Raw Lunch Fit for a Queen (A Raw Queen)

I did not have a chance to take any pictures because I was so hungry. For lunch today a made:

Avocado kale salad

Butternut squash noodle ribbons with cashew garlic cheese sauce

Soaked wild rice with marinated shitaki and baby portabello mushrooms and red pepper cashew sauce

Sprouted Lentils

Maple-Cinnamon Almond Butter

Delicious!!

Going to the Tree of Life Rejuventation Center!!!

Much has happened since my last post! The juice cleanse went well and I ended up going 30 days raw! So detoxifying. I never really understood the term "raw emotions"  until I went through my juice fast. Not only did I cleanse physically, but also emotionally and spiritually! By the third day of my juice cleanse, I was in a state of gratitude and beautiful connection with the universe. All these memories were popping into my mind from past experiences that had hurt me or left me feeling uneasy. Instead of dismissing these thoughts like usual and pushing them back down to be buried in my psyche, I confronted them with love and acceptance. It helped cleanse out negativity that was creating blockages on my road to growth. After my juice fast, I permanently healed some of these areas by taking action by rekindling friendships with people that I thought were long gone. It was such an amazing experience to heal this way- I had no idea how much sadness it was causing me to keep all these thoughts and memories buried inside me. 

The colonic went well. I ended up getting two because the second one reaches the smaller intestine. I recommended this to anyone who has fatigue, constipation, gas, or swelling of the lower stomach- actually I recommend everyone to try it. I lost three pounds after mine! I once read: You change the oil in your car every three months... why not clean out your body too? Our bodies are our vehicles to living life and we need to keep it clean!!

Since the juice fast, I have been preparing juice fasts and raw meals for clients and spreading raw knowledge and green living to all who enter my life. I convinced my boyfriend to do a one day juice fast without allowing him to drink caffeine. This helped my boyfriend realize his serious addiction to coffee. He has not gone a day without coffee for two years and he drinks the strong stuff, french pressed! Although painfully on the coach with a head ache and body aches for the entire day, it paid off because now he switched to tea in the mornings (something I never thought would happen.) However, I do not recommend this method for everyone, and I probably won't be so strict about the no caffeine policy when detoxing future clients who are seriously addicted to coffee. They should be allowed to have mild tea in moderation as my boyfriend's withdrawal effects resulted in serious sickness. 

And now for the BIG news..... I have been accepted to work at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona in their Raw Food Cafe for 3 months starting in June!!!!!!! This is going to be a life changing experience for me as I have heard this is a place with such a high vibrational and healing energy. I will be working 40 hours a week in the raw cafe and I am allowed to spend my free time going to free yoga classes and mediation work shops. The Rejuvenation Center in surrounded by mountains and it will be monsoon season so I can enjoy watching the stormy rain clouds roll in over the mountains. I learned from my juice fast that it was difficult cleansing and still being apart of this society. As I drove around for my job, I breathed in pollution toxins from the exhaust from my car and factory fumes from helping my clients at their job sites. Plus, I dealt with unhappy, low vibrating people and I needed to do my best to be the light to everyone I came in contact with so I could maintain my sense of well being. That's why I believe the Tree of Life will be much much more than a raw foods learning experience; I will be in a community where everyone is expressing their spirituality and gratitude for life and the environment. The air will be clean and the energy will by high. I will finally be able to find a place to heal through and through!

Now 8 more months of planning and waiting....



And you know what I have realized? I have not been sick since last February! This was before I started eating raw foods. My boyfriend is ill right now and this will be the test to see how well my Raw Nutrient/Antioxidant packed diet is helping me! And this is from drinking plenty of juice, eating 60-100% raw and vegan (vegetarian at times.) You can do it too! All you have to do is eat a big bowl of fruit in the morning or a big glass of fresh pressed juice and salad for lunch. That's 75% percent raw in one day and then you can eat cooked food for dinner. Easy as that!

<3 Allie

3rd day! Still Smiling

Today is my third day of my juice cleanse and I am scheduled for my first colonic tomorrow!! (sorry for too much info) This morning was tough. I dreamed I ate a raisin bagel and Panera soup?? These are two food items I have not craved in years so it was interesting they came up in my sleep. Panera soup in particular is something I do not want in my body because I have seen how they heat up their soup and what they do is place the soup (which is in a plastic bag) in extremely hot water to heat it up. Think of all the BPA chemicals released into the soup from the plastic melting in hot water! No where close to home made. 

Anyway, this morning I felt super hungry and my stomach ached in a why I thought I might get sick. I felt better once I drank my freshly made beet/carrot/ginger lemon juice! After that I was able to visit some clients and shop for a wedding shower present and go on a walk. I have not had any juice since this morning and it is 7pm now. I am about to drink some green juice. Something I have been working on is "chewing" my juice which I learned helps you salivate so your stomach begins digestion. I have been drinking a lot of water and have not felt the need for more juice. I am now used to the hungry feeling and it is something my mind has accepted. Which is nice because my mind feels it now has the ability to accept other things that occur in my life that I don't have control over. I have only had a couple cravings for solids today. Yesterday all I wanted was buttered popcorn (go figure- my comfort food). But so far this has been a very helpful experience mentally and physically and somewhat spiritually. And a good learning experience too! I would like to help others try this and emotionally make it through!

The dream I had the night before I started my juice cleanse: I kept shoving handfuls of this poisonous berry plant into my mouth that grows in my front yard. I thought the berries tasted delicious but I was concerned because I could not control myself and I knew I would soon die from it... Does this have any connection to me feeling addicted to the standard American diet (SAD).. I think yes... 

Recipe for:

My Morning Wake Up Tonic

4carrots

2 beets ( or 1 and a half if large)

1/2 lemon

Ginger (the more, the spicier) 

sometimes I had a little Sweet Potato (but some people's stomach's can't handle the type of sugar in sweet potato)

Juice all, stir and drink slowly while chewing to activate stomach digestion!

Peace!

Allie

3 day detox/spiritual cleanse

I have started my 3 day wellness cleanse. Earlier this week, my body felt polluted and I was not eating as healthy as I could have been. My mind felt negative and lazy. My house was a mess and I did not have energy to clean it. Plus, I felt my spiritual connection with God/Universe was weakened. I decided to do a 3 day juice cleanse, starting off with two days of smaller proportions and 100% raw vegan food and then into the 3 day juice fast. Those two starter days were more of a challenge than today (the beginning of my juice fast). I think my body was going through heavy detoxification as I was taking many naps and feeling many negative emotions and restlessness with just being. 

Today is the first day of my juice fast. I am taking bentonite clay along with the juice. I am reading Cherie Calbom's "Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life" for inspiration and motivation. I still have to work and be out and about around the community for my job and so far I have not felt the lack of energy that I anticipated. Although my spiritual mind has not been completely enlightened yet... I do feel a calm sense of caring about slowing down and appreciating my surroundings. I do feel more connected and patient and my focus is turning to cleaning up my messy house and organizing my priorities, which I had trouble focusing on earlier this week with my lethargic mindset. Most of all, I have the desire to let go of material things as well as negative thoughts that are not serving me justice. My mind is telling me to live more simply. I plan on going through my house and donating everything that does not have a purpose or I use on a weekly basis. I had this idea when I was hiking in the mountains in Montana a couple weeks ago. However, once I came home, got back into society and my job, my mind became overwhelmed and polluted with things it thought it needed. Once I do my "fall" cleaning I think my mind will feel more organized because I will have less stuff to worry about. How can one 's mind be organized if their environment is a mess?

That's all for now. I will post my thoughts as I continue along with this juice fast. If I can make it through these 3 days and still have the willpower, I might two 2-3 days blended foods.

Allie (Virginia Lilly)

Montana: Red Eagle Lake, cold!!! but the bluest water I have ever seen!!!

Recent Raw Creations

Raw Cinnamon Apple Raisin Cookies... I think I put too much agave and they would have been better served as Granola because they were sticky and chewy... and I did make granola by breaking the cookies up into pieces, putting into a bowl, and serving with almond milk. Delicious :-)

 Raw Cacao/Coconut Cashew Pie for the fourth of July!!!

 Zucchini Noodle Marinara Spaghetti (thanks to Elizabeth for her Marinara recipe!)

  Juice Cleanse with my Friend!!! Mine only lasted a day... but he did his for four days!!

This picture is of me helping out at a Cancer Awareness Event helping Raw Foods Chef Audrey serve green smoothies and educate people on health! It was interesting to see people's reactions from trying the green smoothie. All it consisted of was organic strawberries, bananas, oranges, and kale so mostly a fruit base but the kale made it green!! One woman who refused to try the smoothie had a McDonald's soda in her hand (figures). Some unlikely people were willing to try it (after much encouragement) and they really liked it and brought back their friends to our booth! Many children enjoyed it which was nice because we could promote the drink to their mothers saying all they needed was 2 minutes and a blender and their children would get a good size serving of fruit and veggies for the day. On the contrary, it was sad to see young children spit the drink out because they did not like the taste. (This only happened twice). Along with this behavior, their parent's were stating that their kid would not like the drink. Fruit and smoothies were a treat to me as a kid! Seeing their reactions made me wonder if their parents even give them fruit in their diet... or if real fruit is replaced by apple sauce with high fructose corn syrup and juices with artificial flavoring....

100% PURE Orange Juice!!!

Raw Pad Thai

Just got my Spirooli noodle slicer in the mail!!! The noodles are zucchini. Delicious and so filling!

Quick tips for clearing out system before adding more in!

Hello!

Here's a quick tip... If you want to clean out your system in the morning before adding in more food, here is some advice from Norman Walker (the founder of juicing!) Norman recommended squeezing a whole lemon into a cup of hot water. Drink this on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and wait 15-30 minutes. It should help clear out waste from the previous day. So far it has worked every time I tried it!

Also, you can drink fresh vegetable juice after for a detoxifying cleanse. Try juicing carrots, celery, and parsley. this is my new favorite!

Sometimes I will eat a bunch of grapes on an empty stomach during lunch of afternoon snack. This also helps to naturally clean out my colon.

Try any of these tips out and see if they work for you!

~Virginia Lilly (Allie)