Raw Food "Cooking" Class

A good friend here in Victoria called me earlier this week to tell me about a raw food cooking demonstration that was being held at the new Thrifty's store at Tuscany Village.

Elyse, Nuff, a healthy, lively, cook whose energy belies her age was -quite literally- the host, chief, cook and bottle washer. She's been involved with raw food for more than 20 years, and has a line of raw food products that can be purchased at places like Thrifty's Foods and Planet Organic.

She's also published a book, Alive 'n Raw... as Nature Intended, which along with the basics of about proper nutrition, includes some yummy, simple, recipes that are quick to put together.

She travels BC in a motor home that doubles as an office where she sees clients one-on-one for nutritional counseling or coaching on raw food preparation. She the real thing. Her website is LiveRawKitchen.com. Just give her a call if you're interested. (I've also added her link to the Blog Section on the right.)

After a brief introduction on the benefits of raw food, she showed us five super simple recipes to help us replace dairy and gluten products with raw ingredients that are much healthier for the body. I have to emphasize they really are simple. Even I came away from the evening thinking, "Hey. I can do this." 

Eating raw is not the easiest thing I've ever done. Just buying raw vegetables and wondering how to prepare them is not enough. Reading books on the subject, surfing the web for ideas, and taking raw food classes (like this one) are all ways of becoming educated and staying motivated.
"You have to do it yourself, but you don't have to do it alone." -Unknown

The Battle of the Good and Bad Flora #19

 Having eaten out more often these past three weeks (in search of accommodations and getting settled in) has made it difficult to get back into the groove of preparing raw food. It's amazing how easily I can slip into old habits. Eating raw is definitely not a habit just yet.

It has also been a busy week and I haven't been paying my diet as much attention. I did, however, go to a colon hydrotherapist for a colema. (A colema uses gravity feed for the water as opposed to a colonic where the water is under slight pressure).

After my conversation with the therapist, I agree with her that the watery stool, which has been an issue since mid-January, is contributing to an imbalance in my intestinal flora. I've purchased some Acidophilus  which I've now started taking. I hope that this will improve the situation sooner rather than later.

From the numbers below it seems I've definitely hit a plateau. Here are

the stats for this past week:

                             03/07/10              03/14/10           Change

Weight              125.2 lbs.               124.4                   -0.8 lbs.

A very slight drop. 

Body Fat           15.0 lbs.                 15.0                    No Change.

BMI                     19.7                       19.5                     -0.2

A reflection of the weight.

Body Fat           12.0%                     12.0                   No Change.       

Same as above but as a percentage.

Water                64.3%                     64.3                   No Change.

Still a good number.

Bone Mass        6.3%                       6.3                      No Change.
Holding steady.

What is a Magnetic Pulser?

That's a good question.

While I was at the Psych-K workshop I mentioned in a previous post, the facilitator was kind enough to share with me a small machine that he uses to purify his blood. (More about that in a future post.)

It turns out the same company makes another device called a Magnetic Pulser. It's a small, made in Canada, electronic device that emits a strong magnetic pulse every five seconds or so. You place it on various parts of your body, particularly near the accumulation of lymph nodes like the neck, armpit and groin, where, apparently cancer cells like to "hide."

Using muscle testing (MT) he was able to determine that this device would be very beneficial for my situation. I bit the bullet and ordered the machine shortly after the course finished. I've been using it for just over a week -twice a day for about 10 minutes each session. There's no pain or discomfort. If it weren't for the little beep, you wouldn't even know it was working.

I've been MT as I've been going along. I'm just a newbie at this sort of thing and muscle testing oneself is even trickier than doing it on someone else. With that said, it seems my cancer count is dropping significantly faster than it was before I began using the machine.

I'll be doing blood work in the spring and we'll know better what my cancer count is then. We won't be able to distinguish between the effect of raw food, supplementation and the Magnetic Pulser of course, but if my count is down that's the main thing.

Pain is a great motivator. #18

This is my the first week at my new address in (Saanich) Victoria. It's small, but everything I need, with decent bus service to downtown. Getting set up, however means that I've been out and about again this week. Finding a new place and getting settled in is why my postings for the past few weeks have been so late. Thank you for your patience.  

It seems that over the weekend, the back pain I spoke about in a previous posting, has migtated to my groin area. I suspect that with the change in diet, there's been a slight blockage of the intestines creating a definite level of discomfort, particularly when I'm walking. At times, the pain can be quite sharp, and when it hits I can barely walk. As a result, I've gone from walking an hour or two a day to taking the bus whenever I can.  

Pain is a great motivator. The colon hydrotherapy appointment I've been postponing is the first item on Monday's Things To Do list. Hopefully, that will be all that is necessary to clear things up.

Last week I ordered a couple of electronic devices. They just arrived on the weekend. More about those in next week's posting. Until then here are
the stats for this past week #18:

                             02/28/10              03/07/10           Change

Weight              126.5 lbs.               125.2                   -1.3 lbs.

A slight drop. Not sure why exactly. Been on the road a lot and maybe not eating as well or as often as I would at home.

Body Fat           15.7 lbs.                 15.0                    -0.7 lbs.

Virtually half of the loss is fat.

BMI                     19.9                       19.7                     -0.2

A reflection of the weight.

Body Fat           11.4%                     12.0                     +0.6%       

Given the loss is body fat above, this increase doesn't make sense. Let's see what happens next week.

Water                64.0%                     64.3                    +0.3%

Back in the upward groove.

Bone Mass        6.3%                       6.3                     No Change.
Last week's slight increase disappeared this week, which seems to suggest that I'm right on the cusp between the two. The slightest variation in the reading of the scale could have me going one way or the other. It suggests that my bone mass is holding steady.

February Monthly Overview #4

A few observations, in no particular order,  for the month of February.

• I continue to be amazed at how much (relatively) easier it is to do this raw diet in a warmer climate.
•  
• Diarrhea-like symptoms have been the main challenge mid-January to the present time.  At first I thought it would just take time to clear, as it did when I first started. So far that doesn't seem to be the case.
• 
  
• Reaching a low of ~122 lbs has me concerned about how much more weight I can safely lose.
•  
• Raw food is not yet a habit or easy. Every day cooked food, baked food, goodies of kinds and flavours "speak" to me in loving terms.  Every day I have to remind myself why I'm doing this.
•  
• There are days where I can feel my impatience with the process. I feel like I should be making more progress faster. (Admittedly, patience was never my strong suit.)
•  
• Overall, I've been feeling well and my energy levels most days are pretty good. From an average of ~11.50 hours sleep per night when I first started, I'm now down to ~10 hours.

Cooked Food..... Once Again #17

Being so beautifully spring-like here on the Island, I've decided to not go back to Montreal (and the cold and snow). Consequently, I've been busy looking for new accommodations. Being able to eat cooked food certainly simplifies things while I'm out on the road.

Last week, I ran out of the bowel cleanser and chlorophyl products the naturopath prescribed. There's been a delay in their arrival, so I've been doing without this past week.

For the past couple of months I've been having this pain, a dull aching, in the middle of my back between my shoulder blades. It usually makes an appearance up in the evening, although some days it starts in the afternoon. Not sure what it's about. Whatever the reason, I just realized that for the most part this past week it hasn't shown up -and I'm definitely OK with that. I'm hoping it stays that way.

It's amazing to watch how quickly the weight goes back on every time I go start eating cooked food. In my situation, and there's lots of other anecdotal information, to suggest raw food is a great way to lose excess weight. I highly recommend it.

The stats for this past week #17:

                             02/21/10             02/28/10           Change

Weight              122.9 lbs.               126.5                   +3.6 lbs.
Definitely going in the other direction now! Almost a 4 pound gain this week. The weight gain feels good, but mostly I'm happy that the weight loss has stopped.

Body Fat           13.3 lbs.                 15.7                    +2.4 lbs.

The majority of this week's weight gain is fat.

BMI                     19.3                       19.9                     -0.1

A reflection of the weight.

Body Fat           10.8%                     11.4                     -%       

Same as above but as a percentage.

Water                65.1%                     64.0                     -1.1%

The first big drop since we began. Not unexpected as I've been "on the road" a lot more, which makes it more difficult for me to notice my thirst in the first place, and then more difficult to address it.

Bone Mass        6.3%                       6.4                       +0.1

The first time it has gone up since we started. Well see if it holds at this level again next week.

My Favourite Recipe (so far)

I've never been much of a cook. Truth be told, until recently my attitude toward cooking has been one of disinterest, a kind of necessary evil -best avoided if possible; tolerated when not. 

My raw food experience over the past few months has changed that. There are times when I actually get into the groove and find myself enjoying the process, the planning, the experimentation, the presentation, etc. 

It's when I get caught up in the other aspects of life, when I start feeling like there's too many things on my plate, that I fall back into my old attitude. That's when preparing a favourite recipe is called for. It's a motivator, beckoning me to get out of my rut and into a better frame of mind.  

Here's my favourite recipe (so far):

Cauliflower Salad Recipe
Preparation time: 25-30 minutes.
Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:
4 cups of raw sliced cauliflower.
1 cup of coarsely chopped black olives.
1/2 cup of chopped green pepper.
1/4 cup of chopped red pepper.
1/2 cup of chopped or sliced red onion.

Dressing:
1/4 cup of vegetable oil.
3 tablespoons lemon juice.
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
1 teaspoon of sea salt (or dulse).
1/4 cup of raw honey.

Instructions: 

• Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. 
• In another bowl, whip together the dressing ingredients.  
• Pout the dressing over the salad ingredients and toss to coat.  
• Refrigerate until serving time.  
• Correct seasoning before serving.

 In keeping with an earlier posting about serving half one day and half the next, I add a cup of peas to the second day's serving to add a bit of variety, color and texture.

Note: I've made a few changes to the ingredients of the original recipe to make it healthier. If you'd like to work from the original, and to give credit where credit is due, here's the original recipe.
Bon appetit.