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Here are the pictures from my first Raw Thanksgiving. Karen Ranzi is the lady who hosted the party. She is writing a book about how to raise your kids Raw. This was an amazing event. It was one of the most loving environments I had ever been in with lots of little kids running around with fruits and vegetables crammed into their mouths. There was no alcohol, no soda, no cooked food. The energy there was very uplifting. The people were great. The food was out of this world. I am so inspired by this experience.

Marinated Beet Salad Again. The Raw Foodies loved it!

Marcio, my new friend. He was my vegetable chopper while making the beet salad. His hands were red from cutting beets.

Apple Strudel. This dish was a hit!

Raw Food Potluck

My new Brazilian friend Marcio and my new Brazillian Raw Food Chef, Bruno. Bruno is a Raw Food Chef from Brazil studying English here in NYC. Marcio and Bruno spoke Porteguese all night long. Marcio is from Brazil also and has lived in this are for over 20 years. He is into raw food and yoga and does computer programming for work. Bruno is going to teach me how to prepare some Raw Brazillian recipes and Marcio is going to translate for me.

Marcio and Bruno

Here are some of the books I have read recently.

Health & Nutrition
You Are What You Eat, Dr. Gillian McKeith
Spiritual Nutrition, Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
Conscious Eating, Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine, Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
Raw Success, Mat Monarch
The Acid Alkaline Diet, Christopher Vasey, N.D.
Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for Life, Cherie Calbom, MS
The Joy of Juicing, Gary Null, Ph.D.
RAWvolution, Matt Amsden

Spiritual
A New Earth, Ekhart Tolle
Change Your Thoughts–Change Your Life, Living the Wisdom of the Tao, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Raw Foodism is a type of under eating. What I mean by under eating is exactly that, the opposite of overeating. Under eating is conscious eating. By choosing a full spectrum of raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, and seeds how could you possibly become unsatisfied with your eating lifestyle? For me, I know what going Raw is not. It is not a trendy diet, or another means to lose weight. Raw is about living life with passion in the most natural way that nature intended. Going Raw is about cultivating passion for optimal health. In other words, going Raw is about losing the weight of the world and tapping into your own biorhythm. Living Raw is an act of self-love that perpetuates itself into the universe. As with any pattern of behavior obsessions and addictions can manifest. Food addictions and unhealthy eating patterns are no different than alcohol and drug addiction. I truly believe that everyone has an internal physician inside. If we slow down our pace and cultivate enough self-love we can access the kind of healing that we all deserve. By eliminating poor food choices from our diet and by incorporating more healthy, organic, and raw food choices it is possible to increase your energy level and clarity of mind in a relatively short time. At least it did for me, and I am grateful for it. I am ready for the next level.

This desert came out amazing. I should be a raw chef. Here are the ingredients.

3 organic apples of choice. I used pink ladies.
1/4 c raw organic walnuts ground
1/2 c raw organic walnut pieces
1/8 tsp cinnamon
3 tbls raw organic agave nectar

Crust
1 c of Lydia’s Grainless Apple Cereal
1/4 c water

Icing
3 tbls of raw organic macadamia butter with cashews
1 tbls raw organic agave nectar

Peel apples and shred in food processor with shredding blade turned up. Place shredded apples in mixing bowl. Add cinnamon, crushed walnuts, and agave nectar. Stir well. Place cereal mix in the bottom of a 9×9 glass dish. Rehydrate cereal with water. Place apple mixture evenly on top of crust. Add walnut pieces. For icing, mix macadamia butter and agave nectar till smooth. Place in a pastry tool or plastic bag and squeeze on top of tart.

Top 3 Reasons to go Organic…
1. Conventional Farming uses Pesticides, Herbicides and Fungicides which are know to be carcinogenic. Eating Organic foods reduces your exposure to these harmful toxins.
2. Organic Farming is Natural. Organic farmers are more conscious of how the land is being treated.
3. Organic farming reduces the risk to Farm Workers. Non-organic farmers are exposed to potentially dangerous chemicals.

All bodies must be fed at the cellular level. By consuming superfoods we can be sure that we are being fed.

There are 5 groups of superfoods. Superfoods are the most powerful nutrient-dense foods you can consume. They have no calories and no bad fats. They are powerhouses that transform unhealthy bodies into more healthy bodies.

1. Green Superfoods
2. Bee Superfoods
3. Herb Superfoods
4. Sea Vegetables
5. Leafy Superfoods

The highest source of protein comes from Algae. Algaes are considered to be the Miracle Superfood.
1. Wild Blue-Green Algae
2. Spirulina
3. Chlorella

During the summer of 2008 I was in Barnes & Noble looking for a book by Wayne Dyer on the Tao Te Ching. While they didn’t have that particular book, they had another book instead that caught my eye called “You Are What You Eat”. The book literally just fell off the shelf into my hands with its bright green cover and raw content. This book changed my life dramatically. I wasn’t even looking for a lifestyle change or even a diet to lose weight. It is now October 28, 2008, my 44th birthday and I have started this blog. I have lost 20 lbs since June through subtle changes in my diet. I am currently around 80% raw and 95% organic. I eliminated fried foods, frozen foods, processed foods all at once at the front end. Then I gradually eliminated wheat, dairy, and flesh. After that I started to eliminate cooked foods. I started to use food as an experiment. I started supplementing with superfoods and drinking fresh vegetable juices. I have added some cooked foods back into my diet along with sheep yogurt and a little goat cheese. I stopped eating out in restaurants. That alone will shift your consciousness. I prepare all of my own food. I have come to realize that this is an act of love.

Skin is the largest organ. It pays to put the highest quality, natural, organic ingredients on our skin. Dr. Mercola’s Natural Body Butter amazing. One of the few 100% certified organic body care products on the market. I also like Dr. Mercola very much. I think that he really cares about his customers. He has an amazing customer service philosophy. I love my body butter. I am currently using the lavender scent. There is an orange scent available also. Dr. Mercola gives great discounts for purchasing in quantity.

I also use the Krill Oil supplement with Evening Primrose Oil. This product is great for your skin and lubricating your system. I also purchased this product in quantity and received a great discount.

Lemon Cranberry Acorn Squash Tart

3 c organic acorn squash
1 c organic cranberries
2 tbls grated organic ginger
1 tbls grated organic lemon peel
1 organic lemon juiced
1/4 c raw organic agave nectar
2 tbls raw organic virgin coconut oil
1/4 c raw organic coconut flakes

Peel squash and cut into bite size pieces. Mix all of the ingredients and place in a ziploc bag to marinate for 2 hours. Place mix into square baking dish, top with more coconut and bake at 350 degrees for around 45 minutes or until soft. This dish is very tart but good in small servings like a warm relish.

For those of you who are in transition including myself. Here is a recipe that is half cooked and half raw. I like to start with one simple cooked ingredient and everything else in the recipe is raw.

Cooked Ingredients
2 c cooked organic brown rice

Raw Ingredients
2 organic plum tomatoes
1/4 c organic cilantro
1/4 c organic italian parsley
1/4 c organic red onion
1/4 c organic green onions
2 tbls raw organic tahini
1 tbls organic olive oil
1 tbls organic flax oil

Seasoning
1 tbls organic sesame oil
1 tbls organic tamari soy sauce
Celtic Sea Salt
Pepper

Cook rice to desired tenderness. Chop vegetables into small pieces. Mix ingredients together. The Tahini gives the rice its sauce and great flavor. You could make this dish completely raw by replacing the rice with soaked wheat berries or soaked bulgar wheat.