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Raw Pumpkin Pie
My recipes have moved to raederle.com -- my domain. Click here to see my new and improved recipe page.
My friend asks: Have you ever made/had Tabulee? Also, do you ever use Sugar in the Raw in any of your more dessert-like dishes?
I answer: I've never heard of Tabulee. And, definitely no sugar whatsoever. No xylitol, no splenda, no agave nectar, no stevia, no honey, no molasses, no syrups, no man-made refined-garbage. :D When you don't eat any refined sugar whatsoever, rea...l fruit tastes more and more sweet. Most people's taste-buds are completely out of whack with how nature actually tastes. That said, I was able to make desserts for my family while I visited that they liked without adding any refined sugar; I just used more dried fruit than I would have used for myself. :D So, what's Tabulee?
She says: I just wondered because I'm a fan of unrefined raw sugar myself.
Tabulee is a Lebanese raw dish made of chopped parsley, tomatoes diced really small, onions done the same way and bulghur (cracked wheat, far as I can tell) with a lemon dressi...ng over it. Had it today at one of my fav restaurants that does a lot of vegan food. Completely raw and totally delicious. Thought it was right up your alley.
I reply: The bulghur is probably cooked, although it may not be. It's possible they soak it until it's soft enough and then use it. I've not heard of any grain besides buckwheat being available and edible raw. That said, the Tabulee sounds like a generally healthy dish. Even if I may choose to avoid cooked foods, a little bit of a cooked food of certain things in reasonable portions is likely healthy.
I've been considering including one cooked serving of food per week after December 3rd. (12/3/2010 marks three straight months of 100% raw for me. I want to experience three full months of being 100% raw before I experiment with adding anything not-raw back in.) The cooked things I would be adding in would mostly be to supplement some nutrition I may be lacking due to the fact that I dislike a lot of raw vegetables that I do like cooked.
For example, I dislike broccoli and string beans raw, but like them cooked. So I may have a small side on my dish one night of the week that would include both of those things in a small portion. Another thing I might have is a chili made with a lot of various beans I wouldn't eat raw because I don't like sprouts.
The most major point of being raw is that the enzymes are 'alive' and able to allow full digestion so that we get all of the nutrients out of what we're eating, and not just a tiny portion. Whatever we don't digest gets eaten by bacteria and parasites in our intestines. Parasites in the intestines can cause you to be overweight, underweight, malnutrition-ed, and cause a variety of different forms of discomfort. Everyone has some, since we come into contact with them all the time, but the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) fosters parasites.
By adding in one cooked serving a week of something that contains other minerals I need, but still eating lots of fresh raw foods around it I should still be able to fully digest it with the aid of the enzymes from everything else I'm eating around it. That's the theory at least. I won't know how it works out until I try it after December 3rd.
On the note of sugar: I first switched from anything with white sugar, high fructose corn syrup and so forth to only things containing small amounts of organic naturally milled sugar. Because my health was getting better and because I was paying close attention, I became acutely aware of the effects of everything I ate. I noticed rather quickly that even organic sugars still had a negative impact on me. When I want to sweeten something I use a fresh or dried fruit. In particular I use dates, dried currants, bananas and pineapples the most often to sweeten things. I also use coconut water quite a bit, but not really for the direct purpose of sweetening, although it is fairly sweet. (Yet to people who eat a lot of syrups/sugars coconut water doesn't taste sweet.)
[End Super Long Explanation Of Various Things]
~Raederle Phoenix
I can't disagree more.
I'd say don't go to Wal-mart because the company is not moral.
Also; usually when you buy something cheap, it turns out that it's worth what you paid for it: which is not much. And it's true what you are what you eat. You make millions of new cells every hour. Those cells are made up of what you've consumed. Do you want to made of cheap crap? Of course not! You're your own goddess and should feed your body as such.
I say go to the Lexington co-op and buy yourself some organic fruits and some raw nuts that you like the best and pack a mix of four or five of your favorite things in a reasonably easy-to-carry portion.
I pack my husband a mix his favorite greens, fruits, raw nuts, seeds, dried fruit & seasonings in a stainless steel lunch box on most mornings for his work break.
~Raederle
"Well don't you feel special for packing your husband's lunch with such good stuff. You are entitled to your own opinions and I'm very glad you express them in such and intellectual manner. Some people can not (I'm not saying my friend can't) afford to go to the co-op all of the time. Organic food is better for you but it is also more expensive."
Well, of course, she missed half the point. Organic fruit and raw nuts. Raw nuts was the other half. And the other point was entirely silent, which was what I didn't suggest. I didn't suggest a sandwich, or anything containing bread, meat, dairy, and so forth. She seemed to only catch the common 'buzz word' which is "organic." The other was "raw" but unfortunately it's not wide-spread enough for most people to pick up on it. I was tempted to go into that, but instead, I decided to reply the main point she was making, which is that what I'm suggesting is "expensive."
You know what's ironic though? Since I met my husband and we both went raw, he now spends just as much to feed both of us as he used to on himself.
I get the argument that my lifestyle is more expensive all the time, but in reality I spend much less money than most people. It's a matter of priorities, for one thing. Some women spend a lot of money on make-up, shoes, hair-products, going to hair-stylists, skin-lotions, etc. What's funny is that if you spend your money on eating as healthy as you can instead, you end up not needing any of that stuff, except perhaps a high quality oil like jojoba oil, but olive oil works too.
The other aspect of this is all the expenses as you get older. Medications, operations, anti-wrinkle creams, dental bills, a wheel chair, a nursing home, etc. I'm using my free time to learn about how I can avoid all of that by being as healthy as humanly possible and then acting on what I learn. In the long-run, this is incredibly cheap.
~ Raederle
$31.00 at the farmer's market:The above is just to note how much you can save, and the quality you can experience when you shop at a farmer's market. It's good for the community, for the economy, for the environment, for your body and for your wallet all at once! You have nothing to lose! Do you really have somewhere better to be early on a Saturday or Sunday morning?
3 large organic yellow peaches
2 organic apples (one pink-lady and one "wine")
1 large bunch of the origional concord grades (full of flavor and seeds: remember, seeds indicate life)
2 organic persimmons (they taste somewhat like a cantaloupe crossed with a peach)
1 large organic bunch of sorrel (long sour leaves; like lettuce with a hint of lemon)
1 bunch of heirloom carrots (the sort that branch out in all directions)
1 loaf of home-made pesto bread (for my husband, obviously)
Half a gallon of fresh-made raw, delicious apple cider (the sample I drank sold me on the thought)
5 heirloom tomatoes
1 pint of organic strawberries
I had already made my first typed attempt at a novel; over four-hundred typed pages if you include in the the side-stories and second book.
I had experienced the extreme fatigue and pain that comes with mononucleosis four times.
I knew what it was like to feel entirely alone, and helpless.
I had developed the ability to never become bored. If life on the outside was dull, then I'd be fascinating on the inside!
I had fallen in love, and had my heart broken due to my own mistakes.
I had lived through the loss of many possessions and my usual way of life due to a fire.
I had been suicidal, depressed, and watched other children do what I could not for my entire life.
I was bitter and desperate.