Brian Dreaming

Brian Dreaming
Pencil Drawing
1990

Wendy, Leslie and Julie FBCE
Prisma Color Pencils

2002

What I've Learened about what we call "Food"

Anyone reading this blog will know of my interest in healthy eating, and in particular Raw and Natural foods. Since March of 2009 I have been doing an "experiment" on myself, which has primarily focused on eating mostly (80-100%) Raw Foods only. I did this successfully until mid-August 2009, when I again started eating refined sugar in the form candy, namely, chocolate bars. I don't buy these things, but they were available in the candy dish at work for free. So I figured what the harm. Those candies lead to more candies, and other cooked and processed foods. Two weeks later I felt HORRIBLE. I had a migraine for a solid that I couldn't get red of felt like I was coming down with a cold. I gained weight and started retaining water and bloated out in every direction. I thought this was a really interesting to reaction, and I can only attribute it to the one thing that has changed....all that cooked, processed and refined foods. My body is acting like it has been poisoned, which, I guess it has. After living off of Raw and Natural food for so long...ingesting processed and refined "food" has really done a number on my body.

I have come to following conclusion: much of we eat in the SAD (Standard American Diet) is not actually food at all....just processed crap the we call food. Our bodies work harder to try and extract what little (if any) nutrients are in this "food" and this makes us tired and sick. Why would I do this to myself? Because it tastes good. That is not a good enough reason for me. I miss the days of feeling awesome and making it through the barometric pressure changes without any headaches. I have been poisoning my body for 3 weeks now, and it stops today.

My experiment has lead me back to where I started in March 2009...back to eating the Natural way. Heading into Fall and Winter in Colorado, I think it is unrealistic to expect to eat only Raw foods....it just gets too cold here. But...I think including some home-made soups and steamed foods as well as some cooked meats into my diet might be just the trick I need to make it through the cold winter. Instead of eating completely Raw (although I still plan to hover around 60-80% Raw), I plan on eating all Natural foods....the Natural Foods Diet - which is a good deal of Raw food. =) I can't wait to feel great again!!!! Veggies and Fruits...watch out, here I come!!! =D

Raw Fast Food!!

RAW FAST FOOD

Buttery Peas and Corn

1/2 cup corn (I use the frozen kind and warm them with warm water)

1/2 cup peas (same as corn)
3 teaspoons cold pressed organic olive oil
dashes of salt
1/8 teaspoon ceyenne powder
1/8 tsp basil (optional)

Mix it up...yeah! This recipe can be switched up by using different veggies. Get creative! Have fun with it!

Healthy Pizza (not Raw)

Healthy Pizza

While this is not a Raw recipe...it is very good and healthy. This is day two of the April Blizzard of 2009 and I cheated on my Raw diet with this wonderful pizza. I needed something hot and hearty to warm me from the insides. All of the commercials for Pizza on TV got me really craving it...so I made this healthy version. It is a modified version of the "Loaded and Oated Pizza" from the Hungry Girl Cookbook by Lisa Lillien. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
1/4 cup regular oats (not instant)
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
1/3 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese (I used low fat rather than fat free)
1 tablespoon diced mushrooms
1 tablespoon diced green bell peppers
1 tablespoons onions (I did not use onions)
1/3 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
Turkey Pepperoni slices to taste

Optional: salt, black pepper, oregano, additional garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, etc...

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place Oats and Fiber One in a blender or food processor and grind until a bread-crumb like consistency is reached. In a small bowl, combine the "breadcrumb" mixture, egg substitute, and garlic powder. Mix well. (*I added a little onion powder)

Over medium high heat, spoon mixture into a pan sprayed with nonstick spray and smooth into a circular shape. Allow to cook until the bottom is slightly browned (2 minutes) then gently flip. Once both sides are slightly browned, remove crust from the pan and place it on a plate to cool.

Remove pan from heat and respray. Cook diced veggies in teh pan over medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Season tomato sauce, to taste, with any of the optional ingredients and mix well. Pour sauce evenly onto oat/cereal crust.

Next evenly top crust - first with cheese and then with the veggies and Turkey Pepperoni's. Place pizza in on aluminum foil directly on the oven rack and cook for 10 minutes.

Makes 1 serving.

Since making the crust for this is really an ordeal...I usually make several pizzas at one time, wrap them in foil and then place them in a freezer bag and freeze them for cooking later....like for today. I just took it out of the fridge and cooked in in the oven for 30 minutes. Yum!! It hit the pizza-craving spot! =)

Pasta Marinara

I have been craving some Italian food lately and so I decided to try a raw recipe. Of course, I can never follow a recipe exactly....I always have to "tweak" it somehow. i ended up looking at several raw Marinara recipe's and then creating my own version.

Ingredients and Process:
This makes one serving

For the Pasta -
1 Zucchini, Shredded like noodles
1 Yellow Squash, Shredded like noodles
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peal the Zucchini and Yellow Squash, then either chop into extra fine "noodles," or grate them into "noodles." Place n a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.

For the Marinara-
1/2 Red Pepper, chopped
1 Roma Tomato, chopped
3-4 Sun-dried Tomatoes, and a little less than a teaspoon of the oil from the jar - just whatever was picked up by the spoon when I fished out the tomatoes. (I used the ones packed in oil. If you use the dried ones then you will need to soak them for about 30 minutes to an hour to soften them up a bit. You will also need to to add a teaspoon of Olive Oil)
1 teaspoon Italian Spices
Dash Garlic powder (you can use garlic cloves, but I thought a whole garlic clove for one serving might be a bit much)
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend everything in a blender until smooth (this also makes an awesome raw soup). Pour over "noodles."

For the Garnish-
1/2 Portobello Mushroom, sliced
1 Tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Amino's
Salt and Pepper to taste

Marinate the Mushrooms for about an hour in the Bragg's Liquid Amino's. Add Salt and Pepper. Place on dehydrator for about an hour or two. (Today I was really hungry, so I only dehydrated for 30 minutes). Add the mushrooms an viola! You have a yummy Italian Raw Meal!

Portobello Steaks

Tonight I had the most amazing dinner. I made some Portobello Mushroom Steaks with Gravy and put them over a bed of shredded cabbage and tomato slivers...YUM!!
I used Matthew Kenney's Portobello Steak recipe from his book Everyday Raw. The recipe (listed below) makes 4 servings. I cut the recipe down for just one serving.

4 Portobello mushroom caps, stems removed
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Black Pepper
Sea Salt

Gently toss Portobello mushrooms with ingredients. Spread on Teflex Dehydrator sheets and dehydrate 1-2 hour, until soft.

As you can see there were no "measurements" - so I just tried equal parts of Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. I also sliced the portobellos into strips. The recipe doesn't tell you to marinated....but I thought it would add flavor. So, I marinated them for about 3 hours (in the fridge), and then dehydrated for a little over an hour. I added some Tahini (about a tablespoon) and warm water (to thin) to the left over marinade to create "gravy." I also cut up one of the strips into tiny pieces and added it to the gravy for texture. I can't believe how EASY this entire meal was, from start to finish! This was by far the best raw "meal" that I have made yet!! YUM!