Changing Course

OK, this juice fast strategy is not working. I think the number one issue is that I am constantly providing and preparing food for Sebastian. Its requiring a level of will power I am just not ready for.

Trying something new. Increasing my raw food consumption coupled with some supplements to recover my energy and get into balance. Tracking what I eat. Exploring feelings and behaviors. Starting now.

AM - Coffee with teecino & almond milk
Since starting a week ago, I am now on about 1/2 and 1/2 and have cut out the majority of afternoon pick me ups.
- Smoothie: Orange juice, 1/2 cup strawberries, tsp. spirulina, tbsp. B complex, tsp. bee pollen. Feel fantastic after drinking this.
- prepared salad greens for after return from our Friday play at friend's home. Every week they provide fresh-baked (like that morning fresh-baked) spelt bread. I don't forsee abstaining from the warm fresh baked filled with love bread. Going to go for it, but will have the greens ready to easily throw together the salad when I return home.

Day 2

AM

2 ounces strong green juice w/ stinging nettle, kale, apple, lemon, celery, cucumber

Coffee: 2 tbsp. organic coffee, 2 tbsp. Teecino coffee replacement

1 quart orange juice.

We're getting ready to go blueberry picking. Let's just say there is no way I am not going to eat them, but I really want to get out there while the weather is still nice, so I am not going to postpone until next week. I don't mind the cleanse going a little longer for the sake of a few blueberries. Looking at last year, I notice a little trend here. Could the patterns be any more obvious?? However, I can do nothing but celebrate a pattern of blueberry eating!

Salad Days of Summer

Oh the abundance of summer on the Central Coast of California. I am amazed every time the farmer's markets start over flowing. I hope I never stop being surprised!! Here is Sebastian enjoying salad of avocado and cherry tomatoes last night (our last meal together for a week!) We followed with cucumber slices topped with a pesto made of fresh, green garlic bulbs, just picked basil and locally grown pistachios - still just a tad bit soft from only being out of the shell a short while...

Day 365....

Well looks like its been almost an entire year since my last post. And, I am back again posting because I've been inspired to do another cleanse...I can't tell you where I got off track last year or why I didn't stick with it, or how I am back at square one again, because I didn't document, well, anything really over the last year. Been working, cleaning, caring for, loving the child, supporting Enrique as he grows the ice cream biz (as well as I can until I reach my limits of human capacity for 24/7 round the clock work). Been involved in some community activities that have been great. Made some amazing friends. As I reflect, I know that I am loved and blessed. Don't always feel that way in day to day life.

I am seriously addicted to coffee! Its at the point now that its no longer a choice, its a compulsion. Not a good thing emotionally or physically. So, that's part of the inspiration to cleanse, too. Weaning off the crutch. Finding my natural energy. Losing a few pounds would be a nice bonus.

I started taking a Liquid B complex about 1 week ago. It feels like a fog has lifted from my brain. I suddenly am seeing "things" through a more clear (perhaps just less foggy) lens. A little light in the back of my consciousness flickered on and illuminated the realization: Tiffany, you need a change and a transformation....

So, logging on that I might keep track of my progress, I am happy to see that I wrote about what I was doing a year ago...I think it will be a great motivator this time around. Don't really want to turn around in another year and see that I am stuck in a rut 365 days later...

Day 1 (redux)

AM

1/2 cup of green juice courtesy of Enrique
1 cup of coffee, black

Nursed the babe

1 cup of green juice blended with spirulina, bee pollen

Afternoon

1 cup of orange juice blended with a few strawberries
finished off the quart of green juice, with liquid B complex added

Evening

A few bites of what Sebastian was eating: strawberries, pistachio pesto, sprouted garbanzo beans.

green sun tea, water

Days 2 and 3

Its not officially a juice feast yet! We are still easing into things around here. Especially today when I was obliged to keep a commitment to my mom's group and go blueberry picking with the babes. If you've ever had blueberries fresh off the bushes, you understand why it was important that I wait just one more day...

Day Two (Monday)

Early morning: ~ 12oz. Orange Juice
(Shared with Sebastian)

Late morning: 8 oz. almond milk banana smoothie (light on the banana)
(shared with Sebastian)

Throughout the day: 3 8 oz. jars orange juice
(Sebastian: 1 banana, 1/2 avocado)

Late afternoon: enema

Late afternoon / Early evening: 1 blended soup of avocado, carrot, tomato, bell pepper, cucumber (shared with Sebastian)

Sebastian nursed approximately every three hours

Day Three (Tuesday)

Early morning: 8 oz. orange juice (Sebastian had a sip)

Late morning: 1 quart green juice (Sebastian drank ~ 4 oz.)

Later morning
Blueberries all around!!

Late afternoon: Blended soup of avocado, cucumber, carrot, tomato, bell pepper
(I enjoyed this during Sebastian's nap)

Early evening: more blueberries - oops, bad combining and I am noticing it, too.
(Sebastian - 1/2 banana, 1/2 avocado)

Sebastian nursed about every three hours.

Please make sure to read my disclaimer if you are considering a cleanse or juice feast while nursing.

Juicy!

Here we are the last time there was a major juice activity in the house. This photo was taken on Thanksgiving. Enrique was in the second month of his yearly juice cleanse. I did about three days around this time and was eating a high-raw diet. Before Sebastian started crawling, I was doing yoga with him at least 2 times per week, walking with him in the stroller almost daily and generally in much better health. Sometime since the beginning of the year things got hectic and I have gone way off track with my health. I think I've probably gained a good 5-7 lbs. in the last three months. At this point I think I am about 25 lbs. overweight and my energy is very erratic.

In honor of summer, Enrique and I have embarked on another juice adventure! I will be juicing and continuing to nurse Sebastian. Contrary to many rumors about the dangers of juicing while nursing, this is actually a safe practice. The breasts are not a detox channel, and the body has safeguards in place for our babies during times of hardship. As I experience my female body in all its possibilities, nature continues to amaze me.

I began yesterday with a few gentle meals and juices.

Early Morning - 8 oz. orange juice

Late Morning - 1 quart kale, apple, celery, cucumber
(shared with Sebastian)
Dry Brush, shower

Afternoon - 8 oz. smoothie
almond milk with coconut water, banana, raspberry
(Sebastian - almond milk with filtered water, banana)

Late afternoon - 1 blended salad
avocado, spinach, carrot, celery, cucumber, dulse, lemon, sea salt, olive oil

Early evening - steamed carrots
(Sebastian - one avocado)

Energy - Great! It was 108 in Ojai today. Not much physical activity besides a few crunches with the pilates ball.

Nursed approximately every three hours.

Please see my disclaimer for more info on my history and juicing while nursing.

Juicing Disclaimer

I'm adding a disclaimer here because I know there are many people out there who are concerned about toxins in the breastmilk when juicing while nursing. There is strong evidence of toxins passing into the breastmilk and being ingested by a nursing baby. Of particular concern are PCBs, dioxins and other highly toxic chemicals that are more of a reflection of your environment than levels of personal toxicity. Please read this article for more information on toxins in breastmilk and what we can all do to lower the amount of these toxins in our bodies, a benefit to our babies and ourselves.

If you are new to a raw diet or juice cleansing and you are still nursing your baby, I recommend starting out slowly with a high raw diet and moving into a raw food diet. You will notice an incredible amount of benefit from this practice. If you want to speed things up a bit after a few months being 100% raw, replace one or two meals with juice. For those who are completely new to raw foods, Alissa Cohen offers excellent advice for women (and men, too!) on the transition to raw foods and transitional foods that are both delicious and filling -- important while nursing!

For children over the age of one year: Keep feeding your baby! Don't start replacing baby's meals with juice. Sebastian has always had a morning meal of juice. He is a raw baby.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my philosophy regarding raw transition, juicing, or cleansing while nursing. I do not claim to be an expert in the raw diet or nutrition and I do not offer medical advice. I can only tell you what I have learned from talking to experts and through my own experience.

My history:
I went from SAD to 100% raw overnight in April of 1999. I stayed 100% raw for two years. In 2002 I began eating cooked vegan food again. I have been 100% vegan and high raw since that time. I became pregnant in September of 2006. I had a vegan pregnancy, with my last month of pregnancy being 100% raw. The first three months of my son's life I was 100% raw. After that time I began adding some cooked vegan foods to my diet. My son is now one year old and has eaten a mostly raw diet since birth. I gave him some rice during the winter and immediately he began getting colds. He has had no cooked food since that time and is now in perfect health! He has six teeth, he began walking at 12 months and is in approximately the 50% for his weight and height. He nurses about every three hours round the clock.