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Post by Lena on Sept 29, 2010 12:46:51 GMT -5
I decided to share some recipes, although most of mine are really simple.
My nutrition philosophy: for a long time now, I stuck to Edgar Cayce's advice on keeping 80% of my intake alkaline and 20% acidic, at least overall. If someone asked me for my advice on eating or health, that's the first thing I would say, try to keep as that ratio of alkaline and acidic.
Breakfast: For me, fruit is PERRRRRRFECT breakfast food, but don't misunderstand, it's not just having a banana. I eat enough to meet my caloric requirements for breakfast about 500 calories. I just grab some fruit basically or make a smoothie.
Lunch: That's usually a green salad with a variety of veggies and either eggs or some kind of starch, like quinoa or buckwheat.
Snack: Some kind of fruit, although not as much as for breakfast, as I have felt negative effect of fruit in the afternoon, if I eat too much, but for breakfast I can eat as much as I want.
Dinner: More veggies and either fat or potatoes or both. By fat, I mean maybe an avocado, soup with coconut, or seed pate.
Of course, that's not all there is to it. Yesterday, I made myself popcorn for an evening snack. The day before that, we had pizza in the house, so I had a couple of pieces (along with steamed broccoli lol).
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Post by Lena on Sept 29, 2010 13:02:08 GMT -5
Quinoa is awesome food! It's actually not a grain, but a starchy seed, which is semantics really, but I believe it's healthier than grains.
My basic recipe:
1 cup quinoa (either white or red or mixed)
2 cups water
1 carrot, grated
1/4 onion or less, diced
Salt to taste (I use mineral such as Celtic Salt, Real Salt or Himalayan Salt)
Optional for more flavor:
1/2 of veggie cube
Optional to make it a bit more filling:
1 tsp olive or sesame oil
handful of sesame seeds
Toast quinoa by constantly stirring it on medium for five minutes (not necessary, but adds a different flavor). Add water and bring to boil. Turn down temperature to low and let it simmer for about 25 minutes. Oh, and I throw veggies and other ingredients in there somewhere along the way. I add onion right away, and add carrot ten minutes before it's done. But you can put stuff in all at once. Add sesame seeds and oil at the end.
Really good with or in a salad! Great side dish and alternative to bread. You can also make quinoa with almond milk and honey for a sweet breakfast version. Raw foodists are fond of sprouting it and using it in a salad. You can also sprout to reduce cooking time and that way it keeps more of its nutrition.
Unlike most grains, quinoa is alkaline.
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Post by ~~section8... on Sept 29, 2010 14:33:00 GMT -5
Ohh you eat so healthy, Lena! I've never even heard of quinoa! I'm going to have to look at this recipe when I get home (and have a kitchen ;D).
So you're a vegetarian?
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Post by Lena on Sept 29, 2010 15:47:16 GMT -5
Ohh you eat so healthy, Lena! I've never even heard of quinoa! I'm going to have to look at this recipe when I get home (and have a kitchen ;D). So you're a vegetarian? I try, although like I said I have my days, where I slip up and have some junk food too. Did I mention I really like potatoes?? Especially fried ones. Thanks for a compliment, Amy! Sometimes, I have hard time accepting those. As for vegetarian, well, no, that pizza that I had wasn't vegetarian  I'd like to be, but somehow I always come back to eating some, although this summer was pretty much vegetarian, maybe eating meat only once or twice. Oh, I don't eat cooked dairy, which in practice means I almost eat none at all. Whatever I get in my junk food once in a blue moon is about it. I eat more eggs lately, since I found a good fresh from the farm and inexpensive supply, AND it helps me to stay off meat too. Yep, I forgot to mention eggs. I eat those for lunch or dinner every other day, or whenever I feel like, not breakfast though, as that's my fruit time. As for quinoa, if you have access to healthfood store or at least a healthfood section, they have it a lot of times in bulk bins. You can also find it in packages too. |
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Post by ~~section8... on Sept 29, 2010 16:20:51 GMT -5
No problem.  I can probably find a health food store somewhere near. I live close to the city so it shouldn't be too hard.  What other recipes do you have?? You're Slavic, of course you like your potatoes!  Well I admire that you can eat so well, sometimes I fall into that lapse of eating a lot of junk food too. But they say it's ok to have it, it's worse to deny yourself that pleasure actually. I like eggs also, especially hard boiled eggs! It's true Americans eat way too much red meat so eating none isn't bad. As long as you get your protein elsewhere, what's the harm in it? |
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Post by Lena on Sept 29, 2010 18:35:43 GMT -5
No problem. What other recipes do you have?? Wait, I thought you didn't have a kitchen ;D Do you eat in a cafeteria? If it's practical at all, you could get a blender and make green smoothies for extra healthfulness in your diet. Of course, in college there is other things to worry about, like not drinking too much beer ;D I will post some more, although most days my food preparation is very simple and not recipe based. Everyone else is welcome to share too. You're Slavic, of course you like your potatoes! You are right. Potatoes are my birth right. |
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Post by ~~section8... on Sept 29, 2010 20:42:14 GMT -5
I don't have a kitchen! I want to save up though for when I do have one. Yes I do eat in the cafeteria...the food isn't bad...unpleasant sometimes...but not bad. My roommate has a blender. Maybe I can use hers. As for the drinking...no worries, I'm antisocial. Hahaha. Just kidding. I just don't like to do it. So you cook from instinct? |
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Post by existenceisadream on Sept 29, 2010 21:19:10 GMT -5
AND it helps me to stay off meat too. LOL. Love how you refer to it like it's a drug... Though we are addicted to foods. But that's another subject. So I bought some Keenwa err I mean Quinoa awhile back after reading up on vegan options for protein. Problem is, I haven't even used it yet. Been just kinda like, what am I supposed to use it for or on. It's so lite. Thanks for the recipe. I'll add it to my salads for a start. Oh and when you toast it, are you just putting it in a pan dry. Like it won't burn the quinoa? Eating that much fruit for breakfast, does that not make you get a crazy sugar high and then crash? |
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Post by existenceisadream on Sept 29, 2010 21:38:52 GMT -5
But they say it's ok to have it, it's worse to deny yourself that pleasure actually. I like eggs also, especially hard boiled eggs! It's true Americans eat way too much red meat so eating none isn't bad. As long as you get your protein elsewhere, what's the harm in it? Was wondering who 'they' are? You know the ones that say it's ok. That it's bad to deny yourself the pleasure. lol. Sorry couldn't resist. Something I've come to find since I totally changed my diet a half year ago, is that what we can 'choose' what we take pleasure in. And I've been able to take pleasure in something even more when I know it's healthy for me. Friends or family act like I'm denying myself all these 'pleasures' since I've changed the way I eat. Like I'm going to be this unhappy person not eating junk food or meat. But since I've found all these other foods and tastes (since now I don't just grab a fast food burger or chicken sandwich whenever I get hungry) what I find pleasurable has changed. I used to drink a lot of soda. I rarely drink it anymore but sometimes I get that craving for it. I will drink it but it's no longer pleasurable. I actually am let down by how much I don't even like it anymore (which is a good thing soda is not good for you). We've grown up in the age of processed foods and have spent a lot of our lives becoming "addicted' to this style of eating. I swear fast food is injected with heroin lol! As far as the protein goes. It's very easy to get in protein. The average person only needs around 50g of protein a day. If you consume dairy and eat eggs that's easily a quarter or more of your protein right there. Add in legumes,vegi's, nuts, seeds, Quinoa, soy (though I'm still a little weary of it) and you'll have a hard time eating under 50g of protein a day. The protein's the easy part. It's getting all your B vitamins that's a bit trickier... |
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Post by Lena on Sept 29, 2010 23:18:50 GMT -5
LOL. Love how you refer to it like it's a drug... Though we are addicted to foods. But that's another subject. It totally is and I also won't go into it here, although I'm happy about another food discussion thread. I feel family members sometimes want to close their ears and go "blah blah blah", when I start talking about food. So I bought some Keenwa err I mean Quinoa awhile back after reading up on vegan options for protein. Problem is, I haven't even used it yet. Been just kinda like, what am I supposed to use it for or on. It's so lite. Thanks for the recipe. I'll add it to my salads for a start. Oh and when you toast it, are you just putting it in a pan dry. Like it won't burn the quinoa? Yep, putting it dry on a pan, just have to stir the whole time. If you find it's too much, turn down a bit. You can skip this step if you are lazy, I've done both. Eating that much fruit for breakfast, does that not make you get a crazy sugar high and then crash? Derek, absolutely not! When I was all raw, I could have a big smoothie in the afternoon too without any negative effects. Now I feel that so much fruit in the afternoon is not ideal, after I eat them, especially banana based smoothie. I just made that mistake today, although I didn't crash exactly, I just felt a bit unpleasant right after. My theory is that if you eat fruit in the right way, it will not have a negative effect on your blood sugar level. For prove, just go check out stevepavlina.com, where he did his low fat trial. Basically, he ate fruit with some greens and monitored his blood sugar, that had almost no spikes. One raw author claims that it's really the fat, that affects you negatively. Since fat stays in your system so long, it then slows down fruit digestion and has a negative effect. I almost always have fruit on its own, although I'll have small amount for dessert too sometimes. Fruit also combines in an excellent way in a smoothie with green-leafy vegetables. I would say that green-leafy veggies are very important for your mineral intake, especially if you are not eating meat. But I'm getting off track. Fruit is best digested by itself or EVEN BETTER with green-leafy vegetables, in the morning, and after a long break from your last meal, where you had fat. I totally considered going fruitarian before, but for several reasons, found it unpractical. My three-year-old recently got into green smoothies, and has things like lettuce, spinach, and even dandelions mixed in with fruit sometimes. Almost forgot to say, buy ripe fruit or let it ripen on the counter. And speaking of deprivation, if all you have is refrigerated produce from the supermarket, you are missing out on some heavenly God given flavors. Like the local seeded watermelon I had the other day, one of the best experiences of my life ;D Fruit has such a bad rep, it makes me sad for people  Ayurveda considers it the most spiritual food you can eat. I'll mention protein really quick, but from my own personal opinion. Protein is like 0 issue. If you think you are not getting enough protein, you are not eating enough. Please, stop me now. I won't say more than that. |
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Post by Lena on Sept 29, 2010 23:29:03 GMT -5
Here's where I got my first green smoothie recipes: www.rawfamily.com/recipesEase up on greens, if you experiment with green smoothies, by A LOT. It took me a long time to start adjusting to the amounts of greens they recommend. The point is to ENJOY. Amy, what I meant is my food preparation is so simple, there is no recipes needed. For example, I had salad and baked potatoes for dinner. I just put some potatoes in the oven, bake, take out and eat lol I season with some salt and garlic powder, but I couldn't tell you measurements or anything. Simple recipe to get you started, that kind of reminds me of candy: 1 apple 1 orange or orange juice from one orange 1 banana, frozen I at least double for breakfast. Make sure banana is really ripe before you freeze it, as in has plenty of brown spots. Maybe 1/2 cup of water or so, depends on how liquidy you like it. |
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Post by ~¤LilacSky¤~ on Sept 30, 2010 1:44:57 GMT -5
awesome! and Ive made that smoothie before, its excellent! I prefer making smoothies over just eating the actual fruit or I get a bit creative and make fruit kabobs and use a nonfat yogurt to dip them in...omg I want some now! I use those for summer parties alot, folk love em:)
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Post by existenceisadream on Sept 30, 2010 20:32:37 GMT -5
Ya I read something that had said you should eat fruit first thing in the morning and then wait at least 15 plus minutes before eating anything else. You're body digest's the fruit better this way. And mixing fruit with other foods creates uhh something bad in the stomach or something lol. Like turns it rotten or something. I forget.
My diet is sort of catered to my working out so protein is sort of a big issue for me. I've seriously have spent a ridiculous amount of hours reading different studies on what the correct amount of protein intake is for building muscle and muscle maintenance. And of course there's so many differing conclusions to this it drives me crazy. It's been a huge issue since I stopped eating meat but when I added eating seafood back into my diet had no troubles at all getting in a lot of protein. Now I'm working on quitting the seafood (it's a drug lol) and getting it all from a lacto ovo diet.
Sorry getting off topic for this thread.
Question. You eat a lot of salads. What's a salad without dressing? I usually make my own salad dressings. Do you have any recipes for salad dressing's you want to share? I'm getting bored with mine lol.
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Post by Lena on Oct 1, 2010 2:51:45 GMT -5
Oops, most of the time I just use cold pressed olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar for my dressings. I just pour and mix in ha!
I do have a favorite raw tomato dressing, that's kind of different:
2 medium tomatoes
4 Tbsp raw Tahini
1 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp paprika
1/2-1 garlic
Blend it and pour it on your salad. I also like to add Nutrition Yeast Flakes.
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Post by ~~section8... on Oct 8, 2010 15:07:40 GMT -5
Hey I tried the quinoa at school...they had a little salad. Hmm...it was mixed with something else and I'm not sure if I liked what it was mixed with. It was extremely bitter.
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Post by Lena on Oct 8, 2010 16:52:51 GMT -5
Oh hmm...I don't think it's supposed to be bitter. But in some cases, for example, when eating greens, your taste buds come to like different tastes. Seems to me like my quinoa with some carrot is a bit on the sweet side.
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Post by ~~section8... on Oct 11, 2010 13:34:37 GMT -5
The quinoa wasn't the bad thing! There were these...small granules....I don't know what they were, they made it bitter and hard to eat.
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I'd like to be, but somehow I always come back to eating some, although this summer was pretty much vegetarian, maybe eating meat only once or twice. Oh, I don't eat cooked dairy, which in practice means I almost eat none at all. Whatever I get in my junk food once in a blue moon is about it. I eat more eggs lately, since I found a good fresh from the farm and inexpensive supply, AND it helps me to stay off meat too. Yep, I forgot to mention eggs. I eat those for lunch or dinner every other day, or whenever I feel like, not breakfast though, as that's my fruit time. 
What other recipes do you have?? 
Ayurveda considers it the most spiritual food you can eat. 
