Get a little raw… with your food!
Great food - Great tastes - Great results
No gagging recipes, guaranteed
February 24, 2012
“No, but” questions
LOOK AT ME
Recipes: Diuretic Juice, Butternut Squash Ambrosia Salad
One of my pet peeves with the holistic/alternative modalities is
that most of the time, the promises don’t match results.
I have spent over 30 years investigating all kinds of alternative
modalities, both as a health seeker, and a Shiatsu practitioner.
Raw foodies are no exception.
Many prominent voices in this community promise miraculous healing and a perfect life. I share with you, REALISTICALLY, what I’ve experienced on a raw food regime. So, here is my “No, but” question list.
Do you eat raw and vegan all the
time?
No, but
I eat raw and vegan until dinner. Then I switch to
high quality, locally raised animal protein (or fish) and some cooked veggies.
Are you pain-free from following a raw diet?
No, but
I no longer take ANY prescription anti-inflammatory or pain meds.
Most days I don’t even take an Aleve. My discomfort level is consistently stable at a 2 to 3, out of a scale of 10 (agony).
Can you manage very aggressive workouts?
No, but
I do maintain a five day schedule of yoga classes, competently moving through most, but not necessarily all, of the poses. I do bike the 16 mile round-trip Buffalo Valley Rail Trail.
Are you at your ideal weight?
No, but
I am 50 pounds lighter than I was ten years ago. I am about 10 pounds over the perfect weight, at least according to those dreadful charts. I also don’t count calories, carbs, points, etc. I
LOVE the food I eat, and I eat what I want.
Are you off all medication?
No, but the only medication I take now is for my thyroid. I do not take anything else for high blood pressure, arthritis, cholesterol, or depression - nada, zip.
LOOK AT ME
Whenever someone in the holistic/alternative field tells you
hat what they know or do is the be all and end all, LOOK AT THAT PERSON! Do a lot of looking and not as much listening. The person doing all the talking MUST be a walking advertisement for
whatever it is they are proposing. So, look at me. I am NOT
saying this in a boastful manner. I am no stunning beauty or highly accomplished yoga practitioner. I am almost 59 years old. I don’t wear makeup other than some lipstick.
Look at my skin - does it glow? Is it finely grained? Do I have good
color in my skin? If you see me in yoga class, watch how my body handles things. Am I flexible? Strong? What about
muscle tone and definition? Is my hair dull and lifeless? What about my eyes? Are they clear and bright? Try to
gauge my energy levels, especially if you see me in yoga.
Do I keep up? Can I hold most poses? Watch how I walk and stand. Are my movements fluid and open, or do I hunch forward and contract inward? Is my stride open and even on both sides? Am I stiff? Do I get up and down easily and gracefully? Look at me and then connect the dots with what I talk about food-wise. ALL of this is important, because prior to a raw diet, none of the above was true.
RECIPES
Most women struggle with some degree of water retention. I drink
one of these diuretic juicesdaily,
but even alternative day schedule works well. I run this combination through a juicer which separates pulp from juice.
That’s what I recommend, Personally, I don’t want to slog down a slurry of pulp. I’ll give one recipe for those of you with juicers, and one for those using a blender.
Juicer: Parsley (I
happen to love the taste, so I use a lot, so personal choice here,) I use stem and all on the parsley, 1 inch piece of ginger, 1 organic apple, 1 peeled cucumber, 1 lemon, 3 stalks celery.
Blender: parsley leaves only, peeled piece of ginger, lemon,
peeled apple, water. If you want,
use ALL of the juicer ingredients above, but try passing the mixture through a strainer before you drink it. It is the parsley, celery and cucumber that produce the diuretic effects, but they also make a lot of pulp, which I would gag on straight from the blender.
Raw Butternut Squash Ambrosia Salad
1/3 c each craisins and golden raisins8
c butternut squash, shredded (See note at end of
recipe)3/4 c diced celery1/2 c sliced scallions1/2 c shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/3 c each raw sunflower seeds and chopped walnuts
1/3 c each chopped cilantro and basil1/2 c orange juice (I use 3T frozen OJ concentrate)
2 T soy sauce
1 T minced garlic
1 T sesame oil
1 heaping t cinnamon
Curry powder to taste, start with 1 full Tablespoon and move up
from there.
Just mix all this together in a BIG bowl.
This makes a delicious lunch, snack, or salad with dinner.
If you enjoy the taste of Thai food, you’re going to LOVE this! This is also a large capacity recipe
yielding about12 servings. You
might want to cut amounts in half.
OK… let’s talk about the raw butternut squash.
First of all, don’t even think about buying a whole one and peeling it
yourself. Look for it peeled and
sliced in the produce section.
Last time I made this recipe, there was no squash, but there was a
container of diced sweet potatoes.
I used them and the salad was great. You MUST put the raw squash in a food
processor to shred it. It’s gross
if you just leave it in pieces. If raw squash or sweet potato seems icky, use carrots. The point is to use an
orange vegetable. Oh, and by the
way, neither the raw squash NOR the raw sweet potato have any taste, other than a hint of sweetness. I was
skeptical too, the first time I tried this. It was another“close your eyes, eat it and hope for the best” moment with that first bite.
Next week I’ll be talking about increasing your fat intake in
order to lose weight, eating through the color chart and some dessert recipes.
Raw desserts are some of the most intensely flavored, wonderfully satisfying
I’ve ever had. Trust me.
Thanks for reading!
Nancy
Great food - Great tastes - Great results
No gagging recipes, guaranteed
February 24, 2012
“No, but” questions
LOOK AT ME
Recipes: Diuretic Juice, Butternut Squash Ambrosia Salad
One of my pet peeves with the holistic/alternative modalities is
that most of the time, the promises don’t match results.
I have spent over 30 years investigating all kinds of alternative
modalities, both as a health seeker, and a Shiatsu practitioner.
Raw foodies are no exception.
Many prominent voices in this community promise miraculous healing and a perfect life. I share with you, REALISTICALLY, what I’ve experienced on a raw food regime. So, here is my “No, but” question list.
Do you eat raw and vegan all the
time?
No, but
I eat raw and vegan until dinner. Then I switch to
high quality, locally raised animal protein (or fish) and some cooked veggies.
Are you pain-free from following a raw diet?
No, but
I no longer take ANY prescription anti-inflammatory or pain meds.
Most days I don’t even take an Aleve. My discomfort level is consistently stable at a 2 to 3, out of a scale of 10 (agony).
Can you manage very aggressive workouts?
No, but
I do maintain a five day schedule of yoga classes, competently moving through most, but not necessarily all, of the poses. I do bike the 16 mile round-trip Buffalo Valley Rail Trail.
Are you at your ideal weight?
No, but
I am 50 pounds lighter than I was ten years ago. I am about 10 pounds over the perfect weight, at least according to those dreadful charts. I also don’t count calories, carbs, points, etc. I
LOVE the food I eat, and I eat what I want.
Are you off all medication?
No, but the only medication I take now is for my thyroid. I do not take anything else for high blood pressure, arthritis, cholesterol, or depression - nada, zip.
LOOK AT ME
Whenever someone in the holistic/alternative field tells you
hat what they know or do is the be all and end all, LOOK AT THAT PERSON! Do a lot of looking and not as much listening. The person doing all the talking MUST be a walking advertisement for
whatever it is they are proposing. So, look at me. I am NOT
saying this in a boastful manner. I am no stunning beauty or highly accomplished yoga practitioner. I am almost 59 years old. I don’t wear makeup other than some lipstick.
Look at my skin - does it glow? Is it finely grained? Do I have good
color in my skin? If you see me in yoga class, watch how my body handles things. Am I flexible? Strong? What about
muscle tone and definition? Is my hair dull and lifeless? What about my eyes? Are they clear and bright? Try to
gauge my energy levels, especially if you see me in yoga.
Do I keep up? Can I hold most poses? Watch how I walk and stand. Are my movements fluid and open, or do I hunch forward and contract inward? Is my stride open and even on both sides? Am I stiff? Do I get up and down easily and gracefully? Look at me and then connect the dots with what I talk about food-wise. ALL of this is important, because prior to a raw diet, none of the above was true.
RECIPES
Most women struggle with some degree of water retention. I drink
one of these diuretic juicesdaily,
but even alternative day schedule works well. I run this combination through a juicer which separates pulp from juice.
That’s what I recommend, Personally, I don’t want to slog down a slurry of pulp. I’ll give one recipe for those of you with juicers, and one for those using a blender.
Juicer: Parsley (I
happen to love the taste, so I use a lot, so personal choice here,) I use stem and all on the parsley, 1 inch piece of ginger, 1 organic apple, 1 peeled cucumber, 1 lemon, 3 stalks celery.
Blender: parsley leaves only, peeled piece of ginger, lemon,
peeled apple, water. If you want,
use ALL of the juicer ingredients above, but try passing the mixture through a strainer before you drink it. It is the parsley, celery and cucumber that produce the diuretic effects, but they also make a lot of pulp, which I would gag on straight from the blender.
Raw Butternut Squash Ambrosia Salad
1/3 c each craisins and golden raisins8
c butternut squash, shredded (See note at end of
recipe)3/4 c diced celery1/2 c sliced scallions1/2 c shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/3 c each raw sunflower seeds and chopped walnuts
1/3 c each chopped cilantro and basil1/2 c orange juice (I use 3T frozen OJ concentrate)
2 T soy sauce
1 T minced garlic
1 T sesame oil
1 heaping t cinnamon
Curry powder to taste, start with 1 full Tablespoon and move up
from there.
Just mix all this together in a BIG bowl.
This makes a delicious lunch, snack, or salad with dinner.
If you enjoy the taste of Thai food, you’re going to LOVE this! This is also a large capacity recipe
yielding about12 servings. You
might want to cut amounts in half.
OK… let’s talk about the raw butternut squash.
First of all, don’t even think about buying a whole one and peeling it
yourself. Look for it peeled and
sliced in the produce section.
Last time I made this recipe, there was no squash, but there was a
container of diced sweet potatoes.
I used them and the salad was great. You MUST put the raw squash in a food
processor to shred it. It’s gross
if you just leave it in pieces. If raw squash or sweet potato seems icky, use carrots. The point is to use an
orange vegetable. Oh, and by the
way, neither the raw squash NOR the raw sweet potato have any taste, other than a hint of sweetness. I was
skeptical too, the first time I tried this. It was another“close your eyes, eat it and hope for the best” moment with that first bite.
Next week I’ll be talking about increasing your fat intake in
order to lose weight, eating through the color chart and some dessert recipes.
Raw desserts are some of the most intensely flavored, wonderfully satisfying
I’ve ever had. Trust me.
Thanks for reading!
Nancy
