Food Combining : A Potent Combination
On the surface you would think that going raw or vegan would solve all dietary or weight woes. Like you could just go on your merry way eating anything, in any way, that wasn’t restricted by that diet. But it doesn’t necessarily work that way. And it’s most likely that any problems that do ensue, come from really bad food combining. Prominent doctors and nutritionists have studied the whole science of food combining. There are many charts out there reflecting their findings. The general consensus is that properly combining food, whether raw or vegan or vegetarian or omnivore, is essential to good health. This is due to the fact that digestive…
What’s So Great About Fermented Food?
Thousands of years ago when refrigerators were yet to be invented, our ancestors depended on fermentation as a method of preservation. This was especially true when it came to preserving vegetables. They relied on the fact that once triggered, chemical changes activated certain bacteria in fruits and vegetables, turning on the production of lactic acid. When lactobacilli just ‘do their thing’, starch and sugar content in fruits and vegetables transforms into lactic acid, a natural preservative. Voila! We have fermented food! Lacto-fermentation is the process that prevents raw organic produce from rotting. Ultimately this happens through the production of enzymes that keep harmful elements like carcinogens and toxins at bay.…
Raw and Ready: Eating In and Eating Out
For many, adopting a raw vegan diet – even if it’s just till four – is scariest because it means that, unless you confine yourself to a salad, there is less opportunity to eat out at restaurants. All of a sudden you represent a minority: meagerly represented and majorly misunderstood by the masses. It’s bad enough being a vegan – but if you add Raw into it, you’re really a Wierdo! You would assume that if the celebrities have caught on – and they have – then what’s the deal with everyone else? Suffice it to say, the celebrities have their own personal chefs. Some even open up their own…
Eating Raw: A Primer for the Curious
What does it mean to be eating raw food? When you’re eating raw, you are eating food that has not been “cooked”. Typically, you are eating fruits, vegetables, nits, seeds, legumes, sprouts and grains in their natural state. If they are heated or processed at all through blending, juicing, food processing or dehydrating, they are never heated over 118 degrees Fahrenheit. What are raw and living foods? Raw and living foods constitute those foods that are provided by nature, organically grown and consumed in their original, uncooked state. They are the considered to contain the highest nutritional contentment of all plant foods and include fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes,…
The Raw Diet: Winterized
It’s winter again and with it comes the quandary about just how far to take the raw diet and where or if to make concessions. There is no sugar coating it: winter is not my favorite time of year. Apart from the occasional awe elicited when my high desert view arbitrarily masquerades as a winter wonderland – usually for all of two hours – I am definitely with the bears on this one and would gladly hibernate if it were at all possible. That not being in the cards, last year I decided to take up skiing again after a twenty year absence from the sport. People told me I…