The One Month RAW Challenge

[TeePee]

Hi Ginger,


Welcome home!! Oh no, you don't have great news for me about Turks and Caicos!! I will be sick if I don't get fresh fruit for all the money we are spending!! And bugs and muggy, maybe I should have stuck to Jamaica. I am staying at Beaches which is the family oriented sister company to Sandals. It is in Provo. Last year I took daughter to Beaches Sandy Bay in Negril and although I wasn't raw last summer, I know I ate fruits and salads. I have been there plus Sandals Negril, Sandals Montego Bay and Grand Lido. All of the properties I have been to were glorious. I am really hoping this is just as nice and the food is just as fresh. I did have grouper and red snapper last year in Negril. Fabulous. I am sure I will gain weight, so I am trying to get an extra ten pounds off before I go for insurance!! Would you not go there again? I read about the dolphin. I would love to go diving. My ex husband and I went to Jamaica for honeymoon and then 3 times there after. (Then he went there to marry his second wife, same resort!!!) This is with my boyfriend and my daughter. He has only been to Cancun wiht me and that was several years ago at a lower scale all-inclusive. Defin not as nice as Sandals. I never did go diving, and this time since my 7 year old is going, I don't know if I will have time. BF probably won't have interest in it, so if I want I'm sure he'll watch her if I decide to. So, just shower with the peppermint? Thanks for the info!!

[Ginger]

TeePee - I'm sure they'll have fresh fruit and veggies at Beaches. You'll be fine. They can afford to ship the good stuff in. T&C is a desert island(s) and I don't think much grows there. We ate VERY well at the Club Med. The places on Grand Turk are not big and well funded as Beaches. We had to fly in a puddle jumper to get there from Provo. Our group of 16 divers was the biggest group they'd had in awhile. LOL. Our plane from Atlanta was PACKED with families going to Beaches. I definately prefer it to Jamaica. I stayed at the Dunns River Sandals a few years ago.

[TeePee]

Hi Ginger,

Thanks for the reassurance. I am used to Jamaica with the fresh mango, pineapple and all sorts of lushness. I guess I didn't realize it was desert like.
I really love the climate and environment of Jamaica. I hope I'm not disappointed. I would imagine, as you said, a 5 star hotel would have the stuff in. From the menus listed at the 10 different restaurants on the website, I think they have to fly the goods in.

So I'm getting ready to go out with BF downtown to see a band play. I never get a Friday night free but daughter went to Daddy's. Of course, when I'm cleansing!! I just had a lemonade and I think I'd better make one to go too. I will have to concentrate on the music. He says he is starting MC this week. I guess I am designated driver!

[mtmouse]

Well, lemonheads,

I have to say, no buyer's remorse here for that Vita-Mix! I am so thrilled I can hardly contain myself.

So far pretty much everything I've made are things I used to make in my blender or food processor, so one could say I don't need the Vita-Mix. BUT, the results are so much nicer! Wow.

I've made magic wands (a la Sim), ginger walnut nori rolls, smoothies, banana ice cream, chocolate sauce, marinara sauce, fuzzy navels (a la Annie Phyo--and I just bought her book, too!), Cornbleet's sweet mustard salad dressing (fabulous!), and warmed red pepper soup. I can't wait to make more red dragon crackers and try my new lime/chili cracker experiment, but I have to finish up what I have still in the fridge.

But the best part? I started my cleanse at 165. I was at 162 after week 1, 159 after week 2. I stopped my cleanse the next day (Tuesday), and now (Saturday) I'm at 155.5! I wanted reeeeeeeeeeeallly much to use the cleanse to get me into the mode of much smaller portion sizes, and it's working! And I think the Vita-Mix helps because it's so satisfying.

At any rate, I'm a happy camper! To eat good stuff and still lose weight--what a treat!

[TeePee]

Congratulations Mtmouse!!!!

So glad you are enjoying your Vita-Mix. Isnt' it fun!!!! The first night I opened mine after driving out to pick it up from UPS, I was so excited. I read the directions about rinsing and running it with the soapy water. I was so darn excited, that, you guessed it- I forgot to put the lid on!!! Sudsy water everywhere!!! At least clean water and not avo and oil!!! Have fun!! Did you try your almond milk in it yet?? oh, yum. I'm making myself hungry!!Dangerous cleansing and reading this board. Have to still finish my salt water flush.....

Congrats on weight loss, too. I told you it would come off!! When I began last cleanse DEc 28 I was 172 lbs. Heaviest ever. I gave birth to a 9 and half pound baby at that weight!! I ended that 10 day cleanse at 160. From the next months on raw, I got down to 136, then started having some "stuff" here and there. WAs 138.5 on monday when I began this cleanse, this am (day 6) I am 135! ANyway 122 was my lightest ever and I really want to fit in those clothes again!! That was about 5-6 years ago, when I got divorced. Not sure how long I'll cleanse. But I want to lose enough, that when I go to Turks and Caicos I can "afford" a 10 lb gain probably. I want to go, enjoy and come back still at a managable weight and jump right back in. I would love to leave here in the next "decade". That's what I call 10 lb. increments on the scale!! In other words, in the 120's would be great!!!

Enjoy that Vita-Mix. We'll all expect a full report on all your creations!!!

[mtmouse]

Yes, I forgot to say, I've made almond milk (I still don't strain it) and almond butter in it, too.

Ever since I stopped my cleanse, I've probably used that VM 5-6 times a day.

One thing that may be contributing to my continuing weight loss, in addition to my willingness to take smaller portions, is that so far I haven't had any grains at all. After the other cleanses that's what I craved, and I gave in to it immediately. First couple of cleanses it was cooked grains, the third one it was raw sprouted grains, but I just really wanted them.

This time I'm not hankering for them and I'm not eating them. I'm considering sprouting some wheat to make pizza crusts, but frankly I'd like to drop a few more pounds first, just in case that's really a major part of the problem.

140 here I come!

[mtmouse]

Okay, gang,

I just bought a couple of "young" coconuts. They're huge! Much bigger than the ones with the hard brown husks.

And they look all funny. They're white, and sort of angular-sided like they've been chopped with a machete.

So what do I do with them? How do I open them? Do I just cut them down the middle, or do I have to poke a hole like with a regular one? What should I expect?

[Ginger]

Okay, gang,

I just bought a couple of "young" coconuts. They're huge! Much bigger than the ones with the hard brown husks.

And they look all funny. They're white, and sort of angular-sided like they've been chopped with a machete.

So what do I do with them? How do I open them? Do I just cut them down the middle, or do I have to poke a hole like with a regular one? What should I expect?

You can poke a hole in it to drain the milk. Then hack off the top with a cleaver and scrape the sweet meat out.

[mtmouse]

Thank you, Ginger!

Gonna try it soon!

[Saralise]

So, I am in DAY 4 of the Master Cleanse, and I have decided after reading 12 Steps to RAW FOOD, that I need to be 100% RAW.

The only trouble is, since I have not been a part of this lifestyle, and I have only just moved to Claremont, CA, I am not familiar with anyone who is on this path.

There is one good thing tho, Sprouts, the brother of Henry's Farmers Market, is opening soon, right down the street!

So, if there is anyone even remotely close to me in proximity, I would love to meet you, or at least connect with you and have some mutual support!

Thanks,

Saralise