5 Detoxifying Foods

Partaking in a cleanse or detox program for each seasonal change is a fantastic way to keep your body healthy and functioning at maximum efficiency. Just like we clean and organize our house after a long cold winter, we should do the same for our precious bodies. Clearing away the junk that has accumulated allows us to free up our energy and have a balanced state of well being. There are a number of ways one can cleanse such as fasting, juice feasting, herbal cleanses, and colon hydrotherapy. I've listed 5 common and familiar foods you can start to incorporate into your daily diet until you're ready to try a program that works for you.

Leafy greens - alkalizes the body and helps to cleanse. The number one food group you should consume raw on a regular basis. Collards, kale, baby spinach, watercress, arugula, swiss chard, dandelion, and cabbage to name a few. Fresh green juices, smoothies, and salads are an easy way to get your daily dose.

Garlic - used medicinally for everything from cleansing the liver to containing anti-bacterial properties to support a healthy immune system. Worried about scaring away family and friends because of the smell? Try Kyolic's Odorless Aged Garlic Extract. It's also certified organic and vegetarian.

Lemons - alkalizes the body and contains Vitamin C, essential for ridding toxins. You can make a tasty lemonade with filtered water, fresh squeezed lemon juice, a pinch of sea salt, and touch of agave nectar to sweeten. Add ice for a refreshing drink and sip throughout the day. The sea salt helps to quench your thirst and the agave nectar allows for you to have a touch of sweetness without the refined white sugar.

Sprouts - anti-cancer fighting and full of enzymes which are vital for everyday functions such as walking, talking, and breathing. You know it's good for you but you're not too keen on the taste you say? Try disguising the flavor by blending a small amount in smoothies or adding to salads and lettuce wraps.

Fruit - a great cleanser for the body. Watermelon, cucumber, and pineapple help to rehydrate and cool the body down. So, the next time it's a scorcher out, opt for the fresh fruit instead of the refined sugar drinks. Your body will be sure to thank you.

What is the best way for you to cleanse your body? Do you have any favorite supplements or techniques that aide you in doing so?

Herbal Walks and Wild Edibles

Philadelphia is an amazing city with plenty of resources for eating fresh locally grown foods, but how about so fresh that you can literally pick the food yourself straight from the ground. Every week a man by the name of El Ha Gahn, herbalist, naturalist, healer, nutritionist, and ecotourism specialist teaches these workshops held throughout the area.

For those of you unfamiliar with the benefits of wild edibles, they are more nutritious than any greens you will ever find at your grocery store. Wild edibles are undomesticated and therefore extremely vital and full of vitamins and minerals . Someone new to eating them may be turned off by the strong acrid taste and that is why I suggest at first to try eating them by blending it into a fruit smoothie or modestly mixing into a salad. Eating them raw without heating allows us to get the maximum health benefits out of the wild edibles. Due to the tough cellulose fiber of greens, the blender is an ideal way to consume them because it acts as our teeth and masticates them to a small enough consistency that we can actually absorb the nutrients.

Many of you with gardens probably have a few of these so called weeds already growing in your backyard. The most common ones you've likely heard of are dandelion, nettles, lamb's quarters, and purslane. Others include burdock, mustard greens, and chickweed to name a few.

Dandelions contain inulin, which can help to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics. They are especially good this time of year because of their cleansing properties for the liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, and stomach. They are pungent so if making a salad you can add a fat like an avocado to cut the bitterness. Nettles are usually known as stinging nettles because if not picked carefully they can literally sting you and leave your skin feeling irritated. Nettles have been known to increase circulation and are very high in protein. It's also known to purify the blood and act as an anti-inflammatory. Purslane tastes great in salads and has been used as a natural remedy internally for things like inflammation and constipation and externally for insect bites, eczema, and sunburn. It has more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy green and the stems and leaves are chock full of vitamins and minerals.

If this has sparked an interest in you and you're wondering how to learn about which wild edibles are safe to eat in your area, you can learn more about El Ha Gahn and his upcoming seminars and workshops by visiting his website. He also teaches classes on reflexology, arthritis prevention, healing plants, colon cleansing, keeping your children healthy, and many more. I can't wait to take one of his workshops and learn about the medicine cabinet growing in my own backyard.

For more information: Herbal Walks, Philadelphia, P.a.

Photo credit: Morgana

Have you ever been on an herbal walk and if so, how did you like it, what did you learn?

Where To Find Raw Food Meals To Go?

Raw foods are uncooked and unprocessed foods under 115 degrees. They consist of fresh fruits, veggies, leafy greens, herbs, sea veggies, sprouts, nuts, seeds, and super foods. One of the most important reasons why raw foodies (people that eat at least 50% raw food) do not cook their food is that vital enzymes, minerals, and nutrients are lost in the process. By continually consuming too many processed cooked foods it starts to take a toll on our bodies and can become extremely taxing to ones energy, digestive system, and overall health.

Eating fresh raw and organically grown food has the ability to provide you with glowing skin, boundless energy, a clear mind, natural weight release, and can serve as illness prevention. In fact, many people claim to have healed themselves from a number of ailments and diseases such as diabetes, depression, IBS, and even cancer!

Many people think this way of eating sounds good in theory but have no idea where or how to start, let alone where to even purchase raw food. Don't limit yourself to thinking it's just carrot and celery sticks with lots of restrictions. It's quite the opposite indeed and thanks to a local company based out of Bridgeport, PA called Awesome Foods, chances are you can purchase their food to go at one of the many locations in the Philadelphia area. They will also ship to your home or business anywhere in the United States.

Awesome Foods makes mock dishes resembling your favorite cooked food ones like pizza, burritos, sandwiches, chips, breads, crackers, pates, and yes even dessert. Owners Bruce & Marsha Weinstein started the company back in 2005 with the goal to provide raw healthy carb foods. As taken from their website, "We were inspired to make foods that were really healthy for people and tasted awesome. Thus, the idea for Awesome Foods was born."

5 Tips Essential to Eating More Raw Foods

Whenever someone decides to make any changes in their diet they come face to face with a lot of important questions and concerns. Most importantly they want to know how to succeed with eating more raw foods. I've complied a quick list below of 5 steps that are essential in order to do so. This way you can get started immediately instead of feeling confused and lost.


Step 1 Get the Right Equipment

It doesn't have to be top of line but something decent from a good department store will do. Having a good blender and food processor is key to getting started. My personal favorites are the Vita-Mix blender (or my affiliate Vita-Mix link) and the Cuisinart food processor. A dehydrator is not necessary at this point, for right now lets keep it simple.

Step 2 Educate yourself

Purchasing a few books that cover the educational and food preparation aspects will help you tremendously. A few of my favorites are Sunfood Diet Success System, Rawvolution, and Green For Life.


Step 3 Get Involved

Take a couple of food prep classes locally. Attend meetups or potlucks regularly for support and encouragement. It can be very lonesome if you don't have anyone to share your experiences with and joining a social group will help you feel supported and able to stay on track. Join a few online forums or social media sites like Give It To Me Raw or Facebook. Plenty of people are ready to connect with you and share tips and ideas to help you stay motivated.


Step 4 Know how to make the food


Eating out at fancy raw restaurants and grabbing to go foods can be fun and oh so tasty, but what happens when you find yourself in an area that doesn't offer these kinds of luxuries? Look, when I first started out I had no prior culinary skills. My idea of cooking a healthy meal was grabbing a box of rice and stir frying veggies together. Preparing raw foods can definitely be a beautiful art form in itself, but it's not necessary. With all of the equipment out there it's nearly impossible to not be able to whip something together fast and that tastes great too. That's why it's so important to get the equipment as mentioned above. I'm not expecting you to make 5 star dishes but you can start by learning how to make smoothies, super food smoothies, pates or dips, gourmet salads, and decadent desserts that are satisfying to the palate. Two of my favorite sites for free recipes are GoneRaw and Raw Freedom Community.



Step 5 Go easy on yourself!

So many people really beat themselves up if they eat even one piece of cooked food. Although I choose not to eat any cooked foods in my diet, I also wouldn't have unrealistic expectations on you. Maybe you're not looking to eat 100% raw or aren't at the point of feeling ready to go head first all at once, but rather ease into it slowly which is what I highly recommend. Just starting out with smoothies, especially green smoothies is an easy way to do so. It's all about adding more rather than taking away. This way you don't feel deprived or like you're on a diet.


Being healthy should be fun and enjoyable in my opinion. For me it's a lifestyle change and with any changes they take time. I remember reading it takes 21 days to form a new habit. So whether you move into a new home or change up your eating program it's going to take time to feel second nature.

Remember, it's all about making better choices. So even if you still find yourself eating cooked foods from time to time, substitute the butter with non dairy spread or eat a steamed sweet potato instead of a white potato. Stir fry or steam your veggies instead of microwaving or boiling, you get the picture. If you feel like you've fallen off the wagon, just dust yourself off and get back on again. Grab a journal and record what you eat and review it daily as a constant reminder of how much better you are eating prior to your old habits. Be sure to write down the reasons clearly of why you're doing what you are and what your goals are. This way you can glance at them each day and know that you are making progress towards achieving those goals. Be sure to give yourself credit and celebrate your small victories towards becoming healthy and happy. Take a moment to reflect and truly enjoy the new journey you are on!

Let me know what your thoughts are. Do you have any tips to add? What is or was essential to getting started for you? Post it below and join the discussion. :)

Dead Sea Mineral Bath Salts

This weekend I was grocery shopping and out of the corner of my eye I caught the bath salts sitting on the shelf. I've been wanting to try these for sometime so I picked up the lavender scented one from Masada. Their sea salt is authentic and if you read the back of the label it will say that it's extracted in a natural form directly from the Southern Dead Sea. They also have eucalyptus and unscented varieties. If you're familiar with essential oils then you know that lavender is very calming and helps to relieve tension in the body. Just what I was looking for, a perfect combination for spending a relaxing evening soaking in the bathtub.

Photo credit

In case you don't already know, I'm an avid practitioner of Capoeira, an intense Afro-Brazilian martial art. I absolutely love it, but at times I can really get bruised and beaten up. Not on purpose though, it occasionally becomes a contact sport. Brings out the natural warrior in me (lol). Anyways I have an injury from about a year and a half ago in my lower back that's never really seemed to go away. So upon reading up on dead sea bath salts, this sounded like it might actually help to relieve the tension and stiffness that comes from time to time. Here are a few questions you may have in regard to the salt baths.

What exactly are Dead Sea Salts?

It's the salt extracted from the Dead Sea in Israel. The sea is world renowned for it's therapeutic benefits and is used in many cosmetic products on the market today like salt and foot scrubs, body wraps, soaps, bath salts, and even makeup. The usage of the salts date back to the ancient Egyptians.

Why does it help?

The salts are very rich in magnesium chloride, a particular kind of salt. The minerals are absorbed through the skin while soaking in the bathtub. This allows for an increase in blood circulation throughout the body.

What may it help?

Dead sea mineral bath salts have been reported to relieve stress, inflammation, aching muscles, sleep disturbances, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, acne, improved skin and roughness, and psoriasis, particularly the itching associated with it.


Interesting facts about the Dead Sea:

- Contains ten times as much salt compared to other sea water

- 12-18% of Dead Sea Salt is sodium chloride compared to 97% of the salt that is found in the regular ocean water

- Because the Dead Sea is so dense with salt, it allows you to float more easily.
Photo Credit






I've been soaking in the salts every night for the past week and have noticed the pain slowly easing up. It's also very relaxing for bed time for me because sometimes I have so much energy it's hard for me to fall asleep at a reasonable time. Probably due to the fact that my workouts are late at night. I feel very calm and relaxed afterwards. It's especially great if you've had a yucky day for it allows you to cleanse all of that negative energy out of your system and acts as a purifier from my own experience. So with all of this in mind, here is my question for you.



Have you ever used Dead Sea Mineral Bath Salts or Epsom Salt and if so what was your experience?