Guest Post: Days 25-28 + Orange Mint Fennel Salad

You may have notice my 30 day raw food journal has been a bit different then Christine’s. Since my body is trying to make new skin and cellular tissue daily I need a high amount of good fats and protein. (Just like a burn victim would in a burn unit.) Therefore, I’ve  been keeping my avocado, nuts, seeds, nut butters and hummus intake high to get both my good fats and my protein. It also helps to keep my calorie intake high, as Christine recommends we eat at least 1800 calories a day.

The last 4 days have been very difficult due to my hands and wrists going into a flare. They are quite raw, itchy, cut up and swollen. I have even had to take an antihistamine for the last 2 days to sleep and scratch less. This is to be expected as my Topical Corticosteroid Withdrawal flares are about 8 weeks apart and my last flare like this was in April. So I’m due for another flare. Since I’m in a flare, it is hard for me to move my hands and do simple tasks like type. Therefore I asked Christine if I could do a 4 day post today and not have to worry about typing for a few days. Also I have been unable to chop, so I resorted to purchasing much of my food at Whole Foods. I’ve done as much as possible to Vitamix things. My loving husband really supported me by picking up a few groceries including hummus from Whole Foods. Doug also spent time yesterday preparing Salsa and Guacamole for us.

Topical Corticosteroid Addiction recovery can take up to 7 years to recuperate from. My physicians have slated me at a 36 month recovery and I am around month 26. 90% of my body has recuperated already but my ankles, knees, neck, “inbow” (the crease inside the elbow), wrists and hands are still majorly affected. If my hands would fully recover, I pretty much could begin a life back to normal. But unfortunately, the Doctors say that my hands will be the last to recover since I used them to apply the Topical Corticosteroid creams.  And to answer most of your questions, No – there is nothing yet that significantly speeds up your recovery. Patience, hope and diligently caring for yourself if what one can do when one is recovering; basically wait for your body to do its thing. 

However, you can aid your body in having a smoother recovery by getting proper rest, laying in the sunshine for brief periods daily, moving your body, changing your household cleaning supplies, switching to cotton clothing/sheets/towels, finding skincare your body can tolerate and making dietary changes.

Well, how have I benefited if I’m still flaring? You may ask. 

Over the last 28 days I have happily experienced better quality consistent energy (despite flare) and a clearer state of mind. My belly finally flattened, I was getting concerned for a while that my stomach was so puffy. I thought maybe I was holding water or my candida was really bad or something. But it’s almost totally flat and you can see the muscles in my stomach. The skin on my face is so clear and smooth. Many people have commented on how good it looks. I have lost a little over 6 pounds. This is a nice steady 1.5 pounds a week, so it’s healthy weight loss that I will be able to maintain. Also, since I have been working out with my post-rehabilitation trainer, this weight loss is in addition to the muscles I have been building. Finally I am starting to look and feel more toned. This is something my body has not been in several years due to the state of my health. 

I plan on keeping my raw food intake very high through the entire summer. But I can’t lie, I really look forward to roasted veggies and roasted potatoes as well as a bit of cheese. HEEHEEHEE! One of my friends asked me, “What do you think you will have the first day off of the Raw Vegan diet?” I said “A big stuffed baked potato!” She laughed and said, “Of all the things you can have and that’s what you want?!” and I said “Yeah, weird right? I also want soup too, which is so bizarre…” Then we both had a good laugh.

DAY 25-28 of 30 Day Raw Vegan Detox Challenge

Thursday
I had been watching a few Vegan Foodie Instagrammers make layered smoothies and NiceCreams over the last few weeks and decided to give it a go. I made a Berry/Mango/ChiaBanana Nice Cream:

Layer 1: Place a Banana Chia Pod, 1 Tsp. Cinnamon and 4 Frozen Bananas in the Vitamix; blend til Creamy Smooth.
Layer 2: Place Frozen Mango and ¼ Cup Frozen Lime Cream in the Vitamix; blend til Creamy Smooth.
Layer 3: Place Frozen Mixed Berries, 2 TBSP Raw Agave Nectar in the Vitamix; blend til Creamy Smooth.

Comment: You will most likely need a little bit of Coconut Water or NutMilk or Water to drizzle in the Vitamix while blending just not too much or you will get a smoothie instead of NiceCream.

I only ate half because I made way too much. I put it the freezer and snacked on it throughout the day.

My treats have all been running low. So I made Nutmeal Raisin Dough Not Holes:

Dates (7 Medjool, pitted)
Coconut (1/2 cup dried Shredded)
Pecans (3/4 cup)
Raisins (1/2 cup Golden)
Cinnamon (2 tsp.)

Place all ingredients into Food Processor and Blend til the Dough starts to stick together. Roll into small balls and keep refrigerator. Enjoy! They are so good; they taste like Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Dough.

For Dinner I had another Green Salad like Wednesday’s and for dessert I had a slice of Morning Glory Cake.

Friday

By Friday my hands were really jacked. So I went to Whole Foods and just grabbed an array of things I thought I could eat. I made a Salad of Green Peas, Green Onions, Carrot, Radish, Cucumber, Beets and Hummus. 

I purchased a small container of Hummus and ate the whole thing with Juice Pulp Crackers from last week. 

For dinner I had Vegetable Rolls made out of Carrot, Cabbage, Spinach, Avocado, Cucumber and some type of Rice paper. I did NOT use the sauce that came with it because of the ingredients. Instead I poured the rest of my Limagrette dressing for the other day over it. 

Dessert was of course Morning Glory Cake. I just can’t get enough. I even shared a few slices with friends the other day and they LOVED it!

Saturday

In the morning I made a 50oz Berry Parsley Smoothie of which I drank half and saved the rest for Sunday. 

Orange (1 peeled)
Banana (1 Peeled)
Ginger (2 inch hunk peeled)
Frozen Mixed Berries (1 Cup)
Mango (1 Cup)
Parsley (1/2 head with no stalks)
Coconut Water (3-4Cups)

Place in Vitamix and blend til smooth.

When I woke up from my 4 hour nap, I took inventory of what was in my fridge to see what I had left to take me to the Raw Vegan Detox Finish Line. I decided to marinate Fennel with Mint and Orange for dinner.

 

 

 

Orange Mint Fennel Salad:

Fennel Bulb (1/2 thinly sliced with a Mandolin)
Orange (1 peeled with a knife and cut into slices)
Orange (1 juice of)
Mint (1/2 head finely chopped)
Parsnip (1/4 of 1 peeled and Mandolin Sliced)
Japanese Eggplant (1/4 of 1 peeled and Mandolin sliced)
Pink Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Place all ingredients, EXCEPT the Orange slices, into a bowl. Toss to coat everything in the Orange Juice. Then place Orange slices on top. To marinate, cover and refrigerate overnight. (Or eat right away for crunchy fennel.)

Since Doug made me Salsa and Guacamole I ate it with the rest of my Juice Pulp crackers that I had made last week. Then I decided to make a fun snack for Sunday, so I prepared Veggie Chips:

Japanese Eggplant (1)
Parsnip (2 Peeled)

I used the Mandolin to slice the Japanese Eggplant and Parsnips. Then place them evenly spaced on dehydrator trays and let them sit for 6-8 hours in the Excalibur Dehydrator at 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

TIP: Though I didn’t, you can toss them in Cold Pressed Olive oil and toss in some type of herb seasoning to get more flavor.

 

I ate the last slice of my Morning Glory Cake while rolling the Nutmeal Raisin Dough Not Holes into Chia Seeds for me to snack on through the rest of my Raw Vegan Detox.

Sunday

Currently as I type this I am enjoying the other 25oz of the smoothie I made yesterday. For lunch, I plan on eating my Parsnip and Eggplant chips I made yesterday with the Salsa and Guacamole Doug made.

Dinner will be the Orange Mint Fennel  Salad I marinated last night. Dessert will be Nutmeal Raisin Dough Nots I made Thursday.

Enjoy your day!

 

  

 

 

 

Find Heather on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter @hpesthetics. For more information on TSA/RSS, check out www.itsan.org, the International Topical Steroid Addiction Network. You can also read about Heather Petersen’s experience at: www.eczemancipated.com