Aloha!

Here's a link to my Sept Video eNews:
http://app.talkfusion.com/fusion2/view.asp?NTk0MjY0_3706246

My sharing includes: an Oprah update, my new book/cd + my upcoming Aloha Goddess Retreat

Enjoy - it's the first of more video sharings to come!

Hugs & love,

Faith

How I Became a Veggie Head & Raw-at-heart

So how does a meat-eating local girl from the islands becoming a veggie head & raw-at-heart? Well this is my brief story mostly to share tips with those of you interested in exploring new territory in your eating adventures. Again I’m just a newbie but since you asked here I go – the first part is my backstory into becoming a vegetarian & then exploring raw living foods, and the second part (which you can so just jump too) is practical tips/ideas/references.


thnx to TopMomBlog.com for this pic of my fav raw dish ever from www.Aulac.com

So I’ve always loved animals!
As a kid, I had a dog named Prince, 10 guinea pigs named Stardust, Moonglow, Comet & more plus a nameless mynah bird, and yet there was always this disconnect that the food I ate used to be living, breathing critters once. On a trip to Philippines I even got to witness my Gramps & other relatives slay our dinner – a piggy & a goat crying on the side knowing he was next. I had to carry the pig’s head in a big silver bowl to my Grandma. Can you believe by the time it was cooked & served all pretty on the dining room table, I conveniently forgot all about the slaying part & dug into the delicious pork adobo dish?! [disclaimer: this is so about my own personal experience, not a judgment on meat-eaters or veggie heads]

As I’ve grow in my own spiritual practice & my knowing in the oneness of all life, I’ve always wanted to be vegetarian but knew I would not undertake that switch until it could be done with grace, peace & all that good stuff. What’s the point of becoming a vegetarian or making any big change if it’s done with negativity, judgment, stifling rigidity & all that not so fun stuff? So I patiently waited for that perfect moment to present itself & it did in Jan 2009.

Somehow I started the year not eating any meat, not as a conscious decision or anything, it just happened that way. I love the mystery/synchronicity of the internet – it’s certainly been a big part of some of the most life-changing connections I’ve had in my life (that’ll be another story). Anyway, on a website or email somewhere I read about something called The World Peace Diet by Will Tuttle http://worldpeacediet.org. The title intrigued me deeply while my more shallow sarcastic side said “C’mon a world peace diet? What a cheesy concept? Puhleeeeze!” The lil’ kid in me always open to possibility won out the skeptic & I downloaded the eBook & began reading it. Did you know all these folks were vegetarian: Pythagoras, Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi (hey where are all the ladies)? Also one of the lines I liked from the World Peace Diet “It’s funny how we want transformation without having to change.”

It’s been a while now since I read it but I do remember feeling pummeled by loads of information as the book continued. Sometimes I felt angst maybe even anger coming from the author why we NEED to be vegetarian. However within this heavy-handed commentary on the seeming wrongs of being a meat-eater, some insights that I resonated with began to emerge. Ideas like…

• the disconnect between living breathing animals we see & appreciate out there, and the chicken mcnugget on our plate that we take in here (I’m pointing at my belly)
• the way we unconsciously move through this beautiful act we call eating/feeding our body necessary nutrients & “fuel” to do all that we do in life (we eat on the run, don’t make time to acknowledge/appreciate the food, etc.)
• the environmental, spiritual, physical, even emotional impact of eating animals

It also reminded me of a related aha moment that happened at a HUB event in late 2008 One of the speakers/HUB member Michael Beckwith said we do not love in general, we love in specific – meaning if I say I am loving or I am peaceful, then this should be reflected in all areas of my life, including my dinner plate. I finally realized my own personal disconnect. I had written songs on peace, a whole album about my passion for living everyday peace & sharing this message - knowing this is truly the only way our planet will experience true peace, one person at a time. And yet here I was eating everyday, unconscious of or maybe in denial of what it takes to get some yummy sushi or my island fav, kalbi (Korean short ribs) on my plate. It’s not to say that there are not more conscious/sacred ways that cultures have approached getting their meat, but let’s face it – most if not all the of the meat we consume come to us from factories/companies whose main focus is not on health & wholeness for consumers or the animals. If that were the case, I might have to re-consider this whole vegetarian thing. Honestly it is not set in stone for me. This might sound silly, but I have even questioned eating plants or any living thing. So that would leave me with air & I think there actually are breatharians(?) – let’s not go there :)

Let’s just say I felt compelled to bring my eating into alignment with my core values. So that’s how I became vegetarian & I did it cold turkey - except for one slip up in January when I was starving after a Sunday church gig & ate some pasta at a farmer’s market & didn’t know there was meat in it. Thank God for my hubbby, Nolan, who said, “Don’t freak out honey. You didn’t know.” So that’s been my mantra around being vegetarian: not to freak out, not to have it be some rigid thing in my mind and yet another thing to judge myself by. With this more graceful approach, I’ve never gone back to meat.

By Feb 2009, I don’t remember what exactly brought me to eating raw foods (probably an article/ website online), but Nolan & I signed up to receive a week’s worth of raw vegan foods from www.Rawvolution.com to give it a shot. We committed to doing it for two weeks, so this meant no meats of any kind, no dairy or eggs, and all uncooked, unprocessed & organic veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc. I continued into a 3^rd week at about 90% raw. This experience surely helped me to commit to a vegetarian lifestyle. It was challenging given that even salads were not a common part of our diet. I must say it was a joyfest for my tastebuds – so much that it was sometimes overload for me because of all the different flavors I had never experienced before & the intensity of those flavors. In that short time we experienced superhero nail strength, energy boost & I noticed my hands were not shaky as they always had been. In fact I didn’t really know my hands were shaky until I recognized how stable they were after going raw. Plus of course about 5-6lbs of weightloss.

For Lent this year (2010), inspired by Nolan, we committed to 46 days of raw vegan living foods. During that time we found soooo many more awesome raw food choices, restaurants, snacks & so on. Some folks may love the bold, hard-core nature of the Rawvolution menu, but for us to make it through what we thought was going to be a long-ass time, we sought out all the yummiest raw foods we could find which is what led to my list of favs below. I’ll also include references to other websites & folks that have a way deeper understanding of raw food & that can answer all your questions.

We did not experience the same superhero nail strength like before, but here were other experiences we had:

• feeling lighter (in all ways)
• more connected with life & nature
• great weight-loss (Nolan 15lbs, me 12lbs)
• more energy for me
• my complexion was more smooth & clear (I’ve had acne since I was a kid)
• our skin felt baby smooth all over (even like our heels & elbows)
• less energy & more sleepy for Nolan at times
• de-tox at the ending for Nolan
• certainly more awareness/appreciation for food, eating & our bodies
• time slowed down, felt more flowy & relaxed

So on Easter we completed our 46 day raw adventure & the funny thing is the hardest part for me was that final day, dreading my old life or old mental battles around food thinking should I eat that? I could, but do I? & blah blah blah. Driven by my old-school mentality of “let’s party” & “celebrate” because we did accomplish 46 days raw, I had a not so good pasta dish, then a soy chai latte at the airport in Calgary & ended with a veggie Papa John’s pizza at night in Long Beach. My body rebelled & I was down for two days with a froggy voice, congestion & the yuckies.

The bottom line for me is: what I think, how I feel & what I believe around my food choices is as important as the actual food choices.

I remain a veggie-head & raw-at-heart with about an 80% raw diet. The sweetest thing is my mind is in agreement & above all, I’ve committed to having peace, grace & even fun be a part of my experience around food. This keeps the tummy & the soul happy!

Peaceful eating to you…make time to enjoy, celebrate & appreciate the foods that fuel our vibrant lives :)

FAV RAW FOODS /DRINKS

Ablsolute FAV Raw Restaurant: AULAC. We love Fried Chicks, Curried Rice, Da bowl, Humanese soup (ask for it to be blended), & Blueberry smoothie http://www.aulac.com Fountain Valley, CA) (

Easy & Yummy BREAKFAST DRINK to start each morning: Juice organic oranges, blend with ice, banana, & a handful spinach (Thanks to Siena from www.makenamusic.com – she has a raw cookbook coming out soon w/ amazing recipes!)

Simple extras to make SALADS Super: Organic Broccoli/Carrot slaw from Trader Joe’s, Pine nuts & Avocado (I bring these two on the road with me to dress up salads)

Chocolate Shake & Cheesecake from http://www.planetraw.com (Santa Monica, CA)

Coconut water – fresh & cut open at Whole Foods

Kale shake & raw tacos at http://www.sunpowernatural.com (near Universal Studios in southern CA)

Siena’s homemade fudge – contact her for this & more recipes/advice at www.makenamusic.com

Raw chocolate coconut fudge www.awesomefoods.com (2^nd to Siena’s homemade fudge)

Cheesecakes from http://earthcafetogo.com/onlinestore (boxed - sold at Whole Foods & other stores that carry raw food or order online)

Pizza, Burger, Tuna w/ salad from http://www.goodtogorestaurants.com (Huntington Beach, CA)

Bliss Mix http://www.royalhimalayan.com/berriesnuts.htm (order online or make your own mix)

Raw chocolate covered nuts & raisins from Gone Nuts at Whole Foods or order online

http://livesuperfoods.com/snacks/LIV006.html?Screen=USL&Code=LIV006

Best “sandwich” & chips http://www.greeneryrawcafe.com (San Diego, CA)

Raw Tokyo Salad at http://www.mothersmarket.com (in southern California)

Chips, salsa & guacamole & more http://www.gorawcafe.com (Las Vegas, NV)

Ginger Snaps from http://www.goraw.com also sold at Whole Foods

Cheesy Kale Chips http://www.blessingsaliveandradiantfoods.com/kaleinkrunch.html also sold at Mother’s Market (www.mothersmarket.com)

MORE RESOURCES

if you google “raw” you’ll find many sites, these are just some personal folks/friends I’ve met along the way

http://zenhabits.net/2007/08/how-to-become-a-vegetarian-the-easy-way/

http://www.pamsterling.com – receive a free info packet about becoming raw when you sign-up for her enews & watch her youtube videos for making quick raw meals

Contact Siena Lee at www.makenamusic.com so she can let you know when her recipe book is done or listen in to her ongoing GirlMeetsGirl podcast with Toast Tajiri

http://www.meetup.com – search for vegetarian or raw groups in your area

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rawinspirations - Laura Fox, Raw Food radio show

http://www.thetravelingvegetarian.tv/category/blog – blog from music artist/vegan & a new friend from Nashville

http://www.vegetarianhealthinstitute.com