Tag: Raw food

The Big Apple, A Story

October 14th, 2010 · Marie-Claire · Chemicals, Foods To Avoid, What You Aren't Told 5 comments - Tags: , , , , ,

I have a great story to tell you. Well, I don’t know if it is that great because it is a very serious subject. But today I got such a meaningful affirmation, a perfect fit for a story.

A year ago, more precisely in September 2009, I grabbed an apple out of a bowl on the service desk of a hotel  In New York to have something to eat on my way to the airport. I was hungry but for some reason the shiny dark red apple didn’t attract me. It was perfectly shaped, as every other apple in that bowl, almost looking like clones. No apple was shaped bigger or different than the other. So I put it away in my purse ‘for later’.

When I got home and unpacked, I found the apple, looked at it and put it on my kitchen counter ‘for later.’ After a week it was still just as shiny and showing off its beauty. I am so disappointed now that I didn’t take a picture of it, made a study of it. But who could have suspected that…

…this  very same apple was still staring me in the face a few weeks later. My fruit bowl had been filled up and eaten several times and I had to throw out a rotting apple from time to time. But no sir, not my apple from the Big Apple. It was standing up against time, beating coming and going fruits and facing my amazed looks with pride. Sometimes I would take the apple, push it a little to feel if something was happening inside but nope. Nothing happening there either, not one spot or imperfection, everything as firm as freshly picked fruit.

This apple became the center of my growing stupefaction. I even talked to it, encouraging it to start rotting. Or asking it how long it would stay this stubborn. Nope, it didn’t rot. It didn’t start moving, no maggot interested in its red cheeks, the fruit flies who were attacking my fruit bowl in summer flew around it. I didn’t even have to store it in the refrigerator. Amazing! I was intrigued! But after a while I started forgetting from time to time. A few months later I found it back, pushed away and lost in the back of my counter. And guess what! It was just as fresh and shiny as the first day I took it!

Now THAT drew my attention! I put it on a spot I could keep an eye on it. Just in case. No need. It was the perfect apple. You could keep it for months. What am I saying? For… no not yet.

I kinda started loving my apple. I got attached to it. It was a subject for discussion with a friend who was just amazed as I was. But I also got very happy I didn’t eat this apple. What was on there? Or no, what was IN there?  What happens to all the people who are eating a few of those every day? Will they be conserved just as well? Or will they… I should have then taken it to a lab and have it investigated. I didn’t think of it then. I do now.

My Big Apple fading after one year!

Halfway September  I looked at my apple. It was its birthday; Happy Birthday Big Apple. You are one year old and you look so much younger, only like a day or so! Still not one spot, a perfectly firm shaped body, no bumps, no cellulite, no nothing.

We are now October 14. Last week I looked at my apple and saw something was happening. Oh no! My apple! It started to wrinkle, it got a little bump and it started to feel soft. I was moved. I told my friend. We looked at my apple in silence. I took a picture and said; “I have to write about my apple”. After all this time together…

Today I felt the end is near. All of a sudden it is soft, bruised, dented, still standing out, but fading. My poor apple. I put it on a place where I can watch  it closely.  I must be cruel, watching it die slowly. But I can hardly imagine my intriguing, beautiful, poisoned apple will be gone soon now.

Happy Birhday To My Big Apple!

Something else happened today. I got a message from my friend; “You will laugh at this, but read the Huffington Post…” You can too, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/mcdonalds-happy-meal-photos-6-months_n_761364.html

The title of the article; “McDonald’s Happy Meal Unchanged After 6 Months.”

Pink Pineapple Smoothie

October 11th, 2010 · Marie-Claire · Anti oxidants, Ravishing Raw Recipes 3 comments - Tags: , , , , , ,

As promised here is the pink smoothie you saw a picture of in my post of the pineapple tool. It is a very easy and fast recipe and you don’t need much. This can serve four people if you use smaller glasses than I did. One drink  delivers you lots and lots of antioxidants and a boost of Bromelian. Pure Food for Radiant Health!

Pink Pineapple Smoothie

TOOLS

  • A sharp knife or a cool pineapple peel tool
  • A blender

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients

  • One pineapple, peeled
  • A bunch of strawberries
  • Some mint in fine slices

THE MAKING OF…

Glorious colors!

  • Cut the pineapple in large pieces
  • Throw about two hands full of strawberries (with green tops if they are organic) into the blender
  • Blend

Pink Pineapple Juice

  • Pour in a nice large wine glass and top with a cubed strawberry and mint
  • Yum!

This must be the shortest post I ever wrote. But I wanted to get something up before leaving for my organic farmers to buy my weekly supply. I will show you later what I purchase for a week. If you are new at raw you might want to know how much you need. You will love this abundance!

My Free Gifts For You To Go Raw

October 9th, 2010 · Marie-Claire · All About Raw Food, Ravishing Raw Recipes 3 comments - Tags: , , , , , ,

“Raw For 3 Days! Your Step By Step FooDprint

You would like to try out raw food but don’t know how to start, what to get, what to make. I wrote a FREE eBook for you to help you on your way. Leave your email address in the sign up box and my eBook is all yours to go green.

It started as a book with ten easy raw recipes when I wondered if you would know how to implement them when you are new to raw food.  This is why I am guiding you with “Your Step-By-Step FooDprint, From Mindset to Ravishing Recipes” through an introduction to raw food. I looked for a way to make it easy and nice for you with lots of explaining  step by step pictures,. as I am doing here on my blog.  Because I want you to feel the first differences of eating raw, I decided to make it three raw days from morning to snack to dinner and why not, a lovely dessert.

Knowing how important defining your motivation is when you start eating raw food, I created a list of questions to help you investigate your mindset. By writing down where you are now you will be more aware of how much you want to commit to where you want to be. Finding your big “WHY?” will make you reach your goals. Feeling ready to dive into raw food is the step which will support you towards health.

When you are already raw but at a cross point in your journey, this eBook will help to invigorate your motivation. I hope you will all enjoy what I have for you.

What can you expect in “Raw For 3 Days?”

To start with some answers to find your motivation, fast and easy recipes for each part of the day with step by step pictures and an introduction, tips, tools and a shopping list for each day.

How can you receive my free eBook?

By joining  my emailing list in the right side bar. All you have to do is send me your email address through the sign up box so I can forward you the link to download “Raw For  3 Days!”

“Raw For 3 Days! Your Step By Step Mindset”

But this isn’t all. I made a follow up questionnaire for you. Raw food isn’t just about food but about your whole life and the way you want to live it. It isn’t about counting calories to lose weight but about living healthy and regulate your body balances. It is a journey, a lifestyle. Once you can commit to changing your diet, you will lose the weight you are struggling with, become energized, feel better and look younger. If you know someone who made the leap and who’s success is making you consider to try it yourself, you will know what I am talking about.

This is why I want to invite you to answer the questions for yourself in all honesty. Find out what these three days meant to you, what they can mean for your health and well being in the future and how you can go on from here. This free eBook is an inner survey, “Your Step By Step Mindset”  after you finished your 3 raw days and will  help you discover the shifts you felt, what this experience means to you and how it can add new value to your life. The questions you answered can make the difference for you to add more healthy food to your diet or to go and stay raw and reach your ultimate dream goal!

I would love hearing from you what you liked about my eBook, if you liked the recipes, how you defined your motivation, if it made a difference for you, what your goals are, your questions… Email me with your thoughts and comments on my eBook so I  know what is on your mind, what you like me to write about a next time.

Take this Chance For Change, sign up and enjoy!

I am looking forward to hearing from you. Marie-Claire

Fascinating Fall

October 7th, 2010 · Marie-Claire · Clean(s)ing, Colon Health, Go Wild!, Ravishing Raw Recipes 2 comments - Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I love fall, the deep earth colors, that special light, the changes in nature and in people, another rhythm, abundance for free, the comfort of a fireplace. When I was walking in the fields today, a man came who lives there came up to me with a bucket in his hands; “Would you like some fresh chestnuts?” I was delighted. So was he because all the chestnuts of the tree in the fields next to his house are falling down in his garden and he didn’t know what to do with them. So I came back with a large bag of fresh, crunchy chestnuts, my arms full of dandelion I picked on my way to dry for tea and the dogs belt wrapped around one finger.

Chestnuts

I am picking dandelion and stinging nettles where I can lay my hands on them when I am sure they aren’t sprayed. I remember last winter. I missed those two herbs so much that I was looking forward to spring only to pick my power friends for my smoothies. The prices of free herbs are ridiculous so I didn’t buy them out of personal protest. I am not going to let this happen again, this is why I started drying them. I have a dehydrator but you can use a common oven too. Just wash your harvest well,  dry it by dipping with a clean paper towel, tear the leaves into large parts (they shrink a lot) and let them dry overnight on about 107° with the door a little bit open to release humidity.

Dandelion

I dropped by my friends and they had visit from a woman who ones promised me to give her small grapes in autumn. So there she was, with a big bag full of lovely baby grapes. She didn’t know what to do with them and they where just falling off on her terrace. “They make such a mess and they are much too acid to eat!” I was delighted and so was she because she didn’t have to throw them away and her terrace would stay clean. So I came home with many pounds of grapes to juice. The kitchen was one big mess and abundance; free grapes, free herbs, free chestnuts. I saw them priced in the store for almost 6 euro. I was all smiles.

Baby Grapes

Because these grapes aren’t fully grown in the Belgian climate, they didn’t develop their full sweet flavor but they have such a nice tart taste! So I made a wonderful “Grateful Grape Juice” with apples, kiwi and a pear.

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A juicer
  • A sharp knife

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for Grateful Grape Juice

  • A bunch of wild grapes out of your garden (or just organic grapes)
  • 2 apples
  • 1 pear
  • 1 kiwi (if organic you can use it with the peel!)

THE MAKING OF…

Cut large fruits, juice everything, shake it up, pour it into your favorite glass and enjoy!

Grateful Grape Juice

Drink it Wild!

October 1st, 2010 · Marie-Claire · All About Raw Food, Anti oxidants, Colon Health, Go Wild!, Green Smoothies, Lose Weight 20 comments - Tags: , , , , ,

Stinging Nettles

Last week when I working on my website while drinking a lovely smoothie, my father came in. His first question with frowned  eyebrows and a disapproving expression around his mouth: “Why are you drinking mud?” I am still laughing when I think of this. I must admit, the color was dark but only because it was a very wild composition.

One of the great things about smoothies is that you can throw in them whatever you have. Open your refrigerator, check out your deep freezer for frozen fruits, get some fresh wild edibles out of your garden (or  your neighbor’s if it isn’t sprayed:  they won’t be angry with you for weeding their yard), get your favorite superfoods out of the cupboard and start creating.

This is what I do every morning and wow, does it feel good to pick your weeds and looking forward to the energy they will recharge you with! All these greens filled with chlorophyll mean that you will be drinking direct sunlight. What else can fuel your body more than sunlight?!

What did I have in my frig? Kale and Rejuvelac and some fruit on my counter. I have to go get new supplies today! But no worry, nature offers enough to complete your smoothie when your refrigerator is almost empty: wild edibles! I came back with a basket filled with the arousing scents of mint, dandelion with roots and the soft tops of stinging nettles. Put together they make a wild thing!

Dandelion

Oh, almost forgot to give you my great tips.

  • When you have a blender with horsepower, throw in a half (organic) avocado pit. It is a very powerful ingredient in the prevention of cancer, a booster of your immune system. It also thickens your smoothie a bit when you like it more creamy.
  • When you have a large can on your blender, you can make two different tastes when you get bored easily. I often pour one liter in a bottle as a green smoothie, then add blueberries to the rest of it and blend again. You will now have two different smoothies to consume according to the mood you are in that morning.

You will see, you can’t impossibly eat all these greens from a plate in one day. Liquefied it provides you more vitamins, minerals, enzymes and proteins than you would probably get in a normal week. What am I saying… in a few weeks for the S.A.D eater. You can now understand where your new energy is coming from. Moreover because when you drink a smoothie, the digestion process is halfway, your body can keep its energy for itself and you can go wild!

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A blender
  • A sharp knife

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for Wild Kale Smoothie

THE GREENS

  • 3 leaves of kale without stem
  • 2 big dandelion plants (leaves and roots)
  • About 6 tops of stinging nettle
  • 2 or 3 sprigs of mint
  • 1 pear
  • 1 banana
  • 1 kiwi (with skin if organic)
  • Pure water, Rejuvelac (which is the best in your smoothie! It makes it come even more alive with enzymes and pro biotics) or coconut water. You can also make a combination of liquids.
  • Ice (made from pure water, not tap water)  if you want it cool right away.

Superfoods!

  • SUPERFOODS of your choice. (I wanted some superpower today so added 2 tsp. Maca for energy,  a handful of chocolate nibs for concentration, 1 TBS Beepollen for immunity before winter, a handful of Goji Berries for testosterone, 1 tsp. kelp granules to maintain healthy thyroid functions, 1 TBS. Green Superfood powder for more chlorophyll,  2TBS. Hemp seeds for proteins.
  • A dash of cayenne to spice it up, get the antibacterial benefits and get a deep body glow (it is cold today and my throat hurts a bit)
  • If you want it sweeter, add a medjool date (pitted)

THE MAKING OF…

Superfoods on top

  • Wash and throw your fruits and greens in your blender
  • Add the superfoods of your choice

Filled with abundance!

  • Add pure water or rejuvelac till about halfway the content

Up and Running

  • Blend, taste and adjust to your own taste if necessary

Two Tastes in One Effort

That’s it! The most nutritious breakfast you can think of and enough valuable content to live on all day long if you have to. Buy a well sealed bottle and take the rest with you to work for a pause. You can drink your smoothie out of a large tea cup if you want to avoid questions or comments from your colleagues.

By the way, don’t pour smoothie away if you can’t drink it all. You can freeze it in ice cubes and use later. Or give it to your pets; they love smoothies and will thrive on them just as much as you do.

Ravishing Breakfast!

Grooving Ginger Granny

September 29th, 2010 · Marie-Claire · Anti oxidants, Juicy Stuff!, Ravishing Raw Recipes 9 comments - Tags: , , , , , ,

Grooving Ginger Granny

This juice is rocking! It all starts with Granny apples. They have that particular mix of acidity and sweetness when they are in the middle of their season. A good reason to make a fresh juice of them, moreover because apple juice is such a healthy drink when you are longing for something to replace that soft drink in the back of your mind. Your granny will groove on apple juice: it prevents and helps fight Alzheimer disease when consumed on a daily basis.

Scientific research shows that apple juice can boost the brain function because of its increased production of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine. “We anticipate that the day may come when foods like apples, apple juice and other apple products are recommended along with the most popular Alzheimer’s medications,” according to Thomas Shea, Ph.D., director of the UML Center for Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration Research. What are you waiting for?

Apples For Overall Health

But there is more to say about apple juice. It is very rich in antioxidants and we all know what that means; they help prevent the development of cancer, heart disease, they reduce high cholesterol levels, slow down the aging process and promote weight loss. Other benefits are a high content of riboflavin, thiamine, carotene, vitamin B6, biotin, folic acid and vitamin C. So let’s make that juice!

To spice it up and give it the character of a fancy cocktail I like to add ginger and lemon. You won’t long for a canned version after tasting the pureness of your own juiced- in- a- minute long drink.

TOOLS YOU NEED

  • A juicer
  • A sharp knife

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for Grooving Ginger Granny

  • 4 Granny apples
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • A chunk of fresh ginger (about 1 inch)

THE MAKING OF…

Just juice all ingredients, shake it up, pour in your favorite glass, finish with a slice of apple or a sprig of mint and enjoy!

Grooving Ginger Granny

Eat Well, Live Long

August 28th, 2010 · Marie-Claire · All About Raw Food, Superfoods, U are wonderful! 4 comments - Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

This was a title I wrote about a while ago. But finding out what it can truly mean is something else.

Two days ago I received a message on Facebook from a friend who wanted me to have a look at a video. I was stunned and I still am! What I saw was an interview with Bernando LaPallo for his… you are reading this correct…. his 109th. birthday! He is looking 40 years younger! He is still alive and kicking, full of plans and dreams. I simply HAVE to blog about this amazing man and let you all know about him.

Why? He just finished a new book! It is a book with a beautiful title, breathing energy: “Age Less, Live More” Mr. Lapallo is living on raw food since 1979, thriving, still working and now planning on opening a restaurant. I am amazed AND energized by such living power.

109 years old and rocking on raw food!

What is his secret? “Superfoods” he said in the interview while taking the interviewer into his kitchen. He pointed at a big bowl of fruits on top of his refrigerator and showed us a large jar of the powder that “keeps me alive”. “Never miss it a day” he said, since the seventies.

This is such a hopeful message. I am trying to measure what it can mean for me. I don’t know what his health history is or his motivation to go raw halfway his life. Was he ill at that time or just eager to live healthy? I don’t know what raw food can restore in a body that has been very ill several years. But I am wondering since two days. Even with the knowledge around raw food and the proof I received of its healing power, I am not sure yet in how far raw food can turn the clock around. Seeing Mr. Lapallo is so inspiring that I gained a lot of faith. With the clean and raw lifestyle I am living, I can thrive till 100, no matter what my history was.

I want to invite you all to watch this short video of a man who will give you hope, inspiration and courage to live healthy, to become raw or to stay raw if you are on a cross-point in your raw food journey.

109 Year- Old Author Celebrates Birthday

Also have a look at his blog, where you can read about all his activities and lectures; http://www.agelesslivemorestore.com/

Website; www.RawLifeHealthShow.com

To end this short post, I want to share his three top health tips with you. When I heard them, I smiled because these are things I am writing about, trying to draw everybody’s attention to. It just feels so good to hear them from a man who is living long enough to prove to the world they are so true! You can see it all in this movie;

Raw Life Health Show

  1. Keep your colon clean! Keeping your colon clean means your liver can do its job (purify the blood) and keep you healthy.
  2. Take Dr. Schulze’s “Superfood” but it in the right manor; mix it with organic fruit and juice in the morning.
  3. Eat regularly and healthy: avoid fast food restaurants.