Greetings,
This month’s
challenge….
The Raw/Live
Food Challenge.
I'm so excited to announce that I'm officially going
to be doing my first Raw/Live Vegan Challenge! With Spring coming, everyone
wants to start fresh, to get healthy, and to feel their best body, mind and spirit.
So we're gonna start this month off with a BANG!
The Raw/Live
Food Challenge.
What is
that? You might ask…
A Raw/Live
food challenge includes the following:
Participants commit to eating 90-100% raw diet for a month; this typically includes fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Participating in the challenge is a great way to experiment with an all-raw diet or just to serve as a monthly body cleanse!
Why
participate? It’s a total body cleanse!
Whether you eat a vegan diet or are an omnivore, it’s good for your body!
Whether or not you want to go Fully Raw, you
can still use this challenge to incorporate more healthy foods into your
lifestyle. And, there's still tons you can learn by using these resources and
following us online.
10 Easy Steps to
Start Eating a Raw Food Diet:
1.
Stock up on Fruits! (Throw out ALL junk and make SURE that you have enough
in your house to last you at least a week!)
2. Make your first
meal of the day a juice or smoothie. (32-64 oz) Try a spinach, banana and mango smoothie! YUM!
3.
Make your second meal a huge platter of fruit! Eat all the fruit that you care
for and preferably mono-meal. This is the easiest on digestion. Examples of a
fruit meal are bananas (7-15), oranges (10-15), pears (8-10), grapes (whole 2
lb bag), apples (7-10), persimmons (10), etc. Gravitate towards sweeter fruits
because these have a higher calorie ratio per unit of volume. If you are
worried about not being able to eat as much as you need, remember that your
stomach is a muscle and that it can expand AND contract when
"exercised" properly. Yes, you can eat more expensive fruits
(berries, cherries, etc)-- it's personal and monetary preference!
4.
For your dinner, eat a small plate of fruit and a large salad! Start with juicy
fruits like citrus (5-6 pieces) and end with a GIANT Rainbow Salad. Consume
about 1-2 heads of leafy greens if you can. Try my Epic Raw Marinara as a
dressing and add whatever veggie toppings you want! Make it colorful and filled
with life!
6.
Exercise! Get at least 20 minutes to an hour a day at least!
7.
Find a community with whom you can share this blessing! Join a co-op like http://www.rawfullyorganic.com or
find a potluck near your via meetup sites like www.meetup.com.
You're not in this alone, Hit me up when you need some support https://www.facebook.com/djalishanti and when you have community, you will feel like you
have a support team around you all the time! It's much more fun to have friends
with common interests! :)
8.
Get rest! Sleep! you need recovery time!
9.
Eat enough... until you get used to how much your body needs
10.
Be gentle with yourself! Love yourself! Self-love takes time to develop. You
wouldn't be here if you didn't have hope that you can change your life. I am
here for you as are many others.
Some Benefits include:
• Helps you lose weight easily without having to starve and deprive yourself.
• Cleanses and detoxifies your body so you lose the bloating, inflammation, water retention and puffiness.
• Improves skin texture, tone, and complexion-- acne, psoriasis, rashes, eczema and even cellulite-- all of that goes away.
• You no longer need artificial stimulants like sugar and caffeine for energy or concentration.
• You are released from the shackles of food addictions.
• Signs of aging reverses.
• No more aches and pains.
• Depression and anxiety lifts.
and...
• You get increased energy and vitality.
• Sleep improves.
• Concentration sharpens.
• Skin glows.
• Confidence and self-respect soars!
• Helps you lose weight easily without having to starve and deprive yourself.
• Cleanses and detoxifies your body so you lose the bloating, inflammation, water retention and puffiness.
• Improves skin texture, tone, and complexion-- acne, psoriasis, rashes, eczema and even cellulite-- all of that goes away.
• You no longer need artificial stimulants like sugar and caffeine for energy or concentration.
• You are released from the shackles of food addictions.
• Signs of aging reverses.
• No more aches and pains.
• Depression and anxiety lifts.
and...
• You get increased energy and vitality.
• Sleep improves.
• Concentration sharpens.
• Skin glows.
• Confidence and self-respect soars!
These are just a few benefits from being on a
Raw Food Diet. Many people, including myself have reversed serious illnesses,
diseases and health conditions with the Raw Food Diet. Many have lost 100s of
pounds, and for the majority of people, the Raw Food Diet propelled them
forward to naturally taking better care of themselves, improving their
self-image, confidence and self-respect.
But, the Raw Food Diet has to be done properly!!!
This is where many people run into huge problems. Most people don't know where to start or how to put meals together, or even what to eat, when to eat and what is a good balanced nutritious diet! People jump into raw foods with such great hope, enthusiasm and expectation only to fall off the diet due to not eating enough, not being prepared or not eating the right balance of foods. Most people run into problems with eating too many sugary fruit or too many high fat nuts and seeds. All of these foods are important, but they need to be properly balanced in a well rounded diet.
But, the Raw Food Diet has to be done properly!!!
This is where many people run into huge problems. Most people don't know where to start or how to put meals together, or even what to eat, when to eat and what is a good balanced nutritious diet! People jump into raw foods with such great hope, enthusiasm and expectation only to fall off the diet due to not eating enough, not being prepared or not eating the right balance of foods. Most people run into problems with eating too many sugary fruit or too many high fat nuts and seeds. All of these foods are important, but they need to be properly balanced in a well rounded diet.
10 Reasons Eating Raw is
Healthier For You and the Planet
Article by
Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead
Here are
just a few things I’ve learned:
Live foods. It’s common sense right? A
cooked seed won’t grow, but a raw seed will. Heating food over 118 degrees
Fahrenheit destroys much of the nutrients in your food. Cooking food also
diminishes the natural life energy. I’d rather put living food in my body.
Enzymes. Cooking food destroys much of the
natural enzymes (your body can also create enzymes, but can only do so much) in
your food that are needed to break down nutrients. Eating raw eliminates this
problem.
Insane energy. You won’t know this unless
you try it for yourself, but eating raw gives you an amazing boost in energy. I
used to get tired around 2 or 3pm during the day. Now I simply don’t have that
problem. When I do get tired, it doesn’t last nearly as long and an orange or
apple will recharge me within a few minutes.
Better sleep and less sleep needed. I’ve
slept better than ever while eating raw. But most importantly, I don’t wake up
feeling tired or groggy anymore. On most days, I wake up feeling full of
energy.
Increased mental clarity. Eating raw has
helped me focus on the things that are important and made me more emotionally
in tune with others. I feel like a wall of fog has been removed in my mind.
It’s easier to think clearly and focus for long periods of time.
Eat as much as you want. This isn’t really
a health benefit, but it is pretty awesome. I never get that uncomfortable full
feeling eating raw. You know where you have to unbutton the top button on your
pants and take a nap? I don’t get that. I can eat as much as I want, and while
I will feel full, I don’t feel weighed down or tired.
Less cleanup. Simply put, there aren’t many
dishes to wash when you eat fruit and vegetables. Although if you do compost
(like I do), you’ll probably have to do it more often.
No packaging. Eating raw means less
packaging all around (well, I guess you could argue that banana and orange
peels are “packaging”). This means less trash in a landfill and more room in
your cupboards. Win/win for everyone.
More regularity. You should naturally have
around two to three bowel movements a day. If you’re going less than that, it
probably means your intestines are unhealthily clogged. A raw diet gives you
more than enough fiber to keep you regular.
Connection with the earth. Eating food
that’s been freshly picked just feels different. You feel more connected to the
earth and more grounded. Eating lots of processed foods — frozen or from a box
— makes creates more of a gap and leaves you feeling disconnected from the
earth that sustains you.
I
am so looking forward to taking this journey and I hope you join me!
Thank
you for your time
Be
well
djali
