Easy-in, Easy-out

This past month I have been experimenting a lot with juice fasting, and I have to say that it changed my whole view on food… During the juice fast I felt so light, flexible with a lot of energy and clear mind. Food really is one of the top factors on how we feel physically, emotionally and even spiritually.

As my dear teacher Dharma Mittra says, if you eat bacon, scramble eggs and toast you will feel fried, scrambled and toasted! Is it worth to feel like that so that you can just satisfy your junk food craving? Is it okay to eat until you are so full that you need to sleep it off? We must find ways to enjoy food in such a way that it doesn’t stop us from living our lives in full vibration. How? By changing our eating patterns, learning to enjoy what is really pure food.

Changing habits might take a long time, because we are so emotionally attached to food for many years. A green juice fast is one of the ways to help you change your eating patterns. Once you see how good you feel with a very pure diet, you will think twice when you choose your next meal.

What the hell is wrong with a high raw, vegan diet you might think…Well, first of all I realized that I eat way to much fat from nuts, coconut oil and avocados (yes it is high quality raw plant based fat, but it still a very dense food, especially when combined with high sugar fruits). I am not suggesting we should stop eating anything with fat, but to try not using nuts and oils so deliberately and portion control our meals more, learning how much of each food we should take in. For example in raw cuisine, a classic pie is made from a crust of nuts and dates (fat+sugar) and a filling of nuts and fruit (fat+ sugar). You see what I mean? This combination makes our digestion slow and gives us mental stress when consumed in large quantities like a big piece of pie, after a lunch.

Working a lot with food as a raw food chef, I am really concernead by this. I still love to make delicious food, but I feel like I need to take this under consideration : To learn how to eat and still feeling light, energized and nourished. What are your thoughts and experience on this? Would love to hear about it.

Now back to juice fasting…It is important to ease in and out of the fast. Take a few days (3 days) eating only fresh greens, fruit and smoothies. No oils, nuts or seeds. Maybe a little avocado the first day. Then continue with only fresh pressed juices made of mainly veggies and greens, complement with a little fruit juice. When you decide to break the fast, depending on how long you kept it, take a few more days easing out (from 3 to up to a week for long fasts) and start adding fiber back into your diet mostly in the form of blended food, fruit and salad, then adding tiny amounts of fat from sprouted almonds or avocado (both blended). This can be quite challenging since breaking the fast your mind will crave heavy foods to “reward” your patience. But don’t be fooled. If you fall into this mind trick and start eating heavy food right after breaking the fast you will suffer from terrible digestion ( no reward there). So keep in mind the easing-out as an actual part of your fast!

This is a great recipe to enjoy before entering or when breaking a juice fast. All the ingredients are juiced, but it has a savory taste. If you are during a juice fast and really crave something more substantial, you can try this soup omitting the salt (add some celery juice instead), nutritional yeast and the crunchies. Although the crunchies don’t really have any fiber, it is risky to eat them as they might aggravate your desire to chew food…

Ingredients for 1 large serving ( or 2 small if served as an appetizer )

2 large organic heirloom tomatoes
1 orange bell pepper
1/2 lemon
a few chives
a few coriander leaves
Black Indian salt (kala namak)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp spirulina crunchies (optional)

Juice bell pepper and either blend and juice tomatoes. I use an Omega juicer and pass the tomatoes through there but it comes out as a thick puree rather than juice, so adjust according to the equipment you are using. Juice also the chives and the coriander. Pour into a bowl and stir in nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt. Top with spirulina crunchies and serve.

Eat mindfully, be grateful for the food and feel the love