I'm writing because I am experiencing something extraordinary: I have abstained from sweets for the past few days (or more) without much force. Something happened somewhere around reading "enLIGHTened" by Jessica Berger Gross, "Essential Ayurveda" by Shubhra Krishan, and attending a yoga class at Hot Yoga of Issaquah that really helped me learn the value of moderation. Somewhere, it just clicked; that true, heartfelt desire to treat my body well and eat only foods that will nourish me. I've been in plenty of situations recently where I have considered buying sweets. I'm not even telling myself I can't have them. I'm just confronting them, and passing them over. I've even had a sweet treat in my hand more than once and put it back on the shelf. I can't remember an exact moment where I realized I didn't WANT sweets anymore (I still have these subtle cravings of the mind, which is why I walk down the candy/cookie isles in the first place); all I know is that lately, I just don't want them, and I don't need them. I've had ice cream a couple times in the past week or two, but only because Brian wanted some, so I made us ice cream cones to enjoy together. But other than that, even when I'm hanging out with friends, I find it easy to pass over the sweets. This is an amazing thing!
Also, for a few weeks I was routinely walking a minimum of 40 minutes a day (or running the treadmill on the rare not-so-sunny day), every day, no matter what. This sounds wonderful and a great thing to stick to, and I felt great. The only problem was I didn't feel like I was losing weight or making any progress. I felt like I might even be getting thicker! Yeah, I know, it was probably just muscle. But when I read "Essential Ayurveda" I remembered that my body type (Vata) has a tendency to overwork and overexert. An example of this comes from last week: one of the days I walked a total of 8 miles. The next day, I decided to rest to rebuild my strength but then gave in and went jogging/walking with my mom for an hour, followed by 1 1/2 hours of hot yoga. During hot yoga, I got so nauseous I felt like I was going to pass out. I've done hot yoga twice and never felt like that. So it is quite possible I was overexerting myself with the excessive exercise without a day of rest. And something resonated with me when the instructor would tell us to push your boundaries a little, but also practice Ahimsa, nonviolence, to your body and be gentle enough. It was a strange concept but very enlightening. I had understood ahimsa when applied to interacting with other people and animals. But being gentle...to my own body...during exercise? As foreign a concept as it seemed, it really made sense when I connected it to the practice of moderation; understanding the benefit and balance that comes from moderation of ALL things; eating, exercise, spending, indulging, etc, etc. A day or two later, I finally took a day off walking. This week, I walk every other day or two. I still, of course, do my 10 minute of sun salutations every morning. But cutting back on the obsessive aerobic walking has actually helped me feel leaner, surprisingly!
I feel great this week! I've been eating decently and practicing moderation for the most part. Of course, I still overeat on occasion, especially when eating out. But I feel like my stomach has shrunk a little, and I can't eat as much in one sitting as I could just a couple weeks ago. I don't think I have lost any weight, but I've also quit weighing myself. I'm just sick of getting on the scale, thinking my body looks great, and then finding out I haven't lost a pound. I just don't care about that right now. I don't need some device getting me stressed and disappointed. That kind of abuse is not helpful, and makes me just want to give up and binge on sweets! I will lose weight and get back to my perfect weight, but honestly, becoming healthy is what matters first and foremost. And I DO look great NOW and I will only look and feel better and better every day!
Despite the fact that I've been reading some Ayurveda books lately that for the most part discourage the consumption of raw foods (especially for Vata types) I have started eating more of them.
(if you are unfamiliar with Ayurveda, but curious, I highly recommend "Perfect Health" by Deepak Chopra and the above mentioned "Essential Ayurveda." And while I don't agree with or intend to practice 100% of what I've learned from Ayurveda, such as they Ayurvedic preference for white rice over brown, etc, I do believe that Ayurveda holds an amazing source of wisdom and helps you learn to gain insight into your body and the connectiveness of mind-body-spirit.)
Of course, I've continued eating my daily fruit and salads throughout these healthy and not-so-healthy months past. But now I'm trying to rekindle my love for raw foods and the desire to transition to a high raw diet. This week I'm drinking romaine carrot juice for breakfast, and eating a raw salad for lunch. My dinners are cooked, but eventually I want them to be half raw, and then after that mostly raw (or all raw with the occasional cooked food day during the week). I've been wanting to find my RAW excitement again, but it was finally reignited a few days ago when I was at Madison Market. There I found a pre-packaged meal made at Chaco Canyon. It was a raw ginger sesame kelp noodle dish, and it was soooo delish! I ate the yummy noodles over a bed of salad greens at home. It was my first time trying kelp noodles, and I LOVED them! I later returned to buy a package of kelp noodles to use at home, and today I tried my first recipe:
Kelp Noodles, Veggies, and Green Sauce!
Kelp Noodles:
Open package of kelp noodles, rinse, and drain. You can also toss in some lemon juice to help them soften up, but they will soften once they are in the green sauce.
Veggies:
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red bell pepper
A couple large handfuls green beans
Chop zucchini and squash. Julienne red bell pepper. Cut ends off of green beans and then cut each in half.
Green Sauce: (This recipe was adapted from the Creamy Italian Dressing recipe in Rawvolution by Matt Amsden...mine just has WAY more basil! This dressing is the #1 favorite of everyone who I've served it to! It is so versatile! Use it on salad, pasta, steamed veggies, raw zucchini noodles. Brian loves it drizzled over baked chicken and rice.)
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1-2 cups tightly packed fresh basil (depending on how much you like basil; I usually start with one cup, then add a few more stalks of basil until the sauce is very green and has a tangy pesto flavor)
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh oregano
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup raw pine nuts
Blend!
Now, you can either toss all of the ingredients together now and serve, or store them separately. I've chosen to store separately because this makes a LARGE serving, and I intend to eat this for lunch throughout the week. If you choose to serve the full serving at once, marinade the kelp noodles in the green sauce for about 30 minutes or more to help them soften. Then top with veggies and a drizzle of more green sauce!
If you want to make individual servings, portion out the desired amount of kelp noodles and toss with green sauce. (If you are taking this to work and are letting it sit, then the noodles will be soft by lunch. If you are just eating an individual serving immediately, make sure you let the noodles marinate for at least 30 minutes.) Then top with a couple handfuls of the veggies. Drizzle with more green sauce if desired. Store the leftover green sauce in a container in the fridge. Store the chopped veggies in the fridge as well. Store the kelp noodles in a container filled with water in the fridge. All of these should last a few days. This is only day one for me, so I can't tell you exactly how long they truly last. Should serve about 4, I'm guessing.
Also, I have yet to take pictures of this, but hopefully I will get a chance before I eat it all!
One more recipe for today; Eat Your Greens...for dessert!
Green smoothie Popsicle!
This recipe is so simple it's more of an idea than a recipe. But you heard me! If green smoothies are so good for you, what better dessert could there be? Get some Popsicle molds, or use a few cups with spoons as the stick. Fill them with your favorite green smoothie recipe (see my previous posts here and here for ideas) and freeze overnight or until solid. YUM!
Well, I believe that is all I have to say for now. This week's lessons: Moderation and Ahimsa! In all things, to all beings, including yourself.
Showing posts with label raw food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raw food. Show all posts
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Tessonja's Cleansing Raw Spring Rolls
Last night I made my idea of Cleansing Raw Spring Rolls. "Cleansing," meaning they don't have any heavy, dense ingredients like nut pate or rich sauces. Don't get me wrong, nut pates, Thai almond butter sauces, and maple teriyaki sauces are amazingly delicious! It's just that I was feeling a little heavy and weighed down and just wanted something light and fresh yet not boring. I love salads but I wanted to make something different. So I came up with my own spring rolls!
Recipe: I didn't exactly use measurements or anything. I just chopped up all the veggies I wanted to use and filled them in the wrappers until they were nice and full. I only wanted two rolls, so I have a ton of leftovers for today and tomorrow. These ingredients could probably make anywhere from 4 to 10 servings, depending on how big/how many spring rolls you want to make! So feel free to use as much or as little as you want!Wrapper:
One bunch collard greens or chard (I usually use collard greens but it turns out green chard works perfectly, as well! You could also use a romaine lettuce leaf, cabbage leaves, or any other wide greens you desire)
Marinated mushroom filling:
(I just improvised with the amounts here and adjusted to taste as I went on, but here are the approximate measurements)-
10+ Shiitake or 2+ Portobello mushrooms
1 1/2 Tbsp nama shoyu or to taste
1 Tbsp sesame oil
pinch cayenne
pinch chili powder
pinch cumin
small amount of water to ensure the mushrooms are completely covered. Taste and adjust ingredients if needed. Let marinate while you work on the rest.
Veggies/toppings:
1 diakon radish, julienned
1 carrot, julienned
1/2 cucumber, julienned
1 medium red bell pepper, julienned
1 avacado, cut in slices
1 mango (optional), cut in slices
1 bunch cilantro
Bean sprouts
Take one chard leaf and cut off the end with the thick stem. Place desired amount of marinated mushrooms in the middle of the leaf (along the stem) and top with small handfulls of each of the veggies/toppings. Roll the same way you would a burrito or fold like a taco. The best (and prettiest) way is to roll the end opposit the stem (the thin, flat, wide end) over the filling, then roll one of the sides over the filling, and then roll tightly toward the other side. The result should look like a traditional spring roll or burrito, with the filling showing through the end the stem had been cut from.
By themselves, these were delicious. Light, fresh, and tasty. They also would have tasted wonderful with a sweet or savory dip, like a maple teriyaki sauce, chili-mango sauce, spicy honey mustard or spicy Thai almond butter sauce. But I chose to make a simple wasabe-nama shoyu dip, like what I use with sushi/nori rolls. It wasn't perfect though. The wasabe didn't quite complement the flavors in the roll. I think I will make a spicy honey mustard sauce for my leftovers tonight or just eat them plain.
Notes and suggestions: Most of the flavor comes from the marinated mushrooms, so use as much of the filling as you desire; more will be better if you aren't going to be using a savory dipping sauce. Another flavor factor is avacado. I love avacado and will be using more in my wraps tonight. Last night I only used two slices in each, and that just wasn't enough for me.
Serve these with an asian coleslaw. I made the cabbage coleslaw from The Raw Food Detox Diet. While it wasn't exactly an asian closeslaw, the "liquid gold elixir" dressing from the recipe has ginger, lemon, nama shoyu, and garlic, so it complemented my meal well enough. I also made creamy tomato soup from Raw Food Life Force Energy. The soup was really good and would be a perfect summer soup. It didn't really go with the meal, though. And I got full/tired of the soup after a few big spoonfuls. I would suggest serving it with raw corn chips, like the ones from Raw Food Real World.
For dessert, I made Banana Chocolate Mint ice cream topped with chopped pieces of Green and Blacks 70% dark chocolate bar.
Recipe:
3 frozen bananas (in slices)
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder (or raw carob)
1/8 tsp peppermint extract (or try handful mint leaves)
1 Tbsp agave nectar (optional, the bananas usually make it sweet enough as-is)
1/4 70% dark chocolate bar, chopped (optional. Try cacao nibs for a truly raw alternative)
Blend all ingredients except dark chocolate bar with a small amount of water (unless you have an amazing blender like a vitamix) until smooth. If you are like me, and don't have a vita mix, you might want to leave the frozen bananas out for awhile until they start to soften up a bit. It took forever to blend those frozen bananas smooth!
The best step after this would be to place mixture in an ice cream maker. I do have one, but I was too lazy to wait so I just poured the not-so-thick mixture into a bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes, and then ate it as it was- more like a frozen pudding than a true ice cream. But it still tasted amazing, and goes to show that you can make a ton of recipes without fancy equipment!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Raw White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake!
So last night I made the raw white chocolate strawberry cheesecake, recipe originally from here. It turned out to be really easy! Time consuming, sure, but easier, quicker, and less messy than all the other vegan "cheesecakes" I've made in the past. The version I followed is here , since it had helpful tablespoon measurements for the coconut and cacao butter, and it turned out perfectly! I read the note that you may need to double the recipe if you are making a big cheesecake, and paid attention while I made the crust (which was the first thing I made.) As I was pressing the delicious, chocolate-oreo-cookie flavored crust into the bottom of my 9 inch springform pan, I noticed it looked a little light. At that point I made the decision to just double the recipe. Luckily, I had extras of all the ingredients on hand. I fell a little short of doubling the amount of raw melted cacao butter, but it still turned out perfect, as far as I can tell. When the filling was done, it had the consistency of a thick yogurt. I stuck the cake in the freezer and in a little under two hours, it reached the perfect consistency. I keep using the word "perfect," because that is all I can say about this recipe! Anyhow, I ate one LARGE slice, kept one half of the leftovers in the freezer, and the other half in the fridge. I'll eat the fridge slices throughout the week, and the frozen ones later, hoping the "perfection" will last through storage. I have a lot of leftovers, so hopefully I'll get batteries in my camera so I can post pictures. You know how you make a recipe sometimes, and you are disappointed when it doesn't look as nice as the recipe picture? Well, I didn't have that problem with this one. In fact, almost all of my recent creations have looked picturesque, so maybe I'm just honing my culinary craft! Anyhow, try this recipe. I can't say enough good things about it. It's probably the tastiest raw dessert I have ever made myself. While some of the ingredients can be pricey if you don't have stuff like coconut butter, agave nectar, cacao nibs, etc, lying around, it's well worth it! I can't even remember what "real" cheesecake tastes like right now because this recipe was so good!
My notes and suggestions: Double the recipe if you are using a 9 inch springform pan. To melt the coconut butter and cacao butter without subjecting them to high heat, put the proper amounts of each in bowls in the dehydrator (if you have one) and let melt at 115 degrees. This may take a good ten minutes or more. One packet of raw cacao butter from Madison Market is enough for one recipe and sufficient for a double batch, even though it falls shortly under the total (should be 4 TB for double batch.) Freeze for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs before eating.
It's recipes like this, the incan berry torte, and many others, that taste so good, make me feel amazing and satisfied that it makes me wonder, why eat anything but raw food at all? It's a wonderful feeling to love raw food so dearly. I'm so grateful for all the raw recipes in the world!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Incan Berry Torte- Best raw dessert ever!!!
Another new discovery and new favorite...
Madison Market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle has probably the best raw foods section in any health/grocery store around. They have so many rare goodies that I have never seen anywhere else, besides maybe online. One of these items was a product made by House of the Sun Raw Food and it was an "Incan Berry Torte." At $7.99 for one slice, I was skeptical. For that price, it had to be good. But the ingredients just seemed too simple; goji berries, incan berries, citrus, coconut, cashew butter (and a few other ingredients.) Anyone who has tasted goji berries and incan berries knows that they aren't the sweetest fruits by any means. I do enjoy both of these dried fruits, but I would never imagine them as a tasty slice of cake. But the thing looked amazing; bright orange, perfectly cut...it looked like a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. I was so intrigued, I new I would kick myself later if I didn't try it. So I did. And I could barely contain my shock and amazement as I took the first bite. I don't think I had finished swallowing my before I shouted, "holy shit!" It was seriously the best raw cake, maybe even the best raw dessert, I have ever tasted. It was so smooth; the same constistancy as cheesecake. And it was sweet and creamy and a little tangy. It was perfect. Even my boyfriend liked it, and he usually shuns all forms of raw food (with the exception of the few raw desserts that I can assure him taste perfectly "normal.") So now I have a new favorite treat. This was the first time I saw the torte at Madison Market, and at the time, it was the last slice left. I went shopping there today, and there wasn't a single slice available. So I hope and pray that they continue to carry that torte or else I'm going to have to stalk the House of the Sun website and beg them to sell me an entire pie (which I think they just might do since the website does say they do custom orders.) Anyhow, if you are in the Seattle area, check out Madison Market. Not only for the Incan Berry Torte, but also for their amazingly thorough raw foods section (both dry and refridgerated products, not to mention their extensive collection of raw nuts, seeds, trail mixes, dried fruits, etc, etc, in the bulk section!)
Holy crap, I LOVE raw foods!
P.S. During my trip to Madison Market, I picked up a little bag of raw cacao butter, which is essentially raw white chocolate. I'd never tried it before and it was so inexpensive that I figured I might as well. It tastes like raw cacao but in a solid butter form. Not exactly my favorite thing to eat on it's own, I've realized, so I checked for online recipes containing raw cacao butter so I can find some uses for it. I came across a Raw White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake on the GLiving Community Forum.
I also found another version of the same recipe that provides measurements in tablespoons instead of ounces for the raw coconut and cacao butters on the Raw Freedom Community Forum. I will probably use this one when I make this cake tonight. If it's amazing, you know I'll be writing about it soon!
Madison Market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle has probably the best raw foods section in any health/grocery store around. They have so many rare goodies that I have never seen anywhere else, besides maybe online. One of these items was a product made by House of the Sun Raw Food and it was an "Incan Berry Torte." At $7.99 for one slice, I was skeptical. For that price, it had to be good. But the ingredients just seemed too simple; goji berries, incan berries, citrus, coconut, cashew butter (and a few other ingredients.) Anyone who has tasted goji berries and incan berries knows that they aren't the sweetest fruits by any means. I do enjoy both of these dried fruits, but I would never imagine them as a tasty slice of cake. But the thing looked amazing; bright orange, perfectly cut...it looked like a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. I was so intrigued, I new I would kick myself later if I didn't try it. So I did. And I could barely contain my shock and amazement as I took the first bite. I don't think I had finished swallowing my before I shouted, "holy shit!" It was seriously the best raw cake, maybe even the best raw dessert, I have ever tasted. It was so smooth; the same constistancy as cheesecake. And it was sweet and creamy and a little tangy. It was perfect. Even my boyfriend liked it, and he usually shuns all forms of raw food (with the exception of the few raw desserts that I can assure him taste perfectly "normal.") So now I have a new favorite treat. This was the first time I saw the torte at Madison Market, and at the time, it was the last slice left. I went shopping there today, and there wasn't a single slice available. So I hope and pray that they continue to carry that torte or else I'm going to have to stalk the House of the Sun website and beg them to sell me an entire pie (which I think they just might do since the website does say they do custom orders.) Anyhow, if you are in the Seattle area, check out Madison Market. Not only for the Incan Berry Torte, but also for their amazingly thorough raw foods section (both dry and refridgerated products, not to mention their extensive collection of raw nuts, seeds, trail mixes, dried fruits, etc, etc, in the bulk section!)
Holy crap, I LOVE raw foods!
P.S. During my trip to Madison Market, I picked up a little bag of raw cacao butter, which is essentially raw white chocolate. I'd never tried it before and it was so inexpensive that I figured I might as well. It tastes like raw cacao but in a solid butter form. Not exactly my favorite thing to eat on it's own, I've realized, so I checked for online recipes containing raw cacao butter so I can find some uses for it. I came across a Raw White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake on the GLiving Community Forum.
I also found another version of the same recipe that provides measurements in tablespoons instead of ounces for the raw coconut and cacao butters on the Raw Freedom Community Forum. I will probably use this one when I make this cake tonight. If it's amazing, you know I'll be writing about it soon!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Book Review: The Raw Food Detox Diet
After falling in love with Natalia Rose's Raw Food Life Force Energy, I really wanted to buy her other book (which was her first) The Raw Food Detox Diet. Every time I went to the bookstore (broke because I was saving money for Christmas presents) I would scan through the book and absorb what I could. For the most part, it seemed pretty much the same as the book I already had. But I noticed there were a ton of new recipes and some interesting-looking sections. So after Christmas, armed with my gift-money, I finally treated myself to TRFDD (her book titles are so long!) As I had expected, there were many sections that were nearly identical to the ones in RFLFE; some points were explained more thoroughly in one book or the other. The difference is, as a first book, TRFDD serves more as in introduction to someone who isn't completely familiar with the raw lifestyle. RFLFE, on the other hand, while it is also very accessable to beginners and familiars alike, takes it up a step, including more scientific and even slightly spiritual viewpoints. TRFDD seems like the better option for a beginner; someone who eats a common diet or even common "diet" food. As her program allows a lot of freedom of choice, someone who eats a lot of meat and dairy would do well to start with TRFDD. She provides all the information about why our bodies benefit from a diet that includes raw foods, and even helps you discover the best transitioning point. At the end of the first section of the book, there is a test you can take to find you "transition number." The questions are based on your current diet and lifestyle. Someone who regularly consumes refined sugar and flour, meat and dairy, would probably be best starting at a level 5, the gentlest transtion level; likewise someone who already eats a large amount of raw foods could start at a level 2 or 1. You can stay at each transition level for as long as you are comfortable. Since I had already read RFLFE, I didn't find the transition number to be completely neccessary, considering I was already developing a nice routine. But it did help me tremendously to recover from my Xmas Eve dinner binge and overeating/bad food binge that followed me for the next few days. The first time I took the test, I found myself at a level two. A level two eats almost all raw with properly combined meals and only a couple cooked food items a week. The description sounded pretty accurate at the time. But after my binge, I read the meal plans and philosophy behind each transition closer and decided I was eating/desired to eat closer to a level 3. A level 3 eats all raw until dinner almost every day, and then eats a well combined dinner with a few cooked components like a baked sweet potato or sprouted grain toast each night. Rose warns against eating at a level that is too advanced, even if you want to. I am still currently perfecting my ability to avoid the temptations of processed and refined snacks and restaurant meals, so I am committed to remaining at a level 3 until I naturally gravitate to a level 2 on my own. I would recommend that after you take the test and find your number, read each level thoroughly just to be sure you wouldn't be more comfortable at another level. There is a lot of benefit to giving yourself strict boundaries, but there is also benefit to treating yourself gently. Just do what feals right. You can always advance your regimen another day!
The next section is the menu section. I have yet to try many of the recipes, but I can already tell that they will be good. Some of them I may pass just because I have already adopted so many favorites as my daily staples from the other book, but there are also many I would love to try. It seems there are a few more "transition" recipes in this book--recipes that are more "comfort food" than cleansing--which is great, especially for a beginner! Each recipe shows which "transition level" would correspond with each recipe. My two complaints are: I don't feel the levels correspond accurately and a few of her recipes don't follow the food combining principles as closely as they do in RFLFE. Both complaints kind of go hand in hand. For example, there is a recipe for "detox quesadilla," which is sprouted grain tortilla, pasta sauce, raw goat cheese, and avacado. This recipe says it would be good for a level 2 or 3 for dinner, and levels 4 and five any time. The problem with this is that, according to food combining, grains (tortillas) and flesh (goat cheese) do not combine well. This is the same for starches (avacado) and flesh. I don't think a level 2 or 3 should eat like this very often. And while I understand that a few imperfectly combined meals won't be harmful, I would have liked a sidenote, like the ones provided in RFLFE, that say when a combo is not ideal. A beginner who frequents KFC and Taco Bell and eats pizza and mexican food on a regular basis, would find this meal incredibly light and cleansing. But for me, already practicing proper food combinations, it seems like a step back to eat this way. And another "for me" is that I'm totally drawn to this recipe! It sounds sooo good but I know it's not an ideal dinner more than the rare occasion, and I usually make the same recipe for a few nights in a row, to conform with my budget. There are a few other recipes like this (raw fruit pie, detox pizza) so I would just suggest that you practice caution if you are NOT a beginner. Try to understand the food combining rules for yourself, choose the meals that are appealing, and at the very least be aware when you've eaten an imperfectly combined meal. That's what I did. Every time I ate something I knew wasn't perfect, I would write it down so I would know the cause of any poor digestive affects that occured. The reactions in your body is your best guide. If you eat a raw pie made from fresh fruit and ground nuts, with no digestive setbacks and you continue to loose weight and feel great, then you will know that that particular food combo rule (mixing fresh fruit with anything) doesn't apply to you. Problem solved!
The next section was something I loved and was not included in RFLFE; it was all about eating at restaurants, other people's houses, parties, and over the holidays. As I sat aching from my holiday binge, I read the holiday eating section with great shame. I could have easily avoided the pain and made healthier choices about what I ate and how I combined my food that night. The section about restaurants offers advice and tips about the healthiest options at different types of restaurants. I'm planning on making a copy of this. While I have learned a great deal about food combining, it will help to have the tips on paper with me at all times; it can get really tempting to abort the rules when looking at a delicious menu...how easily all of my knowledge hides in those cases!
That's pretty much it for my review. Summary: A lot of the same content as Raw Food Life Force Energy but better suited to beginners and people unfamiliar with the raw food diet. Pros: Helpful "transition number" section and meal plans for each level, new recipes, more comfort food recipes, and a section on eating at restaurants, friends' houses, and over the holidays. Cons: not all the recipes are perfectly combined according to the food combining principles. Rose's two books are a great combination and complement each other well. It would be hard to choose just one to recommend if someone were only choosing one or the other. As I was already familiar with the raw food diet, I found RFLFE to be incredibly helpful and life changing. But if it was my first time discovering raw foods or I currently ate a lot of refined foods or typical/poor grade meat and dairy, I would prefer TRFDD, because the transition levels would help me understand what to eat and how to gently switch out my former foods for healthier versions.
Happy New Year!
The next section is the menu section. I have yet to try many of the recipes, but I can already tell that they will be good. Some of them I may pass just because I have already adopted so many favorites as my daily staples from the other book, but there are also many I would love to try. It seems there are a few more "transition" recipes in this book--recipes that are more "comfort food" than cleansing--which is great, especially for a beginner! Each recipe shows which "transition level" would correspond with each recipe. My two complaints are: I don't feel the levels correspond accurately and a few of her recipes don't follow the food combining principles as closely as they do in RFLFE. Both complaints kind of go hand in hand. For example, there is a recipe for "detox quesadilla," which is sprouted grain tortilla, pasta sauce, raw goat cheese, and avacado. This recipe says it would be good for a level 2 or 3 for dinner, and levels 4 and five any time. The problem with this is that, according to food combining, grains (tortillas) and flesh (goat cheese) do not combine well. This is the same for starches (avacado) and flesh. I don't think a level 2 or 3 should eat like this very often. And while I understand that a few imperfectly combined meals won't be harmful, I would have liked a sidenote, like the ones provided in RFLFE, that say when a combo is not ideal. A beginner who frequents KFC and Taco Bell and eats pizza and mexican food on a regular basis, would find this meal incredibly light and cleansing. But for me, already practicing proper food combinations, it seems like a step back to eat this way. And another "for me" is that I'm totally drawn to this recipe! It sounds sooo good but I know it's not an ideal dinner more than the rare occasion, and I usually make the same recipe for a few nights in a row, to conform with my budget. There are a few other recipes like this (raw fruit pie, detox pizza) so I would just suggest that you practice caution if you are NOT a beginner. Try to understand the food combining rules for yourself, choose the meals that are appealing, and at the very least be aware when you've eaten an imperfectly combined meal. That's what I did. Every time I ate something I knew wasn't perfect, I would write it down so I would know the cause of any poor digestive affects that occured. The reactions in your body is your best guide. If you eat a raw pie made from fresh fruit and ground nuts, with no digestive setbacks and you continue to loose weight and feel great, then you will know that that particular food combo rule (mixing fresh fruit with anything) doesn't apply to you. Problem solved!
The next section was something I loved and was not included in RFLFE; it was all about eating at restaurants, other people's houses, parties, and over the holidays. As I sat aching from my holiday binge, I read the holiday eating section with great shame. I could have easily avoided the pain and made healthier choices about what I ate and how I combined my food that night. The section about restaurants offers advice and tips about the healthiest options at different types of restaurants. I'm planning on making a copy of this. While I have learned a great deal about food combining, it will help to have the tips on paper with me at all times; it can get really tempting to abort the rules when looking at a delicious menu...how easily all of my knowledge hides in those cases!
That's pretty much it for my review. Summary: A lot of the same content as Raw Food Life Force Energy but better suited to beginners and people unfamiliar with the raw food diet. Pros: Helpful "transition number" section and meal plans for each level, new recipes, more comfort food recipes, and a section on eating at restaurants, friends' houses, and over the holidays. Cons: not all the recipes are perfectly combined according to the food combining principles. Rose's two books are a great combination and complement each other well. It would be hard to choose just one to recommend if someone were only choosing one or the other. As I was already familiar with the raw food diet, I found RFLFE to be incredibly helpful and life changing. But if it was my first time discovering raw foods or I currently ate a lot of refined foods or typical/poor grade meat and dairy, I would prefer TRFDD, because the transition levels would help me understand what to eat and how to gently switch out my former foods for healthier versions.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Raw Food Life Force Engery
In my last blog, I introduced my experience with the book Raw Food Life Force Energy by Natalia Rose. This book has seriously changed my life an set me on a new path.
Here's a review: This book is a great introduction to the raw food diet and lifestyle. She makes it easy for anyone to transition to a diet containing a greater amount of "life force containing" foods. Anyone with any prior eating habits, at any eating level can incorporate her advice to any degree he/she chooses. She doesn't tell you to go 100% raw immediately, in fact, she recommends not doing so. She even offers the freedom not to go 100% raw...ever, if you desire! That's what I mean by this book being completely accessible to anyone. Meat eaters, dairy lovers, vegetarians, and vegans alike can all learn a great deal from this book. Of course, she does suggest eating healthier version of foods like meat an dairy, but again, her plan makes you feel comfortable about incorporating this diet to whatever degree you choose. I found her information on food combining the most helpful. When eating raw, it's easy to miscombine your food. That's exactly what caused me so many problems the first time I went raw. Anyhow, every recipe that I've tried has been delicious. Some of the recipes I let my own inspiration make changes here and there, but rarely do I come across a book where the recipes are all amazing. She also gives tips on how to incorporate this diet into your life if you are on a budget. That was especially helpful to me. One thing this book doesn't have, that other raw books do have, are the complicated, raw gourmet recipes which require soaking, sprouting, dehydrating, and a lot of time. All of her recipes are fast and simple with easy to acquire ingredients. If you are looking for a book with more gourmet recipes, there are numerous others. This one is perfect in its simplicity.
My experience: I transitioned from my current diet and immediately began eating more raw and "life force containing" foods. I incorporated her suggestion of daily deep breathing and exercise (I chose morning yoga sun salutes and walking as my main forms) and tried my best to eat "light to heavy" every day and combine my meals properly. Of course, I didn't always follow either of these rules perfectly, but it was all part of the learning experience. She encourages doing your best, not perfection. As I am on a budget, I didn't include "body brushing" until very recently when I finally bought a natural bristle dry body brush, and I have yet to try colonics. Colonics sound interesting and a little wierd, but I do want to try them before deciding wether or not they would be a good practice to incorporate into my life. I have experienced (nearly) two sets of 21 day plans (21 days is just what she reccommends you try, but of course, this can be a lifetime thing if you feel it is right for you) and have written down everything I have eaten, how certain foods made me feel, and the lessons I've learned. I will not reporduce my entire records here, but I will share a summary of all that I have experienced.
First 21 days: Day one, I started my practice of waking up ten minutes earlier in order to rev up my body with a few yoga sun salute sequences. I quickly learned that this gave me more energy and made my body feel better. For my first few days, I had Master Cleanse lemon juice upon waking; fruit for breakfast; veggies in veggie broth, avacado cabbage wraps, or salads for lunch; and whole wheat pasta with marinara and sprouted wheat bread for dinner. On day five I tried a raw zuchini and squash pasta with a macadamia nut alfredo sauce, and on day six I had a baked sweet potato with salad and sprouted wheat (s.w.) bread. On day 8, I experienced my lightest, healthiest Thanksgiving of all time. Morning and breakfast went as usual but for Thanksgiving dinner, I had a veggie and balsamic vinegar salad, raw "pumpkin pie in a bowl" carrot soup, and a baked sweet potato. For dessert I had a raw coconut based pudding from Whole Foods (these puddings are amazing). I felt so good. It was by far the best I have felt after a Thanksgiving dinner. As the days progressed, I began swapping my whole wheat (w.w.) pasta dishes and cooked veggie soups for more salads, zuchini pastas with marinara, continued eating s.w. bread with meals, and started drinking the elixirs from the book, like "life force power ade." I also started enjoying a few pieces to 1/2 bar of 70% dark chocolate for dessert. On day 11, I went to Chaco Canyon, the vegan and raw foods restaurant in Seattle. I had the raw pizza with salad and a slice of raw cheesecake. Later I had the juice and meat of a young coconut and a raw nut based chocolate fudge from Chaco Canyon. At the end of the day, I felt a little over-full and overloaded with nuts, but not too horrible. On day 12 I tried a couple recipes from Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen including spinach avacado dip and blueberry cashew based cheesecake. I ate too much, and remembered that fresh fruit and raw nuts don't combine well. Over the next couple days, I continued eating the spinach dip but realized I preferred plain avacados with seasoning or a big salad to the dip with veggie chips. It was just too filling. My dinners continued to consist of big salads (usually with avacado, cumumber, tomato, red bell pepper, onion, and carrots and a splash of apple cider/balsamic vinegar and agave nectar). After reading Cohen's book, I had to remind myself not to get sucked in by the raw books that don't focus on food combining the way Rose's does. The better my food combos, the better I felt.
On Day 15, something significant happened: I experimented with dairy cheese. Now let's back up a second. After reading R.F.L.F.E. I learned that soy products and processed foods in general are not ideal and should be avoided. I had heard this every now and then, but just ignored it. When I committed to trying this program, I promised myself I would follow her plan. If it worked, it worked. If not, I could always go back to my old diet. So I cut out soy; soymilk, soy cheese, soy meats. I realized that most of my favorite vegan foods are just processed junk. No wonder I was starting to feel like crap. Now, I will never speak badly of the vegan diet; eating vegan is AMAZING and wonderful. I LOVE vegan food. I really LOVE vegan JUNK food! But certain people just don't digest certain foods well. I am understanding this is true with me, because I have only been able to loose weight when eating raw or mostly raw. So, anyhow, armed with my new info, I started to wonder if I would miss cheese, now that vegan cheese was going to be rare (if at all) in my diet. While there are many raw nut "cheeses," none of them are that good. Besides, I'm trying NOT to overdose on nuts again. And in her book, Rose discusses the possibility of eating raw goat cheese. Goats milk in general digests much easier than cows' milk, and when in raw form, it digests even easier--easier than nut cheeses, even! I'd been vegan for over a year so I felt really guilty about my desire to try this raw goat cheese. It was so easy to be vegan, but I truly wanted to try this goat cheese for myself and see how it made me feel. I've always been such a cheese lover. But cruelty to animals, slaughterhouse practices, and--most moving for me personally--the health hazards of eating dairy made me turn to vegan options instead. So I fought with myself about whether or not to try raw goat cheese. The hardest part was facing the fact that I would no longer be labeled "vegan." And I was afraid I would disappoint everyone who knew me. But then I decided that a label does not make me who I am; I do. And I am no one but me no matter what I eat. So I went to Whole Foods and picked up a block of aged, rennet-free (in other terms, vegetarian) raw goat cheese. I felt like a total whore! I thought the vegan police was going to pop out at any moment and arrest me. But I relaxed as I got home and made a simple meal: Portobello mushrooms topped with warm marinara and a sprinkle of raw goat cheese. I didn't die. I loved it. It was tasty. So I decided that I do like raw goat cheese. Whether or not I will continue to eat it on a regular basis, I still have not decided. I don't intend on going "cheese crazy" with it or anything, but I do like the option. So now that I am over the guilt of letting my veganism slip, I can get over my beloved label. Vegan will always hold my heart, but I do personally like my current experiene with the occasional addition of the goat cheese. It's just me and my decision.
Anyhow, back to my 21 days. I felt great even after the addition of the raw goat cheese. On day 19, I had a molassas cookie, one of the only vegan treats from my job at Starbucks. My boss bought it for me, so I ate it, refined grains and sugars and all. I didn't feel too bad until later, when my tummy was a little sick. Probably had to do with the fact that I ate it for breakfast (with a banana) instead of for dessert or dinner, where all of your heaviest meals and treats belong. Then for dessert, I increased my bad food combo day by eating raisins, dates, and almond butter after a portobello melt (cheese and nuts/dried fruits are not a good combo.) The next few days went well with veggie/greens juice in the morning; fruit for breakfast; veggies, salads, avacado, or lara bar for lunch; and zuchini noodles or portobello mushrooms w/marinara and salad, big salads with veggies or nut cheese, or baked sweet potatoes with salad for dinner. For dessert I would have 70% chocolate, coconut based pudding, or nut based pudding. That ends round one of my 21 day eating plan.
Round 2: I actually struggled with this one. Most of my days were positive and similar to what I described just above. But at one point I started eating heaping spoonfulls of raw honey throughout the day/night. I didn't particularly feel sick or anything, but I just felt like it was too much. I didn't need it, I was just snacking which would usually lead to binging. I noticed the more I let myself snack, the longer I would snack, and the worse my food combos would get. So I tried my best to refrain from eating raw honey by the spoon or raisins by the bowl, which were my two most-consumed after dinner snacks. I learned that if I wrote about how satisfied I was, and how I didn't need any snacks, I wouldn't eat anymore! A couple days later I gave into my sweet tooth and ate candy like Panda Licorice which is made of wheat flour and molasses. Not the worst thing in the world but it is refined and processed. On a positive note, I went to a wedding reception one of these days and it wasn't so bad. I relaxed and ate a big plate of salad and grilled green beans and red peppers. But backslide again when I had a few molassas cookie episodes! My boss bought me another cookie, and last week, my co-workers gave me three boxes full! I ate through one full box (only one cookie a day/4 cookies per box) and then one out of another box before I gave them to my boyfriend. Luckily, the cookies are being discontinued and will no longer tempt me at work.
The worst eating day I experienced happened on Christmas Eve. How strange when I had such a positve Thanksgiving experience just a month before! I went to my mom's house. The day started all right, but in the middle, I ate two panda licorice bars and a box of maple candy while I was waiting for dinner. For dinner, I ate things that I have not consumed in years. I feel pretty guilty and non-vegan about it, and am ashamed of my lack of discipline. It happened when my mom made my two pre-vegan favorite foods: latke's and smoked salmon pita pizzas. For some reason, that day and the couple days that followed, I was craving tons of pre-vegan and pre-sober food and drinks like wine, that Xmas Eve dinner, and the cheese bread Brian ordered at Claim Jumper. It was bizarre. Anyhow, back to Xmas Eve: I ate salad, a raw avacado and corn chowder, a whole pita pizza made with refined wheat pita, non-raw, non-organic goat cheese, and non-organic smoked salmon (which, besides those no-no's, meat and cheese don't combine with starches like pita and avacados). Then I had tons and tons of fried latkes. When I was completely full and bursting at the seams, I continued to eat...a molassas cookie. I was in so much pain that I could barely move. I really put my body through torture that night. I thought my kidneys were going to explode. I was so ashamed afterwards that I did not hold constant to my committment of eating pure, whole, foods (not to mention vegan!) and maintaning properly combined meals. I wrote a little essay to myself about how I should have eaten that night and at what point I should have stopped. Needless to say, lesson learned, big time.
I felt so hopeless that I continued to over eat and miscombine my meals over the next couple days. But on day 16 and 17, I re-read R.F.L.F.E and The Raw Food Detox Diet, bought a body brush, and re-committed to the plan. I started dry body brushing every day, reminded myself to eat light to heavy, and raw till dinner. And here I am today. I ate perfectly yesterday: green juice in the morning, asian pear for breakfast, "sandwhich salad" for lunch, then small spinach salad with zuchini noodles and pesto with two slices s.w. bread with raw honey, and chai spiced almond milk with two pieces of chocolate for dessert. Today I had green juice, a pear, a banana, and the "sandwhich salad" for lunch. After this post, I will eat a big salad. I feel great and I still am maintaining my healthy weight! Now that the molassas cookies are out of my life, I can try to abstain from refined sugar and flour and work on those last 5 lbs!
My favorite meals from this book: There are so many!
Life Force Power Ade (I usually improvise with different greens and fruit)
Holiday Anytime (carrot juice with pumpkin pie spice)
Pumpkin Pie in a Bowl soup
Raw Tomato Herb Potage with Shredded Raw Goat Cheese (I like to blend most of this soup in a blender rather than just a mixing bowl)
Suddenly St. Tropez Salad (this has goat cheese and is my fave!)
Daily Avacado Classic Salad
Salad Gone Nuts
Sandwhich Salad (best lunch ever!)
Quickest Spaghetti (sprialized zuchini noodles with warm marinara)
Portobello Melts
Banana Mint Dessert "ice cream" (I use peppermint extract instead of mint leaves)
Baked Apples (I dehydrate mine for an hour or two so it's warm)
What I've learned from this book: How to increase my intake of raw, life force engery generating foods. How to properly combine my meals for best digestion. How to eat "light to heavy" for quickest elimination and digestion. How to incorporate some healthy cooked foods into my diet. Which foods are inharmonious. How to dry body brush. How colonics can help. Why some raw food diets fail. Some amazing recipes.
Anyhow, with that all said, I highly recommend this book to everyone! She provides a FAQ in the back, along with thorough sample menus and a 21 day eating plan you can follow word for word if you like. This book has truly changed my life and the way I eat. I bought a copy for my mom for Xmas and hope she can find it useful. We used to have so much fun eating raw meals together! Happy New Year, everyone!
Here's a review: This book is a great introduction to the raw food diet and lifestyle. She makes it easy for anyone to transition to a diet containing a greater amount of "life force containing" foods. Anyone with any prior eating habits, at any eating level can incorporate her advice to any degree he/she chooses. She doesn't tell you to go 100% raw immediately, in fact, she recommends not doing so. She even offers the freedom not to go 100% raw...ever, if you desire! That's what I mean by this book being completely accessible to anyone. Meat eaters, dairy lovers, vegetarians, and vegans alike can all learn a great deal from this book. Of course, she does suggest eating healthier version of foods like meat an dairy, but again, her plan makes you feel comfortable about incorporating this diet to whatever degree you choose. I found her information on food combining the most helpful. When eating raw, it's easy to miscombine your food. That's exactly what caused me so many problems the first time I went raw. Anyhow, every recipe that I've tried has been delicious. Some of the recipes I let my own inspiration make changes here and there, but rarely do I come across a book where the recipes are all amazing. She also gives tips on how to incorporate this diet into your life if you are on a budget. That was especially helpful to me. One thing this book doesn't have, that other raw books do have, are the complicated, raw gourmet recipes which require soaking, sprouting, dehydrating, and a lot of time. All of her recipes are fast and simple with easy to acquire ingredients. If you are looking for a book with more gourmet recipes, there are numerous others. This one is perfect in its simplicity.
My experience: I transitioned from my current diet and immediately began eating more raw and "life force containing" foods. I incorporated her suggestion of daily deep breathing and exercise (I chose morning yoga sun salutes and walking as my main forms) and tried my best to eat "light to heavy" every day and combine my meals properly. Of course, I didn't always follow either of these rules perfectly, but it was all part of the learning experience. She encourages doing your best, not perfection. As I am on a budget, I didn't include "body brushing" until very recently when I finally bought a natural bristle dry body brush, and I have yet to try colonics. Colonics sound interesting and a little wierd, but I do want to try them before deciding wether or not they would be a good practice to incorporate into my life. I have experienced (nearly) two sets of 21 day plans (21 days is just what she reccommends you try, but of course, this can be a lifetime thing if you feel it is right for you) and have written down everything I have eaten, how certain foods made me feel, and the lessons I've learned. I will not reporduce my entire records here, but I will share a summary of all that I have experienced.
First 21 days: Day one, I started my practice of waking up ten minutes earlier in order to rev up my body with a few yoga sun salute sequences. I quickly learned that this gave me more energy and made my body feel better. For my first few days, I had Master Cleanse lemon juice upon waking; fruit for breakfast; veggies in veggie broth, avacado cabbage wraps, or salads for lunch; and whole wheat pasta with marinara and sprouted wheat bread for dinner. On day five I tried a raw zuchini and squash pasta with a macadamia nut alfredo sauce, and on day six I had a baked sweet potato with salad and sprouted wheat (s.w.) bread. On day 8, I experienced my lightest, healthiest Thanksgiving of all time. Morning and breakfast went as usual but for Thanksgiving dinner, I had a veggie and balsamic vinegar salad, raw "pumpkin pie in a bowl" carrot soup, and a baked sweet potato. For dessert I had a raw coconut based pudding from Whole Foods (these puddings are amazing). I felt so good. It was by far the best I have felt after a Thanksgiving dinner. As the days progressed, I began swapping my whole wheat (w.w.) pasta dishes and cooked veggie soups for more salads, zuchini pastas with marinara, continued eating s.w. bread with meals, and started drinking the elixirs from the book, like "life force power ade." I also started enjoying a few pieces to 1/2 bar of 70% dark chocolate for dessert. On day 11, I went to Chaco Canyon, the vegan and raw foods restaurant in Seattle. I had the raw pizza with salad and a slice of raw cheesecake. Later I had the juice and meat of a young coconut and a raw nut based chocolate fudge from Chaco Canyon. At the end of the day, I felt a little over-full and overloaded with nuts, but not too horrible. On day 12 I tried a couple recipes from Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen including spinach avacado dip and blueberry cashew based cheesecake. I ate too much, and remembered that fresh fruit and raw nuts don't combine well. Over the next couple days, I continued eating the spinach dip but realized I preferred plain avacados with seasoning or a big salad to the dip with veggie chips. It was just too filling. My dinners continued to consist of big salads (usually with avacado, cumumber, tomato, red bell pepper, onion, and carrots and a splash of apple cider/balsamic vinegar and agave nectar). After reading Cohen's book, I had to remind myself not to get sucked in by the raw books that don't focus on food combining the way Rose's does. The better my food combos, the better I felt.
On Day 15, something significant happened: I experimented with dairy cheese. Now let's back up a second. After reading R.F.L.F.E. I learned that soy products and processed foods in general are not ideal and should be avoided. I had heard this every now and then, but just ignored it. When I committed to trying this program, I promised myself I would follow her plan. If it worked, it worked. If not, I could always go back to my old diet. So I cut out soy; soymilk, soy cheese, soy meats. I realized that most of my favorite vegan foods are just processed junk. No wonder I was starting to feel like crap. Now, I will never speak badly of the vegan diet; eating vegan is AMAZING and wonderful. I LOVE vegan food. I really LOVE vegan JUNK food! But certain people just don't digest certain foods well. I am understanding this is true with me, because I have only been able to loose weight when eating raw or mostly raw. So, anyhow, armed with my new info, I started to wonder if I would miss cheese, now that vegan cheese was going to be rare (if at all) in my diet. While there are many raw nut "cheeses," none of them are that good. Besides, I'm trying NOT to overdose on nuts again. And in her book, Rose discusses the possibility of eating raw goat cheese. Goats milk in general digests much easier than cows' milk, and when in raw form, it digests even easier--easier than nut cheeses, even! I'd been vegan for over a year so I felt really guilty about my desire to try this raw goat cheese. It was so easy to be vegan, but I truly wanted to try this goat cheese for myself and see how it made me feel. I've always been such a cheese lover. But cruelty to animals, slaughterhouse practices, and--most moving for me personally--the health hazards of eating dairy made me turn to vegan options instead. So I fought with myself about whether or not to try raw goat cheese. The hardest part was facing the fact that I would no longer be labeled "vegan." And I was afraid I would disappoint everyone who knew me. But then I decided that a label does not make me who I am; I do. And I am no one but me no matter what I eat. So I went to Whole Foods and picked up a block of aged, rennet-free (in other terms, vegetarian) raw goat cheese. I felt like a total whore! I thought the vegan police was going to pop out at any moment and arrest me. But I relaxed as I got home and made a simple meal: Portobello mushrooms topped with warm marinara and a sprinkle of raw goat cheese. I didn't die. I loved it. It was tasty. So I decided that I do like raw goat cheese. Whether or not I will continue to eat it on a regular basis, I still have not decided. I don't intend on going "cheese crazy" with it or anything, but I do like the option. So now that I am over the guilt of letting my veganism slip, I can get over my beloved label. Vegan will always hold my heart, but I do personally like my current experiene with the occasional addition of the goat cheese. It's just me and my decision.
Anyhow, back to my 21 days. I felt great even after the addition of the raw goat cheese. On day 19, I had a molassas cookie, one of the only vegan treats from my job at Starbucks. My boss bought it for me, so I ate it, refined grains and sugars and all. I didn't feel too bad until later, when my tummy was a little sick. Probably had to do with the fact that I ate it for breakfast (with a banana) instead of for dessert or dinner, where all of your heaviest meals and treats belong. Then for dessert, I increased my bad food combo day by eating raisins, dates, and almond butter after a portobello melt (cheese and nuts/dried fruits are not a good combo.) The next few days went well with veggie/greens juice in the morning; fruit for breakfast; veggies, salads, avacado, or lara bar for lunch; and zuchini noodles or portobello mushrooms w/marinara and salad, big salads with veggies or nut cheese, or baked sweet potatoes with salad for dinner. For dessert I would have 70% chocolate, coconut based pudding, or nut based pudding. That ends round one of my 21 day eating plan.
Round 2: I actually struggled with this one. Most of my days were positive and similar to what I described just above. But at one point I started eating heaping spoonfulls of raw honey throughout the day/night. I didn't particularly feel sick or anything, but I just felt like it was too much. I didn't need it, I was just snacking which would usually lead to binging. I noticed the more I let myself snack, the longer I would snack, and the worse my food combos would get. So I tried my best to refrain from eating raw honey by the spoon or raisins by the bowl, which were my two most-consumed after dinner snacks. I learned that if I wrote about how satisfied I was, and how I didn't need any snacks, I wouldn't eat anymore! A couple days later I gave into my sweet tooth and ate candy like Panda Licorice which is made of wheat flour and molasses. Not the worst thing in the world but it is refined and processed. On a positive note, I went to a wedding reception one of these days and it wasn't so bad. I relaxed and ate a big plate of salad and grilled green beans and red peppers. But backslide again when I had a few molassas cookie episodes! My boss bought me another cookie, and last week, my co-workers gave me three boxes full! I ate through one full box (only one cookie a day/4 cookies per box) and then one out of another box before I gave them to my boyfriend. Luckily, the cookies are being discontinued and will no longer tempt me at work.
The worst eating day I experienced happened on Christmas Eve. How strange when I had such a positve Thanksgiving experience just a month before! I went to my mom's house. The day started all right, but in the middle, I ate two panda licorice bars and a box of maple candy while I was waiting for dinner. For dinner, I ate things that I have not consumed in years. I feel pretty guilty and non-vegan about it, and am ashamed of my lack of discipline. It happened when my mom made my two pre-vegan favorite foods: latke's and smoked salmon pita pizzas. For some reason, that day and the couple days that followed, I was craving tons of pre-vegan and pre-sober food and drinks like wine, that Xmas Eve dinner, and the cheese bread Brian ordered at Claim Jumper. It was bizarre. Anyhow, back to Xmas Eve: I ate salad, a raw avacado and corn chowder, a whole pita pizza made with refined wheat pita, non-raw, non-organic goat cheese, and non-organic smoked salmon (which, besides those no-no's, meat and cheese don't combine with starches like pita and avacados). Then I had tons and tons of fried latkes. When I was completely full and bursting at the seams, I continued to eat...a molassas cookie. I was in so much pain that I could barely move. I really put my body through torture that night. I thought my kidneys were going to explode. I was so ashamed afterwards that I did not hold constant to my committment of eating pure, whole, foods (not to mention vegan!) and maintaning properly combined meals. I wrote a little essay to myself about how I should have eaten that night and at what point I should have stopped. Needless to say, lesson learned, big time.
I felt so hopeless that I continued to over eat and miscombine my meals over the next couple days. But on day 16 and 17, I re-read R.F.L.F.E and The Raw Food Detox Diet, bought a body brush, and re-committed to the plan. I started dry body brushing every day, reminded myself to eat light to heavy, and raw till dinner. And here I am today. I ate perfectly yesterday: green juice in the morning, asian pear for breakfast, "sandwhich salad" for lunch, then small spinach salad with zuchini noodles and pesto with two slices s.w. bread with raw honey, and chai spiced almond milk with two pieces of chocolate for dessert. Today I had green juice, a pear, a banana, and the "sandwhich salad" for lunch. After this post, I will eat a big salad. I feel great and I still am maintaining my healthy weight! Now that the molassas cookies are out of my life, I can try to abstain from refined sugar and flour and work on those last 5 lbs!
My favorite meals from this book: There are so many!
Life Force Power Ade (I usually improvise with different greens and fruit)
Holiday Anytime (carrot juice with pumpkin pie spice)
Pumpkin Pie in a Bowl soup
Raw Tomato Herb Potage with Shredded Raw Goat Cheese (I like to blend most of this soup in a blender rather than just a mixing bowl)
Suddenly St. Tropez Salad (this has goat cheese and is my fave!)
Daily Avacado Classic Salad
Salad Gone Nuts
Sandwhich Salad (best lunch ever!)
Quickest Spaghetti (sprialized zuchini noodles with warm marinara)
Portobello Melts
Banana Mint Dessert "ice cream" (I use peppermint extract instead of mint leaves)
Baked Apples (I dehydrate mine for an hour or two so it's warm)
What I've learned from this book: How to increase my intake of raw, life force engery generating foods. How to properly combine my meals for best digestion. How to eat "light to heavy" for quickest elimination and digestion. How to incorporate some healthy cooked foods into my diet. Which foods are inharmonious. How to dry body brush. How colonics can help. Why some raw food diets fail. Some amazing recipes.
Anyhow, with that all said, I highly recommend this book to everyone! She provides a FAQ in the back, along with thorough sample menus and a 21 day eating plan you can follow word for word if you like. This book has truly changed my life and the way I eat. I bought a copy for my mom for Xmas and hope she can find it useful. We used to have so much fun eating raw meals together! Happy New Year, everyone!
How the journey began
Growing up, I ate a lot of food that came out of packages; Mac n Cheese, canned Ravioli, sugary cereals. We ate a lot of meat, potatoes, white pasta, bread slathered in butter, ice cream and cake for dessert. For the most part, it was the Standard American Diet. Every once in awhile, my mom would encourage our family to eat healthier. I remember at one point we were vegetarian, although that didn't last very long. I wasn't opposed to healthy food; I just didn't know that I was eating unhealthy to begin with! I slowly became more health conscious in high school and ate more sandwiches and salads and "diet" foods and drinks. But I still ate tons of fried food and fast food. I've never been overweight, but at 5'00" with big boobs, wide hips and thighs, extra weight is very unflattering. It's always been really hard for me when I see the standards for "thin." Even health class was discouraging. I weighed between 120 and 125 lbs (sometimes more; my erratic eating behavior made my weight fluctuate regularly) and I learned that, for my height, that was the high-end. Of course, my friends reminded me that big boobs are awesome and that curves and lovely, but I still couldn't help but feel far from perfect. I knew I could be healthier. I knew my body could look amazing. If only I knew how to get there.
I've never been very athletic, aside from my love for walking and occasional dancing, but as I grew older, I tried to be more active. But I never adopted a lifestyle of exercise, and I continued to binge of sweets, fast food, restaurant food, and...alcohol.
I always looked to my mom for inspiration, and she started sharing with me her discoveries of cleanses and fasts. I tried a few different ones that she had done. The first couple (Isagenix I think it was called) were interesting and provided some good results. But it wasn't until we discovered the Master Cleanse (the lemonade cleanse) that I really started seeing and feeling something different. I read the book by Stanley Burroughs and attempted my first ten day cleanse. I didn't follow it exactly (I only lasted eight or nine days, I didn't always drink the laxative tea, and I refused to do the salt water flush in the mornings) but I still lost more weight than I had in a very long time and felt light and amazing. From his book, I also learned a lot about the damaging effects of cooking food and how eating mostly uncooked and unprocessed fruits, vegetables, and grains can be beneficial. My mom started researching the raw food diet, and I followed suit. Our first book was Rawvolution by Matt Amsden. It was a great introduction to raw food and making raw dishes. I loved coming over to her house and making masterful raw creations. My second book was Raw Food Real World by Mattew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. This one taught me more gourmet dishes. Me and my roommate at the time had tons of fun making recipes from this book! My mother and I continued incorporating more raw foods into our diets but neither of us went 100% raw, and in no time we were back to our old eating ways.
I tried to remain somewhat vegetarian, although I was never very strict about it. And I still ate fast food. Boy did I love that fried, processed goodness. My favorite thing in the whole world, and my main setback to weight loss, was cheese. I put cheese on everything. Meals seemed boring if they didn't include cheese. I loved pizza, nachos, pastas topped with cheese, cheese and crackers, even my salad had to be topped with cheese. I told myself I would and could never go vegan.
About a year after my first Master Cleanse, I started feeling like crap. I was eating everything. I was overeating. I had no limits; no rules. I figured a cleanse would help clean out my system and make me feel better for awhile. So I read the book again, and started my second ten day cleanse. This time I did drink the laxative tea and did the salt water flush almost every day. While cleansing, all the euphoria I had experienced the first time around came rushing back. I remembered how good it felt to have a light, clean body. I started reading about raw foods again and pulled out the few raw recipe books that I had and ordered a couple more online. I quit my cleanse on the ninth day, but after that, I ate 100% raw. I didn't know how long I would do it for, but I decided to stick to a raw diet as long as I could, if not forever. All I knew is that I was loosing weight and wanted to loose more. I wanted to finally see myself at my perfect weight! The day finally came just a few weeks after eating 100% raw. I weighed 115 lbs, which I hadn't weighed since middle school! I was so excited and I was really feeling great. But after those first couple weeks, there came a downside. I noticed that after a lot of my meals I felt over-full and bloated. I would go between being bloated and constipated to having really bad diarrea. I couldn't figure out how this could be! Most of the books I read said that you could eat whatever you wanted, how ever much you wanted, as long as it was 100% raw. So I ate what I wanted; fruits and vegetables and salads; but the majority of the food I ate was nut-based. I loved making the "imitation" raw gourmet recipes like nut breads, nut puddings, nut desserts, etc. The last meal I remember eating during that "attempt" was a nut burger on nut bread with nut cheese, a couple nut cheese stuffed peppers, and a big side of nut based "egg" salad. For dessert I had fresh watermelon. I remember being over-full to the point of extreme pain. The next day my kidneys ached. A few days later I realized I had a full-on kidney infection. I learned that kidney infections can occur from too much protein and being overloaded, among other things. After all the crap a couple people had given me about how I couldn't possibly be getting enough protein and fat on an all raw diet, there I was with a kidney infection that was probably caused by too much protein. The infection got pretty bad. I missed over a week of work (I was a housecleaner at the time) and I couldn't eat anything more than veggie broth and oyster crackers. I lost five more pounds (not the healthiest way to loose weight) and became disgusted by food, especially nuts and other raw meals. So it's no wonder that after I got better, I was completely turned off by the raw diet.
I tried to remain at least somewhat healthy and at least vegetarian, but sooner or later, I gained all the weight back and was again back to my old ways. One positive change that I eventually made and stuck to, was that I quit drinking. It took a disaster experience and a terrible lesson to learn to finally get me to quit, but I did. I gained a lot of clarity and peace of mind, even though my diet continued to suffer and my weight refused to lessen.
But, like many things in life, the cycle occurred again. I felt like crap. I wanted rules and boundaries. I wanted to know what was good for me and what wasn't. I wanted to cleanse again, but wasn't quite up for it. I even had a mini panic attack because I was so stressed out about which diet advice to follow. There were so many theories and diets and I didn't know what to believe! But I needed something. I went to the bookstore with the intention of finding a book that held answers. The first book I saw was Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. The title sounded familiar and I realized my vegan friend Brandi had talked about it. After being raw for one month, being vegan seemed possible, but I wasn't sure if I would enjoy being vegan or if it was really healthy. But I went home and read the book, and loved what I learned. I immediately went vegan, throwing out all my non-vegan treats and the other food items the book discourages like foods with refined flours and sugars. I started eating healthier version of the food I loved like sucanat and evaporated cane juice for sugar, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread. I fell in love with vegan baking and had so much fun making amazing vegan meals and goodies. The best part was that I could replicate almost any common dish into a vegan dish. And, best of all, there was vegan cheese. I gobbled up vegan cheese just as regularly as I had dairy cheese. I loved making grilled "ham and cheese" sandwiches, burritos, pastas, cakes, cupcakes. I believed I could eat whatever I wanted, as long as it was vegan and semi-healthy (healthier sugars, whole flours.) I did manage to maintain my weight, but I could never reach my perfect weight. I LOVED my vegan diet though, and thought I had finally found a good compromise. I could eat greasy, "cheesy," sugary foods in great abundance, and not gain weight. But, about a year later, I started feeling like crap...again. I felt like something was missing. I was overeating a lot, especially in the desserts category. I admit I wasn't eating 100% pure, whole foods--I would eat refined sugars and grains when I went out to eat or if I came across some tempting vegan morsel. I started doubting the theory of "eat as much vegan health food in junk food form as you want, because as long as it's made with whole grains, whole sugar, or vegan cheese, it's guilt free." I was even growing sick of vegan cheese. I was craving more fresh fruits and vegetables. I was considering going raw or at least incorporating more raw into my diet. But I would always remember that horrible kidney infection and remind myself of my negative raw experience.
In the middle of this new "feeling like crap" stage, I went to Europe for a month, touring with a band I was in at the time. It was an interesting experience because I was forced to go to the store every day and get fresh fruits and veggies and eat very simply because we didn't have the luxury of microwaves and stoves. Some of our hosts would cook for us, but they always at least made a big salad I could eat. At the end of the month, I had lost about 5 lbs (if not a little more) and realized the benefits of cutting out sugary desserts (which I didn't have access to), vegan junk food meals, and eating simply. I retained a lot of my learning when I got home but--as you can guess--I returned to my old eating habits in no time. And it got worse. I knew I had a problem when a week passed and I realized the majority of my food and calories was coming from dessert. I have always had a huge appetite for such a small girl, and can easily eat numerous servings of cake, cookies, and cupcakes. Sweets and cheese (vegan and dairy alike) have always been my binge faves.
Again, the panic settled in. I was doubting what I had come to believe about vegan food. I still loved vegan food and knew it was the best diet for me at the time, and was so grateful for Skinny Bitch and all the delicious meals I could eat--but it just wasn't enough. Maybe some girls could be skinny vegans, but not me, not with my addiction to sweets. I knew I needed more knowledge, more boundaries, more rules. I know it sounds strange, but I have always done best when I follow strict rules, hence my success quitting drinking as opposed to limiting alcohol or my success being completely vegan as opposed to just trying to eat somewhat vegan or vegetarian. So a couple months ago, back to the bookstore I went. I had that same intention as I had before; the desire for answers and guidance. I was really interested in going raw again, but didn't want a repeat kidney infection. Also, I had been working as a barista at Starbucks, where we regularly taste coffee (although at that point, I had already made coffee a rarity and not a necessity) which is definitely not raw. And there was a big part of me that just didn't want to be 100% raw again. I still wanted the option and freedom to go to my favorite vegan restaurants if I wanted or make the occasional cooked meal. So many raw books say that the more raw you eat, the better, but also promise 100% raw is best if you can do it. That just made me feel stressed and pressured, being the perfectionist that I am.
Anyhow, as I was heading away from the cookbooks section, I glanced over the nutrition section with the intention of going home empty handed. A misplaced book that was just thrown in front of another caught my eye and made me pause. It was Raw Food Life Force Energy by Natalia Rose. Whoa! I thought. A raw food book when I wasn't even looking anymore! So I flipped through it and read the back. It sounded pretty close to what I was looking for. The best part was that her plan seemed to include some cooked food. This excerpt (from the back) really got me excited: "Looking for a whole new approach to weight loss, health, and beauty without necessarily going all-raw or strictly vegetarian?" Holy crap, I thought. That's exactly what I'm looking for! And if non-vegetarians can do this, then I definitely can! I bought the book and finished it that night. I loved it. It offered me so much knowledge that I had never been exposed to. She talked about food combining and how eating certain foods in certain orders and combinations can either help or harm your digestion. I realized exactly how and why my first attempt at raw had failed: improper food combining, and an over-consumption of nuts! It was so simple, how did I not see before?! I couldn't believe that I had turned my back on raw foods for so long when I could have easily continued if I had access to the wisdom in that book.
I began my transition that night, and followed her 21 day program. I was on a budget but I did my best.
21 days went by, and I loved it. I reached my "healthy" weight of 120 after the first week. I have gone another 21 days, and have maintained my weight. I still intend on loosing another 5 lbs but I also realize I've got some demons to fight first (like occasional refined-sugar cookies and overeating.) A couple days ago, I bought Rose's first book, The Raw Food Detox Diet. It was further illuminating and helpful, and provided even more delicious recipes. That brings me to present. Here I am on a raw food journey once again. This time, I hope it is for life.
Now, I've had my week moments and pitfalls during this experience, but that is for another blog, another day. I just wanted to give an exhaustive background of how I got to where I am today. Next up: an in depth look at my two 21 day plans, setbacks, successes, and lessons learned.
I've never been very athletic, aside from my love for walking and occasional dancing, but as I grew older, I tried to be more active. But I never adopted a lifestyle of exercise, and I continued to binge of sweets, fast food, restaurant food, and...alcohol.
I always looked to my mom for inspiration, and she started sharing with me her discoveries of cleanses and fasts. I tried a few different ones that she had done. The first couple (Isagenix I think it was called) were interesting and provided some good results. But it wasn't until we discovered the Master Cleanse (the lemonade cleanse) that I really started seeing and feeling something different. I read the book by Stanley Burroughs and attempted my first ten day cleanse. I didn't follow it exactly (I only lasted eight or nine days, I didn't always drink the laxative tea, and I refused to do the salt water flush in the mornings) but I still lost more weight than I had in a very long time and felt light and amazing. From his book, I also learned a lot about the damaging effects of cooking food and how eating mostly uncooked and unprocessed fruits, vegetables, and grains can be beneficial. My mom started researching the raw food diet, and I followed suit. Our first book was Rawvolution by Matt Amsden. It was a great introduction to raw food and making raw dishes. I loved coming over to her house and making masterful raw creations. My second book was Raw Food Real World by Mattew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. This one taught me more gourmet dishes. Me and my roommate at the time had tons of fun making recipes from this book! My mother and I continued incorporating more raw foods into our diets but neither of us went 100% raw, and in no time we were back to our old eating ways.
I tried to remain somewhat vegetarian, although I was never very strict about it. And I still ate fast food. Boy did I love that fried, processed goodness. My favorite thing in the whole world, and my main setback to weight loss, was cheese. I put cheese on everything. Meals seemed boring if they didn't include cheese. I loved pizza, nachos, pastas topped with cheese, cheese and crackers, even my salad had to be topped with cheese. I told myself I would and could never go vegan.
About a year after my first Master Cleanse, I started feeling like crap. I was eating everything. I was overeating. I had no limits; no rules. I figured a cleanse would help clean out my system and make me feel better for awhile. So I read the book again, and started my second ten day cleanse. This time I did drink the laxative tea and did the salt water flush almost every day. While cleansing, all the euphoria I had experienced the first time around came rushing back. I remembered how good it felt to have a light, clean body. I started reading about raw foods again and pulled out the few raw recipe books that I had and ordered a couple more online. I quit my cleanse on the ninth day, but after that, I ate 100% raw. I didn't know how long I would do it for, but I decided to stick to a raw diet as long as I could, if not forever. All I knew is that I was loosing weight and wanted to loose more. I wanted to finally see myself at my perfect weight! The day finally came just a few weeks after eating 100% raw. I weighed 115 lbs, which I hadn't weighed since middle school! I was so excited and I was really feeling great. But after those first couple weeks, there came a downside. I noticed that after a lot of my meals I felt over-full and bloated. I would go between being bloated and constipated to having really bad diarrea. I couldn't figure out how this could be! Most of the books I read said that you could eat whatever you wanted, how ever much you wanted, as long as it was 100% raw. So I ate what I wanted; fruits and vegetables and salads; but the majority of the food I ate was nut-based. I loved making the "imitation" raw gourmet recipes like nut breads, nut puddings, nut desserts, etc. The last meal I remember eating during that "attempt" was a nut burger on nut bread with nut cheese, a couple nut cheese stuffed peppers, and a big side of nut based "egg" salad. For dessert I had fresh watermelon. I remember being over-full to the point of extreme pain. The next day my kidneys ached. A few days later I realized I had a full-on kidney infection. I learned that kidney infections can occur from too much protein and being overloaded, among other things. After all the crap a couple people had given me about how I couldn't possibly be getting enough protein and fat on an all raw diet, there I was with a kidney infection that was probably caused by too much protein. The infection got pretty bad. I missed over a week of work (I was a housecleaner at the time) and I couldn't eat anything more than veggie broth and oyster crackers. I lost five more pounds (not the healthiest way to loose weight) and became disgusted by food, especially nuts and other raw meals. So it's no wonder that after I got better, I was completely turned off by the raw diet.
I tried to remain at least somewhat healthy and at least vegetarian, but sooner or later, I gained all the weight back and was again back to my old ways. One positive change that I eventually made and stuck to, was that I quit drinking. It took a disaster experience and a terrible lesson to learn to finally get me to quit, but I did. I gained a lot of clarity and peace of mind, even though my diet continued to suffer and my weight refused to lessen.
But, like many things in life, the cycle occurred again. I felt like crap. I wanted rules and boundaries. I wanted to know what was good for me and what wasn't. I wanted to cleanse again, but wasn't quite up for it. I even had a mini panic attack because I was so stressed out about which diet advice to follow. There were so many theories and diets and I didn't know what to believe! But I needed something. I went to the bookstore with the intention of finding a book that held answers. The first book I saw was Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. The title sounded familiar and I realized my vegan friend Brandi had talked about it. After being raw for one month, being vegan seemed possible, but I wasn't sure if I would enjoy being vegan or if it was really healthy. But I went home and read the book, and loved what I learned. I immediately went vegan, throwing out all my non-vegan treats and the other food items the book discourages like foods with refined flours and sugars. I started eating healthier version of the food I loved like sucanat and evaporated cane juice for sugar, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread. I fell in love with vegan baking and had so much fun making amazing vegan meals and goodies. The best part was that I could replicate almost any common dish into a vegan dish. And, best of all, there was vegan cheese. I gobbled up vegan cheese just as regularly as I had dairy cheese. I loved making grilled "ham and cheese" sandwiches, burritos, pastas, cakes, cupcakes. I believed I could eat whatever I wanted, as long as it was vegan and semi-healthy (healthier sugars, whole flours.) I did manage to maintain my weight, but I could never reach my perfect weight. I LOVED my vegan diet though, and thought I had finally found a good compromise. I could eat greasy, "cheesy," sugary foods in great abundance, and not gain weight. But, about a year later, I started feeling like crap...again. I felt like something was missing. I was overeating a lot, especially in the desserts category. I admit I wasn't eating 100% pure, whole foods--I would eat refined sugars and grains when I went out to eat or if I came across some tempting vegan morsel. I started doubting the theory of "eat as much vegan health food in junk food form as you want, because as long as it's made with whole grains, whole sugar, or vegan cheese, it's guilt free." I was even growing sick of vegan cheese. I was craving more fresh fruits and vegetables. I was considering going raw or at least incorporating more raw into my diet. But I would always remember that horrible kidney infection and remind myself of my negative raw experience.
In the middle of this new "feeling like crap" stage, I went to Europe for a month, touring with a band I was in at the time. It was an interesting experience because I was forced to go to the store every day and get fresh fruits and veggies and eat very simply because we didn't have the luxury of microwaves and stoves. Some of our hosts would cook for us, but they always at least made a big salad I could eat. At the end of the month, I had lost about 5 lbs (if not a little more) and realized the benefits of cutting out sugary desserts (which I didn't have access to), vegan junk food meals, and eating simply. I retained a lot of my learning when I got home but--as you can guess--I returned to my old eating habits in no time. And it got worse. I knew I had a problem when a week passed and I realized the majority of my food and calories was coming from dessert. I have always had a huge appetite for such a small girl, and can easily eat numerous servings of cake, cookies, and cupcakes. Sweets and cheese (vegan and dairy alike) have always been my binge faves.
Again, the panic settled in. I was doubting what I had come to believe about vegan food. I still loved vegan food and knew it was the best diet for me at the time, and was so grateful for Skinny Bitch and all the delicious meals I could eat--but it just wasn't enough. Maybe some girls could be skinny vegans, but not me, not with my addiction to sweets. I knew I needed more knowledge, more boundaries, more rules. I know it sounds strange, but I have always done best when I follow strict rules, hence my success quitting drinking as opposed to limiting alcohol or my success being completely vegan as opposed to just trying to eat somewhat vegan or vegetarian. So a couple months ago, back to the bookstore I went. I had that same intention as I had before; the desire for answers and guidance. I was really interested in going raw again, but didn't want a repeat kidney infection. Also, I had been working as a barista at Starbucks, where we regularly taste coffee (although at that point, I had already made coffee a rarity and not a necessity) which is definitely not raw. And there was a big part of me that just didn't want to be 100% raw again. I still wanted the option and freedom to go to my favorite vegan restaurants if I wanted or make the occasional cooked meal. So many raw books say that the more raw you eat, the better, but also promise 100% raw is best if you can do it. That just made me feel stressed and pressured, being the perfectionist that I am.
Anyhow, as I was heading away from the cookbooks section, I glanced over the nutrition section with the intention of going home empty handed. A misplaced book that was just thrown in front of another caught my eye and made me pause. It was Raw Food Life Force Energy by Natalia Rose. Whoa! I thought. A raw food book when I wasn't even looking anymore! So I flipped through it and read the back. It sounded pretty close to what I was looking for. The best part was that her plan seemed to include some cooked food. This excerpt (from the back) really got me excited: "Looking for a whole new approach to weight loss, health, and beauty without necessarily going all-raw or strictly vegetarian?" Holy crap, I thought. That's exactly what I'm looking for! And if non-vegetarians can do this, then I definitely can! I bought the book and finished it that night. I loved it. It offered me so much knowledge that I had never been exposed to. She talked about food combining and how eating certain foods in certain orders and combinations can either help or harm your digestion. I realized exactly how and why my first attempt at raw had failed: improper food combining, and an over-consumption of nuts! It was so simple, how did I not see before?! I couldn't believe that I had turned my back on raw foods for so long when I could have easily continued if I had access to the wisdom in that book.
I began my transition that night, and followed her 21 day program. I was on a budget but I did my best.
21 days went by, and I loved it. I reached my "healthy" weight of 120 after the first week. I have gone another 21 days, and have maintained my weight. I still intend on loosing another 5 lbs but I also realize I've got some demons to fight first (like occasional refined-sugar cookies and overeating.) A couple days ago, I bought Rose's first book, The Raw Food Detox Diet. It was further illuminating and helpful, and provided even more delicious recipes. That brings me to present. Here I am on a raw food journey once again. This time, I hope it is for life.
Now, I've had my week moments and pitfalls during this experience, but that is for another blog, another day. I just wanted to give an exhaustive background of how I got to where I am today. Next up: an in depth look at my two 21 day plans, setbacks, successes, and lessons learned.
About This Blog
I have always loved food. Food is one of my favorite parts of life! But for the past few years, I have become fascinated by diet and nutrition and have been constantly searching for ways to improve my health and diet. I've gone from the Standard American Diet, experimented with different "healthy" or "weight loss" foods, cleanses and fasts, the raw foods lifestyle, vegetarianism, and veganism. I've been on a rollercoaster journey between fast food restaurants, overeating, obsession with sweets, meat diets, vegetarian diets, raw foods diets, and back again. I struggled to reach my ideal weight, and struggled even harder to keep it the few times I actually reached it. The most success I have ever experienced was on raw and cleansing diets. But due to lack of knowledge about how to properly eat a raw/mostly raw diet, I gave up the first time around. Then, after months of craving more raw foods and remembering how wonderful I felt and how awesome it was to be at my perfect weight, I sought out the raw lifestyle again. Wisdom came to me in the form of Natalia Rose's book, Raw Food Life Force Energy. The book showed me how and why my first attempts at the raw diet failed and how to do it right this time. It also offered something most Raw books don't; freedom to follow the lifestyle as closely as you desire. I have loved my experience getting back into raw foods; I have even been inspired to possibly go back to school to study to be a nutritionist. I find that I just love talking about nutrition and diet, and get so excited when I get the chance to share what I know and what I've been through. The financial cost and time it would take to finally become a certified nutritionist is a little overwhelming and discouraging when I want to help people now. But then I realized, as I was reading other blogs and websites about raw foods, just how much I enjoy reading about other people's experiences and how I could be helpful by just sharing what part of me I can. So, here it is! I will be writing about my food journey from the beginning to current, write book reviews about my favorite (and not-so-favorite) cookbooks and health books, and share recipes. I hope you enjoy!
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