Couscous and Red Quinoa Garden Salad

Quinoa and couscous make delicious bases for salads of all sorts. When it's garden season, I throw whatever is ready for harvest into chilled quinoa and couscous and mix it all together. I dress it lightly with balsamic and olive oil or the delicious vegan French dressing referenced here in this blog. So delightful!

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa, chilled
1 cup cooked couscous, chilled
**or 1/2 cup each quinoa and couscous depending on side of salad**

Fruit:
strawberries, mango, peaches

Fresh, raw veggies:
kale
red onion
salad greens
tomatoes
yellow, orange or red sweet bell pepper
cilantro
basil, ripped

Trimmings:
blanched almonds, or
Marcona almonds
raw sunflower seeds
raw pepitas
feta cheese, or
goat cheese

optional: black beans

Enjoy!

Raw Banana Brownie Ice Cream

2 - 4 frozen bananas, in pieces
4 - 6 raw brownie bites
1/4 cup water to start
optional: cayenne

Raw/Vegan Brownie Bites

1 cup cashews
1 cup medjool dates (pitted)
6 tbs cocoa or 3 tbs cacao
1 tbs pure vanilla extract

Spinach Salad with Gorgonzola and Orange Honey Vinaigrette

Sometimes you just can't beat a good salad. I typically subscribe to the KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple, Stupid), opting for dark greens instead of light, and less ingredients rather than more. Yes, less is more, as evidenced in this favorite of mine. All you need is fresh spinach, crumbled Gorgonzola for garnish and the following homemade dressing:

Orange Honey Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

With food processor running, drop garlic and parsley down feed tube and let process until garlic is minced.

Turn off machine and remove cover, add all remaining ingredients except salt and pepper, replace cover and process for several seconds until well blended.

Taste and add more honey if you wish, and salt and pepper to taste.

Keep bottled in the fridge and shake well before using.

My grade: A (it's now my favorite vinaigrette, hands down.)

Thanksk to Lennie from RecipeZaar for this recipe.

Delicious Fresh Garden Soup

Even though it's kind of hot this time of year (kind of?), a good soup is always welcome in my house. 


If you're a nutritarian (or vegan, or vegetarian), you already know that soups are a mainstay. (Typically, when adhering to the plan 100%, a person will have a smoothie in the morning, a salad in the afternoon and soup at night -- so soups are important.)

Our garden is starting to explode, so it seemed like a good a time to harvest some vegetables for a fresh garden soup. If you have a garden just about any vegetable will do, from broccoli to kale to spinach to carrots. Be creative! Vegetables are good for you.

I'm going to tell you right now: this soup is delicious.

Keep in mind that not everyone in the house is nutritarian. It didn't matter; everyone who tried the soup loved it. Try it and tell me what you think!

Ingredients:

4 quarts of water
2 T Better Than Bouillon (or less or more, according to your salt tastes) (another vegan alternative is Not-Chick'n Bouillon Cubes --- use 1 or 2)
2 heaping T organic tomato paste (no salt added)
1 15 oz can organic diced tomatoes, or tomatoes from your garden
3 carrots, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 a white onion, chopped
6 - 8 cloves of garlic, minced and left out for 45 minutes before use in soup**
2 cups spinach, cut or chopped
2 cups kale, cut or chopped
1 cup corn
1/2 cup black rice
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 15 oz can pinto or black beans (really, any beans you love)
1.5 cups Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix (contains green and yellow split peas, barley, lentils and vegetable pasta)

Directions:

Add 4 quarts of water to pot and set to boil.

After all fresh vegetables are chopped, add to water, along with all beans, diced tomato, tomato paste and bouillon. Do not salt. Do not add garlic at this time. Once at a rolling boil for fifteen minutes, reduce heat to simmer (though not too low).

Cook this mixture approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. Once vegetables are cooked, add Vegi Soup Mix. You might like to bring up the heat on the stove if you've had it low, to aid in the cooking of the mix.

Wait an hour and then add rice and cook one more hour.

At the beginning of last hour of cooking, dice garlic and let sit for 45 minutes.** After this time add to soup and let cook for 15 - 20 minutes, or until soft.

This makes a thick, hearty soup. Some might like to add more water according to their desired consistency. Serve this soup alone or along side a spring salad or whole grain bread of your choice.

It really is amazing!

**A report by Science Daily explains that if raw garlic is first chopped and then allowed to sit for 45 minutes, it can produce allicin. Once allicin is produced by this raw garlic preparaton, the garlic can be cooked with minimal loss of allicin. According to this report, cooked garlic prepared in this manner is similar in its anti-cancer effects to raw garlic. Source 

Texas, you're doing it wrong

There's something very wrong in Texas. Namely, there's hardly any produce of merit. 

Which is odd because people farm there. All over there, and all kinds of crops, too.

Still, walk into any store in Aubrey or Denton and/or a neighboring town and you will be hard pressed to find a decent and diverse produce section at the market, much less a truly healthy restaurant at which to dine. (I realize that Denton is a college town and therefore there are some vegetarian options -- I heartily endorse this. It is not, however, the norm for the area.)

I was good enough to remember to pack healthy food the day of the trip. Hummus with vegetables on a whole wheat wrap, water, fruit. But that lasted only a day. Once in Texas and after eating the mobile stores, well, I got hungry again. And went out to eat with the family. 


Honestly, and I'm not trying to be elitist --- I was downright shocked. The first restaurant we went to was much like them all, for the most part, with everything fried beyond recognition, battered, buttered, butchered. Inevitably I began getting sick the second day I was there and was in fact sick for the duration of my entire stay. From family meals replete with fried catfish and hushpuppies, to sauce-soaked barbecue and sides of chips and cookies, the parade of bad food never stopped. Water was eschewed for an abundance of sweet tea and soda; what salad there was, was served from a bag and was hard, old and covered in ranch.


When did we forget how to eat? When did we start thinking that chips were better than salads, cookies preferable to whole grains? When did we stop caring about health, stamina, energy, vitality, nutrition and weight? It all seems so unconscious to me, so much eating because it's what we've been eating forever, as opposed to mindful consumption of the foods most likely to improve our health, happiness and life. Apparently the practice of eating well and eating often is a lost philosophy. We need to resurrect it.


People don't want to eat healthfully because by this point they don't like the way real food tastes. They think beans are bland, herbs are weird and fruits are boring. Chips, cookies, battered and fried foods, sugars, fats and processed foods --- these are what people want to eat because it's what they grew up on. That doesn't make it okay and nobody has an excuse anymore. The information is out there. If you're living your life eating this way you are harming yourself. If you do not do whatever it takes to reacquaint yourself with whole, healthy and real foods, you are not only being a bad example, you are shortening your life and quite possibly your family's as well. 


There simply shouldn't be more obese young people walking down the street (hi Amarillo) than fit and healthy ones. Steak should not be the norm but the occasional center of a meal, if that. Vegetables should be at the fore, as well as fruits, seeds, nuts and beans. Period. 


Any other diet is just plain wrong. That's blunt but it's true. If you're eating the way Texas is eating, or most of America is eating, you're not eating right. And you've got to do better.


It's never too late to start. Need to know how to begin?

Meet Dr. Furhman.

Harvest time

Such a satisfying day.

There's nothing quite like being hungry --- really hungry --- and then foraging through the garden you built and grew yourself. Harvesting all manner of vegetables: radishes, tomato, lettuces, spinach, basil, peppers.  Washing them, cutting them, preparing a beautiful, delicious meal for your family, one that is organic, free of pesticides and full of fresh life force. Delicious!

From root: 

To table: 

(With the addition of organic strawberries, raw nuts and raw bleu cheese-- sigh!)

Eating nutritarian is delicious! You can eat all you want of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, along with some grains. Things you can grow with your own hands; things you can make without additives and extras. Good, clean food for your whole family.

McDonald's is not the temple to which I am referring

Today I recovered.

I wanted to throw up all day. Talk about misery. I am perpetually amazed at my body's lack of tolerance for all the food American's typically eat. My body beat me up over my recent bad choices. And I get it, I really do.

Did I even eat today? I'm trying to think. Jesus, I'm not even sure. Wait, I think there was a banana, and I know I supplemented (including coconut oil and enzymes). That's really all I could keep down. The rest of the time it was lukewarm water (the best way to drink it, I'm sorry to inform you) with lemon. I did have coffee, insomuch as I paid five whole dollars for one cup of it, then had to throw the whole thing away because as I sipped I almost vomited it right back into the cup. I know you love reading this, and honestly? It's for your own good. If you're eating that way, you're treating yourselves terribly!

The body acclimates to wellness. The body in fact loves to be well and seeks physical attunement and wellness and health in general. And so when we allow the body to be well and to achieve balance, and if we then maintain this balance for a significant amount of time, the body literally forgets what it is like to be out of balance. It comes to rely upon the fine way we have been treating it.

Until of course, one fateful weekend where bars and friends and Metallica cover bands converge, when you find yourself drinking unnecessary amounts of liquor and ingesting whole piles of grease laden french fries. And then the body suddenly forgets all the wonderful things you've done for it and becomes punitive, seemingly wanting to hurt you. And so it does.

Aspire to 80% raw, I am telling you. Stop drinking carbonated drinks, too, because they kill your insides and deplete your bones. Drink water: half your body weight in ounces is a good place to start, and tea and other beverages do count toward your total water intake. Also please throw out your iceberg lettuce, because its nutritional value pales in comparison to other, far superior greens, such as romaine and even better, spinach. Spinach will improve your eyesight, provide vital vitamins and minerals and much, much more. Throw raw seeds and nuts into the spinach just for crunch and pleasure. Dress it with a nice olive oil and balsamic mix, super easy to make, adding a little honey (which happens to be a superfood, not unlike the spinach and nuts) and some orange juice. This makes for a delightful meal, and is chock filled with zinc and b vitamins.

And please, I beg of you, stop eating at McDonald's (or any other fast food place). McDonald's is simply swill dressed up as "food". It is worse than dog food actually, and also addictive. How many times do you put that stuff into your bodies? Truthfully? 

STOP IT.

Instead eat whole foods that actually occur in nature. For example Nutri-grain bars do not actually grow on trees. Nor do Fritos. These things are processed in plants where people probably sneeze right onto them or else wipe fecal-matter-hands all over the things they are handling.

Make the promise today that you will only eat whole and natural foods, in the most clean and organic state possible. And then just do it.

YOUR BODY IS YOUR TEMPLE.

Five Nutritarian Meals That Taste Good

Nutritarian Meals

1. Vegetable wrap -- Whole grain tortilla with homemade bean paste or hummus, avocado, tomato, dark greens, onion, mushroom, feta/bleu cheese
(substitute wrap with sprouted grain bread or sprouted pita)

2.  Vegetable barley/lentil soup -- homemade vegetable stock, garlic, onion, mushroom, spinach, beans, lentils/barley, black rice

3. oatmeal -- steel cut oats, almond/coconut milk, chia/flax (or both), cinnamon, vanilla, raw honey, raw nuts, fruit of choice, coconut oil

4. hummus -- homemade hummus, vegetables such as cucumber, celery and carrots with which to eat, or whole grain/sprouted grain pita, toasted bread sticks (sprouted)

5. fruit smoothie -- organic frozen fruit, high quality Greek yogurt, raw honey, coconut oil

Easy Veggie & Hummus Sandwich

Remember that raw hummus recipe from yesterday? I hope so, since it was only yesterday.

ANYWAY, here's me using that hummus in a easy-breezy veggie sandwich why btw? Totally tasted awesome. I had to make seconds for everybody which is kind of amazing when you realize that it was HEALTHY.

Each pound, a pound of flesh

I am down nearly ten pounds since this time last month.

It happened pretty quickly, actually, coinciding with a family member's release from the hospital (into my care) as well as the quickly intensifying chaos of my life. Again, and to reiterate, when I feel my life circumstances spinning out of control (i.e., I cannot make it better for my loved one, I cannot stop the inevitable change barreling toward my head) I take it out on my body. And it's not really "taking it out" so much as it is "taking control." My body becomes one of the only things I can control, and this in the form of what I put into my mouth (or do not), how much I move (or do not) or how often I nourish myself.

It's a delicate and ugly dance. Overriding logic forces me to make good choices when I concede to make choices at all. Good choices usually involve lots of vegetables, some fruit and a few lean proteins. It's just that there aren't a lot of them. Choices, that is. Eating, in particular.

I lost five pounds on raw, when I tried it. Since then I've incorporated the raw idea into my meal plans but have not focused on raw so much as whole foods. Good foods. Yet I did lose five pounds eating raw, even when I was stuffing myself with all that good food. And so even eating in that way (something I perceive as quite good for myself), I couldn't keep my weight steady or on. Add stress to that and here I am, I suppose, ten pounds down.

I think ultimately the structure and stricture of eating raw is very, very good for me, because it mimics the control exercised vis-a-vis my eating disorder while still nourishing my body. Having said that, I would give much in order to not need to control anything. To accept life as it is and myself as I am.

That is the work, I guess.

For more information on the truth about eating disorders, please read this article by Carolyn Friedman. I've read through it myself, and while I'd potentially put more emphasis on the media playing a pivotal role in the exacerbation of these diseases, I found it to be extremely insightful and helpful.

Why having an eating disorder led me to raw/nutritarian

Raw food challenge recap

Eat Better

Life's unreasonably tough right now. This is okay; I'm not complaining. It's just hard. I'm really just here to opine on how stress affects my eating. Because it does. Insofar as I don't do much of it. Eating, that is.

I actually feel nauseous a lot. This could have something to do with my basic health; my immune system is not what it should be, as usual. But when you're nauseous you don't much want to eat a bowl of fruit, or anything for that matter. I guess I could stomach some rice but I don't feel motivated or well enough to make it.

Although I don't careen about the world all stressed out, I do think it gets to me in other ways, and this is one way. Food becomes secondary, I don't want to watch shows with beautiful people, I don't want to talk to anyone about anything. I just want to stay in bed and watch Oprah. (This implies Oprah is not beautiful, which is in fact not the case.) Which I obviously cannot do. I have to force myself out of these sweats and go out and buy some food, get a prescription, get something to eat. Just being outside should help.

My friend is coming next week. There will be much culinary debauchery -- I am looking forward to this. I know at the very least she'll make me eat, and I'll be happy to, largely because I'll be happy.

I don't think I'm depressed. I'm just inundated. I want to focus on all the sunshiney aspects of the food I ought to be eating, but it's hard to even acknowledge the sunshine. Last night I had to set boundaries with two people and ended up in tears, bereft, poured out. It's all too much is how it seems. But I'll be all right. I honestly just need a plan. Baby steps to the elevator.

First order of business in reference to this plan: eat better.

Still plugging along -- to the best of my ability

I went away this Labor Day and found out first hand how difficult it is finding ways to eat raw in a cooked world. I couldn't manage it hardly at all, and after becoming so sick after even the smallest (S.A.D.*) meals, I started to stop eating altogether. Seems the body acclimates quite quickly to the raw lifestyle, which is good on a lot of levels, just not when you're forced to transition to another way of eating. Alas. How to go from sixty to zero in just one day!

Am back on raw now, thank God. Fruits, nuts and more fruit. Due to some surgery today (local anesthetic) I'm a bit less-than-motivated to go rummaging for food, but hopefully I ultimately make a healthy choice. It's kind of hard caring about things when you're on narcotics which make you want to hug everybody.

In any event, I will definitely continue with the raw way of life. It'll be curious to see what percentage I ultimately reach and sustain. Irrespective, I know it's a great thing for me right now; it makes me feel good -- like I'm doing something wonderful for my body. Which I am. More fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds never hurt anybody!

*standard American diet

Let's just break it down

Blueberry Chocolate Smoothie

I made a delicious smoothie today. The base was organic, unfiltered blueberry juice, to which I added frozen pineapple and blueberries and a banana. Yum. A smoothie would be perfect just like that, but no...I then added a heaping teaspoon of organic cacao powder (sooooo good for you) and a teaspoon of raw honey (ditto). The end result was a chocolate-blueberry smoothie, delightfully tasting and truly healthy.

What a great way to start the morning! Next time I make it, I'll take a picture and note the amounts so I can include it here as a recipe. Though it's really about eyeballing it and adjusting to your personal tastes.

I also think I'll substitute the blueberry juice base with something like almond milk, which should make the smoothie more creamy, like a shake.

Day 4 Raw Ya'all

Had some really cool conversations today with people who are on their own nutritional journey. I've thought a lot about why eating raw actually feels like a spiritual thing -- and I think I begin to touch upon this reason toward the end of the following video. Loving our body and treating it well has everything to do with love in general, love as a discipline. I do think we need to love ourselves actively; in doing so we are able to love others more fully.

And what the world needs now? Is love, sweet love!

Day 3 Raw Ya'all

Day 2 Raw Ya'all

I have a surprising amount of energy, for real. Usually by the time I get home I am whacked out and ready for a good hour of zoning in front of the tube. Not these last couple of days. I'm not necessarily attributing it ALL to raw, but it's definitely different. Maybe it's because I'm happy with what I'm doing for myself? Could be. I also think, though, that when we eat living things we actually transfer the energy of that life into our own bodies. That's why fresh picked fruit/veggies are so superior to the veggies that are yes, fresh, but nonetheless have been sitting around on store shelves for awhile. The closer eaten to the time of life? The more of that life energy --- the raw nutrients and goodness --- is transferred to you.

I'm hungry, man. I cannot even DESCRIBE to you the huge salad I had three hours ago (I try to though in the vid below). I'm going to go eat. And eat. And eat. I can eat whatever I want as long as it's raw! That goes for dried fruits and seeds and nuts ... something "regular" dieters might be able to have, but only in limited amounts. Not me. A lot of this food I used to view as special --- treats. Grapes, watermelon, bananas, dried fruit, pecans, etc. Before I'd have a little of them here and there, supplementing my "regular" diet --- but now I can (and do) eat immense amounts of them, and I feel great! And my body is working, I can tell. That's why I'm hungry so soon after I've eaten. My body is burning up the food as fuel, giving me energy, and when it needs more, I give it more.

It's really cool, just observing the changes. I feel pretty good about it. Not deprived at all.