The Experts Weigh In: Going Raw!

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BY: HEIDI GEIGER, CONTRIBUTOR

Soaking, sprouting, dehydrating, blending, juicing... welcome to the Raw Food world! When I was first introduced to raw foods over 3 years ago, it was one of those synchronicity moments. I went to an Earth Day Fair and there it was, a beautiful zucchini spiral hanging off a veggie slicer next to a bowl of chocolate treats with a big 'Try Me' sign next to it. With a fervor, I managed to push the stroller over the bumpy lawn and through the heavy foot traffic to arrive in front of the table that would change my eating habits forever. 

I learned about the benefits of sprouting foods, how to make meals with uncooked whole foods and the beauty of healthy desserts. A business card went promptly into my purse, a chocolate macaroon went straight into my mouth and a new veggie slicer was purchased and transported home in my daughter's stroller.

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When I got home, I started sharing this new discovery of mine with my friends. Lo and behold, one of them already knew about it and pointed me towards a book called The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. I read that book from cover to cover in 3 days and my refrigerator suddenly turned into a forest preserve.

Why did I start making changes?

Because I was at a plateau with my weight. I gave birth to my daughter 18 months prior and could not lose the last 25 pounds. I needed this change, but little did I know ALL the benefits (and challenges) that this diet makeover would bring to my life and my body.

For years I suffered from intense abdominal pain and mistakenly thought I just had to live with it. At Thanksgiving (which was 30 days after I had switched to an 85% raw diet), I ate food that I hadn't consumed in the last 4 weeks and just like clock work, I was doubled over in pain about an hour after dinner. That's when it hit me that the raw diet was benefiting my body in more ways than just weight loss.

And by the way... I lost ALL of my baby weight within a couple of months! SHAZAM! I was a believer!

I felt incredible! I was drinking a green smoothie every day for breakfast, eating a large salad with all kinds of raw extras for lunch, snacking on dates and nuts and then making sure to eat a properly combined meal for dinner. We started weaning off red meat first, then chicken, then eventually I was not eating meat anymore (though my daughter still was). Obviously there was a "glow" about me because less than a year later, I was pregnant with my second child. Interestingly enough, I was not as sick with my second child as I was with my first. There's a saying out there that if you are plagued with sickness during your pregnancy, it's your body's way of ridding itself of toxins. It didn't hit me until then that I had been able to control some of my pregnancy illness by eating raw foods for the last year.

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Though I'm truly a believer, I have a confession - I went through my second pregnancy as a carnivore. In fact, that's how I knew I was pregnant. Three weeks into my pregnancy, I drove up to a drive-thru and ordered a burger! (Yeah, that hadn't happened in a year and a half!). I'm a firm believer in listening to what your body is telling you, so I chalked it up as "that's what my body needed".

But not to worry, two months after I had my son, I started back on my raw food diet and within months, I lost all 60 lbs. I had gained. I was wonderful!

So what am I eating today?

Well, I still love my raw foods. I have one smoothie a day as a meal and I add so much into that smoothie that it can't help but make my body feel great! Foods such as kale or collards (not so much spinach because of oxalic acid), frozen fruits, chlorella (protein), carrots, beets, hemp seeds, chia seeds, coconut milk, and cacao and maca make the top of my list (though not all together at once). Even my children, especially my youngest, LOVES smoothies! He does a morning dance with high-pitched screams to let me know he'd like some.

These days my lunch usually consists of a raw salad with cooked quinoa or beans on top. Since my daughter is 5 now and has become more of a picky eater, our meals are not combined as well as I'd like them to be  (they are mostly cooked), BUT they are whole food based. We do mostly home-cooked meals and save one night a week for a meal out. Our desserts consist of raw ice cream, raw brownies, raw peanut butter cups, raw chocolate mousse and whatever else I can strum up. Needless to say, they love dessert and I never feel guilty feeding it to them. Once in awhile, I will eat animal products, but I am very careful about the source from which they come. My daughter really enjoys meat and because I'm a big advocate of eating the same meal together, I will join her, making sure that there's no factory farmed meat in our home.

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My occupation, other than a Personalized Health Coach, is a toddler teacher at a Montessori school. I have been able to bring my raw food passion into my classroom where we make raw food items weekly. From zucchini pesto pasta to raw ice cream, we are making it and making it WITH the children! They have enjoyed transforming zucchini into noodles, cutting veggies, grinding sea salt with a mortar and pestle, mashing avocados, peeling bananas, husking corn and watching frozen bananas turn into ice cream! It's been a wonderful opportunity to not only introduce these foods to the children, but to the parents as well. They have learned healthier ways to feed their children and their children have been more inclined to eat what they have played a part in preparing. Rule of thumb!

I'm not an advocate of the "all or nothing" way of eating. I do believe in the benefits of eating raw foods for I have seen the results for myself, but I also enjoy a warm cooked meal, especially in the winter months. Making the leap to a raw food diet is no joke and should be done carefully and slowly. There's actually a transition guideline in Natalia Rose's book to help you get started (you can do more harm than good if you go cold turkey). But no matter what you choose for yourself, balance is key! If you can fill your plate with more veggies than anything else just two meals out of the day (most days), that will be a huge accomplishment!

Heidi has been a teacher for over 10 years and lives just outside of Chicago, IL. She recently became a Personalized Health Coach and is working with clients one-on-one to meet their health goals. She has two children, 5 and 2, who love to dance, cuddle, make discoveries in the forest, play in the kitchen and laugh at just about anything. She gives raw food demonstrations to people in their homes as well as at wellness centers. She also caters small events. And if that wasn't enough, Heidi is gearing up for her second triathlon this June. Her team name is RawK House Mamas and was inspired by the shared love of raw foods and house music amongst her community of friends. You can visit her raw food blog at www.heidisrawhub.blogspot.com and her health coaching website at www.heidishealthhub.com.  

Boosting your Immune System in One Easy Scoop!

I spent much of my childhood in and out of the hospital. Though my mother did all she could to set me up for a lifetime of good health, I had the immune system from hell. The devil lived deep in my gut and thought it amusing to torment me via my lackluster immune system. I had terrible chronic asthma and was allergic to everything. I was the definition of a 'hot mess'.

Image via barleans.com

Though I've outgrown most of the thorns in my side, I still have to keep a close eye on my immune system. I'm constantly trying to eat and drink things that will nourish my body and give me that much needed protection from infection. Today, I'd like to tell you about Barlean's Organic Greens, a powder you can buy at any health food store. 

I'm the first to acknowledge that it's really hard to eat as many vegetables as your body needs in one day, but thankfully there are products like this one out on the market to ensure that you can easily get those veggies in. Just one scoop a day and you're in business! You can even add it to your favorite juice or smoothie, making it almost unrecognizable.

Here are just a few of the many ingredients in this product (which is Certified Organic, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free and Non-GMO): wheat grass, spinach, chlorella, spirulina, flax seed, probiotics, apples, blueberries, acai, green tea and turmeric. It only takes a quick search on Google to learn the amazing health benefits of these ingredients.

I add my daily scoop to a homemade juice. This works wonders in disguising the taste. Here's a play-by-play of my favorite juice combo - Beet/Kale/Apple/Lemon/Cucumber...

A simple but solid combo - 1 head of dinosaur kale, 2 lemons, 3 apples, 1 cucumber and 1 large beet, washed thoroughly.

No need to peel and core - just chop the apples into slices.

Do the same for the lemons - no need to remove the seeds.

Cut the cucumber in half and then into quarters.

The kale requires no work at all.

Cut the beet in half (no need to peel the outside), then cut into 1-inch chunks.

Turn the juicer on and watch the magic unfold.

A bit psychadelic, don't you think?

Add a scoop of Barlean's Organic Greens, mix well and enjoy!

Now for the health benefits of the juice alone...

BEETS - These beautiful root vegetables improve mental well-being, aid in sex hormone production, fight inflammation, protect the body's DNA, increase oxygen capacity and provide you with long-lasting energy.

KALE - This veggie superstar boosts your immune system, helps keep you regular, protects against anemia, fights inflammation and cancer, protects your bones and ensures healthy mucus membranes, skin and eyes.

APPLES - This favorite among teachers helps lower cholesterol, prevents heart disease, protects you from cancer, controls blood sugar, strengthens your bones and increases your exercise endurance.

LEMONS - These little lifesavers fight infection, boost immunity, detox the liver, act as a mild laxative, halt the growth of tumors, destroy bacteria and improve your oxygen capacity.

CUCUMBERS - These guys re-hydrate your body, fight inflammation, reduce your cholesterol levels and promote joint health. They're also useful for curing bad breath!

So as you can probably see... juicing with Barlean's Organic Greens makes me one happy girl! If you have a hard time eating a balanced diet, try working a green powder into your life. Just that small step will put you miles ahead of the rest!

For more info on juicing, click here!

The Experts Weigh In: The Best Money I Ever Spent!

Image via joyofblending.com

BY: CHRISTY RICHMOND, CONTRIBUTOR

In my long time career as a freelance film editor, I have grown accustomed to going from project to project, completely avoiding what my co-workers and I sometimes laughingly refer to as a "real job". When a project begins, we have to be ready to give up many aspects of our day-to-day lives, the kind of things other people take for granted, like knowing what time we'll get off work (minimum daily call = 9 hours; maximum daily call = whatever the producer is willing to pay in overtime!), when we get to take our lunch or dinner breaks (these can be at different times of the day and who knows what we will be eating!) or whether we can make plans for the coming weekend (if the producers make changes to the schedule, we could be working for 16+ hours on both Saturday and Sunday!). 

It all gives new meaning to the term 'self-care'.

Self-care is something that you learn to get very good at as time goes by because otherwise, you get burned out or sick. 

Image via vitamix.com

During a work project that finished early last summer, many of my co-workers were saying that juicing every day gave them so much more energy and stamina. I had to admit that they certainly looked healthier than on previous projects, so I decided to look into purchasing a juicer. I gathered opinions, did a little online shopping and decided that once the project finished, I would purchase a Breville juicer for myself. But before pulling the trigger, I had the realization that I've never really been much of a juice drinker, always preferring to consume the whole fruit, rather than just the juice. And although I have always enjoyed eating vegetables, the thought of drinking a large glass of celery or beet juice sounded a bit disgusting to me! 

And so I changed my mind about becoming a "juicer" and became a "blender" instead.

This critical decision led me straight to the Vitamix. Once again, I did my online research and surveyed a handful of friends to see if anyone had one. To my surprise, many of them already owned one! The only thing holding me back now was the price, especially since my freelance project had just finished and I no longer had a regular paycheck coming in. While trying to justify the purchase, I found myself at a Whole Foods store Vitamix demonstration. I told myself that I was only looking, not buying.

Of course, both the demonstrator and the demonstration were amazing! I realized that I had only thought of the Vitamix as a way to blend juices, but it does SO MUCH MORE than that! In the space of a half hour, this woman made several juices, a hot soup, her version of spaghetti sauce and several frozen desserts (all of which we were allowed to sample!). In between each of these, she showed us how easy and simple it was to clean the Vitamix. Even the most devoted juicers among my friends complain about the time consuming task of cleaning their juicers, but the Vitamix made the cleaning process look like a piece of cake!

Image via vitamix.com

To make a long story short, I bought one then and there, along with some organic fruits and vegetables. After watching the DVD that came with it, perusing the recipes and watching a few YouTube videos online (I do like my research!), I jumped right in! Now, about 9 months later, I am still fascinated by what the Vitamix can do, as well as what it's done for me!

Although I admit to having some fear that I would eventually tire of my new "toy" and possibly regret its hefty price tag, I can honestly say that it's rare that a day goes by when I don't use the Vitamix at least once, if not twice. And I don't just blend fruit and vegetable juices. I use it as a food processor, I cook hot soups and sauces in it (yes, you read that right, HOT), and I make delicious frozen desserts!

The benefits have been so great that I would have to do another blog post just to list them, but here are a few highlights: I have retrained my palate, reducing my intake of both sugar and sodium; I have lost 20+ lbs. without dieting; and I have increased my energy and boosted my immunity.

The journey of "blending" has been a step-by-step process and an incredible learning experience, but I will save all that for another time!

Start blending, my friends!

P.S. I am so overwhelmingly enthusiastic about my Vitamix that I have become an affiliate for them! If you go to my health coaching website and click on the 'Recipes' tab, you will see a link to the Vitamix website. If you order by using this link, you will get free standard shipping for your purchase!

Christy Richmond is a freelance film editor for TV and movies in Los Angeles, California, as well as an aspiring health and wellness coach. She was born and bred in Texas, and like a true Texan, loves her 'south of the border' cuisine - cheese enchiladas, rice and beans and of course, chips and salsa! But don't worry, she works it all off by hiking the beautiful trails of Griffith or Elysian Parks in LA with her enormous rescue dog, Mikey. In her free time, you can find her watching (and re-watching) her favorite old British comedy 'As Time Goes By' (she claims she will never tire of it!) or going on tours of old neighborhoods and buildings in her area, embracing her love for architecture.

The Experts Weigh In: Fill Yourself with Goodness!

Image courtesy of flickriver.com

BY: LISA ADAMS, CONTRIBUTOR

Top of the morning from South Beach, Miami!

I have several aliases. The one friends use when referring to my life (which is centered on spas, health and wellness) is 'Sunshine on Sticks'. I believe good health involves your mind, body and spirit, and I'm constantly working to achieve and keep each of those aspects in balance. I feel great physically, I try to always have a grateful and humble spirit and I move through each day with a positive attitude.

For my first post, I'd like to focus on nutrition, specifically JUICING. Since the very young age of 10 years old, I've been interested in good nutrition, supplements and exercise. Over the years, I've studied and participated in many health and nutrition programs, regimes and treatments. My company, Vitel Resources, is based on the concepts of health and wellness. For me, it's not just 'work' or a 'paycheck'. It's truly my PASSION and how I live - 'my lifestyle'.

One of the easiest and healthiest regimes I do (that has an instant impact on my body) is JUICING.  Every day, I juice fresh veggies and limited fruit, as well as make healthy green veggie smoothies. Both are loaded with goodness and pack a powerful, positive punch for your body’s systems. KAPOW!!

I'd like to share some of my juicing secrets with you!

In the morning, about 30 minutes after leaping from bed, I juice 1 cucumber (great anti-inflammatory and diuretic qualities), 1 whole lemon (a great liver detox), 1 Granny Smith apple (great for fiber and parasites), 3 thumb-size pieces of ginger root (great for metabolism and digestion). Sometimes I add a couple of stalks of celery and a small slice of pineapple (great enzyme source). Talk about yumminess. It's a zesty 'start-me-up' for the body in the morning!

Thirty minutes before my workout OR for lunch, I make a Green Veggie Smoothie, which contains... 1/2 cup cold distilled water, 2 Tablespoons of Chia seeds, 1 Tablespoon of Maca Root Powder, 1 Scoop of Zero Carb Protein (Banana Flavor), 2 big handfulls of kale leaves, a dash of kosher sea salt, 2 ice cubes. I combine this in the Vita-Mix or Blender and BOOM! My Superhero Green Smoothie!  This will POWER you through the day OR your workout!

Now I don’t want to hear any 'I can’t get my nutrients from veggies' talk. Yes, you CAN! You can get nutrients and so much more, so LOAD UP!

I'll leave you with a few tips...


When shopping at the supermarket, only shop the perimeter. Think about it. Produce is on the perimeter (and also meat and eggs, for the carnivores out there). Most everything else in the center aisles is junk - junk that is toxic to your body.

You are what you eat. Every 35 days your skin replaces itself and your body makes new cells from the food you eat. What you eat literally BECOMES YOU! You have a choice in what you're made of.

Peace and Love! 

~L.A. (aka. Sunshine on Sticks)

Lisa Adams is a spa developer, wellness enthusiast and avid juicer, living the life in sunny Miami, Florida. On her days off, you can catch her (or 'try to' catch her) as she runs 10 miles on the beach (for fun!). She loves hanging with the guys and tearing up the drum set. You might even see Lisa's name on the shelf soon, as she is set to publish two books in the near future!