health tip #9

raw foods

What are raw foods? What is the raw foods diet? Will a raw foods diet really lead to better overall health?

Here's what you need to know about raw foods, also called living foods. A raw foods diet consists of unprocessed raw vegan foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius). "Raw foodists" believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost their enzymes and thus a significant amount of their nutritional value and are harmful to the body, whereas uncooked foods provide living enzymes and proper nutrition. Proponents of a raw food diet claim that there are many benefits to eating raw foods, including weight loss, more energy, clear skin, improved digestion and improved overall health. Many people clarify that they eat a "high raw" or a certain percentage of raw foods in their diet, such as "75% raw diet". A few people include raw, unprocessed dairy products in their diet, but most follow a raw vegan diet. The raw diet has seen an increase in popularity in recent years with raw food restaurants opening in several major cities.

What do raw foodists eat?
A raw food diet includes:
•all raw fruits and vegetables
•nuts and seeds
•sprouts
•roots, root vegetables and squashes
•fresh herbs and raw spices
•seaweeds

Food Matters clip about raw foods

and another discussing the healing properties of raw foods

raw foods shopping list: (just a few options)

Produce
* Avocados
* Apples
* Bananas
* Broccoli
* Celery
* Carrots
* Cabbage
* Cucumber
* Green/String Beans
* Grapefruit
* Ginger
* Green Leafy Veggies
* Seasonal fruits
* Fresh Herbs (parsley, basil, etc.)

Nuts & Seeds
* Raw Almonds/Almond Butter
* Raw Hemp Seeds
* Flax Seeds
* Pine Nuts

Grains
* Wild Rice
* Quinoa
* Buckwheat

oh joy

praying with people must be one of the greatest purposes for which God has created us.
in the past 6 months, i haven't prayed with people as much as i have this past week,
and i haven't felt better.
prayer, in its truest sense
draws out honesty, unity, freedom, and joy.

health tip #8

"Walking is man's best medicine."
-Hippocrates


There's a wealth of research to prove that walking is good for you and the results are impressive: major reductions in both diabetes and heart disease, decreases in high blood pressure, increases in bone density, and more, all follow regular walking exercise.

Experts agree that physical activity is one of the cornerstones for good health, and walking is one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to be physically active. All you need is a good pair of shoes, and you can do it almost anywhere and at any time.

Experts also agree that all you need is 30 minutes of moderate-level physical activity on most days of the week to see health benefits. Brisk walking is considered a type of moderate-level physical activity.

You can even divide the 30 minutes into shorter periods of at least 10 minutes each. For instance, use stairs instead of an elevator, get off a bus one or two stops early, or park your car at the far end of the lot at work.

upward

worship isn't lonely,
i look forward to the day that i can worship with people. 24/7.
as for now, i wish i could play the piano...or sing...or both.
i want to learn to constantly orient my thinking and my attitude around the reality of the cross and the resurrection:
Jesus.

[romans 1.20]

7.5.11

praying for a new season
[good-bye facebook, hello real people]

i like change
i like new
but i've never been good with it all at once
and for some reason summers feel this way.
i wait so impatiently all winter
for warm weather to finally show its face
and when it does
it brings with it so much else.
and all of the extras,
historically and presently for me,
have proven to be splendid
so i'm not complaining
[learning this too]
i'm just thinking out loud-
but that's what a blog is, no?

so in this quest
i know my most basic need.
it's always the same.
this Book that i say is my very life
yet lately it doesn't seem so.
because i choose other things to occupy my time
and at the end of the day,
these other things [though not bad things at all]
make me sick
while the one thing, the one Voice that will make me well
remains closed
or even open, just quiet.
and it is my choice
because i do have a will
though He continues in sovereignty, love, grace.
sure i read some of these words every day
but it is only a discipline
and while disciplines are good
they can't be the ground on which we build
faith.
i've watched this mistake
and clearly i've made the same mistake myself enough times,
but when that same emptiness is still hanging on
i have to be shaken to be reminded that
my life
is not
my own
and i live so often as if it is
as if it is under my control
as if God can be manipulated by our filthy rags.
[isaiah 64.6]

so for the next weeks or months or years
i am praying for a few things
and i would be honored if you wanted to join with me

i'm praying for my family, that each of us might know Christ and/or know Him more
i'm praying for ross and kristi, their marriage that begins 17 days from today
i'm praying for myself to better understand joy through the grace of Jesus
i'm praying for brad and kim and their boys
i'm praying for the southeast side
i'm praying for the Church to trust Him and to be obedient
i'm praying for 105 beautiful people that i hope to know better
i'm praying that His Name is exalted