Iron & Omega 3 Myths

Most people are convinced that consuming fish is essential for healthy Omega 3 levels. WRONG! The gist of it is that our bodies have the ability to convert alpha linolenic Omega 3 fatty acid found in plants (especially green leafy veggies), into the longer chain EPA and DHA fatty acids, based on our needs. Watch the video below and you'll find out more about that, as well as my take on heme and non heme iron. Enjoy!

The Logic Of Raw Foods

Ever since I got into veganism and raw foods, I've been thinking more logically and asking myself basic and rudimentary questions about our habits as domesticated animals. Some of the answers I came across just made too much sense! I simply found myself relating more and more to natural law and ways of being attuned with this planet we all love.

I was recently a guest speaker in the Food and Nutrition class at Thornhill Secondary School, where I covered an array of interesting points relating to healthy living and thriving in this life. We all need to shoot much higher than just surviving in order to reach our full potential as individuals and fulfill our unique missions while we're still here. Enjoy this quick snippet from my talk!

David Wolfe in Orangeville

The lecture I attended tonight left such an impact on me that I had to write about it right away, regardless of having to wake up in about 3 hours for work. I guess I'll just have to load up on some serious chocolate!

The event took place at Monora Park, in Mono, Ontario, just outside of Orangeville. There was surely over 80 people at this lecture. The word gets around! We had pleasure of enjoying some delicious chocolate elixirs and decadent desserts, as well as being warmly welcomed by David Wolfe, who was incredibly inviting and down to earth. Truly grounded.

The lecture was so high packed with insightful and profound, leading edge information that 4 1/2 hours elapsed in a flash. David covered grounds of Superfoods, spring water, conscious living, ormus extracting technologies, the power of medicinal mushrooms and wild grasses, and the list goes on. Truly an inspirational evening.

You can check out Dr. Wolfe's work @

http://www.ftpf.org

http://www.davidwolfe.com

http://www.thebestdayever.com

http://www.longevitynowprogram.com

Here are several photos from tonight:

Super Green Smoothie

This is one of my favorite smoothies to drink after a workout, or any time really. It's packed with a wide spectrum of nutrition that will provide you with a boost of energy and vibrance.

You'll need:

2 Kale Leaves

2 Bananas

4 tbsp of Hemp Seeds

4 Medjool Dates

1 tsp of Dulse Flakes

1 handful of Goji Berries

A splash of Vanilla

3 cups of water

Blend away & enjoy!

Events: Light Up Our Alley Festival & The Really Really Free Market

...Talk about recycling goods and resources, building a community vibe and spreading love... There was all that and more at the festivities on Saturday, June 27th, at the corner of Dupont and Spadina in Toronto. The 'Dupont and Spadina Corner Collective' did an awesome job putting together this fun event, that also included an incredibly diverse and talented group of musicians and bands. Check out the clip below for a bit of the vibe I experienced. Enjoy :)

... and some photos:

Green Living: Mineralization & Wild Edibles

Mother nature tends to provide us, the human animals, with a plethora of foods that grow around us naturally. Without complicating the preparation of these foods too much, I can say that I best enjoy eating them as they are. Of course, we now call those foods "Wild Edibles", because we've grown so accustomed to eating a diet consisting of domesticated plants.

All the domesticated plats we eat today were once wild plants. Through selective growing, we've now turned prickly and bitter lettuce into a water-rich, crunchy tender green. This process of selective planting of the seeds of only the best tasting (but not always the most nutritionally dense) foods, has been going on for thousands of years and has brought us to where're at now. Fortunately those "original" wild plants still exist and should be a part of our daily food intake. They strengthen the immune system and provide us with a wide variety of medicinal and tonic benefits, ranging from plant to plant.

By avoiding any lawn care products, you can welcome a huge amount of plants and herbs native to your area, in your own front/back yard. At the moment, my yard is full of dandelions, wood sorrel, nettles, thistle, wild mint, dill, wild lettuce, rosemary and many many more varieties that I never planted, yet benefit from, every single day.

If there isn't much wild plants around you because you live in the city or in an apartment building, you could always walk to the nearest forest and see what you could forage. We're blessed enough to have this thing called the internet, that has these other things called wikipedia, google images and youtube, where we could get references at any time, just to make sure we're staying away from those poisonous plants that might not be too good for us.

Considering our culture has grown to massively consume animal products, and highly processed foods, our best bet when turning to those domesticated foods I mentioned earlier, is to go along with mother nature and consume that sun energy from the closest source possible, cruelty free. Plant based diet is where it's at... especially raw and living... especially grown organically by yourself or a local organic farmer.






So, now that you've decided to do a bit of gardening, even if it's just in your kitchen, I can give you a little tip on how to get maximum mineralization in the plants that you're trying to grow!!! It's not enough that you have awesome soil, a good spot in the sun and water regularly. Of course, you'll want your plants to soak up as many minerals from that soil as are available.

I have a way that can load up your soil with so many minerals, your plants won't know what to do with them... so you'll jut have to eat them!

If you don't have a rain barrel, GET ONE! They're cheap, they help preserve water when watering your plants and give your greens exactly what they need (plants prefer rain). Ok, now that you have a rain barrel, get yourself some sea veggies. Kelp is what I usually use. Follow these steps, and you'll be set:

1. Take a leaf of sea kelp and soak it in some pure water for a few hours
2. Blend the soaking water and the kelp leaf in a blender
3. Pour the mixture into your rain barrel (that quantity is usually good for 1/2 barrel or a bit more)
4. Water your plants regularly
5. Wait for them to grow
6. Harvest
7. Enjoy mad tasty nutrition to the max

Of course, if you have money, you could always purchase a more expensive variation of what I do. It's a concentrated ocean water solution called "Ocean Grown". It's up to you!

Keep up the conscious thinking and liberate yourself by always asking questions!

Happy Gardening!

Growing Superfoods: Goji Berries + Gardening

I think we're all at a point where we seriously need to start considering growing our own food. Kudos to those who already are, but to those of you who haven't gotten your hands dirty yet... it's really not that hard. I find gardening incredibly relaxing and fun. It grounds you on a spiritual and physical levels. I have noticed that people have gotten so out of tune with where their food comes from and what exactly goes into growing it, that it's been reflecting in other areas of their lives.
If you don't have a backyard, don't worry. Kitchen gardening is possible all year round! You can grow many veggies and herbs right in your own kitchen, regardless of your cold climate and lack of outdoor garden space. Check out some of my recent endeavors:

Here I have some wheatgrass, sunflower shoots and pea shoots, after a few days


After a few weeks, this is what the plants looks like (the empty tray on the left was an unsuccessful experiment). On the other side of the table, I planted some bell peppers, italian parsley, sweet basil, cherry bell radishes, goji berries (of course all organic)


So go ahead! Get personal with your food!

The 30-Day Core Conditioning Challenge!

Hey guys,
Derrick and Kirsten of VibrantVegan have been generous enough to share a great 30 day core conditioning program with everyone. The program is all about "Getting you stronger, Increasing your energy, Making you healthier, Eliminating back pain, Improving your posture, Improving your digestion, Narrowing your waist, Firming and flattening your stomach". Watch the video below for more information and join me and others on this awesome challenge!

Major Victory for Seals - Go European Union!

I'm so happy this massacre has subsided immensely. It makes me even more proud knowing that I'm European. The European Union took a vote and the results were overwhelming. "This vote cost the Canadian Seal Industry 94 % of it's annual business" !!!! This is amazing news! Thank you European Union on my behalf and the behalf of the millions of seal pups that are still alive! Please follow their example and boycott anything coming from Canadian fisheries.

Sweet Skinny Slaw

I've been doing some indoor gardening, so expect to see some photos and maybe even a video in the next post!
For now, enjoy another recipe I whipped up on the spot. Low fat and delicious!

Earth Day: Green Tips

I love it that we have a day to celebrate our planet and turn our consciousness on to more sustainable choices and ways of living. Our planet and life should be celebrated every day, however, it's great that we have an international day to remind us of this. These are just some of the tips I could think of, that will help you, help our planet:

Food:

- Eat local, eat organic, eat as seasonal as you can and keep it raw vegan!
- Purchase food with recyclable packaging, or no packaging at all
- Say no to paper and plastic bags and shop with reusable canvas bags instead
- Eat at home and pack your own lunches for school and work
- Grow your own organic food!


Energy & Water:

- Walk, bike, carpool or use public transportation
- Use natural light as much as you can
- Keep lights and appliances off when not in the room or away from home
- Don't keep the water running while brushing your teeth or soaping yourself up in the shower
- Take more cold showers and less hot baths
- Don't keep the tap running while washing dishes (Soap in batches and rinse in batches)
- Collect rain water and use it to water your lawn and garden (Remember, plants like rain water much better than tap water)
- Weather proof your windows


Waste & Toxicity:

- Compost, recycle & reuse
- Use stainless steel or glass water bottles
- Save and reuse glass jars
- Buy second hand clothing, appliances, books, furniture, etc
- Use home made or green, non animal tested household cleaners (Baking soda, vinergar & water are a great start)
- Use home made or green hygiene products (Watch my "Keep it Clean" video)
- Buy recycled toilet paper
- Utilize handkerchiefs instead of tissue paper
- Utilize cloths instead of napkins and paper towels

No list of green tips is ever complete. There is always more to be added and said. Go ahead!


For even more tips, check out http://pub.ecoactionteams.ca/pub/resources/tips.php

Is Bread Bad For You?

It's quite unbelievable how big of a part bread and processed wheat products play in our culture. People are more and more addicted to these high processed "food products". In the video below I mention a number of valid points on why we should take a closer look and make major changes in our diet to improve our own health, the quality of life and health of our planet and feel really good and empowered about it.
However, I did leave out an important point that I would like to talk about here. Other additives and ingredients in bread! These are the ingredients in one of the commercial brands of bread, especially marketed towards kids and younger people:

Whole wheat flour, water, wheat gluten, high fructose corn syrup, contains 2% of less of: soybean oil, salt, molasses, yeast, mono and diglycerides, exthoxylated mono and diglycerides, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium iodate, calcium dioxide), datem, calcium sulfate, vinegar, yeast nutrient (ammonium sulfate), extracts of malted barley and corn, dicalcium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, calcium propionate (to retain freshness

Now if you're still wondering, "what's so bad about that?", I'll break it down for you...

High fructose corn syrup- is possibly one of the worst things that you could put into your body. The amount of processing that goes into production of high fructose corn syrup is a joke to even refer to it as a corn product. It plays one of the major roles in our obesity epidemic.

Mono and Diglycerides, Exthoxylated Mono and Diglycerides, Datem - are all animal fat byproducts. Animal fat is the worst kind of fat for us to consume. Besides the moral and ethical implications, from a nutrition standpoint, all the toxicity that an animal accumulates in it's lifespan, is stored in the fat cells.

Dough Conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate) - Milk product. Why are milk products bad? That's a whole different subject and a whole different post all together. Briefly, its morally and ethically wrong to consume milk products and support the milk industry. Milk also contains all the hormones, antibiotics, herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals the cows are fed daily; alongside all the blood and pus from the infected and swollen udders of factory farm cows. Mmmm sounds delicious. I'm surprised they haven't made milk glow in the dark yet, to target even more kids.

These are just a few things I wanted to mention. There is much much more to be said, so watch the video below, and go ahead!



Sprouting is too easy. Check out this video to see how I do it :)

Swiss Bliss Salad

Check out this all around delicious salad, that will get rid of those cheese cravings you may get once in a while:

Beet Stack Salad

It's crazy to think that a vegetable that was once grown solely for it's leafy goodness is now one of the most commonly used plants for production of sugar. Since this post is not about sugar, let's just forget about it. Who needs processed sugar anyway right? So let's celebrate the beet!

Beet leaves are just loaded with vitamins K, A, C and minerals like magnesium, potassium and manganese just to name a few. The beet root however, packs a great amount of folate and most of it's calories come from sugar. That being said, I generally avoid juicing beets, since that exposes the sugars a lot more and makes them too absorbable (not a good thing). The recipe below is perfect for a weekend meal when you feel like doing something nice for yourself or a loved one and have time to be creative with the presentation. It's fun to play with your food, so go on and impress your friends, family and of course yourself. Enjoy!

Creamy Spinach Salad

Spinach is one of my favorite greens. Besides it's abundance of vitamin K and folate, it contains Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and it's 30% protein! According to the Nutrition Data website, spinach in it's raw state is also a great source of Niacin and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. WoW! The only aspect of spinach that's not-so-great is it's oxalate contents. What that means, is that the iron found in spinach (non-heme iron) is much more difficult for your body to absorb. However, since levels of iron in spinach are higher than levels of oxalate, absorption can be improved by consuming foods that are rich in vitamin C! That being said, you can always add lemon to your salad dressings when eating spinach, much like I did in the video below, and you'll be fine :) Enjoy!

Mont-Royal Hike

I intended to go for a jog, however, all the ice was semi-melted on the mountain's running tracks, so instead of getting all slushy and falling into puddles, I decided to make this outing a long hike instead. I ditched the paved road and the running tracks and went straight for the steep points to get more exercise out of my hike.
Some of the stairs that I took on my way back, on the way down, were COVERED in ice, so I just sat down and slid to the bottom, while other people were trying to be careful not to fall. It was pretty funny. I wish I had filmed it. Enjoy this natural winter beauty straight from Montreal, Canada:




Now, if you've ever had young coconuts, you may have run into trouble when trying to dump the water out right into a glass. Ok, maybe you're really good at it, but try out the tip I demonstrate at the end of the video above and you won't lose a DROP of that electrolyte rich goodness. Trust me! And if you don't know how to open one at all, then check out the video below!

True Synergy

I find that many people who are into self improvement and health always seem to leave out at least one or two essential aspects of a whole encompassing healthy lifestyle. Eating whole foods, alone, is not quite enough; Being active, athletic, and fit, alone, is usually not a path to ultimate wellness; Being spiritually connected, alone, won't take you all the way to an enlightened state of being; Being mentally active and always learning new things is great, but solely that will only get you so far. All these things are great to live by, however, if we solely focus on one of them, our well being, happiness and thriving will be limited.

Living an all around conscious lifestyle and encompassing all of those great habits is where its at. Luckily any of those things are a great start. You will find that by adopting at least one of those habits, you'll soon be influenced to keep going and keep adopting more. That's exactly what happened to me! The main point is to educate yourselves and allow the transition and change to take place, while taking full responsibility for your actions.

Imagine being really into fitness, yoga, meditation, learning, teaching and whole plant based raw foods. Now that's some serious positive results and happiness waiting to lay down the law.

Another aspect to consider in an all encompassing conscious lifestyle, is your footprint on this planet that provides us with all of our living needs so selflessly. Hygiene products are a big factor to consider. Check out this video and try to make some changes for yourself, the animals and of course our planet: