Raw Food & Yoga FAQs

How's it going for you today?  What's shakin' this weekend?  Fill me in on what you've got planned.   For me, Saturday morning is going to be filled with teaching yoga and then afterward chilling with Scott and Skylar.  Sadly, he's got a biz trip and is leaving Sunday so I will be flying solo, just me and a 2 year old til late Tuesday night.  Three days doesn't sound that long...til you're alone with a 2 year old.  I know the moms who read this know exactly what I mean.

Thanks everyone for the props on the Raw Vegan Apple Crumble from yesterday!  I've had rave reviews from people who's made it in the past and can't wait to see who else tries the appley goodness!

And I totally appreciated your kind words about my home redecorating and your commute-time passing ideas.

Recently I did a guest post on Janetha's Blog.  I am not sure if you saw it and so I wanted to re-post it here on my own blog.

I get alot of questions about why I went vegan and high raw.  Hopefully this will shed some light on things for you and answer some of the most common questions I get.  By the way, if you want a response to questions you ask me in the comments field, my dear bloggies, you must leave an email address for me to reply to.  Blogger hides your email address from me 99% of the time so I can't reply to you directly.  Not saying that I can respond to every single question I get, but leaving an email addy will help your cause greatly.

Without further ado, here's the Guest Post

Hi Meals & Moves Readers!  When Janetha asked me to do a guest post on her lovely blog, I was flattered, but also had no idea what would be interesting or informative for you to read.  Since Janetha left things wide open, I thought I would do a little Q & A session about things I am frequently asked about my approach to diet, health, and exercise.

Some of you may know me or read my blog already.  I am Averie from Love Veggies and Yoga.  I am a high raw, all vegan, yogi who adores making raw foods, especially raw desserts, while taking care of my husband, Scott, and my almost 3 year old daughter, Skylar.  The following are common questions I am asked about my life and my approach.

Why are you raw?
In order to answer this question, I need to give you a little of my history.  After a life of suspected food allergies, when I was in my mid 20s I realized that the GI disturbances, aching joints, headaches, bloating, moodiness, fatigue and sense of overall imbalance I had were not normal.  After consulting with a naturopath, acupuncturist, Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor, and massive amounts of trial and error old-school detective work by doing food eliminations & trialing the suspected food allergens back into my diet, I realized that I am allergic to or intolerant to many foods.  

My body cannot handle gluten (wheat, barley, spelt, kamut, etc.), dairy (cow, sheep, goat), or soy.  Once I eliminated these foods from my diet, my health and wellness improved dramatically!!  I saw the biggest benefit by eliminating gluten grains & products but was still feeling a little "off" and that's when the dairy & soy elimination took place.

So that still brings us to the question of why raw?  
Well, after I eliminated gluten, dairy, & soy, I feel that raw chose me, I did not choose it.  Meaning, for me, it's just easier and simpler to eat raw foods, less minimally processed foods and in as close to their natural state as possible...

...such as Aparagus, tomatoes, greens, carrots, red & yellow peppers, cukes, dressed with OJ, agave, and cracky blacky.

Do you ever eat cooked foods?
Yes, of course!  I am not a raw purist, nor do I aspire to be.  I like baked squashes, roasted root veggies, I like my veggie soups warm, and I drink coffee.  I go with the spirit of respecting what my body is asking for, and if it's asking for warm or cooked food, then I cook it.  Not rocket science.  I just go with the flow.  Check out My Squash Fries

Or My Sweet Potato or Curly Fries

Why are you a Vegan?
Most of my life, since childhood, I have been a vegetarian, or a pescatarian where I ate a few bites of fish a few times a year.  Other foods I cannot process or tolerate well are animal products and animal proteins.  This includes dairy and eggs, but also animal flesh like beef, chicken, pork.  I also have analphalatic reactions to shellfish, meaning I break out in hives and my airway swells shut.  So again, as I said with raw foods; the vegan lifestyle chose me, I did not necessarily set out to choose it.  


How Do You Get Your Protein?I eat dark leafy greens, sprouts, fruits, vegetables, and supplement a few times a week with brown rice protein powders (Sun Warrior is my favorite followed by Jay Robb).  For me, this works and I feel great.  If you research vegan protein sources, you'll find that darky leafies are nutritional powerhouses but everyone has to do what works best for her body to feel optimally!  I completely respect anyone's diet & exercise choices, as long as they are well-researched and the person feels great with those choices!
Try this one on for Protein & MicroNutrient Size.  Kale & Brock, two kings in the plant world.
Broccoli, Cauli, & Kale Salad with Homemade Vegan Slaw Dressing

And I'll leave you with some additional raw recipes I have created on my own and that I am especially proud of! They all take 15 minutes or less to make and require no special kitchen equipment other than a food processor.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

Raw Vegan Chocolate Donut Holes

Raw Vegan Apple Crumble

Raw Thai "Pasta" Noodles with Homemade Vegan Peanut Sauce (for this one you will need a good knife or a $29.99 spiralizer)

And a Couple Yoga Shots....  
For those of you who read my blog, you know I am passionate about yoga!  In an effort not to write a book here Miss Janetha's blog, I just invite you stop by my blog where I do a new yoga pose daily. 

Here are a few recent shots:

Tittibhasana (Firefly Pose).  Core strength first, arm strength second.  Bandhas, lock them first.  Then load.  And up you go.

Yoga Today is an Astavakrasana Variation

Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana (One-Legged Upward Facing Bow or Wheel Pose)

 

 Camel (Ustrasana).  Open your heart chakra, let the love in.  Let the Universe send love right into you and relish in how good it feels to offer yourself up to the blessings of the Universe and all the infinite love and wisdom that is around us.

 

Thanks everyone for reading my story!!!!

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