The Smoothie Vegetarians

When I was in my twenties I wanted to lose weight. I became a Susan Powter fan – she was the low fat guru back in the nineties. Her whole premise was eating very low fat – no exceptions. It worked. I lost about forty pounds and felt great. I never “cheated”. It became somewhat of an obsession. No cake, no butter, no oil, no nuts – none of that. I missed it, but to me it was “bad”. I especially missed eating nuts. I love them. I continued this way for several years. I wasn't always eating healthy though. Lots of unhealthy things are low or no fat – sugar and alcohol being two big ones – and I consumed quite a bit of both pretty regularly. Ways of eating go in and out of fashion. Currently Keto is the big one. I tried this awhile back – I like to try different eating styles and see how they make me feel. For me, it's not sustainable, and it's particularly difficult as a vegan. I've also tried meal shakes, low glycemic index, plain old calorie counting and a fe...

I suffer from a chronic illness. People love to challenge me about this. I get the usual “you're a vegan, and you still get sick, so see – it's NOT better”. I generally don't respond to a lot of the things non-vegans say to me – particularly when it's done in a challenging argumentative way. I don't much see the point, so I generally nod and smile and walk away or change the subject. Veganism, is for me, mostly a private thing; I don't shout it from the rooftops, I don't participate in a lot of activism (although maybe I should) and I don't feel a need to constantly be explaining myself. So I have an illness, and sometimes, despite my best efforts, I have a relapse like I am right now. I spent most of yesterday in the emergency room. I have just had my eighth lumbar puncture. I feel terrible. My head is aching, my body hurts and all I've managed to eat is coffee and a Clif bar. I am currently NOT the picture of health. There ar...

By now I am sure you have heard of the Beyond Burger, produced by Beyond Meat, seeing as the whole plant-based world is going bananas for it! On its packaging it claims to be, 'A new breed of burger - Made from plants. The Beyond Burger is juicy, meaty and delicious; offering all the upsides of a plant-based meal'. It is advertised to be so like beef patties that they are carried in the meat section of the grocery store!  But how realistic is it?           I set out to find out. First I had to find where they were even being sold. Using the store locator conveniently on Beyond Meat's website I quickly learned there weren't any in my area; so far only 3000 stores in the United States even carry them! Luckily I found the patties on a trip to visit my family in the bay area, wrapped them in ice, and headed back home to prepare them.          Now the patties were not an exact match to the physica...

Why I do not Recommend  A High Protein Diet. *The views shared here are that of the author, and should not be used in a medical context *   The human body was designed to thrive on live plant foods. Anything short of this is placing it at a disadvantage. The most healing mode of eating is described as  A 'High Carbohydrate,  Low Fat' Diet. This can be further broken down into numbers such as: 80/10/10  or  even   90/5/5 . These numbers make reference to: 80% of daily  caloric consumption being  Carbohydrates, 10% Protein, 10%  fats Or likewise: 90% of caloric consumption of  carbohydrates, 5% protein and 5% fats. See: http://www.thesmoothievegetarians.com/2017/03/how-to-ensure-adequate-protein-levels.html  for more explanation on protein as a food source. This is the case for many reasons, s ome of the things experienced whilst on a diet high in protein are: 1.     ...

The endeavour to lead an all raw vegan lifestyle can seem overwhelming to many. The overriding reason being that of food, not only from the ' What will I eat? ‘aspect, but moreover,  ' How will I afford this? ‘, and 'How much do I need to eat? " Let us address the most difficult to wrap ones mind around: Buying fresh produce without breaking the bank account. There are some fundamental things to bear in mind, put into practice and execute, which will often lead to wise choices which only benefit individuals on this journey. Here are a few: 1. Small Organic Farmers . Get to know your local farmers: ~ moreso the truly organic farmers. By doing this, oftentimes than not, the individual sourcing directly from them will be  awarded lower prices, gaining from the direct supplier,  particularly if you can rally a team of purchasers who wish to purchase in bulk. Additionally, some farmers welcome additional harvesting hands in exchange for free/no cost, or...

Ten Simple Nuggets To Start A Healthy Lifestyle In my humble experience, through trial and error over a number of years, the saying ' Fitness is 80% diet; 20% exercise. ' has held true to form. And to compliment fitness, one's lifestyle must be in alignment with the exercise and diet. In summation, this looks like: 1. Movement 2. Communing with our Intercessor daily. 3. Diet ~ Fresh fruits and vegetables, if not in entirety, as many as possible, or introduce slowly, incorporating food combing guidelines. 4. Skin Brushing 5. Hydration 6. Elimination of chemical products, ' foods (packaged, cooked and even frozen) ’, commercial deos, shampoos, cleaning agents, perfumes, and the like. 7. Colonics, enemas. 8. Dry Far Infrared Sauna sessions. 9. Fasting: water, dry. 10. Reducing to elimination of Stress. 1 . Movement :  The necessity of some form of exercise daily is a given, ' sitting is the new smoking ' applies without a ...

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ‘Health is Wealth’ is an adage I agree with wholeheartedly. Health is composed of a number of what I call little gems or nuggets, a few of which do not even require money or extra expenses to achieve/maintain/accomplish. ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ The views expressed here are my own and are based on research and personal experiences over a number of years. Being involved in athletics and fitness all my life, the question of health became a topic of interest in my adult years, spanning the last ten to fifteen years. I found answers when I started incorporating what I deem to be Mindful Living - this takes into account several essential aspects of the human life, such as: 1 . Movement, a daily regimen of a full workout~ daily exercise, length of time in a seated position versus standing (‘Sitting is the new smoking ‘) ~ Invest in a standing desk 2 . Water intake:  This varies, and is dependent on level of activity, di...