Tuesday, June 21, 2011

LESS FAT and SALT RAW FOOD RECIPES FOR WEIGHT LOSS!

Howdy, Fans,

In my effort to eat less fat and less salt on my raw plan (Today is the end of my 4th week raw!!!), I am hooking up with my friend, Sheryl, who is following Dr. Furhman's low fat vegan diet. His diet is so sensible, but I will stay on my raw plan, and use his plan as inspiration, and we will support each other, by emailing! Dr. Fuhrman has been featured lately on PBS. His plan helps so many people to lose weight and reverse disease. http://www.drfuhrman.com/

Here's Dr. Fuhrman's weight loss and health plan in a nutshell. Even if we stay raw, we can learn from it.

P.S. - Dr. Fuhrman's office is in Flemington, NJ, which is only about 40 minutes outside of Doylestown, PA.

DR. FUHRMAN PLAN
Unlimited

-all raw vegetables, cooked green and non-green nutrient-rich vegetables (eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, carrots and cauliflower)
-beans, legumes, bean sprouts, and tofu
-fresh fruits

Limited portions
-cooked starchy vegetables or whole grains: butternut and acorn squash, corn, white potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, bread, cereal (not more than one serving, or 1 cup per day)
-raw nuts and seeds (1 oz. max per day)
-avocado (2 oz. max. per day)
-dried fruit (2 tablespoons max. per day)
-ground flaxseeds (1 tablespoon max. per day)

Off-Limits
-dairy products
-animal products
-between meal snacks
-fruit juice
-oils

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So, in an effort to cut the fat and follow Dr. Fuhrman's tried-and-true diet advice since i've been struggling with overeating fat, I had no coconut in my morning shake. My shake was so good, i didn't even miss it. Banana, cacao, date, raspberry, strawberry.

[I guess dates are dried fruits, so i should only eat them once a day, according to Fuhrman. Plus, i think cacao is a fat, but i don't use that much.]

For lunch, i came up with a promising salad dressing!!!! I can't say it was DELICIOUS, but i think it has hope! Next time, i will add more garlic, and add some onion and some herbs right to the dressing.




LOW-FAT LOW-SALT CREAMY MANGO DRESSING
In the Vitamix, add:
1/2 cup of frozen or fresh mango
1-2 small cloves of garlic, or powdered garlic
a few TBSP of raw apple cider vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup or more of nutritional yeast (for saltiness, B vitamins and adds body to dressing)
about 1 oz of raw cashews
- - 1/2 cup water (drizzle in after rest of ingredients are blending)

Blend all ingredients into a cream, drizzling 1/2 cup of water into moving blender. This will thin out dressing and increase it's volume. This should be enough for 2-3 salads, and includes the appropriate amount of nuts for an entire day. Honestly, it makes for a bland salad, but provides enough slip. To cure blandness, add fresh herbs, jalapeno, more garlic, onions to spice things up, and if you don't have a problem with salt, that will help greatly, so add some celtic or himalayan salt! (Nama Shoyu or Braggs would make it an ugly color!)

ENJOY!
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Olive oil is sooooo delish (especially my home infused olive oil with all of my garden herbs and garlic), but I tend to overdo it, so i'm trying to stay away from it as much as possible in an effort to improve my weight loss and bear in mind Dr. Fuhrman's advice.

Yes, Dr. Fuhrman is against ANY oils, but definitely not against what he considers good healthy FATS, like flax seeds and avocado and nuts in moderation.

I don't like working hard at being raw and then not losing weight. It's too frustrating and seems pointless. If i can enjoy my salads with less fat and with a better form of fat for weight loss according to Fuhrman, why not give it a shot???? The mango cream dressing above used cashews for creaminess.
_ _ _

For dinner, which i am hungry for now, i'm going to take some of the leftover dressing (i used about half for my lunch) and add tomatoes and red peppers and basil and oregano and more garlic and onion for a low fat italian tomato sauce for my zucchini.

I usually drizzle lots of oil into my sauce. I'm very tempted to add my oil, but will try it without!

Guess what? It was awesome!




LOWFAT LOWSALT RAW ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE



In a food processor with the S blade, pulse chop:
-1/3 cup of creamy mango dressing
-2 small garlic cloves
-handful of fresh herbs: basil leaves, fresh chives, cilantro
-small peice of ginger
-2 roma tomatoes, cut in half
-1 red pepper, cut up
-1/2 slice of onion
-1/4 to 1/3 of a jalapeno depending on how spicy you like. Remove ribs and seeds to cut spice also.
-1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes for saltiness and cheesiness

Immediately pour over raw zucchini spaghetti, and enjoy!

Add 1/2 tsp of raw pesto to top if desired.


FATTENING RAW PESTO
In a cuisinart with S blade, add:
2-3 handfuls of mixed herbs: lots of basil, some parsley and cilantro, a little mint, a little chives...



2 large garlic cloves
sprinkle of celtic or himalayan salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 oz of cashews
1/2 cup Olive oil

Process all ingredients until smooth texture. Scrape sides of processor and process more.

USE THIS SPARINGLY!!!!!!

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Fuhrman suggests no more than 1 oz of nuts a day. I abided by this today and had soooo much energy! Actually, i still have some dressing left, so i had less than an ounce! Using the nuts in dressing helps to control nut intake, as long as you know how much you put in the dressing.

Much less nuts and no oil afforded my body the ability to generate so much energy. I got soooo much done today!!!! LOTS more energy! Wow. Eating lower fat makes you FEEL better.

Dr. Fuhrman also advises no more than 2 oz of avocado daily, in addition to the 1oz of nuts, for weight loss. Okay! No wonder i don't lose when i eat a whole avo on my salad, plus nuts! It tastes good, but dragged my body down....

_ _ _

Althought he does not recommend using olive oil, i cannot say i will stop completely, I included it in the pesto i made, but that pesto was really for Cliff, but i treated myself to 1/2 tsp. I will at least try to measure oil and use no more than 1-2 Tbsp at a time. I'm giving myself that out. I honestly think i usually pour 1/4 cup or more onto my salad!!! I think that's a LOTTA calories and weight loss seems to halt then.

_ _ _

What did you do good today? What did you struggle with? I love hearing from you! Let's support each other!

I practiced my singing. I listened to my lesson tape and took notes. I did all of the dishes. I cooked Cliff dinner. I cleaned up the kitchen again afterwards. I went shopping. i had a busy day.

_ _ _

I'll be in NY for my voice lesson tomorrow, but in my next blog, we'll hear from Sheryl, my friend emailing me, the one doing Fuhrman's plan. (Sheryl's emails are amazingly insightful).

And we'll hear from our Pure-raw-joy blogfriend and darling angel, "Praizin' Him, Glenda." She is doing so well making peace with herself and loving herself just the way she is, eating well for her (some raw and some cooked), and feeling good! (We all have to find our way and what works for us! No one says you have to be all raw, (unless you do!)) Whenever I read Glenda's writing, i smile and smile! Her pure soul just radiates!!! Look forward to Glenda!

Looking forward to sharing all of that with you!

Wishing you a beautiful pure raw joy day!

xoxo michelle joy

3 comments:

Pat said...

Hey Michelle I'm going to try this as well I need to bring the nuts and oils under control. I having juicing and it has my High Blood pressure undercontrol. Do yo know if Veggie's are unlimited?

MICHELLE at FREEDOM FROM BINGING said...

Hey Pat! I loved your video with Arnold! So glad to hear your blood pressure has been responding so favorably. Sheryl is having good success on Dr. Fuhrman's plan. Yes, all veggies are unlimited, non starchy veggies, that is, both raw and cooked. You may want to pick up one of his books or check out his website! xoxo michelle

truth_inBeauty said...

Congratulations on your 4 weeks raw! :D

I, too, decided to go lower fat a couple of months ago, and you're right - it makes a world of difference. I found I could substitute avocado in for olive oil while transitioning and that helped quite a bit.

Very interesting and yummy sounding recipes btw!

Good Luck on your wonderful journey!