Fresh Juice

I am going to be making some different juice combinations today. Every now and then it feels good to just have a day of juicing. It give the digestive system a rest.

This is a good juice for those just getting started:
apples
carrots
celery

Use as much of each as you like. Just remember, it is best to only make as much juice as you can drink right away. You lose precious vitamins the longer it sits around. :)

“Anything one does every day is important and imposing and anywhere one lives is interesting and beautiful.” --Gertrude Stein

Your Raw Diet 2008 ~ Designed by YOU!

Now two weeks into the New Year, chances are that you're just starting to get into your groove with life and work, and thus can finally begin to turn your attention to your diet.

Did you go raw or stay raw over the holidays or did it all fall by the wayside and now you're feeling it?

Either way, now is the perfect time to get clear on how you want to move forward in your raw life for the coming months, and the following exercise based on one taught to me by Prof Rozalind Graham is an excellent tool for helping you come to clarity, to create boundaries and to finding a place of peace with your food choices because they've been designed 100% by you!


What to do...

All you need to do is take a clean sheet of paper, ideally A4 size, and draw either a fairly large circle in the middle of the page or draw around the hand that you normally write with (this, you will note, is also likely the hand that feeds you!) When you're done, next draw a circle around the first circle/hand that allows at least an inch of space to write some more words in, then another and another, so that you have two more circles around that circle at least 1 inch apart from each other. You should end up with three outer rings and a middle area.

When you've got your circles, starting in the middle and working out list what foods, drinks etc. fall into the following categories:

1) Middle area: List all those foods you are 100% happy to eat as everyday staples to your diet
2) Next circle out: List those foods that you wouldn't ideally eat on a daily basis but if you did you wouldn't feel at all bad about it
3) Next circle out: List those foods that you wouldn't eat UNLESS you were really stuck and there was nothing else to have
4) Final circle: All those foods that you won't eat under any circumstances from this moment forward


Feel better?

Clarity is a good thing and this exercise will really help you to get clear on what's important to you and why. It also may get you thinking more or seeing things that you didn't before. Feel free to spend some time on this as what you write here can make or break your health and body goals in 2008.

When you're done, now that it's there in front of you, of course now all you have to do is stick to your own rules! So pin this up somewhere that you'll see it most of the day or fold it up and carry it around in your pocket or bag, and see how you get along for the next week or so. When you set your own rules it's a lot more healthy and fun than following someone else's idea of what's good for you and you're much less inclined to break them.

As an aside, if you're a parent or carer you can use this exercise to show others who feed your child or loved one what's okay and not. By colour coding the areas as well as being very clear with your wording you can much increase the likelihood of someone doing as you ask as it will be so clearly laid out in front of them. (You could even use it in a restaurant if you wanted to!)

Cheers to clarity and to a healthy and happy body in 2008! © 2008 Karen Knowler

Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach .com.

Guacamole Dip

by Rhonda of Hallelujah Acres

2 very ripe avocados
2 Tbsp. onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, cut fine
1/2 green pepper, cut fine
1 medium ripe tomato, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice

Halve the avocados, remove pits and scoop flesh into a glass container. Mash with a fork and blend in remaining ingredients. Serve as quickly as possible. Serve w/ fresh veggies.

Recipe courtesy of Hallelujah Acres

Get more recipes from Rhonda in her new book:
Recipes for Life... from God's Garden

My new favorite smoothie

I bought a raw food DVD a couple of weeks ago, and
it was great!!!
The recipes shown in the DVD are simple to do and taste great.
This one really caught my eye so I tried it the very next morning.

I use 2 frozen bananas
1 orange, peeled
3/4 cup frozen blueberries
large handful of romaine lettuce

All ingredients are organic,
just add everything to the blender and give it a whirl.
The sweetness of the fruit totally masks the taste of the greens. You can use any type of greens you like.

The DVD is called, Raw Food Made Easy, by Jennifer Cornbleet.

The Longevity Game

Try this!!! Answer all questions truthfully.

http://www.nmfn. com/tn/learnctr- -lifeevents- -longevity

Strawberry Banana Romaine Smoothie

From Victoria Boutenko of The Raw Family

This may sound crazy but you really do not taste the greens when combined with the fruit.
I will try to take a photo of my new favorite smoothie for tomorrow. It also has greens in it.

Ingredients:

• 1-cup strawberries
• 2 bananas
• 1/2 bunch romaine
• Water

Instructions:

Throw all ingredients in the blender and mix well.

Walnut Pate

From Raw Power by Stephin Arlin

3 cups walnuts
2-3 cloves garlic
1 small onion (or half a large one)
2-3 stalks celery
1/2 C fresh parsley
1 T fresh lemon juice
1-2 tsp Celtic Sea salt

Soak walnuts for 30 minutes then drain. Put garlic, onion, celery and parsley into food processor and process with s-blade until the ingredients are finely chopped. Add walnuts, lemon juice and sea salt. Blend until smooth, "coaching" the mixing if necessary. Makes about 3 cups. You can add 1/2 c water to the pate and blend longer to create a dip.

Variation - Use fresh dill instead of parsley.

Interesting experiment - 12 days on raw food

http://www.zenpawn. com/vegblog/ 2007/09/20/ after-just- 12-days-on- raw-food/

Almond Milk

1 cup sprouted Almonds

3 cups water
1 t raw honey Blend all together in blender until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer and chill.

- from “Living on Live Food” by Alissa Cohen

Happy New Year!!!

Resolution: Be Green in 2008

By Jana Ballinger
Care2 Green Living Copy Editor and Producer

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/resolution-be-green-in-2008.html

With the holiday festivities pretty much behind us, it's time to
start thinking about some New Year's resolutions. Self improvement
seems to top the list for most—lose 10 pounds, get that promotion—but
how about also resolving to do something good for the planet? You'll
get something out of it too: Going green often means doing stuff
that's healthier for the environment and healthier for you. And being
a do-gooder feels good!

So here are some ideas for resolutions for a greener new year:

Be Naturally Beautiful.
I hate to break it to you but that gook you put on your face and in
your hair might be doing a lot more than making you feel pretty. It
could make you feel sick.
Take this quiz and check your products for dangerous chemicals such
as phthalates or sodium laurel sulfate.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/are-your-beauty-products-safe-quiz.html
Many everyday products such as shampoos, soaps, lotions and lipsticks
contain them. Opt for organic products made of natural ingredients
and thank Mother Nature for that radiant glow.

Wake Up and Smell the Perfume.
Don't let the pretty smell fool you: Most fragrances are just chock
full of hazardous chemicals. But there are alternatives that will
leave you smelling sweet as a rose.
Get the scoop here.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/good-scents-natural-perfume.html

Eat Organic.
No two ways about it, buying organic produce is tastier and also
healthier, but it is more expensive because it's a lot cheaper to
dump chemicals on a crop. If you can't afford to buy all organic,
here's a list of the top 10 fruits and vegetables to eat organic.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-top-10-foods-to-eat-organically.html

Buy Local.
Common sense says that the farther away your food is grown, the more
fossil fuels are required to get it to you. So look for local produce
at your grocery store and make it a point to visit your community
farmers market whenever possible.
Defining local.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-do-we-define-local-for-produce.html

Be a Bag Lady.
Even if you're just bringing back all the paper and plastic bags
stuffed in that bottom drawer of your kitchen, always BYOB.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/easy-greening-shopping-bags.html
If you don't want to spend money on reusable grocery bags—although
there are lots of really cute options out there—look around the house
for old totes, beach bags, twine-handled fancy shopping bags or even
large baskets. Keep lots in your trunk (and don't forget to put them
back in the trunk after unloading your groceries!), plus one compact
bag folded up in your purse so you're never without it.

Clean Green.
You don't even want to know all the gross chemicals that are in
commercially made products. Not only are you breathing those
chemicals, but then you end up pouring them down the drain.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-pollutants-going-down-your-drain.html
Not good for you, or the Earth.
So what's the answer? Make your own non-toxic cleaning kit.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html

Change a Light Bulb.
If just one light bulb in every home in America were switched out for
a compact fluorescent—aka CFLs—it would save enough energy to light
more than 3 million homes for a year. CFLs are everywhere now, there
are tons of different kinds to choose from and it's such an easy fix.
Learn more.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/love-your-light-bulbs-easy-greening.html

Sip, Don't Guzzle.
Even if you don't plan to buy a hybrid, there are ways to make the
car you have get the best possible gas mileage. A properly tuned
engine will get between 6 and 20 percent higher mpg, for example.
Here's a list of 12 things you can do to stretch a tank of gas.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/stretch-tank-of-gas-12-tips.html

Be a Peddle Pusher.
Sometimes a car is necessary, but just running errands around town?
Ride your bike to the post office, the grocery store, the dentist,
etc., and experience the true joy of being car-free for a while.
Bonus: Hello, exercise!
More benefits of biking here.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/benefits-of-biking.html

Be an Online Activist.
Did you know you can help stop global warming, save the rainforest
and keep pollutants out of our oceans with a single click? You can.
You can also sign petitions to let the people in power know you care
and want to make a difference.
Try it today.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/