4 - 6 raw brownie bites
1/4 cup water to start
optional: cayenne
Showing posts with label raw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raw. Show all posts
Monday, May 27, 2013
Raw Banana Brownie Ice Cream
4 - 6 raw brownie bites
1/4 cup water to start
optional: cayenne
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Raw/Vegan Brownie Bites
1 cup medjool dates (pitted)
6 tbs cocoa or 3 tbs cacao
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
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!
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.
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.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Gardening For Health
We installed our new garden.
It was our thought that we should grow as much food for ourselves as we possibly could. I've tried my hand at gardening in the past with mixed results. Results were mixed mainly because there were times I was really into the garden and other times I was non-committal or downright negligent. I didn't have a sense then just how nutritious and satisfying growing food for my kitchen table could be.
These days, with things like genetic modification and rampant use of chemicals and pesticides, it is comforting knowing first-hand the real quality of your lettuce or carrots. Growing your own food also cuts into a great deal of your grocery bill, which of course never hurts.
We decided to loosely follow the tenets of square foot gardening. My partner, handy as he is, was able to effortlessly construct a 4 x 8 raised bed. But this was only our first bed. After planting things like chili peppers, herbs, tomatoes, lettuce and the like, we got the bug for more. He constructed another bed, 4 x 4, and then pulled some untreated wooden boxes from the sheds for use as planters. We also re-purposed a couple of unused trash cans for potatoes.
It still wasn't enough. He constructed another 4 x 16 bed and pulled out more planters and items for re-purposing from his sheds (things like bookshelves and cabinets). We utilized all of these, planting, in addition to our first bed, the following items:
broccoli
strawberries
Brussels sprouts
leeks
sunflowers
blueberries
red onions
bib lettuce
salad greens
spinach
more tomatoes
and then even more tomatoes
salvia
artichokes
carrots
radishes
all manner of squash
watermelon
a GIANT pumpkin
sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, orange)
...and so much more.
The end result looks like this:
It was our thought that we should grow as much food for ourselves as we possibly could. I've tried my hand at gardening in the past with mixed results. Results were mixed mainly because there were times I was really into the garden and other times I was non-committal or downright negligent. I didn't have a sense then just how nutritious and satisfying growing food for my kitchen table could be.
These days, with things like genetic modification and rampant use of chemicals and pesticides, it is comforting knowing first-hand the real quality of your lettuce or carrots. Growing your own food also cuts into a great deal of your grocery bill, which of course never hurts.
We decided to loosely follow the tenets of square foot gardening. My partner, handy as he is, was able to effortlessly construct a 4 x 8 raised bed. But this was only our first bed. After planting things like chili peppers, herbs, tomatoes, lettuce and the like, we got the bug for more. He constructed another bed, 4 x 4, and then pulled some untreated wooden boxes from the sheds for use as planters. We also re-purposed a couple of unused trash cans for potatoes.
It still wasn't enough. He constructed another 4 x 16 bed and pulled out more planters and items for re-purposing from his sheds (things like bookshelves and cabinets). We utilized all of these, planting, in addition to our first bed, the following items:
broccoli
strawberries
Brussels sprouts
leeks
sunflowers
blueberries
red onions
bib lettuce
salad greens
spinach
more tomatoes
and then even more tomatoes
salvia
artichokes
carrots
radishes
all manner of squash
watermelon
a GIANT pumpkin
sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, orange)
...and so much more.
The end result looks like this:
Just look at all the re-purposed items:
Seriously, we used left over wood, makeshift trellises, trashcans, discarded shelves, forgotten planters and a lot more. What we created was a wonderful little urban garden that has the potential -- should we care for it -- to produce a lot of wonderful food.
Me, I'm looking forward to all the greens. Kohlrabi, kale, arugula, chard ... there's a lot. A good amount of cruciferous vegetables, too, because they are so incredibly nutritious and wonderful for you. We have fruit trees on the land, as well: things like peaches, plums and apples, and I have lots of yummy plans for those.
Anybody can garden, even apartment dwellers. It really does give you an immense measure of satisfaction when you plant a garden, tend it, watch it grow and harvest.
I'll keep you posted on the progress of this year's summer gardens.
Eating Raw While Cabin-Camping
I'm going away on a one-week camping trip (not full camping, but camping-with-cabins-and-showers, which I much prefer) and am trying to figure out what I will eat. There will be a community refrigerator (yay!) and perhaps a stove or oven, as well, which I will not need, except for tea -- which would be nice.
I'm not sure I can maintain 70-90% raw while I am away; I think I will have to depend on some cereals and foods like tortillas, hummus and the like. I think I'll probably be eating more like 50% raw, sticking to only those fruits and vegetables that will keep for a week. Things like:
apples
bananas (probably less than a week)
nectarines/peaches
broccoli
some lettuces/spinach
cabbage
avocado
onion
tomatoes (probably less than a week)
sprouts
I'll also include raw dehydrated fruits as well as nuts and seeds, a staple in any raw diet.
This week camping will potentially involve something like...hunger. This might be good for me, probably, as I've been too liberal with myself for the last one or two months due to moving and the rehabbing of a new house. In truth my raw percentage numbers have been pitifully low. This is evidenced rather predictably in frequent gastro-intestinal distress: the only time I am ever, ever regular or comfortable is when I eat raw. If I do not eat raw I either have a hard time going to the bathroom at all, or else get sick after every meal. Needless to say, it's a real drag.
My meals will consist of organic cereals and rice milk in the morning, raw fruit (dehydrated and otherwise), nuts and seeds during the day, and hummus-and-veggie wraps in the evening. I might include some raw cheese in the wraps just for excitement.
I'll check in after the trip to report back on how I did.
I'm not sure I can maintain 70-90% raw while I am away; I think I will have to depend on some cereals and foods like tortillas, hummus and the like. I think I'll probably be eating more like 50% raw, sticking to only those fruits and vegetables that will keep for a week. Things like:
apples
bananas (probably less than a week)
nectarines/peaches
broccoli
some lettuces/spinach
cabbage
avocado
onion
tomatoes (probably less than a week)
sprouts
I'll also include raw dehydrated fruits as well as nuts and seeds, a staple in any raw diet.
This week camping will potentially involve something like...hunger. This might be good for me, probably, as I've been too liberal with myself for the last one or two months due to moving and the rehabbing of a new house. In truth my raw percentage numbers have been pitifully low. This is evidenced rather predictably in frequent gastro-intestinal distress: the only time I am ever, ever regular or comfortable is when I eat raw. If I do not eat raw I either have a hard time going to the bathroom at all, or else get sick after every meal. Needless to say, it's a real drag.
My meals will consist of organic cereals and rice milk in the morning, raw fruit (dehydrated and otherwise), nuts and seeds during the day, and hummus-and-veggie wraps in the evening. I might include some raw cheese in the wraps just for excitement.
I'll check in after the trip to report back on how I did.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
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.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
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
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
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
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
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Day 8 Raw
The last three days have been quite hard. Life gets in the way sometimes and mucks up all your great plans. That's okay though. We've got to allow for those things, and then we've got to be able to pick ourselves up and keep moving. I really do think if we can manage that, we're doing all right.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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