The Vanilla Pumpkin Smoothie (or pudding)

Note - this version could be raw or cooked.

I honestly believe that especially with root veg and squash,

using eat to extract more nutrients is a good thing,

and raw really isnt optimal for this kind of dish.

However, Ive done it, and with a vitamix it turned out well.

The amounts can vary depending how thick you prefer your smoothies.

1-2 cups of squash, pumpkin, or sweet potato. (Preferably cooked)

2 scoops of sunwarrior vanilla warrior blend.

1 tbls of cinnamon

1 tsp of nutmeg

2 cups of water

1-2 vanilla beans if you have them.

I added some sweetleaf vanilla stevia drops,

but the sunwarrior powder already had stevia

and coupled with the sugars from the baked squash or sweet potato,

it wasnt really needed to be honest.

I blend it all, and enjoy.

I get the spices from Mountain Rose Herbs,

and the Sunwarrior stuff can be checked out HERE.

One of the best ways to enjoy thanksgiving leftovers!!

A Walk on the Beach

I was in Fort Lauderdale recently.

I was filming episodes of Sunwarrior TV,

and despite the cloudy-windy weather, I had a really good time.

The Sunwarrior folks have what it takes to get people (especially guys)

to start thinking a little more about the food that they eat.

They have a great team which Im proud to be a part of.

So while I was there, I ran on the beach quite a bit.

I did it barefoot so i could get the electrical connection to the Earth

and also to get the good sand between my toes to help spread them out more.

I would listen to audiobooks or some peaceful music and just

enjoy the super fresh ocean air. Despite being so close to the Atlantic

here in NYC, I just dont feel like we get that same kind of air.

Maybe its all the um...cars? Likely. Anyways...

The beach is nice, but there is a decent amount of litter.

I just couldnt deal with the sight of it, so I started picking it up.

For hours I would powerwalk up and down the beach and just fill

up grocery bags with so much litter. How could people not care about this?

So as I was doing this, I made a discovery.

This little guy was washed up on the beach.

Still alive, but gasping. It wasnt pretty.

Since he was a blowfish, picking him up with my bare

hands didnt seem to be the wisest of choices so I hunted

around a bit and found some useful litter - a plastic shovel.

I scooped him up, took a pic, (or 10) and put him back in the water.

So beautiful right? I could feel his soul while looking in those eyes!

So yes...I flung him back into the water, but after another 10 min

of picking up trash, I found him again.

This was a bad sign. He was done. I gave him a second chance

thinking that maybe he was still healthy but got washed up

accidentally by the waves, but in reality...his time was up.

He just sat there and gasped. I couldnt just walk away from his suffering

or pick him up again to throw him in the garbage to slowly die.

So I did what every mature person would do -

quite sadly and savagely I found a rock and put him out of his suffering.

What would you do in this situation? Could you do the same?

I just couldnt walk away so as to avoid the pain of killing him.

I had to do what needed to be done, and that was to finish his pain

and send him onto the next chapter of his existence.

Hopefully he is a baby shark right now.

Not a pretty sight, but it had to be done.

Im sorry little fish.

I then carried him away and placed him in the bushes so

maybe some birds could eat him...it would be a shame to

put him in the trash and rob the ecosystem of his body.

Good to keep it all in the cycle.

I felt sad, but it had to be done.

I then went back to picking up more trash.

Look what I found...big shards of glass! I was just running on this beach

and there were little kids nearby playing...how could this be?

I would think that the residents of the area or even the hotels

across the street would pay people to do sweeps and clean it up.

There was so much crap...it wasnt like coney island of course,

but it was an eyesore and it saddened me that people could

1. Put up with it and not be bothered enough to just pick it up themselves

and 2. Put trash there to begin with. What a spoiled treasure.

Now I was thinking...how much money it would take to pay people

to just do what I did. Or to organize a volunteer group to get people

together to go "Clean up the Beach!" It would be such an ordeal.

T-shirts would have to be made, flyers, non-profits would have to be funded etc.

Such a hassle when simple direct action by a few people would fix it all.

Its so simple. Thats the beauty of it. It doesn't take much of anything.

One person, all by himself picks up loads and loads of trash

on a stretch of beach in Florida. In a few hours I did what would have

taken weeks to organize. Board members would've needed to vote on

proposals or permits would have to be made hahaha...such a joke.

If you get anything from this, it is this -

Direct action by just a few people accomplishes more

than tons of money and people combined if

their hearts are in the right place.

If you are powered by source, you can clean beaches, plant forests,

feed the hungry...it goes on and on really.

So...as I was doing this, I had a visitor.

There were regular-looking pigeons all over the beach.

Looking beat up and foraging for food.

Yet, this single white little angel came over to me and said hello.

It was the nicest thank you I couldve asked for.

Maybe it just thought that I had food lol...

but none of the other pigeons came near me like this one did.

And for the final revelation...I saw a man walking along the beach

with a metal detector. Looking for buried treasure I suppose.

The irony was that the REAL treasure was the pristine beach

he was walking on. Not some stupid coins or jewelry.

Here I was walking along him picking up trash,

while he was strolling along looking for other leftovers.

The real treasure is unspoiled nature. This fellow was walking

on a goldmine, while looking for coins buried within it.

Could he spend his time enriching the real treasure instead

of searching for quarters and pennies to pay his cable bill?

Remember this...the real treasure is nature.

Not man-made ANYTHING. Its all fleeting and its all a distraction.

Direct action will save us.

Petitions may delay negativity,

but for true positive co-creation, direct action always gets the goods.

No committees, no permits, no headaches.

Get out there and make the world a better place!

One little stretch of beach at a time...it all adds up!

Is the college dream a joke?

I want you to watch this first.

I went to a state college, so my yearly costs

were about $3000 a year.

I didnt know what I wanted to be yet,

so i just went through the process and got the degree

in business marketing. Honestly, it was the biggest waste

of time and money. Knowing what (I think) I know now,

I feel that the whole college degree chase is a total scam.

So whats the (REAL) answer for these graduates?

Frankly, I would say get whatever job you can,

and SAVE as much as possible.

Then buy some land.

Then plant a food forest.

The food forest shouldnt cost you more than $2,000.

Then build a small home or buy a yurt or tipi.

Then...live the paradise garden lifestyle.

Growing your own food, having nearly zero expenses,

and eventually making a living selling your produce

either online or in person.

The key is setting up a life like a semi-retired person.

What traps people is the mentality that they need a big house

and all the um..."trappings" that come along with modern life.

In reality, we now know that basically with an small laptop

or even a smartphone and a camera/camcorder we can create

online content and communicate with the outside world just the same

as if we had 20K worth of high tech gadgets and big ol' fashioned desktops.

Simplify, simplify, simplify! - Henry David Thoreau

Simplification is the biggest gift you can give yourself.

Breaking the spell that you need this or that to be content.

Ive been on both sides of the spectrum.

Because of my job, Ive been in some of the most posh hotels on the planet,

and Ive lived in a tipi in the cold Minnesota springtime in whipping winds,

and for some reason, I felt more REAL and authentic living in that tipi

and waking up in my forest garden every morning.

That tipi cost me $2,000 US and hoepfully Ill have it for decades.

No payments, no rent.

I could fit a queen sized bed, a kitchenette, and a futon in there

and it would be totally perfect. Again, simplicity. Why make life so complex?

Its complex enough...why overburden ourselves with all the expenses?

Because I have to fit in somewhat and because very few women

would ever EVER want to actually live in a tipi, Im sure I would have

to upgrade to a cute little cottage or a pre-fab eco home,

but again, the key is keeping it small and simple.

I dont want to be inside anyways.

I want my main LIVING ROOM to be my food forest.

This is the mentality that will free all those poor graduates

that need to hack away at the chains of their debt.

I feel so bad for them because now due to their debt,

they have to find a job that pays relatively well and instead

of using that money to buy their freedom out right,

they are using the money to slowly unlock themselves from the

iron grip of debt slavery. Its super lame and I hope anyone

who is in high school reading this will think LONG AND HARD

about biting that bait and getting hooked in.

You are free spirits on this Earth to create and play...

not to pay off loans and settle for one week vacations every year.

Please do not settle for so little.

Become organic gardeners and sell your extras.

Have workshops and classes on your property if you need to fund

some getaways, and look to take a holiday in places

that can be enjoyed for months in the winter, not just a week or two.

Life is short. Kind of. Its a long time to suffer from mediocrity though.

You have been given the gift of life in a human body,

and if you dont take advantage of it, perhaps you need to start from scratch

and become a vegetable again. If you see yourself as an angel here

to expand and explore, the idea of sitting around in an office and

watching the hours slowly tick away

(so you can pay off your debt and rent an temporary apartment)

TRULY doesnt even seem reasonable, yet even POSSIBLE.

Id rather live in a tipi. Honestly.

Deprogram and clean your hard drive.

Mast Brothers

Last year when I was with Blackbird Naturals,

the cooking channel came over and did a feature on us

for their chocolate episode.

One of the other companies featured was Mast Brothers.

When I saw the episode I got good energy from the guys,

but hadn't yet tried their stuff.

Lately, Ive tried it. And it has totally blown me away.

The complexities make any other organic chocolate Ive had

seem so bland. I was a big fan of the Trader Joe's Organic Dark and

now that stuff seems like a sad joke.

True, Mast Brothers isn't exactly inexpensive, but when you watch this video,

I think you'll have a good appreciation for what they are up to.

If you see them in a store, I would recommend trying it.

Even at $8, think of it as a nice treat for you and a loved one.

Its so rich that half will usually satisfy you. Both. Seriously.

Its making me rethink the whole raw cacao thing too.

Is the raw bean really that much more magical?

Why can't I get flavor like this from a raw bar?

All due respect to the raw chocolatiers out there,

but there is really something to say about roasting those beans.

I wonder if they ever did a stone grind with raw beans instead?

Has anyone that bought a Raw Food World stone nut grinder

ever thrown cacao beans in theirs?

Try it for yourself and see if you can taste the difference.

My favorite is the almonds and sea salt version.

We just tried Black Truffles and its ok, but not like the almond one.

Anyways...food for thoughts...raw or roasted?

The magic is DEFINITELY in that Mast Bros Chocolate...