Rise and SHINE!

Breanna & Barbara Poolside '79

I spent Sunday afternoon with my dear friend with whom I grew up.  Our enduring friendship started when we were both eating easily digested mashed foods from glass jars, and progressed through the baloney sandwiches of our childhood and fast foods gobbled down in our cars as we drove to our important teen-aged destinations.

My eating habits changed dramatically since those days, but my friend’s did not, and I lamented that fact, often trying to convert her to a “healthier” way of eating. Before we met for the afternoon, however, she mentioned to me that she is on a new vegetarian-esque health food kick.  Her conversion was instantaneous after watching a rather disgusting documentary on farm-raised fish. Awakened from the darkness of her bad food coma, she was pushed into the light of nutritious eating.

I rejoiced for her and then also wondered why it took so long for her to make her way over to this “awake” way of nourishing her body and soul.  And as those thoughts passed through my mind she began to explain…

She said that she remembered all of the times I chattered at her about the benefits of fresh food eating, encouraging her to eliminate processed and fast foods from her diet.  I slaved away in the kitchen trying to impress her with my mostly plant-based meals, but the ideas just never really stuck and she used to think my body was just overly sensitive to run-of-the-mill (mainstream processed) foods.

She now realizes that she could never really gel with what I was saying because she had no visceral connection to it.  She had no idea that she could feel this well, eating consistently “healthy” and by “healthy” I am referring to the new way Breanna has been eating for the last several months.  She has eliminated fast and processed foods and eats a plant-based diet.  She loves legumes, drools over fresh kale salad and pops asparagus like french fries.  (This is a girl who used to make gagging faces when I mentioned the word, “broccoli!”)  Her taste buds have been revived!  She told me that because she feels so darned good, it would be impossible for her to revert back to her old ways.  She is amazed that her dietary switch has resulted in increased energy, elevated and inspired moods and easy weight loss.

Breanna has awakened!  Once we are awake and really FEEL awake, it is difficult to drift back to sleep.

So, we finished our health conversation during delicious lunch at True Food in Santa Monica.  If you haven’t been, you must go!  Fresh organic deliciousness for the Veg and Carnivore alike.  They tend to gluten free needs and their wines are as tasty as their fresh juice concoctions.

Breanna said that in the past she had just thought it was part of the digestive process to feel sluggish and drained after eating.  Now she knows and literally feels in her gut that it should be the exact opposite…

After kale salads, coconut curry and green drink infusions we floated right out of True Food feeling elevated, nourished and awake!

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