Whole-y Goodness, Batman!

I am having so much fun making my GREEN SMOOTHIES! I feel like my body is on the mend as I'm shedding some weight, sleeping better, enjoying more energy and feel my mood is vastly improved.

I am on Thyroid meds - but it even feels like they're working better than before.

One of the things I'm noticing about the weight I'm losing....it's hard to describe, but I'll try....it seems to be visceral fat. By that, I mean, deep layers under the skin, like back fat along the bra-line area and odd bulges here and there that seemed they would never leave my body, seem to be smoothing out! Love it!

One of my favorite smoothies right now....

Mango, peeled
Parsley, whole bunch
Fresh/filtered Water

Whir it up and drink it down! Holy Goodness, Batman! (or should that be Whole-y Goodness?)

Also...

Parsley, whole bunch
Chard, leaf or two
Pineapple, cup frozen or fresh

Blend and slurp it down!

Another odd thing I notice is the way it's difficult to take the time and savor the flavors. As soon as I put the edge of a glass of green goodness to my lips, my body seems to command that I drink deeply from the glass....draining it almost as quickly as I filled the glass from the blender. It's some sort of deep rooted need to fill the mineral deprived cells of my body. It's a very tribal urge!

Life is good and green right now and I'm looking forward to the journey to a better, healthier body!

For now, Cheers! Peace and Green Eating (or Drinking)!

Slendie
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I'm Going Bananas!

One of my favorite GREEN SMOOTHIE recipes is:

1 Banana
2 leaves of Swiss Chard
handfull of flat leaf Parsley

Whir, whir, whir in the blender and drink it all down! Delish & Nutricious!

another favorite one:

1 Banana
3/4 cup of Zucchini
3/4 cup of Cucumber
handful of Parsley
half a Lime

Whir, whir, whir......cheers!

They may sound odd, but they are truly DELISH!!!!

Slendie
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Nuts for Young Coconuts !!!

The dry, brown, hairy coconuts you see at the grocery store are not 'Young Coconuts'. Their outside flesh has been stripped off, leaving the shell with the white coconut meat & water inside, to dry to the hardened furry shell we're used to seeing.

When you buy a Young Coconut - they've been skinned only, leaving the white flesh around the shell. See photos at first link below. The shell is MUCH easier to break into this way since it has not yet hardened. Additionally, they say this 'younger' version of the coconut is considered a Live Food - making it rich in minerals!

Click this link to view & read about Young Coconuts:
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/youngcoconuts.html

I've also drained the coconut water & drank with a squirt of lime - truly delicious, refreshing and an excellent drink full of natural electrolytes.

Click this link to see Green Smoothie Girl demonstrate the Hot Pink Smoothie with a Young Coconut Water base:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRgNVtMU9aw&feature=related

Notice that Green Smoothie Girl opens her Young Coconuts a bit differently - both ways work and it's an easy open!

Cheers, Peace & Green Eating!

Slendie
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Hot Pink Smoothie Bliss Out !!!

I've been hot, hot, hot for the Green Smoothies that have become part of my daily health ritual. I usually do a couple a day and am seeing wonderful results!

But, this morning, I decided to try something different - a HOT PINK SMOOTHIE!

I found the recipe presented on You Tube by Green Smoothie Girl from http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/ - check her out!

So, it goes like this:

Fresh COCONUT WATER (from a young coconut)
Half a BEET (yes, raw!)
One CARROT (yes, yes, raw!)
Two DATES
Some VANILLA
Frozen STRAWBERRIES (raw, raw, raw!!!)

Whir, whir, whir in the blender and then BLISS out on this healthy treat!

I believe the original recipe also called for CASHEWS - but I'm not fond of cashews and didn't want the extra fat, since I'd like to drop some pounds.

BOY - did that come out HOT PINK! And,it was as yummy as it was hot pink!

Delish!!!! Give it a try! Tomorrow I'll post my favorite GREEN SMOOTHIE recipe.

Sip, sip.........ah......Bliss all over the place!

Slendie
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I Ate the Cake! or The Great Chocolate Cake Debacle!

It was chocolate! It was rich! It held the promise of reward.....but.....

I didn't want to eat it! I really didn't even feel tempted by it. However, I was at a Bible study at church and it was the birthday of a dear lady....a very dear and much older lady....who said to me, "Dear girl, do have a piece! For I will be perfectly grumpy at you if you don't share in a slice of my birthday cake!"

Then she winked at me.

I think it was the wink that got me. So....I ate the cake. Not all of it, but enough to make her happy and enough to give me a raging sugar headache later in the day!

It's been nearly 4 weeks (3 1/2) since I went vegetarian. Not Vegan, just Vegetarian....so the cake was perfectly acceptable. There was no meat in it. But there was a whole lotta SUGAR!!!

I haven't gone about telling ppl that I've switched to being a Vegetarian. Why? Simple - because people will assume that I'm doing it to lose weight. When ppl think you're on a 'Diet' they generally have no problems in chiding you for whatever you put close to your lips.

"Uh, uh, uh....your diet, remember?"

I simply don't need the pressure!

Anyway, I'm not doing it just to lose weight. I'm doing as part of a life makeover ~ to be healthy and fit and energetic. I want to sparkle and shine with vitality! I want to be healthy enough to enjoy my life! I want to radiate joy! I want to glow!

And if I lose weight (which I do NEED to do) that's a great benefit! The Icing on the Cake, so to speak.

In any case, I keep asking myself why I folded? Why I ate the cake when I didn't want to, when I didn't even feel tempted.....why?

I did three Green Smoothies & munched Goji Berries all day to compensate for the Chocolate Cake Debacle! I still got a sugar headache around 5pm.

Oh me, I am a mystery to myself.

Slendie
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What Made Me Jump Off the Cliff?

.....and into being a vegetarian?

Because I was sick and tired of feeling and looking sick and tired!

I'm about three weeks into it and it's been easy so far. I guess it's been easy because after a couple of days of Green Smoothies and Raw Veggies - there was a noticeable improvement in the way I felt....in the way I slept....in the way I looked. I have wanted to do this for a year, but put it off. There was always another cupcake, enchilada or pizza!

And it gets better with each day. I'm not fully 'Raw'.....probably about 70% by my guesstimate, the rest is based or steamed Veggies. Here's how the day goes....

First thing in my belly - coconut water w/ a squeeze of lime
Yoga
Green Smoothie - today it was Parsley, Cucumber, Zucchini & a scooped out Lemon
Green Tea
Go about my day
Lunch - munch on whatever raw is in the fridge - today it was carrots, cucumber, goji berries
Early Evening - Green Smoothie of some sort
Dinner - today it was a casserole I made up of Eggplant, Zucchini, Mushrooms, Garlic & Roasted Tomatoes. I baked it all together in a big dish until it bubbled

Oh, and tons of water with lemon or lime squeezed in. YUM!

I eat until I feel full, not stuffed. I do think I'm losing weight - but as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm SCARED of the big, bad scale!

In any case, I'm going to weigh soon and see what improvement is there.

I love feeling this way, I love healing my body and getting healthy. I should have done it long ago. I don't know what was stopping me....well, maybe I do (but that's another blog).

Peace & Green Eating!

Slendie
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What is Going On Around Here?!?

3 people today told me my skin was glowing! A woman a couple of nights ago asked me what my skin regime was or did I just have great DNA. My husband keeps saying, "you're so beautiful! Your skin is so soft."

WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND HERE???

Oh, must be the Yoga....the Green Smoothies....the raw Veggie eating....the sleeping through the night! My, oh, my! I may have found the secret to the Fountain of Youth!

I am enjoying the Yoga so very much! It is so....centering. That's the only word that comes to mind. And eating all the lovely veggies...I feel like I'm feeding myself LIFE! I'm eating LIFE everyday and it tastes sooooo gooood!

I don't think I mentioned before - but I also gave up all alcohol. Not that I'm a drunk or anything, but I do enjoy a glass of wine now and then. But, I thought in the interest of detoxing, getting healthy and healing my body, I should fore go it for now.

Okay....what's the math? Well, so far I've shunned the scale. Scales SCARE me...at least in the last 8 years they have. But, I know what I weighed at my last OB/GYN appt. last November.....and I know what I weighed when I went to to the doctor's in August for a bad case of laryngitis! But....I'm scared...oh, so scared to tell you all. It's a BIG number....VERY BIG!!! But I know I have to get honest and I can track the math of the situation here on the blog.....SOoooo......

SO....in my next post I'll list my weight from the summer, and I'll go weigh to see what it is now. It's only been about 3 weeks, but I feel less bloated. Maybe I've lost a few little pounds.

I HOPE SO!

So, thanks for stopping by and check back in a day or so......

Peace & Green Eating.....

Slendie
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Staying the Course!

It's a day by day thing....but I'm actually enjoying it so far. This seems different this time...from the times before. All the times in the last 8 years that I tried to get my healthy self back. Something in my gut tells me I'm on the right track this time and I'm thrilled about that!

So, here's what I've been doing:

• Daily Yoga Practice: right after I get my kid off to school, on an empty stomach. I love the time to work on myself in a non-jarring way. All the lovely breathing, stretching, posing, meditating ~ it really does do a body good! I feel elongated, graceful and lovely after each session. My neck feels like it's growing longer and more elegant. My spine feels realigned and flowing. My energy feels up and I can feel radiant! I've been using the Ana Brett Kundalini Yoga DVD's. I'm still new at Yoga - very! - but will share more about the DVD's I'm using in a future post.

• Daily Green Smoothies: this morning I had one with Avocado, Parsley, Spinach & Lemon. The Avocado made it smoother and more blended than previous smoothies. It was good, more veggie tasting, but good. I have been drinking one immediately after doing Yoga. For some reason, I feel like my body can really soak up the green goodness after all that deep breathing and stretching.

• Eating Vegetarian: I've been meat free for three weeks now! I told my family they can eat meat during the day, but it's not for me anymore. And, I told them that I would be cooking purely vegetarian for dinner. So, for dinner each night, I prepare a lovely vegetarian meal for my family. My husband and son have been very supportive and have eaten and praised each meal. I'm lucky that they pretty much eat whatever I put in front of them.

How am I feeling? Great - so much better than three weeks ago!

How am I sleeping? Fantastic - I had no idea it was possible to sleep through the night! It is, it is!

Peace & Green Living (& eating) to you and yours!

Slendie
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Whew - IKE Sure Blew Me Off Course!

I live in Houston and IKE blew in and blew me off course!

It's impossible to make daily Green Smoothies when there is no electricity to run the blender!!! In fact, scrounging for food became the daily ritual. With grocery stores and restaurants closed, and food from the fridge piled into a melting cooler if ice....it was difficult to even eat properly! We combined our food with neighbors and friends (who had gas ovens to cook it on - we have electric) and had to eat what we could all cobble together.

It was hard. It was disheartening. I was blown off course.

BUT......NOW I'M BACK!!

With the electricity back on (at least at my house - not all of Houston has it yet), I've been back on the blended Green Smoothie trail! And what a trail I'm blazing!

Feel the heat - feel the sizzle - feel the burn, baby, burn!

slendie ~
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Go Green & Drink It Up!

A few months ago I saw a show on Oprah with Dr. Oz. Dr. Oz was talking about a green blender drink he makes that has things like parsley, celery, cucumber, spinach & lemon which is a fantastic way to feed your body minerals & vitamins, as well as increase energy. I tried it, I liked it, but it got boring fast.

However, a few days ago I found this fantastic website that promotes Raw Food eating! I love veggies & fruits and had already been incorporating them into my diet over the last two weeks. But this website (which I will include here, once I have persmission to do so), not only promotes eating raw foods - but also something they call GREEN SMOOTHIES. They are holding a Green Smoothie challenge in which they will drink two or more a day and incorporate exercise atleast 3 times per week until November.

Well, I joined up! What's a girl to do? All this wonderful information coming to me - I just gotta jump on board the Green Smoothie challenge!

In a Green Smoothie - you can mix any green veggie! Also, you can mix in a fruit with it. Once I realized there were hundreds of combinations, I realized I wouldn't get bored! Yesterday I had a green grape & cucumber smoothie! YUMMMMMMY! And refreshing! Of course, I laughingly realized after I drank it that those are officially two fruits.....but, at least I've started! Today, I'm mixing zucchini with romaine lettuce, cucumber, celery and a little parsley! Can't wait to feel the green vibes running through my veins!

I feel green! And soon, I hope to be feeling my good old Slendarella self! No, it'll be better than that, I'll be a whole new Slendarella! (*green grins all around*)

signed, Slendie
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Slendarella Dressed in Yella!

...and Green & Orange & all things healthy to eat!

Well, basically, this is my weight loss journey. Welcome! And please feel free to comment....a lot, a whole lot! I'll take it all, good, bad, advice, disagreement --- but no cursing please. I'd like this to be family friendly!

So, the thing is pretty basic. I used to be skinny. Now I'm not. An undiagnosed thyroid problem has played havoc with my body, my energy, my self-esteem and I could go on and on and on. I've been on thyroid medication now for about 4 years, but my weight has continued upward bound! Yikes! And so, what I now propose to do is to write about my experiences as I try to bring myself back to health! Back to life!

How? Well, here's my plan:
Going Vegetarian (which I've already started on & I'm feeling fairly good)
Eating semi-raw & live foods
No alcohol (for a while anyway, I do love a glass of wine)
Yoga (which I've kinda started - more on that later)
Working out & being more active
Getting better sleep
Documenting my experiences here

I'm a playwright & a working performer, a mom and a wife, and it's hard doing these things - especially the performing - while overweight...I mean pudgy....I mean chubby.....okay, let me get honest and just say it...FAT!

It's time for a change. It's time for a comeuppance! Yes, I had...have thyroid issues. But I will not accept this weight or this way of living. It's time to reveal the new me...peel the onion, break away from the ordinary way of living with 'I wish' and get on with the extraordinary way of living with I DID IT, I AM, I SUCCEEDED, I HAVE RECLAIMED MY STATUS AS A TRUE....

SLENDARELLA!

And...YES, I know it should probably be spelled 'slenderella'....but that wasn't available, so Slendarella it is!

Join me on my journey! Let me know your thoughts, your struggles, your successes and what worked for you or your friend or your friend's friend. You get the picture!

Can I get a big 'GO GIRL' ?!

YEA - WHOOP WHOOP!!!!