Eating Raw And Juicing...No Way!

Last night I watched the documentary "Fat, Sick And Nearly Dead" by Aussie Joe Cross. You can watch it by clicking on the link and it's also available on Netflix. If you're looking for an entertaining, feel-good movie (you wouldn't think so from the title), this is it! 

I get a kick out of seeing the "before and after" guts of men on liquid diets. It certainly should make you feel good about your own gut, if you have one. You probably won't feel like snacking on chips during this one. Rather, you'll get the urge to put those potato chips in the new juicer you'll want to buy for Christmas. Enough said, I don't want to ruin the punch line (celery, kale and pineapple punch, that is).

So yes, juicing is the new prozac in the health-conscious underworld. I don't have a juicer (yet...and I hope Santa doesn't get too ambitious this year) because I just don't think I could get into it that much. I've heard cleaning those beasts is worse than changing diapers on someone else's kid. However, I ordered some "green powder" and it arrived today in the mail! Totally legit, it's made of a bunch of organic veggies that you add to a smoothie or fruit juice. Apparently, it's the next best thing after juicing...and no cleaning involved (thank goodness, because I'd have to add that chore to our "Mr. and Mrs. Bitch Chore Chart"...see previous post).

The other thing that arrived in my mail today is Vitamin D-3 and...yum...Cod Liver Oil! I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. That rhymes with "brrrr". I don't think I'll be able to survive another winter here without more vitamin D (naturally produced by our skin when exposed to minimal sunlight levels). Tomorrow, the low will be -31 Celsius....that is -23.8 Farhenheit!! Without enough vitamin D (1000 iu daily) our moods darken, our energy drops and hibernation suddenly seems like a viable option. I have a tough time with this extreme cold weather. Can you tell?

Anyway, this week at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, we are learning about raw diets. I can see the benefits of eating raw food (more enzymes, vitamins and nutrients, less acidity building up in the body, more vitality, less toxicity resulting from cooking). However, I just can't fathom eating a 100% raw diet like David Wolfe does and recommends. David Wolfe doesn't live in Edmonton...and he has his crazy hair to keep him warm! I just can't imagine shovelling the snow at -31 Celsius and coming in to warm up to a nice, raw fruit-veggies-nuts-seeds and (raw) grains supper! No way, not for me. Sure, I'll eat plenty of raw foods here and there, but not exclusively, not unless we move to a warmer climate! (I'm open to negotiations here...)

This blog is a great tool for me during this year of "nutritional transformation". Watch, one year from now I'll be blogging about how juicing is a "must" and writing out the latest recipes for raw chicken...

Warmly, (but sort of freezing at the same time)

Lise
(www.lisevilleneuve.com)