Colonic Report and Water Thoughts

Feeling very calm and peaceful right now...
Ok, so I returned from my appointment about 2 hours ago. Before getting into the details, I have to say that I would recommend doing one for sure. Alot came out...not like thick black chunks that we all see in pictures, but more yellow mucus buildup.

I went to Sana Vita on E 16th St. Right before going, I realized that my card was good for a free Energy Session with the purchase of a colonic. So I called to get the price. $115, but they said that they would give me the $40 discount since it was my first time, but no complimentary energy session. I hesitated a little at $115 (Thats like 9 trays of wheatgrass!) but at $75, I knew it was worth it both for the experience and to share it with all of you. (If you care to know)...

A great raw-food documentary that shows good footage of what goes on during a colonic is called "Supercharge Me...30 Days Raw"

So the place was very pleasant. Very warm and inviting and really clean. I filled out the forms about medical history and diet, and then got changed. The woman that worked on me was wonderful. Very informative and gentle. If anyone is squeamish about these, don't worry. They are professionals and they do a very good job (at least mine did).

I told her about my apple FEASTS and she said that apples are actually one of the best ones to eat because:
1. The phosphorus helps to release the mucus in the system (I think thats what she told me)
2. Apple are low on the glycemic scale so my blood sugar isnt going to fluctuate
and 3. All that insoluble fiber in apples is going to scrub my insides right before my colonic.

She even did chlorophyll implants, which felt really good. When they fill you up, you really can feel the pressure, but when she released the water and started to massage my abdomen, lots of bits and pieces were showing up. So I dont know how common those big massive chunks are that we see in the online ads. True, Im not 50-60 years old and haven't been eating bread (glue) and meat all my life, so my colon is REALLY clean compared to 99% of the population. THANK YOU GREEN SMOOTHIES!!!

The whole thing took about 45 minutes, and when I was walking to my apt, I felt almost WACKY. Like really joyful and goofy. I had this huge smile on my face for no apparent reason. I went home, did some phone calls, then made myself a monster green juice blended with 3 lemons.

Once you're clean, you want to stay clean. That is an excellent reason for a colonic as well. That fresh start gives you a great reason to keep your system from becoming toxic again. Im going to be doing the sauna along with skin brushing 3-4 times a week now as well, so I think Im going to detox even more. I like to bring a scrub glove into the sauna with me and just go at it before I start to sweat. I feel that this activates the pores or glands or something....I just seem to sweat alot more when I do the dry scrub beforehand.

So...try a colonic! For $75 I feel that it was beyond worth it. I feel REALLY good right now, and really cleaned out.

Thoughts on Water -

Ok, I have to admit. I LOVE Fiji water. And Trader Joe's sells 1.5 liters for $1.59...so thats not bad at all. With all the juice I drink and smoothies and fruits, thats all the water I need anyways. I just felt bad about going through so many bottles. Its nice to buy a gallon, because it will take 2-3 days to go through it, and its basically the same amount of waste. I wish I could by big 5 gallon bottles of Fiji. Iceland water is also very good. In Hong Kong I would by this 8.9 PH Japanese spring water, and that was amazing, and they still sell Trinity over there too! It probably takes them much longer to sell their stock of it...unlike here where people would be buying cases of it if it was for sale again.

There is that part of me that feels bad about drinking this precious resource of Fiji. Like all these spoiled westerners are literally draining this island of its pure H20. What does everyone think? I only want to put the purest water into my body, but at what cost to the environment? Bottles of water are a big problem, but still really small when you think about other problems that we face.
And NYC rainwater is obviously out of the question. So should I just go for a 1.5 liter of Fiji every day? Poland Spring has a pH of 6.5, Fiji's pH is 7.5.
We are going for alkalinity, so let's do it full on...right?

Green Smoothie of the Day:

1 Peach
1 Cucumber
2-3 Cups of Fresh Spinach or Swiss Chard, or your other favorite green (about one small bunch)

VERY hydrating and cooling. Add an avocado if you desire more creaminess.

Enjoy our complex meals on special occasions and when going out to eat, but try to keep it simple while at home. Learn to love the quick smoothies and easy meals. If youre in the kitchen all the time, make sure youre having fun...

-Anthony

The Barter System and the Garden

Lantau Island, Hong Kong, Feb 07

I had been yearning for the sauna lately. I really enjoy saunas. Only the dry ones though, I dont like inhaling all that nasty steam in those germ-incubators. But a nice quiet time in the sauna is wonderful. My old gym never had one, so the last time was probably in Asia. Anyways, the Universe has sent a sauna my way.

My good friends B+E just found a great spot on the west side, and their gorgeous new building has an amazing gym, and a pool for laps, AND a sauna. I can go work out there with them (and hopefully motivate them at the same time) and also help them to create superfood smoothies or green smoothies after the workout. They are so lucky the have that great spot in their building. It wont be training, because I have to work out there too, otherwise they know you are a trainer and trainers arent allowed to do private classes in the buildings without consent of the manager or something (insurance liability issues) but I would want to work out with my clients if I was a personal trainer anyways. All you have to do is rotate between sets. Its perfect.

I've been good about the at-home workouts, but I really could feel the difference after today. You work all these different muscle groups that some at home exercises really cant target. i'm really excited for this. Bartering is so great...we can get so much done by getting creative with our food prep skills and using our raw food and health knowledge and exchanging it for some other kind of talent or resource that someone else has access to. Everyone wins, and its tax-free.

Question/Comment of this post:

Anthony,

Thank you for your blogs :) The pictures of your greens show how healthy and strong they are! I'm very inspired - can you recommend some resources and/or give information about how you started learning to grow things like kale, etc? I know very little at all about how to start...

Thanks for everything!

Courtney


Courtney...its really all about the soil, and buying quality seedings. A person could start them from seed, but you can find organic sellers that have very strong seedlings and they really know what they are doing. That first month is crucial, and your turnover can be so much quicker for such a small price. Each plant as a seedling probably costs 75 cents-$1. So when it grows super big like these, you are getting them for that plus labor (and the initial expenses). I would recommend and ONLY recommend the Sq. Foot Garden Method. Your soil is always optimal, and you can fit so much produce into one 4x4 square. Its such a good system.

And yes, SOIL. This is beyond important. Get quality soil with compost and worm castings. The difference is laughable. And get ladybugs to take care of pests. I put a pinch of sea-salt in each gallon of tap water. OH yes...and for all you water-hounds out there:

http://www.pmgeiser.ch/mineral/index.php

Maybe I will just switch to Fiji...I get free Poland Spring from work though...but if Im going to be so good about everything else, I should make an effort to drink the best water that I can. I drink about half a gallon a day, so it should be important.

Anyways, back to the garden.
All these plants are late season cold resistant varieties. Thats why you rotate different plants in the same square throughout the whole year. You could seal it up with glass or plastic and do in year round in the northern US.

Once those essentials are taken care of, you pretty much cant lose. Go forth with confidence!!!

-Anthony

Busy day tomorrow, early casting so I should be getting to bed soon. I got home and totally pigged out on apples! I nibbled one and it was just perfect! I worked out really hard today and was walking around everywhere..all I had was that apple-cuke-lemon smoothie, and then I showed B+E the Brazil Nut-Spinach-Goji-Blueberry-Raspberry smoothie. I had to sample that one of course.

Have a great Thursday everyone...vids coming soon...

Juice Fast & Raw Food Appliances

Zucchini Pasta on a Bed of Greens

A Quick Update...

I still have been drinking about 48oz of green juice every day, but Ive also been making apple-lemon-cucumber smoothies. I dont know if it was a moment of weakness or what, but I really just felt like having some. And I had SO much fruit in the apartment..it was really hard to be around it and not have some. Very strange...it used to be like that with ice cream, and at the moment because of my juice fast intentions, its the same with apples and lemons and cukes. Too funny. You know youre on the right track when fruit is your pleasure food.

The Senna Leaf Tea is working it's magic every morning, and I've been doing #1 like crazy. DETAILS!!! Too much info! Well, wait until tomorrow! Haha...

I miss my bike. Ahh..how i forgot the hellish slow pace of the subway. Walking up the stairs, dozens and dozens of people all around me. I feel way too sheepish, and I really don't care to sit around and wait for trains all day. That bike...it just gave me that total feeling of freedom. I was separated from the crowd...covering ground so fast. Not bound to the rules of the street like cars and trucks. And forget about the bus...unless you are going later at night, youre better off walking. SOOOO slow.

I've decided to throw in ONE question and answer for each post that I do. This way its not such a huge chunk. Those previous posts were monsters. Here is the question of the day:

Hi Anthony,
I am just starting out with the raw diet and I found your weblog through google. I have learned so much just reading in the last couple of days! You are such an inspiration. Okay, you may have addressed this question so sorry if its a repeat. Do you have a recommendation for a blender? And also can you list some beginner essentials that I will need for my kitchen? I am so excited to start this new lifestyle.
Thanks again for all the posts. I will continue reading.
Beth


Hi Beth....

I always have been a frugal guy. I dont mean that I wouldnt spend money, I just wouldnt spend much on regular day to day things that most people do. Id hold my earnings and spend a bunch on a vacation or a snowboard package when I was a teenager. I ended up getting an Oster Blender, which I thought was really strong at the time. This is what it looks like -
I was making one green smoothie a day, but it would take me at least 10 minutes, because I would have to turn it off, get a spoon to move things around in there, and turn it back on. Even when it was blending, it took FOREVER. But it was better than the first one I had.

So what I did, was work a little extra during the week...a few extra bartending shifts, and I bought a Vita-Mix. It cost me $400 because I bought the Vita-Prep (variable speeds) and I'm telling you...it was the best thing I ever could have done to stay with raw foods. My smoothies and puddings are SOOO creamy and SMOOTH! No more bits and chunks!
I gave the Oster to my mom, and actually used it two weeks ago when I was back in Minnesota. I was blown away by how crappy it was. There is no going back...

The Vita-Mix just plows through everything, and saves you so much time. You dont have to stop it and stick something in there to get things moving, because it already has the tamper which is just PERFECT. It is my sincere recommendation that you bite the bullet and get one. Trust me...Im a frugal guy, but if you are going to do something, its worth doing right. And it will further you along so much easier. You wont regret it, I promise.



The other items which I would deem totally essential for raw food success would be a food processor (doesnt have to be really expensive, remember) and a good knife and cutting board. I have an Exalibur Dehydrator (the small 4 shelf one) and I do make stuff with it, but I think Im just going to send it to Minnesota so my mom can experiment with it so she stays on track. I'm pretty much over making all those transitional foods (raw pies, crackers, cookies, etc) and am completely content with smoothies, salads, and fresh fruit.

Juicing? I still do it but Ive reached the raw food high with just smoothies too. Juliano, Victoria Boutenko, Ann Wigmore, and many other influential raw-foodists have strayed away from juices (except wheatgrass and watermelon). This is worth looking into. I still juice because I have a good barter system with a friend at an organic health food store. I make him copies of good documentaries, he hooks me up with more greens than I can handle. Otherwise, I would spend $2.50 for each bunch of greens, and would buy two for my green smoothies. I think that would be perfect. One other item that might interest you is the Spiral Slicer so you can make the pasta like the one pictured up top.
With these items, and great online recipes, the transition will be pure pleasure. Forget the pain, it went out the window with the microwave. Your'e a lucky person to be transitioning now, because there is so much info and support out there for you. Good times! Best of luck and thanks for checking out the site.

-Anthony

One more thing, I talked a friend into doing raw food for two weeks, and he said that he has never been so lean. The only thing he complained about was the price of it. You have to be smart about this. Buy your apples and graperfruits in 3lb bags. Go to the greenmarkets if they are available and spend $5 a day on your greens. Spend $2 on an avocado, or eat your daily serving of hemp seed which would cost about $3. I often buy in large quanties (5lbs of Goji Berries, Maca, and Cacao Nibs) so I have to only do it once, and the price is much lower. Eatraw.com has good bulk pricing. You can do this with all your nuts and dried fruit if you look around enough. And if you compare it to the price of going out to lunch, self-made raw food wins every time. I think I could get by on raw food for $10-12 a day including superfoods. I buy water too, and I still buy gallons of Poland Spring because I feel guilty about draining the islands of Fiji, even though that water is SO good.

Here is something to think about. In Hong Kong, Poland Spring is a hot item because it comes from the "Pure Mountains of Maine". Its foreign...just like imported beer. So maybe Poland Spring isnt all that bad. Stay away from Dasani and Aquafina though...don't support Coke or Pepsi.

Sorry about the lack of videos too...I'll be making a few really soon.

Full report tomorrow...won't be graphic, I promise. Oh yes, and I had dinner on Sunday night with Dhru from We Like It Raw, his friend and Business Partner Mihir, and his sister at Pure Food and Wine, and it was the most energizing and inspiring time Ive had in a long while. Keep your eyes on these guys...big things ahead. They will be bringing raw food to India in no time. Energy is highly contagious, so remember that when choosing the people you spend your time with. No room for negativity. And the meal? It gets better every time I go. I had a red bell pepper stuffed with pine nut cheese and topped with an Ancho Chili Paste, and I almost freaked out while eating it. There is simply no room for cooked food anymore. We are taking over!

Colonic Prep and a few Questions Answered

The Lovely Sarma Melngailis read my blog about Colonics a while back, and was kind enough to hook me up with a free one through some people she knows. So since im riding into Enema-ville on Wednesday morning, I best be preparing for the journey...

So Im doing a three day juice FEAST. No solids until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest. For my juices, I'm planning on doing Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale, Lemons, Limes, Daikon Radish and White Turnips, Swiss Chard and Collard Greens. Not really a tasty mix right there, but I think Ill be ok. I'll probably add in some apple and juice the citrus separately. Water with TONS of fresh citrus juice is really, REALLY alkalizing. The one above obviously had beets in it, which is also a good way to sweeten it up if you dont want to use apples. Its a root-veg, and I'm not crazy about them (except radishes) but once in a while. It makes the juice taste almost like red wine.

The whole point of this is to make sure whatever comes out on Wednesday will hopefully be old stuff. I really want to see if anything was built up. This link here says not to eat less than three hours before a session, but I think this is a little too simple. I havent done a juice cleanse in a while anyways, and Id really like to see what happens on Wednesday. Im also making Yogi Tea's "Get Regular" tea, which has Senna Leaf. This will help things moving along until Wednesday. Today is Monday, so I'll be sure to post on Wednesday afternoon to let everyone know how it went (If you care to know AT ALL. ) Hey, its the raw food world here, and we tend to talk about digestion quite a bit more than normal folk.

On a less gastrointestinal note, I'd like to respond to some questions that have come my way recently. I dont know how many of you read the comments, but there are some great ones in there, and really long and detailed ones too. I appreciate all the time that everyone takes to read these, and rest assured that I read every single one. Natasha, Connie, Ian, and Becca...your comments made my day. They were a pleasure to read, and I want to thank you for all of your great positivity. Really, everything has been really positive. Of course its the internet, so there will always be a person or two who wants to say negative stuff...at least they care enough to write. So thanks EVERYONE.

Number 1.


Hi. I was wondering if you still follow the same guidelines below or have you change it since? I'd like to know, thanks.

Also how will you change your workout since your bike was stolen?

" I start my day off with an hour on the treadmill, then I ride bike at least one hour around the city every day, I lift weights for an
hour, and Im walking around doing castings at least 3 hours a day. This is serious physical activity, all on four hours of sleep and no animal meat or dairy."

Answer 1.

I was really hardcore at this time with the exercise. Im still getting it in, but Im doing everything at home. Obviously the biking around town is done until spring (I dont feel like worrying about my bike getting stolen anymore, and its getting pretty cold in NY). I still lift weights but nowhere near compared to this summer. My gym membership expired, and I was thinking that my last month here in NY was going to be Dec, so I opted to just do home workout. Here is what I do.

On my yoga mat in my room, I do push-ups. I do this whenever they are not sore from the previous workout, and preferably before I eat breakfast. I do sit-ups (crunches and leg-raises) in the same manner. There is so much we can do at home. Whenever the weather is nice, I will powerwalk for about 100 minutes. While doing this, I have been listening to a great lecture by the TTC called "Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations".

This keeps me lean. I try to do this at one of two times during my day. Right after I wake up and do my online stuff, or around 11pm-Midnight. I tend to head over to the bike path on the Hudson River Parkway, where I dont have to stop at every street and wait for cars to pass by. I'm also jumping rope on my apartment rooftop when the weather allows. I only do this during the day though, because I don't want to upset the people living on the 6th floor.

As I mentioned before in another post, I have a 12lb dumbbell, and use it for shoulders, biceps, and triceps. I usually have a documentary on while I do this. It's all about multi-tasking in the 21st Century, right? Think about it, as long as you have your ipod on and are listening to something eductional, no matter what you do your ARE multi-tasking. Keep it in mind if you juice or spend alot of time in the kitchen doing food-prep.

Remember, its more about consistency than using fancy equipment. If you need to go to a gym to get the motivation, I understand and TOTALLY support you. I might even go back to my old one, now that the weather isnt so great and that I am staying in NY till at least June.

Question 2.

Anthony,

Thanks for your blog and presenting your Raw story. I had one question, what do you use to shave your face? I ask because I'm also Raw, and know that eventually I will move into more natarual products (skin brushing, deodarant stone).

Thanks in advance

Frank

Answer 2.

Hi Frank...good question.
Once you get into raw food, you are obviously becoming more conscious about what is going into and ONTO your body. (Hopefully I dont go into a tirade against make-up in a few minutes). I tend not to shave, unless a client for a modeling job requests it. I have a beard trimmer at home that gets it pretty close to my face, and will do that about once a week. When I do shave, I just use Dr. Bronner's soap and really hot water. For my other products, I use Thursday Plantation's Deodorant Roll-on (with NOOOO aluminum...check for that), and for toothpaste, I use Jason's Sea Breeze Toothpaste. Toothpaste is a very important one, because obviously that is getting into our systems quite easily. Crest and Colgate is poison, im my opinion. I use the same Dr. Bronner's for my shower soap, and my shampoo. I don't even use conditioner, and you wouldnt believe how often the hair-stylists will compliment my thick shiny hair while Im at a modeling job. I tell them its the food, and obviously no one believes me.

And now a little thought about make-up. I read somewhere that a person who regularly wears make-up absorbs so many chemicals through their face because of all the toxicity in it. I think make-up makes women feel insecure because it creates this UNREAL STANDARD of beauty that most people cannot live up to. I empathize with those that use cover-up, because even I used to when I was a teenager. I had relatively bad acne at times, and tried to cover it up the best that I could. Its really tough, because we are so pre0ccupied with other's views of us. I've known some women that have never been around even their boyfriends without makeup. It's literally like this mask they have. I know there isnt going to be some revolution against make-up wearing anytime soon, but ladies, take it from me. Keep it simple and foster beauty from the inside. The raw food diet will do more for your complexion than L'Oreal ever could dream to. Guys do not like heavy make-up. Keep it simple.

Question 3.

Anonymous said...

This doesn't pertain to your post, but I was wondering if your tan is all natural, or is it from a tanning-bed, or a sunless tanner?
Also when you go out in the sun do you put on sunscreen or something natural like coconut butter?

Answer 3.

This was taken in the early fall, when the sun was still intense. I used to do tanning beds on a regular basis a few years ago, but now I would really avoid them. There was always the exuse to go before a tropical vacation to avoid sunburn, but that is what SUNSCREEN is for. After day two, you can have a decent tan, and save your money on the tanning bed that blasts you with intense UV light. There are new beds now that produce the better kind of UV for you, so I would suggest that you use the wonders of the internet and do some research.

I'll tell you what gives the glow...beta carotene. I don't do carrots like I used to, but if you've ever drank copious amounts of carrot juice, it start to show in your skin. Think about that the next time you see someone chugging fatty, mucous-filled, puss-infested milk. It comes through in the skin. Hence, my acne from ages 13-17. Now for me, its goji berries, red peppers, and PERSIMMONS!!!! Its persimmon season! Get a super-ripe Hachiya variety, and tell me that its not your new favorite fruit. They are divine. I wish I could grow them. Eat enough of these foods, and your skin will start to look more tan. Don't overdo it, but its a good way to maintain through the winter months.

I use Jason's Sumbrellas Sunblock SPF 40 on my nose and the tips of my ears, and always put an SPF lipbalm on my lips, because they will blister if I get burned. Coconut oil...not as much as I should, but I would recommend it to anyone.

Another Question was about what Lectures and Podcasts I listen to. I wasnt going to hunt through the comments find it, so thought Id list it here.

Podcasts:

Dan Savage's Savage Love Podcast
This is the most informative and funny sex-advice podcast ever! Even if you think you are a pro, just the entertainment of this podcast is well worth your time.

BBC One Planet
A Great Podcast. Anything from the BBC is pretty excellent. This deals with environmental issues and how they are affecting people of specific regions. Very informative.

NPR's Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippet and This American Life with Ira Glass.
Both highly enlightening and entertaining. NPR is a gift we should all treasure. Speaking of Faith is a part of American Public Media, and they have this site about sustainability. Check it out - Consumer Consequences

And for my TTC Lectures, I have listened to these in the past few months:

Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations

Consciousness and Its Implications

Emerson, Thoreau, and the Transcendentalist Movement

Great World Religions: Buddhism

Freedom: The Philosophy of Liberation


Ok...thats enough for now. Another post coming between today and Wednesday afternoon, so stay tuned. Lots to talk about.

Anthony

Ode to My Bike, Hemp seed, and Hypocrisy

Sept 2006-Oct 2007

You came into my life so quickly, and left me even sooner. I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye.

I'll always remember our special times in Central Park...our late nights downtown when no one was around to bother us...

You taught me what real freedom meant, when it came to getting around the city.
And you taught me to DESPISE taxi drivers. I'll never forget that.

And I'll never forget you. You taught me how to love (bicycling) again...how to feel the wind in my face and the car exhaust in my nose. Getting from point A to point B was nothing but a thrill with you.

My only hope is that you will make someone as happy as you made me. Thanks for the memories...

Yes, yes...my dear friends. The Universe giveth, and the Universe shall taketh away. I had such a great day otherwise. I met with my new friend Autumn from Manitoba Harvest, and had a chance to show her around the Union Sq. Greenmarket and get her some AMAZING Hudson River Valley Apples for her trip home. She has been with Manitoba Harvest for quite some time now and she REALLY knows her stuff. Honestly everyone, we really need to start making hemp our number one fat and protein source. This stuff is simply amazing.

And you should be aware of this as well, other companies like Nutiva are simply virtual companies that buy products from other producers and repackage them so they can sell it for so much more. I had NO clue about all of this. What this leads to is that suppliers start taking months to stock up enough hemp seed for their big Nutiva shipment, and that means very UN-FRESH hemp seeds. Luckily, Manitoba Harvest produces their own hemp seed and ships it out right after production. Added to that, is that they are a huge force in the hemp industry. We have to get hemp legalized here in the states. Its really a miracle plant. Study it and you'll know what I mean. And try some of their Hemp seed Butter with some apples and tell me what you think. I was blown away. Simply the best EVER.

Ok...so back to the bike. As we were walking around, some poor soul decided to cut my bike lock and take my lovely ride away from me. I feel that it was never really mine though...I was merely its keeper for a short while. I got the bike for next to nothing because it was in really bad shape and used to belong to someone who didnt even want it anymore, and then put only about $100 into it. Besides one replaced tire, I bought a bike pump (which is still in my room) and a clip-on bike rack (also still in my room).

So, easy come...easy go. Thats the flow of the Universe and if we cant grasp that fact we are just setting ourselves up for disappointment throughout our entires lives. Nothing is permanent, and we can never really OWN anything. Not material stuff, and not people either.

I have to look at the bright side...I had many close calls recently. Some were my fault for being too risky and aggressive in traffic, but more were because of careless pedestrians and other bicyclists going the wrong way. And with the weather getting wetter and colder, and the roads becoming more slippery, there is an excellent chance that I would have ended up seriously hurting myself and/or someone else. So this is really a blessing in disguise.

I saw that the bike was gone, I shook my head, and went down into the subway and bought a one-month pass. I was really happy with how well I handled it. I could possibly be dead right now if I would have biked up to my casting on 57th Street like I was supposed to. It was rainy today, so you never know. We just have to see the perfection in the entire process. And hey, its one less material possession to worry about and have to maintain, so that cant be all bad.

Also, I was experiencing some serious road rage with cars lately, especially taxis. I would get REALLY worked up as I was being cut off or squeezed out by vehicles. This stress obviously was creating an acidic condition in my body, and I'm sure was preventing me from reaching true alkalinity, which is the point of all the greens I consume.

All things considered, this is probably a good thing. I still want to do my long-distance NYC-Minnesota trip in May, but we'll have to wait and see. My mom doesn't want me to go at it alone, but I don't know of too many people that are willing to miss 3 weeks of work to bike 1500 miles.

And now...for some Hypocrisy!!!

Well...more like, me trying to explain my so-called hypocrisy.

Once in a while, I get an email from someone calling me a big fake because I happen to be a model. That I don't have the right to be green or criticize industrial civilization because I happen to be in catalogs and once in a great while, on a billboard. One person recently said that his parent's small business went under because of Target, so for me to help sell their products (as if they need my help) is REALLY wrong.

1. You are assuming that I am somehow keeping Target afloat by me modeling for them? Like they need me...? If it wasn't me, it would be 100 other guys. This is a bad excuse, but let's be realistic here. Target hires thousands of models every year. I did that job over two years ago. I use the model aspect to promote raw food because raw food really does increase physical beauty. Its a big factor for young people when it comes to making the switch to a raw food lifestyle. Especially those that haven't been mauled by sickness yet. Beauty is a big motivational issue for them, and let me tell you, raw food delivers.

I have struggle with this issue for years now. I started reading Adbusters Magazine
and immediately felt like the biggest fraud. I knew that I was a part of the problem. But aren't most of us? Until we are living in Eco-villages growing all of our food and spreading knowledge to save our one and only home...its likely that we are a part of the problem. Anyone that works for any corporation really. Anyone that works for a grocery store that feeds garbage to 99% of their customers. Anyone in the automobile or even the medical industries. This is one big mess we have all participated in, mostly because we were born into it, and getting out is allot harder than getting in. I always justified the means for the end, but I knew that I wasnt really feeling total support for what I did. But my occupation is just more visible, but make no mistake, we are all out there adding to this. I'm in the process of making the transition, trust me. I've got my plans, and they are not too far away.

Anyways, my goal is to simply make raw food sexy and appealing, and to give out as much free advice as I can during a given day. When people email me, I am more than happy to respond in detail and help them in whatever ways that I can. Did I set up some kind of consultation hotline that costs $50 an hour? NO WAY. My intentions are pure with all of this. I would love to make a career out of this lifestyle, but I don't want to charge people for sharing my knowledge with them. I don't really agree with that.

And I have a future family to start planning for. I want to liberate myself from all paid work as soon as I can, and I'll be able to do that much quicker by modeling. Most of it is harmless catalog work...very low profile. Rarely is it a high-profile job. We all assume that all the jobs are high-profile billboards and commercials, but the bulk of it is simple department store catalogs and e-commerce jobs. I would LOVE to be down in Costa Rica or Southeast Asia living the simple life RIGHT NOW, but I have to plan and be responsible for a little while longer. And anyways, this occupation gives me SO much free time, that I basically live the life of a retired person. If it wasn't for modeling, I wouldn't have read all the books that I did, or had the time to study Spanish or listen to all the Teaching Company Lectures that I have. (downloaded free of course through bittorent...)

We should all be planning ahead so we can liberate ourselves from working for money. Live simply and start to save more. I just spent $500 on fruit trees last night...this is where my mind is right now. I'm very aware of peak oil and the resource depletion that is going to affect our entire way of life much sooner than most of us think, and if I had some regular job for $10 or even a very low paid non-profit job, I would be screwed when it comes to taking care of my future family.

Obviously when you criticize industrial situation, yet are still are part of it, you are setting yourself up for people that want to focus on negative things. This is a given. There is a time period between the point of discovering how destructive this society is for human relationships and the environment and speaking out about it to others...and the point of actually being able to leave your old lifestlye behind. That time period in the middle is where people will call you a phony or a hypocrite or a sell-out. So be it.

My thing right now is to make enough money to set up my off-grid permaculture system in Minnesota, and educate as many people as possible about raw food and sustainable living. If you want to judge me as a hypocrite, then you should ask yourself why you like to focus so much on negative things. I was really brought down this morning reading this nasty post from some disgruntled person. They don't even know me, and worse, they don't email me so I can directly communicate with them. If you are going to say nasty things to me, at least email me directly so I can talk to you a little. All of the nasty stuff is always anonymous. Go figure.

99% is super positive though, and I can't even describe how good I feel to read all of your comments. I think we are the vanguards of this great secret, and we need to bring our friends and family into this circle of life as much as possible. Let us all live the example with love, passion, excitement, and of course, FUN!

If you made it this far into the post, you are my new best friends! Thank you for reading and I promise to keep up the momentum. Thanks everyone! Here's to all the silver linings in the clouds...


Rawmodel

Gardening, Exercise, and S**t-Talkers

The Owl is Looking out for Pigeon Intruders...

You can't really blame the pigeons for wanting to be near the greenery...living in this city isn't exactly the most connecting thing to nature. Did you know pigeons are still raised for meat in many areas of the world? Even in the Midwest, where they eat nothing but grains and corn, people still eat them. Anyways...

The garden is going bananas recently. And its the near the end of October. There is absolutely no reason for your garden to be empty after October 1st. It could actually be the most productive time in regards to high-mineral greens.


The Lacinato Kale is a deep dark green, the Southern Collards are huge and making great wraps. I like to use a little nut butter blended with Sun-dried Tomatoes, sprouts, sliced cukes, and shredded radishes. Roll it all up like a burrito or a nori roll and...HEAVEN!!!

The Broccoli is charging...but no florets yet. I eat the bottom leaves though. Everything is going really well. Its all about good soil, and watering every other day. The damn aphids are a problem, and I never got ladybugs because I thought it would be too cold for them by now. WRONG. I still wipe their leaves clean whenever I can, and make sure they are getting enough warm water with sea salt.

However, according to this joker below, Im raising these poor plants so I can cruelly devour them and take their lives away. Check it out...

"While I understand what your saying about not eating animals, you kind of disregard the fact that your eating other living creatures in the plant kingdom. Plants are just as much as living as animals! Why is it ok to eat them, and not ok to eat an animal? There has been studies that have shown that plants feel pain, plants listen, plants communicate, and plants know what are going on around them much like a human does. When a caterpillar or a human tries to eat them, they will send out chemicals to try to repel them. They clearly don't want to be eaten! So what does that say? They might not have a inner body system like us, but they have life in them, they have blood, which is known as chlorophyll."

So what do you think? First off...everyone please look into this book. I've read it and watched the corresponding documentary. I realize that plants are indeed living and conscious creatures. However, plants give us fruit to eat so that we spread their seeds. This causes them nothing but beneficial results. And a person can eat many leaves off of a plant and the plant will still be alive if not healthier in the long term because of the pruning. David Wolfe writes very well about this issue. Its all about good and bad karma while eating. Eating roots and tubers like beets and carrots obviously kills the plant. I believe that we aren't supposed to eat the roots, just the greens. And if not, what should we eat? What do you suggest ANONYMOUS? Maybe I should learn how to sun-gaze and study breatharianism.

And to equate animal suffering with plant suffering seems a bit nit-picky. We can go back and forth forever, but in REALITY...we must eat the diet we are made for. Green leaves, fruits, and a small amount of nuts and seeds. Am I going to label the horse as a tyrant because it eats all of that defenseless grass? How about the lion that eats zebras? This is what they are supposed to eat, and I suggest that humans do the same thing. Yes, plants are living things, and they dont want to be chewed on any more than I do, but this is the game of life we are in, and we must play according to the rules. To raise and destroy billions of innocent animals that we are not supposed to eat anyways is asinine beyond belief. That is what I must speak out against...that needless cruelty and suffering that affects them AND us extremely negatively.

I have to admit that I love these people that bring up this topic...it gives me that eye-rolling laugh that I need once in a while. Fruitarianism is great, but you have to get the green leaves in there somehow. Im basically a fruitarian anyways, besides the sea vegetables and minuscule amount of nuts that I eat. But you have to eat the greens. Study the primate diets and you will see that this is what is for us. Plant suffering or not...we need to eat green leaves.

Maybe the day will come when people stand outside of jamba juice and dump green liquid all over people to label them as plant murderers like they did with red paint for fur coats back in the day. Why isnt THAT still going on? If you wear a fur coat...I'm sorry...I love you, but you are seriously deranged and need help NOW. Wearing dead carcasses as fashion is MESSED UP.

Exercise Anyone?


This is what I do...(besides trying to look SOOO serious)

You must realize that its all about long-term CONSISTENCY. The tortoise wins the race every time. No Joke. Little things done consistently ADD UP.

I used to be BIG into going to the gym. When I was there I was totally focused on my workout. I realized that I was working way too hard though. Way too much cardio when I could have just eaten earlier at night and cut out more sugar. Thats the great thing about raw foods...if you do it right and eat earlier before you sleep, you really dont have to work out that much. You will lean up naturally, and your muscles will start to show. And by doing muscle exercises, your heart-rate will beat at the fat-burning rate...its all good. I gave up the gym, and do everything at home or do my power-walks on the Hudson River Parkway.

I do push-ups whenever my chest isn't sore. I do them until I cant do anymore...even on my knees, and then right at the end, I try to suspend myself right in the middle until it BURNS. MAKE IT BURN. Thats the idea. A nice combo is to flip onto your back in between your push-up sets and do crunches. Again...make it burn. Slow and steady...make it hurt. I also do leg raises to focus on my lower abdominals. SLOW....

Ok...so thats chest and stomach. What else? For biceps, triceps, and shoulders, I use a 12 lb weight that I bought for $10. Its not very heavy at all for the biceps, but again, I do it slow and really squeeze hard during every rep. My arms still get sore the next day. I like to do arms while watching a documentary. I also do some twists and boxing moves while I watch something...along with jump rope whenever I have the time to go up on the roof and do it. Thats really a good one to include, and so affordable. For balance and endurance and breathing, jump-rope cannot be beat. And I still do some power-walking while listening to an audiobook or a podcast. I used to need high energy music while I did that stuff, but now I see it as a missed opportunity to learn something. Do what works for you.

Simple, eh? Its really about doing it consistently every day that you are able to. That is where the results come from. Not some fancy gym membership and working out really hard 2-3 times a week while still trashing your body with cooked and processed foods. Your progress with greatly accelerate by avoiding late night eating, and working out before breakfast as well. Pretty soon you will be able to see veins under your skin, and thats when you know you are really shedding the fat.

LONG POST AGAIN! Sorry everyone...I was thinking about doing the exercise post for later, but Id hate to break the promise...so there it was. I'll do a Q & A post soon in case you have any questions that you want answered directly.

Stay juicy and remember...little things ADD UP. Consistency is the winner...persistence cannot lose.

Peace and love for all creatures (EXCEPT PLANTS!! CHOMP CHOMP!!!).

My Spirituality and Raw Foods

Prayer Flags in a Small Sherpa Village in Northern Nepal

When I start writing these posts, I usually just make it up as I go. I have a rough idea in my head about certain topics that I want to cover, but mostly it seems to come together as I write it.

Let me be totally transparent about this though. I am completely against organized religion.
It is organized religion that dictates that someone or some group must be a "middleman" between you and the Great Spirit. That same force that permeates every molecule in the cosmos. These groups want you to be sheep, not shepherds. They want you to accept their truth as gospel. And for some reason, they always seem to need more money, more donations...despite the fact that they are free from paying taxes and have VERY ornate buildings. I am not an Atheist (anymore) and not an Agnostic either. I consider myself more of a Pantheist if anything. Keep this in mind.

That being said, I was born a catholic but defected when I reached the age of REASON. How did I reach this? I finally had quiet time to actually contemplate things. I started asking hard questions. Questions like..."How come American soldiers that kill people don't go to hell, but gang members (soldiers in their own right) DO go to hell? Who makes up these rules? Why is it that every advancement in knowledge during the enlightenment period was sabotaged by the Vatican? Aren't Catholic priests worried about hell when they rape altar boys? How could George W. Bush call himself a man of God when he and his friends are obviously responsible for the deaths of countless innocent children? He told the world that God spoke to him and instructed him to invade Iraq. Now....who is the religious wacko? Ok Anthony...take a deep breath...

Ok, so this is supposed to be about Raw Food and Spirituality.
These ideas mentioned above were already in my mind by the age of 22-23. But it wasnt until raw food entered my life that I actually FELT something. Not just thought it, but truly felt it deep inside my core. My spiritual self was starting to awake. After about a month of raw food, I started to have these unspeakable moments of bliss. Where I was completely elated to the point of crying with tears of joy. It was so intense sometimes...I just didn't know what to think. I felt and knew that I was at one with everything around, and truly everything in existence. I was vibrating at that frequency for the first time. I still get this funny feeling down my spine when I think about it. All the gunk that was blocking the energy was out of my system, and I could feel something coming in. I could walk down the street and look at the trees and feel completely joyous. It was really laughable. Around me were people scurrying around trying to get from A to B, and here I was, totally drug free, being completely blown away by the sunlight illuminating the trees near Gramercy Park.

It is also during this time that the need for sleep went WAY down. Many raw foodists will feel pretty good around 6 hours, but when you are taking large amounts of greens and drinking lots of water, you need about 3 to 4 hours. A friend of mine said that it wasn't healthy to sleep so little, but he is 30 pounds overweight and takes naps throughout the day. Go figure...
So there is a connection. Ive read that the Yogis of India sleep very little. I know most of them are not raw-foodists, but their diets are likely to be pretty clean and simple. Coincidence?

Fasting was also really important for the spiritual masters, and i believe that its simply about cleaning out the system, so we can finally receive the energy that was always there...trying to get into our consciousness. I honestly don't know how anyone could reach those deep feelings of connectedness without fasting and raw food. And when you think about the high energy that the food has compared to cooked garbage, its obvious that these feelings start to occur. An excellent book on all of this is Gabriel Cousens - Spiritual Nutrition.

Back to Philosophy...this is my truth...it doesn't have to be yours. Find your own...

You have to realize that only you can save yourself. Asking some religious savior or whomever to do it for you is a slander against yourself and your innate abilities. You completely disrespect who you really are when you put that task into the hands of another person or group. Sure, we can learn valuable lessons from those masters who came before us, but they are merely guides. This is how they wanted to be remembered, as guides...showing us the way to true freedom.

Start to see yourself as the divine entity that you really are. Every single atom in the entire universe was located at one single point 14 billion years ago. So - the atoms that make up your body and mind are from the same source of atoms that made up the bodies of the Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, and every other great spiritual teacher. We are one. No one else is in the room, despite what our eyes are showing us. These individuals must be seen as our equals. To place them higher than us demeans who we truly are. The only difference between them and everyone else was that they KNEW that they were divine. They knew who they were, and lived that truth. We can get there too if we choose to do so.

"God has no Religion" - Ghandi

It should be known that Ghandi often experimented with raw food. This man was a true experimenter when it came to eating. He would restrict his diet to 5 simple items each day. However, his lack of raw fats left him pretty frail at times, so naturally he was excited to learn about the avocado from Paramahansa Yogananda. We are REALLY lucky to know what we now know about raw food, and to have the resources to get the best raw foods from around the globe delivered to our door. Think about it...you likely know more about raw food than Ghandi did, and he experimented with it for decades.

Another thing to feel immensely grateful for...
We have all these wise teachers that lived before us to illuminate the path. They cannot save us, but they can show us how to save ourselves. This is a very important concept to remember. Please...PLEASE don't pigeonhole yourself into merely one way of thinking. If you are a Buddhist, read the teachings of Jesus ( I recommend the Essene Gospel of Peace). If you are a Christian, read about Sufism and Rumi, or Buddhism or Hinduism. Study the Jains, study Krishna, study Ghandi. Learn about Animism. Do yourself a HUGE favor and read the Upanishads. At least look into the Bhagavad Gita. To limit yourself to the religion which was taught to you by your parents is an insult to your true self, and a mockery to humankind. Expand your horizons.

You have to find YOUR truth though. Not anyone else's. The great masters of the past didn't want to be idolized. They wanted everyone on Earth to wake up and to realize what we truly are: and I believe what we truly are is the Great Spirit (God, Allah, Brahma, the Force...) experiencing one small part of the cosmos in a tiny little (and temporary) human body. This spirit is the same in all of us. No..it IS us...but we are just fooled into thinking that we are only our most recent human story. Much deeper friends...MUCH deeper.

Go raw (with lots of greens) for a month or so, and see what you FEEL.

If I offended anyone, I am sorry that you were so easily offended! Destroy the EGO! Merge into the Oneness. Open yourself up to new ideas if any of these sounded threatening. Expand to infinity.

Ok...NEXT...Exercise and the Garden Update...I think Ill post it tonight as well.

Someone asked about bananas too...Limit these strictly! Bananas are highly hybridized fruits that are VERY far away from the original banana which contained little black seeds and wasn't as sweet. You can still find closer types in Southeast Asia...or go for Plantains if you are really craving the banana creaminess. I maybe have one every two weeks or so in a smoothie...and always organic. They spray the life out of conventional bananas.

Please comment, its always welcomed! And if this post was a little heavy, have no fear...more issues like food and exercise are on the way.

My Long Minnesota Weekend

Don't Bring Home the Bacon, Son...
Bring Home the Durian!

Like a good boy, I brought back two durians for my mom.

Never had a Durian? Head for an asian market in your largest nearby city, or do it right and go to SE Asia and eat them FRESH. Durians in the states are likely frozen, but they still taste pretty great. Luckily my mom enjoys them, and even my dad doesnt mind them. This guy lives on Dinty Moore, Doritos, and Grilled-Cheese Sandwiches, so there's hope for all of us still.

I had a great time back home this weekend, and I stayed raw the whole time, easily. My mom recently purchased the Alissa Cohen DVD and Recipe Book, so we had alot of quality time together making AMAZING raw food dishes.
Raw-violi...Pumpkin Pie...Cacao Crispy Cookies (my invention) and my SUPERB Hunza Raisin-Pepita-Hempseed Balls. Oh we did a butternut squash pasta with meatballs made of brazil nutmeat and parsley, along with liquid aminos and garlic. SOOO GOOD.

I made the two hour journey from the airport to my parent's home with my uncle, who was in Minneapolis for business. Whenever he is nearby, he usually comes up and stays over. He purchased a 1.5 acre spot across from my parent's about 5-6 years ago so no one else would buy it and build a house there. He said he would never build on it, and then if my parents ever sold their place, they would sell it as a package.

However, I've come to the realization that this place would be PERFECT for my personal permaculture project that I mentioned earlier. He agreed to sell it to me, and I plan on starting everything next spring. YES! At the moment, I plan on buying a yurt for my housing, and then just develop the land and start planting fruit trees and building the greenhouse and sq. foot gardens. I want to be there about 4-5 months out of the year (May-Oct 1st), but this all depends on where I'm at career-wise.

This is the spot. The woods spread out from each side the the cleared area gets bathed in wonderful south-facing sunlight about 10 hours a day...I want to do all the fruit trees right along the front ridge, and then have the yurt and gardens a little bit further back.

Im really excited for this...and if I sell my spot up in Woodstock, I should be able to do everything pretty easily. This is what I spend my money on. Forget the take-out food...forget the daily coffee...forget the pharmaceutical bills...this is where its at. This is my medicine.

I would like to contact the local school district and have it arranged so local classes can come out and see how everything works. I want to get kids turned on to these ideas asap so they can live more connected and meaningful lives. We should know where our food and water comes from, and where all of our garbage and waste goes. To be ignorant of this is, in my mind, lazy and inexcusable. If I would have had some influential rawfood role-model in my life when I was a kid, I'd be scared to imagine what I could have accomplished already.

Anyways, it was beyond great to see all of my friends again, and despite the weather being pretty bad, we had a great time. I wish I could have stayed up there for the whole week. The wedding I went to was really beautiful, and it was such a joy to see my two good friends exchange vows in front of all their family and friends. I've known them well since 2001 so it was really cool to see them make it all official.

What are your views on modern-day weddings? Do you still appreciate the traditional or is it time to make it more modern and equal? Should young women still wait patiently (OR NOT) until their boyfriends propose? Do you know any woman who has proposed to a man? What about the large numbers of guests? Should we try to make these ceremonies more intimate? You don't want to offend anyone, but when is enough, enough? The wedding this weekend had a great balance of people. I think there were around 150, but it seemed very intimate and close. Any ideas would be appreciated. I think I would get married outside for sure, and try to keep my guest list fairly small. Perhaps the idea of huge wedding festivals are becoming less and less common.

Back to FOOD.

I had a great idea for a smoothie right before I left last Thursday. I had been adding basil to pure coconut smoothies, and found it to be really refreshing...very reminiscent of Thailand.
So I came across some purple basil, and decided to combine them to see what would result. I was thinking that Id get some vibrant purple coconut smoothie.

One Thai Coconut from NYC Chinatown

One Bunch of Purple Basil from Union Sq. Greenmarket

1 tsp of Agave, 1 tbsp of Coco Oil

Blend...blend...blend...and?

Chocolate Milk? Nah...well, it was nowhere near the purple I was hoping for but still tasted great. Live and learn.

Im really getting into Mesquite Powder lately too...such a great flavor.

Next post: Raw Food and my spiritual experiences because of it.

I LOVE reading the comments! Keep it up!

Rawmodel

We Like It Raw Interview + Thoughts on Raw Love

We Like It Raw

This is my first recorded interview, and I feel that it came out better than I could have hoped for. Dhrumil was a pleasure to chat with, and his interview skills are really strong. Please listen to the interview, or put it onto your Ipod for later.

I didnt know what questions were coming, but the answered flowed out pretty smoothly. Hopefully its the first of many more.

Now...Thoughts on Raw Love

Ive received some extensive comments on the Raw Love issue. Most were supportive, and some claimed that I was judgmental and focused too much on diet when other traits are more important.

I dont mind anonymous comments because it allows people to vent without having to be a blog writer themselves, and gives them some more freedom in what they have to say. This is good, and I welcome it.

I think most of my writings were dealing with new couples...people on the dating scene. In those cases, diet and animal cruelty issues can be deciding factors. However, if a couple has been together for years already, and one decides to become raw and the other chooses not to, I don't believe that the issue is strong enough to sever an otherwise healthy relationship. Of course though, humans are wonderfully complex, so we all have our own viewpoints.

I feel that we, as intelligent human beings, should be evolved enough to know that raising and breeding animals so we can later kill and dismember them to eat their flesh (sorry for being graphic, but lets face it...thats what we do) IS SIMPLY CRUEL, WASTEFUL, and INHUMAN. I make no apologies for that. I'm not going to support it, and I wouldn't be life partners with someone that didn't see anything wrong with it. Sure, I have friends and family that still eat meat (WE ALL DO) and I will always love them for all their good points. One the food issue, at this point we will have to agree to disagree. I don't want anyone to feel that I'm judging them as they are eating a chicken sandwich in front of me. I don't mind...we are all on our own path, and we will make decisions to change or stay as we see fit. No worries...

That being said, its quite obvious that we love to defend our loved ones. One man who is a vegan has a wife that still eats meat. He doesn't see the problem with it, and naturally he shouldn't because he is her husband. BUT...she is still eating a defenseless animal that was killed so someone could later clog their arteries. Let's be objective, shall we?

1. Modern Science proves that our body type is that of an herbivore. We evolved on that diet for MILLIONS OF YEARS, and the fact that our digestive system is completely opposite of carnivores shows that meat is not for us. Meat is very new to us, and fire is even more recent.

2. The amount of food and water that an animal consumes before it is slaughtered is VASTLY higher than that needed to grow vegetables and fruits. In a world of limited resources, why are we still wasting it so incredibly? It blows my mind.

3. Watch the movie "Earthlings" on google video or buy it online. Joaquin Phoenix is the narrator. It shows our violence towards animals, and where our food really comes from.

I dont know if raw foodists have a superiority complex because their diets are far more ethical than 99.99% of the rest of humanity, or if they simply wish for everyone to experience what they have experienced. I would assume and am seriously hoping for the latter. I wouldnt be happy if the mainstream saw us as fundamentalists. That's not going to help anyone...and we are all in this together.

But look at the facts...how can anyone keep supporting this madness, especially when it's so bad for our bodies? And its not just meat...its all the processed junk that they feed us so we become tired, and our brains become slower, and we can become easily manipulated into living mediocre lives. It's time to rise above all of that, no?

As always I welcome comments and feel free to just say hello. I'm going to be in Minnesota for a four day weekend, so this is probably the last blog until Sunday night.

Peace for ALL creatures...no exceptions.

Rawmodel




Shredded Red Beets, Shredded Golden Beets, and Monukka Hunza Raisins. So easy, and SOOOO good.

Raw Love

Can Raw Foodies Love Cooked-Food "Infidels"?

This is a really important consideration when it comes to raw food. If you begin your path to raw food on your own and experience the breakthrough point of boundless energy, clarity, and wellness, the idea of dating someone that might take that "raw food high" away from you can be very influential when looking for a mate.

I hear stories about women (usually) who take on raw food with considerable opposition from their male partners. My heart really goes out to these poor souls. Their men want to eat what they were trained to eat, and to change their diet to "rabbit food" is a direct assault to their manhood. I honestly don't know how or even if they could truly succeed with making the transition, especially living with other family members who are still stuck in the cooked-food matrix.

For me, it was more about veganism at first. How could I truly love someone that would consciously eat the dead flesh of a drugged, stressed, tortured, and murdered animal? An animal that did no harm to anyone...an animal that had feelings and could feel pain. I couldn't give my unconditional love to someone that could support that. Despite this SERIOUSLY limiting the available field of potential mates, I really didn't mind. I felt that solitude was better than the former option. Now...this is just MY OPINION in regards to a LIFE PARTNER. Not friends or anything more casual like that. LIFE PARTNER. Can two different viewpoints on eating animals exist in the long terms between partners?

I don't want any of my cooked food friends to assume that I'm totally judging them and instantly incriminating them for their eating habits. I was there too. I was eating whatever was appealing, and whatever I was trained to eat throughout my youth. The body was an amusement park, not a temple. I wasn't asking the real question yet...which is..."Why do I believe the things that I believe?" "Why do I eat and crave the things that I do?"

Was I "fed" the truth from someone else? I hadn't started thinking for myself until after I left the distractions of business school and solid work. Some could call it "waking up", but it was simply giving myself the mental calmness to ask some of the harder questions. Whether is was food, religion, or general lifestyle habits.

So...back to Raw Love. Luckily for me, my girlfriend is vegan, and usually she is 95%-100% raw. She's lucky though...living in Hong Kong where coconuts are fresh and cost 40 cents, fresh durians, mangoes, and other tropical asian fruits are everywhere, and you can get organic greens delivered to your door from the countryside for 1/2 the price of here in the states. By the way, her skin is absolutely beautiful since going raw, and she is in the best shape of her life.

If you are a vegan/raw foodist, could you still marry someone who ate meat? Someone who kills their food through cooking and wonders why they get sick all the time? Would this become annoying to a raw foodist? Could you respect that person enough to become their life partner?

I think this leads to raw-foodies looking for love in more friendly spots. Yoga centers, farmer's markets, raw food restaurants, and raw meetup groups....you get the idea. Especially for the social aspect, being raw is HARD. I was invited to a comedy club last night, but with a two drink/appetizer minimum, I'm surely not going to waste my money to poison myself. I'll rent something on netflix or read a book instead. Or better yet, go somewhere more friendly and enjoy myself there.

You don't truly realize how pervasive the slow-motion-suicide habits of the masses are until you step away from them. I would say that almost every single social outing involves the eating or drinking of gluey, acidic poisons that strip our connection away from our pure raw food feelings.

This all may sound extremely militant, but if you go raw for 2-3 weeks and make the breakthough, then you have a right to make an opinion. After the breakthrough, you feel so alive and so happy that the idea of losing it is simply not an option anymore. I had lost the feeling because I went back and forth for a long time, and getting back to where I was became my prime concern. It takes you away from those old experiences you had with friends and family like sitting around an extra-large pizza and eating buffalo wings, or eating birthday cake that's washed down with soda for your little sister's birthday. But is it worth it? Go raw and answer the question for yourself. For me, I think we should have reached the level in our consciousness where we dont have to murder defenseless animals, especially when we know that its not meant for us as food.

So when finding a mate, you have to ask yourself what is really important in that potential someone...can you fully admire and respect them for the way they live their life, or would you prefer to be alone for a little while longer while searching for someone more in line with your lifestyle? And eating together as a couple is a big deal...how would you cope?

We are lucky though, there are such good networks to bring us together. Many of them didn't even exist a year ago. We should all have little patches on our sleeves to weed out those that still prefer to eat animal carcasses. It would save quite a lot of time, frustration, and money as well.

Oh yes...and about the rabbit food? Its gorilla food. Get it right.

Green Ninjas UNITE!!!!

Its About that Time...

Saving the World at the Last Possible Moment in the Greatest Story EVER

We have to see ourselves as the leaders of the Green Revolution. The ones that are turned on to what is really going on...what a mess we are in, what we need to do about it,and how to have the best time ever while doing so. The greener my lifestyle becomes, the better my life becomes.

I know that Im not part of the problem like I used to be. That feels good. I love riding my bike. Im in the best shape of my life, and Im keeping the air clean and not supporting oil companies or governments that fund terrorism through oil revenues. And I feel more CONNECTED to everything when Im on my bike. Im not blocked off by my windshield like when I used to drive my car. I'm a part of what Im riding through. That feels different, and I love it.

Here's another example: I eat raw, organic, LIVING plant food. I LOVE this. Its an absolute joy to eat a fresh apple right off the tree, or a big salad with hempseeds and sundried tomatoes. And because of this, I'm supporting organic farmers that enrich our soil and don't contribute to the toxification of our earth. I'm not using gas or other fossil fuels to cook my food either. And all my trash now goes into the compost bin back at the Union Sq Greenmarket. Being a part of something truly good does wonders for the self-esteem.

So...What's good for me, is good for Mother Earth.

Im going to develop a sustainable home and organic garden. Im going to drastically reduce the energy use in my home, and what I do use will come from solar and wind. I'm not going to have any electric bills after that. So whats good for me, is also good for Mother Earth AND my pocket book. This relates to bicycles and food as well.

Raw Organic food might seem more expensive up front, but think of this. I havent had even a cold in 2.5 years. I take no medicines...no aspirins, nothing. I dont have to use moisturizers anymore because my food is so juicy and alive that it makes the skin glow all by itself. Think of the savings for a family of five over the course of ten years!!! And think of the REAL cost of cheap mass-processed food. The energy used to make it, the energy used to ship it, the tax dollars used to subsidize all the water it consumes. And how its poisoning our bodies and our Earth. Talk about truly expensive....

Want another example?

Im now growing most of my own greens. This, I REALLY love. I love taking care of them, and sitting outside with them. It calms my soul and puts a smile on my face. This is good for me.
It's good for the Earth because it takes NO fuel whatsoever to get these greens to my plate after they are harvested. No 18-Wheelers from California, and no processing plant to wash them and put them in plastic, which then of course ends up buried underground.
It's good for my pocketbook because I paid 50 cents for each seedling. After some tender love and care, each one become a fully mineralized salad. Thats a CHEAP organic salad. Sure, I had to buy the soil and the wood, but I spend that much on my internet connection every month, so let's be reasonable. And now that I bought it, Ill never have to do it again.
Good for my mind and body, good for Mother Earth, good for my pocketbook. Get it???

Green is cool, green is smart, green is life and will be our only chance. This 10,000 year experiment in domesticated human development has run its course. The time is now for those who are awake to start living fully, and spreading nothing but joy and positivity to all that we come into contact with.

Support green business...think about yourself as a part of nature again...and do what is good for you. Because as David Wolfe says, "You are Mother Earth". We all come from the same source, and we will go back to that source when we are through with this particular life. What is truly good for us, is good for the planet.

We may think that driving a hummer around is good for us. However, in reality, we attract superficial people into our lives, we pollute the atmosphere with pollutants and possibly run over innocent animals, and we are going broke spending money on car, insurance, and gas payments. BAD BAD BAD. See?

We are the Green Ninjas. So lets recruit by subtle example. No proselytizing (nagging people about converting to our way of life...somehow I spelled that word correctly the first time). We cannot count on the authorities to save us...because they are obviously the ones who got us into this mess. We are a part of the solution. You are reading this for a reason. You are a beautiful, intelligent, caring being...and we deserve nothing but the best from one another. Let us live the example. The green life is the good life. Enough said.

Colonics and Raw Restaurants

Thoughts About Colonics from Someone Who Has Never Had One

Colonics always seemed like the answer to everything when I started reading about raw food. Everyone was so obsessed with their colons. It did make perfect sense to me though...all the buildup...all the disease coming from stored toxins down there. And who the hell wants to carry a colostomy bag around with them for the rest of their lives? YIKES....

That being said though, I've never gone through with one. I always tried to clean my colon from the top-down. A high fiber diet and some other products have really made things move for me in the past couple of years. But was everything out? It's like this paranoia...am I fully CLEAN yet???

Ann Wigmore advocated them. So does the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego and Austin, Texas. David Wolfe as well. I'm actually surprised that I never went through with it.

I felt that since I was only 23 at the time, and probably didnt have so much buildup, I didnt need one. I stopped red meat mostly by my late teens, and with all the green smoothies I started to consume, I felt like I was fine.

I did the master cleanse at the beginning of 2005 and took Yogi Tea's "Get Regular" tea every morning for 10 days. That right there was pretty good for me. I also took Oxy-Powder the following summer, and the results were...well...explosive?

Sarma Melngailis mentioned in her book "Raw Food, Real World" that her colonic experience was a big let-down...nothing much coming out and perhaps it seemed that the hydrotherapist was more focused on selling her a 10 session package to make sure everything was out. However, I just read a very entertaining post of hers where she mentions that she still does them once in a while. So...who knows?

Another thing was the cost. I felt super-clean by the time I even started looking into colonics. When I found out the price, I figured I was clean enough. Usually around $100, but maybe less if you look around.

Many say that its completely unnatural to perform colonics and that we are better off working from the top down with a clean diet of high-fiber, high-water fruits, and veggies. Colonics are a big shortcut though, and if I was older and had been eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) for 3-4 decades, I would gladly go in for a cleaning.

There are NUMEROUS blogs about this. People seem to love to take pictures of their "accomplishments" and post them on the web. Just google colon cleansing and prepare to feel your eyes pop out of your head. Strange as it sounds, I would LOVE to see that mucoid plaque come out of me, but maybe its best that it was never there in the first place.

The best advice I can give is to talk to people that have had them done, and find good reputable people that perform these therapies. Ive never had one, and I reached the raw food high without it before, so i dont know how needed it is. Its surely faster than gulping down green smoothies for two weeks.

On A Tastier Note....

Here is a wonderful dish I made while back in Minnesota this summer.
I made the noodles from zucchini and the Spiral Slicer.
I bought my slicer at Live-Live in NY, but many stores sell them online now. For the money, its one of the BEST ways to make the transition if you are a pasta lover.
The sauce was fresh tomatoes from the garden, some sundried tomatoes for extra flavor, oregano, basil, olive oil, lemon, some pumpkin seeds, and a little agave for sweetness. And some sea salt as well if you need it.

I enjoy going to raw restaurants, but I am convinced that when it comes to full enjoyment and satisfaction, nothing compares to making a dish yourself with loved ones and enjoying it at home. I eat out once a month now maybe. And when I do I just go to Pure Food and Wine. Their quality is unparalleled and Id rather go out once a month to a REALLY nice place, then twice a month to two half-assed places. Do you know who is making your food when you go out? Are they making it with love? Did they wash their hands?

Don't get me wrong, we need to support these places though, because of course regular restaurants are selling us stuff from cans and packages, made from highly inferior ingredients that are processed beyond belief. You get what you pay for. I want raw food to become mainstream because it will bring the best out of everyone involved. Raw food should become the natural choice when going out to eat.

Here is a tip...when you go to a raw restaurant, get something complicated. Something you cant make at home without the right equipment and lots of ingredients. I used to go to Caravan of Dreams here in NY, but I realized that paying $19 for a salad that I could easily make at home just didnt make sense anymore. Get the complex items. That's why Pure is truly the best.

That dish pictured above would cost probably $30-35 because it served about 3 people. Think about it. They have to pay the rent though, but still...I am a big advocate of DIY (Do It Yourself), so this is pretty natural for me.

Website for the day: GLIVING! Such a great site and their greenchefs section is beautiful. AMAZING recipes!

Until next time...

(And thanks for all the comments)