Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

Dear Diary,

You've heard of turning Green With Envy, right?  But how about Orange with Carrots?  That's what's going on over here.  I joked a while back that I'm eating so many orange foods that my skin might begin to take on that Just-Back-from-the-Spray-Tanner-Booth glow pretty soon.  And the joke is on me.  This is a real thing.  It's not just what happens to your sweet baby when you feed her too many sweet potatoes and pureed carrots.

I was at book club last night and we were talking about some of our old skin grievances.  One horrid skin issue that's plagued me since having my first child seven years ago is a severe peeling of the skin on my hands (eczema?)  I've seen dermatologists and allergists alike and no one seems to have a clue.  So I try to moisturize and ignore it.  It ebbs and flows.  The good new is, I was bragging last night to a friend that since I've been eating all these whole foods and abundant veggies, my skin issues have vanished.  The bad news is...well, the same friend, while inspecting my peel-free skin, said, "Hmmm..that's weird, the palms of your hands look kind of orange in this light."

It wasn't the light.  They're orange.  I've been eating baby carrots like they're my own raw currency.  And yellow and orange peppers.  And sweet potatoes.  So many sweet potatoes.  Just last night I made (and devoured!) a yummy sweet potato, lentil and kale soup for dinner.

Yummy Soup from "Eating Clean Recipes"

So, I'm orange.  It's better than turning green from kale or blue from countless blueberries, I guess, but maybe I should try to get out that old color wheel and start being a little more careful to vary the colors of the fruits and veggies I eat (and thereby the nutrients I'm getting).  In the meantime, you can count on me to be a very visible reminder that we truly ARE WHAT WE EAT!

Talk to you soon,

Your Little Orange Friend Rebecca

80/20: The New 100 (Day 3)

Dear Diary,

This has been such an exciting week. On Monday, we began this new 'eating real food' experiment and on Tuesday, I began my final semester in Deaf Communication. This week marks the beginning of the end of my education (at least this part) and hopefully, the beginning of a new way of eating for me. And so far, so good! If these first two days are any indication of how this is going to go, I think I'm going to like it.

As promised, I'm reporting on my juicer selection. I decided not to decide. (What?) I picked up my juicer on Sunday, a like-new Hamilton-Beach model that I scored on Craig's List for the rock-bottom price of $25. Crazy, I know, but what a great way to start. It's not that I'm planning to fail, but I don't want to be one of those people with the top-of-the-line juicers trying to sell it on Craig's List. I guess that's just me, I tend to tread cautiously, at least when it comes to making purchases.

Now, when it comes to dietary things - that's a completely different matter. I have a history of being an all-or-nothing kind of girl. This has happened quite a few times now, that I've been following a plan and doing just great, taking off weight, feeling really good and then some little something happens that gets me off track - a dinner out, a holiday, a vacation and it's just like flipping a switch. Lights Out. I'm done. It's like falling off a horse and never getting back on. Believe it or not, I felt a twinge of that on Monday. On Monday, for the sake of Pete! Before we even got started! I'd done all my shopping and was ready to roll when I began to wonder if I'd really gotten this right. I thought I was going to need to go shopping again, spend more time with the book, maybe make a new shopping list first, all the while stressing over classes beginning on Tuesday morning. It was just too much.

One thing I know (and can occasionally put into practice) is that when I can't figure something out, when I'm frustrated and can't get unstuck, the best choice for me is to step back and stop trying. I turned off everything and took a shower. In my head, I heard Becky's encouragement to begin slowly instead of trying to jump ahead. After my shower, I went back to Natalia's book, The Raw Food Detox Diet, and started again from the very beginning. Where were those words that led me to believe that I could do this? The thought that 80% raw, 20% could really work - and that I could do it? Why had I thought that jumping right into 'raw until lunch' was the way to go? 

It wasn't until late Monday night that I read on page 38, under Quick Exit Combination Tips, something that now scrolls across the screen of my laptop:

"Don't let the hard-core rules of eating mono-meals and keeping different fruit categories separate discourage you. These rules are not important at this stage. Focus on enjoying your meals and improving your food choices."

Yes! There it is! I can do this! I absolutely plan to transition up the levels of eating raw and real food, but this is a great place to start. I am conscious of not eating large amounts of fruit with other types of food, but I will confess to adding a few blueberries to my quinoa. Otherwise, I'll eat fruit in the afternoon, a few hours after lunch. 

I'm going to remind myself of this over and over again in the days and weeks (and hopefully, years) to come. I don't have to be an "all-or-nothing" kind of girl. I can be quite happy and healthy at 80/20. After all, it's the new 100.

That's all for now.

Love,

deborah