Chocolate Spinach Shake :)

My post-workout creation tonight??

12 oz filtered water
1 scoop Sunwarrior Raw Vegan Chocolate Protein Powder
1 small handful of baby spinach
1/2 frozen banana
a generous sprinkle of spirulina, flax seeds, and cinnamon

all blended together for creamy deliciousness in my tummy :)

What's On My Food?

I wanted to share the following website I came across while researching a few things:

http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/

More and more I feel terribly frustrated and angry at the fact that our food supply is loaded with toxins and poisons, making it seem impossible to take anything into our bodies that isn't somehow tainted.  I can't understand why all of these known carcinogens, chemicals and toxins aren't illegal, especially since they are sprayed directly onto the food being grown.  It's no wonder we are as sick as we are and yet, still, people rarely stop to wonder about their food and the crucial part that it plays in our health and our ability to heal naturally.  Instead, we keep right on eating processed, dead and fake food and then fork out hundreds of dollars for drugs and shots and treatments that only treat the symptoms and never the actual problem.

The reason I go off on that little tantrum is because, going back to food being crucial to our health, even the good stuff is bad stuff.  Organic foods have most certainly seen higher demand but I think there needs to be more.  More people to be aware of what's on and in our food so that more people demand that the food grown and sold be safe and organic, free of poisons.  More people need to be aware  of where true health comes from...and it's from, primarily, our food - in its purest and most natural form.

  It is a terrible injustice that fertilizers and herbicides and pesticides are used so abundantly and carelessly and not disclosed to the consumer.  Think about it - if you were perusing the aisles of produce and decided to pick up an apple, would you still buy it if there were an 'ingredients' list of everything used on this apple and the effect it would have on your health?   Gone would be the bad food because instantly the demand for organic produce would take it's place in record speed, and then organic produce wouldn't be the more costly choice.

Take a look at what is called the Dirty Dozen.  Does it make you want to run out and buy a bushel of apples or bunches of spinach??  Only if it's organic.

Peruse through What's On My Food site, click on a few of your favorite and most commonly used foods and learn just what it is your consuming when you eat that apple, celery stick or strawberry.  Click on the Get Involved tab and do what you can to help spread the word and, therefore, the demand for clean, organic foods in their natural state.  I just did.

Plie Squat

Plie Squat:  Can be done without a weight for beginners.  With toes pointed diagonally outward, wider than shoulder-width, lower yourself into a deep squat until your thighs are parallel to the ground.  Keep your back straight and shoulders back and down.  Knees should not go past your toes on the 'down' position.  Exhale and come back to starting position.  Repeat.  For extra burn, at the end of your set hold your last squat in the down position for 20 seconds.

Vaccine What??

I am opposed to vaccines.  Not new news.  And I am greatly opposed to this ludacris idea of putting candy in the form of vaccine shots.  What brilliant mind thought this up?   "Hey kids!  Medicine, drugs, and vaccines are like eating candy!"   This 'flavored liquid candy in a safe plastic injection' is just plain wrong.  

First of all - the 'flavored liquid candy' is just sugar!  Bad, bad, bad sugar.  I couldn't find anything that posted the ingredients list but most likely you would see the dangerous High-Fructose Corn Syrup along with equally dangerous dyes and coloring.  This is not something fit for consumption for our kids!

Second of all - I have felt very strongly lately that with the rise of parents becoming more informed of the dangers of vaccines - and yes, I would even say uselessness of them, - the vaccine companies are scrambling to dig their greedy little claws into unsuspecting parents even further.  Have you noticed all the vaccine campaign ads popping up like crazy on our televisions and billboards?  They are there to scare you.  Placing fear into people who don't know any better will assure that they get their kids vaccinated for anything and everything.  Is this candy just another tactic for conforming everyone to the idea that vaccines are safe, harmless and even wonderful?  

Now I know that there are people out there who have, sadly, been affected by something that "could have been prevented by a vaccine".  There are an even greater number of people out there who have been affected by the vaccine itself.   However, the more I read and research, the more I am convinced that it all comes down to our diet of cooked, dead, devoid-of-life food.  Even as mothers, the food we eat that we pass onto our infants through breastmilk greatly affects our children's their immune systems and their ability to fight off infection and illness.  Another reason why I urge you to consider eating as much  of a raw food diet as possible, void of as much animals as possible.  The proof is out there if you're willing to find it.

I admit it can be scary.  As a new mom, I went into my traditional doctor's office for a checkup and refused the vaccinations.  I was immediately questioned why and felt judgement from this doctor.  For a tiny second, listening to her and all the reasons why she feels babies should be vaccinated, I admit I wavered and questioned my own beliefs.  But I will not vaccinate my baby without feeling 100% sure about it and that is something I never will be.  And I'm glad I didn't.  I am still convinced that vaccines are useless and cause more sickness and deaths and only serve to make the drug companies richer.  

"The truth about nutrition quite obviously threatens the power and profits of the pharmaceutical industry -- an industry that thrives on nutritional ignorance and highly deceptive marketing of its poisons to the uninformed masses."


--Mike Adams

Learn more:http://www.naturalnews.com/035691_dieticians_free_speech_nutrition_advice.html#ixzz1tBBvuqeB

Save A Million Lives

One of the many things that influenced my decision to become a vegetarian:



It's 2.5 minutes of smartness.  Powerful smartness.

Make a difference AND vastly improve your health.   Duh..why wouldn't you want to??

DIY Alkaline Water

When I worked for a holistic chiropractor almost 9 years ago, I had access to the very first model of Ozonated Water (the smell and taste of it was amazing!). I happily hoarded as much water as I could. After leaving there, access to filtered water was a bit trickier.

With our water supply being fluoridated aka POISONED (violating our rights and wreaking havoc for our health) and the environmental issues such as metal toxicity (which is something I struggle with constantly if I do end up using the tap water for anything), etc, etc, I am not keen to drinking or using tap water.

Since I married 4.5 years ago, I have kept a 3 gallon jug of Reverse Osmosis water in my fridge  (the water here also makes me gag so I have to have it!!).  I figured it was the best thing that I had access to while I tried to find answers to what the best option for water.

Recently I have learned about Water Ionizers that alkalize your water and therefore help to alkalize you!  To learn more about the importance of this, I recommend reading The pH Miracle by Robert O. Young and Shelley Young.   Funny thing about all this is...I read this book ten years ago, so I basically had the answer staring me in the face for a decade and I forgot all about it.  I seriously need some brain pills (or maybe some alkaline water???).  It wasn't until perusing through Green Smoothie Girl's blog some time ago that I learned of the importance of this water and how you can obtain it through Water Ionizers.

Alkaline water balances the pH in your body, obviously, and provides you with important minerals needed for cellular function that your body can leech from your bones and tissues if it doesn't get them from your water. I recently read, and I need to remember where I read this so I can site it later, that nearly every disease can be traced back to a deficiency in minerals.  And with all the information I've read over the years, I believe that whole-heartedly.  

The problem??  Water Ionizers be a lit' bit pricey.  I have decided to go off of Robyn Openshaw's recommendation of using a Life Ionizer (www.phmiracleliving.com also has some on their site) and I checked into the group buy.  However, right now it is not something I am going to be able to purchase even with the stellar discount and freebies that I desperately want to take advantage of.  So...I'll be saving my pennies for one of those, too.

Happily, I came across the Do It Yourself version of alkaline water from Young and Raw that I plan on taking advantage of and wanted to pass it along.  Hopefully, you find this helpful if you are in a small boat like me whose large boat has not quite made it in yet :)

Also, adding the juice of one lemon to your filtered water is another simple way to alkalize and cleanse the body and is used in this FREE 3 Day Cleanse from The Earth Diet.

Sources:  

http://greensmoothiegirl.com/robyn-recommendations/water-ionizers/why-drink-alkaline-water/

http://www.lifeionizers.com/water-facts/ionizer-how.html

http://www.taoofherbs.com/articles/76/Water_Ionizer_and_Ionized_Water.htm

Hungry For Change

I highly recommend that you go to this site, watch the trailer and even the first 20 minutes, then download this 10 Step Action Guide, and make it your goal - your life mission!!! - to apply and adhere to the steps given for truly amazing health!  And remember, if you're new to juicing, green smoothies, and foods in their raw and unadulterated state...don't get overwhelmed or discouraged!! Baby steps, people!  It can happen and it WILL happen even if you take it one change a month.  I beg of you!  Health is not in the sodas (even diet soda) and sugary juices, it's not in boxed and processed cereals and bars that are 'part of this complete breakfast', or in the pasteurized dairy drinks and yogurts, in the synthetic man-made vitamins and protein drinks available at GNC or even in the GMO vegetables that are cooked til dead!!!

What is the World Coming To?

Knowledge is power.  Or as I rather say, the RIGHT knowledge is power.  

Disease has become an industry.  The food that fuels disease is an industry. So when the television comes on and I see an add for something that is obviously not healthy being touted for being 'healthy', I want to scream!  It's bad enough that food companies LIE as they advertise, but it's ridiculous the amount of people who would fall for it.  I'm not trying to be insulting.  The ignorance of so many is astounding.  But seriously, wouldn't common sense and a little usage of brain power spell out to people "There is no WAY that is healthy!!" no matter what the TV or magazine ads say??  Isn't it obvious that chocolate milk (just as regular pasteurized and homogenized milk) is full of sugar and can't be healthy just because it has calcium?  Isn't it obvious that children's nutrition should come from real, whole and natural food and not 'jump-started' with a so-called nutritious chocolate drink full of synthetic vitamins and, oh yeah, more sugar???  What about the new Shredded Frosted Wheat that has 'a touch of fruit' in the middle?  The crazy thing is that there really are people out there who would pick that off the shelf of a grocery store and say 'Hey - fruit! It's healthy!'  No! No! NO!!  
Read the ingredients! Become familiar with what you're seeing on those ingredient lists.  In fact, I think I shall compile a list of stuff you'll see on most packaged foods that you will want to avoid.  In the meantime, food it's most natural, unprocessed, uncooked form is the food you should be eating!

Vaccines??

I'm due to have a baby...any day now would be great. I'm choosing NOT to vaccinate my children and it's something I was set on way before I was even ready to start poppin' out the babes. Recently, a friend of mine showed me NVIC.org. I have been perusing through this site a little at a time. If you're one that's on the fence about vaccines, check out this site. You might deicde vaccines are for you and you may decide they are not. I personally recommend you read this flyer. And as always, go out and search and decide for yourself. I read enewsletters all the time from different sources (sources that are non-profit, independent, and, I believe, trustworthy) and I become more and more convinced vaccines are more dangerous than they are helpful. Like this about the flu shot, this one on 'possible' autism links, or this one on infant mortality and vaccines.

Other sites:
ThinkTwiceGlobal
VacBook.com
Natural Society