Britanie Faith

2008-08-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Consider
a girl who keeps slipping off,
arms limp as old carrots,
into the hypnotist's trance,
into a spirit world
speaking with the gift of tongues.

- anne sexton

What I am in love with lately...

* the book "Eat, Pray, Love" -- I am so utterly in love with this book and the way the writers words and experiences seep right into my skin. I can feel. literally feel everything that she describes right down to the core of me. I fear turning to the last page and having to say goodbye to such a beautiful memoir of life, love, tragedy and soul searching. this book will be one that I keep in my heart (and quite possibly on my night stand) for a long time to come.

* the movie "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" -- I just got back from seeing this movie today and already I want to go back to watch it again. I have been pretty much hopelessly in love with Scarlett Johansson for as long as I can remember and if her starring in it wasn't good enough, there is a lovely makeout scene between her and the goorgeous Penelope Cruz, which in my opinion was definitely not long enough but the little bit that it showed was obscenely hot, of course. I also found Javier Bardem to be strangely sexy. I was a little bit shocked at how close Scarlett's character (Cristina) in the film is to me. I found myself looking over at my mom during the film with an expression on my face of "does that sound like me, or what?" she agreed later that we are very very similar. I wish I were as beautiful and courageous as her character in the film though.

In other news....

I am off to the market to buy a bunch of Kale and attempt to make Kale Chips that everyone seems to constantly rave about. I hope they taste some-what like regular potato chips because I have been craving them soooo badly! I need something to give me that sensation.

we'll see!!!

2008-08-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

enjoying the sunshine

heart cloud!

I cannot begin to express my love for every one of you who has left me such caring and loving comments on my last few posts. Things have not been easy lately, infact it seems as though everything is falling apart. I am working hard to put the pieces back together. Thanks so much for all of the support - you will never know how much it means to me.

xx

2008-07-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

Sitting at my desk, looking out the window and could not help but stop and stare at the beautiful sky tonight.

I hold the moon between my fingers

"its hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world.
Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much.
My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst.
Then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it,
and then it flows through me like rain,
and I can't feel anything but gratitude
for every single moment of my stupid little life."

Yoga on and off the mat.

2008-06-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have been searching for that something that will bring balance in my life. I've been very drawn towards Yoga for awhile. I was a pretty huge pilates enthusiast for many years and credit it to helping alot with my weight loss during that time... I still am a lover of pilates and think it's amazing... however, it wasn't quite enough for me. I never felt that sense of balance and peace that I feel when I am doing Yoga. I feel strong and full of possibilities when I go from one pose to another. The more I practice, the more I am falling in love with it. I went to a workshop with Bryan Kest awhile back and was so in awe over him and the entire practice. It was a two-hour power yoga session plus an hour of hearing Bryan talk about the history of Yoga, etc. I learned so much after that class and my ass was hurting so much, haha. I think Power Yoga is amaaazing, especially for those who are really focused on weight loss and toning. However, I like a mixture of both power plus relaxation. I think it all depends on how you are feeling in that moment and day. Some days I feel so stressed out and there is just no way that I can do a Bryan Kest yoga series and so I just do some light stretching and some relaxing poses and it helps me everytime. I even find that when I am having pain in my abdomen, I intuitively know which poses to go into to help relieve some of the discomfort. Yoga truly isn't for just ONE thing, it's for EVERYTHING.

There are two books that I have been re-reading constantly lately because they inspire me so much, especially Mariel Hemingway's books. I relate to her on alot of levels and reading her book you can just feel her compassion and love for what she does and how she lives. She truly practices what she preaches. I've been doing her Yoga dvd as well that she did with Rodney Yee. It's a great dvd series. I have been trying to incorporate it in atleast 3x a week. I also am very inspired by Christy Turlington... not only is she incredibly physically gorgeous but after reading her book, I learned how incredibly gorgeous she is inside as well. These books have been very helpful for me lately and I turn to them whenever I am feeling doubtful or in a rut. I think it's very important to find books that you can always turn to for guidance and comfort.

Speaking of inspiration, I was reading a chapter in Mariel's book where she discusses the importance of cleaning your space and being able to walk into your home and not see clutter everywhere. I never really took much notice or thought much about the meaning behind clutter, until learning more about it. It's so true that when you look at someones living space and it's a mess, you are probably feeling like your life is a mess. Your living space reflects you and how you are feeling. I walked into my apartment the other day and noticed how much clutter I have around. Clothes ontop of exercise equipment, magazines everywhere, scrapbooking materials, cd's, books, etc etc. I stopped to think about why it is my living space is so full of chaos and then it hit me that there is so much truth in connection with clutter and how you are feeling mentally... and physically. I've been feeling cluttered, literally with everything in my life and it shows when you walk into my apartment.

I took this weekend to really clear out the clutter. I went through my apartment and got rid of things that I never use. I also cleared a space in my bedroom closet, which I don't use because I have a built-in closet space in my living room. So until yesterday, my bedroom closet was just full of boxes of things I never touch. I emptied everything out of there and set up alittle sacred place for myself to go in to meditate and to just be peaceful. I also got the idea from Mariel's book, where she talked about her sacred area in her house. I set up a table with things that are meaningful to me, or things that inspire me. I also have pictures of inspiring people and it's very relaxing. I can go into my closet and shut the doors and just be by myself, no noise, no chaos, just quiet and peace. I think it's very very important to have a place in your home where you can go to just BE silent and be to yourself... with no t.v. or radio around. Somewhere to sit and reflect on your life.... or to just relax and not think at all. Whatever works for you.

Someday I will be able to do this... someday!

xxo
Britanie

Intern for Natalia :)

2008-06-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Exciting new stuff happening right now in my life. I have some big posts coming up soon. In the mean time, for all of you Raw Food Detox Dieters or anyone who has had success with following the principles in Natalia Rose's books, please send in your success stories! I will be helping Natalia sort through everyones stories and they could possibly end up in her new book "Detox For Women" which is coming out soon!!!

Natalia has just posted a new blog about it here...

"Please send your stories to me at: Natalia@therawfooddetoxdiet.com. Also, please copy my intern, Britanie King at: britaniefaith@gmail.com

I may not be able to post for the next few weeks as I'm on a tight deadline with this project but there's much more coming once this is done!

In the meantime, take advantage of the summer produce and JUICE THEM GREENS!

All love,

Natalia"

http://www.therawfooddetoxdiet.com/blog.php

p.s.

How much of a dork am I that being mentioned on Natalia's blog just made my entire day? haha I love that woman.

STOP HATING YOUR BODY!

2008-06-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

I have not weighed myself in over three weeks and to be honest, it feels incredibly freeing. I won't lie, there is a part of me that feels a bit fearful as well and is telling me to go on the scale but the other part of me is much smarter and has realized that there is truly no point in going on it. I don't think there has ever been a time where I have gotten off of the scale and felt good about myself, no matter how low the number was and believe me for awhile it was pretty low, I still wasn't happy with the number and wanted it to be something different than it was. I look back at pictures of myself when I was much smaller and cringe at the memory of how I absolutely hated my body and I can't believe I did not appreciate the way that I looked and how beautiful I was. Here I am now, 30 pounds heavier than I was a year ago and I look back at those pictures and think that I would give anything to be that thin again and it's so sad to think that when I was there, I did not even appreciate it.

When I was 50 pounds heavier than I am now, I thought that if I were the weight that I am right now I would be perfectly happy. It's just very very sad to come to the realization that with all of the weight loss and gain throughout my life, there has never been a time that I was truly ever happy with my physical appearance. Not many people know that for a few years I struggled silently with an eating disorder. I would binge to the point that I would make myself sick, literally and I was purging at least 3-4 times a week. It was a horrible time in my life and still to this day, I have to fight the urge to be pulled back into that vicious cycle. It is one of those things that although you recover, a little bit always stays with you and you have to be on guard to an extent. I do not let it control my life anymore but when I am feeling very down or stressed out, that is when my weakness starts to come into play and I have to be very careful. That is why staying away from certain "trigger foods" is a huge deal for me because there are certain foods that literally trigger something in my brain that just makes me go crazy and I know that I will end up binging. Chips for instance, every time I eat them, I can feel that nagging inside of me that is egging me on to stuff my face and make myself sick. It's a terrible thing to deal with and the more I learn and read about eating disorders, the more disturbing it is to me how many women really do suffer from at least some form of an eating disorder.

Why must we women be so hard on ourselves? Whatever happened to the days where Marilyn Monroe's body was ideal(I still think it is the ideal)? how did it go from curvy to literally skin and bones being the "IN thing" ? I watch these runway models on TV. and they literally look like they are starving for someone to feed them some food. They look pale and emaciated and as though their legs could seriously break at any second. Yet they are representing what is stylish and beautiful. Now don't get me wrong, there are some women out there who are naturally thin and healthy.... but there is a big big difference between being thin and healthy and the images that are being propelled at us in our everyday life. There is so much pressure in our society to be thin that we lose sight of the important things in life. Instead of focusing on making our lives better and becoming happier and more in touch with the little, beautiful things in life, we obsess over food calories and scales and cellulite. It all seems so ridiculous, yet if we know this, why can't we stop the madness??

"What many women may not fully appreciate, however, is that many of the faces and bodies plastered on magazine covers, television screens, movie posters, and billboards are maintained through unhealthy or unnatural means. In more and more cases, too, the images are literally impossible to attain—because they are computer-generated! Legs are made longer or thinner, imperfections air-brushed away, and the beautiful face and form “manufactured” through a composite of “perfect” parts from several different women. Women with more ordinary attributes may experience relief in knowing that not even the models can look this “perfect” Nevertheless, many of us hold such images in our own minds as the standard against which we measure our own beauty." - by Terese Katz

Unfortunately it is going to take many people to create a change in this way of thinking. I personally have stopped purchasing any magazines that promote unhealthy bodies or any magazine that has "how to banish that ugly cellulite!" or "how to lose that belly bulge!" on it's front cover. It is all negative energy and I'd rather reach for a Body & Soul magazines and read about how to change my life, from the INSIDE and stop focusing on what creams I can buy to get rid of the cellulite on my thighs. By the way, has anyone actually stopped and really focused on the women on the covers of these magazines???? Some of them are so touched-up that it's almost ridiculous. Others look like they are training to be in the Olympics, which is fine if that's what you are going for, but this is what we are trained to believe is what real women look like and it's just not true. If you want to see a real woman, go to a crowded beach, majority of the women you see do not have perfect bodies.

What I find to be particularly disturbing are some of the women who are being called "plus size models" because they are not a size 0, 2 or 4. Now a size 8 is being considered plus size... are you kidding me???! Personally, I still think that a size 10 is pretty perfect for any woman.... but not that size matters anyway, it's just a number, just like the scale. Everyone is different and you cannot let a number on a pair of jeans tell you how good you look. It’s funny that whenever I look for jeans, the sizes that seem to always be there are the ones below 8. Obviously meaning that majority of women are NOT a size 4. I actually read somewhere that the average woman is 5’4”, 144 lbs and wears a size 12-14. I went to this "plus size" modeling site one day and I thought the models there were absolutely beautiful, their bodies were gorgeous, so much more attractive than any of the fashion models out there today. I just find it so pathetic that because they aren’t stick thin, they have to be considered “plus size”. what’s up with that??

No one is perfect, although I will admit I have seen some women who appear to be almost physically perfect, but then again what is seen as perfect in one person's eyes may be seen as unattractive to someone else, and vice versa. the point is that no one as a whole is perfect and to try to achieve perfection is unrealistic and unnecessary. It's about accepting what we cannot change about our physical appearance and embracing what we love. We do not have to love every part of our body, there are many many things I would love to change about mine but I am thankful that I have a body and every time that I complain about having cellulite on my legs, I think, hey at least I have legs. Some people don't. It can always be worse. Love what you have now because this is what you've got and you might as well embrace it, because someday you will look back and regret having spent so many wasted years hating your body. Believe me, I have and I never want that regret again. Things brings me to another huge huge thing: CONFIDENCE. having confidence in yourself is everything. When you walk into a room and project into the world that negativity you feel towards yourself, that is what people will see. If you walk into a room with your head held high and believing that you are gorgeous and you love yourself for who you are, other people with me drawn to that positive energy. It's not always easy to look into a mirror and tell yourself you are beautiful, but the truth is sometimes you just have to fake it to make it! If you do not accept yourself for where and who you are RIGHT NOW then you cannot expect anything positive to come about and to last. Until you love yourself right now, in this moment, can change finally happen and only then will you actually be grateful for it and appreciate it.

With that said. I am no expert. I am giving this advise, because I know it to be true and I know that I myself can learn from it and I continue to become more confident with my body how it is at this moment and I hope that I can help to inspire other women out there to do the same thing. Infact, I am thinking I’d rather update and say that I am feeling much more confident and more comfortable in my skin. There is really no purpose in putting out there what I weigh because it doesn’t matter and it can provoke negativity and it’s feeding into all the superficiality that I am trying to NOT to be involved in.

Bottom line; throw away the scale, look in the mirror and tell your self that you are beautiful (even if you don’t believe it… YET), fake it to make it and appreciate who you are and where you are right now.

Xxo,
Britanie

Think HEALTH and BEAUTY will follow...

2008-05-29T17:14:00.001-07:00

"Changing your life is a journey. To make that journey you must travel from where you are to where you want to go. You cannot get to where you want to go unless you know where you are." - Gary Zukav

One of my biggest struggles since gaining twenty pounds back after years of determination and finally reaching my goal weight, is that I haven't truly accepted myself for where I am RIGHT NOW. I keep expecting to "get back down" to my goal weight but while doing that - I am really not loving myself as I am at this moment. How can I truly expect to change anything if I am not loving myself in the process of this change? It just doesn't work out that way. Being negative towards myself is only going to take me that much further away from where I want to be and what I want to achieve. I am going to accept that yes I was at my goal weight and yes I did gain back twenty pounds, no it was not my fault and no it is not fair, but it is what it is and I am going to love who I am right now. I am going to be thankful that although I am not at my leanest, I am still over fourty pounds lighter than I was to begin with... and that's amazing! See, I do not even think about things like that because I get too caught up in the negativity of how much weight I have gained back and stop to look at the WHOLE PICTURE. I lose sight of where I have come from. I am way too hard on myself and I need to just stop beating myself up for the things that I had no control over. My body was going through an incredibly hard time when I gained the weight back and once I get my mind straight, I think my body will start to follow more and more. I know that I will get back to my comfortable weight and to me it's not about a number on a scale anymore - It's about feeling comfortable in my own skin and although I don't right now, I do love and accept myself and I am more than open and willing to feel that comfort with my body again. and I will. and when I do, you better believe that I am going to damn well appreciate it! The sad truth is that when I was at my lightest weight, I still felt negative towards myself and still wanted to lose more weight. I knew that I was thin but I didn't think it was enough. Maybe that's the lesson behind gaining some of this weight back... that I have to work hard to get where I want to be at but this time I have to appreciate where I am and not keep wanting more and expecting to be better. I was not born with a naturally slim body and a fast metabolism. I have hips and curves and raw or not, I have to be mindful of what I am eating. These are just facts of my life and the sooner I accept them, the sooner I will come to truly loving me for me. So here's to loving myself and my body no matter what! and with that said... I really need to start up Yoga again. I feel so much better about myself as a whole when I practice yoga on a regular basis. Even just a few minutes a day, doing poses, I can feel a difference in my entire body. I love Bryan Kest's "Power Yoga" - I actually attended one of his Yoga seminars last summer and he was amazing. Talk about making you sweat! Whoever said you don't get a good workout from doing yoga really needs to try out one of his dvd's, they're killer. I also have my FIRST colonic this weekend!!! on Saturday and I am so nervous.... SO nervous. I have suffered with stomach and digestive issues since I was sixteen years old so I have alot of post-traumatic stress from the pain I suffered with over the years. I'm praying for a pain-free session and I truly feel in my heart that this is what I need to do in order to really re-set my body and get back to health. I'm going to do a colonic once a week for the next three months. I'm very excited to start this, especially in conjunction with what I am eating, I have a feeling I will start to see big changes soon. I have too many things I want to accomplish to let my health issues stand in the way, there is just way too much that I want to do with my life and I will not give up!

"We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Progress NOT Perfection

2008-05-25T09:09:00.001-07:00

"Good nutrition regenerates and rebuilds the cells and tissues which constitute you physical body. Undigested food, and the processes by which waste matter is eliminated from the body, without fermentation and putrefaction, is dependent as well on good nutrition. The possibility of attaining any degree of vibrant health is prevented if such fermentation occurs, accumulates, and is retained in the body."- Dr. Norman W. Walker

I went to NYC on the 20th to attend the Teachers Training Program with Natalia Rose. It was one of the most life-changing experiences of my life. Truly. I don't think I will ever be the same again -- and that's in a good way. I learned so many things that really blew my mind and even though I went into this training with much knowledge regarding health and nutrition, I never imagined that I would leave having filled my brain with that much MORE insight.

I feel truly honored to have been a part of the group and to be able to have spent so much time with Natalia Rose and also hearing Gil Jacobs speak on our last day.... he truly gave a remarkable, eye-opening talk, one that I shall never forget as long as I live. It moved me THAT much.

I have been to countless of numbers of doctors, natropathics, etc. After one discouraging appointment after another and spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on hostpital visits, tests, supplements galore - it wasn't until learning what I did at the Teacher's Training and hearing what Natalia and Gil had to say that I for the first time had my "ah-hah! moment", when the light switched on in my head and I just knew for the first time that I had learned things that will change me forever. There is no going back once you are opened to the world of truth, and to be able to have the knowledge that all illnesses are really infact created equal. They do not vary in difference, but in intensity. In order for one to truly heal themselves, the focus must be not on what to put IN to the body, but what to get OUT of the body. Health truly is not about what you take in. We were all born with everything that we need, but years of eating non-human food and focusing on CONSUMING rather than ELIMINATING has destroyed our bodies natural state.

However, it is reversable! If everyone stopped paying so much attention to labeling themselves "100% raw", "vegan", etc. and focused more on CLEAN CELLS being the number one priority, I really think that over time we will be able to change all of our lives... one clean cell at a time! As our bodies become cleaner, our world becomes a better place.

CLEAN CELLS = HAPPY LIFE.

I think too many of us (myself included) get way too caught up in wanting to be as pure as we can, that we rush into something, like going 100% raw overnight and because we have seen so many people have amazing results when doing so, we expect the same to happen for us. When we try to be perfect and make sure that everything we eat is "RAW", we start to focus too much on the food aspect - (recipes, meal planning, how to eat around other people who arent raw foodists, etc) and the ultimate goal of having clean cells really isn't even a part of your thoughts anymore.

How can one expect to eat a pound of almonds (and believe me I've done this) and feel light and energized afterwards?? Raw or not, if you are eating too much DENSE food and not having regular colonics or enema's, it's unrealistic and unlikely that ultimate health will be achieved.

Again - it's not about being RAW it's about having CLEAN CELLS.

Cooked vegetables are cleaner than nuts and seeds (yes, you read that right). Honestly, what do you think would pass through the body more easily - a plate of steamed greens or a bowl of nuts and dried fruits? The answer is that the cooked veggies would be digested and eliminated much more quickly, without leaving behind any icky residue.

Remember - FROM MATTER COMES ILLNESS.

I would personally much rather eat some cooked veggies, although they are not "raw" and know that they will be quickly existed in my body - rather than eat some nuts and seeds (though raw, but very dense) and which will more than likely end up sitting put in my colon for awhile. Cooked veggies are not "evil" or "deadly" - years of fecal matter stuck inside of our colon is deadly.

Fruits and vegetables are ideal human food - WHY? they are the only foods which do not leave any residue in the body. So although fruits and vegetables are really the only foods meant for human consumption, and although the heating of food is not natural, nor is juicing of vegetables or fruits natural - the simple truth is that WE ARE NO LONGER NATURAL.

We were never meant to eat the things that most of us ate while growing up. We were not meant to live in such toxitity and consume so many medications, or lather our bodies with chemicals that are marketed as "beauty products". What is beautiful about putting chemicals onto our bodies that will end up inside of us?? doesn't sound too sexy to me. I'll take some coconut butter instead, thanks! Bottom line is, we are not natural anymore and therefor we cannot expect to take someone who is used to eating the SAD (Standard American Diet) and put them onto a 100% raw and vegan diet and think that this will be the cure-all.

The eating of living and raw foods is to awaken the matter in our bodies that has been sitting in there, making us sick for so long and to then release the matter... but SLOWLY! without transitioning there is much room for error. We want to SLOW down the detoxing process enough for our bodies to safely start to awaken things, get things moving, and then release the blockages. Detoxing too quickly without proper transition and colon cleansing can result in many unpleasant ways. We want to eliminate the obvious precursors, but leave room for the foods that will help us to transition onto a primarily properly combined, live food and quick-existing life-style. You can eat a 100% raw vegan diet for years and possibly never experience that energy or glow that so many others do - because if you are eating dense foods and not cleaning out your sewage system or taking in fresh vegetable juice on a regular basis, how can you expect to feel good!?!

Do not think of health as what you need to put in more of - think of health as what you are getting out, that way our bodies can regenerate itself and feel the way that we were all meant to feel... GREAT! We should not have so much sickness and disease in this world and it's a shame that more people do not and will not realize that "true health starts in the colon" - if more docotrs understood this, the world would be a much healthier place. That is one big reason why I try my hardest to spread the word about this lifestyle - it's not about pushing information down someone's throat, or making them feel like less of a person for not understanding. It is about showing them a way to open their minds and to think outside of the box - to see the other options and to learn more (if they are willing) about how to achieve true health and happiness.

The journey that I am on is not just about healing my own self from chronic illnesses, but to spread the word and to help others as well. I was not put through so much suffering to just go on in life with no other purpose other than to try to heal myself... I have gone through such pain to be able to turn it all into a journey of learning and gaining more knowledge that will one day touch someone elses life and if anything that I have gone through can help just ONE person with bettering their life, then I feel complete.

There is truly no better gift than the ability to help another person. And so although along my journey towards health, my wings have been tattered and torn - I will continue to fly on, even if with broken wings.

xxo,

Britanie

2008-04-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

I ordered a bottle of Oxy-Powder, after hearing Linda rave about it so much on her blog. I went to the website and read all about it, and it seems very good. I've decided to try the 7-day cleanse protocol that they tell about on their website. I'm a bit nervous, because in the past, I haven't been able to tolerate many natural "laxatives" or whatever you'd like to call them. I used to have bad reactions from everything I tried. The only things I stick with now are Triphala, Aloe Vera(this stuff is awesome!), and Magnesium Citrate. All of those things are wonderful but I feel like I really need to CLEANSE and so I'm going to give Oxy-Powder a try. Probably not until next week, seeing as I am leaving for NYC on Friday and do not want to be on the cleanse while I'm out and about! Probably not the smartest thing to do.

I have also gotten in touch with a local Colon Hydrotherapist who specializes in the gravitational method. She actually worked at the Ann Wigmore Foundation as well, which is really awesome. I have yet to meet her, so I decided to set up an appointment where we can talk first and I can give her a brief overview of my health and history and decide where to go from there. I don't want to just go right in and have a colonic before talking to her about my medical issues before hand. I've given colonics ALOT of thought, especially of course because as everyone probably knows already, The Raw Food Detox Diet is pretty much by daily bible and I swear by most everything that Natalia Rose says and she is a big fan of colonics. She talks a lot about it in her books and gives great detail. When I met with her for my consult she mentioned colonics to me and told me about Gil Jacobs who is pretty much the best colon hydrotherapist out there and from what I hear, an amazing and insightful person as well. He is in NYC and books up pretty fast, I'd still love love to get in to see him as well, however I know that it would be much more convenient to have a colon therapist in my area, one that I feel comfortable with and do not have to travel far to get to. I definitely plan on setting up an appointment with Gil at some point though and see how that goes.

As far as being nervous goes with getting a colonic, it's not so much nerves as it is... fear. I'm fearful of the pain that could possibly come from the colonic. I know that majority of people who have had colonics, say that there is minimal discomfort, however, I am known for having an incredibly sensitive colon and the littlest things can cause pain and discomfort for me. For instance, if I miscombine ONE meal, I bloat almost immediately. I have tried one enema in my life, and literally put it in for not even a minute without it causing horrible spasms in my intestines. I was on the toilet all night in horrible pain... now to this day I do not know if that was caused by the chemicals in the enema or not, I did use a fleet enema and didn't empty the contents out, so it is possible that my reaction was due to the chemicals and not the actual enema. I also had a BAD experience after having a colonoscopy, I ended up having to stay the whole night in the hospital, on pain medications because I was in so much pain. I have very low tolerance when it comes to my stomach, colon, intestines, the whole shebang. So, naturally I'd be a bit fearful of a COLONIC. I just pray that I have good results and honestly, it may sound strange but I feel in a way that the universe it pointing me in the direction of colonics. Almost as if it is the next step for me, to reaching the maximum results.

I also am wondering if it isn't possible that I could have some Autointoxication going on. I was reading the brochure for my colon hydrotherapist and some of the main symptoms for chronic autointoxication are what I am struggling with everyday. Things like Insomnia/Fatigue, Low-energy, Candida, Depression/Anxiety, Irritability, Food Allergies, Weight gain, Constipation, Headaches, Cellulite, Menstrual problems, Bloating and Indigestion. Honestly, I am like the candidate for an overly toxic person. Not to mention that I am suppose to be going through a Chelation protocol to rid myself of some heavy metals but have had to put a hold on that right now because my body is just not able to detox anything. I don't know what is going on with my body but all of my tests are showing that my body is having a hard time assimilating and digesting anything. I have low low stomach acid and it seems that no matter what I do, unless I completely stop eating food, I am fighting with indigestion constantly. I'm lacking amino acids and most of the vital vitamins and nutrients that we all need in order to function. My thyroid is completely out of wack, I'm yet again Anemic and I have to get tested for Insulin resistance next week. I'm still on Prozac and although it's helping me immensely, I still hope to switch over to something natural later on when things calm down in my body and my life.

I am 23 years old and have been fighting with my health issues since I turned 16. I feel sometimes like I am living in a 60 year olds body. Sometimes I feel incredibly overwhelmed with frustration and anger. I drive myself crazy with wondering "why" all of the time. But the truth is that no matter what has happened in my life, THIS is my life and no matter how depressed or distressed or depleted (wow enough with the d words) I feel -- I know in my heart that it is all for a reason. I know that I am going to be able to help many other people in my life and truly heal myself from many of the ailments that have held me back and hurt me for so long.

The trick is to turn your pain into knowledge and help and continue to educate yourself and others..... oh, and to never give up, of course :)

"Sometimes things will fall apart in order for other things to fall into place."

I promised I would answer some of the questions that you have asked me! so here we go....

from Charissa
Question: What spiral slicer or "noodle" maker do you use? I'm trying to find a good one that will last me years and years. I hear a lot of good stuff about some and a lot of bad stuff about others. Thanx. XOXO

Heeeey hun, this is the one that I use and I LOVE it!

from RawVibrance
Question: Where where do you get white Japanese yams? Whole Foods?

Usually Whole Foods or my local co-op market, I can't seem to find them at many places though! If you do find them, GET THEM! they are by far the best. It's hard for me to go back to regular yams because these are the yummiest of all!

From veg_n
Question: How exactly do you make your green juice? Do you juice all of your greens, or blend them, or both? And, how much kale and romaine would you say you use for each smoothie? They sound so delicious, I would love to know how to make them!

Well for the Green “juice” I use my Juicer. When I make green “smoothies” I use the vitamix. As far as the amount goes of greens, it depends on which you are going to make. You will need much less produce for smoothies, so it can be a lot easier in that sense… it really depends on what you want for your body. When you blend your greens, you are keeping the fiber intact, which is great but if you want to give your digestion a break, that’s where juicing comes in. But to give you a rough estimate, for green smoothies I usually do 1-2 handfuls of kale and a bunch of romaine. For juice, I use usually triple the amount of kale and same with the romaine. Try it out and see what you like, everyones taste for greens is varied!

From anonymous
Question: how many green apples, grapefruit, and berries are you allowed to consume? when can you incorporate these into your diet? i am also on an anti-candida diet and gained weight because i eat jars of nut butter. i am a loser.
also are you doing the anti-fungals again?

As far as green apples, grapefruit and berries are concerned, they are definitely the best to go for if you are struggling with candida, in the beginning though, it’s really best to avoid all of them if you can. I personally haven’t had any since starting the plan but I plan to add in a cup of berries and an apple at some point and see how I tolerate it. You are not a loser for eating jars of nut butter! You should see how I used to eat dates! I could literally consume an entire container and still want more. We all have our weaknesses, but they do not make us weak…. We just have to learn how to control ourselves and get to the point where we can have these things, just not entire jars and containers!! Lol Antifungals… I take Candex every morning and night. I also have taken Fungal Defense by Garden of Life and highly recommend both! Oregano Oil is great, too...

I have also been recieving many emails and questions regarding the plan I am following from Natalia Rose and how my "no-fruit" has been going. I have been off of fruit now (with the exception of lemons, limes and frozen acai for my smoothies) for 27 days and the first two weeks were horrible for me. I never went a day without an apple! It was brutal to give up my most favorite food in the world but honestly, I find myself not even craving fruit anymore. I'm really loving my lemons, stevia, young coconuts, and avocado in my smoothie and I don't even need the other fruits to balance it out. Also frozen unsweetened Acai berry is amazing! you can find it in the freezer at most health food stores. It's very low in sugar and doesn't seem to spike me at all or cause any bloating or problems. One big thing I have noticed since eating this way is that my stomach is not able to hold as much food anymore. I get full waaaay faster than usual and some nights I am done eating after 3pm. Although Natalia advises to eat later in the day, I find that sometimes my digestion works better when I have a Green Juice or Smoothie for breakfast and a big lunch and then stop for the rest of the night. It helps my bloating and indigestion alot as well. A big part has to do with what time I go to bed as well. For instance if I know that I am going to be getting into bed earlier than usual, then I will make it a point to stop eating earlier in the day... and the same goes for the opposite. Going to sleep later, then I can eat alittle bit later. It all depends. I happen to have a very slow digestion and I like to give myself atleast 4 hours to stop eating before I go to sleep. It all depends on YOUR body though, so you have to make your own adjustments. As far as cravings go, I'm doing really well, haven't been craving much other than what I am able to eat. I've been going hogwild on sea veggies lately though, I can't seem to get enough of them! It's probably my thyroid speaking to me. I know that sea veggies can be amazing for stoking a sluggish thyroid, so that's good news!!

All in all, I am determined to stick to this plan because to me it makes the most sense and I believe it in completely. The scale hasn't budged yet and I'm trying not to get discouraged because I know there are alot of other things going on in my body right now, which is why I need to focus more on getting my Thyroid and other issues figured out so that I can start to release some weight and feel better. I think the colonic will come in helpful with the weight loss as well. I'm trying not to focus on "losing weight" anymore as much as I am trying to focus on HEALTH. Feeling good comes first and the rest will follow.....

RAW CHOCOLATE RAVE

2008-04-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

If anyone can make it to this event, next Friday, it's definitely going to be something to remember! We are going to rawk it out and dance til we drop! We'll be having lots of chocolate highs without any hangovers the next day!

GO HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS AND TO LEARN MORE INFO

Also, I want to mention that Vanessa(Chocolate Girl) and I wanted to get a group together before the event (which starts at around 8pm) and which will be held at the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors. The art gallery closes at 6 pm, so a group of us would have to meet there ahead of time so that we can experience this unbelievable art. Email me if you are interested in getting together before hand, what a great way to start off the evening!

Sea Veggie Pasta

2008-04-22T08:04:00.001-07:00

I've been craving the texture of pasta lately and although it's been 5 years since I have had actual pasta, I still get that urge every now and then for the taste of it. So I indulged but without any guilt or discomfort!! I swear this tasted so much like the real thing.

I used...

Kombu Seaweed and spiralized Zucchini for the "Pasta Noodles"

Seeds Of Change Marinara Sauce for the "Spaghetti Sauce"

Portobella Mushrooms marinated in Basil, Oregano and Cumin for the "Meatballs"

Baked white Japenese Yam with Garlic flakes, a bit of olive oil and salt for the "Garlic Bread"

Natalia Rose recommended that I try Kelp noodles because they come all prepared! It would be nice to just open the bag and have them all ready to eat. Anything that gives me a break from soaking, rinsing, drying and chopping is always appreciated!!!

Tomorrow is Cleansing day Part I

2008-04-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

I joined the CSL cleanse group run by the beautiful Kris Carr. The idea is to do a cleanse/fast for 1-3 days, once a month to give your body a rest and a chance to renew!!!!

I'm still following Natalia Rose's plan, but this is a jump start to hopefully help kick some of my sugar cravings! and right after the cleanse, I will go immediately back to my plan. I feel SO inspired lately... I just know I am on the right track to getting better!!

Kris explains in detail all the 3 stages of fasting in her Staging of fasting blog. I will be doing Stage 3, which consists of RAW Green Juices, Green Smoothies and blended soups. NO FRUIT, NO SUGAR.... which means... LEMONS, LIMES AND STEVIA ARE YOUR FRIENDS!!!

I went to the store today and bought so much produce, I'm all ready to juice! I'll update tomorrow :-)

P.S.
I've had several people leave me comments and email me questions regarding the plan I am following by Natalia Rose and I promise I will have an upcoming post where I answer all your questions! I have actually learned some more things and have a lot more to talk about!!! :)

Day 11.

2008-04-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

REBOUNDING! I find that my rebounder is not only good for jumping but it's good to get a tan as well. lol I find it to be very comfortable. I layed out in the sun for like two hours, I actually did some belly crunches while I was laying there... multi-tasking. lol

I'm still following my new plan and I'm doing really good without any fruit! I think it's been around 2 weeks since I've had any (besides 2 small granny smith apples). It's funny, because I find that whenever I think there is NO way that I will be able to stop eating a particular food - if I give myself a week without it, the cravings become less intense. At first, I was going insane without my fruit, and it was really really hard. Honestly, I don't know if I'd be able to do it if I weren't aloud to have my Lemons, Limes and Stevia! they are what help my sweet tooth! oh and some chocolate, too :)

Food from the past week has been pretty much Green juices in the morning, followed by a Green smoothie (recipe below). A huge salad with a baked sweet potato and avocado and then later probably another salad. I also have been really into sea veggies lately and making nori rolls, etc. Tonight I am making delicious Kombu pasta! I can't wait to see how it comes out.

(a fridge with no fruit!!)

(nori rolls.. can't get enough after having the ones from pure food and wine!)

(avocado and beet salad)

(fresh mint!!)

Go-to Green Smoothie
by Kris Carr

1 avocado

fresh mint

1 cucumber

kale

coconut water (or purified)

Stevia to taste

1 lime (optional)

I found a way to enjoy my fruit-free Green Juices!

2008-04-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited right now because after plugging my nose and literally forcing my pure Green Juice down this morning (kale, lettuce, cucumber), I realized that I really NEED to find a way to enjoy my juices again, even though I cannot use fruit in them for awhile. I have been a bit stubborn about it because I miss my Apples in my juices! They make any green taste better. It's true. But, I have to deal with what is and what is is that I have to avoid fruits for awhile.... SOO... I came up with some good alternatives to use in my juices and after using them... something really awesome happened... I didn't even notice that Apple was missing! It really works well. I used 1 lemon, 1 lime and a packet of Stevia in place of fruit and then of course, I added my usual greens Kale, Romaine and as always, a huge Cucumber.... it's soo good for your skin! Oh and incase anyone is wondering why I can't have fruit but I can have lemons and limes.... they are neutral fruits, so they work fine when trying to avoid most fruits. Same with things like Avocado, Cucumber, Bell Pepper, etc. I highly suggest anyone who is hesistant about using Stevia to try the "NUStevia" I have a bunch of Sweet Stevia's but Natalia Rose told me to try the NUStevia and it's WAY better and doesn't have that strange after tatse! It tastes like sugar... but thankfully, it's not. :-)

I'm happy to say that I now look forward to making my fruit-free juice in the morning :-) just don't take my lemons, limes or stevia away and I'm all set.

There is something else that I am so excited about.... they now sell in my markets "Cut n Clean Greens" which are all different types of Greens (not just spinach and lettuce!) that are all chopped and washed..... and ORGANIC!!!! I have been saying for the longest time, "why do they not sell ready made kale or chard, etc?" You can find washed spinach and romaine everywhere you go but you never see washed and ready greens of any other kind! well... now there are! I can finally stop stressing over washing, drying and chopping SO much!!!!

Natalia Rose consult, New eating plan, Weight loss, etc.

2008-04-06T15:56:00.000-07:00

Britanie Faith and Natalia Rose from The Raw Food Detox Diet

I had a consult with Natalia Rose last weekend, let me just say that meeting her in person was out of this world! What an amazing woman she is!!! She started me on a personalized eating regimen... which is based around an anti-Candida type of plan. I suffered from Candida a few years ago, severely and was really ill. I had stomach pain constantly, bloating, etc. After taking a ton of different herbs and anti-fungals, I thought it had went away (I think most of it has) but after taking certain Pharmaceutical drugs and indulging in one too many containers (yes containers) of Dates and Raw Bars, I believe some of the Candida has returned.... uggh...!!!!!

Natalia believes that the only way I will be able to release the weight that I have gained over the past 6 months is to reduce my fruit (fresh and dried), nut & seed (fat) intake immensely. This also goes for any other kind of sugar substitute as well (besides Stevia). It’s going to be tough because Fruit (Apples in particular) are my favorite food. I eat at least 3-4 Apples a day and I love my Banana smoothies. I’m going to be detoxing like crazy and probably not be in the greatest mood for a few weeks, but I am going to do this!!! I’ve been in denial a bit about my consumption of Dried Fruits and Raw Bars I think. I had this mind set for so long that because the foods that I was binging on were “raw” and in comparison to most foods “good” foods, that I could get away with eating as much as I wanted. WRONG. I do not have a fast metabolism, never have, infact no one is my family ever has and although there are some woman on there (I hate you! Lol) who can get away with chowing down on dense raw foods and never gain an ounce, I would say majority of us women have to be careful, EVEN when eating raw.

Natalia did a wonderful job at explaining so many things in detail and although I have all of her books and have read them religiously, I feel like in that one hour that I spent with her, I gained so much knowledge and insight and felt so incredibly inspired!! She touched on some very important and deep things that I had really never even though to contemplate before. I won’t delve into that too much because a lot of it is very personal but I will say that I am now understanding where my Binging and Purging came from and the true meaning behind it. Going to Natalia is not just meeting with a well-informed nutritionist but it was also like talking with a friend, therapist and motivational speaker all rolled into one!! As beautiful as she is in all of her pictures, she is even more radiant up close in person. Her good heart shines through her, just from speaking with her for the amount of time that I did, I could feel how caring and enlightened she truly is.

She laid out basic guidelines to stick to for at least 3 months.

WHAT TO AVOID:
Fruits
Dried Fruits
Nuts & Seeds
Oils and Fats
Grains (which I don’t eat any way)
Beans (which I don’t eat any way)
Agave, Honey and other Sugars

OKAY IN MODERATION:
Avocados
Cooked Starchy Veggies (Sweet Potatoes!! YAY!!!)
Wild Seafood
Free-range Omega 3 Eggs
Olives
70% Dark Chocolate

GO HOG WILD:
Veggie Juices
Raw Veggies
Cooked low and no starch Veggies
Stevia

EXCEPTIONS:
Green Apples
Grapefruit
Berries

My goal is to lose about 20 lbs. Before I put on this extra weight from my Thyroid and medication changes, I was at around 125-128 lbs and maintaining it well. Since then I have gone up to 145 lbs where I am now at and NOT happy with at all. I am 5'5" and although I am nowhere near fat or really overweight for my body, I do not feel comfortable where I am at and I want to be able to look into a mirror and not feel ashamed. It's hard because I already worked my ass off (literally) to get from 200 lbs to 125 lbs and then to gain about 20 lbs back, without having any fun and having it be out of my control, has taken a real toll on me and I've been way too hard on myself. I put myself down too much and blame myself for this weight gain, when I know that it was not my fault and I could not help what happened. It obviously happened for a reason and I am determined to get back into shape and to get to a size where I feel good. It's not about being "thin" anymore. For awhile I was so obsessed with the scale and being skinny that I didn't even appreciate my weight at 125 lbs... and actually, I wanted to be 115 lbs back then. So I was never content with myself and I do not want that to happen to me again. I am focusing on feeling good about myself, toning up and just feeling comfortable.

I will be at my goal by the end of three months! I will be feeling fantastic and flying high! and by then, I'm hoping to go back to being around 80%. Right now, I really have to add in some cooked veggies and Eggs, etc, because without Fruit, Nuts or Seeds on a HIGH raw diet, there isn't much left!!! I do not want to go into starvation mode. I am doing what I have to do for MY BODY and once I have everything sorted out, then I can choose where I want to go from there.

It's now been 6 days since I have had any Fruit and it's been brutal! I miss my Apples soo much. Anyone who knows me, knows how I love my Apples and it's very very hard. In a few weeks I plan to add in one Green Apple a day.

I am doing alot of searching for raw recipes that do not contain fruit, nuts, seeds or too much fats.

I am on a hunt right now for finding GOOD tasting Green Smoothie recipes that do not contain any fruit (besides lemon, limes) and I guess although Cucumbers and Avocado's are technically a fruit, they can go both ways and they hang with the veggies more often anyway! lol. I am used to filling my Green Smoothies with Banana's, Mangoes and Frozen Fruits like Peaches, etc. I have tried in the past to make pure GREEN smoothies and ended up choking it down, it was horrid! but I do not want to have to give up on my lovely Green Smoothies just because I have to avoid fruit for awhile, because they are soo good for you and they always helped "get things moving" if you know what I'm saying... plus, they are great for meal-replacements or something to have before lunch or dinner to help satiate you more. So, yeah, if you know of any recipes or ideas, please do let me know!! I'm on the look out!!!

200 lbs / 120 lbs

145 lbs (now)

I think I was a little too thin at 120 lbs and am not trying to go that low anymore. honestly I would not care if I was 135 lbs as long as I am toned and feel good about myself. I don't want to focus on being skinny anymore, because that just doesn't matter.

I know when I stick to something, I WILL do it. The only reason I haven't been able to get the weight off recently is due to medical issues... BUT, I am going to do everything that's in MY power to change things. I won't accept that I have to be a victim to weight problems again, not when I eat as healthy as I do and work so hard at being a healthy and good person. It's just not gonna happen!!! I am going to make my success story better, everyday and NEVER GIVE UP.

Successfully Raw - NYC

2008-03-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

SUCCESSFULLY RAW EVENT, MARCH 29TH in NYC

The AMAZING presenters...

(Joel Odhner, Philip McCluskey, Anthony Anderson, Dhrumil Purohit, Karen Knowler)

I can honestly say that this past weekend was one of if not the most educating, exciting, inspiring, eye opening experiences of my life. It would be near impossible to detail every amazing thing that happened this past weekend so instead I will highlight some of the best moments. And I will be posting a separate entry about my meeting with Natalia Rose!

First of all, I should start off by saying that everyone who was a part of the Successfully Raw Event, really did such an amazing job. I’m not sure that I could pick just ONE part that stood out for me the most because each speech by each person was original and so informative that it would be hard to have a favorite. I will say that a lot of what Karen Knowler touched on about eating and emotions, really resonated with me. I can’t wait until the audio/video is up so that I can hear the whole thing again!! I asked two questions during Karen’s speech… and I’m a tad bit nervous to hear myself haha but it’s all good. I was so excited to be there. I also did an interview with Robert at the end of the event, to say what my thoughts were about it, etc and it was my first time being on camera like that, and I unfortunately let my nerves get the best of me! I believe I said “um” quite a few times, that is my nervous habit… to say “um” over and over lol. It’s okay though, I am not going to beat myself up about it -- everyone’s first time can’t be perfect, right!? Next time I will be more prepared!

If hearing Karen, Dhru, Anthony, Philip and Joel’s talks weren’t amazing enough… meeting and conversing with so many wonderful people really took the cake (raw cake of course lol). It was so awesome to see so many familiar faces of the people who I have been communication with through giveittomeraw.com and blogger, etc.

Anthony gave an amazing speech, I talked to him before and after the event and was truly trying my best to keep composure, it's not easy to be around someone that beautiful!. Not only is he obviously physically gorgeous but his personality and energy are equally as stunning. My favorite part of his speech was when he was talking about how when he first went Raw, when he would see other SAD people in restaurants eating nasty cooked food, he felt like they were eating "demon food" and couldn't help but be a little judgmental. I totally related to this because when I first went raw, I felt like I knew so much more than everyone and that anyone who ate anything cooked or processed was ignorant. It's not a healthy way to be though, you have to keep in mind that everyone has there own time and just because something is working for you, does not mean that everyone is going to accept or agree with it. You have to stay open-minded, always!!

Dhru really did such a great job at making everyone feel so comfortable and at home. Being around him is truly an amazing experience... it may sound strange but if you have ever met him, you'd understand what I mean! He has this sense of calmness to him, that was truly refreshing. Your one amazing guy, Dhru!!

Philip’s story is so amazing and inspiring. His before and after pictures alone are an inspiration! He seemed so comfortable talking to everyone and sharing his experience. He is a great guy and I'm so glad I was able to finally meet him!!

Karen is a firecracker!!!! I met her after she gave her presentation and was soo excited to have a picture taken with her. She is a GREAT person and dancing with her was so much fun!! She does this dance that me and Jayna are now calling "the karen".... it's classic and no one can do it like her! lol. She is adorable. I feel honored to have met her!!

A BIG thanks to Vanessa from Gnosis Chocolate for her AMAZING chocolate bars! ooh my, those are the best I've ever had! and I also have to mention how unbelievably gorgeous she is.... and such a sweetheart as well!!

Meeting Jayna for the first time was great… She was so spunky and energetic, I felt instantly connected to her and drawn to her energy. I don’t think my trip would have been what it was if I had not met her. Same with Lindsey… the three of us just clicked and really balanced each other out. Hanging out with them felt so normal and comfortable, like we had been friends forever. It was great and I cannot wait to see and spend time with them more!

Penni was actually the first person to come over to me, she was absolutely GORGEOUS! My mom said to me after “wow, is she all raw, because I want to look glowing like her!” lol I told her how she is a part of the 92 day Juice Feast and about her blog and how inspiring she is. Her accent was so adorable, too, she introduced herself as “pinni”… lol.

I went around with my camera asking to take pictures with some special people… there were a lot of people who I wasn’t able to get pictures with!!! But next time, for sure.

Some photos from the event…

PURE FOOD AND WINE!!!!!! Wow... that place is even BETTER than I expected. I seriously only ate there the whole weekend, besides the amazing food that was at the Successfully Raw event (I had TWO of the pizza's that were given out, lol they were so good). I ate at Pure Food and Wine the first night, with my mom. We had such a great time, we each ordered 3 courses and had bites of each others. I was so full by the end of the night that I could barely breathe, but it was worth it... sooo worth it! After dinner, we went over to Pure Juice and Take-away, where I bought a piece of this amazing chocolate cake. I took it back to the hotel room and ended up eating it the next day for breakfast (bad, I know but it was a special weekend! so I indulged.) The next night, I went to Pure Food and Wine again with my girls Lindsey and Jayna, we were going to eat with the rest of the gang from Successfully Raw but there were no seats left, so we just went over to Pure Juice and Take-away and ate there! It was really fun. We all got three sundaes and ate them all, lol and I got a Sea Veggie Salad that was delicious. If you are EVER in NYC, I highly recommend going to Pure Food and Wine! It's expensive but it's a real treat... there is nothing like it!!!!

(Marinated Shiitake and Avocado Sushi Rolls.... omg... these were my favorite! simple yet divine! and why is it that when I try to make sushi, it NEVER looks like this!? lol)

(The best thing I've ever eaten in my life... no lie. Sooo good. It was a mint/chocolate ice ceam.)

(This guy was hilarious... and gave me good ice cream samples! lol)

Jayna, Lyndsey and me taking pictures in the hotel before heading to The Park Club... can you believe that we all had JUST met that day???? soul mates !!!!! :-)

We met up with Dhru, Philip, Karen, Vanessa, Penni, Jenny, Jami, and the rest of the crew at The Park club. We had a BLAST!!! dancing all night long and getting high off of Vanessa's amaaaaaazing Gnosis Chocolate!!!!! I love how we all were drinking water and eating cacao, while most other people around us were drinking alcohol and smoking.... and I must say, our group had the most energy of anyone there!!!!! we were rawkin it!!! I don't think Jayna or Karen stopped dancing the whole night... lol. My feet and legs are STILL sore from dancing... it's great! Lyndsey left the club early because she had to drive all the way home and was getting tired, so me and Jayna stayed until around 2:30 or 3 a.m. and took a cab back to my hotel and slept there for the night and then left the next morning... she wrote me the sweetest, most touching note and left it for me to read after she left. It brought tears to my eyes. She's one amazing woman, she really is. I'm so thankful to the universe for bringing her into my life. After Jayna left, I went back to sleep for awhile and then woke my mom up and we went to Pure Juice and Take-away before leaving the city. I was SO happy to run into Jenny and Jami there! I talked with them for awhile and then left. Jenny is such a great person, she just radiates. I cannot even begin to describe in enough detail how amazing the people are that I met this past weekend. I know that I made friendships that will last for a lifetime! NOTHING compares to that :)

and of course I had to save memorabilia from my weekend!.... lol

Thanks to EVERYONE who was a part of the event. and just a note that most of the pictures I posted are mine and a few were taken by other people at the event! so if you want me to credit your photo, let me know!!!

much love to you all,

Britanie

Birthday Girl and NYC!

2008-03-27T11:49:00.001-07:00

I turned 23 on Tuesday!!! It's crazy to think that in just 7 years I will be 30!!! Wow.

I'm celebrating my birthday this weekend when my mom and I go to NYC.

We will be taking a train into the city tomorrow (Friday) morning and get settled in at our Hotel, before heading off to meet with Natalia Rose of The Raw Food Detox Diet for my 1-hour consult!!! After that, I am sure we will go to dinner at a Raw Food restaraunt. Maybe Pure Food and Wine!?!? I've wanted to eat there for sooooo long. Saturday is going to be a BLAST! My mom and I both are going to attend The Raw Success Event and then I think there may be some people going out to a dance club afterwards, which I will have to go to as well! I am just so excited to meet so many wonderful people and gather so much information.

I will have MUCH to update about when I return and MANY pictures to show, I'm sure!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and hope to see alot of you at the event!!!!!

5 things.

2008-03-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by charissa and michelle. The idea is to post 5 random things about yourself.... and hopefully have them be interesting?? lol. I will try...

- I am obsessed with Apples. I have always loved all fruits (how could one not!?) but ever since I was a kid, I have had a loyal love to Apples. I have several photos of me when I was a baby, holding an apple or eating an apple. My mom said I used to live on Apple Juice. To this day, I eat at least three apples a day and I have never ever gotten sick of them. Even talking about them makes my mouth water. To me, they are THE perfect food. I could happily live off of all different sorts of Apples. As of lately, I am enjoying Braeburn but it changes weekly. Last week I was all about Pink Lady's.

- I am very good at keeping myself occupied. I like to think of myself as a social person because I love meeting new people and I am very outgoing when around others and I love talking to people and learning about people, etc. However, I enjoy spending time alone a lot as well. I am perfectly content staying in, curled up with a good book or watching movies all night with my animals. I'm never really bored because I always find a way to entertain myself. Whether it be by dancing around my apartment like a dork or working on a scrapbook, reading fashion magazines, playing around with makeup, I always find something to keep myself occupied and I never feel an intense need to be around a bunch of people. I am not really sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, I guess it could go either way.... because I do have the tendency to be some-what of a recluse at times and shut myself off from people and other days, I want to socialize.

- I find enjoyment in the smallest things. Truly I do. For instance, one of my favorite things to do (no lie) is to go on amazon.com and look up a new book, search around on various peoples wish lists and click from one book to another, reading reviews and recommendations, etc. I can do this for hours at an end and sometimes I find myself spending more time looking and reading ABOUT books rather than reading THE actual book, lol. My other guilty pleasure is to read a book and then watch the movie based on the book. I literally get all giddy when I am about to see a movie based upon the book that I have just read. It is little things like that which make me happy.

- I have loved Marilyn Monroe since I was around 12 years old. I have grown up with her as my idol and inspiration. Reading about her, learning about her, watching her movies and looking at her pictures, gives me a sense of comfort. I feel very much connected to her in a way that is hard to explain and may sound strange to some people but I feel that she is an angel and the epitome of beauty. My apartment is pretty much filled with Marilyn and every birthday or holiday, I tell people to get me anything Marilyn related. I may be 23 years old and collecting Marilyn memorabilia and to some that may seem strange but I guarantee when I am 60 years old I will be sipping on my tea, watching Some Like It Hot and still loving Marilyn and I wouldn't have it any other way!

- I am terrified of Spiders. I have serious arachnophobia. It started when I was young and I had more than a few bad experiences with spiders and to this day when I see one, I freak out. I am getting better, but I'm not sure the fear will ever go away. Even writing about them right now is giving me the creeps lol. I am also horribly afraid of Freddy Kreugar, as ridiculous as that may sound, I was traumatized after watching Nightmare on Elm Street when I was just 11 years old and ever since then, I have had reoccurring nightmares with him in them and I cannot watch one of the Elm street movies without feeling traumatized all over again. It’s crazy. Lol I just find it extremely terrifying, the thought of someone being able to come into your dreams and kill you. The whole concept is just… very creepy.

I tag: Melinda, Malynda, Darice Michelle, and I have to find some others who have not been tagged yet!!! So anyone else you hasn't been tagged.... well... TAG! lol

Enjoying the simple pleasures in my life...

2008-03-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

tongue kisses on the nose...lol

yawning in my face lol

This week has been my relaxing week. I've had class and work off the entire week so it's been nice to catch up on some needed rest and down time. My body has been going through a lot lately and I'm finding myself becoming very stressed out again and before it gets any worse, I need to have "me time" and just give in to my lethargy and go with it.

I have been sleeping, reading, going online, watching movies, watched every episode of the first season of The Tudors. So good!!! I've been really interested in that whole era lately. Sometimes I wish I had lived in that time with all of the costumes and glamour. Everything seemed so much more romantic, too. People fall in love and stay together forever. Little things back then were so much appreciated and I feel like in this day in age, we take so much for granted.

Sometimes when I am feeling down, I like to just sit and think of the things in my life that I am most thankful for. Anyone can dwell on a million things that they'd like to change in their lives or a million things they would like to have that they don't... but how many of us really take the time to appreciate what we do have right here and now??

I took a walk today, although it was cold out, the wind felt good on my face. I needed some fresh air. I have been inside far too much the past week and I can feel an immediate difference in energy the minute I step outside and get some clean, fresh air into my lunges. I walked for about 20 mins and then sat outside in the grass, listening to my i-pod with my big jacket on and a hat to cover my ears because they were freezing lol. I like to sit outside sometimes, listening to music and thinking about things in my life. After my walk and little chill time in the grass, I came inside and made a big Green Smoothie. Nothing like some chlorophyll after some good fresh air!

I have upped my greens this week and have been making my beloved Green Lemonade every morning again.

getting ready to juiiiice

I always feel so bad for the pulp...lol. I started saving the pulp and putting it into ziplock bags into the fridge and I use it in Green Smoothies. I just feel too guilty throwing all of it away!

I have been eating 1-2 huge salads everyday with 1-2 raw flaxseed crackers.

I have REALLY been trying to watch the fat in my diet and trying to cut out oils when eating my salads but I have such a hard time enjoying my salads without dressing! I usually use just a small amount of flax oil with some lemon, agave, sea salt, etc. I've also been having 4-5 raw olives on my salad as well. That is really the only fat I am getting lately when I am not eating any nuts, etc. So I don't think that's too bad but I want to lose weight so I am going to have to start cutting it down even more... I'm hoping after my consult with Natalia Rose next weekend, that I will have a much better idea of what changes I will need to make in order to get the best results from eating this way.

Oh and I was tagged! in my next post I will post the 5 random things about me... I didn't forget! I just keep getting side-tracked. lol

BENEFITS OF LEMON WATER

2008-03-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

Warm lemon water serves as the perfect good morning drink, as it aids the digestive system and makes the process of eliminating the waste products from the body easier. It prevents the problem of constipation and diarrhea from taking place, by ensuring smooth bowel functions. Read further to explore information about hot lemon water benefits…

Lemon is a vitamin C rich citrus fruit that enhances your beauty, by rejuvenating skin from within and thus bringing a glow on your face. One of the major health benefits of drinking lemon water is that it paves way for losing weight faster, thus acting as a great weight loss remedy. Lemon water flushes out body toxins and thus is extremely beneficial for the body.Lemon, a fruit popular for its therapeutic properties, helps promote your immune system and thus, protects you from the clutches of most types of infections.

It also plays the role of blood purifier. Lemon is a fabulous antiseptic bestowed on us by Mother Nature. Limewater juice works wonders for people having heart problem, owing to its high potassium content. So, make it a part of your daily routine to drink a glass of warm lemon water in the morning and then open your gateway to enjoy its health benefits.

BENEFITS OF LEMON WATER

Lemons are antiseptic
Lemon water has excellent digestive properties and can ease heartburn, bloating and other digestion problems
Lemon water cleanses and stimulates the liver and kidneys
Lemon juice contains calcium, magnesium and potassium
Lemon juice has been known to relieve asthma
Lemon water (hot) offers relief from cold and flu symptoms while providing some much needed Vitamin C
Lemon juice is a great skin cleanser

So if you do not do anything else - start every single day with a glass of lovely lemon water!

Health Update.

2008-03-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

"Through persistence, self-knowledge, prayer, commitment, optimism, a resolute trust in God and the building of your own personal moral strength, you can enjoy the blessings of a deeper faith and face the difficulties of life with courage and confidence."

Sometimes I find myself having so many thoughts inside of my head and so many things I want to say and type and write, yet I come online and pretty much find anything else to divert myself from writing on my blog. I think it’s partly due to the fact that when I do write about what is going on in my life, it becomes more real and I’m forced to really see what I am feeling in front of me. I am not going to let myself continue to avoid getting my feelings out because that is only going to make matters worse.

Things have been pretty hard for me lately. I won’t lie, sometimes I really just feel like giving up on everything. My dreams, my strength, my willpower, etc. It’s terribly painful to have so many health issues to deal with, when you do everything good and positive for yourself, you eat better than anyone you know, you will embark on basically any plan that any doctor lays out for you, if it means there is a slight chance of feeling better. You maintain a positive attitude throughout the toughest times and you pride yourself on being a good, kind and loving person.

I watch the people that I am closest with around me, eating their cheeseburgers and soda, candies, sugar, dairy, cookies, pizza, all the fake, clogging foods that you could possibly think of and they seem to be healthy and thriving and living their lives. And here I find myself eating a big raw salad and dealing with one illness after another and I feel like, life is so unfair. It’s not anything new, we all know that life is not fair and it’s not worth sitting around dwelling about and whining about but there are times when I do have to sit back and feel sorry for myself, only for a specific amount of time will I let myself do this… I let myself go into the depths of sadness and self-pity and I feel it to the fullest extent. After I am done with this, I think of all the positive things in my life and all the positive things that WILL be coming in my life and I do everything in my power to pick myself back up and get myself out of the dark hole that is my negativity.

Reason for my recent stress?

I had a visit with my Doctor and recieved some not so wonderful updates…

- My Heavy Metal results came back that I had done a month earlier and show that I have a high level of Mercury in my system. It also showed that my Porpheryn Enzymes are damaged which means that my body is having problems digesting and detoxing… which would explain why I have such low immunity. He believes it is due to the Mercury in my system and that could also be playing a part in my Thyroid issues as well. So in order to detox, he has me on a Chelatin regimen. I am to take Captomer-250 twice a day for three days, every other week…. Such as Saturday, Sunday and Monday for three months. I am also taking Amino D-Tox and Activated Charcoal everyday for three months and I need to take regular Sauna’s to help sweat out the toxins and help my detox to be easier on my body.

- My Thyroid is extremely low…. My doctor actually seem pretty worried about it because he was wondering how I am even functioning with having such a low thyroid. I have been having the hardest time with my Thyroid because I went to one doctor who told me I don’t even have a Thyroid problem and to go off of my Thyroid meds and ever since I went down on the meds, I have gained 20 lbs, I feel horrible, I’m fatigued beyond belief and I’ve had a number of problems. So I had my blood taken again and two of my doctors confirmed that I am indeed Hypothyroid. I’m only taking 15 mg of Armour Thyroid right now and 25 mcg of Levoxyl. I was originally on 60 mg of Armour and then went up to 90 mg where I then became HYPERthyroid because I guess that dosage was too high for my body and maybe that confused my other doctor, who was the one that told me I shouldn’t even be medicated, etc. No one else seems to agree with him though because all of my past blood results show a low-acting Thyroid (Hypothyroid) so I really don’t understand how these doctors can have such different opinions and see such different results when looking at the same thing! It confuses me and makes me crazy because I just want to know what the heck to do and it’s hard to know which is the right way! I guess you just have to go with your gut instinct with things like these and in my heart, I know I have a Thyroid problem, I know I have for awhile now. It explains so many of my problems with weight and fatigue and depression, extremely low blood pressure and temperature, etc. It can also be brought on by the Mercury in my system. My doctor seems confident that once I detox the Mercury out that my Thyroid will stabilize. In the mean time, I’m trying my best to function on what little energy I have…. If any. I’m to the point where when I am awake, I feel like I’m in a haze. I feel like a walking zombie. My body is constantly aching and I feel constantly fatigued. I can sleep for hours and wake up and go right back to sleep for hours again and again and I never feel replenished or renewed. It’s incredibly frustrating and tiring in every way possible. Not only is my body tired but my mind is equally tired as well.

- I’m Anemic, yet AGAIN. I don’t know if it’s worse since cutting out all animal products or because after two years of having no menstruations, I am finally getting my periods again. I don’t know the reason but I cannot tolerate Iron Supplements and I do not want to have to go back in for another Iron Infusion so I am hoping that if I up my intake of Spinach, Beets, Prunes and other foods that are high in Iron that maybe that will be enough. We’ll see.

With everything going on with my body right now, I am finding it incredibly hard to keep up my studies and to not miss my classes and work. I'm really trying hard to do anything in my power to regain some strength and energy but it's not easy....

Things WILL get better though, I know they will. I'm very glad that I have break from classes and work the rest of the week. I am going to rest and take it easy because I leave for NYC on the 28th, for my consult with Natalia Rose and then I am going to be attending the Raw Success event on the 29th which I really really cannot wait to go to.... so I need to get myself feeling better!!!!!!

Time to up my GREENS!!!! While I have the whole week off, I figure I might as well embark on a nice cleanse.... so I'm going to be eating lots and lots of Green Juices and Green Smoothies and Green Salads and Green Green Green! I always feel better when I get more chlorophyll!

Natalia Rose consult + NYC Raw Event!

2008-03-04T05:37:00.000-08:00

I cannot wait for the weekend of

March 28th & 29th!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be meeting with Natalia Rose...

and

going to this awesome Raw Event!

http://events.giveittomeraw.com/raw-success

Any of you lovely people going to be attending the Raw Success Event in NYC? I am So excited! I am all signed up for it. This will be my FIRST ever Raw Event and I cannot wait! It's going to be an amazing weekend because the day before I am meeting with no other than Natalia Rose, author of The Raw Food Detox Diet for a consultation! She is a huge inspiration to me and I'm more than excited to meet and speak to her about everything and feel even MORE inspired! I hope to see alot of my fellow raw-bloggers at the event on the 29th! It would be awesome to be able to meet so many of you :)

GETTING THE GLOW!

2008-02-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

It amazes me how after only 30 days of eating at least 90% Raw, cutting out all Meat products, drinking Green Juice and smoothies daily, makes my skin just GLOW! I love that when you are eating so healthy that you really do not NEED to ear any makeup…. However, for me and I’m sure many other women out there, we WANT to wear it anyway! I’m a big fan of makeup, I love beauty products, and I love creating different looks with my eye shadows and all that good stuff. Since becoming so health conscious, not just about my food but about everything in my life, I’ve really really been paying attention to what I put on my body as well as what I put in it.

I am going to be attending school for Esthetics(thankfully the products we will be using for skincare & makeup at my school are all organic and natural!!). So naturally, I am very interested in skincare and beauty products. I always try the best of the best (meaning all natural or organic) and I will never again use anything that has added harmful and unnatural chemicals. I honestly don’t think I could promote using chemical-based products for skincare ever again! Not only is it bad for your body and your cells but there is no need for it when there are so many natural things out there! Take Coconut Oil for instance! that alone can work as a face and body lotion as well as a great conditioner for your hair!! There are endless options. Even a fresh Avocado is greeeat to put on your face. Papaya, too! Who needs nasty fake products when you can have the REAL THING!??

Okay so I’ll admit, when it comes to makeup, I will do not know if I will ever be able to give up some of my staple brands like MAC or STILA, because although they are not natural, they make me happy and I use them in conjunction with natural makeup and use them in limited amounts. The main thing I focus on is what I am washing my face with, moisturizing my face with, and same with my body. I will not use anything that is not natural or organic anymore. When I walk by stores in the mall now and I smell the “beauty products”, it truly makes me nauseous. It’s all fake! I’d much rather go home and lather a whole thing of coconut oil all over my body then put on some fake coconut mimic product and call it coconut... It seems ridiculous to mock the real thing. Moving on to the best part, ladies! aaand maybe some gents too :)

Britanie’s Favorite Beauty Products (all natural and real, baby!)

For Face:

- Dr. Hauschka “Cleansing Milk”
- Dr. Hauschka “Toned Day Cream”
- Burt’s Bees “Carrot Seed Oil Complexion Mist”
- Burt’s Bees “Radiance Day Crème”
- Coconut Oil
- Kiss My Face “Creamy Face Cleanser”

For Hair:

anything by John Masters Organics. I received a bunch of samples at Whole Foods Market one day and ever since trying them, I've been hooked on his products. The hair products are by far the best I've tried and they have such good ingredients, too! all organic!! check out: johnmasters.com for all the products but these are some of my favs...

- Zing & Sage Shampoo with Conditioner
- Sweet Orange & Silk Protein Styling Gel

For Body:

- Alba Botanica “Cocoa Butter Hand & Body Lotion”
- Alba Botanica “Coconut Milk Body Cream”
- Desert Essence “Coconut Hand and Body Lotion”
- Ecco Bella “Vanilla Herbal Body Lotion” (MY FAV!)

For Lips:

- Kiss My Face “Vanilla Honey”
- Pangaea Organics “Egyptian Fennel with Grapefruit & Sweet Orange”
- C.O. Bigelow “Mentha Lip Tint”
- Alba Botanica - Coconut Cream Lip Balm”

Fragrance:

okay so I know that my "HOT" perfume is not organic or natural by any means but it is indeed my favorite perfume and I can't give it up. I figure as long as I am careful with everything else, then I can indulge in some little sprays of goodness!

- The Goddess Line "Parvati" (I wear this EVERYDAY!)
- Ralph Lauren “HOT”

and the most important beauty product product OF ALL!...

The dry skin brush!!!! Best thing in the world for your skin!.

Cravings DO go away.

2008-02-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

I am FINALLY feeling better after having been so sick the past week. I caught some bad stomach virus, I don't know how, but from now on I am going to use my hand sanitiser even MORE obsessively, because this flu has been the wooorst and I'm exhausted from it. I'm finally able to eat solid foods, but I'm sticking to basic fruit smoothies and baked sweet potatoes right now. Up until getting sick, I've been doing really great eating just Fruit until noon everyday. I actually find that I am less hungry when I do this. I have been having a basic Fruit Smoothie everyday and I'm telling you, they are the best freaking things in the world. Especially the one above. It was the most simple, yet amazing smoothie I've ever had. It was my moms creation, actually. She put 2 whole Banana's, 1/2 cup of frozen Sweet Cherries and 1 fully ripe Pear into the Vitamix and she was drinking it for breakfast. She told me to try it and I almost died, it was sooo delicious!!!! So I made my own and put it in a pretty glass and ate it with a spoon, like dessert, only for breakfast :) Looovely. and today I made a smoothie from 1 Banana, 1/2 cup frozen Strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen Mango, 1/2 tsp Vanilla powder and some cinnamon. SO good! I like my smoothies to be really thick, so I usually don't add any water in them.

I made these great cabbage rolls the other week(which reminds me, I NEED to start writing down what I used in my recipes after making things because I keep forgetting lol). I have fun finding veggies that I can make into wraps. It makes me feel as though I'm eating a big hearty sandwich, but much much better because it's all filled with good stuff :)

It's hard for alot of SAD (standard american diet) eaters to understand, but when you truly eat natural, whole foods, you really do lose cravings for other "foods". I haven't had any dairy, wheat, rice, pizza, bread, you name it, in over 5 years and I don't ever crave it. Seriously, never. The only treats that my mouth waters over are things like Dates and other dried Fruits, Raw Cacao and other yummy Raw Deserts. Other than that, the only other things I crave the most are Sweet Potatoes, which I allow myself to have if I'm craving and Veggie Chips which I don't allow myself to eat anymore, because they don't do any good for me at all. So, it's true that once you eat a certain way, and your body completely rids itself of all of the old food that you used to eat, you WILL stop craving it. To me, things like pizza, donuts, bread, milk, etc, are complete things of the past. They are not an option for me. Not only can I not eat them because they would make me unbelievably sick, but more importantly I don't WANT TO EAT THEM. Why would I ever want to eat a food that is not a TRUE FOOD? Knowing all that I know about nutrition and whole, living foods, I honestly can't imagine knowingly putting chemicals into my mouth and enjoying it. It just seems absurd to me. The point is that, although it may seem impossible that you'll ever get rid of your cravings, I promise you, it IS possible. it just takes time and willpower. You just can't ever give up.

Seriously though, I would take a handful of Dates over ANY cooked/processed food in the world, ANYDAY.

THAT to me is indulging :)

Stomach Flu's are the WORST

2008-02-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

I have been severely ill with a Stomach virus for the past 2 days. It's been awful. The day before getting sick, I had just done a huge shop at Whole Foods Market and now I have all my lovely produce sitting in the fridge, waiting for my stomach to be able to handle any of it to eat. As of the last few days, I have only been consuming fresh fruit juices and organic popsicles. I can't seem to tolerate anything else. I've also dropped 5 lbs in 2 days from vomiting so much. Oh man, it's been horrible. I literally had to crawl on the floor in order to reach the bathroom. I really don't think I have ever been hit with such an intense flu. I am now finally able to keep liquids down and I am no longer vomiting, however, I feel like a complete dishrag. My body is so incredibly sore and I just feel sick all over. I had to miss my classes and work, which I'm not happy about. I am just resting and trying to recover as best and as quickly as I can!!!!

Look at all my lovely produce!! Atleast some of it is going towards my juices, anyway.

Back to bed, to rest and recover.

I'll have more updates once I'm feeling better.

2008-02-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

Last night I read one of the most inspirational and eye-opening books that I have come across yet. I'm telling you, I have read so many Raw Food and Health books over the years and I tend to get so completely confused, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Raw Foods because there are so many different approaches to eating raw. There are those who believe in eating mainly Fruits, others who eat mainly Greens, and then there are those Raw Foodies who eat a ton of nuts and dried fruits. It depends on your body and what makes you feel the best. However, after reading Fit For Life, everything just made Natalia Rose's approach in The Raw Food Detox Diet make even THAT much more sense to me. It's all about proper Food-Combining and eating nothing but Fruit until Noon. It's so so very important and it's a shame that so many people aren't interested in learning about this way of eating because it really is the most logical way to eat and live. I am so glad to have come across this book because it made me even more motivated to keep eating and living the way that I am. It was written back in the 80's, but everything that they talk about makes it seem like it was written in this day and age.

I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who is eating Raw but yet, still feels like there is something missing or that you are not getting the absolute best results possible for the way you are eating. I know for me, I get frustrated because although I stick to 90-100% Raw, I find myself still having trouble losing weight, I feel bloated alot and still not much energy. Well, if you are eating highly condensed food (which is anything besides Fresh Fruits and Veggies and their juices), and you are not eating atleast 70% of your food from Fruits and Veggies, then you are going to have a hard time reaping the best benefits of the Raw Food Lifestyle. Of course, there are tons of people who can get away with eating a huge raw pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner if they please but that does not mean that we all can eat that way, and honestly, I don't think any of us should be eating that way. It's not sensible to eat that much condensed food.

Overeating any kind of dense food (raw or not), leaves me feeling pretty ill. I don't care if nuts are raw or dried fruits are raw, raw or not, your body has to put alot of effort into digesting those kinds of foods and it's definitely not ideal to be eating them on a constant basis. Of course, it's fun to make nut-based Raw dishes and to indulge in some yummy Raw deserts, but the goal should ideally be to eat as simple and clean as possible and leave the heavy and not as easily digesting foods for moderation. I do think it's about finding what is best for your own self, however, I don't think anyone can deny that sitting down and eating 5 handfuls of raw nuts or a package of Dates is not the best thing for our bodies or our digestion.

The least work our digestion has to do, the better we will feel for it. So taking in lots of fresh Green & Vegetable Juices, Fresh Fruits, Salads, Water, are all going to replenish our bodies, not tie them down and leave us feeling bloated and full. Being full is not healthy, quite a contrary to most SAD (standard American diet) eaters who think the best way to show you've had a "good" meal is by boasting about your engorged and full belly. How is it natural to over stuff ourselves to the point of gluttony? It's something to think about.

This brings me on to another thing I've been thinking alot about.... getting enough ADEQUATE SLEEP.

"A good night's sleep is important to weight management, appetite and hunger control. You need to awaken refreshed so you can plan healthy eating and exercise for each day."

I know many people, including many Raw Foodies, talk about not needing much sleep at all. and while that may be fine for one person, that doesn't mean it will be okay for everyone. Personally, I notice such a significant change in my attitude, appetite and overall well being when I do not get a good nights sleep. Lately I find myself trying to be asleep by 9 p.m. so that I can wake up fresh at 5 a.m., get on the treadmill for 30 mins, make my Green Drinks and Meals for the day, take a shower and get ready to leave the house by 8 a.m. I find this works best for me to go to sleep early so that I can wake up early, otherwise I am groggy all day if I do not sleep well the night before. Again though, it's all about how YOU FEEL. so go with that and don't worry about what someone else is doing and why it's not working for you. You have to find your own way. That's the ONLY way that anything can ever work.

Moving on,
I wasn't able to stick to my Green smoothie feast this weekend. I really was looking forward to it but when it came down to doing it, it didn't feel right. I don't feel like my body is in the right place for a fast right now. I've been craving salads sooo much and I feel like I need to go with what my body is telling me. I'm hoping maybe within a few weeks I will feel more up to doing the Green Smoothie and Juice feast because it really is something I'd love to do again soon.

As for today, I had:

Fruit til noon (Apple, Orange, Clementines)
Salad and 2 raw flaxseed crackers
Veggie Juice
Salad again and 1 small Sweet Potato

Veggie Juice

Beet root

2 medium Carrots

2 stalks Celery

Kale

1 red Bell Pepper

1 large Cucumber

this is seriously one of the most simple, yet delicious salads I have ever had. my mom enjoyed it so much as well, that I had to make two big bowls of it. sooooo good.

Romaine + Mesclun mix

Sun-dried Tomatoes

Raw Olives

Shredded Carrot & Cabbage

Chopped Yellow Bell Pepper

Cumin, Chives & Cilantro for seasonings

Olive Oil & Apple Cider Vinegar for dressing.

Green love.

2008-02-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

I love making my Green Smoothies into green pudding :)

it may look nasty to some people but it's full of green-goodness

and somehow I find it to be more filling when I eat it with a spoon. lol

my beloved daily green drink, full of vitamins galore!!!

Green Lemonade ( Natalia Rose)

Kale

2 stalks Celery

1 large Cucumber

1 whole Lemon

2 small Fuji Apples

1 small piece Ginger

aaaand speaking of GREEEEENS

Green Juice + Smoothie Cleanse <----- In regards to my post a few entries back, since I was not able to do my cleanse last week, I WILL be embarking on my Juice + Smoothie Feast tomorrow (Friday) until Monday. I keep changing my mind between doing just Juices and then just Smoothies and I've decided to incorporate BOTH that way I will be getting the best of both worlds. Eventually, I'd love to do a Juice Feast for a few weeks or more, however, I do not think it's wise or healthy to go from eating 100% raw, to falling off the wagon, eating some cooked food, going back to mainly 90% raw and then going on a complete Juice Fast. It makes more sense to do smoothies as well as juices. I'm excited for this, although it's going to be hard because I am making a trip to the wonderful Whole Foods Market this weekend with my mom, and I usually indulge on their ready-made baked sweet potatoes and carrots... so that will be hard to pass up, but I am going to make an effort to not even go in that area, to stay where the produce is!! aaaand maybe where the beauty section is as well. :)

oh and by the way,

my salad spinner is my new best friend.

it makes washing and drying all of my greens, a heck of alot easier!!! I am going to invest in buying a bigger one, actually. I've seen some cool ones online where all you do is push down the knob, and it spins itself! woohoo, I'm all about less work when it comes to drying my produce! hahaha seeing as it takes me FOREVER!! awww, but it's worth it though :)

More plans changed due to the nasty weather!!

2008-02-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

So my plan was to do a 3-day Juice Feast and get up this morning and go into town to get all the ingrediants that I needed to make my juice, seeing as I only had enough Greens left for ONE drink. Well, the weather got in the way and it's been snowing all day, it's suppose to be icy all night. Therefor, I only had enough Greens for my Green Lemonade this morning and I ate Raw the rest of the day, food-combined and basically followed Natalia Roses's principles... eating fruit til noon and light-to-heavy, etc. I always feel so much better and less bloated when I follow food combining, granted it can be annoying at first, to figure it out but it's worth it and it makes alot of sense to me. Everything Natalia talks about in her books makes sense to me. Anyway, it actually worked out for the best having my Juice Feast canceled because I decided I am going to do one next Friday through Monday morning and I will have all week to prepare, which will make things alot easier. I'm actually going to try just Juices instead of Juices and Smoothies because although I love my Green Smoothies, the point of the fast for me is to give my digestion a break and the best way to do that is to juice.

This weekend I have done absolutely nothing but rest. It's nice to have a weekend where you literally do nothing. Especially after working and classes all week. I just read, watched t.v., made some raw recipes and took alot of cat naps!! Love it.

Food for today:

20 oz Green Lemonade

1 medium Apple

1 medium Orange + 1 small Clementine

Salad (romaine, sun dried tomatoes, 4 raw olives, dried onion and chives, luna nori sprinkles, tomato and carrot-ginger dressing.)

1 Pecan Pie Larabar

1 bowl of Lydia's Berry Good Grawnola with Almond Milk

1/2 bag of Baby Carrots, some Celery sticks with Raw Nut Cheeze for dip.

Desert was my weird creation... I call it "Loco Banana". I sliced some Banana's into strips and then mixed together raisins, coconut, almonds, cocoa nibs and agave nectar and then poured(actually more like PILED) it ontop of the Banana slices. It looks funky but, It was deeeeelish!!!

Green Juice + Smoothie Cleanse

2008-02-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

I am going to be doing a Green Juice + Smoothies cleanse, starting Sunday(tomorrow) and lasting until Wednsday morning. If anyone would like to join me it would be great!! In the mean time I am going to keep reading up in inspiration Juice feasting blogs like; http://rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com/ (where Heidi is currently doing a 92 day Juice Feast!), http://radlivelab.blogspot.com/, http://www.lovingraw.com/blog/ and I'm sure there are PLENTY others out there... I am going to have to do some browsing to find some more to keep me motivated!!!! I know I'm only doing it for 3 full days but it's going to be difficult for me, since I have been eating SO much dried fruits and nuts, I truly feel sluggish and bloated and just... not right. I know eating RAW is the best but if you are eating too many dried fruits and nuts, it can be just as bad for you as eating too many cooked veggies, if you OVER DO it which I have been doing. Raw or not, it's ALL about moderation.

I will post everyday while I am doing my cleanse, and post my juice recipes, etc.

I made my first RAW milk today!

2008-02-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

I am a huge geek... and I had way too much fun making my Raw Milk today(I got the recipe from Carol Alt's book "The Raw 50"). I was so excited about the process of straining the milk through the cheese cloth because I felt like I was getting milk out of a Cow's utter!!! only instead of getting dairy from an utter which we humans shouldn't be eating because it's bad for us in so many ways I can't even begin to name, I made wonderful fresh RAW Almond Milk instead and I can't imagine wanting to have cow's milk or soy milk or any other mucus-making-milk when I can have this instead! I poured the Almond Milk over some delicious Raw GraWnola and chopped up some banana's and added those in there. I made a bowl for my mom as well and we ate it for supper. It was delicious! and she agreed that it was better than any other "real" milk or granola she's ever had. I would be content with eating this for breakfast EVERYDAY. It was simply lovely!!!!

I ate 100% Raw today and man, what a difference I feel when I do!!

Food for Today:

12 oz Green Juice (Kale, Celery, Cucumber, Apple, Parsley)
2 medium Apples
1 Pear
1 bowl Raw GraWnola
Almond GrAwnola Cookie from Kookie Karma
Salad (romaine, sun-dried tomatoes, raw olives, 1/2 avocado, luna nori sprinkles, flaxseed oil)

Movement for Today:

30 mins Treadmill
5 mins Rebounder

"Your thoughts control EVERYTHING"

2008-02-07T15:06:00.000-08:00

Your thoughts and actions control the flow of energy

I watched Oprah a few days ago, where she talked alot about The Secret and The Law of Attraction. The show focused on the premise behind thoughts and energy and how everything you think, creates your life. It makes so much sense when you think about it. Your thoughts and actions control the flow of energy, meaning that If you walk around constantly thinking negative thoughts and comparing yourself to everyone, constantly wishing you had things that you don't have and never taking the time out to appreciate what you DO have, how is the universe ever going to bring you anything good if all you focus on is the bad??? We ALL need to stop obsessing over the things that aren't good ENOUGH and start loving what we DO HAVE RIGHT NOW. I won't lie, it's hard to get past your negative thoughts at times, especially when things that are happening in your life are truly difficult things. It's not easy to wake up in the morning, when you feel horrible and think to yourself "today is going to be a GREAT day!" when inside, you don't feel that it will be..... but these times in our lives, the hard times, are the most important and critical times in your life to prove to yourself that you are STRONGER than your hard times. No matter what obstacle may come your way, though you may not be able to control the situation, you always have the power to control how you THINK and FEEL and that's what is going to matter the most.

"A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds."

The Secret on the Oprah Show: Creating a Vision Board
We attract into our lives the things we want based on what we're thinking and feeling, according to the Secret on the Oprah Show. We create our own reality and circumstances by the choices we make. The Secret or the law of attraction reveals that your thoughts determine your actions and choices – which are all firing simultaneously in the same direction. If you line them up to focus on what you want, you will get it. Making good decisions based on where you're going instead of where you are right now is very important. The Secret on the Oprah show revealed that creating a vision board is a practical, effective way of getting you want.
According to The Secret, what we give our attention to affects how we feel, and our feelings send a wave into the universe. The Secret on the Oprah show reveals that anything that's vibrating in a similar way is brought to us. What you focus on expands. "Misery loves company," you know? Energy flows where your attention goes.

30 day plan of light eating.

2008-02-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

I've been having a really hard time with my diet lately. I can't seem to stay away from cooked Sweet Potatoes, which are actually good for you but in limited qualities and I haven't been eating them in limited anything lol. I just love them, they are one of my favorite foods (besides Apples) and I have a hard time controlling myself with them so I am going to stay away from them for a few weeks just so that when I do add them in again, it won't be such a problem because I will have had awhile without them in my system. Moving on to other things I've been eating that are definitely not good in any way... Dried Chips (which have dextrose in them) and Organic Fruity Bear Candies (they have organic cane sugar)... I've been having snacks alot lately, even Raw snacks, I seem to just eat too many of these things, bars and dates, etc. I notice that when I choose to eat the ready-made snacks, I start to limit my intake of fresh fruits and veggies and man do I notice a huge difference when I am missing out on my greens!!!!

I just feel horrible lately, my skin has been breaking out which it NEVER does, so it must mean that what I am eating is not agreeing with my body. I'm also holding onto this extra weight that I have gained after starting some new Medications and it's very hard for me to lose any weight, even when I drastically cut my calories and exercise. Another thing is that I just recently started eating Organic Chicken, Turkey and Eggs again. I would love to be able to say that I will never eat Chicken, Turkey or Eggs again but all I can do is just try my best. My goal right now is to cut out all flesh other than occassional Organic and Wild Fish and Eggs, when I am out to dinner with friends or if I am feeling the real need for it.

However, for the NEXT 30 DAYS I am going to focus on eating LIGHT as in RAW Fruits, Veggies, Green Juices and Green Smoothies, Nuts & Seeds (only a few servings a day) and if I am going to have a vegetable that isn't Raw, I will lightly steam it like Asparagus or Broccoli which I find is really hard for me to digest when I eat it raw. It seems to work better when I lightly steam them. I will be blogging what I am eating everyday for the next 30 days that way I can see the difference of how i'm feeling and look back and make changes if need be, etc. It will be a good motivation for me. I do hate falling off of the raw-wagon but I truly think that each time it happens, it makes me realize more and more why I stick to eating mainly raw foods. it makes such a difference. However, it doesn't make any difference if I'm eating all raw but most of what I am eating is dried fruits and nuts because that basically gives me the same effect as eating chips or candies. Which is why eventually after atleast a month of eating this way, I will add back things like dates and dried fruits, etc for a TREAT, but never again to eat in large quantities.

Today it dawned on me how much I would love to have my own personal Green Juice-maker. Someone to just wake me up with a fresh Green Juice in their hand, ready for me to drink. I went to this little cafe today and had a delicious fresh Green Juice made out of Cucumber, Celery, Parsley, Kale and Apple. It just made me want to have fresh juices all ready made for me all the time lol. I get so tired of constantly buying fresh Greens, washing them and making Juices and then repeating the process over again. I spend so much money on groceries, it's ridiculous. It seems as though I have no money left for anything else at all. I want to get to the point where it's just simple shopping for me, for groceries. I don't want to have to THINK so much about it. Although it's hard work to eat healthy, it's also worth it when you feel and look great and I want to feel great again so, right now, I do have to THINK about it and I have to work hard and I think eventually when I get more used to it and back in the pattern of eating how I was last summer (I was 100% Raw for months) things will get easier and easier for me.

I do hate falling off of the raw-wagon but I truly think that each time it happens, it makes me realize more and more why I stick to eating mainly raw foods. it makes such a difference. However, it doesn't make any difference if I'm eating all raw but most of what I am eating is dried fruits and nuts because that basically gives me the same effect as eating chips or candies.

I have also started to use the treadmill everyday. It does make a big difference in my energy and it makes me feel better about myself after I do it. Granted, it's hard for me to get myself up to do it but once I do, I feel so much better and that's what I have to remember. I would love to release 15 lbs and feel more comfortable in my body again, and I know that by cutting out all the non-raw snacks I have been eating and also the huge quantity of raw snacks, that I will reach my goal and feel much much better and I can't WAIT until then :)

Summary of my Goals for the next 30 Days;

- Green Juices and Smoothies everyday.
- Little "Dried" Fruits.
- Fresh Fruits, Veggies, Greens, Nuts & Seeds.
- Cooked meal ONLY at dinner time if I am going to have one and it will consist of lightly Steamed Veggies or 1 baked Sweet Potato.
- Fresh/Organic Fish & Eggs only for flesh protein and only with my cooked meal.
- Follow proper food-combining rules.
- Exercise 5x a week
- Blog and Journal everyday
- Rebound for 5mins a day
- SMILE, THINK POSITIVE and PROGRESS EVERDAY!!!

Supplements!!!

2008-02-04T17:05:00.000-08:00

I have so many supplements, it's ridiculous. It's seems crazy that for how great I eat, I have to take so many supplements, but I guess that's just it; I don't really HAVE to, I choose to.... for many reasons. I notice a huge change when I stop taking certain ones. I went through all of them and decided which are absolutely beneficial for me right now and which I can choose to do without for the time being. So as of now, these are what I am taking everyday...

- Multivitamin and Mineral

- GLA-90

- Magnesium Citrate

- Aloe Vera

- Vitamin D3

- Digestive Enzymes

- Pro-Biotics

I am saving right now to soon be able to order... MSM Powder, E3 Live Powder and Ultra H-3 capsules.

I would love to be able to get off of all my Medications someday. I worked hard to get off of Aciphex and I am doing okay without it, but I have to take Zantac as needed for my indigestion because no matter what I eat or don't it, it seems to always be there.

For as long as I can remember...

2007-12-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

I was taught to believe that eating heavy to light was the ideal way for your digestion and metabolism. That if you were going to "binge" to do it earlier in the day so that you have all day to burn off the calories. I have been eating heavy to light meals for, well, pretty much my entire life and the past 3 months, I've been binging on dense foods... nuts & dried fruit concoctions and I find myself waking up early, ravenous and going straight for those dense, dried foods... I eat them and then almost immediately feel tired and bloated. I have a hard time staying awake during the day. When I eat cocoa, I get energy, but it's not the kind of energy where you want to go run a mile, it's the kind of energy where your tired yet wired and you can't sleep but you can't really do anything else either. It's a strange feeling. Anyway, until recently, after re-reading my "The Raw Food Detox Diet" and "Life Force Energy" by Natalia Rose, I was under the assumption that by me eating those foods so EARLY that I was actually being smart and allowing my metabolism to burn the calories during the day and then eat nothing much of anything the rest of the day and night and going to bed with an empty, growling stomach. Well, Natalia has changed my views on that forever....

(taken from page 65 of "Life Force Energy" by Natalia Rose, regarding eating light-to-heavy)

PRACTICAL APPLICATION 6: PRACTICE EATING "LIGHT TO HEAVY"

When my clients first come to see me, they are usually surprised when I tell them that the most important thing about breakfast is not to eat it. Common knowledge has it that breakfast should be the largest meal of the day and dinner should be the smallest. This misconception has deprived people of too many delicious, hearty dinners!

The rule of eating "light-to-heavy" asserts the opposite view: we should eat the lightest possible foods in the morning, and gradually increase the density of foods we eat, so that the heaviest meal is dinner. You should begin in the morning with the lightest foods, meaning fresh raw juices and fruits. Then move on to slightly denser foods in the middle of the day, such as vegetables, nuts, dried fruits, and avocados. At the end of the day, have any flesh (if you are not a veg), cooked grain, cheese, and so on.

Yes, you read that correctly---dinner, not breakfast or lunch, but dinner should be the heaviest meal of the day. Before you get going about having the whole day to burn off calories, let me remind you that we've left calorie counting behind! Try it for one day and you will feel the difference in your energy level! Heavy foods in the daylight hours steal our energy and inhibit elimination. Follow this tenet, and you will see how your energy skyrockets and your eliminations improve!

By eating light to heavy, you are not making huge demands on your digestion at very meal. As the saying goes, "There is a time to laugh, a time to cry, and a time to live, and a time to die." We do not do all these things at once---if we did, we'd be in an asylum. On a digestive level, there is a time to digest, a time to assimilate, and a time to eliminate. We cannot effectively do all three at the same time.

When we eat dense foods throughout the day, all three of these critical aspects of digestion are compromised. You'll be amazed by how much stronger your digestion process is when you give each phase the opportunity to do it's job, uninterrupted. Your Life Force Energy flow will thank you for it!

I'm telling you, when I do this, even for ONE day, I can tell a difference in my digestion. It's amazing. The only thing you have to get past, is the empty feeling you will in the beginning have in your stomach during the day, especially if you are used to eating heavy meals in the morning (like I am). If you are feeling dizzy, then you need to eat more fruit or drink more fresh green/veggie juices. Also, sipping on water and herbal tea helps as well.

The Beauty Of Simplicity

2007-12-27T06:53:00.000-08:00

What constitutes extreme simplicity?
by Natalia Rose (http://www.therawfooddetoxdiet.com/blog_archive.php)

It means that we ignore all the labels like "raw" or "vegan" or "vegetarian" and focus instead only on consuming foods that move through the body virtually effortlessly, which comes down to the following...

"beauty of simplicity" foods and food combinations:

* Fresh vegetable juices (ideally on an empty stomach either for breakfast or in the late afternoon)

* Fresh vegetables (raw, either as a raw salad or just enjoyed whole as well as cooked -- as in steamed vegetables and sea salt if desired);

* Avocados (as in a simple raw salad with avocado for lunch)

* Baked (and raw) root vegetables like parsnip, butternut and sweet potato (try these wholesome comfort veggies for dinner with your raw salad with a little sea salt and agave);

* Raw goat's milk cheeses (use it liberally with raw and cooked vegetables; and

* Fresh fish (ideally wild/organic, enjoyed along with a raw salad and steamed low-starch vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, nightshades, leafy greens, etc.).

These foods, while not all "raw/vegan" by definition will serve you best because they are so easy to digest when properly combined per the instructions in my books. This ease of digestion is what enables the body to cleanse the built up waste matter that has created your ailments and excess weight. I deliberately omitted fresh and dried fruits, nuts and grains even though they are part of most raw/vegan diets. This is because nuts and grains (even when raw) are very dense and difficult to digest and both fresh and dried fruits can create a lot of carbonic gas in a body that is awakening old waste matter. The discomforts and symptoms that come with transitioning to a raw diet are usually caused by the misguided abundant intake of those foods. If you're sailing along smoothly while indulging in raw nuts, grains and fruits, by all means keep doing it. But if you are encountering any problems or have hit any walls in your efforts to get more energy, lose weight or feel that bliss that the "raw world" promises, it is time to practice the beauty of simplicity for a time. It solves the problem every time!

What everyone into this life - beginner or life-long raw devotee alike -- needs know is that simple food from its source, in the simplest combinations possible (even if cooked, for beginners or, on occasion, even for hard core raw-foodists) is the secret to cleaning your cells and lightening up (this is what health is really about)!

You see, the labels do not matter, the rapidity at which the food leaves the body is what matters! If you can accept the simplicity of this information you will likewise overcome every dietary puzzle and taste the real delight -- a clean, harmoniously vibing, energized body! It is food hardy to get caught up in complicated raw/vegan/vegetarian concoctions like nut-pates, tempeh, soy foods, grain mixtures and dense desserts that include everything but the chicken kink -- all that winds up happening is gas, gas and more gas along with lack of energy and a heavy burden on intestine. That's not to say you can never enjoy these raw/vegan gourmet items. Just don't kid yourself into thinking they are healthy for you and supporting your weight loss and vitality efforts. There is a place for them in small amounts if you really enjoy eating them but remember simplicity trumps all!

With this in mind, you will also find it easier than ever to eat this way wherever you go. You don't need unusual, hard-to-find items that mimic mainstream fare in raw or vegan form to succeed at this. In fact, it's very much the opposite. The "extreme simplicity" foods mentioned above can be obtained easily in restaurants, on the road and they are easy to prepare at home.When did healthy eating get so completely distorted and cause so much confusion?! The goal of working toward a raw diet is to eventually feel completely content and satisfied on some fresh raw fruits and vegetables -- not to require huge volumes of food and pounds of raw nuts and grain. If you have built your raw diet around the denser raw foods you have missed the whole point of eating this way. A plate of cooked vegetables and fresh fish will go through the body more easily and support cellular cleansing better than a pound of raw macadamia nuts!

Those who are not ready to for a 95% + simple fruit and vegetable diet are much better off "bending" to include steamed or baked vegetables, raw goat cheese and even the occasional piece of fish until such a time that they are really ready -- emotionally, socially and physiologically -- to joyfully embrace simple, garden fare. If we pressure ourselves and deny our true desires we will only hurt ourselves. It is only from truly honoring your being and where you are at every moment that you will truly be nourishing your whole being. Raw is not a race, nor is it the goal. The goal is joyful, vibrantly oscillating cells. You get to this state from eating simply, eliminating fully and treating yourself and others with loving devotion.Do you see the difference, my friends? Simple foods, whether cooked or raw in simple combinations, per the principles of food combining laid out in my books is the fastest, most effective way to cleanse and rejuvenate -- not through raw, vegan or vegetarian dogma.Take the road of simplicity in your diet and you will see how, at any level, you will LEAP far beyond what you have accomplished so far to reap greater results in your health, energy and weight loss efforts!

NOTE: (I am not suggesting that everyone should eat certain things she mentions, I am posting this for the information she provides. I love her approach and I think what she says makes so much sense.)

Why Are You Sick?

2007-12-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

The vicious cycle explained
by Natalia Rose(Author of "The Raw Food Detox Diet"):

When we eat common foods in common quantities, our elimination system fails to keep up with the food we ingest. The mucus-forming foods build up in the intestines and push their way into the body through the tissues of the intestinal walls. This gives us the experience of a headache, "cold" or flu. The waste attempts to leave the body through the lungs (a major eliminative organ). In some cases it tries to leave through the skin and forms rashes or eczema.

The common approach in this case is to take an over the counter drug like Sudafed or Tylenol to suppress the matter sending it back into the tissues. Eventually, the matter (which compiles more and more over time) becomes even more sticky and acidic and once again the body tries to push it out via the lungs and skin. The copious mucosal discharge and fever have the person running out for more suppressing drugs (which the individual knows by name at this point because they have been so well advertised to for just such an occasion). The waste builds up more and more and the mucus becomes stickier -- such that it attracts bacteria like a magnet. The bacteria then creates an infection requiring antibiotics.

After several years of this mucus-filled state coupled with the antibiotics, the bowel becomes completely overrun with hostile bacteria. The antibiotics kill off the good bacteria in the bowel which keep it functioning properly causing the bad bacteria to thrive and prey on the organism – feeding off the acid waste. Meanwhile, the over-accumulation of waste matter from the unfit foods continues to permeate the intestinal walls and move through the body landing where it will (bringing illness to that spot) and nesting throughout the body.

Once the intestinal balance is compromised, the bowel does not have a hope for keeping up with the common food intake and it starts to buckle under the stress. The impaction in the bowel not only causes fermentation throughout the intestinal tract creating a number of symptoms which fall under the umbrella diagnosis, "IBS," but it also prevents proper absorption of nutrients and precludes the body from producing the nutrients it naturally would to keep itself balanced if it were not impacted. Further, the body starts to exhibit allergic reactions to the foods that are impacted in the colon. Yet, as the chemical residue from those foods circulate in the bloodstream, the person still craves them creating an impossible addiction/aggravation seesaw in the body.

Lack of proper absorption of nutrients like calcium, B vitamins and amino acids makes one feel physically exhausted but also makes one emotionally and psychologically out of whack. They get highly irritable, find it difficult to sleep and awaken normally and generally lose the ability to cope with everyday tasks. This mirrors their inner state where, "back at the ranch," their organs are finding it impossible to cope. The liver which would ordinarily be able to manage a degree of toxicity is worn down which means that dangerous toxins like heavy metals begin to build up whereas before they would be relatively harmless as they were quickly passed through the skin and lymph.

At this point, the individual cannot figure out what is wrong and visits their doctor who, after taking a litany of tests diagnoses them with IBS, Crones, acid reflux and or depression. In a very short time, this individual can find himself or herself on a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs – one for each condition.

The end of the story is not a happy one as it leads to an acceleration of aging. The blood becomes more acidic from the drugs forcing the organs to work harder still. The skin, the largest organ becomes a mirror of all the other interior organs. It gets thinner, shows the holding of waste in the form of cellulite, under eye circles, double chin and wrinkling. The breath and bowel become terrifically foul and the weight creeps steadily upward.

Eventually, the endocrine system also breaks down evidenced from pancreatic or adrenal exhaustion (diabetes and anxiety disorders) or inactive thyroid function (usually in the form of the popular underactive thyroid condition, "hypothyroid"). At this point, more drugs or even amputation or partial amputation of a gland or organ are deemed necessary. I cannot tell you how many young women (under 40) come in to see me who have already had their gallbladder, pancreas or thyroid partially or completely removed! Have an organ removed and see how rapidly you start to age and deteriorate!

This is not the rarity, folks. This has become the common cycle of the body. It all starts with the ingestion of unfit substances and caries one into pitiful states of physicality that should simply not exist in modern times when we have so much advanced knowledge. What is ironic is that the very things that will save you from this fate: systematic undereating (1-2 meals a day and vegetable juices) and bowel cleansing through colonics and enemas is commonly considered extreme and even potentially harmful. This is laughable! This "extreme" way is the only sane approach to caring for our bodies.

We are told we need substances that we simply do not need such as animal flesh, grain, dairy, fluoride, etc. It is all a big fallacy. These are the very things that are killing us. And do not be fooled to believe that fiber supplementation is a good idea. It is not. The fibers, protein powders, protein requirements, grain emphasis, all of it is false and only leads to disease and the capitulation of the entire body to rapid demise and a shameful dependence on medications.

I know you all want to look great and have more energy. But don’t just do this in a vacuum for those reasons. As pressing as they may be to you please keep in mind that this is worth so much more than a "hot bod" (though you will get that) and a burst of energy to get through your day (yes, you will get that too). The changes you will make as you transition to ideal foods and quick exit digestion are your ticket to freedom! In hind sight the world is going to see the lunacy of this cycle and wonder how anyone could have been so misguided to think it was ok to treat the body this way or moreover how a civilized people could not see the idiocy of treating the body in such a way and miss the link between a clean body and mental integrity.

The consumption of common foods (I include in this common "health" foods) and medications will be regarded with as much disdain in a few years time as cigarettes and sodas are today. Soon everyone will see how perverse the "health" care industry is but until the rest of the world catches up, you who are reading this can see through it and make the necessary transition to save yourself from the common fate. Perhaps you will even inspire and lead others to do the same.

Credit: (http://www.therawfooddetoxdiet.com/blog.php)

Yummy Salad

2007-12-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

I've been in search of a really good salad lately and I threw all of these ingredients together and it turned out to be a really really good salad.

(photos from flickr.com)

*Romaine Lettuce

*Avocado

*Saurekraut

*Diced Tomatoes

*Bean Sprouts

*Sea Salt

Mix everything together in a bowl, sprinkle over sea salt & cilantro... and enjoy!

Bad night, possibly caused by Spirulina.

2007-12-22T16:35:00.001-08:00

So, don't get me wrong... I love Spirulina in my Green Drinks, which is why I was completely saddened when I put two and two together and realized that both of my "over-night flu like symptoms" must have been caused by TOO much of it. About three weeks ago I had a Green Drink with Spirulina in it and later that night, I was vomiting and had horrible nausea. The next morning, I was completely better and I figured it must have been a 24-hour bug or something. Well, yesterday... I was feeling fine and at around 5 p.m. decided to make a Green Drink for myself, I over-did it a bit with the Spirulina, the serving size on the bottle says about 1 teaspoon, well I think I may have had 1 1/2 tablespoons in my drink. For the first 20 mins, I felt energized and really good... then, not more than another 25 mins went by and I was in the bathroom, sick as a dog. I felt like death all night. My nausea was so severe that I just couldn't help but vomit. I was up until about 1 or 2 a.m. just trying to psyche myself out so that I wouldn't keep throwing up. What was weird was that, when I was throwing up, all that came up was the Spirulina and Green Drink... nothing from earlier in the day. I found that really strange and I noticed after getting it out of my body, I felt better after. I woke up today and feel fine... I have my appetite back and everything. It's really bizarre and the only thing that I did on both of those days was have Spirulina. I don't know if this means I have a sensitivity to it because I know I've had it in smaller quantities and never had a problem before so maybe I just need to start following the serving size suggestion? lol that's probably the point of it in the first place.

Hooray for Sauerkraut!

2007-12-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

This stuff is AMAZING!!!! I am absolutely in awe over it. I have suffered from acid reflux since I was 9 years old and I was diagnosed with GERD and a Hiatal Hernia at 10. I was immediately put on the heavy-duty acid blocker "Aciphex" for 12 years. In that time I have tried everything to get off of it and to make it without the medicine but it's been hell for me, nothing over the counter works and no natural remedies seem to help either. Well, I've been taking Zantac and have officially been off of Aciphex for over 2 months! Even though Zantac is still not the greatest, it's not as powerful as Aciphex so it's a good transition for the time being. Well, for the first time since stopping the Aciphex, I didn't take my Zantac yesterday and was having horrible heartburn, then I decided to try some Sauerkraut and it was almost as if it put out the flame in my chest. I didn't think of it at first but then I noticed how my heartburn was gone after eating it and later on in the day, it came back, so I went back and had another tablespoon of the Sauerkraut, and tada! heartburn gone again. I'm pretty excited about this.... I'm not going to get TOO excited, however, because I don't want to set myself up for disappointment. I have to say though, I never though I'd like something like Sauekraut, but I really really LOVE the taste. It's sooo good with chopped tomatoes and cilantro!!! YUM

Sauerkraut Health Benefits:
(http://www.sauerkraut.com/benefits.htm)

1. Sauerkraut as immune booster
One of the not so secret benefits of sauerkraut is the boost it gives to immune systems. Packed with vitamins andminerals, sauerkraut has been used as a lay immune booster for centuries.Sauerkraut contains phytochemicals which are created during the fermentation process. These naturally occurring, beneficial by products of sauerkraut help boost the immune system which leads to a decrease in a number of health problems. The common cold, skin problems, weight gain and tainted blood are all fixed by a healthy functioning immune system.

2. Sauerkraut as a cancer fighters
The most recent evidence of sauerkraut's status as a Superfood is found in numerous studies on the cruciferous wonder's cancer fighting properties. The results of a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry concluded that sauerkraut is a cancer inhibitor. The study discovered that the fermentation of cabbage produced a substance called isothiocynates, which prevents cancer growth, particularly in the breast, colon, lung and liver.

3. Digestive aid
Eating sauerkraut is a great way to protect the balance of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract. Sauerkraut is one of the few foods that contain the bacterium Lactobacilli plantarum. L. planatarum is a very dominant strain of healthful bacteria which helps your digestive system in the following ways: boost the immune system by increasing antibodies that fight infectious disease help inhibit pathogenic organisms including E.coli, salmonella and unhealthy overgrowth of candida (yeast) create antioxidants (glutathione and superoxide dismustase) that scavenge free radicals which are a cancer precursor transforms hard-to-digest lactose from milk to the more easily digested lactic acid.

4. Flu fighter
With the spread of Avian Flu spreading across the globe, one enterprising Korean scientist, Kang Sa-Ouk of Seoul National University, took 13 chickens infected with avian flu virus and a couple of other diseases, fed them Kim chi extract and found that 11 of the birds recovered. Experts think the vital bacteria are created during the fermenting process and this gives the dish its health-boosting qualities.

Falling off the wagon and my Journey back to Raw.

2007-12-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

I've gone through a lot the past 3 months and in that time I've found that I have distanced myself a lot from not just friends and family but myself as well. I don't give myself enough time to reflect on things that have happened or to express myself fully. I've neglected my blog and my journal. I have stopped writing poetry. I've basically felt like a huge dark cloud has been over my head and it's been incredibly hard to get up everyday and manage. I've been battling with severe bouts of depression, fatigue, weight gain and on and off episodes of bulimia.
My moods have been just completely out of whack. One minute I'm jumping around, laughing and the next I am on the floor, curled up in a ball just crying my eyes out. It's gotten to the point where it's hard to tell what is triggering my depression anymore. One huge thing that's changed in the past 3 months is my eating. I gradually started adding back cooked foods in late of August and since then, I've been mainly consuming cooked veggies and lots of chicken, turkey and fish. I pretty much stopped having my Green Smoothies and eating lots of salads, etc. I have been binging on chips and cooked starchy veggies and I've gained about 15 lbs. My hunger has been insatiable. My doctor even prescribed me "Phentermine" which is an appetite suppressant, I went on it for 3 days and had to stop because of how fast it made my heart beat and it seriously made me so energized that I couldn't rest at all. The only thing nice about it was not having to think about food constantly and not being so tired... but, it's just not healthy in the long run, to have something so strong, making your heart beat that fast and raising your blood pressure. Anything that does that, regardless of some of the positive things it may bring, it's just not worth it.

Things have been awful for me though, I mean, I've really really had a hard time, I can't even begin to express the depression I have felt. I have seriously felt like just giving up on myself and on life in general, until yesterday, I had this awakening. I woke up and made a egg white omelet with cooked veggies and was absolutely starving after, it was as if the food just went in and out of my body, I didn't feel any satisfaction at all. So I made a protein shake out of whey powder and frozen berries, literally 20 mins later I was hungry again. So I went back into the kitchen and made some Salmon and cooked veggies, ate that and STILL didn't feel satisfied. I was so frustrated that I decided to just force myself to take a nap, to try and get my mind off of food. I woke up two hours later, feeling more ravenous than before. I went upstairs and looked in my cupboards for what to eat, without thinking I through together this concoction made from lots of my raw products from the months before that I still had left over. (raisins, goji berries, raw cocoa powder, shredded coconut, raw cashews and raw agave nectar) I put it all in the food processor and just ate it right out of the bowl. It took about 20 mins for me to start feeling full, FINALLY and something else happened... I felt energy... I didn't feel like I needed to go lay back down, like I normally do after eating my typical egg white omelet or salmon or chicken dinner. I went downstairs and sat on the couch, wondering why it was that this mixture finally made me feel satisfied and energized... then it hit me, IT WAS ALL LIVING FOODS. I literally thought to myself "DUH!" and it hit me, that for the past 3 months, I've been suffering immensely with depression and food cravings, weight gain, etc and the only thing I really did different was cut out most raw foods and added back cooked veggies and flesh. I reached for my "Raw and living foods" DVD that I ordered awhile back but never even watched because I felt too guilty to watch something about raw foods (which I knew was the right way to eat) but was too addicted to eating my cooked sweet potatoes and salmon and veggie chips that I didn't even want to watch anything that was going to show me what I was doing wasn't the right thing for me, simply because I wasn't ready to change.

Well, I'm back and feeling more determined than ever. I feel less guilty about my mess-ups while going 100% raw because I know most long-term raw foodists have had many slip-ups here and there and I truly think that every time you slip up, it makes you just that much MORE motivated to eat raw again because it reminds you how sick you feel and how really cooked foods are just not satisfying in the long run. So, I am not going to be hard on myself and I am going to just keep looking forward... no looking back and no dwelling!!!!!!! NO MORE GUILT. the guilt is what kills me and only I have the power to stop my negative thoughts and I am going to stop them here and now.
Tomorrow is a new day.

My goals for the next month:
- eat at least 90% raw
- try to consume green juice everyday
- rebound at least 10 mins a day
- walk at least 30 mins a day
- lift light weights or use resistance bands 3-4x a week
- update my blog daily
- STAY POSITIVE
- stop relying on the scale for results

PCOS Diagnosis. Green Smoothies. 100% RAW.

2007-08-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

"Let Food Be Your Medicine"

I went to the doctors regarding Fatigue and left the office with Polycistic Ovarian Syndrome. Yet another chronic illness to add to my list. It's frustrating, terribly frustarting and exhausting to be so young and to have so much of my life revolve around trying to heal myself and trying to just simply manage day by day. Regardless of how discouraging the diagnosis was of PCOS, it's made me even more motivated to go back into eating 100% Raw. I've been slacking on the 100% for the past few months, so much stress just leads me to eating little bits of cooked food, even though most of it is veggies and sometimes sugar, I find that the little bits turn into big bits and I just crave more and more of the cooked and stop focusing on what my body REALLY needs; more greens, fresh fruits and veggies. Tomorrow is the first of September and I'm going to go 100% Raw for the month. I hope to stay 100% for awhile, to get my body back into a 'healing mode' and then maybe eventually I will be okay eating 90% raw but it's just not the time for that.

After all, although it may taste good, cooked food = dead food and a body cannot heal properly when it's being fed dead food. I just truly don't see any other way to heal my body better than by feeding it LIVE foods. I went to Whole Foods Market and bought enough Fresh Fruit & Greens to stock my Fridge full of beauutttiful foods. I have no reason to be hungry with all the lovely freshness in my fridge right now and I'm going to get back into making atleast two 30 oz Green Smoothies a day. I feel soo much better when I drink them on a daily basis. Which reminds me, I feel like re-reading "Green For Life". Such an informative book!

THUMBS UP FOR GREEN SMOOTHIES

Some of my Fav Green Smoothie Combo's...

- Spinach

- Collard Greens

- Celery

- 1 Lime

- 2 or 3 Kiwi's

- 1 large frozen Peach

************

- Kale

- 1 Mango

- 2 Nectarines

- 1 Cucumber

************

- Romaine Lettuce

- 1 Banana

- Frozen Blueberries

*************

I also sometimes like to add the following to my smoothies to make them more *filling*

- Flaxseeds

- Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil

- Spirulina

- Nature's First Food Green Powder

and I always sprinkle some Cinnamon into my smoothies :)

My new Obsession

2007-08-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

Sea Veggie Salad Wakame

Arame

Shredded Carrots & Cabbage

Sliced Cucumber

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Pumpkin Seeds

Chopped Romaine Lettuce

1-2 Tablespoons Tahini

Dulse Salt

Minced Garlic

I absolutely love Tahini, I just love the taste of it and it goes sooo well with sea veggies!!

Expensive Groceries, Food going bad, etc.

2007-08-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

I had the best fresh organge & nectarine salad, so so delicious. There is nothing better than perfectly fresh, juicy fruit!!! I have an obsession with sprinkling cinnamon over just about... well, everything lol. I find it makes everything taste just that much better. Although my breakfast was deeeelicious, I was so disappointed in most of my fruit today, I bought a HUGE watermelon at Trader Joe's last week and I thought it was okay to last awhile and I woke up this morning, wanting some so badly and opened it up and it had completely gone bad... I was so upset so then I tried some Cherries I had gotten and they too had gone bad. I think I wait too long sometimes to eat my Fruit but it's hard because I buy alot because I never know how much I'm going to need and then alot of it ends up not lasting for too long, especially when I buy it all Organic, it tends to go bad alot faster. I need to find a way to make my Fruit and Greens last longer because I have the same problem with all of my Greens. I buy a bunch and then save them in the fridge and 2-3 days later, alot of them have gone bad and I have to throw them away and it's SUCH a waste, it kills me to throw my organic greens and organic fruit away because it's all so expensive!! It's seriously terrible how expensive my groceries cost. I usually shop at Whole Foods Market once a week and then stop in to my local Organic Market to pick up a few odds and ends that I need but majority of the time, my groceries are anywhere from $300-$350 a WEEK! Is that extremely expensive or is it just me??? I mean, it's just me eating my food. It seems insane to me. Although, I do need to stop buying "extra's" at Whole Foods Market -- I tend to have an obsession in their supplement section and beauty section as well... also I buy way too many Raw Snacks like Trail Mix and Goji Berries, etc and those are so so expensive... one bag of Trail Mix (which isn't even that big) is about $12.50 or so. I mean, that's insane to me. It's sad how if you want to eat unhealthy, you could save so much money but if you actually care about what you are eating and want to be healthier, you have to spend more money. How crazy is that? Blah. I guess that's the world we are living in! Sad but True!!!!

Skinny Bitch

2007-08-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend reading this book. I love how the writers approach their topics and make everything serious yet funny at the same time. Although there are a few dietary things in this book that I definitely don't agree with such as eating wheat and lots of soy, there are still alot of good points and I would suggest that any Vegan or anyone who is interested in becoming a Vegan definitely get their hands on this book because once you read it, I guarentee it will change your view on ever eating animal flesh again.

It truly makes me wonder how so many Americans can eat so many bad foods yet not care enough to learn about them or to try and better their nutrition. Of course, if you have an illness and suffer from chronic health issues you are obviously going to be more inclined to learn about betting your health and doing anything possible to make you healthier but still, I'd think that for a generally healthy person (healthy in the sense that you don't have many symptoms) would be interested in learning how to maintain a healthy lifestyle so that you don't ever have to get to the point where you are sick and desperate for natural alternatives. I don't know. I just don't get it. How can you NOT care about what your putting in your mouth??

2007-08-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

Breakfast;

*mango, cinnamon, kale, parsley & swisschard blended with chopped banana, cherries, parsley and sprinkled flaxseeds on top.

yumyum

today I had:

1/2 watermelon

2 apples

green smoothie

1 orange

1/2 cup banana & papaya pudding

sunflower seeds, goji berry & agave nectar mix

wakame, arame, shredded cabbage & carrot mix with some tahini drizzled ontop.

I've been craving sea veggies alot lately, which reminds me that

I want to try this recipe soon...

Wakame and Tomato salad with a ginger garlic sauce.

credit goes to the coconut chronicles blog

1/2 to 3/4 cup dried Wakame (depending on how hungry you are!)

1 large tomato, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced or grated

1 Tblsp ginger (about an inch long piece)

1/4 (or less) Noma Shoya (always start with less as it is better to have to add)

Soak seaweed in water for a few minutes. It will double in size so make sure the bowl you use is big enough! While seaweed is soaking, marinate garlic and ginger in the Noma Shoya. Set asideWhen seaweed is ready, squeeze water out of small handfuls, placing into or on your serving bowl or plate. Toss with the prepared sauce and let the flavors meld for a few minutes. Toss in diced tomatoes and serve!

YUM is the word.

2007-08-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

If you are ever feeling bored with your raw foods or "deprived" in any sense, I highly suggest checking out this photo gallery of raw foods at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawyogagoddess

All I can say is that after just browsing at a few photos, my mouth is literally watering right now.

Here are a couple photos that really stood out for me.... yummmm is all I can say...

Pictures like these make me wish so badly that I had my OWN RawFood Chef that lived in my house and was at my beck and call. How wonderful would that be? haha one can always dream!

Watermelon

2007-08-12T16:04:00.001-07:00

I've been craving Watermelon like crazy the past few days, I have a feeling it has a lot to do with the fact that I am getting over a weeks long worth of a Gastritis Flu and I lost a lot of water so I'm sure my body is craving the Watermelon due to the high water content. However, there are so many other benefits of eating Watermelon besides getting your H2O, that most people aren't aware of. I've actually spoken to a few people who consider Watermelon nothing other than "sugar water" and I look at that them with disbelief! How can they say such a thing about something so delicious AND nutritious?!!!! This article is very in-depth about the benefits of Watermelon; http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31#healthbenefits
I found it very interesting! It made me feel even better after just eating a huge bowl of my fresh Organic Watermelon. Yum Yum Yum.

P.S.

I'm still really bad about the whole food combining principle. Especially when it comes to eating Melon. I know you are suppose to eat Melon alone, ALWAYS but I find it difficult to wait. Whenever I eat one fruit, I never have enough patience to wait for it to digest until I want to eat a different type of fruit. I guess it depends on your own digestion though, as well... because I don't seem to find that I have too much of a problem with combining different fruits at the same time. Hmmm.

Fruitarians

2007-08-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

I must say that I never really knew much about being a "Fruitarian" or understood it, I thought it was pretty ridiculous to JUST eat fruit and nothing else... until I came across this beautiful womans website suvine the fruitarian girl and WOW is she an inspiration. I did some more research about becoming a Fruitarian and it's incredibly inspiring. I really do have much admiration for those who can stick to a Fruitarian diet... I myself could not do something that limited for longer than a few weeks, I'm sure. I can't imagine not having green smoothies or salads!! or even sea veggies. That would make me terribly sad.... however it just proves my point more that everyone has a different eating plan for them. Not everyone is the same. I do not believe that every single human can eat the same thing as someone else and get the exact same benefits from it. We all have different bodies and what we put into our bodies is a completely individual thing. Of course, eating Raw is the healthiest way you could eat, but I do believe there are certain people who are better off eating not entirely 100% Raw and there are others who in order to be at their best should maintain a 100% Raw diet. I don't know. It's all very confusing and very interesting at the same time.

I'm obsessed with reading other Raw Foodies Blogs. It gives me an extra boost whenever I'm feeling down or 'out of the crowd'. It's socially very difficult to be a Raw Foodist when you live in an area that's not as open to it as others. If I lived in Cali or NYC then I'm sure it would be a much different story and alot easier to meet other people who eat the same way and have the same beliefs in food, spirituality, etc. But for me, living where I'm at, the internet is really my only source for support and although I'm greatful to atleast have that if nothing else - there are those times when I wish I had a friend who was interested in the same things as far as healthy eating is concerned. Someone I could make Raw recipies with or trade Nutrition and Health books with, just little things like that. Oh well, I figure if I keep my eyes open enough maybe just maybe I'll come across some people who are like me :) ya never know!

Food cravings, Organic foods, etc.

2007-07-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

I've been eating Baby Carrots and Oranges like a mofo lately. The other day I actually woke up out of a nap and stood at my Kitchen counter eating 3 Oranges, one after another. I've been craving Vitamin C really badly. Maybe I'm trying to fight off some kind of infection. My body amazes me, how in tune it is with everything. I swear, there is always a reason why I am craving a certainfood. I can always find a reason for why I can't stop eating something. I went to Whole Foods yesterday and did my weekly shop. I got alot of food. It came to $300.00!! Way too much money. I have to try and save more but it's so hard when I buy everything organic. I just can't buy my fruits and veggies unless they are organic. I mean, I won't make a huge deal out of it if I go out to eat and get a salad somewhere or a fruit bowl, it's not as though I am going to fuss about it and ask the waiter whether or not it's 100% organic, otherwise no one would want to hang out with me anymore, if I were THAT anal lol. I have to be flexible but if I am in a situation where I can choose organic over conventional then of course I am going to choose organic!!!! There is just such a huge difference when I eat organic, not just in the taste but in how I feel as well. Most people really don't realize the extreme importance of eating organic foods.

10 Reasons To Eat Organic from http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/Living/10reasons.html

1. Top for taste Many people buy organic food because they believe it tastes better than non-organic. This could be because organic fruit and vegetables tend to grow more slowly and have a lower water content, which may contribute to the fuller flavour some people experience. A poll in 2005 showed that quality and taste of food are important to more people than low prices.

2. It's healthy On average, organic food contains higher levels of vitamin C and essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants. Organic milk is naturally higher in Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, Vitamin A (Beta Carotene) and certain other antioxidants than non-organic milk.

3. No nasty additives Only 32 of the 290 food additives approved for use across the EU are permitted in organic food. Amongst the additives banned by the Soil Association are hydrogenated fat, aspartame (artificial sweetener) and monosodium glutamate which have been linked to health problems.

4. Avoids pesticides The best way of reducing your exposure to potentially harmful pesticides is to eat organically grown food, where their use is avoided. Over 440 pesticides can be routinely used in non organic farming and residues are often present in non-organic food. Over 40% of all non-organic fruit, vegetables and bread tested in 2005 contained pesticides according to the Government's Pesticide Residues Committee.The results for particular fruit and vegetables were much worse, e.g. chemicals were found in all oranges tested, 90% of bread, 72% of grapes, 95% pears.

5. GM-free Genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are not allowed under organic standards. Over a million tonnes of GM crops are imported to feed non organic livestock that produce much, if not most, of the non organic pork, bacon, milk cheese and other dairy products in our supermarkets.

6. Reliance on drugs removed Antibiotic additives routinely added to animal food to speed animal growth are linked with bacterial resistance in humans to the same or closely related antibiotics. Soil Association standards ban the routine use of antibiotics.

7. No hidden costs Compare this with the £120m that tax payers fork out to pay for chemicals to be removed from drinking water, mainly as a result of the pesticides used in farming.

8. High standards Organic food comes from trusted sources. All organic farms and food companies are inspected at least once a year. The standards for organic food are laid down in European law.

9. Care for animals No system of farming has higher levels of animal welfare standards than organic farms working to Soil Association standards. Compassion in World Farming believes that the Soil Association's welfare standards are leaders in the field. (Joyce d'Silva, Director, Compassion in World Farming.)

10. Good for wildlife and the environment Overall organic farming supports more farmland wildlife than non-organic farming. The UK government has said that it is better for wildlife, causes lower pollution from sprays, produces less carbon dioxide - the main global warming gas - and less dangerous wastes.

I'm Famous!!!!

2007-07-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

...Not really but still, I feel incredibly honored to be featured on two of my most favorite websites! IT means the world to me to know that I am helping others around the world. What an AMAZING feeling.
check me out!
britanie cooked, britanie raw on welikeitraw.com
britanie transformation on shazzie.com
britanie before and after on justeatraw.com
britanie before and after gallery on rawreform.com

2007-06-28T11:56:00.001-07:00

This is the BEST breakfast ever. I'm serious. It's basically a green smoothie, only I make it more thick so that it's like a pudding and it's just delicious. I find that it's more filling eating it with a spoon and in a bowl somehow than it is drinking it from a glass. I switch up the recipe but it's best when there is mango in it. Yummmmmmmy.

Food & Exercise on Thursday, June 28th:

4 apples

green smoothie/pudding- spinach, kale, 1 mango

handful cherries

green smoothie- swisschard, kale, celery, blueberry, 2 pears

big salad- romaine lettuce, sea veggies, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberry, sun-dried tomato, cucumber. flax oil, braggs liquid aminos and apple cider vinegar for dressing.

2 romaine rollups with avocado, spinach & garlic filling.

1 piece of my orange coco crumb cake.

20 min of Sarah Ivanhoe's "Weight Loss" Yoga DVD
1 hour treadmill

My Story.

2007-06-23T15:54:00.001-07:00

The before pictures were of me from the age of 16-18 years old where I ranged from 185-198 lbs and was a size 18. Now I am 22 years old, down to 125-130 lbs and a size 7/8, thanks to going 70-80% raw and eliminating all gluten/wheat, rice, grains, dairy and artificial sugars from my diet for the past 5 years and just now for the past 26 days being 100% raw vegan.

I was diagnosed with having GERD and a Hiatal Hernia at the age of nine and was immediately put on the acid blocker Aciphex which I have remained on for the past 13 years and am just now discovering has had alot to do with many of my food allergies and constant bacteria infections, candida and malnutrition. I am working with a well-known Holistic and Medical Doctor who is helping to get me off of the Aciphex and who also treating me for Candida overgrowth in my blood and digestive system, Mercury Poisoning, Hypothyroidism, Anemia, Endometriosis with Ammenoreah, Spastic Colon/Colitis and many B-12, Vitamin D and Amino Acid deficincies.

I am also fighting to overcome Anxiety Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders due to so many years of debilitating chronic and painful illnesses that have made such an impact on my life and have effected me, my family and my everyday life in an extreme way.

It has been a long and hard road for me to travel but it's made me a much stronger person. I firmly believe that "everything happens for a reason" and that we are here on earth to go through different obstacles and to take what we learn from our hardest times in life, turn it into knowledge and help others to overcome.

Why I went Raw: When I first found that I was intolerant to Gluten, Dairy and all grains, including Rice, I was devastated. It was so hard for me to go out with friends or to family functions and feel so deprived. It wasn't until I found so many great Raw Food Recipes and Websites where I started to learn the joy about Live foods. I discovered how much I truly loved Fruit and Vegetables and started incorporating them into my life daily. Although, I have always been a fruit lover, not up until I was found out to having so many food allergies and feeling limited did I finally decide to start eating more of the fresh Fruits and Veggies. I then decided to eat mainly Organic foods, although I still ate meat and plenty of fish. For the past 26 days I have cut out all meat and fish and have been 100% Raw (with the exception of certain spices, condiments, herbal teas and possibly toasted sea veggies) and have found my cravings for most cooked foods have diminished. I wake up in the morning now craving a huge watermelon or dates and goji berries with some agave nectar. It's truly amazing how your taste buds change once forced to try something new. I absolutely LOVE eating the way that I do, although of course there are times when I wish I were "normal" and able to eat all the foods that most people around me do but honestly, when I read more about the damage that cooked and processed foods and meats are doing to most of the worlds population, it's truly hard to go back into eating that way. I truly believe that food can be our best friend or are worst enemy. It doesn't seem like a hard choice, yet so many of us are hooked on bad foods. I think if more of us Raw foodists and health-conscious eaters just inform one person at a time, more and more people will become aware and intrigued by this healthy lifestyle and want to learn and join as well!!
Keep spreading the world people. Live food is love :)

Ode to Green Smoothies

2007-06-10T04:04:00.000-07:00

ARTICLE FOUND HERE

1. Green smoothies are very nutritious. I believe that the ratio in them is optimal for human consumption: about 60% - ripe organic fruit mixed with about 40% - organic green vegetables.

2. Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended well, all the valuable nutrients in these fruits and veggies become homogenized, or divided into such small particles that it becomes easy for the body to assimilate these nutrients, the green smoothies literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.

3. Green smoothies, as a posed to juices, are a complete food because they still have fiber.

4. Green smoothies belong to the most palatable dishes for all humans of all ages. With a ratio of fruits to veggies as 60:40 the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the green vegetables balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding nice zest to it. Green smoothies are simply the best tasting dishes for the majority of adults and children. I always make extra smoothie and offer it to my friends and customers. Some of them eat a standard American diet. They all finished their big cup of green smoothies with complements. They were quite surprised that something so green could taste so nice and sweet.

5. By consuming two or three cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough of greens for the day to nourish your body, and they will be well assimilated. Many people do not consume enough of greens, even those who stay on a raw food diet. The molecule of chlorophyll has only one atom that makes it different from a molecule of human blood. According to teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, to consume chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion.

6. Green smoothies are easy to make, and quick to clean up after. Many people told me that they do not consume green juices on a regular basis because it is time consuming to prepare green juices and clean the equipment after juicing, or to drive to the juice bar.

7. Green smoothies are perfect food for children of all ages, including babies of six or more months old when introducing new food to them after mother's milk. Of course you have to be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.

8. When you consume your greens in the form of green smoothies, you can greatly reduce the consumption of oils and salt in your diet.

9. Regular consumption of Green smoothies forms a good habit of eating greens. Several people told me that after a couple of weeks of drinking green smoothies, they started to crave and enjoy eating more greens. Eating enough of green vegetable is often a problem with many people, especially in children.

10. Green smoothies can easily be freshly made at any juice bar, restaurant or health food store for the great convenience of health-oriented customers. Please bring a copy of this article to your local juice bar.

I encourage the readers of this article to start playing with green smoothies, and to discover the many joys and benefits of this wonderful delicious and nutritious addition to the menu. Here are more ideas for your green creations. Some of my favorite greens to add to green smoothies: parsley, spinach, celery, kale and romaine. My favorite fruits for green smoothies are: pears, peaches, nectarines, bananas, mangoes and apples. Strawberries and raspberries taste superb in green smoothies, when combined with ripe bananas.

yummy green smoothie

2007-06-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Green Smoothie:

- spinach
- parsley
- cucumber
- 1/2 banana
- 1/2 orange
- handful blueberries

blend and enjoy :)

P.S.
this is my 11th day raw!!!

mmmm

2007-06-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

So last night I went on a "no-dates desert recipe" search and ended up making 3 delicious treats!! It's almost hard to eat them, they are so beautiful. I swear I could just eat deserts 24/7 and never get sick of them. haha. Sooo goood....

Lemon-Strawberry Trifle

Coconut-Lemon Balls

Walnut-Carob Fudge

Mangoes

2007-06-05T12:04:00.001-07:00

I've been having the worst craving for Mangoes lately.... MMMM. They are SO good. I seriously can't wait to leave work so that I can get home and eat one hahahhaa.