Karen Knowler asked us to think of three things to describe how we feel after eating the things we've been eating over the past day, or so. My three thoughts: Sluggish, full, comforted. The heavier raw foods (primarily the nuts and dates) make my digestion sluggish. When I'm feeling a bit depressed (not enough sun), I go for that full, comforting feeling that cooked food used to give me. My body has been telling me over and over that all it wants is water, but then there's a voice in my head that tells me that I need to make sure I'm getting enough nourishment and protein. Many times I force myself to eat and I end up feeling full and sluggish and not comforted at all. Today I had water, water, and more water followed by a banana for a late breakfast. I felt great and more energized until I ate a salad that had nuts and seeds for lunch. Right now, I am feeling full and tired after eating even more nuts with some fresh salsa and lettuce. And you know what? My body is telling me again: Water, water, water!!

So, maybe for a day or two I will listen to what my body is saying. Seriously, what can two days, or so, do if I don't eat balanced meals? Most Americans are lucky if they are getting a balanced meal once a week, probably. Starting tomorrow I will follow what my body is telling me. Well, actually I'll start tonight and get a pitcher of water to drink from until I go to sleep. Okay, now my mind is wondering what will happen to all the fresh foods that are in the fridge if my body doesn't say it wants to eat those things. I'll just see how this goes for a few days...listening to what my body wants to eat and drink.

Today I had water up until 1pm. I started to get hungry around then, so I ate the salad my husband had prepared (baby greens, tons of sprouts, carrots, celery, few chopped nuts/seeds, lemon, flax and olive oil, salt). It was a huge salad and I ate it all even though I wasn't really hungry for it. I followed that up with a tiny piece of carob fudge because even though I wasn't hungry, it looked good when my husband and daughter were eating it.

So, now I'm back to listening again and all I keep hearing is water, water, water. So, water it shall be. :-D  In the back of my mind I keep thinking about that banana on the kitchen counter, so I'll take that with me when I head out for a few hours in a bit.

Okay, maybe it's not a good idea to follow what my body wants as far as food when I'm going to be out for a few hours. I ate the salad yesterday and was full. Then right before I had to take my daughter out for a few hours, I started to get a little bit hungry. So, I grabbed the last banana (bananas are very filling to me) and a small wedge of the carob fudge in case either I or my daughter got hungry on our way home in the evening. The banana ended up being too ripe and 3/4 of it fell to the ground. Of the 1/4 that was left, about half of that was too bruised to eat. So, the tiny bit of banana I ate made me super hungry and I ate all of the fudge that I had with me. I was fine after that. I had my water and that's all I really wanted. By the time we were headed to pick up my husband for work, I started to get the familiar you-haven't-eaten-enough headache and I looked through my coat pockets to find something to eat. I had some organic spicy raw nuts that are super expensive, but very tasty, so I ate those and shared them with my daughter. Then when we finally got home I ate a salad with a "taco" nut topping and salsa, ate some more fudge, and made myself a magnesium CALM (hoping to take away the headache). The headache didn't fade, so I soaked in the tub and went to bed early.

I feel fine today, but it really isn't a good idea for me to wait until I'm hungry, I think. I don't get hungry for a long time and then when I finally do get hungry I end up getting a headache. :-(  It's probably all tied to the insulin resistance. I'm still going to listen to my body's request for more and more water, however. That message is coming through loud and clear.

=============LATER ADDITION===========

Read more: Not a good idea

A good friend of mine forwarded this to me, and I sent out over 50 emails right away to those I thought might be able to do something about it. Jinjee wrote back saying she would have her editor interview the almond board to see what's going on. I've heard back from some of the scientists on the almond board, who know nothing about this, it seems. :-/  

I will no longer buy almonds if this is what happens, unless I can import them from reliable sources outside the US. 

Read more: No more raw almonds?!

I didn't sleep well last night because of my frustration about the almond pasteurization. I sent out over 100 emails, now, and have been corresponding with the chair of the almond board. He's an ass. I doubt he'll write again. Anyway, I went to a live food forum and someone there said he thought the ruling only applied to those who are signed up with the almond board ? I want to find out if this is true, or not. If it's true, all I have to do is make sure our co op purchases almonds from growers who don't follow the almond board rule. 

My dreams last night were strange and interlaced in weird ways. I was in a courtroom, a place I didn't want to be (this relates to something in my RL) and I was upset about the rulings and that I was forced to be there. A woman was talking about homeopathic medicine being related to her theory of how to make children behave. She said with homeopathic medicine you give the sick a dose of something that causes the same sickness and it cures them. She said with unruly children, you scald their skin with boiling water from head to toe, causing "4th" degree burns, and this teaches them. I was outraged, shocked, horrified at what she was saying. She believed it 100% and couldn't understand why I was so upset. I know, now that I'm awake, that the children are the almonds and the scalding is the 4-log treatment that the almonds are going to be subjected to, in order to kill off any possible bacteria. UGH! I hate that this crap has bothered me so much that it enters my dreams like that. I didn't sleep well at all. At least I know I've done what I can do to save the precious almonds. I hope this (consumers responding) builds to a point where they have to listen, where they cease their decision to kill the almonds.