Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Why RAW? Eating for Beauty...




"It is much more than a fad of the moment," says raw nutrition expert and author David Wolfe in his new bookEating for Beauty. "A raw food diet is now considered a viable way of life for serious health seekers around the world." The living food movement, led by Wolfe and other high-profile raw foodists, has begun to replace the vegetarian movement as a healthy alternative to the fast food, pre-packaged, fat-laden meals most Americans eat today.




The raw-food culture is a mix of alternative health devotees, spiritual seekers, and hot trend spotters. Hollywood is not new to the raw lifestyle - Wolfe has personally counseled actors Alicia Silverstone, Alison Lohman and Woody Harrelson, motivational speaker Anthony Robbins, and model/Playmate Rebecca Scott. Wolfe and his chef staff have prepared raw feasts for The Grateful Dead; k.d. lang and Lisa Bonet have attended seminars.
To anyone who eats cooked food, the idea of eating only raw food might seem extremely restrictive, too taxing on your body. Yet there is solid evidence that a living plant food diet eases digestion, boosts energy, and eliminates carcinogens.
As the nation embarks on their New Years' resolution goals, Wolfe urges people to seriously look at the safety of the Standard American Diet (also known as the SAD diet.) "Fifty percent of the U.S. population dies of heart disease," he notes, "which is caused by poor diet and is therefore preventable and even reversible with proper diet, as tens of thousands of cases have shown.
"In the next ten years, cancer will surpass heart disease as the number one killer in the United States. We know that the best way to prevent cancer is to limit our exposure to carcinogens. The number one way of exposing ourselves to carcinogens is through cooked commercial food. Raw plant food actually contains anti-carcinogenic nutrients, so it's an obvious better choice."
--article from sunfood.com

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Lettuce, Kale, Sun Dried Tomato, Avocado Salad


    Ingredients
  • 6 leaves of romaine lettuce
  • 5 leaves of kale
  • 4 sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 3 scallions
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 lime
  • Sprinkle of sea salt
  • Cayenne to taste
    Directions
  • Remove kale from stems and massage down with sea salt.
  • Finely cut up the romaine leaves.
  • Slice up sun-dried tomatoes.
  • Cut up red pepper, scallions and avocado.
  • Dice up garlic.
  • Put into small container and add coconut oil, lime juice and sea salt.
  • Shake up and top salad.
  • Sprinkle with cayenne.

Friday, June 25, 2010

William Li: Can we eat to starve cancer?

Dreaming About Donut Holes by Ani Phyo

[Recipe] Ani Phyo's Donut Holes


*You won’t be able to eat just one donut. So I recommend tripling this recipe. Donut Holes will keep for over a week in your fridge.*


Donut Ingredients

1 ¾ cups almonds

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 vanilla bean, scraped

2 cups dried pineapple, chopped

2 cups pitted dates

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup shredded coconut


Donut Directions:

In food processor, place almonds, salt, and vanilla.

Process into a fine powder first.

Slowly add chopped pineapple and dates, mix well.

Place in a large bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup shredded coconut.

Finale:

To serve, use an ice cream scooper or spoon to form donut holes.

Roll holes in ¼ cup shredded coconut.

Will keep for over a week in the fridge.

From the book Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo. Reprinted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong (www.dacapopress.com), a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2007. Buy it here.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

When you cook foods, the colors and textures change and all the precious water is burned off. Eating RAW food keeps you closer to the earth and connects you to the original product, the real thing. Eating food that is alive keeps you feeling alive.
Living on raw foods enables you to effortlessly shed not only excess physical weight; other, less tangible burdens are lifted. For some, it's that overall "unhealthy relationship" with food. For others, it's the persistent and lingering fear of disease which we can begin to let go of with the reassurance of knowing that good health is our natural right and we are now armed to claim it. Further, there can be an indescribable happiness, along with the sense of communion, that comes from not eating animals anymore, being less taxing to the enviroment, and reducing the weight upon the medical community - in short, living in a way that lessons the burden on the rest of the world.

--Excerpt from Raw Food Real World--

Monday, June 21, 2010

"The more you eat raw foods, the more your body starts to crave them, over anything else."

--Matthew Kenney (Raw Food Real World)

Did you know...

A RAW diet filled with antioxidants can improve vision and even help in prevention of future diseases.  The more living enzymes you consume, the more you eradicate disease and cleanse your body. On a RAW diet the color of your irises can even change, becoming lighter with more reflection of many hues. Your glowing eyes reflect the improvement of health.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

RAW Food Cleanse Juice

The following is a healthy addition for a  RAW food lifestyle from the book from "Raw Food Cleanse" byPenni Shelton:


My Daily Green 


Spinach is one of the easiest greens to start with when juicing because of it's mild flavor.  It's also high in iron and coenzyme Q10.  Celery has an abundance of organic sodium, of which most people are painfully deficient.  Cucumber is an important player in beautifying the skin, and parsley is an intestinal purifier and deodorizer. 

2 cups fresh spinach
6 stalks  celery
1 medium cucumber
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley

Run all ingredients through juicer and enjoy!



Sunday, June 13, 2010

HERBS



Herbs and how they can help with your health and comfort: 


Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)  -- Rich in chlorophyl, which reduces gas.  Avoid using if you're on blood thinning medication.
                                                  
Anise (Pimpinella anisum) --  Edible seeds remedy bloating, flatulence, poor appetite, and indigestion. Member of the parsley family.
                                                
Bay (Laurus nobilis)  --  Aids digestion, relieves flatulence. This culinary herb can be used to flavor many dishes. Remove the sharp edged leaves from food or tea before serving.
                                              

Caraway (Carum carvi) --  Seeds are often used in European cuisine. Relieves belching,  flatulence and intestinal cramps and spasms. Aids in the digestion of starches. Excellent for children's digestive issues.
                                                
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum spp.) -- Stimulates digestion. Effective in treating appetite loss and
flatulence. Add spice to dairy foods to make them easier to digest.

Dill (Anethum graveolens)   --   Edible seeds to help prevent heartburn, nausea, and indigestion.  The
edible flowers and leaves are rich in vitamin C and other nutrients.

Fennel (Foeniculum spp.)    --  Edible seeds and leaves enhance digestion, ease flatulence, heartburn and stomachache. Serves as a digestive aid for fatty foods.  Member of the parsley family.

Flax (Linum spp.) --  Soothes inflammation of the GI tract. Consume 1 to 2 tablespoons of seeds with plenty of fluids to ease constipation. Seeds may be eaten RAW or cooked. French citizens were required by law to consume this healthful plant.
                                        
                                  
Gentian (Gentiana spp.) --  Helps breakdown proteins and fats. Improves absorption of iron and
vitamin B12. Take tincture 10 to 30 mins before mealtime for maximum effectiveness.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) -- Soothes indigestion, bloating, flatulence, irritable bowel, nausea, and stomach pain. Root is most effective in dried form for digestive ailments. Safe for children. Pregnant women should take no more than 1 gram daily.

Juniper (Juniperus communus) -- Eat up to seven of these berries before a meal to stimulate stomach
acid. Helps with digestion and flatulence. Possesses antidiarrheal properties.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) -- Eases acid indigestion, constipation, cramps, spasms, diarrhea,
heartburn, stomachache and irritable bowel. Use deflycyrrhizinat licorice (DGL) to reduce potential side effects such as high blood pressure. Avoid in cases of nausea and vomiting.
Not recommended during pregnancy, nor for prolonged use.
                                              
Linden (Tilia spp.) --  Eases indigestion.  This herbal tea should be consumed in moderation as large doses may cause nausea.  The tea is suitable for children.

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita)  -- The plants menthol oil relaxes muscles in the stomach and small
intestine, relieving cramping.  Useful for flatulence, diarrhea, indigestion, nausea and stomachache.  Pregnant women should not drink more than two cups of peppermint tea daily.

Psyllium (Plantago spp.)  --  High in fiber, psyllium makes an excellent laxative. Because it also
provides intestinal bulk, it can combat diarrhea. Useful for acid indigestion.  Best taken without food, either before bed or immediately upon waking.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)  -- Aids in the digestion of fats and starches.  Excellent herb for
seniors.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)  --  This common culinary herb stimulates digestive secretions,  improves digestion of fatty foods, and can help treat diarrhea, flatulence, and indigestion.  Avoid large doses during pregnancy.
                                                        
 

Saturday, June 12, 2010

RAW fact-




Cooking food disrupts its molecular structure & kills the enzymes. Enzymes are catalysts enabling the body to utilize vitamins & minerals. Also raw foods are full of oxygen, especially green leafy vegetables which contain an abundance of chlorophyll which detoxifies the bloodstream.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

My Articles on Beauty Snob



Check out my weekly articles on beauty snob!! Beauty snob is a site where they feature articles about health and beauty tips, along with new products coming out and products they themselves test out and let you know whether they are "snob worthy", it's a very fun site at the very least! :)
http://www.beautysnob.com/

Coconut. A Super Fruit!


According to Hindu mythology, coconut water is meant to cure all the ills of the world.
The primary minerals or electrolytes in coconut water (coconut juice or milk as some others call it) are essentially the same as those found in human blood. Now that is amazing!

Many people like to not only drink the water as it is, with all it's amazing health benefits, but they also like to ferment it, turning it into what is called a coconut kefir. Coconut kefir is made from the water of young coconuts, these are the coconuts you get in the store that are white in color and have a pointy top, as a posed to the mature coconut which has the rough brown texture and is round. The water is fermented either by using a kefir packet or water kefir grains. This converts the sugars in the water/juice into probiotics and makes a new bubbly drink.

Kefir is a blend of several different bacteria and yeast - this is great for women who suffer from Candida/ yeast infections. Beneficial yeast is full of B vitamins which many RAW foodists lack in there diet if they don't supplement.

Whether you ferment it or not coconut water has many benefits, it's a superfood filled with minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, enzymes, and growth factors. It's also low in fat and sugars compared to other fruit juices!

There are a few different ways to make coconut kefirs depending on who you ask or which book you refer to. Here is a step by step instruction page with pictures on the Body Ecology website on how to create coconut water kefir: http://www.bodyecology.com/mcoconutkefir.php

Let me know how yours turns out! :)

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Bee Pollen

Bee Pollen is granulated pollen gathered by bees and is one of nature's most complete, nutritious foods. About 40% protein, half of which is free amino acids, bee pollen supplies humans with almost every essential element we need to survive.  It is also marked highly in folic acid , vitamins and nucleic acids, and is thought to help clear chronic digestive and autoimmune diseases. For Women... Not only has bee pollen been tapped to stimulate the production of eggs from ovaries, it also plays a roll in preventing and treating such cancers as breast and uterine. In this case, a spoonful of honey just might save your life!



This valuable nugget of info has come from the cook book: Raw Food real world by Sarma Melngailis and Matthew Kenney pg. 87


Friday, June 4, 2010

Jordan Rubin of the "Garden of Life"




Jordan Rubin is one of the most recognized and respected health experts in America. He has walked the walk as far as overcoming life threatening health issues. His doctor diagnosed Jordan with "the worse case of Crohn's" (a chronic digestive illness that affects the immune system) he had ever seen and did not expect him to live. He was in excellent health until 19, when his health declined dramatically, lost over 80 pounds and at one point was bound to a wheelchair and only 104 pounds.

After conventional medicine and numerous hospitalizations his family  sought out over 70 alternative nutritional therapies throughout the world. Their search concluded with a California nutritionist who suggested Jordan eat the same whole foods consumed in ancient times: RAW, organically grown whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and fermented dairy, grass fed beef, and free range poultry. Jordan also added a daily regimen of probiotics rich in beneficial bacteria and soil-based organisms. Within this process he gained 29 pounds in 40 days and by his 21st birthday he weighed in at 180 pounds, free of the digestive problems.

Jordan' was so grateful for his return to health that he dedicated the rest of his life to sharing what he's learned with the rest of the world. He wrote the books, Patient Heal Thyself and Restoring Your Digestive Health. In 2004 he wrote The Maker's Diet that spent a total of 47 weeks on the New York Time's best seller list. In addition to these, Jordan has also written 19 other health books. He has appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs, including Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, Fox News, Inside Edition and the Food Network. In his spare time Jordan travels as a motivational speaker.



If you would like to read articles by Jordan Rubin and other members of the Garden of Life team, visit www.gardenoflife.com/OurCompany/Articles/tabid/689/Default.aspx

Jordan's Garden of Life label has come out with an all RAW line. I've used some of his vitamin and supplement products in the past and I'm now trying his RAW protein powder in my smoothies. So far so good!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Cancer in the RAW - From Acidic to Alkaline.

Cancer cells thrive in an acidic enviroment and cannot survive in an alkaline enviroment. Cooked foods, as well as animal products and most grains make the body chemistry more acidic. Therefore it is vital for the body to have a whole food, plant based diet in order to overcome cancer, cancer cells.
There are RAW fruits, vegetables and nuts that are particularly good for alkalinity because they contain beneficial enzymes for the body.
Dr. Otto Warburg, a German scientist won a Nobel Prize in the 1940's for discovering that cancer cells thrive on a process called fermentation, which requires simple sugers and no oxygen. Chlorophyll-rich leafy vegetables facilitate oxygen circulation at the cellular level. Oxygen supresses cancer cells growth while enhancing healthy cells. Some of these foods include collard greens, wheat grass, garlic, aloe vera, papaya and papaya seeds, pineapple, millet, apricot kernals, blackberries, rasberries, lima beans, and curcumin spice. The fiber in foods binds with and removes cancer promoting hormones. Animal products and refined foods have no fiber, and promote a cancer friendly acidic enviroment.
Converting your diet into a RAW foods or mostly RAW diet is a great start to fighting cancer and keeping the body in optimum health. The goal is to make the body more alkaline, enzyme and oxygen rich and less acicidic so that cancer, in it's various forms cannot survive!

Out to Lunch...

I ordered a whole avocado, sliced and some sliced tomatoes, also had a mixed green salad with onions, tomatoes, shredded carrots and cucumbers with lemon on the side. Brought my own salad dressing and celtic sea salt. DELICIOUS :)
ooh...and I also had some blueberries for desert!


Avocado-Tomato Salad


Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Nuts via RAW People.com

When it comes to nuts, the walnut is the king. It's a great source of the healthy omega-3 essential fatty acids, which have been found to protect the heart, promote better cognitive function, and provide anti-inflammatory benefits for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema and psoriasis.