Rawness?

Good evening ladies and gents,
So I want to update a bit. I have had several encounters in the past week that have been pushing me in the direction of holistic wellness.  The things I am most interested in on that deep level, quite naturally have to do with coming to a place of physical, mental or spiritual wellness.  Body, Mind, Spirit.  It started with natural hair, then natural skin care and use of herbal remedies, and now more body health. Always with a nature made twist.  I'm loving this for sure.

To give an update on my more RAW journey.  I have been doing more salads, which are great for the summer (no cooking allowed :-)) And I have kept the practice up of juicing.  Too expensive at conventional market, but perfect for the awesome farmers market nearby. 

Since doing the blog on the uncooked couscous, I learned that couscous is a type of pasta and has gone through some type of process already.  Great information and I love preparing couscous still with a bit of olive oil and a bit of sea salt. Light, fluffy, better than fries or heavy noodles.

The next part of all this-- the wellness path is getting that exercise in. ooooooh, just ooooh! That has always been an area of CHALLENGE! But once its gets a part of my life, then I'll be addicted.

Oh on addictions! My coffee cravings have definitely reduced, I have had coffee since I started back on work, but its less and no sugar recently.  I may move to decaf.

Also on addictions. I love juicing! I love the juices that I make, and they make me feel great!

Lessons learned:
The more you do something, the more it becomes a habit and craving.

 For now we'll keep that balance of healthful food going, without becoming a manic crazy person.  May you all move toward your best selves this summer.

Love,
AGfreed

Wordless Wednesdays

Greens and Strawberry/Tomato Salad, Uncooked couscous!

Insert imaginary picture here! 

I was so hungry I ate it before I could take a pic.
Today I was searching around for an appealing raw lunch.  I'm ascribing to a more natural way of eating where I'm getting more raw foods in my diet.

I settled on using my couscous and making a beautiful  green salad.
 Found on  this website:Her Green Life
Did you know that you can make couscous without boiling water? You just put it in water, it soaks it up and voila, light fluffy and ready to eat. I seasoned with light olive oil and sea salt (a pinch)
I also made a house salad with Greens,Strawberries, Tomatoes, and Cucumbers! This topped with homemade sweet mustard vinaigrette, also found on a website! THANK GOD for the internet! I used apple cider vinegar, honey dijon mustard, olive oil, sea salt and pepper.

Try it sometime for lunch or even dinner. I am in love with strawberries on my salads, its the new tomato.



God Bless,
AGfreed

To Juice or Not to Juice, back to basics

Green Juice, Orange Juice, even Purple juice!
My husband and I have recently gone a cruise and celebrated our two year anniversary in style. Yay G-unit! (Green Team)

 
Its only befitting that we go on a nice juice-feast to restart our bodies and cleanse our bodies as we enter our third year of marriage! WOW!   We were inspired by the movie "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" on juice feasting. Check it out, it encouraged us to keep going even though we didn't do the 60 days that is prescribed in the movie.

All I have to say is that I loved the Juice- feast, in fact, now that its over-- I miss it. The benefits include: detoxing and restoring health to all your cells with fresh vibrant micro nutrients. Fabulous!
Weight loss I loss about 8 lbs total. After the first day, lost about a pound a day. and did plateau on day 6. 

 Process and Results: No food, just juice for 7 Days. 

The first day was a killer, I was hungry every 1.5 hours, and cranky.
2nd day: Anniversary day: juiced until our anniversary dinner (cheated a little) weight loss: 5 lbs!!!
3rd day: back on juice- fruit juice in the morning, two green juices throughout the day and a fruit juice 2 hours before bed.
4th day: Juicing and exercise. I  couldn't believe it but I actually exercised for 30 minutes. I thought I would pass out, but I guess I had enough stuff in my body to burn through, the juice gave me energy too
5th day: Feeling Good.  Juicing and wanting to lose more weight
6th day: Stomach feeling flat. I liked that  feeling and I had a lot of energy
7th Day: Went to church, and that tired me out a bit. Juiced but took a nap, walked for 30 minutes.
8th day- raw food and soup --- I didn't like eating so much again, except the fruit tasted excellent. My taste buds are totally refreshed.
Today: I made an awesome dish that I'll tell you about in another post.

I'm feeling good, not only for vanity's sake, but there was a real spiritual brokeness that came through. You'd be amazed at how much time you have to do other things, besides think about food. We even avoided going out a lot because we didn't want to be tempted. It all smelled so good.

How do I feel right now? Great. I am on a bit of a vacation too, but I think even three days would have been good for me.  I also am excited to discover new food and tastes and eat more raw food and plants and less pasta(WHICH I LOVE) and potatoes (WHICH I LOVE!) but added some weight that was not cute!

My Goal is to have a more healthful life. Make my health more a priority. I feel excellent just by eating more of the things on God's green earth.

Stay tuned For more on this new endeavor in the Raw Life.
 For recipes just ask I'll point you in the right direction, although a google search is all we used.

Staying Free
AGFreed

ashes ashes, we all fall down, c. booth mask

c. booth Volcanic mud mask is the topic of the day sisters.
I went to my favorite round the way Rite aid, and what is  on sale and has been for the last month on MLK blvd? Organic and wonderful products, no body is buying this stuff and it is 75% off y'all. What!?!? I didn't even think twice these are amazing deals. I got stuff that is usually 15.00 for 4.00 Giovanni products y'all!
Today I went for a wonderful body butter with mainly shea butter! Delicious and my skin is loving it! That was 2.50 and was usually 10.00, and the other wonderful product was c.booth's  Deep Cleansing Volcanic mud Mask.  it was 25% off so it cost me 7.00 in all. Deal!

My experience.  I've heard some great things about volcanic ash and its effects on acne and black heads, so I couldn't wait to try this thing. 

It went on creamy, had a pleasant smell, and I felt like I was in one of those TV shows where the girl orders delivery with her funny lookin mask on. In short ,I felt like a grown woman!


As it was drying it was burning my eyes! I've had this experience before but that was my dietary sulfur MSM mask.  It must be the sulfur fumes.  But you can tolerate it,  it goes away as the mask dries, 
I left the mask on for 30 min.  and after rinsing off, my face really does feel like I had a great facial.  Really clean pores.  I'm going to try it every week for a while.


Update: Honeywash, I've stopped this, not because it didn't work, but I had all these products in my cabinet I needed to get rid of. 
Don't think i'll be going back to the glycolic acid, it was really harsh.  


Secret ingredient: Aloe vera gel. I use it to dilute my face wash and also in my face lotion, for a light but still moisturizing lotion


posts to come:
mood swings and 30's and over

Chemical free, Natural Body care

Past couple of weeks I've decided to try a few more ideas. 

I've put down the glycolic acid, it was drying out my lip areas. not cute! And I tried a neutrogena gel anti-stress face wash. That also I feel was too drying for around my lips. Some how the wash itself, I believe moves its way down to that area even if I try to avoid placing product there.  So I've been researching some other ways of taking care of my skin more naturally.

ACV- Apple Cider Vinegar, as an astringent.  Only on affected areas cause this stuff is strong and will tingle :-)
So far so good- and cheaper than a drug store astringent. The smell is pretty strong but it wears off after a while.

I was also looking for a face wash. I tried plain aloe vera gel, but it doesn't have the same cleaning properties as other washes, so I've been trying another suggested home remedy....HONEY 

 

This beautiful and delicious natural product was right in my kitchen (I prefer it in my tea) and it has amazing antibacterial and healing properties. Only used it for two days -twice a day but already it has been so much more gentle than those products.

Method: 1)  take about a quarter or half/dollar amount and apply with fingers massaging on a dry face. 

2) Massage until really tacky and then rinse off with warm water.  

3) Follow up with your toner and then moisturizer 

Results: 1) you'll notice that your skin doesn't feel stripped like a sulfate(soap) will cause. 

Try it, and see if it works for you.   I will let you know if I notice any changes in my skin. 

AGFREED out

Turning the BIG 3.0

AGfreed 3.0
The newest model of me :-) I recently celebrated my 30th birthday and wanted to give a few of my thoughts on the milestone.

How did I feel the day before?
Horrible! lol Like my life was over, silly me

How do I feel now?
Great! I love the idea and the reality of being 30. 

What's great?
Being able to really say, " I'm too old for that!"  anything that is just nonsense!

Having others treating me with a bit more credence and respect.
Not feeling like I'm a baby any more.
Having enough life experience to help others.
Being myself and not caring so much what others think.

Downside?
Metabolism is slower, more trips to the gym.
Tired more often.
Feeling of more responsibility and sensing time as more fleeting.


All in all I'm happy with my life. I have an amazing husband. I have a good career, I'm settled in a great church. I have a wonderful life. And I"m right where I'm supposed to be.

Can you think of how you feel about the 3.0 model of yourself?  Benefits? Downsides? Resolves?

What's freeing about that milestone?


Talk to me,
Agfreed