Monday, October 20, 2008

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:

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.

5 comments:

Brian-TheBigGlow said...

Hi Tena

The past month and a half or so, I have been 85-95% raw/live food, along with increased, and more intense, exercise and health-wise I feel fantastic.

I am happy to provide inspiration and support.

The biggest tip I would give anyone is the following:

When you go to the grocery be very mindful of only purchasing healthy snacks for your home.

If your home does not have any unhealthy snacks in them, then you can't eat them.

Blessings
Brian

Marian said...

I believe diet is the way to healing almost all that ails us... Good luck on this journey, Tena!

On this note, I'd like to share some of what I've learned over the last few years dealing with allergies and other health related issues:

- with food it is all about balance. That being sad, maintaining a WELL balanced diet using just raw foods is quite a feat and very rarely done right.
- allergy to external elements is usually an indication of some incompatibility with what you eat.
- many times in these cases, the digestion itself is compromised
- eating raw ingredients requires much more effort to digest, hence making it harder for the body to get the nutrients it so badly needs, especially when trying to heal itself

So to summarize: I would suggest going with a well balanced whole foods diet(with less emphasis on raw foods), and investigate food tolerance with a holistic practitioner, if possible.

All the best!
Marian

Knowledgecrystal said...

I really like reading and thinking about your raw food journey for some reason. I started a little garden last spring and recently just got a ton of carrots. I'm going to try a carrot, collard and apple juice drink now. I've got homemade carrots, collards, basil and mint for tea.
Have you tried kundalini yoga for breathing? I've been doing more of that recently and also realized, we have to get out of our heads more.
You're a dancer and might only really be able to think through movement, we've got to find a way to live so that we're moving a whole lot more throughout the day right?

Awesomely Alive! said...

Brian -

Thanks! I'm so glad to hear you are feeling so healthy and rawesome. :)

Funny enough, I don't really have an issue with buying unhealthy snacks at the grocer. I usually get all my unhealthy snacks when I'm out -- coffee shop, even Green Life...I've tended to think that if it is organic, it's healthy. When it's a double chocolate brownie and a large coffee, not so much! ;)

I appreciate your support and blessings!

Marian -

Thanks! I hear ya. I understand that it is about balance. Well balanced to me is a ton of varied raw fruits, nuts, vegetables, etc. I don't really feel like I get any nutrients from say, dairy or wheat. I know I am allergic to both. I can't imagine someone not getting all the nutrients they need from living food though.

Greens are FULL of protein and even have calcium, which is what most people worry about getting. This is why I am doing raw smoothies...to get all that green goodness that many raw foodists leave out of their diet.

I'm also choosing to limit dense foods - such as nut cheeses, rich manna breads and such.

To be honest, I was not getting the nutrients I needed in cooked food. It was because of my food choices sure, but I definitely think I'll get more nutrients in this diet.

I'm fairly sure that my digestion will improve without cheese, flours and other sauces and such that I tend to eat on cooked foods.

We'll see. It's an experiment! And one that I don't feel that could be harmful to me.

Thank you both so much for reading! I hope you subscribed. :)

Awesomely Alive! said...

KnowledgeCrystal -

Thank you so much for checking out my blog. Now, I have to check out yours!

Oooh, your garden sounds lovely. I'm in an apartment for now, but I look forward to being able to grow my own food...it is the goal.

I have tried kundalini yoga before, but this was a great reminder to do it again. Thank you. There are classes here in Asheville.

I agree...yes, more movement! Plus, I looove the meditation of movement...trance dancing, yoga, biking, it's my favorite form.

Thank you so much for reading and sharing. I hope you continue to follow my journey!