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!

RAW-mazing carrot Cake

HOW BEAUTIFUL DOES THIS CARROT CAKE LOOK?

...It tastes even better.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Aunty Cathy.

Here's your cake!

I apologize to all my un-raw friends and family but I have to say this is the best tasting carrot cake I have ever had! And even better, is the fact that I came up with this recipe in about 5 minutes. The whole time, I kept my fingers crossed hoping this will even taste like a cake, well, here it is my Raw-mazing carrot cake.

WANT A PIECE OF ME?

This morning I juiced another 5 LB bag of carrot juice and since Nina is always telling me to save the pulp for her salads I thought there had to be something more to do with carrot pulp. I know I can use it for salads and soups but it never occured to me that I could use the pulp for a cake, a carrot cake.


RAW-mazing Carrot Cake:

1 cup almond, finely ground (you can buy almond mill from the whole foods market)
1 Tbsp coconut shreds (unsweetened)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (the scent reminds me of my mother around Christmas time .hmmm)
1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
3 mejool dates, pitted
2 Tbsp currants
pinch of ginger
1/4 + 1/4 cup carrot pulp (left over from juicing carrots, I'm sure you can use fresh carrots too)
1 Tbsp carrot juice
2 Tbsp agave nectar

Blend all in a food processor with an 'S' blade until it starts to stick together.


Frosting:

1/3 cup macadamia nuts
1/3 cup cashews
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp agave nectar



Stay Blessed
~B~

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~

Rich Choconana Shake

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! yes, I am awake for sure:-) Today I had a rich choconana shake for breakfast. I was going to make some fresh almond mylk (stole this spelling from Alexa) and have it with my yummy G-raw-nola but then I decided to make this shake when I spied my fresh looking bananas. Thing is, I still have about 1 cup of almond mylk left...

This is so very delicious and rich, so rich that one of those glasses was enough. Nina came up with the idea of making these yummy Choconana squares with the remainder of the shake. We sprinkles it with some raw cacao nibs for visual and some crunchiness. If we choose we can always blend it again and make a shake, eat it as is, or simply let it thaw a bit to have it as ice cream, however we have it, it's going to be yummy-delicious.

So here's the recipe for my Cinnamon Almond Mylk:

2 cups of almonds, soaked overnight and rinsed

4 cups of water

1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean

6 mejool dates, pitted

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Blend till liquefied and put mixture through a nut milk bag or cheese cloth to separate mylk from almond pulp. Makes a creamy rich mylk.

...and for the Rich Choconana Shake:

2 cups almond mylk

4 ripe bananas, frozen or fresh if you don't have frozen
1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 heaping Tbsp of raw cacao powder or carob powder

1 tsp coconut butter

Blend, pour into glasses and sprinkle with some raw unsweetened coconut shreds.

~B~

DAY 49 FYR TESTIMONIAL--Anne Shu

Hello My name is Anne. I have always been somebody who loves food but the problem was that I never ate the right foods and never in the right portions. I would go overboard a lot of times when I see so much food especially during the Holidays, when all I did was eat, sleep, browse the internet and watch TV. Well, I never had a problem with my self or thought to myself that I ever had to do something about my eating habits. But a wake up call came to me at the end of 2008/beginning of 2009.
Making some magic in the kitchen

Christmas 08/New year 09 was one of those Holidays where I over did it with food. Every where that I went there was food in abundance, all kinds of meats and greasy foods that make you gain all the pounds. When school resumed in '09 many of my friends were saying " My goodness Anne, you have put on some pounds" I looked at myself in the mirror and I almost did not recognize myself. There were rolls of fat around my belly( I don't know how much weight I gained because I hardly ever used to weigh myself but I could feel it) At that moment I said to myself, Anne you definitely got some work to do. So I started hitting the gym and trying to eat in smaller portions ( But not necessarily the right foods), I lost some weight guaranteed, I left from about 153 to 146 but when I went travelled for spring break and came back, I realised that I gained almost all the weight that I had lost. I then decided at that moment I had to try a different approach. I always had Bernice as one of my friends on Facebook, so one day when I was scrolling on her page, I saw all these workouts she was doing and all the recipes she had and how fit she looked and I thought to myself, I think this lady can help me.

I got great recipes from FYR and also became very creative on my own

So I joined the Forever Young Revolution program, and if I have to explain what FYR did for me, it will take another two pages. But to make it short and sweet ( Although I have already written so much, lol), FYR taught me how to eat healthy and live healthy without making it so hard. The first thing I did when I joined FYR was the 21 Day Detox program and boy did it do wonders for me! During that program I lost a good 12 lbs and it was so easy because all I had to do was eat healthy and day by day I was feeling lighter. Plus the motivation just kept me going. I can say Bernice is one of the best nutritionist and coaches you can have because she took me every single step of the way and always answered my questions when I needed help and what I have achieved today is unbelievable. I have lost 25 lbs being on FYR lifestyle and I have left from a size 9/10 to a size 4/5. I just feel lighter and better about myself.


I still love food but the difference is that I eat healthier than what I did before and I appreciate what it does for my body plus there is no fear of gaining any weight if you live the FYR lifestyle.

BEFORE AND AFTER

To anybody out there who thinks they cant do it, be inspired by this testimonial. It all starts with a positive mind. Once you do that, try this program and you will not regret it.

Just Enjoying My New Lifestyle

Everything is possible to those who believe and hardwork pays off in the end. Forever Young Revolution ROCKS!!!

ANNE SHU

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~

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~