Posts Tagged ‘Raw Foods’

Surviving the Cold in the Raw

Many have the understanding that it is super easy to maintain the raw food lifestyle during the warmer months, there are plenty of local fruits and veggies in season, you can grow your own, and try several new dishes too. But once the seasons start to change, the leaves start to fall, and the temperatures start to drop, we are often left with the dilemma of how to make this lifestyle work in the winter. When the average person thinks of what to eat during a snowy day, automatically hot soups and mugs of cocoa come to mind, and maybe some of the dishes that are automatically associated with the holidays, such as turkey or ham. How does a raw foodist compete with that? And further more, how do we have that feeling of warmth and satisfaction after a meal?

Karen Knowler, a raw food coach, says that from her personal experience and that of others, “it entirely depends on how new you are to raw foods. Eating raw in winter is a bit like training for a marathon — you can’t expect to run the whole way your first time out; your body has to adjust and it has to adjust incrementally over a period of time.” Take a moment to reflect on where you are in your holistic journey. Get in touch with your body and your reasons for transitioning into a raw food lifestyle. What is important to you?

The best way to approach this is to ease yourself into the winter months with your mind, body and spirit aligned. If you are very new or up to a couple years in (or somewhere in between) perhaps your goal isn’t so much that you are 100% raw but that you are making healthy decisions. Do what feels right. So if you have been raw all day and your body says “hey gorgeous, this raw food is amazingly awesome, but it is wicked cold outside, let’s have some vegetable soup tonight,” then we think you should make yourself the healthiest vegetable soup. Do what feels right. It is so important to work with your body here, to weed out temptations for bad food decisions (greasy foods, etc) and make each decision one that will provide the most benefit to your  body. It is also important to recognize cravings, where they come from, and what emotion you attach to them (you may even have to write down when cravings occur to recognize the pattern). Surviving the winter in the raw does require a bit of will power, but overall it requires a sense of self and a knowledge of your purpose in this journey.

Let’s say you’ve been raw for quite some time now. How do you survive the winter? Perhaps you are more focused on “I want to be 100% raw all the time,” or whatever your personal goal may be. How do you achieve this? Well, if you are a seasoned raw foodist, you should still listen to your body and get in touch with yourself and your needs. Over time (and this time period is different for everyone), your body will adjust so much to raw foods that you will find yourself not craving the psychological comforts of cooked foods. A lot of our attachments to warm cooked foods are both psychological and habitual, whereas overtime your body has developed these new, healthier eating habits and will respond to your lifestyle accordingly. Even still, when you have reached this stage in your journey, it is something that personally you will know as you walk your own path to wellness.

No matter what stage in your journey you are in, here are some practical tips we hope will be most helpful to you in your journey:

• Take your food out of the refrigerator ahead of time, so it can warm to room temperature.
• Freeze fruits and vegetables in the summer for use during the winter. You can then put these in smoothies or to make raw ice creams.
• If you don’t have a dehydrator yet and have been on the fence about whether or not to purchase one, now might be a good time to strongly consider it. We have an article here on what to look for in a dehydrator (along with other raw equipment). Dehydrators are great taking the “chill” off of your meals.
• Warm raw soups in your dehydrator or improvise using your stove, as long as it’s below 118F it’s still considered raw!
• If you feel you need to, eat heartier raw meals during the winter. Perhaps salads may not be as appealing to you when its snowing outside than when it’s sunny and warm. We will be providing some more hearty, easy raw food recipes in the days to come to get you started.

Really use this season as time to reflect upon yourself and observe your own patterns and habits. You’ll stay on path more if you are able to identify certain feelings and cravings up front. Identify them  and put them in their place. Do not beat yourself up if you happen to stumble, trip or fall. There is a great quote that says “when you stumble, make it part of the dance.” Remember how magnificent and radiant you are, and give yourself the pep talk you need to get through.

References
Winter in the Raw by Karen Knowler (click here to view article)
Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes “Successfully Raw” – a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you’re ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now atwww.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

Winter Health Survival Guide http://www.rawbc.org/articles/winter.html

Eating Raw Foods in The Winter http://www.rawfoodswitch.com/tag/eating-raw-food-in-the-winter/

The Key Ideas of Successful Detoxification

Introduction:

Mike Perrine is a detoxification consultant, certified colon hydro therapist and the co-owner of Gravity East Village, a cleansing and detoxification consulting office in New York City. We asked him to write an article for the members of our nation that touched on an aspect of the raw food journey. Here is what he had to say:

Hello Raw Food Nation!

I’ve thought long and hard about the best way I can contribute to this amazing website. It’s challenging to touch on some of these subjects and not write an entire book. For the sake of space I’m going to keep these powerful (and I really mean it, you keep this up consistently and results will show) concepts as simple and no nonsense as possible. We’re trimming all of the fat today. You’ll notice that many of these concepts are very simple. It’s in the consistency where all the magic happens.

The Key Ideas of Successful Detoxification (aka raw food diet, aka vegan diet, aka cleansing program – they all work on the same principles):

1. Almost everyone starts out eating foods that challenge the body. It’s just a matter of degree. A bacon cheeseburger is a massive stress to the body. It costs enzymes, minerals and energy to deal with it essentially leaving you at a loss. Raw foods are amazing because they challenge the body far less. The moment we start consistently leaving out highly challenging foods our bodies will immediately begin to deep clean. (This key concept was taught to me by my good friend and mentor Dr. Fred Bisci) This is basic detox. “Bad food” leaves us at a loss. It’s something to deal with and recover from rather than something that elevates us physically and mentally. Raw food allows the body the energy it needs to go deep. And fasting is the ultimate elimination of challenges giving the body a full rest and ability to go deep in cleaning and rebuilding. When transitioning into a cleaner program and trying to decide what to eat, there are three things to consider. This is what qualifies a health food to be healthy:

1) What A food delivers: We all know this one. Almost every book on health covers this. We want good things from our food. Vitamins, enzymes, trace minerals… I think we get this one.

2) What a food removes: This is big! Very important. An apple a day keeps the doctor away because it’s loaded with raw fiber that sweeps the intestines clean. Health has more to do with elimination than input. (This point was was really emphasized by my great friend and teacher Gil Jacobs who works in NYC as a colonic therapist)

3) What a food doesn’t leave behind: The other side of the coin. If a food is leaving anything behind in your tissues or along your intestinal wall (see Dr. Shinya’s video at www.yourguidetodetox.com) it’s going to pollute your body. Plain and simple.

2. Raw food is not always easier on the body or more cleansing than cooked foods. This is really important because we see people shun a steamed vegetable, but they go to town on raw ice cream. Steamed asparagus is always going to be easier to digest and eliminate than heavy nut desserts like raw ice cream. What makes raw ice cream better than traditional ice cream is that it’s vegan, raw and less refined. (Now don’t take this the wrong way, I love raw ice cream!) I bring this up simply to put things in perspective.

“But what about the enzymes lost in the steaming process?!?!” – Yo chill… It’s minimal. We lose more enzymes stressing out about the enzymes. Steamed veggies are the easiest on the body, but for many people baked yams or squash and sometimes whole grains are extremely cleansing during their transition. Remember, there are 3 things that make a food healthy.

3. The rate at which your body releases toxins is determined by the rate that you leave challenging elements out of your lifestyle based on where you start from. When I first got into a vegan diet I remember eating an abundance of cooked foods and I still cleansed heavily and lost over 60 lbs. That’s how challenging my previous lifestyle was to my body. Eliminating stress alone allows some people to go into a state of cleansing.

There’s a big difference between the cleansing reactions of a 50 year old recovering drug addict and a 15 year old athlete. It has to do with the amount of exposure and accumulation over a lifetime and the strength of the person’s organs of elimination when they start the transition. This is important to understand: The success of any cleansing program is determined by 3 things (there’s that 3 again):

1) Consistency: Many people aren’t getting the results they want because they are inconsistent. “Oh I went on that trip and we had some BBQ, but when I got back I juiced a lot…” That’s great, it’s better than nothing, and there’s definitely no need to beat ourselves up about food, but to get dramatic results we need to be consistent.

2. Understanding Loosening vs. Releasing: The success of any cleansing program is determined by the strength of our detoxification organs. If we have liver problems or a sluggish bowel, the process may be more challenging. Here’s why, The great wisdom of the body gets a little foolish from time to time. The detox process is one of those areas. Every cell in our bodies begins to release the pressure of built up waste and gas when we consistently remove challenges. However, the cells don’t seem to “know” that the colon or other organs are not able to handle the request. So what happens? Lots of circulating toxins with nowhere to go. The end result can range from us feeling terrible (those notorious detox symptoms or “cleansing responses”) to very serious consequences. I don’t want to be negative about this process. I think it is the most amazing journey of transformation we can embark on. However, we have seen over the years people go too fast and get into serious trouble that could have been avoided by transition and bodywork.

3. Willingness:

Willingness to transition

Sometimes less than ideal foods are part of the program. I currently work with someone who fluctuates between 400 and even made it to 500 lbs. He has a massive drug history and binge eats daily. I put him on a diet of water, raw juice, raw salad, steamed vegetables, and BBQ chicken wings (and most of this food was not organic). It was the first time since going over 400 lbs. he went below 400. At the time he went from 465 to 395 in 5 weeks. That’s some deep cleansing! And we can see how quickly it happens. A completely raw diet has the potential to devastate him at this point.
The more quickly one transitions the more bodywork may be necessary to make it a smooth journey.

Willingness to assist the body

A few things to realize here
Many of the substances we find in our tissues today are stuck there for a reason. Our bodies never anticipated their arrival. I’m talking mostly industrial pollution/medical residues, over consumption of animal foods and processed foods and an overabundance of stress chemicals from modern living. This is the simple reason why we can’t always rely on our natural functions to take care of business. The colon is designed to pass a chemical free, plant based diet and in the process removing natural metabolic wastes. That’s it. So when the training is the same, but the job description changes we run into trouble. Plain and simple: Get a series of colonics. Get the sludge out (see Dr. Shinya’s video at www.yourguidetodetox.com) and decompress the gasses. The effect it has on your body is absolutely amazing. I could write a book on this alone. In addition to colonics, infra red saunas, uninterrupted rest and massage therapy make an excellent success formula.

The process of detoxification is our opportunity for transformation and self-discovery. It is a sacred and powerful journey. There is more than just physical transformation that occurs during this process.

I hope this serves you well.  I look forward to meeting all of you on the path!

Best,
Mike Perrine
www.yourguidetodetox.com
www.gravityeastvillage.com

10 Ways To Add More Raw Foods To Your Diet

Adding more raw foods to your diet is a lot easier than you think. Read these suggestions below and then if you have some more feel free to comment so they are added for all to see.

10. Add leafy greens to your morning fruit smoothie. If you’re concerned about taste, we recommend taking baby steps. Fruits like banana, pear, apple and avocado mask some of the heavy distinct flavors of greens such as kale, romaine and green cabbage. If you don’t have a high speed vendor, use a food processor to chop up your greens first before adding them in. Start with mostly fruit and a little bit of veggies, and then eventually work your way to mostly veggies with some fruit.

9. Swap out your coffee (yes, pry that cup of jo right out of your hands) for a cup of organic tea instead. A trip down the tea isle in your favorite fair trade or local market will reveal several fun flavors for you to try.

8. Instead of relying on a vending machine for a sweet or salty snack, plan ahead and bring a a raw treat instead. This can be a piece of fruit, raw carrot/celery sticks, or a raw trail mix of nuts (and dried fruits) of your choice.

7. Diversify your salad meals to include different types of greens (Romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, etc), raw nuts (walnuts, almonds, etc), and fruits (apple, pear, avocado, etc). Then make sure you’re keeping the variety by adding in some of these veggies to taste: red peppers, broccoli, carrots, red cabbage, etc. The more colorful the better!

6. Add a raw component to your dinner meal. It can be a side dish, or an appetizer. Even if your main meal is cooked, eat the raw goodies first so they can get to work inside your body.

5. Consider having a raw dessert in place of a cooked dessert. This can be a fruit salad or a raw version of ice cream (recipes coming soon!). This tops the conventional sweets you might have otherwise purchased any day!

4. Plan meals and snacks ahead to reduce temptation, so this way you’ll never be caught off guard or without your stash of raw goodies!

3. Do an online search for local raw/vegan restaurants or juice bars in your area. Then invite your friends out for the challenge of raw. After all, who’s going to turn down a triple dog dare to do a wheat grass shot?

2. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice to your water to help naturally remove toxins from your body.

1. When you go to the grocery store, make it a fun game in the produce section to pick out a new fruit or vegetable to try. Expand your horizons and your taste palette, as well as your knowledge of raw foods.