SEVEN DAYS RAW OKAY!

I have now been raw for 7 days. Not a record for me....but a good thing. I have a bit of a cold, which is manifesting itself mainly as being tired. No congestion, etc. just tiredness. I did do my kickboxing class yesterday. That was very good. Part of the reason I am a bit tired today. I took it easy a bit, but mostly did everything. Today's food has been a smoothie made with 2 bananas, some grapes, my raw hemp protein powder, and some of my yummy almond milk I made. Then lunch was a yummy mixed greens salad with a mashed avocado, a bit of tomato, some pecans, and a bit of grated parmesiano reggiano cheese. My one nonraw indulgence. But it comprises just a tiny part of what I eat.

Then later I had a bit more mixed greens with pine nuts, cheese and dressing..and dinner was more mixed greens, broccoli, carrot and dressing. Mostly salad today. And more almond milk. I am a bit hungry now, but think it is partly due to my candida stirring from the sweetness of my almond milk. At some point I also had a lovely fresh this year's gala apple, and another banana.

I was going to make some almond hummus, but the day just got too busy. I spent about 1 1/2 hours on the phone with a Dell tech trying to figure out what is wrong with my son's laptop. The result was he is sending us a new harddrive and a new cd drive. Luckily for us there are still 19 days left on the warranty. Will have to renew it....just have to decide for how many years, 1, 2, 3 or 4....not sure.

Got Victoria Boutenko's 12 steps to raw food.....didn't get to read that much of it, but it seems not as helpful as I was thinking....but I am still glad I got it....as I am sure there is some helpful info in there. It's not that I don't get raw....it's just....need to go to raw food potlucks, etc. Meet more raw fooders locally. There are such things/people around....but my life is so busy...who has time to add yet another thing to their busy schedules? Shall have to see.....

So, just wanted to post......happy to be all raw still....tomorrow will start with gse etc. and tonight,...just might make that almond hummus or??


Until tomorrow........oh and Angela's website got so many hits after CNN's story about her raw weight loss, the site crashed. She's got something back up....but that is pretty amazing...but then American's...and people everywhere all want/need to lose weight...regain health.

While her story is amazing so are many others........one of my favorite's is Audrey on raw...if you google that....you will find another wonderful inspiring story.

ciao bellas
love
Alessandra

DAY FIVE ALL RAW

Today will be my 5th day of being 100% raw. Overall it's going well. I have been satisfied, have very few cravings. Yesterday was a high fat day I think, lots of nuts. Today my green smoothie pudding is lots of dandelion greens, lots of kale, 2 bananas, organic seedless grapes, juice of 1 1/2 lemons and some olive oil and that's all. I am fairly over my 'cold', nice thing about being raw/healthy, colds are merely experienced as being tired, no real other symptoms manifesting. I can tell they would if I were on cooked foods, my son has congestion and a cough, but I am just a bit tired. We opted not to go to kickboxing last night as neither of us was up for it. I think it was the right decision.

I slept well last night, but woke up too early, so will have more Vitex elixir this evening as I need my sleep. Also, have not poo'd yet today. I feel it there, waiting, and can't wait for it to go, but so far, it's just sitting there. Probably a combination of too heavy of foods and being off due to the cold and lack of sleep. Not sure, but do hope it passes soon.

I know my liver needs cleansing, and actually with the addition of dandelion to my smoothies I can see the results in my poo. When my liver cleanses, I get these hard, tannish greyish, lumps in my poo, they are very hard, and I know it's from the liver cleansing. There were some yesterday and I look forward to more today.

So far today I have had 3 oil of oregano capsules, and am slowly eating my smoothie. Need to drink more water, and also my E3Live drink. I checked my email and saw where lots of things I ordered have shipped so I am excited! Lots of things shipped out on Tuesday.......would love to get some today! Have Kyo-Chlorella and B-12 tablets coming from IHerb.com and the 2 books I ordered by Victoria Boutenko, and the NCD Zeolites.....Natural Cellular Defense....and ? Also today I ordered this new probiotic that Dr. Williams sent me an email about...willing to try it since it has a money back guarantee. And wanting to order a scooter for my son, I got a $30 off purchase Visa card from Amazon....didn't really really want the card as I don't need another credit card, but did want the $30 off, so I will do what I've done before, use it to place an order, then pay off the bill, shred the card and forget it exists.

I was surprised they gave me one, since I did this last year when the boys wanted some Laser Tag guns. Got them for only $9.99. It was great!

So, feeling a bit bleah today as I wait for my body to release waste...I think it will soon...just need to get up and walk around a bit....glad to be 100% raw....and can't wait for my Boutenko books to arrive! Also realized I need to eat more fruit, but my body isn't dealing well with sweets right now, ate some sweet tomatoes (the orange Juan Flamme ones which I love) got a large painful crack in my heel...dang! Also trying to really get down on my candida......so lots of salads it is!

ciao bellas!
love
Alessandra

LITTLE BY LITTLE

Finally got a good night's sleep. I think my hormone's were out of balance, so I took some of Gaia's Vitex Elixir, and slept well. I love that stuff. Woke up feeling tired, as I am fighting off a cold, and still not quite all caught up on sleep, but my mood today over all has been very good. And Tammy is doing better, turns out she thought cilantro was parsley and that is what made her so sick. However, she did have a good poop on her own, which is big, as she usually always needs to do enemas, daily. Always. So this morning she made some more raw applesauce and added some kale and mixed salad greens to make a version of a green smoothie, and has done just fine with it. I am so proud of her for wanting to keep trying with everything. She is getting some allergy testing done at the doctor's office today, and having another chelation session. I told her to ask for glucose tablets to make sure her blood sugar doesn't fall too low.

My green smoothie for the day is 2 bananas, grapes, kale, dandelion greens and cilantro with some pine nut butter added to make it more filling. It is a most delicious green smoothie pudding. Weight is stable at 184. I thought it might go back up,

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

I am happy to report that I am still raw. Still 100% raw and I attribute my success to green smoothies and taking anti-candida stuff. I know I say this every day but this is truly a big deal for me as I have been wanting this for so long. I know I am not out of the woods yet, but I am doing well, and feeling satisfied...feeling that I am eating enough. I am also going to be receiving Victoria Boutenko's books "12 Steps to Raw Foods" and "Green for Life"...hopefully by the end of this week, but definitely early next week. Tammy is no longer doing juice....another bad day. And I am a bit frustrated by this fact as I know, if I were able to be with her all day, she would be ok. But I am not so she makes juices that if she thought about it, she would not make, as her body reacts to practically everything, and for success she needs to only use things she knows she does well with, but to be fair, her body doesn't seem to play fair. Foods she thinks don't bother her when cooked, or when used in moderation seem to really bother her when juiced. But she made a juice with greens I would not have used, and didn't do just a bit to see what her reaction would be, so was throwing up alot today, and of course, felt better when she ate some cooked foods...which I am glad she felt better, but she doesn't understand why cooked foods make her feel better. I am not trying to be a blind, just ignore everything rah rah raw foodist...I am trying to help her heal....and she has not been healing on cooked foods either...so it's just such a challenge. Such a challenge. However, there is something that we are going to try, which is allergy testing and possible allergy shots, which helped her son when he was feeling similarly...
just have to keep our fingers crossed.

So my green smoothie pudding lasted me a long while today, satisfied me for a long while today, but was definitely a bit too sweet for me. More yucky phlegm, more fatigue, dark circles from eating it, but it was still overall okay. So had the green smoothie pudding, a lime Lara bar (are they truly raw?), a bit of raw goat cheese, just two thin slices down the skinny side, with a couple of yummy tomatoes from our garden, then dinner was mixed greens salad with tomatoes and a yummy tahini sauce (100% raw) that I made for the falafels that everyone else had for dinner.
It was wonderful on my salad, and I think I will make more to have on salads. I got the recipe out of my large yellow Gourmet cookbook.

1/2 cup of raw tahini
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice (or less...it seems like half that amount is better)
Mrs. Dash's Extra Spicy Seasoning
freshly ground pepper
cumin to taste
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
handful of cilantro chopped fine
salt to taste (earth/sea salt)

Mix it all up and yum. If it seems to separate at any point, looks wierd, add a bit more water and stir...water will bind it all back together nicely. wierd but true. Can add more water or some fresh squeezed orange juice to thin it out and make a lovely dressing for salads or use as is...it is wonderful!

And I weighed myself after dinner as I felt like I ate alot today that was heavy (though I didn't really) weight was 185.5 I was expecting 187. So pleased. Do hope I sleep tonight, I have not slept well for 2 nights in a row.

Life is beautiful...because it just is.
Ciao bellas!

love,
Alessandra

GAME'S NOT OVER YET

I am so proud of Tammy, she did not let yesterday's events get her down, she is just more determined than ever. So today, we made some modifications. I juiced some this year's crop organic Granny Smith apples for her in my Greenstar, and then mixed the pulp back in, thus making her a raw applesauce. She can add stevia if she wants it sweeter, and as applesauce has been one of her mainstays, she probably eats nearly a large jar a day, this is a familiar food for her in a very healthy way. She also wanted to still do juice, so I am having her juice only a couple of types of veggies, to see how she does with them, and to mix the pulp back in. This will help her feel more full, digest the veggies more easily, maintain a stable blood sugar level and have bulk and fiber for her colon in a way that won't stop it up, but actually help her to release waste...and so we shall see what happens.

This is just such a challenge, so much to deal with, but we are doing it. I am so proud of her for her courage. She is very courageous, has alot of spirit, and is more than ready to be done dealing with this situation.

I am happy with me too. Still raw and I made this rawesome green smoothie pudding this morning. It contains the leftover macadamia nut/date mixture I made yesterday, which by itself is too sweet for me, some of Tammy's raw grannysmith applesauce (I made alot didn't know how much she'd want) for tartness, 2 bananas, some parsley, dandelion greens, cilantro, and olive oil. It is yummy and thick and very filling. And I am also doing very well with staying raw, and now back down to 184 after some fluctuations. Hope to keep this trend going!

DANG!

Tammy & I are in a very frustrated state right now. She is frustrated with her body and her health, and I am just frustrated with the situation. Not at all with her, she is trying so hard, but with the situation. I cannot work with her as much as I want as I have to be at work, while she is at home, and then, there are factors beyond our control, such as what happened today. I got up extra early and made a large amount of juice for her, hopefully enough to last her til I got back home, and she barely touched it. She did drink some, but she did not understand that she needed to drink all of it, alot of it, and also, there was celery in it, which she told me she did not like, but not that it did not agree with her. Turns out it does not agree with her so she didn't drink very much juice. I did tell her mid-morning after she told me it did not agree with her to make new juice, and she did, but not enough.

So, then we went to her chelation session, and the doctor has the IV going 50% faster this time, and it turns out for some reason the IV causes blood sugar to drop, but this had never been an issue before......but it was a huge issue now. Tammy is hypoglycemic, and she hadn't had enough juice, so of course her blood sugar fell through the floor and she felt awful. Scarily awful. Dang.

So now of course, the juice feast is over. However, she still wants to juice, so I am still going to try and get as much juice into her as I can. And let go.......let go of expectations, but I so want her to get better as she is just so tired of being unwell. And I really still believe this is her best option, but while it seemed to be supported by the universe......I now have to think on it, as I don't want to blindly push and cannot push her to do something that causes her fear.

She doesn't understand about how juice feasting really is enough nutrition, as she has no experience. But, I am going to keep on making her juices....very simple juices and have her drink them as she will. And never give up....never ever ever. She will be well.

Leaky gut is her worst thing. At first I thought it was her candida, then her constipation, then her toxic metals, but now I think it's the leaky gut. But I steadfastly remain positive. She is healing and she is getting well. Now.

Me, I am cautiously optimistic about myself. I have been 100% raw since....um....2 days or 3 days. Can you believe I don't even know? That is how busy I am and how unfocused I am on it as it just is........green smoothies are playing a large part in it. The green smoothies and the E3Live.

Today I had a very large amount of the liquid BrainOn and a med amount of the MSM, a green smoothie made with 2 ripe bananas, a large amount of parsley, a med amount of cilantro stems, and some grapes. The cilantro stems are strong tasting, but it was okay. For tomorrow I am having parsley and dandelion greens in my smoothie. And I do use kefir, dang except for tomorrow as I forgot to buy some tonight when I was at the store, and I know kefir is not raw, but it's my one concession.

In the middle of the day I came home and had an avocado with 2-3 small garden tomatoes in it, then after work I came home and blended up 2 dates with some macadamia nuts and cinnamon and a pinch of salt. It was yum,but a bit sweet for me, I even took some oil of oregano capsules with it, but I think it messed up my mood. I was not into kickboxing class tonight much at all. But I went, and I did okay. I also ate a banana, slightly green. After kickboxing, I made a salad (didn't have any prior...went to the store afterwards) and that's it. Good enough.

So....tired, disappointed, but still optimistic. Still seeking, searching for answer's for Tammy's and my prayers.

ciao bellas
love
Alessandra

TAMMY'S JUICE FEAST

I am so excited about tomorrow....as tomorrow Tammy starts a juice feast. She is doing colonics, IV chelation and taking some supplements, but still not feeling all that great, still not able to eat much of anything, still being bothered by what little she does eat, so now, she is willing to try a juice feast. This is what I wanted for her from the get go, to have her on juices and raw foods, but her digestion is so poor and what she can eat so limited, she wasn't ready to start with raw foods, but now, she is willing. Willing to give juice feasting a try. She has had small amounts of juices and done well with them, but now we are going for broke.

She has candida and leaky gut as well so we have to do mostly green juices, which she can sweeten with stevia....and we are going to take it one day at a time. I also ordered some Natural Cellular Defense for her, more Kyo-Chlorella, some sublingual B-12 and some Radiance C powder by Synergy.

Before (or as I was recommending this option to her) I did some research, mainly I called John Rose, who advised the Rainosheks (David & Katrina of JuiceFeasting.com) and is listed on their website as a consultant, and the angels were with me, as he answered the phone himself, and very kindly listened to my story and gave me his support and opinion that juice feasting would be excellent for Tammy, and it was he who recommended the NCD, which I knew about, and agreed would be excellent. He also suggested she use cilantro in her juices as it is good for getting rid of mercury from the body. Oh lovely day!

So Tammy & I sat down after dinner, to discuss juice feasting, what her fears were (doesn't want to lose more weight, have no energy, feel hungry) all of which I assured her would not happen. I also told her we would take it one day at a time, only proceeding if it seemed like it was helping her, while also letting her know what to expect, so as not to let unfamiliar bodily/stomach feelings derail her, or not to give her unrealistic expectations. There are going to be some days when she is tired, etc. but if she does daily enemas, which she already has to do, and rests on those days when she is tired, she will be so happy with her results, I just know she will. And I showed her some info I found about Leaky Gut, and also some before and after raw food and juice feasters....and she is ready. She doesn't know what else to try, and can't deny that people are being healed with raw foods and juices. This is why I am so proud of her. She is a real trooper, never giving up, never giving in, and always willing to try something. Tammy, you are awesome!

And me? I am finishing my first 100% raw day where I feel totally satisfied and good. I think it is because of green smoothies. I made one for the morning with 2 bananas, a ton of parsley and a ton of kale and some grapes,....had two Lara bars for the afternoon (not ideal as Lara Bar has been bought out by a major corporation, General Foods or some such) so I am not even sure they are all raw anymore, but they held me over til dinner which was going to be salad, but the lettuce greens went bad so I just ate an avocado with some cut up tomatoes and Mrs. Dash's spicy seasoning, and some freshly ground mixed peppercorns. It was good and very filling. Now a couple of hours later I am a bit hungry, so I made a smaller green smoothie, same ingredients and am very happy about it all. And yes I did have my E3 Live BrainOn/MSM drink this morning as well as 50 drops of GSE, 8 Primal Defense and 4 Oil of Oregano capsules..of which I am now going to take 4 more. And yeah, I have hardly coughed up any phlegmy gunk at all today. I hate having to do that. YUCK!

And I am so excited, as I am also going to take the NCD (Natural Cellular Defense) and I bought 2 books by Victoria Boutenko....12 Steps to Raw Foods and Green for Life. Can't wait til they arrive.

So ciao bellas!
life is beautiful
love
Alessandra

VICTORIA BOUTENKO

I found a dvd of a talk given by Victoria Boutenko in 2003. It was excellent to watch, made me wish I could do one of her workshops as her story and her message is excellent. I have visited their website, know about their books, know their stories but have never actually read one of their books. Now I really want to, especially her "Twelve Steps to Raw Food", as she talked about how she came up with them, and she really did alot of work and it would seem she really came up with something good, as she had been teaching people how to be raw for 6 years, without much success, but after she came up with the "Twelve Steps to Raw Food" and the realization that cooked food is addictive (and she did alot of research on this subject, addiction and the reasons why cooked food is an addiction) she went from no one to sticking with the program, life change, to practically everyone. Not to mention that her family is now 100% happy and healthy after overcoming serious health issues.

I wish I had a magic wand to show people I know who have serious health issues how good this would be for them....I will have to try and see what I can do to share this information in a positive, non-pushy way that will reach more people. There are so many great materials out there that can be used, as well as my own self. One thing that Victoria said, that I found very helpful, was about the different levels you go through when making this change. If you can get past 2 months, you are over the hump, and should be able to stay raw, when you pass one year...I forget, what exactly, but it's good, and after 5-6 years, there are even more changes as your body desires and needs less and less of heavy foods such as nuts and seeds and is good on just fruits and veggies. I definitely need to get her book. I would love to have my friend Tammy be raw, but hers is a tricky case as she is allergic to practically every food, we tried quinoa this weekend...no can do. But I know raw would be good for her but I don't have the time to really do it with her, for her....and at this point, really what she needs to be on is a juice feast....will have to think on that. Between her juicer and my juicer....her's is faster, mine gives a drier pulp. And we don't have enough fridge space to store alot of extra produce and running to the store everyday is possible, but will take organization...but I must look into this as I know this is what she needs. Her doctor, is a Naturopathic doctor, but still, only knows what he knows, and is prescribing Diflucan for people with Candida. That is not good!!!

So.......hmmm...will have to think on this. And maybe consult with David and Katrina Rainoshek.
At work, gotta go...wish I had time to write more indepth on everything!!!

ciao bellas!
love
Alessandra

CANDIDA - CHANGES - EVERYTHING

My post title can be read as three separate items or all on thing, as candida definitely does change everything, but this post is also about candida, changes and everything else! I made another wonderful green smoothie this morning, this time remembering that I had some wonderful mostly seedless organic concord grapes which I bought last week at the Farmer's Market........they made a wonderful addition to my smoothie which again contains a ton of parsley and kale along with the grapes, 2 ripe bananas medium sized, and some kefir. I added the kefir because I realized I needed it. I can tell that my overall candida levels are rising, my phlegmy cough is coming back, my detachment and overall issues that I have, and that is not good. I also just read a very good article talking about candida and belly fat, and the role that it plays and it was a yes, that is so true....as I have this nice pillow of belly fat that is stubbornly hanging on, as well as an addiction to carbs.

Last night after kickboxing I was a bit hungry, but instead of a salad of which I'd had none that day, I excused myself on that front with the reasoning that I'd had a green smoothie that morning so I'd had enough greens, and I gave into my carb cravings and had some cereal instead. And had indigestion all night. On top of this our neighbor's car alarm went off at 3 am waking up both my husband and I and we didn't fall back to sleep for over 2 hours. We didn't acknowledge this fact to each other but I am sure he knew I was awake, as I knew he was. I just don't like to be talked to at times like this as I go into a relaxed meditative state if I can't sleep, and talking is not as restful. And I often have great thoughts. Such as last night. I thought up a new protocol for dealing with my candida.......an intense one which involves taking 50 drops of liquid GSE with a bit of stevia first thing in the morning, preferably around 6 am, then at 6:30 taking some Primal Defense and raw garlic, then at 7:30 taking some fiber, maybe with some clay water, and then later at work, having my green E3Live BrainOn/MSM drink and my green smoothie, and taking 4 Oregano oil capsules 3 times per day, as well as fiber twice more during the day and also not eating refined carbs such as cold cereals or sweets and also having lots of kefir. I know this sounds like overkill, but trust me, with Candida, there is no such thing. I have heard various things about Candida and not believed them, but now I am starting to. As I have realized, it does get used to the things we use to kill it off, and dang, then what do you do?

My friend Tammy is going to a Naturopathic doctor, and while she was there she was talking with another patient who mentioned that they were being treated for Candida, but they are being given Diflucan. This surprised me, and makes me feel like this doctor doesn't know much about Candida and are blase' about the negative affects of Diflucan which is hard on your liver. Not to mention that it is only very temporarily effective against Candida...and I am curious what else they are doing for the Candida, as Diflucan alone is not an answer.....just killing it off is not enough, starving it is not enough, it is hardier than cockroaches or bedbugs as I starved mine for over 6 years and it is still thriving (granted, I fed it greatly when I stopped starving it).

But how do you tame the beast once it has come inside? Is there any way? The Biamonte Center seems to think they have a system, and they sound very convincing, like they know, really know, what they are doing, and it does not involve pharmaceutical poisons. I need to talk to them more. I've emailed them a bit, but always hesitate because of the cost.

So....overall, except for the cereal, which was good organic not that sweet, cereal, I ate well yesterday. Today, I am eating my green smoothie very slowly, as either it is very filling or I am not very hungry. As I woke up late due to the sleepless night, I didn't have time to put my new intensive plan into action, so I just took 4 oregano oil capsules before leaving the house and some gse tablets, and brought the gse tablets with me to work. Need to get organized with this new plan.

Have an awesome day and an awesome weekend!

Ciao bellas!
love,
Alessandra

GREEN SMOOTHIES

I have been busy so haven't posted for a few days. Kickboxing is wonderful, life is beautiful. I have been taking my daily liquid BrainOn from E3 Live with large amounts of their MSM (and lots of stevia as it is so very bitter, but all together, it's actually quite good) and feeling very good. Striving to eat as best I can, and if I can make a raw choice I do. Yesterday I was all raw until dinner, we had company and dinner was pesto which is raw, but with angel hair pasta which is not raw and one slice of a very good sourdough levain, sans butter. All in all I was quite good with my eating. My breakfast was the BrainOn/MSM drink, followed by a green smoothie made with a decent amount of parsley and kale, 2 ripe bananas, one peach and the juice of one lemon.
Followed by 2 gala apples, this year's new crop (yeah), then the dinner I described plus a few yummy tomatoes right out of our garden.

Today's food was the BrainOn/MSM green drink, followed by another green smoothie, this one with tons of parsley and kale and some mixed salad greens, 2 ripe bananas, lemon juice and some apple cider. What I do is blend up the greens first, this gets them blended best, then when they are well blended I add the fruit. It is a yummy green pudding. Dang, being on hold with the IRS sucks! I am at work while I type this, trying to help a client....on hold with static, or no noise, makes you think they disconnected you,....but hopefully not....they have been so ridiculously bad this year...making all kinds of errors....never in our clients favor....of course!

I brought with me today some raw macadamia nuts, some fresh local organic concord grapes that I got at the Farmer's Market, some more gala apples,...will see how much I get to...still on the smoothie. Kickboxing is tonight...really loving it!

So....slipping into raw........doing it as much as I can.....not stressing about weight or percentage raw or anything...just doing the best I can do.....no pressure........works much better than what I was trying to do.

The weather has been simply gorgeous.......hope it lasts through the weekend.

Ciao bellas
love
Alessandra

LOVING HAPPY BUSY-NESS

I have been very busy lately, at work, at home, everywhere, but it's a good busy-ness. I went to my Saturday kickboxing class, was feeling tired and a bit eh, and was not really liking any of it, until, lol, we did this one exercise. It was a forward type of push-kick, and when I was holding the body pad and being kicked, I really was not liking it at all, but when it was my turn to kick, for some reason it just felt really good, released something, and made me laugh. After that I was fine, and left class in a very good mood. Felt rather silly laughing as I was kicking someone (holding a pad), but it did feel good!

Saturday afternoon I "fixed" our dryer. Now it's broken. But I don't think I didn't fix it correctly, I just think that in the process of fixing it, I inadvertently messed up something else, due to lack of clear, correct, instructions. So on Sunday we went out and bought a new dryer. Unfortunately you can't just go and buy one and bring it home with you, it has to be delivered from the warehouse which is in Texas. Hopefully not in hurricane territory. So I spent some time at the laundromat also, but it didn't take that long, and it's a nice laundromat. I used the time to catch up on some reading.

I made more zucchini muffins for my boys, sweetened them with honey, agave nectar and maple syrup, about 1/4 cup of each, doubled the amount of zucchini again, and also added rolled oats...for a very healthy muffin.

Today, I am trying again, to be all raw. Had a large glass of water with lots of BrainOn and MSM (lots of each) for starters and an apple and some macadamia nuts so far. Time for another glass of the BrainOn MSM drink (it did put me in a very good mood) and then on to munch on my broccoli that I brought. What will I do for dinner? A salad with mixed greens, kale, avocado and tomato with some pinenuts and parmesan cheese. That should keep me for the day.

I am determined to break through!! And then maintain!! And tonight I need to work on doing "burpees" that exercise where you go down into a squat, then throw your legs out and back so you are in a push-up like position, then jump back into a squat and jump up to a standing position. And repeat. I am lucky if I can even do one. So...time to work on those. I am good at jumping jacks.

Well, back to work I go....busy day here at the office.

Ciao bellas
Alessandra

GREAT CLASS TONIGHT

I know I am making many posts today, but I want to share that kickboxing class was awesome tonight. After having a day where I was just so out of sorts with my body and my mind, though the BrainOn did help a teensy, I have had a good evening. Finally got my body back to feeling good....and had a great kickboxing class. We didn't do anything all that much different from other classes, though he does mix it up nicely, it's just that my energy was good, and also, even though I am still pathetically weak, I can tell that I am getting stronger, getting the hang of it, and just was happy to be there. Not like sometimes when I just feel so pathetic and awkward with it.

And....food and juice and eating and life....I am going to keep on juicing, but also bring food to work. I was only having juice during the day, but that morphed into the bad habit of eating too much of the wrong things in the evening as I have become too busy to make much in the way of raw that I want to eat, esp. once I have let myself get so hungry. Going for the quick weight loss just is not working for me, as I am not in a mood to juice fast/feast right now. So...back to the basics...and will aim for 100% raw again...with juice and salads and fruits...there is so much that can be eaten....and watch out for the cookie monster...aka the candida beast, which demands cookies, bread, etc. Kind of like the "land shark" in Saturday night live....knocking at the door, in disguise.....harrumph! I won't be fooled again.

Well darlings, it's raining, it's late......time for this one to go to sleep.
Ciao bellas
love,
Alessandra

DEALING WITH LIFES PROBLEMS

I receive emails from Higher Awareness....and got this one recently, just read it today. The timing of these emails is always perfect for me.

Higher AwarenessHome Page
What's New?Updated Aug 19
Share The Inner Journey with Friends
What wants to change?
"The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem."
-- Theodore Rubin
Our lives really begin to change when we learn to shift our perspective on ‘problems.’
From the spiritual perspective, problems offer our best path to growth. Like it or not, pain gets our attention. Pain also challenges the ego's perception that it is in complete control of life. This opens the door for soul’s guidance.
If we want to be rid of the pain, we must do the work that leads us to greater consciousness. Paradoxically, we can only get rid of the pain by moving through it.
The next time you feel “poor me,” stop and ask, “What needs to change? What does my soul want me to learn?”
“No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”
-- Source Unknown
The physical, emotional and mental realms are all effects! Shift into working with cause by developing your higher mind, heart and spirituality and then your lfe will significantly change for the better. Get in touch with your spiritual nature.

SIGH

I know sweets bother me, yet I still eat them, and now I have the sugar blues, feeling sad, depressed, blue. Not awfully, but I was feeling so good yesterday. And quite obviously, this is also a case of self-sabotage. Not the worst, but still have to categorize as such, seeing as I know sugar brings me down, and I still eat it. I was very hungry at work yesterday, and my juice just wasn't doing it for me, but the office cupboards were all out of nuts, peanuts, cashews, etc. so I ate a rice crispy bar (EnviroKids organic) instead, then had another as I am Mother Hubbard, I am in charge of the cupboards, so while I was sorting out, straightening etc, I am handling these foods, and I think, oh they aren't all that sweet, etc. and I am hungry, and there isn't anything much to eat, so I ate them. Then I went home, after running errands, and I am still quite hungry, but do I opt for something healthy like a salad? No, I make a toasted sprouted bread, pine nut butter and banana sandwich, which would be all fine and good, but I add some jelly to it. Granted, it's a wonderful blackberry made by my mom, who makes awesome jelly, but it's sugar, and I used a good amount....and then I had a good, albeit cooked dinner (yukon gold potatoes with lots of olive oil, salt & pepper, onions and broccoli just cooked...) so not so bad, but later, while watching a movie, I had bunny grahams. sigh. There are such lovely sweets out there, but not for me. So my present world is blue. But I know why, and I am busy with the antidotes, but the real issue here is why?

Why am I still going down this road? And that is what I am going to try and change. And I could get quite depressed about it, as that has been what I have said to myself for over 20 years now, maybe 30 years...sigh. Why???? And what is a constructive way of putting the heat on, (esp for someone who hates the heat....that kind of heat) and really getting to the bottom of this?

And then also, I reached out to a fellow blogger, and basically got what I thought was the brushoff, so, wah, I am feeling sad. And missing my dad. And my sisters. And my whole family clan in general. sigh.

Made and brought my juice this morning, not quite a quart, and also have 2/3's of a quart of Master Cleanse drink leftover from yesterday, and if I must go there, today we have nuts. I bought a nice supply for the office while I was out and about yesterday. And tonight is kickboxing. And I am having my BrainOn and MSM drink, but I must say it doesn't do as much for me as I hoped. I am still blue, though my sunny periods are getting sunnier.

So, off to conquer my world.........

Ciao bellas
love
Alessandras

GIVE ME SOME JUICE!!

I made another yummy juice this morning. Actually I am quite proud of myself as I got up at 6:15 instead of the 7:03 that was my usual. I love to sleep, and sleep better in the morning often than I do all night, but it is much better if I can get up earlier. And I hate it that sleep is even an issue!! As I used to never even think about it. I'd go to bed, I'd fall asleep, til morning!! Hah!

So I made a yummy juice, ended up using both juicers, as while the Breville is quick and easy to clean, it doesn't do leafy greens such as kale or parsley. It just chews them up and spits them out. So I juiced the carrot, broccoli, celery and apples in the Breville, then switched to the Greenstar for the parsley and kale. I thought something was missing in my juice yesterday (not for lack of 'juicing' it) as the kale and parsley didn't make it into my juice, just into the waste. I was too busy yesterday to notice, but today, I realized what had happened so started out with one stalk of parsley, a nice big fat one, with the Breville...saw it get chewed up and spit out the wrong side (ie no juice) tried a few small kale leaves...same thing. Well no wonder. This type of juicer does not do leafy greens. duh. lol. So today's juice is yummy and delicious and has that nice background taste of the parsley and kale. And I made some Master Cleanse as well, and cleaned both juicers and even got to work 15 minutes early as I thought I needed to set up the conference room, turns out the meeting started at 9am....but that's okay. I got a good parking spot.

This morning's weight...post-evac 184. Half a pound down. I think tomorrow will be better....did kickboxing last night, then came home and did some stretching and a bit of yoga....oh yes, still out of shape, but improving slowly. Feel good.

So working on being high raw as I don't think I am going to sucessfully do all raw...will try, just need to be organized so I can make enough food. It takes time, and time? I don't have enough. I cook dinner for my family and help clean up and go to kickboxing and take my friend to her appointments, my kids to their tennis lessons, etc. work full time....sound familiar? lol. ok.

Just happy to be feeling so good.....Robin has some more awesome posts, one about the myths about protein and another with some lovely photos of tea country. I want that house...that totally natural house in the tropics. Much rather that than any fancy brick/cement mansion. Give me Mother Earth!!!

ciao bellas!
love,
Alessandra

KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED!!

Like so many people, I always start out well, even do well for nearly a month, and then I falter, and mess up. At the moment, I feel that I am doing well and I really really really hope it continues. I am not going to be hard on myself and think that I have to be perfect, but I have to be good and maintain and really try, and just do it! Yesterday I drank my Master Cleanse drink all day, but I really didn't drink as much of it as I needed, so by the end of the day, around dinner time I was really hungry, and instead of picking up my bottle of juice and drinking it, I had a piece of the raw peach pie. Not a bad choice, just not juice fasting. For dinner I had 1 1/2 avocados with some spicy salsa (not raw) and some organic blue corn chips. For dessert I had another piece of the raw peach pie. In between I also had some of my treat of blended nuts, currants and raw cacao nibs. I added 2 teaspoons of maca to that. Overall, not bad eating. And this morning, when I woke up, I was rewarded for it. My weight, post-evacuation (sounds like I live in a hurricane area) was 184.5. A 2.5 lb loss. Hmmm.

Encouraging to say the least. And last night Tammy and I did our stretching and a bit of floor exercises. We are both quite out of shape but it is good!!! And we are going to do it every night! It is so good for me to have another woman in the house, a friend...and Tammy is such a great friend, so loving and encouraging and just fun to be around. And it is so cool that she used to watch our boys when they were very young, she told me a story this morning about something one did to the other when he was only 2 (knocked his older brother's block building down with his stuffed animal...lol) and it just was so touching to me to hear that, something I had missed, a behaviour I didn't remember, and also so like my son...and it made me realize that Tammy and her family are becoming like family to me......and I love that feeling. I care about them and they care about me, about us. I have missed that. My own family is great, but I don't feel that close to any of them, as we all live so far away from each other.

I tried Tammy's Breville juicer today, and while it isn't perfect, a bit of pulp in the juice, it is just so much faster and easier to clean than the Greenstar that I would love to have one for my own, especially if I want to do a juice feast. Which I do!! But Tammy will be around for a while, so I will have to take advantage of that. So I made 40 ounces of a yummy juice of carrot, apple, zucchini, broccoli, kale, parsley, a cauliflower core and some celery. My body is very happy that I am giving it such good juice. My mood today is very very good! I am happy!!! I want to stay here!

So...today's menu is juice, Master Cleanse, and raw foods for dinner...and kickboxing class tonight. Hurray!!

ciao bellas!
Alessandra

RAW PEACH PIE - YUM

This weekend was pretty good.....took my son to his tennis lesson on Saturday morning, then stopped by the Farmer's Market to get 2 large bags of the best basil ever, then did a bit of grocery shopping on my way home. Went home, got ready for my kickboxing class....and after that....drove to Nebraska to get Tammy.

Ate mostly raw on Saturday, with the exception of a peanut butter and banana sandwich on sprouted grain bread. Wish I had remembered I had the raw pine nut butter I would have used that instead. My kickboxing class was good....did some ab work...oh my! Those muscles haven't been used in a while.....I didn't even do all that much and my muscles are sore. We did one exercise that worked muscles that I didn't even know about....need to do more of that!

The drive to Nebraska is long, but the highway I take has very little traffic so I breeze along at 85-90 mph. Mostly. I don't tailgate, and I don't go fast when there are other cars, congestion, towns, etc. So got there in about 5 hours. Tammy's entire family was around plus 2 nephews and a girlfriend. It was a full house, but I enjoyed seeing them all. Her granddaughter Brianna is such a cutie!! Love her........and Joe's girlfriend Rachel is great. So happy to see him with such a nice girl. A redhead at that!

The drive back was equally long, but this time I had company and it went well. Got stopped near this little town, I was going 75.....in a 65.....but the trooper was nice and only gave me a warning. Thank you!

Came back home, made pesto for dinner......yum! I had it with pasta so it wasn't all raw...but it was so yum. Also had a salad before that....with some lovely delicious orange egg shaped tomatoes we have in our garden. I don't remember what kind they are...just so good! Then I dealt with the rest of the peaches I bought the prior weekend.....peeled off the skins, cut up the best ones to make a raw peach pie, the other ones that didn't have that good of flavor I sliced with the food processor, then cooked up with some apricot jam from the store, pureed that in the blender....I'd added some tapioca which helped thicken it some, and then I also added my secret ingredient...the Colonix psyllium fiber blend as it works well, as a nice banana-ish flavor and helped to thicken the jam and the pie.

My pie turned out well, everyone really liked it. I didn't have quite enough nuts for the crust, so it was a bit sticky, but delicious...made it with some soaked dates, some macadamia nuts and a few pecans, with a bit of cinnamon. The peach filling was mostly raw, but I used a bit of apricot jam to coat and sweeten the peaches, and thickened it with the pysllium fiber. I served it for breakfast this morning and everyone loved it!

I am back to doing the Master Cleanse this week, as I really really really want to lose weight. I want to be healthy too......so I am also taking spirulina and adding the BrainOn liquid to my Master Cleanse along with cayenne and maca. Today's 2 quarts have 1 teaspoon of cayenne and 2 teaspoons of maca and a fair bit of BrainOn. I am going to pour some into a glass in a little bit here and add some MSM.....

I weighed 187 this morning pre-evacuation....was hoping for less...oh well. I have a goal....which is to lose 20 pounds in 5 weeks. That is doable....and I am trying to be as raw as I can be, and always trying to see if I can't increase my raw intake. Tammy brought her new Breville Juice Fountain ....it looks awesome...can't wait to try it out. So this week will be raw juices and Master Cleanse.....and kickboxing!!

Also going to start doing floor exercises in the evenings.....stretching mainly. Tammy wants to also....and I have wanted to for a while. Having Tammy here is good motivation to do well. Tired today, not sure what is up with that. Didn't have any pie as my body doesn't seem to like the jam.

Read a nice post about the SimplyRaw Festival up in Ottowa,Canada from Robin "Keiko" Gregory's blog http://www.rawketscience.blogspot.com/ . There was also a Green Lifestyle Film Festival, which I would have loved to have seen. There are some excellent films out there. She mentioned one which was all about the cancer industry (my words).....as it is big business for the pharmaceutical companys, etc. I have never contributed any money to the American Cancer Society and I never will. They don't truly want to find a cure for cancer....as the cure is known. They just want to make money. What a hoot. Getting rich while working for a non-profit that is supposed to help save lives....but doesn't. She said it was excellent, but also sad and disturbing.

That's the scoop for now....
ciao bellas!!

Alessandra

KICK BOX!!

Last night was our second kickboxing class. It was a small class, but still quite the workout. This is soooo good for me!! Wish I weren't going on a roadtrip tomorrow as I am going to miss the Saturday class....but that's okay. I have to go to Nebraska to get my friend Tammy and bring her back here for her chelation treatments. She has high amounts of arsenic, lead and mercury in her system from living in a toxic house/area. Diesel fuel heat system which leaked/polluted her house, surrounded by fields arial sprayed with pesticides and in close proximity to three cattle feedlots. And it's not just her, but her entire family who got poisoned. But she has suffered from it the most. So glad I am able to help her..........as no doctor she ever saw even had a clue as to why she has been so sick. Can't wait to see how the chelation works for her, hope it really helps, though much damage has already been done as these chemicals have been in her system for years now.

Yesterday was an okay day eating wise, but not perfect. I had bananas for breakfast (2) and then my raw lasagne for brunch....,.and was good until I got home. Had a huge amount of my BrainOn...this time I got the liquid instead of the freeze dried flakes, and so drank a huge amount of it.....felt like it started a bit of a cleanse on me.....good but a bit intense. Went home had 2 pieces of toast made with sprouted grain bread, another banana, some Annie's bunny grahams, and lots of peanuts. Cocktail peanuts. Then I went to kickboxing. Great workout!

Came home and had a bowl of cereal (Barbara's Shredded Oats) with whole milk. Went to bed.

One thing.....usually for some reason the Shredded Oats cereal makes me feel bad when I eat it, something about the type of sugars in it and my own wierd candida body which reacts to different sugars differently, but with the BrainOn....this didnt' happen I felt fine after eating it.

Trying to be more raw today.......really need to juice........hope to get there soon.
Weight this morning was 186. Down a bit.

Today...woke up, took a handful of Primal Defense....8 or so....then drank some Colloidal Silver possibly a tablespoon followed by a large glass of water. Allergies are acting up, my nose especially, feel like I am getting a cold/infection caused by the nasal irritation, but am fighting it.

Just chomped 5 GSE tablets...I always chew my medicines...even the nasty tasting ones. I want them to get in my system immediately.

Have eaten 2 bananas this morning.......brought 4 bananas to work, along with the last of my raw lasagne, 2 med orange yummy tomatoes from our garden and a container of mixed greens. Feeling hungry which is good......will try and stay raw. Hopefully once my BrainOn thaws a bit more and I can have some along with some MSM, it will help me get back to where it is so easy!
Hah. Easy for a few days, easy with fasting, again, juicing would help alot.

Rebel Rebel

OK, so yesterday was all about rebellion. Not against being raw, but against waking up with sore crusty itchy eyes because of allergies gone wild.....and just generally feeling like crap. So, I got to work, ate some banana bread made by a co-worker, she makes excellent banana bread, then followed that with 3 dark mini Snickers (horrors), then some crackers and nuts, a chocolate crispy rice bar (organic) and.......I don't know...but when I went home after work I did better. Not perfect but better. I bought a coconut juice on the way home (not raw I know but not bad) and 3 packets of the Amazing Greens Chocolate greens...added them to the coconut water and drank that...then had....some Annies bunny grahams.....which for some reason seemed to help my mood tremendously as it had been just the pits. Sugar issues.......some sugars really take me down, some actually bring me back. So....got to feeling better, had a bit of the Italian tomato bread salad that I made, it's only ok. Needed more onions, I don't think the red wine vinegar I used was all that good (even though it's Spectrum from Modena Italy....label hype) and it gives everyone who eats it tremendous gas........not a good thing to eat before kickboxing class. I definitely will remember that next time.

So.........I also took some maca right before going to kickboxing, I think it definitely helped. Need to have some today as well. Kickboxing class is great, I am so glad I am doing it. If it weren't for being so out of shape I'd go again tonight...but I think I'd be a mess for sure if I did that. After kickboxing class I had a bit of energy so finished my raw lasagne that I started using the recipe from RawFood RealWorld or whatever it's called. It turned out awesomely, I would make a few changes, but overall it's delicious.

Brought that and a banana to work today .......already ate them both and hungry!! Only working til 2:30pm today...so will take some maca and hang in there. Hope to make this an all raw day. And tomorrow!!! I ordered some more E3Live BrainOn and it should arrive tomorrow. Also ordered some of their Hemp protein powder.......think it's raw.........anyhoo...can't wait to get my goodies. Also ordered some things from Matt Monarch's website....pinenut butter and something else...I forget......so off to take some maca and get my work done....and then out of here!!

Have a good day!
Alessandra

RAWKUSNESS

Do I lie to maintain my good standing (is that a contradiction or what?) or do I confess. I confess. As is my usual habit, I have strayed from the raw path. However, I am right back on it. Last night I had some of the cheesecake I made for my son's birthday. It was good. I enjoyed it, and even though I do look a bit tired, dark circles, etc. the agave nectar didn't seem to bother me. And I didn't get pins and needles in my joints like I sometimes do with sweets when I was trying to fall asleep. Or any cracks in my feet. Then today, I made everyone waffles, and ate two with maple syrup. They were really good.....I put alot of raspberries & cream granola in them and a bit of almond extract and some cinnamon. But, I am resolved to get right back on track and to stay there. No use in letting this throw me off.

I made this great dinner last night, it was to be a wrap but ended up being a salad. It was a thai inspired paste (which was runny so not a paste) with tahini, ginger, white miso, minced green onion, honey, apple cider vinegar, and garlic. Since the paste was more of a sauce, and I didn't really have anything to make a wrap with, I finely chopped up some dino kale, quartered some thinly sliced cucumber rounds, made carrot ribbons, added some chopped up basil, parsley and cilantro, some Mrs. Dash's Spicy Seasoning and mixed it all together with bit of chopped red bell pepper, and some avocado and it made a yummy salad. I ate half and saved the other half for today. I will be eating it soon. This was my take on Renee Loux Underkoffler's receipe for Thai Rim Rolls. If you've made them, you may not recognize it quite as I made a few substitutions, but it's from her "Living Cuisine" cookbook which is wonderful.

For dinner and sustenance for tomorrow I am looking at a recipe in RawFood RealWorld by Sarma Melngailis and Matthew Kenny which is also excellent. The recipe I am pondering and probably will make is Zucchini and Green Zebra Tomato Lasagne which I will make with whatever tomatoes I have, as I do not have any Green Zebras.

I am also making Panzanella for my husband. It's a tomato and bread salad with sweet onions, red wine vinegar and fresh basil leaves. It is heavenly but I best make my lasagne first so I don't eat it (or not much of it). I have to be realistic here....when I make my favorite foods, raw or cooked, I eat them. Will have to work on that.

The weigh-in, today and yesterday 183.5

Tomorrow is my first real kickboxing class.......can't wait!!

Ciao bellas!
Alessandra