A little bit different - My first post

Hi there,

I thought I would get myself started here and contribute to this great idea Sarah has of sharing some pretty important information with our friends and family. As she discussed in her last blog, she is in Arizona doing it raw for the next 10 weeks. It was a big call going but it's going to be such a great experience for her. Very unique indeed.

So what I want to talk about is getting a few more people thinking about giving up the flesh and dairy.

It's not an easy task having all this information and wanting to share it without being the annoying guy or making people feel guilty about the way they are living their lives. Its not what this is about, in fact its the total opposite. This is just a way people can have a look at what other options are out there besides the way we are currently living our lives.

The thing is 99% of people eat a diet which involves animal protein and about 1% eat a plant based diet. Looking at those sorts of figures of course you are going to think "how can the 1% be right?". However the science is clear and the results are unmistakable. There is no time like right now to take control of our health.

I know it may seem impractical to change our lifestyle, to give up meat and high-fat foods, but I wonder how practical it is to have prostate cancer, breast cancer or Type 2 diabetes. Radically changing our diets may be "impractical", but it might also be worth it. The enjoyment of life, especially the second half of life, is greatly compromised if we can't see, if we can't think, if our kidney's don't work or if our bones are broken or fragile. All I hope is that I am able to enjoy not only the time in the present, but also the time in the future, with good health and independence.

Now for those of you that are thinking the idea of giving up all meat products including beef, chicken, fish, cheese, milk and eggs - seems impossible, no amount of talking is going to convince you. You need to try it.

Give it one month. You've been eating hamburgers most of your life so one month isn't going to kill you. A month isn't enough time to give you any long term benefits, but it is enough for you to discover four thing's.

1. There are some great foods you can eat on a plant-based diet that otherwise you may have never discovered. You may not be eating everything you want to eat but you will be eating lots of delicious food.

2. It's not as bad as you thought it would be. Some people love it and others take a few months but everyone finds it's a lot easier than they thought.

3. You will feel better. Most people even after a month feel better and lose some weight as well.

4. Most importantly, you will discover that it's possible. you may love it, you may not, but at least you will come away from your one month trial knowing that it is possible. You can do it if you choose. All the health benefits that come from a plant based diet are not just for hippies and monks, you can have them too.

Where do you start? As soon as you start to look for information on a plant based diet you will discover that there is a huge amount of information available and best of all you will discover you are not alone. Who'd of thought there were so many people out there just eating plants?

I know it's hard to believe all this until you experience it for yourself. Do it because you deserve better.

Recommended Reading : Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens M.D.

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PHD

NZ pics

While I'm waiting for the sun to rise thought I might share some pics we took from NZ..

Enjoy

Arrived in the U S of A

So, it's all happening! Much faster than I seem to be blogging! Oops.


As i mentioned in my last post I am on my way to the Tree of Life in Patagonia. Where I'll be participating in the 10 week 'Spiriual Live-food Instructors' course. Learning to prepare & create fresh, unprocessed, organic, healthy cuising. As well as taking part in all the other amazing programmes they have on offer.
I can't wait to share all my experiences!


Meanwhile I'm in transit to TOL.
After just a short (thankfully) 2 hour stop in LAX , I arrived in Tucson, Arizona.


I've never been to an actual desert before so flying into Tucson was amazing. Dry parched land with no water in sight, yet there is a thriving city in amongst it! How does that work?

With only one day to spend in Tucson and jet lag to recover from I took it easy by taking a wee stroll around town. To be honest big cities don't do anything for me so I skipped the CBD and made a bee line to 4th Avenue. This little street rocked! It was so homely, made up of cute boutiques and an amazing organic food co-op (I started my 100 day raw food challenge today so this place was my saving grace! Trying to find a healthy raw breakfast and lunch from service stations & mini marts was impossible, I seriously thought I was going to have to starve!). I didn't want to leave.


An early night had, my body clock woke me up at 2am this morning. Will do a spot of Yoga, head out for a walk, try to locate a supermarket then at 1pm my shuttle is taking me out to Patagonia! The next adventure begins...



ooh i forgot to post a picture of our beautiful slice of paradise. (11 acres North of Christchurch, NZ). So here she is...



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I'M BAAAAACK!!

I know I know...Its been a while. I've had plenty of fun & exciting adventures in the past 6 weeks.
Brief update.....
We went home for our mid year holiday, we had an amazing 4 weeks in NZ. Caught up with as many of our beloved friends and family members as possible. Got to take in a bit of snow, plenty of beautiful NZ scenery. I was accepted into the 'Tree of Life Spiritual living food preparation' course in Patagonia next month and the biggest news of all......We bought some land!!! We're moving forwards and creating our little piece of paradise!
Will go into more details throughout the week...EEEEEECCCKKK! This is so exciting!!!

Woody Harrelson gets Poetic

You may want to pause the music player at the bottom of the page

Can Raw food really taste this good!?!

OK I forgot to post the pics and recipe for the Raw sushi Craig made the other night. It was so delish! So here it is.....

Sesame Miso Cone Rolls

Living cuisine-Renee Loux Underkoffler

4 sheets nori, cut in half

1 carrot 1/2 avocado, sliced
4-8 green lettuce leaves

Sesame miso spread

1/4 C raw tahini

4 Tbsp sesame seeds

3 Tbsp miso

1 Tbsp raw honey or maple syrup

3 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp minced ginger

1/4 C finely chopped green onion

Peel the carrot and slice into matchsticks. break or cut the lettuce leaves into 8 pieces making sure to keep the top pretty and frill for presentation.

Sesame spread -In a bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients into a smooth paste. Add the remainder ingredients and mix well.

Spread the paste on half of each of the nori rolls then add the other ingredients and roll into a cone on a 45 degree angle.

Craig went all out. I came home from work to all this! Ah bless him!

RAW ice cream sandwiches

Frozen bananas

Dates

The top and bottom of this sandwich aren't raw (he tried so hard!) but there are so many raw alternatives out there you just need a dehydrator.

Process bananas and dates press between the cookies.

We finally had beautiful weather yesterday, so Craig, Yuki and I took our morning walk down by the river. We actually do this walk twice a day but today the sun was shining and the sky was blue so we took the camera... It must have been the opening day of the fishing season, because there were lots of little fishermen raping and pillaging the river. The size of the fish they were catching was pathetic! I dunno much about fish, maybe these ones were at their maturity size but seriously... why bother? You couldn't get a feed out of these?

catch of the day!

Now this guy was born to fish...Isn't he beautiful

Dinner last night was a yummy simple salad. Salads are a staple in our diet.

You can just be so creative with salads, and they're quick & easy

Holy Grail Tomato Basil dressing

from Vegan Fusion World Cuisine

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1/4C sun dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water until soft

3/4C sun dried tomato soak water

2 Tbsp Basil fresh, minced

1 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar

2 Tsp nama shoyu (raw soy sauce)

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp minced parsley

sea salt to taste, black fresh ground pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

Dessert!

Frozen organic strawberries! These smelt so good!

4 Dates

1/4 C filtered water

A splash of lemon juice

Blend.

So so simple but this was delish!

And finally.....Today's lunch.

We had a yummy raw pasta dish. It seriously tastes better than the cooked version and you feel so satisfied and energetic when you've finished your meal.

Shanti Gabriel's Live Fettuccine Alfredo

from Vegan Fusion world cuisine.

I altered the measurements from the book because when I followed the book the sauce was way to thin. My adaptions below.

sauce

3/4C Filtered water

1C macadamia nuts

1Tbsp lemon juice

2tsp nama shoyu

1 garlic clove minced

1/2tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pasta
1 carrot, peeled into thin strips

1 Zucchini peeled into strips

1 Yellow Zucchini peeled into strips (I didn't use as they don't often have them in japan)

1/2 Red Capsicum julienned

chopped Italian Parsley & Basil

Combine all sauce ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.

Combine all pasta ingredients and serve on plates or in bowls, drizzle with sauce and serve.

It's pretty cost effective eating raw (even in japan where fruit & veges are spency!) I don't use any special tools ie dehydrator etc, no exotic fruits, veges or other and don't need power or gas. We eat delicious, nutritious, filling in season local produce.

Water

Photo: Alpine stream. Taken during our hike across the Routeburn Track. NZ Jan 07

I thought I'd touch on water today. We all need it, but we need to be aware of certain negative impacts we put on ourselves and the environment through different practices that are common today.

Earth is made of 70-80% water, the human body is made of 70-80% water. And just like us, fresh organic produce is made of up 70-80% water. The best way to hydrate ourselves is through a diet high in fresh water rich produce, where living water comes directly from the leaves, plants & fruits. Living organic plants naturally distill & filter mineral-rich water directly from the earth. It's easy for our bodies to absorb and utilise. This high quality water is very different to the variety found in plastic bottles.

As hard as I searched I could not find any statistics regarding the amount of water bottles New Zealanders send to our landfills however I did find out that more than 3.4 million tones of solid waste is delivered to landfills each year, and I'm sure a decent portion of that is plastic bottles. Especially considering that these NZ Bottled water plants produce the following amount of bottles each month.

Coca Cola Amatil (Pump, Deep Springs - up to 2 million bottles per month), Pepsi, Kiwi Blue,
H2 GO, New Zealand Quality Waters, Living Water Enterprises (formerly Eternal Springs, up to 4 million bottles per month). - Ozone Technologies NZ

Bottled water is a multi-million dollar scam that is threatening the environment and sucking money out of people’s pockets, it costs more than petrol per litre, and it takes 1000 years for the plastic bottles to biodegrade.
In New Zealand we’re blessed with some of the purest, easily available aquifer water in the world (at least until it hits a few of the encroaching dairy farms). For those not so happy to drink water from the tap can invest in a good quality water filter system.

We are taking water for granted, we have always had an abundance but its time we take action. Grey water systems and collecting rain water for example.

Today I came across this great ad campaign by Brita. Brita is a German company specializing in water filtration products. (I think they are available worldwide, they stock them here in Japan).

Brita states in its ad slogan that “last year 16 million gallons of oil were consumed to make plastic water bottles.”
the advertising campaign highlights one of the most pointless waste products in our society today.
Americans send about 38 billion water bottles a year to landfills. Considering the 1.5 million barrels of oil needed to make those bottles, the environmental impact of plastic bottle waste is truly staggering.

Environment and costs aside, bottled water also has a detrimental effect on our health. I encourage you to read the following article http://www.naturalpath.com/environment/toxins_in_water_toxins_in_bottle_water

Excerpt taken from the Environmental Working Group website - Click the link below to read the entire article

Consumers are advised NOT to reuse store-bought bottled water, or even plastic bottles supposedly made for refilling, due to dangers of leaching chemicals. Research shows that clear bottles made of polycarbonate plastic (such as the original 32-ounce Nalgene) can leach bisphenol-A (BPA), an endocrine disrupting chemical that acts like estrogen in the body.
Since BPA has been linked to low sperm counts and an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, scientists suggest avoiding reusable bottles made from plastic. They also raise serious concerns about the potential for other plastic chemicals to leach out of typical PET bottled water bottles — especially if they sit in the hot sun. http://www.ewg.org/node/26622

We bought a water filter for our tap & when out and about we use our trusty Sigg bottle, we've had it over a year and it's still going strong. Sigg bottles are reusable, lightweight, recyclable & have a leach free lining so no chemicals leach into your drinking water (Be careful of imitations as they are most likely just cheap aluminium and will leach chemicals into the water).

Even the dog loves it!

Bottled water is trendy and portably convenient. But its burgeoning increase is disconcerting. In times of serious concerns about peak oil, climate change and damage by civilisation to the environment, plastic bottled water should be a last option for quenching thirst and nourishing the body.

Tonights dinner

Its so cold today!! What has happened to Japan's Spring??
Was a good afternoon to spend in the kitchen!

Tonight on the menu: Cheesy Broccoli Cannelloni, Seaweed chowder & pickles. A pretty weird combo, I guess it's a culturally diverse mix combining Italian, Japanese & Korean

Cheesy Broccoli Cannelloni Recipe from Raw Goddess Heathy's blog
Serves 2

Cheddar Sauce
1 large red bell pepper
1/4 c water
1 c raw cashews 1 c sunflower seeds, soaked
2 T tahini
¼ tsp nama shoyu
2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 clove garlic
¼ cup lemon juice

Blend until creamy and smooth. Chill.
Pulse 1 head of broccoli, with a bit of nutritional yeast and sea salt, to small bits in food processor. Fold into cheese sauce.Peel/ make strips out of zucchini. Let sit to soften or dehydrate for a few hours. Roll up with the filling.








Tomato Basil Sauce
1 cup packed dried tomatoes, soaked a few hours
¼ cup soak water
1 pitted, medjool date
1 small clove of garlic
Sea salt & dried oregano to taste
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1/4 C fresh basil, chopped & packed
Blend all but fresh tomatoes/basil. Pulse last 2 ingredients into the blend.

SEAWEED CHOWDER From the Daily Raw Cafe website
Servings: 2
3 cups water
1 cup walnuts
1 tablespoon yellow miso
¼ cup Wakame, cut into tiny pieces
1 carrot, thinly grated
½ tablespoon sea salt
1/4 yellow onion

In a blender, combine walnuts, miso and water until you achieve a creamy milk consistency.
Pour in a large bowl, add Wakame, carrots and sea salt. Stir. Let sit until Wakame expands.

Food Matters DVD out now!!

I've ordered mine! I cant wait to see the entire documentary. I love that John Butler Trio's music features on the DVD!!

You can view the official trailer below




We had a beautiful dinner last night, courtesy of my darling husband. Will post some food porn up later today.

Woohoo! My toe is in the water!

Welcome to my very first blog.

I'm a pretty shy person so why am I about to publicy share my life on the net??

Well, I adjusted my settings so only people who have the complete URL can access it. SO hopefully viewers will mainly be friends and family & those I choose to share an insight with.

Why?

Most people start blogs to show off their writing skills or creativity. Some people are humorous.. Sadly I'm definitely no writer, and I'm not terribly funny. But this a chance for family and friends back home see what we get up to.

Also we have decided this will be our final year in Japan, so this means our new and exciting journey begins. I'll be sharing our experiences of buying some acreage, building a sustainable eco friendly home using renewable energy and resources, setting up an orchard, vege garden & many other fun adventures! We'd also like to start a Organic health food shop with perhaps a small raw vegan cafe within it. I dunno. They're all just ideas so far.

And maybe...Just maybe.... you'll try some of the recipes!

In the meantime you can follow my transition to a raw vegan lifestyle (I'll explain more in future posts), and I'll touch on other topics that take my fancy.

I hope you enjoy! I look forward to your comments

Peace & Love

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