Five Year Willy Grad

I graduated high school exactly five years ago today, from the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, MA. High school was, of course, a very dramatic and confusing time in my life, and although five years isn't that long, a LOT has changed for me. My reunion is next weekend and I regretfully will not make it [I plan on going to my 10-year], but 'tis the season to be reminiscing about those anxious prep school days, counting down to the moment of holding that diploma....

...Yes, Williston is a private school. I went there more out of family tradition than anything else. My grades never reflected prodigy status [unlike my brother's], although they were something to be proud of in Elementary School. In 6th grade I started at the newly built public middle school, a mixing ground of kids from all over my hometown. I was among 1 of 3 Mormon kids in the entire school and was mercilessly ridiculed for being different. I had gotten used to "four-eyes" comments since the second grade, but the thing that got under my skin the most was people mocking my name. I can joke about it now [sort of], but the nickname "Dotty Potty" really stuck and made my Elementary days pretty rough [don't laugh]. Not to mention I was going through puberty and trying to figure out what ratio of me was tom-boy versus girly-girl. Talk about an identity crisis. So when my parents approached me about starting anew at Williston [7th thru 12th grade] I jumped on board. I remember taking the tests to see if you were smart enough, dressing up for tours, interviews, and finally taking the dreaded math exam to see which class you would be placed in. I was so nervous, but so excited to start over. 

6 years later I walked down that isle with my 100 or so classmates in my '08 class clapping for me. It had been a whirlwind. I had made and sadly lost multiple friends including my high school sweetheart of 3+ years, fallen on and off and then back on my religious band-wagon, experimented with um, stuff, traveled abroad, participated in a slew of sports that I otherwise never would have played including ice-hockey and crew [rowing], and towards the end, got fully absorbed in my artwork. It was kind of a mess. I've driven myself crazy with the thought of how I would be different had I chosen to stay in Public School. It's useless to speculate such things, so I try and steer clear.

The whole point of this is that I've been reflecting on high school recently, and imagined what I would say to my fellow peers IF I were going to my reunion this year. What would I have to boast about? What have I done? Where have I gone? How have I changed? I've frequently belittled  my own post-grad experiences simply because I knew they weren't "normal." I dropped out my first year of college. Oh yeah, and that college was UVU. Not Dartmouth, Penn, Harvard, BC, BU, Cornell, Stanford, Yale, not even UMass. I not  only went to a no-name school, but I also dropped out after my first semester! How lame is that?! Pretty lame. But how much MORE lame is doing something that you dread and hate for 4 years so that you can be stuck in career that you dread and hate for the rest of your life? Yes, I'll rationalize the hell out of my personal life choices until I feel better about them...but then I actually wrote this list and I instantly saw the light:

What I've Done in the Last 5 Years:

- Finished Cosmetology and Aesthetics School, got my licenses

- Got married

- Ran a marathon

- Built, bought, and sold a house - for profit!

- traveled to Costa Rica, Bermuda, and Mexico (most notably spending significant time in Costa Rica...see Jan-Feb entries of this blog)

- Became raw vegan and completely changed my lifestyle

- Re-enrolled in school to become a life coach/nutritionist

- Started this blog and am working on my website

- Worked 4 different jobs that were instrumental is pushing me in the right direction

- Currently working on an organic vegetable farm that feeds over 400 local families weekly...and loving it!

Oh, and lets not forget...I moved across the country to the unfamiliar territory of Utah! Those are just some of the highlights from the last 5 years. I think the most note-worthy thing is that I found and am going after what I am passionate about. So maybe I don't have a fancy Ivy-League diploma. I still have my dignity, direction, and drive. I'll see all you Willy Peeps in another 5 years!

Calling All Animal Lovers

When people ask me why I became vegan, the short answer is always, "to be healthier." Feeding my body the diet that we as humans are physiologically and anatomically designed to eat gives me the clean fuel that I require to feel my best. The argument that humans are predominantly fruit eating plant eaters is based on common-sense and simple truths that we are not built like carnivores [compare the number and shape of our teeth, how we stand upright, the shape of our nails, how we perspire through our pores instead of tongue, the design of our intestines, the alkaline pH in our stomachs...the list goes on...] but we are built like fruigivores...and ALL species of similar design thrive on similar diets. Zebras, donkeys, and horses are all different animals, but they all thrive on similar diets because they are all herbivores. Jaguars, wolves, and lions are all different animals, but they all thrive on similar diets because they are all carnivores. Bonobos, chimpanzees, and humans are all different animals, but they all thrive on similar diets because they are all fruigivores. Fact.

My mouth doesn't water when I see the chickens on the farm...

...but my mouth definitely waters when I see a bowl of ripe fruit! Lunchtime!

I think that as humans, our conscience shuns the idea of us being animal-like. We like to believe we are better, higher beings because we make choices based on good and bad outcomes as opposed to spontaneity. That is another argument for another day, but I would like to urge us to separate the issue of what we put in our mouths from what our inner voice tells us about our superiority to all other living things. Just think about it. What are we designed to eat? What is our body designed to handle? If we didn't have modern conveniences, would we bother to cook all of our food or would we consume it in its raw natural state? Where would we ideally live to have the easiest access to these foods? What species are we closest related to and how do they eat? Isn't the current health situation in America proof enough that we aren't designed to eat the Standard American Diet of high-fat, cooked, processed, animal products? Really. According to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), Hearth Disease and Cancer [proven to have direct and proportionate relations with diet] combined take more lives annually in the U.S. than ALL other causes of death combined !!!!!!! What the crappppp people?!?? Industries are raising money for cures left and right, why not put HALF of those funds towards educating people about prevention?? Who's losing in that scenario? The pharmaceutical companies. The factory farmers and big-name businesses. The fast food joints. The lobbyists. Who wins? The American people. The environment [you know that burger you had for lunch? It came from cows, yes plural. Cows are animals. Animals have to eat, a lot. In order for it to get on your plate ASAP the farmers fed it grain subsidized with American tax dollars, instead of its species specific diet of grass. Rainforests all over the globe are being destroyed in order to feed our cattle. Animals also poop, a lot, and that poop has to go somewhere...it goes into our oceans and kills our ecosystems. The carbon it emits goes into our atmosphere and is the #1 contributing factor to global warming.] And yes, the animals. 

Phew. I could rant about this subject endlessly, but I'll spare you. I feel very strongly about the health and environmental implications that the vegan diet promotes.. But what about the animals? If you had asked me before I was vegan if I considered myself an "animal lover" I probably would have said, "Uh, I guess? I like dogs..." The longer I am vegan though, I realize just how much of an animal lover I am.

Examples:
- I cringe when I see roadkill of any kind. My dad once ran over a dog by accident and I cried.
- When I was little I would always go outside after a huge rainstorm and diligently pick up all of the earth worms that were displaced in the road and  carry them to their familiar grassy home before they got run over or dried out in the sun.
- I remember pointing to the live lobster in the grocery store growing up and innocently asking my mom, "can we have a pet lobster??"
- My sister found a stray cat and we kept it for a few days before giving it to a local shelter. I loved sneaking visits with it, unbeknownst to my dad who is extremely allergic.
- Many times I've been in awe of the beauty of hawks flying over and around our house growing up.
- I get emotional whenever I go home to Massachusetts. My pet dog of 15 years died after I moved to Utah, so when I visit I still expect to see his anxious face awaiting my arrival.

There are countless other examples in my life, as I'm sure there are in your life as well, of close relations I've had with animals. I really do love animals, and not eating them has only made me realize this love is much deeper in my DNA than I ever knew. I think it's in all of our DNA. It doesn't make sense that we find it "socially acceptable" to eat some animals (chickens, cows, pig, sheep etc.), hate others (rats, mice, pests), and love others (cats, dogs). All animals are created equal, and it is for that reason that I don't eat them, or products made from them. It's not because I think I'm better than everyone that I became vegan, but rather because I don't think I'm better than any other species or living thing. Coincidence that it also is the diet that humans are physiologically and anatomically designed to eat? I think not...

So cute! The wild faral cat that lives on the farm just had a litter...

Funny Story

A funny thing happened today...
...I was fully engrossed in my weeding in the onion patch, head inches away from the ground, scurrying around on my hands and knees as fast as I could before these very alive plants latched their tentacles to the ground any deeper. It is very easy to get into "the zone" when weeding, basically oblivious to everything around you, until you realize your knees or back are really starting to ache, which queues a change of position is in order. So there I was, totally in my own head, listening to the sound of the tweeting birds, when I hear a faint "plop" noise. I had just moved over a few inches to my left moments before and, lo and behold, bird crap was inches away from where my hands and head had just been hovering. "WHOAA!!" I freaked out, realizing what had just happened, and started laughing uncontrollably. Michael was working at the other end of the row, and of course asked what had happened. Good times on the farm!

Another Pin

I see these things online and I can't help but post them...

I realize my blog is not Pinterest, and I'm not trying consciously to make it into a pinboard, but I thought this demonstrated how I've been feeling. I even had a conversation last night with Michael about the word "try" and how what really matters, what everyone is looking for, is results. Results matter. Trying doesn't mean anything unless it gives you results. If you try without getting results, then you are either 1) not trying enough [hence the need for more "umph"] and/or 2) you aren't doing the right things. My context for trying is with workouts, but the same idea could be applied to any part of life.
What goals do you have? What are you doing to achieve those goals? Is it working? If not, what can you do differently to make it happen?

Today I was doing deliveries for Utah Farms CSA. I've done them enough times now that I have a general idea of where I'm going and can kind of zone out while driving through traffic. I was at a stop-light and saw this obese woman riding her electronic wheel-chair on the side walk, her teeny tiny dog on a leash out in front of her. The dog had circled her and she was struggling to get the leash untangled from underneath her chair. This will sound rude, but my initial reaction was to chuckle at the sight of it. Then I took a closer look, and this woman looked absolutely miserable, like hopeless. I wondered if she had family close by, or if anyone came to visit her, or if she lived alone with her dog. I felt a twinge of her pain as I imagined being old, unattractive, dependent on drugs to keep my blood pumping through my veins, and literally unable to pick up the weight of my own body. This is not an uncommon picture in America. Just go to your local Wal-Mart or Costco and people like this will be trolling every other isle. I usually get frustrated looking at this image of Americana...what have we become? Isn't it obvious that the devastating combination of poor food choices and lack of movement is the cause of our suffering? There is no other explanation! All other factors are hogwash in comparison to diet and lifestyle. You love to eat? So do I! We are designed to love to eat, in order to stay alive. Imagine a world where we dreaded meals...that's not a world where we live past a few generations. What foods have the lowest calorie per bite? Fruits and Veggies! Eat your heart out, people, and don't end up in a wheelchair.

Cherry Delight

Cherries are BACK people!! I hope you've all had a chance to see them at your local grocery store, wherever that may be, because the season has just started... and I am PUMPED. This might sound weird, but I get really sad when things go out of season, and I get equally happy when things come into season. It is probably for the best; right when I think I've had enough of something it goes out and gets replaced by something else, so I never get sick of a particular food. The problem is I will randomly get a craving for say, oranges in summer or mango in winter, I'll splurge a little at the store [you know it is out of season when it is the most expensive thing being sold] only to inevitably be disappointed when I bite into the sour orange or the pale mango. Yuck.
I used to associate cherries strictly with ice-cream sundaes, and ironically they were the only part of the sundae that I would avoid. Cherries legitimately used to gross me out, and for good reason! They looked fake, all greased up, shiny, artificially fluorescent red, looking fully inedible. It didn't help that every artificial cherry-flavored anything was always disgusting. And don't even get me started on those nasty chocolate covered cherry cordial things that ooze rancid syrup. It makes you wonder how in the world it is legal to adulterate such a beautiful fruit!! Sigh...
 Now I know that cherries come in all different colors, from yellow to pink to purple, and that they do in fact taste delightful solo. I think of sucking on a bowl of cherries, spitting out the pits, and I associate it with the official start of summer.

I made this yesterday as a post-workout treat and it was wicked good!! Like, I-would-feel-comfortable-serving-this-to-my-in-laws-good.

Ingredients:

5-6 frozen bananas
1 tsp pure vanilla bean extract
1 cup pitted cherries
1/2 cup pitted dates

Blend/food process bananas with vanilla to make ice cream. I make this in my Vitamix and it comes out the perfect consistency, to where I can flip the container upside-down and it won't fall out. Layer as you like, cherries/ice cream/dates/ice cream/cherries/ice cream is shown in picture.

Utah Farms CSA, 8 Weeks for the Price of 4 Home Delivery!!

Man, I am just FULL of good deals lately :)
Does reading my blog make you want to incorporate more fruits, vegetables, local, and organic food into your diet? [please say yes.] Well, now is your chance to get a taste of what local/organic food tastes like, for an unbelievable price of only $140 for 8 weeks of home delivered goods!! Value of $280. That's only $17.50/week for a bag full of the BEST food. Yepp, it's only an 8 week commitment, at half price, and you don't even have to leave your house. CLICK HERE to sign up! And be sure to say that Dot referred you :)

There are regular, vegetarian, gluten free, and vegan options. Every week you get an assortment of  3-4 seasonal vegetables, 1-2 fruits, locally baked bread, oats, or barley, locally raised meat, eggs, or cheese, among other specialty items such as dried fruit, cider, salsa, jams, and popcorn.

We deliver all over Salt Lake County, from Herriman to Draper, West Valley to North Salt Lake, Downtown to Midvale, and everywhere in between. We even go up to Park City!
What if you live in Utah County? Get this: If you can get 5 or more people to sign up around you then we will come to you and... your share is FREE! That's right! Free food for 8 weeks! I did this when I worked in Orem; I got 5+ people at my work to sign up and had the goods delivered right at work. Awesome!

Feel free to comment if you have any questions, or email jill@utahfarmscsa.com. WEEE!! Love local food!

Vitamix for Sale! Only $450!

That's right, guys! This isn't just some dream that you need to be woken up from!! I really am selling my Vitamix Blender, fully-loaded, with 4 years left on the warranty! I want to upgrade to the newest model that just came out, so this guy has got to go.

It is a 5200 Model (black) and includes a 32 oz. dry container for grains, a brand new never-been-used 64 oz. regular container, the lids for both, a tamper, the machine, and a complimentary cookbook. This package is by FAR the best deal you will find on this machine. Costco doesn't even go this low!

If you are interested, please text me at 801-899-5501. Or email me at dotwren@gmail.com. First come first served. If you want it and you are out of the Utah area, I will ship it to you, but I'll need to be compensated for the shipping costs. Cash only please :)

Insta-Whaa??

SoOoOo I just discovered Instagram!

Ok, not true. I've known about it for a while, but just signed up and am thoroughly enjoying it. I've known people on Facebook to be posting their Instagram pictures and always thought, "that's cool, but not for me."

 I said the same thing about Pinterest, which I also gave a fair shot, and it is truly not for me...too scattered, random, impersonal. Maybe when I'm really bored, like when I used to have a desk-job, I would venture on there daily, but even then I knew it was sucking away my life.

 Facebook at least serves the purpose of keeping me updated on friends' lives who I don't regularly see...I just have to limit my daily intake to be sure I don't overdo it, and avoid it like the plague during Election season [my friends are 50/50 extreme liberals and extreme conservatives, and they all love voicing their opinions. Gag me now.]

Instagram keeps me visually stimulated and also does me the favor of making me think I'm a good photographer. What's not to like? I invite you to follow me on Instagram at "dotwren."

...Don't even ask me about Twitter. I am not a twat and will never tweet.

Just Remember This...

...When you cheat on your diet, YOU are the only person who loses.

This is what I read yesterday on Dr. Graham's Perpetual Health Calendar. Everyday he gives a tidbit of healthful insight, a quote, whatever to inspire. Since I know him personally, I can just hear him saying the daily quote [sometimes kind of cheesy] and it merits a smile and eye roll. Yeah yeah, I know is what I think.
Well I needed this quote yesterday. I hadn't acted on anything, but in my mind I was starting to rationalize a little slip, thinking it wouldn't be that big of a deal. The truth? It wouldn't have been that big of a deal...but seriously, why even go there?? I know it would be taking a tiny step backwards. Backwards. I don't want to go that direction. Period. And who am I kidding? Little slips lead to bigger slips, and the ONLY person who loses IS me!!

I hope that helps you, no matter where you are in your journey towards healthful living. Remember, it's not about speed, it's about direction.

You Need Farmers

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook the other day and I thought it was appropriate for my blog:

I like poking fun at Michael, giving him a hard time for all of the times he's made fun of me for coming home sore, tired, and basically whipped from my back-bending day on the farm. Since he's joined me in the fields, he's gotten a good taste of what it's like, and I don't think he'll second guess my soreness ever again. After his first seriously long day of hoeing, I went up to him and said, "It makes you appreciate your food now, doesn't it? Stuff doesn't just magically appear on your plate..." He agreed [because you can't disagree after spending 8 hours in the hot sun]. No matter what diet you are eating, it will always always come back to the farmer. Someone had to work to make the feed for that cow. Someone had to work to harvest that salad you are eating. The Industrial Revolution changed a lot of things [namely making "farmer" go from the #1 profession to less than 2% of the U.S. Population over 100 years] but that doesn't change the fact of NO FARMS NO FOOD. 

Please. I urge you to take some responsibility and plant a garden this year. Even if it's just one zucchini plant. You will learn a valuable lesson of appreciate for food creation. Don't rely purely on corrupt government subsidies, foreign trade, and fossil fuels for your food. Enjoy the food that tastes the best: the kind that you grow yourself. 

Semi-Resentful Daughter

I am not a mother, and therefore have never appreciated this holiday to its fullest. However, I am of the strong belief that holidays such as Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Valentine's Day exist 100% purely for commercial interests. Sure, it's a nice gesture to recognize the people you love on a specific day, but come on. Seriously? Isn't it obvious that the American Public gets guilted into buying things for people in their lives on these holidays, getting nice things [cards, flowers, treats] and doing nice things [dinner date, breakfast in bed, extra chores etc.] that  they should do more regularly, year-round? Wouldn't it be SO much better if, for example, you made a habit of regularly taking out the trash, kissing your Mom on the cheek and telling her that you love her?? All of that stuff is free too!

Having said all of that, I do want to make a small ode to my Mother, who has dutifully stood by my side [literally and figuratively] throughout my life. Although we don't live geographically close now, and in some ways have grown apart, I still recognize her in my life nearly everyday. There are some things that I catch myself doing that make me freeze and think, I am SO turning into my mom.
Just a few examples:
-I used to groan and moan whenever either of my parents played NPR in the car growing up. Queue the obnoxious teenager: "This again... SO boring! Can't I just play my music?!" Now I listen to NPR on a daily basis. It keeps me informed with the news, keeps my mind churning with interesting stories and interviews, and has prevented some pretty nasty road-rage.
-I don't eat grapefruit all that often, but when I do I eat it a very specific way...the same way that I often saw my mom eat her grapefruit: over the sink, half in hand, grapefruit spoon in the other.
-I use some of her corny catch-phrases such as, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!" That's the only one that comes to mind right now, but I know I've stopped dead in my tracks before because I caught myself saying similar Mom-cliches.

Imitation is supposedly the most sincere form of flattery, so there ya go, Mom! You know I love you, 365 days of the year.

Time to Unwind

Phew this has been a crazy week! Work gets busier every day with crops and weeds springing up everywhere and the Spring CSA program starting next week. Friday night was a welcome relief knowing that I wouldn't have to work until Monday [although there is still some of my own planting/weeding to be done for my own garden...it never ends!].

One day last year as I was volunteering for Bell Organics, they had me harvesting kale side by side with a girl named Julianne, who looked to be about my age. We got to talking and WHOA guess what?! She's raw vegan too!! It's like, extremely unlikely to find someone who has that in common with me; we were both equally excited to finally make a raw vegan friend! We hit it off and have been hanging out ever since. Her birthday was on Thursday, and we went out to Sage's Cafe, a local vegan restaurant in Salt Lake that has some great raw options. I got this awesome noodle-y salad with a pesto dressing.

Sometimes eating with chopsticks is fun! It slows me down, forcing me to take my time with smaller bites.

The beets on this salad got me excited about beet season! For the last two weeks I've been weeding beds of beets, carrots, and spinach. The spinach is just about ready to harvest, the beet greens will be ready soon, and the carrots have another 4 weeks or so. It's so cool to get in there, weed intensely, and then come back a few days later and it's like someone sprayed Miracle-Gro all over the place! The plants literally shoot up when they don't have to compete with the weeds! It makes me want to do a time-lapse video, but I'm sure you can youtube "time-lapse gardening" and someone has already done it...

Oh, and before you say to yourself, "Ugh. I hate beets. Gross." I want to ask, have you ever tried them raw?? I never liked them until I had them raw. They are sweet and crunchy, the perfect addition to any salad, and they make the best juices! Don't write them off until you've had them raw!

The weather has been kind of wacky this week: boarder-line thunder storming, hot and windy, sunny and overcast, all in a day, everyday. Last night I was out watering my plants in the greenhouse with Michael when we heard a loud CRACK of thunder. We ran outside where the sky was split, half sunny half dark and cloudy. That was weird. About 30 minutes later I was looking outside the window and saw this beautiful rainbow!!

Rainbows always look better in real life, but I thought this photo was decent

Happy [Belated] Anniversary to Us/Me!

Yesterday was me and Mike's 2-year wedding anniversary! We had celebrated by going out last weekend, so the day itself wasn't anything overly special, besides it just being another awesome day of married life :)
Actually, the last two years have not always been the continuously perfectly blissful situation I foresaw on May 7th, 2011. Marriage is...the evolution of two people. We've both changed a lot, and it takes effort to move in the same general direction, married or not, for years at a time.

First-ish Kiss as a married duo

Getting chauffeured to the reception 

Whoa! Blast from the past! Michael and I, back in 2008

 This year will also mark 5 years of dating/knowing each other [ahem--10 month hiatus in there], which for some reason seems like more of a milestone for me. Maybe it's because it is also 5 years since I willingly uprooted myself from my comfortable New England home, moved out west, had my heart broken by a jerk [we do not speak his name], and ended up finding the love of my life, all in the same week! A lot can happen in 5 years; I never would have imagined myself where I am today. In very VERY large part due to Michael's presence in my life, I can honestly say that I am a better person now than when we first met.

 May 14th [right around the corner] is another anniversary of sorts for me: it is the day I became raw vegan overnight. Granted, I've fallen "off the wagon" here and there, but for the last 2 years I've been roughly 95% raw vegan, and dang proud of it! The hardest thing about "going vegan" is just doing it, and feeling credible in the process. When you first make any big dietary change, especially the kind that can socially ostracize you if you aren't careful, people will notice and question you. Most of the time, they just want to know the why and how of it. The common question of, "So, how long have you been eating that way?" can make you question your own validity when the honest answer is, "Um...4 days." It gets easier with every day, because every day gives you more experience. Before you know it, you're an expert!

Mike has started working part-time on the farm with me, and yesterday was a full 8 hour non-stop day for both of us. I spent most of my shift watering the in between row in the beds that the water system doesn't quite reach. Even though I was getting paid, I was a little peeved at the irony of me spending all day watering...only to have it rain when my shift was over. Welp, all rain is seriously appreciated in our climate, so I guess it wasn't a bad thing, just bad timing. Oh well.

The apocalyptic-looking sky, right before the rain clouds broke

Law of the Minimum

While I was in Costa Rica, Dr. Graham lectured everyday on one of "Nature's Laws." He had acquired and assembled, through decades of research, a list of twenty-some-odd natural laws that are irrefutable. Basically, we can choose what we do, but we cannot choose the consequences; our body comes with infinite wisdom that, like it or not, plays by it's own rules AKA Nature's Laws. I found the lectures very insightful and looked forward to taking notes everyday on what he had to say. Now that I am familiar with this list of laws and what they are about, I know when I come across them in my own daily reading. I was reading Dr. Shelton's book on Fasting while in Costa Rica and came across the source of one of the laws. I was so excited! It was a thrill to be reading and then suddenly recognize such a nugget of information.
Today I had that experience all over again, while reading Fit For Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond.
I got giddy with excitement as I read on page 129,

 "The body also has what is called the law of the minimum. In other words, once the vitamin and mineral requirements are met, any more must be eliminated as excess. If you had a small glass and a pitcher full of juice, you could fill the glass only to the brim. If you continue to pour, you will only waste the juice as it overflows the glass. That is precisely how it works when there are more vitamins and minerals in the body than it has need for...The excess is treated as toxic waste and usurps your precious energy as the body tries to rid itself of it. This places a heavy burden on the liver and the kidneys in the process.When you take supplements, they will always be in excess unless you are on the most devitalized, processed, denatured diet imaginable. The eating life-style laid out in Fit For Life is most assuredly brimming over with all the vitamins and minerals you will need. Health has to be earned. Health is produced by healthful living. It can't be purchased in a bottle. So, save your energy...and your money."

I couldn't have said it better myself! I'm pretty sure Dr. G used the same example of supplements when he was lecturing us about it too...so cool that I happened to find this today!

I would almost recommend this book over The 80-10-10 Diet by Dr. Graham. I agree fundamentally and am on the same page as Dr. Graham in terms of lifestyle [fruit and vegetables exclusively], however I can see how Fit For Life can be easier to grasp by the average person. The Diamond's themselves basically follow the 80-10-10 approach, however they write about a slightly more easier transition that includes cooked meats, steamed vegetables, and breads, all properly combined. That is key. Their emphasis is that it's not what's on your plate that counts, it's what you are able to use from what you eat. Both Diamond and Graham are coming from the exact same schools of thought [Natural Hygiene and good ol' common sense], and Harvey's book has stood the test of time, selling over 4 million copies in 25 years. Fit For Life taught me more about food combining than anything I've ever read before, which is saying a lot. It's principles made so much sense, and just like Dr. Graham, the author is not telling you what to think, but is just trying to get you to think.

He's Baaack!

I'm very happy to announce the return of the king...Michael is back, for good! It's a good thing he left Illinois when he did, because we woke up this morning to snow...ugh. He drove on I-80, which was closed all day today in Wyoming due to the blizzard. I know because I had to do my Park City deliveries on that road, and it was not fun. Fortunately, it cleared up early on in the valley and now is sunny and warm. May, here we come!

Originally I thought that he would be pulling in around 9PM, which gave me plenty of time to clean the house. He called around 2PM to say that he'd actually be home closer to 7PM. Crap! I had a lot to do, and 2 less hours to do it all in. I ended up pulling it off though, all the way down to our delicious dinner, seen here:

Dried papaya with pea sprouts, mango pits and peels, mango chutney with assorted vegetables to dip in, a big salad for Mike, and spinach soup for me. What a feast!