Tag Archives: vegan

Syrup Alternatives to Agave

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Hey Guys!

Hope you had a great weekend!! It’s still only the end of August dammit- we can still hold on to summer!! :) I love my apt. now in Santa Monica!

I headed down to Newport Beach to visit some clients at a beautiful spa there, and had some nice beach walks.

I also caught up with an old friend I hadn’t seen in a while. She was a travel buddy that I met in Australia, and we would periodically meet up on the road. Some adventures we shared include camping on frozen ground in Nepal in January (!), sharing a bungalow in Thailand and having a zillion dead bugs rain down on us when we let down the mosquito net, exploring some random deserted islands in the Philippines with only a few fishing families living on them, and taking a small plane around Mount Everest. She almost killed me when her ocean kayak flew right by my head when we were getting huge air kayaking in Byron Bay, up the coast of Australia, and we also touched the Great Barrier Reef in Australia together for the first time… she also came back to visit me when in Sydney after I was working there after college. With all the craziness we’ve been through- or should I say survived- we’ll always be super close, and when I see her its as if no time has passed!

So back to thoughts around the kitchen… I started drastically cutting back on agave over a year ago, and stopped it cold turkey a few months ago. Agave is highly processed and is a very high percentage fructose. Despite its being advertised as being low-glycemic and a “natural” alternative, it really isn’t a viable option for those of us that want to look and feel our best. I recommend you cut it out completely as well! Also, be sure to check labels. I was in Wholefoods in Venice the other day looking at the labels of raw food products, and almost every single one had agave in it!! If we all start to shun it I think hopefully eventually manufacturers will have to switch!

Stevia and xyletol are good dry, powdered sweetener alternatives. Liquid stevia is very concentrated and you drop it out with a little dropper. But how to replace agave for liquid needs?

Organic dried or dehydrated fruit is a great source of natural sugar that comes right from nature off the tree or the bush! Be sure to purchase varieties that are free of sulfites and other preservatives, and don’t have any additional added preservatives.

Lately I’ve been using dates, figs and raisins, and I make a syrup/paste by adding water. I start with 1-2 Tbs of water and blend with the dried fruit, then add more depending on how thin I need the syrup to be and what I’m using it for. Soaked nuts combine okay with dried fruit, so depending on what you are making, you can also add some of the oilier seeds and nuts for texture. These include sunflower seeds, hazelnuts and almonds.

Dried fruits should be used in moderation (or avoided altogether for those with Candida or sugar issues), as they do have a high concentration of sugar, but they are easy for our bodies to digest and break down. They also have some health benefits as well:

Dates: High in calcium, also contains copper, iron, amino acids, Vitamin A, and some riboflavin and thiamin.

Figs: High in potassium! Contains mucin and pectin, and have detoxifying and blood-cleansing properties. Also contains calcium and magnesium.

Raisins: Contains iron, potassium, calcium, silica, magnesium, Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, zinc and amino acids.

Give these little “candies” of nature a go, and see how you do!

Have a wonderful early part of your week!!

See you soon.

Love, Kimberly

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The Enormous Difference Between Raw Foods and Living Foods

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Hi Guys!

I hope you are having a great, post-holiday week. I hear it is really hot in NY, so if you are in a hot city hope you are drinking lots of room-temperature water to hydrate!

I’m here having a fabulous time at the Ann Wigmore Institute. There is so much to talk about, I had to divide this original blog up into 3 or 4 posts. :) But I thought I would start with a topic that has really been on my mind lately, and is emphasized so much here at the Ann Wigmore Institute.

Dr. Ann Wigmore was a true pioneer and her legacy has changed nutrition and the health movement forever. Before she passed away in 1994 (from a fire by the way, not old age), she already wrote extensively on the difference between just eating raw food and actually eating in a superior and nourishing way, which she termed Living Foods. Even back then, in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s, the raw food movement was around. Dr. Wigmore observed that many people on a raw food diet, but not a Living Foods diet, had acidic bodies, were deficient in certain important minerals and compounds, had weight and skin problems (like acne) and were certainly toxic. I think if she saw aspects of the raw food movement today she would be horrified!!!! So why is it that if someone is eating “all raw” they can still be so incredibly unhealthy?? There are lots of reasons, but I’ll list a few here:

  1. Living foods are made up of whole, organic plant foods, with an emphasis on greens, sprouts, fresh fruit, and some nuts and seeds. Today the misconception is that “anything goes” as long as it is raw. So what does that mean? People LOAD up on extremely heavy dehydrated foods, tons of oil, cacao, agave, too much sea salt, “superfoods,” way too many (unsprouted) nuts and the like. The emphasis on the simplicity of nature, and greens, has been diminished!
  1. Dr. Wigmore said the most important part of eating Living Foods was eating some blended foods, so you would get the every important benefits of the foods without having to work to digest them, and you would retain the fiber in the food to help create bulk in the colon to sweep out toxicity. This is what the Glowing Green Smoothie is based on loves!! There is a science to it!! If you juice, you remove all the dietary fiber. There are benefits to that as well- but know that you are not getting blended food.

Even if we ate salads all day, most of us don’t chew well enough to get the volume of nutrients in that we would get from some blended foods. BTW, we have some chewing classing here, and it really is amazing how much we need to chew to get the nutrition out!! I was shocked! I thought I was a slow eater, but now that I am conscious, I am a slow eater times 10! :)   It can take me 45 minutes to finish a bowl of Energy Soup.

 

 

3. Living foods emphasize digestion, so contain lots of easily digestible fermented foods, such as Rejuvelac and raw sauerkraut, and you MUST soak and sprout your seeds and nuts! Dr. Wigmore believed the reason so many raw foodists have acidic bodies is they are eating the nuts and seeds without preparing them properly to remove the inhibitor enzymes, which keeps the nutrition dormant in the human body, and makes them acid-forming and mucus-forming.

4. Agave is a HUGE no-no. I know, it sucks because it is so easy to use and makes things so damn tasty! I used to use it and promote it! But the truth is that anything that is too easy and too good to be true like that…usually is. If you look at it closely, you may wonder how it arrived as a syrup that way. Maybe you’ve noticed that I have been saying little quips against agave here and there for the last year or so. I’ve also tried to remove it from as many places in this blog as I could find.

I used to think it was okay- after all the whole raw food world seems to think it is okay! It’s low glycemic, isn’t it? It’s from a plant, isn’t it? It is used without limit in many instances in the raw food world. I’m going to do a whole post on this soon. But the truth is that agave is almost pure fructose, and fructose makes you fat and destroys the collagen in the skin. I think that is one reason why raw foodists that eat it every day gain weight.

I used to promote it too! So don’t feel bad because I don’t. I didn’t fully realize back then how bad it was- but I know now! There is such great marketing attached to it. And I am not being judgmental. When you know better you do better. And I am sharing this with you because I highly recommend for you to cut it out of your diet 100%, the way I have. You have to be careful, because unfortunately now it is in everything from energy bars to raw granola. Read the labels and avoid, avoid, avoid!! I will write extensively on this topic in another post. Stay tuned folks!

 

5. Living Foods do not contain a lot of dehydrated foods. This is sort of related to #1. Dehydrated foods are considered transitional foods for those weaning off of cooked food. Dehydrated foods are concentrated with no water, and very dense. They can be very constipating, and do not promote cleansing and lightness! Dehydrated hemp burgers, too many flax crackers…

I think people rely way too much on dehydrated foods. I make them for dinner parties and when I’m making food for those that eat meat and cooked food, to show them raw food can taste really good. But as you elevate the level of health and wellness, the dehydrated food becomes a tiny fraction of the diet. Dr. Wigmore said dehydrated food should be used very sparingly, like for special occasions or a little bit here and there. Like I was saying in #1!

6. Okay, so sorry to keep harping in on #1! But we can’t rely too much on cacao or oil to make things taste good. Our taste buds are getting used to too much stimulation, and then we aren’t satisfied anymore with a plain salad or a Glowing Green Smoothie. We don’t need all that stuff all the time- keep it simple.

Alright, that is my manifesto for tonight! My brain is bursting with so much to say but I have to say nighty now. The internet is slow and it took me forever to get the post up. But a small price to pay! I LOVE the island life and the lack of technology, TVs, air conditioning (at least here!), etc. and wearing flip flops all day and jumping in and out of the ocean 3 or 4 times a day between classes!

I’ll write more soon!

I wrote this post not to burst your bubble, but because I love you and want you to feel your best and reach the highest level of health that you can reach!

Love, Kimberly

More Random Thoughts: Raw Food, Yoga…

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Hi My Loves,

Yes, my brain does like to jump around sometimes. Not in a frenetic ADD way, but more in a way where I get really excited about a lot of different thoughts all at the same time that I want to share! While they don’t all really seem interrelated- well, I think everything really is related.

Here are some random thoughts- to give you an idea of that is playing on in my head:

1.  I know it is cold and winter because my coconut oil has turned white and solid. What should I do? In a word- nothing. We love our coconut oil because it is a wonderful and commonly used ingredient in raw deserts, and because when we apply it topically it penetrates and makes our skin smooth and hydrated. It doesn’t matter whether it is a liquid oil or a solid butter- it will still work the same. I actually like it when the jar I keep near my bed to put on my skin gets a bit thicker and more milky. It is a little easier to scoop out how much I put on. When it is liquid it is a bit more unwieldy, and yes I have definitely oiled my sheets up more than once!

You don’t have to worry about refrigerating coconut oil in any form. If you are mixing a recipe by hand (like my Raw Cacao Truffles recipe) and you are worried that your coconut oil is too chunky to mix well, I would just sit your jar on your stove, which is always slightly warm anyway, and it should liquefy quite nicely.

2. I know it is winter because my body is craving warm food and cooked food sometimes. Great! It is important to transition with the seasons. No one said you have to eat 100% raw to get amazing, fantastic results. Some cooked food can be very beneficial in fact, as long as it is placed correctly and is easily digestible food. I do NOT believe in the die-hard 100% raw food philosophy people that promotes if you eat anything cooked you are doing something really “bad.” Please! Who wants to live a life of restriction?? To me, that is sort of like the calorie-counting people, which are also restricted and have to know how many calories are going into their mouth at all times. I reject both of those schools.

This is really a whole blog post which I’ll do soon as it is getting colder- and could really fill a whole book on how to eat, but I will say a few things. Non-cream soups like Miso soup and vegetable soup are fine. If you feel like something heavier, like a grain for dinner, I recommend quinoa, millet or amaranth after you’ve eaten a salad, and along with some lightly steamed vegetables. You can spice it up and make a whole meal out of it. Delicious!

Days when you eat some cooked food I do recommend being sure to have your Green Smoothie that morning, and also be sure to have a nice green salad beforehand. Remember that if we eat very well most of the time, and follow certain rules, such as the ones I just said, you are not being “bad” for eating some cooked food sometimes!

3.    I know it is winter because I can intuitively feel that my yoga practice needs more fire. Of course, this could apply to other forms of movement. In winter, it is easy to want to close ourselves off, burrow ourselves in our homes and apartments, and withdraw. We are wrapped up in layers and layers of clothes, hustling to get from place to place and spending much less time in the fresh air and the outdoors.

With all this happening, we need to be conscious that we are not closing our heart chakras. We need to find ways to stay open and passionate, engaged with what excites us and makes us feel alive and energized and joyous. We have to put out a bit more effort in the winter to ensure we are still living our life to the fullest and not getting sucked into a familiar routine that just rolls along. Where is the fire??

One way I am actively seeking and bringing more fire into my own life is with my yoga practice and the way I teach yoga. After warming up I am bringing a much more a fiery routine with sun salutations, faster and more modern music than I might usually play in my classes, and series where I have my students move one breath per pose. It is really helping me feel the fire right now. I love it! We much naturally adjust to the seasons and the cycles of nature. How can you bring in more fire into your own life right now?

 

4.    Along those lines, it is a good time to be reminded to remain unattached. With the closing off of the heart chakra and feeling more withdrawn, we tend to get a bit more attached to our routines and the minute components of our life because it makes us feel safe and so we have something to cling to. Have you gotten more upset lately over something that usually wouldn’t bother you? Of course, the upcoming holidays can also add more stress…

Yesterday in fact, I had a few situations that challenged this in me : 1) I was at a crappy airport terminal at JFK with 0 good food selections, and I was truly starving and about to get on a 6 hour flight. I did the best I could- baked rice chips and a not so great salad. Instead of dwelling on being mad at myself for not bringing food, or that I would throw myself off, I focused on letting it go. I also counter balanced it by not eating any peanuts on the airplane- alflatoxin mold! Even if I was near dying I don’t think I would eat those peanuts. :-)

2 ) I take my friends’ yoga class once in a while and I get really excited when I can make it. And yesterday there was an unexpected sub! I noticed that feeling of frustration rising up, and I immediately took some deep breaths and tried to open up. And you know what? I loved the sub! She had beautiful energy. (And yes, I do think it is important for yoga teachers to keep being students as well!).

3) I was stuck in a cab for 2 hours and missed my flight. I had to pay a $50 change fee and got stuck with a middle seat instead of my original window seat. I am actually sitting in that middle seat as I write to you! I did get a bit put off for a minute, but then I realized, DOES IT REALLY MATTER? What’s the big rush anyways? I’m still breathing, still alive, and ultimately, everything will be okay. So I got to LA a few hours later- it is worth getting upset and secreting a large amount of harmful stress hormones?
Things are never such a big deal when we step back and become unattached to a specific outcome (even if we have to force ourselves to do so sometimes), and realize that in the big scope, 99% of the stuff we are attached to can shift, and it is okay. Being unattached in a very important practice, with our food and our lives. We just have to do our best and go with the flow. Everything does happen for a reason!

Love,
Kimberly

Why Table Salt Makes You Fat and Bloated

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Hey Guys,

Brrrrrr…….. it is officially freezing in NY right now! Thankfully I am leaving for LA tomorrow. :)

When it is this cold, I do love the occasional hot soup. If possible- I would rather make it myself. If the soup is a clear vegetable soup I do not worry so much about the soup being cooked-as it will still digest easily. I worry more about the awful salt that might be lurking in it- which I try to avoid at all costs.

Typical table salt is sodium chloride — an unnatural chemical form of salt that your body recognizes as something completely foreign. This form of salt is in almost every preserved product that you can think of. Therefore, when you add more salt to your already salted food, your body receives more salt than it can dispose of. Or course, it is another reason not to eat any preserved food at all- including canned food, frozen meals, etc.

Denatured sodium chloride salt, which is poison to the body- is a “hungry”, biologically incomplete molecule that will leach H20 and other minerals out of you body as our bodies try to neutralize the poisonous sodium chloride. This dead, kiln-dried, highly processed salt is highly toxic to the health of our bodies. Typical table salt crystals are totally isolated from each other. Our bodies have to use huge amounts of energy to try to metabolize it, and it messes with our ideal fluid balance and can overburden our elimination systems.

Table salt will also create “false fat”, making us look bloated and up to 9 pounds heavier than we truly weigh. To be 100% clear, Table salt = Fat and Bloated.

However, there are certain recipes and times when you need to use salt for seasoning. And not all salt is the enemy. Celtic and Himalayan sea salts are the ONLY salts that I recommend. They can be damp and grayish or pink in color, and can be bought at any health store.

Celtic sea salt is dried in the sun and the wind, preserving marine microorganisms, enzymes, and around 70 trace minerals and trace elements. True Celtic sea salt is raw and alive, and is beneficial as it can pump extracellular fluid and help us digest carbs and fats,  and increase stomach acid- yes, it can actually help build our hydrochloric acid! The mineral magnesium, involved in over 300 detoxification pathways in the body, is only present in the sea salt when there is still moisture.

Himalayan crystal salt is also a wonderful salt. Crystal salt has spent over 250 million years maturing under extreme tectonic pressure, far away from exposure to impurities.

The salt’s unique structure also stores vibrational energy. All of the crystal salt’s inherent 84 minerals and trace elements are available in colloidal form — meaning they are so small your cells can readily absorb them. It is very difficult for your body to absorb too much crystal salt since there are powerful and effective feedback loops that regulate this process. Natural crystal salt always promotes a healthy balance and does not contribute to high blood pressure like typical table salt.

Other sea salt (which is commonly sold at some grocery stores, Trader Joe’s etc.), can still be kiln-dried, meaning the magnesium and the vast majority of other minerals, can still be evaporated along with the moisture. It is cheap and often crappy and I don’t recommend putting it into your body.

So give yourself the best! Don’t be fooled by the mere words “sea salt” and definitely don’t touch table salt. Make sure you purchase only Celtic sea salt, Himalyan sea salt, or as another option, a sea salt that specifically says on the label that it has only been dried by the sun and wind, to use in small amounts when you do use salt.

If I do eat the occasional soup, I want to be sure I am ingesting only the good salt. Some restaurants may use the good stuff too. And if you are out and have food with questionable salt added into it- at least definitely DON’T add more salt on top of it!

See you here soon!!!!
Love, Kimberly

Quick Yoga Video Update with Editor :)

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Hi Loves, This was a quick video we took Friday in the editing room before I left LA. We were in there for so long we needed to entertain ourselves somehow because we were all getting a little stir crazy. I just want you to know that the project is still ongoing.

I’m about to leave for the airport AGAIN! But I will write more later or tomorrow.

Love! Kimberly

Essential for Travel: Hotel Mini Fridge!!

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Hey Guys!

Since I’m staying at a hotel for 8 days, one of the most important things for us is to pick out a room with a mini fridge.  I actually consider it essential! While I can’t eat exactly how I do at home, it helps keep me from getting very far off track at all!! For this amount of time, if I can’t be sure that I’ll have access to getting Green smoothies and drinks, I’d rather make sure that I can. I have no qualms about checking in all my luggage and bringing a large purse with books and a separate carry on for my blender or juicer on the plane. To me, it is SO worth it, because when I am eating well I am feeling great. And I want to feel great when I’m traveling!  I probably wouldn’t do this internationally, but domestically sure! Actually- maybe I would carry kitchen equipment internationally, depending on where. :)

Sure there are dinners out that we all like to have when we are away. But at least I can control breakfast and snacks/meals during the day, and not have to resort to heavy hotel breakfasts that get the day started off wrong and heavy!

 

Here are the essential things that I love to keep in the mini fridge (even if you don’t bring your blender) :

-    A bag or box of triple washed spinach. You can literally stick it on a paper plate and slice up avocado on it, with a squeezed lemon. This is great for a healthy lunch, or a light dinner if you were out all day long and just want to chill at your hotel with a healthy meal.

-    Along with that, lemons and avocados.

-    Unsweetened almond milk, which you can pick up at good ‘ol TJ’s. Great for adding a dallop to some herbal tea to feel nice and satisfied at night.

-    Baby carrot sticks to snack on.

-   Celery sticks, which you can snack on to get something alkaline in your stomach first even if you know you are going out and eating a heavy dinner. Better to start a meal with that than nibble on too much table bread when you are waiting on your dinner and hungry!

-    Fruit galore!! Organic plums, apples, pineapple chunks, etc.

So next time you are on the road, you might want to check with your hotel and find a room with a little, life-saving mini fridge. :) I hope you had a great Halloween and weekend. Have a great beginning of your week!

Talk to you soon. xx Kimberly

 

Doctors Against Eating Animal Products

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Hi Guys! It is interesting too see that slowly but surely, with surmounting evidence that even physicians can not deny, veganism is starting to be promoted heavily even by certain members of the medical community. Hallelujah!

I am NOT a doctor myself. But I firmly believe that being a vegetarian is great, and to reach new levels of health and beauty, it is critical to give up dairy. For more info, check out my blog, “Calcium Myths Debunked.”

There is a non-profit organization called The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which currently boasts a membership of about 5,000 doctors and 100,000 lay members.

PCRM advocates that a vegan diet will help combat many different diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and can even help to prevent cancer. PCRM runs a website that collects reports of adverse health effects experienced by people on the Atkins Diet. PCRM also argues that consuming dairy products is unhealthful and advocates for improving the food served in school lunchrooms. In addition, PCRM runs The Cancer Project, a program for cancer prevention, research, and nutritional assistance to cancer patients.

It is so great to see that there are progressive doctors out there that are adopting their views on nutrition. I recently went to a health lecture out in New Jersey by a prominent cardiac surgeon and well published phD that totally changed his views on nutrition and had become a vegan. How awesome is it that after all his schooling and being so prominent in the community, this surgeon is not so arrogant to admit that what he believed in the past was wrong! At this point in his career, he puts on a lecture for the public and his patients to share with them his new beliefs that he discovered and now, after all his years of experience, wholeheartedly believes to be the truth.

The USDA’s four basic food groups, introduced in 1956, are so outdated. The health of our country is in a crisis mode, with obesity and disease clearly on the rise. We have to re-examine all our old habits, even ones that we have come to accept as being “the truth,” because we were just told so, which the mainstream also promoted.

A plant-based diet provides superior nutrition and will promote the highest levels of beauty and health. Plant-based foods digest cleanly, without leaving toxic, acidic residue in our bodies which over time is aging, brings down our energy, and make us sick- in various forms. In the past, erroneous information has spread, such as the belief that protein and calcium can only be obtained in adequate amounts from animal products. Now we know that to not only be false, but we now realize that getting protein and calcium in our diet from plant-based sources is much easier for our bodies to assimilate and digest with much less energy.

It’s NOT all or nothing though. Even if you don’t become a full vegetarian or vegan right away, I greatly encourage you to cut back, and eat animal flesh at most one meal a day. I tell you not because I am an animal freak- but because I love you and want you to feel and look your best! :)

Love, Kimberly

The Fall version of Kimberly’s Glowing Green Smoothie(R) Recipe

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Hey Guys!!

Here I am at a glorious farmer’s market in California which inspired this Fall Green Smoothie. I had a few great trips to the farmer’s market this past week, which is definitely one of my favorite pastimes. :) What did I find out in ‘ol Cali???? Um, what didn’t I find?!! To name a few TREASURES I spotted…4 different kinds of Haas avocados, and all for $1 each!! Enough sunflower sprouts that I could swim in them, and the most perfect collard greens, all the exact same size and tied together like a little bundle of flat, green soldiers!! Plus let’s not forget the to die for white nectarines (I’m not embarrassed to admit that I chomped down on the cut up samples, greedy little nectarine-eater that I am!) and heirloom tomatoes from ancient seeds!! Waaay better than a NYC clothes sample sale, in my opinion. :)

What a blessing to meet the people that grow our food, as well as their families. The produce from farmer’s markets is the freshest and the best, and it supports the local farmers. Be sure to check out your local market whenever you have the chance!

In season through the Fall, the extremely powerful dark leafy green kale is the main feature of the Fall Green Smoothie.

Kale is one of the most mineral-rich, beautifying greens there is. It is abundant in calcium, lutein, iron, fiber and Vitamins A, K, and collagen-building Vitamin C. Kale has seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and ten times more lutein. Full of phytochemicals, it also packs in Vitamin E, which rebuilds beautiful skin.

As we switch from season to season our bodies can become more sensitive and it can be easier to get sick. The high content of Vitamin C in kale also helps with immunity, and kale’s naturally rich sulfur content helps boost the body’s detoxification enzymes and provides a great cleansing response in the body to wash the system of toxins.

 

Dinosaur Kale, also known as Lacinato Kale  (my favorite vegetable in the world!!!)

RECIPE:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1 head organic romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 stalks organic celery
1 bunch Dinosaur or Curly Kale

1 organic apple, cored and chopped

1 organic pear, cored and chopped
1 organic banana
Juice of 1/2 fresh organic lemon

 

Curly Kale

Strip the kale leaves (whichever type you are using) off of the stem, discard stems, and blend all the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Tastes best cold, so be sure to use cold water. If your blender is not very strong, and takes longer to blend up, thereby warming the smoothie, make the night before and keep in the fridge overnight. Keeps for a maximum of up to 3 days in the fridge. Makes 4 servings.

Aim to drink a glass of the Fall Green Smoothie, or regular Green Smoothie, 3-7 times a week to start your day! You will feel energetic, vibrant, and beautiful, just like the mighty kale. :)

With love! And see you back here soon.

xx Kimberly

The Alkaline Fruit Rule

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 Hi Guys!

Hope your weekend was lovely. I feel back in action and myself again!! Despite the shock of going from perfect paradise weather to a rather dingy New York week, I am happy to be back. :)

So first off, let’s remember in our discussion today that we can not tell which foods are acid or alkaline by taste a alone. For example, an organic lemon that is ripe tastes acidic, and will add a nice acidic base to salad dressings, but is actually alkaline-forming in the body, as its high concentration of alkaline minerals has an overall alkalizing effect. Lemon juice promotes the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach (a great thing), and its acids are oxidized into carbon dioxide and water, which keep it from acidifying our systems.

 

Remember that we want to consume alkaline-forming foods in abundance and make our bodies more alkaline, which will help keep us vibrant and beautiful, full of youth-inducing oxygen, and mentally calm and peaceful. Acidity is associated with a hard, lined face, wrinkles, disease, toxicity, low energy, a bleak outlook on life, and depression. We simply have more life force when we are alkaline!

While most fruits have both alkaline and some acidic minerals, along with greens and other (non-root) vegetables we can say that fruits are the most alkaline of all foods.

 However, let us remember this very important Alkaline Fruit Rule:

 Fruits that are ripe are alkaline-forming. Organic fruits are the most alkaline, because they are grown in mineral-dense soil. Most fruits that are not ripe are acid-forming. Therefore, only eat fruit that is ripe!

 

For example, if you were to test the pH of 2 different bananas, you would find that the one that has the most black spots has a pH of around 6.5 (the higher the number the more alkaline), which the banana that has a top that is still slightly green with no black spots has a pH of only around 5.6. That is a big difference in the world of pH readings!

Ripe fruit will also be more juicy and grow sweeter, being more delicious anyways! How to tell when a fruit is ripe? (Besides the obvious spotted banana? :) ) As a fruit ripens, it deepens in color, and will start to emit a sweet aroma. In general, when selecting fruit for ripeness you should look for an evenly colored and textured fruit with a delicious smell. The color should be bright and full, with no hints of green or white unless the fruit naturally has these colors. With fruits like melons, a discolored area indicates where the fruit rested on the ground, which also happens to be the sweetest and most delicious part of the fruit.

Avocados can be purchased green, and stored outside your refrigerator to ripen as needed. They will change from green to black as they ripen, and their flesh will slightly yield upon pressing. I like to press the the little “buttons” on the top and bottom, so I don’t bruise up my whole avocado.

So eat those bananas only when they have black spots. And the same is true for all your fruit! Don’t wait until it is a rancid and mushy mess, just until it is perfectly ripe and tasty…and ALKALINE FOR MORE BEAUTY! :)

LOVE!!

Kimberly

Beverly Hills Event…and Raw Food-Making Sprint!

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Hey Guys!!

Hope you are having a wonderful week so far. :) Well here I am back in LA! It is Thurs. morning here, and thankfully I am just now getting a moment to catch my breath and be fully aware of my surroundings.

I was going to fly here on Tuesday, as I had this event on Wednesday starting at 2:00, but it was too busy Tuesday and I had too much going on. So I had to wake up yesterday at 4:30 am to catch the earliest flight to LA, which was slightly delayed but still came in at 10:30 AM. I landed to a million important emails to answer right away, which I tried to do quickly while I was waiting for my bag to arrive. :) Then I was picked up and dropped off at the house where I was staying with a BIG kitchen (yay!). As soon as I walked in I dropped my bags then raced to the kitchen, which my partner John had wonderfully stocked with my shopping list of everything I needed! I was supposed to make all this raw food for this event, with about 100 women coming, and I only had a few hours!

So it was sort of like that show Top Chef, where the chefs are under the gun with the time! I was running (oh yes! literally) around the kitchen, muttering to myself, “Where’s my chopping knife?”, “Where is the Vitamix plunger?”. Thank GOD the kitchen was so big that I had different stations set up! There was the lemon cutting and squeezing area, a table with the food processor ready, an area to mix, another one to chop, and of course a whole table dedicated to the Vitamix and Vitamix prep area. After a few hours, miraculously I had concocted a variety of dishes: spreads, a few different kinds of raw “cheese”, etc. etc. Right when I was running out of steam, John came over, and I put him to work chopping so I could go take a shower and get dressed! I threw on a dress, did my hair (sort-of!!!), then we had to run out the door.

The event was fabulous!! It was in Beverly Hills, at the gorgeous Point de Vue salon, which has an amazing outdoor space. There were drinks and food and women gathering and chatting- I of course served the food and was able to talk about Envision Beauty, and I met SO many amazing women!!

This is one of my favorite women in the world: Chantal Westerman. She was the one that pulled me into the event, and I love her!! She is the most vivacious, intelligent, loving woman you can imagine.  She has been one of my biggest chearleaders! And I am forever grateful to her. She wants nothting but for me and other women to succeed, and it is so amazing to be in that energy of support and love. I am inspired to continue on this quest to pass that onto as many women that I encounter directly or indirectly through my company, including of course all of you!!

 

So… after dozens of refills for the food plates, tons of wonderful conversations, photos for various media and press outlets, I was officially exhausted…and cold! I forgot that the temperature drops like crazy in LA at night, and by 8:00 pm it was chilly in that beautiful backyard! I went home, passed out around 11:00 PM LA time (eek 2:00 am NY time, so much for my “Getting More Sleep Naturally for Beauty Sleep blog” info :) . Oh well, no one’s perfect, especially me!!). So I just woke up recently, and am writing to you now first thing after meditating!

Lots more adventures happening in the next few days…I’m trying not to get overwhelmed by focusing on each day as it comes. I’ll write to you in a few days.

Have an awesome day!!!!

Lots of love, Kimberly