Yep…..Almost

If you’ve been part of the 30 Day Throw Down! and you signed up to follow, you are entered in the drawing for the $100 Amazon Gift Card. The drawing is TOMORROW! The winner will be announced by 6:00p.m., PST. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, the 30 Day Throw Down! is about creating new habits that optimize health and, depending on how you’re fitting it into your life and working it, weight loss, too.

The program is designed to work in one-month increments for a year. Our first month focused on “throwing down” fast food and highly processed foods while reaching for REAL and WHOLE food. We have tried to make organic and locally grown choices, when possible. We will continue to leave the food behind that robs us of health and bring our new habits into our next 30 Day period. If you weren’t perfect through the first month (and who WAS? – we are all about changes and progress, NOT perfection!) you’re one of us and I encourage you to CONTINUE!

You have friends and fellow strugglers who want to jump into healthier ways of living rather than being the proverbial frog who is slowly boiled alive. Remember him? He starts off in a pan of cold water and slowly, tiny bit by tiny bit, the water is heated almost imperceptibly until it’s boiling and too late for the frog who never jumped out. We’re jumpin’ out – together!

If you weren’t ready or able to join us the first month, start with us on October 1st. I encourage you to begin with the basic first month of leaving fast-food and highly processed foods behind (you can access the archives at the 30 Day Throw Down! blog for good information and support). Since this will always run in one-month increments you can work with us from the beginning knowing we’re continuing to focus on that area, too. And although each month will feature posts about what we’re currently working on, food posts will be a consistent part because we eat every day, several times a day. We make choices about our health whenever we reach for food.

October will add the element of movement and exercise. Fall is in the air in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern. What better time to get outdoors and enjoy the weather? You can do both 30 Day periods together if you’re just joining us, but the philosophy of this program is to take one area of focus at a time and slowly add to it, in 30 Day (or one month) increments. This optimizes your chances of success. When we start with drastic changes everywhere, we rarely stay with it for long. Ask yourself how many weight loss programs you’ve started and stopped even though you KNEW at the beginning, this was IT? History and research show it rarely works. The 30 Day Throw Down! is a completely different approach. We slowly build in great habits while we work together, encouraging one another. And there is no weekly fee or pre-packaged food to buy because this isn’t a fad diet or a fast fix. This is a grass-roots way to add healthy changes to your life. It’s about getting back to basics. Check it out at 30 Day Throw Down!

In addition to community support, we will also have a drawing or two each month. October will feature dinner at Chipotle as well as book giveaways starting with Real Food and Real Food for Mother And Baby, both by Nina Planck, who has graciously and generously donated books to the cause. Chipotle has also donated meals to support our efforts here. If you don’t know, Chipotle offers a healthy menu of food from sustainable sources and animals raised in natural and humane environments. They are committed to doing business in a way that optimizes our food choices and actually nourishes us instead of simply filling our stomachs. They have restaurants in many locations (including one opening in London) but if they aren’t in your area and you happen to win, pop the certificate into a card and send it as a gift to someone you love (or who you’re hoping will love YOU!) :)

Congratulations to everyone who made the decision this month to optimize your health now and in the future. A gift certificate is great but health is better and lasts longer. We all win by taking care of the body God gave us. I thank you for jumping in with me for this first 30 Days! Let’s keep going and encouraging each other.

Now let’s eat. For REAL!

Copyright 2009

Irony

Having posted my Observational Twitter yesterday, and not happily anticipating a haircut that was WAY overdue because of a less-than-favorable outcome last time, my daughter called and asked me if I wanted to go for drop-in hair cuts last night. I had been at a funeral earlier in the day and spent the afternoon with my mother and stepfather at the hospital. (He has been ill for years and took a turn for the worse.) I was in need of a dose of joy. Did I need a drop-in hair cut? Do I dare after what I just wrote?

All I have to say is, "Chim, my little hair dresser? I love you. What a great job you did. I actually felt GORGEOUS when I left. (Of course, Cinderella woke up this morning but the Ball was fun while it lasted!) And I had a date night with my daughter who IS actually still gorgeous this morning. And we talked and lingered and life was rich, even after a haircut. Maybe, even because of it.

Dinner with your daughter on a coupon? Affordable

Drop-in styling salon? Inexpensive

Sitting at dinner with someone you adore and both of you basking in the glow of a hair cut gone right? Priceless.


Copyright 2009

Observational Twitter 22

Famous Quote:

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." ~from The Mourning Bride (1697) by William Congreve

Obscure Quote:

"Scorned is child's play compared to the fury of a woman with a bad haircut." ~Robynn

Copyright 2009

Crabby Tales From The Crypt(ic)

I’m sick of sick people.

I see them when I look in the mirror. They are in my bed. They are whining, clingy, needy, lazy, pathetic, dejected, and smelly. And that’s just me.

Grizzly is far worse…….no, really. He missed all of last week except Monday (I mean, I did too unless you count cooking and waiting on people and cleaning.) He tried to go to work Friday but didn’t make it and came home. He was a positive invalid all weekend. He tried to go to work on Monday but came home again in dire straits. The stomach portion of this virus attacked him within an hour of reporting for work. He is better this afternoon and evening. And I think he plans on going to work tomorrow. Please, Lord, let him be WELL.

Surely it must be. I cannot live in this frat house a moment longer. I can barely write or educate my child. I can’t keep anything cleaned up or put away. Forget laundry. I’m wearing my underwear inside out. Shoot, I'm wearing his underwear inside out. I'm the lone cook and bottle washer. Bo is gone for all intents and purposes except on weekends, The Wild Man is only now making his full recovery, and I am possibly, this evening, finally feeling as though I might be able to stop the barking seal imitation. Though a lot of good it’s done me. No one has even thrown me a fish. That might be too much like cooking!

Do I sound testy to you?

I am desperate for cleanliness. I am insane with the sound of opening and closing drawers, refrigerator doors, pantries, cupboards, laptops, and vitamin bottles. EVERY DRAWER IN MY HOUSE SQUEAKS ON ITS RUNNERS and has for YEARS. (Oh my good glory. The junk drawer just opened and closed for the 780th time since I’ve been writing.) And no one gets anything out and puts it away. NO ONE.

(I’m running away to wherever this chick is. Scoot over, Betty, and pass the “Lucosade,” if that’s what we’re calling it. And by the way, how’d you get THIS gig? I need lessons.)

Perhaps I should mention that I’m also worried I might be a vampire.

No, I have no taste for blood. But I also have no reflection. I couldn’t have. I don’t see Grizzly hovering by my side of the bed asking about my health, offering water, feeling my head, imploring me to eat well, to rest. I’m positive that must be due to my invisibility. Nothing else would make the least sense. A lone flower would change my life. One cup of soup that I didn’t prepare myself might send me into paroxysms of rapture Scarlett O’Hara couldn’t have adequately dramatized.

Oh, yes. I know I’m having a pity party. It’s the only socializing I’m up to. But don’t worry. I’ll do all the work and clean up after myself. It’s what I do!

Copyright 2009

Drop in to 30 Day Throw Down! and get your answers about raw milk, soy milk, and REAL FOOD.

The Feverish Mind

Sickness gave me time to gaze out the window.

Summer’s Tantrum

Summer has been a petulant child
refusing to loose its grip on the heat
of scorching sun.
It bullies the breeze and keeps billowy clouds hiding
in mountain shadows.

Summer will not let Autumn play.

But today, watching green leaves bounce in the wake
of a stealthy gust
I witness the Relentless lift its head
draw breath
and heave a sullen sigh.

Promised glimmers of hue and glow are heralded
on the stage of memory.
A timid cloud scurries across the sky and
escorts me toward my seat
to watch the scene unfold.

Autumn will have her way.

~Robynn (Copyright 2009)

Painting by John Everett Millais

1829-1896

New Post at 30 Day Throw Down! Please drop in and join us. I'm actually still a humor writer over there. But then, I presume a great deal.

A Father's Heart

As I bark and cough at the monitor I’m gazing into, I find myself deplorably lacking in humor. I also apologize for not visiting around. I know you will understand when I tell you we are laid up and laid out. I hope I can at least offer a breath of inspiration. Be glad I'm not there to breathe anything else on you.

The father in this video is beyond my realm of personal experience or comprehension. He is the polar opposite of what I witnessed. The same is true for some of you, I know. I’ve read the posts and felt the pain you have endured. Others of you will recognize this dad in a heartbeat because you have (or had) one with the same heart, or you ARE a dad who loves at this level. I can’t tell you what happiness and hope that gives me. I smile with each story of love, humor, and sacrifice. So, you’ll forgive me if I steer you to this meaningful piece while I go toast it with a nod to my cough medicine.

Dick Hoyt is a shining example of what it means to have the heart of Christ. The media never fail to portray Christians in an unfavorable light and frankly, we sometimes do a pretty good job shooting ourselves – or others - in the foot. But the real thing? A person with a true heart for God and people? Now that is a lovely thing to look upon.

An excerpt from an article about this father/son team has this to say, “When asked if he has questioned God why his son has had to undergo such difficulties, Dick is philosophical. ‘We don’t know why,’ he says. ‘We didn’t dwell on why. I believe God has used Rick to help others. He’s been a pioneer. Any time someone wants to try something new, they go to Rick because he’s got the patience and personality to handle everything. He understands their frustrations and hopes.” To read the full article go here: http://www.southerngospel.com/Family/Parenting/1271755/

Copyright 2009

The Swine Flu. Remember This Guy?

We’re pretty sure he’s visiting us.

What I thought was food poisoning for The Wild Man last week may have actually been the swine flu. Apparently, it is not unusual for kids to develop stomach issues along with this virus. I took him to the doctor yesterday after a week of this and he has upper respiratory involvement as well which wasn’t even detectable amid all the other symptoms. After hours searching through websites and the CDC and NIH about swine flu I discovered this:

Kids often have stomach involvement with diarrhea. A small percentage of adults may experience this as well.

You can have the swine flu and not have a fever, though TWM had a heck of a fever. That was an extremely baffling component of the outbreak in Mexico. They had people testing positive for H1N1 who were sick but had no fevers.

It can manifest itself differently in different individuals. At Bo’s college they had five kids test positive the first day. One left in an ambulance and others were mildly ill.

Monday, it took me about three hours to develop a horrid cough. Grizzly came home from work with the exact same symptoms. We literally got sick within one hour of each other. He spiked a high fever and looked like he was going to die. Had he gotten any more cantankerous, I might have accommodated him. We sound like a TB ward around here with all the coughing and hacking but I am less sick than he is. I just feel like a Mac truck hit me and want to lay down every minute and sleep. But we eat VERY well, take our vitamins, and are showing some signs of improvement today.

You can’t avoid this thing entirely. But you can eat well and take care of yourself so if it comes to visit, it doesn’t feel welcome to stick around. I can’t help you with your relatives.

Please visit me at 30 Day Throw Down! to join a whole lot of us who are eating for REAL. :)

Copyright 2009

Observational Twitter 21

Famous Quote:

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.~Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare

Obscure Quotes:

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them by people who claim they would do it but it isn’t their job.

There are no control freaks……only people who have to take over when everybody else drops the ball. ~Robynn’s Ravings

(And don’t be thinkin’ I’m talkin’ about myself. I don’t like control freaks and I’m makin’ it my business to do something about ‘em. Nobody else will!)

Please drop by and visit my other blog 30 Day Throw Down! :)

Copyright 2009

GoD and DoG

Once in awhile you find something that weaves its way into your heart and you know it will never leave.

A friend sent it to me by email and I've watched it ten times. I'll watch it ten more. And I'll never look at Minky and JoJo, my two beloved dogs, the same way. She put to words and music what I knew as a dog lover. But I would never be able to say it like she does.

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY to watch it. There's something wrong with the embedding code or I'd post it here. Run time is less than two minutes.

The creator of this beauty is Wendy Francisco at http://www.godanddog.org/

Please visit 30 Day Throw Down and join us as we eat. For REAL.

I Can’t Hear You

I was an excellent parent before I had children.

My theories were sound and my rhetoric plentiful. I knew exactly what you should do with your children and why. Your missteps were easily identifiable and with simple grit, determination, and sage advice from me, all could be rectified in short order.

Mothers who allowed their children to run the grocery store aisles confounded and irritated me. More baffling still was the mother who refused to answer her demanding, persistent, or wailing offspring.

One of these moments is burned into my brain. I was standing in a Von’s supermarket trying to make a decision about a product when a persistent three-year-old began to harangue his harried mother.

“Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy. Mommy”……..for Five. Whole. Minutes., all the while alternately yanking on his mother's shirt, shorts, hair, face, and possibly eyeballs.

She never changed expression. She continued to gaze vacantly at the store shelves. I wanted to look into her hanging eyeballs and inquire, “Why don’t you just answer him!! Say ‘Yes!’ or say ‘Mommy has left the building!’ but say something!” This is because I presumed she heard him.

Then I became a mother.

Slowly dawn broke, or fractured, in my psyche and I knew that if I answered every single “Mommy!” I would cease to have one nano-second for a quiet thought within my head. I would never make decisions or know what I thought because there would be no time for thoughts. Cue the birth of selective hearing.

It is based in pitch and tone, and has little to do with volume. We mothers make symphony conductors look like wimps. We can detect the slightest variation in our precious progeny’s modulation and multi-layered rhythms. We know what sounds signal impending disaster or genuine need. Our ears are unaffected by run-of-the-mill keening. It’s not that we ignore it willingly. We simply do not hear it. We can’t, if we are to remain sane. And sanity is a nurturing benefit in a mother.

Maybe we are being cruel to be kind. In the right measure.

Now, you might say, manage your child so they don’t DO all this whining and haranguing. And your theory would be correct. And you would be right to say so. The problem is, we can’t hear you. (You just have to watch this. It's only about 45 seconds but sums it up perfectly.)

Be sure to visit 30 Day Throw Down! for healthy eating and to join us on our journey. Monthly contests. :)

Copyright 2009

Lovers’ Leap

Grizzly and I had a chance to get away a few weeks ago. We don’t do this very often. Our kids were seven and eleven the first time we went out of town without them. We didn’t repeat it until last year. I don’t know if that makes us pathetic paramours, conscientious homeschooling parents (who can never see or do anything without commenting “Wouldn’t the kids love this?”), or simply lazy, but I’m pretty sure it’s all three.

However, last year we took the leap, left the kids here – kids who couldn’t have been happier to wave good-bye to us – and went to Cambria, on the central coast of California. Lovely. Refreshing. Full of reminders of why, after 23 years, we have consistently refrained from killing each other when it truly seemed the only logical answer more than once. We vowed to repeat these getaways more often, even if only for a night out. We didn’t. Life happened. The economy happened.

Then Bo stepped in. Bo, my college girl. For our birthdays, she bought us two nights in the little Cambria cabin we love. And then she told us to go away. And she made reservations for us so we couldn't weenie out.

Grizzly insisted he support my blog by buying a decent camera. He also thinks my blog needs an airplane, flying lessons, an extended trip to Hawaii, and three years on sabbatical. We traded off shooting photos, hence my shot of our feet. This is proof he had his chance to live peacefully ever after – I’m positioned in front of him – but he demurred. By the way, this is the best picture I have ever appeared in. From now on, when asked to be part of a group photo, I will stand out of the frame and simply insert my foot. I have thin feet and ankles. That’s where all thinness ends.

Now look at Grizzly’s work. He has an eye for beauty and I may be biased, but the man has talent. I’m wondering what he could do with a camera AND an airplane. In Hawaii. He comes alive with nature as his subject. One of his first jobs as a teen was delivering flowers and he likes to photograph them.

No trip is complete until you get to know the locals. These are friends we made.

Some treasure we found.

The photographer. I found this treasure years ago. It has grown immensely in value. But it is privately owned and will never be traded on the open market.

Copyright 2009

Be sure to visit 30 Day Throw Down! for healthy eating and to join us on our journey. Monthly contests. :)

Observational Twitter 20

Famous Quote:

Tomorrow is the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy man. ~Jimmy Lyons

Obscure Quote:

Tomorrow is NOT the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy man. I think I'm pretty excited about the day after tomorrow, cheered substantially over next week, and positively euphoric regarding the twelfth of never. ~Robynn


Copyright 2009

Click HERE to join us in the healthy eating challenge at 30 Day Throw Down! and your chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card.

New post at 30 Day Throw Down!

Grizzly's Asian Twin

This isn't in english but it doesn't need to be. Vigilant fathers everywhere speak the same language. It takes less than a minute but is even funnier the next time you watch it because you know EVERYTHING. I'm STILL laughing. :)

New post up at 30 Day Throw Down! Recipes, photos, and derangement await you. Don't forget to sign up to follow (and comment, letting me know) if you take part in the 30 Day Throw Down! challenge. It's your ticket to a chance at a $100 Amazon Gift Card!

Okay, It’s Official. I’m Insane.

New post up at 30 Day Throw Down! It has recipes and pictures, finally. Thank you, Grizzly. You are a photog extraordinaire. :) And I wonder who will make me turn 200? Whoever you are, you will make my day, my month. I will even rename the month in your honor.

I have decided I can do it all and look fetching at the same time.

I will now voluntarily operate TWO blogs. The official launch of the "30 Day Throw Down!" blog has taken place. (I actually typed lunacy just now instead of launch – I’m frightened.) Now you can find out all about everything we're doing in one nice, neat little package right HERE. And I can get back to writing about my other life.

The one where I make mountains out of mole hills, or laundry, or Q-tips I've discovered that Minky, my border collie, has been chewing the heads off of and hiding from me. She fishes them out of the garbage can in the bathroom. That has a huge "Ewwwww!" factor. I wish I had never known this. I wish you didn't either. But now you do and there's nothing I can do about it.

It's this type of richness you come for. I know that. And now I can get back to it. But while I do, I'll be eating real food. Good food. Excellent food. And I'll be reporting about it, and about you, and squeezing in more info and a recipe or two, and shooting photos, and contacting sponsors, and homeschooling my 14-year-old son, and trying to wash some underwear now and then and cook a meal. If you need me, I'll be on the closet floor resting. In the fetal position.

I'd hire help but the $22.00 I've earned from Ad Sense in the nine months I've been blogging is all I could offer. And it seems the truly competent people are looking for at least $23.00. So, it's me. And it's you. And I'm reclaiming Robynn's Ravings.

(P.S. If you love me, and you've proven over and over again that you do, despite very good evidence why you shouldn't, will you please sign up to follow over at the 30 Day Throw Down? It would be much appreciated! :0) ) The official new blog address is http://30daythrowdown.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2009

30 Day Throw Down! Begins Today!

If we are what we eat, and we’re eating real food, then we should become more real as time goes by. Real healthy, real energized, real connoisseurs of all things delicious and nurturing. (Please forgive my lack of suffixes in the preceding sentence – I’m running low and am forced to economize.) Yes, we will be partakers and makers of the delicious and nurturing. I want to be nurturing. I’m a mother. We nurture.

And if I eat fast food then I’ll be fast. And who wants their mother to be known as fast? Even if she’s a biker chick.

And so we will drive right by the fast, the easy (yeah, better leave that one alone too), and the nutritionally bereft choices that have substituted for real food. And we will feel victorious because we will be.

And guess what?

The more I find out about this company…….

…….the more I love them. They use fair trade beans for the beans that fill their burritos. They use meats from animals raised happily and humanely. They build restaurants with our neighborhoods and the earth in mind. Even their napkins are from recycled paper. They are a superb dining-out choice.

And now, MORE happy news to share.

Nina Plank, author of Real Food and a woman I have long admired, has generously offered to donate copies of her highly informative and compelling book for our monthly giveaways as we continue. She writes in a down-to-earth style that makes you feel like you’re hanging out with a good friend. I’ve given this book as a gift more than once because it’s an eye-opening page turner written in an engaging style. Barnes & Noble has this to say on their website:

“Hailed as the “patron saint of farmers’ markets” by the Guardian and called one of the “great food activists” by Vanity Fair’s David Kamp, Nina Planck is single-handedly changing the way we view “real food.” A vital and original contribution to the hot debate about what to eat and why, Real Food is a thoroughly researched rebuttal to dietary fads and a clarion call for the return to old-fashioned foods.

Nina Planck grew up in Virginia selling vegetables at farmers’ markets and later created the first farmers’ markets in London, England. In New York City, she ran the legendary Greenmarkets. Nina also wrote The Farmers’ Market Cookbook and hosted a British television series on local food. Her latest company, Real Food, runs markets for traditional foods in American cities.”

Can you believe she said, “Heck yeah!” and decided to bring her books to the party? Well, I’m not sure that’s exactly what she said but she’s so REAL herself, I’m sure it was along those lines. So not only will we feel better, look better, and BE better, we’re also headed for rockin’ good times around here. I’ll keep you posted as more sponsors sign on.

Okay. Go forth and conquer, and prosper, and digest, and ruminate on all your good choices. We’re in this together. Let’s eat – for REAL!

Copyright 2009

THIS IS IT. Are You Ready?!

The 30-Day Throw Down! begins Tuesday, September 1, 2009.

DON'T FORGET! If you want to be entered into the $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway, you MUST sign up to follow this blog and write a comment letting me know, "I'm in and I'm following."

Here are your final details.

Our first objective: Say good-bye to fast food for 30-Days and get in touch with your inner healthy eater. Your body – MY body – longs to be fed. The fatter we are, the easier we get sick, or the less energy we have, the more likely it is we are starving ourselves. This may not be true in terms of food volume, but we are depriving ourselves of life-giving food filled with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients (the stuff you get from all the gorgeous colors in fruits and veggies), enzymes, and trace elements that are essential to good health and well being. God created it without pesticides and chemicals and he created our bodies to extract every good thing possible. So with that in mind, let’s go.

One example of what not to eat:

THE MAIN THING:

MOST IMPORTANT – DROP FAST FOOD. Eat whole foods as often as possible. Make healthy choices when eating out.

ALSO IMPORTANT: Avoid HIGHLY (key word here) processed foods at the grocery store which are just fast foods, or convenience foods, we fool ourselves with by thinking they are healthy options or it doesn’t matter that much. We wink at the fact that they are full of chemicals, flavorings, additives, hydrogenated oils, dyes, emulsifiers, door knobs, and possibly, coat hangers. Okay. The last two were just to see if you were paying attention. For a more complete overview of how to make healthier choices at home and when EATING OUT, read THIS. In the next few days, I’ll be listing label examples of HIGHLY processed foods and the ingredients they include. I think it will be helpful.

DISCLAIMER; I DID NOT WANT TO DO A LONG “AVOID” LIST OF PROCESSED FOODS BECAUSE I DON’T WANT THIS TO SEEM OVERWHELMING. This is as short as I could get it:

Avoid products with MSG. In a different 30-Day period we’ll talk about why and all the different names for it but the BIGGIE is Monosodium Glutamate - MSG. Avoid sodium nitrates or nitrites (mostly found in processed lunch meats and some bacon), and trans fats/hydrogenated oils. Avoid foods that have long lists of ingredients, most of which you don’t understand. Buy organic – IF POSSIBLE and buy local – IF POSSIBLE. If not possible, make your BEST choices and feel good about it. These few changes will go a long way toward taking a load off your liver, or nervous system, and/or blood fats (bad cholesterol and triglycerides – those things the doctor is always on you about).

I have been asked, “What about flour? It’s processed.” And, “What about dairy? Same thing.” Or, “I just CAN’T give up my diet soda. Can I do this anyway?”

The answer to all these questions is, “I need a hair cut. I SERIOUSLY need a hair cut.” I scared myself this morning when I looked in the mirror.

But I’ll try not to think about it for a minute and address your concerns.

Here’s the deal: Remember the rules? “Do Your Best. No, REALLY, do your best.” That’s it. I told you that would be hard. Because your best won’t be perfection. Neither will mine and I’m not convinced they need to be. If we feed our bodies healthy, REAL food most of the time, they can stand up to the occasional assault of bad choices. Our problem, especially as Americans, is we often live the other way around. We eat pretty poorly, especially if we eat fast food a lot, and then think we can regain our health, or proper weight, if we throw in something healthy now and then.

QUESTION TIME:

What if I slip up and find myself at the drive through?

There are no cameras and no police to arrest you. YOU will be asking yourself, “Is this my best?” Only you can answer that. If you cave this time, keep trying! Did you know that research shows ONE MEAL can make a difference in your blood chemistry? For good or bad. Keep going and don’t let one bad meal make you quit. DON’T GIVE UP!

But, what if I can give up fast food and not my diet soda (or regular soda)? Do I even qualify to join you?

Of course! If you can give up fast food, you’re STILL way ahead of the game. Don’t count yourself out. After 30-Days of no fast food, you may find you have the willpower to say goodbye to soda, too. Keep the big picture in mind.

Okay, I gave up fast food but I’m not ready to worry about processed foods. Am I still in?

Again, YES! Because one good choice often leads to another and I’m betting you’ll start thinking more about what you’re feeding yourself.

But what about if I already eat well?

You’re WAY ahead of the game so start trying to find organic and locally grown as much as possible. And increase your veggies, especially raw. It’s where most of us are lacking even when we eat well.

And if I’m already doing all that?

Then start growing your own organic grains and grinding your own wheat and baking bread for the rest of us! And please ship us your grass-fed beef and free-range chickens! And weigh in here frequently and tell us how you do it all. Because you are much admired and I honestly have NO idea.

There are multi-levels and ways of doing this.

Will I buy flour? Yes. Mind you, I buy organic, and mostly whole-grain flour but I’m not growing and grinding my own. Don’t I think buying fresh, recently grown grains, and grinding them into the flour I will be using to bake our bread is the best way? Well ABSOLUTELY! It’s just that most of us will not live that way and don’t find it sustainable due to busy schedules and full, demanding lives. So then we quit in a puddle of failure, drive through “Diabetes R Us,” and give up. This isn’t “all or nothing.” This is a very healthy and balanced “SOMETHING.” And it is HUGE.

Will I buy milk? Yes. But I will, and do, buy organic milk. If it costs more, we drink less. And I supplement with raw milk which is readily available in California. We’ve also been drinking raw milk for over three years. Luscious. If you have questions about this, I’ll be glad to do a posting and send links to great sites.

Will I buy bread or bake it?

Yes. The End. We need bread. But when I buy it, and I WILL, I will look for organic bread, preferably with sprouted grains. Costco carries organic bread and Trader Joe’s carries organic, sprouted grain breads. Also, Trader Joe’s has committed to trying not to buy foods that contain GMO’s (genetically modified organisms). They will not guarantee that it never happens as there can be cross-contamination but that is their desire and goal in all their foods.

Will I drink soda? No. Not diet or anything else. And we don’t use any artificial sweeteners.

Will I eat sugar or chocolate? If the world continues to revolve in 24 hour cycles and does not come to a complete halt, then the answer is yes. If not, then I’m getting off anyway. Now mind you, it will be only OCCASIONALLY and I will TRY to substitute raw honey, or rapadura (raw unprocessed cane sugar – sort of powdery) but it won’t always happen and I will not consider myself a failure. When I eat chocolate – oh, chocolate, have I told you lately how flat, dark, and handsome you are? – I will use or eat dark chocolate, and if possible, organic. In other words, REAL FOOD, not food made to SEEM real.

Will I buy canned goods? Yes. Because I’m not making a pot of beans everyday, or canning my own tomato sauce. If you do, WONDERFUL! but I can’t manage it. So I will be buying organic and made in the U.S.A. (check all labels for country of origin where standards might not be as high as ours and THAT’s saying a LOT…ahem….I’ll stop there). Again, I’ll be showing some label comparisons in a few days but look for SIMPLE, EASILY RECOGNIZABLE INGREDIENTS. NO MYSTERIES. Your food should not be worthy of a C.S.I. episode.

To repeat: This is about making HEALTHY CHANGES. A little at a time. Slowly. In 30-Day increments. This isn’t about thinking of your food 24 hours a day. You know why? I’ve thought about food 24 hours a day. I’ve taken our family down to eating 15 different kinds of food for eight weeks to find out what we are sensitive to. It was hard. It was amazingly informative. What it wasn’t was sustainable.

As a VERY wise 19th century newspaper editor named George Dennison Prentice once put it: “What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn’t much better than tedious disease.” I know that to be true.

SO LET’S NOT COMPLICATE IT!

30-Days from now we will move on to the next 30-Day phase which will be exercise. We will look at ways to incorporate a little or a lot, depending on our individual abilities. But we’ll get moving. And we’ll commit to each other to “DO OUR BEST” if we want to continue on.

My vision for this is a year of 30-Day increments where we change habits a little at a time, slowly adding up to big, significant changes that can impact our health, the health of our families for years to come, and the way we grow our food. But I simply CAN’T do everything all at once. I’m thinking it might be hard for you, too. I’m positive we’ll all be an encouragement to each other. You are not obligated in ANY WAY to continue on, but I think you may want to. I quit fast food three weeks ago – and so did Grizzly, Bo, and The Wild Man. We all feel better for it. We’re all committed to continuing.

And there will be incentives to continue! Even now, I’m negotiating with sponsors who will be supporting our efforts through great giveaways. A big THANK YOU to Chipotle who wants to support our healthy efforts by offering giveaways! They will not be shaping or dictating what we do. They will be supporting what we’re already doing.

One last thing……

PLEASE DO THIS: Make a few tiny notes (or huge long paragraphs if you’re desperately compelled to do so like, uh, certain people I may or may not know and who may or may not author blogs known as Robynn’s Ravings) about any positive change you see. It’s EASY to forget GOOD THINGS and think nothing is different. I have already noticed changes in my skin and weight, and a slight increase in energy (even though I had the usual reaction to medicine which ALWAYS impacts my liver and leaves me in pain and with a liver that doesn’t want to show up for work.) Write it down and share it with us along the way as well as your own readers, if you blog.

And share this with a family member or friend. Don’t become an obnoxious food nazi. But when they ask why you’re packing your own lunch or why YOUR food looks SO much better than theirs, tell them. Gently. Don’t do what I did to a sweet friend who recently asked a bunch of us about all these ideas. I think we opened up a fire hose of information on her. She went away shell shocked. I'm grateful she’s still speaking to me. Use me as a terrible warning.

Time to gird our loins. Time to put on the gloves. Time to kick some serious fast food booty. Let’s THROW DOWN!

(The 30-Day Throw Down! will soon have its own blog so that information about what we’re doing is readily accessible and you won’t have to hunt for back articles.)

Copyright 2009

Biking Leather and Other Good Advice

Okay....you guys are ALL TOO GOOD TO ME!!!! I have received so much love and encourgement about Bo that I can’t boo-hoo another second.

You gave me comfort, commiseration, hope, and even some great advice and offers of more Kleenex. Then there was Lisa. Lisa who just had surgery and is having to take drugs. I like her a lot. I like her drugged up. I told her she should have surgery and drugs more often and give professional counseling. Her advice yesterday was full of wisdom. Today, it was positively inspirational. This is what she said:

……"Oh...I can't wait for you to discover the future!! It is a very beautiful thing!! Until then, start looking for something you and hubby can start doing together! Ever thought of Christian Bikers? I think you would look great in leather! Ok,..its time for me to lay off the narcotics.”

Really, Lisa? You see me as a biker chick? Yeah, I think I’m catchin' the vision.......

Copyright 2009

If you’re looking for info on joining us in the 30-Day Throw Down starting September 1st and your chance at a $100 Amazon gift card, click here for details!

Ima Bawlin’

Okay. I’m just gonna say it straight out. I’m a blubbering mess. Well, I was yesterday. I sat at Teresa’s, my dear friend, (thank you, Lord, for friends who just have to put up with us) and made her watch while I used up her whole box of Kleenex. My way of life with this first born child has come to an end as college began for her on Monday. I homeschooled her for 13 years. And I raised her for this day. Now I’m beating down my friend’s door and gettin’ her couch wet and throwin’ tissues all over her floor.

Do you see this girl?

This happy girl?

This laughing, spirited, carefree girl?

Her mother looks nothing like this.

Her mother has separation anxiety. But that’s not new for me. I find it hard to say good-bye to people I make friends with in the grocery store line.

Not this girl. This girl is a mover-on-er. She’s pretty sure the world is her oyster and she’s crackin’ open every shell.

I’m pretty sure I’m going back to bed.

But I’ll survive. I’ll dry up. Life is about adjustment. And letting go. And moving on. And celebrating change. And embracing the joy of new discoveries.

What a lot of crappy platitudes. Where’s my Kleenex?!

Copyright 2009

Death Defying Parenting + 30-Day Info

If you’re looking for info on joining us in the 30-Day Throw Down starting September 1st and your chance at a $100 Amazon gift card, click here for details!

______________________________

Today is the first day of the rest of my sanity. Bo starts college today and she is 800% ready, willing, and able. She’s pushing back, reaching out, and stampeding forward. I feel like I’m locked in a chute with a raging bull at a rodeo and killing myself to get to the gate pull to let it escape. Forget riding the thing for 8 seconds. I’m just gonna run out behind, wave my hat at y’all, and let you clap for me that I survived the lock up. I don't mind hanging my head that I didn't even try and stay on. Yeehaw, girly! You go and head right for those clowns and barrels. I’ll be the one in the stands watchin’ you bounce and buck and beller as my life (and yours) flashes before me.

I had time to reflect on all this as Grizzly and I did the couples thing over the weekend in Cambria, at the beach. Don’t we all adore our children in absentia? It’s similar to watching them sleep. They seem perfectly angelic as the day’s madness drifts away. I had time to think about their baby days and all the sweetness and dear moments of mother/child bonding. I am THRILLED I got to become a mother. It almost didn’t happen. I went through four years of infertility, treatment, surgery, miscarriages, and obsession. That seems so distant now but was very present and overwhelming then. And I’m grateful beyond words we were blessed and I became a mother. But I’m beginning to think learning NOT to mother may be equally as hard. I think I have some death-defying lessons ahead but I’m gonna do my personal best to stay out of the bull pen.

By the way, I hope to get pics of Cambria up for you guys tomorrow. If I ever become technically savvy enough to transfer them out of Grizzly’s computer into mine, filter them through Picasa, upload them to my blog photo file, and then drop them into Windows Live Writer WITHOUT ASSISTANCE AND GREAT GNASHING OF TEETH, I will undoubtedly cause pig’s to fly. Let’s hope they are organic and raised humanely. Then, let’s eat them. (My apologies to all you vegans.)

Which brings up my next exciting news.

I contacted Chipotle about supporting our efforts during the 30-Day Throw Down. Our first 30-Days will eliminate fast food and highly processed foods. Our next 30-Days will address another aspect to be announced. And so on and so forth, taking us through a year of healthy habits. Chipotle contacted me and is very supportive. I will be talking to them more and finding out about their offer of giveaways. I will also be contacting other folks about participating in our efforts and hope to bring you reasons (besides FEELING better!) and giveaways that will encourage you to continue on the journey, 30-Days at a time.

I need this! I’ve been doing it for two weeks already and can attest to the difference I feel, and also the difference I feel when I don’t. I’ve been my own test subject with a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing goin’ on. Cambria was an eye opener but I’ll leave that for the next few days.

In the meantime, love yourself enough to spend 7 minutes to watch something that will educate you about a different way of doing business and growing food. Gear up to support your efforts and invest in yourself. Steve Ellis, founder of Chipotle was interviewed on “Nightline.” And I am highly impressed with what he’s doing.

By the way, their slogan? “Slow food, fast.” More and more of these types of restaurants will pop up when we, as consumers, vote with our dollars.

Happy Monday to you and if you started homeschooling today, waved good-bye as you dropped off your kiddos at school, or, like me, survived the stampede of the college student, please know my heart is with you. It must be. I find I’m missing SEVERAL body parts since the rodeo.

Copyright 2009

30-Day Throw Down!

BULLETIN UPDATE! How great to see so many coming in and wanting to do the healthy dance! Please don't forget if you've commented "I'm in," you need to click the "FOLLOW" button to be entered into the drawing for the $100 Amazon Gift Card (unless you already follow). If you're not sure, just click the follow button and it will let you know. THANK YOU!

__________________________________________________

So, I told you we were working on something. Here it comes. And I'm SO hoping you'll help me spread the word.

What Is It?

A challenge. And a chance at a $100 Amazon Gift Card.

Is It Complicated?

No, it’s simple and it’s free. It’s SO simple it’ll drive you crazy and you’ll want to add all kinds of rules and complicated information. I think simplicity is so simple it’s hard. Is that perfectly clear now?

This is a challenge for 30 Days – only 30 Days - to THROW DOWN FAST FOOD.

Launch Date: September 1, 2009.

(An “appetizing” example of the Not-So-Great American Diet.)

Are You Nuts?

Yes. Thanks for asking.

But we’ll eat healthier food, undoubtedly feel better, maybe increase our energy, or quit giving our scales a nervous breakdown every time they see us coming. Personally, mine is in therapy. It’s the least I could do after all the trauma I’ve caused it. I’ve also been known to avoid the doctor because people there insist on weighing me. Lately, I refuse unless they let me strip down to my underwear in the middle of the office. I didn’t eat my jeans. Why should I have to weigh them? Try it. They will never ask to weigh you again.

But I do realize I have a few issues. (See the answer to the question, “Are You Nuts?”)

Uh, How Do You Define “FAST FOOD?”

It isn’t only our favorite burger or taco place. It’s processed foods, too. Not swinging through “Big and Beefy – And That’s Just YOU!” doesn’t really work if we go home, throw a frozen dinner covered in plastic into the microwave, and slam a soda. That’s fast food from the grocery store.

My family and I wanted to see if we could MAKE ourselves, if only for 30 Days, know WHAT we’re eating and try to eat whole foods as much as possible. We already shop at Farmers’ Markets, buy locally grown most of the time, look for organic sources, and like to think we care about what’s going in our guts. Because trust me, when we look down, we realize…..they hold a LOT, so that’s important.

Okay, You Sound Holy. So, What’s Your Problem, Man?

We’re lying to ourselves. We are converts in our heads and total heathens in our guts. We still fast food it way too much. A pizza here, a cheeseburger there, a taco or burrito anywhere. And of course, my 14-year-old son’s favorite - imitation processed cheese product look-a-like that you pour over GMO (genetically modified organism) corn chips. (Any real relation to actual food is completely coincidental. Product restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited.)

And the reality is, when we do this, we don’t feel good. I mean, we REALLY don’t feel good. And why would we? What God put on this earth to feed us has been so adulterated, it’s hardly recognizable anymore.

Who Elected YOU The Big Food Sheriff?

I’m not challenging you because I have already arrived. I’m fat. I’m barreling down life’s highway seriously over the legal cheeseburger limit. I’m operating heavy machinery while in a pizza induced state. I’m driving while indoctrinated. I have allowed myself to believe that fast food and processed food can stand in as a decent substitute in a pinch. Well, I actually haven’t believed that for years but denial is a gift and it allows you to skip meal preparation or grocery shopping. And busyness and health issues offer yet more opportunities to fall by the wayside.

But this isn’t a beat-you-up, guilt inducing 30-day trek. This is a wake-up call. This is a belief that most of us can do almost anything for 30 days to improve our lives. Unless you don’t need to.

Maybe you live remotely and NEVER eat fast or processed foods. You are so far removed from this nonsense you can’t even identify with me. Maybe you grow your own food. If so, I’m in love with you and you have my undying admiration. May I stay with you for six months while I detox? It could get ugly. When do you want me?

But if your more like me than you want to admit publicly (and I am not offended if you prefer to act as though you’ve never even heard my name, not once in your whole life........including today), then you might want to do something about it.

The rules are amazingly simple.

Rules:

DO THE BEST YOU CAN. (But no, REALLY do the best you can.) And if no one will do it with you, do the best you can. See? Simple.

How Do We Pull THIS off?

The first question my son asked was, “What if I’m with somebody else and their parents take us to a fast food place?” We believe, for the most part, unless the meal is laced with out-an-out e-coli, mad cow disease, a known allergen, or arsenic, one meal probably isn’t going to derail you. However, we advised him to make as healthy a choice as possible. Choose a salad, see if they have fruit, opt for grilled cheese, reach for water, try the yogurt.

And we aren’t saying don’t eat out at all. But choose a real-food restaurant if you do. Opt for salads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. Utilize real cheeses, not processed cheese products. Get whole cuts of meat instead of ground (at least it comes from only one source unless you know they grind their own on the premises). Go for the baked potato or wild rice instead of french fries. Avoid “farmed” fish and ask for wild caught. Share a fruit dessert or something dark chocolate. Or, in the interest of cutting down on sugar (another highly processed food), forego it altogether.

Daily, plan ahead with the old brown bag. Fill it with healthy, whole choices the night before. Include raw veggies and fruits. Choose organic and local, if at all possible. Say NO to soda, including diet. Drink filtered water or, if you just HAVE to, top it off with a little bit of fruit juice while you adjust to foregoing the soda. Cruise through your favorite coffee place and enjoy your daily cup-of-the-Joe, Americano, or tea, but blow off the cafe-latte-dahs and froo-froo drinks packed with sweeteners of all kinds.

Now, this is where it can get harder but, if at all possible, avoid factory-farmed meats and look to local growers, or those who farm sustainably and who have grazing cattle eating grasses and herbs, pigs that can forage and root, or chickens that are free-range. That’s how animals are designed to eat.

I realize this isn’t always possible with meat, due to costs. It isn’t for us either, believe me, but we try to eat meat like this if we find good bargains and sometimes we absolutely do. Every little change, and every meal, adds up – for your health…..or not.

THE KEY – ALSO KNOWN AS “THE MAIN THING”

Meal plan with fresh, whole foods as much as possible. Buy organic IF you can – buy local IF you can. The End. Keep it simple. If you can’t, make your best selections and say, “Yahoo!” because you’re still FAR AHEAD of the fast food game and your consistently moving toward better and better eating.

We can do this. It’s only 30 DAYS. Quit on September 30th if you’re suffering and feel miserable. (I’m betting you won’t be, on either count.) By the way, this isn’t a political idea. I have no hidden agendas. All my agendas are available for public viewing and parades, as well as limited soapbox and high-horse engagements. I am not a vegetarian and will not become one. You’ll go insane trying to convert me and I would hate that for you. I KNOW all the choices. This one is mine. But if you are a vegetarian, you are highly esteemed. Please send me recipes to make my veggies all that they can be and help them realize their full potential.

Contingencies

Now, if life happens, and it does, here’s your contingency plan: know in advance where you can find quick, healthier food vs. fast food. In some areas of California, Pizza Fusion offers organic pizza and sandwiches. Chipotle dishes up super fast service and healthy choices including offering meat from animals raised humanely and sustainably. (You’ll be AMAZED at their philosophy and their food when I post about it.) You might want to forego the white rice in their burritos and get more beans, peppers, onions, salsa, lettuce, and lean meat. And these burritos are huge. You can easily share one and cut your costs in half, though they are already extremely reasonable. Whole Foods has a salad bar with EVERYthing, though the prices can be a little steeper. Trader Joe’s has a salad-in-a-box for $3.00 or so. Look for organic any time you can. And these recommendations aren’t even the tip of the iceberg. Options are regional. Your thoughts are needed and welcome about what’s available in your area. Share what you find in the comments section or email me. I’ll post it here and we’ll help each other.

And if you’re concerned that you might find yourself caught between a rock and a cheeseburger, reference the advice to my 14-year-old son and then go one step farther: Plan ahead. Pull up the websites of the fast food restaurants you normally frequent and look at the calorie and nutrition content of their foods, ask where their meat is coming from, and find out how it’s prepared. Based on that, make healthier choices ahead of time.

These ideas will freak out the purists among us who won’t think this goes nearly far enough. But I believe in keeping the MAIN THING the MAIN THING. And this IS our main thing – for 30 DAYS. Nearly everything you read about healthier eating changes everything about your life almost immediately. Personally, that hasn’t worked for me. It’s often an “all or nothing” or “pass and fail.” But most of us can’t eat, won’t eat, or DON’T eat perfectly every day. This is a nod to real life. IT happens. If you fall off the wagon, RUN (you’ll burn a calorie), and get back on. Don’t let it leave without you. And if you fall off, you haven’t failed so DON’T give up. This is about the process. This is about 30-Day increments.

What Gave You THIS Hare-brained Idea?

One thing, among many others, was watching the movie “Food, Inc.” I highly recommend it and if it’s not already, it should be out on DVD very shortly. Through the years we’ve watched similar movies or documentaries and felt they were eye-opening. But in Food, Inc. I heard things I already knew, found out things I needed to know, and heard my own food beliefs echoed. I did chafe at an example they used which I felt was not well thought out. (I’ll talk about it and give them the FIX in my next 30-Day Throwdown! post.)

It got us talking and debating, and tickled our cerebellums, or amygdalas, or pre-frontal cortexes. Whatever it was, we found our brains still working and decided to utilize them. I required my kids to watch it as part of their school curriculum. I’ve been proselytizing about many of the ideas for years. But sometimes they (read I) need to see it and hear it from an outside source. It worked.

So, Is This a Food Blog?

Nope. Not even close. This is usually a humor blog, if I’m lucky. It’s about everything, and will continue to be. But every day of our lives includes food that fuels us, or not, so it seems relevant. And anytime we join together and support one another, it’s easier, more fun, and we’re accountable.

What’s In It For Me?

A healthier lifestyle. Being in touch with what you’re eating. Maybe losing some weight. Maybe not. You can still get fat on too much good, healthy food even though your body is better nourished. Trust me. I’ve gotten fat any way possible. (Considering portions is a good idea whatever you’re eating. And I’ve considered them. I just haven’t considered limiting them nearly often enough.) But this isn’t about changing EVERYthing. This is about changing a couple of things, making it doable, and taking first steps. When we end up evaluating ourselves at the end of 30 Days, we, our family, will continue on, adding more healthy habits in the aforementioned 30 Day increments.

You can come with us. In a year, we’ll be more aware, healthier, leaner, and we’ll even save a BOAT LOAD of garbage. (Think of how much we throw away with every fast food visit.) So it’s even a green idea.

Where Does The $100 Amazon Gift Card Come In?

If we do it, I truly believe we’ll all win. But one person, on October 1st, 2009, will win a $100 Amazon gift card. How you might ask? So glad you did.

1. Sign up to follow AND leave a comment saying you did. That’s a must. I’ll collect names everyday during our 30 Day Throw Down! and add them to the drawing. All you have to write is: “I’m following and I’ll do it!” Feel free to write more if you’re inspired. (The follow button is to the right – over the photos of other followers, and the comment button appears at the end of this post. Just click on it to comment. Sorry if that’s highly detailed but I’ve had people who truly didn’t realize how they CAN comment and I don’t want anyone left out.)

2. If you already follow, THANK YOU!! But you still need to leave a comment letting me know, “I’ll do it!”

3. If you BLOG about it on your site and link your readers back to this article by using this code http://robynnsravings.blogspot.com/2009/08/30-day-throw-down.html - leave me a comment with a link to your post and, I'll enter you again! (I hope you deem this worthy of sharing with your readers.)

THE WINNER OF THE GIFT CARD WILL BE INTERVIEWED HERE ON THEIR MONTH-LONG JOURNEY AND HAVE A POST DEDICATED TO THEM. (Privacy and identifying details will be respected unless you love the limelight! Then, I’ll link everyone to your blog, if you have one.)

That’s it. Let’s THROWDOWN!! For 30-DAYS!

Copyright 2009 - 30-Day Throw Down! Copyright 2009