Top 3 Questions I Get Asked on a Regular Basis

Meals have been light since my cleanse last week and  I'm just starting to incorporate some cooked food back into my diet.  Mostly lentils and beans, quinoa, and such.   Although I do go 100% raw during cleanses and a few times of  the year, I do follow an 80% raw diet most of the time.  That is something that I find personally works for me.  Everyone of us is different and understanding what works for you is key in any type of lifestyle you choose.  

I thought today I would address my top 3 most asked questions about eating raw.

Q. Don't you feel hungry during a cleanse or eating raw?
A. Plain and simple the answer is no.  I think a lot of people associate cleanses with not eating at all and just consuming large amounts of liquids.  The 3 day cleanses that I do every season consist of eating clean.  Lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the day in smoothies, in salads, and in juices.  Handful of nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and walnuts in particular are my favourites) throughout the day as well or when needed.  I eat till I'm satisfied and if I am planning to be very active on a particular day then I take fruit, nuts and seeds with me to satisfy my energy needs.

Q. Where are you getting your proteins from?
A.  Leafy greens such as kale and spinach are rich protein sources, I do eat a lot of both.  Other veggies high on the protein scale are beets, broccoli sprouts, as well as nuts and seeds.  Fruits such as avocados, dried apricots, dried figs are good too.  Hemp hearts, chia seeds, make their way into my day as well, which are great sources of protein and omega-3s. Quinoa, beans and lentils all good sources of protein as well.

More information on protein content can be found on the USDA website or at this link: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR17/wtrank/sr17a203.pdf

Q. Do you take a multivitamin?
A. I do take a multivitamin at times to ensure I am getting everything my body requires for good health.   Especially during the winter months.

Hope this information helps anyone who is considering adding more raw into their day!

Happy Monday everyone!

No Room in my Schedule Today!

Day 2 of the new year and my schedule is full.  No time to prepare food today and play in my raw food kitchen.  So a little organization last night makes an easier day today.

To make my day a little lighter I planned and prepped my meals last night except for breakfast. All that is left to do throughout the day today is to open my refrigerator, or my lunch bag and grab my meal

Keeping it simple and yummy today with my favourite fruit bowl for breakfast, large kale salad topped with lots of veggies and walnut pieces to go and a 50% raw dinner of a medley of fresh raw chopped vegetables with couscous dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

Keeping snacks very simple, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit!

Have a raw-some day everyone!

January 1, 2013~ To New Beginnings

2013

A new beginning with renewed intentions to gain more energy, clarity, and vitality!

Cheers to a very healthy new year.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Fortunata
The Raw Food Yogini

It's a Busy Time of Year!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks and I haven't had time to play in my raw kitchen :(.

Making the usual green smoothies for breakfast this morning I decided to make something more festive.  
Transforming one my best friends favourite holiday drink into a green smoothie that I too can enjoy.  The best part of this is that I can have this every morning....guilt free!  :))

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Almond & Hemp Christmas Nog

12 raw almonds
1 heaping tablespoon hemp hearts
1 handful deveined kale
2 medjool dates, pitted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom or 2 small pods
2 1/2 cups water

Add all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into your favourite glass and enjoy!

I Can See You More Clearly...Seriously

Anybody that knows me personally knows that I've worn glasses for driving since I was 16.  About six months ago I started to notice that things were not right when I put on my glasses.  Since it was summer at the time I thought it was because I was squinting.  Shortly after that I just put on sunglasses and found that I could see better without glasses than with.

I was questioning why was this happening. My eyes were getting worse and worse each visit I made to the optometrist.  How could this be that I can now see better without my glasses.  I kept telling my husband that something weird was going on.

I posted on FB a few months ago that I ran into my optometrist in the hair salon and we were talking about my raw food diet, blog, and workshops.  I just happened to mention that I had noticed a big change in my eye sight over the past few months.  Her response at the time was of course of concern and I should set up an appointment, which I already had.  She then proceeded to say that rich levels of lutein found in green leafy vegetables, like kale and spinach, help prevent macular degeneration. Omega 3's  in hemp hearts, flax seeds, and chia are very beneficial as well.

Well, to make a long story short, my findings were correct.  I could not believe it, when my optometrist told me I could leave my distance glasses behind. I still require a mild prescription to read, but am so thrilled not to have to wear them while driving or playing tennis or even hiking!

Doing some research today, I have discovered that there have been many posts of others who have found the same thing.

RAWsome!

Fresh Pomegranate Juice ~ Just Can't Get Enough!

As the title states, I just can't seem to get enough pomegranates.  I love juicing them and add a little of that ruby juice to my smoothies.

I came up with this little plan.  I'm trying to take advantage of the fact that I can find this fruit readily  everywhere right now. So every week I have been buying a few, juicing them and then freezing the juice into cubes.

Then whenever I feel like having some, I can pop of few cubes out of the freezer and add the juice to my desserts, dressings or smoothies.

Pomegranate goes well well with ginger so this morning's smoothie consisted of:

1 handful of deveined kale
1 heaping teaspoon hemp hearts
2 Pomegranate cubes, approximately 1/4 cup juice
1/2 inch fresh ginger root
1 1/2 cups filtered water
12 raw almonds

So delicious and hits the spot!

Fresh Pomegranate Juice
Ready for Freezing

Divinely Green Smoothie

I was inspired this week by the bowl of persimmons sitting on my counter.

Did you know that Disopyros kaki where known as the “Fruit of the Gods” to the ancient Greeks?  Therefore, I decided to appropriately name my smoothie Divinely Green.

Hope you enjoy this smoothie as much as I did this week!

Divinely Green~Persimmon Smoothie

1 Jiro persimmon
1 handful of baby organic spinach
1 cup coconut water
1 tablespoon hemp hearts

Place all ingredients into your blender and blend until creamy and smooth. If it is too thick add more coconut water to thin.

From my kitchen to yours, have a rawk’n good weekend!