Saturday, October 27, 2012

New York Times and Wall Street Journal Warn that Hospitals are Killing Us

If medical errors were a disease, they would be the sixth leading cause of death in America, writes surgeon Dr. Marty Makary in the Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Mercola




Saturday, August 18, 2012

Saying Goodbye To Television

In February we decided to suspend our Directv service.  I really thought my husband would have withdrawals and demand it be activated again after a few weeks.  Fast forward seven months later...he was in total agreement when I suggested cancelling our account for good!  Once he learned that the football games could be viewed online that sealed the deal. :)

You never realize just how much the television is on until it isn't an option anymore.  The graph below is quite shocking.  American's are viewing an average of 7 hours per day!  I don't know about you but I can get a lot accomplished in seven hours.

Directv sent us a postage paid box to send our receivers and remote controls back to them.  The box was delivered to the post office yesterday and I have to say I am beyond happy to be TV free.

These past seven months it has been nice to be able to choose when we watch a movie on Netflix or just not have a screen on at all.  When the television was so available it was just too easy to have it on for background noise then get pulled into watching something that was really not important or enjoyable.



When our children were young we always participated in TV Turn Off Week.  It was endorsed by the school system and the teacher's would give a coupon for a free pizza if the TV stayed off.
It was always interesting to see them really struggle with not having their favorite shows at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week be reading, playing games and getting creative without the "square" as I always called it.

So, if we had been watching even 3 hours a day  we just gained 21 hours a week to do other things.  That is 1092 extra hours a year to make a difference, learn a new skill, walk on the beach, hug a grandbaby, etc.

What could you do with an extra 1000 hours a year?

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Morning Green Juice


I think this one is going to be my new favorite for awhile.

Cucumber
Kale
Lemon
Apple

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Great Interview With Dave The Raw Food Trucker


Markus interviews Dave, the raw food trucker! Markus doesn't look like he is almost 50 does he?!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Check Out Kristina's Weekly Raw Food Stash!

Who says you will feel hungry on raw food? The key is to have lots of healthy raw food around so you aren't reaching for unhealthy options.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

New Grape Trellis


My husband built two of these to try to tame the grapes that have been out of control for years. We cleared out old lilac bushes and I think we are going to be able to harvest a ton of grapes now! Grape leaves are also a great food source. Just one cup of grape leaves (14 grams) has 77% of your daily value of Vitamin A. Here is a great recipe using grape leaves in a smoothie: 8 large grape leaves 2 frozen bananas 1 cup mango 1 cup pineapple 1 orange enough water to blend delish!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

My Son Got Married!


It has been a busy six months or so around here. My son married his best friend Emily this past Saturday. We had the wedding right here at home and it was perfect. The weather was wonderful too! That's me in the red dress. I think this may be the first and only picture of myself I have ever included on the blog. Maybe it's time to make the posts a little more personal and friendly.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

No Happy Cows

In No Happy Cows, Robbins’ provocative observations about food politics and eating more consciously give you potent tools to take positive action for a healthier life and a healthier world.

John Robbins' books played a huge part in my decision to stop eating animal products.





http://www.vegsource.com/news/2012/04/john-robbins-new-book----no-happy-cows.html

Friday, April 6, 2012

Raw Onion Rings


My husband has been adding more raw food into his diet. He had a craving for onion rings so I gave these a try. I'm not an onion ring fan but he was quite happy with this raw version of one of his junk food favorites.

In first bowl add:

4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons water
1 Teaspoon sea salt

In second bowl add:

1/2 cup ground almond meal
1/2 cup ground golden flax seeds
1 Teaspoon smoked paprika

Cut onions into slices, dip in first bowl, then second bowl.
Place on mesh dehydrator sheets. Set temperature at 105 degrees and let them go for 14 or so hours.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Best Kale Chips Ever!

This is a great mixture for kale chips, so delicious and easy.

One bunch of Kale
2 cloves garlic
1 cup cashews (soaked for a couple of hours)
1 large red bell pepper
A few squirts of Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/2 cup nutritional yeast

Blend cashews, red pepper and garlic in food processor.


Put cashew mixture in a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Wash kale and spin extra water out with a salad spinner. Coat the kale with the mixture evenly. Don't be afraid to use your hands and really get the leaves evenly covered with the mixture.


Spread kale out evenly on dehydrator screens and dry for 12 hours. That's it!



Store chips in an airtight container.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Paleo vs. Raw Vegan - Mimi will soon turn 74!



Mimi was voted sexiest vegan over 50 a couple of years ago. She is well over 50 and looking and feeling great.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Friday, March 16, 2012

1 Minute Raw Meal



Check out Kristina's other videos on youtube! She is a great motivator and inspiration for others trying to live raw.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Papaya & Banana Pudding

Blend together: 1 ripe papaya and a banana or two. It's that simple.





Only two ingredients and oh so delicious!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Caps


Another quick and easy recipe

2 Avocados mashed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or fresh garlic
sea salt to taste

Garnish with:
chopped tomatoes
chopped black olives

Friday, March 9, 2012

Chewy Freezer Fudge

I believe this recipe came from the book Real Food Real World, but I have had it on a beat up index card for awhile.
It is super easy and satisfies your sweet tooth.


2 cups almond butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder, or raw carob powder
1/2 cup maple syrup (not technically raw)
1 heaping tablespoon coconut butter
1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a square baking pan that you have lined with parchment paper.


Place fudge into the pan and cover with parchment pressing down evenly to flatten it out.


Chill in freezer for a couple of hours. Lift out of pan onto a flat surface and cut into squares.






Cover and keep in the freezer to keep the pieces firm. Grab a piece as needed and enjoy.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

What Your Poop & Pee Are Telling You About Your Body

Ok, so this isn't something people talk about everyday...but it IS rather interesting.


++ Click to Enlarge Image ++
What is your poop and pee telling you
Source:What Your Poop and Pee Mean

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Using Chemicals in the Name of Beauty?

Are you using products that contain the toxic 12?






Toxic cancer causing (carcinogenic) chemicals in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the personal care toiletries we use on our hair, skin and in our mouths may be contributing to the spiralling rate of cancer and metabolic disease whilst speeding up the aging process.

http://www.health-report.co.uk/harmful_toxic_toiletries_chemicals_cancer_causing.html

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Cured!



Video Information

(www.holiticvoicefilm.com) Cured! is a feature length documentary that will document the stories of individuals who have healed themselves of chronic, degenerative and terminal disease without drugs, surgery or chemotherapy.

It will take viewers through the story of patients with ofetn terminal diseases completely reversing their disease through nutrition, juice fasting and detoxing their body. To finish this film, we need your donations! To make a donation please visit www.holisticvoice.org or www.holiticvoicefilm.com.

www.naturalnews.com

Thursday, January 12, 2012

What are you REALLY eating?

Did you know that there are companies that spend their time creating flavors that will make people crave certain foods and also make them taste better to the consumer?



The following list of ingredients in artificial strawberry flavoring:


A typical artificial strawberry flavor, like the kind found in a Burger King strawberry milk shake, contains the following ingredients:
amyl acetate,
amyl butyrate,
amyl valerate,
anethol,
anisyl formate,
benzyl acetate,
benzyl isobutyrate,
butyric acid,
cinnamyl isobutyrate,
cinnamyl valerate,
cognac essential oil,
diacetyl,
dipropyl ketone,
ethyl acetate,
ethyl amyl ketone,
ethyl butyrate,
ethyl cinnamate,
ethyl heptanoate,
ethyl heptylate,
ethyl lactate,
ethyl methylphenylglycidate,
ethyl nitrate,
ethyl propionate,
ethyl valerate,
heliotropin,
hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol),
a-ionone,
isobutyl anthranilate,
isobutyl butyrate,
lemon essential oil,
maltol,
4-methylacetophenone,
methyl anthranilate,
methyl benzoate,
methyl cinnamate,
methyl heptine carbonate,
methyl naphthyl ketone,
methyl salicylate,
mint essential oil,
neroli essential oil,
nerolin,
neryl isobutyrate,
orris butter,
phenethyl alcohol,
rose,
rum ether,
g-undecalactone,
vanillin, and
solvent.

feingold.org/strawberry





Did you hear him mention that some strawberry and vanilla flavorings are made by using a gland from a beaver's backside? :)

Thursday, January 5, 2012

My Favorite Green Smoothie

Ingredients: Kale, spinach, chard or your green of choice
Bananas
Frozen or fresh pineapple
Frozen or fresh mango chunks
An orange (I only had a couple of clementine on hand today)
Enough water to blend (about a cup)

I don't use any additional sweeteners because the pineapple makes this recipe so sweet. If you prefer a thicker smoothie you can freeze the bananas ahead of time.







Monday, January 2, 2012

How to Make the Most of the Fresh Start of a New Year




“Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” ~ Buddha

Post written by Leo Babauta one of my FAVORITE bloggers. Link to his site on my Blogroll to the right.

We’re several days into the New Year, and many of us are still basking in the glow of a fresh start.

Every year, January brings renewed optimism for change, for a better life, for a better you. And that’s a wonderful thing.

It’s wonderful, because this fresh start gives us a chance to reinvent our lives and ourselves. It allows us to reinvigorate ourselves, to shed the baggage of the previous year and do anything. Anything is possible!

That is a gift, my friends, and I suggest we make the most of this gift. Not just by creating and sticking to resolutions (here’s my guide for doing that), but by reinventing the way we live.

Here’s how.

1. Let go.
Many times we are held back by the tangled web of previous failures, commitments, emotions, barriers. We cannot change careers because we’re used to what we’re doing and it’s too hard to change. We cannot find time to get healthy and fit because we have all these other things to do. We cannot find time for our loved ones because we have too many commitments.

This is all old baggage. A fresh start demands a clean slate. Let everything from the past go (easier said than done, I know). Clear your plate and your palate.

Let go of attachments to what you’ve been doing for the past year, or years. Let go of failures. Let go of fears you’ve built up. Let go of reluctance. Let go of your ideas about what your life has to be like, because that’s the way it’s evolved so far. Let go of long-held beliefs and habits.

You have a fresh start. Let go of last year, and start anew.

2. Decide what matters most today.
Forget about your goals for all of this year. Instead, decide: what do you want to do today?

What matters most to you, to your life? What are you most passionate about, right now? What excites and invigorates you? What would give you the most fulfillment?

Often the answer is in creating something, making something new, helping other people, becoming a better person, working on a project that will be an accomplishment to be proud of. But whatever your answer, have it clear in your mind at the beginning of the day.

This might be something you work on all year, or it might just last a month, or it might last a week or a few days, or just today. It doesn’t matter. What matters is today — that you’re going to work on this with all your heart, today. Tomorrow … we’ll decide on that tomorrow.

3. Clear away distractions and focus.
Clear away email and Facebook and Twitter and your favorite blogs and news websites and social forums, clear away the iPhone or Blackberry or Android or cell phone, clear away all the little nagging work and chores and errands that pull at your attention, clear away the clutter that surrounds you (sweep it off to the side to deal with later).

In fact, if you can, shut off the Internet for awhile. You can come back to it when you take a break.

Now, find focus. Even if only for 15 or 20 minutes at first, but preferably for 30-60 minutes. You can take a break and check your email or whatever after you’ve focused. Focus on the thing that matters most. Do it for as long as you can, until you’re done if possible. Feel free to take breaks, but always return to your focus.

When you’re done, focus on the next thing that matters most, and so on.

4. Find happiness now.
Don’t look at happiness as something that will come when you’re done with this goal, or when you’ve attained a certain accomplishment or certain amount of wealth or material goods. Don’t look at happiness as a destination, something that you’ll get later.

Happiness is possible right now. Always remember that. When you push it back until later, it’ll never come. When you learn to be happy now, it’ll always be here.

When you’re doing whatever you’re passionate about, whatever matters most, whatever you decide is worthy of your time and heart and focus … be happy! You’re doing what you love. And that is truly a gift.

5. Reinvent yourself, every day.
Every day, you are reborn. Reinvent yourself and your life, every day. Do what matters most to you, that day.

It might be the same thing that mattered most yesterday, or it might not be. That isn’t important. What’s important is today — right now. Be passionate, be happy, right now.

You’ll have a fresh start every single day — not just on January 1. And that, my friends, is the best thing ever.