Thursday 30 April 2009

Getting the Nuts Outta my Life


No, I'm not leaving my boyfriend! lol

I'm talkin' nut-dense recipes.

I'm going back to leaves and simpler times, back when raw worked for me.

In showing myself and my friends what raw can be like (ie. a taste explosion) I've left out how raw can FEEL. And how raw can FEEL is not something that works by explaining a description; rather how raw can FEEL is an experience, and one that just doesn't come by eating dense, heavy, dehydrated foods all the time. I've learned this go-round that this is NOT how the vibrancy and buoyancy happen.

When I first started raw in 2007, I was astounded at the benefits: I felt lighter than air, any ailment that had troubled me vanished, I had the energy of a child, my outlook improved to the point where depression and anxiety became a distant memory. Yet it wasn't just the absence of these states, it was the creation of a whole new level of being; of joy. The weight fell off me as my face just kept looking younger and more supple by the week.
This time, having taken raw courses to keep me motivated and on track and accountable on raw, I am have a very different experience of raw. The benefits are dim, actually. I hover around the same weight, gaining a couple pounds, losing a couple pounds, my energy is lagging and well, need I say more? This is not the vibrancy of raw!

I still love the idea of preparing raw food for others, and I do think that gourmet raw meals have a fabulous place in showing the far-reaching scope of what raw foods can be like, and in helping someone transitioning from S.A.D. to raw, but I think that once someone has transitioned, that this way of eating should dwindle down to 'treats' status...once in a while at a raw pot luck or something like that. I also think that their body will tell them that, just like mine is telling me this.

I'm going back to leaves: smoothies and salads, and avocado sandwiches on flax bread. I did better when I ate raw until dinner then ate a steamed meal! Now, nearly 100% raw, it's the dinner that is dragging me down. Delicious, but too dense.
My weekly dinner friends are going to experience lighter fare as I turn my own eating around. I wouldn't be doing anyone a favor by introducing them to raw if I ignored the real nuts and bolts of raw, nature's bounty. I don't know how to make simple, fancy recipes that would thrill the palette of a mainstream eater, but I'll figure it out. Simple meaning few ingredients, and fancy meaning delicious. I know they're out there!

Is it Doug Graham who doesn't like to eat anything with more than 5 ingredients or that cost more than 5 bucks to make? While I find that admirable, it makes me scratch my head now and wonder how good that could be? Yet I used to eat that way and my health soared beyond my wildest expectations for a woman of 45.

So that's where I'm heading back to. I'm going to re-read my own archives, back when I was thrilled and excited and vibrant, and I'm gonna get me some of that back!

It's a new day around here!

Join me, Rawkers?


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Update:

Found a recipe for Nut-Less Bread ala Russell James. That is one solid dude, man. His recipes are divine! He's responsible for that perfect zucchini (falafel) tortilla.

Anyway, it calls for soaked buckwheat groats, something I've never tried. Apparently I wanted to, almost 2 years ago, since I found some in an unopened package on my nuts n' seeds shelf. Go figure.

It says the shelf life is 2 years so I soaked the lil' buggers.

They're in my biosta sprouter as I type this. I read that they sprout quickly, but that you need to soak the hell outta them and that the soak water is starchy and slimy.
So I'll do that and get back to ya!

Then in a couple days, I'll make that Nut-less bread, which is, by all accounts, delicious! I digest flax bread beautifully, but it's great to have an alternative!

Besides, I've kinda had buckwheat phobia, you know the kind...you might have it with thai coconuts or something...it's when you get all interested in a recipe and go down the ingredients list, then see THAT WHICH IS BEYOND YOU and you flip the page and move onto another recipe. We all have some little glitch that stops us from making recipes. Mine used to be thai coconuts but I healed that by learning to crack one open in a clean way at a chef workshop.
And now, to climb my buckwheat wall!


Here are my little soaks now, after their first bath:


this is a three-tiered sprouter, and the water you pour over the top 'floor' drains down that little red button onto the floor below, and so on, into a catch-all reservoir tray on the bottom. I love this thing! It makes sprouting kind of a no-brainer. I hope it does the same for these! (The other two levels contain buckwheat as well.) I'll keep ya posted!

7 comments:

Macie said...

Wow, that sprouter is awesome! I'm trying to incorporate more raw food into my diet and your blog is so inspirational :)

Rawkin' said...

This comment says it's from Rawkin' but it's from Aurora. Again, with the fumbly fingers! wtheck is going on? This is the second comment from Aurora that I zigged when I shouda zagged! My apologies, Aurora!
************

So, from Aurora:
Oh Lucie, you are in for a treat!!

Buckwheat was one of the first grains I sprouted. I used them to make "buckwheaties", out of Juliano's RAW. Just sprout (they do get slimy, but are easy to rinse, not like flax) and dehydrate, then eat like crunchy cereal (especially delicious with berries and almond milk). Or yummy by the handful!

I dried mine out in the sun during 100 degree summer weather, but I'm sure the dehydrator will do a faster job.

Can't wait to check out your bread!

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And now my (Rawkin's) response:
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Hi Aurora! That's great that I'm in for a treat! Do you know how much I love saying 'Buckwheaties?' Words like that tickle me and I tend to just burst out with them. BUCKWHEATIES!! There I go now!;)
Well I happen to have Juliano's RAW out from the library right now, as a matter of fact! I'll revisit the buckwheat recipes with a little more confidence now :)
I'll be sure to post about the bread!

xo
Rawkin'

Rawkin' said...

Well hi there, Macie! Thanks so much for reading my blog and for your beautiful compliment! There is nothing better than inspiration...it flows both ways. I'm inspired to hear that you're incorporating more raw foods into your diet! Way to go!

Re the sprouter, it is really a nifty little piece of gear. I got it at a health food store for about $35, and it works like a hot damn! :)

Thanks for reading here!

Cheers,
xo
Rawkin'

D said...

i'm sure you'll find some great, simple recipes you will love! a couple of months ago i gradually and naturally found myself eating simple meals...sometimes mono meals and i have never been more satisfied :)

there are lots of simple, low fat raw recipes out there that can "wow" you and i'm sure you can still impress those raw food skeptics!!

enjoy your day :)

Rawkin' said...

Hi D,

Thanks :) And funny you should mention mono meals and being satisfied. I was just reading heaps about that this weekend, as my boyfriend and I are taking this week as a no fat week, ala Victoria Boutenko. (I don't know if it's from her books, but I was recently at a retreat and she said if you take out fats...oils, avocados, nuts, chia, everything, for a week, you can effectively turn your body around and start the healing on deeper levels.)

So for a week, we're smoothie-ing, salad-ing, juicing, fruit-ing, etc and not much o' nothin' else. We shall see how it goes. (I'll post about it.)

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

xo
Rawkin'

D said...

hey rawkin' :)

that's great to hear! i've started following 80/10/10 (doug graham) and have never felt better-truly amazing!

i might average about 10% fat (or probably less) over the course of a few months, but am actually very satisfied without overt fats.
it's been hard leaving behind the uncooking, but i just don't find gourmet treats as appealing as they once were!

i'm looking forward to hearing about your week of low fat raw :) keep it up, rawkin'!!

Rawkin' said...

Thank you, D!! :)

How very encouraging! I find myself on the same path, it seems, a couple months after you... I am gravitating towards mono eating and less gourmet stuff. I love the taste of gourmet recipes but have not felt that raw vibrancy at all...nothing like back when I started in '07. I want it back! I am already feeling lighter today. Thanks for your kindness!
PS Doug Graham keeps tapping me on the shoulder. Not literally, that would be creepy. lol, but it keeps coming to my attention, so it's time to look into that some more.
It's so exciting to be raw, heh? So much to learn, and such a beautiful trip to be on!
xo
Rawkin'

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