Spring, new life, fresh, energetic, vigor are all words that express the nature of sprouts. Sprouts are seeds that are in the stage of germination. Meaning they are in there young stage of life. When we eat sprouts that same youthful energy is passed on to us. Sprouts contain [...]]]> SPROUTS!

Spring, new life, fresh, energetic, vigor are all words that express the nature of sprouts. Sprouts are seeds that are in the stage of germination. Meaning they are in there young stage of life. When we eat sprouts that same youthful energy is passed on to us. Sprouts contain thousands of essential nutrients in a easily assimilable form. Broccoli sprouts for instance contain 20 times the amount of antioxidants of fully grown heads of broccoli. When these seeds are soaked, they undertake a biochemical transformation which brakes down harsh substances around and inside the seeds, therefore allowing them to be edible. Sprouts can be a great addition to sandwiches, salads, wraps, juicing, or even to be used as temporary decor before it’s consumed(for instance, the beautiful green color of wheatgrass sprouts adds a nice touch around many areas in the house). There are many different choices of sprouts to choose from. Mung bean, alfalfa, sunflower, broccoli, clover, and wheatgrass to name a few. Sometimes the juice of wheatgrass can be too strong so mixing this medicine with a veggie juice mix would be ideal.  All that is needed to grow sprouts like alfalfa, sunflower and clover is a glass jar, a mesh top and a rubber band. Soak the seeds in water for 18 to 24 hours, pour the water out and just rinse your seeds a couple of times a day. In about 7 to 9 days your jar will be full of this young edible food. Once they have fully sprouted they will be a white-yellowish color. Put them in the sunlight for a couple of hours and you can literally see the photosynthesis( color transform to green), like the Sunflower sprouts that I grew in the picture above. These little wonders can be grown in your window at anytime of the year and if you live in the city, more than likely, they will be freshest food you’ll have. Now that’s “Urban Farming.” Bon Apetite!

Whole foods are plants that still posses all parts, as if it were freshly harvested. Whole foods are foods that aren’t stripped of nutrients and are not concentrated into one nutrient substance. Viagra for instance, is made up of a highly synthesized concentration of the amino acid, [...]]]> Whole Food Nutrition

Whole foods are plants that still posses all parts, as if it were freshly harvested. Whole foods are foods that aren’t stripped of nutrients and are not concentrated into one nutrient substance. Viagra for instance, is made up of a highly synthesized concentration of the amino acid, arginine, found in peanuts. You can save a lot of money by just going straight to the source, peanuts! Whole food nutrition should be the foundation of any person that has a deep desire to achieve and maintain optimal health. What happens when something is missing? Basically mayhem shines. Whenever something is missing in any equation things don’t work right. Things literally start to fall apart(osteoporosis).

Our understanding of food has come a long way. For us to be able to recognize certain food chemicals is a great step but let us not get stuck on single nutrients- the whole is where it’s at. Unfinished business is exactly that, unfinished. Most of the foods we eat today are dealing in a lot of unfinished business. Foods that aren’t whole make you full but don’t deliver the nutrients, so as a result people constantly eat. The body is furiously digging through foods trying to find what it really needs, getting nothing in return; basically this is the reason why people eat so much. They don’t supply cleansing fiber or beneficial intestinal supplentation, so people suffer from severe constipation. Visceral Spillage is a term used for explaining why peoples guts hang over there pants. Basically they have so much crap lodged inside there stomach that the viscera of the stomach is constantly being pushed and ends up this way.  This look and feeling is far from ideal.

We don’t function on one concentrated nutrient, we function on many nutrients, in the thousands! There are many forms of calcium, many forms of other minerals, and vitamins and an array of other plant substances are needed to optimally support us. The only way to receive all that we need is through whole foods. ” Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” I know you’ve probably heard this famous statement by Hippocrates but a statement this good never gets old because it’s true. Whole foods are one of Gods great gifts for us to enjoy every day.

Diet originally meant “that which leads to good”, but through many generations the meaning has gained a bad reputation. No one likes to diet but peoples diet should be of great concern. Misguided by culprits like mass media, people are in need of some old fashioned not so common, sense. Eat your vegetables. The list below gives a good idea of some of the wonderful whole foods out there.

Some choices to start with:

•    Broccoli
•    Cauliflower
•    Spinach (can be used as main base ingredient in salad)
•    Tomato
•    Cucumber
•    Cabbage
•    Celery
•    Asparagus
•    Carrots
•    Onions
•    Garlic
•    Lettuce(red or green can be used as base ingredient in salad)
•    Arugula (can be used as base ingredient in salad)
•    Peas
•    Artichoke
•    Squash
•    Pumpkin
•    Corn(careful)
•    Mushrooms
•    Sweet Peppers
•    Bell Peppers
•    Kale (use as base in salad or as base in morning fruit smoothie)

NUTS/BEANS (good source of easily digestible protein and perfect fat content in raw organic nuts):

•    Organic Raw Almonds or Organic Raw Almond Butter
•    Organic Raw Pecans
•    Organic Raw Brazil Nuts
•    Organic Raw Walnuts
•    Organic Raw Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds

FRUITS (try and consume most of you fruits early in your day. Fruit sugar gives substantial amounts of energy for the body. Preferably morning and afternoon):

• avocado

•    Oranges
•    Apples
•    Bananas
•    Pears
•    Seeded Grapes (fat to sugar ratio is perfect in seeded fruits. Anything seedless is said to be genetically modified)
•    Blueberries
•    Raisins
•    Apricots
•    Strawberries
•    Pineapples
•    Blackberries
•    Cherries
•    Peaches
•    Raspberries
•    Mangos
•    Plums
•    Kiwi
•    Watermelon
•    Mandarins

]]> http://rawfoodsblog.com/whole-foods/feed/ 0 http://rawfoodsblog.com/greens/ http://rawfoodsblog.com/greens/#comments Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:43:38 +0000 chaun http://rawfoodsblog.com/?p=90 Dark leafy greens play a very significant role in our diet. Green signifies the color of healing and is the color that sits in the center of the rainbow, which signifies balance. I think we can all use more balance as we pursue our dreams. Like a boat on the way to its destination. [...]]]> GOT GREENS?

Dark leafy greens play a very significant role in our diet. Green signifies the color of healing and is the color that sits in the center of the rainbow, which signifies balance. I think we can all use more balance as we pursue our dreams. Like a boat on the way to its destination. Greens help to keep the coarse while staying level headed. Greens are an important part of any diet and should be consumed everyday.  They supply the body with a tremendous amount of phytonutrients that heal, and  play their role in  helping us sustain great health.

“Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and formed a man from it. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living person.” -Proverbs 2:7-8

All living organisms contain this Godly energy, an energy that can’t be seen. Like the breath blown into the first man. This unseen energy is called Ki, Chi, Prana, or Spirit. We need foods that have this energy to sustain good overall health. Green foods supply minerals from the earth that we are made of which help with the conduction of this unseen but highly present energy. Without this unseen energy, their would be no life. In order to function properly this unseen energy needs to have clear pathways to flow. When this energy becomes stagnant then problems such as cancer, obesity, heart disease  and many psychological problems arise. Not only do the fiber of  greens keep pathways clear but the minerals of these foods work  great magic too.  Metals are best for electricity to travel through.  Our bodies need these earthly minerals to create stronger nerve synaptic responses for cell communication in our body which control every aspect of our being. We can achieve this by getting minerals into our body through eating green plants.

Greens also supply highly assimilable protein. Greens rich in this great protein are Sea vegetables, Dark leafy veggies, and sprouts. This statement is new for many but it’s true. Many people think only animals supply protein but that antiquated idea is far from being true. Plants have protein! Some plants are even said to have a complete amino acid profile. What a revelation! A thought that has always stuck with me is that most animals are only fed wild vegetation and maintain great health throughout their whole life. Take the keen grazers for instance. They maintain tremendous amounts of muscle, maintain extreme clarity and they feed on only one food source, GRASS! Yes they eat grass all day but it’s pretty amazing to think about the power of raw wild grasses. Another one is the majestic gorilla. Yes they eat all day too but again they feed on nothing but raw living wild vegetation. The evidence nature provides shows us the power of greens and how they play an important part in keeping us in an  excellent state of health. Eat your greens and feel the energy awaken inside of you.

The whole purpose of digestion is to liquify food so that it can be easily assimilated by the body. Food is broken down into a liquid form so the phytochemicals can be absorbed more efficiently. Juicing eliminates a few of the actions that would [...]]]> Why is it so important to occasionally drink your food?

The whole purpose of digestion is to liquify food so that it can be easily assimilated by the body. Food is broken down into a liquid form so the phytochemicals can be absorbed more efficiently. Juicing eliminates a few of the actions that would be needed in digestion, like chewing and peristalsis (the action of moving fiber through the intestines). Drinking water doesn’t require chewing or peristalsis, the only action required is swallowing which is the same concept when drinking juice.  The juice of the plant still contains all the nutrients but the only part missing is the fibrous coarse material.  After the juice is swallowed it immediately absorbs into the body. The only action needed is for you to prepare of the drink.

Juicing is usually done in the beginning of the transition phase into a raw food diet(a cleanse). This helps to cleanse the body before taking in solid foods. When the body is clean it can then easily digest the stronger green veggies and still absorb the nutrients present in these foods. Usually many newcomers have a hard time digesting the raw foods because there digestive systems are not yet strong enough to break them down so juicing is the best approach in this situation. (*Note: another reason for lack of properly digesting foods is lack of beneficial bacteria from not eating fermented foods. Fermented foods are needed to help with good digestion. Read section on Ferments.)  Many people who practice yearly cleanses  juice meals to give there bodies a break from eating solid foods or  many people have there juice while eating meals with solid foods. Either way is just fine.

Drinking the juice of the plant is a great way to give the body  rest while nourishing it. A good time to drink green vegetable juice is right before bed. Eating solid foods before bed can possibly make it harder to sleep because the body is still actively working to digest the fibrous  material. Juicing is a better alternative to satiate the body and still get good sleep. The other purpose of juicing is to help with time management. Lets say more time needs to be spent on other projects throughout the day and the process of eating will take up time, well juicing helps to get good daily vegetable servings and less time is spent preparing and consuming your meal.

To start juicing you’ll definitely need a juicer. I use two types of juicers. One is a low rpm Green Power Juicer and the other is a Jack Lalanne Juicer. A low rpm juicer uses two slowly rotating augers to squeeze the greens to extract the optimal amount of juice. Just type “low rpm juicer” into the google search engine and I’m certain you’ll find one. It may take a few seconds longer to juice your food with a low rpm juicer but you get the most out of your food. Another great juicer is the Jack Lalanne Juicer. The Jack Lalanne juicer was my first juicer ever. I’ve used it for many years and I love it. I use both  juicers mentioned in this article. There are so many great juice recipes. You can start by searching the web, buy a book or  just use your intuition to make your own juice creations. The only thing to keep in mind is to make sure that  you get a good amount of green juice in for the day.

Juicing is simple, fast and easy. I hope you enjoy. Salute!

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