Buddhism Through Eyeball Acid

Hydrogen peroxide does not feel good on the eyeball. 

Let me rephrase that.

Hydrogen peroxide makes your eyeball burn like acid. It will make you scream, like you haven’t done since you were two years old. It will have you running around the bathroom and even bring your contractor moseying over to see what the ruckus is all about.

Your eye will hurt like crazy and tear up all day. This will result in a big fat headache and using lots of tissues to blow your nose.

“Do not rinse [contact] lens with Clear Care prior to insertion.” This makes the second time I have over looked that warning label. These are very painful lessons about being more mindful and living in the present. 

“Excuse me, Universe. How about a new lesson? I promise I’ve learned this one.”

Recipe for Raw Green Breakfast Smoothie

Raw Green Breakfast Smoothie Serves: 2

Raw Ingredients:

kale – few leaves
romaine lettuce – few leaves
pear – 1
lemon – 1

Tools:

blender
lemon juicer
knife
cutting board 

Green Smoothie Recipe:

1. wash kale and romaine
2. cut leaves in half
3. fill blender loosely with equal amounts of romaine and kale, set aside

4. wash pear, remove seeds and cut into chunks, set aside
5. wash outside of lemon, set aside 
6. add water 1/2 liter or 2 cups or water to blender

7. blend until leaves are all chopped up
8. blend in a few chunks of pear at a time

9. squeeze lemon into the blender  
10. blend to desired smoothness
11. pour into 2 large glasses (or drink both glasses yourself!)

Healthy Recommendations:

* Drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach

* Wait at least 30 minutes before consuming other food (fruit only digest well with veggies)

* Go for protein when you eat next (hand full of raw nuts, smoked trout, eggs) to balance out the carbs from the smoothy so you won’t get hungry as quickly and can avoid the temptation of adding protein powder to your smoothie. 

* Drink a cup of hot water, instead of coffee or tea, to flush out your digestive system (Ayurvedic advice)

* Drink daily. A friend got her mom drinking green smoothies and within a couple of months her mom’s vision had improved so much she had to get a new eyeglass prescription!

WARNING: If you have been a processed food eater for years work your way into this yummy, yet fibrous, drink. Trust me, I’m speaking from personal experience.

Additional Raw Food Links:

Green Smoothie Girl

We like it raw

Happy Foody

What are your favorite smoothie ingredients?

The secret to a flat stomach!

On my way to the checkout line a book catches my eye. Sure, I’ll bite. What do I need to eat to get a flat stomach? With too many health books on my shelf I flip through the pages to get the gist.

This positive new spin of eating to create a flat stomach is great! I always thought it was about what I should stop eating. 

I search out two of the items on the stomach flattening list and toss them in my cart.

Every day I work diligently on flatting my stomach. I am especially motivated to do the work when I am hungry or feeling bloated, which seems frequent. Strangely, the results are not yet visible.

Perhaps this new method just takes time, a committed effort. I usually give up on my health plans too quickly. This one deserves my discipline and I will force myself to continue until I see results.

 

 

 

 

Dark chocolate Bija Truffles from Canada! Another reason to love Canada!

 

 

Santa Barbara green olives in brine.

To Tell or Not to Tell

One theory says that by telling others of your plan you’ll feel obligated to reach your goal.

Another theory says that by telling others of your plan it loses it’s energy and makes it difficult to reach your goal.

I haven’t figured out what works best for me.

Today was my last day at Fitness Together. For 12 weeks I have been working out with a personal trainer 3 times a week, getting out of breath and getting sore.You never knew? You couldn’t tell?

I didn’t tell many people because I wanted the results to speak for themselves. You know, surpise everyone with my new fit physique. I wanted to be one of their before and after cover girls.

Maybe by just telling a few people I didn’t capitalize on either theory or perhaps 36 hours of working out doesn’t compensate for the other 1,308 hours I sat in front of my computer during those 12 weeks, and all the bon-bons I ate.

Sweet Irony

With my dessert in one hand and my book in the other I sit down to read  ”Sugar Shock”. 

Blah, blah, blah… sugar, white flour, processed foods are making us sick and driving up our deficit by taxing our medicare system. Lobbyist and special interest groups buy government officials (including the president) to keep sugar prices low through subsides and prevent regulation of junk food advertising to kids.
 

My sweet little treat sure tastes good right now though.  
 

I Like Mine Unnaturally Blue, Thanks

The power in Houston, TX had returned.

I had my swimsuit with me.

Josh scooped out leaves and scrubbed the stairs. 

The pump and filters worked overtime.

The water was still too green for me. 

“You can kind of see the bottom of the pool,” says Charlie, who runs in to put on his swim trunks. Hilda is ready and Josh–in a brave attempt to dispel my germaphobe non-sense–jumps in too.

“I’ll just take pictures from this lovely swinging bench.”

I am still waiting to see if anyone gets sick from that water. That upcoming January cold could be attributed to the green pool, right?

Do you like it raw?

Below is a review of the book I just read. 

If you know me, this is no surprise. 

Josh worried that I was going to go all raw all the time… he underestimates my lack of discipline and fabulous addiction to cooked foods, especially toast! I think he was also concerned that I would start smelling bad (vegetables out of my pores)… like I did when I was eating a pound of cooked chard for breakfast. 

The picture to the left is my yummy green breakfast juice in my Omega 8005: romaine (high in protein), kale (high in all sorts of good things), 2 small apples (to keep the doctor away… wait, where ya going Josh?) and the juice of one lemon (squeeze separately with a lemon squeezer cause peeling a lemon is far too much work). No garlic in this one folks. So far Josh has not complained about any unusual smells coming from me (so far).

12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Addiction to Cooked Food by Victoria Boutenko

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Easy and interesting book to ready.

So far I am back and forth between step one and two with a fridge full of vegetables.

The recipe for Green Spinach Soup is really yummy… reduce the jalapeno amount.

The author gets a little extreme when she talks about sleeping outside every night and going for ice cold polar bear swims. Each to their own.

She sites some great facts and really gets you motivated to start eating more raw foods.

My side note… some foods are not meant to be eaten raw, such as broccoli & cauliflower. Cooking is what helped the human race survive longer by allowing us to consume foods otherwise not available on a raw diet.

Boutenko made a good point in saying that with our current western society the availability of fresh, raw foods year round is no longer a problem and it is not necessary to eat processed and cooked foods as a survival method.

View all my reviews.

7. ewww! it looks like a worm!

At the end of a Q-tip it looks harmless. Just yellow. A really satisfying digs bring out more substance that is a little darker yellow. Yes, I know the rule: “Don’t stick anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.” But it just feels SO good. 

I assumed that what I bring out on the Q-tip looks the same as the wax inside my ear. Ya, no. 

Actually, I didn’t even know I had this assumption until it was challenged today.

Today Josh brings home his “look inside the ear” kit to look in my ear cause I was starting to complain of a sore throat and ear pain (damn drink luge). It’s fun to date a doctor… except those times when I can’t get the upper-hand in a two sided discussion. It’s amazing what he knows… without having to google it.

He pokes around in my ear and exclaims, “Wow. You have really small eardrums.” Glad to know they aren’t out of proportion with my really small ears, feet, hands, etc. Wait. I’m thinking I would like my eardrums to be out of proportion, instead of my butt. 

I then ask to look inside Josh’s ears. He lets me! How cool is this?

YIKES! Not cool. It looks like there are worms in there… speckled brown globular things! I quickly pull out the cone. Same with the other ear. It’s like a horror movie.  

He assures me that it is wax and it’s in my ear too. 

What?! 

I start having thoughts that I should have gone to medical school so that my life mission would be removing all the wax out of everyones ears. Now that would be daily job satisfaction! Seriously, I think that could have been my life’s calling. Who knew.

Jealousy is Easier

Last time I skinned up Berthoud with Tanya I was right on her tails. Today she flies up the mountain. Now that Josh has new skins–ones that work–he also thought it was ok to pass me. 

Today I decide I had really better become an exercise junkie. Starting on Monday, of course.
 

Later I ask Stephanie–the serious exercise junkie–”How much do you exercise?” I was thinking I should know how much she does so that I can do more. You know… since she has had a head start and all. 
 

2 hours a day, 5-6 days a week?! 
 

My only hope is that Stephanie and Tanya have a cold during our Canada trip.

The Doctor Will Now Take Your Questions

Driving down from the mountains at dusk I look at the snow covered hills dotted with black pine trees. 

“Why is it,” I wonder out-loud, “that when it gets dark everything turns into a black and white scene?”
 

Although sometimes he gets a little frustrated with my out-loud ”wonderings” if he doesn’t have an immediate answer for them, tonight the doctor is quick with a reply.
 

“Rods are more sensitive to light than cones.”
 

Geez. Now I’ve got to decipher that seemingly simple answer. From some buried memory trick I remember “cones-color”. That must mean rods regulate light. Ok. Rods are for seeing shapes. Cones only work well in bright light. In low light we cannot see color, just shapes.

 

“What about night blindness? Is it a rod or cone issue?” 

Dr. Renkin had some info but no definitive answer. 
 

I change the topic. “So, do you think we should pick something up for this party?”