Consequences

So, after my frustration with a low fat, high fruit raw vegan diet and my longing for having more fun with food again without feeling guilty (I am human after all), I get to experience the consequences. Some things I have learned in the past few weeks:

• Having a soy cappuccino at Starbuck's equals a sleepless night.
• Eating meals at restaurants which contain salt, heated oils and sugar are not a good idea to improve my skin condition.
• Eating cooked food is not going to kill me (right away ^^).
• I feel very clearly that I long for a low fat vegetable based diet. I know I am doing great with vegetables. I am longing for the plain steamed sort of dishes, along with herbs etc.
• I like green tea and oolong tea and if I drink them not in the late afternoon they don't cause any big problems with my sleep, and they make me feel good and mildly energized as well as help to sharpen my mind.
• I don't need salt. Why are they putting that stuff into everything again?
• I don't need oil. Seriously. Who came up with this?
• I really enjoy the taste, smells and textures of Thai vegetarian food.
• I really appreciate to have pleasant to no body odor, good deep sleep, a flat stomach, healthy digestion and glowing healthy skin. Heated oils, lots of salt and refined sugar are not taking me there. 
• Searching for fun is not a bad idea nor is it a sin.
• I can have a deeper satisfaction with my life if I take radical care of my self, internally and externally.
• If I am 100% honest with myself I can see that eating those foods I have been ingesting is not what I truly want.
• There are so many things in life that can be fun. Food is only one of them.
• I fell in love with Yoga, and I really enjoy cycling and running, as well as hiking and reading - and, of course, dancing and hooping. 
• I can still make my food fun - I simply need to take care of this myself instead of relying on others.
• I can find a diet that makes me happy - emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally. I think and feel I already have a clue what that diet may look like. In fact, I have been clear about this for about one or two months now. I have just needed some time to get to experience other things in order to be certain about my next move. That time wasn't wasted - it brought me clarity.
• I love my life, I love myself for the choices I make and the consequences that come with it as it promotes my personal growth.
• And yes, others might look at me and observe what I am doing as failure. Finally I am in a place where I can smile at that. They don't know what I know, they don't feel what I feel. They do what they do and experience what they experience, they get their results and make choices according to that. And that is what I am doing as well.
• As I have no clear goal except for experiencing my life in all authenticity, I don't have failures anymore in my life - that is a mental program I no longer subscribe to.
• My mind is like a theater, a movie, a TV show. There are some films running that I know already - they are getting old. It's ready for a new tape, I am ready for switching the channel. And that is a channel called unconditional love.

Peace everyone!

have fun

You know, I value having fun in my life. I think I didn't allow myself to have enough fun over the past couple of years, sure, I had some fun here and there, but most of the time, I didn't allow myself to fully enjoy those moments.

Fulfilling my need for fun is definitely on my priority list at the moment. I didn't have real fun regularly for so long, that I don't even know what fun is to me. What do I really enjoy doing? I would say I really love dancing and hooping. I love being around people who have a good sense of humor and make me laugh. I enjoy long walks in the woods, in nature. I really like lying on the grass underneath a tree, looking up to the sky, seeing the sun rays shining through the green leaves on the branches. I really like having a fit body and being able to do difficult yoga poses or acrobatic stuff. Will I get my fitness back? Will I get fitter than ever before? I hope so. But I know I can have fun, whatever happens,... yes, I can have fun.

This video shows a scene from one my absolute favorite movies (Practical Magic). This looks like fun to me.
And the song always makes me want to have some fresh coconut water, yummy!



Another thing that is fun for me at the moment is experimenting with cooked food again. I changed my view on cooked foods quite a bit in the last couple of days/weeks. My goal is simply not 100% raw right now. (Again, I don't like the labels I put onto myself. Making these choices gives me a feeling of freedom and I really like that.) I do enjoy all the things I eat. As long as I am alive I will remain open-minded and open to learn. All I have are my experiences, and I am grateful for every single one of them. They are what makes me alive, and I love being alive, that is why I'm here in the first place.

Also, I think there is a lot of black and white thinking going on in the raw food/vegan movement and I want to take a step away from perfectionist thinking patterns. I have had my share of perfectionist obsessions in my young life already. If you love eating all raw, and you feel great with it, then all is fine, and I am glad you enjoy your experience and wish you the best. My path is leading me somewhere else right now, and I am following my intuition.

Love to all! I am off for having some really nice papayas for lunch. What can I say? I simply love fruit.

expressing gratitude for every meal

Today I want to talk about the importance of being grateful for our food. Growing up in a Western country, having enough food and a wide variety of available foods to choose from, it is sometimes easy to take it for granted to be provided with (more than) enough to eat. Well, when I was younger and spent more time with my grandparents, we spoke prayers before every meal. These prayers were Christian prayers and they kind of did not connect me to my food, to the earth. So, I had to say those words without realizing a deeper meaning behind them and soon lost interest in this habit of speaking prayers when I grew older and wasn't told to so anymore. (I am not saying that the trouble was that they were Christian prayers, I am just pointing out that I felt a lack of deeper meaning and connection.)

It has been a few years since I noticed that I missed the pure act of sitting down, being still before having a meal and expressing gratitude for Mother Nature's gift: food. When I spent time with a dear friend in Thailand in 2009, we always folded our hands, closed our eyes and spoke prayers of gratitude to Gaia, either out loud or in silence to ourselves, before enjoying our fruity meals. This simple practice brought me to the present moment and made me feel warm and happy inside. What a lucky girl I am to have food! And such beautiful and nutritious food too!

Sometimes people, especially in the health food scene, get caught in their longings for 'perfect' nutrition. They analyze every bite, plan a lot and get annoyed when something is not ideal, or even beat themselves up for not eating 'the best/perfect' foods. If that is you, I recommend to take a step back and acknowledge that you are extremely lucky to be in a position in which you can even think about all this. I say, be grateful for every bite. The mind is a powerful thing, and what you think can make you feel very miserable - it is not only about the food. Of course, food is important as well. I am just saying, sometimes we make ourselves unnecessarily feel bad. Happiness is a choice, it is not dependent on having 'ideal food' at every meal. (Especially, since every health expert out there seems to have a different take on what 'ideal' means anyway.)

I feel that there is still a bit of anxiety inside myself when it comes to making food choices. I am working on letting go. I ask myself what I feel like, then I choose something to nourish myself with and whatever it is, I am grateful for the food. I am grateful for the sun, the rain, the air, the soil, the microorganisms, the water, the farmers, the trees etc. There is a lot to be grateful for! As you eat your meal in a state of inner calmness, honest gratitude and emotional poise, you will experience a difference in how you feel about yourself and your food.

Since my arrival in Bangkok I have enjoyed fresh coconut water (which is becoming one of my favorite things to nourish my cells), fresh squeezed OJ (this stuff is amazing here, so sweet!), durian (of course! How could I resist?), papayas (love them), lots and lots of dragonfruits (love them) and some bananas. Also had some organic greens.

I LOVE MY FOOD.

I AM GRATEFUL FOR EVERY BITE.

I THANK THE RAIN,

I THANK THE SUN,

I THANK THE SOIL,

I THANK THE TREES.

GAIA, GAIA, GAIA,

THANK YOU.

I will be doing a Yoga Retreat with my friend Jess in two weeks! It will be intense: Hatha classes in the morning, Ashtanga classes in the afternoon. And hopefully relaxing at the beach and getting a nice tan!

I love Bangkok, I am grateful for my time with Jess and I am happy that I have all I need.

Are you expressing your gratitude when you are eating? Do you have a prayer? 

I'm curious.

permaculture adventure

I've recently earned a 72 hour Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) in York, North England (UK). It was a fantastic experience, but also really challenging at the same time. I was the only vegan, let alone raw vegan there and having enough food for me (ripe fruit, organic greens were tricky) was stressing me more than necessary. Feeding a raw vegan is the easiest thing in the world. There were 2 fruiting plum trees on our campsite and I could live straight from the 'garden' for a few days which was really wonderful. Imagine a whole field of several acres (like the one we were camping on) covered in fruit trees and other perennial plants! No need for gas for cooking, packaging, recycling/getting rid of harmful materials etc. Just pick, eat, give back to the earth. The perfection, beauty and abundance of a forest garden.

Our teacher, fabulous Richard Perkins, paid a lot of attention to our group development and focused on creating a functioning little community for those two weeks we spent there together. We played several games which allowed us to connect deeply. The more games we played, the closer we got together. The last few days I felt like I got a new big family - it was surprising to me, as I didn't expect to feel that much included - especially because I found it pretty hard not to feel separated because of my different diet/lifestyle. Cooking together and enjoying the same food at meal times is very central in community development and therefore I felt pain and homesick a lot in the beginning. I even cooked for my crew once which was fun as a creative process in a way, but also stressful, as I didn't enjoy the low energy and smells etc. I did my best, though and was happy when I saw other people being happy.

Things that interested me the most:
- food forests/forest gardens (we visited a food forest in the North of England! fantastic!)
- natural building
- Ken Wilber
- permaculture in temperate climates and urban areas
- community building
- skill share
- the actual designing process

Other things:
- homeschooling
- attachment parenting/continuum concept
- nonviolent communication

On our last day of the course we had to perform a (no) talent act in form of a show which is part of the course. I did a hula hoop dance to the song "Woman of the Earth" by Spiral Dance, it was so much fun and I loved it. People seemed to love it, too.

After the PD course I attended a nonviolent communication workshop which was really helpful. I'll be writing more about NVC soon, as I think it is incredibly important for social change and community building. It supports healthy relationships to other people and ourselves. It has potential to help make this world a more peaceful place. So, I want to talk about the language of love some time soon!

feasting and letting go

I had the most fantastic time at the Fresh Food Festival in Denmark last week. The food was fabulous (and I helped preparing in the kitchen which was great fun) and the people were fascinating, loving and kind. I was happy to meet Doug, Rozi and Fay again, among all the others. Like last year, the atmosphere was so good that I was reluctant to leave. Why can't this last forever? I thought. I made some amazing friends this year and loved the experience as a volunteer. I am deeply grateful for the time I spent there and I am looking forward to new events in the future.

The sad news is that when I arrived back home after a very exhausting 24hours plus train and car travel, I found my beloved dog friend called Daisy in a very bad state of health. She had some nasty thromboses which needed to be removed in an operation. She was operated on the day after my return. The operation went without complications, my mom and I were waiting for the doc to finish and take her back home with us. Suddenly the doc showed up, asking us to follow him into the operation room. There she lay on the table, tubes in her mouth, a big scar on her shaven stomach, unconscious. The monitor showed arhythmic heartbeat. And as I as I stood there, hands on her struggling body, she faded away. Her heart stopped beating.

The doc gave her two adrenaline shots right into her tired heart. No reaction. He tried to re-animate her. No success. She was gone. And didn't intend to come back. Helplessly, I watched her die under my hands, my heart was broken. Daisy was ten years old, she came to our family when I was eleven. We had a very special connection, she was my little darling, my baby, my sister, my best friend. She meant the world to me and she always will.

My grief was very, very intense right after her death. We took her lifeless body home with us and laid her on her bed in our living room. I lied down next to her, unwilling to say goodbye just yet, crying a river of sorrowful tear drops. My mom was there with me, crying because of the loss of such a wonderful being. The world would be lonely without her. We buried her in our garden, her head facing east, to the rising sun. White roses grow above her now, a sphere made of white stone marks her grave, saying 'unforgotten' - and that she always will be.

When you grief, you either lose your appetite and eat less or you try to numb yourself out emotionally in order to 'protect' yourself from the pain. I found myself doing an unintentional 24 hour fast and eating comparatively little the past few days. Processing such intense emotions demands a good deal of nerve energy of the body. Sleep is really important. Sitting with my feelings, as painful as they may be, is the best thing I can do for now. And as I invite the pain and feel deeply into it, it fades away slowly, but gradually, and leaves me feeling grateful for my life, the amazing beings in it and the wonderful time I spent with Daisy. I am really lucky that I knew her, I am forever-grateful for the special connection I had with her. Thank you for enriching my life, Daisy. You will always be in my heart. Rest in Peace. I love you.

earning your fruit

First of all, I felt like crap (well, let's say less than ideal) most of today because of yesterday's overeating (?) and lack of sleep. So, I felt like, oh well, going for a run ain't make it worse, so I took off - and it was blissful. I'm really digging the barefoot running lately. I worship my Vibrams (grey/yellow). ♥

So, I ended up running 12km in my favorite park in Vienna. When I was done, I came across a fruiting plum tree! How amazing is that? In the middle of the city! In the end of June! They turned out to be the tastiest small yellow plums I've ever had. So sweet and bursting with the most terrific flavor ever. I kind of fell in love. ♥

Of course, they might have tasted like pure perfection because I've just run quite some kms. :) Fruit always tastes better after working out, doesn't it? I hope I will remember this from now on. It makes life much more enjoyable to earn one's fruit. ♥

living a simple and self-sustaining lifestyle in abundance

When I watch this, I get the urge to build a massive food forest in a warm and sunny climate.

I love this vision.
♥

loving food that's loving me back

Alison is presenting her interview series 'Living on Fruit' and the video below features long term low fat raw vegan Andrew - there is no doubt that he genuinely enjoys his food and whole lifestyle. And I know exactly what he means. Right now, I am experiencing such high levels of happiness, contentedness and well-being resulting from my raw vegan fruit-based diet that I don't see myself eating something other than fresh, raw, ripe, preferably organic plant foods anytime soon or ever again. I am just too much in love with my current food and the results coming from it.



Do you love your food? And equally important: does it love you back?



Sometimes people think I am an ascetic eating this way, when actually the TASTE of these foods is one of my main reasons to choose this diet. Whole, fresh, ripe, raw fruits and vegetables are the most beautiful, tasty and satisfying foods I know of. I have not always viewed it this way, I am still evolving and growing more and more into it. Practice is a crucial factor: The more you practice being low fat raw vegan, the better you will become at sticking to it. It takes time to change habits, change your perspective and change your actions, I made so many decisions in the past that were not serving me - but in the end, they brought me to where I am now.
Doug likes to tell one of his many great anecdotes and it goes somewhat like this: He once asked a very successful and popular man about the secret behind his success. The man answered: All comes from good judgment. Then Doug asked, how do we gain the ability of good judgment? Experience, is the answer. And how do we get experienced? Poor judgment!
Failing is part of life, and part of success, if you handle it the right way. It is a vital source of experience and so it can be very valuable for making decisions in the future - hopefully decisions, that serve you much better.

Don't stress yourself with thinking too far into the future ('Oh my god! I can never have candy/pizza/french fries (whatever) ever again!'), but stay in the moment and ask yourself, if you are willing to experience the uncomfortable consequences resulting from your choices in the now. Change your focus from a deprivation point to an ABUNDANCE point of view - because that's what this lifestyle is ultimately about for me anyway: abundance. I love to eat. And I love to eat A LOT.

Much happiness! Enjoy!
Jasmin

hakuna matata

A quick update: Everything is fine, I really enjoy my food, I am deeply grateful for being alive and living a non-violent and abundant lifestyle! I feel like everything is flowing more these days and I need good rest and more sunshine to get more balanced, but overall I feel really good. My skin has improved so much which is a great motivation to stay raw! And the Summer is coming soon, so I'm super psyched for all the yummylicious fruit!

My breakfast today:

Really good video about the importance of a plant-based live food diet:




The Fruitarian Diet. Theoretically, and in practice, a diet composed of high quality, ripe, raw fruits provides the human body with all the nutrients it needs with the very least expenditure of digestive effort, at the same time producing no toxic by-products and so allowing the body to detoxify itself and perform at its peak. Raw fruits are more palatable and provide more energy for a given amount than vegetables and can be prepared with less effort and less waste. Not only can the highest level of health be attained on a fruitarian diet but, because it places so much less wear and tear on the body's vital organs, degeneration is slowed down and the lifespan extended.

From: Health and Survival in the 21st Century by Ross Horne

... and: Don't worry, be happy! Hakuna Matata! NO WORRIES!

feeling high ♥ on beautiful fresh food

I am SO HIGH on RAW foods today, crew! I feel fantastic right now. Wow. I am just sitting in front of my PC laughing sillily because I am so happy. :D

Today:

Got up at 5am and went to work. I work in the fruit and veg section of a big super market, so after work I purchased my lunch. :) Got home at noon and then...

- breakfast/lunch: grapes - loads, some fresh dates (= NOT dried, so yummy!), a big head of green lettuce
- snack: grapes and greens (another big head of lettuce and mini cucumbers)
- dinner: strawberries, papaya, tomatoes, greens (lettuce, arugula, sprouts, basil)

OMG. This was probably the BEST dinner I have EVER had. =) I need to take pics of my food again, it's so pretty and tasty that I wanna share it with you! Unfortunately, the batteries of my camera are low, I will post some pics tomorrow! ;)
So, this is what I had: First, some strawberries. Then I blended some strawberries in my tiny blender just to see, if they taste any different that way, the blended strawberries turned out really yummy, too (surprise!). Then I had some RIPE JUICY SWEET papaya (I saw it in the shop and it smelled so good, so I had to take it with me). I poured some of the strawberry 'sauce' into my papaya 'boat' - this was divine. Just to make it more fun, I combined some strawberries and some papaya in the blender and gave it a twist: great combo! I still had my undressed greens sitting in my bowl waiting for being devoured. I threw some tomatoes into the blender along with the strawberry-papaya combo: great soup! Then I added basil. Even better! And last, but not least, I added a handful of arugula and pulsed. This is the most amazing savoury low fat raw vegan dressing/sauce I have ever had, I think.
I am so glad I experimented a bit! I highly recommend experimenting with fruits and veggies in the kitchen (or on the study desk, as in my case). I coated my lettuce strips and sprouts with my sauce and enjoyed this BEAUTIFUL dish with my chopsticks. I felt like in heaven. Ha! Why cooking - when I can create something as mindblowingly delicious as this really simple low fat raw vegan dish? ;)

Happy Vibes to ya all,
Jasmin
♥


BTW: Here is a video by the amazing Chris Kendall showing some of his low fat raw gourmet creations:

rawvelations

I made a decision today. I hid my pot on top of my cupboard where I cannot reach it easily, hehe. I am not going to eat cooked vegan meals anytime soon again. I am going all raw NOW. This is why:

I have been eating cooked vegan meals (no salt, no oil) every day since last Sunday (5 days) and I do not feel my normal happy self. I feel heavy, down and sluggish. Although I cannot surely say that it is solely because of the cooked food, I am sure it is a major factor. I have experienced swell and some weight gain (I do not own any scale, but I can tell by how my clothes fit and how I look). I experience more thirst than usual. My digestion is OK, but I know it can be better. I do not feel like exercising after eating something cooked - especially, since I ALWAYS over-eat (= eat more than is comfortable) on cooked foods, it does not matter, if they are salt- and oil-free, if I am honest. I thought I could happily include cooked vegetable dishes in my diet and stay high raw vegan and low fat, but at least right now, this does not seem to be the case.

I feel more determined than ever to stick to 100% raw now. So, that is the positive side of this! I feel so sorry for myself that I do not go outside and enjoy the good weather or do some exercise, when I am actually such a big fan of sports and working out. It pains me deeply to see myself gaining weight and hiding behind closed curtains since I feel so disgusting because of over-eating! So, with ending my cooked food binges, I need to find a good alternative way to cope with my emotional void. Any ideas or suggestions? I have a lot of ideas, actually, but still I have gone back to old behavioural patterns again and again. So, how do I make the change once and for all?

Another interesting thing: the blood type diet! I saw a discussion  about it and got curious. I have always thought that the blood type diet was bogus, but maybe there is something to it. I clearly do better on temperate fruits and interestingly that is what is suggested for people who have blood type AB. ;) Alas, it is somewhat true in my case that orange juice can upset my stomach, I have always thought it is due not optimal quality oranges! And I used to drink water with lemon juice every morning some time ago and felt amazing doing that. I stopped this habit because I read somewhere on 30BaD that lemons are not a good thing to put into your body. I also love grapefruits. So, for now I will do a temperate fruits only experiment. (Although some of the melons and other fruits I consider temperate are imported from more tropical countries.)

So, again: mono meals - or rather one type of fruit and greens at a time - and no overt fats AND all raw are my priorities. Starting now - because I am worth it and deserve the best.  ♥ And you do, too! ;)


PS: Here you can see some foods recommended for AB:

• All kinds of Grapes and Plums, Berries (Cranberries, Gooseberries, Loganberries), Cherries
• Pineapples
• Grapefruits, Lemons
• Kiwi
• Tomatoes
• Celery, Green Leafy Vegs, Cucumber, Parsley

 Not recommended:

• Mangoes, Guava, Coconuts, Bananas and other tropical fruits except Papaya (which I love)
• Oranges 

precious fluids and goals ♥

Hello beautiful people :)

The positive message first: I have been eating exclusively sweet, juicy fruits and tender leafy greens for over a week and felt fabulous.♥
Then I decided to donate some of my precious blood plasma - I get some money in return and I figured since they check my blood they can tell me which blood type I have. I had to work on Friday and Saturday (need to get up at 5am in the morning) and in addition to that I had lectures on Friday and Saturday like every other day of the week except Sunday. Saturday afternoon I went to make my donation. The nurses were really nice and explained everything to me very kindly. The doctor and secretary were not very helpful at all. They wouldn't give me my blood results and could not tell me my blood type! (The only thing they told me was that my iron level is perfect and that my blood protein levels are more than fine.)

The donation process itself took only about half an hour (unlike about one hour with most other donors; I think this is partly because I am so short and partly because my blood flows much better than the blood of high fat animal products consuming people!). The machine separated the plasma from the other blood particles right before my eyes. I sent positive messages to my blood and felt very grateful for having such amazing fluids streaming in my temple body! However, a lot of doubts came up during the procedure as well. My blood was piped through plastic tubes, got stripped off the plasma, mixed with a citrate solution and pumped back into my veins. Doesn't sound very healthy, does it? I could actually feel the strange taste in my mouth resulting from the citrate. Not ideal. Do not try this at home. ;)

After the donation I came home hungry for fruity sugars and mineral-rich tender leafy greens to recover properly - only to find that my grapes and lettuce were everything but fresh and enjoyable, I had to compost a good part of my food! I got a headache, drank lots of water (I was sooo thirsty!) and went to bed very early at around 7.30pm. Then I slept (with pee breaks) until 8am the next day. I think my body needed rest! I still felt weak the next day. However, since I have been neglecting my running all week until Sunday, I decided to go for a run. I ran about 5km and then walked home with pain in my chest. Of course, I still had no ripe fruit at home! Bummer! So, I decided to go to one of the very few shops that were open. (Shops are closed on Sundays in Austria.) Did I find good fruit? Well. Maybe the melons would have been alright. Apples from the supermarket do not appeal to me anymore. The rest was under-ripe. I craved greens. The greens available did not look very palatable. I ended up buying lots of veggies and some overt fats! (Avocados and cashews.)

I decided to 'treat' myself  with some nicely prepared vegan food (plain cooked vegetables, no salt, no oils). Honestly, I enjoyed the taste and textures. But I got a belly ache and cramps in my stomach from the cashews. I needed a lot of sleep and water. I did not feel fully rested today and continued this day like yesterday: I started with a little bit of melon (amazing!) and had some slightly under-ripe bananas (they need unusually long to ripen this week!) and then I prepared some vegan food again. I typed it all into my Cronometer and it showed that I have filled up on ALL the vitamins (except B12 and D) and minerals! Over 100% in all the vitamins and minerals, including calcium, zinc and iron! At least something, I hope my body can absorb what it needs. ♥

After these two days of high raw vegan I long for all raw fruity goodness once again and I am ready to create a goal list for the future. So, here goes my goal list:

• always have bananas ripening in my cupboard
• have dates in the room for emergencies (I have never had datorade!)
• move more: go for a long, fast walk or run on a daily basis again
• concentrate on mono meals of juicy, sweet, ripe fruit
• overt-free 
• buy more than I think I need!
• forage wild greens and make green smoothies with them
• buy good organic greens and have about 2lb of greens a day
• mindful eating: eat when hungry, stop when satisfied, do not overeat
• be grateful for what I have ♥ 
• work on my Vision Book every day 
• more sun on my skin and less time online!
• continue going to bed early 
• and last but not least: more water! 

So, here it is, my list of goals, I think it is always helpful and also very important for personal success and evolution to set goals for oneself and reflect and re-adjust after some time. I will let you know, how it goes.
Hope you have a great week! ♥

best foods for academic performance?

Well, as a student, the title of this video sounded very interesting, and indeed, what Dr. Doug talks about makes so much sense to me. I love his holistic approach to health. Eating fruits and vegetables provides our bodies with the best fuel and nutrients in order to function properly. Also, our mental clarity is best, when eating these foods. Diets high in fat not only result in all kinds of physiological problems like high blood sugar and candida issues, but also result in brain fog. Garlic is known for its negative impact on the brain, it hinders the proper communication between the left and right brain hemisphere. The brain loves simple sugars. ;)

Enjoy!

ready. set. go!

Hey!

So, I have had another 2 and a half low fat raw vegan weeks, when I was suddenly shocked at the end of the month: I used more than double the amount the money that I had planned to use for food. :o

Needless to say, I got quite sad and frustrated, I checked in the shops what other possibilities there are and found that grain products (whole grain bread and rice) are quite cheap (counting per calorie). Also, potatoes are cheaper than bananas right now. What did I end up doing this week? I experimented. What would happen if I eat cooked carbs vs. raw fruity carbs?

First. Whole grain bread. There is salt in it. Ouch. I don't know, if it was only because of the salt or also because of the gluten, but anyway, I got extremely thirsty, a bit bloated and I felt very itchy and I had very bad sleep on one night. This experiment lasted 2 days.

Second. Potatoes. They work much better for me. Also, I bought some very cheap veggies to eat with them and it tasted really OK (mangoes, melons, bananas etc. taste better though. They are just less stimulating and more expensive per calorie.) Then I had notice something: My pee smelled so bad. Ew. Must be because of the cooked veggies (broccoli, chard, carrot). I like it when my pee does not smell (bad). Also, digestion was not bad, but the elimination process after having a mono fruit day is SO much better. I think I would be OK eating potatoes once in a while, when I do not have ripe fruit at hand. So, this is my second day incorporating cooked potatoes, and I am already ready to end the taters experiment, LOL.

Result. I feel best on fruit and I do not want to let money determine what I eat completely. I considered dumpster diving and just living from the fruits and veggies markets throw away (hello, capitalism!) plus supplementing with cooked rice and potatoes for cheap carbs. But that would mean less (good quality) sleep - I love to go to bed early and dumpster diving is best done late at night. Maybe I will do it once in a while, but not to sustain myself from that.

Future. Bananas are a much better fuel. They are cheap. How hard can it be to manage to have ripe bananas around all the time? Every time I run out of bananas, I run into problems. LOL. Well, considering 100% raw or not. I still refer to myself as a fruit loving vegan - I am not ready to commit to 100% LFRV 100% of the time. The 100% thinking does not do me any good. Usually, if I choose in the moment and have fresh RIPE fruit around, I go for the fruit anyway. :) I sometimes make cooked foods sound better than they are in my head. Plus: I need to be fully honest - I am too lazy and too impatient to cook. I like it simple and instant: mono fruit meals, please.

Also: I HAVE A JOB! Yippie. Finally, I am earning my own money. Hehe. Soooo, I can buy more and better fruit. And I do not have to feel too bad about buying so much fruit. :) Well, my parents were not complaining at all - it is me who wants to feel more... self-dependent. I love my parents and their support. :)

Goal. Being on banana island most days. Eating 2 pounds of greens a day, minimum. I am craving them so badly and I eat them mono. Hehe. Also, to get some Vitamin C and E: oranges and kiwi. Plus, the occasional apples and pears (when they are cheap!).

Well, then, wish me success.

Love,

Jasmin

watch this

amazing graze...

... how sweet the taste!

read more here: grazing vs meals

the fruitarian = my inspiration

plus more inspiration to embrace a fruity lifestyle: great blog post by beautiful & vibrant raw fruitarian Michele.

and last but not least, someone special shared this vid with me today, and I must say, watching it was defnitely worth my time. it's about how self-abuse comes into existence and how we can get rid of it.

end self-abuse now!



- do not own the shame and guilt of self-abuse
- no child is ever born violent
- deprived of empathy, some children will direct their anger against themselves
- this can happen in form of eating disorders, drug addiction, depression etc.
- or they direct their anger against other (i.e. war etc.)
- who the hell is society to morally criticize me? fuck them!
- when I'm attacking myself, I know it's coming from the outside, projected guilt
- I push back the guilt
- stand up for children
- no one deserves to be abused
- who are you to tell me how to live my life?
- I'm addicted to life :)

exploding nutrition myths - brenda davis

I met Brenda Davis years ago, at the World Vegetarian Congress in Germany. I was high fat raw vegan back then and she was giving great talks on Raw Food and Vitamin D. She looked vibrant, fit and healthy - and really young, too. She told me, that she's high raw, especially in the Summer months, but also enjoys some cooked vegan foods, like veggie stews and legumes in the colder months. She's a great inspiration to me. (She's one of the people, like Jeff Novick, who inspire me to earn a graduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and become an RD. Maybe one day, who knows! I'd love to!)

Myth 1: You need meat to get enough protein!



Myth 2: Fish is necessary for omega-3 fatty acids



Myth 3: The lack of B12 in plants is proof that we need to eat meat



Myth 4: You need milk to get enough calcium



Myth 5: Plant enzymes are of no value to human health



Myth 6: Cooked foods are toxic



Myth 7: Soy foods are dangerous for your health



Myth 8: There are no bad foods

25 things I wanna do before I die

1. learn how to surf
2. learn how to play guitar
3. dance until I'm in trance
4. attend a mediation retreat/learn how to meditate
5. eat all the fruit I care for
6. learn how to sing
7. learn and live Yoga
8. read classics of world literature
9. learn belly dancing
10. write + sing my own songs
11. invent a fantasy story
12. find a fruity family/community
13. love myself the way I am
14. know favourite songs & poems by heart
15. jump into a deserted lake - naked
16. live without money/make enough money to sustain my simple lifestyle
17. travel to Nepal/Israel/India
18. eat fresh Durian when in season
19. go on Apple Island for an extended period of time
20. plant unlimited fruit trees
21. grow fluent in Hebrew
22. grow fluent in French
23. live in a permaculture paradise
24. learn Acrobatics
25. run a half-marathon

inspiring post: no excuses, live your life

What a wonderful post. Thank you, Harrison.

Why Does Your Life Have To Be Less Than Optimal?
Posted by Harrison on January 1, 2011

I'm sick of excuses. People will come up with an endless list of why they can't eat a healthy diet or exercise or live in a health supportive environment... even though they claim to desperately want to do all of these things. The two excuses most common seem to be the cost and the time required for such luxuries. People, this is your life. It doesn't start next month or next year or when you get a better job or when you get out of school or when your kids get out of school. Your life is happening right now.

I've been communicating with a friend living in NYC who is always telling me how envious he is of my life and how I am so lucky. I'm not lucky. I simply made a choice. He is paying $2500/month in rent and tells me he can't afford to eat as much fruit as I do. He brings in at least 5x more annually than the most money I have ever made and tells me that he can't afford the luxuries of travel and tropical fruits in abundance.

I don't have a job. No steady income. I also don't have a watch or an alarm clock or a car or a mortgage or a defeatist attitude. I manage to travel all over the planet and also manage to eat as much fruit as I want. I don't have a trust fund or drain money from relatives. I'm not on any public assistance. If I can do it what in the hell is wrong with you?

When I travel I always meet people who are even more resourceful than I am at traveling/eating cheaply.

Anything you want as far as health, food and climate is available to you right now if you are clever enough to make it happen.