Those of you living in a tropical or sub-tropical environment can more easily eat in sync with the season. Meaning there will be an availability f fresh fruits and vegetables all year round. Seasons might still change, and what is local, ripe and fabulous will change, but the concept of having to plan for winter will not apply. A great thing you might say, and yes, I hear many soaring to join the sunshine club closer to the equator, but the thing is I find every season having amazing benefits.some more obvious than others.
Sunshine is energetic nutrition, and grounding is a recharging healing practice. Both very easy to apply all year round.
When it comes to diet, I have people ask me this question very often:
“How do you stay raw during winter?“
A very valid question and believe me I get it. I used to eat cooked, fried, baked, steamed, dried, you name it. I used to believe I needed to be cooked or at least something heated to stay warm during winter. Not so. Every year I stay on this amazing natural path I feel more balanced during the winter months. Walking barefoot in the snow. Embracing nature.
But first, what is raw food?
Raw food is simply put food that has not been cooked or in any other way altered from its natural raw state. That means it cannot be heated past 47 degrees Celsius, or 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and still, be considered raw. This way the fruits and vegetables will keep their enzymes and nutritional value intact. On top of that, they will keep their energy, their God-given, life-giving energy. Furthermore – the enzymes help us digest our food. The body can also create them, but that is a process which takes a lot of energy. This is the process that can make us feel tired and heavy after a cooked meal. The unaltered food will also have its organic minerals intact, which are easy to absorb. The inorganic minerals are not easy for us to absorb, and will, therefore, deposit in our bodies. It is further believed that your body has a limited amount of enzymes that it can produce. If the supply is finished, our bodily organs will function less and less. The lack of enzymes is also said to accelerate aging.
Raw food has all its vitamins intact and is, therefore, a nutritional powerhouse. Cooking anything will destroy the nutritional value, alter the food chemically and strip it of its life-force. Living food has living energy. Think about this – a raw seed will grow, a cooked seed won’t.
Are we designed to eat raw food?
We are all human beings, born with identical chemistry, the same organs, glands, and systems. Our glands and bodily functions are all the same. On the inside, we do not differ at all. Every human baby will drink their mother’s milk if available, and if not, they will still be given the same formula to drink. If we look at nature, all species eat the same within their kind, their species. Every lion has the same diet, and every gorilla does too. This is because what we thrive on eating, is what we have been designed to eat.
We are designed to eat raw fruits and vegetables, and this truly is our natural diet. We are tropical species, yes, we are primates.
We can easily define the difference between carnivores, omnivores, herbivores, and frugivores. They all have different teeth, intestines and stomach, saliva production, stomach acids, general physique, and much more. These differences are indicating what they eat, and how they are able to gather and hunt their food. It also indicates how they are able to break down the food to utilize and eliminate it. This food will leave them lacking and missing nothing – thriving and functioning optimally. No animal will wonder if they got enough nutrition, or if they are eating what is good for them. It is a natural process. They eat what makes them feel good, and they eat until they are full.
So, we want to ingest that which is living, and that which will support our health and regeneration. AND where you live should never stand in your way of doing that.
Here are my How To Stay Raw And Warm During a Cold Winter Tips:
1. Use the cold to your benefit. It is alkalizing. That means it will help you move the lymphatic system, and also create more blood flow. Look for my separate article on how to use the cold weather as a healing tool.
2. Prepare during summer. Personally, I pick and freeze massive amounts of fresh berries during the season. Enough to smooth me over with organic local and sometimes wild goodies all through winter. I even stored 4 cases of fresh apples this summer, to juice this cold season.
3. Go simple. I use Orange juice and mango as my winter staple. It doesn’t have to be complicated, and for the 3-4 coldest months you don’t need to have the largest variety. If you can get 2-3 decent fruits, greens, and vegetables of your choice, that is lucky.
4. Plan the whole period and outsource what you can get a hold of. Be creative. Use the internet, talk to locals. Invest in more storage space.
5. Remember your choices are just that. Potentials. not a chore. Remember your why and focus on your amazing reasons for changing your diet.
6. Heal your thyroid. Did you know that it is responsible for your temperature? Not alone, but together with other glands and processes. This also means that how you feel now will pass. Healing is a process and staying raw is the best thing you can do for your body.
7. Dress smart. We tend to think is food is there to keep us warm, but that’s not so at all. I have never felt cooler during winter, and what you eat is not what keeps your body temperature up. Did you know that the body thrives on room temperature? It makes sense. Anything else is work. So, if you are very cold put on more clothes.
8. You can make amazing herbal teas.
9. Even some raw warm soups.
10. Read the article 10 Tips on How to Stay Healthy During the Holiday Season.
11. Ginger and cayenne, cardamom, cinnamon, and black pepper are warming herbs. Use them together for a boost of inner heat.
12. Accept the feeling of being colder and realize it is a symptom. Not from eating raw food. That`s just food.
13. Change your mindset, about the cold in general. Be bold and explore.
14. You can change your whole physiological responses through your mind. Deep breathing and meditation. Explore the potentials.
15. Don’t let food be your comforter. Its energy, not a substitute for not feeling your best.
16. Don’t be fooled by the false belief that it is hard to stay raw during winter. It is what it is, and if you plan, it`s as easy and wonderful as the rest of the year, and it makes spring and a new season even more magnificent.
Try this recipe:
Try this recipe:
- The juice of 4 oranges.
- The juice of 1 lemon
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1 apple
Blend until smooth.
Warm and serve in your favorite cup.
Celebrate every season.
Like everything in nature its perfect.
Yes, living n the tropics or subtropics is a wonderful thing, it’s not the only way to explore healing, nature and a high vibrational diet for health and vitality.
Heck no!
THAT would make this a journey for the few.
It’s not.
It’s for everybody, including YOU.
So, stay tuned for more on the cold, on raw food, healing modalities and make sure you welcome this winter. With open arms that are getting stronger and more fit every single month.
Not sure where to start?
START HERE!
Hilde Larsen
Health/Mindset Coach/Author/Speaker/Detox Specialist/Life-Enthusiast
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