If you live in Arizona or happen to be visiting the Phoenix area, you won't want to miss the Friday Raw menu at the Blue Nile Cafe.

Although I now am happy to eat very simply with many whole fruits and salads, I enjoy the creativity and taste of the raw dishes Chef Moon prepares each week. She presents a new cultural theme each Friday, from Middle Eastern, to Italian, Indian... each week something new. The presentation is awesome with taste and flavor to match.

The soups are particularly enjoyable... one of my favorite is the sweet carrot ginger.

There are normally at least three choices of entrees (one or two often include a salad), a salad, soup and desert.

The raw menu is available for both lunch and dinner and in between as well. You'll leave satiated... great for raw fooders and anyone looking for a delicious and healthy meal.

The Blue Nile Cafe is located off the corner of Rural and University at 933 E. University Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281

Phone: (480) 377-1113

To your best health!

Mark

Let's get a good start by defining what "vegan" is.... by definition, it's a person that eats a plant-based diet. That means they don't eat meat, fish, dairy, egg, honey and all foods made with these ingredients. I prefer to concentrate on the positive aspect of what vegan's choose to eat rather than what they avoid though.

There are additional aspects to being vegan that some adopt, including respect for life (environment, human and animal) , ethical treatment of animals, electing to purchase non-animal based products among others. In this forum, I will focus primarily on the health aspects of the vegan lifestyle and the benefits I believe it offers.

Related links for more information:

http://www.vegan.com
http://www.vegweb.com
http://www.vegan.org/going_vegan
http://www.vegsource.com

Peace.

Eating legumes has benefits, you live longer! This, according to a study from the National Ageing Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia that followed a cross-cultural section of the elderly (over 70) to reveal the longevity benefits of eating beans, lentils, tofu, soy, peas, miso, and nuts.

PubMed, National Library of Medicine: "Legumes: the most important dietary predictor of survival in older people of different ethnicities."

"Nutrition plays an important role in the maintenance and improvement of human life expectancy. ... There is a 7% - 8% reduction in mortality hazard ratio for every 20g increase in daily legume intake. Conclusions: This longitudinal study shows that a higher legume intake is the most protective dietary predictor of survival amongst the elderly, regardless of their ethnicity."

One of the ways I've found to save on your grocery bill (next to shopping at your local farmers market) is to grow your own garden. As I show in this video, you don't need a lot of space to grow just about anything you enjoy. You can dig up a small garden, or use the square foot garden method to grow just about anywhere around your house. You can also use containers as I do if you're short on gardening space. All it takes is getting some compost locally (I found some at my local Whole Foods) and seeds. Here's an update on our home garden:

Read more...

Along with a diet rich in fresh, organically grown foods, consideration should be given to the clothes you wear as well. Not only for the fact that your skin is in constant contact with your clothing, but also for the way certain fabrics are made and their impact on our environment.
Read more...

Greetings from my first 'raw roadtrip'! I'm currently in Amarillo, Texas traveling from Chicago back to my home in Arizona and the first roadtrip since starting my raw journey.

Many of you have written to share your experiences when traveling and here's how I'm doing it.

My first stop before leaving Chicago was Karyn's, the popular raw vegan cafe, restaurant and marketplace. Picked up a few ready to eat meals (garlic pizza and california rolls... both were great choices) along with some pumpkin seeds, raw crackers and small salad from the buffet. I dropped these into a cooler with some ice packs and went on to Whole Foods Market just minutes away.

At Whole Foods I picked up spring water, 5 bunches of bananas, a quart of fresh strawberries, a bag of dates, and some apples (all organic). Dropped everything in the car and with plenty of food for 2.5 days of driving was ready for my first raw road trip!

In addition to the food I picked up, I had placed an order for the Phi Plus (raw whole food) I've mentioned before and had several bags ready to go.

I started the day with several glasses of water and then several hours later added a few bananas and strawberries. Throughout the day I added dates and grabbed a banana whenever I got hungry. At dinner time I pulled out one of the prepared meals from Karyn's along with some raw crackers. Evening snacks included Phi Plus and dates. I drank less water than I normally do to minimize the stops along the way!

I'm in my last day of travel now, feeling great and still have plenty of food. Eating fresh whole foods I brought along made it easy to eat whenever I was hungry, make fewer stops and gave me lots of energy to be able to drive as long as I wanted.

Share your travel experiences by leaving a comment!

Thanks for reading and all the best for your health...

Mark

Do I have to eat 100% raw?

It's a question I hear often and there is much debate on the subject.

Personally, it's the right decision for me. Here's the consideration. You see, my experience was when I was eating a mostly raw diet, I would eat a little cooked food and notice that I would then have cravings for more cooked food. But when I eat only raw, living foods, my cravings went away, energy increased, all pains were eliminated, clarity was profound, eyesight improved, slept better.... all major benefits in my experience. If I mistakenly eat cooked food, not only can I immediately taste the difference, I also don't feel my best. I've noted others with similar experiences after eating only raw foods.

Here's a great example... a quote from Gideon Graff, a raw foodist and co-owner of a raw foods center in Georgia:

"The biggest challenge was committing 100% to raw foods. Until you make that commitment, you allow yourself to eat this, eat that, and for people like me--a binge eater--every time I allowed myself to eat some cooked food, it always led to more cooked food and it was very hard to keep raw. Once you've cleaned up a little bit, you feel the damage of eating cooked food much more than you did before. It makes you feel bad. So, committing to 100 percent as really a good experience. "

You can experience great benefits from adding more raw and living foods into your diet, at any level.. and you'll get the most benefits by eating only raw foods. There is no comparison between some and 100%. Listen to your body, it will tell you when you're ready and only you can feel the difference. I challenge you to make the commitment.

For me, committing to 100% raw foods was a blessing and made it easier to experience the benefits of natural and abundant health.

All the best in your journey!

Mark