the LIGHT of a new day!

Hello Readers!

Thank you for coming on by!  Lot’s of changes in the magical world of the Veg888 blog!  Lot’s of updates so I will get started and TRY and make this SHORT & SWEET! But if anything we will definitely get SWEET!

1) If you have seen – BOTANY OF DESIRE I am curious to know what you think. ?!  This documentary explores an opposing side of the life of Tulips, Apples, Cannabis and the Potato!  Originally a book, this film suggests these particular plants actually control us to continue their lives and growth, as well as further their abilities!.

I enjoyed the authors spin on things!  It was nice to experience another human being exploring feelings on a deeper level than the human experience alone.

I am eager to read the book and see what other information is included in the book!  These wonderful  life forms on earth are so magical and we are around beauty all of the time.  Even if we don’t PHYSICALLY SEE IT!

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE books about FOOD HISTORY.  Early on Veg888 Blog used to cover a bit more history of food with recipes and logs of what was going on in the kitchen.  I started adding all of the different parts of my life with you!  It has become clear that I cannot just discuss food or yoga or any other ONE interest  I have in any SINGLE SENSE within a single posting!

I hope you will come along for the ride!

2) The Art of Joyful Living by Swami Rama – This was a quick and FRUITFUL read.  I am looking forward to read a few more books by this author.

Each month I buy magazines and look for interesting information about health, food, running, yoga, etc.  Over the past few years I seek out a magazine called Yoga+  International.  The magazine is a product of the Himalayan Institute in PA.

This last month there was an article written by Swami Rama about Inner Reflection.

The article was very kind and straight forward about battles we have as people.  Why we behave like we do, how to get past obstacles, how to be gentle with ourselves, how to have an organized calm mind, and other VERY HELPFUL TOOLS to everyday life.  The article is loosely based on the book –  ”The Art of Joyful Living “

After reading this book, it has left me wanting to make some changes in my life and I am trying to utilize the tools the book discusses. If you read this book I would love to hear from you!

3) Running in the evening seems to be extremely healing for me.  I enjoy running during the day, but I must say I am really LOVING the cool summer nights we have here in California.  Although it is in the 80′s at the moment, tonight is sure to cool off to a NICE and BREEZY evening!  I am still running and unfortunately I will only have 1 race for May and 1 for June.

July promises to be quite busy with races.  I will also be hosting some functions on behalf of the Veg888 BLOG and also on behalf of the store.  My taste tester and I have chosen about 4 races for the month of July and I am also hoping to conquer 10 miles.  Yes still trying to conquer 10!

I am always looking for a great discussion to feature on THIS Blog! Discussions are so enlightening at times.  On many different levels! Please comment or add to the information regarding anything on this BLOG!

Thanks for reading!

Love and Light!

Namaste!

ingredients, catfish, kale chips and mental stimulation

Hello Longevity Seekers!

I am hoping you are well this wonderful week in April! Southern California has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL this week! Warm and Breezy ~ Palm Trees dancing!

Ingredients

I acquired a DVD called “INGREDIENTS”. I am unsure if anyone has seen this DVD, but it is a wonderful film made to explore the SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT and Support of the LOCAL CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in your area.

The DVD informs us of some rather shocking facts upon it’s opening and features some really wonderful community efforts in Oregon, NY and and few other stops along the way.

There is a wonderful quote I wrote down from the beginning of the documentary…

“I started growing vegetables with my husband…to recreate what we think is our duty. Our taste buds are there for a reason. They are there to guide us to BETTER NUTRITION. It isn’t greed or gluttony to like the taste of food. It is a natural drive to nourish ourselves.” Carol Boutard, Ayers Creek Farm

Did you know…

• 17,000+ foods are introduced to the American Public each year.
• Most Children born during the year 2000
• will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents
• An overabundance of processed foods has put our children at risk for Type 2 Diabetes
• There is no culture in the world that spends less money on their food that the US.

How do we change this? With our Forks!

Local Food systems are available and need to be intergrated into your life! Biodynamic Farms, CSA Farmers Markets and growing our own vegetables is really the best way to change things!

Fresh Food is ABSOLUTLY out there!

The Veg888 Kitchen will begin attending local Farmers Markets and BEGIN growing it’s own lettuce/greens! I am part of the fossil fuel consumption. We all are! As a society we really have to Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle!

It’s like I always tell myself – “BE ABOUT IT – DON’T JUST TALK ABOUT IT!

Catfish

I will only cover this documentary very briefly.

I had wanted to see this DOCUMENTARY for a VERY LONG TIME! It is difficult to find certain movies at various times and I was finally able to “seize the moment” and buy this Documentary.

The story begins with communication between an 8 year old artist and a young film maker name Yul Shulmen. The story begins to spiral from there and the end will have you absolutly astonished and the path everything follows. Even to THIS DAY.

In case you see this movie, I will not go into detail. However I will say this. The places our minds can take us the moment someone reaches out to us is amazing and very clear in this Documentary.(?) I place this question mark there since it left me feeling like it was all a planned/staged setting. If you see it, I would love to see what you think!

And finally…KALE CHIPS!

When I went completely Raw for the Parasite Cleanse I kept seeing recipes for KALE CHIPS!

Although I wanted to try them, something always happened and I just never did.

Last week, I decided I would like to try adding them into my diet. Why? RAW Lacinto KALE has protein, calcium and if you add nutritional yeast to your mix – you get B12! Very important for us as Vegans/Vegetarians!

So here we go!

KALE CHIPS

For 1 Bunch of Kale…

1 C Sunflower Seeds (Soaked)

1/4 C Nutritional Yeast

1/3 C Water

2 T Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/4 tsp Chipotle

1 pinch salt

Place all ingredients into a Food Processor or Blender until it is a thick paste.

Once the paste is made, place over the kale and massage the paste onto the kale.  Once all of the kale is covered it is ready to place onto a teflex sheet and place in the dehydrator.

These will be in the dehydrator for 5-6 hours.  I made 4 trays worth! They were delicious!

Here they are all in a jar ready to be eaten!  I enjoyed them quite a bit! In fact my taste tester ate the ENTIRE JAR in one sitting!  I will make more this weekend.  I will try another flavor of course! Something spicy maybe.

Thanks for reading!

Love and Light!

Namaste

THANKS TO THE UNIVERSE & LAST CALL!!

LAST CALL FOR THE FREE DVD/BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!

ALL ENTRIES NEED TO BE BEFORE MIDNIGHT!!!!

I WILL POST THE WINNER!!

CHECK OUT THE ORIGINAL POSTING HERE!

Yesterday (Sunday), was a really beautiful day!! Since Sundays are usually my laundry day, I decided I would keep it low key as far as food was concerned.  I made a smoothie to keep me sustained throughout the day.

Strawberry-Coconut Smoothie ~ 2 servings

1 cup sliced frozon strawberries

2 frozen Bananas

1 tbs. RAW Almond Butter

1 Fuji Apple

1 Handful Arugula

1 tbs. RAW coconut

Preparation: Blend in high speed blender with Fresh Thai Coconut Water until smooth.

*This beautiful glass was made by my friend WILL.  He makes amazing glass blown goblets!!!  All of the Ceramic bowls on this blog are made by my wonderful Ceramic Artist – Joe Botello!! Thanks to both of them for the beautiful artwork they have blessed me with!!!

AND BEFORE I FORGET…

A BIG Thank YOU to the  universe!!!!

For the past 6 weeks I have been enjoying fruit and vegetable gifts from the area.  Customers have been bringing me all kinds of different produce.  I must have gotton about 24 Lemons, a bunch of grapefruits, and some really sweet oranges!!!  I have even experienced some wonderful STRAWBERRIES!!!

Today I was given the biggest avocados I have ever eaten!  I will post a picture of them tomorrow! They were so beautiful!

I took a walk to get some excercise and enjoy the sun for a few moments.

On my walk I was blessed to see this magnificent creature!

Just when I thought there wasn’t anything more stunning at that moment in time, I looked back as saw this…

Isn’t he magnificent?  He was so proud!  I usually hear the peacocks at night as I am pulling into the driveway, while I am laying in bed before I go to sleep and in the morning when they are just waking!

Here is a young male trailing behind..

I would also like to thank YOU!  Thank you for stopping by my blog!  I will continue to post recipes and information regarding vegan, vegetarian and RAW food!!!  Also, NEW stuff coming your way in May!!!  More RAFFLES! More Giveaways!  and Much more information!

LIVE IN LIGHT and LOVE!

Namaste!

READERS NOTE:

Here is a great article with some nice information about ASPARAGUS!!! Great info and in sync with my blog!!!

THE NEW RAW REVIEW

CHANGE TO THE RAFFLE

GIVEAWAY PRIZE!

This posting is dedicated to the past recipes made and Taste Tested! & the NEW GIVEAWAY!!

It is the first review of a DVD I’ve done on this blog.  More to come I’m sure! I love movies – of all genres – documentaries are my favorite !

Below are pictures of my Favorite RAW recipes I have made and featured on this blog!

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Most of these recipes were made during my RAW for 30 day challange/Parasite Cleanse.

Remember the FREE DVD Giveaway??!  Supercharge Me!!! A Raw for 30 Day Documentary – Well I had the opportunity to watch it Friday night.  And….I don’t think it is a very good giveaway. So the winner will have the choice of the Original Giveaway posting -or- the second option which is:

Eating for Beauty

by David Wolfe

PRIZE 1 – SUPERCHARGE ME – This Documentary is a lesson in VANITY.   The initial reasons and quest to go RAW for 30 days was to fit into a costume for Halloween. Not to be healthier per se…but to lose weight only.

The woman goes to the Optimal Health Institute in San Diego.  (Much like the Raw for 30 Days video at the Tree of Life Center) this woman stayed at a facility.  The explanation and discreet presentation of Colonics was a nice introductory of what the process is and does.  (For those of you that are sensitive to vomiting and liquids/solids coming out of the orifices of our body may want to skip or fast forward!!!)

And after everything she ends up a RAW vegan.

However after viewing this DVD, I feel it does not coincide with the spirit this blog is being maintained. That spirit is…

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food!”

So there you go.  You have a choice!!

PRIZE 2 – Eating for Beauty by David Wolfe – In Eating for Beauty, David Wolfe, describes how to cleanse, nourish, and beautify by utilizing the benefits of a fresh-food diet. You can apply the lessons contained within this book to improve your appearance, vitality, and health.

(This seemed much better than the other! But again it is your choice!!!

Day 10 of 30 – 20 to go!

My parasite cleanse is coming along nicely.  I am feeling clearer in my thoughts and vision is definitly better.  Last night I went to drop food off for a client.  Usually in the evening I struggle to see street signs but to my happy surprise I saw them clearly.  That’s not to say that I didn’t get lost.  I was just able to see where I was going a lot better.

Day 10 Smoothie recipe:

1 Banana

2 Handfuls of Blueberries

1 Anjou Pear

1 Green Apple

1 Avocado

Kale

Oxygen Water

Preparation:  Put enough water in the blender to begin breaking fruit up in the blender.  Once it is pureed add kale.

I think after I finish the Parasite cleanse, I will do an organic essential detox.  This will clean all of my organs from toxins.  Not just parasites.  This will be the first two weeks of February.  But before I count my veggies before they sprout, I will continue on this quest to be PARASITE FREE!

This entire week has been quite an adventure in food.  I have enjoyed making all of these RAW food surprises.  Preparation. Preparation. Preparation!  I cannot stress this enough.  I think this is the reason most people feel as though they CAN”T.  I don’t like hearing I can’t or it’s too hard.  Rubbish.  If you set your mind to something you can do it!  But again, What are you willing to do to meet your goal?

Last night I saw a DVD I had ordered a few weeks back.  It was my second time watching it and I thought since I am doing what I am doing it would serve as a good inspiration.  The DVD is called “RAW for 30 Days”.  The DVD is a documentary on individuals diagnosed with diabetes.  Each individual is placed on a RAW FOOD diet.  They are taken off their meds and onto a healthier routine for 30 days.  The entire documentary takes place in Arizona at the Tree of Life Resort run by Gabriel Cousens.

Although not everyone stuck it out, it was nice to see all the different things they were being fed and there is even a bonus DVD you can order.  (I hope to be offering this in the future on my blog, but for now if you do a google search you will find lot’s of outlets. )

The nice thing about the bonus DVD is the recipe ideas and information given.  I have looked up many of the people featured on the Bonus DVD and it was really great to see some people who I never thought would have been on it.  Brenden Brazier has a few excerpts on the DVD interviews.  Woody Harrelson, Michael Beckwith (The Secret), Tim Robbins, and more.  Check it out.  If for no other reason that to prove that VITAL food is a VITAL source we need for our bodies!

DINNER

Last night and tonight I am determined to use up the rest of the ingredients left over.  I had a few buckwheat pizza crusts left, 2 Wraps from the Falafel meal, Tortilla Chips, Nut Cheese, Pumpkin Pesto, Raw Marinara and mole.  The mole is a difficult one.  I don’t know what else to make with it.  I noticed a sage type of nut pattie on another blog I was looking at.  The blog is Beautiful Living Food in Vermont.  You can visit the website by clicking over the name above.  Maybe that will go good with the mole.  I will have to think about it.  I made the tamales already so I will have to put my brain to work.

I had one huge green zebra tomato left, a few buckwheat pizza crusts -   all of the neccesities to make a RAW Italian Plate.  I made the Living Lasagna with the green zebra tomato, a few thin slices of zucchini, and all of the fixins.  I also made up a slice of pizza and a nice salad with avocado on the side.  Avocados! Avocados! How I love them.  They are food of the God’s!   When I was a little girl I didn’t like avocado unless it was made into guacamole.  Now I can eat it with a spoon out of it’s shell.  Delicious!

So this is what I ended up with for dinner…

I attempted to put some moons to the right hand side, but I don’t think I have a good handle of my new digital enhancing program yet.  If you couldn’t already tell.

Update:  Still no voice, but overall I feel good.  I am happy that I have managed to make it to day 10 without feeling like giving up or without any more sickness.  Onward and Upward! Thank you for reading this posting.

Namaste!