Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Raw Foods Group

The Hot Springs Village Raw Foods Group met at my house today for our monthly meeting.  Cindy has been such a great inspiration and organizer to get everything going.  We asked people to bring a raw food dish or pay $5.00 to help with the cost of the food.  We had wraps (romaine leaves) and many choices to go in the wraps....baby tomatoes, chives, cucumber, mushrooms, olives, carrots, asparagus, parsley, Cashew Cream Cheese and Quick Guacomole.  Cindy brought kelp noodles, gazpacho, another salad, and lots of fruits and veggies.  I made a vegetable juice with beets, celery, carrots, kale, beet tops, and apple.  Cindy made a fruit smoothie with mango, banana, apple, kale, watermelon, dates, and water.


The recipe for the Quick Guacomole was posted on April 13.  Quick Guacomole.


Here is the recipe for the Cashew Cream Cheese:

1 cup cashews (soaked 30 min)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (soaked 30 min) ...*I was out of sunflower seeds so substituted chia seeds.
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup water
Sea salt and pepper
Blend all in Vitamix.  Add fresh chives if desired.
Use in the veggie wraps.

I have finished the first Anastasia book.  Book two is entitled The Ringing Cedars of Russia.  Anastasia says we need purer thoughts and an understanding of Nature.  The first thought in the morning should be delight in the coming day.  Nature is always communicating with us, but we can't discern it when we have our electronic devices turned on.  Be still and know....

According to the anatomy lesson in my Lifestyle Consultant's Course on Natural Living baldness is not related to aging.  The hair follicles are not destroyed.  It is a deliberate, systemic evolution of them.  Androgenic hormones are causing baby hairs to grow and scalp hairs to die.  The scalp follicles become very small, causing men to become progressively balder.  Baldness is not an affliction.

To health and happiness.

Monday, April 16, 2012

The Lou Corona Story

Yesterday, we went to Magic Springs with our daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren.  The landscaping there is beautiful this year.  This one little flower didn't let a little concrete stop it.    

Lunch today was three bananas which I ate about 1:30.  I'm letting my body rest a little bit after eating too much food the last couple of days.

 I did domestic chores today.  But Travis made a trip to the City Compost Facility for another load of compost.  We'll use it on the trees we still have left to plant.
We have a volunteer tomato plant coming up in one of the garden beds.  It's doing pretty well, too.  I have it on my to do list to buy some more tomato cages.

The arugula I planted is up.

The kale Travis planted is up.


The new plum tree is planted.

Here is a volunteer Poke Salat that came with the blueberry plant.
 Travis planted some more blueberries in the blueberry row that lines our driveway.

The blueberry row.
I listened to the Lou Corona story on You Tube.  Here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0QOF4kSI3k

The Lou Corona story has similarities with my own story.  Lou Corona was a young man serving in the Air Force when his  health began to decline.  He ended up very ill in the hospital before it was over.  Here is the steps that correspond with my own experience.

Seek an answer in prayer.  Lou and I both walked away from the hospital with an expectation of being taught what to do.

There was an element of surrender.  Lou said, "You take me or you show me."  I said, "Either God is going to heal me, or I am going to die."

There was a place of decision.  In order to get well, you have to decide to live.  It requires changing the way you think and being willing to be shown the way to live.

Being grateful goes along with surrender.  Be thankful for every single day.

Connect with a mentor.  In my case, I was led to Dr. John Fielder.  I continue to learn from him.  He is a wonderful role model for the simple, natural lifestyle.

Live the lifestyle of raw foods, pure water, fresh air, sunshine, exercise, peaceful attitude, and prayer.

"I am a seeker of truth.  I was given the truth, and I'm doing my best to live by it."  -Lou Corona

To health and happiness.

Friday, April 13, 2012

118/78

Working in the garden is more fun than playing golf!  Today I planted arugula (rocket) in bed #2.  I transplanted five Rutgers tomato plants and six California Wonder peppers.
Newly planted tomatoes and peppers.

The harvest today was radishes, dandelion and kale.  We used the dandelion and kale in the green smoothies.  We ate a couple of radishes, but I am using the rest of them in the green salad I am taking to the family reunion.

Today's harvest...radishes, dandelion, and kale.
I read in the book, Anastasia, that every garden should have at least one sunflower, so I planted six or seven sunflower seeds in the corner of each of the raised beds. 

Travis got a good report from his doctor today.  Dr. Wright raised his eyebrows when he saw where Travis was no longer taking his drugs, but his tests results were all good and his blood pressure was 118/78.  Green smoothies, fresh air, sunshine and exercise are the best medicine!
Here is Travis watering in the peppers I planted.

Lunch today was green smoothie (kale, dandelion, honeydew, apple, dates, banana, kiwi, and water); watermelon; avocado; goody balls

Dinner was green salad (romaine, cucumber, mushroom, tomato); salad dressing (olive oil, apple cider vinegar, agave); sauerkraut; avocado; goody balls

Travis planted a plum tree this afternoon.

Here is a great recipe for Quick Quacomole.  I got it from Chef BeLive (Brian Lucas).

Quick Quacomole
1 avocado mashed up (1 avocado per person)
lemon juice
salt
fresh cilantro
Stir up and serve with carrot chips.

Carrot Chips
Cut carrots at an angle into chip style.

To health and happiness.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Blueberries and Fig

This morning I worked outside in a drizzling rain and planted a Brown Turkey Fig tree.  Dr. John Fielder taught me how to plant trees when I was in Australia, so I followed his teachings.  I dug the hole using the mattock and shovel, put greensand and fertilizer in the hole and mixed it with compost.  I planted the tree so that the root ball would not be lower than the top of the hole.  I hope I got it deep enough, but I didn't want to make the common mistake of getting it too deep.   After planting, I fed around the tree with greensand, fertilizer, compost and mulch.  Even though it rained some, it didn't rain enough, so Travis watered the tree in the afternoon.
Brown Turkey Fig...freshly planted and fed.

We have more trees to plant.
We had a visitor to the garden today.  He was not afraid of us at all.  He just happily let me take his picture while he ate dandelion leaves.
Our bunny visitor.
The harvest from the garden today was kale, dandelions, 3 radishes, and some chives.  We used the kale and dandelions in the smoothies for lunch, and we used the radishes and chives in the salad for dinner.

I have started researching edible perennial vegetables that we can grow.  Several of the varieties that are good for this area are for sale on E-bay.  Some of these are already growing wild around here, such as pokeberry and nettles.  Nevertheless, the wish list on E-bay is quite lengthy now. Here is a link to the book that I am using to learn about these plants, Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier:
Perennial Vegetables Book

Lunch today was green smoothie (kale, dandelion, mango, banana, dates, water); melon (I had watermelon and Travis had honeydew); plum, avocado, and pistachios.

Dinner was green salad (romaine, radish, chives, mushroom); salad dressing; and avocado.

We bought blueberry bushes at Wal-mart to replace the hedge row beside our driveway.  Travis dug up the plants and then replanted the blueberries.  So now we have an edible hedge.  Our friend, Arthur, wants the original plants for his yard...so they will go to a good home.
The new blueberry plants.
The new blueberries...in their new home.

To health and happiness.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Exploitation

We had a spring-break trip Orlando, FL to Universal Studios and Epcot Center with Molly and the grand-kids.  It was fun.
The family at Universal Studios.

Then we went to Philadelphia to see the Philly family and had a marvelous time there.
Travis and me with the Philadelphia grandkids.
The hardest thing about traveling is trying to eat right.  So even though we had a great time, it's good to be back home and following my little routines that keep me on track.

Lunch today was a green smoothie (kale, coconut water, kiwi, mango, banana, and water); watermelon; avocado; and goody ball.  I ate a little papaya but decided to save it to go in the smoothie tomorrow.

I practiced flute for over two hours today.  The concerts are coming up in a couple of weeks, and I don't feel at all ready.

Clear Creek Gardener is a new nursery not too far from our house.  Travis and I stopped by there on Saturday to check out what they had.  Travis went back over there today and made some purchases for our garden.  We got Ozark Premier Plum, Pristine Apple, Williams Pride Apple, Encore Peach, Harrow Delight Pear, Redheart Plum, Early Loring Peach, Brown Turkey Fig, 2 Ozark Blue Blueberries, 2 Grapevines, 12 tomatoes,  6 peppers, 9 Chandler Strawberries, Aluminum Sufate, Glittering Greensand, and chicken manure.  Looks like we are going to be busy planting trees.

Tomorrow is the day that I meet with a neighborhood group to tell them about raw foods and about Dr. Fielder.  I'm looking forward to meeting these ladies.

Dinner tonight was salad (romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, mushroom, onion) with a dressing (olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and agave); sauerkraut, avocado, goody ball, and trail mix.

The Quintessence of Natural Living points out that the less privileged classes have a longing for culture that makes them ripe for exploitation.  The "junk" offered to the public is actually degrading and dishonest even though it sells because it tempts people to buy it.  It is exploitation.

Health insurance is an example of exploitation.  It exploits our search for health.  Natural Hygiene believes it is exploiting people's ignorance and gullibility.  It sells them "cures" without removing the causes of ill health.  I still pay for health insurance although I have not used it for over four years.

Natural Hygiene would like for people to be free from exploitation.  But even natural publications are not willing to loose advertising dollars for "remedies" such as herbs, acupuncture, wheat grass, apple cider vinegar, honey, molasses, fermented foods, and so on.

To health and happiness.
We had a spring-break trip Orlando, FL to Universal Studios and Epcot Center with Molly and the grand-kids.  It was fun.
The family at Universal Studios.

Then we went to Philadelphia to see the Philly family and had a marvelous time there.
Travis and me with the Philadelphia grandkids.
The hardest thing about traveling is trying to eat right.  So even though we had a great time, It's good to be back home and following my little routines that keep me on track.

Lunch today was a green smoothie (kale, coconut water, kiwi, mango, banana, and water); watermelon; avocado; and goody ball.  I ate a little papaya but decided to save it to go in the smoothie tomorrow.

I practiced flute for over two hours today.  The concerts are coming up in a couple of weeks, and I don't feel at all ready.

Clear Creek Gardener is a new nursery not too far from our house.  Travis and I stopped by there on Saturday to check out what they had.  Travis went back over there today and made some purchases for our garden.  We got Ozark Premier Plum, Pristine Apple, Williams Pride Apple, Encore Peach, Harrow Delight Pear, Redheart Plum, Early Loring Peach, Brown Turkey Fig, 2 Ozark Blue Blueberries, 2 Grapevines, 12 tomatoes,  6 peppers, 9 Chandler Strawberries, Aluminum Sufate, Glittering Greensand, and chicken manure.  Looks like we are going to be busy planting trees.

Tomorrow is the day that I meet with a neighborhood group to tell them about raw foods and about Dr. Fielder.  I'm looking forward to meeting these ladies.

The Quintessence of Natural Living points out that the less privileged classes have a longing for culture that makes them ripe for exploitation.  The "junk" offered to the public is actually degrading and dishonest even though it sells because it tempts people to buy it.  It is exploitation.

Health insurance is an example of exploitation.  It exploits our search for health.  Natural Hygiene believes it is exploiting people's ignorance and gullibility.  It sells them "cures" without removing the causes of ill health.  I still pay for health insurance although I have not used it for over four years.

Natural Hygiene would like for people to be free from exploitation.  But even natural publications are not willing to loose advertising dollars for "remedies" such as herbs, acupuncture, wheat grass, apple cider vinegar, honey, molasses, fermented foods, and so on.

To health and happiness.