Day #9 Body by Ayman

9am BREAKFAST
Oatmeal w/ ricemilk & blueberries
2 boiled eggs (1 yolk)

11am SNACK
1 green apple

12:30 LUNCH Super hungry & again couldn't wait 2hrs...
Unsalted canned tuna (packed in water) sauteed w/ olive oil, red onion & spinach

3pm EXERCISE
50min Cardio - seated bike, random, level 10 for most of it except my L knee started hurting 30min into it so I took the level down to 4.

4:18pm SNACK This was poorly planned. Ended up being almost 4hrs btw meals.
3 Brown ricecakes (unsalted)

5pm TASTE
Was cooking chicken and tasted it. Baked in the toaster oven with lemon juice, grated red onion, a dash of sea salt, lemon pepper and cayenne pepper. Cut it in chunks, separated tonight's dinner and put the rest in 4 baggies in the freezer.

7pm Dinner
Raw baby spinach w/ home-baked chicken chunks & MIL's legumes

Day #8 Body by Ayman

9am Breakfast
Oatmeal w/ rice milk & organic blueberries
1 boiled egg (half the yolk)

10am Exercise
1 hr workout with Ayman
hamstrings, aductors, triceps, chest, shoulders, back, biceps, abs

11:30 Snack
Green apple

1pm Lunch...I was super hungry and couldn't wait 2hrs.
Organic baby spinach w/ chicken strips, olive oil and balsamic vinegar

3pm Snack
3 cinnamon brown rice cakes (they gave me the itis and I ended up taking a nap)

5pm Dinner
Organic baby spinach w/ mahi mahi in the toaster oven and homemade honey mustard (note to self, it was absolutely wretched).

As per Ayman today I can no longer consume balsamic vinegar. I can eat canned tuna in water (no salt added). I drank a lot of water between meals. Pee is totally clear. I weighed myself on the cheapy Ikea scale today and it looks like 152lbs. Whoa.

Day #7 Body by Ayman

This entire week I stuck with Ayman's nutrition plan with very few deviations. Monday I did not eat an egg in the morning, and I had rice because I thought it was still on the plan. Thursday I had guests over and I ate a little salad (romaine, black olives, red onions, shredded carrots, tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar), some TJ 10 grain bread toasted with olive oil, garlic powder and oregano, and a little ww pasta with zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash and marinara sauce. On Friday morning I was in a hurry and had raisin brain cereal, then I had broccoli in the evening because I thought it was still on the plan. On Saturday I went to a bday party and had (no cake or candy - woohoo!) a lot of romaine lettuce with ensebollado (mmmm). Also tried the soy chicken and potatoes in sauce that Karen's mom made. Ok dang, that's a lot of cheating for one week...but still healthy.

8:45 Breakfast
Oatmeal w/ rice milk & blueberries (no raw honey for the first time; didn't need it)
1 hard boiled egg (half the yolk)

11:30 Snack
Green apple

1 Lunch
Raw Organic baby spinach w/ olive oil and balsamic vinegar
organic free range chicken strips

2:30 Snack
3 honey nut brown rice cakes (shared with J&J)

4:30 Dinner
Raw Organic baby spinach w/ olive oil, balsamic vinegar & hot sauce
wild caught mahi mahi in the toaster oven

Then I nibbled on a little bit of toasted TJ 10 grain bread w/ olive oil, pesto sauce & oregano. Then later on around 8:45 I felt so stressed out by not wanting to be around my husband that I waited until he left to bring Eddie home and I ate some ww spaghetti with yellow squash & zucchini...then I had a piece of mint dark chocolate.

I realized this last bit of eating was totally to manage my emotions because I literally felt like I was not going to survive w/o eating. Wasn't hungry in the slightest. Was hungry other evenings this week, but Pierre was not here so I was emotionally great and just drank water. Tonight it was total emotional eating, and I need to find another outlet.

Another journey begins

It's been close to a year since my last entry. I was reading all the previous posts last night and it was a bit unbelievable that I thought I was going to get my weight in order with the way I was eating. Writing things down helped tremendously all on its own because I have never again put something in my mouth without realizing I was doing it. Mindless eating has pretty much ceased completely. However, shortly after my last entry I got pregnant with my daughter (now almost 8 weeks old) and went back to eating the S.A.D. diet I hadn't eaten in years. I am ready to begin fresh with new knowledge, grace and fortitude.

First, I now know that it doesn't just matter WHAT you eat, but WHEN you eat it. You can pretty much eat a S.A.D. and be healthier than someone on a raw foods diet if you only eat during daylight hours. My friend, Paul Nison, is coming out with a new book about this appropriately titled, "The Daylight Diet". You can hear an interview about this here. I haven't been eating past 6pm this entire week and I feel wonderful. I have experienced deeper sleep than I have in years, and tons of energy.

Second, when I went raw for 35 days last year I was making a ton of raw gourmet recipes the entire time. I did not eat a lot of veggies as is (if at all). Even though everything I was eating was raw, it was all spiced up, dehydrated, smothered and/or reconstituted to taste like something else. Did I lose weight? Yup! Did I get my poor eating habits under control? Nope . If anything, they were made worse because the recipes I was making took so long to prepare, my life pretty much revolved around food.

With these facts, I am now eating very simply and rediscovering how good foods taste in their natural state. As of Monday of this week, I have been having a daily green smoothie, a daily green salad, fresh raw veggies as is, some fresh fruits and lots of water. I have completely eliminated everything else, including fats/oils/grains/herbal teas...the list goes on and on. Next week I will slowly reincorporate fats such as avocados and nuts, but in very limited quantities like they are meant to be eaten - and only if I really want them (I might not after how good I feel this week).

I am definitely cutting out all gluten and dairy, as I have found these to be the most addicting and harmful foods to the body. These foods will be reserved for rare occasions in very limited quanitites, instead of the daily staple they have been in my diet. Notice I did not say I will never eat gluten or dairy again. I am no longer that naive.

So my journey continues and yet begins fresh. If you are reading this and have fallen off the bandwagon with past attempts at getting healthy, start today to make small changes (such as not eating past 6pm) and you will see a tremendous difference. I advise you to listen to that interview with Paul Nison and start your journey towards better health today! Don't wait another moment. Your life is worth it.

Yadi Crocker

I've been "cooking" up a storm lately. It's just so fun, I'm surprised. It all started when I got my dehydrator and decided to mix up a batch of ingredients I already had in the house without really following a recipe. How hard could it be to make chips? Turns out it requires more intricate flavor mixing than I had expected. My chips were gross and stunk up the house. I was determined not to throw the dehydrator out with my nasty creations and to follow some time-tested recipes instead.

I searched online for a few things I wanted to try and went shopping at Trader Joe and Whole Foods for the actual ingredients (no substitutions allowed - per Pierre). Here is what I have made this week:

The first things I made in the dehydrator were Falafel and Lemon Coconut Cookies. Both were YUM. I mixed the falafel with lettuce, tomatoes, chopped cucumbers and topped it with cucumber sauce. I would definitely make that again. I forgot to take a pic of the salad, but here is Joshua's version (same thing sans the lettuce):

Falafel with Cucumber Sauce


Click here for recipe. I actually did substitute something in this - agave for the honey.

The cookies were fabulous. Extremely lemony and coconuty.

Lemon Coconut Cookies


Click here for recipe. These were a hit with everyone.

That night I made Broccoli Soba in Spicy Almond Sauce for dinner. Pierre loved it. It was goood.

Broccoli Soba in Spicy Almond Sauce


Click here for recipe.

I then thought it would be good to make some bread. Here is the sandwich I made with it.

Mediterranean Almond Bread


Click here for recipe. Personally, I wasn't a big fan of this bread. Maybe it's because I haven't had bread in a month, but it was a bit too heavy for me. I omitted all the spices from the recipe since the person said they were overpowering - maybe I should've left some in because mine was sooo bland.

Pierre decided mid-day that he was in the mood for ice cream. I found a recipe for raw chocolate ice cream and substituted carob for cacao (lots of mixed reviews on the affects of raw chocolate on the body). It was ok. I was just happy to be eating something cold and creamy.

Raw Chocolate Ice Cream


Click here for recipe. I topped it with shredded dried coconut and sliced bananas. Pierre was a happy camper.

Later in the day, I wanted sushi. It turned out so yum...but I topped it with traditional organic soy sauce and got a major headache from the salt. I will make them again and use Nama Shoyu or something.

Nori Rolls


Click here for recipe. Pierre loved these.

This morning I decided to make carrot cake. The cake itself was ok, Pierre said the nutmeg was overpowering. I thought it was ok. I was not a fan of the icing, though. I would make this cake again if I could find a better icing. I kind of mixed two different recipes for it since the first one was too plain.

Carrot Cake with Lemon Date Icing (mixed with some cashews and vanilla extract)


Click here for cake recipe.
Click here for icing recipe.

I took the bread I made before, thinned it out and stuck it back in the dehydrator - determined to get my CHIPS! They turned out much better. Joshua ate them up. I made some hummus to go along with it. YUM. Pierre found it a bit too lemony, but I thought it was perfect.

Zucchini Hummus


Click here for recipe. It's towards the bottom of the page.

Phew! I'm pooped. Good food, good times. More to come! I still have so many left overs. Come over and eat this stuff! :-)

Feasting and Fasting

Whew - it's been quite a couple of weeks. Being raw was awesome. I didn't have any food cravings or detox symptoms. My skin conditions cleared up, I lost some weight, I was able to rise up early in the morning without the use of alarm clocks, my normal body odor was basically gone (didn't have to use deodorant), and I actually enjoyed the food. My husband and I feasted at Quintessence in NYC (a raw food restaurant - www.raw-q.com) and it was soooo good. I was smiling ear to ear with every bite. My husband enjoyed it so much he actually considered going raw afterwards! lol.

Yesterday on the way to church I felt lead to go on a 14 day water/juice fast. Now that I've been raw for two weeks, I figured it was the next logical step to really cleanse my body so that I can get the full benefits of being raw in the future. Well, if you count that my last actual meal ended on Saturday around 6pm, I've been fasting now for 51 hours (a little over 2 days). My gosh! Can we say DETOX??! I started feeling a little weak last night while my friends were over. I couldn't even get off the couch to say good night to them when they were leaving. I was tossing and turning all night to finally get up around 3am and vomit what I later found out was bile (iuuuooooooo). Apparently when your body is cleansing, the liver takes extra toxins and puts them in the stomach with bile so it doesn't get overtaxed. That was nasty. I had a little more of that tonight. Not to mention that my body odor is back with a vengeance, I haven't had a bowel movement (yes, you had to know that), I've been weak and dizzy and basically bed ridden all day. My tongue is coated with some slimy stuff, my legs are achy and I have had no desire whatsoever to drink juice. My husband made me a green juice this morning of romaine lettuce, celery and parsley. That's the only juice I've had, and only because he "made" me. I've only wanted water and have been drinking a ton of it.

Despite all the bad symptoms I'm feeling, I'm excited to be getting clean inside and out. So many people live with toxic bodies like I have for so many years. I'm turning 30 at the end of this month (March) and want to be in the best shape I've even been in - Spiritually, Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, Socially and Financially. I'm on my way! In a sick way, this is kind of fun. I KNOW the grace of YHWH is encompassing me through this whole journey. Yay! I'll keep you posted.

Evolution of Yadi

I haven't touched this food journal in several weeks. First I thought I had this thing down and could keep everything I ate in my mind. LOL. Seriously. I figured I had learned the lesson that needed to be learned (no mindless eating) therefore I no longer needed to heed this discipline. After that I went on several binges which included eating red meat. I hadn't eaten red meat in 8 years. I gained close to three pounds back and decided to stop weighing myself. That's where I've been.

So now this journal is taking a different direction. It is with great trepidation of the thoughts of my readers that I say the following - I am now a raw foodist. For a full explanation as to why I made this decision, see my personal blog here. I feel the need to write a disclaimer. Going raw is not for everyone. I'm doing what I know is right for me.

That being said, I am now going to use this journal to document my experience as a "raw foodist" (a term which I detest and will only use this one time). I officially went raw on Monday, February 11, 2008. That makes today my 3rd day. The last time I weighed myself was February 4th and I was 173 point something. I didn't weigh myself again until today because the rest of that week I ate atrociously and knew I had gained even more weight. Today, after only 3 days of eating raw, I weighed in at 170.2. I know the numbers aren't everything, but it is always nice to see them going in the direction of a healthy weight instead of the opposite.

Since I prefer to live an intuitively and spirit-led life rather than cerebrally-led, I prefer not to set a time frame on how long I will be raw - and I definitely won't say it's forever. At this point I can see myself transitioning to a high raw diet (mostly raw with a few cooked whole grains, still vegan) - but who knows? So my journey begins and I'm looking forward to the fabulous changes this will bring.