"What kind of diet works?"
No "diet" works. A new lifestyle that incorporates true health does work. Quite simply, if you're sick, don't consume ANY sugar, dairy, meat or processed foods. If you're well and ready to move forward, a diet of 50 - 75% raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and herbs accompanied with raw cow milk products, healthy, young meat and fermented grains, then you will be able to progress and thrive. Desserts and treats should be at a minimum. My personal rule is to have a maximum of 2 desserts a week and even then it should be made from natural sugars like honey, sucanat or stevia. We NEVER eat "sugar free" treats that have aspartame or other artificial sweeteners because they mess with the brain and cause all kinds of diseases. Desserts or any high carbohydrate food, should not be consumed just before retiring for the night because that forces the body to produce insulin while sleeping, which messes with blood sugar levels, disrupts sleep and increases body fat. Eat carbs earlier in the day when you can still burn them off. Drink plenty of water! Everyone should drink the amount of ounces of water as their weight in pounds. If you're eating healthy and well, try not to drink water with your meals so that the nutrients can be distributed without too much dilution. Chew your food well and enjoy it! Also, everyone gets off track. If you get off track, just get back on the wagon and try again! You can do it!
A few things to remember about "raw" foods. Raw foods simply means that the food has not been cooked over 123 degrees which retains the natural, living enzymes. These natural enzymes are essential for our bodies because they retain the alive cells in our body and help rebuild dying, aging cells. Because our bodies are made entirely of cells, don't you think it's important to reload our bodies with living enzymes? That is why, I try to simmer veggies when possible. I also use our dehydrator over the oven as much as possible. I don't do everything perfectly, but I'm trying and hopefully these recipes are helpful for a healthier start but also enticing to your tastebuds!
Sprouting
- Sprouting is a very simple yet powerful way to capture the growing and nutritional power of grains, nuts and seeds. Sprouting can be done in an official sprouter, like the sprouter that I show below or it can be as simple as soaking your grains, nuts and seeds for 12 - 24 hours before use. This is a lost art that needs to be implemented in our diets again!
I love these little sprouters from Sprout Master! Sprouting is easy and an essential food source for emergencies! They are an awesome micronutrient that is super easy to grow in your own kitchen without dirt. In fact they grow better in dark places! Funny. We love alfalfa sprouts in our green smoothies, on our sandwiches in our salads and even as a snack.
Basically, immerse and soak them in water for 12 - 24 hours. Rinse. Pour evenly into these containers, rinse morning and night. They're ready in 3 days so I rotate them by starting a new batch every day. Great nutrition that's so easy and cheap!
Sprouting wheat berries for bread
Out of 8 people in our family, 6 of us have celiacs disease or gluten intolerance. So, the concept of customizing our bodies to consume wheat again is quite frankly, scary. We have decided to see how our bodies will accept sprouted wheat and so far, we are doing very well. We still eat "gluten free" with the exception of sprouted wheat products such as this bread. To sprout the wheat berries, soak 4 cups for 12 - 24 hours. Place in a dehydrator (may use wax paper) for 12 - 16 hours on temperature less than 122 degrees (to retain enzymes). When dry, grind until it is a fine texture. We used our blender because we didn't want to risk using our gluten-free grinder. To go one step further (I know there are a lot of steps, but we're willing to do it in order to have wheat bread that our bodies can thrive on) soak the sprouted, milled grain for 12 - 24 hours to ferment it (see bread recipe below under "breads" section for more info). This provides a probiotic property to the bread. Use sprouted wheat flour in this recipe:
Alyssa's Heaven sent rolls:
- 2TBS yeast
- 2 c. lukewarm water (16 oz)
- 1/4 c. honey (2 oz.)
- 1/2 c. + 1 TBS olive oil
- 2 [fresh] eggs
- 5 c. sprouted wheat flour
- 1 c. tapioca flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water for about 5-10 minutes. Place sprouted wheat flour, tapioca flour and salt in large bowl and blend. Then add to flour mixture olive oil, honey, beaten eggs, and the yeast water mix. Knead dough on tapioca floured surface for 5-10 minutes. Place in large covered bowl and let rise for about 1 hour. Preheat oven at 375 degrees.Take dough out of bowl and reshape into rolls and place on greased cookie sheet. Place heated oven and let cook for 12-14 minutes. Makes about 2-3 dozen rolls. Can also be used as bread or pizza crust recipe. Enjoy!
Breakfast Ideas
Soaked Oats:
- For 1 serving: 1/2 cup oats, handful nuts or seeds, chia seeds and your favorite fruit. Soak in water or almond, coconut or hazlenut milk for a few minutes. Top with honey, fruit, nuts and seeds and you have an enzyme filled, delicious breakfast that blows instant oatmeal out of the water!
Granola
If you would like to power pack this granola, sprout all the nuts and seeds overnight. Sprouting the nuts and seeds will make the nutritional value "explode". To sprout, just immerse in water overnight then drain. So cool and easy!
In large bowl mix:
- 8 cups oats
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 cups coconut flakes (not the sugary kind)
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup nuts and seeds of your choice like: cashews, chia seeds, sesame seeds, pecans, pistachios, sunflower seeds, etc.
- 1 cup expeller pressed coconut oil
- 1 cup raw honey
- 1 Tbls Vanilla
- pinch salt
Lunch Ideas
Using a wholesome, whole grain bread add pesto sauce, thick slices of avacado, thick slices of fresh tomato and top with alfalfa sprouts. Dress with Balsamic Vinegrette dressing. Too good!
Dinners
Avacado sandwich:
Using a wholesome, whole grain bread add pesto sauce, thick slices of avacado, thick slices of fresh tomato and top with alfalfa sprouts. Dress with Balsamic Vinegrette dressing. Too good!
Dinners
Cabbage tortilla wrap:
Mix Cabbage, green onions, celery, cucumber and veganaise mixture. Fill inside tortilla and add other suggested toppings as desired. Yummy!!
Chicken Vegetable Soup:
- 1/2 cup Veganaise mixed with 1 Tbls spike seasoning
- 1/2 green cabbage chopped
- 3 diced green onions
- 3 diced celery stalks
- 1 diced cucumber
- 1 diced tomato
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup canned chicken (optional)
Mix Cabbage, green onions, celery, cucumber and veganaise mixture. Fill inside tortilla and add other suggested toppings as desired. Yummy!!
Chicken Vegetable Soup:
Ingredients: Leftovers from a small Costco Rotisserie Chicken, 4 celery stalks, 5 large carrots (unpeeled), 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves, 1 broccoli stalk, handful and fresh basil and salt and pepper.
- In a 2 part pot, fill enough water to immerse the body of the chicken ( about 12 cups water). Put entire chicken and all the drippings in the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer and cover with lid. While chicken is simmering, finely chop vegetables.
- Crush garlic with a garlic press. When water in pot looks "oily" from the chicken fat, drain out the second draining pot and sit in sink for chicken parts to cool. Pour some chicken broth out for later (about 4 cups). Add chopped vegetables, basil and garlic to the chicken broth. Keep on low heat.
- Take the meat apart from the bone and add to the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for 1 hour.
- Add 2 cups nutritious bowtie or spiral noodles and simmer for 1/2 hour. Yummy!
Corn Tortilla Veggie Pizza:
- 4 Corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup Pesto
- 1 avacado
- 1 tomato
- 1/2 bell pepper
- Dried basil
Brush corn tortillas with olive oil and place in oven for 1 minute on 375 degrees. Take crust out and paste with Pesto, sliced avacado, sliced tomato, sliced bell pepper and dried basil. Yummy replacement for typical pizza.
Hobo Stew in the crockpot:
In case you haven't noticed, I like easy recipes and this one is quick and yum! Turn your crockpot on low. Cook for 6-8 hours. Fill with these ingredients:
- 1 pound organic fed hamburger (I freeze our hamburger)
- 2 chopped large carrots
- 1 chopped stalk broccoli
- 1 chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 cups corn
- 1/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce (gluten free)
- 1 cup water
Combine all ingredients EXCEPT corn. Add the corn during the last hour of cooking.
Seasonal Pumpkin Soup:
In Medium pot boil:
- 2 cups fresh pumpkin
- 1 cup fresh sweet potato
Over medium/high heat saute:
- 1/4 - 1/2 onion
- 2 - 3 crushed garlic cloves
- 1/2 can canned coconut milk or evaporated milk
- 1 cup chicken stock or prepared water/chicken buillion
- 2 Tbls sucanat
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti:
Eating real food doesn't have to be difficult and this meal certainly proves it!
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 can spaghetti sauce
- 1 lb. quality browned beef
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup pesto (see recipe below)
- sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional)
Tomato Basil Soup
This recipe is very similar to the pumpkin soup recipe above. This is my daughter's favorite soup ever!
In blender add:
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup almond milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 - 1/2 white onion
- 2 - 3 garlic cloves
- 4 large, peeled tomatoes
- 6 basil leaves (I buy a basil plant at Macey's grocery store)
Snacks Ideas
I know it's complicated, but here are our favorite snacks:)
Apple
Cut and top with raw peanut butter or almond butter. mmmm.
Apples are a great blood purifier.
Cut and top with raw peanut butter or almond butter. mmmm.
Apples are a great blood purifier.
Carrot
Dip in pesto sauce. Oooohhhh.
Great for the eyes and liver!
Celery
Top with peanut butter or almond butter.
Make "ants on a log" by sticking raisins or craisins on top!
Eat as a low carb snack before bed because
celery is proven to help you sleep better (especially juiced celery)!
Cucumber
Top with pesto! Wonderful for the skin!
Pear
A good barlett pear doesn't need any help!
Pepper
Top with pesto for oh so yummy.
Glorious peach
My dad has a peach orchard, so I know what a divine, perfect peach tastes like!
Elberta peaches are my favorite!
Fries
yep. Fries. With your leftover baked potatoes, slice up the potatoes, smother them in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. On 400 degrees, bake on a cookie sheet for 35 minutes, turning every 15 minutes. Yum.
Nuts
Take a handful of almonds or cashews or pistachios and another handful of dehydrated fruit and you have an easy, tasty snack!
Apple crisps
So yummy and everyone loves these!
1- Process apples 2- soak in 1 parts lemon juice to 10 parts water 3- Strain water and sprinkle with cinnamon (I buy bagged cinnamon at Good Earth for about 1/5 the price of bottled cinnamon) 4 - place on dehydrator trays 5- Dehydrate on less than 120 degrees for about 24 hours. Turn every few hours.
Spiky popcorn
This popcorn tastes better than any gross cheetos or other pretend snack and kids LOVE it! It's loaded with good fats and trace minerals!
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernals popped
- 1 - 1 1/2 TBLS nutritional yeast (to taste)
- 1 TBLS spike seasoning (to taste)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Squirt olive oil all over the popped popcorn. Sprinkle nutritional yeast and spike seasoning and stir well. Kids especially love to lick the salty leftovers from the bowl. Yum! This is a good side with tomato soup.
Salad ideas
Garden and Egg Salad:
Mixed greens, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, green onion, boiled egg and possibly chicken. Use Tizliz Balsamic Vinegrette.
Grape Pecan Salad:
- In a large bowl of greens add: chopped grapes, chopped green onions, chopped celery, shredded dehydrated apples, pecans, fresh basil and poppyseed dressing.
Peachy, pistachio salad:
I thought of this yummy salad this week while on a trip. I love it! It includes:
Salad greens, dehydrated peaches, pistachios, alfalfa sprouts, cilantro and balsamic viniagrette dressing.
Spinach, Apple, Orange Salad
Spinach, chopped apples, roasted sunflower seeds, Orange Creamy salad dressing (see recipe below).
Dressings and sauces
Glorious Pesto:
This recipe is seriously to die for. It's also a lot more economical than most recipes. You'll LOVE it!
- 1 1/2 cups spinach
- 3/4 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup soaked almonds
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- 4 medium garlic cloves
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 drop Lemon essential oil
- 1 Tbls lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth.
We eat this on our sandwiches, as a chip dip, pizza topping, and anything else you can think of! Yum, yum, yum!
Orange creamy dressing:
We eat this on our sandwiches, as a chip dip, pizza topping, and anything else you can think of! Yum, yum, yum!
Orange creamy dressing:
- 1 Cup Grapeseed Vegenaise
- 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
TizLizIs Balsamic Vinegar Dressing:
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp. suconat
- 1 Tbls. crushed garlic
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, cilantro and chives
Breads
As I have mentioned, my children have celiacs disease or sever gluten intolerance. We eat gluten free but are slowly working our way into eating sprouted wheat products. This soaked wheat bread is wonderful because the soaking process, although not as superior as sprouting is wonderful to change the acidic nature of wheat into an alkaline state. It also makes the nutrient value explode. The soaking process causes a fermentation that elminates the need for yeast. This fermentation process also creates probiotic properties that our bodies need for good flora in our guts. Bread can be incredibly nourishing if created properly! Read Nourishng Traditions by Sally Fallon for more information on this concept.
Soaked Wheat Bread:
This bread recipe is intended for creating a probiotic quality. The fermentation process changes the wheat grain from an acidic food to an alkaline food. However, this is not sprouted bread.
This bread recipe is intended for creating a probiotic quality. The fermentation process changes the wheat grain from an acidic food to an alkaline food. However, this is not sprouted bread.
- 10-11 cups fine ground flour
- 4 cups buttermilk
- 1/2-1 cup butter or coconut oil
- Combine ingredients and mix well. Soak for 12 - 24 hours to ferment naturally. Add:
- 4 tsp. salt
- 4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 Tbls. sucanat or honey
- 2 cups cooked oatmeal
- Mix and bake on 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes
GF Earth Bread:
- 3 cups flour ( I use 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup oats, 1/2 cups tapioca flour, 1/2 cup sorghum flour)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. clove
- 2 cups sucanat or honey
- Mix dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix these wet ingredients
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup grated zucchini
- 2 mashed bananas
- 1/2 cup grated carrots
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 3 eggs (or 6 Tbls. ground flax plus 3/4 cup water)
Mix all ingredients together in mixer until smooth
Fill in 2 large, greased bread pans
Bake 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.