Cravin' the Juice

And I'm not talking about steroids here people!  (My boyfriend joking reminded me that telling people I'm cravin' the juice may be misinterpreted.)  8-)  I'm talking about green, delicious, nutritious, health and happiness in a glass.  When I started juicing, I was just happy that it didn't taste bad.  Now I'm to the point where I actually CRAVE the juice- my body, mind, spirit know how great this stuff is.  I thought I would share photos of my dinner tonight.

One organic cucumber, 6 organic carrots, 4 organic celery stalks, 1 delicious organic red apple.

Mmmmm cucumber.  

Adding the carrots

One for now, one for later 8-) 

 (there was no newcastle used in this recipe)

Food Inc

This week I had the pleasure of watching Food Inc, a movie that takes the audience behind the scenes of the food industry in America.  This is an intense, life altering documentary.  I've probably watched it 3 times now, there is so much to take in.  This film is more than a film about food.. The message is so much more than what we're eating, it's about being poisoned, blinded, lied to- cleverly and intentionally.  It's a massive web of control that seeks to conform us, and keep us uneducated about where our food REALLY comes from.     

I have never been much of a meat person.  I do enjoy chicken and fish, however after watching this film I am researching the benefits of a Vegetarian diet.  I learned from this film that when you eat a chicken, unless your eating free range chicken, it is likely that you could be eating a sick bird.  There are no more old school chicken coops with windows.  These birds are kept in the dark, in crammed spaces.  They are pumped full of antibiotics, which we too ingest.  This is not farming, this is mass production.  And it's cruel.

I found it shocking that there are essentially a handful of companies controlling our food system.  In the 1970's, the top 5 beef packers controlled only about 25% of the market.  Today, the top 4 control 80%.  We've never had food companies this big and powerful in our history!  So how is the FDA dealing with things these days?  In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections.  In 2008, the FDA conducted 9,164 inspections.  Hm... Kind of fishy isn't it?  Let's sweep a little more dirt under this rug over here.

People are dying.  A mother told the story of how her young child died from eating hamburgers that were e coli contaminated.  "We put faith in our government to protect us, and we're not being protected on the most basic level."   

As someone who really had no idea about any of this before the film, I walk away from the experience a changed person.  This past month I have made some changes in my diet, and switched to organic foods and cleaning supplies for my health and safety, this film supports all of the choices I have made.  I reflect on how we view the last 100 years of our society.  We certainly have changed the way we see smoking. Today we are baffled that people would ever smoke in Dr.'s offices or on airplanes, or that Dr.'s would recommend smoking.  It is my belief that someday my great grandchildren will look back on this time and say, "Wow Grandma, that was when most people didn't eat organic food.."  I think we're part of a beautiful movement, and as horrific as the truth is- we will rise above this, and create a new truth.  It's easy to get caught up in the anger and the shock factor of the situation- but my anger, your anger, will not slow this epidemic... It will only distract us from action, and slow the change that much more.  

Currently my goal is to educate one person a week about what I've learned... My family, my friends... It's a start!  I've also discovered Pesticide Action Network and signed up for their emails.  It's important to realize that we have a responsibility to keep ourselves educated when living in a society that feeds us half truths.  Your not going to hear about this from your local news channel... It's hidden, we have to dig a little sometimes.

You Are What You Eat

I'd be lying if I said my fridge always looked like this... It hasn't.  Last year my diet was pretty consistent, 3 egg whites from hard boiled eggs for breakfast, tuna and nuked veggies (frozen in the bag) for lunch, protein shakes in between meals or a terribly unhealthy snack from the vending machine at school.  We've started to eat in the past two weeks mostly organic food, and as of yesterday we're trying to go completely organic.  We occasionally have junk food around, chocolate (oreos mainly), vanilla bean ice cream, etc.  We tried swaping out some organic cookies this time around, and acai berry ice cream that is surprisingly amazing.

Most of the food you see in the photo came from Sunflower Market.  The bottom drawer contains organic juice (same brand of protein bars are in the cabinet).  We have fresh organic produce, carrots, cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, sprouts, hummice, turkey, eggs, fat free cottage cheese, strawberries, black berries, bananas, spinach.  We use our juicer quite often, and make veggie/fruit drinks.

This is a photo from dinner we prepared for a few friends last night.

Intent

Welcome to my Natural, beautiful blog 8-)  is blog will be used to document my journey over the next year and beyond as I dive deep into the realms of learning on the subject of Holistic Nutrition.  Currently, I would consider myself a novice in this subject.  Last year I worked in a gym and learned to eat healthy for weight loss, training, etc.  I have a general idea of what foods are healthy,  but I have a desire to learn more of a Holistic approach to nutrition- geared toward health and not necessarily weight loss.


My first assignment is to set an intention for this class... Intention is so powerful.  Is is manifestation in action.  I choose my intentions and words carefully, especially this year!  This New Year was so incredibly powerful- a Blue Moon and eclipse.  Lots of great mojo for manifesting this year.

I will operate at my maximum human potential- spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically.  I will feel like a million bucks in the morning when I wake up.  I will walk to the fridge and open it with a smile knowing that I'm giving my body exactly what it needs to nurture and feed my ENTIRE self.  I will have confidence in the kitchen, and know how to prepare delicious meals.  I will grocery shop with confidence and happiness.  I will have an in depth knowledge and skillfully communicate with others about nutrition, the human body, and the healing powers of food.  I will be one less in our society that is ignorantly poisoned.  And lastly, I will master this subject so that I can help others see that they too can achieve all of this and more.  This is my intention.