Bottling the Generosity of a Friend

Last Friday, I went to a friend's house to assist her with a computer project she was working on. I entered her home planning to get straight to work, but she said, "No, you have to eat first," as she generously placed a tray on her table, beautifully arranged with a bowl of strawberries, apples and oranges next to a square plate holding a scoop of hummus, a few thin slices of Manna Bread, later followed by a few Go Raw Spirulina cookies. A pot of tea was also on the tray. The camera on my cell phone didn't do the presentation of this lunch justice, but it was the thought and love behind this act of kindness that really mattered -- thus this post!

This meal was compliments of the friend, whom, about year after I had shared many things with her about raw food, really began adopting a raw-vegan lifestyle and then just watched the weight fall off of her. One day, she recently called asking for a raw or close-to-raw bread she could easily to get her hands on to spread a little avocado or hummus on. That's how Manna bread entered her home. Although Manna Bread, baked at a low temperature, is the bread suggested as a transition bread for those new to eating mostly raw food, I still enjoy a few slices every now and then. I smear a little avocado over a slice or two, top it with sprouts and tomato, and enjoy! ;-)

According to Encyclopedia.com, Manna Bread is "said to be a recipe of the Essenes who lived by the Dead Sea around the beginning of the Christian era."

Thank you for your warm hospitality, Cynthia! Continued Blessings to you! ;-) As I mentioned, you definitely have a Bed & Breakfast business in the making! ;-) The food, outside view, fresh breeze blowing through the window, sincere hospitality, etc., were all just delightful. Thank you so very much!

Hugs,

Penny

Bottling the Ocean

Wow, it has been several weeks since I last blogged. I know it's best when blogs are consistently updated, but during those times I attempt to reduce my computer time, my blog suffers. But, my mission to advocate good health still continues, as I've received wonderful related opportunities in my community (away from the computer). ;-)

Recently, after teaching a class for a firm in Jacksonville, I strolled Jax Beach when the class was over, and this picture is what I captured with the camera on my cell phone at about 8:15 or so at night. My walk was so wonderfully therapeutic. I also managed to capture a little video footage which I will continue to try to add to this entry.

Beach Hugs,

Penny

Bottling Changes and New Plans

Happy May 1.

In my last post, I mentioned doing a freshly-squeezed orange juice and water journey for two weeks. As mentioned, my initial plan was to begin today, but on the day I wrote that post, there were still three days left before May 1 arrived, so I thought...why wait?

Turns out, on April 28, I wasn't as prepared as I needed to be to successfully begin the journey. I did well on water for most of the day...waiting too long to shop for the oranges I needed. Plus, I really wanted to try this journey with a citrus juicer, and still needed to get that, too. So, April 28 didn't go quite as planned. The lesson of the day -- "Be well-prepared before starting out with a journey of this kind."

April 29 -- Still didn't have what I needed, but like the day before, I just consumed water up until a certain point. Then, much earlier in the day, I set off to get my organic oranges and citrus juicer. I found great deals on both. I returned home and got right to work prepping for my juicing session. I juiced and then went outside in the sun to drink my glass of freshly made orange juice. Delicious. A few hours later, I sliced and ate (not juiced) two more of these JUICY oranges. (My son has been enjoying them as much as I have.) I did really well with my water and orange juice plan until later in the evening...when I just wanted to chew something. I then decided these days leading up to May 1 were simply "getting me in the mindset" days, so to speak.

April 30 -- By this day, I had figured out that while I wanted to add more oranges into my days, I didn't want to exclusively drink orange juice for the next 14 days -- especially after seeing some wonderful avocados and mangoes when I was out shopping for oranges. I realized I wanted to embrace all of the raw goodness -- although these oranges I have are mighty good.

"God said, 'See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.' " ~ Genesis 1:29

Yesterday, I contacted a friend of mine and invited her to buddy up for the May 1 journey of all-raw with no flexibility at least for two weeks. She was very open to the idea on such short notice. In fact, she had just come from the grocery store, stocking up on some wonderful fruits and veggies, so she was already prepared without knowing the plan during her time of shopping.

She has a networking event coming up in a couple of weeks...at which time I have some exciting projects coming up, too. I want us to be our best selves for those events, so I think that eating soley what I refer to as "God's foods" over these next few weeks will help us be just that...

...And what a great day to kick-off this "fast" of sorts. May 1.