Food is Spiritual

There are certain things in life you wish you could wish upon those you love; like the day you found/understood/accepted the love of Christ, or how much different you feel being vegan, or happiness or peace of mind. But like political and social views one cannot do such things. Certain things can only be experienced and we are all at different points in this journey of life.

Nina and Savi

You wish you could recommend wonderful experiences like you recommend a favorite restaurant or a shoe or a dress because you know them and kinda' know they might enjoy it too. But food like most things is a spiritual thing and spiritual things are emotional things and emotional things are personal. At the end of the day you have to face yourself and hope you sleep well at night with the decisions you've made. You may be asking what this has to do with food but it has everything to do with food.

Our great dinner

We are our belief system. Our belief system controls how we act and react. What we eat, who we date and how we behave are all based on what we believe to be true. Your belief system can either make or break you because it determines your thoughts and your thoughts determine your words and action. Am I getting very philosophical? I hope so. If we want to be a well balanced people and stay Forever Young, all aspects of our lives have to be in harmony.

My beautiful friend Wanneh, her daughter Savi and our Nina

Sometimes starting a new lifestyle can be very scary and isolating but thank God for friends and family who understand and for great support from communities of people who are practicing the same lifestyle. Don't be surprised if you feel a little sad, almost like a separation anxiety, it is normal and it will pass. Nothing beats eating consciously, healthy and mostly raw; more greens,more nutrient dense and high water content foods--our bodies are made of over 70% of water. I was talking to my friend Alexa and we both agreed that the reason why people over-eat is because they are feeding their bodies empty, nutrient-deficient foods.


I remember back when I used to eat like a pig. I would find myself going to the fridge almost every hour to find something to eat. I felt like I was possessed, I couldn't stop eating and I couldn't feel satisfied with anything I ate, now I know why. When you eat mostly raw your body gets satisfied with even a single stuffed bell pepper and this is because you are giving your body the right nutrients it needs to function. If you looked at a SAD (oh, I love this so much. My favorite Acronym so far) person's plate, most of the times the only veggie is maybe a sprig of kale or parsley that was used to garnish the food.

Alexa's delicious Miso dressing

3 tsp white mellow miso

1 tsp Tahini

1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

dash of black pepper

1.5 cup of olive oil

Then may be a little fruit bowl to have after the improperly combined food. To add fruit to this is a practice most of us learned from when we were little. Fruits should always be eaten on an empty stomach for proper digestion or 30 to 60 minutes after a meal (depending on what kind of meal it was, a flesh meal usually takes over 48 hours to digest at which time it has already begun o putrefy). When fruits get in contact with a meal it ferments (fermentation is an anaerobic conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide and alcohol by yeast)

My Rick, Wanneh, Savi & our Nina
One thing that ties all men: Love.

My husband once said to me "Never change who you are. Never compromise who you are for anyone not even for me." At the core of each one of us there is a shinny person waiting to emerge. Somethings are very logical, some things are very true, some things are very basic and uncomplicated like eating right and eating to live. Live foods make for live people, dead foods make for dead or dying people. Let your food be as alive as you can have it be. There is a vast difference in the way you feel and view the world when you eat a more natural/raw diet. Spiritually there is also a vast difference. You cannot be at a certain level of spirituality with your body still haboring tons of toxins, we are all connected and I think what separates us--if we have to get down to the nitty-gritty-- has everything to do with they way we view food.

My Yummy Salad with Alexa's Miso Dressing

I still say one of my worst foods on the SAD list is milk. There are quite a few others on the list but Milk has been so glamorized--as long as a celebrity has a milk mustache it must be good for you--and popularized by all the big shots who control the money in the government. What difference is there from drinking a rat or a horse's milk? or even worse how controversial would it be to have lactating mums fill out gallons of their milk for sale by inducing them way past their lactating period? what is the difference from doing that to cows? I don't know about you but I love the green mustaches from my green smoothies better, plus it is environmentally friendly :-)

Raise your carrot juice and let's make a toast...CHEERS!

Day 37 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

"Life is color."--Bernice Angoh

EAT TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO EAT. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT and WHAT YOU EAT BECOMES YOU...GO GREEN. LIFE IS COLOR.

Hello happy people, I hope you're all doing great today. Well, I started my day with a 20 minute walk with my walking-buddy, my six year old daughter, Nina. We got a good dose of Vitamin D and then I did a 20 minute circuit training (cardio and strength training) which left me feeling very high and energized. Breakfast was one of the green smoothies from below and then for lunch I had a hefty plate of my coleslaw. By the way, yesterday I received my order of Lacuma powder, raw cacao butter and some raw/vegan chocolate paste (sweetened). So someday this week I will be making a fantastic raw ice cream...stay tuned :-) you wouldn't want to miss that!

I was researching more on Vitamin B12, you know, the one some people say you can only get from eating meat. Well, it goes that most meat eaters should be the ones who are vitamin B12 deficient more so than vegetarian, vegans or raw/vegans. The reason being most non-vegans lack intrinsic factor which is needed for the absorption of B12 in the ileum and that approximately 80% of consumed B12 is absorbed by humans with healthy digestive systems, plus at higher intakes, absorption of B12 quickly drops down to 3%.

This translates to the fact that those on the Standard American Diet of meats(all flesh including chicken and fish), sugars, dairy, processed foods and high fructose corn syrup are at risk of having unhealthy digestive systems due to poor food combining, highly putrefactive nature of animal proteins and a diet high in processed foods. An unhealthy digestive system causes the inability of the system to produce intrinsic factor which is needed for absorption of B12. Okay, some may argue that their systems are healthy and clean, but if you are a heavy animal flesh eater ( people who eat some kind of animal flesh more than one time a day and many do, they may eat bacon or sausage for breakfast, then eat a fish or chicken or beef dish for lunch and dinner), your absorption rate of vitamin B12 automatically goes down to 3%. So, I think it is safe to say that non-vegans are more prone to B12 deficiency. We can now lay to rest the notion that we (non-meat and dairy eaters) are B12 deficient. A cup of alfalfa sprout a day, mixed with your salad gives, you enough B12 to sustain a healthy body.

I rest my case.
~B

Day 36 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

My RAW-mazing COLESLAW

YOU MUST TRY THIS!

I think I outdid myself today with this recipe. I hope you all love it. I made a big batch so I have leftovers for tomorrow.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of green cabbage, thinly sliced

1 cup of purple cabbage, thinly sliced

6 medium sized organic carrots, 3 grated, 3 julienned (or all grated)

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

2 organic apples, chopped

Mix all in a bowl and set aside.

Dressing:

2 cups of almonds, soaked overnight

1/4 cup of agave or raw honey (I like and used agave with this one)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried mustard powder

1.5 cups of olive oil

1/4 cup coconut oil

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 1-2 oranges

Process in blender until smooth. Pour over veggies and toss.

warning:WILDLY DELICIOUS!

Day 35 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

My Rich Fudge Brownies with Hazelnut Sauce

Can you believe it's day -35? Well, there is something I must say, cooked food is very addictive. The other night I tried some of my husband's vegan baked-zitti and after two spoonfuls I found myself wanting more. I had to restrain myself, because I realized what was happening; cooked food is addictive! and I, Bernice, definitely don't want to go back to that. I also realized that the food tasted different on my tongue. It felt like, well, it didn't give me the great taste that raw foods, especially my greens, gives me. It is almost as if I could feel the lack of nutrient whereas with raw foods every time I eat I feel like I am adding oxygen to my body, there is a freshness in the chlorophyll that leaves you very satisfied and quenched, lol, ok I know that didn't help but that is as close as I can describe the feeling.
Yesterday I had a whole oatmeal for breakfast, the recipe for this delicious raw breakfast is on a previous day, feel free to cruise around. I made a big bowl of my kale salad for lunch, I think I am addicted to this salad, it is just that good and the pine nuts make it very tasty. Today am going to make my Asian cabbage salad or maybe a tasty raw coleslaw, yes, why nut? lol, did you see that? I wrote "why nut?". Nuts are wonderful and very versatile. I still have some cheesecake and that will be my desert for tonight. I am still waiting for the raw cacao butter I ordered so I can do a white chocolate cheesecake and invent some more recipes for you all to try.
I also wanted to point out that I have added some affiliate sites to my blog and if you need to order something you can do it from the link here, it will help me make some spare change, lol. I am hoping to add more as time goes on. Eventually there will be some FYR apparel for those who'll like to support the blog and all FYR efforts.

I am also happy to announce that I donated a a poem to the children's orphanage in Haiti. The kids made the banana leaf cards by hand and every card you buy (I wrote all the words to the card) will be a double gift as the profits will go back to support the children in the orphanage. If you feel inclined to give, please do so by clicking on this link :http://web2.accureg.com/PiggyInk/ProjCur.aspx

Here's the recipe for the famous Rich Chocolate Brownie I promised you:

Chocolate Fudge Brownie:
1 cup walnut
5 mejool dates, pitted
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor with an 'S' blade till it's fine and start to ball up. Press into a square pan and freeze for 1 hour. Cut into desired squares and enjoy with a fresh glass of raw almond milk. YYYYYYYUUUUUUUMMM. This is the easiest desert recipe. i added some chopped macadamias to half of mine to give it a white chocolate speckled illusion.

Have a blessed day.

~B.

Day 34 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

My Raw/Vegan Ultra-delicious strawberry cheesecake

"Did you know that calves, instead of drinking their mothers' milk, are fed a formula made from cows' blood? Yes, these practices are all perfectly legal."--SelfHealth Revolution by Michael Zenn

Have You Met Your Meat Yet?

Do you recall that funny feeling after a meal of steak? Like you've just eaten a cow? Well, if you have it is because you have eaten a portion of a cow and all its barnyard Friends. Long ago I used to be very clueless meat-eater. Little did I care or know how my meat was handled and cared for. Who cares right? as long as it's FDA approved we are good to go. The FDA cares very much about us, they bring us the best of nature, right? Well, NO ONE LOVES YOU LIKE YOU, NO ONE CARES FOR YOU LIKE YOU, NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU BUT YOU!

Cows are still fed feed that contains their barnyard friends like cats, dogs, fish, chicken, pigs and other cow parts. Did you read that correctly? Your MEAT is a cannibal! If that doesn't scare you, then this message wasn't for you. Let those who have ears listen; that is not only relevant for the Bible but with everything else in life. And the FDA? What do they say about this? In Michael Zenn's Self Health Revolution it says "Government spokesmen believe that whatever is processed by renders, becomes denatured (meaning it's actually no longer what it was before)"
So your Government spokesperson means that since it has undergone some kind of process to change the meat (they are heated for 30 minutes under very high temperatures), whatever it was before has been changed. What are you eating my friends? First, they heat it up in the rendering process and then you take it and heat it up some more! what are you eating? Ever imagined how eating or lets say being fed other animal parts can change the chemical composition of the animal? Ever imagined how eating that 'sick' and 'alien' flesh changes the chemical composition of you?

There is a famous saying that goes "You are what you eat." I have come up with mine and I think it is even better "What you eat, eats you."-- Most people don't believe animals have feelings but they do have fear vibrations they send out when they 'know' death is coming. Imagine what's going on in them when they see themselves on the slaughter line. I am sure they want to escape, I am sure that their adrenaline in at its peak, I am sure they have feelings, I am sure they like us, want to live, want to survive and enjoy life by playing in the grass or in the mud or just lazying around watching the sky. If "Curiosity killed the cat." I can safely say that "Ignorance kills the man."

If your problem is where to get your protein from, as so many fire back, protein is not all the craze, it will take a hard try on your part for you to be protein deficient. The body can get all its necessary amino acids from seeds, nuts and dark leafy greens. Humans are not meant to me meat-eaters but when it is packaged right and the Gorey red bleeding flesh is camouflage with seasonings and spices, I bet you it is very inviting isn't it? Sometimes it serves to be gullible and this is the one time. When I look at a piece of flesh my brain goes on alert mode and I am very grateful for that, in the past I would still eat it and ignore my inner voice but that is what I called denial. If you were sent out there with a spear in one hand and asked to go get your own meat or chicken or pig, would you? I think you would run the other way. Why then do we let others do the dirty work for us? so we don't feel the guilt because we didn't kill the animal? so there is no blood on our hands?

Did you know that the two leading causes of death in the U.S are directly related to meat consumption (cows, Turkey, pigs, chicken, fish etc)

"Patrice Green, J.D., M.D. and Allison Lee Solin state that animal products easily account for our largest intake of pesticides and herbicides, in fact, more than 80 to 90% by some estimates."--Self-Healing Colitis & Crohn's by David Klein, Ph.D.

"One half of all antibiotics in the U.s. alone are used in the production of livestock." Here are a few facts from Dr. klein's book:

Meat is the most putrefactive of all foods. This means of all foods meat is the most liable for decay in the intestines.

The hardest thing for the human body to digest is cooked animal meat.

Protein metabolism yields great amounts of toxic byproducts.

Flesh food can take up to 5 (five) days to pass through and out of the body (Plant food takes about 1 day).

Meat contains waste products that the animal did not get to eliminate and toxic hormones and fluids released into their blood stream at the time of death.

This may sound extreme but it is the truth and the truth usually stinks or should I say stings; when you look at your steak, chicken, pork the next time you're eating start to think:

Hello meat, how were you cared for? how long have you been dead for? hat sores, cancers or diseases did you have before you were slaughtered? Ask, Ask, Ask and maybe one day you will ask yourself if it is really necessary to eat flesh that you yourself wouldn't go out to kill or slaughter.

Did you know that bowel cancer is the second form of deadly cancer after lung cancer? What causes or puts you at risk of having this? answer: just go back and read from above.

I think I've written enough for today. There are many books and resources out there about animal protein, make use of them all and if you still want to eat animal flesh do so knowing what you are ingesting. It is GOOD to be in the know.

"People think the FDA is protecting them. It isn't. What the FDA is doing and what people think it's doing are as different as night and day."--Herbert Lay, Former FDA Commissioner.

"When I look animal flesh I see death; wilted, unscented, bland, limp and lifeless, but when I look at plants and seeds and fruits, what a difference it makes to see life in all its glory--colors of green and rainbows, sweet scents of fruits that tingle my nose. Life is color."--Bernice Angoh

HAVE YOU MET YOUR MEAT YET?

~B.

Day 31 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

30-Day Celebration kale Salad

Yes, you read it right, it is Day 31 today and the opening day of Michael Jackson's "This is it". You know I wouldn't miss it for the world. Nothing was new to me as I watched this incredible entertainer whom I just adore; he has one of the most beautiful hearts of anyone I know in the world. I know a lot of people may argue with that but that is my opinion. God bless you and rest with Jesus, my friend.



I started today with a strawberry/banana shake. Decided to shake things up a bit huh? I added a tablespoon of coconut oil and it tasted exactly like strawberry yogurt--only healthier than the store brands.

I won't write too much today as I have been out all day and need to rest my delicate head, lol. For super I am having some julienned zucchini and carrots with some zesty pesto sauce. The recipe for my pesto sauce is somewhere below and all I added to it was 1/2 of sun dried tomatoes. YUMMMMMMMMMMMM!



I promised you the recipe of my celebration kale salad so here it is. AMAZING



30-day Celebration Kale Salad:



1 bunch of kale
juice from two lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 pine nuts, soaked and rinsed
1/2 cup raisins, soaked, rinsed and diced
1/4 cup chopped olives
1Tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 avocado, mashed
1 red bell pepper, diced



Thinly slice the leaves of kale. add juice of lemons and olive oil and mash with fingers to wilt kale. Once it starts to change color to a darker green, it is about ready. Then add the rest of the ingredients, mix and DEVOUR! This never last for more than a day. I could eat it three times a week and it is very filling. Dee-liciouso!

~B

Day 30 (30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge)

Photo by Nina Lakota

DAY 30! Why do I feel sad then? why? I think I know why. With every other diet I've tried before--even though I'd enjoy the journey--I welcomed the last day just so I could go back to eating some of the things I used to crave or eat. With every other diet I have done before, there was a starting and an ending date and I liked the ending part more because I had some addictions to cater to but with the raw food, I don't want it to end. There is nothing better to go back to, no cravings to satisfy, nothing at all. I am fully and completely satisfied and alive. So I am telling you now that this is not the end for I have found something that works perfectly for me.

I Love Me (Ode to eating RAW)

I don't want to go back to the days of eating so much and yet feeling empty,
days of eating non-foods that weigh me down and make me lose my shine,
days of eating foods and feeling them like dead-weight in my belly; just sitting there and waiting too long and finally putrefying and giving me horrible gas and bloating.
I don't want to go back to days of feeling drugged after eating and all I wanted to do was sleep.
I don't want to eat red meat or pork or chicken or fish; I want to live and let live.
I do not need any dairy, hydrogenated foods or high fructose corn syrup;
the only high I'm getting is that which I get from being healthy and alive
I want to fight to keep the PH of my body more alkaline and avoid dis-ease.
I love eating RAW.
I love feeling light and airy; I love soaring and gliding.
I love the glow on my face and the peace in my hips.
The laughter in my bones and the quietness of my gut.
I like the shine in my hair and the swagger in my steps,
the light that makes people smile back at me,
the friendliness and thoughtfulness of my mind.
The better person I am,
the cheerful wife and mother and sister and daughter and friend.
I love me
I love me enough to eat and live more green
because contrary to what they say, the grass on my side is greener and perfectly so!
(I'm sure I'll perfect this more and more as time goes on)

Copyright© 2009 by Bernice Angoh

Today is a wonderful day and since starting this lifestyle I have lost 18 pounds but gained something much more;
I have gained wings to fly as high as I want,
I have gained peace with humanity,
I have gained understanding of body and soul
I have gained more love than I can hold
I have gained a chance to live a far better life than I was taught
a life of abundance promised by a man called Jeshua
I have found the child I once was...
what a wonderful day it is.

Are you tired of me yet?lol I hope not. I hope this inspires you to incorporate more greens and raw foods into your lifestyle. Even if you have to start with dedicating 2-3 days of the week to eating raw/vegan, that will make a tremendous difference in your health. Whatever you do, add more greens, they are good for you. Green is the color of life. Don't you want life?

I am celebrating my Day 30 with an original recipe, a kale salad, I will put that up tomorrow for you to enjoy. Maybe later I will make some chocolate mousse desert, we'll see. Just know that the journey hasn't ended...I will put up more and more recipes as I learn more and more.
I have some very interesting things to share with you tomorrow about animal protein, ah, the things we don't know...I will leave you with something I wrote a few days ago.

The Story of the Seed

Out of the goodness of His hands
You were created from the Light
There in the warm soil you dwell
Bearing storms, weeds and bugs
Till you find a way to breathe and form
Sprouting forward, you shoot like a comet
Tenderly and lovingly I gaze at you “Hey there you! took you long enough.”
Like a parent, protective and nurturing, I become.
And then comes your first kiss and it’s nothing like mine
Kissed by the sun—golden!
Ripened with talents and fruits, you’ve finally come into your own
Swaying your green fringes in the wind
You are the lovely ballerina of the valley.
I am beautifully and fearfully made. You say to me
Eat of me and be merry. I come with abundance, I come to
Give you life.

And to this I reply:

“Out of the Light you’ve come to bring me comfort and joy. At this meal in which I partake with body, mind and soul, I take thee to heart and with all the gratitude I have in me, I give you thanks. You will bless my soul with the wholeness of you, ease my pain with the fullness of you, heal my body with the goodness of you and purify my spirit till I become the light—the Light of the world, a perfect reflection of my Creator. Amen.”

Copyright© 2009 by Bernice Angoh