Sunday 30 September 2007

The Search Feature

On the left hand top corner of this screen, you'll see a little 'B' in an orange square. Beside that it says 'search blog'. Well, they mean this blog, 'Rawkin'.


As the blog grows, it's becoming important to navigate easily. If you want to revisit a page, such as for a specific recipe or article, just type a key word into the search and it will take you where you want to go! Walla!


I'm gonna try it now.


A while ago, I wrote something about maca. So I'll type maca in the search. It pulls up all the pages I ever mentioned maca: http://imsorawkin.blogspot.com/search?q=maca

To narrow your search, type something more specific, pertaining to maca, lesseeeeee.... ok, I'm going to type 'sex' (I don't know! Maybe that's what you remember reading about maca!)

Now, it refined the search and pulled up just this page: http://imsorawkin.blogspot.com/search?q=sex


That's it!


Just a little tool to help you navigate the site.


As you were. ;)


The Search Feature

On the left hand top corner of this screen, you'll see a little 'B' in an orange square. Beside that it says 'search blog'. Well, they mean this blog, 'Rawkin'.


As the blog grows, it's becoming important to navigate easily. If you want to revisit a page, such as for a specific recipe or article, just type a key word into the search and it will take you where you want to go! Walla!


I'm gonna try it now.


A while ago, I wrote something about maca. So I'll type maca in the search. It pulls up all the pages I ever mentioned maca: http://imsorawkin.blogspot.com/search?q=maca

To narrow your search, type something more specific, pertaining to maca, lesseeeeee.... ok, I'm going to type 'sex' (I don't know! Maybe that's what you remember reading about maca!)

Now, it refined the search and pulled up just this page: http://imsorawkin.blogspot.com/search?q=sex


That's it!


Just a little tool to help you navigate the site.


As you were. ;)


Recipes Updated

I've added some delicious new raw vegan recipes to the blog.

I found something richer-tasting than 'regular' brownies! These taste like chocolate cheesecake. Make some, and fool your friends! They'll never believe they're 100% raw and good fer ya!

I also found a fab recipe for creamy whipped sweet potatoes and something that tastes just like bbq pulled pork... seriously!



These recipes will have a permanent home on the growing list. My dinner, your dinner :)

To bypass this post and go straight to the list in future, in the sidebar, click the pointer beside 'August' under 'More Rawkin' Posts' and go to a post called 'Updated (date) All the Recipes in One Place.




Recipes Updated

I've added some delicious new raw vegan recipes to the blog.

I found something richer-tasting than 'regular' brownies! These taste like chocolate cheesecake. Make some, and fool your friends! They'll never believe they're 100% raw and good fer ya!

I also found a fab recipe for creamy whipped sweet potatoes and something that tastes just like bbq pulled pork... seriously!



These recipes will have a permanent home on the growing list. My dinner, your dinner :)

To bypass this post and go straight to the list in future, in the sidebar, click the pointer beside 'August' under 'More Rawkin' Posts' and go to a post called 'Updated (date) All the Recipes in One Place.




Off the Charts Raw Brownies

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
I just made this recipe for Raw Vegan Brownies and it RAWKS so hard, I had to share!

15 Minutes to Prepare

Ingredients

brownie:

1 c walnuts
1 c dates
1/4 c cocoa pwd.

Directions for brownie mixture:
Food process the brownie ingredients until blended and dry chunky.
Press into a small pan, put aside.


Icing:
2 avocados
1/3-1/2 c agave nectar
1/4 c cocoa pwd
2 T coconut oil
1 T vanilla extract
dash salt
dash cinnamon



Directions for icing:
Put all icing ingredients into blender or food processor, and blend on hi till smooth
Spread icing over brownies and pop in freezer to set for 1 hr. then cut into 12 pieces.



Go make it!

Off the Charts Raw Brownies

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
I just made this recipe for Raw Vegan Brownies and it RAWKS so hard, I had to share!

15 Minutes to Prepare

Ingredients

brownie:

1 c walnuts
1 c dates
1/4 c cocoa pwd.

Directions for brownie mixture:
Food process the brownie ingredients until blended and dry chunky.
Press into a small pan, put aside.


Icing:
2 avocados
1/3-1/2 c agave nectar
1/4 c cocoa pwd
2 T coconut oil
1 T vanilla extract
dash salt
dash cinnamon



Directions for icing:
Put all icing ingredients into blender or food processor, and blend on hi till smooth
Spread icing over brownies and pop in freezer to set for 1 hr. then cut into 12 pieces.



Go make it!

Friday 28 September 2007

Taking Control of Our Health

You've probably heard the now cliched 'Garbage In/Garbage Out' for so long that it's lost its impact.

What does that mean, anyway?

As it pertains to food, Garbage In means throwing anything into your body without concern of what is actually in the 'food'. Not reading labels, eating past the point of control, eating poor-quality foods because you've waited until you're just famished so anything will do. That's Garbage In.

Garbage Out means our body will react in a myriad of ways, showing us all kinds of signs that manifest our inner 'turmoil'. It's our body tapping us on the shoulder, trying to get our attention...from the lowly zit to headaches, joint pain, weight gain, high blood pressure, constipation, depression, lowered immunity...believe me, I could go on.

OK, if you insist...

Maybe you notice your skin is itchy after eating wheat, but you don't make the connection. I didn't'... "What ARE all those scratches on my arms?" I used to ask myself. I wasn't even conscious of scratching until I scratched on a scratch and it stung.

The only thing that gave me pause, was pain. Many of us wait for pain of some sort before cluing in, and think that health simply means the lack of pain.

If Garbage In is the party, Garbage Out is the hangover...either whispering or screaming...it's talking to you.

People get soothed by Garbage In because Garbage Out isn't insistent enough, or serious enough to warrant our full attention. (You know, the wake-up call people half expect in their lifetime...when it gets bad enough that they'll have to do something. Or absurdly, wait for their doctor to tell them to stop or start something.)

Why do we do these things? Often, it's because we're ignoring our body's needs. Delaying eating past the point of reasonable creates a desperate environment inside you. You can ignore the discomfort of slight hunger - your body's signal that it needs fuel to keep working properly - by keeping your attention on other, more 'important' things.

This can go on all morning, until you say, "Geez, I haven't had anything to eat today!" When you get to that point, that's fertile ground for Garbage In...lessee, what's quick and dirty? How can I stop this feeling?....Hm...donut....We just take a shortcut, (who needs roads?) not caring that we've driven across a flower bed to get there.

But see, eating is our first line of defense against all the things that could go wrong!

I can't think of an area of life where people use magical thinking more than the area of eating and health. Just indiscriminate eating and somehow we'll dodge the bigger issues like serious chronic disease.

But all those 'irritations' I mentioned above are the conditions necessary for breeding just that. It isn't an accident and we're not victims. While most of us in our society are raised to expect that we eat junk, have regular doctor's appointments, take medication, get old, get sick, and eventually die of it, I don't believe it has to be like that at all.

Okay, so imagine the opposite of Garbage In/Garbage Out. Imagine everything you put into your body being something that optimally supports your body's functions and creates an environment of total health.

That kinda takes the accident out of it, doesn't it? Taking control of our health is just that. Being the one in control, not a victim of it, not a leaf in a windstorm.

Who's to blame us, though, when society is set up the way it is. Take TV commercials that just want to 'fix' everything...presenting poor quality fast foods like they're magical, while telling you to get your mammogram, and take your pills. Never mind that no one is addressing the first part of the equation, Garbage In. There's no money in that! Sticking a band aid over Garbage Out, that's where the big bucks are!

There's just so much of it out there, that we stop hearing it. Where do you even start? We all see this stuff and say to each other with smirks on our faces, "Everything gives you cancer, so what's the use...might as well enjoy life..." Hell, I've said it myself.

It's all very overwhelming and confusing until you realize that you don't have to do a lot to stop the train. You don't need super powers or Herculean effort. You don't have to give up or quit anything until you are the one telling yourself to.

If all you do is adjust one thing to do with Garbage In, Garbage Out will do the rest.

So how can you start today?

Right now, get up, go on, get up and get yourself a glass of water and drink it down. Then, tonight, at dinner, make yourself a little salad.

That's all... just start there. I recently read some wisdom that I'll paraphrase here: the best place from which to start a long journey is where you are right now.

Beginning to take control of our health is not about drastic anything. No quitting the way you've always known it, no starting a whole new way to be, and certainly not because I said so, or any other person said so. It's been a journey to this place for me, this raw place.

I'd like to mention that I am not speaking from a mountain top where all is holy and right with the world.

Even though I am years into researching nutrition and wellness, I'm only a little over 4 months into eating raw. And this isn't so much about raw as it is about awareness of health, whatever that looks like for you.

As I type these things, I can only hope with all my heart that I haven't already created disease in myself before I woke up and turned it around.

Yes, I believe that we can heal our body with nutrition, but I also know that these disease states take years to manifest. And I've been right in there with the beer drinkers and junk food junkies and the yo-yo dieters and the Big Macs and the lowered immunity for a lot longer than 4 months. But since nothing ruins the party more than the knowledge that the 'cops' are coming, I knew things had to change.

The signs are certainly there that I've turned my health around, but like a lot of people, I do still harbour 'niggly' thoughts that I've done permanent harm.

The best way to shut those thoughts out, though, is to keep on this path. (At least the thoughts are niggly and fleeting now...they used to scream at me!) It's not even a big leap to feeling better, starting exactly where you are at. The moment I started making choices to support my health, the thoughts that used to scream at me got very tiny and quiet.

It's like this: It's not the fact that you're not "THERE" yet (healthy, slender, whatever 'there' is for you) it's that you're on the 'wrong' road. Everyone has their own 'wrong' road, but we all pretty much recognize it the same way...it's when you'll feel the most discomfort and give yourself the hardest time. The minute you turn down the right road, the 'screaming' will stop and the gentle guidance will kick in. The self-love will surprise you in that it doesn't wait until you're "THERE". It just all starts feeling better right away, because you're traveling down a path that will serve and support health and life rather than disease and death.

Ever gone to the gym and had a great first workout? You'll know that even though you look the same driving home that day, everything has changed.

Taking Control of Our Health

You've probably heard the now cliched 'Garbage In/Garbage Out' for so long that it's lost its impact.

What does that mean, anyway?

As it pertains to food, Garbage In means throwing anything into your body without concern of what is actually in the 'food'. Not reading labels, eating past the point of control, eating poor-quality foods because you've waited until you're just famished so anything will do. That's Garbage In.

Garbage Out means our body will react in a myriad of ways, showing us all kinds of signs that manifest our inner 'turmoil'. It's our body tapping us on the shoulder, trying to get our attention...from the lowly zit to headaches, joint pain, weight gain, high blood pressure, constipation, depression, lowered immunity...believe me, I could go on.

OK, if you insist...

Maybe you notice your skin is itchy after eating wheat, but you don't make the connection. I didn't'... "What ARE all those scratches on my arms?" I used to ask myself. I wasn't even conscious of scratching until I scratched on a scratch and it stung.

The only thing that gave me pause, was pain. Many of us wait for pain of some sort before cluing in, and think that health simply means the lack of pain.

If Garbage In is the party, Garbage Out is the hangover...either whispering or screaming...it's talking to you.

People get soothed by Garbage In because Garbage Out isn't insistent enough, or serious enough to warrant our full attention. (You know, the wake-up call people half expect in their lifetime...when it gets bad enough that they'll have to do something. Or absurdly, wait for their doctor to tell them to stop or start something.)

Why do we do these things? Often, it's because we're ignoring our body's needs. Delaying eating past the point of reasonable creates a desperate environment inside you. You can ignore the discomfort of slight hunger - your body's signal that it needs fuel to keep working properly - by keeping your attention on other, more 'important' things.

This can go on all morning, until you say, "Geez, I haven't had anything to eat today!" When you get to that point, that's fertile ground for Garbage In...lessee, what's quick and dirty? How can I stop this feeling?....Hm...donut....We just take a shortcut, (who needs roads?) not caring that we've driven across a flower bed to get there.

But see, eating is our first line of defense against all the things that could go wrong!

I can't think of an area of life where people use magical thinking more than the area of eating and health. Just indiscriminate eating and somehow we'll dodge the bigger issues like serious chronic disease.

But all those 'irritations' I mentioned above are the conditions necessary for breeding just that. It isn't an accident and we're not victims. While most of us in our society are raised to expect that we eat junk, have regular doctor's appointments, take medication, get old, get sick, and eventually die of it, I don't believe it has to be like that at all.

Okay, so imagine the opposite of Garbage In/Garbage Out. Imagine everything you put into your body being something that optimally supports your body's functions and creates an environment of total health.

That kinda takes the accident out of it, doesn't it? Taking control of our health is just that. Being the one in control, not a victim of it, not a leaf in a windstorm.

Who's to blame us, though, when society is set up the way it is. Take TV commercials that just want to 'fix' everything...presenting poor quality fast foods like they're magical, while telling you to get your mammogram, and take your pills. Never mind that no one is addressing the first part of the equation, Garbage In. There's no money in that! Sticking a band aid over Garbage Out, that's where the big bucks are!

There's just so much of it out there, that we stop hearing it. Where do you even start? We all see this stuff and say to each other with smirks on our faces, "Everything gives you cancer, so what's the use...might as well enjoy life..." Hell, I've said it myself.

It's all very overwhelming and confusing until you realize that you don't have to do a lot to stop the train. You don't need super powers or Herculean effort. You don't have to give up or quit anything until you are the one telling yourself to.

If all you do is adjust one thing to do with Garbage In, Garbage Out will do the rest.

So how can you start today?

Right now, get up, go on, get up and get yourself a glass of water and drink it down. Then, tonight, at dinner, make yourself a little salad.

That's all... just start there. I recently read some wisdom that I'll paraphrase here: the best place from which to start a long journey is where you are right now.

Beginning to take control of our health is not about drastic anything. No quitting the way you've always known it, no starting a whole new way to be, and certainly not because I said so, or any other person said so. It's been a journey to this place for me, this raw place.

I'd like to mention that I am not speaking from a mountain top where all is holy and right with the world.

Even though I am years into researching nutrition and wellness, I'm only a little over 4 months into eating raw. And this isn't so much about raw as it is about awareness of health, whatever that looks like for you.

As I type these things, I can only hope with all my heart that I haven't already created disease in myself before I woke up and turned it around.

Yes, I believe that we can heal our body with nutrition, but I also know that these disease states take years to manifest. And I've been right in there with the beer drinkers and junk food junkies and the yo-yo dieters and the Big Macs and the lowered immunity for a lot longer than 4 months. But since nothing ruins the party more than the knowledge that the 'cops' are coming, I knew things had to change.

The signs are certainly there that I've turned my health around, but like a lot of people, I do still harbour 'niggly' thoughts that I've done permanent harm.

The best way to shut those thoughts out, though, is to keep on this path. (At least the thoughts are niggly and fleeting now...they used to scream at me!) It's not even a big leap to feeling better, starting exactly where you are at. The moment I started making choices to support my health, the thoughts that used to scream at me got very tiny and quiet.

It's like this: It's not the fact that you're not "THERE" yet (healthy, slender, whatever 'there' is for you) it's that you're on the 'wrong' road. Everyone has their own 'wrong' road, but we all pretty much recognize it the same way...it's when you'll feel the most discomfort and give yourself the hardest time. The minute you turn down the right road, the 'screaming' will stop and the gentle guidance will kick in. The self-love will surprise you in that it doesn't wait until you're "THERE". It just all starts feeling better right away, because you're traveling down a path that will serve and support health and life rather than disease and death.

Ever gone to the gym and had a great first workout? You'll know that even though you look the same driving home that day, everything has changed.

My Blender's Too Sexy for My Counter!

This morning, I was making a green smoothie and I walked away from it while it was whirring away.

Then I heard a crash!

Aw, shit!

My blender vibrated right off the counter!

There it was on the kitchen floor, half hidden behind the garbage can, still plugged in, motor running, but the pitcher was off on another floor tile.

Once I unplugged the blender and stopped the motor, I sighed, figuring I'd have a hell of a cleanup on my hands.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I picked up the pitcher and saw that with the lid on tight, I did not lose a drop!

Someone is lookin' after me today!

PS It was delish!

My Blender's Too Sexy for My Counter!

This morning, I was making a green smoothie and I walked away from it while it was whirring away.

Then I heard a crash!

Aw, shit!

My blender vibrated right off the counter!

There it was on the kitchen floor, half hidden behind the garbage can, still plugged in, motor running, but the pitcher was off on another floor tile.

Once I unplugged the blender and stopped the motor, I sighed, figuring I'd have a hell of a cleanup on my hands.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I picked up the pitcher and saw that with the lid on tight, I did not lose a drop!

Someone is lookin' after me today!

PS It was delish!

Thursday 27 September 2007

Raw Pizza, What the...

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I've recently been asked to explain raw pizza. A pretty fair question, I'd say!

When I first heard that the raw food lifestyle included pizza, I was more than baffled myself. It sure didn't sound good, 'cause all I could imagine was raw dough and stiff, cold, crunchy vegetables...(vom).

I realize now, that trying to describe what raw pizza really is...doesn't really make it sound much better!
Well, the crust is made with nuts.... ah, ya lost me already... lol...


Until I'd eaten myself and experienced the complete mouth-gasm that it is, I would never have been tempted to cross the street to eat a slice based on its hippy sounding description.



I ask only that you stay with me long enough to read this, and open enough to try it. It will be love at first bite, I can damn near promise you this. Only damn near because we're not all the same. Honestly though, the last person I expected to satisfy with raw pizza was my boyfriend, who, until we began eating this way was the most carnivorous of them all, and the least likely to do anything remotely healthy when it came to eating. Just indiscriminate, like I was.

Ok. So pizza. Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Alissa Cohen describes it well: 'The Living Pizza:This pizza is better than the real thing! The crust is made from sprouted grains and/or seeds, and veggies and then dehydrated. The tomato sauce is made from sun-dried tomatoes, dates, garlic, and herbs. The creamy cheese topping is made from a variety of nuts and vegetables and spices. The pizza is topped with avocados, mushrooms, spinach and onions.'

Thing is, to be able to picture it at all, ya need to know what the dehydrator does. It softens the veggies and brings out the intensity of all the flavors. For instance, nuts like walnuts or pine nuts release oils during dehydration that makes the flavors not only explode, but taste like cooked. Believe or not (I wouldn't believe me either) walnuts are sprinkled on top of the pizza and it makes it taste just like cheese.

I know what you're thinking, cause I thought it too. Some hippy vegan shiite that is just too weird to try.

I'm not here to convert, only explain. :)

I haven't made pizza yet, but am going to, and when I do, I will document it here. I've only eaten it at Gorilla Food and Rawfreshing Cuisine, and both times, I FLIPPED OUT.

I know it takes preparation, but if ya keep dehydrated sprouted grain 'dough' in the freezer (I don't, yet, but isn't that a good idea? I read that somewhere and thought, 'hey yeah...') then all you've gotta do is whip that out, make a tomato & cheese sauces, and add veggies...then stick it all in the dehydrator for a bit.

If your city has a raw cafe, go check out the pizza...then come back here and tell me about it!

Raw Pizza, What the...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
I've recently been asked to explain raw pizza. A pretty fair question, I'd say!

When I first heard that the raw food lifestyle included pizza, I was more than baffled myself. It sure didn't sound good, 'cause all I could imagine was raw dough and stiff, cold, crunchy vegetables...(vom).

I realize now, that trying to describe what raw pizza really is...doesn't really make it sound much better!
Well, the crust is made with nuts.... ah, ya lost me already... lol...


Until I'd eaten myself and experienced the complete mouth-gasm that it is, I would never have been tempted to cross the street to eat a slice based on its hippy sounding description.



I ask only that you stay with me long enough to read this, and open enough to try it. It will be love at first bite, I can damn near promise you this. Only damn near because we're not all the same. Honestly though, the last person I expected to satisfy with raw pizza was my boyfriend, who, until we began eating this way was the most carnivorous of them all, and the least likely to do anything remotely healthy when it came to eating. Just indiscriminate, like I was.

Ok. So pizza. Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Alissa Cohen describes it well: 'The Living Pizza:This pizza is better than the real thing! The crust is made from sprouted grains and/or seeds, and veggies and then dehydrated. The tomato sauce is made from sun-dried tomatoes, dates, garlic, and herbs. The creamy cheese topping is made from a variety of nuts and vegetables and spices. The pizza is topped with avocados, mushrooms, spinach and onions.'

Thing is, to be able to picture it at all, ya need to know what the dehydrator does. It softens the veggies and brings out the intensity of all the flavors. For instance, nuts like walnuts or pine nuts release oils during dehydration that makes the flavors not only explode, but taste like cooked. Believe or not (I wouldn't believe me either) walnuts are sprinkled on top of the pizza and it makes it taste just like cheese.

I know what you're thinking, cause I thought it too. Some hippy vegan shiite that is just too weird to try.

I'm not here to convert, only explain. :)

I haven't made pizza yet, but am going to, and when I do, I will document it here. I've only eaten it at Gorilla Food and Rawfreshing Cuisine, and both times, I FLIPPED OUT.

I know it takes preparation, but if ya keep dehydrated sprouted grain 'dough' in the freezer (I don't, yet, but isn't that a good idea? I read that somewhere and thought, 'hey yeah...') then all you've gotta do is whip that out, make a tomato & cheese sauces, and add veggies...then stick it all in the dehydrator for a bit.

If your city has a raw cafe, go check out the pizza...then come back here and tell me about it!

Tuesday 25 September 2007

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THAT'S what I'M talkin' about!!
At last, the spiralizer has entered the building!

(whatchootalkin'bout, Willis?)




I have experienced only frustration with my other spiral slicer, whose brand name will remain unnamed (ahem). I just didn't get the texture of pasta. I did adjust the blade and improved it, but it never reached where I knew it should be. Put it this way, I bought it, used it, and kept looking for a better one. To no avail. Until the raw thing goes more mainstream, it seems I'll have to order things from the States. Well, that's what I thought....



I went to Nelson, B.C. for the weekend and I was beyond delighted to find Rawfreshing Cuisine, (502 Front Street) a raw vegan organic deli! I'm sure deli is short for delicious!!

Oh. My. Gawd. Can this woman un-cook. Chantale Roy, the owner/chef is as refreshing as her menu. What a lovely woman. Turns out, we know a couple folks in common, one in 'real' life, and one in cyberspace, both raw supports for me.

I read about Rawfreshing Cuisine last month on a message board, and thought, Hey wow, I'll be in Nelson in late September, I'm going to have to look that up. Well, the month went by and I filed that thought, and it wasn't until we drove by it that it all came rushing back to me!

There it was!

I did a happy dance in the car! "This is the place! Oh my gawd! This is it, I know about this place, we've gotta go in!"

So the next day, when our friends asked to meet us at a S.A.D. restaurant (Standard American Diet) ;) I was wondering if I could be so bold as to re-direct our party to Rawfreshing... turns out, when I really need 'em, I've got EGGS, hahaha.

Everyone agreed, so that's where we ate.

We had to wait a bit before they arrived, and I had a chance to introduce myself to Chantale and we had a lovely chat. I was so gushy, almost like a groupie, lol, that I was embarrassed and a little shy but pushed through. I even asked if I could get a photo. I know that is weird and yep, very groupie-like but there was a method to my madness...I wanted to show my online friend that I was there! Besides, once you know me, you know that I am The Great Document-or. I photograph everything. Even mayflies, but that's another story for another time. ;)
Anyways, lookit us, we look like old pals! (Ya know when you just GET someone?)

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket


Anyway, while we were waiting for our buddies, I noticed a shelf full of spiral slicers, the kind I've been coveting. Chantale said she orders them from the States ;) and this made me so happy, I could get one here! We only had a bit of cash on us, and thought, well...looks like next time...

Meanwhile, the folks arrived, so we switched gears and all got our food and sat down.
My friends were open, but uninformed about eating raw, and certainly unaware of what awaited them. We ordered quite an array of delights: pizza, wraps, apple torte...everything was so dang great. My friends were blown away by a) the concept and b) the taste sensations.

We had a wonderful time catching up, and as we were leaving, I guess my boyfriend had mentioned the spiralizer to one of our friends, because at the til, he handed it to me and said, "Happy Birthday" (my birthday is coming up, first week of October...close enough, haha!)
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Who's a happy raw girl??? :)


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
THAT'S what I'M talkin' about!!
At last, the spiralizer has entered the building!

(whatchootalkin'bout, Willis?)




I have experienced only frustration with my other spiral slicer, whose brand name will remain unnamed (ahem). I just didn't get the texture of pasta. I did adjust the blade and improved it, but it never reached where I knew it should be. Put it this way, I bought it, used it, and kept looking for a better one. To no avail. Until the raw thing goes more mainstream, it seems I'll have to order things from the States. Well, that's what I thought....



I went to Nelson, B.C. for the weekend and I was beyond delighted to find Rawfreshing Cuisine, (502 Front Street) a raw vegan organic deli! I'm sure deli is short for delicious!!

Oh. My. Gawd. Can this woman un-cook. Chantale Roy, the owner/chef is as refreshing as her menu. What a lovely woman. Turns out, we know a couple folks in common, one in 'real' life, and one in cyberspace, both raw supports for me.

I read about Rawfreshing Cuisine last month on a message board, and thought, Hey wow, I'll be in Nelson in late September, I'm going to have to look that up. Well, the month went by and I filed that thought, and it wasn't until we drove by it that it all came rushing back to me!

There it was!

I did a happy dance in the car! "This is the place! Oh my gawd! This is it, I know about this place, we've gotta go in!"

So the next day, when our friends asked to meet us at a S.A.D. restaurant (Standard American Diet) ;) I was wondering if I could be so bold as to re-direct our party to Rawfreshing... turns out, when I really need 'em, I've got EGGS, hahaha.

Everyone agreed, so that's where we ate.

We had to wait a bit before they arrived, and I had a chance to introduce myself to Chantale and we had a lovely chat. I was so gushy, almost like a groupie, lol, that I was embarrassed and a little shy but pushed through. I even asked if I could get a photo. I know that is weird and yep, very groupie-like but there was a method to my madness...I wanted to show my online friend that I was there! Besides, once you know me, you know that I am The Great Document-or. I photograph everything. Even mayflies, but that's another story for another time. ;)
Anyways, lookit us, we look like old pals! (Ya know when you just GET someone?)

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket


Anyway, while we were waiting for our buddies, I noticed a shelf full of spiral slicers, the kind I've been coveting. Chantale said she orders them from the States ;) and this made me so happy, I could get one here! We only had a bit of cash on us, and thought, well...looks like next time...

Meanwhile, the folks arrived, so we switched gears and all got our food and sat down.
My friends were open, but uninformed about eating raw, and certainly unaware of what awaited them. We ordered quite an array of delights: pizza, wraps, apple torte...everything was so dang great. My friends were blown away by a) the concept and b) the taste sensations.

We had a wonderful time catching up, and as we were leaving, I guess my boyfriend had mentioned the spiralizer to one of our friends, because at the til, he handed it to me and said, "Happy Birthday" (my birthday is coming up, first week of October...close enough, haha!)
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Who's a happy raw girl??? :)


Thursday 20 September 2007

I Think This Guy is RIGHT ON!

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Commentary by Mike Adams, the creator of this cartoon:

Humans are the only species on the planet who actually go out of their way to feed their children crap.

All other animals instinctly seek out the best nutrition they can find.

Birds find grubs, worms and insects to feed their young, honeybees painstakingly collect pollen and create a nutrient-rich superfood that gives rise to a living queen bee, and even dogs, cats and cows try to find the most nutrient-rich foods to offer their offspring.

But humans? Most of them "reward" their children with junk food, sugary sodas, candy laced with petrochemical coloring additives and refined sugars that promote obesity and diabetes.

Most parents don't even make any real effort to follow nutritional discipline at home -- they simply buy whatever their children saw advertised on television, caving in to the all-powerful "nag factor" that junk food companies fully exploit when marketing to children.

As a result, human children are the least healthy youngsters of any species on the planet.

Baby dolphins are healthier than baby humans, for example, and they are born with healthier nervous systems, fewer toxins and a lot more common sense.Speaking of common sense, nearly all mammals have the common sense to feed their children their own mother's milk.

A kitten, for example, will drink cat's milk from its mother. A puppy will drink dog's milk from its mother. A baby horse will drink horse's milk from its mother.

But humans? We're sorta stupid. We mostly drink cow's milk. (And the dairy industry insisted for decades it was better for infants than human milk!)

Of all the mammals on planet Earth, only humans are dumb enough to seek out the mammary gland juice of another species while shunning the breast milk of their own species. And did we choose the milk of a species SMARTER than us that might have more brain-boosting nutrients? Nope. We get our milk from a low-IQ species well suited to pulling a plow. Cow's milk ain't exactly brain nutrition, folks.

Some people have a hard time understanding that because they've been drinking too much of the stuff and those mushy neurons crammed into their thick skulls are firing a bit on the slow side. (A lack of DHA does wonders for boosting stupidity scores.)

Humans, by the way, are not only so collectively short-sighted that they feed their children crap foods and beverages, they actually still haven't figured out why so many of their children are obese and diabetic! It's like beating yourself on the hand with a hammer and wondering why your fingers hurt. Gee, the evidence isn't that difficult to figure out, folks. If you feed your kids sugar, white flour, toxic chemical additives, mind-altering pharmaceuticals and toxic shampoos, lotions and toothpaste, you're gonna end up with mutant children who aren't exactly Nobel Prize material.

This isn't rocket science. The real mystery is how the food companies keep getting away with all the denial of the evidence linking processed foods and beverages to childrens' health problems. I guess it helps that they influence the government regulators and practically own the mainstream media. They also buy all the prime shelf space at grocery stores, sponsor the big sporting events, and have successfully infiltrated schools and hospitals with junk food restaurants and vending machines.

Heck, there's still a McDonald's restaurant in the Cleveland Clinic where they perform heart surgery!If the birds and the bees have figured out how to raise healthy offspring, you'd think that humans might have the brain power to raise their own healthy children, too. And some parents are. There are lots of great parents out there raising kids on a macrobiotic diet, a vegetarian diet or a zero-processed-foods diet.

Many of those parents are home schoolers, by the way. Good job to all the parents who actually teach their children healthful eating habits! Keep up the goog work!Unfortunately, those parents are rare. Most parents just buy whatever crap is being peddled on TV these days. And they feed their kids cancer-causing processed meats, hyperactivity-causing food additives and obesity-promoting refined sugars. They load 'em up on high-fructose corn syrup and then wonder why little Johnny weighs 150 pounds. (Must be the genes, they think. Cause daddy's overweight, too.)

And even though some individuals and corporations may get financially rich by selling this junk to families, the bottom line is that we're all worse off when we raise unhealthy children in society. Why? Because the future cost of treating disease -- not to mention the loss of lifetime productivity -- is jaw-droppingly HUGE. It's enough to bankrupt our nation, which is, coincidentally, what seems likely to happen in due course. No democracy has ever survived its citizens losing their health.We could learn a lot by listening to nature on the subject of nutrition. Most animals eat a raw foods, vegetarian diet.

Even the birds and the bees have something important to teach us about nutrition: feed your children right, and your species will survive and thrive. But feed your children crap and your family tree becomes a dead stump in the dirt.

If you're a parent, I urge you to make an effort to introduce your children to a diet of unprocessed, natural foods. If they've been on a sugared-up diet of processed foods so far, they will of course whine about it. But your job as the parent is to give your children what's best for their health, not what they really really want because their taste buds tell them so.

Always breastfeed newborns and don't believe the B.S. about infant formula being just as good as mother's milk (nothing's as good for infants as the real thing). Don't bring sugar and soda into your house, and don't reward kids with junk food. That only trains them to associate pleasure with unhealthful foods, and that's a curse that could haunt them for the rest of their adult life.

Feed them right and you'll give them the best gift any parent could hope to offer: a healthful, self-aware future, free from chemicals and disease.

###

Counterthink Cartoons are NewsTarget parodies or satirical commentary on various matterswe believe to be of public concern and are offered as Free Speech within the protection of theFirst Amendment to the US Constitution.

I Think This Guy is RIGHT ON!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket


Commentary by Mike Adams, the creator of this cartoon:

Humans are the only species on the planet who actually go out of their way to feed their children crap.

All other animals instinctly seek out the best nutrition they can find.

Birds find grubs, worms and insects to feed their young, honeybees painstakingly collect pollen and create a nutrient-rich superfood that gives rise to a living queen bee, and even dogs, cats and cows try to find the most nutrient-rich foods to offer their offspring.

But humans? Most of them "reward" their children with junk food, sugary sodas, candy laced with petrochemical coloring additives and refined sugars that promote obesity and diabetes.

Most parents don't even make any real effort to follow nutritional discipline at home -- they simply buy whatever their children saw advertised on television, caving in to the all-powerful "nag factor" that junk food companies fully exploit when marketing to children.

As a result, human children are the least healthy youngsters of any species on the planet.

Baby dolphins are healthier than baby humans, for example, and they are born with healthier nervous systems, fewer toxins and a lot more common sense.Speaking of common sense, nearly all mammals have the common sense to feed their children their own mother's milk.

A kitten, for example, will drink cat's milk from its mother. A puppy will drink dog's milk from its mother. A baby horse will drink horse's milk from its mother.

But humans? We're sorta stupid. We mostly drink cow's milk. (And the dairy industry insisted for decades it was better for infants than human milk!)

Of all the mammals on planet Earth, only humans are dumb enough to seek out the mammary gland juice of another species while shunning the breast milk of their own species. And did we choose the milk of a species SMARTER than us that might have more brain-boosting nutrients? Nope. We get our milk from a low-IQ species well suited to pulling a plow. Cow's milk ain't exactly brain nutrition, folks.

Some people have a hard time understanding that because they've been drinking too much of the stuff and those mushy neurons crammed into their thick skulls are firing a bit on the slow side. (A lack of DHA does wonders for boosting stupidity scores.)

Humans, by the way, are not only so collectively short-sighted that they feed their children crap foods and beverages, they actually still haven't figured out why so many of their children are obese and diabetic! It's like beating yourself on the hand with a hammer and wondering why your fingers hurt. Gee, the evidence isn't that difficult to figure out, folks. If you feed your kids sugar, white flour, toxic chemical additives, mind-altering pharmaceuticals and toxic shampoos, lotions and toothpaste, you're gonna end up with mutant children who aren't exactly Nobel Prize material.

This isn't rocket science. The real mystery is how the food companies keep getting away with all the denial of the evidence linking processed foods and beverages to childrens' health problems. I guess it helps that they influence the government regulators and practically own the mainstream media. They also buy all the prime shelf space at grocery stores, sponsor the big sporting events, and have successfully infiltrated schools and hospitals with junk food restaurants and vending machines.

Heck, there's still a McDonald's restaurant in the Cleveland Clinic where they perform heart surgery!If the birds and the bees have figured out how to raise healthy offspring, you'd think that humans might have the brain power to raise their own healthy children, too. And some parents are. There are lots of great parents out there raising kids on a macrobiotic diet, a vegetarian diet or a zero-processed-foods diet.

Many of those parents are home schoolers, by the way. Good job to all the parents who actually teach their children healthful eating habits! Keep up the goog work!Unfortunately, those parents are rare. Most parents just buy whatever crap is being peddled on TV these days. And they feed their kids cancer-causing processed meats, hyperactivity-causing food additives and obesity-promoting refined sugars. They load 'em up on high-fructose corn syrup and then wonder why little Johnny weighs 150 pounds. (Must be the genes, they think. Cause daddy's overweight, too.)

And even though some individuals and corporations may get financially rich by selling this junk to families, the bottom line is that we're all worse off when we raise unhealthy children in society. Why? Because the future cost of treating disease -- not to mention the loss of lifetime productivity -- is jaw-droppingly HUGE. It's enough to bankrupt our nation, which is, coincidentally, what seems likely to happen in due course. No democracy has ever survived its citizens losing their health.We could learn a lot by listening to nature on the subject of nutrition. Most animals eat a raw foods, vegetarian diet.

Even the birds and the bees have something important to teach us about nutrition: feed your children right, and your species will survive and thrive. But feed your children crap and your family tree becomes a dead stump in the dirt.

If you're a parent, I urge you to make an effort to introduce your children to a diet of unprocessed, natural foods. If they've been on a sugared-up diet of processed foods so far, they will of course whine about it. But your job as the parent is to give your children what's best for their health, not what they really really want because their taste buds tell them so.

Always breastfeed newborns and don't believe the B.S. about infant formula being just as good as mother's milk (nothing's as good for infants as the real thing). Don't bring sugar and soda into your house, and don't reward kids with junk food. That only trains them to associate pleasure with unhealthful foods, and that's a curse that could haunt them for the rest of their adult life.

Feed them right and you'll give them the best gift any parent could hope to offer: a healthful, self-aware future, free from chemicals and disease.

###

Counterthink Cartoons are NewsTarget parodies or satirical commentary on various matterswe believe to be of public concern and are offered as Free Speech within the protection of theFirst Amendment to the US Constitution.

Tuesday 18 September 2007

The Zoo Experiment

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The following is from yesterday's Oprah show: Investigating Food Myths with Dr. Oz

I didn't watch it, but this study was cited on a raw food support board and I thought it was worth sharing here...

**************************************************************

"In another experiment, nine people reported to the Paignton Zoo in Devon, England, ready to go ape.

All nine people had high blood pressure—which Dr. Oz says can strip a decade off your life span—from years of eating unhealthy foods.

For the next 12 days, they lived in the zoo and kept to an "evolutionary" new diet—the zookeeper fed them a diet reminiscent of an ape's.

To get the calories they needed, each volunteer had to eat 11 pounds of raw fruits, vegetables and nuts every single day.

Can a human possibly lose weight eating 11 pounds of food a day? (Rawkin' Note: I do! In the form of green smoothies, fruit and vegetable salads, and gourmet raw dishes... just sayin'...)

These volunteers ate a lot of food—as much as what is sitting in front of Oprah and Dr. Oz.
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Yet after 12 days, their cholesterol dropped by an average of 25 percent, their blood pressure dropped by 10 percent, and they lost about 10 pounds each—including two-and-a-quarter inches of their waists.

"The results were … remarkable," Dr. Oz says.

"When you eat this kind of food, you're sending a very clear message to your brain," Dr. Oz says.

"You're taking calories and nutrients. What we normally do in America is we give calories to people without nutrition. The natural colors are gone, and so your brain sits back there and says, 'Am I still hungry or not?'"


**************************************************************

It's SO good to hear a mainstream doctor on a mainstream show talk favourably about RAW~!


KUDOS!!!

The Zoo Experiment

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

The following is from yesterday's Oprah show: Investigating Food Myths with Dr. Oz

I didn't watch it, but this study was cited on a raw food support board and I thought it was worth sharing here...

**************************************************************

"In another experiment, nine people reported to the Paignton Zoo in Devon, England, ready to go ape.

All nine people had high blood pressure—which Dr. Oz says can strip a decade off your life span—from years of eating unhealthy foods.

For the next 12 days, they lived in the zoo and kept to an "evolutionary" new diet—the zookeeper fed them a diet reminiscent of an ape's.

To get the calories they needed, each volunteer had to eat 11 pounds of raw fruits, vegetables and nuts every single day.

Can a human possibly lose weight eating 11 pounds of food a day? (Rawkin' Note: I do! In the form of green smoothies, fruit and vegetable salads, and gourmet raw dishes... just sayin'...)

These volunteers ate a lot of food—as much as what is sitting in front of Oprah and Dr. Oz.
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Yet after 12 days, their cholesterol dropped by an average of 25 percent, their blood pressure dropped by 10 percent, and they lost about 10 pounds each—including two-and-a-quarter inches of their waists.

"The results were … remarkable," Dr. Oz says.

"When you eat this kind of food, you're sending a very clear message to your brain," Dr. Oz says.

"You're taking calories and nutrients. What we normally do in America is we give calories to people without nutrition. The natural colors are gone, and so your brain sits back there and says, 'Am I still hungry or not?'"


**************************************************************

It's SO good to hear a mainstream doctor on a mainstream show talk favourably about RAW~!


KUDOS!!!

Sunday 16 September 2007

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Gracie, aka The Donkey, pictured here with her best friend, our cat Ruby


My dog has fleas...

All this camping, the poor thing's got hitchhikers. So Steve says, "Time to get some Advantage."

While I agree The Donkey needs relief, I decided to look up a more natural flea remedy, because if I don't even want makeup, shampoo, skin cream, or food, with chemicals...I sure don't want to be cuddling up to a furry chemical soup. (I must be tiresome to live with, really. It's just so much easier, to shrug and think it's all fiiiiiiiiiiine?)

Anyway, so I found this article that says putting garlic and nutritional yeast in the dog's food can be helpful. Well, I have both those things here at home! So I excitedly tell Steve, "Hey Baby, check this out..." and he says, "Great, I'll do it right now..."

A moment later he asks me what nutritional yeast looks like and I tell him, "...kinda like powdered chicken soup stock...yellow-y...and it smells like cooked cheese... (um, yum?)

Then I realize I also have Maca in there, packaged the same way, and I say, "Make sure it's not the Maca..."

"Got it!" He smells it, "It's not the Maca..."

So he mixes it up for the dog and she gobbles it down.

Fast forward to later in the morning when our friend comes over, and coincidentally, asks to borrow a bit of Maca since the bulk place has it on order. I keep it in a jar, but remember this twist-tied plastic bag with the rest and pull it out of the cupboard. So I take it out, and Steve says, "That's the nutritional yeast."

I say, cautiously..."No...Honey...THIS is the nutritional yeast." I pull out an identical bag, the only difference is it says NY on the twist-tie.

We all look at The Donkey, and Steve says,"I gave the dog MACA!"

**********************************************************************************

So what the heck IS Maca? Known as the Peruvian Ginseng, Maca is a root vegetable, similar to a radish, grown in the cold mountains of Peru. Used for thousands of years for energy and endurance, it's been marketed at increasing men's libido, but has found its place among women for the same thing, and a permanent place in my cupboard (albeit without a good label.)

It's an adaptogen, which means it will do what each body needs it to do. It balances a person out. And really, to speak directly, it really makes sex seem like a great plan. It's not that it zeros in on your private bits and makes you squirmy (ahem) it's more like it just seems like a good idea. It sort of gently stirs things up all through your body, chills you out, balances you, I don't have the words....you're just going to have to try it. It really, freakin' WORKS :) Put it this way, Steve's not allowed to touch it!! He's already naturally Macafied. Me...I put two tablespoons in my green smoothie every morning and life is good.

As for The Donkey, I haven't observed any outward manifestations...ahem... Here is some more specific information about Maca
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Gracie, aka The Donkey, pictured here with her best friend, our cat Ruby


My dog has fleas...

All this camping, the poor thing's got hitchhikers. So Steve says, "Time to get some Advantage."

While I agree The Donkey needs relief, I decided to look up a more natural flea remedy, because if I don't even want makeup, shampoo, skin cream, or food, with chemicals...I sure don't want to be cuddling up to a furry chemical soup. (I must be tiresome to live with, really. It's just so much easier, to shrug and think it's all fiiiiiiiiiiine?)

Anyway, so I found this article that says putting garlic and nutritional yeast in the dog's food can be helpful. Well, I have both those things here at home! So I excitedly tell Steve, "Hey Baby, check this out..." and he says, "Great, I'll do it right now..."

A moment later he asks me what nutritional yeast looks like and I tell him, "...kinda like powdered chicken soup stock...yellow-y...and it smells like cooked cheese... (um, yum?)

Then I realize I also have Maca in there, packaged the same way, and I say, "Make sure it's not the Maca..."

"Got it!" He smells it, "It's not the Maca..."

So he mixes it up for the dog and she gobbles it down.

Fast forward to later in the morning when our friend comes over, and coincidentally, asks to borrow a bit of Maca since the bulk place has it on order. I keep it in a jar, but remember this twist-tied plastic bag with the rest and pull it out of the cupboard. So I take it out, and Steve says, "That's the nutritional yeast."

I say, cautiously..."No...Honey...THIS is the nutritional yeast." I pull out an identical bag, the only difference is it says NY on the twist-tie.

We all look at The Donkey, and Steve says,"I gave the dog MACA!"

**********************************************************************************

So what the heck IS Maca? Known as the Peruvian Ginseng, Maca is a root vegetable, similar to a radish, grown in the cold mountains of Peru. Used for thousands of years for energy and endurance, it's been marketed at increasing men's libido, but has found its place among women for the same thing, and a permanent place in my cupboard (albeit without a good label.)

It's an adaptogen, which means it will do what each body needs it to do. It balances a person out. And really, to speak directly, it really makes sex seem like a great plan. It's not that it zeros in on your private bits and makes you squirmy (ahem) it's more like it just seems like a good idea. It sort of gently stirs things up all through your body, chills you out, balances you, I don't have the words....you're just going to have to try it. It really, freakin' WORKS :) Put it this way, Steve's not allowed to touch it!! He's already naturally Macafied. Me...I put two tablespoons in my green smoothie every morning and life is good.

As for The Donkey, I haven't observed any outward manifestations...ahem... Here is some more specific information about Maca

Friday 14 September 2007

100% Raw or High Raw?

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This is a question that has entered my mind since going raw a mere 4 months ago. There are a couple ways that I see it. One way is that the more raw foods I eat, the better I feel. Ya can't bottle that! The other way I see is that I don't want to be so regimented that I don't go with life's flow.

For instance, this past July, we took a road trip to visit my mother. Steve (my boyfriend) my giant dog, and I camped along the way. I ate raw 'til dinner, (same as I'd been doing since May) at which time I'd enjoy steamed chicken or fish with my large dinner salad. This would be considered eating 'high raw'. We had a great time eating this way, and only encountered squirmy feelings when visiting 'non-raw' folks.

For example:

We visited Steve's older brother in Regina. We were sitting on the back deck, and it was decided that we would order Chinese. I had a look a the menu when it was passed around, but I didn't see anything that wasn't fried and greasy looking, so I screwed up my courage and said, "Um...I'm good. I've got salad an' stuff in my cooler in the car, so..."

You really should have seen the looks!!

Their food arrived, I came back from the car with a yummy salad, and I ate through one of my more uncomfortable dinner-times in recent memory. Later, I was offered tea -- something I've never liked even when I was eating beef and Twinkies -- so I said, "No thank you,"

"Oh. You don't do tea, either."

Sigh :)

On to London, Ontario...

I had prepared my mom over the phone that I ate differently these days, and to not bake all my childhood favorites because I don't eat that way anymore. I told her I would just have stuff in my cooler and to not worry at all about feeding me, though we'd eat together. Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

She didn't know how to take it! In the photo above, she's telling me "You can't just eat THAT!!" (Well, normally I would use a large silver mixing bowl, but this'll have to do!) On the other hand, I still had enough 'winter padding' that at least she didn't worry that I was starving myself. LOL
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
I decided that I had better loosen up and eat what was available, if I didn't want to spend 3 weeks feeling like a freak! (A hungry freak!) I would just go back to eating more raw when I returned. This decision made the rest of our vacation a lot looser and fun! I still sought the best choices, but loosened up about 'technicalities'.

Back from my vacation, I dove in to the 'Rawgust Challenge', going the month 100% raw. I made it to the last day, when I had steamed turkey while camping.

Since then, I've found it easy to stay 95-100% raw, as I feel so excellent this way.

Once I got a handle on dinners, it was a breeze to do it. By 'handle on dinner', I mean, discovered how satisfying this whole new world of tastes could be! Fresh, live, foods, from simple to gourmet, dinner is soived!!

If I didn't sincerely love the food I get to eat, I would run so fast the other way, my hair would fly. It's not about 'putting up with' or deprivation, or willpower, it's honestly SO DELICIOUS and the benefits are SO DIVINE and TANGIBLE...curing all that has ever ailed me including depression, asthma, being overweight, high blood pressure, joint pain, etc etc...that I truthfully have no interest in going back.

I don't mind including the odd heated food and I don't foresee giving up my morning coffee, and I don't care at all about being perfect in my eating habits. Besides, what on earth is that? Conflicting food messages abound!

I've read stuff, I've tried stuff, and ultimately, I'm doing what works best for me. I aim at a daily 100%, but if I use cocoa instead of cacao in a recipe, I'm not going to have a c-cow, lol.
Or if once in a very blue moon, I eat Indian food in my old favorite restaurant, I will enjoy it and move on, because my body is favoring this lightness of being, not because I've been 'bad'.
I don't wish to be so strict that I don't enjoy the spontaneity and the flow of living!

From one day to the next, I eat more, or I eat less, depending on my body's needs at the time, and I tweak it based on how I'm feeling, both physically and emotionally. If I see a blemish on my face, I do a quick scan of what I've been eating. For me, that's usually nuts. A lot of dips contain cashews, sunflower seeds, walnuts, or almonds. So I just lay off for a while, adding more seeds, and desserts, yeah, you read that right :) and go back to salads and sprouted grains and soups and chili, and all sorts of yummelicious foods.

So, along with not counting fat grams, or calories, I'm not going to worry about percentages. Why bother? The evidence is in: I've never felt more vibrant, balanced, alive, and well... in all my life! :)

One thing, though... I so wish I'd eaten my mother's baked goodies!
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

100% Raw or High Raw?

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

This is a question that has entered my mind since going raw a mere 4 months ago. There are a couple ways that I see it. One way is that the more raw foods I eat, the better I feel. Ya can't bottle that! The other way I see is that I don't want to be so regimented that I don't go with life's flow.

For instance, this past July, we took a road trip to visit my mother. Steve (my boyfriend) my giant dog, and I camped along the way. I ate raw 'til dinner, (same as I'd been doing since May) at which time I'd enjoy steamed chicken or fish with my large dinner salad. This would be considered eating 'high raw'. We had a great time eating this way, and only encountered squirmy feelings when visiting 'non-raw' folks.

For example:

We visited Steve's older brother in Regina. We were sitting on the back deck, and it was decided that we would order Chinese. I had a look a the menu when it was passed around, but I didn't see anything that wasn't fried and greasy looking, so I screwed up my courage and said, "Um...I'm good. I've got salad an' stuff in my cooler in the car, so..."

You really should have seen the looks!!

Their food arrived, I came back from the car with a yummy salad, and I ate through one of my more uncomfortable dinner-times in recent memory. Later, I was offered tea -- something I've never liked even when I was eating beef and Twinkies -- so I said, "No thank you,"

"Oh. You don't do tea, either."

Sigh :)

On to London, Ontario...

I had prepared my mom over the phone that I ate differently these days, and to not bake all my childhood favorites because I don't eat that way anymore. I told her I would just have stuff in my cooler and to not worry at all about feeding me, though we'd eat together. Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

She didn't know how to take it! In the photo above, she's telling me "You can't just eat THAT!!" (Well, normally I would use a large silver mixing bowl, but this'll have to do!) On the other hand, I still had enough 'winter padding' that at least she didn't worry that I was starving myself. LOL
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
I decided that I had better loosen up and eat what was available, if I didn't want to spend 3 weeks feeling like a freak! (A hungry freak!) I would just go back to eating more raw when I returned. This decision made the rest of our vacation a lot looser and fun! I still sought the best choices, but loosened up about 'technicalities'.

Back from my vacation, I dove in to the 'Rawgust Challenge', going the month 100% raw. I made it to the last day, when I had steamed turkey while camping.

Since then, I've found it easy to stay 95-100% raw, as I feel so excellent this way.

Once I got a handle on dinners, it was a breeze to do it. By 'handle on dinner', I mean, discovered how satisfying this whole new world of tastes could be! Fresh, live, foods, from simple to gourmet, dinner is soived!!

If I didn't sincerely love the food I get to eat, I would run so fast the other way, my hair would fly. It's not about 'putting up with' or deprivation, or willpower, it's honestly SO DELICIOUS and the benefits are SO DIVINE and TANGIBLE...curing all that has ever ailed me including depression, asthma, being overweight, high blood pressure, joint pain, etc etc...that I truthfully have no interest in going back.

I don't mind including the odd heated food and I don't foresee giving up my morning coffee, and I don't care at all about being perfect in my eating habits. Besides, what on earth is that? Conflicting food messages abound!

I've read stuff, I've tried stuff, and ultimately, I'm doing what works best for me. I aim at a daily 100%, but if I use cocoa instead of cacao in a recipe, I'm not going to have a c-cow, lol.
Or if once in a very blue moon, I eat Indian food in my old favorite restaurant, I will enjoy it and move on, because my body is favoring this lightness of being, not because I've been 'bad'.
I don't wish to be so strict that I don't enjoy the spontaneity and the flow of living!

From one day to the next, I eat more, or I eat less, depending on my body's needs at the time, and I tweak it based on how I'm feeling, both physically and emotionally. If I see a blemish on my face, I do a quick scan of what I've been eating. For me, that's usually nuts. A lot of dips contain cashews, sunflower seeds, walnuts, or almonds. So I just lay off for a while, adding more seeds, and desserts, yeah, you read that right :) and go back to salads and sprouted grains and soups and chili, and all sorts of yummelicious foods.

So, along with not counting fat grams, or calories, I'm not going to worry about percentages. Why bother? The evidence is in: I've never felt more vibrant, balanced, alive, and well... in all my life! :)

One thing, though... I so wish I'd eaten my mother's baked goodies!
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Thursday 6 September 2007

My Little DInner Party...

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Well yeehaaa! I've been an uncookin' fool all day...got to use my dehydrator, and even 'invented' a couple recipes.
Lesseeeee... I made chili, avocado 'fries', tortillas, hummus, red pepper curry, spinach and zucchini yummies...and for dessert (not shown) some coconut chocolate fudge... dang, it was good!!
My neighbour and her baby joined my boyfriend and I in the back yard and we ate all these goodies as the dog watched and waited with a hopeful look on her face.
Of course, being my first time putting a 'meal' together using the dehydrator, my timing was a little off...for instance, the tortillas were a bit erm, chewy... but otherwise delish :) I can't get over how much I ate today... I ate as I was making all this stuff, and I ate a huge plate at dinner, then what did I do? Why, I got seconds, of course! (So did everyone else...must be doin' sumfin right :)

My Little DInner Party...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Well yeehaaa! I've been an uncookin' fool all day...got to use my dehydrator, and even 'invented' a couple recipes.
Lesseeeee... I made chili, avocado 'fries', tortillas, hummus, red pepper curry, spinach and zucchini yummies...and for dessert (not shown) some coconut chocolate fudge... dang, it was good!!
My neighbour and her baby joined my boyfriend and I in the back yard and we ate all these goodies as the dog watched and waited with a hopeful look on her face.
Of course, being my first time putting a 'meal' together using the dehydrator, my timing was a little off...for instance, the tortillas were a bit erm, chewy... but otherwise delish :) I can't get over how much I ate today... I ate as I was making all this stuff, and I ate a huge plate at dinner, then what did I do? Why, I got seconds, of course! (So did everyone else...must be doin' sumfin right :)

Wednesday 5 September 2007

Lunch: Keepin' it Simple...


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So...breakfast: green smoothie or green lemonade, then some fruit... easy, right?

What about lunch? I find that the further into raw I go, the less I 'jones' for lunch, and I'm able to put it off as I notice my hunger is more of a light stimulation rather than the old 'Gotta eat NOW' syndrome.

But...occasionally, if I wait toooooo long, like if I'm out somewhere...I can still get that way. But if I follow my routine, I'm good to go.


When it's time to eat lunch, I'd guess more people would rather keep it simple rather than go all out..... A little pre-planning is great... make a couple easy food processor dips the night before...think of the morning after a pot luck party at your place...I love eating the dips and breads and dishes that folks brought... I load a little plate with pates and olives and cut veggies and just graze. Speaking of grazing, I also love spreading lunch out all afternoon...a few cherry tomatoes here, a flax cracker there, some avocado, maybe a bit of salad...just nibble my way into dinner time.

So...with EASE in mind, I thought I'd share my thoughts here.

Simple, Quick, & Yummy Lunch:
  • Simple salad, made with green leafies and tomato and cuke or any combo you like...but no need to make it a kitchen sink salad... I usually reserve these for dinner. If you want more of a salad meal, add avocado or chick peas, both of which will keep you sated longer.

  • Large romaine leaf used as a wrap, smeared with almond butter and loaded with cucumber, red pepper, etc. You can prepare Collard Wraps the night before and use those, they are lovely!
  • Eggless Egg Salad sandwich... I omit the vinegar in this recipe, because when I used it, I found it sent the taste into the 'dip' category, whereas I just wanted an egg salad taste I could relate to :) In any case, it's absolutely delicious!!!!

  • Remember, another green smoothie/green lemonade is never a bad idea, and can be just the thing to carry you through the afternoon
  • If you have a dehydrator, warming up last night's meal is a great lunch...(says the girl who just got her new dehydrator and who can't wait to try this...)

  • Don't forget raw soups are quite filling.
  • I love munching on a little plate of delicious dips and flax crackers with chopped peppers and cucumber
Then, there is always taking a little trek to your local raw cafe, if you're so blessed, and being served lunch!
Life being what it is, you're likely going to find yourself away from your own kitchen or raw cafe some of the times. ;) Make the best choices wherever you are. Do the best you can to grab salad if you're in a 'regular' restaurant. But if you find that you occasionally grab something less than optimal, give yourself permission to enjoy it, then move on back to the way you know you feel best. Eating isn't about punishment and it shouldn't be hard or entwined with shame and guilt messages. Your good choices add up, as do your less-than-optimal choices.
When I first started transitioning to raw, I was SO hungry. Some days it was annoying and confusing. So was the constant thinking about what worked with what, and what not to combine...but with experience, it really, truly does get easier. In fact, it becomes second nature. As your body adapts, you'll probably find, like I did, that because you're eating nutrient dense foods, that you require less, and keeping it simple doesn't equal deprivation, it equals energy and vibrancy.

Lunch: Keepin' it Simple...


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
So...breakfast: green smoothie or green lemonade, then some fruit... easy, right?

What about lunch? I find that the further into raw I go, the less I 'jones' for lunch, and I'm able to put it off as I notice my hunger is more of a light stimulation rather than the old 'Gotta eat NOW' syndrome.

But...occasionally, if I wait toooooo long, like if I'm out somewhere...I can still get that way. But if I follow my routine, I'm good to go.


When it's time to eat lunch, I'd guess more people would rather keep it simple rather than go all out..... A little pre-planning is great... make a couple easy food processor dips the night before...think of the morning after a pot luck party at your place...I love eating the dips and breads and dishes that folks brought... I load a little plate with pates and olives and cut veggies and just graze. Speaking of grazing, I also love spreading lunch out all afternoon...a few cherry tomatoes here, a flax cracker there, some avocado, maybe a bit of salad...just nibble my way into dinner time.

So...with EASE in mind, I thought I'd share my thoughts here.

Simple, Quick, & Yummy Lunch:
  • Simple salad, made with green leafies and tomato and cuke or any combo you like...but no need to make it a kitchen sink salad... I usually reserve these for dinner. If you want more of a salad meal, add avocado or chick peas, both of which will keep you sated longer.

  • Large romaine leaf used as a wrap, smeared with almond butter and loaded with cucumber, red pepper, etc. You can prepare Collard Wraps the night before and use those, they are lovely!
  • Eggless Egg Salad sandwich... I omit the vinegar in this recipe, because when I used it, I found it sent the taste into the 'dip' category, whereas I just wanted an egg salad taste I could relate to :) In any case, it's absolutely delicious!!!!

  • Remember, another green smoothie/green lemonade is never a bad idea, and can be just the thing to carry you through the afternoon
  • If you have a dehydrator, warming up last night's meal is a great lunch...(says the girl who just got her new dehydrator and who can't wait to try this...)

  • Don't forget raw soups are quite filling.
  • I love munching on a little plate of delicious dips and flax crackers with chopped peppers and cucumber
Then, there is always taking a little trek to your local raw cafe, if you're so blessed, and being served lunch!
Life being what it is, you're likely going to find yourself away from your own kitchen or raw cafe some of the times. ;) Make the best choices wherever you are. Do the best you can to grab salad if you're in a 'regular' restaurant. But if you find that you occasionally grab something less than optimal, give yourself permission to enjoy it, then move on back to the way you know you feel best. Eating isn't about punishment and it shouldn't be hard or entwined with shame and guilt messages. Your good choices add up, as do your less-than-optimal choices.
When I first started transitioning to raw, I was SO hungry. Some days it was annoying and confusing. So was the constant thinking about what worked with what, and what not to combine...but with experience, it really, truly does get easier. In fact, it becomes second nature. As your body adapts, you'll probably find, like I did, that because you're eating nutrient dense foods, that you require less, and keeping it simple doesn't equal deprivation, it equals energy and vibrancy.

Tuesday 4 September 2007

Happy Raw Campers

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Went camping with a friend of ours, and introduced him to eating raw! When he had asked about chipping in for food, I told him, "Well... we eat raw, so if you want certain things, you should probably bring a cooler of stuff..." But he thought it was intriguing that we ate raw, and decided to go along with it for the weekend. It was a stunning success... he was so into it! And no wonder... I brought along such delicious stuff, if I do say so myself ;) I brought fresh fruit, veggies, and wonderful dips, fruit leathers, spaghetti pie, tortillas, and even raw chocolate coconut fudge...it was divine!
Now that I'm back home, I get to start really playing with my dehydrator! It arrived a couple days before this trip and I thought of it fondly throughout the weekend!

Even though we were under tarps, the frequent rain left me damp and chilled and for Sunday night's supper, I 'broke down' and had some cooked food... I ate steamed turkey...and while I could say I'm sorry, I am not! It, too, was delicious :)
By the end of the weekend, our friend told me that he's going to start incorporating a lot more raw foods into his diet, since he felt so energized. :) How cool is that?

Happy Raw Campers

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Went camping with a friend of ours, and introduced him to eating raw! When he had asked about chipping in for food, I told him, "Well... we eat raw, so if you want certain things, you should probably bring a cooler of stuff..." But he thought it was intriguing that we ate raw, and decided to go along with it for the weekend. It was a stunning success... he was so into it! And no wonder... I brought along such delicious stuff, if I do say so myself ;) I brought fresh fruit, veggies, and wonderful dips, fruit leathers, spaghetti pie, tortillas, and even raw chocolate coconut fudge...it was divine!
Now that I'm back home, I get to start really playing with my dehydrator! It arrived a couple days before this trip and I thought of it fondly throughout the weekend!

Even though we were under tarps, the frequent rain left me damp and chilled and for Sunday night's supper, I 'broke down' and had some cooked food... I ate steamed turkey...and while I could say I'm sorry, I am not! It, too, was delicious :)
By the end of the weekend, our friend told me that he's going to start incorporating a lot more raw foods into his diet, since he felt so energized. :) How cool is that?
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