Raw Food Classes for Everyone

Have you ever wanted to take a class, but couldn’t justify it due to either the expense or commitment of time? I certainly have… Photography, piano… The list goes on.

However, I’ve had the pleasure, nay the joy, of teaching raw food preparation classes for the past two years, because I DID make the financial commitment and time commitment to train with Alissa Cohen and the Head Chef at Grezzo restaurant, Leah Dubois. The restaurant no longer exists, but Leah’s recipes are featured in the new Raw Food for Everyone cookbook authored by Alissa. I am grateful for that experience, because adding raw food to my life has changed my life. And I believe learning how to add raw food into your diet in a way that is fun and delicious can benefit everyone.

It’s no secret the ingredients we use for our classes are expensive, and some of our classes literally take days of food preparation before the class even begins. For this reason, the cost of taking a raw food class can be cost prohibitive… especially in the current economic climate. An intensive class can also be a rather large time commitment – for example, the Level I and II classes we were teaching, back-to-back, consumed an entire weekend. I don’t know a mom with kids in sports who can commit to an entire weekend doing something for herself… Do you?

For these reasons, Denise and I have taken the time to come up with new classes to suit anyone’s wallet and lifestyle. We feel adding more raw food to any diet is important enough to make learning how easily accessible. From free 1-hour seminars, to half-day advanced preparation classes, we offer something for everyone. But you have to want it for yourself!

Green Smoothie Spring Detox Seminar
Date TBD, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
55 Amoskeag Street, Manchester, NH
Join us for a quick one hour seminar about the many benefits of green smoothies; and how to make delicious, HEALTHY green smoothies that even your kids will love! FREE.

Italian Family Dinner - Raw Style!
Date TBD,
176 S River Road, Bedford, NH
This abbreviated course will teach you how to prepare a delicious Italian-style raw food meal your entire family will love! You will leave with introductory knowledge of how to prepare fun, delicious raw food, and your very own spiral slicer to get you started. $50.

Just Desserts!
February 4, 2011, 7 - 10pm
452 Brent Street, Manchester, NH
This evening course will teach you decadent, gourmet, easy-to-make raw food desserts that will wow even the most discerning dessert connoisseur! Excellent class for mothers and daughters to take together. $100.

Raw Food Basics
March 13, 2011, 9am - 12pm
452 Brent Street, Manchester, NH
This half-day course will teach you the fundamentals of the raw food diet through the preparation of easy, delicious raw food meals. $100.

Sprouting and Dehydrating
March 13, 2011, 1pm - 5pm
452 Brent Street, Manchester, NH
This half-day course is designed to demonstrate sprouting and dehydrating techniques that take you beyond basic raw food prep. Learn how to create dishes you never thought you could make raw... Like pizza! From this course you will be proficient in preparing elegant gourmet meals. $250. Prerequisite: Raw Food Basics. $325 to take both classes together. 

Visit the Each Peach Calendar for updates to the classes, seminars and events. Or sign up now to start your journey towards a healthier, more beautiful and radiant you! Register at least 3 days prior to the event by sending an email to abarstow@eachpeachcafe.com with the following information:

Full Name
Email Address
Mailing Address
Phone Number
Class/Seminar Title
Class/Seminar Date

We hope to see you soon!

Augusta

Finding Inspiration

Sometimes the very best things in life can be found in your own backyard. Sometimes that backyard stretches as far away as a 2-hour drive, i.e. from Boston, MA to Laconia, NH. Let me explain…

I spent this past weekend at Winter Carnival in Quebec City with one of my best girlfriends, Crystal. Neither of us had been to Winter Carnival before, but we travel really well together and just knew we’d find fun regardless of whether we had maps and elaborate plans or not. Inevitably, our trips together always turn into an adventure… Often involving some sort of law enforcement, we’re not sure why. Like the time we crossed the border between Germany and France, pre EEU, and had our entire car searched by machine-gun-toting border patrol. They riffled through our unmentionables in our suitcases, and even our packed lunch boxes! Maybe the fruit looked suspicious?

Back to our current story… This time, as we were driving through the streets of Quebec City using navigation and MapQuest directions to find our hotel, some pedestrians darted across the street in front of us when we had a green light and got us both a little flustered – navigation talking to us, while we’re reading directions, trying to watch where we’re going, at night, with foreign street signs, etc., and having to slam on the breaks so as to not hurt any locals. It’s no surprise then that we didn’t really see the next street light, which was red, not green, until we were just about to pass under it and I yell “red light!” and then immediate following “and that was a cop.” Yup. The benefit to being young and fabulous is that not only did the officers NOT write us a ticket after pulling us over for blatantly failing to stop at a red light, but they kindly escorted us the rest of the way to our hotel!

The most memorable aspects of the Winter Carnival for me were the dog sled races and, of course, eating sugar on snow (boiling maple syrup poured on snow to make a delicious maple toffee). We also got to wander through Old Town, sit by a massive fireplace in our hotel lounge to relax before dinner both nights, and eat in a couple of very fine restaurants.

'”What does all this have to do with Laconia, NH being the backyard to Boston, MA and finding inspiration there?” you might ask. When I eat gourmet cuisine in fine restaurants, I continually find inspiration for new raw food recipes. And although we ate like Queens in Quebec City (an 8 hour drive from Boston), I found inspiration Sunday night at Tavern 27 near Crystal’s home in Laconia (a 2 hour drive from Boston).

Tavern 27 is a tapas restaurant that strives to use local organic ingredients when possible, and they happen to make the BEST PIZZA EVER, “How Sweet It Is” -- figs, local organic spinach, fresh mozzarella, bleu cheese and local honey on sourdough crust. Yes, I eat pizza, on occasion, when I know it’s worth it. And believe me, this pizza is worth it.

It got me thinking… I‘m fairly certain I cannot successfully duplicate this pizza in raw form and have it be nearly as perfect for the palate. However, I’m also fairly certain I CAN recreate the perfect meld of flavors in a simple, scrumptious salad. When I achieve success, I’ll post the recipe. If any of you decide to play with these ingredients on your own, be certain to share your findings as well!

Augusta

Show Up For The Party

Forgive me if my first post is self-aggrandizing, but it’s my birthday. I’ve always loved birthdays, especially my own, and I treat them as though the day’s celebrant is the Queen (or King) of everything.

Today I am 41, school is cancelled due to snow, and my kids intend to spend the day baking, playing and lounging with the ‘Queen of Today’. Couldn’t have planned it better if I was the Queen of England!

We live in a great town, though not the best; have a great house, yet far from the biggest…and often in need of repair; I drive a 2002 mini-van (with 4 kids, not many options on that one); I do not own a vacation home other than a tent; and my idea of fabulous furnishings is often something from a flea market or salvage destined for a dump.

We don’t have ‘a lot’ compared to many, but according to my 10-year-old son’s handmade birthday card to me…what more could we need?

Granted, the siblings verse is a bit satirical, but siblings can be annoying.

So what’s the lesson here?  No lesson, just sharing my birthday wish with you! Actually, it’s more of a shortcut. I hope that by revealing my perceived shortcomings, then displaying ‘proof’ (see card), that the flaws only exist if I see them as such. You can save yourself years of trying to attain ‘things’, when all you really need is to be present. Show up. Come to the party.

Everything is in how you look at it. In the eyes of children, and the people who care about you, you are more than enough. You are perfect.

If there is one thing I know, it’s that our expectations for life often differ greatly from reality.  Friends whom I view as enviable successes reveal the following thoughts to me, such as: “I thought I would be…married, not divorced, have kids, own a second home, be at home with kids, be in love, have a career, be established, weigh less, be buff, own a house, run a marathon, be a movie/rock star”.

Life isn’t about having your architectural blueprint carefully drafted and executed. Stuff happens. And it is when we are finally exhausted from trying to defy the odds and have the greener grass, that we find ourselves having a good time loving our lives, our families (yes…even our siblings), our friends and most of all, ourselves.

It is when we stop trying so hard to force the goal, and instead take the time to smell the daisies along the way (while keeping our goal within sight), that we suddenly realize we are laughing more and worrying less. It is then that we are truly experiencing life. As one of my sisters told me when I was disappointed at my life’s unchartered course…‘What’s meant for you, won’t pass you by’ (I happen to adore my siblings by the way).

We’ve all heard the sayings: wherever you go…there you are; someone loves you; this too shall pass; your time will come. All of these are true. Have faith in these humble messages, and do so with a smile; for others, and most of all, yourself. 

All of the disappointments I feared were my failures, with time and patience, together with the lessons I learned, will shape the next phase of my life. It is from challenge and adversity that we grow. And it is through the eyes of children that we often see that what we thought was most important isn’t what we thought it was at all.

So this year, when I blow out all 42 candles (one for good luck!), I will sneak in a little extra wish that you extend the olive branch to yourself this year as well.

Lori

Nuts for Coconuts!

Last night Denise and I held a free seminar at Amoskeag Chiropractic in Manchester, NH, completely dedicated to the coconut, or specifically, the young Thai coconut. Coconuts are the seed of the coconut palm tree, and provide meat, water and oil.

As promised, step-by-step instructions on how to easily open young Thai coconuts:

1. On a solid, steady surface, place the coconut firmly with the point straight up. Get a firm grip, with fingers out of the way. Using a hefty meat cleaver, take several strikes on four sides in such a way that you form approximately a 2 X 2 square around the pointed tip.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Once you’ve cleaved through the husk, use the pointed corner of the cleaver to crack through one of the corners of your square. Notice the cut square around the top point of the coconut in the second photo below.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Then use the cleaver to pry up the “lid” until you can get your fingers in there to pry it the rest of the way, careful not to spill any of the coconut water inside.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Check the color of the meat to make sure you have a “good”, fresh coconut, and not one that has turned. A good coconut will have VERY white meat. A turned coconut will have meat that is discolored, sort of a light lavender or mauve. See the comparison in the first photo below. If you have a good one, pour the water out through a strainer and then scrape the meat out with a spoon.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it! This is a tried and true method. I’ve tried others, and this is by far the easiest one I’ve come across. Even Denise, who was TERRIFIED to open a coconut, found this method to be very easy. She was opening coconuts like a pro last Monday night in preparation for the seminar. A whole case of them!

Coconut Oil 
-  Pressed from the meat, removing the fiber.

-  Over 90% saturated fat. There are two kinds of saturated fats – long chain triglycerides (associated with “bad” cholesterol) and medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s), which is the one found in coconut oil. Within moments of being consumed, MCTs are converted by the liver to energy, and are not stored in fat cells. Protects against heart disease, stroke and hardening of the arteries.

-  Easily assimilated, provides energy, does not clog arteries, can be used for cooking at high temperatures without becoming toxic like other healthy oils (i.e. olive).

-  Excellent as an anti-bacterial skin moisturizer, lubricant and hair conditioner (helps in the re-growth of damaged hair). And highly effective at preventing tooth and gum decay with daily oil pulling (will write about oil pulling in a future post!).

-  Very effective in reducing excess weight through healthy function of the thyroid and enzyme systems, and increasing metabolism by removing stress on the pancreas, thereby burning out more energy (stored fat). People living in tropical coastal areas, who consume coconut oil daily, are normally not fat, overweight or obese.

Coconut Water
-  Packed with the same electrolytic balance as our blood, it is the original sports drink. The fluid of life. During the Pacific War it was used on both sides in the conflict to administer emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers.

-  Best consumed fresh – once exposed to air, rapidly loses organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, and begins to ferment. Most bottled varieties are pasteurized.

-  More nutritious than whole milk (less fat and NO cholesterol!), more healthy than orange juice (fewer calories from sugar, and effectively stabilizes blood sugar), better than processed baby milk (contains lauric acid, which is present in mother’s milk and strengthens the immune system and protect against viral, bacterial and fungal infections) and naturally sterile (water permeates through the filtering husk).

-  Contains more potassium at about 294mg than most sports and energy drinks at about 117mg. Contains less sodium at about 25mg, where sports drinks have around 41mg and energy drinks 200mg! Contains only 5mg of natural sugars where sports and energy drinks range from10-25mg of altered sugars. And it’s very high in chloride at 118mg, compared to sports drinks at about 39mg.

Coconut Meat and Butter 
-  Meat is pulled directly from the inside, and is unprocessed. Butter is coconut oil and solids processed together.

-  Young Thai coconut meat has less sugar and more protein than bananas, apples and oranges. High in minerals such as iron, zinc and phosphorus.

-  All components of the coconut are excellent replacements for dairy products, oils, household items, and more.

Too good to be true? Coconuts may be the ONE exception. Although, beware, most young Thai coconuts that come into the United States are dipped in formaldehyde. KNOW THE SUPPLIER, and only purchase from those you trust do not sell these toxic coconuts.

Also as promised, the recipe for dehydrated onion bread from Matt Amsden’s RAWvolution book, shared at a previous seminar…

Onion Bread
3 large yellow onions
3/4 c flax seed, ground in a high speed blender
3/4 c raw sunflower seeds, ground in a food processor
1/2 c Nama Shoyu or Braggs liquid aminos (I use less than 1/2 a cup)
1/2 c olive oil

In a food processor, but the onions with the slicing disc. Transfer the cut onions to a large mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread half the mixture evenly on a dehydrator tray pined with a Teflex sheet, and the remainder on a second tray. Dehydrate at 105F for 24 hours. Flip onion bread onto another tray pined with a screen (not a Teflex sheet), and gently peel the Teflex sheet off the bread. Return to the dehydrator for another 12 hours. Once dehydrated, cut into pieces using scissors or a large knife.

Enjoy!

Augusta

PS. Happy Birthday Lori!!!

Cleansing Comes Down to Timing

It’s the first of January. You wake up with a fresh-from-the-Holidays extra 5 pounds around your mid-section, and resolution-strength promise to yourself to swear off sugar, alcohol, wheat, dairy and caffeine. For at least a month.

The first few days go well. You’ve survived without sugar and caffeine by filling up on green smoothies and raw nuts. Then you stumble over some delectable home-baked morsel brought into the office by a well-meaning coworker, and one slip brings a lofty dietary plan crashing down to reality.

A week later, you try, again, to control your baser food instincts, growing more dictatorial with yourself with this attempt. You even consider the Master Cleanse* (lemon, maple syrup, cayenne) you’ve heard so much about, to really flush the fat cells out and toxins along with them. STOP.

*We do not advocate doing the Master Cleanse, as it can be very dangerous. Please seek out a licensed holistic nurse practitioner (like at Londonderry Whole Health), or try gentler cleansing and fasting techniques like those offered at Each Peach Café this spring.

Though the start of a new year may feel like the appropriate time to clean the ultimate house, A.K.A. your body, January is not the season for cleansing. Just like other living things, winter is the time for your body to rest – think the slumbering maple, bear and squirrel. Cleansing in winter is destined for failure.

Eastern medicine tells us fasts and cleanses are best undertaken in the spring, “when people have the sense that they’re coming out of the dark winter and into the light. They want to shed layers, literally and figuratively,” explains Marcy Balter, a board member at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Once a raw-food diet purist, Balter extols the benefits of “warming” foods during cold winter months. Like the soup from our January 12th Winter’s Day post.

Fasting and cleansing makes your liver work overtime, which is extra taxing during colder months. The best way to give your liver and digestive tract a rest this time of year is simply to eliminate the biggest inflammation-causing offenders – coffee, beer, red meat, processed sugars, and bread – and calming foods.

Curries – cinnamon, turmeric, coriander and ginger warm the system and move clogging compounds like mucus out of the body.

Garlic – fights fungus, the yeast candida and inflammation.

Cacao Nibs – has four times the antioxidants of green tea and is the most magnesium-rich food known. Perfect addition to a smoothie for a serotonin and endorphin boost to lift winter blahs.

Lemons – increases body temperature and circulation to clear toxins. Hot water with fresh squeezed lemon is perfect first thing in the morning and before each meal.

Water – lots of it. You can’t clean anything without sufficient amounts of water. The general rule is an ounce of water for every 2 pounds of body weight. Daily. It is difficult for me to drink cold water in the winter, so I leave my water out at room temperature or heat it up and add some lemon.

Still worried this won’t be enough to get you warm-weather-ready (shorts, tank tops and eeek, bikinis)? Each Peach Café is offering a variety of challenges (free), cleanses, and fasts this spring to help educate, motivate and provide support.

In the meantime, everyone is welcome to join me and Denise at Amoskeag Chiropractic this Wednesday, January 26 (weather permitting), for a FREE seminar all about the miraculous coconut. Learn why the coconut is so effective in supporting healthy thyroid function, enzyme systems like the pancreas, and removing excess weight!

In preparation, we opened a case of coconuts last night so everyone can try fresh coconut water (same electrolytic balance as our blood), and a delicious chocolate mousse made from the coconut meat and coconut oil.

Milk-Chocolate Mousse
2 C cashews, soaked 4 hours
1 C young Thai coconut meat (or avocado)
1/4 C raw cacao powder
2-1/2 t vanilla extract
1 pinch of sea salt
1/2 C agave nectar
1-3/4 C filtered water
1-1/2 C coconut oil, melted

In a high-speed blender, blend all ingredients except the coconut oil until completely smooth. With the blender running, slowly pour in the coconut oil. Continue to blend until oil is thoroughly incorporated. Transfer the mousse to a covered bowl and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to set. Yum!

Next post: step-by-step instructions on how to EASILY open young Thai coconuts. Yourself. At home. With photos.

Augusta

A Winter’s Day

It’s snowing heavy in Boston today, blanketing the city in a beautiful white silence. No cars, no horns, no sirens. Only a snowy winter wonderland to behold. A perfect day to stay in, read a book, hit the pause button on daily life… And cook soup!

Here’s a new favorite, passed to me and Denise from Dr. Ed of Amoskeag Chiropractic.

3 T olive oil
1 C chopped onion
1/2 C chopped carrot
1/2 C chopped celery
1/2 tsp salt, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 C organic veggie broth, divided
7 C stemmed, chopped kale (I used one bunch)
2 (15 oz) cans no-salt added cannellini beans, rinsed, drained and divided
1 (15 oz) can no-salt added black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 T red wine vinegar
1 t chopped fresh rosemary
 
Heat a large pot over medium high heat.  Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in 3 cups veggie broth and kale.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until kale is crisp-tender.
 
Place half of cannellini beans and remaining 1 cup of veggie broth in a blender; process until smooth.  Add pureed bean mixture, remaining cannellini beans, black beans, and pepper to soup.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, vinegar, and rosemary.

 

Enjoy! And, let us know if you think this would be a good soup to serve at Each Peach Café when we open sometime the end of February or beginning of March… Yes, the café is one step closer to becoming a reality!

Augusta

New Year… New Regimen… New Diet?

It’s so cliché, but I joined a gym on 1/1/11… Because I moved from Wakefield to Boston! What’s great about the gym in Boston, as opposed to my former gym in Wakefield, is that it’s literally two blocks away from my apartment. I can walk to the gym, and everywhere else it seems, from my new home.

I learned some valuable tips in 2010 from the likes of Dr. Mercola and Brendan Brazier about how to eat and exercise smarter to the get the most out of your time and your workouts.

Dr. Mercola explained at the Longevity Now Conference I attended last September that telomeres, the caps at the end of all our DNA strands, are the most accurate biological clock there is - aging. As cells replicate, the telomere chain gets shorter each time. There are things that prematurely shorten telomeres, but the interesting thing is that our reproductive cells DO NOT AGE. They have a gene, telomerase, that repairs the damage during replication. In fact, all cells have this gene, but it is turned off and therefore aging occurs. The key is finding a way to turn on telomerase in all our other cells, and reverse aging. Whoa!

This hasn't been figured out yet, but there are things we can do to slow down telomere damage. Increase your production of human growth hormone (HGH) naturally through proper exercise and diet. Dr. Mercola explained that we've been on a cardio kick since the 70's (himself included), and he's learned through speaking with 6 of the top fitness experts in the world that traditional cardio is not the way to go. Natural production of HGH decreases by 50% by the time we reach 30. Not because our bodies can't produce it, but because of the fitness changes we make between our early childhood and adulthood. The key to increasing your HGH production is oxygen debt, muscle burn, and not eating ANY FRUCTOSE for at least 2 hours following a workout. Mercola suggests following the Peak 8 philosophy of training: short burst / rest intervals in sets of 8. For example: sprint 8-10 seconds at 90-100% effort, then 90 seconds of rest. Repeat 7 times. Or: cycle 20-30 seconds at 70-90% effort, then 90 seconds of rest. Repeat 7 times. He says the elliptical machine can be just as effective. Always cool down afterwards. He also recommends mixing this routine up with yoga or Power Plate, Peter Egoscue stretching, strength training, core training, plyometrics... and MAYBE some cardio. You can check your HGH levels with a urine test. Should be 1000+ for men and women.

In October I got to meet Brendan Brazier, world class VEGAN triathlete and creator of the Vega product line. I had been dying to meet Brendan ever since my friend (and smoothie partner in crime) Lori turned me on to his book "Thrive Diet" years ago. I am such a fan, I've even shipped copies of his book overseas to friends and family. I use him as an example almost daily when talking about a raw, vegan lifestyle, and he truly is an inspiration. Can you tell I absolutely love him?

Brendan spoke about how it takes energy (from your body) to gain energy (from the food you eat), and how you want to spend the least to gain the most for a higher net gain. Most Americans are overfed, but undernourished, because of the food they eat!

He also explained the stress/hormone relationship. Stresses including work, environmental toxins, foods we eat, even exercise, cause the hormone cortisol to rise. Excessive cortisol levels prevent the delta phase of deep sleep. This causes adrenal fatigue (I am a sufferer!), and causes many to turn to stimulants such as coffee... Which causes more stress on the body. 40% of stress can be attributed to POOR NUTRITION!

So... Change your diet to a plant-based diet, which is easier for the body to assimilate (use) for a higher net gain. This lowers stress, which lowers cortisol. Eventually you are able to reach the delta level of sleep (2-6 weeks). You'll sleep more efficiently, and require less sleep yet have more energy. The idea is to introduce high net gain foods that are alkalizing (as opposed to acid-forming). Acid forming foods (meats, dairy, sugars, processed, cooked) causes your body to pull calcium from your bones to neutralize your blood. THIS is what causes osteoporosis. Acid forming foods also cause INFLAMMATION.

Introducing nutrient-dense, alkalizing foods such as maca (root from Peru full of nutrient-rich minerals from volcanic ash), and spirulina and chlorella (70% protein and alkalizing) into your diet will improve sleep quality and energy levels.

Tip for athletes: carbs BEFORE a workout, protein AFTER. Learn about Brendan's amazing products on his website http://www.myvega.com/.

Remember: CHANGE is stress, even if it's positive change. Make the change to a new diet slowly, and preferably with the assistance of a holistic nurse practitioner (such as Val or Maureen at Londonderry Whole Health). Changing your diet to a plant-based diet does not mean you have to become vegetarian or vegan, but it does mean incorporating more fresh, nutrient-dense plant foods into your daily meals. That said…

In comments reportedly made during a press briefing for her new movie SALT, Angelina Jolie discussed her experiences with a vegan diet. "I joke that a big juicy steak is my beauty secret," said Jolie. "But seriously, I love red meat. I was a vegan for a long time, and it nearly killed me. I found I was not getting enough nutrition."

I have been eating a mostly vegan diet for more than two years, mostly raw living foods (uncooked). I am conscientious about the foods I choose - mostly leafy green and vibrant vegetables, some fruits, raw nuts and seeds. On occasion I do indulge - if I really want that slice of pizza, I'll have it. But I hadn’t eaten milk, eggs, or any meats (including fish) since making this lifestyle change… Until this Thanksgiving.

The first 9 months of going vegan, I felt amazing. My energy was high, I was sublimely happy, and my physical body was in great shape too. Since then, I believe I've been on a very slow backward slide to low energy, some tendencies toward depression, and feeling out-of-shape. I started to feel there are some improvements I could make to my vegan diet to truly optimize it, and there have been periods of not enough sleep, but I was beginning to wonder if my body requires something else... gasp... meat?

Before making any change like this, I like to do my research. First, I finally took Dr. Mercola's Nutritional Typing online test to see whether, according to his research, I fall into the protein group, carb group (veggies), or combination group (mostly veggies, occasional meats). Turns out, even with several of my responses being "vegetarian/vegan, does not apply", I truly fall into the combination group. Doesn't mean I'm going to go out and eat a steak today! However, after I completed my fall cleanse through Londonderry Whole Health Nurse Practitioners, I spoke with my nurse practitioner about possible changes to my diet based on this new information.

Since then I’ve been experimenting, I’ve found that my body responds very differently to each new food I reintroduce. For example, I had 4 small bites of local, organic, free-range turkey on Thanksgiving. Not only did it taste like sawdust to me, but my stomach was none too pleased. However, a few bites of caught-that-day fish on my vacation in Aruba this December was no trouble. I’ll probably settle for a little bit of fresh, wild fish a couple of times a month and see how that goes.

It is my experience that making any major change to diet can be even more dangerous than whatever diet you're living, unless you move slowly and with some professional guidance. Our bodies are great at adapting, but less so when you just flip a switch.
What I know to be true, 100% to my core: no one diet is best for everyone. There isn't a "one size fits all" when it comes to nutrition. This being said, I recommend everyone take Dr. Mercola's Nutritional Typing test (it's FREE!), and then conduct some further research from there. I also believe our bodies do not require one diet for the entirety of our life. Our bodies change. So I will continue to take the Nutritional Typing test at least a couple times a year, and I recommend others do as well.

Here’s to a happy and HEALTHY 2011!

Augusta