New Beginnings, Juice Fasting and Resetting the System

Wow…where to start!?

So in the last few weeks my hubby has accepted a job opportunity in British Columbia, Canada, a long ways from Ontario. As a result we have many things to organize and think about: How to comfortably bring the animals (all six!), rent our condo, where will we live, etc. It’s a very exciting process and new adventure indeed, though we will dearly miss our family and friends. To top it all, B and I are now also aunt and uncle once again to our darling little niece – love her to bits!

Deep breath. In addition to all of this I have certainly been under some stress the past few years with some poor behaviors such as lack of sleep, and eating dinner/snacking very late. Most of these non-ideal behaviors have begun with working later evenings (especially in the past), and not arriving home till sometimes well after 9:00pm. These habits don’t happen over night…they have been brewing for some time, so it will take time to change them, but I am ready! In addition to these poor actions, I have also been battling with some major digestive troubles, burning/sore eyes, crazy allergies, and severe skin issues – acne (again), hives, rashes, and eczema. I have given this much needed thought and research, persistently indexing through my memory what has worked and when on my journey the troubles crept up again. I have some ideas, but nothing set in stone. What I do know is that my body has been crying for a juice fast, and I have decided to listen, finally! This is day two and I must say I am feeling pretty fantastic. Although I have been living a mostly raw, plant based lifestyle, never have I yet chosen the path of juice fasting because perhaps I was intimidated. With a new life ahead, I really feel this is just what I need to reset my constitution for a fresh (love the way this word makes me feel) new start. Ahhh. Sigh of relief

Although I have been making green juice with the inclusion of wild greens, which are uber nutrient dense (powerhouse!), I have also enjoyed some carrot, ginger, apple, lemon infusions, and tonight this spectacular lemonade – wowzer. So fresh and zing-y!! Back to the greens...
Some of the local wild greens I have been juicing are a good source of vitamins and minerals:

• Plantain Greens- Rich in iron and vitamins A and C. Also great for healing skin ailments when applied topically in a salve or paste form.
• Dandelion - The leaves contain vitamins A, C, K , calcium, iron, manganese, and potassium.
• Stinging Nettle - Rich in vitamin C and iron

These are just some of the vitamins and minerals in these fabulous wild edibles, but they also have an abundance of medicinal qualities!I'll get more specific in a future post, because this is an important subject!

Working as a raw chef at a retreat, café, and privately, it’s become second nature for me to create exquisite combinations, and create intense flavours – I love it! BUT, I have realized that these types of foods are not contributing to my well-being. I don’t really eat them per say, but all of that taste-testing on a daily basis adds up. It becomes a huge load on the body over time with so much complexity. IMHO. Of course, a treat on occasion should be fine, but it’s easy to get carried away.

It’s amazing how much more time one has when not preparing time consuming dishes, not to mention digestion is a breeze. Over the next few days I will continue to share my experiences with juice fasting and my nutritional goals for my future dietary trials.

For now, I leave you with this super simple tart and sweet lemonade. Enjoy!

Tart and Sweet Lemonade



3 large sweet apples (pink lady, fuji or honey crisp)
2 Lemons (rind removed)
Tiny Knob of Ginger (optional) – I like a little spice.

Juice, and consume with gratitude.

Hope you all had a happy, healthy Tuesday!

The first Blog Entry and My Journey to learning about Healthy, Whole & Living Foods

A first blog entry is a representation for your potential audience of what content they can expect in future readings, making it a pretty important entry. Time is a valuable thing, so when others spend theirs reading a blog post (or any other written/visual entry), it's important to make it count. My expectation when you are here visiting this space, is that you will learn something new, be inspired or at the very least find the content entertaining or enjoyable. It's a difficult task to please a diverse audience of readers, so my approach will be to exert passion, to be authentic, and to share information that can help improve your health (the whole spectrum --- body, mind, soul) through my own knowledge, findings and sharing of others. My hope is that you find this approach a respectable one. It's an incredible thing we are privileged with here, on the worldly web, to have access to some interesting, useful information (and not so useful ;)), and to connect with others that share similar interests and /or want to share/learn with the intention to inform/grow. To simply search a topic and then miraculously be brought to a page filled with a bounty of options - how cool is that!?

So let's get started...

My Journey to learning about Healthy, Whole & Living Foods

As a child, I was chronically ill; the flu, ear infections, colds - the list goes on. I grew up on what I would consider to be an unhealthy diet, consisting of too much processed foods, some home cooked meals, and lots of sugar. I was a very picky eater with little to no appetite. Fast forward to my late teenage & young adult years where I was still suffering from health issues and major menstrual problems, but my largest concern was my acne. My acne became a part of me, so over the years I learned how to cover up the spots on my face with make-up, and to wear concealing clothing for my chest/back acne. If my readers have had acne, you then understand the emotional damage acne causes, in addition to the physical – it can be heart-breaking. My struggle went on for years. My history taking birth control, antibiotics, etc offered virtually no help and my constant fight against the spots/bumps/cysts continued. One day I had enough, and my frustration brought me to the web, desperately searching for acne solutions, remedies, anything! I came across an acne forum where people were discussing a link between their cystic acne, and dairy. At the time I was a huge dairy consumer – I enjoyed it multiple times per day. I decided to begin experimenting, starting with removing the dairy - it worked! My cystic acne eruptions stopped, yay! I began switching to soy cheese, mylk, etc. and my cystic acne came back, therefore my search continued and I then learned about the issues with consuming soy (especially GMO and non-fermented).  Eventually progression kept me searching for ways to eat and live naturally, in alignment with nature. This evolution carried me to raw foods, living foods and to the fruitarian lifestyle - I love it all! It’s been quite the journey and I have acquired much wisdom along the way. At this point on my journey, I now understand the importance of being consistent to achieve balance. To eat and live in a way that is good for your mind, body, soul and sustainable to support the health of your constitution. If you struggle to endure a way of eating/living, then keep searching for your balance. My intentions for this space is to bring you knowledge, education, alternative healing, etc., so that you can discover new elements to create your healthiest self, ever! You are the only one that is the guru of your temple. While there are some great fundamentals that most of us can apply, it’s important to also consider that we are different, meaning where we are with our own health, our situations, and so forth. I myself am living on a plant based foods, mostly raw/living, and am feeling generally good. I too still have my own struggles – no one is perfect. We grow, evolve, and learn from sharing. This is the main purpose of this blog. Let us create a safe, positive, healthy, educational and loving place for all of our readers and contributors.

I can't wait to share, learn and meet you all.
Get your glow on!

With love,
Amanda