The Modern Hippy

     In the last couple of weeks, I have been feeling like crap. I’m not sure why. I eat healthy, my only vice is that I drink coffee in the morning, rarely more than 2 cups in one day. It started to bother me so I cut back to 1 or a half a cup, just to prevent headaches. Coffee is highly addictive and like any drug you will detox if you quit quickly, even if you wean off it. So I’m weaning, hopefully, other than the occasional cup I will not drink it daily.
     After an intensive weekend of continuing education, which I believe kick-started, some detox – I certainly felt like it – I started to feel better. The continuing ed had to do with massage cupping and the different types, styles, and effects, a few of which are drawing toxins to the surface to allow your lymph system to clean it up. I’m doing much better now. However, all the stuff that was brought to the surface made me realize how many things might be stored in my body. Though I have been eating very healthy – no junk food – for over a year, I may still be harboring yucky stuff. I do live in the city so external toxins are plentiful. We have not been able to afford solely organic foods so internal toxins are probable. I also started walking several times a week which increases my blood flow and possibly can start my body ridding of built-up crap ready to be sweat out.
     My current plan is to detox/cleanse my body once we move. Currently, in our living situation, I won’t be able to get away from several potentially toxic substances. Let’s face it, Everett is not a clean city. So Bellingham, being more eco-friendly and much smaller than the over-crowded Snohomish county, will be a better place to center and cleanse myself. For now doing research among other things has taken my attention.
     So, with many things it appears that there are millions of different opinions about how to successfully detoxify one’s body. I am looking at a couple of things I think would help me greatly. A “full body detox” and a “colon cleanse”. The whole body works to clean itself, so why not help it out by eliminating things and easing it’s work load? Also, a healthy colon is vital to a healthy person. If it doesn’t work properly, or isn’t tidied up then the things it’s suppose to expel may get reabsorbed, or simply hang out and rot. Gross! But remember, that the whole body is interdependent and will work together to rid its self of wastes.
     By what I have read so far, raw fruits, veggies, juices, and water seem to be the best bet to clean. Also, there is some discussion about how to clean one’s colon, which works better. I am leery of products/information sold. There is usually a home remedy that works just as well as something manufactured and patented. Over the next few weeks I will come back to share what I have learned. Please leave me ideas if you have experiences with detoxing or cleansing!

     In the last few weeks, while I have been away from my blog I have been doing a lot of cooking. Rick, wanting something tasty asked me to pick up some treats. Some of the gluten free treats were either not good or bothered him anyway. (It appears that chocolate is not a good choice right now. I have heard that it is hard to digest for people whom have issues already, like Rick and my own mother.)
     I will admit that I tend to pick things up that esthetically pleasing. So we checked out the cute, simple paper bags labeled Namaste Foods. They make all sorts of things. So far we have tried the pancake mix and now the vanilla cake mix. The pancake mix, titled “Waffle & Pancake Mix”, is awesome. It isn’t overly sweet, the texture is decent and they smell great! Though I don’t eat regular pancakes, due to them making me feel ill (too much sugar and additive), I love these! With butter and honey they are perfect! The only difference I noticed was they don’t rise as much as regular pancakes.

     The “Vanilla Cake Mix”
was our experiment today. I was a little nervous because the dry mix didn’t smell wonderful. However, once in batter form it smelled good and tasted good. (Yes, I know you aren’t suppose to eat raw eggs, but well I love batter.) Once cooking, it filled the apartment with lovely aromas of flour and vanilla. It was great, lighter in texture than I expected and not too sweet. Rick loves and said that all it needed was whipped cream. I liked it a lot as well. The only thing I would change is maybe add honey and vanilla extract to the batter. I would have added vanilla, but I couldn’t find my gluten free extract today.

     So, though we have only tried 2 products, I like Namaste Foods . They seem to have good quality ingredients, and actually taste great!

So, I’ve not been making a lot of posts recently. We are coming to the end of our living arrangement and will be relocating once again. However, for the last few days I have been trying to hold myself together. Last Tuesday, the 7th in the early evening my grandfather passed away. Family is always complicated and feelings sometimes comes as a surprise. It’s okay, but time is needed to pull myself out of the funk. Please check back weekly for posts, I’m cooking a lot and will have new recipes in the next few weeks as well as spring pictures. Please give me time to process my feelings, this is not something I will be sharing for awhile, however, I would love to hear you stories of dealing with loss.