Right now as I write this I’m feeling a wide range of emotions: excitement, gratitude, anxiety, and calm.

Yes, all of these emotions stem from the fact that on October 14th I’ll be speaking at the leading conference on blogging and social media: Blog World Expo.

My talk is entitled: “How to Entice Your Readers with Mouth Watering Content, So They Keep Coming Back for More”…

I’m such a sucker for puns that I couldn’t help but allude to food blogging in my talk description. So what exactly will you learn if you attend my session at Blog World Expo?

• How to create your content in a way that really connects with your audience
• Why it’s important to plan out your blog content in advance, and how to do it the right way
• The only way to ensure your content lives on after you hit publish
• My light hearted social media approach that gives your fans a way to spread the word about you while naturally attracting new readers
• How to choose between all the different distribution channels: youtube, twitter, facebook, SEO, and guest blogging
• When to pick one strategy and run with it, so you’ll get more results for your blogging efforts

So if you’ve been following me or my blog here for awhile, you’ve likely seen me apply some of these techniques. But one of the things I learned through years of experience in blogging and business is that trying to copy a tactic will fall flat if you don’t have the overall strategy.

In my mouth watering content talk I will share with you the overall strategy that creates a cohesive blog reading experience for your audience. That will lead to a growing blog and more influence in your niche or market.

More About Blog World Expo

This year’s Blog World Expo promises to be an action packed “who’s who” of the blogging world. With keynotes by Scott Straten, Brian Clark and Sonia Simone, and in depth blogging training with ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett. Yaro Starak, Jonathan Fields, and Wendy Piersall are also up to speak. And Leo Babauta of the popular blog Zen Habits will also be presenting.

As a long time blog reader and member of the blogosphere, I’ve gotta say I’m having a hard time choosing between the different panels and sessions. I know there’s something to learn for new bloggers and more experienced bloggers / online business owners as well.

I also want to highlight the fact that getting to hang out with people you know online (yay online friends!) is truly a treat. It’s the most inspiring thing to hang out with people who are just like you, but can also bring a fresh new perspective.

So What Do You Say?

Will you be joining me at Blog World Expo this October 14-16th in Las Vegas, Nevada? Let me know in the comments and tweet me – I want to meet you!

Looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned in my years as a blogger and entrepreneur. Let’s get bloggity!

This is an interview with photography expert and raw food recipe artist Susan Powers of Rawmazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions Susan. Enjoy the interview everyone!

1. What brought you to raw food, what’s the story there?

Health issues. I was a gourmet cook, a sommelier and a foodie! Too many years of rich food had left me over-weight, short of breath and with tons of joint pain and other maladies.

2. How do you come up with inspiration for your recipes, and where did you learn to style food and photograph so well?;)

Inspiration for the recipes always comes from traditional food. I think about something I love and then set about making it healthy and raw. The photography just developed itself. I am a bit of a perfectionist so shooting one thing 50 times in the beginning, taught me a lot. I also am a huge researcher and love to learn, so I just read and tried everything I could find!

3. What’s been your experience of being 100% raw vs. not all the way raw?

I feel the best when I am 100% raw but over the last few years have found that it isn’t always practical. I truly am dedicated to helping people no matter where they are along their raw food journey. If I can help people even become aware of eating more raw food, I feel like I have accomplished something.

4. What has been the most life changing aspect of eating more raw food for you?

Having my body feel so much better! I have more energy, less pain and all of the problems I had before have gone away.

5. What one thing would you recommend for someone’s health and well being outside of raw food?

Yoga. For all ages. It is an amazing way to move your body and get rid of stiffness and pain, get in shape and also just simply feel better. It really goes hand and hand with raw food.

6. Do you feel like you’ve got a handle on your life purpose, or is it something that emerges gradually?

Absolutely. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am doing exactly what I should be doing.

7. Tell me about the project you’re most excited about right now, and how people can get their hands on it?

I just released my first book, Rawmazing Desserts. It has simple, gourmet, delicious, healthy recipes with full color photos accompanying each recipe. I am so proud of it and people are loving it! You can find it at RawmazingDesserts.com

8. If you could summarize your experience with raw food, what one word would you use?

Salvation.

Thank you Susan!

I love getting insights from other raw food bloggers and authors. In this case Susan has been an inspiration for me, and she’s got an awesome affinity for photography that just makes us all drool!

If you haven’t checked out her new book yet, do so now!

Well I’m here to tell you that it’s super simple and that anyone can do it in their own kitchen! Let’s break out the crocks and the jars and get to the fermentation already!

How to Ferment Vegetables (Cabbage, Cucumber, etc.)

The Brine Solution

There are two important factors when making fermented vegetables and sauerkraut. The first is the quality of the vegetables you’re using. You want to include at least some fresh (preferably organic or homegrown) cabbage, or cucumbers. From there you can include your favorite vegetables, because both cabbage and cucumbers have the type of bacteria that we’re looking to have in our fermentation.

The second part of making fermented vegetables is the brine solution. This is the salt water that is used to protect against the growth of microorganisms that would lead to rotting, and promote the growth of the good bacteria lactobacilli. The more salt you use in your solution, the slower the fermentation and the more acidic your kraut will be. If you use too much salt then no bacteria will survive and your fermentation will fail.

I recommend about 1 Liter of water for 2 tablespoons of quality sea salt. Make sure that the salt dissolves in the water before adding it to your chopped vegetables.

Share this with your friends!

I’d love to have you share this super simple sauerkraut recipe with your friends and family members. Click the retweet button, “like” it on Facebook, or email it to your friends. Let’s get more people eating fermented veggies!

“Anti-bacterial. Kills bacteria in one spray. Removes unseen bacteria, protecting you and your family.”

That’s what all those sterilizing cleaning products promise. But what if bacteria wasn’t something to be feared and squashed at every opportunity? What if your body’s relationship to bacteria was a symbiotic one instead.

Let’s explore this relationship we have with bacteria, and uncover the 7 misunderstood reasons why bacteria are actually good for you.

1. Bacteria and Fungi Lead to Fermentation

Microscopic bacteria and fungi are responsible for the fermentation of foods and drinks. They produce alcohol, lactic acid, and acetic acid that act as preservatives so that foods retain nutrients.

Our ancestors used fermentation, and thus bacteria, to preserve excess bounty for the long winter months. Fermented foods were also very useful during long voyages at sea because they retained nutrition for a long time.

2. Bacteria Make Foods Digestible

I talk a lot about eating foods that are easy to digest, and fermented foods are certainly more digestible.

Essentially, bacteria are acting as little helpers that work to pre-digest foods for us. This is incredible, since we often expend a lot of energy on digestion. So eating more fermented foods will lead to increased energy.

3. Fermentation Creates New Nutrients

How could it be possible that a little fermentation could increase the amount of nutrients in food? Well the interesting phenomenon of microbial cultures proliferating actually creates B vitamins and even antioxidants.

4. Toxic Foods Become Edible

Another surprising benefit to bacteria and fungi fermentation is the removal of certain toxic elements.

Grains contain a compound that blocks the absorption of minerals into the body. However, with a little bit of fermentation these grains are now neutralized and edible.

5. Eating Live Bacteria Is Good For Your Stomach

The term “live” in live foods refers to eating foods that have not been destroyed, and in this case the bacteria is still alive.

Eating fermented living foods gives your stomach the intestinal flora that is necessary for digesting foods and absorbing nutrients.

Watch out for pasteurized foods, since these do not contain any live microorganisms.

6. Healthy Bacteria Compete with Harmful Strains

By eating fermented foods, healthy bacteria like Lactobacillus compete with diarrhea-related bacteria such as Salmonella and E. Coli.

That’s like having your own army to fend off competing invaders, instead of leaving your body to fend for itself.

7. Fermented Foods Help Protect Us from Disease

There are tons of ideas on how to prevent disease, but how many of them use probiotic organisms to do the work for you?

The body is not an isolated test tube, it is an ecosystem with many different factors at play. That’s why supplying it with health-supporting bacteria is a sure way to give your immune system a hand.

Here’s to Fermenting!

In the book Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods by Sandor Ellix Katz, there are literally 100 recipes on how to leverage healthy bacteria to make yummy fermented foods.

I highly suggest you pick it up to get an even deeper understanding on how simple and delicious fermented foods can be.

What’s your take on fermentation and bacteria?

Let me know in the comments, and share your favorite fermented foods with me!

Photo by Rob Baird

Now it’s time to look at the practical reasons why juicing will impact your life in an amazing way.

This is a guest post by John McIntyre.

1. Liquid engineering for your body.

The life-giving juice found in fresh fruits and vegetables is nutritionally way beyond anything humans can manufacture. I’m not just talking about junk food, but anything from bread to bottled juice.

Unfortunately, 95% of what you find on supermarket shelves is practically devoid of any nutritional value. The various methods we use to process our food are robbing it of its benefits.

This is why juicing is so wonderful. You can take the nutritional power from as many different fruits and vegetables as you want and feed it directly into your body. This truly is liquid engineering.

2. Boost your energy.

Think of the tired feeling you get after a heavily-processed meal. That happens because your body has to redirect energy to your digestive system… not something you really want. And who wants to eat food that makes them tired anyway? We eat and drink because we’re trying to replenish energy, not spend it.

Enter juicing. One of my favorite things about it is that you are doing the body’s digestive work for it. No more feeling sleepy after a meal. Now you get a burst of energy and your body will thank you for it.

3. Sleep better.

When you sleep, your body is recharging itself. Before processed food was invented, this was no problem.

But in today’s world of nutritionally bankcrupt food, this doesn’t happen like it’s meant to. Rather than recharging, the body has to focus on digestion and squeezing whatever vitamins it can find out.

By juicing (and by eating raw food in general) you hand the power of sleep back over to your body. Rather than digesting food, your body can get back to sleeping which means a smoother and more restful night.

4. Wake up early.

It goes without saying that if you don’t sleep well, you’re not going to get up early. So as you feed your body with more life-giving juice, you’ll wake up earlier with more energy for the day.

5. Feel great.

If you’ve experienced how good you feel when you eat good food, then you won’t need any convincing here. Simply put, the better you eat (and drink), the better you feel.

6. Look fantastic.

When you feel great, you look great.

7. Lose weight.

Much of what causes weight gain is found in unnatural and highly-processed foods that don’t have any nutritional value.

When you juice and your body is filled to the brim with powerful nutrients, all of its natural processes will step up a notch. Yes, this means your metabolism, digestion and immune system will function much more effectively.

Don’t forget all the extra energy you are going to have to get rid of somehow. That “somehow” is best known as exercise – the movement that produces endorphins and makes you happy.

8. Eat less.

When you are eating food which is rich in nutrients, your body isn’t going to need as much to be satisfied.

9. Prevent cancer.

Fruit and vegetables are essentially warehouses of antioxidants. These babies make up the army inside you which fights cancer. They eliminate cancerous growths and make sure your body is in tip-top shape.

Sure, you can get antioxidants from eating carrots. But think of how much faster it’ll be if you drink them.

10. Get more done.

More energy is naturally going to mean that you get more done. Whether you go surfing, paint a picture or write a business plan, it doesn’t matter. The point is that you’ll be doing more of what you want to do which can only be a good thing.

11. Enjoy life.

An old arabic proverb says “He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.”

I can’t really think of a better way to put it. The healthier you are, the more you are going to enjoy life.

What did you do with all the energy juicing gave you?

About the Author: John McIntyre is the resident juicer of Healthy Juicing, a place where you can discover how you can look and feel amazing with fresh juices.

You know that eating fresh raw food is one of the most nutritious habits you can develop. It’s so easy to get lured into commercial foods, and that’s true about brand name dog foods too.

In today’s article I’m going to be explaining exactly what raw dog food is, and why you should care about it.

First, let me start with the story of Millie. I’ve been wanting to adopt a dog for a long time, and more seriously since January 2010 (see the doggy photos on my dreamboard).

I figured I’d adopt the dog and then figure out what I’d like to feed her. I’ve read a lot about raw food for humans, and done quite a few experiments on myself. But on a dog? I wasn’t sure I wanted to push a veggie diet on this little pooch.

Luckily for me, the rescue where I adopted this cute little stray Japanese Chin actually feeds their dogs an all raw diet.

Fate? Coincidence? Either way, I consider myself lucky to have connected with such knowledgeable dog experts.

Enter the Biologically Appropriate Raw Food Diet

Known as “BARF” diet for short, it’s all about feeding dogs the freshest foods that are biologically appropriate for them.

I was a little worried about this part, since I didn’t want to push my dog to eat nothing but veggies just because that’s in line with my view of things.

It turns out that dogs do best on a raw meat diet, with about 20-40% raw vegetables and fruits. In fact, grains are responsible for most doggie maladies: itchy skin, coarse fur, allergic reactions, ear infections, and degenerative diseases.

Funny how there’s a parallel to a lot of human allergies to grains.

Raw Dog Food Recipes

I have yet to make my own raw dog food, because I bought some fresh from this great place.

We got some dehydrated dog treats made from beef livers. (Funny how fast things change when you become a doggy-mommy.)

I’m impressed at how much the raw dog food industry parallels the raw human food one. What’s next – raw dog larabars? ;)

Here are a few great resources and recipes if you’re considering making your own raw dog food.

• Simple raw dog food recipe, and also an explanation of why dogs aren’t as susceptible to salmonella and e-coli.
• Here’s a varied raw pet food recipe, just skip the cooked grains altogether.
• How to use up bone meal and juice pulp – makes great dog food.

Woof! Conclusion!

I was a bit skeptical about feeding raw meat to this little bundle of love. But thinking back on my childhood dog (named Blackie) I remember that she used to bring home animal carcasses whenever she was lucky enough to find them in the wild. (I grew up in the country and a dead deer in the spring was apparently quite normal.)

So I think that if a dog naturally loves fresh raw meat and eating grass in the yard, then so be it. Why try to alter their diet and introduce more allergies and deficiencies?

I hope you enjoyed this short article on raw dog food! Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be sure to answer them in the comments section.

I’m still new to this whole raw dog food thing, but I must say that it feels so much better than opening a bag of kibble.

P.S. Isn’t Millie the cutest little thing ever?

Why The Nuts?

Why do most of us immediately reach for the raw nuts and seeds when we switch to a raw diet?

1. We want to feel full.

Since nuts are solid, crunchy, and filling, we have a tendency to use them as a replacement for cooked food. For example, when I first went raw, I would still feel “hungry” after eating a generous salad. I’d eat a handful or two of nuts to get that semi-drowsy feeling I was missing.

2. Nuts are crunchy.

Of course another reason why we might overeat nuts at the beginning is that we miss that crunchy yummy sort of salty feeling. Nuts make a natural replacement for chips, popcorn, crackers, and other snacks. Here’s a quick tip if that’s why you’re reaching for the nuts: try crunching on some celery, or make kale chips!

3. It’s an easy snack food.

You don’t need to wash, cut, or blend anything to eat nuts. If you’re in a hurry or feeling tired, you can just open a jar or reach for a container of nuts and enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with this behavior, but if you’re overeating nuts you will want to prepare adequate snack foods in advance.

Remember that being prepared is half the battle when it comes to eating healthy foods.

Nuts: The Good and The Bad

On the one hand, nuts make us feel full because our body is expending energy trying to digest them. Nuts are harder to digest than fresh fruits and vegetables. In reality we probably wouldn’t be eating tons of nuts in nature, unless they were fresh and in season. How many of us live next to a Brazil nut tree? That’s what I thought.

Nuts have tons of great nutritious qualities, and I don’t think we should shun them entirely. The healthy oils found in nuts are full of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for the brain, and for keeping your stress levels under control. Alternative sources of omega-3 fatty acids include chia seeds and flax seeds.

Most people have an easier time digesting seeds than they do digesting nuts. Also, the reason why more people are allergic to nuts than seeds is that nuts tend to go rancid if kept on a shelf for too long a time.

The Nutty Conclusion

So what’s the verdict? No, you won’t go insane if you eat too many nuts. But try to limit yourself to one handful per day, since they are hard to digest. If you feel bloated or gassy after eating nuts, cut down.

Also, you should avoid eating nuts with fresh fruits since that will definitely cause some discomforts and gas!

Other than that, go nuts. :D

How to Make Vegetable Juice Video

Veggie Juice Ingredients

The beauty of making vegetable juice is that you can pretty much improvise with what you’ve got in your kitchen or garden.

That being said, here’s what I used in this particular juice.

• Carrots (tops and all)
• Apples
• Ginger
• Celery
• Parsley

Juicer Recommendations

I’ve heard great things about the Breville Juice Fountain, and many raw foodies recommend it. One of the benefits is that it’s a good quality juicer, for a pretty fair price.

It also has a wider opening, so you don’t need to cut fruits or vegetables as small to get them juiced.

The juicer I own is the Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer. What I like about it is that you can use it to make green juice, and other treats like nut butters, raw fruit sorbets and ice creams, and baby food.

It’s got a heftier price tag, but because it uses a mastication system you’re actually getting more juice for your buck. Before I got this blender I always cringed when I saw how much juice was left in the pulp. Now the pulp is totally dry.

What is Your Favorite Mix?

I’d love to know what your favorite mix of vegetable juice is. I’m pretty partial to my “Beet Goes On” beet juice recipe. What else do you like to drink?

Could your health be suffering because you don’t supplement with vitamins and essential minerals?

When I first went raw, I thought vitamins and supplements were for the birds. Or rather that we didn’t need them. After all, I had my blood levels checked after I went raw and everything was fine.

Since then I’ve done a lot more research into the benefits of supplementation with vitamins and minerals. One of my most shocking discoveries was that modern day food doesn’t have the same level of nutrition that it once had because of modern farming practices.

Another realization was that most of us are not absorbing as many of the nutrients from our food as we should be. So in my opinion, I think it’s a good idea to supplement with a quality product that is highly bioavailable.

Supplements: Which Ones, and Why

I often get asked what supplements I take, and whether people should take supplements if they embark on a raw diet. The answer will depend on you, but I think that most people can’t afford to go cheap when it comes to their health and wellbeing.

I used to believe that we could get all the nutrition we needed from whole foods. However, more and more research is coming to light proving that produce doesn’t have nearly as much nutrition as it did years ago.

If you’re buying organic produce, or growing your own food, then the quality of the produce will be far better. However, I think that most people can still benefit from supplementation where certain vitamins are concerned.

Most Recommended Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamin D3 is highly recommended, especially if you live in a cold climate where you don’t get at least 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight outside every day.

Vitamin D3 is synthesized by your skin when it is in contact with the sun. Vitamin D3 has been linked to cancer prevention and essentially tells your cells when to die after their lifetime is up – which is very important for cancerous cells.

Vitamin B12 is another vitamin that I think people should really consider. Since we’re mostly eating “sanitized” food we don’t get much B12 from our food. That’s why supplementing with B12 is important. It’s something that even meat-eaters should consider, since everyone is susceptible to a lack in Vitamin B12, not just vegans or vegetarians.

Vitamin C is super important for keeping your immune system strong, and can help with acne. I’ve seen really high recommended doses of Vitamin C, and it makes sense we would naturally get a lot by eating fruits.

There are tons of other vitamins and minerals out there too, but at a minimum these would be the ones to focus on.

Best Types of Supplements

Most people take supplements in solid pill form. However, the nutritional absorption of pills is very low… somewhere between 20-25% is actually absorbed into the body.

On the other hand, liquid supplements have a higher absorption rate of about 90-98%, and can be absorbed more quickly.

Think of liquid supplements as being very similar to juiced vegetables. The reason we juice vegetables is to get all the pure nutrients of the vegetables directly and bypass the digestion process. That’s why liquid nutritional supplements are ideal.

I think it’s really important to invest in a proven supplement, because not all supplements are made equal. I’ve tested several types of supplements on myself over the past year, and Vemma is the only supplement that I’ve gotten results with and can recommend.

There may be other great supplements out there, so definitely do your research. This is my opinion and I am recommending it from my experience with the product.

If you’d like to see if this liquid supplement is right for you, then click here to check it out.

Have An Awesome Day!

I hope this article gave you some food for thought on nutritional supplements. Check out the Vemma line of liquid nutritional supplements and have a great day. :)

Last week I wrote about the benefits and the power of antioxidants in keeping us young, boosting the immune system, and feeling great.

This week I’m going to talk about a particular type of antioxidant that is harder to find… in fact it is only available in two fruits: the king & queen of fruits. Before we get into the powers of this particular antioxidant, let me introduce you to the king and queen of fruits.

Durian is the king of fruits.

You might want to see my video all about durian, so you can get a better idea of the history of this odd fruit.

Durian is a large spiky fruit, that smells strong. How strong? Each time my boyfriend’s mom visits us when we’ve got durian in the house, she asks if we’ve got a gas leak.

Even though it’s the king of fruits, durian is a bit of a controversial fruit because it’s an acquired taste. It’s also an acquired smell, so much that it’s banned in hotels and subways in many parts of Asia where it originates from.

Photo by Becky Quan

Mangosteen is the queen of fruits.

Although it’s small, mangosteen is definitely the queen of fruits because when eaten with durian it can balance out the “hotness” of durians. This is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts of yin and yang or hot and cold foods.

Since most modern day diets tend to be too “hot” with lots of meat products or acid forming foods, mangosteen is a great fruit for balancing your food intake.

Special Antioxidants: Xanthones

So what’s so special about these two fruits for them to be known as the king and queen of all fruits? Well the taste is definitely part of it, but I think there’s something even more special about these two. They both contain the hard to find antioxidant Xanthone.

Most fruits only have about 2-5 antioxidants per serving, whereas a mangosteen or durian has upwards of 43 Xanthone antioxidants.

Now, this may get a little technical so hang in there with me as I explain exactly what’s so special about xanthones available in mangosteen (and durian).

According to scientific literature from PubMed, obesity-associated inflammation happens when white blood cells enter into adipose tissue (fat) which produces an inflammatory antibody reaction, leading to the development of insulin resistance.

The xanthones, alpha- and gamma-mangostin, are major bioactive compounds found in mangosteen that have antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Another study showed that Mangosteen fruit pericarp is a rich source of xanthones, showing remarkable pharmacological activities. From potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities.

Since most of the antioxidants we talked about are actually in the outer layer (the pericarp) of the mangosteen (remember, we’re talking about bright colors here) then you might wonder how you can get those Xanthones into your body.

Well I’ve recently chosen to carry a product that is designed with the modern on-the-go lifestyle in mind.

The busier you are, the more stress you take on, the more you accumulate free radicals. That’s why I think it’s essential for people to start getting more antioxidants from the king and queen of fruits.

So unless you’re already consuming fresh durians and mangosteens, I’d love for you to consider getting in touch with me to see if this new plant-source mineral and mangosteen product is right for you.

Find Out if It’s Right For You

Just email me here, or call me at 1-802-323-1841 and I’d love to discuss this new product with you and get your body the Xanthone antioxidants it needs!