Health Seeker

2009-10-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Change Your Life with Replacement Thoughts

One of my resolutions at the start of this year was to become a better mom. That meant for me, to become a better person and get over some obstacles in my life.

Well, this year is soon coming to a close and the growth I've experienced, personally and spiritually has really been tremendous.

One of the things I've done that helped me with this growth was an activity called "Replacement Thoughts".

By doing this activity it helps to lesson the negative thoughts that we have on a daily basis.

Even people who believe they have the most positive outlooks on life will be surprised at the amounts of negative thought processes that go through their heads on a daily basis.

Most people have extraordinary amounts of negative self-dialogue in their brains on a daily basis. It can start right after the alarm clock goes off:

"oh my head hurts; I don't want to get up; I feel like crap; why do I have to start the day"

These thoughts can happen in a manner of 5 seconds apart, so just imagine how much can build up in a day. It is possible and even quite probable that people have thousands of negative commentaries going on in their brains about themselves, others and their situations in life.

The simplicity of replacement thoughts is having a little spiral bound notebook by your side at all times and writing them down.

The importance of writing it down means that you get to concentrate on replacing those negative thought patterns as written rote, rather than mental rote in your head, which come and go very quickly.

By writing down those replacement thoughts, you are taking more time and energy to think about how to turn your negative thoughts around, and it commits to memory more concretely the more you do it.

Also making realistic replacement thoughts is important. We can't delude ourselves, and won't allow it anyway. You'll never believe something so extremely opposite of what you've already convinced yourself is happening.

So, a bad or unrealistic example of a replacement thought is this:

negative thought - "I feel terrible today"
unrealistic replacement thought - "I have never felt better today"

A realistic replacement thought for "I feel terrible today" would be "I know I'm going to feel so much better after I take a hot shower (or pray, turn on some uplifting music, have some fruit, etc.)"

Some other examples of replacement thoughts:

"I look horrible" (negative)

"I look like Marylin Monroe" (unrealistic/bad example)

"As soon as I wash my face and drink a big glass of water I'm going to feel a lot better" (realistic replacement thought)

"That idiot just cut me off!" (negative)

"What a wonderful man - he must be rushing his pregnant wife to the hospital" (unrealistic/bad example)

"I'm sure there must be an explanation for his driving erratically - I shouldn't jump to conclusions about him, and I know I've done that before!" (realistic replacement thought)

"The weather stinks today, I hate the rain/snow/fog" (negative thought)

"The sun will come out soon and everything will be dandy again" (unrealistic/bad example)

"It might be cold and gray today, but I won't let it get me down." (realistic replacement thought)

I cannot begin to explain how therapeutic practicing replacement thoughts are, and how important it is to write them down. Try it for a couple of days and not only will you realize that there is a lot of negativity going on around you as you become more aware, but you will feel a new-found send of freedom about how you feel and your outlook on life in general!

Simply write down every negative thought that comes to your mind and follow with a realistic but helpful and uplifting replacement thought, and you will feel a tremendous difference in your life!

2009-10-19T12:14:00.001-07:00

You may have heard of a dentist named Dr. Weston A Price and his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, where he researched the world over to find answers about degenerative dental health.

The information is intriguing and very convincing, yet there seems to be a missing link between his research dating back to the 1930's and what the Weston A. Price foundation today recommends as a healthy diet - by consuming a lot of animal products, fat and organ meat and limiting fruit and vegetable consumption.

Here's a great article all about his research and what the current foundation espouses.

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/fuhrman_dietary_myths.htm

Also thanks for John Coleman for providing me with this quote:

"...cooking renders food pasty, so that it sticks to the teeth, and undergoes acid fermentation. Furthermore, the cooking of food greatly diminishes the need for use of the teeth; and thus tends to diminish the circulation of blood to the jaws and teeth, and to produce under -development of the maxillary and contiguous bones—thus leading to contracted dental arches, and to malocclusion and impaction of the teeth, with complications of great seriousness."- Forbes, E. B., The Ohio Journal of Science. Vol. 33, No.5 (September, 1933), 389-406

2009-08-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

Addicted to salt?

Most of us wouldn't think so - we usually say we are addicted to sugar, caffeine or some other kind of substance.

I believe that salt is one of the most addictive and dangerous substances. Can you eat cooked vegetables without salt? Most people can't. What about soups? They are very bland and need salt. The same with pastas and rice.

Excellent info about salt (I pasted article below the link, to see footnotes, click on the link):

http://www.raw-food-health.net/TooMuchSalt.html

Eating Too Much Salt?

Want to find out if you're eating too much salt?

If you're consuming any table salt, whether is be sea salt, rock salt, or something fancy with a name like raw Himalayan salt, you're eating too much, and science is pretty clear that the habit will harm you.

Our culture shovels down salt in such huge quantities that we hardly stop to question the habit, but think about it in terms of sea water. Everyone knows that if you're stranded on a desert island, you can be surrounded by an ocean of water that's useless because you'll die if you try to drink it.

What do you die of when you drink it? Dehydration. Ponder this for a moment. Salt has such a dehydrating effect that you can drink a gallon of water laced with it and still die of dehydration.

Our bodies clearly reject salt. Put salt in an open wound and it will burn painfully. Drink salt water and you'll throw it up. Put salt on a slug, which lacks protective skin, and its body will "melt" from dehydration because it uses the water in its body in an attempt to dilute the burning substance.

Salt is such an effective killer that it was once used as a form of suicide by the Chinese (1).

We Can Have Too Much Salt, But We Need Saline

The body needs saline to function, but we must make a distinction between extracted sodium chloride salt, which is an irritant, toxic, and deadly (1) if consumed in high quantities, and the sodium and other salts that occur naturally in whole plant foods.

The later is a nutrient important to every cell in the body, and eating celery, tomatoes, and other vegetables gives us the organic salts and other minerals out bodies need in just the right amounts and combinations.

Cells rely on a regulated ratio of extracellular sodium and intracellular potassium, and when this is thrown out of whack it seriously compromises bodily functions.

There are plenty of expensive salts out there. Some is mined from the dead sea or the Himalayas. Raw food gurus hawk the stuff to make a quick buck, but the nutritional claims they make about it are false.

They'll tell you that you need extracted minerals to meet the deficiencies of modern life. We need many minerals, but we need them in the quantities and the form in which they occur naturally in whole food so they are a benefit and not a burden to our system. This is similar to how we need vitamins, but they're harmful to us when extracted in pill form.

Too Much Salt Will Damage Your Health

There are so many reasons not to eat extracted salt that its overwhelming. For one, you only need to eat about 1 g per kg of body weight to kill yourself with it (1).

For a 220 pound man (100 kg) that would be 100 grams, which is just shy of four ounces. We average 9 grams a day in the U.S., so the average American eats 1/10th of a lethal dosage for a large man every day.

But even at non-lethal doses, it's still not good for us.

Conservative health organizations like the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization tell us we're harming ourselves by eating so much.

We know that sodium consumption raises blood pressure (2), causes stomach cancer (3) and reduces bone density and contributes to osteoporosis (4).

In most people the consumption of salt leads to water retention because the body needs the water to render the salt inert until it can be expelled. It's not unusual for a person to be carrying around five pounds or more of extra water weight.

Too Much Salt: Get Free

Most people eat way too much salt in the wrong form, and there are many benefits of giving it up.

Besides the fact that you're likely to live longer, your food will taste better. People often pour on salt because they think food is tasteless, but that's only because their taste buds have adjusted to the huge amounts of salt and spices they eat.

Cut out salt, and inside two months you'll be noticing delicious new complexities in your food.

I can't tell you how much I love the flavors in my favorite salad dressing. When your taste buds adjust, you can notice the natural saline in things like tomatoes and celery, and the experience is like an explosion of flavor.

Cutting out salt will usually lead to the quick loss of water weight, which your body stores to keep the salt inert until it can be expelled.

2009-07-17T20:13:00.001-07:00

Time to Remodel

2009-03-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

2009-03-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

"Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were."

Cherie Carter-Scott.

2009-02-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

I enjoy the sound nutritional and healthy lifestyle advice of Dr. Douglas Graham. Here is an excellent interview:

http://rawkinradio.com/2008/12/30/revvell-chats-with-dr-doug-graham-again/

2009-01-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

We are two weeks into the new year already. My, how time flies!

Did you make a resolution two weeks ago? Was it the same old thing - eat better and exercise...or was it something that will really make an impact on your life?

There is so much more to health than food and exercise - although they are indeed important and can make you feel so much better - but what about the other things?

Is there anything that has hindered you to live to your fullest potential that you may have brushed off all of your life? Any fears or inhibitions? Anything that you have lacked that you may have overlooked all these years? Take a closer look into yourself - what has stopped you or gotten in your way of really enjoying and relishing life?

Chances are you are not alone and there are tons of others that have already formed a support group either in your home town or over the internet.

Seek them out and take your first step to living a better and fuller you.

2008-11-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

"If you wish to know if your food rotted whilst still inside you, use your nose when you see your food for the second time."

Grain Damage by Douglas N. Graham, D.C.

2008-11-02T06:25:00.001-08:00

Part VI Raw Food Diets

3.6 Raw Food Diets
A diet much closer to the Life Science regimen is the raw food vegetarian diet. People who are "raw fooders" eat a variety of foods, but all are eaten uncooked.

Some raw fooders eat uncooked grains, and others include raw milk, raw cheese, and raw cream in their diet. Many times raw fooders will concoct entrees and main dishes that contain 15 to 20 ingredients, all chopped and mixed together. They often overeat on salads and raw vegetables and neglect fruits. They consume salad dressings, raw oils, and various nut butters with their plates of raw vegetables.

They rely heavily on avocados, dried fruits, and nuts, sometimes to excess. They are often enamored with raw juice therapy, and drink pints and quarts of fresh-squeezed juices each day.

One of the main problems with the raw food diet followed by most people is that its adherents eat far too little fruit and far too many nuts, fats, oils and seeds for their fuel. Raw fooders who do not make fruit the major part of their diet will overeat on nuts, oils, salad dressings, or other concentrated foods.

They are on the right track, but may fall short when it comes to food combining or avoiding inappropriate raw foods (such as onions, garlic, raw cheese, raw honey, etc.).

Advantages: The raw food diet, when it does not include dairy products or other relatively-indigestible foods, can promote the highest level of health. The diet is supers charged with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids—all in an easily-digestible form. By eating foods raw, you avoid totally-inappropriate foods such as meats, junk foods, breads, and so forth.

Disadvantages: The raw food diet may still include certain noxious vegetables such as garlic and onions. Honey and raw dairy products may be included. An over-reliance on salads, salad dressings, and nuts is common. Weight loss may occur too rapidly if not enough fruits are included.

Compared to the Life Science Diet: The raw food diet comes very close to the Life Science diet. If all herbs, spices, and seasonings are avoided, as well as all animal products, the raw food diet can be said to be 90% similar to the Life Science diet. When raw foods are eaten in proper combinations and according to our fruitarian biological heritage, then this diet closely approximates the Life Science diet of raw fruits, supplemented by vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/the-vegetarian-diet/the-types-of-vegetarian-diets.html

2008-11-02T06:24:00.001-08:00

Part V The Macrobiotic Diet

3.5 The Macrobiotic Diet
The macrobiotic diet is not strictly vegetarian, although most people regard it as such. Fish and seafood are often a small but frequent part of a macrobiotic diet.

Grains form the bulk of foods eaten by a person on a macrobiotic diet. In fact, most macrobiotic supporters recommend a diet that is at least 50% whole grains, and it is not at all uncommon for a macrobiotic diet to be 80% grain based.

The second most important foods on a macrobiotic diet are legumes (10 to 15% of the diet), followed by seaweeds and hard vegetables. Nuts and seeds are rarely eaten, and usually salted and roasted when consumed. Fresh fruits are almost never eaten by a person following such a diet; indeed, apples are about the only raw fruit eaten, and other fruits are usually cooked and sweetened as a dessert.

Salts, salted foods, pickles, tamari (soy sauce), and miso are used heavily in the diet. The Japanese, from whom the macrobiotic diet was chiefly imported, eat more salt than any other population in the world. Even their plums are preserved and heavily salted. Nothing escapes salting in a macrobiotic diet.

Strangely enough, the macrobiotic health seeker avoids most fresh fruit and vegetables. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and other raw vegetables have no place in the macrobiotic diet. In fact, someone once said as a joke (but which is true) that a macrobiotic person is "someone who would rather eat a fish than an orange."

An avoidance of fresh fruits and vegetables occurs on a macrobiotic diet due to application of the mystical "yin-yang" outlook. Fresh fruits are considered too "yin" to eat, and they are often categorized in the same department as white sugar and artificial sweeteners. Most meat is considered too "yang" to eat, and grains (especially brown rice) are said to have the perfect combination of "yin and yang."

Besides the overuse of salt and the avoidance of fresh fruits and vegetables, the major drawback of the macrobiotic diet is that it is so heavily grain dependent. Dr. Shelton, when discussing grain diets, stated: "A cereal and pulse (legume) diet with a deficiency of green foods and fresh fruits is obviously inadequate. It is deficient in alkaline elements and Vitamins."

Another health pioneer, Dr. Densmore had this to say about the grain-based macrobiotic diet: "I object to bread, cereals, pulses and grains not only because of the predominant proportion of starch in them, but also because their nitrogen is distinctly difficult of digestion and the cause of unnecessary waste of vitality."

The macrobiotic diet has a strong appeal for those changing over from a conventional meat-based diet. Heavy grains tend to be as constipating and acidic as the meat that has been left behind. The heavily-salted foods exceed the high-salt American diet. The avoidance of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet certainly finds a kindred soul in the processed food diet of most Americans.

Yet it is an undisputed fact that people who follow a macrobiotic diet enjoy better health than those on a typical American diet. Why is that? Primarily because the macrobiotic diet is largely vegetarian. It avoids all dairy products and eschews white sugar. Simply the elimination of red meat, sugar, and dairy products will greatly increase one's health and vitality, and this is the strong point of the macrobiotic school.

Advantages: The macrobiotic diet is largely vegetarian. It eliminates many of the harmful foods present in the modern diet. It has a well-established history and provides an easily understandable dietary framework with specific recommendations and rules. It provides an easy transition for those breaking their addictions to white sugar, red meat, junk foods, and heavily-processed foods.

Disadvantages: The macrobiotic diet relies too much on grains and grain products which are third-rate foods. Salt is used in large amounts, and foods are almost always cooked. Fresh fruits, salads, sprouts, and nuts are rarely eaten, and never make up more than 5-10% of the overall diet.

Compared to the Life Science Diet: The macrobiotic diet is only similar to the Life Science approach in that junk foods, white sugar, red meat, and dairy products are eliminated. Other than that, 95% of the macrobiotic diet is unrelated to the optimum foods eaten on the Life Science diet—fresh, raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouts.

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/the-vegetarian-diet/the-types-of-vegetarian-diets.html

2008-11-02T06:22:00.000-08:00

Part IV The Vegan Diet from Raw Food Explained

3.4 Vegan Diet
All vegans are vegetarians—not all vegetarians are vegans. Life Scientists or Natural Hygienists are usually vegans—not all vegans are Natural Hygienists. Confusing? Let's explain:

A vegan is a vegetarian that does not consume any animal products whatsoever. A vegan diet does not include eggs, meat, milk, cheese, or any other animal products. The vegan diet even eliminates honey, an animal product used in many vegetarian diets. The vegan is the true vegetarian. Those vegetarians who continue to eat eggs or drink milk are really just nonmeat eaters. Estimates have placed the number of vegans at about 10% of the vegetarian population; in other words, only one out of ten vegetarians strictly avoids eggs, milk and dairy products.

The vegan diet, like so many other vegetarian regimens, however, usually relies upon grains and beans for a large portion of its calories. Foods are often eaten in poor combinations and in large amounts. Vegans often substitute processed and refined soybean products in place of dairy and meat. Soy milk, tofu. tempeh, soy ice cream, and soy meat substitutes are the darlings of the vegan diet.

A heavy reliance on soy products, due in part to a misplaced concern about protein, is the major drawback to the vegan diet. Soy products cannot be completely digested due to enzymes present in the soybeans, and soy foods also inhibit iron absorption. Still, the soy foods are superior to the milk and eggs used by other vegetarians and to the meat consumed by flesh eaters.

Advantages: The vegan diet completely eliminates some of the worst foods in the American dietary—meat, milk, eggs, and junk foods. It also eschews honey, a food often abused and overused by vegetarians and other health seekers.

Disadvantages: Vegans still use sweeteners such as maple syrup or molasses. They consume too many soy products, and eat a preponderance of grains and legumes. They often worry about "complete" protein combinations, and often eat a majority of the foods cooked or otherwise processed.

Compared to the Life Science Diet: The vegan diet can be easily adapted to the Life Science diet. All the vegan must do is to eliminate all processed foods, such as soy products, sweeteners, etc., eat more foods raw, and watch food combinations. If you follow the Life Science diet, you may also be considered a vegan, or "true" vegetarian, at well.

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/the-vegetarian-diet/the-types-of-vegetarian-diets.html

2008-11-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

Part III The Lacto-Vegetarian Diet from Raw Food Explained

3.3 The Lacto-Vegetarian Diet
The lacto-vegetarian diet is the most popular vegetarian diet in the world. This diet avoids all animal products except for those made from milk. Eggs, lard, and the most blatant junk foods are avoided. Yogurt, butter, cheese, cream, and milk, however, are consumed in unrestricted amounts.

Many people follow a lacto-vegetarian diet for reasons convenience or nutritional "safety." Again, a lacto-vegetarian diet makes it easier to dine out and eat conventional foods. Some people use milk products in a vegetarian diet in order to meet the inflated Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) calcium standards. Milk and cheeses are used in such a diet so that enough calcium may be consumed.

Calcium requirements, however, can be easily met and exceeded on a vegetarian diet that includes absolutely no dairy products. In fact, there is much doubt that calcium from pasteurized and heated milk products can be absorbed by the body at all. Calcium requirements on an alkaline vegetarian diet are far lower than for a meat-eating, acidic diet. In other words, meat-eaters need larger amounts of calcium than do vegetarians.

If you know vegetarians who use milk products as a matter of convenience, there is probably little you can do to enlighten them. If, however, they are adding dairy products to their diet solely to meet calcium requirements, then tell them the truth: It just isn't necessary.

Advantages: The healthy lacto-vegetarian diet does eliminate many of the harmful foods eaten today: meat, animal products, eggs, junk foods, white sugar. It is a relatively easy and simple diet to follow, and may be conveniently adhered to by those who do not wish to make major changes in their lifestyles.

Disadvantages: Most lacto-vegetarians greatly overeat on dairy products. It is a fact that lacto-vegetarians generally eat more cheese and drink more milk than many meat eaters and those on conventional diets. Dairy products are often used as a high-protein substitute for meat, yet they too are full of hormones, additives, and pesticides.

Compared to the Life Science Diet: Like the LOV diet, this diet has in common with the optimal Life Science diet the avoidance of meat and many substandard foods and junk foods. Eggs, too, are eliminated as in the Life Science diet. Yet the lacto-vegetarian diet still includes many, many foods not considered natural to our dietary heritage. Cooked grains, legumes, onions, garlic, spices, herbs, and foods eaten in poor combinations are all present in the lacto-vegetarian diet. Although another step in the right direction, the lacto-vegetarian diet still slops short of embracing the full principles of Natural Hygiene and Life Science.

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/the-vegetarian-diet/the-types-of-vegetarian-diets.html

2008-10-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Part II The Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian diet, from Raw Food Explained

3.2 The Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian Diet

Like the unrestricted vegetarian diet discussed, the lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet is a very liberal dietary approach. Both diets include all dairy products and eggs in the foods eaten. The lacto-ovo-vegetarian (abbreviated as LOV) eats cheese, drinks milk, and uses eggs as part of the regular diet.

Unlike the unrestricted vegetarian diet, the LOV diet generally excludes junk foods, white sugar, white flour and other widely-known debilitating foods. The LOV dietary approach, then, is a health-minded way to a better diet.

People who are lacto-ovo-vegetarians ("lacto" for milk, "ovo" for eggs) usually are former meat eaters who have decided to eliminate meat and, at the same time, substitute more whole and natural foods for processed foods. People follow a LOV diet for two reasons: 1) They are not yet confident enough or nutritionally educated enough to give up all animal foods and products. They continue to eat eggs and milk to "make sure they get plenty of protein," or whatever. 2) They do so for social and family convenience. A LOV diet allows a great deal of latitude in dining out, and it may be followed with a minimum of inconvenience.

Advantages: Meat is eliminated and a gradual trend is started to a better, more wholesome diet. The LOV diet is socially convenient, nonthreatening. and requires a minimal amount of change in lifestyle.

Disadvantages: Milk, milk products, and eggs are totally unnecessary in the diet. These foods are constipating, acidic, and full of pesticides, hormones, and growth additives.

Compared to the Life Science Diet: The LOV diet has only two things in common with the Life Science diet—it too avoids all flesh, and it also emphasizes more whole and natural foods over processed and refined foods.

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/the-vegetarian-diet/the-types-of-vegetarian-diets.html

2008-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Revisiting information about vegetarian diets from Raw Food Explained. Today will go over the "unrestricted vegetarian diet"

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3. The Types Of Vegetarian Diets
Although we can strictly define what a vegetarian is, there is not a standard vegetarian diet. Some vegetarians eat everything but meat; others eat cheese and eggs. There are vegetarians who eat only raw foods and vegetarians who eat strictly cooked foods. There are even vegetarians that never eat vegetables, and those that eat fish and still call themselves vegetarians.

Clearly, there is no one vegetarian diet and there are several dietary approaches to vegetarianism. The only thing common to all true vegetarian diets is a strict avoidance of flesh. Since vegetarian diets are so popular among health seekers, you should know the different types and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

For the sake of convenience, vegetarian diets have been divided into six general categories. Each category of diet is explained, and its strengths and weaknesses are noted.

3.1 The Unrestricted Vegetarian Diet
This particular form of vegetarianism is simple to describe: its adherents eat everything but meat. Vegetarians who follow an unrestricted diet consume dairy products, eggs, and even animal fat in the form of lard occasionally. They eat sugar, white flour, salt, fried foods, fast foods, and junk foods.

They eat just about anything that cannot crawl, swim, or run. And they are often very unhealthy.

I met a man and his wife who had been vegetarians for over ten years. They were both fighting a serious weight problem.

"I never thought I'd be an overweight vegetarian," the man joked with me, "but Susan and I each weigh nearly twenty-five pounds more than when we got married ten years ago."

I worked with the man, and had a chance to see how he became a fat vegetarian. His diet was unrestricted to say the least. He continually drank soft drinks with sugar because he didn't want those "artificial sweeteners." He certainly enjoyed ice cream, and ate many of his lunches from vending machines in the form of snack cakes and cookies.

His wife and himself enjoyed cooking gourmet vegetarian meals, and they used eggs, butter, and cream in all of their cooking for a rich taste.

One day he told me: "You know, I hate to say it, but I think Susan and I are going to have to start eating meat again."

I was astonished. After ten years, he and his wife were going back to eating animals. Why, I asked him.

"Well, we read a book that said some people are probably not meant to be vegetarians. It has to do with the pituitary gland, and how it needs animal protein to be stimulated. When your gland is stimulated by eating meat, your metabolism increases and you lose weight. We keep getting fat on a vegetarian diet, so I guess we'll try something new. Susan's fixing fish tonight, and it'll probably be pretty strange eating meat after all these years. Still," he said as he patted his stomach, "I'll eat anything to get rid of this."

Of course that was exactly his problem. He had been eating "anything" and everything on his vegetarian diet. Listen to what Dr. Herbert M. Shelton has to say about vegetarians who follow such an unrestricted diet:

"Vegetarians often have the erroneous idea that the rejection of meat is all that is required to carry them into dietetic heaven. They do not know that a vegetarian diet may be even more dangerous than a properly-planned mixed diet. Indeed, the eating of most vegetarians is so abominable that one cannot blame people for not following them."

The unrestricted, eat-anything-you-like vegetarian diet is indeed poorer than the diet which includes meat but rejects other unnatural foods. Meat eating, for example, has been around much longer than white sugar, white flour, preservatives, and other junk foods. There is more in man's background that predisposes him to a raw hunk of meat than to a sugary ice cream cone.

This is not to say that we should consume meat in preference to vanilla ice cream; neither has a place in the healthful diet. Some vegetarians have only seen half the truth, and remain "ice cream" vegetarians—addicted to junk foods and sugar, while proudly rejecting meat.

The unrestricted vegetarian diet has little to recommend it. It is certainly better than an unrestricted meal diet, yet it cannot be depended upon to build and maintain health. In summary, the unrestricted vegetarian diet can be evaluated as follows:

Advantages: All flesh and meat products are eschewed which reduces the level of toxicity in the diet.

Disadvantages: Old and poor diet habits are maintained. Junk foods are often substituted for the missing meat. The person is deluded into thinking that he has improved his diet, when in effect, only a small portion of the harmful foods has been removed.

Compared to the Life Science Diet: The only thing the unrestricted vegetarian diet has in common with the recommended Life Science diet is the mutual avoidance of meat. Other than that, the unrestricted vegetarian diet is more closely aligned with the traditional American diet than with the Life Science diet.

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/the-vegetarian-diet/the-types-of-vegetarian-diets.html

2008-09-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

If Scientists says it's safe, it must be okay

Watch out for upcoming articles supporting the use of irradiation of our produce supply. It's happening now with a few select fruits and vegetables but don't be surprised if it starts happening across the board.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410153655.htm

Irradiation will derange essential nutrients in fresh produce, which may compromise our immune systems. Because a small percentage of individuals with poor immune systems have gotten sick from some stray bacteria, the general public will suffer with irradiated produce.

2008-08-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of obtaining my black belt in Taekwondo. I wonder if my boy hips would allow some of these moves!

Anybody out there in Martial Arts land looking for an excellent board holder check out MA Toolz - It could have been your fingers!

2008-05-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

On Walking

http://anthropik.com/2007/06/learning-to-walk/

And Running

http://www.runningraw.com/

2008-04-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Runner's Protein

2008-04-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Are Supplements Damaging?

There's a new "study" out about how supplements could shorten one's life span. Here is a link to one of the articles:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7349980.stm

Another article debunks this study claiming that the participants were probably dying from a disease anyway and they were just taking the supplements on their way out.

http://www.naturalnews.com/023034.html

My opinion? Most supplements are useless to people. Many people go out and take multivitamins and other supplements because they think they need them. A lot of it gets wasted down the toilet in expensive bright colored urine. Much of it is toxic and unrecognizable to the body, getting stored as toxins and may never leave the body if not given the chance.

"Whole Food" Supplements:

In the past 2 months, I was asked the same question about a certain supplement that claims it's made with tons of fruits and veggies, making it a sort of "whole-food" supplement. They claim that taking their supplement is the next best thing to give you a full daily serving of fruits and vegetables. The problem with some of these whole foods supps is that they are made with a ridiculous array of fruits and vegetables that no human would eat in a sitting.

It just isn't natural to be eating 17 different varieties of plant food which has been concentrated, powdered and stuffed into a single capsule. Humans naturally eat one, two or may three types of fruits and veggies together. I personally believe we were originally created in a way to enjoy them that way, not to gather fruits and vegetables in humongous bunches, perhaps even from around the world to enjoy in a single meal.

The problem with the supplement industry is that they try so hard to convince us that we need such a huge variety of nutrients, beyond the scope of what is already available to us in fresh plant foods, that we end up believing it and spending oodles of money on something totally unnecessary.

Are supplements always unnecessary? Maybe not.

Maybe if one is living in an area where fresh plant food was never available, then the purest or least processed, most raw and naturally made food supplement should be taken.

OR if a person is indeed deficient in a nutrient then supplementation could be a temporary solution until the body is clean enough to repair itself.

OR if there is a genetic condition which a supplement would help with, rather than taking risky pharmeceuticals.

No other diet or supplement will give you more useable nutrients than a fresh plant food diet!

2008-04-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

Turning the tables

People have some pretty valid fears about going all raw.

"I'm afraid I will be missing an important nutrient"

"I'm afraid that my body will become too sensitive & pure"

"I'm afraid that my family and friends will make fun of me"

Now what if the tables were turned?

What if every person on an all raw diet were to start eating the standard, processed cooked way again?

What could their fears be?

Some that come to mind:

"I'm afraid that I will lose all my energy."

"I'm afraid that all my discomforts and diseases will return."

"I'm afraid that I'll have to start taking supplements again because I won't be getting all my nutrients natural and first-hand."

"I'm afraid that I'll have brain fog."

"I'm afraid that I'll start drinking/smoking/taking drugs again."

"I'm afraid that I will have to go back on medication."

"I'm afraid that my blood pressure will rise."

"I'm afraid that my cholesterol will get high."

"I'm afraid that I will develop heart disease and have a heart attack or stroke."

"I'm afraid that I will have bad breath."

"I'm afraid that I'll have to start wearing deoderant again."

"I'm afraid that because of the way I'll smell, that I'll have to start using all my toiletrees -that I gave up on raw - so that I can hide the smell from eating cooked food again."

"I'm afraid that my husband/wife will be put off by my smell."

"I'm afraid that my cellulite will return."

"I'm afraid that I will watch more television."

"I'm afraid that I'll spend more money eating out in restaruants again."

"I'm afraid that I'll spend money for Girl Scout Cookies."

"I'm afraid that I won't have any more energy to keep up with my kids."

I'm afraid I have run out of the desire to keep this list going, but it could be miles long!

We should fear more of what we are doing on a standard cooked diet than moving over to a fresh whole foods diet.

Would you agree?

2008-03-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

Being a Nag

Sometimes I turn into a nag which brings my family down. I see them eat a bunch of junk, which I know how bad it is for them and I just go on and on and on about it, driving them crazy.

I must have gotten this from my mother, who mutch-ered me to stay kosher and eat right for my cholesterol, but thinking back it only annoyed me and drove me to eat a lot of fast food, processed food, bacon and pepperoni, and other such evil food-stuffs.

In turn I mutch-er my mother about eating animal products and bread.

So why would nagging be affective? It isn't.

Thinking hard about this, I haven't noticed anyone who is successful in a healthy food program nagging others. What I have noticed is that they inspire others to eat and live better.

Also, thinking hard and thinking back to people who inspired me, people I really looked up to, set examples with their happy, free, fun lives!

I don't ever remember wanting to be like anyone who nagged me, ever!

When I ate nothing but bananas for a whole week, I was very surprised by something. My whole family wanted to drink my banana-only smoothies. Many times I have to remind my kids to "finish your shake" in the morning. But they absolutely loved the banana smoothies and banana milks I made. When I fast or go on a juice or mono diet, I don't usually say much about what everyone else is eating or doing around me. However, oftentimes when I'm rolling up and down the raw food roller-coaster ride of life, I can get irritated by the temptations around me and many times will voice my opinion about the harmful food my family seems to enjoy eating.

We hear that we can catch more bees (flies?) with honey. We hear that a positive attitude brings forth an open mind. People don't like to be judged or looked down upon about their lifestyle choices.

If you are living with cooked folks - try to set an example and be positive and enjoy your raw food lifestyle. Sooner or later they will follow because happiness is contagious!

2008-03-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

Is Chocolate Really Healthy?

As a chocoholic, I have to constantly remind myself that there really is nothing health promoting about the stuff, and when I succumb to it, it's all about the taste!

Here's a great article about chocolate.

Coincidentally, cacao is really the same as cocoa...they all come from the same bean and what chocolate, raw or cooked is made from. Cacao is the revisited term for cocoa, which is how the trendy raw crowd refers to cocoa.

Is Raw Chocolate Healthy Or Even Raw?

Dear Friend,

First of all I'd like to wish you a Happy New Year. I look forward to sharing lots of powerful new information with you in 2006.

Have you been convinced that raw cacao is some kind of superfood or food of the gods? Below I'm going to share with you a number of resources that thoroughly discuss this issue. That way you can better make up your own mind.

I have tried raw chocolate or cacao nibs. From the first one I ate, I immediately felt a sense of stimulation. Stimulants like caffeine, drugs and even vitamin supplements are not things that promote health.

If you are being stimulated, your body is at the same time being enervated. A stimulant is simply a toxin to your body. The reason you feel the extra energy is because your body goes into a heightened elimination mode. You're body requires extra energy to eliminate this toxin and it releases reserve sugar into your bloodstream to provide it with the extra energy to eliminate the toxin.

** You Don't Get Energy from Caffeine and Stimulants, You Actually Lose Energy **

With caffeine for instance, the body is able to completely rid itself of the caffeine within two hours of ingesting it. All the extra energy you feel is literally robbing you of minerals, nutrients and energy so that you're body can eliminate this very toxic substance as quickly as it can.

This is the problem with so many claims to the health benefits of certain foods. These superfoods, may have some valuable nutrients in them, but their overall effect on your health might be more negative than positive. You always have to look to the overall effect of a food on your health, not just to a few nutrients in the food.

In my research of the nutrients in chocolate, there is no valuable nutrient in it, that isn't easily available in a variety fruits and vegetables. Remember, raw fruits and vegetables are the real superfoods for humans.

You can confirm this for yourself by using this great nutritional website:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/index.html

You can put in any nutrient and it will tell you which foods are highest in that nutrient. Plus so much more.

*** Is Raw Chocolate Even Raw? ***

This is an interesting topic that has been highly debated. There are some experts who claim there is no way to make cacao taste like chocolate unless it is heated to cooking temperatures. This even goes for those so-called raw cacao companies that ferment their cacao beans. Supposedly they still have to heat the beans in order for them to taste any good at all.

I've read about this from several sources. Here's a post by Dr. Douglas Graham about this topic.

*~*~*~*~*~*
From: Dr. Doug Graham (DrGraham.vegsource.com)
Subject: Chocolate
Date: June 7, 2005 at 3:49 am PST

In Reply to: Naked Chocolate posted by Jamie Clark on June 5, 2005 at 5:35 pm:

Briefly, ever so briefly,

First, there is no raw chocolate being sold, anywhere. In order to taste like chocolate, cacao beans must be heated. I have lived in the tropics and have tried to bring out the chocolate taste in other ways, it simply cannot be done. There is no such thing as raw chocolate.
Even the chocolate that is fermented so said to be raw is eventually heated, and high enough to be cooked.

I am sure you know that heating the proteins in chocolate denatures them and causes them to become carcinogenic. I assume you are aware that heating the carbohydrates caramelizes them, adversely affecting their GI rating and also creating carcinogens. It made worldwide headlines three years ago that heating fats, even the fats in chocolate, results in the production of carcinogens, so that is no news to you, I am sure. It also results in the production of enzyme resistant protein bonds that are a causative agent in conditions ranging from arthritis to allergies, leaky gut, and many others. The double bonds of the fats in chocolate become triple bonds under the influence of heat making them physiologically nonviable for humans and adversely impacting upon our cholesterol levels.

As far as the components of chocolate, essentially it is a cocktail of toxic chemicals and drugs.
Cacao beans contain:
methylxanthines such as the stimulant drugs known as caffeine, theobromine, and theophyllin, all of which are known to produce permanent degenerative alterations in cellular protoplasm.
More tannin than tea.
Oxalic acid
Cannabinoids
Aflatoxins

There is not the time to go into the toxic impact of each of this drugs, but if you want such information I can supply it via a consultation. I am sure you can do a search on these substances to find their debilitating effects on human health.

So, chocolate is not raw, is defintely not health food, and cannot be considered a superfood. There is nothing about marketing chocolate that can be considered a positive except for the possible bottom line profits that it may offer.

Hope this helps,
Dr D

Here's the direct link to his post:

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/15852.html

This is a very informative post:

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/15839.html

For the whole discussion, you can continue reading here:

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/15830.html

From Another Forum:

http://snipurl.com/l6nq

Plus if you'll discover proof that a major raw food author plagiarized his first book.

*~*~*~*~*~*

*** Is Raw Chocolate Healthy? ***
Raw Cacao: another stimulant disguised as a healthy food

by Frédéric Patenaude

Many of my readers have been asking me what I think of the whole raw cacao craze. For those who don't know, raw cacao beans are now sold by different raw-food companies as the latest "superfood." Cacao beans are traditionally roasted and used to make chocolate. Now, raw-foodists have found a raw version of the beloved bean and are apparently using it for its magical properties.

First, let me start by explaining what my own personal use of cacao is. I've known for a long time that cacao is a stimulant. Not as strong as coffee, but its stimulating "qualities" are easy to spot when your body is not used to eating such foods. Because of this, I often used carob powder in my recipes. Carob powder is made from a fruit and has a taste that reminds of chocolate. It is naturally sweet. Instead of being a stimulant, carob is a mineral rich food and has a calming effect. So, like most raw-foodists, I used carob powder in my recipes. But, then one day, I decided to use cacao powder. I figured: if I'm going to make something that tastes like chocolate, why not use the real thing? I've noticed that cacao has a stimulating effect, but since I was using it occasionally (i.e. less than once a month) and just for fun in some recipes, I was not too bothered by that little indiscretion. However, I never considered it to be a health food.

Now, cacao beans are sold to us at an exorbitant price under the assumption that it's one of the best things we could ever eat. I couldn't disagree more.

First of all, cacao beans are not really food. If you found them in nature, you wouldn't eat the seeds. You would eat the fruit, which is apparently delicious, and throw away the seeds. Even if you wanted to eat the seeds, they would not taste like chocolate. In order for the cacao seeds to taste like chocolate and become the cacao beans that we know, they have to be fermented first. They are fairly bitter, indicating the presence of a poison. And when I say a "poison," I'm not making this up. Just do a little research and you'll discover that cacao contains many chemicals with a stimulating effects, such as theobromine and caffeine.

Frederic Patenaude has a free weekly e-newsletter filled with unique nutrition tips, informative articles and exclusive interviews for you.

A popular article on raw cacao beans claims that cacao "increase(s) your focus and alertness and contains nutrients to keep you happy."

My answer to that is the same as has been said and is being said about coffee. The fact is that what people actually confuse with "alertness" is actually an adrenal response to the stress that the body has to deal with when eliminating the toxins found in cacao beans. What you get is NOT energy. What you experience as energy is actually your body working hard to establish balance (homeostasis) again! It's like whipping a horse. Eventually, it will fall down.

Here's an excerpt from Neal Barnard's book, "Breaking the Food Seduction":

"Researchers at the University of Michigan brought out the truth about chocolate. In a research study, they gave 26 volunteers a drug called 'noxalone.' They then offered them a tray filled with Snicker's Bars, M&Ms, chocolate chip cookies, and Oreos. Normally, these snacks would have quickly disappeared. But, the drug knocked out the desire for chocolate. A candy bar was not much more exciting than a crust of dry bread.

“Noxalone is an opiate blocker. That is, it stops heroin, morphine, and other narcotics from affecting the brain. And, it blocks the effects of chocolate, too. This research study showed that chocolate's appeal does not come from its creamy texture or deep brown color. Chocolate stimulates the same part of the brain that morphine acts on. For all intents and purposes, chocolate is a drug - not necessarily a bad one and not a terribly strong one, but strong enough, nonetheless, to keep us coming back for more."

Many people would argue that when cacao is not cooked, these chemicals do not have the same effect on the body. But yet, those same people who say that actually admit to eating cacao beans for their stimulating effect! Many people have reported not being able to fall asleep if they eat cacao beans late at night and that they are still looking for the "best" time of the day to eat them. Others tell me that when they eat cacao beans, they get so much energy, but then have a "down" later on. Does that remind you of something?

If you like the taste, you could use some cacao once in a while in a recipe. But don't fool yourself into thinking that there's somehow something really good about this. Personally, I would consider using cacao when making a special desert for a special occasion. I don't recommend eating cacao otherwise. I don't find anything special in it. I don't buy the whole raw cacao craze and I don't think it is worth the price that is charged for it.

Remember: A rose by any other name is ... just as thorny. Have fun! ;-)

From: http://thinkandgoraw.com/IsRawChocolateHealthy.htm

2008-01-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

Rawisms

Q: “My hair is falling out, what do I do?”
A: “You need to eat more fat.”

“I’m raw now and after eating SAD all my life. How to I make sure I get all my nutrients?”

“The raw police aren’t going to hunt you down!”

Q: “I’m not losing weight, what should I do?"
A: “You need to eat more fat.”

“I eat cacao every day because David Wolfe said so.”

“Now that I’ve been juicing I’m going to eat all this pulp in a recipe.”

Q: “I’m breaking out all over the place, what can I do?
A: “You need to eat more fat.”

“If Alissa Cohen uses it in her recipe I know it’s really raw.”

“I’ve been making nut milk and going to use this pulp in a recipe.”

Q: “I’m addicted to chocolate, what can I do?"
A: “Eat raw cacao.”

“This food makes me feel sick. Does this mean I have to stop eating it?”

Q: “My cholesterol is too high – what should I eat?”
A: “You need to eat more fat.”

“If I drink tea every day, what percentage raw does this make me?”

Q: “I’m so tired, what can I do?”
A: “You need to eat more fat.”

“Are Lara Bars really raw?”

“I want to get all the benefits of eating raw, but I still want to eat a few cooked things.”

Note: These are supposed to be funny, please don't take any of the Q & A's seriously!

2008-01-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

Funny stuff from Tim Hawkins...

2008-01-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

“There are so many appliances and equipment that I feel I should get – it’s overwhelming and expensive. What are the most important appliances of all when starting on a raw food diet?”

No appliance is worthwhile unless it is being used. So the question is, what kind of food person are you?

Do you eat simple foods like fresh fruits, vegetables and salads?
Do you plan on making a lot of gourmet recipes?

So...

If you are planning on eating fresh fruits & salads:

~Good quality knife (I love Santoku and ceramic knives)

~Bamboo cutting board - 1 extra for garlic, onions and ginger

~Salad Scissors

~Microplane or ginger grater

~Garlic press, I like Zyliss

~Magic Bullet, Tribest or other personal sized blender for dressings

If you are planning on making smoothies, soups & puddings:

~Good quality high speed blender, such as a Blend Tec or Vitamix

If you are planning to make all kind of gourmet recipes:

~ 11 or more cup food processor. High end would be a Kitchen Aid, more affordable would be a Black and Decker or Hamilton Beach

~Food dehydrator, high end and dependable would be Excalibur, also it is best for breads and no 'hole' in the middle, more affordable round with hole in the middle brands could be found at Wal-Mart, make sure there is a thermostat or it's no good.

~Veggie spiralizer for making zucchini pasta - Joyce Chen Saladacco for angel hair size noodles, Spirooli for spaghetti size noodles

~High speed blender

For Nut Milks:

~ Blender and nut bags or paint strainer bags from a home improvement store

-or-

~ A soy milk maker that has the option to make raw nut milks without heat

-or-

~ A Magic Bullet or other personal sized blender to make small amounts that don’t need to be strained using nut butter and water

For opening young coconuts:

~ Large, heavy wide butcher's type knife with a strong corner - for whacking out the shell

~strong paring knife - to help with prying off the shell

~ metal pierced or slotted serving spoon - for spooning out coconut meat

~I use a dead head mallet sometimes if the paring knife needs assistance getting through the shell

For soaking & sprouting seeds/nuts/grains:

~Large bowls or mason or quart jars

~Cloth and rubber bands or string for covering jars

~Mesh strainer

For making nut & seed yogurts and cheeses:

~cheesecloth & string for straining and hanging

~glass jars or containers

For juicing:

~Basket style juicer for most fruits and vegetables such as carrots, apples, celery citrus, etc. (firm to soft) - I have gone through quite a lot of juicers and have found Breville Juice Fountain Plus to be excellent. The lower setting is for your juicier fruits like oranges and grapes, higher setting for harder foods like apples and carrots.

~Citrus juicer – in the summer months when thin-skinned Valencia oranges are in season I use my OJ-ex juice press. All you have to do is cut oranges in half, instead of cutting the skins off when using the electric juicer.

~Twin gear juicer more specifically for greens and wheat grass. This juicer is slower and I don't have the patience, plus I throw my greens in my smoothies in the blender. Good brands are the Green Star, Green Life and Solo Star. These are excellent for making nut butters and fruit ice cream as they have a homogenizing feature.

2007-12-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

So you wanna give raw food a try...

You may have a lot of questions, but here are some sure-fire tips to help you along the way.

1) Eat a lot or at least when you feel hungry. You may feel hungry when your stomach is empty, and even though it isn't true hunger, if you are like most people, the only time you allow your stomach to empty out is during sleep, so this may be somewhat uncomfortable to you.

2) Eat lots of FRUIT. Bananas are really filling and satisfying. Blend several bananas with water and ice for an amazingly simple banana shake. You'd be surprised how good this tastes and how filling it is. Sometimes blending fruit makes it easier to eat in larger amounts, if you cannot eat fruit whole.

3) Have a well-stocked kitchen. The day before the you start, which will probably be on January 1, hit the produce section and get LOTS of fruit and salad fixings. Buy some raw nuts and seeds as well. Go to the store hungry so that you will buy the raw food that looks good to you.

4) Aim for ALL raw. Some people say they will just do 80% or 90% raw, but that leaves the cooked door open and cravings will happen. So try going all raw and see what happens. At best, you will feel light, full of energy and lose weight quickly, at worst you may experience some detox symptoms.

5) Allow whatever raw you want for the first 2-3 weeks. Even though a lower-fat diet is healthier in the long run, you need the first few weeks of transitioning time to be easier on you, and if you have to eat extra nuts or avocadoes then don't beat yourself up about it. True there are people who start out eating a fruit and greens based diet, but not eveyrone can do that from the beginning. If you need to use bottled salad dressing because you are not used to eating your greens naked or making your own dressing, that is okay. If you need to use sea salt on something, that is okay. As long as you are focusing on being raw, that is the important thing.

6) Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning and in the middle of the day between meals. This not only helps to curb hunger but will assist in the detoxification process. If you develop a headache or any other detox symptom, drink a glass or two of water. I like to drink cool water without ice - it goes down more quickly that way. You don't want to overload on water, but have enough to take you through the first few days.

7) Move ahead - keep moving forward and don't worry about those slip-ups that might occur. Dont' forget, the long time raw fooders slipped up many, many times before their footing took hold so don't let a night of pizza or a cooked vegetarian dinner stop you in your tracks, just get right back on your horse.

8) Detox means it's working! You may get a slight headache or be down with full-blown flu symptoms - this means that your body is detoxing some old matter. Work through it and don't be tempted to go back to your old diet. Drink and rest lots and in a few days you'll feel amazing again.

9) Dont obsess over nutrients. If you weren't worried about where you got your potassium, protein and B-12 on your past diet, don't start now. After a month or so you'll be able to pick your diet apart, but for now just concentrate on STAYING RAW. Enjoy all the fruits and vegetables, try new ones and different ways to prepare them.

10) Keep it to yourself. I say this from experience. Dont' shout from the rooftops that you are now raw and that everyone is killing themselves with their knives and forks. You will be met with resistance and even some backlashing, and people will ask you where you get your protein or will tease you about eating like a monkey or eating rabbit food. If you can help it, don't eat out for the first week or two and if you do have to eat in a social setting, have a simple entree sized salad or fruit plate and if met with questions, just say you don't feel very hungry and leave it at that.

Most of all, just have fun!

2007-12-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

Slipping up...

Some words of wisdom from Richard Blackman

You can find out more about Richard Blackman here:

http://www.realgainz.com/Fruitarian

and here

http://www.fruitarianfitness.com/

2007-11-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ruby Jewel

It's a great time for a recipe isn't it? And this one is not only delicious and beautiful, but it's seasonal!

This is so wonderful, tangy, sweet and refreshing - you are going to love it!

Ruby Jewel

2 Pomegranates, seeded

3-5 Ruby Red Grapefruits, peeled (depending on how much juice you want to make and the size of grapefruits - should yield about 2 or more cups of juice)

Put through a juicer and enjoy!

This is really a recipe for your juicer, but if you don't mind it on the pulpy side, you can certainly blend it up (and/or optionally strain it).

The important thing, though is you need to de-seed the pomegranates. You don't want any rind in there, as it will make the drink bitter. It seems more tedious than it actually is, but takes no more than a few minutes to do.

Check out this a sure-fire way to de-seed a pomegranate:

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ss/deseedpomegrana_2.htm

Here's another way which I haven't tried yet but looks even easier! http://www.metacafe.com/watch/448091/chefs_trick_deseeding_a_pomegranate_in_seconds/

2007-11-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 'Thanksgiving Proclamation'

A beautiful reminder of what our holiday represents. Our family will be reading this tomorrow before our meal...

___

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
Washington, DC—October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

source: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tgproclamation.html

2007-11-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ruffling Turkey Feathers

As the 2007 Thanksgiving holiday in America approaches, I am reminded of social eating once again. I think if anything, this holiday is the most focused on food as that’s what it seems to be all about – The Food.

The main meal – the Turkey Dinner is in the foreground while the real meaning is in the background for most people celebrating it.

My hope is that people needing some insight will read this in time – it addresses some social eating issues with raw and vegetarian eaters. Many people handle themselves quite well around others. They do not let pushy friends and relatives get to them. They happily do and eat what they want to do and don’t place blame on anyone or guilt on themselves. But there are those who either feel guilty or defensive and those feelings are much more intense during a shared Thanksgiving Dinner with loved ones.

I have found with my own history and background, that I myself have been pushy and judgmental plenty of times before embarking on my own journey to health. I have thought that people eating and doing different and healthier things than I was strange and I never understood it. I can chalk a lot of that up to immaturity and ignorance, and an unwillingness to learn and explore anything outside of my own box.

Not to ruffle any feathers, but it seems to me that a lot of folks, who tend to allow themselves to be bothered by others around them, may have themselves been over-critical and not understanding of others at one time in their lives. Now that the tables are turned on them being the different ones, they have a hard time dealing with people.

One of the things that cause a lot of stress, in myself, is my mind constantly setting up a situation before it happens. Some people may call it a “monkey mind" or "monkey chatter" but I just think of it as brain thought overload!

I may start thinking of a particular event that I am going to experience, and with that event all the things that could go wrong. I could be thinking about a certain friend or relative who will probably be saying this and that to me, and all the things I should say and do in response.

Even 10 times worse, I would tend to think about something after the fact:

“Why did s/he say that to me?”

“Gosh they were so pushy with me, they made me eat something because I was so annoyed at their behavior!”

“He really embarrassed me by what he said – he didn’t have to broadcast my diet to the whole table!”

“Why did I give in to her constant prodding? I should have just told her ‘no thank you’ for the 5th time and she would have finally gotten the picture! Now I am going to wake up with a cooked hangover, and probably have to deal with really bad cooked food cravings for a whole week!”

“I should have told him that I just feel great eating this way and leave it at that. Why did I have to get in a big debate over the evils of dairy?”

The kicker is that all of these people I was thinking about, probably weren’t even thinking about me. They were likely happily home and in bed, or wrapping up their evenings in their own way, not worrying or going on and on about what happened between me and them.

You see how the stress of the holidays, are more of an inner stress that can fester inside of us! It's a "welcomed" stress that we create all by ourselves.

As a child, were you ever stressed out about such things? I wasn’t! I can remember my mother getting very, very stressed, getting ready for Holiday Company. I could never guess why she would yell at me.

As I became a mother, I found myself yelling at my own, and getting *myself* stressed out when we were expecting company, and the time was getting closer to their arrival. I'd be scrambling around, trying to get everything "done" before it was time. Over the years, I did get a handle on it, but when I’m not organized, I tend to get stressed again.

Well, we cannot go back in time and become children again, now can we, and why would we, because with age comes experience and you wouldn’t want to undo all the experience you’ve accrued over the years.

As we become older, we become better equipped with wisdom in how to deal with certain situations. And it is inevitable that something will bother us and fester from time to time. But knowing how to deal with things does help:

Be happy and not defensive. A smile or a laugh always helps when answering a question. As hard as it may be when the time comes, smile and find amusement in the situation you are in!

You don’t have to succumb to anything you don’t want to. Especially if you know eating something could make things unpleasant and uncomfortable to your body. Just like an allergy or other health condition, you shouldn’t eat something that disagrees with you or causes a severe reaction in you. Your eating lifestyle should be no different than someone who can't tolerate certain foods from an allergy or a diabetic steering clear of cake.

If there is an exchange or words that make you uncomfortable, try to be in control of the situation. Try not to let it fester and bother you later on. Make a quick turn-around by thinking of something funny that will erase that bad memory. Or pray for the person who made you uncomfortable. Or even give that person a hug. Turn around the situation quickly so you aren’t left to mull it over in your head the rest of the evening.

2007-11-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

Burt's Bleach?

Okay all you Michael Jackson fans, have we got a face cream for you.

I've been using Burt's Bees skin and body products for many years now.

Once in a while (I admit) do use Clorox bleach but all my other cleaning products are either natural or homemade.

So I didn't know what to make of things when I discovered that Burt's Bees sold out to Clorox for a cool $925 million.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_7332239?nclick_check=1

Should I be looking forward to a day when cleaning product companies are going to be putting the public's health and well-being at interest?

Should I be put off that a natural product that I've trusted over the years might change their formula?

Should I be happy that I soon might find the line of products at my local Wal-Mart?

If they come out with a new age spot hand cream or highlighting shampoo with a lemony fresh scent, should I be concerned?

I wish I was a fly on the wall at that meeting in the Burt's Bees headquarters.

2007-10-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

Fun Announcement!

~ Do you go back and forth with your raw eating?

~ Are you looking for a small and intimate group of like-minded folks to support you on your journey to ulitmate health?

~ Are you ready to spend less time online at message boards but still communicate, get insight, inspiriation and your questions answered?

I just created a discussion and support group for us "steppers" who are stepping up to raw (or taking raw step by step)!

A perfect group for anyone new or wise to the idea of raw food, but would like to give and receive support on your journey.

Come join us - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rawsteps

2007-10-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

Eating Raw Socially II

This is part II of Eating Raw Socially - The Food Part.

There are many situations you will find yourself in that will challenge your will to eat. You may throw up your hands and eat a cooked meal due to a few factors:

Cravings - Along with hunger and limited options, most people are prone to go off their diets, whether it is a cooked diet or raw.

Make sure you never leave the house hungry, or never go to a restaurant, person's home or an event really hungry. Leave the house on a full stomach, and bring some snacks or fruit along with you just in case you decide not to eat.

Guilt - Often people "break" their diets because they are made to feel guilty for not eating someones special recipe, or a meal set before them that has been paid for by someone else. Many times they will use the excuse that they are being a good guest, but a good guest should not really be eating anything they are allergic to or eat food that will harm his or her health. This is no different than eating something that isn't raw if you are commited to a raw food diet.

Lack of freedom - the best eating situations are those which will give the eater a choice of foods, such as a buffet, an open menu in a restaurant, or a pot-luck. The times when many of us feel a bit stuck or end up not eating altogether, or even give in to eating cooked food, is usually when we are a guest at a sit-down predetermined meal, or in the rare case of a restaurant not having fresh food.

There are ways to get around this. One of them is to let the host know you are on a special diet ahead of time, and that you'll be bringing a large salad or fruit plate along to share. If this is met with disagreement, you can tell the host that you'll be bringing it for yourself, since this is what you are able to eat. The host might want to make you a meal that you can eat, in that case be very specific.

I once told someone that I was vegetarian for health reasons (I wasn't all raw at the time) and they made me a special chili relleno casserole. It was loaded with cheese, and they are notoriously made with eggs - full of cholesterol. So be specific. Tell them you eat fresh, uncooked fruit and vegetables but be prepared - not everyone understands this and you might find cheese, croutons and meat on your salad. You might find whipped cream with your fruit or your fruit suspended in Jello. This would be the extreme case here - most people I know would not do this.

In the case of a wedding with a preset sit-down dinner, my personal thoughts are to bring some food along in a nice gift bag or purse. I have heard of some people calling the caterer ahead, but I wouldn't do this, knowing that they are juggling over 100 guests in most cases, and the last thing I want to put on the bride and caterer is having to worry about the one raw fooder.

Many times I have seen untouched dinner plates, so I wouldn't worry about not eating the mass-produced food at a wedding as much of an issue. It is easy to avoid sitting in front of your plate - getting up to mingle or walking around is a way to avoid eating, or just getting engaged in a conversation with someone else at the dinner table.

Here are some ideas of things to bring along just in case you are hungry:

Dates

Nuts

Bags of grapes

2-3 Bananas

Apples

Oranges

Raw crackers

2007-10-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Eating Raw Socially I

Right now is the perfect time to address this huge issue amongst raw eating. We are about to enter the holiday season where temptation and social eating situations are right around the corner.

The social eating dilemma is very complex. It is not a “one situation fits all” as we deal with different personalities and different food service situations.

After pursuing the raw diet over 6 years now, I do have to say that the social aspect of it is one of the most, if not, the most challenging aspect of the raw diet. Personally, I will not change my diet under a social situation, but there sure can be plenty of obstacles when it comes to conversations and situations in which I’ve found myself.

This will be in two parts. I will address the first part of social raw eating that has to do with communication and answering questions, and getting out of some possibly uncomfortable debates!

Let’s look at all the different facets on eating raw socially:

Most importantly - what kind of person are you?

Person A

Do you feel like you have to ‘adjust’ to the crowd so you don’t stand out or make yourself feel open to questions, comments and criticism?

You may be the type who cannot handle answering questions or concerns so you’d rather not eat differently than others. You will often give up your raw diet easily because it is more important for you to feel accepted by others, and because you cannot handle “being yourself”, you feel that doing what everyone else is doing will make it easier to blend in

Person B

Do you have absolutely no problem eating what you want around others, but feel like you have to be prepared to answer questions?

1. You may be an argumentative type of person, desiring to be noticed for being different, but ready to put people in their place or change others to your way of eating. You may often find yourself in a heated argument with others or being very defensive or backed into a corner. You may constantly feel a lot of judgment from friends and family. In the back of your mind, you may not feel completely at ease with your diet choices, or you may be new to raw foods.

2. On the other hand, you may not be the type of person who wants to be in the battle-zone about your food choices, but you just want to be left alone and in peace with your meal. You might just need some tips on phrases to say when met with questions and objection, to nip in the bud a conversation that might get uncomfortable to you.

Now, try to see which category you fall into. Most people are going to be an A or a B1 or B2. The reason I believe this, is because those who are in the C category are the ones who can easily handle themselves in social situations or really don't care (and have little need to read this!)

Person A – this is for you

You need validation to eat how you feel is the most healthy for your body. You will never be able to reach your goals if you are constantly trying to flex yourself to be like everyone else.

Think of this.

Not everyone likes the same things. Do you think 50 people would all eat the same flavor of ice cream at Baskin-Robbins? Of course not. Everyone will want a different flavor, and you know that there is a possibility that some of them will not even be able to tolerate the ice cream; they’ll be eating sherbet or nothing at all. And there are actually people in the world who just don’t like ice cream. One of my husband’s friends does not eat dairy, he just plain doesn’t like it. Now just suppose 30 of those 50 people all order chocolate ice cream, do you think those 30 people will argue with and judge the other 20 people for not getting the same flavor?

Now let’s look at this from a ‘healthier’ point of view. What if you were at a big slumber party and everyone went to sleep without brushing his or her teeth? You try to go to sleep, but you feel uncomfortable, you have a bad taste in your mouth, and your teeth don’t feel clean and smooth? You are lying there feeling really gross and nobody else cares, they are all nodding off to sleep but you alone are lying there and can’t stand it. You know you can get up out of your sleeping bag and go right to the bathroom and brush them. You have your toothbrush and toothpaste with you so that’s not an issue. What’s stopping you?

So now what if you were invited to dinner somewhere and you were very allergic to wheat and dairy. Lasagna, garlic bread and salad are being served. If you were allergic to wheat and dairy it is obvious you would be foregoing the lasagna and garlic bread anyway. When people have been eating raw long enough, having dairy and wheat is a recipe for disaster and a shock to the system. This is something to seriously think about if you are planning on “going with the flow” when you eat socially.

When you are eating and staying raw through all functions, you do want to keep in mind that your body may not very well tolerate anything other than raw, fresh food. Using yourself as a guinea pig in a social situation would in fact be a recipe for disaster and may make others uncomfortable should your body have some kind of reaction to a food its being reintroduced to. After all is said and done, you may end up being the center of attention after all.

Person B – this is for you

You want to eat the way you want to eat around others. The problem is, can you handle yourself when faced with questions, comments and criticism?

The very best route to take here whether you fall under the 1 or 2 category is to avoid any back and forth discussion. If you already answer someone’s question and then get hit with another question, do you see the way the conversation is going here? So by the second question or challenge, it is your responsibility to put an end to the discussion. There are so many variables here, depending on the person or intention of the discussion, we will address a few:

You (to the wait staff) – I will have a large entrée salad with everything on the side please
Dining companion – Is that all you are going to eat?
You – Yes, I feel good when I eat this way.
Dining companion – What way do you eat?
You – I love eating fresh food.
Dining Companion – What do you mean by fresh food?
You – You know, fruits and vegetables.
Dining Companion – Where do you get your protein?
You – I don’t know, but I feel great eating this way.

Here I wrote everything that “you” say to try to end the conversation, but if you’ll notice the Dining Companion keeps asking another question. In most situations this won’t happen, but if you keep going back to how you like eating this way, and how great it makes you feel it would be very rare for the conversation to continue.

Here are some other “comebacks” to try to diffuse the conversation:

Them – Oh, you like rabbit food?!
You – I love it! I feel great eating this way!
(You could return the joke with “Oh - you like vulture food?” depending on the mood of the day, but that’s not always safe)

Them – Do you eat this way all the time?
You – So far, yes! I feel great eating this way!

Them – Would you like a slice of cake?
You – no thanks, I just ate

I learned the “no thanks, I just ate” courtesy of Dr. Douglas Graham. It always works. I’ve had people say this to me, even when I am only offering a glass of water (and I know they are not vegan nor raw).

Them - Why do you eat this way?
You – My doctor prescribed this diet for me, and it’s wonderful (when you include something about your ‘doctor’ there’s very little resistance to the idea).

How about when folks want to know more about your diet? And you are not comfortable discussing it right then and there at the dinner table or when you are all eating? Here are some simple things to say.

Them – I’m dying to know what you’ve been doing - you look great!
You – Oh, thank you! I’d love to share it with you. Can I call you or get your e-mail address? I have a ton of information I can give you.

Them – So tell me about this diet you’re on.
You – Oh, it’s so simple! Can I call you or e-mail you the information? Let’s write down your contact information, I have a piece of paper in my purse somewhere…

Them – I heard you are on a new diet…I’m dying to hear about it.
You – Oh I can’t wait to tell you! When can we chat about it?

Do you see how this diffuses the conversation and will give you opportunity to share or discuss (or maybe even debate) later, one-on-one with your friend?

Hopefully some of these tips have helped with prickly and just plain curious people. Next we will discuss how to handle the actual food part of social raw eating!

2007-10-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Milky Way

Here's a great chart that compares plant based milks to cow's milk. Notice how many of the nutrients are fairly equal.

http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100170771

Take note that none of the plant based milks contain cholesterol whereas the animal milks contain anywhere from 5 to over 30 grams of cholesterol in an 8 oz serving. This was not included in the chart.

2007-10-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Does it anger you that foods like meat, junk food, dairy, grains, etc. are so affordable while fresh fruits and vegetables seem to cost so much?

Don't you think that with the current education and research out today about Cancer prevention (ie eating lots of fruits and vegetables), it should really be taught in schools, not only through education, but by actually offering fresh, whole plant foods to children - instead of special programs giving out detrimental animal products and processed foods, which are hard on growing bodies, robbing them of essential nutrients?

Do you believe that there should be more ads about plant foods building bones and providing essential protein via necessary amino acids (along with other important nutrients that can't be provided from a Flintsone vitamin), instead of the meat and dairy industry constantly bombarding the public with false nutritional claims?

You may know a child whose future could really benefit from the Farm Bill. This could also deeply effect the American public. Please review the information in the following link and pass it on!

http://www.pcrm.org/childhoodobesity/

2007-09-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

"You can do anything you want to do as long as you make up your mind...you can do it..." Dick Hoyt

Chances are you have seen this very inspiring and touching video. Many times lately I have watched this and even had the song from the video running around in my head for days on end.

But did you know the story behind the father, who was never a fit athlete, never ran more than a mile, and even had deteriorating health (he called himself a "porker") ...it was for the love of his son that actually helped him to be in the best shape of his life.

This article shows a different perspective of the story, where you get a deeper understanding of how someone can turn his life around, not for himself, but for the love of a child.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

From http://cjcphoto.com/can/ and www.youtube.com

2007-09-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun and flashy video!

2007-09-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

90 Days From Today...

There are a little over 100 days until the end of the year. Here are some very inspiring words of wisdom and encouragement. If you have been struggling with making a decision about your health, just think of how much you can do while enjoying those last few days of the year with a new & improved you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you want to make a change, read the following, and then make a decision, take an action, and let the next 90 days be a journey you'll never forget!

90 Days From Today it is possible to have lost a significant amount of bodyfat, enough so others see what they perceive to be a radical change.

90 Days from Today your energy can be exponentially higher than it is right now, and if you make some simple shifts, you'll be able to command the energy you need at will.

90 Days from Today your sense of well being and the confidence you feel both when you're alone and in the presence of others can be at an unprecedented peak. The question, "How are you?" can be answered simply and sincerely, "awesome!"

90 Days From Today you can be lean, toned, and muscular if you so desire.

90 Days From Today you can be shopping for new clothes enjoying the reflection in the dressing room mirror.

90 Days From Today you can move with greater ease, handle the daily routines of life effortlessly, and surprise yourself with a new vitality.

90 Days From Today, while you will chronologically be older, you can actually be living in a body that is biologically younger and better than the one you live in right now.

90 Days From Today you might also be less conditioned, increasingly tired, maximally stressed, distraught, and wondering why you're so "stuck." Get unstuck!!!!

90 Days From Today will be here . . . in precisely 90 days whether you like it or not. Why not like it? You have the choice, but in order to gain control, in order to make certain 90 Days From Today leaves you smiling from ear to ear, begin with a decision and an action.

90 Days From Today will arrive. Design your outcome, or roll with the tide. It's your call.

From: http://www.cincinnatipersonaltraining.com/The_Next_90_Days.html

2007-08-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

The Shopping Cart Content Conundrum

A funny thing happened to me at the grocery store...

...is how the joke goes.

Yesterday I was nearly out of bananas, so I went to a couple of stores to pick up some bananas and other produce.

First I stopped into Whole Foods, and I was buying about 20 ripe bananas. The checker was happy to see someone buying so many bananas, then asked if I was planning on making banana bread. Before I paid my bill, the checker learned how to make the most delicious banana ice cream ever.

The next place I went to was Sam's Club. I purchased three 3 lb. bags of ripe bananas, and this time the checker didn't seem to be as thrilled to see me buying so many bananas. She warned me that if I didn't eat all those bananas I would have to make banana bread.

Sometimes I will glance at someone's shopping cart and notice all the "stuff" they are purchasing. At Sam's Club I saw some ladies buying several packages of white hot dog buns. I didn't bother to ask them anything about their purchase. I didn't think to ask them why they were buying all those buns, or if they eat them all, what will they do when they'll be all stopped up for days to weeks.

Sometimes I notice lots of meat items in people's carts. I don't think to ask them if they have a flock of vultures or a den of lions that they are going home to feed. However, I've had friends have checkers ask if they have rabbits or horses, when they buy lots of carrots.

It makes me think how far society is removed from a natural food diet, when it is okay for someone to comment or question a customer with lots of fresh produce, but not okay to comment or question a customer with lots of processed and packaged and animal products.

Sometimes I wonder if I bump into someone I know, and they see some items I'm buying for my family who isn't 100% raw, what they might think. Do they realize that I'm buying this 'stuff' for my family and not for myself. Do I need to explain this to them?

I read an article about why people look at other people's grocery carts. The answer was that people are generally nosey and bored when they are in line at the check out stand.

I guess what it boils down to, is that we will all probably be looking at each other's carts, and sometimes what we see will make us shake our heads. It is up to each of us to use a little common sense and courtesy when bringing up the subject of another's shopping cart contents, and also not to be too quick to judge that the person pushing the cart isn't always the person that is going to eat everything inside of it.

2007-08-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

Gimme a break....

The other day I got a mailer from the local grocery store about a new product. It is called "Active Lifestyle Fat Free Milk". Here's the description:

"It's the heart-healthy new fat free milk that's fortified to help reduce cholesterol levels when you drink two servings a day with meals. Active Lifestyle Fat Free Milk has plant sterols like those found in small quanitites within many fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and other plants. Active Lifestyle Fat Free milk gives you an easy way to help lower your cholesterol, deliciously!"

In the flyer is a picture of the milk, yogurt and smoothies which also has plant sterols in it.

There is something so wrong with drinking milk to get the goodness in a plant food. Why would anyone want to do that when they can enjoy a variety of delicious and wonderful juicy fruits, delicate veggies and greens and rich nuts and seeds?

Notice how the last sentence says "...help lower your cholesterol delciously" it doesn't say naturally. If cows eat vegetation one would think that the sterols are getting in the milk already but obviously it doesn't.

The truth is that regular milk consumption contributes to a myriad of health problems. Especially drinking processed, homogenized milk with hormones and added vitamins and....surprise!....there already IS cholesterol in milk and all dairy products, even fat-free dairy.

I guess the dairy industry is desparately trying to get their revenues up, hence the suggested 2 serving dose per day. Also there is no disclaimer anywhere about how this product is not meant to cure any disease. If you notice on all products claiming a health benefit this has always been the case, the FDA demands this statement, however the dairy industry seems to get away with making health claims without disclaimers. Hmmmm, I wonder why?

The dairy industry was recently challenged and ordered to stop advertising milk as a weight loss tool, http://www.pcrm.org/news/release070511.html so now it looks like they are up something new.

More milk deception:

http://www.pcrm.org/news/release070628.html

The #1 way to get all the benefits of plants foods is by eating them, not parts of them injected into others foods.

2007-07-11T14:16:00.001-07:00

Next Myth:

"All you need to do is eat raw and your life will change drastically."

Yes and no.

Changing your diet to raw will surely help your body make important and positive changes.

But doing this alone will not give you the level of health you are seeking.

There are a number of things to look at -

Are you getting any type of activity based on your ability, whether it is doing a chair work-out or going on a hike in the mountains, a slow walk, riding a bike for 30 miles a day, or working in the garden? Are you challenging yourself just a little bit? Are you overworking yourself even when your body is telling you to rest?

Are you breathing in fresh clean air from a clean environment? Are you getting fresh, clean outdoor air everyday? Is your indoor air as clean as possible, or are there unnatural deodorizers, chemical cleaners, etc. that you are inhaling on a daily basis?

Are you getting a clean source of water? Are you over-drinking or under-drinking your water? Could you be drinking a lot more than you need if you are eating a lot of water-rich fruit and veggies, or could you possibly be over-confident about the food you are eating and avoiding supplemental water, especially during the hot months and during and after exercise?

Are you getting sufficient sunshine? Are you avoiding the sun in fear? Are you going out in the sun too much during the peak hours of 10-12? Are you going out for at least a few minutes a day if you are sensitive? Are you going out in the sun with so much gusto that you are burning your skin?

Are you sleeping enough to allow your body to recover, detox, rebuild and repair? Are you feeling like you are a super-being and only need 3 hours of sleep a night, but lose energy in the middle of the day?

Are you under any stress, or living a peaceful life? Is your family supportive of you? Are you able to communicate yourself freely without getting into debates and arguments with others? Do you feel happy and loving toward others or do you feel defensive about what you do or about other elements in your life?

In The Perfect Health CD series, Dr. Douglas Graham talks about being only as strong as your weakest link. When your health is not improving, you have to look at the many lifestyle factors in your life, and even within those factors, for instance, are you getting too much or too little sun? Are you eating too many fats?

So YES, eating raw food is surely a step in the right direction, but NO it alone cannot bring you to the level of health you desire, or deserve!

Take a look at everything you are doing. Keep a list and note what needs improvement. Then slowly work on one factor at a time.

2007-07-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Next Myth:

"Eating raw is SO expensive. All those nuts, seeds, specialty raw foods, etc. is going to break my pocketbook"

Those things that cost so much - the oils, nuts, raw cacao, dried fruits, coconut, avocados, young coconuts, agave nectar, spices and seasonings - those are the things that should not be a regular part of the raw diet, or at the least should be eaten minimally.

Fresh produce is one of the least expensive things to eat.

As for the difference between a standard American diet and a fresh, raw diet, just compare a bunch of bananas to a box of snack cakes, the price is about the same but the nutritional difference is huge.

Remember also that when you are eating a superior diet, you are cutting down on other things that you don't use when you are experiencing optimal health, or just not eating as optimally:

You are cutting down on medications, medical and dental expenses.

Excessive amounts of cleaners, soaps, perfumes to hide body odor, lotions and potions.

Don't forget those times when you plunk down between $20-40 (or more with a family) to go "out" to eat all of the time.

With more energy, you won't be renting as many videos to sit around and watch.

You won't be going to the movies as much, spending oodles of money on concessions.

You won't be buying cinnamon rolls and pretzels at the mall.

You won't be buying lattes, specialty coffees and teas all the time.

You won't be buying girl scout cookies every year. You won't feel obligated to buy all those food coupons that the neighbor's kids, and friends children and family are trying to push on you for their fundraisers.

You won't be buying all those seasonal cooked foods, bakery goods and treats. Just think of all the money you'll be saving on eggs and candy at Easter; all the meat, buns, cakes, cookies, soda and beer on Independence day; the big turkey, stuffing, rolls, cakes, cookies and pies that has made you and your relatives so sick and tired on Thanksgiving; and the sugary baked goods and tooth decaying candy on Chanukah and Christmas.

You won't feel the need to buy big coupon books just so you can save going out to restaraunts.

When you go to the zoo or amusement parks or other outings, you won't need to buy junky cooked lunches.

When you go to a baseball game you won't be buying mystery meat hot dogs, pretzels, ice cream and beer.

When on road trips you won't need to be driving through fast food places.

It is amazing how little expenses on a cooked lifestyle add up. $5 here, $10 there for little things, just add up to hundreds and thousands of dollars over a years' time.

I just came across a great blog explaining how cheap raw has been for her family. A family of 6 eating organic produce at less than $200 a week! Wow - I am impressed! Below is the entry and a link after it:

I have gotten a number of emails from college students wondering how I stay raw in college and how I afford such a lifestyle. Also, I have had many ask me about my social life, family life, etc... well...this is my response:

I am going to be a junior at Rice University. I started 100% raw in one night 2.5 years ago in a single dorm with no kitchen, and I washed my fruits and veggies in the bathroom sink that 27 other girls used...ya tell me I am not passionate??

At first, I barely ate organic, and I would buy by the case (bananas, oranges, lettuce), and I would get most of my fruits and salads from the salad bar in the cafeteria. After a few months, I petitioned for organic greens, and Vanderbilt began to offer them. (This was before I transfered to Rice). The next year, I was asked to be in-charge of helping to get Vanderbilt's FIRST organic munchie mart on campus. I smile at this accomplishment.

After that, it was easy to get greens, but fruits was way out of my league....especially bc I was in Nashville...SOOO, I made a bargain with my parents. Because I was on a full-ride to Vanderbilt, I told my parents that I would work certain hours at the university if they paid for me to eat all organic. They agreed. However, finding fruits in Nashville is horrible, and I hate cold weather. Last semester, I transfered to Rice University, where there is warm weather and amazing fruits. Now, I know all the local/organic farmers and all the produce managers in my area, and I buy cases for my whole family....

I feed 6 people eating pretty much 100% raw for less than $200 a week...not bad eh? IT CAN BE DONE :) Oh, and we do not limit ourselves to bananas... to the contrary...when we eat what is in season, we find more variety than our taste buds can handle...

About being social in college: hmmm let's see...well I don't drink, don't smoke, and I definitely don't eat cooked foods. I have found that the people who really want to be your friends will flock to you and they will accept you for who you are, no matter what you eat or what you believe. My closest friends will either now eat raw with me, or they will sit there and laugh as I gnarl down my two heads of lettuce...they love me don't they?

I don't like to be around keg parties anyways...they bore me half to death, and I think people act so stupid when they are drunk. I love to go salsa dancing, and simply doing the things I love, I meet new and wonderful people every day. It's that simple~ Attract the people you want into your life. Family may take more time, but as I have been told by Dr. G and by Lennie...SHOW THEM. In order to truly effect someone, you must lead by example and SHOW them the change in you.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

My family is now almost 100% raw. My sister is 100% raw, and it has taken my parents over two years to begin to embrace this. Only this past year have they switched to 2 raw meals a day and all of their other "foods" bought from the farmer's markets. A little bit of educating people about their choices and about their dollar can make a HUGE difference...and they will THANK you for how much better they feel!

I do miss Costa Rica, and I was living a dream there, but now that I am back, I can very well see that I am needed here to make a difference. I am going to do everything I can to encourage more raw and inspire more people. I know I have a ton of people standing right beside me.
You can check out other interesting entries from the blog here:

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-jDIYJQk6ebPiokhbhZ8F4A--?cq=1

2007-06-18T06:37:00.001-07:00

Raw Myths

There are so many misconceptions that are passed off as truth in the raw food world. I see it all the time. There are many experts out there who have been uncovering these for the good of the general raw interested public. I’d like to take a few that stand out and discuss them.

“Eat whatever you want, as long as it’s raw…anything that is considered raw is healthy.”

No way!

This is so far from the truth.

Some raw meals and recipes contain more salt and fat than a fast food meal. There are many “gourmet” meals that have had all the water dehydrated out of them, and miscombined (fats and sugars), over-salted and spiced, which has left many people who constantly partake in them, confused, unsatisfied and frustrated with their physical and mental results on raw, leaving many giving up the raw food diet.

The error with this myth, is that people are being advised to eat anything they want as long as it’s raw, so that they aren’t hungry, they are encouraged to eat as many pieces of raw pie, pizza, burgers, and raw “treats” etc. as they need to in order to stay raw. They eat practically no fresh fruits or vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This may keep people from eating their old standard cooked diets, but it’s no healthier, and in many cases, far less healthy than what they were eating before.

In addition, the majority of people eating questionably fresh and healthy food, and overloading on raw fats, dehydrated foods and raw gourmet recipes rarely see the results they are looking for.

Truth be told, I haven’t actually witnessed, seen or heard of anyone who has met a health goal eating raw food this way. Please come out of the woodwork if you have! I’d love to know about it!

For the most part, they may feel a small difference in the beginning, as cooked food does take a toll on our bodies, and coming off those denatured and damaging foods initially will give people a small taste of a healthier feeling, but that soon dissipates if the person continues with non-fresh, heavy, dehydrated and/or mixed raw foods day in and day out.

This includes yours truly. I’ve been on and off raw several times, and let me say that eating a wildcard raw diet was the most effective the first time around – but going back on the raw diet with gourmet recipes goodies at every meal gave me no results and actually made me feel just as worn out and tired, if not more, than on cooked.

We have gotten so far away from real raw food, we should really be calling this diet the “Fresh Food Diet”, because the best foods are found in whole, fresh form, ripe and ready to eat, and not mixed up with a bunch of other foods, dehydrated, over spiced and concentrated (as in oils, nut butters, etc.) The very best foods, which should be the center of the diet, are fresh ripe fruits, vegetables, and greens complimented by small amounts nuts and seeds. Instead of making a raw pizza or a raw pie as a meal, the meal should be as many pieces of fruits and vegetables as needed to satisfy a person’s hunger.

Should people starting out on raw ever use gourmet recipes and fractionated processed “raw” foods? Only if necessary. In the beginning, people transitioning to raw may experience cravings for heavier, more complicated and more concentrated foods. But by making those raw recipes an everyday habit, it’s like trading one bad habit for another. The habit of eating unnatural food will never be broken if one never gets used to eating naturally.

You could be thinking: “But I really want to enjoy these gourmet recipes, because I’m not ready to eat that simply, all of the time”.

I hear you. That is a very valid place to be, and you are certainly not alone in those thoughts. You can have the best of both worlds.

Try this tip if you are in that recipe rut!

* Allow yourself just one heavy recipe/meal a day in the beginning, after you have at least 1 piece of fruit before the meal. If you can have more than 1 piece of fruit beforehand, great!

* After a couple of weeks reduce your heavy recipe/meal to 3 times a week for the next week, again make sure you eat at least 1 piece of fruit before the recipe or heavier food. Try not to wait more than a couple of weeks to do this,

* By now you should be comfortable enough to start eating more and more fresh food, but if not, in a month, drop the heavy, gourmet stuff to once a week.

2007-06-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Third Meal of the Day & Snacks

Usually your third meal of the day will be your evening meal.

There are a couple different things you may want to do:

Heavy

If you are really, really hungry you may want to have a more heavy, satisfying meal.

This could be a large salad with some nuts, olives, or avocado.

Or it could be a more complex type of raw recipe if you are in a transitional phase.

If you are still eating cooked food, you may choose to eat some complex carbohydates like rice, potatoes and steamed veggies.

Light

If you already had a heavy meal at lunch or just want something sweet, fruit is the perfect choice here.

You could have a lovely fruit pudding of bananas and mangos whirled around in the food processor. Optional: make it tropical by adding young coconut meat or sprinkling dried coconut on top.

Or you could do a nice fruit smoothie, or a cold fruit soup. Strawberries blended with orange juice, agave nectar, honey etc. makes a wonderful soup.

A bowl of grapes or sliced melon is another refreshing light choice.

Snacks

When you don't eat enough to satisfy you to the next meal, and especially during transition, you will be prone to snack or even have smaller meals in between larger ones.

People tend to eat the worst when they are "snacking", whether it is a lick of something they are preparing for others, a bite of pizza, a cookie, a piece of bread, etc. snacks almost always are the cause of people "blowing" their diets. So, being prepared, mentally and physically with plenty of choices will help avoid these pitfalls.

Here are some suggestions:

~ 1 cup of dates

~ 2-3 bananas

~ Baby carrots or celery sticks with optional nut butter, guacamole or hummus

~ A handful of sun-dried raisins

~ Romaine hearts

~ 12 oz. fresh orange juice from 3-4 squeezed oranges

~ Sugar snap peas

If you are transitioning and want something a bit heavier or heartier:

~ Home made trail mix (nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut, etc.)

~ Homemade raw cookies, truffles, fudge or brownies

~ Just Corn (freeze dried corn by Just Tomatoes brand - great movie snack)

~ Sulfite and sugar-free dried fruit from the health food store, such as mango cheeks, pineapple rings, tart cherries, figs, prunes, apricots etc. These may not be techinically raw as they are dried under higher heat settings but work for beginners or transitioners.

2007-06-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Second Meal of the Day

If the first meal of the day was very light and juicy, then you might be wanting something a bit heavier for your next meal.

This varies from person to person, but for me, I sometimes desire something pretty filling, such as a dense fruit like bananas or mangoes, or a great big salad.

If you are not used to eating a lot of fruit in a sitting, then the salad following a plate or bowl of fruit would be a great idea. If only a salad is eaten for lunch, you may crave something sweet right afterward, so either a glass of orange juice, or some cut up melon or any other kind of fruit is ideal right before the salad.

This time of year is my favorite for fruit. Peaches, berries, melons and plums are available right now, and getting them during the peak of the season is the best thing on your palette and wallet. Any of these fruits would make a perfect lunch, either plain, in a smoothie or made into a luscious pudding or even a sorbet by freezing and running through the food processor.

However you choose to eat, enjoy your lunch with the freshest and ripest fruits and veggies and eat until you are completely satisfied!

2007-05-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

First meal of the day

Instead of moving on right away to second meal or lunch suggestions, I thought'd be a great idea to throw out some suggestions to those who might be finding the first meal of the day a bit of a struggle.

When you are used to waking up and eating heavy cooked foods, a lot of animal protein or even cold cereal like granola and almond milk, eating fruit can be a challenge.

So here are some ideas that you may want to think about.

1 - Variety - there should be lots of different fruit options available. So if you don't feel like eating half a melon, then grapes or pears (or whatever you picked out at the store) should be easily accessible. Make sure there are at least 3 different fruit choices for your breakfast.

2 - Abundance - there should be enough fruit around to get full on. Eating 2 oranges may not be satisfying for everyone - some people will want to eat 10 of them.

3 - Ripeness - Eating a hard pear or mango is just not very pleasing to someone who is very hungry. Bananas that are all yellow are very starchy and can be hard on a stomach. Fruit needs to yield to slight pressure and bananas should have spots on them. Some people can handle very ripe fruit while others don't care for the flavor, sometimes it gets some getting use to.

4 - Space - many people will throw their hands up and reach for a quick bowl of cereal if the kitchen is messy with dishes and junk all around. Make sure your dishes are done the night before and the counters are nice and clean. If you want, you can put a cutting board and sharp knife out to entice you to cut into your fruit first thing in the morning.

5 - Hesitation - many times we are not hungry when we first wake up. But then, if we wait, we'll often get so hungry that we are not in the mood for fruit, if we are unaccustomed to eating it on a regular basis as a meal. So if you are new to eating fruit in the morning, try to have some before you get hungry to curb your appetite. This way you won't make a mistake or get an insatiable craving for something you should not have. It really works. Once you get used to eating fruit for meals, it becomes so much easier to reach for it when you feel famished.

6 - Lightness - The feeling of a full, heavy stomach after eating is common to a cooked eater and bad food combining. It doesn't mean anything healthy to have a full feeling when you are done eating. If you aren't used to feeling light after a full meal, you may feel unsatisfied. These things take a while, they don't happen overnight. Once you get used to the way you feel after eating a meal of fruit you will really like that feeling, so allow an adjustment period.

7 - Boredom - if you get sick or board of eating fruit straight up, try using a blender, adding juice, or pureeing some fruit up in a food processor for a pudding. Sometimes it's more fun and satisfying to eat a banana-mango pudding than eating bananas and mangoes, or orange juice blended up with strawberries than eating the fruit whole. After a while you may want to eat the fruit whole and feel more satisfied doing so.

8 - Too Sweet - there aren't any hard and fast rules that you have to eat sweet fruit in the morning. You may want to eat bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. or maybe you want to make a veggie juice or soup. Follow your palette.

I hope these ideas and suggestions gave some insight on eating your breakfast!

2007-05-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

What Am I Supposed To Eat Then?

This is a follow-up to my last entry about eating too much fat. After reading this, many people new to the raw food lifestyle may be scratching their heads wondering what in the world can they eat?

First I'm going to preface this by mentioning that reducing your fat intake does not have to be a sudden thing. This may be a more difficult feat for some than others, so if drastically reducing an already high fat intake is a challenge, take it slow and steady. Log on to a free nutritional analysis site, like http://www.fitday.com/, http://www.nutridiary.com/ or http://www.sparkpeople.com/ and put in everything you ate for a few days just to see your percentage.

If you ate a recipe, then enter all the ingredients in measurements and it will give you a percentage, even if you didn't eat the whole recipe, it is the percentage that you want to look at. If you ate over 60% of your calories from fat, then you are eating way more fat than is recommended, and you may want to aim for no more than 40% fat for the next few weeks to make things easier. You can start reducing it after that as you feel comfortable. Most health experts advise no more than 10%-15% calories coming from fat.

Just a note, that you do not have to keep entering your daily intake for more than a few days. Once you enter a few days' worth of food, you'll see what needs to be tweaked. The key is, that the more calories you eat in a day, the more fat you can eat.

If you weren't hungry at all but had a couple of handfuls of nuts, then you could be eating 70-80% fat, just because all you had were the nuts, and nothing to offset them. The amount of calories you take in is entirely up to you, but if you are very active, the amount of calories you should be eating is your weight x 10 plus what you are burning off in activity.

Example - if you weigh 150 pounds and are active, you'll want to get eat at least 1,500 calories plus extra to make up for the calories you burn in activity. However if you are not active or don't feel like eating anything, your calorie intake will vary. So this is just a guideline.

It is so common today that prepared raw foods, recipes, and products available to the public tend to be very dense and abnormally high in fat. Years and years ago, the pioneer raw foodists were eating fresh fruits and vegetables as meals, and smaller amounts of fats. This I believe was the ideal kind of raw diet. they weren't supplementing with superfoods and oils as many are today.

Now it is popular, even chic to be eating coconut oil, hemp seeds, pumpkin butter, superfood smoothies made with cocoa and a lot of fats.

There are many recipes out there that are loaded with nuts and fats. One in particular I've seen gain popularity is a cheesecake recipe. The main ingredients consists of lots of cashews, macadamia nuts and coconut oil and a liquid sweetener. Many folks were trying out this recipes and exclaiming how it tasted just like the real thing. However, this recipe contained over 65% fat. Whether you eat one bite, one piece or the whole cake, the percentage is the same.

Out of curiosity, I made half a recipe for the holidays a couple of years ago. I anxiously tried it and to me, it didn't even come close to a cheesecake. In fact, it tasted very fatty, as if I was eating a stick of sweetened frozen butter (it had to be kept frozen in order for it to stay firm).

While enjoying recipes are great, sometimes people with eating disorders or who may have a hard time with food addictions really need to take caution with some of those recipes. People were eating cheesecakes, puddings and pies for breakfast while patting themselves on the back for "staying raw". In my opinion, a bowl of natural cooked oatmeal would have been far healthier as a breakfast option.

Which brings me back to the original topic, "what am I supposed to eat?"

So for today's entry, we'll start with breakfast.

Many raw fooders believe that adding a fat to their smoothie is beneficial. It is not uncommon for people to add tablespoons of fat, such as coconut oil, flax seed oil, or flax seeds themselves to a smoothie.

There are many problems with this, the first being that most people don't require that amount of fat, especially when breaking a fast. In addition, mixing fat with fruit is a recipe for many problems, at the very least a bad case of indigestion and gas, and at the worst blood sugar problems which may contribute or worsen things like candida and diabetes.

Here are some ideas for breakfast:

Fresh squeezed orange juice

Young coconut water - this has a little more fat, but it's still under 10% calorically

An all fruit smoothie. You can use orange juice or plain water as the base, add bananas and mangoes for creaminess, then any other kind of fruit like pineapple, peaches, berries, frozen fruit and ice cubes if you like your smoothies cold. I prefer to keep the variety to a minimum, usually no more than 3 kinds of fruit.

Mono fruit. You can eat one kind of fruit such as several oranges, several peaches, kiwi, grapefruit, grapes or whatever you desire. Although this is simple, you will be surprised at how enjoyable the flavor is. Eat as much you'd like, but make sure you are hungry first!

Fruit salad - mixing 2 or more fruits. Bananas and berries, pineapples and oranges, peaches & pears, etc.

Most people prefer to skip breakfast, which is perfectly fine. Breakfast is only the most important meal of the day when you eat it properly. It is better not to eat at all if you aren't going to give yourself the appropriate type of fuel.

Sometimes I will just drink a big glass of water, which is a great way to cleanse the body after a night of detox. If you are waking up with a heavy head and a funny taste in your mouth, your body is in full detox mode and has worked hard the night before, so be gentle with it the next morning. Especially if you haven't done any kind of activity, there may be no real need to re-fuel. So eating light, or drinking water or juice may be the easiest on your body.

The next entry we will talk about lunch options.

2007-05-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Big Fat Debate

Over the years on a raw food diet, I've noticed that one of the many on-going debates is about fat intake.

Fat, fat, fat. It is a touchy subject for some. It's been discussed and over-discussed, and some raw discussion sites even prohibit fat from being discussed!

But we will discuss it here. There are 2 different types of eaters when it comes to fat, obviously, the low fat eaters and the high fat eaters.

The low fat eaters may be consciously eating low fat, or may be mono-mealing or just plain enjoying their food with very small amounts of fat.

The high fat eaters are either aware or unaware of the high amount of fat intake they are eating on a daily basis. The ones who are aware are usually doing it because they believe eating a lot of fat is really good for them. Or they could be those who know that over-eating fat is not so good for them, but they are in a habit of reaching for the higher fat foods. This is a problem I face at times. I will be eating really well, and then I can get sucked into the "fat trap", whether it is from a raw source or a non-raw source.

The ones who seem to be eating a lot of fat really don't believe or feel they are, and they feel like purposely eating a lot of it is going to be healing and beneficial to them. The reason why they don't believe they are eating a lot of daily fat on a regular basis is because they don't look at their intake on a caloric level, they look at it on a meal level (some research found that raw food eaters commonly take in over 60% fat on a daily basis!)

Plus, when they eat a very fat-heavy meal or recipe, it can be enough fat for an entire week, but since it's only ONE meal or ONE recipe and the rest of the meals are moderate to low-fat, people tend to think that they are eating "well".

I have eaten raw so many different ways. And when I was eating a fat and recipe heavy raw diet, I hardly felt much different from eating cooked, because what I was doing was replacing the heaviness of cooked grains with the heaviness of fats.

Many raw food experts will say that this is perfectly fine, because the fat is still raw, but lets take a look at how fresh it really is, because the object of eating raw food is healing our bodies, correct? If we aren't getting fresh food into us, our bodies will react to the food differently than raw, as if we were still eating cooked, even though we think that food it raw.

Oils - Sometimes I wonder if we were even meant to be ingesting oils (and pure fats such as lard, butter, margarine, etc.) since really, it's not found in nature. Yes, oils are naturally IN things such as nuts, seeds and fatty fruits, but they are in perfect amounts in these foods. But oils are a form of extracted 100% pure fat.

I hardly use oil for eating purposes and when I do it is sparingly. And it is usually for external purposes, such as hair and skin. In the Bible, oils were used for burning candles and anointing, which tells me the purpose for oils is really external.

Nuts - There have not been too many people who haven't ventured into a raw food lifestyle and not over-consumed on nuts. I did, mostly in recipes, but I still did.

It is so very easy to overeat nuts, when there's a bag of conveniently shelled and supposedly "raw" almonds, cashews, walnuts, pine nuts, etc. right in front of you. They are not like this on the trees. I have not been privileged to eat a truly fresh nut, but I can imagine they take some effort to open and are soft inside.

In nature, it would not be probable that someone ready to eat a meal would sit under the nut tree, opening 100 nuts and eating them, as this would take half a day! The nuts that are available to us in bulk are void of any water, we don't know how long they've been sitting on shelves, and really, most of them may not even be viable, or sproutable.

We know that raw almonds are soon to be endangered, and most of us have been aware that cashews are heated at high temperatures to release them from their shells. Other nuts such as walnuts and pecans are hard to determine because I've never been able to sprout them myself.

Seeds - In nature, seeds are in fruits and many vegetables, and often we eat them intuitively, for instance in cucumbers and tomatoes. However, we hear how healthy it is to eat flax, pumpkin, sesame and hemp seeds. So many times we will overeat them in seed butters, oils, and seed milks. I tend to think that eating an abundance of seeds or seed products on their own is not even close to promoting health as eating fresh fruits and vegetables. As mentioned above regarding nuts, eating them in abundance seems to be un-natural.

Fatty Fruits - Some of the tastiest foods - avocados, fresh coconuts and other fruits such as the durian have higher amounts of fats in them. Usually these foods are very filling so it doesn't take much to satisfy, but these are probably the healthiest sources of fat as they are in the most natural state.

Olives - This is another tasty example of a high fat food, which would be hard to eat in abundance. In reality olives are quite bitter, so after the procedures of drying and salting, what remains is not very close at all to what came off the tree.

I hope that highlighting the main foods that people eating raw food eat, will help some think about where fat is coming from and how much one may be eating. The best fat is the freshest, least concentrated and processed and in small amounts.

Based on my own experience, when I eat concentrated raw fats or just plain higher raw fat recipes and meals, my intake of fresh fruits and vegetables drops dramatically. Since my appetite has been suppressed by the heavier foods, I no longer have hunger for the fresher, water rich, whole foods that are going to allow my body to heal. But the interesting thing is, when I do have those higher fat meals, I tend to want something "sweet" afterward. This is telling me I haven't had enough fruit during the day.

Some quotes about fat:

"Udo Erasmus, author of Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, has
extensively researched the topic of fat consumption and health. What's more, he sells fat for a living. Yet in his book, he recommends we eat just 15-20% of our calories as fat." pg. 111 The 80/10/10 Diet, Dr. Douglas Graham

"The high-fat raw foods that well-meaning raw chefs, teachers, and authors promote are very likely to cause in raw fooders many of the same health issues that plague cooked-food eaters, including candida, chronic and intermittent fatigue, and even heart disease. These maladies result in large part from excess fat in the bloodstream, a correlation explained in Chapter 2" pg. 129 The 10/10/10 Diet, Dr. Douglas Graham

"Fat is not 'bad' either; we just consume too much of it. The average person needs to consume less than fourteen grams of fat to meet the daily requirements of essential fatty acids, which your body needs to synthesize a variety of important substances. Unfortunately, the average American consumes at least eight times that amount." pg. 255-256 Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease

"high-fat meals, in contrast to low-fat meals, can cause considerable increases in plasma triglycerides and plasma levels of blood coagulation factors which lead to a blood clot or thrombosis in the heart artery" Dr. McDougall Newsletter http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_vegetable_fat.html

2007-05-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of interesting articles about dairy...

______

Dairy may cause weight gain

More misleading information that the Dairy Industry did not want you to know is now uncovered. They've been advertising that consuming dairy helps you to lose weight.

Not only have they misled the public in the past with their unscrupulous ads that it "does a body good" but now they can no longer claim that drinking it causes weight loss.

_____

USDA and Dairy Industry Halt Misleading Weight-Loss Ads After Physicians Group Complains to Federal Trade Commission

Cheese and Milk Actually Likely to Cause Weight Gain, Doctors Say

WASHINGTON—In a victory for consumers, two national dairy advertising campaigns overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture will stop claiming that dairy products cause weight loss because such claims are not supported by existing scientific research, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced in a letter to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The decision, which comes in response to an FTC petition filed by PCRM, will end misleading claims made in the “Milk Your Diet. Lose Weight” and “3-A-Day. Burn More Fat, Lose Weight” promotions.

In the FTC petition, PCRM charged that the dairy industry has used false and misleading advertising in its multimillion-dollar, celebrity-filled marketing campaign suggesting that consuming milk and other dairy products causes weight loss. In response, the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices met with USDA staff and representatives of the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board and the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, who agreed to discontinue all advertising and other marketing activities involving weight-loss claims pending further research into the issue. The decision also applies to affiliated entities, including Dairy Management Inc.

“Milk and cheese are more likely to pack on pounds than help people slim down,” said Dan Kinburn, PCRM’s general counsel. “This case calls into question other advertising claims made by the industry, especially the notion that milk builds strong bones. Evidence shows it does nothing of the kind.”

The dairy industry’s weight-loss campaign was based largely on small studies conducted by Michael Zemel, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at the University of Tennessee whose funding came from dairy industry sources. Independent research, including a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has found that dairy product consumption either has little or no effect on weight loss or actually increases body weight.

A recent study in the International Journal of Cancer found a disturbing link between dairy consumption and increased prostate cancer risk, something previously identified in two Harvard studies.

For a copy of the FTC letter or an interview with Mr. Kinburn or a PCRM physician or nutritionist, please contact Patrick Sullivan at 510-834-8680.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical research studies, opposes unethical human experimentation, and promotes alternatives to animal research.

http://www.pcrm.org/news/release070511.html

2007-05-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Taking grandma's milk away

Many of my family members have been ending up with alzheimers and dementia in their older years, leading to a painful, slow death full of medication, illness and full-time care in nursing homes. This has been a big concern for some of us who are getting up in our years. We know that calcium is essential but getting it through plant foods is the safest and healthiest way to do it.

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Excess calcium in elderly 'linked to dementia'

By John von Radowitz, PA Science Correspondent
Published: 14 May 2007

Calcium and vitamin D in dairy products may be helping to cause brain damage and dementia in older men and women, new research suggests.

Scientists believe too much calcium can narrow blood vessels in the brain, leading to neural damage.

The effect may be compounded by vitamin D, which regulates calcium retention and activity.
Researchers made the discovery after scanning the brains of 79 men and 153 women aged between 60 and 86.

All had at least a number of brain lesions - areas of tissue damage.

They varied in size and included tiny ones often seen even in healthy older people. But participants consuming the most calcium and vitamin D were significantly more likely to have a higher total volume of brain lesions.

Age, high blood pressure and other medical and mental conditions, including depression, made no difference to the results.

In earlier studies, the same US team found that individuals who consumed high amounts of fatty dairy products had larger numbers of brain lesions.

However, fat intake in general was not a significant factor. The researchers wanted to find out if a factor other than fat caused the harmful effects of a high dairy diet.

The new findings, presented at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington DC, point to calcium, which exists in abundance in dairy foods. Its regulator, vitamin D, is also found in many dairy products as well as vitamin-fortified foods such as margarine, breakfast cereal and bread.

Study leader Dr Martha Payne, from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said: "At this point, we do not know if high calcium and vitamin D intake are involved with the causation of brain lesions, but the study provides support to the growing number of researchers who are concerned about the effects of too much calcium, particularly among older adults, given the current emphasis on promoting high intakes of calcium and vitamin D."

Her team is continuing to investigate possible ways in which high levels of calcium and vitamin D might damage the brain.

The leading theory is that when too much calcium is absorbed into blood vessel walls it produces bone-like deposits. This calcification may narrow the blood vessels and make them less flexible, reducing the blood flow through them.

In the brain, neurons could be deprived of blood and die, causing the lesions that increase the risk of cognitive impairment, dementia, depression and stroke.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2539565.ece

2007-05-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

Got a comment or question?

There'll be a new Mailbag feature on Raw Step by Step for comments, questions and answers. No question is stupid, so please don't hesitate. Obviously I can't give medical advice, but I can give my opinion and current knowledge on practically anything, or I can find an answer for you.

Please send your questions, comments and inquiries to info@rawstepbystep.com I will only publish your first name or no name at all if you prefer.

Hope to get lots of feedback. Fire, erm I mean ask away!

2007-05-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

Fun news!

Next Monday will mark my 40th year around the sun. It is a bittersweet moment for me. My father, as well as many relatives have had heart attacks before they reached 40. I have inheredited the same cholesterol disorder, but I feel the Lord is watching over me, and has led me down the path searching for healing through a healthier lifestyle instead of pills & procedures through doctors and hospitals.

I appreciate doctors though. They do serve us when we need it, for emergencies and urgencies, but not diseases and disorders. Those cannot be covered with bandaids in bottles. This is where we need to search and find the answers to healing our own problems.

I am excited to offer all my e-books from my site www.rawstepbystep.com for only $4.95, and to those who order all 6 e-books, they will receive the Health Journey PDF chart absolutely FREE.

I am also happy to be able to offer a raw food service by donation to those living in the area. If you are interested, or would like to have an item shipped to where you live, please send an e-mail to info@rawstepbystep.com and I will send you the monthly menu.

2007-04-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Almonds are our friends!

Mandatory Almond Pasteurization

This has become a hot topic in the past few weeks within the raw and living foods community. The Almond Board has issued an "Action Plan" (see - http://www.almondboard.com/Programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=890&snItemNumber=450) that later this year all almonds (with a few exceptions) must be pasteurized, and there will be no indication on the label.

Why is this a big deal, you may ask? Because consumers will be lead to believe that they are purchasing viable almonds. Once the nut has been denatured, it cannot be sprouted. The almond is dead vs. living. This means that the nutrients and enzymes have been compromised and your body will not recognize it in the same way that it recognizes a truly raw, sproutable almond.

The reason for this plan is from 2 incidences of salmonella occuring from raw almonds. 2 incidences. If you can imagine for a moment the number of incidences of bacteria from undercooked meats, eggs, fish and the recent problems with spinach. All of these foods are still being sold in their raw, fresh forms.

Part of the problem is that almost all almonds will be pasteurized, and the other problem is that the almond packages will still indicate "raw" on them. Pasteurization is clearly a heat process, which dentures and compromises all living nutrients.

Here is a petition requesting that unpasteurized almonds should remain available, and that almonds that are pasteurized should be labled as such: http://www.gopetition.com/online/11754.html

Here is the e-mail address to the Almond Board: rule@almondboard.com

2007-03-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

I was off my feet for a day after pulling my hip out in taekwondo the other day. I took my lap top in bed with me and got a lot of work accomplished that I had been putting off for a couple of months now. It took an amazing and relatively short amount of time to accomplish what I had been putting off for so long!

Procrastination takes a lot more time and energy than action.

Keep that in mind when you are thinking about taking action about your health. There is no better time than now to take control of things in your life and go for it. Then once you do, it is so easy, that it is hard to fathom how or why you procrastinated about it in the first place!

2007-01-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

What are you eating?

"Sharon - I did so well today on my food intake, you are going to be so proud of me!"

"Whadya eat?" I ask with excitement.

"Well, first, on the way to work I went over to Jiffy Juice and got a smoothie - oh it was so yummy and sweet!"

"Oh really - that sounds great - what was in it?" I wonder.

"Well, there were strawberries in there, and some juice, and they put a scoop of this bright colored powder, and then I think - oh, ya, there was vanilla frozen yogurt in there. Doesn't that sound great?"

"Ummm...doesn't sound like you had much fruit in there!" I say.

**Juice from smoothie joints are often pasteurized. Frozen yogurt contains refined sugar and additives and there is a lot of sugar and artificial flavorings in the powders that are often used. Sometimes fruit in syrup is used as well. Be sure to ask what is fresh and for dairy and sugar-free smoothies**

"Anyway, whadya have for lunch?" I inquire.

"Oh, this is where I was REALLY good. I got this huge salad at the restaurant. Oh, it was so wonderful!"

"Wow, a salad!" I say "That's great! What kind of salad was it?"

"Oh it was a beautiful green salad with all kinds of veggies, but there was some chicken on it."

"Oh, chicken?" I say "What else was on there?" I start wondering suspiciously.

"That was the worst thing - just the chicken, oh there were some croutons and cheese - but that wasn't a big deal - right?"

"Um, okay. Well what about the dressing?" I ask.

"Oh, I just got ranch dressing - I figured since I got a salad, I was so good that I deserved some ranch!"

**Restaurants often offer salads that are no more than a regular unhealthy meal dumped in a bowl full of greens. Restaurant salads usually contain plenty of meat, cheese and noodles or croutons, and the dressings are full of fat, refined sugar and salt, and additives. People are fooling themselves if they believe that a standard entree sized restaurant salad is a healthier option than a meal. The best thing to order in a restaurant is an entree sized GARDEN salad, with everything on the side. This way you can be sure of getting everything you want and nothing you don't!**

"Well - what about your dinner" I am hoping my friend has redeemed herself here.

"I had a veggie burrito! Well, I know that wasn't all raw, but it was healthy, right?"

"Let me guess - the burrito had cheese and sour cream, right?" I ask

"How'd you know? It was a veggie burrito though!"

"Somehow I had a feeling!" I laugh.

"Well," My friend says "you make it sound like I didn't eat very well now," sulking.

"It's a learning process" I patiently answered.

"Well, you'll be really happy how I ended my day. I had a whole bag of baby carrots..." my friend cautiously tells me.

"Well, that was probably the healthiest thing you ate all day! Congratulations!" I pat my friend on the back.

**Some people believe that if they make a juice or have some fruit or veggies in addition to their normal standard fare they really are eating "healthy". While doing this is a step in the right direction, they are still eating their cheeseburgers, pizza, and other damaging foods which are not health-promoting.

Even though it is a process, be sure to look are your WHOLE MENU. If you are eating animal products or cooked food on a daily basis, you may need to re-think or readjust your diet. Even if you are not ready to eat 100% raw or 100% vegan, at least eliminate some of the damaging food from your diet 80% of the time, that way you are working toward your goal.

We can't get the results we want if we don't change**

2007-01-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Exciting news here for 2007! Just finished our Four-week Health Journey chart! You can check out the video here:

http://www.rawstepbystep.com/healthjourney.php

Also we put out a groovy gallery of recipe photos from the E-book. Here's the link for that one:

http://www.rawstepbystep.com/recipeimages.php

Our first newsletter should be out in the next day or so. If you haven't signed up for it yet, just head over to www.rawstepbystep.com.

2006-12-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

Some thought-provoking comics...

See more at: http://www.newstarget.com/index-cartoons.html

2006-12-12T15:11:00.000-08:00

Raw any way you like it

Note - I had written this earlier this year. I had it on my RawkyMountainHealth site. This is a good reminder of not to be too strict or too liberal when you are eating. It is so easy to go either way, that you can get frustrated or carried away with what you are doing, just a reminder that balance is the key here!

---

One thing I have seen on many specific raw discussion groups is the mindset that there is one type of way to eat raw which works for every body.

You may notice that there are 2 different examples (for the most part) people going raw use who tend not to stick with it too long:

1) Eating simple and mono-mealing -

Strictly fruits and vegetables with small amounts of fats like avocados, and nuts and seeds; sometimes eating one type of food at a meal.

In this instance, it may be too extreme for some to go from a complicated cooked diet to such a simple one.

Eating too simply too fast in the beginning may leave a newbie bored or hungry for more complex foods that was eaten before starting raw.

A person can be used to eating small portions of dense foods like cooked animal products, grains and fats which are very filling, and not be used eating enough fresh plant food to fill themselves up.

However, for others, this works well IF their diet was already uncomplicated and hassle-free.

It requires almost no prep time, and can be easily adapted to most any situation away from home. This diet would enable a person to heal from disease and lose weight rapidly.

2) Wildcard diet -

Eat what you want as long as it's raw - eating heavier, richer seasoned foods, commonly using recipes as meals, not centering meals around fresh whole plant foods.

The second type of diet can really set up a person to start craving cooked food as many of these recipes mimic a favorite cooked dish, such as burgers, pizzas, cakes, etc.

The term "eat it as long as it's raw" can also be confusing to a newbie who doesn't quite grasp what raw food actually is. Some people tend to over eat "raw" things like nut butters, nuts, oils, "raw" energy bars, etc. instead of using fresh foods, thinking that they are health promoting. Many seasonings and condiments are used to appease a cooked palette.

It can be expensive between the equipment, ingredients and waste of a recipe that doesn't turn out well. Or it can keep a person's cravings alive, eventually leading them back to cooked foods.

However this can work well with those who need to be filled up if they are used to over-eating and/or eating dense or fast foods, and are actually able go through the process of moving on to simpler foods without turning back to cooked food. Detox and healing is slower and more comfortable.

In my years of raw food experience, I started off with the 2nd instance with much recipe-making and it has backfired. Moving on to simpler foods didn't happen with me, and I went through a lot of money on those recipes. The same thing has happened to most people I know trying the same route.

Now I have seen it work with a few people, so I know it is possible. But they are few and far between. There have been those who have tried the simpler way and have had problems as well. Many have stayed on the diet and had great results, but then crashed and burned in a matter of months.

Yet there have been many people who have come from a higher fat, recipe heavy "as long as it's raw" type of raw diet, gone off the diet, and then started back on raw using the simpler lower fat style with great success.

Many people I've found do not want to even try the raw food diet for two reasons:

1. They don't want to try it because they are turned off by the thought of only eating fruit and salads.

2. They are turned off or intimidated by the high cost and time of doing all those recipes.

If you are not sure which way to go, I suggest trying a balance -

eat what you want as long as it's FRESH (meaning something you find in the produce section, or has recently been picked off a plant),

and if you run into problems like cravings or wanting more or different, then try a simple recipe or two, and halve the recipe so that you don't spend too much money or time on something that you might not end up liking.

Give yourself a limit on the amounts of dense dehydrated foods like nuts and recipes. You might want to portion them out into bags so you don't get into a cycle of daily overeating non-fresh foods.

In conclusion, I don't believe that eating whatever you want as long as it's raw with wild abandon works for most people in the long term.

I believe that people who work toward a goal and incorporate some kind of control and/or discipline end up getting what they want out of any kind of dietary and lifestyle change.

"It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop" - Confucius

Last words of advice - even though you may change the road that leads to your destination, try your best not to stop or go back the other way. Just keep charging ahead and keep your eye on the prize. You may chose to take a few extra steps along the way, or take a couple of short-cuts, or even sit down and rest, but don't let that stop you from getting there.

Sharon Oliver ©2006

2006-11-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

Advice to the hosts and guests on Thanksgiving!

It has come to my attention, as it does every year, that many people on a raw or vegan diet are now cringing about going to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. And many people hosting traditional Thanksgiving dinners are now cringing about having to prepare something for the vegan or raw foodist coming to your dinner.

Firstly, let us all remember what this holiday represents.

We give thanks for the freedoms that our forefathers worked so hard at attaining.

We also give thanks for everything we've been blessed with and those we love and cherish.

We also give thanks for having food on the table.

Are we specific about the kind of food? No, we are just thankful that we have food to eat!

So here are a few words of advice to the host/ess:

1) Please don't feel offended if one of your guests won't eat the food you've worked so hard at preparing.

2) There is no need to ask why they are eating this way, where do they get their protein or calcium, or pressure the person not wanting the food. Maybe they don't care for the food, maybe they have an allergy, or maybe there's a health reason behind it, but don't allow it to bother you!

3) Be sure to offer fresh food, at least a nice green salad with fresh vegetables (things like croutons, meats and cheese would be better on the side), and at least some fresh fruit. This way everyone at the table can enjoy the food.

4) There's no need to obsess over a guest who might look like they are not eating enough. Trust me, it is much more uncomfortable for the guest who is made the center of attention because their eating choices are different from everyone else's.

And here are a few words of advice to guests:

1) Ahead of time, casually let the host/ess know you eat mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. The word "raw" confuses most people and the host/ess may try to make some kind of elaborate raw dish which may not go over well.

2) Offer to bring a big salad or a fruit plate to share.

3) Do not make comments about how unhealthy everyone else's food is.

4) If someone asks you the protein question, Dr. Doug Graham suggests just telling them you feel great and you really never thought about it. The last thing you want to do is get into a big debate. If you get questioned a lot let them know you'd love to talk about it later.

Above all, just enjoy one another. When everyone is happy and relaxed the tension will be eased all around.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-10T15:08:00.000-08:00

Do you feel like you are deficient in something?

A look into deficiency vs. dependency.

I feel led to address this very issue because it's a concern I see so often when people are ready to embark or are starting out on raw, fresh foods.

Usually it goes like this:

"When I stop eating meat, I feel like I need to eat protein, so then I eat some meat and immediately I feel better."

"If I stop using this special oil or supplement I feel terrible, I have pains, and I'm weak, so I need to keep taking the supplement so I don't feel this way, which I know is a deficiency".

"I have to eat an egg every day otherwise I don't feel right".

When something cooked or not particularly natural or fresh for human consumption is removed from our diets that we have probably been eating for most of our lives, and especially have been eating on an everyday basis, we will experience heavy withdrawal symptoms.

Take coffee.

If you are a heavy or daily coffee drinker and remove it from your diet, what is usually going to happen?

You are going to have a withdrawal symptom from lack of coffee consumption, usually a very bad headache.

Why is this?

Because your body has become dependent on the substance and it actually requires you to coninutally eat or drink it in order for you to feel like "yourself" which is actually a lie. The body becomes accustomed to what its been given. You have conditioned your body to feel normal or even peppy by drinking your daily cup of joe.

Now, you know how to get rid of that headache immediately? Of course! Have a cup of coffee and your headache will be gone. Does that mean that your body was deficient of a nutrient?

Of course not!

Maybe it was deficient of COFFEE...but that isn't an essential nutrient you need in order to live, correct?

In the same way, taking away cooked food, animal products, grains, refined sugar, chocolate, alcohol or even certain supplements that you were once using daily is going to cause a withdrawal symptom. Maybe a headache, maybe nausea, maybe dizziness.

"But I just know I'm deficient because I just feel like I neeeeed this substance in my body because it is giving me SOMETHING my body needs", you may say.

Here are a couple of sure-fire ways to find out the truth if you absolutely think that your body needs something:

1) Take a blood test to see if you are really deficient in the said nutrient.

2) Take the substance out of your diet for 3 weeks. See how you feel. Actually record it so you remember how you felt the first 3 days that you stopped ingesting it vs. the end of the 3 weeks.

You'll know based on the blood test, or how you feel at the end of 3 weeks if you are really lacking something essential.

Natural, whole, fresh plant food in its raw state are going to give you the PERFECT amounts of optimal nutrients in their optimal state for your body. Nothing else can or will. Supplements that have been extracted, concentrated and processed may not even be recognizable or useable in your body.

Just knowing that your body can function optimally without the need for supplementation or other products can really save you a lot of money and peace of mind.

2006-10-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

When life gives you snow....

We had a huge snow storm just a couple of days ago. I woke up to a snow covered view outside my window. It continued to snow all day long. And we couldn't leave the house as the snow was just too deep for our little car.

I think in my SAD (Standard American Diet) days had we run out of bread or an animal product like milk there might have been panic.

Oh no, there's no milk, there's no bread, whatever will do? I can just imagine being the thought of concern.

Even though the family is not totally vegetarian like myself, they are accustomed to having fruit meals and many vegetarian meals, that running out of something like that is no big deal. In fact, creativity occurs at a higher rate when there is a limited selection of food in the house.

My son put a large bowl outside and collected some fresh snow. We had some great snow cones with strawberry sauce. Made me think of the saying - "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"... so when life gave us snow, we made snow cones!

The next day it was 68 degrees F again and most of it melted off. The kids had a blast sledding and making snow people on the rooftop.

The moral of all this is, don't only make the best of what you have, but have fun with it. I think people often feel like they are "settling"with what they have been "given". We create our own environment, really, so have a blast and enjoy life, whether you've been given lemons or snow.

A life of abundance is possible in any circumstance. Who is to say a family living on the street feels any less abundant than a family living in a Bel Air mansion?

It is all in the perception of how fulfilled and thankful you are, not what you've been given.

2006-10-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here's the best fruit smoothie ever!!!

And the easiest to make.

I make enough for my family of 5.

Sometimes I make a whole quart for myself, so I'll double the recipe. Then everyone's glasses get filled all the way.

Sometimes I will add a handful of greens like parsley, spinach, or baby greens.

I started to get burnt out on the green smoothies, so I've been doing lots of fruit lately.

Fruit Smoothie

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
4 ripe bananas
1 bag frozen strawberries
2 cups frozen mango

Blend. If you don't have a high speed blender, partially thaw the frozen fruits before blending, so you don't burn your blender out!

2006-10-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Fear!

Going into unchartered territory is always scary. You hear about how wonderful it is, but since you have never tried it yourself, there is a fear of leaving your comfortable existence even though the path ahead will only get better.

Why is this so? I believe that most of us are not risk takers, but dreamers. And it is so much easier to dream in our comfortable places without having to make an effort to make our dreams come true.

We may be afraid that we will fail, and then what do we do? How do we explain to others close to us who see us fail?

But most of all, I believe that we really fear succeeding, more than failing. When do we ever NOT fail? Most of our failures have brought us to a better place, because we've bettered ourselves from the learning experience.

Yet succeeding. Succeeding can be scary, because what will be expected of us when we are so much bigger and better? We will be out of our comfort zones of "perpetual failure". Or we do not want to appear better than others because it will make us appear un-humble.

The good news is, you are worthy of success and what your heart desires. There is no 'elite' who deserve anything more than you do. Instead of figuring out why you should feel this way, it is better to persue what you want. Because in the time it takes to learn that you are worthy, you can already be taking your first steps to acquire it.

Taking the first steps up makes success not seem so scary. Push through the mental block that is stopping you from moving ahead. Just push it out of the way, and it will make your future steps to succeeding so much easier. There is no trick to doing it, except to start.

Take the first step now.

-----------------------------------------------------

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson

2006-10-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

Where is the proof? Where are those studies? I need scientific evidence!

These are questions and demands often asked by folks who are usually hesitant to give up their favorite foods.

Perhaps the drive isn't hard enough to just put it into gear and go.

Or perhaps there is too much conventional medicine in a person's past to trust something so basic.

But many times it's people who are "hemming and hawing" actually using it as an excuse not to start down the raw food path.

Besides the many personal testimonies of healing on raw food, there are plenty of individual studies and experiments here and there that will appear on the news, a medical journal or on a website.

Here are some sites, info and studies about the benefits of a raw food diet.

http://www.iowasource.com/food/lenkastudy_0806.html

http://rawveganproof.blogspot.com/

2006-09-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

Agave Nectar vs. Honey....

What someone new to the world of raw food may be wondering - what is the difference? Which one should I use? Is one sweeter than the other? Do I use them in the same amounts? Is one more healthy than the other?

This is my experience using these two sweeteners in raw food preparation:

Before I start with the comparisons, I would like to note that the optimal way to use these is in a raw, organic state. Cooked sugars react differently in a body just as all cooked foods do.

Buying raw agave nectar and raw or uncooked honey is your best bet. Honey may need to state "unheated" or "heated at low temperatures" as often the honey needs to be warmed for processing, but not cooked. Buying them organic whenever possible will insure that there are no pesticides or chemicals in your product.

Agave Nectar

Agave nectar is a very fluid, very sweet, clean tasting sweetener. It tastes just like cotton candy to me. It will not overpower a recipe, or give it a heavy rich flavor. It's purpose is solely to sweeten, just as you'd use sugar. However, agave nectar is extremely sweet so you may find that you do not need to use quite as much as you would honey or regular white sugar. You may only need to use three-fourths the amount of agave nectar than you would honey.

What I particularly like about agave nectar is that it can be stirred into cold liquid without it hardening, it dissolves almost immediately. It also is not sticky like honey is. According to the Madhava company, agave nectar has a lower glycemic index, so it can be used by those with sugar related problems more than other sweeteners, like honey or sugar.

More information on Agave Nectar: http://www.madhavahoney.com/agave.htm

Honey

Honey is an age-old sweetener, used for thousands of years. Honey has a rich full bodied flavor. Since it will harden when cold, it is great to use in frozen recipes or puddings which require a thick, dense result. It is wonderful in certain ethnic recipes when used with heavier spices and seasonings.

I often use honey when making hot tea as I find it more soothing than agave nectar. I have used it many times to sooth a sore throat.

I like to buy my honey locally. There are a couple of sources near me that I find have excellent quality. This is a brand I often use, which is heated at low temps: http://www.madhavahoney.com/ambrosia.htm

I also use "Really Raw Honey" from un-local sources which is a thick creamed-like honey in a wide mouthed jar which is scooped out. I have often used this medicinally.

Here is more information on honey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey

As far as if one is healthier than the other - I tend to think that honey is a whole, natural food while agave nectar is more of an extracted product. The agave nectar I use states "100% pure agave" and "not heated above 115". I have read on many medicinal benefits of honey, but not of agave nectar.

I personally do not regularly eat honey or agave nectar straight to promote health other than using honey for a sore throat on a few occassions. So I find that one is not "healthier" than the other - rather they are both useful as sweeteners.

2006-09-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

My husband informed me that the State of Colorado can now sell local spinach.

Now that it is available, I'm not prepared to purchase it as I have so many other greens! That is the good that has come out of this whole fiasco - I bought tons of parsley, green leaf lettuce, bok choy, kale, collards, etc.

I think I was over-dependant on spinach. I would buy it in little organic bags, and it was so easy to throw into a smoothie, and so mild tasting I hardly knew it was in there.

It is tragic that so many people got sick and even died from this. Fortunately I was only inconvenienced by it, but from the inconvience I upped my green variety in my diet.

For the last few years I have learned to discover the good outcome in something that seems so terrible at first.

We wouldn't be on this beautiful piece of land in the foothills if we hadn't lost our home.

We wouldn't be living in this gorgeous city if my husband had not have been laid off 3 years ago.

If I didn't have high cholesterol, I never would have done so much research on health and healing.

If things weren't so tight financially for us, my recipes would still be sitting in a notebook gathering dust on a shelf.

If I didn't do mindless and selfish things, by golly, I'd still be doing them and never learn from my mistakes!

Sometimes it takes something stressful, painful, scary and freaky to happen in our lives in order to have something wonderful and beautiful happen. I believe it's all in the Lord's plan, and His timing in our lives.

2006-09-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Salads and salad dressings -

Now how good does this look?

It probably took me 5 minutes to throw together.

It is important to have things ready, like greens washed, onions already cut and bagged, etc. the avocado of course needs to be cut fresh, but most of the fixings can be pre-cut and stored ahead of time.

It just makes it a lot easier to put a nice salad together.

The only "unraw" thing here is the dressing - in a hurry I used Annie's Goddess dressing - now I normally don't do this.

Often people ask "what can I use for salad dressing?". It is so very easy to get in that mindset of having to eat bottled dressing, for whatever reason. What most people don't realize is that the best dressings out there are usually the simplest to make.

Some folks need to slowly get away from the idea that their greens and veggies need to be drowned with a fatty, rich blanket of sauce.

Dressing is really easy to make - The very easiest one was squeezing the juice of an orange over my salad - look out for the seeds - that's it!

Other ways to make dressing is a simple oil and vinegar dressing - just a slight drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a splash of vinegar.

If you don't want to use oil and vinegar here is a really great one - avocado and orange juice.

Dr. Doug Graham has often discussed using a natural fat and a natural acid, meaning instead of using oil which is a concentrated fat, you would use avocado, or nuts, or olive as the fat.

And then instead of the vinegar you use an acid straight from the tree, such as lemon, orange, lime, tomato, etc.

See?

So here are some great combinations:

+ Avocado -and- lemon or lime or orange juice or tomato, etc.

+ Soaked cashews -and- lemon or lime or orange juice or tomato, etc.

+ Almond or tahini butter -and- lemon or lime or orange juice or tomato, etc.

+ Olives -and- lemon or lime or orange juice or tomato, etc.

Now you may be thinking - that sounds booooring. Well, no it isn't at all. Because every combination is very different from the other. If you use a different combination each time the varieties will seem endless!

And if you are just starting out on raw foods, and not ready for the straight-forward flavor of simple combinations, then go ahead and add a little of this and that to it to give it more zip:

~ Fresh garlic or garlic powder

~ Fresh onion or onion powder

~ Dill

~ Basil

~ Oregano

~ Mint

~ Poppy Seeds

~ Sea Salt & Pepper

~ Honey or Agave nectar

~ Soaked sun dried tomatoes

~ Ginger

Anything that looks good.

Now the very best thing I've found to mix up a small amount of dressing is a Magic Bullet. There are many other personal size blenders around, but I like this one the best as it comes with a number of containers, solid lids and lids with holes, and two different blades. I don't use the blender or juicer but who knows, maybe one day I might.

Another tip I have for salads is to get the leaves washed right away, and keep them in plastic bags so it is easy to put them together. This is a huge time saver. I cannot fathom how much lettuce I've let go bad because I was too lazy to fuss around with washing. So then I would buy the pre-packaged, pre-washed lettuces, and now they are all supposedly not recommended for eating (talking about the big E-coli scare in the news) - besides the loose heads of lettuce just taste fresher than the packaged kind.

When I make salads, I try not to over-do the additions to it. I try to keep my extra additions down to 2-3 so it doesn't get too boring. By additions I mean:

Bell peppers (I don't use the green kind, which are just under-ripe peppers)
Tomatoes (fresh or sun-dried)
Onions
Parsley
Olives
Nuts
Shredded Carrots
Shredded beets
Jicama (kids love this)
Celery
Cucumber
Zucchini
Corn
Mushrooms

Happy Eating!

2006-09-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

Owww...but pain does have its rewards.

This past weekend we had our promotion to brown belt and I broke the boards effortlessly - back fist and jumping front kick.

However, I discovered a big welty bruise on my knuckle. Well this time I decided to take a snap shot of it - it doesn't look as swelled up or purple in the picture, but it was pretty swollen. And, my hand came out kind of old looking!

Looks like I have elephant skin!

2006-09-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

Checking in here again. I've been doing a ton of photo shoots of my recipes that I'm working on right now.

This Simple Carob Sauce is so easy, just 1/2 cup liquid sweetener (honey or agave nectar) and 1/4 cup of carob, or cocoa.

Yesterday I had a shoot for the commercial for my site. Things are starting to come together quickly. It is still "under construction" but here's the address: www.rawstepbystep.com

We had a busy weekend! Went to see the balloon lighting on Sunday night at Memorial Park. Hundreds of Hot Air Balloons went early Monday morning, which Darryl too Ariel to go see. Jules and I could see them out our window, they looked like little marbles in the sky. http://www.balloonclassic.com/

2006-08-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

This morning I had a quart of green smoothie, a couple of lemon rings and later I had the remaining bit of this pepper jack rice cheese I had bought, which was digsuting. It is very strange how even the cheese substitutes are grossing me out.

My back is still screwed up from the other morning when I woke up so stiff. I hope it improves by tomorrow. I've been using an old tube sock, filled with rice and some drops of bergamot oil, warmed in the microwave as a heating pad. I really think that helps.

Darryl took a bunch of photos of me for my site and I really didn't like the way they came out. I downloaded them and sent him the picture of our dog Ruby, lol, told him that was the best of them all!

We officialy started school today. I got some awesome (FREE!) home school forms from this site. http://forms.donnayoung.org/index.htm I am determined to be more organized this year - I usually start keeping my records and then by the end of the year I slack off. I'm not going to do this anymore. How dorky is it that organization excites me.

I also had a raw brownie with a strawberry creme frosting. That was nice. We ran out of the awesome organic peaches I had picked up at Vitamin Cottage. I got some good looking conventional ones at Walmart and I'm hoping they'll taste as good as they look.

Ran into Donna on the way over to the store to buy back her jar of coconut oil, and give her the Tamari Almonds I made for her. I'll be able to make my Magnificant Macaroons now. This is one of the raw treats that the kids really like to eat, so I always need to make sure I make enough for them!

2006-08-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

We shall overcome...

Wow it's been a while since my last post. I am happy to say though, that I am officially off another addiction, dairy. After my cleanse I started eating cheese again, like unpasteurized cheese, and even some of the non-fat cheeses, thinking they are better for me. The whole time realizing this was just a nasty addiction for me.

I wasn't eating 'some' cheese, like shredded on a salad, it was more like buying a block of cheese and eating slices of it when I wanted something to eat instead of grabbing a piece of fruit. It was just a really bad habit.

I am not sure what actually did it - I have been praying fervently for my addictions to be taken away so I know the Lord definatly had a hand in it. I was viewing some videos from vegsource that helped.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1308977765978236346&q=vegan&amp;time=390000 This one is with T. Colin Campbell about his book The China study

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3214100593069532942&q=vegan
About sugar, chocolate, dairy and meat addiction.

These were pretty long videos, about an hour each. I had them playing in the background while I was working on the computer.

I do have a couple of other addictions to overcome but I am indeed taking them one addiction at a time because getting doing them all at once would not be a very good idea for me!

2006-06-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

Friday June 23, 2006

Day 28

Today I decided to get back to eating. I'm on day 2 of Aunt Flo and a bit moody. I also got my test results back and they were 10% higher than my home test, so I'm a bit depressed. The "nibbling" on some of the raw things I"ve been making surely caused a rise in my cholesterol. Had I been "nibbling" on fruit and non-fat things I truly know there would have been a lower reading.

Next weekend is the family conference then my mom is coming for a visit - I think after that I will concentrate hard on a very low fat diet and check my results. Meanwhile, I will try to do all fruit until night time and then allow myself moderate fat at night so I can transition in.

I need to get a lot more serious than this - I can't follow in my relatives foot steps!!!

2006-06-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 20, 2006

Cleanse day 25

Ah it's been a while since my last entry. Still on this blasted cleanse, but taking a nibble here and there of my recipe making. 5 more days to go. I just keep drinking my juice, water, broth and tea, and a honey stick now and then.

I took my cholesterol on my home monitor this morning and it registered at 243. I was hoping it would be lower since I'm fasting, but I haven't really been exercising. Then I went to get the full blood lab cholesterol test and I will soon find out just how accurate my home test is.

When I got back from the lab...my vision was all screwed up. It was like I was looking through water. At first I thought it was because I just had water to drink for over 12 hours because of the blood test, but I realized later that I'd had that before my period a year or two ago. Equal Half made me some orange juce and told me to lie down and it went away pretty quickly. Then I got a mild headache so I chalked it up to PMS coupled with a hefty dose of detox.

I had some horrible cramps this morning. Bowled over crying and all. So it makes me wonder if my cholesterol is higher due to hormones, and Equal Half and I discussed taking my results on the last day of this cleanse, after my period is hopefully over. No sign of the period, and I don't know when it'll come since I'm mainly taking in liquids.

Oh, I just whipped up some of Anna's Happy Cow Burgers, from www.therawtable.com. I tried a small piece out of the dehydrator now and I can't believe how good they are. I usually don't like that kind of stuff, the nut heavy things much, but I had a feeling that most of her food is really good! I copied almost every recipe out of there and stuck it in my raw notebook of recipes. I cannot wait to eat a whole portion of those burgers with lettuce, onions and even a slice of tomato and the cucumber sauce she raves about. It all sounds so good to me right now!

We went to Taekwondo tonight but I was so tired and lethargic, absolutely no energy and felt so draggy. Not sure if it's this wretched heat or what. The days have been just gorgeous though...so much lovelier now than it was last year this time!

I finally have more control of my pictures here, so tomorrow I'll be able to put in a few photos. I'm excited about this because usually I have to ask Equal Half to resize and send me everything, which is a hassle for him no doubt!

2006-06-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 15, 2006

Cleanse day 20

I miscalculated and thought I was on day 19 - I've been losing track of time. This is good, that means only 10 days left. Can hardly believe I'm two-thirds of the way through this thing!

Although a few boo-boos along the way, had a few licks of stuff here and there to taste what I was preparing for my raw friend. I have vowed to stop as I'm getting my cholesterol checked on the 20th and I don't want to take in anything but liquid, even in the form of a lick!

Anyway, this is what I made her last week for her raw food service

Carmelized onion and spinach quiche with a buckwheat walnut crust
Zucchini noodles with marinated vegetables and garlic bread
Israeli salad
Almond Raspberry thumbprint cookies
Carrot cake with creamy lemon frosting

She said she loved everything and is looking forward to the next pick-up. However, I am going to have to use a lot of restaint, and hopefully everything will come out tasty even though I can't taste it.

Yesterday equal-half and I saw "The Break Up" which was a pretty good movie, but kind of sad. He was very sweet and thoughtful because he was concerned about eating popcorn in front of me while I was fasting. I told him to go ahead though. Should have fed him lunch before because that stuff is such a rip-off at the theatre.

2006-06-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 14, 2006

Cleanse day 19

Left out quite a few days as I haven't found a moment to write. The kids started their day camp and I'm looking forward to going to Glen Eyrie http://www.gleneyrie.org/ for a weekend which has a beautiful old castle that a king built for his queen. It is a family conference and they have said they would accommodate me with my dietary needs so I told them huge salads with lots of fruit and nothing cooked or processed. I will be off my cleanse by then and am planning to bring some back up food just in case.

Glen Eyrie is where the kids have been going to camp. This morning when I dropped them off we passed by a beautiful herd of bighorn sheep. I mean they were grazing about 10 feet away from the car! The grounds are just gorgeous and it is so peaceful. We've hiked there before and had a mini tour around the castle. It is just breathtaking.

I've come up with a great V-8 substitute. I was in the store and grabbed a jar of V-8 and headed over to produce to pick up all the ingredients on the label. I made it once on Monday and it was a bit more V-8 tasting than the one I made today. I can't get over how a tiny slice of beet in relation to everything else I've stuffed in the blender can still cause the drink to get so purple! Oh, and I have to blend it all since the Breville really doesn't do greens well. Perhaps I will try using my juicer again, though, because it is sort of a pain to strain it all.

I also made some cinnamon raisin toast and gave a slice to Darryl with almond butter and honey on top. He said it was really good, but he probably wouldn't like it so much plain. It isn't meant to be eaten plain, though. It is meant to be used with sweet topping or *as* a topping, like crumbled over banana ice cream or fruit!

2006-06-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 10, 2006

Cleanse day 15

I'm almost half-way through this cleanse, I cannot believe it.

I am feeling fine, a little emotional today though. They are having some health checks through my church which I'm going to sign up for. Some arterial and bone density tests. I'm happy to be able to cancel the CAT scan I reserved - now I won't get radiated.

A friend from TKD decided to do a juice fast and we've been chatting a lot lately. Hopefully I've been a source of encouragement to her. She wants to lose weight but I'm hoping she'll see improvements in other health areas that she might have concerns with.

I had a gift certificate to Amazon so I got a really nice wide ceramic peeler. It is called a Kyocera Mega Peeler. I cannot wait to use it.

2006-06-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Recaps! Recaps!

For some reason today I have a lot of energy. I missed the last two days so here's some recaps:

Tuesday June 6, 2006

Cleanse day11

Today was alright but then I got very very stressed and emotional when I found out that I had to get a physician to sign off on the kids' day camp forms. They don't have a physician out here, and no insurance and their shots weren't kept up, not that I care because I am not for immunization, but a bit on the fence because I don't know or not if it will possibly protect them.

On top of that, they sent me the forms so late, only a few days before the kids start, and on the forms it specified that it had to be sent in at least 2 weeks prior to the start date! So I was kind of freaking out.

I got so stressed out and was in a I-don't-know-what-to-do mode, kind of broke down and wanted something, so I had some almond breeze.

Wednesday June 7, 2006

Cleanse day 12

Next day I went after more almond breeze like a dummy. However I was more ready to tackle the kids' physician issue.

However, I called the 444-CARE line and talked to a nurse. She referred me to a doctor's office for a low price so we got them in to be seen and have their camp forms signed. They ended up seeing a student which was fine with me.

Practiced TKD forms on the deck with the family.

Had some veggie broth, then later at night chewed on a lot of honey comb.

Thursday June 8, 2006

Cleanse day 13

Woke up early feeling like a brick hit me - we went to the tennis courts at 7:00 and I had some carrot-apple juice before hand which I forced down because it was so sweet. Wasn't in the mood to play tennis but felt really great after we were done.

On the way to the courts we saw a dead deer on the grass near the road. It was so sad. People just drive way too fast on the street here, and it is hard to see the deer since their coloring tends to fade into the background. Adam said he was a little baby bunny rabbit curled up dead being picked on by a mean 'ol magpie. Even though it is the circle of life, it is still sad when we see these things!

2006-06-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

Monday June 5, 2006

Cleanse day 10

Emotional rollercoaster!

Had a good and scary day. Couldn't get in touch with Equal half so I thought something bad happened to him on the freeway back from the Denver airport. He finally came home, thank the Lord, and his phone had been on vibrate.

Intense emotions I'm having! I'm glad that I am on this fast so I am not stuffing my emotions with food.

Had orange juice, honey and the water from 2 young coconuts today. I can't get enough of that coconut water.

I made up some quiche tartlets with these cool new Wilton tartlet pans I picked up at Bed Bath & Beyond. They have removable bottoms. I'm excited to be making some individual tarts and quiches so there's no waste.

So tonight I made the Buckwheat Walnut tart shells which I will freeze for later. I don't know if it is because I'm fasting, but I'm having a lot of fun in the kitchen!

Once I get enough pulp saved, I'll be doing the carrot cake. It should not take long as we get about 3-4 cups of the stuff every time.

2006-06-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday June 4, 2006

Cleanse Day 9

Equal half and I went to the tennis courts early this morning. I haven't played tennis in over 10 years and I stank. We also had these ancient tennis racquets - over 20 years old. Equal half took the 2 older kids back again while I stayed home and made them breakfast. He said a couple people were laughing at their old racquets.

They look similar to the one above. Maybe I could make them into a clock or sell them on e-bay. I wonder if they are worth something.

Needless to say we got some new ones.

Not much else to report. I'm sure I'm cleansing big time as much as I brush and scrape my tongue I'm being told that I still smell funny.

Energy level is good, but got very tired and needed to lie down after noon.

2006-06-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 3, 2006

Cleanse day 8

This morning I made some of the BBQ chicken fingers from Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen. I already had the main ingredients and no nuts involved, so I figured I'd start making some stuff for when I come off this fast. The only problem is it called for olive oil and my olive oil is not light tasting and tends to make everything else heavy tasting with a funny taste. So hopefully they will come out okay, I will have to have equal half taste test them for me.

They are in the dehydrator - will have to remember to take a snapshot of them when they come out. The photos in her book look like real chicken fingers, and they looked that way when I shaped them. I did a couple different things to them like used leftover carrot pulp, a little nutritional yeast and a couple tablespoons flax seed to help them hold together.

There are some other recipes that I really want to try out, esp. from Living Cuisine by Renee Underkoffler. I wish there were pictures in this book, but just reading the recipes makes me salivate. I've tagged many pages so far and will be halving them to try them out.

This morning I had my regular carrot-apple juice and orange juice. Pretty boring, ha? Last night I was having some salt cravings. Was in the mood for some vegetable broth so I may indulge.

2006-06-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

Friday June 2, 2006

Cleanse day 7

Amazing....

It is so very incredible how on a fast or cleanse one day can be so completely different from another. Today I feel lots of energy.

Had 2 more coconut waters, some carrot-apple juice, orange juice, lots of water and some honey sticks.

Went to TKD and had plenty of energy.

2006-06-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 1, 2006

Cleanse day 6

WIPED OUT

Today I was so tired, lethargic, lightheaded, weak - just felt so draggy. Had some wonderful OJ in the morning and my carrot-apple juice.

Cut into a young coco for the water. I managed to scoop out the flesh in one fell swoop - cut into thin strips for noodles and froze it for later. Looking forward to making some yummy fresh live Pad Thai after the fast is over. After drinking the coco water which was absolutely delish by the way, I felt flushed like I'd taken a niacin pill. Strange.

Just felt too weak and out of it to do any type of activity so I was going to come along and watch the fam at Taekwondo.

I drove the fam to Taekwondo, having an emaciated feeling like my bones were protruding or something, then got very dizzy lightheaded and felt like I was outside of myself which turned into a mini panic attack.

I said to Equal Half "Quick - hand me a honey stick!" and felt a lot better after that.

Then Equal half realized he'd left all the TKD gear at home so I dropped them off and had to get back on the fwy 2 more times. Had another mini panick attack on the way home so I called a friend so I could chat with her to keep my mind off of it on the way back to the studio.

Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow!

2006-05-31T17:49:00.000-07:00

Wednesday May 31, 2006

Cleanse day 5

Fairly good day, but with some heavy emotions running wild. I felt better later though.

I have noticed that the bumps on my elbows are starting to smooth out. They were hard bumps similar to my son's psoriasis that he gets.

Today all I had so far was some carrot-apple juice, a spoonful of raw honey called "Apitherapy" and water, and some sun tea.

I had a surge of energy when I was making dinner for my family for Israeli night which was huge baked potatoes, Israeli salad and Yemenite pancake bread. Equal half says that everything tastes better when I'm on a fast, LOL.

I ran around a bit but then I crashed and had my sun tea. I just don't think I can over-exert myself.

2006-05-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Tuesday May 30, 2006

Cleanse day 4

This morning had my carrot-apple juice and a lot of water, some honey sticks and delicious sun tea I made (strawberry-white tea, fresh mint, lemon balm).

We ordered our Spiroolis from Hallelujah Acres - can't wait to get them. Their shipping was very reasonable too.

I can feel my stomach pulling in, a feeling I often get during fasts and liquid diets. I bought this coconut water at Whole Foods yesterday, I'm going to have it after Taekwondo tonight.

I got back from Taekwondo - I don't remember ever sweating so much. The coconut water was okay, but not as good as fresh from a coconut. It had a sour-ish taste and I wonder if it was heated in any way.

2006-05-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

Monday May 29, 2006

Cleanse day 3

Woke up clearer headed again. Last night we started watching some DVD's from the 24 season. There are 4 shows on a DVD and somewhere during the 2nd show my head starts hurting to the point of unbearable pain. I could only sit through 3 shows. However the shows were really good - a raw buddy recommended them to me!

Had 2 cups orange juice in the morning, then water and a honey stick here and there.

Did some shopping and met Kim at a couple of kitchen stores - she was looking for the Spirooli but they aren't anywhere to be found in the Springs. Then we headed over to Whole Foods for a bit. Picked up a bottle of Honestea Mango White.

Equal half and I took the kids to see "Shaggy Dog" which was better than I thought it would be...Adam now fasts with me on Mondays (I am still on this modified fast though) so he took along honey sticks too. I am so proud of him!

Tonight we watched the last show of 24 on Season 1 disc 3, but then discovered that disc 4 was split on one side, so called it an evening.

2006-05-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday May 28, 2006

Cleanse day 2

Woke up feeling a lot better - had to brush and scrape tongue an awful lot though. I really like the Dr. Tung's tongue scraper because it has a sharp edge and does a great job. The plastic ones don't do much for me.

Carrot/apple juice...then lots of water.

Went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo where we fed the giraffes and walked around for over 3 hours. Boy was I tired. I brought some honey sticks with me so I wouldn't pass out though! Brought some healthy snacks for the fam but they ended up at the cafe, and though the food smelled wonderful to me, equal half said it tasted pretty bad!

2006-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 27, 2006

Cleanse day 1

Another beautfiul Colorado morning.

Detox - woke up to some back and head pain and nausea. Headache progressively got worse all day long until at night it was so bad I thought I was going to throw up.

Been drinking watermelon juice all day and had a spoon of honey.

2006-05-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Friday May 26, 2006

My friend and I just signed a 1 year raw commitment to each other. My progress will be recorded here.

We agreed to eat fruit/fruit meals until dinner and limited dehydrated foods, fats and nuts. I have cholesterol issues and my friend has weight issues so we are pretty much on the same path.

Menses started today on day 26. Experiencing a lot of irritability at this time - I am planning on juice dieting tomorrow.

Start weight 154.2

So this is what they feed the sick patients in hospitals.