Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Beauty

The only greens we have remaining in the garden is a little patch of arugula.  I pulled out the collards because the cabbage worms were eating them.  Yesterday we planted some tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, rosemary, and marigolds.  Our little herb garden is giving us parsley, cilantro, mint, chives, oregano, and basil.  Abundance!

Lunch:  Green Smoothie; Watermelon
Dinner:  Frozen Banana Ice Cream topped with sliced strawberries.

This was a good watermelon.  


The awesome raw foods group met at our house last Wednesday. I fixed three flavors of ice cream made from frozen bananas - chocolate, peach, and strawberry. I made a salad with cauliflower, peppers, carrots, and tomatoes with an onion dressing.  This onion dressing will make a good slaw dressing, too.  I fixed up a little salad bar with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, onions, black Kalamarti olives, and a Mango Dressing.  I made a carrot cracker, chia seed crackers, and banana roll ups in the dehydrator.  The others brought delicious food, too.  It was a FEAST!  
This is the cauliflower/carrot salad I made for the raw foods potluck.
The ladies at the raw foods group had fun discussing a package of bentonite clay given to me by my friend Debbie whose husband, Paul, bought a 50 lb. bag at the farmer's co-op for less than $20.00 to use for sealing a pond. The bag is labeled food grade. Ana, one of our raw food ladies who lives on the lake, decided to host a luncheon where we can bring raw foods then mud-up and jump in the lake.  It sounds like a good time.

I ordered a colon cleanse kit from Blessed Herbs because Tannyraw told us on YouTube what came out of her colon when she did a cleanse.  I want to see if my colon has anything like that built up.  Hers was like old tire rubber molded to the shape of the intestines with worms stuck in it.  The kit costs $79.00, and I purchased it through Amazon.  One of the ingredients is bentonite clay.  The next five days Travis and I will be drinking apple juice with the herbs in the kit . 
***

What should we think about?  

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. -The Bible, Phillipians 4:8

We should think about beautiful things.  That is part of living the simple, natural life.  We can think about the beauty of Nature.  One of my favorite books is Walden by Henry David Thoreau.  Thoreau wrote about how the rising of the sun is an event worthy of an audience., and it's a shame that we are mostly indifferent to it. I don't want to be like that.  I want to pay attention to the natural beauty that surrounds us.  Focusing on beauty puts us in a position to feel joy.  What a wonderful thing to feel joy coursing through our mortal frames...joy unspeakable and full of glory.

There is no shortage of beauty, it's everywhere...in nature, music, art, architecture, literature, poetry and in the people around us.  There are beautiful and compassionate people living beautiful, virtuous lives.

The simple, natural life is the quest for the beautiful.  Being attuned to natural law and order brings harmony. Our bodies are based on natural law where harmony results from opposites being in balance....rest and exercise, sleeping and waking, eating and fasting, heat and cold, sunshine and shade. If we practice a simple, natural, healthy lifestyle we will experience more beauty in our life.  

Beauty is truth, truth beauty. - Keats

Living the simple natural life is also the quest for truth.  We feel connected to life when we obey the laws of Nature.  We don't feel isolated from other living things. Nature is an important way that truth and beauty speak to us.  It's not the only way, but it is one way.  I have become quite skeptical of spiritual teachers that disregard the beauty of nature. Life is a beautiful thing and Nature presents that beauty in the animals, the weather, the plants, and the landscapes.

"We are not here to try to get to heaven.  We are here to make our surroundings beautiful."  -Karl Hochradel

Our mission is to seek beauty.  We express it to the best of our abilities no matter how imperfect our efforts prove to be. Our greatest artistic endeavor is the practice of the simple, natural life so that we can see the beauty all around us.

A toxic body and a programmed mind will keep us from seeing beauty and will hinder our life from flowing freely and naturally.The quest for beauty is the quest for a fulfilling life.  It is living in the present moment... free from addiction and distraction. The simple, natural life is a beautiful life.  - Adapted from The Quintessence of Natural Living

Lucy loves to dig in the garden.



Here is Travis filling up our water bottles with the water from the hot springs here in Hot Springs, Arkansas.


To health and happiness.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Vision Board

For lunch today I made a recipe of Zucchini Pasta with a Pepper Sauce.  I got this recipe from Tannyraw on the YouTube.  I like Tania because she is totally raw on an extreme budget.  Her YouTube channel is worth checking out even if you are not all raw.

We had company for lunch today.  Our friend, Karl, came over to share his wisdom with us.  It is always a good time sitting around the table, talking and sharing a meal.  Karl always eats the raw foods I prepare and expresses thanksgiving and appreciation for them.  What a good friend!  Here is the recipe for the pasta dish:

Zucchini Pasta with a Pepper Sauce:

Make the pasta by using the spiralizer to make spaghetti from zucchini.  I used four zucchini today. Put the spaghetti into a bowl.

Pepper Sauce for the Zucchini Pasta (I doubled this recipe today because we had company.)
3 dates
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
Small bell peppers- 2 orange, 2 red, 1 yellow ( I used 1 large red bell pepper and 6 small yellow peppers for the double recipe)
1 carrot
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Blend all together in the Vitamix.  Pour the sauce over the zucchini spaghetti.
Garnish with some small yellow pepper rings.  Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning.

Yesterday and today were both cold and rainy days.  This is our third blackberry winter so far this year.  We had to turn the heater back on.

Okay, so I decided to color my hair with henna because henna is a natural product which seems to not have any adverse effects.  Problem is, it didn't look very good.  Today I tried to fix it with a demi-color from Natural Instincts.  It's not healthy, but it is not supposed to be as bad for you as a permanent hair color. It looks better, but the red is still visible.  It will have to do for now.

I haven't done a vision board in over a year.  Maybe it's time to do that again.  It's fun and it helps with thinking about what you want to achieve.  When doing a vision board it helps to ask yourself, "What do I want to accomplish in the next three months?"  What about a five year plan?  A twenty-year plan?  I don't want to use the vision board to make myself busier, but to hone in on the essential.  It's exciting to think about bringing the focus in tighter.  The Bible says if your eye is single, your whole body is full of light.

I like to think about my body being the temple of God.  Doesn't that make you think about your body in a different way?

I ordered a book, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, on the recommendation of a lady I sat behind at a concert in Little Rock last week.  The 700 page Pulitzer Prize winning book arrived yesterday. The author, Donna Tartt is from Greenwood, MS.  She describes her method of writing with a Rudyard Kipling quote...."drift, wait, and obey".  Isn't that good?  Drift, wait, and obey.  That is an explanation of living in harmony and not trying to force things to happen.  Maybe that should be the title of my vision board!

"We're winged creatures on some level, but we're also trapped.  We can fly, but we can't". -Donna Tartt

In the Goldfinch, the main character, Theo, talks of the finest thing in life being to "throw yourself head first and laughing into the holy rage calling your name".  That's a good title for the vision board, too!

I am looking forward to getting into this book.
******

Nuggets adapted from the Quintessence of Natural Living this morning:

We all have to die sometime, it does not matter how hygienically we all live.  Can we learn to face death without fear?  Death begins the moment we are born.  Inhale life and exhale death.

Death is not somewhere in the future.  It is a part of life.  Death is ever present.  With each exhalation we are dying a little at a time.  Accept it as a process that is already happening.

There are three mysteries of existence:  death, life, and love.

Life is not something we want to take for granted.  We need to ask questions and try to understand.

Most of the time we postpone death rather than accepting it here and now.  We put it somewhere in the future.  We avoid love by creating substitutes of possessions, attachments, and sentiments.  These things are ego trips, not love.

Cells die but cells renew also.  Each moment you die and each moment you resurrect.  Each moment the past disappears and a new being resurrects.

Death is the only certainty.  We flow like a river between life and death on either hand.  When you understand this, you can relax.  When we accept that death is happening to each of us we become calm and tranquil.  In that acceptance you live a thousand lives.

Don't try to avoid the idea of death.  In avoiding death you miss life.

To health and happiness.

Mother's Day with my daughter, Molly.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Raw Banana Ice Creams and Persimmon Dressing

Yesterday was Mother's Day and and an anniversary party with friends....and staying on all raw was no problem.  I carried my own food to the party and had enough to share in case anyone wanted to try it.  It was delicious.

Before church I had a banana smoothie made with a Vitamix full of bananas, four dates and some coconut water.  Travis and I split this.

Lunch was a lemon ginger blast and some raw chocolate and strawberry ice cream).  Recipes below.

Dinner was a bagged green salad with tomatoes and onion,  cauliflower,  persimmon dressing/dip, sauerkraut, and goodie balls.  Recipe for the persimmon salad dressing/dip below.

I snacked on some Seaweed Love which is not raw.  I thought they were raw when I ordered them, but they are not.  I won't be ordering them again.  I did this in order to cut back on the fats I have been eating in nuts, but we'll have to come up with something else.  The Seaweed Love is very addictive.

My inspiration for the day is a 104-year-old Polish gentleman named Stanislaw Kowalski.  He took up running when he was 92 years old, and he recently set the European record for centenarians in the 100m race.  His Facebook page lists his occupation as Athlete! Too bad his page is in Polish or I would friend him.
Here's what he has to say about it:  "My secret is not over feeding, and doing everything I want."  He describes himself as an athlete.  How am I going to describe myself?

The body is the subconscious mind.  The emotions are stored in the body, and that is why it is important to pay attention to the physical part of our beings.  Exercise and sports are part of our education.  They help us to be happier.  When we feel stress we can loosen up through healthy physical activity. It's important to reduce stress and anxiety.  We are not going to lose weight the way we would like if we are stressed. One of the principles of natural healing is to avoid all stress.

I have been rebounding most days for the last two or three weeks.  I am committing to continue that, because I want to see what my body will be like after one year of faithful rebounding for 20 minutes a day.

Environment is also important.  We can see that by noticing that life is in the seed, but a seed will not grow very much or at all if the environment is not right.  The food we eat is one way we help our internal environment .  If the food we eat is of a low vibration or dead, then we are not going to feel very good. Don't get stressed if you can't afford every raw food ingredient you see or even if you can't always afford or find organic fruits and vegetables. We have to make the best of the living, whole, fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts we have available to us and trust that it is enough. We can live this lifestyle on inexpensive foods.

Oxygen is another important factor in health and healing.  The bloodstream carries life to the body, and it is purified by oxygen.  Breathing fresh air purifies the blood and neutralizes the acid wastes.  The blood carries the oxygen to the tissues and cells of the body.  Oxygen is key.  Sleep with the window open whenever you can, and get outside as much as possible so you can saturate yourself with oxygen.

God feeds the wild birds and makes the wild flowers beautiful.  He does just as much for us.  We can afford to live the simple natural life and trust that we will have what we need.  The true riches are abundant, and they are better than the what the world system offers.  The true riches lead to life, liberty, health, and wealth of soul, while the false riches lead to sickness, death, and poverty of soul.

We need to have patience as we work through our issues.  Healing takes time and is often painful, but we can be thankful that we are able to do this work.  There is no need for reservations about the teachings and principles of the natural lifestyle.  It is a sure thing that as we live in harmony with natural law we will go through healing crises from time to time.

As we live this lifestyle we can be certain that emotional issues will arise to be addressed.  When that happens we can give in to some distraction and forget about it or reach for comfort food, drink, or medication to numb ourselves to it or we can process the fears and emotions by staying with them as they arise.  We have to be willing to be there with our feelings and be honest about them.  That's the only way to get to the next level.  And then the game continues at the new level.  It's a fabulous journey.

Recipes:

Persimmon Dressing/Dip  (My new favorite!)
3/4 cup water
12 dried persimmons (I ordered from Nuts.com)
Juice of two lemons
1/2 of an avocado
Ground pepper
1 Tbsp of Garlic/Herb seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash)
Blend everything except the avocado in the Vitamix until smooth.  After the dressing is smooth, add 1/2 of the avocado and blend on low speed until it is mixed in good. (Try not to blend oils or avocados.  It's better to mix them in by hand.)


Raw Banana Ice Cream

Raw Banana Ice Cream
1 gallon bag of frozen bananas (about 6-8 bananas)
Put all in the food processor and process until smooth.
Optional:  Add a little cinnamon


Raw Strawberry Ice Cream
 Raw Strawberry Ice Cream
1 gallon bag of frozen bananas
A few fresh or frozen strawberries.
Process until smooth in the food processor.

Raw Chocolate Ice Cream
 Raw Chocolate Ice Cream
1 gallon bag of frozen bananas
Process in the food processor until partly broken down.
Add: 3 Tbsp of raw cacao powder
         2 tsp of coconut sugar
         1 tsp vanilla
Process in the food processor until smooth.
Add: Some chopped pecans

I put my ice cream into plastic quart freezer containers.  One recipe fills up two containers.  Eat right away or freeze.  If you freeze them, remove from the freezer a few minutes before you want to eat them.

Ingredients for a Lemon Ginger Blast

Lemon Ginger Blast
A big bunch of greens of whatever you have available
Any green herbs you have available
1 lemon (I peel mine)
1/2 - 1 jalepeno (depending on how much heat you can stand)
2 apples
A few carrots
A few stalks of celery
1/2-2 cucumber
Other veggies you might need to use....peppers, zucchini, etc
Juice all in your juicer and drink.


To health and happiness.