Pardon the video quality there. A.J. and I shot that video at night and, although it looked decent on the camera's preview screen, the actual video came out almost totally black!? However, with a bit of video processing, we were able to salvage it. It's not optimal video, but it's at least watchable (and, hey, also conveys a little of that nighttime festival feeling).
A quick note about veganism before I share some additional info... As we've stated here many times, Pure Jeevan advocates a raw vegan lifestyle. What do we intend that to mean, exactly? Well, strictly speaking, veganism excludes all animal products, both in terms of diet and lifestyle.
So it's time to continue that discussion on the aforementioned fringe one percent -- those people who will not accept your conscious intention to pursue your own health via this path. Please keep in mind during this discussion that we're only discussing just that one percent, not people in general. So, this is, I hope, relatively rare.
To begin, I'd like to stress a few points:
I've been holding on to some things to share here on the blog, and today feels like a good day to share this particular inspirational gem, below. I hope it speaks to some of you in a way that brings about a deeper love for yourself. Many times I have a feeling, based on emails I receive, that I love some of you more than you love yourselves (and I deeply love all of you). That's okay, though. Your time will come to blossom into the self-loving individual that you know you are at your core. Perhaps today what I share will trigger a deeper sense of self-love for you, as it did for another friend.
Back in October, a friend in an online raw community sent me a message about how she was having a tough time with cravings. I responded to her, as follows:
... You CAN do it, too! For me, it took finally loving myself to make the change. I had to KNOW that NOTHING was going to stop me from loving myself. And loving myself meant never putting harmful things into my body EVER AGAIN! So, once I made that decision, I moved forward. I'm not saying I didn't have cravings, but I loved myself through them! ...
Many times in the online communities, the messages you share with others will also be read by individuals stopping by the pages of your friends. That was the case with what I wrote, above. I received a lovely message from another friend in that community, who had read the message I left for someone else. Here's what she wrote to me:
***** DISCLAIMER: As with all of our posts here at Pure Jeevan, and particularly those tagged with a new term, "Nadi Balance," please refer to the disclaimer that runs at the bottom of all Pure Jeevan pages. Wendi and Jim are health researchers, educators, and extreme self-experimenters, not doctors. ******
There are four parts to blood: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Using a specialized microscope, one can easily view these parts of the blood. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to, and carbon dioxide from, the body. White blood cells, also known as leukocytes, help defend the body against disease and anything that they see as unnatural or foreign. Platelets help form clots to prevent bleeding. Plasma, comprised of about 90% water, is the fluid that transports all of the above.
Jim here... Wow, what a great week it's been here at Pure Jeevan, focusing on diabetes for five straight days!? To cap it off, I have some fun news to share:? Tomorrow is Wendi's birthday!? And, guess what ? When I asked her what she wanted to do to celebrate this year, she said she'd like to devote her special day to spreading the word about the Movement ot Reverse Diabetes Naturally. So, we made some calls and sent out some press releases.
A few venues were enthusiastically receptive, so we're hitting the streets tomorrow -- celebrating Wendi's birthday by handing out diabetes awareness literature! Here's the press release I sent to the media, which tells where we'll be. If you're from Pittsburgh, we hope you'll stop by to say hello and/or ask questions about natural diabetes reversal and of course raw foods!
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Here's a picture I took at Portland's Saturday Market last week. We've been pleasantly surprised to find that artichokes grow rather well here in the Pacific Northwest. We don't recall seeing them much back East, but many of our neighbors grow them (both for the artichokes and, I suspect, as ornamental plants).
I suspect that some raw foodists tend to overlook artichokes because they're so traditionally linked with the image of something steamed, stuffed with breadcrumbs, and drizzled in butter -- so, "cooked," "breaded," and "dairy" all together in one recipe! Being half Italian, I grew up eating them this way. My mother almost never said "artichoke"; she always called them an Italian word that sounded like "ga-GO-che-lee." ?She made them just a few times per year, and they were always a huge treat (and we'd often fight over the hearts -- by far the best part!).
One reason I keep going on and on lately about raw desserts and raw ice creams is best conveyed with an example. ?Here are the ingredients in Cool Whip, a commonly available whipped topping:
- water
- hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut and palm kernel oils)
- high fructose corn syrup
- corn syrup
- skim milk
- light cream
- less than 2% of:
- sodium caseinate
- natural and artificial flavors
- xanthan and guar gums
- polysorbate 60
- sorbitan monostearate
- beta carotene (color)
Wow, I had a chemistry set in 5th grade that had a lot of things that sounded like some of those items. It's actually mind-boggling to envision the industrial processes necessary to produce everything on that list -- not that it's entirely possible to do so. After all, among the list of ingredients are "natural and artificial flavors." Ever wonder what, exactly, those are?
Read more: Natural and Artificial Flavors, and a Raw Whipped Cream Recipe
In some wonderfully literary sense, there must be some kind of unique metaphor that could be constructed around the process by which cabbage turns to kimchi. Personal growth is not always easy, as any success technologist will surely tell you; ?there's a lot of doubt and oozing and off-gassing involved -- and yet, the final product is surprisingly pleasing to the palate.
Yes, it's time for us to update you on our first-ever kimchi experiment. If you want the short version:? I believe we have been successful! For those of you with a few more minutes, I'll share some of the lurid details. Highlights of our experiment included:
To keep all of you inspired while we are away, we've asked some
remarkable individuals to share their raw food stories with you. Enjoy!
Today, for Take the Time Tuesday, I'd like to introduce you to an online social networking Web site for those with similar interests to get together, meet, and hang out in the physical world. If you haven't already heard about it, check it out!
Take the time to meet....
What better way to start our Fun-Filled Friday than by celebrating Jim's birthday ! He worked for half the day and now he's home for a long weekend. So far we've had a nice lunch (cashew/macadamia cheese with red peppers and celery) and birthday pie (mango and pineapple!) after singing "Happy Birthday" to him! This evening we'll have veggie stir-not-fry, since that's what Jim has requested. I prepared it earlier and it's in the dehydrator to marinade and get a bit warm.