Gathering is done

Done gathering… I learned a little bit more about what I crave versus what I actually need. Three weeks is a decent amount of time, I feel very flexible right now, in a dietary sense. I plan to keep the simple carbs out for as long as possible. Going to stay on the whole grain bandwagon as much as possible, it felt good. I am going to keep loading up on the fresh fruit, keeping the dried fruit at bay, going to buy Kale futures. I am just really looking forward to adding tofu, soy milk, smoothies and a good whole grain cereal back into my life, but no late night rendezvous with the cereal bowl, we have split permanently, unless, of course, she begs me back.  A friend pulled me over the other day and told me his wife was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. I know she will beat this but I started to think about this craziness; I do this because it is fun and hopefully some of you appreciate the company as we struggle to control our collective bodies and minds, but at the end of the day, this life is the briefest of journeys and we must squeeze every beautiful thing out of it that we can. So no beating yourself up if you have a Twinkie or two. No one gets out of here intact.  

 Peace and love   

A momentary fall from Grace

Rough week in hunter gatherer land, I was on the road for 5 days and finally an airport took me down, three hour delay, trapped in an airport, hungry, looking wantonly at the plastic shrubs in the airport and shop after shop of incredibly unhealthy food lined up, my stomach screaming at me, my brain beginning to fog, feeling like Dorothy in the middle of the tornado (a little dramatic). I found a place that offered a lentil salad, the place is called Argo, I quizzed the young lady at the counter but I knew she had no idea about the origins of the ingredients, processed or not: the lentils, onions, tomato, oil and salt. I know they did not satisfy the purity of hunter gatherer but could, but then she said “and spices.” I knew that could be anything, could be made in a lab, far from processed so I asked, what kind? She looked at me quizzically, like dude you want it or not? She shrugged and said I don’t know, so I shrugged, the shrug of a man who lost a battle in the war for control of his own body, but not the war.  So I had it; and it was the finest lentil salad I have ever had. But I am back on track for another two weeks.  I also learned a lesson that many of you already know, many of the cravings for junk food are tied to my emotional state and particular times of the day/night. A rough day or late at night I find the cravings increase, I have been satisfying those moments generally with apples (also plums, and pears) instead of dark chocolate or a granola bar…  Love yourself, love you  

Work Week Coming

I feel that doing the hunter gatherer regimen is harder than fasting. In fasting I know I am not eating, with hunter gatherer I have to think about it and there is so much processed foods that surround us.

I have discovered I am still craving something sweet, it could be dark chocolate or a granola bar or some granola cereal or some dried fruit. It has been tough, but I like the journey and the sense of awareness of my body.

Today as I boarded my flight, I was already hungry; needless to say the flight attendant did not offer me the gathering menu.  And of course the flight was delayed, so when I got to Chicago I went directly to the Whole Foods for some grazing, before checking into my hotel. I decided a salad was my best option, Kale, lettuce, kidney beans, black beans, bell pepper, carrot, cucumber and quinoa. I bought an orange to use the juice as a salad dressing. I also bought an apple, two plums and some black berries for breakfast tomorrow. This is going to be one heck of a week.

But something is happening, this Rabbi, sitting next to me on the plane, after a conversation about work, he was heading to Iowa to check meat for Kosher status. He said he thought I had a sense of calm and he wanted to know what I eat.  By the end of the flight I was writing a list of foods he should eat. Funny world on a lot of levels. Peace and Love  

All Quiet on the Gathering Front

Getting into the swing of gathering... I had a major sugar jones in the middle of the day. Normally at that time I would have made myself a soy smoothie with fruit and bananas or a bowl of granola cereal with soy milk but today those options were not available (soy milk is processed, unless I make it myself - maybe this weekend). I was out of apples and plums, a go-to sweet snack. So I went to the local Whole Foods and ate a fist full of the cherries they leave out for customers to taste. They also had cheese out but cheese is processed as well. In fact they also had corn chips out. If I wasn't in my hunter gathering mind set, I could have had a full meal. However after the cherries, I felt a lot better and then I bought some veggies (celery, orange bell pepper, cucumber, corn) to throw into my fresh quinoa salad and also some sweet potato for tomorrow.

The salad was great; to the above, I added avocado, blueberries, onions and again squeezed orange juice on it for some moisture and flavor. It was really quite good. I had a little bit of the garbanzo beans left over from last night to go with it.

We will see what tomorrow brings.

Peace and Love.

Questions

I have had a bunch of questions and I am feeling many have some angst around food. The purpose of the hunter gatherer experience is to raise our consciousness about what we throw in our mouths/bodies. However most important is to love yourself and accept that we make choices that are not always great, fine, recognize them and decide if you want to change. But at the end of the day you have to love yourself for the wacky person you are and the amazing journey you are on; and in this case we are journeying together, in essence supporting each other.

So to the questions, is dried fruit okay? No. It is your mind playing tricks on you, my mind does it all the time, dried fruit is really a candy bar. It is processed, usually with sulfur added to keep the color stable and to give you a little gas later (unintended consequence). But if you find you are craving dried fruit (as I am), know that is your sugar jones kicking in. The hunter gatherer should help you understand yourself a little bit better. You might crave salt, sugar, oils... The hunter gatherer is back to basics.

Some one asked is peanut butter okay, yes, if you are getting it from one of those machines that ground the peanuts, you want just peanuts not Jif's or Skippy's version, which has sugar, hydrogenated oils/transfats (to make it smooth) and probably some preservatives (may be salt). If you do the stuff you grind yourself you will  never go back.

Someone asked about bread, I would say no, unless you have found a place that sells a bread that is all whole grain (or you make it yourself), then it is processed. The stuff masquerading as bread is just not good for us.

One more thing, the point of the hunter gatherer is not about living longer but to be more alive while we are here so we can do lots of good stuff for lots of people.  Peace and Love

So my first dinner in this hunter gatherer mode ... was uneventful. The beans I soaked overnight I cooked today (garbanzo). I experimented cooking with just a little water, fresh chopped tomatoes, onions and garlic (no oil). I threw a potato in the oven as a back up and I cooked some whole grain quinoa. I also made a green salad, lettuce, avocado, cucumbers, apple and blueberry. I used the juice of a orange as the dressing. The salad was real good. I ate way too much. I just popped open the baked potato and threw some of the garbanzo bean dish on it, then I also put some of the bean mix over the quinoa. I was happy to go without the oil, it is doable. But if you are going hunter gatherer with me, you don't have to go to that extreme (but I love the company). 

I was sitting outside after dinner, watching the day come to an end, at least the lighted part, and I saw a rabbit out of the corner of my eye and thought, if I was a hunter and not a gatherer, you would be wabbit stew, but instead he and I compete for the same grub. Makes me wonder.

Peace and Love 

Today is first day of Hunter Gatherer routine. Got up early and went for a run, was on the road at 5:15 AM, a magical time whatever you are eating. The birds are going absolutely berserk and then when the sun rises it becomes dead silent, calm and peace. No cars on the road, just me and the road, a holy moment in sometimes unholy days. 

After my run, I jumped into the shower and had to drive down I-95 to pick up my daughter in New Rochelle, NY. I-95 will take the calm and peace out of you in a heartbeat. When I got back I had some fresh organic strawberries (4) and some raw nuts (a fist full). I was not very hungry and no need to get more complex. I haven't thought about meals for the day but yesterday I put some beans in water, so I can cook them later today. 

Some asked is milk permitted on the hunter gatherer, I would say no, but I would love your thoughts. There is some interesting research out there that says milk is not the panacea that is claimed. But regardless, it is very processed, and unfortunately even the cow that is the factory is processed, filled with chemicals and drugs. But I will say you decide on the milk front, check out the book "The China Study," it will be informative.

Peace to you and love yourself.