I’m now enjoying the Green Smoothie you’ll see in these pictures.

It never occurred to me to throw cucumbers or celery in the Vita-Mix, but after reading Anthony’s blog for a while and his comments about cucumbers being good for skin, I figured I would try it out. Celery is also a fantastic source for electrolytes, which is perfect for active folks like me. Especially with all the yoga I do (the room is heated to 95 degrees), I lose a lot of fluid through sweat every day.

This smoothie has a very neutral taste.I just finished a 7.5 mile run, and ate half a pineapple when I got home. After doing some things around the house, I was a little hungry and decided this would be a good way to get some of the micronutrients back into my body that I lost through sweat on the run.

As a bonus…I was dropping off a few things at the goodwill 1 mile down the road, and discovered a little farmers market tucked into a small park there! It has a whole bunch of local produce, including the pint of strawberries I had for breakfast, and the 1 medium sized cucumber and three celery stalks used in this smoothie.

I cut the ends off the cucumbers and the bottoms off of the celery, but that is it. I don’t peel anything. Especially not the cucs, you want all that green stuff in you!

So I’ve not been posting as much lately in part because I’ve held this idea in my mind that every post on this blog needs to be fairly well thought through, with images and stuff where possible.

The process of it all has kept me from taking action.
So now….I am writing this post in the time it takes my vegan pad thai to heat up in the microwave….I know I know….I should just be eating a raw salad, but it is 11pm, I just finished yoga and I am not in the mood for much more than just pushing a few buttons.

OK, microwave just beeped…..gotta go eat!

I’ve been watching Tim VanOrden’s energetic YouTube videos for a while, but just today ventured over to his website. He’s a Raw Vegan and on a mission to show that that you can achieve world class athletic performance on that kind of a diet, and at an older age.

Tim is 40 years old, setting personal records and beating runners over a decade junior to him.Here’s a taste of his goals for 2008:

• 2008 - US Tower Racing Champion at the Empire State Building
• 2008 - US Mountain Running Team - World Championships
• 2008 - World Record - Mile on outdoor track - First 40 year old to break 4 minutes.
• 2008 - US Olympic Track & Field Team - 40 years of age
• 2010 - US Olympic Nordic Ski Team - 42 years of age

I’ve been searching for a top Raw Vegan athlete that managed to improve performance radically after embarking on a Raw Vegan diet. I know of a few Raw Vegans who were top athletes, but they were either super fast before going raw, or stopped racing seriously altogether after cutting out cooked foods.

It looks like his diet is mostly fruits and raw food bars during the day (Lara Bars is a sponsor of his), with a monster salad in the evenings. No supplements either! He’s been doing this since late 2005, after several years as a vegan.

If someone like Tim can achieve significantly improved performance at an age where most would say his career as a top runner is over, then I would have to say there is something to his dietary approach. If this diet can power him to this level, just think about what incorporating more living foods in your diet could do to your energy levels at work or school?

Skip the sandwich, go for the salad.

I’m really into my blender drinks. I start out every morning with one, before work and even on weekends. I’ll add anywhere from 8-10 ingredients…a real mess of things. It’s tasty, organic, cleansing, energizing, alkalizing, hydrating, satiating and yes….I said tasty.

My drinks get pretty crazy because of all the great stuff I throw in there. When in doubt….toss it in. My Vita-Mix does the trick every time. If you don’t have a high quality blender…get one…..my Vita-Mix is one of the best investments I’ve made. I didn’t think there was a difference between a $40 blender and a $400 blender….but now I know that there is. You’ll never taste a smoothie so smooth.

My blender drinks are perfect meals. In the morning, they are so packed with nutrition, that if this one drink was the only nourishment I  had all day, I would be alright. Note that I said if, since I do eat several snacks and lunch every day.

I enjoy the process of eating, but modern day lifestyles make it tough to just sit around and chew all day. That’s why blenders are so valuable. They also take foods that might not taste great on their own (e.g. raw cacao, spirulina, maca root) and make them down right tasty when blended with banana, honey, dates, berries or other fruits.

Blenders also pulverize food to the point where your body can more easily assimilate nutrients. I typically have a second smoothie after my yoga practice in the evening, while I am preparing dinner. This will be lighter drink (about 3-5 ingredients).

I am a big believer that any craving for food is ultimately born from a craving for nutrients. We are so used to eating calorically dense foods are nutrient light. Pizza, pasta, rice, sandwiches, etc. Lacking the nutrients it needs, the body starts to crave more food. This causes us to eat even more calorically dense foods in a desperate attempt to get the right nutrition. In most cases, this nutrition is in the form of key vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Unfortunately, our food choices rarely give us what we need. We get tons of calories but not enough real nutrition.

Blender drinks give you a way to consumer natural superfoods in a user friendly way. These superfoods (cacao, maca root, flax, goji berries and hemp are my favorites) are ridiculously nutrient dense. For example, cacao (raw chocolate beans) have > 5x the antioxidants of blueberries and is the top sources of minerals like sulfur and magnesium out of all food products. A high quality meal with these superfoods make food cravings a thing of the past. They make a perfect meal.

…for 21 days :)

Read all about it on her blog.

She is on day 4. Go Oprah!

For her, it’s part of a cleanse that’s about cultivating a sense of more conscious eating. In addition to abstaining from animal products, she’s skipping caffeine, alcohol, gluten (wheat products) and processed sugar.

This is actually way better than just going vegan. It’s so easy to go vegan and then just go nuts eating over processed vegan junk food, like I did for a few years. She’s doing it the right way.

In fact, I recently had a food allergy test done and found out that I am (apparently) allergic to Bananas, Almonds, Peanuts and Navy Beans!

The first three I eat by the bushel….so I’m modifying my diet a bit to exclude them for a while to see how I feel.

I don’t apparently have a wheat allergy according to this test, but I was only tested using the IGE antibody test, which accounts for allergies that elicit a response through blood and typically impact the body after a few days (not immediately). However, I am pretty sure wheat doesn’t sit well with me, so I am excluding that as well.

As substitutes, I am going to be eating more cashews, pumpkin and sunflower seeds; and using apples in my smoothies instead of bananas. I don’t eat navy beans much at all so that isn’t a big deal to skip.

I just stumbled across this stuff at Whole Foods, and yes it is killer! I got the Dave’s Killer Bread sprouted grain variety and have already had 6 slices today….boy was it tasty.

It’s locally made, organic, healthy and Dave’s story is super compelling (it’s on the back of every load). Gotta love that mullet. Go Dave!

Source: wYnand!

I know many vegans….that have stopped being vegan. The reasons tend to differ, but the root causes are more similar. Being vegan is not easy, at least not at first. People who initially adopt a vegan way of life can find it difficult to maintain unless they do a lot of homework and have a ridiculously strong will.

I saw this post at We Like It Raw, and it references a great NY Times Article about the Maca Root and a Medicine Hunter in Peru. The multimedia slideshow is great.

I started using Maca Root as a new ingredient in my Raw Power Smoothies every day. I was introduced to it after seeing it as an ingredient in my favorite meal replacement drink, Vega.

It’s great for adrenal gland support. Especially useful for people working stressful jobs and exercising intensely and regularly. It helps me sleep much better (it regulates my energy very well) and recover faster. Maca is an “adaptogen,” which means it normalizes body functions, lowering things that need lowering and raising things that need to be elevated.

I buy a powdered form (”Maca Magic” brand), and it has a very neutral taste. Just 1-2 teaspoons are all you need to add to your smoothie or juice.

Tony Robbins was on Larry King Live yesterday, and though I cannot find the recording online, I have something better…the full transcript! Larry interviewed Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Tony and a few others about diet and health. There are great tips in here.

Check out the full transcript here.

See my last post for a video of Tony’s last appearance on Larry King Live.

Below are highlights focusing on the comments made by Tony:

I get asked what I eat on a weekly basis. Most people can’t fathom being vegetarian, let alone vegan. I don’t find it hard at all. Even travelling abroad is a doable thing as vegan, you just need a little preparation and willpower. Here are some of my favorite high protein vegan foods. Unlike meat, these foods all have a fair amount of carbohydrates. This isn’t a problem. It just means that you eat more of them to get enough total protein, while limiting intake of other more carb-rich sources of food (e.g. pasta, rice, bread) to keep overall calories in check. Lastly, I’ve found that when you eat a more balanced diet based on whole foods, your body runs more efficiently and the fat starts to melt off, even though you are ingesting a fair amount of carbs. So here it is, my top ten favorite high protein vegan foods:

1. Tofu: it is a staple of my diet. I’ll go through 32 ounces a week. I try to avoid soy-protein isolates and soy-milk. I prefer to ingest actual soybeans (edamame) or tofu in stir-fry’s and soups.
2. Sprouts: I buy packs of sprouts and take them to work. I prefer the crunchy variety (as opposed to alfalfa or broccoli sprouts). Mung bean sprouts are the best.
3. Black Beans: great in wraps/burritos.
4. Quinoa: It’s a grain that is really high in protein. I eat it in the same way you would eat rice. It has a much lower glycemic index (which means it causes less of an affect on blood sugar) and has a more complete amino acid profile than other grains. The Inca used to subsist on this grain, corn and potatoes for the bulk of their calories.
5. Raw Almonds: I just eat them whenever I feel like a snack. It is better if you soak them for a few hours first. This is supposed to activate enzymes in the raw nuts that helps your body break them down faster/more effectively.
6. Hemp Seed Powder: I don’t use soy protein, and this is a great substitute. It is really high in Omega fatty acids, and tastes much better than soy (in my opinion). I love Manitoba Harvest brand Hemp Protein.
7. Cliff Builder Bars: In a pinch, these do the trick. They also taste really good and have a nice consistency.
8. Soy Dogs: I don’t have a favorite variety, but they cook really fast, are pretty inexpensive and have a % of calories from protein. I’ll usually chop them up and throw them into a stir fry, or just toast them and eat them with ketchup and mustard.
9. Meatless Meatballs: I usually get’s Nate’s variety. Good with any pasta. I’ll usually crush them to make a “meat sauce” with pasta.
10. “Chicken” Patties: I prefer the Boca brand “Chik n Grill” variety. These fake chicken patties that have a more meaty texture. I will just eat a few of these plain with some type of sauce or make a sandwich out of them.  

This Raw Power Smoothie is highly alkalizing, satiating and tastes really good!

(ingredients for my Raw Power Smoothie) 

For the past few weeks I’ve been enjoying a big raw-food smoothie every morning. It’s a great addition to my diet. What prompted me to start doing this? I met someone about a month ago, who has been vegan for 20+ years, and mostly raw for almost as long. He is full of energy and very strong and fit. I never would have guessed he was Vegan, let along mostly raw.

I took a peak in his fridge, and was amazed to find it pretty much empty. Just a lot of dates, goji berries, some greens and other veggies. I asked him what he eats on a typical day, and he let me in on his secret smoothie recipe. I’ve been taking Vega pretty regularly, but I must admit that this homemade recipe tastes better and satiates longer.

Prepared as below it is about 700 calories, with about 15-20 grams of fat (mostly from avocado) and 15-20 grams of protein. There is a lot of sugar in it, but it is from whole food sources so I am not concerned.

After eating this I can pretty much go all day without eating (if I had to, this is not my goal). Perhaps the biggest benefit is that I just feel better after drinking it.

While it will blend best in a Vitamix, I have been using a standard Osterizer blender (my Vitamix is on order) and it works fine (will be just a little chunky).

Here’s the magic formula:

• 1 small Banana
• 1 small Apple (or 1/2 a large apple)
• 1/2 an Avocado (this is where you get most of your good fats)
• 2 palm-fuls of Goji Berries (buy the softer ones if you have a choice)
• 3 large Medjool Dates (I buy the freshest looking ones I can find, with pits)
• 2 heaping tablespoons Raw Hemp Seed Powder (I like Manitoba Harvest Brand)
• 1 heaping teaspoon Ground Raw Flaxseed
• 1 heaping teaspoon Maca Root Powder (great for adrenal gland support - for athletes or those in high stress jobs)
• 2 heaping teaspoons Raw Cacao Nips (ridiculously high in antioxidants - use whole Cacao beans if you can find them)
• 12 ounces of water (roughly…I usually just cover the entire mixture with water in the blender)

Blend the entire mixture on high for about 2 minutes. It makes 20 ounces of smoothie (medium thickness). Drink slowly and enjoy!

I’m really into drinking juice right now. Not Juicy-Juice but the 100% all natural fresh squeezed variety. I’ll hit up Jamba Juice after yoga and down a power-sized (that’s 32 oz) of fresh made carrot juice, or perhaps even OJ with blueberries blended in (fresh squeezed again). I’ll typically have at least 1 of these a day, usually in the morning.

I’ll also stop by a local juice-bar and get a green drink a few days a week, made with kale, cucumber, parsley, celery and wheatgrass. These are much better for me (detoxifying), but don’t give me the energy that the Carrot juice provides. I’ll drink this in the afternoon.

The more of this juice I drink, the less garbage I crave. It’s funny how that works.

I also have much more energy than normal and have shed about 5 pounds of blubber (my bodyfat scale NEVER lies!).

Perhaps the biggest change is, I just feel really happy most of the time. Not all of the time (I’m not on medication…) but most of the time. The only other change in my life during the past 3 weeks has been dietary, so there must be something to it.

Oh yeah….I just ordered a Vitamix. They have a new model coming out in a few weeks and I am already on the wait-list.

I was making dinner and started munching away on some local (organic) field greens. I literally shove the stuff in my mouth until I can’t fit any more in and chew it like a cow. My goal is to keep chomping until whatever I am cooking is cooked. Hey, it beat snacking on potato chips.

Today, after a couple mouthfuls, it finally dawned on me….I have a blender…why not use it? I’ve actually never blended my greens before. It seemed incredibly strange filling the thing up with Arugula, Spinach and Red Lettuce….but I tried it out.

In the end, I blended a massive tub (the size of one of the big pre-packaged tubs you see at Whole Foods) of green into about 24 ounces of semi-solid mush. It didn’t taste like anything, and was more of a drink than a solid. It went down really smooth.
This was so much easier than chomping down on the salad…and I consumed about 4 times as much as I normally would have! Bonus!

Add to that my 32 ounces of fresh carrot juice this morning (go Jamba!), 2 apples, 2 bananas and a large bowl of bean sprouts…and I’m running clean today!…as long as you don’t count the two soy dogs I just inhaled.

Just got back down to Portland this evening. Traffic was aweful today. The usual <3hr drive took almost 6 hours!

Looking forward to meeting up with my friends that are here for the Vegan Vacation. I spent last weekend at the Oregon Coast with them (27 of us in a giant beach house!) and it was a blast. We are meeting up tomorrow for a hike to some waterful and a hot spring.

Pics from last weekend are here.

There is a measure being put in place that will require all almonds in North America to undergo mandatatory pasteurization.

Apparently, there were two incidents of recall of almonds in the past five years invovling salmonella. That’s TWO INCIDENTS in the past five years. Both cases also dealt with convential almond farms (not organic farms). I don’t know about you, but mandatory pasteurization seems like overkill here.

I eat lots of raw food, and almonds are one of my favorite nuts, and I always eat them raw. They taste way better and are a LOT more healthy for you that way. With pasteurization, you’ll be eliminating a lot of the positive health qualities of these nuts.

Luckily, people are starting to protest. Head over here to sign Seth Leaf’s online petition protesting this mandate.

We Like It Raw has additional contact info for almond growers and packagers that you can voice your complaints to.

Do you need a cup of coffee in the morning to get yourself out of bed? Do you find yourself craving food at odd times of day? Does your energy level seem to be waning with every passing month or year? It’s time to take action! Revitalize yourself and feel more energetic than ever by alkalizing your body.

It is easy to do, doesn’t require any radical change to your diet, and will have a more profound affect on your well-being than any standard “diet” could ever have.

Randall, Robert Cheeke and myself (R to L) get a quick workout in at the Seattle ProClub. They were in town for the Seattle Vegfest, and did a great job representing the Vega product line at the festival, as well as promoting Veganbodybuilding.com, of which Rob is the founder.

Every now and then I run across stories that remind my why I am Vegan.

The article almost sounds crazy enough to be a feature story on The Onion.

Some of the stranger bits…

“This job is harder than cattle,” Mr. Jiménez said while on a nighttime hunt on Hato Santa Luisa, a ranch spread over more than 40,000 acres on Venezuela’s plains. “But it’s just as rewarding.”

….Never mind that capybaras have some unusual habits like eating their own feces. And yes, some chefs acknowledge, the methods used to kill capybaras, normally involving a sharp clubbing of the rodent’s head, put off some diners.

…Capybara is an exquisite meat that deserves prominent stature in our culinary tradition.

….The capybara is easier to steal than a cow, so there’s still a bit of thievery that takes place on some ranches,”

…“The pursuit is very hard,” said Abel Vargas, 42, a pipe-wielding hunter who wore a pair of goggles for diving after capybaras. Mr. Vargas said he especially liked cooked kidney of capybara.

I can understand how extreme hunger could drive people to do strange things, and eat strange things….but Capybara as haute cuisine? Gimme a break!

Reading stuff like this really makes me glad to be vegan.

Why ANYONE would eat crap like this is beyond me, especially as a “wealthy” tourist travelling in a foreign country.