Today I ate;

2.25 liters of water

Orange wedges

Banana-spirulina smoothies (blended with ice)

Honeydew melon

Carrot-celery-cucumber puree

= 1645 total calories for the day

Today I ate;

2 liters of water

Cantaloupe and more cantaloupe..

'Peaches and Dreams' smoothie at Liquiteria

Ugli fruit (<--My first time trying it. I like it!)

Banana-sprulina smoothie

= 1550? total calories for the day

Today I ate;

1 liter of water

Cantaloupe, cantaloupe, cantaloupe...

Carrot puree (-left over from last night)

= 1500 calories for the day

Very orange food day today. 

Today I ate;

1 liter of water

Lots of pineapple

Banana-spirulina smoothies

Carrot-celery-tomato puree (<--I put a little cinnamon & ginger in there. I liked it!)

= 1750 total calories for the day

I'm feeling really optimistic about the new food challenge. I thought about it a bit today and I noticed all the foods I chose are 'light' foods. They are also water rich foods. None of them should weigh me down physically or psychically. That is probably why I didn't want to put my (heavy) green salads on the list. Too much in there, not simple enough, not 'light' enough. I think when this is over I will have some 'light' green salads in mind that I'll want to create. I think I just need to break past heavy food habits.

[The pretty carrot soup picture is from Epicurious]

31 weeks till New Year's Eve 'Nasty Fruit' Challenge

OK, I know what I want to do now! I want to go back to what I designed for the 14 Day Cleanse, but add some veggie soups to it and do it for m-u-c-h longer. I would like to follow this diet until the end of the year. My New Year's Eve celebration will be My Nasty Fruit Challenge completion -and- the beginning of a healthier me for 2010!

My Nasty Fruit Challenge;
Hot drinks (hot water drinks made from lemon, herbs, roots or leaves)
Fresh juices (citrus or plain vegetable, no sweet fruit added to the vegetable juice)
Green smoothies (simple combos, no more than 3 ingredients)
Raw soups (young coconut or a little avocado is OK, but no oil or salt)
Whole fruits (mono meals mostly, this includes non-sweet fruits)

The goal is to be consistent, not perfect. (I already know it won't be perfect. I have travel dates planned and weddings to attend, so this could get tricky.) The reason this challenge is so long is because I want to practice being more fruity, more natural and more simple in my diet. I have already had brief experiences of SUPER happiness and SUPER efficiency in my body when eating like this. My mind is also much calmer and at peace. It's usually brief because I swing back to old eating habits and give in to the influence of 'cultural norms'. This time I want to create a new 'norm'. I want being natural to be fashionable again. But not the fashionable 'natural' way we see today, like 'natural' toiletries and bed linens. Just simple living with awareness. Eating less, eating simpler and getting in touch with nature, our higher nature. The natural 'us' that doesn't need to be entertained by food, that doesn't need to take 'comfort' in cooked or fatty foods, that doesn't need to over use and abuse our bodies or our resources. I notice when I eat like this there are no plastic bottles, no glass jars, no foil, no take-out containers, it's mostly peels & seeds. No animal has to die or live to be used (only for it's milk and eggs) just to produce my meal. Most of the time no one has to even make me anything! It's just peel and go! Plus, when I'm consistent with eating mostly fruit the less I need other supplies like soaps, toothpaste and deodorant. (If I'm eating raw high-fat processed foods, animal foods, cooked foods or seasonings, I need it!) So there is a chain effect to the simplicity of the diet, the rest of your life gets simpler and less wasteful. Imagine if everyone's lives were less wasteful and simpler. What a huge difference that would make on our planet's current challenges. Over population and global warming means we must use less, we must take responsibilities for our actions. 

[*A little note about the food list: The reasons green salads are not on my list is because I don't enjoy them without lots of avocado or a salty fatty dressing. Then after eating salt or lots of fat I feel less energized and my digestion slows way down. I usually over-eat and tend to crave more fatty salty foods afterwards. Plus, most dressings that are made with salt & oil are not fresh. The oil or nuts used can be (and usually are) rancid. Fats are very sensitive to oxygen. It's also hard to know exactly what kind of salt is in the dressing when eating at restaurants. Whenever I have salt in my food I get puffy. I don't like getting puffy (and neither does my body). So I think it's best for me to skip the old salad habit and stick to green smoothies or green soups for my greens. Maybe I will develop a palate for plain salads. This will be tough, but I will give it a try. We will see...]

If you have a goal you want to try till the end of the year let me know. It could be giving up one old habit or including one new habit. Maybe eating something raw everyday or choosing organic over conventional when you have the chance. Whatever you feel would make a contribution to your life and the lives around you. Give it a try! Remember consistency, not perfection. It's all a work in progress. We are in this together!

Today I ate;

1.5 liters of water

Pineapple

Mixed melon salad (<-super good, it was honey-dew & watermelon)

Small coffee & soymilk (<-same story as always, tasted & felt good while, but not after..)

Banana-celery-beet top smoothies

Alfalfa sprouts & shredded cucumber

w/chopped cucumber & tomato sauce w/herbs on top

= 1800 total calories for the day

FYI: I am planning what I want to do next with my diet. In the next few days I will post the new plan, ...or challenge. :) Drop me a comment if you have any suggestions...  Xo!

Today and Yesterday I ate;

Sunday~

1 liter of water

Watermelon (<--it was gigantic!)

Cantaloupes

Bananas

= 1600 total calories for the day

Monday~

1 liter of water

Watermelon

Cantaloupes

Sunflower sprouts & shredded cucumber

with chopped tomatoes & tomato sauce

= 1180 total calories for the day (<-- The reason this is so low is because I took a five hour nap today. I fell asleep at 5pm for a 20 minute nap and woke up at 10pm! Definitely not planned.)

14 Day Cleanse -Day 13 & 14, plus Friday & Saturday

Believe it or not, I finished the cleanse even though I was vacationing with a friend. The 13th and 14th were all fruit days (except for a tiny bit of dressing I dipped some cucumbers in on Thursday night). It wasn't hard at all. My friend was really supportive of my eating whole fruits instead of going out or eating something 'fancy' at home. I ate plain fruits next to them while they ate bread, cooked veggies and salads. It was fine. 

Wednesday [day 13]

1.5 liters of water

Bananas

Apples

Mangos

Oranges

Tomatoes & cucumbers

Thursday [day 14]

1.5 liters of water

16oz of fresh mixed vegetable juice

Mixed melon salad

Papaya & mango

Strawberries & banana

Tomato & cucumbers with a little dressing

Then on Friday and Saturday I took the day off (of low-fat raw vegan) and ate whatever I wanted. 

Friday [regular day]

2.5 liters of water

Mangos

Salad bar at Life Thyme (veggie salad w/lots of dressing!)

Cherry tomatoes 

Organic food bars

Saturday [regular day] <--I went all out Crazy!

3 liters of water

Orange juice

Salad bar at Life Thyme (veggie salad w/lots of dressing)

Vegan dessert at Life Thyme (vanilla cake)

Coffee with soymilk at Think Coffee

Veggie soup at Think Coffee

OK, so the scoop is, after I ate whatever I wanted (like processed raw foods, cooked veggies or dressings on salads) I felt horrible. I had a headache that night and felt tired all day. In the morning on Sunday I woke up with swollen hands and I was a little 'out of it'. Puffy eyes, needing more sleep, dragging my feet as I walked. I had a bad taste in my mouth and felt like my whole system was running slow. After that I was dying to go back to only fruits! I know that it's bad to jump from one extreme to the other. To be disciplined for two weeks and then spoil it all by eating whatever you want. Maybe it does more harm on my system than good. BUT the good news is, each time I do something like this I gain new insights or habits that stay with me for life. I remember how many times I said, "Eat raw for three days, just for three days, after that you can eat whatever you want". I gradually learned the benefits of raw foods first hand and through time I ended up craving it. Now it's pretty easy to eat raw foods everyday. I feel the same way about eliminating processed raw foods and unnecessary fats. I've tried it for a period of time and I know how good it feels. The challenge is I have to break old habits like salads with dressing (that are salty & fatty). I'm just going to keep playing this 'food challenge' game with myself until it's so fun & feels so good I forgot I was playing. I'm going to continue eating mostly fruits everyday for the rest of the year. Why? Because it feels amazing.

14 Day Cleanse -Day 12

2 liters of water

16oz of fresh mixed vegetable juice

Cantaloupe and more cantaloupe

Organic cherry tomatoes

Carrot soup & chopped beets (<-cooked!)

= total calories ? (I'm not sure since I ate out on that last meal. But since I didn't eat lots of fruit, I may be under my normal caloric intake.)

[Argh. Falling off the cleanse a bit today. Not major, but it's there. Still a bit tired of fruit for dinner. I know that this is totally the rebellious side of me coming out. If I was to tell myself, 'don't eat fruit', it's all I would want! The interesting thing is, the few days were I was low fat and eating TONS of fruit and getting plenty of calories, I lost weight. My skin got softer, my clothes fit better, I was happier. All of these results were immediate. Like after 2 days things in my life on all levels improved. So I am clear that I'm heading in the right direction with my desire for a cleaner simpler diet. Tomorrow I will be visiting with a fiend for a few days (and staying in their home). I will probably go to a raw restaurant with them or make a big salad together for dinner. That means this fruity cleanse might end a little early. The good news is I'm fired up to try it again. Saturday I will post how it went while I was at their place, and I will also post what the new plan will be. See you then.... Xo..]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 11

1 liter of water

16oz of fresh vegetable juice

Cantaloupe & more cantaloupe

Cucumber noodles & sprouts

w/chopped tomato & tomato sauce

=1210 total calories for the day

(Today I really wanted something besides fruit for dinner. It ended up being a non-sweet fruit combo with sprouts. Cucumbers & tomatoes are so good. I liked the tomato sauce on the broccoli sprouts. I'm a little low on calories today, but I'm full. I think I waited to late in the day to eat. I had a busy afternoon and now it's almost 7pm. ) 

So far so good on the cleanse. I'm still thinking of extending it or tweaking it and starting a new one. I am craving more 'savory salad' type meals for dinner. But I have a feeling I'm wanting it because it's not on the list, not because my body needs or really wants it. It's my mind wanting what's familiar and I totally understand that. :) On the next cleanse I may add low-fat raw gazpacho veggie soups. Like a raw celery-tomato soup. That way it (my mind) won't feel like it's missing out on salty tasting dishes.

14 Day Cleanse -Day 10

1.5 liters of water

Watermelon

Hot maca drink (maca, cinnamon & hot water)

Cantaloupe, cantaloupe and more cantaloupe..

Spirulina-cinnamon-banana smoothie

= 2100 total calories for the day

[Today I did make an effort to drink water before eating anything. It really set my day up nicely. The weather today was much 'chillier' than I expected. I had planned on doing a mostly watermelon day. I did eat watermelon for breakfast, but then I felt a little cold, like I wanted something 'cozier'. After that I made a hot maca drink and felt better. Later there was some really tempting Thai food smells wafting around my building. Ohhh wow.. it smelled so good. I wanted to eat something warm after smelling it! I decided to make a spirulina-cinnamon smoothie. It hit the spot. I'm glad I didn't run out t0 a Thai restaurant. -Phew.]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 9

1.5 liters of water

Green lemonade (<--sunflower sprout juice & lemon)

Mangos, mangos, and more mangos!

Banana-spinach smoothie

Mamey! (<--interesting taste, like sweet potato)

= 2150 total calories for the day

[Things are becoming the norm on this cleanse. I find that I'm really happy eating lots and lots of fruit. When I take the time to allow salts, garlic, fats, etc., to clear my system I can taste the subtleties in the fruit better. Also, I can eat a large quantity of fruit and go for a run and my digestion feels fine. I think the troubles (like upset stomach or bloating) I had before were from fruit mixing with undigested food in my system (from past non-fruit meals). When I have simple fruit days I don't have any trouble.]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 8

1.5 liters of water

Lots 'n lots of veggie juice (<--like carrot, beet, celery, kale, spinach, cucumber, etc..)

Lots of big heirloom tomatoes (-so pretty!)

= total calories? (I'm not sure of total calories for the day. Since it was all veg I decided not to count. I'm probably way under my normal intake. Veggies don't add up like sweet fruits and raw fats do.)

[It felt good to catch up on some greens today. But I still have too many! (:( ) You can only drink so much green juice. Oh well. It also felt super good to catch up on replacing fruits. I bought loads of new fruit. I have new bananas, watermelon, Mamey (<--very exciting!), Haitian mangos, cantaloupe, grape tomatoes, etc. I'm ready for the next week of fruity low fat raw vegan! It feels really good to see all these fruits come in, to see the sun out and to know that I am making progress with my health. It all feels good.]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 7

Today I am going to write a few words about what is working well and what is not.

First I want to say that I am LOVING this cleanse and I think it's going really well. I am looking forward to the next 7 days. But, I will list a few things that I can do better with next week....

Preparation is so important.  I let a few things slide. I didn't consistently buy fruit. In the beginning I was really good about keeping the kitchen fully stocked with various fruits. Then I slowly stopped replacing them. This includes non-sweet fruits. I never replaced the tomatoes that I ate early on, then today, I started to crave complicated recipes that had tomatoes in them. If I would have keep tomatoes in the house, I wouldn't be 'craving' them. I would be eating them!

I began to slip into higher fat raw again without thinking. I bought a little box of young coconuts because I was going to start another Bikram yoga challenge and I wanted to have the coconut water to drink after class if I felt dehydrated. Well, I didn't begin that Bikram challenge, I decided to cleanse (for now) instead. I forgot the coconuts were not on my original 14 day cleanse list and I started eating them. The very interesting thing that I noticed was, my bowel movements changed. Before in the young coconuts my BMs were amazing! I was so happy.  After 3 days of just fruit & greens (on this cleanse) my digestion improved and my BMs got much fuller and longer. Before the cleanse I was having inconsistent BMs. Some days they were fully formed, some days they looked small and inadequate. After 3 days of just fruit & greens I was going as soon as I woke up and not long after my main meals. Things were running smoothly. As soon as higher fats came in, they slowed down and thinned out. Also, my energy dropped a bit and I needed a little more rest than the days with no overt fats.

Another thing I noticed is that I feel much better when I drink water first thing in the morning. The last few days I have been playing catch-up, by drinking my water later in the day or in the evening. It doesn't work as well then. Better than nothing of course, but when I try to drink at least 1 liter of water earlier in the day I feel better (and I choose better). Then I get around to another liter later on. Lately I've been skipping that morning liter. I can definitely see and feel the difference. It doesn't feel so good. I didn't notice it in the beginning, but now that a week has passed, I can really notice the side effects.

Softer leafy greens vs. tougher leafy greens. I noticed that I bought way too many tough leafy greens (like dinosaur kale) for this cleanse. My fridge is still loaded with it. I haven't liked it much with fruit. I think celery, fresh herbs, dandelions (if you like bitter), baby lettuces and spinach are much better for fruit combos. 

Tomorrow I will have lots of veg juice & mono veggie meals to catch up on green produce (-that will soon go brown!). I will also try a week without coconut. That was the original plan, but I some how got young coconuts in. (-Opps, take 2!)

I think exercise has really helped. I started an exercise support link on '30Bananas-a-day'. It's a fun site for low-fat vegans (..or wanna be low-fat vegans, ...or low-fat vegan lovers, etc..) ..and just plain ol' fruit lovers of course! You can sign on to be part of my exercise thread. I would love to have your support and to support you in your fitness goals!

14 Day Cleanse -Day 6

1 liter of water

8oz of aloe vera juice (with probiotics mixed in)

The juice of 4 Ruby Red grapefruits (with their seeds, blended in Vitamix)

Mango-banana-kale smoothies

Banana-young coconut puree

= 1870 total calories for the day (I haven't eaten all of this yet, it's in the fridge.  A green smoothie and a yummy puree in glass jars waiting for me, ready to go!)

[Today has been fabulous. This morning I did a little detox soak for my feet while watching inspirational videos on Youtube. I totally recommend this foot soak recipe. You feel a tingle all the way up your calves! It's a little wacky, but feels great and has lots of anti-fungal & anti-bacterial properties. I put all sorts of things that inspire me together. They are all warriors for super health .]

*Aimee's Foot Soak Recipe*

Epsom Salt

Sea Salt

Ground Grapefruit Seeds

Pau D'Arco

Ginger

Baking Soda

...and very warm filtered water of course :)

14 Day Cleanse -Day 5

1 liter of water

16oz fresh mixed vegetable juice

Young coconut water

Ruby Red grapefruit

Lots of Tommy Atkins mangos

Mango-spinach-young coco smoothie

Organic bananas

= 2140 total calories for the day

[I'm feeling really good today. I'm already thinking of making this cleanse more than 14 days. It's going so well, and I'm feeling happier & lighter everyday. The days are flying by...]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 4

1.5 liter of water

16oz of fresh mixed vegetable juice

Young coconut water

Francine mangos

Banana & beet-top (greens only) smoothie

Banana & young coconut meat puree

= 1695 total calories for the day

[Today the first day were craved something salty or savory for dinner. But after I made my self a really good treat out of young coconut & bananas. I was happy. I was no longer craving anything else, felt perfect.  Also, I'm seeing lots of changes in my skin. Things are clearing up and looking brighter. The whites of my eyes are getting whiter. This is good news.]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 3

1.5 liters of water

Pineapple

Francine mangos

Kent mangos

Bananas

Banana-spirulina-sunflower sprout smoothie (<--Wow. I was so happy to eat my own produce today! I grew sunflower greens! They are all over my bedroom. I'm going to eat most of the sprouts and let some grow up to be sunflowers. I'm very excited about it all.)

= 2115 total calories for the day

14 Day Cleanse -Day 2

1.5 liters of water

Cantaloupe melon

Francine mangos

Banana-celery-basil smoothie

Banana-basil-mango smoothie

(^The smoothies were really tasty!)

= 2100 total calories for the day

[Feeling really good today. No complaints. All is well, I feel really grateful.]

14 Day Cleanse -Day 1

1 liter of water

Pineapple

Ruby Red grapefruits

Banana-celery smoothie

Madame Francis mangos

= 1960 total calories for the day

[I feel a little hungry without my usual dinner salad. But my calories are about the same as usual. I ate TONS of fruit today, so I know I had enough to eat. I think my stomach just needs to adjust to foods with a quicker exit time.]

14 DAY CLEANSE for Spring!

OK, as you know I posted a few times about trying 80/10/10 (a low-fat raw vegan lifestyle, roughly 80 percent carbohydrates, 10 percent protein and 10 percent fat.), instead of my usual raw foods with lots of avocado, occasional olives and salad dressings made with seeds. Well... if you have been tuning in to my daily food habits you will see that I s-l-o-w-l-y veered off the 80/10/10 track and haven't been back. All you see is my total calories, so you don't know what percentage the fat is, but I can tell you it's more than 10 percent! Try loading your food intake for the week (or day) in Nutridiary. You will be shocked how much fat is in everything, including leafy greens, fruits and vegetables. It's a free service, so you can use it with no cost to you. (That is were I find all of my calories for this blog.) 

So here is the plan, ..I want to get in shape and do a bit of 'spring cleaning'. As you know I also started a "Hot, Raw and Rich" challenge. Time is flying by, so I need to pick-up the pace! My plan is to eat from a limited menu (of mostly fruits and leafy greens) for 14 days. If I'm happy and all goes well I may add another 14 days, then maybe another. We will see how well I am doing on it and if I'm looking healthier and feeling happier. Who cares about getting clean and losing weight if you're miserable! If this cleanse makes me happier inside and out it's working! If this helps to me to fully understand how it feels to be low-fat raw vegan and make it stick as a lifestyle, even better!

The cleansing diet;

Fresh citrus juices 

Fresh vegetable juices (no fruits added, just vegetables)

Green smoothies (simple combos, no more than three ingredients)[see video]

Whole fruits (mono meals only, this includes non-sweet fruits)[see video]

Keys to success on this cleanse;

Not eating after 5pm -When I eat my last meal at 3pm I feel amazing! If it's at 5pm it's OK, as long as I stop eating at least 3 hours before dark. I want to make this a way of life for me. I know it works. My sleep, and everything else improves when I do this. I just haven't made it a discipline. -Yet! But I will. [see link]

Positive thinking and affirmations -Listening to CDs by Jon Gabriel, Abraham-Hicks, Eckhart Tolle, Byron Katie, Ram Dass, or listening to Mozart, Louis Armstrong or Aretha Franklin, anything that lifts my vibration and spirit.

Doing what you love and focusing on that -Keeping busy on what I'm doing that I consider important. When I'm in 'the flow' I'm not thinking about food. I'm definitely not thinking about what I am missing, because I am 'whole' and content in that moment, in that experience. I don't need or want anything else.

Additional cleansing habits;

Dry skin brushing

Jumping on rebounder

Sweating (it will be hot yoga or running for me)

Tongue scraping (-helps to remove the white coating on tongue from detoxing)

Occasional enema or colonic 

Tibetan 5 Rites (-it gets that blocked energy moving)

Sunbathing (or spending time out doors)

Epsom salt baths

Drinking herbal detox teas or eating dandelion greens

Taking hot-cold showers

Today I ate;

1.5 liters of water

Fresh mixed vegetable juice

Several banana-beet top smoothies*

Green leaf lettuce, avocado, tomato salad 

with tahini-tomato-garlic  dressing

= 1890 total calories for the day

*Banana & Beet Top Smoothie Recipe*

I promise you, this is good! Very much like a banana-chocolate shake in taste & color.

First put 2-3 soft bananas in your blender and blend. Then add 2-3 frozen bananas (break them into pieces) and the big green leaves (maybe 4-6) from red beets. Only the tops, not the beets. (You must use red beets. Adding a little of the red stem gets that chocolatey brown  color we are looking for. Red + Green = Brown ..Yay!) This is the only green smoothie I know of that doesn't look or taste green!

Today I ate;

1.5 liters of water

Lots of watermelon

Lots of pineapple

Raw lasagna and mixed salad (at LifeThyme)*

Organic coffee with soy milk

= 2310 total calories for the day 

[*I ate too much heavy food like avocado, tahini dressing, olives, gourmet raw, etc.. at LifeThyme today. I felt really weighed down and craved coffee after. I gave into the coffee temptation, but didn't feel any better for it. I notice that I crave coffee after I eat complex foods, or the reverse, if I drink coffee I crave complex foods after, they go hand in hand.]

Today I ate;

1 liter of water

8oz of aloe vera juice

A whole watermelon

Lots of banana-beet top smoothie

= 2075 total calories for the day

Today I ate;

1 liter of water

Cantelope &  Honey dew

Small watermelon

Green Smoothie (Banana-beet tops)

= 1960 total calories or the day

Today I ate;

1 liter of water

Lots of watermelon

Fresh carrot-beet-kale juice

Cukes, grape tomatoes, avocado & fresh herbs 

with a tomato-pine nut-arugula dressing

= 2245 total calories for the day

Today I ate;

1.5 liters of water

Lots of grapefruit

Banana-celery smoothie

Cucumber/avocado/basil/arugula salad

with cherry tomatoes and garlic-tomato sauce

Blended peanut butter and frozen banana

= 2015 total calories for the day

PB & B home-made frozen dessert (<--So easy! Use three bananas and 1 tablespoon of organic peanut butter. Put 1 soft banana in your blender first, then add 2 frozen bananas. After it blends smooth add the peanut butter. )

Today I ate;

1 liter of water

Lots of grapefruit

Many green smoothies (banana-dandelion)

Dried organic pears

= 2275 total calories