Italian Dressing (Vegan & Paleo)

I need to start off by saying one thing, I love condiments, I really do. I was raised on condiments. As a young child I absolutely loved to slather my chicken nuggets in BBQ sauce, my burgers would overflow with mayonnaise, my potatoes were covered in mountains of sour cream, and if I had happened to have eaten any vegetables I can guarantee they were slathered in salad dressing. Of course this was just another factor which contributed to my sugar addiction, as virtually all  commercially made condiments contain large amounts of high fructose corn syrup, or other kinds of sweeteners.

Both corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup are unhealthy for a number of reasons, one being that they are highly processed and contain many chemicals, including trace amounts of mercury. Most sugar is made up of both fructose and glucose, but high fructose corn syrup is chemically separated so that it contains just fructose. When eaten that fructose goes straight to our livers, and causes fat deposits, or fatty liver disease which is a precursor to Type 2 Diabetes.

Another good reason to avoid commercially made condiments is because they're most often made with unhealthy oils like canola, or vegetable oils. These oils are high in trans fat, which raise LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, and lowers HDL (good cholesterol) levels. These oils are also what's known as hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated oils, which means that they've undergone a chemical process by which the oils are treated with hydrogen to break their natural chemical bonds. This makes the oils solid at room temperature, and thus more shelf stable, which is why processed foods last much longer than their more natural counterparts.

Healthy fats include coconut oil, grass fed ghee (clarified butter), and extra virgin olive oil; though each one of these fats is better suited for different kinds of food. All fats have what's known as a smoke point, or a point at which they begin to burn. Once an oil reaches its smoke point it becomes carcinogenic, and shouldn't be eaten. Olive oil has the lowest smoke point, at 320 degrees, and is best used for cold dishes and salad dressings, which is what I used for this dressing recipe.

Italian Dressing (Vegan & Paleo)

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

-2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-1/4 cup raw Apple Cider Vinegar

-1 Tbsp Raw Honey or Maple Syrup (optional)

Seasonings:

-2 tsp Dried Oregano

-1/4 tsp dried Thyme

-1/2 tsp Dried Basil

-1/2 tsp Dried Parsley

-1 tsp Garlic Powder

-1 tsp Onion Powder

-1/4 tsp Dried Mustard

-1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt

-1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper

 

Why Apple Cider Vinegar instead of regular white? Well, for a multitude of reasons. Raw apple cider vinegar is made by introducing yeast to crushed apples, which begins the fermentation process. Next, bacteria is added which helps convert alcohol into acetic acid, the main component in apple cider vinegar. ACV has been shown to be beneficial for diabetics in controlling blood sugar, raw ACV also contains the "mother," which are strands of proteins, enzymes, and probiotics which can aid digestion. Probiotics are also highly beneficial for those that suffer with mental disorders like anxiety, and depression. Here's a great article briefly describing how gut health plays a role in mental health, and here's the brand of raw ACV that I use, which you can buy at any health food store, I buy it at Whole Foods.

Method:

-Measure out your olive oil & apple cider vinegar into a bowl, and add all of your spices. Whisk together all of your ingredients. This dressing can be saved in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days.

Grain Free, Mostly Raw Pasta Salad

Growing up in an Italian family pasta was a staple in my diet, actually, grains in general were a huge part of my everyday life. Cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and either pasta for dinner, or it was a meat heavy dish with lots of bread passed around the table. Up until about five years ago I hadn't realized the connection between my sugar addiction and my bread consumption, but anytime I had a severe sugar craving and couldn't get my hands on some sweets I always turned to refined grains. The reason for this is because refined grains are what's known as simple carbohydrates, which are carbohydrates that are made up of just one or two sugar molecules. Simple carbohydrates, or simple sugars, are digested very quickly by the body, and raise our blood glucose level higher faster, which means they're high on the glycemic index. Refined grains have been shown to greatly increase our risk for developing Diabetes, and contributes to obesity. Due to processing, refined grains also lack much of their natural fiber, and fiber slows down the absorption of other nutrients, including carbohydrates. This is why simple carbohydrates like fruit don't raise our blood glucose the same way that other simple carbohydrates do, because fruits contain plenty of fiber to help balance the sugar. (This is also why it's best to eat fruits in their whole form, or blend them, as opposed to juicing them. Juicing fruits removes their natural fiber.)

In general, there doesn't seem to be a solid consensus on grains, even whole, unrefined grains. It is known that grains contain Phytic Acid, which is a mineral blocker that can prevent the absorption of calcium, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium (magnesium is critical for both mind & body, read why here). However, there is evidence to suggest that traditionally, grains were consumed after sprouting, which is a process by which the grain, or seed, is provided moisture and begins to germinate. Sprouting lessens the amount of Phytic Acid present in grains, and allows minerals and nutrients to become more bioavailable, or more easily absorbed. Personally, I'm comfortable eating small amounts of whole, unrefined grains, but I do prefer sprouted, and have found that it does help with my digestion. So I keep grains in general to a minimum, but I don't completely eliminate them. 

Since I bought a spiralizer I've been making lots of delicious raw "spaghetti" from vegetables, mainly zucchini. But I still enjoy a nice hearty pasta dish, and I typically buy sprouted grain pasta, but I very recently found a new brand which I've been hearing rave reviews about. It's entirely grain free, and contains just one ingredient, organic red lentils. They also have an organic black bean variety.

Beans and lentils also contain Phytic Acid, so I do prefer them sprouted, but again, I follow my body as a cue and have found that I feel no negative affects from small amounts incorporated into my diet. In fact, I actually feel much better when I do. So here's my recipe for hearty pasta salad.

Hearty, Mostly Raw Pasta Salad

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

-1 medium Zucchini

-1 medium Cucumber

-1 small or medium Red Onion

-2 medium Bell Peppers

-1 large Tomato (though I ran out of tomatoes)

-8 ounces Pasta

-about 1 cup Italian dressing (you can find my recipe for Italian dressing here)

Method:

-Chop all of your veggies whichever way you prefer, and allow to marinate in Italian dressing for at least 20 minutes.

-Cook your pasta as directed, rinse with cold water to chill, and mix with your marinated vegetables. That's it!

Grilling in a Pinch on a Semi Raw Diet

August is the pinnacle of summer for us, there's lots of family BBQ's, and late nights spent grilling. Grilling in general can be rather difficult for a person who eats a mainly whole foods, plant based diet. The easy go-to for most non-omnivorous eaters are meat replacements, veggie burgers from brands like Boca, or Morning Star, which are what I like to call "food-like products." Unfortunately, these products are about as on par nutritionally as meat that many Americans now consume, which come from factory farms, and are highly processed as well. To put it simply, these "food-like products" are extremely lacking in nutrients, and many of the ingredients wreck absolute havoc on our bodies. Which for me becomes glaringly obvious because my anxiety almost immediately increases, and my OCD symptoms kick up about 5 notches whenever I used to eat these foods. Mental health is completely intertwined with intestinal health, and many of these foods are highly inflammatory. So when your intestines become irritated, or inflamed, it's going to stimulate a response from the brain.

First off, most of these products contain soy. Roughly 90% of all the soy grown and used in the U.S. is non-organic, and genetically modified. Non-organic soy is extracted using hexane, which is a byproduct of petroleum refining. Hexane has been shown to cause brain tumors, and this chemical is also released into the air through processing, contributing to chemical smog and air pollution, which has been heavily linked to childhood asthma.

My second issue is with the kinds of oils used in these products. When reading the ingredients list you're likely to find one or more of these oils: canola oil, soy oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, sunflower, or safflower oil. The problem with these oils is twofold, one issue is that the plants which most of these oils come from are genetically modified, and non-organic. But more importantly these oils are hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated, meaning they're highly chemically processed. Processed vegetable oils are also very high Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, which are known to lead to heart disease, and numerous types of cancer.

But sometimes all I want is a nice veggie burger, slightly charred on the grill. So what's a girl to do in a pinch? Well I've finally found one brand that stands far and above any other, Hilary's Eat Well. 

The ingredients in these are so pure, and delicious that there's almost no reason to even bother trying to make your own burgers...almost. Hilary's products are organic, certified non-GMO, they're also dairy, egg, soy, corn, and gluten free. But here's the real kicker, they're made with COCONUT OIL. The only ingredients in these little beauties are organic vegetables, organic spices, and organic coconut oil. That's it!

Coconut oil is one of my favorite oils to use because it's made up of medium chain triglycerides, or medium chain fatty acids, which have been shown to have therapeutic effects on brain disorders from Alzheimer's, and epilepsy, to mental illnesses like anxiety & depression. Here's a great post, with citations, about the many health benefits of coconut oil.

So all we did for our delicious burgers was slice up some veggies.

But instead of a bun I decided to use collard greens to wrap it all up in. Collard greens are part of the cruciferous vegetable family, which also includes kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage & turnips. They've gained quite the reputation for being serious nutritional powerhouses, and rightly so, but I make it a point to only consume a sparing amount of these veggies in their raw form. Why though? Well because there's now a growing body of evidence which has shown that consuming large amounts of raw cruciferous vegetables contributes to Hypothyroidism. According to the Oregon State University Micronutrient Information site:

Two mechanisms have been identified to explain this effect. The hydrolysis of some glucosinolates found in cruciferous vegetables (e.g., progoitrin) may yield a compound known as goitrin, which has been found to interfere with thyroid hormone synthesis. The hydrolysis of another class of glucosinolates, known as indole glucosinolates, results in the release of thiocyanate ions, which can compete with iodine for uptake by the thyroid gland.

So how can we avoid this? By cooking our veggies. The goitrogenic properties of cruciferous vegetables become dramatically lessened when they are cooked. So in general I like to keep my intake of these raw veggies to a minimum, though I wouldn't be worried about consuming small amounts, especially if you regularly consume seaweed, or any other food that's high in iodine, which has been shown to help counter, or balance the effects of these vegetables on the thyroid.

I bought Hilary's Hemp & Greens, and Adzuki Bean burgers, and they were fantastic! I especially loved the flavor from the green chili's and cumin, not really spicy, but very flavorful. My omnivorous partner in crime was even craving more.

The Easiest, Most Delicious & Nutritious Ice Cream You'll Ever Make!

Confession time, I have a sweet tooth. A very serious sweet tooth, which has made switching to a whole foods, plant based diet incredibly difficult at times. After years spent eating prepackaged, processed foods (especially faux meat products), microwavable meals, tons of pasta, and store bought condiments & sauces which are all LOADED with large amounts of refined sugar, I developed a very real physical addiction without even realizing it. I eventually began suffering from withdraws where I'd become anxious, and have intense mood swings when my body was craving sugar. Late night 7-11, and supermarket runs became a norm for me, and nights when I couldn't get my fix I'd toss and turn all night until I'd eventually scrounge up a high carb, bread heavy meal to fill the void. Even when I began to find my way into healthy eating I still had cravings, and major setbacks all because I hadn't yet realized that even some of the "healthy" foods I was eating at the time still contained high amounts of sugar.

Well I still get cravings, I'm afraid that won't ever go away, because I really do just love sweets. The difference now is that I don't feel an intense *need* to consume sugar regularly, which means I really get to enjoy the desserts that I make. So here's an incredibly simple dessert that's not only immensely scrumptious, but is jam packed with all kinds of goodness our bodies need to thrive.

Chocolate Almond Crunch Ice Cream

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

-4 Large ripe or overripe Bananas

-4 to 6 Tbsp. raw Cacao powder

-1 Tbsp. raw Honey

-1/2 tsp. Bee Pollen (you can purchase Bee Pollen at most health food stores, or online here, but it's preferable to try and find locally sourced pollen which I buy at our farmers markets.)

-4 Tbsp. raw crunchy Almond Butter

You won't actually taste the bee pollen, but it packs a serious nutritious punch. Bee pollen is made up of about 25% protein, and contains 22 amino acids, 18 vitamins including numerous B vitamins (B12 included), 25 minerals, and 11 enzymes or co-enzymes. It's considered by many to be one of the earth's most perfect foods.

Method:

-Thinly slice your bananas, and place them single layer onto a parchment sheet lined pan, cover with another sheet of parchment paper and place it in the freezer for about 1 hour. IMPORTANT, you want the bananas to be very cold, but not completely frozen solid.

-Place your frozen bananas, honey, bee pollen, and cacao powder into a blender, blend on low speed at first, gradually getting faster as you help to press all of your ingredients down with a tamper.

-Once well blended, scoop into any kind of freezer safe container, I just used one of my glass tupperwear containers. Layer a bit of your ice cream, then swirl some almond butter in, and add more layers until all of your ice cream has been transferred into the freezer safe container.

-Place back into freezer for at least 3 hours, or until your ice cream "sets." Scoop, and serve.

It was late when I made mine, and I didn't want to wait, so I ate mine straight out of the blender, which made the consistency a bit thin. Allowing it to set in the freezer will give you a more solid, ice cream-like consistency. But you will not be able to tell the difference between the consistency of this and regular dairy ice cream, they are wonderfully similar. I scooped half out for myself, and saved the other half in the freezer.

Avocado Lemon Basil Dressing

This post is a bit late, my apologies, it's been a busy summer with a very active two year old on my hands. Because of that I like to keep lunch really simple, since I'm usually trying to squeeze in a quick, uninterrupted meal during my daughter's nap. Most days it's either a wrap, or a salad, with one of a few different dressings that I like to make to help keep it interesting. We've had an overload of avocados recently, so I've been using that as a base for many of my dressings.

Avocados are a wonderfully nutritious food that I try to incorporate into my meals everyday. They contain in excess of 25 essential nutrients, including vitamin A, B6, C, E, K, copper, iron, magnesium & potassium (60% more than bananas!). They also contain fiber, protein, and are chock full of healthy fat that our hearts and brains need to function an optimal level. So here's just one avocado dressing recipe that I enjoy using.

Super Simple Summer Salad & Avocado Lemon Basil Dressing

For the Salad:

-1/2 Cucumber

-1/2 small/medium Zucchini

-2 Carrots

-1 Tomato

-1/4 Red Onion

(but of course you can use any veggies & fruits that you like)

For the Dressing:

-1 medium/large Avocado

-1 large Lemon

-1 Lime

-1 or 2 cloves Garlic

-2 bunches of fresh Basil

-1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Method:

Thinly slice, or chop all your veggies for the salad. I used my Norpro mandoline slicer, which I got off Amazon for less than $20. Definitely worth the money since I use this handy gadget nearly everyday. 

For the dressing scoop your avocado into a blender, add basil, lime juice, depending on how lemony you like it add the juice from half or more of your large lemon.

Chop 1-2 cloves of garlic, I added two because I like the sort of mild spiciness that it adds. Add about 1/4 cup water, and blend until a smooth, even consistency is achieved. For a thinner consistency simply add a little more water.

Now just layer this creamy dressing right onto your salad. It actually makes quite a bit, probably enough for two salads, so if you wanted to save some for the next day just pop it in a container and leave it in the refrigerator for no more than 1-2 days. Now just sit down and enjoy this super simple, incredibly scrumptious salad.

Why Semi Raw?

So this is my first post. Yay! To get started I'd like to tell you a little bit about myself, my story, and why I'm starting this blog.

For starters, I'm a 24 year old mother of one very vivacious, and rambunctious 28 month old daughter, Adeleine. We live together in the suburbs of Philadelphia with my mother, and our delightfully insane cat Annabelle. Adeleine's father and I have been together for nearly five and a half years, after meeting each other at 16. My passions are wide, and varied, though my heart lies in living a healthful and balanced life, and trying my best to help others in the process. I'm currently studying to become a certified Doula through DONA International, and I'd also like to earn a degree in holistic nutrition. So where did my passion for a balanced, healthful life stem from?

I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Panic Disorder when I was around 9 or 10 years old, after having been in treatment since I was 5. At that time certain types of mental illnesses were still very uncommon in young children, so I was misdiagnosed multiple times. Since childhood I was put on all sorts of different medications from Prozac and Remeron, to Klonopin and Abilify. Their names and uses cover a vast scope, and despite having been on over 20 different medications since I was 5, nothing ever seemed to improve my symptoms, and I suffered from all sorts of strange and uncomfortable side effects. Things didn't begin to change until my mid to late teens.

I have an amazingly wonderful childhood friend that I'm lucky enough to still be close with. When we were very young my friends mother was beginning her journey into the holistic nutrition, and health world, and she was also learning to become a Reiki master. Once I reached my mid/late teens, after having been on and off numerous medications and treatment plans, I began seeing my friends mother for therapeutic reiki sessions, and found that through reiki, yoga, and meditation I began to feel a change. My general level of anxiety was lowered, and I felt overall more balanced. But there were still more pieces which I hadn't yet fit into the puzzle.

I found out that I was pregnant in August of 2011, which was quite the surprise, as I was precisely 14 days from moving into a new dormitory at a university over an hour away from home. Instead, I transferred to a local community college, and continued studying education until nearly the end of my second trimester. During my pregnancy I became extraordinarily interested in the entire pregnancy and birthing process. I watched every documentary that I could find, read every book I could get my hands on, and after switching from an OB/GYN to a midwife practice sometime in my late first trimester, I decided on using Hypnobabies as a means to help me through the journey of birthing my daughter. To me this all made perfect sense for my personal situation, as I was already familiar with meditation.

Through this focus on the pregnancy process, my interest in nutrition and overall well being continued to grow, and soon led to my discovering all of the aspects of holistic nutrition, and truly using food as a form of medicine. For me I've found that balance is key, in all areas of my life. I don't ascribe to any one particular diet regimen, and I say regimen because to me many of the very popular diets are unnecessarily restrictive. While I've found that eating a plant based, primarily raw vegan diet has been exceptionally beneficial, I don't believe that we should shun fat the way that many raw vegans insist. I believe that certain fats are very healthful in moderation, as well as certain sources of animal protein. But I also believe that some diets, like the "traditional" Weston A. Price diet, encourage the consumption of too much fat and animal protein. But I incorporate aspects of each diet into my own, from Paleo to raw, and everything in between.

What's right for me may not be exactly right for others, and that's great. Wherever you are on this journey is exactly right for you. Just as I've grown and evolved in just a few short years, so will others, and hopefully we'll all be able to take what we need from our experiences and leave the rest behind. So here's to light, love, and a balanced, vibrant life. I hope you'll share this journey with me.

Antonia  xoxo