Enjoy the Holidays by Avoiding Unnecessary Conversations about Your Diet

Oftentimes when vegetarians and vegans spend the holidays with their meat-eating friends and family, not only do we deal with the gross out factor of watching others eat dead animals, but the conversations aren't always the most pleasant to have. People question you on your choices and try to put you on trial for choosing to be vegetarian or vegan. And who wants to be around that?

On the vegan groups on Facebook, I have seen the aftermath of these dreaded conversations over and over again. People question your choices, ask ignorant questions, and sometimes just result in outright insulting you. I ran into this first hand the other day, but not with friends or family.

A proprietor of honey was asking why some vegans ate honey and others didn't. He couldn't understand why honey wouldn't be vegan since he claims bees only collect the honey and they don't produce it. (I know...don't get me started...) I simply told him that a vegan chooses not to use products from other animals and that includes things like meat, eggs, dairy, honey, silk, wool, etc. I also explained that there is a spectrum in every line of beliefs and that some vegans choose to eat honey while others do not. I thought my answer was the simplest answer I could provide him without trying to go into individual philosophies or getting on a soapbox. What happened next still blows my mind.

Not only did the man not understand, and believe me, I had high hopes since he asked the question, but he crossed over into the land of sheer ignorance. He literally asked me how I could possibly call myself a vegan because materials in my car were made from animals and materials on the road were made from animals so I use animal products every day. As politely as I could (I was in public mind you), I informed him that as a vegan, I do my best to avoid animal products and live according to my beliefs within this society. If I had the option of choosing a completely vegan car, I would, but there are some things I have no control over, so I do the best I can with products that are within my control. So again he told me I wasn't a vegan. I asked him what were vegans supposed to do, sit home and never leave their house? And to my surprise, he said yes. At this point I was beyond pissed off because I couldn't believe the ignorance of this man, but I merely told him that what he said offended me because vegans have every right to contribute to society and to live according to our beliefs just like everyone else. I also knew at this point there would be no intelligent discussion to have here, so I simply repeated that he had asked a question about why honey was vegan and I restated the basic answer. I said if you can't understand that, I don't know what else to tell you and I left.

I wanted to share this story because these types of conversations, and even worse, often happen with our own families. We can either be sucked into the conversation and destroy what could be an enjoyable time with our family, or we can rise above it and not partake in the conversations. In the above situation, I was caught off guard because I was merely trying to answer a question that seemed to be asked in sincerity. But I got out of the conversation as fast as I could when I saw it was a lost cause because I didn't want it to affect my day any more than it already had.

So my advice to you is that when you are with family and friends, avoid these types of conversations altogether. Even an innocent question can veer off into unexpected territory. Instead, take the high road and just tell people you are there to enjoy time with them, not talk about your diet or life choices. If they keep persisting, tell them you're open to talk to them about it at a later time. Hopefully, your friends and family will take the hint and also choose to merely enjoy each other's company.

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

VeggiePatti's Gluten-Free Extravaganza

Any gluten-free vegans or vegetarians out there? Come check out the expo tomorrow! We have a vegan gluten-free food court and all the rest of the vendors are at least vegetarian and gluten-free.

For more information, check out my website.

Hope to see you there!

VeggiePatti

Free Mini-Lecture and Q&A on Being Vegetarian and Vegan

I have been offering a free Q&A session once a month for people who have questions about being vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, a raw foodist, or eating with food allergies. I've decided to change the format up a bit.

I'm going to have 4 different rotating topics:

• How to Be a Vegetarian 
• How to Be a Vegan
• How to Eat Gluten-Free
• How to Be a Raw Foodist

I will have a mini-lecture on one of the topics each month, followed by open Q&A on that topic or any other. The How to Be A Vegetarian lecture will be this Thursday, March 14.

For full details, please check out my calendar. If you're struggling with being a vegetarian, now's a good time to come with questions!

Wishing you peas and good health,
VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com

Veganism and doctors

I know it's been awhile since I posted, I just have so many things going on!

First, I have a new program starting in March - The FOCAS Challenge. It's designed to help give you the tools to live a healthier, happier, and stress-free life in 21 days. You can find more info on my website and even listen to a preview. I'm offering it in-person in Wyandotte and also online.

Second, I have teamed up with a friend to offer business consulting services to independent and small health-related businesses. See how we can give businesses a Healthy Upstart!

And third, I started a new blog on living with a chronic illness - Life as s Sick Person.

Speaking of illness, I have been making the rounds to new doctors and alternative health practitioners again and it really drives home the fact that not all of them will relate to veganism or even more natural ways of eating if it's outside of their norm. As a a vegan or raw foodist, it's particularly important to work with a doctor that is not only willing to work with you but understands your lifestyle.

Now maybe it's because I don't see too many Western doctors anymore, but I'm finding the most push back from holistic doctors and it really disturbs me. For instance, I went to see one naturopath who told me that she encourages vegans to start eating dairy and eggs again. I told her that wasn't an option for me, and furthermore, I am allergic to dairy, so it certainly wouldn't help. She informed me very confidently that it was the source of my dairy that I was allergic to and not the dairy myself. And if I got better quality dairy, directly from a natural farm (of which she could recommend a really good local one), I wouldn't have that issue. Really? I think my immune system would beg to differ. And I really wonder if she gets kick backs from that farm.

Nevertheless, it's important to keep trying until you find a doctor that is willing to work with you and respects your beliefs. Now I make that one of the first questions I ask before even booking an appointment so I do not waste my time or money.

There is a good blog post that I read about veganism, health, and doctors which also gives another perspective on this issue.

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com

Healthy Lifestyle Consulting Now Available

I have expanded my services to include Healthy Lifestyle Consulting!

My goal is to help you achieve optimal health and wellness by sharing my experiences, resources, and expertise with you. I’ve combined my professional experience as a consultant with my personal experiences and education in health and wellness to bring you individualized, affordable consulting that helps you achieve your healthy lifestyle goals!

My personal services include, but are not limited to:
~dietary consulting to help you find dietary choices that are right for you
~health practitioner referrals for your specific conditions and ailments
~chronic and invisible illnesses coping strategies
~complete pantry overhaul designed with your lifestyle and health needs in mind ~household chemical and product evaluations
~healthy pet recommendations and referrals
~services customized just for you - have something in mind, just ask!

I also offer consulting services to restaurants and other establishments that wish to accommodate those with special diets, such as gluten-free or vegan, or just to provide healthier options. If you know any restaurants that need assistance, please send them my way!

Check out my consulting page on my website for more details!

Also, my next 6-Week Green Smoothie Challenge starts tomorrow in Wyandotte - don't miss it!

If you want to check out other January events, you can access my newsletter here. You will also find a link at the top to subscribe to the mailing list to stay informed of upcoming events.

Wishing you peas and good health, 

VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com



 
 

Ordering Special Meals at Restaurants

As some of you know, my diet has become more and more specialized over the years. First I was vegetarian, then vegan, then gluten-free vegan, then grain-free vegan, then grain-free/legume-free vegan, and now my food sensitivities are to the point where I can only eat about 20 foods. That being said, I still go out to eat with my family and friends! So just how do I do that when some people struggle to even get a vegan meal at a restaurant?

For basic tips on dining out, check out my blog posting from awhile ago. But the basic strategy for dining out comes down to two things: research and education.

First, I always check out a restaurant's menu online to see what they have to offer. I don't even look at the actual items anymore because 90% of the time there won't be a dish I can eat. What I look at is the ingredients. For me, at this point, I usually eat salads or sauteed vegetables, but this could work for any dish. So if I think I'll be eating a salad, I scan all of the ingredients to see what fresh veggies they have at the restaurant. For instance, maybe they don't offer avocado on a salad but they have guacamole or they have it in a sandwich, so I know I can ask for avocado in my salad. Or if I want sauteed vegetables, maybe I see they have cauliflower on one dish, broccoli on other, and mushrooms on yet another. I always check to make sure they use olive oil and then I can just ask them to combine all of those together and saute them with a little bit of garlic or just steam them. If you're at an Italian restaurant and they don't have a veggie marinara sauce, you can always ask them for olive oil and garlic (olio and aglio) and load it up with veggies. Or if you're at a Mexican restaurant, you can have them make you up a veggie burrito by either taking away or adding ingredients. You get the picture. The trick is you want to find a quick and easy meal they can readily prepare by combining ingredients they already have, not ask them to reinvent the wheel and create new dishes.

So once you have an idea of what you could get, the next step is very important - Call the restaurant! You need to call the restaurant to explain that you have specific dietary requirements and see if they are able to accommodate you. If at all possible, see if you can speak to the chef so nothing gets lost in translation. Sometimes, chefs actually have special meals in mind already that are just not on the menu - they often have a few vegan or gluten-free dishes up their sleeves that they can readily make for customers. If a restaurant will not accommodate you, then you will need to cross it off your list. But I have found very few restaurants that were not willing or able to accommodate me, even on my limited diet.

The third step is to let the server know when you arrive at the restaurant that you had called ahead and have special dietary requirements. It's best to do this when they are seating you and handing out menus so they can talk to the chef or manager if necessary. If you've already pre-arranged a meal with the chef, they will know you have arrived and will often come out to the table to talk with you.

When you order your meal, it's very important to reiterate again, but in a nice way, what you cannot have as well as what you can have. I always tell them that I can't have any additional ingredients, even spices, because of my allergies. However, when I was just a vegan, I would remind them no butter, eggs, animal products, etc. And when the server brings out my meal, I always double check again to make sure no mistakes were made.

I have encountered a few situations where I couldn't speak to the chef, whether they didn't speak English, didn't have time to talk, or just didn't want to, and my order was lost in translation. Although the server was very specific, the chef wanted to add embellishments because that's what chef's do! I never hesitate to send my meal back once if it's not correct. But if it comes out wrong a second time, I usually just ask them to take it off the bill and then eat later. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Depending on the type of establishment, I might send it back a second time, but if they can't get it right then, I won't bother again after that.

Although you may not get exactly what you would like or it might not be as good of a meal as at a veggie-friendly restaurant, you can still eat out with family and friends. And sometimes, chefs actually come up with creative dishes that really surprise you! And if you're going to restaurants your family and friends choose, it's only fair they occasionally go to one of your veggie restaurants, too!

On a side note, if you find a place that really is clueless about vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free meals and they truly want to learn and be able to offer options to their customers, as part of my new Healthy Lifestyles Consulting business (more on that in a few days), I will be offering consulting to restaurants as well, so please send them my way!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com

Why It's Important to Wash Your Food

I've been meaning to write a blog post about this topic for quite some time, but I always get tied up with something else. I think I'm a pretty educated consumer when it comes to understanding our food chain - I only buy organic and I choose local when it's available. Now, some people will argue that it's better for the environment to buy local over organic and others will argue the exact opposite, so I say you need to decide what's right for you.

Now, if you want to know about the entire food industry, you should watch films like Food, Inc. or King Corn. What I'm talking about is more basic, and from a plant-based perspective. I want to follow where our food comes from so you can see why it's important to wash your food, because I know many of you out there don't. (And I guess it's one of my pet peeves.)

So let's think about where our food comes from. First, someone grows the crops and tends to them. Second, someone picks the crops. Third, someone preps (depending on where and what maybe washed, maybe not) the food and packages it. Fourth, the food is transported to a warehouse/clearinghouse or if you're lucky goes directly to the seller. Fifth, the food makes it to the store. Sixth, the store stocks the produce for the consumer to select. And not to mention all of the other customers picking up the food, inspecting it, and then putting it back.

Now think about all of the humans that have touched your food during this process. Think about all the room for human error and how each place has different processes and procedures. To most of these people, it's just a job. They aren't going to take extra great care with the food, not like they would if it was going directly to their families. And even if stores have policies, it doesn't mean that each employee is going to follow that policy.

Let me give you an example. At one store that I go to, if some of the produce falls on the floor, they throw it away. Yet at another store, I watched as some of the kale dropped to the floor, sat there for a while, and then an employee came over, picked it back up, and just put it back on the shelf! He didn't bother to wash it off or anything. And yet previously, at that same second store, I had watched a different employee throw away a bunch of perfectly good beets. I had asked him why he was throwing them away and he said the tops were broken off and no one would buy them because they didn't look nice. (And here I'm thinking, give them to a food pantry then!)

Each person has their own idea about food and cleanliness. We don't want to be wasteful, but we don't want to be careless either. If lettuce or some other type of produce falls on the floor, you don't have to throw it away, but for goodness sake, wash it off first before putting it back on the shelf.

Even if you just washed your produce with water, it's better than nothing. Some people choose to use a fruit and veggie wash. Others choose to use the food-grade hydrogen peroxide. Here's a little homemade formula I found out about during my juice fast - Wash your produce in water with some lemon juice and salt (1/2 a lemon and a tsp of sea salt from http://drbenkim.com/articles-pesticides.html). It forms a mildly acidic solution that removes pesticides, residues, grime, etc. Just soak for 5 minutes, rinse, and dry thoroughly before storing.

And if you're still not convinced that you should wash or inspect your food before you eat it, here's something I found on my kale after getting it home and AFTER washing it:

Just trying to promote a little conscious eating...

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti
www.veggiepatti.com

Your are invited to a Very Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck

Join my group, Adventures in Veganland, for a pre-Thanksgiving potluck featuring, vegan, vegan gluten-free, and raw food! All are welcome! Please bring a dish from one or more of the categories below that serves at least 8 and adheres to the guidelines. Also, please bring a copy of your recipe so people can recreate your dish at home on Thanksgiving!


The potluck is this Sunday, November 18 from 1-3 pm. Please RSVP to let us know you're coming.

• Vegan: No meat, fish, seafood, dairy, eggs, or honey please.
• Vegan Gluten-free: Please follow all vegan guidelines plus no wheat, oats, or other gluten-containing products.
• Raw: Please follow guidelines above, plus all food should be raw, i.e., not cooked over 105 degrees.

If you are not sure what to bring, just ask! To be eco-friendly, please consider bringing your own non-disposal plates and utensils.

This year I've reached out to a few vegan-friendly and raw restaurants to see if they'd like to come and bring a dish. I'll keep you posted as restaurants sign up!

Vegan-Friendly Restaurants/Caterers attending:

-Chartreuse
-Detroit Vegan Soul
-Seva Detroit
-Om Cafe
-Sushi Bar & Japanese Cuisine
-Cacao Tree Cafe
-Vegan Wine Sampling courtesy of David Reno of Winedotte Wines

Hope to see you there!

VeggiePatti

Veggie Singles Mingles in Metro Detroit

Let's face it - looking for love can be difficult. It's even more difficult when you are trying to find a like-minded person in a small subset of the population! To help connect other single veggies with each other, Adventures in Veganland is starting a series of Veggie Singles Mingles in Metro Detroit.

The format is simple. Singles mingles will be planned at various veg-friendly restaurants around the tri-county area. They will typically run from 6 to 8 pm with the first hour being the mingle hour with happy hour-type restaurant specials and the second hour being a casual dinner.



The first singles mingle will be tomorrow night - Thursday, October 4 at Seva Detroit. The second singles mingle will be Tuesday, October 16 at Roger Monk’s in Ann Arbor. An RSVP is required. For more details and to RSVP, please join Adventures in Veganland on Facebook. If you are not on Facebook, you may email your RSVP.

I will see how the events go. If there is a good response, I will plan more events! Please help spread the word to any of your friends who might be interested!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Intolerance will not be tolerated!

Today I met someone who was not only anti-vegan, but downright vegan intolerant! To make matters worse, he owns a health food store!

I don't normally call for boycotts, but I am asking all vegans in the area to boycott Nutrition Unlimited in Southgate. They are anti-vegan and quite evangelical about it!

Instead, please support other local establishments, such as Total Health Foods in Wyandotte. They are vegan-friendly and tolerant of all people, regardless of their eating habits.

Let me go back and explain how I came upon this information.

As you know, I published a vegan, gluten-free cookbook last January. I have been trying to get local stores to carry the book. (Currently, it's being sold at Total Health Foods and Nutri-Foods in Royal Oak.) I happened to be going by Nutrition Unlimited so I thought I would stop in and re-introduce myself and see if they would be interested in checking out my book. (I say re-introduce because years ago when they first opened I actually used to be a somewhat frequent customer. I introduced the owner to several new products that he continues to carry to this day. Needless to say, he wasn't anti-vegan, or at least didn't preach it, at that time.)

So I went in and introduced myself and as soon as I said the word vegan he said, "Vegan?! We don't promote veganism! That's what we teach people in our clinic - not to be vegan. You can only get Vitamin A from animal sources so where do you get your Vitamin A?" I was a bit startled and replied, "Well I'm not Vitamin A deficient and no vegans I know are Vitamin A deficient so we must be getting it from somewhere." To which he retorted, "Well that's surprising."

I think I mumbled something like "Ok, thanks for your time" (because I was still trying to be polite) and I started to walk away. He followed me. And then he said, "Don't you know the cause of all autism? Autism is caused by Vitamin A deficiency!" What I really wanted to say was, "Are you implying that autism only affects vegan children and all vegan children become autistic?" but I really didn't feel like arguing with someone so clueless. I replied, "Actually, there's a lot of research on autism linked to nutrition but it's not focused on Vitamin A. I could refer you to some doctors that are doing cutting edge research on the causes of autism. But I see it's not a good fit here for my book, thanks anyway."

Again, I preceded to leave. And again he chased me down! And this time, he says very loudly, in front of a lot of customers, "Do you know where mother's get protein from to feed their babies?" I said, "I'm not interested in discussing nutrition of mothers and children." And he replied, "But do you know where it comes from? The protein comes from milk!" And I replied, "Yes, but not from the milk of other species."

And with that, I walked out the door.

So, not only is the owner anti-vegan, he clearly wants to push his misguided beliefs on anyone who is. So for all of you vegans and vegan supporters out there, please do not patronize his store! There are plenty of other places where you will be treated like a human being!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Juice Fast is Moving

It's becoming apparent that the juice fast is going to go on for quite some time, so I've decided to move the juice fast posts to their own blog. If you want to follow my juice fast, check it out at http://veggiepatti-juicefast.blogspot.com/

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Juice Fast Day 8

Finally - I think the weight loss plateau has been broken. The scale finally moved in the right direction! lol

I'm feeling pretty good today. The energy is not bad; less than usual, but that could also be do to the extreme heat we've been under for days.

I've been drinking the green juice from yesterday and just finished it off. My father just brought me over a huge supply of organic fruit on his b-day no less. We'll be meeting at his house for dinner and I'll be making juice and drinking it over there, so we'll see how it goes being on a juice fast while other people are eating! Haven't run into that scenario since day 1!

I'm not sure what I'll blend up. I want to blend something that others might want to try if they are so inclined, so it has to be something that is not only palatable to the non-juicer palate but also something that will make a lot. I'm thinking perhaps pineapple and blueberry with spinach and ginger. We shall see!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Juice Fast Day 7

Today was a very busy day! I made my usually blend - 6 cucumbers, only 1 stalk of celery this time because it's been so juicy, ginger, and the remaining kale from the other day. That's what's I've been drinking all day - 3 glasses of that and then some coconut water. And of course plenty of regular water!

Not much else to report!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Juice Fast Day 6

So it's day 6...another day, another set of challenges...but no one said this would be easy!

So the hunger hasn't really been an issue (knock on wood)...it's the logistics of the whole thing!

I saved a glass of the green juice from yesterday to have this morning while I was making the rest of the juice for today. Unfortunately, the power went out briefly last night, I missed my alarm, and needless to say this morning I was in a time crunch. Luckily I had the juice for this morning, but I still needed something for the rest of the day! Fresh juice isn't something you can just go out and buy where I was going to be so I had to make it. So instead of making all of the juice for the day, I decided I would just make a lunch juice and make the rest later.

I had seen a recipe for apple lemonade, so I did a take on that. I remembered from juicing previously that lemons and limes go along way, so I used 1 lemon, 1 1/2 apples, 3/4 a bunch of kale, and ginger. It was palatable, but too lemony. I didn't have time to fix it so off I went. I drank the juice, but I don't think high citrus items sit well with me. The lemon didn't feel too great in my stomach but it really burned my throat!

When I came home, I was going to make the big vat of juice, but I still had these tomatoes (I know, more acid) that had been haunting me. I like tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato soup, etc, but I've never liked tomato juice. But I figured I would try a tomato basil juice. The basil wasn't juicing very well so I ended up using a lot without realizing that a little basil goes a long way! I also threw in a little clove of garlic at the end, but I think my juicer was partially clogged so I didn't really taste it. I was scared making the juice and when I tasted it I knew why! I'm glad it only made one glass! I hope I can choke it down. If not, well maybe it will be fertilizer for my flower beds..lol

So tonight I will be making the big vat of juice that should take me through tomorrow and I have to hit the grocery store since I wasn't able to do that today.

And my weight is still stable, sigh... Only I could go on a juice fast and not lose weight..lol  Hopefully, everything will kick in and it will start to fly off.

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Juice Fast Day 5

So I made it through day 4 without any problems and was smart enough to make the big vat of green juice and have one in the evening and save the rest for today so I wasn't scrambling to make something to drink this morning!

******************
I have come across a few things that annoy me on this juice fast. But first, the reason I am doing this juice fast is two-fold: to be healthier and to shed excess weight. I have some genetic disorders and autoimmune issues that cause pain, digestive issues, fatigue, and a whole lot of other symptoms. It also has made losing weight an extremely difficult challenge, despite the fact that I'm a gluten-free, grain-free vegan who trys to eat at least 50% raw and goes on all-raw diets for 30 days at a time. And I do green smoothies. And I juice. So since both conventional and holistic medicine have not been able to help me, I'm on a journey to try to heal myself as many others have done before me with this type of juice cleanse.

That being said, I'm really tired of my family trying to sabotage me! Now, some family members support me and cheer me on; some don't understand, express their worry, and let me go about my business; but a select few family members deliberately try to sabotage me no matter how I eat! I suspect they don't believe I should be a vegetarian, let alone a vegan. And going on a juice fast and not eating food for days at a time goes beyond comprehension as something healthy to do. (Despite the fact that this person seriously considered going on an all-liquid, non-natural cleanse because the Western doctor recommended it.) It annoys me that when I say this is what I'm doing and here's why, this person goes and makes stuff for me that I choose not to eat at the moment and then asks me to come eat it! Supposedly it's done out of love, but where's the support? Sadly, this is common among vegetarians, vegans, and raw foodists and their family members.

The second thing that's annoying me is that I bought this "state-of-the-art" juicer and it definitely has downfalls! As I mentioned previously, the prep takes forever because you have to cut all the food in small portions. It does wonderful for greens and hard vegetables and fruits, but doesn't do so well with soft fruits. While I was juicing today I had to stop, disassemble, and clear out the machine on many occasions just to get through the juicing session. It's extremely annoying.

The third thing that's annoying is the expense of juicing! Today I decided to make a red, white, and blue juice in honor of 4th of July. I used blueberries, raspberries, jicama, and rosemary to make sure I got some greens in. The cost for this one-serving juice drink was $8. If you go out to a restaurant, that is what you'd pay, but that's a pretty big expense for one meal when you add it up! And if you screw it up and it doesn't taste good, you can either add more to it or just drink it down, because it's too expensive to throw out.

******************

So enough about the negative and onto the positive! My taste buds have definitely changed. I was getting hungry on just the green juice so I decided to do a quick watermelon juice (with the rind) to shake things up. It was too sweet! I used to be able to eat almost a quarter watermelon as a meal before with no issues! So I ended up adding spinach to tone it down, although it was still a little too sweet.

I am a little disappointed that the weight loss has plateaued for now - hopefully there will be a breakthrough soon!

So on the menu for today:

Green juice - cucumber, celery, ginger
Watermelon cooler - watermelon with rind, spinach, ginger
Red, white, & blue juice - blueberries, raspberries, jicama, rosemary

I went to the grocery story yesterday and have all the produce purchased and planned for tomorrow's drinks, but I will have to go back to the store tomorrow to buy the produce for the next day.

*****************

If anyone wants to try juicing but is afraid to do it on their own, I will be joining a doctor-led juice cleanse starting July 15. The deadline to sign up is this Sat, July 7.

Here's the link to the Be Juicy 10-Day Juice Cleanse.

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Happy Fourth of July!

Juice Fast Day 4

So it's the beginning of day 4. A few things I'm noticing:

I think I could really use another juicer! The juicer I have is great to get the most nutrients out of greens, but it takes a long time and doesn't juice all fruits as well. When you're hungry and you need something fast, it's not the juicer to go to! This morning my body was saying "you need food now" and it took a half hour to prepare a simple juice. So with this juicer, it's best to do a bulk batch in advance, and not first thing in the morning!

The first 3 days weren't as bad as I thought. I did lose 5 pounds in the first 2 days but nothing yesterday, so we'll just have to wait and see on the weight loss aspect. Some sources say you should lose at least a pound a day on a juice fast but I'm sure it's variable for everyone. (And yes, yes...I know you can average...)

Juicing is also very clean in the sense that your elimination channels aren't on overload. There's very little perspiration or odor for that matter, unless you have lots of ginger then it kicks it up a notch! Don't expect to go to the bathroom like normal either - you pee a lot more but don't have bowel movements as often.

Water is also extremely important! Juice does not replace water and you have to make sure you're drinking a lot of water. I try to change between juice and water, with some coconut water thrown in to help make sure electrolytes are balanced.

My juicy breakfast this morning was 2 small colanders of spinach, 2 pears, and a ginger "thumb". It's actually pretty good. Normally I can't taste the ginger but it's very evident here! I'd make this one again but maybe add parsley. I did want to make my standard cucumber/celery for the day, but that takes an hour and my body needed something right away so I whipped up this one - although this still took a half hour as I mentioned.

I'll be making the rest of the day's juice a little later - BEFORE I get hungry!

I'm also very tempted to try tomato juice at this point although I've never liked it in the past. I'll just tell myself it's tomato soup! Maybe tomorrow!

Until then,
Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Juice Fast Day 3

So day 3 of the juice fast went mostly smoothly until the end of the day...then the hunger set it! Coconut water to the rescue! Also the detoxing emotional side effects started to come out...hope that's over with!

So today I had more of the usual green juice but decided to have a fruity drink in the middle of the day - a virgin pina colada (fresh pineapple juice mixed with coconut water).

Once I made the decision to do the juice fast it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, but I don't want to speak too soon! I still have a ways to go!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Juice Fast Day 2

So I made it through the first day of juice fasting which has always been the hardest for me in the past. And in case you're wondering, yes, I drank all of the juice I made! I went to a graduation party in the middle of the day and the smell of food was just so tempting...but I survived.

This morning I decided to use up some cartons of berries I had before they went bad. So in went blueberries and most of the blackberries, but sadly the raspberries couldn't be saved. :( Note to self: Juicing blackberries produces a sludge so do it last! There wasn't much output so I added an apple, some ginger, and some fresh mint. It was pretty good, but there was not a whole lot so I knew I'd be hungry later.

Later in the day I made the regular green drink:  6 cucumbers, 2 stalks celery, and ginger. The celery made a lot more juice than normal so it threw off the taste a bit and I added a kiwi, which really didn't have much effect. That's what I'll be drinking for the rest of the day (and some coconut water!).

I've done some more research and everything says once you get past day 3 it gets a lot easier! Day 2 hasn't been too bad, so let's hope day 3 is the same!

Oh I also stocked up on raw coconut water to help with the electrolyte balancing in case I feel I need it.

I'll post more tomorrow about how Day 3 goes!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Juice Fast anyone?

I am so horrible at blogging! It's one of those habits that needs some work!

So I FINALLY watched Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead - it was really inspiring. There is a corresponding website - all free - www.jointhereboot.com. I was surprised because there was so much fruit juicing going on! I've always been told to juice with mostly greens. But, I also realize you can't do a 60-day juice fast on just the same thing! (Although I'm sure some people do that - especially with wheat grass.)

So I've been putting off juicing for quite some time for several reasons. I think it's not going to be fun is probably number 1...lol  But I was so worried about doing it correctly - getting the right juicer, doing the right program, etc. that I realized if I kept worrying about doing it perfectly I would never do it!

So here's to trying! I'm going to start a juice fast. How long will I go? I guess as long as I need to.

I'm starting with the green juices as I have been told those are necessary for maximum detoxing, but I'm not going to be so vigilant about it that I can't have fruit juice now and then.

Here's how I started my morning...

 It took me an HOUR to make this much juice! It's not the juicing part per se, it's all the prep work! This juice contains about 1-2 cups of spinach (what was leftover), 6 very large cucumbers, 2 stalks of celery (the whole thing, not individual stalks), and some ginger. So I'll see how long it lasts! I've had 2 big glasses already and will just keep drinking it until I'm not hungry!

I've heard the first 3 days are the hardest, so hopefully I can get through that and it's smooth sailing!

If anyone wants to join me on my juice fast, just drop me a line and we can be juicing buddies!

Wishing you peas and good health,

VeggiePatti

Update on juicing

So I've been juicing away with the green juice. I just have to wonder...why does the juice from the raw food restaurants taste so much better? LOL I'm thinking I better keep experimenting with the amount of each veggie to put in! Anyone have any good recipes to suggest?

Also, I have some exciting changes to VeggiePatti.com coming soon - I will be making an announcement this week! Stay tuned!

In peas and good health,

VeggiePatti