About Me

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I live on purpose. Meaning, I have a purposeful life. Nearly 28 years in every branch of the United States Army. Successful business owner, Avid student, Insightful teacher, Staunch Advocate, Fierce competitor and overall Social butterfly. I am a full-time teacher and student, I give as good as I get while continually evolving into what I will actually be known and remembered for once I no longer grace the visible plane. Learning vicariously through the actions of others has served me well, and helped me to get immersed in a vast arena of pursuits over the years. I cherish my internal solitude, while nourishing my social butterfly nature. I simply. . . AM! As said by Yoda. . . Do, or do not do. There is no try. So, Eat live to live well, sing like you're in the shower, dance like no ones watching, love like you've never been hurt and eat the rainbow without counting calories.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Eating to Live ~ do you?

 Health is the most precious possession you, personally, can have.  You cannot buy it, you have to work at it.  You have to sacrifice for it.  Health is your heritage, your freedom from illness. Just as the citizens of a nation have to work and sacrifice for the precious gift of freedom, to hold and keep it, so the individual has to work on the precious heritage of freedom from illness.  You work on it by educating yourself, changing your diet and lifestyle, changing your outlook to see the purpose of life and by believing in the universal law that states;
“As you sow, so shall you reap”.

One of the strangest things that I hear from people when they know that I have a primarily raw and whole food diet is that "Oh, I could never do that, I JUST LOVE TO EAT!"

Everything happens for a reason I believe and just after the last conversation that went that way I was reading a book and came upon a page that began with:

"But I just like to eat."  From here I will quote the Rice Diet book.. We hear this all the time.  Unfortunately, it's almost never true.  Many people think of themselves as food lovers, but their actions are speaking much louder than their words: they eat while they are talking; they eat while watching television; they eat while standing up or while driving in their car.  They eat so quickly and mindlessly that there is no way they can possibly be enjoying the food.  If we really loved food we would eat slowly, pay more attention to it, and eat with reverence.  if we liked to eat, we would use less or no salt at all and few if any condiments so that we could taste the food itself.  (this food we so claim to love to eat).

Reading that so close after that conversation made me look at other times where the similar thing happened.

Take a man, 5'10" and close to 300lbs.  Asks me about getting healthy.  Eating better, getting fit, losing fat and building muscle.  Hmmm, where would you think he should begin?  With me, I think lowering the fat is first because of the health implications.  My first thought was a detox/cleanse of the bowels and GI tract.  Stop all chewing for at least 10 days and give the digestive system a rest.  increase water intake, remove all sweets, flours, breads, dairy and meats.  Blended and juiced - fruit and vegetable nutrition until he was having 3 to 4 good bowel movements daily and had dropped 5 to 20 pounds.

His reply?  I need protein, I have to eat meat.  hmmm, I thought.  He goes on to say, I have a strength program and I eat protein 5 to 6 times a day to keep up my strength.  WOW, I thought.  So, I said, if all your body needs is 21% protein and you are eating 62% what do you think happens to the rest?  In case you don't know it turns into FAT.  Besides if your program has served you so well all this time, where is your six pack and 15% bodyfat?  Why ask for assistance and refuse to even look at it.

INSANITY:  continuing to do the same thing again and again yet expecting a different result.

Making a change to your dietary habits can be a wonderful thing for you as well as your family.  try these few recipes and see if they don't win you friends around the table
Down Home Greens
1 bunch collard greens,
1 bunch kale or swiss chard,
2 tbsp. flaxseed oil,
1/4 lemon, juiced, 
3 tbsp. unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, 
1 1/2 tbsp. unheated honey, 
1–2 garlic cloves, pressed, 
1 tsp. ground cumin, 
1/2 scant tsp. Celtic sea salt or to taste 
1) Wash the greens and cut out the rib going almost all the way down the middle of the leaf (save for juicing).
2) Lay the greens one on top of the other and then fold in half and roll the whole bunch into a tight roll. (You'll probably have to do this twice to use all the greens.) Starting at one end of the roll, cut into very thin slivers. Put the slivers into a large bowl and set aside.  
3) In a small bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients and blend well into a dressing.  
4) Toss the greens with the dressing until they are well coated. Put approx. 3 heavy plates directly on top of the greens. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator overnight. The plates help compress the dressing into the tough green leaves. These greens could also be served just freshly prepared, but you may need time to get used to the flavor.
Dr. Kirschner's Green Drink In an Out of Print Book by Dr. Kirschner, I Found This Wonderful Recipe, which I've Modified a Little
1 pineapple, juiced
15 almonds, soaked
4 dates, soaked and pitted
2 heaping tbsp. of soaked sunflower seeds
1–2 large handfuls (or more) of fresh green leaves (see below)
1/2 tsp. kelp powder
1) Juice 1 pineapple, then put into the blender with all the other ingredients and blend well.
Makes approximately 1 quart of a delicious and nutritious drink. Best consumed the same day.
 NOTE: The green leaves can be one or a combination of watercress, parsley, spinach, arugula, beet tops, etc. or you can use wild herbs if you can get them. Dr. Kirschner had his own garden of wild edible weeds, such as lamb’s quarters, purslane, comfrey, chickweed, filaree, malva, dandelion, etc. 
VARIATION: This drink can also be made with just the pineapple juice blended with the green leaves.
   Carob (the Un-Chocolate) Sauce
1 cup raw sesame tahini 
1/4 cup raw honey 
1/2 cup (or more) of raw carob powder
1/4 cup filtered water  
1) Put all the ingredients, except the carob powder, into a bowl. 2) Begin stirring and add in 1/2 cup carob powder. Blend ingredients very well by hand, adding in more carob powder if desired. Let your own taste guide you. Also, add more water if you want it thinner, less water if you want it thicker. Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups. Keeps for up to a month in the refrigerator. NOTE: For a chunky sauce, add in finely chopped black figs and pecans.
Carrot-Apple Zinger
2 large carrots 
1 apple 
1 medium beet 
1 1-inch slice of fresh ginger 
1) Put all ingredients through a juicer.    Serves 1.
Cilantro Detox
4-6 apples 
1 medium beet 
1/3 of a fennel bulb 
juice of 1/2 lime 
large handful of cilantro 
Put all the ingredients through a juicer and enjoy. Serves 1-2.

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