Feel good

Ah, nuts

offwhiteliving

 walnuts

I love Oregon.  The people here are amazing.  For instance, my husband and I are often the benefactors of garden overflow from two lovely people, who we’ll initial M and B, who have a spectacular 2 acre garden in Woodburn, OR.  I went there once and  felt like I was in the garden of eden.  We sampled fresh figs, got to tour the filbert groves in M’s classic convertible  and I left with about 7 (no kidding) boxes of produce.  Jackpot!

Well this week, another bounty: Walnuts, and lots of them.  Not only walnuts, but a recipe for roasted walnuts to accompany my treasure.  Now that is full service generosity.  So,  I’m naming the recipe: “M and B”‘s.  Its like “m&m”s, but healther and no sugar.

4 C walnut halves
2 tsp salt
Filtered water
Mix nuts with salt and water and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hrs.  Drain.  Spread on a baking sheet and place in a warm oven (150 or less) for 12-24 hrs.  Turn occasionally until completely crisp and dry

Spicy walnuts
2 Tbsp butter
2 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp cayenne

Melt butter with rosemary, salt and cayenne.  Toss with nuts, spread on a baking sheet.  Bake at 250 for 10 minutes.  Store in airtight container

I am however, happy to report that I remained nut-free today, on day two of my detox.
Today’s feasts included:

Protein shake w/banana
stir-fried Swiss chard/Onions (hardly felt like a cleansing day, the food was so good)
baked spaghetti squash, eaten with a tomato sauce that had nothing but veggies/herbs
spinach salad
a handful of dates  – I tell ya, they really help give a ‘treat’ to the experience.

I also topped off the day with a cup of nettle tea, which helps the liver and GI  tract in general.

It amazed me how tasty eating light can be.  Why do I always want “big” meals?  granted, I can’t keep up this way forever, but my body does feel good and my mental energy is spectacular, and in only 2 days.

Tomorrow I’m snowshoeing and doing a little birthday shin-dig for my hubby, so I’m back to solid food, but no wheat/gluten/dairy/sugar.  Weird thing, I don’t even miss the sugar and that is normally my biggest vice.  Maybe all those long stretches of being free of sugar really have helped…who knows?  Or maybe I just want to fit into my skinny jeans again (I’d be lying if I said that losing a few pounds isn’t also a motivation) and therefore have no desire of things that sabotage my efforts…

Okay, TTFN, time for bed.  Tomorrow is an early day!

Truth:unrefined

offwhiteliving6 Comments

When I started this blog, I wasn’t sure exactly what and where I wanted it to go.  Simultanelously, in my personal life I’ve been working deeply and intently on releasing my attachment to sugar and refined carbs.

Well, truth be told, lately my commitment to being “off white” has been less than ideal.  Okay, it sucks. I have  some health issues (leaky gut and candida…..sexy,huh!) that really need me to be very low sugar and high veggies and protein.  Sugar is seriously like crack for my brain and like a train wreck for my digestive system.  It  simply does not work.  For a while I was rockin’….and slowly the white stuff began creeping back in.  A slice of bread here,  a piece of cheese there, etc.

This past week has been tough because my body has been hit hard again with what I know always happens when I eat lots of sugar, dairy, and grains.  I feel like crap.  I gain weight. I get constipated (TMI for some of you, and I’m sorry, but it’s true!)

And then last night, a cathartic moment:  I can use my blog to share my journey as I recommitt to the off-white lifestyle, and maybe other people will get something out of my trials and tribulations.  I mean, if I’m going to suffer through sugar detox yet again, at least maybe one of you can learn something or at least get a good laugh as I lament about the hardship of driving past the donut shop without the overwhelming urge to pull in and eat every cream puff and bismark bar available.

So, in addition to the other stuff I ramble about, I’m gonna ramble about me too, and about my off-white journey.

What I did to get started:
You know, when I  start a new project, I like to begin with a clean slate.  For me, this means having 2-days of very “light” eating, to give the ol’ GI system a  rest.  Lord knows I’ve been asking it to work double time lately with those extra bites of bread, the walnut pig-out earlier this week and the ever antagonizing junky hot chocolate.

To reset myself, for two days, I eat the following:

3 servings of veggies/day, with at least 2 being green (today was spinach mostly, with some tomatoes and carrots thrown in there)

2-3 servings of whole fruits, and maybe a few anti-oxidant rich dried fruits like dates.  Yes, I know dates are high in sugar, but I’m trying to just reduce what I eat and keep things simple.   I will focus on low sugar fruits soon.  I don’t give up the sweet easy, you see.

2 servings of high quality protein powder/day, made into a shake.  I like Whey Factors because I can’t have soy (allergy).

Tons of water and some herbal tea if I want.  I choose to have some random cinnamon/cardamom tea at a local coffee shop.  Good stuff.

What I noticed:

  • Even in 24 hrs I have more mental energy than I have had in several weeks.  In the course of the evening I went walking, called my mom, returned an item via UPS (required packaging it up – I’d been putting it off), gave my husband a mini-massage, cooked some sweet potato and spaghetti squash for the weekend, called a friend, vacuumed and am now blogging.  And its only 9;15pm.  This is more than I’ve done all week.
  • My digestion is already better.  That whole constipation issue…yeah, its gone.  Enough said.
  • I’m not hungry, despite the light foods I’m eating.  I’m getting what I need.  I’m not stuffing just a little more in.  I feel good.
  • I’m actually excited about the potential of being free of the sugar/white stuff bondage.  It is so oppressive.
  • I’m willing to share this with you.  That is a big deal for me.

That’s it kids!  More tomorrow.

Self acceptance, as I learned from my cat

offwhiteliving3 Comments

 madeline computer

Last night I had an intimate conversation with my thighs.  I was doing some light yoga to relax before bed and there they were…..looking like two sausages stuffed into white casing (my white yoga pants), starting back at me.   I just couldn’t stand it.  All the sudden the mental saga went off in my mind:  Why did you eat XX??  Why weren’t you born with long, lean legs? Why this?  Why that?  you get the idea.

 For as long as I remember my thighs and I have had a love-hate relationship.  On one hand, I love how strong and withstanding they are, and for those same attributes I resent the fact that the look more like tree stumps to me than legs.  See how skewed my brain is?

The more I examine my wellness vision, which includes both physically nourishing foods, but also mental nourishment, the more I realize that this antagonizing thought pattern is as toxic as eating a box of little Debbie’s and washing it down with Yahoo (and you can bet that I’ve done that in my heyday).

Then, a miracle.  My loving, fat, fluffy cat wandered into the room where I was doing yoga.  She came and sat right on my lap.  Right on my beefy sausage legs.  And she started purring. She did not care that my thighs touched, and always have.  It was She simply nestled in, she relaxed, and she just loved me in the way only she knows how to do: by falling asleep in my lap, completely in peace.

In that moment I realized how critical and ridiculous my mental litany had been.  Could my thighs be THAT bad?  Could I accept the fact that I don’t have Julia Robert’s legs (and never will.  I’m Greek, for God’s sake: not a people known for long, gangly limbs).   So I decided to let it go.  And for that moment, I could embrace and appreciate something about my thighs for the first time in a while.  Just like my cat, my thighs are simply being themselves.  There is no shame or hesitation in the way they develop.  They have no hidden agenda.  They are not judging me or sabotaging me.  My body is simpy expressing itself as it knows best how to do.  And if that isn’t natural beauty, then what is?

So I dedicate this post to my cat, Madeline, who is infinitely wiser than I am.  She always know what I need and I learn so much from her, even though she’s never spoken a word to me.  She eats off white too (all organic gluten-free cat food): it must be what makes her so dang smart 🙂