Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days

 If you haven't yet watched this Documentary film i highly recommend you do, and pass on the link to friends and family. It's as potent as "Supersize Me" in its message that you CAN make dramatic changes in your health with diet alone. Here is the description of the film from the website:

"Simply Raw" is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication.

The six are challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food, and even cooked food for 30 days. The film follows each participant’s remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this radical diet and lifestyle change. We witness moments of struggle, support, and hope as what is revealed, with startling clarity, is that diet can reverse disease and change lives.

The film highlights each of the six before they begin the program and we first meet them in their home environment with their families. Each participant speaks candidly about their struggle to manage their diabetes and how it has affected every aspect of their life, from work to home to their relationships.

Green powders and supplements

young coconut meat and water, mango, banana, cashew, Pure Synergy powder--YUM!

 Many people tell me that they started including smoothies in their daily diet, which gets me really excited--we really are creating a revolution with the way we feed ourselves. And I notice that most people begin with using green "Superfoods" in their smoothies, instead of using fresh whole greens like I usually do. I would say that this is primarily due to the marketing of superfoods and how prevalent they are in nutrition centers, natural food stores and online in advertisements. Also, green powder supplements can be added to any drink made in any blender, while a heavy duty appliance such as a VitaMix is needed to process whole greens smoothly. So my take on it is that superfoods are a great place to start, as you transition into getting more and more of your nutrients from whole foods, and even then, it can't hurt to continue using them.

 Pure Synergy Superfood
 is the green superfood I started with and enjoy.

complete description of ingredients

Once I started consuming kale, chard, collards or spinach daily, I no longer felt the need to use the powder. However, this particular blend contains so many incredible nutrients that I bought another jar and use it whenever I've run out of greens or am too lazy to go out to the garden (the rainy, dreary Seattle weather can do that to you). I used it today because I ate a lot of greens yesterday and felt like it was good to take a day off. Victoria Boutenko recommends that we rotate our greens and not eat the same kind every day, because the leaves produce low levels of a toxin that prevents animals from nibbling them completely off the stalk. Each type of plant produces a slightly different type of this toxin so as long as we are rotating and using different types of greens throughout the week, we won't ingest too much of each one.

But back to green powders, there are so many on the market, it's hard to decide which one to use. I chose the Pure Synergy one based on the intent with which it was created, the impressive list of ingredients, and the testimonial by Dr. Gabriel Cousens. I would suggest doing your own research and let your heart guide you. Raw Vegan Source has many options to choose from including their own brand. They are great people who provide a great service to the raw community and beyond.

Ultimately I wish to stress the importance of eating as much living food as possible. Raw is good, living is best. That means freshly-picked organic produce, unwashed if possible so you get the benefits of the naturally-occurring b-12 and beneficial bacteria on the plants, and also sprouted and fermented foods. Consider your green powder the back-up nutritional source to your plant-based whole foods diet and then rely upon it when traveling or low on fresh food. The smoothie pictured above was made with 100% fresh fruit and coconut, with cashews added for protein, and a teaspoon of Pure Synergy powder. It was delicious and filling, and I didn't have to go out in the rain.

Keep it simple

Most of us were raised eating complete meals. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks were the little things like fruit, nuts, chips, that we ate in between or if a meal was late. As recently as three years ago, I insisted that I was a "meal person", and couldn't feel satisfied by grazing. I always marveled at the people I met at festivals and camping trips who could eat trail mix and celery all day and not feel the need to sit down and have a big burrito for dinner like I did. I weighed 40 lbs. more then, and those people were always at a perfect weight.

New Years Day brunch I shared with a friend

Like many of you, I tried dieting to lose weight, many times. What always killed it was the hunger and anxiety of feeling like I was starving myself. I tried my first diet at age 12 when my mother told me I was fat. Now, I wasn't fat by any standards but her own, and she was anorexic. But I decided she must be right because she was my mom, so I decided I was only going to eat salad until I got thin. This lasted one day, until we got to my grandma's house and we had spaghetti for dinner. I couldn't resist that urge to fill myself, perhaps learned from my father's binge eating and insistence that we eat everything on our plates whether we wanted it or not. Imagine the confusion of these unhealthy messages about food: "you're fat, don't eat so much", and "eat everything on your plate, we paid good money for it". No wonder I ended up with an eating disorder in college and to this day worry about my weight every single day.

Going raw helped me to heal those negative messages about eating. After trying a low-carb diet once and losing enough weight that I actually didn't feel right (125 lbs is not a healthy weight for me at 5'8" and a strong, well-muscled build), I learned that many people reach their ideal weight on a raw diet because they are finally eating food the way nature intended it. My first month on 100% raw, I felt the need to eat constantly, but because I was eating only nuts, fruit and vegetables, there was no reason why I had to limit myself. I discovered that the myths about fat were untrue, that I could eat cashew butter and avocados every day and still lose weight, and that it was the bread, pasta and starchy potatoes that made it so hard to lose weight in the past. Also, my metabolism has always been somewhat slow, and eating those large meals with long periods of inactivity afterward made it even slower. Letting myself eat whenever I was hungry, but only eating what I needed to feel satisfied, not only felt right but caused me to lose 20 lbs. in 5 weeks. I adopted a practice of having a conversation with my cravings, asking them what they really wanted. Was it comfort? Hunger for a memory, nostalgia of something I used to eat as a child? Or did I need protein? Listening carefully and answered only to the cravings for true nourishment totally transformed the way I feed myself. No longer did I need to sit down and have a large meal to feel satisfied. I felt amazing and so grateful for everything the earth provided for me to nourish my cells and help me do the work I've come here to do.

Some days I feel like snacking all day. I notice that this corresponds with the times when I have nervous energy and don't feel like I'm accomplishing much. I literally distract myself by making another snack. Other days, I don't think about eating until I feel a true need for it, and then it doesn't take much more than a piece of fruit or a smoothie to satisfy that need. I have let go of the "shoulds" of eating and just respond to what IS. The only time I start craving something like a full meal is when I've let myself overeat or eat something that has upset my blood sugar. It took me over three years to fine-tune my body and mind this way, but it has been worth the wait. I have a lot more energy available for other things now that feeding myself is simple. It's very inexpensive, too.

If you wish to include fish in your raw diet, try making ceviche.

A raw and living foods diet is a commitment to a complete lifestyle overhaul. However, you can begin with making a smaller commitment to simply detoxing and getting in touch with your body's true nutritional needs. Even if you don't stay raw through the winter or year-round, you will have addressed the root causes of eating disorders, dysfunctional ideas about food, and discovered which foods give you more or less energy. I highly encourage anyone to at least give it a try and see what changes. I had to gently remind myself during the first few weeks that cheesecake wasn't going to vanish from planet earth just because I wasn't going to eat it for a few months. After I had established a new diet plan for myself, I was able to safely sample favorite foods in very small amounts, which actually gave me a much deeper appreciation for the artful, sensory experiences that food can provide. It also taught me how to make a scrumptious cheesecake out of fruit and nuts that is every bit as delicious as the cheese and egg concoction that did nothing good for my body. I am not missing out on anything. My life is rich and exciting and vibrant. Macaroni and cheese is a very strange substance once you avoid it for a few years and learn to eat what makes you thrive instead of what slows you down and dulls you.

Please do contact me if you would like more information about my raw coaching services. I have several options depending on how far you wish to go and how much you want to participate in creating a new life for yourself. I also offer catering services including consulting for chefs who wish to add gourmet raw items to their menu. This is a great time of year to go raw, for life.

Spiritual Nutrition

I am a huge fan of Dr. Gabriel Cousens. Reading Spiritual Nutrition when I first began my living foods journey helped to keep me aligned on the path to wellness and I still consider that book the living foods Bible. It took me beyond the concept of diet to embrace holistic wellness, which helped me overcome many of the base urges like food cravings and nostalgia for old habits that undermined my goal of optimal health.

last summer I foraged for about 80% of my food.

Not everyone approaches a raw food diet with spiritual pursuits in mind. I had no idea how my life would change on the more subtle levels by simply changing the food I ate, but the results have been astounding. I can say with certainty that my psychic abilities have increased since going raw, and my capacity for grasping and relating to metaphysical concepts has also increased. Meditation comes easy now, and in my sleep, I have this very "awake" feeling that is hard to describe--it feels like I am able to consciously make changes in my waking life from the dream world. Some nights in the summer I don't feel much need to sleep. It is more like my body shuts down for regeneration and repair, and my mind switches to a different level of consciousness. Feeding myself has indeed become a spiritual experience as my mind, body and spirit are so integrated that they communicate with each other fluently. Those of you just beginning to shift to a more whole-foods diet may still be in the physical changes stage, but I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of Spiritual Nutrition so you can better understand all of the reasons why sticking with this diet will change your reality for the better. One of the best reasons is that you become a beacon of light and positive change for others, as I have. Vibrant goes viral when you activate your highest potential.

super refreshing Hibiscus cooler

We waited and waited for summer to arrive in the Northwest and when it did, it came in like a Lion--a big, furry, sweaty lion. When the temperatures creep into the '90's I'm even more grateful that I discovered the raw and living foods diet, because I am more tolerant of heat than I've ever been before. I used to hide out indoors if it got above 80 degrees outside, but I've been driving with no air conditioner, making phone calls in the backyard with the hot sun baking down on me, and just soaking in the sunshine like a lizard.

 This morning I filled a 2-quart Mason jar with a small handful of dried Hibiscus flowers, about 3 tablespoons of Red Raspberry Leaf, and fresh artesian well water. I screwed on the sprouting lid and set the jar in the sun for a few hours, agitating it a little every once in a while to make sure all the herbs were getting infused. For lunch today I had: apples, raw cheddar cheese and a bit of carrot raisin Manna bread. I don't normally eat grains at all, but I'd bought this bread for my kids when we went camping and they didn't care for it (I think they were hoping it would be more like pumpkin bread than the chewy fiber cake that it is). Anyway, after my snack, I noticed that the tea was a lovely shade of ruby red. I brought it in and strained the tea into my french press. Then, in the blender I put about 6 ice cubes, 16 oz. of the tea, a squirt of Agave and 6 fresh raspberries that I just picked yesterday at Garden Treasures Farm in Arlington. The VitaMix does a quick job of blending iced drinks so in less than a minute I had a frothy, icy Hibiscus Cooler. It was so pretty, I garnished it with a sprig of mint so I could pretend I had been served some fancy beverage at a Tiki Bar. By the way, this drink would probably be great with some Vodka in it, if you're into that sort of thing. I don't bother with alcohol, myself. I get my bliss from the sun and everything that grows under it. What is also great with cold Hibiscus tea is pineapple or apple juice. This is the way they serve it in Egypt--it's called Karkady and it's a popular beverage served at tourist destinations.

Here is a website that details some of the health benefits of Hibiscus. Raspberry leaf tea is high in vitamin C, like Hibiscus, and other vitamins, so this tea makes a great immune tonic. If you happen to be pregnant, raspberry leaf will also help tonify the uterus and can be very helpful when consumed during labor. Of course, if you have your baby in a hospital, they won't let you eat or drink anything. Just one more reason why I recommend natural childbirth either at home or at a qualified birth center. You can read more about raspberry leaf tea HERE and you can purchase both of these herbs at Travelers, my choice of retail outlets for bulk herb purchases. Tenzing Momo in Pike Place Market may also carry these herbs, and you may be able to get them both at natural food stores. If you go to Travelers (and I highly recommend that you do when in Seattle), tell em the Raw Gypsy sent ya. Then, so you don't have to wait to go home and make your own tea, you can order a glass of it right there.

The sun has finally gone down and it's cool outside, so I'm going to take a walk. Have a great sunshiny weekend!

Strong statement about fast food and processed food in general

I don't believe in supporting businesses, people or agencies that make money off of killing or harming people. That is one major reason why I am working on reducing my dependence upon oil and plastics, why I don't use chemical cleaning products, and why I do not eat at or take my children to fast food restaurants. Another big reason is that I love my children enough not to poison them with my ignorance. That's right, ignorance--I said it. If you think that it's ok "once in a while" or "isn't all that bad" or "there are actually some healthy things to eat at McDonald's", then you have been fleeced. The vast majority of people in America believe what the FDA tells them, believe what the advertisers tell them, believe that there isn't any significant difference between cows injected with Bovine Growth Hormone and untreated cows, that the only difference between conventional and organic produce is the price, believe that Kellogg's and Lucerne are good, down-to-earth companies that make wholesome foods for our families...and so on. THESE ARE LIES told to consumers to dumb them down and get money out of them--plain and simple. The rates of Diabetes and Cancer are SOARING. Pesticide consumption is now being linked to ADHD and has been a known neurotoxin for years. How are people getting sicker? Gee, I wonder. It couldn't have anything to do with that stuff they consider food, now, could it?

I happen to be rather angry as I'm writing this, as you may be able to tell. My usual posts in this blog are peaceful and positive because I'm usually talking about the food that will indeed save the planet and anyone left after the reckoning we're going to get in the wake of BP's poisoning of our ocean. Today, I'm pissed, because my children's grandparents and extended family keep feeding them fast food, against my wishes, against half a dozen requests to stop, against a doctor's warning that my daughter is highly allergic to soy and must remove it from her diet completely in order to restore her immune system. I thought the doctor's warning would be enough to keep her free of soybean-oil-fried Chicken McNuggets, a seemingly innocuous "kid food" that I believe to be an absolutely horrendous excuse for a meal. I would sooner feed my children worms--at least I would feel that I've protected them from this:

These two paragraphs are taken directly from The Omnivore’s Dilemma: (a book that EVERYONE WHO EATS in this country should read)

“The ingredients listed in the flyer suggest a lot of thought goes into a nugget, that and a lot of corn. Of the thirty-eight ingredients it takes to make a McNugget, I counted thirteen that can be derived from corn: the corn-fed chicken itself; modified cornstarch (to bind the pulverized chicken meat); mono-, tri-, and diglycerides (emulsifiers, which keep the fats and water from separating); dextrose; lecithin (another emulsifier); chicken broth (to restore some of the flavor that processing leeches out); yellow corn flour and more modified cornstarch (for the batter); cornstarch (a filler); vegetable shortening; partially hydrogenated corn oil; and citric acid as a preservative. A couple of other plants take part in the nugget: There's some wheat in the batter, and on any given day the hydrogenated oil could come from soybeans, canola, or cotton rather than corn, depending on the market price and availability.

According to the handout, McNuggets also contain several completely synthetic ingredients, quasi-edible substances that ultimately come not from a corn or soybean field but form a petroleum refinery or chemical plant. These chemicals are what make modern processed food possible, by keeping the organic materials in them from going bad or looking strange after months in the freezer or on the road. Listed first are the "leavening agents": sodium aluminum phosphate, mono-calcium phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, and calcium lactate. These are antioxidants added to keep the various animal and vegetable fats involved in a nugget from turning rancid. Then there are "anti-foaming agents" like dimethylpolysiloxene, added to the cooking oil to keep the starches from binding to air molecules, so as to produce foam during the fry. The problem is evidently grave enough to warrant adding a toxic chemical to the food: According to the Handbook of Food Additives, dimethylpolysiloxene is a suspected carcinogen and an established mutagen, tumorigen, and reproductive effector; it's also flammable. But perhaps the most alarming ingredient in a Chicken McNugget is tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, an antioxidant derived from petroleum that is either sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in to "help preserve freshness." According to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, TBHQ is a form of butane (i.e. lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food: It can comprise no more than 0.02 percent of the oil in a nugget. Which is probably just as well, considering that ingesting a single gram of TBHQ can cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse." Ingesting five grams of TBHQ can kill.”

This does not even mention the "Autolyzed Yeast Extract" which is a code name for Monosodium Glutamate, responsible for addicting millions of Americans to processed food. MSG is why my kids don't have the resolve to refuse those french fries or McNuggets when offered to them. MSG is why you can't stop eating BBQ potato chips after the first handful. MSG is implicated in obesity, anxiety, nervous disorders, migraines and dozens of other human ailments that drug companies have made millions treating the symptoms of. If you are ready for the truth about MSG, which is in ALL PROCESSED FOOD and in high amounts in fast food, go to this website. For all the other reasons why you should STOP EATING FAST FOOD NOW, watch the movie "Supersize Me" I watched that film with my kids to make sure they fully understand the implications of giving into food cravings. 

The reason why it's NOT OK once in a while (which apparently means once a week to my kids' grandmother), is that it encourages the addiction to the taste of fast food (via the MSG). Also, the message you're sending to your children is that this is acceptable food (which it most certainly is not, and you know it. And you're sending the message with your money that the corporations producing this extremely low quality garbage should keep making more of it, and tricking people into eating more and more. It has to stop somewhere, and where I put my foot down is to refuse to give them a dime. I always carry snacks in the car for my children: apples and almond butter, carrots, raisins, smoothies, berries. I have educated my kids on all the reasons why that crap is NOT REAL FOOD and what it is doing to people: heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, leukemia, immune dysfunction, depression, anxiety and more. Do you understand that just because medication exists to treat these diseases does not excuse the fact that corporations are knowingly producing food that is killing people? 

I am one step away from blowing my top over this issue. I have in the past sent food over to their Grandparents' house to try and ensure that the kids are eating CLEAN, PURE, UNADULTERATED food. But when offered a bowl of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, what kid would turn it down in favor of celery and almond butter? And just because I sent food over there, it never stopped them from going to Dairy Queen or McDonald's. I just found out that my daughter ate at Wendy's yesterday with her aunt and cousins. Did anyone bother to inform them that she is HIGHLY ALLERGIC to soy, which is an ingredient in ALL fast food in one form or another? The assumption was made that Ruby is just a normal kid who eats what normal kids eat. That couldn't be further from the truth. When the kids are with me, they eat at least 60% raw, about 80% vegan, and 90% organic, and the percentage of food they eat that has an ingredient list on the package is probably less than 5%. What are my options here? I am enraged over this issue and it makes me want more than ever to take the kids far away and live in a community with others who understand how crucial it is that we grow our own food, collect our own water and avoid synthetic chemical exposure including pharmaceutical drugs. How can people claim to care about their family and then continue to feed them poison?! How can I continue to tolerate the kids' family influences when I so strongly disagree with their choices? These are my babies, who I took great care to breastfeed and cloth diaper and protect from chemical exposure (including the toxins and heavy metals in vaccines). Have I no say in what they are exposed to when they are not in my care?

Tomorrow I am taking my kids out to an organic farm in Arlington, where we will pick our own strawberries, lettuce, chard and anything else that's ready in the garden. My little garden at home is not producing much, due to its unfortunate location and the lack of sun we've had so far this summer. This is the kind of activity that I feel is far more valuable for children than taking them to beaches and water parks and playgrounds. I have my kids with me only half the week and sometimes it feels like there is so much I want to share with them and not enough time, so I maximize that time by teaching them real world skills and give them valuable knowledge that cuts through the ignorance our society is breeding. They have watched me transform through my raw food diet and they totally understand why I want to protect them from the demise of most Americans--we are too smart to fall prey to that foolishness, and won't be going out like that. 

This may be the strongest statement you will read in this blog, and do with it what you will: WE CANNOT AFFORD TO MESS AROUND ANY MORE. Skippy peanut butter is NOT FOOD. Not only are peanuts bad for us due to naturally-occurring toxins, they are the crop most highly saturated with pesticides, and the process of making peanut butter renders the oils rancid which requires the use of more chemicals. High Fructose corn syrup has been PROVEN to contribute to Diabetes, a disease that 24 MILLION Americans now suffer from (think of how much money is made off of insulin--Big Pharma is not suffering at all!). Hydrogenated oils clog arteries and drive cholesterol through the roof. Our bodies were not made to process this crap. If your body needs protein, eat real nuts that grew on a tree and were not soaked in poison! Sliced bread, hamburger buns, pizza dough, ALSO NOT FOOD. Refined, starchy grain products are the leading cause of Diabetes and give us nothing in terms of nutritional value. Try using lettuce or collard leaves to wrap your sandwich fillings. Smuckers Jam: NOT FOOD. Try real berries, without high fructose corn syrup and pesticides. Hot dogs: DEFINITELY NOT FOOD. Find out why you should avoid foods containing nitrates. If you believe you really need meat, find a good source of organic meat or poultry, and if you balk at the cost of it, then EAT LESS. Not only does eating these foods contribute to aging and disease, it supports industries that are not in the business of keeping people healthy. Why not give your money to people who are doing good in the world? Have you ever thought about that? Every dollar you spend ends up keeping something or someone going forward with their work. Perhaps you should do an experiment one day and track where every dollar you spend is going, and then research whether or not those companies are doing good or harm to the planet. I am driving all the way out to Arlington tomorrow to support people who are growing REAL FOOD in a sustainable manner. People who do that are not getting rich off of it, believe me. They are doing it because they care about the welfare of the planet and the people who will inherit it after everyone else dies of Cancer.  If I can save my kids from their family's ignorance, we will still be around then, creating a whole new world.

Where will YOU be?

Off the HizzOOK vegan strawberry ice cream (50% raw)

Oh, I had some major cravings tonight for dessert. I saw a photo somewhere of some cheesecake and couldn't stop thinking about it. I wanted something creamy and rich and sweet with berries and chocolate. Fortunately, just today I was in the International District and picked up several cans of Coconut Cream. I also bought fresh young coconuts, but I don't think this dessert would have come out quite the same had I used fresh. So as far as raw desserts go, this one is kind of a cheat--canned Coconut Cream has most likely been heated and definitely processed with the addition of preservatives. But, I reckon it's not nearly as bad as the cheesecake I would have gotten. Here is what went into this delicious ice cream, made in the Vitamix (but you could probably make it in a food processor as well...not sure about a standard blender). This recipe makes one serving if you're a pig like me.

1 frozen banana
2 large frozen strawberries
about 3 heaping tablespoons full of chilled Coconut Cream
1/4" snip of vanilla bean
about 9 cashews
few dashes of salt
maple syrup to taste (can use agave or whatever sweetener you choose, or some dates)
approx. 2 tablespoons nut milk or apple juice

Start the Vitamix on low to try and break up the large chunks of frozen fruit. I had to keep poking it down with the plastic tamper that comes with the Vitamix. Do this as quickly as possible-- you don't want to let the mixture get too warm if you want it to taste like ice cream. The VitaMix has such a high speed motor that it can blend things together before they get warm, which often happens in a food processor. The coldness of the frozen fruit keeps the coconut cream firm as it blends together. So whatever appliance you have handy, blend this up any way you can. It would probably be yummy if it weren't super cold but I wanted it cold to resemble ice cream and also because I had plans to drizzle melted chocolate on top which hardened like Magic Shell. Yum. Again, not completely raw, but vegan, and so much better for you than cheesecake or dairy ice cream.

Of course, you could replace the strawberries with any other type of frozen fruit. Mango, blueberry, raspberry, peach, etc.. Especially in the summer, I remember to buy extra fruit and freeze some. When strawberries are in season they cost less, so I cut their tops off, halve them and freeze in a ziploc freezer bag. I also did this with peaches last summer. Freeze mangos when you can find them on sale and make Mango Lassis on a hot summer day. I will post that recipe soon!

By the way, although you can usually find coconut milk, coconut cream is rarely available in mainstream grocery stores. I haven't even seen it at natural food stores--it is just not a popular enough item yet. Find it at Asian grocers, particularly Southeast Asian markets, and make sure you get Coconut Cream not Cream of Coconut which is heavily sweetened for use in mixed drinks.

Coconut is a super healthy food to include in your diet. Here are some of the many health benefits of coconut. Coconut oil specifically is a beneficial addition, and despite its being mostly a saturated fat, it actually assists weight loss. Read more about coconut oil HERE . Enjoy your dessert...good night!

Oh, and did you say you don't have a Vita-Mix? Hmm...would you like to do something about that?

B-12 and nutritional balance

Many of us who have been vegan or vegetarian have been at some point confronted with the question of whether or not we are getting the nutrients we need in sufficient quantity. I was a vegetarian for 15 years, 8 of those years a vegan. For an example of the way I lived as a vegan, here is the blog of a vegan who eats the way I used to eat. She seems to have the same degree of knowledge on the subject as I had at the time: Fake meat, fake cheese, margarine, lots of bread and pasta, happy little treats like finding veggie burgers at Burger King, vegan marshmallows and baked goods, etc.. Looking back, I am amazed how ignorant I was by not researching what these artificial, dead food substances were or questioning whether they were truly good for me. Although I thought I was eating a pretty healthy diet because I wasn't eating meat or dairy, there was a lot I didn't know about nutrition. After a while of not feeling so healthy but never suspecting that perhaps the food itself was the culprit, I began to question whether or not I was getting enough b12, which is commonly thought to exist only in animal foods. Because of the information available at the time, which informed me that as a vegan I needed to take B Vitamins in order to be healthy, I did so without even questioning my diet. Like many people, I felt it was the easy solution to the problem--take a pill and don't think about it any more. I cannot honestly say that the vitamins improved my health in the long run. In fact, my overall condition deteriorated until I decided many years later to make a dramatic lifestyle change and adopt a living foods diet.

When I went raw in 2007 and read Spiritual Nutrition by Dr. Gabriel Cousens, I dove into the heart of nutritional science and began to use my own body as a laboratory. After the first few months of detoxification, I felt for the first time in my adult life what it was like to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed. The fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, depression, aches and pains that I'd lived with for years just melted away. No longer did I wonder or worry that I was not getting enough of the essential nutrients--I trusted in what I learned and saw the proof in my vibrant health.

Over the past four months, I have experimented with adding back some of the foods I used to eat before going raw, and some animal foods that I hadn't eaten in many years. Admittedly, part of my doing so was out of indulgence and the resulting laziness that ensues from the stupor. But once I decided to let myself temporarily indulge and not feel guilty about it, I thought it would be useful to study the effects these foods had on my body and mind. Part of what pulled me toward cooked foods was feeling very cold in the winter. So I ate some brown rice, some oatmeal now and then, even treating myself to pastries once a week with a mocha. Introducing grain-based food back into my diet had the desired effect of raising my body temperature, but also produced cravings for more grains and sugar and slowed my digestion down considerably.

More and more, I began to sense that I was lacking in protein so I started eating cooked chicken or fish about once a week. This led to my craving for eggs so I ate them a couple of times per week. I was still starting my day with green smoothies and eating salads, fruit and nuts, but in much smaller amounts because the cooked foods filled me up so much.  I started being less picky about dairy and ate cheese, yogurt, even ice cream a few times. I convinced myself that I must have needed more B Vitamins and protein if I was craving animal foods, so I allowed myself to eat them fairly regularly.

Meanwhile, I observed changes in my appearance and energy level. After a couple of months, it seemed that I required more sleep than I had before on 100% raw. My skin began to show my age (I'm 40, but was told regularly that I looked 15 years younger). The light in my eyes seemed dim, and the dark circles returned.  I felt tired, depressed, moody and sluggish, absolutely requiring caffeine to get going in the morning. I could tell that the overall effects of eating this way were contributing to aging. But still, I had this intense craving for these foods--the more I ate them, the more I seemed to need them.

Toward the end of May I resolved to go back to 100% raw. My experiment had proven what I suspected all along--that the typical American diet, even a so-called healthy one, is largely responsible for lowering energy levels and accelerating aging. I thought that increasing my B Vitamin intake with these foods would increase my energy level, but it had the reverse effect. Over the past few days, I've returned to consuming very green smoothies and eating salads for meals, gradually tapering off of the crap I've allowed to deteriorate my health. This morning I awoke feeling extremely fatigued with no good reason for it. I'm feeling that it is time for me to do a cleansing fast to restore my natural balance and rid my body of any toxins accumulated by consuming mucus-forming grains and putrefying animal products. Again questioning my nutritional balance, I wondered whether a lack of B-12 could be responsible for my fatigue. So I did some more research on the topic and came up with a fantastic article by Gina Shaw on the B-12 issue. She explains thoroughly the science behind B-12 production and absorption in the body, and goes on to illustrate that a raw vegan diet restores the intestinal flora, brings about proper nutritional balance and facilitates adequate absorption of nutrients. This is a good article to bookmark and send to your friends and family when they worry that you're not going to get enough of what you need on a raw diet. If you are vegetarian or vegan, this article may be enough to convince you that including more fresh, living food in your diet could be the best possible thing you could do to improve your health. At the bottom of the page is a link to another B-12 article written by Gabriel Cousens. That is also worth reading to get his perspective on the issue. I will eventually have articles like these compiled here by subject, but the Living Foods website is an amazing resource to bookmark.

The moral of this story is that while adopting a raw lifestyle is optimal in many ways for lots of people, it can be valuable to allow yourself to fall off the wagon now and then. For me, sitting there in the mud for a while gave me a deep appreciation for what it feels like to be light, free, ALIVE, on the road and journeying through life ACTIVATED. Electric Gypsy style. I'm still fighting some of those cravings, but they will subside as I nourish myself back to balance. I wish you great courage and success on your own journey.

a bad photo of a really good salad

My new favorite way to make salads is to mix together all the "stuff" with the dressing and then lay it on top of the greens instead of the traditional way of making a green salad and adding "stuff". This way, it's like that cereal they sell at Trader Joes, "Just the clusters". Or like that episode of Seinfeld in which Elaine suggests to a baker the idea of baking muffins but selling only the muffin tops, and tossing the stumps since nobody likes them as much as the tops anyway. (Segue into "Muffin Tops" script, full episode HERE. The scene where Elaine is confronted by the lady at the homeless shelter, where she has been leaving the muffin "stumps", is incredibly hilarious)



Woman: I can't believe somebody pulled the top off of this muffin.
Elaine: That was me. I'm sorry. I don't like the stumps.
Mr Lippman: So you just eat the tops.
Elaine: Oh yeah. It's the best part. It's crunchy, it's explosive, it's where the muffin breaks free of the pan and sort of (makes hand motions) does it's own thing. I'll tell you. That's a million dollar idea right there. Just sell the tops.


ANYWAY, here is what i put into this salad, and of course you are free to substitute anything you don't like, won't eat or don't have. 

the stuff

1 apple
1 stalk celery
1 Persian cucumber
2-3 radishes
3-bean munchie sprouts (or any sprouts you have--sprouted sunflower seeds would also be good)
raw cheddar cheese (omit if desired)
avocado slices on top (don't mix in or they will get mushed up)
and i forgot the raisins this time, but it's very good with raisins.

the dressing
(oops i forgot to measure what i put into the blender! amounts are approximate and just so you know, "T" is Tablespoon, "t" is teaspoon)

1/4 cup cider vinegar
2-3T apple or orange juice
1T raw tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
dash of umeboshi vinegar
salt to taste
dash of cayenne
squeeze of lemon
if you like it a bit sweeter you can add a touch of honey

mix this stuff all up in a bowl and spoon it out on top of the greens of your choice. I used spinach this time. This recipe makes enough for two people if you are having something else or aren't that hungry. If this is your main meal and you're hungry, eat the whole thing yourself. These ingredients go well together both taste-wise and digestion-wise.


Rebecca: Excuse me, I'm Rebecca Demore from the homeless shelter.
Elaine: Oh, hi.
Rebecca: Are you the ones leaving the muffin pieces behind our shelter?
Elaine: You been enjoying them?
Rebecca: They're just stumps.
Elaine: Well they're perfectly edible.
Rebecca: Oh, so you just assume that the homeless will eat them, they'll eat anything? 
Mr. Lippman: No no, we just thought...
Rebecca: I know what you thought. They don't have homes, they don't have jobs, what do they need the top of a muffin for? They're lucky to get the stumps.
Elaine: If the homeless don't like them the homeless don't have to eat them.
Rebecca: The homeless don't like them.
Elaine: Fine.
Rebecca: We've never gotten so many complaints. Every two minutes, "Where is the top of this muffin? Who ate the rest of this?" 
Elaine: We were just trying to help.
Rebecca: Why don't you just drop off some chicken skins and lobster shells.
Elaine: I think I might.

all about Cucumbers

 a relative passed this info along to me in an email this afternoon, ironically right after i just bought some cucumbers for my daughter who asked to have some for lunch. I had no idea they had so much nutrition and so many other uses.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6.. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.


9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

FDA Argues Feds Can Deny Consumers the Right to Buy Raw Milk and Dairy Products

Attorneys for the federal government have argued in a lawsuit pending in federal court in Iowa that individuals have no "fundamental right" to obtain what food they choose. The brief was filed April 26 in support of a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ban on the interstate sale of raw milk.  read full story here

and lots more info about the fight to keep raw milk legal  HERE

And FYI, here is the FDA's public stance on raw milk The Dangers of Raw Milk 
 blahbity blah...

My personal opinion on raw milk is that fundamentally, cow milk was intended for baby cows, not humans. I was vegan for 8 years and still believe that cow milk should not be a staple food for us--it should be consumed as a treat, if at all. But if people do choose to include dairy products in their diet, raw dairy is the absolute most healthy choice. Raw milk contains the live enzymes necessary to properly digest the proteins and fat in the milk, which enables us to assimilate the nutrients. I invite discussion about milk consumption here, so please feel free to comment with your opinion or any links you may have to share. Here are a few raw milk links to articles I found:


raw-milk-facts.com
mercola.com
a campaign for real milk
NY Times

I believe that the best thing you can do for your health is learn to trust your own inner guidance to find what is best for your unique body, mind and spirit. I personally consume, in small quantities, raw dairy products. I eat raw cheese, (cheddar is so good with apples!) and when i can find it, i buy raw milk for my daughter who loves it. It will not be so easy for me to obtain it anymore. PCC, our local natural food chain market, recently stopped carrying raw milk. Apparently, Whole Foods has also pulled raw milk from the shelves. read full story here. They cite concern over food safety, however, given the stories i read about the FDA's raid on an Amish Farmer, it's clear that the FDA campaign is becoming more and more aggressive. I would not doubt that the government has threatened retailers even more than independent farmers, and of course Whole Foods isn't going to issue a public statement about that when they can simply attribute the decision to concern over our safety.

I do have friends who own a cow, and they have offered me a small amount of milk if I want it. They don't have very much, but we don't use very much--so I may take her up on the offer. It looks like this will be the only way for us to get access to raw milk unless consumer campaigns prove successful. I am interested to see how this affects the raw cheese market, as I have seen more and more raw cheeses being offered at Trader Joe's. It's looking to me like we are going to have to raise and produce all of our own food soon enough, if we want to maintain control over our own dietary choices. If the day ever comes when the government starts destroying or confiscating citizens' personal livestock, gardens or seeds, I will be moving my family to Europe.

In the meantime, I intend to resurrect an organization I started a few years ago, Temple of Hygieia and update it with these current issues. I was doing way too much at the time I started that website so I dropped the ball on it, but my intention was to form a legal church to protect our constitutional right to our own health freedom. If anyone is interested in helping me develop that organization, please contact me at madame7@gmail.com

raw vegan hot cacao! (well, as warm as you like)

It began as a quest for comfort on a cold winter's day, with a motherlode of cacao beans I got from a friend "in the biz". I had already been making fresh hemp seed milk for my kids so we could stop buying all those boxes of hemp milk and also so I could ensure that they were getting all the nutritional benefits hemp seed has to offer. So I had been playing around with different milk recipes and decided to try adding some cacao beans. Because the Vitamix has such a powerful motor that it can actually heat up the food, I thought I'd let it run for a while to see if I could make hot cocoa. What I didn't expect was that the Vitamix would whip the cocoa into a frothy, creamy, delicious warm beverage that I enjoy better than any hot cocoa I've ever had.

This drink could probably be made in a regular blender. If your blender doesn't get it warm enough, you could always heat it up. If you want to retain the most nutrients, don't heat it up past 110 degrees. If you want to learn more about Vitamix blenders and how they can change your life for the better, click HERE, or feel free to email me and I will tell you all about it. Since going raw I hardly use any appliances, but the Vitamix gets used 1-2 times a day, every day. When people ask me what they need to get started on a raw diet, that's it: get a Vitamix. Do I sound like a salesperson? Ha ha...I don't care, just get one. Your hot cacao drink will be much better.

So here is the basic recipe which you can adjust to your taste.

2 cups water
2 Tablespoons shelled hemp seed, more or less
about 16 raw cashews
1-2 dates (medjool is large and soft, good for this recipe)
8-10 whole cacao beans, or 1 Tablespoon of cacao nibs (raw is best)
few dashes of salt (I like "real salt")
1-2 Tablespoons of agave nectar, to taste
1/4" piece of vanilla bean, or 1/4 teaspoon extract

optional: cinnamon, and cayenne, to taste (for Mexican cocoa)
I highly recommend it with the cayenne!
You could also throw in a few coffee beans...mmmm...!

Start the blender on low and gradually raise the speed. The Vitamix has a variable speed dial so I just crank it up. You want it running on high for 5-7 minutes so make sure the lid is on tightly. I got mine to a good drinking temperature in about 7 minutes. Drink it right away so you can enjoy the creamy foam that forms on top. Makes two servings.

Now, this recipe could also be made into a cacao milkshake, if you add 1/2 a frozen banana, some ice cubes, and don't let it run longer than it takes to blend thoroughly. I do that for an afternoon snack sometimes. Have fun with it! Great for kids, you can even give this to them for breakfast. It's often an after-dinner treat in our home.