Bloating

One real problem that I've been dealing with lately is a ton of bloating. When I read up on the raw food diet in the winter, I saw a few articles that talked about how bloating can occur if your diet has lots of raw foods along with cooked foods. I guess the combination just doesn't mix very well...and I've experienced that first hand.

Since I haven't been staying in one place in recent weeks, I sometimes feel like my raw food intake is slipping and I rely more on vegan options. I hate to say that choosing vegan food is more 'convenient' but the truth is, I only trust raw foods from certain stores and I don't always have access to them when I'm on the go. Better planning can surely change this. If I want to be 100%, I have to create a solid schedule for shopping and plan on bringing food with me wherever I go. I want to be prepared...always.

Back to my bloating issues...I wanted to write about this because it's gotten progressively worse in the last week. I get bloated so badly sometimes that I develop these painful cramps in my abdomen and feel as if I can't walk. A large staple of my diet is rice and beans, and I imagine that this combo has something to do with my constant bloating. I know that I shouldn't be so dependent on carbs, but I honestly think that rice is the last carb that I've held onto and it's an addiction that is taking a long time to overcome. Giving up meat was tough, giving up dairy, eggs, and sugar was even tougher, but carbs are on a whole different level. It's been a real challenge trying to stay away from them and it's a battle I have yet to win.

Maybe what I'll try doing is cutting out simple carbs for a week and see if I experience any changes. If the bloating goes away, then problem solved. If it doesn't go away though, there are probably other components of my diet that I have to confront in addition to the carb thing.

A couple days ago, I was thinking of ways to make the bloating temporarily subside. I decided to start the day off with a fresh glass of watermelon juice (w/ rind) and let my stomach do its thing until I got hungry again. So here's what I did...and you'll have to excuse me for stating the obvious:


I got this mini-watermelon at Trader Joe's for $3.49. I thought that I'd have to juice the whole thing to make a glass-full, but I actually only had to do half...so my breakfast was a total of $1.75. Not too shabby.


Since the rind was going in the juice as well, I took a steel pad and gently cleaned the outside of the watermelon while I ran it under cold water.


Like I said before, I only needed to juice half of it because that yielded enough juice for me. I cut it up into small enough pieces so it could fit into the mouth of the juicer.


Last but not least, the four slices went into my juicer to top off my breakfast. This whole process had to take less than two minutes to complete. Maybe not faster than making a bowl of cereal, but definitely better for you.

The juice filled me up perfectly and I didn't get hungry again for another couple hours. The bloating was temporarily solved but decided to haunt me later in the afternoon.

One step at a time I guess.

Bottoms Up!


Raw. Love.

On Being a Vegan

(Typical vegan meal I eat - quesadilla w/ veg cheese, beans and rice, homemade coleslaw)

Whenever the subject of me being a vegan is brought up, I always tell people that I love veganism. Now, of coarse, I would ideally like to take the next step and become a raw vegan, but as I've stated before, it takes time. Sadly, my diet has been slipping lately...not in the sense that I've been eating meat or dairy, but the quality of food I consume isn't so great. I've been bouncing around between staying with my sister and staying at home, so I have yet to put myself on some sort of regular schedule. I guess now is the time to get all of those things that I want to do in my free time out of my system because come fall, it's time to hit the books.

Back to loving the vegan life...yes, it has been very good to me. The first added bonus has been the weight loss. I weigh-in on Sundays and my last reading was 142.5lbs...up one pound from last week, which was expected. That brings my total weight loss thus far to 25.5lbs. Since my leg is still not 100% yet, I haven't started a serious workout regimen. I have been doing a lot of walking around the city to get my heart pumping, but nothing too formal. If I don't feel like purchasing a Metrocard...I don't, and I hit the streets instead. Yesterday, for example, I hiked from 34th and 8th ave to 59th and 2nd ave which, for those of you who aren't from the city, is a hike indeed...those avenues are no joke, especially on the east side.

Another other great thing about being a vegan is that I feel like I'm free of a lot of the ailments that I was plagued with previously. When I was a vegetarian, I caught one cold, but since then I haven't gotten one (that was back in January I think). My immune system used to suck like no other, but that's really changed over the past few months. I used to take tons of vitamin c thinking that it would stop me from getting sick all of the time, but little did I know that taking things out of my diet would do more than adding extra stuff in...you feel me?

I'm going to talk for a second about how I think I'm a hypocrite...

These little gals come to our door everyday looking for a nice meal and a little affection. They are strays that roam the streets of my neighborhood, and they have to eat too...right? Well, that's my thinking at least. My mom and I generally hit up a corner store before we get home and buy them a few cans of 9Lives cat food, which is essentially just a can full of ground up meat. Now, I know that I shouldn't be putting any of my money into any industry that is associated with slaughtering, but cats are carnivores, and they turn their noses up at veggies. Maybe it would be more ethical if I stuck to giving them dry food, although it's a mystery what they put in that stuff too. Time to take a look at my ethics?

This post was a pretty useless rant, but I figure it's been awhile since I've written anything...and it's been a really long time since I've written anything with substance. I'm workin' on it.

Raw. Love.
-Nat

CSA

(Fresh Veggies from the CSA)

I'm not about to sit here and front like I know all about CSA's and dish out a bunch of info, because I'm the wrong source to ask about this subject. What I CAN do though is give you a little background on my encounters with CSA's and talk about how awsome I think they are. I have a lot more research to do on this subject and will be writing on it again, but for now, I'll just draw from my own experiences.

So basically, CSA's are amazing. Why didn't my family and I have access to a resource like this in the past? The food comes straight from a farm in Roxbury, New York, and lands on my kitchen table in the same day. The nutritional value of these veggies is significantly higher than those you find in your everyday run-of-the-mill grocery stores because they are grown organically with tender love and care. I can say this with confidence because my mom spent a summer working up at that same farm in Roxbury and she returned home with plenty of positive stories to tell about their methods for vegetable gardening. (More on this at a later date).

Since my mom (and sometimes I or my sister) volunteers at the CSA, we get our produce free of charge, which is a huge plus. Volunteering really isn't such a bad gig either. You get to meet lots of great people, make some awsome connections, and squeeze in a little bit of networking when it presents itself. The whole dynamic of the place is great. It's got a very 'homey' feel and the same people are there every week so you really have the opportunity to build relationships if you so choose.

The CSA that we go to is located on 116th Street between St. Nicholas and 7th Avenue in Manhattan. It's housed inside one of the buildings operated by Food Bank, so the facilities are also used for feeding the homeless and holding pantry food. Volunteering there, whether it be for the CSA or helping out with feeding the homeless, is an amazing experience. You get to acquaint yourself with other volunteers and the droves of people who come in for a meal. It can really be a fun and enjoyable experience if you allow it to be. It's all about having an open mind.

Here are a few images of the produce that we took home last Thursday:

(Beets)

(Kale)

(Spinach)

I was prepping these veggies (along with a few others) to go in the juicer. My juicer is also something that I have to talk about in an upcoming post because I previously talked about my juicer alternative before I actually got my real one about 3 weeks ago one. Anyway though, I was glad that I had some fresh vegetables readily available that I could drink...supplying my body with the nutrients that it requires. It feels so good to treat your body right. Be good to it, and it will be good to you.

Raw. Love.
-Natalie

Hemp Shake deux

Round two of the hempshake came and passed, and here I am to talk about it. I went to my trusty local health food store last week and purchased another couple hempshake packets, except in a different flavor. Last time, I bought chocolate and this time, I went fruity and got berry pomegranate. I must say, I like this one better than the chocolate. I'm not much of a chocolate person anyway, but even if I was, I think I'd still like the taste of the berry pomegranate better.

Moving along...just like with the chocolate hempshake, this delight called for a couple other ingredients. I kind of ended up adding in way more of each ingredient than the package called for, but I'm a growing teen and I was juice feasting that day (I have an amazing talent for rationalizing). Here are the guest stars of the berry pomegranate shake:

(Berry Medley mix from Trader Joe's. I probably threw in about a cup and a half of this)

(Pacific Original Almond Milk)

Just a little side note, I tried making my own almond milk about two weeks ago and it was an absolute disaster. For one, I don't own a nutmilk bag, and besides that, I know nothing about making almond milk. I had some extra almonds laying around and I was just like 'hey, maybe it'll be a good idea to thrown these babies in a blender with some water, salt, and vanilla bean.' Man, I couldn't have been more wrong. Sometimes, my creativity results in something really awesome, but this certainly wasn't one of those times. At least I tried though.

I am sadly forced to resort to store bought almond milk. I don't think that this qualifies as raw, but it's as close as I'm going to get to it until I learn how to make my own. When turning vegan, I decided to drink this milk instead of soymilk or rice milk because I knew my transition into raw veganism would be easier if I was already used to having some sort of almond milk.

(The finished product. Gotta love the microwave in the back)

I've said it once and I'll say it again, this shake was very tasty. I read the back label to see what it was comprised of, and I couldn't figure out whether it was raw or if it had some cooked or processed components. I'll have to double check that on Nutiva's website.

My second impromptu juice feasting day (as I mentioned above) went well, just as the first did. I did it on Sunday, the 6th, and I unfortunately ran into some minor conflicts throughout the day. I went to the Yankees vs. Boston game that day with my dad, sister, and , my sister's boyfriend, and it's not easy to sit inside Yankee stadium for two hours without eating....but I did it. I had some juice in a glass bottle when I entered the stadium and it got taken away at the gate; I should have known. All I had left was some honest tea (orange mango flavor) that my sister was nice enough to give me once we situated ourselves in the bleachers....yes, the bleachers. I got through the day alright though, and the game was enough to keep my mind off of food, although my sister didn't help much when she walked passed me with a heavily mustarded pretzel.

The Yankees won by the way.

So from what I remember, here's what I drank throughout the day (no specific order):
2 hempshakes,
2 glasses of carrot juice,
ginger tea,
emergen-c,
orange mango honest tea,
lots of water!

Raw. Love.

PROgress

(Yuck!)

Not only did I get to have a nice (cooked) meal with my family for my 18th birthday, but I also was lucky enough to get a pimple right in the middle of my forehead. My friends called me Unicorn for about a week and I had to go to a teacher to get pimple treatment cream...how embarrassing. I can never seem to keep my hands off of my face, so my pimple eventually turned into an irritated red blotch (pictured above, hard to miss). I'm working on it though. I've gotten better and better and keeping my hands off and only touching my face when I need to wash it. But anyway, the story behind this photo is that it was taken on my birthday, as I mentioned above, and that was my absolute lowest point. I was feeling quite large and unhealthy at 168lbs, and I really just didn't feel good about myself. I was in the middle of basketball season at the time, and I felt highly insecure every time I had to put my sleeveless jersey on. Often times during practice, I would either wear long sleeved shirts or black t-shirts in an effort to hide the extra weight I was carrying. The winter was a tough time for me.

Buying a copy of Skinny Bitch changed everything for me.

This is my post Skinny Bitch photo. That book really changed my life. Everything turned up for me after reading it. It was through that book that I entered the world of Raw Foods and all of the wonderful things it has to offer. Although Skinny Bitch promotes veganism, there is definitely an underlying 'raw' principle that is present.

These two pictures were taken five months apart...a slow transition but well worth the wait. I am aware that I have just started my journey an I have a long way to go, but I am actually excited about what lies ahead. I've made some pretty drastic changes these past few months, but it's only the beginning.

I wish that there was a way that I could thank raw food for all that it has given me. There is no explaining how appreciative I am for all of the benefits it has blessed me with. And to think, this food has been staring me in the face my whole life and I never took advantage of it. Meat, dairy, and processed food only served as nutrient deficient substitutes that were never cutting it for me. Now that I have found the real deal, I am better able to correct the diet mistakes I had made in the past.

Raw. Love.

Glowing

(Me, one of my brothers, and my sisters)

I had my last weigh-in on Sunday, June 29th, and the scale read 145lbs. That means I'm down 23lbs since I made changes to my diet...and I can feel it for sure. My weight loss and the rest of my transformation has really bumped up my confidence level to a point where it has never been before. I honestly feel like I'm glowing.

This is probably going to be the most un-modest post that I ever write, but I just really wanted to talk about how good I've been feeling lately. The elimination of meats, dairy, and unnatural sugars from my diet has done wonders for me all around. I feel better, I look better, I'm more positive, I'm happier about life, I'm more productive, and most importantly, I live every day to the fullest. Feeling beautiful from the inside and out is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Of coarse, there are still days when I feel sluggish, just like there are days when I feel amazing, but I think I'm well on my way to permanent happiness and confidence.

I used to walk around the city with my head down, literally, but lately I have forced myself to look up and say 'you know what, there is NOTHING for me to have my head down about. I have a beautiful life, and I should appreciate every second of it.' People notice when you feel good about yourself, because it shows and it's impossible to hide. Why would you want to hide it anyway?

I barely ever used to get compliments, but now I feel like I receive them everyday. Some of them I can do without, but others seem very genuine and are reassuring for me. To know that all of the inside stuff that I've been working on is finally showing on the outside is extremely exciting. It's something that I have been waiting for for awhile now. Six months of hard work mixed in with a lot of back and forth is now starting to take physical form.

I still have lots of work to do, no doubt about that, but I am very pleased with the progress I have made thus far. I'm no raw foodist yet, but I can't even begin to imagine the constant high I'll be on once I do make the full on transition. I'm confident that I'll get there if I make small strides every day and keep at it. I'm not giving up.

Spread The Word.

Raw. Love.

Big Foot

(Carrot and Collard Juice)

I won't bother grossing anyone out by posting a photo of my recovering broken leg, but I did want to write up an update about it. The orthopedic surgeon says that I am progressing very well and that I should be fully on my feet in another 4 days or so. I have no cast on at this point and I can walk with shoes on, but I still have to use my crutches when I walk. I've been pretty hard headed lately and haven't been using my crutches as directed, but I'm just so anxious to go out and do my own thing

So I labeled this post big foot because my foot is actually quite large. Well, not my foot exactly, but my ankle. I've been on my feet constantly since Friday night and at the end of each day, my ankle looks like a mini baseball. When my leg is at rest for an extended period of time, like when I'm sleeping, the swelling goes down tremendously, but the slightest bit of activity can change all of that.

When I went in for my x-ray last Wednesday, the specialist told me that the break was no longer visible. They said that the plate and screws that were put in to support my break will be removed eventually since I'm still young, but for now, they're staying put until further notice. I wonder how crazy the surgeon would think I was if I credited part of my recovery to my diet?? Pretty crazy I suppose. I'll keep that thought tucked away.

Diet wise, I've been alright lately. I did a pretty good job of trashing my body this weekend, but I also did an alright job of bouncing back after an off weekend. I haven't gone out on my own in awhile so I really appreciated being able to go out this weekend and enjoy myself. I did an impromptu juice feast on Sunday and felt unbelievable good. I only had four 12oz juices throughout the day, but I actually think my body was thanking me because after two days of staying out late and 'doing my thing', my body deserved a well-needed break.

I can't wait to do more extensive juice feasts in the near future. I'm thinking about treating myself to round trip tickets to L.A. in the next couple weeks, so I really need to shape up and juices will be a major player...I want my California debut to be something to remember.

Raw. Love.