Simplicity

As you begin your journey into detox and weight-loss you will notice your tastes becoming simpler. You will begin to revel in each luscious bite of a strawberry or a crisp refreshing salad.

As I’ve said, I don’t have a lot of time to fuss over meals, which is perfect for detox anyway. Simplicity in your dishes and your menus is best for digestion and elimination. It also means freedom from the kitchen, fast foods and spending money on things that make you sick.

I began one day this week with a lovely green juice of spinach, kale, parsley, apple and lemon while sitting on the beach before work.

On my way to work I sipped this lovely “Goddess of Greens” while I grabbed a bit of fresh ocean air (yes I know I’m lucky)

At work I had one of my usual delicious salads with lemon.

Greens, beets, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado and lemon juice.

At home after work my dinner was equally luscious and easy, a salad with corn, bell, pepper tomato, olives and lemon with a little taco seasoning for a little added zing.

After this refreshing salad I had an eggplant that I halved, scored, topped with butter ( yes! butter), taco seasoning and baked for an hour at 375 while enjoying my salad and a glass of wine. Scrape the cooked eggplant out of the skin and squeeze a little lemon juice. Yum.

As I have said before, cooked oils should be eventually eliminated from your diet. All oils except for coconut oil change their molecular structure at high heat and become rancid. Therefore they are indigestible and toxic to the system. Butter on the other hand, does not change with high heat and is completely digestible and recognized as food by the body. Of course it is not one of our desirable plant-based fats so should only be enjoyed occasionally and in small quantities.

Detox While Living a Real Life.

I have been doing my best to live a detox lifestyle for about 3 years now. I have progressed tremendously during that 3 years. I will get into my beginning two and a half years at a later time, but right now I want to focus on what I am doing now and what I have been doing for about 6 months. And let me say that I have experienced amazing transformations during that time. The key is to progress and transition SLOWLY!!

First, let me tell you that for the last year I have been not only doing occasional photo shoots, pursuing my hobbies, helping my daughter babysit her toddler, but I have also been working 2 regular jobs at 6-7 days per week. So when I tell you that this detox lifestyle and personal transformation can be done with a busy schedule, you know I am speaking the truth. 4-5 days per week i have been working at Trader Joes’, one of my favorite grocery stores for many years now. My typical day begins with a short session on the rebounder, some yoga, a dry brush massage a shower and if I am lucky a good bowel release. Then I make my green juice and a salad to take to work for lunch.

This was what I took to work with me yesterday. A Starbucks thermos of juice (6 months ago I was filling this with a venti coffe but one day I just didn’t need it anymore) and a big canister of salad. This one is baby lettuce, herb salad mix, butter lettuce, fresh raw corn from the cob, orange bell pepper, kalamata olives, heirloom cherry tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes. the dressing is lemon juice and a little “African smoke” seasoning.

Today I didn’t feel like making my juice or lunch so I stopped at my local health food store on the way to work. I drank a big green juice then and there (sorry, I was so anxious I forgot to take a picture) and I made this simple salad to take with me and just used lemon juice and sea salt with fresh ground pepper for dressing.

Baby greens, spinach, shredded beets, shredded carrots, grape tomatoes

For dinner the last 2 nights I have enjoyed a very satisfying dish:

Steamed broccoli, marinara, raw goat cheddar, kalamata olives

Complimented by a mellow Sonoma chardonnay

And a rich dark chocolate for dessert

Awaken and Release

Awaken and release. Those of you who are followers of Natalia Rose are very familiar with this term. If you don’t know what this means, let me tell you: not only is this the basis of the detox lifestyle, it is the key to weight-loss, energy and longevity. What it means is:

1. Disease has weight. Our amazing bodies are constantly attempting to eliminate disease matter.

2. Age has weight. Age is not measured by how many times we have rotated around the sun, but by how much debris and toxicity have we accumulated that we haven’t been able to release.

3. Toxicity has weight. Everything that we eat that is not alkiline, is acidic and it sticks to our tissues and accumulates.

In order to lose all of this excess waste, we have to first awaken the toxins in our system. We do this by flooding our intestines and thereby our bloodstreams with alkalinity. What is this alkalinity you may ask? It is the green juices and the raw water-based plant foods we have been discussing here.

That is the easy part.

Once we have awakened this toxic, acidic matter, how do we release it?

When we are babies and toddlers, if we are lucky, our bodies are able to eliminate the toxic matter that we are taught to ingest. As we get older the body becomes more clogged. It is not equipped to deal with the mass quantities that modern diet involves. Our incredible body stores it in the many open spaces that we originally have, and waits for a time when the influx slows down and it can assimilate these masses. Remember that science taught us that our bodies are designed like our solar system. The spinning atoms in our molecules are like the planets rotating around the sun. This means there is much more space in our bodies than there is matter. In other words there is plenty of room for our bodies to store this sticky gluey waste that was never meant to part of a human diet. The bowels begin to clog and back up and if we are lucky if we are able to eliminate 1 meal a day even though we eat 3 plus snacks plus how much else do we consume every single day.

Our system needs help. Not only do we need to awaken this old waste with hydrating alkine foods and juices, we need to assist the bowel in releasing what we have awakened. We need to familiarize ourselves with enemas and colonics.

Yes I said it.

If you plan to add green juice and salads to your diet for weight-loss and detox, you must assist the bowels in releasing these masses of accumulated waste. I guarantee you will be shocked at how much there is, and it just keeps on coming!

I would love for you to join me in this quest for energy, abundant health and longevity, oh and of course a lean body. I will be posting regular tips and photos and would love encouragement and comments from you. If you would like daily personal advice. and guidance in your own quest, I am in the process of developing a guided cleanse that we can do together, if you are interested.

Breathe and become one with the Universe again.

Breath and spirit mean the same thing in our root languages. Breathing deeply and properly brings us closer to the Divine.
Oxygen, along with water, is the key to life.

One of the reasons exercise works so well in helping us lose weight is the deep steady breathing it creates. It only makes sense that if we increase our deep and steady breathing in everyday life, we will aid our metabolism, not to mention the calm serenity that comes along with filling our blood cells with oxygen.
It actually helps us to be more confidant, to stand taller and face challenges with grace and knowing. We are more in the here and now.
Does that sound too good to believe? Try it.
I love Jena la Flamme’s video about breathing as you eat to help you lose weight.
Starting your day with a little aerobic exercise and some yoga is better than coffee. It not only gets the blood flowing but it keeps it flowing throughout the day.
Also, throughout the day, whenever you notice your breathing becoming shallow. Sit or stand a little taller and breathe through your nose deeply into your stomach. Keep your shoulders back, down and relaxed. Let your stomach inflate as you breathe in slowly. Feel your ribs begin to expand as the lungs expand. Hold it comfortably for a few seconds and let it out slowly. First let the stomach deflate and then feel the ribs go back down. When you feel the lungs completely deflate, push a little more air out. This will allow you to inhale and your lungs to automatically inflate deeply as you take your next breath.
Of course, I can’t let an opportunity pass without saying that live foods, i.e. raw water-based plant foods, are also filled with oxygen. Oxygen that goes directly into our bloodstream filling our bodies with the breath of life.

Stop Counting Calories, Fat, Carbs and Sodium

Stop counting calories, fat, protein, carbs & sodium. If you are then you’re worrying about the wrong part of the label. First check the ingredients. Will the body recognize it as food. Will it be digested and assimilated or will it take time and energy for the body to figure out what it is and what to do with it. Keep in mind that water is the key to life and vitality. Our bodies are more than 75% water. Therefore if the foods that we eat are water based and water soluble they are assimilated, digested and easily broken down by our bodies.
Yes meat has more protein than veggies but because of the time and energy it takes the body to glean the good nutrients from the dense dead matter it becomes negligible and dehydrating. Grains may be rich in carbs but are also dry and dense. The body processes them by converting them directly into sugar in the bloodstream. They actually effect the body in exactly the same way as alcohol. You get the carb high then you crash. At what loss of vitality health and longevity is all this difficult processing?
Raw greens may have less protein and carbs than meat or grains but they are water-filled and break down immediately and go straight into the blood with no trouble or loss of energy. In fact they create immediate energy not just a stimulation with a crash later. Meat and grains actually act as a stimulant or poison in the system.
When I check labels of processed foods I do look at fat calories but first I read what fats are there and what else is actually in it. Do I recognize the ingredients as food? Oils are a huge red flag for me. Our bodies do not digest cooked oils and practically all processed foods have been cooked or pasteurized. The only digestible fats are raw plant based fats. If you see cold or expeller pressed oils on a label of a processed food ask yourself this: is this food cooked? If so what good is a cold pressed oil? It has been heated now right? Heated oils are rancid and poisonous to the body. I will occasionally eat a food with a small amount of oil in it, like certain marinaras. But I try to always eat them with plenty of vegetables.
The body needs fat but the only fats we really assimilate for lubrication of joints, eyes etc are raw plant based fats like avocado or cold pressed olive or coconut oil. Raw nuts and seeds are also digestible fats but they are so dense and dry that they are dehydrating and difficult to digest so their benefits are negligible in an acidic compromised system. They can also be damaging if too many are eaten at a time. All other fats are stored in the body as fat.
Also in the ingredients list on labels I look for grains. Wheat flour, rice or rice flour, soy or soy flour are gluey and pasty. They are also so dry that they need a lot of energy to digest. They have a stimulating effect because they convert to sugar in the bloodstream. Athletes carb up and get temporary energy but at what cost. Foods that are carb and nutrient rich and still easy to digest are sweet potatoes and other root vegetables.
I also look for dairy products. Cow dairy is extremely indigestible for humans and it is sticky and gluey. You might have trouble wrapping your mind around this but cream and butter are easier to digest than milk, cheese or even yogurt. Cream and butter don’t contain the protein casein which is the indigestible protein in cows milk.
Greasy foods like cooked oils and fatty meats leave residue. Sticky pasty gluey foods like flour and dairy products leave residue. These residues can remain and build up in the tissues our entire lifetime. If we eat these foods we need to eat them with intelligence knowing that we need to help the digestion along with plenty of raw roughage like fresh green salads that will help shepherd the dehydrated and dehydrating foods through our long alimentary tract while basically rinsing and scrubbing at the same time. Then before we eat anything else sticky or gluey we need to drink plenty of fresh pressed green juice that will help rinse out the alimentary tract and flood the body with enough alkalinity to counter balance the acidity of these questionable foods.
Think about it
Foods that move through the body quickly and cleanly and are water-rich and nutrient-filled are the foods that contribute to abundant health and energy.
The best foods for our bodies don’t even have labels or lists of ingredients. You’ll find them in the produce department.

Just Say No

Like most people who question why we eat what we eat, I began by wanting to lose weight. During puberty I began to put on pounds. My dancing and gymnastics were dwindling and my appetite was increasing. I remember coming home from school (always to an empty house since both parents had to work to maintain a lifestyle they thought we needed) and eating a whole loaf of bread with peanut putter and honey. Looking back at those days I wonder what was I trying to numb myself from. Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s I remember nightmares about the bomb and fallout and being trapped outside, no one willing to let me in to escape the fallout. I remember at 11 years old my parents telling me that at 16 they would get me a nose job. I didn’t realize until then that I had a big nose. By the way, I never did get that nose job, instead at 16 I ran away from home. I didn’t want a nose job. I wanted to know “what is real? What is this life all about?” Nose jobs, face lifts, fancy cars, skinny bods, money, boring and stifling jobs, the Viet Nam War? Are these really the things we want to aspire to? Is this our legacy?

At 18 I went to Hawaii with $275 and a sleeping bag. Most of the people I met there were looking for the perfect wave, God, sex, the perfect body. Not necessarily in that order. At least there, I discovered that there was more to life than food. I discovered God was everywhere and most visible in nature. I discovered Ehret and found out how wrongly I had been taught to eat. I spent the next few decades trying to correct those bad habits. Still working on it, I’ll let you know how I’m doing as we go.

In my lifelong personal, and seemingly futile search for the perfect body, I have been discovering a wealth of other things. Things much more important than anything I thought was worth aspiring to in my younger days. I know that we are all connected and that what we do to the least of us matters and affects all of us. I include every living thing in that thought. If we don’t respect the land and the living things on it, we don’t respect ourselves. If we try to kill every single creepy crawly thing in our garden we are killing ourselves. If we continue to think about me me me we will lose everything.

This modern techno life that surrounds us is constantly bombarding us with information. Not information that we need for true happiness, mind you , but information that will make someone else money. Eat this! Buy this! And when it makes you sick, they can make so much more money cutting you up and filling you full of drugs that will just make you sicker. None of it is meant to heal, just cover the symptoms. In other words to numb you even more. If they can strip you of all true feelings, they can control you that much easier. Its so ridiculous.

This is what the clarity of blood and tissues helps us to realize. This lifestyle affords us true awareness of subtle realities, This is what life is really about. Clearing away the cobwebs that numb us to what is real and important. Do we want to continue feeding this insane consumer-driven consciousness that is spinning out of control driving us straight to the depths of Hell? Or do we want to be aware that this part of our lives (the mass quantities we consume) is not truly real. We are so much more. As we learn to let go of some of the addictions to these fake foods and products being pushed on us, we begin to get a taste of real freedom.

As the pathways in our bodies become clear of the rubbish we continually pack into them, our thoughts also begin to clear. We begin to feel again. Instead of being desensitized by the mass quantities that fill up our tissues, we become sensitized for the first time since childhood. We start to know when we are full. When something doesn’t agree with us, we know what and why and we know it immediately.

I remember first reading Ehret speaking of the spirituality that comes with the cleansing of the blood and thinking I want that clarity. And I have seen Natalia Roses’ work become more and more spiritual as you read her blogs and books from the beginning to now.

My own studies into shamanism and my journeys into the upper worlds and lower worlds of the cosmic realm have led me to spiritual helpers that have imparted words of wisdom to me that I am finally beginning to comprehend and consciously incorporate into my life. Mind you I am no where near yet clean of tissues and blood but I do feel myself becoming somewhat clearer and more aware. More ready to deal with the information that I have received on my journeys.

Living in this concrete jungle, as so many of us do, I forget sometimes the nature that surrounds me and the wisdom that is out there for me to grab every second of every day. I loved hearing Natalia say the fruits and vegetables that we eat and drink are such a strong connection to nature for us.

I constantly dream of moving to the country and having my own family domain as Anastasia recommends in the Ringing Cedars of Russia series. I dream of seeing the stars at night and growing my own fruits and vegetables, having nature at my doorstep. I forget that nature is always at my doorstep and all I have to do is open the door.

This path that we are on is cosmic not just physical.

To Be or Not To Be Raw and a Raw Vegan Pesto Pasta

My beautiful grand-daughter, Dylan, and all of the ingredients to Raw Vegan Pesto with Angel Hair

to be raw or not to be raw

There is no doubt the raw food movement is immeasurably better than the standard american diet and that it can claim many achievements. I don’t believe though that the average person can detox their body and cleanse their cells just by going raw. First you have to eliminate the rubbish impacted in your tissues before the ultimate vibrating foods can really do what they were meant to do in our bodies. Fruit, especially, may be the queen bee but in a clogged acidic system it can do more harm than good. That being said a diet high in raw if used systematicly with cooked foods and even a few animal products, eaten alternately and in conjunction with systematic under-eating to quote Ehret, is the key to abundant health. The many raw food dishes out there can have their place in a cleansing lifestyle,

There are so many delicious dishes from the raw food movement. Many of them are way too dense and rich, full of nuts, oils and way too many ingredients. Occasionally as a treat though they can be fine. I try to find or create lighter versions of the typical raw food fare to include in my diet as a change, a treat or if I’m entertaining.

This dish is an example . it contains no oils but it does call for a cup of pine nuts, it is my understanding that the smaller the nut or seed the easier it is to digest therefore better for our purpose here, ie to lose weight and boost vitality.

Raw Vegan Pesto with Angel hair

3 cups spiralized zucchini/squash

2 cups herb salad mix

1 cup raw pine nuts

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup carrot/celery juice

salt and pepper to taste

sun dried tomatoes

Cut the squash into even pieces that will fit into your spiralizer

Spiralize squash. I use my inexpensive joyce chen model

Strain and press the moisture out of your ‘pasta” with paper towel

Pulse greens and garlic in your processor. I’m still using my 25 year old Cuisinart

add juice and liquify
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop sun dried tomatoes to garnish on top

In the Beginning…

The key to success in this way of life is to stay with it. It can be fun and exciting as you see the great progress you are making, but it can be difficult @ times. This journey you are embarking upon is truly a dance. There are many subtleties and you will become more and more aware of the signals your body is sending you. It is important to begin slowly. You do not want to make huge changes in the beginning. Your body will tell you when it is time to take it up a notch and when it is time to slow down a little.
We are so conditioned by this society to eat like everyone else. Big breakfast, lots of variety in our meals for two examples and both of those couldn’t be more wrong or damaging to our systems. People don’t realize just how much energy digestion takes.

You may have noticed in my daily detox essentials the term light to heavy. That works for each meal ie start w/ a salad and end w/ the entre. It also works for the entire day. Little or no breakfast, a very light lunch and a satisfying, comforting evening meal. I know that may sound odd to many of you, but it works. Once you train yourself to eat light during the day you’ll see that your energy increases greatly. You won’t need that afternoon siesta anymore.

Also in this list of essentials is to never mix starch and protein at the same meal. The reason for this rule and the light to heavy rule is that the key to health and weight loss is to eliminate our meals and the remaining waste from past meals as quickly and efficiently as possible. The body digests protein and starches or carbs differently. The stomach acids needed to digest both of these completely different substances will neutralize each other if they are in the stomach together, thereby tripling digestion and transit time. Meals begin to crash into each other in the stomach, the intestines and the bowels and the system bogs down to a near standstill. The residues from these old meals ferments, forms gasses, begins to rot and decay and then it dehydrates as it is packed into the tissues to make room for the next few meals.

Eating the way I suggest and following these few simple rules, you will begin to loosen up these deposits of old dehydrated waste in your body. And as you eliminate them your energy and vitality will increase tremendously.

If you can replace your breakfast with a green juice and have a green salad with avocado and lemon juice for lunch, you will soon see what I mean. Results will begin to happen immediately. For our purposes, avocados may be technically a fruit but they combine as a starch. If this is too much of a change for you right now, if you are used to a big breakfast of starch, protein or both you definitely want to start a little slower. You might want to begin with sprouted grain toast and avocado or an egg with cottage cheese for breakfast. Please don’t combine either of these ideas with each other or with fruit. Variety may be the spice of life but where your diet is concerned, it is a disaster for a lean energetic body. A breakfast possibility for a cleaner stomach could be some fresh fruit or a smoothie made with bananas, berries and throw in a little spinach or romaine and some bee pollen.

After a well combined breakfast, have your green juice as a mid-morning snack then lighten your lunch as much as possible. If you prefer starches, have avocado with your salad. You could add a piece of whole grain toast or a small baked potato (preferably a sweet potato) to this. If you prefer protein, have some grated cheese on your salad instead of the avocado and add a boiled egg or a small piece of fish or chicken if you need more. But remember not to mix starches with the protein.

If you can begin by abiding with these two simple rules, you will be off to a good start. The next step is to look at your afternoon snack, if necessary, and your evening meal.

I’ll save that for another post.