What in the world do I eat for breakfast??!!

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is how to eat raw within a normal, every day lifestyle.

Let's start with Breakfast.

What can a raw foodist eat for breakfast?

Most of the time I choose to have a green smoothie. Other breakfast choices would be oatmeal with raisins and almond milk, fresh fruit, an avocado, or granola with almond milk.

Remember that the word "breakfast" literally means just that, to break one's fast. We have been asleep for 8-10 hours (hopefully) without food. Breaking one's fast with cold pizza is not the optimal way for your stomach engine to re-awaken. Something gentle that is easy for the body to digest and utilize is a healthier approach.

I have noticed that often people like to be awake for a little while prior to having their first meal of the day. I know that I fall into that category. Even when I ate the traditional breakfast of eggs, meat, toast, etc. it was not the first thing for me. I needed to be awake for at least an hour prior to eating. I still am that way.

Morning begins with the bathroom routine; elimination, teeth-brushing, vitamin line-up, etc. Then, I do 20-30 minutes of gentle yoga, followed by 20-30 minutes of meditation. Do I follow this faithfully? No. It is however my routine for most of the days of the week. When I veer off this routine, my day does not seem to go as smoothly.

Some people have told me that they are too tired to do such a routine. I can certainly empathize and have been at that same place in my life many, many times, especially, prior to becoming a raw vegan. With becoming a raw vegan I have found much more energy and a quietness, a calm to my life both internally and externally.

It takes time. The most important thing is to be gentle with oneself. Observe where you are having the most difficulty and explore that area for insight.

Over and over again I have emphasized that AWARENESS is the most important thing. Everything must be brought to consciousness to be released. Everything must be brought to the light to heal.

So let's look at breakfast foods.

What is a green smoothie?
My basic recipe for a green smoothie is the following:

Green Fruit Smoothie

1/2 package (16 ounce) of frozen organic fruit
or you can use 1-2 Cups of fresh organic fruit
2-3 Cups fresh organic spinach
1 T. of a green powder (I personally use VitaMineral Green from Earth Force)
1 t of hemp or flax oil
1t of bee pollen
1/2 t of Maca

Place all ingredients in a blender (I use a VitaMix), fill with a few cups of water and process.

Any fruit may be used. You may add honey, agave syrup, stevia, or other sweeteners to the blend. Technically, honey and bee pollen are not considered vegan because they are products from an animal source.

Green powder, bee pollen, and Maca are also optional.

To make a Green Smoothie that is appropriate for people watching their sugar or glycemic intake the following is another option and the one that I use most.

Green Smoothie

1 organic avocado
1 stalk of organic celery
1/2 of 1 organic lemon, peeled
2 Cups, fresh, organic spinach
1/2 fresh, organic cucumber, not peeled
a dash of Real Salt (or Celtic Salt)

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and cover with water. Process.

Notice your tastes. They are probably different than mine or anyone elses. And, can be determined by the daily foods that you have been eating for a long time, your current health, and your current needs. You will find that the more raw, live and whole foods that you incorporate into your diet, the more your body will want them. Away from the sledge-hammer tastes of salty, fatty fast-foods, our tastebuds get a chance to reawaken to more subtle, natural tastes of foods that can become an explosion of mouth-watering flavors.

Juicing is a great idea for the morning. But I caution you to watch the amount of fruit that you consume as that can make the system highly acidic and one of the hallmarks of why a raw food diet is so important is that it contributes to a more alkaline environment in the body.

So, this is a start for you. I'll be posting other breakfast recipes and information to go along with it. Please let me know your ideas and what your needs are.

Make a comment and let me know what you think.

In Love and Peace,
Dr. Kat

New Classes! New Year! New Hope! New Life!!

Hello Beautiful Friends,

I have finally taken the plunge and started a blog/newsletter as promised! This blog (www.drkatbowie.blogspot.com) will focus on tips and techniques for transitioning into a live and whole food lifestyle. Once a month I will offer a 7-day live and whole food menu and the rest of the month we will discuss raw food, recipes, and any questions and comments that you might have.

I encourage you to join the blog to get updates and find out about new classes, workshops, and events. I continue to be asked to speak and will be adding new classes as soon as I can figure out what days of the week to offer them.

I will be teaching basic live and whole food (raw vegan) nutrition classes with several focuses this year. The first focus will be on the emotional attachments to food and eating. The second focus will be the gentle addition of more live and whole foods into one's lifestyle. The third focus will be on transitioning into a raw lifestyle. And, the fourth focus is in preparing for a 10-day (or more) juice fast.

The first focus will be understanding our personal relationship with food, eating, dieting, and our self-image.

The second focus will be how to be gentle with oneself in transitioning away from the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) and more into a diet rich in live and whole food nutrition. The basics of the process, the reason for the transition and the affect on one's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, and support and education will be addressed.

With the third focus of moving into a raw lifestyle, I will help you go raw with menus, recipes, and support.

The fourth focus will be on preparing for juice fasts. We will explore the mindsets and emotional attachments regarding juice fasting, the physical aspects of juice fasting and the actual ways to do a juice fast. There will be the option for participating in a juice fast up to 10-days with support.

To learn more about these classes offered, please go to my blog/newsletter at www.drkatbowie.blogspot.com or go to my website at www.drkatbowie.com .

The website is not updated yet, but will be soon and will hold more information.

As always you may contact me at drkat@kc.rr.com for questions or comments. And, if you would like to be removed from this email list please let me know.

I will be less inclined to send out individual emails like this in the future, but will rely upon your active interest in this information by logging into my blog for you to receive updated information. I am looking into adding information for these classes and attendance using the Meetup formats. This will allow me to post the classes offered, times, information, etc. And, will give me more detailed information as to who will be able to attend and how many to expect. Those, too, will mean that you must join the Meetup to receive the information about these classes.

**I will soon be discontinuing the Live and Whole Food Nutritional classes with meals due to the time intensive nature of it for me. These will be transformed into the above-mentioned classes.

Okay, that's all the information for today. Please check out the blog and forward this on to your friends or others who might have interest in these classes.

Get ready, Everyone!

2010 is the year of great transformation and celebration!

It is time to love yourself and your life!
It is time to take your power and to become the healthy, whole person that you can be!
It is time to be happy, to be kind and gentle with yourself and with all others!
It is time to allow yourself to live!
It is time to accept and receive all the abundance and peace and happiness that the Creator has for you!

It is time!
Now, is the time!

Come join us. We can do this together in an atmosphere of love, kindness, and support of each other!

See you soon!
In Love and Peace,
Dr. Kat Bowie

What is a Raw Vegan?

The term "raw vegan" indicates someone who chooses to eat live and whole foods that are not heated above 118 degrees. The "vegan" term indicates that there are no dairy, eggs, meat or fish consumed.

So what does a raw vegan eat? Raw vegans eat foods that are not processed, that are in their raw, natural state, are vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.

Raw food does not have to mean cold food. Learning to prepare live and whole food is just like learning to prepare any food. There are techniques and tools that are used by raw vegans that are easily available to the public, such as: high speed blenders, juicers, food processors, and food dehydrators. There are many food preparation books ("cookbooks") specific to this lifestyle and many more are coming on the market every day.

One of the things that has impressed me about eating a live and whole food diet (also known as being a raw vegan), is the extraordinary flavor of the food that is prepared. Cooking can dull down the actual flavor of the ingredients. For example, marinara sauce made raw is absolutely an explosion of flavor in the mouth.

I am Southern and part of my family heritage is French. The women of my family were wonderful cooks. I have always been captivated by cooking and food. I would have been called a "foodie" not so long ago. I guess a case could be made for still calling me that. Now, however, my food interests are having so much fun focusing on live, whole, raw foods that give life to the body, energy to the spirit, and clarity to the mind.

I will explain more of the vocabulary and techniques of living a Live and Whole Food lifestyle as I continue to write for you.

Peace and good food!!
Dr. Kat

A-Week-At-A-Time Raw Vegan

The 7-Day Raw Vegan!

Helping you incorporate Live and Whole Foods into your lifestyle

one week at a time!

Ever thought you would like to incorporate more Live and Whole Foods into your life, but simply do not know where to start?

Need a little help in bringing Live and Whole foods into a truly usable and tasty form in your kitchen and life?

Let's start with basic, simple, and easy recipes and information! Then let's add a 7-Day menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner.

*****

Once a month I will post a 7-day menu complete with recipes, information, and insights.

Questions?

Comments?

Information that you need?

Ask, comment, and tell others about this blog/newsletter.

More to come! Bon Appetit Raw Vegans!

New Blog Coming!

Hello out there,

New Blog coming for classes and information on transitioning and embracing a Live and Whole Food Lifestyle.

Stay Tuned!

In Peace,
Dr. Kat