Saturday, June 30, 2012

30 Raw Food "Do's and Don'ts"

Actually, these are not exclusive to eating high raw. You’ll find most of them in any health list.

Each of these would take a chapter in a book or essay to pontificate about and explain. Maybe I will. 

Soon.

Part One

1. Eat a variety of greens.
2. Include a wide range of colours.
3. Eat as seasonally as possible.
4. Keep learning as much as you can about raw food and health.
5. Be kind and gracious towards those who don't see things as you do.
6. Remember that once you were a beginner.
7. Enjoy your food. 
8. Learn interesting ways to prepare food.
9. Don't go hungry.
10. If you fall off the wagon, get back on. Falling doesn't mean failing.

There; that should keep you busy thinking until I blog next time with Part Two, 11 – 20.

Christine
www.gomoreraw.com
email: christine@gomoreraw.com

____________________________________________________

The Anglo-Far East Company
The Original Private Gold and Silver Bullion Custodian
Your reference when you order: an-001

Friday, June 22, 2012

Walk On; U2 and Suu Kyi (and You)


Today’s post has nothing to do with Raw Food.  It has to do with life; specifically when life is hard.

This week I watched Suu Kyi from Burma/Myanmar with Bono. He said he was ‘star struck’ and ‘lost for words’. As an avid fan of U2 I can tell you this doesn’t happen often.

I was reminded of the song U2 wrote for her some years back, Walk On. It is a personal favourite and I have used it both in Stress & Burn Out workshops as well as for my own encouragement.

If your life is tough at the moment, this is for you.

If you feel like giving up, leaving and need to know that you’re not the only one, this is for you.

Suu Kyi has persevered under circumstances you and I would crumble under. She has held to a truth which was honourable and just, true and right.

Please accept this as an encouragement from me to you. Walk on.

I have included some of the lyrics that transfer easily to our personal circumstances (how post-modern of me) as I know that hearing it ‘live’ it can be difficult to catch lyrics clearly.

Watch it here.

   And if the daylight feels like it’s a long way off
   And if your glass heart should crack
   And for a second you turn back
   Oh no, be strong
   Walk on walk on
   And I know it aches
   And your heart it breaks
   You can only take so much
   Walk on
(selected lyrics from Walk On by U2, 2000)

Christine
www.gomoreraw.com
email: christine@gomoreraw.com

____________________________________________________

The Anglo-Far East Company
The Original Private Gold and Silver Bullion Custodian
Your reference when you order: an-001
____________________________________________________

YOUnique Gold and Silver

Buy small, affordable physical gold and silver or start a savings program towards physical gold or silver grams for as little as US$25 per month.
Blog : www.goldsilver-money.blogspot.com
____________________________________________________

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Making and Using Coconut or Water Kefir

Candida is a common occurrence amongst women, men and children; even babies. Why this is will be the subject of another blog, suffice to say Kefir as a probiotic, can be of help. 

Those if you who are familiar with Donna Gates and The Ecology Diet will know this.

Kefir is fast becoming a new buzz drink. I should say ‘fizzy’ drink (as we call soda in New Zealand) as it has a light but discernible, fizz.
 
Recently I’m hearing how Big Brother wants to intervene (again) in our lives and give one more job to the Nanny State Boffins: restricting access to or finding ways to ‘encourage’ drinkers to drink less fizz/soda.
Apparently this is going to help the obesity epidemic.


Yep, I can really see the soda companies liking that. Oh, wait. They’ve probably got their version of Kefir in the lab already. Have to supply the up and coming gap, won’t they?
Well, they can’t patent Kefir grains.

Kefir is a fermented drink along the lines of yoghurt, sauerkraut, kimchee, sour dough bread and a cousin of anything else that ferments including the most common one of all, alcohol.
Kefir is genuinely good for you, as it is a probiotic and will gently but surely aid your gut in the ratio of bad v good bacteria.
 
How to get Kefir: the first and easiest is to buy it (thank you, Captain Obvious).  If you’re in New Zealand you can go straight to www.thekefircompany.co.nz and tell them I sent you.  Anita and her husband Terry make coconut Kefir by hand every Friday.
You could make it yourself but you have to be a really, really committed DIY Freak to do this. It is quite a mission to source a regular supply of drinking coconuts and get the ‘blimmin’ things open. If you like an adventure and the idea of filling your rubbish bin with semi-successfully opened coconuts, or even the unopened ones you gave up on, then go right ahead. Trust me. It’s much easier to get Anita’s. She delivers anywhere in New Zealand.
Water Kefir, on the other hand is quite easy; fiddly but easy. First, get yourself some water Kefir grains and follow the instructions that come with them. In New Zealand try www.waterkefir.co.nz.  For overseas readers, use your search engine to find a more local supplier or ask my kiwi friend to send you hers. She also supplied me with Caspian Sea Yoghurt Starter that I make with raw milk. I am enjoying this on my muesli each morning. It’s lovely over a bowl of chopped fruit, too.



The grains increase in number each time you make Kefir. At the moment I have three jars brewing on my kitchen bench top. There is a jar of ‘extras’ in the fridge at the moment, in sugar water waiting to find a new home or another jar on my ‘bench/counter.
I am using Kefir water in my Smoothies (a lovely tingle in the ‘background’) and in the juice I get with our Green Star. The children and DH are enjoying the fizzy effect. Honestly, who would’ve thought you could make a healthy fizzy drink?? Yay!!!
 
You can drink it straight. Drunk neat it reminds me of weak ginger beer. Add some ginger juice from the Juicer and hey presto, Ginger Beer!  Well, kind of.
 
You can also buy kefir powder from some health shops but these do not last indefinitely as the grains do. You will get between four and ten re-ferments before it becomes too weak to use again.

Christine
www.gomoreraw.com
email: christine@gomoreraw.com

____________________________________________________

The Anglo-Far East Company
The Original Private Gold and Silver Bullion Custodian
Your reference: an-001
____________________________________________________ 

Saturday, June 9, 2012

One Direction

Something I can take for granted with you all, Dear Readers, we are all going in One Direction. Not the darling boy band (although some of us are hauled along with our sons and/or daughters), but that One Direction in the pursuit of better health. We might stagger and fall but we stand up, dust off and start moving again. Perhaps we veer off into a side bay for a while to regroup, nevertheless there is reassurance that even if our paths look a little different we are all in this together and can encourage each other.

I love reading about home-grown companies that are often born of a necessity to find solutions to health issues. I'd like to take a few lines in upcoming blogs to tell you of some of them. Some of these companies supply our webshop. Once we've found product we love, we like to share them with you.

This weeks focus is on Waihi Bush Oils. I discovered this company when I was looking for a replacement for fish oil. I wanted to avoid the possibility of heavy metal accumulation. Waihi Bush use New Zealand grown flaxseed oil (along with other ingredients) and have a range of oils to address different needs.


There is one for children and another for our menfolk. If you're pregnant, have struggles with eczema or dermatitis, acne or just want to supply your already healthy body with omega 3 and 6 then there is one for you.

I buy the oil to put in with smoothies since it is the more economical option. It's also easier for me to open a lid and pour it in the blender than it is to swallow them in their capsule form. The capsules are ideal for my daughter who just wants the oil not the smoothie. Total recommend.
Waihi Bush Organic Farm Products

You'll find them in our webshop. We can also send overseas - certified organic, proudly grown and produced in clean, green New Zealand.

All of us want the best health for our darlings and ourselves. Happily for us there are so many options to choose from.

Christine
www.gomoreraw.com
email: christine@gomoreraw.com

____________________________________________________

The Anglo-Far East Company
The Original Private Gold and Silver Bullion Custodian
Your reference: an-001
____________________________________________________

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Grow More Raw

Growing some of your food is not just for the Budget Conscious. Whilst that is the deciding factor for some, for others it is a quest for ultimate freshness, a passion for gardening, a certainty of growing conditions or a satisfying hobby. Any combination may apply to you.

A good, basic place to start (even if you don't yet know if you have green fingers) is the humble sprout. These little power houses of energy are a very frugal main-stay of a raw menu, so it seems a 'know-how' will be of interest to a few of my Dear Readers. Here is my five-step plan for DIY* sprouts.


#1 Choose your sprout. Which one(s) do you like? Notice I said "which one(s) do you like" not what you think you should sprout. If you don't like it, then don't sprout it.

Please note: there are some seeds you must never sprout because of natural toxins. You can sprout green peas, chick peas (garbanzo), mung and adjuki beans but these are the only exceptions to the legume family. Grow the other legumes in your garden and enjoy their fruits but don't eat sprouted beans.

If you are a beginner and feeling unsure, check out the sprouted selection in the chilled produce area of your supermarket. Let that be your guide to help you choose until you are ready for other varieties.

#2 Buy your seeds. I realise that's a Captain Obvious statement, after all, you wouldn't steal them, would you? What I mean here is, be aware of what you buy. If you're buying from the bulk bins at your supermarket, be sure that they are not heat-treated (pasteurised). My local supermarket has these stickers plastered over the bins of seeds and nuts. Someone or somebodies must've complained loud and long enough for this to become practice. Bless them.

Heat-treated seeds will not grow. There is no life in them. Sow a field with pasteurised grain and there will be no harvest. I will leave you to ponder pasteurisation of other food stuffs and how this applies to you. Information is power but I'm not going there today.

Do not buy seeds intended for the garden. Often they have been treated with chemicals not intended for human consumption. You may buy garden seeds that have been organically raised. Check your packet carefully.

Seeds from a health shop should be good for sprouting but not necessarily so. Once I bought some red quinoa for sprouting but all I got was slimy and stinky glup. They were heat treated and only good for cooking (although their nutritional content would be compromised as heat denatures more than enzymes).

#3 Measure out a small quantity for sprouting, bearing in mind that seeds will double, sometimes triple in bulk, You don't want them taking over the kitchen. Pick over carefully to remove damaged and less-than-optimum looking seeds. Keep a look out for small stones; dentists are expensive. Rinse well.

#4 Sprout your seeds. Yay! The miracle starts.(See below for details instructions.) You can buy yourself a fancy-pants sprouting gadget or just use bowls, jars and sieves. My daughter loves her gadget and I am happy with my basic kitchen equipment.

#5  Eat your sprouts. You could call it enjoying your harvest! Fat of the land (kitchen). It's a good feeling to know that you are supplying real food all by yourself. Actually, I should be more humble: all I did was create the right conditions and nature did the rest. But I kind of like taking the credit.

The simpliest way to eat sprouts is to sprinkle a little or a lot on top of your salad or over your cooked food.

You can create a Protein Power Salad, a sprouted (and then dehydrated) muesli/granola or any amount of recipes for sprouted seeds, grains and nuts.

Sprouts are an easy and convenient fresh food. Whether in dry storage, sprouting on your kitchen bench or sprouted in your fridge they don't take up much room. They are rich in water, protein, amino acids, good fats (and so much more) all packed into a very small food package - amazing, really.

A note about lentils - choose green or brown. The orange lentils have been processed and are intended for cooking; they will not sprout.

*DIY: for my international readers, this means Do It Yourself.

Sprouting 

- Soak small amount of seeds or grains in filtered water; overnight is good, especially for the larger ones otherwise a few hours is fine.
 - Rinse a couple of times, drain. You want them damp but not sitting in water.
 - Cover and keep on bench; colanders and sieves over bowl are good for this. Rinse morning and night - might need more over summer. Small seeds need a couple of days to grow ‘tails’ larger ones like chick peas and udzuki a day or so longer.
 - When grown how you like them, keep in fridge to slow growth. Don’t forget to rinse daily. Use in 3 - 4 days.
- Choose sprouting seeds from sources that are not heat-treated (pasteurisation kills enzymes) otherwise they will not sprout but rot instead L nb - soaking but no tails (yet) is still considered a ‘sprout’, that is, the enzymes have been activated.


Christine
www.gomoreraw.com
email: christine@gomoreraw.com

____________________________________________________

The Anglo-Far East Company
The Original Private Gold and Silver Bullion Custodian
Your reference: an-001
____________________________________________________

YOUnique Gold and Silver

Buy small, affordable physical gold and silver or start a savings program towards physical gold or silver grams for as little as US$25 per month.
Blog : www.goldsilver-money.blogspot.com
____________________________________________________