Parents & Food

I'm taking the easy way out, I know.

My parents are in town (at this very moment!) and I'm still at work, but I've decided to eat regular food and forgo the raw while they are here. They arrived an hour or so ago and will leave on Saturday - Halloween.

I haven't seen them in a year and this is the first time they've visited me since I was 23 - thirteen years ago! I really don't want their visit to be about my eating habits, especially when I'm still transitioning. So this time I'm not saying anything and I'll resume my rawdom when they leave. In the meantime, I'll choose as many whole foods as possible, but not make a big deal of it.

I'm excited. Should be fun. We're going to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Chimney Rock, Black Mountain, The Biltmore Estate, etc. They've never been to Asheville. I'm really impressed that they're here!

Hugs & Hearts,

Tena

So This is Transitioning...

I thought because I have read so many books, have so much information, and have so much excitement for the raw food diet that I would simply dump cooked food without a thought. I mean, I've been studying it for years and I know the benefits, so why not?What I did not take into account were my habits, my addictions, my desires, my emotions, my moods, my body cravings, etc. etc.

So, as you know, three days ago I broke down and had sprouted bread, goat cheese, smoked salmon and hummus. Not too bad for a break. At least I didn't have anything processed or chemical laden. 

So now what? This is what they call the 'Transition Stage'.

I went on the biggest raw food forum I know about - The Living and Raw Foods Community - and poured through other's people's experiences..some are 70/30, some are 50/50, some try to be 100%, but end up having cake and fried restaurant food. Some break down completely and have a fast food burger. All of the sudden, I didn't feel like such a loser. I realized that I was transitioning...and that it is totally normal to eat the raw food diet, feel high as a kite (which I did for days, it was lovely!) and then have cooked food. Everyone on the forum was so kind to one another, reminding each other that there is a 'transition stage' from cooked to raw.

Now it's time for me to report what happened because of the cooked food.

My energy plummeted. Completely. I felt heavy. I felt stuck energy. I wasn't connecting as easily. My elimination slowed. No more high. No more feelings of extreme love and gratitude. It was a HUGE difference, which took nearly a day to settle in. Once it did though, I realized the absolute benefits of the raw food diet.

It is RIDICULOUS how different I feel on raw, compared to cooked.

In hindsight, what I could have done to remedy the aggravation and irritation I was feeling, was to take a nap. I could have made a fresh veggie juice. I could have dropped by Earth Fare and grabbed some spirulina which is super high in protein, B12 and ton of other essential nutrients. Mostly though, I think I needed sleep. My body has been going through a LOT of change lately and it was operating on less sleep than I am used to. Instead, I ate some cooked food and THEN went to sleep. 

Now, I am working toward getting back to feeling as great as I did a few days ago. It is such an amazing high. Plus, I will be getting 'The Ultimate Meal', which I mentioned in a previous post. This is a good way to send your body a shot of all the vitamins and minerals it needs.

I'm back to raw, but still not yet back to 'high'.

Regardless, I am seeing MAJOR improvements in my breathing - and I am inspired.

Thanks for reading!

I am leaving you with a Rawcipe Video - Blueberry Chocolate Pie!

Exercise Induced Asthma - a Vicious Cycle

What an amazing week this has been. Just last Sunday, I could not breathe and ended up in Urgent Care. Today I walked for an hour, up steeeeeep hills and didn't have to use my inhaler. Yay! I am so proud.

My friend 'A' has found a really beautiful walk around the suburbs of West Asheville. Yesterday was our first go at it. I didn't want to take my inhaler and resisted, but my chest became super tight and I felt very strained to breathe; not just a little, but a lot. I am learning that it is best to take the inhaler than to put that strain on my heart and lungs, so I took it.

The walk is a slightly challenging one. Slightly meaning, it was difficult the first time, but already easier the second time. I imagine that in no time it will seem super simple. My heart gets pumping. My breathing speeds up. I start taking off layers of clothing. A large portion of it is up, up, up...(think San Francisco type hills, several blocks up). It is a great nice workout.

I have realized over the last two days of taking a cardio walk that I need to walk every day, but to be reasonable, I'll settle for three times a week. :)

The thing is, I don't believe in 'exercise induced' asthma. I think it is simply a vicious cycle. Asthmatics don't exercise because they get asthma. Asthmatics get asthma because they don't exercise. Even though I had asthma yesterday due to the walk, I just knew that if I did it again I would increase my lung power. Doing it regularly, I believe, actually HELPS asthma.

It seems the time to start exercising is not only upon me, but has already begun.

Viva la lung power!

Two Inspiring Videos

I love these two youtube videos of Dorit, the founder of the Green Lifestyle Film Festival, talking about health, love, personal power and our planet. Dorit is a raw food chef.

The Ultimate Meal

A great friend of mine who would like to see me succeed has passed along some information.

At first I was resistant, because I want to be an 'all natural' girl who gets all her radiant health from the whole, organic foods she eats. Unfortunately, I am seeing that I have A LOT more information to take in about nutrition and a path to follow before I know how to give myself all the vitamins and minerals I need from a raw food diet.

After reading about this in several places, reading reviews, looking over the ingredients, and realizing that they take great care in delivering "raw, properly sprouted, freeze-dried, cold-milled and  organic plant foods that have their enzymes and nutrients intact as nature intended, as well as natural, potent anti-oxidants in optimum, not trace amounts" - I have decided that it may be worth trying.

It is called - The Ultimate Meal and he SWEARS by it. So passionate about it! Says that it's the absolute only thing that he can't live without and has been using it for nearly 10 years. He's someone I trust and respect, so I'm going to give it a go. I'll let you know, of course, what I think about it! If anyone here has experience with it, please let me know.

Here is The Best Price I've Found

Raw....Fish?

Well, that didn't last long. I am definitely not going to 'beat myself up' over it, just keep walking the forward path...

Yesterday was a hard day. I haven't been getting much sleep and this week has been so intense. I quit smoking. I quit caffeine. I quit cooked foods. I started two prescription medicines....it was all a bit much. I was high, high, high....and then I was irritable, grouchy, sleepy, hungry and scattered. I couldn't work, because I couldn't concentrate to write. I couldn't sit still. I couldn't stand sound...noises were irritating me big time. I'm also getting ready to start my moon cycle.

So yesterday, after eating fruits, veggies, and WAY too many nuts without ever feeling satisfied, I talked myself into a 70/30 diet for now. 70 percent raw, 30 percent cooked.

I figured that eating things that weren't giving me the nutrition I needed, wasn't helping my goal of being healthy, nourished, satisfied and energetic. 

I bought a package of smoked salmon (Lox), goat cheese (which for some reason that I need to research, does not impact me like other cheeses, no mucous or asthma) and a package of sprouted Ezekiel bread english muffins. Ezekiel bread is sprouted, gluten free, flourless, yeast free, etc. I figured if I was going to eat bread, I should choose the best, most healthy thing I could find. You can find it in your grocer's refridgerated section. Oh, and I also got some hummus and a package of shitake/portabello mushrooms (to saute), along with raw food items and Lara Food Bars.

I made sure that the things I got had no chemicals in them - organic, only whole ingredients...I even chose the smoked salmon that had no sugar in the smoking process. The hummus was organic and natural, just chickpeas, olive oil, etc. 

I thought I was going to cut the smoked salmon package up into four pieces and eat one a day for the next four days, on a piece of Ezekiel bread with goat cheese, but who was I kidding? I ate the whole package (not very much really) and wanted more. I felt very nourished once I had eaten my dinner and went straight to bed (at 7pm) because I needed it.

I didn't have very sound sleep though...and had a lot of vivid dreams. In one dream I found that I had an extra bedroom in my apartment that I never knew about out. I was ecstatic to find more space in my home. In other dream a doctor (Paul Reiser from Mad About You) was taking blood from my arm to test it for something, then he tried to get sexual with me and I got upset! I've been dreaming very vivid dreams, because of the nicotine patch. That is ANOTHER thing I am on at the moment. 

It's not like I want to smoke - the very thought of it makes me feel strangled and unable to breathe, but I am on the patch because I tend to get very, very, VERY irritated as I am detoxing fom nicotine. I cry a lot. I feel like life sucks. Everyone gets on my nerves. I cry a lot. I come across as a bitch, basically. Everything I say sounds irritated. I just want to make all of these changes as painless as possible. I was going to use Chantix, because I know that works, but decided against it because I have to smoke for a week to do Chantix. I know that I can never smoke another cigarette again, so Chantix is out of the question. I just can't. 

It's very humbling to be honest about all the things I am doing now and just come clean about what I am taking, where my health is, and what I am doing. I would rather just hide it and act like I don't need anything and that I'm all natural. I've tried that, a lot, and failed a lot. This time I am just coming clean with it all, taking responsibility, being honest WITH MYSELF, and working toward eliminating things as I go. I think this is the recipe for success. We shall see! Since Sunday I have eliminated Prednisone and Alavert.

Now I have Singulair, the patch and my inhaler left to conquer.

So, I wake up, take a shower, put on a patch and have a smoothie. Today it was 2 bananas, and a lot of kale, romaine, sprouts and collards. It was yum! Then I take my inhaler as little as I can all day (which has been drastically cut since Sunday - I would say I take it 1/5 as much as I was) and I take a Singulair before bed.

I am working slowly...yes...but I am working. Plus, I can breathe A LOT better now. I never wake up during the night unable to breathe anymore AND I never have to take my inhaler first thing when I get up in the mornings. 

Always on the forward path.

Breathing Big

So as you all know, this journey of mine is about breathing - hence the name Raw RESPIRE. I thought I'd take this morning to give a little background on my breathing and my health in general.

I was born with asthma. When I was born I was put into an oxygen incubator. It was there right from the start. When I was a baby, my parents found out that I was allergic to eggs and dairy. Dad fed me a little bit of his scrambled egg with cheese and I broke out into hives and couldn't breathe. They rushed me to the hospital.

The doctor told them to take it out of my diet and then in a couple years start slowly incorporating it back into my diet. I wish they hadn't told them to do that. I wish it would have been okay in the early 70's for them to think, "She can't have these things and she doesn't need them to be healthy" but they thought I needed them and hence, they did incorporate them back into my diet. My childhood diet was full of dairy and eggs.

All throughout my childhood I had asthma. First I took a GROSS liquid medicine that made me sick. I remember as a child that I would hide the fact that I had asthma, so I didn't have to take the nasty tasting medicine. I can't help but think that a lot of those asthma attacks were brought on by food reactions. I didn't find this out (that I was allergic to food) until way later in life...like, a couple of years ago. I never knew! I couldn't believe it when I found out.

As I got older, about 11 or 12, they moved me from the nasty tasting medicine, to pills. I still had asthma attacks. There were still times I was rushed to the doctor or hospital....to get shots that would allow me to breathe. In high school, I was introduced to the 'inhaler', I felt like I had found a medicine miracle and wondered why I hadn't had one of these amazing contraptions all along!

I'm allergic to animal dander, feathers, dust, mold, grass - and some foods. The food part was never something I considered as a child or knew about. I just knew about the other things.

I also tend to think that asthma is caused by stress, being afraid, being worried, etc. My home life was sometimes turbulent and if I was scared or stressed, I would also get asthma.

Once I left home, I had a wonderful thing happen - no more asthma! I didn't even have an inhaler on me! I moved throughout life without the problem of asthma. Only rarely, when I would visit someone's house that had a cat with a lot of cat hair and dust, would I get asthma. Usually I would just get an inhaler at a drug store, and take it once and be done with it.

If I am remembering correctly, I only had to go to the doctor one time in my 20's for asthma.

Yet, three years ago, when I left San Francisco, a weird thing happened. I started having asthma again - badly. This was a horribly stressful time in my life. I was alone, scared and didn't have much money or direction. My life was up-in-the-air and I had no grounding. I began to use an inhaler EVERY day. Then I began using it several times a day and from there, it became something that I needed ALL the time. I have been taking it nearly ten times a day. This month, in October 2008, I am on my 4th inhaler of the month. In the last three years I have used an unmentionable amount of inhalers and have been to the emergency room once and Urgent Care once.

This raw diet is an extreme way for me to take everything out of my diet, flood my body with vitamins and minerals (via green smoothies and lots of kale, romaine, collards, chard, etc.) so that I can find out what diet is best for me.

I am a 'natural' type person. I write about holistic health and sustainability. I don't want to be dependent upon these medicines and I don't want to rely on steroids the rest of my life - which is the exact point I am standing in. I am now on steroids and that is just not acceptable to me. I want to breathe naturally, fully and with joy. I want to be naturally high and not constantly be thinking about my breath.

I'm REALLY happy to report that this morning was the first morning that I woke up and could breathe. I took a shower. I ate breakfast. I am sitting here and I am getting a little tight, but this is a HUGE difference.

Also, since the very first day of starting on the raw diet, I have not woke up during the night to use my inhaler. This has been a regular occurrence for me. I was waking up once to two times during the night, unable to breathe. Now...no more.

Of course, I can't help but wonder if it is the fact that I have severely changed my diet, or whether it is the steroids. I imagine it is both, but I do not want to be on the steroids. So, as time goes on and I finish my prescription of Singulair, I will be visiting a specialist, getting testing for food allergies, and figuring out how I live my life without constantly thinking about having to take something to breathe. Plus, the stress in my life has been dramatically reduced. I'm laughing more, loving more, feel taken care of (by me) and am really doing all I can to live a high, inspired, healthy life full of love and safety.

This morning I finished my prescription of Prednisone. I am done. Yay!!!!

Yesterday Sugar, Today Salt

This morning I woke up craving salt - big time. I must be taking in too much sugar with the fruits and cacao. I love the fact that I'm listening to my body now, instead of just waking up like a zombie and heading straight to the coffee maker - then craving bread and dense food because of the whole blood-sugar coffee-drop thing. It's nice to hear the messages.

This morning- the message was loud and clear: "Salt, no sugar, Please".

I've been having green smoothies with fruit in the mornings. I love my green smoothies. They are simple, quick and full of nutrition, but this morning, I had a green veggie smoothie. Here is the Uncooked Rawcipe:

Veggie Smoothie

2 med sized ripe tomatoes

3 big romaine leaves

1 avocado 

2 celery stalks

2 cloves of garlic (haha, yeah, I smell like garlic today, so what??)

a dash of Bragg's

1/2 jalapeno 

juice of 1/2 lime

1 Cup of Water

I think that's it...  Vitamix Action and Viola! 

Oh my! It was definitely what I needed.

For lunch I also opted to go sugar-less. Another Uncooked Rawcipe:

Mock Pimento Cheese Spread

several spoons raw tahini

1 red bell pepper

squiggle of olive oil

squiggle of Bragg's (there is controversy over whether this is raw or not. it probably isn't, but it is staying in my tool box for now)

I mixed everything in a bowl, used my handy, dandy hand-processor, and I swear, it is like pimento cheese spread! Next time I am adding lemon and nutritional yeast so it really IS like pimento cheese spread. That wasn't my intention, but I'll take it!

Then I spread it all on 1 1/2 large portabellos and ate it. YUM. Better than you would think!

Of course, I had an Ulimana Truffle and a WildBar - see yesterday's post to find out more about those delectables. Also, a few brazil nuts. 

For dinner I had a banana and a Cherry Pie Lara Bar. I had a class after work and so I was 'on the run'. I didn't make anything special.

I am noticing a few things. For instance, today my mood is higher. I feel more present already.  I feel like I am connecting with people more and I have less mind chatter. 

Emotional Rawage

Today I felt like I was hungry, but I took a good look at the feeling of hunger, because I knew I couldn't actually be hungry. I ate a lot today. The feeling was in my upper belly...and I don't think it was hunger, but it is a feeling that I have oftentimes masked by eating 'comfort' foods. It was an emotional response. I felt a feeling (not sure what it exactly was or where it came from) and I had an instant 'reaction' to eat something...something bready or fried. 

Hmm... emotional eating. I am understanding. It's not quite like I thought. It's not eating because I feel bad about myself or depressed or sad, but it is feeling the need to use something to make the emotion I'm having - the sensation I'm having in my body - go away. It has been an unconscious response. I haven't been aware that I am using food to make sensations go away. These sensations have nothing to do with hunger.

Instead, I just drank some water and it passed on it's own. Very interesting.

Also, I had another feeling today. I was driving and I felt like I was missing something. I kept thinking, almost subconsciously, that there used to be a large, heavy necklace on my chest, but I don't wear large, heavy necklaces. I checked in with my body and realized that I felt very light in my chest. Exposed. Vulnerable even. Open. Like there had been something right in the middle of my chest, between my breasts, and it was gone. My whole chest felt exposed. There was a light, open feeling...I just kept scanning my body and yes, my whole chest was open. Like, if something had been attached there and it was removed.

It's not like I'm not getting asthma here and there - and I'm still using my inhaler 2-4 times a day, but that is MUCH less and I'm cutting down from 2 sprays each time, to only one spray. 

I am not sure what has happened, but I definitely feel different in my chest. Some energy has moved. Some energy has completely left, like it was a big mass hanging on my chest and it is gone. My heart center feels different than the whole rest of my body. The feeling hasn't left since I noticed it.

Amazing.

A Little Detoxing....

Today was a good day...

My first Uncooked Rawcipe of the day was my morning smoothie: kale, collard, banana, water and cherry; the last of the cherries, they were delicious! Unfortunately, on my way out the door I forgot the glass. Doh! I had already drank a small glass and 'some' of the second glass. So I just missed a bit. 

It's my fault for having a purse, a laptop bag and lunch in tow, with a phone to my ear. Lesson learned on that one.

An hour or two after being at work, I noticed some detox symptoms: bloating, gas, and for the first time, nausea. I know this does not sound fun! Yet when I think about it, I get all happy that I am releasing all the toxins out of my body. I am also taking prescription medicine right now and that can't help the detox process.

The wave of nausea really took me off guard and I just sat still for a few minutes until it passed. It was slightly uncomfortable, but didn't last very long. I passed the time by looking up detoxing symptoms online and reading about how normal (and good!) it is. Haha.

I am also noticing that my bowels are alive and kickin'. That's one way to put it! Is that too much information (TMI)?

I had 1/2 piece of raw lasagna (I looove this. It's very yummy: zucchini, basil, some sort of creamy sauce - really excellent!) and a tiny bit of a sun burger. Then I went over to Green Life to check out their goodies.Mayan Truffles from UliMana - Truly an amazing experience. Seriously, it was an EXPERIENCE. I am going to give myself one a day. Like a vitamin! It is only 70 calories and 4 grams of fat for one, and the ingredients list is:

Organic Cacao powder, Organic Cacao Butter, Organic Agave, Organic Cayenne, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Vanilla Bean, Organic Date Sugar and Organic Vanilla Bean. (6 grams of sugar, 1000x grams of pure yum)

I love the fact that they are in Asheville. I may have to give them a visit!

Mountain Mint WildBar -- It was so good I wrote them a thank you note! Made with Raw Cacao and Wild Blue green Algea. This is too delicious to even explain. It's rich in antioxidants, low glygemic, and offers 53% of the daily recommended value for vitamin B12! It also has 9% B9. 55% dietary fiber. 26% Copper. The list goes on and on. I felt full for hours, and happy.

gRAWnola -- Hand made in South Carolina. Good, but after all that cacao yumminess, it was rather bland.

YUM. I know. I should probably be eating all fruits and veggies right now, but this stuff is so delectable, raw and satisfying...plus, all the experts swear that raw cacao is like some sort of alchemical elixir...I can't help myself.

Plus, I have a huge helping of greens and fruits in the mornings...and will continue to eat mono foods like banans and apples, etc.

I really feel great though.

After work for dinner I had a few leaves of kale torn up in a bowl, a cut up avacado, a cut up mango, 3 macadamia nuts crushed up and sprinkled on top, and the juice of a half a lime. It was excellent.

I am really loving this!

Shopping!

I made it through day one! There were so many blogs going through my head today, but alas, I am so, so tired now; I wish I would have taken the time to write when I was inspired. Lesson learned! I also have a mild headache. I think it is due to not drinking coffee- I feel the same way when I'm eating a SAD diet (Standard American Diet) and I cut out coffee. I normally drink A LOT of coffee.

Today was a ton of fun - I went to Earth Fare and bought a great deal of raw food yumminess! Bananas, apples, corn, avacado, romaine, tomato, onion, jalapeno, tahini, curry powder, garlic, almond butter, mango, limes, almonds, macadamias, brazil nuts, etc. etc. etc. 

I also cheated - well, sort of. I got some pre-made raw food deliciousness at Earth Fare. WOW. They had raw, living flax crackers, sun burgers with manna bread, lasagna and desserts. I got the sun burger/manna bread and lasagna. The lasagna was AMAZING. I ate half and saved the rest for lunch tomorrow at work - where I will be eating outside the house for the first time. 

I have to say I feel SO blessed that there are so many raw food choices at Earth Fare. SO MANY. That means that if I'm out and I want to drop in and grab something convenient, something already made, something novel...it is on the way home from work. That makes me feel really good. They keep all their raw foods in the refrigerated section, freshly made, and quite gourmet! Tomorrow I'm going to check out Green Life to see what they offer for raw.

Today I grazed. A little this and little that. For dinner I made raw burritos and could only eat half. I also had a Lara Food Bar. 

I love these bars and have eaten them for a long time. I carry them on me just in case I need to eat something when I'm on the road or in a hurry. It makes things easier, but so do bananas and apples. ;) It's just nice to be able to grab something that is healthy and delicious.

It definitely feels like raw food cuts back on the overstuffing that can happen when I am eating for emotional reasons. I'll eat way more of bread, butter, cheese, etc. than I will of spinach, kale, tomatoes, bananas, etc. Plus, I'm getting more nutrients and don't have asthma after I eat.

I found today that I craved sweets...so I am going to get some raw cacoa. Oh! Speaking of which, I found this AMAZING company here in Asheville - Ulimana. They have amazing raw cacoa (pronounced: cuh-cow) products. If you don't know about the amazing healing properties of raw cacoa, then you should definitely check out this graph:

And if that doesn't make any sense, check out this article from Natural News: 

Examining the Properties of Chocolate and Cacao for Health

There is also a great book on this, called Naked Chocolate. 

I've been examing, studying, reading about, watching videos about, surfing forums about and dreaming about the raw foods lifestyle for a long time. I have worked with many of the leaders in the raw food community as well...so I know more about this than most people going into the raw food diet. I've attended raw food potlucks...and have made some amazing cranberry/spinach stuffed portabellos and spinach quiche in my day...but I just never said 'okay, I'm doing it'. I've even followed the diet for a few days here and there, but never with the idea that I would actually say, "You know what, this makes sense to me and I'm going to do it for my health."

Speaking of my health, here are the health stats of the day:

Albuterol Inhaler: Once upon rising, once this afternoon -- and I'm breathing great right now. That is a HUGE drop.

I did not take Alavert allergy medicine today. I have been taking it every morning for so long (because I wake up all stuffed up and have to blow my nose a thousand times) that I think I was becoming immune to it. I had started taking it 2 times in one day, which you aren't supposed to do, but by evening I needed another. Today, nothing. No Alavert. YAY!!!

I'm aware too that the Singulair they put me on is helpful for allergies and asthma. I have 28 days more to go on that prescription. Only 4 days to finish off the prednisone.

Other than a headache and other *unmentionable* signs of detoxing, I felt great. The worst thing was being sleepy.

Morning Smoothie - Day One

I realize that I didn't say something like, 'I am going to be raw for the next 30 days!' or 'I will eat only raw food for the next seven days'. 

I just said that I felt eating this way could help my BREATHING, could help my health, and could get me off my meds.

I don't want to put on the pressure or fail just because I was being radical. If there is one thing I resist, it's dogma of any type. So by knowing myself, not forcing myself, and leaving it open, the chances of success of increased. :) 

The goal is to eat more raw foods on a regular basis. 

This morning I woke up and could not breathe. My chest was extremely tight. I would say that my breathing was worse, not better. The thing that was different was that after two puffs of my new inhaler (ProAir HFA), I felt like new. 

For breakfast, I had 2 bananas, a large bunch of kale and a couple big leaves of collards, with about a half cup of dark, sweet cherries. I blended it all up in the Vitamix blender and drank the entire thing. It was delicious!!!

Of course, just for a moment I thought about bread. I thought about cooked food. I thought about coffee! I have been a HUGE coffee drinker!

Instead though, I just made the smoothie. I'm not sure if I would have done it, had I not created the blog last night to keep me in check. Even though no one knows this blog is here and I have no subscribers or followers, I feel responsible for honestly documenting what happens.

I'm going to Earth Fare (an organic market here in Asheville) to get more food. I'm working from home today and need to be focused. I have a deadline for writing five blogs by the end of the day for a client of mine and also need to write copy for a sales website.

Here are some recipes I'm thinking about:

Raw Food Burrito Uncooked Rawcipe

Ingredients:

• 2 very ripe avocados
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• kernels from one ear raw corn
• 2 tsp fresh lime juice
• 6-8 large lettuce leaves

Preparation:

In a medium sized bowl, mash the avocado. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed.Spread 2-3 tablespoons of this mixture onto lettuce leaves and wrap. Enjoy!

Also thinking about a Raw Tahini Dip.

Tahini Dip Uncooked Rawcipe
This easy to prepare tahini recipe takes 8-10 minutes to make. It's super healthy, bursting with protein and calcium and tastes wonderful.

Ingredients:
  
1 cup of raw tahini   
1 cup filtered water
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp cumin
2 Tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 sprigs fresh parsley

Directions:

Remove parsley and then chop the leaves into tiny pieces.

Put the tahini in a big bowl and slowly add water while stirring continuously. Add the parsley and all the other ingredients.

When the water has been incorporated into the tahini and it has a uniformly smooth texture, it is ready.

Drizzle olive oil on top of the tahini and sprinkle with a little hot red pepper.

Raw Thoughts

This blog is being created with one intent: To document the journey of healing asthma and allergies with a vegan, raw food diet.

Why raw food? Because the only thing that makes sense to me for vibrant, radiant health is eating real food, the way it grows. Because eating processed foods, dairy, wheat and other things make me sick. Because I've been watching the raw foods movement long enough to know that it works and that it is healthy. Because many people have documented their journeys to losing weight, healing cancer, asthma, diabetes, allergies and other conditions, from eating live food and cutting out toxins in their diet.

Why today?

Today I woke up at 4am and took Proventil and Bronkaid. This is a normal morning occurence. Later, I took Alavert, Proventil, and Bronkaid. This is something I do daily as well. After crying to a friend, walking, meditating...I went to Urgent Care because I still could not breathe. My blood pressure was high due to the stress of trying to breathe and I was prescribed ProAir HFA, Prednisone, and Singulair. I can tell you that this article does not make me feel warm and fuzzy about trying Singulair for the first time. My health, mainly my breathing, is out of control. It hurts to live this way.

Today I was prescribed a 30 days prescription of Singulair and six days of Prednisone - which I will take. I have an Albuterol inhaler in case I need it. In 30 days from today I would like to be living a radically different life, thank you very much. I was born with asthma, but the last three years have been particularly difficult for me. It just keeps getting worse. This was never an issue in this way until about 3 years ago.

I am a holistic health and sustainability writer and marketer. I know A LOT about health and healing. Being dependent on these medications and not living my truths does not make sense for me. It is time for me to take control.

I've been reading about raw food for years. It makes sense to me. I'm not jumping in without a few things set in place. I have an old Champion Juicer that I got from craigslist.org for $25 and an old Vitamix Blender from craigslist for $80. They both work just fine. I also have a fancy food processor. My best friend has a dehydrator and lives less than two miles from me.

It's crazy - I've been thinking about and reading about this diet for years. I slowly gathered the tools, only to have them adorn my kitchen countertop, almost entirely untouched. It feels like I've been getting ready for today - the day I was pushed over the edge and realized that I need to make a huge change in my life. HUGE.

I picked up some kale, collards, bananas and cherries (all organic) at the store for my morning green smoothie. I figure that will hold me over until I can search for some easy recipes and go to the store tomorrow. I'm super excited about trying out green smoothies.

Make no mistake, I am not a currently a raw foodist. I eat meat. I eat out at restaurants. I drink wine. I just quit smoking. I currently have a kitchen full of processed foods. I am also very sick and am ready to change everything for vibrant health.

In the past I have been a vegetarian, pescatarian and vegan. I know food is medicine and I also know that food can be poison.

Of course, I'm documenting this journey because I want to be held accountable and responsible. I want support, words of encouragement, and raw connections. I want to document what it is like for me to make this change. I want to write about my challenges, successes, thoughts and epiphanies.

Please subscribe and follow me on my path through Raw Respire...and I promise to be more joyful and playful on my blogs, when I am not so exhausted and drugged up! Today was quite intense!