Committed to Practice

Practicing well requires a commitment.  My friend Mari wrote today that our health depends on our lifestyle, and diet is part of the lifestyle.  A healthy lifestyle will not just happen by accident so it requires a practice to help hold us steady as we go against the grain of society.

There is still somewhat of a gap between what I say I want to do and what I actually do.  Keep in mind that what we do is a better indicator of our true desires than what we say. The right practice helps achieve balance, simplicity and joy because it focuses on the true desires and not just the ideals.  The practice is useful not because it makes us perfect, but because it helps protect us from being influenced by outside pressures.

It helps to have the best mentors possible.  My mentor is Dr. John Fielder and he lives the simple, raw and natural lifestyle as perfectly as anyone in the world.  So much of what I have learned from him has become part of who I am.  His teachings will form the basis of my practice even as I make adjustments to allow for my own heart's desires.

There is a book by Julia Cameron entitled The Artist's Way.  The book's purpose is to help blocked artists work through the reasons they are not able to create their art. I went through this book a few years ago but just recently started going through it again.  It takes about twelve weeks to go through it and do the exercises.  It is a good resource for anyone since we are all artists of some sort or the other.  I recommend it to you if you are blocked!  It's cheap therapy.

This week's chapter in The Artist's Way is about Finding a Sense of Identity.  Having a practice helps with that as well because it provides a way to avoid being sucked into other people's agendas, and it keeps you from getting bogged down in numbing distractions, including food.  The practice helps you stay in the present moment and to pay attention to what is here and now.

Lunch today was green smoothie, avocado, coconut, papaya, goodie ball, and almonds.
Dinner today was a blended salad, avocado, sauerkraut, goodie ball, and almonds.

Here is a recipe for Raw Chili that I got from a raw food teacher named Alsenio Nelson.  I made this for our raw food potluck earlier this month.  It's good!  This picture is a double recipe which was a lot of chili.

Raw Chili

1/2 large sweet onion, diced

4 large carrots, diced

2 cups mushrooms

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp nama shoyu (I used Bragg's Aminios)

2 Tbsp. raw vegan coconut sugar 

CHILI SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 dates

4 medium ripe tomatoes

2 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp coconut sugar

Cumin to taste

Garlic to taste

1 cup green lentils, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained

Himalayan salt

Avocado

1.  In a large bowl, stir together diced carrots, onions, and mushrooms.  I used a food processor.

2.  In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, nama shoyu, and coconut sugar.

3.  Pour over carrot mixture.  Marinate one our.  You can marinate it in the dehydrator if you desire.  Spread the mixture on teflex sheets and dehydrate at 115 degrees for an hour.

4.  To make the chili sauce, blend all the chili sauce ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.

5.  Add lentils to veggie mixture.  Pour chili sauce over the veggie/lentil mix and stir.  Add a dash of Himalayan salt to taste.  Top with chopped tomato and/or avocado.

To health and happiness.