Spring Cleaning with a Raw Food Detox

The daffodils are over, and bluebell season is well underway.

We had a lovely (if a little soggy) camping trip to Devon, and now Joe is back at school.

I have just started a 100% raw food detox.

I'm not doing a total juice fast, but will be enjoying raw juices, green smoothies, and whole fruit and vegetables. I'm going to keep my fat intake down, and just have a few soaked almonds in my tea time smoothie. At least that is the plan. I may have my favourite raw protein smoothie at lunch time too?

Yesterday I had the last toast I'll be having for a while, as I get bad hayfever if I eat wheat in the spring and summer. It would be doubtless be better if I didn't eat it at all, but I'm not quite there yet!

For dinner last night I had a green smoothie (1/2 a mango,2 handfuls baby spinach, handful of soaked almonds, and a small ripe banana), and later on I had a green juice (3 apples, 3 long stems and leaves of stinging nettle, and 1/2 a lemon). Just before bed I munched an apple.

Today so far I've enjoyed:

• orange juice (from 4 med. oranges)
  
• an apple
  
• some rocket from the garden
  
• green smoothie with spinach, pineapple and banana
  
• two carrots

Been working on my website, and haven't done any yoga. Hopefully I'll get back into it soon.

School Holidays

Its the first week of the school holidays are the weather is very wintery. We've had snow (very unusually for the south east of England), and hard frosts at night.

I'm finding it impossible to eat all raw at the moment, but my new Samson Juicer is being used every day. I've discovered it makes lovely orange juice, and grapefruit juice - and I'm back in love with carrot and ginger juice in this chilly weather.

Broke the fast

Well I decided to break the fast last night, and let my body clear out any toxins that have accumulated in my guts.

Last night I ate an apple and a half.

Today I've had wheatgrass juice, and orange juice followed by bentonite clay and physillium husk. (Yuck!)

Still got that horrid metallic taste in my mouth.

Plan to have another vegetable juice, and a green smoothie for dinner. Hope my energy levels pick up soon as they are pretty low right now. Bleuch!

Starving, and the humus in the fridge smells so good!

Oh my god. On a water fast they say the worst is over after day 3. Not so with juice fasting.
I'm feeling really hungry, or maybe its not actually hunger but discomfort in my insides? Either way I don't feel so good, and am going to be lucky if I last one week, never mind 2!

Detox Juice Fast Day 3

Feel pretty good. Really enjoying feeling lighter and clearer. I'm drinking a fair amount of orange juice which is an easy way to take in more calories as I'm pretty active and want to be able to keep cycling, etc.

My new Samson Juicer makes fab juice. It made easy work of the wheat grass this morning. The wheat grass juice still tasted disgusting, but at least it was quick and easy to make. The mesh screen, which needs a good scrub when a make my celery juice mix, only needs a quick rinse with the wheatgrass as none of the grass gets stuck in it.

Going to have a go at making V8 Juice with the Samson next. Ive just bought some nice ripe tomatoes to make a tomato juice base for it, and then I'll add carrot, beetroot, celery, lettuce, watercress, parsley, and spinach. Might add a bit of spice?

Detox Juice Fast

Started my juice fast today. Have recorded the food details in a new blog called detox juice fast.

Felt pretty good all day. I've had loads of orange juice. Hope to make myself a wheat grass shot tonight. I harvested a tray of wheatgrass earlier and its waiting for me in the fridge. Got a bit of acid reflux going on. Bleuch.

Beyond Easter

My family easter is over and I am almost ready to start my 3 week juice feast.

I have a beautiful new samson juicer installed in my kitchen that purrs like a cat, rather than screaming at me like my old centrifugal one did. It makes beautiful juice too, and is easier to clean. You do have to chop hard veg like carrots up nice and small for it, but thats ok by me.

Ginger Ice Cubes

I had a thought about what to do with all the ginger (there's not really that much). I'll juice it and then freeze the juice (probably diluted with water) into ice cubes. Then I can add the ginger ice to my summer smoothies, or juices.

On a Journey of Discovery

Not yet eating all raw...I can feel easter and all that chocolate looming and don't want to come out of a juice fast to promptly stuff my face with chocolate.

That said I am loving the raw food I am eating.
I haven't touched my wheatgrass yet!

I've been researching juicers, and I would love a decent juicer. The centrifugal juicer that I bought from tescos at xmas time has actually been really good (especially for a £10), but as usual its starting to get all worn and discoloured which is a bit of a turn off.

The Samson juicer at £150 pounds isn't cheap, but it should last for 5 to 10 years if I look after it well. As a long term investment I am tempted. It also does ice-creams from fruit (sorbets really) and has the option of making your own nut butters.

The Samson is good at juicing greens so I wouldn't need to keep the manual wheatgrass juicer out which would free up some space in the kitchen.

Yep I think I'll get one.

Third Time Lucky

Ok, todays my lucky day.
I've a new plan. I was going to have a total juice fast but I've changed my mind (for now).
The plan is to start the day with a veggie juice, have a smoothie for lunch, and then have another veggie juice and/or wheatgrass shot in the evening.

So far I've had the usual carrot, apple and celery juice. I put a bit of ginger in it even though I didn't really feel drawn to it. I've been in love with ginger all winter, but now it seems that I don't like it any more. What am I going to do with the ginger in the fridge if I stay off it? I guess I could dehydrate it and grind it into a powder?

I've just realized that I'M REALLY THIRSTY. It's just gone 1:30pm and I had my smoothie about 20 minutes ago. Maybe I should stick to juices?

New day, new habits forming...

It would be a lie to say that I jumped out of bed this morning. Interesting to see what happens tomorrow!

Took Joe to school on the tag-a-long, and then came home and had a lovely veggie juice. Carrot, Celery and Apple with half a peeled lemon for a bit of zing. Fire's going now and I'm off to learn how to use adobe photoshop a bit better.

It seems I find it easy(ish) to eat raw until tea time, and then it seems to go pear shaped.
Had a couple of lovely veg juices for breakfast and lunch, which quenched my thirst beautifully. Then for dinner I had a green smoothie and it hurt my tum - or something did. It was my usual lunch time smoothie - maybe my digestion is weaker in the evening? Its quite a full on smoothie with orange juice, bananas, dates, hemp seed, spinach, and a pinch or cinnamon. But usually I feel good after it.
Not today.
And then I went and ate some toast. Oops!

Slippery Start

Well today started well.
I had a couple of lovely veggie juices, some crunchy carrots, and a tasty green soothie for dinner. Then I went and had some toast. Why I go and do that?
No matter.
Tomorrows another day, and I know that I can do this!

Pre Detox

Just shared my sons beans-on-toast.
What the hell do I have to lose?
Why am I so threatened by the idea of being healthier, clearer, and (hopefully) more joyful?
I'm going raw tomorrow.
Joe (my son) has just given himself red pen nail varnish. Very pretty!
Off to read Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb.