So easy!

The more I read, watch videos, and listen to testimonials, the more I believe in the power of raw foods. I’m still not convinced that a 100% raw diet is best, but there is no doubt in my mind that an 80-90% raw diet will result in better, if not optimal, health. To that end, I have been experimenting with raw kale salads for the past two weeks.

The first step in making a kale salad is the oil massage. Chop up a bunch of kale, put it in a bowl, and drizzle it with oil. Then dig in with both hands and massage the oil into the kale until the leaves soften. This is actually fun. Messy, yes, but fun.

Each of the following combinations begins with the oil massage, so add other ingredients as the second step.

Salad 1. Add raw beets cut with a spiral slicer. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Salad 2. Add raw beets cut with a spiral slicer. Juice two limes and stir in 2 tablespoons of honey. Drizzle over the kale and mix well.

Salad 3. Add pine nuts and a little bit of crushed garlic and a touch of balsamic vinegar (see image).

Salad 4. Add carrots strips (I used a potato peeler for this), a handful of raisins, and a handful of walnuts. Add balsamic vinegar and a squirt of honey. Mix well.

Salad 5. Add 2 finely chopped apples, a handful of raisins, and a handful of walnuts. Add balsamic vinegar and a squirt of honey. Mix well.

Salad 6. Same as salad 4 but substitute rice vinegar.

Salad 7. Add 2 finely chopped apples, two oranges cut into small pieces, a handful of walnuts, a handful of raisins, balsamic vinegar and a squirt of honey.  Taste. Add more honey!

Warning: The night I made salad number 7, I went back for seconds. I was too late.

Try your own variations, and let us know what you come up with!

B Vitamins, Stuttering, and Temper Tantrums

My four-year-old grandson was a hyperactive fusser with a low melting point. He seemed to be going through the terrible twos at four. Nearly every time he was told to do something he didn’t want to do, he shouted, “I don’t want to!” and followed his outburst with ear-splitting wailing.

Coming from a counseling background, I was pretty sure where that behavior came from: inconsistent parenting, giving in to bad behavior. You know the immediate judgments that come to mind. But this was not the case. When I moved in with my son and his family, I witnessed my grandson’s parenting first hand. More than that, I participated. No matter how consistent, no matter how calm and firm we were, the behavior continued. Worse than that, his inability to handle frustration was escalating.

One day, out of the blue, he began to stutter. Within a few days, it was full blown. “I…I…I…I  wa… wa…want… to go.”  Sometimes the stutter was on both ends of the sentence. It didn’t matter if he was having fun and playing or if he was calmly trying to relay information, the stutter took over his speech.

We’d always had bedtime difficulties and they were getting worse. It was hard to get him down, hard for him to go to sleep, and hard for him to stay asleep. Add to that the fact that when his eyes popped open in the morning, he shot out of bed no matter how long he had slept.

Having raised two hyperactive children, I knew the drill. Perfect diet. Lots of sleep. But these kids were eating an organic diet with loads of fresh fruits and veggies. But sleep? Him? Not so much. The hyperactivity itself was interfering with his sleep, and everyone else’s.

When my hyperactive sons were young, B vitamins helped immensely. They helped all of us. They helped the kids sleep and they kept me from having a nervous breakdown. I discussed this with my son and his wife and we decided to give a B vitamin complex a try. We bought what we believe to be the best: Thorne Research’s vitamins. No additives or fillers.

Within four days, the stuttering was reduced by half. Within six days, it stopped altogether. Bedtimes became manageable. Within two weeks we experienced the first no-fuss bedtime and a smiling child who was willing to raise his arms in the air to yell, “Yay, bedtime!”

Now I don’t want to mislead anyone. It’s two months later, and he still fusses. But what was once a roar is now a moan or a whimper and fussing only happens a few times a day instead of 25 or 30 times a day. Redirection or an occasion time out is handling the behavior just fine. He is sleeping much better. Meltdowns are a thing of the past and so is stuttering, even when he went without B vitamins for several weeks.

After this success, it occurred to me to google B vitamins and stuttering. I found that one small study had been done that showed a positive correlation. But there was very little info out there on the subject.

Editor’s note: In a case like this, I recommended a good fat supplement in conjunction with high quality complex B vitamins. UDO’s 3-6-9 with DHA is one of the best out there. A B vitamin deficiency in someone who is eating well and not consuming stimulants is likely to involve a fat imbalance as well.

Recommended Supplements:

• B-Complex #12 – Thorne Research
• Shillington’s Total Nutrition Formula

 Further Reading:

• B Vitamins, Nature’s Valium and So Much More

In my ten years of eating raw, I can tell you from firsthand experience that desserts are the most difficult raw dishes to prepare. Through a miserable number of trials and errors over the years, I’ve got many raw desserts like cheesecake, brownies, cherry sorbet, and coconut macaroons down to an artful science.  Pumpkin pie, on the other hand, was always a challenge for me. In the times I attempted to prepare this gourd pie, it always came out tasting bland, dry, and unappealing. It wasn’t until my close friend, who is also a raw foodie, recommended I try her recipe that I finally made some headway with my homemade raw pumpkin pie.

One of the common misconceptions about raw desserts is that they don’t taste good. On the contrary, cooking raw is delicious. All you have to do is use high-quality ingredients, stick to the accurate measurements, and taste as you go.  If something doesn’t taste quite right, trust your gut and tweak it. If you think your dessert needs an additional ingredient, go ahead and add it! Like an artist’s painting, raw food desserts are supposed to be unique to each artisan.

For those of you who are raw foodies or are trying to incorporate more raw foods into your lives, Thanksgiving can be a tough holiday to endure. Everything from the savory turkey, warm yeast rolls, and sweet pecan pie can derail all your efforts to eat raw. With this delicious raw pumpkin pie recipe, however, you’ll be all set for your Thanksgiving dessert. Not only is it filling, it’s insanely delish! Try this pumpkin pie out during the holiday or any ol’ time you have a craving for this classic dessert.

Raw Pie Crust Recipe

2 ½ cups pecan flour ¾ cup coconut oil, cold
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Okay let’s start with the crust! Start by placing the flour, salt, and sugar in an electric mixer bowl and mix on high for 30 seconds. Next, add the coconut oil and mix until the crust forms a solid, cohesive mixture. Don’t worry if you see a few crumbles though. If necessary, add a little more oil or water to solidify the crust.

Dust a clean surface with a pinch of flour and place the crust on the dusted surface. Using your hands, knead the crust into two flat ball shapes, (keep in mind: this pie makes enough for two crusts) wrap in plastic wrap, and place them freezer until you’ll ready to use them. When you’re putting your pie together, pull out one of the crusts, and using a rolling pin, flatten it out into the shape of a large circle (aka pie crust). Have flour on hand to prevent the crust from sticking to the surface. Gently lift the crust and place it in the pie pan. Press the crust until it adheres to the pan.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

• 3 cups shredded pumpkin
• 1 cup cashews, soaked for four hours, drained, and then mashed
• ¼ cup almond milk
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 3 teaspoons vanilla bean extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch cloves

Combine all the ingredients in an electric mixing bowl. Mix for 3 minutes on high speed. Spread into one of the prepared pie crusts. Refrigerate for at least three hours. Eat and enjoy!

Eating raw is not easy during the holidays, but the health benefits of doing so are definitely worthwhile.

Saturday mornings, I have a standard food-acquiring routine pretty much down.  The farmer’s market is perused through for all of the basics.  Spring water is collected.  If needed, specialty stores are stopped by…and ‘Whole Foods Market’ meets the tail end of the stretch with its add-ins of anything that I couldn’t amass from the other locales.  I’m purposeful at each stop.  I know exactly what I want and where to find it.  My overall ‘game plan’ is to stock up on the freshest, most nutritionally dense foods and still square it all up within our weekly budget.  I go heavy on the greens, non-sweet fruits, and all varieties of veggies that will later meet with a transformation into some variety of smoothie, salad, steamed medley, or soup.  It’s all very satisfactory, yet repetitive…so when something extraordinary catches my attention, it tends to push my delight above and beyond the average.  This week, the extraordinary catch was one size-able container of freshly picked, ruby-red raspberries.

The first time that I recall eating freshly picked strawberries left the type of impression that almost demands that I still think about it from time to time several years later.  I questioned whether they were even strawberries.  They were incredibly juicy and flavorful– entirely different from the less intense store-bought berries that I was up until then familiar with.  Since then, I’ve developed a special interest in and appreciation for fruit that’s been separated from the plant for only hours, as compared to days or weeks.

These particular raspberries paralleled the strawberry incident of ’99 nicely. 🙂 There were plenty savored alone, and there were handfuls more that melded into various edible blends throughout the weekend. The following is our favorite flavor……a concoction that highlights the current seasonal flux– intertwining one of the last offerings of summer with a treasured fall staple. Enjoy!

(I don’t enjoy measuring, so I won’t be listing exact amounts– it’s a simple brew, however, and will likely turn out well if you adjust all amounts according to taste…)

Bottom (or top) crumble layer ingredients

• spoonful of coconut oil or ghee
• vanilla stevia (10-15 drops) (or unprocessed stevia powder and raw vanilla powder)
• coconut or almond flour (enough to make a creamy paste)
• sprouted flax, chia or hemp seed powder (mix in until crumble-like consistency)

Pumpkin blend

• pureed fresh pumpkin, or organic canned pumpkin
• cultured coconut (fermented at home, or store bought (I like So Delicious brand, unsweetened)
• vanilla stevia, to taste
• sea salt

Instructions

1. mix pumpkin blend well.
2. spoon out onto crumble mixture, or into bowl, adding crumble mixture over top.
3. sprinkle with raspberries.

Visualize yourself totally stoked about gardening. In this picture you are getting some garden beds or containers ready for planting. Maybe your schedule lightened up and you found yourself with a free day to garden – to plant seeds. The cool of the morning ignited your enthusiasm and in just two or three hours you made the soil look gorgeous, fertile. “Wow,” you say. “Any seed will thrive in that soil.”

But wait! Before you throw those dry seeds from the packet into the dirt, please know this.

Seeds are miniature storehouses of information. Not only do they know how to produce a plant, they know how to protect themselves from the harsh conditions in nature. Seeds are encoded with inhibitors, a defense mechanism that gives them the ability to survive, to withstand overly wet or dry conditions, extreme temperatures, and, if eaten, to survive the acid filled digestive tract of an animal. Soaking seeds for 8 to 16 hours before planting leaches away these inhibitors; soaked seeds germinate at a much quicker rate.

Although you’re excited about weeding the earth and preparing the soil, (woo hoo – pat yourself on the back!) go ahead and pause. The soil will wait while the information rich seeds soak in warm water in preparation for planting.

If you have soaked seeds before, you may realize that wet seeds are more challenging to work with than the dry ones out of the packet. After soaking, rinse the seeds, drain the excess water, and then put them on a rag or washcloth. It’s also wise to keep a dry rag or cloth nearby when planting to wipe your hands on – the entire planting process goes more smoothly when you keep your fingers dry.

Happy Planting!

May your harvest be nutritious and delicious!

In the midst of summer fun, those who love garden fresh greens for months to come will take the time now to sow the seeds of kale, cabbage, broccoli, and collards. When we are savvy and sow the seeds in August, these cruciferous crops get off to a healthy enough start to withstand frigid winter weather.

What is so beautiful about this reality is that we can harvest the greens, especially of kale and collards, all winter long and for most of next spring.

Use whatever space you have, a deck, balcony, patio, small plot, or large garden. After you purchase your seeds, soak them for 8 – 12 hours and sow these seeds ¼” deep in loose soil.

The choice to sow the seeds directly into beds or to start them in flats or small pots is up to you. Planting the seeds directly in four inch pots, about 25 cents each at garden centers, insures that you have a strong and vital plant when you are ready to transplant into beds or larger containers.

Another reason some choose to go the route of four inch pots is for the sake of enjoying the rest of the summer garden edibles until the time comes to harvest. When the tomatoes, peppers, melons, corn, and summer squash come to their end, a little bed preparation goes a long way in setting the tone for the healthiest fall garden plants.

The great news in your near future (come six weeks down the road when the bed space is ready) is the kale, collard, cabbage and broccoli starts will be very well established.

August is also a good month to plant lettuce, spinach, radishes, turnips, beets, and, depending on your zone, rutabagas and parsnips. These plants tend to do best when directly sown into their permanent home, so skip the small pots on these crops.

A few herbs that tend to thrive when planted in August are chives, oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary.

If you don’t have a full on backyard but do have a little space, like an apartment balcony or any place that gets sunshine, a few garage sale trips can help you to gather planters or miscellaneous items that can be transformed into planters. A five gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom works wonders.

First step, however, to relish in those luscious greens this fall and winter, is to start the seeds now. As you read this, consider grabbing a piece of scratch paper and jotting down your list of what you’ll need to buy or gather in order to feast on the fabulous fall and winter foods. If the fresh taste isn’t motivation enough, think of all the time and money you’ll save by not driving to the store, shopping, and spending cash on foods that you grew from tiny seeds!

And How to cook with Marijuana

Many studies have shown that THC does kill cancer cells. Therefore, smoking marijuana is a popular treatment for treating cancer.

A new study by Salazar et al. in The Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrates that THC causes tumor cells to begin to degrade themselves from the inside (a process called autophagy, i.e. “self-eating”). Check out THC Gives Cancer Cells the Munchies Too for more information.

And we at Organic Lifestyle Magazine absolutely believe that marijuana should be legalized.

But there is a problem with smoking marijuana as a cancer treatment. Smoking marijuana introduces carcinogens into the body causing a host of problems, and when the THC is gone, the body is in a state ripe for more cancer.

Smoking anything is bad for you. And while there are certainly benefits to smoking marijuana, there is a better way to get the THC into your body. THC oil is a great option. You can purchase it (illegally in most states), and you can also make THC oil yourself.

How to cook with Marijuana

If you’re making pot brownies, or any other recipe to get you high, or for any other reason to get THC into your body, you need to extract the THC. THC is fat-soluble. It will pass right through the system if you simply throw some weed into your brownie mix.

You need to cook THC in oil. Coconut oil is a good choice: coconut oil can be heated to a certain point and still maintain it’s healthy beneficial properties (extra virgin, unrefined coconut oil is good up to 350°F).

Chop, grind, or otherwise cut the marijuana into fine pieces and put it into a pan with oil. Heat it below 350°F for 10 minutes. Add the oil to your recipe (you may include the leaves or discard them with a strainer).

Of course, we recommend you know where your weed comes from! Organically grown is not just for food. People that grow marijuana often add a nasty cocktail of chemicals to disguise the fact that their marijuana is lacking in quality.