Jane's Raw Food Awakening

Fennel, Avocado, and Orange Salad

2008-10-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

The last throes of summer have immobilized me today. I have never felt a wind this hot and I see it coming from the ocean… it makes no sense at all. It is 96 degrees in the shade. I did manage to stand long enough to make a delicious fennel, avocado, and orange salad.

Fennel sliced paper thin on a mandolin
Avocado slices
Orange slices
A touch of olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In lieu of air conditioning I am now I am headed to the driveway to let the hose run over my head.

20 bunches of herbs and I'm a happy girl!

2008-07-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful trip to the Farmer's Market today followed by a trip to the Isla Vista Coop for more wheat berries. I had such plans to whip up a dehydrator full of goodies but napping and light cleaning got in the way. Tomorrow I turn all of my beautiful farmer's market finds into food for the week.

Lunch was a delicious "Follow the Rainbow Raw Taco" from the Coop. I couldn't resist when I saw their sign on the refrigerated case advertising their first raw creation for sale. It was good too with a spiced walnut meat and zingy blood orange salsa on top. There were actually two tacos in the package but one was more than enough for a meal. I'll be buying these again!

Mexican Seasoned "Rice" Cabbage Salad... just what I wanted

2008-07-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

This really hit the spot today and took less than 10 minutes to make. Kind of warm and spicy tasting... If I had tomatoes it would have been perfection. Oh well, tomorrow is Farmer's Market day.

3 cups shredded cabbage (1/2 head)

1/4 cup sun dried tomato powder

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1/2 cup fresh shelled peas

1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Carefully pulse the shredded cabbage in a food processor until it reaches the consistency of rice.

Add all remaining ingredients and toss gently.

Can be served cold or dehydrated at 105 degrees for 45 minutes or until warm.

Makes 4 servings

Nothing like a little paralyzation to wake you up a bit

2008-07-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

Disaster struck on Saturday, July 12, 2008. I just didn't know it at the time. Mongolian BBQ... spicy garlic sauce... a strangely numb and possibly burned tongue...? Ignore it and maybe skip Mongolian BBQ for a while.

July 13, tongue still numb and I can't taste very well. Damn you Mongolian BBQ!

July 14, a little sloppy when I drink and I'm talking iced tea. Whatever, it's Monday and I am so busy with work.

July 15, confirmation of disaster striking. I have Bell's Palsy most likely triggered by stress (I have that too!)

So this is where I completely FREAK OUT. I did not take half my face being paralyzed well at all. It was end of the earth in my head and I cried a lot for 3 days. But, I did have the brilliant thought (made easy by the fact that eating was practically impossible at that point) that I was only going to eat raw living foods and that would help heal me.

So July 15 is my raw birthday. I am no longer a dabbler or a yo-yo raw foodist. I have been eating raw food straight for 9 days and the difference is amazing. The doctor I saw told me that I have "a very dense case of Bell's palsy" and that he would classify it as "an 8 on a scale of 10". In everything I have read it seems that in the best possible cases the palsy gets worse for up to a week or so and there is no positive change until 3 weeks after the onset. The eyebrow is always the last respond - sometimes taking months before it can be moved. So this is what I am expecting. I hope to be in the 80% that recover within a year and because my case is "dense" and there is absolutely no movement I plan to wait at least 3 weeks and try not to freak out much.

Today, day 14 counting from the day my tongue went numb, I have movement! Corner of my mouth, upper cheek, and above my eyebrow - the most elusive movement of all. I am experiencing better progress than any other account of Bell's palsy that I can find where the movement started at zero like mine. No way to prove it's my intensely nutritious raw food diet but I really believe it is. I am also taking supplements, B vitamins, and I had a week of prescriptions that are standard for this condition. But it's the raw food.... I can feel it.

How my raw-curious started...

2008-07-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

I really owe it all to Ed, one of my daughter's friends from high school. Years later when he was away at college he sent me an email and told me he was eating raw foods and "pooping like a goose". I found that intriguing. I'm not one to dwell on bodily functions but Ed made it sound like fun!

I didn't really understand what "raw food" exactly was but I knew it was something and I just needed to learn. I asked for cookbooks for various Mother's Days and birthdays but they did not materialize. Not surprising... this was 8 years ago and resources were slim compared to what we have available now.

My interest was peaked again when I saw a Sex and the City episode that had a scene in a raw food restaurant. Raw food... but I was in Los Angeles and New York and all it's possibilities were so far away. Looking back I realize that Los Angeles had resources, I just didn't look for them. ::kicking self in butt::

Flash forward to November 2007. On Amazon I notice Natalia Rose's Detox book and it's about raw food too... I ordered it immediately. By the second week of November I was eating her raw recipes and by Thanksgiving I had lost almost 20 pounds. A freakish amount of weight was coming off and it wasn't hard. I did have residual guilt because the thought of colonics and body brushing were akin to poking things in my eyeballs. But I was doing the detox the best I could at the time. And it turns out body brushing is awesome... still on the fence about trying a colonic anytime soon.

But alas, holidays, family that likes to eat, and lack of willpower started my yo-yo with cooked/raw/cooked/raw. And it was more than that really. Making raw food is tricky when you first start. I made some really, really horrible things! As I wafted in and out of raw I collected cookbooks, experimented with my Excalibur, and found more and more recipes I could make. My mother got on board and we were having raw Sunday potluck for a while and weekly visits to the Saturday Farmer's Market. But it was still a challenge. Work heats up for me around the holiday season and left me little time for food preparation.

And then I discovered raw food cooking classes! I learned so much and it finally clicked. I no longer make anything that tastes like soggy tree bark. I took every class I could and learned so many tips and techniques - irish moss, using ground sun dried tomato powder, and so much more. My instructor was trained at the Living Light Institute and she really knows her stuff. If you are near Thousand Oaks I highly recommend Olga and her raw food classes.

So I have dabbled for over 8 months knowing this is how I want to eat. The difference I feel is indescribable when I am powered on raw, living food. I know this is the best way to lose my SAD extra weight. I love the way my skin feels after just 3 days of diligent raw... but still with the yo-yo eating. Until disaster struck...