Cabbage is the New Black!

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
-    Frank Outlaw

What a great quote! Mind/soul food! Now-to the cabbage! I have been offering friends cabbage juice with evangelical pronouncements as to its benefits.  Deane is my favourite case study-the true sceptic! However; the worm is turning. He has noticed a definate  improvement with his physical health since beginning his juices. His heart burn has gone. (He has suffered with heartburn for a long while, taking medication for it..). The disappearance of the heartburn, we put down to;

• anti-inflammatory qualities of the cabbage
• eating less because he is getting enough nutrients, doesn’t feel the need to overeat.
• loss of weight

What ever the reason is, the outcome is great!. Another of my ‘subjects’, we will…ahem..henceforth call ‘subject A’, reported to me via email, that she felt like ‘crap’ the morning after her cabbaging, but she put this down to the three glasses of wine she consumed after the juice, and some sort of junk food she also had. However, she wants to buy an Oscar juicer, believing in the power of the juice anyhow, er..and noticing how easy it was to clean.   My Sister subject has not been over for about one week, so will need to be cabbaged accordingly when she eventually appears. As for me, I am feeling a bit tired! I also am disappointed that I have picked up a slight cold, its not much of a cold, running nose, sneezing, headache. I still managed a 25 minute run last night. Maybe I am detoxing a bit? Yesterday, I drank a green juice in the morning, snacked on avocado mixed with sprouted alfalfa, sesame oil, raw cider vinegar and salt. Dinner for me was about 2 Tablespoons of vegan bolognaise sauce, with a huge plate of slaw. Very yummy. Returning from my run, I made a cabbage, apple and ginger juice for Deane and I.  I have found this great site http://www.giveittomeraw.com  Have a look at it for advice re raw food, and juices etc. Raw food, and the juicing I am doing is feeling good for me!, and this is what the raw food ‘movement’ is about really. Eat what ever you want but be concious as to why you are eating what ever it is, also-be aware of how a certain food makes you feel. I guess raw fooding is about conscious eating.

Raw food juices…my cabbage discovery.

I have my beautiful Oscar juicer set up permanently on the concrete bench. 

beautiful oscar

I read that, raw cabbage is an anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic, and  is a good blood tonic (for people with iron deficiency) and of course cabbage is loaded with vitamin c (and other stuff).  It all sounded  good so; I made one. I juiced about half a small cabbage to one and a half apples. It was a tad hot but felt and tasted pretty good. I offered Deane a cabbage and apple juice the next night after dinner. He looked at me like I was from another planet, ( a bad, scary planet) but agreed to give it a try. What a chum! ( I guess he decided to ‘take one on the chin’ for the sake of our marriage.) 

I juiced about one apple to half a cabbage and for luck I threw in a clove of organic garlic. We both drank it, he agreed it wasn’t too bad. We went to bed, to sweet sleep and- I woke naturally (i.e no alarm) the next morning at 5.30. I felt alert and wide eyed and…well…pretty damn good.  When Deane awoke he said he felt okay it wasn’t anything special, just a good day maybe. He is a ‘juice sceptic’.

That night I didn’t make juice and Deane ate cooked food, actually being his birthday, he ate mashed potato, good quality sausages, peas, corn, salad with a chaser of a chocolate boat filled with vanilla ice cream! I only had the salad, but also pigged out on mashed potato..(hm-mm..not raw, but so yummy with seeded mustard mashed through it, hold the butter..)

The following morning I wouldn’t/couldn’t motivate myself to get out of bed before 7 in order to run. My man woke up with a swollen sticky eye and stiff face and body. He felt groggy. I told him, (again) my bordering-on-religious beliefs about juice, especially cabbage juice and followed through by making us a juice of  cabbage, apple and carrot. We both felt more energised and world ready after drinking it. So I decided to experiment. Last night we had cabbage and apple juice with a smidgen of beet leaves just before retiring for the night. I woke this morning at 5am, feeling alert and ready for the day. I went for a ten k run and was home making a juice for breakfast before seven. Deane woke feeling much better, no swollen eyes, and only a little bit stiff. So I will continue with ‘my experiment’. I have drawn my Sister and a friend into it and gosh!..maybe I can make a difference to my family and friends health and well being. (Maybe they are all just humouring me, they love me so much…??) So bring on the cabbage! Bring on the neighbours. The big question that you are all wondering is..obviously..DOES CABBAGE JUICE MAKE YOU FART?

Find out for yourself.

the raw food wagon…I fell off it (gently)

 

I love drawing too...

6.30 this morning saw me running the streets to the rythm of queens ‘crazy little thing called love’. It was a quick 30 minute run as I am planning to go for another tad longer one tonight. I stretched once home, did downward dogs, soft torso twists and then meditated for ten minutes.  After I juiced organic carrot, apple, garlic and kale. A delicious breakfast or anytime drink, I can just feel the nutrients renewing my cells! I followed the juice with my vice, a shot of dark espresso. I cant let go of the coffee habit. (I will acknowledge my powerlessness over this and let it go). It has been a good beginning for the day. Yesterday, I went to ‘commonsense organics’  where I spent 95 dollars on carrots, apples, kale, six litres of milk, beetroot, seaweed, cashews, and prunes. I also bought, and ate fresh dates. Fresh dates are a wonderful treat for a sweet tooth like moi! They are nearly thirty dollars per kilo, so not an everyday gastronomic experience. I have fallen off the raw food wagon, gently. For example, yesterday after a banana breakfast, with not much raw food in the house, I ate a bowl of reheated red lentils for lunch. I was pretty hungry and I love lentils. (I cook them in tomato and onion with spices, particulary chilli powder, and cumin seed). I followed the lentil lunch with the afore mentioned fresh juice chaser (after the shopping excursion to commonsense organics).  I snacked (secretly , as those with kids have to do) on the dates and a few raw cashews. For dinner I had a ramekin of a cooked tomato and onion sauce that I had made from fresh ingredients for the kids vegan spagetti ‘bolognaise’. I was planning on having another juice after my run but didnt go for a run because I was waiting for a phone call from Rosie after which I would have to pick her up. I did not have the land line number and the mother was not answering her cell. The call did not come till 8.30pm. I got home again by 9pm after which time I did not feel like heading out into gale force winds and rain in the dark. note to self; do not leave it up to kids to decide what time they will be home.  I drank chamomille tea with too much honey, watched junk telly and was in bed by 10.45. 

Run the head junk out

I have a run, a meditation, a fruit salad, water and two coffees under my belt and its 8.20am. Saturday morning and there is no childrens sport to stand freezing on the sidelines at.  The three year old is still sleeping, so life is relatively peaceful. I am listening to the Marie Antionette soundtrack on my ipod. I have found this  a sufficient way to access peace in a small house full of children. Thats if they dont come up and poke me and attempt to yell through my headphones.

Deb found a great book for me regarding raw food. ‘Tis called, The Raw Food Gourmet..(by Gabrielle Chavez). Reading through it I am realizing the need to invest in a food dehydrator. I think raw fooding require’s time and planning. Obviously it is not a mainstream way to eat, so pre-planning is needed on going out, or, as I found recently, on holidaying.  The recipes in the book seem a bit complex but I am sure that is a case of practice.

My first run for seven days was this morning. I am planning on another one this evening too. After not being out for seven days it feels like i am beginning again…and again. etc. I just have to (once again) get over myself and run. I spend head junk time on my ‘starting over runs’ telling myself that I’m basically a loser for not running sooner etc. My negative, judgmental head would have me stop, but my will is stronger than that. The mind over body thing. Not so trivial.

I meditated for about fifteen minutes after the run. I did not fall asleep and was able to quietly focus on my breath…in – out -in etc. Maybe for me, meditating after running is good, I’m awake, and my head is relatively clear of head junk (running does that).

WEll! There is only two weeks to go before the wedding. I am telling friends that it is the ‘wedding of the century’. But I feel so disorganised, and too relaxed about it. I am sure one is not meant to feel this relaxed about it all? I will blog in a weeks time and see how I am feeling with a week to go!

laughing kids

anger, sadness, mind junk.

The other day a friend told me how great my skin was looking! Even I can see the subtle change in it; all because of the raw fooddiet. I am mostly going quite well. Last night for tea I made the family roast duck (my friend Nigella’s method) and potatoes roasted in duck fat and two huge salads. One salad was  grated carrot, beet, apple, zucchini with raisins and a scrummy dressing. The other was diced avocado with diced tomato, sprinkled with smoked maldon sea salt and beautiful olive oil. We all devoured the salad, except of course the self proclaimed carnivore, Rosie. She stuck to duck. I of course quite happily ate just salad. I felt satisfied and clean. Raw food is such a clean way to eat.

Of course I am still drinking coffee, but I only had two each day of the weekend.

I meditated this morning for about 20 minutes. My mind is still full of mind-junk. It revolves around personal power issues I have; i.e I don’t feel I have it. Power. I get angry, then sad and those two feelings tumble around in my mind and body. I know anger and sadness are basically fear.  I’m not exactly sure what the fear is, maybe power? 

I think life is in constant revision and in need of tweaking. Life  is a challenge and we are not meant to stay still. Have you heard the question (usually put to you in motivational articles) “If you could do anything and know you could not fail, what would you do?”,?.

 Well, I hear that and I think, I wouldn’t want to do anything because where is the challenge of that? If I couldn’t fail, what is the point?

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.

My raw food diet (in my head)

Cafe tantrum-throwing princess

Today, (after not meditating this morning, nor getting out of bed at six) I was felt bleak, bloated and miserable. I took Drew for her college interview (we both did well), then she, Paloma and I met Deb and Don at Maranui cafe. I so lurvvee Maranui. It has the best food, vegetarian, or vegan or normal- what ever you want -they have it and most of it is divine. The girls had vegan chocolate cupcakes and I an apple muffin…warm..melting.  As I was eating my muffin (aka ‘cake’) I realised I had forgotten that I was supposed to be eating mostly raw wholesome  food. Hmmm.. I also realised that I was forgoing flour. However, my muffinakacake, tasted sooo good, and I was sooo hungry that I made short work of it.  “O’ Noooo! I wasn’t meant to eat that”, I exclaimed to no-one in particular.  I licked my fingers with what I hoped was a shocked and disappointed-in-myself look on my face. 

Paloma threw a huge-jumping-up-and-down-screaming-yelling tantrum not too long after my personal muffin incident. She had been gleefully riding the ‘camel’ when a younger child came up with its mother, clearly wanting a turn. And rightly so. I attempted to reason with my three year old re. the benefits of ‘sharing’. Her ‘no’ simply turning louder. I pulled her off camel and the tantrum began in earnest. I was hiding my smile, (these small things just amuse me- after five children) and eventually bribed Drew (with cash) to take the screaming child for a walk on the beach so I could finish my coffee and chat with D & D.

Deb and Don bought me a book called ‘How to do just about everything to Succeed’. They saw it and thought of me. I could take that a few different ways. For example, do I do a lot but not very well? Do I talk about doing things but don’t do anything? Do I need lots of help? Am I not successful at anything? etc. Funnily enough, I know  its a good book because I subscribe on line to their ‘eHow’ posts. I kissed Deb and Don thanking them. My sister does know me.

Upon leaving, I found the girls running barefoot along the beach. The toddler was much happier and the twelve year old demanded her cash.

My raw food diet continued on during the day with the left over rice from the previous night, umm…not raw although I did add raw red onion, mescalin and diced red capsicum.  Later on I devoured some Essene bread(the slightly baked version I had unwittingly bought). I finished the eating day off with a dinner of fresh raw mescalin, tomato, parsley and chickpeas. Today was clearly the most successful as regards the percentage of raw food. I felt better and even went for a run. My body seemed to hold more energy and I put this down to the light fresh dinner.