Tree of Life

I only have a minute to write this...

I recently saw the film Raw for Thirty. Several diabetics went to the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center and did raw for a month and reversed their diabetes.

I just re-read my posts regarding the diabetes diet offered by Richard Berenstein M.D.. I still LOVE Dr. Berenstein for letting people know they can have perfect blood sugars and that what the American Diabetes Association is pushing is complete garbage (if you don't want to burn out your pancreatic cells and you want to heal.)

But- after reading Rainbow Green Living Cuisine by Cousins M.D., I have a much better understanding of how raw food really makes a difference. I understand the importance of living enzymes to heal the body.

Unfortunately for me a whole food diet that uses a lot of grain or fruit also elevates my blood sugars. The key is to peice something together that works. It can be as simple as - more salads! That works.

Rainbow Green Living Cuisine gives a much better explanation of the Raw diet for diabetics than the Diabetes Cure by Cousins does. Now, I have to figure out how to make it habit, make it automatic, make it easy, make it affordable. And, I'd like to help others do the same.

Family Menu- Posted in April with seasonal for April/May Ingredients

* Most of the raw recipes can be found in the Rawvolution Cookbook by Matt Amsden. Make (not raw) chewy baked tofu by freezing, thawing, draining, pressing, then baking tofu. It makes the texture firm.

Raw Spinach, Pear Salad - Add Roasted Squash when it becomes available

Raw Ginger-Carrot Soup, Raw Zoodles (zuchini noodles) with Chopped Tomato Sauce

Raw Satay Sauce, Raw Brocolli Stir-Not Fry

Non-raw Spicy Chana Dahl, and Raw SpinachSalad for me (non-raw Salmon and Veggies for husband)

Raw Asian Wraps in lettuce (leftover salmon in nori wrap for husband)

Raw Dill Dip and Veggies Sandwiches on Rawvolution Onion/zuchini Bread (non-raw baked Thyme Drumsticks for husband)

Taco-Rawcos in a lettuce wrap (leftover chicken for husband) OR Kashi/Amys frozen pizza and salad
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This is a menu that "really works" in terms of what people whose food I am responsible for making, will eat. Most everyone (except my husband) can eat vegan on this menu for all seven days and be very satisfied. Five nights all raw.

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For breakfast I have been doing green smoothies: cucumber, a little celery, a little kale, a little pear, sometimes parseley or spinach, and powdered hemp seed and Udo oil. Also serve Cheerios, organic strawberries, organic milk, whole wheat toast with apple butter and melon.

For my lunch: whole wheat bread, natural (but not raw) peanut butter, two small bananas, big handfuls of raw almonds, and a salad with sliced bok choy and spinach in a tamari vinagrette.

Packed lunches have banana and peanut butter sandwich, or carrot sticks to dip in peanut butter, or carrot sticks to dip in hummus with roasted red pepper, and an apple or orange or organic grapes, red bell pepper and cucumber slices, often a cheesestick, and sometimes an oatmeal raisen cookie. This is two snacks and lunch for them.

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This is just my best attempt to balance the needs of something low-cost, something easy to fix, etc.

New Years Resolution Widget Needed

I really wish someone would create the following control- I call it ResolutionKeeper.

Something I can insert in a page:

It would allow someone to create graphs:
How many miles did I run each day?
How many servings of fruits and vegetables did I eat each day?
What percentage of my daily intake was raw?
That kind of thing....

I could add it to a page at blogger.com to show how many days I ate raw/ what perecentage of my food was raw.

Family Menu (is for the non-raw) Spring

Postscript: We did eat from this menu- but I never made a raw carrot muffin. Whew, that was ambitious.
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Breakfast:

1. Daily GVJ- just celery juice or spinach, celery, quarter of an orange blended in a Vita-Mix
2. Chopped sprouted & dehydrated almonds, blueberries, sunflower seeds, nutmylk
3. (Hot oatmeal with cinnamon, and grated apple)
4. Raw almond butter and banana w dehydrated sunflower seeds or Banana and nutmilk "shake"
5. Raw carrot almond muffin

Lunch:

1. Salad with lemon juice/olive oil dressing, and sunflower seeds or coleslaw
2. (Legume-based cooked salads: three-bean, chickpea, lentil)
3. Soups: raw carrot-ginger, (cabbage based- vegetable, black bean, lentil, split pea)
4. Raw Hummus w dipping veggies
5. (Kids have left-overs, lentils and brown rice with vegetables, PBJ sandwiches & fruit)

Dinner:

1. Pasta marinara: zuchini noodles on top of Russell James almond polpetta
2. (Baked vegetables: eggplants and tomatoes are not in season- but you can use it if you have some canned) Raw cauliflower macaroni and cheese from Mathew Kenney's book, (my family wont eat even homemade real mac n cheese) Califlower is in season though- baked cauliflower with vinagrette on top, served with brown rice
3. Vegan pinto beans w sautéed bell peppers (bells are not in season) onion, zuchini
4. Gratitude raw almond-dill dip with crudite
5. Admundson vegetable stir-notfry
6. Raw Food Real World spicy indian cauliflower samosas and lemon tahini
7. Homemade Pizza from Raw World

Snacks:

Glass of water to start, more GVJ, more soup, cucumber/carrot/bellpepper plate w raw hummus, (apples, bananas, not-too-sweet-flax-oatmeal cookies)

must make juice

It's 6:20 am, must make juice.

GoneRaw

The site redo for GoneRaw.com feels disastrous for me. I'm trying to trust their motivations for the redesign but- the site is so much less usable.

Correcting Course

It has been about three months that I have been off course. It seems amazing- how could this happen, knowing what I know? I have not been preparing foods that support my perfect blood sugars and my raw journey.

Lessons learned:

1. Things may fall apart during times of transition and stress. (Nilsu had to go back to school. It was a major shift around here.)

2. The issue is not what I am eating- but what I am preparing. If I get up and make cooked oatmeal for the kids- I eat cooked oatmeal. If I make baked oatmeal cookies- I eat baked oatmeal cookies. If I have fresh blueberries around, and a salad ready for dressing waiting in the fridge- I will eat blueberries and salad.

3. I still have this issue- mostly in my head- that raw "costs too much." And, "takes too much time."


So- we begin again....

I have been reading Philip McClusky's blog http://www.lovingraw.com/, and it so inspiring and beautiful.

He was recently in San Luis Obispo- a place I've spent plenty of time- and I can't believe his adventures there: "Brandie owns Smiling Dog Café, and works there along with AmyRuth. Smiling Dog Café is a branch off of Smiling Dog Yoga Studio, and did I mention it’s raw!" I am really happy for him, curious about the raw food scene in SLO. I can't wait to go there!

So- again- we begin again.

I so desperately need some time to myself. From 6:30 am - 8:30 pm I am on mommy-mode, and then I watch a little television or read. I so desperately need an hour alone. I can't remember the last time I had an hour alone. Well- at least I have a party to go to this weekend, and a date with my husband coming up. But- that's not exactly time alone.