Well, it is now 3 weeks to the day since starting on my raw journey, and I must say that a) I have been nowhere near as raw as I’d wanted to be but b) I have experienced great results all the same. I wanted most to have lost a few more pounds/kilos than I actually have (Actually, I’ve not been weighing myself- too depressing- but I do have a good sense for these things), but the sense of well-being factor has far outweighed (ha ha) the fat factor. I feel confident that if I continue, it’ll all come around, and I will eventually loose some weight. My pants are definitely looser in any case.
Unfortunately, today, later in the day after classes, I felt a tad feverish. I’d been VERY raw until that point. I planned to go home, have an enema (good when you feel flu-ish, and I actually do have the equipment- you can get it at Keio Department Store!), and go to bed, but after getting some raw goods on the way home and preparing and eating a feast instead, and drinking too much wine, I felt just fine! Umm, I might have actually been better off doing the former, as perhaps my body was in a detox process. Oh well….
I have no classes for over a week now. It’s Golden Week in Japan- time to kick back! I used to go abroad during this time of year, or at least travel somewhere pseudo exotic in Japan, but I haven’t the funds this year. Will enjoy the nice weather while I can, though.
Today I had:
melon
carrots
cucumbers
MonaVie juice and gel
kiwis
spaghetti salad (greens, daikon, sauce (red pepper, tomatoes, olive oil, organic seasoning, garlic))
gobo (burdock root) and carrots with organic seasonings, sesame, fax meal, sesame oil and mirin
organic wine
chestnuts
I find myself really in an eating mood today, and not in much of a working one. It’s still a little unpleasantly cold outide, though the greenery continues to flourish.
Today I had:
strawberries
mango and spinach smoothie
tomato, avocado, ruccula leaves, and Dukkah spice salad with balsamic vinegar.
dates
natto
frozen banana, date and cocoa ice cream
melon
Dukkah, by the way, is one of my favorite spice blends. It’s originally an Egyptian concoction with a long tradition in the Middle East, where it was prepared to transform bread into a satisfying meal for camel drivers at the end of a long journey traveling across the desert. Men would gather around a fire to roast spices, nuts, and seeds, and then crush them into a coarse powder. They’d then dip chunks of bread first into olive oil and then into the Dukkah. There are tons of recipees, mostly containing cumin, coriander, salt, hazelnuts, and sesame seeds. Unfortunately, the stuff I used this time around was a commercial blend, so the salt was table salt and the seeds were likely roasted. Big no-no. I’ll have to learn to make my own, ’cause I adour it! The cocoa powder I used today in my banana mush was 100% pure but said nothing about 100% raw. I’m still waiting for my raw food order to come in….Gees, that cocoa banana mush was amazing though!
I finished reading the 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Douglas Graham. I have read a few live foods books now, but this is one is a goodie. The main things I learned:
1) Most raw foodies (self included) eat way too much fat and not nearly enough fruits and greens.
2) Dr. Graham claims that humans were designed to each FRUIT, though we can supplement with some greens and nuts if fats and proteins fall short. But forget gorging on starchy veggies (this means carrots!), nuts, and seeds for the most part. (not easy to digest and too much fat). Most fruits and leafy greens have invert (inherent) fats and proteins that make up 10% each, on average, the optimal percentage. The bulk of out calories (80%) should be from carbs (which is probably 99.9% of the VOLUME of food we should eat)
2) Many people, including raw foodists, shun fruit as it’s so high in sugar and therefore not good for diabetics, etc. What Dr. Graham points out, however, is that the culprit is fat, not sugar. If too much fat (which is over a measly 10% according to Graham) is consumed, regardless of fat quality, it will coat blood vessels and cover the insulin receptors located on vessel walls. These receptors are responsible for receiving glucose from the insulin that comes through the blood stream when glucose presence is perceived, as well as delivering the glucose to the body as nutrition. Insulin cannot reach these poor receptors drowning under a layer of fat and therefore the body does not get nourished, and insulin levels go haywire.
3) Following #2, if there is not too much fat on the vessel walls, candida is perfectly under control to feed off of excess glucose in the bloodstream, as most of it get delivered as nutrition thanks to the hard work of insulin receptors. However, when glucose does not get absorbed, a lot of glucose hangs around, so the candida multiply and have a royal feast (candida feeds off sugars).
4) The best way to eat is to keep it simple- forget dehydrating and stuff like that. Just eat as many raw fruits and leafy veggies as you want each day, and keep over fats to the bare minimum.
Well, everything Dr. Graham says makes perfect sense and it is my ideal, but the reality of the diet is that it is a tad extreme, if not also a tad boring…. But if I can make his standard my daily ritual for most days, then perhaps I’ll be sorted.
Today I spent a lovely day learning about raw food and raw food preparation from raw food lovelies Andi and Angela Wolfgang. Andi has just started up Lucina Live Fruitfully, and if things continue like they did today, I’m sure they will have much success! About 9 mostly Japanese rawbies attended- it was great to meet other with similar interests! Andi admitted the recipees were admittedly a tad high in tasty fat to draw in the non-raw types, so I’ll have to watch my fat intake tomorrow, but yummm, was it worth it! I was most impressed with what I would probably describe as chocolate pudding- WAY better in taste than the mainstream alternative full of processed sugar and high-fat dairy. Who would have known the avocado could be so versatile? I cannot make use of this recipee- I KNOW I will eat 10 servings instead of 1 -heheh!
I felt even energy levels all day today. I was surprised at how wide-eyed I was at 7am on the train and also at 7pm. I did a bit of shopping on the way home- bought a much needed bag for work and some skin care, which, when coupled with the raw food course, set me back quite a bit. My roommate hit me with utility bills when I returned too, so I need to practice some frugality for the next couple of weeks. I went with new friends form the raw foods class to Tokyo Hands in search of the “spiral veggie slicer device” but no success. Must harass Andi for one later….
Today I ate:
a green smoothy (powered wheatgrass, frozen mangos, strawberries, papaya, pineapple)
green smoothy 2 (greens, apples, banana)
raw greens (leaves, carrots, alfalfa)
raw hummus (nuts, tahini, soaked pecans, spices, garlic…)
chocolate mouse (avocados, cocoa, agave, chocolate nibs)
raw spaghetti (zuchinni, red peppers, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, sea salt)
walnut basil cheese (walnuts, miso, lemon, garlic, basil, water…)
cauliflower salad (cauliflower, cucumber, avocado, parsley, lemon, tomato, olive oil, spices)
shiitake mushroom burger (soy sauce, mushrooms, greens, green onions, seeds, spices, olive oil, vinegar, garlic)
sun dried tomato ketchup (sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, agave, miso, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper)
more raw spagetti (at home, in large quantity- made with cucumber and eggplant this time (minus oil, but better with!)
It rained all day on this Saturday, 25th of April. The “May” flowers are already out though; Japan’s May promises to bring lots of green in addition to more blossoms. I am in no way looking forward to the oppressive heat of the summer, but today was just a tad too cold. Not too cold to put on the heater, however. I bundled up, read, fooled around on the computer, and ate lots of fruit today.
I ate:
mangos
kiwis
bananas
strawberries
1/3 avocado with tomatos and yellow peppers (with a little balsamic and olive oil)
natto
sprouted peas
MonaVie acai juice blend
My case of MonaVie came in the post just this morning. I always love that delivery! MonaVie is not raw- anything in a bottle can’t really be, or it could go off and customers could sue! MonaVie is flash pasterised, but I am not sure if that is really much less harmful. In any case, the juice tastes great, and I swear by it. So much in fact that I’ve become a distributor of the stuff myself. You can check out the corporate site at www.monavie.com.
I am so impressed with all the food-related films coming out these days. Here’s a trailer from Food Inc. Can’t wait to see this one too!
Alissa Cohen recently appeared on Fox25 news, introducing raw foods to carnivores:
The above was Alissa in another media appearance. Don’t you love the short attention span of media people? I wonder if they actually heard what she was trying to say?
Today was a busy day at work, and I didn’t feel so great this morning (not enough shut-eye). Whenever that happens, I find myself unable to eat before heading to work, though I did munch down a little banana before classes started. Anyway, as I result, I was famished by lunch time. Raw food when you are that hungry seems to be a real treat. I guess fruits and veggies are indeed what the body was designed to eat. Interestingly, I must note that I do not have cravings for anything “bad.” This I find surprising, as I usually feel deprived on any regime I embark on. Maybe it’s because I have a sweet tooth and the fruits are meeting my needs. It’s all good, in any case. Tonight I am going out with old colleagues. Let there be wine! We are meeting at TGI Fridays in Yokohama. Nothing tempting there, so I’ll be alright. Must eat before heading out though…
So far today I’ve had:
bananas
kinkan
carrots
cauliflower
humus
kiwis
Later I’ll have:
mangos
kiwis
melon
carrots
WINE! (yeah, kill me. I am not willing to let go of the wine yet. Can’t see it happening very soon either. One step at a time…)
It was my day off today, so I did an hour on my road-racer (affixed to stationary training device) some produce shopping, and proceeded to enjoy the rest of the day reading. Bliss! I even took a nap, not that I really needed one. My energy levels are pretty good. I thought that early mornings were going to be a problem for me this term, but I am not having difficulty. I also notice I have far less mucus in the morning. I used to have a lot of sleep in my eyes and feel sluggish in the mornings, but I can’t say that this is the case now.
Today I had:
kiwis
mangos
bananas
natto
baby carrots
raw broccoli
raw string beans
homemade humus with miso
Found a filmmaker on the net who was inspired by the hit documentary, “Supersize Me” and decided she should do one of her own, but with the reverse in mind. What kind of changes would she see in her body after eating super healthy and raw for a month? “Supercharge Me!” movie trailer:
I’ve had a fair share of water shot up my anus over the past few years. In fact, I’ve had a gastronomical assortment of liquids squirted into where the sun shine not: wheatgrass water, garlic water, watery green tea, even warm, diluted coffee! Not that there are taste buds down there, but each concoction is said to have its “nutritional” benefits, and I am a believer!
Ah, yes, a good colonic irrigation. My personal first was at a fasting retreat in Koh-Samui, Thailand, where the detox boom is alive and kicking. It was rather uncomfortable at first, but it did seem to make my detoxing process much more tolerable. You’d be amazed at the stuff that comes out….crap (not necessarily literally) that’s been there for years. When fasting, the thinking goes that a lot of toxins are sometimes released too quickly into your system, which can be really unpleasant, causing a “cleansing reaction” -everything from headaches to fevers to emotional outcry. The colon is one of the body’s biggest eliminative organs, so by clearing it out, natural hygienists say that the toxins can go on their merry way and leave you in peace.
The video below takes the viewer on the first-time journey of someone called Mary, but at least she gets the high-tech version. Most of what I’ve experienced as been with the old, self-serve bucket and tube, making use of the wonderful pairing of suction and gravity. We should all have an ass cleaner at home, I reckon. A colon cleaner, I mean. I actually already have an bum cleaner built into my snazzy Japanese toilet. Eliminates the need for toilet paper for the most part, but that’s a different story. Anyway, don’t laugh, but you can buy at-home colon kits in quite a few places these days. Try googling “colema board,” too.
strawberries
avocado and tomato salad
kinkan
kiwis
monkey and regular bananas
trail mix of goji berries, currants, pine, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds
coffee with soy milk (oh nooooooo!)
a giant papaya
organic red wine
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