My One Hundredth Post! Happy Birthday Veggies:)

This is my one hundredth post at Baltimore Bliss. It was around this time last year that I became a vegetarian. Its funny that I took a step further recently by transitioning into a vegan diet. I am dedicated to continuing this journey. Next year, I'll be writing my 200th post and remarking upon the new healthy lifestyle choices I've discovered. It just keeps getting better.

Thank god for blogs. Sometimes I get a little blue, unmotivated, blah, whatever you want to call it. After reading a few entries by bloggers like Kris Carr, Bueller, LolaBloom, Bunny Berry, the crew at We Like It Raw, and many many more, my mood lifts and I feel motivated to get off my butt and do something productive (or at least be more positive and thankful)!

I think there is a Vitamix in my future...My hubby knows that it is at the top of my birthday wish list, so I'll let you know in a few weeks if he delivers! Hopefully, I'll be in Green Smoothie heaven soon:)

It is my fourth day on Natalia Rose's 21 day Life Force Energy Plan. So far, so good. I am keeping a food/mood journal and I hope that this exercise will help me realize patterns in eating and how certain foods and habits effect my well being. I am sticking to Rose's food combining guidelines, which has helped with digestion and general comfort throughout the day. Although breathing exercises are something that I became familiar with through yoga, the fact that these exercises are part of her plan help me to make time for them throughout the day. I am also paying special attention to my sleeping patterns and the amount of time between meals. Overall, my diet has become more raw and vegan over the past few days. I have integrated 70% organic dark chocolate into my diet because Rose states that 50 grams per day is ok...we'll see. Its difficult for me to stop at 50g! I am eating more fruit in the morning also.

Its too soon to tell how this new lifestyle has effected me, but I'll let you know over the coming weeks!

ps- Oprah is doing a 21-day vegan cleanse, check it out!

A New Earth and the "Voice" in Our Heads

Even if you haven't read the book, I highly recommend watching the webcasts of Oprah's talks with Eckhart Tolle, author of A New Earth. Oprah and Tolle discussed the first chapter of the book this past Monday and they will be talking about Chapter two today.

Tolle writes a lot about that "voice" in our heads, also know as our ego. For years, I believed that voice, which caused unnecessary guilt and sadness (I still get tricked by it sometimes). I'm not talking about a "voice" that tells me that aliens have landed on earth. This "voice" is one that could be mistaken as my own. It is the voice that says things like: "You're never going to get that job, you're fat, you're not worthy of this happiness, you should feel guilt about this or that", and so on. Tolle gives simple insight into how to separate from the ego. He suggests that we observe these voices, step away from their harsh judgments, and bring our focus to the present. Sounds easy, right? Well, not for me at least.

As I awoke this morning the first thoughts that came to me were: "Get out of bed! Your wasting your time! You're never going to get everything you need to get done today!" Rather than enjoying those last few moments in bed, my heart was racing. Luckily, I recognized these "voices" and was able to observe them and push them aside, savoring a few more cozy moments. I am going to start writing these thoughts down and see if I can find some patterns. Writing them down also helps you to separate your true self from the ego (voices).

Anyone else recognize a similar voice in their head? How do you cope with this negative thinking?

A New Earth and In Defense of Food

I picked up two books today-A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I've already dived into both of them. In addition, I will be discussing the books with two wonderful communities . Kris Carr's blogging community is reading The Defense o f Food and Oprah's Book Club is reading A New Earth.


I'm so confused about food right now and I can already tell that Michael Pollan's book will set the record straight in a simple way. I'm also struggling to stay positive, focused, and in the moment. Eckhart's book, The Power of Now helped me make some positive changes in my everyday life and I hope that A New Earth will take these changes a step further.