Day 76 (Tuesday): Using a Dehydrater

Watch Karen Knowler's demonstration videos (she's the "Raw Food Coach") as she uses a dehydrater to make the following recipes:

Flax Seed Crackers

"Fried" Mushrooms

I've not used my new dehydrater yet ... as it takes up a lot of space, and I thought I'd be moving within the next month, so I kept it boxed up. Now I won't be moving until Autumn, so I may just unpack it again and try some recipes.

Today has been a note-worthy day food-wise (well, at least to me). It's hydrotherapy day, so I made sure to start off the day all raw: Had an avocado w/ lime juice for breakfast; then got a greens juice on my way to work and sipped that all morning (kale, parsley, cucumber, celery, 1/2 of a green apple and two chunks of raw beet -- delicious!) For lunch I had a really pretty salad in the cafeteria (romaine and mesclun greens, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, diced yellow squash, some chick peas and diced hard-boiled egg w/ olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing, along with about 3/4 of a cup of pasta salad w/ diced carrot and celery). Late afternoon I had three mini-scones w/ some butter, as I found myself very hungry and it's all the caffe had to offer that looked appealing.

One thing that seems to be showing up repeatedly -- and so I need to look at it seriously and see if there isn't something significant to it -- is that whenever I eat any kind of white flour product AT ALL ... it seems to trigger a desire for more of the same. I'm wondering if the craving for the scones didn't come from having the pasta salad at lunch w/ the regular raw salad? This is something that's happened now about three or four times that I consciously recall. I think my body is telling me something: And it's that it cannot compromise ... or else it will trigger a desire for less-than-optimal food, nutrition-wise. It's hard to accept, as I think "Well, people should be able to eat SOME bread now and again."

But here's the kicker -- ancient "breads" were actually made from sprouted grains and then baked in the sun (the ancient Essenes were apparently some of the healthiest people on earth). Sprouted means the bread had life in it. The denatured white flour that makes up 90% of all bread products today is as dead as a door nail. Yet I still WANT it. At a crossroads here. I either pass on it entirely, or have it occasionally and then deal with the unhealthy cravings that come along with it, cravings that aren't worth it if it means I eat more of the same. I'm feeling kinda like a drug addict about starches, really. Refined starches (white flour, all breads (unless sprouted), pastas, rices, grains (if unsprouted) ALL turn to sugar in the body, and nearly ALL of our bodies are addicted to sugar! There you have it. Therein lies the craving.

Refined starches, then, to MY body are drugs. Period. Now I need to figure out what I'll do with this new insight. Seems a no-brainer.

On a whole other note, I came across this video today ...

Free Hugs

It grew on me -- just to see people connecting spontaneously in kindness -- well, what can I say, it touches me. (So many of us are walled cities unto ourselves ... no wonder people go to war at the drop of a hat, with loved ones AND with total strangers)! I love how it "disarmed" people as they started to just let the idea in. I liked the spontaneous smiles it evoked. Call me sentimental, I don't care ... I love that this guy just stepped out of the box and did something daring, different and sort of goofy (but endearing). He changed the dance step midst the carved-in-stone mindset of "That's just not done."

Catch free hugs in other places ...

Free Hugs in Korea

Free Hugs in Amsterdam

Free Hugs in Tel Aviv

Free Hugs in China

Free Hugs in Hollywood

Well, here's to hugging and eating well! One is loving our bodies from the outside in, and the other is loving our bodies from the inside out.

Days 73-75 (Saturday, Sunday & Monday): Doing Great!

This weekend was a bit wobbly -- as far as eating an abundance of raw foods. Saturday was spent at my niece's place who always manages to cook the most amazing things. This day was no exception. She made coconut shrimp, spinach dip with home-made pita chips, spanish rice and steak fajitas. My sister made a terrific salad to round off the meal. I had a little of everything (except the beef) and a few too many shrimp. I had a glass of vino and some dessert too. For my evening meal, I just had an avecado with some sesame seeds.

Sunday I did much better in terms of raw food. I had a coupla handfuls of almonds and raisens and some fruit for breakfast. I had some quinoa and tabouli salad for lunch, and some kamut crackers and egg-salad for dinner, along with some "chiken liver" pate (which was really made out of walnuts, string beans and something else, can't remember)!

Today, I started off with some fresh organic cherries and a half of a peach and a half of a nectarine (saving the other halves for an afternoon snack). I'm off to lunch now -- hopefully will find something good on the cafe salad bar.

The one consistently good thing I've done since I began this raw food experiment is to avoid chicken and beef entirely. I'd like to do the same for baked breads in the next weeks ahead. Little by little, I'd like to eat less and less of the foods that have little or no vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

Well, I'm back from lunch ... and enjoyed it a lot. I had a caesar salad (minus any croutons) with added cherry tomatoes and some fresh zucchini slices. I had a Larabar (a raw fruit/nut bar) for a "chaser."

Today I thought I'd post a video lecture on the health dangers of eating genetically-modified foods.

What the Heck Are You Eating? (Part 1)

What the Heck Are You Eating? (Part 2)

In Europe the people took to the streets in protest, and were successful in blocking legislation that would allow their foods to be genetically tampered with. Not so here in the USA. It's time we became aware of how pervasive are the food industry's efforts to make millions at our expense.