Day 47

Day 47 brings another social food-related event. Although the food smelled and looked delicious, I was so aware that if I were to indulge it would make me completely sick…there was a beautiful Greek chicken salad with feta over an iceberg wedge, hot pepper jelly over cream cheese (a favorite of mine), home made coffee cake and peach pie. While it all smelled so wonderful (especially while it was cooking) I really didn’t feel like I was missing out. I wonder if some of those foods will have a such negative effect on my body that it will make me not want them anymore. I’m so curious to see how my food cravings and desires are when I’m on the other side of this. Will the unhealthy foods I loved still even taste good to me?

I can say that I’m looking forward to salads…while I’ve always liked salad, I don’t ever remember looking forward to eating one-especially one with no meat in it. I’m growing some salad ingredients including cherry tomatoes in my garden…and lately, the closest thing to a “cheat” that I’ve done is take a ripe one off my plant, chew it up (and enjoy the amazing flavor) and then spit everything out. I’ve done that a couple of times with strawberries too.

I got to “go shopping” in my closet today. I was thrilled to find some dresses that I hung on to that fit now! I was so excited that I wore one to tonight’s gathering. It’s a dress I wore in the beginning of 2010. I’ll be wearing another one to synagogue tomorrow. Progress like this is so encouraging 🙂

Today’s juices were way better then yesterday’s. Elf Juice (I did not make this one up but I love the name) which is a lovely green…even more lovely (I’m guessing) when you use the green pepper the recipe calls for instead of the red one I had in my fridge. The other one was Refreshing Jicama

It made a lovely pink color. A couple of non-juicing friends tried it and liked it too….For some reason I always feel like when someone who hasn’t been juice fasting likes a juice, it gives it more credibility.

Well, off to bed. Long day tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Day 46

Day 46 and I’m thinking more and more about eating again. I just ordered a veggie spiralizer that will turn zucchini and squash (which will hopefully be growing in my garden soon…the plants have flowers so I’m keeping my fingers crossed) into “pasta”. I’m getting excited about getting into preparing raw meals. I am hoping to continue to loose weight after my juice fast is over plus I want to get off of insulin. I’m pretty sure plant-based, mostly raw is the way for me to proceed. It seems to be what my body is responding to best.

Ever have a day where things just didn’t go as planned? Yeah…today was one of those…even my juices didn’t work out as planned…I wanted something peachy. I was originally going to try Peachy Green (I should have stuck with that recipe) but instead I did this:

8 kale leaves
4 peaches
2 cucumbers
3 collard green leaves (they needed to be used before going bad)
1/2 a bunch of dandelion greens (which were in the same boat as the collards)
1/2 lemon with peel
Makes 1 quart
(It probably could have used a Fuji apple)

It was OK…nothing to write home about and it didn’t have the strong peach flavor I was hoping for…although my friend was over when I made it and she really liked it. It didn’t cause my blood sugar to spike so that is good.

The second juice I was really excited about….until I tasted it…I even had a cool name for it-Berry, berry healthy juice. However my husband liked it…so I’m kind of starting to wonder if my taste buds are having an off day.

10 strawberries
1 pint blueberries
1/4 head of green cabbage
2 cucumbers (I think 1 would have been better)
1 handful basil

In any event, I’m not pinning them because I don’t plan on making them again. Tomorrow is a new day with new juice possibilities…I believe a juice with jicama is in my near future:)

A new thing I’m trying today is making my own kombucha. My friend Lauren supplied me with the scoby. Kombucha is a fermented tea that is high in probiotics…which I’m clear I need way more of as my staph infection seems to have decided to make a brief reappearance. It’s already going away after 2 days but I seriously want it to not come back…probiotics are part of how I intend on making that happen. If you’ve never seen a scoby, it looks like an alien…plus since I ended up making too much tea, I cut part of the scoby off (so gross) to put in a second jar…I hope that’s ok…I could not get ahold of Lauren (who is a fermented foods queen in her own right) to make sure that is ok, but I guess we will see…I have a gallon and a half out on the table to ferment. It won’t be ready till after I break my fast.

Here are my instructions:

Day 45

Day 45…wow…I can’t believe I’m here! My shedding of pounds seems to have slowed down…I’ve been down 35lbs for a handful of days now. I realize that if I was better about exercising, that would help….I seriously need to get on that…even if its just walking the dogs. My goal is to loose 50 pounds by the end of my 60 day juice fast. I’m curious to see how my body responds to insulin at that point…I’m hoping the significant weight loss will help my body become less insulin resistant and allow my body to utilize the insulin it produces on its own.

I’ve been thinking about food quite a bit. I live in a subdivision that is out in the country. This means to get anywhere I have to drive past fields and crops. (I’m from NYC…to me, this is the country) Lately I’ve been seeing lambs and calves grazing in fields (along with adult animals) and all I can think when I see them is…YUM! I LOVE pasture raised lamb and grass-fed steaks. However, I am clear that it really will have to be a while before I consider reintroducing animal products to my diet. As much as I love it and will miss it, I really want to be well. Eating a plant based diet & juicing is working better for my body then anything else I have done. I’m guessing when I break my fast on June 14th it will be with a piece of fruit or maybe one of the awesome yellow carrots I get at my local farmers market and then some kind of smoothie. I’ve still got a couple of weeks to figure it out but I am thinking about it.

I got some fabulous hand me downs today from a friend who I had not seen since the beginning of March (this journey started April 1st). She insisted that most of the clothes that she gave me which are a size smaller then most of what I have been wearing, are still too big. I found them comfortable. Having my clothes be too big is a wonderful problem to have, as far as I’m concerned 🙂

Today’s juices were Spring Green Strawberry Juice which I made a couple of weeks ago and a new juice I am calling Neon Vitamins

1/2 a small green cabbage
1 green apple
1 small red apple (I used Fuji)
2 limes
1 yellow zucchini
5 stalks celery
12 spears asparagus
Makes a bit more then 1 quart

My photo doesn’t do justice to the color of this delicious juice but here’s what I’ve got

Has anyone tried any of my original juice recipes (otherwise known as my concoctions)? If so, I’d love to know which ones and what you thought. If you haven’t tried any yet are there any you are considering adding to your own juice menu?

Day 43 & 44

Yesterday I got to go on a date with my husband. We went to see The Great Gatsby at a really great little movie theater in downtown. The movie was great but the smell of popcorn was a bit torturous. Thankfully there weren’t a lot of food scenes. Of course I had my juice with me.

Yesterday’s juice choice involved less of a recipe and more of a putting together of ingredients that seemed interesting (and that needed to get used before they spoil). I’m calling the juice below Greens Gone Wild

3 handfuls spinach
2 small Fuji apples
1 cucumber
1/2 a head of broccoli
5 spears asparagus
5 carrots (green tops are optional….they seem to kind of get stuck in my juicer)
1 head Tatsoi (some sort of Asian leafy veggie in the bok choy family…yay farmers market!)
1 grapefruit

As it turns out, more of my friends are watching the movie ‘Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead’ and are becoming interested in juicing. I’m thrilled! One of my friends started a raw diet today in order to prepare her body for a short term juice fast…it’s funny because about 2 years ago we went paleo at the same time. She is pretty healthy and very fit but has some health issues she is hoping this will address. I also spoke to another friend today who is considering trying a juice fast in the near future. I encouraged her to add at least a green smoothie to her diet each day and possibly 1 serving of juice. Then when stress factors calm down, she may consider something like the 21 day raw reset in order to really prepare her body for a juice fast. I’m excited to be a support for people making healthier choices for their lives 🙂

Today I made a fantabulous juice I will call Krazy Cantaloupe. This was super yummy & super easy!

1/2 of a cantaloupe
2 cucumbers
1 head of bok choy
Makes about 48oz

I also had Green Carrot Ginger Juice(not my own recipe) but I had to use up those beautiful & colorful farmers market carrots so I can pick up more:) I doubled the recipe and had close to a quart and a half of juice.

Day 42

I just had the most AMAZING juice ever! I’m pretty sure when I get to heaven, this will be there. I have to wait a couple of hours to see how it affects my blood sugar but if you don’t have those issues, go make this juice and enjoy. This also happens to be one of the least time-consuming juices to make.

**Update- this juice definitely spiked my blood sugar…for those of you following that issue, it was 180 2 hours after I drank this…plus I had taken a low dose of insulin before drinking it.

Peach Cobbler Juice
1 large sweet potato (peeled or unpeeled-your choice…I didn’t peel it but did rinse it)
3 peaches (pit removed)
1 sprinkle cinnamon
Makes about 16 oz

Well, I’m off to go play in the dirt and mess with my garden. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

Day 41

Day 41 brought on some very interesting conversations. People are really seeing the weight loss and I love their comments! Even Jeff, the guy who works in the produce section at whole foods said he noticed a glow in my skin this week and gave me a high five for being able to reduce my insulin by more then 3/4!

At Trader Joe’s a couple of weeks ago I had a conversation about juicing with a cashier named Amy…she didn’t have a juicer yet and a brand new one was pricey…I suggested Craig’s list to her (since that’s where I got mine). I saw her again today she got an even better deal on her Breville then I got on mine! Way to go Amy! Juice on!

I also have talked to a couple of friends who are considering starting a juice fast. I’m so excited to be able to stand along side them and be a support. I really recommend that anyone considering a juice fast get the 21 day raw reset cleanse from Young and Raw. This program really prepares your body for a juice fast….the people I see struggling the most are the ones that immediately transition from their typical diet (even if its generally healthy) straight to a long tern juice fast. The private Facebook group is also super helpful. I can’t put a price on the value of having access to a holistic nutritionist when I had a gazillion questions and concerns at the beginning of my cleanse. I am clear that this program has greatly contributed to my ability to be on a juice fast this long. Of course, as I stated in my first post on this blog, G-d has brought me here and is absolutely giving me the strength to keep going. I am soooo looking forward to the day I no longer need insulin!

My interesting observation for today is that normally at this time of month I am craving chocolate…even last month at this time while I had already been juicing a couple of weeks, I wanted chocolate or something sweet…but this month-no cravings! Plus I’ve been using an essential oil blend called Zen and I’ve been pretty even tempered-which for me, is a huge accomplishment. The last couple of months I have been flying off the handle. It’s nice to feel balanced during this time of the month:)

Day 39 & 40

I couldn’t post yesterday due to a storm knocking out our Internet last night but thankfully it’s back up and running today…day 40…whoa! 3 weeks from today I will be eating my first meal in 60 days….doesn’t seem so far off.

Speaking of meals, we had company over for dinner…which I cooked and seriously did not feel like I was missing out on anything-which was strange because it smelled wonderful. I made lemon herb chicken breasts with lemon zest, garlic, salt & pepper, covered in rosemary, thyme & winter savory (from my garden) baked on a bed of sliced spring onion & lemon slices with white wine poured over everything, roasted Brussel sprouts with rosemary & thyme and garlic & onions (a favorite side dish of mine) and quinoa to soak up the wine sauce on the chicken. I also made a delicious (looking) chopped salad with fabulous ingredients I found at the farmers market-oak leaf lettuce (I had never even heard of it before) & spinach for the base, some purple basil from my garden, broccoli (also from the farmers market), a tomato plus 3 cherry tomatoes from my garden, chopped red pepper, half of a radish (the radish was the size of a 4 year old’s fist-thank you farmers market) and some raw sunflower & pumpkin seeds with a few shakes of nutritional yeast mixed in. I also made a raspberry balsamic dressing (I thawed about half a cup of frozen raspberries and threw them in the magic bullet with 6 or so oz of balsamic vinegar and 4 or 5 medijool dates). My husband and our guests enjoyed the meal and I enjoyed my strawberry mojito in a fancy wine glass and we had a wonderful time visiting.

Speaking of my drinking juice, I’m feeling like I’m drinking a little less juice over the last couple of days…not sure what that’s about or if it has anything to do with my female cycle as today’s juice needs to include beets for extra iron. While I usually drink 2 1/2 quarts a day, the last couple of days I’ve only been drinking about 2 quarts.

Yesterday (day 39) I started my day with a pint of Apricots in the Green juice (another of my own recipes) which was left over from the day before.

10-15 leaves kale
10-15 leaves romaine lettuce (or 1 romaine heart)
1 handful dandelion greens (about half a bunch)
1/2 lemon (with peel)
7 apricots (pit removed)
3 zucchini
1-2 apples (I used Fuji)
Makes about 1 Quart

Today I’m having Dracula’s Dream Juice and Joe’s Mean Green. Looking forward to seeing some girlfriends this evening….I think this is the most social week I’ve had in over a year….I’m really starting to feel like my old happy and social self again 🙂

Day 38 – baking cookies and drinking juice

On Sunday morning when I woke up and walked out of the bedroom, I was hit with (like a ton of bricks) the smell of freshly baking cookies. I was not pleased. I was more then not pleased-I was annoyed…and I even posted about how annoyed I was on Facebook. Some time ago one of the neighborhood kids was doing a school fundraiser and caught my husband at home….by himself…So hubby got a tub of cookie dough. I NEVER buy that stuff. I’m perfectly happy making cookies from scratch…in the past I have purchased small packages of Pre-made cookie dough from the grocery store, but it’s been years.

Fast forward to today…I’m preparing to host a last minute ladies night (hubby had a softball game). Today was a busy day-at the last minute I was needed to watch my friend’s 4 year old son Eli (who I sooo adore). My agenda included cleaning the house (I seriously need to host events just to ensure my house actually gets cleaned), the Wednesday farmers market, and since I had taken Eli’s big sister strawberry picking last week, I had to stop at the strawberry field to do it again today. Oh-and then I had to prepare snacks for my event….and since I would like the cookie dough out of my fridge, I baked about 20 cookies. And continued to get ready. I also served some veggies including some beautiful carrots I picked up at the farmers market that included yellow carrots in the bunch with hummus for dipping…and of course, chips and salsa and a block of cream cheese covered in hot pepper jelly. To drink, I served infused waters. One was strawberry lime and the other was cucumber, lemon & mint. Even if I was eating, the only thing I served that I would have eaten was the veggies! For some reason the smell of the cookies didn’t bother me at all and neither did preparing the other munchies. I just sipped on my Super Jugo juice (a variation if a juice I had last week called Mexican Style Jugo

8-12 leaves Kale
1 Head Romaine Lettuce
3 cucumbers
3 poblano peppers (I removed the seeds from 2 of them)
1 handful cilantro
1 handful parsley
1 handful basil
2 limes (I realize there was only 1 pictured but I added too much cilantro so I needed a second one)
1-2 Granny Smith Apples (not pictured)
Makes about a Quart and a half

Most of the guests at my get together tried it and liked it…so, Super Jugo was a hit:) And I have less cookie dough in my fridge and a good time was had by all. All in all, it was a great day. Tomorrow night I will be cooking as we will have guests from out of the area over for dinner. Should be interesting.

Day 37 the power of Language

As of today I’m down 30lbs! I’m about the weight I was nearly 2 years ago, shortly after I started a paleo diet (lifestyle) and doing cross-fit workouts with my neighbors. For those that may not be familiar with paleo, it eliminates all grains, processed sugar and legumes (some eliminate dairy too) and allows you to eat as much grass fed, pasture raised, animal products that your heart desires. While I definitely enjoyed eating that way, it didn’t heal my body the way this is…I certainly was not able to lower my insulin like I am now.

Back to today’s focus; language. I don’t like to say “I lost 30 pounds”. I believe there is power in the words we use and to me, when I’ve lost something, it usually means I want it back. As in “I think I’ve lost my Bluetooth headset-I can’t find it anywhere” (Yes, that is for real, unfortunately.) I don’t want those 30lbs back! (However, I’d be happy if my headset turned up.) I’ve heard people refer to “shedding weight”. Kind of like my dog shedding (which she does A LOT of!). She doesn’t want that fur back…or a snake who sheds its skin…it’s gone forever. So as of today, I’ve shed 30 pounds and it feels great!

Today’s green juice is my own new concoction (i guess i should say recipe…the focus of today’s post is language, after all) which I am calling the Jolly Green Goblin

2 heads of broccoli
4 cups of spinach
2 Granny Smith apples 1 green bell pepper
5 asparagus stalks
5 Brussels sprouts large ones…more if using smaller ones)
1 large handful basil
1 romaine heart (not pictured)
1 lime (with peel)
Makes about 1 quart

It is a beautiful shade of green

Tomorrow is my local farmers market. im looking forward to more fresh produce. Juice on, Friends!

Day 36- Met with my Endocrinologist today

My Dr. has been on maternity leave and today was her first day back. She was thrilled to know how great my sugars have been and how much weight I’ve lost (29lbs as of today:) while she doesn’t completely understand how I’m getting all of the nutrients and protein my body needs, she’s certainly being supportive-which is not typical of people in the medical field! She has some ideas and is working with me to get me off of insulin…I’m willing to try it her way because we both have the same goal and she has more experience with this then I do.

Since my tests looked good when I got them done at the beginning of May, we are going to wait until I break my juice fast (last day is June 13th) to get labs done again. The really big take away for me today was (and somehow in the 10 plus years I’ve been dealing with this disease I never got this) when I loose weight (I think she said something like 30% of my body fat) my body has the chance to actually utilize the insulin my pancreas produces…my main problem is that my body has been completely unable to utilize the insulin it produces…the fat in my body is what is making me “insulin resistant” So I’m all for continuing to drop weight, even after my juice fast is over.

Today I made (in a rush and without pictures…I had to get to my dr. Appt.) Oh Sweet Broccoli Juice I’m posting the pic from the website…Warning; the color of the juice isn’t beautiful but it tasted pretty good 🙂 I did modify it a bit to make it a quart and a half.

Ingredients:
2 heads of broccoli (florets and stalks)
2 oranges
1 grapefruit
3 cucumbers
1 head Romaine
4 carrots

Tomorrow I’m exercising with some friends first thing in the morning so I’ve got to get to bed…I wish I was more excited about exercising…the only time I’ve ever truly ENJOYED exercising is when I was paddling on an outrigger canoe team in Hawaii….but I haven’t done that since 2005…I wish I could be one of those people who loves exercising and is super disciplined about it. I guess we’ll see what happens 🙂