Healthy Chicks

Last weekend, I took a spontaneous trip to Atlanta to visit my boyfriend and his mother at the Living Foods Institute (LFI). My boyfriend Jason and his mother Patty enrolled in the 17-day program to help treat Patty’s Early Onset Alzheimer’s holistically. You can read more about their journey here, or donate money to help support their cause here.

I hadn’t seen Jason for two weeks, so you could imagine how happy we were to be reunited at the airport on Friday night. Once they scooped me up, we went back to the hotel for lots of laughs and catching up. The next day, we woke up bright and early to drive to LFI and begin the day. Jason was SUPER excited to show me what he’d been up to the past couple of weeks.

We were pleasantly greeted with freshly juiced wheat grass shots, which tasted surprisingly good, and even a little on the sweet side. It’s amazing what a difference the fresh stuff can make! Wheat grass is especially helpful during a detox to help cleanse out your system and begin the healing process. They recommend to start with 1 oz. your first time, and gradually increase if you can handle it. I ended up taking 2 oz. and then went up to 3 oz. by the end of the weekend!

After we chased down our shots, along with a good amount of alkaline water, it was time to start “cooking.” I put this in quotations as there really was no actual “cooking” done, since everything there was raw and living. So in reality, it was more like creating.

While the recipes varied from day to day, today’s menu included raw lasagna made with thinly-sliced zucchini, nut “cheese,” sun dried tomato & date marinara. We then popped the lasagna in the dehydrator to lightly heat it at 105 degrees, thus still considered raw. I couldn’t believe how delicious the lasagna came out, especially how the nut cheese tasted like actual ricotta.

After some more recipe creations, I left the kitchen to start my Bach Flower therapy that Jason organized for me. I was super excited for this treatment, as I’ve been a fan of Bach Flower remedies ever since I discovered Rescue Remedy to help cope with stress and mild anxiety (think: before a speech or stressful day at work). In short, 38 different remedies were discovered based on certain flower essences to help deal with negative emotions. Rescue Remedy, which I use during “emergency” stressful situations, is a blend of five different Bach flowers.

However, during my session at LFI, the therapist actually created a special blend just for me. First, he asked me a series of questions about my life, as I blabbed away about my relationship, career, money woes, and general lifestyle habits. He also asked me traits I’d like to work on (like worrying, stressing out over my future, etc) and how someone else would finish this sentence: “Rachel is amazing. She’s kind, generous, loving, ambitious, but she______.” I said others, like Jason or my family, may say I worry too much about little things or need more direction (i.e. all over the place).

After casually chatting for a good 30 minutes or so, my blend was made. Here’s what was in my mixture:

Aspen: Replaces apprehension and vague fears with a sense of security and peace of mind 

Cerato: Instills decisiveness when you question your own judgement and ask others for advice

Cherry Plum: Helps you act rationally and think clearly with a clam and balanced mind when you’re losing control

Clematis: Helps you  live more actively in the present rather than in the future or in your own dream world

Larch: Instills a greater sense of self-esteem when you feel inferior, fear failure or lack confidence

Vervain: Helps you to relax when you are overly enthusiastic or strongly driven

White Chestnut: Encourages a peaceful and calm mind when thoughts and worries go round and round in your head

I’ve been applying the remedy in the morning on days I feel I need a little pick-me-up. So far, so good!

We spent the rest of the weekend in the kitchen making delicious meals, and the last day I was there I actually got a colonic to help rid my body of built-up toxins and fecal matter (although I won’t go into any more detail here.) All I will say is that it was much more pleasant than I had thought, and the therapist did her best to make it relaxing and comfortable.

Here’s a peak at some of the food we prepared:

[Veggie Nori Rolls]                           [raw & living salad with lentils, sprouts, cabbage & greens]

All in all, it was a wonderful, enlightening weekend filled with lots of joy. I was so happy to see Jason and his mother, who seems to be in great spirits as she begins her healing process!

Happy weekend-ing! Have you ever used Rescue Remedy? What’s your take on holistic healing?