For those out there with Hulu Plus, you can now stream the documentary May I Be Frankhere. I wanted to see this movie for a while, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. For those of you who don’t know what this movie is about here is a trailer:
When I found out Cafe Gratitude was opening in Venice, I was so excited because I had heard about this documentary. This place is officially my favorite vegan and raw food restaurant in LA, the only downside is that the bill can add up if you get a drink or juice, appetizer, and desserts. Their raw desserts are insane. When I was eating sugar, the coconut date mousse was my favorite. Lately, I stick with the kale salad entree, which is surprising filling. That is by far one of my highest complements. I hate when healthy food comes out in small portions. It’s hard enough to be satisfied by healthy choices, but when a tiny plate of healthy food comes out I get really frustrated. I need volume! I’ve gone out for Chinese and eaten a plate of steamed veggies meant for a family. No joke.
Besides my obvious love for Cafe Gratitude, I love how this movie isn’t just about the food. He does affirmations, he purges his kitchen and closet, he does colonics, and most importantly, he works through his emotional baggage. I think there is a lot to learn from Frank’s process, and how hard it is to work through ALL of our pain.
Although I personally love these kind of documentaries, I think we need to remember that these are still entertainment, and don’t necessarily contain accurate or up to date information. When I first started changing my diet, I had just watched Food Matters and I was so excited about the concept of taking control of my health. I went raw for a couple months (not long I know) and thought I knew best and everyone else was doing it wrong. It’d true that going raw will help a people out there and that it is way ahead of the standard American diet, but like most diets, it has some major flaws.
The biggest flaw in my opinion is too much sugar. When I was on this diet, my naturopath recommended I reduce the amount of fruit I was eating. I was eating a ton of greens in the beginning but my weight kept dropping, which is not good for me because I am already thin. Plus, I had tons of cravings so I used fruit to satisfy those cravings. Which sounds healthy, but I was eating enormous amounts of fruit. Plus a lot of raw desserts use raw agave, or if they are not strict vegans they will use raw honey. This can be harmful if you have any dangerous bacteria in the gut. You want to them die off, not feed them so they can grow stronger. Even if you don’t have a bacteria or yeast problem, sugar can affect your hormones, your blood sugar, and insulin. This is bad news for people with heart problems, diabetics, obesity, and even acne problems. Now when I go to Cafe Gratitude, I steer clear of the sweets and enjoy an amazing salad with some herbal tea.
Do you need some saturated fat while your on a diet and trying to lose weight?
YES!!!! Sorry for the enthusiasm.
Saturated fat from a good source is good for metabolism. You technically don’t need it to lose weight, but it can help you lose weight and is essential for your health. I like cold-pressed raw coconut oil and eggs from my farmer’s market that are fed sunflower sprouts. The egg yolks are a gorgeous bright orange and I usually prepare them sunny side up or over easy. I don’t want to damage the nutrient content of the yolks so I keep them really raw. I threw them in a shake a couple times but it seemed like a waste of something so delicious. I always cook them them in coconut oil since it’s a very stable cooking oil.
Avoid trans fats, even if the label says 0g trans fats look for hydrogenated vegetable oils and vegetable shortening in the ingredients list and avoid that product. It still can contain up to a gram of trans fat.
Sugar and carbs are the real problem and cause you to gain fat (not fat), which is why people lost weight on Atkins. Not that I’m advocating that . You’re not just what you eat, but what your food eats. So saturated fat from an industrialized meat source, which is fed subsidized crap and given hormones and antibiotics will likely cause you to gain weight.
Check out the books Know Your Fats and Wheat Belly for good sources of information on fats in your diet.
Check out this post over at Kristen’s Raw. I think it takes a lot of guts to be open about her health issues, especially since she has cookbooks, a youTube channel, and a blog focused around vegan and raw food. I think it’s important to continually research your diet and keep updated on the latest news and books, even if they are about foods you no longer eat. Raw SOS, which was mentioned in the bestseller Wheat Belly, also has a page for vegans that describes the difficulties she had with her own diet, and what precautions to take if you wish to continue being vegan.
Since I’ve personally done raw vegan for about two months, then vegan, and have recently been experimenting with some animal-based foods, I can understand how difficult it is to change up your diet. When you start to make exceptions, it’s harder to maintain willpower. It’s also difficult to explain to your family and friends what diet you follow, and can bring on cravings that can be difficult to control. With all the conflicting recommendations it can be confusing. My advice is to take everything with a grain of salt and a little bit of faith, and remember to keep doing your homework.
I’ve added another video to the lectures playlist I have on our youTube channel. I saw Tyrone Hayes speak when I attended Carnegie Mellon, and his lecture called Silent Springs to Silent Night was extremely memorable. You can watch that lecture as well on youTube, although this video touches on his main points from that lecture, and has some additional information from Penelope Jagessar. Although this video focuses on the toxins that get passed to the baby from the mother, it is still relevant to anyone interested in being more aware of their environment and their health.
So, I’ve noticed my throat has been a little scratchy and my acne has been a little worse. Which begs the question, am I sick … or is it detox symptoms. This is not the first time I ‘ve experienced detox symptoms. When I first changed my diet, I went from eating whatever I wanted to pounding the green smoothies. Although my pain level felt better (for about a week), I experienced a migraine, which is rare for me, and fever-like symptoms. Thanks to google, I was quickly reassured that this was normal. Plus, I only felt awful for a day, so it was no big deal.
I’ve been feeling a little under the weather, and thought I might be getting sick. My throat felt sore, and I’ve been feeling feverish and acne prone, despite my low sugar diet. Since I’ve experienced detox before, I thought I would refresh my memory on what the symptoms could be. Turns out just adding kefir into your diet can bring on detox symptoms, and these symptoms can even mimic the flu: sore throat, swollen throat glands, and/or feeling feverish.With this new knowledge, I’ve decide to proceed carefully with the kefir, drink plenty of water with lemon juice (some extra Vitamin C couldn’t hurt right now), and take some relaxing, hot baths. Flu or detox, eventually this will all pass when you take care of yourself.
12/9/13 Update
I went to a cheese making class with plenty of samples and the same week I bought some grass fed local ghee when I was on a trip to San Diego. I noticed when I ate these foods I got the same sore throat I had when drinking kefir. So I’ve decided that these symptoms are from an allergy to dairy. I still consume fermented sauerkraut, kombucha, and apple cider vinegar regularly and will continue on a gluten and dairy free diet.
Shameer and I love roasted broccoli. When I was growing up, my mom made roasted broccoli pretty often with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. When I moved to California, I made it pretty often as a side dish for Shameer and I. A couple days ago, I impulsively bought some broccolini when I was shopping at our local Trader Joes. They were restocking them on the shelves, and it looked really fresh and delicious. I’m really glad I did, because they turned out great. I tried to keep the recipe as close to my mom’s as possible, but changed a few things up in the name of health .
