First I want to thank Gabrielle and Thomas Chavez for hosting me at their Sunday Supper event that happens through the Living Raw in Portland Meetup group organised by Brion. Here is the link: http://www.meetup.com/LivingRawPDX/
Essayem, one of the assistant organizers of Living Raw in Portland volunteered me to make a raw Eastern Indian meal for the Sunday Supper and was supper helpful in the preparation that took 2 full days. Andy another assistant organizer was also very supportive and helpful!
So many of you asked for this recipe and I was not going to give it out because I was saving it for my book! Some people were pleading with me and I so much appreciated the compliments that I am giving it to you now. I am also going to email it to everyone who has joined my meetup group Nourishing Elements, the link is provided above.
So now another drum roll...............................................................................................!
Almond Sunny Dal!
1 cup almonds + 3 cups water for making the milk soaked 8 hours
1/2 cups sunflower seeds (soaked overnight)
1 big chopped tomato
1 medium chopped zucchini
1/2 bunch spinach finely chopped.
5 T coconut butter
1/2 T minced ginger
1 1/2 T cumin seeds
1 T black mustard seeds (ground in a coffee grinder)
1 red hot chili optional or to taste (be careful these can be very hot)
1/4 t hing
1 1/2 t turmeric
1 /t salt or to taste
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Melt coconut oil slowly on low heat till soft with the turmeric, cumin seeds, hing, ground black mustard seeds, salt, fresh chili, and diced ginger. Put veggies in a glass jar then pour the oil on top . Let sit while you make the almond milk and process the sunflower seeds. Make the almond milk (soak1 1/2 cups almond overnight, rinse and blend in vita mix with 3 cups water, strain through nut milk bag. Soak sunflower seeds overnight, and then process in a food processor till smooth.
Put all ingredients in the jar and warm it in the dehydrator at 105 degrees for about an hour so you can serve it warm.
Oh and I am on day 10 of my juice fast or feast! I feel great!
I am on the 3rd day of my juice fast and aside form feeling a little spacey I feel good. With about 3 quarts of juice a day my body feels energetic and strong. Strong enough to walk to the top of Powell Butte today, a nature park in Portland. At the top of the hill little young stinging nettles are popping up all over the place. This past week they have been calling to me. They are my favorite green plant. Find out why at these sites:
My new friend Andy has set the bar! I'm going for a 100 day Juice Fast. I have been wanting to do a fast for a few years and was able to finish 19 days last fall. I believe that giving my digestive system a rest will allow for some very deep cellular healing. I'll keep you posted every day about how I am doing. Also, be watching for some videos I'll be creating soon!
I'm finally posting my Indian Recipes that I make for the Sunday Supper a few weekends ago.
Thank you to everyone who came! I hope you enjoyed yourselves. I did!
Andy, Sam, and Dave helped prep this meal, and Sam was by my side for two days! Thanks Sam!
So, here are some of the recipes:
Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes) and Cabbage Vegetable
1 Cabbage (sliced very thin)
4 Jerusalem artichokes (cut in ½-inch cubes)
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1 small chili pepper (diced finely)
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds (ground)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 small slice of lemon
1 avocado cut into cubes and added last
Melt coconut oil on very low heat with, mustard seeds, chili, salt, coriander powder, and turmeric. Warm veggies in steamer or double boiler on very low till the veggies are warm enough to keep the coconut oil soft. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Add the cubed avocado!
Samosas
1 c almonds (soaked overnight)
2 c cauliflower
1 c peas
Coconut oil
1 chili
1 ½ t salt
1 t cumin seeds
¼ t hing
1 T garam masala
1 t coriander powder
1 cup ground flax (soaked over night)
Melt coconut oil with all the spices and keep warm while you prepare the rest. Pulse almonds and cauliflower in food processor till course. In Vita Mix only, blend about 1/2 cup of the soaked flax meal at a time add a little water if needed. Blend till it looks like bread dough. Mix all ingrediance in a bowl. Shape into little 3 inch triangles and coat in flax meal, (ground flax seeds) dehydrate for about 8 hours. Remember to take them off the T-flex sheet half way through.
Tomato Chutney
6 ripe tomatoes (cut in small pieces)
6 thinly sliced and dehydrated tomatos
1 T coconut oil
1 small pepper (minced)
½ t black mustard seeds (ground)
1 t fresh ginger (grated)
½ t celtic sea salt
4 dates
1 T coriander powder
Blend tomatoes, fresh and dryed, with coconut oil, mustard seeds, sea salt, dates, coriander. Add minced chilies and ginger. Warm in skillet with hand till it is warm, but not too hot for you to keep your hand in the pot.
Puris
2 cups golden flax (soaked overnight)
1/3 c coconut oil
Salt
Dates
Blend about 1/2 cup at a time, only in a Vita Mix till it looks like bread dough. Add a little water each time if needed. Shape into round flat bread on T-Flex sheets about 1/4 to 1/3 inch deep. Dehydrate till firm but still soft enough to bend for about 6 to 8 hours. Remember to flip them half way.
½ lemon 1 green apple 1 cup water 1 t salt ¼ bunch parsley 1 green onion 3 cloves garlic 1 bunch broccoli ¼ cup hemp seeds
Blend in Vita mix! Almond Milk
1 cup almonds (soaked over night) 2 to 3 cups water, depending on how think and creamy you want it Pinch of Celtic sea salt
Blend almonds in water and strain through nut milk bag strainer. Put
back in blender and add garlic, salt and basil to taste. Garlic and Basil optional.
Kale Salad
1 bunch kale chopped and massage 1 tsp Celtic sea salt into it till it’s wilted like lightly steamed kale 2 stalks celery 1 daikon radish shredded 1 or 2 avocados massaged into mixture with cayenne and salt to taste.
I was finally able to dance today. Part of taking care of myself in 2010 was to go back to 100% raw and exercise more. I have been 100% raw with mostly no sweets. The two times I made the intention to dance in my living room I injured myself. I'm thinking, what's that all about? The first time I was dancing I tweaked my neck a little and it hurt for about 5 days. Then when I was contemplating a regular dance regime the muscles between my right scapula and spine seized up. That is why I have not blogged for a while. It hurt to type and use the mouse.
That was 2 weeks ago and I'm just feeling enough relief to move again.
So.............today I put on Michael Jackson! My old time favorite and danced for an hour. I moved slowly and carefully at first, stretching and warming up my body. Then I just went for it, still being careful not to over do it. I felt so good afterwards that I'm planning on dancing again tomorrow.
After a few weeks of this and I will be ready to enroll in a class somewhere. I want to do Hip Hop!
All the neck and back pains are a reminder that I need to keep up the exercise! I know this will help prevent more pain in the future.
I'm feeling excited to commit to dance and the next step is getting on my bike!
I read an article in the "This Week" paper called "The Conscious Carnivore". What I'm about to say will bring up different feelings for everyone. So please if you eat animals try to understand what I'm saying. Before reading any further please try to let go (if only for a moment) of your desire to eat meat and open your heart to another possibility. The article says that in the good old days it was easy to spot the person who brought her ethics to the dinner table; she didn't eat meat. It goes on to say that as long as the meat was raised locally on sustainable ranches and honored and respected from birth till the day they are slaughter, killed, butchered, murdered, (well....I added a few words so you could understand what's going on), they had a cruelty free life till the bitter end. It also says that conscious carnivores are getting closer to their kill, even if it means getting their hands bloody.
I do give them credit for becoming aware of what they are doing by getting their hands bloody. This way they know blood had to be spilled to get the protein they think they need. I stopped eating meat when I was 17 simply because I realized I was eating flesh very similar to mine. That felt weird and scary. I started eating fish again in my early thirties for about a year when I was very ill at the request of my partner who was a naturopath and acupuncturist. One day I realized I wanted to stop because I felt yucky about taking the life of another creature to benefit my health. It's not that I think we need to suffer over another. I just realized I did not need it to become healthy and I was right. I have healed on a vegan raw food life style. I don't believe in the B12 scare. It seems to be the only argument out there right now. I have read that when we have a healthy digestive system our body makes it's own B12. Also while looking up information about B12 I found that not only some vegans were deficient but so are meat eaters. I am low in B 12 but not deficient. I did take a B12 supplement because my digestive track is still healing from the systemic candida I had for so long. I believe we get all we need from organic plants, cultivated and wild and that killing is really not necessary. I must speak for the animals. I can't just say that you can do what ever you think is best for you. I really want to say that their is no conscious way to kill another living creature except for being aware that you are actually killing. That is the first step in non violence. If we want a peaceful planet we must stop killing. I imagine that if we don't want to be killed and eaten then we should not kill others either.
Please understand, I am not judging you personally. I have eaten plenty of meat in this life time. I just wanted to say something because I have been reading and hearing so many arguments and reasons that support the innocent slaughter of our fellow earthlings. I felt it was time to speak up for them.
Here are some verses form the Mahabharata that talk about how we should not kill to sustain our life. I'm using the should word in defense of all the beautiful animal creatures on this planet.
He who desires to augment his own flesh by eating the flesh of other creatures lives in misery in whatever species he may take his birth. Mahabharata, Anu. 115.47. FS, pg. 90
One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one's own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Yielding to desire and acting differently, one becomes guilty of adharma. Mahabharata 18.113.8.
Those high-souled persons who desire beauty, faultlessness of limbs, long life, understanding, mental and physical strength and memory should abstain from acts of injury. Mahabharata 18.115.8.
Most of us grew up eating animals and it seemed perfectly fine. It is all we knew. Many of us were even taught that a creator gave us dominion over the animals and that they were put here solely for our food consumption. They even go so far as to say animals don't have a soul. These are people who believe that only humans have a soul. I say then, what gives that spark of life we see in all creatures with eyes, and why do we accept only some into our family life and not others. For instance, why would you eat a cow and not your beloved dog?
Please, I welcome all your responses and questions. I will do my best to answer them.
I live in Portland Oregon. I started this blog to share my experience of healing with a live food life style. If I can do it so can you. Please visit my raw food website at www.nourishingelements.com
