Day 2 of that Darn Detox!

Well surprisingly I didn't feel too bad upon rising this morning. No tummy pains or bloating.

I had my hot water with lemon drink, which I really like. I simply could NOT face that green juice again so cheated and made my own version. I really like juices and smoothies but am not yet a fan of the green drinks ... blah!

Didn't need to have anything for morning tea so didn't bother. Am drinking water like a sailor gone without ale for a long voyage. If I lose any weight it will be because of the million trips to the loo to pee!

For lunch I had a similar lunch to yesterday but today I added some tomato because I ran out of avocado. Tomato is not good for a detox but it wont kill me.

Had a lovely herbal tea in the arvo, because the afternoon horrors hit me ... it did squat! I have to do something about them. They are shockers, honestly I could bite the arse out of a low flying duck I am so hungry. Is it my mind, is it my sugar level, no idea but I know I can't survive to dinner time unless I start having at 4pm! I ended up taking a handful of nuts. Maybe I should have had a piece of fruit instead, who knows. They suggest eating something else on the list, like a green vomit smoothie, another salad or some of the soup. I cannot stand repetitive foods - am finding it hard enough to eat salads two days in a row!

For dinner I am going to eat a regular meal, I am thinking the detox is not for me. My reaction has been too severe for me to cope with when I still need to function for the kids. If I could have put myself to bed when needed then possibly it would have been OK but trying to cook a meal when I am just about passing out I would not recommend. I am going to try and continue with the brekkie and lunch suggestions though and be more conscious of what I have for dinner.

For dinner we had Mexican. I had wraps with some cooked chicken and salad in them. I have to say that I ate less than I normally would as I was completely stuffed. They were really yummy too and I was tempted but I just couldn't face eating anymore so that's good. Later in the evening I did feel slightly bloated and sore in the belly. Is it the wheat product, or the meat I wonder?

Exercise was also recommended to make you feel better ... they had to be joking, I could barely walk in a straight line. At least this evening I feel as though I could actually do something ... I said feel like, not going to ... it's too hot and am still feeling a bit lazy, less lazy but still lazy!

Had another lemon in hot water before bed am really enjoying those and we have a million lemons on the tree so it's worth using them up. I haven't had a cup of tea in days now. Slightly miss them but not too badly as I only drink one or two a day, mostly when the Man About House offers to make me one. I am a useless tea maker and don't get me started on coffee, it's revolting and if I make you one, I apologise in advance as I am not actually sure how bad they are supposed to taste.

Would I do another detox??? ... well surprisingly yes I would. Next time I will be much more careful though. I will slowly ease into it leading up to the actual week. I think going from a normal western diet (read bad processed stuff!) straight into detoxing was too much for my system to cope with but I am sure I eliminated a pile of yukkies (that's the technical term I believe). Did I mention my skin actually broke out like a teenager with acne! Very sudden and severe around the chin. I am looking forward to weighing myself tomorrow to see if my poor attempt made any difference at all ... that will be interesting!

Day 1 of my detox ...

OK I finally dragged my sorry butt out of bed after a horrible night. I had forgotten how hard it is to sleep through these warm humid nights. Wondering what the heck I was thinking taking this detox on. Thank goodness for my detox buddy or I think I would wimp out!

9am - Just had my hot water with lemon juice. I should of added ginger but I have found that ginger doesn't sit too well with my belly. I only add it to juices at the moment and will work my way up to having it more often. Misses 9 and 11 asked what was for their cooked breakfast (it's our weekend thing) ... I was a bit snippety and told them they could make their own damn breakfast this morning. Really should explain what dieting or detoxing does to their mama's generally docile nature so they understand what's happening over the next couple of days!

10am - Finally had my first green juice; got to say it was as awful as I feared it would be. You people who enjoy green juice are FREAKS!

11.30am - My tummy is grumbling something awful and I feel really awful. My breath has that yukky smell that you get when you haven't eaten. Feeling totally sexy ... NOT! Will go have a nice herbal tea ... is there such a thing ... of course there is, anything has got to be better than that crap green juice!

Had the tea and yes I do feel better so that's good.

1.30pm - Had my green salad for lunch (pictured above). It wasn't too bad actually. I don't like apple cider vinegar but the dressing turned out rather nice. That was a bit of surprise! It was hard making salads for everyone else that included some capsicum, carrot, etc that I couldn't have. Am managing to keep up my water - it's a hot day so pretty easy to throw it down. I also put it in a 1.5ltr coke bottle (I know the irony!) that only I am using so I know how much water I am getting through. Have the slightest of headaches; more like my head is a little foggy. Feel like a nanna nap actually. Where's that energy???? Or is that after the yukky toxins are eliminated from my meat and dairy ridden body?

Just asked Miss skinny 11 to please eat her chocolate plum bits elsewhere ... she cracked up laughing and said I'm sorry and to her credit did disappear.

Miss 9 asked if I could break her Christmas chocolate bar up for her ... seriously??? Once that was in my hands it wouldn't be going back to her. Miss 11 kindly offered to do it for her.

4pm started making my soup for dinner. Starting to feel hungy and need to have it handy in case I go crazy and eat something else instead.

5.30pm - I am desperately, desperately hungy. Feeling very faint and shaky. Am having my soup now! Right, right now!!!!

6pm - Despite the soupbeing a little salty tasting it was rather nice ... I still felt like utter rubbish though. I was laying on the couch feeling very, very dizzy, with the sweats and shakes, so I bit the bullet and had the kids make me a slice of toast with some natural 100% peanut butter. After 2 slices started to feel slightly better.

6.30pm - Am up and about now. I had no idea I'd feel like this detoxing. I thought I'd feel hungry but that wasn't it so much. Next time I'll be more prepared I think and I might get my sugar levels checked again. I will continue with the detox tomorrow. I suppose if I can detox as much as I can that's better than nothing. I am not sure if it means that I am really toxic to have such a reaction (the other half thinks this is the case cheeky sod) or if this is just normal and I wimped out. I do know that even though I don't feel totally better yet I do feel as though if I hadn't of had that toast I would have flaked out by now!

Positive outcome the kids and his nibs also had the soup and quite enjoyed it and they had salads for lunch too. So a pretty good healthy day here all round.

The Liver Mover

This drink is called the liver mover because it promotes the flow of bile and fat to and from the liver. This is very useful when promoting weight loss and also in liver disorders.




LIVER MOVER

• 1/2 beet including the top
• 2-3 apples

Simply juice them and drink

Super Smoothie

Don't you just love smoothies. My girls and I adore them. They are great when we are hungry but between meals. They are so filling and nutritious and really satsify any sweet craving.  This one is called a SUPER SMOOTHIE and has the benefit of being part juice and part smoothie.




SUPER SMOOTHIE

• 1/4 small pineapple
• 1 still celery
• 4 cm cucumber
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1 cm lime (peeled)
• 2 apples
• 1/4 avocado
• 1 tspn Amla C Powder (optional)
• 4 ice cubes

1. Juice the pineapple, celery, cucumber, spinach, lime and apples
2. Place the juice in the blender and add the avocado and Amla C powder and the ice cubes and blend. If you don't have a high powered blender then be careful putting ice in it as you could wreck your blender.

Natural Lemon Gingerale

Although I drink this juice quite often I really can't wait for summer as it's really refreshing and light and is just going to be so nice to have on a lovely summer's day.




Lemon Gingerale

• 2 carrots
• 2 apples
• 4cm lemon & rind
• 2cm ginger root

Simply put them all through your juicer and enjoy!

Juicing like a Queen

I have been wanting a "proper" juicer eons now but because I wanted a "quality" one, it was going to cost us some big bucks.  I finally found one that suited my needs and I was able to pay it off over two months. It finally arrived and guess what I was too scared to use it ... it intimidated me.

Well I have finally started using it and trying some juice recipes that were give to me at a Juicing Workshop that I recently attended. They have been really yummy!

You may wonder why I want to juice, so here are my reasons, so if you are new to juicing some of this may help you. If you already have been juicing, you probably know way more than me.

I wanted to find a quick and effective way to meet my dietary requirements for fresh fruit and vegetables and there are many vegetables and even fruit that I do not like to eat raw (even cooked for that matter!). I am happy to drink them once they have been juiced, for example celery and broccoli.

A benefit of juicing is easy assimilation - in whole fruits and vegetables, some enzymes, phytochemicals, vitamins C, A and E, along with minerals like iron, copper, potassium, sodium, iodine and magnesium are trapped in the indigestible fibre and cannot be assimilated by the body. Once they are "liberated" from the cellulose in the pulp, those nutrients can be taken into the cells of the body within 15 minutes! Juice nourishes us, our body actually converts the food we eat into juice so that it can be absorbed. Juicing quickly provides the most easily digestible and concentrated nutritional benefits of fruit and vegetables -- and best of all it tastes great!

Another great benefit of consuming fresh juice is that it provides high levels of antioxidants which can protect the body against aging (please do!), cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, arthritis and many other degenerative diseases.

Also juice can reduce the acidity and toxicity in the body. The acidic state of the body (cause by eating processed foods, tea, coffee, alcohol, etc) can be neutralised by drinking certain raw juices. Flush those toxins out and get those organs functioning better ... yeah!

My new Hippo
(Green Power Hippocrates PLUS Twin Gear Juicer)

Choosing a Juicer

There are several varieties of juicers on the market which vary in their abilities, quality and price.

There are centrifugal juicers which chops the produce into small pieces then thrown them against a spinning bowl that separates the fibre from the juice. These are relatively inexpensive compared to the other types but have a shorter life span, clog up quicker, do not extract all the juice fully, cannot juice leafy greens or wheatgrass and you need to drink the juice within 15 minutes of juicing as the processing method destroys the nutrients and live enzymes. (Approx NZ$150 - $399)

Single gear masticator juicers grind the produce into very small particles and presses or mashes them through a screen which separates the juice from the fibre. This type extracts more nutrients because it generates less heat and friction so more enzymes are preserved. You get more juice extracted, the juice usually can last in the fridge (in a glass container) for up to 48 hours and you can also juice greens, make nut butters, pasta, frozen desserts, hummus, etc.  The juicer lasts longer but be aware it is a slower juicing process. (Approx NZ$299 - $850)

Twin gear masticator juicers are basically the same as the single gear but has two gears, costs more, gets more juice extracted and the juice can be stored up to 72 hours. (Approx NZ$899 - $2500)


Well I hope that has helped some of you, if you managed to read through all the boring stuff to the end. I'll be posting some of my (well the one's I've tried and enjoyed so far) great juicing recipes shortly.

Introducing Me ...

Hi, I am a 40 something woman, (just between us who is closer to 50 than 40 ... sigh), who really doesn't like salads or veggies. I eat them begrudgingly, mostly so the kids eat theirs, but seriously eating salad doesn't come easy to me. I don't enjoy it that much.

On the other hand give me some meat, dairy and breads and I'd be so happy I'd fart fairy dust!

I have recently realised that when a woman gets to a certain age ... ahem ... that certain parts start to droop and aches and pains and illnesses that you used to laugh about in old people aren't so funny anymore ... (how can getting out of bed hurt? ... but some days my aching back) ... and that unless I start doing something now then I am not going to age shall we say, gracefully!

So a few months back I started a journey into Raw Foods. Anyone who knows me well is probably, laughing their tiny, firm bottoms off at the thought of me trying to eat Raw. Don't get me wrong, whilst I applaud vegetarians and vegans, bacon and I go along way back and I think it would simply be rude to cut all ties between myself and meats. In fact the meat industry could go into decline, so it wont be a total emergence at this stage. I simply thought if I could incorporate some fresh raw foods into my diet and eat a lot less meat, dairy and bread (I could eat them for every meal) then I should improve my health and at the same time weight.

So anyway I thought I would document my journey and share some recipes and healthy information that I learn and try along the way. Feel free to add offer advice and any tips ... as I say I am new to this, so it's a journey of discovery.