A Positive Attitude

A couple of weeks ago, on August 11, Denise and I had scheduled a free living foods demo at Amoskeag Chiropractic in Manchester, NH. I happened to be on an extended stay in Florida with my 93-year-old Nana, so that my Uncle could be out of town. I was very sad to miss our event, which Denise pulled off brilliantly all on her own, but I had the rare opportunity to sit with a wise woman, hear her stories, and gain some wisdom.

For the event, we had capped the attendance at 35... but an enthusiastic 50 showed up! Denise served them walnut pate, angel hair with marinara, and dessert tartlets. Dr. Ed, of Amoskeag Chiropractic, was so thrilled with the presentation, he wants all of his patients to attend a similar event in a few months. Hundreds. All will be welcome, and I'll be certain to post the event on our calendar. Needless to say, I was very sorry to have missed this event.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Nana and I were having grand conversations about her childhood in NY, married life and being a mother, joining the corporate world at ABC... She truly led an amazing life, and I can only imagine what she would have accomplished had the times been more liberated for women. She's endured many hardships as well, but I believe she rose above them so well, and continues to do so, because she has an unflagging positive attitude. Her attitude is truly marvelous.

Three years ago, when my sister and I visited her for her 90th, she had recently had a rough time of it with melanoma. She had also gone blind in one eye and deaf in one ear. At 90, many would feel sorry for themselves (rightly so!), or even give up. Not Nana. She saw every day as a blessing and treated it as such. When my sister and I were leaving for the airport (my sister for Istanbul and I for Boston), Nana walked us out to the car to say goodbye. In a combination of brutal honesty and humor she parted with this: "I don't know if we'll she each other again. If not, goodbye!" She has since attended my sister's wedding and received several visits from her granddaughters.

I know, without a doubt, despite all the hardships that come her way, she continues to live a happy and meaningful life because of her positive attitude toward life. She treats each day as if it might be her last, and accepts this as a gift. Something we can all benefit to learn from. Enjoy the day as if it was your last!

Augusta

Cool, refreshing relief from the HEAT...

It's been a HOT June, definitely hotter than we're used to before August. So I whipped up a cooling creation that's healthy and delicious. The best part? Most of the ingredients are stored in the freezer, so you can have them on hand to enjoy this smoothie any time.

Grape Crush
- 1 cup frozen red grapes (organic, seedless)
- 1/2 cup frozen pear (I cut them up and store them in a freezer bag)
- 1/2 cup frozen cucumber (I skin a cucumber, slice it, store in a freezer bag)
- 1 medjool date
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup coconut water (add a little more if needed)

Blend all ingredients in a Vita-Mix, using the plunger to help it along. This should turn into the consistency of a frozen slush... Thick enough to eat with a spoon. Need it a little sweeter? Add a spoonful of honey to the blender.

I served this at our last raw food pot-luck, and everyone LOVED it! Cooling, refreshing, very grape-y, and delicious. The best part? Not only is this smoothie delicious for summer, but it is super healthy too! Cucumbers are a natural diuretic, so if you feel like you're retaining water in this heat the cucumbers will help. Grapes are very anti-cancer. Pears are high in fiber. Dates also provide lots of fiber and are packed with fuel for high energy. Coconut water is the very best for re-hydrating.

Enjoy! And join us at our next smoothie seminar for more fabulous creations...

Augusta

Sweat it OUT!

A funny little story... At the end of 7th grade, when we were all signing yearbooks, a cute 8th grader signed "you are a really sweat girl" to mine. Of course he meant "sweet", at least I HOPE he did... Although the "sweat" description would accurately describe me as of late.

In our living food classes, students are very interested in learning about how to cleanse and detox. Breathing and sweating are two of the most basic ways our bodies naturally do this, all on their own! Respiring and perspiring. I mention this, because Denise and I started a hot yoga challenge on June 1st - she's practicing Bikram yoga in Manchester, NH at Bikram Yoga Manchester, and I'm practicing hot core yoga (a Bikram inspired style) in Beverly Farms, MA at Yoga Passion. We are both 4 days in, and LOVING it!

Each day, as my breathing gets deeper, I can feel my body digging deeper into the toxins taking up residence there and expelling them all the way from my toes out my mouth. And the sweat? That's pretty sweet too. If you're looking for some detox in your life, some balance, we both highly recommend giving hot yoga a shot. Most studios have a special offer for newcomers - both these studios offer your first 10 consecutive days for only $20. $2 a session, if you go every day for 10 days, is a sweet (I mean SWEAT) deal! Namaste.

FYI, my Yogi's partner Grace also teaches raw food classes! I can't wait to meet her and talk raw. She has a 3-day class coming up June 18-20 in Beverly Farms, MA. For details, she can be reached at graceventural@gmail.com.

Augusta

Something about a window opening when a door closes...

It is a sad day when your favorite raw food restaurant closes, and I was very sad to learn that Alissa decided to close both Grezzo locations - Newburyport and Boston. Although, I am very happy for Alissa that she has decided to follow her true path: teaching. She's an amazing teacher! Read her blog post about this decision here.

The good news? 'There's good news?' you may ask. Yes! The good news for us raw foodies is that Lori opened Symbielle last week, a fabulous juice and smoothie bar! There are many wonderful menu items to choose from, but the BEST creations are the ones you come up with on the spot with Lori's guidance. She truly has something for everyone, including Richardson's Ice Cream for the non raw foodies to enjoy.

Lori has created a wonderful space to meet up, chill out, get healthy, or hang loose in at Symbielle. And she's supporting local agriculture to boot, by purchasing from local growers and local vendors, like Richardson's.

Symbielle is located at 227 Newbury St, Route 1 NB, Danvers, MA. There's plenty of parking, so bring your friends... ALL of your friends! While things get going, they'll be open until 4pm on week days, and 6pm on weekends. Come early, and come often! I'm sure you'll see me there...

Augusta

The True Fountain of Youth... Water From the Source

I spent an amazing weekend with a wonderful group of people at Kripalu learning how to build super immunity from David Wolfe. I learned so many incredible, truly mind-blowing things, my brain is still humming. It will take some time for all of the information I absorbed to gel.

The last thing we all did together, before leaving Kripalu, was visit a spring in western MA, and drink from the "fountain of youth." Literally, the first bit of "news" I heard upon returning home was the massive run on bottled water because of the "catastrophic break in a pipe" cutting off the water supply from Weston, MA, to dozens of cities and towns north and west of Boston, including my town of Wakefield. The police and fire department have been out for days warning everyone not to drink the water being pumped into homes from alternate sources because none of it has been treated.

WOW. This proves to me once again how the Universe works in mysterious ways! How, you might ask? The moment I learn that the best water to drink on this earth is abundant and FREE, I mean that very moment, there is more reason than ever for me to seek that water out and start drinking it immediately!

The very first thing David taught us about how to build super immunity was to collect and drink water from naturally occurring springs. Not filtered water, not bottled water, not reverse osmosis water, not ionized water... But free, natural, aurous, spring water. Why? As David says "it's called the fountain of youth, not the faucet of youth."

There are plenty of videos and blog posts about why natural spring water is the best water on this earth for us to drink. What I'd like to pass along is Daniel Vitalis' website FindASpring.com, where you can literally find a spring near you anywhere in the world! If there is ONE thing you do for yourself to build immunity, do this. Buy some brown glass bottles from a local brewing supply store or antique shop, fill them with water from the nearest natural spring, and cork them. No need to purchase fancy machinery. No need to hook up fancy equipment. Go straight to the source provided to all of us for free from this great earth. There is no better gift.

I will continue to share snippets from my incredible weekend every now and again in this blog. If you have any questions about finding safe spring water, please leave a comment.

Augusta

Sunscreen: healthy or hazardous to your skin?

I am a fair-skinned individual, and for that reason overexposure to the sun has always been a concern of mine. In an effort to prevent skin cancer and wrinkles, I've always slathered on the high SPF (50 or higher) before going out into the sun, and have been a big fan of the frequent re-apply.

In the transformation I've been making over the past 4 years into a healthy lifestyle, skin care has been a rather large piece of what I've transformed. I use organic soaps and lotions, I filter my water, I skin brush... Organic sunscreen is one switch I have not been able to make. It seems no matter which brand of organic sunscreen I try, I still burn. And they are expensive! I finally decided I had to switch back to traditional sunscreen, and have stuck to Neutrogena.

Last week on Mercola.com there was an article recycled about the dangers of traditional sunscreens, and Neutrogena is right up there as one of the worst offenders. Dr. Mercola has an organic sunscreen product that he believes in, but I am super skeptical after all of the organic brands I've tried that failed me. What did stand out was one of the comments at the end that diet improves your skins natural SPF and therefore resistance to sun damage; specifically, eating fresh spinach. When I visited the link provided in this comment, here's what I learned...

The following thirteen nutrients are currently known to increase your skin's sun protection factor (SPF) level:

Alpha-carotene
Beta-carotene*
Co-enzyme Q10*
Folate*
Glutathione*
Isoflavones
Lutein*
Lycopene
Omega 3 essential fatty acids*
Polyphenols*
Vitamin C*
Vitamin E*
Zeaxanthin*

The ten SPF enhancing nutrients with an asterisk (*) are all found in spinach. This makes spinach quite possibly the single most potent whole food nutrition source to reduce risk of ultra violet sun damage to skin and thus the risks of sunburn or various skin cancers.

I'm willing to experiment with this! I regularly include green smoothies in my diet now, but I can really beef up the spinach during the months where I'm likely to experience the most sun exposure. I'll include the organic sunscreen in my regimen again, and see how it goes. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, Friday, May 7th Denise and I are hosting our first Raw Food Pot Luck in Wakefield, MA from 6-8pm. Our special guest, Michelle, will be educating us on organic skin care, and I imagine will be the perfect person to ask about organic sunscreen. Everyone is welcome to come join us! Information is posted under Events on HumbabaWorld.com.

Augusta

More Information About Agave...

We said we'd continue to get to the bottom of the "agave is as bad as HFCS" article, and sure enough, there is a wonderful article by Susan of Rawmazing which helps to clarify and dispel myths and misinformation.

She spoke with Stephen Richards, the founder of BetterBody Foods and Nutrition, asking him to respond to some of the points made in the Mercola article. Mercola's article is in quotations, followed by Stephen's responses in italics.

"In spite of manufacturer's claims, agave "nectar" is not made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant but from the starch of its pineapple-like root bulb. the root is comprised mainly of starch, similar to corn, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of fructose molecules. the process by which agave starch and inulin are converted into "nectar" is VERY similar to the process by which cornstarch is converted to HFCS1."
There is no starch in the agave plant. the agave plant contains fructans which are broken down into sugars by simply applying low heat. the process by which it is broken down is not even close.

"The agave starch is converted into fructose-rich syrup using genetically modified enzymes and a chemically intensive process involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals."
Xagave is a USDA organic certified product and we have a GMO free certification. Thus the statement that chemicals, genetically modified enzymes and caustic acids are used is incorrect - with respect to Xagave. Again, I cannot speak for other brands.

The fructose content of Xagave is less than sugar (sucrose), about the same as honey, and less than HFCS. In addition, Xagave has less total sugars than the above mentioned sweeteners. Xagave has a glycemic index of 30 (date paste has a GI over 103), and contains inulin, (a prebiotic fiber, promoting the healthy function of your lower intestine that has also been shown to promote regularity, boost the immune system, increase calcium absorption and increase bone density).

Interestingly, onions also promote regularity, boost the immune system, increase calcium absorption and increase bone density... and also contain inulin. When I worked at Stoneyfield Farm Yogurt, I learned that they add inulin to their yogurt. Just a little aside!

I hope this information is helpful to you on your quest to know the truth about agave. Like anything we purchase to feed our bodies with, no two products are created equal... There are good tomatoes and toxic tomatoes, even though they are both called tomatoes. The same is true of agave.

To read Susan's full article on Rawmazing, click here: Agave: Hero or Villain. To learn more about Xagave, including independent lab tests, click here: Xagave.

Augusta