Welcome to my blog
Should I Post My “Before and Afters”?
I’d love your thoughts on a serious subject that I’ve been thinking about for a while: my own “before and after” photos.
I sometimes get the feedback from people who are struggling with compulsive eating that they don’t totally feel they can relate to me, because all my pictures of myself up on my blog and social media are of me since I have healed a lot of my compulsive eating, and generally looking pretty happy and healthy (which I am now). Many of the people I work with (though not all) have weight issues due to compulsive eating and feel their extra weight is unhealthy or uncomfortable, and may have a lot of emotional pain about struggling with weight, too. I was in the same place, as I’ve written lots about, and yet there aren’t any pictures of when I was overweight.
Pineapple Green Smoothie – A Radical Radiance Recipe
Hi again! I’ve been on a kick with this green smoothie for a few days now; I can’t get enough! I thought I’d share it with you, too. It’s a bit more of a fruity smoothie, but works well for pre-workout, which is what I planned for this morning. I personally find my body can handle fruit well if I don’t combine too many other types of foods with it, and if I also get some good dark greens somewhere else in the day. This smoothie makes me think of spring, and even though it’s still a little chilly outside, I know it’s going to be a staple for the hot summer weather that is slowly approaching!
Guest Post: Mary Ann’s 7-Day Juice Cleanse
7-day Juice Feast Blog by Mary Ann:
I am an emotional eater. I love chocolate and alcohol – ugh. I have been trying to figure out why I choose to “numb out” and decided that a Juice Feast would help me find the answer. My goal is to unhook from sugar, let my body heal and my cravings cease. And start the road – again – to losing the 40 pounds that HAVE NO BUSINESS ON MY BODY! (Whoa, that sounded a bit angry.) What a thrill to be starting this Feast with the wisdom and guidance from Courtney, who coached me through 21-days of juice feasting last March. I had such fun filling my cart with produce as I got ready to plunge into Day One. Tip: Clean out the fridge before you go shopping – it’s a ton of veggies!
Red Bell Pepper Green Juice: A Radical Radiance Recipe
Bell pepper is one of my favorite things to make juice with. I think it tastes good with almost anything! It adds just a tinge of sweet but really isn’t high-glycemic at all. Yum! This juice still is green when it’s done because it just has 1 red bell pepper in it, but feel free to try it with more!
My January 2014 Juice Cleanse: Days 5-7
I have finished my January week-long Juice Cleanse and am glad that I did it! If you didn’t catch my recap of Days 1-4, you can read about it by clicking here. I actually found it to be the easiest winter juice cleanse I’ve done; the cold weather didn’t bother me so much this time around. I just bundled up and used a lot of blankets, and hey, who can say that’s not cozy?
My January 2014 Juice Cleanse: Days 1-4
I have embarked on my first juice cleanse since I moved to Colorado, and this is also the juice cleanse which, as of today, will officially put me over 200 days of juice cleansing total. That’s over about 8 years, but still a big number when I look at it. Those 200 days have been some of the more transformating of my life, partly because of the physical healing, and partly because of the emotional healing.
Reddish Beet Kale Green Juice – A Radical Radiance Recipe
Though this juice is reddish because of the beet, it is a green juice! And it can be fun to introduce people to green juice through juices with beet, because the color isn’t as repulsive as when it’s green. It’s really just placebo, but it’s awesome!
How to Have New Year’s Resolutions and Goals – And Be Nice to Yourself
It’s that time again–the time when millions of people make New Year’s Resolutions for their bodies and health. For the past week, as is typical every year around this time, I’ve seen slews of articles about how to make new years resolutions, what you should make them for, and even, many articles saying, “screw New Year’s Resolutions–they just make you feel bad about yourself.” I don’t have any strong opinion on whether you should have them or not. My feeling is that the most important thing to examine is whether or not you’re being kind to yourself if you’re going to have them.
“Snow Shake” Green Smoothie – A Radical Radiance Recipe
I unintentionally made a very festive smoothie the other day and I decided to re-create it and record all the quantities for you! This is a thick (thought you could make it any consistency you like), really satisfying treat. I say treat because it has a fair amount of fruit in it, but also SO much spinach – a really good greens hit!
Health & Compulsive Eating: How to Get Through the Holidays, Part 1
Happy Holidays! Holidays bring mixed feelings for many people who struggle with eating and weight. Many of us look forward to the holidays in some ways, but simultaneously feel worry (or even dread!) about the possibility of overeating, junk food, and how it will affect our weight. By exploring why we go off the deep end, and what’s behind that behavior, we can prevent a great deal of stress and suffering during the holidays (and any time of year). So, let’s dive in!
Green Juice With Carrot – A Radical Radiance Recipe
Today I decided to go for something a little darker green than my last juice recipe (Parsley Punch Green Juice), with just a little carrot to sweeten. This definitely tastes green, but is oh-so-good for you! It is the kind of green juice, however, that probably wouldn’t be as good if it’s been sitting for a while, so I would recommend drinking this one straight away if you can.
How Anger and Compulsive Eating Are Related
This quote rings true. Suppressed emotions cause problems. One problem they can cause is compulsive eating. We overeat, compulsively eat, or eat too much junk food because we are trying to avoid, suppress or minimize an emotion in that moment. And so, in the process of healing compulsive eating, we all have to face these emotions we have been avoiding, and often haven’t been aware we even have. If these emotions are ones we have wanted to avoid so much that we use food to suppress them, we can imagine they’re not going to be easy ones for us to feel. These emotions can include sadness, grief, fear, pain, loneliness, insecurity, unworthiness, sorrow–anything really. And they can be about “big” things or “little” things. And they can be about the past, the present, or the future.
Chia Porridge “Pudding”: A Radical Radiance Recipe
People often ask me what my favorite meals are, and though I’m a person who prefers variety and so I don’t have a ton of “staples”, chia is definitely a staple in my diet.
Parsley Punch Green Juice: A Radical Radiance Recipe
Hello again, friends! I woke up to a sunny autumn morning and had the joy of getting some new plants for my home. Included is a new plant I’ve never had called a Goldfish, which I’m utterly in love with. As in, I think it’s so pretty I coo at it when I walk by. It is a great morning to make a delicious green juice and share the recipe with you!
Peachy Kale Green Smoothie: A Radical Radiance Recipe
Clearly I am enthusiastic about juice: I coach juice cleansing! However, I do love myself a good green smoothie when I’m not cleansing. This recipe is great if you want a light smoothie that makes you feel energized and alkalized without feeling heavy in your tummy. I often have green smoothies pre- and post- workout. This morning, though, it was my breakfast!
David Rainoshek Interviews Me About Juice Cleansing
One of my mentors in plant-based nutrition and juice cleansing is the amazing David Rainoshek, M.A. whom I studied with to becomig a Juice Feasting Coach. David hosts the website JuiceFeast.com and is a great friend.
My 8-Year Vegan Anniversary!
Well, it’s almost over, but this month marks 8 years eating vegan for me! In honor of this anniversary, I decided to ask all of you via Facebook and Twitter if you had any questions for me. I received some great questions and am looking forward to answering them, Q&A style, right now!
My June Juice Cleanse, Days 5-7
Well, another week of juicy deliciousness is in my health queue! The last few days went very smoothly, as the latter half of a weeklong juice cleanse usually does for most people. I enjoyed making some delicious juice to enjoy with a lovely view. Above is a simple strawberry parsley lemon juice I made and enjoyed in the sun.
My June Juice Cleanse, Days 1-4
Happy and thirsty! This is how I’m feeling on Day 4 of my Juice Cleanse! I do a juice cleanse seasonally, and though I always love and appreciate it, it sure is so nice to do one when it’s warm outside. Philadelphia, where I currently reside, is not only warm but humid, which makes it all the more easy to eat/drink lightly.
Luckily for me, I adore parsley and cilantro so much that getting in lots of leafy greens for my juice is quite easy. For my higher-glycemic allotment, straight-up fresh orange juice is by far my favorite. When I want to go a bit lower sugar, I’ll mix some grapefruit and orange together. I did make a strawberries and fresh mint juice for my fruitier juice one day! Now that’s decadence.
Tips For Managing Social Situations While Juice Cleansing
In our world, food is virtually inseparable from socializing. Food is everywhere and it’s almost always a part of every social situation we are part of. So if you’re considering a juice cleanse, you’re bound to wonder how you will get through it without either offending people because you aren’t eating or boarding up your house and taking shelter as a juicy hermit until you’re done with your juice cleanse. And for many of my Juice Feasters who embark on cleanses several weeks or months in length, that’s a long time to stay in recluse. I’ve covered a few aspects of this in previous blog posts. I talked about how to talk with people about the fact that you’re doing a cleanse in the post Telling Unsupportive People That You’re Cleansing, and I addressed why you must value yourself and your desire to change your health in Why You Deserve To Change Your Diet. Our relationships and interactions with others around diet and cleansing are big topics, so I’ll just cover a few angles of this here.