Friday, June 18, 2010

Why Raw?

It's because of meals like this...

This was tonight's dinner and it was fantastic! Basically create a salad with any toppings of your liking and add this amazing creation of a dressing/salsa...


"Parsley & Chia Seed Salsa"(Recipe by Maggie, livingfoodjunkie)

1/2 cup Parsley
1 Tomato (diced)
Handful of Green onion tops
Zest and Juice of 1 Lime
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp chia seeds
3 tbsp Olive oil
Sprinkle of salt & pepper
Mix everything together in a bowl and serve.

We should have made a double batch because this was soooo flavorful and refreshing :) The best part about this recipe is that it's versatile. It's a great salad topper, but it's so much more! I'm going to add sprouted quinoa the next time to create a "Sprouted Quinoa-Chia Seed Tabouli." I'm also thinking salsa, so scoop it up with some raw crackers. Any other ideas?

Why Raw for me and the family?

I grew up and worked on farms dedicated on seeding, planting and harvesting vegetables, so eating living foods is second nature to me. Like a lot of other people though we were caught up in the convenience of processed foods, especially in the winter. Our family was eating the typical SAD diet. We balanced our meals between all the food groups, but we ate a lot of processed foods (breads, jam, crackers, soups, pastas, juices, chips, cookies, chocolate, etc...). In result, my guy was underweight and I was carrying some extra weight, especially after I had our little one. We were also rollercoasters of emotion, often having "blah" or sad days and never feeling overly joyed or happy throughout the entire day. The emotional part really played into my eating habits and negative body image. It was a horrible, vicious cycle. This all led us to talk with a nutrionist, do our own research and of course be inspired by individuals like Glamour Hippie. By October 2009 we changed how we ate foods.

We now typically eat 90% living foods every day, sometimes it fluctuates depending on our situation, but we try to stay up there. Of course we've seen the health benefits of eating this way. Personally, my major health benefit is feeling more comfortable with my body. It's not only the weight I've lost (36lbs lost), but it's the way I feel mentally about my body image. I think since my body feels healthy, my mind and spirit feel healthy. It's been a journey and I'm glad I chose to be on it. For my guy it's been more difficult to stay high raw, but its a process he is going through. The happiness and bliss each of us feel eating raw has helped us be better partners, parents and people :)

Why did you choose raw foods?

~Maggie

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the color and it looks so delish! Especially on a warm night!

Maggie said...

Thanks Pam! The flavor of this salsa/dressing just kicked the salad up a notch! I can't wait to try it with quinoa to make the tabouli :)

Melissa said...

Hey Maggie! I saw that you made a comment about "the seaweed" lady on Vancouver island on Aimee's blog! I'm in Vancouver and love meeting local bloggers! Your story is so inspiring and congratulations on the 36lb weight loss..awesome!
Ps I love this chia salsa. I'm so used to seeing chia in puddings and such so this is a nice change!!

Maggie said...

Hi Melissa! It's so nice to hear from a local blogger :) We will have to keep in touch! Thank you for the kind words about my journey into eating high raw :)

I'm so glad you liked the recipe for chia seed salsa. I brought some to a birthday party the next day with some organic blue chips and it was gobbled up!

~maggie

Lori said...

That is one beautiful salad/salsa you have there! YUM!
I really wish I could do all raw again (as I did for a whole year)- I felt great but honestly, I think my body needs more... at least for the amount of exercise I place upon it. I seem to get a bit too run down.
Oh well, MOSTLY raw works for me!