Better

Since the purchase and reading of the "Healing with whole foods" book, quite a bit has changed around here. Our grocery store bill has been reduced by 150.00 a month! Amazingly that $150.00 was contributing to our slow deaths by allowing the purchase and ingestion of chemicals, preservatives and other un natrual items.

This week there were no pre prepared foods purchased. By pre prepared I'm speaking of salads, breads, sauces, condiments, dairy products etc.

In the place of pre prepared foods there where purchases of raw whole organic beans, organic whole wheat flours, wheat berries, steel cut and whole oats, azuki beans, organic fresh vegetables and fruits, fresh organic soy beans, and organic unsweetened unsalted juices, spices fresh herbs. Whoever said that organic was more expensive is just because they consume gluttoness amounts of food. If you purchase what your body needs organic is cheaper.

We drank the Raw unpasteurized, unhomogenized kefir and milk. It defintely tasted different and better. We did consume it alone with no other food product in conjunction as dairy was intended to be consumed by our bodies for proper processing. I really do think though that dairy such as cheeses, kefir and eggs will be a treat in this household consumed maybe a few times a year only, as they are not really needed and the trouble it takes to consume them (must be on an empty stomach and no eating for four hours after ingestion) is not really worth it to us.

Rejuvelac was made and drank. I also used it to make a bread starter, frement oats for oat yogurt and then I reused the wheat berries that were used in processing rejuvelac to plant for wheat grass!

Rejuvelac was a fun experience. I enjoyed the fact that the wheat berries in rejuvelac really represent and entire cycle and can be used from start to finish several times and then planted after use in the rejuvelac process to yield us more goodies like the wheat grass!

The rejuvelac itself is good tasting, like a nutty flavored leamonade. It provides probiotics to us as well as acts as a detoxification agent. I might make it once a month or so for consumption in liquid form but the process while now easy is a long process. I guess anything worth doing well however takes time.

The oat yogurt from fermented rejuvelac and oats suprisingly DID IN FACT taste like yogurt and the texture was smooth as well. It was very filling and quite enjoyable. Unfortunately the after taste I did not enjoy and the smell is pungent at first. Apparently you can decide at what sharpness you like the yogurt and stop the fermentation at any time by sealing and placing the container in the fridge...we shall see, I may try this again, if I'm in the mood for yogurt. I will never purchase yogurt again however organic or not. Keifer maybe if found unhomonegenized and unpasteurized.

The bread starter from rejuvelac was amazing IM THRILLED about the whole wheat sourdough bread that was yielded!!! I cannot wait to produce other such whole and sprouted breads. Although I must add that bread will not be a main staple consumed in this house hold.

The congee I believe is the winner of the week! Both Erik and I have discovered how to make congee the SUPER food! We eat it with cinnamon, stevia and fresh nuts for breakfast as a porridge. We consume it with citrus and curry powder for a dinner. We add tofu or other protein sources to it for a snack or a lunch. Congee is amazing! Congee by the way is simply organic whole brown rice over cooked into a porridge form.

We also steam brown rice for a more grainer texture and to add to meals as supplements.

The azuki beans were soaked for 24 hours and then slow cooked for flavor and texture. The slow cooking process was...well...slow but I have never tasted a better bean in my life time, and to know that they impact our health in such a productive way even gives them a little more kick.

The soy beans I PROCESSED MYSELF at home to make miso paste, which yields us miso salad dressing, miso soup, miso drinks and even miso mayo! Miso is a joy to work with because of its ease.

Today we had congee porridge for breakfast and then consumed azuki beans with home made organic veggie salsa, guacamole and cucumber for lunch. I cannot tell you how amazingly fresh and delicious this felt and how awesome we feel!

The azuki beans were pre slow cooked by myself. The salsa was made from organic onions, tomatos, cilantro, sea salt and jalepenos. NOTHING CANNED BOXED OR JARRED! The guacamole erik made with fresh jalepenos prepared by mincing along with garlic that was salted with sea salt then incorporated into organic avocados. We heated the beans and topped them with guacamole, salsa and chopped cucumber! This was one of the MOST delicious meals of my life time. So much flavor.

I was skeptical reading that food could give you energy and make you feel better, that it actually had healing properties. I thought the healing was more mental from knowing that you were consuming what is good for you. I must say...the healing IS IN FACT PHYSICAL.

After the consumption of whole foods, consumed properly prepared, and paired (pairing is a huge key) you do not feel sluggish, you do feel refreshed and you DO HAVE ENERGY. My body has become a different capsule so to speak. Erik's blood pressure has decreased a significantly without an increase in medication. My stomach problems have lessened, I have lost weight and I WANT to consume water more often.

The lessons that we have learned from the whole makeover of our kitchen are:

- Whole foods do heal.
- You do not need a thing from a box, can or jar to make amazing meals.
- Whole foods physically in fact do make you feel better.
- The preparation process of whole foods is not as time consuming as predicted.
- Calcium from alternate sources (NOT DAIRY) works much better and is used properly by our bodies.
- Calcium from dairy is a no no as it causes arthritis, alzheimers disease and artheriosclreosis.
- Organic foods are MUCH cheaper and living organically/whole is much cheaper than living processed and fake.
- Wheat berries and brown rice are amazingly versatile super foods.

I have lost a total of 9 lbs in a 18 day period.
Erik has lost a total of 11 lbs in a 12 day period.