Feliz Año Nuevo!

Glückliches Neues Jahr - A Guads Neichs Johr Olle Mitanand - Godt Nytår - Bonne Année - Bliadhna Mhath Ur - Happy New Year - Felice Anno Nuovo - S Novim Godom - Xin Nièn Kuai Le - Seh Heh Bok Mani Bat Uh Seyo - Nav Varsh Ki Subhkamna - Shannah Tovah - Akemashite Omedetô - Sawatdii Pimaï - Tashi Délek - Chuc Mung Nam Moi - Colo Sana Wintom Tiebeen - Gelukkige Nuwe Jaar - Feliz Ano Novo

The Truth is that it Does not matter what part of the world you are at or what language we speak, at this time of the year we are all eager to set goals and decide on what path are we going to use to get there, we are all hopeful that the upcoming year will bring us lots of happiness and fulfillment.

So as I am getting nostalgic about all my Colombian Traditions: like when I was a kid and made a human size rag doll stuffed with fireworks, we would have in our neighbourhood our creation "The Doll" sitting on the side of the road and two of us will stand on opposite sides of the road with a rope and stop cars as they were pasing by to collect money to cover the cost of the fireworks. We call this doll “El Año Viejo,” (the old year) and at midnight we burn it after we walk around with it crying because it is going away forever. We toast with champagne and wish everybody a “feliz año nuevo.” Christmas in Colombia follows many traditions or “agüeros” to bring on good fortune in the new year, for example, we wear new clothes, we eat 12 grapes during the final 12 seconds of the old year, we wear yellow underwear, we broom our homes and clean them very well to take out all the bad energies, we do “saumerios” or cleansings of the homes with eucalyptus leaves, we run around the block with empty suitcases if you want to travel in the new year...and the list goes on and on.

So as I was basking myself with Childhood memories, It made me realized that while it is important to let the past go, it is just as important to learn from it. It is, after all, what makes us who we are today. Knowing more about who we are, gives us the power to make the changes we need to make for the future.

So What is my biggest resolution this year? NOT TO BE AN STATISTIC (By not being one of the four people that by February have dropped their goal achieving pattern and gone back to their usual routines)

Secondly I AM RESOLVING TO EVOLVE : What a genius name, dont you think? thank to Penni Shelton and Raw Food Rehab and thei amazing 11th week High Raw Challenge I am going to change! to develop to be a better person because I will be in better health...Fortunately Evolution does not run in reverse! so once you Resolve (Make up your mind) you are ahead! or Have you ever seen a human being become a chimpanzee? lol..lol

My Third resolution came out of the blue, almost like a sign God had given me...I was watching Shakiras video and I happen to click on one of the documentaries instead of the concert and I realized it was time to go BAREFOOT, to give back to the children that dream of a better tomorrow I cant wait until I learned more about our adopted child :)

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Last but not least: I AM RUNNING MY FIRST MARATHON...Why? Because I can! and Because I want to raise some fund to create awareness on how to prevent Diabetes a disease that not only my dad is living with but that will be diagnosed to 20+ people every hour of everyday. What we put into our bodies will change the future of our health and the health our our children we got to start acting now!

CONFESSIONS OF A NEWBY JUICE MAKER!

As some you may know I am in love with smoothies! Juicing However (specially greens) is something definitely new to me. So about a month ago we got The Breville Juicer and have made a couple of juices here and there. Thru Raw Food Rehab I learned a little about Juice Feasting and I wanted to give it a try for at least 14 days but I have not had the "BERRAQUERA"(Spanish word that means Guts, Courage,etc) to do it. This morning However I thought to myself: Enough is Enough...You can do this! What are you so afraid of?

Episode 1 of Confession of a Newby Juice Maker

So this morning with almost 5cm of snow in the ground and weather of -9 that felt like -16 instead of grabbing for a JAVA..I put the vegetables out and started Juicing...I was supposed to complete 4 Litres to get me thru the day but as I was almost finishing my second quart. My fountain of goodness making stopped. I was like Uh,Uh...It does smell like something has just burned! OMG...What am I going to do? The irony of it! I was definitely devastated that my juicer was possibly death...Felt like Crying but I was even more devastated I had just made up my mind to do this juicing thing! :) And I had two more quarts to go.



As I kissed my Juicer better and gave her a well deserved rest, I pull out my next baby! My VITAMIX! I loaded it with goodness and started pushing down so that even more goodness will come out of all those veggies in form of Juice! So It did! :) I then proceeded to pour the green smoothie (Because still has all the fiber) into a nut milk bag so that I could strain it and have the final master piece of Juice Making. To be continued...













2nd Episode of Confessions of a Newby Juice Maker

I was so over the moon of excitement that I had been able to juice successfully and without much struggle on the VITAMIX. (I roughly spent 20 Minutes tops from Blending to straining and it yield almost two quarts) I thought to myself once again! "So, That pulp on the juicer seems a little wetter than the one on the nut milk bag from the Vitamix, What would happen if I Blend the pulp? Could I get more Juice out of it? Watch below Episode 3





3rd Episode of Confessions of a Newby Juice Maker

Indeed I was getting beautiful juices out of the pulp until my tired Vitamix said "I am out of shape, I can’t take it anymore (That is what I could made of "blendernish" language which I am starting to pick up on besides English and Spanish. So She quit too! I was devastated what kind of Juice Maker was I? I had manage to make my two precious babies sick and possibly one of them would have to go into intensive care...I burst into tears until I realized it was all going to be alright because THERE WAS NOTHING that Juice Feasting, Raw Foods and LOVE could not HEAL...

Besides I had 3 1/3 quarts of Amazing, Powerful Tasting Juice and the hope that this was just the beginning of a long relationship between Breville, Vitamix and I. Now I am taking another sip... SALUD!

Breast Cancer and Thermography

This weekend we adventure to Saskatchewan to get a Thermography and I decided to Blog about this experience because I feel more women should know about this alternative of breast cancer screening.

THERMOGRAPHY is a form of thermal (infrared) imaging. It is based on the principle that chemical and blood vessel activity in both pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding developing breast cancer is typically always higher than in normal breast tissue. Since pre-cancerous and cancerous masses are highly metabolic tissues, they need an abundant supply of nutrients to maintain their growth and this can increase the surface temperature of the breast. Heat is an indication that inflammation exists, and typically inflammation is present not only in cancerous cells but is also present in torn muscles and ligaments as well as arthritic joints, which Thermography can also detect.

The most promising aspect of Thermography is its ability to spot anomalies years before mammography. Nowadays, women are encouraged to get a mammogram, so they can find their breast cancer as early as possible, but mammograms are not only painful, they lead to a high percentage of invasive treatment due to wrong diagnosis . It's well known that excessive doses of radiation can increase your risk of cancer. And this doesn't even include the harm done to the body from unnecessary biopsies, mastectomies, chemotherapy,etc.

Thermography is very safe- it's even safe for pregnant and nursing women. It's really just an image of the heat in your body...and it does not hurt!!!

The kind of procedure I did is called CRT 2000 Thermogram that is a little different but follows the same principles as the imaging Thermography. I just had to follow a couple of easy directions: not taking a shower, not wearing a bra, not drinking or eat anything hot or cold at least 4 hours before the thermo-gram, not exercise; massage or any kind of body therapy 48 hours prior and that is it! for the Test they measured 119 points within my body initially with my clothes on, then you have to undressed and wait for 10 minutes in a room that has a lower temperature (Brrr, Brrr); they then proceeded to repeat the measurement of the temperature points within my body...and I was done!

Dr. Brian from Life Health Services always leaves me amazed by the amount of knowledge he has and how accurate He is at reading this scan...Which also reminds me to tell you that like any other procedures; who reads it is as important as the test it self; so if you are considering to have a thermography you should know the credentials of the interpreting physician.

So this month I encourage you to do something for your beautiful self...besides checking out Thermography, why not implement lifestyle changes that can improve the health of your breasts proactively (Pass me the green juice! :))

Happy Rawloween!!!

Dont you love to see the little kiddies in their costumes...I love it! Is too bad that such a happy day for the kids result in tons of process sugar rushes and dentists nightmares. Unfortunately unless you live in a very small community you cant feed them home made treats. Well, at least I made some goodies for the neighbors and my family:

This Week was a kids dream come true for me! For the first time ever! I carved a pumpkin! It was so much fun! my sisters in law, my little nephew, my hubby and me did these pieces of ART..lol...Check it out!



The good thing I utilized the pumpkin to its maximum:

1) I took all the seeds from the guts and put them in the dehydrator; they have that white shell but once dehydrated you can chew like "spitz" but without the extra added sodium and preservative :)

2) I made Pumpkin Pie from Heather Pace recipe. Everyone Loved it, Although I have to admit that I found the crust a little heavy on my tummy; I think partly because I was eating really light and all the sudden I got too many treats, that although raw and good for you; these still need to be eaten in moderation ;)




Other kids treats that made
a home run hit in our household were:




Chocolate Mint Mousse:
Very easy to make,
just blend 1 avocado;
1/4 cup of Cocoa Powder;
1/4 Cup of Agave Nectar and
1/4 TSP of peppermint extract.








Chocolate Brownie Fudge Cookies: I got this recipe from Penni in Raw Food Rehab! I had tons of fun making different shapes.

1 cup medjool dates, pitted
1 1/4 cups almond butter (or other nut butter)
1 cup raw cacao powder (substitute carob if desired)
1/3 cup raw honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Pulse the dates in a food processor until well shopped. Add the almond butter, cacao or carob powder, honey and vanilla extract, processing until smooth. Place this mixture on a teflex dehydrator sheet and cover with a second sheet. You can use parchment paper or heavy duty plastic wrap as well. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough as though you were rolling out cookie dough, leaving the dough about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Peel away the top sheet and cut the brownie into desire shapes.



Have a Happy Rawloween!

One Happy Working Bee!

10 Days ago I started the 7 Day Detox with the RAW DIVAS and the outcome was amazing! My detox Celebration ended up On Sunday with Zuchinni Pasta and succulent red organic tomatoes with an aroma that took me back to my childhood and the times spent in CEPITA – a little town at the bottom of the MAJESTIC CHICAMOCHA CANYON in Colombia, where my mom was borne - You see we did not have transportation, so my mom used to called some of the small truck owners that brought produce from CEPITA and asked if we could get a ride from Bucaramanga to Cepita. It was an adventure you never knew if you were going to hop in the back of a truck full of chickens, tomatoes, zapotes, goats.. or a mixture of it all; We used to loved it!

On Monday the 25th I stepped on the scale to find out I was 10 LBS lighter! Although I was happy about the result… for the first time ever! I was astonishing happier because of my new found energy! Now, I wake up in the mornings with a big smile and jump right out of bed, This week I have not found myself falling asleep in front of my computer at work, falling asleep driving my car or what is even better I have not been feeling guilty for anything I eat (sometimes I could not handle the guilt, and it made me so nauseated I ended up throwing up)

So this week I have been sticking to Raw 99%, and I have been learning sooo much is so exciting but at the same time overwhelming! I took a class on ferments and I went to an information session on Green Juice Feasting (which some day will be my next goal) I can’t wait to share some of my experiences in the kitchen with you.

So I am not Tera Warner, Penni Shelton, Kristen Suzanne, Raw Rose, Angela Stokes or even Mimi Kirk



(They are all Wonderful Women that have inspired me)…I am a humble bee making her RAW HONEYliscious life and feeling DIVINE while at it!

Have a lovely day in this earthy paradise!

The Beauty and the Beast...Green Smoothies!

I was tickled this morning when I was preparing my Green Smoothie and my husband asked..."So, Is your recipe for two?" I was like: OF COURSE!!!

The truth is that even him - a meat lover - is starting to realized not only the importance of greens in our lives but how tasty some of these smoothies can be! The green concontion sounds intimidating but with the right combinations of Vegetables (THE BEAST) and the sweetness of the right fruits (THE BEAUTY) you can end up with the best Disney story in your tummy!

Some of the benefits of Green Smoothies are:
1) Highly nutritious: since leafy greens and fruits are full of Vitamins, Minerals and antioxidants.

2) They are a High Energy, extra healthy and yummy meal replacement: They can make an excellent breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or even dessert! :)

3) Green Smoothies are easy to digest!

4) They help you kick cravings for unhealthy sugars, plus they keep you full and satisfied for a long time.

5) They are easy to make and easy to clean up after.

6) They are very tasty! like Victoria Boutenko says: "they have the perfect combination the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the greens balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding a nice zest to it. People who eat a standard American diet enjoy the taste of green smoothies. They are usually quite surprised that something so green could taste so nice"

7) Smoothies are perfect if you are busy because they take only five minutes or less to make.

8) Is the easiest way of eating your greens withouth adding extra fat and oils that a lot of people tent to put in their salads.

I was so eager to start making green smoothies again that I signed up for the 7 FREE day detox with the RAW DIVAS. I am on day two and this was the green smoothie my hubby asked to try this morning:


2 BANANAS
1 MANGO
2-3 LARGE HANDFULS OF BABY SPINACH
1 CELERY STICK
1 CUP OF COCONUT WATER

IT WAS SIMPLY DELICIOUS!

Raw Emotions - Understanding our Relationship with Food

I recently read Angela Stokes book "RAW EMOTIONS" and I am truly touched by her words! It almost seems as if she was sending her love and hugging me along as I turned every page.

Raw Emotions is really not a book about diets or even raw foods; is really about recognizing our destructive patterns and underlying personal issues that we have never deal with before and that instead we have hidden with addictions such FOOD that allow us to numb or "comfort" oneself.

Raw Emotions encompasses Angela Stokes amazing journey of going from 300lbs morbidly obese person to someone who lost over 160 Lbs but mostly someone who found a purpose and happiness in life through the process of facing her addiction.

I never really thought of myself as a food addict or even consider that I was hiding any sort of issues with food because I am outspoken, I always thought my feelings were out there but were they really? I thought I just craved sugars but what I was really craving is peace within me...is letting go and being able to LOVE and be LOVED without fears or walls.

By reading RAW EMOTIONS, I was finally able to understand my relationship with food and I realized how much I want this relationship to grow on a positive and healthy manner...I discovered RAW FOODS a year ago and while the inspiration is there, the FOG of my emotions was not letting my seeds of change germinate and in its place this fog was tossing me like a ping pong ball between the Green Smoothies and Donuts. The Ironic part is that I love, love Green Smoothies and all kinds of WHOLESOME FOODS but my brain had a huge disconnection from my body and what was "comforting" to my body. It was not until I read Angela's book that I deeply understood the meaning of the body-mind-soul connection and that there was not reason for me to feel guilty or bad about the never ending "game" but to pat myself in the back for the good progress I have already made and to continue towards feeling the best I could possibly feel Physically, Mentally, Emotionally and Spiritually.

I know even more ready to continue to live life to the fullest! Like Angela says:

"WHEN WE VIEW LIFE MOSTLY AS A SERIES OF OPPORTUNITIES TO EAT, WE MISS OUT ON SO MUCH OF THE REAL RICHNESS THAT WE CAN EXPERIENCE HERE"