The Raw Route

Just got back from visiting my children in Stellenbosch and their darling children - Joshua and Tyler. I wanted to spend some time browsing the organic markets in Cape Town with the family but two "littles", aged 4 and a half and 1 and a bit are so not into food shopping. We took it in turns to browse the "Slow Food Market" in Stellenbosch on the Saturday morning, keeping a watchful eye on the children at the same time. Its a gorgeous venue, lots of room to picnic away from the crowds, after having purchased your repast from the hundreds of choices on offer. Baked goods, cheeses, organic veggies, wraps, curries,beverages of all kinds and tarts and pastries decadent enough to make one weep. I could easily have hoovered my way through one whole row of tables offering a smorgasbord of choices, but settled uneasily on a slow-cooked oxtail in red wine pasty (huge, this thing was!) and sampled the chicken in white wine with thyme pasty, intended for the grandchildren.

However, health benefits being paramount in the forefront of my mind, this is after all about RAW food and the forays into all that this subject has to offer, so I guiltily wiped the (cooked/baked) crumbs from my chin and turned my sights toward the freshest raw stands.

I am definitely of the opinion that before going the raw route, it would be advantageous to try one of the cleansing/detox programmes, just to flush the system of clogging toxins, and to re-awaken the taste buds once again. Mine, I would imagine, are a jangled mass of electric neurons behaving like shameless hussies on a disco dance floor at the mere whiff of fried onions/curry/baked pastry/hot baked bread and the list goes on. I have submitted my tongue to so many flavours over the years, my mouth begins to water at the mere glance at some foodie magazine. Over-indulged, its hard to now train this errant mob in my mouth to now appreciate clean, fresh tastes and choose a crisp salad over a hot-buttered chocolate croissant!
But I digress..

After looking at various detoxes over the Internet, I liked the Master Cleanse where you basically start your day off by drinking one glass of Celtic Salt in water (Salt Water Flush) which helps with the flushing out of the toxins from your digestive tract. Then, throughout the day, drink 6 - 12 glasses (depending on how hungry you may feel) of the Master Cleanse Lemonade, which is basically:

• 10 oz. warm water (distilled or pure mineral - not tap water)
  
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (freshly squeezed NOT bottled)
  
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup (the real deal, organic and not the flavoured syrup kind)
  
• 1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper

At bedtime, drink a cup of Herbal Laxative Tea.

That's it fluffy! This cleanse can be done over a period of 10 - 40 days. It has been recommended that we purchase the book in order to read all about how to prepare for this fast, how to stick to it and lastly what to expect when its time to come off it.

According to the newsletter about the Master Cleanse: .."it simply flushes out the internal waste that's putting a huge burden on every organ in your body.

This internal waste does more then just clog up your colon. As you're about to discover in the quote from Dr Bernard Jensen below internal waste poisons your entire body:

"The heavy mucus coating in the colon thickens and becomes a host of putrefaction. The blood capillaries to the colon begin to pick up the toxins, poisons and noxious debris as it seeps through the bowel wall. All tissues and organs of the body are now taking on toxic substances. Here is the beginning of true autointoxication (when your body becomes so polluted that you slowly begin to poison yourself from the inside) on a physiological level."

Thankfully the Master Cleanse can eliminate waste in just 10 days, and reverse a lot of the damage its caused to your body.

~ Dr Bernard Jensen, DC, ND, Ph.D.

Eww, just reading that decided it for me. I AM going to do this and will report back on a daily basis as to exactly what I did, how I felt and what you can expect, should you decide to do it at any stage as well.

As with most things, I plan to embark on this 10 day journey firstly by publicly committing to it (shew!) and then journaling the details every pm and am on a daily basis. Having sealed that, have a wonderful long weekend (if you live in South Africa) and I look forward to starting first thing on Monday morning.

Yum factor

Last night's raw supper was actually YUM despite my previous objections about raw food not having much of an appetising, attracting, saliva-inducing smell! Okay the prawns were not actually raw, but they were very lightly steamed and still slightly "crunchy". Husband asked if we could perhaps flash fry them or steam them a little more but I was adamant that we would not do that! After all, I have my "raw" side to uphold. I reminded him that he loved sushi and really really underdone "seared tuna" so he waited quietly for his din dins, hunger pains slightly on hold because of our raw veggie juice which always precedes the supper prep.

Last night I juiced the following:

5 spinach leaves (with stalks) but picked over and nicely trimmed of any blemishes
1 whole beetroot (a large one) complete with stems and leaves - washed and trimmed
1 stick of celery (yes the whole thing, leaves and all). I cut a slice off the root end before cutting the plant in half so that the stalks fall off one by one. There is always, always a hard stone of packed soil/mud tucked somewhere deep inside the thing and that, my fellow juicers, you don't want to encounter no matter how organic it might be
1 small punnet of baby courgettes (about 6 or 8)
1 whole lemon (peel, pith, the lot) - just cut it into quarters and away you go
4 large red plum tomatoes
About 10 baby plum tomatoes (because I had them left over)
1 whole bulb fennel (root, stems and little green fronds)
1 whole cucumber
8 carrots
1 of each pepper - green, yellow and red (remember the more colourful the veggie is the more you want to include it in your daily intake)

This makes about 3 very large glasses of veggie juice to sip on slowly until dinner is ready.

A very basic concoction but you can add whatever you please (not fruit though, as fruit is reserved for mornings). My sister Carrie can elaborate more on this fact as she continues to inspire and point things out to me.


Raw Spring Rolls

A little bit fiddly I know and I nearly gave it a miss, but I am so glad I did it. Prepping this dish wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be as I read through my recipe! Let's take it away..

You will need the following, purchased, washed and chopped/sliced etc., sitting in front of you on the counter before you can start assembling. Once assembled, these little beauties must be kept moist under a dampened clean tea cloth until you are ready to serve:

1 pkt circular rice papers (mine I purchased from Checkers)
1 handful bean sprouts (buy fresh if you must but do please try and make your own in your little sprouter - so simple! There will be other recipes using these so you can always keep a stash on hand.
1 handful fresh mint leaves (washed, rinsed and picked over and off the stem, slightly torn)
1 handful coriander (handled the same way as the mint leaves)
3 carrots shredded or sliced into matchsticks (tip: run a potato peeler lengthwise along the carrots and then halve those thin slices)
1 cucumber (peel it, I didn't and regretted it!)- cut in half lengthwise and run a teaspoon along the length in the middle to remove the seeds - don't waste that, just chomp it) then matchstick this as you did for the carrots
5 spring onions (diced finely)

Toss together all above ingredients to combine.

1 handful of steamed prawns* (or you can use chicken or lean pork fillet). I bought a packet of frozen fully steamed pink prawn tails from Woollies and there is more than enough left over for tonight's dinner!


1. Boil a kettle of water and pour some into a wide dish (wide enough to swish your rice wrappers into and get them out with your fingers)
2. Wet a large clean tea cloth and wring the excess water out well to spread out in front of you as your working surface (leaving room at the top to store your rolls and cover them over as you work)
3. Drop in your rice wrapper (work one by one), steep for about 30 seconds, (too long and you will have them sticking onto themselves). Lay out flat and spread approx 1 good tsp or so of the veg filling mixture 2/3 of the way down the circle, close to you (in a horizontal line). You may need to refresh the boiling water at some stage depending on how fast you work).
4. Lay 2 prawns (broken into halves) across the top of the veg filling
5. Take the nearest edge of rice paper and gently fold partly over the filling. Lift the left side and fold over toward the middle, then the right side and fold that over to the middle, then roll the whole thing away from you to form a sealed package.
6. Keep these under the damp cloth until ready to serve (they last about 2 hours)

Serve immediately with a dipping sauce:

Dipping Sauce

Blend the following together:
2 TBSP fish sauce
2 TBSP rice wine vinegar (or lime juice)
2 TBSP water
1 tsp organic brown sugar (yes, you will be keeping a stash of these good ingredients in your store cupboard for times like these!)
1 green chilli (or two if you are feeling brave)
1 heaped TBSP raw peanuts (got these from EverFresh still in their shells but you can buy them ready shelled for times when they are not in season)

Now that, I can say, was a very yummy supper, fresh and clean on the palate and we were satiated without feeling bloated or uncomfortable. In fact, husband didn't even ask for "something sweet" as he usually does of an evening. I have taken to keeping raw whole dates in the fridge for him to pick on instead of the naughty chocolate bar or sweet biscuit.

Remember to drink plenty of pure, plain water (in its unadulterated form - over and above any other liquids like herbal tea, fruit juice, etc.) and do sip it slowly through the day, all day, from the time you wake in the morning right up until the time your eyes close at night. Pure water is the vehicle on which all the good food and supplementing rides. Your body simply cannot do without it.

"Raw"- velutionary Food

Since reading about the raw food movement (if we can call it that), I have both soared the heights of inspiration and plunged into the deep depths of despair (and often simultaneously)! Inspiration comes with reading how others have not only changed their lifestyles, their mindsets, their health, weight, centres of gravity, added longevity, new vigour, popped out babies whilst jogging on the beach, pausing only to secure the newborn onto their backs with their organic cotton headscarf before resuming their former pace. In fact one hale and hearty 61 year old fellow has managed to not only have kept up his strict raw diet for 38 years but has the cheek to look like a man 40 years his junior! "Six pack" rippling like a medal of honour, he stands posing in front of the veggie and fruit section of his local greengrocer.

Despair comes when I face the ingredients, the makings of a delicious repast spread out in front of me and I know that no matter how lovely and healthy it all looks, the sad reality is that it's never going to taste like a really good 'burger and slap chips! Salad I can handle, but as a side or even a starter but not as the main performance. When do we graduate to really looking forward to putting something raw into our mouths and going Yum!? One of the most important things about food consumption prior to eating it is of course - smelling it. When last did you smell a mouthwatering salad and feel the digestive juices rush excitedly round in your mouth? Does the whiff of a cucumber send you into swoons of anticipation, the way a slow-cooked oxtail casserole would? But, I digress..

Why? Why would anyone willingly choose the raw option? Well, the answer is simple. Guaranteed weight loss. Who doesn't want that? But, beyond that, because choosing raw as a lifestyle is not just about losing the weight, but keeping it off. And, beyond that, even, there are health benefits far outweighing the present status quo - healthy and strong bodies worked on by precious enzymes preserved and intact in the foods we consume, in their whole, uncooked and unprocessed state. Enzymes are proteins that facilitate chemical reactions in living organisms. In fact, they are required for every single chemical action that takes place in your body. All of your tissues, muscles, bones, organs, and cells are run by enzymes.

I quote from Jon Barron - "Your digestive system, immune system, blood stream, liver, kidneys, spleen, and pancreas, as well as your ability to see, think, feel, and breathe, (in fact, the very functioning of each and every cell in your body) all depend on enzymes. All of the minerals and vitamins you eat and all of the hormones your body produces need enzymes in order to work properly. In fact, every single metabolic function in your body is governed by enzymes. Your stamina, your energy level, your ability to utilize vitamins and minerals, your immune system—all governed by enzymes." Read the full newsletter:

http://www.jonbarron.org/athletic-performance/10-27-2003.php


I have decided that I want LIFE back. Obvious asthaetics aside, I want to feel energised, brimming with health, I want to be pain-free and live that way for a good long time. I want to go to my grave having run out of my allotted years rather than having run out of health. I want my memory, my intellect, my imagination, all of my mental faculties intact when I kiss the good earth for the last time.

Last night's supper was an adaptation of Ostrich Koi Saa taken from the recently read book entitled "Ant Egg Soup" - the adventures of a food tourist in Laos written by Natacha du Pont de Bie.

Ingredients:

500 gr fillet of ostrich (sliced very thinly) My husband loves fiddling with meat, so I pretend I can't manage so that he can manfully step in with his extra sharp knives!
2 TBSP fish sauce
4 stalks lemongrass (bruised - really smashed about good with the dull end of the big knife) and then finely sliced
8 spring onions (finely chopped) - reserve 1/2 of these for later
2 cloves of garlic (finely sliced)
a couple of dashes of light soy sauce
1 large handful of fresh mint leaves (you can't substitute for dried, must be fresh leaves, washed and torn off the stem)

1. Marinate the meat with the fish sauce, lemon grass and 1/2 of the chopped spring onions
2. Heat a splash of vegetable oil in your wok or shallow frying pan and saute the garlic slices until golden and crispy - remove and set aside with the other 1/2 reserved spring onions
3. Toss in the marinated meat and stir for about 1 - 3 minutes, searing it on high heat
4. Add the soy sauce - the meat should be a bit rare and juicy
   
5. Remove from the heat after tossing in the garlic, mint leaves and remaining spring onions
6. The heat should just "wilt" the mint leaves

Serve immediately on top of your plated salad leaves. I also used avocado, small tomatoes cut in half and finished with lightly steamed green asparagus.

I like serving lesser portions of meat or cooked ingredients with larger portions of raw ingredients - striving for the 80/20 rule at each meal - meaning 80% raw to 20% cooked.

Interestingly enough, there are certain vegetables which are more beneficial when consumed in a cooked (lightly steamed) state rather than completely raw, and these are) (to my current knowledge) - tomatoes, asparagus and broccoli). Hopefully all those raw lifestyle foodies out there will be able to add to the list and we will all, in time, be able to pool our knowledge and recipes to encourage, assist and motivate each other.

Tonight's supper will be
Raw Spring Rolls but I will report back on that with the recipe tomorrow!
Happy Eating - YUM!