adventures of a raw vegan virgin

Raw Food Experiments

2008-10-23T14:13:00.002+08:00

Kids, you gotta love 'em!

Last weekend, I catered for about 20 parents and kiddies at my sister's activity centre (Teeny Tiny Tapir... check out tinytapir.com too!). I made a completely raw spread which had mixed results but overall the kids were the ones who were into it. Unfortunately there were some kids who were allergic to nuts (interesting how they are usually of caucasian descent) so they didn't get to try a lot of the dishes.

The awesome thing is that I worried about budgeting (about RM10 per person) especially since I wanted to use organic food, but I was UNDER budget!

Here's what I made: (all Organic)
- Chocolate Banana Pie (Cacao, Banana, Avocado, Dates, Sunflower Seeds, Ground Flax)
- Green Cauliflower Raw "Popcorn" (Cauliflower, Wheatgrass + Barley Grass Powder, Nutritional Yeast, Olive Oil)
- Zucchini Based No Bean Hummus (Zucchini, Tahini, Thyme, Salt, Olive Oil + Garlic)
- Raw Toona (Walnuts, Salt, Olive Oil, Carrots, Onions, Celery)
- Eggless Egg Salad (Cashews, Salt, Turmeric, Olive Oil)
- Carrot, Cucumber + Celery Sticks
- Ants on a Log (Celery Sticks, Raw Brazil Nut Butter, Raisins)
- Big Green Salad with Olive Oil + Apple Cider Dressing
- Creamed Corn (Corn, Mustard, Coconut Juice, Chives, Celery, Parsley, Agave)
- Raw Chili (so awesome, from Matt Kenney's "Everyday Raw") in Red Cabbage Leaves

All done in 1.5 hours with no dehydrator. Lots of fun, though I was worried because I didn't want anyone to get sick (lots of people are not used to eating lots of raw foods). The funniest thing was that the kids LOVED it! Of course the Choc Banana pie was the biggest success all round, but there was a little indian 2 year old who insisted on lots of Raw Chili, and a lovely 3 year old chinese boy who was gunning for the Green Cauliflower (which for lots of adults was way too green tasting). I was surprised! Just shows you how kids know what their bodies need.

I will be catering a few more events for my sisters, which should be fun! Experimentation...

Might be going to India in November! And I have secured my spots on the permaculture course and sustainability tour in Thailand starting January (panyaproject.org), then hopefully I can go to my good friend Holly's wedding in Feb (Melbourne) and perhaps visit the states when Tricia gets back so we can do a true Cali Raw Food Tour!

:) Things are heating up. Raw food is on the way. I have met (online) some amazing raw foodies in Singapore, and have received emails from other Malaysians who are interested in the concept. I just need to work on how I'm going to market this, because even lots of the vegetarian restaurants that were open when I was here a year ago are closed.

Rawk on!

PS Yes I will post some photos of the food later :)

We're Gonna Have A Revolution...

2008-10-12T15:06:00.002+08:00

Life is constantly changing.

Here I am back in KL after a crazy year in Taiwan, which included making awesome lifelong friends, learning Chinese beyond what I ever thought I could, rescuing dogs, eating smelly tofu, learning to surf (badly), riding around on the backs of people's scooters/ motorbikes, falling in love, working for free at a friend's wonderful veggie cafe, having my heart broken, finding an incredible job in Taipei only to have it fall through last minute, writing music and much much more. Thank you Taiwan for one of the best, most unforgettable years of my life.

So again I am at a new turning point on this adventure we call life. I am both excited and scared, because I don't want to get stuck in any kind of rut, like I have before. The choice to come home to KL wasn't completely my own, but in the end, I decided that it was the best choice when all was taken into account.

My plans for now are to help my sisters out with some of their great projects and then next year head off to Tree of Life in Arizona for their Live Food Instructor course and Spiritual Veganic Farming course. Of course I'd love to do their Mastery Program but 2 years is a little too long :) After that, back to Malaysia to start the Raw Food Revolution here.. via a raw food gourmet restaurant, perhaps a catering service, raw food education and workshops, some ready made raw food products etc.. which I would love to eventually expand into some kind of franchise so that others in SEA can take on the framework and develop their own successful restaurants. Sounds like a big call but hey, dream big right?

My parents also have a fruit orchard which has been lying pretty idle for a while, so I am aiming to turn it into a fully functional organic farm using permaculture and veganic farming principles. It will be interesting to see what this black thumbed gal comes up with ;) Hopefully something will survive!

So yes, big plans. I am determined to make it all happen. I often dream big but then things get in the way and I can't get to where I've been trying to get.. but I do believe if I keep working hard, it will all work out how it is meant to.

On a personal level, I am starting up 100% raw tomorrow, Monday 13/10. I've bought a few new raw books to get me interested again and have been reading Victoria Boutenko's great books! Also, I am using my brother's new computer which means I should be able to upload photos more!! I am so going to read veganyumyum's post on taking great food photos (because hers are amazing!).

Raw it up darlings! The revolution is upon us.

Peace

Master Cleanse Taiwan Style

2008-08-06T17:06:00.000+08:00

Oh man, I really shouldn't read veganyumyum.com when I'm on a detox fast. Bad idea times a zillion!

Started the Sugarcane Juice/ Cayenne Pepper/ Lime juice/ Green Powder fast yesterday and besides a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, I'm feeling great! Much better than the last time I attempted this fast.. which is a surprise because I think I was eating a better diet then. I am a little tired but that is more from lack of sleep than not eating, I think ;). I have enough energy to not need a nap during the day and stay awake in class!! Which is something I have trouble with when I'm eating sometimes.. of course if I'm doing high raw, it's no problems!!

I'm doing this fast with a friend, N, who had a big big weekend of alcohol, cigarettes and some naughty bad pills (but he's vegetarian at least!) and is now really regretting it.. he's got headaches, pains in his liver, some chills up his spine now and then.. but no nausea so I'm not overly worried. I think he'll be fine by tomorrow, it's just going to take a little time for his body to adjust. He's never done a fast before either but I keep promising him it's going to be worth it.

I know there is a lot of literature for and against these type of "detox" fasts.. but I felt great last time and even if the sugarcane mixture doesn't have the nutrients it is said to have, I'm not overly worried.. a bit of caloric restriction is not a bad thing. At least it gives my body a rest and my gut a much needed holiday. I'm going to try to stick it out for 10 days but that really depends on travel plans (which are always pretty spontaneous!). It's a blessing to be able to get fresh raw sugarcane juice here.

I'm also hoping this kickstarts a bit of a good-eating habit that'll stick. It's been great working at Ben's cafe and eating his awesome healthy food, as well as contributing some raw dishes.. it's terrific to have a healthy place to eat and prepare food. When I get back to KL in 5 weeks, it'll be even easier to stick to being raw.. and when I get to Australia in October.. besides a bit of indulgence I'm sure working in a raw cafe will keep pushing me in the right raw direction.

Loved Dhru's post on wlir recently.. all of you, go read.. it's very true and inspiring (Nature Love, you rock too!) welikeitraw.com. Thank goodness for the internet.

See you all next time!

Peace, Love and Creation

2008-07-28T15:32:00.002+08:00

Hello Lovahs!
In the middle of a mild typhoon here in Yilan, which just meant no classes for the day, some wind, some rain and lots of lazing around in good company.

A good mate of mine, Ben, is opening his new veggie cafe in the next town over this week. So on Saturday, me and a couple of friends went over and I made dinner for everyone.. actually, it wasn't planned, it just evolved into a bit of a party! Which is always the best way right.. :)

I made mostly raw food... Here's the "menu":
- Raw "Mashed Potatoes" with Mushroom Gravy
- Lovely Green Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Butterhead Lettuce and Japanese Cucumbers, with a Dijon mustard dressing
- Chinese Cream of Cucumber Soup with Star Anise and Fennel
- Quickly Boiled Greens (Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Peas, Young Soy Beans, Okra) with a Raw Pine Nut Garlic Cream
- Mango Pineapple Coconut Cream Smoothies (it's really hot at the moment)

A lovely S.A. friend of mine also made a yummy Thai stir fry and we had some wild rice.

It was a total hit! Everyone always gets interested when they see you making raw food, and are always intrigued to try it. Which is the best way to get people into it, I think. When you show them how easy it is to create and how good it tastes, they know that it is possible to increase the amount of raw food in their diet. However, that is rarely my aim.. I just love making food for people and seeing their happy well fed faces! Feeding people is such a privilege.

Otherwise, I've been trying to be better at eating more raw food.. the supermarkets in my town are not so great with the veggies, and this typhoon is going to drive up prices big time, but I do try to have green smoothies and lots of salads with dips etc. I would love to refine my raw diet according to Ayurvedic principles, but I don't think my life is settled enough to do that yet. Slow but steady!

Next week, am starting the fast! Am sort of excited.. :)

Life is wonderful, but I know I have some big challenges up ahead....
Till next time..
Peace and Love!

Hiding Away

2008-07-22T16:59:00.002+08:00

It's been a while. Again.
Dear June, thank you for your kind words. It truly gives me great pleasure to know that people read and appreciate my blog, and reminds me that I should really make more of an effort to update it.

I'm still in Taiwan, until Mid September, trying to cram in as much Chinese as possible before I leave this place, this place that has charmed me in so many ways, this place that has drawn me to some wonderful, life long friends, this place that has been so generous to me, but still.. it is not the place that I want to put my roots into. I know, and have always known, that it is a stepping stone to other endeavours.

It's been abundantly clear to me this year that the universe has a relationship with us that involves two way communication. Yet, the energy that pervades all existence (the universe) has its own formless way of creating paths and destroying them, when the time is ripe. Sometimes we humans find it difficult to do the right things or the wrong things at the right times, and to also get right and wrong mixed up, so the universe is there to guide us, silently, without needing praise, an unsung hero. So I wake each morning and that the universe for knowing what needs to be done, and when. And being happy in each waking (and sleeping) moment that I am on this earth. It can be difficult sometimes, but like anything, practice makes perfect.

Spirituality is very tied into raw foods, and this is not something that only I believe. I do think it helps to create clarity of mind, to make the path clearer and to allow us to listen to our internal Selves without the distraction of toxins which cooked foods (and even some raw ones) contain.

Lately though, I have had a lot of trouble sticking to eating a healthy amount of raw foods. There are a combination of factors but they are simply excuses.. If one wants to achieve anything, all the obstacles will melt away with a little effort. I think I've been distracted by a few things and haven't been putting myself first (which, contrary to popular belief, is very important!). The main issue is that the novelty has worn off and I have no way of motivating myself.

SO, since it is finally summer here, and I promised myself that I would eat raw as possible in summer, I am going to slowly reduce my cooked food intake this week, and start a sugarcane juice/ paprika/ lime juice fast next week, then do a gall bladder flush (with the lovely epson salts I brought over from a recent trip home). I think I really need a clean out and a fresh start. Lately, since a trip to Kenting (South Taiwan) where I spent two whole days in the sun, surfing, I developed itchy skin which sometimes breaks out in hives for no reason. I've had problems with body heat before (my constitution is naturally quite hot, rather than cold or damp) so I assume it's to do with the sun exposure, but it's been a month and it is spreading and getting worse. I do think my diet has something to do with it, and the weather (which is now extremely hot and humid). I also have a cough which is unusual for me, as I rarely get sick.

I have also been rushing around alot lately, what with holiday travels, going back to KL, seeing friends around the island and sending Little River (a gorgeous puppy who I have been fostering and losing hope for) off to her new happy home in California!! Now I have to find a home for Afu..

Therefore, I am putting my foot down. My body is telling me very clearly that this is not acceptable! I must resist eating all the lovely Taiwanese food I've grown to love.. and just clean myself out as I work on the next part of my journey. I'm going to be making some huge life decisions very soon and carrying them out will be a challenge. I need all the help I can get.

Reading: Gabriel Cousen's Rainbow Live Food book, which I may not completely agree with but is interesting all the same.

Highly recommended reading: "The Ethics of What We Eat" by Peter Singer, "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. "The Third Eye" by T. Lobsang is fabulous as well..

That's it from me for today. I still have a lot of homework to do!

Love, Light and Peace

Updateration!

2008-04-17T12:12:00.002+08:00

Hello Lovahs!

I think it's about time I actually wrote something on this blog, so here goes.

Living in Taiwan has made eating a high raw diet quite difficult, for me anyway! This is going to sound ridiculous, but it is way too easy to access great Chinese vegan food here.. temptation is too great. And also, living in a new place and not trying the food is still something difficult for me.. especially since this is the land of stinky tofu and dumplings!

It is made a little more difficult because the fruit in the town where I live is:
1) mostly imported
2) very expensive and
3) not very good quality.

The typhoons and crazy weather has not helped, but I'm hoping things will improve as summer approaches.

The upsides are that it's really easy to get freshly made sugar cane juice, there are heaps of juice places (well, bubble tea, but you can get them to make juice for you), even though they are more expensive than buying a "bian dang" (lunchbox).. and occasionally you just hit the Jackpot and find amazing pink guavas and great custard apples. Mango season is coming up too.. can't wait!

I finally met up with the amazing Tricia who lives on the other side of the island, and I just love how the universe organises these things! We recently did a Master Cleanse together, with sugar cane juice, and it was pretty awesome, although I stopped at day 7 when I had aimed for 10 days. I think it was more of a mental thing though, wanting to socialise and go out with friends without having weirdness. I suppose it's all a balance.

Lately Tricia and I have been encouraging each other to eat more raw at home at least, so we've been making things like Raw Mashed Potatoes and Durian Cacao Pudding and Thai Soups... I've also been making stuff to share with friends and they always love it to bits.. Which helps with the motivation. You can also get amazing raw seaweed, freshly harvested, at all the markets here and so those long green seaweedy noodles are also making up for not having real noodles!

I'm determined to have a raw summer, because I am feeling a little crap lately, energy is low and I know this is simply because I'm not doing the raw thing properly. My dog is eating more raw than I am!

I ate raw young soybeans yesterday but apparently this is not a good idea, as they are pretty toxic.. any comments on this? There are a few differing accounts.

Have some books to recommend too...
- The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer
- In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
- The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
and of course ... all the Anastasia books (thanks Angela and Anthony!!)

I've decided I"m moving back to Australia in October so I can live there for a year and apply for citizenship. It's a big decision but I feel like my future is there. I'm going to try to get a job in a raw food catering company, otherwise it's either music management or retail (health food shops or enviro shops). Next year, in March, I'm hoping to get into a four month intensive Eco Village Design course at Crystal Waters Ecovillage in NSW.. Crossing my fingers. I know this ecovillage is going to happen, it's just a matter of time!

Much love to everyone.. I promise I'll try to update more, I'm sure it will help me motivate myself!
xo
M

Time..

2008-01-23T14:21:00.001+08:00

Yeah I've been really bad with the updating!

So for the moment, read these blogs. Because these people are RAWSOME and actually post regularly. Hehe! LOVE!

rawreform.blogspot.com- the Lovely Angela Stokes who I am dying to meet!

rawmodel.com- Anthony, who is a model in more than one way! Another Rawie I'd love to meet in person

wyldeandraw.blogspot.com- the incomparably Jenny!! HECK I just want to meet all of you!

Enjoy darlings!
xoxox

A Question

2007-12-18T11:08:00.000+08:00

A Quick Question for all your Raw experts out there..
As you know, I'm living in Taiwan, in an area which is cold (around 13-20C which I know for some is not cold at all!) and humid/ damp (raining a lot), not a combination I have ever had to live in. I have been very sore for the last two weeks to the point that I can't do yoga, I can't get up from a chair without pain etc etc as I described in the previous blog.

Some of my teachers who have Chinese Med background suggest that I'm eating too much "cold" food (i.e. raw foods) which are making the problem even worse and that is why I am not getting better. I have no experience in this.. I would really like to know what other people who live in similar climates and eat raw feel and if they have the same kind of problems. I know Chinese and Ayurvedic Medicine both think that a fully raw diet is not ideal for most people.. but I'd like to believe that isn't true.

I went to the hot springs last night with my friend Abbie and it was awesome! Unfortunately it didn't help my ache at all. We got to sit in these super warm sulphurous massage pools, different flavoured pools (wine, peppermint, rose, chinese medicinal, lavendar etc etc) and also got to use the saunas and steam rooms which also have different flavours. They even had a pool with fishes that nibble at your skin! Which is good for any skin disorders one may have. I LOVED the experience, though I do still love the good old outdoor natural hot springs.. but still, for 5US dollars an entry you can't go wrong!

As for eating, I have been eating two raw meals a day and the other meal is sometimes raw otherwise I have some rice with vegies and tofu. But nothing crazy lately! I'm off to Melbourne tomorrow where I'm sure I'll have difficulty sticking to raw but I'll try!

Please comment and let me know about your cold/ damp raw eating experiences!
xo
M

Sun!!!

2007-12-17T12:43:00.000+08:00

There's sun today and there's no better raw food energy than that, I say!
Have you guys heard of Therese Neumann? Check her story out. Talk about the ultimate way to "eat". Not sure I'd be so into the stigmata though..

I had a pretty great weekend, except that my dog has a fever of 41.5C and needed all kinds of evil medication.. he was pretty miserable all weekend, especially since it was cold. I got him a new box and he looooved that.. I try to feed him a raw diet but he does get his kibble sometimes.

As for me, I ate raw all weekend because I was at home a lot, which for me, really helps. No more durians in sight unfortunately but I ate a lot of seaweed, fruit, and green juice. Sugarcane juice is really very awesome!! On Saturday night I made my Creamed Spinach and seaweed noodle dish for a friend who has been obsessing over it since she first tried it (which was also the first time I made it!) and we ended up meeting up with some mates at a beef noodle shop, where I ate the spinach dish with my friend.. we also had some "pao choy" or pickled vegies which were raw.

I actually prefer going to restaurants where there are no vegan options because that way I have to bring my own food or eat nothing! If I have a choice I usually succumb. We'll see how I do in Melbourne this week (yes I'm going on Wed night and can't wait!!!!).

I am having some issues with body pain.. mainly hips and lower abdomen. I had this problem a few weeks after I moved here and figured out it was due to the weather .. so I used a dehumidifier and it got better. But this week, I've pretty much been in pain any time I sit down or have to get up, or get up from lying down.. last night I even had pain in bed! But walking is fine and I don't think it's neurological (symptoms don't fit). I think the weather is just getting to me.. I hope this doesn't last all winter!! I'm going to the hot springs tonight which should help.. because sitting on a plane for 12 hours with this kind of discomfort is NOT something I am looking forward to.

Well, I'm off dears!
xo
m

Had a Bad Day

2007-12-13T17:02:00.000+08:00

OK so y'all KNOW it's bad when I start quoting a musician I dislike (i.e. Daniel Powter).

Had to go to Taipei this morning to get my passport which meant:

Walking the dog at 7am
Getting to the bus station at 8am
Arriving in Taipei at 9:45am
Taking the MRT + walking to the passport office
Going back the other way
Sitting around waiting for the bus to leave at 11:20am
Arriving back in Yilan at 12:45noon
Running home to take the dog out by 1pm
Being late for class at 1:15pm... then it was 3 hours of class. ARGH!

Of course I ate like a bad bad person today.. It started out well enough with Green Orange Juice and some starfruit and melon, but then by 11 I was starving and succumbed to 7 Eleven Sushi (which is really good here actually!). When I finished class at 4 I thought ok.. Miin, go home and buy a durian and eat it, have some juice with greens.. do it do it.. but I couldn't be arsed walking home and ended up eating rice, stinky tofu, soup and vegies. UH HELLO. Now I feel horrible but who's to blame for that?

It's difficult not feeling guilty when you fail to reach the standards you set for yourself, but I also believe that the thought energy you put into what you are eating is important, so I suppose I have to start saying to myself, "Miin you've decided to eat this cooked food so enjoy it and be thankful for it and that's that" rather than chastising and being upset at my inability to control myself. What do you guys think? I'm sure you've had similar experiences.

Tonight I"m meant to go out for dinner with a friend and she wants to have hot pot but.. I think I will just order fruit or something. I can't imagine eating anything else right now. In Taiwan I have been eating meals very early, dinner is usually at around 4 or 5 which is great.. and I can usually make it to bedtime without any food (maybe some juice). But obviously I'm having an off day. And socialising does not make things easier (let me NOT tell you about the bar story from the other night!).

I made this vow to at least be 100% raw for the 2 weeks leading up (ok ok 1 month, ok 2 months) to my best friend's wedding which is next Saturday but I have failed MISERABLY! The exercise program also didn't happen and now I'm feeling like a bloated creature. Urgh.

I met this guy the other night who is a friend's boyfriend, who is from S. Cali. He used to work in Health Food shops and knew a lot of Raw Vegans, Vegos etc.. but he said that not one of his raw vegan friends was healthy after eating the diet for several years. Maybe it was because they weren't balancing their food.. but I cannot dismiss this niggling query about raw food diets long term.. can someone enlighten me?

Well chickens, I'm off.. Painting class tonight.
xo

It's About Bloody Time

2007-12-12T20:22:00.000+08:00

What with all the raw craziness going on in the Internets these days, I've been inspired to start documenting my raw journey again, mostly to remind myself of how I'm doing... And of course if the rest of you lot would like to have a read, please go ahead!

Since I last signed in, all sorts of stuff has happened but let's just summarise that by saying that I fell off the bandwagon alot, but climbed back on gingerly, then fell off again, but I think that is what usually happens in the beginning of any big life change.

Now I'm living in Yilan City, Taiwan, studying Chinese Language, and when I first came here I was determined to go 100% Raw. "I'll be living alone," I thought, "No one to tempt me, no one to question me.. I can just eat what I want when I want and how I want". But of course, it's never that simple. Being in a new place means socialising, meeting new people, being tempted to try the local cuisine.. so of course, again, I did and still do indulge in Taiwanese vegan food (there are SO many vego restaurants here.. which is both great and not so great!). The main thing I crave really, is RICE! I KNOW! How strange.. I went through my stages.. cake, chocolate, sweet things, potatoes, rice cakes, and now it's rice! Not a terribly bad thing to crave I guess.. But I'm working on cutting that out too. Oh yes and the dumplings are so hard to resist.. argh!

Of course, there are upsides. Such as fresh coconuts (not that cheap though), durians (imported from Thailand though) and fresh vegies for sale at every corner, many of which are not pesticide laden. There's an organic shop near my house too where I can get green powder and nutritional yeast, some vegies and nuts (though they can't guarantee they are completely raw). One of the problems is that there are lots of green vegies but none of them taste good juiced.. except spinach, which we all know sucks crap out of whatever it's grown in so.. I have to be careful.

Been eating lots of fruit, because there are all sorts here.. Andrew you would DIE with all the cheap persimmons around! I personally like eating them cold and squishy. There's jambu (cross between an apple and a watermelon), watermelons, pineapple, passionfruit (EVERYWHERE!!!).. Can't wait till mango season.. oh yes...unfortunately a lot of fruit is imported and cheaper than Taiwan's locally grown stuff because of typhoons etc which make it hard to grow things. I do try to buy local when I can though.

Admittedly I have a juicer but have been very lazy about using it.. I haven't touched it in 2 months! I basically buy freshly squeezed (and I mean very freshly squeezed) OJ or sugarcane juice, or get coconut juice, and add green powder- I drink this in the morning and in the evening. Sometimes I might make up a smoothie with goji, romaine lettuce if I can find it and I went through a banana stage but right now I'm off them. Sometimes I just have a litre of water with lime juice, green powder and apple cider vinegar.

Seaweed is very popular here so I've been eating it a lot.. I'm not entirely sure if the seaweed I can get at the supermarket is boiled before hand (anyone know?) but ah well.. My fave current dish is these long thick seaweed strips (which look like noodles) which I mix with chinese basil, spinach, dried cranberries, cucumber and nutritional yeast- just like pasta but better! Sometimes I'll lightly pickle shaved carrot, cucumber and white turnip and mix it with seaweed and sesame seeds. So good.

I've been to a few potlucks and always brought raw food (like seaweed salads and raw toona for example) and people always devour them and ask for the recipe. People really love raw food if you just do it properly.. not to mention there seem to be a lot of hippies in this town from S. Africa, Canada, America and Australia. Interesting mix of people!

Avocados are quite easy to get here as well.. the asian variety which I personally prefer to the Western Avocado. They are HUGE! There are lots of Bubble Tea and juice places here which is handy.. I found one place that will do an amazing avocado and grapefruit/ orange smoothie for me, without milk (though it took a bit of convincing and they still look at me like I'm weird when I order it!). That drink is just.. the best. You HAVE to try it.

So basically I have no excuse to be 100%. BUT sometimes you just have to be social and go with the flow.. and sometimes I have such bad cravings (the weather doesn't help) for something warm I just have to do it. My main problem is that when I eat cooked I tend to overdo it, whereas if I'm eating raw I eat a small, happy amount. This is something I need to work on obviously!

That's the update.. I hope I will keep updating this thing. HI TRICIA!

Much love and Peace
Next time I'll write about my crazy travel plans and Ecovillages!

Organic, Local and The Superfood Question; And Other Random Dribblings

2007-06-08T13:22:00.000+08:00

Lately, I've been reading up on and thinking about the whole Local vs. Organic- at- all- costs issue. Whole Foods got the debate started. Since I've become more and more educated in the Eco Friendly way of life (always been interseted but now there is more general concern and information about it since it's the new "black"), carbon footprints in relation to food production and delivery are on my mind.

Overall, I think that eating Local Organic is the very best, and then Local, even if it's not Organic. The reasons for this is that a watermelon from Guatemala has used up a lot of energy travelling from its safe little patch (or in most cases, big ass organic farm) to our faraway shores (or stores, more like) and I think it's environmentally reprehensible to go that far for the sake of Organic! Local does not mean commercial by the way- it means from small farms or suppliers, from people who actually produced the food. This is why farmers' markets are great, but unfortunately not as prevalent in Asian cities as one would like. Wet markets do have some such produce but most of it is from large scale pesticide laden farms.

The other concept to consider here is how to eat Raw and be nutritionally sound. Do we need all those fancy ingredients from other countries? I love agave and goji berries but again, the carbon footprint is an issue. I know David Wolfe promotes so called "superfoods" like Goji, Caco, Maca, etc.. but I personally think that sticking to what you have available from Local suppliers in your given place of habitation will lead to an overall healthier body. I don't think those superfoods are necessary. However, I am no expert so I would like to hear what everyone else thinks.

In KL, luckily, we have easy access to locally produced organic foods (which cover my daily needs sufficiently- local cucumber, Japanese cucumber, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, herbs, local celery, mushrooms etc etc) of high quality. My supermarket stocks all this (but I must say I hate how much packaging and PLASTIC is used!). There is one farm I know of run by two people who will send greens by the box to organic shops which are purchased relatively cheaply. However I've heard that they have a hard time keeping up and the selection is quite low.

The Organic shop I frequent unfortunately gets most everything from overseas, as far as Australia, Europe, USA and also from SEA countries. I feel guilty buying my Chinese organic sesame seeds, agave nectar from Mexico, and various products from Organic crazy (but not necessarily well regulated) Taiwan. I'm going to have to find some other solutions or perhaps start eating simpler (Oh goodbye my beloved Macadamias!). Even in Australia, a lot of these "specialist" products are hard to come by in local form.

Plastic, let's get back to the plastic issue. I hate plastic. I read an article online (go find it on noimpactman.blogspot.com) and it made me hate it even more. I know it has helped with the advancement of mankind yadda yadda and in, for example, a medical setting (oh I could rant on about how Wasteful western medical institutions are, maybe another time), might be hard to do without, but seriously, that shit is seriously hardcore and hangs around for decades. Even when you think it's broken down, there are those little plastic molecules hanging around, making everything toxic, messing with fertility, and genetics (yes, it's been proven) and basically quietly bringing the end to both mankind's health and let's not even TALK about the animals (especially marine life). So people, stop using new plastic, get cloth bags, don't buy stuff with packaging and see what you can do with the plastic that you already have (e.g. use it until you can't use it no more). Blech.

I had all this other stuff to say but my brain went blank. However, I think this is quite enough for today!

Eating wise.. not doing so great but I'm trying the whole moderation thing and aiming for all raw. I am realising that my body not only can handle it, it NEEDS to be all raw (and I don't think this is the case for everyone, by the way). So.. onward!

xo
M

Milk is Good

2007-06-01T18:03:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I ate 100% raw.. and was very determined to do so.. till we got to dinner. I had drunk about a litre of Green Limeade and was quite full.. but my dad didn't finish his specially made (by me) steamed carrots Moroccan style, or his beans and babycorn (simply steamed) so I finished them off.. and felt kinda overfull. :P ARGH! Still I'm proud of myself overall.

Today again started off with "Must eat more raw" and so far I've eaten papaya, green juice, tomatoes, avocado and basil on sprouted German bread (which is not raw). Still, I figure it's better than caving into noodles. Dinner will be all raw, I promise! There's seaweed sitting in the fridge, awaiting my teeth.

I also made Macadamia/ sesame seed/ Cashew Milk. SOOO GOOOD.

Getting there.. in time.

xo
M

Slump

2007-05-28T08:53:00.000+08:00

Emotional = Cooked Food.

Yet again, I am succumbing. And I can totally feel the difference- the little weird pang in my stomach or intestinal area, the funny feeling at my jaw, my skin getting a bit yucky and bloating. But yet I still ingest all manner of cooked vegies and tofu because of the taste and the desire.

I need to go buy myself more vegetables, that's for sure!

Someone motivate me!
xo
M

The Best Juice in All of Existence

2007-05-26T09:29:00.000+08:00

Yes, I have discovered it (OK technically stole the basic idea from Natalia Rose).. An awesome green drink that pretty much anyone will like. I think.

Green Limeade (good to have first thing in the morning)

3 thick stalks of celery + leaves
1 Head of Cos Lettuce
2 Apples (whole)
4 Small Limes (whole)
2-3 inch Nub of Fresh Ginger

Juice it up, mix and find paradise in your mouth. And your gut will thank you for it.
You may also put kale in it or any other green vegie, the lime and ginger do a good job of getting rid of any bitter tastes.

Seriously, I am totally addicted. And this is a good thing when it comes to green liquids.
xoxo
M

Power of Now

2007-05-25T10:14:00.000+08:00

83.5kg. So I've plateaued, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does probably reflect the fact that I haven't been very diligent with what I've been putting in my mouth. Too many exceptions add up into having a substantial overall effect. I can feel it.. my gut lets me know when I'm messing with it too much.

I can see my Eating Pattern more clearly now. I eat mainly raw (at least 2.5 meals) then I get lazy and bored, start telling myself it's ok to have those few bits of cooked food my family is eating, or that handful of roasted cashews.. I go out and end up eating a fully cooked meal or snack. Then I start feeling guilty about it (which is something I must NOT do) and motivate myself by watching Raw videos on Youtube (Sexy Bitches Like it Raw! Ani Phyo!) or re-reading my Raw books, and also making up my own new dishes in the kitchen. And I eat well for a while before the cycle begins again. Emotional issues also have a big say in how I eat.

So.. how to get out of this habit? Diligence. Self Restraint. If I want to Eat Cooked because I crave it, I Restrict myself to the following:

1) Steamed/ Boiled Vegetables like Cauliflower, Broccoli, Sweetcorn, Carrots, Snow Peas etc
2) Steamed Okra with Raw Thick Soya Sauce (Yes I found some!)
3) Boiled Long Lettuce or other Chinese Vegetable with a bit of olive oil or raw garlic
4) Steamed Tofu (the homemade type)

I think these are all very reasonable things to eat and have good nutritional value. I still crave noodles (a lot!) and rice (very rarely), but not bread. I used to be obsessed with bread so I'm glad that is over!

One of the other problems I have is not having prepared myself enough in the kitchen- i.e. having the staples readily available. It's a bit hard as I'm not living here permanently and don't have all the equipment I'd like.

I'm also wondering what it'll be like in Taiwan. I'll certainly need to buy myself a juicer when I get there. The area I'll be living in, Ilan County, is famous for its fresh green vegetables grown by small farms and usually organic, so I will have no problems getting my greens! Which is fabulous :)

Having said all that, I'm also thinking about Organic vs Local and educating myself a bit more on that topic, to start having real knowledge about what to buy and what not to buy. Raw is fabulous for our bodies but one has to now also consider the environmental impact of our choices at the supermarket/ grocery store/ market... it's not just about ME anymore, it's about US and the planet.

The last week has been relatively good, except for some cooked meals here and there. I've been eating lots of seaweed, sprouts, red cabbage and the usual vegies (cucumber, tomato, beetroot etc) in different combinations. I'm trying to lay off the oils and avocado, and also the nuts because I think I overdo it sometimes.

I made this fabulous Cashew Cheese again (from the Beetroot Ravioli recipe) which I've been using in Nori rolls and as dressing. Last night I used Cos Lettuce (as I can't seem to find collard greens) to make Mediterranean Dolma Wraps with the following filling:

- Sunflower seeds + Pepitas (can use pine nuts instead)
- Dried Cranberries (can use raisins instead)
- Avocado (can exclude)
- Goji Berries
- Sundried Tomatoes
- Pinch of Salt
- Lots of Fresh Dill!
- Olive Oil/ Flaxseed Oil or anything you like really!

Mix together, put on large Cos Lettuce leaf (you need to break the hard stem down the middle so you can roll it) and roll. EAT and enjoy! It's really a great and quick meal.

We also had some local cucumber sliced up to be dipped in Homemade Ginger Sauce with Sesame Seeds/ Ao Nori and fresh red chilis (which we grow on the balcony). The old Pineapple/ Cucumber/ Chili or Capsicum/ White Onion mix with a sweet dressing (very asian) is still a favourite.

In the last 3 weeks I've been forcing myself to get back into Doing Regular Exercise because honestly after New Year it all went downhill and there were two week periods of absolutely zilch physical exercise and weeks where I'd only exercise once. I did start getting into swimming which has been helpful (and man have I become unfit in the water!) and now I'm back to 3 times a week, even 4 sometimes (either swimming, cardio + weights, a Body Combat class or 2 hour yoga classes). I still feel this isn't enough because the rest of the day involves me sitting on my ass at the computer- not much incidental exercise at all (I used to do A LOT of that.. I lost 5 kg immediately on starting as an intern). I still can't run very far!!

So that's where I'm at right now. I need to just keep going and motivating myself, and not being too hard on myself when I give in to the taste buds. I'll get there eventually!

xoxox
M

Once in a Blue Moon

2007-05-13T09:02:00.000+08:00

I just have to say, I love Tori Amos.

OK! So what have I been doing? Eating only a semi raw diet, and not succesesfully getting back to 100%. However, that doesn't trouble me at all, I'm happy where I am, working slowly and surely to eating healthier and healthier, listening to my body, and also trying to not give in to temptation. Which does occur now and then, especially if my personal life is a bit askew. Emotion is such a trigger for Food.

Yesterday I made the most awesome lunch! It was Beetroot Ravioli with Cashew Cheese and Red Pepper Puree (Thanks Raw Food, Real World!). I topped it with lots of fresh basil, sunflower seeds, mung bean sprouts and dried cranberries. HEAVEN! My mum even ate all of hers, except she complained it was a bit too rich for her ("Why didn't you send me any bread?" Hahaha, Cute).

I also made an Avocolada, which I have to say I wasn't too impressed with, but that could just be because I haven't got the texture quite right yet.

I'm still drinking Green Juice every morning, without the Beetroot (although I might get back into it soon), eating Papaya with lime and making sure that at least lunch or dinner are completely raw. I find it easier to be raw at lunch actually. Lunch is usually a big salad with different things in it, or some kind of nut based food. I eat a lot of seaweed as well (mmm) and at night, I usually either eat some steamed vegies with brown rice and tofu, or I will have just fruit and another huge green juice. I think I must work on eating lighter dinners, and eating earlier.

I went on a trip a while back and I ate so much bread. I felt really horrid. But it was strange- once I started, it was like I couldn't stop, or more like.. I had this attitude of "Oh I've already Broken the Rules, so who cares?". Bad attitude, really. But no more bread for me!

So continues the journey. I've been cruising this awesome site veganyumyum.com.. not raw but beautiful. Actually I've been reading a lot of Melbourne food blogs recently.. hmmm so I make up for not eating cooked food by reading about it! Haha! I do wish that there was a proper raw food blog with beautiful photographs and recipes etc.. ANYONE?

Well lovelies.. ciao till next time ;)
xo
M

Where Have I Been??

2007-04-20T15:16:00.000+08:00

Hey Lovelies!

Wow I haven't written in a while. It's been a busy time, seeing extended family and such. Not to mention enough Drama to last a life time (I swear, not self created! Unless you believe all drama is self created.. hmmm).

My dad now eats raw at night, at his own request, which so far is going good (3 days and counting!) so at least it motivates me to make something remotely more interesting than salad for him and me. I think it will be good for his diabetes if he can stick to it, and not eat out so much at lunch as he does. His breakfasts are ok.. even though it's all milk and bran flakes. He does have his green juice though! I make sure everyone here does now! I think everyone is slowly going off the milk too. My mum does love her daily yoghurt face mask though...

My brother and sister have both re- converted to vegetarianism and possibly in the future, veganism, after watching 'Earthlings'. I think it's essential viewing for anyone who cares about animals and heck, your own health really. It doesn't actually preach much at all, just shows the facts and lets you make up your own mind as to what choices you make in relation to food, entertainment, pets, scientific research and clothing. It's tricky to not make a documentary like that non judgemental and preachy, but I think the tone, Moby's music and Joaquin's commentary achieve that very well. Warning: very graphic animal abuse. I cried a lot and some people have said they couldn't sit through the whole thing.

It's interesting though because a few friends have said they would rather not watch it because they like eating meat and using animal products, and they don't want to feel guilty about it. Which, as much as I love my friends, make me very very sad about how people function. I'm not being judgemental and if they choose to do what they do, that's cool, but that mindset puzzles me. So you'd really rather live with the motto, "Ignorance is Bliss" and be limited by your lack of knowledge- instead of feeling empowered, knowing that really there ARE NO LIMITATIONS and you can make a change, even if you feel like you are just one person. Everything starts with just one person if you think about it. It saddens me that young people don't think through these things. This is OUR planet, and we depend on it, it doesn't really depend on us. If we don't watch it, we won't have anything left and then we'll be cursing our inaction and "knowing ignorance" i.e. being aware that something is wrong but not doing anything about it because of emotions like guilt and helplessness.

Ok, *gets of soapbox*

:P Sorry I just get riled up about these things sometimes.

SO onto the food...

I've been making lots of salads like:

1) Spinach, Cos Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes, Garlic, Cucumber, Mushroom salads dressed simply with flax seed oil and olive oil, some nutritional yeast, and a bit of apple cider vinegar. I do change up the dressings sometimes, add or minus sesame seeds and ao nori, or nuts. Dried cranberries are pretty good too.

2) Peeled carrots, white radish and cucumber (so they are in thin slices) marinated overnight in apple cider vinegar with some celtic salt and herbs. Eaten the next day with pineapple and fresh mint leaves, lots of dulse and ao nori with black/ white sesame seeds. I LOVE this dish, it's very refreshing.

And Soups! (you can get these recipes from Raw Food Real World)

1) Watermelon and Tomato Gazpacho (fave!) is so easy to make and really filling. My dad likes this one

2) Pineapple and Cucumber Gazpacho with Jalapenos.. another lovely dish that is very filling and easy to make. Mum likes to "cheat" and eat this with some noodles, she says it tastes like a famous Malaysian dish, Assam Laksa. Hehe!

And Wraps/ Rolls!

1) Fresh Malaysian Farm Avocados (from our Farm!) mashed with a bit of soy sauce, lots of dulse and some soaked seaweed, and sprouts, wrapped in nori and munched. Mmm.. of course, with a nice bowl of salad.

2) Zucchini Rolls with Nori sheets, assortment of vegetables. Sometimes I put something similar to the Mushroom Ravioli in them too (with sprouts and using a more asian flavour). I make all sorts of dipping sauces..

Sauces!

1) Last night I totally invented the BEST dipping sauce ever! I wasn't sure how it would turn out but seriously, I love it to death. Addicted.

Here's the recipe (sorry there's no strict amounts, I just toss it in)

Handful of Goji berries

Splash of Sesame oil

Juice of One Orange, Half a Lime and One lemon

Heaped Tablespoon of Finely Sliced Pickled ginger (I make this myself with ACV)

Asian salt herb mix or small pinch of Celtic Sea Salt, a bit of lemongrass or coriander even

Two Handfuls of Cashews (Soaked for about 2 hours)

Half a teaspoon of Paprika/ Cayenne Pepper

BLEND! and Enjoy!
So Easy and So Brilliant.

I also have made the Mushroom Ravioli again and eating lots of seaweed with just a bit of vinegar and bits of vegie chopped in. Trying to stay off the miso as much as I love it.

I have had a bit of bread, rice or noodles here and there, and one weekend I ate pretty much all cooked because it was just too hard (was out and about). However, just taking each day as it comes, making sure I have my fruit and green juice every morning and not smacking myself every time I eat cooked.

Hopefully I'll be more raw as the days go on!

Ciao Bellas...!
xoxox
M

Gazpacho

2007-04-06T13:58:00.000+08:00

So I have been making a concerted effort to eat better. Some days I honestly don't feel like eating anything at all, because I've run out of ideas, but then I realise I'm just being lazy! Plus I haven't had time to exercise lately which really makes my appetite disappear.

Still been eating at least one cooked item a day (usually at dinner, because that's when we eat all together) but I've gone from the occasional noodle soup to just having some boiled or steamed green vegies if I get the craving for cooked. However, the aim is still 100%.

Yesterday I made this yummy Pineapple and Cucumber Gazpacho with Jalapeno (from Raw Food Real World) which is ULTRA easy and quick, and very filling, refreshing. I had some for lunch today too. It's really good topped off with some Macadamia Sour Creme and I also used Mint instead of Cilantro because I can't get it here. The mint works really well though.

Today for lunch I also made Raw Sang Choy Bao.. (which is a Chinese dish of minced meat or seafood with vegies wrapped in lettuce and dipped in sauce). I made it with different types of mushrooms, garlic, sage, chives, carrot and jicama, marinated in olive oil, a bit of salt and some green chilies. Into the lettuce, add some chili sauce and VOILA! Mmmm...

The other day I tried out a recipe from rawchefdan.com (he owns Quintessence in NYC), Mushroom ravioli! Which is actually quite like the Sang Choy Bao but without carrot and chilies. The mixture is then placed on thinly sliced white radish, folded over into a ravioli shape and drizzled with some herbed olive oil. Very gentle to the palate and has a great texture. The oils and flavours also take out the stingy bitternes of the radish.

I'm trying to make good use of my numerous Raw books now, and not get too disheartened with the times I fall off the wagon. My sister is very very eager to try the 92 day Juice Feast but I think we both have to do a bit of work on purifying before we do!

Oh another good juice to try (thanks Angela!) is Carrot/ Romaine Lettuce and Spinach. It's a more creamy type of vegetable juice and tastes great!

Lynn, thanks for your helpful comments! 5 months because I'm moving to Taiwan in September..

Much love

Plans..

2007-04-02T09:28:00.001+08:00

Wow, I really have no self control. It's been a poor week in the Raw Stakes. Been eating cooked food all over the place, mainly because I am so bored and most times can't be bothered. No discipline at the moment. But I vowed last night as I lay in bed that today I would start with as much raw as possible again. I have put on weight and feel lethargic, plus I'm just overall feeling a bit yucky.

I'm working on opening a Vegan restaurant here in KL, it's really only in its planning stages. There are a few Chinese Vegan places around which are quite popular, and a few organic places which serve a selection of Vegan and Vegetarian fare. I do want to kick up the standard a bit and also have a lot of raw items on the menu, along with dehydrated items, which no one in Malaysia has done yet. I also want to use salvaged wood to make large tables and have a more communal eating feel, which is also something not commonly done in more fancy restaurants in Malaysia.

I only have five months to get it up and running though, so I'd better get on with it. I've got the whole visual for what it's going to look like, but I should really be concentrating on the menu as it will determine what kind of kitchen or equipment and staffing I'll need. I have no experience in this field whatsoever but.. heck, you gotta challenge yourself once in a while hey!

Any advice will be much appreciated.
Much Love

Motivational Issues

2007-03-26T18:53:00.000+08:00

I figured out what to do with the weird red avocados and their eggsy goodness.. put them in smoothies and use them for making creamy salad dressings! I have to say a vegie smoothie with avocado is quite delectable, and the creamy herb and avocado dressing I made went down a treat with everyone.

I am trying to be careful about eating too much heavy stuff like oils, avocados and nuts because it can get addictive and problematic. My skin is great, albeit at times a little oily, but my hair is ridiculously oily! I wash it and then two days later (even if I haven't been outside in KL's pollution) it's very oily and gross. I haven't been using flaxseed at all but I think I might have to go back to it because the balance of oils in my scalp is obviously askew.

I've been very off the seaweed lately for some reason. Which is not helpful in offering variety to my diet at the moment.

And admittedly, been very very lazy with trying to get back to 100%. Been eating cooked stuff left right and centre, with meehoon soup still being the prime culprit in my hunger pangs. I've also stocked up on Organic Rice and corn cakes, even though I really should be restricting myself. Argh. I need motivation, like another rawie in the house or LIVE IN A RAW COMMUNITY.. but that is definitely asking waaaay too much! So I just have to dig my heels in ey...

My eldest sister was over on the weekend and LOVED those choconut brownies, she stole the recipe too. Everyone who's had them loves them so I will be sure to make those for parties etc.

My weight has stayed the same at about 83kg. I am still aiming for 75 but haven't had time to exercise as regularly as I would like. Probably working out (either on the treadmill or in a class) twice a week at the most and not going to yoga as much as I should. So that is something else I have to work on. Except when I was in primary and high school, I have found it very very difficult to incorporate an exercise program into my daily schedule- due to lack of motivation. Sigh. :(

Still needing lots of sleep and getting a bit fatigued in the late afternoon but I think that is more due to inactivity and boredom than anything else. I'm pretty sure if I was still doing my intern job I would be full of energy till I got home. Just everything is not very balanced right now.. physically, emotionally, mentally.

Anyway, I saw "Pan's Labyrinth" yesterday and I highly recommend it to everyone. We all need a little magic in our lives. Even if it interspersed with gross gory bits. :P

Much Love
Motivate me!
xoxox
M

Cos you Had a Bad Day

2007-03-23T10:35:00.000+08:00

On Wednesday night, I managed to catch up with my friend B and D, her friend who is visiting from Melbourne. We went to Sao Nam in Changkat Alor for dinner, a lovely Vietnamese restaurant. The food was pretty good (I had a Rice flour pancake with tofu, raw bean sprouts, which you eat wrapped in lettuce leaves, vietnamese and normal mint- MMMM) although the service did suck a bit. It was certainly worth the unraw.

Yesterday for lunch I attempted to eat one of our farm's avocados (which are HUGE and have reddish coloured smooth skin, in contrast to the usual bumpy green dudes you find in other countries) but the taste and texture was bizarre! Perhaps it's because of the type of avocado or the season- it was somewhat powdery and tasted like cooked egg yolk. Now, I am a huge avo fan so for me to not be able to get through all of it comfortably was strange! I'll try another tomorrow and see how I go.

I also fell apart during the day emotionally so by dinner time I was craving noodles in soup- so I went for it. And felt adequately gross afterwards. heh. I did also have a salad of lettuce, cucumber, pineapple and freshly picked mint (which grows on our balcony). And some cajun roasted cashews. I just feel so unbalanced at the moment I dont' know what I'm doing with the food.

Anyways, today will be a better day :)
About to have my breakfast and I'm sure it will make me feel better!
xoxo
M

Avoiding Boredom!

2007-03-21T09:44:00.000+08:00

So last night I decided to go all gourmet and make vegetable rolls to go with my Mint Cashew Aioli.. They are so easy to make and look ultra impressive. I was a tad lazy and didn't marinate any of the vegies before they went in but I think if you have a good sauce that's all you need.

All you do is shave some long zucchinis really thinly with a vegetable peeler, place a piece of seaweed upon it and then go crazy with your sliced vegies! I used spinach, cos lettuce, cucumber, tomato, asparagus, beetroot, carrot and red capsicum.. and it sure did look beautiful. If you want to be extra specially creative, you can do a double roll- one slice of green zucchini and another of yellow, with seaweed in between both. Use any sauce you want and voila- gorgeous food! I think next time I will make a more Japanesey sauce with ginger and miso or something like that because the aioli was a little too "western" for the seaweed taste.

Mmmm... Today for lunch I'm having leftovers.. I had three rolls left (after sharing with family last night!) and also having some rice cakes with cucumber and aioli. Nice and refreshing.

However, enough nuts for this week- I've used walnuts, cashews and macadamias already since Monday and I don't want to overdo it! Back to the salads I think, with simple tasty dressings. And more seaweed as I have been neglecting my wakame and seaweed sprouts lately.

Photo included today! Sorry about the general slackness. And the really bad quality photo. To think I used to do photography seriously!

(Just remembered, I'd better eat up those brownies in the fridge- been there for too long now!)

xo
M

Getting There...

2007-03-20T10:26:00.000+08:00

Two must do's, whether you are Omnivorous, Vegeterian, Raw or.. well, basically if you're human you owe it to yourself to do the following:
1) Watch "An Inconvenient Truth" (yes, I'm a bit late jumping on the bandwagon)
2) Read "The China Study" by T Colin Campbell, PhD

Everything will make a lot more sense. Sure, science in my opinion only goes so far but as far as it goes- this is the benefit it brings humankind.

Yesterday was a pretty good Raw day, except for a few rice cakes. I figure since I'm still craving a bit of that type of carbohydrate I'd go for something relatively healthy. Somehow eating plain rice makes me feel like eating more cooked foods to go with it, so rice cakes it will be.

Lunch was wonderful... I had zucchini rolls stuffed with dressed sprouts, corn, cucumber, jicama and cherry tomatoes. Mmm.. no sauce required. Zucchini, when sliced that thinly, is sweet and wonderful!

At dinner I figured I'd better get reinsipired so I went over to welikeitraw.com, where I watched the segment about Alissa Cohen's Diet Wars on Tyra Banks' show.. and also ventured to goneraw.com which has terrifice recipes! For dinner I made:

Spicy Walnut Taco Meat
Macadamia Sour Creme
Tomato/ Cucumber/ Red Onion salsa

I grabbed some lovely cos lettuce leaves, stuffed them with the meat, dollop of splendiferous sour creme, then some salsa and finally, sunflower seeds. I also ate two rice cakes with this mixture, and my mum kept stealing my food instead of eating her cooked stuff! Which of course is great :)

I need to get into the habit of drinking more juice during the day. I was craving cheese so badly yesterday and to be honest I did have a tiny tiny piece of organic vegetarian cheese (along with the bit of egg I had in Singapore, even my veganness has been challenged this weekend! But that is it, back to no eggs or dairy for me).

Need to get back into gym as well, but starting work at an office so I'll have to somehow fit it into the schedule or else cancel my membership and start working out at home only. I mainly use the gym for classes and weights because I don't have those at home obviously!

To the lovely anonymous person who commented the other day- thank you! YOU rock! Good luck on your Raw Adventures...

Much Love
Miin

Singapore

2007-03-19T11:28:00.000+08:00

Singapore = Yucky Bad food.
Malaysia = Kicks Singapore's ass when it comes to food.

I thought, "Hey I'm having a weekend away, I'll allow myself some decadent craziness" but it wasn't really worth it, save the lunch we had at a lovely vegetarian restaurant called Original Sin (teehee)- tofu and lentil burger with homemade bread, wedges and lovely juice, then sorbet. Mmmmm... But the hawker food and japanese we had was terribly average, and we also ate at very silly times. Luckily I didn't have any bad cooked food reactions, but I do kind of wish the food had been better- to make it worth it! Haha if that makes any sense.

Now that I'm home, it's back to the raw and I'm actually quite excited about it. :) Even having green juice this morning was just brilliant! I think a salad for lunch will do me quite nicely.

I'm a tad worried as I'm going to be working in the office with my parents and lunch will get sent from home- so I won't get to make it myself unless I do it in the morning, which I might have to get into the habit of doing. Or making large amounts of sauces in advance.

Hope you're all well, whatever you're doing.
Much Love

Good for the Bod

2007-03-14T13:50:00.000+08:00

Blood results are in.

And guess what! Perfect, pretty much.

My Hb is well within normal range, no signs of anaemia anywhere.

My Vitamin B12 is also very normal and I don't even think it needs pepping up.

Cholesterol overall was low, which is great, but my LDL is on the borderline of being too high- gotta work on that with exercise and maybe cutting down on some of the oils I eat. Although generally speaking I think it might be because of previous eating habits and not current.

Serum Iron was a bit funny- it's four times higher than normal for women! The doc asked me if I'm taking iron supps which of course I am NOT .. unfortunately he is a crap doctor and didn't ask them to do Ferritin or TIBC despite me WRITING IT DOWN for him. Oh dear. Anyway, it could be lab error, it could be because I've been eating so much seaweed and orange juice, or it could be something more serious but I totally doubt it. I do have a bit of family history of thalassaemia which certainly can raise iron levels as it's not well absorbed, but I have been tested negative for that. Not to mention the completely normal FBE doesn't quite correlate!

Thyroid function was fine too, which was one thing I often wonder about with me. I guess I just naturally have a slow metabolism!

I have also lowered my BP significantly .. it was never a problem for me, I used to get a perfect 120/70 but it was 90/60- could be because of exercise or simply because I was a bit dehydrated. A one off reading is not sufficient to make any major statement about it!

Overall I'm really happy because I know this way of eating is not negatively affecting me, and being a vegan and vegetarian for many years has not made me anaemic. Means that I'm eating properly and getting the right nutrition, which I'm so happy about. I gotta keep going with this raw thing!

Having a lovely big salad for lunch today. Mmm.. raw tahini with lemon and orange juice and dill for dressing is perfect. You have to try it.

This weekend may be a copout because I'm going to Singapore with a friend to see Buddy Guy and Rachael Yamagata in concert (YESS!) but I'll do my very best.

Much Love
xoxox
M

Energy Schmenergy

2007-03-13T18:59:00.000+08:00

Mum was outstation today so Sis and I took the opportunity to go out for lunch. We went to this place called Bangles which is an Indian restaurant, quite large actually, but we were the only people there at 1 in the afternoon- which indicates business can't be good overall. I had Vegetable Biryani and Dhal, as well as copious amounts of Garlic Naan and papadums. Needless to say, I was indulging to the fullest. The food was pretty good actually...

But seriously, as soon as I got home, I was so disgustingly full and drowsy that I had a nap, which didn't do much to help and I still feel really horrible. My head is really heavy and I can't be bothered doing very much that requires effort. I was going to go to the gym this afternoon and do some cardio but my legs still hurt from Yoga on Sunday (I know! Sunday!) and I just had no energy whatsoever. I could blame it on several things:

1) The overload of carbohydrates and overfilling my stomach with cooked stuff
2) My period started today (yeah yeah, TMI!) and it's heavy- this is good though because I'm going on a trip this weekend and I didn't want to have it then! Yay!
3) I haven't been sleeping well at night (one thing raw hasn't done is make me sleep better or require less hours- but that's probably because I haven't been doing it long enough)
4) I'm feeling a bit down about things which can always affect one's energy levels
5) Not doing enough physical activity due to my job

So really, I can't just blame it on the food but I think it has a lot to do with it. I just went to the kitchen before and made a Beetroot/ Carrot/ Celery/ Orange juice, and a salad of Cucumber/ Tomatoes/ Red Onion/ Corn/ Lightly Steamed Broccoli and Carrot (from last night) and Sprouts. I don't feel like anything heavy for dressing like tahini so I just put some olive oil, salt, pepper and lime juice. I think it'll do me good. And I should go to bed early tonight.

Blood test results tomorrow. Here goes!
xoxox
M

Motivation

2007-03-13T09:53:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I ate the worst food ever.
Mainly cos I was being really really lazy and couldn't be bothered eating anything raw. I sure wish I was up to mono meals already, it would make life easier. I know that in order for this raw thing to keep working I have to eat lots of varied foods or I will become deficient.
Blood tests still not back but hopefully they will be ready today.
Be better today, Miin.
Love y'all
M

Brownies.. MMMMM...

2007-03-10T17:22:00.000+08:00

Oh. My. Godfather.
I just made the most amazing ChocNut Brownie thing EVER! Ok I've never made brownies before but I got this recipe off Angela's site (RawReform.com) and.. Wow. I mean of course just because they are raw, doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want.. Still has quite a bit of sugar, although I only used Agave and dried fruit. You MUST try this recipe- it's not even that hard. It's a bit too rich for me because I'm not used to that kind of thing but I still love it in small doses :)

The only non raw item in it was the cocoa.. which as we all know is picked, peeled, fermented and roasted.. but it's hard to find raw cocoa or cacao here, or even raw carob. So I had to cheat a bit ;) I also think I should have used more nuts but I just didn't have any.

I won't write out the recipe here, you can find it on the site. I used Macadamias in the Coconut Creme filling rather than Cashews, I think it works better anyway. And despite the original saying to use pecans and brazilnuts, I think almonds work well too.. pretty much any hard nut would be ok. Note that the nuts aren't to be soaked so you won't get full nutrition out of them but heck, it's worth it!!

Am not going to do a lot more desserts though, I think that the simpler the food, the better.
Much Love
xo
M

Rice Cakes Galore

2007-03-10T09:30:00.000+08:00

I have been craving carbohydrates so badly lately that I figured I'd better just eat some. And when I say carbs I mean rice, potatoes and noodles. :P So I figured I'd go and get something that is not too hardcore and just make do until the craving disappears.

Organic Rice Cakes (with rice, millet, quinoa) by Koyo, a Canadian company, are too thick for my liking but they taste all right, especially with the Walnut Toona I made again. I also bought some Blue Corn/ Yellow Corn Organic Tortilla chips but after reading the nutritional information, I think I'll leave my sister and brother to eat them! The cheeky buggers write 6g of fat per serving, and usually one serving is 100g, but in their case it's 28g.. which means that it's about 20g of fat per 100g.. that is A LOT. But it's not just about the fat.. 85mg of salt per serving? Ridiculous. So much for that idea.

I resisted the urge to eat cooked at lunch, and instead had a lovely salad mainly composed of tomatoes. I also marinated some mushrooms in garlic/ olive oil/ basil and pepper to see if I could eat that at dinner but I've REALLY gone off the raw mushrooms in this state- so slimy and just WRONG! Gonna cook them for my sister to avoid wastage.

At dinner, I had lots of vegies with Toona, and 3 rice cakes. About 10 minutes into eating I started getting sharp pains in the left side of my abdomen.. so I stopped with the rice cakes. Maybe I just have to eat slower? Who knows.. It's all about experimentation.

Today, I am going to have more Toona for lunch with lots of vegies, which is going to be YUMMY. I'll probably still sneak in a rice cake though... I can't help also wanting that FEELING of something carbohydratey. Poo to my discipline eh.. :P

Still waiting on blood test results.. should be interesting to see what my Hb, B12, Iron levels are, as well as how my thyroid is functioning. I haven't had blood tests since I was a young child, mainly because I've never had any problems with my health. I'm really intrigued to see how my diet for the last 10+ years has affected my body.

Much Love
xoxoxo
M

Food and Mood

2007-03-08T11:17:00.000+08:00

Wow I have readers! Thanks guys you allllll rock :) and I love your respective blogs very much.. Photography is one of my loves, as is creative writing so to find like minded individuals is always a pleasure. And Snark, eat more vegetables :P

I'm sure it's not just me but everytime I feel down in the dumps or miserable or overall crap, I feel like eating a big lot of cooked food. For example, the stereotype of the girl who has broken up with their boyfriend and just eats icecream all day (I'm talking to you, Bridget Jones). I used to be a total potato addict- I never craved chocolate or sweets, just anything potatoey- chips, fries, roasted, mashed, steamed.. any old way. Somewhat bizarre. My sister has been wearing this shirt I bought (as she too is addicted to potatoes- genetics??) saying "I'm Hungry and You're a Potato" which pretty much sums up the situation. So yes, I have been feeling a bit depressed about things so of course I am craving potatoes and fried noodles and vegetable soup and crisps.. Like eating all these foods will solve anything.

We all know that Food = Mood- so the point is that if one is feeling down, it is better to eat raw foods which over time will improve your own thought processes, clarity of mind and mood.

I was thinking maybe it's because when we feel down, we want to drown ourselves in something else- like toxins from cooked food. The more we eat, the more we want to eat- downward spiral into more misery. Sure, you can argue that comfort food makes you feel better, but in factthis behaviour is simply indulging the senses and further degrading your body. When we're down we feel little self worth so we automatically have no problems with torturing ourselves.

No surprise that a lot of eating disorders involve issues of self worth, control and depression (whether your disorder is to do with overeating or undereating). As with everything in psychiatry, and heck, life, it's all a spectrum- we just know how to control it if we're lucky. Like the spectrum of thinking about offing oneself (and let's face it, every body has thought about it at least once, even if it has nothing to do with their mood) to actually carrying it out.

This contrasts with the idea of "Soul Food" and food being a great reminder of times and places, a way to show love to others via cooking, and remembering one's culture. Food definitely has a role there and I have no doubt that cooking is a way of showing love- and the energy you put into food affects its effects on the eater. There's no doubt eating a lovely home cooked meal or a dish that has been obviously lovingly prepared at a restaurant can raise your mood and make you feel wonderful. I have had several experiences where I have had the giggles for at least an hour becuase of eating a very full meal that was prepared with love.

So really, it is all about balance. You have to do what is right for you. I don't know what is definitely right or wrong for everyone- and which thought process is the most correct, but for me, I've noticed that right now, indulging those desires for cooked food when I'm depressed does not actually make me feel better.

I'd like to know your thoughts on this issue. Meanwhile, I am starving (see this not 100% thing is really messing me up) and must think of something fun to eat or else I will succumb to some cooked fare!

Much Love
Miin

Revamp!

2007-03-06T12:42:00.000+08:00

I'm trying to really revamp my raw diet and get back to 100%. Yeah well I know I've been saying it for weeks now.. but seriously!

So yesterday I went and made that Toona I really love (with walnuts- it was Extra Good this time) and ate that with vegies for lunch and dinner. I did also have some Organic Rice Crackers which pretty much only have rice and salt but still are cooked. Slowly, slowly.. :P

I was doing really well yesterday (after a few days of crap eating) but then my dad didn't finish his tofu and cabbage rolls at dinner so I went and ate them for him. They were yum! But must stop this "eating leftovers" business.

Today I had my usual breakfast of papaya and green juice (well, red cos of the beetroot) and for lunch I made Cucumber Soup (which has some nuts, tahini, lemon and fresh herbs in it) garnished with tomato based chutney. It wasn't the best thing I've ever eaten but it was refreshing. I had some crackers again :x. It's like weaning. Haha!

Tonight I will probably do something with mushrooms. For some reason, like when I went off nuts, I have really gone off the eating raw mushrooms deal, even with the oil and all. I used to love the idea and the taste but lately it doesn't appeal at all. I guess I have to listen to myself! There's some seaweed around too so I might have a go with that. I must say the guy at the organic shop was really good because he knew what I was talking about when it came to raw nuts (i.e. how some are definitely blanched or steamed or boiled to remove the skins) and also about seaweed (how they rarely ever roast or force dry them- only sun dry). This is Malaysia you know! I think that guy probably rarely eats organic or vegetarian too but at least he knows his products.

I'll post some pics soon, promise!
xox
M

PS does anyone still read this thing?

Chotomatei Kudasai

2007-03-01T23:16:00.000+08:00

I have just gone over some old posts and found comments that I hadn't seen before. A lot of you readers (if you are still here) don't allow profile views or don't actually have an active blog so it's hard for me to reply and I can't be sure if you check back. So..

Aleigh! Thanks for the lovely note. It is definitely not a really easy transition socially. As you can see it's been quite hard for me but not because of that- more because of my addicted to taste! I live in Malaysia.. where I thought it would be hard to be raw, but if I never go out, it's not a problem. Hehe.. our culture here is very much based around food. People seriously can be see eating full on hardcore food any time of the day. So of course, I must be crazy. Cos Malaysian food really is awesome. How is your raw diet going? Hopefully better than mine. I'd also like to avoid the dehydrator thing, but I still want my freaking Vitamix blender already!! You should also read rawreform.blogspot.com.. Angela is very inspiring and if I had the discipline I'd so do the 92 day juice feast too! Anyway, email me sometime if you wish. Lovely to make your acquaintance. You can get me on miin.love@gmail.com.

Camille- are you still reading?? I hope so :) Yes I became a doctor in 2004 which means I was 23 at the time. It's not unusual in Australia as it is an undergraduate course and most of us finish school at 17/18. I finished at 16/17 so was a little younger than everyone else. Which had no benefit at all! How is your eating going.. have you gone raw yet? How is it? I wish I could read your blog.. Probably give me some tips eh..! Hugs!

The eating today was still no good. I've figured that dinner is a problem. And also I am getting hungry after lunch! Which never used to happen. The weight has gone back up to 84.1kg which is not a problem, probably also because I've been back on doing weights again. Anyway.. I eat well right until dinner time when I totally cave in and eat noodles with soup AGAIN! I don't know, I've been freakin craving that 5 days in a row! I blame it all on Eighth Day celebrations at my grandpa's place. Grr.. I also ate some rice that my brother hadn't finished.. so I am now called the Leftover eater. STOP MIIN STOP!

I was inspired though today because I spoke to my best mate Davey who told me he thinks Raw is awesome and that he had been raw whilst travelling in Nepal and India a few years back. Which in itself is super impressive. He was the first guy I ever met who had been vegetarian and vegan for years and has stuck to it very very well. Of course he could eat better these days but the concept is there. And he was so supportive and positive about it which is more than I can say about a lot of my mates. So I must persist.

If only I had some electric Raw Food bracelet that zapped me every time I ate cooked. That way I would definitely quit. Better still, if it sent out endorphins whenever I eat cooked- positive reinforcement. Teehee!

Ciao bellas..
xox
m

Thoughts from an Overcooked Mind

2007-03-01T10:10:00.000+08:00

Howdy! Did y'all think I'd disappeared into a sea of Cooked Food?

Well, you'd be partially right.

I've been eating one cooked thing a day, of varying amounts. I recently was craving noodles in soup (which is something we eat a lot at our house) laced with small green chilies and soya sauce. So I just went ahead and ate it. No point freaking out over it, I figured.

Honestly, I'm not happy with myself about this lack of discipline. I know that it is really 100% because of my tastebuds wanting cooked food. If I lived on my own it would be much easier. Here I have too easy access to cooked food and I see it at every meal because of my family. Every time I eat cooked, even when I have no guilty feelings about it, I will sure enough get nauseous, or that gross full feeling, or sharp pains in my pancreatic or liver areas. So I know the body is not happy about it at all.

Having the new books is not helping actually- two of them include cooked items with raw, which I think doesn't help to overcome the cravings, and also, most of the recipes are labour and time intensive, which I just don't have the equipment or patience for on normal days. So I'm mostly eating salads with different vegies and trying out different dressings. Yesterday I made a lovely pad thai, which I will be doing again, and I'm still loving just simple olive oil, apple cider vinegar type dressings.

An online friend of mine actually had an argument with me about cooked food. We resolved it but it did make me think about attitudes towards food and what it means to us- because for all cultures it is more than just nutrition. There are emotions and needs and memories attached to food, and it seems silly to most people that anyone would want to miss out on the aromas, art and beauty of cooked food, especially as it is so ingrained in our knowledge of the world.

Also, of course, I realise that some cultures cannot thrive on simply raw diets due to their position, climates, sanitation etc. And I never try to (knowingly.. of course sometimes you inadvertantly express these beliefs without thinking) push my raw beliefs on other people- just like I don't push my spiritual beliefs on others either. You can only do what you do as an example, look inwards to better yourself and if others see that and feel inspired, so be it. But that is not one's purpose of following such a path.

I guess the bottom line is, for me, that it is a diet to be followed if one is to reach a certain spiritual level. Gandhi believed and followed it, including Brahmacharya for most of his life (that is another story!), so did all the Yogis I respect and other spiritual teachers I have read of.

There are some saints etc who are so beyond that realm of being that they can eat anything and it will not affect their progress- it is all about the mind and attachment to food and the senses. If one has moved beyond this, they can eat or drink what they want- and by that stage they are usually eating it as merely matter to feed the physical shell that is the body. For me, as I'm nowhere near that stage, trying to purify my body as much as possible by eating pure food is important, essential. So that my mind too can become clearer and less influenced by the energies in food. It is bad enough that the energies and distractions from the rest of the world have such a strong influence- at least food I can readily control (and yes, this brings up the issue of raw foodism or any type of diet, anorexia, bulimia etc and control- because for a lot of people it is about control).

I knew there would be social issues in regards to this way of eating, and sometimes I still feel shy or intimidated when talking about it. It opens me up and makes me vulnerable to attack. But it's all good for practise. I guess all you can do is do what you think is best for yourself as long as you aren't hurting others, and perhaps when people see the effects they will realise the health benefits. Raw doesn't work for everyone, because some body types simply cannot thrive on it, but it works for me. A friend of mine who is now 60 + but looks much younger has been raw for 25 years (hers was based on blood type- A) and is continuing to do so in India (where it is really quite difficult to do long term). She looks fantastic and gets younger every time I see her, not to mention she is an amazing, loving, giving person who has worked through a lot of difficult times to get where she is. She believes a lot of it is to do with her eating habits.

Anyways.. that's my spiel.

As for the food, each day I will try harder and harder to loosen this attachment to taste. Maybe once I've gotten over that I can continue on to being detached from other things!

xo
M

Caving...

2007-02-23T10:13:00.000+08:00

ARGH! Caving in, caving in.

So I've been surviving all right, but still having one cooked item a day. To my disappointment, especially since it's only because I have no self discipline, not because I actually am hungry or feel I need it. Yesterday, for example, I ate all raw until dinner, where I had a large bowl of seaweed, then some dragonfruit and was feeling light and full.. then I just had to have some vegetable soup. Eek! Slowly, I hope, I will get there. 100%. I'm also trying not to feel too guilty about eating some cooked things, because that can only be poisonous to me too.

I read on some other website that eating 99% raw is not good enough. Apparently Victoria Boutenko (can't get her books here) said that eating 100% raw you get 90% of nutrients, but eating 99% raw (whatever exactly that means) you get only 30% of nutrients, as the cooked food shoves the raw food out of the way really, and the toxic effect of the cooked destroys the raw. Of course I have no idea how people come up with this and as there is no sufficient medical evidence obtained in a randomised blinded way, it's to be taken as merely theory. The website stated that even things like raw brazil nuts and cashews have to be steamed to remove the shells, that agave nectar is never really raw because for it to be sweet it has to be heated, that nutritional yeast is baked and etc etc.. therefore if any of these supposedly raw foods are consumed, it makes it harder to be 100% and not crave cooked items.

What do you guys think about this??

Here's to being a good girl and sticking to my guns.
xo
M

Ashrams and Awesomeness

2007-02-21T11:20:00.000+08:00

Got back from India two days ago.

Must say I was semi- successful in eating raw- whilst at the ashram, I fasted for 40 hours, and the rest of the time ate very little. Mostly water, juices with green powder, coconut, and salad (beetroot/ carrot/ cucumber/ grapes/ turnip topped with ACV + olive oil, not forgetting my seaweed/ sesame seed mix). I had little appetite but lots of energy and kept myself busy when I wasn't sitting on my butt singing Bhajans and meditating. Owie but goodie..

I didn't do so well at a friend's house on the last day- Indian generosity comes in the form of Love and Food! So I just went all out and ate vegetable biryani, delicious toasted sandwiches with onion, tomato and garam masala (bad white bread, bad), dhal, corn and spinach something-or-other and a delicious salad with the most amazing dressing. I'm sure a lot of it wasn't even vegan but I thought heck, how often do I get to eat Indian food in India (hopefully a lot more from now on)? You gotta indulge now and then :)

Baba, this trip, even said in His Discourse that cows in many countries have meat included in their feed (which I know is true) which means that the milk itself is already contaminated, artificial and unnatural. Not to mention what damage it does to the cows' stomachs! So heck, I gotta stay vegan. Although that in itself is not the only, nor most important reason for me to stay vegan (which I don't find hard in any country but India- where the cows are holy and milk is a blessing, and very much part of their food and culture).

Last night I was ravenous.. went out for dinner with a friend and had a salad with grilled portabellos.. yummy.. as well as some.. GASP baguette.. which was just because it was THERE looking at me with its little eyes and.. bleh I so shouldn't have gone there. Promise, never again. My sister's sour cream and onion Pringles killed me too. But they were gooooood....

83.3kg. Wow. I didn't think I'd get down to that. But now am pretty much aiming to get to 75kg and stay there.. but more importantly, stay fit, and keep up with muscle toning and strength so my bones stay healthy!

Gotta get back into my raw books, read more and be more creative... or maybe just keep it simple and ask myself every day what my body wants and needs.

Off to the supermarket to stock up on supplies. There is nothing for me at home (we are surrounded by chinese new year food and cookies right now.. eep!).

xo
M

Le Sigh

2007-02-13T11:07:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I had a really bloated abdomen, and felt pretty darned gross overall. Immediate punishment for the other night's random eating. Woops!

Tonight we are off to India. I am hoping to be 100% whilst at the ashram, which proved hard last time. There will be no juicing, although I can get my hands on fresh coconut juice. All the other stuff there is pretty much sweetened. I'm going to bring along some goji, nuts and also probably my green barley powder to add to water or perhaps coconut juice.

I've been pretty low on energy lately and I think it's because I've been eating erratically and badly, allowing myself too many fleeting pleasures of taste. Such as lunch today, I'm having a bit of soup (from last night, which is usually a total no- no- I don't think one should eat or drink anything cooked in water more than 4 hours before) and a bit of rice (uh oh). I just feel like it. Damn it! What is going on with me!

I've also noticed (Please don't read if you are grossed out by anything medical!) that I've had some bleeding when I go to the bathroom, to put it least medically.. haha.. which I haven't had in many many years, and only really started up again now that I'm mixing my food. I have no idea what the cause is or why it's come up again.. it remains to be seen eh?

So, wish me luck. Let's hope I get some discipline this trip and come back refreshed and ready to get on with my path back to 100%!

xo
M

Learning more Each Day

2007-02-11T17:08:00.000+08:00

So yes, I have been pretty slack about updating this here blog. I apologise!

I would say I'm eating about 90% raw at the moment, and sticking to steamed vegies or vegie soup when it comes to cooked. There were a few times I went overboard, such as my cousin's 21st where I ate all kind of cooked chinese items.. including that fake meat crap, and on a few occasions, I had rice and noodles too.

Last night I went to do some service work with my friend's Dharma group in KL, and we ended up at some gourmet burger joint called "relish". Bukit Bintang area has really snazzied itself up, even though it is mostly populated by Ang Mohs and try hards and internationl school kids. I can see why- the prices of food are enough to scare anyone off.

The food was actually really quite bad- I had a tofu burger which actually was just bits of grilled tofu (way too soft for a burger), with watery pesto, crappy mushy caramelised onion and the worst whitest ass pita bread that I've eaten in a long time. The fries were so oily it was like drinking lard and the wedges were also super oily and crusted in this horrid batter. Despite this, I still managed to eat everything as I was so hungry, and then I went on to nibble on potatoes in the form of wedges/ fries until I could eat no more. Needless to say, an hour later, I had a raging sharp stomach ache and couldn't wait to get home to bed. Didn't help that we ate at around 10pm. Hmm..

I thought I would go all out as I'd heard the food was good but I certainly ended up wasting calories and also giving my GI unrequired stress. Apologies, dear sir.

I'm still having vegie juice and papaya for breakfast every day, and lunch will always include some kind of raw salad or vegies with a dressing. If I get hungry (which happens a lot now that I'm mixing) I go with the delish Filipino mangoes we've got right now, or some grapes.

I had gone off nuts a bit but I did make a nice walnut based ricotta cheese the other day to go with my salad and fresh cut vegies (pseudo lasagne) and been making lots of seaweed with ginger miso sauce, as mum loves it. Today I made a huge salad at lunch which was dressed with lemon tahini sauce.

I bought three new raw books the other day so that I could feel reinspired. At the moment I've been using "Living Cuisine" by Renee Loux Underkoffler. I also have a Gabrielle Chavez book and a Rita Romano book. I look forward to reading them and using some ideas in my cooking. Although I must say simple is best these days.

My sister sent me some information about Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition so been reading up on that and some studies related to it (which often are related to raw foods) but I think it's a bit crazy and overboard, to have to obsess about calories all the time. I think when eating raw vegan you ultimately are restricting calories in the end, and trying to have optimal nutrition so hey, at least you don't get as hungry as people do on the CRON diet if you stick to 100% raw.

I'm so happy about how the whole raw food thing has inspired me to know more about nutrition, to realise my addiction to cooked food (both on physical and emotional levels) and to also explore the importance of good eating in relation to spirituality. I have also been reading scientific papers on raw food and other diets, and feel that it is a real blessing to have both my medical background, a spiritual path and the ability to choose what I want to eat with no real pressure from anyone. I am really damn lucky.

Anyways.. that's my spiel for today.
xo
M

Falling....

2007-02-03T11:06:00.000+08:00

I told myself, when I started out raw, that I would stick to be it and be diligent. I read testimonies from people of all sorts, who said they had found it difficult the first year not to fall off the wagon, and I thought, I have the discipline, I will be able to be 100%. BUT I was wrong, as you all can see from previous posts.

The last few days have been disastrous! And despite my body giving me all the warning signs, I have still managed to eat cooked on many occasions. One day I had no raw at all!! The cause of this is that a few friends are visiting and staying with us.. so I've been the host and taking them around town.. and in Malaysia, eating is a national pasttime. So I have joined in the fun, gorging on roti canai and dhal, rice, noodles and other assorted goodies. I have tried to be less crazy that I could have been though.

I was punished the other night by severe abdominal pain and strange bowel motions, not to mention feeling kind of crap overall. This is what I get for being a naughty girl!

I'm slowly getting back to 100%.. the trick is to not socialise, and stay at home. Haha! That way the only cooked I eat is steamed tofu.

Today, I'm having salad for lunch with lots of munchies in it and beautiful avocado and I'm definitely sticking to uncooked for dinner too.

Forgive me, oh digestive tract!
xo
M

Into Temptation

2007-01-29T10:30:00.000+08:00

Yeah, I suck.
I could have easily been 100% raw this weekend in Sydney but I gave in to travel temptation... :P

It started on the upgraded business class seat on Austrian Air .. and ended in the cramped economy class seat on the way back.

My dad's old friend took us to Otto on the wharf on Fri night and I caved in, eating bread (which was so amazing there), and having a handmade pasta with mushrooms, as well as a beautiful salad with rocket, pear, pine nuts and a delicious dressing. Also had mango and coconut sorbet with lychees and fresh mango. Afterwards I felt really really full and wished I had just had the salad.. woops! But never mind, it was a taste extravaganza and worth it.

Saturday was entirely raw which was great.. fruit for breakfast and lunch.. and at dinner, the chef made the most amazing fantastic raw dishes for me! I truly expected a salad, and so did my cousin Melissa (who was getting married)- and we were both surprised when a four course meal was served. I have to document it, it was that good...

1) Thinly sliced mushrooms, asparagus and grapefruit with olive oil dressing.. they brought vinegar based dressing too but said that they weren't sure if I'd have it because it's not raw! Now, that is impressive, and showed the chef either knows more about raw than I thought or took it on as a challenge!

2) Different types of wonderfully fresh tomatoes with basil pesto and different basil leaves, drizzled with olive oil.

3) Main dish of beetroot and carrot noodles (I WANT his mandoline) on a bed of avocado and chopped tomato, and baby salad leaves with oil dressing (I think walnut probably). This was so delicious and well marinated, and very filling.

4) An extra dish of cherry tomatoes, herbs and sliced cucumber.

5) Fruit beautifully laid out, and in many varieties!

So I was very well looked after that night.. Thanks Melissa!!!

Sunday was hopeless.. it started off great with a Brazilian breakfast in Bondi (acai fruit blended with bananas, guarana syrup and unfortunately, frozen yoghurt.. :P I didn't realise until afterwards) eaten on the beach surrounded by topless girls! Haha I had no idea Bondi was a topless beach. Then I caved in and had Indian with my good friend because she raved about the food so much... Chaat, Dosai and she had Uttapam. I felt totally sick afterwards and despite a long walk, had to put up with gas for the entire trip home (was bad on the plane!).

Ate crap pasta on the plane and some bread.. all very bad ideas. Austrian air doesn't have raw meals but I guess I should have stuck to salad and fruit.

Well, now that I'm home, I've vowed to go 100% because all this faffing around is making my body feel weird. And I'm going to start exercising properly again too.

That said, I'm going to Singapore tomorrow. Hmm.. And hanging out with total foodie friends from Melbourne.

Will Power, Miin, Will Power.

xo
M

Australians All Let Us Rejoice!

2007-01-25T22:07:00.000+08:00

So I lied. I didn't write "tomoz".

Went out for Korean last night and was highly unsuccessful in the raw stakes.. unless you count the kimchi. I had fried (!) glass noodles with vegies.. mostly to make everyone else happy because as it was, they were already fretting over me not eating enough as they scoffed their barbecued meats and seafood! But I felt fine and heck, I'm not going to be totally anal about it (as you guys already worked out probably!).

Have been eating all raw at home though.. mmm... I am loving my crunchy salads with Jicama, Beetroot, Cucumber and Carrots seasoned nicely with a citrusy sauce. Yum!

I need to do more juicing and smoothie making, I've kind of got slack with it and I'm also very lazy at eating nuts or including them in my uncooking. Don't know why, just not so into them right now.

Am off to Sydney tomorrow for my cousin's wedding on Saturday, she requested a raw vegan meal for me but seeing as the Top Chef is catering, I might just get salad- i.e. he'll be too busy worrying about his oysters and duck to think about anything creative. But perhaps I'll be surprised. Haven't been to Sydney for yonks and never had good impressions of it but hopefully this short trip (back on Sunday night) will prove me wrong. The weather is going to be SMASHINGLY good and I'm wearing vintage! Yay!

Hope y'all have a fabulous Australia Day Weekend! And for those of you not of the Australian persuasion.. you enjoy it too :) Hehe.. go wave an Aussie flag or something. Or just drink beer, it's our national sport.

Much Love
xo
M

(Elvis, I'll be sure to watch what the Kangas are eating.. But maybe not the seagulls.. :) )

Chompy Chomp Chomp

2007-01-22T20:22:00.000+08:00

So today wasn't such a crash hot day for Raw Power!

Usual juice in the morning, with Papaya, and nothing until lunch which involved more grilled tofu with very little sauce and a big salad with cucumber, apple, lettuce, celery and tomatoes, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

I also sneaked in a few crisps. Bad me. Haha!

Managed to FINALLY get in some exercise today on the treadmill, sit ups etc.. but had to miss out on yoga because of stuff at home. Ah well, I'll get there again soon, hopefully Wednesday.

Dinner is going to be Seaweed Salad (with corn, cucumber and avocado, seasoned with apple cider vinegar, soya sauce, olive oil and sesame seeds/ dulse), with a delicious Beetroot/ Pineapple/ Mint Juice (so goood) and a plate of steamed Kai Lan (Chinese Broccoli). Why the cooked? Well, I feel like it. I'm not going to stress too much about being 100% .. I'll get there slowly.

See youse tomoz!
XOX
m

Back!

2007-01-21T15:26:00.000+08:00

So, I'm back from India. It was a short but wonderful trip, during which all kinds of craziness happened. I cannot wait to go back in February, and I'm really excited about where I'm headed this year, spiritually and physically.

As for food.. the Ashram (Prashanti Nilayam) has three canteens. North Indian, South Indian and Western. For breakfast on all 4 days, we had South Indian food which consists of Dosa, Idli, other fried flour based stuff, Uppama and sometimes Dhal or Assam. So, a lot of cooked carbohydrates! Not a fruit or green vegie in sight, but I figured that I'd just allow myself this pleasure.

Lunchtime was always at the Western Canteen and I was most pleased, nay, overjoyed to see the inclusion of home made sprouts!! I would have two servings of them along with two servings of salad (spinach, rucola, carrot, turnip, cucumber, gorgeous red sweet tomatoes so rare elsewhere these days and red onion- all grown on site) and a lovely olive oil/ herb based dressing. The sprouts were always fresh and amazing- including peanut sprouts which I actually ended up liking!

I did eat a bit of cooked whilst there because I get really hungry in India (longer days, messed up time, more physical work- seva in the kitchen, long hours sitting in darshan..).. I think I had rice during one meal and a bit of pasta at another, and also a spinach pie (non vegan!) and tofu. I hope that they gradually become vegan there but I think realistically India has a love affair with milk.. and they do treat their cows very well I must say. I resisted drinking lassi though, despite how much I adore it.

Dinner time was the same kind of deal. I do hope they also make the food there healthier as there is usually too much oil and cheese (the canteen is mainly run by Italian ladies).. not enough really fresh food or lightly cooked vegies. When I used to serve there on previous trips, people did use to complain that there wasn't any plain food.. but at least the salads and sprouts are a great new addition. Hmm.. now all we need is a juice bar with lots of greens... hehehe!

Was also snacking on raw nuts and goji berries that I brought with me.

I also heard there is an organic farm in Puttaparthi now, will have to check it out next trip.

Now that I'm back, I've gone back into raw.. I slept through lunch yesterday (we took the red eye flight) and dinner was seaweed salad with lots of vegies and a miso/ sesame oil sauce. I did eat a plate of grilled tofu with garlic, just because. Yes, no reason.

This morning I had papaya and green juice.. which felt so good going down. I missed it! Lunch was a delish salad which you must all try:

Finely slice Japanese cucumber, Seng Kuang (jicama), beetroot and either unripe or ripe mango (I prefer ripe Philippine mango) and chop up some pineapple.
Then dress with olive oil and coconut oil, mix together in bowl.
In a separate bowl, add fresh mint, lime juice, and a touch of apple cider vinegar, as well as some sliced fresh chili padi (just a smidge). Mix together. Do NOT add salt. It's totally not needed.
Serve Salad on plate and pour Mint/ Lime sauce over each serving. Sprinkle Sesame Seed/ Seaweed mixture on top.
Eat!

It's both delicious and delivers a lot of nutrition. That is always the aim when eating raw, to ensure that you use the ingredients to their fullest taste capacity but also add things that might seem strange to ensure you are getting some much needed vitamins etc.

I'm going to try to be 100% at least for a while now because I did feel a lot better than when mixing. I'm going to Sydney on the weekend and some friends might come to visit me in KL so we'll see how it goes! Hehehe..

xo
M

india

2007-01-16T11:37:00.000+08:00

yesterday was salad day! i made a yummy pesto with pinenuts, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and pepper, which became a salad dressing. at night i had the rest of the pesto with celery, carrots, cucumber, french beans and tomatoes.. mmmm..
i did sneak in a noodle from my sister's lunch, and a piece of tofu from my dad's dinner.. but hopefully the cravings will be over soon.
i've packed my goji berries and nuts for india.. let's see if i can resist indian food when i'm over there!!!
xo
m

short and sweet

2007-01-15T09:35:00.000+08:00

i was naughty yesterday.
i ended up having laksa for lunch.
but dinner was salad (as well as despair, but let's not go into that) with greens, avocado, nectarines, mushrooms, cucumber and cherry tomatoes, topped with olive oil/ apple cider vinegar/ bragg's amino/ pepper/ lemon dressing and some nutritional yeast mixed with basil. mmmm...

this morning i was back to green juice and papaya for breakfast, and i'm going to stick to it as much as possible. india will be interesting raw... :P
xo
m

honesty.. is hardly ever heard!

2007-01-14T09:28:00.000+08:00

honestly, friends, i fell off the raw wagon BIG TIME whilst back in Melbourne for a brief visit.
it was like falling in love with the wrong person even though you know it will bring you pain! but you do it again anyway...

the first couple of days were fine, i managed to eat lots of fruit, go to numerous juice bars (which have surprisingly few all- vegetable drinks) and eat salad/ seaweed, and there were some meals throughout the trip where I ate all raw. however, as I was eating out most of the time, I usually had some raw vegies mixed with cooked, and i did eat some noodles, rice and once, even bread! I felt really full and sometimes a bit gross after these meals but I was too happy seeing my friends to be too bothered by it.

i did manage to buy two big bags of tibetan organic goji berries (YAY) and try goji berry juice at my 2nd fave restaurant, the vegie bar (where they do a MEAN cleansing vegie super juice with spinach, beetroot, carrot and ginger). also found some stevia and different agave from what I can get in KL- overall though, I think KL does have a better selection of raw friendly organics such as seaweed and nuts. in Perth, i also found some AMAZING sprouts at the supermarket- readily sprouted chickpeas, lentils, mung beans, sunflower seeds etc - i wish i'd bought some to take home with me.

now that i'm home, it's time to get back to 100% as much as possible, although i'm going to india on tuesday for a few days, where I may or may not be able to be 100% raw.. depends on what's going on at the ashram. I will likely be doing the cooking again! hehehe...

this morning i'm having nectarine (from Oz)/ banana/ mango (from the Philippines)/ agave/ Cherry (from Oz) juice - well, blended together- and for lunch I will probably do something with a lot of salad and avocado. or nuts, which I have been sorely missing.

back on track.. :)
xo
M

of mice and men

2006-12-29T21:06:00.000+08:00

One of my online readers reckons I cheat on my "diet" alot. Now I feel guilty. Thanks MOUSE! Mwahahaha..

I think I just have to take it slow or else I will crash and burn. Cravings are hard to be rid of, especially after an entire life of cooked food.

Speaking of which.. I had absolutely no appetite this afternoon- tried to eat my lunch of Seaweed, Shitake, Corn, Tomatoes and Red Cabbage with Soy sauce but barely got through 1/8 of it. Drank a lovely concoction of Banana/ Strawberry/ Agave/ Hazelnut Milk.. it seems I'm much happier with liquids these days.

Dinner.. Finished off what I couldn't eat at lunch, topped with some creamy avocado, and also drank a big jug of Beetroot/ Carrot/ Celery/ Spinach/ Ginger because again not feeling so hungry. But I did eat a few pieces of tofu and now I feel gross. Bleh. See, Mouse, you don't need to make me feel guilty, my body does it already. haha!

Anyways off to Perth then Melbourne tomorrow! Yay! So excited to see my mates. And enjoy some Australian summer.

Ciao Beauties
xo
M

Travels

2006-12-28T11:59:00.000+08:00

You must try...

Bananas
Cinammon
Agave Nectar
Almond Milk

Blended together, cold and delicious as it entices your tongue and slides effortlessly down the back of your throat. The colour itself if delectable, browns speckled with cinammon bits and frothy tops blowing bubbles. Mmm...

Yes this is what I'm drinking right now, along with eating a large bowl of seaweed, cucumber, tomatoes, sprouts and shitake mushroom marinated in soy and olive oil. Sesame seeds atop.

Last night I went out to meet a friend, who I hadn't seen in a long while. I only downed a large glass of the smoothie I had made earlier in the day and ate an apple. I knew there would be nothing to eat but words and smiles.. which was fine. When we arrived at Attic (last minute desparation), we both ordered juices (at a stupid RM15 each); she had bruschetta in lieu of proper dinner and I had a fruit salad which had some interesting tastes. I'm never going back to Attic after spending 50 bucks on just those things. Ridiculous. Afterwards, to escape the bad attempt at jazz vocals that was hurting our ears, we went downstairs to U, a Japanese restaurant with a funny aquarium, where she sipped coffee and I drank, with some disdain, some Japanese Peach out- of- the- can concoction. All that sugar. Eek!

It was lovely to see her, see how we've both changed, the things that have stayed the same. She's about to go "find herself" in London and I wish her only happiness, she needs this time to herself, as I do for me. I totally understand.

Anyways, on Saturday my entire family and I are off to Perth, and then I'm going on to Melbourne to sort some things out and catch up with friends, whom I miss very much. I can't wait!! Should be a great trip. I always spend New Years with my family (unless I have to work) and that's the way I like it. Quiet, Love, Peace. As much as possible.

Not sure how I'll go with Raw in the next few weeks but I will do my very best. Unless I'm out for lunch or dinner with someone who really wouldn't get it, I'm sticking to my guns.

xo
M

Get in Line!

2006-12-26T12:52:00.000+08:00

So much for discipline...!
Last night for dinner I was so full from lunch which had finished hours before, that all I could stomach was a big few glasses of smoothie (papaya, pineapple, banana, coconut juice + milk, almond milk, agave) which filled me up to the point of falling over.. eek! Didn't feel so great after that, all bloated. Doesn't help that I started my period on the 24th (for some reason, my cycle has shortened just since starting raw.. hmm).. bleh.

Today for brekky I had Papaya, as well as Beetroot/ carrot/ spinach juice. Always refreshing.

Lunch: Big salad with mixed leaves, basil, rocket, cucumber, tomatoes, sprouts (found some Aussie sprouts- though not organic- including lentil, sunflower etc etc) and topped off with the leftover cold roasted vegies (ok ok so that's not great but I hate seeing food wasted)- just some purple sweet potato (the first carbs I have really eaten in ages), beetroot, garlic, onion and pumpkin. Now am really full.

My sister has now started eating only salad and soup at dinner which is a good start, I just get worried that she will start eating crap later in the evening because it isn't sufficient. But we'll see. Food for her, like it was for me, is a crutch, and is comforting and is sometimes the only thing we feel we can control (and I don't deny a bit of the raw thing has control issues in it). So it's hard to get rid of old habits... but I think it's a start. We all want to be healthy and do things to help us be healthy, often we just aren't sure how to go about it and don't have enough personal motivation or others around us to push us forward.

Dinner will likely involve seaweed.. because I haven't eaten it for a while. I have to start thinking up some new recipes involving a different variety of vegies!

xo
M

the season of eating

2006-12-25T14:43:00.000+08:00

merry christmas to everyone!
even though i'm not technically of any religious following, i do believe that Jesus was a saint and if i could be even slightly more like Him, i'd be doing very very well.

lately i've just been eating large salads with walnut pesto dressing and lots of different types of vegetables. and honestly, last night i was so not in the mood for food that i just ate a scrumptious bowl of strawberries, blueberries, passionfruit and old banana pudding. i think my loss of appetite is because i'm getting bored with raw foods (just a stage!) or the selection of raw at least.. but i also realise that a lot of why i used to eat tons of cooked food at a meal was NOT because i was hungry but because it tasted cooked, it was comforting... but i didn't need as much as i used to eat. i still have been stealing a cooked vegie or piece of tofu from other people's plates, but again, i know in me that it is for TASTE and not for nutrition. so slowly the discipline will return.

having said that! i made most of christmas lunch today- a big casserole dish of roasted vegies slathered in olive oil and fresh herbs.. to accompany a "fake" soy turkey, complete with head and crispy beancurd skin! we had steamed green beans and mushrooms too, cooked generously in rosemary and oil, peppered and soya sauced. i made myself a salad of greens, sprouts, tomatoes and avocado but was coerced to eat some of what i had cooked- and i did.. but now i am terribly, horribly full. i don't like this feeling at all! and again, i ate past the hunger point because it all tasted so yummy! but i'm not feeling annoyed about it, it was lovely to share a meal with everyone. we also had pina coladas (coconut juice, coconut milk, almond milk, fresh pineapple, passionfruit and lime juice) which were amazing!

last night i succumbed and ate durian.. it was sweet, custardy and brilliant- and i couldn't barely smell it (must be too used to it). again, i overdid it because it tasted so good, and i haven't eaten it in years. the heatiness of the durian was balanced out by some mouthfuls of mangosteen, and some water drunk from the spiky durian shells. but i don't think i'll be gorging myself like this for a while!

tonight it's just salad. or water. that's how full i am!

xo
m

Mushrooms Galore

2006-12-23T12:16:00.000+08:00

Yes, it's been mushrooms galore, people!
The thing I love about Raw is that often I have no idea what I'm going to eat. I just think- a simple salad. But I pull all the ingredients out and it often comes to me what I can do to make it a little interesting. So for lunch yesterday I had what you see in Pic 1... Corn, Sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, pepper, paprika, sesame seeds all mixed together with olive oil and poured on top of mini portabellos, eaten with some fresh salad. So good!

At dinner time I had some seaweed salad with that dressing I love so much and a huge bowl of fruit- Australian Mango, Strawberries, Blueberries and Orange- in the car. Went to visit my sister who devoured the rest of my seaweed salad. We had some rambutans as well. I know most people would think I'm crazy because we have really easy access to durians here, but I'm so not in the mode for it at the moment. I've eaten them all my life and unless it's like a D24 (best grade) I'm not going to eat them! Haha.. have to wait a few weeks when the season is at its peak.

I ate some stewed sunflower seeds during the day too which was bad but anyway, slowly...

I have been increasingly hungry lately and I think it's because I started eating some cooked food. I gotta stop that!

Today I had papaya for brekkie and beetroot juice (replacing the starfruit which I drink later in the day, as per mum).

Lunch is that glorious mess you see in the last two piccies.. three huge portabellos marinated overnight in olive oil, fresh rosemary/ thyme/ sage/ tarragon and garlic. Some of the day I put it outside and then overnight it went in the fridge (too humid here!). They taste amazing and soft, and none of that mushroomy raw taste is there anymore. Underneath is a lovely mixed salad which includes rocket leaves and cherry tomatoes, with a bit of dressing (as I made salad for mum too and hers needed dressing). Tasty! However, maybe a bit oily.

Last night bought my RM15 each avocados (eek!) and some of Bragg's Amino Acids to see what difference that makes. I can't wait till the avo is ripe for the eating, though I am restricting the intake of that glorious fruit, due to the high fat content, and addictive, heavy quality.

I'm soaking walnuts and in about an hour I'll make some pesto/ cheese for eating probably tomorrow or Christmas day. I'm also going to make almond milk and hazelnut milk because I'm in charge of drinks for our Christmas lunch on Monday (just the family). I think they are having a Vege Turkey (Beancurd skin stuffed with vegies fashioned to look like a dead bird.. hmm).

Oh yes.. Green Juice today: Dragonleaf (whatever that is!), Wheatgrass, Broccoli, Spinach, Choy Sum, Kai Lan, Bok Choy, Barley Grass Powder, Starfruit and some Agave because honestly it tasted pretty bad. Or just overly green! But so good for me! Hehe

xo
m

just do it!

2006-12-22T10:26:00.000+08:00

that's it!
miin, i've had enough.
enough of your slackness with the rawness.
get your ass into gear, girlfriend!

ok so yes, i've been a) slack with blogging and b) slack with Raw. as in i eat raw everything until dinner, where i will also (along with the raw meal) have a small plate of cooked vegies. and you know why this is redunkulous? it's not even because i'm hungry, it's because i'm craving the taste of food, and my eyes are seeing what my family is eating. it's all because of lack of discipline. so it must stop. i also have eaten the remainder of the fried potato chips from the trip because i was bored and got munchies- again, could be easily rectified by eating some nuts or drinking some water or a green juice. but i got lazy.

so.. back into it. starting today.

the last few meals have been rather unremarkable, but have consisted of assorted salad leaves, sundried tomatoes, tomatoes, corn, cucumber, carrot and mini portabello mushies. with some lovely dressings always including apple cider vinegar. i made a macadamia/ basil pesto which i wasn't such a big fan of, mainly because the consistency was wrong, but i mixed it with some oil and vinegar to make it a yummy creamy dressing the next day.

i'm going to make some macadamia milk too. just that they are so expensive here! 20 ringgit per small packet- and only one shop stocks them. so i'm a bit protective of them. i have to start soaking nuts too.. i just get lazy and eat them without the soak which can't be that great. better than junk though!

today i think i'll make something with the walnuts in the fridge since they are relatively short soak. and have some seaweed tonight.

updateration later! cross your fingers for me..

xo
m

ps mawintheraw is no longer running! argh :( am sad, judy! i know she's very busy but i love reading her blogs and seeing her great pics.. but i guess the recipes will always be up there for future use. have a wonderful raw life, judy and family!
pps rawreform.blogspot.com- go angela!

Back From Beijing

2006-12-19T17:51:00.000+08:00

Yeah it was a short trip :P

Had to eat one entirely cooked meal, with not a raw condiment in sight! We had to drive about 4 hours out of Beijing so there wasn’t much choice, and apparently this restaurant (in the middle of the highway with barely any water and a full on outhouse!) is famous for their handmade noodles. Anyway, we were starving having gone straight from an overnight flight to the car for the trip. So after having only eaten fruit on the plane (the Raw Vegetarian fare on MAS is somewhat unimaginative), I had bean noodles with celery, some steamed tofu with soy sauce and shredded beancurd with cabbage (cold dish). We also each had a small bowl of the famous noodles which weren’t so great actually- but it was freezing out (-10 deg C) so anything hot was good. The food was all right and luckily I didn’t get any nausea.

Later on I munched on some raw nuts I had brought and also some home mae chips (eek!), mainly out of necessity. When we got home to my auntie’s place after total of 10 hours driving (argh), I just had a big bowl of fruit (oranges, fuji apples, grapes) which was wonderful, and then off to bed. Glad to say I much preferred my dinner to my mum’s bowl of noodles. Somehow it seemed way too much!

In the morning, I had some more fruit (yellow pears) and when on the plane, just some salad, but wasn’t overly hungry. On arriving back in KL, I had some papaya and then later a small bowl of seaweed with miso dressing and sweetcorn, which was more than adequate.

I had made the dressing the night before we left and it was a big hit with everyone.. white miso/ agave/ lime/ soy sauce/ sesame oil and sesame seeds, with some dulse. It was exactly what I had wanted, I adjusted the recipe from Raw Food Real World. Mmm.. It will surely be a staple! I had a bit of cooked food that night too, just some very lightly cooked plain french beans and carrots, but I think I'm going 100% again from tomorrow. Just feels better.

Anyways, had very little sleep last two days so off to bed... :)
xo
M

Off to China

2006-12-17T15:48:00.000+08:00

So am going to China tonight for a short trip, to visit relatives. I most likely will be falling off the Raw wagon a little- i.e. eat more than a small plate of cooked per day! Will probably have to eat full cooked meals because it's winter (3 degrees celsius), I haven't been to such a cold climate for over 10 years and I'm going to rural areas. See how I go though, perhaps I'll be lucky. I know I should be stricter about it but I have to be practical and I don't want to fully inconvenience my mother who I'm travelling with. If I was going on my own, it would be different. I've brought some nuts with me though.. hehehe.. and perhaps I'll be able to find some Organic Goji berries whilst I'm there! Yay!

Today for Lunch I had Organic Apple/ Mung Bean Sprout/ Cucumber and Spinach salad with some vegie soy mayonnaise, extra apple cider vinegar and olive oil. So Soy mayo is not raw, as far as I know, but I didn't have an avocado to creamy up the dressing. :P I think I'm starting to get slack *Beats Self*. It was yummy though.. Why does pepper always make everything taste better??

Juiced myself up with some lovely vegie green juice again, always good for ya, and made sure everyone in the family got a glass of it.

Dinner will likely be something very simple and salady, and involve seaweed!

So won't be writing for a few days!
Love,
Miin

another spiel

2006-12-17T10:19:00.000+08:00

Sorry if my posts have been a little flat lately, just not feeling very up to writing creatively. And usually if I do, it's up at my myspace page anyway..

Dinner last night was lettuce, mint and some lovely 'pickle' of cucumber, onions and pineapple (actually made to accompany the vegetarian rendang everyone else was having for dinner). I also had a bowl of seaweed with some apple cider vinegar.

Confession Time- I did have two pieces of the rendang, and also had some sunflower seeds (but the stewed, salted kind)- I'm not doing so well with resisting taste temptations. I'm totally fine at breakfast and lunch and for snacks, but I think because we as a family eat dinner together I get visually tempted by their food. And because someone inevitably doesn't finish their vegies or something I end up eating them. Granted, it's always just a tiny plate of beans, or some tofu/ soy based thing (as we eat vego at home) but I'm not getting to worked up about it. I'll get to 100% raw if I feel I should, most days I am anyway.

But I was reading some stuff by Tom Billings who was fruitarian, vegan, raw vegan, and now lacto- vegetarian but mostly raw, and he had some interesting things to say about the dogma and fanaticism in the raw movement and how the "diet gurus" are often misguided. And I did think about the psychology of these so called "extreme lifestyles" before I started doing it and do maintain that a lot of people use it as a cover for eating disorders or control issues in their life. I don't think any lifestyle that eventually leads to emaciation, malnutrition and severe deficiencies is a good idea. All in moderation.

So for now, I will do my best to eat as much raw as possible and if I do happen to eat some cooked, oh well. The whole thing about eating raw and cooked meaning your diet is not as effective (due to acid production) is .. well.. rubbish if you ask me. I do question a lot of the theory behind the raw movement especially since the original sources are dubious and old. As always, we get passionate about new things and when the euphoria wears off, you see the picture a lot clearer. Plus if your constitution (this is where Ayurveda and Chinese Med come in) is very "cold" by nature, eating 100% raw is a wholly bad idea, unless you are already at a high spiritual level and have balanced yourself out physically and mentally- because your digestive fire is lessened and "weakened", leaving very little food digested. I guess this correlates to your pH (in Western speak).

I know I am repeating myself but this lifestyle is NOT for everyone, so don't get sucked in by the dogma and the enchanting promises of eternal youth and health- listen to your body. Also remember that the people who have the most dramatic results usually had a pretty bad lifestyle and diet before they started- eating very standard diets of crap, or very overweight, not exercising, highly stressed or already very sick e.g. with cancer. So if you don't lose 10kg straight off the bat, or your skin doesn't start glowing, etc, it may just mean you were pretty healthy before anyway (I mean, I was eating mostly non processed vegan food before this and vegetarian for many years before so.. I don't think I will see huge changes). And the other side of it is, some people will just take longer to see benefits.

If you do well for 6 weeks and you want to keep going, do it, but when you start to notice anything worrying, don't just attribute it to detox- reassess what you're actually eating and make changes. Cooked if necessary. And see a doctor if you're really sick (not that I totally trust doctors even though I am one myself, but sometimes it has to be done!) instead of saying it's all about the body getting rid of toxins. Read up and study about raw food, but be analytical and don't get too easily influenced. Keep an open mind and take responsibility for your knowledge, don't hand it over to other people.

Anyways, blah!
Later ...
xo
m

guess who's coming to dinner?

2006-12-16T09:44:00.000+08:00

So dinner last night was rather tasty, although my mother was somewhat dismayed that I was going to eat raw mushrooms (toxins, pesticides etc)- unfortunately couldn't find any organic portabellos so had to risk it. I mean soaking it in vinegar is a partial solution but then it tastes gross!

Anyway, the sun cooked mushies tasted divine with a bit of chili sauce and lime. They weren't at "cooked" as I would have hoped as it wasn't super sunny but I'll definitely be trying it again. I also had a lovely salad with mixed lettuce, peeled grapes (not organic) and my last passionfruit drizzled on top with some apple cider vinegar. What a great meal!

My sister wanted me to go out for dinner with her and her friends but I figured I'd have nothing to eat again, so I declined. Stayed at home and tried in vain to finish watching "Jewel in the Palace" but it drags so much towards the end, it should be called "The Neverending Debacle of Jang Geum". Argh!! On the last disc though.. phew!

Camille... It's only because I have so much free time at the moment that I update regularly. When I actually get a life I don't think this will see new posts for months! Haha... :) Thanks for your readership though. I'll have to refine my "cooking" before I invite you over for dinner!

Lunchies later.. :)
xo
m

Straight Forward

2006-12-15T14:01:00.000+08:00

I Love Pictures. The ridiculous thing is I used to do a lot of photography and wasn't completely bad at it, but the pics on this block are pretty much the only photography I've done in years! EEP!

So..
Breakfast: Same old!

Lunch: Above... Salad (unfortunately not organic), with portobello mushroom skins marinated in olive oil, garlic, rosemary, cayenne. They actually taste really good this way and I'm thinking about how I could make the skins into some kind of noodle.. hmm...

Also had a Lovely Avocado/ Sprout/ Corn/ tamari/ Garlic mixture on top of tomatoes and cucumber. Mmm. Trying to cut down on too much avocado though.. hehehe it's sooo good.

Juice: Parsley, Choy Sum, Spinach, Wheatgrass, Carrot and Banana Juice. Not the best tasting thing in the world but so good for me. Yay!

xo
m

what to eat...

2006-12-14T16:41:00.000+08:00

yes it has somehow gotten to that point! but! i think i've managed to rectify it by just getting more creative when i'm feeling bored or being happy with eating the same things when i'm not.

last night for dinner, i had run out of fresh food, so instead had some papaya and stole a bit of cooked (gasp!) food from my sister- tofu and eggplant. after which i proceeded to be sick again. now i know you may be thinking, 'is it psychological?' and i cannot completely rule that out, but i maintain that i felt no guilt in eating the cooked food. but for some reason it always makes me nauseous. so i should really learn my lesson... eep! i also had some grapes.

breakfast was the same thing as always.

lunch.. i really had very few ingredients so dashed out to the shops to get some produce. i ended up making a yummy salad with mixed salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and marinated mushrooms (done with yeast, cayenne, olive oil, pepper and a bit of salt, sat in the sun for a little while), topped with a delish lime/ safflower oil/ pepper dressing. hit the spot!

i bought some portabellos so i'm going to marinate them, put them in plastic and sit them outside to "cook" as i saw judy do on her blog. what a great idea! and in the direct sun here, it won't take that long (but i don't have a trampoline! :P ). we'll see how that goes.

dinner involved an avocado, sweetcorn, mung beans, tamari, cayenne, black pepper, chopped tomatoes and the insides of a portabello, mixed together and slathered over a marinated portobello 'cup'. with salad. mmm.. goood.. i again stole some cooked food.. my fave 4 angle beans in sauce.. but this MUST stop!!

i'm feeling kind of sad at the moment, and really really missing my friends and lifestyle in melbourne. but i get this every once in a while, i'm sure it'll pass.

xo
m

Slithery Things

2006-12-13T10:04:00.000+08:00

Woops no postage love yesterday. *Smack*

Breakfast: Carrot Juice, Papaya and Lime. I am going to start having green smoothies in the morning!

Lunch: Leftover Marinated Mushrooms and Capsicum, with Salad topped with Leftover Toona and Chili Padi. MMMMM so goooooddd...

Juice: Beetroot/ Carrot/ Parsley/ Spinach/ Ginger/ Celery

Dinner: Seaweed (arame, wakame and kombu) with Organic Avocado (so creamy!), cucumber, sweetcorn and ginger spiced apple cider vinegar. Topped with sesame seeds. Mmm.

Was going to eat cauliflower as I have a beautiful purple one from the organic shop but it was home to several big fat caterpillars! I freaked out at first but then I got them all out, even the baby ones, and put them in the garden. I'm so silly to be scared of bugs.. hahaha.. So the cauliflower had to soak in hardcore vinegar overnight before I'm willing to eat it. I showed everyone the bugs and they were all "EW" and "gross" and "that was on the vegies?" Haha my answer was.. they are ALWAYS on your vegies, but they either get washed out or killed with pesticide. So nothing to be afraid of really. But will mention it to the shop so they are a little more careful- not everyone will be so forgiving about big huge fat slithery things in their vegetables.

Also had some grapes and sunflower seeds as a snack. Have to get out of the habit of eating fruit after meals- it's part of our culture really!- because I think it's not such a good idea to eat fruit at night either.

This morning's breakfast was the same, and just made lunch so there's a photo included up there ^^ Sushi rolls with avocado, mung bean sprouts, seaweed mixed together with a little apple cider, then applied to nori with some shredded carrot and turnip which was sweetened with agave and peppered, then some frenchbeans, cucumber slices and sprouts. Glorious.

My mum and sis were having laksa for lunch, so I had to steal a piece of tofu. I used to be the laksa freak around here.. but you know, that tofu actually didn't taste so great. My buds are not so convinced anymore.. Haha. I realise that I only want to eat those things because of the taste factor, not the fullness or nutrition factor. It's only because it smells good and reminds me of my youth etc.. which is so not a reason to eat food.

Juice: for everyone today! Beetroot/ carrot/ apple/ ginger/ greens- parsley, spinach, wheatgrass, sunflower sprouts, alfalfa and broccoli sprouts, choy sum, bak choy/ cranberries (for Vit C) and well, that's already soooo much!

Later dahlings..
xo
m

grumpy bum

2006-12-11T13:53:00.000+08:00

i am feeling quite grumpy today.
not that miin's version of grumpy is very grumpy really- most people would still consider grumpy miin to be optimistic and overenthusiastic. but everyone and everything is irritating me for no particular reason. and emotional issues which are always simmering on the surface are threatening to explode and make a big mess.
BIG BREATH!
is it the food?

anyway, feel totally fine today, albeit still a little tired but i think that is because i have to go to bed late and get up early, and it's hard to sleep when the stupid construction site next door wakes you up. argh.

breakfast: papaya, carrot juice and choysum juice.

lunch: seaweed, corn, mung bean sprouts, capsicum, sunflower sprouts dressed with some tamari, apple cider and sesame seeds. wanted avocado but not ripe yet.

juice: beetroot/ ginger/ celery/ pumpkin juice. yes i know, where are the greens! will probably have some green juice later on.

i'm not up for doing anything overly heavy to eat these days, a bit of avocado is usually enough and even though i loved the nut cheese the idea of eating anything that heavy is putting me off at the moment. i have some button mushrooms and capsicum immersed in olive oil, cayenne, pepper and lemon thyme which will likely be eaten tonight with some crispy veg of some sort.. even that might be too heavy!

i think the problem is i'm really craving something carbohydrate- like.. this is why i need a dehydrator. i miss my dear cooked vegies even though i now know i'd probably not be able to eat them without feeling yuck. i haven't even been eating nuts that much as they are kind of gross when you just soak them and can't dry them out.. so i have to resort to nutmilk. haven't started sprouting yet because i don't have the right layout to do it yet.. must organise myself.

weight: 87kg whatever that means.

so yeah, a bit down in the dumps, not much appetite at all and feeling very frustrated (further impounded by home situation). bleh.

will be cheerier tomorrow i promise!
xo
m

OOOO it's still today and i'm feeling a lot better :)
maybe it's because i had a decent dinner...

'toona' (thanks judy!) which is walnuts/ celery/ carrot/ basil/ parsley/ agave/ pepper/ lime juice/ tamari/ dulse and was JOY! i had it with those mushrooms i marinated all day and also some cucumber/ tomato/ lettuce, not forgetting some fresh chilies. mmmm.. goood...

mum still worrying a bit that i'm overdoing it but.. i'm sticking to my guns.
see y'all tomoz!
xo
m

Blech! Breakdown...

2006-12-10T18:48:00.000+08:00

I've noticed that the last few days I've been kinda constipated. I do not EVER have this problem (except the time I was in India... :) ) so I'm not sure what's going on. Am I not eating enough? Am I juicing too much? I used to eat a lot of cooked vegies (well, basically that was all I ate) so maybe it's just an adjustment thing. But I also feel bloated, which is weird, as didn't feel bloated at all during my period recently.

After last night's weird jaw nausea, I was feeling ok, but today have been retching a bit and feeling a bit yucky. Probably I'm freaking myself out mentally too.

I know most Raw Foodists suggest that if you feel sick, don't eat anything, drink lots of water or green juice and wait for it to pass. Especially since I'm only 3 weeks into it. I'm not hungry at all which means I could probably do without dinner tonight, but I've just made some miso soup with carrots, corn and mushies (all things proven to be better digested and more nutritious when cooked). Will have a bit of that and see how it goes. All this experimentation!

I have to try not to get too hung up on this. Or feel defeated. I'm a Scorpio Rooster and I know I'm all about NO compromise and can be extreme, but I think it's healthier if I just go with the flow and don't be all wrong/ right, black/ white with this. The mental emotional side is important too hey!

I also made a horrendous (well, i.e. everyone didn't like it) Kiwi Coconut pie this afternoon (we had no bananas..) which I did eat a bit of.. Maybe that pushed me over the edge. Blech.

Anyways, we'll see how it goes. Remember Miin, NO guilt, NO guilt, stop being extreme.. your body is craving (ha!) cooked carrots right now so just eat them.

xo
Miin

ADD: (definitely a Too Much Information post so don't read further if you are easily grossed out!)

Had the soup and 5 minutes later threw it back up. Hmm, so it wasn't such a good idea! Interestingly, I didn't actually "feel" sick and there was no bile/ acidic taste in my mouth, like people usually have when they vomit. Must be the alkalinizing effect of Raw food? So instead I ate a lovely bowl of papaya with lime juice and some sunflower seeds, and that's staying down fine. My mum got a little worried as she started fretting that going 100% raw was a bit extreme and my gut couldn't take it, but I think it's more likely that I ate a small bit of bread yesterday which triggered everything off. Or possibly something a bit off with the raw food. Whatever it is, I am totally fine now.

Still haven't passed a normal bowel motion though and still bloated.. Hmm.. we'll see how this goes. Back to Raw tomorrow! :)

Alors! Ma Maison C'est Tres Bien, Ma Cherie.

2006-12-10T13:38:00.000+08:00

Dinner last night was interesting to say the least. We went to Ma Maison, a small but well loved French restaurant in KL. Of course, the only think I could eat was the Mixed Garden Vegetable salad. Had to leave off the French dressing, which caused a bit of a ruckus in the kitchen, but all was well. It was yummy actually! Avocado, lettuce, Capsicum, mushrooms, cucumbers and tomatoes in a nice little pile, with garlic. They made fun of me for asking for olive oil. :P I had had a bowl of plain seaweed at home prior to going, and for some reason started to feel really sick and pukey, but nothing came up (ew, TMI again!). Dunno what caused that. It was that kind of funny feeling at my jaw and nausea.. Not Fun.

The other people at dinner had Escargot, Coq de Vin, Soup D'Onion, Roast Lamb with a side of Cheesy Potatoes (my old fave!), Prawn Bisque and Cod Fillet. Of course, dessert was had too- Chocolate Mousse and Creme Caramel. I told everyone I'd try making Judy's Choc Mousse (with secret avocado!) for them soon. Hehe... I had strawberries at dessert which was yum!

However, going out is such an issue because everyone else worries about what you're going to eat, and the waiters think you're insane or on some super massive diet. Doesn't help that I'm considered a huge ogre sized girl in this country, so they really do think you're on some strange weight loss strategy. Argh. Not that I care what people think but the ones you are at dinner with do get a little uncomfortable. Not looking forward to resisting temptation in Melbourne, where I usually go to lovely vegetarian restaurants with friends, and I can actually eat most of it. Last night wasn't hard because there was only one dish I could remotely eat even as a vegan/ vego. Sigh. hehehe...

Missed breakfast this morning.

Lunch: Sweetcorn, Cucumber, Tomato, Sprout salad with garlic and olive oil, splash of apple cider. Hit the spot. Also had the rest of the Hazelnut milk with some Fresh Passionfruit blended in. MMMMmmmm!

Have to say, it's been 3 weeks and I'm loving it, but am a tad worried about energy levels, but I think that is more likely due to not sleeping early enough and not sleeping well. I've been dreaming a lot lately, but overall my sleep quality and energy is not much different from before Raw. So I just have to give it some time. I think filling my head with too much Raw information and fretting about it hasn't helped either.. too many negative thoughts. Plus my mind is still a big muddle of crap which is not going to solve itself immediately either!

Also, the weird thing is, I have very little appetite these days. I don't know if it's because of the raw factor or because I admittedly don't love eating raw food as much as I loved cooked food yet. I do notice that when I ate cooked, I often overate because it was tasty and wasn't aware of when I was full. Habit, mood, taste.. main reasons for having an appetite back then, especially for Carbohydrates. Now I know that eating less is better for health and whenever I get into a mood or bored and I want to eat something, the choice is limited and my tastebuds aren't going nuts so.. I realise that I'm not actually hungry. If that makes sense.

Anyways, onwards!
Thanks Judy for your valuable advice. Everyone go visit mawintheraw.blogspot.com. Best Raw blog I have read so far!! Be Prepared for Hunger though... ;0
xo
m

Guacamole? Holy Moly!

2006-12-09T12:28:00.000+08:00

Breakfast: Papaya, Starfruit juice, Choysum juice and Spirulina

Lunch: Guacamole with Tomatoes, Cucumber and Mung Bean Sprouts. I could only eat very little of this as it was too heavy for me. Obviously my stomach has shrunk or I'm more tuned in to when I get full because usually I can eat about 10 times as much as I did!! Argh! :P

Gave the rest to my sister who proceeded to put it all on bread and eat it. I have taught her nothing!! She was even eating chocolate ice cream at 11:30pm last night. SHAME sis, SHAME!

My brother mentioned he's thinking of going raw but a) I'm not going to prepare all his food for him, he doesn't have time and b) he couldn't even go back to vego and is a fully fledged eat everything omnivore (though he does eat lots of veggies). But I guess I should be supportive. A bit annoyed with him about other stuff right now so maybe I'll be more up for it another day.

Juices: Beetroot/ Ginger/ Spinach/ Parsley/ Wheatgrass/ Pumpkin Juice for everyone! Too much ginger though *cough cough*
Also had some Almond Milk with Agave. Mmm.. refreshing!

I'm going out to dinner with my sis and cousin tonight so I think I might have a bit of salad to eat before I leave, or a fruit smoothie of some sort, and just nibble at dinner. I hope we're having Japanese, at least that way I can have something remotely raw.

xo
m

ps I LOVE MY HAIR! Hehe how totally Narcissistic of me... :P

Thinking...

2006-12-09T09:32:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I Washed My Hair with Flaxseed that was ground and mixed with water, which actually produces a shampoo like consistency. It was a bit weird at first as I'm so used to lather but was not difficult to use. I also put some Lime Juice in afterwards (on the scalp). My hair retained a nice shape after blowdrying, although it did feel a little heavy and oily initially. But this morning, it's soft, very shiny and not oily at all! And didn't stick up all over the place like it usually does with commercial shampoos (even though I use organic products).

I think I'm going to be using this formulation and trying a few different oils for scent with it. Might go with lemons instead though because lime is a bit hardcore, plus I don't want my hair to go brown! It's definitely a better option than applying olive or coconut oil directly as that just feels YUCK!

Still feeling a little low on energy during the days for some reason. Maybe not eating enough of the right thing? Or not enough exercise.. hmm...

Also I have decided to stop reading stuff on the Net about the pros and cons or arguments for and against Raw Veganism. I really have to go with how I feel and take it as it comes, not be too anal about it either. Most of the articles that use studies suggest that some cooked food (e.g. lightly steamed or boiled carrots, tomatoes and corn- ferulic acid is anti cancer and gets absorbed by the body 900% more if the corn is cooked- or vegie soups) is essential. Some recent studies prove that cooking some foods definitely increases their digestibility, uses less digestive enzymes and releases certain essential substances that are less absorbable in the raw form- all overruling the fact that the food's natural enzyme is lost. Science isn't everything but I guess I've been trained to consider it seriously.

The Enzyme Theory, to me, doesn't make much scientific sense because most food enzyme gets knocked out by our own digestive enzymes when they reach the stomach. And there is not much digestion enroute, even by salivary amylase and lots of chewing. Perhaps the "life force" idea makes more sense, even though it is not based in science. However that doesn't mean it isn't Truth. You can't prove that kind of thing in a clinical trial.

Also the idea that there is a set amount of digestive enzymes seems like rubbish, now that I think about it more deeply and remember biochemistry- enzymes are recyclable. You could argue that you are giving your body less work.. but saying that you deplete your enzymes as you age as you only have a certain amount is not proven by ANYTHING! Howell had a pretty weak case actually.

There are other ways of looking at the claims of Raw Foodists too of course. Such as the high energy that they claim to have- this could be due to consuming large amount of fruit which is high in sugar, and gives the illusion of unbounded energy. Plus this leads to people thinking they need less sleep (sugar highs!) which in the end does lead to overall sleep deprivation.

Sure, there are long term raw foodists who really continue to have great effects, but I'm sure a lot of people don't balance properly (just like lots of vegans and vegetarians, and omnivores!) and end up having health problems after a few years. Unfortunately there are no reliable long term studies into Raw Foodism yet. Attributing all negative effects to detox is also dangerous, and a bit of a cultish way to look at things. Saying that after being Raw for a long period you feel sick after eating cooked and it comes out undigested, does not necessarily mean your body is rejecting it- it could be that your digestive enzymes have adapted and are weaker, not able to digest cooked food. Etc.

I think the problem with the movement is that a lot of people disregard science entirely, and choose to believe what suits them; or pick and choose from scientific studies to try and prove their points. It happens in ALL aspects of life, really. You use what you want to believe. Unless you are trained to critically analyse studies, including whether they have sufficient power (numbers of people), if their results are statistically significant, if their methodology is sound etc etc- you tend to pick out the summary or conclusion and use that, rather than considering that the study was done on 5 rats instead of 300 humans.

A lot of the theory that the movement is based on is taken from very old studies which have not been duplicated, and did not have very sound methodology e.g. digestive leukocytosis from a paper in the 1930's, Howell's theories from the 1940's etc.. Some people are fanatical (that applies in many fields!) and I think that people need to be open minded and more inquisitive instead of saying "that sounds logical, therefore it must be true". Or David Wolfe/ Gabriel Cousens said so. NOT good enough if you ask me. You're allowing your education to be put in someone else's hands and relying on them to do the work. Regurgitating the same information that you've read/ heard somewhere without researching it yourself is a problem.

That being said, a lot of the current articles that have been published against Raw Foodism are heavily biased depending on the authors. The "paper" that you can find on the net at beyondvegetarian.com is a thinly veiled attempt at discussing Raw Food myths/ theories, when it fact it is SO obviously biased and the investigators obviously started off highly skeptical of the lifestyle in the first place. You can smell the bias in that paper a million miles away.

The Scientific community is not supportive of 100% Raw for a variety of reasons, and of course one doesn't count conspiracy theories. So you can never be sure if the information you're getting is unblemished.

The bottom line is- you have to go with what feels right to you. Sure, cravings are hard to discern from what you think your body needs, and some discipline is required (a lot in some cases!) but you do have to see how the lifestyle makes you feel. I do believe eating less = longer life (also proved by science, done on rats though!) and that freeing oneself's attachment to food is important. As well as recognising the effects of food on your own body.

For me, the spiritual part of it is essential and I know of many spiritual leaders I respect who condone a diet high in raw food, if not 100% raw. I take this more seriously than any of the scientific fact. And I'm a doctor! Haha!

Right now, I'm going to stick with it, having considered all the information, and see how I go. If on occasion, I need to eat a bit of cooked vegie, then so be it. I'll do my food prayer and not have so much attachment or stress related to eating it- otherwise all that taxing of my mind will overrule the effect of a good diet anyway!

Wow, that was unintentionally long.
xo
m

Food Prayer

Om Brahmapanam Brahma Havihir
Brahmagnau Brahmana Hutam
Brahmaiva Thena Gantavyam
Brahma Karma Samadhina

Aham Vaishwanaro Bhutva
Praninam Deham Asritah
Pranapana Samayuktah
Pachamyanam Chatur Vidham

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Corny!

2006-12-08T11:58:00.000+08:00

So... as promised.. Lunch!
Corn and Asparagus Soup
This is my own recipe.
Serves 2-3 people.

4 Corn Cobs worth of Corn Kernels
1 medium Bunch of Baby Asparagus
1 teaspoon Celtic Sea salt
A splash of Olive Oil
Pepper as needed
Purified water
Hazelnut Milk (for creaminess)
Cherry Tomatoes and Basil Leaves for garnish

Put everything except garnishes into blender.
Blend together, adding water and Hazelnut Milk as required depending on how watery or creamy you want your soup.
Pour out, garnish with Tomatoes and Basil
ENJOY!

Also a lovely little spinach, tomato, mung bean sprout and Baby corn salad, dressed with Olive Oil, pepper.

The Almond Milk is beautiful, isn't it!! I love the taste of the Hazelnut too.. joyous.. Always love Almond milk with a bit of cinnamon and agave.. to heighten the taste. Who needs dairy??

Dinner: Wasn't up for anything fancy, so Raw Nori rolls with Asparagus, French Beans, Mung bean sprouts, Jap cucumber, Sunflower Sprouts, Pickled Ginger, Avocado, Ladies Fingers and Baby corn were dipped in Homemade chili sauce/ tamari/ sesame seed/ dulse sauce with fresh chili padis. Mmmm... Then a couple of grapes.

Went to Body Jam today, still too easy. Too bad Combat is not on at times that I can get to the gym. I just HATE the treadmill so much.. argh.. I know I have to do more cardio though.

xo
m

Raw Cake

2006-12-08T10:48:00.000+08:00

Here's a photo from the first Raw Cake I've ever had, made by my darling brother and sister for my Birthday (the day of the RAW Awakening). And another of me grinning madly. It was yum! I ate most of it.. as you will see in the last photo.. Enjoy!

For lunch today I'm making Corn and Asparagus soup with some Spinach and Tomato salad and Lime dressing. Plus I'm going to attempt to wash my hair with some flaxseed and lime. Interesting...

Will update later, with pics!
xo
m

Green Juice.. Mmmm..

2006-12-07T22:11:00.000+08:00

After that scrumptious lunch, I had a few cashews in the later afternoon but that was about it.

Had to go to Ikea again! So made myself a green juice of about 1.5L with Parsley, Choy Sum, Bak Choy, Spinach, Bitter Gourd (EW!!), Wheatgrass which was then blended with 4 small bananas, 3 strawberries and a bit of Agave added (because it was really bitter). Drank this in the car on the way there.

Went to Justlife again and stocked up, I love that place. I think if I actually sat down and budgeted though I'd see that I'm spending WAY too much money!

Got home and really wasn't hungry, plus it was really late, so had a few cashews again and now I'm off to bed.

xo
m

feast for the eyes.. and mouth!

2006-12-07T13:02:00.000+08:00

I love walnut cheese.
Eating this lovely meal for lunch right now, along with a yummy Beetroot/ Orange/ Ginger/ Carrot juice.. refreshing!
Have to say I preferred my dinner as I had nice big juice tomato slices instead of Cherry Tomatoes. I'm going to attempt to better this dish next time by making it look more lasagne like (i.e. layers with garlic/ tomato, more veggies which have been marinated longer etc).

Will be back later :)
xo
m

NUTTY about NutMilk!

2006-12-06T17:05:00.000+08:00

Joy of joys!

Our maid decided to try her hand at Nut Milk because she was very interested in what I was telling her about Raw, plus we have a huge surplus of splendid raw almonds I brought back from Australia a while back. The results were magnificent!! The milk is just the right thickness, it is a beautiful white colour and has a lovely almondy taste- add some Agave Nectar and cinammon- HEAVEN! I am so happy!! I cannot wait to start trying other nut milks.. she wants to make Hazelnut Milk tomorrow. YAYNESS!! I don't even know if I want to put it in smoothies because it tastes so good on it's own.. however, a strawberry apricot shake sounds like a great idea with some milk in it... mmmm....

Also been reading up on Vitamin B12 as it is the most common issue that is raised in regards to deficiencies in Raw Vegan diets. Generally speaking, Vitamin B12 is synthesised by bacteria and archaea. So it is naturally found in eggs, dairy and meat. People believe that there are NO plant sources of B12. BUT there are two... Dong Quai (commonly used in Chinese med for menstrual symptoms) and Goldenberry or Cape Gooseberry (which you can buy at some stores). These have the active, absorbable type of B12, whereas algae, spirulina and seaweeds have been proven (by one study) to have inactive B12 (unfortunately!). Take into account you can store B12 for up to 3 years and most of the deficiencies we see clinically are in older people who are not able to absorb B12 as well due to intrinsic factor levels, and NOT usually because of poor dietary intake. The number of pernicious anaemia sufferers I have seen in GP clinics coming in for their shots... gee! So basically, I want to get my hands on some Dong Quai (or I'll just have to eat dirt.. hahah!) capsules. Unfortunately, GNC has some but it also contains preservative which I'm not willing to ingest at this point. But will keep looking. (Have to be careful with Dong Quai as it can mess with your menstrual cycle a bit). Cape Gooseberry is easy to find in Australia so maybe I'll get some to bring back.

The other thing is, it's advisable to stay away from the Hijiki. It naturally contains large amounts of inorganic arsenic which has been proven to be carcinogenic- and pretty much the UK, NZ, HK and Japan have issued warnings regarding this. Luckily Arame, Wakame, Kombu and Nori don't have any arsenic content. So watch out for that hijiki.

It's kind of fun researching all this, especially since I haven't done any study for a long time.. brain stimulation... hehehe...

Breakfast: Same Old plus a small glass of Beetroot/ Carrot/ Ginger juice

Lunch: Pickled (in Apple Cider Vinegar) Turnip and Bitter Gourd with Arame, Wakame and Hijiki (woops hehe) sprinkled with Dulse and Sesame Seed mix (which has nori in it). Not very appetising admittedly but I managed to eat it and all those things are good for me. Hard CORE!

I had lunch with a Strawberry/ Apricot/ Cranberry (fresh!)/ Tamarillo/ Coconut Oil/ Purified Water Shake to make sure my Iron would get absorbed (Strawberries have tons of Vitamin C). I would buy some other berries but they are sooo expensive.. argh.

Snacks: I read that you have to be careful with snacking in a raw food diet because of damage to your teeth. So I keep it to a minimum. Had a ladies finger banana, some cashews, and a glass of delicious Almond Milk with Cinnamon and Agave Nectar (just a squidge).

Interesting to read about using all- natural cosmetics etc. I believe it is true that what you absorb through your skin should be raw too, if possible! Of course, one has to be practical. A lot of Raw Foodists don't use toothpaste, either using a particular type of soap or hydrogen peroxide (eesh!). I use Himalaya Healthcare brand toothpaste which has all natural plant oils in it but I'm not sure what else they put in there (don't fully trust Indians with their ingredients!). For now I'm happy with that though.

Valya at rawfamily.com uses flaxseed blended with a bit of water as shampoo, as well as honey washed through with hot water and lime/ lemon juice which keeps her hair shiny and very clean. I have heard that using vinegar is great for healthy looking hair too. Not to mention eating lots of seaweed (as per the Japanese!). As for cleansers etc, I was always a fan of papaya/ avocado face masks, using olive oil sparsely.. and so on.. I should really try taking more care of my skin (I'm one of those lucky people who has good skin but doesn't look after it.. eep!).

Dinner: Finally bought some Brewer's Yeast, so I thought I'd try my hand at nut cheese. Didn't have macadamias or pine nuts, but had some organic raw walnuts which I had soaked for 2 hours (which is optimum time for these medium soak nuts).

Into the blender they went with two tablespoons of nutritional yeast and lime juice (no lemons!), a bit of salt (that celtic sea salt is freakin strong, I really have to just put one crystal next time!) and basil. Pulsed it up, put in some water till it was ricotta texture.

Then I assembled some thinly sliced Zucchini and tomatoes interspersed with the cheese and basil leaves, peppered it up and YUM! What a glorious dinner, however probably better to have such a heavy meal at lunch. But it looked beautiful!

I had some leftover tomatoes so I made little tomato/ cheese/ basil/ olive oil/ pepper entrees and fed everyone.. my mum stole the whole plate.. hehehe...

Love!
xo
m

Releasing the Pressure

2006-12-05T22:28:00.000+08:00

Before I say this, I love my friends and in no way mean to insult anyone, or denigrate their concern for my safety.

Simply putting down my thoughts.

Pretty much everyone I've told that I'm doing the Raw Vegan thing is "worried" and "concerned" that I'm going to extremes and that I'm endangering my health. They insist that it's a "fad" and that eating cooked food is essential. And that Raw veganism does not stop one from having preventative diseases such as Diabetes, Cardiac Disease from Hypercholesterolaemia, Hypertension, Obesity etc. Of course you can't be 100% sure that you will not get any of these but I think that you can largely prevent them or have later onset or slow the progress of it. Just because there is no definitive evidence (though, having been a medical student and being a doctor, I know there is no such thing as definitive evidence, merely sufficient significant results to imply that a treatment is beneficial). And none of them have actually read up on Raw veganism before giving me this "advice".

They use the whole "why did our ancestors start cooking" then?? argument (among others)- I've had this from several people. I'm not here to discuss the differing sides of this argument, because it is an "argument" and therefore you choose on your own what you believe. Where will you get your protein? Your Iron? Your blah blah blah.. like I have no brain and have no idea what I'm doing, and didn't read anything at all before starting this.

I can understand why people often say things despite not knowing much about the topic, because I do it all the time, due to my argumentative nature, but seriously, most people don't have the slightest clue about nutrition. I love my medical friends but most of them do not eat healthily (usually due to work). In fact they are worse eaters than many of my friends who are in other professions. Despite knowing the ultimate outcomes as we see it every day.

I'm sick of defending myself, sick of being made to feel that I'm crazy and then the doubts start creeping in, but I push them away because I know that what I'm doing is right. It feels right. I feel better than I have in a long time. And the physical changes are obvious even after a short period. I'm not saying I'll be able to stick to this forever, for whatever reasons, but I will try my best. I guess the only way you can prove anything to anyone is by being an example.

Don't get me wrong, I love my friends, and I know they only mean good, but you know, I am concerned that they don't look after their health- stress, eating poorly, drinking excessively, partying hard, working too much, etc (I would include spirituality but that is a touchy topic for people) and I don't go around telling them they are being extreme, hurting their bodies and destroying whatever good health they were bestowed at birth. It's pretty weird that just because one goes against the grain, against conventional bullshit, that suddenly you're the extremist with crazy ideas.

Luckily my family is awesome and totally support me. Oldest sis is incorporating more raw food (especially after she tried that pesto!). My second sis really wants to go Raw too but she just doesn't have the energy or willpower right now due to extenuating circumstances. My brother is having more Raw stuff (as I try to make it tasty for him) and my mum is pretty much asking for one raw meal a day and vege/ green juice in the morning. If she wasn't working and travelling so much she would do it too. My dad is a little harder to convince to eat raw (I worry as he has diabetes and heart disease.. at least 80% raw would be great for him) but he fully supports me in this. Even my little old grandma conceded that she would do it to try and improve her arthritis pain, if only she wasn't a woman of habit and so used to cooked food.

Anyway, just had to get that out of my system. I'm sure all Raw Foodists go through these things when they start out. No wonder people fall in and out of it, the societal pressure is tough. Constant judgement and people pushing their ideas on you. I guess I should be used to this after being vegetarian, then vegan, and also because of my spiritual beliefs and interest in alternative/ complementary/ integrative therapies. *Sigh* Too bad that most of the awesome health treatments out there are very individualised and therefore difficult to do double blinded randomnised controlled trials on.

Such is life. :)

xo
m

Avocados are Amazing.

2006-12-05T19:02:00.000+08:00

Today I didn't vary my diet so much, because I really felt like eating avocados... Hehe...

Weight: 86.5kg (I nearly fell of the scale)

Breakfast: Same thing!

Lunch: Avocado, Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Sunflower Seeds, Sesame seeds + Shredded nori, Safflower Oil and a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar. GOOOOD..

Juices: In the morning the whole family had Beetroot/ Carrot/ Ginger/ Spinach and Broccoli juice with a bit of Wheatgrass Powder. At lunch I also had Strawberry/ Apricot/ Cinnamon shake with a Tamarillo mushed up and squeezed in (the funnest way to eat them, btw!).

Had a nice hard Free weights and cardio work out session with the Trainer today. I'm trying to remember all the exercises as will be going it alone after 3 more sessions! Argh!

Got hungry twice today, so had two little ladies finger bananas and a couple of grapes. However, I am wary that maybe it's a bit too much fruit intake.. :P

Dinner: Same salad as lunch except with some Sweetcorn.

Will be eating Seaweed with Pickled Turnip and Bitter Gourd for lunch, I taste tested it tonight and it should be yummy! The Bitterness of both the turnip and gourd has gone out of them really but the main tastes still remain.

Strawberries for dessert methinks, and some cranberry juice (I found FRESH cranberries at the supermarket, but unfortunately, not organic :( ).

Soaking some Almonds and Hazelnuts to make nutmilk tomorrow.. I really want to make nut cheese but don't know where to buy Rejuvelac. Might have to make do with some Organic Nutritional Yeast and some Raw Carob Powder (cacao is too stimulating). Can't wait to have some milks and butters to add to my repertoire!

xo
m

ps last night i was watching 'lorenzo's oil' which i love, and was, out of habit, having the munchies, so i had a few home roasted organic rosemary almonds. no biggie. i guess we all have cravings occasionally and thinking about eating something obsessively is just as bad as just eating it! haha...

Flax is the Max

2006-12-04T19:02:00.000+08:00

Dinner: I totally made this sauce up which doesn't look very appetising but is 1) tasty and 2) very good for you.. You'll probably squidge up your face when you read the ingredients but it really does taste pretty darn good.

- Tomatoes
- Golden Flaxseed
- Dulse
- Garlic
- Chili
- Safflower Oil
- Celtic Sea Salt
- Pepper
- Brazil Nuts
- Basil

All blended together and some water added for the right consistency. My own version of some kind of warped tomato sauce for the zucchini noodles, topped with sweetcorn, broccoli, mushrooms and fresh chopped tomatoes.

You gotta get creative with this kind of thing or else you'll get bored really quickly and get lazy on being raw.

I loved the Beetroot, Celery and Orange juice today, very refreshing. I got very hungry (weirdly) around 4 pm so had a bowl of seedless grapes. I love grapes. :)

I also made the most amazing shake (from Raw Food/ Real World) which is very good for cleansing your intestines and getting rid of mucous (my bro and sis have a lot of mucous so I got them to drink it too). Grape, Black Mission Fig and Cranberry Shake (all you have to do is add water, ice and some cinammon- I missed out using vanilla extract as it's not necessary). I really want a Blendtec.. even John Mayer just bought one (johnmayer.com/blog)!! Haha!

Till tomorrow!
xo
m

oops i did it again!

2006-12-04T11:49:00.000+08:00

No postage love yesterday, sorry!

I spent the day with my sister and her friend at the Elephant Sanctuary in Woop Woop (ha, shows how much I pay attention), where we got to hang wit some trunked dudes and watch silly Aussies get dunked in the river by a not- very- amused elephant. There was the cutest little new female rescue with her little mop of black hair and curious eyes. I was very pleased because the elephants were RAW like me! Haha.. Papaya, Cucumbers, Watermelons, Bananas, Sugar Cane, Banana tree trunks.. unfortunately they do also feed the newcomers/ babies with some white bread which really disgusted me. I mean I understand why they have to do it, to bulk up their diet as they consume so much and are often undernourished when rescued, but I don't think they realise the damage they do giving a wild animal white refined flour and preservatives. Maybe if I get more involved there I will say something about it. But it was really great to be in nature after so long and seeing these gorgeous animals up close.

On the way back, we stopped in a little town to have something to eat.. well, not me, I'd had a lovely Salad for lunch- but anyways, my sis and her friend had DEEP FRIED bananas, fishcakes and Tapioca. Gross. Sorry but it was being fried in this big wok in oil that has probably been recycled for days, and sitting out on the roadside collecting dust from the big trucks that went past every five minutes. But ah well, each to their own. I just know my sis is trying hard to go at least partially raw but she has to give up the meat/ fish.. which she finds difficult right now. Timing is everything.

Anyways..

Breakfast: Same old. For some reason not feeling much love for the muesli!

Lunch: My mum and bro decided they wanted some raw food at lunch, dad declined! Haha.. so I made a lovely salad with cos lettuce, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, kiwi fruit, cucumber and sweetcorn. The dressing was yum- Lime, Safflower Oil, Lemon Thyme, Salt, pepper and Agave nectar. It was mmmmm.... Mum also had some Rye bread with cheese and tomato, and brother had homemade fries. :P I added the leftover pineapple and green mango as well as some dulse to my salad and ate it in the car.

Juice: Beetroot, Carrot, Ginger, Spinach, Parsley, Apple, Celery juice with Wheatgrass powder, everyone had some.

Dinner: Leftovers. Seaweed salad, Cucumber and Carrot pickle (everyone kept stealing it to eat with their Vege chicken rice though.. it was great as it had been pickling for a few days).. Also the leftover green coconut curry with carrots, celery, tomatoes and cucumber for dipping, not forgetting to chuck in some sweetcorn too. I am addicted to sweetcorn, seriously.

Still watching "Jewel in the Palace". Haha!

Since I'm here.. November 4th-
Breakfast: Same.

Lunch: Seaweed salad with cherry tomatoes, shaved turnip (which I became addicted to in India, you eat it raw with masala, and it was often the only uncooked vegetable I could get my hands on!! So of course I loved it), ladies fingers. Sprinkled with dulse, sesame seeds, nori and pumpkin seeds. Dressed with Apple Cider, Agave, Pepper and a bit of Tamari. Made a bowl for mum too but she still wants her cooked noodles for lunch! We're having the same juice as yesterday (made fresh) but with orange instead of apple to help absorb the iron that is in the seaweed.

Will report on Dinner later :)
xo
M

Blessed

2006-12-02T18:23:00.000+08:00

I'm so excited, I just made the most amazing dinner and cannot wait to eat it when everyone else is gulping down Steamboat!! (I was once a big steamboat fan.. So. Good. But let's not get distracted!). My grandma is coming over tonight as well, so I'm sure I'll be getting odd looks from her like, "Aiyoh my granddaughter gone crazy ah", but mum assures me that it's only important whether she thinks I'm crazy or not. Go mum!

However, let us start with the earlier meals...

Breakfast: Same old :P

Lunch: Noodled (yeah, ok I mean shredded) Japanese Cucumber and Carrot, along with some Baby corn, pickled for about 1/2 hour in Apple Cider, with some Coconut oil too, and then sprinkled with my sesame seed/ nori mix and some almonds (not soaked, bad me) and Organic Tamarillo which is yum but weird. Yum! But I find my appetite is really getting smaller and smaller these days!

It's amazing how you can eat quite a lot if you choose but you never feel that same yucky drowsy fullness you get with cooked food. I know I am definitely eating less because the portions make me full faster. Interesting. Plus I don't get that "Damn I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" feeling anymore, which I used to get at certain times of the day.

Weird thing is, I still had a bit of spotting this morning which is way too many days after my period.. i.e. been still "leaking" a bit but maybe this is detox? Cos this doesn't usually happen. Way to go Miin, you interspersed menstruation talk with food. Ew. Sorry. I'm a doctor, that's my excuse, nothing really grosses me out. Add that to being a Chinese person who previously ate all kinds of moving creatures.. you get my drift.

Had a bit of fruit through the day- one and a half YUMMY organic passionfruits (OH yes), gave one half to my bro as he hasn't eaten it since leaving Melbourne 2 years ago! I was honestly weirded out when I found it, Organic no less! Also had an apple before I went to Body Combat (so fun, but my ankles will be sorry tomorrow!) and after, had a Green Tea blended with strawberries, papaya, mixed berries from a juice bar.. I don't know if i broke The Rules with the Green Tea but eh... can't be too anal. Besides, last night I drank a very hot bowl of Four Ingredient Soup which I always have after my period to help clean everything out (more period talk!) and I know it's not exactly raw but.. can someone tell me about the rule with teas/ herbs and raw food?? Hopefully after going raw for a while I won't have to drink that horrid stuff any more.

Ok.. dinner.. which sits waiting.

Dinner: Pineapple, Green Mango, Shredded fresh Organic Beetroot, Chopped Organic Spinach, Organic Sweetcorn kernels, finely sliced Organic Ladies fingers, ONE french bean and two sticks of asparagus (the bowl was getting too full) and some mushrooms. This is to be topped with Young Coconut Noodles and a beautiful sauce made as follows (I adapted this recipe from Raw Food as wasn't so happy with the one I made before, so used your tastebuds for amounts):
- Lemongrass
- Ginger
- Garlic (not too much)
- Curry powder which includes Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, and Garam Masala if possible
- Fresh Curry Leaves
- Macadamias and Cashews, soaked for 1-2 hours in purified water
- A dash of Agave Nectar
- Some coconut oil
- Parsley
- Coconut milk
- Fresh cili padi
Blend it all up and it is this beautiful, creamy, light green sauce/ soup which you pour over the above vegies and eat up! Mmmm...

Dessert: I'm going crazy on fruit today even though I know I shouldn't eat it at night... Apricots, Strawberries, Mango.. all not Organic as it's not easy to find here, but I'm craving these things right now.

The thing I love about this is that I'm preparing all my own food and I know exactly what goes in, which I used to do in Melbourne but since moving home, we have a cook who does it all. But now I get to just freshly prepare and it's great! Plus doesn't take long. AND I'm so lucky that even though there are lots of great things I can't get here which I used to get in Oz, there are so many things I can get much cheaper here and aren't available there.. i.e. Papayas, Mango, Bitter Gourd (gotta figure out how to use this raw), Pineapple, Pomelo, Jambu.. basically tropical fruits (can't wait for Durian season!) and also things like fresh curry leaves (JOY!), lemongrass and freshly made Coconut milk. Seriously awesome.

Wow long blog.
Okay lovelies (or, hey, let's be realistic, just Miin!)
xo
Miin

day after post

2006-12-02T11:13:00.001+08:00

yes i forgot to update yesterday.. addicted to "jewel in the palace". don't you just love ace korean pseudo- historical series dubbed in mandarin with english subtitles? hehe.. i sure do. there is a lot of food and cooking in this show- but as it's korean food, it doesn't do much to tempt me to eat cooked..! they really were into their pickles though..

so..
breakfast: same old

lunch: Sushi rolls inspired by Raw Food/ Real World- i figured out that jicama is what we call sengkwang here.. a kind of water chestnutty root that we use mainly in popiah (rice paper rolls). anyway, i put it in the food processor with the leftover cauliflower/ garlic mix (yeah, old but still good) and got the consistency to rice... then put it in some raw nori, added Baby asparagus, Red capsicum, shitake and white mushrooms marinated in tamari, and some Organic pickled ginger that has been pickling since last year. Mmm so good. It was admittedly a bit wet but heck i don't have the machinery yet!

Also made a nice little sprinkle bottle of black and white sesame seeds with shredded nori and some celtic sea salt to put on anything and everything.

Juice: made juice for myself and sis and mum.. twas a bit chewy as i don't have a beloved blendtec yet- carrot juice, water, parsley, choy sum, bok choy, kai lan, wheatgrass powder, freshly picked mint and a touch of agave, aloe vera chunks. it tasted fine but wasn't properly blended. refreshing!

Dinner: the rest of the soaked seaweed, capsicum and tomatoes, dressed with Raw apple cider vinegar, tamari and virgin coconut oil. had some of that barley with kombu stuff (japanese "pickle" of sorts) which is really good for you, and scrummy! Topped with some sunflower seeds.

Had some pineapple and bananas throughout the day, and a grape or two.

Off to make some lunch now, probably going to have slithers of Jap cucumber and carrot lightly pickled in apple cider vinegar with lots of sesame seeds, and well.. i'll think of something else to put in it. funny how i think of nutrition rather than taste these days!

(apologies for atrocious punctuation)

xo
m

green power!

2006-11-30T12:30:00.000+08:00

Hello readers! Or as it may be.. Hi Miin! Haha..
I have a feeling I'm going to have to eat cooked when I'm in Beijing. Just to avoid any potential problems.. argh.. and I'm feeling so good Raw at the moment!

Weight: 88kg
But more importantly, mum looked at me and said "You've Lost Weight".. which is a lovely thing to hear, and very encouraging. Especially when mum is usually saying the total opposite.

However I'm more looking forward to, "Your skin looks great! Your hair is shinier! The bags under your eyes are gone! You seem to have boundless energy! Your halitosis is gone (HAHA)!" but MOST importantly, "You seem much calmer, steadier and happier". That is the Ultimate- merging the purity of this lifestyle with spiritual advancement, meditation, yoga and a big effort to attain happiness and equanimity. It has to be effort on all sides, not just with eating, but I guess if the theories are correct, then working on purifying the body so it is at its peak to allow positive energy flow etc is a great place to start (seeing as the other ways I've tried don't work).

Still having difficulty convincing mum that maybe we aren't supposed to bleed when we have periods- simply ovulate with some discharge but not haemorrhage for 3-5 days like most women do. I guess the mind is so set on the things we have been brought up to believe, hearing something so totally opposite is difficult. Plus mum is very based in Chinese Med, but that again was developed after observing sick people with increasingly modern lifestyles. So.. who knows?? I definitely had less bloating and less bleeding this time around .. even though the cramps on day 1 were weird for me.

Had the lovely opportunity to meet Ajahn Brahm last night (he's staying with my uncle), with dad, and I do really respect, admire and love the way he has chosen to live this life, and how he is realistic about Buddhism in the modern world. Plus he's a really jovial, funny guy, relaxed, calm and very personable. I am very cynical about a lot of things, including some of the people around him, but that is besides the point. I think I have to let go of a lot of things right now, and at least try to do more meditation, which has been scientifically proven to thicken your cortex! As well as the usual lowering of blood pressure, stress, cholesterol levels etc... I wish I'd had more time to talk to him personally but he was really so busy (not surprising) it'll have to wait.

Breakfast: Spirulina, Chased down with Starfruit juice and Choy Sum juice, Lovely fresh papaya with lime. Haven't been feeling like my version of muesli lately.

Lunch: Organic Shitake mushrooms, Sweetcorn, Asparagus and French Beans marinated in Tamari, pepper, safflower oil and apple cider vinegar, sprinkled with Black and White sesame seeds and aro nori (shredded nori).. plus a bit of that lovely Homemade Chili Sauce on top. Also added some Sunflower seeds and chomped on two Brazil Nuts for my selenium :)

Juice: Green POWER! I know it sounds gross but it seriously tastes fine- Organic Kai Lan (Chinese Kale), Choy Sum, two types of Bok Choy, Coriander, Parsley, Green Wheatgrass powder, Aloe Vera, 4 Ladies Fingers Bananas, Cold Water and a teaspoon of Agave Nectar, all blended together. Sooo.. Freaking... Good.

Dinner: Seaweed (Kombu, Arame, Hijiki, Seaweed Sprouts)- soaked, of course- with Sweetcorn, Water Chestnuts and Brazil Nuts, seasoned with some Tamari, Apple Cider Vinegar and Safflower Oil (yes I know I have to start using more Coconut Oil or Olive Oil due to the Omega 3/ 6 levels not being so great in Safflower).. Rolled into Lettuce Leaves and chomped with Fresh Chili Padi and Homemade Chili Sauce. Kind of like a healthy Sang Choy Bao (Minced Meat and Vegies eaten in Lettuce cups). Twas yummy!

Till Tomorrow!
xo
Miin

yesterday... all my troubles seemed so far away...

2006-11-30T08:53:00.000+08:00

What I ate on 29/11/06

Breakfast: Same thing!

Lunch: Two delicious Nori wrapped rolls with Organic Homemade Chili sauce, Kombu/ Fermented Barley, French Beans, Asparagus, Red Capsicum, Shitake Mushrooms marinated in Tamari with Sesame Seeds (actually tastes great) and garlic/ cauliflower mix (need.. to... finish.. it... expensive.. macadamias.. in ... situ!). Mmmm so brilliant. But on the downside I've finished all my Nori :(

Dinner: Organic Avocado, Tomato, Cucumber, Capsicum, Alfalfa and Broccoli Sprouts with Shitake Mushrooms, Tamari and a bit of Safflower Oil. Have to say my mum's Hokkien noodles looked enticingly good. Argh!

Juices: Orange juice at lunch time, and at dinner, Carrot, Celery and Beetroot juice. Avoided the Wheatgrass powder today. I gotta go buy some fresh stuff....

Had a few Brazil nuts, two bananas throughout the day and an apple. Have been brushing my teeth 3 times a day and making sure I drink water after fruit so I don't develop any problems with teeth erosion.

Am likely off travelling on Sunday, including China, HK, Philippines and LA! It'll be a total challenge being Raw the entire time as I know my mother, who I'm travelling with, will get increasingly annoyed that I don't just eat what's there.. but we'll see. LA, if we end up going, will be great because I'm so looking for a Raw food restaurant, plus I can buy myself a Blendtec and an Excalibur dehydrator. So craving something resembling carbohydrates that I'm used to right now!!

xo
Miin

seeing the weed.. oh yeah!

2006-11-28T22:11:00.000+08:00

I just looked at my last post and gee, I sound like I have an issue with my weight!! Yes, of course I'd like to shed a few pounds mainly for health and fitness reasons, but I did NOT start being a Raw Vegan to lose weight. I did it because it makes logical sense, on spiritual, emotional, physical and environmental levels. I have a feeling I won't have very much weight loss anyway as my weight is pretty stabilised as it is.

Anyway.. what did I eat today?

Breakfast: Starfruit juice, my Spirulina tablets and Papaya. Still a great start to the day!

Lunch: The rest of last night's salad. I LOVE avocado but I know we have to be careful how much of it we eat. I have been told I'm deficient in Omega 3 and 6 so I have to balance my fat and oil intake properly for sure.

Went to the gym for Body Balance, and I do sometimes find this class challenging, even though we do not stay in the poses for long enough in my opinion. I guess the music is a nice change though. Also had a pineapple, guava and celery juice on the way out.

Dinner: Organic Red Capsicum, sliced Organic Shitake Mushrooms (marinated in tamari, safflower oil and sesame seeds), French Beans, Asparagus and some of the leftover "Mashed Potato" which I never finished, All wrapped in Nori. Yum! Had some Homemade Raw Chili sauce (Dried Chilies, Garlic, Onion, Water, Salt blended together) on it too. It was so good I'm having it again for lunch tomorrow for sure! Had some grapes too (Non organic).

Juice: Had this at dinner.. Organic Broccoli, Apple, Celery, Carrot with Wheatgrass powder. Not too bad..

My energy levels have definitely improved, and though I'm still having a bit of a breakout on my skin, and my period is still as heavy as always, I can feel the difference. I did steal a tiny piece of cooked tofu in curry sauce from my dad at dinner and immediately started burping.. woops! Not sure if it's a mental thing but.. :P

Let's hope my sleeping habits improve too ;)
xo
M

27th november.. yes, i forgot

2006-11-28T10:21:00.000+08:00

woops didn't post yesterday.. was too busy watching project runway! hahaha... that is the only show i pay any attention to really.

breakfast: just starfruit juice and papaya today.

lunch: leftover curry with zucchini noodles and other bits and pieces from dinner.

i then went to the gym where i depressingly found out that the weight i lost was all MUSCLE instead of fat, my fat % is still disgustingly high and my metabolism has gone down a bit. argh. this exercise thing sucks, no matter that i've been doing it since july with barely any results at all. either stubborn fat or i'm just not doing enough. blah.

in the evening i went to yoga after having not been for 6 weeks or so. PAIN! especially since we were working on core muscles and doing all sorts of different abdo crunches. owie. i love how this yoga studio has no airconditioning though, open doors and fans instead. greenery. lovely. i gotta get back into it though, seriously, because i have backslided majorly.

dinner: at a bit later than i should, at 8:40pm, but eh... had avocado, tomato, sprouts, cucumber, tomatillos with a bit of tamari, apple cider and safflower oil. i was so full after one small bowl.. i need to get my portion sizes right, which can be hard.

i need to buy some dulse because it is so damn good for you! plus i need to start trying to make nut milk but honestly i'm a bit scared. need to live in nyc where i can walk down the street and get some freshly made stuff! argh!

xo
miin

curry in a hurry

2006-11-26T21:46:00.000+08:00

Urgh. Got my period today. Yeah, so Too Much Information.. Whatever! It's also quite early, was only expecting it around the 1st or 2nd of Dec.. hm.. Also, having cramps, which is quite unusual for me, but nothing I can't handle.

I got up pretty late so I didn't manage to have any breakfast.

Lunch: Leftover "Mashed Potato" and Raw Hummus with Capsicum, Tomatoes, Cucumber and some Soyabean Sprouts. Didn't feel like eating seeds today for some reason.

Juice: Beetroot, Carrot, Celery, Spinach, Orange

Didn't feel very hungry during the day, must admit I did drool a little at my dad's homemade pizza (even though I don't usually eat that stuff anyway because I was vegan)... mmm carbs! Hehehe.

Dinner: Zucchini noodles (I love my Mandoline!) with Green Curry (Stole recipe from Raw Food/ Real World), Baby Corn, Cherry Tomatoes, Pineapple and Green Mango, plus some sprouts for good measure. My brother wasn't a big fan but he did eat some before heading out to dinner (AGAIN) with dad to eat Japanese. Needed some basil but didn't have any and used Brazil nuts instead of Cashews as didn't have enough.

Was going to make Brazil Nut Milk today as I did find some nifty "Coconut Milk" cotton bags which will be perfect for nut milks, but couldn't be bothered in the end. Will try another day. Also bought a nifty Hanabishi "Multi Chopper" which only cost RM 108 which is pretty good until I get a proper Blendtec. It's good enough as a food processor.

Probably be eating leftovers tomorrow, I tend not to be too hungry when I have my period. It usually goes for about 6 days (I KNOW what a pain!) so it will be interesting to see whether the flow lessens as I keep going with Raw Veganism (as I've read that it does). Who'da thunk that perhaps bleeding during menstruation is abnormal??

xo
Miin

hanging with my dawgs

2006-11-25T21:00:00.000+08:00

Breakfast: Same as yesterday, but put some Aloe in my stairfruit juice and remembered to take my Spirulina tablets.. hehe...!

Lunch: Finished off the rest of the seaweed, along with some Sweetcorn, Sprouts and Sesame Seeds.

I also went to the gym again today and did some cardio- was aiming for Body Balance but the class had been changed last minute. I need to motivate myself more because I didn't even manage to stay for an entire hour! I just get so bored... :P

I finally found a Mandoline!! Yay! There were a few, including the Benriner Japanese plastic one which is supposed to be fantastic, but it was quite pricey (RM68) vs the UK made one I bought (RM20). Don't know how good it is but we'll see, I'm sure it's adequate.. This shop also surprisingly had a Benriner Turning Slicer but it was RM268 and so I have to think about whether I really need one (probably not). Also looked at some Food Processors and Blenders but couldn't find exactly what I want yet (this gave me trouble at dinner time..!!).

Went to Justlife store in Cheras, as opposed to the one near Ikea which is too far away to go to regularly, but it wasn't as well stocked so that's sucky. I did find some lovely purple cauliflower though! It's so beautiful to look at, eh?

Dinner: My dad and my bro went out to lobster dinner without me, but that's fine I mean what was I gonna eat if I went with them! I made "Mashed Potato" using a recipe sent to me in an e-book for Thanksgiving, but I had to use this old Culinare hand operated Food Processor which wasn't good enough and also our blender sucks... :P So it wasn't the right consistency but tasted ok. I also made "Hummus" with cashews/ tahini/ lime/ garlic/ avocado which is YUMMY! So had both of those things with some Capsicum, Cherry Tomatoes and Japanese Cucumber. Mmm... full..

Juice: Beetroot, Carrot, Spinach and Celery. I love these juices they are glorious!

I'm not having any more of that bad post eating drowsiness I used to have with cooked food, which is great, but still quite low on energy despite picking up with the exercise and getting enough sleep. Hmm... We'll see how it goes...

I love my dogs. :) Kisses to Moo and Coco.

xo
Miin

updateration

2006-11-24T21:01:00.000+08:00

I meant KOMBU hehe... and I did have breakfast, same as yesterday except I had some Papaya too.

So after that yummy lunch, which also included newly purchased Soya Bean Sprouts of the Organic kind, i went to Body Jam at the gym which was WAY too easy for me. Now, I don't say this usually, because I am used to being unfit, but it didn't get my heart rate up at all. I guess this is a good thing and a bad thing- I find cardio painfully boring but if the classes are this easy, then I have to get back on the treadmill. Maybe Body Step? I've had problems with my Achilles and my knees doing high impact classes so.. I'm not sure.

Anyways, got home and had some juice.. Organic Beetroot/ Carrot/ Pumpkin/ Spinach/ Ginger.. mmm... feels so good going down. Had a handful of Cashews to nibble on. Must admit I miss honey roasted or herbed roasted cashews.. mmmm...

Dinner: More seaweed (yep, need that iodine!) with Tamari, Sesame Seeds (black and white), Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Sweetcorn, Soya Bean Sprouts and Sunflower Sprouts. Soo goood. After, I had 2 oranges, made sure I ate as much of the pith as possible (for bioflavinoids- helps to decrease heavy periods if you eat like 3 oranges a day, apparently.. thought I would try this out!).

I'm still a bit lacking in energy at the moment, probably have to get the balance of nutrients right.

I haven't been hungry at all though, the meals are really filling, and satisfying. However I do mentally crave stuff but I'm sure I'll get over that soon enough!

xo
Miin

Juice Nation

2006-11-24T11:20:00.000+08:00

Feeling a little better today.
Last night, I only got back from Ikea at about 9pm and didn't feel very hungry at all. So I had juice instead of the dinner I described yesterday.. Organic Beetroot, Pumpkin, Spinach was just what I needed. There's a great Organic shop called Justlife in the Ikano Centre near Ikea so I went there to stock up- they even had Agave nectar!! Brilliant!! I wish there was one closer to where I live.

Lunch: I soaked some seaweed last night- mito arame, hijiki, wakame and kobu. So I'll be having that with some Apple Cider vinegar and fresh Cucumber, plus some other vegies. Not to forget the Sesame Seeds too...

Update later :)
xo
Miin

emotional wreck

2006-11-23T17:18:00.000+08:00

Today just went from slightly bad to worse...

By lunchtime I was already feeling really grumpy, irritable and had a pseudo headache (i.e. pressure and heaviness in my head, but no actual pain). Ate lunch, and tried to convince myself to go to Ikea, as I have a lot of errands to run, but felt too drained of energy. After piss farting around with some stuff at home, I had a 2 hour nap which was filled with random dreams.

And now that I've woken up I'm still really really grumpy, annoyed at nothing in particular and snappy. And I don't feel particularly awake. I'm not sure if it's because I'm paying more attention to my emotional state because I know Raw does affect it, i.e. whether I'm normally like this and I just don't notice, or if it's because I'm detoxing (I have read that this kind of thing can happen).

Hmm.. let's hope it improves. I think maybe doing some yoga or exercise might be helpful but I'm so tired I can't bring myself to do it. *Sigh* The conundrum.

Dinner: Something with Avocado, Orange, Safflower Oil and some bits and pieces of whatever vegies I have in my fridge, including the Mango. I really want to try one of the recipes in my new book but I don't have most of the ingredients on hand. Plus tired. Bleh.

Hopefully tomorrow I'm more cheery.
xo
M

salty beetroot..

2006-11-23T10:11:00.000+08:00

"Happy Feet" was absolutely gorgeous, and maybe it would make less people eat fish, or even meat. Who knows! I highly recommend it, and can see why it is Number One at the American box office... I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

I had two juices from the juice bar at KLCC yesterday, once after gym (owie) and then before the movie. One was Lemon, Orange and Ginger, the other was Watermelon (I LOVE!!). My sis saw me salivating over "Raw Food, Real World" at Kinokuniya (Jap book chain), despite its hefty price tag (RM140), so she bought it for my as a birthday gift! Yayness!! So excited. They didn't have "Green for Life" or "12 Steps" by Victoria Boutenko (neither does Borders).

My sister loved dinner, so much so that she asked me for any leftovers (of which there was plenty) to take home with her. The pesto was really way too salty but she said she'll use it on pasta or bread which will make it much easier to enjoy.

Had some yummy chilled pomelo last night after dinner (it's a custom in our house to eat fruit after dinner though I understand it's better to eat it before dinner?

I did have some abdominal pain last night before going to bed, but felt fine this morning.

Breakfast: Thought I'd try something different- so I made Muesli from Organic Raw Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds, some Cashews, Montermerency Tart Dried Cherries, Dried Cranberries, Ladies Finger Bananas from our farm, and some dessicated coconut.

Yum! I also made a juice of Starfruit, leftover Beetroot from the pasta last night and some coconut oil, with choy sum and Green Wheatgrass Powder. It tastes pretty bad because of the salt in the Beetroot juice but I couldn't bear to waste it.

Broccolini is SO EXPENSIVE here! B

Lunch: Going to have leftover Broccolini + Asparagus from yesterday, with some of the Pesto as well as Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweetcorn and some Sunflower Sprouts too. Sprinkled with Wakame and some Sesame Seeds. Mmmm....

Juice: Today I'm having Pineapple, Pomelo, Green Mango and Papaya Juice.. it has a beautiful peachy colour and a great taste, but probably better to be havey on the Pineapple and not so much on the Papaya.. haha!

I'll update about dinner either tonight or tomorrow, but it's going to include some raw unripe and therefore really sour Green Mango. Mmmm...

I wonder, am I eating too much fruit?

xo
Miin

..the computer says no...

2006-11-22T13:21:00.000+08:00

I managed to finish all that great juice yesterday!! To be honest the banana taste eradicated everything else but at least I got some greens in there...

I was in a bit of a rush today so lunch had to be simple and had to prepare a bit for dinner as my other sister (who is a vegequarian) is coming over.

Breakfast: Same as always

Lunch: All Organic sliced cucumber with tamari, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and some sesame seeds/ wakame mix, sunflower sprouts, cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and cashew nuts. also added some of the pesto i made in preparation for dinner.

Juice: Organic beetroot and carrot with some green wheatgrass powder

Dinner: Purple Zucchini Pasta with Walnut and Macadamia Pesto, over Organic Broccolini and Asparagus (I adapted the recipe from rawchef.blogs.com's Purple Pasta with Walnut Pesto and Tenderstem Broccoli.. this is a brilliant site, check it out)

The pesto is a little too salty/ limey, I got a bit overexcited but it'll taste fine with everything else. The beetroot juice is slowing dyeing the zucchini in the fridge, and the Broccolini/ Asparagus is being Salt Cooked as well.. it will be ready tonight.

Haven't started sprouting anything yet but really should get down to it. And looking out for a really good blender.. any advice? I hear Blendtecs are better than Vita Mixes but any which way I'm going to have to order it via the net.

Tummy is feeling fine, although I have to say last night at about 11:30pm I got very cranky suddenly for no apparent reason. Hmm...

Going to watch Happy Feet tonight and have to do without any popcorn. Until I try this brilliant Cauliflower Popcorn recipe I saw somewhere.. Mmmm!

Hopefully sis will be impressed :)

Gotta go to the gym.. it's going to be torture after not going for two weeks, and I haven't been to yoga for more than a month!! GULP! Missing it tonight too.. bad me.. :P

xo
Miin

dinner for one

2006-11-21T19:11:00.000+08:00

hi y'all
don't expect this kind of consistency in the future! haha..
so i just made my dinner in preparation for everyone getting home. even though i don't like eating after six, it's unavoidable with my family as they usually get home from work at 8pm.

Dinner: Organic Japanese Cucumber lightly pickled in Apple Cider Vinegar, Cherry tomatoes, leftover Sweetcorn from lunch, Asparagus, sprinkled with black and white Sesame Seeds and dried Wakame seaweed, as well as Sunflower/ Pumpkin Seeds, Brazil/ Cashew Nuts and a few dried Cranberries, some Mango.

Similar to lunch but quite a different taste because of the cucumber.

Did not manage to finish all of the juice as had a funny aftertaste but I'll work on it.. haha! Really wasn't so hungry today.

Snacks: Handful of Dried Montmercy Cherries (yum!)

Also, not that I'm doing this to lose weight, but I just wanted to see what would happen. On Saturday, when I got back from HK, after not doing any exercise (except lots of walking about!) for 2 weeks, I weighed myself at the same time. Then again today after 2.5 days eating raw..

Sat. 18/11/06: 90.3 kg
Today, Tues. 21/11/06: 88.3kg

Now, either my body has gone "Crap where is the protein? Better use up some of this here muscle that's been sitting around" and so I've dropped 2 kg in a short span of time, or I've lost fat or fluid. Who freakin' knows. Will be interesting to see what happens. My trainer was totally weirded out when I told him about the food change but I reminded him that Carl Lewis was Raw Vegan when he broke the world record...

I've had so many reactions about this.. from "Good Luck" (sarcastically), to "Hope you don't stick with it for too long" (i.e. it's a fad and you'll get over it). Ah well, I went through this as a vegan...

xo
Miin

omnivore... vegequarian... vegetarian... vegan.. raw!

2006-11-21T13:59:00.000+08:00

This blog is about going 100% Raw Vegan, the trials and tribulations, as well as the joys and laughs.

I guess it was going to happen eventually, going Raw. Considering how my eating habits have progressed from Birth till this point in time.

Birth - 14 years: Breastmilk (!) then Omnivore, with a diet heavy in meats of all descriptions (heck, I'm Chinese!)

14 - 16 years: Vegequarian (or Pescetarian or someone who eats scaly things + vegies) on the suggestion of a TCM doctor

16 - 18 years: On and off Vegetarian (Anti Animal Cruelty), mainly because my family was not wholly supportive of the idea

18 - 24 years: Lacto- Ovo- Vegetarian, but avoided non- vegetarian cheeses etc. and tried to eat Organic all the time. Rest of family became vegetarian at this time.

24 - 25 years: Organic (Mostly) Vegan. My parents are still vegetarians, but my sister and brother are not anymore.

20/11/2006: (25th Birthday) Started Raw Vegan lifestyle!

I thought I'd write about what I eat most days and how I'm feeling, so I, and anyone else who's interested, can see the effects of what some may call a too radical diet change. I'm also a Doctor, so I was very cautious about starting a diet like this, but after doing some research, it makes a lot of logical, medical sense. Of course there are arguments for both sides, as there is in any part of medicine, but the good far outweighs the bad. My area of interest is Alternative or Complementary Medicines such as TCM, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy etc, obviously diet is a very important factor in these traditions.

I'm not one to push my beliefs on anyone, however, so I'm going to experiment on myself. The only way you can make others see the benefits of such lifestyle changes is by being a good example of vitality, peace and health.

Luckily we already have a Green Juicer and a good Blender (though I do want a Vitamix). I have to get some Sprouting equipment organised, as well as possibly getting a Dehydrator (very hard in Malaysia!). My brother also gave me his RAW book by Charlie Trotter (why did he even have that??? hehe) which is very pretty but most of the recipes are too time consuming. The internet is a great source of information though!

Here goes!
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Pre- Birthday
19/11/06
My brother and sister made me a delicious Raw Vegan cake (even though they think I'm insane as they are both voracious meat eaters). It was a Walnut/ Raisin/ coconut cake with lime/ lemon/ Manuka honey topping, with beautiful fresh strawberries and mulberries atop. Will post a pic when I get it off my brother. I loved it! Everyone else was not a big fan but both the thought and the end result of a divine tasting cake was very special to me!

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Birthday
20/11/06
Breakfast: Fresh Starfruit juice with juiced choy sum, Papaya with Lime and Spirulina capsules

Lunch: Organic Lettuce, carrot and tomato salad with Organic Balsamic Vinegar

Juice: (throughout the day) Freshly Juiced Organic Carrot, Cucumber, Celery, Orange, Ginger, Beetroot, Parsley and Tomato, with Wheatgrass Green Powder and Fresh Aloe Vera Gel. Soooo gooood!

Snacks: Strawberries + Mulberries left over from yesterday

Dinner: Organic Baby Corn, Carrot, French Beans with Apple Cider Vinegar, topped with blended Tomato, Garlic and Onion, seasoned with Celtic Sea Salt, Organic Ground Pepper.

I felt fine today, although there were a few times in the afternoon when I was really really hungry and craving some kind of carbohydrate or ANY COOKED FOOD!!! Haha.. plus I was being aware of eating too much fruit which is also not a good thing.

I was really low on energy at one point in the evening, but I fell asleep quicker than usual and had a great sleep.

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21/11/06
Woke up feeling somewhat queasy, which was better after going to the bathroom, but I still had the taste of garlic in my mouth which made me feel pretty crap. I have resolved to not have too much garlic or onion anyway and to cut it out altogether eventually.

Felt better later on and went out to buy some much needed supplies!! Bought pretty much every dried bean and seed (Sunflower, Pumpkin, Alfalfa, Flax) I could at the organic shop, as well as some fresh vegies and yummy nuts (Brazil, Macadamia, Walnuts, Cashews), and dried Cranberries (oh yeah!). Plus some Safflower oil (though apparently you have to balance this with Olive Oil to get good amounts of Omega 3) and a Green Power Barley Grass to add to drinks.

Breakfast: Same as the day before (this probably won't vary much)

Lunch: (which I'm eating now) Organic Yellow Zucchini "Noodles" with Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes, Dried Cranberries, Sweet Corn, Brazil nuts, Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds, Dressed with Apple Cider Vinegar, Lemon Thyme, Celtic Sea Salt and Organic Ground Black Pepper, and some lovely fresh local Mango on top. Just the right amount of sweet and sour, and lots of gorgeous CRUNCH!

Juice: Freshly Juiced Organic Broccoli, Cucumber, Banana, Pineapple and Mango, with added Green Power Wheat Grass powder, Organic Aloe Vera Gel and Beetroot Crystals (no fresh beetroot at the market). Bloody Amazing to drink and beautiful to look at.

Dinner: Not sure but probably something similar to lunch... mmmm...

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I'm not the most efficient blogger in the world, so forgive the verbosity. I may not update every day but I will try my best.

Peace, Love and Light
xo
Miin