We slipped back into bad eating habits as the year progressed, and this kind of DVD is just the thing to perk us up and get us back on track.

Here’s to everyone’s better health!!

http://www.foodmatters.tv/half_off

We’ve been told that in order to have the best vegetables, we need to fertilize and spray for pests. We’ve been told that we need exterminators to eliminate insects from our gardens and our world. Yet, all the pesticides and herbicides do NOT bring about a healthy environment. Their products do not insure better crops or pest free living. They merely poison our food supply, deplete and poison our soil, and cause a weakening to the entire eco-system. Marketing and advertising are nothing more than forms of mass manipulation, and we’ve been sold a bill of goods that endanger the future of our planet and ourselves.

At Remineralize the Earth you can see what is being done and what you can do to contribute to the health and wellbeing of our planet and ourselves. I encourage you to take a look!  http://remineralize.org/site/

Huge Raw Zucchini!

The other day, Steve was given a HUGE zucchini, and we decided we’d make several different recipes from it. For a while, we just left it on the dining room table as a great conversation piece, but yesterday we made our cooked veggie lasagna, and today will put together a raw version.

We were happy to see that our local Farmer’s Market has expanded to include some fabulous new organic farmers and vendors. One of them is La Vie from Santa Cruz. They used to be a restaurant and now are doing Farmer’s Markets. The quality of their food is very nice, and it is great to be able to go locally to find good raw food and organic produce. Another new vendor is Farmhouse Culture sauerkraut, also from the Santa Cruz area. If you are in S.F. Bay area, College of San Mateo has now got a really first class farmer’s market, including musician, every Saturday from 8-1 PM

Zucchini Casserole

One thing of interest that was a moment of synchronicity – I spoke with one of the gals from the La Vie booth, and she mentioned that she had been having stuffed up ears and earaches for a while as she’d gone back to cooked food. She got off the cooked food and went back to raw, and the ears cleared up. Interestingly enough, that’s what I’m dealing with now, as we have been falling off the raw wagon by eating more cooked meals with mixed results. I’ve mentioned before that when I eat mostly raw, I have felt great, and some health issues  have improved, including ear wax buildup, but one that has not improved is my blood pressure – which totally astounds me. When I eat mostly raw, it spikes quite high. Now that we’ve been eating cooked food, the blood pressure is normalized, but the ear issues are back, and I don’t have the same vitality.

I’ve gotten more books on health modalities, but I think once again it all boils down to our unique individual chemistry. Like snowflakes, we’re all a little bit different, and it’s the process of finding the clues to what works best for us. So…I’m still trying to find the perfect balance, but do find that I am revitalized when I eat mostly raw. (KJ)

Spinach, swiss chard, and parsley have high levels of oxalic acid – parsley being the highest – and eating them raw can cause blockage of calcium absorption in the body. She said that for her green smoothies she lightly steams these particular greens until a hint of water on leaves appears. This allows for the calcium to be absorbed and still keeps the greens close to raw. She said that kale does not seem to be a problem, so that can be used without steaming, and although this may not affect everyone the same way, I have noted since being on the raw food diet that I am not absorbing calcium – and my smoothie greens have been mostly spinach. So, I’m going to try this new method and see what happens.

In the meantime, if you are looking for wonderful health care – try a naturopath. They have so much to offer in the way of alternative health remedies, and I’m thrilled to have found one who is open and aware of the many modalities that regular M.D.’s haven’t got a clue about. It’s very nice to talk to a health care professional who doesn’t get a  deer in the headlights expression when you mention things like cranial sacral, homeopathy, or raw food!! (KJ)

Raw Thai Coconut Soup

How to Make Raw Thai Coconut Soup and Learn to Properly Crack Open a Young Coconut in the Process.

I have made Raw Thai Coconut Soup several times now. It gets easier every time I do it. At first it may seem somewhat intimidating if you’ve never opened a coconut before. However, if you have the right tools and have the know-how, it is a snap! And the results are so amazing you will wonder why you’ve never had this delicious concoction before! Most Thai Coconut Soup  is not served raw in restaurants. It’s probably way easier just to make it cooked. I have nothing against cooked Thai Coconut Soup as it definitely has its place, but Raw Thai Coconut Soup is so much better because it’s ALIVE and full of raw enzymatic goodness ! Everyone I have served it to attests to its goodness!

Don’t worry too much if you can’t find all the exotic ingredients; the soup will still taste pretty good even if some are left out!

I have even produced a short video showing you how to make Raw Thai Coconut Soup which you can view on YouTube!

Here’s the recipe I use:

Raw Thai Coconut Soup

Serves 4

The Broth:

Tap open  3 young coconuts and drain off their milk. Reserve the milk.

Split open the coconuts and scrape out the meat with a large spoon.

Add the raw coconut meat to the mix

Add all the coconut milk plus some water to equal about 4 cups total in the Vitamix. (If not enough milk, add a little water.)

Prepare:

6 kefir lime leaves without stock

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp lime zest

2 garlic cloves

1 stalk Thai Lemon Grass – white part only, cracked open with the flat side of a knife

1 – 2 tbl Galanga Root

1 – 2 tblsp Ginger

Finely grind the kefir lime leaves, red chili flakes and zest in a coffee grinder. Add these, along with the rest of the broth ingredients to the ‘coconut milk’ and blend for a few seconds until very smooth.

Add

• 1/8 cup olive oil (optional)
• 2 tsp honey or a couple of dates
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/16 cup tamari
• Salt to taste

Blend All until creamy smooth – (About 3 – 4 minutes)

Toppings:

These will be added later at the table.

• 3 ounces thinly sliced mushrooms, rinsed & marinated in a little olive oil and soy sauce.
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 1/3 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced daikon
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced bok choi
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red pepper
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced yellow pepper

Extras:

Handful cilantro leaves

Handful black sesame seeds

2 green onions chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

Strain through a Nut Milk Bag sieve and discard the pulp unless you want a hearty thick creamy soup.

Straining Raw Coconut Soup

To serve:

Divide toppings among 4 bowls. If desired, gently warm broth on stove while stirring constantly and pour over veggies. Top with cilantro leaves and black sesame seeds.

ENJOY!

Through our own experimentation and willingness to adapt, will we be able to find what works for us, and what doesn’t. We need to be explorers in the micro molecular world of what makes our own unique selves tick at all levels. Our bodies are not merely the physical elements they are made up of, but also the mental and spiritual components that drive us forward.

Today I’m going to investigate the information given by the two raw food guys and google around to see what else comes up. I’ll report my findings as we continue this journey into raw! If you are interested, the site that leads to several sites Steve found is  http://www.thinkandgoraw.com/MetabolicNonsense.htm

Until next time, Happy Day! (KJ)

As the step-daughter and granddaughter of physicians, I was brought up to have respect for medicine…but it was not the medicine that is practiced in today’s world. We did not use antibiotics indiscriminately, or drugs for every symptom in the book. I was brought up with onion syrup as a very effective cough medicine and herbal remedies for ear aches and other forms of tonics to assist with various ailments. In today’s world, there is a drug for any little thing we have, and as one of the books I’m exploring suggests, there are so many specialists that nobody is looking at the whole body to see how one ailment is affected by something else. We have become a society addicted to specialized fields of medicine and drugs that mask symptoms, but have nothing to do with healing. And it is the healing that interests me.

My uncle had a stroke a couple of years ago and is now on 13 different medications. He has all kinds of side effects from them, but stays on them because he’s been brainwashed that he must. Advertising on television, which used to be forbidden to drug companies, is now wide open – and for those who watch the evening news, you know it’s mostly commercials with the latest pill that will cure all ailments in spite of the hurriedly explained side effects. And the truth is, the number of deaths that occur from drug interaction are under-reported and a travesty in a system where most drug education for physicians comes from the drug salesmen! We have become so technological that medicine now really means drug or cut. Yet, it does not have to be that way.

In their brilliant book, Ultra-Prevention, Mark Hyman, M.D. and Mark Liponis, M.D., recount their own personal journeys through the medical system that brought each of them to the recognition that there had to be a better way to handle degenerative and chronic disease. They researched, studied, did self-healing, and as a result have put together a practice that is based on Integrative Medicine…meaning whole body, mind, and spirit. They’ve found remarkable “cures” come in ways that utilize the intelligence of the body and adaptive changes in what we eat, the minerals and vitamins we get, as well as exercise and mind calming techniques. They bust the myths we’ve all been brainwashed to believe, and it is a liberating experience to find this kind of insight coming out of two MD’s from the established medical community. I’ve seen work done by intrepid researchers, chiropractors, and bio-chemists that suggest there is a better way, but to have MD’s confirm it is a validation that appeals to the part of us that believes in the ultimate authority of doctors.

http://www.amazon.com/ULTRAPREVENTION-6-WEEK-PLAN-THAT-HEALTHY/dp/0743448839/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276637953&sr=1-1

Another important book, recommended by Dr. Joseph Mercola, ( www.mercola.com ), is The Metabolic Typing Diet, by William Wolcott, which does not look at symptoms or diseases, but rather gives an extensive quiz to determine the metabolic type of the patient. In so doing, there is a host of right and wrong foods, vitamins and minerals for particular metabolic types that can assist the health detective in finding out what is going on with the body and why. Beyond metabolism, the book addresses all the systems within the body, pinpointing more completely what is appropriate for one person while something else is better for another. You can read very generous excerpts from the book on Amazon by clicking on the cover of the book and going to the content section. Reading what is there is an education in itself.

http://www.amazon.com/Metabolic-Typing-Diet-William-Wolcott/dp/0767905644/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276637800&sr=8-1

We’ve made medicine out to be a complex industry of finding the right drugs for ailments, and yet the body has a remarkable ability to be a self-correcting universe when given the right ingredients. We just have to work with it intelligently and know how to do proactive self-care so that in the event that we really do need the help of a modern drug, it will be used effectively with discrimination. In the meantime, if we learn about what we put into our bodies and follow a healthy regimen of living, we may find ourselves drug free for life. I like that idea!! (KJ)

Raw Dinner

We had another lovely evening with friends, enjoying the benefits of the raw food diet. It was a birthday celebration, and the Thai coconut soup was a huge hit.

We followed this with the spiralized zucchini, yellow squash, and parsnip topped with our raw tomato sauce. Zucchini crackers with two types of humus were side accompaniments, and we had lovely fresh strawberries with a gluten-free small cake for dessert.

Raw Coconut Soup

Gluten-Free Birthday Cake

Our friends told us about a yummy dessert they make - a Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie! They use hazelnut milk,  peanut butter, cocoa powder, and 1 or 2 bananas. Steve and I perked up at this idea, so he went into the kitchen and whipped up a yummy smoothie with raw almond butter in place of the peanut butter, raw cacao powder, and a teaspoon of vanilla. DELICIOUS!!

On another note, I’ve noted that lately I’ve felt a little bit “off”. I know that there is a lot of toxicity that is supposed to be exiting the body as we change over to more and more raw food, however, this has been a little strange. I prayed about it, and lo and behold, this morning I received an e-mail newsletter from Dr. Mercola in which he mentioned the importance of Vitamin B12 for people who are vegetarians and vegans. When he included the symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency, I felt I’d found the answer to my recent unpleasant symptoms. Fortunately, I had B12 sublinguals in 5,000 units (which he recommends) and took one. Within an hour, my vision improved, my energy level rebounded, and my balance was better.

This just goes to show us that even if raw food is good for us, we do have to make up for some of the things we might otherwise need in minerals and vitamins to make up for missing ingredients in our diet.

Once again, I was shown the validity and importance of prayer, and the point was well taken. Rather than waiting until everything else fails, THAT is the place we need to go first, for aren’t we reminded through one of the most universal prayers to our Creator, “give us this day our daily bread”?

In order to receive, we have to ask, and in so doing, our lives unfold with so much more grace and less internal stress. I once was told that prayers that aren’t prayed can never be answered, and the beauty of prayer is that it is just a request away!  We are the ones who needlessly frustrate ourselves by trying to do it all alone, and yet here is a freely given gift. My gift today was Vitamin B12, and for that I am deeply grateful . Amen! (KJ)

Raw Onion Rings

Years ago, I used to love deep-fried onion rings, and would order them whenever we went to get a burger and fries. However, as we were more aware of the problems with deep-fried food, I didn’t have them anymore. That is, until now! But THESE onion rings are NOT deep-fried, they are dehydrated!

You might wrinkle your nose at that, but I had leftover sauce for the kale chips we make, and we’d made a lasagna a few nights before with lots of leftover raw onions, zucchini, and yellow squash. I got the idea to coat them all with the kale batter and see how they would taste after being dehydrated. I didn’t tell Steve as I wanted it to be a surprise. They were very tasty, and he liked the idea – deciding we should just do onion rings.

Kale Chips & Raw Onion Rings

We made a large batch of them and dehydrated them for about 7 hours. I took them out before they were totally dried, and they were good, but put them back for another 8 hours and WOWIE ZOWIE!!! These are a winner, and naturally we are going to make more.

Now I’m thinking what else we can dehydrate with that sauce, like artichoke hearts and apple slices. There are endless possibilities – the world is our oyster….er, ‘scuse me…I mean, Cauliflower!!

Yum!!! (KJ)

Panaramic View from Deck

What a fabulous meetup we had last night at Table for Life in San Carlos.   We were treated to an inspired evening of poetry and music with Eric Rumi Schneider and cellist, Elaine Kreston.

Eric & Elaine in Concert doing Rumi

Our hosts, Michael and Anna Coulter, have a gorgeous home in the hills that has a panoramic view of the Bay Area, and the food shared by all attending was truly delicious. Again it reminds us of how good we feel when we eat a raw diet, and reaffirms our commitment to doing more. Beyond that, how grateful we are for the opportunity to meet with like minded individuals who are also on a journey within the raw food lifestyle.

Even though we’re not all 100% raw, we are each making our way and finding the benefits and challenges through the process. The super thing about meetup groups is that there are people who can answer questions and who can share their own journey, as well as wonderful recipes that are healthy and delicious. These monthly gatherings affirm the journey and often lead to friendships and learning about other things of interest.

Most incredibly, you note the aliveness of everyone participating. There is something about raw food that creates a glow that emanates from within and shines on the faces of those who have found this way of eating. I think it is the cells within the body all playing in symphonic delight, grateful for being given food that is alive and vibrant so that renewal can take place in the healthiest of ways. Steve has taken pictures of the food, and even won second prize for his delicious onion/mushroom crackers with cashew “cheese” spread.

Mushroom Onion Crackers with MocKotta Cheese

If you would like to join or start a group in your own area, check out http://www.meetup.com for information. Just enter raw food groups in their search dialogue box, and see what’s available. If the groups in your area are anything like the ones in ours, they are well worth attending! (KJ)