Know Any Literary Animal Lovers?
Hi there PureJeevan readers! We wanted to let you know that Jim's new novel CHROO is available on Amazon. It's a crazy adventure involving a billionaire heiress, her Chihuahua BFF ("Chroo") and a host of human and animal characters. Find out more on Amazon! Here are some links:
I'm fairly sure that we've covered how to *open* a young coconut (also known as a Thai coconut). It seems like each raw food site has a video and/or article about that. I think it's actually a commandment in the Official Raw Foodism Bylaws somewhere: "Thou shalt show everyone how to open a coconut."
But *selecting* them... that's something that's not often covered in-depth. It's an advanced topic -- super-advanced, even. So, are you ready to learn the secrets?
Read more: How to *Select* a Young (Thai) Coconut at the Store
Is cacao dangerous or is it a super food? Anyone who's been learning about raw foods knows about raw cacao (check out a recent episode of Know Your Food: Cacao). It's raw chocolate without all the processing and additives normally included in the chocolate bars many buy from standard grocery stores. In its raw form, cacao has different nutritional components than typical processed chocolate. Many claim that raw chocolate is filled with mega doses of nutrients, making it a super food, and therefore extremely healthy for the human body. Others claim that even in its raw state, cacao is a stimulant that taxes the human body and cacao is more like a poison than a food. I've heard murmurs about negative effects of cacao for many years, but that was always subdued by the vociferous praise of cacao.
Recently, my friend Kevin Gianni (The Renegade Health Show) spoke out about cacao and his experiences with it. Kevin is well known in the raw food community, so his words came as a shock to many people. He explained in his video (below) that he developed a rash on his stomach. After much investigating and diet changes, he came to the conclusion that cacao was causing the rash (eliminating the cacao caused his skin to clear). He also stated that cacao had been stripping his body of vital minerals. Kevin pointed out that he was simply sharing his own experience with cacao, possibly shedding some light on a subject that may need to be further investigated. He advised others to take a look at their own reactions to the food, to see if they are experiencing any problems.
Today, for Makin' It Monday, Jim has taken you through the steps of making a vegetable wrap. He came home for lunch, pulled the veggies out of the fridge, and the filming began. He quickly shows how just about anyone can prepare fresh, raw, delicious food in less than fifteen minutes. His goal was to get it done in under ten minutes, but it actually took about fourteen. Still, fourteen minutes to prepare amazingly tasty, delicious, and nutritious food is AWESOME!
"Only somebody who really takes the time to understand [Pure Jeevan's Salsa's*] potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and ... ancient on the planet." ~ Miles Raymond in "Sideways" (2004) (*slightly modified).
Jim here... Over the weekend, I'd made a string of videos for Pure Jeevan using my handy-dandy new phone. To my great surprise, when I went to post them to YouTube, they all came out sideways! So, I'm sorry, friends... you'll have to endure (if you so choose) a somewhat disorienting video, below. But, hey, at least it reminded me of that wondrous quote from the movie Sideways! I imagine Paul Giamatti describing one of my own recent creations this way -- a sort-of half-raw, yet still very healthy delight that I like to make sometimes.
My reason for featuring a less than 100% raw recipe is two-fold. First, I'd been discussing transitioning to raw (see yesterday's post). And, adding more raw into your non-raw diet is a great way to transition. I believe that raw sauces are an excellent way to achieve this, as I'll explain in the video. Second, if you do prefer a 100% raw dish, then you can simply replace the beans with something else -- perhaps sprouted beans, or maybe your own invention from the dehydrator.
Mnemonics for the "Clean 15" -- Or, "Conventional" Produce That Tests Lowest for Residual Pesticides
Following up on yesterday's post, today we're going to take a look at the "Clean 15." These are the 15 produce items that, according to research done by the Environmental Working Group, contain the least amount of residual pesticides (even though they're still grown using pesticides).
What this boils down to is: IF you're going to eat conventionally grown produce, these items will harm you much less than those we covered yesterday. So, here's the list, and then we'll try to come up with a sentence to help you (and us) remember everything:
Since our child was exposed to a large variety of vegetables and fruits at a young age, she has always enjoyed consuming them in myriad ways. When children's exposure to fruits and veggies has been limited, however, they don't always like consuming things that are so different from what they've grown accustomed to eating (and this many times carries into adulthood).
It's vital that children be exposed to a variety of foods, as often as possible, while growing up. For the vast majority of children, however, that has not been the case. Packaged, processed, and fast foods are a standard part of our society; we don't think twice about serving such foods to our children. Everyone is doing it, it's affordable and convenient, and they like it!
As promised, here's another question I'd like to openly address here instead of via Wendi's email system. This one also comes up from time to time, and I told this person to watch out for my two cents on this issue. So, here it is. The reader asks:
... During your transtioning to a raw food diet & the loss of so much weight, what if any exercising were you doing along the way
Sharing is lovely, don't you think? When I decided I was going to "go raw" and not consume cooked foods anymore, it was a huge life-changing decision. Even though there was no one standing next to me, telling me what to do and not do as I was changing my eating habits, I was still supported in my efforts. My support system was made up of copious amounts of experience and advice that was openly shared by experienced raw foodists. Even though many times I felt like I was alone, the path I was walking was etched with loving words left by caring people who wanted to encourage others who were yet to come down the same raw food path.
Wow, could this really mark 800 raw food blog posts ! ?We must be obsessive orthorexic raw foodies to have achieved that level of focused health editorial journalism! Post #800 deserves to be something really useful (not that the others aren't or do not deserve this), so we'd like to pass along a fun idea. I guess all of that talk of Donald Trump yesterday got me thinking about making deals. We make deals with others, of course, but I think we also sometimes can make them with ourselves.
I'm so glad to be out of the corporate business world these days, but I did pay attention while there, and perhaps even learned a thing or two. Today's post is related to that in a way. You see, I was once at a sales training seminar when the speaker advised following a "this job / next job" strategy with clients. What that means in business is that, when you're in the middle of one job working for someone -- say, for example, you're a printer working on a brochure for a company -- you would make a point of saying something like, "Hey, this brochure is going great. I was wondering what else is coming in the near term so that we can make sure to be ready for it."
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As we have mentioned here and there, our home (affectionately called "The Luck House") is currently for sale. Once it sells, we will be hitting the road full-time, educating people all across the country about the benefits of the raw foods lifestyle. Until then, we're spending a good amount of time going through the motions of selling the place. It's a wonderful home!!!?
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!