The Scary Truth About Halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2012 by sarahmaevegan

So…today is Halloween. I only know this because of the large amount of people walking around looking like there has been a major zombie attack! (Unless I’ve just missed something?) Also, I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that the push for consumers to purchase large quantities of lollies, chocolates and usless plastic toys has been more than normal. Growing up, my family didn’t partake in Halloween. We didn’t purchase candy or costumes, nor did we decorate our house in cobwebs and blood. I used to always feel as tho I was missing out when I would hear other kids running around the streets high on sugar…until recently.

On my lunch break today I decided to walk through the closest shopping centre to investigate exactly what it is that we are being encouraged to buy this Halloween….if the costumes and gory accessories didn’t scare me – the ingredients in the so called ‘treats’ did! What people don’t seem to realise is that every Halloween, we are being ‘tricked’ into thinking that we are ‘treating’ ourselves with this Coloured, Refined, Additive Filled, Preservative Filled CRAP! Is it any wonder that bullying, attention disorders, health problems, playground violence and obesity in children are currently the worst they have ever been? This is the perfect example of how twisted out society has become! Not only are every day people oblivious to the fact that they are literally being poisoned with the consumption of junk foods, but they are made to believe that if they don’t buy all of this s***, that they are either a bad parent, missing out or an outcast!

Growing up thinking that CRAP food is a ‘treat’ can negatively effect the choices you make when you leave the nest and begin to make your own food choices, especially because of the fact that you feel like you’re ‘missing out’ when your parents don’t let you eat lollies, chips and chocolate all of the time. I know in my case, my relationship with food took a turn for the worst when I was making my own money and became in control of my food purchases. Although I was a vegetarian, I would still make the choice to spend lots of money on junk food. I would even have chocolate at breakfast time some days – just because I thought I was ‘treating’ myself. It wasn’t until I got fat, sick and a face full of acne that I realised what I had been doing to my poor body – obliviously!

I shouldn’t be just ripping into Halloween – how rude of me! Valentines day, Easter & Christmas seem to have the same push for ‘treating’ yourself with CRAP food! Treat your special partner this

Valentines Day with this box of chocolates!

Get 10% more for your money this Easter with this new extra large chocolate egg!

Count down the days until the fat man climbs down your chimney this Christmas with this day by day chocolate calendar!

Junk, Junk, & more JUNK! Disease, Disease & more DISEASE!
What really makes me upset about this whole thing is that adults have a choice – children don’t. It’s sad to see a childs eyes light up when they are given a lollie, to seem them going absolutely crazy on a sugar and chemical high and then to seem them get so distressed and out of control when they are coming down from this high. Here is a snippet of info I found on the Hungry for Change Website that explains EXACTLY what I’m talking about:

Sugar Is A Drug (and how you can kick the habit!)

It’s been labeled the sweetest poison, toxic, and harmful and recently in ‘Hungry For Change’… a drug. Unfortunately it does seem a little extreme to label a food as a drug but when you look at how sugar (especially the highly refined and processed kinds) are metabolized by your body then you can begin to understand why. Sugar when taken in excessive amounts can lead to cravings and addictions, quite similar to those with alcohol and tobacco, yet we have no problem labeling them as drugs. As Jason Vale says from the ‘Hungry For Change’ film, “it’s illegal to give a child cigarettes and alcohol, and so it should be, but it’s not illegal to give them white refined sugar or refined fats.”

We’re allowing ourselves and our children to become addicted to this substance causing soaring rates of obesity, one of the leading causes of preventable death. Here are some tips on how you and your children, can kick sugar cravings for good.

9 Simple Tips For Kicking Sugar Cravings

1. Avoid Processed Junk Foods You know from watching ‘Hungry For Change’ that sugar and processed foods can be as addictive as heroin. Eating sugar artificially stimulates a region of your brain called the nucleus accumbens, to produce dopamine, the pleasure neurotransmitter. Soon dopamine levels drop and we start to feel “flat”…or a bit “down”. We crave this pleasant, feel-good feeling again…so sugar leads to addiction.

2. Boost Your Serotonin Serotonin, aka “the happiness hormone,” can be raised through a natural low glycemic diet, daily exercise and plenty of deep restful sleep. When you have sufficient serotonin, you are less likely to have cravings for sweets.

3. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With All Natural Stevia The all-natural sweetener, stevia, has zero calories, does not raise blood sugar levels and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. If you have sugar cravings and want to satisfy your sweet tooth safely, stevia is your best bet. Stevia comes in a liquid and powder form from your local health food store.

4. Drink Plenty of Water You may sometimes think that your body is asking for sugar, when in fact it’s dehydrated and really craving water! Try this simple delicious cravings-buster lemonade: In 8 oz. of water, add the juice of ½ lemon and 5 drops of stevia. You could also try a warm cup of green tea, sweetened with stevia with your meals. This way your sweet taste is satisfied and you won’t want a dessert.

5. Keep Your Blood Sugar Stable Eat several small, healthy meals throughout your day instead of three large portions to avoid dips in blood sugar. Your evening meal should be one of the preferred gluten-free grain-like seeds (quinoa, millet, buckwheat, amaranth). If you do this, your body will produce more serotonin, you’ll feel happier and you’ll sleep much better at night.

6. Have Plenty of Greens Loaded with nutrition greens help boost your energy and help reduce cravings for sugar and processed foods.Green juices are an amazing way to add life giving and detoxifying plant chlorophyll to your bloodstream. As Jason Vale says in ‘Hungry For Change’, “juicing is the ultimate fast food, it is a 15 minute nutrient express to health”. Some of my favorite and simple green juice recipes include: Green Juice Recipe Ideas: - Celery, lemon and pear (or apple) - Celery, cucumber, lemon (leave the skin on) and pear (or apple) - Celery, cucumber, kale, lemon and pear (or apple) - Celery, cucumber, lemon, parsley and pear (or apple) I also like to stir whatever green powders I have on hand, try barley grass, wheatgrass, spirulina or chlorella powders.

7. Eat More Sea Vegetables Loaded with vitamins and minerals, seaweed or sea vegetables make for a a great addition to salads and meals! They are mineral-rich while eating anything with sugar immediately depletes minerals from your body. Sprinkle dulse flakes on your salad or an avocado. Add seaweed to your soups for a rich salty and mineral flavour. mmm…

8. Eat and Drink More Fermented Foods and Drinks Fermented foods and drinks can be one of the most important ways to reduce or even eliminate cravings for sugar. Try live fermented kefir, sauerkraut, kim-chi, kombucha tea, natural plain yoghurt, coconut kefir or any of your favourite fermented foods. You’ll be amazed at how the sour taste of fermented foods and drinks relieves the desire for sugar and processed foods.

9. Learn Meditation & Stress Reduction Techniques Meditation can help ward off cravings by helping reduce stress. Stress creates the hormone cortisol, which increases your blood sugar. This is a vicious cycle that damages your adrenals and creates sugar cravings. Try a yoga or meditation class before or after work to calm your body and mind.

Sums it up PERFECTLY! I better get back to work now that I have had a good rant!
Please be safe this Halloween! Maybe replace candy and junk food with fresh fruits?
Thankyou to Hungry for Change for the tips and info!
http://www.hungryforchange.tv/sugar-is-a-drug
Have a beautiful day xxxx

Day 10 – NO CRAP!

Posted on October 10, 2012 by sarahmaevegan

When you make the choice to go vegan, you have mentally prepared yourself to do some ‘giving up’ – whether you see this as a struggle or something that sets you free. For some, there is a transition period where they gradually start cutting out meat, eggs and dairy until one day they realise it has been weeks since they have eaten a single animal product! For others, they may have watched a documentary like ‘Earthlings’ or ‘The Cove’ and from that day on the thought of ingesting anything that comes from an animal makes them sick. Regardless of how it happens, it is usually newly discovered knowledge on where this ‘food’ is coming from and how it gets there that brings a person to make such a change.

What if we adopted the same interest in the CRAP that is put into our food? (if you can even call it food!) I made myself a deal in November 2011 that I would cut the CRAP for 8 months. This meant that any Coloured, Refined, Artificial & Preservative filled foods were banned! The first trip to the supermarket made me want to cry! I was walking down EVERY SINGLE ISLE and looking at all of the packets/cans/bottles that I could no longer eat/drink. On the back of all of my favourite foods to snack/binge on were long complicated words and crazy numbers that really made no sense to me. The only part of the whole supermarket I was allowed to purchase from was the Fruit & Veggie section! (since then I have discovered that most supermarket produce is covered in chemicals/fly spray and is genetically modified – now buy 100% of my produce organic from the farmers markets) I decided one thing that would make this 8 months easier was to research and gain knowledge on all of the different CRAP that goes into the foods I was giving up, in hopes that my brain would make the connection and hopefully find the transition easier.

The more I researched, the sicker I felt and I became really angry! How could it be possible that this CRAP was being put into our food? CRAP that causes disease and is so harmful to us! I still struggle from binge eating every now and again and find that I RARELY turn to CRAP fillled foods because I know exactly what is in them and just how bad for my body they are. I get so many emails and messages from beautiful girls that also struggle with either binge eating or just trying to maintain a healthy diet – so these next few posts are for them! Hopefully that by reading through this information, you can also make the connection and cut the CRAP
Here is an example of what you will find on the next couple of posts. Below are common additives found in our foods. With each additive you will find a number and what health effects they are linked to, also the countries that have been smart enough to have banned these harmful substances. (How pathetic that Australia is still allowing them to be put into our food!)
The information below is from an AMAZING book that really opened my eyes to all of this! It is called ‘Additive Alert’ and can be found here: http://www.additivealert.com.au

I hope you start to re-think the foods that you are choosing to eat.
A HUGE eye opener is grabbing a can/packet/bottle from your pantry, picking one of the additives from the lable, heading to the Additive Alert website and searching to see what diseases etc it is linked to.
Here is the link: http://www.additivealert.com.au/search.php?hid=3

Have a beautiful day! xxx

Name	Carmines or carminic acid or cochineal
Number	120
Comments	Linked to hyperactivity, possibly toxic to embryo.

Name	Quinoline yellow
Number	104
Comments	Linked to hyperactivity, skin rashes, asthmatics should avoid. Banned in USA and Norway – previously banned in Australia.

Name	Azorubine or carmoisine
Number	122
Comments	Suspected carcinogen, mutagen, skin rashes, oedema, hyperactivity. Banned in Sweden, USA, Austria and Norway.

Name	Brilliant Black BN or Brilliant Black PN
Number	151
Comments	Linked to bowel disorders, hyperactivity, asthmatics should avoid. Banned in US, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Norway.

Name	Annatto extracts
Number	160b
Comments	Hypersensitivity, allergic reactions, skin irritations, linked to behaviour and learning problems. Concerns about toxicity still being evaluated by JECFA yet is still freely used

Name	Beet red
Number	162
Comments	Unsuitable for infants and children due to sodium nitrate content

Name	Iron oxide
Number	172
Comments	Possible kidney damage. Suspected neurotoxin. Blindness in dog studies.

Name	Potassium sorbate
Number	202
Comments	Possible liver damage, behavioural problems. Linked to asthma. Avoid if kidney or heart problems.

9 Days of eating what nature intended?

Posted on October 9, 2012 by sarahmaevegan

So today marks Day 9 of my transition back to eating 100% what nature intended.
I set myself a goal to blog/video blog every single day of october – which I knew would be a stretch!
When I video blogged daily for 8 months last November, I was so confident, passionate and really motivated to inspire people to take control of their health and happiness!
I wasn’t affraid to film a blog in public, or if there was someone else in the room – however now I feel like I have retracted back into my little shell and only feel comfortable to video blog when I am home alone or I know there is no one around. Even still, I find myself being so judgemental and overly critical of the video when I watch it back, that I don’t post it!
AND, what I would normally do in this situation (the fact I haven’t blogged for a couple of days) is I would not know what to say or how to get back into it, so I would give up!
NOT THIS TIME! I am determined to get back to being happy, glowing and CONSISTENT!
I have been thinking about it alot over the last couple of days – how did I go from being so confident and happy within myself, to being so shy an unsure again?
I thought for sure 10 months ago that I would NEVER eat processed foods, binge, have acne or be horrible to myself again…how wrong I was!

This blog is me holding myself accountable to trying, pushing myself out of my comfort zones and getting my motivation back to inspire people!

Okay, now that is out of the way – I have another little rant to get off my chest, which I will dive further into in tomorrows blog…

I want to touch on the whole ‘vegan’ thing for the rest of this blog…because I think there is a BIG misconception out there that just because someone is either vegetarian or vegan, that they are healthy – WRONG!!!
I know of some vegetarians that eat so much processed foods and hardly touch vegetables!
Something else that comes along with this misconception is that buying a ‘vegan dessert’ or ‘vegan chicken’ is good for you.
They are full of nasty additives, preservatives and chemicals that our bodies find hard to precess as they are so foreign!
As I delve further and further into health, nutrition and food, I am more and more disgusted, angered and shocked that majority of the western population are being brainwashed and lied to!
The list of foods that are being consumed daily and seen as ‘normal’ is such a JOKE!
Most people would not even read the back labels on cans, bottles or packets of foods that they are feeding themselves and their families, because they trust that supermarkets wouldn’t be able to sell them anything that could be harmful.
This doesn’t just apply to foods containing meat, dairy and animal products!
There are SO MANY vegan products out there now that ‘replace’ or ‘substitute’ animal products. Some taste so close to the real thing that it is scary!
Chemical Shit Storms is all that they are, and I plan to post more and more about the different additives, preservatives, colourings and refined products found not only in these ‘Faux Foods’, but majority of the foods found on Supermarket shelves.
Don’t get me wrong – I am ALL FOR Veganism and making cruelty free choices, however I think that peoples eyes need to be opened to the fact that although they are not harming animals with their choice to go vegan – they could be harming themselves more than ever before!

Stay tuned!!!!

I hope you have a beautiful day xxxx

Detox Day 4 – Cravings

Posted on October 5, 2012 by sarahmaevegan

WARNING: This blog post is based around the female menstration cycle – if you are male or uncomfortable with complete honesty, then you may not want to read further than this sentence

So today was the second day of my cycle, which has been so irregular of late.
The last one was 35 days, this one has been 24 days and the acne on my back, chest, neck and face have been telling me that there is a problem.
Along with the acne, it has been CRAVING CENTRAL every time my period comes!
My cravings are for everything from really sweet, to really savoury – and they are intense!
Today I tried to distract my mind from indulging in fantasies of eating Subway, and eating non vegan chocolate – however no matter how hard I tried to focus on work/anything else, somehow it would always end up back there!

I had a Carrot, Apple, Lemon & Ginger Juice this morning accompanied by my lemon water and Noni Shot, I also packed a salad lunch and lots of fruit, but for some reason today (even after I had eaten all of this) it still wasn’t enough!
On my lunch break I walked past the health food store and remembered that I needed to buy more deodorant. I am always in heaven in these kind of stores and get completely excited over everything in there. When Im not mentally prepared, I tent to buy alot of things I don’t actually NEED, just because I am so excited to have them! Today I was vulnerable due to my cravings and looking back, I shouldn’t have gone into the store at all! However, I did – and as I was walking towards the back of the store where my deodorant was located, I had to walk past the freezers. I couldn’t help but notice that they had full stocks of Cocoluscious Ice Cream (the BEST Organic Vegan Ice Cream – PERIOD! {pardon the pun})…I shouldn’t have even stopped to see what flavours they had!
The next half an hour is a complete blur, all I remember is sitting at my desk with a spoon and an empty Cocoluscious Ice Cream container.

I ate the WHOLE thing, and it was delicious, but it was not a part of my Detox plan at all!
I know I shouldn’t feel guilty, and I don’t feel nearly as guilty as what I would have in the past – but it seems like every time I try to commit to doing something like this recently – I give in!
I blogged for 8 months last Novemeber and ate ONLY fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds for the whole 8 months! I felt so proud of myself and was the healthiest I have ever been!
I made EVERYTHING from scratch as I couldn’t afford to buy many meals/pre made vegan indulgences.
I found this was a great way to see just how badly I wanted the particular thing I was craving…I figured that if I REALLY wanted chocolate, then I would make it…if not, then obviously I wouldn’t.

This was really helpful to identify true cravings when my period came!
However now it seems that I am more financially stable and can justify purchasing regular indulgences, especially when I have my period!
This is something I have only just identified today, and I will continue to blog about my progress with reducing my indulging in spending & cravings.
For now, I hope you have a beautiful day xxx
I hope you have a beautiful day

Detox Day 3

Posted on October 3, 2012 by sarahmaevegan

Here are the AMAZING dried bananas – and yes their appearance put me off at first too!!!!

Detox Day 2

Posted on October 2, 2012 by sarahmaevegan

Today was a BIG day!
It is 11.30pm and I have been up since 5.30am – needless to say I am exhausted.
I went for a beach run before work to start my day – it was such a stunningly cloudy morning!

Today I felt really, really tired and all I wanted to do all day was sleep!
It was my first day back at work after a week off and it was struggle street!
I found it really difficult to fight the temptation of having a 3.30pm coffee with all of my other co-workers…for some reason, the smell of coffee that filtered through the office brought about MAJOR coffee cravings for me and I found it really hard to resist – however I did.

I am planning an early night tomorrow night to catch up on some sleep and Im so sorry this is so short and sweet, but I have had at least 3 micro sleeps since beginning this blog entry.
Here is what I nourished myself with today, followed by some pictures xxxx

Morning:
1Litre of water
Warm Lemon Water
Beet, Carrot, Celery, Kale, Apple, Lemon Juice
Banana Whip (Frozen Banana’s put into the food processor)

Lunch:
Green Salad (Lettuce from the garden, Mint, Parsley, Chia Seeds, Cashews, Lemon Juice)
Handfull of Dates

Snack:
Dates & Macadamia Nuts

Dinner:
Turmeric Rice on Greens

Dessert:
Banana Ice Cream & Macadamia Nuts