Stress or Simplicity?

The remainder of my week...

WOW! It's been huge! Alot of realisations. Alot of thinking. Alot more awareness. And alot of stress...

which led me to ditching the jucing thing after 4 days.

I found that I was in the kitchen juicing for hours each day and having no time for anything else which was really impacting the rest of my being - I was getting more stressed trying to fit it all in.

Fresh coconut water was a blessing though - quick hack job and voila! Raw white wine. And better :) And all that delicious white flesh... I'll be showing you a COCONUT ICE CREAM recipe soon... :)



I'm still dry skin brushing every day or every second day. Taking my liquid herbs. MSM twice everyday (LOVE that stuff). And have a few other supplements to my diet that I'll touch on some other time.

So tonight, after a big week, that is yet to end as college is back on all weekend... I whipped up a two really SIMPLE SALADS that really hit the spot!



Bok choy, celery, parsley, broccoli...

Carrot, zucchini, seeds, currants, cumin, cinnamon...

Both drizzled with olive oil and a citrus fruit I'm unsue of... perhaps a pomello? A cross between an orange and a lemon. Delicious.

Hungry for juice?

Today my head aches seemed to have disappeared (turns out the celery tip might have done the trick - thanks Glen). However I am in agony right now as my legs are aching something severe! Aside from being on my feet all day, which is nothing unusual for me, I don't know why they would be hurting so much :(

So, my JUICING. Well it turns out I'm not the SuperWoman I wished I was - I had a few nuts last night after my juices. Why? Not really sure. I felt like eating them.
And then I felt them. Severe cramps followed. So I had a warm peppermint tea which helped only slightly. Intersting to see how my body reacted after only 2 days on juices.

Today I've had...

1L apple and celery juice
600ml water
600ml orange and daikon juice (strangely amazingly good)
1L tomato, cucumber, celery juice (delicious!)
1L green juice (whole bunch choy sum, half head celery, big chunk of ginger and a lemon)


I bought 5 young coconuts as well that I look forward to getting into. I've done dry skin brushing, had a facial, taken my herbs, evening primrose oil and MSM.

I've also felt urges for solid food and part of me wants to give in - thinking maybe now isnt the right time to juice. But another part of me thinks that's my belly talking, and in actual fact now is as good as any time, and the only reason I'm feeling urges for solid food is to keep any surfacing emotions I'd rather not look at from getting to me...

What to do?


Keep juicing. Go day by day. And see how I feel. Really feel. I've got enough celery, greens, apples, oranges, carrots, pears, ginger, lemons, and more to fed an army. the only way to get through them all is to juice them!

And to remind myself that I'm striving for the GLOW.
A week on JUICE is a week of digestion rest and relaxation, whilst still getting MORE nutrients than my usual solid food diet to support my body, skin, soul.

When I'm JUICING, I LOVE it. I LOVE the way I feel on juice. Clean, Clear, Light. That's all I need to remember :)

Juicing in the Hyatt

So I'm on Day 2 of my JUICING! So far so good. Having started on a weekend when I had nothing planned was a very good idea I think.

After my delicious morning juice yesterday, the rest of my day looked a little like this...

2 cups of warm water
300ml of fresh apple juice with a hint of cinnamon
1 young coconut (water AND flesh blended together)
300ml green juice - zucchini, cos, bok choy, lemon and ginger
600ml water
300ml orange and apple juice
300ml beetroot, broccoli, daikon, carrot and kale juice

And around all that I had ...

4 tsp MSM
6ml vitex and wild yam
20ml thyroid herbs
30ml herbal tonic
1 evening primrose capsule

Not alot of juice to be honest but I was pottering around home all day studying so the calories weren't really needed.

Today I've had...

500ml beetroot, carrot, apple, ginger juice
500ml broccoli, celery, zucchini, bok choy, kale, cos, lemon, ginger juice
300ml carrot, apple, orange juice (at the Park Hyatt!!)
500ml broccoli, celery, zucchini, bok choy, kale, cos, lemon, ginger juice (made a big lot of it this morn)
500ml coconut water

(WOW! The only just had that and the coconut had SO MUCH water inside! Yesterday I had the flesh as well for some good fats but the rest of the week I'll only be having the water - saving the flesh to make RAW ICE CREAM!)

But the day's not over yet!

I ventured down to the Rocks Aroma Festival with Dad and Gail this morning as I LOVE the atmosphere of markets and festivals in the sun. It's all things coffee, tea, chocolate and spices. Sensory overload! ALthough I no longer drink coffee, I still have a very strange relationship with it -

as a Barista for 8yrs or there abouts, and having travelled Europe; predominantley Italia, I became a bit of a coffee snob. I loved my morning cup. I went from flat whites, with sugar to no sugar, then to soy milk mochas, back to flat whites, and then for the longest time LOVED it black. But it had to be good. Short black. Long black. No sugar. I would've died a happy woman with a coffee in my hand. The smell, the taste, the culture around it, the rituals that go with it, the history of it... See! A strange relationship. I could write a whole book on it! Yet I continue to not drink it. Moving on...

The festival was BUSTLING with people, music, and excitement as children happily giggled their stomachs sore on the camel rides along the foreshore. Turkish dances entertained the crowds and there was even a guy giving coffee readings!



Walking past the Park Hyatt I said I had always wanted to stay there to swim in the pool, and sit on the funky chairs in the window - so on the way back Dad decided to stop in for a drink. (Prior to midday) He was feeling the crisp, cold white wine, Gail ordered a hit cappuccino, and I got a delicious carrot, apple and orange juice.




I've had more energy today than yesterday but I also think it's due to getting outside. I've had that feeling of hunger in my belly for most of the weekend, but I've also had clarity of thoughts in my head. I felt a few ups and downs yesterday where a part of me felt I could have easily slipped into the pantry - but I knew it was purely emotional and would have done me no good. I remind myself why I chose to JUICE and can easily be back on track.

The Last Supper

So... like the new layout? I was playing around with so many different designs and layouts for hours I was getting nothing else done! So I've decided on this one for now and I'll see how it goes. So far so good. I'm liking it :) Simple yet still EXCITING and colourful.

Now, not-so-nice-note, this past week I've had a head ache pretty much everyday. No idea why. I've also felt nauseous at times. Again I've no idea why. And I'm not one that experiences ill health often so it's been a little uncomfortable to say the least. Taking it day by day and trying to focus on other things, I'm very happy to begin my JUICING this weekend.



I've been looking forward to it; I'm actually very EXCITED about it. The thought of CLEANSING, CLEARING :) The sensations I feel when I'm on path to finding my GLOW :) I've got a load of fruits and vegies, ginger as well, and I pre-cut enough for a few days this morning to save me time around my busy schedule. There are a few other bits and pieces that I'll be having as well as fresh juices - such as MSM, coconut water, my naturopathic herbs... I hope to see my colon hydrotherapist but I can't see it fitting into this week :( Salt baths, ionic foot cleanses, dry skin brushing... I'm doing a top-to-toe clean out.

So last night I made sure I had a DELICIOUS dinner with Brock as I don't know when I'll be eating solids again. It seems funny that whenever we embark on a detox or a cleanse of sorts, we feel the need to have one last SPLURGE before we "deprive" ourselves. Vegetarian pizza and a big bowl of ice cream was no doubt my LAST SUPPER of choice in high school. Not these days. I was hanging out for CABBAGE! Haha Oh how we change! I love the stuff. And with onion, together, you couldn't have 2 more BEAUTIFYING foods thanks to their high sulphur content (think hair, EYES, skin, nails).
So here's THE LAST SUPPER.

Crunchy Creamy Coleslaw


1/2 red cabbage
1/4 red onion
2 large carrots
big handful of rocket
cob of corn

All sliced, diced, chopped how ever you wish. Drizzle olive oil over it all and mix it through.
Then for the creamy dressing, I threw 3/4 of a large avocado in the blender with an orange and half a lemon. Bit of salt and pepper. Then mixed that through. Finito!

So how long will I be JUICING? I don't know. At first I thought a week. But then I thought, well if my body (for whatever reason) isn't up to it now, I might only last a few days. But on the flip side, after a week I might still be feeling the need to continue. 10 days. 2 weeks. Until I physically really feel the HUNGER for solid food again, I'll be juicing.
Now one could say they'd feel hungry after a few days surely, but the thing with cleansing is that we are so used to feeling what we think is hunger when in actual fact alot of the time it's just the body cleansing, flushing out toxins, detoxing. But we mistake those sensations as hunger, so eat solid foods, and stop the detoxing process. Every time.

On a side note, my no-dried-fruit-thing has been going really well. A week and a half now, and having seen my naturopath mid-week he was impressed with how well I was doing. Candida much better. Tongue much clearer. I've been on different herbs for a while so of course they're making their mark, but I intuitivley knew the absence of dried fruit over the week would make a huge difference, and it did :)


And now my JUICING will be making things even better! That's a pic of brekkie this morn - beetroot, couple carrots, head of celery, couple of little apples, ginger and lemon. Cheers!

Beginning the cleansing...

Happy Tuesday :) A little chilly but BEAUTIFUL weather nonetheless. How were your weekends?


I spent my entire weekend at college with the girls for another one of our intensive course modules titled "Life Quality and Design". Sounds good huh? Well it was.
The BEAUTIFUL picture above is of the Medicine Wheel we took time to create together as a class, with the theme of that day being WATER (Saturday was Earth and in a fortnight we look at Air and Fire). I LOVE going to college. My class is like a bunch of close-knit school girls that LAUGH, share, cry, LOVE and thoroughly enjoy one anothers company. I think collectivley we're all wondering what we're gonna do once it's all over!

So I had my notes ready, my bag packed and my prepared food all ready to go. A few of the things I snacked on included this CHOC-BERRY-BANANA smoothie I made for brekkie running out the door which was SOOOO YUMMY...

Bananas, blueberries, cacao, water, brazil nuts, maca, lucuma, protein powder, and lecithin

A BIG kale salad...

With tomatoes, pumpkin, broccoli, mushies and some beet-buckwheat crackers

And to keep me going during class I had my own nibble mix of pepeitas, sunflower seeds, goji berries and cacao beans... and later got a SPIRULINA FRUIT WHIP from the cafeteria. I had been reading again on spirulina and why it is so FANTASTIC but I'm not a huge fan of the taste of it - but ironically it's exactly what I felt like on Saturday morning. And so why waste a perfect opportunity to FEED my body with the stuff!

Monday at work (in the office) wasn't so great. I had some stuff come up for me over the weekend at college so I was feeling unlike my usual self emotionally, mentally and physically - but I was grateful that I made something different to look forward to at lunch time. My favourite spiced carrot soup, with some more beet-buckwheat crackers.


I later had a session with my coach which was INVALUABLE, and we spoke about what came up over the weekend. I also had my first ever French Nail Polish done on the walk over as I had time to kill, and felt like I needed some self-care. After a lifetime of nail biting, MSM had been AMAZING for my nails and now they are LONG! They look so beautiful :)

The past week gone, I feel that my eating is alot cleaner as I've gone off eating all DRIED FRUITS. It's been 7 days now and I plan on continuing for a whole month. Why? Well basically because I feel I eat too much of the stuff. I LOVE IT! But I also feel that cleaning and cleansing my system is of more importance right now, and that means no dried fruit.
In addition to that, I want to see for myself that I can actually live without it! Ha! It's enjoyment for me sure, but recently I've been munching away of a little too much more out of habit, and dried fruit is something that I have trouble stopping at one or two bits. My tongue still has a faint white coating hinting towards some candida and parasites of which I intrisically feel are present within me... and dried fruit would be doing absolutley nothing but helping those nasties THRIVE!

So I've put it out there. You're all holding me accountable. One month. No dried fruit. SO far so good. GREAT in fact!

And very shortly I'll be embarking on a JUICE FEAST for further cleansing. I'm really looking forward to it. Just doing all the planning now. I'll keep you posted :)



Thanks Mother Nature for the SUNSHINE :)

Finding my path

In the past when I have been in two minds about something; anything, and then made a decision either way, the whole Universe seems to work it's magic and put it all in place. And so it has happened again.

Since my last post where I wrote about CLEANSING I put the thoughts out there that I wanted to get back to my cleansing, clean eating, detoxing, FABULOUS ME that I know lives inside :) And since then I've had the greatest two days ever!

Thursdays, as you'd know, are one of my favourite days of the week. It's MARKET DAY (which I've posted about here and here)!! And although I now work all day I do get to run up and eat my lunch with Brock and Tsung, and grab myself a few goodies for the week before I jet back to work.
I begin at 730am unloading the organic fruit and veg delivery at work with Brock, and then boxing up a bunch of orders, and finishing a few hours later. I had my BIG GREEN SMOOTHIE to keep me going and then a few more bananas (best fruit ever) later on before I was done and could take my lunch break.

The sun was shining. Instant Happiness :) The SUN has alot to do with my general wellbeing. I don't like to RELY on the sun for my moods, but I immensely FEEL the difference to such a degree that I truley believe SUNSHINE is my number #1, follwed by WATER then FOOD. My top 3 essentials. Sounds crazy some say, but I know it to be true. For me.

I ran into old customers of mine from the coffee shop I used to work at and they were delighted to see me - and I them :) A bunch of middle aged men who were always a laugh. Alot of FUN having a quick chin-wag before I ran off to the markets and to sit and enjoy my lunch. I sat in the sun (of course) munching away on my BIG KALE SALAD with pumpkin and broccoli. I bought some more kale for the week, and treated myself to one mighty (yet-to-be) delicious custard apple. Can't wait to sink my spoon into that one!

The rest of work was GREAT and pretty busy at the health food shop. I got to type out NUTRITIONAL INFORMATIONAL STATS for different fruits and vegies which I got SO much EXCITEMENT out of as it tested my knowledge as well as improved it when I got stuck and had to look a few things up (thanks Google). At the end of the day I got to take some BEAUTIFUL organic biodynamic skin care products home to try - so yummy - and I was PUMPED to get home into my gym gear for my favourite class of the week (that's me uber excited yet a little cold in my short shorts, doing the mirror-photo-trick).

I've had GREAT conversations with Brock (sadly not so many face to face as we're both so busy of late but LOVING where we're both heading), I've been reading a FANTASTIC book called "Cleanse and Purify Thyself" by Richard Anderson that I can't get enough of, I've been sucked into more new blogs I've found giving me INCREDIBLE inspiration, MOTIVATION, suggestions, recipes, SUPPORT, tips and LOVE.

And today, another GREEN SMOOTHIE start to the day, a quiet morning at work, beautiful SUNSHINE, big salad for dinner and now I'm munching on a few cacao beans as I watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. God love the man who's making a difference :)

No direction can lead to clear direction

So I seem to be keeping myself awake at night wondering what to blog about next.
Sounds stupid right? It's the perfectionist in me wanting to have a little plan of action - juices next week, raw treats after that, then my buckwheat cereal recipe... store bought raw bars versus making them at home... the list goes on. Yet when I want to sit down to blog none of what I had "planned" seems to sit well with wherever I am in that moment.

And so, right now, I've got half an hour before I'm out the door to see a client, and I want to blog. Do I have something to blog about? Well no, but you're reading this so in a way, Yes.


I've been reading more and more on cleansing, fasting, juicing and colon hydrotherapy of late - all of which I LOVE and feel AMAZING when practicing so I'm really looking forward to incorporating more into my life in the next few weeks. They're all something I want to work with more down the track, understand and know upside down and back to front, so I can educate others on what I have such passion for.

I know when the time is right to do these again as I begin to get a sense of FUZZINESS; murky thoughts, emotional weaknesses. I see negative changes in my physical body and appearance, experience cravings for processed foods and start feeling BLAH. You know that one right - BLAH - a combination of yucky, heavy, confused, muddled, far from clear-headed and clear-bodied, slow, dry... I could go on.

And that's how I've been feeling lately. I haven't been looking after myself. I haven't been eating the way that makes me feel my best. I havn't been eating much at all in fact, I havn't been as hungry. But then other times I know I'm eating more than my body needs. Past the point of hunger. And my exercise routine has taken a step back as well due to more work. So all in all, I am not functionally at my optimal. But now I vow to change it all back to where it is at a level that makes me feel MY ABSOLUTE BEST!

So I'm in the process of planning to do a week long JUICE FEAST followed by a gallbladder cleanse and of course, another session with my colon hydrotherapist. Just the preparation for it all gets me EXCITED and BOUNCING about knowing how GREAT I'll be feeling very soon.

And I would like to let you all know that CLEANSING, FASTING, JUICING and DETOXING will no doubt feature more and more on my blog, but I will of course continue filling you in on my RAW culinarty creations, KITCHEN FUN and be sure to throw a few RECIPES at you every now and then.

But right now, I must jet.

Green love and white light to you all :)

Creativity in Colour

So I've been back home now since Wendesday and only just got my NEW DEHYDRATOR in gear this morning.
I've been working everyday this week so havn't had alot of KITCHEN PLAY TIME free, and ontop of that I've been a bit funny with my eating the past few weeks so there's not alot of inspirtation coming out.



I'm more into SIMPLICITY (at it's best... or is it laziness?) - and by that I mean dinner last night was the last of my HEIRLOOM TOMATOES I bought last week and a couple of carrots with half an avocado. Delicious nonetheless, but far from CREATIVE.

And so last night I thought "come on Christie" and put some sunflower seeds and buckwheat aside to soak so I could make crackers this morning.
AFter reading both papers (as I love to do), and having a big juice with apples, beetroot, some greens and lemon... I threw my buckwheat and seeds in the food processor with some grated beetroot, carrot juice, flaxseeds, herbs, spices and salt... to make some beet-coloured-buckwheat crackers.

MY FIRST DEHYDRATOR CREATION AT HOME!!

They've been in there all day and I think I might have a couple with my salad for dinner :)

Heirloom Tomatoes, Herb Gardens, Coaching and Ice Skating??

So I leave this BEAUTIFUL space where I have been house sitting tomorrow morning and I will be sad to leave :( I am looking forward to getting back into my own bed though and hanging out with my sister for a few days before mum gets back from her Yoga Intensive on Sunday.
Living out of home is something that I have done in the past and I know how much I LOVE it so these past 10 days have been GREAT and definatley a BOOST of energy in getting me outta home quicker again!


So the past few days have been JAM PACKED FULL of AMAZING experiences I've been dying to share with you guys.

On Saturday morning I had a dance party in the living room as all my fav tunes came on Rage it was AWESOME! Great way to start the day - of course followed my a big green juice :) And then I headed down to the Pyrmont Growers Markets with Dad and Gail. If you've never been before you don't know what you're missing out on. Held the first Saturday of every month by the water, there's loads of fresh fruit and vegies, meat, cheeses, chutneys, flowers, breads, TRUFFLES, oils, vinegars, pastas, teas, coffee, fresh juices, eggs, yoghurts, even wood fire pizza (and for some strange reason all the pics I took are no longer on my camera!)!!
The sun was out but the wind was chilly, and I came away with a HUGE bag of macadamia nuts still in their shells - which taste so incredibly different let me tell you mmm - and a big lot of HEIRLOOM TOMATOES. I'd never had them before and wanted to get some to try (and for pretty pictures on my blog). SO TASTY!


I later had a green tea at a cafe finishing an assignment for college then walked through Crows Nest which was buzzing with locals munching away on croissants in the bakery, chatting to friends over hot coffees, and reading the weekend paper, and got back home to make me some lunch. Starvin Marvin!

And with my brightly coloured HEIRLOOMS TOMATOES and some herbs from the garden, I whipped up a tasy big salad, donned my shorts and singlet for some winter backyard sunshine, got out my journal and sat there slowly, mindfully eating, writing, smiling, and being so very very greateful :)

The herb garden my uncle has in INCREDIBLE! Get a load of these pics...











Afternoon run, feeling great, then I'm out again for the Winter Wonderland Ice Skating outside St Mary's Cathedral. Brock, Tsung and I walked over the bridge from Kirribilli meeting a bunch of peeps in there, then we all skated for just under an hour in what was a beautiful backdrop. Everyone in high spirits (or just high on mulled wine I don't know) trying their best at something not alot of people do often. Having had an ice skating accident myself as a child, I was very cautious and a little scared to begin with, but my beautiful girlfriend Tam was just that - BEAUTIFUL - and held my hand the entire time so I could let go of the wall :)


Sunday morning I got my newspaper read in which I LOVE. Sitting by myself at a cafe sipping tea whilst Brock was working for an hour, I get Peace. Quiet. Stillness. The Sunday paper is ABSOLUTE INDULGENCE for me.

We opted for a lazy day in after that, made BANAPPLE JUICE SMOOTHIES for lunch and later watched a DVD under the doona with cups of green tea.


Then the evening was all mine to myself to put my feet up, slap a hydrating mask on, slice some heirlooms, add oil, parlsely and rocket from the garden, sit back and SMILE :)



Then Monday at work was GREAT (that's the view from my window in the office by the way) ! I had an appointment with a new coach after work which was also GREAT and I think I'll continue on with her. As a coach myself I feel it very beneficial to keep myself on track so I can best support my own clients. I'm EXCITED about where I'm heading, what my GOALS are, and WRITING them all down. The accountabilty of my coach I know will be the BIGGEST benefit to me.

And today... alot of cleaning and packing up to "move out" of my cousins place. Work at the health food shop was GREAT as usual. I met a really cool guy who's newly into RAW FOODS (along with a bunch of other things I'm also passionate about) so I hope to get to know him a bit more. I've thoroughly enjoyed the ABUNDANCE of BANANAS I currently have, and blissfully had 15 today :) Back from 2hrs at the gym, and now blogging to you guys!

I LOVE MY LIFE!! :)

Home Away From Home

Good evening! It's Friday night and I'm staying in (nothing unusual for those that know me) as its FREEZING COLD! Well actually, I'm having dinner at Dad's place with Lisa and Gail and blogging at the same time :)

I trust you have all had a FANTASTIC week! I know I have. I've been house sitting all week at my cousins place and I'm loving having a place all to myself :)

My week has been filled with working everyday at either the health food shop or the coaching centre... I've had dinner with Brock a couple of times, been soaking buckwheat, made brazil nut milk, ducked home for my long Tuesday gym session, bought fresh organic kale on Monday, yummy organic bananas on Thursday from the markets I so love to visit...


...I've made sure to make the MOST of my new location by venturing down to Sydney Harbour for my daily runs. The weather has been chilly but the afternoon sun is perfect for a run, but these pics I took later one evening. And this first one is from my favourite lookout...






And I made sure I passed the Throttle Shop on my way back round to check out the FERRARI'S... and found a black Scaglietti. Mmmmmm :D


Aside from that, I've been a little lazy with my eating so have no mouth watering photos to share except the left over of my Spiced Carrot Soup I made from the Potluck last week -


...and a quick cacao banana bowl with maca, lucuma, protein and chia seeds topped with coconut, cacao nibs, goji berries, sultanas and sunflower seeds for brekkie one morning


Other than that I've been munching away on a really basic coleslaw I made (I LOVE cabbage - here's another mouth watering pic), green juices for brekkie still, heads of broccoli at the markets, BANANAS I bought on Thursday, whole carrots, miso soup, and a new recipe for buckwheat muesli that is AMAZING! I might share sometime in the future ;)

Oh and how could I forget... I FINALLY BOUGHT A DEHYDRATOR ON EBAY! I'M SO SO SO EXCITED!! You'll hear all about it as soon I'm back home PLAYING with it!