Once a week, I?ll share the story of someone who?s made raw food a part of their lifestyle. Interested in being profiled??Check out the requirements. No, you don?t have to be 100% raw/vegan!
Bitt started eating a mostly raw diet three years ago as an approach to help with chronic pain and fatigue, and started blogging shortly after at Bitt of Raw. She?s discovered a love for raw cuisine. Raw foods are not just a diet for her, but a way to express herself creatively. Her blog contains daily eats, raw recipes, product and book reviews, personal stories, and health information. She lives with her husband, two dogs, and cat in Seattle, Washington.
How and when did you discover raw/vegan foods? What attracted you to them?
I first discovered raw foods after eating at Organic Garden in Beverly, Massachusetts. I had squash noodles the first time I ate there, and a raw apple pie. I realized that most raw foods are all gluten-free and vegan (those factors had already been determined in my diet) and enjoyed the way I felt after eating them, light instead of bogged down and bloated. After I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and pain, and had tried a lot of treatments, I wanted to try a dietary overhaul to see if that would benefit me. Raw foods came to mind, because it just made sense that plants could help heal the body. I was nervous to try such a big change but once I realized how good raw foods taste, I was hooked.
What?s a typical day of eating like for you?
I go through phases of eating different ways, but this is how it is going most recently. In general, I tend to eat not so much based on the clock but by hunger. I tend to wake up pretty hungry so I eat some fruit and a green smoothie or chia pudding. Even if I have a green juice to start out with, I will have to have something more, too.
Since I tend to eat a filling breakfast, I often have a light mid-day meal. Sometimes it?s some raw buckwheat bread with nut butter and fruit. Or if I haven?t had a green smoothie I may make one then.
Dinner could be a large salad chock full of sprouts, greens, and dulse with a seed cheese or other dressing. Sometimes I have some cooked beans, cooked vegetables, and maybe a gluten-free grain from time to time. We love fermented foods like sauerkraut and kombucha. I go through phases where I eat more cooked food, but if it?s cooked it?s always gluten-free, and vegan.
My husband and I like our sweets (many of which I document on the blog), and might have a raw dessert or bite of chocolate for dessert then have some tea. But sometimes my sweet treat might be a fruit smoothie or dried fruit.
What benefits have you noticed from eating raw/vegan foods?
For one, my digestion is a lot better the more raw foods I eat, particularly fermented foods. Some skin issues I had also improved. I think some of the skin improvement is because I eat more healthy fats now.
The benefits I noticed right away was more energy. Unfortunately, I have not been able to maintain that high energy over the years. It?s just how the virus that causes chronic fatigue, Epstein barre is; it can reactivate and drag me down again. I don?t believe that the raw diet can cure everything; there are other factors in life that affect health. But since I do eat a healthy diet I know I am doing everything I can to improve my health, and it feels good to take ownership of my health through my own diet.
By eating vegan, I feel a peace with myself and feel I am making a difference to animals? lives. By eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, I feel more connected to nature and with the earth.
What has been your biggest challenge, and how have you overcome it?
After awhile of eating raw, I got stuck thinking that I had to be 100% raw and got quite rigid with myself about it. I was feeling very restricted and controlled and demonizing certain foods too much. It wasn?t in a healthy way. I had to step back for a while and really look at what I was doing.
I was able to overcome some of that rigidity by talking to other people about how they balance their high raw diet and realized it is ok to fluctuate in the amount of raw food one eats without feeling like one is ?off the wagon?. I also had to limit the amount of time I spent around certain websites, forums, and people in my life who were also very controlling about their diet, until I felt I was more self-confident about my type of raw diet. Now I feel freedom to eat all raw, or not, but it?s my choice and done with health in mind, not a prescribed set of rules from somewhere else.
Green smoothies or green juice?
Both! Ideally I?d love to have one of each a day. I go through phases where I drink more green juice than smoothies. Typically when the weather is warm I want more smoothies and when it?s cold, green juices are better because they are not made of frozen fruit. Since my budget is tight right now smoothies are a bit more affordable, at least on a daily basis.
You ask for a recipe. I have a lot of my site, but this one has yet to debut. It?s actually a spin-off of another recipe of mine but it?s got a different taste. Enjoy!
This is a basic buckwheat bread that I fancied up with some coconut sugar. You don?t have to use that, but I find it?s almost like a graham cracker that way. You will need a dehydrator and food processor for this recipe.
Ingredients:
2 cups buckwheat, soaked 6-8 hours or overnight
1 cup chopped apple
1/3 cup ground chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
? teaspoon salt
a few tablespoons coconut sugar, for sprinkling (optional but oh so good)
Blend the apple in the food processor. Then add the rest of the ingredients aside from the coconut sugar. Process well. Add a tiny bit of water if it seems too thick (apples vary in juiciness). Spread onto a teleflex sheet. Sprinkle a light coating of coconut sugar onto the bread. Dehydrate for one hour at 145 degrees* then turn down to 115 degrees. When one side is dry, a few hours later, flip onto mesh sheet then score with a knife into slices. Continue to dehydrate for a few more hours until dry but still pliable, not as hard as a cracker. Since these are still partially moist, store in the fridge. They taste particularly good with almond butter spread on them.
*the food temperature does not get up to 145, trust me, I?ve tested it!
Candice says: Thanks, Bitt! Looking forward to trying the buckwheat bread!
Source: http://therawdifference.com/blog/2011/05/13/real-food-for-real-folks-bitts-apple-buckwheat-bread/
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