Hmmm…. I forgot to drink my warm lemon water on an empty stomach this morning! Ah well, can’t always get it right, can we?

I really didn’t have an appetite at all this morning, so I went with my feelings and skipped breakfast. I wasn’t craving a juice either. I did have a glass of cold herbal tea with lemon.

I do want to share with you what worked for my swollen arm (from all those nasty red wasp stings)….

Here’s what I tried:

• wrapping it in vinegar
• baking soda wrap
• leaving chewing tobacco on for hours

Know what finally worked? Raw onion! Yep, I knew about the onion’s healing properties. Sheesh, I’ve even written about it (Onion for an Oops!).

I sliced raw onion and placed it on the parts of my arm where the wasps stung me (my arm got the worst of the stings) and then wrapped plastic wrap around my arm so the onions would stay in place overnight. The next morning? Almost ALL of the swelling was GONE and the pain and most of the itching was, too! Yippee! So, while the tobacco (wet) does help when held on a fresh sting, you can also give the old raw onion a try if you should get stung by a nasty flying creature.

Lunch, Anyone?

I decided to have a small salad. It was sooooooooooooooooooo delicious, and very easy on my system.

Spinach-Blueberry-Hemp (Seed) Salad

handful baby spinach leaves

handful blueberries

sprinkles of Manitoba Harvest hemp seed

Dinner

I was going to have a juice for dinner (and really I should have) but I’m still getting my strength back up so I copped out and threw another small salad together–it saved me all the labor of dragging out the juicer, preparing the produce, juicing them, and cleaning it all up. I was just too tired after losing so much sleep to do all that. So, another salad it was…

Heirloom Salad

(Note: ALL of the vegetables in the photo above (except the spinach leaves and hempseed) are heirloom + organic from MY garden!!)

baby spinach leaves

snap peas

sliced cucumber

raw okra (yeah, it’s delish!)

hemp seeds

Manitoba Harvest

Hemp Seeds

I’m really LOVING these Manitoba Harvest hemp seeds. They’re nutty, delicious, and so good for you! (More about these babies in an upcoming post! )  I had received these before starting my 30-day juice fast so I tried ‘em a few different ways: On my salad, in smoothies, etc. And I love ‘em!

Reflections

So, what should have actually been day 30 of my juice fast, was day 2 of my back-to-eating program. It didn’t end the way I had hoped, but I did give it my best shot. Not everyone would have sailed through a broken juicer, an out-of-commission back, and being attacked by a swarm of the biggest, nastiest, red wasps like I did–and for that, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished this time around. Sure, I could have finished the 30 days. I only liked about a day and a half, but this is where I’m different than other folks: I listen to my body. I know what it can and can’t do and it hasn’t failed me yet. Listening to my body has brought me a long way. I’ve lost over 100 pounds and have juice fasted extensively–for up to 52 days at a time. Sure, I’ve fasted for 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, etc. Shorter fasts are awesome, refreshing, and are absolutely a great thing to do. But just like with runners, who challenge themselves to run greater distances in less time, etc., someone like me who has been on a long journey of juice fasting, likes to challenge themselves –and their bodies– to a deeper level of cleansing, healing, and accomplishment.

Don’t forget about the contests! And catch up on the juicy details of my 30-day juice fast.

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

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