Articles in the News Category

Hi, everybody!

Hope your weekend was fantabulous, and that your week is going smoothly and I really hope you’re enjoying some sunshine somewhere in this world.

The sun is coming and going here. At least there’s no snow. We’re supposed to get rain for a few days, though. Spring, I need you to get here already!

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll remember me mentioning that there was a redesign in the midst, and that things might get a little wonky around here for a couple of days.

As you can see, this blog has received a complete makeover. The transition went pretty smoothly. Thanks to the awesome Web Tech, Rebecca Laffar-Smith, you can now focus more on the content of the blog posts and enjoy less clutter. We’re still going to switch the sidebars around a little but hopefully you’re already enjoying that there’s less clutter and it’s more organized.

We’re also working on the page buttons at the top of the page. I’m trying to organize the pages with drop-down tabs so that when you click on Recipes, you’ll see a drop-down menu for Salads, Juices, Smoothies, Desserts, etc. And the same for Reviews… you’ll see Books, DVDs, Food, and so on.

And here’s the before and after comparison….

Before

After

I believe the new theme is much better for y’all. Not only is it beautifully designed, it’s more organized and user-friendly. You’ll see I kept my feed dolly. She’s dear to my heart and she just makes me happy. Silly? Maybe, but it’s how I feel.

Some of My Favorite Features

I thought I’d share some of my favorites of this theme.

One of my top favorite features is that on the home page, you get to see a large excerpt of the most recent post and if you scroll down a little, you can see a variety of extra posts you might want to get caught up on, and you can see a photo and some text from those posts, too!

I also love that:

• it’s more organized
• the header is scooted way up
• the pages will now have a drop-down menu
• the search bar should benefit you much more now
• there are share buttons at the bottom of each post
• there is a plugin that rotates ads in the sidebar so you aren’t bombarded with tons of big ads flashing
• and so much more!

And… I love the fact that you can see so many recent posts in the “Latest Juicy Articles” section:

I’m just really excited about this whole theme – in case you couldn’t tell.

Fantabulous News

This theme is the RLS–Rebecca Theme – it will be available to y’all soon! That’s right, Rebecca created this theme and will be making it available to the public in the near future. I’m SO very honored that we got to test the tech waters out first. Rebecca is very talented and is just a joy to work with. I never feel dumb, or like I’m a bother. Rebecca’s customer service is the best – and so is she. Seriously!

Your Turn

Now that you know I love the fresh, new theme – and Rebecca’s work – how do YOU feel about it? I know many of you had requested the header be moved up. Done. A lot of you wanted better organization. It will take me a little while to get the pages reorganized and separated, but I’ll keep at it ‘till it’s finished. And I know you must be appreciating the cleaner sidebars, and that they’re to the right. Are YOU happy with the new design? Is it what you were hoping for? Better? Is there anything else you’d like to see? Chime in with your thoughts!

Contest Reminder

I hope you haven’t forgotten about the $40 gift certificate I’m giving away. This is a great opportunity, y’all!

Hey, y’all!

I wanted to give you a heads-up that things MIGHT get a little wonky around here for a couple of days. Hopefully they won’t, but sometime tonight or tomorrow, you’ll see a whole new theme here.

My Web tech, Rebecca Laffar-Smith, has created a custom theme for us. She’ll actually be releasing her theme to the public pretty soon, too. But we get to test the tech waters out first – isn’t that awesome?!

I think you’ll enjoy the changes. The posts will now be on the left side. There will still be two sidebars, but they’ve been moved to the right and I’ve already started deleting stuff but it may take a day or so for me to get things rearranged. Hopefully not, though.

You’ll notice the header is moved up and so you’ll see more of the post and sidebars instead of so much header from now on.

This is very exciting and I can’t wait for the new theme to be revealed. So, please bear with us during this transition, as we strive to clean things up around here and make this site the best we possibly can for you all.

Hope you’re having a fantabulous weekend!

And if you haven’t already, feel free to chime in on the open thread – share your thoughts and opinions about the direction this site is going!

Contest Alert

A Bitt of Raw is giving away a 5″ ceramic kitchen knife (ends Thursday, March 11, 2010)

I’m hosting a giveaway for Sunlight Blvd, for a $40 gift certificate (ends Saturday, March 13, 2010)

Hi, y’all!

Hope  you had a fantabulous week.

I thought I’d share with you that the kind folks at CaliBowl graciously sent a set of their bowls for me to review: a CaliStack set of 4 bowls, aqua blue.

LOVE the Color!!

Look at the pretty colors!

I had to try a bowl out right away.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

The CaliBowl Website

Get ready for an in-depth review in the near future!

And I haven’t forgotten about the raw honey contest. It’s coming soon. Had to deal with some tech issues and other stuff on my end, but it’s all fixed now.

Contest Alert/Reminder

Two Boos Who Eat blog is giving away an Aurorae yoga mat!

Don’t forget about the latest contest: $40 Gift Certificate from Sunlight Blvd

Have you used CaliBowls? Had you ever heard of them? Have you been fantasizing about them? What color would you pick? Or would you mix and match and enjoy all the different colors? I’ll be adding these fantabulous bowls to my OpenSky shop – look for them tomorrow!

Hi, everybody! How has your week been so far?

Thanks for your sympathy and sweet words about my crazy week. I appreciate it!

Things were much better after I gave myself some TLC, natural remedies, rest, and received this in the mail:

Yay! I’m powered up and back in business – and feeling much, much better!

Raw Juice Girl’s NEWS

Yep, the newsletter goal is finally becoming a reality. Remember a long time ago when I blogged about the Healing with (Raw) Juices Newsletter? Well, now I’m putting my words into action and the newsletter is in the works. Don’t believe me?

Well, you can sign up here.

Watch for it, it’s coming to an inbox near you soon!

Contest Alerts

Ashlei (The Vegster) is giving away a six-pack of Zevia!

Birdies (Vegan) Bakeshop is giving away fun kitchen gadgets!

And stay tuned for a review of Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter – plus a surprise for YOU!

Are you bad about procrastinating? Have you been putting something off (like I’ve been postponing my newsletter)? Do you allow life to get in the way and just accept that you can’t always make time for something extra (which isn’t always procrastinating, I know)? Or do you always pounce on your dreams and ideas and just make them happen right away?

Just stopping by? Have you tried my coconut peanut butter honey overnight oats yet? Or maybe you’d like to try your hand at my  chocolate-covered raisin hemp balls or raw tuna fish-less salad. 

And… the news you’ve been waiting for…

Winning Number

There were 131 comments on the E3Live + BrainOn contest post. I visited Mr. Random (random.org) to select a winner.

The number result was 99.

Owner of #99

Why, that’d be Cyn from www.writeforehow.com!!

Cyn’s winning comment:

If you’re just tuning in, be sure to enter Healing With (Raw) Juices’ latest contest for TWO containers  of Amazing Grass – one is CHOCOLATE! (Thursday, October 22 is the last day to enter.)   And a BIG thank you to Amazing Grass for sponsoring!  You can also use the code hwj for a 15% discount on your order, if you can’t wait.And don’t forget to check out my chocolate ice cubes — they’re super easy to make, and so fun!

Hi, y’all! Sorry I’ve been MIA again lately–Raw Juice Girl has been burning up the writerly highway! My goodness, I’ve written some STUFF! I also have lots of stuff to review and share my thoughts on, but today I have LOTS of questions for you, so get ready!

Curiosity is my middle name!

Do you have a blog? Do you intend for it to provide income? Do you handcraft items? Do you want to write, blog, design for money? Okay, last question: Do you have business cards? No? Why not?

New Business Cards for HWJ

Address Labels to Match!

VistaPrint

I decided to go with VistaPrint. I ended up with 1,000 cards and 140 matching address labels (for only seventy-nine cents!!!) and ended up with a grand total of $26.10. Can’t beat that!  Can you?

And check out the awesome sale they’re having: Get 250 Free Business Cards + FREE Stamp with your order!

Opinions?

What are your thoughts? Do you like the design I ended up with? Have you ever used VistaPrint? Would you, knowing you can get quality service for quality products–at a price you can afford? I want to hear all about it!

Contest Alert!

Get yourself over to Jocelyn Eats Fresh and enter her (eco-friendly!!!)  Book, Bar, and Natural Shampoo/Conditioner Giveaway!!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ve also been working on a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!

A lot of us take our healthy heart for granted. We get up each morning, go about our day-to-day lives, and don’t even give a thought to how our hearts – or any other part of our bodies – are working properly, allowing us to live carefree and healthy lives.

Eli isn’t as blessed. He’s living with his third heart – and he is still struggling to stay here on this beautiful planet!

My friend actually knows Eli personally.

Following is a snippet of what she knows about Eli’s condition:

“Eli’s second heart came eight months after his birth.  That heart lasted him quite some time, but his body went through late rejection and he was put back on the transplant list and his third heart arrived not-so-long ago.  Along with this heart transplant, Eli has undergone radiation to wipe out his lymph system and help prevent rejection later down the road.  This process has really left Eli not feeling up to par.”

Donation Drive

She has taken it upon herself to host a drive focused on raising enough money to purchase a new, eco-friendly juicing machine for Eli.

She’s on a mission! She wants to help Eli have the opportunity every child should have, without even giving it a thought – to be home for the holidays.

This fantabulous boy has endured more than one heart transplant and has spent entirely too much time in the hospital, at doctors’ offices, and in various treatments. If his health doesn’t improve; if his immune system is still too weak, he may have to stay in the hospital a lot longer than originally anticipated. And this means he may not get to be home for the holidays. As an adult, I can’t imagine being in the hospital during the holidays. From a child’s point of view…. I can’t even fathom. It’s heartbreaking!

This new juicer will allow Eli to enjoy unlimited raw juices that will not only overflow his cup with nutrition and health, but his heart and life with joy and time spent at home, like a boy should be. It’s Mysti’s desire (and my own) that we search our hearts and start thinking about holiday gifts a little early, so that a sweet boy can sit at his family’s table for Thanksgiving fellowship and wake up on Christmas morning in the warmth and comfort of his own bed, in his own room, with his own belongings.

Hope for Health

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you know I’ve battled for my own health. Raw juices have been instrumental in my healing process, and that’s why I started this site – to share hope and healing through raw foods and juices. What do you say? Let’s help Eli get a new juicer so he can enjoy fresh, raw juices and a stronger immune system.

Let me know if you’d like to be a part of Eli’s journey to new and improved health!

Hopefully, he’ll be fishing again and enjoying the outdoors like he was here….

If you’re just tuning in, be sure to check out Healing With (Raw) Juices’ latest contest for an 8 ounce bag of Raw Chia Seeds–thanks to NavitasNaturals.com for sponsoring!

Awesome Awards

It’s always nice to know readers value the time and effort you put into your blog. And that’s why I’m honored to share the following awards that have been given to me: 

1. The Proximade Award, from George, at Tumblemoose
2. The Kreativ Blogger Award, from Lori, at Green Gigs
3. The One Lovely Blog Award, from Jocelyn, of Jocelyn Eats Fresh
   

Award #1

Let’s start with The Proximade Award from George. I’m honored that George considered me for this award. Here’s a little of what he had to say regarding those of us he chose: “I am grateful for an opportunity to award this to a few bloggers who are very special people.”

Thanks, George–you’re pretty special yourself!

If you’ve never visited him, do check out the Tumblemoose blog. Let me tell you, folks, I have yet to be bored (even a smidgen!) when visiting this pal of mine. His posts are fresh, inspiring, motivating, SO funny, and written with warmth, heart, soul, and passion. If you want to improve your writing/blogging–or even just be entertained while learning some awesome stuff–check George out!!! (In fact, I would have passed on the following 2 awards on to George, but I didn’t think he’d be crazy about the pinkness or frilliness of them.)

Award #2

The Kreativ Blogger Award was given to me by Lori, from Green Gigs. I was truly touched by her heartfelt–and very sweet–words about me:

“Michele Tune of Healing with (Raw) Juices is one of the most sincere, interesting, inspiring bloggers I have come across. Raw Juices inspires me to eat healthier and live better – thanks Michele!’

Award #3

“Michele has always been so supportive of me and my blog. I LOVE reading her blog because it is always so informative on the raw food/juicing lifestyle. Even though I’m no where near high raw… I know I can count on this blog to give me the advice I need! Love all the different juicing concoctions! Michele has also lost A LOT of weight…she really is dedicated!”

Note: These are actually the rules that came with The Kreativ Blogger Award, but I’m going to just apply the one set of rules to all 3 of these awards and whoever wants to participate, can. You can also break the rules if you want. I’m not the Awards police.

1. A Sparkle A Day – Cindy is a wife, mother, and beautiful, inspiring person. She fills her blog up with love, healthy meals and snacks, reality, compassion, fun–and let’s not forget those sparkles!
2. Mama’s Weeds – Alison is also a wife and mother, and this one is FULL of kooky humor–I love that about her! She’s also great with the creative recipes and shares lotsa cool parts of her interesting life!
3. Love Veggies, Yoga, Running + Chocolate – Averie is a one-of-a-kind gal. I love her rawkin’ posts. She’s another creative recipe-maker and a wife and momma as well. Lots of healthy vibes flowin’ here!
4. Jocelyn Eats Fresh – Jocelyn is on a journey toward her ultimate health and is just a bright splash of sunshine in the blog world: fun foods, fun times, difficult topics, positive attitude!
5. Have Faith – Jess is a freshman in high school and forever amazes me with her passion for healthy eats, exercise, and being the best she can be. So inspiring from a teen!
6. An Apple a Day – June is passionate about yoga and eating healthy–and she writes lots of awesome reviews and hosts fantabulous contests!
7. Life’s Approbations – Mysti shared a guest post recently (Dehydrator Recipes: Healthy Kids’ Snacks). Her blog is an open book of her life as a wife, mother, writer–and so much more. She shares frugal, healthier versions of recipes and her posts are reminiscent of Chicken Soup for the Soul stories!

Note: Don’t feel obligated to participate in passing the award on–or even sharing that you received it on your blog. I know this kind of thing isn’t everyone’s “cup of tea” so all is well in the blogosphere.

Don’t forget about Healing With (Raw) Juices’ latest contest for an 8 ounce bag of Raw Chia Seeds–thanks to NavitasNaturals.com for sponsoring!

And Amanda, at the Run to The Finish blog is hosting a giveaway for vegan and gluten-free Nutrition/Energy Bars Giveaway! There’s some awesome flavors happening over there, so get going and enter!!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ll also be making a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!

Hey, y’all!

Sorry I’ve been MIA so much lately….

Those of you who follow me regularly know I had a 3-day festival this past weekend so I was super-duper busy! And for those of you who are just tuning in, I usually spend my weekends helping my mom run her booth selling herbs for her herb business.

So, anyway, I got TWO deliveries this weekend I want to tell you about!

First up: A 6-pack of Zevia soda and a cool T-shirt I won in Averie’s Zevia contest over at Love Veggies, Yoga, Running, + Chocolate. I’m SO excited to try ‘em all (I got one of each flavor they carry) and I’m totally excited to wear my green Zevia T-shirt! (Pictures are coming, promise!)

Second package: LARABAR samples! Eeeek! They sent me a few different varieties–cashew cookie, peanut butter & jelly, apple pie, and fruit and nut. Today I’m sharing the review of the cashew cookie ’cause I gobbled it up yesterday morning for breakfast. Yes, breakfast!

LARABAR

Cashew Cookie

TWO Ingredients!

YUM!

Verdict/Grade?

Let me tell you, folks, this Cashew Cookie LARABAR is DIVINE! Oh my goodness, is it EVER totally delicious and yummy and tasty and soooooooooo good for you, too! I cannot–simply CANNOT–believe that there are only TWO ingredients in this chewy, crunchy, fantabulous snack bar. I seriously could eat one every. single. day! This one definitely gets an A+ from Raw Juice Girl!

Check out the nutritional info–it’s amazing!

From the site:

“Two ingredients, one incredible flavor! The unprocessed, creamy cashews are rich in iron, zinc and B Vitamins. The chewy dates have more potassium than bananas. Together they form a bar rich in fiber with 2 grams of heart-healthy Omega-6 fatty acids and 15 essential vitamins and minerals. So much sustaining nourishment in such a simple recipe.”

How is that for a healthy snack? Thank you, LARABAR for creating this tasty treat for us!

Y’all be sure to check out www.larabar.com to see all the different flavors and combos they offer.

So, how was your weekend? Have you ever tried LARABAR? What’s your favorite flavor? Do you wish they’d create a new one? If so, spill the beans and leave some juicy comments!

Now that the festivals are slowing down and I’ll have a little extra time, I have a LOT of reviews and contests coming up. I’ll also be posting my experiments with my new Excalibur Dehydrator. So, if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ll also be making a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!

You may have noticed things have been pretty quiet here the past couple of weeks. I am behind on reviews and contests but I assure you, I have good reason: I’ve been very, very busy helping my mom with back-to-back festivals. Besides the actual setting up and selling (which makes for very long days), I’ve printed and fold hundreds of brochures, and also business cards, labels, and other stuff. Phew!

I set this post to publish so that by the time you read it, I’ll have already put in several hours at our latest 3-day festival.

And I thought I’d give you a peek into the last Bakersville festival we set up at.

Mom took this while I wasn’t paying attention!

Our Soap Lady, Judy Riggs!

With the (framed) article I wrote about her!

Oops! Caught stealing tea samples! LOL

Sandwich with a Story

Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I try to avoid bread like its the plague. You also know that I lost over 100 pounds basically adhering to a low carb lifestyle. So, it’s only when I’m in desperate situations (or when I feel I deserve a splurge) that I’ll dig into the carbs without hesitating.

I ended up starving before the day was over at this past Bakersville festival (first week of September). I had taken raw veggies, herbal tea, and water but I needed more. My only (healthiest) option: a veggie burger on a bun. So, I eventually decided to just go for it. By the time I got to order mine (actually, my mom went to get me one while I watched our booth), they were sold out of the veggie burgers. So, she brought me back a bun with 2 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, some onions, lettuce, and pickles on a bun. I’m serious. NO. VEGGIE. BURGER. And I was STARVING! LOL – So, I dug in and was chowing down and thought “hey, I should take a photo of this sandwich and tell this story on my blog” so I did just that.

Later on, we were taking our tent down and packing our stuff into the trailer when one of the ladies who had a booth nearby came over and says to me: “Did I see you take a picture of your sandwich earlier?”

I told her yes.

And she asked (with the funniest expression on her face) “Why?”

I lost it. I’m serious. I was hee-hawing I was laughing so hard! The look on her face cracked me up. She couldn’t understand why on earth I’d take a picture of a sandwich. LOL – I tried to explain to her that I have a health blog and thought it’d be funny to share with my readers that I got a veggie burger-less “veggie burger” on a bun when I rarely ever even eat bread and live a high raw lifestyle. It was just so funny. I wish I had a photo of the look on her face. Of course, not all people have even heard of a blog. I take it she hadn’t. The more I talked, the crazier she thought I was! LOL

Ah well, at least it provided you all some fun entertainment. I splurge on a veggie burger and don’t get my veggie patty. *sigh* Raw Juice Girl can’t win for losin’!

I have LOTS of reviews and contests coming up, so you’ll definitely want to subscribe if you haven’t already!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ll also be making a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!

Wow, do I EVER love the FedEx man–well, him and the fantabulous folks over at www.excaliburdehydrator.com!!

SO Blessed

I can’t even begin to express my excitement. I’m SO very honored–and blessed–to have the amazing opportunity to review this, the KING of dehydrators: the 9-Tray Large Excalibur #3900!!!

SO Many Ideas

Raw (and dehydrated) food has fascinated me for years. Even before that, my Mom was always interested in dehydrating. Although I’ve been high-raw (and even 100% raw at various times) for the past few  years, I’ve often wondered where my raw path would lead if I had a ginormous, fancy dehydrator like I’d read about.

Raw crackers, cookies, cakes, pizzas… All this (and more!) is floating around the Web. From blogs to websites to books and magazines, raw, dehydrated snacks and meals, the possibilities are to infinity.

I can’t wait to share my experience with this sweet, dehydrating baby with you all! I’m excited to dry herbs, veggies, fruit, and I know I want to make raw crackers soon. I have so many ideas racing through my mind right now I can’t even focus!

Tomorrow I’ll be gone all day to set up at a pioneer festival with my mom (same festival as this one), so I’m afraid my dehydrating adventures will have to wait until next week sometime.

I’ll shut up now and let you check out these photos….

What a Ginormous Box!

Needle-Nose Pliers for Opening!

Ooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh!!!!

A Guide for Dehydrating!

Check it Out!

Drying Guide + Temperature Control

Look at that Tray!

NINE TRAYS!!! Eeeeeek!!

With the Sparkly New Door On

Wow. I’m just SO excited!!! You’ll be seeing a LOT of the Excalibur around here!

Do you have a dehydrator? What do you love making most? Have you been shopping around for a dehydrator? Have you considered the Excalibur? Chime in and share your thoughts!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

To Share the BIG News!

A while back, I mentioned to you all that I had gone to an old-fashioned festival, and that I’d had the AMAZING opportunity to meet not only the Editor of GRIT magazine (Hank Will), but also the Editor-In-Chief of Ogden Publications, K.C. Compton. Let me just tell you, I never thought I’d have that experience. It was my first time ever meeting an editor, so to meet both of these fantabulous people just sent this country girl to Orbit!

I feel SO very honored and blessed to have experienced meeting them, and I’ll cherish the memory forever and always. The reason it took so long for me to post about it (I met them back in May of this year) is because that HUGE event of meeting them was SO very bittersweet.

It was that very weekend (while I was leaving the festival) that I received a call that forever changed my life: I found out my 28-year-old precious cousin had lost her life that very morning in a tragic car accident. This girl was the life of the party, and she was far more than just a cousin to me–she was like the little sister I never had. I loved her deeply and have missed her beyond words.

That, on top of the other the recent tragedies I had just faced, was too much–it was all overwhelming. I ended up  falling off the 100% raw food wagon because the old emotional eating habits kicked in.

I do have a writing blog (Writing the Cyber Highway), but I decided to share all this on Healing with (Raw) Juices because the old-fashioned festival I attended is all about heirloom seeds and produce, eco-friendly living, and the old way of life–which is what I feel I’m all about here on this blog.

On a Lighter Note

Y’all know I’m all about inspiration, motivation, and happy, smiley thoughts, so I don’t want to leave you feeling depressed. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming up: I’ll share the experience of my Mom sewing my pioneer dress in the first of this 3-part series. The second post will share photos and my thoughts on meeting K.C. Compton. And the last post of this series, part three, will share photos and my feelings about meeting Hank Will.

And… a sneak peek of the dress my Mom was kind enough to make for me (I helped–cut out the pattern, that is!)

Look Mom, No Sleeves!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

Last night I slept so good. It was fantabulous!!

Of course, warm lemon water was first on my list when I woke up on day 17 of this 30-day juice fast.

Breakfast

About an hour after I drank that, I had my breakfast juice. I was extremely happy I had leftover pineapple juice from yesterday morning because I’m getting things ready for company that’s coming from out of town and it was such a relief to be able to grab my E3 Live cup with pineapple juice just waiting for me to drink it.

I actually forgot to take my daily shot of E3 Live today! I got really busy cleaning and just forgot.

I did get my tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar in, though.

Keepin’ Cool!

I am absolutely LOVING this shaker cup! It has a super COOL ice wand that you can keep in the freezer and when you’re ready for it, just pop it down in its slot and it’ll keep your juice or smoothie extra cold. This is fantabulous for days when I need to run out the door with juice in hand and I can enjoy a cold drink longer. The E3 Live folks are just awesome for including the ice wand with this shaker cup!

Anyway, I had GREEN PINEAPPLE JUICE this morning because I added a scoop of Amazing GrassGreen SuperFood powder. It was actually really good! Seriously.

Lunch + Dinner

Since I was expecting company from out of town this afternoon, I decided it’d probably make it easier if I juiced lunch and dinner at once. So, I grabbed the following…

Yum!

2 heaping handfuls of heirloom, organic lettuce (from my garden)

2 apples

2 – 1 inch pieces ginger

handful parsley

3 small beets (from Amish produce stand)

1 carrot

2 celery stalks

Pretty Colors!

All Stirred Up

I diluted this one about 60/40 and had enough juice to fill up my E3 Live shaker cup, my Amazing Grass shaker cup, and also had a dab left in the juice machine cup and I drank it straight from that cup!

Actually, after I made this double batch of juice, I got busy cleaning again and preparing for my company and I never drank my dinner juice!! That’s okay, though. I wasn’t craving it and I breezed right on through the day with plenty of energy and never even missed it. I had plenty of regular water and herbal tea as well, so I’m good. And I’ll be loving it in the morning when I can just grab my cup of juice and leave to go run some errands. Makes it SO convenient!

And there you have it… day 17 was a success and I can’t believe tomorrow is day 18!!

Until tomorrow… happy juicing!

Just tuning in? Catch up:

Day 1 of a 30-Day Juice Fast and Juicer Mishaps

Day 2 of a 30-Day Juice Fast–and AMAZING GRASS!!

Day 3–E3 Living!

Day 4 + Wheat Grass Galore + a Juicer!!

Day 5 — Dead or Alive?

Day 6 + Father’s Day Bliss!

Day 7, Cucumber Chia Heaven!

Day 8, Let’s Talk About Weight!

Day 9–and I’m Feelin’ Fine!

Day 10–Learnin’ About Lemon!

Day 11, Grapefruit Juice Heaven!

Day 12 with Sprouts on Top!

Day 13 and Juiceless

Day 14: Salad in a Glass

Day 15 + Living Tree Community Contest Winner!

Day 16 + Books by Dr. Bruce Fife

Upcoming Contests Featuring these Fabulous Companies

• 2 books by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet (These two books have GORGEOUS photos and the recipes are amazing!
• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• 2 books (Coconut Water for Health and Healing and Oil Pulling Therapy: Detoxifying and Healing the Body Through Oral Cleansing by Dr. Bruce Fife
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

I can hardly believe this is day 15 of my 30-day juice fast!!

Last night I slept well again. I jumped up this morning and discovered I was out of lemon! So… no warm lemon water this morning. I grabbed my Amazing Grass shaker cup, added some ice, a scoop of Amazing Grass Green SuperFood powder and some leftover cucumber-apple juice, and also grabbed my bottle of water with organic apple cider vinegar (a tablespoon) and left to run some errands (including picking up some lemons!).

On the way home, I stopped at that Amish produce stand again and bought some more beets (forgot to take a photo of ‘em this time–sorry!) and then came home….

Lunch

After a busy morning, I decided to drink more of my cucumber-apple juice (it’s so refreshing!!!) and added another (yes, a second scoop for today!) of Amazing Grass Green SuperFood powder. I decided to drink my grass outside.

Dinner Concoction

1 apple

1 celery stalk

1 nob ginger

1 handful spinach

1 handful parsley

5 (heirloom) rainbow chard leaves (from my garden)

4 (heirloom) beet leaves (from my garden)

2 small beets (from an Amish produce stand)

Looks Like Sherbet Juice!

Yum-O!

I had drank half of that juice when I realized I hadn’t taken a photo of it! I was getting ready to start this blog post so I just snapped a photo at the laptop. It was a beautiful, rich color and the taste was  simply divine!

And a Winner!

It’s awesome to finally be able to find out which lucky reader wins the Living Tree Community contest (a 16 ounce jar of Coconut Mango Persimmon Butter AND an 8 ounce jar of Raw Almond Butter–both organic!!)

I used Random.org to select a winner. There was a whopping 164 comments (whoa!) and it generated the #10….

…. which means Jocelyn (from Jocelyn Eats Fresh blog) won!

Here’s here comment:

Jocelyn { 06.22.09 at 4:22 pm }

whoa whoa whooooa..I so would love to try these products..
for one: I’v never even heard of such a thing as organic coconut mango persimmon butter..lol Like..we don’t get those kind of products in Canada!

Also Awhile back I was reading up on the website and I really like their *way* of living

http://www.livingtreecommunity.com/store2/grow.asp
especially loving relations and restful sleep
also..look at all thoes fine ingrediants that goes into the final product! Sounds like a dream to me!

Congratulations, Jocelyn!! Just e-mail me at healingwithjuices at gmail dot com with your mailing address and I’ll get your package in the mail!!

Thanks so much to Living Tree Community for sponsoring this contest. They are truly an amazing company with their heart in the right place!

And thank you to each of you who entered the contest. I appreciate every single one of your comments and entries and I SO WISH I could have awarded each and every one of you with these delicious products but I couldn’t. Keep striving for ultimate health and I hope to see you around!!

Until tomorrow… happy juicing!

Just tuning in? Catch up:

Day 1 of a 30-Day Juice Fast and Juicer Mishaps

Day 2 of a 30-Day Juice Fast–and AMAZING GRASS!!

Day 3–E3 Living!

Day 4 + Wheat Grass Galore + a Juicer!!

Day 5 — Dead or Alive?

Day 6 + Father’s Day Bliss!

Day 7, Cucumber Chia Heaven!

Day 8, Let’s Talk About Weight!

Day 9–and I’m Feelin’ Fine!

Day 10–Learnin’ About Lemon!

Day 11, Grapefruit Juice Heaven!

Day 12 with Sprouts on Top!

Day 13 and Juiceless

Day 14: Salad in a Glass

Upcoming Contests Featuring these Fabulous Companies

• 2 books by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet (These two books have GORGEOUS photos and the recipes are amazing!
• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

I had a little trouble going to sleep last night, but once I drifted off I slept blissfully and woke up rested and rarin’ to go!!

And I totally forgot to mention yesterday that I got to meet 2 young ladies from Wales! They had the cutest, most awesome, Welsh accent. It was just the coolest thing ever. I have never had the opportunity to meet anyone who was from Wales so it was such a special treat! Here’s one of them playing the guitar (she gave me permission to take her photo):

Friend from Wales

How awesome is that??!! So fun!!

Breakfast

This morning began with warm lemon water (1/2 a lemon in a cup of hot water). I normally have a raw juice between 30 minutes to an hour later but this morning, I was in the mood for a juice. I just wasn’t craving it. So, instead, I drank a tall glass of water with a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar .

Lunch

Lunch was hilarious. My Mom was making plates of salad for everyone who was here today and she made a plate for me–to juice! LOL So, I did.

Salad

(a little of each of the following)

chopped tomato (from a friend’s garden)

cauliflower

sliced cucumber

heirloom lettuce leaves (from my garden)

heirloom onion, chopped (from my garden)

sliced yellow bell pepper

sliced celery

Salad in a Glass

(Filled up a little more than half of my Amazing Grass cup)

After I took this photo, I added a scoop of Amazing Grass Green SuperFood powder. This juice was actually very delicious and satisfying!

(Just click on the photo below to find out how AMAZING this powder is!! )

Pickling Cucumbers

These are actually pickling cucumbers that weren’t picked soon enough and grew too big to pickle.

These are still good for eating/juicing, though. Sometimes they have a bitter taste; sometimes they don’t.

Cucumber Juice

I ended up with more than this amount because the juice turned out bitter. So to try to remedy the not-so-pleasant taste, I added 3 apples. That gave me 3 cups of cucumber-apple juic + a tall glass for me to drink right away. Weird combo, I know, but it worked out!

Cucumber-Apple Juice

Yum-O!

And that was it for day 14. I made sure to drink plenty of water and also had herbal tea with lemon. Tomorrow means this 30-day juice fast is already half over! Sheesh. Has it been 2 weeks already?

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you: I won a contest!! Eeeeek!! Kristin over at Iowa Girl Eats recently had a contest and I won the Grand Prize!!!

Until tomorrow… happy juicing!

Just tuning in? Catch up:

Day 1 of a 30-Day Juice Fast and Juicer Mishaps

Day 2 of a 30-Day Juice Fast–and AMAZING GRASS!!

Day 3–E3 Living!

Day 4 + Wheat Grass Galore + a Juicer!!

Day 5 — Dead or Alive?

Day 6 + Father’s Day Bliss!

Day 7, Cucumber Chia Heaven!

Day 8, Let’s Talk About Weight!

Day 9–and I’m Feelin’ Fine!

Day 10–Learnin’ About Lemon!

Day 11, Grapefruit Juice Heaven!

Day 12 with Sprouts on Top!

Day 13 and Juiceless

Contest Alert!

• The Living Tree Community contest ends tomorrow at 9 p.m. (Central Time)! You’ll win a 16 ounce jar of Coconut Mango Persimmon Butter AND an 8 ounce jar of Raw Almond Butter–both organic!! Hurry and enter. You have SIX CHANCES to win!!!

Upcoming Contests Featuring these Fabulous Companies

• 2 books by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet (These two books have GORGEOUS photos and the recipes are amazing!
• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

I didn’t sleep that well last night but, surprisingly, I wasn’t that tired or feeling that bad this morning. It’s crazy how a juice fast keeps my energy level up–even when I don’t sleep that well. I just kept waking up for some reason!!

Breakfast

My day began (like always) with a hot cup of lemon water (more about this below in a reader’s Q & A !! )

I was craving pineapple juice, so that’s what I made! I am loving being so in tune to my body! These longer juice fasts are so serene and holistic for me.

On to the morning juice concoction…

Pineapple, Chopped

(The whole thing except the leaves)

Yummy Pineapple Juice!

Added 6 Strawberries

+ a Scoop of Amazing Grass!

Amazing Grass Green SuperFood

(Berry flavored: Acai + Goji)

(Learn more about this amazing superfood by clicking on the picture below.)

My Breakfast!

(Don’t let the green fool you–it was berry-licious!!)

Besides my Amazing Grass shaker cup, I had enough pineapple-strawberry juice to share 3 small-ish glasses with family and store the container below (which holds 3 cups) in the freezer. I also made a few popsicles for later. Yes, you can have your juices frozen as popsicles while juice fasting!! How fun is that–especially in the summer time??!!

For Later

(I hear pineapple-strawberry juice is so yummy frozen and thawed–like a slushy!!)

After my juice, I had a glass of water with organic apple cider vinegar.

Snack

I had my daily shot (a tablespoon) of E3 Live and a tall glass of iced, herbal tea with lemon. Yum!

Lunch

For lunch, I finally decided to try the juice concoction Jenna keeps raving about. Jenna, over at Eat, Live, Run keeps talking about the following juice.  And I keep forgetting to pick up ginger root at the grocery store so I haven’t been able to make it until today! I searched Jenna’s site and discovered she also plays around with her recipe. She sometimes adds cucumber or half a lemon to the recipe but I went with her original version today…

New Concoction!

2 small beets

1 green apple

2 stalks celery

1 carrot

1 nob ginger (about an inch thick)

Note: I absolutely adore how there was just a hint of ginger in each sip. It wasn’t overpowering, but it was definitely there, tickling my tongue and throat! I didn’t dilute this one. Yum!

She’s a Beauty!!

(And yummy to the tummy–just like Jenna said!! Thanks, Jenna!!!)

Snack

For an afternoon snack today, I had a homemade pineapple-strawberry popsicle (from my breakfast juice). It was sooooooooo delicious! I enjoyed this yummy treat outside.

Sweet Treat!

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner was inspired by yesterday’s lunch–but I tweaked the recipe a little to come up with…

Kale Kreations!

2 apples

2 carrots

1 small beet

2 kale leaves

handful of spinach

nob and half of ginger

few sprigs of parsley

(The recipe shows 2 carrots and 2 apples because I threw another of each in the juice after the photo just to make a little more juice.)

Rainbow Swirls!

Yummy Goodness!!

(Made 16 ounces… I didn’t dilute this one.)

Reader’s Question

Why do you drink warm/hot lemon water first thing every morning?

Answer

Lemons are loaded with goodies your bodies need such as Vitamin C and heart- and cancer-fighting compounds like limonin and limolene. I love them. I have been drinking warm lemon water each morning before breakfast for a long time now. My Mom is a HUGE advocate of lemons and we have been having them in our iced tea for oodles of years. The warm lemon water (drank on an empty stomach) helps alkalize the body, jumpstarts your liver and bowel and flushes your kidneys and bladder. It’s very cleansing to your body. Lemons boost your immune system, lower histamine levels, and help give your skin an overall healthy glow. I definitely feel less energetic and have less “umph” on days I don’t get my lemon!

Hope that helps you understand my obsession with warm lemon water.

That’s it for day 10. I can’t wait to see what the rest of this 30-day juice fast has in store for me!!

Just tuning in? Catch up:

Day 1 of a 30-Day Juice Fast and Juicer Mishaps

Day 2 of a 30-Day Juice Fast–and AMAZING GRASS!!

Day 3–E3 Living!

Day 4 + Wheat Grass Galore + a Juicer!!

Day 5 — Dead or Alive?

Day 6 + Father’s Day Bliss!

Day 7, Cucumber Chia Heaven!

Day 8, Let’s Talk About Weight!

Day 9–and I’m Feelin’ Fine!

Until tomorrow… happy juicing!

Contest Alert!

• Erica over at I Run Because I Can is having a super fantabulous contest for peanut AND almond butter PLUS other yummy stuff!! Check it out!

• Kristin from Iowa Girl Eats is hosting a super duper cool contest for Real Simple magazine and RAWsome Pure Bars!! Hurry and enter!!

• Don’t forget about the Living Tree Community contest! (You’ll win a 16 ounce jar of Coconut Mango Persimmon Butter AND an 8 ounce jar of Raw Almond Butter–both organic!!)

Upcoming Contests Featuring these Fabulous Companies

• 2 books by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet (These two books have GORGEOUS photos and the recipes are amazing!
• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Living Tree Community (Raw almond butter and organic coconut mango persimmon butter!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

References:

McKeith, Gillian. Gillian McKeith’s Boot Camp Diet: Fourteen Days to a New You! England: Penguin Publishing, 2009

Yeager, Selene. Doctor’s Book of Food Remedies, Rodale Publishing, 1998

So far I’ve breezed through days 1 and 2 of this 30-day juice fast. Today marks day 3 and I thought I’d take advantage of the number 3 and talk about E3 Live. The company was kind enough to send me some to review (I’m LOVING it–thank you SO MUCH E3 Live!!!). I’m very pleased with the results so far! I’ll keep you updated on how I’m feeling while taking it but I plan on dedicating an entire in-depth post to E3 Live in the near future.

In the meantime, I’d like to introduce you to it. E3 Live is a superfood. (You can learn more about it at E3Live.com.)It’s a green liquid that a lot of people describe as tasting “green”. I have to describe it the same way–but it isn’t a strong green taste. It’s pretty mild to me. Of course, I’m used to green juices and smoothies and even herbal tonics, so I could be wrong but I think you’ll also find that it doesn’t have as potent of a green taste as you’d think. (I guess you’ll just have to try some for yourself!)

Day 3 Recap

This morning started off with lemon water (see yesterday’s post for the recipe). About half an hour later, I had a strawberry-blueberry juice. Around 10 a.m. or so, I had a tall glass of herbal iced tea. Then I did a no-no: I poured myself a cup of coffee. Just a few sips hit my stomach like a ton of bricks! (This is when I know that my body is finally rejecting coffee–yay!!! So, no more coffee!)

I noticed I was feeling really tired today, so a little before 1 p.m., I reached for a green juice. Until now, each time I’ve taken E3 Live, I’ve just downed it straight up. I haven’t added it to a smoothie or anything. But I felt like adding it to my green juice today–so I did!

E3 Live Juice

(1 tablespoon of E3 Live liquid into my green juice.)

The ingredient list for E3 Live (from the site):

Supplement Facts: Protein <1g; Trans Fat 0g; Vitamin A 1890 IU 38% daily value; Vitamin K 34mcg 43% daily value; Riboflavin 49 mcg 3% daily value; Vitamin B1 27 mcg 117% daily value; Organic Liquid AFA Algae (Fresh-frozen Aphanizomenon flos-aquae)

Lovin’ My E3 Live Shaker Cup!

(Thanks for letting me try your shaker, E3 Live!)

I’ve also had more herbal tea and water. It’s 5 p.m. as I’m typing this … I’ll probably have another green juice at 6 p.m. or so. I skipped the snack juice this afternoon–the E3 Live carried me right on through!

Note: I also noticed I slept better last night!

A First

I’ve never added anything to my juices while juice fasting. Adding E3 Live during a juice fast is a new experience for me–but it’s an experience I’m glad I’ve had and I’ll now continue it on future juice fasts!

What about you? Have you added superfood liquids or powders on your juice fasts? Why or why not? I can’t wait to read your juicy comments!

Upcoming Contests Featuring these Fabulous Companies

• 2 books by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet (These two books have GORGEOUS photos and the recipes are amazing!
• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Living Tree Community (Raw almond butter and organic coconut mango persimmon butter!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

Contests abound!

Just a quick post to let you know that I’m not the only one in contest mode–June, over at An Apple A Day, is hosting a contest. She’s giving away coupons for First Juice, Riceworks, and Coconut Bliss! Eeeek!! Head on over and enter this contest. (Thanks for an awesome contest, June!)

Don’t forget what’s coming up here!!

Upcoming Contests Featuring these Fabulous Companies

• 2 books by Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet (These two books have GORGEOUS photos and the recipes are amazing!
• 2 Food Matters DVDs (Haven’t had a chance to watch this one yet, but do check out their site–they have a RAWsome message to share!!)
• Detox 4 Women by Natalia Rose (I read this book last night and it’s awesome; it really helps you understand water retention, etc!)
• Living Tree Community (Raw almond butter and organic coconut mango persimmon butter!)
• Oh Nuts! (raw macadamia nuts and pecans) <— These are seriously delicious nuts–and they’re JUMBO sized!
• E3Live (Green-tasting (which I don’t mind!), but I REALLY notice that it’s making me feel better. It was definitely put to the test through my recent stressful events!)
• and MORE!

You’ll definitely want to stay tuned!

So… be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

Photo Credit: Arte Ram

Are you a first-time visitor? Be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health, and also be notified of new contests so you can win stuff!

Picture me sitting in that chair… I’m fessin’ up!

NOTE: For health reasons, I don’t recommend that anyone who is 100% raw start eating cooked foods out of the blue. It isn’t healthy at all and I’m only sharing my experience of falling off the wagon to show you that a) I’m not perfect (I know at least some of you can relate. ) and b) to help you know you’re not alone in your health journey “mishaps”. We’re all in this together, ya know?

So, last week I confessed to falling off the 100% raw food wagon. I admitted to giving in to some of my old (cooked) favorite comfort foods during the recent tragedies my family faced. Some of you have asked what exactly it is that I’ve eaten. It’s your curiosity that inspired this post!

The following is a list of what I’ve gobbled up over the last few weeks—not all in one day, or even one week. (Sorry there aren’t any pics! What? I was a little–okay a lot!–depressed and I just chowed down on the stuff. LOL) I’m sharing to the best of my memory and in no particular order, so here goes!

• Half of a biscuit with gravy, no meat
• Chicken (GASP! This one really, really surprised me—I haven’t eaten meat in YEARS! I honestly don’t know what came over me!)
• Stir-fried veggies
• Tuna sub (Just to clarify, it was not a foot long sub! LOL)
• Zero candy bar
• Chocolate cake
• Ice cream (chocolate and nuts were involved–eeeek!)
• Omelet with veggies and cheese
• Boca (processed veggie burger)
• Cappuccino pops (these are Heavenly and evil at the same time!)
• Pizza with olives and mushrooms
• Steel cut oats
• Baked potato
• Vegetarian chili with Mexican cornbread

And there  you have it: some of my yummy not-so-raw moments. I never said I was perfect, y’all. And you better believe I’ve consumed lots of raw veggies and fruit in the midst of all that cooked chaos. I’m STILL high-raw, really.

Now it’s your turn. What are your favorite comfort foods? Do you treat yourself occasionally or have them whenever you want? Are you a Raw Foodie? If so, have you ever fallen off the wagon during stressful times? What did you eat if you did? How long did it take you to get back to 100% raw? Come on, it’s your turn to sit in the chair. Get on up there. It isn’t that bad! I can’t wait to read your comments!

Coming Soon

• more contests and reviews
• photos and details about a pioneer festival I recently attended (including getting to meet an Editor and an Editor-In-Chief) Eeek!
• and updates from the Amish farm

So…. be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

Photo Credit: TouTouke

Looking in the Mirror

I’ve always tried to encourage you all to not feel like you have to give up on reaching your goals when you “mess up” on your journey to better health. Whether it’s missing a workout (or several) or giving in to your favorite junk food(s), I’ve told you to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in the game, right? Each new day is a fresh start, a clean slate, and you can start over, right? Right. Well, now it’s time for me to practice what I preach. Oh yeah, that’s the hard part! <Insert nervous laughter here>

On Again, Off Again

Here’s what happened: I was moseying right along, 100% raw, and loving every single moment of it–every raw nut, seed, veggie, fruit, smoothie, juice, sprout… I was at a place in my raw food journey where I wasn’t craving processed junk  (or even organic eggs or Greek yogurt–and those are two of my favorites!). I wasn’t feeling upset in any way that I wasn’t eating the same stuff those around me were gobbling up. I was at peace with my Raw Foodist lifestyle–and then it happened…. Tragedy after tragedy after tragedy hit my family (you can read all about it on my other blog).

Accepting and Loving

At first I was really, really upset with myself. Raw food is so important to me. Some of you have been telling me to stop being so hard on myself because I have eaten really healthfully for years now and have maintained a 100+ pound weight loss and a 75-100% Raw Food Lifestyle. And… you are right. Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) I am too hard on myself.  Why? Because 1) I don’t want to gain back the weight I worked so hard to lose, 2) I don’t want to slide back down the unhealthy ladder, and 3) because I really am passionate about a 100% Raw Food Lifestyle and all it has to offer in terms of health, the environment, and sparing animals from being eaten.

Climbing Back On

I am taking your advice, though, and my own. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve had to realize that I’m only human and I’m far from perfect. And sometimes in the midst of the storm, we end up comforting ourselves with food. Simple as that. It happens to the best of us. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the South, where comfort food rules: creamy mashed potatoes, fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, macaroni and cheese, moist cakes, decadent pies… Shall I go on?

Enjoying the Journey

I’m focusing on trying to find a “normal place” in life after all the recent family tragedy and am not going to be too hard on myself, or even set a date, about the 100% Raw Food. Right now, I just need to be. And sometimes that’s enough….

Have you fallen off the wagon? It doesn’t have to be the Raw Food wagon. Whatever you’re trying to achieve, it can be very difficult to stay on the straight and narrow 100% of the time so you can reach your goals. We can do this. Yes, we can. How? By taking one day–and one step–at a time. Come on, I’ll hold your hand and we’ll travel this rocky path together.

Coming Soon

• more contests and reviews
• photos and details about a pioneer festival I recently attended (including getting to meet an Editor and an Editor-In-Chief) Eeek!
• and updates from the Amish farm

So…. be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life.

Photo Credit: Andreas Solberg