For the past year I’ve been trying to spark up the debate about our messed up food system and what to do about it here at A Lucid Spoonful and over at the Slow Food Nation blog. Now, I am proud to announce that there is a formidable new kid on the block, Civil Eats, a place to further the discussion with many voices and a hope for changing the debate. www.civileats.com explores the connections between the food system and the environment, the politics of consumer choices, and the actions we can take to change the way we think about food everyday. I hope you will join us there and take part in the conversation!
In addition to being a fantastic photographer Jeff is also a wild food and spring water aficionado. You can befriend Jeff and follow his latest on GI2MR and Twitter.
Here are a few of my favorties from Jeff’s collection:
Alejandro Junger MD recently wrote an article titled Another Inconvenient Truth for the October edition of GOOP, Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle newsletter.
In the article Dr Junger focused on the two core principles of health: eating real foods and detoxification cleansing.
The human body is a self-healing, self-renewing, self-cleansing organism. When the right conditions are created, vibrant well-being is its natural state. We have departed from the ways of nature and live under less than natural conditions. Like global warming, the toxicity of our planet is undeniable. I call it “Another Inconvenient Truth.” The air we breathe, the water we drink and shower with, the foods we eat, the cosmetics we use and the buildings we live and work in, are loaded with toxic chemicals that alone or in combination cause disease, suffering and even death. When we remove these obstacles and add what is lacking, our bodies bounce back into health as if by magic. This is natural, common-sense medicine, enabling the body to heal, regenerate and even rejuvenate itself.
With this in mind, if you live in a modern city and want to stay healthy, there are two fundamental practices to follow: detoxification cleansing and eating real foods, just as nature intended food to be.
For some reason, tourists here in NYC always ask me for directions. I don’t mind it a bit though, because it really does feel good to help out. As I was walking home one night, a group of young adults asked me how to get over to the East Village. I stopped and really gave them my attention.
After parting, one of the girls yelled – "You’re and angel!!! Thank you!"
You can’t buy the feeling that you get from helping others. Seriously. Helping others without expecting anything back is essential to our happiness.
After the quick interaction, I had 20 more minutes until I reached home. This gave me time to think about what the nice girl said to me.
Are we actually angels and don’t know it? Who says that angels have to have wings? Is an angel a thing or a state of being? Truth is my authority, not the other way around, so this thought had me going.
What if you believed deep down that you were actually an angel, here on this planet to do good? How would that affect your day to day existence? What if we raised our children that way? Can you imagine the possibilities?
If one reaches "Angel Consciousness", could they create Heaven on Earth quicker for themselves and their loved ones?
Is Angel Consciousness actually god Consciousness? Is it one step away? Do you see yourself as divine? Do you see yourself as an angel? What would ever make you believe that you weren’t? Maybe we all are… but somehow we’ve forgotten.
Here’s a story from The Power of Now that Dhrumil shared with me:
The Beggar and His Treasure
A beggar had been sitting by the side of the road for thirty years. One day a stranger walked by.
"Spare some change?" mumbled the beggar.
"I have nothing to give you," said the stranger. Then he asked: "What’s that you’re sitting on?"
"Nothing," replied the beggar. "Just an old box. I’ve been sitting on it for as long as I can remember.
"Ever look inside?," asked the stranger.
"No," said the beggar. "What’s the point, there’s nothing in there."
"Have a look inside," insisted the stranger. The beggar, reluctantly, managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.
I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you to look inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere even closer: inside yourself.
Like the beggar sometimes it’s easy for us to think that we’re living a life filled with void and un-happiness. But when we start to look inside, and awaken that Angel Consciousness, magical things start to happen to us an the people around us. I say awaken because just like the beggar who has no idea what he’s sitting on, we too have forgotten what treasures lay deep inside of us.
Just some living food for thought. Your reality is really yours to create. I believe this down to the core of my soul.
Be the source of light for yourself and others around you. Awaken your Angel Consciousness!
Bunny Berry is a blogger, Raw Fu tribe leader, entrepreneur and all out fabulous human being
When Dhrumil invited me to share My Way, the first thing that came to mind was a chubby Elvis in a sequined jumpsuit,
sweating out an overly dramatic rendition of the song in front of a
swooning crowd of 70s housewives in Vegas, baby! How could I resist?
There are so many similarities between The King and The Bunny. We’re
both Southern, and as country as cornbread. We share a birthday week:
Bunny- January 6th and Elvis- January 8th. And we both LOVE to eat!
You may not know that Elvis tried a raw food diet. He did. He only
lasted 3 days. And I am sure plenty of people that’s how long my
fascination with raw food would last, as well. But here I am, 6
months later, and 30 pounds lighter, kicking it Bunny Style.
Monday Up early to get my 4 year old, Beckett, off to Montessori school.
Beckett has his normal breakfast of free range scrambled eggs, and a
banana. I make myself an outrageous smoothie with a giant handful of
spinach, coconut flakes, frozen blueberries,frozen blackberries, water,
and throw in a Cherry Pie Larabar for a little extra umph! My husband,
Basil drinks the rest straight out of the VitaMix on his way out the
door.
I spend the morning working on the Raw Fu Cookbook, doing my daily Raw
Fu Video, and make a couple trips to the kitchen to grab a handful of
raw pine nuts straight out of the bag. Decadent. For lunch, I enjoy a
typical Bunny tossed salad with romaine, cucumbers, sprouts and a
dressing of olive oil, garlic powder, and lemon juice. Back to work on
the cookbook, the Raw Fu forums, and then it’s time for a my full time
paying gig. Basil makes me a smoothie for dinner, and I work on a
PowerPoint Template (sigh, I bet Elvis never had to do this) and
prepare for a corporate shareholder’s meeting. I show off some serious
Raw Fu multi-tasking at prime time by finishing the PPT, meeting up
with friends in Chat Fu, and watching David Wolfe on the Rawkathon.
Then it was up to read bedtime stories, play a quick episode of
Spiderman (I’m a mean green goblin), and lights out for Beckett.
Tuesday After getting the boys off to school and work, I drank a ton of water,
and headed into the Raw Fu Kitchen to tape an un-cooking demo. Rosemary pesto with ingredients from my tiny herb garden. After
I pick up Raw Fu tee shirts, try to sneak in a little cookbook time,
put out fires on the Raw Fu Forums, and work the day job. I had green
juice for breakfast, the pesto with carrot noodles for lunch, and
Basil cooked spaghetti squash for dinner. It was cold out, and I was
happy to eat a heaping cup of warm spaghetti squash with my salad.
Tuesday night brought more Rawkathon, more Chat Fu, and Beckett was
already asleep by the time I got up stairs. I pulled him into my bed
to sleep between me and Basil. I missed him all day.
Wednesday I was chained to my desk all day, working on paying gig. Nothing to see
here. I survive on green smoothies, lara bars, and only take one break
during the day. Drove out to see my mother’s gorgeous new house, where
she insists of feeding me an iceberg lettuce salad with Thousand Island
dressing. Elvis would have loved it!
Thursday Gathered lettuce for lunch out of my own square foot garden,
which is one of the highlights of my week. The garden is quickly
becoming my favorite place in our little backyard paradise. Not only
has my relatioship with food started to change, my relationship with
Earth is taking on a new life, as well. I realize how disconnected
I’ve been, and it’s good to get back to nature, even on a tiny scale
like the 4 x 4 square foot garden in my backyard. I have twinges of
wanting to sell everything, weave a yurt, and become a full blown
hippie. But then I have to ask myself, "What Would Elvis Do?", and I
snapped out of it to make a jungle peanut and banana smoothie and get
back to work!
Friday Today’s mission is simple. Bunny must find PANTS. I am leaving on
Saturday for a business trip to Honolulu, and all of my dress pants are
now falling off because of the weight I’ve lost from going raw. I grab
a smoothie, head out, and come home with two pairs of pants and a huge
smiled on my face. My pants are two sizes smaller than they were on April 14, 2008 when I started this raw food journey.
I end the week feeling like a hunk a burning love, and decide to stop
by and visit the new Elvis statue in Honolulu while I’m there to pass
on a Raw Fu tee shirt, and to let him know how I’m doing it My Way.
They’re inexpensive, easy to use, and as versatile as toaster ovens and, on The Early Show, Epicurious.com’s Tanya Steel offered buying tips and recipes.
You dont have to spend a whole lot to have a fun evening in The next time you want to have some friends over, try out a few of these ideas You wont spend a whole lot, and the memories youll make together will be well worth it
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