I’ve heard (read?) Averie talk about her groove many times.  She’s found hers.  According the veggie-lovin’ yogi, it has taken years of trial and error to do so.  But, the health and vitality must be worth it in the end.

My journey has been a wild ride in terms of diet and exercise…all over the place:

2005:  I went vegan!  I subsisted mainly on lentils, beans, rice and LOTS of processed soy products   My exercise was lots of cardio twice some days!

2006:  I got engaged and moved in with an omnivore who loved meat.  I veered away from veganism and transitioned to an omnivorous diet including greasy guy food aka ribs, pizza, wings, cheesy anything.  It was easier to eat what he ate.  At first, we exercised together lifting and doing cardio at the gym.  Then, we both stopped caring.  I began drinking ridiculous amounts of wine from the vineyard close to my home.

2007:  I became pregnant and healthified my diet again.  I including lots more produce.  I couldn’t eat pizza or the like due to heartburn.  But, I still ate McDonald’s (gasp!) and powdered donuts (not together) a few times per week.

2008:  I gave birth to a healthy baby girl and immediately increased my fresh produce intake. I went back to the gym doing only cardio 3 weeks after delivery.  I continued to do cardio 3-5 days a week for about 6 months. I breast fed for 6 months.  I was still eating omnivorously.  I was unaware of the horrors of factory farming, processed foods and so on.  Soon, I went back to school and aqcuired a huge amount of stress.  I “had no time for exercise”.I subsisted on almost 300 ounces (yes, three hundred!) of black tea and diet pseudo foods. 

2009: I began doing a little yoga and running outside and on a treadmill.   I learned about factory farming, conventional produce, processed pseudo foods, deceptive marketing….ah!  I cut back on tea, increased my water intake and cut out the pseudo foods. I ate a lot of ”natural” cereal,  organic dairy (Greek yogurt) and organic poultry as well as fruits and lots of veggies. 

2010: Although my running had increased to 5-6 miles 5 days a week I was not at a healthy weight for me.  I disovored that after a healthy weight gain, my weight went over my healthy weight due to some poor eating habits.  I had been eating the bulk of my calories in the evening right before bed.  Lots of nut butter, cereal and dairy before bed was not helpful.  I started to eat 3 whole bag of steamed veggies and lots of tuna and chicken each day.  I was still addicted to artificial sweetener.   I did P90X and ended up gaining weight!  I was bummed out.  I felt that I may never reach the level of health that I desired. 

2010:  I was fed up with no results from my workouts. (Read: lovehandles and muffin top) Although, I was convinced I may never get to the physical level which I desired, I contacted Alyson as a last resort.  I expressed my concern about my rollercoaster of health.  I was pleasantly surprised that she offered no diet plan.  She encouraged me to listen to my body and add to my diet rather than subract from it.  She also helped me with a workout routine that included resistance and cardio.

I was able to eliminate caffeine and artificial sweetener within 3 months!  I cut out dairy to see what would happen and it made a world of difference.  I discovered how much better I felt on a minimally-processed, vegan diet.  Then, I began to play with raw food.  I decided to see if I could stay raw for a day. .. and I did!  So, I figured I would try a week.  That turned into a month!  I have now been raw for one month!

The first few days of raw eating, I gave myself permission to eat what sounded good as long as it was raw.  My diet was pretty high in fat.  But, I actually lost weight!  Then I noticed that I was consuming a  lot more fruit and a lot less fat.  I felt good, but I would wake up hungry at 1:00am.  Not good.  So, I thought what about more protein?  I started to increase my protein in the evening with nutritional yeast and minimal amounts of raw nuts.  That did not help the hunger pangs.

So, now…I am still searching for the combination that works for me.  I love fruit.  I could eat it all day everyday.  But, the body needs variety.  Greens are nutrition powerhouses.  I  include spinach or kale everyday.  But, I am still finding my groove.

I decided to experiment with different processed and cooked foods to find my balance.

I ate two low-carb torilla with some rice cheese to make a quesadilla one night and the first half of the quesadilla  tasted divine but then it began to taste like chemicals to me When I read the ingredients on the tortillas, I understood why.

I felt horrible the next day!  My stomach hurt.  My head hurt.  Nothing sounded appetizing. 

I tried natural roasted PB the next night and had similar results.

However, when I tried organic canned pinto beans with nutritional yeast, I didn’t feel bad at all!

So, I am actually 98 percent raw most days since the only “unraw” thing I consume is decaf americano with stevia and salad dressing .

Other days I would say I’m about 75 percent raw due to cooked beans (which is one of my top 5 favorite foods!)

I actually haven’t had the desire to eat any more cooked food than that.

Anyone care to share tips on finding your groove?

Yes, I have lost weight since I began working with Alyson.  My highest weight the week I began working with Alyson was 132.  But, I’m pretty sure there were a few pounds of water there.  I now weigh about 121-122.  Due to the water, it’s not a full 10 pounds.  Yet, I am still much closer to my goal!  Plus, I’m only half-way through the six months of health coaching that Alyson offers.

More importantly, I feel much more at peace with food. 

Through Integrative Nutrition I have learned to listen to my body and integrate my knowledge of nutrition in ways that work with my body.

I HAVE STOPPED COUNTING CALORIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never ever in my wildest dreams thought that would happen. 

I never thought I would feel able to healthfully (yes it is a word)  accomplish my goal weight of 115

I never thought I could eliminate caffeine and artificial sweetener.

I never thought I would feel this good.

Never say never.

I will do a before and after post in a few months when my Nourished Life journey is completed.

In other WBL news:  I went grocery shopping by myself for the first time in forever!!

Snuffy requested Donuts and Candy from Whole Foods

(WF Apple Braid)

I made Averie’s balls using carob powder and a mixture of cashews, walnuts and almonds

and more of Ani’s Donuts

Then something horrible happened…

My ghetto blender and my 10 month old food processor both died!

The horror!

Time to start saving for a Vita.

Snuffy and I also made Double Chocolate Cookies

I used a recipe in Veganomicon as a guide

Since I have been eating high-raw, I have gone through LOTS of produce…

Blueberries, Bananas, Almond Butter, Cinnamon and Almond Milk

Pink Lady Apple, “raw” AB and Cinnamon

That’s only the tip of the iceberg.

One huge benefit of transitioning to raw is that Snuffy is eating a lot more raw fruits and veggies too.

Childhood Obesity is an issue close to my heart and I encourage other parents to lead by example

Our children will be ready to leave home ….

and make their own decisions

…before we know it!

I  can’t believe how much she has grown!

I’m getting older as well…

I will be 25 on Sunday!

I am absolutely not where I thought I would be at 25 but at least I have my lovely little girl to show for my time on this planet

Time for a little TMI

I don’t think I have any male readers (besides Mallard). 

 But if you are a guy and you don’t want to know anymore than you already know about female hormones… you may want to steer clear

Here we go:

I have had less than 5 periods since I gave birth to Snuffy 2 1/2 years ago.  I wasn’t concerned for the first 7 months because I was breast-feeding.  The only periods I did have were very short and extremely light.  By the time I had finished breast-feeding Snuffy, I was dropping weight rapidly.  I had just started school at Xavier and I was extremely stressed out.  My weight sank to a dangerous level.  I assumed my lack of menstruation was due to my low weight and stress level.  Eventually, I re-worked my schedule and found ways to deal with my stress effectively.  I began to use exercise as a stress reliever.  My weight leveled out and then climb a little higher than necessary.  So, I assumed that my periods would regulate.  That didn’t happen.  I have been at a healthy weight for almost a year now and still nothing. 

 I finally decided to speak with my OBGYN about the issue.  First, he suggested taking out my IUD.  Although my IUD was non-hormonal, my doctor still thought there was a chance that the device was the culprit.  I had the IUD removed and still no period.   The next step was to have some general bloodwork done to check my thyroid.  That came back normal.  Then there was more bloodwork to check for PCOS and irregular hormone levels. 

I recieved the results of that bloodwork recently.  I do not have PCOS.  I do have irregular hormone levels.  My estrogen levels are extremely low.  So, now my hormones need to be regulated. 

I’m not exactly excited to deal with monthly periods again.  But, I do know that regular periods are a sign of a healthy body.  There are long-term detrimental effects of amenorrhea.  Most of thes effects are related to osteoporosis and bone density.   Both my paternal grandmother and my maternal great-grandmother have/had osteoporosis.  So, unfortunately, I need to get my hormone levels up to a regular level.

I’m aware of the need for normal hormone levels, yet taking oral hormones is not something that is easy for me to do.  I don’t even take over-the-counter meds anymore!  So, before embarking on a pharmaceutical rollercoaster, I took things into my own hands and began to look for information on treating my amenorrhea hollistically.  I tried some widely recommended herbal remedies.  They didn’t bring any change at all  

At least I tried to go the hollistic route.  Now, I have to accept the fact that I will be relying on modern pharmaceuticals.  I find it odd that I am eating a high-raw diet yet I’m taking prescription medication.  Anyway, I now have a med routine.  I have two medications to take on specific days of my non-existant cycle to move things along.

I have been on the first meds for 4 days now.  I feel emotional and tired.  Ugh.  Self-inflicted PMS

I am contuing to eat 99% raw! 

The only things I have ingested that are not raw since I last posted are:

Decaf Americano with Stevia

Annie’s Light Gingery Salad Dresssing

and

The last of my almond butter

Raw Almond Butter is not cheap.  I do love Maranatha Raw AB  but due to it’s price I have been mixing it with Whole Foods brand AB to save $

So, I decided to try to make my own AB.  I only had about 1/3 cup of almonds. 

 I put them in my food processor and after a few seconds, the blade stopped spinning and that was it for the food processor

That food processor has been used less than 10 times! 

I soooooo need a Vita-Mix!

Moving on…

I hauled out the old blender.  The one with no handle (it broke off months ago) and no lid.  It has the top but not the small lid.  I have to keep my hand over the hole in the top while I blend. 

I added some walnuts that I had on hand and began to blend.

I had to stop the ancient blender every 30 seconds so this took quite a while.

I was pretty proud of myself.  I only got about half a jar of WAB (walnut almond butter)

I’ve been experimenting with cooking and baking for years.  For some reason un-cooking makes me feel so much more accomplished lol

Unfortunately, the second time I tried this I had to alternate between my old blender and my immersion blender because both overheated.  There may have been smoke…    The whole thing took over 2 hours!

Mallard made me vow to buy my nut butters from now on

After the fact, I found some information regarding raw almonds in the US. 

Apparently, all of the almonds that enter the US are processed which includes substancial heating

 If I had a Vita-Mix I would be making all of my own nut butters and mylks.

What kind of blender or food processor do you use?

I also made some nacho cheeze kale chips

I massaged one bunch of kale with a little less than a tablespoon of EVOO

I mixed about 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast with 1/3 cup of water and poured the mixture over the kale.

I sprinkled some sea salt

Then I dehydrated at 105 degrees for 12 hours.

Yum!

I stopped by the farm down the road again. 

This time I bought 4 ears of corn, a watermelon and a pint of cherry tomatoes.

I’ve now realized that almost all corn, factory or family farmed, is from GMO’s.  After watching Food Inc ., I don’t know how I feel about supporting that even indirectly

The watermelon was so ripe! I haven’t eaten watermelon in years.  This was just what I had hoped for crisp, sweet and juicy!

Mallard took notice of my change of diet.   On Friday,  I told him that since I feel so great, I plan to stay high-raw. 

I told him I was going grocery shopping on Saturday.  He looked at our full pantry and asked me what we were going to do with all of that food.

Mallard will most likely not be going high-raw… ever.  But, a lot  of the food in our pantry were things that I use in vegan baking and cooking.  Those are things that Snuffy and I eat. 

But, I realized that there were things that had been in the pantry for quite a while. 

Things that weren’t vegan. 

Things that had way more chemicals and preservatives than I want in my child’s body.

Things that I had purchased for a recipe that I had since decided I would never make. 

In no time at all, I had filled a tote.

The After

Organic or Unsweetened Cereals, Foils and Wraps, Oils, Bananas, Mallard’s Roasted Almonds, Snuffy’s Yogurt Raisins

Canned Beans, Canned Fruits, Oils, Sauces

Oats, Couscous, Buckwheat, Quinoa, Teas, Mix-Ins, Flavorings, Nut Butters, container of Clif Bars, All Natural Pro-Bars, Luna Bars, Whole Wheat Mac, Rye Flat Crisps, Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze

The bottom is Protein Powders , Amazing Grass, Shakers and room for my dehydrator.

Based on the after you can imagine how bad the before must have been

I’m off to devour an entire cantaloupe!  Yum!

So, many of you seem to find yourselves very close to veganism!  I had no idea!  It seems that yogurt is what stands between many of you and vegan diets.  That was a tough one for me too. 

 Of course you can always switch to soy. 

 But, too much soy isn’t something I want either.

  I tried to make my own out of almond milk and it was pretty…meh. 

 I kind of cut myself of from all forms of yogurt.  I relied on it far too much.

  I could go through 3 serving a day easily. 

I would also tend to “save  room” for a dessert of yogurt and nut butter right before bed.

  I had to get out of that habit

This past week, I have been exploring raw food.

I made beet burgers out of the raw cookbook I mentioned in my last post.

That’s dijon mustard on top.

It was in the recipe.  I didn’t think dijon mustard was raw…?

I wish I could say I loved ‘em. 

Another recipe from the same book

Made with:

dates, almonds, carob powder, raw honey

The almonds were supposed to soaked but I wanted them too bad to wait

They were prett good but I think I would love anything with dates

Next, I started experimenting with Ani Phyo’s Raw Food Kitchen

I made Sun Burgers

They had such a colorful ingredient list

They turned out RAWesome! (bad pun, sorry)

I actually turned my oven on the lowest setting and put them inside to warm and dehydrate a little.

My next uncooking adventure was something that I had wanted to try for a very long time

Ani’s donut holes!

I got to use a real vanilla bean for the first time ever.

The smell is incredible.

O

M

G

Yes, they are that good.  Dear lord.  Ani’s recipes have me falling in love with raw food!

I have actually been 98% raw for 3 days!

The only things that I have eatenn that are not raw are:

organic catsup

maranatha almond butter

Iced Americano (decaf w/ stevia)

I will admit that it’s an odd feeling.  The first day or two I felt … weird. 

But today I feel great!

I sprouted quinoa yesterday and it made me feel as if I had invented the wheel lol

I have always wanted to try sprouting but was intimidated by the concept.

I chose quinoa for my first sprouting experience since it is the easiest thing to sprout. 

It takes only a few hours.

 I ate it atop my beet burger

Here are some of my recent raw eats

Delicious Organic Blackberries

My friend, Sarah, had brought some to school with her lunch and I demanded to know where she had bought them!

Cherry Tomatoes from farm just a couple miles from  my house.  It’s actually on my way to work and school!

I stopped in for the first time a few days ago

They had corn, tomatoes, peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers…and mulch lol

As I was filling my bag, one of the employees offered my a cherry tomato to try and I was sold!

I hadn’t had one that good since I ate them straight from my mom’s garden

Lots of bananas, apples, kale, cashews, almonds and portabellos were consumed this week as well.

I don’t know if I will stay so raw yet.

I do know that if I am to have another child, I will be raw through pregnancy.

So many women that have had cooked vegan and raw vegan pregnancies have told me that there is a huge difference in the way they feel and the length of labor. 

Jinjee has experienced both cooked vegan and raw vegan pregnancies

 Her story inspired me to make the decision to make the next pregnancy a raw one

Sharah’s pictures say a lot as well

…just something to think about

I am looking forward to trying some more raw recipes!

FOR SOME REASON, THE COMMENTS ARE NOT WORKING HERE.  I’M CURRENTLY WORKING TO FIX THE SITUATION.  IF YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS, E-MAIL ME WITH YOUR ADVICE !