Supporting Locals

Blogosphere, meet Damaris. 

She's a local health coach (among other awesome things) who presented on juicing the other day.

I found her workshop via Meetup.com.  For those of you who are constantly moving (ahem, I know who you are!), you should check it out so you can connect with others who have like interests in your area.

(And even if you don't move around a lot, it's helpful.)

So obviously I jumped at the chance to meet up with like minded, health conscious folks.  They don't put the "nut" in "health nut" for nothing. 

Or maybe they do.

Etymology check!

Anywho, "Wellness Within," is a quaint downtown shop where aromas of various teas and sandalwood filled the air. It is also where the workshop was held.  

Damaris unloaded her gear: two juicers, a Vitamix, and various mason jars, empty and full, along with the delicious food (some seen in the first photo) which tantalized all attendees. 

Well, at least this attendee was tantalized.

Damaris spent a good portion of the workshop discussing the scientific basis and many healthy outcomes of juicing and juice/smoothie fasting.

And thankfully, her information lined up with what we've been sharing with y'all since day one. 

Phew!

Damaris is a certified health coach through Integrative Nutrition and a certified Raw Chef through Alissa Cohen. For those who don't know what all that means, it means she knows what she's talking about and doing! 

Stories of people reversing compromised health conditions such as Chrone's Disease, colitis, breast cancer and arthritis were touched upon at various points during the presentation.

And since Damaris also works at the hospital and witnesses first hand the benefits of a clean diet and/or sad outcomes of people choosing allopathic methods over live food, I think it's safe to say she's a reliable source.

I mean, have you seen hospital food lately? 

Damaris cringes every time she walks by the food cart heading to the cancer unit. All dead, mostly acidic food. 

Here's the cozy crew. 

Damaris is down to earth about health. Sure she knows her stuff, but like all of us on our journeys, one thing she said that resonated with me is that "we're constantly re-evalutaing."

And it's true. What might work for me nutritionally, may not work for you. 

(I sorta say that through a forked tongue because I don't want readers to take that as license to go off and eat fast food all the time because it "suits" them.)

You understand. Right?

I need not clarify errrr. . .well, I'm gonna anyway:

Live food makes us more live/well!  

How much and what varieties of live food a person consumes is where personal and professional evaluations can come together to figure out.  

But I'm just a talking head . . .a desperate housewife and mom who reads too much and has unrefined communication skills.

That's why it's so important to have people like Damaris.

Okay, we interrupt that public service announcement to feast your eyes on this little shot of goodness: Raw lemonande!

Lemons and apples. That's it! Sometimes she adds strawberries for a strawberry lemonade flavor. But this was so sweet and delicious, I couldn't believe it. I think for every lemon you add 2 apples.

Okay, here's one last shout out to Damaris and her healthy pursuits:

Rochestarians, you can visit her at the Brighton Farmer's Market on Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm.  

Also, visit her website, order juice and/or contact her for more info. 

What a great event! Glad I went!

Full of Surprises

Hope y'all had a wonderful Fourth of July!

We had a great week, full of fun and surprises.

First up, my son enjoyed the fireworks. Like, a lot. 

You parents understand why this might be surprising.

18 months old and he barely flinched.

At first he wasn't so sure about the loud ones, but quickly took to the fanfare and started imitating the pyrotechnics, going, "Boom! Boom!"

Then, we decided to surprise my family and go to Rhode Island to visit. 

It was great and (always) well worth it.  

We came, we saw, we ate many things... salads, smoothies and SEAFOOD.

But before anyone goes on a glorious Vitamin B12 tangent . . .

...take a look at this. 

This is a fried Seafood Platter at Champlin's, a harbor side restaurant in Galilee, RI.  

All high raw, vegans and omnivores... I implore you to make pilgrimage at least once in your life to this Galileen coast to grub. You won't regret it. 

Well, you will afterward, especially if you eat the whole thing by yourself.

Shrimp, Clams, Scallops, Haddock and French Fries.

And let's not forget cole slaw, tartar and cocktail sauce.

Anyone drooling? Or wreching?

Anyway, I believe this is 2% Raw, as we asked for extra lemons. 

My hubby and I shared this because, um, look at it.

You surprised? 

Well, folks, life is too short. You gotta indulge once in a while. 

But believe me, life will be shorter if you give into these too often.

And I wonder how often I really can, since my joints and waistline suffered a bit for it. And digestion.

Sooo, I took one for the team?

Either way, it was delicious and I'm getting back on track, as you will see in minute.

Charissa and I posed for the camera. 

Anyone surprised that we're sisters? 

She's 5'3''. I'm 5'11''. She's dark. I'm blue. She looks exotic. I look like a polar bear.

But yup. Same parents.

What's ironic is her hair has always been curlier than mine. But after a freak accident with a curling iron, hers has gone straight for the last few weeks. No joke. (Even though it is kinda funny.)

But now I'm the curly haired sister?

I dunno, just doesn't seem right.

Also, in a strange turn of events, we purchased a new used car (erm, vehicular beast) two weeks ago.

We are proud owners of a '98 Suburban!

Our trip to and from Rhode Island was glorious. I felt like I was riding Air Force One there's so much space!

I joined Knox in the back seat for a little break. He's loving the room, too. 

I dunno, I feel a little more American now that we hog the road and get nods from fellow eight-cylinder owners. Sorta brings joyous tears to my eyes.

To all my green (as in economical) friends, don't be surprised. 

I love my Toyotas, believe you me.

Or, I love how Toyotas are at the gas station and on my pocketbook. 

Point is, I don't care if they invent hybrid GMC's or ones that run on water and/or compost.  I don't think I'll ever want anything smaller for our family.

Well, upon our return home, we were pleasantly surprised to see our garden had yielded some veggies.

Beets, zucchini, chard, kale and carrots.

Unfortunately our broccoli bolted and there's nothing to harvest this year.

But we're pulling that up and replanting to see if we can get some cantaloup. 

One of the last surprises is that I just completed a 36 hour water-only fast this morning. 

This helped detox from a glorious week of gluttony and to reboot my health.

My joints and digestive tract are very thankful.

Water fasting is more aggressive, as you can imagine, than a smoothie or juice fast.  

As I've been reading, it's best to be supervised by a doctor (like inpatient care) if you are going for 4 days or more.  It is a goal of mine to do something like that in the future. 

What surprised me is the growing number of physicians who are promoting this for many health conditions.

 I stumbled upon the True North Clinic website and few Youtube videos, and Dr. Fuhrman's book, Fasting and Eating for Health.  I'm pretty excited that these treatments are gaining momentum in the mainstream.  It gives me hope that I'll be able to visit my medical doctor with books and articles in hand without being viewed as if I have a third eye.  

And then I bought this book: The Miracle of Fasting by the Braggs (The same folks who make Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, Liquid Aminos, etc.) 

I haven't started it yet, but it looks like it will have a lot of good insights, along with some garbled theology.  But I look forward to reading it and perhaps, erm, eating my words?  

As always, we recommend you read up and talk with your doctor before embarking on any dramatic dietary changes. Not that eating better should be considered dramatic, but it can have various reactions that your physician should be privy to, especially if you are any medications.  I dunno, that's what I'm supposed to say, right? :)

How to avoid giving into cravings!

I love sweets!  Sugar is a weakness of mine...as well as cereal, coffee, pasta, pizza and now that I think about it...food in general!  I definitely would eat more of my three-year-old's snacks than even him!  My cravings for sugar are so huge that if I did not have sweets ready, I would go out of my way to bake them to get my fix!  Sick right!?!? No wonder I was so skinny.  :)

I still have those cravings.  How did I solve this problem...I DO NOT BUY THINGS THAT WILL TEMPT ME!!!  I do not keep ingredients in my house, so I won't bake.  I do not buy snacks...even kid's snacks, so we don't eat them!!!  What do I give my child?!?!?!  We do an apples with organic peanut butter, nuts, strawberries, grapes, smoothies, or any fruit.  If I crave something sweet, I whip up some homemade ice cream for us.  (See Melissa's recipe for ice cream) Yup he eats what we eat and does not feel deprived.  It is out of sight and out mind for us.

 Last week Noah gave up Chocolate almond milk.  We had thought about doing this for a while.   Finally we ran out and my husband and I just decided not to buy anymore.  Now my son drinks water almost always.  He woke up asking for the Chocolate almond milk and when we told him we did not have it he was upset for a bit but then he ended up drinking water.  He never would ask for water and now he asks like three times a day for it!!!   If we are thirsty we will drink and if we are hungry we will eat,  we just need to put what is healthy in front of us for when we are.  Actually, now I am at a point where it is rare for me to crave something.  But last week we were on vacation and we allowed ourselves to indulge and now I am still craving the sugar.  After a few days without it, I will be back on track.  

Most of the time I only worry about buying sweets when I go to the store.  It is much easier to resist the temptation of saying no to "goldfish" or whatever when just encountering it in the store.  By not having junk in my house I don't have to  battle with it on a daily basis because it's not in front of me.  Eventually my cravings go away and by not eating any junk, I don't feel guilty.  Having only the food I should be eating on hand only allows me healthy options.  I actually bring food with me to parties.  Sometimes I indulge, but If I have party after party, then I make sure I am not constantly putting poisonous foods in my body.   

I started this journey to get thin.  I was still buying snacks for Noah though and then I realized something...If it is not healthy for me it is not healthy for my son.  This does not belong in our home.  I can't be trusted with food, so to avoid eating bad food, I keep it away from me and my family.  Now I actually crave healthy food!

Dessert Recipes!!!

For those bakers out there, here is my friend Maria's blog filled with recipes for gluten free/vegan desserts!!!  My mouth waters as I rummage through and see each picture.  Yum!  Take a peak and give it a try.

http://hottie-biscotti.blogspot.com/2012/07/easy-banana-bread.html?spref=fb