Monday 30 May 2011

The Importance of sunlight.

The beautiful sunny weather today inspired me to talk about sunlight. I tend to flock to the outdoors when its sunny out, because the long winters do sap us of essential sun time here in Canada. I'm finally getting some color!

There have been so many controversies over tanning in the past few years. People that abuse the sun and use artificial tanning beds in excess have given our source of many things other than light a bad rep. Stories of terrible skin cancers and such have people slathering on the chemical laden sun screens that are supposed to protect us, but in reality are just as much of a culprit for skin diseases and other toximia caused health problems.

The sun gives us warmth and light. Our bodies actually produce essential Vitamin D when we expose our bare skin to it. This is obviously the best and most optimal source of VitD for us humans. Since very little food contain naturally occurring VitD, its important to get it in the best way possible. VitD is important for optimal calcium absorption and other bone related health. The problem with sun exposure is that since our bodies do use the skin to detoxify through sweat, some of these toxins react to the sunlight and cause disease.

So the solution? Having clean bodies! Getting optimal nutrition from the best sources available: raw live foods. This way you can enjoy the warm sun on your skin, 30mins minimum a day is whats recommended for light skinned people, more if you have beautiful darker skin. This gives us the optimal amount of naturaly created VitD!

So go get your fruit on and soak in the sun!

Sunday 22 May 2011

Blueberry tarts and a Berry Parfait.

I've been enjoying discovering the world of fruitarian un-cooking lately and have fallen in love with two very yummy "desserts". I got both recipes from Easytoberaw's channel on Youtube, she also has a recipe book that you can buy online. :)

The first: Blueberry tarts:


Don't they look A-mazing? Extremely easy to make too!
Ingredients:
5-7 Medjool dates
About 1/4 cup of shredded coconut
~1 1/2 cup blueberries
A little bit of water

To make the crust, blend 5 of the medjool dates with the coconut preferably in a food processor and then form little pie crusts with you hands (I roll them into balls and then make a dent in the middle then shape the "walls") Next blend the blueberries and 1-2 dates with a little water to make the filling and fill each crust. Last step is to put them in the fridge to set for a min of 20 mins and enjoy!

Berry Parfait:
Ingredients:
2 bananas, frozen
water
Assorted berries.

Just bend the bananas with water until they have the texture of icecream. Then take a pretty glass (or a big bowl which I did later, and I more than doubled the recipe :P) and layer with your berries of choice.
Enjoy!

I think next I'm going to attempt a raw marinara sauce...

Friday 20 May 2011

RED BANANAS!! :)

So they FINALLY ripened, they take much longer than Cavendish ("normal" bananas). I've had them out on the counter for about a week and a half. I had looked around on the net to find out how to determine if they were ripe and it said it was when they turned more purple than red. Honestly they did get a bit darker, but its more because the stem was getting a bit dry that I figure they were ripe. (they look more brownish on photos, i think its just the camera)

They taste awesome too, less sweet than Cavendish and they do have a slight rasberry taste, although I was a tad bit disappointed to see the banana itself had more of a yellow tinge than a pink one, although it does say that they *sometimes* have a pinkish color. I think I may like them more than conventional nanas... The texture is also lighter. Overall, they are very yummy, although much more expensive than cavendish (these were 1.89 CAD/pound)



Friday 13 May 2011

A list: Some of the wonderfull fruit I am REALLY curious to eat!

 Acai: This fruit has had alot of hype surrounding it and is sold in powder, liquid and pill form but I have yet to see it fresh! I've had the liquid stuff and it's quite tasty, but definitely not ideal and the next time I have it will be fresh sometime down the road (its supposedly doesn't transport very well fresh so I may just have to go to Brazil) One thing: I absolutely do not support the whole super-foods hype, this is just a fruit that looks like it tastes great in its unaltered form.
 Black sapote: Otherwise known as teh chocolate fruit, it has the same color, texture and taste as chocolate pudding! Yum.
 Custard Apple: The cousin of the cherimoya and sugar apple, both which are amazingly yummy and available here. The custard apple has a heart shape and tastes as it name states, like custard.
 Durian: Famous for it's less than appetizing smell, I've had durian that had been frozen and wasn't too keen for it, the taste and texture are amazing (sweet and creamy) but my body was too conflicted on the smell vs the taste. Many rave that it's much better fresh, so i'll probably give it another try.
 Mangosteen: Ok so I've had this one (the purple variety)many many times but I HAD to mention it because it's the best fruit I've ever tasted. Called teh queen of fruit it has a particular taste and texture, kindof like a cross of a grape and a mango with a twist. (You can get it frozen year round and fresh when in season at Asian Markets) I'd really love to try the other varieties.

Marang: Definitely an interesting looking fruit, it's said to smell pleasant and is a cousin of the jack-fruit.
 Star Apple: I basically want to eat any fruit that has starry features just because I like stars :) Grows exclusively in areas of Florida and Hawaii
Rambutan: Again a fruit I've had, they're funny looking but basically taste like a lychee they are just more fun to look at!



Ice Cream Bean: Said to taste like Vanilla Ice cream, creamy pulp that surrounds seeds and the plant is native to Brazil.









There are many other fruits that I want to try (and probably a million more that I haven't even heard of yet!) That's the beauty of fruit, how can you ever get bored of it when there are always many more kinds to taste and explore!?

I've also just picked up a variety of banana's I've never tried before! (they're red) I'll post a full "review" on them once they're ripe!

Saturday 7 May 2011

Happy Fruitarian Day!!!

So today is the official International Fruitarian Day, celebrating fruit lovers all over the world!

So I'm sure the question is: why fruitarianism?

The fruity lifestyle is all about vibrant health and care for other life. I eat fruit to be healthy, to have a clean body and mind. The toxins that are present in a SAD(Standard American Diet)  tire our bodies and lead to cancers, heart disease and other forms of toxemia. In a 100% fruit lifestyle (that which I am striving for), when you buy organic produce, there are no or trace amounts, of toxins that are introduced within our diets. That way our bodies are clean and function optimally, leading to higher energy and to better fitness. There are tons of stories of people having cured disease, lost weight and become the healthy vibrant individuals we should all be!

Since beginning on this path, I've noticed a huge change, I've lost weight, I've so much more energy. I am becoming the athlete I used to be as a teenager. I have a clearer mind, I can deal with issues with ease, things I didn't want to face before. Is it difficult? Well to be completely honest, it definitely isn't easy. Going through Detox after years of abusing our bodies is easy for some, and more difficult for others. But it is worth it's weight in ripe papayas (or gold, whichever you deem more valuable :P).If you want any more info, just message me! I'd more than happy to talk about it with you :P

So Today of all days, have some yummy juicy fruit and celebrate good health!! I know I will!

Monday 2 May 2011

Nothing better than a job well done.

The past while has had a definite theme for me: getting things done and started that I have been meaning/wanting/dreaming to do for a while now that are physical health related

This weekend I completed a 5k walk in 40 mins, which may not be the best time or the longest distance but it is a start to a new habit, an achievement of a goal. Exercise is so vitaly important to a good healthy life and most of us see it as a chore! I believe that finding the right fit for you is vital to looking forward to your next workout, and it might change over time. I've done the gym, classes, sports teams, videos, yoga, and walking. My favorites are videos and now jogging and biking! That'll probably change again. But I know one thing. There is always time to exercise, to keep healthy.

Another sore subject is diet. I am a proud vegan for many reasons. One of them is health. There are a million scientific reasons and a debate on this can go on forever. My simplest proof is personal experience and that of others I know. Increased health and vitality, weight loss, more energy and more. There are many sources for information, my personal go to's are: The China Study, Skinny Bitch and 80/10/10. These books are basically really sold me on the vegan lifestyle, health-wise.

I am proud to be a raw foodist as well. I've never felt better! The energetic vibe of the low fat raw vegan or fruitarian lifestyle is crazy wonderful. I was quite skeptical about it at first, but i'll talk about that in another post.

Now to finish watching the elections results!