Here is a quick 100% Pure Review.

Over the last ten years I have transitioned to more natural, vegan, non-animal tested cosmetics, skin, and body care. I am so grateful that I can still be girly, dress up, and wear make-up while still feeling good about what I’m putting on my skin.

I often get e-mails from people asking me what’s my favorite natural cosmetics and skincare company. Although I have many that I like, one stands out above the rest.

My absolute favorite company at the moment is a small company based in the San Francisco Bay Area called 100% Pure. They have two retail locations in Berkeley and San Jose, California. They also sell their products on the web, with some killer weekly deals and free shipping on orders over 50 dollars.

The company 100% Pure lives up to it’s name because their products are truly 100% pure – no synthetic chemicals, chemical preservatives, artificial fragrances, artificial colors, harsh detergents or any other unhealthy toxins.

The company focuses on antioxidants and you’ll find ingredients in their products like: Pigments of Peach, Apricot, Carrot, Pomegranate, Cocoa Bean, Boysenberry, Blackcurrant, Blueberry, Raspberry, Acai, Goji Berry and Tomato!

100% Pure products smell good enough to eat (not recommended), because the wonderful aromas in 100% Pure products are from real fruits, pure essential oils, and pure absolutes.

Only natural preservatives are used such as Japanese Honeysuckle, Thyme, Oregano, Goldenseal, Rosemary, Lavender and a high concentration of vitamins and antioxidants, so on each product there is an open jar symbol with a number on it. That number indicates how long you can use the product once it is opened.

My favorite products are the fruit pigmented tinted moisturizer (they also have a great foundation if you need more coverage) which gives your skin a natural glow and the fruit tinted mascara that smells like blueberries and makes your lashes thick and full. I also like their fruit pigmented powdered blushes (my favorite color is healthy) and their fruit pigmented island kiss lip palette which contains 6 different shades of lipstick.

In the picture below I stepped out to give the dogs a walk and I’m wearing the tinted moisturizer and the masacara. I like that the tinted moisturizer evens out my skintone without looking like I’m wearing any make-up!

They also have a great selection of gift sets and online gift certificates that I’ve given out as presents to friends and family with rave reviews. Everyone that I have told about 100% Pure thanks me and ends up being a loyal customer.

http://www.100percentpure.com/

I hope you enjoyed my 100% Pure Review and I hope you’ll go ahead and treat yourself on Valentine’s Day! Please forward this article to friends and family and if you have had any positive experiences with 100% Pure products please comment in the comment’s section below.

♥ ,
C

P.S. In the spirit of full disclosure I was given a few samples from the company for free, but since then I have ordered their products for myself and family and friends because I like them so much!

Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Vegan Raw Diets

Brenda Davis RD and Vesanto Melina MS RD

Nutrition geeks rejoice! This book is chock full of nutritional information about the raw food diet. If you’ve ever asked (or been asked) how to get enough protein?, where to get B12, iron, and calcium?, what raw foods are unsafe to eat?, and can you really get all the nutrients you need from the raw food diet? This book answers all those questions and more! It also includes 50 raw food recipes that contain all the nutritional information about the recipe including calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate content and a complete vitamin and mineral nutritional analysis.

My favorite recipes from the book are: Sprouted Quinoa Tabouli, Thai Spring Rolls with Spicy Pecan Sauce, and Mango Pie with Coconut Crust. After reading this book, you will have a greater understanding of the nutritional needs on a raw food diet and you will be better equipped to answer any questions from family and friends. Yay!

Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People

By Jennifer Cornbleet

The Zen of raw food preparation! This is one of my favorite raw food recipe books because of ease of preparation and the availability of the ingredients in all the recipes. Even though the recipes in this book are simple, they do not sacrifice on taste one bit!

My favorite recipes are the Cream of Zucchini Soup, Ranch Dressing, Mediterranean Kale, and Key Lime Mousse. If you are new to raw foods and want to get started right away this book is for you. No fancy equipment required!

Here is a video of the Mediterranean Kale Recipe by the author of Raw Food Made Easy, Jennifer Cornbleet

Click here if you can’t see the video above

*A side note, in both books some of the recipes call for Tamari or Nama Shoyu and I prefer to substitute those two ingredients with  Organic Chickpea Miso or Sea Salt. Also, I usually substitute some of the sweetener called for in a recipe such as honey or maple syrup with stevia to cut out some of the sugar. But you see, that is the cool thing about recipes, they can give you a foundation and then you can make them your own!

What do you think? Did I get it right? What’s your favorite raw food recipe book?

♥,
C

I was very lucky to be part of this ground breaking new e-book where I, along with 48 other high raw fooders, had to keep a meticulous food journal for an entire week! It was super fun writing down everything that I ate during the week and it was an amazing opportunity to share this information with others, as I often get asked what I eat!

Here is little video I made explaining the e-book, What do Raw Fooders Eat?

If you can’t see the video above you can watch it here:

http://youtu.be/RhDpL73A1rY

Here is my affiliate link if you would like more info about this exciting project! (is no longer going to be available after Aug. 23rd, 2011!)

http://rawgourmet.com/cmd.php?af=1286243

Here is what people are saying about the e-book What do Raw Fooders Eat?

I have to tell you that I bought your book immediately upon it’s release. Sweetie, you’ve outdone yourself and that’s saying a lot as The Raw Gourmet is still my favorite raw food uncook book.

Way to go! I wish you all the best luck with this amazing work of art you’ve put together. – Mary M

I want to thank you profusely for sending me this e-mail for it seems like a live fooder’s dream come true; ie real experiential stories of those who have succeeded in the live food lifestyle. I ordered it immediately on seeing the e-mail, and so I’m one of the first 300 getting the bonuses. I feel I now have everything I could possibly need to really live an optimal live food lifestyle. As you see, I’m already sharing this e-mail, and this info., with my friends and students. - Barry from Boston

I just ordered and downloaded your new book plus the bonuses…thank you for this generous offer. There are some books that I have wanted for quite some time I’m very much looking forward to kicking back and indulging.

Although I just briefly ran through a few of the highlights of what raw fooders eat. I have my favorites already. I was very impressed with David Kaplan. His story brought tears of joy to my eyes. I also enjoyed, and have always been impressed with Jinjee, The Garden Diet as well as Will Tuttle. Very interesting people and sincere to say the least - Wanda

I am writing to say THANK YOU for the special offer to purchase your e-book today and for the bonus books that came along with it! I was informed of the offer through the Living Light International newsletter and I am over joyed at all of the information you have provided for me today. I am amazed because it came at the perfect moment – I am morbidly obese and am on a journey to health through changing my lifestyle and incorporating more whole foods – and eliminating all meat, dairy and animal products from my diet. I am humbled and feel that this opportunity is more confirmation that I am on the right path to health and wellness. – Heather W

The e-book What do Raw Fooders Eat? is no longer going to be available after Aug. 23rd, 2011. Make sure to take advantage of this unique offer. Click my affiliate link below to learn more about What do Raw Fooders Eat?:

http://rawgourmet.com/cmd.php?af=1286243

Chances are you already know how to make almond milk (if you’ve been around raw foods for awhile), but if you don’t, then enjoy this video where I show you how to make almond milk with my new favorite large 1 gallon nut milk bag! If you’re already an almond milk pro,  then fast forward to the end of the video where I show you how to make a blueberry carob almond milk elixir.

Click here if you can’t see the video

If videos don’t tickle your fancy, click here for step by step instructions with pictures on how to make almond milk.

And of course, click here for the best  nut milk bag on earth:) IMO

Blueberry Carob Elixir

1 cup almond milk
handful of blueberries
1 date pitted and chopped
1 teaspoon carob
1 teaspoon Maca powder
1 teaspoon blue green algae
seeds from 1 vanilla bean
pinch stevia powder

Blend in the blender until smooth for an antioxidant immune boosting pick me up!

♥,
C

Any good almond milk recipes you’d like to share? Please share them in the comments section. Thx!

A few weeks ago at my potluck group I talked about my list of top foods that I believe to be super nutrient rich. Stinging Nettles, urtica dioica, were on that list.

The reason I think they are so great is because they are rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. According to some sources they are one of the best plant sources of iron. They are 40 % protein which is considered high for a vegetable. Traditionally in folk medicine they were used to build the blood and treat anemia among other conditions. Recently they have been proven helpful to treat hay fever and osteoarthritis. (For more medicinal uses scroll down to the bottom of this post.)

Where to Get Stinging Nettles

To add stinging nettles to your diet, first you need to find them. I am lucky enough to live in Northern California where I can get them at the Marin Farmer’s Market for 6 dollars a pound. If you have a local wild edibles guided tour (please don’t eat any wild edible unless you are sure) you might be lucky to find them in shady spots, in flood plains, woodlands, along streams and river banks in Europe, Asia, North America, and Northern Africa. Or you can simply try to grow them in your own backyard. If you can’t get ahold of fresh nettles you can find dried nettles in the bulk herb section of your natural grocery store, which make a lovely tea.

Ouch!

They are called stinging nettles for a reason, they have stinging hairs which can really irritate your skin. For this reason I do not advise handling them with your bare hands. I personally use tongs, but you could use gloves as well. Some people recommend rolling them like a taco and then eating the leaves. Here is a video of David Wolfe, raw food author and speaker, showing you how to do just that.

Click here if you can’t see the video.

I personally prefer to enjoy them using the methods I describe below:

 The great thing about stinging nettles is that when you cook them, juice them, or blend them they loose their sting!

 My favorite thing is to make a nettle shake. (recipe below)

 Nettle Shake
(Thanks to Novalee for this idea)

2 cups fresh orange juice
1 cup nettles

 Blend for a minute in a high speed blender and enjoy. For a heartier drink you can add 1 banana and half an apple.

 Nettle Green Juice

You can also add nettles into your green juice. Just substitute whatever green you were going to use with nettles and run them through your juicer. I like to juice them with celery and apple.

Make Nettle Tea

Boil a pot of water and add a cup of nettles and let sit for at least 10 minutes. It makes the most beautiful emerald green tea you can imagine. Sweeten and enjoy.

Cooking Nettles

Nettles can be steamed or boiled and are probably one of the most delicious greens out there. They have a mild nutty flavor and can be substituted in any cooked recipe that calls for spinach or kale. They are so good that they can be enjoyed just steamed plain or perhaps with a touch of sea salt. I have also seen recipes where they are boiled with potatoes, leeks, and other ingredients to make a creamy blended soup.

Medicinal Uses

Nettles have been used medicinally in folk medicine for such things as: allergies, water retention, anemia, poor circulation, asthma, wound healing, as a diuretic, to build the blood, and for arthritis and rheumatism. Recently, nettles have been proven effective for treating hay fever and osteoarthritis.

*Now if you are going to use nettles medicinally I would definitely work with a professional for the correct dosage and there are some contraindications and drug interactions you might need to be aware of especially if you are pregnant, have kidney issues, diabetes, or are on blood pressure medication or other medications.

Hope you can enjoy this powerful superfood as a regular addition to your diet!

♥,
C

Sources:

Wikipedia/Stinging Nettles
Rain Tree/Nettles
Web MD/Stinging Nettles

Nettles

In my post about the Raw Union Festival I alluded to the fact that I discovered a really great raw food product from a company I had not heard of before.  They are called Vivapura  and I was lucky enough to speak with their co-owner,  Chris Whitcoea, a  little bit. He’s a really nice guy and super passionate about his products.

He encouraged me to try his Australian Jarrah Bee Pollen. I have had bee pollen many times before; I buy it from my local farmer’s market, and it’s a regular in my green smoothies. I like my local bee pollen, don’t get me wrong, (I do believe that buying local bee pollen does help with seasonal allergies) but what I tasted from Vivapura tasted like no other bee pollen I have ever tried!

First off, the consistency is crunchy! It has been dried so it is not powdery like most bee pollens I have tried. The crunchy texture actually makes it fun to eat!

Second, the Vivapura bee pollen is amazingly sweet. Usually bee pollen is somewhat sweet and sometimes has a bitter aftertaste, but this bee pollen tastes like powdered sugar! I was reassured that it has been biologically and energetically tested by Gabriel Cousens and contains no added sugar.

Since purchasing the Vivapura bee pollen at Raw Union, I’ve been hand mixing the pollen into my smoothies so I can eat the little bee pollen crunchies as I sip my smoothie. Of course, you could just blend the bee pollen into your smoothie.

I also sprinkle it on top of homemade coconut kefir (I’ll post my recipe for coconut kefir later) and blueberries as a super healthy and delicious snack. Not to mention colorful!

It would also taste great on top of any fruit, raw granola, raw ice cream, any raw dessert, and even on a sweet salad. It is sooooooo good.

The Vivapura brand bee pollen is a little bit of an investment so if you aren’t ready to try theirs, I urge you to pick up some local bee pollen from your local bee keeper. Here are just a few reasons why:

 Benefits of Bee Pollen

•  High antioxidant levels
• Natural aphrodisiac
• Increases strength and endurance (Used by Olympic athletes with great results)
• Reduces the production of histamine and can help with allergies
• Source of B vitamins (except B-12) and vitamins C, D, E, Beta-carotene, trace minerals, and many more
• 15% lecithin composition
• 25% protein composition

-Source
 Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of The Future by David Wolfe

♥,
C

P.S. If you are allergic to bee stings then bee pollen is not for you.

 Question of the Day:
Do you use bee pollen? If so, how do you eat it?
Answer the question in the comments section.