Planet Raw

Mid-Life Mojo, part 2 of 2

2010-09-04

Since I turned 40, I have done a bunch of stuff on my bucket list, for instance:

Write three books (two published)
Travel in 19 countries
Take up a competitive sport and advance in it
Start skiing again
Do service in a 3^rd world country with my kids
Fall in love (that didn’t work out, but now I know it can happen!)

I’m not done, of course. I’M JUST WARMING UP! That’s the thing about shifting some of your unhealthy habits to healthy ones—you get YOUNGER and you tap energy you’d forgotten long ago that you once had. You get to do stuff on your bucket list!

I got on the back of Dixon’s Harley to drive the Alpine Loop and I was enthralled, enamored, blown away. “OMG!” was my out-loud reaction. (My secret reaction was, “Move out of my way and let me drive!”) But I am intimidated because I’m not mechanical and that kick-start thing reminds me of the lawnmower rip cord. I love mowing but hate dislocating my shoulder using the ripcord. I texted Dix and he said, DUH, they start with a button nowadays! Yay!

So, new things for my bucket list for the next 18 months? In no particular order:

Go to Africa
Go to Australia / New Zealand
Write a couple more books
Start a new web site
Hold a GSG retreat
Buy a Harley and learn to ride it

Somebody hold my feet to the fire and ask me how many of these I’ve done, in a year.

Please make a bucket list of what you’re going to do with all your newfound energy. Don’t let your conversations when you’re 65 be about what your cardiologist said about your need for stents and open-heart surgery, and how much your joints hurt, and how you aren’t digesting your food and the Metamucil just isn’t working any more, and how your Prilosec is bothering your stomach, and . . . .

(In case you’re wondering, that’s part of a real live conversation I had with a 65-year old person who is no longer LIVING but rather is SLOWLY DYING and it’s by CHOICE because she is reaping the sad consequences of lifestyle choices. It’s not just depressing to listen to, it’s got to be a nightmare to LIVE that life! And why? So that you can cling to the one pleasure you have left—In ‘N Out Burger?)

I have been accused of having a mid-life crisis. No way! (Where’s the crisis?)

I’m just LIVING in mid-life rather than settling into an armchair and beginning to die. When did this become the standard?! Join me for more Mid-Life Mojo than you ever dreamed possible.

Natural Help for OCD

2010-09-04

Some years ago my oldest daughter went through a period of time when she was troubled by a compulsive disorder. We found it was related to vitamin deficiencies so I took steps to get her on a natural regimen that resolved thie health problem.

A number of years later I became involved with the Safe Harbor Project and have compiled some information from that resource.

And recently via a twitter contact I commented on B vitamins for OCD.

This information may be of help, and since we doo offer natural mental health therapy, let us know if you have an interest in this service. Our professional grade supplements amy also interest you as well as our Health Detective service.

Eat a well planned food plan filled with nutrient rich foods. (Ask about our food plan for biochemical rebalancing)

With anxiety or OCD, reduce sugar and simple carbohydrates (donuts, white pasta and other white food)

Eat whole grain, natural foods.

Include protein at every meal.

Eat high-protein snacks if you notice you tend to crash or bottom out during the day. Hypoglycemia has been linked to anxiety and OCD. This may also indicate stressed adrenal glands (low levels of B and C vitamins, sodium).

Caffeine may add to anxiety.

Soft drinks should also be avoided.

Psychotherapy,choose a therapeutic approach that is meaningful to you.

Exercise a minimum of three times per week for 30 minutes per session. and/or increase your level of physical activity.

If your cholesterol is below 170, it cannot repair the myelin.
EFA fatty acids or pure lecithin, or pure olive oil can help nourish the myelin
Spirulina
A nervine compound(ask us about this and also about passionflower)

In addition, the following nutrients may help:

L-theanine—200 milligrams (mg) twice daily to decrease the symptoms of OCD
Inositol—4 grams (g) in three divided doses daily
Tryptophan—2 g taken in the evening on an empty stomach
St. John’s wort—300 to 900 mg daily
Melatonin —10 mg at night to start

Another protocol - from Dr Charles Gant

Theanine 500 mg. (green tea amino acid-inhibits glutamic acid) - 3000 mg/day
GABA 500 mg - 3000 mg a day
Phosadyllic (purified soy lecithin) - 3000 mg a day
Magnesium taurate 3000 mg a day
P5P (activated B6) 50 mg twice a day
(5HTP) 300 mg a day

These are maximum doses unless amino acid/mineral testing suggests that higher doses are needed, and should be divided and can be taken at bedtime for sleep.

Both men and women may consider comprehensive hormone testing to see whether they are suffering from abnormal hormone levels. If so, bioidentical hormone therapy may be recommended.

Julia Ross, Therapist and author of The Mood Cure
This syndrome has already been identified as a symptom of serotonin insufficiency. It responds well to tryptophan and 5HTP therapy in our clinical experience (which rarely includes psychosis).

Inositol Treatment of "OCD"

Inositol, one of the B vitamins, has been found effective in treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Inositol is used in biochemical processes that effect serotonin receptors.

A double-blind study reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry, 1996 [153(9):1219-21] was done on 13 patients. They were given 18 grams of inositol per day (2 tsp in juice 3 times daily). At 3 weeks there were no significant effects. At 6 weeks inositol significantly reduced "OCD" scores compared with placebo. It was as effective as some drugs.

From the Pfeiffer Clinic

A. Inositol is usually very helpful for UNDERMETHYLATED, HIGH HISTAMINE patients. This includes nearly every OCD patient we have seen. Inositol usually provides calming throughout the day and ability to settle down to sleep at night, for these patients.

B. On the other hand, OVERMETHYLATED patients usually derive little or no benefit from Inositol, and may experience very nasty side effects from it.

OCD patients respond nicely to methonine, SAMe, calcium, magnesium, B-6, Inositol, TMG, and zinc.

Most OCD patients get worse if given supplements of DMAE, choline, copper, or folic acid.

Another natural approach

Increase HCL (hydrochloric acid – stomach acid) test with Betaine HCl and use as the supplement if needed.

Minerals

B-6

Adrenal gland support

Rest is very important.

Raw Vegan Snacks, Kamea's New Boots

2010-09-03

Kamea with new pink boots!

Chef Steph from Excalibur Dehydrators was so super sweet to send Kamea these adorable pink boots. She can't wait to wear them when we take her in the stroller when the weather gets chillier (and I think this also warrants a trip up to Flagstaff when the snow falls). How friggin' cute are those?!?!?!

Raw Vegan Snacks
Here is a sampling of snacks I've been having this week...

Veggie Crackers N Miso Cashew Spread (recipes below)

Protein Greens Fix (recipe below) Not particularly super tasty, but you know me... when I want some fast and quick protein, I shake up some Sun Warrior Raw Sprouted Rice protein powder with water and chug it down. The difference this time is that I'm adding a couple of extra things to it.

Goji Raisin Mix This is simply goji berries and raisins mixed up. I like this combo because I like to sweeten up goji berries a bit and the raisins are perfect for this. I keep a bowl of this on our counter.

Veggie Cracker w/ Miso Cashew Spread

Veggie Crackers
Recipe by Kristen Suzanne of KristensRaw.com
Yield 16 crackers

2 cups zucchini, chopped
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
1 cup apple, chopped
3/4 cup beet, chopped
3/4 cup flax meal
1 1/2 cups filtered water
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato powder*
1 teaspoon coconut vinegar or apple cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon garlic, pressed
3/4 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt

Process everything in a food processor, fitted with the "S" blade until pureed. Spread out on a dehydrator tray lined with a ParaFlexx non stick sheet (I use one tray for a thicker cracker, but you can make them thinner and use two trays). Dehydrate for one hour at 130-140 degrees F. Score into desired shape and size. Reduce temperature to 105-115 degrees F and continue dehydrating another 10 hours. Flip, peel off ParaFlexx, and continue dehydrating until you reach desired dryness.
* To make sun-dried tomato powder, grind sun-dried tomatoes in a blender until you get a powder consistency (or close to it).

Miso Cashew Spread
Recipe by Kristen Suzanne of KristensRaw.com
Yield about 3 tablespoons

2 tablespoons raw cashew butter
3-4 teaspoons organic miso*

Stir the ingredients together in a bowl and spread on top of a couple Veggie Crackers.
* I LOVE this Garlic Red Pepper miso from SouthRiverMiso.com and use it in many recipes.

Protein Greens Fix
I put 1-2 cups of water in a shaker bottle and add 1 scoop of Sun Warrior's protein powder along with a teaspoon of Greener Grasses and 1-2 teaspoons ground Wakame flakes. I would use more Greener Grasses but it increases my milk supply too much.

Back to Basics

2010-09-03

This week's article was all about going back to basics - except for most of us when we experience the "asking big questions" stage of the raw food journey for the first time, the basics we are going back to are ones we've usually never experienced in our lifetime before. But going back to basics is not a one-time affair. Finding our truth and living it does not ensure happy ever after unless we are vigilant about what we do (or don't do) moving forward. Life does indeed become magical when we change our "centre of operations" but the magic...

Pure Jeevan Away Until 9-13. :-)

2010-09-03

Jim here… Wow, it’s been a super-busy week around our home. We decided to go ahead and move most of our furniture and books and things to our new home in Portland! So, we’re heading off to do that, and won’t be back until the week of September 13. Wish us luck… it’s a LONG [...]

How to Support Yourself Externally As You Experience Raw Turbulence

2010-09-03

In last week's article we looked at how to support yourself emotionally as you transition cellularly and spiritually to a life lived on raw. This week it's time to turn our attention to how to support yourself in the outside world as you go through your journey of raw transformation. First of all, to set the scene: At a certain stage in the raw food journey - usually pretty early on - the emotional stuff starts to rise up. As the fog of years of less-than-great eating/living lifts we start to see life, and ourselves, differently. Sometimes very differently. This...

Flying Free From Compulsive Eating

2010-09-03

I've shared before that despite having been morbidly obese, my initial journey into the land of raw and living foods had little to do with dieting or weight loss. I knew that my excess weight was merely a symptom of overeating, and that my overeating was indicative of my complicated and out-of-whack relationship with food.

Adopting a raw foods lifestyle, for me, was all about Changing My Relationship With Food.

Did it happen right away? Heck no. Just as my body did not grow to 300 pounds overnight, I didn't just wake up one day and adopt the classic behavior and thought patterns of someone who eats compulsively and to excess. That stage was set when I was still a toddler (yes!) and simply became more convoluted over the years.

So, the intention to find freedom from mindless eating was what propelled me to begin my transition toward a primarily raw plant-based diet. If that's something you've been thinking about or struggling with yourself, you can read my 15 Tips To Transition To A Raw Foods Lifestyle.

But what I wanted to address today, and what preceded my intention to change my relationship with food, was first recognizing that I was in fact a compulsive overeater.

Now you can laugh and think, "Helloooo, you were tipping the scales at over 300 pounds! Of course you were a compulsive overeater."

Well, I've got news for you: I was exhibiting classic compulsive behaviors when I weighed just 115 pounds, had a body that could stop traffic, and no one, I mean no one, would have guessed to look at me. I was able to fool everyone, including myself.

Early on in my foray into raw foods, I read a book that resonated deeply with me. I recognized a kindred spirit in Angela Stokes-Monarch, who succeeded in transforming her own relationship with food and shed 160 pounds in the process.

I was recently reminded of her beautiful and thought-provoking book, Raw Emotions, when she included an excerpt in her most recent newsletter. I'd like to share a portion of that with you now in hopes that it may shed some light on your own eating history and how you relate to food:

Do Any of These Sound Familiar?

☑ I am overweight or obese.  (Many overeaters are either overweight or obese. However, not all overeaters carry signs of their addiction so visibly. Some may be a standard weight for their size, yet still have compulsive issues with food.)

☑ A great deal of my time and energy is directed towards food. I find it difficult to be present with people or concentrate on activities because my thoughts are preoccupied with food.

☑ I eat in secret, binge-eat, fluctuate between bingeing and deprivation, eat when I’m not hungry, hide food wrappers, am dishonest about what I’ve eaten, find I start eating and feel like "I just can’t stop."

☑ I eat moderately in front of others, then "make up for it" in private with binges, especially on refined sugars and processed starches – ice cream, cakes, cookies, chips, etc.

☑ I feel compelled to eat everything available. I do not want to "waste" anything, so I eat everything on my plate, often picking scraps/leftovers from fellow diners too.

☑ When I eat, my mood changes perceptibly – I use food for comfort, to pacify myself, deal with stress, reward myself, celebrate and so on. During and afterward, I might feel guilt, shame, remorse, fear, self-disgust and more.

☑ I live in a crazy internal landscape where an obsession with slimness and body image exists in constant battle with the compulsion to eat. I typically look for a solution in endless cycles of dieting and weigh myself frequently.

☑ I might be very particular and rigid, almost ritualistic, about the circumstances in which I want to eat. I may get upset and angry if the situation doesn’t seem to fit my ideal.  (This is not to be confused with having simple preferences, such as blessing food before eating. The pattern described above tends to be more specific and uncompromising, indicating a strong attachment to eating habits.)

Just as Angela shares in her book, when I first saw a similar list as this one, I can remember thinking to myself, "You mean other people don't do these things?" Yup, I identified with just about every trait.

Listen, just like alcoholism, or any addiction for that matter, disordered eating is a self-diagnosed ailment and one chiefly ignored in our society. { Don't even get me started on the multi-billion dollar diet industry! } Ultimately, you're the only one who can determine if you have an unbalanced relationship with food.

You may not want to hear it, but I can tell you from firsthand experience: it is SO not about the food, or the weight.

If you recognize yourself in that list up there, I'd highly recommend you get a copy and delve into Raw Emotions. Angela goes beyond the physical, to examine the emotional and spiritual factors that contribute to our eating patterns.

Imagine how different your life would be if you, too, could find the freedom to fly free from mindless compulsive eating.

Mid-life crisis? Forget that! Mid-Life Mojo, part 1 of 2

2010-09-03

One thing that frustrates me is when people my age forget something, or can’t keep up with their kids physically or whatever, and they say versions of this: “Well, I’m old!”

When did we come to accept that we are “old” in our 40’s? Please join me in rejecting this notion! There are accounts in the Bible of people living to be 800 years old. So obviously somewhere we went wrong. We have every living plant food on Earth available to us, in a market within 5 miles, and we all have a car to go get them. I think my writings and research to this point have shown that plant foods (plus breaking a sweat almost every day) are the fountain of youth.

So why start slowing down, some even screeching to a halt, in our 40’s and 50’s?

One of my favorite things is getting emails from folks who are 60 or even 80 years old. They tell me how dramatic their health improvements are, from following my program and enjoying the foods their bodies were designed to eat.

The point is, IT’S NEVER TOO LATE! You can turn it around RIGHT NOW.

I was friends with Kristi for years before she finally decided to try GS. Once she did, she was hooked. She still eats gobs of candy, but she’s noticed huge benefits from just the GS habit. She told me recently that last time she went to Oklahoma to visit her sister, she bought GS ingredients and made them during her visit. This time she was PMS-ing and just ate all the donuts and waffles and junk—and she was so sick she almost used the barf bag on the plane home.

I love how experimenting with good nutrition teaches us powerful things. Even if it took us YEARS, even DECADES, of rolling our eyes at the health-nut weirdos, before we decided to join them. (I have a number of friends who thought I was a weirdo 15 years ago and have since then joined me and even brought family and friends along.)

Do you have a bucket list? Put, “Start a daily green smoothie habit” at the top of that list. After that, add,“Shift to a whole-foods diet in one year.” Some of my bucket list, tomorrow.

I do this and I think everyone should: UNPLUG!

2010-09-03

The Sabbath Manifesto is a great idea that I wholly endorse.

I think you should too.

Get more information

I’ve Got the Magic In Me!

2010-09-02

Do you know this song? It’s called Magic, by B.o.B.

If that doesn’t turn your bad mood around, listen to this OTHER song also called Magic, by Selena Gomez, too.

Sometimes when I’m in here on my PC working, I play Magic and bust out all my dance moves. (The ones that embarrass my kids.) Jump out of my chair and just kick it for a while. These songs are so awesome I can’t stand it.

I’ve got the magic in me. It comes from whole plant foods. They make me glow, they make me dance, they make me bust out smiling for no reason, they help me see good things even in the hard times in life. They are magical!

It’s perfect, living, expansive nutrition, delivered directly to organs, tissues, blood, and bone, with the cell walls crushed and all the micronutrients immediately available. It makes me SO HAPPY to think that my kids went to school this morning with amazing nutrition now feeding their brain so they can learn.

Enjoy. Go ahead. Nobody can see you. Dance! You’ve gotta do SOMETHING with all that energy!

More Dangers in FDA Approved Drug

2010-09-02

The topic of problematic FDA approved drugs has been covered by Natural Health News for more than 20 years. It seems as if there is no stopping this train. Many articles can be found here, using "search".

Why Medication Can Be Dangerous to Your Health from Dr. Leo Galland

Did you know that the majority of FDA approved drugs have serious potential side effects that were not detected before marketing approval?

That about three quarters of a million people a year are rushed to emergency rooms in the U.S. because of adverse drug reactions, according to the CDC?

That the number of medication-related deaths in the U.S. is estimated at over 200,000 a year, making medications the third or fourth leading cause of death in this country?

That even common pain relievers called NSAIDs, examples of which include Advil, Motrin, Aleve and aspirin, account for an estimated 7,600 deaths and 76,000 hospitalizations in the U. S. every year?

Read more...

Journal editors question sale of diet pill

STEPHANIE NANO, Associated Press Writer Stephanie Nano, Associated Press Writer – Wed Sep 1, 6:25 pm ET

NEW YORK – Editors of a top medical journal call Meridia "another flawed diet pill" and question whether it should stay on the market as a study shows it raises the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with heart problems.
The strongly worded editorial comes two weeks before government advisers review the prescription drug, which has already been pulled in Europe. In January, U.S. drug regulators strengthened existing warnings that the appetite suppressant should not be used by those with a history of heart trouble.
In Thursday's issue, the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine noted that the latest study showed weight loss with Meridia was minimal, it didn't improve cardiovascular health, and those with heart disease fared worse.
"It is difficult to discern a credible rationale for keeping this medication on the market," they wrote.
The editorial — with a headline calling the drug "another flawed diet pill" — was published along with the findings of the study conducted in Europe, Latin America and Australia.

Child’s Ordeal Shows Risks of Psychosis Drugs for Young

2010-09-02

This same risk is also for teens, adults, and the elderly. I have real concerns about these drugs because my mother was allowed to be over medicated in anti-psychotic drugs by my brother for the last six years of her life. She had a closed head injury, she had expressive aphasia, and he refused to consider a drug profile I had obtained from a colleague at FDA. She had no neurologist and no speech therapy. Staff at the 5 star facility where she was housed laughed at her when I would call on the phone. My brother ignored all of my concerns, as did the attorney (and that in itself is a story of its own), and not only the care center owned by Hyatt, but so did the State of Florida!

Child’s Ordeal Shows Dangers of Antipsychotic Drugs - NYTimes.com

OPELOUSAS, La. — At 18 months, Kyle Warren started taking a daily antipsychotic drug on the orders of a pediatrician trying to quell the boy’s severe temper tantrums.
Thus began a troubled toddler’s journey from one doctor to another, from one diagnosis to another, involving even more drugs. Autism, bipolar disorder, hyperactivity, insomnia, oppositional defiant disorder. The boy’s daily pill regimen multiplied: the antipsychotic Risperdal, the antidepressant Prozac, two sleeping medicines and one for attention-deficit disorder. All by the time he was 3.
He was sedated, drooling and overweight from the side effects of the antipsychotic medicine. Although his mother, Brandy Warren, had been at her “wit’s end” when she resorted to the drug treatment, she began to worry about Kyle’s altered personality. “All I had was a medicated little boy,” Ms. Warren said. “I didn’t have my son. It’s like, you’d look into his eyes and you would just see just blankness.”
Continue reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/business/02kids.html

Margarine Not Heart Healthy

2010-09-02

Again, an important warning about a topic we have covered for years - margaine is not a health promoting food. Further the use of GMO oils in these products is an unknown risk. And recal that Unilever is known to do unnecessary animal testing on many of its produtcs.

Unilever: Omega-3 margarine study will not affect usage advice
By Shane Starling, 31-Aug-2010
Related topics: Nutritional lipids and oils, Cardiovascular health
Omega-3 spread maker Unilever says a 40 month study that found omega-3 spreads don’t protect elderly heart attack sufferers from further cardiac events, requires further analysis and won’t affect approved methods of usage.
“The outcome does not question the current authoritative dietary recommendations and advices for omega 3 intakes on which our products are based,” Unilever’s Flip Dotsch told NutraIngredients.com this morning.
The ALPHA-OMEGA trial saw almost 5000, 60-80 year old male and female heart attack survivors consuming varying levels of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) via non-commercial Unilever omega-3 spreads developed for the study for 40 months.
One group consumed 376mg of marine sourced DHA and EPA; another had 1.9g of soy and walnut sourced ALA; a third group had a spread fortified with all three fatty acids and a fourth was placebo.
After the 40 months, 13.9 per cent of the participants, who were 75 per cent male and 24 per cent obese, had suffered another cardiac event among all the groups.
Surprising
Unsurprisingly, Unilever said it found the results surprising, especially when the body of EPA/DHA scientific literature was considered.
“The study outcome for EPA and DHA is surprising considering the weight of evidence published to date,” Unilever said in a statement. “This could be the result of methodological issues such as the relatively low daily dosage compared to previous studies or the fact that in this study serious cardiovascular events were much lower than in studies performed in the past. This is probably due to extensive drug treatment that is nowadays applied.”
It said its “science experts” were looking at the paper in greater detail.
The European Food Safety Authority has issued opinion on ALA, saying it supports lowering of blood cholesterol, But EPA/DHA were not backed for the same effect in an opinion published in October 2009.
No effect
Lead researcher, Daan Kromhout, PhD, of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, said that while the study found omega-3 fatty acid-enriched margarines "had no effect on the rate of major cardiovascular events”,improvements in medical treatment could have been a factor.
The EPA-DHA daily dose of 400mg was half that recommended by the American Heart Association.
Kromhout noted "the patients in this trial were very well treated" with many taking blood pressure and cholesterol drugs, a factor that made, “beneficial effect of low doses of EPA-DHA difficult to prove."
The findings were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in theNew England Journal of Medicine.
Unilever added: “We welcome this well-executed study as a valuable addition to the growing body of evidence on the role of omega 3s in cardiovascular health. Unilever is proud to have supported this important study and has a long history of supporting scientific investigation into cardiovascular disease and its management through diet and lifestyle.”
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
‘n–3 Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Events after Myocardial Infarction’
10.1056/nejmoa1003603
Authors: Daan Kromhout, M.P.H., PhD, Erik J. Giltay, M.D., PhD, Johanna M. Geleijnse, PhD
© 2000/2010 - Decision News Media SAS - All right reserved

from Natural Health News

PUFAS Lead to Increased Inflammation

Jul 24, 2009

In the UK, people consume on average about 10g per day of linoleic acid, found in around nine level teaspoons of polyunsaturated margarine or three teaspoons of sunflower oil. In the study, the people who consumed the most linoleic acid ...

A downside to using "plant sterols"

Dec 09, 2008

Forty-seven subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups: margarine without added plant sterols or stanols, plant sterol-enriched margarine, or plant stanol-enriched margarine. Changes in lipid-adjusted serum ...

Best Life? Whoa Oprah, didn't Bob tell you ?

Jan 05, 2009

Healthy fats do not include Smart Balance margarine and as you will note in other articles on Natural Health News, plant sterols are generally soy and canola oil, genetically modified and have a negative impact on vitamins such as ...

Natural Health News: Promise not to

Jan 02, 2008

I did find the Promise margarine ingredients and it made me worry about exactly what is in Activ. Like all inquiring minds I wanted to know exactly what is in this product. I phoned the company this morning and received help from a nice ...

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/

Not Balanced

Feb 07, 2009

I was visiting a friend recently and happen to notice two tubs of that margarine on her counter claiming to reduce cholesterol. I've spoken against the use of these plant sterol products in classes I teach, in articles I've written, ...

Canola Comments

Mar 12, 2009

Canola oil is a too commonly used ingredient in food, especially now that "plant sterols" are plugged into all kinds of things like margarine, vitamins, even aspirin. You'll find it in dog food and even in an ever increasing number of ...

Heart Month?

Feb 05, 2009

And please don't eat that plant sterol margarine no matter what they tell you; real butter (unsalted) and high quality olive oil blended together by your hand at home is a much healthier spread. ...

Why to Avoid Genetically Modified Food

Jun 09, 2008

You will find, if you read the label, that Promise margarine ( other brands too) and Promise 'shots', CardioWise vitamins, Dannon products, and even products sold in health stores contain soy and canola. Many other products contain this ...

Eating healthfully & real food

Jan 24, 2008

And all that margarine too! I am for one, even being non-litigious because I believe in arbitration and mediation as peaceful conflict resolution tools, am very pleased to see this action. For information about REAL YOGHURT ...

More products plied with plastic

Sep 12, 2008

Keeping plastic out of your diet also helps (soy-canola margarine and other releated products). Refer to these articles for more information: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Real or Frankenfoods and supplements? Your health, Your choice ...

Gallbladder dis-ease

Sep 23, 2008

Too much fat is a concern, wrong fat is a concern (like margarine and canola or soy oils) fast food, and lack of fiber, magnesium, calcium/phosphorus metabolism, and lack of other key nutritional factors. ...

Natural Health News: Fake Foods: Oprah, Bob and General Mills

Jan 20, 2007

It is a long-term toxin that has serious adverse health effects including hair loss and blindness. It has no place in the diet of man nor beast. Avoid all margarine including the plastic fat Becel. 10:36 AM. Anonymous said. ...

Righting 30-year old wrongs

2010-09-01

I just got a facebook message from a childhood friend, Cathy K, that said, “I’m looking for a Robyn Openshaw who grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska in the 70’s—you look too young to be her though, right?”

Nope, I’m her!

In case I was feeling elated for being told I am too young to be “that” Robyn, this was Cathy’s next message:

“Remember that you drew a picture of me on the chalkboard with clumps of mascara on my eyelashes? And I threw a chalked-up eraser at your back when I tried to erase it and you tried to stop me?”

Wow! Would I do something so mean? Thank goodness we get to grow up. I was grateful for the opportunities to right 30-year old wrongs! And thankful, too, for the perspective that if my own 6^th grader acts like . . . well, a 6^th grader . . . she’ll eventually develop some wisdom and maturity. Anyway, I wrote Cathy back and asked her forgiveness. And recounted my main memory of being jealous of her for being beautiful. (I was the ugly duckling pretty much the entire decade.)

Then she said,

“You look like a 22 year old. I look like a stay-home Mom who nursed four children and ate Pop Tarts. That’s going to change—my goal is to look like you! I’m getting on my exercise bike right after I pick up my kindergartner!”

As I’m going to blog about soon, it’s never too late to give up the Pop Tarts. (p.s. And it’s WORTH IT to nurse those babies!)

Experimenting in the kitchen with friends!

2010-09-01

Hey Everyone! Amanda, Isabel, Shadow and I spent last weekend In Medford, Oregon hangin’ with our new friend Josephine and her family. Josephine has been rockin’ the raw scene here in Medford for years now! With an ever growing group of individuals she has put together regular potlucks, recipe classes, and lectures with awesome info and amazing turnouts! Bringing the community together and sharing the raw love… awesome work is all I can say… very awesome work!

Speaking of work.. Josephine asked if I could make the cheesecake that I had made at Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe the day that Shazzie dropped by! You know me and goofin’ off in the kitchen… I’m in! So I got started right away!

Josephine and her husband Wayne have been rockin’ the rawness for a while now and grow loads of their own organic eats! Wayne took me for a tour of their intensively planted garden beds and we harvested swiss chard, collards, squash leaves and some lambs quarters and stinging nettles (to get that edible weed goodness going!). After gathering this awesome assortment of greenage we headed inside where Wayne blended up a tasty and powerful green smoothie! “That’s your superfood!” Wayne said as we enjoyed it. I couldn’t agree more!

Greens galore!

Strawberries growing in bags on the garden's fence.. no space left unused! I love it!

The weekend with them was awesome! Saturday I went hiking with Wayne and his friend Larry through some of Oregon’s gold mining historical sites! That evening we all sat at the table sharing stories and shooting the breeze about going raw, as Larry is gettin’ into it. He sampled the cheesecake and thought it could use a lil’ salt. So I tried a sprinkle of sea salt on my slice and it was a nice addition. Then Larry tried the cake with a drizzle of Indonesian Style Soy Sauce. I put a lil’ on a bite…it was interesting and tasty! Josephine tried it as well and we pondered a raw version of this sauce and cheesecake combo.

Sunday morning we got to playing in the kitchen! I whipped us a cacao/maca/mesquite/lucuma smoothie to to get us going. Josephine had looked through my book and wanted to try my Turkish Style Cauliflower Patties (recipe in Gettin’ Raw) with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce, so we whipped up a batch together!

Cranking out some Turkish Style Cauliflower Patties!

Fresh and warm outta the dehydrator!

We were thinking of what to do for dessert and remembered last night’s experiment. Jose suggested we make a version of the Indonesian Soy Sauce with a lil’ cacao thrown in… for good measure! So we put together this awesome dessert topper ”Cacao Fig Vingarette Syrup”. The taste was freakin’ incredible! I’m always up for experimenting with wacky combos and this one took the cake… the cheesecake to be exact!

Cacao Fig Vinagerette Syrup... sooooo good!

Cacao Fig Vinegarette Syrup ~ An unlikely yet ridiculously tasty combo. I even used it as a salad dressing. It was so good we had to share the recipe!

Ingredients ~

4 Tablespoons melted coconut oil

3 Tablespoons cacao powder

3 Tablespoons agave (could substitute honey)

2 Tablespoons of Fig Vinegar (if this is hard to find I would try blending a couple of dried figs with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar as a substitute. It can be blended right into the mix in your blender!)

Splash of balsamic vinegar for a lil’ tang!

1/3 teaspoon of sea salt

Wisk thoroughly together in a bowl or blend in your blender! Serve slightly warm as it will harden when cold. This effect makes for an awesome topping for a chilled dessert such as that cheesecake…

Give this syrup a shot and lemme know what you think! Speaking of chocolate we’re going to be back at Josephine’s September 8th as she’s giving me use of her home and kitchen to hold my Raw Chocolate Workshop!

She has previously hosted Elaina Love and Carmella, so I’m psyched to be rocking it out at her place! As we head off to visit more friends in Oregon we look forward to hanging with Josephine and Wayne again, an awesome dynamic duo!

Animal testing continues...

2010-09-01

I want to thank All Naturale for this alert -

Caution, photo is disturbing

Companies that (still) test on animals
A shocking number of manufacturers of personal care and household items still test their products on animals, despite the availability of alternative methods for evaluating product safety. Here is the most recent list of these companies and their associated brands, with some of the biggest shockers in red. We gathered this information from the vegetarian site.com and original sources are referenced below. Please choose all-natural products to help put an end to this insane animal cruelty!

Sweet Comfort Milk

2010-09-01

This recipe is the one I recommend to clients when they want something sweet and comforting. It's very simple but lovely and could easily be called a "hug in a glass" that we sometimes feel we need - especially when tea and coffee are a thing of the past! Being a vanilla-lover, vanilla in my recipe is never optional : ) Enjoy! Makes 1 large drink Ingredients: * 1 pint of pure water * 1 level Tbsp cashew butter OR 1/3 cup cashew nuts * 3 Medjool dates OR 1 Tbsp agave nectar * OPTIONAL: Small piece of vanilla bean...

What Is “Health Jealousy”?

2010-08-31

Jim here… This post is for anyone who has turned to raw foods in an attempt to become healthy — to lose weight, lower cholesterol, to lower blood pressure, to beat diabetes, or perhaps to overcome something even more serious. Let me ask you something (rhetorically): Have you ever, in your journey toward optimal health, looked [...]

Harvesting Purple: Beans + Eggplant

2010-08-31

The kids are back to school and summer's winding down, although you wouldn't know it here. Temperatures have climbed back into the 90s and I've got a garden that just won't quit.

Some veggies, like dark leafy greens, I planted because I love and they're a daily staple of my diet. Others I planted, well, for their color. Yes, long before singing dinosaurs and Steven Spielberg made it popular, I've been a fan of the color purple. I look fabulous in it, and I like to eat it.

Just look at those Royal Burgundy beauties. Gorgeous! I've been enjoying them fresh-picked, as is. Mmm, so good. Much more flavorful than any "green" bean.

So, what gives 'em their vibrant color? Anthocyanins, the same thing you'll find in elderberries, blackberries, blueberries, and grapes. Those are some mighty powerful antioxidants, so eat up and enjoy!

I had some guests over the weekend and wanted to include a side dish for our alfresco dinner on the back deck. Here's what I did:

Garlic Garden Beans

6-8 C filtered water
2 pounds fresh beans, stem snapped off
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp tamari (or Nama Shoyu if you are gluten tolerant)

1. Boil water and allow to cool slightly. Place beans in a deep bowl and pour enough hot water to cover. Allow to sit 2 minutes. Drain and rinse.

2. Return to bowl and toss with prepared mixture of garlic, olive oil and tamari. Plate and serve.

Okay, here's a little science lesson for you: Remember those anthocyanins I mentioned? Well, they change color with acidity levels. Heat dilutes the acidity of the cell sap and causes a decomposition of anthocyanin. Less anthocyanin means less purple.

Now, I didn't boil or steam my beans which would have resulted in them turning from purple to green, but submersing them in the hot water for even two minutes, caused my Royal Burgundy beans to transform into a lovely shade of lavender. Magic!

❧❀❧

I have seen women looking at jewelry ads with a misty eye and one hand resting on the heart,

and I only know what they’re feeling

because that’s how I read the seed catalogs in January.

~ Barbara Kingsolver

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

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That's exactly how I felt this winter when I spied these cutie pies: Fairy Tale Eggplant. Oh, even the name had me dreaming of happily-ever-afters.

Aren't they darling? The perfect size for a dwarf or sleeping beauty. But, the best part? The flavor! Tender, sweet, succulent. No bitterness here, I promise.

Normally, I'd suggest "sweating" your eggplant prior to preparing. Eggplant skins can be rather bitter, so you'd cut the eggplant into whatever size/shape your recipe calls for, place it in a colander, salt lightly, and leave for about 30 minutes. Then you'd rinse, pat dry, and begin preparing your recipe. But, really, with these little guys, I have yet to encounter any bitterness.

So, this makes me wonder...folks with arthritis should try and limit their intake of nightshades – eggplant, tomatoes, peppers – because there seems to be a link between joint stiffness and solanine, which is the toxin found in nightshades. I'm wondering if that's what also gives nightshades their slightly bitter taste. Since the Fairy Tale eggplant isn't bitter like traditional eggplant, perhaps it's a variety individuals with arthritis could safely enjoy. Anyone know?

Anyways, I've been slicing mine into thin rounds on a mandoline and marinating it in some olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and garlic. Then, I toss with kalmata olives, red onions and fresh basil from the garden. To.die.for.

Okay, tell me, what have you been harvesting recently from your garden (or local farmers market)?

Raw zucchini pickles and more ideas

2010-08-31

Wendy Ray gave this idea for using zucchini, on the GreenSmoothieGirl facebook fanpage:

Slice young zucchini into a quart jar (or whatever). Add these:

1/3 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp. sea salt

2+ Tbsp. raw honey

2 Tbsp. fresh basil

1 cup water

Optional: sliced onions

Marinate at least 30 minutes. Lasts at least a month in the fridge.

Trystan Alexander Knight-Timm said this:

Put some zucchini in your raw hummus. Tastes amazingly like the real thing only healthier and raw.

(Note from Robyn: you have hummus recipes in 12 Steps to Whole Foods and in the Sprouted/Crunchy recipe collection.)

Kathy Chastain Culp said this:

You can get rid of several of them this way: juice them with celery, cukes, lemons, ginger and add liquid stevia.

And several people mentioned my favorite thing to do with zucchini: spiral it as “pasta” noodles and serve with a marinara made chunky in your blender, with raw tomatoes and onions and garlic!