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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2010 has hit full force. You can feel the electricity in the air.
I ended 2009 by cleaning out, dusting, getting rid of all the old, stuck energy in preparation for the new year. And now the start of a new decade has arrived, it’s time to dig even deeper. It’s time to get knee-deep into my wardrobe.
I’ve decided to box up everything I haven’t worn in the past six months, clothes I’m not really sure about, stuff that’s too big, too small, wrong colour. Even the items I don’t wear, but am sentimental about. Yep, they’re going too. My chosen charity awaits.
The year 2010 is about giving back. Living more simply. Thinking of others less fortunate. Giving without expecting anything in return. Just thinking about living that way feels good. So to do it must feel even better—for the giver and receiver.
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I feel different this New Year’s Eve. Last year I was busily putting together a vision board and my list of goals, all while willing a fabulous new year ahead.
As 2010 approaches tomorrow (or the day after for the Northern Hemisphere folks), I’m all about going with the flow. Letting go. Trusting in what lies ahead.
Sure, I know what I’d like to achieve, goals I want to reach and places I want to see. But this year, I’m going to recognise my dreams then simply turn up, kick back, relax and trust.
I’ve decided life is a journey we’re not always meant to be in full control of. An apple doesn’t force itself to grow on a tree. I just lets go and trusts that it will reach its full potential. Whether it does or doesn’t is really up to the flow, not to the apple.
So next year, starting right now, I’m going to take my lessons from that apple. Hang in there, soak up the sunshine, live as nature intended. That means seeing the blessings in everything, loving others as you want to be loved, not judging anyone or anything and being grateful for whatever comes, and goes.
With that said, sending you love and blessings for a magical 2010. Thanks for taking time to read this little blog. May the vegan love spread far and wide 
There are many who believe the vegan diet is limited, boring and, um, limited. Trying to explain the abundance of food choices isn’t always easy—and sometimes it’s not a conversation ye old vegan types may want to enter into.
As a tribute to all of the incredible vegan foods that the earth has blessed us with, I wanted to share an interview with long-time vegan Moby, who stopped eating animals and animal products more than 20 years ago.
This is also a great video to watch if you’re considering making your New Year Resolution a vegan one, but are concerned your food choices may be lacking.
As 2009 draws to a close, I want to celebrate a few powerful reasons to become vegan: our little (and big) fellow earthlings who make this planet of ours truly remarkable.
Here’s to those who made the transition to veganism in 2009 and those who will take the leap in 2010. May your new year be filled with countless blessings and a whole lotta love!
A sneak peak at Life‘s Wild Animal Photos of the Year…
“Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!”
~ Theophile Gautier
“Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”
~ Albert Einstein
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.” ~ Martin Buber
And just because… (I’m so cute!)
“We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
~ Immanual Kant
When someone becomes vegan, it starts with a decision. Nothing more, nothing less.
This decision can make a huge positive difference to the lives of others, and can turn out to be the most important moment of a person’s life. I know when I became vegan, it changed my life in countless ways (not to mention the lives of animals who were no longer being slaughtered to fill my dinner plate).
Knowing how such a decision can affect humanity, animals and the planet, I was thrilled to be asked to write a passage for a new website, which was born from a desire to help others on their journey from meat eater to vegan.
Called The Vegan Decision, the website is the home of “thoughtful essays from people who made the decision to stop eating animals” and why they made the choice.
Whether you’re vegan, or considering the lifestyle, this website is no doubt going to be a great resource—a place of inspiration, advice and great tips—thanks to those who are sharing their journey. Love it!
Elite ultra-endurance athlete Harley Johnstone is giving Aussie livestock producers something to worry about, according to a story on ABC Rural News.
What’s making the meat industry quake in their bloody boots? The fact that Harley has ridden more than 160,000 kilometres in the past 10 years on a diet of fruit and water. No meat. No dairy. Just a good ol’ helping hand from Mother Nature.
“He could be every fruit grower’s best mate, and every livestock producer’s worst nightmare,” the reporter quipped.
The Aussie vegan has founded a raw food vegan group, 30 Bananas A Day, and says he’s the country’s biggest fruit lover.
“A typical day, well I’m quite active so I need a lot of calories. So that’s typically 35-40 large bananas, or if I’m not eating bananas that could be 20 or 30 mangoes, or a couple of kilos of dates from California,” he said.
“A lot of people say, are you nuts? And I say, no, I’m bananas.”
Harley’s fruit of choice, the banana
“Kale is my best friend. I eat kale salad. I put kale in my smoothies, kale in my soup. Kale, kale, kale! I feel like Popeye. I love it. I definitely need variety or I get super bored, so I have to mix it up with different sauces and tahini or whatever.” ~ Songstress (and almost full-time vegan) Alannis Morrisette, on her love affair with kale, as told to runnersworld.com
I heart the holidays and I love to travel. But there’s no doubting the menu options for vegans can be a little limited in lands we less know.
In my quest to visit just about every continent on earth (still quite a few to go, mind you) I came across the travel-fabulous ResponsibleTravel.com, an earth-friendly company that keeps us animal-loving lot very much in mind when it comes to making travel plans. To date, they have 33 vegan (and vegetarian) destinations on their books, which you can check out at the click of a mouse.
From a Pyrenees caravan park to bed and breakfast accommodation in Cornwall, this fab site is a must for any vegan adventurer or rest-and-relaxation seeker.
Booking a vegan holiday means you can relax, rather than trying to explain your dietary requirements in (possibly) another language.
My must-visit list includes eco accommodation in Ventimiglia on the Italian Riviera. I’ll be sure to write!
The stunning, and vegan, Italian Riviera
