Mostly Raw 2016

During the last week of December 2015, I decided to try a 30 day trial nutritional diet with my daughter called the WHOLE 30.

Was my Mostly Raw Diet not working? No, that's not it. I will review. The Mostly Raw Diet was going really well for many months. I was eating mostly raw and feeling energized and healthy. I lost about 25 pounds and was out of the 'overweight' category on the Doctor's BMI Charts. I had routine bloodwork done and all my numbers were very good. Even my high triglycerides came down to a healthy, normal number. About 7 or 8 months into this new lifestyle, I came across the HCLF Vegan/Potato Strong YouTube videos and decided it would be nice to add cooked pastas, breads and rice to my diet options. It was yummy...I started filling up on these 'cooked' starches, and I ate less raw fruit and veggies, and dare I say that some days I would hardly eat any fruits and vegetables. I slowly started gaining weight back, lost energy, and my nails became very weak and thin and were not growing. I didn't make the connection right away, that it might be related to all the cooked starches I was eating. I was also having extreme neck/back pain. My chiropractor advised that I needed more protein in my diet.  (Update: The reason for the issues with my brittle nails and my hair falling out, was due to extremely heavy periods and a large fibroid tumor causing me to be severly anemic. See the latest on 2017 Touching the hem of His Garment)

 So, shortly after this my daughter was reading up on the WHOLE 30 diet Online. It is an elimination diet, and eliminates all processed foods, sugar, beans and lentils... She wanted to try this diet to see if it would help clear up her baby's eczema as she is a nursing mom and wondered if what she was eating attributed or made worse the baby's eczema. She asked me if I would do the 30 days with her. I figured if I could do the Raw Food Diet, this one wouldn't be too hard, and for 30 days I could add meat to see if this would help my nails.  

Cutting out the starches (except potatoes which are allowed on the Whole 30 diet) and eating more veggies, I noticed, has definitely helped my overall health compared to when I was eating more starches as of late. I am on day 26 of the Whole 30 trial, and my nails are not any better, even though I have temporarily added some organic grass fed beef, lamb, chicken, fish and eggs to my diet. 

So that brings me up to date, and I am deciding to continue on with my Mostly Raw lifestyle. I may keep butter, eggs and fish options in my diet, although limited. I intend to include some healthy cooked foods, cooked veggies, whole grain rice, and oatmeal. I am hoping that by cutting back on cooked starches and adding fish and eggs will help with the nails issue. I may research this further. I will share my progress here. 

Below are some pictures of my Whole 30 breakfast. I made an exception and made 2 ingredient banana pancakes. Although the 2 ingredients are technically allowed in the plan, you are not 'supposed' to combine them. I did. No regrets. So, I had banana pancakes, and diced red potatoes, pan roasted, with a little coconut oil and ghee, and scrambled eggs with freshly sliced mushrooms and assorted frozen veggies. 

Oh and also, I discovered THE best no sugar or dairy added 'hot chocolate'. I use 2 ingredients for the creamer too. So I chopped up 4 pitted dates to 1 Cup coconut milk (there is a little guar gum or something in the coconut milk). Run these through the blender, and add to hot Cocoa Brew (see below). I brewed the Cocoa in a coffee maker, just like I would coffee. The Cocoa has no caffeine, sugar or fat. :)

That evening, I made a sweet unsweetened fruit salad for the next morning's breakfast. It included kiwi, watermelon, cantelope, pineapple, and blueberries. The next morning I added a sliced, very ripe, spotted banana (they are sweeter if they are very ripe) just before I ate so the bananas would be fresh and not turn mushy and brown from being in the fridge overnight. SO YUM!

I always try to drink the equivalent of a large mason jar-full of water infused with lemon, lime, mint, orange, or any fruits I desire. I make this the night before, so it is perfect for the next morning.

Last night I added whole frozen strawberries and orange slices to my mason jar filled with filtered water. This morning I pulled it out of the fridge. Oh. My. Goodness. This was REALLY delicious!!! The strawberries add such a distinct sweet, strawberry flavor. I will be adding strawberries more often! I, later that morning, also added strawberries to my breakfast smoothie. I put in a little frozen pineapple, a banana and a little creamed, lite coconut. ANOTHER tip, blend extra well. This made such a yummy and extra smooth, smoothie!