Dear Reader,
I'll be surprised if you read this entire blog entry! It is simply too long! And, it has no pictures! LOL!
I only wrote it, because it was important for me to share my food philosophy as it is now.
Some people prefer being coached by 100% raw foodists. So I need to make it clear upfront that I do not claim to be 100% raw vegan, but I know that we can achieve optimal health by consuming living foods 80-90% of the time. If you want to read about me, just keep reading below. If you like, read my posts under the raw food basics page.
I’d be happy to help you whether you want to eat 100% raw or less, transition to a vegan, or vegetarian lifestyle. Visit my Workshops and Events page, or e-mail me @ allthewaylivefoods@hotmail.com. Send me any questions, or comments, because I truly enjoy helping you and answering your questions.
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I started All the Way Live Foods because I love to study and talk about food, especially as it relates to health and well-being.
I began eating raw, and preparing raw meals for my family, in an effort to cure my daughter’s eczema. In pursuit of a cure for the past 6 years, I went from vegan to raw vegan to cooked vegan to raw vegan to cooked omnivore and back. While on this rollercoaster of food choices, I eliminated processed wheat products, un-cultured soy products, citrus, peanuts, tomatoes, corn, and any other foods that were known to be “common” allergens. To say the least, for me it was life of experimentation and no sense of peace with food.
As my food journey continued, I read Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions, Josh Rubin’s The Maker’s Diet, and Dr. D’Adamo’s The Blood Type Diet. I’ve studied the macrobiotic way in Paul Pitchford’s Healing with Whole Foods. I even cultured my own kefir using raw cow’s milk and I owned a kombucha mushroom for a time. I’ve supplemented with cumin/black seed oil, flax seed oil, hemp seed oil, and so many brands of probiotics that I will not dare list them. I pursued and investigated all sorts of diets and regiments all in an effort to learn about and solve the mystery of eczema.
When I first began the raw food diet for myself, I didn’t feel good. In fact, I felt less energetic. Also, my approach to the lifestyle was not healthy. It was more like a religion, a set of rules that I forced myself to follow. So, every time I ate cooked food, I felt like I "backslid" or did something morally wrong. In addition to being in bondage to the diet, I ate too many nuts, seeds, and consumed too much oil. I also felt like I never measured up to being raw foodist, because most of the recipes I attempted were either too cumbersome or intimidating for me to prepare.
After allowing myself to be tossed to and fro by all sorts of food doctrine, I finally arrived at the fact that a High-Raw Food Lifestyle is the way for me. Now I thrive. Now I do better because I know better. And I am set free by my choice to live the living foods lifestyle, at least most of the time.
I’ve learned that maintaining high alkalinity, eating a diet of primarily fruits, greens, and vegetables, nuts and seeds (in that order) makes me feel energetic, vibrant, and healthy. I am not a purist when it comes to food, but I know that a low-fat raw diet works for me. So, I like to focus on what I do "most of the time" when it comes to eating. On average, I’m 90% raw vegan most of the time, especially during the Spring and Summer months.
Also, for my kids, I am not strict with the diet. Generally, their eating habits are my eating habits. They eat lots of fruit, and green smoothies are staple in our household. We often rally around a giant bowl of salad. For fat, they consume avocadoes, milks and butters from nuts and seeds, and some edible oils.
Our family eats mostly raw, and some cooked food. The cooked foods are usually gently sauteed vegetables, miso soups with vegetables, baked sweet potatoes, sauteed tempeh and salad, soaked oatmeal, rice pudding, plantain fried in coconut oil, etc., On rare occasions, usually during the winter, and when the budget allows, I serve animal foods such as wild-caught salmon or pasture-fed chicken, with gently sauteed vegetables, or salad. I also enjoy serving my children kefir, usually as a smoothie, for its probiotic, vitamin, enzymes and minerals benifits, to name a few. My goal for my children is to simply make sure my children eat healthy and become adults who know how to make healthy food choices when they are independent.
I have integrated citrus, tomatoes, and corn back into our diet, and we still rarely consume wheat products and un-cultured soy products such as tofu, and we avoid peanuts or products containing them. In our household, we avoid refined and syntheticsugar, fried foods, GMO foods,and we do our best to avoid fast food (I took my kids to Chik-fil-A three times in 2010! LOL), and we need to avoid pizza like the plague.
Thank for reading.
Yours Truly,
Valine Zeigler
Know Better. Do Better.
