5 minute raw recipe & doing what you gotta do!

Greetings,

I want to share the yummiest snack I have ever made. It only took 5 minutes to whip together and both my husband and I enjoyed it in about the same time. It was THAT good. But don’t take my word for it, take 5 minutes and see for yourself.

You need:

2 perfect avocados

1 large cucumber

½ Tbs. sea salt

1 Tbs. coconut oil

A dash of Braggs Organic Sprinkles

Cube avocado and cucumber and season, add to nori sheets and chow down!

Another thing I wanted to share is a big lesson I just learned. I went to go visit my folks in Cleveland, Ohio for two weeks not too long ago. I stayed with my mom (she's the best). When I go to the states it is always a special treat to go to Whole Foods and indulge in all of the vegan specialty items they have, like coconut ice cream and cookies and things like that, which I did a little bit of, I'll admit. But I am a woman on a mission to eat a diet that is truly "whole foods" and unprocessed. So even though all I had was my moms bullet style blender I was juicing and blending up great smoothies. I had to get over the excuses, not having enough time, the wrong equipment or other things I would have rather eaten.

And making this juice didn't take that much longer than the avocado salad :-)

Love and blessings,

Herbal

Comfort Food & Feeling Well

Greetings Welcome once again to Whole Food Vegan 101, I woke up the other day not feeling well at all and very nauseous without an appetite. I took some quiet time to just breathe and send love to the parts of my body who were calling out for help. After about an hour only one thing appealed to my taste buds, broth. I remember chicken noodle soup being the in my house growing up. Something about it really did make me feel better. I knew I needed something green, but couldn't even think of downing a green juice. I wanted something warm and cozy to fill my insides. So I made #1 cure all a lovely and simple greens broth soup that really hit the spot.
Green Healing Broth
16 oz. water
1cup of chopped collard greens
1 cup chopped celery
1 T. Nutritional yeast
a pinch of salt
a teaspoon of coconut oil
simmer until greens are bright and celery is soft.


So this got me thinking again about about the emotional aspects of food and nutrition. Certainly juicing the greens and celery would have been a powerhouse of nutrition compared to a soup, but would it have warmed my soul when I was feeling under the weather? Can we strike a balance between making sure we have all the nutrition we need and indulging only in what makes us feel good in the moment? I think we can! So this week has been an open feast of honoring both my nutritional needs and emotional needs, wow it's been fun!





These are the yummy tacos and quinao I made the other day. These were so good and was a great balance between nutrition and comfort food. While I was making it I didn't write the recipe down, so next time I will put a recipe together and post it here.



I have been slowly but surely weaning myself from sugar. A bad addiction I have come o find myself in from years of abuse! Most of the time I am satisfied with fruit as a treat or if I need a dessert every now and then I will make a fruit salad or a raw pie. But lately I have been bitten by the baking bug and had to turn on the oven!

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

1 cup Spelt Flour
1 cup All purpose baking flour (GLUTEN free)
Baking Soda 1 teaspoons
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Lemon zest from 2 lemons (optional)
Sugar 3/4 to 1 cup
Non-Dairy Mylk (I used hemp seed milk) 1 cup
Coconut Oil 1/3 cup
Apple Cider Vinegar 1 tablespoon
Blueberries, fresh or frozen 1 and 1/2 cups

Yield: 12 muffins.

These would satisfy any sweet tooth. In an effort to remain close to my "whole food " credo I used the spelt and gluten free flours. Even though I really don't consider flour to be a whole food, I chose an organic and less processed variety if there is such a thing! More on the comfort food side than nutrition side but it wasn't a snikers bar!

And I can not leave out what has been my favorite comfort food of all something that has grown nearer and dearer to me the more I stick with it and that is GREEN JUICE. It really just makes me FEEL so good. It may not satisfy the nostalgic longings of my youthful indulgences but it is something that will stay in my life everyday.

With that have a blessed day!
Herbal Eranah

Love Your Liver

I just had an epiphany and I had to share! I have been studying many different alternative modalities in search of the keys to better health and wellness. Including Chinese herbal medicine, acupressure, yoga, Ayurveda, raw foods, whole food vegan (of course), fasting, juice feasting, quantum biofeedback, reiki, massage, prayer and meditation to name a few. And although I have learned and healed a great deal from applying these new ideas and ways of living I am not where I want to be yet. So here is where the epiphany comes in.....the liver. Yes, this is so simple and it makes total sense. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the liver is associated with the spring, bitter herbs and flavors help support it and it also supports other organs. We know that the liver is the organ that filters our blood of toxicity. If our liver function is sluggish than toxins can build up in excess in our bloodstreams and cause problems (especially for those of us who have a delicate hormonal system). So I am beginning a routine of gently supporting my liver on a daily basis. Using foods like lemons, limes, garlic and turmeric and herbs like dandelion and milk thistle. I hope to assist my body in detoxifying through the liver. Then going on to other organs such and the colon and kidneys. Why the liver first? Well, since the liver is associated with the spring I realized that this is because the liver comes first, like spring time, everything is new and the first buds, flowers and sprouts are beginning to grow. It's that simple.

Love your liver gentle herbals:

juice of one lemon in warm water every morning
Milk thistle Tea
Dandelion Tea
Licorice Tea (don't use if you have blood pressure issues)
A teaspoon of Turmeric powder in water or non-dairy mylk

Peace (it's good to be back, sorry I was gone so long :-/)
Herbal Eranah

Breakfast on this Journey

I decided to break my fast a little earlier then expected. I felt ready. I have reached a place where I can accomplish the goals I set out to achieve. The main one was to give my body a much needed break from allergenic foods and junk foods. Wheat products in particular I find makes my body react in an unhealthy way. My number two goal was to acquire the taste for green juices and to get in the habit of making them everyday. This process already started about a year ago but I just wanted to give my taste buds a light speed boost. The next goal was to cleanse. We talked a couple of days ago about colon cleansing. I accomplished this through daily enemas and I was able to release plenty of old, backed up "trash" and also some parasites and candida. This feast was a way for me to get back on track with eating exclusively whole foods and include plenty of raw and living foods. The goal for me is to eat mostly live foods with maybe an occasional soup or some quinoa. Another added benefit that I didn't really predict was really feeling true hunger. I mentioned earlier that sometimes our emotions can trigger signals to eat even when we are not really hungery. Well I know what being hungry really feels like after this juice feast and now I can compare it to the times when I am feeling stressed and need food for grounding and security. Then make an intelligent decision and eat when it's good for my body (especially my tummy) and deal with the emotions in a way that will have a lasting effect.

I approached my "breakfast" with intentionality and love. My whole meditation yesterday was balance and harmony. I now resolve to view my body as a partner not an enemy. I now choose to view my health challenges as signals for me to find balance rather than a problem to solve or a battle to fight. We always hear about the "War" on cancer, AIDS, poverty etc. but why not make peace with these things. Why not change our perspective? Can these things indicate that we have veered off course and knocked off balance?

A word on my own personal health challenge

I am coming to these conclusions after years of research and deep consideration into my own personal health challenge. In 2005 I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) which upsets the balance of the hormones, causes irregular or non-existent cycles, infertility, acne, hirustism and weight gain. At that point I had been suffering from extremely long moon cycles (I'm talking weeks long). The options my doctor gave me were this medication (birth control) or that medication (glucophage, a medicine for diabetics). I wanted neither! And so started a journey of intense learning about the female body, herbs, yoga, meditation, vegan nutrition, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and so forth. I have used many modalities for healing which all contributed to my drastic improvement.

In short, I have found that we are our own healers and that our dis-eases are just words for "imbalance" and we can restore the balance if we are willing.

This is what I intend to do. I used to look at my body as a battle ground but now I'm calling a truce. Cease fire! I intend to continue on my path through holistic healing and this path has lead me time after time to raw and living foods. There are just too many testimonies of people who have turned their lives around by eating fresh, live, whole fruits, veggies, sprouts, nuts and seeds. PCOS is related to diabetes. Many women with PCOS are insulin resistant and this disrupts the hormonal cycle. But Dr. Gabirel Cousens is healing diabetics in 21 days with raw and living foods. So I know it is possible. I know there will be peace! There will more on this subject to come. I'm just taking the opportunity to get a little up close and personal with you so we can heal ourselves and the world together!

With love and an open heart,
Eranah

The Importance of Colon Cleansing

Many people are uncomfortable with idea of colon cleansing. However, it can not be over looked because it really helps the detox process. The colon is like the trash room of your body, if you don't empty the trash the room gets crowded, stinky and infested with pests. Well the same thing actually happens with the colon. For those of us who don't have at least 2 bowel movements a day we are constipated and that means we have a surplus of "trash" that is backed up in our colon.

Did you know?
If stretched out to their full length, the large and small intestines together would measure 25 feet long.
The total surface area in the intestines (made larger by myriad folds) capable of absorbing nutrients is the size of a tennis court.
The intestines can store a vast amount of partially digested, putrefying matter (as well as drugs and other toxic chemicals) for decades! Some intestines, when autopsied, have weighed up to 40 pounds and were distended to a diameter of 12 inches with only a pencil-thin channel through which the feces could move.

EEK! So we can see now how much the colon and intestines can store!

When we are chronically constipated we can encounter some serious problems.

A Few Symptoms of Colon Dysfunction

Lower back pain
Neck and shoulder pain
Skin problems
Brain fog (hard time concentrating)
Fatigue
Sluggishness
Colds and flus
Constipation or diarrhea
Digestive problems
Flatulence/gas
Pain in lower stomach (especially left side)
Bloating
Crohn's disease
Ulcerative colitis
Colitis/Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Diverticulitis/Diverticulosis
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Hemorrhoids
Headaches
Bad Breath
Allergies
PMS
Depression, irritability
Frequent Infections
Colon and other cancers

I know I have been constipated since I was a child. I grew up eating the standard American diet (SAD) and I barely ever drank water. So now I am paying the price with food sensitivities, allergies, indigestion and possibly irritable bowel disorder. But I am so happy because now that I am taking charge and responsibility for my health I have been reversing these dis-eases easily through a nutritious diet and periodic cleansing like the Juice Feast! YAY!!!

There are many ways to cleanse the colon the most simple way one can start right now is called the "water cure". And it goes like this; upon rising in the a.m. drink a litre of water. That's it! This will flush your system and eliminate the waste from the day before as well as prepare the body for digestion. I personally do this everyday!

There are many herbal cleansing systems, there is colon hydrotherapy, eating raw foods will definitely help because of all the fiber and juicing is very powerful in it's cleansing effect.

If you are serious about taking your health to the next level and healing the body naturally then you must include colon cleansing. Be open minded about the options. A combination of plenty of water, exercise, fresh raw foods combined with periodic colon cleansing using herbs, juicing and colon hydrotherapy will gently ease any issues with constipation and colon dysfunction. Remember the goal is to eliminate every time we eat a meal. This is how our body is designed to function when we are in good health, anything less than that will lead to illness.

Another word on stress:

When we are chronically stressed our digestion is severely impaired. So add some stress relieving techniques to your cleansing regiment. More on this later! :-) Until then......

I am Herbally yours,

Eranah