Almost New Year!

Hi!!

Happy New Year Goal setting!

Almost 2010 THE best year yet!!!

xoxoxo

Snow Day

Well we usually get 1 day of snow a year ;0)
Today we woke up to snow !!!
It melted by midday, ah! that was fun!!

Oh chocolate I'm glad your back (almost 4 months with no chocolate!)
Got some chocolate paste, yum, already had it as hot chocolate
also in dates with almond butter
and with banana slices and cashews
will plot more naughty chocolate goodness !!!
(need some workable sweetener for proper chocolates)

Really love this one:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead

Just a sniffle

Interesting the difference to have a cold or a sniffle when you eat this way... I feel under the weather though am lucky to be minus the runny nose and other "leaking" elements ;0)

Saw a fun movie with Tim last week, "A Christmas Carol" with Jim Carey, gotta love what movies have become, so nice of them to spend million making a movie just for all of us!

Otherwise, keeping up with eating it's been three weeks and feels like my juice feast was already so long ago, liquids seem to be more appropriate now to flush out my system though it's hard not to eat ;0) even though it better when you are sniffly..

Good time of year to vibe into the Christmas energy, yes it may have gotten commercial, though there is definitely a different feel on Christmas, like more people than not are actually happy and in Joy. Wonderful!

Also with new years coming it feel magical to be ringing in 2010.. feels to me like the way 2000 was such a big moment...
and of course it also bring us closer to 2012 which has a lot of mystery around it, what will really happen??
Well.. still there are 2 whole wonderful years to enjoy fully, 2012 will come soon enough, and surely will be a turning point with all the shift predictions, I'm betting it will be for the better!

If anyone needs a good charity to send $$ to in honor of the holidays and new years, Women for Women is doing great work and there's always the Tree Planting foundation, nothing like opening your wallet to open your heart for the new year! (well this calenders new year anyways)

Also today was the peace 21 initiative, check it out www.peaceeveryday.org


"A happy and content life are just a feeling away "

The first picture is a ode to green juice

Hi! Took a little break ;0)

Now that I'm adjusting to being off the feast I've started exploring the world again.
Drinking plenty of water, eating as low glycemic as possible and being grateful for food..
Enjoying the holidays, enjoying my husband ;0)

So here are some pics... (the funnest part) Oh, they came up backwards so #1 is the last picture..

#1 My homebrew Kombucha
#2 Me living it up by adding carrots to my salad ;0)
#3 Me and Tim on a day trip to Diamond Mountain AZ (scenery, pistachio trees, pecan factory, a holiday tumbleweed!!)
#4 me today after 1/2 a month back on food :0)
#5 our Chanakah Christmas Tree (notice the lovely phase 1 sugar free chocolate heart under the Tree that Tim surprised me with today) mmm ;0)
#6 Views from our house (as requested) (more to come)

xoxox

I believe the teaching that being a spiritual person is very much about building character

so...

"It requires less character to discover the faults of others, than to tolerate them."
J. Petit Senn
(and learn to embrace them :0) as quirks

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.
Henry David Thoreau

10 day and happy

I've been breaking the feast and am now eating regularly.
it's been 10 days, today I ate/drank:

lots of water ;0)
32 oz dark green juice
almond milk
zucchini noodle soup (blue green algae, astragalus, etc..)
coconut banana shake (weird to have something rich and sweet, though it was yummy!)
1 1/2 avocados

Sleepy day!

"The more you clear things up and out, removing the excess, the clearer your truth will shine through"

Thursday December 9th

Adjusting to life as a talker and an eater ;0)

Still reminding myself that I can talk at times.. helps you think about what your going to say though !

Had a good adjustment w/ Dr George, happily the crick in my neck from sleeping funny a while back
was one of the things that he got back into place, yeay

Was dreaming about the movie Love Actually yesterday so I decided to watch it again, I love it! If your not into Christmas movies it's still good because it such a well made movie!! (i think so at least) I usually watch it every year, I used to watch it with Susan and Philip, but that's ok, we talked yesterday and I think they were going to watch it too

Today's yummy food:
water
32oz green juice lots of sprouts and spinach with celery and ginger
a big zucchini noodle soup with avocado and chia dumplings
a HUGE salad a la spirulina
Big glass of almond milk with cardamom, stevia and I warmed it up so it was like tea (not too hot ;0)
Just finished and avocado and we'll see what's next ..
Tim just handed me a bag of cashews.... things could get wild!

" just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."

PS glad to hear some of you are enjoying the posts, I was happy to finally start a blog so I could keep in touch with all you wonderful people that I am blessed to know!!!!

Another yummy day!

Today went by pretty quick, was a little over inthusiatic with my food choices and got a little belly ache ;0)
I had, a big noodle soup (way too big) carrot/zucchini/kelp noodles, broth nori noodles
and the drink is a coconut milk cardamom delight ;0)

I choose a more simple menu for today:
32 oz green juice
Chia pudding : chia, almond milk, cardamom, stevia
Big green salad with spirulina
My version of Coconut noodle soup: Aka Susan noodle soup (it was first created 4-5 years ago when we used tons of coconuts at the cafe, Susan made a great soup with ingredients off the condement table ;0) here's how i like it at home
1 coconuts worth of pulp cut into noodles (the best noodle shapes you can cut)
water "broth"
good dash aple cider vinegar
fresh ground black pepper
parsley flakes (or a little fresh minced parsley)
salt
nutritional yeast
flax oil
warm in a pot! voila

We all love this quote

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are
a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is
nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel
insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We
were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's
not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light
shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.”

The Day I broke my feast

Like a lot of people when I got to day 92 I knew I could keep going as long as I felt like. You get into a habit of only drinking LOTS and Lots of juice and it becomes quite easy to stay with your routine. It's actually more work to figure out what your going to do when you come off of the feast in the same way as it was a bit of work to get into the routine to begin with!

I definitely knew on a deeper level that I had done some great work cleaning out and being on retreat and that it was a good idea for me to start the transition back onto solids ;0)

I was actually pretty thrilled to eat the prunes "food". I probably could have been happy only eating 1/2 of them and for only 1 or 2 meals. They made me gassy and crampy and I was "moving" pretty good ;0)

I definitely was glad to cut down on the juice, since it was a bit of an effort to get 1 gallon in a day. It's day 7 of "eating" and as I've been lessening my juice intake I'm committed to keeping "green" as I continue. So a minimum of 16oz dark green juice drank each day, I've also decided that 16-32 oz of "dark greens" for me can also be (if needed) dark green powders in water or green smoothies. I want to keep it flexible so I can stick with it, and my real priority is to get the dark greens in and also help my body stay more alkaline.

I'm noticing more, with planing my food intake, what is more digestible and what will feed my body vs before the feast I was leaning more towards what tasted good, what was easy to prepare, even when I was on phase 1 (for those who are not familiar with phase 1 it's when you eat only low sugar foods, so cucumber and tomatoes instead of apples etc..)

I'm pretty set now to eat, I had some cucumber noodles (same as usual) and later a coconut smoothies with health Forces fruits of the earth and vitamineral green. I'm looking forward to some avocados and I have some kelp noodles soaking as well as almonds (which are for my yummy breakfast dish tomorrow)

It's a really windy day in Patagonia, and I'm happily/luckily tucked away inside our cozy home. So I thought it might be nice to write up some cold weather yummy food blurbs:

For my friends who cook their food ;0) : Have you tried quinoa yet?
It's a seed that's used like a grain, you can add it to stews, soups, or prepare it like steamed rice.
It's a very high source of protein and magnesium as well as iron.
It's gluten free and considered easy to digest


For raw foodies and cooked foodies:
Tim and I love out little sauce pan, yup! During the summer we eat tons of salad and pretty much like clockwork when it starts to get cold outside we turn our salads into soups. We will still add baby green, baby spinach etc.. to the mix, we usually start adding more garlic into our dishes, and premier research brand nutritional yeast (it's the only one Gabriel carries) we add in spirulina, sea veggies, and LOVE adding nori sheets to the soup, we either take scissors and cut nice strips or just rip it into chunks. Tim loves our soups better with coconut oil and even though that version is growing on me, I usually go for olive/ hemp or flax oil. We sometimes also grind up chia and I spoon piles on top of the soup after it' s served, we wait 5-10 minutes for it to get soaked with the soup broth and eat the chia as gooey chia dumplings. Other things that go good in the soup are apple cider vinegar, premier research tomato powder or sun dried tomatoes ground or soaked and blended. Miso! we put everything in our soups, we've put: olives, flax crackers, chuncks of raw kamut or spelt bread in, spiralized zucchini / cucumber/ carrots..... celery, sauerkraut..... Whatever you know tastes good together with go great in soup.
We like it heavy and chuncky like stew, we warm it on the stove top with a thermometer or just test the temperature with our little pinky.
Lastly we LOVE getting greens in so will food process with the s-blade 1 bunch of 1 or more: cilantro, spinach, parsley, kale etc...
Enjoy!




"all it takes for a breakthrough is one moment"

My Favorite Breaking the Feast Dish

So for those not into spirulina, don't look ;0)

1) spiralize 1 large. peeled cucumber

2) toss with: hemp oil, spirulina, salt, apple cider vinegar, small clove of garlic (or garlic/ onion powder if you prefer)

3) Yum! that's it, and I can eat this over and over !

Doing great, have already gained back almost 2 lbs in 6 days.
Growing some sprouts and planning my next meals

Note: If you haven't already read the book "Healthy at 100" by John Robbins it's a great book! easy to read, more interesting that factual, covers healthiest diet and lifestyle of the longest living, healthiest and happiest people all over the world!

"Life is short, enjoy it!" (safely, in moderation, without harming others, you know..)"
" No one ever lays on their death bed regreating not having spent more time working..."

Wonderful day, cozy inside the house ;0)

Lots of yummyniess, today the menu was salad, butter lettuce with red onion, spirulina, hemp oil, salt, homemade sauerkraut. Funny to think of lettuce as a hearty substantial food, though that's what's it feels like when you've been on juice and watery foods for a long time. Also ate 2 papayas today and another big butter lettuce salad.

We received a big order from Mountain Rose, and had fun brewing up teas, luckily they tasted pretty good so we are full of all their herbaly medicine :0) (always good in the winter)

Heard we may get snow on Monday or Tuesday very exciting! (since we only get an average of 1 day a year of snow here)

For those who are into spirulina the attached salad picture will be yummy, I apologize in advance to those who are not on that trip, you will probably find it a little disturbing! (rest assured it can be a tasty meal)


"Ask the right question and you’ll receive the right answer"

Silent Retreat

Hello!

To answer about the silent retreat

It was 30 days of silence=

No talking at all to anyone at anytime... if I needed anything now and then I wrote Tim a little request note, he was a star taking care of the tid bits!

Also no facebooking, e-mailing, and (of course) phone calls

A little extrem ???

I actually Really needed some serious alone time, this is my 6th year at the Tree of Life and for most of that time I've been running around and making a lot of other things a priority.. So I was actually really glad and grateful for this time.

Of course in way it was challeging at times, after all it was me myself and I ALL the time... Through I moved through it.
I did journal, meditate, and process all the stuff that comes up when you sit quietly alone for a long period of time :0)
(luckily no crazy songs looping in my head over and over) I've heard about that happening to people on retreat

It's also really nice to be talking again with all the amazing people in my life, you really appreciate the little chats that come up in a day and being able to talk to your friends after being in silence!
Relaxing sign ahhh....

"Surrender and be lived by love"

I'm adding picture because they always make bloggs more fun

Making things important that are actually not..

This is my 3rd day of breaking the feast ;0)
Today was extra special because i got to eat cucumber, oh yum!!! I was actually less than excited about cucumber juice, and then today it was Yummy!I made spiralized noodles with them and had a big bowl of pasta :0) (Noodles are my favorite food)

So as for the title, one of the things that became clear to me while in silence was a lot of the things I've let become "important" in my life that actually are not! Defined as things that are not relevant to ones growth and truth that you "let' steer and govern the flow of your time, your days, your months and ultimately your life!!!!
Wow, so if I don't do that thing for 1 whole month it really actually doesn't adversely affect ANYTHING!! in my life, and yet I've been "rushing" around to make sure it gets done even
over things that I now realize are the MOST important things in my life..........
So yeah, there's a little of my ahhha moments while on retreat..

Examples are: it's my day off do I really NEED to "Make Sure!!!" I get to Nogales today to run this errand, even though if I listen I really TRULY need to focus quietly inward, when I really pay attention I've already done the things that will keep me/us functioning... Here's a choice I can make.

It's the little choices over and over that are really the BIG choices in life...
Most of us have more than mastered DOING.. doing doing at what point is it time to master really being??
Being is when you can let yourself exist without doing anything... sounds easy...
When we master being then what really needs to be done becomes truly clear!

Love ya all!


“If you spent as much time on your spiritual practice as you do obsessing about food you’d be enlightened…"

Coming Off the Feast

Left is before right is after (they look pretty similar to me!)

Day 2 of eating, well kind of. I'm at the part were I drink 2 quarts of green juice and eat prunes
and I'm happy to move onto fruit tomorrow as me and the prunes have had our fun together :0)
I have a nice box of papayas waiting to be eaten and some cucumber (since they are technically fruit)
Nothing like not eating for 3 months to help you remember how much you love lettuce, I'm craving
butter lettuce! Got some nice foods in from Goldmine today, kelp noodles, arame, apple cider vinegar,
5 lbs raw almons, (wanted to be ready as soon as I can really eat with things I love) also stoked up on
spirulina, hemp oil, and nori.

"Do the things you fear, and the death of fear is certain"
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Completion of 92 Day Feast!

Today is day 93 for me, that means I just juice feasted 92 days!
Also I just completed my 30 day silent retreat...

Lots and lots to share, I made a little video today of my "first food"
in 3 months... prunes :)Though I need to learn how to load it sooo
instead

A brief:

Starting August 31st I began my juice feast, I chose to do it for health reasons
I did the first 40 days all green (phase1) then continued on with fruit/sweet veggies
added into my juices. Luckily I was able to keep the sweet juices to a minimum, as
I wasn't sure what it would be like after all that GREEEEEEN!!

I lost 8lbs in all, mostly the last 3 weeks.. Glad because I was trying to keep my weight on!
Really good cleansing and alkalinizing ;0)
Did an enema almost every day except if I was getting my weekly colonic
Did a parasite cleanse (along with the Health force 7 day cleanse)
Ready to focus on other areas now, feel I've super cleansed!

Will add more over the next few days!

"The less I need the richer I am"