FertilehealthyAiming for success, not perfection…

I love it when my readers ask me questions, because…

(a) it gives me something to blog about

(b) sometimes I also didn’t really know and by looking up the answers I learn something new

Following my previous post quite a few of you asked what we soak our nuts in.  And why?

I have always just used water to soak both nuts and seeds, so that part was easy.

But I didn’t really know why.  What would we ever do without Google?

Let me start off by giving you a little background info on why raw foods are so good for us.  Raw foods contain live enzymes that help us digest food and absorb nutrients.  Heating food above 47°C (116-118°F) destroys the live enzymes and we have to rely on our bodies’ own finite enzyme reserve.  Raw foods are easier to digest, leaving us more with more energy and vitality.  Of course, cooking also destroys a lot of the nutrients in food (the one exception being lycopene, which becomes more available in cooked tomatoes).

Nuts and seeds naturally contain enzyme inhibitors.  In other words, they can cause digestive problems.  Therefore, eating nuts and seeds would seem kind of… well, nuts.  Counter-productive.  Unless you soak them.

Soaking nuts and seeds in filtered water not only releases the enzyme inhibitors, making them more easily digestible, but it also increases the life and vitality contained in them.

Different nuts and seeds have different soak times. Hard nuts with skins, like almonds, should be soaked at least eight hours, while a soft seed like sunflower only needs three.  Cashews, being soft, should be soaked for about four hours.

After soaking, rinse them to wash off the tannins (brown liquid) that make them hard to digest.

Unless you have a dehydrator, only soak enough for your daily needs.

To be honest, I haven’t been consistent when it comes to soaking.  I only really did it when a recipe stipulated it.  But having learned this, I will plan better and soak all nuts and seeds.

Craig and I eat sprouts every day, since they are powerhouses of nutrition.  Up to now I’ve been buying them, but this morning I started the process of making my own sprouts.  I just hope I can keep up with the demand!

So, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about sprouts… Let me fill you in!

Sprouts are one of the most complete and nutritional foods.  They are rich in vitamins, minerals, protein and enzymes and they deliver these nutrients in a form that is easily assimilated and digested.  In fact, sprouts improve the efficiency of digestion.  Sprouts are the ultimate live foods – even after you harvest your sprouts and refrigerate them, they will continue to grow slowly and their nutrient content will actually increase.

They are also ridiculously easy to make.  Here’s a handy illustrated guide to making sprouts.  Try it!

I grew up with fresh fruit salad and thick creamy custard, so I was happy to discover this recipe for raw custard sauce in my collection.  It was delicious!

You can serve it with fruit salad, or any raw dessert.

Raw Cashew Custard

• 2 cups raw cashew nuts
  
• juice of 3 oranges
• 1 small pineapple, chopped
• ½ tsp pure vanilla essence

Soak cashew nuts for 4 hours and rinse.

Blend the cashews and the orange juice until creamy.  Add the pineapple chunks and blend again.  Add vanilla and blend through.

It’s been four months – the longest I’ve ever been on the wagon.  And I’m nowhere near getting off this wagon!  I love the view from here and the results are very pleasing indeed.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good before.

There are ten reasons why I am successful this time.  Please note that I said “successful”, not “perfect”.

1.  Making a transition.

Previously I’d go cold-turkey, balls-to-the-wall, 180° about face.  And while the results were spectacular, I could never maintain it.  This time around I started slowly and got better with time.  The results may take longer to become visible, but that is only because I can’t see what’s happening on a cellular level.

I realized that I had 39 years of bad habits and conditioning to break and overcome.  This will take time.  I have the rest of my life.

I’ve actually gone further than I ever thought I would – I was counting on being about 75-80% raw, but from here on I am going with 95+%.   I never thought in the beginning that I’d be comfortable with that.  So, a transition may take you much further than you anticipated!

2.   Adjusting my focus

What am I trying to achieve at this stage of my life?  Healing my body and becoming fertile.  Losing my excess fat.  Becoming fit and strong.  Lessening my impact on the planet.  Taking my passion and compassion to the dinner table and every area of my life.  Living true to my beliefs and ideals.

For two years I’ve been measuring my success, or lack thereof, by the number on the scale.  I have been so intent on weight loss, that I’ve neglected the other aspects of this lifestyle change.   I won’t be doing that anymore.  There will be no more weekly weigh-ins.  I will post monthly pictures of myself, I will share my weight loss milestones and I will update the HYC icon in the sidebar, but the focus of this blog will be on healthy living, with (hopefully) a good dose of inspiration thrown in.

3.   Understanding and listening to my body

My body needs certain things to function optimally, while other things interfere with my body’s processes and cause both short-term and long-term damage.   In the past it’s been subjected to too much of the latter and very little of the former.  There is a great deal of damage, but a lot of it can be repaired and healed.   I have learned from the raw food community that limiting my food intake at this stage of the game is counter-productive.   To heal and reverse the damage my body needs vast amounts of the things that help it to function optimally.  This is no time to deprive it!   Once the body is working better, weight loss and all kinds of other good things will ensue.

4.  Setting attainable goals

Many people go about this the wrong way.  They have a wedding or a reunion coming up so they decide to lose 20 pounds before then.  That’s not an attainable goal.  In fact, that’s not even a goal at all.  It’s just a wished for outcome.  I have learned that goals should be things we can control.  I can control what I eat and when, how much I exercise, my water intake and what time I go to bed.  But I can’t control how much weight I lose.  Our bodies are not machines, they are fearfully and wonderfully made organisms that we will never fully fathom or beat into submission with science. Goals and outcomes are not the same.  Sticking with our goals will, however, bring us closer to the desired outcome.

At this stage my goals are to cement my good, healthy eating habits even further, walk every day and start proper strength training.  And grow my own herbs and sprouts.

5.  Hanging out with like-minded people

That would be YOU!  No matter how you’re going about it, I admire that you care enough about yourself to effect changes in your life.  I am learning so much from my readers and the blogs I visit and the support is invaluable.

Of course that also means that I’m spending less time with people who are not sympathetic to my goals and new lifestyle.   The ones who really love me are still here, because they know that our friendship is not about food and drink.

6.  Stop doing what hurts

I learned that phrase from Karen and it just says it all.

Gluten gives me a painful, itchy and ultimately scabby rash.  When I consume dairy my nose becomes blocked and I get diarrhea.  Sulfur dioxide, found in most processed food as well as wine and some dried fruits, gives me hives and causes my throat to close.  Meat slows down my digestion to the extent that it feels as if I have a brick in my stomach.  Sugar and flour-products cause cravings that I have yet to learn to control.  Alcohol makes me less discerning.  Caffeine makes me sweat, causes my heart to race a mile a minute and keeps me awake until the early morning hours.  Sodium makes my hands swell up and slows down the elimination of toxins by making me retain water.

Why would I call these things treats?  Why would I do this to myself?

7.  Ditching the guilt

Of course nobody is perfect and I make mistakes.  Previously I used to feel guilty and really beat myself up.  I’d punish myself by being 100% the next day.  How silly!  First of all, being 100% is not supposed to be a punishment!

I have come to realize that, because the “cheat” foods make me feel so bad physically following such a blow-out, guilt and punishment are the last things I need.  Instead I need to support my body in the best way possible to get rid of the toxins.  That invariably means lots of water, lots of greens, fresh juices, smoothies and simple foods.  Ironically it’s exactly the same as the “punishment” would have been, but the intent is very different.  It’s about feeling better, not worse.

Learning this has been a huge breakthrough for me.

8.  Limiting my exposure to corrupting influences

Nine months ago we unplugged our TV from the decoder and the aerial.  It was one of the best decisions we ever made!  We watch movies a few times a week, but the rest of the time we spend talking, laughing, reading, sitting outside (weather permitting) and enjoying life.  But the best part about it is that we are not subjected to TV adverts.  We don’t buy magazines and only rarely listen to the radio in the car, so our exposure to marketing of fast food, processed food, candy, drugs, beverages, etc is really limited.  And honestly, most often it’s a question of “out of sight, out of mind”.

When I go to the grocery store, I don’t walk down the aisles that I don’t need anything from, which means that I only visit about 15% of the store!  And yes, I never go shopping on an empty stomach!

9.  Planning for success

I always have fruit on my counter.  I’d rather buy too much and freeze some than not have anything at hand.   I make huge salads in the evening and eat the left-overs the next day.  I make appointments and schedule errands, and even workouts, around my meal times.  I’m giving myself every opportunity to do this right.  I know you can’t plan for every eventuality, but on a day to day basis, planning pays off.

10.  Loving and accepting myself right now

I am a complex, multi-dimensional woman, who have turned 40 years of achievements, mistakes, successes, failures, inertia, chaos, lack and excess, joy and heartache into something valuable, beautiful and worthy.  I am excited about my present, as well as my future!

Like the Voortrekkers and pioneers of old I’m setting forth into unknown territory with my wagon, in search of a new life.  For now this wagon is my home!

I just had to share this article from Diseaseproof, Dr Joel Fuhrman’s blog.  It explains why I eat the way I eat so much better than I ever could.

Hundreds of population studies show that raw vegetable consumption offers strong protection against cancer.¹ The National Cancer Institute recently reported on over 300 different studies that all showed the same basic information: if consumed in large enough quantities, vegetables and fruits protect against all types of cancers, and raw vegetables have the most powerful anticancer properties of all foods.² However, less than one in 100 Americans consumes enough calories from raw vegetables to ensure this defense! I encourage my patients to eat two salads each day (or one salad and one green smoothie, which is discussed later in this chapter), and a glass of freshly squeezed vegetable juice whenever possible. To help you remember the importance of raw vegetables, put a big sign on your refrigerator that says, “The Salad is the Main Dish.”

The word salad here means any vegetable eaten raw or uncooked. Fresh fruit, unsulfured dried fruits, canned beans, and a delicious dressing can be added to it. Eating a huge, delicious salad is the secret to successful weight control and a long healthy life.

This health makeover program encourages you to eat raw vegetables in unlimited quantities, but think big. Since they have a negative caloric effect, the more you eat, the more weight you will lose. Raw foods also have a faster transit time through the digestive tract, resulting in more weight loss than their cooked counterparts. The objective is to eat as many raw vegetables as possible, with the goal of one-pound daily. An easy way to accomplish this is to eat a salad at the beginning of your lunch, and then have some raw vegetables with dip before dinner. This could be an entire head of lettuce with one or two tomatoes and some shredded peppers, beets, or carrots. Or, you could have cucumber and shredded cabbage with shredded apples and raisins, or raw broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and snow pea pods with a delicious humus or salsa dip. The possibilities are endless, and Book Two details many ways for you to reach this goal. Though it may seem daunting, it is far from impossible to consume one pound of raw vegetables, especially if it is split between two meals. Believe it or not, an entire pound is less than 100 calories of food.

My long-time advice to eat a large amount of raw vegetables—a.k.a. a salad—before lunch and dinner has been tested by the medical community. Researchers used a crossover design to track the calories consumed by the same people when they ate salads as an additional first course at a meal and when they didn’t. The research showed that consuming salads reduces meal-calorie intake and is an effective strategy for weight control.³ Raw vegetables are not only for weight control, they also promote superior health in general.

When you add one of my delicious fruit, nut, or avocado-based dressings to the salad, the monounsaturated fats in the dressing increase the body’s ability to absorb the anti-cancer compounds in the raw vegetables.⁴ The synergistic combination of the raw vegetables and the healthy dressing makes the salad a health food superhero.

This is an excerpt from Dr. Fuhrman’s book Eat For Health.

1. Link LB, Potter JD. Raw versus cooked vegetables and cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2004;13(9):1422-1435. Franceschi S, Parpinel M, La Vecchia C, et al. Role of different types of vegetables and fruit in the prevention of cancer of the colon, rectum, and breast. Epidemiology 1998;9(3):338-341. McEligot AJ, Rock CL, Shanks TG, et al. Comparison of serum carotenoid responses between women consuming vegetable juice and women consuming raw or cooked vegetables. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1999;8(3):227-231.

2. Key TJA, Thorogood M, Appleby PN, Burr ML. Dietary habits and mortality in 11,000 vegetarians and health conscious people: results of a 17-year follow up. BMJ 1996;313:775-779.

3. Rolls BJ, Roe LS, Meegns JS. Salad and satiety: energy density and portion size of a first-course salad affect energy intake at lunch. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104(10):1570-1576.

4. Unlu NZ, Bohn T, Clinton SK, Schwartz SJ. Carotenoid absorption from salad and salsa by humans is enhanced by the addition of avocado or avocado oil. J Nutr. 2005;135(3):431-436.

What are you waiting for? Eat your veggies!

PS. Kristen has some great tips on how to get your family to eat more raw food on Crazy Sexy Life today.  Dessert for breakfast?  Sign me up!

PPS.  This just in from Science Daily:  Fruit is even better for you than previously thought.

Every time I think I now have the theme I want, I come up with some more ideas.  So please forgive me while I tinker and tinker and tinker some more.  I’m having a ball!

And it’s good for me, since I’m learning so much.  For instance, once a theme is done, it’s always a good idea check it out in other browsers too.  (Thank you for that tip, Trish!)

The only people suffering around here are the visitors, who have to put up with some strange sights…

I promise to make it up to you though.

I’ll start by sending you to one of the funniest blog posts I have ever read.  The theme there is pretty stable too!

And you’ll get a proper blog post tomorrow…