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Author Archives: rawgirl
How to Master the Necessary Art of Chewing
www.fotosearch.com
Chewing seems second nature to most of us. We do it so often we don’t think about it. Problem is, most often without thinking about it we also DON’T CHEW ENOUGH, and it happens to be a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle. A lot of times, people literally swallow their meals whole. Perhaps because rushed, starving, or just absent-minded. If you can still see any of the original formation of your meal after you relieve yourself, it is a glaring sign that you must learn to chew better. Why is that art of masticating important? For a great deal of reasons:
1. The digestive process begins when you start chewing. The action of chewing is literally a signal to your digestive system to begin the process. Enzymes in our saliva immediately begin to assist in breaking down our food. If you swallow whole pieces, you are missing the step of giving your digestive engine time to warm up. In addition chewing is like the start of the digestion assembly line.
2. Improper chewing can create a toxic internal environment. If your food is not broken down into liquid or tiny particles, then the stomach is left with gigantic pieces that acid alone can’t break down and the whole digestive assembly line can’t function optimally, leading to gas, bacterial overgrowth, indigestion, and a host of other issues. With raw foods, this is especially important when eating a lot of greens which are tough and need to be chewed for longer periods.
3. Chewing relaxes the lower stomach muscle. In order for food to leave your stomach and pass through your lower intestine, your lower stomach must relax. When you chew and enough saliva is built up, this automatically happens and makes movement of food through the digestive tract easier.
4.You loose nutrients when you don’t chew well. The whole point of the divine process of digestion is to extract nutrients and other goodies our bodies need from what we eat and chuck the rest. When we don’t chew properly, we don’t give the body a fair chance to actually recharge from the food we eat.
Become a Chewing Superstar
So how do you know when you’ve chewed enough? Some people go as far as to prescribe a certain number of chews for different types of foods. That’s a little insane, because we’d be counting aloud in our heads all day. Some tips to ensure optimal chewing:
- Don’t swallow until whatever it is you put in your mouth is dissolved in a way that you can’t tell what it originally was. Meaning, if you are chewing on a piece of rough kale and can still taste the roughness and feel the texture in your mouth, you have not chewed enough.
- Don’t talk while chewing, this leads to swallowing–which I know all too well. Try to respond to the question after completely chewing whatever is already in your mouth.
- Avoid eating when in stressful situations, atmospheres, or just stressed in general.
- Take your time; designate meal times. The majority of us rush through food and literally shove things into our mouths while on-the-go. Gone are some of the rituals of blessing food and taking time to eat. Well just like we raw vegan lovers are bringing sexy back with our all natural glow, we have to bring patience and stillness back into our meal times so we can properly absorb the nutrients and reap the full benefits of our healthy food.
- Chew foods that are even virtually liquids such as puddings or yogurt. This gets the enzymes going and will help the food to digest better.
- Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Literally. Make sure that you are not shoving large portions into your mouth at a time that cannot be chewed properly. If you reduce the portions you put it your mouth at a time, it’s more likely you will break it down better. Besides, chewing also allows you to really taste your food, and makes eating all the more enjoyable.
Happy Chewing! -XoXo Raw Girl
COCONUT LOVE: Nutritional Benefits & Why You Shouldn’t Live Without Them
Thaitable.com
If it wasn’t too nutty, I think I would seriously consider composing a love song with a lot of bass about coconuts, and how I can’t live without them. I LOVE COCONUTS, and coconut water. I am very often seen with a giant cleaver in hand hacking open coconuts and then sipping the fresh water through a straw with a contented smirk on my face. It really makes my day. And then the next best thing is scooping out the meat from the insides. Yum. On days when I want to get fancier with my coconut love, I put it all in a blender and add in some tropical fruits of choice, and maybe some spirulina. Double Yum.
In the past when I’ve been caught in the middle of my coconut bliss, people frequently ask me, what the benefits are of drinking coconut water and eating coconuts in general. When I bring up facts, sometimes people find them hard to believe, so I am writing this post to defend my coconut love, and also to hopefully inspire you to get down with a coconut sometime soon. When you drink fresh coconut water, it’s important to consume it immediately or as soon as possible because some nutrients begin to dissipate when exposed to the open air. What I am working on now, because I am so in love with coconuts is finding somewhere that I can buy them wholesale by the crate. Yep, I’m not kidding. If anybody knows a source holler at your girl. If all else fails, I’m gonna have to use my coconut fetish as an excuse to pop over to Jamaica each year. -XoXo Raw Girl
Little Known Facts About My Coconut Love:
- Coconut water is a naturally isotonic beverage and has the same electrolyte balance as your blood! I say this all the time, that drinking coconut water is like giving yourself a blood transfusion and people literally roll their eyes and laugh. Well people, it’s true. Coconut water is identical to liquid plasma. In fact, coconut water, direct from the nut was used to give emergency blood transfusions to wounded soldiers in the Pacific War of 1941-1945 and Coconut IV’s have been used to save lives in third world countries. Dig that!
- It takes up to a year for coconuts to mature, but coconut trees bloom up to thirteen times a year, meaning they are available year round!
- Coconut palm in sanskrit is kalpa vriksha, meaning: “Tree that gives everything necessary for living.” This is definitely appropriate because all parts of a coconut tree can be put to use.
- It’s the best energy drink around! Coconut water contains more potassium than energy and sports drinks, less sugars (and of course the sugars are natural), less sodium, and hydrates the body better.
- Coconut water is more nutritious than whole milk, with less fat and no cholesterol.
- Contains glucose–natural sugars that give the body energy, vitamin B’s which replace tissue and worn out cells, vitamin C, lauric acid (found in mother’s milk), iron, chloride, and electrolytes: potassium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and phosphorous.
- Coconut water is a strong detoxifying agent and actually neutralizes poisons in the body. It has literally been administered to poison victims and used to neutralize and completely flush the poisons out of the body!
Health Benefits of Drinking Coconut Water Regularly
- Naturally Boost Immune System
- Improves Intestinal Health
- Increases Metabolism & Weight Loss
- Balances Body PH
- Detoxify & Fight Viruses
- Stops Fatigue
- Prevents Hypertension
- Controls Diabetes
- Boosts Poor Circulation
- Reduces Cancer Risk
- Treats Kidney Stones
- Eases Stomach Pain & Vomiting
- Helps to heal age spots, acne, and other skin issues
Choosing Your Coconut
I regularly get down with Thai coconuts which can be found at health food stores like Whole Foods, or if I’m in Brooklyn near all the Caribbean transplants in the Crown Heights area I’ll drink the water from green coconuts. If you choose to get a green coconut, see if you can find one with brown spots, apparently that signifies higher water content. The water from Bangladeshi and Indian coconuts is sweeter than Thai and Brazilian, so you can choose by your taste buds or if your like me you’ll love them all.
**Warning: If you are a coconut virgin, perhaps you need to get someone to assist you in opening one for the first time. Take care when hacking it open. We don’t want any finger-less coconut lovers!
Natural Beauty Highlight: Nia Reid
In this Natural Beauty Highlight I chose to feature model Nia Reid, a colleague who could almost be one of my anti-aging she-roes, but she’s too young. If you knew her real age, you would understand where I’m coming from because you probably guessed she was in her early twenties, maybe younger. Sorry, think again. I thought of Nia because in the past we have had extensive conversations about health, and she does regularly incorporate raw foods and cleansing to optimize her beauty and well-being. – XoXo Raw Girl
Are you raw and/or vegan & if so what made you transition into eating raw/vegan? No, I am not 100% raw or vegan. I try to do about 40% raw 60% cooked and if I have cooked food and nothing raw with it, I take vegan enzyme supplements that break the cooked food down and send it to the right places in my body.
What kind of regular detox or cleansing do you do if any? Every once and a while, I will either do the master cleanse for a couple of days or some form of juicing. Usually the beginning of Spring ( I take spring cleaning literally!) Or when I feel like I have been eating something not good etc… It just depends.
What are some of the most immediate benefits you experienced: mental, physical, and/or spiritual you have received from changing your lifestyle to a healthier one?
The benefits I feel from changing my lifestyle to a healthier one or rather just living a healthier lifestyle are: My skin is nice, beautiful, and supple. I heal a lot faster, my hair is healthy and grows faster. I don’t really feel weighed down by what I eat cause I make a conscious decision to eat only what’s good for my body. Even if I must have something sweet, I make sure that its real chocolate or healthier sweets (if there is such a thing!) that won’t do damage and I will eat it in moderation. Also, just in general, I feel ALIVE, like my cells are being fed by eating healthier.
Do you supplement? And if so, what supplements do you take?
I have protein/fruit shakes in the morning and I take folic acid vitamins, natural enzymes, and liquid chlorophyll.
What do you believe defines true beauty?….And how do you personally maintain a positive self-image and concept of beauty while working in the modeling industry?
Not to sound like an after school special but what I define as true beauty is how you feel within. If you truly tap into the beauty inside, it has no other escape but out. True beauty radiates outward coming from the source of something beautiful within. I choose to maintain this concept dealing in the modeling industry, where surface is everything; but it’s only possible because I know who Nia is. Meaning I am concerned with being the best Nia I can be. There is no competition, even if there are like fifty or more girls at a casting. If they want me, then they want me and I am hired for the job. It has nothing to do with the other girls there. I look at them as company to speak to while I am auditioning!
What is your skin care regimen like?
My skin care regimen consists of me using a natural astringent, then washing my face with a natural soap and heavy moisturizer. Especially at night because as we age, we tend to lose the fatty lipids in our skin that help keep our skin supple and hydrated when we are young, which gives off that natural glow look. So as we age, it’s important to pack on the moisture at night where our skin can absorb it and keep hydrated.
How important is your spiritual life & do you think that it has anything to do with your natural beauty & staying young?
I definitely feel like having a spiritual foundation adds years on your life and keeps you youthful as you age. Feeling full of love, life, God, etc… whatever or whomever you want to salute keeps you focused on the inside instead of the outside. And if you focus on spreading love and happiness to others and being spiritually grounded within, there is no way that it will not radiate outward as unbelievably beautiful. I guess that’s the feeling people get when they sometimes meet people who have that inner glow–it’s almost like an aura follows them and other people pick up on that vibration.
What do you do for a living and what drives you? I am currently a working model and enjoy spreading my love and knowledge of the industry. What I offer to aspiring models is an inside look at a working models life, and tips on how to break in and make a successful career. I’m also in the process of writing my first book about my experiences as a model to help others as they build their careers, and will soon have my own blog on word press. In addition, I am conscious of the environment, preserving the planet, and choose to use natural beauty products–hair and skin care–that I make myself at home. Last but not least, I have also started a clothing line with the mantra “Fashion made simple.” Any woman could wear my clothes and go from day to evening simply and always be fashionably chic! Look and feel good.
Paul Nison: The 100% Raw Debate
Today when I was looking through some you tube videos, I stumbled upon these videos featuring raw food chef and author Paul Nison. I thought it was very interesting that after 15 years of being a raw vegan, Paul decided to incorporate raw dairy into his diet. I personally would never go from raw to eating dairy (I was always lactose intolerant), but I’m not 100% raw, so I would easily incorporate cooked vegan foods before I went to eating foods from the animal kingdom. The biggest point that struck home for me in watching this video is that so many people are caught up on being 100% raw and champion their diet like a religion. They are obsessed with being able to say that they are 100% raw and keep this up, even if it may not be the best thing for them personally. Paul confesses to the fact that he was shoving himself with dehydrated foods and nuts to overcompensate and stay raw in the winter. I mean really, you can’t have a little veggie broth??
I was 100% raw in the first year I started on this path, and got caught up in the feeling that I needed to stay that way even though I really wanted to get down with some miso soup or veggie broths in the winter. So, by my second year I decided to stop trying to force myself into 100% and go with the flow, while of course, eating as much raw as possible. My personal philosophy now is the more raw the better, (I stay in the 90% raw range and higher in the summer), but I will eat some things cooked like quinoa, steamed veggies, even brown rice in moderation (kills parasites), and light veggie broths from time to time. That said you will NEVER EVER see me getting down with processed foods or animal products.
If you are going to eat animal products, it would definitely be in your best interest to find the most organic source available. We all need to make sure that as we embark on our personal journeys to health, we don’t get caught up in sticking to something just for the sake of our egos and at the expense of our health. Paul makes another great point that regardless of our diet, we should all be monitoring our blood work and checking for possible nutrient deficiencies. At the end of the day, most of the food in this world is toxic because of the additives, chemicals, hormones etc., and organic raw fruits and veggies give us access to optimal nutrition and healing–especially when our bodies are already are in a disease state—even when we combine them with cooked foods. So please, get down with the veggie, but get down in a way that makes perfect sense to you and no one else. At the end of the day, I know that my diet has given me a way to stay ageless, acne-free, and have the energy I need to pursue my dreams, so this Raw Girl is staying on the raw vegan path. – XoXo Raw Girl
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFN3wLPoqZw&feature=related]
Heres an interview with Paul Nison many years before:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHCiU41jq-U&feature=related]
Style Naturally: Taking the Green Movement to Your Closet
So, I know I’ve bothered you all with a little bit of fashion rambling a couple of times in the last two months because I can’t help it. I love, love, love, fashion so I want to share a new side of my fashionista self I am exploring–the ECO-Fashionista. Summer Rayne Oakes, a colleague from my college days, is now a full-fledged Eco-Supermodel/TV host/Superwoman, and featured me in her book, “Style Naturally.” Prior to this I never thought of my clothing as eco-friendly, but I discovered that it was because I wear mostly vintage, clothes that I barter in clothing swaps, and also clothing that I make myself. I do not wear real FUR, ever, and never will, but I do wear leather. I hear you hardcore vegans growling, but I only wear vintage leather–I made a conscious decision awhile ago to not buy new leather and contribute to the continuing cycle of animals being slaughtered.
Two weeks ago I was invited to a conference at Fashion Institute of Technology focused on eco-fashion, eco-friendly, green, and sustainable design and living. It was very interesting and some really cool products caught my eye that I plan to purchase very soon. What excited me most about this movement is that just as we consume green juices, and make sure to get our daily helping of greens in our salads, it is important in this toxic world to also live as green as possible. Meaning, we take into consideration how our lifestyle, our clothes, our food, everything is affecting our planet, and the welfare of our fellow humans and the animal kingdom. Hope to share some cool finds and inspire you to join me on the green journey, inside and out! – XoXo Raw Girl
Click below for an article posted recently about Summer Rayne Oakes:
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/going-green-for-summer/
my photo in "Style Naturally"
The Miracle of Harvesting: Check Out My Backyard Veggies!
eastlibertypost.com
Before the end of May, my mother is going to give me a 101 crash course on planting for dummies and I promise to share the knowledge. In the planting department, I am definitely a dummy, and I have also been known to cut the life span short of many a budding sprout because my schedule got crazy and I neglected to nurture it. The goal this year, is to learn the trade and devote a little quality time and TLC to my veggies. If I am going to continue on with this lifestyle, I want to know that if I was stranded somewhere, I could survive, and also that I can create a little organic haven of my own right in my backyard of fresh produce full of life force.
A colleague of mine in New York whose is vegan once told me how he found some ripe edible fruit growing in the midst of the concrete jungle in Brooklyn. He washed it and started eating it, and this loud-mouthed female Brooklynite who was nearby made a comment about how it was nasty that he was eating a fruit from the tree. He laughed and tried to explain to her that the fruit from the tree was fresher and safer than a great deal of the produce she was used to at her local grocery store. It is incredible how many people actually think that fruit originates from Safeway, Pathmark, Whole Foods, or Harris Teeter! We are so far removed from nature and natural order, that if left in the wild many of us might walk around hungry when there was an acre of kale growing right in front of us. I’m sure that would happen to me, although I’m making some progress.
The little bit that I have worked in the garden helping my mother as she harvested and cared for her veggies, taught me some incredible life lessons. As we started to work she rambled on, and it started to hit home for me. In our own lives we reap what we sow, and the right conditions and care have to exist in order to claim our harvest. This applies to our dreams, our plans, our relationships, everything really goes through this process from seed or idea to plant or creation. While weeding, which is very therapeutic by the way–especially if you need to vent–she mentioned that certain people or toxic conditions can stifle the plant and keep it from growing and that it was important to pull the weeds from the root or else they will grow right back and stifle the plant. At the time I was noticing that certain negative people and situations were falling out of my life, and as I pulled the weeds, I understood, that I had to let go, truly let go, or else those people and situations would keep me from growing into the person that I was created to be.
Nature really is a miracle. Very often, I look around and am in awe of the variety, the colors, and the complexity of nature which has so much to teach all of us, and which offers us all we need already to be in perfect health and in perfect peace. All in all, I’m inspired to discover my green thumb, and I hope that you will be too. Below is a short video, with a glimpse of the collard greens, chard, and the last one I found out it is a type of kale, growing in my backyard pots. -XoXo Raw Girl
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZKqOSfDKYg]
KFC Serves Up Disease for the Bargain Price of $6.99
Apparently, KFC has decided to take the art of killing people with toxic meals to a whole new level. Introducing the Double Down Combo, which is literally a “sandwich” that consists of bacon and two types of cheese, sandwiched in between two chicken filets. And, no, I’m not kidding. I nearly gagged when I saw this image. My first thought after seeing this was related to an episode called “The ITIS” from controversial but always hilarious show The Boondocks. In the episode, the grandfather character created a burger which he named “The Luther,” which consisted of bacon, meat, and cheese sandwiched in between two krispy kreme donuts. (Ew!) The grandfather sells this burger and other lard-filled dishes at his restaurant which has beds for all the customers so they can easily pass out after eating. After serving up these meals, the crime level goes wild in the neighborhood, people are hankering for the Luther burger like it’s a crack habit, and the restaurant eventually gets shut down by a woman who sues them for the emotional and physical damage caused by her Luther burger addiction. It’s so absurdly truthful, I couldn’t laugh long enough to keep from crying.
Everyday people are choosing DIS-EASE on a platter. They are encouraged to do so, expected to do so, and even feel entitled to do so. In some cases they will even scoff at you and your salad even thought they themselves are suffering from ailments, low energy, and general dis-ease. KFC’s Double Down Combo is yet another way Americans have the option to supersize their heart disease, hypertension, stroke, obesity, high blood pressure, etcetera. For the sake of this toxic world, I hope somebody starts to make these fast food chains, processed food conglomerates, and the meat companies who expose animals to torturous conditions and consumers to tainted product more accountable. They should be held partly responsible for the deaths, ailments, the stress, and the pain of consumers who buy into the five seconds of pleasure combined with years of hospital bills provided by the various versions of disease-on-a-bun. But then again at the end of the day, we all have to make a conscious effort to remind ourselves that whatever we put in our body can have serious consequences to our livelihood. For the sake of our health, our families, and our world, it’s up to each of us to take precautions before the veggie hits the fan and choose LIFE over ITIS on a platter. -XoXo Raw Girl
Raw Girl @ Raw Food Festival in MD
Come one come all! Yours truly is going to be joining in a Raw Food Festival in MD on June 6th, and the dish I will bring is my world famous lip smacking carrot cake. I came up with the recipe for my carrot cake after trying several raw carrot cakes and never finding one that really hit the spot like I needed it to. Feel free to RSVP, the event is open to the public. Trust me you don’t want to miss out on the free raw samples and live food prep! Plus, you’ll get to see my raw glow up close and personal. If you tell me your one of my readers, I’ll even do a little jig right then and there. Will send out another reminder when it gets closer. Hope to see you! Taking a raw vacay weekend, be back on Monday with more fuel for your raw fire 😉 -XoXo Raw Girl
Raw Food for Thought: Are you Talking the Talk or Walking the Walk?
“There are two types of people: those that talk the talk and those that walk the walk. People who walk the walk sometimes talk the talk but most times they don’t talk at all, ’cause they walkin’. Now, people who talk the talk, when it comes time for them to walk the walk, you know what they do? They talk people like me into walkin’ for them. “
–Anthony Anderson as Key in the film Hustle & Flow (2005)
This is one of my favorite movie quotes, ever, and I was reminded of it today because in the course of coversation with different colleagues this week the issue of integrity has come up big time. Mainly, why is it that so few people have integrity? It always suprises me how many people talk a great game and can never deliver. Even on a very everyday level when making plans. There are so many people who will plan in advance, pledge complete heartfelt committment, and when the day comes when they are meant to show up, they are nowhere to found. Even more than that, most times they don’t even have the courtesy to call you and let you know. It’s of course normal that things come up, and sometimes the veggie hits the fan, but in my opinion it is worth the little bit of energy it takes to have the courtesy and respect for others time and drop them a line letting them know you will be M.I.A. or won’t be able to deliver on a promise.
This may seem like a small thing to fuss about, but at the end of the day, when you diminish your word, you lessen your power. Yes, our word has the power to create and we can speak things into existence, but when we consistently lie, fib, or fail to honor our word with others (and I mean when it’s habitual) we take the rug right out from underneath ourselves. Plus, other people don’t take you seriously. They can’t because of the last ten times you proved to them that you only talk the talk but don’t do any walking.
Speaking of walking the walk…with regards to optimal raw foodie health for example, there are a lot of people I heard speak at raw food conferences when I was first going raw, but when I paid close attention to how they looked, and their overall health it did not seem match the standard they were preaching to everyone else. So, from then on I put on the mute button when I heard them yapping. I vowed a long time ago when I embarked on this path to avoid taking advice from people who don’t have themselves together concerning whatever cause they are proselytizing. It was the people who were glowing, full of energy, and in excellent physical health that chose to focus my attention and glean advice from. Imagine if we all decided to only take advice from people who were walking the walk themselves, or at the very least, if we all started to hold ourselves to a higher standard and honor our word. The world would definitely be a better place.
Take a very good hard look at yourself in the mirror, and ask: am I walking the walk or talking the talk in all areas of my life? If not, perhaps it’s time for an integrity makeover. I will continue to take my own advice and do the same, whenever I take a break from walking.
– XoXo Raw Girl
Conventional Produce With High Level of Contaminants
So, you’re on a serious budget because your paycheck is skimpy, your stimulus check hasn’t shown up in the mail, and that bag of organic produce is now looking extra pricey. Or perhaps, you are stranded in the middle of nowhere on a road trip and all you can find is conventional produce. Below is a list of fruits and veggies that should be, if possible, AVOIDED when NOT ORGANIC because of the high levels of contaminants/pesticides:
- Green & red bell peppers
- Strawberries
- Cherries (US grown)
- Peaches
- Apples
- Celery
- Apricots
- Green beans
- Grapes
- Cucumbers
- Cantaloupes
- Spinach
If all else fails, and you have to get down with the conventional, you can also mix 1 ounce of 35% food-grade hydrogen peroxide in 1 gallon of water and use this solution to rinse your produce. If the veggie or fruit is waxed, make sure to peel off the waxed skin before eating! – XoXo Raw Girl