Finding dietary balance.

Well well well, look who came crawling back to blog-land. Apologies for the cliffhanger re. raw status. Is she? Isn’t she? Did she die when she tried unsuccessfully to hook chlorophyll to her veins?

All possible theories. But alas, I’m breaking the news to you that I ended my 100% raw experiment after 10 days. Not because I felt like crap, or it was all too hard…but I just really, really, REALLY wanted a cookie.

I was extremely surprised during the whole raw experience that I didn’t have any overt cooked-food cravings or moments of yelling obscenities at my flatmates as they fried up some tortuously aromatic dinnertime treat. That was, until the night of day 9, where I began to contemplate the delights of a tray full of vegan brownies, or a crispy batch of peanut butter & flaxseed cookies. The drool could not be stemmed. My raging sweet tooth demanded satisfaction.

I never originally set a time-frame for the raw trial, but by day 10 there was no denying that I felt fantastic eating this way, and more at peace with my diet than ever. (Yes, yes, minus the cookie conundrum).

I didn’t think it was necessary to deprive myself of something I really wanted, so allowed myself to go to the organic store and pick out some vegan cookies to break the raw stint. (I’d usually bake some myself, but to be honest the emerging cheapskate within deemed it more practical to buy them pre-made. Infinitely more cost effective.)

The cookies were pretty disappointing, and tasted chalky and boring. I ate them anyway, because, as I had now realised, this was evolving into some kind of post-raw cooked-food bender. I’d read about raw foodists and their propensity to binge on ‘forbidden’ foods every so often, and I couldn’t believe I was participating in this crazy behaviour!

I had hummus & crackers, more cookies & a bowl of savoury oats for good measure. The rest of the day does not need to be discussed…

Truthfully, the cooked food tasted bland and strangely unsatisfying, but it was clear to me that any kind of restrictive diet, be it 100% raw or otherwise, could potentially lead to these kind of ‘episodes’ after unconsciously excluding certain foods. I think my subconscious resents any kind of strict, limiting, force and acts to restore the balance by way of a crazy, illogical food rampage. So despite feeling better than ever, and fairly content with the offerings of the 80/10/10 raw food diet, I acknowledged that something needed to shift if I was going to be successful in the long-term. A balanced diet is not characterised by random lapses into mindless munching; I felt I needed to eeeeease on up.

Needless to say, the food made me feel terrible; it was like a reverse detox  if that can possibly be imagined (no, not a reverse enema. Minds out of the gutter please).

It convinced me more than ever, that dogma and restrictive rules have no place in a balanced diet; in fact, they are in direct opposition to everything I am learning about living moderately and happily. This fact alone turns me off following in the footsteps of extremely rigid raw-foodists who, it seems, place more value on the temperature of their food than it’s health-giving properties. This is particularly evident to me in the gourmet-raw movement where (as Frederic Patenaude points out) often things that are extremely dense and hard for the body to assimilate such as nut-based dishes, are given preference over foods such as steamed veggies, that would in fact be a more healthful option, despite not being ‘raw’.

In the same vein, I hope all of you had a chance to read the amazing post by Tasha (formerly the Voracious Vegan) over the weekend, explaining in true compelling and tear-jerking form the reasons behind her move away from a strict vegan diet. I was astonished and saddened to hear that such a decision, one so personal and physically necessary could inspire an outpouring of condemnation from the vegan community. Of course, she has a swathe of loyal followers, yet some individuals still felt justified in accusing her of dietary blasphemy, asserting that it is better to be sick and lifeless than eat an omnivorous diet. Once again, dogma becomes the foe of happiness & balance, and we find our eating habits are more political than healthful.

A diet has to work for you. If a certain eating plan is not furnishing your body with adequate nutrition, or leaving you feeling dull and lifeless, you should change it, irregardless of what others deem to be nutritionally ideal.

/Rant.

In saying this, you all know how much I loved the raw experiment & that is why the next day I awoke with the knowledge I would continue to eat mostly raw, with cooked food (& COOKIES) included when I wanted them. I also see no reason to avoid little things that are raw-biguous (ie. kinda cooked, kinda not – don’t know, don’t care) because why get caught up in the minutiae when there is so much FOOD LOVIN’ to be had?!

It sounds strange, but I actually felt quite depressed after going back to cooked food – I think there is a definite difference in energy, and obviously in the metabolism of heated vs. uncooked that made me feel sort of flat.

The past few days i’ve been slurping avocado thick-shakes, gobbling fresh mangoes…

…raw-ifying Bill Grainger recipes (oh. holy. jeebus)…

…munching seaweed salads with kale, sesame oil and chili…

…and of course, more smoothies in abundance.

I love all this vibrant, shimmering, pulsating fruit & veggie love, and as a few awesome commenters have suggested, i’m also incorporating some more fats in my diet and not being so worried about the ratios and whatnot. Basically, i it feels good, I’m going at it face-first.

Speaking of faces, I also wanted to do a quick shout-out to an Australian make-up company called Minerelle that has come up with the beautifying goods. Never have I purchased such an effective total-head-concealer mineral make-up. I’ve been searching for an aussie brand, vegan-friendly and with a short, non-threatening ingredient list. Minerelle fits the bill. If you go to their site, you can have free samples shipped to you (just paying postage of $5) and once I ordered the powder foundation itself, it arrived within a couple of days. For an impatient, demanding, needy consumer this was most welcome. The ingredients are not PERFECT, but it seems i’m all about compromise today, and thus am filing it under ‘balance and moderation’.

My improved head. Au naturale non?

Ha! This post is raging. I am so painfully verbose; I suck at succinct.

Oh and Kirsten, your pleas for smoothie recipes will be answered in the next post my dear. Stay tuned!

xx

Low fat is HARD! Raw days 8 & 9.

Hello friends!

Here we are at day 9 raw. Who’d a thunk it? I’m continuing to love this experiment, and am convinced my diet can never incorporate the amount of cooked food as I ate pre-trial. That being said, I suspect I will need to wiiiiiiiise up on all things diverse and creative in the recipe department  to ensure I can keep eating high raw and not feel uninspired or bored by my food choices. I also have yet to come up against any painfully awkward social outings or family gatherings (where I know they will suspect I have officially crossed over to the land of tree fondlers and rampant nudists)…explaining my kooky dietary ways may get messy!

The only thing I am having trouble adhering to is the low-fat rule of the 80/10/10 school – in which no more than 10% calories from fat is regarded as optimal. Many raw foodists look to pounds of nuts and avocado to fulfill their daily calorie needs, however an excess of fat is considered by the low-fat-raw-vegans as detrimental to health. I wanted to try to abide by this as best I could because the nutritional defects of overt fat consumption are compelling, but i’m finding it VERY difficult to consume enough fruit & veg to satisfy my monstrous needs… and also my wallet is on strike.

What to do? Should I incorporate sprouted psuedo-grains? Throw caution to the wind and just embrace a few more nuts? Or keep embarrassing myself at the store by returning for abnormal amounts of bananas every second day? Tis a dilemma, to be sure.

Yesterday, I experimented with raw pesto-pasta to satisfy a bit of a salt craving.

I blended sunflower seeds, fresh basil, olive-oil, savoury yeast & raw garlic to produce a fairly respectable vegan pesto replica. Served over spiralized zucchini, spinach and fresh tomato, it was quite a nice departure from the simplicity of a salad,  or mono-meal of oranges.

I didn’t feel very well after eating it though; my stomach was quite heavy and I felt it was overly rich. I immediately wanted fruit.

Later, I satisfied my desire for fresh, lighter flavours with a berry & avocado pudding, with a small amount of raw honey and loaded with spinach. Hit the spot.

I found myself wishing later in the evening that I could bake a batch of cookies, or eat a big bowl of brown rice & beans which suggests to me I still need to eat more…and have been reading too many food blogs. But I will definitely be incorporating these things back into the 10% cooked of my planned 90% raw diet post-experiment.

Other things of interest include:

• Skin is still clear & soft
• Nails are really white & strong
• Mental clarity is pretty good (for a certified scatterbrain); I find i’m pondering more than usual &  become extremely excited about the future for no apparent reason (apart from the fact that it’s going to ROCK!)
• I actually weighed myself at a friends house yesterday (a rarity) and have lost about 1 kilo. I didn’t really have any goals in that department, but was feeling a lot lighter & less jiggly so was interested to see the results. No complaints.

Today for lunch I had a decadent three course-meal consisting of the following:

Seaweed salad…

Banana, carob and spinach green smoothie…

Giganto salad with kale, carrot, zucchini, beetroot, coriander and orange.

I am exceptionally talented at squeezing obscene amounts of food into one small fist-sized stomach sac.

That’s it for another riveting recap! Hope you all have good things in store for the weekend! Me? I’m working to fund my habit

The sounds of celery; Raw days 6 & 7.

Good god! Could it be that i’ve actually committed to something for longer than a nanosecond? This unprecedented foray into raw-dom is now one week old! I can’t believe it’s day 8 tomorrow!

You all know i’m a fickle lass; I like shiny things and constant stimulation. Even though I studied film, I still have to actively drive myself to the cinema to watch a movie, strapping myself to the seat and propping my eyes open with paperclips because I simply hate committing 1.5 hours of my life to the one pursuit. Especially whilst stationary.

In life, I’m much the same. Haircut more than a few months old? Some radical shit needs to go down to bring back the pizzaz. I don’t doubt that one day I will walk out with a number two, just for the thrill of messing irresponsibly with my head. I am also perusing facebook on my iPhone as I type this while groping for my avocado smoothie, listening to the radio and intermittently reading a few lines of Jane Austen. I am toying with the possibility I have ADHD.

The fact that I have not ducked out miserably, giving up and moving on from this raw food experiment, seems to suggest that something greater is at work – I feel extremely content with all that i’m fortunate enough to be grazing on throughout the day, and strangely enough have yet to experience the cooked food cravings that others lament. I know it’s still early days, but in all honesty I’m waiting for things to get hard.

I’m not sure if they will.

I have felt better and better the past few days; my stomach has finally come around, my skin is yet to erupt (touch sustainably-harvested wood) and my energy levels have been fantastic (especially when exercising!). I have also had a few flashes of intense happiness, and general feelings of well-being and peacefulness. On the flip side, there have been some small outbursts and unusual melancholy, but it’s normally if I don’t get enough sleep, or if people drive at 40km/hr in front of me when I’m epically late to college due to cleaning the blender for the 5th time that day. Apart from nanna-drivers (bless their blue-rinsed souls!) everything is positively peachey!

After my last post about feeling a little same-same with all my eats, I decided to make something exciting for dinner on Monday – giant salad with spiralized veggies & mango, tomato and coriander dressing.

I simply shredded some kale, topped with spiralized zucchini & carrot, diced capsicum and raw cashew nuts, with a dressing made by blending half a mango with around 5-8 cherry tomatoes and a handful of coriander. It tasted a little asian-ey, and a lot awesome!

After seeing my flatmate’s dark chocolate in the fridge, I then had a brainwave to create my own raw dessert. This is breaking the ‘rules’ somewhat (the raw hygienists say that we should not eat bitter things like cacao because we wouldn’t in the wild, and plus there’s toxins in it, blah blah blah dogma blah) but I eat rules for brunch. I say, raw homemade chocolate once in a while is a bah-rilliant idea! Perhaps the best I’ve ever had.

I took the above orange zest (about 1tsp) and some chopped raw almonds…

Combined with a few tbsp raw cacao powder, a big slurrrrp of raw honey and some room temperature coconut oil…

…spread on a baking sheet, and froze for as long as my willpower could sustain me.

I’d love to tell you that I savoured this bar for days, exercising restraint and dignity in my consumption. I’d also love to tell you that I slept soundly that night, and didn’t wake 5 times with my heart doing zumba, high on all that gosh darn mayan magic. I can tell you truthfully that it did taste like Lindt orange and almond decadence, and that my flatmate promptly employed me as her personal chocolatier, à la Juliette Binoche in Chocolat. Sexy French accents will cost you extra.

I’ve been over-zealous with smoothies…

…eating my body-weight in kale salads (with added orange…mmm)…

…and enjoying celery for the first time in my life, with fresh tomatoes and tahini.

Oh and what does celery sound like? I had a giggle yesterday when I was slicing a stick of it with my flatmates murderously sharp Global knife (which is now how I inadvertently keep my fingernails maintained…eeep!) and as I rhythmically chopped up the stalk, there was a distinct scale sequence of ascending notes! Who knew that dicing and slicing could prove so musical?! I am truly finding beauty, and a soulful beat, in the smallest things.

Have you ever conducted a veggie-symphony?

Over and out!

Raw day 4 & 5.

Hi beauties!

Well, the glorious sunshine lasted a nanosecond, as is Sydney’s temperamental way, and it’s back to dreary, bleary bleak-fest. Summer 2010 is taking a rain check. Oh god, I’m making terrible dad jokes in the presence of company, please forgive me!

The past couple of days have taught me a lot on the raw front. Yesterday, I was quite melancholy, and started to question my motivations for doing this experiment, as well as the validity of the diet itself.

I had a big green smoothie for breakfast, as well as some hot lemon tea and an apple. (FYI – hot drinks are not technically ‘raw’, and many choose to forego them on a 100% raw diet. I don’t see the harm in things such as ginger tea, or hot water and lemon but am drawing the line at caffeine for this experiment – no green tea for this little hippie! Funny though, because I usually gravitate towards steaming teas, but I have little desire for them right now.)

My stomach was still pouting at me, in the form of cramps, bloating and reflux-like symptoms. I decided to ignore it, and try for a run. Needless to say, I got halfway down the street and turned back. My gut was not feeling good, and I don’t believe in pushing yourself if your body is giving you signals it wants to stop. Instead, I packed up some chopped vegetables & fruit, and took myself to the beach to make the most of the sensational Sunday skies.

As I said, I was feeling quite flat today – not so much energetically lacking, but mentally a little gloomy. I started to wonder if I had done the right thing in jumping into this experiment all carrots blazing, without a proper transition period. The article Kate sent me in the comments section last week, cautions us against plunging into a serious detox without adequate preparation, as too many toxins are stored up for your body to cope with. Instead of being able to eliminate them effectively, it is overwhelmed, and thus the detox is ineffective as the toxins remain in your system, unable to be expelled. It suggests that worsening symptoms of bloating, nausea, headaches etc are actually the body trying to tell us to slow down, and quit with the cleansing barrage. You can read it here.

This was playing on my mind as I considered the gas-baby I was now housing in my abdomen; could I be thwarting my body’s attempts at detoxification by coming on too strong? Was I trying to get to 3rd base with raw, when really, we were only ready for 1st?

I decided to keep monitoring my symptoms, and quit if I kept feeling lousy. (That being said, I’ve experienced no headaches, save a tiny one on day 2, or any other major symptoms apart from belly expansion & discomfort. By my reckoning, I am lucky…for now.)

Advice received to keep melons separate was respected, as I ate this gigantic piece as a mid-afternoon snack. With SMH good weekend, of course.

Oh, and most important news of the day, CHECK MY VIBRAMS TAN! Do you see it? Are you jealous? I bet! I have this weird array of terrible tan-lines that zig-zag across my back (lululemon sports-bra outline), form patterns on my feet, and abruptly stop mid-thigh. A pox on you exercise short-shorts! It’s too far gone to actually go to the beach and actively try to even out the damage. Oh, and of course, it’s wrong to tan (ahem).

So anyhoo, day #4 was not too hot. I felt a little better after driving to work and listening to Cloud Control, and customers cheered me up by making inquiries about my green smoothie in a jar that I was eating behind the counter with a spoon. I told them it was a sludge-shake with added algae and spinach. They laughed like I was joking.

I slept badly, with this strange reflux thing happening where it was like I had a permanent cramp right across the top of my stomach. It kept waking me up and I was a little worried.

This morning it was still there somewhat, so I decided to eat a really simple meal of bananas and mango for breakfast, for better digestion.

I did feel better in class, like my stomach was actually getting it’s shit together and breaking the food down. I came home, ate 2 dates, and whacked on my vibrams for a run. I decided that although my gut was achey, maybe I needed to move in order to feel better. Like yesterday, starting out was uncomfortable, and much of the run I was preoccupied by cramps and bloating. But I had a hunch it was what I needed, and sloshing about in the pouring rain in my vibrams by the sea, I started to feel better. I was amazed that due to my stomach woes, I had failed to realise that I was not actually tired and felt extremely fit & energetic along the way. Hills that usually wind me were less than threatening, and I felt extremely alive and happy. There were few people because of the drizzle, and the 8km route flew by. In vibrams and everything! I think i’m really starting to break these suckers in.

So that’s the happenings of today. I am now feeling decidedly better, in all respects. Oh and Jarad said my eyes were really ‘blue’ the other day – they’re not blue at all, but hey, i’ll take it! Must be extra sparkly due to the living foods. And also, my skin feels really nice. I believe it may be glowing! However I am waiting for the detox break-out…anytime now.

I also wanted to mention that I’m getting very excited about continuing down the raw path after this experiment (which doesn’t have a specific time-frame by the way). I believe that yesterday’s slight depression was in part due to the fact that I’m not eating food like I used to any more. I love all the fresh fruit & vegetables, but it’s not the emotionally-fuelled love-affair I had with baked vegan sweets and elaborate new dinner ideas. In this way, I think that i’m going to try and be more creative with my meals, because I don’t want to lose that appetite I have for trying new things, and using imagination in the kitchen. That’s important to me, and a big part of my life. (Yes, gluttony!)

This amazing blog called Golubka that I stalked from Green & Juicy’s blogroll encapsulates that passion for culinary creativity with amazing flair and originality. It may just be the most beautiful blog I’ve ever come across – recommended reading/viewing.

That’s it for now! Any comments/questions, please feel free to share!

Raw day 3.

Greetings!

Sick of the raw recaps yet? That’s a shame, because i’m bubbling with enough raw excitement to fill 50 more posts! But in order to prevent the bollocks-boring that may ensue with daily updates and banana consumption statistics, I might start going longer between posts. Not to worry, I’ll keep you in the thoughts/feelings/excruciating-detox-symptoms loop.

Day three, and I still had remnants of last-nights stomach revolt early in the day. I resurrected my ‘usual’ breakfast smoothie that’s raw anyway, with spirulina, frozen banana, spinach for Africa, chia seeds & carob. As I was making it, a rainbow lorikeet landed right next to me on the window sill, chirping at ear-splitting decibels and licking his beak at my creation. We chatted, he told me of far-away lands and the supreme freedom of flight. At least, I think that was what he was saying.

I concluded I am now at one with the critters due to my rawsome gorilla-diet.

Along with some ginger tea. I started feeling better at this point.

So much so that I ran to and from babysitting in my vibrams (I haven’t been taking them on runs more than a couple of k’s because i’m still breaking them in), a route I usually walk because it’s annoyingly hilly. Today though, I felt so energetic, and running home in the blazing heat I could have kept sailing along.

I didn’t of course, because i’m lazy like that. The lure of lunch stopped me in my tracks.

Lunch #1. Hugh-jass smoothie with 2 frozen bananas, pear, cucumber & broccoli greens, loaded with ice.

Later, I went to the park with a friend and chowed an immense kale & avocado salad, with accompanying fruit-salad monstrosity featuring pineapple, watermelon, apple & dates.

J-man stopped by and we went on an epic walk to see the seaside sculptures before they vamooose. I felt SO ENERGETIC, and had none of the weird lethargy of yesterday.

I did get a little too hungry when we were out though, and immediately came home to destroy a smoothie made by blending an orange and 2 frozen bananas. Heavenly.

I may or may not have cracked a coconut in celebration (by that logic; every day’s a celebration!), along with some more fruit and cut up veggies for good measure. Felt a little bloated, but altogether pretty grand.

NB: I’m being really lazy at the moment and eating very simply, not whipping out my gourmet-raw skillz or spiralizer to create cunning cooked-food replicas and the like. I think this is more in keeping with the 80/10/10 philosophy however, that we should be paring back our cuisine to what we would actually find in nature.

That’s why most raw hygienists also steer clear of salt, herbs and spices, arguing that if you can’t eat something on it’s own without it tasting bitter or offensive, we probably shouldn’t be eating it at all. They also eschew superfoods and supplements, and dried foods are a little sketchy.

I’m adhering in general to these principles, but have trouble excommunicating things like Spirulina, seaweed, certain spices (for example Turmeric, Garlic and Ginger) as I’ve read so much about their potent, life-giving qualities. In this sense, I’m diverging from the ‘traditional’ in certain ways, because I believe these foods have a place in my diet.

Big justification rant aside, this experiment is fun! I hope to keep it up for long enough to be able to ascertain if it’s viable or not.

Adios!

Raw day 2.

Howdy!

Firstly, thanks for the v. sweet comments and pro-raw support. Your virtual pep talks get me through!

Truth be told however, this has so far been the most natural feeling ‘diet’ in the world, and I haven’t experienced any hellacious cravings or ‘I wish that was me wrapping my fangs around a juicy burger’ moments at all. Yes it’s only day three (well, day 2 recap for you! Still catching up). Yes i’m going to remain cautiously optimistic that 80/10/10 raw is somehow my life calling, and will revolutionize my being. Day three wisdom rules.

I woke up feeling great, so much so that I took my vibrams off for a beachside stroll pre-breakfast. Early morning workouts are a rarity seeing as my all-encompassing love of food calls for nourishment, pronto, upon awakening. Today was the exception. The walk turned into a wistful stroll at the water’s edge, lamenting that I hadn’t worn my swimmers for a 7am dip. The longing pout turned into a loopy grin as I realised bathers weren’t necessarily a requirement, and launched into the surf irregardless of running attire. The impromptu swim turned into one hell of a chafing on the way home.

Breakfast this day was more substantial, and included a whole young coconut, smoothie with 2 bananas, broccoli greens and carob, chia seeds in young coconut water and apples, of which I could only manage one. Stuffed does not begin to describe.

Like yesterday, I experienced ‘spaceyness’ mid-morning, this time accompanied by a slight headache. I felt pretty lethargic and forced myself out of the house to try and snap out of it. It seemed to dissapate after lunch, with those crazy giddy feelings of random excitement appearing out of nowhere later in the afternoon.

Lunch featured more kale and more mountains of grated veg, with a pretty beetroot jus.

More banana/avocado pudding action.

I think I ate my weight in apples and pears as well, and took another huge salad with tahini for dressing + giant fruit salad with banana to work with me.

This was where I started to feel not too hot, and after a few hours standing around behind the counter my stomach started to swell, feeling bloated and distended, and I couldn’t even finish my salad. Some tum was not happy, and made it’s feelings known. The rest of the night I had an uncomfortable stomach ache, accompanied by some digestive woes, that may be due to incorrect food combining (fats + fruits) or more probably to do with the massive increase in fiber and general volume of my diet.

I came home hungry, but still feeling like a giant gaseous planet, so devoured 1.5 frozen bananas just for good measure.

In other respects though, I feel like this has been really easy for me to dive into, as I feel completely ‘balanced’ in terms of listening to my body’s cues for hunger, and delightfully satisfied by the array of sweet fruits at my disposal. My friends think i’m bonkers, I prefer nutritionally eccentric.

Thanks again for the well-wishes, hope you’re all having a great weekend, and I would LOVE to hear about any crazy lifestyle experiments you yourselves have embarked upon!

Peace x

Raw day 1.

Raw recap: First day of raw, nekkid food.

Hey there kids! I made it through day one! Huzzah!

Breakfast was this glowing pile of delight.

• 2 bananas
• small apple
• handful blueberries
• cup of pineapple

Around 350ish calories…not enough in hindsight, but I’m not used to chowing down on that much fruit so early in the day! It was scrumptious.

I also snacked on an apple and a banana mid-morning.

I did feel a little lightheaded throughout the morning, as I always do if I just eat fruit in the a.m. By lunchtime I was back to normal.

FYI – My banana stash is out of control. This was after i’d frozen a bunch too…I felt like a crazed primate at the store hording all the ‘on special, soon to die’ bananas. For $2 a kilo? Why yes, I will go bananas.

For lunch I had an unpictured smoothie with 1/2 avocado, a frozen banana, massive amounts of spinach, 1 tbsp chia seeds & carob powder. Accompanied by 1/2 punnet blueberries.

I started to have this intense feeling of excitement for no apparent reason post-lunch, like when you’re a kid and you’re trying to contain the urge to squeal, or giggle, or spontaneously cartwheel.

I addressed this issue by smashing out an 8km run with my flattie. The first real hot day of the year and we decide to practice for our fun run. Heat exhaustion aside, I felt energetic and relatively normal. I also craved a coconut (pictured above). I treated myself.

I ate this salad a little later, as well as a huge plate full of cherry tomatoes with tahini. Good combo!

Another avocado and banana pudding ensued later on, as well as some dates and more fruit snackage.

I think all up I ate around 1500 calories. I don’t consider this nearly enough seeing as I ran 8km as well as walking a few kms each way to babysitting in the morning, however I literally could not eat any more fruit, and felt satisfied with what I had. (P.s the reason I am talking about calories is only due to this diet being so foreign to me, so I want to make sure i’m eating enough).

Day one was awesome; I felt great and raw food makes me completely forget about the existence of anything else I formerly ‘craved’. It’s amazing because I struggle so much with bringing balance to my diet, and often find myself mindlessly snacking on bowls and bowls of muesli or similar despite being stuffed. With raw foods I just feel completely satisfied, eat until I’m full, but don’t have those moments of ‘addiction’ where I decide to demolish an entire bag of rolled oats just for kicks. I finally feel balanced!

Not looking forward to inevitable detox symptoms however, but I won’t preempt their arrival. Going to keep enjoying the rawsome moment!

In the raw.

Why hello!

How is everyone? I’ve been off in my own dreamy little world of books, beach romps and study sesh’s. Oh, and i’m officially raw. For now.

Double take. WHAT?!

Let’s start a the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start.

Basically, in a lazily brief summary, all this immersion in books such as Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, countless ebooks and websites concerning the raw food diet and even Born to Run, have contained a common thread that suggests returning to a simpler, more natural way of being that i’ve latched onto with the fire of one thousand red-heads.

In Born to Run, arguments spring forth that we are in fact, running people whose innate ability to pound out 100 mile marathons and scamper over boundless plains in pursuit of an animal target (while practically barefoot) leaves modern notions as to the dangers of jogging and the necessity for shiny new Nike’s with 10 layers of astonishingly expensive air underfoot, lacking. The last vestiges of this superhuman stamina manifest in the Tarahumara Indians, living in isolation in the treacherous Copper Mountains in Mexico. They eat a simple diet in accordance with the natural resources at their disposal (including Chia Seeds, thank you very much) and run, because it’s what they’ve always done.

Many of our modern woes, such as obesity, shin splints and knee reconstructions it is argued, actually stem from a) inactivity and b) crazy, cushiony joggers that cause us to run incorrectly when really, our natural barefoot method conditions us in the correct way. Yet another example that simple & natural is best.

Similarly, Deepak Chopra has unleashed in me a new found appreciation of thoughts, feelings, energies manifesting in the physical. Having positive intentions and visualizing what you want in life seems to align with much of what I already took to be true – going through life with a positive outlook & appreciating the lessons we experience daily, if we care to look, goes a long way towards happiness.

But what in the name of Buddha does this have to do with raw foods?

For one, I’m increasingly aware of the energy of things; it’s no secret that fresh young coconuts bring me so much happiness that I find myself talking, thinking and dreaming about them (incidentally, my desire for coconuts often manifests in bouquets of them arriving at my doorstep care of the man, and other visitors. Ask and ye shall receive my friends!).

I now know that the intense joy of cleaving open a juicy young nut may be due to more than just an unhealthy addiction. There is also an energy at work in these beautiful, fresh, organic foods.

Kirilian photography, as seen above, is a form of (controversial) imaging that claims to capture energy fields as emitted by animate objects. Likewise, photographs of water that has been bestowed with  ‘blessings’ show it taking beautiful, crystallized forms, influenced seemingly by the power of positive intention.

Regardless of whether this is altogether too heavy on the chakras and spoon-bending for you, there is no denying that energy is fundamental to all life – it animates us, and the things we eat. When I have the misfortune of going to a chain supermarket, I see mountains of packaged food, unnaturally shiny apples and a pronounced absence of living energy. These foods seem to be ‘dead’, and retain little or none of their former vitality. They have been chopped, waxed and polished into submission.

When I frolic around in my little organic fruit store of choice however, I see dirty, intact, and gloriously nuanced examples of real produce, recently picked and grown in happy, chemical-free surrounds.

Interestingly, that Healing with Wholefoods book that you’re probably dead sick of hearing about, points out the importance of preparing your food with care and with gratitude; if it is for a sick person, try to imbue the meal with positive thoughts and energy because food created and eaten with stress and negativity damages the whole vibe. Maaaaan.

This is one aspect of why I think it’s just grand to eat living foods (but not in a cruel way, I consult the veggies first to gain their consent )

So. Back to raw.

The lovely Kate kindly sent me an ebook on raw foods at the beginning of the week that I promptly devoured in a matter of hours. It is by a veritable guru of living foods named Frederic Patenaude and champions the 80/10/10 way of eating; that is, eating 80% calories from carbohydrates, 10% from protein and 10% from fat. Basically fruit/veg/some seeds and nuts.

Wowzer! You scared?! I’m sure as hell not.

The way this diet plays out is eating pounds of fruit and vegetables each day along with some seeds, whilst trying to limit dietary fat.

I can hear you yelling profanities at me already. My flatmate immediately verbalised multiple levels of distrust in the whole scheme.

Allow me to address them as best I can.

Firstly, please know that I am trialling this – I don’t know for how long. I’m a huge believer in forming an opinion based on experience, because I realise there are compelling justifications for any and every school of nutritional thought. This is why, besides all the astounding accounts i’ve read of the 80/10/10 diet, I’m aiming for practical application in my own life. It could be life-changing, it could be too hard, it could end in tears. Bring it.

On a practical level, let me make a few pro-low-fat-raw arguments.

As long as i’m getting adequate calories each day, I will reach my protein requirements with ease.

The recommended protein intake for an adult is around 10% from total calories, however many people on the SAD (standard American/Australian diet) consistently achieve an excess. Interestingly, the protein content of a mother’s milk is around 6%, 6% at the time of crucial growth and development of a child. Does this tell us something?

All fruits and vegetables contain protein, though a common misconception that resulted largely from the ‘incomplete protein theory’ by Frances Moore Lappe is that they are not optimal for humans. It suggested that because there are no complete sources of the essential amino acids in plants as there are in meat, we would need to combine them in certain ways for proper nutrition.  Frances herself later admitted that this theory was incorrect upon discovering that the body stores amino acids in such a way that we do not need to consume them ‘all-in-one-go’.

So frankly protein is the least of my worries.

You may also be worried by the ‘low-fat’ aspect of this approach. In no way have I ever sought to reduce dietary fat intake, and the word ‘skim’ makes me shudder. However after reading Frederic’s compelling explanation as to how detrimental high-fat vegan diets can be, and my own research that points to an overload of fat in the bloodstream making it harder for insulin to carry-out glucose reuptake by the cells (thus resulting in permanently elevated blood sugar levels), I feel quite confident in the 10% fat ideal. It also rings true with what my naturopath mentioned to me months ago about how she thinks my body struggles to metabolize too much fat.

Only when stopping to assess my ‘normal’ diet did I realise how much fat I was actually putting away. I was snacking on loads of Tahini, nuts, seeds…lard. I think this was also the cause of a lot of skin issues.

I’m also making sure to get ample calories. You cannot go successfully raw on 80/10/10 if you assume you can just keep eating your normal portions and replacing them with fruit and salad. I’ve tried this once before when I was a hopeless newbie and experienced the dizzy, fuzzy-headed emotional train-wreck that comes from a malnourished Katey. As supernanny says, it is no’ acceptable.

Would you like to know the magnitude of my eats to meet my energetic needs?

It goes something along the lines of, 300 bananas.

Maybe not that many, but seriously, a monkey-load of bananas. Amongst other delightful fruits, vegetables, seeds and avocado (but not TOO much).

Speaking of monkeys, another argument for the low-fat-raw-diet is the fact that our closest genetic counterparts; primates like chimpanzees and gorillas eat in a similar way, gorging on fruits, some veg and nuts when in season. And look at them! Beasts.

But what about variety you ask? To that I say, there is an abundance! When you begin to eat fruits and vegetables in their natural state, you cultivate an obscene enjoyment of their perfect, simple taste. They are SO DELICIOUS on their own; why meddle with that mother nature chick?

There is probably a ton more raw food propaganda that I could hurl at you, but for now, my tirade ends here.

Oh, here are some irrelevant pictures of my new ‘goals’ board for your viewing pleasure. Mock away! But I will get that camera garnsarnit.

This is also a failed smoothie-in-a-bowl I made the other day. It was so promisingly pretty but so totally puke-worthy. I though you might like to observe the grossness!

There you have it! I can’t believe I just shared this on the internet…so accountable right now. I’m hoping to give 100% raw a decent go, so I too can share that boundless energy and mental clarity which so many converts claim to experience. I want raw nirvana, pronto.

Here are some great links too, if you don’t feel sufficiently drained from the epic length of this post!

• Steve Pavlina’s own 30 day raw trial.
• Frederic Patenaude’s website.
• 30 bananas a day – awesome raw food community.
• Raw food health.

Sunday funday.

Greetings!

Did you all live it up on this sensationally sunny Sunday? When it’s been overcast and miserable for a few days, I literally cartwheel out of bed and squeal with glee upon peeling back my blinds to reveal blue skies and (delayed) springtime sun. I’m a mad woman who takes the notion of seizing the day to a whole new extreme; I engaged the pincer grip & nipple-tweaked this day until it begged for mercy. Sunday’s off are a rare treat; I’m going to milk them for all they’re worth!

Off course, after reading Born to Run before bed last night, I made the executive decision to don my vibrams and be a barefoot bandit this morning, pre-breakfast no less.

Y’all know I don’t function so well on an empty stomach, so I scarfed a medjool date before I left for good measure.

I did a long-ish run yesterday afternoon and never like running to any great extent 2 days in a row, so I frolicked around the beaches, scampering about in that crazy, childish manner that seems to be inspired by my bare, liberated tootsies, walking here, running there, and generally loping about grinning at the beauty of it all. I wish wish WISH i’d had my camera because it was absolutely, eye-wateringly beautiful out there. Sometimes I sprint down to the beach, collapse on the sand and just stare into the ocean wondering how the hell everything came to be so gosh darn delightful. I was contemplating the Deepak Chopra-ish notion that we create our own realities; that we are the ultimate creative forces in the universe…This being the case, let me just say then that I am a veritable Van Gogh, I never knew I was such a supremely skilled artiste .

Of course, wandering in an hour later with sand in my hair and a glint in my eye, I was ready to MURDER a spirulina shake.

Bubbling cauldron of superfood pow-ah.

I then got to making a raw picnic for the man and I, as I was SET on heading back to the beach with camera in hand.

I spiralized some carrot & zucchini, then made a dressing from yellow miso, lemon juice, raw honey, ginger, sesame oil, tamari and water.

This impressed Jarad, carnivore extraordinaire. Sweet victory!

I then decided on a special Sunday treat in the form of this AMAZING sourdough that is baked near my house, that i’ve somehow never tried before. Lordy, this was delicious. I schmeared on a big dollop of lentil dip and ascended to foodie heaven.

I was again sporting my VFF’s, with embedded foliage.

Nawww.

We checked out some sculptures that are positioned around the beaches as part of an annual exhibition. I love how interactive they are; both with people & the environment. Although I WAS a little turned off by the sheer number of bodies now congesting the walkways; it was kind of sad because I’ve had the chance to see the whole exhibition many times but this was Jarad’s only chance…however we gave up halfway because the throngs of people made it nearly impossible to get a good look at each artwork, and we are generally unenthused about crowds

Some cool ones included this ‘reef’ made out of milk-bottle caps and what-si-mer-call-it cables.

And a giant chicken. Complete with living tail-foliage and oversized eggs. I tickled his chin.

Sexy boulder beauty.

Pinchy the crab.

Spotted! Sneaky VFF sighting. This dude totally rocked the white sprints – how does he make them look so ultra cooooool?

I love this one. I think it pairs beautifully with the physical setting. Very calming.

Once we abandoned the crowds, we returned home to demolish my third and final course of the picnic that had to remain in the freezer for reasons that will soon become apparent.

I MADE HEALTHY RAW VEGAN ICE-CREAM! WITH HOMEMADE CACAO CHIPS!

The recipe was one I’ve been dreaming up for a while, and I would like to declare it a triumphant success! Stay tuned for the recipe low-down. Get excited.

The boy and I also went to see the Social Network, which was really excellent. I thought the script, acting & soundtrack (by Trent Reznor) was awesome; very much lived up to the hype.

Now, I need to rest my weary eyelids and crawl into bed with another chapter of Born to Run. Completely engrossed.

Goodnight! x

Yes, you can put avocado in that.

Hey hey hey blogerinos!

What’s this top secret plan that is unfolding in the halls of Bonne Santé? Well, it’s not really that top secret nor planned, but it does involve a day of impromptu raw-dom. You could say i’ve been in the raw for the past 24 hours.

I usually try to eat 2 meals a day uncooked, but have been toying with the idea of experimenting in a more extreme sense, with complete & utter raw behaviour. Just for a day. Just to dabble in the world of boundless energy, heightened awareness and excessive crunching. (I also realise that it would take a longer stint of said eating to reap such grand benefits, but humour me here.)

Day one? I’m wanting it to roll over into day two.

I have a strange feeling that this kind of eating just sits right with my particular constitution (even in Ayurvedic medicine, my dosha is best suited to a vegetarian diet with lots of raw, cooling foods). Read more about doshas here.

Again, I hear you, it will take time.

But why not enjoy the most tasty, delicious smoothie known to wo-man on such a glorious day?

Avocado, Banana, Tahini & Honey thickshake

1 medium frozen banana

1/2 ripe avocado

1 tsp tahini

1 tsp raw honey

1 cup raw nut milk

I know i’ve gone on about delicious avocado creations in the past, but i’m going to hammer it home: avocado makes for a rich, creamy, mousse-like raw drink, beyond your wildest sexy veggie dreams!

This was one of the best tasting things of my life…and I don’t say that lightly! I plan to test it on the guinea pig boyfriend this weekend, wheee!

So back to raw talk. What the hell have I been eating?

Well, there are many camps in the raw brigade; low-fat, high-fat, intricately prepared dehydrated masterpieces, simple fruit &vegetarians… Confusing for a girl who is notoriously indecisive.

To me, it seems sensible to eat a majority of vegetable & fruit matter, with a few fats for satiety and perhaps some sprouted grains here and there. Contrary to popular belief, you are supplied with ample proteins from vegetables, seeds & nuts – no deficiencies here. Likewise, calcium is also found in green leafy vegetables & sea veggies in abundance. To Osteoporosis I say, begone!

I mainly want to make sure I get enough calories (not that I care about those little buggers in any real sense) because it’s easy to undereat on a diet of so much water & fiber.

Today I ate:

1 young coconut + chia seeds

1 blood orange

1 banana

1 apple

sultanas & goji berries

few slices pineapple & rockmelon

above avocado smoothie

giant salad with kale, baby spinach, carrot, zucchini, beetroot, mushrooms, sesame seeds & seaweed

1 apple

another giant salad with the other half of the avocado, a some soaked almonds, flax-seed oil & lemon juice

I don’t think was quite enough calories, but it just feels like you’re eating HEAPS! This is why it sits so well with me, obviously I love to feel like I can eat a whole basket/bucket/trailer-load of something and be on the right track.

If you’re interested in learning more about raw food diets…get on google! Just kidding, Karen Knowler is really helpful, as is the Living & Raw foods community.

Since I’m spamming you with articles, I’ve been collecting a few that I thought might tickle your fancy-pants:

* The importance of detoxing to combat acidosis & toxemia  – Kate from Green and Juicy (fellow aspiring Naturopath!) sent me this link and it’s a very informative read.

* 3 causes of illness – from Crazy Sexy Life – are you hooked up with this amazing resource yet?!

* Raw for 30 days; reversing diabetes – trailer for the documentary

* Alcohol more damaging to health than crack cocaine – Natural News article

* Not strictly health related, but check out these insanely cute, eco-friendly totes, purses & make-up bags from Apple & Bee - my friend sent me the link & i’ve had to restrain myself from buying the whole collection as christmas presents (Mum, look away, you may or may not be receiving one of these…along with the rest of my extended family. Ha!)

What are your thoughts on raw foods? Are you a raw foodist, or think it’s too extreme? Any tips for the Bonne Santé newbie?

xxx