Spirulina: Why I Eat It Every Day.

July 23, 2008August 25, 20143 Comments

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The question I get asked most often when I tell people that I eat raw, vegan food is: Where do you get your protein? The simplest answer: spirulina. “Spir-what?” They ask. So rather than explain myself over and over again, I thought I’d just write about it and refer people to this website.Spirulina is an amazing superfood.

I guess you could say that spirulina is my preferred source of protein, although that isn’t my main objective in eating it. To be honest, I am a firm believer that all foods in nature have the perfect amout of fats, carbohydrates, and protein, so I never strive to get any single macro-nutrient. I just eat a wide variety of foods and listen to my body. Society, on the other hand, seems to be obsessed with the protein question, and if you’re one who is protein obsessed, this may be your reason to include spirulina in your diet!

Spirulina is a complete protein, which means that is contains all of the essential amino acids. It’s also rich in EFAs: GLA, ALA, LA, EPA, DHA, and AA. If you don’t understand what those mean, don’t sweat it. Just think Omega 3s!

Spirulina is also loaded with vitamins and minerals – just look at its colour. Anything THAT green is golden for the body. Everyone could use more greens in their diet, that’s for sure. What I can say for certain is that spirulina gives me loads of energy every time I eat it. And at the moment, my favourite way to eat spirulina is in a smoothie loaded with local, fresh berries!

Tennis, anyone?

July 22, 2008Leave a comment

Today we were at the Rogers Cup, and although we brought some raw chocolate and some cashews, we were starving for something different. Amongst all the crap that other people were eating, I found a yummy fruit salad, but I needed to buy about 10 of them to be fully satisfied! Which would have cost about $50… Just a reminder that if you’re out of the house all day, you had better be prepared!

Raw Food Praise – I WANT to exercise!

July 21, 2008Leave a comment

It’s amazing the effect that eating raw has on my desire to exercise. Last night I took the dog for a 5 k run. Today after work I went to a hot yoga class, and after I biked home I went for another run with a friend. It’s really nice to have a running partner because you have that little bit of added motivation. When you have someone calling you and asking if you want to go running, it’s like an alarm going off and motivation calling you! If you get several running partners, there’s a guarantee you’ll be running a few times a week!

I haven’t had much to eat today, which is kinda weird considering the amount of exercise I’ve had, but I don’t feel much like eating anything right now. When you eat raw, natural, good quality foods, you are more in touch with your nutritional needs, wheras when I eat cooked foods, I think I need food all the time! I’d eat late at night all the time when I was on cooked food.

When I eat raw, I only go into the kitchen when I am truly hungry…or if I can’t wait to try a new raw recipe! Also, on cooked I always cleaned my plate, but on a raw food diet, I just stop eating when I’ve had enough. I eat raw dessert for breakfast if I feel the desire! And when I have dishes that are rich in nuts or other heavy raw ingredients, my body steers me clear of them for a few days. Never, ever on a cooked diet did my body tell me anything! I remember years ago when I didn’t have any idea the effects that food had on my mood or energy level. Now, I know the second I have eaten something that doesn’t agree with me. I can just feel it.

And since you only eat when you’re hungry on raw, there is no breakfast, lunch, dinner schedule…you eat on your own hunger schedule…that being said, I think my hunger level just rose…so apparently “dinner” tonight is going to be around 11pm!

Marinara Salad

Dinner: Marinara Salad

Time To Make: About 3 minutes

Would I Make It Again: Yes!

Ingredients: 1 cup leftover Marinara Sauce, (recipe in Eating for Energy) an avocado, 6 stalks asparagus, 1 yellow pepper, 3 green onions, and 1/2 a cucumber. Variations: Whatever you have in the fridge!

My Return to Raw: Day Two

July 17, 2008August 25, 2014Leave a comment

Today started with a:

Green Super Smoothie

1 tbsp spirulina
1 mango
1 tbsp bee polin
1 cup strawberries
few cubes ice
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 dates
1 tbsp sesame seeds
water to desired consistency

Then it was off to pick berries at Whittamores Farm on Steeles Ave. So many delicious berries! I think we picked for a couple of hours, and I got sunburnt 😦 but it was worth it.

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A New Earth – Awakening the Body to its Needs

May 3, 2008August 25, 20141 Comment

I just recently started reading A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle, and I’ve got to say it is an unbelievably good read. At one point, Eckhart makes a statement about Bulimia, and how sufferers often make themselves vomit so they may continue eating.

“Their mind is hungry, not their body.”

Now, not everyone suffers from bulimia, but if you or someone you know is struggling with a weight issue, you will know that there is a large body-mind connection to which you or they are not aware. Unless every effort is made to strengthen this connection, any effort to lose weight will be in vain.

It may take some time to become aware of your body’s true needs, but you can do it. The trick is simply to pay attention. There is a connection between the foods you eat and the way you feel. If you’ve ever had a hangover, you know what I’m talking about!

Once you start paying attention, you will notice subtle changes in the way you feel, expecially if you are eating foods to which your body is particularly sensitive. For most people, this will include dairy and wheat products as they comprise the top 2 allergens. You likely eat some form of dairy or wheat every single day, multiple times a day, without awareness. Try going 4 days without eating dairy or wheat products. On day 5, indulge in some ice cream or pancakes and note how you feel afterward.

I say 4 days because that is roughly the amount of time it takes the body to work through, process, and eliminate foods from the cells of your body. You may feel symptoms of “withdrawal” after the first or second day, and it may not let up through the 4th day. In this case, I challenge you to keep on with this little experiment, perhaps going beyond the 4th day, because the fact that these symptoms exist is your body telling you that it is indeed sensitive to these foods, and it needs extra time to expel them from your body due to years of toxic build-up brought on by eating these foods every day.

The results may suprise you. It wasn’t until I did this exact experiment on myself that I realized my body had been telling me for years to stop eating dairy foods. Once I became aware of my body’s needs, I drastically cut down on my dairy intake, and I have never felt better! If you have eczema, psoriasis, acne, or any other dis-ease, I encourage your participation even more because your body is screaming and you are not paying attention.

Once you start paying attention to the messages your body relays, over time it will become easier and easier to tell when you are truly hungry and when you are not. You may become aware that you eat in social situations, whether you are hungry or not – just becasue others are eating. You may find the courage to say no to your eyes when they see ice cream, and listen to your body when it says “I don’t like ice cream, it makes me feel sick.”

Change Your Beliefs!

March 19, 2008August 25, 2014Leave a comment

power

I’m sure by now that you’ve heard of or seen “The Secret”. Among its many teachings, it tells you this: What you think about you bring about. What you focus on expands. If you spend your days thinking about how upset you are with a particular person, how fat you’ve become, or how depressed you are over your financial situation, you are only digging yourself a monstrous hole to lay in. You will get even more angry, fatter, or more depressed…or all three!

Instead of focusing on what is bad in your life, focus on the good! Trust me, you’ll be a whole lot happier! If you want to change your eating habits and sculpt your body, keep a mental picture of what you want to look like! Spend at least 5 minutes looking at a picture of the body you desire every morning. Go through the feelings you would have if you were in that position. What could you do? Think of the confidence you would enjoy! Be sure to do the same thing right before you go to bed.

But, because pain is probably the best motivator I know, I would also like you to think about what not changing will cost you. If you keep going where you’re headed, what will it cost you physically, mentally, emotionally and financially? What will not changing cost your loved ones? If you keep smoking, drinking, overeating, doing watever it is that is causing you your discomfort, what will you feel like? What will you look like? What will the quality of your life be? Theses are all great questions to ask yourself to light that fire deep inside.

So light the fire right now and look at that inspiring picture every day to keep it burning!