Showing posts with label detoxify. Show all posts
Showing posts with label detoxify. Show all posts

Monday, November 30, 2009

Mama's Here!

I have not seen my mother in six years, so you bet it was an unforgettable reunion. I will never forget the moment at the airport when she wrapped her hands around me and held me for about 10 minutes while just praying, singing and praising God for that moment in time. I love this woman, she is unstoppable and has a strength like no other. I was looking at her face the other day, you know wondering where she hid all her wrinkles. 50 years old and looking like my older sister.
Before she came we had decided that whatever medications she was taking for her Asthma would have to be discarded by the time she returns in 4 months. I had to make my younger sister promise that she will go with my plan for my mother when she's living with her for a while. The plan is no dairy and absolutely no flesh food. My mom, Diana, says she will do what I plan out for her because she wants to lose some extra weight and lose the medications. I believe that she can overcome anything. I can't wait to record her progress.
The first day we all went out walking and soaked in some vitamin D. I know it's going to be a little hard for her but she knows it's something she has to do. I am very happy she is so open minded, it will make my job very easy. So, yesterday she tried her first green smoothie. I made it extra sweet:
Mom's Welcome into the green smoothie world:
1/2 head of green lettuce
3 ripe bananas
2 tsp coconut oil
1 cup of water.
She will get the hand of it, lol, I feel a little bad for her, she doesn't know what she's gotten herself into *evil laughter* She'll be fine. So we are taking before pictures, weight and all the whole nine yards. I am super excited to watch her get healthier....
Nina and Grandma Ara.....


To Make You beautiful Again...
(a poem I wrote a while ago before my mom came)

I can't remember how you smell
and it scares me
I can't remember how it feels to be in your arms
and it taunts me
When I hear your voice all weak and lost
my fragile heart bleeds just a little bit more
Time, time, time, time can be a cruel master
he has stretched you
and robbed you
hurt you and ridiculed you
oh, the things you've been through mama
the things you've seen
the ordeals you've endured
you've always been that pillar of strength for everyone
now it's time to take care of you
let me take care of you
brush your hair and make you soup
Embrace me, embrace me Mama
stain me with the scent of you
hug me till I'm out of breath
let me love you and make you beautiful again--
place a dozen lilies on the crown of your head
let me love you, your heart and even your bones too.

Copyright © 2009 Bernice Angoh
* I am so happy I have the chance to do all these things now and more..."

Friday, November 27, 2009

The Days that Surround Thanksgiving

I went bowling the day before Thanksgiving for the very first time. Believe it or not, I did pretty good for an amateur. Rick,the perfectionist, did pretty awesome, Wanneh, the underdog, slowly made her way to the top while cool quiet Danielle impressed us with her sleek swipes. The top two battling for the game were David and Mark Jenkins but Mark swept the board by a landslide for all the games we played. I learned something though that might help you the next time you go bowling; walk really close to the left side of the flat surface on which you throw the ball and then swing your ball unto the surface, I noticed it almost always gets all 10 pins down or at least 9, lol. Little tip there huh? Let me know how it works for you.
Mark and Wanneh, Rick and I


Me and Wanneh

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning and went out for a 20 minute jog. The air was crisp and clean and it filled my lungs and gave them wings...lol. It was a great way to begin my day. No day is great without a tasty-nutritious green smoothie, you know, the green muddy drink that makes your body sing? Rick had the biggest glass, I like giving him more because he enjoys it so much plus I eat green throughout the day while he eats his vegan delights.
Thanksgiving wake-up smoothie:
1 head of green or red lettuce
3 ripe bananas
1 ripe pear
2 Tbsp flax seeds
1 Tbsp coconut butter/oil
1.5 cups of water
This is one of my favorite appetizers, that means I have to make more Apple-fennel-ginger juices so I can use the pulp. I am sure I can create one without having to make the juice but I tell you, the consistency might not be the same and also, I think I must want to keep making the juice. Anyone would love this juice even the most resistant SAD person. This, I took with me to the Thanksgiving dinner.

Here's the second thing I made, just assorted fruits, your choice of course. I then sprinkled it with crushed raw cashews and some unsweetened dried coconut shreds, ohhhhhhh YUmmama!!!! I was very happy that every kid at the party wanted some of this, they thought it looked 'so beautiful' and that was such a compliment, made me smile. There were no left overs with this one.


This, I made with lots of love. I could actually feel the love leave me a I prepared this salad. The colors made me smile and the variety of veggies hmm, I was salivating while making this. So what's in this?
Thanksgiving Grateful Salad
2 handfuls of mixed baby springs
1 cup baby spinach
2-4 cucumbers, thinly sliced
3 carrots, julienned
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow squash, julienned
1 zucchini, julienned
3 medium plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of currants
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
2 tbsp sesame seeds, sprinkled on top
Mama Mia! that's what I said after I tried this with my very simple dressing;
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup raw apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp dulse


This was the least touched dish on the table, and yes there was so much of it left over and I thought Yeah, more for me! I can't live without my greens any more, I just can't my body cries out for it.
Papa J, Mark, Rick and Chris Nichols



Around the table: Rick's Tofurky is right after those green sparkling celery sticks

Nina and Savi

We had such a fun time. The food was great and everyone ate to their fill. I hope they also ate to their health. There were smiles everywhere and I was so thankful that we have such wonderful friends who let us join them on this wonderful celebration. You can share a table with your non-vegan friends and family and get along great with everyone respecting each other's choice of food. That's what makes the world go round.
The evening ended with much more fun as we played the Family Feud game. It was the Jenkins against the Lakota-Nichols, can't remember who won this one but having the kids involved--even little Savi and Nina--made it so enjoyable.
The last rounds was for the adults and teens only and it was men against women and you know how this went down, women won!!!!! We have to give it up to our incomparable judge, Mark Jenkins, who constantly kept us on our toes with very intriguing questions. On the women's team Kyra, 14 and Danielle, 14 saved the day more than once. Kyra especially impressed me with her knowledge all the features on the dollar bill, without her the men would have stolen the game because my Rick--who is super-duper intelligent--was ready for the kill.
Let's not forget David, Danielle's father, who kept coming over to the ladies' side, his sense of humour was infectious. Thanks David! Mama J saved us once or twice and Papa J was the silent audience.
Thanksgiving is all about what the word stands for; giving thanks. Thanks for the wonderful friends and family. Thanks for life, for the breath we breath, thanks for the bounties of a very loving and mighty God, thanks for those things we miss each day, for our spouses and children, for our failures and accomplishments, thanks for good health, eyesight, speech, legs to walk, hands to work, ears to listen, a sane brain to discern and understand, thanks for being able to recognize the things we should be grateful for. That is what Thanksgiving is all about.
We should give thanks everyday!
~B~










Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

My Beet -the-carrot-ap juice and Apple-fennel-ginger juice. This is the stuff good life is made of!


I woke up this morning with a bbbbbbbbbbbang :-) Did my 20 minutes of walk with Nina and another 20 minutes of cardio and weight training. Today I decided to make Alexa's Apple-fennel-ginger juice. This is by far my favorite juice ever and the sweet aroma when you're juicing it is so intoxicating. Anise rocks!

Apple-Fennel-Ginger
8 organic red delicious apples, de-seeded, washed and skins left on and diced
1 fennel bulb, with all the trimmings, juice everything.
2 Tbsp ginger (I love ginger so I put a lot)

With the pulp I came up with that fabulous pate below. I figured why waste when you can get two meals out of one? Nina can't get enough of the pate with some celery sticks, she wants me to make it everyday, lol. What a healthy-delicious appetizer!

Beet-the-carrot-ap Juice
Yes, you can go ahead and beat the carrot up for a day, lol-- I like the name-- or beet-it-ap like I did.
5 Lbs bag organic carrots
1 red delicious apple
1/2 to 1 whole beet, peeled and sliced

This has a nice burgundy color to it and tastes YUUUUUUUUUmmiiii hmm



Be happy on Thanksgiving Day. Do yourself a favor this time around and don't overeat, because if you do, it will not be a happy Thanksgiving but a sad one. Start your day with your regular 30 to 1 hour of cardio or circuit training or whatever form of exercise you do. This is a proper way to start your day and you will find out that you won't eat quite as much as you did in the past years. Did you know that on average, people gain an excess of five pounds over the holiday period? Let's add this up: It means you are eating at least 3,500 calories or more a day. At 1 pound a day, it's no wonder the scale cries after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

You might want to remember that it is not all about the food and remember why this day is celebrated.

Make smaller portions of food instead.

Substitute stuffing for vegetable medley.

Serve yourself on the smallest plate.

Always eat a big bowl of salad before you eat anything else, it will help keep you satiated and also aid in digestion.

Skip desert and eat it much later.

Drink water or freshly made juices instead of all the other choices.

When you serve yourself, remember that your stomach is as big as your fist. Make sure your plate is more than half way filled with more live/raw foods.

Do not combine starches and protein on the same plate: basic chemistry, they both require different digestive juices to digest them and a base and and acid neutralize or cancel each other out and hence digestion is put to a halt and food begins to putrefy--and then it goes down hill from there. Remember the gas, heart burns, bloating and food coma you felt last year? Help yourself, challenge yourself to start eating right this Thanksgiving, New Year is too far away. This is one of those times when all raw/vegans can rest assured about what we eat. When you live a raw/vegan lifestyle this is rarely a concern. We can feast and party with the best of them and end up with no weight gained and no food comas. It is BLISS being a raw/vegan.

We have been invited by our very good friends for Thanksgiving and it will be a wonderful feast and celebration. You can still eat together with people who don't practice the same lifestyle as you. While they will be cooking up a storm and making some of their great dishes, Rick will be making a vegan tofurky, mashed potato and gravy and I will make the fruits and veggies platter and some rawmazing deserts! I may also make some raw pumpkin pie for tomorrow. For my dinner I will make some raw/vegan patties and some flax seed bread, as you can tell I will be having a feast as well. I can't wait.

Apple-fennel Pate
1 heaping cup of pulp left over from apple-fennel-ginger juice
1/3 cup safflower oil
1/3 cup raw apple cider vinegar ( I like Braggs)
1/2 avocado
Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend till smooth.
This is very mouth watering and filling when eaten with some fresh celery sticks, it is sweet and sour and will keep you full between meals.
Make the right choice everyday. Tomorrow is another to prove to yourself what you're made of! Be kind to your body.
Stay blessed.
~B~

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ready...Set...Go!

The human body is phenomenal. To think that with all the abuse it gets from us through living an unhealthy lifestyle, it can still be transformed to what we want it to become is simply phenomenal. Our bodies easily adapt to what we put it through--but not without consequences like in the case of not eating the right foods.




Pilates
We have all been to that place of fear, where you think you can never do what I am doing in the picture above. But I tell people they can, you can do it with persistence and consistence in your daily routine. No matter what we do we can find time to squeeze in a little exercise, if it is a priority of course. Ten minutes of exercise is better than a day of no exercise at all. By exercise I mean physical activity; it could be working around the house, walking, squats by the sink when doing the dishes or actually setting time to do it. Eating right without exercising could be as detrimental as eating the wrong food and exercising. Those two components, eating right and exercising are both beneficial to ones health and you can do it!

Nina and Mommy with their bunny aprons
It is always helpful to have a support system at home and at work. Let your family and friends know that you've made a decision to start living and eating consciously and if they are good friends and family, they will support you. My daughter, Nina, keeps me on my toes, when I have my lazy days and don't feel like exercising, she reminds me that I cannot give up on my myself and that I must keep my words. If you are a mom you know that alone is enough motivation to do something-- we want to be a good example. If you have no one at home or at work, keep a log book or a diary.

Our Youngest FYR member: Nina Lakota
I have heard people say "Yuck, green smoothie, never will i put that thing in my body." I know they say this because they don't know any better but my friends, ignorance can kill you. Ignorance can be the difference between living and dying. When I watch them eat hot dogs , I want to say " Yuck, do you have any idea what you 're putting into your body, how that was made, what it is made of and what havoc--overtime--it can cause to your system?" but most people would be offended if I said that. On the other hand, people have no restrain when you tell them how you've chosen to eat live foods as opposed to dead and decayed foods, they have many 'wise' things to say to you and you can imagine that they think you are a freak. I have had that before but all I felt was sympathy for that person...If only they knew better, if they only could accept the truth.
The New Year is almost here and many of us write long lists if resolution that we must keep, but after March most go back to doing what they used to do and it is not because they don't want to achieve everything on that list. There is only one main reason why people fail: Discipline is the main reason. There may be winners who aren't disciplined but there are no disciplined people who are not winners. By winners I mean in different aspects of their lives. You have to learn how to like reading, to be a leader you must be a reader.
Make friends with those whom you want to emulate. Be disciplined and tell you what, it is boring but it is those boring, redundant little things you do everyday that will get you to achieve your goals; little things like waking up and starting your day with a glass of water instead of coffee, eating fruits or green smoothies instead of eggs, bacon and sausages, choosing to go for the stairs instead of the elevator or walking to the corner video store instead of driving there. We must all make choices and those choices will determine your outcome.


I hope this gets you motivated to start this New Year right. I am ready to work with you, I am ready for another FABULOUS FYR year. Don't give up on yourself, your body rarely ever gives up on you except when you treat it wrong. Love yourself a little differently! Be the next FYR success story

Good things come to those who work hard, there are no free rides in life!
~B~





Friday, November 20, 2009

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!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Natural Blood Transfusion


According to Dr. Ann Wigmore the consumption of chlorophyll (the green in plants) is like having a natural blood transfusion. Did you know that only one atom differentiates a molecule of Chlorophyll from a molecule of human blood? Makes you think huh?

Nina making some carrot juice.

Did you know that greens contain more vitamin A than carrots
- more vitamin C than oranges
- more vitamin E than whole wheat
- more vitamin B2 than milk
- more quality proteins (amino acids)

With the help of Victoria Boutenko's Green For Life green smoothies are pretty easy to make
You can drink your greens or eat your greens.


My favorite Mediterranean kale salad
Check the recipe on this site. You can add dried cranberries or even raisins to this. I love this so much that I eat this salad at least twice a week. I haven't met anyone who has tried it and not loved it, even the typical SAD (Standard American Diet) "I am a meat and potato person" will love this.



Give your body the fuel it deserves. Not eating enough greens is like filling the tank of your car with gravel.



Green is such a pretty color isn't it? Your body loves it even more. Three cups of green smoothies gives your body enough nourishment for a day.

Encourage your children to eat more greens. Nina's favorite thing to eat is fruits and vegetables.

~B~





Sunday, November 15, 2009

DAY 48 You Are Your Own Worst Enemy

Don't Enslave Yourself With a Mindset That Can't Accept Change Even When It's As Logical As Going Back To The Basics---Free Yourself!


John Hopkins Update - Good article
(the text in red is my addition and opinion based on research done centuries ago, texts in blue just means pay close attention)


AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ('TRY', BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY...

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins :

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect! the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3 When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply..

*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a.. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved. or almond milk, I love almond milk.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork, but I say meat and fish can be equally as acid- forming. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C). That's where the precious raw food lifestyle comes in...

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it. I would have to refute this point, distilled water has powerful healing effects, read The Regenerative Diet and search do your own research.

12.. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup. Very important and very true, the quicker people realize this the better for them.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor--very true. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro. Actually, throw your microwave away or use it as storage space. My mother in-law has not owned a microwave for ages.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else--How about avoiding the TV dinners all together, processed foods are the fall of the American society. It is a war that no one seems to realize but some day we will wake up to a society that has lost most of its members to obesity and disease. You can change your fate, your life, your health, you can love yourself a little differently. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.


My beloved father passed away from lung cancer and I'm sure many of us know of someone who has been plagued by this unfortunate disease. Don't be an enemy to yourself. A vegetable-based diet is the only way to show proper love and respect for the privileged life you've been given. DO YOUR RESEARCH.

This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.


~B~

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Day 47 Lost in Translation

DAY 46 is Lost in translation, lol I didn't post yesterday, was super busy all day. Have you had the chance to watch that movie? you should. Another documentary you definitely must watch is 'KILLER AT LARGE'http://www.killeratlarge.com/ and 'FOOD MATTERS'http://www.foodmatters.tv/ Know what you are eating and if you still choose to eat it then fine, at least you know what the consequences might be. You might even want to get these on DVD as gifts for Christmas.
Nina's idea: our apple slices with delicious Almond dip. This will cure your sweet cravings in a second. We ended up eating about 3 apples, beats the unhealthy, sugar-infused caramel dip in the store.

DEEEEEEEE-LI-CIIIIIOOOOOOOSSSSOOOOOO!


Why would you ever want to buy chocolate when you can make a heart healthy one in less that 10 minutes?
Ingredients:
1/2 cup melted coconut butter
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tbsp carob powder
(or you could just use 1/2 of cacao powder or 1/2 of carob. I like to mix them both)
1 tbsp organic grade B maple syrup
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Blend all together and then spread over pie pan or molds. Then sprinkle 1/2 of crushed walnuts or your nut of choice and freeze for 5 minutes. THIS MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH LIKE NOTHING ELSE. what a healthy treat for the holidays! You can then transfer to a sealed container and keep in the fridge.

My walnut salad dressing. This is fantastic.




This was my first go at raw/vegan 'mylk' (yes, trying not to spell 'milk') chocolate using cacao butter.
Amazing stuff, these were so rich that one was enough for the day. Desert should be that way, not that you seat and eat a whole cake because it's so light and fluffy and airy, it should be dense and rich so you can have a bite and it completely satisfies you.




This was my salad with my sweet tahini dressing. Yum!
Stay blessed.
~B~














Thursday, November 12, 2009

Day 45 Sweet Tahini Dressing

POMEGRANATES

I devoured this pomegranate today with Nina, yummy! Doesn't it amaze you that such a thing exists, look at how well designed and structured it is...I always find such things fascinating, always.

Someone asked me today if I was a dancer :-) you betcha' I took that as a compliment. Sure i was wearing a tiny tank top (Completely decent by the way) my dancer shoes and my spandex double folded around the waist. I sure looked like one, especially as--thanks to my circuit training--some little muscles or should I say lean muscles have started to pop up on my arms and gluts, lol, they still call me J.Lo but again isn't that a compliment too? I figured whatever someone says to me, I will find the positive and use it as a compliment. That is something we can all try to do. We are all beautiful in our own way and that is precious.

Anyway, I had this great salad I made with some baby spring mix, 1/2 red bell pepper, diced, and extra arugula(I like it) I also julienned one yellow squash for the color into the salad bowl. I wanted something different today for a dressing so I came up with this sweet tahini dressing:

4 Tbsp raw tahini paste (or less if you don't particularly like the taste of sesame paste)
1/4 cup agave
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 orange juice, freshly squeezed

You can always save the remainder of the dressing for another salad on another day. It reminds me of peanut butter. I like this and you can add to make your own version.

p/s I made my own coconut butter skin lotion today, do I ever smell and feel yummy, hope no one eats me by accident, lol.

~B~