Optimum Health Institute

I arrived at the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego a few weeks ago for some much appreciated  r & r. Formerly known as Hippocrates West, OHI is an Ann Wigmore-based health ministry of the Free Sacred Trinity Church. The program is not religious but spiritual, promoting holistic health through detoxifying and rebuilding the body with living foods. OHI also offers a full schedule of classes on various topics including digestive health, nutrition, emotional/mental cleansing, self-reflection, breathing exercises, meditation, self esteem, and even group therapy. There are daily exercise classes, sprouting/dehydrating workshops, hands-on fermenting instruction, and many other relative topics.

However, the main topic at OHI, is grass — wheatgrass — and there is plenty of it available.  In case you don’t already know, wheatgrass is perhaps the most nutritious plant there is. Aside from being rich in minerals, powerful trace nutrients (calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc), vitamins (A, B, C and E) and amino acids, wheatgrass is an excellent source of chlorophyll — also known as the blood of plants – which helps increase red blood cell count, providing the body with more oxygen. Additionally, wheatgrass is only one molecule away from human blood, hemoglobin. So when we put wheatgrass into our body, we are pretty close to a getting a blood transfusion.

OHI recommends drinking 2 ounces twice daily (plus another 8 oz in implants) and includes a strong emphasis on colon cleansing using enemas, colonics, and wheatgrass implants at  specific intervals. As a raw foodist of 20+ years, I took full advantage of this magnificent green liquid, saturating my cells with up to 52 ounces daily. And that’s just orally, hehe. (Please note that I was experimenting with my body and do not recommend this) As you can imagine, I racked up quite a few hours at the wheatgrass juicer during my stay. 😉 And, surprisingly, other than a coated tongue, I didn’t experience one detox symptom.  I even slept like a baby!

wheatgrass in the morning

wheatgrass in the afternoon

wheatgrass with friends

wheatgrass facials

crossing the tracks with a supply of wheatgrass juice  (it’s a long story…)

wheatgrass implants 😉

deep breathing in the wheatgrass  greenhouse

Here is a sample of my day:

• 6:20 am  arise & shine/meditation/24 ozs of water
• 6:40 am   wheatgrass juice (12-16 ozs oral plus 8 ounces implant)
• 7:00 am   enema (or colonic) followed by 2 wheatgrass implants/shower
• 7:30  am   exercise class
• 8:30  am  breakfast. (I requested most of my meals to be blended) sprouts w/a bit of avocado)
• 10  am      quinoa rejuvelac & water until noon
• 11:30 am   wheatgrass juice
• 12:30pm   lunch (blended sunflower, pea, fenugreek, alfalfa sprouts with avocado & seasoning)
• 2:30  am    more grass. (12-14 ozs)
• 4:30   am    stretching class/water
• 6:00 dinner (blended sprouts, greens, bell pepper, avocado, dulse)
• 8:00 enema & implants (4 oz x 2)

yesterday’s food log:

• water
• 12 ozs wheatgrass juice
• blended sprouts, bell pepper, greens, avocado
• 1 quart rejuvelac
• blended sprouts, collard, avocado, dulse
• 12 ozs wheatgrass juice
• coconut water
• more wheatgrass juice (12 ozs)
• blended sprouts, mixed greens, cilantro, garlic, dulse, flax)
• rejuvelac

Aside from wheatgrass, I made many new friends from all over the world.  Some who already had my book!

Read Full Post »

Green Juice for Good Health

Since Natasha broke her leg on the weekend I’ve been trying to help her get as many fresh raw healing foods as possible. Today I show one of the green juices I’ve been making, which includes the following:

Cucumber, Carrots, Celery, Ginger, Dill, Parsley, Kale, Broccoli stems, Nettle, Sunflower Sprouts, and some other sprouts.

Read Full Post »

Of Broken Bones & Raw Foods

Late Saturday night Natasha & Mischa were on their way home from a family gathering, when Natasha thought she’d try her hand at some stunt riding on a kids push scooter (not exactly the way she told the story, but my interpretation of things;) and she had the misfortune of falling and breaking her leg in two places.

Unfortunately Natasha is now in quite a bit of pain and discomfort, and much to her regret we’ve had to cancel a few dates for her book tour, and a workshop scheduled for this coming Saturday. I’m sure Natasha will persevere and heal herself quickly – certainly her diet and lifestyle will help her to rebuild and repair the broken bones, and to nourish her body with the best possible healing resources to help get her back on her feet.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, we’ll be taking period video clips to share here on the blog to chronicle her journey… enjoy and stay tuned for more to come…

Read Full Post »

Raising Healthy Families

As many of us move away from processed foods and towards a raw lifestyle, we start to feel the amazing health benefits associated with eating this way. Our energy level increases, digestion clears up, we shed that excess weight, our skin glows, and we’re so much happier. With this comes the realization that we also want our family to experience some of these benefits, and soon we begin to wonder (& often doubt) just how to get them on board with us.

Shifting the family to a healthier, natural diet can seem overwhelming and daunting at first. It’s hard enough changing our own diet, but how do we convert our picky eaters into fruit and vegetable lovers without the dinner table becoming a battle-field? It can be a real struggle to get family members to try anything new or healthy for that matter – especially if their taste buds have already been tainted with refined, cooked foods. And, as we all well know, ingrained habits are extremely difficult to break so the thought of changing our kid’s eating habits can feel like an insurmountable task. It is, however, possible.

The key is to start small. Take incremental “baby” steps, and focus on one change at a time. Stick with it, be patient and keep trying. Just because your child does not like something the first time, doesn’t mean that they won’t like it eventually. Explain to your family why it is so important to eat well, and be sure to set a good example as children often pick up their parents habits. If you don’t eat well, chances are your kids won’t either.

Smoothies are an ideal way of boosting vital nutrients into our kids diets. Most children prefer fruit over vegetables, so making fruit smoothies with a handful of leafy greens slipped in can be the perfect solution for getting them to eat more fresh organic produce. Over time, you can add more greens and less fruit. You can even add a little bit of flax oil, soaked chia seeds, or a touch of E3live but don’t change the original taste, texture, and appearance too quickly otherwise your little ones will notice and most likely refuse to drink that pulpy smoothie. Always transition them gently and comfortably, and remember that even small changes can make an enormous difference in your family’s health.

My son has always been an extremely picky eater, so you can only imagine my shock when I discovered that he didn’t take to eating sprouts. Being a sprout lover since the 80’s, I refused to accept this — so I began adding one lone sunflower sprout to every one of his meals. Yes, there was a lot of squirming and it took him forever to eat that little sprout, but over time he got used to eating one, then two, then three, and now – well, as you can see in the video clip below, Mischa at 13 year old, is eating mouthfuls of sprouts at every meal. 🙂

I will be teaching a “Healthy Kids & Families” workshop sometime in May so stay tuned. In the meanwhile, keep feeding your beautiful children healthy vital foods, and above all, don’t give up. It might take time for your kids to come around but if you’re patient and persevere, they’ll be chewing mouthfuls of sprouts in no time!

today’s food log:

• 4 ozs e3live
• firewater
• 32 ozs. juice (celery, jerusalem artichoke,zucchini beet, ginger)
• 1 quart green smoothie (sunflower sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, pea sprouts, parsley, pear, soaked chia)
• bowl of broccoli sprouts, azuki sprouts, mung sprouts, sunflower sprouts w/tahini dressing
• 4 ozs. wheatgrass juice
  
• glass of chia/flax pudding
• 4 soaked brazil nuts

yesterday’s log:

• 2 ozs e3live
• firewater
• 1 quart green juice (alfalfa, sunflower, zucchini, kale, celery, burdock, jerusalem artichoke)
• sprout salad (pea shoots, sunflower, broccoli, fenugreek)
• 4 ozs wheatgrass juice
• chia/flax pudding
• 4 soaked brazil nuts

Read Full Post »

The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual

The release date for Natasha’s first book, “The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Program” published by Arsenal Pulp Press, is quickly approaching. No, it’s not a joke, on April 1, the new book hits the store shelves (it’s already available for pre-orders on Chapters and Amazon), and Natasha will be getting out to promote the book, talk about the living foods lifestyle, doing a real detox (not a detox-in-a-box), and how her program can help people to make lifestyle changes that last a lifetime.

Below is a quick sneak-peak interview with the Natasha about her book. Watch this space for more videos to come!

The next Group program begins March 22 – kickstart your spring by signing up for the SimplyRaw Detox Program! You can also start the program anytime you’re ready with private coaching support from Natasha.

Read Full Post »