Pure Jeevan Blog - Pure Jeevan Raw Foods

... just a quick interruption of "Crazy Week" to do two things:

1. Congratulate Natural Zing on their 8th year in business!

Finally, some super news to share!? On Monday, after a l-o-n-g wait, Wendi finally had her appointment with a actual LLMD. (That stands for "Lyme Literate Medical Doctor."? If this and the news of Wendi's Lyme Disease is new to you, check out this post.)

I'll cut straight to the good part: Her prognosis is excellent! Yes, she's still in a world of pain and misery at the moment, but he believes (based on her blood work and her symptoms) that we've caught this early enought to fully eradicate the Lyme. (At least, that's how I understand it. I'm actually not clear on whether Lyme is ever 100% eradicated, or if it's just forced into dormancy or irrelevancy. Perhaps Wendi can clear that point up later.)

Here's the next component in our raw taco recipe -- the guacamole. This is Wendi's favorite component! Enjoy!!!

Hi there, Pure Jeevan family! ?Jim here... A few weeks ago, I'd been reading about Bibi McGill, the guitarist and musical director for Beyonce. It was a fascinating piece (linked to below, actually) and, to my complete surprise at the time, touched on her fairly serious interest in raw foods -- and, wouldn't you know, she also lives right here in sunny Portlandia!

Soon, I realized that I'd seen her name around town before -- and Wendi did, too! There are these absolutely addictive kale chips, you see... (We like to get them at our local food co-op from time to time because they're truly something special.) ?But, until recently, we didn't piece it all together -- that one person manages to produce this distinctive brand of raw snacks, teach yoga classes here in Stumptown, AND somehow also tour the entire globe as lead guitarist ?for world-class acts like Beyonce and Pink!

For many people, a change in diet is largely a mental issue. You *decide* that you're going to do something different, and then commit to it. You may shop a little differently than before, but quite often that is the extent of any action taken (other than preparing and eating the new foods rather than the old ones).For many, the commitment aspect is the trickiest part. ?Books could be written on this subject alone (and we're sure we've discussed this at length here on the blog).

Today we want to share a super-easy tip to help with the commitment side of this: Keep your fruits and vegetables VISIBLE.

Hi everyone! It's Wendi here, back to updating the blog and giving Jim a much-needed break. ;-) He did an amazing job with all he did while we were away (his full time corporate job; assisting me with a part-time computer job; keeping the house ready for realtors and potential buyers to stop by; dealing with some sad issues around our dog, Julia; connecting with our hosts and those requesting meetups/talks across the country; catching up with KDcat and I for a bit each evening to hear how we were doing; collecting pictures/videos/notes from me to then go through and create blog posts for all of you; helping friends fix up their attic into a useable place; and so much more)! He missed us a lot, and we missed him a lot, too.

So, here we pick up from where we left off with our travels yesterday...

It wasn't easy leaving Arizona. KDcat and I both wished we had more time to play on the rocks in Sedona. But, we'll keep that for a time when all three of us (next time with Jim) can be there to experience the wonder of that beautiful place. So, it was off to New Mexico! Since our host in Albuquerque was going to be busy until the evening, we slept in a bit before leaving Arizona.

In Albuquerque, NM, we stayed in the home of the beautiful Darshanie, who was out of the country visiting her daughter and attending the wedding of her brother. I met Darshanie at the Peaceful Valley Ashram a few years ago (the same ashram where I held a raw food spiritual retreat). She's one of Leela Mata's beautiful and talented daughters, creating candles which she sells as well as offering intuitive readings [click here to learn more about Darshanie]. It was wonderful to be invited to stay with Darshanie during our travels, and I was a bit sad that she wouldn't be there when we arrived, but who would ever miss out on the chance to attend an Indian wedding ! If you're ever invited to attend one, consider it a huge honor and accept the invitation. Indian weddings are breathtakingly beautiful in so many ways.

"My biggest problems are starches... I grew up with them so they are emotional comfort foods."

Well, it's great that you already understand that your desire for starches is mostly coming from an emotional connection with those foods. You're already much more aware of your body and its cravings than many others who are trying to lose weight.

If you have a strong connection with starches, then go ahead and eat them in the beginning of your journey to better health. Simply start by adding more and more fresh, raw, water-rich fruits and vegetables. The more you consume healthy fruits and vegetables, the more your body will begin to crave them (no kidding!! You will actually one day crave a salad as much as you're craving starches right now!).

Read more: I Need Starches for Comfort

Hi everyone! ?We wanted to announce plans for a raw food picnic / potluck / meetup next Saturday, September 19th, at noon, in Berkeley Springs, WV at Berkeley Springs State Park (link to map), a wonderful natural healing destination about half-way between Pittsburgh and D.C. Wendi was just talking with Rawbin from the Capital Area (D.C.) raw food meetup and we all thought that a combo Pittsburgh / D.C. meetup might be fun. So, we all planned something right on the spot!

Berkeley Springs is a really nice (but small) public park in West Virginia about half-way between Pittsburgh and D.C.I traveled there a few weeks back with Melissa, Dave, Ella, and Bethany on the way to Raw Spririt East. We had a super time soaking in the spring water and checking out all of the cool alternative shops. (I did a write-up here on Pure Jeevan a few weeks ago and posted some video of the place).

So, what did you think about there being snow in New Mexico? Were many of you thinking it was more of a consistant hot climate like I used to think?

We left New Mexico, renewed, and headed to Oklahoma. Here's where we left off yesterday:

After leaving Salem, Oregon, Wendi and KDcat drove less than an hour to the city of Corvallis where they met up with their hosts the Zander's -- Joni, Steve, Bekka, and Stephanie -- a fellow unschooling family Wendi had come to know in an online forum. It was great to be in their company and we loved them right away,? Wendi wrote. ?Their home is absolutely beautiful on a really cute lot with plenty of plants and trees around ? including the most delightful flowers that smelled divine (I think they were called Daphne).

Corvallis is the city we ve mentioned multiple times -- the city that feels like it s the right fit for us. Well, it lived up to our dreams in just about every way. It s a progressive, hip town with a lot going on. The people are friendly, the weather is beautiful, the land is gorgeous, and there are lots of unschoolers. Access to fresh, ogranic, raw foods doesn't seem to be an issue anywhere in Oregon, according to reports from the road so far. While they've been away, we've talked quite a bit each night about what they're finding -- and fresh organic produce seems pretty much everywhere out west. "The west," wrote Jim Morrison, "is the best." (Surely he was a raw foodie.)

Jon Gold, owner of the Sunny Side Up Cafe (a vegan and vegetarian restaurant there) and an unschool father, put together a little gathering of unschoolers for KDcat and Wendi. They were able to meet some local unschoolers and ask questions. There was also a gathering one day at the cafe where KDcat was able to do some art at a table with some other unschool teens. It's definitely a creative, easy-going town with some fantastic people in it!

Here's a video demonstrating a technique for making super-fast, vibrantly beautiful, tasty salads! If you frequently find yourself in a rush, but also want a healthy meal, definitely check out this mandoline technique. (Further commentary below, after the video...)