Looks like this child is either fond of pigs as animal friends, fond of eating pork, or simply loves to lick pig snot. The current pig swine flu that’s sweeping across the globe is transmitted from human to human, but nonetheless I don’t think I can recommend the practice you see here. Pigs, by the way, have a DNA structural makeup quite similar to that of humans. I don’t eat any meat myself, but if there is one type that I will absolutely avoid unless my survival depends on it, then it is pork. Pigs are smart animals and I understand they even make good pets, but they are also disgusting creatures in that they will eat absolutely anything, such as other animal parts. And I hate to tell you if you don’t already know, but dead animals have found their way into pig feed before, at least in the US. Such practices are now banned, but I am not sure what farmers can be trusted… I think the whole meat industry as it is may in fact be related to the animal flues we have seen over the years. It’s pretty scary to think of the possibility of a pandemic.
Today I ate:
melon
MonaVie
mangos
raisens
avocado, tomato, and ruccola salad (gees, can’t get enough of this stuff)
Daikon slices
chestnuts
natto
I’m feeling fine- nothing out of the ordinary to report. I think I’m perhaps starting to take feeling so good for granted!
I spent almost the entire day today (yes, it’s Golden Week and I’m off!) reconfiguring this blog to a new domain name. I followed a whole bunch of Word Press instructions I happened upon on the Net, but I must have done something wrong because I lost ALL of the links I had painstakingly researched. Not to worry, or so I thought, as I have not yet erased the old database and domain. I had been using a free co.cc domain that I reconfigured to point to my new .com domain, but this pointer I set up went into action a little faster than I anticipated. In order to rebuild my links list from scratch, I have to consult the old domain, but that domain now points to the new one, so I can’t access it! I have to go to co.cc to put the pointer back to the old DNS, but I’ve forgotten what it was and can’t figure out how to find it on my hosting site… Gees, very much wish I’d studied programming in university. Not that it would necessarily help me, as so much has changed since my university days (I was using MOSAIC in grad. school. Ummm, my age must be showing there…), but at least I’d have a sound background…
Maybe I really should have studied computing, actually, as time just wisks away when I am at it and I can’t say it’s not interesting. Then again, the troubleshooting is soooo infuriating. I do not subside in a computer savvy community.
Today I had:
green smoothie (spinach, mango, frozen pineapple and papaya, honey
2 enormous salads (mixed greens, ruccola, avocado, olive oil, balsamic v., apple cider v., crushed walnuts)
frozen banana, honey, cocoa powder and remaining avocado mush (I broke the fricken’ blender on the frozen banana- ended up stabbing the ingredients to make mush and cursing the low watt blender I was using that failed the test. To make matters worse the blender was my roommate’s, so now I have to replace it as well as invest in a machine of my own that does at the stuff I want it to!)
organic red wine (oh yes.)
Way too much fat today in the full avocado, 2 teaspoons of oil, and the nuts I had, but what the hell- have to eat the avocados before they go off, and heck, what is salad w/o a “smidgkin” of oil? Still raw and healthy… I’ve some work to do to reach only 10% fat, though.
The BBC has some good stuff out these days. Yes, I do like to post video. I personally find that visual and auditory presentation is the most effective way to present information. Wish I could apply more of it to my EFL classes. My poor students have simply to listen to the droning of my own voice day in day out- they’d really benefit from some added visuals!
Supermarket Secrets (UK) 1
Supermarket Secrets (UK) 2
Supermarket Secrets (UK) 3
Supermarket Secrets (UK) 4
Supermarket Secrets (UK) 5
Seriously, I don’t understand how people can continue to trust the meat and poultry industry after seeing stuff like this. If they were all real farms in stead of factories, then who knows, maybe even I would still be a meat eater, but these days, who can you trust? And if you give a flying F%&$ about animal welfare, man, just stop turning a blind eye! When, in history, have you ever been able to really trust what any country’s government says regarding food? The US STILL has the food pyramid screwed up. It boggles the mind.
Well, it is now 3 weeks to the day since starting on my raw journey, and I must say that a) I have been nowhere near as raw as I’d wanted to be but b) I have experienced great results all the same. I wanted most to have lost a few more pounds/kilos than I actually have (Actually, I’ve not been weighing myself- too depressing- but I do have a good sense for these things), but the sense of well-being factor has far outweighed (ha ha) the fat factor. I feel confident that if I continue, it’ll all come around, and I will eventually loose some weight. My pants are definitely looser in any case.
Unfortunately, today, later in the day after classes, I felt a tad feverish. I’d been VERY raw until that point. I planned to go home, have an enema (good when you feel flu-ish, and I actually do have the equipment- you can get it at Keio Department Store!), and go to bed, but after getting some raw goods on the way home and preparing and eating a feast instead, and drinking too much wine, I felt just fine! Umm, I might have actually been better off doing the former, as perhaps my body was in a detox process. Oh well….
I have no classes for over a week now. It’s Golden Week in Japan- time to kick back! I used to go abroad during this time of year, or at least travel somewhere pseudo exotic in Japan, but I haven’t the funds this year. Will enjoy the nice weather while I can, though.
Today I had:
melon
carrots
cucumbers
MonaVie juice and gel
kiwis
spaghetti salad (greens, daikon, sauce (red pepper, tomatoes, olive oil, organic seasoning, garlic))
gobo (burdock root) and carrots with organic seasonings, sesame, fax meal, sesame oil and mirin
organic wine
chestnuts
I find myself really in an eating mood today, and not in much of a working one. It’s still a little unpleasantly cold outide, though the greenery continues to flourish.
Today I had:
strawberries
mango and spinach smoothie
tomato, avocado, ruccula leaves, and Dukkah spice salad with balsamic vinegar.
dates
natto
frozen banana, date and cocoa ice cream
melon
Dukkah, by the way, is one of my favorite spice blends. It’s originally an Egyptian concoction with a long tradition in the Middle East, where it was prepared to transform bread into a satisfying meal for camel drivers at the end of a long journey traveling across the desert. Men would gather around a fire to roast spices, nuts, and seeds, and then crush them into a coarse powder. They’d then dip chunks of bread first into olive oil and then into the Dukkah. There are tons of recipees, mostly containing cumin, coriander, salt, hazelnuts, and sesame seeds. Unfortunately, the stuff I used this time around was a commercial blend, so the salt was table salt and the seeds were likely roasted. Big no-no. I’ll have to learn to make my own, ’cause I adour it! The cocoa powder I used today in my banana mush was 100% pure but said nothing about 100% raw. I’m still waiting for my raw food order to come in….Gees, that cocoa banana mush was amazing though!
I finished reading the 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Douglas Graham. I have read a few live foods books now, but this is one is a goodie. The main things I learned:
1) Most raw foodies (self included) eat way too much fat and not nearly enough fruits and greens.
2) Dr. Graham claims that humans were designed to each FRUIT, though we can supplement with some greens and nuts if fats and proteins fall short. But forget gorging on starchy veggies (this means carrots!), nuts, and seeds for the most part. (not easy to digest and too much fat). Most fruits and leafy greens have invert (inherent) fats and proteins that make up 10% each, on average, the optimal percentage. The bulk of out calories (80%) should be from carbs (which is probably 99.9% of the VOLUME of food we should eat)
2) Many people, including raw foodists, shun fruit as it’s so high in sugar and therefore not good for diabetics, etc. What Dr. Graham points out, however, is that the culprit is fat, not sugar. If too much fat (which is over a measly 10% according to Graham) is consumed, regardless of fat quality, it will coat blood vessels and cover the insulin receptors located on vessel walls. These receptors are responsible for receiving glucose from the insulin that comes through the blood stream when glucose presence is perceived, as well as delivering the glucose to the body as nutrition. Insulin cannot reach these poor receptors drowning under a layer of fat and therefore the body does not get nourished, and insulin levels go haywire.
3) Following #2, if there is not too much fat on the vessel walls, candida is perfectly under control to feed off of excess glucose in the bloodstream, as most of it get delivered as nutrition thanks to the hard work of insulin receptors. However, when glucose does not get absorbed, a lot of glucose hangs around, so the candida multiply and have a royal feast (candida feeds off sugars).
4) The best way to eat is to keep it simple- forget dehydrating and stuff like that. Just eat as many raw fruits and leafy veggies as you want each day, and keep over fats to the bare minimum.
Well, everything Dr. Graham says makes perfect sense and it is my ideal, but the reality of the diet is that it is a tad extreme, if not also a tad boring…. But if I can make his standard my daily ritual for most days, then perhaps I’ll be sorted.
Today I spent a lovely day learning about raw food and raw food preparation from raw food lovelies Andi and Angela Wolfgang. Andi has just started up Lucina Live Fruitfully, and if things continue like they did today, I’m sure they will have much success! About 9 mostly Japanese rawbies attended- it was great to meet other with similar interests! Andi admitted the recipees were admittedly a tad high in tasty fat to draw in the non-raw types, so I’ll have to watch my fat intake tomorrow, but yummm, was it worth it! I was most impressed with what I would probably describe as chocolate pudding- WAY better in taste than the mainstream alternative full of processed sugar and high-fat dairy. Who would have known the avocado could be so versatile? I cannot make use of this recipee- I KNOW I will eat 10 servings instead of 1 -heheh!
I felt even energy levels all day today. I was surprised at how wide-eyed I was at 7am on the train and also at 7pm. I did a bit of shopping on the way home- bought a much needed bag for work and some skin care, which, when coupled with the raw food course, set me back quite a bit. My roommate hit me with utility bills when I returned too, so I need to practice some frugality for the next couple of weeks. I went with new friends form the raw foods class to Tokyo Hands in search of the “spiral veggie slicer device” but no success. Must harass Andi for one later….
Today I ate:
a green smoothy (powered wheatgrass, frozen mangos, strawberries, papaya, pineapple)
green smoothy 2 (greens, apples, banana)
raw greens (leaves, carrots, alfalfa)
raw hummus (nuts, tahini, soaked pecans, spices, garlic…)
chocolate mouse (avocados, cocoa, agave, chocolate nibs)
raw spaghetti (zuchinni, red peppers, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, sea salt)
walnut basil cheese (walnuts, miso, lemon, garlic, basil, water…)
cauliflower salad (cauliflower, cucumber, avocado, parsley, lemon, tomato, olive oil, spices)
shiitake mushroom burger (soy sauce, mushrooms, greens, green onions, seeds, spices, olive oil, vinegar, garlic)
sun dried tomato ketchup (sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, agave, miso, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper)
more raw spagetti (at home, in large quantity- made with cucumber and eggplant this time (minus oil, but better with!)
It rained all day on this Saturday, 25th of April. The “May” flowers are already out though; Japan’s May promises to bring lots of green in addition to more blossoms. I am in no way looking forward to the oppressive heat of the summer, but today was just a tad too cold. Not too cold to put on the heater, however. I bundled up, read, fooled around on the computer, and ate lots of fruit today.
I ate:
mangos
kiwis
bananas
strawberries
1/3 avocado with tomatos and yellow peppers (with a little balsamic and olive oil)
natto
sprouted peas
MonaVie acai juice blend
My case of MonaVie came in the post just this morning. I always love that delivery! MonaVie is not raw- anything in a bottle can’t really be, or it could go off and customers could sue! MonaVie is flash pasterised, but I am not sure if that is really much less harmful. In any case, the juice tastes great, and I swear by it. So much in fact that I’ve become a distributor of the stuff myself. You can check out the corporate site at www.monavie.com.
I am so impressed with all the food-related films coming out these days. Here’s a trailer from Food Inc. Can’t wait to see this one too!
Alissa Cohen recently appeared on Fox25 news, introducing raw foods to carnivores:
The above was Alissa in another media appearance. Don’t you love the short attention span of media people? I wonder if they actually heard what she was trying to say?
Today was a busy day at work, and I didn’t feel so great this morning (not enough shut-eye). Whenever that happens, I find myself unable to eat before heading to work, though I did munch down a little banana before classes started. Anyway, as I result, I was famished by lunch time. Raw food when you are that hungry seems to be a real treat. I guess fruits and veggies are indeed what the body was designed to eat. Interestingly, I must note that I do not have cravings for anything “bad.” This I find surprising, as I usually feel deprived on any regime I embark on. Maybe it’s because I have a sweet tooth and the fruits are meeting my needs. It’s all good, in any case. Tonight I am going out with old colleagues. Let there be wine! We are meeting at TGI Fridays in Yokohama. Nothing tempting there, so I’ll be alright. Must eat before heading out though…
So far today I’ve had:
bananas
kinkan
carrots
cauliflower
humus
kiwis
Later I’ll have:
mangos
kiwis
melon
carrots
WINE! (yeah, kill me. I am not willing to let go of the wine yet. Can’t see it happening very soon either. One step at a time…)
It was my day off today, so I did an hour on my road-racer (affixed to stationary training device) some produce shopping, and proceeded to enjoy the rest of the day reading. Bliss! I even took a nap, not that I really needed one. My energy levels are pretty good. I thought that early mornings were going to be a problem for me this term, but I am not having difficulty. I also notice I have far less mucus in the morning. I used to have a lot of sleep in my eyes and feel sluggish in the mornings, but I can’t say that this is the case now.
Today I had:
kiwis
mangos
bananas
natto
baby carrots
raw broccoli
raw string beans
homemade humus with miso
Found a filmmaker on the net who was inspired by the hit documentary, “Supersize Me” and decided she should do one of her own, but with the reverse in mind. What kind of changes would she see in her body after eating super healthy and raw for a month? “Supercharge Me!” movie trailer:
I’ve had a fair share of water shot up my anus over the past few years. In fact, I’ve had a gastronomical assortment of liquids squirted into where the sun shine not: wheatgrass water, garlic water, watery green tea, even warm, diluted coffee! Not that there are taste buds down there, but each concoction is said to have its “nutritional” benefits, and I am a believer!
Ah, yes, a good colonic irrigation. My personal first was at a fasting retreat in Koh-Samui, Thailand, where the detox boom is alive and kicking. It was rather uncomfortable at first, but it did seem to make my detoxing process much more tolerable. You’d be amazed at the stuff that comes out….crap (not necessarily literally) that’s been there for years. When fasting, the thinking goes that a lot of toxins are sometimes released too quickly into your system, which can be really unpleasant, causing a “cleansing reaction” -everything from headaches to fevers to emotional outcry. The colon is one of the body’s biggest eliminative organs, so by clearing it out, natural hygienists say that the toxins can go on their merry way and leave you in peace.
The video below takes the viewer on the first-time journey of someone called Mary, but at least she gets the high-tech version. Most of what I’ve experienced as been with the old, self-serve bucket and tube, making use of the wonderful pairing of suction and gravity. We should all have an ass cleaner at home, I reckon. A colon cleaner, I mean. I actually already have an bum cleaner built into my snazzy Japanese toilet. Eliminates the need for toilet paper for the most part, but that’s a different story. Anyway, don’t laugh, but you can buy at-home colon kits in quite a few places these days. Try googling “colema board,” too.
strawberries
avocado and tomato salad
kinkan
kiwis
monkey and regular bananas
trail mix of goji berries, currants, pine, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds
coffee with soy milk (oh nooooooo!)
a giant papaya
organic red wine
Two rainy Tuesdays in a row. My colleague rejoices when it rains during any weekday, the logic being that the probability of it raining over the weekend decreases. I dunno about that - mother nature is pretty random. In any case, it was a pleasantly raw day.
Today I had:
strawberries (I think I’ll stop quantifying food at this junction. What’s the point? It’s not as if calories matter so much when you’re raw…. then again, gotta watch that nut consumption volume.)
raw string beans
monkey bananas (mini bananas)
kinkan (a mini orange-like fruit)
almonds & cashews
tomato, avocado, and ruccula salad with balsamic vinegar and oliver oil
organic wine
Found yet another movie trailer for a raw-foods related flick. You can get the DVD’s website by clicking on the image at left. Simply Raw is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with ‘incurable’ diabetes switching their diet and getting off insulin. The movie documents the transformations brought about by a raw food diet in the 6 people’s lives, including medical, physical, and emotional changes. The viewer gets a peek into their struggles, but also their gradually renewed sense of hope once they learn how easily diet can change their health, reversing diabetes.
The flick is pretty cool in that it seems quite unbiased. You get to see people slagging off raw food and going through emotional detoxes of sorts. I really want my mom to see it, as she’s got diabetes….
Today was uneventful. I successful enjoyed exploring raw food blogs and browsed the day away (nope, I don’t work Mondays! ), adding links to my site. Of course what I should have been doing was preparing for classes tomorrow, and now that it’s suddenly gotten dark, I’d better get to it! Didn’t eat much today. Kinda forgot, if you can believe that! (Definitely not like me- I usually eat even when I’m not hungry. Umm, maybe it’s about time I put that kind of statement into the past tense!)
My face looks a lot leaner today. Clear too.
Today I had:
pistachio nuts
dried mango
1 mango
left-over Asian slaw
1 banana
orange juice
2 shots of MonaVie
ginger and lemon tea
What a perfect spring day. After faffing about on my my computer in the morning and enjoying some fresh fruit, my roommate and I headed to the local park to enjoy the sunshine reading under the final falling cherry blossom petals. Our neighbourhood is chock full of young families, so we also wittled away time watching little kids fall down trying to walk, frisbees and other recreation thingies being tossed or kicked, and a surprisingly large assortment of dogs. There were fresh pistachio nuts to munch on.
My nails seem to be stronger and growing faster. This often happens in the summer, especially with all the sun creams one tends to slap on oneself. But it’s too cool for that, so I wonder if it’s got anything to do with diet? My allergies seem to have dissipated too, but I think that could be due to the sugi season having passed. It was particularly bad this year.
I could go on also about the changes in my bowel movements, but let’s just leave it at saying that the changes are good.
Yesterday evening I found an interesting product at the health food store: an organic concoction of ginger juice, lemon juice, and honey. Mix with water and clear the morning sludge out of your limph system. With pleasure. The stuff tastes good, although expensive, so I’ll by my own ingredients and dust off the juicer in my cubbord.
Today I had:
ginger mix
MonaVie acai juice
2 kiwis
1 banana
1 small mango
pistachio nuts
home-made Asian slaw (cabbage with soy sauce, ginger etc.)
dried mango (no sugar added) Hummm, really should get a dehydrator….
I obviously had a tad more wine than I should have last night and was tired, otherwise I would not have slept in until 10:30. Oh, but what I lovely lie-in it was! My roommate and I sat around and enjoyed reading, computing, easy-listening piano ballads, and raw food. Later, after a private lesson in my “language studio,” we headed to a veggie-friendly place for dinner near the station. Not all vegetarian, not all organic, and not all raw, but I certainly stayed vegan and ate as much raw as I could.
Today I chowed down:
10 strawberries
banana,kiwi,frozen berry smoothie with honey
assorted raw green salads with various dressings
cooked spinach and sesame seeds
hijiki, soy bean, and tofu curd salad
burdock root slices
pumpkin and onion mash
picked Japanese radish
5 liches
soba tea
a little red wine
I had difficulty getting up this morning, as I had gone to bed so late, but with a nap after classes and before some desk work, I was just fine- especially with the help of some tasty nuts I thankfully had on hand. I feel very clear-headed today. After a lot of office work, the day culminated in my first restaurant eating experience while trying to remain raw. The menu at a cheap izakaya chain called Murasaki ended up being better than I thought. I had all raw, but no, I can’t vouch for what went into the dressings and sauces. It all tasted great, as did the copious amounts of wine my colleague and I consumed. I have to say, wine hits you delightfully fast and strong when you are raw, and wine is definitely better when it’s organic (no crap in it means no hangovers, no matter how much is consumed. At least for me, anyway.)
I had:
2 shots of MonaVie (acai juice blend)
1 big slice of green melon
2 small bananas
salad (oliver oil and cider vinegar, cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, avocado, greens)
small bag of raw peanuts
small bag of chestnuts
cranberry juice
red wine (lots!)
Eda mame (salted beans)
daikon (radish) salad with shiso and ume boshi (pickled plums)
Korean spicy salad (greens, spring beans, hot peppers, sesame oil etc.)
sliced cucumber with light sesame dressing
I’ve been cluttering the screen with a lot of video recently, but I’ve one more I’d like to share-yet another documentary-type film preview. This one strikes me as a tad evangelical, but would like to see it nonetheless.
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Looks like this child is either fond of pigs as animal friends, fond of eating pork, or simply loves to lick pig snot. The current pig swine flu that’s sweeping across the globe is transmitted from human to human, but nonetheless I don’t think I can recommend the practice you see here. Pigs, by the way, have a DNA structural makeup quite similar to that of humans. I don’t eat any meat myself, but if there is one type that I will absolutely avoid unless my survival depends on it, then it is pork. Pigs are smart animals and I understand they even make good pets, but they are also disgusting creatures in that they will eat absolutely anything, such as other animal parts. And I hate to tell you if you don’t already know, but dead animals have found their way into pig feed before, at least in the US. Such practices are now banned, but I am not sure what farmers can be trusted… I think the whole meat industry as it is may in fact be related to the animal flues we have seen over the years. It’s pretty scary to think of the possibility of a pandemic.
), adding links to my site. Of course what I should have been doing was preparing for classes tomorrow, and now that it’s suddenly gotten dark, I’d better get to it! Didn’t eat much today. Kinda forgot, if you can believe that! (Definitely not like me- I usually eat even when I’m not hungry. Umm, maybe it’s about time I put that kind of statement into the past tense!)