Living Raw Veg

Hydro Colonics

2009-03-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today I had my first hydro colonics session. It was...interesting. For those of you who have done this, you know what I mean. I feel like my intestines went to the gym and got in a little workout.

The lady was really nice, and we talked and joked around the whole time. It didn't hurt too bad, except for a couple of times which were a little uncomfortable.

Anyway, I decided I needed to do this because of all the raw foods I've been eating. I just felt like everything was backing up. It was definitely worth it, and I'm sure I'll go some more. I was also hoping it would help with the headaches I had last week. Maybe this time when my shoulder releases there won't be a snickery little headache for several days. It's a strange process, for sure.

Now I think I'll go crawl onto the couch with "The Tao of Pooh," and maybe watch a movie. Tomorrow I have to go finish planning our Peony AVA walk, but I think I'll only be walking about 3 miles, instead of the usual 6 or 7. That's probably good after today, I think I want to take it easy for a couple of days. In fact, for dinner tonight, I'm only going to have a green smoothie. I'm not hungry at all, so I'm sure that will be more than enough to fill me up.

Farmers Market

2009-03-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last winter Farmers Market, and there was a lot going on. They even had a live Bluegrass group playing and singing! My hubby and I picked up a lot of greens, as you can see. The large part of our refrigerator (where I used to keep sodas, milk, and the like) is now full of different kinds of kale, greens, leeks, spinach, and all manner of goodness. Yesterday I started making green smoothies. This morning the one I had consisted of wild kale, arugala, spinach, cabbage, banana, apple, and a little bit of lemon juice. I add more water to these then I normally add to my blended drinks so they aren't as thick. Of course, if I had a VitaMix, they probably wouldn't be so thick anyway. :)

We also got some Raw Honey from a local beekeeper, and it is great. Much better than my store-bought raw honey. This stuff is actually slightly liquid, so I don't have to run water over it to soften it up. The lady explained about their extraction method and how they care for the bees. She is very knowledgeable, and they really care for the health of the hive. For example, they do not cut out the honeycomb, but "spin out" the honey, so the bees are not forced to remake the comb every time. They also stop harvesting honey in August, even though the bees still collect through September. This way, the bees have something (besides sugar water) to live on through the winter.

We had really big salads for dinner last night from a lot of the food we got at the Farmers Market. I also added some Chinese Radishes, and slices of rutabaga, turnip, and parsnips.

Though I've been eating really well lately, the last couple of days I've had a bit of a headache and haven't been feeling the best, so today I had some cooked food. I hope it will make me feel a little better without making me sick. I've been about 95% raw lately, so sometimes I add a little something I used to eat if I feel like it. I don't feel particularly dogmatic about "Being 100 Percent Raw" so this is easy for me. I think my body is still getting used to the transition, though many people would say I am "detoxing," and that is why I am having these symptons. I also need to make sure I am eating enough food, as the greens and salads have really low calories. At any rate, I'm sure I'll be feeling better than ever in a couple of days.

Living Pizza

2009-03-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we had yummy yummy living pizza (yes, that's a picture I took of it last night). I was a little scared at first, as I've never made this before, but it was wonderful! And no guilt or feeling overly stuffed or gross after eating it. Just happy and satisfied.

I modified this recipe from some I found on a Raw video and in "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw."

Prep:

Soak buckwheat groats at least 6 hours to overnight

Soak sunflower seeds 1-4 hours

The next time I make this recipe, I will actually sprout my buckwheat for more nutrition.

For the Crust:

Drain buckwheat and sunflower seeds, rinse and drain again. Buckwheat gets a slightly gelatinous coating, so make sure it is rinsed well.

In a Blender:

add buckwheat groats

sunflower seeds

3 tablespoons flax seeds (I use golden)

2-3 tablespoons of fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, and cilantro, which gave it a real kick)

sea salt and pepper

dash or two of nama shoyu

Blend until unified, but leave a little chunky. Smooth the mixture onto a Teflex sheet for the dehydrator. I made 5 round crusts on two sheets. Some people make one large rectangle on one sheet. Experiment with different sizes and shapes - have fun!

Dehydrate on 110 degrees. The suggestion was for 15-18 hours, but mine only took 6. I didn't add water or as much nama shoyu as some recipes called for. Flip over once after 4-6 hours to check consistency. If they are dry enough to flip, put them on a mesh screen (remove Teflex sheet) and continue drying for a couple of hours.

These will keep up to a week in the refrigerator.

For the Cheese:

You can find tons and tons of cheese recipes. I used about a cup of soaked almonds and a half cup of sprouted mung beans. I haven't seen any recipes that use mung beans, but I had some and it seemed like a good idea. I added some lemon juice (to cover the bitterness of the beans), Bragg's Amino Acids, sea salt, and pepper. Blend it all in a food processor, then spread on your crust.

For toppings:

You can really go wild here and add just about anything you'd like. We added spinach, shitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms which I tore into long thing strips (unbelievably delicious!), sun-dried tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, and sprouts. I had bought olives, but forgot to use them.

My husband and I really liked these. They crumble easily, but are fun to eat. For pieces that crumble off before making the pizzas, save and use at croutons in salads. For leftovers to take to work the next day, you can crumble them up and add the cheese and all ingredients and eat as a "Pizza Crumble" lunch. Delicious!

Why Living Raw Vegan Foods?

2009-03-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

I get this question a lot already. First of all, the way I feel eating more live raw foods is SO much different. When I eat meat, or even just cooked foods now, I feel bloated, sluggish, and at times, really ill. I really don't need any other reason to eat raw. However, I will give some.

If you are what you eat, I really don't want to be a gooey, doughy pizza. Or processed food. Or a dead animal. I'd rather be alive, fresh, and, um, crisp.

Where do you get protein? Many people think you have to consume animal products or soy animal-imitator products to get your protein. The truth is, your body forms protein from amino acids. The protein found in animals is in a different order than the protein your body needs. If you eat a steak or chicken, your body must work hard to disassemble the protein into the essential amino acids. Then it works to put those building blocks back together to form the type of protein human bodies need. If you eat plants and living raw foods, they contain amino acids. Your body can take the amino acids and, like building blocks, put them in the order it needs to form protein - a lot less work! Fruits and vegetables (especially dark, green leafy vegetables) have high concentrates of amino acids.

When you eat cooked foods, your body sends out white blood cells to attack it - just like it does when you have a cold or a virus. No wonder people feel so bad after a big, heavy, cooked meal!

There is less waste when eating raw. I don't have cardboard or plastic containers to throw away. Most of the waste can be composted.

I can grow a lot of my own food when eating raw. When I get my garden in better order, I hope to grow about 70% of my own food for more than half of the year. The savings on groceries will be phenomenal!

Speaking of groceries, I can buy a lot of veggies for the same amount of money I would have spent on steak or chicken.

I don't have to worry about allergies or health concerns. Many people are allergic to wheat, dairy, MSG, and all sorts of processed things. There are very few things that cause issues on a raw diet. People who do have allergies (I know people who are allergic to nuts, tomatoes, and cilantro) have an easy time deciding what to eat, as they know exactly what is in their food. Many people who are on a gluten-free, soy-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, or diabetic diet will have no trouble on a raw food plan.

I don't have to learn how to pronounce things like ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides sodium stearoyl lactylate, or carrageenan. All I know is I certainly don't want that type of stuff going into my body. I also tend to stay away from flour, sugar, and butter. When I give people my Coconut Banana Cream Pie, they always ask, "But what's in it?" Here's the answer: almonds, bananas, coconut (whole and shredded), Medjool dates, and a teaspoon of vanilla. That's it. (I'll put the recipe on here another day).

There are no artificial anything, so sweeteners (except for the dates), no colors, no chemicals. Just real food. People are dying for real food. Literally. Most people in the US are at least a little overweight, and obesity has become a world-wide epidemic. Yet most people aren't getting the basic nutrients they need. They are literally starving to death. When I give someone raw food I have made, they almost always eat it right up and ask tons of questions about it. They can't believe how good it tastes - or how good they feel. We can all eat these great, healthy dishes all the time. You won't believe how much better you'll feel. I didn't at first.

That's why I eat Living Raw Vegan foods.

Exploring the World of Raw

2009-03-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

I recently started eating a mostly Raw Vegan diet. Over the past few years, I have changed the way I eat a great deal. I used to eat a lot of meat. I mean, a LOT of meat. At least once, if not twice or even three times a day. I grew up on meat, and time spent in the gym over the years made my diet a "Clean Diet," with lots of focus on protein, which, of course, is obtained through meat. Or so I was told.

The last several years I have been exploring more nutritional choices and really questioning what I was eating. If I ate the way I was "supposed" to, why did I often feel run-down and sleepy after a meal? I started eliminating meat from my diet, only eating it a couple of times a week, instead of a couple of times a day. For a while, I would have long periods of time where I could not eat meat. These would often last several months, after which I would return to eating meat. This went on for about three years.

My husband, an avid meat-eater, was fine with this. "As long as you cook me a steak once in a while, you can eat whatever you want," is our agreement. This has worked well, and I centered meals around things that I could eat, then added meat to his portion.

The last year or so I have been feeling very run-down very often. I have been more depressed, more tired, and more...well, blah. Sure we had some big life changes. The wedding, moving, me staying at home. But at some point I thought I would start to feel better again. I was still getting migraines at least once a month, sometimes more often, and feeling completely listless. I have been exploring a variety of activities, many just to try to keep me busy.

Finally, I decided to start changing my diet again. As I got more sick and tired, my eating got more out of control. I started consuming more junk food, more fatty food, more meat, and had a flat-out addiction to sodas. At the point where I was drinking one to two liters a day, I decided enough was enough, and started looking for something to help me curb my cravings. I had also noticed that more and more often my food was coming out of bags, cans, or other packaging. Why did I have to depend on someone to make my food? Why couldn't I make what was in that package (and make it better) myself? These were the questions that led me to Living Raw Foods.

After only four days of eating mostly raw food, I stopped drinking sodas (with only a mild headache on two days, as opposed to the three-day long migraines I would get when trying to stop before). I haven't craved them since. I also lost all interest in dairy products, even though I had been drinking nearly a gallon of milk a week for years. The meat cravings come and go, and I have eaten a little here and there. However, it now makes me sick, and my body does not like when I eat meat. From what I've been learning about it, I can't blame my body for that.

I'm not going to say that I'm "100% Raw" yet, or that my goal is even to get to that point. But I am about 90% raw, and I am enjoying greater health and happiness - more than I have had in a very long time. I love making the new recipes and trying my own things. There are so many foods I never even new existed! I lost about 12 pounds the first month I went "mostly raw," and an inch off my waist. More importantly, I do not spend all day tired and yawning. I wake up early (I'm still trying to get used to that), and eat whatever I want.

I am still learning and exploring the wonderful, if sometimes a little weird, world of living raw foods. Won't you take this journey with me?