It’s an uphill journey.

The journey of recovering from some of my icks that I don’t talk about online much is slow, but steady. Let me just tell you, food matters. What you put in your body can make a huge difference in your energy level and your health.

Duh, right? I know. I have made efforts in the past to improve, and I have, but it seems there is always a little backsliding after a change for the better. Becoming vegetarian has made a huge difference for me (though it may not be for everyone). My brain is gradually less hazy, but still subject to occasional foggy mist at random and unpredictable times.

When I crave meat, I binge on beans. 🙂

One of the things I’ve noticed is that if I start craving meat protein, it’s because I’m not eating enough legumes (fancy word for beans). Eggs won’t cut the craving, cheese won’t cut the craving, only beans seem to have the right kind of protein magic to do the trick. Meat might do it, but I am not the least bit interested in the kind of pain that would cause me.

Green smoothies are great.

Another thing I’ve learned is that I must have enough dark, green, leafy vegetables and  green smoothies are an easy way for me to get them. If you’ve never tried one, you should consider it. An internet search will reveal hundreds of recipes. There are even YouTube videos about it.

Sometimes I have to jump-start with juice.

Something else that was driven home to me lately is that if green smoothies don’t seem to be refueling my cellular batteries well enough, then what I need is juice. Green juice, purple juice, red juice, orange juice, yellow juice, any kind of fresh juice. I used to feel like juice was too concentrated for me to handle, but then I re-watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, the movie, and decided to give juicing a more vigorous shot. It made a significant difference.  I like to start my day with a juice. I printed out juice recipes from Join the Reboot and had enough variety to keep me happy. I still eat the family dinners, but having the juice during the day seems to make a big difference in  how I feel. One downside – my Champion Juicer does not like to juice leafy greens very much, so I have to feed them through slowly, disguised with carrots or apples or anything else more juicy. It’s a little like feeding a three-year-old child; you have to be sneaky about it. OH MY WOW! I just went to the Champion Juicer website and they now have a greens attachment. Happy Dance!

In celebration of this wonderful news, I’m going to make “Lemon-Sherbet Lemonade”. Recipe: 2 apples, 1/2 a lemon, run it through the juicer, pour it over ice and enjoy a little heaven. 🙂

winner-winner, veggie dinner (ha-ha)