Can You Feel The LOVE?

Food carries more than just flavour...
This one may be hard to swallow, but let me see if I can help you digest it (oh dear...couldn't help myself...lol).

Why does mum's cooking taste so good? Why does a candle lit dinner with your lover taste better than a TV dinner alone whilst watching Bridget Jones Diary? Could food carry the very essence of our hearts as we make it, arrange it and serve it to those we love? I think it does.

A few months back we went to a local cafe for breakfast near the beach, just north of Sydney. Both Jerry and I could not believe how good it was..it was truly exquisite! So much so that we spoke to the waitress and then with the kitchen to let them know how great our food and coffee had been. The waitress told us how the business was family owned and that they have a genuine love for food. We could tell. It reminded us of how love, put into food, is carried through to those who eat it.

Spot the difference
This weekend I visited the same cafe and had the same meal...and it was ordinary (in fact, not great at all). And as I watched the staff cleaning up after the lunch crowd, I noticed the owner was not there and the staff were in a hurry to get out of there and enjoy what was left of their weekend. No love in this food, I am afraid. And it was very noticeable.

Have you ever experienced this? Have you noticed that some food just tastes great...and for no apparent reason? Could love really move through the food? Let's explore it.

Food travels a long way on it's journey to our bodies.

Growing
First, seeds are sown in the ground...or livestock is reared (for the non vegos amongst us). The food is then grown with energy from the sun, water from above, some without additives and some with chemical 'hurry up's', some with an individual touch, some on commercial farms, some in home vegie gardens and some as part of large corporate consortiums.

Harvesting
Then the food is harvested, some killed, packaged, transported, processed etc. Some harvesting involves machinery and some is done by hand. Some foods are processed to make the food 'look' better, some are heated, frozen, stored, shipped, flown or carried from the farmer to the local fruit shop.

Selecting
We make our way to our favourite food retailer, corner shop or friends vegie patch and select, purchase and carry the food home to our fridge, fruit bowl or kitchen bench. Or, it is picked up by our favourite restauranteur, who puts it in the cool room.

Preparing
If we are lucky our food has not been processed prior to us getting it without our knowledge. Eg Apples waxed, tomatoes gas rippened etc. Once we get it home we commence creating our meals...the food is prepared, combined, infused, blended, marinated, cooked or served raw.

Serving
Then to finish, it is served in a myriad of ways; on a plate at home, in our lunch bag we take to work, to our restaurant table, to the coffee table in front of the TV or placed with love in front of us by our mum, our partner, our sister or brother, our friend or by ourselves.

Receiving
No matter how it gets to us, we eventually sit down to this gourmet delight with whatever attitude we have at the time and either scoff it down because we are desperately in need of something to fill us, or to satisfy an addiction, or we approach it with an unconscious disregard, or we appreciate the journey it has made and receive it with an open heart and appreciation of this gift of food.

Geez...who would have know all this was going on with our simple chicken and salad wrap, made at the local sandwich shop.

So What!?!
Some may say, "so what?" However, if you are anything like me, you may see it a little differently...or by now, considering whether you should. What if food tastes better, fills us better, serves our body better and heals us simply by the energy it carries? And could it simply be that the preparation and delivery of that food with love is enough to cleanse it of the torrid journey it may have on it's way to us? Food for thought, huh? Hey wait a minute... interesting saying.

Kids feel it
I showed my daughter Sammi how to infuse everything she cooks with love. She knows love is a powerful energy and a gift to give another. I remember recently she was watching me prepare a salad for dinner. Sammi prepared the table with candles, placemats, cutlery and removed all the clutter. She carried the salad over to the table and said "mum, I can feel the love you put into this food". I was amazed that at 8 years old, she could grasp this concept. A few nights later she created a special plate of fresh food which she infused with the love from her heart.

Love it or Leave it
I would much rather not eat food that is over-processed, nutritionally poor or made without any heart whatsoever. However...i think the first two issues can be superseded just by the food being prepared with loads of love. I have a real respect for my body and don't want it filled with lifeless, loveless food. There have been occasions when I will leave a meal rather than eat it just because it's on the table. I don't make a fuss, rather I take in whatever else is available that fills me with life and love.

Give it a go
I believe everything in life carries with it a vibration, an essence. Why not give this a go next time you prepare a meal for those you love (including yourself) and see how it feels.

Try this:
(1) Go to the local fresh food market and choose the ingredients with love in your heart.
(2) Treat them all with care. Carry them home with love.
(3) Store them with an appreciation of their nutrients and living components.
(4) Prepare the food with a single focus and be present to its colour, texture and value.
(5) Combine it with love and cook it with a knowing that you are gifting yourself and your loved ones with fresh, nutritional food splashed with a hint of love.
(6) Set the table as you would for your loved ones last meal on the planet. Remove clutter, turn the lights down a little, put on some nice gentle music and create an atmosphere you adore.
(7) Serve the food on plates that celebrate the colours, textures, flavours.
(8) Welcome your loved ones to the table with a touch, a kiss, a smile.
(9) Take a moment to appreciate your loved ones, this food and life.
(10) Receive each mouthful for the glorious gift it is.

In Closing...
This all sounds delicious to me. I am off to the market for some goodies. Let me know how you go....or set another place for dinner and I will be over at six. Red or white?

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Don't Blame It On The Sunshine...

Blame it on the boogie
As a child, we used to lay in the sun for hours. We all got terribly sunburnt and melanoma was not on anyone's radar...simply because there was not much of it around. Why has this changed? And why is it that we have more "sun smarts" advertising, more sunscreen, more awareness and still the cases of melanoma continue to rise? Perhaps we have not yet publicly identified the true cause. For me, I don't blame it on the sunshine, I blame it on insufficient sunshine (of small regular doses), not enough live fruit and vegetables, wearing sunglasses, our emotional state and the chemicals we put IN ourselves and ON ourselves (including sunscreen!!).

What's obvious

I tend to look at what is obvious, what feels true, and what makes sense. And two thing are clear to me: (1) staying out of the sun, the very thing that gives life to living things on this planet, does not makes sense...(2) putting a petrolchemically based sunscreen on my body that harms more than it serves me, does not makes sense (although i am sure it makes someone a lot of cents...wink).

What some professionals say
Dr Michael F. Holick, a professor of dermatology, physiology, medicine and biophysics at the Boston University of Medicine, and Dr Edward Giovannucci of Harvard University in Boston, say in a nutshell that without sunshine on our skin, we do not produce vitamin D, a vitamin crucial to help ward off the inflammation of cardiovascular disease, type 1 diabetes, certain cancers, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and hypertension. According to these doctors, too much sun is not a good thing and the risk of skin cancer still remains a reality, but, on the other side of the coin, little to no sun can have detrimental effects as well.

Do your own research folks. Find out what the 'experts' who DON'T benefit from cancer or product sales say about sunshine. Make sure you keep your bullshit meter handy just in case.

What about Vitamin D Suppliments?
To me it does not makes sense to take a synthetic, single-component suppliment full of toxic fillers, enclosed in a plastic like casing, into my body when it is as simple as getting out into the sun.

What else is the sun good for?
The more you research, the more you realise the sun does far, far more than just give the body vitamin D. The UV rays enter our skin and eyes (the UV monitors) and stimulate a gazillion processes in the body that support life. Producing vitamin D is just one of them.

Do you remember the movie "City of Angels" with Meg Ryan and Nicholas Cage? Remember the scene when all the angels were standing on the beach watching the sun come up? Do you know why they did this and why many cultures watch the sun as it comes up and goes down? They are sun gazing. When you stare into the sun (yes, right into the centre of it) when it first comes up of a morning and when it last goes down at night, amazing things happen. The morning gaze will stimulate your brain and power up that amazing processor you have at your disposal. The evening sun sets you up for amazing dream states. Both activities are safe to do as long as the sun is no higher off the horizon than the height of your fist held out toward it. If you have never done this start with 13 second increments until you are used to it. Happy gazing folks.

How much sun is too much?
Our skin has an amazing feedback mechanism. It will start to tingle, get a little irritated and even a little pink as soon as it has had enough sun. If you put sunscreen on, which prevents this natural feedback to inform you, not to mention the toxic chemicals being absorbed into the skin, you won't know when enough is enough.

If you have always worn sunscreen and you wish to get out in the sun now without it (yay...clapping loudly), do it in small regular doses. Listen to your body and cover up with a hat and long sleeve shirt once you have had enough. Every one has different skin and a different climate so use your own wisdom and determine how much is enough. I prefer to under do it rather than over do it.

No Sunglasses....why?
The eyes inform the body of what UV is coming into the body and initiates chemical processes that commence changes, healing, generating energy, etc., etc. If you wear sunglasses you change the messages to the brain regarding the level of UV entering the body. Could this be one of the cause of skin cancer.....what makes sense to you? I took my sunglasses off about 10 years ago and it took me two weeks to be able to go outside without squinting. Now I don't notice. Some folks will worry about wrinkles around their eyes...well, that becomes part of your choice making. For me, my wrinkles express my experiences in life and the many smiles I have enjoyed.

No sunscreen...why?

Imagine each pore of your skin is an open mouth ready to eat whatever lands on it. Well, this is what our skin does, it absorbs whatever we put on our skin, no questions asked. I no longer put on my skin anything I am not willing to eat. Sunscreen is toxic....simple! Read the labels and look up each one of the (often petrochemical) chemicals it contains. Or even better, ask for the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) on this product. That will scare you.

Miss Sammi, my lilly white girl, loves the sun.
Our daughter, Sammi, is 8 years old and if you have seen the photos on this site you will see she has blonde hair and fair skin. Since she was born we have taken her out into the sun for very small regular doses of those glorious energy producing rays. We never allowed her to get too much. Slow and steady does it. Every moment we could, we would whip off her clothes and let her run around nudie to catch the sun knowing the health benefits were amazing.

At the end of last summer I was down at the beach with Sammi and a couple of her friends. The other children had sunscreen on. Sammi had nothing but her cossie bottoms. The kids played in the sun and around the rocks whilst splashing around in shallow water. After about two hours I felt my skin saying 'enough'....so we decided to head home. As we were dressing to leave I noticed the other children had very red areas where the sunscreen was missed. And yet when we got home Sammi and I had only a very slight tinge of pink....we both felt great. i suspect the other children have had sunscreen on them since they were little. There bodies are not able to process or handle full spectrum sun and so burn quickly.

In closing...
There is nothing like the energy from the sun. And when done consciously, with small regular doses and a high respect for it's power to burn, you can receive vasts amounts of healing and energy giving rays from our glorious sun.

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How Do I Come Off A Juice Fast? by Graeme Ward

This article has been written by one of my favourite Nudies, Graeme Ward. He is a seasoned faster, a true Nude Foodie and a big hearted guy. Here's Graeme's words of wisdom...

Breaking a fast slowly 
This is the most critical part of your juice fast. Breaking your fast is harder than fasting. Your digestive system is now sensitive and needs time to reactivate.

The key is eating lightly, over a period of four days, and transitioning gradually onto a new, planned and more healthy regular diet. Going back to your previous diet will return you again to where you were! What's worse is, it is a shock to your system and can be disastrous and may cause stomach cramps, nausea and weakness.

Continue with the juice and add whole food snacks.
Breaking your fast requires self discipline. After 14 days you know that is something you have a lot of! Eat small amounts to gently wake up your digestion whilst continuing to drink juice. Gradually increase the amount of raw fruit and vegetables as you go along. This can be the start of eating smaller, more sustainable meals. 

Only eat when you feel hungry, not necessarily at meal times. Take salad and fruit snacks with you to work so you are not tempted by the cafe's, food courts or lunch vans. Remember that hunger is often mistaken for thirst, so keep up your water/fluid balance of 1 litre per 22kg of body weight.

Eat half as much as you want, but twice as often to gently reawaken your digestive system. Don’t overload it. Go slowly, chew your food well and don’t mix too many foods.


Most of all, take care not to overeat! After fourteen days of fasting there are so many new flavors you want to try. Change to using smaller plates, bowls and utensils and make each new mouthful a meal in itself.

Over eating and overloading your hibernating digestive system will make you feel sluggish and tired and even nauseous. You will really notice this after the energy you have experienced fasting. If you have over eaten you will find it harder to wake up and get going of a morning.

You can easily put the weight that you released straight back on. Remember you have not eaten solid food for two weeks. The aim is to maintain the wonderful feeling of control that you have developed during the
fast and carry it forward into permanent changes in your eating habits.


Transition foods can include light foods such as fruit, salads, veggie soups, cottage cheese spinach and other green vegetables, and small amounts of sauerkraut to stimulate digestion. Simple vegetable meals low in starch. Salads and soups. No meat, fish, eggs, cheese, milk.

Day 1
Keep drinking 1 litre of juice per day either as a meal or throughout the day as a snack. Have some raw fruit for breakfast, with a small raw veggie salad or a green smoothie for lunch. Eat apples or other fruit between meals if you need to snack. In the evening more raw fruit before dark. Make sure you keep your water balance (1L/22kgs).You’ll probably find that you’ll need very little food to fill up on.

Day 2
Same as day one. Be vigilant of how you feel and observe how your gut is working. If you are at all constipated, lots of water and maybe a green juice, (Bit like a cow in spring). Add vegetable soup for dinner or a green smoothie. Eat apples or other fruit between meals.

Day 3
Same as day two. Plus small quantity of dates or raisins. Add a small bowl of well cooked brown rice with chopped steamed vegies in it. Low starch vegetables such as spinach and other greens. Drink 1 litre of juice.

Day 4
Same as day three. Slowly add soaked nuts, legumes, seeds. Still drink 1.0 litres of juice or more.

Day 5
Move into a 10 day period during which your diet is 80% raw uncooked whole foods. You can eat as much as you want of this. Fresh raw fruit and vegetables. You could enjoy fruit salad for breakfast and a salad with each meal. The 20% cooked part of your diet may include whole grain bread, pasta, brown rice, cooked beans, lentils, cooked vegies, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, squash. Moderate quantities of eggs, unsweetened yoghurt, raw milk, tofu, miso, tempeh, nuts, beans and bean sprouts.

Continue juicing each day. There are other juice recipes around that can be used in place of or added to cabala.

A final word from Graeme
Don’t go back to your old addictions and cravings. There is a whole world of fabulous energy giving whole food nutrition just waiting for the new you to explore! If you do go back into your old habits don’t beat yourself up, you know that you have the tools to recover.

In closing from Deb
Thank you so much Graeme for sharing your wisdom with the Nude Foodies. This article will serve so many with an understanding of what to do and what to expect if they don't. I am looking forward to the slow transition back to our wonderful world of delicious real food.   

To read more about Graeme and to read some of his wisdom, visit his blog.

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NUDE FOODIE: Trish Maloy - 20 Day Water Fast

Trish Maloy
Sydney, Australia

Deb's Intro
When Trish told me she wanted to do a water fast I was thrilled for her. Water fasting is a gift to the body.
I met Trish and her husband Peter about 4 years ago whilst coaching them on their life journey. They have two daughters, run a successful manufacturing business, are active in personal development communities, love to travel and of course, love nude food. They are both amazing people with beautiful hearts. We have all become great friends and share similar interests and passions including delicious food. Trish is an amazing woman with strength, compassion, creativity and a genuine desire to make a difference in her life and the lives of those she loves. Trish embraces holistc living in her health, spirituality and business endeavours. Here is her fasting story....

Fasting experience:
Completed five juice fasts and every one has been completely different – my last juice fast in August was amazingly easy! This is my first WATER FAST!

I have coughed every day since July 2010 when I had the flu. That’s 15 months of couching! However, this wasn’t just coughing, I felt like I was choking most of the time. In September 2010, before I went on safari in Africa, I had a chest x-ray that showed my lungs were perfectly clear. I was on low grade antibiotics for two months to prevent malaria and this should have killed any infection. Still the coughing continued. Intuitively I got to leave it alone and it would look after itself (mind you I also intuitively got to do a water fast but I allowed others, and my identity, to talk me out of it). I had finally had enough last month (September 2011) and went to see my GP. He sent me for a CAT scan of my sinuses and it showed chronic sinusitis. I am seeing an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist in November. The outcome is most likely to be an operation to clear out the sinuses, apparently a very painful procedure. I decided to finally listen to my intuition and do a water fast! Also, Don Tolman suggests that a 21 water fast cures tinnitus, something that I have had for over 20 years, so I’m up for that end result as well!

Positive experiences this fast:
Proud of myself for actually beginning it! Amazed at my lack of hunger...the evening of Day 5 was the first hunger pang I had but it was only fleeting. I’m on Day 6 and have only coughed once today and that was really just clearing the throat...not chocking! I have lost 5.8kg! Mind you I had quite a bit to lose! My sense of smell has gone crazy. The sinuses starting to clear is probably responsible. Having times of amazing, insightful clarity – should get my pen and paper out at those times! Loving getting in the sun every day (this is an essential part of a water fast) – wasn’t sure how I would fit this into a working day but at lunchtime I take a chair in between the cars in the parking lot and push up my sleeves and roll up the trouser to get max rays!)

Negative experiences this fast:
I felt a bit light headed on day 2 and 3. Have had a few light headaches. I have been having very slow mornings but feel great in the afternoon. I feel very tired earlier in the evening so head for bed earlier. I’m not going to the gym as I don’t think I could handle intense exercise. Have only been able to meditate for about half an hour in the morning (usually meditate for about an hour)

Other:
Overcoming the fear of what my body would do in a water fast was my greatest obstacle. I was worried I’d make myself sick and add to my health issues. However, having done five Cabala fasts (and I had the same fear when I did my first juice fast!) gave me a lot of confidence in Dol Tolman and his teachings. In 2004 when we were first introduced to Don my husband Peter had, a then incurable, leukaemia and triple vessel heart disease. He was on 21 tablets a day! Today he is on no tablets at all and has had no sign of leukaemia in the 2.5 years he has been off his chemo drugs. After attending a Don Tolman weekend (at Deb’s suggestion) he became a vegetarian (he does eat seafood as well) and made a number of lifestyle changes. His Cardiologist shook his hand at his last appointment and congratulated him. He said that he had seen most patients over the years make a lifestyle change in the panic of diagnosis but as soon a they felt better they slipped back to their old habits. He said Peter were one of the few who make the changes permanent. I suggest everyone attend a Don or Tyler Tolman weekend...they are inspiring!

The words in this post are complete as provided by Trish Maloy. Nude Food has not changed or added to these words. Trish takes full responsibility for her decision regarding her own health and wellbeing. She is an inspiration. Nude Food recommends you consult your health professional before commencing any fast or eating fresh fruit and vegetables.  

Do you want more information?
Detailed information about fasting and 'everything you every wanted to know' about health, are found in Don Tolman's 2 volume reference books. They are brilliant...I recommend them!
Click here if you want a set of these brilliant books.

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MUESLI: A Great Start To The Day

Deb's Homemade Organic Muesli

We make this in a very large mixing bowl, blend it well before putting it into a large glass jar and storing it in the fridge. Use organic where possible.

Ingredients:
750g rolled oats
1/3 cup wheat bran
1/3 cup psyllium
3 cups puffed spelt (optional)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 linseeds 
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pepitas
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 cup sultanas (optional)
A pinch of passion & infused with love.

Add the oats, wheat bran and psyllium to the bowl. Chop your nuts, batch by batch, and add them to the oats. Add the seeds and blend the mix. Add sultana and spelt puffs (very toasty flavour) if they take your fancy.

Creating a delicous serving of muesli is a day by day adventure. I like to squeeze orange juice in it, add 1/2 chopped green apple, strawberries, yoghurt, real milk and sometimes add a splash of maple syrup (the real stuff of course).

I like to make this for my loved ones for Christmas...it makes a fabulous present in a gorgeous glass jar. I even make up some fancy labels with the recipe on it so they can continue to make it for themselves.

I hope you enjoy this heart felt creation.
Deb x

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FASTING: Feel Good, Failure or Fiddlesticks

32 Nude Foodies on Juice Fast 
A bunch of brave people have embarked on a 14 day juice fast. Some are doing it as part of their normal annual ritual, some are doing it to test their will power, some are doing it to lose weight and most are doing it for the first time to learning about cleaning their body naturally. The recipe, details and FAQ's can be found on the Nude Food 14 Day Juice Fast page.

My Fasting Experience
Typically I complete two fasts a year, however this one will be my third. Each time I do one, I have a different experience. Some times I get a horrible headache on day 1, but so far I haven't had any pain or discomfort...(woohoo). I usually get very cold from day three onwards...I am bracing for that BRRR. And on occasions I even get a little light headed when I stand up too fast.

Fasting is as much an emotional journey as it is a physcial one. Everyone has a unique experience and has their own mental demons to deal with. I have found that around day 9 or 10 most people give up. It appears that this is when the 'addictions' are at their worst. The first time I experienced this I could have eaten road kill I was so hungry..and i'm a vegetarian (just kidding of course). I was absolutely busting to put food in my mouth...toast was a major craving.

Oh I was coming up with all kind of reasons to stop like:....'I have done enough', 'surely I don't need to do 14 days', 'I feel great, I don't need to do anymore'..bla bla bla.

However I knew it was an emotional response to my physical addicictions so I just held on. After making the choice to stick with it I just let it go and got on with life. Surprisingly it all passed. I woke up the next day and there was no stress and I had a renewed sense of purpose. It was clear sailing....I could have fasted for as long as i liked.

From the other side I realise it was all my addictions talking...and the truth is, I didn't realise I had any food addictions...boy, was this an insight. Now the good news... each time I fast, my food 'addictions' have become less and less demanding, to the point where nowadays I just don't want to put anything processed in my body. My tastes have changed and I now dine on the raw, natural offering from natures table a lot easier than in days gone by. I read once that you get new tastebuds in 7 days...so I am guessing my tastebuds have change a lot since the days of scotch and cokes, chicken and chips and processed chocolates. (ewww...makes me cringe nowadays)

So How Do You Stick With a Fast?
An interesting question. I believe it is all about the choice. What I mean is, making a clear choice for health, as apposed to losing weight or doing it for others, is instrumental. Health is the only reason to fast, losing weight is a natural consequence, so is sleeping better, more energy and a sharper mind. Anyone who has done it for weight loss reasons alone have gone back to their normal routine and put the weight back on. Any that do it to clean and support a healthy body have continued on the health journey and regularly do fasts to maintain good health.

Is Fasting Really Safe?
There are all kinds of 'experts' out there with an opinion about fasting. I listen to their reasoning...and to be honest, a lot of them sound compelling. However I also add to the mix the simple ideal that resting the body and giving it a clean out is a wise choice. Fasting is in every ancient culture. They never had RDA's (Recommended Daily Allowance) or high protein diets etc. Ancient cultures often used a higher wisdom than we have learned to tap into in this 'modern, civilised' world. My way of thinking is: if it has stood the test of time, if it is not driven from a desire for power, control or money, if it has an organic source, if it is sustainable and if it supports my health, my heart and my resolve..then count me in.

There is Evidence!!
I think if you look, you will find evidence to support all views on it. So, if you feel fasting is for you, give it a try. Be clear about your reasons and look towards a sustainable way to have a healthy body. At the end of the day, you are the master of your destiny.

One thing I have come to discover for myself is that no one knows my body the way I do. No one 'really' knows what is the 'right' thing to do as far as health goes. So I decided to go on my own discovery tour. And after years of eating crap, reading interesting books, and researching other points of view, I have come up with one simple view. It just does NOT makes sense to put synthetic, processed, chemicals, manipulated 'foods' or 'drugs' into my body. And that food from nature can support my health and heal anything...yes I mean ANYTHING.

I feel that the medical model has strayed from it's original source and become part of a machine that is very sexy with it's power, control and 'i know best' attitude. No longer do the dollars for research go into finding root cause, rather they go into discovering new drugs to market.

Get back to basics folks and you will live a long happy life...x

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