I'm no extremist.

I really am not and never intended to be a raw food extremist when I first signed up for this Raw Food Course. If anything, I simply clicked the purchase button to which my credit card is conveniently linked upon reading this deal. I'd say I'm curious and really just beginning my journey of learning more about health and nutrition. Upon further research this week, I came across some negative reviews in regards to eating raw. You see apparently cold/raw food is hard to digest as the body has to heat the food up to  37 degrees before proper digestion can occur. In the process of your digestive system trying to digest the raw food, it can essentially only end up being able to do half the job its supposed to and therefore not even be able to absorb all the nutrients that are found in "raw foods". This would of course defeat the purpose of eating raw in the first place.

So, where does this leave me? 

Well. I still am keen to trial a 28 day dietary change of some sort. I think having this course will help keep me on track. I do not however intend to go 100% raw. In fact, the course does suggest you can try to just start switching one-two meals to be raw daily. So I think this is the approach I will use. I will try to incorporate other dietary changes I have been researching in regards to; limited sugar, gluten, processed foods, vegan etc and not have it be strictly limited to raw.

See, I'm no extremist. I will probably stuff up and fail on many occasions throughout the 28 days. But I'm willing to try something. And you've gotta start somewhere I guess.

*I haven't even ordered the necessary ingredients to begin this new diet anyways...so it will be another week until I can begin. 

Raw Food Beginnings; 10 things I"m learning.

Here is what I'm learning so-far as I read through the program guide of the 28 Day Rawsome Transformation Program that I just recently signed up for. 

This is me taking 10 simple points on how I can best plan and prepare for me to follow the program.

1. Download and print all the files received from purchasing this program
2. Get familiar with the recipes and write out an achievable menu plan
3. Choose my official launch date. This will have to be Thursday or Friday of next week that is when I'll be able to get an order from the barge by.
4. In this week leading up, begin to cut down on 
   "dairy, meat, alcohol, soft drinks, sodas, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, refined sugar, frozen dinners, chocolate, coffee, nicotine, wheat ie. bread, baked goods, pasta, pizza. On launch day you will eliminate these foods all together".
5. "Follow the 80/20 rule, 80% vegetables on your plate and 20% protein or gluten free grains (such as amaranth, millet, or quinoa) on your plate is a good guide to go by".
6.  The program suggests to throw away all the foods you will no-longer be consuming. This however is impossible for me as we have to feed twelve teenage girls who would likely have my head if I started throwing away their nutella and ice cream. So, in this area I must simply exercise awesome self-control.
7. "Check my equipment" Well. here it suggests that I make sure my juicer and blender are in good working condition and to consider purchasing things like a vege spiraliser and dehydrator...but I'll wait to see what happens before I go all hard out like that.
8. Learn to deal with cravings and figure out what it is that my body is actually needing verses wanting. As well as assess the  emotions behind the cravings as well. This could be good.
9. I pretty much just wanted to copy paste the entire point on Stop Counting Calories. This interests me as I've just entered a weight loss challenge, so it will be very interesting to see if I can still loose as much weight as those who count calories. Heres what they say;   "A raw food diet is not about deprivation or calorie restriction. In fact the more you restrict calories, the more your body thinks its in a famine and will hold onto weight. When your body is receiving optimum fuel it will utilise it all for energy, and not get stored as fat because it recognises it as REAL food! You will find you can eat as much salad, sprouts, superfoods or have as many green juices or smoothies as you like and still lose weight. Fat is a toxin store so by consuming detoxifying foods your body will begin to release stored toxins and the fat will melt away. Your body will reach an equilibrium when it is at its optimal weight. Nuts are nutrient dense foods and loaded with good fats which are crucial for bodily functions, and an important part of the raw food diet, however use in moderation. Stick to the 80/20 rule her"
10. Use the journal provided every day of the 28 program. I will try as best as possible to do this here on the blog as I think a digital version will serve me better and something I can refer back to easily.

 *An important side note to remember in all this is I don't want this new diet (food I'm consuming) to become majorly expensive. So I will try to stick to the Dirty Dozen Clean Fifteen, Which is a list of foods which are ok to buy from the store as per usual and ones that you should really buy organically based on their pesticide residue. We also are in the process of planting our own garden so, this will not just appear overnight, so I"ll allow myself to be flexible where need be in this area. 

Term 2; campfires and hairy men.

Well Hello There.

Greetings from the Tiwi Islands. 

I don't know about you?, but this year is just flying! I can't believe we are about to begin week 5 of term 2.

It was really great to go back to Brisbane to visit family and friends for the holidays. We came back feeling very refreshed and supported. We were unsure what to expect from the girls coming into term 2. However, we have been pleasantly surprised at how well everyone settled back into routine. There is also a sense of closeness and relationship has obviously just come through time as we all learn to trust and enjoy each other. Of course, we've had some hard times thrown into the mix but as I sit here to write this it's the good and more pleasant times that I remember most and will share with you here.

Our house serving at Community Dinner in week 2

 As it is the dry season now, it means nights are a bit cooler. We have made a nice big area to have bonfires after homework and have also taken the girls out for drives. They like trying to hunt for possums, however I'm not sure who of our girls will actually run out of the car when they see one?. The girls and even some of the boys get quite scared at night time due to stories of the "hairy man" running around and grabbing people...But they never cease to surprise me, so we shall see when the time comes.

Nancy teaching us how to make damper

We have had pretty much a full house (12 girls) since the beginning of this term. We have two new girls who have joined us and are such a great addition here at FGH4. It's also been encouraging to have the girls from last term come back every week. This week the senior girls are away for work experience in Darwin. They were a little nervous, but we know they will do a great job and hopefully they will learn a few things from being away. 

Our two new girls (sisters) Jessie and Kathleen

Well thats us for now.

Thought it was about time for an update as before we know it the term will be over.

We'll be back soon, as you can see we have changed our blog around to be something that documents all different areas of our life. So feel free to subscribe via email or just check in whenever you think of us.

Your prayers and encouragement is greatly needed and is changing lives out here...

Love,
Mr & Mrs M