Posts Tagged ‘raw food’

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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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How A Night In Front of the TV Left Me Speechless, thanks to MasterChef Jamie Oliver!

July 27th, 2010

The other night I happened to be watching a TV program called ‘Jamie’s Food Revolution’ by world renowned UK Master Chef Jamie Oliver.

On this program, he states that his mission is to save America’s health by changing the way that they eat, which as you could imagine – is no ordinary feat.

But as I sat there and watched the program, I witnessed something that left me speechless.

Jamie entered a classroom and asked the kids to name the vegetables that he was holding up in his hand. A fairly simple task you would think, but to my utter disbelief the kids had absolutely no idea what a tomato or even a potato looked like.

They had no idea that their French Fries originated from the humble potato.

How could this happen?

And the answer is because most of these kids had never seen, let alone eaten, any of these vegetables before (that is, unless they had been processed into something unrecognizable like Ketchup and French Fries!)

Unbelievable.

So if you are a parent and you care about your kids and their future, then you need to watch the 2 minute video below.

Just like Yuri talks about in his book, Eating for Energy, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is all about educating yourself on food, and when you switch from processed to fresh food, not only will you feel much healthier, but it will add years to your life as well.

Given most of us today lead fairly hectic and busy lives, it’s incredibly easy not to look after ourselves. But if you are a parent it is your duty to look after your health, and that of your children.

So do yourself a favour, watch the 2 minute video below and you will begin to understand why it is SO important to eliminate processed foods from your diet and to eat more raw food – that is food that has not been processed to death!

So kudos to both Jamie Oliver and Yuri for trying to make a difference …

Jamie Oliver\'s Food Revolution Video

Regards,

Audra Starkey
[The Healthy Shift Worker]

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One step at a time here….

July 14th, 2010

Greetings from Sydney Australia!!!

OK, so here I am venturing into raw foods in a bigger way than ever before.  I have dabbled a bit with it in past – in fact right before my wedding I trimmed down and was looking the best & leanest I had ever done in my life….but that was nearly 8 years ago now….two kids, too much wine, cheese & restuarants it later….

Right now…

I am on week 4 and have done fairly well in sticking to the 80% raw goal. I am to stick to the Eating for Energy snacks pretty much all the time but working on 3 meals a day x 7 leaving me roughly with 4 meals a week that I can ‘play’ with as my free meals (or simply just enjoy those things I still dont think I can live without at this point).  I certainly have found it easier than I thought I would & find I am craving raw foods over non -raw previous craves!

I have even incorporated raw into meals for my family, although I do still find myself cooking most days something for kids and husband. But greens and vegies have always been big winners at my place so at least the transistion to partial raw on the plate has been easy enough.  

Wheres the warm food?

Biggest challlenge I have right now is that it is winter here in Sydney – although not as cold as our northern hemisphere friends it is pretty cold for us right now at 16 / 17 degrees each day….. sometimes I just want something warm to help warm me up….especially for dinner when it dark & colder – I have succumbed to a few bites here and there & roasted vegies with chickpeas on the weekend as one of my ‘free’ 20%  meals (it was soooo yummy)…but the last few days a bowl of cold raw soup has left me wishing it could be warmed up a bit first!

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Sprouting 101

June 26th, 2010

When encountering something new, it is sometimes helpful to go through the five w’s to learn more about the subject. Who. What. When. Where. Why. And while How doesn’t exactly start with a w, it is still a useful question to ask. So when it comes to learning about sprouting, these questions can give you a foothold into a new world of raw food management.

To begin with, you might wonder what exactly sprouting is. Simply put, sprouting is the process by which you soak a certain type of seed or nut until it is ready to grow a new plant. At that point, sprouters drain off the excess liquid and rinse the seedlings regularly, encouraging them to grow tiny shoots of plants, which can then be eaten raw.

Next, you could ask who would go through all of the trouble to sprout their own food. Many raw food enthusiasts enjoy the process of sprouting their own food, as it is much less expensive than purchasing the same sprouts from the store, and means they can grow a variety of sprouts that otherwise might be difficult to find in the open market.

You can also ask when is a good time to do sprouting at home. When done indoors, sprouting can be done any time of the year, provided there is a little sunshine coming in through a nearby window. Depending on the type of sprout you are growing, they can take as little as a few days to grow to the point where they can be harvested and eaten.

You might also wonder where you would go about sprouting within your own space. Sprouting does not take up a great deal of room; many people use a glass canning jar, to make rinsing as easy as possible and take up as little counter space as possible. The amount of space required is limited only by the amounts you wish to produce, and your own creativity in setting up a sprouting station.

Next, why would anyone want to go to such great lengths to grow their own sprouts? The sprouts that you grow can offer you a ton of wonderful health benefits, and tend to be even better for you than the nut or seed that they were grown from. All of the energy that the young plant requires to grow up big and strong are stored in those tiny shoots, and are easily accessible by your body once consumed. The sprouts contain, depending on the variety, a multitude of vitamins, proteins and fatty acids that can be a great healthy addition to any raw food diet.

Of course, the “how” of sprouting is very important. Seeds or nuts are generally allowed to soak overnight to soften their outer parts and allow for the germination process to begin. After soaking, the seeds are drained to prevent rot or moulding, and can be left at room temperature to begin sprouting. After about a day, you should begin to see tiny plants emerging. While they grow, the seedlings will need to be rinsed a minimum of three times a day, to ensure they remain moist but not damp, and rinse away any traces of mould before they can attack the sprouts.

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