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Gypsy Wulff is the Editor of Turning Points in Compassion and Author of book sets for children who love animals and their parents. This 18 minute interview gives a brief introduction to her work and how it will help parents and their children with compassionate food choices.
One of the questions after today’s class was about the equipment I use to prepare raw food. To get started in raw food, the first kitchen appliance I bought was a high speed blender. I’ve had a vitamix for almost 20 years and recently bought a Blendtec Designer model. It’s the fastest way to add more greens to your diet. Throw some kale or chard (or just about anything green) in with some fruit, hemp milk and frozen bananas and you’ve got a tasty, healthy breakfast. The reason I love the Blendtec is because of it’s sleek design and digital panel. It turns off automatically too. A food processor will help you make pates for wraps and tasty desserts. A couple of my favorites are cashew ginger pate for nori rolls and flourless, dairy-free raw chocolate cake that takes less than 10 minutes to make with a food processor. Since I’m a minimalist I put off buying a dehydrator as long as possible. Once I went to culinary school at Living Light Culinary Arts Institute I learned the many savory chips, pizza crusts and wraps I could make, keeping the produce with as many nutrients and enzymes in tack as possible. If you keep the temperature to 118 or below you have an appliance that efficiently does what your oven can’t do. If you’ve heard people talking about the raw zucchini noodles they make, they’re talking about a spiralizer. The model I have is the Benriner Cook’s Helper. I like it because it sits right on top of the plate and isn’t as large as the horizontal models. It’s good quality and quickly makes noodles out of just about any root vegetable. You might want to think about buying a mandolin to make thin strips of vegetables for living lasagna and dehydrating vegetable chips. As far as knives, you really only need 2. A good chef’s knife and a paring knife. Go to a kitchen store where you can test them out. Try enough of them until you find one that feels good in your hand. A serrated knife is handy to have too, but not essential. To make nut milks, I have the Soyabella machine which eliminates all the boxes and keeps the milk fresh without any preservatives. It also serves as a grinder when I grind up flax seed into powder. It only takes a minute and I feel better knowing it’s completely fresh. Better than buying it as a powder that may go rancid before you use it or perhaps even before you bring it home from the store. Who knows how long it’s been in powder form before you purchase it. Getting the right kind of equipment will speed up your prep time and make raw food a pleasure instead of a pain. To see photos of the equipment go to www.PamelaZiemann.com under the store link.
Some people dive right into a raw, vegan lifestyle and others like a more gradual process. For the ones who want to let go of one animal product at a time I suggest Kathy Freston’s books. Another option is my 5 week online support group. Each week we look at one topic like dairy, protein, … Continue reading Lean Into It!
When I first learned the Almond Ricotta ‘Cheese’ recipe at Living Light Culinary Arts Institute I knew it would help people get off dairy. This class loved it, especially when they found out how easy it is to make. The first time I made it, I was a little intimated by using probiotic powder and … Continue reading Almond Ricotta ‘Cheese’ at Vegan Healthy Eating Class
Healthy Eating Class – Obstacles to Eating Raw
The first step to getting past obstacles is knowing what they are.
Rather than just handing out a lot of new, healthy recipes, I encourage the participants to do a stream of consciousness writing exercise. They let their minds flow and open up to all the obstacles that get in their way of eating the way they want to. Name it, and you can tame it. Awareness is the first step.
The obstacles were:
1) Not enough time
2) Feeling awkward in social settings
3) Family members not on the same path
4) Knowing where to shop, getting organized
5) Finding a balance between structure and spontaneity
Sometimes, it isn’t actually about the food. One woman is working 2 jobs, leaving her home at 7 am and getting home at 9 pm. We’ve all heard the adage, “Work smarter, rather than harder” We spent some time after class looking for a way she could quit one of her jobs and make more at her main job.
Feeling awkward in social settings can be handled by calling the restaurant ahead of time and knowing what you feel comfortable ordering from their menu before you get there. If you’re going to a friend’s house, simply bring one of your favorite dishes. Make sure there’s enough for everyone.
Don’t try to change family members. Just be a glowing example. Be true to yourself and they’ll see the change in you. You can’t talk people into this stuff. They have to want to change. If you’re living a happy, healthy life, they’ll see it and start asking you for ideas they can use.
I recommend PCC and Whole Foods Market in the Seattle area. Most small towns have a natural health food store or a coop. It’s amazing what you can buy online these days.
Finding a balance between structure and spontaneity is important. Most people don’t want to be on such a rigid path. One example is to combine structure (like going to the supermarket Sundays and Wednesday) with buying what intuitively feels right when you get there. If you stay on the outside perimeters of the store, you’ll be ok. Just ask yourself what color produce you haven’t had in a while. Last week I was at Whole Foods and cauliflower just kept coming to my thoughts. Even though it wasn’t what I went into the store for, I paid attention and brought one home with me. It keeps my meals interesting. VegWeb.com is a great site with over 13,000 recipes. If you get an intuitive hit for cauliflower, just type it in the search on their site and it will give you loads of idea on how to cook it.
Anything worth doing will bring up obstacles. Pinpoint what the obstacle is for you and then you’ll be able to move past it.
Please post the obstacles you’re facing.
Why do You Eat Raw?
One of my participants stayed after class today and talked about why her and her husband are incorporating more raw food in their diet. They want to have a baby.
They are intentional.
It got me thinking of all the babies in the world created in the back seat of a car or in a less than intentional way. Have you ever wondered why so many people in the world are asking themselves, “Why am I here?” Did their parents know why they were bringing new life into the world? And does this lack of intention go into the subconsciousness of their baby?
Who knows…
What I know for sure is that it’s fun to hang out with proactive people. People who know what they want and go for it. Reactive people are the ones who go to the nearest supermarket and buy whatever’s on the shelf. Proactive people are the ones who go the extra distant for fresh, organic, local produce. They take the time to research where their food comes from and to learn the nutritional content. They pay extra for organic because they want to live in a cleaner world.
People who eat more raw foods care about their health, the environment and other sentient beings. When I went to culinary school, I wanted to learn how to make tasty, vegan food so people wouldn’t have to kill animals. There have been many times that I’ve been reactive in my life. It’s more fun to be intentional, know what you want and go about creating it. Everybody wins.
The theme of this group was wanting to get more flavor with raw food. Not only is it possible to get more flavor by adding fresh herbs, you’ll gain medicinal benefits as well. The handout of my favorite raw food recipes includes a simple, but delightful pea soup with fresh mint. It’s a snap to … Continue reading Flavor in Raw Foods with Fresh Herbs
My student’s faces tell all as we examined the ingredients of ‘food’ in the Bellevue College refrigerator. Week 3 of a 5 week course called ‘You Are What You Eat’ is about reading labels. It’s up to us to educate ourselves about what’s actually in our food. The front of the packages are simply marketing. … Continue reading Chemicals in Your Fridge
My Healthy Eating class today included 2 teenagers, parents of preteens and a school teacher. Having preteen nephews and nieces myself, I love hearing how many kids today are concerned about what they’re eating. The cute cartoons on the front of the box may appeal to some, but not all. Cloe was my assistant mixing … Continue reading Healthy Eating Class – Kids Are Smarter than Food Labels
One of the greatest comments I hear at the end of these classes is when a participant says they feel it’s doable. This has happened a couple times and it always makes me feel like my time has been well-spent. Focussing on what we can do rather than what we can’t do is one of … Continue reading Doable Raw Food – Circle of Influence