Raw-Fusion: Making Healthy Cooked Food Compromises
– A Q&A with Tera Warner and LindaJoy Rose, Ph.D
When it comes to interviews over here at The Tera Warner Blog, we’re usually the ones who are asking the questions and doing the interviewing. But for today’s post, the tables are turned: LindaJoy is askin’ the Q’s, while Tera is givin’ the A’s!
The term Raw-Fusion, in case you’re unaware, refers to the fusion of the principles of raw food combined (or fused) with the practice including some cooked foods. Either way, healthy is always the goal.
Want to learn more?
Get ready for some Raw-Fusion Q&A Fun!
Non-Raw Nibbles
Q. If you are not 100% raw, what kinds of non-raw foods do you consume?
A. I dip my fingers in the hummus bowl on occasion. I will steal a piece of steamed broccoli, nibble on a rice cake or two and anyone who knows me knows that tomato sauce has always been my weakness.
If it’s a vegetable and gluten-free, I won’t worry too much about stealing a bite or two.
The truth, however, is that I probably would feel better and lose “those last 10 pounds” if I had the will power (?) discipline (?) motivation (?) to stick to 100% raw food.
High Raw All The Way!
Q. Do you ever feel that you can “ stray” and find it relatively easy to find your way back to high raw?
A. I wouldn’t say I “stray”. I’m always high raw, but last Christmas I let myself plunge a bit further into the mashed potatoes than I needed to, that’s for sure. I remember coming back home and giggling so hard I had tears in my eyes when my girlfriend (who is also a raw foodist) would tell stories of the microwaveable macaroni dinner she’d succumbed to at her parents house just to be “polite!”
There’s a strange sort of comfort in knowing we’re not the only ones who struggle, resist, insist, persist in the name of healthy living. It’s a beautiful thing to see people who are balanced enough emotionally to be able to “stray” and stay kind to themselves in the process.
Raw Family Fusion
Q. Do you have family members that live with you that do not follow as high a raw diet that you do?
A. Oh yes. I’m a single mom of two self-determined little muffins who have opinions and preferences different from my own. As a mother, I honor their right to choose as long as it does not violate my own personal comfort boundaries and ethical guidelines. Most of the time, when I get things my way, it’s gluten-free vegan with lots of greens on the side.
Green Injections!
Q. How do you fuse raw into their food choices?
A. Major green injections whenever possible! I’ll freeze it in popsicle form and frozen banana “ice cream” is a popular snack/meal. But my kids know that the foods they choose affect their health. If I feel their choices are causing problems, then I interfere. There’s actually a really cute little interview I did with my daughter about this subject!
Sebastian since birth has had a magnetic attraction to bananas. He can easily polish off 5-6 in a day. When he was a baby, I used to hide them in the cupboard so he wouldn’t see them! I didn’t know then what I know now. I find that if Sebastian gets ENOUGH fruit and smoothies, he will not even ask for cooked food.
My daughter is a different story. She insists that if she had to kill a cow herself to get the meat, she would. It’s NOT easy to “fuse” raw into her diet, but I can insist on green smoothies or green juices, and usually get those down. (UPDATE: Since I did this interview with LJ, Mika read the book, Skinny Bitch, and decided to be a vegetarian!)
Compassion Trumps Raw
Q. Do you ever feel frustrated by other family member’s food choices? If so, what are your coping methods?
A. I feel more frustrated by my own intolerance toward their choices than the choices themselves. I feel more frustrated by the thoughts I think than the foods they eat.
I wish I could just look upon my kids or whomever with complete love and compassion and understanding without having to consider the environmental impact of everything they stick in their mouths!
I wish I didn’t know there were 60 different kinds of pesticides on conventional strawberries every time I watch someone eat one!
I think it’s more important to be tolerant and compassionate than “raw.”
I think creating uncomfortable experiences for other people, causes them to feel invalidated and “wrong.” The world will never become a better place when we do that to each other.
The truth, as I see it, is that if people loved themselves enough they would make healthy choices. They would eat well, sleep well and treat the Earth with respect. They would not over-consume food or fuels or frills out of some attempt to fill some deeper need–the need to be loved, accepted, admired and understood.
The thing I most need to cope with is I care that I am able to love myself enough to create a space of tolerance and understanding within which they feel nourished completely. And if I do that, the choices they make about their food, their relationships, their lifestyles, will be choices that ultimately support them, support the lives and environment around them.
Green Vegan Power!
Q. Are you completely vegan?
What sources of protein do you consume?
A. I consider myself a vegan, but it has happened that a piece of goat’s cheese or egg or something has crossed my plate and I did not spit it out in defiance of a food rule. I most certainly go out of my way to avoid animal products of any kind and would love to see more people do the same.
My protein sources are greens, seeds and occasionally nuts.
To B12 or Not To B12
Q. Do you supplement B12?
A. I don’t even know if I get “enough” protein or B12. Maybe I get too much? I eat what I want when I want and don’t calculate or even really care whether it is “nutritionally complete” according to somebody’s textbook and nutritional pyramids.
I have no reason to believe I’m missing anything and suffer no ill health effects, so I don’t calculate or pay attention to these things. Perhaps if something came up for me, I would look into it more. Until then, I just smile and enjoy the adventure.
Imperative Sustainability
Q. Do you feel that it’s imperative that human beings consume a high raw diet?
A. “Imperative?”
I’m not sure how I feel about that word. I think it makes sense for all the right reasons. When you say “human beings” I wonder how many of us consider the members of this species who cannot afford the luxury of considering whether “a high raw diet” is appropriate or not.
I work with tens of thousands of women all over the world and it saddens me to see the amount of attention we put on food.
The burdens of guilt we carry for nibbling on nacho chips or donut holes would vanish quickly if we stopped to consider the fact that there are 16,000 children a day dying of hunger-related causes.
I think it’s imperative that we strive to live more sustainable lives, learn how to grow our own food and treat each other with love, kindness, dignity and respect–no matter what we eat.
Soften Skin, Smaller Tummy
Q. Why did you make the change to a raw foods diet?
A. Because I’m a curious little critter who loves a wild adventure.
I was training for a marathon and had a day care with 9 two-year olds in my home. I had more energy than anyone else I knew at the time. I had no health issues, but once I had gone three days on raw food, I knew that I would never go back.
My skin got softer, my tummy got a bit smaller and I noticed less water retention. That was enough for me. It’s been 8 years since. I guess vanity won me over. 😉
Raw Awareness
Q. What are the most significant changes that you have noticed in your life?
A. I am more aware of my consumption and the impact my choices have on the environment.
I am more aware of what’s going on in my body and how specific foods affect me.
I am more able to have a positive impact on the health and well-being of others around me.
5 Top Tips for Going Raw
Q. What are the 5 most important tips you would give aspiring raw foodists?
A. 1. Be gentle with yourself. Always.
2. Make change on a gradient that is comfortable and realistic for you.
3. When you simplify your foods, your body will tell you more than any goji berry eatin’ “guru” out there.
4. Stress and guilt are toxic, too! Don’t have any of it.
5. The one thing more important than fancy equipment, expensive ingredients and gourmet recipe books is SUPPORT! Find a community and call upon it for help.
Raw-Fusion: Making Healthy Cooked Food Compromises
Living High-Raw in a Non-Raw World
It can be hard to be 100% raw, 100% of the time.
Even many raw “gurus” aren’t 100% raw themselves!
So how do you know when – and how – to make cooked food compromises, while still keeping foods fresh and healthy?
Tune in and listen to a teleseminar interview with Author, Therapist, and Wellness Chef LindaJoy Rose, Ph. D, and learn all about Raw-Fusion and The Art of Making Healthy Cooked Food Compromises for High Raw Food Families!
This call will take place LIVE on Friday, November 18th, at 11:00am EST
If you missed the live call, don’t worry — this call will be recorded and available to listen to at any time. But if you’d like to participate in the live call and have an opportunity to ask your questions, then this is your chance!
Click HERE to tune in and listen TODAY!