Pomegranate lovin'!

Who can resist? Not me. :-) Photo by: www.healthtipsexpress.com

Oh yes, I said it! Pomegranates all day bishessssss~ lol

Okay that was a little wild introduction BUT if you have not yet added pomegranates to your life...you are seriously missing out.




Early morning eating! Ready to go! Photo by: taurist.wordpress.com

Aside from being one of the healthiest fruits you could eat, let me just tempt you with this little fact:

"Men and women who drank a daily glass of the fruit’s juice for a fortnight experienced a surge in the hormone testosterone, which increases sexual desire in both genders."Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2139292/Viagra-effect-daily-glass-pomegranate-juice.html#ixzz2W2G5JN9H

Yeah that's right...ladies and gents get your pomegranate on!

I also bet you didn't know (like me until I researched it)...Pomegranates are equal in antioxidants to green tea and red wine, and contain high levels of Vitamin C and Potassium. They are also known to lower risk of heart disease, lower risk of cancers like prostate and breast cancer, reduce cholesterol, help control weight gain, increase memory, fight cell damage and free radicals thus the anti-aging effects and so on.

How to juice a pomegranate. Photo by: www.bhg.com

If you want a natural aphrodisiac and a fruit that's great for your mind body and health...get you some pomegranates and make a date out of it!

How to eat a pomegranate:
You can make a little slit with a knife (don't cut through all the way) and crack it open with your hands. As my grandma says, then "Go for what you know!" There is no official way to eat it in my opinion and everytime it tastes just as juicy and sweet with a touch of tartness like a cherry. Yummo!

You can suck on the seeds, get the juice and discard or You can squeeze them and use for mainly juicing...BUT just know most of the benefits come from eating the seeds so it'd be a shame to waste them. They're like nature's little aspirins! They reduce inflammation and can buffer the effects of free radical damage. What's not to love?!



Try a pomegranate smoothie today! Photo by: positivemed.com

Plus they're fun to eat! Go straight from hand to mouth. Eat them raw. Sprinkle seeds on salads or juice to enjoy the fantastic benefits! As a transitioning raw food eater I LOVE LOVE foods that taste great, are fun to eat and most of all fit the bill on raw simple eating! Try some today!

Live. Love. Well.

~h

Detoxing...the smart way!

Talk about someone who would eat anything...and I mean anything. Losing weight was the toughest! Until I learned these easy tricks...Photo by: www.ommynoms.com

So the title is a bit catchy and by no means an absolute...HOWEVER...due to the volume of questions I have received about my detoxification process this year I will start a short series detailing my goals, initiatives and findings and HOW I LOST 20 POUNDS IN 3 MONTHS safely and securely.

Vegan lunches! Photo by: www.veganmotherhubbard.com

So...first thing's first you should know that I am a transitioning raw vegan. I was not born this way and have been on this journey for quite sometime. More recently, say within the last few years, I have been feeling an even stronger pull away from mainstream lifestyle habits and a calling towards rediscovering who I am and what defines me...food choices included.

A typical look into my cart any given autumn. Photo by: www.myrecipes.com

I desire to live long and to live well and thus I embarked on a journey to find what exactly that means to me. In this series I hope to share with you what I have learned in the process of un-doing years of behaviors and habits and the freedom we all have to make choices for our lives.


I have no intentions of "converting" you to choose my lifestyle but simply hope to share and present my personal findings to encourage or inspire others.
Thank you for joining me on this journey!

~h

Why women are like artichokes

Good Morning all!

I have been on a recent artichoke binge of sorts...at 4 for $1.99 (shout out to Trader Joe's) you really cant beat it. Each one is like a meal in my life so it works well for both my budget and my health.

This has been a part of my "1-bowl meals" experiment which hypothesizes that digestion is made easier on the body by sticking to one food per meal. Some say it is an extreme personification of food combining by over simplified eating. I like to keep things simple...so to avoid toying with all the nuances of alkalinity and acidity for my meal prep, I simply eat one food (or group of foods) at each meal. This way of life makes me feel better after eating, keeps me light on my feet and allows my body a chance to worker smarter, not harder.

Purchase Fresh Artichokes at your local Trader Joe's store! Photo by www.flickr.com

SO on to the artichokes...

I love this quote from Kris Wetherbee of www.vegetablegardener.com:

"The artichoke is a gold mine of rich, earthy, hearty flavor, a vegetable with a taste and texture like no other."

I realize many people do not know much about artichokes nor have any particular interest in eating them, which I find curious. Below I will outline why I have grown to love them so very much.

As someone experimenting and transitioning through the various ways of eating and living (from paleo to pescatarian to wholistic faster to vegetarian to vegan to raw foodie and back again) I have settled on the life of what I call "simple eating." Is it a mixture of pieces of the above lifestyles combined to provide what I deem to be best for my body and lifestyle. More on that later!

As a result of my mostly raw vegan lifestyle I thoroughly enjoy getting unsuspecting vitamins and minerals from fruits and veggies and that many have forgotten about! I believe the artichoke is one of the secret gems.

ONE ARTICHOKE CONTAINS:

Nutrition Facts

ArtichokesArtichokes, boiledArtichokes

Amount Per 100 grams1 artichoke, medium (128 g)1 artichoke, large (162 g)1 artichoke, medium (128 g)

Calories 60

% Daily Value*

Total fat 0.2 g	0%
Saturated fat 0 g	0%
Polyunsaturated fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0%
Sodium 120 mg	5%
Potassium 474 mg	13%
Total Carbohydrate 13 g	4%
Dietary fiber 7 g	28%
Sugar 1.3 g
Protein 4.2 g	8%
Caffeine

Vitamin A	0%	Vitamin C	25%
Calcium	5%	Iron	8%
Vitamin B-6	5%	Vitamin B-12	0%
Magnesium	19%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. That's not bad for one vegetable. I love when I can get Iron and Magnesium, Calcium, Fiber and Protein all in one deal. Especially as a woman it is very important to stay up on my calcium and iron and magnesium. Many of the aches and pains we experience are due to low levels of these minerals. Yummo! Photo by happyhealthybelly.blogspot.com So now that you see how awesome artichokes are ...maybe you will test them out in your kitchen soon! As a vegan this is one of my favorite things to cook for the week and munch on for a late dinner or lunch meal! Why women are like artichokes...the answer: if you have ever had to prep one you'll know why; a bit tough and prickly on the outside, sometimes a lot of work, but if you have patience you will reach our heart...and it will be oh so worth it! Live. Love. Well. ~h

How to eat to live

My weekly regimen:

Photo by parenthoodandkids.com

SO, most people have a busy schedule that allows for limited access to fresh, nutrient-rich foods. The typical American diet consists of whatever is quick, easy, and tasty. We are often know, world-wide for burning our candles at both ends (if you've ever heard the saying). And this is unfortunately often the case.

Photo by ohsheglows.com (an awesome place to get fantastic recipes)

We get sick, and don't take the time to find out the root of the cause. We simply look for the quickest cold-suppressant we can find that will allow us to keep working and moving along at the daily grind pace.

We could stand to learn a lesson (or two) from some other cultures that value their rest.

I digress...


I endeavor to present to you my Weekly (Sunday's are my free-est day of the week) Work-Week Food Prep Regimen.

The name is actually longer than most of these items take to prepare so let's begin....

Weekly Food Prep #1: Soup
Weekly Food Prep #2: Salad
Weekly Food Prep #3: Cake (post coming soon!)