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

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!

I write a lot about green smoothies and the benefits of drinking green smoothies. I’m also a huge advocate of juicing your greens. But one of the important aspects of drinking your greens is the rotation of plants.

Let me explain.

When you consume the exact same variety of green leafy vegetables, your body is always getting the same nutrients. Each variety of plant will give you different nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants.

But it goes even further than that. You see, each plant has a self-defense mechanism to keep animals from completely devastating their favorite plant. For example, if monkeys loved spinach and decided to eat all the spinach around then the plant could not procreate and it would die out.

Nature’s system is so smart because it knows that it’s important to keep greens around (hello! most nutritious food pound for pound!). So green leafy plants actually have a minute amount of alkaloids, which act like a poison if ingested regularly.

That’s where rotating your greens comes in! If you switch between different types of green plans, your body’s immune system is actually getting a boost because it is working on different alkaloids all the time.

So my recommendation, backed up by Victoria Boutenko is to switch between at least 10-12 types of greens. You can have say two or three days on one green like spinach, and then two or three days on kale, then two or three days on gai lan, you get the picture.

This actually ties in well with the Traditional Chinese Medicine system of hot and cold foods. Some people do well on certain types of greens, while others are better off with different types.

I think it’s super important to swap greens regularly! Oh, and the reason we don’t need to focus on swapping fruit as much as greens is that fruit were designed to be eaten and spread by animals. Greens would rather grow, and have their seeds blow in the wind or be pollinated by insects.

Greens are the most powerful healing foods out there, so it’s great to make them a staple part of your diet!

List of Greens to Get You Started

Your best bet is to go to a farmer’s market and look a the vast array of colorful greens. Pick some up, smell it, ask the farmer what it tastes like, and give it a try! If you’ve got the space and inclination, I’d highly recommend you start a garden. Plant a few of these vegetables and see which ones you like!

• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Kale
• Bok Choy
• Gai Lan
• Dandelion Greens
• Mustard Greens
• Carrot Tops
• Yu Choy
• Sunflower sprouts (sprouts in general)
• Romaine lettuce
• Buttercrunch lettuce
• Boston lettuce
• Arugula (Rocket)
• Collard greens
• Cabbage
• Watercress
• Purslane
• Sorrel
• Tatsoi
• Turnip Greens
• Radish Greens
• Beet Greens
• Basil leaves
• Coriander / Cilantro
• Parsley
• Mint leaves

What other greens do you enjoy?

There are literally hundreds of different green edible plants out there. Which ones are your favorites and what have you tried that you didn’t quite like?

Photo by Luke Robinson

Unfortunately, one of the reasons people don’t enjoy fruit as much as they could is they haven’t learned how to pick the freshest, ripest fruit.

With most fruit you can smell it, touch it and check for firmness… but with watermelon there’s another trick – tapping it like a drum. Basically what you’re doing is checking to see the water content of the melon: the higher the better.

So if the sound you get from lightly tapping a watermelon is deep, then you know it’s a good one. If you don’t hear much then move on to the next one.

Another good thing to check is how heavy the watermelon is. A heavier melon will have more water and that’s what you’re looking for!

My Watermelon Gum Story

A few months after I went raw, I remember having a conversation with a colleague about watermelon.

His stance was that watermelon had “no substance” and that you could just as easily chew a piece of watermelon gum and drink a glass of water, and get the same benefits as eating watermelon.

I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t the time or place, but my mind was screaming at the fallacy of this proposition.

There’s no way that chewing gum and drinking a glass of water has the same affect as eating watermelon.

I just know that intuitively, but let’s look at some hard data.

Photo by Sydney Marie

Watermelon has fiber and tons of nutrients that we just don’t appreciate at first glance.

Watermelon Nutritional Information

Here are just a few of the things that watermelon has going for it…

• Good source of Vitamins C and A
• Helps reduce inflammation
• High in antioxidants that fight free radicals
• Contains more lycopene than most fruits and veggies, including tomatoes
• Provides the body with potassium and magnesium
• Very cleansing, alkalinizing, and mineralizing food

Many fruits have a lot of nutrition in the skin or rind, and it’s no different for watermelon… so don’t feel weird eating the white stuff, or juicing the rinds in your morning juice.

Enjoy the seasonal fruit!

Here’s to fresh, tasty, and juicy watermelon! Enjoy the seasonal fruit when it’s here, yum yum!

Well there’s a simple way to deal with that. It’s all about making food that most people would recognize, except instead of buying it in a can or a box you make it yourself.

With that in mind, I’d love to share with you a recipe that is a huge hit with both raw and non-raw friends and family.

My Wicked Guacamole Recipe

Most people will thank you for serving up such a fresh wholesome snack. With the rampant access to unhealthy snacks, everyone is working hard to make healthy choices. You’re actually making it easy for them to eat right!

If you’re really worried that people will want something that’s not raw – you can pair this guacamole recipe with some organic corn chips or some raw crackers.

The dinner itself can be a more traditional dinner with some cooked options. But you can rest easy knowing that you’ve plied your guests with more than their recommended dose of veggies for the day!

More Raw Snack Recipes Coming Your Way…

On the guacamole video page you’ll notice a sign up box to get more recipes. Once you’re on that list you’ll get access to my upcoming free recipe book.

So go ahead, get on the goodies list – and let’s make some delicious snacks for ourselves!

If you’ve been here before, you’ll know how much I love green smoothies. Blend 60% whole fruits, 40% green leafy veggies, add water, and you’ve got yourself the best tasting veggie dish ever.

Fresh zucchini pasta!

2. Use vegetables instead of pasta noodles.

You can get a Spiral Slicer or a Mandolin Slicer at most cooking stores, but failing that just use a vegetable peeler to create fun noodle shapes out of veggies. Try zucchini, spaghetti squash, and eggplant. Top with your favorite pasta sauce.

3. Dehydrate some Kale Chips.

Instead of reaching for those starchy potato or corn chips, why not get your greens in? You can dehydrate your own kale chips with a dehydrator, or alternatively use your oven on the lowest setting. You’ll find the kale chip recipe here.

4. Guzzle some Green Juices.

Green vegetable juice is on equal footing with green smoothies. (Read the juicing vs. blending post.) You’ve got all of those nutritious green minerals and vitamins, and they’re going straight into you without the fiber.

5. Puree vegetables into soup.

You can either use a blender or a juicer to make fresh, yummy veggie soups. Try a mix of carrot and cucumber and add your favorite spices, or give it a little kick with some fresh ginger.

6. Try new vegetables and find creative ways to eat them.

See what’s available in your area and surprise your senses with exciting new vegetables. Why not chop broccoli up into salads? Shred some turnips, or use Bok-Choy as a dipping veggie.

7. Shred carrots, cabbage, and other “tough” veggies into an easy slaw.

With a food processor or by hand, shred those tough “winter veggies” into an easy to enjoy slaw. You can top it with your favorite salad dressings or invent your own. Plus it’s so easy to grab some in a container when you’re on the go.

Photo by Tamara P.

8. Marinate vegetables.

Chop up some of your favorite vegetables and marinate them for a few hours to soften them up and give them that extra taste. I like a mix of olive oil, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. I’ve marinated mushrooms, broccoli, string beans, asparagus, and the list goes on.

9. Make your own pasta sauce, and add chopped or pured veggies.

If you usually buy pasta sauce, why not chop or puree your own fresh vegetables into it to make it that much healthier? Alternatively you can make fresh veggie pasta sauces with your blender.

10. Steam a sweet potato.

This isn’t raw, but then this isn’t about being 100% raw. If you’re craving that warm comforted feeling, reaching for a steamed sweet potato is a healthy non-processed starch way to go.

11. Add a green powder to your drinks.

If you’re on the go and fear not being able to get enough greens in, then green powders are the way to go. I recommend a blue-green algae like Spirulina, and there are tons of other great green powder products. Add them to your water, smoothies, or on top of salads.

12. Make an avocado chocolate pudding.

Check out Erin Huggins’ take on a raw chocolate avocado pudding, rocking the yum. It’s so easy to make and kids will love it!

13. Eat celery sticks and other veggies with almond butter and a drizzle of sweetener.

Turn ordinary vegetables into satisfying sweet, salty, crunchy snacks. Experiment with different nut butters, and your choices of sweetener like raw honey or stevia.

14. Cut up greens & other veggies and add to grain dishes.

It doesn’t matter if you eat cooked or raw quinoa, brown rice, or barley, you can still use this tip. Simply chop up fresh vegetables like spinach, cucumbers, and other veggies and put them into your grain dishes.

15. Drink Raw Gatorade.

Instead of reaching for a sugary drink after a work out, why not embrace the fruit and veggie duo in Raw Gatorade? To make raw gatorade blend water, bananas, and celery.

16. That’s a wrap.

You can make tons of great vegetable rich entrees with wraps. Simply wrap veggies up in a leaf or a gluten free tortilla, and add your favorite sauces or spices. Even the wrap itself can be a vegetable, like a collard leaf, a cabbage leaf, or even a lettuce leaf. Yum!

Photo by Darwin Bell

17. Make veggies available at all meals, and not just as a side dish.

Yes, that means breakfast too! The key to eating more vegetables is to treat them as a central theme to all meals.

18. Make a vegetable sandwich with anything that won’t fall out.

When eating out ask for a vegetable sandwich instead of the extra heavy meaty variety. With a veggie sandwich you could end up with a lovely looking salad, between 2 slices of bread. You can make raw bread in a dehydrator, so don’t discount this option if you’re all raw!

19. Make your own veggie salad dressings & dips.

When you blend your own salad dressings, you can sneak more veggies into the dressing itself too! Try blending avocado, cucumber, as well as sea vegetables and add some spices. Yum.

20. Have sliced veggies on hand at all times, and get yourself a good dip for snacking.

We’re a lot more likely to reach for the veggies instead of the chips if they’re already in snack form. When you get home from a shopping trip, wash and cut your snacking vegetables and store in the fridge for easy access. Then either make your own delicious veggie dips or have a healthy alternative on hand for when the snacking strikes!

21. Eat your salad before your main meal.

This ensures you get your veggies in before you get full. Plus a good salad before a meal will keep you from overeating the foods that aren’t as good for you.

Looking for more in depth Veggie Sneaking Tips?

Get the Top 5 Witchy Ways to eat More Veggies, and download your free special report. You’ll get weekly recipes and tips via The Cue. You’ll also get the 5 week ecourse called Feel Light – Take Flight & watch your energy soar.

Sign up free now.

If you’re interested in eating healthy, you’ve probably come across the concept of eating organic food. “Organic food” is surprisingly controversial. I decided to put my witch’s (thinking) hat on, and explore the issue from both sides so you can make informed decisions.

The interesting fact is that production of organic food has grown by about 20% every single year since the 1990s. Not only is organic food a hot topic, but it’s one that we are bound to be affected by one way or another in the future.

What Is Organic Food?

The definition of the word organic varies, because each country has its own laws regarding the certification of organic produce.

In general, organic means food grown without non-organic pesticides or herbicides, using natural fertilizers (some non-organic fertilizers are sometimes used). Some laws also go as far as saying food should not be genetically modified, and specify the number of years the soil must have been cultivated organically.

The organic certification process is long, so some farms that use organic techniques might not yet be certified. Smaller farms might not even be able to afford organic certification. That’s why I think it’s important to realize that the word organic is not a final destination.

Is Organic Food Better?

Although organic food has downsides, organic food is better in at least these three aspects:

Benefits of Organic Food Item #1: More Nutrition

Eating produce that has been grown organically has been shown to contain more nutrition than conventionally grown produce.

Think about it this way: land that is well taken care of will be able to supply plants with more nutritional value.

On the other hand, industrialized farming tends to focus more on yield and profits. The quality of the soil is secondary, and thus the quality of the produce suffers.

Benefits of Organic Food Item #2: Better Tasting

Food that has been grown organically tends to taste better than conventionally grown produce.

Taste tests ran in 2001 have shown that organically grown apples tend to be sweeter, have a better texture, and more crunch. I’ve also noticed a difference in taste between organic and non-organic produce, to the point that I’d fly my carrot stick across town for organic produce.

Again this comes back to the idea that organic soil conditions are more conducive to growing strong trees and plants.

Photo by TheBittenWord

Benefits of Organic Food Item #3: Ecosystem Diversity

An organic growing environment allows a wider range of insects, plants, and organisms to coexist naturally.

Conventional agricultural methods eliminate much of the diversity of living organisms that occur naturally in soils. Industrialized farming also focuses on growing one or two types of produce across a field, further reducing the diversity of plant life.

Diversity enables a more balanced sustainable environment over the long haul.

The Downside of Organic Growing

Although there are many benefits for organic food, there are also downsides.

The main downside of organic food is the potential for a smaller yield. Some of the “potential” yield is eaten by bugs, lost to competing plants, or not able to grow without sufficient fertilizers.

Some scientists have argued that if the world were to convert to an entirely organic farming system, the yield of produce would be insufficient to support the world’s population.

Further studies have shown in a comparison of the two agricultural system that organic farming would indeed be able to support the current world population.

If farmers from poor countries were to switch to organic farming, they could actually increase their yields. So what’s stopping them? They don’t always have access to manure to replenish their soils.

I have to keep reminding myself that “conventional” farming methods are actually quite recent in the history of agriculture. Organic farming methods were the norm because we didn’t have pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers.

The Ideal Organic Environment For Your Food

Sharon Mollerus

In an idyllic world, everyone would have a magickal garden big enough to sustain their families year round. If you find such a place, let me know, mm’kay?

Still, I like to believe that having your own garden is one of the best and easiest ways to increase your intake of organic fruits and vegetables.

As a private garden owner, I’ve had to make some choices about using pesticides and fertilizers in my garden.

I’ve chosen to let the bugs take a bite out of my produce because I don’t want the runoff from pesticides to kill fish in the surrounding lakes and rivers. In so doing, I learned some tricks to deter bugs that aren’t harmful to the environment or my family.

What to Do If You Can’t Buy Organic Produce?

If your budget doesn’t allow for organic produce, or organic produce simply isn’t available in your area, here are a few tips.

1. Washing Your Non-Organic Produce

The Jay Kordich recommends washing your produce with lemon juice and salt. You can also buy vegetable and fruit washes and soak your produce for a few minutes before rinsing it off.

2. Peeling Your Non-Organic Produce

Another option is to peel the skin off non-organic produce. This is very common in China, where the use of pesticides is rampant. During our trip to China, My Alchemist Man and I had to peel every apple we ate, or face the wrath of overprotective Chinese relatives.

The downside is that much of the nutrition of a fruit comes from the skin.

3. Be Selective About Your Organic Food

Organic produce can cost between 10 to 40% more, so picking and choosing between organic and conventional produce is a good way to save money.

This list is also known as the Organic Dirty Dozen. It has the 12 items that you should always buy organic. The other 12 items are those that you can buy conventional with minimal effects.

This list is based on the amount of pesticides and residues found on the fruit and is provided by The Environmental Working Group. (They also offer a downloadable pdf to bring shopping with you!)

In general if I need to choose I will pick fruits that are normally peeled as my conventional buys, like bananas, mangos, avocado.

The Organic Food Definition Continues to Evolve

People who were at the forefront of the organic movement are now looking for something that better describes their ideology.

The demand for organic foods has completely transformed the way that organic food is grown. Today a lot of organic food is actually grown on bigger farms, with less diverse crops to maximize output. Does that sound familiar? Big organic farms are starting to resemble conventional farming methods.

One way to get past this commercialization, is to join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. You buy a “share” of the farm’s potential crops, and receive weekly or biweekly boxes of fresh produce.

CSAs allow the consumer to meet the farmers, see the farm, and know exactly how their food is being grown. It also gives smaller farms a cushion if their yields aren’t the same from year to year.

As the laws surrounding the word organic continue to change, how will we as consumers stay informed? It’s something that’s on my mind and probably on your mind too.

I will continue to write about the changes in the organic movement as they develop.

What are your Organic Food Questions?

Have you started eating more organic food? Has it made a difference for you, your taste buds, or your community?

One of the things I’m so grateful for is discovering and trying out new fruits and vegetables. The raw diet has really opened my eyes to the variety and bounty of fruits out there.

This post will focus on one of my favorite fruits in the world. However, a word of caution: not everyone likes Durian. In fact, durian tends to cause a complete polarity between those who love ‘em and those who hate ‘em.

What is Durian Speech

In 2007 I gave a speech about durian to a class of University students, where I explained the pros and cons of durian. If you want to see what this fruit looks like, and why it causes so much controversy watch this video!

If you’re reading this via email, click here to watch the video.

Unfortunately, you won’t get to smell the fruit by watching the video. That’s something that only the audience had the pleasure or in some cases, displeasure of experiencing themselves.

Where to Buy Durian?

If you’re not in South East Asia or another location that grows durians, you should check out Asian markets like Chinatown. Major cities like New York City, Toronto, and Montreal have them in the Chinatown areas.

For places that don’t have concentrated Asian communities, look for big Chinese supermarkets. These may be in a more residential area, depending on the location.

Oh, and good luck with your first try of durian. ;-)

My Recent Experiences with Durian

Since I gave that speech about durian in 2007, a lot has happened. I had recently been converted to a durian lover, but now I’ve taken my love of durian to a whole new level.

In January 2009 I traveled to Singapore, as part of my trip to South East Asia, and tasted my first fresh durian. Singapore is very close to Malaysia and my boyfriend and I were so lucky to be able to buy fresh durians!

Durian lovers out there: the taste and texture of durians really differ depending on where they are grown and if they are fresh or frozen. I was actually surprised by my first taste of fresh durian.

It was also interesting to see that there are so many different types of durians with names like D90 and D10. There are also local nicknames for different variety of durian fruits, like “red prawn” for fruits with a more red interior.

My boyfriend and I have our eyes on living somewhere within closer proximity to durian trees. Only time will tell if our love for durian will have us relocating to Asia.

Which Camp Do You Fall Into?

Do you love durian or do you hate it? What is it that makes you feel that way? Let me know in the comments! I love hearing about, talking about, and of course eating durian!