Really Raw Chili with Lentil Sprouts

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Well, I figured winter days with chili would be a thing of the past, since I'm trying to go "mostly raw." But I made a raw chili last week that I really loved, and I've had it several times already. Glad I made a lot!

I soaked some dried tomatoes for a day, then ran the tomatoes, soak water and all, through the food processor along with some chili spices, sea salt, onion, and garlic. When it was processed, I added my three-day sprouted red and green lentils.


Wow--it was awesome! What flavor!  I added a bit of raw tomato and just a dab of yogurt (it wasn't raw, but it was the good kind with nothing but milk and probiotics--it's got live stuff, anyway) and it was great that way too.

Dried Apple Nut Bread

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Well, yesterday I tried the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie with carrot juice instead of coconut water and coconut meat, and I didn't like it much--it was a no-go. So I will stick with the coconut water. Just FYI...

Last week, I finally found a dehydrator at a Goodwill, though it was the round kind I didn't really want. Still, it's something, and I have been trying out new goodies, like this Dried Apple Nut Bread. I used some leftover Raw Apple Crisp with apples, soaked walnuts, cinnamon, and a little raw sugar, and ran it all through the food processor along with some sprouted wheat berries. Then I made little flat breads with it, although I let the dehydrator go a little too long and they were more like apple nut crackers! But they were very tasty--they were very similar to a granola bar. I thought they would be really good with some Cashew Cream, which I will try to get to soon.

Yummy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

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Here is a great smoothie that is very filling and ....mmmmm.....

I took about half of a small raw pumpkin and cut it in chunks, put it in the blender with some raw coconut water and young coconut meat, some ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves and a little raw wildflower honey. It was SO good! I think next time, though, I may use carrot juice and pulp instead of the coconut water and coconut--It will give it a more "orangey" color.

Pumpkin's color is a good indicator that it contains the anti-aging, disease-flighting alpha and beta-carotenes, which are converted to vitamin A. It also contains vitamins C and E, along with magnesium, potassium, pantothenic acid, and more. Of course, pumpkin's many health benefits are magnified tremendously when it is eaten raw. 

Rawsome "Spaghetti" with Sauce

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This is really too scrumptious to pass up! A plate of "spaghetti" and marinara sauce made from all raw ingredients. Start by soaking some sun-dried tomatoes. When they are soft, cut up a few sweet red peppers, some onion, and throw it all in the food processor with a little garlic and fresh basil, oregano, and sea salt. The flavors are so much more intense than the cooked variety.

If you want some meatless ground meat with your sauce, soak some walnuts for several hours, then drain and grind them in the food processor. Add to the sauce. 

For the "spaghetti," thin-slice some zucchini and then slice the slices into long slivers. Throw it in a bowl with some sea salt and mix it up.

For the "parmesan cheese," I just grind some pine nuts with a little sea salt.

Awesome!

Raw Apple Crisp

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Here's one even my son asks for:

Cut or slice some apples, add a little sea salt to taste, then add some cinnamon and raw sugar or a bit of raw agave nectar, and some walnuts (preferably soaked for an hour or two first, then drained) that have been chopped in the food processor. All of this is done to taste--no need for a recipe. Yum!

You can eat it right away--it's crispier that way. Or put it in the fridge for a day or two. It gets softer--more like apple pie.

Apples and Sea Salt

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One of my favorite snacks is cut apples with sea salt. What could be more simple! And you can make the leftovers into a special treat...Next time...

My Power Drink--Celery, Parsley, and Lemon

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Well, I should probably start off with something that looks a bit more appetizing, but if there is one raw food/drink that has benefited me more than any other over the past five-six years, it is this super powerful green drink: Celery, parsley, and lemon juice.

Celery is great for any nervous conditions (like my seizure-like disorder and chronic brain stem inflammation) as it is a great source of organic (plant-based) calcium, magnesium, and sodium. While sodium has a bad rap, the honest truth is that many people, like me, are sodium deficient. While the wrong kinds of sodium may be bad, this is definitely the helpful kind.

Celery is also considered beneficial for insomnia, arthritis, brain fatigue, high blood pressure, kidney problems, neuritis, asthma, constipation, diabetes--the list goes on and on!

Parsley is a storehouse of organic minerals as well. Also good for kidney problems, arthritis, and high blood pressure, parsley has also been found useful in treating halitosis, menstrual problems, congested liver and gall bladder, obesity, and much more. It is a powerful detoxifying agent.

I add the lemon juice mostly to give this a little zing, but lemon juice is very cleansing as well, especially for the liver/gall bladder area.

When I drink this, within about fifteen minutes I feel like I am able to breathe--it's like I wasn't really breathing before. I think that effect comes mostly from the parsley, because I don't usually feel it as much without it.

Warning: Move into any juicing program slowly. Try a little at first and see how it goes. If you feel nauseous, you are probably too dehydrated to start a juicing program. Drinking a big glass or two of water right after the juice should help a great deal. I always follow up my juice with plenty of water. Some people prefer to water down their juice from the start, but that takes all the fun out of it for me.

There's no way I can put, in just one post, all the ways celery/parsley/lemon juice has helped me. I will have to save some of that for another day.

My Raw Foods Adventure

Pin It Now! About ten years ago I was in pretty bad shape. On a daily basis, I was having seizure-like episodes triggered by chemical sensitivities and food allergies and was under doctors orders for complete bedrest for at least a year! I was a mess. Dehydrated, sleep-deprived, shaking all the time. I finally started making improvement under the care of my very knowledgeable naturopathic, holistic doctor, and I began a wonderful learning adventure! And I learned to listen to my own body.

One of the things I noticed was that if I felt a seizure coming on and I ate a handful of parsley, the shakiness would often subside. Wow! I wondered why. Shortly after that I read a book on enzymes and could see that I really needed to eat more raw foods, because cooking kills enzymes. My body was so lacking in enzymes that I had a seizure after every meal for over 6 months! But when I switched to eating mostly raw foods and drinking plenty of water, my seizures lessened in frequency and intensity.

Eventually, I got heavily into vegetable juicing (this didn't work for me until I was hydrated), and I experienced even greater improvement.

To be honest, I was a little depressed about the whole thing. I had spent 30 years acquiring a bit of a reputation as a good cook, and the idea of giving all that up was really hard. I have to say that the emotional attachment I had to cooking was even greater than the idea of giving up the foods themselves. But I decided to try to put as much effort into learning to prepare good raw foods as I had in learning to cook, and eventually I was sold! Not only did the foods taste surprisingly scrumptuous, there was less mess and things were so much more simple.

Now I aim at being about 80% raw. I do have some foods that are not raw, like Ezekiel bread, organic butter, soft-cooked eggs, and some fish and meat, though not on a daily basis. But I am increasingly delighted with my raw food choices.

Oh, and by the way, I quickly lost 20 pounds while on raw foods, and after a little backsliding, I am getting serious about losing another 20-30 pounds. I look forward to sharing my journey with you.