why raw food and a recipe

Hello!

So I spoke with a very nice woman today who asked if I could send an email about why I eat raw food and I told her I'd be happy to send that out and I'll even include a little recipe! So here's a little ditty for ya... (I'm pretty candid below about specific health issues I had so for those that are bothered by that kind of talk, I'm sorry - I am specifically thinking of my brother that would even be bothered by the word "monthly". I tried to speak gingerly and I tried to keep this short but I guess there's a lot to say.) :-) I meant to also say in previous posts that if you want to be removed from these email communications, just let me know and I'll gladly stop sending them to you. I'm going to have a forum on my website where this talk can continue and be more than just one-sided. That will also help to keep your email inbox from over flowing from me... but until then here's my raw food story...

Some of you may know my kids and how big they are. They started out pretty big, too. Sam was 9 lbs 8 oz and Emily was 10 lbs 2 oz. Both Sam and Emily were good nursers but Emily *really* had a passion for nursing! She only wanted to nurse for the first 17 months of her life despite any attempts to give her other food. She'd try the food, of course, and eat some but not so much. (She finally stopped nursing at age 3 1/2 and she'd probably keep going if I let her!) :-) Thus I found myself feeling pretty worn out there in MD - having a nursing baby who by the time she was 5 months old or so was about 22 pounds, having a toddler to run after and working from home as a freelance graphic designer and part of the marketing dept. for a company out in Silicon Valley. I wasn't getting adequate sleep, I started getting sick every month with colds or flu, had recurring yeast infections monthly, was experiencing hypoglycemic tendencies, experienced major heartburn that burned up into my esophagus, digestion and allergy problems etc. I was craving breads and whenever I ate them, within an hour, I'd literally crash on the couch or at my desk. My doctor in MD told me I had candida and put me on an allergy elimination diet to see what allergy triggers, if any, I had. Dairy was a big one. Then she put me on a candida diet to help "die off" the systemic yeast infection in my body. She told me that I should follow an "Eating Right for your Blood Type" diet after the candida diet was done because that will work for me. The major thing for me was that both the candida diet and the blood type for me required eating lots and lots of gamey meats and that never resonated with me. Plus I wasn't really feeling much better even though the candida was dying off and that part was at least improving. (major detox happens on the candida diet!)

I happened upon a listserve for mothers to connect who did lots of "alternative" things like extended breastfeeding, wearing your baby, non-violent communication, homeschooling, etc and so forth. The moderator of the group was a raw foodist. I had no idea what a raw foodist was. In my intro to the group, I wrote about my current state of health and the moderator began writing me on- and off-list. She was "beta testing" her new business of raw food consultations and was willing to try out her new service with me if I was willing to be a recipient. So I said, "I'll try anything once." And that began my introduction to raw foods, the books, the research, the experimenting with recipes, the questions, the classes, etc. I IMMEDIATELY felt better on raw foods. My energy started to soar, I felt healthier and able to function with my kids even with the little sleep I had. My trouble was staying raw while going out for social events or for family gatherings - I'd seem to get right back into cooked foods. Some stress or emotional trigger would happen, too, and that would send me searching for breads and sweets and dairy. But I was open to the process and I kept going back to raw foods because of how I felt. I took more classes and read more books.

When I moved to VT, I was eating quite a bit of raw food and was excited to find raw food eaters here. I thought for sure there would be so many like-minded people and I didn't quite find that. Most people I met were open to but not quite aware of or "practicing" raw foods and so I sort waited and watched to see what would happen. I've been seeing more comments written to the co-op about having more raw food available and they have been listening which is so great. I'm personally trying to work with them to do workshops there and at other co-ops around to help broaden the awareness and education around raw foods. I'd love to help people get to know this way of eating and how they might incorporate it into their lives. I'm also hoping to build a raw food community for myself so that I will have that here just as I started to tap into down in MD (but only better!) :-)

I should say also that during the first 2 years here in VT, while I was watching and waiting, I did a fair share of sampling the Vermont foods around and certainly they are delicious. No doubt about it. And in the 2 years, I had another scare happen: I immediately gained 12 pounds in the first month of eating more cooked foods. I watched myself start to have anxiety and depression and frequent panic attacks. I was experiencing peri-menopausal symptoms at the age of 35: hot flashes, insomnia, menstrual changes, etc. Of the 30 possible menopausal symptoms one could have, I had about 25 of them. I went to have a physical and the doctor here wanted to do lots of tests and scared me with the term "biopsy". Thankfully the tests came back negative but the symptoms never left and I was starting to get sick again each month. Basically I saw myself going down a road I didn't want to go.

When I was 30 and had just found about raw foods, I gave myself 10 years to get to the place of being 100% raw - I told myself I wanted to be 100% raw so that I could grow old gracefully and be healthier for myself and my kids. So that I wouldn't experience the diabetes that runs rampant in my family (which I watched my neighbor's dad die of complications due to) or the cancer that I watched my mom die of or the thyroid/hormonal problems that my family is finding themselves with now or the stomach issues that have gotten to my dad and a couple of my brothers. This was my way of being proactive so that I wouldn't spend my time on medicine or at the doctors or paying copays, insurance or doctor bills. I had a dream this past May which basically told me to start at 100% NOW. I woke up and I started. I asked my husband on June 30th if he would do a 30-day raw food challenge with me starting the next day and he accepted.

As of this writing, I've been 100% raw since about mid-late may or so. I've lost 25 pounds without depriving myself of anything, without counting calories or points or worrying about what I'm going to eat. I have forgotten about food in the sense of it doesn't consume my thoughts. I eat what I want, when I want and I enjoy it. All the symptoms that I had are gone. Heartburn is gone. Allergies are gone. Constipation/diarrhea and other food assimilation and digestive problems are gone. (I giggle at this because I used to work as an admin for the Visiting Nurse Assoc. in Central NJ. I worked for the continence dept., mental health dept., assisted living dept. and the hospice dept. The continence nurse practitioner would train head injured and paraplegic people to be bladder and bowel continent and we in the office all received a lesson in what it really means to be bowel continent. I am giggling because I could only now give her a shining report of my own success in that area!) Anyway, I also have stopped drinking coffee which was a MAJOR thing - I've been drinking coffee since I was about 15 or 16 probably, starting which shots of espresso after dinner at my sicilian neighbors house that I loved so much. I find that I am more gentle to myself now, I am getting better at honoring myself and am better able to listen to my body. I feel more awake, present and alive than I have before - even at 50-90% raw. I'm so much less cranky to my husband and kids. I have way more patience and can practice the peace principals much better in my life. My husband, too, looks fantastic. He's now weighing in at his high school weight. He doesn't feel deprived and he actually craves green smoothies now! The look of cooked food doesn't appeal to me and the taste seems drab, sludgy and lifeless.

So that's my story up to this point as it pertains to raw food. Thank you for reading.

Here's that recipe I am going to share now:

this week's raw food recipe

Zucchini Hummus

You might be finding that you still have one or two zucchini left in your garden. I just pulled out a couple yesterday. I haven't wasted ANY zucchini this year. Do you think you won't be able to eat zucchinis from your garden this winter? Well, this recipe can be made up in 5 minutes and frozen in small batches for future use. Be aware that as it defrosts, it will be waterier so you might want to whiz it up again in a blender or food processor but it won't really be necessary.

This recipe is from Alissa Cohen's Living on Live Food book: (I have my own addendums in parenthesis)

5 cups zucchini, peeled and chopped (I don't peel the zucchini - all the good stuff is in the peel)
1/2 cup tahini (raw of course)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (use whatever you had but the coarse grey kind is the best)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

That's it! You're done. Start eating! This is great on raw crackers, in veggie wraps, on tomatoes from your garden, on top of salads, on raw pasta, or using as a dip for dried or fresh veggies. I've used this recipe with the super huge zucchinis that you think you can't use for anything and I've used them with the smaller ones, too. The smaller and more tender ones make this recipe taste almost buttery - very smooth and nice. It's a delicious recipe no matter how big the zucchini.

Have a RAWsome day!
Linda