The Fresh Network Blog

Freedom From Food

We all seem to have less time, more stress and bucket loads of information poured into our brains everyday. If you do not work hard on being centered you can blow like a flag in the wind and flop around from one venture and idea to another. Consistency and commitment seem to be in short supply and the majority of people do not have focus and follow-through as part of their mental vocabulary. This leads the majority into an ever-wrenching upheaval of confusion. People grab at the straws offered by a fleeting experience and find it to be less than satisfactory.

New year, new approach

A positive goal which inspires you is the surest path to health, says Pete Vincent.

 

 

 

New Year’s Eve has always been one of my favourite nights of the year. But there is one part of it that I wish I could change. Maybe it’s just me but there you are on the verge of welcoming in the New Year, a fresh start, the moment when you turn over a new leaf, and as the clock strikes midnight you begin singing the same old song you sang every other year: Auld Lang Syne.

Raw Mince Meat Ice Cream

 

Ingredients

Juice and zest of 1 orange

1 finely chopped apple

Walnut Pumpkin Millet Muffins

 

1 1/2 cup millet, divided

1/2 cup walnut pieces

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp tsp sea salt

 

Salty Caramella Squares

 

 

For the bottom layer

1 cup pecans

5 tbsp carob powder

4 tbsp lucuma powder

1 cup virgin coconut oil

3 tsp tahini

 

No - Pigs in Blankets

 

You will need...

For the sausages

2 cups sunflower seeds,

soaked ½ onion

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Who goes raw?

It has been longer than three decades since I first made the decision to include more raw foods in my diet. As a practitioner, author and lecturer I have had the opportunity to meet many tens of thousands of raw fooders during those decades. Certain character traits have proven predictable, at least to the point of seeming a sure bet. In this article, I will discuss a few of the obvious characteristics that seem to make a person open, and even prone, to going raw. Hopefully, you will see yourself in at least some of these descriptions, and some of the people you wish to influence, as well. Around the world, people care. But somehow, raw fooders seem to care even more than the average person. What do they care about? Well, for starters, they care about other people. Raw fooders really want to influence others for the good. They want to see other people enjoying the benefits of raw food.

Imagine yourself swimming in a pool that was perfect in every way, except for some reason it deceptively looked really cold. When your friends came to swim, they would look at the water and think to themselves, “No way am I going in that.” When you say, “Come on in, the water’s fine,” they come up with a list of excuses. They don’t know what they are missing, really. Raw fooders seem to really care that their friends, family and other loved ones get the best out of life, including the health and other benefits that come with eating raw fruits and vegetables.

Halloween Specials

 

Mini Green Monster Shots

 

The Raw Paradox

Calorie counting is for cooked food; different rules apply to raw food, and a high-raw diet is the quickest and easiest way to sustained weight loss, says Angela Stokes.

How many overweight wild antelope have you ever seen? What about morbidly obese zebras waddling around the savannah? Wild animals don’t deal with overweight or obesity issues. Wild animals don’t usually eat cooked or processed foods. They eat raw foods in their natural state and maintain ideal body weight.

Smooth'um up!

 

Amy Levin offers up five fabulous cleansing recipes.

Golden milk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beverage is especially beneficial for stiff joints and provides a source of lubrication for the entire system. Turmeric was used thousands of years ago and it’s still used today in Hindu religious ceremonies. This spice is believed to improve fertility. It’s a good antioxidant, great for the immune system and wonderful for egg health. The creator of this original drink (which calls for dairy milk), Yogi Bhajan, recommended cooking the turmeric before eating it.

In the Kitchen with Ella Woodward

With so many self-declared health experts and raw chefs flooding the internet with recipes and advice, it can be hard to know who to follow. One woman worth watching without a doubt is Ella Woodward, the voice behind Deliciously Ella – a fabulous foodie blogger that promotes wellness, plant-based foods, and, above all, tasty dishes that make you want more. She’s got a fantastic book out filled with some of her most popular recipes, two of which we’ve included here. 

Get Fresh! Editor Sarah Herman caught up with Ella to find out about her student stock cupboard, dream kitchen, and where she’s headed next.

 

Building Raw Muscle

 By Brendan Brazier

Endurance athlete and raw fan, Brendan Brazier talks lean muscles and protein on a plant-based diet. 

Having been a competitive endurance athlete since the age of 15, I found that – once I overcame the initial pitfalls – a plant-based, whole food diet offered several advantages. Among them: I didn’t get sick as often, I was able to train harder, and I stayed light – yet became stronger. Clearly these are significant advantages when pursuing peak athletic performance. However, remaining light while having the ability to build muscular strength – and therefore functionality – was certainly one of the greatest attributes this novel way of eating bestowed upon me.

As endurance athletes, we don’t aspire to build muscular size (bulk), but rather to simply develop what muscle we do have to be strong, and thereby function efficiently. Building strength while not packing on bulk will raise strength-to-weight ratio. That’s good. And as a direct result, endurance takes a leap forward.

But what about strength athletes such as bodybuilders, can they benefit from a similar plant-based diet? Yes, in fact they can. While endurance athletes aim to develop efficient muscles without increasing their size, bodybuilders are quite the opposite.

 

The Fundamental Role of Minerals

Most of us think of minerals as being necessary for strong bones and teeth, but minerals do much more.  In addition to providing us with shape and support for our skeleton, minerals are the “spark of life.”  Minerals are essential in the diet and each plays unique and often multi-factorial roles as they act at all levels of the body – cells, tissues, organs, and the whole organism.  All of our body processes depend upon the action of minerals to activate the enzymes which perform bodily functions we take for granted.

Can pH balance strips help to achieve an alkaline balance

 

Extract By ERICA TEMPESTA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 12:12 GMT, 11 May 2015 | UPDATED: 18:45 GMT, 11 May 2015

FEMAIL tries Elle Macpherson's daily urine tests for five days to see if her much-loved pH balance strips really can help to achieve an alkaline balance - and a healthier life

• One Femail reporter spent five days testing her urine to monitor whether her body was more acidic, or more alkaline
• Elle, 51, recently revealed that she carries a pH balance urine tester kit with her wherever she goes to ensure her body is always alkaline  
• The model credits her unbelievable appearance to a strict alkaline diet, because she believes 'most ailments come from having an acidic body'
• Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham and Chris Hemsworth are also believed to be devotees of the controversial diet

When 51-year-old Elle Macpherson revealed that her secret behind her age-defying appearance was carrying around a pH balance urine tester kit, many were left in disbelief. Was the key to mimicking the supermodel's seemingly eternal youth, and her enviably trim and toned abs, really just a few urine samples away?

After Elle candidly told the Evening Standard last month that she totes around a pack of urine strips to check if she is an 'alkaline state' - because she believes 'most ailments come from having an acidic body' - the Femail team was determined to see whether this was just another bizarre celebrity beauty ritual or an accessible way to keep your body perfectly balanced, as the ageless supermodel suggests.

Hail Wheatgrass

Juice Master Jason Vale sings the praises of nature’s most health-enhancing elixir.

One of the most popular new super drinks of the 21st century is wheatgrass. I say ‘new’, but what I mean of course is new to most. Wheatgrass shots have in fact been around for centuries. The famous Swiss doctor Bircher-Benner was using powerful green juices as far back as the 1800’s and it is reported that as far back as the 16th century green juices were used to help treat all kinds of disease. And of all the green juices on earth, none is more nutritionally powerful than wheatgrass. In fact, it has been said that just one little shot of wheatgrass has the same nutritional value as 1kg of other leafy green vegetables. Whether that stat is actually true or not (after all how can one ever really know?) one thing is for sure: a tiny amount of this super green liquid can have a tremendous impact on every aspect of your health.