Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Garden of Eatin'

Witness a child, who will not eat much of anything except for chicken nuggets, french fries, and various sweets, pick and eat the broccoli we have grown.


She picked it and....


...ate it! and then she ate the leaf!


 Dad got in on the action!

Our lettuces are ready.  I picked spinach...





Iceburg




Romaine


and then I ate a big massive healthy salad. That my family and I grew. Nice.

Garden Part 1: Planning and Planting

John:  "I am ready to plant the garden."
Me:  "Let's do this thing!"
John:  "Who are you and what did you do with my wife?

Seriously. He is not kidding. We have only been discussing this garden since we moved into the house in 2001.  We can't even decide where to hang baby pictures of Olivia in the house. For. the. last. four. years.

We visited many places including Lowe's, Home Depot, and finally the Co-Op.  The Co-Op was Olivia's favorite. It had baby chicks for sale and a slide.

Get Ready....Get so.....GO!



Whhhheeeeeeeeeeeeee!



We bought a raised bed as we don't know how to 'cultivate' the crappy soil we have.  It was fairly easy and even I stepped in to help build it. Again, John:  "Who are you and what did you do with my wife?"


"Seriously. Where is my wife?"


We built the bed and then planted our veggies, herbs and flowers.  There is Rosemary, Lavender, Onions, Shallots, Garlic, Brocolli, Bell Peppers, Romaine Lettuce, Iceburg Lettuce, Spinach, Cucumbers and Tomatoes.  Then we watered it. Then we prayed. Then we waited. Water, pray, wait. Water, pray, wait. 
  


 water, pray, wait

 



 water, pray, wait




 water, pray, wait





While we watered, prayed and waited, Olivia got in on the action and planted some flowers. What a joy to see her get her pretty litty hands dirty.  Pretty cool stuff.


 And, after lots of watering, praying and waiting...something sprouted. Lots of things sprouted.



brokkoli. cavolo broccoli. brassica oleracea var. italica. broccoli.


Pretty, isn't it?

Raw Cleanse...done!

Whew! I did it! I actually made the commitment and stuck to that commitment. For eight days I ate only fruits and vegetables. I drank plenty of water and herbal teas. I did not put one drop of dairy, sugar, high fructose syrup, chocolate, or diet cola into my body. My only deviation (and if you know me, this is an absolute line drawn in the sand) was my morning two cups of coffee with non-dairy creamer.  I am thrilled to say that I lost four pounds and a few inches. I gained energy and a new confidence that I really can do it if I set my mind to it.  I attended a birthday party, a special dinner banquet, McDonalds and Chick-fil-a and still stuck to my plan.  I have since decided to continue to eat this way with a few revisions. I am going to eat as little dairy as possible. I have discovered that it doesn't like me very much.  I will do my best to eat whole foods as much as possible.  And, I will try to eliminate as much processed foods as possible.  This is my plan for during the week.  On the weekends I will loosen the reins a bit. Not go crazy, just loosen up a bit.  I am borrowing this plan of attack from both Dr. Josh Axe (whole foods) and also from Chantel Hobbs (caloric and portion control along with fitness AKA 80-20 rule).