meditation, sleep & nuts

This morning, after waking to my alarm at 5, I rolled out of toasty bed, stumbled into the cruel morning of a winter kitchen. I flicked the coffee machine on as I walked to my meditation chair. Wrapped in dressing gown, and blanket, feet cosied in fluffy socks, I crossed my legs and assumed the postion. My spine straight (but relaxed..) I began my meditation. Not long after beginning I realised an hour had passed and I had been slumped in the chair asleep!.

O well. I must have needed it. zzzzzz

I made my first coffee and attempted my ‘home admin’. Then it was 7 and the house was awake and I was twirling around (it seems like i spin…) fullfilling breakfast requests, answering questions, i.e “where did I put my schoolbag?” (left it outside in the rain), “can we get a dog” (will think on it), “what about a cat”(ditto), “can I have a hug-up”(sure can)”where are my shoes?” (i didn’t wear them last-don’t know).  I’ve gotta love it. I just have to.

I made myself a large fruit salad and sprinkled it with raw cashews and a few sultanas. Yes it was delicious and satisfying. I’m not sure about eating cashews however, my stomach is now sore. It will be a case for experimenting.

Last night I made the kids and Deane organic chicken and corn soup with fougasse. They loved it as the weather is very cold, wet. It is basically very good ‘chicken soup weather”.  Paloma has a strep throat so she didn’t eat much. She was sipping coke (blergh!!) because that is the only way she will take her penicillin. The older kids were jealous. Coke is banned in our house. I think it is evil. Yet here was my wee three year old sipping from the cup.

I went to singing and was home by 7. 30. I made my self a huge salad of grated carrot, apple, ripped baby spinach, sprouted sunflower seeds and a lovely dressing.

food food food, more on raw…

YOu remember the salad I made yesterday? Grated carrot, beet, ripped spinach, raisins, dressed with a yummy dressing? Of course you do!  Well, today I repeated the experience but added freshly sprouted alfalfa and dried cashews!! I understand the cashews are not roasted or in anyway baked, they are dried. I imagine, in my hopeful yet ignorant mind, that they are hand picked (lovingly), then layed out in the gentle sun… Yes. Well. Onwards.  The salad,  is fantastic.  I had a ‘slice’ of essne unbaked bread, I hesitate to call it a slice however. It is more like a ‘mush’. Or a ‘dollop’ or maybe a ‘crumble’ of bread. It was very fresh and very sweet. Maybe a tad too sweet but Im not complaining.

Backing up a bit to this morning-I am proud to say that I was up at 5a.m again and meditated for 20 minutes. I succumbed to two very good coffees. Coffee is just my vice and we have a good coffee machine at home. I wont say ‘no’ yet. I breakfasted on a fruit salad of fresh pineapple, banana and sliced pear.

I am still emotionally flat but I think my physical energy levels are increasing. It is early days yet on my raw food diet however I am definately feeling a tad lighter in spirit and mind.

more raw food stories…

This morning I was up by 5 am, (un)dressed in my fluffy dressing gown, thick socks and then wrapped up in my green cuddly blanket. (It is winter, there is snow on the hills). By 5.10 I was meditating. The meditation felt okay, I managed fifteen minutes quite calmly. I am getting better at pulling my mind back from the brink of thinking . My head is a noisy space. It gravitates quite readily to rubbish-chatter. Mind junk.

After I had finished the meditation, I was on the computer for 30 minutes, doing ‘catch up’ stuff. ‘Tis a great time to do it, all in the house are generally sleeping. 

Then…I began shaping the bread that I had prep’d the evening before. I had let it rise overnight and It was amazing, filling the entire huge bowl. I had doubled the recipe, to 1kilo of flour with 20 grams of fresh yeast. Yes! so it really was huge. I should have risen it slowly in the fridge, but I had thought the winter house would be cool enough to slow the process down. From the dough I made twelve  man-sized fougasse.

The kids crept out by 7, in varying degrees of disarray. I think the hot bread smell bought them out-I didnt need to convince them to leave their warm beds. By the time Deane had dragged himself out, I was onto my second coffee and they were happily munching the hot bread. I was enjoying watching them eat my creation (to sound slightly arrogant?).

My raw food ‘diet’, went well. (Lets not mention coffee. I will deal with that another time). I chopped up two bananana’s with one pear, practically snorted it up. I must learn to slow down to eat.

 My family went their ways to school and work, while I put things away, washed dishes and all that other stuff which is considered neither school nor, work.

I dressed Princess Paloma and we headed out the door to my gym/her creche. The balance class was great. Tai chi, yoga and pilates really do it for me!. ‘V’ is quite good, injects a bit of humor into it. He was doing the darth vader, “I am your father..” voice to one of the music tracks. Bit of a laugh really.

After finishing, I met the two ‘J’s’ at Cubita. I downed a chi soy latte, which tasted ‘funny’, once again. I am beginning to think maybe its me that is changing and not the actual drink.hmmm. I only had 20 minutes with them till I had to get Paloma. She greeted me with open arms and a big smile as usual. She definately is not well, crusty nose, and bad mood. (Little kids seem to fall into illness really quickly). I took her home and she made her famous nutella sandwhich,ate bits of it, then trotted off to bed.

I, being pretty hungry, felt like bread, bread bread. But.. I didnt. I wanted to eat it smothered in chocolate, maybe melted cheese toasties or some other ghastly fat/over-tasty creation. However-I did not succumb. Hows that!. Instead, I had a fruit salad and some raisins. That held the hunger off for about one hour. Then, the food subject rose to the top of my mind so I thought that I had better get inventive (or I would be face first in the bread drawer).  I grated three carrots, a small beet. I put them together in a bowl in which I ripped up fresh spinach, threw in a handful of raisins. I made a dressing of cider vinegar, beautiful Olive oil, grated ginger, garlic, a touch of salt and unrefined molasses sugar. With a final wee drop of organic sesame oil the dressing was ready to go. It was a very very scrummy meal. I have left some in the fridge for the children. 

So, I am feeling a bit ‘pure’ and healthy.

However, it is not yet four pm.