I think that we have to do our research if we are going to cleanse, detox or diet. If you really feel like you may need to make some changes then research the product or program that you are planning on doing. Everyone’s body is different and needs different nutrients to fulfill their daily routine. Sometimes when dieting we can experience a yoyo affect which can be harmful to the body as well.

You may want to consider making healthier food choices for 2012 by eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, or perhaps no eating after 7 pm. Maybe limiting your white sugar intake, or incorporate a green smoothie three times a week. Get out for a walk four days a week. Make your goals so they can be achievable to you. When you start to notice how good your feeling you may decide to keep the habit. It takes thirty days to create a habit. I remember that from my yoga instructor.

I have decided to do a five day green smoothie cleanse. I definitely had foods I normally don’t eat through the month of December. I incorporated cheese…boy that is a weak spot for me, I was like a kid in a candy store when the cheese came out. I also had raw treats that I made and pasta. In saying that I still managed my blood sugars, I will let you know what my next A1C is…

In my smoothie today I put in chard, spinach, cilantro, ginger, cucumber, zucchini, celery, broccoli, hemp protein powder and coconut meal (the white meat from the inside of a young coconut). Instead of water I steeped some nettles tea and used that as my liquid, and used less than a half-teaspoon of stevia. Then I added some chia and ground up flax seeds…doesn’t that sound like a meal! It was pretty thick and boy was it good!

I think that it is also important to listen to how your body is feeling…are you weak? or shaky? When cleansing you may experience some fatigue or a headache but try to be aware of what your body is going through. You may need to rest more, or eat more.

If you want to share your New Years goals, I invite you to respond.

These are some fresh veggies from market that I picked up yesterday.

I tried a new recipe called Cacao Oat Goji Balls and I have had good reviews from them. The recipe comes from Susan Powers who is a fantastic chef and always has great ideas for recipes.  They are super easy to make and the bonus part is that they don’t need to be baked. If you decide to try them out let me know how they go over in your home.

You can click on the picture to get a better view.

Cacao Oat Goji Balls

Cacao Oat Goji Balls

3 cups raw flaked oats (you can use any type of large oats)

½ cup cacao (you can also use carob if you prefer or you don’t want the caffeine)

½ cup almond flour (I used ground up almonds)

¼ cup agave or 1/3 cup raw honey

½ cup coconut oil melted (you can probably find it anywhere it is a pretty popular item nowadays)

½ cup almond butter

½ cup goji berries (goji berries are high on the list for their nutritional value and considered a super food but you could use any type of dried fruit like cranberries or perhaps cherries)

1. Mix oats, cacao and almond flour together in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together agave, and melted coconut oil.
3. Pour wet ingredients into a bowl with dry. Add almond butter. Mix well.
4. Mix in goji berries
5. Form into 1” balls, chill to set.

Nothing to it! If you have any questions let me know and I will help out if I can.

I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas filled with happiness and love.

Below are the details of the event. I hope you can make it! Let me know if you are going and maybe we can meet up.

WHO:                         Everyone is invite

WHEN:                      Saturday December 3, 2011

8:30 am – 1:00 pm

WHERE:                    Libin Theatre, Health Sciences Centre

                                      Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary

                                     3330 Hospital Drive NW

Free Admission and Parking in Lot 14, TRW Parking Underground

For more information or to register please contact Alexa at diabetes@ucalgary.ca or 403-220-2261

I had my appointment with the endocrinologist today and I am pleased to report that my A1C was at 5.8. I was a little concerned because I have been changing my diet around a little and was wondering what kind of an effect it was going to have on my numbers. Also I managed to catch a cold (Gordie is way too generous…he wants to give me everything!) and I’m so surprised how that (the cold) effects my blood sugars. I probably boost my insulin up by 5 – 10 units a day, to me that seems like a lot. My endocrinologist assures me that is perfectly normal. When my (yours too) body starts to fight something off, our blood sugars are one of the first things to be effected. I should actually be able to tell when I’m going to be getting a cold because my numbers should start to sneak up. Our bodies are so fascinating! My endocrinologist also reminded me that complications from diabetes is not from how much insulin I take but how much my blood sugars rise and stay in a unhealthy range.

I am looking forward to learning more about the research that has been done with diabetes in the last year.

The craft sale wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I had a good time and it was nice to be with my friends. There were less than a hundred people that came through the doors. I appreciate those who did come by to see me and I met some really nice people.

Sales on the other hand were low…really low! I had more people order from me on line than at the sale. So I wanted to put that out there for anyone who is interested in purchasing crackers or cookies I have some for sale.

Sundried Tomato / Walnut
Veggie / Walnut & Seed
Spinach / flax
Onion / flax & sunflower
Cranberry Orange / Walnut

Small bags $8.00        Large bags $12.00

A selection of nine cookies (three of three different kinds) $12.00

Reminder that I do have my workshop this weekend. Details below.

WHERE:               My place
WHEN:                 November 27, 2011
TIME:                    10:30 am – 12:30
COST:                    $30.00
INCLUDED:        Instruction, Recipe, Helpful Tips, Samplings (the best part)

The selection of treats that we will be making for the workshop is Lemon Doodles, Creamy Carob Fudge and I haven’t decided on the third yet…I will put that out to the participants. None of these treats need a dehydrator so they take no time at all to whip up.

You can contact me at 403-270-3007.

If you would like to attend the Craft Sale it will be located in Calgary at Third Academy School on the SE corner of Hwy 22x and 53rd St. SW (a few minutes down the road from Spruce Meadows – where they are having their winter craft fair on the same weekend). Again the date for the sale is on November 19th from 9 am to 3 pm.

Also,  I am going to be holding a Raw Treat Workshop on November 27th and December 4th if your interested in attending you can contact me. I’m also going to be holding a green smoothie workshop in the New Year so if you are interested in that one you can let me know. I haven’t decided on a date for that one yet.

The cost of the workshops are $30 and last about 2 1/2 hours.

You can call me at 403-270-3007 or e-mail me at lchester@telus.net.

The workshops will be held at my home in Calgary.

Have a great week!

It has been nice getting out for walks, Gord and I have been walking the Douglas Fir Trail (in Calgary) quite regularly this fall and it has been so lovely. The smell of fall, experiencing the changing colors of the trees. Getting the glorious sunshine on our faces feels so good.

I feel truly fortunate to have been experiencing such a beautiful summer and fall. Spring started off with our road trip to Summerland, Victoria, Rossland, and Sparwood. We spent most of our summer in Calgary and I had the opportunity to do the most hiking that I have ever done in one year. It was a wonderful experience. We went to the Kokcanusa Lake to spend time with my family there and had lots of fun. My trip to Radium with the girls was a great learning experience not to mention a lot of laughs and good “chick” weekend. I just came back from a trip to Sparwood to visit my family. We did a couple day trips from there, the scenery is spectacular. Also, highway 22 is a beautiful drive. It has been so nice to enjoy the beauty of my own backyard.

I can’t believe how lucky I am and how truly grateful I feel for having a wonderful loving husband, family and friends. I couldn’t imagine my life without them, thank you for being there. Sometimes I don’t think that I express that enough.

Below is a picture of from my hike to Burstall Pass.

Last September I switched to a low glycemic raw food eating plan. I found it to have a few challenges but overall I enjoyed it. In the new year I started to incorporate fish, eggs and some soy products but still staying off meat products and all dairy. I think that I now have a sensitivity to nuts…maybe I have been eating too many nuts and seeds since that is my main protein source. I have started to develop a rash and I have Rosacea on my face. It is sometimes hard to figure out if I am doing things the right way because my numbers are good, I haven’t gained or lost weight so I think this must be working. Until I start seeing some of the underlining issues…Rosacea and a rash. Perhaps I need to make another change, I can not live on veggies alone, I do need a protein source as well as variety.

What now…I ask myself. After taking some time to ponder the question and figure out what I was now prepared to do…yet again!! I have decided for the most part to take out nuts from my eating plan, I will have a few sparingly. I will continue to have chia, flax and hemp seeds. I have decided to try this to see if this will clear up the Rosacea and the rashes. I will incorporate some meat products as well. I really don’t miss meat products and I have tried chicken since and I don’t like the taste of it anymore but I did enjoy turkey for Thanksgiving.  I will continue to keep a low glycemic eating plan. I find that if I don’t allow my blood sugars to spike up too high it is much easier to manage. It is surprising how high my numbers can rise by having a piece of fruit or something like beans and lentils.

I’m hoping that this may be a healthier balance for me and I’m trying not to be so consumed and overwhelmed with making everything perfect. So over the next while I will try to be a little more relaxed about my eating plan.

I will keep you posted on how I am making out.

I packed my suitcase a cooler full of food and away we went. The drive was spectacular! I kept thinking to my self wow this is so beautiful I would look in another direction and think the same thing…wow this is so beautiful I am fortunate to have this opportunity to see all of this.

We arrive at our condo and we are on the golf course what beautiful view from our patio. With the mountains as the back drop…just beautiful! This was only the beginning.

We had a wonderful time, we had great conversations, lots of laughs, we hiked and we had fantastic meals. We created all of our meals… we brought our fresh food from Calgary. It was really fun for all of us to be around the island in the kitchen cooking/creating meals while we laughed and had fun. One of the women had mentioned that she was reading about how a group of women in their 90’s had created community and that is why they feel they have lived so long. By having created a strong bond…having the community is what makes us stronger and healthy. Actually we had to make a quick stop in Banff and we saw the book for sale (The Blue Zone)…a group of women who had been born into a community where they knew each other all their lives and shared the prosperity of the group as well as supported each other in hard times. The Blue Zone research suggests that community is in large part the foundation of living a long happy, healthy life.

I came back from the trip feeling like my cup was full. I reflect on the memories that we created on the weekend and smile. These memories will be with me forever. The things that didn’t get done before I left were still waiting for me when I got home. Having that extra time with my friends was well worth leaving the rest of the stuff behind, I think it was a good lesson for me. I was now in a better place to do them.

Last blog I mentioned that exercising had made a difference in my blood sugar levels. I believe having this kind of a weekend with my friends also has made a positive difference to my blood sugar levels. I came to realize how important my friends are and how good it is to get away every once in a while. I love my friends dearly and I am thankful for their friendship and that we were able to take the time to nourish that.

I encourage everyone to take some time out for themselves…plan a trip with your friends! Leave everything behind it will still be there when you get home.

Check out this burger doesn’t it look delicious!!  It actually could pass off as a beef burger, until you bit into it! I found a recipe for onion bread which I have used as my bun in this photo. The onion bread was very good as well, but I did make it on the thin side and would make it a bit thicker next time. I found when I have things like tomato and cucumber it softens the bread and makes it a bit soggy and I think if it was a bit thicker it wouldn’t do that.

Ingredients:

2 C Carrots, grated
2 C Portobello Mushrooms, chopped fine
1 C Onion, chopped fine
3/4 C Celery, diced
1 C Walnuts soaked and ground fine while wet
1/2 C Pumpkin Seeds, soaked and ground fine while wet
1/4 C Water, filtered - I didn’t use any water, I found it to be moist enough
1/4 C Nama Shoyu – this would be like a raw version of soya sauce, you could use Bragg’s or Soy Sauce if you are not concerned about it being 100% raw.
1 t Sage
1 t Marjoram
1 t Thyme
1 C Oat Flour, raw or 3/4 C Flax, ground – I used ground flax

Directions:

Combine carrots, mushrooms, celery, and onion. Stir in walnuts and pumpkins seeds, combine well. Combine water and nama shoyu, mix into veggie/nut mixture. Add herbs, stir well. Stir raw flax seed in in batches (half at a time).

Shape into patties no more than 4-5 inches across, no more than 1 inch thick. Place on screens and dehydrate at 140 for 1 hour. Reduce heat and dehydrate until mostly dry, 3-4 hours. You want these to be moist, not rock hard. Makes 8 – 9 Burgers.
Rather than chopping  all the vegetables up by hand, I use my food processor. I find it to be a lot quicker and I use the pulse action to get the desired size.

Training went very well for the half Marathon that I was going to walk on August 21. Unfortunately I was unable to walk the half as I did experience an injury. I ended up with an allergic reaction to a bee bite which then got infected and I was on an IV antibiotic for four days and my hand that had the bite was in a splint. It wasn’t a pleasant experience but one I managed to get through with out the proposed surgery. I do consider my self lucky and was thankful for the support of my friends and family to get me through the experience.

The total funds raised for Team Diabetes at the Edmonton half marathon was $15,331.33. Which is great!! With many generous people I was able to contribute $1,385 to that total. Team Diabetes is going to allow me to walk the half marathon in the 2012 Calgary Marathon. Which means I will continue to have a fitness goal.

I believe that the training for my half marathon has contributed to my excellent A1c numbers. My last reading which was done on August 15th was a 5.8. If you aren’t sure how the A1c works you can read my blog entitled A1c. I was very pleased with my numbers and so was my endocrinologist! He had informed me with numbers like that I won’t have to worry about the side effects that often plaque a diabetic. With a continued fitness goal I am sure this will help me keep my numbers in check.

I won’t be putting the kind of km that I was doing just before race day but I will continue to get out walking every day. When race day gets closer I will increase my km.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog – the Raw Mushroom burger!