Deprivation Doesn't Work

I have known for a long time that deprivation does not work. Every time I say, "never again," it never lasts. So I gave up on deprivation and discourage others, when they ask, from taking up the practice. And yet, in my innocence, deprivation snuck up behind me and put me under.

I was reading Victoria Boutenko's book 12 Steps to Raw Foods when it happened. A disclaimer, I think this is a great book. A warning, take it with a raw grain of salt. Victoria was discussing the benefits of being 100% raw versus even 99% raw. Now, up until this point I have held the belief that we all transition at our own pace and 10% raw is better than 5%. This belief has allowed me to feel a certain amount of freedom as I explore the raw food world. It has also allowed me to be nearly 100% raw because I didn't feel penned in. When we don't see the fence we don't feel a need to jump over it. But when Victoria wrote that even being 99% raw opens up the door to temptation and the potential return to a cooked food diet, I thought, "my gosh, I have to be 100% or nothing. If I'm not 100% then there is a good likelihood I will return to old ways with wild abandon." In that moment, I saw the fence. Within a few hours I was jumping.

We had a fundraiser dinner here where I live, for a neighbor's nephew who is very ill. He is Nepali and so a big Nepali feast was held this weekend. When it came time for the meal I went to gather servings for my children. Why did the food look so appealing? Why was my desire for this meal so strong? I hadn't felt this way in quite awhile. Little did I know, it was the fence. And within a half hour I had eaten a rather delicious cooked meal.

Now, eating a cooked meal is not a sin in my book. I enjoyed it (albeit I didn't feel so great the next morning) and it tasted good. The troubling aspect in all of this for me was that I found myself back at the beginning. Trying to remember why raw? When only hours earlier I was in ecstasy at the yumminess of my raw smoothie and how great I felt drinking it. And I saw once again, that deprivation never works.

This journey is not about 100% or nothing. This journey is just that - a journey. And although I realize Victoria had the best of intentions we know what is paved with good intentions. I am still reading the book and heartily recommend it. But buyer beware - listen to your needs, your desires, your body. There is no wiser teacher.

p.s. the picture at the top of the post is how I like to deal with deprivation - a few tastes of raw "ice cream." By allowing ourselves to indulge, life stays in balance.

Raw Food Transistion

According to Victoria Boutenko, I am right on track.

If I have an addiction it is buying books. I love books. I believe I am part of a dying breed. Fortunately, in my humble opinion, I have passed this passion onto my daughter. My daughter, Emma, consumes books the way most children consume french fries and ice cream sundaes - with pure delight and total absorption. But that is another topic. I was talking about my love of books and Victoria Boutenko.

Yesterday I bought the book, 12 Steps to Raw Foods by Victoria Boutenko.

This book is a very basic, step by step guide for "How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Foods." Now, I am not encouraging you to go all raw and stop eating cooked foods entirely. My husband eats cooked foods, my children do and from time to time so do I. I just want to see how good I can feel and then share that with you.

In 12 Steps to Raw Foods, Victoria talks about the transition period from cooked to raw. My husband calls it the "I'm in denial that I love cooked foods" stage. During this period it is very common that people create a lot of "gourmet" type dishes, crackers, breads, nut and seed spreads. These are foods that help replace the heavy, satisfied feeling that cooked meals often provide.

And I have been doing just that. In fact, before deciding to go raw I ate a lot more salads. Once the mind realized what was happening, my desire for salads diminished and I began uncooking all sorts of meal type foods. Like the one below, which I LOVE (and so does my husband).

I took a nori roll (in place of a tortilla) and on it I put some beet greens and lettuce (you can use whatever greens you have around), avocado, homemade salsa and herbed cream cheese. Then I just rolled it up and ate it. Sooo good. And so simple. Especially if the cream cheese is already made.



This, apparently, is exactly what Victoria is talking about. The next stage for many raw foodists is to transition to more simple meals, a lot of salads and smoothies. Eventually this leads to the final stage of whole foods in their most basic form - a cucumber, carrots, leaves of kale. Now, of course, each person will walk their unique path but there does appear to be a common trajectory and it looks as if I am on it.

Just a word about the cream cheese. This cream cheese is made with Brazil nuts. While not an inexpensive nut (unless you have amazing neighbors like I do who just so happen to have three pounds of Brazil nuts they aren't using and are looking to pass on), it is a wonderful choice as far as nuts go.

Brazil nuts are a great source of monounsaturated oil and selenium. According to Dr. Mark Hyman, a favorite doctor of mine, selenium helps with thyroid problems and monounsaturated fat "is considered to be among the healthiest types of fat." Brazil nuts are the fourth best source of monounsaturated fat, after extra virgin olive oil, hazelnuts, and almonds. (Ultra-Metabolism)

So if you find yourself craving nuts, breads, and heavier type meals, know that you too, are right on track.

Curing the Common Cold

The first time I got a sinus infection after a common cold I was in college. And I was miserable. Imagine not being able to taste anything for two weeks. Imagine eating for no other reason but your body is hungry and needs food. Imagine everything tasting the same - the only excitement...texture. I was miserable.

After a few more of these sinus infections I knew something had to change. Antibiotics have never been my first response to illness (or second, or third for that matter). So I began researching and I discovered that if I eliminated sugar, root vegetables, gluten and dairy, the sinus infection would go away on its own. However, it still took some time and the infections continued to return following certain colds.

Since eating raw most of these foods are no longer a part of my diet. And for the first time in a long time, I came out of this cold feeling great. No stuffed nose. No headaches. I could taste every bite.

If you find that you feel clogged, have diarrhea, flatulence, bloating, skin problems and/or headaches it may be a sign of gluten sensitivity or lactose intolerance.

It is now estimated that 1% of the population is gluten intolerant and 1 in 7 have some form of gluten sensitivity. Gluten, if you don't know, is found in all forms of wheat, rye, barley, triticale and oats. Most Americans consume large quantities of wheat in some form. The more gluten-type foods we eat, the fewer vegetables and fruits a person tends to eat.

As we age we produce less lactase (the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose found in dairy) and our body is therefore, less able to process dairy foods.

And sugar, well...it's just not the best thing for us.

The more raw foods a person eats, the less gluten, dairy and sugar a person will consume. Processed foods contain large quantities of sugar and almost always gluten and/or dairy. So if your body needs a break, even if you don't normally eat a lot of raw foods, try cutting out the common culprits at least for a little while.

I cannot tell you what a difference it has made for me. Ah...the joy of taste!

chewy chocolate freezer fudge

If you don't know already, I have a bit of a sweet tooth. For years I struggled with what I later termed a sugar addiction. I would swear off the dreaded drug only to lose myself in wild abandon a mere four or five days later. I have tried so many things most of them not worth mentioning and then I became raw.

And I swear it completely changed. Well...almost completely. I have lost my desire to indulge. I no longer stand by the open fridge at night searching desperately from something, anything, sweet. Gone are the raids on the pantry. But I still like sweets. It appears, with this new diet, I have found the perfect compromise.

I make sure to always have something sweet in the house. Then when I really want to satisfy that sugar desire I reach for my raw ice cream or a piece of "chewy chocolate freezer fudge." I made the fudge last night when both my husband and I felt like a little something sweet. The absolutely amazing thing about eating raw is that I have one piece and I'm done. I idolized people who could "eat just one." I never thought I would be one of them.

Here is the recipe for the fudge. I got it from Raw Food Real World. I chose this one because I had almost all of the ingredients on hand (made one substitution) and I could eat it within an hour.

The ingredients are:
2 cups almond butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder, or raw carob powder, sifted to remove lumps
1/2 cup plus 2 T. maple syrup
1 heaping teaspoon coconut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Basically, you put everything into a bowl and mix. I find it easiest to use a wooden spoon or my hands but you can stir with a standing mixer if it has a paddle attachment.

Then line a square baking pan with parchment or plastic wrap. Place the fudge in the pan. Flatten. Place parchment on top. Freeze for an hour. Turn over and cut into 1 inch squares. Store in the freezer, covered, until ready to eat.

We, of course, were ready to eat them after an hour.

A few notes - I used raw honey instead of maple syrup because I thought I didn't have any maple syrup. It turns out I did - so much can disappear in a pantry. I recommend sticking with syrup. I made these once before with syrup and I much prefer the taste.

Second I used wildcrafted raw carob powder. I am not a big fan of carob but we recently ordered this wildcrafted carob powder from Blue Mountain Organics and oh my...it is amazing. We also got our raw almond butter from there. For awhile I skimped on almond butter and went with toasted. No more. Raw almond butter is a whole different species. And if you buy it in bulk it can actually be quite reasonable (depending on what is reasonable to you).


The best thing for me about eating raw (besides how I feel) is that for the first time ever I truly enjoy sweet foods. No binging. No indulging. Just pure pleasure. How great is that?

Super Thoughts

It took about two days for my body to start feeling functional. During that time I continued to fret and to read. Every time I get sick I have been able to trace it to an emotionally exhausting period. Last Wednesday I gave a teleseminar on "the Pursuit of Pleasure." In many ways this call was a big deal for me so the relief I felt upon finishing was palpable. I danced in joy around the living room with my son in my arms until he begged to be let down.

I have noticed over the years that relief is often followed by doubt and anxiety. My mind doesn't want a vacation and so seeks out the next "thing" upon which to turn its attention. The following morning my mind took a turn for the worse and no matter what I did, I couldn't shake it. Fear was creeping in and like a long-lost troubled yet familiar relationship, I showed it in and gave it space to stay. Then I got sick.

It was in taking time these last few days to just stop and read that my mind finally began to clear. I was scared. I have spent years studying nutrition and now I have chosen to walk a path no one taught me in school and no books advised me to follow. My vision was getting clearer and with it the voices of doubt and uncertainty grew louder. What did I really know about raw and super foods? Where I am taking myself? Who are my mentors? I have to fall back on my own knowing, the truth of my body, while resuming studying with a new focus and energy. And I am sharing it all with you.

Once again I find myself choosing uncertain ground. Oddly enough, despite the fear, I seem to be drawn to the shakiness of uncertainty. So Think and Grow Rich was undoubtedly the perfect book for me. Every book I pick up lately is telling me the same thing - our life is what we think. Humans have the incredible ability of controlling what we think and by choosing our thoughts wisely we create the life we want. I believe this now. I really do. So I feel ready for the discipline required to keep my thoughts empowering, to stay clear of my vision and allow doubt and worry to be replaced with new, life-giving friends.

I eat well. Really well. But I know it isn't everything. As Dr. Bruce Lipton says, our thoughts are the most powerful energy of any medicine we offer to our body.

So with my mind on board - off I go.

detoxing - the common cold

Two nights ago I could feel a cold coming on. By the time I woke up it had come. So I spent the day in bed, something I rarely do, and read. Normally I would have taken the opportunity to spend hours on the Internet but since my computer has been shall we say, unreliable, I abandoned the hunk of machinery for old fashioned print.

And it was a good thing too because I finally got a chance to read a book that just about every successful person has recommended to me over the last several years, Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. You may ask, "what does this have to do with nutrition?" Everything. Nutrition is not just what food we put into our mouth but the thoughts we pour into our mind and the actions we take with our body and mind. I pay a lot of attention to what I eat, as if you haven't noticed, but I realize that as well as I eat it will not stave off sickness if stress or lack of love overtake me. And this is exactly what happened this last week.

For some reason, not quite sure why, I fell into a bit of a funk. And I knew, that no matter how well I ate, if I didn't pull myself out of it, I could likely get sick. Well, you know how the story ends. So, sick in bed I decided to read about success.

Think and Grow Rich is a powerful book about turning our desires into reality by changing our thoughts. What could be a more perfect read after being in a funk for a week? Now, I can't say I just turned everything around but it felt like a beginning. I feel like becoming raw, followed by the funk, followed by getting sick is all part of some divine detox. Like it is time for me to shed unwanted stuff and emerge into a new possibility of myself. Doesn't feel so comfortable in the moment but I'm hoping, as with any successful detox, that when it is over I will reap the rewards.

A Balanced Meal

I was reminded, in a conversation with a friend, what a difference a background in health makes. And I thought how much of my education I have taken for granted as I undertake this new world of raw. I realized that, perhaps, you would like me to share some of it.

Apparently it is very common when a person "goes raw" to indulge in large amounts of fruit and nuts. Just as a vegetarian may replace meat with cheese or a vegan replace cheese with bread, the choices we make as we convert from one way of eating to another may not always be the healthiest. So how do we know what to eat?

Well, it will be different for each person. There is, unfortunately, no way around that. It's even different depending on the time of the month or the weather or one's mood. Our body will let us know. But there are a few basic things that we can all take with us on our food journey. The first one is a balanced meal.

In the raw food diet I think of it more as a balanced day. Before I came across raw food I taught people the protein, carb, fat, fiber combo. I encouraged people to consume a certain percentage of each and attempt to have the carbs be mostly vegetables and some whole grain. I no longer strive to achieve that nor teach it to others. I don't believe, as I eat mostly raw foods, that I need to ensure such a balance. However, and this is a big however, it is important to maintain an eating plan that includes a wide variety of foods. A diet rich in nuts can make a person feel heavy and potentially gain weight. A diet of fruit, especially ones high in sugar, can lead one to crash and feel tired and cranky. And a diet of mostly green veggies can make one spacey and very mellow.

Now of course there are people out there who eat only fruit or only veggies or only.... but the majority of us need the balance. I am watching in myself as I see that on days when I feel vulnerable I am tempted to fill my body with something other than greens. Or when I am tired I look for a sugary snack, even if it is raw. When this happens I watch. I notice. And then I compensate (most of the time). I look to even out the scales and keep my body happy. When I really tune in, the knowing is there.

Please, if you have questions or comments, don't hesitate to share them. I look forward to offering what I know and learning from what you know.