Read this.
Hi all! Taking a quick midday break to draw your attention to three articles in the news of note. If you haven’t read these guys yet, you may want to fill up your lunch hour with them.
1) Elizabeth Kolbert reviews Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals.
2) Nicholas Kristof on the state of American health.
3) With apologies to my beloved readers for citing a news source of which I am not fond, Al Gore is asked why he’s still eating meat.
And a raw Wednesday recap!
Julia sent me the following photos:
“A blended salad (avo, zuke, spinach, and basil–so delicious. That blended salad post changed my life) and then a romaine and spinach salad with sprouts, avo, and red pepper with lemon juice.”
“A young coconut smoothie that I made (young coconut blended with cinnamon) and I almost drank all of it before I remembered a picture!”
Aletheia sent me three photos:
Rawvioli
Banana Collard Wrap
Triple C Threat: Cilantro, Carrot, Cauliflower salad
The lovely Katie sent me this drool-worthy shot:
“Here’s my 1st attempt at Raw Wednesday. 
In the picture is my own take on your tortilla soup featuring… whatever I had leftover in my fridge. Tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, garlic, spices… and guacamole lettuce roll-ups! I wasn’t impressed w/ my first raw soup attempt – but that just means I need more practice!”
Another lovely Katie shared her raw lunch, which looks amazing:
Two weeks ago, Lauren said a few words about her juicing adventures:
“I just moved to San Francisco and when I arrived, my boyfriend had a bday present waiting for me – my first juicer!!! Attached is a picture of the green smoothie I made for Raw Wednesday (though I’ve been trying to have them more often). I started with some that were a little too green for a newbie, but this one is just romaine, celery, apple, cucumber, and ginger … and it was totally refreshing and deliciosa!
Hope this helps your post. I have really been enjoying your blog and am making a slow transition to eating more raw, and more vegan, largely as a result of your inspiration.”
And this week, she shared the following smoothie, which I humbly re-post:
Rejuvenating Breakfast Smoothie
Ingredients:
2 handfuls spinach (bagged, pre-washed)
1/4 cucumber (peeled and cut into chunks)
1 banana
water
Instructions:
Blend all items together on the puree setting. Enjoy! I find I really only need half a banana at this point, but I prefer it to taste a little more veggie-like. Made with the full banana, it’s nice and sweet, with a cooling and replenishing taste from the cucumber. You won’t even taste the spinach but your body will sure feel the difference. Hope some of you give this a try!
I’ve tasted those macaroons, people, and they rock.
Thank you, readers, for your participation!!! I love seeing what you make, so please keep the tradition alive!
I also woke up this morning to an amusing comment on my last post from a reader who referred to him or herself as “meatosaurus,” informing me that I am “an idiot.” I would suggest that the rapacious Animal Eater try really, really hard not to sit around reading and commenting on my blog. Just sayin.
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.
Read more >>
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.
Read More >>
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.
Read More
I love the ‘rawvioli’!!
OMG that meatosaurus comment is hysterical. Of course he thinks you’re an idiot–s/he was obviously thawed out only yesterday and can’t comprehend all the new plant species that have evolved since the cretaceous period.
Anyway, thank you for the shout, ma’am! Much obliged. I am at this very moment munching on the leftovers. For efficiency (and desk-eating) sake, I just dumped the soup overtop the salad. Messy, but still good. Sprouts seem to occasionally have a catapult effect with dressing, it seems.
Aw thanks for including my pics Gena! And all those other raw creations look amazing too. I can’t wait to read JSF’s new book (it’s coming in the mail). I watched Ellen yesterday specifically to see him talk and it further made me feel like I’m a part of something important by being a vegetarian. Not just for my body, but for the environment.
Thanks for the mid-day post!
The rawvioli does look great…all of these great recipes make me realize how much fun I can have once I get my blender to college this weekend!!!
Thanks for the showcase of beautiful raw food. I love how your Raw Wednesdays encourage others to incorporate raw into their diets!
Even though I haven’t read his most recent title yet, I love Jonathan Safron Foer even more since he wrote the book. I have it on hold at the library and can’t wait till it’s my turn to begin reading. Have you read it yet?
He’s actually an acquaintance of mine, and someone whom I’m very fond of! I haven’t read it yet, but I plan to.
You know him!!!! Ok now I’m super jealous. You New Yorkers are just so damn cool.
oh al…he’d make it so much easier for us all if he werent such a contradiction. doesnt he have an excess of homes which use more electricity than several small countries? i guess the important thing is that he tries? meh. thanks for the articles, though. even if one of them WAS fox.
Agreed, and you are so welcome!
Agreed as well
Haha meatosaurus– too funny. I have a coworker who calls me a veggiesaurus
There’s a really great blog called Vegansaurus!
Aw, thanks for re-posting!! I had that smoothie again for breakfast this morning
Hi Aletheia,
Your 3 C’s look fantastic, and I don’t feel threatened by them one bit (re: alleged “Triple C Threat.”…); in fact it’s a combo I’m very fond of myself.
woot woot cutco
Ahhh Jonathan Safron Foer! What a brilliant contemporary writer! I can’t wait to read his latest
Love the reader pics and thank you for addressing the weird comment. I dont know whether to address or not to address if I get a weird one. But thankfully since you and I chatted, I haven’t had any more public weird/rude comments. But I get my fair share of emailed questions…mostly wayyyy tooo deep and personal that I can’t even believe people are writing telling me this stuff. And like, what?, and I supposed to do with the info about everything from their colon health to their abusive relationship with their mother. Or maybe they think like I am an expert on colons or mothers
Anyway, love Raw Wed. pics and Diana’s action made me stop dead in my tracks last nite b/c it looked sooo good!
Yaaaaaaaaaay, I made it onto the Raw Wednesday post w/ my amateur attempt at raw tortilla soup! My blog is linked here in the comment, the link next to the pic just goes right back to this post.
Thanks, Gena, for all your inspiration!!
And… ha… “meatosaurus”. Who are these people? That’s not even creative!
Wow, great articles! I particularly enjoyed the first. I disagreed with one thing, which is that people are aware of the conditions of factory animals. I think it is a minority who are, and that even if most people realize the conditions are “bad,” “bad” can mean anything from “not ideal” to “inhumane.” I became vegetarian late in college when I learned the details. Even now, I am fuzzy on the exact situations in which my (occasional) dairy and eggs are produced. I buy only organic/cage free, but am not sure how well my imagination of these matches the reality. Would appreciate any good sources. As for Al, I feel a bit bad for him. It is hard to get over ones eating patterns, and I would say he more than makes up for them. That’s not the case for your average meat eater, however, and I think he needs to go the full mile and set an example for everyone else. Finally, I would like all the climate change deniers to migrate to the most climate-change-vulnerable places in the world. They should be happy to do so, and leave us a bit more breathing room.
on second consideration- yeah, pretty disappointing, Al Gore. Personal failure is one thing, but to mislead others on such an important issue is a travesty.
macarooooooooons! so fun to see different raw meals! Thanks Gena! HAPPY FRIDAY!
I loved your response to Meatosaurus! Looking on the positive side, when you start getting mean comments, I suppose you know your blog’s made it big…
I just had a decidedly not-raw (or healthy) dessert and I feel blech now. All of these beautiful pics are exactly the reminder I needed of what makes my body feel good! I need to get to the grocery store and buy some more fruits and vegetables!
Hooray! Thanks for including me. Next week I am definitely going to try a blended salad…looks delicious.
It’s obvious Gore doesn’t think factory farming is a very big issue at all. I don’t get it!
Your food looks yummy!
LOVE your blog! I don’t care what the meatosaurus says! Definitely one of the most resourceful blogs I always check up on to educate myself about healthy living and eating habits
Thanks for including my pictures, Gena!
I’ve been superencouraged by others’ comments and by the raw fare. Woohoo for blended greens!
Choosing Raw + Choosing Raw readers = wonderful stuff.
Wow… a meatasaurus… I eat meat and all, but that just sounds gross! hahahaha! Your food pics and the pics of your readers’ creations all look amazing! Sorry I haven’t been commenting much lately. Work… nuff said!
That first article made me sick! I just became a vegetarian, and it makes me want to become a vegan.
Look at all those raw creations! Yum!!
love the last comment. lol
its never understood why people who seemingly dont care about you, spend so much time and energy to insult others…ignore him Gena! We love your posts and we will definitely be trying a raw wednesday sometime for one of our adventures! We cant wait to share it with you!
News of Note: Gena Hamshaw single handedly introduces more folks to raw living foods than any self-professed raw food “guru” out there. And, she does it without preaching or screeching.
LOVE you! Look at all these folks trying their hand at raw goodies (and sharing recipes to boot!). A beautiful sight to behold.