My New “Raw” Life
Well, I’ve got lots to say today! I’ve been really researching a new topic for myself any spare moment I can since early January. The topic is “Living Foods”.
I have a hormonal disorder that many more women are finding out they have, too. It does have a genetic component and, therefore gets passed on in families. I’m pretty sure mine is from my dad’s side of the family. Part of the problem is insulin resistance but that’s not all of it. So, my metabolism and my body’s ability to process certain types of food has been changing and actually getting much worse the older I get.
So, for the past few years since becoming a mom, I’ve not focused that much on my special needs and more on how to live a balanced life in society and eat like a “normal” person can. Clearly it’s not working for me and this past holiday season really hammered it home to me. I cannot tolerate dairy and refined carbohydrates pretty much at all anymore (although I love them!). Even complex carbs are becoming a problem for me, too. It’s depressing, actually because there goes my attempt at being “normal” and fitting in with everything in society.
An old friend of mine gave me a book for my birthday a few years ago written by one of our herb school teachers. It’s all about raw and living foods and how it heals myriads of diseases in the human body and gives long life and vitality, etc. I even went to see a live debate betw. this author and another famous herbalist about the benefits of the raw diet vs. a cooked food diet when my son was 4 months old. So, this has been a topic of great interest to me for several years now but has been pushed to the back burner for many different reasons.
My dear friend started on this path at that time, gradually at first and has since gotten really into it and has become “all raw” and it really changed her. She seems more grounded, happy, glowing, mentally clear and generally happy and full of light. I was so impressed and very happy for her but still I was not ready to commit. I thought it would be too much work and my son is the pickiest eater in the world and I would still have to make him separate foods although he does love fruit and different raw veggies.
Well, since I turned 40 a few months ago, it’s like a light bulb has gone off in my head and I am obsessively studying older adults as if to catch a glimpse of what is in store for me as I get older. I have to say, I don’t like what I see!! In fact, I’m kind of grossed out. I see death and decay and lots of sadness everywhere. I don’t think this is normal or the way we were meant to age. It has just become the way we are from the foods and substances and the accompanying chemicals and preservatives that go into our bodies on a daily basis.
When I look at the people who are older and living their lives by consuming the living foods, they look good and vibrant and at least 20 years younger than what they actually are. They are pain free, happy with lots of energy and very clear spiritually.
I’ve decided I want this bec. I’m disgusted with the alternative. Also, because I don’t want to die a painful death in my 50’s like my dad and 2 of his female cousins did from pancreatic cancer. Now that I have the answers, it’s an unnecessary and completely avoidable path. And, if I did develop it, it would be completely my own lazy ass fault because obviously, my family has a hard time digesting cooked grains and simple sugars and it basically wears out the pancreas to the point that they develop type 2 diabetes and then cancer.
I’ve purchased a new juicer that also does “homogenizing” so it can make nut butters, frozen desserts, baby food, etc and a new dehydrator which is like my oven now, because I can make many, many dishes but the foods are not heated over 118 degrees so all of the enzymes are still viable and available for easy digestion. I have a vita mix blender for many years (I used it mostly for making my herbal products) and I also had a food processor for many years and that is basically all the necessary tools for this way of eating. One other fun tool I got is called a saladacco which makes angel hair type of “pasta” from zucchini and squashes and also can make chips and ravioli shells from vegetables.
I think I’m able to do this program now because there are hundreds of recipes to make everything I love but the “raw” version like lasagna, mexican food, cheese (made from diff. nuts and veggies, seasonings, etc that are pureed and dehydrated), ice cream, nut burgers, bread!! from sprouted grain seeds then pureed and dehydrated. Like essene bread or Ezekial bread but living, not baked, just dehydrated at 105 degrees.
And the best one, raw chocolate!! I love good chocolate and this is raw cacao, processed from the tree at low temps so all the vitamins, enzymes and super antioxidants are all still intact which makes it a superfood, not junk food! Truly a food of the gods! There are tons of recipes and you sweeten it with raw, unfiltered honey or raw agave nectar. Divine! Believe me, I’ve tried several recipes already!
So, the foods are basically any vegetable, fruit, nut, seed, sprouts, grains (sprouted only) and superfoods (which are actually either a fruit or veg. really).
The only problem I have with eating this way is that alot of the specialty ingredients I buy right now are not local and sustainable to where I live and I really believe in eating a sustainable diet. It would be no problem if I lived in California!
As I have found out, alot of these recipes and bulkier foods like nuts, avocados, etc I eat more now as transitioning into this way of life and to feel full like you do from cooked foods goes away as you cleanse your body from stored toxins and you will crave more of the lighter foods like veggies and fruits.
So far, I’ve been doing more of a hunter-gatherer type of diet which is this raw foods diet mostly with about 10% of cooked food daily coming from either organic eggs or free-range poultry or wild caught fish. Haven’t had any beef since xmas and the beef we eat is grass fed. This is the diet recommended to me to heal my hormonal disorder but I’ve been thinking of taking it one step further to try to be completely raw for a month and see how it goes. It surely is doable and very enjoyable from the many recipes I’ve been making everyday (different salads, fruits, raw almond butter, almond milk, raw granola, raw jam from dried and fresh fruit, blueberry scones, fudge balls, smoothies, green juices, chocolate coconut shake – amazing!, etc).
Today, I am making a raw lasagna. There are lots of steps involved bec. of the many layers so I saved it for the weekend. My wheat berries have also sprouted for a few days now so I am making my first round of bread today, too.
But, I’ve noticed that if I drink a juice of fresh greens and an apple or a fruit smoothie or some coconut drink, I’m not hungry for a long time and I realize that I’m not eating that much bec. I’m just not hungry! My body is getting all the nutrients it needs from the raw foods and I don’t crave any cooked foods. How cool! And, all of my bloat is gone (I get swollen from eating the foods I’m sensitive to like dairy and cooked grains) and now I’m just left with some saggy skin that I need to work out a bit more to get rid of. I am detoxing the stored junk in my body from living on cooked, dead food my whole life and this part isn’t so fun.
I see how once you get going with the right tools and ingredients from the store (or my garden in a few months!) it’s really easy and only takes a few minutes of prep work for a recipe. I’ve been trying to soak a new batch of seeds or grain for sprouting every night or soaking some different raw nuts for different recipes so you do need to think a few days in advance of what you want to eat and when since some recipes have to be dehydrated which can take a long time depending on the recipes.
And yes, my husband is totally into it, too. He says he craves the green drinks and loves the coconut drinks and while he’s fine with eating cooked grains, etc he doesn’t seem to want to eat much of that and really is into the raw recipes we make. Leif, however, is slow to come around and I have to bribe him to take a sip of the green juices (which taste really good!). He likes it but is not ready to willingly drink it without some form of bribery. I’m going to make up a batch of raw cookies and see if he will eat them bec. he loves cookies. He wouldn’t even try any of the chocolate stuff I made and he loves chocolate. I couldn’t figure that one out!
It’s funny, even the desserts and treats are all healthy and nutritionally good for you so I could technically eat a whole dessert (maybe a raw pecan pie) as a meal if I wanted and it would be just fine!
I will post some updates periodically and hopefully some pictures one day!
February 09 2008 01:27 pm | Health and Home and Leif and Mel and Michael and food and herbal remedies and nature and nutrition and organics and parenting and society
February 9th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
The all-raw thing has sounded so daunting to me that I’ve been afraid to try it! I’m going to have to watch you for more inspiration
AS this pregnancy progresses I’m finding that I am much more affected by eating crap than I usually am. I just want to detox! Not a good idea while preggo, of course…but my body clearly could use some better food!
Any chance you’ll share the recipe for the juice of fresh greens? How do you do your smoothies w/out dairy?
February 11th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Well, for juicing, it’s pretty easy if you have the right equipment. The juicer is really great for the greens – no residue like with a blender. I seem to do alot of kale or chard or spinach with an apple or we tried grapes the other day with assorted greens and sprouts and it was really good. This juicer also does wheat grass so we are gonna do that soon, too.
For the fruit smoothies, I’ve been using my vita mix which is the most awesome machine, ever. It takes the whole fruit and makes it into a smoothie and unlike a juicer, there is no waste. I don’t really like the tough greens like kale in the vita mix, though. We did that for a week and then decided to buy the juicer instead and it’s much better for that and some other stuff.
You also don’t need dairy to make it smooth and using frozen fruit or even ice makes it more creamy and cold. Bananas are always helpful, too. But this is with the Vita Mix and not a regular blender.
This is where having the right equipment to make your life easier in going forward is really necessary esp. for me since I want to do some kind of green juice everyday. And quality items last forever. Like my vita mix so far, it’s 12 years old and perfect.