I am just going to let myself ramble here...my energy level is picking up a bit. I am looking a bit more vibrant than I had been. For the last 20 days I have been coming home right after work more than usual and reading or hanging out with my kids (mostly my daughter - we have been getting into Gilmore Girls). Typically, I would be on the computer working my email and different web aspects of enrgPATH. So, if you are one of the many people that have not received a response from me in recent weeks, be patient, I will get to your email. I have found this period of time to be very relaxing and eye-opening. I have been doing more self-care during this time and slowly reaping the benefits.
One of the amazing self-care choices I have made, was to visit Amy Heinz of Integrated Massage Therapy. I have known Amy since the early days of her practice and now one must book in advance to get in to see her. She is very good at massage. Now, the massages I have been receiving have me using ice packs for several days after and taking hot epsom salt baths because I am so sore. But this is ultimately a good thing! My right shoulder muscles had bunched up so badly that my shoulder was curved forward and ONE inch shorter than the left shoulder. My low back on the left side was one large lumpy knot. My neck was sore all the time and of course everything in between was sore. After my first visit (it had been more than a year since I had visited) I marveled at how connected to my body I felt. I realized that in my pain, I had disconnected from my body. That was how I was managing to keep going at the pace I was going. As a result, I am doing several stretches everyday and being very mindful about my ergonomic habits.
Thank you Amy - you are my massage hero!
One more important piece of information: Campbell's Cafe is currently closed while the construction of the 42nd Street store moves forward. They also do not have any fresh produce during this time. They expect to be up and running in about 2 more weeks. In the mean time, Fresh Cafe is open from 11-3 Mon-Fri and New City Market at 48th & University has fresh produce.
Raw Joy!!
angela
One of the amazing self-care choices I have made, was to visit Amy Heinz of Integrated Massage Therapy. I have known Amy since the early days of her practice and now one must book in advance to get in to see her. She is very good at massage. Now, the massages I have been receiving have me using ice packs for several days after and taking hot epsom salt baths because I am so sore. But this is ultimately a good thing! My right shoulder muscles had bunched up so badly that my shoulder was curved forward and ONE inch shorter than the left shoulder. My low back on the left side was one large lumpy knot. My neck was sore all the time and of course everything in between was sore. After my first visit (it had been more than a year since I had visited) I marveled at how connected to my body I felt. I realized that in my pain, I had disconnected from my body. That was how I was managing to keep going at the pace I was going. As a result, I am doing several stretches everyday and being very mindful about my ergonomic habits.
Thank you Amy - you are my massage hero!
One more important piece of information: Campbell's Cafe is currently closed while the construction of the 42nd Street store moves forward. They also do not have any fresh produce during this time. They expect to be up and running in about 2 more weeks. In the mean time, Fresh Cafe is open from 11-3 Mon-Fri and New City Market at 48th & University has fresh produce.
Raw Joy!!
angela
The half way point was two days ago and I was in the midst of leisure time so I didn't blog. I love to write, but it seems I don't always have something to say about food. Right now pizza sounds utterly delightful. When will my craving for pizza go away? I suppose it didn't help that I had two pieces of pizza last week. My car was in the shop, I didn't have any groceries to pack a lunch and the pizza was free at lunch at work. And I called several friends to get a ride to Fresh Cafe or Campbell's for lunch, but no luck. So, I ate two incredible pieces and I want more! I think that is the way the SAD (standard American diet) works.
Fresh Cafe is now open from 11-3 Monday - Friday. I eat great meals there 2-3 times per week. And last Friday, Kerri delivered several wonderful raw food items to me for the weekend. She made mouth-watering gazpacho and a stuffed tomato and a rainbow salad. She is also making kombucha that is light and fresh and delicious. Stop by for lunch! Try out a hula hoop while you are there!
My friend Mary Boyvey teaches people the moves for hula hooping and sells ADULT size hula hoops! I had Mary and her hoops show us how it is done at a birthday party recently for my friend. The oldest women at the party did the best at hula hooping and had the most fun! Mary's business is Stillness In Motion. Look her up on enrgPATH!
Life changes are taking walks with my daughter everynight. Ok, so we walked two nights now, but it feels good and I think the habit will continue. I really want to learn to relax and not be always preoccupied with work.
Raw Living!
angela
Fresh Cafe is now open from 11-3 Monday - Friday. I eat great meals there 2-3 times per week. And last Friday, Kerri delivered several wonderful raw food items to me for the weekend. She made mouth-watering gazpacho and a stuffed tomato and a rainbow salad. She is also making kombucha that is light and fresh and delicious. Stop by for lunch! Try out a hula hoop while you are there!
My friend Mary Boyvey teaches people the moves for hula hooping and sells ADULT size hula hoops! I had Mary and her hoops show us how it is done at a birthday party recently for my friend. The oldest women at the party did the best at hula hooping and had the most fun! Mary's business is Stillness In Motion. Look her up on enrgPATH!
Life changes are taking walks with my daughter everynight. Ok, so we walked two nights now, but it feels good and I think the habit will continue. I really want to learn to relax and not be always preoccupied with work.
Raw Living!
angela
This is just a rambling of what I know on day 42. I have known this since about day 20, but I have been letting these thoughts percolate.
What I know through this adventure is that I work too much. Even though I love a lot of what I do, I am almost always working. Probably just like my raw adventure, my life is a 90/10 split. I have about 10% of my time that is not wrapped up in planning, organizing, communicating, networking, and just plain working. And, without doing the math, I think that includes sleep. I just did the math and I sleep 6-7 hours a night which is 13-15% of the day. We can probably move the percentage up to 20% of each day as I have conversations with friends and co-workers and I might watch a movie and I try to empty my mind for a least a few minutes each day with meditation.
The bottom line is that I want to take better care of myself and for that to happen, I need more time for me and fewer jobs! And I need to stop volunteering to help out other great causes and give myself oxygen first.
I can't figure out how to save this post until tomorrow and really tomorrow is only 30 minutes away, so help me blog coach! How do I save entries and not post them early? I have the most incredible blog coach: Sandy Renshaw - she does TWO blogs all the time! I will post more info about her tomorrow!
My motto is Global Sustainability starts with Self-Care. I came up with that phrase more than a year ago...and I am still figuring out how to get there on a consistent daily basis. I want more life oxygen. I want a life! Not just work, even if it is promoting sustainability. Who wants to become sustainable if all they see is burned out and used up folks like me?
Raw thoughts,
angela
What I know through this adventure is that I work too much. Even though I love a lot of what I do, I am almost always working. Probably just like my raw adventure, my life is a 90/10 split. I have about 10% of my time that is not wrapped up in planning, organizing, communicating, networking, and just plain working. And, without doing the math, I think that includes sleep. I just did the math and I sleep 6-7 hours a night which is 13-15% of the day. We can probably move the percentage up to 20% of each day as I have conversations with friends and co-workers and I might watch a movie and I try to empty my mind for a least a few minutes each day with meditation.
The bottom line is that I want to take better care of myself and for that to happen, I need more time for me and fewer jobs! And I need to stop volunteering to help out other great causes and give myself oxygen first.
I can't figure out how to save this post until tomorrow and really tomorrow is only 30 minutes away, so help me blog coach! How do I save entries and not post them early? I have the most incredible blog coach: Sandy Renshaw - she does TWO blogs all the time! I will post more info about her tomorrow!
My motto is Global Sustainability starts with Self-Care. I came up with that phrase more than a year ago...and I am still figuring out how to get there on a consistent daily basis. I want more life oxygen. I want a life! Not just work, even if it is promoting sustainability. Who wants to become sustainable if all they see is burned out and used up folks like me?
Raw thoughts,
angela
I am so excited to share with you the fabulous, wonderful company called Raw Revolution! They have FANTASTIC raw bars sold at Campbell's Nutrition. And I am going to request a few new flavors! http://www.rawindulgence.com/
My new favorite is the Hazelnut Chocolate! It tastes like a dreamy brownie - one of the most coveted of foods for me. A good brownie is...well...a good brownie!
They were so kind (Thank you Alice B!) and sent me LOTS of samples to share AND a cool t-shirt. I will get my picture taken soon with it and the bars.
This is Raw Heaven! I will be sharing samples and posting my schedule soon so the locals can catch up with me and get a sample of Raw Revolution!
Loving Raw Life!
angela
My new favorite is the Hazelnut Chocolate! It tastes like a dreamy brownie - one of the most coveted of foods for me. A good brownie is...well...a good brownie!
They were so kind (Thank you Alice B!) and sent me LOTS of samples to share AND a cool t-shirt. I will get my picture taken soon with it and the bars.
This is Raw Heaven! I will be sharing samples and posting my schedule soon so the locals can catch up with me and get a sample of Raw Revolution!
Loving Raw Life!
angela
About a week ago, my friend Rick Ryerse (Husband of Pam of Radiant Health Imaging) called me up and said I needed to bring the kids down to see the current show at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center- Robby Benson is the writer and star in the comedy musical. Well, I thought about it all week - I wanted to go, but I also wanted a weekend at home. On Friday when I was at lunch with my co-workers, I saw a poster and Robby's beautiful face beckoned me - I have adored Robby for 30 years - how could I NOT go see him. Hell, he traveled to IOWA! Small town Iowa even. So, I called Rick and said "Get us tickets - we will be there for the Saturday matinee." I felt I owed it to the arts to support Hollywood visiting Iowa. While Rick was choosing seats for us (he works at the ACC) he casually said "Robby is here talking to us right now." Suddenly, I can't get there fast enough!
Today I (really we, but this is about me!) saw Robby Benson, Karla DeVito (his talented and beautiful wife), and Stan Brown (a warm, rich, vibrating voice that sends - ya know, sends) perform a wonderful romantic, comedy musical. AND I shook Robby's hand and got their autographs because, of course, I had to buy their CD and his book. My teenage kids stood by while their mother went a bit ga-ga over her first movie screen love. It was Ice Castles and I was in Junior High. "Big Sigh" at fond memory - make that memories - I watched Ice Castles every chance I got. Sadly, my brain didn't register to GET A PICTURE! I am appalled at my brain malfunction here - right now, I could be posting a nice picture of me with Robby and Karla. I even had my camera in my purse. So, so sad. Here is the link to his official site with a spectacular picture: www.robbybenson.net.
Since this blog is about food I must tell you where we ate dinner - Small Planet Restaurant and Bakery. It is less than a block from the civic center and the smells are amazing. I was torn - nothing raw on the menu but a salad that I could make at home. I had a great juice beverage called the Ginger Snap and the bean and millet burger. They put squash in the burger along with other mouth-watering ingredients. It was heavenly! I am craving salt, so I indulged in their home made chips with lots of sea salt added. Small Planet does not have a web site, but you can get their address and phone number here: http://www.fairfieldiowa.com/chamber/business_dir.php?show=291.
I had another gift today - a package arrived from Raw Revolution - I will share it tomorrow when my brain cells are restored from my Robby encounter! They deserve a "revved" up entry of their own.
Angela
Today I (really we, but this is about me!) saw Robby Benson, Karla DeVito (his talented and beautiful wife), and Stan Brown (a warm, rich, vibrating voice that sends - ya know, sends) perform a wonderful romantic, comedy musical. AND I shook Robby's hand and got their autographs because, of course, I had to buy their CD and his book. My teenage kids stood by while their mother went a bit ga-ga over her first movie screen love. It was Ice Castles and I was in Junior High. "Big Sigh" at fond memory - make that memories - I watched Ice Castles every chance I got. Sadly, my brain didn't register to GET A PICTURE! I am appalled at my brain malfunction here - right now, I could be posting a nice picture of me with Robby and Karla. I even had my camera in my purse. So, so sad. Here is the link to his official site with a spectacular picture: www.robbybenson.net.
Since this blog is about food I must tell you where we ate dinner - Small Planet Restaurant and Bakery. It is less than a block from the civic center and the smells are amazing. I was torn - nothing raw on the menu but a salad that I could make at home. I had a great juice beverage called the Ginger Snap and the bean and millet burger. They put squash in the burger along with other mouth-watering ingredients. It was heavenly! I am craving salt, so I indulged in their home made chips with lots of sea salt added. Small Planet does not have a web site, but you can get their address and phone number here: http://www.fairfieldiowa.com/chamber/business_dir.php?show=291.
I had another gift today - a package arrived from Raw Revolution - I will share it tomorrow when my brain cells are restored from my Robby encounter! They deserve a "revved" up entry of their own.
Angela
People keep asking me what I eat, so I will share one big secret of Raw Food regimen: Smoothies! Most Raw Foodies slurp at least one smoothie each day. So, now you are going to ask me for a recipe or two and I have none. There are tons of smoothie recipes on-line and in cookbooks, but I haven't used a recipe yet. Sometimes my smoothies take awhile to drink while other times I suck them right down. The secret is to find out what you like and what works for you. Tonight I am having a late dinner and the smoothie has what was ready to go in my kitchen - 1 banana, 1 peach, 2 cups (about) of watermelon, 1 teaspoon of raw honey, and 1 tablespoon of black strap molasses. I am using the molasses as a source of iron and calcium. I think I talked about it yesterday.
The color is not so great actually because blackstrap is, well, black. Mix watermelon with blackstrap and you get a pukish red-brown color. But I am not attached to it looking delicious, just tasting delicious and it does. Very refreshing for a summer time beverage.
One tip is that bananas always make everything taste better. If you get a smoothie with bitter greens in it or just an odd mix of flavors, add a banana.
I went to three green networking and education events tonight except one doesn't count because only one person was there when I arrived. I always meet great people! I always have fun! That is another blog though!
Raw Energy Happening Here!
angela
The color is not so great actually because blackstrap is, well, black. Mix watermelon with blackstrap and you get a pukish red-brown color. But I am not attached to it looking delicious, just tasting delicious and it does. Very refreshing for a summer time beverage.
One tip is that bananas always make everything taste better. If you get a smoothie with bitter greens in it or just an odd mix of flavors, add a banana.
I went to three green networking and education events tonight except one doesn't count because only one person was there when I arrived. I always meet great people! I always have fun! That is another blog though!
Raw Energy Happening Here!
angela
So far I have blogged about eating great food, having lots of fun, and a bit of my health issues that led me to Raw Foods. I am also hoping to lose weight as part of my getting healthier plan. I was a bit disappointed when the scale revealed only a 5 pound weight loss for the first 35 days.
I am also extremely tired lately and decided to begin taking a supplement called MSM. It stands for methylsulfonylmethane. The jar says it supports joints. I don't know anything else about it, but Chef Robin and Chef Sheree strongly encouraged it. I would love some feedback from others about MSM.
I also tried some coconut water for the first time today and it is delicious! It has potassium, sodium, calcium and a host of other vitamins and minerals. It replaces electrolytes naturally.
Keeping Raw Faith!
Angela
I am also extremely tired lately and decided to begin taking a supplement called MSM. It stands for methylsulfonylmethane. The jar says it supports joints. I don't know anything else about it, but Chef Robin and Chef Sheree strongly encouraged it. I would love some feedback from others about MSM.
I also tried some coconut water for the first time today and it is delicious! It has potassium, sodium, calcium and a host of other vitamins and minerals. It replaces electrolytes naturally.
Keeping Raw Faith!
Angela
Okay, I will confess: it has been hard to blog this last week and a half because I am so very, very tired. It is everything I can do to maintain the minimum. I wish I could take naps during the afternoon. I think my body is healing some of the inflammation and wants more rest. I don't really have detox symptoms other than the occasional morning headache that fades as I eat and drink water. It is a good kind of tired - I know the Raw Food is assisting me with overall health.
In the Thermography entry I listed all the parts of my body that want attention, so one of my first stops was with Lisa Kamphuis, ARNP at Whole Woman Health. Lisa ordered some blood work to mark my current condition. I hadn't had my cholesterol or anything else checked in about 3 years, so I was curios what the results would reveal. Since I have been a "flexible vegan" for several years (meaning I only eat meat and cheese when there are no better options or the menu is limited or when I felt like eating the beautiful food in front of me)
My lab results were interesting: I won't list everything she ordered, I will just cover the abnormals. Damn, I left it in the kitchen and I think I am too tired to retrieve it. :)
What is low: B12, iron, T3, red blood cells, white blood cells, Vitamin D and progesterone.
What is high: estrogen.
I had the blood labs for my hormones and there are different opinions about the accuracy - some feel that saliva testing is the only accurate test. I chose to trust Lisa's advice to use the blood testing for me and my situation. She offers the saliva testing also.
I did start taking a B12 supplement right away as that is difficult to achieve in a vegan diet. And I am consciously laying out in the sun for Vitamin D and I am trusting that the Raw Adventure will help my body to balance out the other items that are low. I also picked up some Blackstrap Molasses to add to my smoothies for iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Lisa did write a prescription for natural progesterone pills to be filled at a compounding pharmacy, but I decided to wait to fill it.
Tonight 5 of us dined at Dos Rios and talked about how to maintain the Raw diet in social settings and at restaurants. We had fresh, hand made guacamole and salsa with veggies. They were great about giving us veggies rather than chips. We had carrots, celery, jicama and radishes.
I forgot to take pictures...but it was Chef Sheree, Chef Robin, Daryl, Wendy and me. The information we gathered from the local celebrity Chefs was great! They will get it on their web sites soon!
Raw Joy and Raw Energy!
angela
In the Thermography entry I listed all the parts of my body that want attention, so one of my first stops was with Lisa Kamphuis, ARNP at Whole Woman Health. Lisa ordered some blood work to mark my current condition. I hadn't had my cholesterol or anything else checked in about 3 years, so I was curios what the results would reveal. Since I have been a "flexible vegan" for several years (meaning I only eat meat and cheese when there are no better options or the menu is limited or when I felt like eating the beautiful food in front of me)
My lab results were interesting: I won't list everything she ordered, I will just cover the abnormals. Damn, I left it in the kitchen and I think I am too tired to retrieve it. :)
What is low: B12, iron, T3, red blood cells, white blood cells, Vitamin D and progesterone.
What is high: estrogen.
I had the blood labs for my hormones and there are different opinions about the accuracy - some feel that saliva testing is the only accurate test. I chose to trust Lisa's advice to use the blood testing for me and my situation. She offers the saliva testing also.
I did start taking a B12 supplement right away as that is difficult to achieve in a vegan diet. And I am consciously laying out in the sun for Vitamin D and I am trusting that the Raw Adventure will help my body to balance out the other items that are low. I also picked up some Blackstrap Molasses to add to my smoothies for iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Lisa did write a prescription for natural progesterone pills to be filled at a compounding pharmacy, but I decided to wait to fill it.
Tonight 5 of us dined at Dos Rios and talked about how to maintain the Raw diet in social settings and at restaurants. We had fresh, hand made guacamole and salsa with veggies. They were great about giving us veggies rather than chips. We had carrots, celery, jicama and radishes.
I forgot to take pictures...but it was Chef Sheree, Chef Robin, Daryl, Wendy and me. The information we gathered from the local celebrity Chefs was great! They will get it on their web sites soon!
Raw Joy and Raw Energy!
angela
WOO HOO! One third of the way there! And I am definitely enjoying the food. Before beginning my Raw Adventure, I chose to do several different tests to mark my beginning point. I am going to outline all these in the coming days. The first test I did is called Thermography - it is a digital infrared camera that checks out the physiology of the body. It finds the hot spots and they show up yellow, orange, or red. I went to Radiant Health Imaging, owned by Pam Ryerse. Pam has offices all over the Midwest - she covers Iowa and every state around Iowa. For more information, check out Pam's website. She has a done a great job covering the topic. She also does fantastic presentations for free if you have a group that is interested. (Thermography is completely safe! It does not use radiation.)
I had my complete body imaged, which breaks down into more than 30 images of various body parts. If you run into me, ask to see it - I probably have it in my bag! It is drying right now as my sun roof was open during the shower we had... Pam, I might need another copy! :)
I have inflammation in my sinus' and teeth, my cervical spine (or neck), my lower back, coccyx, transverse colon, and my feet. In fact my toes did not show up due to lack of circulation in them. I also have a few vein issues in my legs and mild inflammation in my hands, knees, and feet. I have lived with most of this discomfort for a long time and I really was minimizing it, if not completely ignoring it. But seeing it in hot, bold colors made me sit up and take notice. I am doing some things in addition to eating raw and I will share more in coming days. I know most of these issues stem from being overweight for....ummmm....17 years. Ugh. I said it - I am in the position to lose lots of weight. That sounds nicer. :)
Pam has agreed to image my full body again at the end of the Adventure to mark any improvements.
Raw JOY!
angela
I had my complete body imaged, which breaks down into more than 30 images of various body parts. If you run into me, ask to see it - I probably have it in my bag! It is drying right now as my sun roof was open during the shower we had... Pam, I might need another copy! :)
I have inflammation in my sinus' and teeth, my cervical spine (or neck), my lower back, coccyx, transverse colon, and my feet. In fact my toes did not show up due to lack of circulation in them. I also have a few vein issues in my legs and mild inflammation in my hands, knees, and feet. I have lived with most of this discomfort for a long time and I really was minimizing it, if not completely ignoring it. But seeing it in hot, bold colors made me sit up and take notice. I am doing some things in addition to eating raw and I will share more in coming days. I know most of these issues stem from being overweight for....ummmm....17 years. Ugh. I said it - I am in the position to lose lots of weight. That sounds nicer. :)
Pam has agreed to image my full body again at the end of the Adventure to mark any improvements.
Raw JOY!
angela
I want to share another Raw blogger with you: http://bunnyberry.blogspot.com/ - she is my inspiration today to write. Bunny does a video blog every day - every day! She is on day 68 of 100 days raw. She is energetic and funny and consistent! First of all, I don't have the guts to do a video blog and secondly, I am woefully inconsistent. I love to write and communicate, but I am tired of the computer at the end of the day.
I am pledging to blog three times a week from now until the end of the Adventure. And starting tomorrow I will tell you all the medical things I have had done before I started the Raw Adventure. I have lots of reasons to be pursuing balance and harmony in my body and I will start sharing them with you.
Overall, I am tired and last weekend I didn't plan ahead and found myself having to make choices between bad and bad. I had lost my camera card reader and just got another, so I will be posting more pictures soon.
As BunnyBerry Says: "Eat your veggies!"
~angela
I am pledging to blog three times a week from now until the end of the Adventure. And starting tomorrow I will tell you all the medical things I have had done before I started the Raw Adventure. I have lots of reasons to be pursuing balance and harmony in my body and I will start sharing them with you.
Overall, I am tired and last weekend I didn't plan ahead and found myself having to make choices between bad and bad. I had lost my camera card reader and just got another, so I will be posting more pictures soon.
As BunnyBerry Says: "Eat your veggies!"
~angela
