I AM RAW

So it's that time of year for me...to be as close to 100% RaW as possible!! It's not even so much a choice anymore - when the temperature rises, my body only craves freshly squeezed green juices, avocados, zucchini, kale, tomatoes, asparagus and anything plant-based I can get from the local pesticide-free, Monsanto-free (I hate to even give this evil corporate nightmare a capital "M") farmers. Whenever possible, I URGE you to buy your produce from local Farmer's Markets or co-ops. You can also join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and have a box of seasonal veggies delivered to you during the growing season (www.localharvest.org/csa/). Unless you have your own garden of tasties, this is the next best thing!

During the cooler months, I usually maintain an 80% raw lifestyle but I do respect and listen to my body and if it wants some cooked grains, beans and steamed veggies, I oblige. Fall and winter sway me towards a more Raw/Vegan/Macrobiotic path and it works just as well for me.

I have found that since I have eliminated ALL animal products (including dairy), refined sugars and processed foods, my body very LOUDLY tells me what to put in it AND I actually listen because I trust that it loves me and wants what is best for me.

That being said, when I was not so "clean", it INSISTED I eat Twizzlers, Gummy Bears, ProMax Bars and the like...and I paid a price for that. I would have daily sugar comas and never felt good yet I would continue abusing myself because I was responding to an addiction. The additional "bonus" is that I would be on such a sugar high that I could probably run 6 miles fueled only on a "Vitamin" water (sugar content in this drink is astounding) and I'd actually lose weight! BECAUSE I WAS KILLING MYSELF!! When the crash would come, I'd turn to salt in all forms to "balance" me out and bring me down.

What a nightmare. I so desperately wanted to go to rehab for my food addictions but I couldn't fathom going cold turkey! Today I am so GRATEFUL that I am off that roller coaster. I NEVER take for granted that I could easily succumb back to that living hell if I choose to make bad choices. So I choose LIFE. And today, I eat RAW, life-giving, regenerative foods.

I am questioned about the price to be raw...my response is always that it actually costs me LESS money because I do not experience all the cravings associated with unhealthy eating patterns, thus more junk-food purchases. Need we discuss the price of Starbucks and Pinkberry? Enough said.

Yesterday I feasted on an avocado, spiraled zucchini and a farm fresh tomato for about $4.00 (I even have leftovers). I had a 16 oz fresh squeezed "Green Lemonade" from Whole Foods for $4.99 and 2 Vitashakes (Sunrider) with Coconut Juice which cost me about $3.00 each. So for $15.00 I was completely nutrient saturated, my appetite was satisfied and I woke up (or shall I say bounced out of bed) with a very flat tummy as an added bonus. Not only is that not a lot of money for a days worth of great food, it is by far more costly to eat off the highly advertised $1 dollar menus at your local fast food joints followed by a trip to pharmacy for antacids, pain killers, gas relief, etc to MASK the damage you are doing by dousing your body with acid-inducing DEAD food with ZERO nutrient value.

Start your day with a beautiful whole fruit...watermelon, oranges, grapefruits, apples (try to choose one fruit to eat as much as you want all by itself to avoid bad food combining) and feast on beautiful GREEN salads and veggies all day. You'll never have to worry about calories, ounces, fat content and all the things we waste our time on because your body knows exactly what to do with WHOLE living food. That is the simple way to begin a raw journey ...you can also dine out at the numerous raw restaurants opening more and more frequently (check out www.happycow.net for your area) or learn to make decadent raw-licious meals that would seriously shock you into submission.

This is the lifestyle that works for me. So I choose to share it with you in the hopes that it may lead you in a direction of Optimum Health. You know what is best for you and I wish you nothing but what is best for YOU!! Try it out and if you love what it does for your body like I do, you will hopefully stick to it...there's no reason to wait til dis-ease starts knocking at your temple door!!

Love Your Body, Love Your Planet, Love Each Other...

Vegan Vampires Drink Plant Blood...CHLOROPHYLL Benefits

I recently returned from one of the happiest places on earth.. Optimum Health Institute (OHI) in beautiful San Diego. For me, it is not only a retreat and cleanse from the stress of daily life, it is a necessity to keep my body healthy and free of "health opportunities" that plague many of us on various levels.

After losing my mother to lung cancer and watching so many people I love (of ALL ages) suffer from debilitating dis-eases in their bodies (arthritis, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, mental illness, obesity, eating disorders...the list goes on), it became apparent that I should treat my body with respect and do the things that so many people turn to out of desperation when they become ill. The good news, is I have never felt better in my life! I am one bouncy girl with boundless energy (no caffeine) and CLARITY! It's sadly profound what sugar, preservatives and chemically altered foods do to every part of your being! When you change to a whole food lifestyle, it's like waking up one day with no pain but never realizing you were actually in pain because you were so used to it...

Anyway, back to Optimum Health Institute (OHI) - truth is, we drink A LOT of wheatgrass. As a matter of fact, we do lots of things with wheatgrass of which I will spare you at the moment...

It is the chlorophyll in wheatgrass that is perhaps its most valuable asset. Chlorophyll, the plant’s green pigment that is often referred to as the “blood of plant (isn't that sexy?),” has been shown in studies to have a cleansing, detoxifying & healing effect on the body. I am not a doctor (nor are the folks at OHI) but I have seen miracles occur every time I am there! Wheatgrass makes me high, happy and I BUZZ like neon...things come out of my skin (rashes, etc) that I have no idea what they are but am quite happy to see them depart the temple...HOWEVER...by the end of my week there, I cannot stomach the thought of wheatgrass even with the cinnamon chaser that makes it bearable.

To get the full of effect of wheatgrass, you MUST drink it on an empty stomach and wait a full 60-90 minutes before ingesting another thing, including water. In the real world, this just does not work for me. Not to mention that I personally would not drink wheatgrass unless I grew it myself (or lived near OHI where I could buy flats from them) as it has been told that your friendly Jamba Juice, health food store, etc. acquire their wheatgrass from commercial growers who are now required to soak the seeds in pesticides before sprouting the grass!! Don't get me started...

So what's a vampire to do? Sunrider, International makes an AWESOME product called Evergreen. I can't say enough about it...here is the description:

Evergreen^®

The highly concentrated chlorophyll in Evergreen^® addresses the body's circulatory and digestive systems.* Evergreen^® is exclusively formulated herbal concentrated with owner expertise and based on the Philosophy of Regeneration^™: to maintain optimum health through proper nutrition and keeping the body in balance.

If you were to consume green, leafy vegetables in order to achieve the effect of one bottle of Evergreen^®, you would need to eat a tremendous amount, hardly possible in a regular meal. All natural, Evergreen^® does not contain artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives.

Evergreen is infused with Peppermint Oil which makes it ever so tasty and promotes digestion...let's put it this way, I NEVER leave home without it...if I eat something questionable and my body goes into acid distress mode, I quickly take a swig of Evergreen and problem is quickly solved, body is brought back to alkalinity! Not to mention that if you continue to ingest this you will find that any body odors, bad breath, etc are eliminated! My Naturopath friend informed me that drinking coconut water mixed with Evergreen is like giving yourself a blood transfusion!

So that's my story...please DRINK YOUR VEGGIES and if you can, go to OHI to give your body, mind and spirit some LOVE. xoxo