Saturday, February 23, 2019

Studying the Microbiome & Recipe for Raw Taco Salad



Genes make proteins which carry out the work of the cells.  How many genes does it take to make a human?  Given that a mouse has 23,000 genes, wheat has 26,000 genes, and a worm has 20,500 genes, how many genes would you guess a human would have?  As it turns out, the human genome is not much bigger than that of the worm, coming in at 21,000, less than that of a water flea!

The interesting thing about us humans is that the 21,000 genes are not the only genes that are running our bodies.  We are a community of organisms that live together and cooperate to run the body that sustains us all.  

Our human cells, although larger, are outnumbered ten to one by the cells of the microbes that live on or in us.  There are 100 trillion microbes that make up our microbiota, mostly made up of single cell bacteria, but also viruses and fungi.

The microbes living on the human body contain 4.4 million genes - this is our microbiome.  These genes collaborate in running our bodies alongside our 21,000 human genes.  We are just 10% human.


The raw foods group met at our house last Wednesday, and it was a large gathering of 20 people!  What a blessing to have such loving people in our lives...people who understand the beauty and power of the living foods.

I made a taco salad with walnut meat.  Delicious.  I made frozen Yonana nice cream with bananas, raspberries, and blueberries, served with chocolate vinegar from a local shop in Hot Springs called EVILO.  I also served my goodie ball trail mix, chunky smoothies, and turmeric tea.
Yonana frozen banana nice cream.

Wendy Fargo from Crooked House Herbs was our speaker who talked about the wonders of herbs and left us with her top 5 herb recommendations:  cayenne pepper, garlic, plantain, burdock, and comfrey. To order products or to receive a free consultation from Wendy Fargo please go to her website at Crooked House Herbals.  I bought her Skullcap Tincture and the PhytoSympathy.  Today I ordered The Intense Mouthwash from the website to address a dental problem I am having.
Wendy Fargo of Crooked House Herbals

Recipe for Taco Salad:
Salad:  Romaine lettuce, purple onions, tomatoes, olives, avocado slices and jalapeno.
Taco Meat: 2 cups walnuts, 2 cloves garlic, salt, 1 tsp cumin, paprika, and dash cayenne.  Pulse in food processor until the consistency of taco meat.  Put on top of the salad.
Dressing:  Lime juice

Food prep today:  I made lemon ginger blasts, orange juice, veggie cocktails, and chunky smoothies.

Breakfast:  lemon ginger blast, orange juice
Lunch: chunky smoothie, peanuts
Dinner:  Veggie Cocktail, fruit, dandelion chicory burdock tea

To health and happiness.


Monday, February 18, 2019

Where Do You Get Your Protein? From Seeds!

"Where do you get your protein? "  That is a question vegans, vegetarians, and raw foodies get asked ALL THE TIME!  Of course, the answer to that question is....from plants, but nevertheless, protein is of interest to me as I am aging and losing muscle tone. So I did some research, and here is what I learned.

Amino acids form proteins and they are important as they regulate the biochemical reactions in the body. They are the building blocks of life.  75% of our body weight, 95% of our muscles (including the heart), and 100% of our hormones, neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides are made up of amino acids. Neuropeptides are used by the neurons to communicate with each other.

There are 20 amino acids that make up the proteins the cells need to function and maintain good health.  The body can create 11 of the 20, but the other 9 must come from the diet.  The nine essential amino acids are: leucine, isoleucine, lysine, methione, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, and histidine.

Everyone, of these amino acids can be supplied in a raw food diet by including chia seeds, pepitas, and sunflower seeds daily.  Isn't that amazing....chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds!  The next time someone asks me, "Where do you get your protein?", my answer will be, "From seeds".

A raw food diet can easily meet the requirements for these amino acids by including the following foods:

Leucine - seeds, nuts
Isoleucine - cashews, almonds, chia seeds
Lysine - chia seeds, spirulina, parsley, avocados, almonds, cashews
Methione - seeds, chia seeds, Brazil nuts, figs, onions, cacao
Phenylalanine - spirulina, seaweed, pumpkin, avocado, almonds, peanuts, figs, raisins, leafy greens, most berries, olives, seeds
Threonine - nuts, seeds, watercress, spirulina, pumpkin, leafy greens, hemp seeds, chia seeds, almonds, figs, raisins.
Tryptophan - chocolate, almonds, sunflower seeds, pepita, spirulina, bananas, peanuts
Valine - nuts, spinach, broccoli, seeds, chia seeds, figs, avocado apples, blueberries, cranberries, oranges, apricots
Histidine - chia seeds

Food for the day:
Morning:  32 oz water with 2 Tbsp chia seeds, pepitas and sunflower seeds

Lunch:  banana, coconut, chago mushroom tea
Tao Wild Harvested Canadian Chaga Mushrooms

Dinner:  Salad (romaine, asparagus, onion, mushrooms, mung bean sprouts, lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper); dressing made from coconut yogurt; nori sheet; Bubbies dill pickle, kimchi; dandelion-chicory-burdock tea; peanuts

Coconut Yogurt Dressing recipe:
1 cup coconut yogurt (purchased from Whole Foods)
1 garlic clove
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/2 tsp rosemary leaves
1 tsp salt
coconut water or water to consistency
     -Blend in Nutribullet  
Dandelion, Chicory, and Burdock

I am looking forward to reading this book that arrived today!  We have a lot to learn about the microbiome. For every one of the cells that make up our bodies, there are nine impostor cells hitching a ride. The microbes influence our weight, immune system, and mental health. Many of our modern diseases have their root in our poor relationship with our microbes. The book is written by biologist Alanna Collen.

To health and happiness.







Saturday, February 16, 2019

Detoxing Today

I am having some detox symptoms day, which is to be expected.  Feeling a little nausea and a bit of a headache.

I heard someone say yesterday that virtually everyone is dehydrated at the cellular level.  I am not sure if that is true or not, since there is not much data on line other than articles written by people with something to sell.  Dr. Fielder told me there is no need to predetermine a set amount of water to drink, but to just drink when thirsty; however, if I am dehydrated at the cellular level I would like to remedy that.

Food prep today;
Green juice (apples, celery, collard greens, dill, parsley, mint, and ginger).  My intention was to also include lemon and jalapeno, but got distracted and left them out.  This made a pitcher that will last us 2 or 3 days.
Grapefruit juice for 2 made with 4 large grapefruit.
Shredded a fresh coconut.
Green Smoothies (kale, papaya, pineapple, coconut water, bananas, kiwi, chia seeds, lemon, raspberries, dates, water)

Breakfast was a glass of the green juice and some watermelon.
Lunch was about 3:00 - Avocado with shredded coconut and a large green smoothies.
Dinner:  I was not hungry but ate some grapes, a glass of grapefruit juice, and some peanuts.



Green juice
Grapefruit Juice



Shredded Coconut.
The kitchen after the whirlwind!  The green smoothie is on the end of the counter pre-blend.

To health and happiness.


Friday, February 15, 2019

Meditation is the Center Point




Toasting with kombucha at our raw foods potluck.
The bio-photons in the food are small units of life that have information for your cells that won't be found anywhere else.  This is the fire that cooks your food in the proper way and will awaken your intuition and open pathways of healing.

When I was ill, Dr. John Fielder, my biogenic lifestyle teacher, gave me a short list of things to do if I wanted to get well.  They were: eat only raw foods, drink only water, access fresh air and sunlight every day, exercise by walking every day if  possible, remove all forms of stress, meditate positively expecting healing and full recover.

The meditation practice is the center point of this protocol because it requires a discipline, commitment, and intention that anchors the other practices.   All you do will come out from that place. Branching off of that you have on the one hand what you take in (diet, information, revelation, environment), and on the other hand you have what you give out (exercise, service, teaching).  This is the path to health and happiness.  This  the balance of the yin and yang  with stillness at the center.

Begin with a practice of prayer and meditation, and then balance your life with diet and exercise, studying and teaching, receiving and giving.

****
Food prep today:  grapefruit juice and a dinner salad

Breakfast:  2 bananas
Lunch:  Green smoothie, watermelon, raw peanuts, turmeric tea
Dinner:  Blended salad (I made it a couple of days ago) and a dinner salad, dandelion chicory burdock tea

To health and happiness.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Eating Sunlight



God is the light which I see. Light reflects life...an aspect of creation. Light & life must go together.

Biophotons are photons of light that are produced by a biological system. They emanate spontaneously from all living systems....including humans. They are small units of light which are stored in biological organisms.

Raw foods are important to us because of the biophotons. The energy from the sun enters our cells via the food we eat.  The biophotons contain important information which orders and regulates our body processes to a higher order.  When you increase the light energy into your body, you increase the level of order.  The result is a feeling of vitality and well-being.

Since every living organism emits biophotons, we should want the highest level of light energy available to us.  The more light a food is able to store, the more nutrients it has. Fresh organic vegetables and sun-ripened fruits are our best source for light energy.  Eat the light.

Eat raw foods for the biophotons because without light there is no life. Since we absorb the energy from the sun through our skin and our food, quality food that is rich in biophotons will be the best choice to build or restore health.

****
I did not do a lot of food prep today.  I made green smoothies for lunch and a dinner salad in the evening.


What I ate today:
Glass of Green Juice made a couple of days ago.
Green Smoothie, Avocado with Shredded Coconut, Raw Peanuts
Dinner Salad with Coconut Yogurt, Glass of Green Juice, Goody Ball Mix, Dandelion Burdock Chicory Tea

New haircut!


To Health and Happiness.






Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Coming Home


Today is my seventh day back on all raw foods.  It feels like a homecoming.  This past year has been a difficult one, health wise, which led me to experiment with different diets, but I could not get to the place where I felt good.  I felt like raw foods were not working for me any more until I realized it had been quite some time since I had even been totally raw, so seven days ago I began juicing and calling on Dan McDonald's YouTube videos for inspiration.  I like Dan, The Life Regenerator, because he understands the importance of fats and fasting.  There is so much information out there now about the importance of fats and brain health, so I want to be mindful of that.

On my birthday, in twelve days, I will be 71 years old!.  How well can a septuagenarian recover and regenerate on raw foods.  We are going to find out!

My plan is simple.  I plan to share my daily food, as a record, but it will be the same every day for the most part with only slight variations.  It will mostly be food I can buy at my local Walmart, but I will need to travel to Whole Foods in Little Rock to get some organic items. I will depend on Amazon on other things, but the priority is to eat the best foods possible while keeping it affordable.

I am able to be totally raw by depending on juices, smoothies, and salads.


The food for the day: Green Juice, Orange Juice, Green Smoothie, Blended Salad, Salad, Goodie Ball Mix.  I did not process the goodie ball mix to make goodie balls, instead I sprinkled it on my salad and ate it with a spoon.

Daily Green Juice:
6 apples
1 bunch celery
1 cucumber
1 lemon
Herbs I have available - Today I had dill and cilantro
Ginger
1/2 jalapeno
Leafy greens - today I had beet greens
     *Cilantro is a heavy metal detoxifier.

This juice is an energy drink.  It will clean and detoxify you.

Green Smoothie:  Spring mix, 1/4 pineapple, 1/4 papaya, 2 kiwi, 2 bananas, 1 lemon, 2 Tbsp chia seeds, frozen blueberries or raspberries, Holy Basil tincture, Brain and Nerve tincture, Bee Pollen

Blended Salad:
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 bell pepper
1 lemon, juiced
4 Tbsp sauerkraut
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 bunch celery hearts
1 head romaine or other lettuce
1/2 jalapeno pepper (optional)
     Blend.
Add:
2 Tbsp flax seed oil.
     Gently blend.  Store in refrigerator.

Beet Carrot Celery Juice:
1 beet
1 lb carrots
1 bunch celery
1 apple
1 pc ginger


Dinner Salad:  Romaine, tomato, cucumber, veggies on hand, onion, raisins and seeds (or goodie ball mix), avocado, mushrooms, salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil.  I also added on the side some live coconut yogurt I bought at Whole Foods.

Goodie Ball Trail Mix:
Mix equal parts of the following (I used 250 grams each)...
sesame seed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, raisins, dried mulberries, dates, dried mango, dried persimmon

During the morning I had a glass of green juice and an orange juice.
Lunch:  Green Smoothie, 1/2 mango, 1/2 avocado with fresh coconut.  Try to include coconut in the diet everyday.
Dinner: Blended Salad, Dinner Salad.
Snack: Goodie Ball Trail Mix, raw peanuts

To health and happiness.