I did not transition slowly, which is recommended. I did purchase Probiotics and MAG07 by Aerobic Life (recommended by Kimberly Snyder). Trouble was, I did not get them until about my sixth day of detox! The symptoms left and now I know changing my diet was long past due.

I wanted to share these seemingly negative experiences not to discourage, but to forewarn and to encourage you should the same symptoms manifest in your journey to be your best self. Maybe you will transition instead of jumping in with both feet! I do not think giving up all alcohol or caffeine is required, but moderation is always the key.

Let me know if this insight helps you or if you have other solutions to share!

Hunger

I posted my Hemp Milk Protein lunch recipe earlier today and am amazed how full and content I was all day. My energy is great and my mood stable.

Now, I am hungry and I mean real hungry. It is five o’clock and I am ready to make dinner for my husband and if I eat a snack now, I will not be hungry later.

The moral to the story is to be proactive and anticipate hunger. A small salad around 3:00pm next time! Now for celery and pine nut butter!

Pain and Food

Yep, I have arthritis, osteoporosis, and degenerating disc disease but they do not have me! My back has given me grief for decades and about six years ago I was diagnosed with all these painful diseases; at last I could name my demons.

I thought about using them as a excuse not to walk or run or swim, but the thought of giving up or giving in to disease was more painful. I realize my fitness journey started many years ago and I surprise myself with how far I have come. What else surprises me is how often I got derailed. Now that is just not an option.

Now I know certain foods actually help relieve pain. Real Age http://www.realage.com has a good article that explains some of the benefits of certain pain fighting foods. I don’t ascribe to dairy or soy or a lot of olive oil, but they are easily replaceable. Grape seed oil has better fats than olive oil. Soy messes with my thyroid (yea, have thyroid disease too). I always gain weight when I use soy or dairy, but Almond Milk is a great alternative.

Otherwise a diet rich in greens and veggies and fruits help make those aches and pains subside.

Good news, I reversed osteoporosis and regained 1/2″ in lost height after just one year of aquatics. I cannot wait to see how much more I heal myself with a greater commitment, a vegan diet (I will eat salmon), and more yoga and aquatics.

It’s a journey.

Sunlight

My orchids love and need sunlight and I am happy the sun is shining brightly today!  Actually, I need sunlight too.  When it is cold or windy outside it is easy to stay indoors, cuddled up in front of the television or computer, but I believe it it important to push myself out the door and soak some Vitamin D rays, after all, I too am a rare flower!

Speaking of Vitamin D reminds me of other nutrients and food choices.  For dinner last night I ate a cabbage bowl, yep, the whole bowl.  Go to my Pinterest link and see the picture of salad in a red cabbage leaf,   I do not follow the recipe exactly because I want to add more nutrients and we are not fond of olives, but I love the candied onions.  As I mentioned in my previous post the cabbage salad is also a great way to hide my Kimchi.  

The salad was very filling and except for a few Italian sweet potato bites, I had nothing else to eat, so I found myself hungry at noon today after having 16 oz. of Glowing Green Smoothie for breakfast.  I wondered what I wanted fix for lunch that packed a big punch of nutrients and Hemp protein smoothie came to mind. This is another of Kimberly Synder’s drinks, but I changed it up a bit:

2 Cups Hemp Milk (can use Almond)

1/4 Cup Hemp Protein powder

1/4 Cup Chia seeds

1 T Kal nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 avocado 

Liquid Stevia for a little sweetness

Now here is where I went off the deep end and added more punch

1 T coconut cream ( I use Native Forest unsweetened organic canned coconut milk)

1 Banana (I keep several peeled bananas in the freezer)

 

I am confident I have a great balance of easily digestible protein and a load of other nutrients to make me beautiful on the inside and I am now ready to go out and bask in the sun!  Make it a great day!  

 

 

 

Probiotics

Following Kimberly Snyder’s The Beauty Detox, had one major setback for me. Remember I mentioned I made my own Probiotic -Enzyme salad (sauerkraut) and I threw it out because I was afraid of it? I bought 2 brands of sauerkraut, the first was just mushy and questionable and made me think of Chicago hot dogs! The second was organic, old family process-all good, but I could not eat the stuff!

NOW I found a way. I did buy Kimchi, but I think this will work with the organic sauerkraut I tossed. Mix with shredded cabbage drizzled with candied onions! See my post on http://www.pinterest.com and look for the picture of a beautiful red cabbage bowl! If you cannot find it, let me know. YUM!

Gratitude

I never understood gratitude until now.  Gratitude expresses itself through grace and kindness.

My morning started with a warm cup of lemon water and I am grateful I no longer need coffee (although I treat myself to a cup every now and then).  Then I made my Glowing Green Smoothie and drank the whole thing while I ordered Chia Seeds from The Chia Company.  I wish I could describe how beautifully green this drink is and because I am fortunate to have a great blender (VitaMix), my smoothie was like whip cream!

I made a beautiful salad for my husband’s lunch and the colors popped like a work of art!  Adding shredded red cabbage, red peppers, and carrots make the greens gorgeous and I know he will enjoy the sprouts, chia seeds, flax seeds, and apple cider vinegar (I only use apple cider with “mother”, Braggs is a good brand).

My own lunch was like stolen treasure.  Tomato wedges heated just a bit, avocado slices, fresh basil, grape-seed oil and a pine nut butter that tastes like cheese!  YUM

I wanted to make my own sauerkraut, well I did, but I was afraid to eat it!  Eating live enzymes has so many benefits, so I bought Kimchi instead.  I hope it tastes better and is a suitable substitute.

Exercise today is two mile walk, hey maybe you will be the one I smile at today!

For the time being, go to http://www.pinterest.com and see the recipes I use and look Kimberly Snyder up, as well.  Her book, The Beauty Detox is what I am following.  I don’t eat anything or do anything that there is not a reason for doing when it comes to food. Remember, it is not a diet, but healthy food choices, that’s all.

It saddens me to think of starvation and malnutrition in our world and I am so grateful for the abundant organic foods that bless my health.  I know I am fortunate.

Getting Started

The hardest step to a healthier life is getting started.  For me getting started was a matter of choice to either get fit and enjoy these final years of my life, or let myself go and regret all I could not do for myself.  When I look back over each decade of my life, I realize how wonderful being in good health was.  However, I chose a career and motherhood over my personal interests.  Now I have an opportunity to pursue those interests, my time belongs to me, so why would I want to be too unhealthy to enjoy it?

Therefore, the first step in being healthier is a decision.  I first thought about re-connecting to my spiritual self, meditate, say profound things, smile, and be kind.  That was hard because I felt terrible, my concentration was nil, my memory shot, my body ached and I had no energy.  I relied on a daily dose of wine to ease my pains, reward my misery, and escape my reality and when two glasses became three, why not drink the fourth?

I recently semi-retired (that is another story!), but my husband still works and he takes medications for poly myalgia, which caused weight gain and a plethora of other maladies.  Together, we were a mess, moping around the house-well, no, sitting around the house in front of IPad and television and simply growing old.

Then, one day, I made a decision to Get Started  with a better life.

Join me on this journey!  Together we can inspire and learn from one another and continue to amaze past and future generations with the awesome determination of Baby Boomers!