Sweet potato in a smoothie? When I saw this recipe in Susan Smith Jones’ The Healing Power of Nature Foods, I was intrigued. Who puts a root vegetable in a drink? Susan Smith Jones and many others it seems.
So I took my intrigue into the kitchen and whipped up my own chocolate sweet potato smoothie. It was downright delicious.
As all good things deserved to be shared, here is the recipe in all its glorious flavour. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Yum!
Chocolate Sweet Potato Smoothie
(Serves 2-4)
• 2 cups juice (orange, apple, cranberry or almond milk, or any combination). For this step I made my own almond milk. See recipe here.
• 1 cup cooks sweet potato or yam flesh
• 4-5 pitted medjool dates
• 1 ripe frozen banana
• 1 1/2 tsp of cocoa (or raw carob powder)
• Dash of cinnamon
Preparation:
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“If doctors, with all of their knowledge of the human body, would merely become familiar with the principles of health and the simple natural laws that God established, and share them, they would be performing the greatest humanitarian service to mankind this world has ever known.” ~ Dr. George H. Malkmus
Before I became vegan, I didn’t really give much thought as to what was organic and what wasn’t. Fast forward a couple of years and I won’t eat anything else. I know it’s the best thing for my own health and the health of the planet (not to mention the farmers who aren’t spraying toxic chemicals).
Since leaving the US, I’ve been astounded at how tricky it is to buy organics. Big chain supermarkets in New Zealand only offer a very limited selection — hardly enough to fill a dinner plate. I won’t even talk about how astronomically expensive they are.
So the question remains, how do we bring real, affordable organics to the masses while keeping the big corporations honest? It’s the big businesses that threaten the future of organics, because they come at it from a money-making point of view—not from what’s best for the consumer. Get it out quick at as little cost as possible to them. If it looks like an apple, it’ll sell as an apple. Who cares what the nutrient content is.
Science has helped these corporations meddle with nature, with genetically modified produce on supermarket shelves just about everywhere. Studies have shown such meddling is at a huge cost to human health. Big corp organics could be mutant potatoes that resist anything nature throws at it. It may have grown without pesticides and without a scratch, but it won’t mean it’s healthy to eat.
Organic Nation TV caught up with The Environmental Working Group’s President Ken Cook (see video below) to chat about the potential issue of big corporations hijacking organics, threatening its quality and the current standards.
Host Dorothee Royal-Hedinger asked Ken to talk about the anxiety some consumers and activists feel about the trend of big corporations taking over organic brands as well as the tension between making organic food affordable and maintaining the standards on which organics were founded.
He was interviewed at Kickapoo Country Fair held by Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative of more than 1,300 organic family farmers nationwide, in LaFarge, Wisconsin.
Courtesy of organic.org, I’ve included a top 10 list of reasons to grow and buy organics, as well as why we all can benefit from supporting the organic industry, regardless of where you live in the world.
1. Reduce The Toxic Load: Keep Chemicals Out of the Air, Water, Soil and our Bodies
Buying organic food promotes a less toxic environment for all living things. With only 0.5 percent of crop and pasture land in organic, according to USDA that leaves 99.5 percent of farm acres in the U.S. at risk of exposure to noxious agricultural chemicals. Our bodies are the environment so supporting organic agriculture doesn’t just benefit your family, it helps all families live less toxically.
2. Reduce if Not Eliminate Off Farm Pollution
Industrial agriculture doesn’t singularly pollute farmland and farm workers; it also wreaks havoc on the environment downstream. Pesticide drift affects non-farm communities with odorless and invisible poisons. Synthetic fertilizer drifting downstream is the main culprit for dead zones in delicate ocean environments, such as the Gulf of Mexico, where its dead zone is now larger than 22,000 square kilometers, an area larger than New Jersey, according to Science magazine, August, 2002.
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I’m a big fan or charting my own course, all while letting go, and questioning things. I believe truth is in the eye of the beholder and no one is really an absolute expert in anything. Life is ever changing and being a student of life is half the fun.
The truth, in my mind, is a subjective wee thing. It’s only true if a person deems it be so.
With that thought in mind, I want to share news on the release of a new book by author and renowned spiritual teacher don Miguel Ruiz. He has collaborated with his son, don Jose Ruiz, on the sequel to The Four Agreements.
The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self Mastery expands on his last book with fresh insights and a powerful new agreement: Be skeptical, but learn to listen (for the five agreements, see below).
The fifth agreement uses doubt as a tool to discern the truth. Doubt takes us behind the words we hear to the underlying real message or intent. By being skeptical, we don’t believe every message we hear, and when we don’t put our faith in lies, we quickly move beyond emotional drama and the feeling of victimization, the book says.
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I’ve been spending loads of time in front of the computer screen (and reading books), which has resulted in some nasty eye strain. While I’m none too pleased about limiting my time on my beloved Mac and reading less, I’m looking at it as an opportunity to up my intake of foods that are über good for eye health.
Carrots are at the top of my list to put my eyes back on track. Why? Besides the fact they look like an eye—nature’s signature to show they’re good for eyes (see below)—they’re also loaded with antioxidant compounds and are rich in pro-vitamin A carotenes. Beta-carotene helps to protect vision, especially at night.
Carrots also protect against macular degeneration and the development of senile cataracts, which is the number one cause of blindness in the elderly.
Some other great foods that are said to be super beneficial to eye health, thanks to their A, C and E vitamins, include:
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A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe.
~ Dr Wayne W. Dyer
It breaks my heart to see animals suffer. But the reality is, because we humans made meat and dairy a diet staple—regardless of its countless ill effects—animal torture and murders happen every single day, on just about every country on earth.
Despite this, the reality is, every single person can be the change that can turn things around. Yet, sometimes the reality we need to see in order to “get it” is downright heart-wrenching.
As eco-consciousness is spreading, so to are the numbers of people opting to go vegan (and vegetarian). Still, more needs to be done to get the word out.
I came across this video (below), which is a collection of celebrity PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) videos—celebrities who have spoken and are speaking out, about what really goes on behind the scenes in slaughter houses and in the fur trade. Whether you love or loathe PETA, you’ve got to appreciate their ability to get attention-grabbing celebs to promote living meat and fur free (such as Khloe Kardashian pictured above).
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I’m often asked why I choose to live on a mostly raw diet. When I began to understand that life creates life, it made the raw transition an easy one. Enzymes, which are present in live vegan foods, fuel the human body with nutrients that are almost completely devoid in cooked foods.
Since eating a roughly 80 per cent raw diet I have loads of energy, my skin has much better tone, my thinking is clear and I simply feel great.
Here’s are some basics:
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While I’m on the subject of healthy skin, I thought I’d include a post about my aversion to sunscreens. I don’t wear them and never will.
I stopped using sunblock the moment I stopped being a beauty editor a few years ago. A combination of gut feeling and research told me what I was being told to “protect” my skin with was little more than a poison (and poisonous it is).
You see, the sun is a life-giver. Without it, we’d be on our way out. The amount of sun we can tolerate depends on various factors from skin type to foods we include in our diet. But somewhere along the way, we’ve been told to fear the sun. Cover up and slather up the marketing hype tells us, and we’ll be doing a great job of protecting ourselves from that nasty cancer-causing ball or fire in the sky.
So why, was my question, had the skin cancer rates skyrocketed? Why were we being told to suddenly be scared of the very thing that gives life to the planet and everything on it? Dollars of course. Scare the masses and they’ll buy the product.
Here’s an excerpt from Natural News:
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I’m so glad my recent post about using extra virgin coconut oil as an all-over moisturiser inspired some of you to head to the (organic) supermarket instead of the (toxic) beauty counter!
But before you slather on this skin-smoothing oil, get your hands on a dry brush from your local health food store, wellness shop or the like. Using a dry brush is one of the biggest gifts you can give to your skin and your whole lymphatic system.
The simple act of brushing in small circles, toward your heart, each morning, can give you a health lift you may never have thought possible.
As the body’s biggest organ, it means our skin also has the biggest job of eliminating toxins. If we can give it a helping hand dumping the nasties, it will reward you big time with glowing skin and great health. Dry brushing exfoliates, stimulates skin renewal and offloads toxins.
Some of the other documented benefits include:
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The sage does not hoard,
and thereby bestows.
The more he lives for others,
the greater his life.
The more he gives to others,
The greater his abundance.
~ Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching
When it’s just too much effort to make it into the kitchen to spend time with my food dehydrator, I turn to one of my favourite recipe blogs, The Raw Chef. From there, I daydream about all the goodies I plan to make, as I flick through the delectable delights whipped up by raw food chef Russell James.
If you think pizza is unhealthy, Russell gives you good cause to think again with this masterpiece…
Pesto & Caramelised Onion Pizza
For the base
500g (approx 3c) buckwheat, sprouted for a few days until it has a small ‘tail’
2 avocados or 1/2c almond butter
1/4c olive oil
1/4c fresh basil
3T Italian seasoning
1/2c sun-dried tomatoes
3T lemon juice
1/2t salt
3 medium tomatoes
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Eating out of a can has never appealed to me. Besides the fact that the food inside is dead, it has always seemed just not quite right on some level. Perhaps great if you’re stranded in the desert (hopefully with a can opener in your pocket), but for every day living I just don’t do it.
I know there has been some talk over the years of aluminium leaching into the foods inside the cans. Whether that’s true, I can’t say. However, new research is suggesting it’s the plastic that lines cans these days that’s doing the harm.
Dr Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, who is an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri, specialises in studying the effects of bisphenol-A (BPA), the toxic chemical that comes from plastics that wrap just about everything we buy in supermarkets. He says the number one canned food to steer clear of is tomatoes. The following info may well make you re-think your mother’s famous spaghetti sauce.
Dr vom Saal says bisphenol-A is a synthetic estrogen that is linked to all sorts of dis-eases from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It’s the acidity in the tomatoes that reacts with the BPA that causes the chemical to leach into the food. Appetising huh?
What’s the solution? Learning to live like your great grandmother perhaps, and only eating organic food that looks how it’s supposed to. Freshly picked. Oh and speak to your local grocer about supplying more organic, non-packaged foods. The greater demand, the more supply.
While I’m on the subject of stuff to avoid, here are some other foods, as published in a story on Shine.com, that you may want to re-think.
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Forget fancy packaging and golden promises of eternal youth. If your bathroom cabinet is full of half-empty creams and potions that profess to be the fountain of youth, it could be time to give those (usually poisonous) potions the ol’ heave ho.
Skin is really a portrait for what’s going on inside your bod, so no matter how much gloop we slather over ourselves in the hope for a quick fix, nothing will change unless what we’re putting in our mouth is healthy. Once the diet is under control, the oil aisle of your local supermarket may become your best beauty pal. It’s definitely mine!
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“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the “Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest … a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.” ~ Albert Einstein
I like to think that one person can make a world of difference. When you look back through history it’s pretty evident that someone with a cause can influence immense positive change (and negative too, but let’s not go there).
Look at Gandhi and Mandela, even Oprah, as examples. From presidents to protesters, one person’s longing for change started with an inspired thought, an event or even a hardship. It’s what they did with that seed that determined how it would sprout and grow.
It’s when one person understands how to reach out further than themselves that their passion and inspiration spreads to impact great change.
This wee thought about how we can all do our bit, no matter how small, leads me to an invitation I received on Facebook this morning to join a new group: a film fest that’s about educating and spreading awareness. Called The Awareness Film Festival, its aim is to bring awareness to ecological, health, well-being, and political topics (submissions are open now. The fest will be held on May 10 in Los Angeles).
One person acted on their idea. Now, through this film festival, like-minded people will be able to share their message with many others, sparking offshoots of inspired minds all driven to make a difference. Isn’t that grand?
I wanted to do my bit to help spread the word. If you’re an up-and-coming (or working) filmmaker, this could be an opportunity to inspire others, make a difference. Maybe it’s a documentary about veganism, or how climate change is affected greatly by our food choices. Perhaps it’s just a short that gets people thinking.
To celebrate every single person making a change, and inspired by The Awareness Film Festival, I’ve put together a list of film festivals (many of them environmentally-focussed) that were created to help inspire positive change in the world (see below). If you know of others that aren’t listed here, please feel free to add them in the comments.
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