I hope to see you!

Okay, so do you really want to know what I have been up to? Or did you just forget about me? haha! I didn't forget about everyone else, but I've been focusing all of my energy on a fun new project I've been working on. I was in the shower one day thinking about my biggest phobia and wondering how I could solve it. Well instead of solving it, I decided to fantasize it and make it into a children's book (a 300 page-er). I have been working so hard on this book, and so far have read it to 3 children who absolutely love it. I am not even close to done, but I wanted to share that with everyone. When I am closer to finished, I will be able to fill you in on more details.

More excitingly, I will be traveling. Of course, mostly tagging along with Rory. Myself, my daughter, Isabel, and Rory will be at Raw Spirit Fest East on August 29-30th. Rory will be doing a raw food demo, selling a dvd (hopefully) and his e-book (hopefully) but certainly he will be selling smoothie jar bags and magnets. Isabel will be doing a raw food demo with her cousins in the children's section. She is super excited and super nervous.
On September 26-2th we will be in Prescott, AZ sans Isabel for the Raw Spirit Fest as well. I am really hoping to meet some of my new blogger friends at these festivals!

August 7-9th we will be in MA for the NOFA (Northeastern Organic Farming Association)conference where Rory will be doing a raw food demo there as well. If you are going, let me know!

The Story About Your Stuff

It's been so long since I have posted anything. The summer is upon us and I have been so busy doing anything I can to keep busy lol! One thing I've been doing is going for 4 mile walks sister-in-law and I and our children (they get to ride bikes) on our local walk way/bike path/green way. That's been a lot of fun. The best part is that the very first time we went, I lost 4 lbs! That was 1 lb per mile. Of course, I haven't been able to get those results every time, but it is definitely a great motivator.

My mother sent me a link to a wonderful video and website titled "The Story of Stuff". It's a 20 minute video that talks about the route that our "stuff" travels, from extraction to disposal, and everything in between. What's fascinating is how this cycle ever got started. In the video the writer, Annie Leonard, explains that the entire idea of consumerism was created on purpose, and why it was created at all. After WWII the government was trying to figure out how to boost the economy when a retail analyst came up with the idea of using consumerism. According to the video, she stated, "Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals. That we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction in consumption...We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate." So that's where this all got started.

It's a wonderful video to watch and share with your friends and family. An interesting part in the video is when Annie Leonard displays how our pillows are doused in neuro toxins such as Brominated Flame Retardants (B.F.R.s) to prevent them from catching on fire, and then we use them to cushion our heads all night long! That's a scary thought!

In the end she discusses how we can change this route and create a new one. She also mentions how people are already in the process of making change. You know, I'd love to tell you more about it, but I really think you should watch it for yourself.

I posted the video from YouTube here, but the website has much better quality and more information for you to check out.


www.storyofstuff.com

Liquid Tooth Soap short review

Things are going really well. Last night we hung out with the Giannis at Catch a Healthy Habit cafe in West Haven, CT. They even did a live video with Rory at the cafe that was just for fun. Rory and I received a bottle of peppermint Liquid Tooth Soap from them, and it's pretty amazing. According to the label on the bottle:

"It cleans teeth and gums perfectly. It does not coat the teeth with glycerin and rinses off easily in 2-3 rinses leaving the teeth ready to re-enamelize from nutrients in the diet."

Kevin Gianni suggested to put 2-3 drops from the dropper onto the wet toothbrush, and that should be plenty. He told me that the first time he used the tooth soap, he put a whole dropper full and his mouth foamed up like a rabid dog. That's of course when my daughter, Isabel, started barking a growling at him LOL!

So I put 3 drops on my toothbrush and put it in my mouth. I was worried that it wasn't going to foam up, but it definitely did. It's ingredients list saponified coconut, palm, extra virgin olive oils, filtered water, and pure essential oils. That's it. So when I started brushing I immediately felt and tasted the oils and was reminded of oil pulling. It was definitely different than the toothpaste I am used to, especially in texture. I am accustomed to toothpaste that is grainy and foamy. This was more like oily and soapy. That's a new feeling for my mouth, but not a bad feeling. I spit it out and rinsed 3 times, like suggested on the bottle. The peppermint flavor was not as strong as most commercial toothpastes and did not leave an aftertaste. Rory loved that because he is constantly making food and does not want a toothpaste that will alter his taste buds. My teeth actually felt VERY clean afterwards, slippery even. In fact, I did this last night and my teeth still feel very clean. The Tooth Soap says that it does not leave a residue of glycerin like other toothpastes and therefore allows the teeth to absorb nutrients on their own in your mouth. So next time I drink a green juice or smoothie my teeth will be able to absorb the nutrients directly!

Tooth Soap does have a high price tag, but it lasts for at least 4-6 weeks and you know that you will be getting more nutrients from your possibly high priced raw foods and juices. I hope you get a chance to check Liquid Tooth Soap out and let me know what you think of it! (BTW, I'm not selling any or making any money from this, just sharing my experience with you.)

It's a jumble out there

I am only a 6 hour driving distance from where I grew up and this place is like a foreign land. There is even a small language barrier! I was talking to my sister-in-law about sliding boards and she had no idea what I was talking about. I figured I must have spoke Greek since I thought everyone knew what a sliding board was! Rory had to be a translator and told her that a sliding board was the same thing as a slide. She was picturing something like a skate board/ slip in slide combo. Also, it's a lot more urban than what I am used to. I grew up near Lancaster, PA where all you see for miles is farmland. It's hard to get used to pulling out of my driveway into 6 lanes of traffic! But hardest of all is the trash, it's everywhere. Parking lots are covered in it, it's all over the roads, and even in our yard! Sure, there was trash in PA, but it always seemed to get cleaned up eventually. I'm not saying I don't like it here, I'm just getting used to it.

One good thing about having so many people around is that there is always something to do. My daughter and I were driving down the street today and we saw David Wolfe walking down the sidewalk in West Haven, CT. She yelled out the window, "Hi David Wolfe!" I think it was her first time to see a celebrity. Of course, Rory will be hanging out with him all night at Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe tonight since he will be doing a lecture there. Oh the life of a raw food chef!

Image from www.divavillage.com
Oh and another cool thing, we are going to start growing wheatgrass! We have everything we need except some oceangrown solution, which I will be purchasing tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait to share that with you! I learned that 2 oz. of wheatgrass juice is nutritionally equal to 5 lbs of fresh vegetables. That's amazing!

Still getting used to my new surroundings

Okay, so my last post was exactly 1 month ago. No, I didn't forget about my blog or raw food (for the most part). Actually, we are still not unpacked (Arrrg)and my computer broke! I've been using the teeniest tiniest laptop known to man. It's an HP 2133 Mini Notebook PC and it's okay but the screen is tiny and it has very few features. The battery only lasts about 90 minutes and it heats up so much that I constantly worry about starting a fire.

So this is what's going on in my new life. We moved to CT about 2 weeks ago and my life has been turned completely upside down. We moved in with some family, which is great because we can save up some money to start a business, but it's hard living with family, especially in-laws. My sister-in-law is a wonderful person, and so is her husband. They totally dig the raw foods and Rory has been commissioned to make a ton of food for them, especially desserts. They have 2 children that they also home school, so that works out wonderfully. And they only eat organic foods, so it's a perfect match! But I do miss having my own kitchen, and my own place in general. They live in a large home, so we do have the entire upstairs to ourselves, which includes plenty of storage, bedrooms, and a bathroom. So we pretty much only share a kitchen, but of course we spend a lot of time together anyway. I feel like I am in college again, but without all that darn homework!

Our home itself is beautiful. Long before I met Rory, he and his brother-in-law actually built much of the house, and they did a very good job! I only wish it was a little more sound proof! lol Out back we have about 1 mile of beautiful forest and a winding creek. We took a walk there the other day and I came back covered in ticks. I've since bought a natural tick repellent but I've been too chicken to test it. There are 3 local nature reserves that we can visit, plently of beaches around, and since we live only 10 minutes from New Haven, there is always something to do. Before we moved we lived next to a busy street, had no yard, and there were no public places. We are definitely having a great time. In fact, today is the first day since we arrived that we don't have any plans!

But, I cannot find any organic greens anywhere! We have gone into many, many stores looking for organic greens, and at most we can find small 7 oz boxes of mixed greens. No kale, collards, or anything to be seen for miles. I did find a Whole Foods about 45 minutes away, but the prices were very very high. Luckily we will be starting a garden, but in this climate we will probably only have fresh greens for a couple months. This is something I may never get used to.

I did join a gym the other day, just for fun. I'm excited about going because I met a few people there that I could really enjoy working out with. I got a good discount for the gym by signing up for 1 year, so hopefully I will keep up with it. It's only about 2 miles from my house, so I have no excuses.

As for the raw foods, well I've done better. Rory never fails to be 100%, but when I get stressed, I start eating cooked. Especially starches. I'm trying to get back to my ways, but it hasn't been easy. Hopefully the new 100 day RawFu challenge will inspire me to get back into the groove.

What Groceries We Buy Each Week, Video Courtesy of My Daughter

I just got home from our weekly Friday shopping trip and I happened to lay everything down on the table in preparation to put it all away when I thought, "this would make a great picture!" I pulled out my lovely digi cam and realized that it didn't fit in the pic! My daughter had the great idea of making a video instead, and she wanted to do all the talking as well.

As you can see, we buy a lot of bananas! I once assumed that I buy about 20 lbs of bananas, but I added it up from the receipt and it was 69. 72 pounds! What do we do with all those bananas???? I'm not sure either! LOL I know that I like to make a lot of banana ice cream. I also know that I put bananas in a lot of my green smoothies. I actually don't like to eat bananas plain, but about once a month I will eat some with Rory's raw cacao sauce. Rory likes to eat a lot of bananas in his breakfast cereal, and he eats a lot with his raw tahini as well. My daughter eats some in smoothies and also eats the ice cream. I guess little by little it all gets chowed down.

We do spend a lot of money on our groceries, but we don't break the bank. We feel it's justified since we are soooo much healthier now that we eat raw. I have lost a lot of weight, my husband has lost a lot more (150 lbs between us). I can see better on raw food, Rory's scars have nearly healed, his cavities no longer hurt and some seem to be going away. My daughter is happier and healthier looking, and never gets sick. To me, that makes it worth it to spend about $100.00 more per week on groceries.

So how much did we spend on all this? We went to 2 different stores, in order to get the best deals. The first store we spent $55.24 and the second we spent $86.28. So total we spent $141.52. This is actually a little less than usual since I was on a budget this week (since we are moving). We usually spend closer to $180 or $200 (for 3 people) in the Winter months. In the Summer we shop at farmers markets and that usually allows us to spend only half as much. Spring is on it's way!

How much are you willing to spend on good health?

Reduce, Reuse, Freecycle

Image from www.321now.org

This has been a crazy month for us getting ready to move. I have to admit, homeschooling is very difficult to do amid piles of boxes and lists of things to do. I've moved a ton of times in my life, but never so far and with so much stuff. Mostly I just moved from one dorm to another in college, and when I was a kid we moved as far as next door. Now we are moving about 7 hours, and we have to make sure we have everything packed and ready, plus we have to be able to somehow use our stuff while it's packed.

Oh and here are some tips for finding homes for some of your old furniture.

1. Put it outside with a free sign. We had the ugliest couch in the world, half of the upholstery was missing and what was left had stains and holes. The only reason we kept it was because we had a couch cover. I put that ugly thing outside without the cover and after 3 days it was gone. Hallelujah!

2. Freecycle it! Freecycle is a community of people that give away their old stuff for free to anyone who wants it. One warning though, don't put anything on freecycle until you are ready to part with it. I put my washing machine on Freecycle last night, thinking it would take a week or so to find it a home. This morning I woke to a ton of emails from people who wanted it. I felt bad, since it was my fault for posting it so early, so tonight someone is picking it up. Now I have to go the next 2 weeks without a washing machine! Luckily my mom lives close by and has one.

3. Network. I also have a refrigerator that needed a home. I talked to everyone that I knew, and they talked to everyone they knew, and so on. Someone a few degrees away from my mother is picking up the fridge the day we move. Another one bites the dust!

4. Used furniture and appliance stores. Now this is a place we didn't use, but we would have if we didn't find any other takers. Actually, this is where we bought a lot of our furniture in the first place, including our refrigerator. Many of these places will pick up your stuff for you, but not all of them.

My goal was to keep our stuff out of a landfill. I hate to see perfectly good stuff thrown out that someone else could use. In college my friends would go dumpster diving and find televisions, microwaves, stereos, etc. all in perfectly good condition! Since I've seen so much waste, and wasted plenty myself in my college days, Rory and I have decided early on to buy as much used stuff as possible and to buy as little stuff as possible. We don't collect knickknacks, furniture, or anything. We do receive a lot though from friends and family. It's amazing, I've noticed the less we buy, the more stuff is just given to us for free!

What are ways that you recycle your old furniture and appliances? What things do you do in your home to keep trash out of landfills?