I’m back Home now…

  • Posted on July 11, 2009 at 6:16 pm

I’ve been out of touch on here while on vacation, but I’m back home now and full of ideas, experiences, ponderings, insights…

The first thing I want to share is that I have succeeded in staying 100% raw vegan while on my travels. It was easy, actually. I shared with you the triggers and my way of handling them, and it worked for me this week.

I’m feeling icky, actually, despite eating raw and healthy. I’ve got a splitting headache and low energy. My bowels have been raging a revolution for about a week. I passed something that looked like a tapeworm early this week. I wonder…

I’m sticking with this wholeheartedly, however. It’s worth it to clean my Self out and be renewed. Oh, and I’m going to start posting what I eat again so that I can keep track and it may be helpful for you on your journey.

And now for something completely different…

bearLast night at 3:30 a.m., my sweetie was awoken by a ruckus outside. He got up to find a HUGE black bear rifling through our trash. He got me up and then we got our son to watch the debacle. It was exciting and frightening too. That bear went to our neighbor’s house after we scared it off and tried to get INTO their house. His nose prints were on every single window on the ground floor. And every screen was torn through, including the one into their son’s bedroom. He destroyed their chicken coop.

I feel so sad for this bear. Our neighbor got a nuisance tag to be able to shoot it. He’s going to wait up all night with his shotgun “every night watching movies until he gets it”. I know the bear will be back tonight. My sweetie and I are sending up a prayer that he’ll just head back into the high mountains from whence he came. But trash is yummy, so I think he’ll be dead tonight.

Speaking of trash…As I was cleaning up 4 cans worth of trash at 4:00 a.m., I was paying attention to our trash. Funny how the ego can be stroked by something as silly as garbage. But mine was. I was proud that we recycle and compost. I was proud that you won’t find old meat bones or food packaging of any kind. But then…I felt guilty! We can do better. There were a lot of disposable diapers and pieces of plastic wrap (you know, for leftovers). We used to cloth diaper, but stopped about 2 years ago because of rash problems. Anyway, I think we can do better. Scraping up smelly trash in the wee hours was a consciousness raising activity.

On that note, here’s what I’ve eaten today (dinner is still to come and probably 1 or 2 more snacks):

  • peach
  • apple
  • 1 piece dried pineapple
  • 1 medjool date
  • large salad with greens, 2 roma toms, 1 1/2 mushroom, 1 T yellow bell, dressing of sesame oil, Braggs, and apple cider vinegar.

Thanks for stopping by.

Bear Hugs,
Shawna

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SAD* Triggers

  • Posted on July 6, 2009 at 6:02 pm

We all have our triggers that spiral us into the demise of emotional eating. Emotional, by the way, doesn’t necessarily connote a negative mood.

I have been really reflecting on what my triggers are since I started to eat only raw foods again. It’s troubled me over the years that I’ve so easily gone back to a SAD diet just because of one event. Only, I wasn’t being aware that there was one event. So, I have been looking back on my history (because it does repeat itself) and trying to find clues to what has blocked my success. What I have identified is there are very concrete triggers for me that I wasn’t prepared for. So, in preparation for my renewed commitment to health and vitality and healing, I identified my triggers (and am still learning about them) and have created a plan as to how to be prepared for these situations. Also, part of the awareness and plan is a commitment to be gentle with myself. I learned about myself that I have an “all or nothing” attitude sometimes. Like “well, I had a piece of bread, so I might as well go eat a whole pizza!” I’m not exaggerating. Not at all.

Let me share what my triggers are, maybe this will get you thinking about yours:

  • getting together with friends
  • getting together with family
  • my period
  • holidays
  • holidays
  • holidays
  • not eating enough food; i.e. being really hungry
  • not drinking enough water
  • going to a restaurant
  • traveling

That’s my list as of today, and, yes, I meant to write holidays thrice.

How do I handle these triggers, that sometimes occur daily? First and foremost, I visualize myself making choices that are for my highest good and that support the vision of myself as a vibrant, healthy, joyful, complete woman.

And I pray. I literally say a prayer, sometimes while I’m face to face with pie, that goes something like this “Dear God, please give me strength and courage in this moment to make a good choice for my health!” I literally whisper these words from my mouth. It works for me.

Also, I reflect on history. Yes, I can eat that pie, but I know for a fact that I will feel like crap in the morning. I’m talking physically hungover. Cooked foods make me feel that way. They always have, but when that’s what you’re used to, you begin to fail to notice. Also, reflecting on history, I know that a piece of pie has often led to a lot more than that.

The 4th of July was a big trigger. I was prepared. I decided that my joyful experience would not be dependent on what I ate or didn’t eat, but on the pure experience of being in the moment. Watching my adorable son be awestruck by the fireworks on the beach, holding a sparkler, finding the perfect stick for his cousin to make a smore in the firepit…

How many people were in a food coma and didn’t really feel authentic energy to enjoy the subtleties of the day? No judgment here, just a pondering.

I made a delicious seaweed salad and a festive apple peach cobbler, shared by all. I was so fulfilled and satisfied with my meal. My mom made the comment that she wished we all could just eat like we used to. I shared a nostalgic moment with her in the kitchen where we remembered the giant bowl of homemade potato salad, the hamburgers and hotdogs, the fruit salad (we had that, at least), the pies… So very interesting how memories and tradition are so tied up in food, no matter where you’re from.

We had a fabulous day. I loved the food I ate and the energy I had afterward. I loved waking up feeling great and ready for the day’s activities. I loved that I succeeded with making positive choices for a vibrant, healthy, loving, peaceful me one more day!

Being well,
Shawna

*Standard American Diet

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Vitamix vs. Blendtec

  • Posted on July 3, 2009 at 11:40 am

John and I are frequently asked what the differences are between these blenders and which one we prefer. So, my super savvy geek of a spouse put up a Blendtec vs Vitamix page for your perusal. This has already helped quite a few folks figure out which blender will suit their needs. Honestly, we use both of them in our kitchen. When I’m going to be making something that is thick and doesn’t just pour out nicely, then I use the Blendtec because it’s so much easier to access down to the bottom. It’s easier to clean too. I don’t get the blades jammed into my cuticles with this one. But, that being said, if I am going for a smoooooth drink or sauce, then the Vitamix is the one for me. Both of these blenders are great and are always whirring at our house.

Which blender do you use?

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Watermelon Candy

  • Posted on July 3, 2009 at 10:50 am

I wanted to make sure you have this recipe because it’s da bomb. (hehehe that’s my 4th of July reference).

Watermelon Candy

Tell me how it turns out and if you adapted it. Share share share!!!

:)

Shawna

P.S. Get your dehydrator here.

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So what do you feed your son anyway?

  • Posted on July 2, 2009 at 7:58 pm

Good question. This is a question I ask myself every single day to help guide me and keep me present. He is not fed a 100% raw diet right now. He has been in the past. Most days he eats all raw, but sometimes I feed him sprouted bread, rice cakes, quinoa, spelt pasta, cooked mushrooms, and once in a while he’ll have eggs. He has eaten meat in the past. He loved it a couple times and then said to me “No more meat.”

Here’s what we do: we listen to him. He may not be able to articulate “I am feeling like I need more protein today,” but he does communicate with us exactly what he needs and wants. We pay close attention to him. For the most part, it is very easy. He has access to all fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds. Because he doesn’t have any emotional story around food, he gravitates directly toward what his body is needing, without judgment or question. He will mono-eat (eat only one thing all day long) at times and will fast other times.

I feel like in this area, we are excellent parents. We step out of the way of our own food story from childhood imprinting and trust that his body knows.

One of the most important things to me as a parent is that I instill in my child to trust his body, his intuition, his inner wisdom. How can I apply that to only certain areas of life that are easy for me and not to others where I may have more fear lingering? All areas must be supported. So, I practice what I preach when it comes to food.

Now, it is my responsibility to provide nutritious possibilities, and I do that. There is no refined sugar in my home. You will not see packaged foods in my cupboards or in my freezer. Am I against these things? No, not at all. Will my son ever eat them? Most likely he will. So why are you only providing fresh stuff, why no sugar? Because I feel it is critical to be conscious of how I am imprinting him. He has his whole life to eat Halloween candy, meat and potatoes, Ben & Jerry’s, if he so chooses. I don’t hold judgment around those things. What I do know is this: If I start him out on those things, then he has no choice. He WILL be addicted and his body will continue to desire the chemicals in these products.

Also, it is my belief that with a clean diet (let’s call it that, because he’s not all raw all the time) he will be better supported to be able to listen to his body and his intuition. Then when he is considering his options in the face of candy and cakes, he will have the tools to consider if he wants to put that in his body, even if this is a subconscious consideration. I’m not fooling myself in thinking that at 6 he’ll be like, “No thank you, no cake for me, I don’t want to have a sugar rush and then crash and then feel really sluggish tomorrow and not be able to focus on writing my alphabet!” It’s a process like all things. I’ve always heard that we return to our roots.

I hear a lot of criticism about our lifestyle. I can go on and on about my theories around that. But I will only say this, that people are worried that the backlash of Jonny not eating candy, for instance, will be that he will go nuts and eat only that the first chance he gets. I highly doubt it for many reasons. But the main point is that Jonny is not forbidden anything. I have control at my home over what is available. However, at other people’s homes he sees it all. He has been offered it all. When he told me he wanted to have a piece of cake at a birthday party, I said “Sure, I’ll have some with you.” We trotted off to get cake together and ate it snuggled up on the chair. No big deal. Not a regular occurrence. A healthy and happy experience. I am casual, and I am aware of what a rigid stance can do to a child. I will redirect him or say no to something that I know has MSG in it or high fructose corn syrup, just as I will intervene if he tries to step into the street.

I welcome your questions and comments.

So much joy,

Shawna

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Traveling in the Raw

  • Posted on July 2, 2009 at 7:31 pm

We did it! For those of you seasoned raw foodies, this may not sound like a big deal, but for me it’s BIG. I drove from Grants Pass, Oregon to Blaine, Washington (about 8.5 hours) eating only raw foods. My son and I left last night at 8:30 and spent the night in a hotel in Woodburn, WA and did the rest of the trek today. I brought with us a cooler filled with lots of fruits, fresh juice, almonds, raw cookies, watermelon candy, and lots of water.

The hardest thing for me was this morning I was really tired and my inclination was to get coffee. Right then there was a sign at a rest stop exit that said “free coffee”. I rationalized it as a sign from God and made all sorts of deals with myself. I told myself it was for the safety of my child.

A little background on why this is such a big deal…

First of all, the only way I can drink coffee is if it doesn’t taste like coffee. I’m talking LOTS of cream and even more sugar. And it makes me a byatch!

But in the name of safety I was going for it.

I poured the coffee and decided I’d have it black. Then I had a nanosecond of reflection and got that stillness where I listen to my body. I got clear that it was definitely not worth it. A man walked up to get coffee and I handed him my cup with a smile as if I had been waiting there to serve him. He was so grateful. Neat moment. I had a small cup of green tea and made my way, slightly more alert, but feeling triumphant for the moment.

And here we are at my mom’s house on the bay. She went shopping for us and bought TONS of fruits and veggies and nuts; all of it ORGANIC! Go mom! They have an excellent raw kitchen set up. My stepdad eats mostly raw, inspired by a decadent Raw  Thanksgiving I provided 3 years ago.

I’m not sure what I’ve eaten today. It doesn’t really matter. It’s been all raw and not a whole lot.

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Raising Jonny

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 1:09 pm

“Mom, may I please have some salad?”

This is what I heard this morning. Jonny wanted salad for breakfast. Here’s why, leading to a point…

Last night I did end up having that salad I wrote about. It was quite late and my son was still up (my fault, I’m confused by the sun setting at 9:30). He loves to higrate the cucumbers and avocado from my salad. I thought it would be fun to climb in bed for a salad picnic with him. Why not? Life is supposed to be fun. So there we were being cozy and having a salad in bed right before lights out. He was happily picking out all of my cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives this time. He ate around the mustard greens. This special and different time shared made him really happy and imprinted on him a positive experience. He was still beaming from that this morning and wanted to repeat it. He told me to make a salad and listed off: “greens, olives, cucumber, and tomatoes”. As a special surprise I added his two favorites: mushrooms and avocado. We snuggled on the couch (the other forbidden food zone) and ate out of the bowl together. Again, he avoided the mustard greens, but joyfully ate everything else.

I really like living like this. We have a lot of rules, which are obviously important, but sometimes it’s so fun and crucial to just let down our guard and have fun; be silly.

But that’s not the point of this story.

I want to share about something much more important: listening to our children. For the purpose of this blog, I’m referring to the context of food and nutrition. This will be the first of many posts on this topic.

I truly believe that our bodies are infinitely wise and divine. I believe this, and in my journey Home to my Self, I am learning to listen to my body and be still for a moment. I mentioned this in a previous post. So, if I believe that our bodies are wise, doesn’t this apply to children also? They have bodies. Why is it then that we so urgently impose onto our children an adult diet, so to speak? Why do we force them to sit and eat 3 meals a day? Why can’t they fast if they want to for a day? Because we believe we are doing the right thing. We care about our children and we are carrying forward what we have learned about nutrition from our parents. We are doing what we know.

But what if they were wrong? What if we truly listened to our children’s dietary needs from a relaxed, open standpoint? What would that look like? Would they eat only candy? Would they never drink water? Would they eat salad for breakfast?

I cannot count how many times I hear from mothers, “I wish my child wouldn’t eat so much sugar!” This is just one example of a phrase I hear regarding food and kids. I have to respond that our children are eating what we give them. That’s the truth. If we don’t have sugar around and we model healthy habits (in bed under the covers with a flashlight and a big bowl of sliced bananas and cherries – hey, that sounds fun!), then our children will follow suit. That’s what they do.

Here is my mission and my commitment: My intention is to lovingly remind and encourage mothers and fathers  to take back the power of their children’s health and nutrition. To empower us all to nourish our families being guided by our deepest knowing of what our spirit is telling us is right. To educate ourselves about nutrition and take responsibility for it.

This is too important to not worry about. Look around you at the youth of today. Children are obese everywhere we look and malnourished. Children have adult-onset diseases. Read that again: adult-onset diseases.

I am not saying that a paradigm shift in our kitchen is easy, but what I am saying is that it’s worth it. There are a bazillion resources on the internet to give support along the way. We always say that it takes a village to raise a child. I always say that it takes a village to raise a parent.

More to come on this with some fun stories of what we do with Jonny.

Have a beautiful day!

Shawna

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Food Intake Hugely Reduced

  • Posted on June 30, 2009 at 9:47 pm

I am noticing that I need to eat hardly anything at all to feel nourished and satisfied. This is such a different experience for me. I have always craved that ultra full-gotta unbutton my pants-feeling. How absurd, really, to eat that much until you’re literally unable to efficiently move for at least 30 minutes. And then when you can move, you really don’t feel like it. Anyway, I have always adored eating and literally stuffing myself. So, I noticed today and commented to my husband that I’ve eaten hardly anything, yet feel so good, energetic and satisfied. He’s been 100% raw right along with me and he’s noticing the exact same thing.

I came home from work tonight feeling pretty hungry, actually. I was craving a big salad with fresh garden greens. I had 3 bites of this amazing watermelon fruit roll-up we made in the dehydrator and a big glass of water, and my hunger dissipated! I went up to the garden to gather the greens and I noticed I really wasn’t wanting them anymore. I was present with that feeling for a moment (something I’m learning to do more easily all the time) and realized that I was nourished and satiated from those 3 bites of watermelon leather! I felt sort of exhilarated to realize this and be okay with it. The usual me would not allow that to be my dinner because it just doesn’t make any sense to be full from that.

As I’m writing this, my stomach is starting to growl. I woke it up with all this talk of living food! So, I am going to go and enjoy gorgeous mustard greens and arugula with cucumber, tomato, and olives with a drizzled fresh tahini dressing. I wish you could join me…

Here’s what else I’ve had today:

  • 1 peach
  • 1 apple
  • 2 large-ish raw jalapeno crackers
  • 2 (mostly) raw protein bars (there are peanuts in these, which I feel funny about eating, but I’m even funnier about throwing away something I’ve purchased. So, until I get over that issue, I’ll be eating these mostly raw bars until they’re gone.)
  • several olives
  • 3 bites of watermelon fruit leather

Joy to you!

Shawna

P.S. my 3 1/2 year old son randomly asks us “What are you grateful for?” How cool is that? I’m so grateful for the technology that allows me to connect with others’ hearts…virtually. The vibration is still there and real. Give thanks!

What blessings are you counting today? I’d love it if you would share this out loud with me. :)

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Identifying with Illness

  • Posted on June 29, 2009 at 11:29 pm

I’ve been listening to Eckhart Tolle’s, A New Earth, on tape in my car. The ideas put forth in that book are literally transforming my life in many ways. One of the things that he talks about is over-identification with our roles (i.e. mother, father, husband, doctor, caregiver, etc.) and how that leads to more disconnect from who we truly are because we’re stuck in the story of that role. These are my words, by the way, trying to relate the essence of this complex topic. When we identify so strongly with a role, the DOING-ness associated with that identity replaces the BEING-ness of who we really are. Our egos have a lot at stake in defending their position as the role itself.

Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately and want to posit this idea: having an illness is a role too and so easily becomes all-consuming; thus resulting in an over-identification with this role as the diseased person. When we own it in that way, it becomes the majority of the sum total of who we are. How often do we “suddenly understand” who a person is when we hear their title as “cancer survivor” or “he has AIDS“. Our human mind, overly identifying with our own story in relation to these example titles, instantly applies a film of false knowing over who that person is. We no longer see that person as the divine I Am presence behind the experience, but we see the experience and mistake it for Who that person Is.

How often do we do this in our own lives? What roles related to our health and wellness are we identified with in such a way that we literally forget the essence of who we are? We become so accustomed to our dis-ease that we will cling to it for dear life, passively defending it’s existence by our lifestyle choices, all the while crying out in agony for help. Because, after all, that’s part of the role, isn’t it?

Dare I say that it can be comfortable and convenient to live in our familiar story year after year after year… I have done this for so long with my weight, for example. I started being unhealthily overweight when I was in my early 30′s. I am 38 now, so for several years, I have been truly suffering and struggling. However, the idea of facing it and dealing with it has been much more daunting, terrifying, and uncomfortable than just being fat and complaining about it. Now, my overweightness, so to speak, manifested around 30, but my eating disorder and food obsession story began decades earlier. I see now, as I’ve been reflecting on Tolle’s ideas, that I learned a story, placed myself in the starring role, believed in every line, and began to shape my life in a way that would support this identity, no matter how dysfunctional or unhealthy. You see, the universe will provide us with everything we set our attention on. What we think about, we bring about.

So, what if the starting point for our healing, regardless of our treatment approach, was the recognition of how the dis-ease we’re dealing with has become the focus of who we think we are? What if we were able to unplug our soul identity from the experience of the problem? Is it possible to honor a “condition” as an experience in our life that ultimately serves to teach us, and maybe others, something that is necessary for our spiritual evolution? I’m not suggesting that all we have to do is shift our thinking and “poof” we’re cured. But, could that be a start? Maybe the dis-ease wouldn’t go right away, but I believe the experience around it might shift. Maybe it would go away.

I work as an occupational therapist with people in their homes, and I have a physically disabled father with multiple sclerosis. I see a lot in my line of work and in my personal life. I deal with people’s stories every single day. These musings that I’ve tried to gingerly share with you are being contemplated daily, as I journey with people through their dis-ease. I see patterns; some are diagnosis-specific. I see commonalities among the people I serve, and I can’t help but to wonder…

In case you still care, here is what I ate today:

  • a green smoothie for breakfast
  • seaweed salad
  • coleslaw
  • apple
  • more green smoothie
  • a couple of Bliss Balls
  • a big slice of raw coconut cream pie
  • pineapple
  • watermelon

Thank you for reading. I welcome your thoughts.

Love,
Shawna

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Check out this site.

  • Posted on June 29, 2009 at 9:33 am

I just found a cool site that I want to share. Basically the author put into words all the reasons he could think of for going on a raw food diet. I agree with them all. So rather than rewriting it, I’ll direct you there. Come back by here and share your thoughts.

Have a blessed day!

Shawna

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