Don Bennett & Ellen Livingston
Author of Avoiding Degenerative Disease and numerous articles on health related topics, Don Bennett's work as a Disease Avoidance Specialist has helped many people improve their physical health and emotional well-being. Don’s web site http://www.health101.org/ Author of the soon to be released book Simple ‘n Healthy Raw Cuisine Ellen Livingston is a researcher and practitioner in the field of health creation and a pioneer in the art of simple and delicious healthy eating. She will demo a simple raw food recipe. Ellen’s website http://www.livingyoganow.com/
The following is from an e-mail I received from Nomi Shannon "The Raw Gourmet" Her web site is http://www.rawgourmet.com/
Observations Made while on a Road Trip:
What I learned about the content of Refrigerators
While on a road trip awhile back, I learned a lot about what the average person has in their refrigerator. It is sad to see so many people (non raw food people) eating in such a limited way in both quantity and variety in order to keep their weight in check when they could be eating a lot and enjoying it so much if they were 50% or more raw.
The Worst Offenders
Low Fat anything such as yogurt, pudding, cheese, milk, margarine, cookies, etc Little containers of fruit in liquid: is it really that much easier to peel the top off than to simply peel and eat a tangerine or an orange. This stuff has a very long shelf life which means: dead food.
Canned Goods (any): soups, pudding, beans, fruits, vegetables, spaghetti-o's. These items belong in a bomb shelter, not your kitchen! Most items that come in a can, a jar, or a box are not good for you.
Food not fit to Eat: Be willing to throw away old produce and be willing to shop more often. Shop more; buy less.
Out-dated food. I do not believe in bottled salad dressing, it is so easy to make your own and you can be pretty sure most store bought dressings use inferior oils which have a good chance of being rancid anyhow. But if you do use this type of thing, do not use past the date on the jar, this goes for your dried herbs and spices as well. One kitchen I visit from time to time has a noxious chemical mix of many outdated items both in the refrigerator and the pantry. It's not good to use packaged foods but it's even worse to use old, outdated, rancid packaged foods.
What I learned about how the average person uses their refrigerator.
Most people I visit have fairly new refrigerators. But I didn't see anyone utilizing their refrigerator well. For example highly perishable food like milk (shouldn't be there if you are raw anyhow) should not be kept in the door. Keep items in the door that will be OK with frequent exposure to room temperature. Always close the door right away all the time. Utilize the drawers! Many times I saw produce piled high on the refrigerator shelves rather than in the drawers that were designed to keep fruits and vegetables fresh. (One friend who juices daily has a mess of a refrigerator with no room to put anything because all her juicing produce is piled high on the bottom shelf, but the drawers are totally empty!) The smallest drawer is colder and meant for meat and cheese, I keep the most perishable items in there like basil, baby greens and seed cheese, and the larger drawers hold the rest of the produce. This leaves the shelves free for many other items, like that huge nut loaf you are making for dinner or the giant platter of zucchini pasta with pesto and marinara you are bringing to the church pot luck. Or the watermelon or the jug of water....
Spend a few minutes one day each week getting rid of almost spoiled produce, left- overs, outdated items and organizing the refrigerator. My day for doing this is Sunday night, because Monday is trash pick up day. It can't hurt to wipe off any spills or dirt either.
There are so many kitchens without a blender. Wow. What a way to live! And, where is the lemon/orange/citrus squeezer/juicer? Without exception all homes I have been in that do not own one or both of these items, are homes where the people have a poor diet. A highly unscientific but nonetheless accurate observation. Invest in a decent blender. Not only will it save you a lot of time, you will be able to make things you can't even dream about now.
Other, sadder, observations: One friend of many years has just about everything mentioned going on in her home. Outdated packaged foods, low fat this, diet that, a crowded dysfunctional refrigerator filled with old almost empty dressing bottles, old leftovers, etc. and, Yes, she was one of the ones with the packaged container of fruit (and with unpicked fruit trees in her backyard). Also, chemicals abound throughout her home. She uses a dry cleaning solvent to clean her clothes at home in the dryer, plug ins in all the plugs for a scented home, alcohol based skin products, harsh chemicals for cleaning, artificially flavored artificial coffee creamer stuff, you name it, this lady buys it and uses it. She is an extreme consumer of chemicals available for the household and in food. She called me last week to tell me that she has breast cancer.
Did the consumption (in the air on the skin in the digestive tract) of all these chemicals all these years cause her to have breast cancer? Let's just say that it didn't help.
So, take a little walk around your house. Throw anything away that could potentially be a chemical challenge in any way. Clean out your refrigerator, fill it with foods that you can grab and turn into wonderful raw food meals. Keep the components of a healthy salad dressing in there: flax seed oil or hemp seed oil, lemons, something a little sweet if you like, agave syrup or maple syrup (which is not raw) or dates and in the pantry some seasonings (my favorite is Frontier Seasonings Pizza Blend-carried in health food stores), some sea salt or nama shoyu (a raw soy sauce), etc. Bring fresh fruit to work, if it is in a package or container floating in liquid it hasn't got the nourishment you need and could have chemicals that can hurt you.
H1N1 Flu
There have been so many e-mails on this subject I hesitate to even begin talking about it but I feel it should be addressed. We have all heard the dangers of vaccines. I encourage you
to avoid them. It is not even certain that getting a vaccine will help you avoid the flu so why risk all the harmful ingredients that will almost certainly be a danger to you for the off chance that you
won't get the flu. Take your chances on getting the flu. Boost your immune system. You know what this means. Eat well, exercise, get enough rest. I can't stress that enough, rest is the key
to this whole thing. We don't get enough and it is taking it's toll.
In addition take sanitary precautions. You need not be obsessive but wash your hands, cover your mouth and wash your produce. You don't know who picked it up to look at it in the store.
Did you get some peppermint from Peppermint Jim? Put it on your feet every morning, put a drop in your glass of water, rub a couple drops on your chest if you are
starting to feel "flu like". Didn't get any essential oils? Contact me for more information or follow the link at the end of this e-mail. The theraputic grade essential oils can be very powerful.
There is a full line of product with Thieves essential oil. This product is a proven anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-infectious, and it is an immune stimulant. Besides the pure essential oil there is soap both waterless and foam pump, toothpaste, mouthwash
and household cleaner. A powerful tool to have in your arsenal.
Finally, don't stress about it. Stress causes your body to be acidic which will make you more prone to disease of all kinds. Know you are doing all you can to protect
yourself and your family and live confident that the raw food diet and lifestyle will get you through....flu free.
Remember Healthy In/Healthy Out
Cricket
Web links: for General Product information http://cricket.vibrantscents.com/
for info on Thieves products https://www.youngliving.org/hiho
Info on Goji berry/wolfberry nutrition drink http://cricket.myningxia.com/
The Grain Market
A friend of the Raw Food group has recently opened a business of which you might like to be aware. Her website is http://www.thegrainmarket.com/ She carries grains, lots of kitchen machines and of some interest to many of you Xafave. You can check her out at the City Market on Tues, Thurs, Fri and Sat 9:00 to 6:00 Here is her introduction to her business.
We opened our business at The Lansing City Market in June. We have had fun and made many wonderful friends and contacts. Some of the products may be of interest – one that I think might be of specific interest is our Xagave. It is raw a premium blend of the white and blue agave nectar providing calcium (in the white) and inulin (in the blue). It is, as you know, a very low glycemic food and a fabulous alternative to sugar. It is organic, raw and highly soluble making it wonderful for any application.
Scarlett Sybrowski, proprietor
