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Why I’ve Stayed Vegan: My 7-Year Veganniversary
Following my blog last week on how I went vegan, I’m continuing to celebrate my 7 years vegan with a new post: why I’ve stayed vegan.
Has staying vegan for 7 years been hard?
The choice to go vegan was a deep one from the start and that has never budged. So in the broadest sense, no, it hasn’t been hard to stay vegan for 7 years. The curious thing is that the beginning of my vegan journey had to do with my own health and well-being. At that point in my life, choosing to act in a loving way to my body by eating better was a radical move. Just choosing in my own best interest was revolutionary in my personal growth.
My 7-Year Veganniversary: How I Went Vegan
As of this month, I’ve been vegan for 7 years. I plan to celebrate this Vegan-iversary with several blog posts, including how I went vegan, what’s kept me vegan, and other reflections and musings in my 7 years. For now, here’s Part 1!
How to Get Gorgeous Skin
You don’t need a bunch of products to make your skin glow. Advertising would like you to think all you need is the perfect combo of their 5, 10, or 500 products to have flawless skin. So flawless in fact, that yours will match the airbrushed quality of their models’ skin!
Do Your Beliefs Lead To Compulsive Eating?
Anyone with compulsive eating tendencies has at least a couple strong beliefs about how they relate with food. These beliefs usually go something like this: (some are ones I used to believe about myself, too!)
Should You Keep the Fiber When You Cleanse?
So, you want to do a cleanse, but you’ve been wondering: what about all the fiber in those veggies and fruits? Should you use juices or smoothies? Both? Why do some “cleanses” involve juice only and some have smoothies with fiber?
My Favorite Trick for Minimizing Sugar
So we all get it at this point, right? Refined sugar is the devil. Kinda.
But do we really have to give up the taste of sweet? Most definitely not! Eating lower-glycemic truly feels fantastic. Former sugar-junkie here. I know.
The Spirulina Recipes Ebook!
Do you want to start incorporating spirulina into your diet but don’t know how? Have you tried to combine it with foods or recipes that simply didn’t turn out tasty? You’re not alone. Introducing the first-ever Spirulina Recipes Ebook!
Green Lips, Chocolate Kelp and the Desert Sky
Happy 2011, darlings! How is everyone’s year going so far? Tell me what’s exciting!
First off… I have a new project I’m working on that I’m very excited for. Right now it’s still a secret, but I’ll give you a hint… It has to do with SPIRULINA!
Indulge me… What do you love about spirulina? Of course, that’s if you’ve tried it yet… Have you? What’s your favorite way to eat it? When are you going to join us in the green lips club?
Holiday Vacation + Fruit Dip!
Happy New Year! Last week I returned from my holiday vacation with my family. This first pic is a super simple raw vegan pate I made to dip fruit in. It’s simply equal parts medjool dates and brazil nuts, with a little water to make it the consistency you desire, and a pinch of salt. It tasted great with pomegranates too 😉
Eating Raw in the Winter
A common challenge people encounter with the live foods diet is feeling warm and balanced during winter, in cold climates. There are several techniques one can employ include eating warming foods.
Beauty in the High Desert
This weekend, to enjoy the 75-degree weather, I went on one of my favorite hikes/climbs outside of Patagonia, Arizona – a slot canyon called Flux Canyon. The outdoors, natural beauty, sunlight, exercise, and amazing friends makes for one delightful experience. The above picture is of one side of the slot canyon.
Picture Summary: Raw Holiday Parties!
‘Tis the season of holiday parties. In Patagonia, that means party after gathering after party of enthusiastic raw food. A photo summary
Starlight and Painting: An Update
I find myself less able to rub in the days of AZ warmth at those of you living in cold climates… It is getting chilly here! With the shorter days and colder temperatures, I’ve found myself moving from long bike rides after a day of work to long walks with a flashlight in the dark. Although I’m partial to the glory of flying down a hill on my bike surrounded by majestic mountains and cacti in the warm, blazing sun, my new evening communions with the night, replete with the sparkling, star-packed Arizona sky are certainly energizing.
Receiving in Order to Share on Thanksgiving
The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center hosts 100-200 people each year for our Thanksgiving potluck and day-long celebration. The Thanksgiving celebration starts with a group meditation. Meditation is a perfect way to start a day focused on gratitude. It allows us to be present to the abundant, overflowing blessings in our lives. Not only that, meditation returns us to the place prior to thought and form, the “nothing”. Gabriel Cousens, a spiritual teacher of mine, teaches that the nothing is where the “something,” all that exists, comes from. On a day where our gratitude is usually associated with situations, people, things, and circumstances in the “something”, it is profound to touch in with the place prior to all that, to its source. “Everything comes from the Divine” and “everything the Divine does is for the best, for you” are profound teachings to meditate on for Thanksgiving.
Patagonia’s Halloween Bash!
This was my 4th year in a row hosting Patagonia’s raw vegan Halloween Bash! It was a success yet again, thanks to delicious treat contributions for the potluck, clever costume getups, and dancing the night away.
A summary in pictures:
Ending and Breaking My Fast
Saturday was my last day fasting, and I was feeling so great I wanted to continue! It’s amazing that after one gets over that threshold of day 3 or 4, it often feels so euphoric, natural, and easy that people just want to continue. What did I do on Day 7? After a week of not eating? Went on a BIKE RIDE. That’s right! I fully enjoyed my 7th day, spending time outside and going to sleep before 9pm.
Green Juice Fast Days 4-6
Daaaaaaaaaay SIX! Can you tell I’m feeling good? Yes, feeling good. Great, in fact. Days 4 and 5 were really smooth and easy. All the days through day 5, I was impressed to notice that not only did I feel focused and creative, I felt more focused and creative, and could stay that way for more hours in a day than I normally can. Often I hit a point after a certain amount of hours of focusing intellectually and/or creatively where my capacities for effectiveness in both those areas fall away a bit. Not since fasting. I’ve been really productive this week, felt really enthusiastic about my projects, and felt like my creative channel is much more open.