Non-processed Food Diet

It is the time of the year when people are thinking about diets, new ways of eating, and losing the weight they gained over the holidays. Over the years, I have tried lots of different diets. What I have found is that many diets work for a while, but only those that you can adapt to your daily life, work for the long term.

For over a year, I have eaten 80% raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. The reason I say 80% is because I do use things like purchased Almond Milk and other items like raw cashews which are not technically raw. I also enjoy a glass of red wine.

Within the last two months, after much reading, I have added cooked legumes to my diet. I wanted the nutrients in lentils and beans but was not happy with eating sprouted beans which raw food recipes suggest. There are nutrients in legumes that we can not get in other foods. Some raw food nutritionists suggest eating cooked legumes for these nutrients. I enjoy sprouts in salads, but could not eat, with enjoyment, sprouted beans in dips, etc. The bottom line is that you have to enjoy your diet to stick with it. Most of the items I eat daily, I love! Raw tahini is one of my favorites.

It has now been about a year and a half that I have eaten all vegan with the exception of occasional drops of honey. I use my Vita-mix every morning and enjoy a daily smoothie with frozen bananas, cacao, blueberries, hemp seed, and almond milk. I'm not hungry until lunchtime. The cacao gives me the same boost I would get from coffee, in raw form.

All vegan diets are not alike. I found that even on an all vegan diet, some vegans still may eat a lot of cooked processed foods. Cutting the processed foods with "unknown" ingredients may be the key in all positive diet changes, in my opinion. For example, a few of the vegan cookbooks use a lot of what I call "copy-cat" foods. They try to make a vegan copy of sausage or other meats out of vegetable protein. To me, this is just more processed food. I don't eat them.

What I've learned over the last year and a half is that for me, the best diet is basically raw, unprocessed vegan foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds) with a fresh soup, daily, made from vegetables and dried legumes. I plan to add some of my soup recipes soon as they have been staples in my house and popular with non-vegan family members during the holidays.

Eating fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds has changed my health. I have been off of blood pressure medicine for over a year. My blood work is all within the normal range. I lost over twenty pounds. The most important fact is that I feel the best I have felt in years.

Every one has to find the diet that fits their body. Fad diets don't work. The diet that is healthy and gets your body into the best physical shape is what is best for each individual person. For me, I don't eat anything with a face. That was an easy choice for me because I love animals. It has changed my health and my system. It is not a temporary diet, it is a life style change. I hope that each one of us will find the diet that works best for you and will make this new year, the happiest and healthiest 2012 for you and your families.

Happy New Year!

Raw Food Desserts

After visiting Trader Joe's, near Atlanta, I was hoping to find a similar store in FL. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's is not in FL, so I went looking for an organic market that I hoped would be close in quality. I visited Whole Foods. Hoping to find a comparable market of items, I was disappointed because they did not offer any items that I could not find in my local health food stores. In fact, they offered less. They were packed with anxious shoppers and were filled with long lines of shopping carts but the main items on my list were no where to be found. In addition, Trader Joe's offered organic items that are hard to find at discounted prices. My favorite Yoga Tea which I find nearby from $3.99 to $5.25, was only $2.99. That is a comparable price to Amazon.com.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed in the store except for one item that I purchased. (It is also available at local health food stores in my area but I had not tried it myself.)

I bought a very good product and it was RAW CARROT CAKE. The company's link is listed below. If you are looking for prepared raw food desserts, I would recommend this company.

http://glaserorganicfarms.com/products.html

Smoothie with hand-picked organic greens

Yesterday, I was able to make a green smoothie with greens picked from my mother's garden. A few months back, she planted a winter organic garden. Her garden was near citrus trees with sweet juice oranges. The orange crop in her yard were very small this year; quantity and size. However, she hand-picked a bag of juice oranges and about three cups of mustard and radish (tops) greens which were leafy and crisp. When I got home, I peeled two of the juice oranges, a navel orange, all of the greens with the stems removed, an organic apple, and a banana. All were placed in the Vitamix for a minute or so with a few cubes of ice.

The smoothie was the most beautiful shade of green AND it tasted very good, too. I couldn't get over the difference in taste with this smoothie that used only fresh oranges. I usually use one orange and a cup or two of pulp orange juice (not from concentrate). This was, by far, the best green smoothie I've made to date. :-)

Garden Salad with Sunflower Seed Pate'

Sunflower Seed Pate'

2 cloves garlic
2 cups sunflower seeds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup hemp oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp sea salt


In a food processor, process all ingredients together until smooth.  Will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
(Thrive Diet recipe)

Note:  The green olives are not raw but everything else in the salad is raw.  I have learned that if I grow sprouts, they are ready in three days but if I continue to rinse them each day and keep them in the fridge after the three days, they will continue to grow and be fresh for up to a week minimum.

Focaccia

So far, I've been very pleased with each recipe that I've made from the book EATING RAW. This flat bread  is the live version of Italian flat bread.  I will be making this recipe a lot. The flavor is excellent!  The batter makes nine pieces.  You need a dehydrator for this recipe.  Each piece is 3x4 inches and may be stored in a fridge for up to five days.



1 cup flax seeds, ground fine
1 cup sunflower seeds, ground fine
2 cups of onions
1 1/2 cup tomato, chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons nama shoyu
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

Using a food processor and the S Blade, process all ingredients (except only use 3 Tablespoons of the sesame seeds) on high until you have chunky batter.
Spread evenly over Teflex-lined dehydrator tray and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 12 hours, flip over without Teflex-lining and continue dehydrating for another 10 to 12 hours.
EXCELLENT!!!!

VitaMix 5200

I'm so excited!!! I ordered my Vitamix 5200 today.  I have been reading about it for weeks and if you want to go on a raw or whole food lifestyle diet, it is a staple in the kitchen.  You can put meals together in seconds.  I ordered mine directly from the company.  It is very expensive for a blender but not for a kitchen appliance.  It has a seven year warranty.  Can't wait to put it to great use!
P.S. I did get it at a discount because I ordered a refurbished model.  Same seven year warranty.  Great value!

Mediterranean Kale

Using Raw Food Made Easy, I put together this recipe for Mediterranean Kale.  It is a light marinade recipe.  Yield:  One Serving

4 kale leaves, stems removed
1 1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil (cold pressed)
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1 TBS raw pine nuts
1 TBS sliced black olives
Dash black pepper


Toss well with your hands, working the dressing into the greens. Add bell pepper, pine nuts, and olives and toss gently.  Marinate for ten minutes at room temperature before serving.  Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Bring to room temperature before serving. 

Cacao Raw Chocolate Nibs

This week I ordered Raw Chocolate Nibs.  They were listed in several of my recipes and I wanted to try them.  They were a great addition to my raw foods.  Each piece is pure chocolate flavor without sugar or any additional additives. (If you like the chocolate bars with 75% cacao or higher, you should like Cacao Nibs.)  I had all raw foods in my meals today so I decided to have a cup of my soy yogurt with a tablespoon of Cacao Nips on top.  Excellent dessert with high magnesium content and no additional sugar.  This will definitely be a staple in my cabinet!  I can't wait to try them in several of my new raw recipes.

Pecan Sunflower Burger and Walnut Hemp Burger

One of the easiest raw foods to make in a hurry that is very filling is the Thrive Diet's burgers.  I previously listed the Almond Flaxseed burger and liked it very much, however, today I made the other two recipes listed in Brazier's book:

Pecan Sunflower Burger (my personal favorite because they are spicy...)

1 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup ground raw sunflower seeds
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS coconut oil, hemp oil, or EFA Oil Blend (sold by Brazier's company: Sequel Naturals)
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp sea salt

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend.
The recipe says to shape into two burgers but I find they are too big so I make the recipe into three burgers.  Still very filling but not over the top, particularly if you are going to have a small salad with it.

I enjoyed this burger raw.  The first time I made the Almond Burger, I cooked it for 35 minutes at 300 degrees, however, he suggests eating them raw and honestly, they have a lot more flavor and are very moist if they are not cooked.

The second burger I made today was Walnut Hemp Burgers.

Walnut Hemp Burgers

1 cup of raw walnuts
1/2 cup hemp seeds
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS coconut oil, hemp oil, or EFFA Oil Blend
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp sea salt

Follow the same directions as the burgers above.  I decided that since I used the food processor already, I would make the additional burgers and put in the fridge for another day.

Brazier suggests serving them with a bun and burger condiments.  I have not tried that as I just prefer to eat them raw with a salad.