30/08/2015
SWITZERLAND UPDATE:
August 22, 2015
Today is Saturday and the clinic is closed for the weekend. We are staying at the Hotel Santis. Named for the picturesque mountain that is in perfect view from the dining room and our balconies. The Santis is 2,501.9 meters above sea level and is the highest peak in the Eastern Alps. You will find hotels and restaurants named Santis in 6 countries. The reason for that is simple. Inhabitants of Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France AND Italy all have views of this magnificent mountain. It calls to me and I would love to climb this mountain but there just isn’t time this trip…next time for sure!
This hotel is operated by the lovely Irene and Christian and is actually owned by Dr. Rau. This means that all the guests are patients or accompanying family members. Automatically a community like atmosphere emerges and an instantaneous support group; which I feel is quite an important piece to the healing experience. Over meals, the patients who have been there for a bit share tips with the newbies on how to navigate the clinic and what to expect. This includes insider information like mix your Evelitza and wheatgrass packets with a little coconut/rice milk so you don’t throw up! It is encouraging for patients to see when others are responding well to treatment and lovely to give inspiration to those who may be having a rough day. There are a number of patients here from the States as well as from other countries including Germany, Jordan and Greece. Knowing you are not alone and sharing with others is comforting.
The food is cooked according to the diet patients are prescribed. This means everything is organic, gluten free, egg free, dairy free (although they do use sheep and goats milk which has a lower casein content than cow milk), sugar free, mostly nut free (except for chestnuts –which are quite alkaline and a favorite here) and soy free. I think I covered it all . The fruits and veggies are so fresh they give a new meaning to the term “farm to table” –it is prepared by Irene and her staff with love and I am happy to find out that Irene is writing a cookbook. We all want to take Irene home with us. The simplicity of having our meals prepared for us and only having to show up and indulge is precious.
Our breakfast each day consists of a buffet which includes stewed fruits, a gluten-free grain of the day, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, the best tasting avocadoes I have EVER ingested, goat/sheep cheese and yogurts, various gluten-free cold cereal flakes, fresh berries and other assorted fruits and bread. Personally –I have been gluten-free for well over 20 years as part of a cure for my allergies, digestive disorders and other assorted maladies and most recently for the past year I have become mainly Paleo meaning I do not eat any grains at all; only once in a while when a divine gluten-free brownie or cupcake refuses to stop calling my name. Here, however, there is not the typical fish, eggs or turkey I would normally have for breakfast and not wanting to pass out from starvation I decide to try a piece of the gluten-free bread. It comes from a mix in a box. Seriously it’s something like add water, shake and bake just like we used to do with chicken growing up. I figure how good can it be………Best gluten-free bread I have EVER (see a theme here) ingested!! So moist, so moist, so moist. Doesn’t even upset my digestion which typically gluten-free products now will cause me to feel a bit sluggish and bloated. There is just something different about the quality of the foods here in Europe –grains included. I allow myself 2 slices daily with some macadamia spread and promise solemnly to myself I will not ship a crate of the shake and bake bread mix home! s
I fall into a rhythm and my typical breakfast looks like this....3 large bowls of Dr. Rau Alkaline soup. If you want to make it yourself here is a link to the recipe: http://www.marioninstitute.org/…/alkaline-balance-dr-thomas…. Then depending upon how quickly I need to get to the clinic I eat the following at some point between waking up and dinner. Two slices of heaven referred to above, a shot of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, some stewed fruit, half an avocado with some lemon and Himalayan salt, and a large handful of raspberries and blueberries. This is more than enough to sustain me until the four course dinner is served at the hotel. Always beginning with a soup, then salad, then the main meal (on Tuesdays we eat Chicken and on Fridays Fish- this paleo girl cheers!). The fish is actually trout from a nearby friend of Dr. Rau’s who raises the fish in a bio-dynamic pond. I do not miss the taste of chemicals and enjoy the fish beyond description. Even my patient, Nicole, who dislikes or shall I say HATES fish enjoys it! We always end with a healthy dessert. It is without a doubt more food than I typically eat in a day actually probably two days… There are many ways to eat healthy and it is very individualized even according to different times of your life, the year, etc. I enjoy the food immensely especially the having it all cooked for you part , although I will resume my Paleo lifestyle when I return to the States I plan to incorporate the Alkaline Soup and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice into my morning routine. I already do the stewed fruits often in the “colder” months in Arizona since that is a typical Ayurvedic breakfast.
I’d keep writing but guess what –it’s time to eat again here. More later…. Bon Appetit!
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