Foodies go fossil-free

Good old fashioned elbow grease...not sure who thought that saying up - most elbows I know are quite dry, perhaps even chapped...hmm...

Well, regardless of the origin of the expression, this photo captures double the off-grid goodness.

With GSI's Vortex blender, we get a decent workout while preparing our organic green smoothies. Today it was packed with blueberries, banana, kale, coconut milk, flax powder, spirulina, coconut butter, and Chocolate Vega powder. I will say that the hand crank Vortex is no VitaMix...if you like chewing your smoothies (which I do) then it will work just fine with the kale. If you don't like to chew your smoothie (cough:::cough:::Joe:::) then, try juicing the kale first and adding it that way.

In the background you see Joe working it with our Junior Wonder Mill. This is a solid piece of equipment that we are loving! We sprouted hard wheat berries for about 3 days (which is SUPER easy with the Sproutman sprout bags) and milled them while they were moist to make a dough. With just ONE ingredient, we made sprouted wheat bread! No yeast, just sprouts and love :) We'll be posting a "how-to" video soon!

Love CRUNCH

You can rest assured that you're doing something good for your body AND for others when you buy one of these organic snacks. Love Crunch bars won't leave you wondering what happened to your money after you donate it. These treats are made in circles, and for every tasty little semi-circle that is sold, literally, it's other half is donated to starving people. It doesn't get more straightforward and transparent than this. Big ups to this company for packing in 26 vitamins and minerals, using vegan ingredients, AND delivering it all in recyclable packaging.

Organic Advertising!

We were so pleasantly surprised last night when we showed up to Next Door Cafe to teach a free community Budokon yoga class, and we saw these custom whole food bars promoting the event!

These bars had piqued our interest before, but now they really had us interested. Turns out this is a local company in Chicago that will CUSTOM make granola bars! On their website, they offer different bases, textures, fruits, sweeteners, and boosts, with many of the ingredients having the option of going o

rganic. The average cost of a custom bar seems to be around $2.99, and they'll deliver a case of 12 to your door. And the best part is...you guessed it - you get to create your own label!

Well, maybe that's not the BEST part, but it's certainly fun. Other highlights that I dig about this company are the nutrition facts (like % of carbs and % of protein) that constantly update as you create your ideal power snack. The various bases for the endurance bars are accompanied with suggestions for opportune times to utilize that particular energy bar - whether it be pre, post, or mid-race - making this is an awesome resource for athletes! Finally, Element Bars assures its customers high quality, minimally processed, all-natural ingredients, and for that, we are hyped!

Nana organic

"A Nana's heart is like a garden of love" ... Located on 33rd St and Halsted in the south side of Chicago, NANA is officially our favorite restaurant in the city! They source all organic ingredients as locally as possible, and chef Guy Meikle makes magic with them every time! This family owned business is definetly one to support. Nana even makes the chocolate for the mochas herself - blended with organic milk, these are simply the best. Today we tried the "nandict", an eggs Benedict dish with house made chorizo, poblano cream, fresh greens, and potatoes. This breakfast was also featured on the TV series, Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and now we know why - Mmm Mmm Mmm!

Beat the Traffic by Biking!

Sensei Joe is always ready for the long haul on his new utility bike, sponsored by Yuba. This thing is a beast! While we're waiting for the panniers, our cooler fits perfectly on the side, which is great for cold beverages or even just storage. The extended frame is big enough to fit 2 more people, and yes 3 of us rode on 1 bike to DMK last night, haha. If you don't know about their $8 grass-fed burgers...now you know!

You'll often find us studying over at the Next Door Cafe. This is an awesome spot in Chicago that offers FREE classes, workshops, and financial advising. These guys have given us crucial support to launch Nu-topia, our non-profit. The next free community Budokon Yoga class is tomorrow, Thursday January 12 from 6:30-7:30pm...Bring a mat and a smile!

Sun Worshipping

In the winter time, it's easy to keep our heating bill down by opening up the blinds and allowing the sun to passively heat our home. Plus, the plants and our Goal Zero solar panels LOVE to soak up the rays. I love the shadow that's cast around Sensei Joe's Geometrix organic T-shirt in this shot!

Eating Organic on the Road

Even with all the apps in the world, sometimes it's difficult to find organic/GMO-free food when you're driving for thousands of miles down our nation's highways. This is one of our favorite on-the-go lunches that is easy to store on long car trips, as all the ingredients can stand to be un-refrigerated. Sensei Joe likes his sprouted soy crunch sandwich with almond butter, banana, and local honey. I sub honey with coconut butter because I'm decadent like that ;) Try it with apples, or other great staple foods. It's easy to get creative and stay nourished all in one 5-minute meal...and it's better than a mysterious gas station burrito!

Bottled Water? No thanks...

HR 875 to Criminalize Organic Farming!?

This preposterous bill is trying to get pushed through and we may only have 2 weeks to stop it!

You can read the actual bill here: [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875]

Basically, HR875 would transfer state power over food regulation to the Food Safety Administration, a group created within the Department of Health and Human Services. It may even ban seed banking and mandate 24-hour GPS tracking of farm animals.


The regulations that they would enforce (with fines of up to one million dollars) on all 'food production facilities' (which would include all farms, vineyards, raches, and orchards) are ridiculous. The mere existence of the FSA mandates insane compliance standards and documentation that would be a serious issue for anyone except major corporations to complete. The random, unannounced regulatory system would grant government access to farms' properties, and would grant the FSA power to deem an array of practices as criminal.


The 'findings' in the bill insinuate that potential droughts and climate change in the future is a threat to our food production and that we should be taking steps to ensure resistance to these external influences. It would grant the FSA "preventative process controls to reduce adulteration of food", potentially deeming non-GMO seeds unsafe and illegal.


This bill is not about protecting our food production safety, it's about corporatizing agriculture and catering to big business.


Please check out these articles and beyond, and if you feel moved to do something about it, spread the word!

>Op ed news is calling it monsanto's dream bill
[http://www.opednews.com/articles/Monsanto-s-dream-bill-HR-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090309-337.html]

>This is an article from the john birch society
[http://www.jbs.org/index.php/health-care-freedom-blog/4643]

>Here is a direct link to contact your representative
[https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml]

>This is a petition that is worth checking out, and i also really encourage writing your representative directly
[http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/t/1128/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26714]

World Water Day!

Today, March 22, 2009 is the the 17th annual World Water Day. This day is intended to bring attention to the world's water crisis and facilitate a dialogue on transboundary water.
When we step into the simple truth that the sanctity of our water is a unifying basic need, then perhaps we may all live with more peace, respect, and harmony.

By being grateful advocates for clean water sources, we can connect our aquatic intentions and raise standards to ensure sustainability for all resolutions of our ecosystems.

My aunt and I had a conversation yesterday about her generation and the mentality about 20 years ago, when everyone just threw trash out the window, like they didn't know any better. It seems like in today's modern life, there is still so much that is taken for granted; a lot of our societal short cuts are just assumed to be the only way we do things.

I am glad most folks have come to a point where they dispose of trash properly, but our efforts for recycling and composting still have a long way to go! All of the products we use have a lot of evolving to do, as the waste that is accumulating is putting a lot of chemicals back into the earth that we will eventually be drinking back up if we're not careful.

The way that we dispose of our petrochemical and pharmaceutical waste today is atrocious. There are some regulations, but there's really no efficient system. I think it's really time to stop contaminating our water sources with these compounds that are incredibly difficult to clean out of the water. Raising awareness about how to use water as medicine first instead of pharmaceuticals is a crucial step in this paradigm. In the meantime, people should not be flushing medication, and corporations should be demonstrating their sustainable and ecologically responsible practices with transparency. It's our right as consumers to understand the whole process of what we're getting and what the true expense is. For years, we've been finding pharmaceuticals in tap water, and yet we know that bottled water and plastic have their own slate of issues, and as a society we seem to be just now reconsidering the vast implications of the importance of water in our biological paradigm...The question we should be asking ourselves is:

What's the most ecologically responsible way to consume enough high quality water on a regular basis?

I think it's time to take tap water back into our own hands.

Compared to the rest of the world, American tap water is relatively good. But municipal systems distribute the same kind of water for toilets and showers and drinking - if it were all processed to really be ideal quality drinking water, it would be far too expensive. Plus, additives like lye that neutralize the pH make the water molecules bunch into larger clusters, and the unstructured water simply is not healthy for our bodies. What was water like before the earth was polluted? What's different about the water in glacial springs, or in the Himalayan mountains that makes the people who live there so healthy?

The water in these naturally vibrant places was highly structured, alkaline, micro-clustered water. ALL of the body's systems are able to function on a more efficient level with this simply resonant anti-oxidant. The spin of the electrolyzed water is pure power for the hydro electric energy that your body uses to function.

From my experience, I would venture to say that Enagic's high-grade filters and quality ionizers are the most effective way to transform any average aqua source into Kangen water for health and healing.

Kangen means return to origin, and reflects water that has returned to its natural state.

>Check out Ancha's site with some more information on Kangen Water!

>Check out my Goodreads site for great resources like Your Bodie's Many Cries For Water by F. Batmanghelidj!

Electrolyzed Water article on front of LA Times

Yesterday, this article was on the front of the LA Times.

The buzz begins the same week as our friends Rhadiante and Brooke are bringing Kangen water to the LA Landscape Industry Show.
They will be presenting gardening solutions and more, featuring Enagic's Leveluk SD-501 home unit ionizer, which produces a full range of pH levels, from the disinfecting 2.5 to oil-emulsifying 11.5 that are capable of the cleaning powers explained in the LA Times article.

The Sheraton Delfina hotel in Santa Monica, CA recently purchased a commercial unit for about $12,000 to produce the water on site. They claim to be saving nearly $3,500 per month on cleaning and kitchen supplies, plus they are not using chemicals or wasting plastic containers.
The news video about the Sheraton points out that the biggest disadvantage is that the shelf life of electrolyzed water is low, while the benfits are high. By using only salt, water, and electricity, the machine produces a range of different pH water that is used for a range of applications.

The benefits of drinking electrolyzed water are amazing, and the technology to create it in your own home IS within reach.

Enagic's SD501 is a home-unit machine is the only one of its class that produces such a comprable range of ionized water, from 2.5-11.5. It's double dipped titanium plates and 230 watts of electricity give it an advantage over any of the other manufacturers on the market. The cost of this unit is less than one third of the amount that the Sheraton paid for theirs, and has a 5-year parts and labor warranty and a life-expectancy of 15 years. It's flow rate of 7.6 L/min is also significant enough to be used for some small-scale commercial uses.

Kangen water heals infection

Su recently had a small cyst surgically removed and the wound got infected. It became red, swollen, and something under her skin in the surrounding area seemed to be getting hard.

For 3 days, twice a day, she spritzed strong acidic water (pH:2.5) in and around the wound for 1-2 minutes. This disinfects the area, killing all bacteria within 30 seconds. Then, she patted the area with a slightly alkaline compress to maintain a neutral pH on her skin.

After just 3 days, the hardness under the skin has totally disappeared, the redness is completely gone, and the incision is healed!