The Phantom Flu

I ate ice cream for breakfast this morning!!! Anyone else?

Most people eat ice cream on birthdays and holidays. I eat it when I'm sick.

Sugary foods eff me up so bad. Either they run me down when I'm trying to work out, or they keep me awake with heart palpitations at night.

The only time I can afford to eat junk is when I can go nowhere and do nothing.

Today, I'm getting over the Phantom Flu.

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The Phantom Flu started when I showed up at my boyfriend's last Friday. It was his birthday. He was very very very sick.

Upon seeing him, I jumped back into my car and took off. NOT!!! It was his birthday! I ran to our local health food store. Over my shoulder, I cried: "It's not taking us without a fight!"

Here's what I bought for the great battle.

Echinacea Tincture

Gaia Herbs brand includes Goldenseal and St. John's Wort.

Coconut water (duh)

Vita Coco brand has vitamin C in it... nearly 2 times what you need for 1 day!

My favorite greens formula

This stuff has nearly 7 times the vitamin C you need for one day!

My boyfriend eats VERY healthy. BUT he's not a psycho like me. Still - he really liked the green juices I made for him, mixing up the macro greens and the coconut water. On Monday, he texted me from work. "I want more green coconut water!" He said.

I LOVE when people I love love the tasty healthy food that I LOVE!!!

Sooo... back to the Phantom Flu. Did we win? Yes and no. I think I created a monster.

Friday, he was sick.

By Saturday, he felt completely better.

By Sunday, he was back in bed, feverish, and sleeping again.

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My sickness started on Monday. It made me feel out of it, but not so out of it that I couldn't go to work on Tuesday. By Tuesday evening, I was in bed moaning. Wednesday? Bouncing back. Thursday. Out of it. Again.

See? Phantom Flu.

Halfway through the week, I went back to the health food store. I bought some more stuff - some health Nazi cold fighters - just for myself.

Raw Garlic and Tomato Juice

I chop it up into the juice, let it sit for a couple hours, then drink. Glorious!

Women's Simply One

I can't believe it took me this long to take a multi-vitamin! I love it!

Probiotics and Spicy Foods!!!!

Perfect timing, no?

This was the best salad I've had in a long time!!!

Raw cultured kraut with local greens, kale chips, and probiotic cayenne hummus

I drank two boxes of tea!!!

For years, I've stood by Gypsy Cold Care, but I have to admit, I LOVE the peppery goodness of Yogi Cold Season tea.

Of course, neither one compares to my own brand, Beacon Tea!!!

Phantom Flu Slayer

Cinnamon
Ginger
Tumeric
Chili Powder
Cayenne
Raw Honey
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup almond milk

In the end - was it smart to crimefight the Phantom Flu?

Yes and no.

Echinacea and greens can only do so much. The illness still came for me. But it took only a part of me with it. This can be a good or bad thing.

To anyone who saw me this week, I didn't look sick at all. I had no runny nose, no cough, no chapped voice. But I felt HORRIBLE. I was nauseous. I had a headache. Every swallow felt like I was swallowing glass!

Sometimes, I wondered if it would've been better to just surrender!

Toots

What do you do when you get a cold or the flu?

100% Vegan... All the Way

www.bnsullivan.com

I swear. I will never be able to use the phrase "All the way," without thinking of this guy. I love this video so much I played it for my students. I tried to get them to have an intellectual discussion on it.

What can I say? I like to take risks in the classroom. Most of the time, it rocks. Sometimes it doesn't.

Let's move on. HA!

A couple months ago I changed the banner on this blog. It used to read: FartyGirl: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Sugar-free... How does she live? You know - it broadcast my foodie labels to the blogger community.

Unlike most food bloggers, I LIKE labels. I like labels because I am a writer. I LIKE words!

When living with various food restrictions, labels are SO helpful.

Take, for example, any gathering with family or friends. I love that I can automatically explain my eating choices with the use of a few labels.

For a long time, I referred to myself as vegan, even though I was still eating yogurt. It was just easier that way. Cheese remains one of my #1 offender foods. Yogurt is not. Calling myself vegetarian only adds to the chance that a family or friend will make something "specially" for me, that's oozing with melted cheese.

If you want to get technical about it - vegans who eat yogurt follow an Abkhazian diet.

I love the Abkhazians!

Let's move on!!!

I got rid of my labels because they were lies. Honestly? It's only three weeks that I've been a true vegan. GASP! Don't hate me!

Have I been eating yogurt?

No way!

From a dietary perspective, I am super vegan.

No... I've been anti-vegan in other ways.


I've been washing with Dove soap.

Dove soap is our family soap. It has washed my bits and pieces since 1978 (the year I was born). It's cottony smell is as familiar to me as the touch of my mother's ribbon-y fingers. It's boaty curves hug my right hand like my left. Thanks to Dove, I skipped the experimental "facewash" stage of adolescence. From head to toe - I was Dove-fresh and (mostly) blemish-free.

Even when Dove ran that stupid "it's okay if you're not skinny" campaign a few years ago...

... I stuck by them.

Every company on the planet advertises with anorexic bitches. Dove did the opposite. Why? To sell soap. All they really did was turn a couple heads. Did they start a modeling revolution? No. Because they never intended to.

Let's move on.

My feelings about Dove began to change back in 2005. That year, I taught some Public Speaking courses at a college outside of Boston. It was a school that offered a Vet Tech and an Equine major. When the unit on persuasion arrived, I got to sit through speeches about animal cruelty and testing. Oh yes - photo slide shows, videos, and all!

One day, one of my students passed out a list of companies that use animal testing. She explained that technology is so advanced today that no business is forced to test on animals. They do it because it's cheaper.

Unilever is on the list.

Food chain or bike chain - I don't care. Hurting living things to save a buck sucks. It's dicky.

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This is just my opinion. I mean NO offense to the non-vegans out there. Seriously. We all have reasons why we do what we do - and we should do what works best for us.

I'm just ranting about what works for me. Because this is my blog. :)

This past month, I left Dove soap behind forever. A couple factors contributed to the dumping. My mom, the one who fills the house with it, decided that it cost too much money. She thinks Caress is exactly the same. (It's not.)

It smells like 1982 up in here!

When I found out, I actually whined like a six year old to her. "What?!" I said. "You got rid of Dove? How could you?!"

Now that I had to buy the soap, I had to swallow the suds. And I realized something - finally putting my money where my mouth is. Dove soap kinda sucks.

Dove soap had sucked for me quite a bit over the years. Many nights, I laid in bed itching. If I didn't moisturize throughout the day, my fingers cracked from dryness. There were bumpy dry spots on the backs of my legs and arms. And my butt...?

Let's move on!!!

Here's what I've moved on to.

Jason Body Wash

Avalon Organics

No lie - before posting this, I clicked on the Dove website. Just seeing that little milky Dove logo fluttered waves of nostalgia through my guts.

Is that pathetic or what?

At the same time, every morning that I climb into the shower, I feel really good. I smell REAL FLOWERS in my soaps. When the suds wash away, my face doesn't feel waxy or chapped. It feels like it's not completely clean. It feels like there's some OIL left on it. I love that.

What's more - my bottom is SUPER SOFT!!!

Toots

What products have you used since you were young?
Why have you used them?

Do you get attached to material crap?
If so, what can you not give up?

How do you feel about vegan bod products?
Too much to worry about?
Too expensive? Or worth it?

Be honest - no judging here in FartLand!

Vegans - What vegan body and hair products do you stand by?

What about vegan make-up or deoderant? What are your faves?