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!

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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

“Cooked starches are also very fattening. Farmers have even learned that is is necessary to feed their animals cooked food to fatten them up for maximum profit. Hogs do not get fat on raw potatoes, but cooked potatoes make them gain weight.

In addition to reaching your body’s ideal weight, many other beauty factors blossom on a raw diet. Cellulite, which is thought to result from eating heated fats, gradually disappears with the consumption of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and raw fruits and vegetables. On a raw diet, improved elimination of cellular waste and increased lymphatic drainage help remove cellulite.”

Excerpted from the Live Food Factor
“… arguably the most comprehensive book ever written on the raw diet and lifestyle”
(Get Fresh Magazine, UK).

Learn more about the book and get 80 valuable bonus gifts.

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.”

• You can’t STAND the smell of any kind of Fast Food no matter how delicious it’s supposed to be and you can detect who has just eaten a greasy burger by noticing the odor of Fast Food Ooze coming out of that person’s skin
• …your idea of junk food is celery dipped in tahini, agave, cinnamon and cocoa powder….or the best part of your day is when you get to turn on your juicer
• when the guys in the produce department know your name
• You know that a “9” on the sticker on the fruit/veggie (example: 94031) means the produce is organic.
• Your cravings have gone from chocolate chip cookies to a banana wrapped in romaine leafs!
• when you’re packing for a trip and the 1st thing you think of is your juicer.
• when your friends use organic produce to bribe you into doing things for them
• When you’re buying fruit and the cashier looks at you puzzled and then asks, “You ate all that fruit you bought yesterday?!”
• …you start using words that are not in the English dictionary…like RAWESOME.
• you walk into a natural foods store and can barley find something to eat
• you make SEXY sounds while eating a mango….

Source: Nature’s First Law Forum

Enjoy… to your best health!

Mark

When transitioning to a raw food diet, meeting others that are raw or transitioning can be quite helpful. In fact some will say it’s essential to thriving with raw food living.

Where do you find link-minded individuals interested in raw foods in your area?

One of the better places is at a raw food potluck dinner. I just attended my first potluck here in Phoenix, AZ and not only were the dishes delicious, those that I met were interesting and a pleasure to get to know. One of the important, although often overlooked parts of transitioning to a raw food lifestyle is the social aspect. You needn’t be alone. Meeting others that share a passion for better health and whole, living foods is not only fun, but helps many stay with the lifestyle, answer questions, share personal experiences and make friends that are like-minded.

A great place to find raw food events in your area is at MeetUp.com. Just look for your city and then search for either raw food or vegetarian/vegan events. MeetUp.com lists thousands of events for all sorts of interests and hobbies, and they’re adding more every day.

Go find a potluck in your area and enjoy the raw delights!

Mark
Vegan / Raw Diet

Probably a no-brainer, but further evidence that eating more fruits and vegetables reduce your chances of gaining weight and obesity. I’ve never seen a study that contradicts this, and also have never seen a study that proves eating more meat, dairy or fish and less vegetables reduces your chances of gaining weight.

To enhance your experience and get more benefits from your fruits and vegetables, look for organic as much as possible and eat as much of it raw and fresh, or at the most, lightly steamed. Once a vegetable is warmed over 120 degrees it starts losing enzymes, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. The longer you cook, the more the loss. Enzymes are essential for proper digestion and you want the nutrients as well. So eating overcooked, soggy vegetables do very little good for you, nutritionally speaking. Best choice is raw, second best is very lightly steamed (just a minute or two). Good eating!

National Library of Medicine: “Changes in intake of fruits and vegetables in relation to risk of obesity and weight gain among middle-aged women.”

“RESULTS: During the 12-y follow-up, participants tended to gain weight with aging, but those with the largest increase in fruit and vegetable intake had a 24% of lower risk of becoming obese… For major weight gain (> or =25 kg), women with the largest increase in intake of fruits and vegetables had a 28% lower risk compared to those in the other extreme group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that increasing intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce long-term risk of obesity and weight gain among middle-aged women.”

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