Posts Tagged ‘raw food’

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My Daily Diet

August 17th, 2011

A lot of you have been “bugging” me about what my daily diet looks like.

And that’s cool…

Because I’m happy to share it with you – for the most part.

Although I’m not 100% raw, I do try my best to eat as many raw fruits and veggies throughout the day so that by dinner time I have a little more flexibility.

In this picture, I’m about to eat my favourite treat – Oscar!

So here’s what my day looked like yesterday…

8am – morning jog (can be substituted for family walk or morning workout or yoga)

9am – massive green smoothie

INGREDIENTS: head of lettuce, 1 pear, 1 apple, 1 banana, handful of parsley, juice of 1/2 lime, and water

12pm – decaf almond milk latte

1pm – pear

5pm – Moroccan kale soup (one of our Cleanse recipes)

INGREDIENTS: kale, lentils, chic peas, cilantro, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, cumin, cayenne, tumeric, water.

7-10pm – Tennis (my love!)

10pm – 1 liter of water with electrolyte solution (courtesy of my friend Lucas Rockwood)
- pear
- blueberry cereal (blueberries, shredded coconut, organic peanut butter, almond milk)

10:45pm – bedtime

NOTE: Tuesday nights I end up eating a little too much before going to bed thanks to my tennis league. This morning I woke up feeling …not so hot. Just a reminder to not eat a lot before going to bed.

Some people are pretty robotic with what they eat each day. Me…not at all.

The only thing that stays pretty consistent for me each day is a green smoothie, my decaf almond milk latte, and usually lots of veggies at dinner.

I also have a sweet tooth so occasionally I indulge in a local baked treat.

But for the most part, I try to stay raw vegan because that’s when I look, feel, and perform the best.

I also realize that we are all different and that’s why it’s important to really listen to your body and figure out what works best for you.

Another resource that has really helped me add more simple and delicious raw recipes to my diet is my friend Joy Houston’s Rocking Body Raw Food program.

In fact, her “healthy” coffee alternative – MACA Fava – is awesome. That’s what initially got me hooked.

Now, I’m a sucker for many of her smoothies and other really unique raw recipes.

But the 2 things I like best about her program is that since all the recipes come with video instruction, I can actually see Joy making the meals, which is really helpful.

Second, her raw recipes take little to no time at all to prepare and that’s a big thing for me – time is precious!

==> You can learn more about her raw food program here

I would actually suggest you join her 14-day program and try it for yourself. It really is great.

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Posted in General Nutrition

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Skills For Raw Food Recipes

June 8th, 2011

Skills For Raw Food Recipes

raw food recipes

One of the great things about Raw food is that nature has already taken care of much of the preparation for you, and it is pretty much ready to eat the way it is!

But, by taking your culinary skills to the next level with Raw food recipes, you will be able to add even more variety to your diet which can save you from becoming bored.

None of the recipes in Eating For Energy require any special skills or equipment, and you could easily eat a varied and exciting Raw food diet without any of these extras.
However, today we will explore the world of dehydrators, which can add some “warmed” dishes to your Raw food experience.

Dehydrators For Raw Food Recipes

What is a dehydrator?

A dehydrator is a piece of equipment that will both warm and dehydrate food. The great advantages to a dehydrator are that:

a.) It warms the food without heating about 115. This means the nutrients are still intact, and that the food is still classed as Raw.

b.) Dehydrated foods have a much longer shelf life, so they are ideal for for long journeys and trips away from home when your access to Raw ingredients may be limited.

c.) Dehydrators can be used to make Raw treats such as crackers, breads and even Raw pizza crusts. This means you can still enjoy the texture and warmth of many familiar foods, which can make the transition to a Raw diet easier and more enjoyable.

d.) Dehydrators can make use of the pulp left over from making nut milk and juices, which can be used to make delicious Raw desserts and crackers. This means less waste and higher savings on food!

Raw Food Recipes That Can Be Made With A Dehydrator

Here are some ideas of Raw food recipes that can be made with a dehydrator:

Raw granola
Raw burgers, warmed
Nuts and seeds can be soaked and hydrated which switches off the enzyme inhibitiors
Home made sun dried tomatoes
Raw curry, warmed
Raw flax crackers
Raw pizza crusts
Raw flours can be made with the left over nuts from nut milk.

If you are looking to add dehydrated recipes to your repertoire then it is advisable to obtain a collection of recipes designed specifically for dehydrators. These can be found for free with a little research, or special recipe books can be bought

Many Raw foodies recommend the Excalibur range of dehydrators as being by far the best quality available. However, you can find dehydrators much cheaper than this on Amazon or eBay, which may be fine to start off with so you can first see if dehydrated food will play a large part in your diet.

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Posted in Raw Food Recipes, Raw Foods

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100% Raw Food Diet – Is That the REAL Goal?

February 15th, 2011

Is the goal of improving your diet really to be 100% raw?

100% raw

For some people it is. For me, not so much.

I’m not a big fan of putting labels on things or striving to be a certain “%” raw. After all, how can you tell if you’re 85% raw?

If you’ve read Eating for Energy you’ll know that I espouse adding more raw plant-based foods into your diet. And I even give you 120 recipes and a 12-week meal plan to help you do just that.

But my intention isn’t to convert into a raw foodist. It’s up to if you want to be 100% raw.

As a nutritionist, not a fanatic, my first priority is to recommend what I think are the healthiest dietary options. For most of us, eating more fruits and vegetables falls into that category.

But there are also instances when just might be better off cooking your food. And this is where some people and other raw foodies might give me some grief. Believe me, I’ve received hate mail from others telling me that our diet should 80% fruit, others telling me that we need meat and dairy, and on and on.

That’s great. That’s what works for them.

I’m not here to convince you that you need to be 100% raw. I’m here to inspire and educate you as to what is healthy and what is less healthy.

Here are some examples of vegetables that you MAY consider cooking every now and then:

Broccoli

This cruciferous vegetable contains tons of cancer-fighting and health-giving properties. But, in its raw state, it also contains goitrogenic compounds which can depress your thyroid. These are lessened when broccoli is slightly cooked, steamed, boiled (ie. heated).

Spinach

Even I add raw baby spinach to my salads and smoothies but some research shows that raw spinach contains oxalic and phytic acids, natural compounds which can impair calcium and iron absorption, respectively.

Further studies out of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have revealed that spinach (along with carrots, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, and a few others) may provide greater amounts of antioxidants like beta-carotene and other carotenoids in its cooked vs. raw state.

Am I blowing the whistle on a 100% raw diet?

You might think I’m crazy for recommending non-raw foods, but the reality is that eating more plant-based foods should be the overall goal. Time and time again and study after study have shown that moving toward more of plant-based diet will improve ALL aspects of you health!

If it so happens that most of those fruits and veggies are raw, then that’s great.

Will some oxalic or phytic acid ruin your body’s ability to absorb important nutrients? Probably not to a significant degree.

So whether you choose to move closer to a 100% raw diet is up to you. I’m not here to judge.

The point I am trying to make in this post is that HEALTH, not fanaticism, should be our primary objective.

If you feel your body doesn’t respond well to ALL foods in their raw state, then don’t it force the issue. Many people have trouble getting all that fiber to co-operate with their system. If you want to enjoy a warm vegetable soup (instead of cold raw soup) during the cold winter months, then go right ahead and don’t feel bad about doing so!

At the end of the day, if you can enjoy a head of broccoli, even cooked, then in my books that’s far better than not eating it at all.

In sum…

Do I believe that most of your diet should be raw plant-based foods? YES.

Can you still cook some of your food? YES – if you like.

I’ll finish by leaving you with something very powerful to keep in mind…

You make the rules! You determine which dietary approach and which foods work best for your body. For me, Eating for Energy resonates with my constitution. And it does for millions of other people as well.

But if your body functions optimally with the occasional piece of meat or free-run eggs, then that’s great. Just make sure you’re getting tons of fruits and veggies on the side, and you’ll be fine!

eating for energy

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References:

Miglio, C. et al. (2008) Effects of Different Cooking Methods on Nutritional and Physicochemical Characteristics of Selected Vegetables. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56 (1), pp 139–147.

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==> What do you think about this topic? Is your goal to be 100% raw OR is it something else? Let me know in the comments.

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Posted in Food For Thought, Raw Foods

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How to Live on Live Foods

August 3rd, 2010

When you tell people that you are eating an all raw food diet, one of the most common questions you will face is “how can you survive on that?” Of course, questions like this usually come from people who spend very little time considering what they are eating – people for whom a healthy choice for dinner is a whole wheat crust on their fully loaded pizza.

These sorts of people would consider a raw food diet to be the equivalent of food torture. They would think raw, and only be able to think of salads and “rabbit food”. And surely, no sane person would try to live on rabbit food, would they? Vegetables, these folks will scoff? Vegetables aren’t food – they are what food eats!

If you’re here trying to find a way to convince people like that about the benefits of a healthy, raw food existence, I have three words for you:

Save your breath.

Certainly, it is possible to not only survive, but thrive on a raw food diet; but winning over everyone you know with facts and real-world examples is impossible. Instead, concentrate on winning the important battles – like living the best life possible – part of which can be your pursuit of the best raw foods available.

Rather than focus on ingredients, however, let’s talk more in general about living on live foods. Because recipes and shopping lists are not something that can be printed out once and followed by everyone. Foods are available only in some places at some times; tastes are subjective and open to interpretation; and budget constraints can limit some people to different types of raw foods.

So, here are some tips for living well on a live food diet.

Shop often. Raw, living foods are at their best when they are as fresh as possible. Many families with busy lives will limit themselves to one massive shopping expedition per week, which can work when all you are buying is frozen lasagnas and breakfast cereal. The best produce is the stuff that doesn’t get sprayed to make it last longer, and it means in order to truly appreciate the best flavors, you will need to be in the market at least three times a week. But don’t despair - you won’t be there nearly as long as before.

Shop locally. You may love a certain fruit, but when it is trucked in from across the world, it is not nearly as fresh, and costs a lot more. Find some local favorites in your produce section, and you will be eating much fresher foods.

Keep your eyes (and mind) open. Inspiration for a new raw food dish can strike at any time. When you see something that looks good on television, ask yourself, how could I do that with raw foods? You’ll be surprised at what you can come up with, after a little bit of practice.

Find your favorite. While it is always good to try new things, there will be days when you crave the familiar. Don’t let that comfort food be something from a previous eating style. Find something raw that you absolutely love, and make sure you always have it on hand.

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Live Foods to Energize Your Life!

August 1st, 2010

When it comes to eating for energy, you may at times find yourself falling into familiar routines that become, well, dull. You might start off eating exotic and interesting fruits and vegetables until you discover your very favorite one; at which point, you begin to settle your habits around your new comfort foods, and lose the thrill of discovery in favor of convenience and habit.

But have faith, all of you who have found yourself in a dreary (but still better than cooked!) existance – there are still new foods out there for you to try. All it takes to break out of those raw food doldrums is a trip to your favorite alternative supermarket or local farmer’s market.

For instance, you might find yourself missing regular old pasta, or getting bored with the zucchini alternative, thinly slicing the fruit into long, pasta-like strands for your raw tomato sauces. But there are other options, like kelp noodles, that will give you your pasta fix and help you to discover new flavors.

Kelp noodles are made, of course, from kelp – an abundantly available plant in the oceans, sometimes called seaweed. But there is nothing weedy about this great plant, which can be reduced down to a noodle that requires no cooking before you eat it. Kelp is also low in calories, assumes the flavors of whatever sauces you partner it with, and is perfect for people with gluten allergies or those who want to avoid adding additional carbs to their diets.

Another area where raw food enthusiasts might find themselves lacking is in the sweets department. Gone are the processed sugars; in fact, some people will even avoid honey, depending on the method of it’s preparation. That doesn’t leave you with many options with which to sweeten your foods, but agave nectar can be a great solution for raw eaters. This thick liquid is often compared to maple syrup or molasses, but can be purchased raw. It comes from the agave cactus, which is also used to create tequila. It also contains many more nutrients, vitamins and minerals than sugar could ever hope to hold!

Last but not least, many raw food eaters have shied away from certain kinds of nuts, due to the way that many nuts are processed in certain countries. California, for example, uses a fast pasteurization process on all almonds, rendering them, by most standards, cooked. This kills off many of the key benefits of the almond, and leave a lot of raw food people to look elsewhere for their fiber. But if you search enough, you can find truly raw almonds. Spain, for one, does not subject their almonds to these cooking processes, so a Spanish almond should be safe for your raw diet, and beneficial to your body the way it was intended to be. The key with almonds, and indeed all nuts, is to carefully read the labels, or ask your grocer. With the proper research, you can find nuts that are truly raw, instead of simply being “not roasted”.

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Posted in Food For Thought

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