well, well, well... Duck! there is a curve ball coming your way!

If it only were that easy... or maybe for some of you it is... but I got work to do for my curve ball.

My curve ball has the name of lovely heavy metals that I breathed, put my hands into and dove into the fields of creativity with for some 14 odd years. I am a documentary photographer and I loved dark room printing of large prints. I loved the magic of seeing the print first appear, it was a meditation, I was in the 'zone'.. I loved doing the 'old' processes to achieve certain 'looks'.. all of course in the pre-digital age... at the time it was pure magic for me but it sure doesn't feel like magic now...

For many years I didn't know heavy metals were behind my long list of symptomology. Most of all that is gone since I transitioned into a Raw Food diet. But I am still not where I want to be. I have strengthened my inner organs, and continue to eat foods that both build me up and detoxify my body. After 3 years a deeper detox of the emotional body is coming up for me, as this whole 'journey' has become quite the spiritual one.

Three weeks ago I did a test called the 'challenge'. It is the beginning of Chellation Therapy. Chellation Therapy is the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. It is done intravenously. The Challenge is done to see which heavy metals are in your system and in what quantities they are in. It made me feel really sick, and symptoms that I was able to clear during the juice fast came back, I had all sorts of reactions and it's taken me a few weeks to manage them. That is how bad and dangerous this guys are. 


I have known of heavy metals in my body for about a year now, but I had to make my body stronger to be able to handle the therapy. So, I should be happy about this, right?  Well, I am not. I feel angry and frustrated as could be, I feel challenged, I feel overwhelmed, I want to yell out loud: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH of this crap!!!! (pardon my french!). I feel grief, I feel bit up.


I got the results from the Challenge and as expected I have very high amounts of many heavy metals within me causing all kind of trouble. So over the next 12 weeks or so, I will be doing the Chellation Therapy on a weekly basis. I know, just from the Challenge, that symptomology will rise again, and I will probably won't be feeling all that great. But I must trust that things will get better after the 3 months, when another Challenge is done to see were my levels of heavy metal toxicity are at. 


So I gather my strengths, I gather my will, I gather my stubbornness and my being resilient and dive into the world of letting go of the toxicity that has made me sick. Here I come. Chin up. Tomorrow will be a brighter day. 
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"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
~Dolly Parton~

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PS- I am back at being without internet. The saga continues...

while I was gone.... my apologies!

My apologies for the silence over the last 10 days or so.... our internet has been "irritable" for a lack of a better word. AHHHHHHHH. For those of you who have had to deal with service providers and their lack of good services! man o man...I think I should send them a bill for the time I have spent so far... close to 10 hours or so on the phone trying to address it.. and finally... almost 2 weeks later... here we are connect to the world again! Allthough it's been kind of nice to be disconnected... now that I am back on... there is a lot of catching up to do!


While I was gone, I had to re evaluate my ways of eating the rawllygoods.... It seems these days unless I do it all by the books.... My body says ah ah sweety.... This ain't for you... By the books I mean soaking EVERYTHING!, more greens than fruits (but I do love them), veggies of all sorts, sprouts, some nuts and seeds, nut and seed yogurt and mylks, fermented foods, wild foods (I think I'm gonna love them even more), and well, that's about it. To the perfect stranger I eat an extremely clean diet.. but it seems that I must continue on my journey of in the art of "fine tuning"... incredible, isn't it. I find it frustrating and overwhelming at times, but at the end of the day I am fascinated by the healing process and by the abundance of information and knowledge that exists. I find it incredible that after the 3 years, I must still put on the 'research' hat and delve deeper into it.

I have been reading the book Conscious Eating by Grabriel Cousens, trying to have a deeper understanding of what I am experiencing. In his book, Dr. Cousens speaks "biochemical individuality", and how literally we are just so different from each other at a biological and chemical that what we eat and how it is assimilated varies drastically from person to person. Finding what your biochemical individuality is a 'process'. A process that takes incorporating Ayurveda principles, understanding the healing properties of foods and herbs to bring balance back into our lives, understanding which biochemical system runs your body and how it really dictates the ratio of protein-carb-fat that our bodies need for optimal functioning. So simple, yet so complex, isn't it, or at least that's how it feels to me right now.

So on I go on my yellow brick road to seek and find that place of optimal health, that place of deep peace and joy, of radiance, of stillness in movement, of deep love and gratitude. Along the way I have met the most wonderful teachers and guides, I am sure more are coming to greet me...

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Read what my medal says: "Courage". Ain't it the truth? Ain't it the truth?- Cowardly Lion, The Wizard of Oz
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Happy Sweet Mother's Day jammed packed with super foods for you!

This is for you.... Lovely mothers and ladies out there who keep the world turning and who deserve all the love and respect this beautiful world has to offer! Happy Sweet Mother's Day to you .. May your day shower you with the gift of health & love, may you find what you are looking for....

It is for you that I have made this Squash-zania! (sorry I was out of zucchinis, but it turned out superb anyway!)

A few thin slices of Squash, raw & peeled
Tomato slices
2 Tbsp of Macademia- chive cheese (recipe follows)
2 Tbsp of Guacamole (recipe follows)
2 Tbsp of Vegan Basil pesto (recipe follows)
Sprouts
Mung bean sprouts (any sprouts will do- these are what I had today)
Extra avocado for garnish

Place a slice of Squash on your plate, place a few slices of tomatoes on top, then "cheese", then guacamole, then pesto, a few more tomatoes, place another slice of Squash, top it up with "cheese", sprouts, sliced avocado & mung bean sprouts. Just Soooo Rawllygood!

Macademia Chive cheese
2 cups of Macademia nuts
2 Tbsp of fresh Lemon juice
2 Tsbp of Nutritional Yeast
1/2 cup of water, or more, until desired consistency has been reached
handful of fresh chives
Sea Salt, to taste

Chives for garnish

Blend all ingredients together. Add the water a little bit at a time, until you have reached the consistency you desire. Remember you can always add more, but if you put too much in you might make Sour Cream!!

Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
2 Tbsp of fresh lime juice (or lemon). It's a matter of taste.
handful of cilantro
1 garlic clove or more
sea salt to taste

Put all the ingredients in the food processor or blender. Process or blend until smooth.

Basil- Cilantro Pesto


And well oh well, Sweet Mother's Day must always end up with some Sweet lovin' rawllygoodies... so here is a Sweet Sweet Mother's Day treat for you, fast and easy and so delicious it won't last... so you may want to make a double batch right of the gettco to last until Sunday!

Sweet Sweet Mother's Day Treat


1/4 cup Coconut flour
1/3 cup Shreded Dried Coconut
6 Medjool Dates, pitted
2 Tbsp Raw Almond Butter
2 Tbsp Goji Berries
2  Tbsp Raw Honey
1 tsp Maca powder
1 tsp Acai Berry powder
2 Tbsp Cacao powder, raw
2 TBSP Cacao bits, raw
1 Tbsp Bee Pollen
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or extract
pinch of sea salt

Process all ingredients in the food processor until a dough begins to form. Pinch small amounts of the 'dough' and create small one inch balls. Dip in Cacao powder, decorate with a goji berry! Divine grace I say!
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"And remember behind every successful woman...there is a basket of dirty laundry" - Unknown

A few answers..

Hello out there:

I just wanted to use this post to answer back to a few emails I received from my last post.

I share posts like these with you because I think it is important to become aware of, in this case, how much processed sugar is in the food(s) we eat. Processed sugar has become a problem in our western society, because it is everywhere and we are consuming (unintentionally) so much of it, and because it is mots often combined with corn syrup, modified corn starch, fructose-glucose, and a long long list of chemicals and preservatives that affect the health of our bodies, our brain chemistry, and every aspect of our lives.

I am not saying sugar is bad. I am saying, have a look, see where a lot of the sugar in your life is coming from. Be aware, there is enough evidence out there now that makes the connection between many health issues in our society and the high consumption of processed sugars.

As I said in the post, sugar is an important aspect of our food and of our lives. We need it, we feel nourished by it, but there are natural ways of getting it that do not harm the body in the same ways 'processed sugars' do. That is all.

It is always with the intention of sharing awareness and love that I write these posts. Nothing else.

Oh how sweet is your love Sugar Cube?

OHhhhhh you are getting me going... just soo good. And it's only Monday!

Take a look, a very innocent looking sugar cube!

I simply love when you share these with me.. thank you and keep them coming!

It's all about perspective, isn't it?

Well on this week, The Mother's Day Week, I want to shower you with sweet love that will actually be good for you! That will make your body sing and dance with joy and happiness in your heart. That will reconnect you with love and gratitude and that will shine some light on a path less taken. Here are some photographs that show the amount of sugar (in sugar cubes) that is found in what we consider to be our health and junk foods. Sometimes there is not that much of a difference in the amount of sugar that is being put into our foods. Sugar is an important part of our diet. The sweet taste in food is nurturing to us. But there are ways to satisfy the sweetness we seek with unprocessed foods. Take a look. Processed sugars found in processed foods:

Natural sugars found in fruit:

and last but not least, my favourite... a bit of perspective, 

one would have to eat this amount of carrots to get the same amount of sugar that is found in one bottle of coke.

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"I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead -- not sick, not wounded -- dead." Woody Allen.

the weeks just fly by! but this recipe takes 5 minutes for deliciousness, not bad!

wooo.

I don't know where the time goes, but it goes... I have meant to sit and write more often but the time just goes like water running through my fingers....

I have been wanting to post some of the deliciousness we had at the Potluck last weekend... and look at that it's friday already.. another weekend is here and I haven't posted them yet!

woooo..

so here is some deliciousness you can make on the weekend.. or perhaps save it for Mother's day or your partner's birthday, whatever comes first!

Mushrooms filled with raw vegan Pesto and Sprouts

Basil- Cilantro Pesto:

4 handfuls of basil

1 handful of cilantro

1/2 cup to 1 cup of pine nuts (up to you)

Olive Oil (add it a little bit at a time to create desired consistency)

a pinch of sea salt

1 (or 2) garlic

1 TBSP nutritional yeast

Mix all ingredients in the food processor. Add more nutritional yeast for a 'cheesier' taste.

Handfull or two of mushrooms 

Sprouts - any kind, or a few of them.. makes them look prettier!

Assembly: take out the stem of the mushrooms, fill the space with pesto, decorate with a few sprouts on top! Voila! so easy....
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"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot."Michael Altshuler

Have you had your wild edible weed today?

I had my wildness a few days back, with the name of a wild edible weed called Plantain. Spring time is a wonderful time to gather some wildness and pack them into your blenders!


It is a great time to eat your wild weeds for two reasons. One, they are non GMO foods jammed packed full of super nutrition! and two, well, one less weed on your lawn! so best of both worlds.

Wild Edible Smoothie
a handful or two of your wild edibles of the day
1 banana
1 cup frozen berries
a pinch of sea salt
1 dropper of Marine Phytoplancton
2 Tbsp Raw Almond Butter
1 1/2 cup of water

Blend all the ingredients. Pour into glass and enjoy!





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Whatever we think about and thank about, we bring about. - John Demartini