Sugar and Cookies and Cakes..OH MY!

It has been a long process to get to this point in my postings.

This blog is dedicated to LONGEVITY, RUNNING, YOGA & THE EXPLORATION of HEALING OUR BODIES.

That being said…I sometimes wonder if the name VEG888 keeps viewers from finding this blog, if the subject matter keeps people from commenting, or maybe people just don’t like it…

I am hoping you have arrived here because you are on a journey to heal  your body or maybe looking for some healthy options and/or information.  However you ended up here at the VEG888 Blog I welcome you!

I will however continue to dedicate my time to ALL SUBJECT MATTER ABOVE!

On to health…

I have said it before and I will say it again. If you talk to people about their diet or their God you will receive some level of hostility.

The internet is alive with all of the stories and commentaries regarding Paula Deen and her Type 2 diabetes.  

Ok Yeah the woman is going to become ill with her general menu she shares with everyone.  However, no one is a victim here.  Each time she took in a sweet butter cake, each time she ate whatever it is she cooks and shares with the public she made a deal with disease.  She made this deal WAY BEFORE her unscrupulous deal with the pharmaceutical company she is supporting! 

This woman is literally full of… well I think you know what the next word was going to be!  Taking a pill for a problem is not the solution.  I tweeted the other day a quote I had found while researching Kombucha.  “The prevention of disease is better than the cure.”  And that is sooo true. 

Lots of delectable treats out there with refined sugars, eggs and dairy.

Whatever refined Sugar is mixed with becomes ONE of the secret killers in society.  

I’m not talking about dates, fruits, honey, etc.  I am talking about soda, candy, juices from concentrate and colored and sweetened waters, cakes, pies, cookies, breads, and anything manufactured with chemicals.

Holidays are infamous for extra pounds and feeling full along with feeling bloated. I suppose at times the psyche of “It’s a celebration!” or “It is just around the holidays and then I will start new over the new year!” set in.

Truth be told.  It is a killer.  90% of diseases begin in the belly! 

Work ethic and physical laziness are two very different modes.  I think society confuses them at times.  Simply Paul Deen is lazy.  Taking a pharmaceutical pill for her type 2 diabetes is lazy! 

Now, the woman has built an empire selling her delectable treats and all her other “products”.  In order for her to have built this empire, she has some form of work ethic.  My question is: Will she take the Peta Vegan Challenge to heal her body?  As much as I hate to see someone ill, if you have been informed of a kinder road to follow and you totally dismiss it…

There are so many instances at this point which would show her there are options.  Don’t be lazy Paula! Fix it with food, fix it with herbs and definitely EXERCISE!  Come on!  You don’t wake up with weight gain and disease.  It occurs over time!

I cannot say that anyone should place too much condemnation on the woman for having Diabetes.  We are all guilty of various bad behaviors.  We are all guilty of not always making the best call for our bodies.

My taste tester always says…”Don’t point fingers at anyone, because there will be 3 pointing right back at you!”  I found that to be true!  So I will not condemn her.  Some say she should have been more honest.  Some say she should have said something earlier. But realistically is it anyones business?  

All in all her health is her business…and much more of a business than ever before!  I think the only way to fall into positive grace with the public would be to do the vegan challenge and heal herself!  Return the money and LIVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE!  Drop the butter and the fat Paul Deen! Embrace vegetables.  Embrace all of the different forms of information out there.  See the RAW for 30 days video! 

Can I have someones opinion out there? That is all I would like to say about Paula Deen.  I just had to get that out there!

Onto Race Day Morning Treats…

The evening before the race I had broccoli and mushrooms with some spicy tomato sauce and a good 5 hours of sleep.  I admit I would have liked to have slept longer, but I wasn’t able to since we had company.  I must say having the kids at the house is a delight so it was well worth it! (Thumbs up)

Before we got to the race I drank water and a Blackberry Chia.

After the race I enjoyed a wonderful Coconut Mango Mama Chia, a Yoga Bar and a RAW Spirulina Bar!  They were great!  I also tried the new Kombucha Chia Drink by GT’s.  That was absolutely DIVINE!

 Have you tried a great energy bar you think I should try?

Well it is 10 days until the Chinese Firecracker Race and I am totally excited!!! The hill leading up to Dodger Stadium is my goal to conquer!

Thanks for reading!

Love and Light!

Namaste!

Mango Salad Adventures – Part III & FREE GIVEAWAY!

Thank you to all who have entered the raffle!

If you haven’t joined please find all the details here!

One of the most beautiful things in life is the experience of our senses.

Feeling water on your skin in the shower, the releif felt when you are sitting and are lucky enough to have someone rubbing your feet, sitting and relaxing in the comfort of your home enjoying a really good movie, book or the scent of beautiful food being prepared in the kitchen….

Life can be a beautiful experience.  It can also be a bit of a challenge at times as well.  Just remember to breathe, stay in the moment and accept that nothing except PURE LOVE lasts forever! (I don’t necessarily mean man and woman love either. PURE LOVE IS PURE LOVE!) 

I looked over all of my recipes I keep in a notebook and saw the last recipe I had been working on was a Vietnamese Mango Salad.  It was a nice switch in heat than the previous night.  I also made a RAW SOUP recipe I had been working on!

Here we go…

RAW CO/CONUT & AVOCADO SOUP

1/2 of the flesh of one coconut

Water from one Coconut

2 4″ pieces Lemongrass

2 tbs. fresh mint

1 Large Avocado

4 cloves Garlic

1 Handful Cilantro, chopped

1 Seranno Chile

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbs White Miso

Preparation: Place coconut water, lemongrass, mint, and 2 cloves of garlic into food processor.  Process with the “S” blade until it is uniformly as smooth as possible.  Using a nut bag, muslin fabric, or strainer – Strain liquid.  Set the pulp aside.  Place the broth back into the food processor and add the avocado, lime and lemon juice, miso, cilantro, remaining garlic, and serrano chile.  Process.

VIETNAMESE MANGO SALAD

1/2 cup lime juice (Approximately 4-6 limes)

1 tbs.  Raw Agave Syrup

1 tbl. Fresh Ginger cut into matchstick strips

1 tbl. Sesame Oil

1 Small Shallot, minced

1 Serrano Chile, minced

1 tbl. Raw Sesame Seeds

1 Handful Mint, chopped

1 Handful Cilantro, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/3 cup Sake

1 Ripe Mango, Sliced

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a bowl except the mango.  (Allow to sit about 1/2 hour) Slice Mango and allow to marinate another 15 minutes.  Take out Mango slices and set aside.  Save remaining dressing for the next recipe.

NOTE: I made a sort of Cucumber, Cilantro relish with the rest of the dressing to put on top of the soup.  The texture of the relish went really nice with the creaminess of the soup.  It is included after the mango salad since you will be using the dressing. Also, I made the dressing, then made the soup above, then sliced the mango, etc.)

CUCUMBER RELISH

1 Cucumber, peeled and cubed

1 Handful Fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped

1 Handful Fresh Mint, roughly chopped

Preparation:  Place all ingredients into remaining dressing from Mango Salad.  Allow to marinate 15 minutes and place on top of soup.

Thanks for stopping by!

Live in Light & Love!

Namaste!

Mango Salad Adventures – Part II & FREE GIVEAWAY!

FREE GIVEAWAY!!!

Raw for 30 Days DVD!!!

All you have to do to enter the raffle is leave a comment and/or subscribe to this blog!  (Pretty easy, huh?) I will draw the lucky name on March 27, 2010!!!

Now let’s get to those wonderful mangos!

Last night I began making a spicy powdered mixture for the Ripe Mangos I received from the universe.  I figured that was the best thing to do.

Initially I was going to go with an Japanese theme for dinner last night, however I ended up on an Indian note. I’ll explain…

There is a spice mixture used in Japanese cuisine called “Shichimi Togarashi”.  The ingredients are dried chilies, black peppercorns, tangerine peel, black sesame seeds, minced garlic, and white poppy seeds.

As I looked around my spice cabinet I realized that my memory had failed me once again…No white poppy seeds, and I was also missing  few of the other ingredients.  I went with all of the new indian spices I had purchased at India Sweet & Spice.

This is the mixture I made:

2 tbs.  red kashmiri dried chilis

1 tbs. tangerine peel

1 tbs. lemmon peel

1 drop organic lemon essential oil

1 drop organic orange essential oil

3 garlic cloves

2 tsp. nori

2 tsp. black sesame seeds

2 tsp raw hemp seeds

Preparation: Grind all ingredients and put in a small airtight dish to save.  This will make approximately 1/8 of a cup.

Next…

I cut the mangos into slices and placed them in a large bowl.  I added 1 large scoop of the spice mixture I had just made.

As I was experimenting with my next dish to serve with dinner last night I came up with a RAW BIRYANI RICE recipe!

What is Biryani? Biryani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) (بریان) which means “fried” or “roasted”.

Biryani was brought to the Indian Subcontinent by Muslim travelers and merchants. Local variants of this dish are not only popular in South Asia but also in Arabia and within various South Asian communities in Western countries.

The spices and continents used in biryani may include but are not limited to: peas, beans, cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander and mint leaves, ginger, onions, and garlic. The premium varieties include saffron.

The difference between biryani and pullao is that while pullao may be made by cooking the items together, biryani is used to denote a dish where the rice (plain or fried) is cooked separately from the thick sauce (curry of Meat or vegetables). The curry and the rice are then brought together and layered resulting in a dish of the contrasting flavours of unflavored rice(which has a hint of the aromas and juices of the curry) and intensely flavored sauce and meat or vegetables. (Wikipedia)

RAW BIRYANI RICE

1 Large Parsnip

5 Sund Dried Tomatoes

2 tbls Spicy Sambar Masala

1 tsp Tumeric

1 tbl. Cumin

1 Handful Fresh Cilantro

1 Large Handful Raisins

3-4 Cloves Garlic

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup peas

Preparation:  Peel and chop parsnip.  Place the parsnip in Food Processor with “S” blade and process until it resembles rice.  Place in a bowl and set aside.  Place all other ingredients into the food processor.  It should be a very chunky and be extremly fragrant!!!! YUM!

Here is the Parsnip Rice…

The spice mixture before the rice…

Everything all mixed up and redy to serve…

Here is the final presentation…

I added the peas last, since I didn’t want them to get squished while I was mixing in the spice mixture into the parsnip rice.

My taste tester was quite pleased with this meal I must say!!!  He said he could smell the mangos and chili mixture from the kitchen while he was relaxing in the living room.  Very excited about this dish!  I will definitly be making this again!

Thanks for visiting my blog and don’t forget to ENTER THE RAFFLE!!!

Namaste!

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!