Parsley – That Sprig Decorating Your Plate May Save Your Life!

– article from The World’s Healthiest Foods

Parsley is the world’s most popular herb. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning “rock celery” (parsley is a relative to celery). It is a biennial plant that will return to the garden year after year once it is established.

Parsley contains two types of unusual components that provide unique health benefits. The first type is volatile oil components - including myristicin, limonene, eugenol, and alpha-thujene. The second type is flavonoids - including apiin, apigenin, crisoeriol, and luteolin.

Parsley’s volatile oils – particularly myristicin – have been shown to inhibit tumor formation in animal studies, and particularly, tumor formation Read more »

Victoria’s Juicy Secrets

- by Victoria Leenders-Cheng

Honestly? I love vegetables, I really do, but their liquid form has always struck me as somewhat repulsive. I think it had to do with a juice I ordered once perhaps a decade ago – apple-carrot something or other, or maybe it was ginger-celery this and that. Wanting to drink it up because it was healthy, I took two giant gulps before realizing the unusual taste had my stomach turning queasy somersaults.

Tomato juice has always been okay by me, probably because it’s so salty it just tastes like a chilled soup. But the pungent, earthy quality of other liquefied vegetables always seemed epicureanly wrong. Carrots tasted sweet yet pasty. Celery had a strange kick of licorice. And cucumber, with its bland, green chill? No thank you!

What I didn’t realize until recently is that there’s a secret to making vegetable drinks not only palatable but positively, thunderously delicious: greens.

See, many leafy greens – spinach, chard, kale, collards – don’t actually affect the taste of the concoction, especially if you’re savvy about incorporating flavors you love. The luxurious, golden tones of ripe fruit are a great place to start. Read more »

The Journeyman’s Tools: An Evolving Perspective on the Raw Vegan Diet

by Lisa Marie Lindenschmidt

I’ve been getting a lot of criticism for moving from one set of dietary restrictions to another. Many of my friends are experiencing the same thing. Many of them mothers trying to make better decisions for their children.

I began this column from the perspective of a mother raising a child in a raw vegan household. But I didn’t start there. None of us, I would wager, did. Those of us who find themselves on the raw vegan path did so because we were already researching, already exploring better ways to feed our families, to live lightly on this earth, and to be karmically responsible. Our quest led us, most likely, from vegetarianism to raw veganism. We pursued this path because doing so changed who we were. We could feel our bodies lighten. We could see old wounds healing. Some of us even experienced moments of bliss. Read more »

Raw Food Cheesecake: Worth. Every. Nanosecond!!

- by Stacey Terry

Have I ever told any of you how much I love my job!?  I tell ya… working for Tera Warner and The Green Smoothie Queen often feels like a dream come true.  Besides getting to read an abundance of raw food and nutritional information that continues to reinforce the lifestyle path I’m on, once in awhile, there’s something special, really special, that comes across my editing desk.

That was most definitely the case when I got a sneak peek at The Decadent Gourmet by Angela Elliott.  And even though I’m a fan of eating green food and always start my day with a good old fashioned glass of lawnmower pulp -  yes, my beloved green smoothies -  I have to admit, reading through all the raw food cheesecake, ice cream, cookies, and cobbler recipes took a bit of a toll on me.  But it was an educational read too.  Anyone like Angela who has found a way to make dessert guilt-free is a dear friend in my heart!  Read more »

6 More Very Good Reasons to Stop Eating Cooked Food

I have to admit that generally I avoid writing or communicating in scientific nutritional jargon and I much prefer normal people talk. However, I feel it’s important to address a few things on this subject, because what we do not know can keep us trapped in old patterns and unhealthy habits. It’s a fact that you cannot change the things you are not willing to confront. If you ever needed a good reason to stop eating cooked food, I’ll give you ten. Suck it up, Sister! Here are a few facts about the food you’ve been putting in that beautiful body of yours:

How Does the Body Process Food?
We need to start with the understanding that nutrients are delivered to the body in three major categories:

• Carboydrates (which can be simple (fruits, sugars) or complex (grains, cereals and starchy vegetables like potatoes,  etc.)
• Protein
• Fat

Reason #1: Because no matter how politely you say it, “flatulence” is not flattering.

Carbohydrates, when subjected to heat, become water saturated. Just think of baked bread coming out of the over, giving off humitidy, or potatoes. When this happens, they become more difficult to digest. Inefficient carbohydrate digestion ultimately leads to fermentation in the gut (we call that flatulence, Ladies, and there’s not a darn thing  diva about it.) In case you don’t know, thanks to the Read more »

Top 10 Detox Foods to Eat for Better Health and Beautiful Skin

by Tracy Neely

The body is continuously working to stay in an alkaline state and the body’s acid-alkaline balance adjusts throughout the day depending on the types of foods you consume.  In today’s fast paced society, we consume high amounts of refined foods that contain sugar, cow’s milk products, excess salt, alcohol, wheat as well as meats that contain high amounts of saturated fat. Over time these foods can cause increased inflammation in the body and can wreak havoc on the skin causing acne, psoriasis and eczema.  Adding more detoxifying foods to your diet will not only keep your body in an alkaline state, but depending on which detox foods you include in your diet, will help to eliminate toxins that have accumulated over time.

Adding the following foods to your diet, will allow your body to detox naturally and improve your skin and overall health and energy:

*Apple contains pectin which helps to excrete heavy metals and is cleansing for the liver and the kidneys

*Artichoke increases bile production and purifies and protects the liver and has a diuretic effect on the kidneys.

*Asparagus is a great diuretic that helps to support and maintain restorative properties that promote good bacteria in the intestines.

*Cruciferous Vegetables (Broccoli, Sprouts, Cabbage and Cauliflower) increase levels of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that supports the liver in releasing toxins.

*Fennel has strong diuretic properties that help eliminate fats from the body.

*Garlic known as nature’s pharmacy has powerful antioxidants properties that convert to sulphur based compounds which bind to mercury as well as food additives.  It also activates liver enzymes that help to filter out refined foods.

*Ginger for some, is known as a panacea that relieves bloating and nausea, but also helps to stimulate digestive enzymes which supports healthy digestion.

*Lemon stimulates the release of enzymes and helps convert toxins into a water-soluble form that’s easily excreted from the body. Drinking lemon water, which is alkaline- forming first thing in the morning, will help to balance out the acidity Read more »

Compassionate Fashion Tips for Your Spring Wardrobe

Most of the spring trends (whether good, bad and just plain weird) are vegan-friendly.  Dresses, pretty prints, ruffles… can all be found in cruelty-free fabrics.  Even the gladiator sandals or high-heeled clogs, if you are so inclined, have non-leather options available.  Being in style (or even outrageously trendy) and dressing with compassion are not mutually exclusive.  I mean, just look at this stunning shoe from Charmone.

There are, however, a few hot trends this season that are, sadly, created by way of a lot of animal suffering.

•    Everything Leather.

This is not typically a warm weather trend, but this season leather is everywhere – tank tops, jackets, and even shorts (why!?) are available in leather options.  The production of leather is equally as horrifying as fur, but the fact that leather is more”processed” can be dyed, shopped and zipperized much more easily, makes the fact that it is still the skin of an animal, less obvious. Leather and Fur production are indistinguishable in their imposed cruelty and suffering.  (When they describe the leather as “super soft” or “soft as butter” they are often referring to the skin of babies newly born and even unborn.)

The good news?  There are plenty of wonderful options out there made out of other fabrics like cotton, linen, rayon and microfiber jersey.  Love the look of leather?  Vote for fabulous faux options instead Read more »

Sharon Rashbaum: Becoming a WHAT?!?

- by Sharon Rashbaum

Well it’s the night before I start my detox and I am still wondering how I got here.  Let me tell you a little about the journey that has brought me to this detox.

Several years ago I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).  I was miserable, couldn’t walk, couldn’t sit, couldn’t sleep and was on a TON of medication.  The medication had wonderful side effects like constipation, irritability, weight gain, insomnia…the meds made me more miserable than the RA.  So I decided enough was enough.

I was going to do something about it, something the doctors never would have told me. I changed my diet.  Sounds easy right?  Not exactly. Read more »

Free Fruit Friday

Remember the days when milk was distributed free to children in schools? (Actually, that was well before my time, but I know it used to happen in some countries!) Thank goodness that scheme went the way of the dinosaurs, especially now that we know many children have sensitivities to pasteurized cow’s milk.

Well, here in Australia, the Victorian government has come up with a far-healthier scheme for schools – children in lower primary school grades can receive free fruit on Fridays!

The Free Fruit Friday scheme is fairly new to Victoria – it’s only been around for a couple of years, and my children’s school started it this year. Each child is allocated 70c worth of fruit, and it’s distributed on Fridays.

As it happens, I help out in my children’s classrooms on Fridays, so I’m there for the distribution of fruit. A local fruit shop (how great to support local businesses) supplies boxes of fruit, with the fruit already divided equally between the boxes. Parent helpers grab a box of the fresh, glowing seasonal fruit, and take it back to the classrooms for washing. There’s a lot of parental involvement at our school, which really helps the teachers.

After washing the fruit, it’s placed on a platter lined with a teatowel (see the picture of this week’s offerings!), so that it can be left to dry before kids “dive in” at “brainfood” time.

In my girls’ classrooms, this has been an absolute hit. The children love biting into fresh, juicy fruit, and there’s often plenty enough for each child to have two pieces. I just love seeing everyone enjoying the fruit, and imagine all the life force and vitamins zinging around their little bodies.

Does your school have a scheme like this? If you’d like more information, head here. If you don’t have anything like this in your local area, why not suggest it to your local, county, state, or national governmental body?

Wouldn’t it be great if every government on the planet took up an initiative like this?

Love Raw Mom Jo

PS For ideas on how kids can make the most of fresh, raw fruit, check out my recipe e-book for kids: Monkey Mike’s Raw Food Kitchen: An Un-Cookbook for Kids!. (I still can’t believe that it’s the first-ever raw-food recipe book written just for children!)

Flouride: Debunking the Myths – What Your Family Needs to Know

- By Joanna Beujekian-Steven

Fluoride is one of those minerals with a very high status in most people’s minds, when in fact it is something we should try to avoid to a certain extent. When I say “fluoride”, what comes to your mind? Maybe strong teeth, reduced risk of cavities, etc. In this Debunking the Myth post, I want to focus on 4 important points.

1) Fluoride is a potent carcinogen,
2) Fluoride only protects teeth to a certain extent, and then actually causes cavities,
3) Water filtering pitchers such as Pur and Brita do not filter out fluoride,
4) We get enough fluoride every day without needing fluorinated toothpastes.

1) Fluoride is a potent carcinogen

As Dean Burk, Ph.D. former head of the National Cancer Institute’s cytochemistry section chief chemist emeritus at the U.S. National Institute puts it, “In point of fact, fluorine causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster, than any other chemical.”

There seems to be evidence of a relationship between osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and fluoride intake in males, as reported in the paper Fluoride Exposure in Drinking Water and Osteosarcoma (Bassin et al., 2006). While a single study is most definitely not enough to confirm such a hypothesis, I think it still gives us enough reasonable doubt to limit our exposure to fluoride.

Before that, Dean Burk reported in his research that “We took the ten largest cities that had been fluoridated and compared them with the ten largest cities that had not been fluoridated. The fluoridation didn’t start until 1952 to 1956, and has been continued ever since in the fluoridated group. Between 1940 and 1952 these two groups were identical, could not be distinguished on this curve. But from 1952 on, the curves have been continually widening to the point that Read more »