Green Answers

Hello Readers,

I have just began my adventure as an intern at a great company and website called Green Answers. It is a community for green-minded individuals who want to know what is best for the environment. Topics reach from fuel efficient cars, animal extinction, favorite places to hike, and organic food. I love a  place where I can go to ask any question and get plenty of like-minded people to do the research for me. I write my two articles a week for GreenAnswers and you can see them here. 

As for personal stuff, the Juvo "diet" is going great. I'm on day 7 and feel good. I did bonk out yesterday from not eating enough protein, but today I got my green shake and feel a whole lot better. If you've decided to take on a Juvo-like diet of two shakes and one meal a day, make sure you get all of your protein! It's needed for a weight lifting series like P90x's Legs and Back. Boy, is that killer!

Stay tuned for a new organic recipe. 

Spring Cleaning (Body and Mind)

I've decided to start a diet. It's spring cleaning time, and not only of the house, but the body. I'm detoxing myself by eating one regular meal a day and two "Juvo" Shakes.

Here is a tidbit of what my diet looks like:

JUVO Organic Whole Living Foods is: 

• Natural Organic : Over 55 nutritious raw ingredients: from whole grains to vegetables to sea vegetables to mushrooms -- and absolutely nothing artificial,
  NON-GMO, VEGAN, ENZYME-RICH and DAIRY FREE.
• All Raw : Cooking and processing destroys vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fibers, phytonutrients and chlorophyll, so we keep JUVO raw. To further understand the JUVOlution's raw food diet click here. 
• So Cool : Freeze drying may cost more than other preservation methods, but it's the best way retain nutritional properties, flavor, color and aroma. 
• So Easy : Easy-to-carry single-serve pouches are perfect for
  those on the go. Just mix one with your favorite beverage for a tasty
  complete healthy meal!

Lose Weight With JUVO And: 

• Boost Your Energy & Metabolism 
• Strengthen Your Immune System 
• Cleanse Your Body of Toxins and Waste Materials 
• Reduce Tension and Stress 
• Improve Digestion 
• Healthfully Appease Hunger Pangs

Meal Plan: 

Enjoy two JUVO diet pouches and one usual meal a day.

For breakfast eat one JUVO diet pouch with Silk Soy Milk, Apple juice, with a splash of fresh pressed piña colada. 

For lunch eat a healthy meal with low fat, quality protein (quinoa, soy) , fresh salad with olive oil dressing, and a piece of sprouted bread. 

        Other options: 

                 2 whole grain waffles, cup of soy milk, and a banana/1 cup berries

                 A veggie salad or sandwich, (Soy meat, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber with a low fat mayo) 

                 Hummus, pita, and grilled tofu 

                 

For dinner eat another JUVO shake mixed with Silk Soy Milk or Apple juice. 


Allowed Snacks between breakfast and lunch: Light popcorn, carrots and hummus, cucumber slices, zero calorie teas/juices (Vitamin Water Zero).

 Avoid any fried snacks.

If you continue this weight loss diet for a month and exercise regularly, it will work (drastically!) 

Now it's not like I'm overweight or anything, but every body needs a great detox. Being vegan is a natural detox, but going raw and vegan for a minimum of a week is amazing. I have added P90x Lean as my workout program, which includes 60 minutes a day of extreme cardio and fitness. It also incorporates weight lifting as well. For example, today's workout is "Shoulders and Arms" and "Ab Ripper." The shoulders and arms is a 45 minute workout of decreasing those floppy triceps, tightening the biceps, and sculpting beautiful shoulders. The Ab Ripper is only 15 minutes long, but is a high speed, no break, no crunches or sit ups, ab routine that will make you scream for your mommy and scrunch your face. Breathe!!!


If you're interested in the Juvo shakes, you can find them at a Whole Foods or Vitamin Shoppe near you. 


P90x is a mental workout and relief. A detoxing diet such as Juvo cleans the body. Pair two of these together and see a healthful new you this summer! 


Wish me luck! 

King Corn Reply

I just watched the documentary King Corn and am reminded once again about how much corn we have in our food. Everything you see as you walk down an aisle in the grocery market contains corn in one form or another. From coloring to sweetener, you can count on corn to be in your food, and your hair. Hair? Well, that is how the documentary starts out. Two young men visit a scientist who tests to see what is in their hair because everything you ingest ends up in it. I've been vegan/vegetarian/pescatarian and organic for the past couple of years, and people always complement me on my hair. They have always said,"It must be all that good food you eat!" and I never really knew that this was true until now.

I suggest watching this, along with Food Inc. , and referring to Green Answers if you have any other questions.

Millions of dead anchovies float to surface in Redondo Beach

Cnn reports, "Officials say millions of the pungent, oily fish are covering the sea bottom in the harbor. They began rising to the surface Tuesday morning, the Daily Breeze in Torrance, outside Los Angeles, reported."


Just months after the initial New Years Black Bird deaths  and fish deaths, we see another case. NY times originally reported that a probable cause is pesticides, but officials would not release this information. For if they did, American food would be boycotted and we would lose money in our major market of mass produced, sprayed, poisonous "food," or so I wish. 


On my way to class I saw a dead bee on the sidewalk. I felt like taking a picture and blogging about it, and how we are killing them off with cell phone use. And then I sat down to open Cnn and saw these anchovies dead. 


Rachel Carson's Silent Spring may just be May 2011. First we see blackbirds down in Arkansas, and now we see millions of anchovies dead in California. What's next? Hummingbirds?

Back to Basics

Human bodies consist of things found in nature. We find sodium and potassium in our cells without placing it there. We find calcium that makes up our bones, and water that keeps us hydrated the day we are born. Before mass production in the 80's, people took time to farm food, take care of their cows, and meet their customers. The 70's weren't just a happy time because of all the drugs going around; we had home cooked meals to come to after a hard day's work. Once frozen foods and mass production came along, the sentiment of sitting down for a nice dinner with the family was some how lost. TV dinners became the thing, and we started to not care what the heck was in the ingredients list, as long as it tasted good. 



There are truly only two categories: Conventional and Organic.


The number one reason to go organic should be for your Health. 


A simple graph from the Mayo Clinic can help define exactly how organic food (and products) can increase the level of your health. 

Conventional	Organic
Apply chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth.	Apply natural fertilizers, such as manure or compost, to feed soil and plants.
Spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease.	Use beneficial insects and birds, mating disruption or traps to reduce pests and disease.
Use chemical herbicides to manage weeds.	Rotate crops, till, hand weed or mulch to manage weeds.
Give animals antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to prevent disease and spur growth.	Give animals organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors. Use preventive measures — such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing — to help minimize disease.

Conventional 

The conventional way of producing food focuses on mass amount, profit, and affordability (or so it seems). Being "Green" can actually generate profit, as seen here quoted by  Michael Aghajanian, former CEO of management consulting firm PRTM: “In the ’80s, the mindset was that you could have either quality or low cost, but not both. That has been proven false. Sustainability runs parallel to that thinking. The things you can do to be sustainable can create a lower-cost environment.” 

Why would you want chemicals in your body? Some consumers claim you will build up a tolerance, well they're wrong because it's called cancer. Check out the very first cause: "Benzene and other chemicals." Yay, let's put a crude oil in our bodies, which can also be found in cigarettes. Yum! 

Organic

  

The organic way of producing food can be seen displayed by the happy images above. The environment helps itself, such as using healthy ways to reduce insects. Organic farmers use ladybugs to eat the bad bugs that contaminate our food. They are void of cancer-causing chemicals and additives, protecting the phytonutrients.  We need all the nutrition we can get from what we eat. Eat a salad and some fruit instead of relying on a One-a-Day vitamin (also made from chemicals) to get your body satisfied. 

If you google nutrition and organic foods you will come across many poor studies

that claim organic foods have the same amount of nutrients as conventional foods, but by the information stated above you can already tell what will hurt you in the foods that are sold by mass production in your local supermarket. Last week at the farmers market I heard a customer say, "why are all of these grapefruits marked up and shaped weird?" The organic farmer said, "If it looks perfect, it's not good; it's not organic." The customer then laughed and the farmer said, "No seriously. Those ones at the super market are washed, waxed, and take two weeks to get to the back of your local store. We picked these early this morning at dawn to get them to you." 

That put a smile on my face and I gladly bought 2 grapefruits to eat that day for a healthy snack. 

Welcome

Hello All! 

Nix is my name, and I love organic products. This will be a blog all about organics! Everything Organic: why, how, who, when, and where you can find organics.  People have lost their ways amongst the convenience in processed foods and it's time to go back to the basics! Dirt, soil, water, and fresh air is what plants should receive! I will do research and back each blog with reasons that are factual and full of vital information. 

WELCOME  TO ALL! 

With Organic Love, 

Nix