Yesterday I wrote about An Abundance of Wholefood – Part 1 & spoke about how at my retreats we do a five day juice fast, and how many people who have never juice fasted before, think of juicing as “starving” or “deprivati0n”, when nothing could be further from the truth. The concentrated nutrients in the fresh, organic juices, are saturating our body with life, and providing optimal nutrition.
The reason why there is a Part 2 to this subject, is that the other common belief that is shared about the raw vegan retreat, is that the guests are going to be living on lettuce leaves and carrot sticks whilst they are here. That is another great misconception in the general public and one that we have a lot of fun overturning! As you can see from the pictures below, on the first night of the retreat we enjoyed the most flavoursome raw vegan dishes – creamy alfredo pasta, a living raw pizza and a decadent almond milk chocolate tart. All original creations by the amazing chef Cat from WildRaw.
Food is a life-sustaining source from nature and the belief that restriction is good, is a fallacy that needs to be put to rest. Of course moderation in what we eat is still wise, but we don’t have to live a life of austerity and boredom in relation to our food, in order to be healthy.
Granted, you likely wouldn’t eat a three course meal as I just described above, every night, however at the retreat we are showcasing what can be done with raw food, and sharing with our guests just how incredibly tasty and delicious this food can be – and still be organic, living, wholefood – it’s just prepared a little differently than many people have been taught.
Everyone wants to enjoy their food and to share good food with their friends. Food is not just about health, it is about celebration, connection, love, sharing, community and a deep sense of satisfaction and nourishment. When we learn about whole foods, we learn about our connection with nature, with where the food comes from, about how it makes us feel, and we start to embrace our food rather than be in a battle with it.
When we start eating from nature, we have the opportunity to form new beliefs about food. We can let go of the struggle – the labeling of food as “good or bad”, using it as “punishment or reward” and the feelings of guilt and shame when we eat food that we know is not good for us.
Exploring whole food means that we are eating from nature in the form that they are found naturally, and we can know that every mouthful is giving us an abundance of nutrients that are helping to nourish and heal our bodies. We don’t need to count calories or figure out if it is good or bad. Within reason (eating a diet that is 70 – 80% of fats, even good fats, isn’t in balance!!!) we can eat what we like, when we like, until we are satisfied. When we purify our senses by eliminating processed, chemicalised, fake foods, we start to tune into what we truly feel like and start to understand what foods make us feel good.
So we don’t have to give up the pleasure of food to be healthy. We can have it all – we can still have the most incredible tastes and flavours – and also support our health at the same time.
Have you ever had a battle with your food, labeling it as “good” or “bad”. Do you see the benefits in being able to embrace a wholefoods lifestyle and drop the angst and pain around food? Or have you already done that and celebrate food from nature?
Leisa
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