Happy International Raw Food Day! All you have to do to take part is "go raw" for 24 hours -- and feel the difference. Give it the test: Can you really achieve dramatic results in just 24 hours?
Summer is in full swing and my veggies are getting bigger by the day. I planted my first lettuce earlier this year and I've been like a kid running out to "go shopping" in my garden for salad each day. You might think I'm an expert, what with my 'raw food lifestyle' . . .but you'd be wrong. I just got started with this backyard gardening adventure and I'm loving it. There is so much to learn. I know this is one of those 'learn by doing' kinda things. The more I do anything, the more I learn. I am such a visual learner, and this time of year is great for veggie lessons. Oh, I shouldn't forget the fruit! Wow! the orchard is so abundant this year. We had a little bit of late rain and everyone (I'm talking about the tree-persons) loved it. Big puffy vines and trees of all sorts, so as the seasons go along, we'll have plentiful raspberries, blackberries, peaches, and persimmons. This is when we fire up that second freezer for storing all that frozen fruit. Ready for all those Green Smoothies!
I seem to eat lighter in the summer, eating smaller portions more frequently. Here's my menu plan for Monday:
I start the day with a large glass of water with fresh squeezed lemon from the orchard. Blessed lemons! They produce their wonderfully zesty nectar year-around in almost any climate. This is part of every morning's wake-up ritual: a great gentle de-tox to start my systems. (My dentist suggests I follow the lemon juice with a glass of pure water, as the citric acid can be a problem for tooth enamel if I let it rattle around in my mouth. That last little sacramental glass of water is a special treat.)
A little later, two ounces of wheatgrass juice on an empty stomach -- another everyday thing for me. The healthy qualities of wheatgrass are too many for this month's newsletter, and a likely topic for an upcoming article. I always wait at least 30 minutes after wheatgrass before eating anything else, to let it do its wonders.
Breakfast for me is Green juice: cucumber, kale, celery, lemon, ginger and apple. Only the ginger comes from somewhere besides my garden. I like something to chew to go along with my green juice, and Monday morning I'll go out and gather a bowlful of garden fresh berries -- blueberries, strawberries, raspberries -- and cover them with a healthy scoop of coconut yogurt.
I have a busy morning, and hate to work when I'm peckish, so I'll sip another green drink whenever I have a little break. I'll be craving something savory, so I'll add some red pepper, herbs, and various greens -- whatever little pieces I have left over from yesterday's salads.
Things let up a little for a late lunch, and so I tuck into the day's first BIG salad -- lettuce, cucumber, squash, and basil from my garden, tomatoes, sprouts from my kitchen, seaweed, seasoned seeds topped with liquid gold dressing. YUM!
For Dinner, I'll be sharing a garden pizza with buckwheat crust, pesto, marinara and almond cheese with my husband Mike. And, of course, another gorgeous salad gathered when I go out shopping in my garden.
In my last newsletters, I have introduced some of my heroes to you -- people making a difference and enriching ours. This month, I've got another one for you: John Robbins, author extraordinaire and heir to the Baskins Robbins empire. Many years ago he chose to take a different route than the empire offered to him. He's gone on to become an avid speaker and advocate for healthy living. In person he's just as genuine as he appears in the media and through the pages of his books. He began Earth Save "to educate and teach people how to make healthy food choices," clear back in 1988. In their ongoing effort "to help low-income participants reduce their health care costs, and put them on a path of wellness and recovery, using a low-fat plant-based diet" and guided by founder John Robbins' philosophy -- "May all be fed, may all be healed, may all be loved" -- Earth Save has captured my heart and direct donations. John is one of many people doing amazing things in our plant strong community. I believe his work is making a real difference!
EarthSave's Hamburger Poster |
EarthSave's flagship model, Meals for Health, has been successfully rolled out in Sacramento to address what the World Health Organization (Who?)(Just kidding) identify as the major problem facing the poor, and everyone else: their food. This project is directed by men readers will recognize as heros of mine: Medical Director, John McDougall, MD, and Nutritional Director Jeff Novick MS, RD, LD, LN. Meals For Health teaches a diet that not only promotes a broad range of dramatic and lasting health benefits such as weight (fat) loss, but most importantly can also reverse serious illness, such as heart disease, without drugs. There's much more about the program here for those who want to delve. And here's some video if you'd rather watch than read.
We are not separate but connected in so many ways, on so many levels and John says it so well in this short video clip. "Every time one of us makes a choice to stand for life, to live with respect for themselves and one another, to live with reverence for the whole earth community, every time one of us makes that life affirming choice against whatever obstacles might be there, something is strengthened in all of us. And in that strengthening and power we rest and grow and we can depend on who we really area which is our interconnectedness with spirit, life, essence and truth".
Visit my website calendar for class information.
The third annual Raw Health Expo is coming to Sebastopol this month. Mark your calendars now for the event July 23 and 24, 2011 and check out their website. Produced by John Kohler (discountjuicers.com) this event is growing by leaps and bounds every year since its beginning. Join raw food luminaries, local farmers and raw food enthusiasts for a fun, educational and mouth watering weekend. Check their website for early bird discount offers.
Please visit our website for the latest Potluck information.
Our links library continues to grow at the Rawsome Creations website. We have added an "Organizations that Matter" category, and invite you to nominate organizations that you believe are doing important work. Every little link helps.
Join us on Facebook, where we can share photos, recipes, tips, reviews and questions!
Here's a fun movie: "The Greenhorns" about farmers learning how to "go organic," especially the next generation of farmers going back to the land. It's short and lively, a nice little mouthful of food for thought.
Lydia's Café is expanding and opening the Sunflower Center in Petaluma. Located at 1435 North McDowell Rd., the new location will be a community space, restaurant, and production facility -- opening very soon. Here is an article about the expansion from the North Bay Business Journal and I'll keep you posted on all the happenings.
And Café Gratitude just keeps on growing. They've opened their first Los Angeles restaurant on the corner of Larchmont and Melrose, right in the heart of things. A Santa Cruz locale is set for an August opening and a second Southern California location at Venice Beach is set for next Spring.
I always liked yogurt and was so happy to discover a non-dairy version. I hope you enjoy this quick and easy recipe: coconut yogurt.
"It's easier to digest a global problem when you understand it on a personal level." -- I can't remember where I heard this or who said it, but for me, it says it all. In all my teachings, writings, lectures and this newsletter I strive to share what seems to be confusing in a way that's clearer for me to understand and in that, clearer for each of you. I hope I'm successful.
Thanks again for reading. I appreciate your time, your input and your energy.
I have an exciting story to tell, and a new hero to introduce.... |
I've always loved to travel. . .... |