October Announcements
Hi all!
Happy October 1st. I’m checking in quickly with four very special announcements:
1) It’s VeganMofo!
For those of you who haven’t participated in this fun tradition before, October is this year’s month of vegan food. This means that, over the course of the month, a number of vegan (or simply vegan-friendly) bloggers will be writing as much as humanely possible about vegan eats. It’s not a scary commitment or major time drain; the idea is merely to show some love for vegan cooking and the vegan lifestyle in print. And if you already do this, the idea is for you to write a little bit more, or a little bit better, or with a little bit more pizazz this month.
I invite all my veg-friendly readers to participate! For info on signing up, click here.
(Image courtesy of The Clean Eating Mama)
And for bonus credit, I am re-instituting Raw Wednesdays for the month of October! If you’re a new reader and didn’t participate last time, you can read about the Raw Wednesday Challenge here. Simply whip up one raw meal each Wednesday, and feel free to chat about it in my comments section (I’ll always be posting on Wednesdays to foster a conversation). You can also email me jpegs of raw meals, which I’ll post on Wednesdays. I hope you all participate in both challenges!
2) I recently did an interview on my friend Evita’s fab site, Evolving Wellness about my journey to improved digestion and the impact of raw foods on my life. Check it out here.
3) A dear coworker of mine is quitting smoking. I refuse to make him blush by name, but he is a pretty special and courageous dude, and I want all of you — especially those who chimed in on my quitiversary post — to join me in cheering him on.
4) The lucky winner of Clean Plates NYC is #27 — Amy! Amy please email me at Gena@choosingraw.com with your contact info, so that I can get you the book.
I’ll be back tomorrow with a fantastic vegan and raw recipe for autumn. Take care!
xo
Testimonials
–Lyn D., MarylandBefore I started working with Gena, I wasn’t sure whether it would be worth it, since I knew what I “should” be doing. Her counseling, however, turned out to be a key factor in my success.
Not only does she have great advice when I am struggling, but her realistic approach helped me make major changes despite having no time and limited funds. Her recipes and ideas are for real people with lives beyond their diets, and they are great. Gena is down to earth and non-judgmental. She strikes a great balance between encouraging me to go a little father but to keep things in perspective and have fun with the process.
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FAQ
So where do you get your protein?Ah, the million dollar question. I know that my fellow raw foodists are uttering a collective sigh of frustration with me. But it’s inevitable, so here goes:
I get my protein from a wide array of vegetables, sea vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. The notion that we need to supplement our diet with large amounts of protein, especially in the form of animal products, is mistaken: our bodies are capable of assembling amino acids from all of the foods we eat and building the “complete proteins” that we’ve all been told we need to get in a single sitting.
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Recommendations
Juicer (average $50.00 - $500.00)If you’re like me, and juicing is a crucial part of your lifestyle, then the cost of a juicer will absolutely be worth it! It will buy itself back again and again and again. The juicer I recommend is the Breville Two-Speed Juice Fountain Plus. It’s the only juicer I’ve ever owned, and it has never let me down. I recommend you invest in a juicer that has at least this level of performance in order to juice leafy greens.
Some of you have asked me whether it’s wiser to buy a juicer or a Vitamix.
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Hooray for your coworker! What an admirable change he’s making.
And yeaaahhh for Raw Wednesdays! Now I know what I’ll be posting about for at least 4 days of VeganMoFo… hehe.
Thanks for the head’s up. I had seen references to some of these things but didn’t know the details.
I’m gonna try to eat more veggies for vegetarian month!!!
Happy October to you too and happy veggie month! Tell your friend good luck on the quitting smoking venture!
Already read your interview and I want to thank you for sharing your genuine and uplifting experiences. As always I truly admire your own honesty and understanding of others’ lives. I never feel judged or pressured by you!
Major props to your co-worker! Congratulation are in order. As are congrats to Amy for winning Clean Plates NYC.
I’m definitely looking forward to raw food Wednesdays- especially as the weather is getting cooler. I found summer ridiculously easy to go raw, but I’m a bit concerned about the fall.
how cool! i’m not vegan. but i like trying vegan recipes for the challenge. and they are always super yummy
AWESOME news bullietins!
bulletins*
So happy to see Raw Food Wednesdays are back! I wanted to let you know that I featured your blog in my most current post: http://www.thecleaneatingmama.com/2009/10/october-brings-awareness-and-changes.html
Hope you don’t mind!
Tasha – The Clean Eating Mama
I’ll look forward to all the extra vegan posts!
Yea for Mofo!!! I’m excited! And Raw Food Wednesdays sound like fun too. On the guest post, do you want me to email it to ya next Wednesday?
this isn’t directly related to this post, gena, and i apologize, but in your previous post you linked to a post on fats and suggested that you found nuts harder to digest than avocados, coconuts, and oils. do you feel this is something about nuts in general, or possibly just because supermarket nuts aren’t really raw? i’m just curious, if you have time to shed some light on that.
I will definitely be joining raw food Wednesdays as much as I can
Thanks for your thoughts on that article I posted about the other day. Our digestive system is so strange compared to most animals. I wish more research was being done on it.
So happy raw food Wednesdays are back!! I will make an effort to make that happen.
Happy Vegetarian Day!
Ahh vegan mofo will be insane! I’m hoping october will slow down for me and I can participate!
Woo hoo! I’m already participating in Vegan MoFo, but I think I might give Raw Wednesdays a try, too! I’ll be getting my Vita-Mix soon, so it shouldn’t be difficult at all. *super giddy!*
I’ve been reading your blog for about a month (don’t know why it took me so long to comment! Sorry!) but your lifestyle intrigues me and I really admire your attitude.
I think I am up for raw Wednesdays! Nothing like a little challenge to spark me into action…
Great interview, thank you and I commented over there. You are raising consciousness all over about high raw, all vegan, in a very nonjudgmental way and you rock!
Vegan MoFo, for some reason I still don’t “get it” even though I’ve read the info and just tried to sign up with Kittee. I am high raw all vegan so definitely wanna participate, just not sure what special I need to do. I guess I’m a bit dense on this one
LOL
And Raw Wednesdays? I’m all about it. What kinda pics do you want? Just pics taken on Wed? (Kidding) but most of the eats around here are raw and I can’t wait to get in on the chatter
I will email you pics of some of my prettier creations, ok?
xxoo
ave
Raw Wednesdays – count me in.
i wasn’t blogging yet when raw wednesdays went on before – i’m definitely taking part this time. i have so many of your recipes bookmarked!
i read your interview, and as always, i am amazed by your ability to reflect on your past and present in such an eloquent way. it’s always a joy to read your words!
woohoo!!! October is already my fave month, so its very fitting that its now a celebration of being vegan. im all about raw Wednesdays. glad they are back!
so much to be excited about! Especially raw wednesdays, I have missed it so!
1. Aight, I’m signed up for vegan mofo. Makin it official! At least for October, anyway. I think I eat way more vegan than I really realize so this will bring some consciousness to it. Same probably goes for Raw Wednesday!
2. Fab interview, duh.
3. Let’s hear it for the coworker!
4. I guess I didn’t have to respond to that one. Plus I’m already a rockstar for having that book.
Thanks for posting about Vegan MoFo and Raw Wednesdays. It’s just the encouragement and motivation I needed!
I just found your blog. Vegan MoFo strikes again!
Happy October! I’m looking forward to Vegan Mofo, thanks for the info!
Let’s do Raw Food Wednesdays through December! Now THAT would be a menu planning challenge for me!