Rozanna Giannakis

Food, Photography, Travel & Writing

food

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this is a mushroom

Most of us were not raised with mainly fresh food; I see babies all the time munching on chips, bread and fed sweetened juices and store bought baby food. Before I understood a bit more about how important a role nutrition plays in our lives, this all seemed perfectly normal. Unknowingly as parents, what we feed our angel babies, is the start to their bodies being conditioned for poor nutrition. Even after 5 years of eating mostly fresh, uncooked, natural food, I still battle cravings and often, the cravings win but because I have experienced how life changing eating fresh food can be, I’ll always strive to live a fruit and vegetable, mostly uncooked lifestyle. Today’s lunch was a beautiful portobello mushroom filled with fresh greens and a home made, plant based sauce. There are thousands of recipes on the internet under “raw vegan burger” etc.; I just wanted to show how beautiful and tasty eating healthy can be.

Bon appetite.

 

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Juice cleanse – one week of 43 days: reflections

It’s been just over one week of me being on a juice cleanse. I feel it’s always important to mention that I make my own, freshly squeezed juices which consist mainly of greens and some fruit such as one or two apples for sweetener or a bit of pineapple etc., strained for a nice smoothness. I do not trust store bought juices not even those in vegan food stores or juice shops. I’ve seen how they take apple juice for example from a box (processed) and add it to the greens, basically making a joke out of the whole point of the matter. So, I do my own juices, however, there are a few really great places here in Vienna (and maybe you have near you too) that do the real thing right before your eyes and that’s fine too.

The first two days of the juice cleanse were fine; I had a slight longing for coffee but it was more or less under control and I could work with no problem in the office. I have read many accounts of how one should stay at home in bed etc. but I prefer to be at work because it takes my mind off food and the day goes by much faster. The beauty of a juice cleanse is that I am not in a state of hunger because I can drink as much juice as I want as long as it is not filled with too much fruit and consists mainly of greens. On the third and fourth day it started hitting me. The coffee and sugar cravings got worse (still no hunger pangs just cravings for coffee) and a slightly light headed tired feeling. I started feeling a bit cold (I am not a cold person) and longed for something warm so I listened to my body but retuned it with green tea instead of the usual black tea with milk and sugar. (I love sugar).

On Saturday it happened. I had a huge green juice which was absolutely delicious so I was completely satiated with not a trace of hunger to be felt anywhere. Everything I felt only had to do with cravings. Let it please not be said that I starve myself or that my body lacked minerals and vitamins or protein. Greens uncooked, have so much protein, minerals and vitamins! More than we need in a day. But the cravings. Before I knew it, Pia stuffed a banana in my mouth – I’m lying. I ate a banana. I longed for that chewy feeling, I missed the full feeling in my stomach and the heaviness of something other than juice. Disappointed in myself but not defeated I continued Saturday after banana-gate with cleansing and feeding my body juice.

Sunday. Oh Sunday. I sinned and this is my confession. After kick boxing class I met with a friend to go over some creative work at a restaurant. The waiter came round to take our order – on the tip of my tongue the words “lemon water please” were poised but  I hesitated for a split second; it was a kind of slow motion moment; I became aware of the rain outside,  the table across me and its laughing occupants, a waitress passing by with plates and foods that felt so familiar to me – soul ties, memories of my Mum’s kitchen, memories of how good it felt after a heart break to eat. Just eat. After the second coffee, things just went downhill.

In the past, when I let myself down like this I would throw in the towel and give up. Ive spoken so many words of “I can’t do this” “I’m a failure” “this is impossible anyways” over my life that I really started to believe it. I’ve gotten a bit smarter though and learned that the most successful people are those who failed probably more times than we could ever imagine but they have one characteristic that those who give up do not have: they get up and try again and again and again until … lift off. We have a lift off.

There have been some clear detox signs though: slight head-ache; listlessness (on the third day), deep sleep (that was the beautiful part) and on day number 8, the sugar cravings subsided just a bit. Just a bit. My whole body ached and my bones were so sore as if I’d done a very strenuous work-out but this did not deter me because I knew exactly what to do and this is a juice recommendation for stiff joints, for inflammation of the muscles after a work-out etc., it’s the magic of curcuma (turmeric):

 – I juiced 4 oranges, 2 small thumb sized curcuma, a big thumb sized fresh ginger, 4 celery sticks, one whole cucumber for two days.

Curcuma or turmeric as it is also known, is very healing for joints; after the second day of drinking the above mentioned juice at least once a day (in addition to the other green juices), the joint stiffness had completely disappeared as I knew it would. I shall continue to document my 100 percent green juice cleanse and am still waiting for “stuff” to come out of my body as has been told by very credible people. I feel so at peace, content and happy; this is what juices do, they are natures happy pills. Very important,  drink a lot of water. I made the mistake the first week to think that because I was drinking so much juice that water is not necessary, however, it is very important to continue to drink alot of water. Wish me luck.

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Day 1 of a 43 day juice cleanse: why

It’s been almost 5 years since I started a lifestyle of drinking a huge home made green juice every morning with my daughter Pia. It completely stopped chronic epilepsy, healed her skin and we have not had to be back in hospital for other neuro issues since the day we started this lifestyle. We eat no fried food (unless she is with her granny or dad) and if one looks in our fridge, it’s packed with berries, fruit and greens that either get juiced or turned into a delicious salad. We do not touch anything processed or from a tin. Some things may seem exaggerated, however, it has been such a tremendous healing experience that I’ve decided that other people’s opinion is not really my business; they have a right to their experiences and opinions. As for me and mine I know what I know and nobody can ever take that from me. But …

I have addictions: sugar, coffee, bread. Bread and wheat in general is a huge evil; they’ve mutated the wheat so badly that it’s making our bodies sick – bloating, difficulty to breath, fatigue, constipation are just some of the side effects. Bread has me in its grip. These addictions have held me back from leaping into the next level of elevated intuition, harmony with nature and people. I still feel alot of fear at times, guilt and doubt and am weak at owning my dreams and making them come true against all odds. Living in a state of none-judgement, no envy, no jealousy, no regret and moving quietly, peacefully forward, razor sharp in awareness is always my goal and what I strive for in my daily walk.

After experiencing so much healing and magic in mine and Pia’s life since being more mindful to pray, speak powerful affirmations over my life and hers and eating as natural as possible, I feel that it’s time to move to the next level and my curious and adventurous spirit is ready. I have read so many credible accounts of how juice cleansing changes the body and mind, how so much dirt is ejected from the body and how one starts to see things you were never aware of and destructive habits are easier to let go of because of enhanced mental clarity.  I have decided to live on mostly green juices (basically liquid food) and some fruit juice (for energy because I still have to go to work and lead a “normal” life) for 43 days and document it. This is not new to me, I have gone for a long period of consuming mainly green juices a number of times (green juices are very edifying) and a few years ago, I did a three day dry fast (no water, no food) and it is one of the best experiences but hard. If you are new to this lifestyle, I do recommend easing slowly into a juice cleanse by doing it for just two three days etc. and then gradually increasing the days over time.

Why? I believe and have experienced that excess and the wrong type of foods is an addiction. It changes our faces, our bodies, our thoughts, I believe and have experienced that after eating meat I have nightmares, gain weight, am depressed or tired; I have seen how food addictions make people ill, moody and weary. So I am on an experiment and have started this morning with the following juice for breakfast which I strained to make it nice and smooth:

Two big bunches of fresh coriander, two apples for sweetener, two cucumbers, one very big zucchini, three lemons.

I am looking forward to this experience and I embrace the changes that I hope will come mainly in cleansing and freeing my body of things I put into it that were so disrespectful.  

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Raw Fusion inspired by Vietnamese Pho

Home made pho

 

It’s getting cold out; I want to hug my knees in front of a comforting fire slurping away at one of my favourite satiating soups, Pho. I believe it originates from Vietnam and actually refers to the white noodles – it’s honestly one of the most delicious treats even though I am not a huge soup lover. I’ve put my own spin on the traditional basics by not using animal broth but made my own vegetable broth, added salt, pepper, lemon (the lemon gives it a nice tangy taste). I used raw zucchini noodles and carrots instead of pasta which I avoid. The mushrooms, onion, ginger, garlic were cooked for a few minutes. I added a touch of sesame oil. Light, comforting and healthy.

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almond milk and healthy hair

 

Almond milk is light and very nutritious especially for skin and hair;  part of the reason is that it has a healthy dose of vitamin E.  I know of people who wash their hair with almond milk mixed with certain oils, however, I have not tried this and cannot confirm with sincerity that it’s effective. What I can confirm with conviction is that I have almost zero hair loss during washing and contrary to so smany women my age, my hair is growing stronger and thicker despite having to endure so many experimental adventures. 

Unfortunately, store bought almond milk seriously lacks the deliciousness  of home made. Regardless how much distributors of store bought almond milk promise that the contents is 100%, after trying and testing several store bought versions, I have my doubts and comparing them with my home made wonderfulness the taste is honestly, worlds apart! It’s kind of sad that for many people, this is what they think almond milk tastes like and might never give themselves the opportunity to try again. My sweet Pia and I drink almond milk primarily for hair and skin, however, for those who are lactose intolerant, really love and care for animals and want to completely break away from animal products but still long for a milky kind of kick or simply something for their breakfast cereal, this might be your answer:

– soak about a small cup full of almonds for a few hours; – rinse and put into strong blender with ca. 4 cups of water; – add: a bit of maple syrup or, for a natural sweetener, 3 dates (remove pips), pinch of salt and tad vanilla essence; – blend until smooth and milky; – strain in a fine sieb. I love to strain through a cheese cloth and press everything out, it’s a very therapeutic feeling squeezing that soft, warm cloth full of milk!! I love to sprinkle chocolate on top or blend in strawberries or blue berries or both. Even banana! one can become very creative with this and it’s always going to taste amazing. Very important:  always strive to purchase organic, raw unprocessed almonds. (Available at good health stores or online).

 

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Dragon fruit

I love dragon fruit and often eat it as a main course or dessert. It’s an extremely healthy fruit, the list of benefits are all over the internet and it is a known fact that red fruits are very good for blood thus also for skin. It’s a beautiful fruit to experience.

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Pear salad dressing quick and delish

Pear dressing quick and delish

I bought these beautiful little pears at the cutest farmers market nearby and it inspired me to try out a dressing. I did not expect it to taste this good. One of the most important things for me to stay on a raw food lifestyle, is it must taste good! This pear salad dressing is tangy, delicious, home made and healthy.

  • 3 pears (small)
  • 1 date
  • juice of half a lime (I’m sure lemon would be o.k. too)
  • 3 dollops of olive oil
  • pinch pink Himalayan salt
  • black pepper

– BLEND –

*dijon sauce can be added instead of the 1 date, however, I like to keep things as natural as possible.

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i had 3 dates with Basil – high nutrient, low calory delish smoothie

sweet Pia and i enjoyed a quick monday morning smoothie (i do not juice on a monday because i am usually a bit lazy and in a hurry but a smoothie takes literally 5 minutes):

  • blue berries (any berries will do) low calory, high nutrient; protects cells from age related damage and so much more
  • huge handful of fresh basil – magnesium; helps with blood flow, eyesight as it contains vitamin A; helps against acne
  • almond milk (or even a good organic natural yogurt); home made almond milk is easy and absolute best (store bought almond milk tastes awful) – vitamin E for hair
  •  3 dates (remove the pip) for natural sweetener (maple syrup is also o.k. but not absolute best)
  • 1 banana (coconut pieces blended are amazing with this as well)  wonderful source of magnesium
  • coconut water or tap water (a smoothie should have a nice fluid consistency but not be too waterish)

 – BLEND –

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Melon musing – “heals in ways scientists are only beginning to discover”

“Balls of purified water”! I read in a medical journal that the “water of melons is nearly identical to our blood and has the ability to heal in ways scientists are only beginning to discover”. Enjoying a lot of watermelon is giving your body a rinse out almost as if Mother Nature already knew in advance, we would be eating destructive foods that need to be flushed out.

I am not a researcher and cannot confirm all the claims made about how healing watermelon and melons are, however, I am very curious about nature’s secrets, often trying out things for months before writing about them and can therefore confirm: after enjoying alot of watermelon and melons my skin became beautiful, soft with a special glow. My bowl movement was excellent with no constipation at all! I felt so happy, melons definitely seem to put one in a good mood. An added advantage is they are so filling, I did not feel like eating all the other unhealthy enticements and after a while started losing weight. We enjoy at least one whole watermelon a week in summer. I love to juice a sweet melon (cantaloupe) with cucumber and lemon, refreshing and delicious. Feel like a watermelon smoothie? Blend with a bit of mint and coconut water. However, absolute best is to dig your face into their delicious world and slurp away while they are available for summer.