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As Nature Intended
By Deborah Greer
What did you have for dinner last night? Fast food? Something out of a box –
microwaveable maybe? Vending machine snacks while working late? Did you eat
breakfast or lunch on the run?
Unless you’re part of an ever-diminishing minority, most of your meals are
processed, pre-packaged, carry-out, or eaten in a restaurant, which usually
means rich food in large portions. This last option isn’t unhealthful if
it’s viewed and enjoyed as a treat. An occasional splurge can do wonders for
your spirits, not to mention your taste buds, as long as you’re eating real
food prepared with care.
Real Food Defined
What do I mean by real food? It’s fresh and whole. It looks like food. What
it’s not is processed, from a box, microwaveable, supposedly nutritious
“sustenance” that bears little or no resemblance to any ingredient found in
nature, regardless of what’s been added chemically. Processed foods may
taste good (that is open for debate) and temporarily lessen your hunger, but
since you’re not truly satisfying your body’s – or your mind’s or spirit’s –
needs for nourishment, you’ll be inclined to overeat or to eat again within
a short time.
Fast vs Fresh
We pay so much attention to nutrition as it relates to weight control and so
little to feeding every part of ourselves. Imagine this all-too-typical
scenario: a stressed, overextended working mom (or dad) picks up the kids
from school on her way home from work. She’s a bit relieved when her
children clamor for pizza or McDonalds™ for the second or third time that
week. After all, she’s exhausted and has little time or energy to
plan/cook/clean the kitchen. Most of us have been too tired or too busy to
prepare a meal at one time or another. So let’s say it’s Chicken McNuggets™
– or something similar – again. I’m not picking on McDonalds here. We could
be talking about almost any food that’s frozen, processed, deep fried –
hardly recognizable.
The Alternative
What if, instead, this mom drove home, washed some potatoes and green
vegetables, maybe even getting the kids to help? While the potatoes are
baking, she can get caught up on mail or whatever else needs to be done.
Homework can be done at the kitchen table, or the family can talk or read
the newspaper. Chicken breasts can be baked; the vegetables can be sautéed,
steamed, or served in a salad. Everyone can pitch in to clean up after
dinner.
Yes, this takes more time. The meal won’t be ready until later, and it
requires planning, shopping, preparation, cooking, and cleanup. But,
regardless of menu choice, this is real food. Whether you have a family or
not, you have taken great strides toward nourishing each person you’ve fed.
When you eat a healthful meal you have taken time and care to select and
prepare, you’re nurturing yourself. The time you spend goes a long way
toward enhancing your peace of mind, as well as your peace of digestion!
You’ll feel better, be happier with yourself, and sleep more soundly. This
affects you and everyone around you.
If we look more closely at what comprises “real food,” we can also view
cooking as a form of processing. Why? Heating most foods beyond a minimum
temperature denatures, or changes the structure, of any protein contents –
think of an egg and how it becomes solid as it’s fried. Cooking reduces or
destroys the amino acids, vitamins, and enzymes in foods. Heating also
changes other properties of food structure and substance, such as increasing
the percentage of trans fatty acids in unsaturated oils and reducing water
content.
In 1930, Paul Kouchakoff, a Swiss physician, showed that eating cooked foods
triggers an immune response. This leukocyte reaction can be mitigated, even
eliminated, by eating a larger portion of raw food at the same time. Please
note that I am not suggesting that you should eat raw eggs, fish, poultry,
or meat, however. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are best eaten fresh.
Before I continue, I must confess: I am a raw food vegan (pronounced “vee-gan”).
For those of you unfamiliar with that description, a vegan neither consumes
nor uses animal products. “Raw food vegan” means I eat only fresh, uncooked,
unprocessed fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, all organically grown
whenever possible. Nuts and seeds are soaked and sprouted to make them
easier to digest and, as a result, more nutritious. I consume no grains;
most people find grains indigestible when they are raw, even if they are
sprouted, and they make me feel unfocused and sluggish.
This may seem extreme. It did to me when I first read about it! But after
years of eating this way, I can honestly say the food I consume is the most
healthful, delicious, and nourishing sustenance. My energy and concentration
have improved dramatically. My connections to all aspects of myself and to
nature have grown stronger – far beyond anything I have ever experienced.
Consuming a large portion of your diet in the form of fresh, raw foods is
not only good for you, it also supports the earth: A diet high in
organically grown, living fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds is gentle to
the planet. No pesticides are used, so the process is healthier for the
farmer, for the plants and those who consume them, and for the soil. Organic
farmers use natural means to limit pest problems, including crop rotation,
planting mutually beneficial crops together, and planting flowers and
vegetables that deter troublesome insects or attract helpful ones. These
methods work with nature, not against it. But it’s more labor-intensive;
that’s part of the reason, in addition to the high cost of organic
certification, that organic produce prices seem higher than those for
conventionally-grown counterparts.
Much as I would love to see everyone eating 100% of their diet in the form
of fresh, raw foods, that’s not a reasonable or a practical expectation.
Food is personal. It is deeply ingrained in our being – in our holidays,
traditions, celebrations, family routines, and in our society. Each person
must decide for him- or herself whether or not what s/he eats is supportive
and nourishing. That burger or chocolate cake may taste wonderful to you in
the moment, but how do you feel physically, mentally, and spiritually in a
half hour? In two hours? The next day?
Eating habits are difficult to change. It took me years to eliminate animal
products then cooked foods from my diet. But it’s relatively easy to make
simple changes that will leave you feeling more nourished. Limit meals
containing meat or fish. Eat more vegetarian or vegetable-centered vegan
meals each week.
Another important facet of healthful eating is simple yet often overlooked:
try not to eat unless you’re hungry and to stop eating before you’re full.
This may sound obvious, but we’re so programmed to eat at mealtimes and when
we’re bored, tired, anxious, stressed, celebrating, sad…that few of us pay
attention to what we eat, when, and how much food our bodies want or need.
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Whether or not you want to make
radical changes in the way you eat, it is within your reach to add more
fresh food to your diet each day. Few of us eat enough fruits and
vegetables. These are health-supporting foods we are designed to eat – foods
in their natural states, direct from the earth or tree. Try some fresh fruit
before you have your regular breakfast, or, better yet, as breakfast. Have a
big, leafy salad with lunch or dinner (or both), varying the greens and
vegetables frequently. Skip the macaroni salad, potato salad, croutons, and
heavy dressings. Tossing the leaves with fresh lemon juice, a small amount
of cold-pressed, unfiltered olive oil, and a fresh herb or two, if you
prefer, keeps the salad light and lets you savor the crisp freshness of the
vegetables. After a while, you may even find that your taste buds prefer
salad with no dressing at all!
If you eat raw and cooked foods in the same meal, have the fresh foods
first. Raw foods, especially fruits, digest more quickly than cooked ones,
so it’s important to eat fresh foods before heated foods. Also, since their
structure is not partially broken down by cooking, raw foods must be chewed
to liquid to be digested and absorbed well.
A delightful benefit of eating more whole, live foods regularly is that
we’re more nutritionally satisfied, and, as a result, we eat less heavy
food. This usually results in some fat loss. And raw foods can be consumed
in greater volume – within reason, of course.
As you eat more fresh fare, you may find your body craving it and even
missing it when you “skip it” for a day or two. If so, you may want to
increase the amount of living foods in your meals. There are endless
delicious and healthful choices! Here’s a short list to give you an idea of
some of the possibilities:
Nut milkshakes in flavors from vanilla to peach to strawberry
Mushroom burgers
Savory flax seed crackers
Creamy coconut pudding
Zucchini “pasta” strips tossed with
fesh
pesto or tomato basil sauce
Raw apple pie with an almond-date crust
Arugula and avocado Romaine rollups, sun-dried tomato dip
Falafel and tahini wraps
And just about every kind of pâté, spread, salad, and pie imaginable. A list
of raw food books, recipe books, and internet links follows this article.
As you continue to eat living foods, you’re likely to discover that you
prefer to eat simply rather than preparing complicated recipes. When you eat
food as it’s provided – as nature intended – you’ll feel your best.
Whether you choose to eat cooked or uncooked foods, meat, fish, eggs, dairy,
or vegan meals, prepare your own real food as often as you can. If possible,
eat organically grown or raised products. Nurture yourself: this affects
every area of your life and every aspect of your self in a gentle, positive
way. When we care for ourselves, we also care for each other and for our
planet.
Resources
There are many more raw foods, recipe books, and links available than those
listed here. I recommend these because I am familiar with them. Preparing
raw food meals can be time consuming and complex if overdone on a regular
basis. For everyday, simple is best.
Raw Foods and Recipe Books
Conscious Eating - Cousens, Gabriel, 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA:
North Atlantic Books / Essene Vision Books, 2000.
Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine.- Cousens, Gabriel, Berkeley,
CA: North Atlantic Books / Essene Vision Books, 2003
Whole Foods Companion - Onstad, Dianne, White River Junction,
VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 1996.
Sunfood Cuisine: A Practical Guide to Raw Vegetarian - Patenaude,
Frederic, Cuisine. El Cajon, California: Maul Brothers Publishing,
2002.
Hooked On Raw - Rhio, 3rd ed. New York: Beso Entertainment,
2000.
The Raw Gourmet - Shannon, Nomi, . Vancouver, Canada: Alive Books,
1999.
Detox Your World - Shazzie, . Cambridge, UK: Rawcreation Ltd., 2003.
General Links
These web sites contain articles, recipes, and links to
other sites.
Living Foods
Tree of Life
Living Nutrition
Frederic Patenaude
Shazzie
Vegetarian USA
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