Makin' it Easy

Days 3 & 4 - One raw meal a day experiment

And I'm rolling..I've headed into days 3 and 4 with the intention of seeing how easy I can make it to eat raw foods.  As much as I love an elaborately put together recipe/meal, I need to know that I can whip something up in no time - I'm a busy gal, after all.  I haven't always the time to plan and think it through, so here's what I threw together with what I had in my refrigerator these past couple of days:

Monday, 3 p.m. family snack (pictured above) - Happy Birthday MLK! Toasting a simple smoothie to you.  Shoot was it delicious!

Recipe (combine all ingredients and blend well - I use my hand-held Cuisinart blender for this one.  Easy peasy)

• 1 banana
• 1 bunch spinach
• 5 frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup real aloe vera juice (SUPERJUICE rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids and helps increase the absorption of supplements)
• 1 tbs. acai powder (SUPERFOOD rich in antioxidants, omega fatty acids and amino acids)

Monday 5:30 p.m. dinner (picture below speaks for itself)

Ingredients I used, but you can use whatever you've got:  salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, orange bell peppers, raw pistachios, and my own homemade sauerkraut - recipe from Nourishing Traditions Cookbook by Sally Fallon. (a must have for your kitchen!).  I used store bought dressing for this meal - Bragg's Organic Ginger & Sesame.  YUM.

Monday 6:30 dessert - leftover Chocolate Fudge  click here for recipe from My New Roots - my new favorite blog!

Tuesday 8 a.m. Breakfast - Original Granola by Go Raw with a sprinkling of added raisins and a healthy pool of RAW milk.

Okay, so if you're a true raw foodie reading this blog, you may not think it counts as a raw meal to include dairy product, but I'm taking poetic license for this one and here's why:  Raw milk is sort of a superfood as I see it.  Protein - Raw cow's milk has all 8 essential amino acids.  Carbohydrates - Lactose, or milk sugar, is the primary carb in cow's milk.  People with lactose intolerance no longer make the enzyme lactase and so they can't digest milk sugar. Raw milk, with its lactose-digesting Lactobacilli bacteria intact, may allow people who traditionally have avoided milk to give it another try.  The end result of lactose digestion is lactic acid, which enhances the absorption of calcium, phosphorous and iron, in addition to it's know inhibitory effects on harmful species of bacteria.  Fats - 2/3 of the fat in milk is saturated.  Saturated fats play a key role in our bodies, including cell membrane construction, provides key hormones, energy storage and serves as a vehicle for important fat soluble vitamins.  Vitamins - whole raw milk has them all, water and fat soluble, and they're completely available for your body to use. Nothing needs to be added to raw milk, especially that from grass-fed cows, to make it whole or better. No vitamins. No minerals. No enriching. It's a complete food. Minerals - Raw milk contains a broad selection of completely available minerals ranging from the familiar calcium and phosphorus on down to trace elements.  Enzymes - The 60 plus (known) fully intact and functional enzymes in raw milk have an amazing array of tasks to perform.  For me, the most significant health benefit derived from food enzymes is the burden they take off our body. When we eat a food that contains enzymes devoted to its own digestion, it's that much less work for our pancreas. (Why it's so important to eat RAW foods).  Cholesterol - Cholesterol is a protective/repair substance. A waxy plant steroid, our body uses it as a form of water-proofing, and as a building block for a number of key hormones.  Our bodies make most of what we need, but why not choose raw milk to get what it doesn't make?  Beneficial Bacteria - through helpful bacterial fermentation, you can expect an increase in enzymes, vitamins, mineral availability and overall digestibility.

Raw milk is a living food with a remarkable amount of nutrients.  I say, if you drink milk, drink it RAW.

Check out this important resource and click here for more information on raw milk.

As always...

Be inspired.  Eat well.  Live well.  Be happy.

Love, Patti