Don't worry, I'm getting enough protein...

I eat almost NO meat, eggs, or dairy and people ask me all the time if I think I'm getting enough protein in my diet. If you have the same concern then just take a few minutes and read this

http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/nutrition-manifesto/plant-protein-source/

Protein: Are We Deficient? Or Overdosing?

Myth #1: “People need 20% protein—and animal protein is best.”

The idea that beef, chicken, fish and other animal products are the “best” source of protein is ingrained in the American psyche because of very successful work on the part of the multibillion-dollar cattle and dairy industries. They have immeasurable help from the fact that bodybuilders can show impressive bulk as a result of eating “quality” animal proteins. The plant protein source is, in fact, superior.
People are surprised to learn that vegetables have plenty of protein. To believe that, you have to let go of the idea of 20 percent protein being good and necessary—Colin Campbell’s animal studies in The China Study, and then his largest human nutrition study ever conducted, documented that a 20 percent animal protein diet leads to all the modern degenerative diseases.
Campbell noted that rats fed 20 percent casein (cow-milk protein) developed cancerous tumors and died early, while those fed 5 percent casein were lean and vigorous beyond their life expectancy. When the diets of the two groups were switched, Campbell and other researchers around the world repeatedly got consistent results. Formerly lean animals developed tumors and died on a high-protein diet. And the tumors of overweight, cancer-ridden animals disappeared and life expectancy increased when they were switched to low-protein feed.
I used to lease a Pharmanex Biophotonic Scanner, and in the course of a year scanned 10,000 people nationwide for the carotenoid antioxidant levels in their skin, which is the nutritional endpoint of the body. The average American scans at 20,000. I scan at 70,000, which is above the 99th percentile and off the top end of the chart (as you would expect, virtually all raw foodists I measured scan at 50,000 or above). I scanned cancer patients who were below 10,000 (and we therefore could not get a reading). And despite doing a lot of work in gyms, I never once scanned a bodybuilder even as high as the national average! They were, on average, not much higher than the cancer patients. Their animal-protein diets may create a bulked-up appearance, but I’m more concerned about their long-term health.
Vegetables tend to have 9-10 percent protein. (Broccoli and spinach, however, have more than 40 percent protein, and my Best Whole Food Green Drink has the best green sources of protein on the planet, spirulina and chlorella algaes, with 58-60 percent protein.)
The China Study’s conclusion was that Americans are actually suffering from massive protein overload. My cancer research is yielding conclusions of a variety of experts in orthomolecular medicine (utilizing nutrition) including the Gerson Institute and the Ann Wigmore Institute that undigested animal proteins in the gut and in the bloodstream, are at the root of cancer, heart disease, and auto-immune diseases. We simply cannot digest all the protein we flood our systems with. Minimizing carbs and maximizing protein is nothing more or better than a fad—and it’s a damaging one.
The World Health Organization, even, states that 5 percent protein is actually ideal. In order to achieve the 20 percent pushed on us by food faddists Robert Atkins, Barry Sears, South Beach Diet, etc., we have to eat lots of animals (it takes 20 lbs. of plants to produce 1 lb. of animal flesh) or eat highly processed, synthetic vitamin-fortified low-nutrition whey or soy protein powders and bars.
People often say they know sickly vegans to justify daily meat eating as a good lifestyle choice. But of course, not all vegans eat good nutrition: they don’t eat meat, but they might eat cotton candy for breakfast! Have you ever seen a sickly gorilla? He eats plants all day.
Stephen Arlin, author of Raw Power!, is a 17-yr. vegan raw-foodist, as well as a rocked-up, 6’2”, 225-lb. bodybuilder. Bill Pearl is a vegetarian who won four Mr. Universe bodybuilder titles. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “Bill Pearl never talked me into becoming a vegetarian, but he did convince me that a vegetarian could become a champion body builder.”
A “quality” protein or “perfect” protein (animal flesh that matches human flesh closely) isn’t the same thing as “good” protein, as Campbell discusses extensively in The China Study. Your body can assemble all the amino acids from a plant protein source to create more quality muscle mass that does not break down quickly like that in heavy-meat-eating athletes.
I inadvertently put Stephen Arlin’s theory and observation that plant-based muscle mass is more enduring to the test recently. I peeled a tendon off my shoulder kickboxing and was forced to take a nine-month break from all weight training while rehabilitating. When I returned (having eaten my long-time, vegetable-intensive and animal-products-minimal diet), I was able to lift my original weight within two weeks and had lost no visible muscle definition.
Perhaps the proof is in the (dairy free, of course) pudding. At 40, I have bone density in the highest percentage category—comparable to a 20-yr. old. My diet has been less than 5 percent animal protein my entire life. I have never drunk a glass of cow milk. (And according to blood and metabolic typing, as well as according to my ethnic origins, I’m a “protein type.” While we do vary somewhat, individually, in our nutritional needs, before you become a “nutritional typing” adherent, remember that these are interesting but new, fairly untested fads in nutrition propagated by a charismatic few.)
Americans have been falsely educated into thinking they won’t get enough protein if they don’t eat meat. In the 1900’s, it was thought that people needed 120 grams of protein daily. In the 90′s, nutritionists recommended about 80 grams a day. Newer research shows we need only about 25 grams.
A clinical study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association compared amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) in the diets of meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. They used a high standard that would cover the needs of pregnant women and growing children. All three diets provided MORE than enough protein, by double or more!
Other studies document that Americans are getting 150% to 400% more protein than they need. You can certainly eat plenty of dairy products (high in calcium) and have a calcium deficiency. How else are we the highest dairy-consuming nation in the world (by double the next-highest country) and also have the highest rate of osteoporosis? Fully half of us over the age of 60 get osteoporosis—and I believe that this already high number will grow dramatically as our soda-drinking youth age. The massive amount of animal protein we eat causes such an acidic state in the body that calcium from the bones is robbed in order to bring the blood and tissues into alkaline balance.
I seem to keep having conversations with powerlifter friends about this topic. I can be pretty persuasive, but getting competitive weight lifters to consider eating less meat and more plant food is like trying to tell a Catholic priest to quit going to Mass. What powerlifters do to build up huge pecs, lats, biceps and triceps muscles might win competitions, but it also accelerates aging, as well as disease risk. This week my friend Roy (who maxes the bench press with 455 lbs.) told me he’s on a 60% protein diet. While he’s thinking of his upcoming competition and fearing the ungodly carbohydrate, I’m thinking of the massive enzyme-draining load on his body.
Fact: Animal flesh and animal products may lead to quick muscle mass, but eating lots of animal flesh is a Faustian bargain: short-term gain for a steep long-term price. Protein powders and bars are a fad designed to increase protein intake beyond healthy ratios. A plant protein source is best and leads to long-lasting, slower-to-build but slower-to-degenerate muscle mass. A typical American 20 percent animal protein diet is linked to cancer, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, and many more risks.
Campbell noted that rats fed 20 percent casein (cow-milk protein) developed cancerous tumors and died early, while those fed 5 percent casein were lean and vigorous beyond their life expectancy. When the diets of the two groups were switched, Campbell and other researchers around the world repeatedly got consistent results. Formerly lean animals developed tumors and died on a high-protein diet. And the tumors of overweight, cancer-ridden animals disappeared and life expectancy increased when they were switched to low-protein feed.
I used to lease a Pharmanex Biophotonic Scanner, and in the course of a year scanned 10,000 people nationwide for the carotenoid antioxidant levels in their skin, which is the nutritional endpoint of the body. The average American scans at 20,000. I scan at 70,000, which is above the 99th percentile and off the top end of the chart (as you would expect, virtually all raw foodists I measured scan at 50,000 or above). I scanned cancer patients who were below 10,000 (and we therefore could not get a reading). And despite doing a lot of work in gyms, I never once scanned a bodybuilder even as high as the national average! They were, on average, not much higher than the cancer patients. Their animal-protein diets may create a bulked-up appearance, but I’m more concerned about their long-term health.
Vegetables tend to have 9-10 percent protein. (Broccoli and spinach, however, have more than 40 percent protein, and my Best Whole Food Green Drink has the best green sources of protein on the planet, spirulina and chlorella algaes, with 58-60 percent protein.)
The China Study’s conclusion was that Americans are actually suffering from massive protein overload. My cancer research is yielding conclusions of a variety of experts in orthomolecular medicine (utilizing nutrition) including the Gerson Institute and the Ann Wigmore Institute that undigested animal proteins in the gut and in the bloodstream, are at the root of cancer, heart disease, and auto-immune diseases. We simply cannot digest all the protein we flood our systems with. Minimizing carbs and maximizing protein is nothing more or better than a fad—and it’s a damaging one.
The World Health Organization, even, states that 5 percent protein is actually ideal. In order to achieve the 20 percent pushed on us by food faddists Robert Atkins, Barry Sears, South Beach Diet, etc., we have to eat lots of animals (it takes 20 lbs. of plants to produce 1 lb. of animal flesh) or eat highly processed, synthetic vitamin-fortified low-nutrition whey or soy protein powders and bars.
People often say they know sickly vegans to justify daily meat eating as a good lifestyle choice. But of course, not all vegans eat good nutrition: they don’t eat meat, but they might eat cotton candy for breakfast! Have you ever seen a sickly gorilla? He eats plants all day.
Stephen Arlin, author of Raw Power!, is a 17-yr. vegan raw-foodist, as well as a rocked-up, 6’2”, 225-lb. bodybuilder. Bill Pearl is a vegetarian who won four Mr. Universe bodybuilder titles. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “Bill Pearl never talked me into becoming a vegetarian, but he did convince me that a vegetarian could become a champion body builder.”
A “quality” protein or “perfect” protein (animal flesh that matches human flesh closely) isn’t the same thing as “good” protein, as Campbell discusses extensively in The China Study. Your body can assemble all the amino acids from a plant protein source to create more quality muscle mass that does not break down quickly like that in heavy-meat-eating athletes.
I inadvertently put Stephen Arlin’s theory and observation that plant-based muscle mass is more enduring to the test recently. I peeled a tendon off my shoulder kickboxing and was forced to take a nine-month break from all weight training while rehabilitating. When I returned (having eaten my long-time, vegetable-intensive and animal-products-minimal diet), I was able to lift my original weight within two weeks and had lost no visible muscle definition.
Perhaps the proof is in the (dairy free, of course) pudding. At 40, I have bone density in the highest percentage category—comparable to a 20-yr. old. My diet has been less than 5 percent animal protein my entire life. I have never drunk a glass of cow milk. (And according to blood and metabolic typing, as well as according to my ethnic origins, I’m a “protein type.” While we do vary somewhat, individually, in our nutritional needs, before you become a “nutritional typing” adherent, remember that these are interesting but new, fairly untested fads in nutrition propagated by a charismatic few.)
Americans have been falsely educated into thinking they won’t get enough protein if they don’t eat meat. In the 1900’s, it was thought that people needed 120 grams of protein daily. In the 90′s, nutritionists recommended about 80 grams a day. Newer research shows we need only about 25 grams.
A clinical study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association compared amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) in the diets of meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. They used a high standard that would cover the needs of pregnant women and growing children. All three diets provided MORE than enough protein, by double or more!
Other studies document that Americans are getting 150% to 400% more protein than they need. You can certainly eat plenty of dairy products (high in calcium) and have a calcium deficiency. How else are we the highest dairy-consuming nation in the world (by double the next-highest country) and also have the highest rate of osteoporosis? Fully half of us over the age of 60 get osteoporosis—and I believe that this already high number will grow dramatically as our soda-drinking youth age. The massive amount of animal protein we eat causes such an acidic state in the body that calcium from the bones is robbed in order to bring the blood and tissues into alkaline balance.
I seem to keep having conversations with powerlifter friends about this topic. I can be pretty persuasive, but getting competitive weight lifters to consider eating less meat and more plant food is like trying to tell a Catholic priest to quit going to Mass. What powerlifters do to build up huge pecs, lats, biceps and triceps muscles might win competitions, but it also accelerates aging, as well as disease risk. This week my friend Roy (who maxes the bench press with 455 lbs.) told me he’s on a 60% protein diet. While he’s thinking of his upcoming competition and fearing the ungodly carbohydrate, I’m thinking of the massive enzyme-draining load on his body.
Fact: Animal flesh and animal products may lead to quick muscle mass, but eating lots of animal flesh is a Faustian bargain: short-term gain for a steep long-term price. Protein powders and bars are a fad designed to increase protein intake beyond healthy ratios. A plant protein source is best and leads to long-lasting, slower-to-build but slower-to-degenerate muscle mass. A typical American 20 percent animal protein diet is linked to cancer, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, and many more risks.

"Should sugar be regulated like a drug?"

this is an article I found at a really cool website called Food Matters
http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp_516271/Should_Sugar_be_Regulated_Like_a_Drug

'Sugar poses enough health risks that it should be considered a controlled substance just like alcohol and tobacco, contend a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

In an opinion piece called “The Toxic Truth About Sugar” that was published Feb. 1 in the journal Nature, Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis argue that it’s a misnomer to consider sugar just “empty calories.” They write: “There is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills — slowly.”

Almost everyone’s heard of — or personally experienced — the proverbial sugar high, so perhaps the comparison between sugar and alcohol or tobacco shouldn’t come as a surprise. But it’s doubtful that Americans will look favorably upon regulating their favorite vice. We’re a nation that’s sweet on sugar: the average U.S. adult downs 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, according to the American Heart Association, and surveys have found that teens swallow 34 teaspoons.

To counter our consumption, the authors advocate taxing sugary foods and controlling sales to kids under 17. Already, 17% of U.S. children and teens are obese, and across the world the sugar intake has tripled in the past 50 years. The increase has helped create a global obesity pandemic that contributes to 35 million annual deaths worldwide from noninfectious diseases including diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

“There are good calories and bad calories, just as there are good fats and bad fats, good amino acids and bad amino acids, good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates,” Lustig, a professor of pediatrics and director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health (WATCH) program at UCSF, said in a statement. “But sugar is toxic beyond its calories.”

The food industry tries to imply that “a calorie is a calorie,” says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. “But this and other research suggests there is something different about sugar,” says Brownell.


(Ads Featuring Overweight Children Make Some Experts Uncomfortable)

The UCSF report emphasizes the metabolic effects of sugar. Excess sugar can alter metabolism, raise blood pressure, skew the signaling of hormones and damage the liver — outcomes that sound suspiciously similar to what can happen after a person drinks too much alcohol. Schmidt, co-chair of UCSF’s Community Engagement and Health Policy program, noted on CNN: “When you think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. Alcohol, after all, is simply the distillation of sugar. Where does vodka come from? Sugar.”

But there are also other areas of impact that researchers have investigated: the effect of sugar on the brain and how liquid calories are interpreted differently by the body than solids. Research has suggested that sugar activates the same reward pathways in the brain as traditional drugs of abuse like morphine or heroin. No one is claiming the effect of sugar is quite that potent, but, says Brownell, “it helps confirm what people tell you anecdotally, that they crave sugar and have withdrawal symptoms when they stop eating it.”

There’s also something particularly insidious about sugary beverages. “When calories come in liquids, the body doesn’t feel as full,” says Brownell. “People are getting more of their calories than ever before from sugared beverages.”

Other countries, including France, Greece and Denmark, levy soda taxes, and the concept is being considered in at least 20 U.S. cities and states. Last summer, Philadelphia came close to passing a 2-cents-per-ounce soda tax. The Rudd Center has been a vocal proponent of a more modest 1-cent-per-ounce tax. But at least one study, from 2010, has raised doubts that soda taxes would result in significant weight loss: apparently people who are determined to eat — and drink — unhealthily will find ways to do it.

Ultimately, regulating sugar will prove particularly tricky because it transcends health concerns; sugar, for so many people, is love. A plate of cut-up celery just doesn’t pack the same emotional punch as a tin of homemade chocolate chip cookies, which is why I took my daughter for a cake pop and not an apple as an after-school treat today. We don’t do that regularly — it’s the first time this school year, actually — and that’s what made it special. As a society, could we ever reach the point where we’d think apples — not cake on a stick — are something to get excited over? Says Brindis, one of the report’s authors and director of UCSF’s Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies: “We recognize that there are cultural and celebratory aspects of sugar. Changing these patterns is very complicated.”

For inroads to be made, say the authors in their statement, people have to be better educated about the hazards of sugar and agree that something’s got to change:

Many of the interventions that have reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption can be models for addressing the sugar problem, such as levying special sales taxes, controlling access, and tightening licensing requirements on vending machines and snack bars that sell high sugar products in schools and workplaces.

“We’re not talking prohibition,” Schmidt said. “We’re not advocating a major imposition of the government into people’s lives. We’re talking about gentle ways to make sugar consumption slightly less convenient, thereby moving people away from the concentrated dose. What we want is to actually increase people’s choices by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get.”

Source: www.healthland.time.com/2012/02/02/...

sick of being sick!

Oh my goodness, I've been sick, and I mean SICK, since Friday (it's now Monday!).  I've been laying in bed, not doing much all weekend and I'm still not feeling that much better. People (well intentioned people) keep telling me that I need to go to the doctor - especially because I'm pregnant... But, honestly, what is a doctor going to do for me? He may guess that I have a head cold, or a bad sinus infection, may tell me to take some Tylenol and maybe some anticongestion pill. And I know that these may surpress the symptoms I'm feeling but they won't really 'cure' me, or take care of the problem.
I've told Heavenly Father that I'm actually thankful that I'm feeling lousy because it helps mee have a grateful heart for when my body feels perfectly fine. However, 4 days!!!!??? Seriously? 4 days sick?
On Facebook a friend posted a cool video about how there's something good in adversity. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=X9ekYemnLik
So, watching this made me ask myself (and my Father) why am I going through this? Meaning, what do I need to learn? And the thought that came t my mind was: "you are what you eat". I've been eating some junk, so now I feel like junk.
I'm thinking, if I want to feel 5 stars, I better eat like 5 stars = eat well, lots of fruits, vegetables, mostly raw, and some cooked grains. And then I feel like asking: "Is there no other way?"
I know of someone else who asked that question... and the answer was: "there is no other way".
Ahhhrrr...
I want to feel good and healthy and energetic BUT still eat chocolate mousse, cheese cake, spagethi, eggs, white bread sandwich with good quality cheese and butter, etc.
There are so many different sources and different ideas on what is good and what is not. Some say eggs are awesome for you, some say they produce mucus in your body, there are so many phylosopies....
My family is here (kids and husband) so I'll have to finish writing my thoughts later...

unassisted birth

Today I was reading a blog entry about unassisted birth.
The blog writer expressed that she didn't feel like she had a bond with her son because, even though it was a natural birth, she had the help of a midwife.... and this is the response I shared on her blog entry:
- I think I understand what you're expressing in this entry. And because everyone is entitled to their own way of thinking I'd like to share with you that I disagree with "I really don't think most moms own their babies". The fact that someone (whether it's a midwife, doctor, husband, etc.) holds your baby as he exits your body and then hands him over to you has nothing to do with ownership. In the same way that having someone else helping you with the birthing process does not mean you're less involved,or less in control.
God did not put us here on earth for us to do everything alone. And in fact being able to do things alone does not mean one is stronger. We are all brothers and sisters, who should work as a team. I believe that it is as much a blessing to give birth to a baby as it is to allow someone else to be involved with the birth of 'your' baby.
I've read a few things about home births, natural births and the like. And I like the idea! I will continue reading about it and contemplating it for myself with this pregnancy (even though my dear husband really dislikes the idea of not having the baby at a hospital). However, I will never think any less of myself, of my bond with my baby, or of my role as this baby's Mama if I decide to have the baby in a hospital, or to have an epidural, or to have the help of others during the birth. I believe that we all have different gifts and doctors and midwives and doulas have a gift when it comes to knowledge and what to do during the birth of a baby. There is nothing wrong about allowing these people to help you (and serve you) with the gifts that they have been given.
I compare it to my gift. I love, love, love reading and learning about health and fitness and proper nutrition. And I'm now working in the fitness industry. There is nothing wrong in another person allowing me to help them in their workout routine (it's my job). When others allow me to help them with their exercise it doesn't mean that they don't own their own health or body, or that they are less in control. They are just allowing someone else (who has a gift in that particular area) to help them.
It seems like so many mothers who do unassisted birth feel like they are better mothers just for that reason. When unassisted birth doesn't necessarily correlate with giving more affection, love, time, patience, etc to a baby.

Sometimes it's easy, but then, sometimes it's hard

So I used to tell myself over and over again that if I got pregnant I would for sure go 100% raw because that would be the best for the baby and for my own body, of course. I kept thinking that having a new being being formed inside of me would be THE BEST motivator to eating healthy all the time, and whenever I would attempt to eat raw but would later fail I just always rationalized that I wasn't motivated enough to do this if it was just for me, BUT if there was another life involved (baby) that I could do it.

Well, I am pregnant! : )
And I have been eating mostly raw fruits. Sometimes it's really easy to eat healthy and to leave aside all the junk that has no nutritional value, however, sometimes it's hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been feeling nausea and lots of times nothing, I mean nothing feels appealing to me. The problem is that if I don't eat then I feel weak and then when I do get super hungry I want high caloric foods - and unfortunately, we all know that fruits and vegetables are very low on calories.
There are days when I eat all fruit in the morning and then some vegetables for lunch, but by the time dinner comes around I WANT SOMETHING COOKED!!!
Plus, I think that one factor that is making it hard for me to want to eat all raw is that fact that it's cold! I get cold very easily and fruit or salads are not appealing because thy do not warm me up.
I'm still eating a vegan diet (except for the *&*^%^%$# pizza hut that I had the other day - I was craving it like crazy!!! And the four pieces of beef I had today from Panda!)
Man, sometimes I think I'm a failure. But I know I shouldn't think like that. After all I am taking better care of my body than most people, and I know that it's not Heavenly Father's way of thinking. Satan is the one that wants me to think that it's either all or nothing and if I make any types of mistakes I'm a looser.
I will just keep making good choices about the food I eat, and I will love my body, my spirit and my soul. The things I do well - I will celebrate, and the things I don't do as well - I will work on improving.

Sofia

savory veggie stews

I get emails from Roger Heaskee regularly and I'm super curious about his savory veggie stews, but there's no way I can afford $97 for a 27 minute  downloadable video that will show me how to make these. At least not now...

So, I've done some searches and these are the only recipes I've come across. The first one I found on a site and it's not one of Roger's original stews (but I'm going to try it this week). The second one I got in an email from Roger and it's by his wife/girlfriend (and I want to try it too).

If anyone out there has a good recipe for a tasty RAW STEW - please share it with me : ) I would send you lots of love and positive energy in return : )

 

You can easily create your own stew based off ingredients you have/like. You can also take any soup recipe and make it chunky by not blending it smoothly or adding in toppings afterward. You can make a stew a combination of sweet and savory by adding dates, sweetener or mild fruit. Here's an example:

1-2 Celery, stalks
4 cups Greens
2 Tomatoes
Carrots, chopped
Green Beans, chopped
1-2 Garlic cloves
Cayenne and/or Curry Powder
2-3 cup Water
Optional: Dash Salt, 2-5 soaked Dates or 2 tsp Agave or honey
Blend Celery, Greens, Tomatoes. Top w/tomatoes, carrots, beans.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Taste Of Asia Gazpacho

By Karmyn Malone

Preparation Time: 10-Minutes or Less

One Large Serving:

2 cups diced tomato (4 roma tomatoes or 1 super large tomato (4"
diameter) will make two cups)

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

2 tbsp raw honey or raw agave (you can also substitute soaked dried
fruit like raisins or dates)

1 2-inch Thai red hot pepper (to taste or substitute your favorite
hot pepper or omit if you don't like spicy food)

1 teaspoon of fresh ginger

1 cup diced, peeled cucumber

Preparation:

Put 1 cup of the diced tomatoes in a large bowl and mix with 1 cup
of diced cucumber.  Set aside.

Add 1 cup of the diced tomatoes (2 plum or 1/2 super large tomato)
to Vitamix or any blender along with onion, bell pepper, hot pepper
and ginger and quickly liquefy in your blender.

Add the 2 tbsp raw honey and blend until the honey is mixed in.

Pour sauce from the blender over the choppings (tomato and
cucumber) in the bowl.  Stir gently until well mixed and serve
immediately.

Just thankful for Jay

I am just thankful for the simple things in life. I am thankful for my husband. He's the best looking guy I know, and we just work well together. I'm thankful that he has a really good sense of humor and mostly laughs when I'm cranky or emotional. We have a very normal life together. Our love for each other doesn't have much to do with "Hollywood love". We don't eat eachother's face (kissing) after spending some time apart - we would rather hug tightly and show a much more tender type of love, versus the extremely physical type of love Hollywood promotes. Jay doesn't always have the most eloquent, breathless phrases to share with me, but he does tell me he loves me in a simple, direct way, numerous times a day!
I am nothing but myself around him. I guess I could say I'm 'raw' around him : )
I am inlove with him, and I want to not only grow old with Jay but I also want to grow wise and enjoy the eternities with him.
Jay isn't perfect, I am not perfect AND we are not perfect together. But that's OK.

I am so thankful to have Jay in my life. He is a blessing. I know he helps me be a better person, I know he loves his Savior and his Father in Heaven, and I think he is truly the best Papa Gabi and Tiago could have.

whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i am home again
whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i am whole again

whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i am young again
whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i am fun again

however far away
i will always love you
however long i stay
i will always love you
whatever words i say
i will always love you
i will always love you

whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i am free again
whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i am clean again

however far away
i will always love you
however long i stay
i will always love you
whatever words i say
i will always love you
i will always love you

Nutritional Yeast - where have you been all my life????

Oh boy, I am in heaven right now; there's a party in my tummy. I just tasted nutritional yeast for the first time in my life!!!!!!! It's delicious!!!!
I just made 'raw popcorn', which has nothing to do with popcorn - it's 10 times better : )
So, what is nutritional yeast?

Definition: Yellow in color and with a nutty cheesy flavor, nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is a favorite amongst many vegans because of its unique flavor and similarity to cheese when added to foods. Sprinkle some on hot popcorn or garlic bread, or add a generous spoonful to a stir fry or pasta sauce. Nutritional yeast is also the only reliable food source of vitamin B12, so if you're vegan, it's a good idea to add some to your food regularly. Nutritional yeast can be found in the bulk foods or supplement section of your health food store. You can look for either nutritional yeast flakes or powder.
This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Protein, Magnesium, Copper and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid and Zinc.

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/custom/1323565/2#ixzz1dwKSe65c

weaknesses...

President Lee’s comments suggest some specific things that you can do to overcome your weaknesses. First identify what your weaknesses are. Make a list with your greatest concern at the top and so on in descending rank. Remember, this list is very personal and should be kept secret and private. It is a matter strictly between you and your Savior, and you should never share it in class or in public.
Each morning review your list, particularly noting the problem you want to work on that day. Then pray to the Lord, entreating him for power and promising him you will do all you can. That night report to him on your success or failure. As you find yourself improving (and you will), pray for forgiveness and additional strength. Keep constantly in mind the joy and love your Heavenly Father is feeling toward you because of your efforts. Remember also that your weaknesses can become your strengths; indeed, as each is overcome, it can be a rung of power leading upward to God and your eternal home.

Very well put

• I read this on a blog called Disease Proof and LOVED IT ! It is exactly what I've been going through, and what I've been learning concerning food addiction and concerning staying as far away as possible from the food that  equals trouble for you. Being 100% obedient is easier than being 99%.
•  
• “How closely do I really have to follow my eating plan/abstinence plan?” 

• “How many times a month can I cheat and still have success?”

• “I’m not hard core, but I follow the plan about 85% of the time; that’s good enough, isn’t it?”   

Of which my classic answer to all three questions is, “It all depends on how hard you want to make it on yourself.” 

It’s much easier and simpler to give 100% right from the beginning and keep the pilot light of addictive cravings extinguished, than to be continually fighting obsessive compulsions that are brewing beneath the surface. Been there. Done that. And it’s hard, hard work to keep cravings from becoming an all-consuming monster. In fact, it’s exhausting because it’s a next-to-impossible feat to accomplish!

Plus, it only takes the tiniest spark to ignite the pilot light of cravings to full power again, and that’s THE most dangerous place to live! 

One can do all the work of routinely preparing and eating high-nutrient foods, and get the majority of one’s health restored; but it may only take an emergency phone call, or a sudden traumatic event, or a stress-filled day with the kids to instantly ignite the raging flame of addiction.  

It’s just not worth it. 

Give yourself a break today and make life so much easier.

Give 100% and extinguish the pilot light!     

The willful decision to see how much one can cheat and get by; how much one can straddle the fence, or how much one can habitually overeat . . . . and still keep the addiction eradicated . . . . that’s what I'm referring to as being the next-to-impossible feat to accomplish.

It can't be done!

I repeat ~ it can't be done.

With repetitive compromises, the addictive cravings are rumbling beneath the surface, and it just takes a tiny spark to ignite them to full strength and power!

For one to be truly free, the pilot light needs to be extinguished and remain that way . . . .for life.

AND to live in denial of food addiction's power is to remain its prisoner, or worse yet, the path right back to captivity.

Choose the easy way and keep the pilot light extinguished at all times.
Quoted from:
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/inspiration-extinguish-the-pilot-light-part-2.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DiseaseProof+%28Disease+Proof%29

I agree with this completely. I've had moments when I know clearly that I'm 'cheating'. And I think to myself that I can always quickly go back to my 'abstinence'. No, not true. Once you've received the miraculous help to stay away from your food addictions, you better not go back... in fact, don't even look back, or think about 'back'. Just move forward. One day at a time.