Recently we learned about a new tool for our toolbox of raw techniques: Energy Soup.
Energy soup is very nutritious, fast to make and clean up, and can be suited to individual tastes.
If you haven't heard of energy soup, it is a recipe developed by Ann Wigmore. Ann Wigmore was the co-founder of the Hippocrates Health Institute and is considered the mother of the raw foods movement. She made wheatgrass popular in the 1970s.
Energy soup is a blend of fresh, living greens, sprouts and vegetables, sometimes with a little fruit, blended into a creamy soup. It was a part of the healing regimen at the Hippocrates Health Institute. Today you can find the current recipe here. The original recipe can easily be found with a quick online search. It apparently involved rejuvelac, baby spinach, dulse, avocado and sprouts. Other versions include an apple.
It's common now for people to take the basic recipe and adjust it to their own personal needs. For example, Angela Stokes Monarch uses coconut water instead of rejuvelac to make her energy soup. If you watch the video and wish to skip the parts about the adorable dancing baby who helps pick the greens and then eats energy soup, go to the 8:05 time mark. However, if you have an extra eight minutes, it's worth it to watch the adorable dancing baby.
One way to think of energy soup is like a more savory version of a green smoothie. For a person who is new to raw food, it's possible that it might seem unappetizing at first. People who have been drinking green smoothies for a while might find it easier to appreciate energy soup.
It's a convenient food because for a family on the go it can be served in a cup. Or, it can be served at the table with a spoon and a bowl.
In our family, we have found that we can adjust it according to our preferences and nutritional requirements. For example, even though my husband's blood pressure has improved since we've changed our diet, he still needs to keep an eye on it. As a result, I might be inclined to use vegetables that are said to be good for fighting high blood pressure, like fresh beets. For my growing son, I might add kale or collards, and for more iron, extra iron-rich ingredients like chia seeds. I also like adding ingredients that are good for healthy skin and for fighting inflammation. Since I'm still a little intimidated by the process of making Rejuvilac, I tend to use other liquids in energy soup.
Our most recent batch of energy soup included the following:
1 red bell pepper
several handfuls of baby spinach
handful broccoli florets
couple of handfuls peeled baby carrots
1/2 English cucumber
several ribs of celery, including leaves
1 avocado
the juice of one lemon
the juice of one orange
1 apple
1 handful parsely
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp turmeric
pinch of sea salt
It was basically a little of everything that was in the fridge in the moment. It was ready in 15 minutes, and cleanup involved rinsing off a knife, a cutting board and the blender container. It was poured into shaker cups as family members ran out the door. To us, it was satisfying and delicious.
This is going to be another staple in our arsenal of fast and easy meals. If you want to get healthy, energy soup is a terrific, nutritious dish.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Raw Drama
Lately there has been some drama in the raw food lifestyle community
on Youtube. This should not come as a surprise. There is something
about the medium combined with human nature that seems to have led to
this outcome in other Youtube communities, not just in raw food. I don't think it's necessary to be judgmental, but would like to comment about the different ways people might respond to this.
There have been some commendable efforts by a few within the global raw food community to speak out against the drama, and others have remained silent. It seems that many of the raw foodists on Youtube have answered not by addressing the negativity directly, but by instead posting positive, uplifting videos. They have chosen to express themselves according to their own principles, which I find admirable.
Different raw foodists have different philosophies about the best way to be raw, and I think that's good. Each of us needs to find our own personal best way to be, and when different people put their own lifestyle and opinion on Youtube, it gives the rest of us some ideas to consider. I do not think it's appropriate to put anyone down for their lifestyle choices. Instead, I feel it is appropriate to make our own lifestyle choices while engaging in thoughtful and respectful two way discussion about these choices. A two way discussion involves listening as well as talking.
At this time I am not personally a follower of any one raw food school of thought, but I do incorporate ideas from different people into something that works for me and my family. For example, since I am only moderately active on my most active days, I find that I feel best if I eat a lot more green leafy vegetables than fruit. With the right balance of fruit and greens, I feel alert, energetic and satiated. With too much fruit and not enough greens, my teeth become sensitive and I start having unhealthy cravings. If I eat too many nuts and seeds, I start feeling heavy and put on weight. The best diet for me at this time seems to be mostly vegetables with a smaller amount of fruit, a much smaller amount of nuts, and foods like dates and cacao only occasionally. At this time about 20% or less of my diet is cooked, with a very small amount of occasional foods that are not considered a part of the diet. As the weather here gets hotter, we'll probably start eating closer to 100% raw. Of course, any changes in lifestyle would lead to a need for changes in diet. My opinion is based solely on how my body responds, nothing more, nothing less. It is especially not based on some sort of ideology or paranoia.
Some might find them interesting, but I'm not going to link to any videos about the drama. I would prefer to remain focused on videos about raw food.
It's my sincere hope that newcomers to the raw food lifestyle don't see only the people in the minority who want to bait their fellow raw foodists and as a result become turned off to the lifestyle on the whole. The raw food lifestyle doesn't have to include drama, it's not necessary to be paranoid, put others down or join a cult. In my view, it's about eating a fresh, plant based diet in it's most natural and most nutritious form, and living in a way that is optimal for the individual. Nothing more, nothing less.
There have been some commendable efforts by a few within the global raw food community to speak out against the drama, and others have remained silent. It seems that many of the raw foodists on Youtube have answered not by addressing the negativity directly, but by instead posting positive, uplifting videos. They have chosen to express themselves according to their own principles, which I find admirable.
Different raw foodists have different philosophies about the best way to be raw, and I think that's good. Each of us needs to find our own personal best way to be, and when different people put their own lifestyle and opinion on Youtube, it gives the rest of us some ideas to consider. I do not think it's appropriate to put anyone down for their lifestyle choices. Instead, I feel it is appropriate to make our own lifestyle choices while engaging in thoughtful and respectful two way discussion about these choices. A two way discussion involves listening as well as talking.
At this time I am not personally a follower of any one raw food school of thought, but I do incorporate ideas from different people into something that works for me and my family. For example, since I am only moderately active on my most active days, I find that I feel best if I eat a lot more green leafy vegetables than fruit. With the right balance of fruit and greens, I feel alert, energetic and satiated. With too much fruit and not enough greens, my teeth become sensitive and I start having unhealthy cravings. If I eat too many nuts and seeds, I start feeling heavy and put on weight. The best diet for me at this time seems to be mostly vegetables with a smaller amount of fruit, a much smaller amount of nuts, and foods like dates and cacao only occasionally. At this time about 20% or less of my diet is cooked, with a very small amount of occasional foods that are not considered a part of the diet. As the weather here gets hotter, we'll probably start eating closer to 100% raw. Of course, any changes in lifestyle would lead to a need for changes in diet. My opinion is based solely on how my body responds, nothing more, nothing less. It is especially not based on some sort of ideology or paranoia.
Some might find them interesting, but I'm not going to link to any videos about the drama. I would prefer to remain focused on videos about raw food.
It's my sincere hope that newcomers to the raw food lifestyle don't see only the people in the minority who want to bait their fellow raw foodists and as a result become turned off to the lifestyle on the whole. The raw food lifestyle doesn't have to include drama, it's not necessary to be paranoid, put others down or join a cult. In my view, it's about eating a fresh, plant based diet in it's most natural and most nutritious form, and living in a way that is optimal for the individual. Nothing more, nothing less.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Raw Hammish Sammiches
Knowing that my family and I are still in transition, and with the memory of the St. Patrick's Day cravings fresh in my mind, I was determined to do something to prepare for the Easter holiday. Ham was a traditional Easter dish when I was a child. Of course we always made ham sandwiches out of the leftover ham.
To help us keep our diet cleaner this season, I decided to make a sprouted raw whole-grain bread, a raw macadamia nut cheddar, and young Thai coconut in a marinade reminiscent of a sweet, smoky, glistening ham.
We will definitely be making this again.
It might seem complicated, but it's not. To make the cheese, soak the nuts overnight, rinse them and grind them up with some bell pepper juice and probiotics. Let it culture for 48 hours, stir in some nutritional yeast and turmeric, and let it sit another 24-48 hours. Shape it and chill it. I haven't obtained permission to share the recipe but you can get it from the Raw Nut Cheese ebook from the Russell James collection.
The bread is also much easier than it looks. The hardest part is the waiting. Soak the buckwheat overnight, rinse it and sprout it. Grind the sprouted buckwheat in the food processor with a bunch of other ingredients until it is the texture of really thick pancake batter, (or really thin cookie dough.) Spread it on paraflexx sheets and dehydrate. Easy peasy. This particular recipe was in a free ebook offered by Russell James for signing up for his free online newsletter.
Hemp mayonnaise is quick and easy to make. Add fresh parsley and celery for flavor and color. I don't even use a recipe anymore. I just put either some lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in the high speed blender, add some type of sweetener, toss in herbs and seasonings, add a cup or so of hulled hemp seeds, and blend until it's thick enough. Then taste and adjust.
A tip of the hat to Areeya at the Go Raw Cafe. The idea for the coconut marinade came from one of her raw prep classes.
To make the hamish, open some young Thai coconuts, drink the water, remove the flesh and marinate it for 48 hours. The longer you allow it to marinate, the deeper the color. If the ingredients listed below are not raw enough, make whatever necessary substitutions you desire. Dehydrate for up to 3 hours and make a sandwich.
Here's the recipe for the ham-ish marinade. This will season the flesh of 4 - 6 young Thai coconuts:
1/2 cup organic nama shoyu
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp powdered beet root
1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp mace
1 tsp spmoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp majorum
1/2 tsp thyme
Note on the ingredients: The maple syrup is not raw. It's possible to simply blend dates into the marinade for a healthier sweetener. The shoyu is not technically raw but is a common raw food flavoring. It does contain wheat so is not optimal for those on a gluten free diet. It might be possible to use something like unpasteurized chickpea miso instead of tamari or shoyu. The beet powder came from Mountain Rose Herbs, but a similar result can be obtained from beet juice or pureed beets.
This sandwich does not perfectly mimic the taste and mouth feel of a Standard American Diet (SAD) ham and cheese sandwich, but it comes close and it is delicious in its own right. It definitely helped stave off cravings and it's healthier than the SAD alternative. With the mac nut cheese, hemp mayo and coconut "meat," it's rather high in healthy fats and I found a half a sandwich to be plenty for me. It's good for an occasional treat.
Imagine a completely raw Ezekiel-style bread with alfalfa sprouts, tomato and avocado. Mmmmm. Time to go make more bread!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Raw "Cadbury" Eggs
In the world of raw foodism, cacao is controversial.
But first, while we think about this, let's enjoy some chocolate.
This idea was inspired by this recipe for healthy Cadbury Creme Eggs over at Chocolate-Covered Katie's blog.
I started with two Navitas Naturals Organic Superfood Chocolate Kits, which I had previously purchased at Whole Foods in anticipation of an occasion such as this. The kit is apparently no longer for sale, but the ingredients for the chocolate are organic cacao butter, organic cacao powder, organic mesquite, organic lucuma, and organic maca. These are ingredients I like to keep on hand for special occasions, but do not use every day. The kit also contained some goji berries, which I did not use for this recipe.
Navitas Naturals has some great recipes on their website, by the way.
Raw Vegan "Cadbury" Eggs
4 oz. raw cacao butter
2 tbsps raw cacao powder
1 1/2 tsp mesquite
1 tsp lucuma
1/2 tsp maca
For the egg white filling
2 young Thai coconuts, reserve the coconut water
1 tbsp raw honey
1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder
For the "yolk"
1 10 oz package frozen organic mango
1/2 cup orange juice
Tools: Egg-shaped confection molds, bowls, spoons, either a double boiler or a saucepan OR a dehydrator to melt the cacao, high-speed blender, sharp heavy knife, spatula.
Wash and thoroughly dry the mold and place it in the freezer. Melt the cacao butter at a low temperature. Cacao butter has a melt point of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I found that just by putting the bowl of cacao in the Excalibur dehydrator and setting it at 105 degrees, it stayed at the perfect temperature to work with.
When the cacao butter is melted, add the cacao powder and other ingredients and stir. When the ingredients are smooth, take the mold out of the freezer and use a spoon to coat thoroughly coat the mold. Return the mold to the freezer.
Meanwhile, begin opening the coconuts. If you don't know how to open one, here is a pretty good illustration. Blend the coconut meat with just enough liquid to help the blades turn. You' ll want about two cups total of the blended coconut meat. Add in the vanilla powder and honey and blend. Place in a container and refrigerate. The vanilla flavor will develop if you can refrigerate it overnight.
After the cacao eggs have hardened, take them out of the freezer and add another coat of chocolate. Look carefully at each eggshell for thin spots and holes because your eggs will crack when you un-mold them unless the chocolate is thick enough. I had better luck with four coats of chocolate. Freeze the eggs between each coat, and let them get really hard before you un-mold them. I froze mine overnight.
After un-molding the egg shells, return them to the freezer and make your "yolk." Place the orange juice and frozen mango in your high speed blender and blend until thick and creamy. If needed, add additional liquid.
Remove the eggshells from the freezer and carefully fill each one with the coconut mixture. Top each egg with a teaspoon or so of the mango mixture.
Notes: My cacao came out of a pre-measured kit, and so I listed the ingredients on the box and estimated how much I would start with of each ingredient if I didn't have the kit. While it's probably not a good idea to add water to your cacao butter, you may want to experiment with other ingredients, such as coconut oil, honey, carob, vanilla powder, etc.
So how do the two eggs compare?
I cut open a Cadbury Creme Egg so that the two could be compared side by side. My taster said that he could taste the sugar and the chemical artificial flavoring in the commercially produced egg.
In my opinion, if we must have some confection this time of year, raw vegan confection is the way to go.
But first, while we think about this, let's enjoy some chocolate.
This idea was inspired by this recipe for healthy Cadbury Creme Eggs over at Chocolate-Covered Katie's blog.
I started with two Navitas Naturals Organic Superfood Chocolate Kits, which I had previously purchased at Whole Foods in anticipation of an occasion such as this. The kit is apparently no longer for sale, but the ingredients for the chocolate are organic cacao butter, organic cacao powder, organic mesquite, organic lucuma, and organic maca. These are ingredients I like to keep on hand for special occasions, but do not use every day. The kit also contained some goji berries, which I did not use for this recipe.
Navitas Naturals has some great recipes on their website, by the way.
Raw Vegan "Cadbury" Eggs
4 oz. raw cacao butter
2 tbsps raw cacao powder
1 1/2 tsp mesquite
1 tsp lucuma
1/2 tsp maca
For the egg white filling
2 young Thai coconuts, reserve the coconut water
1 tbsp raw honey
1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder
For the "yolk"
1 10 oz package frozen organic mango
1/2 cup orange juice
Tools: Egg-shaped confection molds, bowls, spoons, either a double boiler or a saucepan OR a dehydrator to melt the cacao, high-speed blender, sharp heavy knife, spatula.
Wash and thoroughly dry the mold and place it in the freezer. Melt the cacao butter at a low temperature. Cacao butter has a melt point of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I found that just by putting the bowl of cacao in the Excalibur dehydrator and setting it at 105 degrees, it stayed at the perfect temperature to work with.
When the cacao butter is melted, add the cacao powder and other ingredients and stir. When the ingredients are smooth, take the mold out of the freezer and use a spoon to coat thoroughly coat the mold. Return the mold to the freezer.
Meanwhile, begin opening the coconuts. If you don't know how to open one, here is a pretty good illustration. Blend the coconut meat with just enough liquid to help the blades turn. You' ll want about two cups total of the blended coconut meat. Add in the vanilla powder and honey and blend. Place in a container and refrigerate. The vanilla flavor will develop if you can refrigerate it overnight.
After the cacao eggs have hardened, take them out of the freezer and add another coat of chocolate. Look carefully at each eggshell for thin spots and holes because your eggs will crack when you un-mold them unless the chocolate is thick enough. I had better luck with four coats of chocolate. Freeze the eggs between each coat, and let them get really hard before you un-mold them. I froze mine overnight.
After un-molding the egg shells, return them to the freezer and make your "yolk." Place the orange juice and frozen mango in your high speed blender and blend until thick and creamy. If needed, add additional liquid.
Remove the eggshells from the freezer and carefully fill each one with the coconut mixture. Top each egg with a teaspoon or so of the mango mixture.
Notes: My cacao came out of a pre-measured kit, and so I listed the ingredients on the box and estimated how much I would start with of each ingredient if I didn't have the kit. While it's probably not a good idea to add water to your cacao butter, you may want to experiment with other ingredients, such as coconut oil, honey, carob, vanilla powder, etc.
In my opinion, if we must have some confection this time of year, raw vegan confection is the way to go.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Simplifying for Spring and What It's Like Today
This is a personal update. It's been about 9 months since we changed our diet.
Thinking back on our raw food journey, it's clear that we've been through many changes. Today things seem much simpler, easier and more relaxed than it was in the beginning. Raw food doesn't have to be complicated or hard or strict. These days it's nothing new.
For a while we were making about a gallon of green juice per day for our family of four. It's really terrific and I recommend it highly for optimal health. After keeping that up for several weeks, I started to feel badly about the waste. A gallon batch of green.juice creates a lot of pulp, and while there are some breads and crackers that can be made with pulp, most of it was going into the compost. I shared my concern with my husband, and we decided to tone it down a little. Maybe we'll make smaller quantities of green juice some mornings, and perhaps we'll "juice feast" some weekends. It would be different if we could successfully grow most of our own produce but we aren't there yet. All that juicing has resulted in a lot of money down the drain, and that is not a good thing when you are feeding children. For now, moderate juicing is best for us.
Our visits to Fresh Mama helped get me interested in learning how to make different types of raw wraps at home. In the interest of simplifying, I'd like to move in the direction of more smoothies, wraps and salads for most of our meals. Most of the time I no longer feel like I need to make a large, complex raw feast for a meal. I remember that several months ago, when I read comments by raw vegans saying they mostly live on simple salads and smoothies, it sounded incredibly boring and unsatisfying to me. It's not, though. It's fresh, delicious and satisfying. It's happy food!
We tried an experiment. We had a few paleo/whole food meals over the last several weeks. I guess I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We still were eating a lot of raw food, just having a cooked meal once a week or so, that also included free range eggs and some wild or free-range meat. Sometimes we'd add potatoes and/or a vegan cheese made from rice, which probably turned it into more of a "whole food" dish rather than a "paleo" dish.. For me, personally, while I enjoyed the food, I didn't see any improvement in my body or the way I felt. The animal products, especially the eggs, smelled terrible to me when they were raw. Cooked meat smelled and tasted pretty good to me but I no longer care for the smell or the taste of eggs, no matter how fresh and free range they are. The thought of the milk from a cow or a goat is repulsive to me.
I felt badly about the fact that an animal died so I could eat that food. I can't emphasize this enough. I felt genuinely sad and remorseful. People might laugh at that, I guess. It might be hard to understand unless you've seen what goes on in the agricultural industry and been on a mostly plant based diet for a while.
I understand that people have been killing animals for food for many thousands of years, it's just that for me, at this time, in this place, it isn't at all necessary. I'm lucky as a human omnivore because I can get the nutrition that I need from many different sources - I can choose.
The interesting thing about the paleo experiment was a few days to a week after eating animal protein, I experienced strong cravings for more. This was especially strong over St. Patrick's Day. For me, corned beef and cabbage are a tradition this time of year. If I'm feeling especially industrious I might make colcannon and soda bread to go with it. The corned beef was for sale in all the stores and I imagined that many people were eating it in their homes up and down our street. Friends posted status updates on Facebook about how they were celebrating the holiday, complete with menus.
So if I was craving corned beef and cabbage, why not just eat some? Seems like a reasonable thing to do, right? First off, I don't think it's healthy for me. In fact, some might say it's rather selfish to eat unhealthy food for immediate gratification when we have people who love us and depend on us and want us around for a long time. The second reason is that I do not need to contribute to the cruelty to animals in industrial agriculture. They aren't protected by animal cruelty laws because they are classified as livestock.
I am very thankful for my husband. I kept telling him that all he had to do was say the word and I would go get us some corned beef. He kept saying "no." We got through it. I watched Russell James make Green Goddess salad dressing in his nod to St. Patrick's Day, and on Monday I attended another of John Kohler's live presentations, this one about coconuts. Those actions helped me stay motivated. After riding out the worst of the cravings, they are greatly diminished, although my husband continues to make teasing remarks about going out for a steak, and I keep telling him that I am very tempted to do it. I choose not to give into the temptation, though, because I know that if I do, I'll regret it.
In going raw and then reintroducing certain foods to my diet, I have noticed that I do have a reaction to cheese, and dairy, which cause sinus congestion. Refined sugars, corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors, and things like MSG and artificial sweeteners cause fatigue and inflammation which I can feel in my body. I don't have a reaction to gluten in foods like wheatgrass juice and raw breads, but I do experience gastrointestinal discomfort after eating processed breads and cereals. The only reaction I have to eating meat and eggs is a little tiredness as my body works to digest it. But when I eat these foods I think about the suffering of the animals and the harm to our planet caused by industrial agriculture, and I realize that it isn't worth it to me. In my opinion, there are kinder, more efficient ways to consume dietary protein without contributing to the suffering of animals and harm to the planet.
I do not judge others for consuming animal products. First of all, I believe in free will and our right to choose. Secondly, I can't judge others for something that I have done myself. And there are probably choices that I make that I feel are perfectly fine, that someone else wouldn't make.
The bottom line is that this week, three out of four in this family are vegan and mostly raw. One of our children is not vegan or raw for reasons I've described previously. I've been making a cooked vegan meal about once a week and that's about right for us these days. Will I ever eat meat again? Will I ever be 100% raw? I don't know. This is just today. I can't speak for others in my family, but I am still in transition.
Thinking back on our raw food journey, it's clear that we've been through many changes. Today things seem much simpler, easier and more relaxed than it was in the beginning. Raw food doesn't have to be complicated or hard or strict. These days it's nothing new.
For a while we were making about a gallon of green juice per day for our family of four. It's really terrific and I recommend it highly for optimal health. After keeping that up for several weeks, I started to feel badly about the waste. A gallon batch of green.juice creates a lot of pulp, and while there are some breads and crackers that can be made with pulp, most of it was going into the compost. I shared my concern with my husband, and we decided to tone it down a little. Maybe we'll make smaller quantities of green juice some mornings, and perhaps we'll "juice feast" some weekends. It would be different if we could successfully grow most of our own produce but we aren't there yet. All that juicing has resulted in a lot of money down the drain, and that is not a good thing when you are feeding children. For now, moderate juicing is best for us.
Our visits to Fresh Mama helped get me interested in learning how to make different types of raw wraps at home. In the interest of simplifying, I'd like to move in the direction of more smoothies, wraps and salads for most of our meals. Most of the time I no longer feel like I need to make a large, complex raw feast for a meal. I remember that several months ago, when I read comments by raw vegans saying they mostly live on simple salads and smoothies, it sounded incredibly boring and unsatisfying to me. It's not, though. It's fresh, delicious and satisfying. It's happy food!
We tried an experiment. We had a few paleo/whole food meals over the last several weeks. I guess I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. We still were eating a lot of raw food, just having a cooked meal once a week or so, that also included free range eggs and some wild or free-range meat. Sometimes we'd add potatoes and/or a vegan cheese made from rice, which probably turned it into more of a "whole food" dish rather than a "paleo" dish.. For me, personally, while I enjoyed the food, I didn't see any improvement in my body or the way I felt. The animal products, especially the eggs, smelled terrible to me when they were raw. Cooked meat smelled and tasted pretty good to me but I no longer care for the smell or the taste of eggs, no matter how fresh and free range they are. The thought of the milk from a cow or a goat is repulsive to me.
I felt badly about the fact that an animal died so I could eat that food. I can't emphasize this enough. I felt genuinely sad and remorseful. People might laugh at that, I guess. It might be hard to understand unless you've seen what goes on in the agricultural industry and been on a mostly plant based diet for a while.
I understand that people have been killing animals for food for many thousands of years, it's just that for me, at this time, in this place, it isn't at all necessary. I'm lucky as a human omnivore because I can get the nutrition that I need from many different sources - I can choose.
The interesting thing about the paleo experiment was a few days to a week after eating animal protein, I experienced strong cravings for more. This was especially strong over St. Patrick's Day. For me, corned beef and cabbage are a tradition this time of year. If I'm feeling especially industrious I might make colcannon and soda bread to go with it. The corned beef was for sale in all the stores and I imagined that many people were eating it in their homes up and down our street. Friends posted status updates on Facebook about how they were celebrating the holiday, complete with menus.
So if I was craving corned beef and cabbage, why not just eat some? Seems like a reasonable thing to do, right? First off, I don't think it's healthy for me. In fact, some might say it's rather selfish to eat unhealthy food for immediate gratification when we have people who love us and depend on us and want us around for a long time. The second reason is that I do not need to contribute to the cruelty to animals in industrial agriculture. They aren't protected by animal cruelty laws because they are classified as livestock.
I am very thankful for my husband. I kept telling him that all he had to do was say the word and I would go get us some corned beef. He kept saying "no." We got through it. I watched Russell James make Green Goddess salad dressing in his nod to St. Patrick's Day, and on Monday I attended another of John Kohler's live presentations, this one about coconuts. Those actions helped me stay motivated. After riding out the worst of the cravings, they are greatly diminished, although my husband continues to make teasing remarks about going out for a steak, and I keep telling him that I am very tempted to do it. I choose not to give into the temptation, though, because I know that if I do, I'll regret it.
In going raw and then reintroducing certain foods to my diet, I have noticed that I do have a reaction to cheese, and dairy, which cause sinus congestion. Refined sugars, corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors, and things like MSG and artificial sweeteners cause fatigue and inflammation which I can feel in my body. I don't have a reaction to gluten in foods like wheatgrass juice and raw breads, but I do experience gastrointestinal discomfort after eating processed breads and cereals. The only reaction I have to eating meat and eggs is a little tiredness as my body works to digest it. But when I eat these foods I think about the suffering of the animals and the harm to our planet caused by industrial agriculture, and I realize that it isn't worth it to me. In my opinion, there are kinder, more efficient ways to consume dietary protein without contributing to the suffering of animals and harm to the planet.
I do not judge others for consuming animal products. First of all, I believe in free will and our right to choose. Secondly, I can't judge others for something that I have done myself. And there are probably choices that I make that I feel are perfectly fine, that someone else wouldn't make.
The bottom line is that this week, three out of four in this family are vegan and mostly raw. One of our children is not vegan or raw for reasons I've described previously. I've been making a cooked vegan meal about once a week and that's about right for us these days. Will I ever eat meat again? Will I ever be 100% raw? I don't know. This is just today. I can't speak for others in my family, but I am still in transition.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Delicious Melon Shake Recipe
My 12 year old son Ehren, just created this delicious new recipe:
(On his own. He asked me to say that.)
Melon Shake
1 fresh ripe cantaloupe
1 ambrosia apple, cored
2 thick slices hothouse cucumber (about 2 inches or to taste)
ice as needed
Place the melon seeds in a high speed blender and blend on high with a small amount of melon juice for 1 minute or until finely ground. If you are concerned about the mixture heating up, add a bit of ice.
Remove the rind from the remaining melon, and place the melon flesh in the blender with the apple and cucumber. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding a small amount of ice as needed.
Serves 2
(On his own. He asked me to say that.)
Melon Shake
1 fresh ripe cantaloupe
1 ambrosia apple, cored
2 thick slices hothouse cucumber (about 2 inches or to taste)
ice as needed
Place the melon seeds in a high speed blender and blend on high with a small amount of melon juice for 1 minute or until finely ground. If you are concerned about the mixture heating up, add a bit of ice.
Remove the rind from the remaining melon, and place the melon flesh in the blender with the apple and cucumber. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding a small amount of ice as needed.
Serves 2
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Create Your Own Custom Raw Food Menu In Seven Easy Steps
Confession: I've never been much of a "menu person." Back when we were still on the Standard American Diet, I sometimes planned a menu for a special occasion, but that's about it. After all, when much of what you eat can be taken out of the freezer and microwaved, who needs a menu? (Shudder.) When we decided to go on The Garden Diet, we followed that menu plan, and I experienced firsthand how much simpler it was to eat well when you have a plan. From there, I decided to try my hand at making my own menus. Turns out, it's a terrific technique for feeding a family well.
First, why make a menu? Why not just decide what to eat on the fly?
I make menus for my family to accomplish the following things:
I can figure out what to do with that head of cauliflower in our refrigerator, while it's still fresh.
I can plan to provide enough of the things we want to try to include in our diet, and keep an eye out to make sure we don't get too much of a food that we want to limit. For example, if we want to increase our intake of leafy greens while decreasing our intake of nuts and oils, a menu plan can help.
If I plan at least three healthy meals and a nutritious snack each day, I am a LOT less likely to find myself ravenously tearing into something that I hadn't intended to eat.
It also saves money, because we buy exactly what we need at the store, instead of filling the shopping cart with random produce and hoping for the best. Although, when we do fill a cart with the best, most attractive, fresh, ripe produce we find, we can always take it home and plan a menu around it.
We don't have to stick to the menu exactly. If I forget to buy something I need for a recipe, I can make tomorrow's lunch today, and pick up the missing ingredient at my convenience. If we are not in the mood to eat what I planned for today, we can substitute for another meal in the plan.
Once I create a menu that works for my family, I can reuse it any way I like. For example I can save our winter menus and get them out next year, adapting them to our changing needs and tastes.
So, here is one way to plan a menu. Of course, there are probably many ways to plan a menu, and if you have any tips or ideas that work for you, we'd love to read about them in the comments.
Step One: Look at your schedule for the week. This is important because you don't want to plan a nice meal on a night when you are too rushed to prepare it, or when the family is too busy to enjoy it. Sometimes I make a soup or a smoothie that everyone can take to go. Sometimes we just fill a cooler with fruit. Keep your schedule in mind as you plan your meals.
Step Two: Take stock of what is already on hand so you can use it up. Those items should usually be what you use first on your menu, so they don't go bad. I like to come up with a couple of meals or entrees based on what is on hand, and place them early in the week's plan.
Step Three: Consider your cravings, and those of your family. If you are transitioning to raw or trying to include more raw food in your diet, and you have been craving a big bowl of chili, you have a choice. You can make a raw version of chili, or you can cave to your cravings. I find that it is really worthwhile to make the raw version. It doesn't always keep me from caving, but it does help. Add a raw "crave" recipe to your menu.
Step Four: Obviously seasonal produce is best, so think about what is in season. If pumpkins are abundant, then you might want to figure out what you can do with a pumpkin and work it into your menu. Make sure to add seasonal recipes to your menu.
Step Five: Leaf through some preparation books and visit a few of your favorite raw foodist websites. Have you stumbled across any new recipes that you'd like to try? It might be a good idea to work those in. If one is a bit complicated or involves skills you are still working on, it might be best to schedule that one for a day when you have extra time and family around to lend a hand. I try to keep an eye on this, and make sure the simpler, more familiar recipes outnumber the complex or new ones. I do think it's a good idea to add something new and interesting to your menu.
Step Six: Check the nutrition. Plug the holes where there isn't enough, and scale back on the fats where there is too much. By the time I reach this step, I have at least one recipe plugged in per day for the week. Now I like to think about what to add to achieve our nutritional goals for each day. We like to include a certain quantity of deep green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, brightly colored fruits and berries, etc. It helps that we've been having green juice and smoothies for breakfast, because they provide a large part of our daily needs.
While you are doing this, check the nutritional content from the standpoint of what you want to limit. In additional to including enough of the right foods, in our family it's also necessary to scale back on nuts and oils. One problem I run into is that many of our most favorite recipes contain nuts and oils. They make the recipes more filling and satisfying, but the amount we need each day is rather small and we don't need them with every meal. Fortunately, there are many great recipes that do not contain any nuts or oils. So at this point, it's necessary to do a bit of rearranging or substituting. Now is the time to take out that recipe that is too high in fat and substitute with something that is just as nutritious but more sensible.
Step Seven: Make your shopping list and go get the food! In order to use fresher produce, I prefer to divide the week in half and shop twice, once at the start of the week and once halfway through.
There is another way to do this that some may find more appealing. If you are fortunate to have a terrific garden or access to some great farmer's markets, you may wish to go out and gather the best looking produce first, then bring it home and start designing your menu from there. It might be best to start your shopping trip with a rough idea of what you are looking for, in terms of getting enough greens etc.
Brandi Rollins, author of "Raw Foods On A Budget," and "Confessions Of An East Coast Raw Vegan," offers another great tip. She says that when you are preparing a new recipe for the first time, plan to prepare it two or three times in the same week. There are two main reasons for this. One is, chances are you are going to be buying ingredients that you don't use very often, and this way you will be more likely to use them up. The second reason is that by the time you have prepared it the third time, you'll be able to do fix it more quickly and easily, which saves time.
Another way to simplify your weekly menu time is to make one (or several ) of the meals a "mono-meal." Just make a meal of peaches, or strawberries, or bananas, or whatever is fresh, ripe and in season. How about choosing a different fruit for breakfast each day of the week? Okay, I know, for those of us who are transitioning to raw, that may not sound very appealing. It's just not what we are accustomed to. When I first thought about mono meals, I thought it sounded very unsatisfying. I think that this is because normally when I think about having some fruit, I think about having one piece of fruit or one small bowl of fruit salad. The difference is that a mono meal involves eating the fruit until you are full. It could be ten bananas or a dozen apples. Here's a terrific explanation of mono meals. Try it! It can be nice, I promise.
If you need to start with a template, there are lots of terrific ones online, like this one and this one.
Or, if you'd rather have someone plan your menus for you, Lisa Viger at Raw on $10 A Day can do that!
Do you have any menu planning tips? Have you tried any of these methods and did they work for you? I'd love to read about it in the comments!
First, why make a menu? Why not just decide what to eat on the fly?
I make menus for my family to accomplish the following things:
I can figure out what to do with that head of cauliflower in our refrigerator, while it's still fresh.
I can plan to provide enough of the things we want to try to include in our diet, and keep an eye out to make sure we don't get too much of a food that we want to limit. For example, if we want to increase our intake of leafy greens while decreasing our intake of nuts and oils, a menu plan can help.
If I plan at least three healthy meals and a nutritious snack each day, I am a LOT less likely to find myself ravenously tearing into something that I hadn't intended to eat.
It also saves money, because we buy exactly what we need at the store, instead of filling the shopping cart with random produce and hoping for the best. Although, when we do fill a cart with the best, most attractive, fresh, ripe produce we find, we can always take it home and plan a menu around it.
We don't have to stick to the menu exactly. If I forget to buy something I need for a recipe, I can make tomorrow's lunch today, and pick up the missing ingredient at my convenience. If we are not in the mood to eat what I planned for today, we can substitute for another meal in the plan.
Once I create a menu that works for my family, I can reuse it any way I like. For example I can save our winter menus and get them out next year, adapting them to our changing needs and tastes.
So, here is one way to plan a menu. Of course, there are probably many ways to plan a menu, and if you have any tips or ideas that work for you, we'd love to read about them in the comments.
Step One: Look at your schedule for the week. This is important because you don't want to plan a nice meal on a night when you are too rushed to prepare it, or when the family is too busy to enjoy it. Sometimes I make a soup or a smoothie that everyone can take to go. Sometimes we just fill a cooler with fruit. Keep your schedule in mind as you plan your meals.
Step Two: Take stock of what is already on hand so you can use it up. Those items should usually be what you use first on your menu, so they don't go bad. I like to come up with a couple of meals or entrees based on what is on hand, and place them early in the week's plan.
Step Three: Consider your cravings, and those of your family. If you are transitioning to raw or trying to include more raw food in your diet, and you have been craving a big bowl of chili, you have a choice. You can make a raw version of chili, or you can cave to your cravings. I find that it is really worthwhile to make the raw version. It doesn't always keep me from caving, but it does help. Add a raw "crave" recipe to your menu.
Step Four: Obviously seasonal produce is best, so think about what is in season. If pumpkins are abundant, then you might want to figure out what you can do with a pumpkin and work it into your menu. Make sure to add seasonal recipes to your menu.
Step Five: Leaf through some preparation books and visit a few of your favorite raw foodist websites. Have you stumbled across any new recipes that you'd like to try? It might be a good idea to work those in. If one is a bit complicated or involves skills you are still working on, it might be best to schedule that one for a day when you have extra time and family around to lend a hand. I try to keep an eye on this, and make sure the simpler, more familiar recipes outnumber the complex or new ones. I do think it's a good idea to add something new and interesting to your menu.
Step Six: Check the nutrition. Plug the holes where there isn't enough, and scale back on the fats where there is too much. By the time I reach this step, I have at least one recipe plugged in per day for the week. Now I like to think about what to add to achieve our nutritional goals for each day. We like to include a certain quantity of deep green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, brightly colored fruits and berries, etc. It helps that we've been having green juice and smoothies for breakfast, because they provide a large part of our daily needs.
While you are doing this, check the nutritional content from the standpoint of what you want to limit. In additional to including enough of the right foods, in our family it's also necessary to scale back on nuts and oils. One problem I run into is that many of our most favorite recipes contain nuts and oils. They make the recipes more filling and satisfying, but the amount we need each day is rather small and we don't need them with every meal. Fortunately, there are many great recipes that do not contain any nuts or oils. So at this point, it's necessary to do a bit of rearranging or substituting. Now is the time to take out that recipe that is too high in fat and substitute with something that is just as nutritious but more sensible.
Step Seven: Make your shopping list and go get the food! In order to use fresher produce, I prefer to divide the week in half and shop twice, once at the start of the week and once halfway through.
There is another way to do this that some may find more appealing. If you are fortunate to have a terrific garden or access to some great farmer's markets, you may wish to go out and gather the best looking produce first, then bring it home and start designing your menu from there. It might be best to start your shopping trip with a rough idea of what you are looking for, in terms of getting enough greens etc.
Brandi Rollins, author of "Raw Foods On A Budget," and "Confessions Of An East Coast Raw Vegan," offers another great tip. She says that when you are preparing a new recipe for the first time, plan to prepare it two or three times in the same week. There are two main reasons for this. One is, chances are you are going to be buying ingredients that you don't use very often, and this way you will be more likely to use them up. The second reason is that by the time you have prepared it the third time, you'll be able to do fix it more quickly and easily, which saves time.
Another way to simplify your weekly menu time is to make one (or several ) of the meals a "mono-meal." Just make a meal of peaches, or strawberries, or bananas, or whatever is fresh, ripe and in season. How about choosing a different fruit for breakfast each day of the week? Okay, I know, for those of us who are transitioning to raw, that may not sound very appealing. It's just not what we are accustomed to. When I first thought about mono meals, I thought it sounded very unsatisfying. I think that this is because normally when I think about having some fruit, I think about having one piece of fruit or one small bowl of fruit salad. The difference is that a mono meal involves eating the fruit until you are full. It could be ten bananas or a dozen apples. Here's a terrific explanation of mono meals. Try it! It can be nice, I promise.
If you need to start with a template, there are lots of terrific ones online, like this one and this one.
Or, if you'd rather have someone plan your menus for you, Lisa Viger at Raw on $10 A Day can do that!
Do you have any menu planning tips? Have you tried any of these methods and did they work for you? I'd love to read about it in the comments!
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