living label-free!

I no longer consider myself "vegan".  The fun thing about that is that I no longer have a label for the way I eat!  Due to life-long sensitive digestive issues, eating simply became something I just needed to do.  I tried so many different diets and often got caught up in the "rules" that go with them.  Vegan, raw vegan, low-fat raw vegan, vegetarian, watching the food combining 'rules'...I've done them all.  After over 17 years on a mixture of these diets, I wasn't feeling as though I was thriving or even close to that.   I eliminated wheat, gluten, and sugar to see if that might do the trick.  Not really.   I was open to change.

I re-read the book about the blood-type diets.  I was surprised when some of the foods it suggested I avoid, were foods that I ate a LOT of - bananas, mangoes, oranges and tomatoes especially.  I resisted at first, but then, out of desperation and a desire to feel at least good consistently, I decided to give it a go.  I did not eliminate those fruits entirely, but I did cut them way back.  I rediscovered other fruits that I had not paid much attention to - pears, nectarines, plums, apples.  I noticed a slight change for the better in how I felt.  I looked at the foods on the "highly beneficial" list for my A blood type.  I was not surprised to see that most meat was on my "avoid" list, with chicken and turkey okay occasionally.   Some fish though, were listed as highly beneficial.  I'd never been a huge fan of fish, so I just opened myself up to that possibility.  One day, Cary was having some red salmon.  I caught the smell and Oh.My....it was like lust...I HAD to have some!  That night I slept well, and I woke up the next day feeling energetic!  I couldn't remember the last time I had woken up like that!  

I've had salmon and tuna a few more times since then, and I had some barbeque chicken another time.  I've been enjoying poached eggs and even a little cheese.  The trick I've found, is that if the food smells and looks good to me and has me wanting it, then there is probably something in it that I need.  I no longer disallow any food because of a rigid dogma.  My body needed a change, and I needed to be open to receiving the intuitive guidance that is within. 

I found some of the other recommendations for my blood type interesting, such as a strong suggestions that I incorporate regular yoga or tai chi instead of pushing myself in other sports.  I always feel much more balanced when I do yoga and I feel irritated when I push myself to work out aerobically or with weights every day.  I still go for a walk on the beach most mornings and swim some laps most afternoons, but I do those things much more mindfully.  It's no longer something I do so I can cross it off the list and forget about it for the day.  It's a gift to myself.  I walk barefoot on the beach, feeling each footstep on the sand, feeling all the way through each step from the heel until my toes lift off.  I'm more in touch with the sights and sounds around me, the solo seagull walking next to me (Hi Dad!), the surf, the sun, the clouds, the smell of the salt water, the sounds of the waves rolling and crashing....I feel gratitude for the moment....it's meditation in motion.  Sometimes the children join me on my walk and even as they chat, I am still aware of the underlying meditation within myself.  When I swim laps, I become part of the water and again, it is very meditative. 

Even though it may look as though I am doing the same exercises that I was doing a month ago, my internal focus has changed, and it feels very different to me.  The other thing is that if I really don't want to exercise, I just don't...and I no longer make myself feel guilty for taking the day off!

I've been reading spiritual and self-help books most of my life.  Intellectually I 'know' that I am supposed to live more mindfully, and to be more in touch with how I move and feed my body.  I see now that I had limited myself by labelling myself.  By insisting that I was vegetarian, I cut off other possibilities that may have helped me sooner.  By insisting that I was following a fitness program, I was not always in tune with what my spirit needed as I pushed through a workout because I thought I had to in order to stay physically fit.

I really get it now.  Ha!  So many books and people telling us that we have to do or eat or move in a certain way in order to get certain results.  Ha!  What we really need are more people just encouraging each of us to get in touch with our own inner guidance.  Then the biggest hurdle....giving ourselves Permission to do that!  Allowing ourselves to break free of rules.  If your body is saying that you need to rest instead of going to the gym, allowing that.  If your body is saying that it wants (something you would usually have for dinner) for breakfast, then allowing that.  It's about being gentle with yourself, respecting your inner voice and following through.  The more you do that, the more in tune you will be.

I don't follow the blood-type diet.  I took their suggestions under advisement and I now let my body lead the way to what it wants.  That can be different things on different days, or it can be the same thing for three days straight. 

I love being free of labels and rules!  I love being more deeply in touch with my body.  I'm still fine-tuning the process, but overall, my body is happier and so is my spirit!

Food and us

I don't know if you caught the link to this on my sidebar (under Favourite Blogs and The Fresh Network) recently:

http://fresh-network.typepad.com/fresh_network_blog/2010/07/what-do-you-think-of-the-weston-price-foundations-dietary-recommendations.html#more

I have quite a few friends that follow, and are rather passionate about, the Weston Price diet and the cookbook associated with that - 'Nourishing Traditions'.  I admit to owning that cookbook but frankly only use it for the information in it is that relating to the preparation and cooking of grains.  The high fat and meat content of the rest of the philosophy just does not resonate with me.

I think that's a big thing - if something resonates with you.  When you just 'know' that something is right for you.  Not just by the mental concepts and physical research, but the inner "yes" that speaks to you on a deeper, soul level of just knowing if something will work for you, or not.

I think different diets work for different people.  I do not like it when I'm told that "this is the right way...this is the best way for everyone to eat....you should only be doing this".  If something works for you, I'm honestly happy for you.  But don't try and tell me that I need to change what I'm doing.  I'm not going to tell you to give up meat, so don't tell me I need to eat it.

I've been vegetarian for 16 years, mostly vegan. 
I had a blood two weeks ago.  When going veg, many people are told to take vitamin B12 supplements.  I never have (apart from multi vitamins during pregnancy) and my test showed my B12 to be in the excellent range.  My iron and a couple of hormones were a bit low though.  The combination of the deficiencies though has been leaving me feeling lethargic and very low in motivation for much at all.  It's good to know because I'm not driving myself to work out every single day at the moment.  I'm taking time out to lie in the hammock in the sun and let my body rest. 

Summer and Cary also had blood tests.  It turns out that Summer has Insulin Resistance (pre-diabetes).  Part of our 'unschooling' has also been allowing the children to determine what food they would like to eat, and when, and how much. The thought behind that is that they will self-regulate and get all of the nutrients they actually need.  It works great with the boys.  It does not work with Summer.  I have often thought that there was 'something' going on with Summer, and at different times, after discussion with different health 'professionals', and with Summers agreement, we've tried gluten-free foods, and other slight changes in the foods that Summer ate.  After giving her the majority of the choice in what she ate, and watching her health deteriorate a little more as time passed, we have to make some big changes in what Summer eats and when.  We have to help her own this new way in order to help her health for the rest of her life.  Diabetes has a strong presence in Cary's side of the family.  Summer has obviously inherited that tendency.  Cary tests show that he also has Insulin Resistance, though not as extremely as Summer. 

...update, we went for more tests last week and my iron is now in the 'normal' range.  The only thing I did differently was to add 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses into my daily diet.

mish-mash

The touch of coolness in the morning air recently vanished and was replaced with very warm, humid weather. We got to a point where we put our air conditioner on in the house (we don't have it in the car) for just the second time this summer. That would bring our a/c total running time to under an hour. When we have put it on, it's just to cool the place down and take the edge off. We have had the ceiling fans on low or medium quite often, just to keep air moving when there is no breeze. But I think our next electricity bill will be fairly reasonable.

We have had fires to the south of us, with around 200 people dead and 7000 homeless. Friends of ours in those areas were all lucky to escape. So sad. I can't imagine. Floods to the north of us causing an increase in the cost of bananas (a main staple in my diet). Many large and small businesses and community groups around us are having fundraisers to help these people. It always warms the heart to see community pull together, it's a shame it takes a tragedy to make it so.

Today the humidity has broken and it's been raining steadily all day. I'm in jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt which is nice for a change. The kitchen is calling me to bake cookies! It's been too warm to heat up the house any more by baking but today is a good day to stock up on some home baked treats.

A while back I was doing a lot of reading, trying to figure out what the natural diet of we humans should be. For 30 years I've been playing around with different diets, experimenting on myself. In that time, I have never found more passion in a group as what I have amongst those following a raw-food diet. So many people find such energy and enthusiasm for life and that style of eating that they want to tell everyone. Fantastic! It often comes with much inspiration and encouragement as well. However, amongst the groups of raw fooders there seems to be a lot of disagreement on the 'right' way to do raw. High fat vs low fat, high fruit vs low fruit, superfoods vs natural foods etc. It's exhausting! After trying to get back into all raw foods here, and getting side-tracked by all of the conflicting advice, I went back out on my own to figure things out.

Yes, the human ancestors started out as raw vegans, but in order to evolve and thrive and move to different areas, changes needed to be made which included eating animals and using fire to cook. (I wonder if this is when more aggressive behaviour began.)

There can be points made to justify any point of view as to why a person chooses a certain way of eating. So I had to reach a place where I was totally comfortable with how my family and I eat. Certainly lots of fruit and veges of the highest quality possible. We shop at local farmers markets from local growers who are organic or on their way there. Grains - I buy good quality flour and use different grains for variety. I make most of our own cookies, cakes, waffles and pies which we don't do a lot of when it's warmer outside. Except the waffles which are a standard Sunday morning thing. I'm going to start making our own pasta again soon. If I buy any packaged pasta or bread, it's from a quality wholegrain source. Fats - unsalted butter, olive oil, canola oil or coconut oil, the best quality I can. Milk - usually rice or soy though Cary likes full cream dairy. Protein - organic dry beans, homecooked, organic tofu and tempeh. And I made peace with the fact that Cary and the kids enjoy meat. So if they want it, they buy hormone free and organic if possible. Same with their eggs. For me, a low-fat, vegan diet with grains only several times a week seems to work the best. I love a hearty vege soup when it's cool out and I also enjoy lots of fresh foods. I'm more in touch with my body and it's needs and eat more instinctively rather than what I think I should eat due to the time of day or combination of food.

I'm working towards making most of our own basic foods like hummus, tomato sauce and nut butter etc and getting away from most processed foods.

Basically, my research led me to a greater understanding of why eating a diet of more whole-foods is important. And why I no longer get sucked in when shopping with the kids and they ask for a packet of cookies or something of minimal nutritional value. And I no longer feel any judgement towards anyone choosing to eat a particular way. Because that might work for them, and why did I feel that my way was the 'right' way anyway? That kind of attitude doesn't create harmony in my life or the world.

Speaking of harmony, some times it's hard to stay rooted in that. Subtle things take me away from that but I am getting much better at sourcing the cause of it. The biggest breakthrough though has been in realising that often it's my own connection to myself that is disrupted. For some reason, in that moment I am not living my Truth and once I get back on track with that, harmony is restored.

evolution

We've been spending a lot of time at home lately. Firstly with the chickenpox, and now with a car that's playing up. We still have our bikes, right? Well not since Sunday when Summer's bike broke. The frame just snapped. Next - strong legs and an excellent bus system.

It's like we're meant to spend more time here though. So we're making the most of it. I don't think it's just the things we are doing here, it's the mindset shift it's creating as I think about how we can be more efficient and self-sufficient.

I've been thinking a lot about food - diet - nutrition lately. So many 'experts' claim to have found the best diet, suitable for everyone. I recently tried eating only raw foods again, eating low fat and simply. I started out feeling great, but didn't stay that way. So at the moment I'm eating fresh foods throughout the day and often have something cooked vegan at dinner time with a large salad. I'm reading a lot about human evolution specifically regarding diet. I'll have more to say on this in another post, but right now, it's time to put my mommy hat back on and tend to my tribe.

a few days here

Tonight the boys were in the bath together. I sat on the bench in the family bathroom and called a friend. While I was chatting and keeping one eye on the boys, they let all of the water out of the tub, soaped themselves really well and then started sliding all around the tub. They had a great time until AJ flipped a bit and his butt planted on Nicholas' face. Nicholas laughed until he blinked the soap into his eye - he didn't like that.

Nicholas and a friend - a 5 year old girl who is travelling and homeschooling with her family and staying in this park at the moment - spend a lot of time together. They are often here rummaging through our craft drawers and doing something with the bits and pieces they find. Several days ago they discovered several meters of fluro rainbow string. That piece of string has given them at least an hour of play, probably more. They wrap it under and over things, thread it through holes, have made a house and a jail and a barn with it and I'm sure other things in the secret little world they create. I love to hear their excited giggles and squeals. They are so cute together!

Last week I took Sami to a new chiropractor / kinesiologist. Well, new to us...he's been in the biz for 28 years and knows his stuff. He repeated what other docs have told us but a bit more firmly (in a nice way). We have to get Sami ...oops, Summer...off of wheat, dairy, high sugar and peanuts - for at least a month. Then we'll reassess. She'll probably need to stay away from those things, but may be able to have a little now and again. She's been listening to him and has been eating all of the recommended things. (amazing!)
I have a bunch of vegan recipes and a few vegan cookbooks (I don't have many cookbooks with us but they are all either vegan or raw vegan recipe books). So I thought I'd look for other vegan books at the library that might encourage Summer to get even more involved with her food choices - a recipe book with pictures would be ideal. The book she liked the best was a little recipe book devoted entirely to Vegan cupcakes! It has a photo of almost all of the 75 different types of cupcakes. I found a few other 'kid friendly' vegan / food allergy recipe books but I was most impressed to find that the library had 3 copies of Roxanne Klein & Charlie Trotter's "Raw" recipe book. I'm looking forward to getting into that.

AJ's camp chair broke and we've been looking for a new one for him. He likes to take his time to think about decisions like this so we had been to a few different shops looking for the right one. We went into a discount store today looking for more craft supplies and found several camp chairs there. My eye went straight away to a nice turquoise coloured one. On closer inspection, we found that it had speakers built into the armrests. Little wires ran to a pocket at the back which housed a mini battery-operated amplifier. A wire ran from that to another pocket on the side which had a more of the same wire and a plug on the end of it. The store also sold batteries so we got some of those, popped some in the amp and got the trusty MP3 player out of my bag and plugged it in. It worked! Music was piping out of the armrest! Sold! (I'm not usually into buying things that take batteries, but AJ was so excited about this chair and we can use rechargeable batteries at least.) AJ is loving his new chair. It works great with his DS as well. After we bought it, he was all excited, thinking about the different things he could try and plug in - the tv, computer ..wondering if he could create surround sound as they already have speakers next to the screens. And how cool it would be if it would work when playing Guitar Hero on Playstation! This evening as I was getting dinner ready and Aj was playing with friends, I plugged the MP3 player into his chair and danced around. It was better than using the earphones which I tend to keep knocking out when I'm busy doing other things. I tell you, we are sure camping in style!

Raw Life

I looked in the mirror the other day and saw some new wrinkles. I thought about how my body has been feeling lately, which is not great. I go to bed exhausted and wake up tired. My digestion has not been good, but it has been sensitive my entire life and I learned to live with a fairly constant unease in that department. With the exception of when I was eating only raw foods when I felt physically and mentally light as well as energetic, enthusiastic and just excited about life.

I was thinking about what causes the appearance of aging as well as the physical discomforts that people expect to go along with that. I would put it down to one word. Stress. The stresses of our lifestyle, our diets, our mental processes. I know I've experienced major stress in the past 12+ months that I could have handled better if I'd changed my mental chatter as well as my food choices. People tell me "but you eat so well". Maybe compared to a lot of others, but having lived only on raw food previously, I know I'm not serving my body. Perhaps the effects of aging show up sooner or later, but too much stress can definitely make them appear sooner. I am changing that now.

The conditioning that surrounds food is a deep topic. It's linked to all kinds of emotions - good times with family and friends, as well as comforting ourselves when upset and stuffing down uncomfortable feelings. Throughout our education we're told that we need "all five food groups" in order to be healthy.

When I was eating all raw foods, I felt like the true me, the raw me, was exposed. Sometimes that was not pretty and I did not know how to process some of that and eventually went back to eating cooked food.

I consider myself to be back on the raw path. Raw as in peeling the layers and exposing my succulent self. I have a commitment to health - mental and physical. I am allowing those uncomfortable feeling to surface so that I can process them now - look at them, see where they come from, how they've been serving me, and then thank them and kiss them goodbye if I have no more need for them in my life. I've grown and learned and have new tools within myself to be able to do this.

Living this life of simplicity in my outer surroundings is allowing me and inspiring me to simplify my inner life. To remove the unnecessary layers and allow my truth and the real, raw and juicy me to stand proud and strong and sure.

One way for me to get back to this is by eating a diet high in raw food, and for other food choices to be as close to nature as possible - like steamed veges and rice on a cold day.
Another way is for me to consistently do Reiki on myself as I go to sleep and when I wake up. To continue doing my morning yoga, to drink lots of water, to be in the moment, to focus on the joy and good things here and now.

I aim to live a long and vibrantly healthy life. My commitment starts right now!

Enough already!

After the brief spell of sunshine the other day, we've had nothing but more rain and wind. It's expected to last another day or two. Ok, so we need the rain, but a whole week of it? The local newspaper reported that on the heaviest day this past week, 107.8mm of rain fell overnight. That's over 4".

Winter is officially over here at the end of this month and then spring begins. It should be a very green one after all of this.

We chose to park our camper on a grass pad, we could have chosen a concrete one but didn't expect this much rain. When it was dry, it was so great to step out of the camper onto the grass. But now it's mud and cold water. This too, shall pass.

Before the rain, as we glided easily into this simple living lifestyle, I found myself getting more in touch with myself. I was eating a lot more fresh foods, and I was also eating less as I was living with more awareness of my actual needs. The rain and cooler weather has changed that and I have been eating more of the things that my body really does not do well with. Ah dear, I'll get back on track soon.

It's 3:30am on Friday here. I can't sleep. I'm listening to the wind soaring through the trees and the ocean pounding.

The transition to this lifestyle has been made easier because of technology. Our laptop is our DVD player and TV and the wireless internet is fabulous. The 3"x1" TV receiver that plugs in to the USB port gives us better reception than we had at our house. Another laptop would be nice so that someone can be on the internet while others watch the TV or a DVD. But it hasn't been an issue so far. When the warmer weather comes back, we probably won't even think about it as we'll be outside more often.