Spunky Mama

This Raw Mom

This raw mom is a lot less raw these days.. Not because I feel so great about including more cooked food, but because I gave in to (no not cravings - never had any) the SOCIAL pressure. I was getting really tired of being difficult or demanding, always turning down whatever food people were offering.

I don't feel entirely bad about it either (although I would like to find the ideal way of boosting my health and socialize at the same time) and once my digestive system readjusted, I could do it without obvious consequences. I really love the feeling of community that a shared meal gives me.

Beyond socializing - I never did get my husband or my kids to love raw food (I did my best) - and cooking "regular" vegetarian food (and meat for the two carnivores in the family) as well as raw food prep, turned feeding my family into a nightmare. I've always said that LOVE is the main ingredient in a healthy diet, and there was a lot less love going into my food prep with trying to please all the extremes. 

I still hover around 80% raw. I typically stay raw until dinner (fruit, sprouted buckweat, almon mylk for breakfast, large salad or green smoothie for lunch, sprouted nuts and fruit for snacks and raw vegetables (that everyone likes) a dollop of that veggie dish that the others are eating and perhaps a bit of the cooked whole grain to go with that for dinner.

I know there are lots of other moms who also struggle to stay raw with a cooked dad and cooked kids. There are a lot of other moms who struggle to simply eat healthier, let alone raw, when the others in the family are reluctant to change and improve their eating habits. Just getting off the junk and the processed stuff is a huge step for many families.

However, I'm always hopeful that more raw will become more mainstream and I'm planning to take in Raw Mom's "raw mom cooked dad - keeping peace on the plate" program for inspiration and information to help boost my motivation :) It starts October 10th and it's free.

http://www.rawmom.com/rawmomcookeddad/

Fads and health

Diets. Weight loss. Boot camps. 6 weeks to a flat stomach.

Can you tell spring is in the air? People everywhere are panicking to get in shape. Cutting meals, following high protein diets, joining gyms, taking up running - and it's often the same people year after year - struggling with weight and shape. Evidently diets or temporary stints at the gym don't work. So what are all these people thinking?? What makes dieters buy into the latest fad?

I'm no better. While I don't struggle with my weight or level of fitness, I do buy into some fads (?). Time will tell what will prove to be genuinely good for us.

I buy super foods (hardly local, hopefully organic) and supplement my raw, vegan, active lifestyle with expensive vitamins, herbs, minerals and other substances.

I go to hot yoga. I run.

I feed my family mostly vegetarian, as local as possible, all organic food and cook most of what they eat, but sneak in lots of raw too.

I constantly read up on the latest nutritional knowledge. I fell for the agave scam - and probably poisoned my kids in the process.Although my bee-keeping brother-in-law kept us in good supply of honey, so agave consumption was naturally limited by the tastier option.

For a while (way back when) we drank soy milk. Horror upon horrors.

I've sourced out a local-ish source of raw cow's milk. I don't really know how I feel about that, but it seems that if you need/want milk - maybe a quality source of "the real deal" is not so bad? Kind of like fake meat. Fake meat is worse for our health than actual meat (not talking about what is best for the animal or our environment now).

We are Attachment Parenting our 4 children - and they go to a school that is not a mainstream school, but seemed to fit our values. (a Waldorf school)

I dehydrate and ferment foods. I bake my own bread.

Maybe I am simply crazy, or falling for the latest health-fads - but this is where life has taken me. For as long as I live, I hope to continue to learn, and to always make the lifestyle choices I feel are the right ones for where I am at in life.

Some of those lifestyle choices are fantastic with instant rewards - others are quite inconvenient - and I hope to one day reap the benefits of sticking to my path and allowing myself heart based and intuitive choices.

The latest inconvenient decision has been to home school my oldest daughter (not the one in the picture) - hence the sparse blogging lately. I am allowing a little while for us to find our new groove and to settle into routines.

Passion

This is just a lovely,

inspiring magazine. AND it's free thanks to some advertising by fantastic and good for you resources.

Check it out!

-

YOGA

Mmm - my treat.

While my husband is at some football game that turned him into a green and white painted weirdo, with equally strange looking buddies (aka our accountant and a client/friend of his) in tow - I am baking the kids saffron rice pudding, playing in the melting snow, and putting out just a few Christmas ornaments for our house-sitters to enjoy. I have to admit that I'm not always so present in my actions today.

I am already in the heated room where I will be LOVING up a hot yoga class. (My two oldest kids will hold down the fort at home.)

Yoga has turned into an essential lifesaver for me. I go through serious withdrawal when I can't make it to class (not to mention back pain). Practising yoga at home, is just not the same - although if I can't make my schedule work around yoga classes I still do it at home. I just can't recreate the peaceful and mindful atmosphere with kids, pets and chores around.

Hot yoga is currently what I seem to prefer. The heat warms my bones, relaxes muscles, helps to sweat out toxins and seems to be a great compliment to my raw food habit.

Renowned raw food teacher and health inspirational GURU Tonya Zavasta, writes in her book Raw Food and Hot Yoga:

"My rock-bound belief: The raw food lifestyle can solve most health problems and almost all health issues for all people. But both practices combined can eliminate all health problems for most people. An additional bonus: raw food and hot yoga combined provide the most stunning and swiftly reaped anti-aging benefits." 

Tonya offers her the first chapter of her book for free - over here

Well - I'm off for my Sunday treat :)

Stay healthy!

Still and again. . I get asked about what I do to stay healthy during the flu season.

I am very happy to share what we're doing for ourselves, and I also encourage people to make their own informed decisions.

And of course - simplicity RULES! Wash hands, change towels, drink plenty of water, get fresh air, de-stress, sleep enough, exercise and make smart food choices :)

Supplements to consider include:

Vitamin D, the much neglected but VERY important vitamin. We don't go a day without it.

Vitamin C - the good Ester C kind - or the super food Camu Camu

Immunity -take care by New Chapter (can't say enough good things about this)

Probiotics from Garden of Life

Multi from Garden of Life - Raw Vitamin Code 

Alternating immuneboosters including Astragalus, as needed.

The kids also take supplements, Vitamin D, C and a multi and they have their own probiotic that they can easily swallow. They're also big fans of the TASTY Immunity - take care chewable tab from New Chapter.

When they need even more support they too get Astragalus, but we're also using a fair bit of aromatherapy and homeopathics when need be. Food source Zink is also on the rotating list of supplements.

The Daily Green Juice

Mmmm - some days it's more delicious than others. The kids made it for me this morning (I love all our time we can "waste" while not having to rush off to school, just yet) so I am not sure exactely how much or what they put into it - but something along these lines:

1 Cucumber

1 Lime (peel and all)

1 Lemon (yup, no need to peel if you're juicer is decent)

2 Apples (if I had made the juice myself, I would have only used one apple)

1 Bunch of Young Bok Choi

1 Head of Lettuce

(I really like adding a chunk of fresh ginger too)

It was such a refreshing drink! Thanks munchkins!

Mornings that include Green Juice make for such a great day ahead.

It's packed with enzymes and all the juiced nutrients are absorbed much easier than if I were to chew and eat my juice ingredients.

 

.....and at clean up time - they were all long gone ;)

Is it possible to stop getting sick?

I don't know about you - but I have been BOMBARDED by people in my inbox today, who are all wanting me to do the same thing (no it's not Viagra..). They are inviting me to take a look at a very informative vido, that David Wolfe is making available. I had already looked into this, and signed up too, but with all the sales emails, I just didn't want to clutter people's inboxes with MORE of that. So - here's the blog post - ENJOY!!: Is it possible to stop getting sick? What could you accomplish if you were free of physical setbacks and full of productive energy? I just finished watching a video that literally flies in the face of everything I've known or been taught about health, sickness, and the immune system. You HAVE TO SEE this video! You'll discover the secrets to an unshakable immune system (And the purpose of this immune system is to keep you healthy and protected). This guy is remarkable and refreshingly honest. His name is David Wolfe, and if you don't know him, he happens to be the most recognized super- nutrition authority whose fans and clients include T. Harv Eker, Tony Robbins, Angela Bassett, Woody Harrelson, Mark Victor Hansen, and hundreds of thousands more. But he is living PROOF of what he teaches. ********************************************* David Wolfe Has Never Been Sick in 15 Years! ********************************************* He reveals exactly how and why in this video. (And I mean step-by-step what to eat and what to do for IMMEDIATE immunity transformation!) Don't Miss This Health-Transforming Video To Your Health!!

Raw Mom Summit

I am really looking forward to nine days of quality interviews with a variety of "health gurus". I just signed up over at Raw Mom Summit and it is FREE! Hop over to check it out!

"It's time to bring together the Leaders in our community and inspire women as the heartbeat of their homes, to be the change we NEED to see in the world. It's time that we tell the world that the Evolution of Motherhood has arrived!" Tera Warner, founder of www.RawMom.com

Info from rawmomsummit.com:

The RAW MOM SUMMIT

Starting MONDAY JUNE 22nd, 2009

What if you could gather together some of the most inspirational health leaders in the world and get them together in the same place for 9 days to discuss the subjects of nutrition, pregnancy, childbirth, parenting and other family health care issues? What if you could get YOUR concerns addressed about how to succeed on a healthy diet or how to feed your children the best food? What if you could finally get answers to your questions about:

• What to do about Fertility, Ovulation and Conscious Conception?
• How to prepare for a Healthy Pregnancy, Labor and Childbirth?
• What is Attachment Parenting?
• Which natural remedies to use when your children are sick?
• How to feed a meat-eating partner if you are vegetarian or vegan?
• What should you feed yourself when you're overwhelmed with cravings?
• How to get kids excited and involved in their own food-prep?
• What to do when our kids rebel against our healthy diet?
• What is going on with the Bees and why is it so important?
• How to shrink our Carbon Footprint?
• What is Sustainability and Permaculture?
• What Super Foods are BEST for kids?
• Exactly what IS the healthiest diet?
• What are the best ways to Raise Children Naturally?
• What are the lesser-known common pit-falls of a Raw Food Diet?
• Which foods help or hinder our Hormones?
• What are the issues around Veganism, B-12 and Protein?
• What do Raw children eat?
• How to get picky eaters to crave their veggies?
• Which foods help kids transition and stick to a healthier diet?
• What are the other Top Lifestyle Factors besides diet for longevity?

What if you could get the answers to all these questions and a WHOLE LOT MORE while washing dishes in your pajamas and bouncing a babe on your hip at the same time? Sound too good to be true? Well, not if we're talking about an exciting new event that has been put together by two self-employed mothers with the spunk and determination to get these questions answered by some of the most outstanding experts in the world! Sign up here!