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Author Archives: rawgirl
The Queen of Southern Fried Needs to Go VEGAN
If you missed this bit of news in January of this year, Paula Deen, Queen of all things southern fried and buttery, went public with the fact that she has type 2 diabetes and has known for several years. I heard about this and was not surprised. The woman has a recipe for Fried Cheesecake for heaven sakes. We all love food personalities that offer fun and easy ways to prepare good food, but you cannot push butter dipped, fried, and sugar laden foods on people and expect them to thrive.
What Paula has done is make an empire off of Southern home cooking and the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) which consists of butter, heavy cream, salt, sugar, flour, and all things processed while sacrificing the long-term health and well-being of her fans and now, even herself. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain called her “the worst most dangerous person to America,” and further asserted “when you’ve been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you have type 2 diabetes it’s in bad taste, if nothing else.” Today, I was reminded of Paula Deen when I came across comedienne Kristen Wiig’s SNL skit. It had me DYING with laughter. You can check out the video via the link below. She applies butter as lip gloss at some point in the video. It’s too much hilarity.
I laughed until my sides ached, but when I finished the video, I felt sorry for Paula Deen. No one should have to live with diabetes or any debilitating disease. I hope that somehow she stumbles upon the documentary Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days and watches it. If she does she may learn that raw foods can completely reverse her condition, and maybe she would even venture over to the veggy team. That would be revolutionary. The former Queen of Southern Fried could become a Vegan poster girl, and may lead some other folks lost in the land of butter and cream to the veggie promise land. Until then, Team VEGAN is definitely winning. Those of us who do it right get to satisfy our taste buds, are getting the nutrients our bodies’ need, look younger, feel energized, and would never touch a Southern fried anything. -XoXo Raw Girl
Click here to watch the SNL skit: http://eater.com/archives/2012/03/11/snl-parodies-paula-deens-lawsuit-diabetes.php
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma9ysdY30XU]
The FDA to Approve Genetically Engineered Salmon? GROSS.
Today I was calmly going about my day when I received an email from moveon.org that turned my smile into a frown, which progressed to full on outrage. The FDA is getting ready to approve genetically engineered salmon?!! For a vegans and vegetarians who don’t eat fish, you may think so what? But there are a lot of people who swear off cow and chicken because of the horrible conditions these animals are reared under in the U.S. and they consider fish a viable, safe option. This will not be so anymore if this passes.
If the FDA gets away with this, and is able to sell unlabeled salmon that is genetically engineered to the public, they will do more. You give a dog an inch, they want to take the whole bone. It is time for us consumers to wake up and demand that our right to safe consumable food not be infringed upon. If we do not stand for it, no one will. These gangsters also known as the FDA, Monsanto, and all the giant super “food” companies selling us high fructose corn syrup, salt, industrial materials, and sugar by the tons will win. They will win and more of us, and our loved ones will be in the hospital dying or hooked to pharmaceuticals for the rest of our lives. Please read the letter below and join me in signing this petition. No one is allowed to sell me GMO ANYTHING without my permission. -XoXo Raw Girl
_________________
Dear MoveOn member,
The FDA is on the brink of approving genetically engineered salmon for human consumption. This would be the first genetically engineered animal on supermarket shelves in the United States.
The salmon is engineered to produce growth hormones year-round that cause the fish to grow at twice the normal rate. The government already requires labels to tell us if fish is wild-caught or farm-raised—don’t we also have a right to know if our salmon is genetically engineered? Without labels, we’ll never know.
More than forty countries, including Russia and China, already require labels on genetically engineered foods. As Americans, we firmly believe that we deserve the same right to know what we are eating.
That’s why I created a petition to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on SignOn.org, which says:
Commissioner Hamburg, we urge the FDA to require the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. We have a right to know about the food we eat and what we feed our families, but under current FDA regulations, we don’t have that ability when it comes to genetically engineered foods.
Polls show that more than 90% of Americans support mandatory labeling. Such near-unanimity in public opinion is rare. Please listen to the American public and mandate labeling of genetically engineered foods.
Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=271198&id=35796-9107681-GYAwWkx&t=2
It’s Vday! Making a Love Juice
Happy Valentines Day veggie lovers! Hope that everyone shares the love with the special people in their lives, and THE most special person, YOU. Remember that choosing to eat foods full of life force is definitely a way to show yourself some love on a regular basis, and can also help you stay in that love vibration. I’m juicing today and will most likely make some Love Juice which includes some red fruits and veggies I have in the kitchen right now, recipe below. Feel free to have fun and make your own versions of love juice! I want to hear about them, post them on the Facebook page or comment right here! It can be a juice or smoothie. A smoothie with raw cacao sounds pretty groovy right now…Hmm…perhaps dessert?
Enjoy the rest of your day, and don’t forget to take your lovely self out for some exercise. Walk, run, dance, or perhaps do some yoga, and make sure to get in your greens for the day. I promise it’ll fuel your love fire. -XoXo Raw Girl
Love Juice
1/2 medium-sized beet , 1/2 lemon, 1 red pepper, 2 red apples, 7-8 carrots, ginger
Run all ingredients through a juicer. Strain and serve 🙂
****REMINDER***** that tomorrow, Wed @ 7pm, the next episode of Healthy Living in a Toxic World will air on www.newdradio.com. This episode will be about PARASITES, and I am interviewing an integrative nutrition counselor who has done international research on finding natural cures to kill parasites. You don’t want to miss it.
Blueberry Banana Coconut Smoothie & Yogurt
Yesterday morning after my super intense weight training class, I came home to make my post-workout smoothie and posted about it on Facebook. Shout out to Brooke on the Raw Girl Facebook page, who wanted the recipe. So funny thing is, I started out making a smoothie…and I ended up making yogurt which was equally as delish, just a lot thicker. I’m sure you’re wondering how this happened? Well, I put in the ingredients listed below as usual, but what was different was the coconut. If you pick up a young Thai coconut that is smaller than the others, usually that coconut is more developed. The coconut meat inside is thicker and harder to remove, but it’s totally possible to get out if you put a little extra muscle into it. My coconut yesterday morning had some thick coconut meat going on, so when I blended everything together I got…blueberry banana coconut yogurt. Another way to make this happen, on purpose, is to add an avocado! This works for any fruit smoothie concoction and automatically will give you a creamy yogurt-y consistency if that’s what you’re in the mood for. All that said, recipe below for smoothie. If you want yogurt add an avocado, or get a small young Thai coconut with thick coconut meat inside! Want to up the ante, do like I do and add in some superfood powders. -XoXo Raw Girl
Ingredients:
1 Young Thai Coconut
2 ripe bananas (1 works as well)
1/2 cup to 1 cup of blueberries
Put bananas and blueberries in blender. Hack open Thai coconut while keeping your fingers and extremities in tact! (There are a lot of great videos on how to do that. If your interested and have never done so, go to You Tube and search “How to Open a Young Thai Coconut” and tons of videos will pop up to give you an idea.) Pour coconut water into blender. Scrape the inside of the coconut and add the coconut meat into the blender. Blend, pour, enjoy!
****REMINDER******* My health radio show Healthy Living in a Toxic World airs tonight online at 7pm via www.newdradio.com. Anyone can tune in and listen. Tonight’s episode is on How to Quit Smoking Naturally, and I will be interviewing Holistic Health Counselor and Naturopath, Dr. Yew.
The Skinny on Weight Loss
So let’s say your goal is to lose weight? For whatever reason: health concerns, vanity, comfort….I get asked this quite often. Your thinking that putting yourself on a “vegan diet” may help you reach your goal. You are right and wrong. Our world is so consumed with fad diets and quick fixes, and if you’re approaching veganism as a diet, you’re going to fall into the same trap as all the Weight Watchers fanatics of our world. I think we need to shift the way we think about weight and dieting. For lasting change, we need a lifestyle change, not a diet. You need to take the time to get in tune with your own body and discover what fruits and veggies you love and try new ones! Everyone wants the quick fix and for someone to tell you exactly what is right for you to eat. I think that takes the beauty out of the journey of learning to eat consciously, a journey that allows you to really get in tune with how your body responds to certain foods and also experimenting and expanding your food choices.
When I think about weight…I think WASTE. People find that the more that they eat fresh vegetables and fruits, the “weight” just falls off. Why? Because you are literally flushing your system out, and you are eating foods that are high in water content and fiber as well as lovely nutrients. Over time, if you are eating this way you may hit a plateau and then changing up your workout routine and challenging your body fitness-wise will help you break through that. What I tell people who are eating everything and anything from meat to processed foods, is to try taking the simple step of replacing big breakfasts with a green juice or smoothie and getting in a least one big salad a day. Want to up the ante a bit more, make that morning smoothie a power smoothie and add in some super food powers or a powder supplement that has a lot of nutrients. This gives your body time to process food from the day before in the morning, and jump starts your day!
Doing this will start to make you feel different. You will start to feel more energized and therefore make better food choices and have energy to spare to get back on a good exercise regimen. A good friend of mine in New York years back who was overweight took me up on this advice and when I saw him months later, I barely recognized him! For all the already mostly raw foodies, the only thing that can really add weight to your frame is eating a lot of nut heavy foods. Other than that, its pretty much a lifestyle that should naturally allow you to reach and maintain a healthy weight as long as you are getting enough variety of foods and nutrients.
At the end of the day, I think it’s always more important to focus on how you look and feel, rather than how much you weigh. My former trainer is a great example. This woman weighs more than me but is leaner and ten times stronger than I am by far. Working with her brought home the message that everyone, especially women need to embrace if they are looking to lose weight. Strength building and muscle-building are going to help you NOT hinder you. As you gain muscle you will be leaner, stronger, and burning more fat throughout the day. Now, I’m all about weight training at least 3-4 times a week, and my primary concern is what my body fat percentage is, not my weight.
The last point that is very important is a spiritual and psychological component. If you are overweight, you may have destructive eating habits that take the place of processing your emotions in a healthy way. This is nothing to ignore, because resolving these core emotional issues can be the catalyst to your transformation. Everything works from the inside out. Start within, don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself, and there’s no way you cannot reach your goal. –XoXo Raw Girl
Dear Raw Girl: Going Vegan & Weightloss
Source: CocoaReport.com
Dear Raw Girl: Do you think it is possible to be vegan and maintain the same weight? – Ashley Akunna
Ashley thank you for the question, I think this is a concern that a lot of people have. I can completely understand wanting to maintain your current weight. If you choose to adopt a mostly plant-based diet and were not eating that way prior, yes you may lose weight or WASTE initially. Really your body is going to be flushing out unnecessary junk in your colon and waste sometimes stored up from years of eating processed food, meat etc. What I experienced personally, and have heard from other vegans/raw foodists is that after some time of being consistently vegan the body adjusts, and will normalize at what is a healthy weight for you. Some people say that they gain weight back at this point. It’s like the body has to go back to one, and reset before returning to balance. In addition, the change from meat-eater to vegan is not as drastic as going from meat-eater to raw foods. As a vegan who isn’t predominantly raw there’s still a lot of options that will keep “meat on your bones,” especially if you’re still eating carbs and meat substitutes. So you may not have anything to worry about.
What you should ask yourself is what is more important? Maintaining the weight you are at now…or going with the flow and choosing to be the best, most energized, and healthiest version of you that you can be? Our culture can be quite weight obsessed instead of focusing on what counts…how do you feel, are you productive, energized, and dis-ease free? Instead of focusing on my weight, I have always chosen to focus on the latter. -XoXo Raw Girl
Have a question? Email me at rawgirltoxicworld@gmail.com
What the heck is a Pomelo?
Last week in the grocery store as I was grabbing some organic bananas above the citrus fruits, I noticed this giant thing that I thought perhaps was a grapefruit but it was labeled “pummelo.” Being the adventurous raw foodie I am, I grabbed one and put it in my cart. This citrus fruit which is in the family of the orange and the grapefruit, has more aliases than P.Diddy and is also known as pomelo, pummelo, Chinese grapefruit, shaddock, jabong…and the list seems to go on. The color of the pomelo and it’s flesh varies. The one I picked up looked just like a grapefruit but still had a great deal of green, and apparently they can be ripe when green.
This large diva fruit (sometimes can grow to 10″ in diameter) originates from South East Asia and tastes like a sweeter version of a grapefruit. Not only is it more citrus bang for your buck, it also apparently has 193% of DV of Vitamin C, beta carotene, nice amount of soluble fiber, B Vitamins, Vitamin A, calcium, iron, and potassium. Thus, the fruit sometimes known as pomelo is great for infections, diseases, and has been used to cure fever, treat coughs, relieve sore throats, and my favorite…treat insomnia. Pretty groovy benefits if you ask me, plus add in the fact that it can assist with weight loss and of course helps to keep the body alkaline. I chose to eat it raw for breakfast, and it was definitely enough citrus to get me going in the morning. If you’re into grapefruits and oranges, and want to give the mother of all citrus fruits a try, I highly recommend the fruit sometimes known as pomelo. -XoXo Raw Girl
So you want to GO VEG: Transitioning into Veganism
Had a blast today on Newd Radio, and looking forward to the debut of Healthy Living in a Toxic World next week, January 25th, Wednesday at 5pm EST. Hope you all will tune in to www.newdradio.com and listen!
One question asked on air this morning that I didn’t get a chance to answer was: What should one do if interested in trying the vegan lifestyle but currently is a meat-eater?
Ok so, your a meat-eater and your tired, literally all the time, and your also tired of running to fabulous non-meaters who glow, have crazy energy, and attribute all of this to their grass eating tendencies. You think you may want to go vegan, or vegetarian at the very least but it feels so far way. Don’t panic. There are two options, just like when quitting an addiction or making any sort of lifestyle change you can go cold turkey or gradually. I think what option you take really depends on your personality, but I am a big fan of gradual change. By taking your time to ease into it and eliminating certain foods step by step you are more likely to stick with it long-term and not go on eating binges because you feel deprived.
If I was a meat-eater looking to go veg, I would start by eliminating red meats like beef and chicken and perhaps continue eating fish and more vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains. If you are the type who eats meat everyday, (that is really a lot for your body to handle by the way), then I would go for cutting down meat intake to only twice a week and then maybe once a week or once every two weeks, and so on. I am not a huge fan of meat substitutes but they can be a great way to transition and if prepared well, you’ll be amazed and may not miss your meat at all. If you want long-lasting health, vibrance, energy, and to live a disease-free life, you have to get out of the general “dieting” or quick-fix mode that is pushed on us daily through advertising and meal plans etc.
Commitment is key, and any positive change is going to have to become an engrained habit. You know yourself best. Some people have to go all the way or else they won’t do it all. Don’t feel rushed, take your time, and allow yourself some room to mess up. I think it took me about four months to wean myself off of bread! Crazy to think about it because now I don’t eat bread at all and if I did I would feel weighed down and generally horrible. But when I was going through the process of eliminating it, sometimes I messed up, gave in and had some, but then physically I would feel horrible. Through this process you retrain your body, and after abstaining and then having negative reactions to things you once ate, you will lose the desire to eat them again. Despite what they say, you can teach an old dog new tricks; you can cultivate your inner vegan, as long as you committed to going the distance. Here’s to going VEG! -XoXo Raw Girl
Raw Girl on the Radio!
Hey Gang:
Tomorrow, (Friday morning), I will be interviewed on the Newd Radio show “Its the Naked Truth” live @ 10 am! Anyone can tune in via the internet to listen at www.newdradio.com. and beginning next week on January 25th, the pilot episodes of my health radio show “Healthy Living in a Toxic World,” will begin airing on Wednesdays at 5pm. Same place: www.newdradio.com
You don’t want to miss this first episode! I interviewed Bernando LaPallo the 109 year old raw foodist who I previously wrote about on the blog, and got tips from him on living a long healthy life. Feel free to email health questions for future shows to rawgirltoxicworld@gmail.com. -XoXo Raw Girl
Dear Raw Girl: Parasites That Won’t Go Away
Dear Raw Girl: The worms seem resistant to the cleanses. I do believe everything happens for a reason. We all have more awareness about the food that enters out bodies. Just a few questions: How much apple cider vinegar daily? Raw garlic? Do the worms have a cycle they go through and then finally leave? How long of a process is this, until we are free from the parasites? Feel free to use my name, whatever. I’m shocked that there isn’t more information and pictures up on the web. We can’t be the only ones with these parasites. Thank you, Kelli Lofgren Salt Lake City, UT
Dearest Kelli: First off sooo sorry for the delay in response! Just saw your email. Disclaimer–I am not, at least yet 😉 a doctor. For now, since it is an emergency—-you can drink properly diluted apple cider vinegar as much as you want throughout the day with no ill side effects–by adding it to water. You can add garlic to meals, but an easier way to take in garlic that has provided me with relief is to take Kyolic Garlic pills they are odorless and you can get more garlic for your buck. Read the recommended dosage and take that twice a day. I now take those regularly to prevent parasites altogether. The process of getting rid of a parasite cannot be quantified in terms of length of time—it really depends on how aggressive you are with maintaining an alkaline diet free of sugars/carbs (that help them grow). The amount of time it takes to die can vary; especially if you continue to eat foods that keep them alive. If you are persistent for a straight month and are not getting rid of worms then, you may want to try to go to a doctor to get tested to see if you can find out what kind of worms you have. At times different worms require a different plan of attack. It took me MONTHS the first time around to become parasite-free, probably 3 months to be exact. Now if I’m feeling like I need a cleanse, I can aggressive go at it for 2 weeks to a month and see results. Most over the counter parasite cleanses are 2 week-long cleanses, but if you do those without also keeping your diet alkaline, especially sugar and carb-free, you may have your unwanted guests staying a little longer. I hope this was of some help to you. Check out my past posts on parasites and foods that are useful and stay focused. You will be parasite-free! -XoXo Raw Girl