Day 3: Green Smoothie Challenge

Is it possible to feel worse on a post-raw detox than on a pre-raw detox? This is what's happened to me these last few days and I'm trying to understand the 'how' and 'why' of it all. I LOVE cleansing and do so relatively regularly, specifically in warmer weather. This time however, I was freezing cold the entire time, spacey, disconnected, with a lack of focus and concentration and coordination - and at times felt like I was about to lift off like a balloon. I'm not usually one to experience these severe cleansing crisis', and it proved challenging to continue the program, which I did for 3.5 days. It was so odd and I'm working on getting back into my groove now. I also experienced more pain, stiffness, and aches than ever before. Could it be due to eating cold smoothies in weather that requires winter gear? Maybe so, but it's been frustrating to see how my body reacted this time. I know it's not the Green Smoothie Challenge itself - this I think is an amazing idea and absolutely recommend it to my friends and clients, but maybe I had bad timing this time around. I will certainly do this challenge again, but will wait until the Spring to try again.

For those that have been raw for longer than me (more than 1 year): Is it possible that I've loosened up deep rooted old toxins? This was my first cleanse since being mostly raw, and feel I have been experiencing a more difficult detox, flooding the system with the old b/c of the power of eating cleansing living foods for the past several months. Even when I was eating cooked vegan/some raw fare, my cleanses were never this intense. Has anyone had an experience similar to this? Please share!

Anyway, today (Nov 6) is my 31st birthday and I started the day with my favorite chocolate ever - Sacred Chocolate, the milk chocolate variety - so scrumptious! I know, chocolate for breakfast is clearly the best way to celebrate! An impromptu visit to the bookstore later in the day resulted in finding Matt Amsden's book, Raw Revolution, and a killer recipe in there that was pulled together for dinner. Raw ice cream will follow :)

RAWSTA ALFREDO:

2-3 zucchinis - use spiralizer to make spaghetti

For Sauce:
3/4 cup coconut water (used packaged for convenience)
1.5 cups raw cashews (I plan to try pine nuts or macadamia nuts)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Pink Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 T nutritional yeast (not raw)
1 avocado
Bundle of fresh arugula
Handful of Sunfood Nutrition kalamata olives

Day 2: Green Smoothie Challenge

Ok, so Day 2 wasn't as wonderful as Day 1: I felt light-headed, spacey, unmotivated, fatigued, and uncoordinated. My mistake may have been making smaller portions of the smoothies & eating them every few hours, because I seemed to have a killer appetite from the moment I awoke. I should have made fewer smoothies, in larger amounts, because after splitting each smoothie w/ Mike, the amount that was left wasn't satisfying my hunger. I don't do well w/ low blood sugar & was trying something different from Day 1 - it's an experiment & I'm still learning the recipes (and best approach) I like with so many greens!

This is a picture of the #1 Smoothie~

#1 Smoothie (pretty good):
2 cups red grapes
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 apple
1 banana
1 bundle romaine lettuce

#2 Smoothie (this was fabulous):
3 bananas
1 mango
1/2 pineapple
1 bundle kale
1/2 cup coconut water

#3 Smoothie (LOVED this):
2 bananas
1.5 cups frozen blueberries
1 heaping handful spinach
1 T Azteca Spirulina
spoonful raw, local honey

#4 Smoothie (YUM):
Fresh squeezed apple juice
few bananas
bundle of kale

#5 Smoothie (I didn't measure a thing & was putting whatever was within reach into this concoction ... low blood sugar frenzy):
2 handfuls frozen blueberries
2 handfuls frozen strawberries
3 bananas
2 handfuls spinach
1 bundle kale
1 T Fruits of the Earth
spoonful raw, local honey

Day 1: Green Smoothie Challenge

Smoothie on the left is Smoother than a Brazilian and on the right is Cotton Candy. YUMMY!

My dessert last night was raw macadamia nuts (I'm hooked) and raw cacao maca ice cream - it was divine! These foods will be the hardest for me to part from at this time, as I've slowly become dependent upon knowing they'll be eaten by me every day in some form. The culprits are: raw nuts (specifically Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and cashews), cacao in any form (nibs or powder for me), and dates. I've grown an addiction.

We (my brave green lover and I) started the morning in a dash to the farmer's market to pack as many greens as possible into our reusable bags. To keep things relatively simple here, I'll just list off the green leafy vegetable that I included in the recipe, as we grabbed many different kinds of kale, chard, and lettuces (plus bags full of perfectly gorgeous spinach) - and I don't remember all their individual names. I'm using pears, apples, plums, and other greens and veggies from our weekly CSA delivery. The market was a great start to rev the green glory engine!

Green Wreck (Morning Smoothie):

1/2 cup purified water
4 bananas
1 large ripe mango
1 pear
1 apple
1/2 bundle dandelion greens
1/3 bundle parsley
1 big handful spinach
1 T Vitamineral Greens
1 T Azteca Spirulina

At first, my green smoothie let me down. This was likely because there were not any dates anywhere near as far as I could see. But, I realized why I am doing this (I KNOW I need it) and that the stringy green things that hang over your mouth as you gobble it up are what it's all about. So get over it, right? And I did. Green magic started to happen.

I've snacked on an apple, half a pear, and a few nibs of (No, not cacao!) kale today, and have drank my green superfood powder (Vitamineral Greens) in purified water throughout the day - but not much because I feel so hydrated w/ out this!

Smoother than a Brazilian (Afternoon Smoothie): taken from one of the recipes given in this challenge by the raw divas - although I did change it somewhat by using Brazil nut mylk instead of water as the base (nut mylk is part of this program, at least for Day 1 & 2). Oh, and a small spoonful of local, raw honey :) Believe me, if you saw this morning's smoothie you would treat yourself to some healing honey too!

2 cups homemade Brazil nut mylk
2 cups red grapes
1 cup frozen blueberries
4 bananas
One handful of kale
One handful of spinach
spoonful of local, raw honey

Cotton Candy (Evening Smoothie):
1.5 cups homemade Brazil nut mylk
3 bananas
2 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 pineapple
2 handfuls of spinach
spoonful of local, raw honey

And so, we have ourselves a delightful dinner and dessert, all in one! I'm looking forward to tomorrow - whereas last night all I could think about was how I was going to miss my 'favorites' and rationalizing my way out of this 5 day commitment. This challenge is typically 3 days, but I like to be extreme and add my own spin to it. Life has gone on temporarily without them ... and I've survived ... and thrived!