Dharma Feast Cookbook (3 page)

8. RESOURCES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Making Informed Decisions

Water

Supplementation

Liquid Minerals

Electrolytes

Green Powder

Flaxseed Oil / Cod Liver Oil

Digestive Enzymes

Food-Grown Supplements

Food-Based Supplements

Organics

Genetically Modified Organisms

Soy

Dairy Products

Fish

Meat

Gluten

Food Additives and Prepared Foods

MSG

Sweeteners

Microwaves

Plastic

Labeling

9. TAKING CHARGE: FOOD AND OUR CHILDREN

Obesity

Trends

School Lunches: Part of the Problem

Vending Machines, Sugar and Other Gambles

New Directions

Ideas for Healthy School Lunches

APPENDIX - Food Rotation Chart

RECOMMENDED COOKBOOKS

RECOMMENDED READING

INDEX

Recipe Index

Subject Index

CONTACT INFORMATION

When wonderful things are ordinary and ordinary things are wonderful, then at last God has been glimpsed.

- L
EE
L
OZOWICK

People try to solve their problems in a therapist’S office or in support groups when, in fact, many can be solved at the dining room table. It is possible that an emotional problem may very well just be a clogged liver or weak kidneys. If you want to change something in your life, start with a change in your diet.

- P
URNA
S
TEINITZ

Most of us in the West spend our days surrounded by a fast-paced, technological world that is not particularly nurturing. Western culture has evolved into a way of life in which we cram as many words, information, and activities as we can into our day. Eating is often what we do while we’re busy doing something else. For the most part, grocery stores feed this lifestyle— they are filled with processed foods meant to be prepared and eaten as quickly as possible. Magazine, newspaper, radio, and television ads reinforce getting carried away by and becoming lost in unhealthy habits and food cravings.

We have lost our intuitive understanding of how to feed ourselves and our loved ones in a way that nourishes rather than one that does little more than placate the cravings of the less conscious part of ourselves. We crave concentrated foods— they are fast, easy, processed and often full of salt, fat, and sugar—like chips, power bars, and ready-made energy drinks and shakes. We think we don’t have time—or energy—to cook.

So why, when it seems like we have less time in the day than ever, would we consider using a cookbook that asks us to make our meals from basic, natural ingredients? The answer is as simple as the recipes themselves. Within such an intentional diet are the seeds to bring sanity back into our lives.

If asked about our physical state, many of us would say “I feel pretty good.” Maybe we’re tired or irritable sometimes, or our stomachs occasionally hurt, or we have a skin rash, but overall we don’t get sick very often and we unconsciously think this is an indication of robust health. What many of us consider to be “fine” or “normal” means we don’t have a debilitating disease, which is not a good definition of “healthy.” In fact, our concept of “health” changes considerably when we learn about what we are eating and how it affects us. Once we do, we may realize that we have not experienced the natural life force of our bodies other than on a camping trip, yoga class, or weekend seminar.

Our bodies can tolerate many toxic substances, until the point that these cause disease. In the meantime, the body compensates for the neuro-toxins (toxins that make the brain malfunction) found in processed food additives. It compensates for vitamin, mineral, and protein deficiencies. It compensates for lack of water and exercise. It adapts to overindulgence in sugars, salt, and fat. But a body in such a condition is not one that is healthy, whole, or balanced enough to function properly, and this can significantly impact every area of your life. If your brain is flooded with neurotoxins on a daily basis, for example, then your whole thought process is affected. Ideas, physical reactions, and even the depths you are capable of in relationships and life in general are all altered by the “fog” stealing through your mind. Indeed, eventually the body won’t compensate anymore, and then acute or chronic disease will likely set in. The list of symptoms of physical crisis is long and includes, gas and other digestive problems, allergies, symptoms of arthritis, insomnia, depression, spaciness and emotional fixation on anger, fear, and drama.

Sanity begins with learning about food, preparing it properly, and eating it consciously. If we do this, we have the possibility of becoming healthy and free of the confusion and reactivity caused by toxic foods. The diet we recommend, which is based on plant-based whole foods, leaves fewer residues physically, mentally, and emotionally. It does not leave a coat of plaque on our intestines, tissues, brain, etc., so it does not alter our body or brain chemistry the way many animal-based and processed foods do. For example, when we eat a lot of sugar, whether we know it or not, we have chemically-induced emotional highs and lows. The same is true with eating too many artificial preservatives, which cause a feeling of ungrounded spaciness.

When we eat a clean diet these residues are naturally eliminated from our body, and this has a deep effect on our mind and emotions. We can start experiencing a more natural response to the world around us, instead of reacting to it as per the toxins in the foods we eat. But we can’t know the impact these substances have until we get our bodies to a cleaner state and can experience the contrast.

As our diet changes, we become able to take care of ourselves and model for our children and others a relationship with food and life itself that is an expression of intention and sanity. Our premise is that a change in diet is the single most effective way to begin to move your attention away from psychological and physical problems so that you may dedicate that energy to your highest commitments.

Our recommendations are based on scientific findings as well as personal experience.
Dharma Feast Cookbook : Recipes for a Fresh Start
also draws on the way people have eaten for thousands of years from a wide range of cultures
¹
. One of this book’S strengths is that we have synthesized knowledge from these many different sources so that you don’t need to.
Dharma Feast Cookbook
offers you enough of the basics to help you make informed food choices, and encourages you to seek out more information if interested.

The 3-Stage Diet

We understand it can be tough to change your diet. Where do you even start? That’S why we’ve created the following 3-stage chart. It’S based on the chart found in Humbart Santillo’S book
Intuitive Eating
but we’ve modified it significantly to fit the Dharma Feast diet.

In each stage, we help you transition toward more healthy food choices.

By going a little bit at a time you have a much greater chance of making lasting change. And you get to decide which stage you want to stick with. Maybe you’re a Stage 3 for beverages, a Stage 2 for Dairy, and a Stage 1 for nuts and seeds! That’S great—you’re still eating healthy! The point is to have intention with your diet.

Stage 1
is the first step. Here we replace more processed foods with healthier alternatives. We eliminate alcohol, processed white flour, refined white sugar, and many foods which contain these ingredients. We also begin to add the foods on the recommended diet.

Stage 2
contains a few foods, such as limited dairy products and eggs, which are eventually eliminated in Stage 3. We recommend that all dairy products in Stage 2 be raw and preferably goat (for example, raw goat milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) When a dairy product is raw, it contains the enzymes that are needed for digestion.

The
Stage 3
diet we recommend is plant-based (with the exception of organic butter or organic ghee), and is composed of whole foods as close to their original form as possible. These foods include raw and cooked vegetables, greens, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, beans, fermented foods, seaweeds, fresh-squeezed juices, good-quality organic butter or organic ghee, water, and certain supplements (see
Supplementation
in
Resources and Recommendations,
Chapter 8
).

Adapted from Santillo, Humbart “Smokey,” N.D.,
Intuitive Eating: Everybody’S Guide to Lifelong Health and Vitality Through Food
(Hohm Press: Prescott, Arizona, 1993),162-168. Used with permission.

The Essential Foundations

The way of eating introduced in
Dharma Feast Cookbook
is supported by three pillars: