Hello!

Just a quick post to say I'm here! Been away at a conference for a couple of days. On the Monday night we had a three-course formal dinner and I confess I was a little anxious about this. I spoke to the caterers and requested a green salad with tomatoes and olives for both my starter and main course. They were surprised but willing and my food was brought to me without any fuss and attracted very little attention from the other participants (except one woman sat by me who enquired whether I'd got enough protein!!)

Olives have kept me going on my travels - and punnets of tomatoes. Glad to be home, though, and enjoying my green juice. Really craving this while I was away. Had flax porridge for tea. I have discovered that this is out of this world made with rosehip powder and yacon syrup. Heavenly.

I'm looking and feeling well, but I am finding the lack of intense energy frustrating and I haven't got on so well with my running lately. Rudolf seems to thrive on low-calorie, high-fat, but I - whilst calm and happy - just manage to plod along. I'm assuming that once I start to add in some low-glycaemic fruits and buckwheat etc then my energy levels will pick up? I'll give it a few more weeks and put it to the test.

ggxx

Rudy I'm so pleased this is working for you. Brilliant.

I live in the North West - between Liverpool and Manchester. If you'd come for lunch today you would have had the best porridge ever - I urge you to try this! Ground flax seeds - a good few tablespoons, tsp cinammon, tsp vanilla, tsp suma, tsp he shou wu and tsp blue manna plus a little stevia. I added hot water to this and stirred it up. Turned into a gorgeous porridgey texture and was so so so delicious. Since you didn't show up I ate the lot - and had seconds! I'm flying now!

RGG, it is much milder today - it's raining rather than icy. I've still got lots of layers on and I'm actually feeling quite warm after my porridge. Bliss.

Lots of love,

ggxx

 

I made pumpkin juice for my son and his friends this Halloween once we'd carved the pumpkin. They loved it. Mixed it with freshly squeezed orange juice.

ggxx

I love my food processor. My blender has been broken for the past couple of months and so I use my food processor for everything - usually have it going at least three times a day, often more. It does smoothies, raw soups as well as shredding, grating and dicing veg for my salads. It was quite pricey, but I know a raw food couple - whose potlucks I go to - who have a cheap one they picked up second-hand which they've had for years and use constantly.

ggxx

Your lunch sounds lovely Rudolf. Pity you live on the other side of the world or you could come round for tea. I think you're the only person I've 'met' who would enjoy the bizarre concoctions I come up with!

I love freshly ground seed. It definitely has a good energy. I've tried various sources of pine nuts, but haven't found any I'm happy with. I'm craving brazil nuts at the moment but again I haven't been able to find any that don't look chipped and rancid. Even the pumpkin seeds I almost bought in the supermarket yesterday looked really sorry for themselves - yellowish and shrivelled.

Thanks for the reminder about cayenne - I love the stuff, especially on a kale and avocado salad.

Hi RGG, it's great that you're doing all this experimenting. It's all exciting stuff. I feel the same as you that I'm in this for life, so it's really important to get to grips with various options.

Hi Savvy, I got the pm thank you.
And I have had a good day - been in the garden for much of it planting bulbs with my friend. We've put in lots of tulips, honey lilies and allium so hopefully in for a fine display next year! Just trying to warm up now.

Have eaten lots of green juice, veg, superfood powders, olives and coconut. Bit too much coconut I feel. Took a long time to digest it all. I have noticed that I'm much less inclined to overeat on this programme, though. On high-fruit I was consistently over-eating until I felt uncomfortable. I enjoy the feeling of satiation that I'm getting on this low-carb regime and I feel more in control of my eating than I ever have before. It does feel like a breakthrough.

Right, off to Z's kung fu class now!

ggxx

Hi Rgg,

Glad you're enjoying the sunshine. I can't even imagine how gorgeous it must be. We barely had any sun all summer and now we seem to be having the coldest winter ever.

Anyway, just popped in to say thank you for the support and encouragement you've been giving me over the past couple of weeks. It means a lot. You're very lovely.

ggxx

In defence of superfoods  :

I use the term as a short-hand for describing foods which are exceptionally nutrient dense. I'd include wild greens, seaweeds and algaes in this category. Berries and bee pollen are also foods which I believe are pretty super dooper too. I use a lot of herbs and powdered roots and medicinal mushrooms in my diet and - through a combination of research and intuition - feel that these support my physical and mental health incredibly effectively. I definitely feel sharper and more alert through their use as well - not 'stupider' thanks RAA!! 

ggxx

Great to see you here Rudolf. I'm really pleased I inspired your super smoothie! Sounds wonderful. Green powders are great to add really dense mineral-rich nutrition. And dandelion leaves are magical!

I have read the first two Anastasia books and own books 3,4 and 6 so I need to get on with those. I'll let you know how I find them. The first two books have led me to question a few things about my life and relationships - nothing I can discuss here, but nevertheless a profound shift in some areas. My son and I have ringing cedars pendants which we wear a lot - I like that connection to Anastasia.

This very low-carb regime is only temporary, but I really don't see me going back to high fruit/carbs. I agree that berries are really important. I'm aiming to grow - and eat! - as many as I can next summer. I also want to re-introduce bee pollen as I think that is a crucial food. So at the moment the plan is to slowly get to a sustainable low-glycaemic diet which includes a wide variety of foods. The programme at the moment is a little limiting - basically just non-sweet fruit, greens, veg (but not root veg), sea veg, fats.

Parsnips - I must admit I've never been a big fan but I will re-think! They are in season here at the moment so I shall try a little in my soups and salads and see how I go. Root veg are only 'allowed' very occasionally on this v low-carb phase, though.

Today (day 33) has been good. Managed 5Ts and a run this morning then got on with plenty of work. My fats have come from soaked almonds and coconut flesh. I've also had: big shot of homegrown wheatgrass, 3/4 litre green juice, salad with lots of greens, tomatoes, wakame, steamed veg, kelp powder and mushroom powder. Delicious.
I've drunk lots of superfood teas - pau d'arco, suma, vanilla and he shou wu.

It's so cold here at the moment. I'm struggling a bit with that. Have to wear so many layers of clothes and sit wrapped in a blanket with a hot water bottle on my knee!

ggxx

Hi RawRadiance. Good to see you here xx

Annette, at the moment I'm loving making blended raw soups with lots of greens, veg, seaweed and algae powders. I sprinkle crystal manna and mushroom powders on salads. I love the taste, so that isn't an issue for me. I eat chlorella tablets by the handful and sometimes eat a bowl of soaked flax seeds with loads of spirulina stirred through! Bizarre.
I'd suggest starting with small quantities in blended soups or smoothies. If you add seasonings - I like curry powders - then you won't notice the taste. You should be able to gradually build up to larger quantities. Enjoy!

Erthmum, crystal manna is the prettiest food ever, isn't it - no not crystal meth Neet lol!! Shame you can't get the E3 live or algae oil. I bet they'll find their way over to you as interest in this lifestyle increases. I'm definitely going to get on with growing purslane - v excited by the thought of adding it to my soup - great idea, thanks.

ggxx

Thanks for the purslane info Becky. I will pursue it. And I definitely think a bit of extra fat is great for mental health - I can relate to the sugar 'mania'!

Rudolf - great to hear your thoughts. I don't suppose you read my journal, but I'm a month into a no-carb programme which I'm intending to follow for 3 months before re-introducing some low-glycaemic fruits and buckwheat. I'm getting great results so far.

Annette - the first three weeks or so of this new eating programme saw my candida symptoms become really exaggerated. After getting through that I feel great. It may be worth persevering?

ggxx

I posted a link to this article in a thread in the FAQ section of the forum, but it doesn't seem to be getting much traffic and I thought it worthy of a mention here.

http://www.treeoflife.nu/whyfat

I've kept referring back to this over the last few weeks. I'm taking the coconut oil/ground flax combination daily (though I make it into a 'fudge', adding vanilla, blue manna and a little stevia. Fabulous). I feel better than ever.

I've also done some research on purslane. Does anyone eat/grow this? I've tracked down some seeds and am going to try it on the kitchen windowsill. Seems a remarkable plant.

ggxx

Thanks Neet and Jen xx

Savvy, I'll type the fudge recipe out later. It's v yummy.

I use a lot of superfoods. I think they're fabulous - I love the dense nutrition they provide. Here's a list of what's working at the moment (I've cut out all the sweet ones whilst I'm low-carb):

Wild greens - the ultimate superfood!
Sea veg - I'd class as superfoods as they're wildcrafted and mineral rich.
Algae - I love E3 Live, Crystal Manna, Blue Manna, Spirulina and Chlorella.
Medicinal mushroom powders - reishi, cordyceps and himematsutake at the moment.
Suma
He shou wu
Pau d'arco

I go through intense phases of maca use but I'm off it at the moment!

I've been up since 5.30 this morning blitzing cupboards and drawers. Have made good progress with work too. Feels great.

Love to all,

ggxx

Hi RGG,

I'm loving coconut oil too - it digests so well. I struggle with nuts and seeds, but this is lovely stuff. Gabriel Cousens advises mixing it with ground flax - I'm having this daily and thriving on it. I've posted an article on this in a thread that doesn't seem to be getting much traffic so I'll pop it in the chat section. It might be of interest to you too Beckyji.

Much love,

ggxx

Lovely to hear from you, Sheryl. I'm v impressed you've seen Gabriel Cousens live. I'd love to meet him. I have seen Raw for 30 days - just as I was starting on this eating programme. I watched it on dvd with Z who also v much enjoyed it. It's actually kept me on the straight and narrow over this difficult first month of dietary transition. I kept holding on to the fact that if the people in the film had managed a month - and had boundless energy by the end of the 30 days - then so could I.

It's reassuring that you're encouraging me to say more. I feel as though some of what I'm doing is going against the grain a bit here. Thank you for the reassurance.

ggxx

PS my boyfriend has type 1 diabetes and refused to watch the dvd with us. I have seen him flick through 'Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine' though - there is hope!

Hi Jen,

Try adding a bit of lemon to it next time. It's amazing what a difference it makes.

ggxx