Tag Archive for: lifestyle

How to Deal with Social Pressures on a Raw Food Diet

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I consider myself very lucky to have a few raw food vegan friends (ok, 2)…but it really helps when you try this new path and way of living to try to find others around you doing it too, mainly just as an avenue to share thoughts or ideas and also to help inspire and motivate.

Often I find if I am in a ‘normal’ group of people, they immediately begin to defend and preach about why they think eating meat is essential or why eating cooked foods is necessary, and I find it, well to be honest, exhausting sometimes. I am never judging others for what they eat or don’t eat, and in that respect I find it quite harsh when I feel people judging me. What’s da dilly guys?? Can’t you just accept me for who I am where I am on my life’s journey? I accept you unconditionally, regardless… so why all the fuss???

What a wonderful world it would be if we all had more love and compassion for each other. Friendship should be about support and acceptance, yes?

Where's the Love??

Where\’s the Love??

One time last year while I was on a 100% raw food diet, I went out with friends for a meal. I mainly went out to appease my one friend – her other 2 friends I didn’t even know…anyway my friend at the time knew I was eating raw foods, but mentioned nothing of it at the meal and I proceeded to order a salad without a hitch, also not mentioning any special dietary requirements myself. All safe and cruisy on the down-low. My friend then ordered a Bailey’s shake made with coconut and banana…when she tried it she said ‘Jennifer you must try this it’s amazing…’ so I said ok, and had a sip. At that VERY moment, her friend immediately commented a ‘Oh, so much for the raw food diet!’ I said’ ‘Excuse me? There isn’t any milk in the shake…’ And she said’ ‘Um, Bailey’s, DAIRY, Hello???’ I mean, can you imagine???? In front of a group of people having this stranger try to humiliate me? If I had any ego whatsoever about the diet, maybe, maybe, I could see that response, but never did I ever mention it to anyone….I was horrified to know that I was being watched like a hawk when I was simply trying to experiment with a healthier way of living.

The whole ‘healthier than thou’ tactic to me is quite elitist, condescending, and ultimately self-defeating.

These are some of the obstacles you may face when transitioning to a better diet and lifestyle.

Celebrate your differences!

Celebrate your differences!

And this is why I mention how wonderful it can be when you meet others who are already on your same journey and who help to uplift, love, support and inspire you – it is very important to find a few people like that on your journey! When you find them, stick together!!

True friends will love and support you no matter what you eat or don’t eat, but they are rare gems in this world today, and when you find them, keep them!

Anyway, my 2 raw food friends had recommended some books for me to read and I am so grateful that I asked because I am now reading them and have learned so much new information already!

Based on the one, I am going to try more green vegetable smoothies and see if I can feel a difference…up to this point I was having my ‘standard’ smoothie but with more fruit mainly and just spirulina as a green…now I see that I must add the whole green veggie as well – spinach, kale, bok choy, etc….today I made my first one and it was great!

Green Smoothie Recipe:

  • Fresh Kale
  • Fresh pineapple, banana, & papaya
  • Ground Flax Seed
  • Probiotics
  • Water

More on Detox and pH Health:

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How to Deal with Social Pressures on a Raw Food Diet

by

I consider myself very lucky to have a few raw food vegan friends (ok, 2)…but it really helps when you try this new path and way of living to try to find others around you doing it too, mainly just as an avenue to share thoughts or ideas and also to help inspire and motivate.

Often I find if I am in a ‘normal’ group of people, they immediately begin to defend and preach about why they think eating meat is essential or why eating cooked foods is necessary, and I find it, well to be honest, exhausting sometimes. I am never judging others for what they eat or don’t eat, and in that respect I find it quite harsh when I feel people judging me. What’s da dilly guys?? Can’t you just accept me for who I am where I am on my life’s journey? I accept you unconditionally, regardless… so why all the fuss???

What a wonderful world it would be if we all had more love and compassion for each other. Friendship should be about support and acceptance, yes?

Where's the Love??

Where\’s the Love??

One time last year while I was on a 100% raw food diet, I went out with friends for a meal. I mainly went out to appease my one friend – her other 2 friends I didn’t even know…anyway my friend at the time knew I was eating raw foods, but mentioned nothing of it at the meal and I proceeded to order a salad without a hitch, also not mentioning any special dietary requirements myself. All safe and cruisy on the down-low. My friend then ordered a Bailey’s shake made with coconut and banana…when she tried it she said ‘Jennifer you must try this it’s amazing…’ so I said ok, and had a sip. At that VERY moment, her friend immediately commented a ‘Oh, so much for the raw food diet!’ I said’ ‘Excuse me? There isn’t any milk in the shake…’ And she said’ ‘Um, Bailey’s, DAIRY, Hello???’ I mean, can you imagine???? In front of a group of people having this stranger try to humiliate me? If I had any ego whatsoever about the diet, maybe, maybe, I could see that response, but never did I ever mention it to anyone….I was horrified to know that I was being watched like a hawk when I was simply trying to experiment with a healthier way of living.

The whole ‘healthier than thou’ tactic to me is quite elitist, condescending, and ultimately self-defeating.

These are some of the obstacles you may face when transitioning to a better diet and lifestyle.

Celebrate your differences!

Celebrate your differences!

And this is why I mention how wonderful it can be when you meet others who are already on your same journey and who help to uplift, love, support and inspire you – it is very important to find a few people like that on your journey! When you find them, stick together!!

True friends will love and support you no matter what you eat or don’t eat, but they are rare gems in this world today, and when you find them, keep them!

Anyway, my 2 raw food friends had recommended some books for me to read and I am so grateful that I asked because I am now reading them and have learned so much new information already!

Based on the one, I am going to try more green vegetable smoothies and see if I can feel a difference…up to this point I was having my ‘standard’ smoothie but with more fruit mainly and just spirulina as a green…now I see that I must add the whole green veggie as well – spinach, kale, bok choy, etc….today I made my first one and it was great!

Green Smoothie Recipe:

  • Fresh Kale
  • Fresh pineapple, banana, & papaya
  • Ground Flax Seed
  • Probiotics
  • Water

More on Detox and pH Health:

More on Raw Food:

More on Organic Food:

Day 8: Detox & Juice Fasting in Koh Samui, Thailand

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I'm fasting and I'm feeling fine...

I\’m fasting and I\’m feeling fine…

Well actually I think the ‘breakthrough’ happened on Day 6 for me..but I’ve been too busy to write these last 2 days. Sunday was my 6th day on the program but technically my 7th day of fasting, and I decided to use the opportunity to treat myself for having gotten through the first week.

The first thing I did was buy a juicer. And all I can say is WOW!

My entire world has changed since then!! I am so happy to have the freedom to make whatever juice I want whenever I want! I came home with the juicer and after cleaning it out went straight for my first concoction on this nice clean virgin juicer – love the sound of a good motor – I combined fresh pineapple, apple and ginger and I honestly think it was one of the BEST juices I have ever had!! Somehow it was the perfect amount of each, all at perfect freshness, and ok after 7 days of fasting it may have tasted a bit better than normal, but it was pretty close to heaven on earth for me! I must add that I had not bought one previously because I don’t actually have a kitchen in my bungalow and that has put me off wanting to mess around with the hassle, but I can tell you it is only a hassle if you make it one – it’s really not bad, and since I’ve been making a lot of smoothies and salads at home anyway, the juicer was the next logical step.

In addition to the juicer, I bought a $3 tray table which is now officially my new kitchen. Up until now, I have been cutting up fruits and veggies on a cutting board on the floor of my bungalow and it didn’t really bother me but I knew there was room for improvement. Can I tell you how incredibly happy I was to even get 10″ off the floor?? I was absolutely THRILLED!! So there I was using my new setup cutting up everything for my new juice. You may think I am a bit simple, but keep in mind that I did cook all my meals on the ground outside in all weather conditions imaginable for 6 months when I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, so even preparing meals on a clean tiled floor was pretty luxurious for me. We really don’t need as much as we think we do in life!

Then I proceeded to prepare some dishes for my friends who were having a Mexican Feast at their house that night. I wasn’t too crazy about not being able to enjoy the foods, but I still wanted to be social, and really it is only one meal missed in the course of many gatherings amongst friends in life – not a big deal to let it slide. For some reason I seem to love cooking when I am fasting – I think it’s because you really take the time to smell and feel the foods and there is no urgency to throw it together because you can’t eat it anyway so you tend to take your time and actually enjoy the art of preparing. With my new ‘kitchen’ again I was thrilled…I had my music playing and my door open to the view of the sea and I just took my time chopping and mixing and loving life.

Simple moments..

Anyway I made a guacamole and fresh salsa…I don’t tend to use recipes much; I just see what feels right and I swear somehow that day the combinations were channeled to me – I was in a zone and just mixing together the perfect blends and textures, without ever even being able to taste the food.

Kind-of like Beethoven composing the Ninth Symphony when he was deaf – ha! That’s how it felt anyway!!

The guacamole was basically fresh avocado, onion, garlic, tomato, cayenne pepper, fresh chilies, fresh chives, black pepper, fresh lime, salt, yellow bell pepper, and olive oil. The salsa was a masterpiece – tomato, fresh coriander, onion, vinegar, olive oil, cayenne pepper, fresh chillies, fresh lime, fresh chives, salt, and fresh pineapple. Will definitely be attempting to re-create them again once the fast is over.

Sunset at Kamalaya...A Great End to the Day

Sunset at Kamalaya…A Great End to the Day

After all that it was time for my next ‘treat.’ I headed down to Kamalaya Spa in Koh Samui and splashed out entirely for a proper colonic hydrotherapy. Believe it or not, it was my first ever! All these years I’ve been quite happy using enemas and colemas and I didn’t really see the need in spending the money for anything else. Still I was curious…well perhaps the details are best saved for another entry but I can say that I was very happy with the results and was happy with the decision to try it and I would definitely consider doing it again while fasting.

From there I went to the Mexican night and I can report that the reviews for my creations were excellent. Even though I couldn’t indulge, it made me happy to see others enjoy.

All in all a wonderful day of fasting.

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Healing – Sharing – Flowering – Transformation – Change

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Blossoming, Healing, Living

Blossoming, Healing, Living

These were my Tarot cards that came up on the Osho Zen Tarot today (no joke!) and so I knew it must be time to update the website, finally. I’ve been under the radar for awhile, out of touch with updating my websites, but not for lack of content, just lack of a positive perspective perhaps. I’ve had a very rough time in my life the last several months and I have fought hard both physically and emotionally to pull through it. Amazingly enough, I found that I was able to keep to about an 80% raw food diet despite everything, and for that I am so grateful because really, in times of stress, your body needs good nutrition more than any other time. At the moment I am back to about 90% raw, and working to get closer and closer to 100% every day.

We will all face challenges involving pain and suffering in our lives, and we must remember to take care of ourselves and feed our bodies well during those times.

Forgiveness is a Blessing!

Forgiveness is a Blessing!

The transformation and change part stem from the ability to forgive those who have hurt me during this process. It is important to note that forgiveness is not at all a sign of weakness; it is merely part of the ‘letting go’ process. We will never truly heal if we do not find a way to forgive those who have hurt us. And forgiving ourselves is equally as important. I will not lose my faith in human kindness!! There so many more people who have inspired and motivated me through life than those who have disappointed me!

I continue to surround myself with positive energy and kind-hearted souls.

I plan to do another fast/cleanse again soon and hope that I can transition to 100% raw food again after the cleansing. We will see how I go. In the meantime, I have been enjoying a wonderful morning smoothie inspired by my lovely Hawaiian friends Zeoc, Jen and Micah. You should definitely give this one a try…

In a blender combine:

Frozen chopped bananas
Fresh pineapple and papaya
Spirulina powder
Ground flax seeds
Goat’s yogurt
Probiotics (2-3 capsules opened)
Coconut Oil

Blend and enjoy – Yum-bo!

Can also add bee pollen, honey, flax seed oil, hemp oil, or liquid mineral supplements.

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Traveling on a Raw Diet: Eating Raw Food in a Cooked World

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Gotta admit that it’s been tough sticking to the raw food diet whilst being in Australia…but not impossible!!!

Healthy in WA

Healthy in WA

There are so many yummy foods to tempt me away from the healthy stuff..but the amazing thing is that I don’t actually crave any junk, a good thing indeed!

I’ve been mainly eating all fruits during the day while at work, and I find it so very interesting because I have high energy all day while the other girls (mostly 10 years younger than me) are all tired and dragging themselves around.

Better fuel runs a better car, there is no denying it!

At night I generally have a salad and I am absolutely loving the spinach, kale, silverbeet and other fresh greens here that you can’t get in Thailand!!! Yum yum…

The only other thing I was really wanting was a juicer…and low and behold I went to a Lions Club Garage sale on Saturday, and I got a Breville juicer, 4 tupperware containers, a tea strainer and a cooler bag ALL for $5!!!! So even as a ‘backpacker,’ it is still possible and affordable to be healthy.

Just takes some focus, determination and willpower!!

Loving Margaret River, WA

Loving Margaret River, WA

Speaking of backpackers, I find it amazing and actually kind-of sad how many other young people I have met in the month I’ve been back in oz who are strung out on pills, speed, anti-depressants or all of the above. What is happening to people in the world? It’s really unbelievable, I mean these people are out travelling and they probably won’t even remember half of the experience!! I am definitely in the minority eating salads and often choosing not to drink, but who cares, because I FEEL GREAT!

Treats this week from Margaret River WA: fresh figs, organic grapes, raw honey, plums, plums and more plums!

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Traveling Raw: Raw Food Thailand to Raw Food Australia

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Raw Food Bliss in Thailand!

Raw Food Bliss in Thailand!

Well it’s time for the test – can I manage to eat an all-raw diet in the ‘real world’? I have been living in Thailand for the last 10 months, and it’s been very easy maintaining a healthy diet there – with the large amount of fresh tropical fruits and veggies, who would want to eat anything else?? I’ve left Thailand for a break from Asia and now only time will tell if I can maintain a healthy lifestyle in a western country…

And the results so far are: GOOD!

Can I be this healthy in Australia?

Can I be this healthy in Australia?

I’ve been in Perth Australia for nearly a week now. And can I just tell you how much I am loving the fresh spinach, peaches and plums?? All of these things you just can’t get in Asia, at least not fresh or at a decent price…and here – wow! Honestly I think I needed a break from the pineapple, watermelon and papaya anyway…although I could never grow tired of durian!!

It’s great to be here and to be exploring having a variety of different fresh foods.

Also I seem to be influencing others around me in a positive way – the friends that I am staying with (thank you!!) are all enjoying my fresh salads each evening. It’s fun to eat healthy foods together – try it – you will feel happy and satiated instead of full and bloated!!!! You will sleep better, feel better and have unlimited energy all day!!!

I’ve got more work to do on this site, so please be patient while the beauty and inspiration unfolds…til then here is to your good health!!!

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