Feeling low energy today...

• Ok, so yesterday I did the coffee enema and I was too high from it to sit and write the details, I had no idea it would be like that. Now I feel super low energy, I don't think it is because of the enema, but because I have been trying to cleanse for a week now and I feel the toxins are really coming out! This is normal so I am not surprised! Fortunately Javi went to run our store today, he's been so great, and I get to stay home and try to feel better.
• In my post yesterday I added a link to a site that gives good details of how to do a coffee enema so I will leave that as my directions, encase you want to try it.
  
• Just want to add first, I was chatting with a friend yesterday and she seemed to think it was gross that I would write about something so personal. I'm writing about it for a couple of reasons. One is because I truly think it is important to cleanse all of the toxins out and I feel if I talk about it more people will feel better about doing it. Two, well because I don't think our bodies are anything to be shy about since EVERYONE HAS ONE! So really, what is the big deal?? Hope that I'm not offending anyone!
  
• So we made our coffee, boiled water first instead of using distilled water, and about 4 heaping Tbsp of coffee total for the 2 of us, me and Javi. Then let it cool for about 2 hours, in a giant mason jar. Then poured it into our two plastic enema bags as evenly as we could.
  
• About the enema bags. It actually says right on these bags(which are disposable) that the type of plastic they are made of can cause cancer! We bought them online last summer and wanted to try it then but didn't because of the warning on them, we were confused! Finally we decided to just use them anyways, but now are hoping to find something re-usable that isn't made of plastic to do it again. I know a couple of years ago I heard on public radio that this type of plastic was being banned for food packaging and especially for making baby bottles in California because of the toxic cancer causing ingredients in it, no kidding! This plastic is still totally legal(as far as I know) everywhere else. Our enema bags were a CA product so I think that is why it had the warning on it. If it was from anywhere else it probably wouldn't have any warning, so be cautious, and try not to use any plastic whenever possible. I'm not joking, I know it sounds far fetched, but unfortunately it is true!
• I had brought a few pillows and blankets into our bathroom, a space heated(it's otherwise a little cold in there) and a radio. Then I laid some older towels down on the blankets, coffee does stain so keep that in mind! Javi and I were both pretty nervous at this point making bad jokes and trying not to back out.
• Next we put our tubes in! It did feel a little weird at first, then we hung our bags above us(mine on a drawer handle, Javi's on the shower nozzle) you have to do this for gravity to get the coffee to go in. Then laid down on our right sides, this is recommended, and started to fill up! Ok so it was a bit uncomfortable, and I had read that if you start to feel any cramping to take some deep breaths so we did this as needed and it did help. Eventually the uncomfortable feeling went away, mostly.
• After it is all in(don't feel too pressured to make sure it is all in, just do what feels comfortable enough, you can always work up to more later), then clamp off the tube, remove tube from body, and try to just lay there holding it in for up to 15 minutes! Again, if you can't it's ok, just do what you can and remember you can always work up to more time on your next try.
• I actually made it the 15 minutes, Javi didn't last quite that long but almost. Then you just release and start getting rid of all sorts of toxins and stuff that has been in your body for way too long!! Afterward I felt great! The caffeine buzz lasted atleast 4 hours, hard to say for sure because it just flew by. I was able to fall asleep at my normal time and Javi did too.
  
• I would totally recommend this to anyone who is wanting to cleanse and feel better! Make sure you do lots of research first(like I said earlier, just do a google search for coffee enema for all kinds of info, including instructional videos etc..). If you are really sensitive to coffee you might want to try a different type of enema, there are lots out there!
  
• Really I would love to hear from anyone who wants to chat about this, or hear anyone's story about trying it! Good luck!
  

I DID IT!!!

• First I want to post a link for some really good coffee enema info:http://www.treating-cancer-alternatively.com/Coffee-enema-recipe.html
• Just a few words, I am too caffeinated to sit here for long!
• Later all will give more details, for now, it went well!! It was fairly easy and took about 30 minutes total and I only felt some mild discomfort, just a little cramping. Now I do feel lighter, and yes, really caffeine buzzed!! WOW!! I'll write more after I come down a little!
  

My Coffee Enema Experiment!!

• Yes, you read it right! I have decided to write about my first time trying a coffee enema. If this is T.M.I.(Too Much Info) for you than stop reading here!
• Ok, so I've been wanting to try this for years, yes, really! I have a few health issues that really scare me and as I have no medical insurance(I am currently on a waiting list for WI state insurance, Badgercare, since November, it might be a while, 12,000 people ahead of me!), I do a lot of research on my own(about home medicine, healing your self, natural remedies etc..) and I have been doing this out of pure interest for about 17 years! I do love it and I help my family and friends with ailments all the time! Also I have to say that even in the past, at times when I have had insurance, I still rarely used it. When I did resort to going to a conventional doctor I found myself disappointed. Either the doctor gave me info I all ready knew, or offered me prescription drugs that I wound up not using. I know many people have had the same experience.
• Last week Javi and I decided to do some body cleansing. I truly feel that most of the damage done to our bodies(and minds!) has been done by eating processed foods and eating animals and veggies that have been sprayed with unnatural things(pesticides etc) or pumped with unnatural things(hormones etc.). Try to just eat organic, natural, unprocessed food for a day(or everyday ideally!) and then you will start to notice (if you haven't all ready!) all of the poisoned food everywhere that most people are eating!
• Has anyone else ever found it funny(or sad!) that when you go into a conventional grocery store, a big one, there is usually only a tiny section, if any at all, that is labeled NATURAL FOOD???? (so what is the rest of this stuff then?) What is with this?? How is it that we have come to accept that it is ok that most of our diet is unnatural? It's somehow weird to most people to eat natural(I'm sure some of you are now saying, OH, Ladonna is one of those health nuts, or whatever). Really it is supposed to be natural to eat real food. Then everyone is surprised to find that they have health problems, after eating stuff your body doesn't even know what to do with..? Back to the enema...
• Getting the toxins out!! We have been making loads of fresh juice 3-4 times a day for the last 5-6 days. Each of our batches of juice consists of about 8-10 large carrots(peeled), and a variety of other things; beets, apples, celery, cucumbers, oranges, grapefruit, kale, grapes and a little ginger root, all organic. We try to make enough in each batch for a large glass for each of us, and Lili. It takes some extra time to do this but we feel it is worth it.
• Now that we are getting the toxins moving around in our bodies the trick is to flush them out. I have heard it can even be dangerous to just do heavy juicing and not do anything to get it out. So here is where the coffee enema comes in, Javi and I stayed home from work today, to try this, for the first time!! I'm a little nervous, since I have never done this, but excited too to cleanse my body!
  
• I have heard lots of stories about people doing this and how much lighter you feel after, not to mention the great caffeine buzz that is supposed to last for hours. I'm not doing it for the coffee buzz but see it as hopefully a pleasant side effect of something not so pleasant sounding!
  
• The idea is that the caffeine gets your liver pumping and creating more bile which is filled with toxins and then you can flush them out of your body. If you still think I sound crazy, just search 'coffee enema' online and read for a few minute(or hours) this treatment is very popular! If you research The Gerson Theory you will learn about Max Gerson, a doctor who has cured many cases of cancer, coffee enemas included!! Check out his movie 'The Beautiful Truth' (I got this from Netflix once and also ordered it at my library once) , I would love to hear what anyone thinks about this or if anyone has a story to share.
• Recently we changed insurance companies for our store, Creative Waters, and now go through a local guy who we just found in the phone book.. While sitting in his office chatting we just started talking about food and wild mushroom hunting(he is a morel hunter like me!). He is an interesting person to talk to and somehow wound up telling us that his mom had cancer and the doctors told her she had 6 months-2 years to live. His mom actually went to the Gerson Center in Mexico(there is one in CA too now) and she lived for 13 years!! Really worth checking out if you know someone with cancer.
• Back to the enema again... I will list instructions after it's all over if anyone wants to try this at home. Though I would suggest doing more research first to make sure it is something you really want to do. Our coffee is cooling now so I am a few minutes away from MY FIRST ENEMA!!!! Ok, I'm feeling a little nervous again. I'm going to go make sure everything is ready, I will write more when it's over!!
  

Pot Pie afterthoughts!

• Just a few things I've been thinking about since my last post, concerning pot pie of course!
  
• The biscuit topping could be added to the top of ANY thick stew, after moving it into a baking dish, and then just bake it up. What a great way to revise your leftover stew!
• My favorite after thought is this, the next time I make a thick chili, I'm going to bake it with this biscuit topping.. Here's the sneaky Wisconsin part, I might shred some cheese on it before adding the biscuit topping, then bake it!! Although I'm trying to eat less cheese(see my next post about Goals!) I can't help but picture serving up chili with melted cheese and biscuit baked on top! Cheese is my dog's last name after all(yes I always have a good excuse to eat cheese) more about my dog later!!
• The day after I made it, I had scooped the last bits of pie that still had biscuit left on it, into a small oven proof dish, for Javi to bring to work at our store at heat in our toaster oven(I quit using microwaves 16 years ago), there were still a couple of cups left of the veggie filling part left. I then thought I would either just freeze the filling and add it to another soup at a later date or add more topping and bake it again if everyone wasn't sick of it all ready. Usually I will let leftovers sit in the fridge for a few days(never more than a week) and then they go into the freezer, labeled and dated, no matter now small. Even a tiny bit of leftovers can add flavor to something I'm cooking later. I hate to waste any food, and it really does help me later so why not!
• While still contemplating what to do with my leftovers a good friend of ours stopped by. We had just finished eating dinner, Javi made swordfish with this delicious sun-dried tomato topping and I made a scalloped potato dish I was hoping to post here(I wound up not liking how it turned out) (yes I do eat fish occasionally, but only a few times a year for me, even then only a couple of bites!). Anyways our friend looked hungry so we offered him some leftover potato dish(really wasn't very good, but I don't think he noticed) he ate a bunch of that and then went for the leftover pot pie filling in the fridge. Fine by me, as long as someone is eating it! He helped himself to a bowl of it and then(I didn't see this part but Javi and Lili told me later) set the pan in the sink and filled it with water with atleast 2 cups of food still in it!! Now maybe that is how they do things at his house, but for one, we don't even have a food disposal system in our sink so I try hard to keep bits of food out of there, the thought of getting soggy food bits out of there later isn't very fun! For two, I would've happily still froze the leftovers. For three, Javi and Lili were both sad when they told me because they liked the pie so much they would've both eaten it with out the biscuit!
  
• I didn't say anything to my friend because I found out about it after he was gone, too late anyways...Maybe it is different at his house. It's harder to throw food away if you go out of your way to buy organic, local produce etc., and it cost a little more. I don't think he does this, and it's probably easier to throw away some leftover canned pea looking mixture(maybe he thought that's what it was?) if it was cheap(in more ways than just cost!). Plus how long can I dwell on a couple of cups of wasted food?? Ok I'm over it! The good part was I realized that Javi and Lili did truly love the pot pie, and that Lili is learning not to waste food. She's only 10 so that's pretty good!!(check out LiliPhotoLife to see her blog!).
  
• In conclusion, I will be the one serving up the leftovers to guests next time! Also, kids love the pot pie, enough to not want to waste a drop, and it's filled with healthy stuff!! Try it out Moms!!
• I've been wanting to write about some of my recent goals, my kids(had to take paragraph about them out of profile for it to fit), my pets, and my latest project, a recycled bag bag! One of these topics or more are coming up next, stay tuned!!!
  

My first post: Making Pot Pie

• Hi! I can't seem to figure out how to get my main page quite how I want it, please bare with me, I will be working on it as I go. I just don't want to wait any longer to start my blog... I will have to figure it out later when I have one of my computer nerd friends over here to help me.
  
• I've been dying to try out my re-do for this recipe. I don't always have enough time to cook something that takes 1 1/2 hours, which is unfortunate, but makes us all appreciate it a little more when I do! The original recipe called for different veggies and just to use water not veggie broth, buttermilk and other things I never cook with. When I cook and keep a recipe I like it to be very versatile. Anyone can try it hopefully with what you have all ready in your fridge. Don't be afraid to switch things up a bit.
  
• A few tips along that line:
  
• Root veggies are usually interchangeable; carrots, potatoes, parsnips, yams, sweet potatoes, beets(watch out though everything will turn pink or red!) etc..
• Margarine can always be substituted for butter, although some people will disagree with this, if you are vegan and have been for a while you no longer need the butter sensation(hard to believe, but true). After that, cutting out margarine, I know that the next move(health-wise) is to cut out hydrogenated fats(like almost all margarine). This recipe could technically be made with olive oil in the biscuits instead of butter, with a little experimenting. (My diet has reverted slightly since moving to Wisconsin 5 years ago, I was practically vegan and now eat cheese and butter probably more than I should, what can I say, I live in WI now..the great excuse)(still no cow milk or eggs for me though!)
• I like to use organic corn and peas that have been frozen(they have a nice fresh taste if not over-cooked) as opposed to squishy canned veggie flavor, but I'm sure it would work if that's all you have. I think part of the reason a lot of kids(and adults too!) don't like veggies is because of bad experiences eating over-cooked veggies, like frozen spinach-yuk!! I do love fresh spinach though!!
• You can use any kind of broth, I use vegetarian bouillon cubes reconstituted in water. I stock up on them when they are on sale at our local co-op. They are sort of like cheating to me but sure speed up a meal and make it tastier(as opposed to cooking your own broth all day long!). Instead of broth I do like to use leftover soup in recipes, if it's too thick just water it down a little. You can ALWAYS use water instead but may then want to add more seasonings...
• Enough with the tips all ready, here's the recipe:
• Easy Veggie Pot Pie
  
• Serves 6
  
• Ingredients: 1-2 Tbsp Oil(I used Olive, any will do)
• 2 cups chopped onion(or 1 large onion)
• 1-3 cloves garlic(more if you want your pie to have a garlic theme),sliced
• yam(1 large), cubed
  
• potatoes(2 large, any variety, wash but leave the peel if no bad spots),cubed
• carrots(3 large), sliced
  
• So that's 6-8 cups total root veggies, can be more or less of any!
• 3 cups veggie broth
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 Tbsp Tamari(or soy sauce) optional
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• For the biscuit topping(mmmmm...)
• 2 heaping cups unbleached white flour
• Yes it is important to use(and always buy) unbleached flour, why? because it's not good to eat bleach!
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp baking powder(don't forget this or your biscuits won't rise!)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 6 Tbsp melted butter(or margarine)
• 1 cup soymilk(plain)(rice, almond, or hemp milk would work too)
• 1 tsp dried dill(or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped dill)
• That's it for ingredients, like I said, don't hesitate to try variations with what you have. I think any thick leftover soup would be transformed if poured in a pan, a few days later, and had this biscuit topping added to it and baked... Just an idea!
• Ok so put the 1-2 Tbsp oil in a soup pot on med heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
  
• Add yams, potatoes, carrots and the veggie broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat again, simmer until veggies are just tender, 15-20 minutes.
• Add cornstarch/water mixture. Stir constantly for a couple of minutes.
• When mixture starts to thicken mix in; peas, corn, tamari and salt(if needed).
• Pour into lightly oiled 13x9 inch baking dish(I used a glass one).
• Set aside
• Now preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Mix dry biscuit ingredients in a bowl; flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda
• Melt butter in a small pan, turn off heat, add soy milk and stir well
• Mix butter/milk in with dry bowl ingredients with a wooden spoon stirring as little as possible(if you stir too much your biscuit topping won't be as fluffy)
• Drop by heaping spoonfuls(this part would be fun for a kid to do)
  onto veggie mix in baking pan, covering as much as possible
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until you can insert a knife and it comes out with no biscuit topping on it. Top should be lightly browned!
• Serve immediately!!
• I wanted to take a picture of my pie before cutting it but I forgot as everyone was starving and sat down with heaping bowlfuls immediately. That was when I remembered. After the first few bites were gone and believe me no one wanted to wait then either for my picture. It was so good everyone wanted to keep on eating!
• This is not my usual pot pie recipe but is a much easier version(long version will be added on a less busier day!) which I can see now being added to my regular recipes! This was so delicious and a meal in itself! Totally satisfies that comfort food craving!
• I would love to hear if anyone tries this recipe and any comments or questions anyone may have!
• ENJOY!!