Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

Reader Question: Seaweed, Menu Plans & Beans

Hi Karen, I just got my first eZine and I think I'm going to love getting more! You offer so much information! I've been trying 'raw' for a little more than a month, and I really like it. But I have a few questions;

1. I don't like the taste of kelp. So far I have not tried any of the other sea vegetables like arame or others. I guess I don't like the fishy taste. Is it really necessary for me to eat these?

2. I have been following a menu plan for 30 days, but I have completed the month. Do I just start over? I don't think I am ready to just try to figure out how much of everything I'm supposed to eat daily, so I like a plan to follow.

3. Do beans have a place in raw eating? I have not seen any recipes with beans in them. I thought that they would be good for protein.

Thank you, Sue.

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Hi Sue, thanks for writing.

Like many newbies your questions are diverse. There’s so many things to learn aren’t there? You’ve come to the right place : )

In answer to your questions...

1) There are indeed many different sea vegetables available, and although they all do have a “sea” flavour (it’s not fishy as fish tastes of the sea too!) they still have very different flavours. Personally I only like dulse, nori and kelp powder myself. I cannot stand kombu and hiziki, in spite of good intentions! So I would recommend that you try dulse and nori next as these are the ones that most people seem to like. As for whether it’s necessary. I would say it’s valuable. A good alternative to cover similar (and more) nutritional bases would be a good all-round green superfood and/or a spirulina, chlorella or blue-green algae supplement.

2) With any menu plan you want to make sure that it’s diverse and interesting and that you’re genuinely enjoying it and getting good results with it. If the one you’re using ticks all of these boxes, then by all means go ahead and repeat it, but there’s nothing that can beat a personalised menu plan that you’ve created yourself. If you’d like to learn how to do that, then your answer is here >>

3) Yes beans do have a place in a raw food diet. They must be sprouted though. I have videos on how to sprout on YouTube – it’s much quicker and easier than most people think. Beans are a fantastic food cooked or raw, and sadly underused and underrated. What I love about them is that they’re very high in protein and fibre, they add bulk and interest and they contain very little fat. For those who are looking to eat clean and lean, then beans and greens are two fantastic foods to revolve main meals around.

I hope this helps Sue.

Radiantly yours,

Karen

 

Reader Question: Weight Loss & Late Afternoon Munchies

Dear Karen,

I am writing as a person who has been taking advice bit by bit from your fantastic website for about a year now, but a few things have been puzzling me and as I'm attempting over the next few weeks to get more seriously raw. I have never followed the raw food diet 100%, usually staying about 50% raw, unless I feel I need to lose a few pounds - like now! I wondered if you would be able to help me?

Firstly, I eat fresh fruit and some almonds for breakfast most days and I generally stick to salads with some oatcakes for lunch, but a few months ago I started a new job where I am working at a higher stress level, for longer and walking further there and back to get there! The result has made me far hungrier than I used to be, and despite my efforts I absolutely am desperate to eat anything by about 5pm when I have at least two hours to go before I get home. I eat lunch early due to my working day's hours and I try to eat breakfast after my walk to work, so that I'm not eating two breakfasts! I wonder if you could suggest anything that would really see me along and satisfy to stop me eating bad biscuits - which I never, ever used to do!!

Secondly - I need your advice on dried fruits. I really love these - dates, raisins, sultanas, apricots etc - but I can find myself being extremely greedy with them - I think because they're sweet, sometimes I get a very bloated stomach if I've gone too far! I've checked your website and some others too, they all seem to suggest that dried fruits are part of the raw food plan - am I mixing these up with the wrong thing? Are packaged ones bad? I do gain wait if I eat too many of these!

I'm so sorry for this very long e mail, I realise how busy you must be, but a little advice on this would really, really help.

Many thanks, Anna Higginbotham

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Hi Anna, thanks for writing, and, I hear you! I totally understand these late afternoon munchies, I used to get them myself. From what you share with me, eating lunch later is not an option for you right now. Of course, either way, I would recommend that you eat more for lunch – or at least some kind of fresh fruit dessert within the hour, but I think that will only go so far in relation to the hunger pangs occurring later in the day.

My recommendation is any or all of the following. I’m guessing that you should be able to put any of these into action; it’s just which ones appeal most and work best for you.

• Keep a stash of fresh fruit, raw snack bars, dried sweet treats, kale chips and any other dehydrated goodies in your desk drawer - or in a secret box under your desk : )
• If at all possible, make either a big flask of green smoothie, or a nut milk based smoothie, before you go to work, keep it in the office fridge and enjoy that around 4pm.
• Even better, if this option is possible for you, take a bunch of fresh/raw ingredients into work, keep them in the fridge or in a bag under the counter, take in a blender or “Magic Bullet” type blender and make your own smoothies during the afternoon break. (You can bet your colleagues will want a piece of the action!)
• Finally, you could make some nut-cheese or pâté, take that into work and spread it on crackers, nori sheets (to make nori rolls) or whatever else you like to spread things on.

These are all just starter ideas. I recommend that you have a scout online for anything that you can take into work that will be delicious, nutritious and filling for you. Also check out any establishments local to you that could help in terms of raw food drinks, snacks or take-aways. You never know what’s out there until you go looking!

The secret to success for you here is falling in love with whatever you add in to your new routine. You can feel great about the walking already. How fantastic would it be to feel that you are doing all of that walking powered by delicious, satisfying raw-food fuel that will set you up beautifully for the night ahead?

Now, onto your second question.

Dried fruit – I’ll keep this brief.

Dried fruit generally speaking is to be eaten in moderation, if at all.

First off, usually the dried fruit you buy commercially is NOT truly raw, owing to the way it has been dried at very high temperatures (yes, even if it says “sun dried” – which sounds very idyllic – the reality usually is that it’s been dried in the sun within massive metal containers that intensify the heat and effectively cook the fruit). So, that’s myth #1 busted! That said, there are some super-conscious food producers out there who make a point of getting this right and keeping the temperatures low, but you will certainly know about them when you find them because they’ll make a POINT of saying that their dried fruit is truly raw. (If such a producer is reading this, or you know of one, please go ahead and share resources in the comments box below).

Second, because the water content has been reduced dramatically or completely, a lot of what you end up eating via dried fruit is actually condensed sugar. Yes, it’s fruit sugar, but to the body it’s still sugar and it treats it as such. This accounts for the compulsion that you and many others often experience around dried fruit – once you start it’s hard to stop! And yes, weight gain can absolutely be a side effect of too much dried fruit consumption as it’s high sugar and high calorie. It was a significant factor in my own weight gain about three or four years in to my raw food journey when I started experimenting with different “raw” foods.

Personally, I recommend that you:

1)    Avoid dried fruit as much as possible and replace with more savoury snacks such as kale chips which are super-delicious and much lower calorie.

2)    If you do buy dried fruit, pro-actively seek out the organic, truly raw varieties and then eat in moderation. This means no more than a couple of times per week.

To be crystal clear, while dried fruit can be considered part of a raw food diet (when it’s raw!) it’s certainly not a necessary component and you won’t lose out by omitting it entirely – unless your diet lacks variety.

Personally I only eat dried fruits about once per month now, if that. The only exception is Medjool dates which I use in smoothies two or three times per week, but I consider these one of the better quality of dried fruits, as they are not totally dried. But even then I eat and use way less of those than I ever used to.

It does get easier with time, Anna. Just make sure that in either case you are really giving yourself options that you LOVE – this is vital. This will not only make it easy and pleasurable for you to make the switch, but also ensure that your success is inevitable.

Good luck and please let me know how you get on!

Karen

How Do You Eat Raw on a Plane?

I'm in LA right now, but before I left I filmed a short video to answer the question, "Karen, what do you eat on a plane?"

Considering the flight to LA is 10+ hours and there's the 2 hours to get to the airport, another 2 hours before the plane takes off and then an extra hour or so at the other end, making sure I have enough food to sustain me for what equates to 3/4 of a day is, needless to say, important.

So in this video you'll see exactly what I packed for this flight. As it turned out I didn't even touch the trail mix or the bananas, so even though I didn't pack a ton of stuff it was actually more than enough.

Let me know if you find this useful... and if you have additional tips from your own travels, please share them with other readers in the comments below.

I'm in LA right now, but before I left I filmed a short video to answer the question, "Karen, what do you eat on a plane?"

Considering the flight to LA is 10+ hours and there's the 2 hours to get to the airport, another 2 hours before the plane takes off and then an extra hour or so at the other end, making sure I have enough food to sustain me for what equates to 3/4 of a day is, needless to say, important.

So in this video you'll see exactly what I packed for this flight. As it turned out I didn't even touch the trail mix or the bananas, so even though I didn't pack a ton of stuff it was actually more than enough.

Let me know if you find this useful... and if you have additional tips from your own travels, please share them with other readers in the comments below.

The Four Juiciest Secrets - Call Recording and Handouts

The response to my call last week has been truly incredible. I promised that the content would be life-changing, and it was.

For those of you who missed it and would like to hear it, you'll find the details below together with the handout that you may well want to use to take notes in a useful and structured way.

But first a selection of feedback we received after the call, whose authors have kindly agreed for their comments to be published:

“Dearest Karen – I just wanted to personally thank you for last night’s call.  After I got off, I made a decision to quit my job of 12 years and devote myself full-time to my company, Rite Food and Company.  I’ve been trying to run my company part-time for months now and have been really struggling... mainly because I was pushing back/ denying/ silencing my ‘inner voice’.  Thank you for reminding me that I’m powerful beyond my wildest dreams.” ~ Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt, Rite Food and Company, New Gloucester, Maine, USA

“Hi Karen, you are amazing....your breakdown was actually your breakthrough.  You have changed my raw food journey. Thank you from my entire green heart, mind, body and soul...a true convert.” ~ Reina Ocasio, New York, USA

“That recording is a gem, a masterpiece, or mistresspiece, it is awesome.  I'm on the net a lot, for over 12 yrs, and that is one of the very best things I ever, ever experienced by way of the net.  You are real, you are truly concerned, you have something of value to contribute, you are willing to put it out there, you are speaking from the truth of your being, you are a pioneer in life, in raw, in marketing, in being love - thank you.  I’m so happy to see you sold out, as is appropriate.  I know that your contribution will be returned to you multiplied.  Thank you; know that you have made a difference in lives all over the planet that will then touch others and others and others, wow - just wow!” ~ Dr. Dianne Jennings, Costa Rica

Are You Ready to Step Up to the Plate?

The following article is fron this week's issue of Successfully Raw. I'm publishing it here as there's an invitation at the end to take part in a one week tri-fold Raw Coaching Challenge. I'd love as many people to take part in this as possible and I'll be starting the ball rolling myself to give you an idea of how this might look.

So, if you're ready to Step Up to the Plate (or in some cases step away from it!!) and GROW over the next few weeks and months, but specifically during the next seven days then this is for YOU!

Being in the US this past week or so has been an amazing experience on so many levels. Have you ever planned for a trip or event and just known that everything was going to change for you, that something really big was going to happen? This is how I felt at the start of last week before I flew, I just didn’t know how it was going to show up.

Now here I am the day before I fly home and I want to catalyse the essence of what I have experienced to gracefully but powerfully challenge you to step up to the plate in your own world and do what you know you need to do.

Before we get into the big stuff, first some compassion ; )

I know first-hand that knowing you have more inside of you to birth than you are currently living out can feel painful. It feels painful l to stay smaller than you know you are and yet the thought of stepping out often scares the living daylights out of us! Yes, this is something I know only too well!

However, when you up your raw food game this ability to keep yourself back and smaller than who you really are ends up taking a LOT of energy, do you know what I mean?! It’s like a plant that wants to grow, that is destined to grow but uses every ounce of its energy to stop growing – which is actually a really hard, if not impossible thing to do!

Growth is nature’s way. It’s our destiny, our divine blueprint, our joy. It seems to be just us with our crazy mixed up beliefs and toxic heart and mind stuff that have a fear of being who we really are and not just growing but opening up and blossoming like the amazing creations we are.

Raw Food and Lonely? You're *Not* Alone!

From Successfully Raw Issue 100:

"Dear Karen, I really enjoy reading your eZine and especially the recipes. Here is my dilemma and I know I'm not the only one: no support. I don't think there are any groups that meet to give tips on how to survive a raw diet in a family that dislikes everything about it. That drags me down and then I don't feel like trying to eat healthy. Let's face it, it's easier to do as the Romans do than fight it. Any tips or suggestions? I know when I was strictly raw I felt absolutely fantastic!!"

Well, what a common question this is. I really do feel for anyone who is surrounded by negativity as this used to be my story too; not so much in my own home, mind you, but I have been around enough sceptics and naysayers to know that it ain't fun and it ain't often pretty.

So here follow a few of my tips, resources and practical ideas. These focus on the external; next week I shall address the internal. While there are certainly many more external options out there (which is why I am posting this article on my blog so those of you with additional ideas and resources please do post them here), this hopefully will give you enough to get going with. I hope they help...

Coaching Gala Darling Part 2 of 2

Following on from my first coaching call with Gala Darling (left) of a month ago, below you will find part 2 (the final part).

In part 1 Gala was gungho about going more raw and our call focussed on fine tuning her diet, and amping things up. In this call a very different scenario with Gala, newly returned from a trip visiting friends and family in New Zealand, off the wagon and struggling to get back on and not quite sure why.

Listen in for the variety of angles we looked at (this one runs 45 minutes and is very different to the last), and please do share if something in there resonates or helps you in some way as we'd love to know!

PS: Gala has since posted a few words on her web site (below). She's currently running a 30 Day Transformation Challenge - visit her web site to find out more at www.galadarling.com

Karen Knowler — Raw saint & genius. Behold her halo! We had our second raw coaching call last night & it was just as amazing, if not more amazing, than the first one. She gave me tons of useful prompts, questions & exercises to help make my transition easier (& as soon as I post this I’m going to do my “raw homework”!). If you’re going raw as part of the iTC or are just curious, check out her free resources (I especially recommend So You Want To Go Raw?) & books, DVDs & audio. Everything she does is infused with love & passion — she is the perfect raw guide. Bless. (Oh, & I will be posting our raw coaching call as an MP3 very shortly!)

Coaching Gala Darling Part 1 of 2

These days I actually do very little 1:1 phone coaching compared to one year ago as I am now focussing on many other projects. However, the networking fairies have been at play (well, one in particular who perhaps would not like being referred to as a fairy, hehe, but is perhaps more like an angel! You'll find out who he is as you go...) and so it was that two days ago I coached famous Australian fashion writer Gala Darling of www.galadarling.com and had a really great call with her.

Before you listen to the call (it's on her site and mine for the world to hear and is one hour long) you'd definitely benefit from reading one of her earlier blog posts just to set the context for this call.

Gala is a lot of fun as you will see/hear, her web site/ blog is simply beautiful and what's more she thoroughly loved the call.

From Gala, as per her blog entry about our call:

"I expected her to be useful but not THIS useful! The phone-call was a revelation — it was absolutely amazing. Sometimes when you’re having trouble with something, having someone else there to ask the right questions is all you need, & all of a sudden your problem starts to unravel & you realise the root cause of it. Well, Karen asked me some totally brilliant questions — & I came away from the phone-call with all of my problems solved!

"It was one of the most interesting phone-calls I’ve ever had, for sure. I just love getting to the bottom of a problem & gaining a deeper understanding of why I do what I do! I think anyone interested in going raw (or who is currently making alterations to their diet) will find this a really useful thing to listen to, because many of the questions she asks me you will be able to ask yourself."

You can read more at Gala's site and/or listen to the recording below. I hope you find something useful in there for you also!

My J.O.B. Email 2 ~ Mandy's Mission

Following on from the previous post, here follows the email I received from a lady who wishes to remain anonymous but who I'll call Mandy:

Dear Karen, I have been in a series of jobs I detest. I don't think I've ever liked a job I've held. I stayed in them (out of fear) until I found other employment or my body broke down in order to tell me it was time to get out. In fact I am about to start an office job that I'm not thrilled about but I'm running out of money so I'm taking employment. I'm in a place now within that I don't think I'll DETEST the job, but I certainly won't LOVE it.

I KNOW I am here for a purpose. I've had that restless feeling all my working life. I've spent most of it, indulging in unhealthy habits to mask the emptiness and sadness I've felt as a result of not being fulfilled.

I want to do something that makes a difference in the world.  I want something that makes me excited so that I JUMP out of bed every morning.  The quandary?... I don't know what it is that I can do that will put that love in my heart, in my whole being. It's very frustrating. And even if you don't respond. Thanks for being a sounding board.

BTW: I'm not raw... yet.  I'm working on that slowly.

Thanks Mandy.

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Hi Mandy

I have felt inclined to answer this one verbally so my response is in audio form below speaking as I would to any client on the phone. I hope you can listen to it; there's a lot of juicy stuff in there... and this will be useful to anyone trying to find their purpose right now.

(10 mins 44 secs)

PS: I just got the "word" to pick a card for you also..

This time it's the Messages from your Angels cards and here's what we have:

Wow... this one was so easy to pull, and my goodness... Don't listen to it until you have listened to the first audio, okay?

When Doing Work You Don't Love Is No Longer An Option

From Successfully Raw Issue 84, published today:

Following on from last week's article about Raw Food & Self Love, this week I'm sharing with you a big chunk of my raw food history and how it affected my working life.

This comes in response to the questions emailed to me over the past week where three different ladies described their pain at not doing work they love and/or not knowing their direction. Having been there myself on more than one occasion I can attest to it being one of the most painful chapters of my life - but I can also attest to there being a happy ending!

But before I get into sharing my experience, let's take a moment to look at why this issue is so prevalent among health seekers/ raw foodies, as it most certainly is.

When you go raw you...

1. Wake up!
2. Become more sensitive (things feel much better or worse depending on what they are)
3. Get to hear your own voice more clearly
4. Start to be kinder to yourself and the world around you
5. Start to believe in a more "magical" way of living and being (because you can feel it running through your veins)
6. Feel more pain when things aren't a good fit for you (and don't use food to block that fact out)
7. Have more energy to take action
8. Are generally more positive and upbeat; you begin to believe (and witness) that anything is possible
9. Start to meet others like you and learn through what they have to say and what they have done that there is another way
10. Begin to feel brave enough and vital enough to take the action required to make some big changes, if required, in order to be true to you

In fact, the more raw you go, the more "raw" you get... emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually. I have found that it has come to a point where I have very little tolerance for anything that doesn't "work" for me (like a person who is disrespectful or angry, or an aspect of my life that doesn't support me or make me feel good). This is not a Karen phenomenon by any means - as time goes by you simply have to surrender to the way of living that is "being you own best friend" (not a bad way to live, I have to say! Amazing how difficult we find it initially though, non?).

To be clear, no, this doesn't mean becoming a diva or "above your station"! It simply means making choices that FEEL good, that don't entertain negativity and that serve you and those around you because they are good for everyone. The further you go with cleaning up your diet and body the more you will see this play out.

Quite simply raw food brings a physical purity that cannot happily co- exist with a unhappy heart, a muddled mind or a sleeping soul. This last sentence alone sums up why people yo-yo with raw foods for so long as they try to figure out what on earth is going on and also which package they are going to sign up for!

With all this said, I'm going to pass you over now to my blog where I've already published one of the ladies questions along with my answer to her, and the letters and responses to the other two ladies will follow over the weekend (one per day) as well as my own very long and winding personal story of work/life transformation, which, even if I say it myself, I feel is incredibly inspiring : )

I guess you could see it as one of my very many Gratitude Letters to Raw... I'll warn you now though, it won't be a 5 minute read, so you might want to make sure you're sitting comfortably ; ).