The Basics

It's been five days since I first arrived in Michigan and I have to admit, so far, I like it! Although the internship program hasn't officially started yet due to the holiday season, I've been helping out, getting the place ready for when it opens up on the 3rd of January, 2011. On that day, the interns and staff members will be preparing for the level 1 chef class that takes place that following weekend. I'm really excited about the raw chef class as we will be learning basic techniques in raw food preparation. When most people think of raw cuisine, the things that usually come to mind are carrots, broccoli, celery, etc.., However, that's not the case. A fellow intern by the name of Patty has shown me how to make a few treats that don't require much time, such as almond milk, and fudge chocolate. She has also showed me some basic techniques for preparing cookies. Her enthusiasm for raw cooking has also inspired me to think outside of the box when it comes to preparing raw foods. It's an exciting world within the raw community and I'm excited for what's in store for me in the near future within my internship program.

I know some people, or a lot  of people rather, are interested in Weight loss more than anything else. Most people want to be healthy, but the sad truth is MORE people want to be beautiful. Ultimately, if you are healthy, you will be beautiful. However, people tend to sometimes forget it's equivalence. Anyhow, I hadn't really kept track of my weight since I've been here but I did weigh myself maybe a week or two before leaving LA and just weighed myself today and it looks like I've lost about 4 or 5 pounds, and it's only been a week. Granted I was eating more than usual prior to coming here which probably makes it that much easier to lose. I was in school prior to coming here and it was really stressing me out. In result, I would often find myself conveniently snacking on junk food, and with junk comes extra pounds. I'm sure I'll lose that extra weight plus more during my stay here at CHI. I will officially document my weight at the start of the internship program on the 3rd of January, and will continue with the results of my bi-weekly weigh in. The results will obviously be documented within my blogs, so stay tuned!

Because it's late, I'm going to have to end this post sooner than later. I will, however, share with the "raw food beginners" how to make almond milk, and will also share the recipe and instructions for the raw fudge I made today.

ALMOND MILK

What you'll need:

*Vita Mixer

* 1 cup Almonds

* 3-5 cups of Water

*cheesecloth or sieve

Instructions:

* First, set up your vita mixer, and preferably have everything measured out and ready to go. Place the almonds in the vita mixer first. Then add the desired amount of water. the amount can be anywhere between 3 and 5 cups of water depending if you'd prefer it creamier or more so diluted like milk. If you so please, add a sweetener, vanilla bean, etc.., Once everything is in place, and all items are in the mixer, turn the mixer on and allow it to work it's magic. You want all the almonds and everything else in the mix to be completely liquefied. The color of the liquid should be white, like milk. Once your done mixing, you will grab the sieve, or cheesecloth, and place it over a pitcher, and pour the mixer into it, allowing just the liquid to fall into the pitcher, and the solid remains to fall inside the cloth. 

CHOCOLATE FUDGE

What you'll need:

* Vita Mixer

* 1/2 cup of Cocao Powder

* 1/8 cup of alfalfa sprouts

* 1-2 teaspoons of ground vanilla bean

* 1 cup of dates or agave, or any preferred sweetener

* 1 cup of almond milk

* 1/2 cup of Coconut oil

* 1/2 cup of chopped almonds

Instructions:

* Place all ingredients into the vita mixer starting with the cocao powder, then the vanilla bean and the dates, if that's your preferred sweetener, and then the almonds. Turn the mixer on, grinding up all of the ingredients. Turn off the mixer and add everything else. Upon adding everything else, turn the mixer back on, starting first low, then to high. Add more or less almond milk, or sweetener as you desire.

Here are some pictures of the milky fudge chocolate I made today! MmMmMm....doesn't that just look Delicious! In this photo, the chocolate is on a tray, inside the refrigerator so it can harden, but it tastes amazing fresh out of the vita mixer!

In the raw...

Today I started my day off with a green smoothie made from a vita mixer. It contained celery, cucumber, a fuji apple, and a banana. It was delicious considering it was a "green" smoothie. What made it tasty was the banana and the apple which added a little sweetness to the juice. The program director Bobby was kind enough to make it for me. After I finished the smoothie, he showed me how to make wheatgrass juice, and we proceeded to make enough to fill a small shot glass. He warned me of it's strength, but I dismissed his warning thinking to myself  "I mean c'mon, how bad can it be?" boy was I in for a rude awakening. Well I exaggerate just a bit, but it did, however, have a strong kind of flavor to it. It was somewhat sweet sort of in relation to beets, but then had a grassy green taste that was somewhat bitter. It didn't end there, about an hour later, I started to feel a bit nauseous, and my stomach started to feel queasy so I immediately stopped what I was doing, which was helping out in the kitchen with dishes, etc.., and yes, went straight to the bathroom! We won't go into too much details about that, but I did feel a little better afterwards. However, the queasiness hadn't completely gone away. I started to ignore it, and when that didn't help, I started to listen to music on my i-pod and at that moment I realized, with greater conviction, the power of music. After maybe 1 song, no exaggeration, the queasiness completely went away. Maybe it's not so much music as it is just engrossing yourself in something that's truly appreciated by you, and for me, it's music!
The music has helped me get through this day of detoxing. I haven't really felt any big symptoms other than feeling queasy upon drinking the wheatgrass juice, but we'll see how things go tomorrow.

Otherwise....

It was a beautiful day in Hodunk, Michigan. It wasn't snowing but there was snow! To top it off, the sun was out. Don't get me wrong, it was still extremely cold, but not too cold for me to not be able to go out and enjoy it. I think I probably like snow more than the average Hodunk resident because I don't get much of it in Los Angeles. All we get is the SUN which I'm surely not complaining about as I appreciate all seasons mother earth has to offer, especially a nice hot summer day throughout the year as it often occurs in LA.  But it's nice to see some snow here and there. Ultimately, from living in New York for about a year, and being in Michigan today, I think I may like the cold weather more than the heat. I love rain, I love snow, and It may be because I love the idea of snuggling indoors with a cup of hot cocoa while watching movies, not that I'll be getting much of that these days with my new raw lifestyle and all. But on the bright side I still have the movies to watch.

I started reading the book "The China Study" by T Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II and so far, a great read. It's especially good for those who are studying Holistic Nutrition as it further confirms the lifestyle that Holistic Nutritionist usually promote which is a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. It does this from scientific studies rather than just personal opinion. I've only gotten through the first 2 chapters and thus far it's talking about how Americans, although paying their hard earned tax payer money to help fund research that is supposed to identify a solution to  the problem which is the rise in diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, etc., in our country, the diseases among americans have only increased, which shows our money is being wasted, while the country is growing even sicker. An interesting fact noted in the first chapter "The China Study," is how "MEDICAL CARE" is number 3 in the leading causes of death, right after heart disease, and cancer. Now that right there is very disturbing to me, but from my past experiences in hospitals, I wouldn't doubt it to be true.

My arrival....

I've been flying since 6am this morning! What a way to spend Christmas. On a lighter note, I've finally made it to the Creative Health Institute and have officially met the program director, Bobby. He picked me up from the airport, and immediately, I appreciated his energy. He appeared to be a very upbeat kind of guy, with lots of enthusiasm for life. We talked all the way to the institute about nutrition, the institute, the founder, etc.., I learned the sad news that one of the founders by the name of Don has recently passed, which is unfortunate. On a lighter note, he lived until the fantastic age of 80, so, although I've never met him, i'd like to think he's lived a full life, not to mention the better place he's now in. RIP Don, and thank you for the great efforts you put forth in the creation of CHI, the haven for health. Your legacy shall live on through the Creative Health Institute and it's successful future.

I arrived at the Institute a few hours ago and Bobby was kind enough to give me a tour of the place. He gave me the feel of it being my "home," rather than it just being a place I would soon be working at, which made me feel comforted, especially being thousands of miles away from home in Los Angeles. He showed me the kitchen and welcomed me to prepare something if I became hungry, he showed me the sun room and offered me the opportunity to watch movies there whenever I want, showed me the exercise room as well, which I found myself using after the tour was over, then finally to my room. I'm enjoying everything thus far!

Well, off I go. I need to start reading these books that were suggested to me by Bobby. One of them is "The China Study,"  by T. Colin Campbell, and Thomas M. Campbell, which is the book I plan to read first, then there's "Superfoods" by David Wolfe, a well renowned Nutritionist, and then finally "Quantum Eating: The ultimate elixir of youth" by Tonya Zavasta. So as you can see, I'm definitely in for a treat. I'll be sure to update you on my reviews of each book, as well as a summary of it's contents. Until then, have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Internship, here I come....

Hello Everyone,

Let me officially introduce myself. Well, My name is Beliu Kefelew, and I'm a Los Angeles native of Ethiopian decent, hence the name. I've always been one to tune in to, or participate in the latest fad diets, as most close relatives or friends of mine could attest, and by default, learned a lot about nutrition. Although I haven't practiced a raw food diet, I think anyone with common sense can admit that fruits, vegetables, seeds, and anything else that comes directly from the earth has to have the most beneficial properties for our health, and heat, having the power to destroy most things, most likely changes the nutritional value of earth's produce. This is just my philosophy on nutrition, and in order to receive clarity, and to hopefully give others clarity as well, I've decided to see it's working, first hand, and document my experiences going raw. I will be participating in an internship program at The Creative Health Institute where I'll serve in many departments including the kitchen, the grow room, mingling with and providing support for the guests, etc... Upon completion of the program I will earn a Raw Foods Chef certificate as well as a certificate in Holistic Health. CHI is not only an educational facility for interns as well as students, but also a retreat, or for some, both an educational opportunity and a retreat.  I'm an intern as the title suggests and was accepted into the program earlier this month by the executive director, Angel Bond. I'm officially flying out to Michigan from Los Angeles, California, tomorrow morning at 6am, Pacific Standard Time. Yes, yes, I'm flying on Christmas. It's a shame, I know. It's just that not too many people are flying on Christmas, and that allowed for me to pay less for a round trip ticket. Also, at the somewhat ripe age of 23, Christmas doesn't feel the same, so I don't think I'l be missing much. I remember the good ol' days when my siblings and I couldn't wait for the clock to reach 12am exactly, so we could open our presents. These days, with all the "adulthood" responsibilities, we're lucky if we remember to get a Christmas tree. Anyways, I digress...But yes, I will arrive at the kalamazoo airport at about 5:15pm and will be picked up by the institutes Education Director. I'm somewhat excited and nervous at the same time. Well, I'm going to double check and make sure I have everything packed. With that said, I'm going to end this post here and update it tomorrow when I arrive in Michigan.

Happy Holidays!!