Low Fat Raw Veganism and Fruitarianism

So it is nearly one in the morning and I can't sleep, so you are getting a new blog post!

One of the more interesting ideas about living a healthy lifestyle is the idea of eating raw foods to live a vibrant life. Many people have different reasons for eating only or mainly raw foods:
1. They believe that raw fruits and vegetables are essential to maintain a general wellbeing.
2. They think that eating living plants ensures that the plant's life force will flow into their bodies.
3. They think fruits and veggies are yummy and it is mostly what they want to eat.

I'm not sure I agree with the second one (it is a philosophical question that should be pondered at some time in the near future), but no one on the planet will tell you that eating fruits and veggies is bad for you. Actually, doctors would probably be really happy if people ate more fruits and veggies and didn't get sick as much.

There are different viewpoints out there in cyberspace about the LFRV diet. Most people push fruits as comprising the largest segment of food for the basis of the diet. Others push vegetables. I think it is easier to follow this lifestyle with fruits as the main caloric intake, just because fruits are more calorie dense than leafy greens.

 

Above is a great video by Freelee the Banana Girl about weight loss tips for a raw vegan diet.

 

FullyRawKristina also has some amazing videos. This one is about raw mistakes.

Both of these YouTube gurus base their lifestyles off of the idea that if you eat a majority of your calories from fruit carbs, you will be healthy. This idea comes from a book called 80/10/10.

A quick summary of the ideas:
1. Fruit is good for you and you should eat as much as you want everyday, all day.
2. Veggies are good for you too. Eat a salad!
3. Eating too much fat will be detrimental to your health, so don't overdo it on the raw nuts and avocados.
4. Eating grains can be detrimental to your health. Same with cooked foods. The cooking process leaches out nutritional value.
5. Eating animal products will clog your arteries and you will die.
6. Water is good for you. Drink it!
7. 80% carbs 10% fat 10% protein everyday.
8. Exercise is super important! Do it!

This is a fantastic book and I recommend that you read it if you are interested in living a Low Fat Raw Vegan lifestyle. Unlike some books on vegan lifestyles (Skinny Bitch Diet books come to mind), it is very positive and encouraging.

If you want to see the book 80/10/10 by Dr. Graham, you can find it Here.

I do not personally live this lifestyle, but I try to incorporate as many fruits and vegetables into my diet as possible. Is it possible to live solely on fruit? I think so. If people can subsist on Top Ramen and Diet Coke I think people can thrive on fruits. Also I don't know anyone who ever complained about feeling bad from eating too many fruits and veggies. (Pizza, beer, cheese balls, hot dogs- yes. Apples- no. Unless you are allergic to apples, then that is a different story).

Many people get really emotional when talking about eating raw because it is a very different way of living compared to the typical steak and potatoes lifestyle that America has embraced. It is really hard to go to a restaurant and find raw foods. This is one of the main reasons (in my humble opinion) people have problems with this lifestyle. We socialize around food. We eat out a lot! It is hard to explain to people that a salad the size of a plate will leave you hungry in about an hour when all you are eating are fruits and veggies. You have to eat A LOT of food on this diet. About twice as much food as you normally would on a Standard American Diet (SAD). If you don't eat enough you will get the most horrible cravings (see above videos for tips on how to avoid this!) and you will end up at your neighborhood fast food joint at 2:00 am ordering cheeseburgers with extra orders of fries because you are RAVENOUS. (This is from experience... not what you want to be doing).

So the pros and cons of LFRV versus Cooked Vegan Diet

Pros-
You get to eat as much as you want.
You get to eat lots of water rich foods so you won't be thirsty at all.
The health benefits are amazing.
Very little time is spent preparing food.
Harder to get sick from ill-prepared food.
Discovering new fruits is exciting and strange.
More energy and restful sleep.

Cons-
You have to eat huge amounts of food.
You spend a lot of time eating.
You don't get to cook (some people would consider this a positive, but I love stirring red beans for hours over a hot stove)
You don't get to eat foods like beans and rice (two of my favorite foods)
Hard to eat out at restaurants.
You have to explain to everyone why you won't eat the (insert random food here) that they made for you.

If you are looking to incorporate some of these ideas into your already vegan diet, try this:

Instead of a sandwich for lunch, have a really big salad.
Drink some carrot juice when you first wake up and it will jumpstart your day (I love carrot juice btw!)
Instead of pasta for dinner, julienne some zucchini and squash to make your carbs veggie carbs instead of grain carbs.
Eat fruit for snacks instead of chips (they may be vegan, but they are not healthy)
Don't drink coffee or caffeinated tea. Drink juice instead, or herbal teas.
Don't be heavy handed with the oils, nuts, coconut butters, avocados, and seeds. Add more carrots, celery, tomatoes, and cabbage to salads and wraps to get that satisfying crunch.
Make frozen banana smoothies. BEST DESERT EVER!

I hope this has peaked your interest. Here are some other resources on the LFRV lifestyle:

Durianrider's YouTube
Megan Elizabeth's YouTube
FullyRawKristina's RawfullyOrganic YouTube
RawFoodFreedom's YouTube
TheFrutarian's YouTube
RealRawResults' YouTube
40BelowFruity's YouTube
http://www.30bananasaday.com/


What are your thoughts on LFRV? Please leave your comments below!

Vegan Black Beans and Pasta

Another quick and easy vegan recipe here! This one is to satisfy your bean cravings. I make this a few times per week with different types of beans. Try kidney beans (red and white- also called cannellini beans), white beans, navy beans, and pinto beans. I usually eat this after I go to ballet because it really fills me up!

 

Black Beans and Angel Hair, served with Carrot Juice

 

Ingredients:

1 can no-salt-added black beans
Angel hair pasta
1-2 tbs olive oil
Cajun seasoning
Garlic powder
Dried onion
1 can water

 

Directions:

 

Add all ingredients to the pan. Turn the stove on high.

 

 

Cook until water is reduced and pasta is fully cooked.

 

 

Serve.

 

 

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy vegan pasta with beans! Let me know if you want more recipes in the future. 

Walk to Mordor Week 4 Update

Walk to Mordor Week 4 Update

I only went to Koko on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week so I didn't walk very far. My legs get cramps when I walk on the treadmill compared to the elliptical so I tend to have to go more slowly to keep from losing the feeling in my feet from cramping calves. It doesn't matter if I go in the morning or afternoon or how much water I drink of bananas I eat, my calves cramp horribly on the treadmill. I'm starting to think it hates me. Even when I have gone hiking in the mountains, I haven't had such bad muscle cramps as I do on the treadmill. I will need to look into some stretches for my calves.

I am still on the first "day" of my journey. This next week I plan to walk more and get through the first day.

Here are my stats from the week:

Date	Activity	Duration Miles	Beginning Mileage	Ending Mileage	Location*	Anaerobic Exercise	Duration
10/21/13	Walk	.80	10.74	11.54	Stopped in birch grove to eat supper		16:00
10/23/13	walk	.85	11.54	12.39			17:00
10/25/13	walk	.84	12.39	13.23			16:00
Totals		2.49		13.23			(4:42:17)

Kindles and eBooks: The Way of the Future?

Yesterday I talked about my love for Shelfari. Today I'm talking about eBooks and e-readers.

I have a Kindle Touch. It has over 3000 books on it. Yup. 3000.

I am one of those crazy people who downloads all of the free Kindle bestsellers and then goes through them to figure out if I like them or not. I carry my Kindle around with me everywhere in my purse. I pull it out when stuck in traffic for hours. I use it in the waiting room at the doctor's office and when I'm lying in bed at night. I turn on the text-to-speech feature when I'm putting on my makeup in the mornings. I can read 10 books in one device without getting up from my chair. It's great!

Any book I want is at my fingertips and is only a Wi-Fi signal away.

But is it the same as opening up a new book, spine unmarred, pages crisp and tangy with ink-scent?

Yes and no.

The words are the same. The story is the same. It is just the packaging that is different.

I've been carrying the Complete Sherlock Holmes around in my purse for months while I read it. If I tried to do that with my brother's hardcover edition from Barnes & Noble I would have serious back problems.

This is a topic that matters. Kindle or Paperback/ Hardback? Books have been around for hundreds of years. They take little squiggles and create individualized works of art that change people's lives. Books have changed the world.

So what about e-books? Are they going to make hard copies of books obsolete? Would it be a bad or a good thing if they did?

I have hundreds of books. I have two bookcases that are double stacked, a bedside table that is stuffed, boxes of books in my closet, and a stack of them on the floor. I don't have enough room for them all, but I will never say that I have too many. Books are fantastic. I read as many of them a year as I can. I read fiction, history, biographies, historical documents, anything!

But I also read a bunch of e-books. They save space. They can be accessed on my Kindle, my computer, and my phone. I can carry as many books with me as I want when I travel without taking up much room.

I will still always have hard copies of books. I love the way they smell, the texture of the pages, the weight in my hands. But, I will buy more e-books in the future as well. There are pros and cons for both and I can imagine a time for each in my future.

What are your thoughts?

The Gloriousness of Shelfari and Other Things

 

I love Shelfari. I love reading books. I also love making lists. Shelfari is a website where you can keep track of your books on a virtual bookshelf, find similar books to read later, join communities to discuss books, set reading goals, read book reviews, and figure out if you read that book before and just can't remember it.

Shelfari is owned by Amazon.com, so it is easy to import you purchase history onto your shelf and purchase books if you decide to read them.

The thing I love most about Shelfari is that I can find people who have similar interests and see their favorite books and spend less time wading through the thousands of books I would never ever read to find the few that I would. I have found several fun series this way. Also, if you have very specific and strange/ out of the way/ obscure interests (like my interest in Icelandic/ Norwegian/ Swedish/ German/ Old English epic poetry, myths, and fairytales) you can more easily find those books.

My current goal for this year is to read 350 books. I don't think I'm going to be able to finish this (last year I read over 200) but I'll give it a good shot!

I read lots of children's books and young adult fiction, as well as fairy tales and myths. I enjoy reading historical fiction and history books. I love poetry and classic literature. I read romance novels (mostly because they are so poorly written that they make me laugh) and mysteries. I read cookbooks and how to manuals and music books galore. I read manga and religious writings.

I just love reading!

You can view My Shelf here and see what books I'm currently reading.
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In other news...

My mom bought me a book! I'm super excited about reading it and I'll write a review on here when I'm done!

 

 

Also, SHERLOCK BBC HAS SET USA AIRING DATES!

 

January 19, 2014! We will finally find out how he survived the Fall! I can't wait to see the new season!

 

You might be able to tell that I get really excited about Sherlock. I love the show almost as much as I love the books. This sums up Sherlock's view of the rest of us with funny little brains:

 

 

 



 



That's all for today! Laters!

Another Day, Another Post

I went to Koko FitClub again today. I'm now on #4 of sculpt and tone. I feel like I am getting stronger and I can lift more weight easier than 2 weeks ago. I ate lunch at the Nutrition Company afterwards. I tried one of their sandwiches this time: the Grilled Veggie Sandwich. It was so good! I also got one of the juices made of orange, carrot, and pear juice. It was much better than the orange, carrot, and beet.

 

 While talking with my lovely friend Meagan, I found out she is almost caught up with me and my walk to Mordor!

 

I found this awesome video of a singing group called Arstidir performing an impromptu performance in a German train station:

 

If you go to their website to listen to and buy their awesome music. Also, they have some free downloads available if you want to try them out before you commit! They are a folk/ indie group that is haunting and exciting all at once.

 

And here is a picture of a flower in my backyard because it is pretty:

 

Yummy Food and Mordor Update

I had a really great meal at a restaurant called Toad Hollow that is close to my church. My grandmother and I walked there after church today. It was totally packed and loud, but well worth it. I had the tempeh tacos with avacado, black beans and rice, and a side salad. Doesn't it look wonderful?

 

 

My grandmother ate the BLT sandwich with a side salad and loved it (I'll have to take her word for it, since I won't be eating one of those any time soon).

 

Today was a glorious day. The sun was shining. It never got above 80º. It was wonderful! I'm glad that it is starting to feel like fall.

 

A wrap up of week 3 of walk to mordor:

Totals

Miles this week

3.49

Ending mileage:

10.74

Total time:

(3:53:17)

I didn't walk outside of my cardio at Koko this week. I am still on the first day of Frodo and Sam's journey. I think I will start updating my Walk to Mordor only once a week since I am not making much progress.

My Reasons for Becoming a Vegan

My Reasons for Becoming a Vegan

Many people have asked me why I stopped eating animal products. It wasn’t an overnight thing that just happened. It took months. It started with a video by FullyRawKristina on Youtube.  I was searching for some recipes and found her awesome channel. I watched all of her videos and started watching Freelea the Banana Girl and DurrianRider as well. In January, I attempted to go one month eating Low Fat Raw Vegan (LFRV) and managed to make it about halfway through the month before I realized that I wasn’t ready to go fully raw at all. I wasn’t eating enough calories and I would get ravenous at midnight and make a stop at the local Cookout (fast food restaurant) and order Cheese Dogs and Bacon Wraps. (Cheese dogs are a bun, cheese, chilli, coleslaw, and onions… no actual hot dog inside). These were obviously not helping and nowhere near raw or vegan!

 

 

After coming home in March, I decided to try again, but to do so more gradually. I started cutting out meat and gave up dairy by the beginning of June. I was still having problems working around my family’s cooking habits and the struggle of eating out in Southern Louisiana where every restaurant has seafood and dairy everywhere. I am still struggling with that, but I’m getting better at figuring out what restaurants are easier for me to frequent and which ones aren’t (Raising Cane’s, for example. The only thing I could eat there would be the sodas. Yeah. Not going to work).

 

 

So I came up with a mental list for the reasons I had for becoming vegan, and this is what it boils down to:

1)      I want to lose weight- It is easier to eat a low-fat and well balanced diet when not consuming animal products. I tend to crave bitter and salty foods instead of sweet, so I have to make sure I’m getting enough fruits to go with my onions, garlic, and hummus. I have been overweight for much of my life, and I would really like to get my body back to a healthier weight.

2)      I want to be healthier- Vegans are less likely to develop heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Also, it is easier to stay away from many harmful food-borne illnesses and bacteria that you can catch when eating animal products. Eating more fruits and veggies is good for you!

3)      I want to save animals from abuse- hundreds of animals (think chickens, cows, pigs, goats, bees, ducks, turkeys, fish, crustaceans, etc.) will be spared abuse and death for every person who stops eating animal products.  I’m sure you have all seen the horrible PETA ads. I don’t need to show them here.

4)      Heavily processed animal products are gross- Here are some nice links to read about meat contamination, pink slime, and dairy pus:  

      http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/meat-contamination.aspx

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/pinkslime-ammonia-ground-beef.htm

http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/how-many-pus-cells-are-in-your-milk

5)      Eliminating dairy products may help with acne- No one really knows what causes acne in different people, but there are links to milk and acne. http://www.clearskinforever.net/milk-acne-does-milk-cause-acne/

       (just the info about milk… not about how wonderful eggs are to eat).

So, those are my reasons for no longer eating animal products. I’m still very new to this, but I am trying. I haven’t had indigestion problems since I became vegan. I haven’t had many very scary nightmares (I used to have them all the time). I don’t retain water in my fingers after eating out. I’ve tried new foods that I love (Kale Chips!) and some that I didn’t like at all (Quinoa and Starfruit), and I’ve invented some awesome dishes!

 

Now, I feel physically ill if I accidentally ingest dairy or meat. A restaurant put cheese on my no-cheese pizza. I ate it because I don't like wasting food (an issue for another time). I felt so bad after eating it. The smell of cooking fish makes me feel sick as well, something that is hard to get away from in my house.

I feel so much better physically as a Vegan. I challenge you to try it for a week. See how you feel. GO VEGAN!

Easy Awesome Pasta

I decided that I was going to post some recipes of some of my favorite foods I like to make that are vegan. This is a pasta that I make nearly every day. My dad really loves it and steals some every time I make it. I even took pictures!

 

My Awesome Tomato Pasta!

1/3 package of Angel Hair Pasta

1 can no salt added diced tomatoes

1 can water

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp garlic powder (or 3 cloves chopped)

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp dried basil ( or handful of fresh basil)

2-4 dashes of Cajun seasoning (cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt will work if you can’t find any you like)

 Directions

Dump tomatoes into pan.

Add can of water. Add pasta.   

Pour oil over pasta. Add dry ingredients. 

Cook on high until sauce us reduced. Serves 2- 3.  

It is a very yummy dish that vegans and non-vegans alike will love. 

Ramble about Poe and Halloween

Another day started with me waking up 2 hours before alarm was set to go off.  I started thinking about Halloween, even though my family doesn't really celebrate it anymore. I love everything about Halloween and fall, the change of seasons and the tales of ghosts. Ghost hunting shows are some of my favorites. I love learning about the history of the buildings that are haunted and the reasons why people think they are haunted. I get really wrapped up in the stories and I get freaked out when they see floating balls of light and self slamming doors. It gives me chills!

 

I even have some Halloween music that I really enjoy. "Monster Mash" and "Purple People Eater" on the one hand and groups like Nox Arcana on the other. My favorite of their CDs is Shadow of the Raven. Poe is one of my favorite poets and many of his works are appropriate for this time of year and this CD really captures the melancholia and the longing of the poems.

 

 

Talking about Poe, here is one of his poems that I really love (just because I re-read it this morning and it is stuck in my head):

A Dream Within a Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow —

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone? 

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

 

Isn't that beautiful? I love it!

 

Koko was full of people today, I think because it was Columbus day, and I finished the last session of my foundation strength training. When I go in on Wednesday I will start a new training program. I'm excited! I felt really great this morning when I woke up. My back was pain free, my legs weren't cramping, my allergies weren't acting up, and I was happy. Gotta count for something, right?

 

I walked .88 miles in 17 minutes. That gets me to the lovely total of 8.13 miles in 3 hours, 1 minute, and 17 seconds. Hobbiton will soon be hidden from view in my Walk to Mordor. I'm slowly making progress! In 10 more miles I'll have walked one day! That's all for today. Talk to you tomorrow!