Sundaes on Sundays

One of Mitchell's favorite foods is Raw Ice Cream.

And it seems appropriate to have Sundaes

on Sundays.

Here is Raw Banana Ice Cream

 (frozen bananas creamed in the food processor)

Drizzled with Nut/Seed Butter

(peanuts, pumpkin seeds, pecans,

walnuts, flax oil, almonds)

And a Chocolate Sauce

(cocoa powder, honey, hot water)

Savory Oranges

When our eldest daughter returned from a trip to Morocco a few years back, she introduced us to a simple dessert or snack.  We eliminated the sprinkle of brown sugar, and treat our children to this year round but particularly in the summertime.

Today the children were savouring it, and I thought you might want to share it with your loved ones (or yourself) too!

Just slice up some juicey oranges into rounds.  Place on a plate or platter.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.

That's it.  Enjoy!

A Dead Food List for Raw Fooders

If you are a Raw Foodist, you might find this Dead Food List interesting.

We are high-raw rather than 100% raw foodists at our house, so eating some of these foods doesn't stress me out (like it once did!)  But for those of you who might be trying to be meticulous about the whole eating thing, you might want to check out the list and clean out your cupboards.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Not a great picture, but that's all there was to look at.  Put roasted peanuts in a heavy duty blender and blend away.  Add oil if necessary.  This needed some oil, so I added flax oil.  I found it a bit strong so next time I think I'll try walnut oil, I think, or some other lighter healthy oil.

Actually, I keep wanting the family to skip the peanut butter and just use almond butter, but it keeps showing up in the house (I don't purchase most of the groceries!)  I admit to eating my fair share, but I know it isn't healthy for us so I'd rather us be eating other types of nut butters.  I think I'm going to try a blend of different nuts and seeds, as I've tried some at the farmers' markets and really like them, and think they are packed with dense nutrition.

Anybody out there got a good recipe for a mixed nuts/seeds butter spread?   Preferably raw.  I'd love to hear about it.

No More Figs For Me

I'm presently reading "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes, and she has turned me off from eating figs.  Ok, I haven't been a big fig fan anyways, but now its confirmed.

This is Why:

"Oddest, too--the fig flower is inside the fruit.  To pull one open is to look into a complex, primitive, infinitely sophisticated life cycle tableau.  Fig pollination takes place through an interaction with a particular kind of wasp about one eighth of an inch long.  The female bores into the developing flower inside the fig. Once in, she delves with her oviposter, a curved needle nose, into the female flower's ovary, depositing her own eggs.  If her oviposter can't reach the ovary (some of the flowers have long styles), she still fertilizes the fig flower with the pollen she collected from her travels.  Either way, one half of this symbiotic system is served--the wasp larvae develop if she has left her eggs or the pollinated fig flower produces seed.  If reincarnation is true, let me not come back as a fig wasp.  If the female can't find a suitable nest for her eggs, she usually dies of exhaustion inside the fig.  If she can, the wasps hatch inside the fig and all the males are born without wings.  Their sole, brief function is sex.  They get up and fertilize the females, then help them tunnel out of the fruit.  Then they die.  The females fly out, carrying enough sperm from the tryst to fertilize all their eggs.  Is this appetizing, to know that however luscious figs taste, each one is actually a little graveyard of wingless male wasps?  Or maybe the sensuality of the fruit comes from some flavor they dissolve into after short, sweet lives."

Isn't that amazing?  Consider yourself more educated.

How do fig wasps pollinate?

The Use of Fire

"It can be said that the greatest single cause of degeneration in man is the use of fire in the preparation of foods."
~ Arnold De Vries

Incorporate Raw

Did you know that eight to ten times more nutrients are available from uncooked vegetables than from the same vegetables cooked?  The overall nutrient destruction from cooking is estimated to be about 85%.  So, instead of boiling or steaming those veggies, make a platter of raw veggies and let your little ones munch away on those.

I often would have a plate of them available before the main meal was ready, so when they wanted to munch on something they would start to fill up on raw fibrous veggies.  It never bothered me if they were too full on them to eat the rest of the meal because I thought they had already partaken of the most nutritious part already anyways!!

Eating too much cooked, enzyme-depleted food drains the body's natural store of enzymes that aid our body's digestion.  Aim for at least 50% of your daily food intake to be eaten as raw.  Then make the rest of your food healthy choices.  And if possible, eat the raw foods first before eating cooked foods as they will be providing more digestive enzymes to help you digest the cooked foods following behind.

And don't forget eating cultured foods, such as the fermented veggies.  They add lots of digestive enzymes and healthy flora to your gut.

Staying Warm on High Raw

Shakaya has a wonderful post on Staying Warm on High Raw that has a lot of great pointers.  I am not even doing High Raw at present because I am feeling cold, and this post has encouraged me; nudging me in that direction again.

I love the pictures she has posted, seeing Shakaya walking outside barefoot in the snow.  And here I am being wimpy walking barefoot out on the driveway to empty groceries out of the van, rushing inside because "It's SOooooo cold!".

Anyways, I was encouraged by Shakaya's post and hope that you will be, too.

Information Overload

Kevin Gianni in his book "High Raw"

"Another area that causes stress in our lives is information overload.
We’ve all been there, right? How can you not these days in our
information society? First of all, it’s important to trust yourself. If you
take the High Raw approach, the five principles will empower you to be
your own best health advocate. Trust that you have the information you
need in each moment and that you are doing your best with what you
know.

"stress causes a hormone
reaction that is detrimental to your health. Your health and well-being will
benefit more from taking things one step at a time, at your own pace,
than trying to reach all of your goals overnight
Here’s the key: start with one thing. Just do it. Take action on it. Get it
done, then move on to the next step. When you can grasp this, you’ve
got it made. Add to this the unshakable confidence that you know you’ll
achieve your goals and you can relax and enjoy the process of creating
optimal health!

As they say, attitude is everything — and that’s true when it comes to
achieving your health goals too."

Thankfulness

(Us Canucks are celebrating Thanksgiving.......

Always anxious to eat turkey and pumpkin pie, we cant wait until November to celebrate.)

I love this time of year, not for the rain and cool weather we have, but for the warm sunny days that you don t sweat in, and the colours of the autumn leaves (more incredible in Cape Breton than BC, I must admit), and the crunch of them under your feet.

Autumn colours are my favourite colour schemes.  So warm, and earthy and serene.

Its a perfect time for making "Mrs. Johnson" soups that simmer away on the stove-top for the morning.  Warming body and soul.  Or making a pitcher of raw Hot Cocoa, a glorified & chocolatified (just made that one up) almond-milk.  And sitting on the couch all snuggled up under blankets and bodies and enjoying the read-aloud book with my little darlings.

And cool nights sliding between cotton sheets, seeking out the warm body of my husband to calm my shivers.

Ahhh.  I love Autumn.  For This I Am Thankful.

Lisa O's Birthday

I made this yummy Breakfast Pudding for the Birthday Girl.  Simple but beautiful and delicious and filling.  Just blend 2 bananas with 1 avocado in a food processor.  We sprinkled on a bit of cinnamon, and decorated with the flowers. Viola!

And the Birthday Girl got beautiful flowers from the neighbour.  And last night we celebrated with Dream Cake which was a huge success.  Tonight she's off to the Ball (a restaurant, I think) with the family and mother-in-law for more celebrations.

Happy Birthday, my friend.

Natural Fibers

An All Around Energetic Life

"As you raise your energetic vibration by being raw, you have to up-level all the areas of your life to keep up. Otherwise that is what causes people to sabotage themselves and bring their energy back down. This really made sense to me and I am totally ready to make the changes in my kitchen, home, and life to keep up with my higher vibrational energy."
~ Megan Mauger, member of the Raw Food Rehab

Thousand Islands

Ever wonder where the name for the salad dressing came from?

In the St. Lawrence River between Maine and Ontario but on the Canadian side are the beautiful Thousand Islands.  The drive we took along this part of Canada from Ontario back to Cape Breton was a highlight for me.  I'd always wanted to see the waterway that played such a big role in the history of this great nation.  And when we drove along the Thousand Island Parkway, a 'green highway' on a sunny summer afternoon, we all decided that this would be a lovely place to return to, and even sail a lifetime (well, maybe just a lifetime of summers) amidst these islands.

Growing up I'd use Thousand Islands Dressing if ever I had to  eat salad.

Now of course, my eating habits are much different.  Thankfully, and healthfully.

I'm not looking for a replacement for that dressing, but I recently did come across a dressing that is named "Thousand Islands" and its Maret's favorite.  So, here it is for you to try.

"Thousand Islands"

2 oranges, peeled and seeded

4 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp raw honey

2 Tbsp nama shoyu or tamari or Bragg's amino acids

1/4 cup raw almond or cashew butter

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice

4 cloves garlic

Make this creamy dressing in your food processor or blender, and enjoy.

I don't recall where I got this recipe from, so I unfortunately can't give credit where it is due.

Before & After Photos

About Dec 6th, 2009 I started eating according to The Daylight Diet (by Paul Nison).  It mostly entailed eating only during daylight hours, which in the depth of winter required me to adjust gradually to not eating after 3pm.  I started by not eating anything at all after 6pm.  I found that easy, so I moved it to 5 pm.  And rapidly I wasn't eating (most days) after 2 or 3pm.  I was truly amazed that I could do that, and feel good about it.  I honestly had to start embracing the rumblings in my belly, and recognize that they were signs of a healthy digestive system and aiding in elimination.  It was a good thing, not something to throw food at to stop it.

The weight started to come off right away, and Everette and I boosted it with a 5-day Juice Feast .  Since that time, we have predominantly eaten healthy other than when we traveled and when we stay with people.  Actually, the traveling part went fairly well for us as we stayed mostly High-Raw.  But staying with people makes it more difficult, that's for sure.  And 'living' with people who eat the comfort-foods that easily entrap us....that's hard.

Anyways, here are pictures of me at my starting weight of 184 lbs, the beginning of Dec 2009.

 

My weight now is 147 lbs.  Actually I've been at this weight roughly 2 months (give or take a pound or two) while we traveled the country and been staying with people.  I am confident that as I continue to eat healthy and incorporate other health practices, the weight will melt off and I will level out at a healthy weight for my body.  I don't actually have a target weight.  I believe my body will know what is ideal if I give it healthy fuel and help it eliminate the harmful stuff.

So, here's pictures taken just yesterday morning.

To see in closer proximity so as to compare......

I was slacking off for awhile from doing my Hoe-Downs, but this week I've gotten back to doing them and I feel better for that.  I feel that they have been helpful in getting my tummy in better shape while losing the weight.  I still have more work to do, but its been a fun and easy way for me to incorporate abdominal and buttocks exercise into my day (most days).  I love the T-Tapp philosophy and highly recommend the exercises (free on YouTube or purchase thru their site.  I'm happy with my purchases.)

Digestive Leukocytosis.....what the heck is that???

I'm presently reading 'Professor Arnold Ehret's Rational Fasting' which isn't written in today's language and takes some figuring out exactly what the Prof is saying (well, he's a bit of a challenge to me, but maybe its just me) but I'm certainly getting the gist of it, and learning and enjoying it too!

Anyways, I got this email from Rory over at Rawdawg Rory and it went hand-in-hand with a bunch of what the Prof is saying.  And in my excitement, I wanted to share it with you.

Here Rory has both a written post and a youtube video to check out.  They both carry the same information.

Recently I posted a blog about the Rational Fasting in which I quoted,

".....the fundamental cause of disease is the presence of foreign material in the human body...this disease causing material is the undigested, un-eliminated and decayed, rotting food elements resulting from too much eating of wrong foods. "

So that's basically what Rory is saying, too.  That our bodies are reacting negatively to cooked foods as if there is an invader present and it needs to be taken out!


Here is my previous post if you missed it.

Orthorexia Nervosa

Years back during one of my pregnancies I recall sitting at the 'golden arches' wolfing down a burger, fries and a chocolate shake. Not one person made a comment about what I was feeding our unborn child.

Fast forward a few years, when I was pregnant with Gaelyn and I started eating high raw wholefoods. The comments started flying. It raised concern in people, enough to question me and my food choices. Suddenly, people were concerned whether I was eating enough protein, gaining enough weight, getting enough nutrients. It crossed my mind at the time how bizarre their concern was. I was eating real food, live food, whole foods. Yet they seemed more relaxed if I was eating processed, deep-fried, dead foods, or something marketed and sold as 'food'.

Well, I found this recent article by The Health Ranger very interesting and not at all surprising.
Choosing healthy foods now called a mental disorder

I would now be lumped in with those suffering mildly with orthorexia nervosa.

And yet I have made a general observation amongst the people we knew before leaving almost 3 years ago. Those who don't take much notice of what they eat and still consume quite a lot of animal products.....they have gained weight, particularly in the gut. Unfortunately, in our society, they are considered 'normal' with 'normal eating habits'.

I encourage you to eat whole foods, predominantly raw like God made them. Eat what your great-grandmother would recognize as food. Your body will thank you. But you might be labeled as having a psychological problem.

Them's the risks.

I'm willing to take them.

Eat Yourself Happy!

Can you really eat your way to happiness? The mood food connection


Whether we like to admit it or not, we know that our foods effect how we feel.  And generally, how we feel effects the food choices we make.  Repeating this over and over results in the health or lack of health that we live with, and the emotions we deal with along the way.




Summer (haven't seen much of it around here yet, but still hopeful) is the perfect time to increase those raw foods, keep it simple (like watermelon for supper), get your barefoot and hands connected to the earth and get some healthy sun rays.  These actions will all help you feel more emotionally stable and in charge of your life.

Do it for yourself.  You deserve it!

Making Juice

Home-made Icebergs

"Another way to add juice to your child’s drink 

is to make a strong green juice,

pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it. 

Pop one cube into any drink before serving 

and she can have fun watching the green iceberg 

crashing around the cup as she drinks."

from Shazzie

Another cube idea is to pop a grape of any color into the tray

and pour liquid over top.  You can really use any kind of fruit

to add, like blueberries, wild berries, etc.