"Practically Raw" Bean & Guacamole Tostadas

It is deep winter now, iced January, hard earth muffled in snowy white. Winter purifies and wipes clean the slate as we turn inwards, gather ourselves in warm places and think upon lessons of the turning year gone by. The resolutions we may make at New Year's time are simply a recognition of some lacking in our lives. With this awareness, may we know ourselves more deeply, and vow to be more True.

The only falseness in this world is generated by people. Nature is Truth. When it comes to food, this is apparent, for what is food? Real food is honest, natural, a gift from the earth. Fake food is made by Man.

Learning to discern truth from falseness is an ongoing process that may be sharpened in the compression of short dark days. But choosing clean food, nourishing and fresh—whether uncooked/raw, or warm and comforting—makes sense in any season for those of us desiring health, vitality and authenticity. To be a Real Human, feed your body clean and simple, speak no lies, and strive each day to live as fully as possible in the open-heart vibration of Love.

Tonight, I dine on gifts from the earth. Won't you join me?

The following Practically Raw recipe includes a man-made food product of very high quality: Food for Life "Ezekiel" brand sprouted grain tortillas. I eat few grains, always whole or sprouted, usually just once or twice a week at most. See my article on the Eat to Evolve! philosophy to understand why I recommend including only whole grains in your diet, and only in moderation, rather than as the foundation of your daily meals.

Practically Raw Bean & Guacamole Tostadas


A tostada is basically an open-face sandwich using corn or sprouted grain tortillas in place of bread, and served with plenty of salad on top. (I've blogged about tostadas before - see here.) For me, the tostada is a lovely comfort food. It brings life force into the body, along with luscious warmth and savor.

For each person: Wash four lettuce leaves and tear into small pieces. Toss with one half teaspoon of flaxseed or MCT oil, 2 teaspoons of white balsamic vinegar, a light sprinkle of sea salt and a turn of fresh ground black pepper. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, add one smashed and minced clove of garlic. Into this, mash one small avocado with a little sea salt or Herbamare, and the fresh juice of one half an organic lemon. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper if you crave heat. This is your instant guacamole!

Lay 2 sprouted grain tortillas on a baking sheet and top with about one quarter cup of beans (canned organic black beans or homemade "refritos" work well), and a generous sprinkle of grated raw goat cheddar. Bake in a warm oven until the cheese begins to melt. (Vegans may omit the cheese, of course.)

Transfer tostadas to a plate and top each with equal portions of tossed salad and guacamole. If you have fresh cilantro or parsley on hand, chop up a handful and garnish on top. Serve with salsa if desired. Simple pleasure, honest food, tasty meal!

Diana Interviews Dr. Mercola for PPNF

I am pleased to announce that my interview with Dr. Joseph Mercola appears in the current journal of the Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (PPNF). The article is part of an ongoing series called Profiles in Nutritional Healing that I have been working on for PPNF. Previously for the series, I interviewed Annemarie Colbin, PhD – the brilliant author of some of my favorite books on nutrition and health including the classic Food and Healing.

Dr. Mercola was a fun interview subject. His telephone manner matched his online persona to a tee: highly focused and enthusiastic, intensely driven and brimming with facts and information. We spoke for more than one hour and covered a broad range of topics, mostly centered around Dr. Mercola's approach to diagnosis and treatment and his respect for the work of Dr. Weston A. Price, the heroic dentist who traveled the world in the early part of the 20th century documenting the effect of modern diets on the physical and dental health of traditionally-living peoples. The preservation of Dr. Price's archives and the dissemination of his work is the primary mission of PPNF.

Dr. Mercola is both a proponent of high raw food diets and an opponent of veganism – an unusual mix in the raw food world. Dr. Mercola's position reflects Dr. Price's finding that some form of animal food, consumed in large or minute quantity, was a must in the diets of ALL traditionally-living cultures Price examined. This was especially true at certain times of the life cycle, notably pregnancy and lactation, where special preparations of fish eggs or other delicacies were given to the mother-to-be.

Dr. Mercola's anti-vegan stance also reflects his dedication to Nutritional Typing, a diagnostic tool used to determine one's ideal diet. Nutritional Typing states that Protein Type individuals require significant amounts of animal flesh for health. (A Protein Type himself, Dr. Mercola is well-known for enjoying flesh foods all day long, from raw eggs at breakfast to uncooked beef at dinnertime!)

I have yet to form a firm opinion on the compelling theory and subjective method of Nutritional Typing, but I certainly concur that not all people thrive on the same diet. Certain individuals may very well require more protein or animal foods than others. At the same time, it is important to be aware that high protein diets may pose a danger for many people. Excess dietary protein has the potential to stress the kidneys, organs which are needed to eliminate nitrogenous waste (ammonia compounds) from the body. Nitrogenous waste is a natural byproduct of protein metabolism. Excessive protein in the diet may cause the kidneys to become overworked or become damaged. (Dr. Mercola did admit to me that he himself suffers kidney problems; these may or may not be related to his high protein intake.)

Flesh foods are rich in protein, but I feel it is a grave mistake to equate the need for protein with a need for flesh foods. Many plant foods are also excellent sources of protein – think lentils, alfalfa sprouts, spirulina, almonds, sunflower seeds...even spinach, which contains all the amino acids needed for life!

Beyond protein, there are various reasons to include some animal food in the diet (i.e. to provide a natural source of the essential vitamin B-12). This animal food may or may not involve the killing of the animal from which it comes, an important distinction.

I believe that human dietary evolution towards a vegetarian diet is necessary if we are to attain environmental preservation, peace on earth and the survival of our species. (Click here to read more about my views on Nutrition Evolution.) I don't suggest that everyone become a strict vegetarian this instant (I myself am not a strict veg), but I do encourage all of us to move towards ahimsa (harmlessness). To this end, vegetarianism or semi-vegetarianism is an attainable life goal that supports our conscious evolution towards higher states of being, harmony and health.

Therefore, I was very pleased to learn that despite his public penchant for carapaccio and steak tartare, the animal foods Dr. Mercola considers most harmonious and beneficial for humans are raw milk and raw eggs. Both of these are vegetarian (not vegan) sources of animal protein whose consumption does not involve swallowing the flesh of a once-living sentient being. I like that! (Note: Fertilized eggs, as pre-chicks, are a borderline case that may prove the exception to the eggs being vegetarian rule. Fertilized eggs will be labeled as such. All other eggs, including free-range organic and pastured eggs, are, basically, a hen's period, provided by chaste lady birds who do not mingle with roosters.)

Beyond food and nutrition, Dr. Mercola and I discussed cell phone radiation, vaccines, biophotons and the role of emotions as a support or roadblock to healing. All of these subjects and more appear in the article. To receive a copy, request the Winter 2009-2010 Price-Pottenger Journal of Health and Healing from PPNF. Better yet, consider joining PPNF to help support the work of this important organization and receive additional benefits, including the quarterly journal. Visit www.ppnf.org to learn more.

A downloadable pdf of my interview with Dr. Mercola will be posted on the Eat to Evolve™ website in the near future. Click on the link and scroll down to the "articles" section to find the interview. In the meantime, you may like to visit the page to access my previous PPNF Profiles in Nutritional Healing interview, A Conversation with Dr. Annemarie Colbin, as well as additional articles and writings.

3-Day Mini Cleanse

Here in Western Massachusetts, January is the coldest month of winter. Yes, we had one blissful, delicious forty degree day last week. Felt like Heaven. Otherwise, temperatures have not risen much above freezing since Christmas. All just to say there's been lots of bundling up and staying in going on. (Aside: gotta love those prepositions - am I right, people?!)

Anyway, as chilly weather drives us inside, this seems to me like the perfect time to "just say no" to the temptation of dense, heavy foods and lighten up my diet for a few days. So, today I began a 3-day mini-cleanse.

What is a mini-cleanse? Well, it's just a relaxed, short-term program that gives the digestive organs a break for most of the day. My plan looks something like this:

Upon Arising: 10 oz water with lemon and MSM (boosts detox by donating precious sulfur ions)
Breakfast: fresh pressed vegetable juice with apple or other fruit to sweeten
Snack: Herb tea (gotta have that warmth!) and water
Lunch: Green Smoothie of choice or another juice
Snack: herb tea or lemon-water with MSM
Dinner: Raw Salad with choice of: seed cheese, raw goat cheese or baked sweet potato
After Dinner: herb tea

Today, my mini-cleanse meals featured a superb carrot-beet-dandelion greens juice and an outrageously tasty red grapefruit-blueberry smoothie (thank you, Cathy!), both left over from the weekend. (That was easy!)

Dinner will be a fresh sprout salad (homegrown lentil and alfalfa-clover sprouts plus locally grown sunflower greens) with red onion, raw feta cheese and organic black olives. Dressed with Jordan's famous lime-pink pepper dressing. I feel so nourished by my dear friends and family. Thank you all!

What's great about a mini-cleanse:
It's easy.
It gives your digestive organs a break.
It boosts detox.
It doesn't last too long! (Did I mention it's easy?)
It's delicious and satisfying.
At the end, you'll feel way better than when you started!

Sounds good to me. Will keep you posted on days 2 and 3!

In light and lightness,
Diana

Living in the Raw

On August 17th I started a little raw food experiment, upping my raw food intake from high raw to very high raw. Very very very high.

For those who don't know, the "raw food diet" is defined as a diet that contains eighty percent or more raw food. Not necessarily exclusively raw, just 80%. This will come as a relief to many people who are drawn to raw food nutrition but hesitate to give up all cooked food, the option of going out to dinner with friends, etc.

There's a significant degree of confusion or, in some cases, competition in some circles around the whole issue of "how raw" a person is. For many people, there are times or situations when one wants or needs to commit to being strictly 100% raw. Karen Knowler, the UK's exuberant Raw Food Coach, calls this "going through the eye of the needle." I respect people who choose this path, for however long. I've walked on it myself and there's a lot to be said for adhering to that kind of discipline while remaining soft in one's heart.

The current experiment going on here is a step down from 100% rigidity, although exceptions are pretty much limited to things like miso and other condiments (prepared mustard, curry paste, organic soup broth powder) plus some restaurant-friendly items like goat cheese* or olives that make it possible for me to be relaxed when going out to eat with "normal" people. (This happened today.)

Speaking of normal people, many do wonder what on earth a raw fooder actually eats, anyway? Is it just a lot of salad and fruit? Isn't that boring?! I thought I'd answer that question by sharing a few days of my raw food diet-lifestyle, just to show how varied it is, and how delicious!

Let's start with today, Tuesday. FYI, the tostada shells at dinner are a version of a Wild Rice Flatbread from Living Cuisine, Renée Loux-Underkoffler's magnificent un-cookbook. I made these with red rice instead of wild rice and they are fantastic. The soup was gently warmed to 100 degrees, just steaming, to preserve life force & enzymes intact.


BREAKFAST
water. herb tea. Green Juice (celery, kale, carrot, apple, lemon, ginger)

LUNCH
Greek Salad (From Panera restaurant. Feta cheese and olives not raw.)
Apple

SNACK
Sacred Chocolate (69% dark chocolate; 1/3 bar)
2 Seckle pears (from my tree - delicious!)
tea with raw honey

DINNER
big slice of Manchego raw sheep cheese (appetizer)
Raw Blended Soup (Cream of Sweet Corn and Zucchini Dill)
Guacamole Tostadas (Cilantro-Lime Guacamole, Purple Cherokee Tomatoes, Butter Lettuce, Manitok Wild Rice Flatbread)

EXERCISE
AM - 20 minutes rebounding, yoga
PM - 20 minute dog and cat walk (Bonnie, the one-year old kitten accompanied Stella and I. Her brother Clyde stayed home this time.)

* Note: raw fooders are often vegan, but not always. I admire and aspire to an animal-free diet but as a Protein Type O, do well at this point with some goat cheese and even sushi in my raw diet.

The Joys of Being a High Raw Pescatarian and Paradise Found Thai Red Curry, Tomato & Mushroom Bisque

I like to describe my diet as High Raw Pescatarian, a term I humbly admit I coined myself. The term "pescatarian" is defined as "vegetarian plus fish," with vegetarian meaning plant foods, dairy foods & eggs but no corpses (mammal, insect, fish or bird).

In short, being High Raw Pescatarian means I eat primarily Raw Plant Foods and some Cooked Plant Foods plus a few Raw (and sometimes Cooked) Animal Foods. The main animal foods I enjoy are raw cheeses made with goat or sheep milk. (I feel so fortunate to live in the Pioneer Valley where local dairies like Hillman Farm, Blue Ledge Farm, Consider Bardwell Farm and Vermont Shepherd are creating the most delicious gourmet artisinal goat and sheep cheeses on the planet.) In addition to raw goat and sheep cheese, from time to time I may also partake of fresh sushi, cooked seafood and free-range/organic eggs.

These are the basic ingredients of the High Raw Pescatarian diet. And then there are the "extras," also known as the spice of life–from Himalayan Pink Salt to freshly ground black pepper and beyond. Some of these extras are raw and some are not but for me, all are essential. I know anything is possible... but what natural food chef would choose to be without miso (a living, probiotic-rich fermented food)? Not to mention countless other tasty condiments such as Dijon mustard, curry paste, organic powdered soup broth and Spike, Gayelord Hauser's famed vegetable salt blend that’s been around for decades. (Hauser, nutritionist to Hollywood screen stars of the 1930's and '40's, was one of the first Health Nuts of the modern era.) These treasures are part of my stealth flavor arsenal and, when called upon to serve, add marvelous complexity to the taste of my otherwise simple food.

The pleasure of pure, natural tastes and the excitement of complex flavorings coexist joyfully on my path of progress towards a clean-celled body humming with life force energy. Sometimes, all I crave is the creamy sweetness of plain, unadorned avocado, eaten right out of the shell, like a melon. Other times, I must take my mouth for a ride by sprinkling the avocado halves with Spike or Herbamare before digging in with my spoon. Truly, I find that a little pinch of condimental surprise makes the raw journey so much fun that my kitchen almonst feels like an adventure playground!

Well, last night when I entered the playground, inspiration struck. It all started with a package of organic white button mushrooms. I had planned to serve these pillowy orbs thickly sliced on a bed of watercress and mixed greens, dressed perhaps with a lemon-basil vinaigrette. That would have been good. But I’ve been experimenting a lot with making raw blended soups for supper, and suppertime it was. The mushroom salad was not to be.

Often when making raw blended vegetable soups, I’ll add about a quarter cup of raw cashews for creaminess. However, depending on how much density I’m in the mood for or what else I am having with respect to food combining, I may not want to use nuts. Other thickening options include avocado, chia seeds and chia gel (my upcoming book on this fabulous superfood supplies plenty of chia details and recipes–stay tuned for updates on the release date).

Finding myself fresh out of chia gel, it was to my trusty avocado I turned last night when concocting (no doubt with the assistance of divine forces) the thick, nut-free curried tomato and mushroom bisque you’ll find below. I must share it with you. You must try it. You will thank me. I promise.


Paradise Found Thai Red Curry, Tomato & Mushroom Bisque

This soup is indescribably delicious. Just one spoonful will send your taste buds into paroxysms of euphoria. I’m not kidding. Prepare to be transfixed. Warning: If you generally prefer sitting down to eat, get settled at table before tasting or you may never make it! I finished my bowl standing up, it was that good.

Makes 2 Bowls

1 8-ounce package white mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes (or roughly chopped fresh tomato)
½ cup roughly chopped red onion
½ avocado
¼ cup minced cilantro, set aside
1 Tablespoon lemon juice or lime juice
1 Tablespoon raw coconut oil
1 teaspoon minced ginger or galangal root
1 teaspoon red curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
1 Tablespoon nama shoyu or wheat free tamari
1 Tablespoon fish sauce (optional; replace with 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast or 1 teaspoon Marmite if vegetarian)
1 cup warm water (<118˚ F)
chopped fresh basil or cilantro leaves, for garnish

Set aside 2 large mushrooms, minced cilantro and garnish. Add everything else to blender and blend until smooth. Finely chop reserved mushrooms and stir into bisque, along with minced cilantro. If desired, warm gently to about 105˚ on stovetop, using a thermometer and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon till desired temperature reached. Pour bisque into two bowls, garnish with a sprinkle of chopped basil or cilantro and serve.