RAW is fresh, not slow

I know that one of the widespread misconceptions about raw food is that it's time consuming and takes too long. This could not be further from the truth!

I found that while there was a lot of prep, in washing, cutting and mixing, I saved lots of time by not heating,  cooking or having to clean the messy pots after.

But what was true-was I had  t o  s l o w  m y s e l f  d o w n.

I definitely had to slow myself down to "uncook".
I had to be more prepared, and I had to think ahead.
I had to begin to pace myself into what I would be eating in a few days time, and not just in this immediate moment for alot of the recipes. Soaking nuts and sprouting was a challenge! I had to really focus on those things or I had a mess because I would get busy and forget to drain and rinse, or I wouldn't have soaked nuts to use in a recipe.

I couldn't go thoughtless about food with the backup of running through a drive in. I couldn't NOT think about food.

As a result, not just my eating was changing. I had to change my relationship to time, my schedule and my life, and how I lived it day to day.

What I discovered, and I am only talking for myself here, was that I had become very unconscious about what I was slamming into my mouth. I opened a package that made my life easier, and served it, and there wasn't alot of thought going into it anymore. I was running to Costco and buying lots of convenient packages and my freezer was full. We were all going to the freezer saying "What's for dinner?" We had lost the home cooking that I had raised the boys on. What happened to me?

I used to really cook. I mean REALLY cook. I made fish sticks myself with real fish, I made my own chicken nuggets. I canned, and made jellies back in the day. We had had a  vegetable garden. And then they became busy teens and I had lost track of them and me. It was too hard to get a dinner on the table that everyone would eat, and God Forbid I could get them to the table at the same time!

The freezer with it's convenient packages had become the mainstay during those impressive years. Fast food was the cry as we all jumped into the  car eating something so we could make it to the next appointment.

Yikes. What were we doing???

Our culture has placed a high premium on "fast", and doing more in less time. That concept has come into the kitchen, and since the 50s, our food styles have sped up. Cooking, preparing, cleaning up after...all those labor saving devices, and all those prepackaged, prepared, foods...I didn't realize how much I had shifted into it until we started thinking raw.

Family bonding used to be over doing the dishes. At Thanksgiving my brother and I had a great time doing all the dishes by hand as my mother doesn't have a dishwasher. We chatted side by side and caught up as we did the dishes for 16 people. It was uninterrupted time-no one wanted to help, and what with our hands in water and the rhythmic repetative nature of the work, very relaxing! I miss doing dishes by hand, and have continued the practice since. Raw has much fewere messy dishes-no stuck on stuff that has to be soaked and scraped. No oily messes congealed. Dishes are by far nicer to deal with.

Raw food preparation is meditative. Soaking, cleaning, chopping, spicing. It brought me back to loving food again, and even more, loving being in the kitchen again.

It has been comforting to me. I hum while I do it. I get out my mixing bowls and accouterments. There is a lot of food prep in a raw kitchen. And you have to stay on top of raw food-with no preservatives you can't leave it long. Take a few days off, and you have a fridge full or soggy mushy moldy stuff.

But by and far the benefits have far outweighed the drawbacks. I haven't lost much weight, but I wasn't doing it to lose weight. I feel better and I can tell immediately when I have strayed too far from the rawish quota. I am back in relationship with my body and I easily recognize my own signals, what really really feeds me, and what I want to eat based on what nourishes me. My mind has unhooked from the marketing hypnotic trance of donuts and ice cream, fast food french fries and American burgers. I can feel the difference. I am no longer numb or eating to numb out. I might have something now, but it's not an eating binge, and I don't guilt myself about it. I notice it, notice my physical reactions to it, and move on.

I've also unhooked from alot of the illness/wellness hypno-hype. I don't believe that I am going to die from b12 deficiency because I am doing raw. I proved the opposite to myself-I am way high in b12! When I learned to trust my body, really trust myself, I am just fine. I've learned to listen to myself, and that means I don't consider my emotional body a misguided uninformed willful child that I have to control with my willpower.

But raw, for me, has meant slowing down and listening to myself. It's meant paying attention on a day to day basis to what I am doing, and why. It's meant chop wood, carry water. It's meant be in the now. It's meant love where I am. It's meant connecting.

We can't connect to our lives, to our loved ones to the world if we don't connect to ourselves, and what I see and felt myself is that we are being encouraged to disconnect from what's vital. Vitality and life force energy begins with food, and then moves out in concentric circles from that center.

What feeds you?
What do you allow to feed you?
What sustains you?
What are you willing to invest your time and energy in? And that should be in what feeds you, shouldn't it?

So why has our culture focused LESS on what really feeds us, and MORE about zipping through food times to get out there and search for what feeds us? Hurry hurry or you will be left behind.

We've noticed a return to our creative selves. We've noticed a return to our authentic voices. We've noticed a return to our families, and our loved ones, and ourselves. We've noticed we rejoice in the energies around us, and the color in the leaves and the drops of water on a spider web. The little things that we used to speed by and think "I'll make time later to take a walk" rather than enjoying the now moment of every day. I love that I notice the rich color of the browns of the eggshells as I am cracking them open to add to a smoothie. Wow moments of my every day life. And they are little. And it is the noticing that I most enjoy.

Once I called Jon to come out and sit on the lawn with me-and told him to look at how you could see every blade of grass breathing. Yea-he thought I was stoned. And maybe we are! Maybe eating raw and connecting into the energy of life is exactly like being stoned!

That means we've slowed our lives to a comfortable stroll-connected with each footstep, rather than speeding by things in the fast lane. I prefer it. I've come to value the stroll. I'm built for comfort, not for speed, I've decided!

Raw food isn't just about the food, and heat and prep time. It turns out to be about living. It turns out to be an energy thing.
And when I get away from it, I miss it. When I fall away for a time, it's because my life has gotten busier and I am going too fast again. And coming back to raw reminds me to come back to the stroll.

Years ago I was living in Italy when we had huge gas shortages. Italy went to allowing people to only drive every other day based on your license plate ending in an even or odd number, and then they went to no driving on Sundays. What a difference it made in people's lives-in a good way!

Kids came out and played soccer in the streets. The roads turned into a people festival. Everyone came out and talked and played all day long with no cars on the roads and no where to go. Sundays became people days. We were forced to slow down to a stroll, and life was better.

Does it have to be raw for us to get the benefits? I don't think so. I think when we get the concept, we can add cooked and we can maintain a healthy balance. So far though, when I start adding cooked, I start to speed up again! I am still working at unhooking fast from cooked...

Remember the raw-ish credo- aim at 10, be happy with 7. If you get 5 in...you are way ahead of the pack!

IT SHOWS IN THE SKIN

Nutrition for the skin should be of optimum importance to all of us, and easy to recognize that you need to shift something. 

Check your skin in the mirror: your skin is the part that shows up to the world, and no amount of makeup or cream will disguise your state of internal being. Stress shows in our skin. What we feel, and how we feel presents to the world, so look at yourself in the mirror and notice what your skin is telling you.

Fresh Food heals so if you want to improve the condition of your skin (and hair) add more COLOR to your diet. 

If your skin is saggy and lacks luster you just aren't eating enough color!

ORANGE: Eat sweet potatoes, carrots, squash and pumpkins. All contain beta carotene. Load your cart and your plate with color and eat it fresh! Oranges, red peppers and tomatoes are chock full of vitamin C. 

If you have dark circles under your eyes:

GREEN: Eat more green! Any and all good dark greens are great for the skin. Greens flush toxins from your body, and that's good for the skin. Your liver's condition shows in your eyes. Dark circles, droopy eyes, yellowed eyes are all signs of liver congestion. Flush those toxins with lots of green juice and raw green on your plate! More than just a salad here and there, live green.

BLUES AND PURPLES: Eat dark rich color! The darker the color the more antioxidants there are inside. Eat color! Blueberries, dark grapes, cherries, blackberries, eat them fresh by the handful add them to shakes but don't cook them! Eat fresh. Eat live.

If you skin is dry: it's asking for more oils in your diet. Put it IN rather than ON. You aren't eating enough fat. Get your omega 3s up and your skin will immediately show it by having fewer wrinkles and more shine! It will be more fluid and supple.

FATS: Think fish, and nuts and you'll have it covered. Walnuts are especially oily as is tuna, salmon and sardines. Avocados are a great source of good fat (and double points because it's green too!) You NEED good fats. The biggest rule to bust out of is that fat is bad for you! Your brain needs fat, and so does your skin. Not all fat is the same, so to keep it simple. If it's cooked, it's a no. If it's fresh, it's a yes! Olive oil, coconut oil are great for the skin too. 

Avocado facial: If you are making a mask just for yourself, only use half of a really soft avocado. Add a tsp of honey, and a tsp of greek yogurt and mix. Slather it all over your face (and hair too if you like) and then sit with your feet up and relax for 20-30 minutes. Rinse and feel how great your face feels!  

EGGS: I'm a big believer in eggs as the most perfect food. Buy organic, free range, brown and that should cover it. Eat the whole egg. Eggs are a great source of zinc which is great for the skin and the brain.

I know, eggs aren't vegan, and most raw food-ists don't condone them, so remember, I am not an extremist! I like things that are simple. I am way too busy to enforce too many rules. We have to live our lives, keep it simple, and that means excavating ourselves out from under the rubble of too many contradictory food beliefs. 

Egg white facial: Oh the best for tightening the skin! Separate one egg, and use the egg white only. Beat until frothy. Wipe it all over the face avoiding the eyes and mouth. Let it dry and it will tighten up and draw toxins out of the pores, then rinse off. If you apply tissue to the face and then add more egg white, you'll have a peel off mask. Cost: 25¢ Savings: $7.00 for a tube of over the counter mask all the way up to $125. for a salon facial! Can you beat that??? And no chemicals or preservatives!

Oh the Taste of Real Meat

This made us laugh out loud! The Aussies have a wicked sense of humor, don't they?!

The Sonoma Diet

Did you hear about this one? Guess what the top 10 power foods are?

Almonds
Bell peppers
Blueberries
Broccoli
Grapes
Olive oil
Spinach
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Whole grains

and they advocate a glass of red wine with meals, and they base it on...ready...the MEDITERRANEAN diet! Yep. If you watched the videos on FOOD AS MEDICINE, that's how he cured his cancer. Just noticing...

ACID ALKALINE AND INFLAMMATION-you asked for it

Alkaline foods are primarily: fruits and vegetables which are great detoxifiers and antioxidants.

LEMON goes alkaline in your body.

ACIDIC foods slow and inhibit the detox process. Simple. Acid foods are meats, eggs, pasteurized dairy, then beans, cooked tomatoes, nuts and seeds and fruits.

Meats, eggs and wheat all contain arachidonic acid which causes inflammation if we get too much of it. And guess what. For most of us we have too much of it STORED in our bodies that it can't get rid of. It needs good consistent nutrition it can count on to have the ENERGY to dump the toxins.

This is an alchemical process we are establishing in our body. It’s not random. It’s going to immediately demonstrate to us a result for our effort-pro or con.

Choose your acids wisely. Your body is demonstrating EXACTLY the amount it can tolerate now. Seeds, nuts, fruits, maybe cooked tomato products and maybe beans or not. That’s about 10% of your current raw diet. No more. Look at the list for sulfur forms foods, phosphorus sources that are vegetarian. Acidic foods are high in sulfur (eggs), phosphorus and nitrogen.

Acid forming foods are inflammatory and mucus forming. they increase free radical damage and therefore cellular damage. If you are reacting to eggs then don’t eat eggs yet.

Most animal proteins are irritants to the mucosa and actually invoke an immune response. That immune response is what we are feeling immediately. Congestion in the lungs, the joints, the sinus’ the ear canals, the throat, the intestines, our whole body aching, that’s an ALLERGIC response.

Going raw for 30 got us clear. Then we selectively began to add things back in so that we knew exactly what was causing us an issue.

These toxins go into the lympathic system to get processed out but our lymphatic system can only MOVE it out if we MOVE. It doesn’t have the heart to pump it like the blood does. That’s why our lymphs back up and get congested and swollen when they work and we used to think we were getting a cold or the flu. We ARE really, if you think about it. A cold is a reaction from our body, and our body is trying to get rid of an invasion! It is trying to right itself again. Homeostasis. It has to do something. What we don’t eliminate we accumulate.

We are biologically programmed for a balance of alkaline/acid with the minimum of 60% fresh, 20% animal products, 10% fats. Now, we haven’t had that most of our lives so we are noticing our body starting to feel strong enough to get rid of stuff. It gets rid of it by beginning to release it into the bloodstream so we can process it out and into our kidneys and then OUT.

THE MIGHTY OAT

I notice when I keep getting drawn to purchase the same food over and over, without knowing exactly why. And this time-it’s been oatmeal. I have rolled oats, steel cuts oats, oat groats, organic oats, oat grain, oat flour, oat bran and instant organic oatmeal. Oh, and Irish oatmeal. Hmmmm. I wondered what was going on as I noticed all these oat products in my cupboard! What was I trying to tell myself?

My mother is English, so oatmeal was a pretty common breakfast at our house when I was growing up, and I like it. Was that all there was to it? This morning, I decided to have some organic rolled oats oatmeal. As I was eating it, which was extremely easy-just add hot water, stir, and I added some blueberries, strawberries and a dash of honey-yum-I wondered about it.

What exactly does ROLLED mean? I was curious about the process, and what sort of nutritional value I could find in oats. Is “rolled” ok for raw foodists? Or is steel cut better? What do they do to the grain? I realized that even though oats are a pretty common part of our dietary language (we grew up with Quaker afterall) I didn’t have a clue about how it was made.

First some OAT facts. Oats have a ph of 6-6.5 which is as high as almonds, and are also a source of protein like quinoa. That’s good news for us! They are an adaptogen grain, and claim to be the only one that is. What does that mean? Adaptogenic foods will do whatever the body needs, modifying itself to the body’s requirements. They improve the body’s resistance to STRESS, which is always a good thing. They stabilize blood sugars, help the thyroid, and reduces cholesterol, as well as soothing the digestive tract.

Well, we mothers know that one-if the baby had an upset stomach, we used to give them oatmeal and crushed bananas-remember that one? Oatmeal will loosen constipated bowels, or help with diarrhea. That’s an adaptogen. It does it all.

They are rich in silicon which is good for our bones, and you can use oatmeal to soothe the skin-AVEENO is just ground oatmeal that you sprinkle in the bathwater. It smells like you are lying in a bowl of oatmeal. I used it when both the boys had chicken pox. It works great! You can also use oatmeal as a facial scrub. If you haven’t tried this, do! Rub it on your skin as an exfoliant, or make a paste with a bit of honey and spread it on, warm, as a facial. Wash off in 20 min. Your skin will feel awesome, even though you will feel like an oatmeal cookie. By the way-the old Latin name for Oat was “Avena”. Think they knew that when they picked a product name-probably! But I digress…

To really get the nutritional value from oats, the grain needs to be steamed to get the two outer inedible hulls off which then leaves the whole groat. Then we have choices galore.

STEEL CUT OATS-or scotch/Irish oats-are natural, and unrefined. Steel cut means exactly that. They are cross cut with steel blades, and a small bit of heat. Get the fine cut-it “cooks” faster when you add some hot water, cover and let it sit. Then just stir in fruit and eat! This is what Pam mentioned earlier, and I agree, it’s not bad at all. Gritty. So if you want texture and miss grains, this might be a good breakfast alternative.

WHOLE OATS are probably the best because they retain the bran and the germ and they can be SPROUTED! Yeah! If you sprout oats, they are a great source of B vitamins and minerals. So far I haven’t been good with sprouting myself-I forget to rinse and then have to throw out muck…still experimenting with that. But I am loving purchased sprouts and add them to everything I can think of. ew-except oatmeal. Not a good combination I am thinking...

OAT GROATS are hulled and roasted but seem to still have the full nutritional value. You can add them to fruit smoothies. I’ve tried them, as well as hemp seed, and flaxseed meal. In the smoothie-they all taste about the same to me. Anyone else?

OAT BRAN-hey if you need MORE fiber that’s what this is for, but with all the fresh we are eating this is hardly a problem.

OAT FLOUR-use it the same as you would use wheat flour, but it doesn’t have as much gluten. I wonder about using oat flour in dehydrating recipes to make that pizza crust or crackers? I’m going to experiment with it and I will let you know how that goes. So far, I haven’t been thrilled with my dehydrating experiments.

The scoop on ROLLED-the process is done with steam and high heat. Nutritional value is again sacrificed for speed of cooking later. It’s probably not our best choice.