moustache magazine + water fast

hello, lovelies. i'm sorry i don't have much to share today in the way of recipes. but i do have an interview on a trendy australian website/magazine! it was really fun to do, and the girl who interviewed me is super cool.

check it out, if you want to! here's the link.

otherwise, i'm just gonna ramble about my upcoming cleanse and water fast. feel free to escape now. 

from wednesday, june 20th to friday, 29th i will on a 100% raw cleanse, having mostly liquids. i think i'll be consuming a lot of green juice and smoothies, as well as some fruit and veggie juice. i'll drink tea, water and raw nut milks too. why those 10 days? well, i've been wanting to go on a serious cleanse for a while and the other day i happened upon this site called cleanse america. if click the link - you will see it's a nation-wide raw food/liquid cleanse that 1,000,000 americans are participating in...

how rawsome is that!?

i know i don't live in america, but hey - why not support the cause! everyone could use a cleanse, not just our friends in the states. it's also perfect because if you read my blog regularly, you'll know i've been set on a 21-day water fast for quite some time now. before i begin, i know i'll have to go on a mostly liquid diet for a few days so i will be doing my fast after this cleanse. 

in other words - my fast will begin on the 30th of june!

i'm so excited. i know it will be freaking hard, and by the 5th day i'll probably want to give up, but i need this. i have been less connected to my spirit and my passion for raw food lately. i am looking at this as a major challenge that will put me in an extreme situation and hopefully allow my to see my priorities more clearly than i have been recently.

as i've said, i know my parents don't think it's the greatest idea. but i'm not an idiot (most of the time) and if anything gets too intense or serious i will stop. i'm not worried though. the human body is an incredible, magical machine and it can survive a whole lot of crap. 

people might think it's unhealthy and crazy to abstain from food for 21 days. well i think it's crazy that so many people stuff themselves with junk food relentlessly every day. it seems cleanse america has the same opinion and that's why they're doing what they're doing. it's time to take back our fitness, because as i've said before - we now have the capability to have the most healthful lifestyle and diet ever. ever! let's take advantage of this and thrive as human beings. 

we don't need to suffer from cancer, diabetes, heart diease, obesity, stroke, and other chronic illnesses that cause us and everyone we care about pain and money. 
let's listen to hippocrates: "let they food be thy medicine and they medicine be thy food".

health is our wealth.

here's some related links that i found. you might like 'em. you might not.

a reliable site with thought-provoking articles.
go veg and protect yourself from modern lifestyle disease.
plant-based diet to beat lifestyle diseases!

eat to live

Hey guys and gals, I wanna tell you about the book I just finished reading. It's called Eat To Live, by Joel, M.D. Fuhrman. I highly recommend reading it; especially if you want to lose weight. It's great for every type of person to read. It basically explains why a mainly raw and vegan diet is best for everyone, along with some mild exercise. Fuhrman says to eat a lot of greens and veggies, along with some fruit and occasionally raw nuts, seeds and avocado.

He says his most important piece of advice is that "salad is the main dish". I love it. It's a great way to think about your diet. Because for most, a salad is something on the side that we must get through to enjoy our burger (if we even order the salad). 
Greens should be the BIGGEST part of our diet! Look at every other herbivore and omnivore out there.

I used to be a salad lover, then I found green smoothies and my love reached a whole nother level.  
But this book turned me on to salad again! I've been eating gargantuan salads everyday since I read it. They're wonderful, just like green smoothies, and a nice change-up. I just need to chew more =)

If you have read the China Study, you will like this book. If you haven't read the China Study, run to the nearest bookstore or library RIGHT NOW and get it. 
Eat To Live is similar in that it gives a non-biased, valid, and proven scientific explanation for why this diet is superior. At the same time, the language is still easy for most to understand.

There are chapters on cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other health problems; along with in-depth chapters about why raw plants are the perfect food for us; as well as success stories and before and after photos of people who have achieved amazing results with the diet. There's also recipes and a FAQ section, which I found useful. 

The only qualm I might have with the book is that Fuhrman says to avoid coconut because of it's high saturated fat content =(  
I understand why he says this, because the demographic that's reading this book is usually over-weight, middle-aged people who have tried everything to lose weight and regain health... not exactly me. 
For these people, if they want that weight gone as soon as possible, then I suppose avoiding coconut isn't bad advice. But it's not great advice either. Coconut oil has many benefits, as does it's meat. It's saturated fat is in fact quite healthy for us, unlike most other foods with saturated fat. Read more and get a recipe here.

Other than that one little thing, the book is excellent. Everyone should read this!

the dairy dilemma

You must forget everything the media and your momma (who's only been influenced by the media) have told you about milk. The dairy board is extremely powerful. Plain and simple.

All dairy is, is nasty antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals they pump into the poor dairy cows to keep them alive in their disgusting factory farms. If they didn't have all these drugs in them, they'd die immediately because the conditions are so dirty and gross.
They don't even feed them the right food, so the milk you're drinking isn't from a healthy animal. All their stress, pain and fear while alive creates disease in their bodies. I don't want that in mine. I also don't want to support the immoral treatment of dairy cows.

If you don't believe dairy cows are treating cruelly, watch Earthlings. 
Beware though, it's not for the faint of heart... it's reality. 
 

So even if you don't care that the cows were treated like dirt, I would hope you care about your own body. Milk causes all sorts of serious health problems. From osteoporosis (you heard me), to cancer, to diabetes, to kidney stones, the list goes on and on. I'm not kidding, people.

Why do we drink milk? Vitamin D, calcium, and protein, mainly.
Vitamin D: We should really only get from the sun, period. Maybe 10-20 minutes a day in sunlight. So go for a walk.
Calcium: Because milk is acidifying, and our bodies require an alkaline environment; we try to buffer the acidity with calcium.We can't use the calcium in milk anyways so our bodies have to LEECH CALCIUM FROM OUR BONES. Yep, that's right. Over time, milk thins your bones, doesn't strengthen them.
The very-absorbable calcium found in broccoli, other greens and plant foods strengthens your bones.
Protein: Ever heard of a protein deficiency? Me either. That's because we hardly need any protein to survive. Many call it the Protein Myth. It's just not something you need to worry about, unless you're a bodybuilder. In which case, eat some hemp seeds and spinach.

If you want to learn more about the TRUE FACTS of what milk does to your body, read The China Study. It is called the "the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted" for a reason.

Milk is not meant for us. Firstly: we aren't weening babies anymore so we shouldn't be drinking any kind of milk anymore. Secondly: WHY ARE WE DRINKING THE MILK OF ANOTHER SPECIES? Do you see piglets suckling at the tit of lions? No, because that wouldn't make any sense... see my point?

Would you do this? Of course not.. Then why do you drink milk?

If you must indulge on dairy, I seriously recommend you only buy local, non-pasteurized, humanely-milked dairy. If not for the cows - do it for YOUR HEALTH and the health of your FAMILY!
"Too expensive", you say? Then buy almond/rice/coconut/soy/cashew or any other non-dairy milk! It's cheaper and doesn't go bad. You can even make it yourself in bulk and save more money. This is far better for you than the best organic milk out there.
"Non-pasteurized - that's not safe", you say? If the only way you feel comfortable eating something is if it's been heated so that it basically kills the food and all it's nutrients... maybe you just shouldn't eat that food.

So what should you have INSTEAD of dairy? I mean, who doesn't like cheese, milk, ice cream, yogurt, or butter?! As humans, we love creamy fats. It's only natural. I will be posting a ton of raw vegan better-than-dairy recipes, and...
Luckily, there are countless other delicious plant-based alternatives. You won't miss a thing. Right now, I'm currently making two wheels of aged nut cheeses for X-mas! Recipe soon!

Here are two sites that list a few alternatives:
http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/our-favorite-products.aspx
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/cookingtipstools/tp/dairysubstitutes.htm
If you've got any questions about dairy or anything else, please contact me! =) 
Now, on to banana splits!