Well, I wish I could call them that, but weekends are spent on doing things I really love to do, or more likely, catching up with chores I wasn’t able to get to while working. That also means spending more time in the studio, reorganizing my closets, painting the kitchen walls or cabinets, and a general maintenance, so that the clutter I collect does not collapse on me while I try to maintain my focus.
I realize that I tend to prioritize things that I need to get done, but lately I have also realized that without keeping an order in my house or even just around my desk, the important stuff does not get done because I am too distracted looking for things that I need. And so I started prioritizing setting aside time for cleaning and chores as well.
Another thing that has become really important to me is paying closer attention to nutrition. As I became older, it became more evident to me, that not everything that works for everyone else, works for me as well. We are all different beings requiring different things for our bodies and our minds. I am very close to someone that survives very well on eating primarily meat, but I stopped eating meat years and years ago, and I am not going to start that up again. I have been primarily vegan for over 20 years, but I am realizing that cutting large food groups from our diet can be detrimental to our health, and we need to pay a close attention to what we are getting from the foods we actually eat.
Also as I get older I became much more sensitive to what I eat, and my body can respond very quickly in a positive or negative way. And that is very helpful when I am looking for clues. Many times I can discern between a flu and a state where my body is just trying to get rid of something, not just a germ or a virus. I started to greatly respect the living machine that gives me life for the sophistication in which it performs all its tasks to keep me going and I try to support it in a best way I can.
For the past year or so, I have developed a debilitating pain in my body that kept me up at night and sometimes forced me to stay in bed most afternoons as well. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew that I could not keep it up, it was destroying my life and greatly effecting my free time and I started to loose my ambition to create. I was exhausted from the pain and stressed out because I could never finish the things I was suppose to do. My whole life became a giant pain and confusion.
I knew that if I went to a doctor, I would probably end up on some kind of a prescription, which I did not want to take, so something drastic had to be done in some other way. I have heard about people recovering from serious illness by doing a juice fast, so I looked up all their testimonials and researched the protocol. I decided to take couple of weeks from work and focus just on trying to get well. If it meant I had to sleep those two week, then that was just fine. I needed the rest anyway, even though I felt like I slept all the time.
First I had to choose the right time to take two weeks off from work, and even though my boss told me I only have one week, I politely let him know that one week just would not be enough, and after few weeks of preparation I was ready to check out from the world.
My protocol was 2 green juices a day, which made up about 48 ounces , even though I was suppose to do more, sometimes I could only stomach 32 ounces, and then about 3×16 ounces of fruit juices – orange, pineapple and grapefruit. Surprisingly, the grapefruit was my favorite juice.
My diet up to that point was pretty clean and at that point I have already weened off from coffee and tea, so the transition was not too hard. Although I did get headaches for the first 3 days and felt almost noxious drinking the green juices it did not bother me, as long as I could sleep and rest, unless I had to walk my dog. I really appreciated the space I gave myself to just rest and not feel the urge to complete, finish of even start anything. But, after the first week I started to have more energy and was able to complete small tasks. On the 10th day I had energy, but I felt sooo weak. I took a picture of myself and realized that I was loosing a lot of muscle mass. It kind of freaked me out, but I also realized that I finally started to get clearer in my head and ready to do some things. I was just too weak to start, so I decided to break my fast. For the next three days I would eat mostly fruit and salads, then started adding cooked vegetables, nuts and beans. And this is the diet I am primarily on today.
I feel so much better now, and if anything, the fast made me realized how important sticking to a clean diet is for my health and sanity. I have more energy, my mind is clearer and almost all the pain is gone.
I do eat gluten free grans like rice and quinoa on occasion, but I also added my sourdough bread. I love it, it kills the craving for occasional sandwich, I live tuna sandwich on occasion, so I am not truly vegan I guess, but prioritizing nutrients, whole food and health is important to my that being strict.
The Sourdough Buzzword
If you are at all interested in nutrition and you watch videos on Youtube, you will eventually run into a video on how to make a sourdough bread. There are meany touted benefits to sourdough, as it is beneficial for our gut health, and we know how important that is. Well, I do not eat wheat anymore, I mean, if I was at a party and they had crackers or some healthy bread with a marvelous dip, I will eat it. But for a most part it’s not a staple in my diet. So when I heard you can make your own sourdough from buckwheat, I decided to give it a try. But after few attempts to make a sourdough starter with a buckwheat flour, I gave up.
After I moved to my own place and was able to relax in my own kitchen, I gave it another try. This time, it wasn’t the flour, I started my bread by soaking the groats. I watched few videos and changed my recipe to how it suited me. I just sort of made it up, and it worked, here is the recipe.
The Recipe or The Process
You only need three ingredients –
- Buckwheat groats
- Water – to soak your groats
- pinch of salt, about 1/2 of teaspoon fro the 1lb bag of groats
Things You Will Need
- bowl for soaking your groats, large enough to add ample amount of water to keep them submerged in water after they swell
- baking loaf dish
- parchment paper or nonstick sheet to line up your baking dish
- High speed blender
- spatula
- oven
- towel to cover your bread while it’s rising
The Process
- Soak your grates over night in a bowl of water. Make sure that groats are always covered with water so they do not dry out.
- In the morning, rinse them out or just pour any water out, place them in a blender with salt and about a half cup of water or little more, to blend them into a bater. you should not have to use a plunger to assist blending, just add little more water if needed.
- Pour your bater back into the bowl and let sit covered with towel in a warm place till it rises and you start seeing bubbles on the surface.
- At that point, transfer your batter into a deep baking dish lined with the parchment paper, and again let it sit for another couple of hours or more, till it rises slimly again.
- then remove the towel and place into a 350 degrees F preheated oven, on the middle rack for about an hour, or until you see a slightly brown crust on top.
- Remove from the oven, if possible, lift out of the baking dish. I find that it’s better to do that right away, otherwise the moisture from the bread starts collecting on the bottom of the dish underneath the bread.
- Let it cool, remove the parchment paper, slice and enjoy!
You can find this video of the whole process on Youtube – https://youtu.be/-0mnQXpRdNY
And if you are still not convinced, here are the benefits of buckwheat:
Buckwheat, a nutrient-rich pseudocereal, offers several health benefits.
1. Digestive Health:
- High in fiber, promoting regular bowel movements.
- Contains prebiotics, which nourish beneficial gut bacteria.
2. Heart Health:
- Gluten-free, making it suitable for individuals with celiac disease.
- Rich in antioxidants, which may reduce inflammation and protect against heart disease.
- May help lower cholesterol levels.
3. Blood Sugar Control:
- Low glycemic index, preventing blood sugar spikes.
- Contains chromium, which helps regulate blood sugar levels.
4. Weight Management:
- High in protein and fiber, promoting satiety and reducing hunger.
5. Antioxidant Power:
- Contains flavonoids, such as rutin, which have antioxidant properties.
- May help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.
6. Nutrient Rich:
- Provides essential vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, iron, and zinc.
7. Other Benefits: May improve bone health, May have anti-inflammatory effects, and May support cognitive function.
In conclusion, buckwheat is a nutritious and versatile food that offers numerous health benefits, including improved digestion, heart health, blood sugar control, weight management, and antioxidant protection.
Renata Loree 