I'm heading out tomorrow morning for the revolution march in Washington D.C. VERY EXCITING!!!!! COME AND JOIN THE PARTY Saturday, July 12th!
www.revolutionmarch.com
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Life Lessons
Lesson of the Weekend:
ALWAYS COME PREPARED TO A PARTY, OR MAKE PRIOR PREPERATIONS.
I haven’t experienced this in a VERY long time. It was my cousin’s birthday yesterday, and I was excited to see the family because I usually only see them once a year and they are great people. The last bunch of parties that I’ve been to – graduation parties, camp visits, gatherings – have all served a plain salad, crudités veggies, and fruit at some point in the meal. So basically I’ve been spoiled by the ease and assumption that I will find some raw food where ever I go. I was actually surprised when I visited French Woods on Saturday that i
t was SO EASY to eat there! At the salad bar there was a giant thing of plain mixed salad greens, another spot had a giant thing of sliced up tomatoes that I threw on top, and there fruit bin was changed THREE times. First it was filled with cantaloupe, then another bin was brought out with apples and bananas, and then a final bin was brought out with a mixture of grapes, strawberries, and blueberries, which I threw into my salad. So life’s been good.
Fortunately, before I left for my cousin’s extravaganza, at around 12 I ate my breakfast/lunch, and it was large. But, I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t be eating much until around 9:00PM when I was finally able to pick up some fruit at the local Stop & Shop. It turns out that the only thing that I could eat at the party was some raw pieces of broccoli, cauliflower, and celery served as orderves. My mom convinced me that there would be a large plain salad served with the BBQ dinner, and at desert there would be fresh fruit, but at dinner all I found was ribs (of which my father at an entire rack), and at desert there was a large birthday cake. No fruit was to be found in the entire house. Well, lesson learned. I should have called my uncle before I left m
y house to find out first hand what was being served. It was no one’s fault but my own. If I had called ahead of time I would have learned that there would not be much food for me to eat and I could have packed something easy and simple like banana lettuce wraps and I would have been content. Instead, I waited until 9:00PM when I got a chance to pick up some peaches, plums, and grapes from the local Stop & Shop. Not great, but I was starving so it still tasted fine. However, it’s only in a tight situation like what I just explained that I would EVER shop at a Stop & Shop. That place gives me the shivers. The thought of GMO’s, processed foods, and uninformed shoppers give me Goosebumps! Not to mention the poor food quality. Well, it was my own darn fault! I must admit that I was satisfied after having the Stop & Shop fruit so it did serve its purpose.
So to wrap things up, what have we learned? Inform the world of your wonderful food preferences! (But do it without being a nag, annoying, difficult, or creating massive problems.)
ALWAYS COME PREPARED TO A PARTY, OR MAKE PRIOR PREPERATIONS.
I haven’t experienced this in a VERY long time. It was my cousin’s birthday yesterday, and I was excited to see the family because I usually only see them once a year and they are great people. The last bunch of parties that I’ve been to – graduation parties, camp visits, gatherings – have all served a plain salad, crudités veggies, and fruit at some point in the meal. So basically I’ve been spoiled by the ease and assumption that I will find some raw food where ever I go. I was actually surprised when I visited French Woods on Saturday that i
t was SO EASY to eat there! At the salad bar there was a giant thing of plain mixed salad greens, another spot had a giant thing of sliced up tomatoes that I threw on top, and there fruit bin was changed THREE times. First it was filled with cantaloupe, then another bin was brought out with apples and bananas, and then a final bin was brought out with a mixture of grapes, strawberries, and blueberries, which I threw into my salad. So life’s been good.Fortunately, before I left for my cousin’s extravaganza, at around 12 I ate my breakfast/lunch, and it was large. But, I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t be eating much until around 9:00PM when I was finally able to pick up some fruit at the local Stop & Shop. It turns out that the only thing that I could eat at the party was some raw pieces of broccoli, cauliflower, and celery served as orderves. My mom convinced me that there would be a large plain salad served with the BBQ dinner, and at desert there would be fresh fruit, but at dinner all I found was ribs (of which my father at an entire rack), and at desert there was a large birthday cake. No fruit was to be found in the entire house. Well, lesson learned. I should have called my uncle before I left m
y house to find out first hand what was being served. It was no one’s fault but my own. If I had called ahead of time I would have learned that there would not be much food for me to eat and I could have packed something easy and simple like banana lettuce wraps and I would have been content. Instead, I waited until 9:00PM when I got a chance to pick up some peaches, plums, and grapes from the local Stop & Shop. Not great, but I was starving so it still tasted fine. However, it’s only in a tight situation like what I just explained that I would EVER shop at a Stop & Shop. That place gives me the shivers. The thought of GMO’s, processed foods, and uninformed shoppers give me Goosebumps! Not to mention the poor food quality. Well, it was my own darn fault! I must admit that I was satisfied after having the Stop & Shop fruit so it did serve its purpose.So to wrap things up, what have we learned? Inform the world of your wonderful food preferences! (But do it without being a nag, annoying, difficult, or creating massive problems.)
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Garden Part 1
This is the first part of what will hopefully be a long series of weekly posts showing the growth (or lack of) in my vegetable garden. I worked in my vegetable garden this morning after an hour of core conditioning at the gym. I finally got around to replanting tons of used to be seedlings from tomatoes, bell peppers, and lettuces, many of which unfortunately died. Here are some pictures from my garden:
My Garden
Bell Pepper
Bell Pepper and Romaine Lettuce
Tomatoes
Tomato Failure
Digging a whole in the ground and replacing it with planting soil was a bad idea.......
Well, I saved a lot of nearly dieing plants today...hopefully. We'll just have to wait and see!
French Woods Journey Pt. 2
So yesterday was an awesome day at French Woods! I saw some really cool people who I hadn’t seen for eons. I won’t name them all because there are too many and I’ll also probably forget some of them. But, I will say that some people at French Woods are aware of our over expanded and abusive government that disregards the constitution, a false war on terror, devaluation of the US Dollar, and the coming depression. To find some other well informed citizens made my day! Let’s see what fun I had:
Me and Friends!
(Abby, Me, Alex, Sarah)
Me at the Pavilion!
Me at the Rent-A-John!
Me and David Valentine (he was so shocked to see me!)
Finally, Me and Phil Skokos, film maker extraordinaire!
What a terrific day at French Woods!
Me and Friends!
(Abby, Me, Alex, Sarah)
Me at the Pavilion!
Me at the Rent-A-John!
Me and David Valentine (he was so shocked to see me!)
Finally, Me and Phil Skokos, film maker extraordinaire!
What a terrific day at French Woods!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Fruit Trees In My Backyard
My own piece of the tropics:
(left to right)
Custard Apple, Banana, Mamey Sapote
Journey to French Woods Festival
So today I'm going on a journey to visit my former summer sleep away camp French Woods in Hancock, NY (in other words the middle of nowhere). In preperation of going on this journey I have made an enormous fruit salad for breakfast. Do you think it will hold me over? Keep in mind that this picture was taken after I had already eaten some of it, but then I decided it needed more banana power so I added two more bananas. So in total I think thats:
7 Bananas
7 Bananas
3 Peaches
7 Strawberries
1 Pint Blueberries
A Lot of Grapes
and there you have it!
and there you have it!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Independence Day Training
Today was a beautiful 66 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy – perfect for a morning run! After doing the Stairmaster for recovery last night: 15 minutes each at speeds 9, 10, 11, and 12 totaling an hour, I was ready to run again! I at the local school track and ran for half an hour at an effort level 5, and then half an hour with an effort level 5 with striders down the long straight every other lap. It felt terrific! Everyone that came to the track seemed to have no idea what they were doing. Most ran or walked for about ten minutes and left. I wish I could help them, but I keep to myself when I’m training. However, there was a cool sprinter there who tossed me a nice little piece sign when I ran past him. So after my morning run, you know where I went next: MY KITCHEN! After an hour of doing some chores at home, I was HUNGRY! I cut up 6 bananas, 4 or 5 peaches, and I think half a pint of blueberries – mixed it all together and it was delicious. By the time I sat down to eat breakfast it was already 11:40, so closer to lunch. I kind of eat sporadically anyway. I’m getting back in the training mode and man do I feel a heck of a lot better because of it!
Health and Wellness Presentation
6-25-08
Post Intended for Tim VanOrden’s Running Raw Website
Hey, I’m Sam (male), and I’m the Running Raw Youth Leader. I’m one of the lucky few who find the wonder of RAW foods at a young age. I’m a ripe 17 and actually just graduated high school this past Thursday. One of my projects during my senior year of high school was to get a speaker to talk and impassion the school to take more care of the environment, the planet, and their own bodies. After nearly nine months of trying to get a speaker, and almost bringing one from California over to New York, I realized that the money could be spent on better things, like revamping the school via new educational courses in the Physical Education and Health classes, but also through creating better choices in the cafeteria. I am still planning for the next school year (though I will be at Indiana University) to implement a week of free sample raw food dishes and treats for students to try.
Anyway, back to my project. So, instead of getting a speaker, I spoke myself. On Wednesday, May 28 I made eight presentations throughout the day, and though at the beginning it was quite a challenge, by the second half of the day I was able to leave the script behind and just talk about what I like, know, and love. Through interactive games, brain storming, and imagination, I brought to light a wonderful discussion about raw food, human health, athletics and evolution, and planet Earth. I was very lucky to talk in front of groups of five kids, and groups of forty to fifty kids. Of course, there were some that didn’t care, even mocked what I had to say; some that stayed for the free apple incentive at the end (a choice of 3 different kinds may I add); BUT, to my very surprise, a lot of kids were actually interested in what I had to say. By the end of the day, seven kids even gave me their names and emails for more information about transitioning to a raw vegan diet, and one of the students I contact regularly and help him along the way. I’m so enthused by his interest in this lifestyle, and amazed to watch him grow as a person through this terrific change. It is inspiring to me to experience students asking me questions about the RV lifestyle who I thought would make fun of me for it. A lot of kids really understand the common sense aspect of it.
I really hope that in the near future, I can go around to high schools throughout the USA and empower more and more students to choose a healthier, and overall better way of life. While I’m still working on adding my own chapter to the PE and Health courses at my own high school, eventually I will create such material to spread to schools all over the country. Hopefully with the ability to impact the school cafeterias as well.
Now that I have a summer internship, it is interesting in the work place to see how long it takes to question my diet. I had one co-worker the other day comment that he’s never seen anyone eat a bigger salad. I told him unfortunately, I couldn’t fit any more salad in my bowl, but if he joins me at home for dinner he’ll have to prepare his eyes for the Armageddon of all salad eating. He asked if I was a vegetarian, so I explained……and with raw comes bigger proportions and stomach expansion. He said that the volume of salad I eat for lunch is the giant bowl his mother puts on the dinner table at a large family gathering. Also the fact that I’m 5’10 and 115lbs, he was amazed at the volume I consume and how skinny I am. He compared me to the skinny kid that wins the hot dog eating contest, except without the junk food. I never bring up the fact that I’m a raw enthusiast at work unless someone asks what my dietary preferences are, though many people at the office do comment on how I eat very large salads, or that I eat a lot of fruit. I just agree and tell them that their observation is completely valid.
One of the most awkward food experiences at work was on my first “Pizza Friday.” At work, every Friday is a complementary “Pizza Friday.” That means free pizza (and on one of the floors free salad too) every Friday afternoon. The first time I was there, all of the employees kept offering me free pizza, and insisting that I have some, and I just kept politely declined. I was actually afraid of offending someone, though I meant no harm. I’m content with my banana, lettuce leaf wraps. It’s amazing how much the workplace smells of excito-toxins once the pizza comes in. It smells up the whole building of pepperoni and grease, bringing back eight year-old memories. I’ve moved on though, and I’m glad I did.
Post Intended for Tim VanOrden’s Running Raw Website
Hey, I’m Sam (male), and I’m the Running Raw Youth Leader. I’m one of the lucky few who find the wonder of RAW foods at a young age. I’m a ripe 17 and actually just graduated high school this past Thursday. One of my projects during my senior year of high school was to get a speaker to talk and impassion the school to take more care of the environment, the planet, and their own bodies. After nearly nine months of trying to get a speaker, and almost bringing one from California over to New York, I realized that the money could be spent on better things, like revamping the school via new educational courses in the Physical Education and Health classes, but also through creating better choices in the cafeteria. I am still planning for the next school year (though I will be at Indiana University) to implement a week of free sample raw food dishes and treats for students to try.
Anyway, back to my project. So, instead of getting a speaker, I spoke myself. On Wednesday, May 28 I made eight presentations throughout the day, and though at the beginning it was quite a challenge, by the second half of the day I was able to leave the script behind and just talk about what I like, know, and love. Through interactive games, brain storming, and imagination, I brought to light a wonderful discussion about raw food, human health, athletics and evolution, and planet Earth. I was very lucky to talk in front of groups of five kids, and groups of forty to fifty kids. Of course, there were some that didn’t care, even mocked what I had to say; some that stayed for the free apple incentive at the end (a choice of 3 different kinds may I add); BUT, to my very surprise, a lot of kids were actually interested in what I had to say. By the end of the day, seven kids even gave me their names and emails for more information about transitioning to a raw vegan diet, and one of the students I contact regularly and help him along the way. I’m so enthused by his interest in this lifestyle, and amazed to watch him grow as a person through this terrific change. It is inspiring to me to experience students asking me questions about the RV lifestyle who I thought would make fun of me for it. A lot of kids really understand the common sense aspect of it.
I really hope that in the near future, I can go around to high schools throughout the USA and empower more and more students to choose a healthier, and overall better way of life. While I’m still working on adding my own chapter to the PE and Health courses at my own high school, eventually I will create such material to spread to schools all over the country. Hopefully with the ability to impact the school cafeterias as well.
Now that I have a summer internship, it is interesting in the work place to see how long it takes to question my diet. I had one co-worker the other day comment that he’s never seen anyone eat a bigger salad. I told him unfortunately, I couldn’t fit any more salad in my bowl, but if he joins me at home for dinner he’ll have to prepare his eyes for the Armageddon of all salad eating. He asked if I was a vegetarian, so I explained……and with raw comes bigger proportions and stomach expansion. He said that the volume of salad I eat for lunch is the giant bowl his mother puts on the dinner table at a large family gathering. Also the fact that I’m 5’10 and 115lbs, he was amazed at the volume I consume and how skinny I am. He compared me to the skinny kid that wins the hot dog eating contest, except without the junk food. I never bring up the fact that I’m a raw enthusiast at work unless someone asks what my dietary preferences are, though many people at the office do comment on how I eat very large salads, or that I eat a lot of fruit. I just agree and tell them that their observation is completely valid.
One of the most awkward food experiences at work was on my first “Pizza Friday.” At work, every Friday is a complementary “Pizza Friday.” That means free pizza (and on one of the floors free salad too) every Friday afternoon. The first time I was there, all of the employees kept offering me free pizza, and insisting that I have some, and I just kept politely declined. I was actually afraid of offending someone, though I meant no harm. I’m content with my banana, lettuce leaf wraps. It’s amazing how much the workplace smells of excito-toxins once the pizza comes in. It smells up the whole building of pepperoni and grease, bringing back eight year-old memories. I’ve moved on though, and I’m glad I did.
The 21st Century for Beginners
7-1-08
I take it that you raw fooders are pretty open to new ideas, since you’ve come this far. Well, here’s another idea to through at you. We are heading toward a DEPRESSION. That’s right – by 2010 we will be in a full-fledged depression, and unless you are part of the ultra-rich class, you are liable to losing A LOT of what you currently have, enjoy, and even take for granted. So…you ask…what can you do? Well, first off, get ready for the storm! Right now we are experiencing a commodity bull market, so the best thing you can do is to buy up commodities. This depression, unlike the 1930’s (which was a depression from over speculation, buying on margin, and not enough real money), is going to be a result of lack of natural resources. What does this mean? Say goodbye to the age of cheap energy and food. What else does it mean? Say goodbye to America’s world empire. All empires must fall, but that doesn’t mean that we all have to go down with the ship. We are raw fooders, and we were smart enough to stop the SAD non-sense and save or bodies, now we also have the opportunity to save or money and our possessions. It’s time for you to improve your financial health and well being. What do I recommend you do? Personally, I invest in silver – a tangible asset that is extremely undervalued. They don’t talk about it in the news, and most people that I talk to about investing in silver think I’m crazy, and if they think I’m crazy then I’m probably doing the right thing, because if everyone is doing it then you know that it’s too late! So instead of missing the boat, catch it before it takes off, because this boat’s got one hell of an engine! Buy silver any way that you can get it, just remember to buy the REAL thing. Don’t get the ETFs, don’t get futures contracts, because do to the shortages you don’t know if you actually have a real position. Buy and then BE PATIENT. Keep up your good physical health with nourishing food, as well as good mental health and the confidence to stay strong in the precious metal market. Ride the bull all the way, and when you hop off at the top, you will have more money than you could ever dream of to purchase the best organic foods in the world for you and your family. Heck, you’ll probably be able to build your own greenhouse. So what are you waiting for, stop reading this and good invest!!!!
I take it that you raw fooders are pretty open to new ideas, since you’ve come this far. Well, here’s another idea to through at you. We are heading toward a DEPRESSION. That’s right – by 2010 we will be in a full-fledged depression, and unless you are part of the ultra-rich class, you are liable to losing A LOT of what you currently have, enjoy, and even take for granted. So…you ask…what can you do? Well, first off, get ready for the storm! Right now we are experiencing a commodity bull market, so the best thing you can do is to buy up commodities. This depression, unlike the 1930’s (which was a depression from over speculation, buying on margin, and not enough real money), is going to be a result of lack of natural resources. What does this mean? Say goodbye to the age of cheap energy and food. What else does it mean? Say goodbye to America’s world empire. All empires must fall, but that doesn’t mean that we all have to go down with the ship. We are raw fooders, and we were smart enough to stop the SAD non-sense and save or bodies, now we also have the opportunity to save or money and our possessions. It’s time for you to improve your financial health and well being. What do I recommend you do? Personally, I invest in silver – a tangible asset that is extremely undervalued. They don’t talk about it in the news, and most people that I talk to about investing in silver think I’m crazy, and if they think I’m crazy then I’m probably doing the right thing, because if everyone is doing it then you know that it’s too late! So instead of missing the boat, catch it before it takes off, because this boat’s got one hell of an engine! Buy silver any way that you can get it, just remember to buy the REAL thing. Don’t get the ETFs, don’t get futures contracts, because do to the shortages you don’t know if you actually have a real position. Buy and then BE PATIENT. Keep up your good physical health with nourishing food, as well as good mental health and the confidence to stay strong in the precious metal market. Ride the bull all the way, and when you hop off at the top, you will have more money than you could ever dream of to purchase the best organic foods in the world for you and your family. Heck, you’ll probably be able to build your own greenhouse. So what are you waiting for, stop reading this and good invest!!!!
Back to Running!
7-1-08
I started running again on Friday, yay! For those who don’t know, I got IT Band syndrome on the inside of my left leg last August, did 3 months of rehab, started with baby steps running again until I was about to start running hard at the end of March after a month of plyometrics training. However, one day on the treadmill I randomly got a shooting pain on the inside of my left leg. It didn’t go away, and in April I took off two weeks of all types of training to go on a school student trip to April. When I came back I stuck to training on the Stairmaster. Starting in May I began a hard leg strengthening cycle. This lasted until about a week and a half ago, where after I took off a week of all strenuous exercise before attempting to run again. I ran for 45 minutes in an indoor track at my gym that has horribly tight turns. I had to go VERY slow on the turns because it was hurting the inside of my left knee. I ran for the first 15 minutes with an effort level of 5, 15 minutes with an effort level of 6, and 15 minutes with an effort level of 7. It felt good to run again, even if it was extremely slow as not to get hurt. I barely broke a sweat, but got something. My calves were really tight by the end of the run also. They are still a bit sore. I hit the Stairmaster on Saturday for recovery at speeds 9, 10, and 11 for 20 minutes each totaling 60 minutes. That workout surprisingly worked up a nice sweat. There is nothing more satisfying to eat after working out than bananas, and RIPE bananas. Not the perfect yellow ones that everyone thinks look so beautiful; I’m talking about the ones with black spots ALL OVER THEM. THOSE are the satisfying bananas.
I ran again on Sunday, but I made a poor choice of running at 10:45AM. It was like running underwater, that is how much humidity there was on top of the 75 degree Fahrenheit weather. Apparently during the summer you can really only run before 8:00AM or after 6:00PM. I tried to do the same 5, 6, 7 effort level run but the last 15 minutes were very difficult to pull off a 7, and I felt myself constantly dragging. I think I averaged around a 9 minute mile pace between the 3 effort levels. I was very tight after the run and stretched a bunch, and did some self-myofascial release for my calves. I took off yesterday because I was tired from not enough sleep, which is usually the case for me. Of course I always feel more energized after I eat some fruit though. Still no injury! I’ll hopefully be able to wean myself back into real training like I did last summer. However, this time I’m going to try it without the treadmill because I have a feeling that the treadmill and I don’t get along so well as far as avoiding injury goes.
I started running again on Friday, yay! For those who don’t know, I got IT Band syndrome on the inside of my left leg last August, did 3 months of rehab, started with baby steps running again until I was about to start running hard at the end of March after a month of plyometrics training. However, one day on the treadmill I randomly got a shooting pain on the inside of my left leg. It didn’t go away, and in April I took off two weeks of all types of training to go on a school student trip to April. When I came back I stuck to training on the Stairmaster. Starting in May I began a hard leg strengthening cycle. This lasted until about a week and a half ago, where after I took off a week of all strenuous exercise before attempting to run again. I ran for 45 minutes in an indoor track at my gym that has horribly tight turns. I had to go VERY slow on the turns because it was hurting the inside of my left knee. I ran for the first 15 minutes with an effort level of 5, 15 minutes with an effort level of 6, and 15 minutes with an effort level of 7. It felt good to run again, even if it was extremely slow as not to get hurt. I barely broke a sweat, but got something. My calves were really tight by the end of the run also. They are still a bit sore. I hit the Stairmaster on Saturday for recovery at speeds 9, 10, and 11 for 20 minutes each totaling 60 minutes. That workout surprisingly worked up a nice sweat. There is nothing more satisfying to eat after working out than bananas, and RIPE bananas. Not the perfect yellow ones that everyone thinks look so beautiful; I’m talking about the ones with black spots ALL OVER THEM. THOSE are the satisfying bananas.
I ran again on Sunday, but I made a poor choice of running at 10:45AM. It was like running underwater, that is how much humidity there was on top of the 75 degree Fahrenheit weather. Apparently during the summer you can really only run before 8:00AM or after 6:00PM. I tried to do the same 5, 6, 7 effort level run but the last 15 minutes were very difficult to pull off a 7, and I felt myself constantly dragging. I think I averaged around a 9 minute mile pace between the 3 effort levels. I was very tight after the run and stretched a bunch, and did some self-myofascial release for my calves. I took off yesterday because I was tired from not enough sleep, which is usually the case for me. Of course I always feel more energized after I eat some fruit though. Still no injury! I’ll hopefully be able to wean myself back into real training like I did last summer. However, this time I’m going to try it without the treadmill because I have a feeling that the treadmill and I don’t get along so well as far as avoiding injury goes.
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