Fruit

Abso-fruit-ly Incredible

Fruit is the universal healer. It is the food group that most appeals to the senses.

That is why pictures of fruit are used to sell so many different products. There's fruit on shampoo bottles and cosmetics, candies, ice creams, milkshakes, yogurts, and even alcoholic cocktails.

They even use fruit, whether fresh or plastic, in the meat displays at the butcher or grocery store.

"Fruit is the only food that most closely resembles our nutritional needs. It’s made up of vitamins,
minerals, phytonutrients, water, and all three macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates
and fat—in their simplest and most usable form. It takes almost no digestive effort
for the body to obtain the maximum nutrient value from ripe raw fruit." (Fit to Fabulous, Allison Andrews).

So Why Are We So Afraid of Eating a Lot of Fruit?

Despite what people might say to you, fruit will not make you fat. Long term fruitarians are among the slimmest people you will ever see despite the fact that many consume 5,000 or 7,000 calories some days. Athletes sometimes consume up to 18,000 calories a day. If you want to move your body, you need to eat enough fuel.

The minimum calories required for a woman is 2,500 calories and for a man it's 3,000. If you are eating less than this, your body will turn on your fat programs and conserve as many calories as it can because it thinks it is experiencing a famine. 

Fruit is the best food available for human consumption. Our bodies don't even need to break it down. It's the most bio-available option--meaning it feeds our cells most easily.  

The trouble that most people have with a raw food diet is that they don't eat enough calories. We are used to eating a meal made up of meat, starch or grain and vegetable on a dinner plate. In a typical home-cooked meal with a steak (9 oz ribeye), mashed potatoes, and vegetable, you would consume around 930 calories--roughly 48% of which come from fat. Ouch! 

If you wanted to consume 930 calories of fruit, you'd have to eat 9 bananas, or 4 and a half medium-sized cantaloupe, or 10 cups of fresh strawberries, or 26 clementines, or 15 and a half apples. So if you are just eating fruit, you need to eat more than what you are used to in your five a day eating plan. 

  

Comparisons

So let's have a look at some fast food meals and see how they compare.

Let's say you take your kid to McDonald's and get him a happy meal. He'll be eating 550 calories and 25 grams of fat. That's 41% of his calories from fat in that one meal. And how long do you think he'll be full once the meal is complete? How long before he feels tired from eating something that is so difficult for the body to digest?

 Compare that to a 550 calorie meal made up of: 2 cups of strawberries, 1/2 cantaloup, 2 bananas, 1 cup of blueberries, and 1 cup of grapes. This would give him the energy to keep him going for hours. In fact, maybe mom had better eat the same meal so she can keep up with him.

Here are a few more fast food meals to give you an idea of what you are eating. And this stuff isn't even really food. Your body doesn't get anything useful out of it.

So you've had a long day and are really hungry. A Double Big Mac meal with fries and a juice would give you 1610 calories and 67 grams of fat.

The McBistro Chicken BLT meal with fries and a vanilla iced coffee would provide 1240 calories and 61 grams of fat.

We all know these burgers are fattening so let's go to a more reasonably "healthy" Subway restaurant.

A 12 inch oven roasted chicken sub with a cookie and pop would run you 1240 calories.

Yes, that's a big sandwich, but a lot of people do it.

Let's look at a healthier option there as well. A wrap--the chicken bacon wrap with cream of broccoli soup and a coffee. This is still 665 calories.

This is the same as: 2 cups of strawberries, 1 cup blueberries, 2 cups grapes, 4 clementines, a banana, and an apple.

Or 1/2 of a large watermelon, 2 bananas, and 5 cups of strawberries.

Fruit will sustain your energy more than any other food. It is the most bio-available food for the human body. You wouldn't put garbage in your gas tank and expect your car to get you very far. You can't expect your body to do any better. 

Eat Fruit and Eat Lots of it. You'll be happier, healthier and leaner in the long run.

The main point here is to eat enough fruit to make up your 2,500 or 3,000 calories per day. But never restrict calories. If your body feels that it is feast time, it will eventually feel comfortable giving up the extra weight without force. 

Keep in mind that this could be 30 bananas a day--literally. And check out this website for support. http://www.30bananasaday.com/

Raw Pad Thai Salad

Pad Thai Salad

(Serves 2)

Main dish:

• 3 medium zucchini (spiralized)
• 2 medium carrots (done with a flat thin spiral)
• 4 to 5 radishes (flat, thin spiral)
• 2 small sweet colored peppers cut into thin strips
• the juice of one lemon

 Toss ingredients together and coat with lemon juice. Let sit at least 15 minutes to soften noodles. If you don't have a spiralizer, you can use your food processor to make short noodles. The texture will be different of course.

Dressing

• 2 green onions
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1/3 cup ginger chopped (I love ginger but adjust to your tastes)
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 clementine or orange (ripe)
• 1 heaping Tblsp of Tahini
• 1/3 C coconut milk
• 3 sage leaves
• a couple of pinches of sea salt to taste.

whazz it up and adjust seasonings to your own tastes.

Add the dressing to the noodle mixture, toss and let sit for a half hour or so. The dressing will further soften the noodles. The noodles will soak up the dressing and be tastier.

Garnish

Add a handful of spinach, and a dozen or so basil leaves, chopped. Toss with the noddle mixture and serve on a bed of baby spinach. Add some sprouts to the top and I put on a cherry tomato.

Enjoy!

Day 13 of my 60 Day Juice Feast

Setbacks

So I've totally messed up my juice feasting with a couple of salads. And they were good salads too. Yum! Back to juicing tomorrow and I'll see how it goes. No promises.

Today I had green juice and watermelon again. I haven't drank as much juice because I did eat a couple of times today. I had a salad this evening and earlier, well, I'll show you what I had and give you the recipe. They were delicious.

Setbacks are sometimes inevitable in life. But you just pick yourself up, shake it off, and start again. I'll be back to just juicing tomorrow for as long as I can go. I'm making some breakthroughs with my weight, so all is not lost. The things I'm eating, I'm just making sure are very clean. No fats or anything to clog me up.

Watermelon Treat

 

I was surprised that the kids liked this as well as they did. My 7-yr-old just loved them.

• Cucumbers sliced whatever thickness you like. The thinner they are, the easier it is to eat it, but they have to be thick enough to be stiff.
• Slices of watermelon

• The original recipe calls for feta cheese, but I used my macadamia nut cheese that I made for the raw tacos.

Sauce

• 2 Tblsp lime juice
• 2 Tblsp honey 
• sprig or two of mint 

1. Prepare stacks of cucumber, watermelon, cucumber, watermelon.
2. Sprinkle cheese on top.
3. You can refrigerate this until you are ready to serve.
4. Mix lime juice, honey and finely chopped mint. Save some mint for sprinkling 
5. Pour sauce over them and serve.
6. Sprinkle chopped mint over everything.

  This is a great cool treat for a hot day. Enjoy!

Day 11 of my 60 Day Juice Feast

Update

Today has been a pretty good day. I've had a couple of walks and the cravings are much better. I think you have to go through some trials to get to a new level in this experience.

So tonight, I'm off to make some treats for the kids. I'm not going to be updating every day from here on out. I'll try to do every second day unless I have some good recipes or something useful to talk about.


Today I've stuck with the same green juice. I have to make some more tonight and will probably do some watermelon. I know it isn't exciting, but I have 4 or 5 that I really like and those are what I tend to use.

One good juice that I might try later is warm apple juice with cinnamon. You juice 3 apples, warm it up on the stove--not too hot or you'll kill the enzymes. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and drink. It's a nice, soothing drink to have before bed.

I'm off to cook now, but I'll leave you with this easy recipe.

Kale Chips

These are a healthy alternative to potato chips and don't have all the chemicals in them that other flavored chips have. My kids love them.

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 Tblsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice or other vinegar) This is optional, so you can leave it out if you like.
• pinch of sea salt

1. Wash the kale and dry thoroughly--a salad spinner works well for this. 
2. Rip into bite size pieces
3. In a large bowl combine oil, vinegar and salt.
4. Add kale pieces and toss with your hands to coat all pieces well.
5. Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper on 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Watch them carefully. 

They should be crisp but still green. Alternately you can heat the oven to 150 and put the chips in with the door slightly ajar for a couple of hours. I'm usually not that patient.

Serve. I generally have a problem getting them into the bowl as my youngest likes to eat them right of the tray before I get the chance. :) Enjoy! Try other toppings and combinations of flavors. Experiment!


Until next time. Juice on!

Well, I ended up eating a salad tonight. Still, that's the longest I've gone on just juice and I'll be back on my juice tomorrow. Spinach salad with green onion and tomato. Shouldn't slow me down too much.

Day 10 of my 60 Day Juice Feast

Update

Today I'm struggling with cravings--the same issues as last night. Stress makes me feel hungry even when I'm physically okay. We had a heck of a thunder storm and big rain, though it didn't last long. I'm thinking I'd best get out and walk while I can.

I did a couple of cups of my heal all tea today, which really increases the detox symptoms. That's probably what is bothering me. I'll just have to keep on chugging.

Food Cravings

First of all the 60 days of juice feasting is just a goal. It is perfectly okay to amend it. I think the trick is to do so intellectually and not emotionally. So while I may feel like eating half of the kitchen today, it won't support what I'm doing with the juice feasting to begin with.

EFT definitely helps with the cravings, because they are emotional. Beyond that I just tell myself that yes, I can have a salad if I want one, but I'll have a juice first and then maybe consider it tomorrow. Usually, after I have the juice I find I don't really need the salad. And if I put the decision off until tomorrow, then I can't say it's because I'm having a bad day. If I really want it still tomorrow, then I'll have it. But usually it's an emotional craving in the moment and a walk goes further to staving it off than an actual salad would.

So I'll hang in there for another day as I'm only living right now anyway and can't control what happens tomorrow. Can I do another 50 days? At this point I don't know. But I can do juice for today--for just one day. I'll try to stay in the now.

The Protein Myth

I've had people say the strangest things to me about eating just fruits and vegetables.

"Oh but what about your protein? How will you get it?"

"And what about your children? They need their protein."

 "Be careful or your muscles will turn to water."

There seems to be a lot of misinformation about this wonderful stuff called protein out there. Apparently we can't live without it. Well, this is a myth--one perpetuated by the meat industry no doubt. How do we live without the stuff?

Never mind that the people in cultures that don't eat meat generally live longer than those that do. I mean, how do they get their protein?

Well, your body cannot use protein to start with--and certainly not in the form of animal proteins. When you eat meat, your body has to break down the proteins into amino acids in order for you to be able to digest it at all. And it creates a lot of acids in your system when it does this, which causes inflammation.

Protein is a nitrogen compound and is high in phosphorus which can deplete calcium from the body.

Our GI track is longer than that of a carnivore (and an omnivore), and it not ideal for digesting meat. Animal proteins putrefy in the body causing body odor and creating toxins in the intestine which create a habitat for parasites and lower the body's ability to absorb other nutrients.

Our animal meats today are filled with growth hormones, herbicides, antibiotics, pesticides, high levels of adrenaline and other toxic chemicals from air and ground pollution. There is a lot of cancer found in cows and chickens today. Not exactly a healthy option.

So, really I don't worry about where I'll get my protein. My body doesn't need it. Neither do my children. And I'm not concerned that my muscles will turn to water, nor whether my eyes might turn into ears. That's just not possible. What we need are amino acids and they are readily available in all fruits and vegetables. They are also present in the form that our body's can digest and utilize.

There are many other problems with proteins as a food source, but I'll leave it at that.


A storm is coming and I'd like to post this before I have to shut down my computer. So I'll sign off there for another day. I'm off to drink the carrot juice I made yesterday. Here's the picture again. It was delicious.

Mini Pizzas

Mini Pizzas

These disappeared so quickly that I had a really hard time getting a picture. They ate one plate of them and this was the second pan that I baked. I guess I'll be making them again.

I made a large batch of bread dough and just made these out of what would have been a loaf of bread. So a standard bread dough recipe will suffice.

1 1/2 C Warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 Tblsp oil
4 C flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast

1. knead well and let rise for a couple of hours.
2. Break up into small balls and roll out (pretty much like the pita recipe I gave before.)

In fact, you could use mini pitas that you buy at the store instead if you wanted. It would be a lot less cooking time.

I added sauce and cheese and a bit of chopped green onion and red peppers. You could add any toppings that you like and make several different flavors if you wanted. That would be ideal and what I'd do for myself and my husband. But kids are always fussy, so I just kept it simple.

Bake 10 min at 400 F. 

Tip: when you roll out the dough, use semolina flour (duram wheat). You can even add some of this to your pizza dough if you want. It makes it nice and crunchy. I dust the pizza pan with semolina and it doesn't stick at all.

Great stuff. They'll be eaten before you can get the next pan out of the oven. A guaranteed crowd pleaser. Yum! Not that I ate any, but I certainly will put this on the menu one night once my juice feast is over. :)

Day 9 of my 60 Day Juice Feast

Juicy Update

Okay, so it isn't technically day 9 anymore. I missed it by 30 minutes. But we'll have to call it close enough. It was a busy day. I got some work done on my ebook, made cookies for the kids, and went shopping and made juice.

Today was pretty good, following a rough night of detox symptoms. My back was so sore last night--ugh. I'm glad it's over. But today I feel healthy again and have my energy back. I'm just a little sore in the feet--which isn't unusual for me.

I've been craving a lot of things today and I'm starting to realize what some of my food triggers are. I want to eat when I'm tired for sure and I've always know this. But I didn't realize I was a stress eater. Had a bit of a shock today when I realized we were going to have about $400 less than we thought this month and immediately started craving comfort foods--foods I don't even like the taste of anymore. And I mean some powerful cravings. But I managed to make cookies and not taste anything, so that's a pretty good day since I haven't had any solids in 9 days. :)

All in all, today was a success. I'll keep it short again today and sign off with that.

Today's Juice

So today I had watermelon juice for most of the day, but this is what I made tonight. The green juice is close to the same thing I usually make. The orange juice is 1/2 bag of organic carrots, 1 fennel (or anise if you prefer to call it that), 1 lemon, and 6 apples. I might have gone a bit overboard with the carrots, but it's quite tasty. I'd use maybe 1/3 of a bag of carrots the next time.


Okay, I'm signing off now. I'll post a really simple recipe as well tonight.

Juice on!

Day 8 of my 60 Day Juice Feast

Update

Just a short check in today. Managed to get shopping, then home and had my juice today. Went for a nice walk earlier and spent the rest of the day in the kitchen, making food for the family. Hopefully they'll have enough salads and what not for the next day or two.

Made little mini pizzas for the kids as a special treat as well. It was a real test of my resolve as pizza is probably my favorite food in the world--or at least it used to be. Now, I would love nothing more than a spinach salad. In fact, I'm drooling just thinking about it. But, I'll be able to eat all the salad I want in just 52 days. In the general course of a lifetime, that's nothing. 

I'll post a recipe of the mini-pizzas tomorrow. I had to tie the kids up while I took a picture. :)

Took some heal all tea this evening and all I can say is wow. That, along with the juicy diet, is an incredible detox. I'm exhausted and have some nasty back pain going on--but that's to be expected. Had a little nap this evening so that's why I'm so late posting.

Today's Juice

I know I'm incredibly boring, but this is more watermelon juice and the best green juice I've ever made. This is what I put in it. 4 stalks celery, 1 honeydew melon, 2 small pineapples, 2 lemons, 1 orange, 6 small apples, 6 or 8 kale leaves, 3 inches of an English cucumber, and about a tsp of dehydrated wheatgrass powder.  It was too easy to drink--evidenced by the fact that I have mostly watermelon juice left for tomorrow. :)

Okay, I'm going to leave it there for tonight, because I'm so tired, but will try to be earlier tomorrow.

See you at the end of the show.

Day 7 of my 60 Day Juice Feast

Update

I felt pretty good today, but a little tired. So if I don't sound very coherent, it's just exhaustion talking.

I managed a walk today and I cleaned for awhile, so I guess my energy wasn't bad earlier. But I'm tired now, and almost out of juice, and not able to make more until sometime tomorrow. Tonight might be a bit of a test for me and I might have to blend up a smoothie later, to tide me over. The only fruit I have left is one lemon.

Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good. Just going through some detox symptoms today--a bit tired and irritable and I have a bit of a headache. I don't think I'll have trouble getting to bed early tonight.

Today's Juice

Today I'm finishing off the last of the watermelon juice. It was really good. Watermelon, pomegranate, lemon and a couple of apples. And I made a green juice out of what I had left in the fridge: spinach, celery, cucumber and a couple of tomatoes. It isn't the tastiest juice, but it does make me feel more settled.

The watermelon juice I find very cleansing. It makes me feel a bit jittery at the end of the day. The more vegetable based juices are good for calming that down a bit. Also, I find herbal teas calming.

Blueberry Smoothie

A special treat tonight to stretch the rest of my juice a bit farther.

Frozen blueberries, watermelon juice and vanilla. Yum! Why do I feel so naughty eating something this healthy?

The Truth About Your Skin

As I mentioned yesterday I will talk a little more about skin today. Yesterday I mentioned exercising and brushing your skin. Today I just wanted to talk a bit about the function of the skin.

The skin functions as a means to eliminate waste from your body in much the way that your kidneys filter and eliminate. Some people call the skin your third kidney. In fact, if your kidneys aren't filtering well, you'll find more stuff coming out through your skin.

Toxins can be eliminated through perspiration and also through acne.

But they can't be eliminated if you cover your skin with cosmetics or antiperspirants, creams and sunscreen. It's best to use as little as possible on your skin.

I've been trying to avoid toxic chemicals because your skin is porous, so whatever you put on it goes into your body. It's almost like you are drinking your skin cream. So, the question arises, could you drink your skin cream, if you wanted to?

There are safe alternatives to moisturizers and chemical laden washes that can be made from stuff that you probably have in your cupboards right now.

Body Scrub

2 parts sea salt
1 part baking soda
coconut oil--enough to make a paste.

I also added some rose petals to this and blended it in a food processor. It was really nice and made my skin so soft. I love this and will continue to use it often.

Face Toner

Aloe Vera juice
Water

Splash on face.

Avocado Face Mask

Blend avocado with a little lemon juice

Smear on your face and let soak into your skin for awhile.

Avocado Face Wash

Avocado
Orange juice
Sugar

Mix together until the desired consistency and use as a gentle face wash.

Mouthwash

1 C peppermint tea
1 tsp rosemary

Steep, cool and pour into bottle. You can keep it in the fridge for a few days.

Tooth Whitener

Lemon juice and salt.

Apply to yellowed teeth and rinse

Or rub the inside of an orange rind on your teeth.


I still haven't found any suitable shampoo replacements. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Okay, I'm off for a cup of tea and maybe some reading before I go to bed early.

See you tomorrow.

Amazing, Disappearing, Mini Greek Pitas and Hummus

This one is a recipe I make for the kids. I'm not eating bread these days, but you could eat the hummus with zucchini slices or carrots, or other raw veggies if you like.

Making these last night wasn't bad, but taking the pictures today was harder--the smell is difficult to resist.

These are absolutely delicious and they disappear quickly.

Mini-Pitas

I make mine in a mixer in the same way that I would make any other bread, liquids first.

1 1/2 C warm water
1 Tblsp olive oil
1 Tblsp sugar
2 tsp salt
4 C flour
1 Tblsp yeast

1. Combine water, oil, sugar and salt. Add flour and yeast. Mix well and knead.
2. Shape into a ball and let rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch down the dough and knead for 5 minutes more.
3. Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
   
4. Take tiny pieces of dough about size of a ping pong ball or smaller even and roll out to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Prick with a fork and place on baking sheet. 
5. Place baking sheet on lowest rack and cook for 2-3 minutes per side.

Hummus

2 cans chick peas
juice of 1 1/2 lemon
1 tsp tahini (ground sesame seed paste)
4 cloves of garlic
olive oil (2 Tblsp or enough to reach desired texture)

1. Place all ingredients except olive oil into food processor.
2. Puree adding oil until you reach the desired texture.
3. If you prefer to make a lower fat version, you can use water to blend it into a paste.

 Enjoy!

Day 6 of my 60 Day Juice Feast

Today's Juice

Today I'm back on the watermelon juice due to budget constraints. You just can't beat 32 cups of juice for $5. And I'm not complaining. I love me some watermelon and they are good right now. This will likely last me tomorrow as well and then I'll be ready for something different. I'd post a photo but I misplaced my battery charger for my camera, so it will be just text today.

Update

Today was a good day. My energy level was much better than the past couple of days when I was a little more dragged out from the detox symptoms. I spent most of the day in the kitchen, sipping watermelon juice while I made potato salad, pasta salad and hummus with little pita breads for the kids. I also cleaned the kitchen, did dishes, laundry and made a lot of watermelon juice. I went for a couple of good, fast walks as well. So pretty good energy overall today. I'm still experiencing some aches and pains and probably need to do some yoga for awhile. I'll try to get a bit of that in tonight.

Weight Loss and Loose Skin

Have you noticed on some of those TV shows where people have lost a lot of weight quickly by getting a gastric bypass or other such unnatural means, that the person ends up with a lot of excess skin. Well there are reasons for this.

Often, the person is eating the same things, just less of them and so the body isn't getting the nutrition it needs. When you eat mostly live foods, you are feeding your cells rather than creating a problem for them to have to deal with. So you won't be left with hanging skin once you lose the weight.

All of the people I've seen who have done a juice fast have experienced a shrinking of their skin along with the weight loss. Yes, your body has the ability to do this.

There are a couple of ways that you can help with this process though.

1. Brushing your skin. This one is simple, just use a bath brush to gently brush your skin as you bathe. This causes the blood to rush to the surface of your body and stimulates circulation. 
2. Hot and cold. So if you are taking a shower, at the end of it, it's a good idea to alternate between hot and cold shower. Run the shower as hot as you can stand it for a minute, then as cold as you can stand. Alternate 4 or 5 times. This "exercises" your skin, expanding and shrinking the pores. It also forces the blood to the surface of your body and then to your internal organs, promoting more circulation.
3. Another thing you can do after you have a hot bath is stand up and shower off with cool water--again, exercising the skin.

So nurturing your skin with live foods and exercising it should help you to keep it tight as you lose weight.

I will talk more about skin health tomorrow--and I should be able to get a recipe or two up as well.

See you at the end of the show.

Day 5 of my 60 Day Juice Feast

Today is going well. I woke up a little stiff and sore this morning. It's probably partially the detox and partially all the yoga. I'm sure that's why my shoulders are sore.

It's a grey and half raining kind of day which always makes me feel sluggish. Sandy has a pot of pea soup on the stove. It smells good in here. I'm going to make some little pita breads and hummus for the kids later. I'll post my recipe later on if I can get some pics. My camera battery is dying, so it will probably be a lot later or maybe even tomorrow before I post it.

Today's Juice

Yummy Melon, Pineapple Juice

 The red juice is what's left of yesterdays watermelon juice. The stuff in the glass is honeydew melon, pineapple, a lemon (to preserve it), and a few apples. It's delicious. I needed something different after a couple of days of watermelon juice. So I made a couple of different kinds.

Day 5 Juices

The dark juice in the back doesn't look very nice, I know. That's what happens when you combine carrots and spinach. You get a muddy looking, but tasty juice. I made that one with carrots, spinach, celery, cucumber and apple. It's nice to have a juice that isn't too sweet for later in the day when you want to wind down.

Exercise While Juice Feasting

What about exercising while juice feasting? Well, a juice feast is a cleanse where you try to eliminate toxins from the body. Your body is freed up from the job of digestion so that it can spend it's energy cleaning itself out. If you do vigorous exercise or lift weights while juice feasting, you are slowing down this process. There will be time to build when the juice feast is over. Sometimes I feel like I want to lift weights again, so I have to keep reminding myself of this. I want to do the juice feast in as short a time as possible, so I don't want to slow it down by doing too much exercise.

There are some activities that are good to do when juice feasting though. Walking or jogging, depending on your fitness level are okay, especially when outside in nature. Yoga is a good exercise as it helps with stress and it uses a lot of oxygen. Oxygen, relaxation, and gentle exercise should be the backbone of a good cleanse. Be gentle with your body. When you feel energetic, go for a walk. When you're tired, rest.

Weight Loss and Juice Feasting

The weight comes off at an amazing rate while juice feasting. I'm losing about a pound or two a day right now. I expect it would be a little slower if I were closer to my goal weight, but it's much faster than any other weight loss. And I feel good--better than I have on any "diet" I've done in the past. I feel clear headed and more alive than I ever have.

Eating live foods makes you feel alive. So whatever your state of health right now, eat more live foods--uncooked fruits and veggies and you will see a huge difference.

So I've lost five pounds as of this morning in my four days of juice feasting so far.

Onward!


I'm off for a walk now and then to make some munchies for the kids. See you at the end of the show.

Raw Taco Recipe

I posted this on facebook awhile back, but thought I'd share it here as well. I got the recipe from Dan MacDonald the Liferegenerator on Youtube. Check out his videos if you get a chance. He is amazing!

Anyway, I tried this about a month ago and it was incredible. So I got out the good dishes and took some pictures. It's quite the feast for a raw foodie. In fact, it's quite the feast for anyone. My kids loved it. Of course I'm not eating this right now--drinking my watermelon juice and drooling over the pictures. :) Here goes.

The Spread

Excuse the messy kitchen, but this was the spread. Quite the feast.

Taco Shells

Flatten the spine on a romaine lettuce leaf, fill and fold over.

The "Meat"

 2 cups walnuts that have been soaked for 8 to 12 hrs. This releases the enzyme inhibitors and allows you to digest the nuts. 1 Tbsp cumin, 1 Tbsp paprika, 1 tsp sea salt, 4 cloves garlic, 1 zucchini (optional, but it does make it a bit lighter in the stomach and lower fat), 1 Tbsp flax oil (you could use hemp oil instead). Puree in your food processor. It tastes like taco meat only it isn't greasy and it isn't actually meat.

A note about nuts. All nuts have enzyme inhibitors. Nuts and seeds are made this way for a purpose. An animal eats the nut or seed along with the fruit. They walk a ways and then defecate, spreading the seed and allowing the plant or tree to reproduce. You aren't supposed to be able to digest them or the plant or tree couldn't spread. Once they get rained on though, they start to change. Their life force is activated so they can grow. So once you soak the seeds or nuts in water, they are then alive and you are better able to digest them.

Soak nuts for 8 to 24 hrs depending on the type of nut. 8 hours is good for walnuts while almonds need 24 hrs. You will find some charts for how long to soak each type if you search the internet.

The Macadamia Nut "Cheese"

 2 cups macadamia nuts, 2 Tblsp brewer's yeast, pinch sea salt, juice of 1/2 lemon--puree in food processor. This turned out quite good. It was surprising that it tasted so much like cheese. It gave that zesty flavor to the taco that you'd get from cheese.

Guacamole

 

4 avocado, juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp salt, 1/3 red onion, 3 Tbsp cilantro, 1 tsp minced garlic, 2 plum tomatoes or one bigger one. Of course you can adjust this to your tastes, but we loved this combination. I'm not a huge fan of cilantro, so I tend to go lighter with it. This combination was perfect.

Salsa and Toppings

Salsa--3 large tomatoes, cilantro to taste (I put too much in. It's better to put in less and then add more if you think it needs it. The tastes intensify as it sits.), 4 cloves garlic, 1/4 onion, 1 thai pepper (or jalapeno), juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp sea salt.

The toppings in the other dish are chopped tomatoes and green onions.

More Toppings

 Greek Yogurt (I didn't have the right probiotic to make the coconut almond yogurt, but would try that the next time.), avocado slices, alfalfa sprouts. The zucchini slices are for dipping in the salsa and guacamole.

Coconut almond yogurt recipe: 2 cups of soaked almonds, coconut water and meat of a Thai coconut, NCP probiotic (one that is proteolytic). I couldn't find one here but I think you could use a probiotic and a digestive enzyme that can break down proteins. That's what I'll try next time. Blend these together  in food processor until smooth and leave on the counter for at least 3 hrs.

Finished taco

Here's a completed taco before rolling. I tucked in the narrow end and then rolled it up and it held together quite well. The only trouble is, they are hard to stop eating.

This isn't food that I'd make every day. It would be something I'd have for a special occasion or when I had people over for a meal. I don't eat meals much anymore and now it's just all juice. But this is something that's healthy and delicious and a good introduction to raw foods.

It is really easy to make. Takes about 30 minutes if you have the nuts soaked ahead of time and all the ingredients at hand. And it's great for summer as it doesn't require heating up the kitchen. 

I'll post some more recipes as I get time. Enjoy!