as i sit here enjoying the yummiest hummus i've ever made in my entire life, i realize that something major has changed in me: i am preparing food that i think tastes good. that is HUGE.
i am almost at the 3 month mark that i set for myself. i have traveled and stayed raw. i have said "no" time after time to food that was very appealing to my senses. and i've barely felt any loss around the whole thing.
today i stepped into a cafe that i used to LOVE. i looked at the menu, imagining what i would order if i lifted the cooked food ban...as i read the descriptions, my senses were stimulated, remembering the smells and textures and tastes of the food, but then i took it a step further, to how i would FEEL after i ate that yummy yummy food, and each time i would cross it off the list, remembering the digestive distress that used to plague me, and which i fully accepted as normal.
something major has changed in me: i am more in touch and concerned with how i FEEL in my body, and less interested in satisfying my senses. it's more about the whole experience of eating (which includes digestion) than mere taste satisfaction. it's more about my body, my health, my vitality, my life.
i have to say, i'm sure i could do better as far as food prep goes, but i have come a LONG way. i made almond milk this morning, and then used the leftover pulp to make this yummy hummus:
almond pulp
raw tahini
garlic
olive oil
lemon juice
celtic sea salt
cumin
i just intuited the proportions. i'd say it was about 5:1 pulp:tahini
these past few weeks i've lightened up on the strictness of my rawness, sometimes eating salads at restaurants when i know the dressing isn't 100% raw, eating some Manna bread when i was traveling. and it feels ok. i like the idea of being "raw dominant": everything is game, resulting in a mostly raw diet sprinkled with whatever really seems right.
this is my plan, beginning april 1: RAW DOMINANT. no huge shifts; maybe no shifts at all. i'll just open up the gates and see what comes in, what i choose. i wonder how it will feel to eat rice again. i wonder if i'll go back to meat at all. i believe this shift will be enlightening and i think i will have much to post about.
btw my sister decided to go raw at the same time as i did, and she has lost over 30 pounds in that short time!! go amber!!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Meaty Dreams
Last week i had a dream where i was carrying around the carcass of a baby deer (in a sleeping position, curled up), digging into it heartily with my teeth from time to time. it had the most delectable taste and smell (eeeewww!!) and i felt both possessive of it and embarrassed by it. at one point in the dream, i realized that i was SUPPOSED to be raw, and that this most definitely wasn't raw!!
then, last night, i had another meaty dream: a pushy chef (male, older, maybe from spain or italy) forcibly served me two huge slices of steak, extremely rare. he kept pushing me to try it, try it...and i was eating it, reluctantly, and he kept asking me (full of ego) if i liked it, knowing i would. in the dream i was a little wary of how rare it was, and was definitely disturbed by his pushing. at some point, i realized again that i was supposed to be raw, and that this was NOT raw!!
even in my meat-eating days, i wasn't really drawn to venison (heaven forbid a BABY deer!!) OR to steak. these dreams were the extreme.
in my waking dreams, i'm more leaning towards off the waffle, or the egg that gets cooked in my kitchen. they smell and sound good. i'm feeling the itch to toss the experiment, to remove all restrictions, to see what happens when i just eat what i want.
and then i think back to my original purpose: the quest for the shift in consciousness. i have to say that i don't sense anything markedly different about myself. i do feel better in my body, stronger, leaner. no part of me feels worse...except some of the food yearnings...things that just sound so good...
but the fact is, they're not THAT good, and raw food really IS better, both for me (i believe) and tastewise. it's just WORK. it's planning ahead, figuring things out. not messing up the food. this past week i completely botched a whole batch of almond meal cookies...sad.
SO my current vision is to stick with it, for the most part (maybe i'll let myself veer off of 100% raw a little, just to ease the itch) for THREE MONTHS TOTAL (till april 1), gauge the consciousness factor, and then introduce some cooked foods and see how it feels and how it tastes.
you can believe that one of those cooked food meals is gonna be PIZZA!!! my personal power quotient is skyrocketing with all the pizza i'm not eating!!
:)
then, last night, i had another meaty dream: a pushy chef (male, older, maybe from spain or italy) forcibly served me two huge slices of steak, extremely rare. he kept pushing me to try it, try it...and i was eating it, reluctantly, and he kept asking me (full of ego) if i liked it, knowing i would. in the dream i was a little wary of how rare it was, and was definitely disturbed by his pushing. at some point, i realized again that i was supposed to be raw, and that this was NOT raw!!
even in my meat-eating days, i wasn't really drawn to venison (heaven forbid a BABY deer!!) OR to steak. these dreams were the extreme.
in my waking dreams, i'm more leaning towards off the waffle, or the egg that gets cooked in my kitchen. they smell and sound good. i'm feeling the itch to toss the experiment, to remove all restrictions, to see what happens when i just eat what i want.
and then i think back to my original purpose: the quest for the shift in consciousness. i have to say that i don't sense anything markedly different about myself. i do feel better in my body, stronger, leaner. no part of me feels worse...except some of the food yearnings...things that just sound so good...
but the fact is, they're not THAT good, and raw food really IS better, both for me (i believe) and tastewise. it's just WORK. it's planning ahead, figuring things out. not messing up the food. this past week i completely botched a whole batch of almond meal cookies...sad.
SO my current vision is to stick with it, for the most part (maybe i'll let myself veer off of 100% raw a little, just to ease the itch) for THREE MONTHS TOTAL (till april 1), gauge the consciousness factor, and then introduce some cooked foods and see how it feels and how it tastes.
you can believe that one of those cooked food meals is gonna be PIZZA!!! my personal power quotient is skyrocketing with all the pizza i'm not eating!!
:)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sugar Girl
I love sugar. even though i have made the change to being raw, i notice that i still love agave-sweetened tea, chocolate, desserts, raw bars, and even the beet/carrot juice i love is very sugary!! all day, i tend to sprinkle sweets into my diet, never in large quantities, but very regular tastes. i am now going to WEEN myself off the sweets a little bit and see what happens.
i don't believe that sugar is bad. someone told me that deepak chopra said that our draw to sweets is connected to being drawn to the sweetness of life: why would we cut ourselves off from that?? sweet is energy, raw energy--we need sugar in order to live!! but i can tend to overdo it, and i think it leads to me wanting more and more. i don't think it has anything to do with weight, as i am still losing weight. i just wind up feeling out of balance, so i'm going to see if i can do with a LITTLE less...
yesterday we made these "almond butter cup" treats: raw chocolate (mix in food processor: 1 cup coconut oil, 1 cup cacao powder, 1/4-1/3 cup agave, put in fridge to harden, layer with raw almond butter and another layer of the chocolate). they were SO SWEET (we used 1/2 cup agave: too much!!) that it tipped me off about my sugar thing. part of me wanted it, but another part was repulsed by how sweet it was.
i think that the addition of more greens will help to moderate the sweets craving. i read that somewhere.
good luck on your personal transformations, everywhere!!
i don't believe that sugar is bad. someone told me that deepak chopra said that our draw to sweets is connected to being drawn to the sweetness of life: why would we cut ourselves off from that?? sweet is energy, raw energy--we need sugar in order to live!! but i can tend to overdo it, and i think it leads to me wanting more and more. i don't think it has anything to do with weight, as i am still losing weight. i just wind up feeling out of balance, so i'm going to see if i can do with a LITTLE less...
yesterday we made these "almond butter cup" treats: raw chocolate (mix in food processor: 1 cup coconut oil, 1 cup cacao powder, 1/4-1/3 cup agave, put in fridge to harden, layer with raw almond butter and another layer of the chocolate). they were SO SWEET (we used 1/2 cup agave: too much!!) that it tipped me off about my sugar thing. part of me wanted it, but another part was repulsed by how sweet it was.
i think that the addition of more greens will help to moderate the sweets craving. i read that somewhere.
good luck on your personal transformations, everywhere!!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Day 21 of 21!!
well today is the last day of the first round of raw. i am not going back to eating the way i used to. i intend to stay mostly, if not completely raw, for now.
i have learned so much during this month. i have learned that raw food is yummy and satisfying. i have learned that it works best for me to prepare some food today for tomorrow. i have read many books and gotten new kitchen appliances. i am on my way to powerful self care in the realm of nutrition.
you have probably heard about the "eat right for your blood type" book. well the highly intelligent food scientist/rabbi/medical doctor/ayurvedic dude i am reading (gabriel cousens) feel like that is a dangerous book written by a man with a theory, which has affected so many people, possibly erroneously. he sited several studies that contradict the "eat right for your blood type" theory. one test was on all blood types where heart disease was reversed in each blood type by switching to a low fat vegan diet (no animal protein). another study found that type A people, on average, died at age 61, where type O people, even smokers, meat eaters, alcoholics, etc died on average at age 86. being a type O person myself, this piece of information is a little bit of a lure back to my old habits, knowing that no matter what i do, i'll probably die closer to 86, BUT...i'm in it for the spiritual element, and i KNOW food has a major role to play.
at this point, other than pizza, i don't crave cooked food. and pizza, only when it's hot and full of veggies and right in front of me. oh, and i love milk in my tea, but as long as i remember to soak almonds i can have almond milk which is just as good, if not better than other milks.
gabriel cousens talks about cooked food being dead food, and that our bodies are basically composting from eating cooked food. he says it takes 2 years to press the "restart button" and reverse all of the composting that has happened inside of us. that sounds like a long time, but i really don't like the idea that i am composting inside. and if i can be perfectly clean in 2 years, it will be worth it. and i believe that with my will and intention, i can speed-dial the restart button if i really want to.
i have lost, unintentionally, about 7 pounds in this time. i doubt i'll lose more, as i haven't weighed much less than this in my adult life. Sarah says my skin is glowing. i feel pretty good. my energy level feels high, but not hugely different from before. i just KNOW that raw is right for me right now. i am easily affected by what i read, especially if i can tell it is written by someone evolved and intelligent. that is where i want to go: more evolved, more intelligent.
i'd love to hear some of your stories. along the way, people have let me know that my blog has affected them, but i don't know, in most cases, how. please always feel free to share your experiences with me!!
:) amy
i have learned so much during this month. i have learned that raw food is yummy and satisfying. i have learned that it works best for me to prepare some food today for tomorrow. i have read many books and gotten new kitchen appliances. i am on my way to powerful self care in the realm of nutrition.
you have probably heard about the "eat right for your blood type" book. well the highly intelligent food scientist/rabbi/medical doctor/ayurvedic dude i am reading (gabriel cousens) feel like that is a dangerous book written by a man with a theory, which has affected so many people, possibly erroneously. he sited several studies that contradict the "eat right for your blood type" theory. one test was on all blood types where heart disease was reversed in each blood type by switching to a low fat vegan diet (no animal protein). another study found that type A people, on average, died at age 61, where type O people, even smokers, meat eaters, alcoholics, etc died on average at age 86. being a type O person myself, this piece of information is a little bit of a lure back to my old habits, knowing that no matter what i do, i'll probably die closer to 86, BUT...i'm in it for the spiritual element, and i KNOW food has a major role to play.
at this point, other than pizza, i don't crave cooked food. and pizza, only when it's hot and full of veggies and right in front of me. oh, and i love milk in my tea, but as long as i remember to soak almonds i can have almond milk which is just as good, if not better than other milks.
gabriel cousens talks about cooked food being dead food, and that our bodies are basically composting from eating cooked food. he says it takes 2 years to press the "restart button" and reverse all of the composting that has happened inside of us. that sounds like a long time, but i really don't like the idea that i am composting inside. and if i can be perfectly clean in 2 years, it will be worth it. and i believe that with my will and intention, i can speed-dial the restart button if i really want to.
i have lost, unintentionally, about 7 pounds in this time. i doubt i'll lose more, as i haven't weighed much less than this in my adult life. Sarah says my skin is glowing. i feel pretty good. my energy level feels high, but not hugely different from before. i just KNOW that raw is right for me right now. i am easily affected by what i read, especially if i can tell it is written by someone evolved and intelligent. that is where i want to go: more evolved, more intelligent.
i'd love to hear some of your stories. along the way, people have let me know that my blog has affected them, but i don't know, in most cases, how. please always feel free to share your experiences with me!!
:) amy
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Downs and Ups
today i cried. with a renewed vision of my raw food experiment, i found a simple recipe for a sunflower seed pate and soaked the seeds overnight. i went to 2 grocery stores to find the right sundried tomatoes. i had all of the ingredients. i did everything i thought i was supposed to do.
i won't give you all the messy details about my food prep experience. suffice it to say that at the end i was pretty repulsed by the product. that is when i cried. all that food, good organic food, all that time, sweet precious time, and my pate looked like canned dog food. the color was enough to turn anyone's stomach!! and it didn't taste much better.
i called sarah and told her i didn't think i could do it. i didn't think i could maintain a raw food diet if i can't prepare the most simple recipe for myself. and there's no restaurant in town (YET!!) serving raw food. if there were, i would be there regularly!!
she laughed and i begged her to come home soon and fix my pate. i dried my eyes. i stared at the kale that i was supposed to do something to. pulling up my bootstraps, i made a sauce for the kale: 1/2 cup tahini, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup tamari, some cayenne, garlic powder and ground black pepper. i ripped the kale up, massaged the sauce into the kale, and it tasted GOOD!!! things took a turn. i put the kale in the dehydrator and turned to face the "pate" (slash dog food).
i added a little more of this, a bit of that, and decided it was never meant to be pate. so i made patties out of it and stuck it in the dehydrator with the kale. i'm not sure if it will be good or not, but at least it's not a huge bowl of dog food pate staring at me. when i peek at it in the dehydrator, it actually looks pretty good!
then to top it all off, i juiced apple/carrot/beet/ginger juice, which is fantastic, and which i will have to start my day off in the morning.
when i was going down, i thought of you all (whoever you are!!) and somehow, knowing that people were out there supporting me gave me a strength that wouldn't have been there without this blog. i really look forward to feeling on top of the raw food experiment!! i so appreciate all of you who have responded in any way, and encourage more comments!! especially if you have recipes that you love!!! thank you.
i won't give you all the messy details about my food prep experience. suffice it to say that at the end i was pretty repulsed by the product. that is when i cried. all that food, good organic food, all that time, sweet precious time, and my pate looked like canned dog food. the color was enough to turn anyone's stomach!! and it didn't taste much better.
i called sarah and told her i didn't think i could do it. i didn't think i could maintain a raw food diet if i can't prepare the most simple recipe for myself. and there's no restaurant in town (YET!!) serving raw food. if there were, i would be there regularly!!
she laughed and i begged her to come home soon and fix my pate. i dried my eyes. i stared at the kale that i was supposed to do something to. pulling up my bootstraps, i made a sauce for the kale: 1/2 cup tahini, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup tamari, some cayenne, garlic powder and ground black pepper. i ripped the kale up, massaged the sauce into the kale, and it tasted GOOD!!! things took a turn. i put the kale in the dehydrator and turned to face the "pate" (slash dog food).
i added a little more of this, a bit of that, and decided it was never meant to be pate. so i made patties out of it and stuck it in the dehydrator with the kale. i'm not sure if it will be good or not, but at least it's not a huge bowl of dog food pate staring at me. when i peek at it in the dehydrator, it actually looks pretty good!
then to top it all off, i juiced apple/carrot/beet/ginger juice, which is fantastic, and which i will have to start my day off in the morning.
when i was going down, i thought of you all (whoever you are!!) and somehow, knowing that people were out there supporting me gave me a strength that wouldn't have been there without this blog. i really look forward to feeling on top of the raw food experiment!! i so appreciate all of you who have responded in any way, and encourage more comments!! especially if you have recipes that you love!!! thank you.
Monday, January 17, 2011
So much to learn...
These past few days have not been my most exciting, food-wise. Sarah (my inspiration, my raw food chef/coach) got sick and wasn't making anything, or even talking very much. left to my own, i was eating mostly oranges, salads, occasionally avocado on a cracker. i felt empty. i felt a little desperate. our fridge was full of food i either couldn't eat or didn't know what to do with.
Now i realize that i need to have a plan. i need to be able to count on myself to feed myself. this might seem silly to those of you who are good at and used to preparing food...but in our culture it is pretty easy to figure out how to get fed without doing much!! pick up a sandwich, a slice of pizza, reheat leftovers, grab a burger, eat something out of a can, something "instant"...
I need to plan my meals in advance, soaking the seeds or nuts overnight, sometimes allowing time for sprouting and dehydrating. i need to be connected to the food, to its energy, its life-force, its potential. i need to tap into both my self-nurturing gene and my food creativity gene.
My 21 days are almost up, but i have decided it is time for ROUND 2 to begin. round 2 will be Raw Food With A Plan. 21 days of experimenting, of meal planning, and of really looking at the diet i am eating and assessing its balance.
I still want to keep it simple. I want to drink a green juice every day. Today i ordered a Vitamix Blender!! i got a refurbished one (comes with the same warrantee) for $379 and free shipping!! this is a good tip: if you are planning on ordering a Vitamix blender, google "Vitamix free shipping coupon code"!! pick one and your shipping is free!! they have no expiration date!!
next week: green smoothies.
Now i realize that i need to have a plan. i need to be able to count on myself to feed myself. this might seem silly to those of you who are good at and used to preparing food...but in our culture it is pretty easy to figure out how to get fed without doing much!! pick up a sandwich, a slice of pizza, reheat leftovers, grab a burger, eat something out of a can, something "instant"...
I need to plan my meals in advance, soaking the seeds or nuts overnight, sometimes allowing time for sprouting and dehydrating. i need to be connected to the food, to its energy, its life-force, its potential. i need to tap into both my self-nurturing gene and my food creativity gene.
My 21 days are almost up, but i have decided it is time for ROUND 2 to begin. round 2 will be Raw Food With A Plan. 21 days of experimenting, of meal planning, and of really looking at the diet i am eating and assessing its balance.
I still want to keep it simple. I want to drink a green juice every day. Today i ordered a Vitamix Blender!! i got a refurbished one (comes with the same warrantee) for $379 and free shipping!! this is a good tip: if you are planning on ordering a Vitamix blender, google "Vitamix free shipping coupon code"!! pick one and your shipping is free!! they have no expiration date!!
next week: green smoothies.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Definite Change
this wasn't even on the radar, but i have noticed a HUGE difference in my joints!!
for the past few years, i have had stiffness in my joints when i stand up from a sitting position (esp. with my knees bent). it always takes a few steps for my joints to "re-grease" and function normally.
in the past few days, i've noticed that that is NOT THERE ANYMORE!! i stand up and just go!! no hesitant creaky steps to get me going...just full speed ahead!! wow!!
so i did a little research in the bible (aka The Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe) and found that arthritis/joint pain is caused by the presence of too much acid in the system. if we adjust our diets to be more alkaline, joint pain diminishes or disappears!
how many people have you heard say that they have "bad knees" or a "bad back" when maybe, just maybe, what they have is an unbalanced diet?? in the raw food world, the Standard American Diet is acronymed to be SAD. it IS sad if our diets are hurting us, isn't it?
is it worth giving up refined sugar, coffee, animal meat, dairy, alcohol, over-the-counter pain medication...for our health?? for a pain-free life?? a disease-free body? each person has to choose for her/himself.
i have been thinking about food and spirituality. i am coming to believe that raw food contains a strong spiritual element. i think that wild food is the highest in spiritual concentration. i'm starting to believe that cooked food, with all its draw and temptation through smell, presentation, and convenience, is lacking in a strong spiritual component. if we are what we eat, then i want to eat high-vibration foods.
David Wolfe teaches that fruit with seeds are better than seedless fruit. of course, we love the convenience of not having to deal with the pesky seeds, but really isn't fruit SUPPOSED to have seeds?? seedless fruit is hybridized; it's no longer "original" fruit. it's a little bit SAD (standard american diet) that even our raw foods are tarnished.
more and more and more i want to find and eat the food that is better and better and better for me. It seems like a no-brainer to eat high-quality food if we are what we eat and we want to be high-quality people.
i can't imagine that i'll go back to my pizza now. i will find a way to make some nice raw pizza. full of life and spirit. the best pizza ever.
for the past few years, i have had stiffness in my joints when i stand up from a sitting position (esp. with my knees bent). it always takes a few steps for my joints to "re-grease" and function normally.
in the past few days, i've noticed that that is NOT THERE ANYMORE!! i stand up and just go!! no hesitant creaky steps to get me going...just full speed ahead!! wow!!
so i did a little research in the bible (aka The Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe) and found that arthritis/joint pain is caused by the presence of too much acid in the system. if we adjust our diets to be more alkaline, joint pain diminishes or disappears!
how many people have you heard say that they have "bad knees" or a "bad back" when maybe, just maybe, what they have is an unbalanced diet?? in the raw food world, the Standard American Diet is acronymed to be SAD. it IS sad if our diets are hurting us, isn't it?
is it worth giving up refined sugar, coffee, animal meat, dairy, alcohol, over-the-counter pain medication...for our health?? for a pain-free life?? a disease-free body? each person has to choose for her/himself.
i have been thinking about food and spirituality. i am coming to believe that raw food contains a strong spiritual element. i think that wild food is the highest in spiritual concentration. i'm starting to believe that cooked food, with all its draw and temptation through smell, presentation, and convenience, is lacking in a strong spiritual component. if we are what we eat, then i want to eat high-vibration foods.
David Wolfe teaches that fruit with seeds are better than seedless fruit. of course, we love the convenience of not having to deal with the pesky seeds, but really isn't fruit SUPPOSED to have seeds?? seedless fruit is hybridized; it's no longer "original" fruit. it's a little bit SAD (standard american diet) that even our raw foods are tarnished.
more and more and more i want to find and eat the food that is better and better and better for me. It seems like a no-brainer to eat high-quality food if we are what we eat and we want to be high-quality people.
i can't imagine that i'll go back to my pizza now. i will find a way to make some nice raw pizza. full of life and spirit. the best pizza ever.
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