18 months away...

Yes, to anyone reading, this might look like one for the blog graveyards out there. It's not that it's died, it's more that it's been neglected. But the lifestyle hasn't been neglected and that's what's important. In fact, these days, I should rename the blog "Raw Granola Bits" because I eat Kaia raw granola nearly every day. I've achieved my goal of becoming nearly unprocessed in the 18 months I've been away. But a great many things also happened while I've been gone. Including:

—I got pregnant.

—I had a baby.

—I spend a lot of time chasing after a just-crawling little guy who will be 8 months next week.

—I also spend a lot of time making his baby food — both his milk and his fruits and veggies, which I steam, puree and freeze in ice cube trays.

But amazingly, with all the craziness going on here, I've actually become more dedicated to an unprocessed lifestyle. I often eat raw until dinner and at dinner I usually only have cooked quinoa or bread I make myself. No more cereal, cola (diet or otherwise) and very little cheese — maybe some mozzarella once a week (yes, I know I should improve on this, and I plan no it).

I've also begun blogging about pop culture at my new job, making it harder to keep up with Granola Bits. But as was reinforced with my new son, I think nutrition is important and it needs to be discussed. Therefore, I'll be here discussing it for whomever is out there.

Now This is What We're Talking About!

The China Study. There's not the word "diet" in the title, but make no mistake, this book is all about the way we eat.

T. Colin Campbell is a well-respected doctor from Cornell with years of clinical study and research on his long, long résumé. He's a profoundly educated voice on nutrition and diet. So what's he saying?

Eat a plant-based, wholefoods diet and change your life!

This isn't a pitch for some weight-loss program complete with nutrition supplements and TV dinners designed to line his pockets. Nope, he and his mounds of research suggest that we eat the simplest foods of all: whole plant foods.

Campbell and his research team have been able to turn on and off cancer in rats by changing the amount of animal protein in the rats' diet. Not kidding. He also offers up tons of examples of how a wholefoods, plant-based diet can help and in some ways reverse the ravages of diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other problems that affect many people on the Western Diet (what I've referred to before as the Standard American Diet, SAD). It's documented.

So, why aren't doctors spouting off this information at yearly check-ups? Campbell argues that doctors like him who have proposed preventing and treating "diseases of affluence" like cancer, heart disease and other chronic illness with diet have been constantly put down for going against the grain in the medical society. The medical industry is in bed with the drug industry and if you eat better and don't get chronic illness, well, they lose money.

Despite their underlying yearn to help people, most doctors would like to treat first with a pill or a surgery and make their money off of you, rather than getting nothing from fruit and vegetable growers nor you as the patient, says Campbell. And he makes a good argument!

Buy it and read if for yourself. His research doesn't lie — it's just one more reason to go unrefined.

An Unrefined Life: A Better Use for Ramen

I live in a college town. Because of this fact, I'm fairly certain that the local consumption of Ramen Noodles is about 100 times the normal level.

It's a meal at 10 cents a pop — warm, convenient and cheap. And horribly, horribly refined, processed and coated in salt. The nutritional value you get for those 10 cents isn't even worth the dime — which can get you an hour of time in some of our downtown parking meters (Screw dinner, more time to shop!).

But I was a poor student once, I understand the appeal. A lot cheaper than organic produce, vitamins be damned. Instead of "I'll sleep when I'm dead" it's "I'll get vitamins when I graduate." Been there, done that, and happily getting my vitamins as we speak.

That said, I had to post about Ramen after seeing what one Korean artist did with his little bricks of 10-cent noodles. And when I say bricks, I mean bricks!

Something of beauty made out of something only a poor college student could love.

Food of the Day: Kale

Kale is one of those "hippie greens" that only true health nuts know how to prepare, right? Actually, Friar Tuck and Robin Hood were probably pros at cooking and eating the stuff — centuries before the term "health nut" came into existence. Kale has been lending its powerful antioxidants to folks across the globe since before the middle ages.

Kale, a member of the cabbage family, is grown in tons of varieties and can be found in everything from Chinese cooking to Christmas dinners in Scandinavia to the shopping carts of those health nuts and hippies with which most Americans associate the vegetable.

Truth be told, Kale is abundant and popular all around the world and has been for hundreds of years. So why don't Americans eat it? Is it because we're blinded by its familiar cousins collard greens, broccoli and cabbage? Possibly. But more probable is the notion that we just don't know what to do with it.

So, what do we do with it? It's too tough to eat raw, and it's not often you can order it at restaurants to get an idea of how it is generally eaten. But, I'm sure, like me you don't want to miss out on its rich amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Calcium... and you won't have to if you roast it or sauté it.

The vegetable is wonderful tossed in some olive oil and then roasted for a few minutes and sprinkled in coarse sea salt. Or, I found an ingenious recipe for sautéed kale here.

It's a new year and we're going unrefined and back to our roots — our medieval roots, that is.

An Unrefined Life: Christmas Cookies of Regret

We're entering the second week of the new year. And in 2008, I have pledged to do my darnedest to avoid refined and processed foods in this refined and processed world we call modern America.

I was doing just fine — no Diet Coke, passed on the ice cream, all about the roasted sweet potatoes for lunch and then — bam!!!! — they plowed into me like a runaway donut truck from 2007: Christmas cookies. And not just any Christmas cookies, but yummy peanut butter and chocolate buckeyes, lemon squares, Mexican wedding cake balls and chocolate chip cookies.

Life is not fair.

Especially when trying to go unrefined.

Well, I gave in to the coworker-be-blamed treasure trove, and my pounding head, racing heart and utter inability to concentrate remind me exactly why I was trying to avoid white sugar and flour in the first place.

No one said avoiding the demons of the SAD (standard American diet) was going to be easy. But it is definitely worth it.

Food of the Day: Coconut Juice

Okay, it's not really a food, but that doesn't mean it's not good for you! Coconut juice is made from young, green coconuts, also called water coconuts. It has about 75 calories per cup, no added sugar or flavors and is a great source of potassium and magnesium.

It is perfect for your post-workout pick-me-up. Why? Coconut juice a natural isotonic beverage — meaning it makes water available to your tissues, which is just what the body needs after being depleted during a hard workout. It's natural Gatorade!

You can buy it canned or crack a water coconut yourself. Though, because I'm no good with large knives, I prefer the Amy & Brian brand.

p.s.: Some brands call it coconut water — it's all the same thing.

Food of the Day: Black-Eyed Peas

The traditional lucky dish of the new year, black-eyed peas were introduced to the New World by Spaniards and slaves from West Africa. The legume's association with good luck likely comes from the Civil War era, when Union soldiers would sack Confederate towns of any supplies and food. Northerners didn't consider "field beans" valuable, so they didn't take them, and Southerners survived on the lucky beans.

If you're not one for Hoppin' John (mmm, ham hocks), try cooking your lucky beans the way the Vietnamese do: As a dessert.

In Vietnam, black-eyed peas are often part of a rice and coconut dish called Chu Dau Tran. Much more appealing than beans and fat to start of 2008!

Find a recipe for the dish in English here.

Happy New Year!