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What I eat in a day Spring/Summer Style

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I haven’t done one of these posts or videos in a long time. These types of videos or posts tend to be controversial IMO because no two humans are the same or have the exact same needs, taste buds, preferences, or access to food.

That being said these posts can also inspire us to create a positive shift in our life so if fresh food talk and photos are something that inspires you, then this post is for you!!!

My food intake falls into 6 main categories (I am being detailed here and counting tea and liquids for clarity- hydration is as important as food).

 

I recently switched to pretty much raw with some exceptions. Most days I eat raw. Sometimes I make lattes with store-bought milk and other exceptions may happen. I didn’t pre-plan the raw per se, however, I have had the intention to go back to raw for a few years so I naturally started and I cannot stop.

The reason why I switched is that I felt a need in my body to include more nutrients. I have to say that I have been a believer in the idea for 25 years now. I’ve read a lot of books- the older ones that were all spiritually based and I have been raw on and off throughout the years. I typically feel a need to change from time to time and I try to flow into it rather than to force myself and restrict stuff. I am sure as the cold months return I will have the need for steamed pumpkin or a potato again. I do not preplan these things or make decisions in advance. I listen to my cravings and what draws me in. If it is not pleasant I won’t do it. I don’t care for the 100% raw idea as it is very dogmatic to me. However, I do like to just eat raw and call it food when I refer to my meal. The internet makes me announce things that I would typically not talk about. So here for the purposes of sharing in this article, I will go on and on about the details haha.

Morning Tea

I keep changing the teas I prefer. I am back to my matcha love. I have matcha on many occasions but some days I have other teas. I also make roasted dandelion tea. A turmeric, chia, lucuma, maca, ashwagandha mix; sometimes I make frothy cacao in my frother; I have a few different cacao blends – one with goji and acai powder; another with reishi and baobab; a third with cordyceps and Rhodiola. I am not super tolerant to cacao so I pretty much have it once a week. It seems to really work for me but if I increase the dose then it throws me off. i also cannot have a lot of ashwagandha or maca or anything that is remotely labeled as adaptogenic herbs (absolutely sad about it) because it will give me insomnia if I have it daily. I love herbs as you know but adaptogenic herbs have to be done minimally in my case and sparingly. Matcha however due to its high l-theanine content helps me sleep like a log- 8 hours straight without interruptions.

Adaptogenic herbs act as stimulants for me. They give me energy and make me require less sleep which is followed by a crash. I have tried to take them a few times because they are all good for longevity and immunity and such but oh well.

I typically make tea before yoga but lately, I am starting to see massive benefits if I manage to refrain from too many liquids and do yoga on as empty of a stomach as possible. The main benefit – is during vacuums. If my stomach is empty as soon as I do a vacuum my Throat Lock (Jalandhara Bandha) pulls in strongly which makes all 3 locks very strong (Mula bandha & uddiyana bandha).

 

My lemon balm is growing in the garden so I will be brewing that too.

 

 Hydration

Passionfruit, chia, stevia, buckwheat sprouts.

After yoga, I make a big blended drink. Blendtec has a huge jar that I fill 2/3rds and I drop some frozen sour fruit in it such as passionfruit, cranberries or such or lemons and either stevia or celery (sometimes I want the salty flavor). I serve it with presoaked chia seeds. I also take this on the go if I am not home.

If it’s a shopping day I get kombucha.

I make sure to drink a lot. About a liter and a half of that blended goodness. Passionfruit is typically in the frozen section in our local market and it is around $2 a pound. It reminds me of LA and Hawaii. Such an amazing fruit.

If I have sprouts or microgreens I drop some in that blended drink as you cannot even tell they are there.

Grazing

This is kind of an extra category. It doesnt happen daily but sometimes I graze in the garden – pea leaves, cilantro, lettuce or okra, and beans later in the season. Or grapes and such in the house.  I mention this just so you dont get the idea that I am soldier-like strict and routine-oriented. I pretty much flow and work and eat around it.

I do this usually while getting some work done. Garden work or in the house.

 

Smoothie – Fruits

For food, I do 3-course meals – typically back to back.

It can be split up throughout the day. Most of the time I just eat in the evening. If I travel, during pregnancy, or if my cravings change then I do 2-3 meals a day. Typically when I travel I eat fruit for breakfast because the fruit in Bulgaria is ridiculous. While in Texas it seems that my excitement for food is a touch less.

I considered myself a foodie in LA and even in Bulgaria because I used to go to farmers’ markets and literally get high from being able to buy local, rare, and somewhat exotic (still local) fruits and produce. Here the produce is largely from California so my connection to food is still great but more on a functional level rather than massive enjoyment. I still love my meals but it’s just not the same thing. That is the reason we are growing food- I need that connection to where it is grown. That gets my juices of excitement and inspiration flowing.

My smoothie includes whatever I have:

Bananas always

Oranges (I cannot omit the oranges lately)

2 small apples (I love the texture from the pectin- a bit more puddingy so not for everyone)

Always Celery

Sometimes greens – dandelions, spinach, lettuce, pea shoots, cilantro, parsley.

Lately Papaya, Mango and Pineapple

Sometimes Berries, Blueberries (often), and Cranberries or Frozen Dragon Fruit (as a special treat when it is on sale).

Again I make a blenderful. IT’S BIG!

Dates

Often I have a jar of soaked dates after my smoothie. Dates are still a category of their own in my life. LOL.

I love fresh dates which are hard to find here so I soak them in the morning or the night before and they pretty much remind me of fresh dates.

I often will have a full jar of dates – this is a tomato sauce jar 681 grams or 24 oz (1 lb 8 oz)- in other words, it is big. Good calories, good energy. The medical medium posted some info on dates recently that was just great.

Basically, dates are great for removing parasites, pathogens, candida, etc from the body. On a spiritual level, they offer a bubble of protection of the energy body.

“Dates are rich in nearly 70 bioactive minerals (much higher than is documented) that support the adrenal glands to help you handle life’s daily challenges. ” Medical medium

From this book – Life-Changing Foods

Also contrary to popular belief they are amazing for diabetes and blood sugar issues (the popular science is basically reversed but with some re-learning dates can be incorporated as a healing tool). We cannot stop having blood sugar altogether- that means death. we must rebalance and improve the function of the liver, pancreas, parasympathetic nervous system, adrenal glands, and so forth.

 

I swore by dates as a milk producer while I nursed my daughter. I nursed for 3 and almost 1/2 years as I allowed the natural weaning process to take place and I never had low production the entire time.

 

Also I started eating dates at around 36 weeks of pregnancy daily and they are a great prep for birth. They help with the thinning of the uterus.

From me, a palm tree takes a really long time to start fruiting- it is tapped deep into the earth so it sources nutrients, not from the topsoil which can be deficient. There is something magical about dates. In the Quran and in many Arabic texts dates are really highly prised. Let’s just say I would be happy to have a date farm 🙂 haha.

I also love Natural Delights coconut or almond or pecan cacao date rolls. It is the best dessert on the planet to me.

Many years ago I wrote a post with some health information about dates. You can read it here

Dinner- salad, soup, dip, etc

Avo soup with sprouts, soaked adzuki beans, and veggies.

 

I have been addicted to this blended raw green soup. After I make it I throw chopped greens and veggies in it. It is kinda soup meets salad. Very satisfying. Very nourishing.

In the blender:

Avocado  (an absolute must for the creaminess)

Optional nut butter or tahini

Celery

Carrots or pumpkin or zucchini or peppers or any veg

Greens – parsley, dill, cilantro, dandelion, spinach, chard – whatever you like. Sometimes I make it orange and I skip the greens.

Garlic

Spice (here is where all the flavor is)

Smoked Chipotle makes a great nacho sauce

Apple Cider Vinegar

Seaweed

Fermented things work well here as well- sourkraut or salsa.

Salt if you use salt. I have tried to add olives and the whole things tastes like heaven

I also use my herbal vinegar with herbs for the kidneys (dandelion, parsley, oat straw, chaparral, etc) or my master tonic (vinegar with soaked horseradish, onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric, cayenne in it)  in the soup. Vinegar herbal extractions are great for delivering herbs in a condiment form.

I serve it with tomatoes, nori sheets, onions, sprouted lentils or mung beans, chopped up kale or dandelion; baby greens, pea shoots, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, sprouted fenugreek, soaked mustard seeds, dulse, etc

 

I soak a lot of lentils or other seeds or beans and then I use them for the next 7 days – from a soaked stage to a small sprout stage, to a small shoot, to a huge sprout stage.

I try to have dulse daily as it is high in iodine.

I vary these things. Not all of them in the same meal. I just use up what I have.

The green soups are great because you can hide veggies in them that you won’t typically eat. Everything basically tastes like the soup. The soup is like a nice dressing.  I am also very efficient with my produce – I blend up everything that needs to be used up and thus I don’t waste any food. A very efficient addition to a diet.  I want to incorporate carrots daily into my foods and the soup is a very easy way to get them into my belly 🙂

If you keep it thick then it is a dressing.

 

Garden Greens

 

My friend Leya told me that the wood sorrel that is everywhere in my garden is edible and also medicinal so now I add it to my meals. it tastes just like sorrel- very lemony and beautiful. A wild edible.

Wood Sorrel – blood purifier.

 

OTHER

On occasion, I have wine at our local winery or beer at our local brewery that brews Belgium on the spot. I am not a big wine person – I mostly love it on a sunny afternoon with live music and good company.

 

I would also have a slice or two from a fresh sourdough if I bake one that day.

 

Sourdough is high in lysine than grains are and it has some B12. It is great for digestion and for the microbiome- probiotics and predigested proteins and starches.

It is phenomenal for kids – as they will eat baked goods anyways. I started making everything sourdough because I realized children thrive on good fermented grain products. Traditional, slow-cooked food. I make crackers, buns, pizza, focaccia, and even muffins the sourdough way.

I am not 100% anything. Labels usually work as reverse psychology for me.

 

Here is the nutritional breakdown for one day but every day varies.

This is just one day – I had 1/3rd of a cup of coffee on that day. Right now I am not having any.

The pea shoots and other things I have listed here do not have a full nutritional profile on cronometer so I suspect there is a lot more zinc in this day. Cronometer is a great app for tracking nutrition especially if you suspect you are deficient in something or if you are not certain your diet is balanced. However, prana, assimilation, and energy are far more than the sum of the nutrients in our diet. Digestion and assimilation are very much dependant on our capacity to breathe deeply, to be able to relax, and on our emotional balance. Our microbiome is of uttermost importance as well.

I supplement with Vitamin D, especially outside of summer.

I will share supplements sometime in the future as this post is far too long.

Thank you for reading.

Love

 

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1 Comment

  1. Tracy Manke's Gravatar

    thank you so much for these latest blogs as i had some big questions after reading through vegan cookbook. now i just need amounts, ali. i’m such a darn recipe follower!!!! when a new mom almost 18 years ago, i asked my friend exactly how many tablespoons of rice did she give her 6 mos old and she simply answered, till he’s full…my son’s pediatrician high-fived me when i came in for his 6 mos checkup without my tracker of how much he voided his bladder and intestines, when and how long he nursed, and how many tablespoons of rice cereal. my poor kid! oh what i’ve learned in my human being on earth. seriously, though, another friend said gardening is trial and error. my budget didn’t allow for too much error and i get bored easily. anyway. same goes for my pantry and midwestern weather, limited resources. so when i buy, i end up tossing so much since it tasted nasty–unfortunately included dulse seaweed among many others. i was looking so forward to that for the the benefits but probably didn’t combine it to taste edible enough and just need all of it prepped for me…try try again. thank you for always posting when i seem to have questions!

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