I was hooked after watching this trailer and did my usual search for the title at the library.  Not there.  Then I checked with Blockbuster and they had it.  Luckily, I looked around the site a little longer because I found that on the Food Matters website under the movie section, you can order and watch this documentary right on your computer for the same price as driving to Blockbuster and renting it.  Score!  Not only that, but there are some movies that are free to watch - titles such as "The World According to Monsanto" and "Homegrown."  Check it out!  Link to online movies

So I ordered the online movie and really enjoyed watching this documentary.  I feel it is well done with good nutritional information and a good look into the problem with our current health care system as it relates to nutrition.  Anyone wanting to understand a little more about why to eat more raw foods in your diet should get their questions answered in this movie.  They go into a wide arrange of connected issues: nutrient loss in our produce, vitamin supplementation, pharmaceuticals, our health care system, and government regulation.

Here is some information that you are probably not aware of:
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH 
#1. Heart Disease             631,636
#2. Cancer                       559,888
#3. Modern Medicine         225,000

Now you aren't going to see number three on the chart with the center for disease control, but that number represents the number of deaths each year from unnecessary surgery and other hospital errors, infections obtained at the hospital, and medications. (and that is only medication that is prescribed by a doctor and taken as directed)  It comes in number three - isn't that really a staggering reality?  It comes in above stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, accidents, and diabetes.  That number should cause concern.

On a more positive note, David Wolfe gave some great information about raw cacao beans and their nutritive quality.  Raw cacao are the highest natural source of magnesium, chromium, zinc, and copper.  It is likely the highest natural source of iron and manganese, has all the cofactors necessary for a healthy metabolism, is high in vitamin C and has the highest antioxidant content of known foods.  Ever heard commercials touting the high antioxidants in blueberries?  Here is how they stack up:

ORAC values per 100g
Raw Cacao                      26,000
Acai Berry                       18,500
Prunes                             5,770
Raisins                             2,830
Blueberries                        2,400
Blackberries                       2,036
Strawberries                      1,540
Spinach, raw                      1,260
Broccoli florets                     890
Red grapes                          739

And can I say, I just love David Wolfe in this show?!  He talks about things no one wants to talk about in polite society, but he is right on. :)  For those of you who aren't familiar with David Wolfe, he is a leader in the raw food movement and wrote one of the classics, The Sunfood Diet.  Just listening to him and all the speakers in this documentary really inspires me to keep eating lots of raw food.  I have slacked off in the last couple of weeks and have been eating more cooked food. (the cold weather didn't help!)  And just so you know, in this film he highlights eating at least 51% raw food, not all raw, so there is no excuse not to try.

What this movie really has done for me is bring me full circle to the initial thought - you are what you eat.  Americans have gotten away from eating based on what your body needs to function and be healthy, and moved to eating what tastes good.  Unfortunately, with MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, caffeine, and lots of salt, we have learned to create desire for foods that are extremely nutritionally deficient.  We are a society that is fat and happy, but slowly starving our bodies to death and we see this playing out in the increase of disease and death due to our lifestyle choices.

And since you will learn that you need to be supplementing your healthy diet with vitamins, I want to recommend a source of really good ones - Optimal Health Systems.  I used to work for this company and I know that their products are of the highest quality.  You can get a great wholefood vitamin from them.  Here is the ingredient list:


Whole Food Vitamin Blend Includes:
Carrot, Green Peppers, Oranges, Alfalfa, Nutritional Yeast, Acerola Cherry, Broccoli,
Wild Yam, Rice Bran, Spinach, Wheat Germ, Cranberry, Garlic, Papaya, Soybeans,
Molasses, and Beet Fiber.

Antioxidant Blend Includes:
Grape Seed Extract, Grape Skin Extract, and Pine Bark Extract
Opti-Blend (tm) Delivery System Includes:
Amylase, Protease I, Protease II, Lipase, Invertase, Maltase, Cellulase, Lactase, Hemiseb,
Zinc Amino Acid Chelete, Copper Amino Acid Chelete, Manganese Amino Acid Chelete, and Molasses.


Take time to read the research/education information on their site.  It is a great resource.

Now, watch the movie and go eat something raw! ;)

Posted in: health, raw, raw chocolate, Raw_Vegan Lane, videos on Friday, May 14, 2010 at at 9:02 AM 2 comments    

Is that an oxymoron?  Or can cooking justifiably be applied to the creation of a meal or snack out of food regardless of whether heat is applied?  Just something I was wondering...

Anyway, in my quest to stay motivated to eat healthy, I have signed up for a slew of health emails to be delivered to my inbox.  This keeps me inundated with information to keep me on track.  I currently am receiving emails from the following:

Renegade Health
Dr. Mercola
World's Healthiest Foods
Natural News
Raw Family
Former Fat Guy
Raw Mom
Dr. Fuhrman  (author of Eat to Live)
Beautiful on Raw
Hallelujah Acres  (this one has been a link to a daily online video during the 60 day challenge, which is almost over!)

I love having the information waiting for me everyday in my email.  If anyone has other recommendations, I would love to know about them!

Sometimes if life is too busy, they just get deleted or put in a save folder to read later if it looks interesting or has a good recipe.  One of these that I saved was from The World's Healthiest Foods.  He sent out a recipe for 15-Minute Dark Chocolate Truffles.  Here is the recipe:
Prep and Cook Time: 15 minutes

• 1/2 cup pitted prunes
• 1/4 cup pitted dates
• 3 TBS almond butter
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 3 TBS unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup finely grated unsweetened coconut

1. In a food processor, drop the prunes and dates through the feed hole one by one. Scrape the processor bowl and run until the prunes and dates are smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients except for the coconut. Run until smooth and scrape the processor bowl with a spatula as needed.
3. Roll the mixture into 12 one-inch balls and roll in coconut to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

Makes 12 pieces

Well, sounded yummy to me and I had just bought prunes so I had all the necessary ingredients.  We were on!


We just put the whole thing in the Blendtec and it whipped it up in no time at all.  The girls loved helping to coat the balls in coconut.  Our batch ended up making 24 little truffles.  Our whole family liked them except for Angelina.  That really surprised me because she is our little prune eater.



Funny side note: I found that out on a road trip back to Maryland a couple years ago.  I had brought a big bag of mixed dried fruit for snacking on.  Angelina was just a little one then, but boy, did she love them prunes!  Unfortunately, too many prunes for a kid still in diapers is NOT a good combination.  I could smell a diaper change was in order and pulled over at the next rest stop.  Boy, did I have NO idea what was in store for me.  It was a diaper explosion!  I had to strip her completely bare and used up the rest of my wet wipes in the diaper bag getting her clean.  Just an FYI for other moms out there. ;)  It is funny looking back on it now, but was decidedly NOT funny then!

So back to the truffles.  I did like the truffles, but I am not so sure that the long list of ingredients garnered that special of a taste or texture to go to that effort.  They tasted very much like any of the chocolate treats I have whipped up before.  Raw almond butter is very expensive to get unless you have a Trader Joe's nearby. (which I don't, boo-hoo!)  So if I could make something equally good without it, that would be my preference.  I probably won't make this particular recipe again.  I usually just mix dates, walnuts, and raw chocolate to make a "raw brownie" and they taste almost identical to the recipe.  I don't usually roll them in coconut, but that would definitely be an option.  I also have done the same thing with raisins, walnuts, and raw chocolate for a "chocolate covered raisin" flavor.

Actually, I think this recipe ended up tasting very much like the raw bar recipe I posted on here.

On to the second raw recipe attempt.

I have read a lot of rave reviews on Kale chips, even seeing them referred to as Raw crack.  Apparently, these are the addictive, can't stop eating them or even wait for them to finish dehydrating, raw version of potato chips.  Now that Kale is showing up in the stores at reasonable prices, I was ready to give it a go.
I cleaned my kale and massaged in the oil and spices.

Posted in: kale, raw chocolate, Raw_Vegan Lane, recipes on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at at 9:00 AM 4 comments    

I think it was on Rawmoms that I saw one of the moms has created a cookbook for kids.  I thought that was a great idea.  But what I find with most cookbooks is that you only do a handful of recipes out of them and the rest just don't suit your family or tastes.  So rather than invest in a cookbook I figure I will create one with the kids.  We will only put in recipes that the kids love and that are easy enough for them to make. (or at least do most of it themselves!)  I make the recipe with the kids, taking pictures of the various steps so that the cookbook will have pictures as well as written instructions on how to make each recipe.

Here is the first recipe that will be going in our kid cookbook.  The idea behind this one comes from the chocolate syrup recipe from "Raw: The Uncookbook" by Juliano.  He combines maple syrup, EVOO, and carob.  I used to spread raw almond butter on pieces of banana, then drizzle with the chocolate sauce.  Here is our new creation - nutty chocolate sauce.

Posted in: bananas, raw almond butter, raw chocolate, Raw_Vegan Lane on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at at 1:48 PM 5 comments