green smoothie go-to guide

Just so you don't think I abandoned you completely...I'm still thinking of you...just gathering my thoughts :) In the meantime, enjoy this awesome guide!


love & lettuce,
d

so this is love...mhmm mhmm

So, I have a confession to make. I haven't posted in over two weeks because I've fallen pretty far off the bandwagon. It all started the week before my brother's wedding when my family started coming in town. My mom started cooking dinners for everyone and I ended up eating them because I hated feeling left out from my favorite meals with some of my favorite people. Then the wedding came and so did a huge sweet table and lots of left over cookies at my house. I can go on and on about the reasons I went back to eating cooked food pretty quickly, but all they are are excuses. No other person or situation is ever responsible for my decisions or for my health -- I am taking full responsibility. 


It sounds like I'm getting really down on myself for this slip-up, and I'm going to be honest, I've been feeling a little upset with myself. But, this morning, I woke up and shook myself out of the negative self-talk. Life is messy and no matter how hard I aim for perfection, I will always have a little mess in the perfection. Knowing this, I think it's so important to love ourselves not only despite, but for, our imperfections. After all, we're only human, and no one likes a control-freak perfectionist...at least I don't. 


Living with Crohn's isn't a lot of fun, but I'm not about to let it define me. If all I think about 100% of the time is making sure to keep a clean diet, then the joke's on me. I'd be missing out on the life that's happening all around me. There's a balance that I'm still working toward of staying mostly raw and simultaneously enjoying life in all of its abundance. So much of our wellness doesn't necessarily come from the things we do to stay well, but from our attitude toward the life we lead. I've met so many people that are obsessed with their health, and have tried just about everything, but who still tend to be the sickest people I know. 


What are they doing wrong? What have I been doing wrong? I may not know the answer to life's biggest questions, but one thing I'm sure about, people weren't placed on this earth to be sick. I think we were placed here to LOVE, love, and love some more. That includes loving ourselves. And I can speak for myself, the times in my life when my "love tank" was most full, when I felt most perfect in my own skin, I wasn't sick...there was no sign of Crohn's. 


I met an incredible girl last spring at the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego. She was the quirkiest person I have ever met, but she exuded an energy that drew everyone to her. She explained to me that she had Crohn's, but she found the "cure." She told me to fall in love. She explained how every time she's been in love, her Crohn's has disappeared. At first I thought this girl was telling me to find my prince charming, but I realized later that falling in love doesn't always have to be in a romantic context. I've fallen in love many times in my life. I've fallen in love with God, with dance, with surfing, with being on stage, with my family and friends, with a boy or two, with Dante's Divine Comedy, with the outdoors, with speaking Italian, with Rome, and I dare to say, with myself!....I could go on and on! I love being in love, and I don't need to wait for a boyfriend to fill that tank. As I look back on my life and the times I've felt most deeply in love, I know that at those times, I felt most vibrantly healthy as well.


There's got to be a connection...


I read today that you can lock an overweight person up in a room for 30 days without food, and they would still gain weight. It isn't about the food, it's about the attitude. If you FEEL fat (or sick, or tired, etc), you will BE fat, sick, tired...but if you change your thought patterns, you can achieve anything you put your mind to, no matter what kind of food you're eating (apparently). The law of attraction, baby. Get it. 


"All that we are is a result of what we have thought" - Buddha


"Whether you think you can or can't, either way you're right." -Henry Ford


These quotes have really been on my mind lately. A couple weeks ago I watched The Secret on Netflix. I was expecting it to be a little silly, and it did seem a little out there, but man, they're really onto something. Our thoughts are directly correlated to the way our life pans out. I really recommend watching this movie, it could change the way you think greatly. 


In order to move forward, I've got to let go of trying so hard to perfect my health. Once I let go and allow myself to fall in love with life all over again, I'll be naturally drawn to make healthy decisions...and then, I know, I'll be feeling better, once again. 


And just because I love my Jesuits, I absolutely must share this quote:

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude...


Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.” 
-Pedro Arrupe, S.J.


love & lettuce,
d


PS - I got a GREAT tip from my friend Erin regarding my last post on the Shrek Shake. She suggests using coconut water for the liquid base. I tried it and haven't looked back. It definitely gives it the perfect flavor. Enjoy! Thanks, Erin! :) 


PPS- If you need a little help finding how GREAT you are, watch this clip :)