#1 Vegetables - Raw
I was a big raw food skeptic until recently. I knew the science on how we came to be. Humans are meant to eat meat we have evolved to do so - and we have evolved the way we are because we did so. Also we have evolved the way we have because we started cooking our food - because of the way it made digesting our food easier, our bodies could afford to put more energy towards brain power. So cooking food and eating meat can't be all that bad right? It's not. I am not a vegetarian nor do I have any intentions of being one, and I am not going 100% raw - like most traditional raw foodies insist is the way to go. Instead I am shifting the focus on what we eat. Instead of mostly meat, carbs, with some veggies - I going with mostly veggies (some cooked - alot raw) with some meat and some carbs. So I will usually try to have a huge salad for dinner with a side of meat and carbs instead of the other way around. Raw fruits and veggies have good enzymes that are damaged or destroyed by heat - so you are getting the most out of them by eating them raw, but like always i try to maintain a "balance" because I still firmly believe that meat, dairy and carbs are also key to maintaining your well-being, especially if you are physically active AND in an environment where you need a robust immune system. I love lettuce of all kinds, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers of all kinds except bell peppers, carrots, spinach, AND sprouts! I LOVE sprouts! Along with the others but find myself favoring these.
#2 Raw Milk and Raw Honey
Everything we eat is so exceedingly sanitized - in the process of killing of the bad bacteria that might make us sick we are also filtering out and killing the good enzymes and bacteria as well. I damaged my intestines eating gluten before I knew that was the problem to the point where I could no longer digest dairy products either. A friend of mine over on Honey Rock Dawn blog turned me on to raw milk. She said alot of people who are lactose intolerant can do just fine with raw milk because the enzymes needed to digest it properly are still in the milk. I tried it and she was right. It was awesome! It did NOT make me sick. Not to mention it tasted WAY better than store bought milk. Honey is similar - do you have problems with allergies? Do you have a child with allergies? Try raw honey on everything you can think of for 6 months and see what a difference that makes. All the stuff that is filtered out and sanitized can slowly and safely introduce our bodies to thousands of different pollens and other allergens pasteurizing the honey results in destroying digestion-aiding enzymes and vitamins while removing protein-rich pollen and comb particulates. Plus it tastes WAY better - as if honey could be better right? It does - trust me. You can taste the forest in this honey - or field or wherever the bees are living. A body used to dealing with bacteria and allergens is a stronger more disease resistant one. This doesn't agree with everyone I know this - and am not pressuring anyone to try it - I am merely telling you it is working for me and that I enjoy it.
#3 Smoothies
I LOVE my smoothies! This is a way for me to consume lots of raw fruit and veggies in a small wonderful dose. I have lots of recipes that are fruit based, lots that are vegetable based some that are combinations. I don't thinks its "yuppy" its just healthy. My smoothies sometimes contain dairy, but no ice cream, and rarely any sweeteners or seasonings. These aren't your after workout gym shakes, or desserts drinks, these are meal replacements at the best and at the least they are a major meal supplement. They are wonderful. If I try a recipe and its nasty, no matter how healthy it is, it goes in the trash. I am not "in" to making myself drink these things, I want to drink them! Since I don't have and can't afford a juicer this is the best option for me. The ingredients are already partially broken down for you from the blending and all the good enzymes are intact.
(photos are not used for financial gain nor for slander and are legal for me to use in this fashion)
#4 "Gluten Free
"
" Is the name of a supplement I found that has enzymes in it that help you digest gluten, carbs, and dairy. I have only tried it a few times but each time I did not get sick. Theory behind this is for you to take one before consuming a meal which may have gluten in it. Not to go out and eat a plate of pasta. So this weekend when I was at a wedding doing some photos and before I ate I took 2 tablets and I went ahead and ate the potato salad even though no one could tell what brand of mayo they used, as not all mayo is gluten free. I also went ahead and ate the potato chips even though I didn't know what brand they were - I was reasonably sure they were Lays which are gluten free - but usually not knowing for sure would stop me from eating them at all. Same with the dip for the veggies I went ahead and had some ranch on my veggies. And I didn't get sick!! Not at all! It was great! This means instead of starving - I get to eat with everyone else. I will be taking it whenever I eat out too and/or travel - which should help cut down even further on the times I get sick.
(photos are not used for financial gain nor for slander and are legal for me to use in this fashion)
#5 Gluten Free Donuts
Oh My Gosh! I found a brand that is good (pictured above) - I love them. They are spendy as hell, and yes processed and bad, but I have a box sitting in my freezer right now anyways. When I had the first one I almost cried it was so good and so close to the real thing. I know, I know they aren't vegetables and they aren't raw but DANG they are good. If its any condolence a box of six will probably last me 3 months....
(photos are not used for financial gain nor for slander and are legal for me to use in this fashion)
For the first time in my life I went the health food store and bought excellent quality vitamins. Not the mail order kind or the kind your co-workers sell though their at home business. A national recognized, certified, organic, gluten free vitamin that is produced using sustainable methods. They work great and I can take them, EVEN the B complex, on an empty stomach - I do not burp them all day and they don't make me nauseous. I used to take Costco vitamins, they were of a good quality my doctors assured me and the price was right - but I had to take them and put food on top of them, and even then they would make me nauseous. Sometimes so much so that I would lose my breakfast on the way to work. It was very frustrating because I knew I needed those vitamins - so I did a little research and found that the Kirkland brand was of good quality but they used alot synthetics (vitamins not derived from food - but from a lab or chemical process), which don't always agree with everyone. So I switched and I feel great and have no problem taking a handful of vitamins each morning on my way out the door.
3 comments:
Hey girl, you are so correct in everything you are posting. I am so proud of you. Keep on doing what you are doing. If we all keep telling the truth as we know it, maybe someday things will get better.
Care to share some smoothie recipes?
As you know, I've been spending the last year slowly converting my family over to eating more like this. I think our health, as a whole is better, even if we aren't perfect at the eating "plan" (more veggies, less carbs).
Excellent info! Thank you for sharing.
Very glad to hear you are having such success with your diet changes.
We recently switched to much better vitamins/supplements. I figured it was kind of dumb to worry so much about the quality of supplementation I was feeding my horses and not have the same concern for the quality of what I was taking.
One word of caution about honey...Infants under the age of 12 months should never be fed any type of honey. Also, for honey to have allergy relief benefits, it should come from your direct area. That way your body learns to cope (or however it works) with the pollens in your immediate area.
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