Turn Up the Heat … It’s Cold Outside!

Second only to the question of how to get enough protein in a raw food diet – How do you stay warm eating raw in the winter? – hits the top of the list of queries asked by the curious and by newbies to a raw food diet. If you live in a cold climate, it’s probably the most common question, particularly during the fall and winter months. Lord knows there is plenty written on this topic, but since this question has been coming my way of late, I thought I’d toss a couple of pennies into the mix. After all, it’s the end of January and it’s damn cold out there. And let’s face it, we still have three months of winter left no matter what the groundhog says. So here are a few ideas I have for you.

Want to feel the heat rise from deep inside? Garlic can be the key. If garlic is on your food list, then try this green aioli that I’ve been playing with. It just one of the countless ways to add garlic heat to your diet.

Bunch of green onion (i.e., scallion)
Pulp from 4-6 celery sticks juiced
As many garlic cloves as you can humanly handle (don’t hurt yourself, 2-3 is fine)
Olive oil to get a consistency you like (I made a thick paste)
1/2 lemon (squeezed for juice)
Pinch of Himalayan salt
Blend in your Vita Mix (or other high speed blender)
Spread it on some raw crackers; top with some sprouts
Enjoy, then sit back and feel the simmer grow. Warm now?

Probably the best known ‘hot’ spice for stimulating circulation and raising your internal temperature is cayenne. Hot peppers, like cayenne, can be a hard culinary spice for some folks to handle, but if you can’t manage cayenne in your food, you can try a low dose capsicum capsule (I had success with this some years back when I shied away from cayenne in my food). I’m a different gal now. Now I add a pinch of cayenne to many sauces and dressings I make. And if I’m making Mexican … it’s hot!

Next I offer you green juice. I know it’s counter-intuitive, but green juice – especially laced with ginger – will warm you to your toes. Honestly. And remember, green juice doesn’t have to be cold. Let your juice ingredients sit out for a little bit to lose their fridge chill. Use your green juice as a liquid in soup that is warmed in the dehydrator. Keep them at 105 degrees or less. Remember, warmed foods may make a difference to you … hot foods are unnecessary and more importantly, counter productive when trying to warm your body.

I’ve been learning that our internal organs like a temperature of 98.6 degrees. Digestion works best around 95 degrees. Our internal bodies work hard to stay internally regulated. Feed them cold … the goal will be to warm up. Feed them hot … the goal of the body is to cool down. In the winter months of a cold climate you’ll make your body work harder to stay regulated – i.e., warm – if you consume a lot of hot temperature food or drinks. And you won’t actually be warmer. Interesting twist.

If you don’t feel warm enough with your green juice, how about sipping a couple of ounces of pure ginger juice. And I do mean sip. Ginger juice will give you a hit of heat in a heartbeat. Take it slow … you want to warm up, not the equivalent of fry in the sun. Click here for some more tips on ginger juicing. It really is terrific.

Want another way to feel warm inside and out? Get your circulation moving and sweat. Sweat it up at the gym; outside on a snowshoe trek; in a far infrared sauna; filling up your woodbox; on a rebounder; or just crank up your iPod and shake your bootie on the living room floor. Mix it up and pick more than one activity. Whatever your pleasure, sweat it up!

For those with a sweetie or willing friend, how about a good athletic romp between the sheets. Yes, I do blush writing that, but I am completely serious. Nothing heats up the system – and warms the heart – like a connection expression of the flesh. Take it from me … I’m from a New England family of five children … four of us are fall babies. Blush with me, but do the math. My folks were keeping warm at the coldest, darkest time of the year. Makes sense to me.

What ever your method, remember you don’t have to reach for the hot to be – and stay – warm. The natural ease and ability for the body to moderate temperature with the right food, and the fact that raw food is not meant to be eaten hot, makes it the ideal food to help the body find its warm and toasty temperature. So whether you’re feeling a bit chilly or frigid … take a minute and think about what will really help your body rev its engine. It might just be that exercise, the right spice … or sweet love … is all that you need.

In joy ~ GoRawMe

 

Mystery Solved … Those Pesky Little Stickers on your Fruits and Veggies

I am quite sure that you know the pesky little stickers I mean. They’re the ones that we annoyingly scrape and peel off our lemons and peppers, apples and pears before juicing or slicing. They even annoy me stuck to my avocados or bananas since I don’t want to put the stickers in the compost. So off they must go while my lip curls in a temptation to snarl. I even curse them with regularity when I don’t find them on my food because that usually means that they have worked themselves off – don’t ask me how – and are now stuck all over the kitchen to be found later in the strangest places. Annoying. And a mystery about the what’for and why’for in the first place. I don’t need stickers stuck all over my food. Do you? Uh … well … the mystery has been solved and actually … we do. Those pesky little stickers have valuable information on them about our fruits and vegetables! They are actually serving a very valuable purpose.

Besides providing price information, these stickers tell you about the type – and I believe quality – of food you are buying and putting into your body. With thanks to IdealBite.com, I now know: a label with four digits indicates conventionally grown food; labels with five digits starting with an 8 indicate that the food is genetically modified; and labels with 5 digits starting with a 9 indicate that the food is organically grown.

Let me repeat that. The little label on your apples, lemons or avocados that has 5 digits starting with a ‘9’ indicates that the food you are about to enjoy was grown organically. Hooray! Bless the farmer and bless your body.

Now – read carefully. If your food has a little label that has 5 digits starting with an ‘8’… put it down and make another choice. Boo Hiss! You were about to eat GMO food. Not a good idea. Don’t get me started about why. I get emotional and cranky. Start doing your research if you haven’t already. Here’s a start for you right here. You’ll find out why in short order. Apologies up front if you get a little emotional and cranky too.

Armed with this new information, and with visions of 8’s and 9’s dancing in my head, I did a survey of the current food in my kitchen and made a mental note about the typical purchases I make on a regular basis. Currently, all my food stickers have 5 digits beginning with ‘9’ (kale, celery, cucumbers and ginger) and the rest had stickers with four digits (avocados from Mexico; apples from New Zealand; peppers from Israel). Often we are able to get all of our produce organically, but sometimes we choose to go with a conventional choice. I am happy to say that there are no five digits beginning with ‘8’ – nor do I believe (or hope) there ever have been. I have an interest in whole organic food – locally grown whenever possible. I have no interest in GMO food. And now I have no need to be cranky about it. I will continue to make powerful and educated choices. I will, in fact, make certain that the only food I bless my body with is of the caliber of a ‘9’ … or better. My definition of ‘better’ would be grown by my own hands, or by the hands of a friend or local grower known personally by me.

I keep re-thinking my relationship to those stickers. What a great thing to know! I love having the knowledge about what those little stickers actually mean. Knowledge is power. And I do feel empowered because I now have the power to make an educated choice. The numbers will be right in my hands. Their meaning will register in my brain. The easy choice will be made. Slip slap … no worries, no bother. I’ll bless my body with the good stuff. Hope you do too. Go check out your stickers. Scrape them off your produce … or from under the counter lip … or from the side of the dish drain … or from where ever those pesky little stickers have stuck themselves in your house … and look for the ‘9’! See how many ‘9’s you can fill your basket with at the market. And don’t forget to spread the news around your block or neighborhood. That’s where real empowerment becomes palatable … fun!

I’ll never curse those stickers again. Instead I’ll scrape them off with a smile of gratitude … and bless my body.

In joy ~ GoRawMe

 

What Agave Is and Is Not

I am often asked why I do not use agave in my raw/living food lifestyle. I typically give a ’short’ answer such as because of the processing of agave it’s not really raw or alive. Another ’short’ reason I give is that agave is actually comparable to high fructose corn syrup. At this point the conversation can get lively – and technical – because people are very confused about the high and regular use of agave amongst the raw food community. When I remind people that not everything about raw food is about health this just makes the conversation get more lively. And tiring.

I do want to be able to communicate my lifestyle – particularly when I am engaged in a public demo – but do not feel like standing on a soapbox to do it. I am not a technical person. And in the long run I really do not much care what someone personally chooses to do regarding the use of agave. But if I am asked, I’d like to be able to first make a connection, then explain, and finally, keep the connection going.

Because I am not a technical person, I am eternally grateful for a couple of folks who have made my life much easier by doing a tremendous amount of work explaining what agave is and what agave is not. The beautiful Angelina Elliott of She Zen Cuisine and John Kohler of www.living-foods.com have made it possible for me to shorten the conversation by handing out reading material and get back to the fun at hand of connecting over incredible food. The reading material will start the process and leave folks to make a decision for themselves. I like it that way.

Following is the post from Angelina’s site for you to absorb. The complete post can be found on her website. You can also click on the link above to read John’s agave info. The combination of these two might just prepare you to … step away from the agave!

What agave is and is not … Take it away Angelina!

Agave nectar is advertised as a “diabetic friendly,” raw, and a “100% natural sweetener.” Yet it is none of these. The purpose of this article is to show you that agave nectar is in reality not a natural sweetener but a highly refined form of fructose, more concentrated than the high fructose corn syrup used in sodas. Refined fructose is not a ‘natural’ sugar, and countless studies implicate it as a sweetener that will contribute to disease. Therefore, agave nectar is not a health building product, but rather a deceptively marketed form of a highly processed and refined sweetener.

Agave nectar is found on the shelves of health food stores primarily under the labels, “Agave Nectar 100% Natural Sweetener,” (1) and “Organic Raw Blue Agave Nectar.” (2) In addition, it can be found in foods labeled as organic or raw, including: ketchup, ice-cream, chocolate, and health food bars.

The implication of its name, the pictures and descriptions on the product labels, is that agave is an unrefined sweetener that has been used for thousands of years by native people in central Mexico.

Botanically, agave plants are in the lily order Liliales and the order Asparagales (depending on which botanical taxonomic system you use) both of which define agave as a flowering plant. For “thousands of years natives to central Mexico used different species of agave plants for medicine, as well as for building shelter,” so claims the fanciful pedigree of this plant. Natives would also allow the sweet sap/liquid of the agave to ferment naturally, which created a mildly alcoholic beverage with a very pungent flavor known as ‘pulque’. They also made a traditional sweetener from the agave sap/juice (miel de agave) by simply boiling it for several hours. But, as one agave seller explains, the agave nectar purchased in stores is neither of these traditional foods: “Agave nectar is a newly created sweetener, having been developed during the 1990’s.” (3)

What is Agave Nectar?

The principal constituent of the agave is starch, such as what is found in corn or rice. The process in which the agave starch is converted into refined fructose and then sold as the sweetener agave nectar is through an enzymatic and chemical conversion that refines, clarifies, heats, chemically alters, centrifuges, and filters the non- sweet starch into a highly refined sweetener, fructose. Here, a distinction must be made. Fructose is not what is found in fruit. Commonly, fructose is compared with its opposite and truly naturally occurring sweetener, known as ‘levulose’. There are some chemical similarities between fructose (man made) and levulose (made by nature), and so the synthetically refined sugar fructose was labeled in a way to make one believe it comes from fruit. Levulose is not fructose even though people will claim it is. Russ Bianchi is Managing Director and CEO of Adept Solutions, Inc., a globally recognized food and beverage development company. Russ explains:

“If fructose were natural, I would be able to go out to corn field and get a bucket of sweetener. I can go to a beehive and get honey that I can eat without processing it. I can go to an apple tree and pick an apple and eat it. I cannot go out into a cornfield, squeeze corn, and get fructose syrup, and I cannot go into an agave field, and get the product sold on retail shelves, as agave nectar. Falsely labeled agave fructose and high fructose corn syrup are both products of advanced chemistry and extensive food processing technology.” (4) Mr. Bianchi has an insider’s view of the health food industry and the food creation industry, having worked in the industry for decades.

Take water for example. We all know that the chemical formula for water is H2O: two hydrogens and one oxygen. The opposite would be O2H, which is nothing close to water. Likewise, man-made fructose would have to have the chemical formula changed for it to be levulose, so it is not levulose. Saying fructose is levulose is like saying that margarine is the same as butter. Refined fructose lacks amino acids, vitamins, minerals, pectin, and fiber. As a result, the body doesn’t recognize refined fructose. Levulose, on the other hand, is naturally occurring in fruits, and is not isolated but bound to other naturally occurring sugars. Unlike man-made fructose, levulose contains enzymes, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and fruit pectin. Refined fructose is processed in the body through the liver, rather than digested in the intestine.(5) Levulose is digested in the intestine. Refined fructose robs the body of many micronutrient treasures in order to assimilate itself for physiological use. While naturally occurring fruit sugars contain levulose bound to other sugars, high fructose corn syrup contains “free” (unbound), chemically refined fructose. Research indicates that free refined fructose interferes with the heart’s use of key minerals like magnesium, copper and chromium. (6)

The reason why refined fructose is used so commonly as a sweetener is simple: it’s extremely cheap in cost.

Agave nectar, as a final product, is mostly chemically refined fructose, anywhere from 70% and higher according to the agave nectar chemical profiles posted on agave nectar websites. The refined fructose in agave nectar is much more concentrated than the fructose in high fructose corn syrup. For comparison, the high fructose corn syrup used in sodas is 55% refined fructose. High fructose corn syrup is made with genetically modified enzymes. Is agave syrup (refined fructose) made the same way?

“They are indeed made the same way, using a highly chemical process with genetically modified enzymes. They are also using caustic acids, clarifiers, filtration chemicals and so forth in the conversion of agave starches into highly refined fructose inulin that is even higher in fructose content than high fructose corn syrup”, says Mr. Bianchi. Inulin is a chain of chemically refined fibers and sugars linked together, and, this bears repeating, high fructose inulin has more concentrated sugar than high fructose corn syrup!

In a confidential FDA letter, Dr. Martin Stutsman (from the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Labeling Enforcement) explains the FDA’s food labeling laws related to Agave Nectar: “Corn syrup treated with enzymes to enhance the fructose levels is to be labeled ‘High Fructose Corn Syrup.’” According to Mr. Stutsman, agave, whose main carbohydrate is starch, requires the label “hydrolyzed inulin syrup.” Even though, like corn, agave is a starch processed with enzymes, it does not require the label high fructose agave syrup because the resulting refined fructose sweetener is so sweet that it is chemically closer to inulin.

From this point forward, agave nectar will be referred to by a more accurate name: agave syrup. This name is also legally uncomplicated and non-deceptive, per US Federal labeling laws, even though the true name would be hydrolyzed high fructose inulin syrup. “The product called ‘agave nectar’ is really chemically refined hydrolyzed high fructose, which is intentionally mislabeled to deceive consumers,” states Mr. Bianchi.

In a stunning report released in October 2008, the U.S. government’s own accountability office reported that of the thousands of food products imported into the US each year from 150 countries, just 96 total food items were inspected by the FDA to insure label accuracy and food safety. (7) The FDA doesn’t usually protect consumers regarding food safety or food labeling, nor does it usually take action against many misleading labels. This was seen with the processed infant formula scandal from China, where infant milk powder was tainted with toxic melamine.

High Fructose Agave’s Dubious History

In the year 2000, with warrants in hand, federal agents from the Office of Criminal Investigations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came banging on the door of North America’s largest agave nectar distributor, Western Commerce Corporation in California. In an extremely rare case of the FDA protecting consumer interests (rather than supporting big business, while shutting down legitimate and health consciousness competition), they discovered that Western Commerce Corporation was adulterating their agave syrup with high fructose corn syrup (to lower the cost even more and increase profit margins). While the federal agents confiscated the material in the warehouse, the owners of Western Commerce Corporation were nowhere to be found. Those who ran the company fled the country with millions of dollars in assets to avoid criminal prosecution.

This adulterated agave syrup (refined fructose) was also labeled as certified organic (8) to fool consumers into thinking they were getting a pure product. This shows you how unverified organic labels were used in the USA, and continue being used even now.

Today, high fructose agave syrup is made primarily by two companies, Nekulti, and IIDEA. Yet a third agave marketer, by the name of ‘Volcanic,’ has a suspicious claim on their website. “If your agave comes from one of the other two companies in Mexico, something has been added.” (9) They are referring to Nekulti and IIDEA. Their claim is based upon an analysis, which claims that their agave nectar has a lower refined fructose level.

Blue Agave Nectar is Not a Safe Sweetener (my bold)

When the Spaniards came to the New World, around 1535, they brought with them a desire for brandy. When their supplies ran out they had to find a new alcoholic beverage to replace their lost brandy. The Spaniards found that by distilling the juice of the plant now known as the blue agave plant they could produce a potent alcoholic beverage, which over time has evolved into what we now call tequila. In order to produce a sweetener from the blue agave plant, the entire pineapple -like, giant root bulb of the plant is removed from the earth. It is then dried and juiced, making an agave starch juice. This in no way resembles any form of traditional use of the blue agave plant. While great for distilling tequila, the blue agave plant, when transformed through a chemical process into refined fructose, may contain many properties that make them dangerous and toxic for regular human consumption.

“Yucca species, together with other agaves, are known to contain large quantities of saponins,” according to Tyler’s Honest Herbal. Saponins in many varieties of agave plants are toxic steroid derivatives, as well as purgatives, and are to be avoided during pregnancy or breastfeeding because they might cause or contribute to miscarriage. These toxins have adverse effects on non-pregnant people and many health compromised consumer categories as well. They are known to contribute to internal hemorrhaging by destroying red blood cells, and they may gravely negatively harm people taking statin and high blood pressure drugs. Agave may also stimulate blood flow in the uterus.(10) Other first hand reports indicate agave may promote sterility in women. Since the agaves used for agave syrup are not being used in their traditional way, there should be a warning label on the sweetener packages that it may promote miscarriage during pregnancy, through weakening the uterine lining.

What’s Wrong With Fructose?

Once eaten, refined fructose appears as triglycerides in the blood stream, or as stored body fat. Elevated triglyceride levels, caused by consumption of refined fructose, are building blocks for hardening human arteries. Metabolic studies have proven the relationship between refined fructose and obesity.(11) Because fructose is not converted to blood glucose, refined fructose doesn’t raise nor crash human blood glucose levels — hence the claim that it is safe for diabetics. Supposedly, refined fructose has a low glycemic index, and won’t affect your blood sugar negatively. But the food labels are deceptive. Refined fructose is not really safe for diabetics. “High fructose from agave or corn will kill a diabetic or hypoglycemic much faster than refined white sugar,” says Mr. Bianchi. “By eating high fructose syrups, you are clogging the veins, creating inflammation, and increasing body fat, while stressing your heart. This is in part because refined fructose is foreign to the body, and is not recognized by it.”

The average person consumes about 98 pounds of highly refined corn fructose per year in the USA, that roughly translates into half a cup of refined fructose per day. In an average supermarket, at least 2/3 of all items contain some form of highly refined fructose, because it is one of the cheapest ingredients and fillers for foods, next to water, air, and salt. In health food stores, some foods contain a sweetener called crystalline fructose or other sweeteners labeled as fructose. Essentially, these are all refined corn fructose, labeled in a way to trick people that it is something more natural. Mr. Bianchi concludes:

“The simple answer tends to be the correct one. There is no land of milk and agave. Milk comes from goats, cows, humans, etc., and honey comes from bees. What I want people to understand is that mislabeling a sweetener like agave syrup is about money and profit, to the real determent of your health. The unethical factor is that the natural health food business has gone to great lengths in the case of agave to defraud consumers, by deceiving and lying to those who are trying to seek better health. There is something ethically worse about a company pretending to sell something all natural to people seeking health, than a mainstream company not pretending that their food is healthier. For example, nobody selling fast and junk foods is advocating it is health food. When you are in a natural health food store, you expect to pay extra money for something that is good for you. We have con artists here, pretending to deliver better health at a higher cost, when in reality it is equal to, or much worse than the many other sweeteners or harmful junk food. People are expecting to receive health, and are intentionally being defrauded for profit.”

Amber Agave Syrup (refined fructose)

Agave syrup (refined fructose) comes in two colors: clear or light, and amber. What is this difference? Mr. Bianchi explains, “Due to poor quality control in the agave processing plants in Mexico, sometimes the fructose gets burned after being heated above 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it creates a darker, or amber color.”

Chain Food Stores and Health Food Stores

When Western Commerce Corporation was shut down, due to their agave syrup alteration scheme in 2000, the big guys in the food industry stayed away from any agave syrups. They knew better than to risk lawsuits, and health consumer fraud. “They were clear that agave was criminally mislabeled per US Code Of Federal Regulation labeling laws, with an untried sweetener, new to the market, that contained saponins, and was not clearly approved as safe for use.” explains Mr. Bianchi. For many years following this bust agave syrup was not used.

But recently, some sellers in the agave syrup field, once quiet, have begun sneaking back into the food and beverage chain. And retail food giants like Whole Foods, Wegman’s, Trader Joes and Kroger, (12) who should know better, and who should know the food labeling laws and requirements, still have no hesitation in selling the toxic, unapproved, and mislabeled refined fructose agave syrup, as well as products containing it. Mr. Bianchi explains the legality of this practice. “The simple answer here, again, tends to be the correct one. The stores carry agave products knowing that if they are caught, the legal responsibility will be on the agave sellers and producers, and not the stores. They will just pull it off the shelves. They may also be victims themselves and lied to by the purveyors and sellers of agave products. So long as agave products are profitable, the stores will carry them, regardless of fraudulent labeling or health concerns. Stores will continue to carry agave until consumer fraud complaints to local district attorneys, consumer unions, class action litigation or severe reactions like death ensue.”

Conclusions on Agave Syrup

Without the FDA making efforts to enforce food-labeling laws, consumers cannot be certain that what they are eating is even what the label says it is. New sweeteners like agave syrup (refined fructose) were made to coin a profit, and not to help or assist vital health. Due to the lies from many companies who sell agave syrup (refined fructose), you have been led to believe that it is a safe and a natural sweetener. The retail refined agave syrup label does not explain that it goes through a complicated chemical refining process of enzymatic digestion, which converts the starch into the free, man-made chemical fructose that has a direct link to serious the degenerative disease conditions so prevalent in our culture. While high fructose agave syrup won’t spike your blood sugar levels, the fructose in it will cause: mineral depletion, liver inflammation, hardening of the arteries, insulin resistance leading to diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, obesity, and may be toxic for use during pregnancy.

If you want to buy something sweet, get a piece of fruit, not a candy bar labeled as a “health food.” If you want to create something sweet, use sweeteners that are known to be safer. For uncooked dishes, unheated raw honey or dates work well. For cooked dishes or sweet drinks, a good organic maple syrup, or even freshly juiced apple juice or orange juice can provide delicious and relatively safe sweetness. In general, to be healthy, we cannot eat sugar all day, no matter how natural the form of sugar is, or is claimed to be. One should limit total sweetener consumption to approximately 10% of daily calories. Or one sweet side dish per day, (like a bowl of fruit with yogurt.)

For the full blog click here.

Whew! Because I am very tired of talking about agave, thank you Angelina – and John – from the bottom of my heart … and belly.

There’s lots more info that you can check out and research. At this point, I’m done with the conversation. Until it comes around again. In the meantime, hope to see you across the counter at a demo … or across the table at a potluck … where we can share some time together in joy.

Blessings ~ GoRawMe

 

Munch a Crunch

I am not particularly into crackers as a mainstay of my diet. They are great to make to use for an appetizer for parties or meet-ups, but I don’t eat them on a regular basis since I don’t have the sort of cravings that make a need for munchies. I recently found a fantastic cracker that just might change my mind. My first sampling had me imagining eating a few crackers along with my sprout salads … no problem with food combining and they would be a nice way to add a bit of flavor umph to compliment micro greens. Or perhaps I’ll skip the salad and just grab a handful to munch. I am once again inspired to consider outside of my usual box.

Glaser Organic Farms are located in Miami, Florida. I found their Sesame Nori Crackers at Love Whole Foods … $6.97 for a 2 oz container. If I lived here in Florida full-time, and if I was not an adventurous un-cooker, I would buy these crackers and munch a crunch with abandon. For those of you who do not feel the calling to experiment and reproduce food experiences, I highly recommend checking out Glaser Organic Farms products. Have at it. They look like a great operation to me with lots of products to sample.

For the rest of you who, like me, have to get your hands into ingredients … here is my version of the cracker that has me thinking about crackers. I’m calling them Sea Ruffles. Read on and you’ll see why.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of soaked/dehydrated almonds
1 cup of soaked/dehydrated sunflower seeds
Fresh oregano
Fresh basil
Fresh thyme
(optional: Fresh rosemary)
1/2 lemon (3 Tbsp lemon juice)
Salt (I think in terms of pinches … so about 2-3 pinches)
2 nori sheets (cut into small squares)
Black sesame seeds (for finishing sprinkles)

Use your mixer (I have a Cuisinart) to process the ingredients (hold Nori and sesame seeds aside). You want everything to mix up to a grainy consistency.

Next is the fun part … laying them out on your dehydrator sheet. With the proportions that I used, I made one sheet … approximately 54 ruffles. Lay out your cut up nori sheets onto the dehydrator sheet … then use the back of a fork to press some of the batter onto each nori square. Tip: mist the nori square with a wee bit of lemon water … making it moist will help stick the batter to the nori during the dehydrating time. With the back of your fork press slightly. Pressing like this will make indentations that look like the Frito Lays Ruffles potato chips of the past (presuming you are no longer eating SAD junk food!). Hence, why I have dubbed these … Sea (for the nori and the ocean that has had me captivated for the past 5 weeks) … Ruffles (for the fork indentations that remind me of Frito Lays). Sea Ruffles … you’ll love them!

Back to the how-to’s. After you have them all pressed out, sprinkle the black sesame seeds on the top of each … tap gently to make sure they are stuck on if necessary. Dehydrate for 8-12 hours.

Here’s what your Sea Ruffles will look like when they are finished in the dehydrator. Note: you can leave them the entire time on the Teflex sheet, or you can ease them gently off onto the screen for the final 2-4 hours of dehydration time. Your choice as both methods will work just fine.

I was curious about filling the 2 oz container that the inspiration crackers from Glaser Organic Farms came in … I got 20 of my Sea Ruffles into the 2 oz plastic tub. This will travel with us home … a road trip made much easier knowing we have some ruffles to munch and crunch.

Hope you give these a try. Let me know how they turn out for you. One last tip …. when you take the ruffles off the dehydrator tray you will get lots of what I call sprinkle scraps. Try to catch these and use on your next salad. In fact, I decided that the entire recipe could easily become a topping similar to the parmesan nut toppings that are so easy to make. If you aren’t in the mood for a crunch, try it out! Whatever you decide, remember to enjoy the munch!

Blissings ~ GoRawMe

Beyond these toes in the sand swim the dolphin whose hunting style look like play. Sightings of them have filled me with a pleasure and joy that I will carry with me home. They inspire me to play more in all moments.

 

Town Crier … Coconut News!

Sometimes you just gotta spread the news like a town crier of times past. What has me wanting to jump up on a soapbox? Coconut aminos. Bye-bye soy (as in Nama Shoyu – wheat/soy based or Wheat-free Tamari – soy and alcohol based) … bye-bye Bragg’s (soy based and I’ve always detested the taste) … and hello coconuts! Beautiful nutritious coconuts provide yet another healthful product we can all relish and enjoy. My raw world has been enhanced.

Enhanced by visiting a fabulous little market in Ormond Beach, FL called Love Wholefoods Market and Cafe.

The added bonus beyond finding yet another fabulous organic market was finding the product called ‘Coconut Aminos‘ – a non-soy seasoning sauce – 100% organic; gluten-free; non-dairy; vegan. I was alerted to this product by a friend … my gratitude cup runneth over.

The company is called ‘Coconut Secret’ located in San Rafael, CA and owned by Leslie and Randy of Leslie’s Organics, LLC. Learn more about coconut aminos and other products from their website: www.coconutsecret.com.

Try some and I’m sure you’ll want to join me in getting out your soapbox and spreading the news … hear ye – hear ye … a new coconut product is in town! And then you’ll want to jump off your box and run to the kitchen and start using coconut aminos with glee. I am doing the same.

In joy, GoRawMe

 

Raw = Creativity = Fun

Now … I have to be honest right from the git-go and admit that I don’t really believe that making a complete change in your diet to raw/living foods will automatically open you up to a higher level of creativity and promote a proclivity for more fun in your life … but that is exactly what has happened to me over the past year. Coincidence? Hard for me to believe. But it’s hard for me to believe anything with absolute certainly any more. I have to be honest about that.

I ‘went raw‘ exactly one year ago on the 2008 winter solstice. Happy Solstice! I’m one of those people who did what is often stated as not the way to incorporate raw foods into your diet. I went 100% overnight … boom. And never looked back. At the same time I completely stopped drinking coffee (even though I only drank shade-grown free-trade ‘iced’ coffee in the summer). And never looked back.

Over the course of this year I’ve never had one craving or longing for any cooked food with the exception of steamed broccoli. I simply don’t like raw broccoli. I finally figured out a way to prepare broccoli without cooking it, so I no longer think about buying a steamer. All is good.

I’ve definitely had some health benefits since making a change to raw – particularly since giving up raw desserts and all the raw processed and packaged foods (what I call ‘raw junk food’) that is out there on the raw market. Raw living green food has been fantastic for my health. It has also been fantastic for my expression of my ‘creative side’ and my ability to have fun. Not just have fun because I’ve always been able to have fun. It’s more about knowing that life is supposed to be fun. Fun is not just a by-product. Fun is now a primary indicator of whether what I’m doing is hitting the mark … or not. If I’m not having fun – if I’m not experiencing enjoyment – I simply know I need to change what I’m doing … immediately. And not look back. It is becoming more and more that simple.

Creativity and fun … a combination that I am now always aware of. A combination that is becoming more and more second nature to me. And I have found that a life full of creativity and fun is a life that is well worth living … and sharing.

To celebrate my one year anniversary of ‘going raw’ I had a blast putting together a little video to express my joy and gratitude for green juice coming into my life … changing my life … brining me back to life. I hope you enjoy. In joy …

Happy Solstice. Blissings ~ GoRawMe

 

Doorways and a Yoga Body

People often ask me if it was raw food that created such a (fast) shift in my health. It was an obvious question to ask since raw food came first (December 2008). My answer is yes … and no. While raw foods made a difference there are a number of other factors that have played a key part in what feels like a magical transition in the past 9 months (since March 2009). A transition from a heaviness of body, mind and spirit. A transition from feeling dull from age to feeling vibrant and age-less. So, if raw foods alone weren’t my answer … what was?

Nine months ago I hit my proverbial health bottom. After battling, surrendering to and resurrecting from Lyme disease over the past 2 years and 40-plus years of massive hormonal imbalance, I was ready to scrape myself off my bottom and find not just an experience of health, but a sense of true health. Scraping myself off my bottom was not entirely without a sense daunt. I was close to 50 pounds overweight and had the strength of a soggy rag. My emotional state had become burdened with dread and overwhelm. I had ‘gone raw’ 3 months earlier and gained weight instead of lost weight. Luckily I still possessed a spirit that was cheerful, positive and determined. I tapped into every ounce of that spirit to fuel myself on to what I called my Re-Form Me Project. I had such a firm desire to become what deep down inside I knew I was. All I wanted was a doorway. I would find many.

Raw foods was certainly one doorway. It would be silly to say they weren’t as they are the whole reason I began this blog. They were the start of a love affair. And that affair is deepening and growing into the love of a lifetime. While raw food in and of itself was not the be all to end all they did lead me to living foods … my true soul mates. I characterize living foods as sprouted seeds (for instance – alfalfa, clover, garlic, fenugreek, radish), micro greens (for instance – sunflower, pea and buckwheat), and sprouted grains (for instance – buckwheat, quinoa, kamut).

Living foods gave me much more of the value I was looking for beyond simply being raw. I do not have a science background … far from it. But I have been reading and learning that living foods contain a high level of oxygen and enzymes which allow vitamins, minerals and proteins to be digested into the human cell. Brian Clement from the Hippocrates Health Institute teaches that enzymes contain an electrical life force that opens up the red blood cells to allow the nutrients to enter. I have often heard that enzymes are the catalyst of all life. While I don’t have a science background, this statement now makes sense to me based on my own body’s experience. The living foods that I listed above have definitely given a sense of life energy to my body – far beyond what I got simply by eating raw. Living foods are the mainstay of my diet. Everything else has become a side dish. Living foods are the main course.

Green juices (not to be confused with green smoothies) were another doorway to revitalizing my body. The purpose of juicing is to remove the fiber to that the nutrients contained in the greens and vegetables are immediately absorbed and assimilated into the body. For my green juice I typically use celery, cucumber, sunflower micro greens and kale, along with some lemon, a wee bit of green apple, ginger and any number of other greens such as chard, dandelion and beet greens or spinach. Green juices provide a good source of carbohydrates, electrolyte minerals, enzymes, chlorophyll, sodium salts, fats. The science says that green juice can contain ample protein … more protein than most people get in two days. When I drink green juice, I feel life moving through me. There may be science in that, but I trust the science that I feel.

Wheatgrass is another doorway that has lead me to vitality. Wheatgrass brought trust back into my relationship with health. When I drink wheatgrass I feel a sense of trust that things are working behind the scenes on a deep core level. Want energy? Drink wheatgrass. Wheatgrass is 70% chlorophyll and is packed solid with essential amino acids, essential fats, and minerals. Wheatgrass is a powerful detoxifier, alkalizer, and cleanser for the blood and liver. Wheatgrass is great for your skin and hair. When I drink wheatgrass (only 2 oz at any one time) I feel like I just shot it through my veins. The beauty is that wheatgrass has only the good with non of the bad.

Colonics – otherwise known as hydro therapy or colon irrigation – were a doorway that I can’t say enough about. I began a weekly routine of getting a colonic for the first 6 months, then tapering to every other week for the remaining 3. This was an intense undertaking that was worth every uncomfortable moment. I’ll be honest, there were a few. I had a lot of cleaning out to do and a lot of strengthening of my colon to do. Colonics were the way for me. The main goal is to clear the colon of stagnant waste encrusted on colon walls. In doing so, the functioning of the colon is enhanced … which enhances the vitality of the body. My experience with colonics did just that. I strongly sense that I gained heightened benefits because I did a series over time. I know I’ll continue, too. Perhaps not weekly, but I’ll find a rhythm that feels right at each stage along my health journey. I would strongly encourage exploring colonics. Here’s some good information from Shea Lynn Baird – click here – a well known member of the raw food community.

Intention is probably the connecting hallway to and from each of the doorways I found. I started with the overall intention to discover what true health would mean to me. The next intention that I stated was that I wanted to have a yoga body. I don’t know where this came from. While I did engage in stretching, I was never much interested in the discipline or practice of yoga. Because this intention came from out of the blue, I decided to simply honor it. Having a yoga body became my overarching focus. That’s really all I wanted. Something told me that if I found my yoga body, every thing else would take care of itself. Never once did I question the goal. Never once did I criticize or mock myself. I just always held to the fact that I was finding my yoga body. In every thing that I did, I was just finding my yoga body. When I read inspirational books, I was finding my yoga body. When I signed up for success/coaching programs, I was finding my yoga body. When I hired a fitness coach, I was finding my yoga body. When I would watch Rainbeau Mars, I saw my yoga body blooming. When I listened to Abraham-Ester Hicks, I heard my yoga body stirring. I began to realize that everything that I was doing and saying was coming from my yoga body. And there was no stopping this yoga body from being seen or heard.

Based on what has happened over the past 9 months, I would now safely bet that intention is the mother of all creation. Not once in that journey to regain health and find my yoga body, did I actually do any yoga. It turns out that finding my yoga body had nothing to do with doing yoga. What ended up happening is that with raw food, with living food, with green juices, with wheatgrass, with colonics, and with intention … I found my yoga body. So now I do yoga. And the lovely thing is that a yoga body is no one thing. A yoga body is constantly evolving, constantly turning within. I love my yoga body. And I now love yoga.

My life is abundant with yoga these days … Hatha – Pilates – Bikram. My body is slipping into these practices as if they had, in fact, always been a part of my life. I like the variety of each of them. There is a challenge and beauty to each. Each of them takes me beyond the here and now to my center. To my breath. Each connects me deeply with life energy itself. The grace of moving from flow into stillness with Hatha. The core power and strength of pilates. The focus and primal lustiness of Bikram. Yoga can be a doorway to heaven … or a doorway to hell. I am aware of the presence and choice offered by both doorways. I decided to surrender to the choice of discipline and form; patience and grace. I keep choosing heaven.

Now that this yoga body is expressing itself, I feel the purification with each practice style. I love that Bikram is practiced at 105 degrees … a funny and beautiful coincidence to realize I am treating my body like my food. I am alive, like my food. I have walked through doorways to find health and vitality. Doorways are leading me to doorways. There is no end. I will grow my intention and continue to discover what doorways are yet to be opened. It’s a journey I embrace and surrender to. I am grateful for the first doorway that was raw food. And I am relishing the doorway that yoga is currently offering me. I have a feeling that the journey will be deep and ravishing. Will you join me in walking through doorways? Which will you choose … ?

InJoy ~ GoRawMe

 

A Change is in the Air

There has been a shuffling of ideas amidst some members of the raw community in this month of giving thanks that has me bursting forth with a few outcries of ‘what the heck!’ I am feeling the synchronicity of the holiday thankfulness for what I feel is a dose of honesty and authenticity … not always an easy combination to find within oneself or within a community.

I have a personal history that is filled with many years of thinking about food. It seems that all I have done is think about food. Even when I was engaged in some other activity, food was close by on my mind.

I thought about food when my grandfather slaughtered his beef steer, ironically named Independence. I thought about food when I watched my body change at puberty and the onset of my cycle. I thought about food when I learned that my mother didn’t breastfeed me. I thought about food when I learned about the hormones that were added to my food. I thought about food when I learned about the toxins used to grow my food. I thought about food when I viewed my first slaughterhouse movie. I thought about food when I declared that I wouldn’t eat animals any more. I thought about food when I declared that I wouldn’t eat any animal products any more. I thought about food when I learned about whole organic foods. I thought about food when I discovered I was intolerant to gluten. I thought about food as a replacement for feeling my emotions. I thought about food when I was dealing with infertility. I thought about food when I learned that my body was over-estrogen. I thought about food when I did my first cleanse. I thought about food when I discovered ‘functional medicine.’ I thought about food when I got Lyme disease. What the heck! I have thought about food at every stage … with every step … of my life.

Joining the raw food community was the perfect breeding ground for more thoughts about food. This has not necessarily been a positive thing for me. About a year ago I realized that I was very tired of thinking about food, and very tired of the hold that food had on my life. I was tired of knowing I was an emotional eater and not being able to shift from there. I was tired of asking … does it have wheat? … dairy? … meat? … soy? … MSG? Is it local? … organic? … free of GMO’s? And I was also tired of people asking me either why I didn’t eat something or why I did. I was tired of people finding it strange to eat and care about healthy food. I was tired that healthy food was not the first option of choice … sometimes for myself and most often for our culture as a whole. Tired that healthy food was the expensive choice. I was also on the backside of being very sick for two years with Lyme disease and a hormonal imbalance that wreaked havoc on my body (and emotional state). So about a year ago I realized with certainty that I was sick and tired, and tired of being sick … and tired. Enter raw food.

Our year anniversary is just weeks away and I still expect to hear trumpets and drum rolls when I remember my first (gourmet) raw meal. It was the most beautiful display of food I had ever seen. It was the best tasting food I had ever eaten. And praise the universe! I did not have to think … or subsequently worry about a single ingredient in the food. It was organic whole food, and some of it was even local. I was stunned with delight … and I was free. Free to enjoy food with a lusty pleasure that I never thought possible. Free to not think about food. Free to think about food in a whole new way. And … the biggest surprise … free to become passionate about food. In a heartbeat every angst I ever had about food became an expression of joy and a creative outlet. I started having fun with food. Guilt-free fun. It appeared that eating raw was a kind of salvation for my relationship with food … and with my life. Everyone around me who I met during this introduction to raw said this was the case. I dove in with wild abandon and full-on heart. And got an even bigger surprise.

After 3 months I discovered a very key piece about raw food. It was not a popular discovery – within myself … within my raw food community … within the broader raw food community. But the truth of what my body was displaying was too obvious and too demanding of attention. Eating and living a raw food lifestyle was not going to be the salvation for my body … or my sweetie’s – yet for differing reasons. After 3 months of eating 100% raw vegan food, I was 15 pounds heavier and my sweetie was becoming emaciated from losing 25 pounds that he most certainly did not need to lose. What the heck!

Arriving at this place brought some initial depression and frustration but ultimately allowed me to go deeper and much further. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would need to pay attention to my body fully, and heed the science and opinions with a grain of salt. Simply going vegan raw was not the solution. My hunch was that if this was true for us, then it was true for others. The biggest lesson I learned from engaging in a raw food lifestyle with the promise of salvation –yet not finding it – was that simply put, there is no one thing in food – or life – that will provide the universal answer to save the body … or the soul.

We were not SAD junk food eaters before we began. We did not eat processed food before we began. We rarely ate dessert. We did not eat gluten or soy or white sugar before we began. We did eat some dairy before we began, but to varying degrees. We did have some fish and organic, free-range chicken before we began, and my sweetie did have eggs. In other words, we ate a pretty darn healthy diet of organic and to some degree local food. We absolutely loved eating raw … and it was very easy for both of us to do so. We did not suffer from cravings and did not yearn for cooked food. The looming question was why were neither of us physically thriving when we were both emotionally content with our diet? What the heck!

The journey to sort out this sense of ‘What the heck!’ has been an interesting one over the past 9 months. Everything became topsy turvy as we regrouped while at the same time remained raw. A lot of things have been tossed from our raw food vegan pantry and we have each adopted a unique style of eating that is based individually on our own bodies. My sweetie is now exploring introducing goat milk and goat yoghurt into his routine. Down the road there may yet to be some steamed vegetables added or cooked grain. We’ll have to see how it goes. This exploration has taken me down some interesting roads as well. I continue to be passionate about learning … but now more focused on overall health and living foods. The creativity and inspiration continues to flow. Fortunately, excitement still looms for me with an even more grounded sense of freedom.

I’m sensing the same sense of freedom coming with the ‘change in the air’ within the raw food community. There has been some really great honest sharing of late amongst popular raw vegan community members who have discovered their own reality regarding what works best for them for optimum health. Many who have been raw vegan for way longer than myself are shifting their viewpoints and sharing some new ideas about what can be found on their breakfast, lunch or dinner plates. They are exploring these options first, and worrying about raw dogma last. This disclosure has been shocking some … and thrilling me. I am thrilled to see a loosening of the grip around what is right … what is wrong … what works … what doesn’t work … and so on. I’ve learned a ton within myself around my shift … I think others doing some pretty cool learning of their own. It’s fun to watch.

To get a sense of the change that has spread the land … take a look at these links. Enjoy the disclosure … enjoy the stir. And see how it all shakes down within your self. Whichever way that shift goes, remember that it is all just perfect. We are in an age of discovering just how perfect everything is. Let loose. A change is in the air. Feel the breeze. Relax. Breathe. What the heck! It’s called life and it’s the ride of a lifetime!

Namaste to all you kings and queens of disclosure, vulnerability and authenticity. You rawk!

Lauren Michelle Kinsey; Paul Nison; and here’s a great experience shared by Alexandra Schueler.

InJoy ~ GoRawMe

 

More Bang for Your Buck

A change has been afoot in my home. A shift of perception. It’s been an uncomfortable and exhilarating process … my favorite kind. As uncomfortable as it can be, I like being challenged. I get all sort of edgy inside and squirm a lot. Ever experienced that feeling? One minute I know something ‘for sure’ and the next minute my concepts are tumbling out of their little boxes making a mess all around me. Trying to hang on is like the futile attempt at balancing an armload of too many packages … no matter how hard I fumble and scramble they are destined to fall to the ground. Ever feel the bottom dropping out of your thinking? For me, the exhilarating part comes when I let my concepts fall flat and watch to see what new idea bounces up. I love the surprise I get going from ‘knowing’ to ‘not knowing’ to ‘discovery’. Ever experience that kind of shift?

Currently in my home the shift has been about SuperFoods. I’ll admit right up front that I’ve been slow to get behind the concept of super foods. I’ll fess up that I’ve been downright judgmental about SuperFoods. I have found the term annoying. I was scornfully sure that the use of the term was an elitist way of classifying expensive exotic food as being superior to ‘basic’ foods like carrots … or broccoli … or apples … or greens. You know, regular ‘healthy’ food. Package these SuperFoods up and they’ll take the place of healthy portions of rich nutritious whole foods. More packaging … more for the landfill. Judgments upon judgments upon judgments.

Step one toward this shift was a birthday gift from my sweetie. A month’s supply of E3Live® (100% Aphanizomenon flos-aquae). In case you are not familiar with E3Live®, it is thought that: Physiologically, E3Live® helps restore overall body/mind balance in numerous ways. Its field of action simultaneously includes the immune, endocrine, nervous, gastro-intestinal and cardio-vascular systems; and Nutritionally, E3Live® provides 64 easily absorbed vitamins, minerals and enzymes and has more biologically active chlorophyll than any known food. It is the most nutrient dense food known to mankind.

This gift was given from a pure heart-centered place. That’s basically a given when it comes to my sweetie. As I opened the box he shyly told me that he didn’t know why it came to him to give me this gift, but his intuition won over any hesitation. I melted. Attachment to judgments tumbled. And I was ready with an open heart to find out what happened next. Ever have an over-riding sense of curiosity? In that moment that’s all that showed up. So it was time to discover what E3Live® would offer. Here’s a picture of the brand … along with an ounce shot. I had to take this picture against the night sky because it looked so pure … and that seemed so fitting.

For almost a month now I’ve taken an ounce shot of E3Live® morning and night. My findings so far? Number one … it’s delicious. I love the thick cool – milkshake like – texture. The taste is earthy yet sweet … just the barest hint of mint. During this trial period I would say that my first impression is that E3Live® gives ‘more bang for your buck’ … a favorite expression of my father’s when he wanted to express the thrill of a little bit of something that held big satisfaction. An apt description of this powerhouse of a … SuperFood. Yes. SuperFood. E3Live® has caused me to glimpse an understanding of the term SuperFood. I have been consuming E3Live® for breakfast along with wheatgrass during this past month. What I can share at this stage is that I feel more energized and ready for my day than ever before. And fulfilled. So fulfilled that it’s hard to imagine that I used to consume more to start my day. This shift is really amazing. I’d love you to sample the benefits of this shift as well. If you’re curious. Are you?

For encouragement, here is an interview with Gabriel Cousens where he discusses the benefits of E3Live® as a food … not a supplement. A food … better yet, call it a SuperFood!

A change has been afoot in my home. Exploration is at hand. Discovery is a daily practice. And the beauty is that it all began with the innocence of a birthday gift. What a gift. I’ll be on this journey for a while. My curiosity has been peaked. I’m broadening my horizon of thoughts. And it looks like I’m in very good company. Dan McDonald is ahead of me … but I’ll gladly walk in his footsteps any time. This video was posted by one of my favorite raw divas – Lauren Michelle Kinsey on her Sweet Raw-La-La blog. The synchronicity of coming across this video as I was pondering this post was an example of attraction in action. Sweet Raw-La-La has been one step ahead of both Dan and me on embracing the concept – and benefits – of SuperFoods. I’m happily skipping to catch up! How about you?

Enjoy Dan’s humble, open, beautiful heart.

Join me in dropping knowing and opening to curiosity and discovery. Join me in the love.

Blissings! ~ GoRawMe

 

Life in the Nude!

Catchy phrase, isn’t it?

I have been using the phrases ‘raw living’ and ‘definitely raw’ for almost a year now. They sprung up inside of me during my early exploration of a vegan raw food diet because I found that I prefer to think of this new venture as a raw lifestyle … the word diet connotes fixing a problem … ‘bad’ eating to ‘good’ eating.

Once I began eating vegan raw food I noticed that my deep-felt feelings about animals, the environment, fellow humans, and my relationship to source – or god – or life – surfaced in a way that has me ‘inclined’ to be more raw about ALL of my life. Raw in this sense means that I want to meet life square on … in the raw … nothing shielding me.

So that brings me back to that provocative topic phrase of this blog … Life in the Nude!

This summer my sweetie took me to Fire Island during a family visit to Long Island. We made morning pilgrimages to the ocean as a way to ground ourselves for the remaining hours to come that would be filled with visiting. It is funny, in a way, that we went to water in order to ground. But actually grounding is something that happens for me at the ocean. You could think – must be all that sand! But, I think it is the vastness of the ocean and the waves with their continuous rhythm. When I look at the ocean I know that the waves follow the outline of the ocean coast all across the planet, and that inside that vastness are creatures breathing with that same continual rhythm of the waves. Enter the water and lift your feet up – and the rhythm will rock you. Like a cradle. Like a womb. Like a heartbeat. Like my heartbeat. This is why the ocean is totally grounding for me.

We both had to get our feet into the warm sand as fast as we could since this was truly a summer day like we hadn’t had all summer – sunny and hot! So we walked the beach, glowing and chatting about how good the heat of summer feels … how it brings us back to childhood memories of beaches and sand and play. My sweetie sheds a skin at the beach. He is at oneness with all things ocean. So we had to make the most of our morning. We walked and walked. And came upon the nudist section.

Fire Island is unique in that it has had an official/legal nude bathing beach for years and years. You can feel a maturity of consciousness to it. Or so it seemed to me … the novice. I had never been on a nude beach before. I had never skinny dipped with anyone I wasn’t intimate with before. I had one experience at a hot springs … I kept my bottoms on. I could tell you the stories of my life about why I restricted myself in this way, but I’m not going to. What I want to share is that I believe – actually I know – that what happened next for me when I found myself at the edge of the nude beach is a direct result of making my intention to raw living with no shields attached – just my heart open wide.

I’ve had lots of explorations that have moved me ‘toward the me’ that crossed the border onto the nude beach. Ecstatic dance – Adyashanti – Byron Katie – my relationship with my sweetie – and my steadfast commitment to going deep. And now raw food. I believe that all of these teachers and factors have thrust me forward toward the broad-based goal for my life which is to crossing borders within, and without of, my mind. That goal manifested me toward the opportunity to cross the border into the nude beach. I found myself thrust into crossing a border. If anyone had asked me just 5 minutes earlier if I would ever go to a nude beach, my response would have been “Not on your life.”

But something (life, I dare presume?) thrust me forward. I found myself curious. I found myself intrigued. I was compelled. I found myself looking lovingly at fully naked bodies of all sizes, shapes and ages. I found myself approaching a nude bather – a man no less – to ask some questions. Ten minutes later an older couple got into the fun of answering my questions. And then under the loving gaze of my sweetie and the amused, supportive gazes of the nudists … I took my top off. Just Like That. It wasn’t really a decision – I just knew the top was coming off.

We walked further down the beach … and wham! … fear and giddiness hit me in the belly. We kept walking … I kept breathing and expressing to my sweetie EXACTLY what was going on. He just kept smiling and hearing me. Further down the beach … and wham! … I knew I was going to take my bottoms off. I wasn’t sure if I would throw up before – or after. Well, I didn’t throw up at all, but I did take those bottoms off! And my sweetie just kept beaming at me. I think he was loving what he was witnessing. I found layers and layers – and I don’t mean clothing – to take off. True liberation!

This post would have to be a volume in order for me to chronicle all of the emotions, fears and stories that I experienced and explored during these beach excursions. All because I got naked. At first it was like experiencing one of those dreams where you are going along and all of the sudden notice that you don’t have any clothes on. In the dream you’re the only one naked. But I sense you can get a feel for what I mean.

I had no idea that raw living would mean buck-naked raw. Good thing, too as I’m quite sure I would have let the idea dominate. If I had let any of the ideas that had their change to race through my mind dominate on that nude beach, I would be writing a very different post right now.

So, here’s the question I want to pose to all of you.

What is your version of ‘Life in the Nude’?

Here’s why I ask this question. Taking my clothes off on a nude beach had never been an intention or life goal of mine. Yet it felt like an outcropping of this raw lifestyle. I feel that the process of going raw has given birth to fresh intentions that are now blended with all the others that have been rife in me as I explode myself inward. So, I’m now asking myself … what has going raw meant to other people on a deeper level beyond filling our bellies? Have you been met with surprises having nothing to do with food that you never expected?

The end of this story is a beginning. I now do have an intention to discover and enjoy as many nude beaches as I can for years and years to come. After my summer visit to Fire Island, I now feel like it’s very weird to wear anything but our birthday suits on the beach.

Three cheers for our bodies … Raw! RAw!! RAW!!!

Blissings ~ GoRawMe