It’s HaLlOwEen

Between now and next Monday American’s will consume an abundance of sugar.  That’s not even considering the fact that the holidays are coming. Heck they are here!  There will be office parties, trick or treating, mall events, house parties and the list goes on and on.  All of these events spell one thing and one thing only…..SUGAR! Sugar is literally killing the human body.  Yes it taste good, but the high fructose and sucrose does such damage .  Sugar can suppress the immune system, it interferes with the mineral relationship with the body, can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.  Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides, reduces the body’s defense against bacterial infection, reduces bone density, leads to ovarian cancer, increases fasting glucose levels, copper deficiency, interferes with calcium and magnesium.  Weakens eyesight, can cause arthritis, gallstones, appendicitis, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, hemorrhoids, and the list literally goes on and on.  Sugar is a weapon to the body.  Is an occasional sweet tooth going to kill you….NO! However, we shouldn’t want to aid in these conditions effecting us, and one way to aid is to continue putting the poison in our bodies.  Sodas, chips, cakes, ice cream, etc.  October 31, 2011 there will be pillowcases and garbage bags filled with nothing but sugar, sugar, and more sugar.  I remember when I was a kid my mother would take my bag of candy and put it in the freezer so that I would not consume it during that week.  Not just Halloween though.  Our daily Starbucks Frapps, and Lattes,  Mocha’s, you name it.  High sugar follows us, we eat it and it sits in our bodies eating our teeth away, our calcium away, the magnesium, our immune system………AWAY! Reduce your sugar intake.  Like way down!  There are alternatives to sugar, you just gotta go out and research to find it, but it’s there. 

Have a great day and Keep JoOcing!

~Racquel

Six Years Later -----> Heaven Rejoices Over One :-)

This morning I was digging through an old email address for the password to one of my vegan cooking sites. I typed in the words vegweb and and old correspondence from me (Ashley) to Racquel popped up. I'd sent her a link to www.vegweb.com and was encouraging her to become a new convert and join all the meat free fun. As you'll read, she wasn't too psyched about it. By this time, I had been a vegetarian for a little over a year and hadn't yet become a vegan (for the first time) but I was sticking to my guns! I thought this would be fun to share since now-a-days (SIX YEARS LATER) she's just as passionate about her plant-based diet as I am. Enjoy!


From Racquel:
HEY SWEETIE PIE,

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE "SOUTH BEACH DIET" I WANT TO TRY IT.

From Ashley: Well, I can say that it is similar to the Atkins diet. As fair warning, any diet that is high in animal protien will cause your bones to secrete significant amouts of calcium, which is a vital nutrient especially in women (active women). Also the low carb thing will cause you to become sluggish because of the lack of complex carbohydrates which are vital to proper brain function. What you really need to do is become mindful of how much animal protein you eat on a regular basis. I am not just saying this because of my lifestyle, but because it is true. I am also not saying this because I want you to bannish meat from your diet - that was a choice that I made for myself! When consuming animal products you are not just eating your calories but whatever calories that animal ate as well. You have to work just as hard to get that burned off of your body. Animal protein can have abverse affects on the digestive system, the bones, and the waistline! Think about it and hit me back!

~Dr. Mac, MD

From Racquel: YOU AND YOUR FREAK'N PREACH'N FROM THE VEGAN BIBLE.  I GOTTA START SLOW POSSIBLY WITH EATING JUST VEGGIES LIKE YOU DID FOR ABOUT A YEAR.  YOU BETTER MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE GETTING PROPER PROTEIN GIRL.  HIT ME UP!!!!

From Ashley: Protein, protein - you meat eaters, I tell ya! Of course we get adequate amounts of protein and I'll tell ya how. First through fortified soy milk, which also supplies tons of calcium. Beans and legumes are rich in good protein without all of the fat and still giving a rich meaty flavor. Protein is found in adequate amounts in most plant foods - it's low in fruit, potatoes, and rice, but extremely high in those beans! I am going to prove to you that animals aren't the only source of adequate protein. Girl, you know that I don't jump into anything without researching it first. I am also doubling up on vital vitamins and minerals that most flesh eaters lack because my diet is plant centered and not meat centered. Meat supplies absolutely no fiber and no vitamins or minerals - if there are they are from what the now dead animal ate. The fiber that I get daily helps keep my bowels clean and running smoothly! Hit me back!

~Mac

From Racquel: heehehehe!  Do you think that less meat would help my sore knees now that I am playing ball again my knees always ache.  uhmmmm....guess what I am eating pasta Italiano soup it is wonderful and no meat.  ooh, you need to go to Kroger they have a wonderful vegan/veggie isle you'd love it...expensive but you'd love it.

From Ashley Restricting meat from your diet and eating only in moderation may result in relief for your soar joints. Also light yoga (seriously) will work wonders for sore joints causing them to work from a different range of motion and increasing flexibility! Either way you are bound to make those joints feel better. If you don't act soon you may have worse damage as you get older! THink about it and hit me back!

~Mac

From Racquel: YOU REALLY THINK YOU ARE A DR. SERIOUSLY THOUGH ALL OF THE ADVISE SOUNDS GREAT.  I WILL TAKE HEED.  WHEN I GET SOME MORE MONEY I AM GOING TO BUY AN ARRAY OF VEGGIES, AND NOW THAT THE WEATHER IS BREAKING I CAN GRILL THEM EGGPLANT, MUSHROOMS, SQUASH, ZUCCHINI,SNOW PEAS, ETC. I LIKE VEGGIES, THERE JUST ISN'T A WHOLE LOT TO DO WITH THEM.  MAYBE I WILL THUMB THROUGH MY VEGGIE COOK BOOK.

From Ashley: All of these sites offer great veggie recipes from salads to pasta! I know you will find something! GIve it shot - I think you are way too afraid to not eat meat. Imagine how good you will feel. Side note - meat is higher in fat than veggies (dug) but the fiber in the veggies (the fiber that ALL meat lacks) will cause you to eat much more while feeling full much faster. Fat does not fill you up nearly as fast as good wholesome fiber!

If you read this far, I decided to give you a little bonus and share the sites I shared with Racquel all those YEARS ago :-) 

www.vegweb.com

www.veganmania.com

www.vegcooking.com

www.vegsource.com

www.vegancooking.com

Thanks for reading!

Keep JoOcing and RAWk On!

Ashley 

Realign Your Balance

Hey slow down, hold on, wait a minute, take a breath, relax, and be still.  Take some time and read, to breath the fresh air, to let the sun beat on your skin, to walk, to laugh.  Whatever is going on in your life will be there, when you return.  Right now, you are the one that matters. As a matter of fact, you should always be the one that matters.  Our spouses, children, jobs, finances, friends, enemies, etc., etc., always take the front seat of our lives.  I bet you didn’t know that stress, along with diet and exercise plays a huge role in acidifying and alkalizing your body.  What is known as our pH balance.  Yes, when we go to the doctor they are going to tell us you have high cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes or even cancer.  Your doctor does not get paid to tell you in full that your stress levels, your diet your exercise plays a huge role in your surviving these nasty diseases.  They don’t tell you that if you were disciplined and rebalanced you would see major changes.  That’s the truth.  Why don’t they tell you that? Because that doesn’t make them any money.  I know! I know! I’m not a doctor, nor did I play one on TV, but I know this to be true.  If you worked on realigning your body, you would see a major change.  This is not a “take a pill to cure an ill” this is what God put here on Earth for us to live by.  That said, did you know that human blood pH should be alkaline between 7.35-7.45.  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 healthy 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 7.0 is neutral.  Below 7.0 is acidic.  Above 7.0 is alkaline.  So am I saying acidic blood is bad? Well let’s just say it’s not good! An acidic pH can occur from, an acidic diet, emotional stress, toxic overload (like smoking, drinking and drugs) and /or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients.  The body tries to make up for the alkaline minerals or the lack there of by robbing the minerals that are there, therefore there is going to be a deficiency.  Your body is robbing from your body (seriously) the cells begin to decrease and its ability to repair those missing cells decrease.  The body was made to detoxify itself-but how can it, when the properties needed are absent? Well how does it become absent? By the things I listed above-we have to learn that “Ok, so the bill didn’t get paid on time this time, there is nothing I can do about it” AND MOVE ON!!!  Keep our stress levels down….in a world of nothing but stress that seems hard but it can be done.  Dismiss the stress, take deep breaths, get oxygen into your body, not just the rested  breathing, but deep breathes really heal the inside of your body.  Back away from your desk go outside and take a 15 minute walk.  Yep you knew it was coming…we gotta eat the right foods.  These typical AMERICAN DIETS just don’t work.  Our bodies were meant to be alkalized and the only way for that to happen is to eat plant based foods.  Eat to live! The doctor as I stated is not going to ask you “how much Kale do you eat?” “How much green juice do you drink?” “Do you have a juicer?” Every diet he or she gives you is going to include globs of acidifying foods that essentially break the body down.  Well Racquel, what foods are good and what foods are not? Are you saying that I can never enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving meal, or Christmas meal, cookouts?

No, I’m not saying any of that, but I am saying that the longer we fill our bodies with poison because it feels good, we will be 6 feet under, rather quickly.

ACIDIC FOODS: Beef, chicken, eggs, liver, ocean fish, organ meats, Oysters, Pork, Veal, dairy, quark(whatever that is…still learning), bread, biscuits, cashews, peanuts, pistachios (my favorite)butter, corn oil, margarine, any artificial sweetener (even Splenda) Barley, brown rice syrup, chocolate(Heaven help me) fructose, honey, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar.

All I’m saying is if we don’t start making better choices with the foods we eat, our bodies are going to make us pay more and more every day.  We know that some things on the list (and that’s not the whole list) we eat every day.  Moderation is not usually part of the American vocabulary.  Moderation doesn’t mean once a week. 

Alkalizing Foods: Asparagus, Barley Grass, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cayenne Pepper, Celery, Chives, Cucumber, Dandelion (staple) Endive, Leeks, Lettuce, Onion, Peas, Red Cabbage, Green Juice, spinach, Beet, Carrot, Horseradish, Potatoes, Red Radish, Rutabaga, Turnip, Fruits:: Avocado, Lemon (top of the list) Limes, apricot, banana (ripe), currant, blueberry, cantaloupe, cherry, coconut, Date, Figs, grape, grapefruit, Plum, Mango (staple), orange, papaya, peach, pear, pineapple Raspberry, Watermelon, tomato,  lentils, Lima Beans, tofu, Navy Beans, Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Seeds (cumin, fennel, flax, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, wheat), Oils (flax, olive,) Fresh Water Fish (MODERATION) coconut milk, Sunflower oil.

Just make sure that even fruits that they are eaten in moderation, and fresh not cooked.  This is just part of the list, but it’s a great start.  Have a great day!!!!

Racquel

Keep JoOcing!

Product Review---->L’Equip 215XL Big Mouth Juicer Review

Good Morning JoOcers!!!! This is my new baby The L’Equip 215XL Big Mouth JoOcer.  I absolutely love this juicer.  One reason that I love is because it gives you a smooth, clean juice.  What I mean by that is absolutely no pulp, and when you clean up your pulp is very dry, meaning that it has extracted all of the juice.  

The L’Equip Model 215 XL Juicer has a “big mouth” but a “quiet motor” and it is designed with convenience in mind.  The feed tube  medium apples without slicing.  The pulp ejection is designed to shoot pulp directly into the pulp basket.  Very powerful motor.  It’s very easy to clean.  It has a 10 year warranty, and a 3 year warranty on the motor.  I have had my new baby for 2 weeks and he has put out efficiently.  This morning it produced for me my daily “Green Dream” Beet greens, Dandelion greens, Arugula, Celery, 2 kiwi, 2 Green Apples, Ginger root, and cucumber.  I call it that because we all dream of being healthy, eating healthy and living healthy, this juice makes it possible the natural way.  Then it produced for me “The Beat the Beet” Carrots, Pomegranate,  Pears, and Beets….so refreshing!!! I purchased the L’Equip Juicer because it is American made, and I am absolutely loving it. 

This is Racquel

Keep JoOcing!!!!!

Fresh Taste Friday ---Recipe #3--- It's A Party Slaw

This past Sunday, our family had what seemed like a pre-Thanksgiving gathering. :-) My uncle was in town and it stands to reason when I good amount of you're kin folk are in town, you gotta eat! But what about Racquel and I? Well, my mother prepared some cabbage and I got the bright idea to make a fresh slaw. Most everyone had some and enjoyed it )along with everything else they ate. Which goes to show you that raw food transcends the palettes and my uncle will eat just about anything once. However, he really liked this recipe as did the rest of the clan and here it is. Give it a try!

I call it It's A Party Slaw because it looks like confetti or streamers in a bowl. Here's how you make it. Put the mayonnaise away :-)

1/2 head of green cabbage
1/2 half head of red cabbage
4 carrots

Dressing:
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1.5 tsp ground mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tablespoon agave nectar
Salt and pepper to taste


Take a vegetable peeler and peel the carrots. Discard the outter skin and continue to peel for a ribbon effect. Keep going until the carrot is pencil thin and you have a nice orange pile of ribbons. Cut your two types of cabbage in ribbon strips as well. A knife works just fine to achieve the same effect as the carrots.  In a separate bowl wisk together the vinegar, oil, and spices and then our it over your veggies. Toss and serve. You may find chilling it for a bit will cause the dressing to marry with the veggies and gives you a refreshing cold salad to go along side pretty much anything!

Enjoy and RAWk On!!!!

Ashley

FRESH TASTE FRIDAY --#1-- Pink Lady Ginger Crisp

It's the first day of autumn and I couldn't think of a better way to bring in the cooler weather with this refreshing juice recipe.....

I'm not sure if I'm alone here, but nothing feels cozier to me than something with cinnamon in it. Of course, apples and cinnamon are always paired together and we can't ignore all of the gallons of "fresh" apple cider that has been coating our grocery store shelves for the last few weeks or so.

I can't go too many days without fresh juice and I came up with an AWESOME recipe for a fresh beverage that you can serve to friends and family for fall parties or simply to enjoy when ever you have a sweet drink craving. I'm definitely serving it this Thanksgiving!

*Ingredients for a quart of juice

6 large pink lady apples (my favorite and they are awesome in September)
3 inches of ginger (peeled)
1 Lemon (peeled)


--->Before preparing the juice, I added a splash of nutmeg and about a teaspoon of cinnamon to the empty mason jar


Pass the lemon through the juicer first, then the ginger, then the apples. (For a larger batch just double, triple, or quadruple the amounts listed above). Once you have your quart of juice, pour it into the jar (over the spices), shake to blend the spices and chill for a bit (maybe 30 minutes) and enjoy!

I like it more as a cold refreshing drink but you can leave it out and let it stay warm for a more soothing, warming drink.


Keep JoOcing,

Ashley :-)

Updates ---> Ashley's RAWSOME Journey

It's been a month and I'm learning so much every day as this journey progresses and my energy levels change along with my body and complexion.

Let's see.... where do I begin? Well, this isn't the first time that I've gone on a raw foods journey but this is the first time that I realized that there was such a huge revolution surrounding such an avant garde lifestyle. Avant-garde because our society is Burger Brainwashed. Anyway, now that I have all of these online resources, social networking sites JUST for raw foodists, and YouTube videos it makes the journey even more fun. And I can't forget how awesome it is to have a roadie in my sister, Racquel. The last few weeks have been amazing. I've never slept so good! I get a lot of comments about "The Glow." Apparently my complexion is changing and people that see me on a regular basis seem to have noticed almost immediately. I feel my body changing. My energy levels are through the roof. My dance team literally had me participate in a cartwheel contest after class last Tuesday for Pete's sake! ehem! Yes, I won! I feel amazing all of the time.


I take that back. I feel amazing when I eat the appropriate amount. And last week I mentioned how much that is (2,500 to 3,000 calories). As we know fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense and not calorie dense. Your body has to be given an abundance and variety of food so that you get all of the calories needed to successfully lose weight and detox sufficiently. The more you eat the more you crave. I guess that's with anything you eat. Trader Joe's black grapes are like my new fix and I crave them all the time! Which is probably why yesterday I sat at my desk and ate a poud of them without even thinking about it. When I ate boat-loads of candy that's all I wanted. No matter how much fruit I ate. I'm sure the more you eat burgers the more you want them. This is a lifestyle of abundance not deprivation. Which is a plus in its own right. However it gets tricky trying to cram in those calories.

Yesterday, I ate about five bananas for breakfast and a pound of grapes. For lunch, I had two apple-pears (which I don't really care too much for). Then I came across a snag! I had to get to my second job and the only things that were left in my cooler were two bananas, a plum, and a banana! I knew those calories would be gone within the first few hours of my shift and I'd be starving by the time the clock struck 10. This is why it's important to eat all you can. Who wouldn't want to eat all you wanted?

Right now, I'm practicing the 80/10/10 LFRV lifestyle (low-fat-raw-vegan). 80 percent fruits and veg, 10 percent protein, and 10 percent fat (nuts, seeds, and avocados). So far, I love it and will keep you all posted as to how things are progressing! Until next time.....


Keep JoOcing,

Ashley

Banana Rama!

Everyday we learn something new about the lifestyle we've chosen to embark upon for optimal health. One thing that's hard to swallow (in a literal sense) is how much we literally have to eat because of how quickly our bodies process our raw diets. The average American that's chosen to go on a diet will usually restrict their calories to 1,500 calories or even less keeping in mind they are consuming an abundance of protein which the body isn't supposed to process in large quantities. Why? Rule of thumb - An infant surviving on mother's milk takes in about 7 percent protein. The rest of the components of the milk are the more imperative nutrients the baby needs to grow properly. 7%!!!! That's all of the protein that's in the milk and look at how quickly that baby grows. Also, when we consume large amounts of protein, we feel sluggish.

Since Racquel and I have adopted a high carbohydrate low fat raw vegan lifestyle, our bodies metabolize these natural foods much faster than we would if we ate a New York strip and eggs for breakfast.

Okay, now to my point. Because of the way our bodies rev up when we eat, we have to consume twice as much as what the average dieting woman would consume. You guessed it! Between 2,500 and 3,000 calories A DAY! I'm kind of starting to miss juicing. It's much easier to drink those calories. At least that's how it sounds. It takes a little creativity and eating enormous meals doesn't feel the same as over indulging on animal protein. Last night for dinner, I ate a very large salad and a pound of grapes and didn't have to sit and wait for my food to digest to run around with my dog for an hour or so. It's a completely different digestion process in the body. The body can use those calories more efficiently because their nutrient dense and clean calories.

About a week or so ago, I found one of my newest favorite raw foodies on YouTube (Megan Elizabeth - Easy To Be Raw) and she made this thing called a banana whip. So I had one for breakfast this morning. I call it Banana Rama. Here's the recipe:

4 super ripe bananas (frozen overnight)**
Cinnamon (to taste)
4 dates (be sure to remove the stones/pits)
About a half cup of water (depending on the blender and mine needs replacing :-) )
A few raw cashews for topping (or any nut of your choice)
A bowl and a spoon
**You can add as many bananas as you want. I only had four that were turning brown and the brown ones are the best to use because the sugars have concentrated so much. I prefer the yellow bananas for eating straight away. (Images below)

I started with one frozen banana a splash of warm water and all of the dates and I let them all whip up until it was chunky. Then I tossed in another banana with a little more water (about a tablespoon at a time). After the third banana I sprinkled in some cinnamon, added the last banana and poured it all in a bowl. You can also put the mixture back in the freezer to firm it up a bit. When you're ready to eat, sprinkle with some raw nuts and ENJOY!

 This is a super sweet breakfast but it packs an energy punch as well. It's enzyme and micronutrient rich so your body is going to love you for it. Our cells run on glucose so this will definitely get you going much quicker than a cup of coffee! Have a great Thursday!