7 day juice fast recharge

Feeling extremely anxious and overloaded recently, and eating lots of krappy food that leaves me feeling... krappy, it seemed like a good idea to embark on a magical 7 day juice fast. Today is the 3rd day, and i am at a hump of low energy and heaviness, and i am hoping it will clear up after this. I feel extremely calm, and very attentive to details. As i cut, chop, and peel the beets, cucumbers, kale, collards, celery, lemons, ginger, apples, and oranges, i find myself going very slowly, becuz i dont have the energy to go much faster, and becuz i am kind of immersed in the colors, textures, details, and beauty of all this life giving plant life in front of my face. I have also been preparing all the veggies and fruits and gathering them in a clump before they go into the juicer. This is helpful becuz it pumps me up when i see that all of that goodness is going into me, and it also straight up looks gorgeous! My housemate said, "It looks like an art project!"
It is pretty common for folks to write about their fasting, juice fasting/feasting, raw food challenges on the internet thru blogs or posting videos, and i personally find little information of use from these accounts. I find that in general much of the youtube phenomenon can be egoic bragging or boring rambling, and a lot of time wasted getting to the actual points. For this reason, i tend to prefer reading what folks have wrote, so i can skip around the mundane stuff.
So thinking of writing this, and starting this blog in general were ideas i doubted and wondered if they were worth my time. The simple answer is; yes. It feels odd to flood the internet with another account of my fasting experience, but when i am honest about why i am doing this, it's ok. Cuz, first of all, i love to write, that's why, and this is enjoyable as i do it and kind of reaffirming in some way, in the sense that i can get lost in my thoughts, but as i type things out they are sort of being positively reinforced in my head. Not always the case as sometimes i go back and disagree and hate what i wrote, but in general, i get clarity from writing. The second reason i am cool with writing this stuff is cuz i know how much i like reading other people's stories, and when they are honest and up-front and not trying to make enemies or friends, but doing their own thing, it is refreshing and inspiring to me. Being honest with myself and knowing i am coming from a place of genuineness, i keep writing and feel good about it! I just want to document my experience, and really if this wasnt read by anyone that'd be fine, though, obviously by me posting this, i am not opposed to sharing this with others. And if someone can get something out of what i'm writing, that's great, and i'm stoked!
So, I don't feel hungry, actually as i drank my juice this "morning" (11:30am) I felt like almost didnt have room for it in my tummy. I've drank 2 or 3 juices, about 16-20oz worth each day. I think that i made my favorite juice ever yesterday and then again today; 1/2 bunch of lacinato kale, 1 lemon, 3 apples, 1 beet, 1 cucumber, 1 inch of ginger. Damn! Sooooo good! I have almost no energy; walking Suzanna this morning was about 25 minutes long, and difficult. I went to the YMCA yesterday but only had strength to bike there, sit in the sauna, stretch, and bike back.
I also have been sleeping a ton! I think i slept 10 hours last night, and 11 the night before! Its really hard to get up and get going, becuz my muscles are so weak.
I have also dealt with temptation by just reminding myself that i have promised to do this for a week, and that i have never done it and i want to see what a week is like. The longest i have gone is 4 days, i think, and i am committed to 7 days, becuz i'm curious to see what happens to my body and mind in that time. Basically, i'm curious, and i tell myself, you have so much time to eat so much food, one week is not a big deal, especially if it could change my eating habits and what i would start desiring would change, which i am expecting to happen. I plan to start eating very lightly coming off this, and gradually getting heavier and fattier. But hopefully this will kind of restart things and kind of ground me into the kind of eating habits that i know make me feel best.
OK this was really long! Juice feast 2012!!! Hell yeah drink tons of juice!

B vitamins!!!

There is always talk about the importance of B vitamins, and it's always related to brain health. In my past, the only supplements I have ever taken that I felt noticeable positive change from were a B complex vitamin and B-12 powdered energy packets. There was immediate energy and surging of feel-good-ness in my attitude and emotions and I was flying around at full blast for hours, with no crash. This has led me to believe that I am either lacking in B vitamins, or at the very least, they are an important vitamin that my body needs. It seems partaining to vegans, the B vitamins are stressed often, as B-12 is maybe the only thing that is abundant in animal but not plant foods, and that is important for your mental, emotional and physical health.

I'm not good at fancy talk, but I can talk about pesonal experience, and let me tell you about today's!!!
I started the morning with a B-12 energy packet, then a couple hours later, 6 oz or so of freshly cut wheatgrass juice, and later in the day ate some sauerkraut made by a customer and given to me. This sauerkraut tastes exactly like the Zing Salad that is sold at the Health Hutt, and it is delicious with avocado in it. But this kraut was made with ONLY cabbage and rejuvelac and sat for 3 days. It is so good, and chock full of b-vitamins, as rejuvelac is often, and was in this case, made from sprouted wheat berries, and contains tons of b-vits. Look it up!

So how does all this b-vitamin feasting make me feel?
AMAZING!!!
I had an instant headache, a bit of nauseau, and weak feeling during the first hour or so, but then I felt a transformation into a carefree, drunken, high type feeling, and in phase 3, I was in full blown over-the-top blasting-with-energy superhero land!!! And am still there!

Up the B-vitamins! Get some wheatberries, soak them, sprout them, and grow some wheatgrass and juice it or throw it in a smoothie. Or blend it with a tad bit of water, just to get it liquified and strain it thru cheesecloth or a nutbag, like I did today, and drink the juice. Chase it with an orange or lemon slice if you want.

YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Worship the wheatgrass!!!

Spirulina vanilla coconut shake comfort

1-2 Tb spirulina
1 young coconut water + meat
1 inch vanilla bean
handful of cashews
6 deglect noir dates
1 frozen banana

This is a super good shake. Go light on the spirulina if you're not the biggest fan. It looks like Gak but tastes awesome. This is my favorite milk shake recipe, and I vary the spirulina with cacao pwdr and nibs, or fruit, or nothing for a vanilla shake.

Happy birthday to my buddy B$!!! We are eating his birthday dinner, he is gone!
Experiments with cooked foods failed, scratch that, succeeded!!! It taught me how much my body hates the cooked fare and does so well with the raw foods that digest so easily and make me feel so light and energized!!! Raw food is back with a vengeance!!! Look at these beauties, some of the most flavorful raw foods ever created in this kitchen here high in the sky in the Dome of Suzanna, Keitzo, Kirsten and Sock. You are looking at a suprisingly amazing chili with a tomato, cuke, red pepper, nama shoyu, lemon juice, olive oil base plus cumin, chili pwdr and sea salt and topped with nearby picked violets, lentil sprouts, onions, celery, bell pepper. It knocked my socks off holy shit, didn't expect it to be so gooooooood and was perfect teamed with zucchini noodle macaroni and cheezzz. No picture on that but it's yellow and cute and was amazing with lots of black pepper on it. The cake is a triple layer goji cacao cashew birthday extravaganza, made up today! Walnuts, dates, vanilla bean and cacao pwdr for the dense base. Also processed in the food processor is the middle layer of goji berries, cacao nibs, coconut oil and a pinch of agave, and the frosting is a good amount of vanilla bean, soaked cashews, agave nectar and coconut oil blended in the blender. Frozen for an hour then refrigerated. Delish delish and Bmon missed! I will save him a piece! Raw food rules!!!
-Sock

Raw Food Craze!!!

The oldest way of eating is buzzing here in Muskegon, and in Michigan out east, and who knows where else!? A few of my friends have been eating raw for a week or so now, and they are noticing increased energy, weight loss, and general feelings of vitality and wellness. A friend of mine lost 11 lbs in his first 3 days, and he is feeling really great! They come in to the Health Hutt almost daily to pick up pizza, taco salad, collard veggie wraps w/cashew cheez, cheezcake, chocolate smoothies, brownies and fudge, chocolate chip cookies, tacos and burritos and zuke pasta dishes. Everything here is made and packaged, ready to eat. I am brainstorming a menu to be able to order from and am a bit intimidated, but need to suck it up, and start the outline of it. What do you think? Should I just get SOMETHING up on the wall, with a few things made to order and build from there? That is my direction I am leaning in. In my experiences in the past, action is better than nothing. Almost every time! I have waited and worried so many times, I am nearly sick of the thought of more of it. And I get stuck in it all the time. It seems better just to take that first step and soon the illusion of difficulty is exposed for what it is; illusion and source of unnecessary stress! Sometimes the thought seems like too much work, and I start to think my efforts won't prove to produce a worthy product. This is silly thinking, and I am writing right now to clear this up, motivated myself and blast off into production.
Raw food is an old "diet" and it is pure energy, vitality and care for your body! An incredible gift to your life and source of crazy magical powers! Ha ha! I want to spread this amazingly simple way of eating around and surprise people with just how good you can feel! I was surprised, and I see others experience this sustainable new high. I want to make raw food accessible and available and not a super expensive, ritzy, yuppie way of eating. This is true healing, liberation and reclamation of our lives! Let's go!

GREEN FIRE!!!!

Holy winter! It is icy and cold some say, but my blood is on fire!

Juice this
1 bunch of kale
2 jalapenos
1 bunch of green onions
2 cucumbers
1 lemon

Wowzers!!!
You have officially beaten the heat.
Hot foods for temporary relief, or consistent strong circulation for continued warmth? Thank you jalapeno peppers, cayenne pepper, and green leafy vegetables! Go raw!!!

Laugh at yourself!

It is so simple, so powerful, the power of raw foods. My experiments with cooked food after 100% raw for a year and a half have proved unsatisfying to my palate, body, and self. The minerals and nutrients in whole, organic, undamaged foods seem to be sorely missed upon consumption of a cooked meal. Granted, I have not partaken into the healthiest cooked foods like quinoa, steamed veggies, or brown rice, and I think that may very well settle better. My cooked food experiences were going out to eat for burritos, stir-fry, desserts, pizza. These things were incredibly dense and difficult to digest and left me eating more and more, hungry for something I wasn't getting, which very well may have been the nutrients that were void from these cooked foods. It was fun eating them for a few minutes, but the short period of fun is pale in comparison to long standing vitality, wellness, and optimal energy from eating raw foods! Not to mention that eating raw foods is mega fun to prepare, observe, and eat! I was thinking; "I don't want to be too hard on myself," but eating those foods is the only thing I'm doing that is hard on me! Where temptation never occurred, it now rears it's head at me, as happened last week when I was feeling a bit down, and went and ate a burrito! When a craving surfaces, it means something else in my situation. It isn't the food I want, but it is something I am trying to cover up with the food! This is an amazing glimpse into my emotions and patterns of my mind!
Any fall is an opportunity for growth and discovery. It is great to step back and be able to laugh at possibly frustrating things. I can't do it all the time, but whenever I feel that resistance and self-pity well up in me, I just feel how that feels, that tug, that strain, and just drop it. It's so easy, but so easy to forget! So, I write this now to remember!