Archive for December, 2009

WIN PRIZES For Your RAWsolution!

There is no better time than the present than to start thinking of ways to change your life, especially with the energy of the new year upon us. That’s right, with the turn of the year comes limitless possibilities, dreams within reach, and the sensation that anything is possible. We encourage you to go with that feeling and not let it pass you by. What do you want to do differently or change in the upcoming year so that you can further embrace your holistic and wellness journey? Nothing is too big or too small to be acknowledged. Do you want to eat better? Exercise more? Eat more raw foods? You can do it, and we at Raw Food Nation are committed to helping!

Reply to this post with your health-based new years resolutions (one entry per person) for a chance to WIN a most fabulous Raw Food Nation grab bag featuring the following items:

• Our Raw Food Nation Canvas Tote Bag: Our 100% cotton canvas tote bags have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They include a bottom gusset and extra long handles for easy carrying.
• Two “Some Like It Raw” Bracelets: One for you, one for a friend. Stylish, sleek, and just the right color to get attention (our signature color, of course: orange). An easy way to let the world know that you like it raw. This item is currently featured in our online store for $3/each.
• A 4-Piece Set of Raw Flare: Our RFN assorted 1 inch button series look great on clothes, hand bags, and everything in between. Each set comes with 4 buttons total (one of each design featured in the picture above). This item is also featured in our online store for $6/set.
• And a Raw Food book of our choice (it’s a surprise!)

Five runner-ups will receive a set of RFN Flare or a “Some Like It Raw” Bracelet.

How To Enter/Contest Rules:

It’s simple, reply to this post (1 entry per person) with your new years resolution of what you are planning to do to be healthier in 2010. For example “Hi Raw Food Nation, in 2010 I will take up yoga so that I can be more flexible in the new year,” or “Hi RFN, my new year’s resolution is to try one new raw dish a week.”

BE SURE TO FILL OUT THE REPLY FORM COMPLETELY, including your email address so we can contact you!

And that’s it! We will use a random number generator to pick the winners. Then, we will notify you by email if you are one of them.

CONTEST DEADLINE: Friday, January 1, 2010, 12:00AM EST.

Here’s to your health and some exciting fun to kick off our new year!

Winter Holiday Raw Recipe Round Up!

Spread some holiday cheer and stay healthy with these amazing raw holiday recipes. We know that it can be a challenge sometimes to stay on track when you’re tempted by ginger bread men, candy canes, and sweets galore! Not to mention multiple holiday parties between friends, family and work. Serve up a couple of these healthy recipes instead and be holistically sound this holiday season!

Karen’s Christmas Punch:
Instead of serving juice from concentrate or something you buy in a store, make this delicious raw punch from Karen Knowler instead (note: juicer required). See the full recipe here.

Carob Bark:
You always see Peppermint Bark around the holidays. What’s really in that kind of treat? Try making this carob bark instead, where you use raw ingredients, all items you can pronounce. WOW your friends and family when they find out its all natural. Check out the full recipe here.

Sun Dried Tomato Pumpkin Seed Pesto:
Mmmm mmm good! Try out this delicious appetizer at your holiday party or serve to your guests as they are waiting for dinner. Check out the full recipe here. Source Information: Recipe and photographs are copyright 2009 Susan Powers www.rawmazing.com. All Rights Reserved.

Egg-less Nog:
Do you crave egg-nog during the holiday season but it’s not exactly part of your current diet plan? This recipe will be sure to satisfy your tastebuds (note: rum extract optional). Check out the full recipe here.

Shaved Fennel Salad with Blood Oranges, Pomegranate and Pinenuts:
The colors featured in this recipe are sure to get you in the holiday spirit. A classic winter salad to begin with, this dish is made both texturally and visually intriguing  by the sweet and sexy addition of pomegranate seeds. Check out the full recipe here.

Raw Pumpkin Pie:
You will find this dessert comparable if not better than traditional pumpkin pie. And the best part is, it’s totally raw and good for you too! Click here to view the full recipe.

Raw Gingerbread Men:
FINALLY! Last but certainly not least, now you can have your ginger bread men (or women) in the raw. Take a look at this recipe and note that while it is an option, you don’t have to use a dehydrator! Check it out here.

Ground Cinnamon & The Holiday Spirit

Although available throughout the year, the fragrant, sweet and warm taste of cinnamon is a perfect spice to use during the winter months and is a scent that reminds most of us of the holiday season.

Cinnamon has a long history both as a spice and as a medicine. It is the brown bark of the cinnamon tree, which is available in its dried tubular form known as a quill or as ground powder. The two varieties of cinnamon, Chinese and Ceylon, have similar flavor, however the cinnamon from Ceylon is slightly sweeter, more refined and more difficult to find in local markets.

Health Benefits:
Cinnamon’s unique healing abilities come from three basic types of components in the essential oils found in its bark. These oils contain active components called cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate, and cinnamyl alcohol, plus a wide range of other volatile substances.

• Cinnamon is an excellent source of manganese and a very good source of dietary fiber, calcium and iron.
• Cinnamon’s essential oils also qualify it as an “anti-microbial” food, and cinnamon has been studied for its ability to help stop the growth of bacteria as well as fungi, including the commonly problematic yeast Candida. In laboratory tests, growth of yeasts that were resistant to the commonly used anti-fungal medication fluconazole was often (though not always) stopped by cinnamon extracts.
• Seasoning a high carb food with cinnamon can help lessen its impact on your blood sugar levels. Cinnamon slows the rate at which the stomach empties after meals, reducing the rise in blood sugar after eating.
• Not only does consuming cinnamon improve the body’s ability to utilize blood sugar, but just smelling the wonderful odor of this sweet spice boosts brain activity! Research led by Dr. P. Zoladz and presented April 24, 2004, at the annual meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences, in Sarasota, FL, found that chewing cinnamon flavored gum or just smelling cinnamon enhanced study participants’ cognitive processing.
• In addition to its unique essential oils, cinnamon is an excellent source of the trace mineral manganese and a very good source of dietary fiber, iron and calcium. The combination of calcium and fiber in cinnamon is important and can be helpful for the prevention of several different conditions. For example, both calcium and fiber can bind to bile salts and help remove them from the body. By removing bile, fiber helps to prevent the damage that certain bile salts can cause to colon cells, thereby reducing the risk of colon cancer.
• In addition to the active components in its essential oils and its nutrient composition, cinnamon has also been valued in energy-based medical systems, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, for its warming qualities. In these traditions, cinnamon has been used to provide relief when faced with the onset of a cold or flu, especially when mixed in a tea with some fresh ginger.

How to Select and Store:
Cinnamon is available in either stick or powder form. While the sticks can be stored for longer, the ground powder has a stronger flavor. If possible, smell the cinnamon to make sure that it has a sweet smell, a characteristic reflecting that it is fresh.

Oftentimes, both Ceylon cinnamon and Chinese cinnamon (cassia) are labeled as cinnamon. If you want to find the sweeter, more refined tasting Ceylon variety, you may need to shop in either a local spice store or ethnic market since this variety is generally less available. Just like with other dried spices, try to select organically grown cinnamon since this will give you more assurance that it has not been irradiated (among other potential adverse effects, irradiating cinnamon may lead to a significant decrease in its vitamin C and carotenoid content.)

Cinnamon should be kept in a tightly sealed glass container in a cool, dark and dry place. Ground cinnamon will keep for about six months, while cinnamon sticks will stay fresh for about one year stored this way. Alternatively, you can extend their shelf life by storing them in the refrigerator. To check to see if it is still fresh, smell the cinnamon. If it does not smell sweet, it is no longer fresh and should be discarded.

Resources:
Cinnamon, WHFOODS, http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68#descr

Bell Peppers: Sweet, Tangy, Good For You!

A wonderful combination of tangy taste and crunchy texture, bell peppers are the Christmas ornaments of the vegetable world with their beautifully shaped glossy exterior that comes in a wide array of vivid colors ranging from green, red, yellow, orange, purple, brown to black. Although peppers are available throughout the year, they are most abundant and tasty during the months of August and September.

Sweet peppers are plump, bell-shaped vegetables featuring either three or four lobes. They usually range in size from 2 to 5 inches in diameter, and 2 to 6 inches in length. Inside the thick flesh is an inner cavity with edible bitter seeds and a white spongy core. Bell peppers are not ‘hot’. They contain a recessive gene that eliminates capsaicin, the compound responsible for the ‘hotness’ found in other peppers.

Here are the health benefits of these amazing bell peppers:

• They are GREAT for your health! One cup of raw, chopped red peppers provides over 100% of the DV for vitamin C and vitamin A. Red peppers are also an excellent source of vitamin B6. Green peppers are a very good source of fiber, folate, and vitamin K as well as the minerals molybdenum and manganese. In addition to beta-carotene, red peppers contain the beneficial phytonutrients lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin.
• Bell peppers are colorful protection against free radicals. Brightly colored bell peppers, whether green, red, orange or yellow, are rich sources of some of the best nutrients available. To start, peppers are excellent sources of vitamin C and vitamin A (through its concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), two very powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants work together to effectively neutralize free radicals, which can travel through the body causing huge amounts of damage to cells.
• They also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. For atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, peppers also contain vitamin B6 and folic acid. These two B vitamins are very important for reducing high levels of homocysteine, a substance produced during the methylation cycle (an essential biochemical process in virtually every cell in the body). High homocysteine levels have been shown to cause damage to blood vessels and are associated with a greatly increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
• Bell peppers are easy on your eyes! They appear to have a protective effect against cataracts, possibly due to their vitamin C and beta-carotene content.

How to Select and Store:
Choose peppers that have deep vivid colors, taut skin, and that are free of soft spots, blemishes and darkened areas. Their stems should be green and fresh looking. Peppers should be heavy for their size and firm enough so that they will gently yield to slight pressure. Avoid those that have signs of decay including injuries to the skin or water-soaked areas. The shape of the pepper does not generally affect the quality, although it may result in excessive waste or not be suitable to certain recipe preparations. Peppers are available throughout the year but are usually in greater abundance during the summer months.

Unwashed sweet peppers stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator will keep for up to one week. Sweet peppers can be frozen without first being blanched. It is better to freeze them whole since there will be less exposure to air which can degrade both their nutrient content and flavor.

Recipes:
We’ve got some recipes featuring bell peppers if you want to get more in your diet. Check out:

• Raw Tacos
• Rawmazing Gazpecho Soup

Resources:
Bell Peppers, WHFOODS, http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=50#descr

Motivation on the Yoga Mat

Piera Bonventre is a Homeopathic Practitioner, raw food connoisseur and a travelling yogi. She also tweets energy healing and daily yoga instructions- encouraging you to include yoga anytime of day. Piera will be our in-house yoga instructor, providing insight and direction into this unifying form of movement. Here’s what she has to say:

So you started a yoga practice  all gun ho and it was exhilarating and all that you hoped it would be.

You got the heavy weight and heavy tagged yoga mat, and couldn’t wait to get it all broken into so you wouldn’t slip during those long 5 breath downward dogs.

You ran out an bought 3 pairs of everything in Lululemon because, it just fits your cute butt so well.  You even let the sales girl convince you that a matching yoga tote would really be useful to haul that ginormous mat around town.  You purchased the the 90 class card pass because it was as the girl said ” the best value if your planning to really be committed to your practice”.

Then the days, weeks and months passed and life’s inconveniences and often interruptions led you astray.  The mat sits in the closet next to the cute bag it supposed to be carried in.  You find you have “so much to do” and “no time to do it” and yoga gets put aside. You convince yourself  “I’m just too tired and I don’t have the energy”.

We’ve all been there.  Even the die hard Yogi’s who have practiced for decades.  We encounter a slump, or a life crisis such as a death or divorce and our connection to Inner Self gets shunted.  Sometimes its very healthy and appropriate to take some time off, rest and reintegrate ourselves and energies. Its actually one of the best ways to prevent burn out.

But when you find your practice has taken too many “sick days” because you just have been uninspired, or unmotivated then you need to refresh your experience on the mat.  Our healing and growth is always a process. We are dynamic and as energetic beings we shift and transition as much as we allow ourselves to.  So you need to become aware of what it is you need in your practice each time you come to the mat.

Every single time I practice its a different experience.  I may do the same poses, with the same teacher or on my own. But each time I practice according to my needs that particular day.  What does this mean? I practice with the guidance of my INTUITION.

I take note of the following and use these elements to guide my practice:

1) My energy levels: Have I gone vigorously my last few practices and need more of a gentle or slower paced practice today?  Or will a more vigourous practice today give me a boost in energy, because even though I have had a long day, I need the heat of an ashtanga practice to encourage the stagnation to move within my body?

2) How am I feeling emotionally and spiritually? – has it been a super awesome, rockin’ high sales and quota busting day at the office?  Or do I feel some emotional stress do to personal family matters?  CHECK IN with yourself everyday. Get in touch with whats going on inside.  Then use your practice to go even deeper within to come to the awareness of what you need to release, and to find resolutions and acceptance of what is. Use your practice to ask your HIGHER SELF what is needed for you at the moment to become connected and out of the rut.

You will find doing just these two things everyday and before every practice will give you a better awareness of what you need.  You will benefit from checking in because you are sending messages of RESPECT and acknowledgment to that greater part of you that directly guides and supports you. This builds SELF TRUST and releases doubt and fear from interfering with your greater intentions.

Motivation to Stay on the Mat:

So what can we do to stay motivated?  With every exercise program there is the possibility of boredom, getting burnt out and just lose the initial interest we had when we started.  Here is what has helped me stay and enjoy the mat more and more each practice.

1) Consider practicing a different style of Yoga.

If you are an avid Ashtanga freak, why not try a KUNDALINI class once a week?  We learn from all experiences in life.  All practices come with benefits.  Its the INTENTION you bring forth to the mat that determines the outcomes. You may just learn another aspect of this VAST philosophy we call yoga, that may reveal something you haven’t yet discovered in your usual style.

2) Remind yourself  what BENEFITS yoga has brought to your life:

So WHY did you come to Yoga in the first place?  WRITE about it.  Go inwards and reflect on what you have already taken and integrated from your yoga practice.  Meditate on the feeling of presence, and stillness. The joyous feeling this gives you should remind you of what Yoga offers you every moment you become aware and practice.

3) LET GO OF the SHOULDS

We often can caught up in ALIGNMENT, and how this foot should be angled, and that how leg should be spiraling inwards. I’m not saying alignment is unnecessary.  Loosen the hold on all the shoulds, and practice with INTUITION.  Focus on FEELING THE BREATH,  moving through the pose, or accepting the STILLNESS of the moment.  I find myself at times frustrated with a pose I can’t quite find ease in.  When I let go and feel my practice with awareness, the body follows and the resistance loosens and all those challenging poses become friendlier.

4) MYSORE

If you have not tried this type of class, I would highly recommend you find one.    The name Mysore comes from the city in India where Ashtanga yoga guru Shri K. Pattabhi Jois lives and teaches. It is a self led class, whereby you practice being led by your own intuition and needs, and not directly by a teacher.  This is such an EFFECTIVE way to evolve your practice.  You will learn so much just by listening to your own guidance and a teacher is always around to adjust you and offer any help you may need. You can concentrate on one or several aspects of your practice each time.

Wishing you happy travels on your mat and beyond.

Namaste

~Travelling Yogi~

In Our Store for the Holidays

RFN Flare Button Series: $6 (set of four buttons) – Add To Cart
Looking for a way to further emphasize your raw glow? Our RFN assorted 1 inch button series look great on clothes, hand bags, and everything inbetween. Each set comes with 4 buttons total (one of each design featured). Be seen. Be heard. Be raw. Non-returnable. All sales final.

RFN Some Like It Raw Bracelet: $3/each – Add to Cart
Stylish, sleek, and just the right color to get attention (our signature color, of course: orange). An easy way to let the world know that you like it raw. Standard Size: Medium Non-returnable. All sales final.

Why We Are Promoting Our Store: Raw Food Nation is an amazing site. We hired a designer to create the fabulous visual display that you see before you. The imagery, the color palette, the textures, they were all a well thought out plan and we are immensely satisfied with the design. Then we hired a code developer online with experience taking a design and turning it into a WordPress theme. He did a great job setting this site up, aside from some minor tweaks. Well it seems as if our code developer has pretty much skipped town on us, without fixing our store to show our products. We apologize for this inconvenience and just wanted to bring to your attention that although you cannot see the physical images of the product in our store, you can still purchase them through the “Add to Cart” buttons in the store and in this post.

These items were intended as a fun way for you to show off your raw goodness! They are perfect for stocking stuffers and small gifts. And the purchase of these items helps to fund this site and the realm of free valuable information that we offer to our fabulous readers.

Thank you for your support!

Red Pepper & Hemp Soup

Mmmmmmm mmmmmm good! Here’s a soup recipe that is sure to excite your tastebuds. And it’s very easy to make.

Why are raw soups so great? Well, for one thing, they’re chock full of enzymes, nutrients, and fiber, but their blended texture makes them highly digestible. This means they’re great for anyone who suffers from impaired digestion, or simply for any occasion when you need to give your digestive system a little TLC (illness; pre- or post-workout; when you’re rundown). They’re also quick and easy: raw soups don’t require making a perfect roux, waiting for vegetables to soften, or spending hours watching a pot simmer. And for most of us, soups evoke sweet childhood memories of simplicity and comfort.

If the thought of eating soups cold upsets you, don’t be deterred: it’s perfectly OK to heat them gently over a very low flame until they’re room temperature. If you’re not strictly raw and don’t care to be, go ahead and warm them up as much as you’d like! This soup is sweet, creamy, and a little nutty tasting, but what really makes it shine is the kick from lemon juice and turmeric. It’s quick, nourishing, and—for those of you who are hung up on that whole protein thing—rich in protein, too. Enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 2 extra large (or 3 regular) red peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
• ½ cup hemp seeds
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsps lemon juice
• ½ tsp curry powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp Braggs liquid aminos
• Black pepper to taste
• 2/3 cup water (or to taste – this will depend on how thick or thin you like your soup)

Equipment:

• Blender

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. You may want to begin with ½ cup water and adjust based on texture as you go along! And that’s it! This is a one-step soup. If you want, you can add garlic or onion to mix it up a bit to taste.

Of course, soup is lonely without a giant salad by its side:

Spinach, radicchio, broccoli. All together now:

This recipe was submitted by Gena Hamshaw is a nutritional counselor with an emphasis on raw foods, digestive health, and detoxification. Based in Manhattan, she works with men and women around the country to find lasting means towards better health. She is also the author of the popular blog, Choosing Raw, where she shares recipes, tips, and musings on the raw lifestyle. Among her favorite recipes is the uber-simple raw banana soft-serve, which can be found here: http://www.choosingraw.com/this-post-will-change-your-life/.

If you have a fabulous raw food recipe, visit our submissions page for how to submit it to our site.