No thought, no reflection, no analysis, no cultivation, no intention;
let it settle itself…—Tilopa

A Sunset @ Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California - Taken June 2008.

Simplicity

I’m finding beauty and wisdom in simple things…

I think eating a 100% raw food diet creates more of a chemical balance within my biological being. Eating clean, healthy, organic, raw foods definitely helps to bring me more at peace with my life. But mind, body and spirit are one! So, the more I continue with this raw food lifestyle the more I feel “enlightened” spiritually.

Mind Over Matter?

When one thinks about it more, it is HOW we react to the experiences in life that determines HOW stressed we are. Once again, do I dare say it’s about “mind over matter”?

Green Juices and Raw Salads

So, I’m feeling that green juices and raw salads feel very good to me right now. And I know I should go easy on the nuts and seeds. I think I’m beginning to really find a good balance between all the different foods based on how I’m feeling throughout the day.

Achieving Balance with Raw Foods

At the very least, I’m becoming more and more successful in achieving balance in the raw foods I am eating. It’s still a process of experimentation for I believe each person is different, and so I must find my own way and try to find the proper portions and types of foods that make me feel great, energetic, and give me a sense of well-being.

Breakfast

• 1/2 avocado
• 1 Raw Cacao-Banana Smoothie

Mid-Morning

• 1 handful of mixed raw nuts - walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews
• 1 cucumber - juiced

Lunch

• 1 garden salad - lettuces, spinach, radishes, beets, carrots, cucumber, zucchini, black olives, sprouts and broccoli
• 1 handful of mixed nuts
• 1 Raw Cacao-Banana Smoothie

Mid-Afternoon

• 1 handful of mixed nuts
• 1 glass of sun tea (brewed in my backyard patio)

Dinner

• 1 large salad - lettuces, spinach, fresh basil, amorosa tomatoes, red cabbage, and sprouts in oil and vinegar
• 5 large black olives
• 1 cup of sun tea

Just a quick site recommendation….

I stumbled upon this site: nowdothis.com

Simpler than a ToDo List and too simplistic compared to a personal planner. But, it’s the simplicity of this online tool that helps productivity at the “here and now” level.

Normally I use my Task app on my Blackberry, but nowdothis.com is pretty simple and straightforward.

Maybe, perfect for the Zen ideal of living in the moment…

Excerpt from “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” - A Classic!

Sometimes, being a raw vegan, I feel like I’m a misfit like the song suggests… different from the rest! hehe…

Going Bananas

Jim wrote a great post in response to an article that advocates a ban on banana consumption based on the fact that if people don’t live in a tropical climate where bananas thrive, then they shouldn’t be eating them. Jim makes it more clear here:

Recently, I saw an article advocating a ban on banana consumption based on the premise that, if you don’t live in the tropics, you have no business eating tropical fruit. Pointing to transportation costs and the related environmental impact of such transportation, the article argues that, by eating bananas, you’re contributing to the destruction of the environment.

Aside from the transportation costs, there has been some issue with the cultivation of the banana. I watched a video on youtube in which David Wolfe didn’t advocate eating bananas because they are one of the most “hybridized” foods known to man. Similar to white rice and other domesticated foods. Of course, David Wolfe recommends we find wild fruit and raw foods whenever possible, but that just might be nearly impossible for most people to follow.

I still love bananas. And, I think they are a great transition food for people just getting started with a raw food lifestyle, and great for people going 100% raw. And, they are a good ingredient for making smoothies!

The Zen of Raw Foods

By the way, when I google “the zen of raw foods” my site is the first search item to come up on the first page! Yay!

Getting In Tune

I feel I’m beginning to really get in tune with my body as far as having the proper ratio of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Last night I think I had too many nuts. Or, I ate improper combinations of fruits and nuts. Either way I felt pretty bloated and I was in a “gaseous” state that was undesirable, to say the least. But, we learn from our mistakes.

Also, I think I need to properly chew each bite of food thoroughly, instead of “bolting” everything down. That’s always been a problem of mine.

For some reason, after dinner I crashed and took a short nap. My energy level felt a bit low today for some reason. But then again, I spent a good part of the day shopping with my wife at the mall. Maybe I was just bored?

Breakfast

• 1 cacao banana smoothie

Late Morning Snack

• 1 bunch of pistachios
• 5 large black olives

Lunch

• 1 medium salad - lettuce leaves, spinach, tomatoes, radishes, beets, sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli with cold pressed olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• 1 carob banana smoothie

Dinner

• 1 large salad - lettuce leaves, spinach, chard, raddichio, radishes, tomatoes, beets, sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli with cold pressed olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• 6 flax crackers with cashew “cheese” dip

After Dinner Snack

• 6 kale crackers with cashew “cheese” dip
• 1 glass of water

Tim VanOrden of RunningRaw.com show’s us how he makes a green smoothie!

So, following my lead from yesterday’s post, my goal today is to focus as much as I can on green smoothies and green juices. Because I’ve noticed that anything green makes you go, go, go!

Today’s Specialty Raw Dip

PINE NUT GARLIC DIP

This one’s a bit strong on the garlic side. You can just use 2 cloves of garlic. And don’t include the lemon rind when juicing the lemons, if you don’t want the “zesty-ness” to come out. Mmm… this one’s also to die for.

1 cup pine nuts
4 walnuts
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup nama shoyu
1/4 cup juiced lemon (include rind)
1 pinch of celtic sea salt

Put all ingredients in a high speed blender and go for it!

. . . .

Breakfast

• 1 cacao banana smoothie
• 1 cucumber - juiced
• 1 half large avocado

Mid-Morning Snack

• 1 glass of watermelon juice (juiced the rinds)
• 8 large black olives

Lunch

• 1 bunch of broccoli florets with Pine Nut Garlic Dip
• 2 flax crackers with Pine Nut Garlic Dip
• 1 cacao banana smoothie

Afternoon Snack

• 1 bunch of broccoli florets with Pine Nut Garlic Dip
• 1 strawberry banana smoothie
• 1/2 tangerine

Early Evening Snack

• 1 cup of mix raw nuts (cashews, filburts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios and hazelnuts)
• 1 cucumber - juiced

Dinner

• 1 1/2 cups of jicama slices with Pine Nut Garlic Dip
• 1 large garden salad (lettuces, spinach, chard, red cabbage, raddichio, arugula, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and basil leaves with cold pressed olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Feeling Groovy

I felt really good for most of the day. Maybe there was a brief time when I was out with my wife for several hours, and I felt like I REALLY needed to get some food. But once I got home I could eat some raw food and I felt great again.

For the most part I was once again trying to graze throughout the day and not trying to eat too much at one time. Also, I needed to follow the advice from the video where I chew my fluids and drink my food, meaning I need to intake foods slowly and chewing them thoroughly.

Ah! An inspiring video covering Jenna Norwood’s film, “Supercharge Me!”, going 30 days on a raw food diet… the total opposite of “Super Size Me!”

I’m feeling good! REAL good right now!

What I’m noticing each time I eat a salad with lots of lettuce and greens, I’m feeling quite charged up and pretty euphoric afterwards. I actually feel a sense of well being right after… which is leading me to try more green juicing for the next few days, to concentrate on green juices and smoothies and see how I feel afterwards.

The last few days after Thanksgiving I’ve been eating heartily, and whenever I feel hungry. So you can see that I’m trying to “graze” throughout the day. For instance, I had two smaller sized dinners today. So I’m trying to make sure I’m eating enough calories, though it does seem like I’m eating a LOT. But the difference is that whenever I ate a lot of cooked foods, I would just feel like taking a nap afterwards. And cooked foods are highly addictive and it’s hard not to eat a lot. Especially the rice.

Not Missing The Rice and Bread

In a way, it’s strange being Filipino, having grown up in a culture where “rice” is the main staple, the center piece of almost every meal! Though, at this point I don’t really miss rice, or crave it. I’ve even forgotten all about it, and I still have a big rice dispenser and rice cooker in the home!

Bread is another food I don’t really miss and have forgotten about. My current cravings, however, are those dreaded raw cacao smoothies. And, the cashew nut dip (to-die-for!)…

Breakfast

• 1 raw cacao smoothie
• 1 very small avocado
• 2 flax crackers with cashew nut dip
• 4 jicama sticks with cashew nut dip

Lunch

• 1 glass of watermelon rind - juiced
• 4 flax crackers with cashew nut dip
• 4 jicama sticks with cashew nut dip

Dinner No. 1

• 4 large black olives
• 1 small green salad - lettuce leaves and sprouts in oil and vinegar
• 1 bunch of jicama slices with cashew nut dip
• 1 strawberry-banana smoothie

Snack

• half a tangerine

Dinner No. 2

• 1 medium green salad - lettuce, tomatoes, red cabbage, red onions in oil and vinegar
• 5 flax crackers - finished the remainder of the cashew nut dip

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” —Mahatma Gandhi

First off, I must apologize to my readers for the above video. There are disturbing images of animals being treated cruelly and slaughtered, and you don’t have to watch the video if you think it might upset you.

My intention is not to offend or disturb or disrupt your day, but to make an important point, and to share a bit of knowledge. As a matter of fact, posting this video is mainly for me, to remind me of one of the big reasons I’ve gone 100% raw. That I am opposed to the slaughtering of animals for food, and I don’t wish to share the guilt of the people who would bring me this food to eat, because I so desired it.

It’s just that I can’t see how people can love animals so much, have them as pets and friends, when other animals are designated to be treated so cruelly and viciously, then slaughtered for our consumption. It’s something that has always bothered me for the longest time.

Save The Baby Pigs Too

For example, I’ve seen baby pigs when I was in elementary school, when my class made a field trip to a local farm. Pigs are intelligent creatures. And can be kept as pets.

Once, on a vacation in the Philippines, because I was a guest, they wanted me to “do the honors” and help them slaughter a pig for a feast. They wanted me to slit the pig’s throat. Right away, I felt very awkward about it, and the closest I had gotten to doing it was to hold the knife to the pig’s throat…

And, I couldn’t go on with it. I simply couldn’t do it. And I walked away.

Later, I could hear the pig squeeling for its life in the distance. But this experience was one of the big reasons for me to switch to a vegan diet and promote kindness to ALL animals.

Over 100 Years of Mass Media Brainwashing

The big corporations that make billions of dollars have had so much power to further their illusion that eating animal flesh is good for you, yet continual consumption of animal foods leads to many chronic diseases… and we in turn are affected by the growth hormones and antibiotics the meat industry pumps into these poor animals. But the meat industry continually promotes the eating of animals, and they do so in such a way that makes it seem so inticing through ads and commercials. They package and promote their animal products in such a way as to make them appealing, and far distanced from the harsh realities of raising and slaughtering animals for food.

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” —Paul McCartney

I don’t want to share the blame and guilt because of the slaughtering of billions of animals each year. I don’t want to be the person the meat industry is killing animals for…

And, I truly believe that we would help this planet greatly if we all ate a more plant-based diet, and I’m pretty sure we would help ourselves too in the long run…

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food…