I watched a video by Fully Raw Kristina about her Green Burrito made with collard leaves, stuffed with bell peppers, zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, arugula, avocado, alfalfa sprouts, cumin, sesame seeds, red onions, spicy peppers, and celery bits. Her recipe was the creative inspiration for our recipe here.

We picked up a bunch of collards at the Coop, and when we got home I wanted to try a sweet version of Kristina's burrito. Here's what happened. I filled the collard leaves with sliced avocado, pear, and persimmon, sprinkled with a few chopped almonds and green onions. It was very fast and simple to make, and tasted delicious! Note: smaller collard leaves are recommended because the taste is milder. If you don't like collards, substitute with Napa Cabbage, or another large green leaf.

Drizzle on flavorful Juniper Balsamic Vinegar, or your favorite dressing, or a no-fat dressing of freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice.

Ingredients: Makes 2 Collard Wraps
2 collard leaves
1/2 large avocado, peeled and sliced
1/2 pear, sliced
6 almonds, chopped
2 small green onions, thinly sliced
1 persimmon, peeled and chopped (No persimmons? Substitute with mango, or some Goji berries and currents.)

Additional Ingredients: Baby greens, sprouts

Directions
Rinse collard leaves. Turn the leaves so that the inner stem faces towards you. Shave off the top part of the stem by running a knife along the top. (This is a trick I learned from watching Kristina's video.) Now the whole leaf can be rolled.
Prepare avocado, pear, persimmon, green onions, and almonds.
Turn collard leaf horizontally. Lay on toppings, also horizontally. Add any additional ingredients.
Drizzle on fresh squeezed orange juice, vinegar, or your favorite dressing.
Roll up as tightly as possible, and enjoy eating this hearty wrap.

This is the time of year when many of us are inspired to make positive changes in our lives. It's a time to reinvent ourselves so that we can become a better version of what we've been in the past.

Changing ourselves is a powerful, ongoing process. We renew from the inside out, first through our thoughts and feelings, and then through actions taken physically to make our dreams a living reality. Diet is one of the biggest influences on our health, along with the ideas we carry about ourselves. Do we see or feel ourselves to be weak, or as a person who is becoming stronger and discovering how to take another step that leads to new levels of health and well being?

I've been reading Wallace D. Wattles, born in 1860, who authored several books, including The Science of Being Great. He wrote,"Be true to yourself, and you cannot then be false to any man. When you have fully decided what thing you want to be, form the highest conception of that thing that you are capable of imagining, and make that conception a thought-form. Hold that thought-form as a fact, as the real truth about yourself, and believe in it." He goes on to say, "Form a conception of yourself as a being of limitless power, and habitually think that you are that being."

In light of renewing ourselves from a dietary perspective, Rex and I like to look at this subject with a realistic attitude. The process starts with a desire, or an inner knowing that changing the diet is the right thing to do. The wisdom that comes to each and every one of us is intensely personal, because there isn't anyone in the world, except you, who knows what is the best food to eat!

In terms of what Rex and I eat, we're disciplined with our food, but not rigid, and we still enjoy an occasional dish of cooked food. Sometimes during a period of detoxifying when things need to slow down, a conscious choice to have a bowl of steamed veggies, or a little quinoa, usually brings our bodies back into balance. (Cooked food quickly stops a detox.)

We also know that there are many people who can't eat the amount of fiber that comes with a raw food diet, even it they wanted to. If you're new to raw foods, and wonder how much raw food you can eat, we suggest that you to listen to your body, watch the way various foods make you feel, follow inner nudges that come on how to proceed, and trust the guidance. This may translate to having a green smoothie a day, or a big salad. Or making one day a week into a 100% raw food day and take it from there. Many of you may remember that eleven years ago Rex and I started out with 60% raw food, and over several years increased it to 100%, most of the time. Some people jump right in and never look back, and that's wonderful too.

There are literally trillions of cells in our bodies - that's a staggering amount! These cells have been growing with certain foods for years, and have created a living environment. For most of us, making dietary changes can take weeks, months, or even years as our cells adjust to the influx of new foods and vital energy. Remember, there's no right or wrong way, there's only your way!

The message of The Healing Feast is one of support and love, of positive change and transformation. It continues to amaze me how one act of creation, like Kristina's recipe, can spark another idea through the use of intuition and the imagination. If we make the best choices day by day, apply ourselves to implement those choices, then we can trust and enjoy the process, let go of worries, and celebrate when miracles happen!