Monday, November 23, 2009
Moving Day!
For the blog, that is. Since moving to Korea, I have been writing on a new "primary" blog. Seeing as I am an infrequent blogger at best, I thought it wise to pool my efforts and consolidate posts into one space. My dear friend/web designer/life guru Mel custom-designed a blog I adore over at www.olivialindquist.com/blog (The View from There), so that's where all posts will be housed from now on. If you've been using RSS feeds (Linda...), you can now change them over so you're no longer following Full Well, and instead follow The View from There. (There's an itty bitty link all the way down at the bottom.) You'll still get all the health and wellness updates (tagged "Full Well), but you'll also get to see snapshots from my travels and stories about teaching and living in Korea. If people hate this change, let me know, and I'll split them back up.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
His and Her Dinnertime
It appears my health kick may have gotten the better of me. Just after my last post, my health took a nosedive (frustrating!), but I'm getting back on track. Note to self: do not -- I repeat, do NOT -- celebrate newfound health by going out to drinking sake with your awesome boyfriend and his friends until 3am. You will pay for it.
But, as I said, after completely derailing my system with too much sake (really, who can keep track with all those tiny cups) and too many tomatoes (acid overload gave me quite the upset stomach; took a wise woman to clue me into that), I'm getting back to basics, bit by bit.
My stomach has finally settled, and when I got home from work, my body was screaming for some fresh produce. I pulled out my blender and made a watermelon-banana-kiwi smoothie complete with protein/enzyme and wheatgrass powders. Tasted...earthy, but good. I could just feel my body rejoicing over all the nutrients. And I'm going to indulge in some microwave popcorn later to accompany my In Treatment marathon.
Now, my fella, for those who don't know him, is one amazing dude. I call him the Big Friendly Giant, in a nod to Roald Dahl. He plays soccer, he does yoga, he supports all my wacky health adventures and cuts up veggies to go with the hummus. The man also loves. his. junkfood. So I couldn't help but laugh when I had wheatgrass-infused smoothie for dinner, and he had...nachos with fake cheese, BBQ Pringles, a few glasses of wine, and a Snickers dark bar. Don't get me wrong, I am all for indulgences, but it was quite the reminder that he's the yang to my yin. Or yin to my yang. I always get that mixed up.
But, as I said, after completely derailing my system with too much sake (really, who can keep track with all those tiny cups) and too many tomatoes (acid overload gave me quite the upset stomach; took a wise woman to clue me into that), I'm getting back to basics, bit by bit.
My stomach has finally settled, and when I got home from work, my body was screaming for some fresh produce. I pulled out my blender and made a watermelon-banana-kiwi smoothie complete with protein/enzyme and wheatgrass powders. Tasted...earthy, but good. I could just feel my body rejoicing over all the nutrients. And I'm going to indulge in some microwave popcorn later to accompany my In Treatment marathon.
Now, my fella, for those who don't know him, is one amazing dude. I call him the Big Friendly Giant, in a nod to Roald Dahl. He plays soccer, he does yoga, he supports all my wacky health adventures and cuts up veggies to go with the hummus. The man also loves. his. junkfood. So I couldn't help but laugh when I had wheatgrass-infused smoothie for dinner, and he had...nachos with fake cheese, BBQ Pringles, a few glasses of wine, and a Snickers dark bar. Don't get me wrong, I am all for indulgences, but it was quite the reminder that he's the yang to my yin. Or yin to my yang. I always get that mixed up.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
My how you've changed, little tastebuds
Hokey/crunchy/granola as it may sound, today has left me in awe of what Mother Earth can do. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking. I love experimenting with flavors and spices and combinations. When I'm in a cheese-eating phase (read: almost all the time), I will seek out prime pecorino or buttery brie. Sometimes I think I could live on truffles alone, save for some food as a vehicle for the taste. Fresh organic veggies -- especially from one of the amazing gardens in my family -- are a treat.
But somehow, despite all that foodie appreciativeness, I've so often overlooked the amazing simple pleasures of pure food. Today, my friends, has been a lesson in appreciation.
This morning...er, afternoon, we met up with a friend to go to an American style diner for brunch. It was, simply put, the bacon test. I resisted. That's right. I, Olivia Lindquist, declined bacon. Bacon in syrup, no less. How? you ask? Because I was too busy savoring my heaping bowl of fruits and veggies. Blackberries, raspberries, honeydew, kiwi, bananas, apples, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, crisp lettuce.
I made a simplified fruit salad later in the day for a hefty snack, and marveled at all the flavors inherent in the fruits. The apple chunks were cold and crisp and sweet, the banana was just firm enough, and sweet without being cloying, and kiwi added the perfect amount of tang. I kept looking at my bowl, almost talking to the fruits to ask: How do you do this, guys! You're awesome! (Don't worry. I didn't talk to my food. I'm not there...yet.)
Now I'm sitting here, chomping on my dinner, feeling pretty darn lucky. I used my new cheapo mandolin, and put together a HUGE salad, all built around my precious avocado, which has been ripening for a few days. The raw zucchini and carrots were sliced to matchstick size, then I added thin slices of raw red cabbage and red pepper, a big handful of sprouts, half an avocado (cubed), and small handful of raisins, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. "Eat the rainbow" is one of my favorite healthy maxims, and I have definitely accomplished that goal today.
There's a giant bag in the fridge for lunch and/or dinner tomorrow, and I'll pair it with some fresh greens and maybe cubed eggplant. I admit, though, I'm still shocked that this is what I want to be eating. I don't feel deprived in the least as MB sits near me, chomping on his leftover fajita. I feel incredibly lucky to have such delicious, nutritious food to feed my body.
But somehow, despite all that foodie appreciativeness, I've so often overlooked the amazing simple pleasures of pure food. Today, my friends, has been a lesson in appreciation.
This morning...er, afternoon, we met up with a friend to go to an American style diner for brunch. It was, simply put, the bacon test. I resisted. That's right. I, Olivia Lindquist, declined bacon. Bacon in syrup, no less. How? you ask? Because I was too busy savoring my heaping bowl of fruits and veggies. Blackberries, raspberries, honeydew, kiwi, bananas, apples, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, crisp lettuce.
I made a simplified fruit salad later in the day for a hefty snack, and marveled at all the flavors inherent in the fruits. The apple chunks were cold and crisp and sweet, the banana was just firm enough, and sweet without being cloying, and kiwi added the perfect amount of tang. I kept looking at my bowl, almost talking to the fruits to ask: How do you do this, guys! You're awesome! (Don't worry. I didn't talk to my food. I'm not there...yet.)
Now I'm sitting here, chomping on my dinner, feeling pretty darn lucky. I used my new cheapo mandolin, and put together a HUGE salad, all built around my precious avocado, which has been ripening for a few days. The raw zucchini and carrots were sliced to matchstick size, then I added thin slices of raw red cabbage and red pepper, a big handful of sprouts, half an avocado (cubed), and small handful of raisins, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. "Eat the rainbow" is one of my favorite healthy maxims, and I have definitely accomplished that goal today.
There's a giant bag in the fridge for lunch and/or dinner tomorrow, and I'll pair it with some fresh greens and maybe cubed eggplant. I admit, though, I'm still shocked that this is what I want to be eating. I don't feel deprived in the least as MB sits near me, chomping on his leftover fajita. I feel incredibly lucky to have such delicious, nutritious food to feed my body.
Friday, August 14, 2009
I'm back...
What's this? A Full Well post? But Olivia, you haven't posted here in almost a year!
Yeah, well, a lot has changed in the last year. I was doing so well while I kept this blog, and then life happened, and I just didn't have the stamina to write on here. Not to mention, I would've felt like a big, fat hypocrite, as I pretty much let my health take a nosedive.
Last summer, my health was in crisis, and I used all the resources I had at my disposal to "solve" the crisis. I did a pretty good job, if I may say so myself. Well, lo and behold, it's summer 2009, and my health...sucks. Er, sucked. Just over a week ago, I was in tears at my desk because I felt so awful and didn't know what to do about it. I had, to use a buzzphrase, reached my tipping point.
The great news is that all that (expensive) hard work I did last summer to figure out how to be healthy was applicable now, too. I was in a much better position this time around because this time I didn't have to solve anything (though I thought maybe I did), I just had to implement what I already knew. So here's what I did:
1. Called on the collective wisdom of the forum over on crazysexylife.com. Boy do those folks know their stuff and have a giant, heaping portion of compassion to serve along with it.
2. Placed an order with www.iherb.com, which happens to have amazingly inexpensive ($5!) shipping to Seoul. If you're curious, I ordered chlorella powder, wheat grass powder, and a super duper amazing multi.
3. Trekked -- it may have been a block and a half, but with how awful I felt, it seemed like a trek -- to the overpriced department store, which happens to have a great produce section, and bought all the produce I wanted: sprouts, mixed greens, bell peppers, bananas, cherry tomatoes, a massive-and-juicy apple.
4. Ate the produce. Not all at once, but bit by bit.
5. Logged on to Raw Fu , and signed up for the 100 day Raw Fu Challenge, which started this past Monday.
6. Drank my enzyme/protein powder.
7. Drank a TON of water.
The next day, I woke up, exhausted, and got some pissy news I don't feel like getting into here. It's all fine now, but sent me into quite a tailspin for the next few days. In the past, a super high stress event like this would have led me to "screw it" mode as I inhaled Snickers bars and french fries. But not this time.
Why? It can only be because I was ready for this change. Physically, emotionally, spriritualy ready to do it. The kicker is, it's been easy. Caffeine, gone. Sugar, gone. Meat/dairy/eggs, gone. Cooked food, gone. (Aside from two little incidents, one of which I regret, the other I don't.) But I don't feel deprived.
I feel good.
In fact, today, I feel really good. For the first time in who knows how long, I had energy and took a (short) walk. My body needed to move so badly that I started doing a little yoga...at work. (The iherb shipment arrived yesterday, so I've had my multi and chlorella. Coincidence? Maybe. But I'll take it.)
I'm not ready to declare that I'm a raw foodist, and I'm certainly not being super strict or limiting myself. I'm working on being gentle with myself, and forgiving, and just listening to what my body needs.
The health kick is back -- though this time I hope it sticks around -- so stay tuned. I've got lots to blab about.
Yeah, well, a lot has changed in the last year. I was doing so well while I kept this blog, and then life happened, and I just didn't have the stamina to write on here. Not to mention, I would've felt like a big, fat hypocrite, as I pretty much let my health take a nosedive.
Last summer, my health was in crisis, and I used all the resources I had at my disposal to "solve" the crisis. I did a pretty good job, if I may say so myself. Well, lo and behold, it's summer 2009, and my health...sucks. Er, sucked. Just over a week ago, I was in tears at my desk because I felt so awful and didn't know what to do about it. I had, to use a buzzphrase, reached my tipping point.
The great news is that all that (expensive) hard work I did last summer to figure out how to be healthy was applicable now, too. I was in a much better position this time around because this time I didn't have to solve anything (though I thought maybe I did), I just had to implement what I already knew. So here's what I did:
1. Called on the collective wisdom of the forum over on crazysexylife.com. Boy do those folks know their stuff and have a giant, heaping portion of compassion to serve along with it.
2. Placed an order with www.iherb.com, which happens to have amazingly inexpensive ($5!) shipping to Seoul. If you're curious, I ordered chlorella powder, wheat grass powder, and a super duper amazing multi.
3. Trekked -- it may have been a block and a half, but with how awful I felt, it seemed like a trek -- to the overpriced department store, which happens to have a great produce section, and bought all the produce I wanted: sprouts, mixed greens, bell peppers, bananas, cherry tomatoes, a massive-and-juicy apple.
4. Ate the produce. Not all at once, but bit by bit.
5. Logged on to Raw Fu , and signed up for the 100 day Raw Fu Challenge, which started this past Monday.
6. Drank my enzyme/protein powder.
7. Drank a TON of water.
The next day, I woke up, exhausted, and got some pissy news I don't feel like getting into here. It's all fine now, but sent me into quite a tailspin for the next few days. In the past, a super high stress event like this would have led me to "screw it" mode as I inhaled Snickers bars and french fries. But not this time.
Why? It can only be because I was ready for this change. Physically, emotionally, spriritualy ready to do it. The kicker is, it's been easy. Caffeine, gone. Sugar, gone. Meat/dairy/eggs, gone. Cooked food, gone. (Aside from two little incidents, one of which I regret, the other I don't.) But I don't feel deprived.
I feel good.
In fact, today, I feel really good. For the first time in who knows how long, I had energy and took a (short) walk. My body needed to move so badly that I started doing a little yoga...at work. (The iherb shipment arrived yesterday, so I've had my multi and chlorella. Coincidence? Maybe. But I'll take it.)
I'm not ready to declare that I'm a raw foodist, and I'm certainly not being super strict or limiting myself. I'm working on being gentle with myself, and forgiving, and just listening to what my body needs.
The health kick is back -- though this time I hope it sticks around -- so stay tuned. I've got lots to blab about.
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