Tag Archives: vegetarian

Raw Girl’s 40 Day Kemetic Detox

detox

“The body becomes what the foods are, as the spirit becomes what the thoughts are.” ~Ancient Egyptian Proverb

It’s that time of year again! 2012 is swiftly approaching and the season of new resolutions, intentions, and gift-giving is upon us. Why not bring in this new season by giving yourself the gift of a cleanse? About three years ago I started the ritual of fasting in the New Year. One year it was a 10 Day all vegetable juice fast, another it was 3 Day. This year, I am upping the ante and committing to 40 Days of “fasting” or what I will call my Kemetic Detox. Just in case you don’t know what “kemetic” means, Ancient Egypt was also called “Kemet”, “Land of Blackness”, or “Land of the Burnt People” (referring to the dark skin tone of the Ancient Egyptians). The term “kemetic” can be used to describe anything related to that ancient culture/lifestyle. Why 40 Days? First off, because it is exactly the amount of time leading up to my one woman show, Hatshepsut, about the first female pharaoh, and secondly because many people in the Bible fasted for 40 Days. This fast or detox is designed to rigorously impact me mentally, spiritually, and physically.

The ancient Egyptians had a diet that was incredibly pure and complimented that diet with regular yoga, meditation, working with crystals and essential oils to maintain high vibrations. So I am incorporating all of these principles into my detox. Diet-wise I will be juicing some, and eating raw: salads, smoothies etc. For spirit I am going to get my regular meditation on and do hot yoga—which will also help with detoxing the body. To assist the cleansing process will be take weekly enemas and salt baths. Some of you may be reading this and thinking to yourself that it all sounds groovy but you don’t feel you have the time or energy to invest in some sort of cleanse. In my next post, I’ll go in depth about why you should even bother considering a cleanse.

Check out my regimen and today’s shopping list below and feel free to join me for part or all of my detox! Remember that we are all unique human beings and have differing levels of imbalance on the body, mind, and soul level. So, if you chose to do a cleanse, do you and make it your own! -XoXo Raw Girl

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC-7nUXw3r4]

Kemetic Detox Guidlines 

  1. 30 minutes to 1 hour minimum of meditation daily
  2. 2-3 salt water baths per week
  3. Daily yoga, hot yoga 2x per week
  4. High alkaline/raw vegan diet (Organic fruits, vegetables, soaked nuts, sprouted grains)
  5. Enema/colonic as needed at least 1 per week
  6. Bentonite Clay mask once a week, daily use of coconut oil, almond oil, and essential oils on skin
  7. Follow the 42 Precepts of Maat (almost like the 10 commandments)

My Shopping List (what I bought today to get started)

  1. 2 bunches of Lacinato Kale, 1 bunch regular kale
  2. Box of organic baby arugula
  3. 4 young Thai coconuts
  4. 4 apples
  5. bag of organic lemons
  6. 3 stalks of ginger
  7. bag of organic avocados
  8. Kombucha
  9. 6 gallons purified water
  10. organic nori sheets
  11. Bag of Organic Carrots
  12. Celery (2)
  13. dandelion root
  14. 2 cucumbers
  15. Things I have at home that I will use: red and yellow bell peppers, Braggs Amino Acids, Nutritional Yeast, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Dulse Flakes, Sea Salt, Raw Almonds, Raw Pecans, Beets, Garlic

20 Minute Vegan Pies for the Holidays

holiday desserts

Every year during the holiday season I am the designated dessert maker. Perhaps it’s because I have a knack for making vegan pies that are guiltless, only take 20 minutes to prepare, and so yummy they make you wonder why you ever bothered with the traditional version. Below are recipes in past posts for Blueberry, Sweet Potato, and Pecan pies, vegan style. Hope you all have a lovely holiday season, and that you remember to treasure the loved ones that are with you now. None of us are promised tomorrow. -XoXo Raw Girl

http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2010/11/27/heavenly-vegan-blueberry-pie/

My Holiday Pecan Pie 🙂

http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2010/01/09/20-minute-lip-smacking-vegan-pecan-pie/

http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2009/12/12/20-minute-lip-smacking-vegan-sweet-potato-pie/

Raw Girl’s Garden Tour

garden

The other day I embarked on a tour of the garden! Check out the video below to see all the veggies. Hope you all have a safe and fun-filled holiday weekend!  -XoXo Raw Girl

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BguImHlUVDM]

The Ultimate Beauty Salad

anti-agin

Last week I had a great time hanging out with a good friend, and she was game to try one of my salads. I warned her it would be one of the best salads she’d ever had. We got together a bunch of stellar ingredients, and while making it I realized that the salad was packed full of veggies that offer the amazing beauty minerals that I have been writing about recently. Below is a list of the ingredients in the salad and the nutrients they offer to optimize your beauty. Besides being good for you this salad was lip-smacking good! Have fun experimenting and make your own version using some of the foods rich in beauty minerals listed in previous posts. – XoXo Raw Girl

The Ultimate Beauty Salad

To prepare, wash all veggies thoroughly. Wash mixed greens and arugula and toss together in a large salad bowl. Chop up green and yellow squash, red bell peppers, and olives.  Add toppings to greens, pour on olive oil, add in sea salt and curry, and squeeze the wedge of lemon. Massage the veggies with your hands for a few minutes. Add in a couple teaspoons of nutritional yeast and toss together. Use a veggie grater to finely grate beets on top, sprinkle in some pumpkin seeds, and add in fennel leaves for decoration. Enjoy!

 Ingredients:

  • Mixed Greens – Vitamin A
  • Arugula – Sulfur
  • Red Bell Peppers – Silicon
  • Avocado – Sulfur
  • Fennel – Vitamin A, C, sulfur
  • Pumpkin Seeds – Sulfur
  • Beets – Vitamin A, Calcium, Phosphorous
  • Green & Yellow Zucchini – Vitamin A
  • Olives (black and green) – Sulfur
  • Wedge of Lemon (squeeze juice)
  • Olive Oil (extra virgin, 2-3 capfuls) – antioxidants
  • Yellow Curry (1 teaspoon) – antioxidants
  • Celtic Sea Salt ( a couple pinches)
  • Nutritional Yeast (3-4 teaspoons) B-complex Vitamins, Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorous etc.
The copyright of this recipe is owned by Esosa Edosomwan AKA  Raw Girl AKA Chef Eazy E. Permission to republish this recipe in  any format must be granted by the author in writing.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4oAW9oBY00]
For more on beauty minerals, check out these past posts:

The Trials & Tribulations of Staying Vegan in France

cannes

In front of Carlton Hotel in Cannes.

Bonjour! Raw Girl finally has her raw vegan swag back. I am on Day 3 of green juicing and I am starting to feel normal again. Cannes was an amazing experience, the beach, the films, the people, the shopping! The only drawback for me was the food. I was worried before leaving because my last run in with French food while visiting Paris, was difficult, and I was perpetually hungry and to add insult to injury, didn’t speak a word of French.

This time, thanks to my handy dandy Rosetta Stone, I knew the basics, and in addition to getting the Bonjour, Bonsoir, and Enchante’s down, I also mastered the phrase, “Je suis vegetalien.” I am vegetarian. I don’t even know if the French have a word for vegan! Once I would say my catch phrase, I would then have to explain to the waitress or waiter that for me that also meant no dairy or meat. Each and every time, I would get this horrified (but totally sympathetic) look from the waiter who then would work with me to try to dream up a somewhat edible vegan concoction on or off their current menu. It was a task. It seemed I was perpetually hungry for the entire trip. Thank God the French love quinoa and mache (my new lettuce love), because I was able to find these at some restaurants.

Before the festival was in full swing, I went to a grocery store and got some rations for salads, but once the networking mayhem began there was no time to be in my kichenette whipping up vegan friendly food. So what did I do? Improvise. I ended being mostly vegan, instead of mostly RAW during the trip. It was not a picnic since I do not like the heavier feeling of cooked foods, but it really was the only way to survive in such a fast paced festival environment. Apparently no meal is complete in France without bread, cheese, or meat. Seriously, almost every salad had all three, and there were never any vegetarian options UNTIL…I stumbled upon Cafe Florian.

Was heading for a meeting about my film project, and me and the colleague I was with couldn’t find anything veggie friendly at the place she chose (not even a salad). So we wandered down one of the lovely winding streets of Cannes and found Cafe Florian, which I sensed may be veg friendly from the bright green decor. When we sat down and I glanced at the menu, I almost cried. FRESH VEGGIE JUICE! Quinoa! Salads without meat and cheese! I was in heaven. Cafe Florian became my hot spot whenever I was close by, and then later I also discovered an awesome Indian place, which I knew would have veggie options, and the food was amazing. Besides that I became addicted to this incredible coconut sorbet that was vegan and had shreds of real coconut in it. YUM. At the end of the trip I ended up meeting this French entertainment lawyer who I discovered later was vegan. I wished I had a chance to chat with him in-depth about staying vegan in France, because from the cuisine it would seem right to assume that French vegans do not exist. Will be looking him up next time I’m there. Was a glorious trip, and I am thankful to say I survived and now that I am back to one. The first thing I did after sleeping for almost two days straight was buy some coconuts. Never been so happy to see a Whole Foods in my life! -XoXo Raw Girl

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdFNSy579lk]

NYC Vegetarian Food Festival This Weekend!

Living la Vida Raw

Hey Veggie Lovers:

I’m taking a road trip back to my second home in Brooklyn this weekend so I can be in NYC on Sunday to attend the Vegetarian Food Festival. The festival was organized by Sarah Gross, founder of Rescue Chocolate, and Nira Paliwoda, event planner and foodie, who wanted to create an event for all of the conscious eaters in the city to come together!

 There will be food samples from some of NYC’s best vegetarian/vegan chefs and  restaurants, information, speakers,  raffles, prizes, and did I mention FOOD SAMPLES. I am planning to go early and to go on an empty stomach because there is bound to be too much good vegan food to snack on. The best part about it is its FREE. If you are in NYC or if your up for a road trip this weekend, don’t miss this awesome event. I’m sure your taste buds will thank you. – XoXo Raw Girl

For more information on the schedule and location visit their website: http://nycvegfoodfest.com

VEGGIE LOVE: Okra

constipation

A couple of months ago, we were overwhelmed by the large harvest of okra in the garden.  I had to get down and dirty in the garden to help pick all of it, and also put my creative cooking skills to work to whip up new uses for it. Below is the video for my delicious Okra Cobb Salad that I shot awhile back and am just now getting around to releasing. Before you check that out, here’s a few fun facts about okra you may not know that’ll make you think twice when you pass it by in the veggie aisle.

Okra also known as gumbo, lady’s finger, bamia, or bindi, is a member of the mallow plant family and is kin to cotton, hibiscus, and cocoa. It was also discovered in Ethiopia during 12th century B.C and cultivated by ancient Egyptians; Cleopatra of Egypt was known to regularly consume okra, possibly because of its beauty enhancing benefits as it protects from pimples and enhances the skin. The seeds in some regions are toasted, ground and served as a substitute for coffee!

Okra is a mucilaginous vegetable, full of natural fiber which regulates blood sugar levels by curbing the amount of sugar absorbed in the intestinal tract. It helps to relieve constipation and can aid with a host of other ailments including diabetes, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, and acne.

Besides being fat-free, okra is also low in calories it is packed with nutrients including: vitamin A, Thiamin, B6, C, folic acid, riboflavin, calcium, zinc and dietary fiber. In addition, okra feeds good bacteria/probiotics to flourish in the body. What’s not to love about this gooey veggie? If you need some inspiration, below is the raw okra salad recipe that had everyone in my household talking for days. I was surprised at how good it tasted raw; okra is now a staple for me.  Hope you’ll give it a try! -XoXo RawGirl

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDLFWwFVTSQ]

Invisible Crustaceans in Every Refreshing Glass of NYC Tap Water

alkaline water

So the next time you’re in the Big Apple on a muggy summer day and you head out to eat or over to your friend’s place, and you just happen to down that nice refreshing glass of ice water to quench your thirst, you know what else you’ll be drinking? Shrimp. Seriously, I wish it was a joke. Am I the only one who thinks this is utterly disgusting? I really hope not. Sometimes when I am visiting friends, eating at a restaurant, or on-the-go away from home I get that look of derision when I turn down tap water. It’s that knowing—- “Oh your one of those whose too good for tap water,” look.  Sometimes they actually just come out and say just that, (especially in New York). I just shrug, and smile, thinking about all the little critters that I am avoiding. 

I know that I am a bit of a clean water Nazi, and I really am okay with that. Why? Because I love to avoid at all costs parasitic infections, trace pharmaceuticals, and now apparently in NYC, tiny shrimp in my glass of H2O. A friend sent me a link and I almost gagged on my glass of reverse osmosis water.  Prior to this heads up, you wouldn’t catch me drinking water that was anything but alkaline or distilled  in New York anyway, but this just makes my case all the more firm. I hope that all you lovely raw foodies and vegans (really anyone nowadays), but you especially, will get on the clean (truly clean, not just clean in the commercial) water bandwagon very soon.

Too many diseases nowadays are born just from lack of clean water alone. I definitely feel blessed to have such a wide range of choices between tap, glorified tap, bottled water, distilled, alkaline water etc. but I am not ignorant enough to forget the fact that for many people in our world it isn’t even an option. -XoXo Raw Girl

Check out the picture of the Shrimp in your NYC Tap Water:

http://gizmodo.com/5626497/you-swallow-invisible-shrimp-with-every-gulp-of-nyc-tap-water

For previous musings on water options, check out this past article:

http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2010/02/24/new-article-finding-pure-energized-water-admist-the-scarcity/

How to Make a Sweet Popeye Smoothie

popeye

Hey there veggie lovers, got another quick and easy  smoothie for you. This is a variation of the “Popeye” which is named that way cause Popeye got all his strength from spinach, if you remember….Although I think it was canned spinach or something, right? So this may be a better, organic version, with a little extra tanginess to boot.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgvilWBQrog]

Ingredients:

Water and meat from 1 Thai Coconut, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1/2-1 cup diced organic pineapple

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy!

How to Make a Romaine Refresher Juice

green juice

Hey party people: I got a new juicer! So I am having fun creating some new juice concoctions. This Romaine Refresher  juice, I made up on the fly because there happened to be a lot of romaine lettuce in my fridge. It is as refreshing as the title leads on—and is a lovely light juice to drink, especially as the weather gets warmer. Although we never think too much about getting nutrients from the lettuce in our salads, Romaine lettuce is the most nutrient-dense of all the lettuce varieties and is an excellent source of vitamins A, B1, B2, and C, folic acid, manganese and chromium. Hope you get down with some romaine in your green juice soon! – XoXo Raw Girl

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9RnFOZJrjU]

Ingredients:

1 head of Romaine Lettuce, 1 whole lemon, 7-8 stalks of celery, 1/3 ginger root