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

Something most Americans overlook in today's increasingly active and busy world is one of the simplest and most effective ways to avoid getting sick and dis-ease...

Sleep.

Our bodies are designed to heal themselves of anything, given the right environment and opportunity. Popular wisdom tells us to take this or that... although it normally only masks the symptoms and doesn't 'heal'. Only your body can heal itself of anything if you let it - nothing else. And that's the key... letting it.

If you're feeling under the weather or not yourself, the most effective and natural way to return to a state of good health is to take it easy! Rest, sleep... do nothing and let your body heal itself. Of course popular wisdom tells us that we need to get over that cold, flu or other illness fast (or even faster!) and get back to whatever you were doing (work, school, work :).

This idea of resting has been presented to me several times in the past few weeks and I'm certain it's for a reason. We can easily get caught up with too much on our plates and not take the time to sleep properly and rest. Sleep deprivation and insomnia are at epidemic rates in the US and the decline in health and increase in obesity are equally staggering. A coincidence?

I believe it's time to get back to basics, simplify our lives and take time to rest and get adequate sleep to allow us to live fully with health and happiness always.

What do you think?

To your best health!

Mark

www.VeganRawDiet.com

Here are pictures of the recipes in the previous post from the Thanksgiving feast I shared with friends this year. The dishes consisted of kale avocado salad, jicima potatoes and gravy, veggie stuffing, succulent cranberry sauce, fall acorn squash soup, pumpkin pudding and sweet! sweet potato pie. These recipes were all delicious, easy to make and enjoyed by everyone. They're great to make for all your holiday guests... they'll never know they're vegan and raw!

Create your mini album at ShowMyPics.com

Included are some additional pictures of the Thanksgiving meal at our local 'Raw Friday' restaurant prepared by Chef Moon at the Blue Nile Cafe in Tempe, Arizona. The meal was outstanding and included a spicy spinach and avocado soup, side salad with tangy dressing and a Thanksgiving Platter with a rosemary veggie loaf, walnut raisin and celery stuffing, sweet and tart cranberry sauce and mashed 'potatoes'. Delicious!

I'm very grateful for sharing this celebration with friends. One of the greatest gifts in life is the expression of gratitude. It not only feels good, but also brings joy and more of what you wish into your life. Try it and I'm sure you'll agree.

All the best for your health and happy Thanksgiving wishes!

Mark

Another study from Harvard Medical School has linked eating meat with breast cancer in women. This study of 90,000 women found that the more meat women ate in their early years, the more profound was the occurance of breast cancer as they aged the next 12 years. The authors also noted that eating meat was already associated with colon and other cancers and strongly urged the reduction in meat consumption.

This should come as no surprise since, as the authors noted, cancer has already been linked to many other cancers. With this knowledge, the continued increase in breast cancer cases doesn't make sense, does it? In today's world there is more funding, both charitable and public, to find a cure for breast cancer, but the cases continue to rise.

Based on these studies alone, the answer has always been right in front of us. Diet. What you eat and how you treat your body will dictate how it reacts. Studies have confirmed this for years. They always find that when you elimated meat from your diet, the occurances of disease drop dramatically. The China Study, one of the largest ever found that people who eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds are significantly healthier.

Why spend millions on new drug research when a simple campaign to educate people will save more lives than any drug could. The answer to better health and near elimination of disease is to change your diet. Eat mainly fresh and organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, drastically reduce or eliminate meat and processed foods and watch your life change.

To your best health!

Mark

P.S. To learn more about the vegan raw diet, visit RawFoodHowTo.com where you'll find articles, videos, recipes, resources and more.

I've just returned from a 9 day vacation with my daughter... a road trip from Arizona to the mid west and back. It was her first driving trip and we both had a ball enjoying the scenery, time together and visiting family.

I noticed much about our society along the way as well as how easy it is to eat a healthy diet on the road while traveling.

First I noticed how unhealthy most people we ran across looked. It's no wonder with the type of food available at highway stops... fast foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, tacos, ice cream and the like. In fact we joked (kindly) that many people looked just like the fast food they were eating (think big and super-sized). We made good use of McDonalds and Taco Bell's along the way... they had clean and mostly empty restrooms! While visiting a McDonalds for a restroom break we decided to walk into the restaurant to see the highway below (a great view) and noticed most folks eating there overweight and weren't very happy. Interesting.

We decided to stop at Whole Foods before leaving and packing a large cooler with freezer packs and food for 2-3 days of meals. My daughter does eat some cooked food and we brought some pre-made soups for quick meals for her along with plenty of organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. I brought my Vita-Mix blender (won't leave home without it!) and we started each day with a fresh blended fruit smoothie, more fruit throughout the day, a soup for my daughter and a larger salad for me and a smoothie for dessert.

There were 2 Whole Foods Markets along the way not far from the highways we were traveling on, and we stopped at both on the way there and back to stock up and sit down for a fresh and healthy meal. We noticed each store had different locally grown fruits and vegetables and made sure to try them all.

We both felt great throughout our trip, had nice picnics in scenic areas off the highway and thoroughly enjoyed our fresh and organic meals. Fun!

I believe one of the important parts of getting back to a natural diet and lifestyle is to spend time with our children, families and loved ones. Away from televisions and many of the modern technologies we have grown accustomed to in our society today. Time in nature, noticing the flowers, mountains, creeks, fresh breeze and beautiful sunsets. We experienced all that and more on this trip, and it was priceless.

If you're wondering why eating more raw and living foods is beneficial, view this insightful video from Brenda at Living Foods Institute and find out about cancer, doctors, prescription drugs and more. Select 'click to play' below. Enjoy!

Mark

Ok, so you want to find out more about becoming vegan. Maybe you want to lose weight, maybe you want more energy, maybe you're just curious. Here are the top 10 reasons why I believe being vegan is the best diet for your health and life:

• Instant Conversation Starter - Everyone either has an opinion or is curious about vegetarians and vegans. Over 10 million American have now accepted a vegetarian diet and 20 million more are trying it out. You'll never be stuck when striking up a conversation!
• Enjoy Delicious, Nutritious, Healthy and Pure Foods - Since becoming vegan almost 15 years ago, I've had the pleasure of tasting some of the most delicious variety of foods. Do a little research on the web and see how many vegan recipes are available. Since the vegan diet is growing in awareness, more resources (recipes, foods, information, restaurants) are becoming available making it easier to prepare awesome, delicious and healthy meals. Almost every animal based food has been altered in one way or another. From infected beef (on average, one cubic inch of inspected prime choice beef have 1,000 parasite larva in it), to hormones and other substances found in chicken and meats, to toxins in fish (recent reports from ABC's PrimeTime Live revealed over two-thirds of tested fresh fish had toxic levels of PCB's and 25% had toxic levels of mercury)... eating animal based food is dangerous to your health. Although there is genetically modified and pesticide residue produce on the market, if you buy fresh and organic, you are as close as you get to the healthiest food on earth.
• Have More Time - Preparing most plant-based dishes (also see above), especially raw, on average is faster and easier, leaving you more time to relax and enjoy your meals, family and friends. Growing up with a chef in the family, I saw my mother spending hours and hours preparing meat based dishes in her business. Since then I've watched family and friends sometimes spend days creating meals and feasts on holidays. After becoming vegan, on average I've spent no longer than 15-20 minutes preparing a meal... only longer on occasion. Even shopping is faster. The produce sections are usually next to the entrance in most grocery stores.. most of your foods are conveniently located in one area.
• Don't Worry About Cholesterol - Plant-based foods have zero cholesterol. Eat all the plant-based foods you want and you'll most likely see a drop in your cholesterol levels, never a gain.
• Don't Worry About Your Weight - On average, vegans maintain healthy weight levels. Combined with activity, exercise and stress management, if you are vegan, the probability of you having a weight problem is low. If you're currently overweight, becoming vegan is one of the healthiest and fastest ways to lose weight naturally and keep it off for life.
• Overcome Health Challenges - Your body is amazing. Given the opportunity, it can heal itself. That's how it was designed. The vegan diet gives your body more energy, more tools to rid toxins and more nutrition to enhance your immune system and fight off viruses, germs and disease more efficiently. Nagging health problems often disappear, certain aches or pains seem to subside, and the chances of overcoming serious health challenges are excellent. Medical studies and research now report that most diseases are "diseases of the fork" and in one way or another largely linked to what we eat, in particular animal foods. You'd be surprised to know that every day in America 10 people die as a direct result of food poisoning after eating chicken, and 10,000 more get sick. Chicken is the most common source of food poisoning, more than any type of meat.
• Spend Less on Health Care - If you are healthier, as most vegans are, you will spend considerably less money on doctors visits, insurance, hospitals and medication as well as having more time to enjoy life (rather than being sick). Also, when's the last time you heard about someone getting food poisoning from fruits or vegetables?
• Have More Energy - One of the most common side effects of a vegan diet is more energy. The answer to why is simple. Your body spends less time and resources digesting animal products (they are much less efficient to digest and assimilate into your system - most fruits and vegetables are easily digested) so you automatically have more energy. I remember when I used to eat meat that often after a meal, I would have an overwhelming desire to take a nap. This feeling isn't uncommon, especially after reading a recent survey that reported 43% of Americans felt they were sleep deprived enough that it affected their day-to-day lives. With over 60% of Americans overweight or obese, there seems to be some evidence of a link.
• Feel Better - It's common to hear from vegans that one of the main reasons they decided to stay with the vegan diet is because they just plain feel better. You are lighter on your feet, you're more in tune with your body, you feel the effects of unhealthy or animal-based foods faster, and you have a more relaxed and peaceful composure.
• Live Longer - Studies show that on average, vegetarians (and vegans as well) live longer and have fewer diseases.
• No Disadvantages - That's right, there are no disadvantages to eating a vegan diet that I've found! It's hard to find someone that will defend eating meat as being healthier or more advantageous for you. Only positive benefits await you when you decide to be vegan!

There you have it, my Top 10 Reasons To Be Vegan. It's clearly been one of the best decisions I've made and has changed my life significantly for the better. Feel free to contact me if I can help with any questions. I hope this has helped you in making an informed decision (or at least interesting reading )!

Peace.