Dr. Norm Shealy and Raw Corn Chips

What do Dr. Norm Shealy and Raw Corn Chips have in common? Absolutely nothing as far as I know. Except that I have something to say about both of them.

First Dr. Shealy. Last night I interviewed Norm as one of the guests in my Wisdom of Wellness Series. He shared his "Recipe for Everyday Health." I would like to offer it to you.

1. Get out of bed in the morning and bless the day and yourself for the sleep you just had.
2. Exercise – minimum of 30 minutes five days a week (can be at the end of the day but more effective at giving energy and maintaining weight if done at the beginning of the day)
3. Eat a healthy breakfast (as well as all other meals) – healthy means "real" food. Food with more than one or two ingredients is no longer real. Wide variety of fruits, vegetables, dairy and fish.
   
4. Go through the day expecting and programming things to be OK.
5. Finish the day with a little rest. Take some time to do some deep breathing, meditation, etc.
6. Go into sleep with mental programming of positive activities. Thank god and your soul for the benefits of the day.
7. Get 8 hours of sleep.

I would like to briefly add a few comments in response to #3 - eat a healthy breakfast. Norm recommended dairy and lots of fish. I personally choose to eat very little, if any, dairy because my body prefers not to have it. Many people are lactose intolerant and may need to watch their dairy intake. As for fish - we all know that fish can be very high in mercury. Please pay attention to the type of fish you eat. You can go to: http://budurl.com/bestseafood. Here you will find recommendations for the healthiest sea food and you can download a free guide.

If you would like to hear the entire interview with Dr. Shealy go to: http://series.supernutrientgal.com.

Now for the raw corn chips. Eating raw has been a very interesting journey. However, it just got a lot easier with our most recent purchase, The Excalibur dehydrator (warning - if you really want to eat raw there is a rather large up front investment).

The other day I made corn chips. Everyone in my family eats corn chips and I love them so I knew I needed an alternative. With everything raw, it never tastes quite like what you know. Pizza, chips, ice cream - they can all be delicious but... different.

These chips took about 20 minutes to prepare (very easy) and then about 16 hours in the dehydrator. I actually got up at about 2am to check on them - insane, I know. The recipe came from The Complete Book of Raw Food. The ingredients are: corn, olive oil, flax seed, cilantro, salt, honey and chili peppers. I can't divulge any more info (copyright laws) but at least you have a sense of the recipe.

Here is a picture of the "dough" going into the dehydrator:


And the finished product:


Quite yummy and they really hit the spot when snacking was what I wanted.

(A note on dehydrators - although they run for a long time they use very little electricity. I don't know the wattage but it costs about 3-6 cents/hour. )

David Wolfe and Julie and Julia

Two very inspiring events have recently transpired in my life. The first - I interviewed expert nutritionist David Wolfe last night for my Wisdom of Wellness series. He is so amazing. A wealth of information, backed by integrity, fueled by an unceasing passion ignited by love and truth. What more could you ask for in a nutritionist? If you want to hear the interview click here, register and then click on the link below David's picture. It's available for another 18 hours or so. I would go into more detail but I'm tired, and quite frankly, unsure whether anyone out there is even reading this. I will say just one more thing - I offered an incredible deal on David's lastest project LongevityNOW ($150 off!). To learn more click here.

The second inspiring event was going to see the film Julie and Julia. Ahhh...I could relate in so many ways and the thought of picking up a cookbook and cooking every recipe in it from start to finish (and not an easy cookbook either) intrigued and delighted me from the moment I first heard of the idea. I loved her passion and of course in the end, fame. so much to say but I'm just too tired. Have to do more in the morning.

Raw Food and Emotional Eating

For years I have struggled with emotional eating. I think it is one of the things that drew me to studying nutrition (that and my passion for everything having to do with anything edible). I would swear off of sugar only to binge three or four days later. Feel terrible for four days and then repeat the cycle. As much as I loved breads, cereals, cakes and cookies I felt imprisoned by their allure and my desires.

I tried many things to break this cycle. I fasted, cleansed, journaled and meditated. Everything helped in its own way but the song of sugar always rang loudest and in the end, the box of cookies prevailed. How could someone like me, who knew so much about food, still fall prey to ingredients?

And then raw food came along. And I was doing my Wisdom of Wellness series. And as part of the series I was interviewing David Wolfe. And I love nutrition. And I love David Wolfe. And David Wolfe is raw.

So I took up the challenge to go 100% raw for three weeks. Well, I didn't make it. I haven't been 100% raw but man, what a journey it has been (and in such a short time!!). The most amazing thing, apart from how alive I feel, is that my cravings, my emotional eating, is gone. Gone.

Now, I'm not saying it is gone for good. I've been down this road too many times to make a statement like that. But for now, right in this moment (which is all I really care about), I have no cravings. Don't get me wrong - I am still eating sweet things. The only difference is they are foods sweetened with dates and agave. Foods that don't encourage insulin spiking that lead to stress on the system resulting in a stronger desire for the very foods that wreak the most havoc on my system. They are foods that feel good. That nourish me. And I feel nourished.

I don't have to resist eating chips at 10 pm or frying up a tortilla with butter just before bed. I don't need to force myself to stop eating the chocolate chips or deny myself that second piece of cake. I don't have to do any of this because I don't even want it.

If I had known that raw foods would lead me here, I would have walked this road years ago. But all in its own perfect time. And that time seems to be now.

Taking a Raw Food Break

So in the end my fatigue beat out my pride. Yesterday was day ten of my 3-week adventure into raw foods. Yesterday was also the end of a very long work week culminating in the first call of my 8-week teleseries the Wisdom of Wellness series. And on top of it all I also got the final design on my new website and logo (just below).

So you can imagine that not only was I exhausted by the end of all this but I had spent very little time in the kitchen preparing any new, delicious raw food meals. In fact I hadn't spent much time preparing much of anything. So when I turned to the fridge, tired and I admit, overworked, I had no energy whatsoever for creating a meal.

The decision - I took a break, a raw food break. Honestly, two days later (and with not a whole lot of sleep) I cannot even remember what I ate. But what I saw was how very challenging a raw food diet can be for those who have a tremendous amount on their plate (pun intended). These days, with our fast-paced, busy lives, almost all of us fall into that category.

As someone who works in the field of nutrition, as Super Nutrient Gal, I am always on the lookout for prevents a person from eating and living in ways that support a healthy mind and body. And what I have seen in my brief foray into raw foods is that it is a must, an absolute must (unless of course it isn't for you), to be introduced into raw foods by someone who knows raw foods. And I don't just mean a cookbook. I mean someone who can hold your hand. Who can give you that perfect suggestion when all you see is more lettuce, kale and carrots and not a thing to eat. Someone who has been down the raw food road, forward and backward, lost their way, found it again and is now merrily heading in their intended direction.

My goal with all of this is, amazingly enough, to become that person. I want to study every in and out of this path because quite honestly the longer I am on it (even with my many meanderings), the more convinced I am of its magic.