Raw NaturaleRaw. Natural. It’s Raw Naturale.

Of late I’ve been completely obsessed with how to get more movement and action into my days. Currently, being a web developer by trade, it is not out of the ordinary for me to be sitting 7-8 hours a day at my desk. Of course, this inactivity, is not good for you. I’ve thought about getting an under-the-desk pedal exerciser for work.

Now with gas prices being what they are, my company is allowing us two days a week to work from home. While this helps out with gas expenditures quite a bit, it doesn’t help much with my 7-8 hours a day on my butt. I have a recumbent bike and a treadmill at home, and instantly wondered how I could put either to good aka better use.

While doing online research, I came across several articles on the using a treadmill while working at your desk. Additionally, I found a lot of information referencing a study by Dr. Levine regarding walking on a treadmill at work. His premise is that t human body wasn’t meant for sitting. And in truth, it’s really only with the advent of the automobile, the TV, and the computer that we’ve really started moving a lot less than we used to. Dr. Levine’s study found that people d 100 calories just by walking 1 MPH for an hour. And a quick check of my math and I’d determined that 8 hours a day of walking would equate to 800 calories burned.

Sign me UP!!

Of course, a quick review of commercial products available showed me that I could easily spend a minimum of $500 dollars for a set up, but in many cases as much as $5000. Believe you me, that’s quite an outlay of money for something that you might end up hating. So I got to thinking, how could I make it cheaper? How could I get up and running (no pun intended) sooner rather than later?

I joined an online group, officewalkers.ning.com, and set about looking at their numerous posts and pictures. I saw quite a few ‘home-made’ setups ranging from bookshelves to wire racks. Then in the midst of it all it hit me. I could make something easily and cheaply, in a matter of an afternoon. In my mind I envisioned, basically, a saw horse with some shelves.

Saturday morning, I went to Home Depot and bought 3 2×4’s, and a set of saw horse brackets. I came home, cut two of the 2×4’s in half for the legs, and slid these into the saw horse brackets. Then I measured the width of the treadmill and cut a piece wide enough to straddle my treadmill.  Then I cut two smaller pieces to screw to the legs, to ensure that the legs didn’t close and the whole thing come down on me. To the 2×4 across the top, I screwed an old shelf I had laying around. It is just wide enough to hold my laptop, so it worked perfect. Between the cross members I screwed to the legs, I put a 1×6 that I had laying around. It serves as a shelf for my phone, and any other paperwork I may need nearby, but not on my desk. The whole thing cost me $12. I suppose if I didn’t have the shelf already or the 1×6 it would have cost more, but in truth only the shelf is necessary and could have been made from plywood or whatever.

I’ve walked for two days this week using my ghetto tread desk. I walked 4 hours on Tuesday at 2.0 mph, though I only in 2 hours on Friday.  Its not hard and it definitely is curing my problem of being cold at my desk all day. Of course, this doesn’t count as a cardio workout, but it should be boosting metabolism, and that’s always a good thing.

4 cups Kale chips
5 stalks celery
10 baby carrots
10 yellow baby carrots
15 grape tomatoes
1 orange
1 apple
1 oz soaked and dehydrated walnuts

1 liter water with juice of 1 lime, green tea, and stevia
12 oz coffee with 2 tbsp hemp milk and stevia (not raw)

I’m totally in love right now with my newest raw junk food… Dehydrated Kale ‘chips’. They are so delicious.

And I  really dislike (aka Hate) kale. In fact, the smell of kale makes my stomach turn. So generally, I make these overnight, while I’m asleep and the smell doesn’t get to me.

So easy to make.

Kale leaves (Lots), large white stem/rib removed
Olive oil

I typically pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a small bowl. Dip two of my fingers into the oil, and then rub the kale leaves. I try to make sure that the leaves are coated but no dripping with the oil. For me, a single tablespoon (with some leftover) will coat 2 bunches of oil. You can’t get this wrong. Even if you don’t get enough oil on them, they will still be fabulous.

Keep in mind that they shrink a lot, so what seems like a lot of kale may only end up like a small portion of chips. For example, I’ve found that one bunch of kale makes about 4 cups of chips. That sounds like a lot, but considering how much space each of the curly edged chips takes up, it’s not a lot. I can eat one bunch of chips in a single setting.

These are so satisfying to me on so many levels. They are light and crispy, and oftentimes remind me of a potato chip, but infinitely better for you. You can lightly salt them before or after or leave it off all together. You can also add other herbs or seasonings as you like them. I plan on trying nutritional yeast on my next batch…

If you don’t have a dehydrator, these can also be made in the oven. Just turn your oven down as low as you can, and it necessary open the oven door.

Try them out and let me know how it goes.

2 cup (6 oz) Broccoli
2 Gala apples
3 oz spinach
1/2 c of tomatoes, onions, jalapenos
handful of walnuts

The holidays, yes they are upon us. Whether you like it or not, you can’t get away from them. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really ready for them. All my Christmas shopping is done. All the decorations are up (save for the wreath, which we are still waiting for it to dry.) The Christmas Fruitcakes are made. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care… LOL Everything’s is ready except for me. I’m not ready for the emotional onslaught. I’m not ready for 25 conversations going on at once. I’m not ready to answer questions about how I am eating now and what I’m eating and why. I’m not ready to be bombarded with all of the delicious and traditional Christmas foods that will be available.

With all of this in mind, I’m going on a 10 day modified Juice Feast. Modified in that I am allowing some raw foods to be eaten. They will be in the form of raw vegetables, fruits, and perhaps some nuts. I’m thinking that not only will this help clean out some of the transgressions of late, but also it will get me more firmly re-rooted in my food choices, and will add to my conviction during the 5 days of family-filled testing at Christmas.

Today’s intake:
Juice consisting of:
1 head of Romaine
6 Carrots
1 Cucumber
1 Zucchini
1 Squash
1 head of Celery

Juice Consisting of:
1 grapefruit
2 oranges

1 Gala Apple
1 Pink Lady Apple
2 c Broccoli
Handful of Walnuts
6 Brazil Nuts

The cravings are strong with me this evening, but I am trying to keep them at bay. After I get done here, I’m going to go back to my crocheting, and hope I can focus enough on it plus whatever The Man puts on the TV to make me not think about it.

I’ve hit a really hard place recently with regard to food. Historically, I’m an omnivore. But I’ve been reading more and more about the environmental damage we are doing raising and keeping animals for various food purposes. I mean, I’m an animal lover, so I’ve always just put the mental images of the slaughterhouses and such out of my mind so as to not become overwhelmed by it. But there have been additional facts recently brought to my attention that make the whole thing that much more pressing on my attention. I would love to just give up meat all together, and might in the end. But the honest truth is that it still smells SOOOO good to me. Cooked and/or grilled meat smells and tastes good to me. I don’t know that that will ever change. And that means that it will always me a struggle for me. =(

But I’m trying to think about the impact I’m making, and that’s a start, right?

Today’s Intake:

1 c green juice (spinach, carrot, granny smith, ginger)
1 small bottle Odwalla Superfood
1 small bottle Bolthouse Farms Vedge
1 small bottle Odwalla Carrot
2 c organic mushroom broth
1 c organic veggie broth
4 c Kombucha

It’s a new day, and I’m feeling pretty good about it. I didn’t wake up sick like I did yesterday, so that’s a big bonus.

I did something yesterday that I’ve never done before. I tested my pH. I found some pH papers at Whole Foods, and because I’ve always wondered how acidic I am, I went a head and bought them. I came home, unloaded the groceries and then went to try it out. It really is the pregnancy test of pH testing, except you don’t wait for 2 minutes. Pee on the strip, and read the results. My initial results yesterday were 7.5 or perhaps even higher. I’m at 7.5 this morning. =( Of course, I’m wondering now how long it will take my body to get into a more alkaline state.

I’m interested in this because I’m experiencing this phenomenon of losing weight but getting fatter. It seems that I’m actually gaining flab. Now, I understand that it could be related to muscle loss, and I’ve not really begun my exercise/weight training regimen yet. But I’m wondering if I’ve got too many acids and toxins floating in the system. I don’t know much about this, or even if they body really does try to entrap toxins in layers of fat. But it is interesting nonetheless. Here is a list of alkalizing/acidifying foods. Keeping with the feast, I should be in the optimal zone soon. (I hope.)

Today’s Intake

1 head celery
2 or 3 Elephant Kale leaves
1 cucumber
1 red bell pepper
5 radishes
3 tomatoes
small piece of ginger
==============
The above made 1 QT of juice, but I only got 3 cups of it, as The Man asked for a cup of it. How could I say no?

To mine I added:
1 scoop greens powder

4 c Bolthouse Green Goodness
2 c Bolthouse Purple Carrot
4 c coconut water
1 c organic mushroom broth
1 c organic vegetable broth

Its been a few rough days, but I think I’m back and ready to make a new commitment.

I’ve been feeling deprived. Punished even. My mouth wants food. It doesn’t even care what it is. Because I’m denying myself that, I feel… well, deprived and punished… pouty. My energy is still pretty flatline, so I’m struggling to get up and make my juices like I should, forcing me to resort to Bolthouse, Odwalla, and Naked varieties – which are mostly fruit juice. I’ve found that chewing gum (I’ve been using Peelu) helps with the need to chew something, but the need to be comfortably full isn’t there either. Drinking a ton of juice just makes my stomach hurt. I struggled with this last time, and I know it’s emotional/comfort related. I know I have emotional attachments to food, and I know I self-medicate with food, but just knowing it doesn’t make me stop doing it, or stop needing to do it.

I’ve slipped up twice now, having glass (rice) noodles in organic vegetable broth, and eating the equivalent of a chicken nugget. And that could have spiraled out of control. I don’t want to and don’t like being out of control. It upsets me that something so insignificant could play such a large roll in my life. Pathetic really. I know I’m not alone in this, but that only seems to make it worse. Since I’ve struggled so early in the feast, some would say that my body is not ready, and that I should wait. But truth (with anything )is that if I wait to be ready, I never will. And if I continue ‘out of control’, I could easily gain back the weight it took me a year to lose. More than anything I do not want that.

I want what I want, and I want it all. LOL

I think I make have mentioned this before but, I never really learned how to ‘parent’ myself (if that makes sense.) It seems most people have a parent and a child inside them. The child in me wants candy and cookies, pizza and burgers. The parent in me wants to be 100% raw, and working out all the time, and being thin and healthy. My inner child says sitting on the couch and playing video games is more fun and less work. My parent kinda agrees with that. My inner parent is the worn out, over tired, stressed out parent that most American kids have today… She has no time, is too tired, and gives in because it’s easier than fighting to make my inner child tow the line. =)

But the fact of the matter is that I don’t want to be a failure. And even though I know I have already slipped up, I’m making a new commitment today.

Today’s intake:

1 bag baby spinach
4 small/medium carrots
2 granny smith apples
2 scoop greens powder
2 c organic vegetable broth
2 c Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness
1 container O.N.E. Coconut water
4 c Kombucha

I went to see my Naturopath this morning. I did a hormone spit test a couple of weeks ago, and she’d finally gotten the results back. Basically everything is slowly but surely sliding back to where it was. I basically lost about half the progress I’d made by stopping my supplements earlier this year. No good. So even though I’m Feasting, I’m going to have to go back on the supplements. If I don’t, bad things will happen. =(

Light intake today:

1 bottle Kombucha
1 qt juice made of
1 head of celery
2 small cucumbers
2 handfuls of lettuce
1 handful parsley
5 radishes
about 4 cups coconut water

I’m tired all the time now. I wake up – I’m tired. I go to bed – I’m tired. I sleep 5 hours – I’m tired. I sleep 10 hours – I’m tired. No matter what I do, I’m still tired.

So I’m researching adrenal fatigue. I’ve been treated for it before by a naturopath. I took Rhodiola among other things. But when I feasted earlier this year, I stopped taking all my supplements and to be honest, never went back.

According to SelfAdjustingTechnique.com, these are 30 symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue:

The 30 symptoms include, but are not limited to:
1. Excessive fatigue and exhaustion, chronic fatigue
2. Non-refreshing sleep
3. Sleep disturbance, insomnia
4. Feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope
5. Craving salty and/or sweet foods
6. Sensitivity to light
7. Low stamina and slow to recover from exercise
8. Slow to recover from injury or illness
9. Difficulty concentrating, brain fog
10. Poor digestion
11. Irritable bowel syndrome, IBS
12. Low immune function
13. Premenstrual syndrome
14. Menopause symptoms
15. Low blood pressure
16. Sensitivity to cold
17. Fearfulness
18. Allergies,
19. Frequent influenza
20. Arthritis
21. Anxiety
22. Irritability
23. Depression
24. Reduced memory
25. Low libido, sexual drive or interest
26. Lack of lust for life and/or food
27. Excess hunger
28. Low appetite
29. Panic/anxiety attacks
30. Irritability, impatience, quick to anger.

I have at least 17 of those symptoms. One of the most interesting to me of these has been the craving of salt. All of my ‘I need food’ cravings lately have been things that are particularly salt-laden. And none of my juices have seemed salty enough. Even before I started the feast, I was over-salting my food. Unfortunately, salt has a tendency to make me bloat. That, of course, causes water weight gain, which in turn makes me depressed because the scales are going up instead of down. I know it’s not all about the weight loss, but sometimes that helps when the ‘I want food’ cravings start in.

Todays’ Intake:

1 head celery
1 head romaine
5 radishes
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
2 carrots
2 handfuls of spinach
2 grapefruit
1/3 pineapple