I remember when I started junior high, my father put his hand on my shoulder and said in his best John Wayne voice, “Darlin’ are you going to run cross-country next year?” I nodded. “Good. From now on you’ll eat what I tell you to eat, you’ll sleep when I tell you to sleep, and you’ll run when I tell you to run.” And that day I went out and ran two miles with my sister, Marissa. We didn’t walk at all.
Daddy was a marathon runner. He always took home several trophies. One for his age group, one for first male finisher, one for first master to finish, and one for placing in the top overall. He had so many that during some races he secretly asked the race committee to award the second place finisher his first place trophy in a few of the categories. The only trophy I got was for “First Female Town Resident.” There was only one other female town resident running in the race that day. I displayed my trophy proudly for many years. At least I didn’t get “Second Female Town Resident.” Next to it sat a photo of Dad and me, arm in arm, trophies held proudly.
When I started running under my dad’s coaching, I joined both my sisters in their athletic training. Dad studied the Pritikin Diet, revolutionary at the time, and modeled after the Tarahumara Indians of Northwestern Mexico, apparently the greatest long-distance runners in the world. The entire family went on a high carbohydrate, low fat diet with lots of rice, beans, and veggies. Everything had to be “fat free.” As a family, we went out for pizza and ordered it cheese-less, we ate skinless chicken, and baked with applesauce instead of oil. On the refrigerator hung a magnet, a pig in an apron and the words “fat free fanatic” across the pig’s fat belly. We bought fat free chips, fat free butter, fat free cheese, all specially processed with strange ingredients I still can’t identify just to read “zero fat” on the label.
But it wasn’t just our family who had these strange eating habits. All the athletic magazines preached “high carbohydrate, low fat” diets. Our cross-country team sported shirts that said, “Run Fasta, Eat Pasta” on the back and every night before a meet one team member would host a spaghetti dinner. It seemed every year brought new headlines on fad diets such as the Atkins diet, the cabbage soup diet, the South Beach diet, the low carb diet. The list goes on and on. How can anyone choose which is the healthiest way to eat?
On my twenty-fifth birthday, Daddy said to me, “Ya know Darlin, you’re growing up until you turn 25 then you start dying.”
Thanks Dad.
So I went out and bought Healthy at 100 by John Robbins hoping to find the secret fountain of youth. And perhaps I did. Read the book, you might too. One of the tenants of Voluntary Simplicity is adopting a lifestyle with a higher awareness and regard for the health, of our planet, soul, and body.
I am convinced that a vegetarian, raw food diet is the best way to eat, and I try to prepare those meals aboard Daphne. Perhaps I’ll talk more on why and how successful I’ve been with raw foods later. But this post it too long winded already, and all I really wanted to do was share an easy raw recipe with you that I prepared while sailing down the Chesapeake Bay the other day.
Raw Hummus
Ingredients:
- garbanzo beans, soaked for three days and sprouted (sprouts are the only thing growing in the “garden” aboard Daphne)
- cabbage
- a lemon slice
- garlic
- raw tahini (sesame seed puree)
- cold pressed olive oil
Instructions:
- Press the sprouted garbanzo beans in a garlic press, until you have two cups of mashed beans. Or, if you have a food processor, you could save some time by using that. I used a garlic press. Call it simple living, or call it….
- Add ¾ cup raw tahini.
- Add lemon juice, three cloves of pressed garlic, and ½ cup of cold pressed olive oil.
- Stir and taste. Add more ingredients to get the flavor you want.
- Spread on a cabbage leaf for a delicious treat!!
Comments 12
You certainly enjoyed the turkey burgers and baked sweet potato fries in Baltimore.
I’m not so sure a vegetarian diet is the way to go, especially for a cruising sailor. The problem with a vegetarian diet is that it can be difficult to get enough proper proteins and iron, especially if fresh dark green vegetables aren’t available. Human beings weren’t evolved to be vegetarians, and IMHO, being a pure vegetarian can easily become unhealthy. Cutting down on processed foods, fats, excess salt and such is an excellent idea, but I don’t think eating healthy requires you to give up all animal products. Eggs and dairy products are particularly beneficial and fairly concentrated forms of nutrition.
Hah! Rod. Very true. The “how successful I’ve been with raw foods” comes in a later post. But, when I prepare meals for myself aboard Daphne, they are 90% raw.
I love humus, I’ll have to try this. Thanks.
Teresa, You do look warm, comfortable and content underway. It is a real sailors look, with a book close by and your eye on the water.
What else is necessary?
LOL. That is a whole lot of garlic pressing. For a cruising friends birthday we just bought him the lower unit of a blender container and a paint jug that fit. He can attach it to his power drill and run it off of 12v battery or a little bitty inverter. Makes nice sundowners to boot. Do those count as raw?
Author
@Lee. Ah yes, as you know, some days there is a whole lot of time to waste while underway. I wouldn’t try this with 25kts of wind, just when I’m drifting along with 5-10.
@Steven, What else is necessary? A whole lot! But there are times when the sails are set, the wind is light, and not much is going on. Its at those times when the camera comes out. The other day it was pouring, the waves were huge, night time was coming, and the wind was 25kts. I took one picture. I’m not a fair weather sailor exclusively, just a fair weather photographer. I need a different kind of camera to take pictures in the rough weather.
Hi Teresa,
I love that you are doing a raw food diet – I can’t wait to see how it goes. It’s funny – if we eat the way humans eat as they were evolving, we become much healthier. The raw food diet is the best way to do that, and it makes perfect sense. I haven’t tried it yet, but there are some raw food “cooking” classes here in Reston. Maybe I should check it out! To the person who stated that dairy is good for you – that is most certainly not true. Dairy products are full of saturated fat and dioxins, and provide no micronutrients. Dairy products are essentially empty calories. And you can get all the protein you need from vegetables – beans, raw nuts are loaded with protein, as well as quinoa – which has amino acids that are very similar to human breast milk. Anyway, i am not a vegetarian, but we have really changed our diet in the past couple of years, and it has been great!I look forward to reading your posts!
Lisa (your VA cousin)
Author
@ Lisa, If you like reading, I’ve done some reading about Raw Foods. There is a lot of useless info out there, and poorly researched. However, I know you are of a scientific mind (like me) and so you may enjoy “Healthy at 100” by John Robbins (who was the heir to the Baskin-Robbins 31 Falvors chain, but decided to pursue healthier ventures), and read “Raw Foods Detox Diet” by Natalie Rose.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading my blog, cuz!
Hi Teresa, Just started reading your blog today. I was looking at sailboat listing and dreaming about one day getting out there. I’m retired Air Force and now in banking and my wife and I have often dreamed of just setting sail. How is your trip so far? Do you have a destination in mind? From what I’ve read so far your sailing down the East Coast. I was really interested in monthly cost and enjoyed your breakdown of the cost for a month for you. Hope you have calm seas and fair winds.. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Thanks
Rick Patton
rpatton@pioneerbnk.com
I’ll check them out! Thanks! Your blog is very entertaining!
Hey Teresa,
I just stumbled on your blog not too long ago after day dreaming about living on a boat. Coincidentally, I just finished reading a book principally about the Tarahumara and their running reputation. The author talks extensively about their diet, mentioning one of their favorite race day concoctions called pinole, which is ground corn and chia seeds (the very same that come with chia pets). Anyway, you seem to enjoy reading and it’s a good read. “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall.
-Matt