By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki in Sequim, WA
I absolutely LOVE the fall! I love the colors, the flavors and even the weather here in the Pacific North West, which lately has been a lot of rain. Not typical for Sunny Sequim.
Being with spiritual friends recently sharing a condo and cooking together at a healing retreat, I made this dish for them and they all wanted the recipe. I decided it would be easier to share it with everyone, and then I realized I already had on a blog two years ago when I was doing a cleanse. But, decided to post it again by itself because it’s so good, it deserves its own blog. This recipe is a great reminder that healthy food can be delicious and easy to prepare too. Pray you enjoy this as much as my family does.
“I wondered, “Why have I been chasing happiness my whole life when bliss was here the entire time?” – Elizabeth Gilbert from “Eat, Pray, Love”
Acorn Squash with Portobello Mushrooms
I got this recipe from www.jointhereboot.com two years ago when I was participating in a 15 day juice cleanse with Joe Cross from the movie “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.” (The movie is well worth watching) Most of the food on the pre-cleanse was truly wonderful, but this is my favorite recipe from the whole cleanse, along with the juices we made. Yum! It’s healthy and easy to make. I hope you enjoy it as much as my friends and I do, it would be a great Thanksgiving add-on for sure.
Don’t forget to run your Reiki when you cook, adding Divine Love and Light to every dish you prepare. Reiki in your food helps to cleans out any toxins and boosts the nutrients to the vibrational level of your body so your body gets the best out of your food. It’s a win/win!
Blessings to all my Reiki friends,
Josslyn
“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.”
Laurie Colwin
Roasted Acorn Squash
Serves 4 as a main dish
2 med Acorn Squash
3/4 t. Sea Salt plus 1/4 t. Sea Salt
This recipe can be a main dish for four people or cut them up to be a side dish for more.
1/2 t. Black Pepper
6 T Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Large Portobello Mushroom (I use 2 because I like them and they cook down)
1 Large White or Yellow Onion, chopped
3t Fresh sage, finely chopped
(You can add a little red pepper too if you like a little more spice. My family doesn’t so I’ve omitted that ingredient.)
Acorn Squash:
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
Trim ends of each squash.
Stand the squash upright and half lengthwise.
Scoop the pulp and the seeds out and discard.
Brush each squash half with olive oil.
Sprinkle each squash half with 3/4 sea salt and pepper
Arrange acorn, large cut sides down on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
roast the squash until the flesh is tender and the edges are golden brown, 25 – 35 minutes.
Remove from over, flip squash over and set aside.
Filling
While the squash roasts: Heat olive oil in medium sauce pan over medium high heat.
Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes until onion is clear.
Add mushroom, sage, 1/4 salt and saute 5 minutes.
Fill the squash with mixture and bake upright for 10 more minutes together.
Tenth in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
To catch up start with blog 1, A Sensitive System or search categories under Nutritional Healing.
Heavenly Grass
“My feet took a walk in heavenly grass.
All day while the sky shone clear as glass.
My feet took a walk in heavenly grass,
All night while the lonesome stars rolled past.
Then my feet come down to walk on earth,
And my mother cried when she give me birth.
Now my feet walk far and my feet walk fast,
But they still got an itch for heavenly grass.
But they still got an itch for heavenly grass.”
Tennessee Williams
One Journey Ends, Another Continues
Two days after I finished my ten-day fruit and vegetable cleanse for better health and cleansing my system, I was standing on the grass, drinking my lemon water in my back yard. This has been my morning ritual since I started the cleanse. As I felt the earth beneath my feet, grounding myself to the energy Mother Earth generously offered, I was contemplating the journey of the cleansing process and how I was feeling. I started the cleanse to try something new to heal myself. I have suffered from multiple chronic illnesses much of my life and am consistently searching for the puzzle pieces to healing my physical body, while at the same time living my life, working being a wife and mom. To read the goals of my cleanse go to my second blog.
Back to the Grass
I was contemplating the journey of the cleansing process and how I was feeling afterwards. I was a bit down because I still felt tired, I still felt unmotivated and I had some high hopes that I’d be feeling better after the cleanse. Many people have told me that after day three, you feel great. Not the case for me. This has been a long healing trek for me so I knew it would take more than just a ten-day cleanse to help me heal completely, but I had hoped that I’d feel a little better when it was done. I was also aware that I was feeling the low of just finishing a big project and wondering where to go next, what was the next step? (details of the cleanse results at the bottom of the blog)
“The best way out of a problem is through it.” Author Unknown
Motivation
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is a documentary about two men’s healing journey from severe immune system illness to extreme health in 60 days of juicing. This movie has motivated many people, including me. They have an amazing website with 5 day, 10 day and 15 day full cleanse diets by a nutritionist. I used their ten-day diet.
In the movie, “Fat,Sick and Nearly Dead” one of the women who did the ten-day cleanse, because she was having migraines regularly, said after her cleanse “I have the energy of a 21-year-old!” I have to admit, THAT statement stuck with me. WOW, I want the energy of a 21-year-old I thought. I knew my health issues were more complicated than hers but this statement motivated me and still does, to keep going. But, unlike her, I didn’t feel like a 21-year-old. I felt tired, still. A common problem with chronic fatigue and depression. I knew the only choice was to keep going. I knew I was on the right track, I just needed to keep moving forward with the juicing and eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible. But, after years of doing this, it gets a bit daunting. I was having a hard time staying motivated. Cue my animal message.
“By perseverance the snail reached the Ark.“C.H. Spurgeon
Cue the Hummingbird, Stage Left
The hummingbird had no marks of color.
As I stood there in the middle of my yard contemplating this, a hummingbird flew right up to my face and hovered there for what seems like a very long minute or longer. It just didn’t leave, or move from its hover spot in front of my face. I noticed it was an unremarkable hummingbird, all gray, no spectacular color from what I could see. It just stayed there. So, I stayed still, I watched it, looked at it, trying to figure out what it wanted of me. Birds rarely come that close to me. I have to admit, I like birds, but do not consider myself a bird person.
Childhood Flashback
Beautiful hummingbird tattoo with a native flair.
My sister had birds growing up and I would take care of them for her when she was gone. I never quite believed they were happy being in that cage and thought they must be very bored. Birds needed to fly and be free, I felt. I was also afraid of them close up, because they would peck me and make sudden movements and I never knew quite what to expect from them. I never fully understood them or appreciated them close up. I’m just not a bird person I guess. (Maybe my babysitter allowing me to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” at a young age didn’t help either. Hmmm, have to meditate on that for a bit later.) Lets put it this way, if I were to get a tattoo, it would NOT be of a bird. But, if I were to get a tattoo and it had to be a bird, it would probably be a pretty colored one, like a hummingbird. Anyway….
Back to the Hummingbird
So when this hummingbird came so close to my face, and stayed there for what seemed like a very long time, not only was I a bit surprised and still a bit afraid that it would peck my face, but I knew that this bird must be trying to tell me something or it wouldn’t be doing this with me. I finally just enjoyed the moment and listened. As I listened I heard “Patience, the journey continues!” Well I have to say that just pissed me off!! Patience!! I’ve been on this healing journey for twenty years almost, how patient do I have to be!? (Apparently, more patient than I am at the moment.)
Visions Help Solidify the Message
Then suddenly, standing there on the grass, I had visions of all the lifetimes I’ve done this, many lifetimes of physical and emotional pain that I am working to rid myself of all in this one life. It is time, THIS is the life to taste, digest, and dispose of all the pain from all those other lives. This healing journey that I think I’ve been on for twenty years, I’ve actually been on for much, much longer. In that scope of understanding, a few more years or even a few more lifetimes didn’t seem like so much. Patience on that scale, actually seemed more doable than just this one lifetime of being patient. The big picture to me made my struggles in this life seem small and easier to overcome, more like a speed-bump than a mountain. I can’t completely explain it, but I felt more at peace, I felt like I could go on. I felt like I could continue the healing journey with more patience. Thank you beautiful hummingbird, it was just the message and vision I needed at that exact moment.
“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” An Old Astronomer to His Pupil
Suddenly the gray hummingbird turned away from me and flew away. He knew I’d gotten his message and he was done. I ran in the house and wrote down the message and my experience so I could write it in this blog later. I then picked up my “Animal Spirit Guides” book by Steven Farmer and looked up messages from hummingbirds to see what it had to say that may compliment the message I had gotten. Here is what the book said for hummingbird that related to my situation, like it was written just for me, just for that day.
If a hummingbird shows up, it means:
You need to be very flexible with the twists and turns your life will take in the next days.
Put more emotional sweetness in your life, you need it.
You’re going through some very heart-opening kinds of experiences, and you’ll quite naturally draw more and more love into your life.
Openly express the love you have and feel for those important people in your life.
Give yourself the gift of as many flowers as you can, spread them around your home, and enjoy their sight and fragrance throughout the days to come.
This message also stood out and spoke to me from the book:
Call on Hummingbird when:
You’re feeling down and sullen and want to lighten up, have more fun, and experience more joy.
You find yourself around any negativity or harshness and want to protect yourself and lift your spirits.
You’re feeling fragmented and distracted, ruminating about the past or future, and want to be more present in the moment.
Judy at Angels and Ancestors wrote a lovely blog about the spiritual messages of hummingbirds. Here is a passage that spoke to me:
“Hummingbird is about understanding the sweetness of life, about being able to go long distances on little food, and using great courage. Hummingbird also represents the pioneer spirit of finding new lands and moving between worlds. When working with Hummingbird, we may ask it to bring in our Ancestors or the Old Ones who may come from their spirit place and share knowledge with us.
Hummingbirds bring the message that stamina and perseverance is important in one’s life. One must build themselves up to be strong so that their life force is not depleted by those drawing on them for energy. Another message that hummingbird brings to those that it appears to, is that the human must watch his or her digestive system, and that they must not take in too much sugar.”
Hummingbird Totem for the full blog by Tonjha about the spiritual messages of hummingbirds. Here is a quote that related to the cleanse experience for me.
“The hummingbird can awaken us to the medicinal properties of plants. Hummingbirds teach us how to draw the life essence from flowers. “They can teach us how to use flowers to heal and win hearts in love. Andrews says the twittering, vibrating sounds of the hummingbirds bring us an internal massage that restores health and balance. ”
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” Author Unknown
Doing Something Different
Vegetable juice is delicious and nutritious.
And so, the healing journey continues as life does too. I got refocused. I met with my doctor and had her muscle test me for the nutritional elements I need to stay focused on most to help my body heal. My body said I need to continue to juice, lots of greens and to stay off the dairy 100%. We also tested time frames and the testing said it will take six months to fully detox from the dairy I have eaten and drank for my whole life. For my body, dairy is NOT GOOD! I think for many bodies, dairy is not good. If you suspect it is not good for you get muscle tested or give it up for a few weeks and see how you feel when you add it back in. You’ll intuitively know. You probably already do. I’ve been feeling this for quite a while but just wasn’t ready to give it up until now. I ignored what my body needed for my emotional needs at the time. Now is the time. Now I am ready. This all feels right to me so I’m continuing. Six months does not seem so daunting to me at all. I’m enjoying the juicing and so is my husband. He already feels the effects with more energy at work and not needing coffee to keep going throughout the day. He’s even started to make his own juice when I don’t have time. I’m starting a trend, I hope so.
Results of the Cleanse will be in the next blog. Read on. And, if you like the information you are reading, don’t forget to enter your email address to receive automatic blog updates from Rain Shadow Reiki.
Love and LIght to you,
Josslyn
rainshadowreiki@gmail.com or 360-460-7829
To catch up start with blog 1, A Sensitive System or search categories under Nutritional Healing.
Eighth in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
To catch up start with blog 1, A Sensitive System or search categories under Nutritional Healing.
Day 5
Day 5 was my first day of only juice for breakfast and lunch and then fasting by drinking only coconut water all afternoon and evening. On this day I also drove an hour to my Naturopath for my second colonic. I was tired after the two hours of driving and the hour of the colonic but did well and handled it all with no major issues. I juiced my veggies and put them in a thermos before I went so I’d have it for when I got out of the doctor’s office. (When having a colonic you do not eat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours before hand or drink any liquids for an hour before.)
Juicing and fasting on the run. That’s how it’s done.
UGH, The Horror
I do have to say the coconut milk, which is supposed to help you re-hydrate and give your body much-needed electrolytes and vitamins, tastes to me, HORRIBLE! Now, I will eat almost anything in the name of good health. I have taught myself to like many foods I didn’t like before, all in the name of good health. If I think my body needs it and wants it I will learn to like it, BUT NOT THIS. I felt like a little kid again, plugging my nose while drinking it just so I could get it down. Wining, scrunching my face, wincing, practically crying because it was so bad and I knew I had to drink it.
O.K. That’s Pretty Bad
Coconut water, a huge new trend, but is it really that good for us. I hope not because I don’t know if I can ‘down’ this one.
My kids found this hilarious since it’s their mom, the one who always says “you can try anything once”, or “You can learn to like anything that is good for you.” They both acted like “Hey, this is no big deal. I bet it’s not so bad at all, we’ll prove her wrong.” Well, they tried it, with these confident cocky looks on their faces and they attempted to pretend it didn’t taste bad, but they couldn’t do it either. Because I had made such a big deal out of the bad taste, they of course, had to play it down a lot and NOT make a big deal about it. But their faces told the whole story. Finally my older son says “O.k. you’re right, that’s pretty bad.” Maybe it’s the brand, I don’t know. This coconut water thing is all new to me. There MUST be a better way. UGH. Here is an article about coconut water by Dr. Mercola. Read if you want to know all the great health benefits about coconut water. It helps me to get it down to know a bit about how it is good for you, but I’m still plugging my nose the whole time.
Everyone Is Unique
Chicken is not supposed to be good for people with blood type B or AB according to Dr. D’Adamo of the book “Eat Right for your Blood Type.” I eat based mostly on this diet.
I also am not one to believe that everything that is supposedly good for you is good for everyone. I believe we are all different and all need a unique diet. I like the healthy eating plan by Dr. D’Adamo from the book, “Eat Right For Your Blood Type” because they seem to work for me and many of the people I know AND it is unique for each person. No diet is ever the same for any one person. That makes more sense to me. I have not muscle tested strong for coconut products in the past so I’m not totally sure about this water. I’m drinking it for the cleanse because I’m doing my best to stay as close to the recommended diet as possible, but I’ll have myself tested for it again before I decide if I’ll continue with it after the fast. Just because hundreds of people do well with coconut oil, or coconut water, or brussel sprouts, does not mean that I do well with it. Just because chicken is healthier for some people does not mean it’s healthy for everyone. Seriously. I listen to my body to determine that. I encourage YOU to do that too. Listen to your body. Get yourself muscle tested for items you are not sure about or if you are not at a place where you trust your intuition enough. When you get tested, you’ll be surprised at how spot on your intuition usually is. Trust, it’s one of the toughest parts of intuitive abilities. Empower yourself one day at a time by trusting your intuition a little more each and every day. What have you got to lose? Probably not much at all. Give it a try.
Seventh in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
To catch up start with blog 1, A Sensitive System or search categories under Nutritional Healing.
Sleeping Walking Through Day 4
I made it though Day 3 pretty easily other than the many visits to the potty room that you may have read about in blog #6, ‘My First Colonic and Day 3’. Day 3 is famed to be the most difficult day from what I’ve heard and read. Although, I looked ahead in the dietary plan today and so far they’ve been pushing so many vegetables on the collective ‘us’ that we can’t eat them all. On Day 6 I get to have juice for breakfast, late breakfast, lunch and after that only coconut water. Hmmmm, we’ll see how that goes.
Sleep or Lack There Off
Sleeping is one of the issues other Rebooters have brought up as being difficult during the reboot, last night I hit that milestone. I was so tired yesterday that I feel asleep while meditating and slept for two hours from 4pm to 6pm. Not only did that mean I was extremely late in preparing the vegetables for dinner but I didn’t sleep most of the night other than some dozing here and there. Late afternoon naps are the kiss of death for my sleep cycle. I never do them, on purpose, that is. So, the extreme fatigue set in today on a day when I had to go back to the grocery with my two boys and prepare many large new vegetable dishes.
Reiki – LOVE, Cooking -Not So Much
Now, I’m pretty good at knowing my strengths and weaknesses, and I know that I’m an intuitive and caring Reiki Master, love what I do and work consistently at it. I’m an excellent healer because I don’t give up on myself or others. I have learned so much though my own process that I am now are able to help others. I’m a slightly above average but hard-working writer, very to the point and able to explain difficult non-tangible situations in a very easy to understand tangible way. I’m not highly creative in my writing or filled with poetry, but, if you are an ADD, spiritualist, clairsentient, light-worker – I’m your blogger. As a cook, well, that is where my confidence wanes. Being ADD (Indigo is more my definition), I do not read cook books well or instructions of any kind. So, I’ve never been a very good cook. I’m better when someone shows me and does it with me. I cook what I know, what tastes good, usually what’s quick and easy and what my family likes. Usually when I cook new stuff my boys complain that I’m giving them too much variety. That’s boys for you.
The Motivation Black Hole
So, where has my motivation been to cook more and different until now? In the void, as my son says, the black hole.
Alain Riazuelo’s startling image of a black hole deep in space. The image shows how light would bend around the black hole Read more: http://www.dailymail.co
Currently, I’m motivated by a much healthier body and life. I’m doing it for me and I’m doing it all myself. So, tonight, when the extreme tired kicked in and I had three veggie dishes to prepare, some of the old self-confidence issues raised their ugly heads for me to look at. Look at it I did. While chopping, I have lots of time to look in the proverbial mirror and see what I want to change. I decided to stop listening to the old records that said I couldn’t do this without help, or that I couldn’t figure it our correctly on my own, and I just did it. However long it took, however much I may mess it up, I pushed on through. I put on some motivating music, for me this could be anything from hip hop to country to reggae. Tonight, it took long enough it was a bit of all of them. I got lost in the chopping, the music and the beautiful scene of the Strait of Juan de Fuca out my kitchen window. I can watch the summer cruise ships pass by me and the San Juan Islands as I chop and it’s lovely. And, you know what, the dishes, although a little late, turned out great! Even my boys liked them and they were 99% made of vegetables!
Ratings for this dish: Joss’ rating 9 out of 10, Robby (age 12) 8 out of 10, Sawyer (age 9) 7 out of 10, Robert 10 out of 10
Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes and Herbs
(Thank you to my wonderful neighbors for all the zucchini you gave us. It went to good use.)
Baked Zucchini recipe made two baking dishes full. Sorry about the photo, I forgot to take photos until dinner was over and I was packing up the leftovers. Sleep walking even after a nap.
I am putting this recipe in exactly as it is on Joe’s website. Although I encourage you to add or take away items as it pleases your family. I personally would put one more tomato and more sea salt.
3 large zucchini or 5 small
4 Scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
1 small onion, shipped
2 Plum Tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. Celery Leaves (from the inner stalks, chopped
4 Tbsp. Basil Leaves, shipped, plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Slice the zucchini in half crosswise. Cut each half again lengthwise, and slice each of the halves into 4 equal, 1/2 inch pieces. They should look like sticks.
In a bowl, mix together the zucchini sticks with the white parts of the scallions, onion, tomatoes, celery leaves and basil. Mix in the olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Pour into a 3 quart baking dish and bake for 20 minutes (mine took 30 min.). Garnish with the sliced green tops of the scallions and the extra chipped basil.
Makes 4 servings (makes way more than 4 servings, more like 6 to 7)
Per serving: 153 calories, 1.5 g protein, 1.5 g fiber
Sweet Potato and Carrot “Fries”
Sweet Potato and Carrot Fries, Yum a Dum Dum!! These are dessert to me they are so sweet naturally. With a bit of cumin and cinnamon on top, sweet and divine.
Once again these wonderful recipes can be found under the PLAN section on the ten-day plan on Join the Reboot dot-com.
Family ratings: Joss 10 of 10 (this is like dessert for me!), Robert 9 of 10, Sawyer 9 of 10 (a bit sweet for him he said and this is my candy lover kid)
2 medium Sweet Potatoes
2 large Carrots
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. ground Cumin (or cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, rosemary or other spices you like can be in place of the cumin)
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and slice each half into 4 equal wedges. for the carrots, cut in half crosswise into two chunks. Slice each chunk lengthwise into 2 pieces, and cut each piece into 2 or 3 wedges, making them roughly the same size as the potatoes.
Put the potato and carrot wedges into a bowl and toss with the oil, cumin, pepper and salt. Arrange on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes or until the flesh is tender and the outside is lightly browned and the edges slightly crisp.
They say it makes 2 servings but the four of us didn’t finish them all.
Fifth in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
First blog in the series if you want to get caught up, “A Sensitive System.”
Day 2 of my Reboot
So, day 2 went much smoother although just as busy. I added a slightly bit more protein, black beans on my salad, and didn’t stress so much about preparing and eating EVERYTHING on their list, and it went well. I’ve been having some slight cold symptoms, runny nose and sore throat, but it feels more like detox symptoms than an actual cold coming on. I’ve had it before when I was detoxifing from having the mercury out of my teeth, so I’m just watching it and doing some preventative stuff just in case. I had a slight headache last night but they say that is normal too. Other than that I’m feeling pretty darn good and my attitude is very positive.
Recipes
Today I wanted to share two of the recipes from day 2 because they were so outstanding that I felt they were worth a shout out. If you like vegetables and salads then you will do great on this cleanse.
Love Salad
I have to say I do LOVE salad. When people ask my favorite food, I say “salad!” and have said that since I was in college. My mom always made fresh salad for dinners and I grew to love them and it stayed with me. However, with the business of having kids, working on healing myself, moving, now working part-time and blogging, I think I’ve gotten in a bit of a busy rut with my salads. I tend to do the same thing over and over again. I still love them because the most important ingredient to a salad is really fresh (locally grown if you’ve got them) vegetables and we have plenty of that here in Sequim, Washington. So, I am thrilled to be doing this 10 day reboot of my life from ‘Join the Reboot’ with great new salad recipes to try. And, day 2 has this wonderful carrot-dill salad that I truly enjoyed. Enough that I wanted to share it here with you.
These recipes complimentary of ‘Join the Reboot‘ on the ten-day Reboot.
Carrot-Dill Salad
Joss’ rating 10 out of 10
Carrot-Dill Salad, a salad worth sitting alone on the patio watching the sunset and truly enjoying slowly. Can you tell I appreciate a good salad!?
3 cups greens (spinach, arugula, romaine, red leaf, etc.)
Shredded carrot, fennel, radish, cabbage, celery (don’t be afraid to try fennel, it’s quite subtle. I will put more next time. It tastes a bit like black licorice which I don’t care for, but like fennel anyway.)
chopped fresh dill
1/2 avocado
I also added some jicama and cucumber I had leftover from another salad, and black beans for added protein.
Dressing
(The recipe calls for a honey soy dressing but since I’m allergic to soy I used this recipe from Day 1.)
Homemade Mustard Vinaigrette
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 T Grain Mustard
2/3 cups Cold Pressed Olive Oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Salad and 2 Tbsp. Dressing: 278 calories, 3.5 g protein, 9 g fiber (stays fresh in the refrigerator for one week in a glass jar)
Squash? You Want Me to Cook Squash?
Yes, I’ve never been much of a squash eater and therefore, neither is my family. I don’t know why but I’ve been a bit afraid of preparing it. The unknown I guess. Or maybe just didn’t care for it before. So, here goes, squash on the day 2 recipes. I decided to tackle it instead of being intimidated by it. And, I’m so glad I did. It was delectable. My husband agreed (without the red pepper) that we would eat this over and over again. Here is the recipe with the red pepper but if you do not like spice then take it out. It was actually quite simple to prepare also.
Roasted Acorn Squash with Portobello Mushroom
Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Portobello Mushroom and Sage
Joss’ rating, 10 out of 10. Robert’s rating 9 out of 10 due to the red pepper.
1 medium Acorn Squash (I used two for four servings)
3/4 tsp. plus 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground Black Pepper
6 Tbsp. Olive Oil, plus extra for brushing on the squash
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 large Portobello Mushroom, chopped
1 small Onion, chopped
2 tsp. Fresh Sage, finely chopped (I’d add a bit more sage next time. Not quite enough)
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes, optional
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim off each end of the squash. Stand the squash upright and halve lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp and the seeds and discard. Brush each squash half with olive oil, and then sprinkle with 3/4 tsp. sea salt and black pepper. Arrange cut sides down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast the squash until the flesh is tender and the edges are golden brown, approximately 25 – 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the squash halves over and set aside.
I used two Acorn Squash and for four servings. The mushroom mixture is the same amount and fits quite nicely in four squash halves for four people.
Stuffing
While the squash roasts, heat the live oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute 2 minutes, or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the mushrooms, sage, 1/4 tsp. sea salt and the red pepper flakes if using, and saute until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Fill the roasted squash halves with the mushroom mixture and bake again for another 10 minutes. Devour.
Makes 4 servings
Per serving: 254 calories, 2 g protein, 2.5 g fiber
I hope some of you try these recipes even if you don’t do the full Reboot. It is fun to try new things and get more variety in your life, even if the process is sometimes slightly anxiety ridden. Smiling. Enjoy.
And don’t forget to do Reiki on your food, or pray at your meals to help your food’s vibration be raised up to meet yours. Another blog on that later.
Fourth in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
A TON of Vegetables!
I made it through the first day of the most fruits and vegetables I have ever eaten in my whole life. If you have not read my first three blogs on this topic you can catch up here.
Started day 1 with a Cherry Cinnamon Apple Bake with 1 cup cherries, 2 apples chopped, 3 T raisins, 1T cinnamon, 1/2 t nutmeg, bake for 45 min. at 375 degrees. Delish!
Day 1
I am doing a ten day fruit and vegetable fast cutting our all dairy, grains, packaged foods and animal protein to help my body heal. You can read my goals for the fast here on blog #2.
I am following the ten day menu from a nutritionist for the ‘Join the Reboot’ team. I am getting weekly colonics to help my digestive system get back to it’s original healthy ‘just like a new born baby’ form, or close to that. That’s the plan anyway, but we know how plans go. I want my body to be able to digest it’s food and for me to get all the healthy nutrients from the healthier foods I’ll be eating.
Menu, Plan Ahead
V8 Juice for breakfast Day 2. Beets, carrots, celery, tomatoes, parsley, jalapeno, radishes, beet greens. This made enough for me and my husband both to have a full 16 oz glass of juice.
So far the menu is very healthy and delicious. However, if you are planning to start this program, know that it is a whole lot of vegetables and a lot different ones. For instance, they have you use a tiny bit of jicama the first day but not again in the first few days. I never buy hicama and haven’t had it since I was a child. Good to try it again and I do like the crunch it adds to salads. But, I didn’t look at the menus soon enough before starting the cleanse to know this or to alter them so I could buy less veggies. Plus, the goal is to eat a variety. So, I am using the ‘extra’ vegetables in salads along the way and just modifying the diet a bit here and there. But, you will have to buy a ton of vegetables so plan on that expense ahead of time. Lucky for me I have neighbors and students with farms and gardens helping me out. Thank you to my wonderful clients and neighbors helping me out. You know who you are. Having your own garden would really help with this project.
Modify the Plan for YOUR Body
Modify by adding more protein if you need to in the beginning or some healthy whole grains. You can always do the full plan at another time. Work towards what you body can do and stay healthy and successful now.
My doctor has me adding small amounts of healthy protein in the morning and lunch meals for my blood sugar issue. I think because I’m an overachiever and wanted to do the cleanest diet possible, closest to the actual one on the program, I didn’t eat enough protein. I added one egg in the morning and one scoop of the Isagenix vanilla whey protein powder in my mid day juice. Not enough. By about 5pm I was hitting a wall. For me, hitting a wall, usually means emotionally. I get irritated, frustrated and start going on and on about things I’m angry about. This is not a pretty seen and my family usually heads to their respective corners to ignore my tirades and read their books.
First Day Frustrations
Mom frustrations
I was most frustrated by the amounts of food preparation that goes into the meals. I guess I thought it would be a lot more juice, not salads, soups, steamed veggies, baked fruit, etc. The juices are not too bad for prep, but the rest take a great deal of washing, chopping and time. I’m a mom, a wife, a house keeper, and a Reiki Master/Psychic, life is busy. I also tend to be a lazy cook because I don’t like cooking that much. I’m not sure how people who work full time would be able to do all this AND work AND take care of their families. Plan for that too. It is time consuming changing old habits into new ones. I guess people who work would prepare a lot at night to be ready for the next day. I’m usually too tired at night to do this and so I do my prep in the morning. However, by the time I’m done with my prep for a morning fruit menu item ANd a late morning snack, it’s almost lunch time. (Consider they have six meals on the menu plus some snacks.)
Eat All the Veggies You Want
It’s a whole lot of food. They want you to eat almost all your calories in vegetables and feel full the whole time. That part is good, but I ALWAYS FEEL FULL. Most people don’t complain about that when doing a diet but with this one you will. Also, lot of these menu items I have never made before so it’s all new to me. New to me causes anxiety to me. But, I push though and do my best. I have literally spent the entire two days preparing vegetables. I’m not sure what I thought was going to happen, but this is what it is.
Always Hopeful
Now I know as I get used to the diet it will be easier and I’ll figure out short cuts like I do for salad. I make a huge salad on the weekend and what we do not eat I bag up with paper towels in the bag to keep it fresh and soak up the excess moisture. This way, the salad will last up to four days or so. Sometimes I’ll have to re-wash it before hand, but, easy way to have salad ready to go for the work week. These are the kind of tricks I’m learning and will put into place for the next time I do this cleanse. I felt much better emotionally after I had a nice salad for dinner with avocado and sea salt. Yes, I’ve been craving salt. There was actually so much food on the menu, don’t tell, but I skipped the soup and steamed vegetables. I was DONE with vegetables by then and just couldn’t eat another bite. I ended the day with my herbal tea and went to bed.
Suggestions if You Are Starting Your Reboot
Healthy proteins, like hard boiled eggs, nuts, seeds, beans and fish are good to add in the beginning if you are concerned about doing the cleanse the first time from an unhealthy diet or have blood sugar issues.
Other than the five o’ clock tirade, I did very well. My impression is, with this healthy veggie fast, the healthier your diet is going into the plan, the easier it will be on you physically, mentally and emotionally during. I have already spent years cutting out packaged foods, animal protein, simple carbs, sugar and such. I eat at least one large salad every day and lots of other fruits and veggies. If you are starting this Reboot plan for the first time from a place of eating McDonalds regularly then you will probably have a much harder time. Don’t give up, just alter it a bit. I might recommend a modified plan that you can work with your doctor or nutritionist with. Start slow and work towards one of these full on fruit and veggie plans for later. Just a suggestion. The goal is to be healthier and help your body, not to hurt it. If you take on too much too soon, you may be setting yourself up for failure. It’s more important to DO it for long term success than it is to take on more than you can chew, literally.
Please feel free to ask me questions or to lovingly comment if you have suggestions yourself. Love to hear from you!
Third in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
To read the first and second blog in the series to get caught up click on the link. (Blog 1 or blog 2)
Pre-Cleanse
I have been doing a pre-cleanse to get ready for the full 10 day fruit and veggie cleanse. I got a lot of my pre–cleanse recipes from My Juice Cleanse. It is a great site with free recipes and helpful articles. They helped me with a lot of my early research too. It is recommended to do a pre-cleanse to get the most results from your cleanse that the week before you start the cleanse to do certain things to prepare. Here is what they recommend from the Reboot Your Life website:
Say goodbye to: processed junk foods, white flours, sugar/desserts, fried food, fast food, processed meats, alcohol and begin to wean yourself off caffeine.
Say hello to: salads, soups, smoothies with a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, natural nut butters, beans and legumes.
The food pyramid I’m working off of but with actually less breads and cereals as my body does not really want them. My body wants it’s carbs from vegetables. Every body is different. Learn to listen to YOUR BODY,
Transitioning off animal proteins: choose wild-caught fish, organic eggs and gradually decrease poultry during the week and choose only organic varieties when you eat them. By last day of the week, your protein should come solely from plant sources such as beans, nuts, and legumes (for example, black beans, hummis, chick-peas, lentils).
Transitioning off dairy: choose only low or non-fat organic dairy with little to no added sugars. If you choose soy, rice or almond milk, have unflavored/plain to limit the sugar content. Choose organic cheese, and transition from cow’s milk cheese to goat cheese by the middle of the week. By the end of the week (day 5) all dairy should be out of your diet to prepare for the Reboot.
This cleanse is fruits and veggies with no dairy, meats, breads or cereals. This Pre-Cleanse gets you ready for the full cleanse and makes the cleanse easier on you emotionally and physically. I feel it working.
My Results of the Pre-Cleanse
I started the full cleanse today. While talking to a friend on the phone about how I’m feeling today, starting the full cleanse, I realized how much progress I’ve made already. Just by doing the pre-cleanse I have altered thought processes that are critical to my success. I’ve started being much more discerning about what I eat FOR MY BODY, not my emotions. When I’m wanting to grab something fast and easy like a cheese stick, I automatically stop, and I start thinking “hmm, if I eat this, I’ll then have to spend time and energy making sure it gets released completely from my body system. (The colonic helped with this too. More on that later.) Do I want this badly enough to do that extra work and to make my body work that hard.” WOW, this is a huge difference from “I’m hungry, I need to eat something quick and easy now.” Or from my typical emotional response, “I need some cheese, or I need some chips and salsa. Nothing else will satisfy me.” Just by doing the pre-cleanse WITH INTENTIONS and GOALS I have started shifting my energy system enough to create major change in my mental thought processes and belief systems. This is huge for me. I’m more concerned about the health of my body than I am making my inner child happy with food.
Energy to Do What I Need to Do
I also noticed yesterday, for the first time in years, I had a full and busy day with a lot of driving to get to my doctor for my colonic and then the kids to their doctors in a whole other city, literally 3 to 4 hours of driving. Usually driving wears me out for the whole day and I’m resting up from it rather than being productive. Yesterday I did all the driving, a colonic for the first time, doctors appointments for my kids, shopping for my cleanse and dinner for my family and I still was going at the end of the day. WOW, for me, chronic fatigue for seventeen years, this was a massive change. THIS gave me a great deal of hope and confidence that this cleanse is truly going to change my life.
The Pre-Work
Meditation, I have found, is THE best way to raise your vibration, work on your emotional patterns, change your subconscious belief systems and connect with your higher self. Plus it’s relative easy to learn, the trick is to DO IT! As with anything, practice makes better!
The pre-work is different from the pre-cleanse. I’ve been doing the pre-work for months now, probably years. I’ve been meditating, doing Reiki, working with Naturopaths and healers to help me get to this point. I’ve worked with hypnotherapists and most recently an MFCC who does Energy Psychology (a mix of Donna Eden’s energy work and Emotional Freedom Technique) to rewrite the beliefs in my subconscious mind. ALL of this has helped me to get ready for TODAY. All of this has helped me to be ready, really ready to give up the belief systems, the dairy and the old eating patterns to the point where I KNOW deep down that I will be successful, for a lifetime.
Real Life Example
For example. With the energy psychology this week we worked on belief patterns that I didn’t believe I could be successful with the cleanse AND be healthy too. This went along with another belief that I had, I believed I needed lots of food and lots of dairy or animal protein in particular in order to stay alive. These were not rational thoughts because my rational mind (10%) does not agree with these thoughts. However, my subconscious mind (90%) does believe them and therefore that is what I follow, knowing it or not. Now I know it, and have worked on it and released it. I did this by tapping on my meridian systems with the EFT process.
I was ill from malnourishment in many lives.
It turns out as I was tapping on these beliefs I was able to watch and see the past lives that these beliefs came from. I had five past lives where I was starving to death but only actually died in one of them. The other lives I just got very ill and was not able to care for my family. My soul held on to the belief that I got sick from not having enough to eat, enough protein. That is how our minds work sometimes. I had to hold on to those beliefs until I could understand them, learn from them and then release them. Now that I have done that, I can truly change. I am changing my eating habits permanently. And that is what it takes to truly reboot your life. It feels good and it feels good to share this with my friends, clients, students and internet readers. I pray this helps to motivate some of you to reboot your life too.
Working on your mind, your subconscious belief pattern are in my opinion, one of the first places to start before you start any diet or healthy new way of eating. Work on those first and the rest will stick.
Got to Be Ready
Don’t rush into it, however. Do the pre-work. Do the research. Do the mind work. DO until you are truly ready to do this for life. These are big changes and I believe people need to be truly ready. I also believe in order to be successful you need to do one major dietary change at a time. If you do more you’ll most likely get overwhelmed and not stick with it for the long haul. These are lifelong changes in eating, not temporary. You have to be ready. But, have no fear. The energy is so strong for change this year that for those waking up, change is happening automatically and faster than usual. THIS is a great time to make major changes like this with Divine Source along with you to help and guide.
I also recommend working with someone like me, or another spiritual support person to guide you and help you along the way with mental thought patterns, emotional addictions, issues of letting go, energy work, etc. I’m not doing this alone, I don’t expect anyone to do it alone. Gather your support team and do the FIRST dietary change YOU feel is more important for you. That is how I have done it and that is how I’ve been able to be successful with each step, including this one. I’m thinking ahead on that one.
Love and Light to you all,
Good Luck on YOUR personal challenges this month. I’m here with you.
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In Love and Light of the Divine, Welcome to my website/blog where I share ideas on how to live a more spiritual life using Reiki and other spiritual tools and techniques. I help private clients like you break through blockages keeping them from moving forward on their spiritual path.
