Have You Kissed Any Pigs Lately? (Plus a recipe for juice)

The media is once again effectively spreading the "pandemic" fear.

Earlier I had done a post about the importance of vitamin D, and here is a link to one of my favorite blogs, The Heart Scan Blog, where the doctor discusses the link between immunity and Vitamin D.

Here is another link to an article written by Dr. Monica Hughes, PhD in Biology (she knows of what she speaks), about the source of this flu- horrific containment and treatment of our food-production animals. There is a link in her article about the reality of what we do to animals, and you will understand how these super- viruses mutate in these ridiculously toxic and brutal conditions.

When you are healthy, in tune with your own life, your immune system is available. If you smoke, drink alcohol daily, have unneeded anger or hate in your life, or are walking around with long standing grief or sadness, your immune system is distracted and not available to serve you.

We cannot stretch our immune system too thin.

I recommend juicing 4-5 times per week. Here is a combination of foods I juice together:

1 green apple
adds sweetness without too much sugar, vitamins and minerals, and is cooling and nurturing to the blood.
1 medium carrot
Vitamin A, supports the eyes
1 cup baby spinach
Vitamin A, Vitamin C. The leafy greens go to the liver to nourish and detoxify.
2 large leaves kale (with main stem removed)
Vitamin E, chlorophyll (builds blood), natural salty flavor enters the kidneys to detoxify. I once read a quote from a doctor where he said "Kale makes colon cancer cells commit suicide".
1/2 cucumber (skin on)
Cooling, nourishes blood and yin fluids, silicon in the skin aids in joint repair and encourages calcium absorbtion.
1/2 to 3/4 cup cilantro
Leaches out heavy metals, refreshes the liver, cools the blood.
1 large stalk celery
Drains damp (edema), silicon and natural salts repair joints, soothes arthritis, encourages calcium absorption.
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger. (organic, skin on)
Helps the stomach absorb nutrients, enhances immune system

This is a recipe that serves one. You can add some clean water if you need to thin it out a little.

Other good things to juice:
Beet (remove carrot if you add beet so as to not increase sugar content of juice), red leaf lettuce, dandelion greens (not too many, about 7-10 leaves), chard (avoid if prone to kidney stones).

Tips: Juice the kale and spinach with a piece of cucumber, as kale isn't super juicy and the cucumber helps the juicer do it's job on the kale.

You can see I do not juice fruit, except for green apple. Fruit is too high in sugar and creates an acidic environment in the body. Vegetables are alkaline, detoxifying, and soothing.

I do not encourage a totally raw diet for most people, but rather support a balance of raw and cooked foods. Always limit sugar intake, and keep grains to a minimum- always choosing whole grains and sprouted grains and legumes.

Do not forget about sodium. Salt in excess (on every meal) is a poison to the kidneys, even Himalayan salt. The natural salty flavor in foods such as kale and celery should be taken advantage of. Beware of the high sodium content in canned and prepackaged foods!

As far as juicers go, everyone has an opinion on which is "best". I have used Jack Lalanne's juicer for two years now and love it. Breville and Champion are also great. Do not go for the less expensive juicers, as they probably will break quickly. Jack Lalanne's juicer is about $100.

For All You Runners...

Here is a great video a sports medicine doctor did showing a side by side comparison of a woman running barefoot vs in shoes. She was given no instruction, just told to run. The point of the video is to show us how shoes create an artificial range of motion in the stride.

In the beginning, look at the freeze frame of the runners thigh. In the left/ barefoot video, notice the lack of total flex in the thigh. In the right/ in shoes video, the thigh is completely flexed, and the IT band (ilieo-tibial band)is rigid. This is why so many runners have tight and painful IT bands, and hip, knee, and low back pain.



Here is another video of the doctor demonstrating effective barefoot running.



The doctor mentions in another area that her runs in Adidas "Adizeno" shoes. There are also neat shoes called "Vibram 5- Fingers".

There is a course that "retrains" people how to run this way, especially if they have been running for years and are in the habit of "heel striking" called the POSE method.

Well, I am off to experiment on my treadmill now!

What is Your Fitness Type?

This is a fun little quiz, based off the Myers- Briggs Jungian personality typing quiz, that helps determine what type of fitness person you are. I really believe we all know the truth about ourselves, but we so easily become so mired in the muck of other peoples expectations and opinions (or what we egocentrically think are other peoples opinions of us) of us, that we cannot see the forest for the trees.

Have fun! Any other Red Efficiency types out there?

A Little Perspective...

Interesting TED Talk about electric cars

Here is the concept- we own the car, not the battery.

When the battery runs out, we pull up to a station where the battery is pulled and a fully charged one is put in.

Please watch...

Green Monsters...

A fellow blogger refers to her green shakes as her "Green Monsters" and I thought it was appropriate!

I like to juice, and since receiving a VitaMix blender as a gift, I have been making shakes. I am not a fan of lots of fruit (too sugary), so I use veggies in my shakes. Here is a recipe for my main shake with a few ideas following:

1 c water
1/2 c homemade almond milk or pure coconut milk (or raw whole milk)
1/2 banana
1/4 c blueberries (frozen)
2 large Kale leaves torn, leaving out main stem
big handful baby spinach
Scoop protein powder occasionally (Jay Robb- very clean powder with Stevia. I like the chocolate)
2 ice cubes (the VitaMix warms up the shake as it blends- HOWEVER I do not believe we should ever drink icy cold beverages)

Blend on high for at least 1 full minute, adding water, coconut milk, raw milk, or almond milk as needed.

Other things to add:
Pumpkin (canned/ cooked)
Coconut butter
Cantaloupe (instead of banana)
Oil (raw avocado, raw pumpkin seed)

I drink this every day almost, usually using it as dinner if I'm not too hungry or just what to go to bed with a clean system. I also like to juice for dinner for the same reasons.

Chicken for Heather

Here is a great recipe for the beginner cook (like my beautiful friend Heather), or when you just want an easy dinner.

Chicken breast
Several garlic cloves sliced
Poultry seasoning
Ghee

Directions:
Rinse chicken, pat dry. Don't bother making it look pretty, the fat and stuff will bake off during cooking
Cut horizontal slits into breast and stuff with garlic slices (more or less garlic depending on how much you like garlic)
With your fingers, rub ghee all over one side of chicken
Liberally sprinkle on poultry seasoning
Place butter side down in baking dish
Repeat buttering and seasoning on face up side
Cover with foil

Bake about 25 minutes at 375

I check the chicken at 20 minutes by cutting a small slit in the thickest spot to check for pinkness. Then I drizzle butter from pan over chicken and place back in oven for 5 more mins.

Soooooo good!

Neat book...

Haven't read it yet, but this could possibly be a must-have, must-read. I will have it this weekend, and hopefully will have read it next week. Yay!

Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why by Jonny Bowden

Everything you need to know to be/stay healthy!

Great 5 minute video on how/ what people need to eat. Funny, clear, and totally accurate!

Please please watch!

......

OK, now that you have watched, you may ask, "But Karen, I live in the middle of a major city! My best friend is not an organic rancher/farmer. I feel confused as to how to implement this into my life!"

Have I ever left you hanging?

First is to start simple. What is most important to you? Is it the reduction of sugar and grains in your diet? That's a good start. Start slow! Begin with sugary grains: cereal (even the "healthy" kind), no cake/ pie/ cookies for dessert, no waffles, pancakes (recipe for Primal Pancakes to follow). Set a limit for yourself at first, say you only allow yourself 2 slices of whole grain bread per day (I like this). You can then choose a piece of toast with your soft boiled eggs for breakfast, then a half sandwich with soup/salad for lunch. That means dinner will be veggies, protein, fruit dessert. (And maybe some organic chocolate... but I never said that...or a glass of wine...I never said that either...)

Maybe the first place to start is with manufactured food-type products. Raid your kitchen and get rid of boxes of things with more than 5-8 ingredients, packages that contain the direction "just add water". Canned soups (full of aluminum and sodium), foil wrapped "bars" (protein, breakfast, energy, meal replacement), pop-tarts, etc. You get the picture. How you get rid of it is up to you- donate it, toss it, have a "food-type product" funeral!

Margarine! Toss it! The last thing any of us need is more of this ambiguously named "vegetable oil". My Anatomy and Physiology instructor called margarine "tumor in a tub". Try ghee (clarified butter) or raw butter (Organic Pastures at Whole Foods).

Interested in fully grass/ pastured/ organic meat? A friend (Hi Elise!) sent me this great link, it's a guide to all grass fed animal ranches in the US. Get some friends and family together and place an order.

Revisit/ watch this 15 minute video I posted the other day.

Chant with me; "Leaf-y greens! Leaf-y greens!" Add handfuls of spinach to scrambled eggs, steam kale and serve with your favourite salad dressing (homemade preferably- dressing is crazy easy to make). A quote I read about kale, said by an MD, made me laugh out loud "Kale makes colon cancer cells commit suicide."

More to follow...stay tuned!

Very Important

I want to get this 19 minute video out to everyone. "We Are What We Eat". Don't worry, it won't give you anxiety or nightmares, it's not a shock value type video. It's just a real look at our food production.

Please take time to watch this.