My cousin’s daughter (she is 21 years old) sent me a text yesterday. She and her friend are doing a 28 day detox. She wanted to know if I had some recipes to share. Of course I do!
I did give her some more information that I thought was important to share with her. This is what I wrote; Dear Nienke, I am proud of you for taking the initiative to care for your body in this way. Not many people take the time to do this and then they wonder why they don’t feel their best. I want to share something with you that I have learned over the years. You are probably aware that my family and I have been eating vegetarian/vegan for about 20 years. I have always been attracted to raw foods during this time; not meat of course but fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc. When my children were small, I often would eat about 75% of my food in a fresh, raw state. I felt good about that. My body was lean and strong and I had lots of energy. When I started working outside of the home, I did not focus on my meals so much. I focused on what my family wanted. The meals were still vegan, organic and healthy. I was eating less than 50% raw. What I noticed was that I had less energy, I was influenced easily by stress and I was moody. . I also found myself snacking a lot after dinner. I noticed that I had fat on my belly that I had never had before. I had aches and pains that I did not have before and increased discomfort in my low back. I had trouble settling and relaxing. I was still exercising regularly. In fact, I was running about 6 km per day! In September 2013, I had a fall off my bike and suffered a serious concussion from which, at time of writing, I am still recovering from. Not long after, I decided that my body needed to go back to eating more raw foods. I felt I needed my energy back. I began eating 75% raw.
Some days would be all raw. I am still doing this today. I have found that quickly my belly fat disappeared. Seriously! I am still not back to my old self, but my energy levels are consistently increasing. One of the symptoms of head injury is anxiety and also one is easily affected emotionally. Everyday I feel that these symptoms are improving and I believe that my diet plays a huge part. What do I eat?, you ask. A typical day looks like this for me… I begin my day, every day, with a glass of warm water and a freshly squeezed lemon. I follow with another glass of warm water. I wait for my bowels to work their magic before I eat anything else. I also wait until I am feeling hungry. Breakfast is usually fruit of some sort. Fruit bowl or fruit smoothie. I often use my juicer and make green juices. Sometimes I add fruit because then I am more likely to get my family drinking them too! I also make a lot of green smoothies. Lunch is often a big salad with a seed pate or avocado. I love nori rolls and they are frequently my lunch. I spread a pate on the sheet and fill it with salad greens and grated vegetables, roll it up and enjoy! Supper is when I prepare a healthy warm meal for my family as well as a big salad. I put salad on my entire plate and then top it with a few scoops of the warm meal. I do this especially when the weather is cold and I feel the need to be warm inside. I might serve a lentil dish, a bean soup, Indian fare, brown rice pasta with tomato sauce, rice wraps, etc. We always have a variety. I try to make sure that dinner is served before 6pm. I avoid eating after dinner as much as possible. I find that I fall asleep easier and my body wakes with more energy. I think that that played a big part in the disappearance of my belly fat! For snacks, I enjoy small amounts of nuts and seeds, dried fruits. I love to make energy bars! I love to eat energy bars! I will also make extra smoothie in the morning, to have in the afternoon. However, I do find that my body is not asking for much between meals. I remind myself to drink a glass of water at those moments first. Sometimes we confuse hunger with thirst. I encourage you to ask your body what it needs to be healthy. Listen to your body. Love your body and fill it with the healthiest possible foods that you can. Of course, if your body is asking for junk food all the time, you may need to do some tweaking. Maybe it is the texture of the food you really want or the flavour. In any event, treat your body like a temple and it will serve you well for many years to come!
Here is a super easy recipe for a breakfast smoothie to get you started. Click the title to get to the recipe.
Thanks for reading!