6 Week Deep Tissue Detox

Spring has Sprung!

Time to get those lingering toxins from winter, bad eating habits, pollution and stress OUT of your body to
make room for more energy and vitality!

Sign up for the 6-Week Deep Tissue Detox before bikini season hits!

BIG BESSY NEWS!

The Raw Divas have been busy updating the Body Enlightenment System to include more GREENS and special guests! But you will have to click the link to find out all the RAW, juicy details!!! [grin]

BUT HURRY!
YOU'VE ONLY GOT UNTIL NOON (That's Eastern Standard Time) ON OCTOBER 25, 2008 TO SIGN UP FOR THE MOST EXCITING BODY ENLIGHTENMENT SYSTEM TO DATE AND TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND AS A NEW MEMBER OF THE RAW DIVAS!

Cravings and Emotional Eating

The Raw Divas very own Cravings Diva, Angela Stokes has been featured on CNN! If you haven't seen it already, check out the segment here:



To learn amazing and effective tips from Angela Stokes and The Raw Divas on dealing with YOUR cravings and emotional eating check out The Raw Diva's Guide to Cravings and Emotional Eating. Amazing program, amazing value. Click Here!

You will also receive, FREE as part of the program, Angela's wonderful e-book "Raw Emotions"!!!

Viva la Mouthalucion!

100% Organic

In today's world of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, genetically altered foods and depleted soil ... sometimes it's nice to know you are getting something truly fresh and 100% organic!!! [grin]

Green Smoothie Smiles

I bet a bunch of you have been wondering where the heck I have been, and what ever happened to my blogging abilities. Well, I have to tell you ... it's been a bit difficult to come up with the energy to blog when I have just finished a whole day perched in front of my computer as the Customer Service Diva and The Powder Room Queen for The Raw Divas! [grin]

Today is the last day of the LIVE version of The Green Smoothie Queen 3 Day Challenge! (We are going automated next, so you can take it whenever you want, just like The 7 Day Diva Detox!) I was making my morning smoothie and I put the lid of the blender down on the counter so that I could pour my concoction into my Green Smoothie Jug, and when I lifted the lid to wash it, I was greeted with this cheery little fellow!

Honestly ... how could I not stop everything to share!!! [grin]

Dr. Feel Good

I haven't been feeling too chipper the last few days. Stuffy runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, sinus headaches. YUCK!

Today I absolutely had to get some work done but I just felt like crawling back in bed for the day. Instead of resorting to that, however, I decided to try to make something that would make me feel better.

I came up with the Dr. Feel Good Shake. Within a half hour of drinking it, I was no longer sleepy and I had an overall feeling of well-being. I actually felt like running around and hugging everyone. I did still have a runny nose and all, but I did feel a lot better. I have noticed that quite a few people have mentioned on their blog that they had a cold, so I decided I would share this with you!

Dr. Feel Good Shake
(makes about 32 ounces)

4 bananas (frozen is best)
2 cups water
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. of vanilla
And here is where the feel good stuff comes in....
4 T of "Go Goji Cacao" (dried goji berries & cacao beans - raw blend)
1 T Hemp seeds
1 T Royal Jelly in Honey

Blend it all up and enjoy. About a half an hour later you will feel full of hugs and energy!

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that "Go Goji Cacao" is no longer being made, so just throw in 4 T of raw cacao and a small handful of raw, dried goji berries.

Made to Order

Bob and I found a couple of raw products that we had never seen before at out local co-op, the Clintonville Community Market. We decided to give them a test spin... for YOUR benefit, mind you!!! [grin]

There were raw breads of various varieties, and raw red cabbage. Bob is doing a product review over on his site, for you.

I just wanted to give you a little glimpse of how we used them! It is just one slice of "bread", in this case the Sun-Flax Italian, topped with the red cabbage and some mung beans. Very nice!

Where's the Passion?

Doesn't that just make your mouth water? It is called Pineapple Passion Fruit Salad, but alas... I could find no passion fruits to lend their seeds to this wonderful dish! I made this for Bob and I about a week and a half ago following a recipe by Heidi and JS of Raw Food, Right Now! You can find the recipe in their Raw Easter e-book!


The above photo makes a delicious wallpaper for your computer! Go ahead and download it to your desktop... you know you want to! [grin]

Raw Easter Dinner!

Well... I think I made you wait long enough for my pictures of Bob's and my Easter dinner!!! If you click on the picture of the plate it will say that the picture is entitled "Thanksgiving Dinner". I assure you, it was Easter! I'm just a bit loopy!!! [grin]

I would have loved to have had ALL of the lovely recipes from Raw Food, Right Now! presents Raw Easter, but we actually got a late start on shopping and all.

Bob prepared the entire dinner by himself (which is not uncommon). He made the following recipes:

* Easter Roast with Sweet Mesquite Dry Rub
* Apricot Glaze
* Deviled Eggs
* Garlic Green Beans
* Carrot Cake

Delicious!!! The apricot glaze on the roast was just the right touch. Not only did it give it a nice slightly sweet taste, but it made it look more like an actual roast. The Deviled Eggs were so good that I whipped up a second batch (and a batch of Heidi's original Eggless "Egg" Salad recipe) today!!! JS had e-mailed me and said that he could eat Heidi's Garlic Green Beans all day long. I could too!!! They are so good and refreshing.

Then there was the carrot cake! Now I don't know if Bob followed the recipe or if he doubled it, but we ended up with four two-layered 4" cakes! They are SO rich tasting that Bob and I can only eat a quarter of a cake at a time. If you are just preparing food for two people (as we were), you might want to cut the recipe in half. Definitely a nice ending to a great meal.

Honestly... I just can't wait until Bob and I have a chance to try the other recipes out that are included in the book. If you didn't order it, yet... DO!!!

Hopefully, Bob and I will be able to fix more of the recipes that were in the book in the near future. There are a lot more left to try!!! If anyone else made any of the recipes in JS and Heidi's e-book, please let us know how it went!!!

Raw Rabbit Food (at it's Best)!

Heidi and JS have done it yet again!!! I'm just so excited about this, I can't even tell you. Bob and I have enjoyed the recipes from both the Raw Food, Right Now! Raw Thanksgiving ebook and the Raw Food Right Now! Raw Christmas ebook. Now we are in the midst of soaking nuts and apricots in preperation for tomorrow. The recipes in the Raw Food, Right Now! Raw Easter ebook look so wonderful that I can't even articulate! I'm just drooling too much!!! [grin]

If you order the book before Easter Day, Sunday, March 23rd at 11:59 PM Central, you can get it for only $12.00!!! Mind you it only goes back up to $15.00 after midnight, so it is still a great deal. But hey... why waste time. Get it now and save $3.00 to spend on... oh, lets see... fresh fruit!!! [grin]

Click here to view more details

or

As always, I will report back how our Easter dinner went. But don't wait for the review. Get it now, print it off in full color and stuff it in your easter basket!!!

Green Smoothie Bliss

This is technically the last day of my Green Smoothie Queen 3-Day Challenge. However, I'm going to continue drinking mostly green smoothies through the weekend, at the very least. I may have a salad here or there, but I really need to up my green intake.

I found this interview on YouTube and I feel that it is very important for everyone to watch this. It answered a few questions for me. Each part of the interview is only about 10 minutes. You can spare twenty minutes for your health, can't you???

Ack! I've been Hit!

Photo by Fredcat

I never could run fast enough not to get tagged! [grin] I was tagged by Leslie Anne, yesterday, to list five things that you don't know about me. Well... okay... I'm pretty boring, really... but if you really want to know!!! [grin]

1. When I was in about sixth or seventh grade, my sister and I went to a Halloween Haunted House. I enjoyed it so much that we went home and transformed our bedroom (over several days) into a haunted bedroom. We made our own soundtrack of spooky moans and groans. I cut up my fuzzy purple bathrobe to make a vampire bat (glued to styrofoam, cardboard wings) and rigged it to slide across the room on transparent thread. unscrewed the bulb in the lamp to the point that when you walked (our floor was creaky... we lived in a barn) it flickered. Then we took the kids my mother babysat on a tour. (They cried... we loved it!) I've been hooked ever since then. Over the years my display has gotten a bit better. Check it out!

2. My sister put a pickled hot pepper in my mouth while I was sleeping when I was in Junior High School. In my sleep, I chewed it up and swallowed it. I became so ill that I was unable to sit up without throwing up for over two weeks. I could barely keep food down, but bananas and Dr. Pepper gave me no trouble. My neighbor, Dr. Jose, came over almost every day to check on me. He had no idea what was wrong with me, so all they could do was try to keep me comfortable. Oh... did I mention that my sister thought I was going to die, so never told anyone what she had done for fear of being punished? She finally confessed after we were both adults. She said that she honestly thought I would wake up and spit it out because I never could stand spicy hot food!

3. Just so you know that my sister, Chana, was not the only brat in the family... When I was in seventh or eighth grade a big tree fell in the field behind our house. My best friend, Holly Lisle, and I tied my sister's hands behind her back, put a noose around her neck and left her balancing about five feet above the ground on the trunk. We rescued her in about fifteen minutes, but to this day, none of us can figure out why we did it!!!

4. I met my husband while taking out the trash. Yep! I was employed as a housekeeper at the Ohio State University's Student Union when I was a sophomore at OSU. I was pushing one of those great big rolling dumpsters towards the hall that would lead to the outdoor trash compactor from the eating area on the lower level. Bob put out his foot as if to trip the dumpster. (Had I not stopped, he would have gotten a broken ankle, I'm sure!) He then struck up a conversation about how he had been doing my job three days earlier. I basically called him a liar!!! [grin] You see, he was a "Red Coat", which is what we all called the Night Managers (days, too... but we worked nights) because of the garish scarlet blazers they sported. The only way that you could get to be a Red Coat was to work your way up through the ranks, and housekeepers were at the very bottom of the ranks. In effect, he pulled strings. He was friends with one of the managers and when an opening came up, they just squeezed him in there. Bob also broke our first date! He invited me to go out for pizza, and on the night before we were supposed to go, he cancelled. I can't remember why. We did finally go on our first date which was changed to dancing (this was during the urban cowboy craze for those old enough to remember). And the pizza date actually became a reality for our second date!

5. About five years after Bob and I got married, Bob moved to Ada, Ohio. I stayed behind in Mansfield and worked several jobs (in shifts... not much sleep) in order to keep us afloat and keep the house intact. Bob was in law school. It was the longest three years of my life. Wait... make that four. After he graduated, he moved to Columbus and did volunteer work for Governor George V. Voinovich. Somewhere around here I have an award presented to me by the governor for supporting Bob so that he could be a volunteer during that year. I moved to Columbus (where we still live) after Bob was given a state job at the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review.

The Rules: Link to the person who tagged you. Share 5 facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

I am tagging; Bob, Holly, Kathy, Nikki, and Terilynn!

If you were already tagged, you can ignore this tag. Otherwise... YOU'RE IT!!!

Pucker Power

I know some of you have been wondering where I have been for almost two weeks. Well... Bob went on the Master Cleanse for 10 days starting on the 2nd of March. I decided to tag along.

Now, as I have said before, the idea of going without solid food and drinking only juices does not even remotely appeal to me. But I thought it couldn't hurt to get a bit of a cleaning out. Bob blogged about his experience at Bob's Legal Lemon. I, on the other hand, dropped off the face of the Earth. (Well... the face of my blogs, anyway!) Bob is still blogging there through Monday. He's keeping people in the know about what happens once you transition back to solid food.

Why didn't I blog about my experience? Well... I knew that for me it would not be pleasant, and I simply did not want to dwell on it. I had very strong detox symptoms and to say I got a good cleaning out would be an understatement. However, I also nibbled on raw almonds now and then to slow the detox symptoms down. I did not need to sleep as much as I normally do, which is what most people that juice report. I didn't, however, experience the bouncing off the walls energy that they experienced. Would I do it again? Yep. Probably. But not until later in the year. I could not wait to start eating solid meals again, but now I find I crave the Master Cleanse Lemonade, with less cayenne! Therefore I have decided that I will be drinking that from time to time instead of a meal. Probably first thing in the morning. Just trying to keep a bit of clarity!!! [grin]

Wearin' O' the GREEN

Pucker up all you Irish... and Irish wanabees! It's time for another Green Smoothie Queen 3-Day Challenge. And this one is extra special. Why? Well because it starts on St. Patrick's Day and since you will be toting around your green smoothies wherever you go... no one can pinch you! That's no Blarney!!! So join Bob and I and go over and sign up right now. Then dance a little jig! But hurry, kiddies, because The Divas are closing registration Saturday night.

And thanks, Penni, for letting me borrow your lips!!! [grin]

Salute!

Although I am not one of those that heard the siren call of The Global Juice Feast, I want to give credit to all of you that have decided to embark on this epic adventure. 92 days without solid food... WOW! Nope. I'm not feeling it!

But even though I will not be joining you, I did make myself a juice to honor you! In all honesty, I made it several weeks ago, but held the picture to post for you today! I can't remember everything that was in it, but I do know it contained two small apples, three carrots, two large beets, some cilantro, a small bit of fresh ginger and a plum tomato or two.

After I made my juice, I was left with all of this pulp from both my drink and Bob's. Now, I am one of those people that don't like to juice because I feel like I'm throwing away good food. So I took a tip from Oscar over at Freshtopia and mixed all the pulp with some soaked flax seeds and made crackers!!! Yum!!! Now I realize that those of you that are feasting could not eat the crackers, but if you have family members that are still eating solid food, you might want to make some for them. And, of course, you can always feed the pulp to your compost pile if you are lucky enough to live somewhere that will allow that.

So GOOD LUCK!!! Take lots of pictures of your progress, and if you need inspiration... head on over to Terilynn's blog, Inspiration:Life. She just completed day 92... and is still going!!!

Green Smoothie Queen - Day 3

This is just a quick post because I have to get to bed early. Bob and I are leaving town tomorrow morning, and this will probably be my last post until Monday.

This was the last day of the Green Smoothie Queen 3-Day Challenge. I feel more jovial than I had in the past several weeks, but I'm not sure that I did too much detoxing. I did not have any symptoms really. Still... I do feel more focussed and am ready to face the world again!!! [grin]

I made all of my smoothies first thing in the morning today so I did not have to worry about them throughout the day. I didn't make anything new. I made two BBC Smoothies with added greens, one for breakfast, and one for dinner. For lunch I had the Tropical Green Smoothie that I had yesterday... but I added some goji berries to it for an extra boost.

I hope everyone that was doing this Green Smoothie Queen Challenge enjoyed it. If you missed this one, I believe there will be another sometime around April. I'll let you know!!! [grin]

Green Smoothie Queen - Day 2

Tropical Green
(makes 32 ounces)

2 bananas
1 cup frozen smoothie fruit blend (strawberries/mango/pineapple)
small handful frozen pineapple
2 cups of coconut nectar
large handful spinach
1 Tbsp. Vitamineral Green
1 tsp. royal jelly in honey

I had the above wonderful smoothie for my breakfast. For lunch I made a smoothie which I named a "Papaya Scream". You will not be finding the recipe for that anywhere on this blog! To say that it was horrible would be too kind!!! The only nice thing I could say about it was that it was the most lovely shade of green. I put it in the fridge in the hopes it would taste better cold. It did not. [sigh] I drank a "Basil Limeade" to get the terrible taste out of my mouth. For dinner I had a jackfruit smoothie.

Observations: I woke up this morning with a killer headache, but it was gone before I finished my first green smoothie of the day. I noticed that I have been more ornery than usual today, and the e-mails that I get are funnier to me! I was able to run my errands in record time today, too!!! [grin]

Green Smoothie Queen - Day One

Is it GREEN? Yes... it is!!! This was my late lunch smoothie. I've decided to call it a Raspberry Green.

Sunrise Smoothie
(makes 32 ounces)

2 bananas
1-1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 handful mixed greens
1 handful spinach
1 Tbsp. Vitamineral Green


Raspberry Green Smoothie
(makes about 2 cups)

1 cup frozen raspberries
2 cup pomegranite/cranberry juice
1 cup spinach
1 tsp. Spirulina

I had these two green smoothies that I made up today, plus a Banana Blueberry Brew Smoothie. The last one is one of The Raw Divas recipes as part of their programs, so I can't copy it here.

Observations: Felt pretty good all day up until dinner time. I started to get a headache at that point. However, I don't think that has anything to do with the challenge. I was researching something on my computer and I developed a stiff neck. I think I probably pinched something and that is what is causing the headache.

Green Smoothie Queens Unite!

Bob and I are once again embarking on The Green Smoothie Queen 3-Day Challenge! If you have done this in the past, why not join us again, and if this is all new news to you... why not sign up!!!

If you are going to be doing this and you have a blog, why don't we blog about our experiences for those three days. Don't have a blog, but want to play? Don't forget that there is a special area set aside in The Raw Divas Powder Room just for those of us on the smoothie challenge!!! Take advantage of the space and get lots of support from fellow smoothie queens!

If you need more info about the program, you can read my previous blog entry about it HERE.

But HURRY... the adventure begins on Monday, and registration will soon close!!!

Chocolate Mint N'ice Cream

Bob worked until around 8:00 PM tonight holding night hearings, so we did not have a Valentine's Day Dinner tonight. However, this is a little something that I whipped up for Bob and I to have this evening after he got home from work.

Chocolate Mint N'ice Cream
(makes about 2 cups)

2 ripe bananas
2 medool dates, pitted
1 Tbsp. raw almond butter
1/3 cup raw cacao powder
2 drops creme de menthe flavoring (or fresh mint)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or vanilla bean)
water - enough to blend into a thick smoothie consistency

Blend all of the ingredients until smooth and freeze. If you freeze it until it is completely solid, you will need to let it thaw for about a half an hour before stirring it by hand and scooping it into your dishes.

Our BES Celebration Dinner

Tonight we had a celebration dinner to end The Body Enlightenment System's Mono Meal Experiment. The idea was that we would have nothing but monomeals of fruits or vegetables for every meal for thirty days. I think that just about everyone that participated in the experiment soon added in a green smoothie per day. The next thing you know, salads started popping up. And in the case of Bob and I, easily prepared meals soon followed. I know that I tried to at least keep my snacks to a monomeal, and usually breakfast was just bananas.

Just a quick note... The Walnut Burger and the Fiesta Cracker recipes are not mine. I do not know who was the original author of the recipes. The woman who gave the recipes to me said I could not sell them and that I could not use them to make money in any way. I am giving them to you for your own personal use. However, I would ask that you follow the same considerations.

Fiesta Crackers
(Makes about 12 servings)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds -- soaked overnight
1/2 cup walnuts -- soaked overnight
1/2 cup almonds -- soaked overnight
2 tablespoons flax seed -- soaked 30 minutes
1/2 cup onions
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder
1 cup tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt -- or kelp
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno -- dried

Place jalapeno pepper, tomato and onion into processor and process until creamy. Add nuts and process until finely chopped and creamy.

Place on a Teflex sheet in dehydrator overnight at 90 degrees. Flip and remove sheet. Dehydrate until crispy. Takes two days to dehydrate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 115 Calories; 10g Fat (70.1% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 82mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat.

NOTES : Can also be used as the crust for a raw pizza.

Walnut Burgers
(Makes 20 servings)

1 cup walnuts, soaked overnight
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
1/2 cup almonds, soaked overnight
3 cloves garlic
2/3 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup onions
1 tablespoon rosemary
1/2 cup red pepper
1/2 tablespoon jalapeno pepper -- dried
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 cup tomatoes
2 dates -- pitted and soaked 4 hours
3 basil leaves

In the food processor mix together the garlic, salt, onion, rosemary, red pepper, jalapeno pepper, cumin, tomatoes, and basil. Once this is blended add the nuts which have been soaked overnight. Dehydrate the steaks for 2 hours and serve warm or you can make ahead, refrigerate and serve cold. You can also use this as a dip or spread (Walnut Pate - not dehydrated). When you dehydrate, it becomes Walnut Burgers.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 87 Calories; 7g Fat (69.6% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 64mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat.

NOTES : 1/4 cup patty before dehydration = 2 points Weight Watchers

Catalina in the Raw
(a dressing by shannonmarie of Rawdorable)

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for a least a few hours
1/3 cup soaking liquid (from the tomatoes)
1/2 cup agave
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. onion powder (or fresh, to taste)
dash of paprika
pinch of sea salt

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth.

Day Thirty

And there it is... day 30... the last day of the BES. Well, for now at least!!! I'm sure Bob and I will be signed up for another one before too long!!! [grin]

I have to tell you, I did not sleep well at all last night. I went to bed, tossed... turned... drifting in and out of consciousness. Finally gave up at 1:30 AM and went downstairs to do some cleaning. Went back to bed at 3:30 AM and finally started to really sleep sometime around 5:00 AM. Of course I had to get up at 8:00 AM to go to see Dr. Laura.

Sadly, all of Dr. Laura's work was for not. She no sooner put my back in alignment, but I left the office and proceeded to screw it back up with dishwashing and laundry and grocery shopping. [sigh]

Anyhow... I scored a Mangosteen today!!! There was one little lonely fruit huddled in the corner of the freezing unit at one of the Asian Markets I was visiting. I snagged it instead of taking the bag of them because I was afraid that it would not be to my taste. When I got it up to the check-out the woman informed me that they were not sold individually and set it aside. However, after she had totalled me up she slipped it in my bag, gave me a big smile and said, "I give you free... to try"! Such a sweetie!

After I got home I looked up mangosteens, because I knew nothing about them. I became a bit concerned when I read that it was considered the queen of fruits. You see, I'm not too overly fond of fresh durian... the king of fruits! Anyhow when Bob got home I pulled it's little zipper (it was pre-cut, taped, then frozen) and we each gave it a try. Now, judging from the condition of the "meat" of the fruit, it was getting a bit dehydrated and was probably not very young. However, at least we got to say we tried it! Ours was very mild. Bob was not impressed. I thought that it had a bit of a grape taste to it.

I spent the rest of the evening preparing food to be dehydrated. Tune in tomorrow to see Bob's and my end of the BES celebration dinner!!!

B = green smoothie (bananas/fr. pineapple-mango-strawberry blend of fruits/fr. pineapple/coconut nectar/Vitamineral Green/spinach) with 1 Tbsp Royal Jelly.
L = white grapes
S = plum tomato
D = sweet red peppers
S = 1/2 of a mangosteen

Day Twenty-Nine

Day twenty-nine was sucked into a black hole. Sorry about that!!! Suffice it to say that no unusual fruits or veggies were consumed on that day. Bob did make some sort of "fried" potatoes in the dehydrator. But I'll have to wait to ask him where he got the recipe... then I'll post it here. They were quite good!!!

Day Twenty-Eight

We did not go to our weekly Tai-Chi class. Bob came home from work on Thursday and was too ill to go into work on Friday, or to class this morning. So today we just kinda sat back and coasted.

B = 2 bananas
S = lg. glass of Basil Limeade
L = green smoothie (mango/banana/fr. strawberry, mango & pineapple mix/orange-mango juice/spinach/tsp. spirulina powder) and 1 tsp. royal jelly
S = 4 medool dates stuffed with raw almond butter (yum)
D = big salad (mixed greens/avocado/radish sprouts/grape tomatoes)