earth day Isla Vista 2010!

so my friend Justin and I ventured into IV last weekend to check out the Earth Day fest! It was totally awesome! free food, free information, prizes, live music.

We started over in at this booth where they gave out free fruits and veggies! I picked up 3 avocados and an interesting fruit called a cherimoya!


Its a heart shaped fruit with a hard skin that has a taste of strawberries n creme. Weird huh? I have never heard of this fruit before in my life! Nor have I seen such an interesting thing! Apparently it is a fruit that comes from the South American Andes mountains of Chile, Ecuador and Peru! This fruit is very high in Vitamin C, vitamin B6, Fiber, and Folate! It also contains riboflavin, potassium, carbohydrates, manganese, Amino Acids, and Thiamin :)

Next were some booths on Earth Day, recycling, environment, etc. It was so much fun picking up fliers about interesting things! I love learning about the environment and healthy eating!

They even gave out Non-Dairy Grapefruit Sorbet! My kind of treat!


The UCSB environmental club informed us on something called, "Meatless Mondays." Where they were to not have meat served on campus on Mondays. Its a new sort of awareness to showing how a healthy vegetarian lifestyle can be beneficial to one's health. Students will be coming to campus to share their delicious vegetarian meal on Storke lawn on the UCSB campus Monday, May 3rd. Hopefully many people can come and hopefully you can too if you live in the Santa Barbara area!
By eating less meat, having at least a day without eating meat can save an estimated 2,500 gallons of water, and studies show that raising livestock for food uses 70% of our nations corn, wheat, grains, a third of raw materials and fossil fuels. Removing meat at least one day a week can drastically reduce these numbers.
Please come check out the bountiful picnic this Monday to grab a delicious bite of fresh goodness!
a link to next week's schedule: http://www.as.ucsb.edu/

I think this is such a good idea. Its definitely a step to further reducing a carbon footprint and it's not really that much of a demanding deal to force people into a vegetarian lifestyle, just a step further to having a day to be healthy, be eco-friendly, be animal friendly, and be creative with good foods such as the magicalness called vegetables and fruit.

Great foods to have for meals!

There are so many great foods that are easy to make that will improve your health! And, obviously- they are vegitables and whole grains. Plus, they make you feel so much better about yourself and cleaner! Just make sure you have an open mind to trying out all sorts of different things, you really never know what you'll end up liking! I know I wasn't much of an orange fan in the past but being open to eating it made me more obsessed over it! Also to make sure that they are organic and to eat as much raw foods as possible! The more raw, the better!

Here's a list of foods!

-Organic Tofu
You can make anything out of Tofu these days. Tofu just tastes great with everything! Salads, scrambles, burritos, etc etc etc. Its packed with pure protein that comes from the soy bean. Its very low in Cholesterol and sodium, rich in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, selenium, calcium and manganese. Whew! All that in a simple soy product! It can also help with weight loss as well! Make sure that you get organic though, to make as a habit of sorts. Tofu is usually the stamp label of vegan foods in replacement of meat.
What I usually do for breakfast is make tofu scrambles! Soo bomb as a kickstart for the day! I usually throw in some chips and salsa for a mexican kick!

-Tempeh
Also derived from the Soy bean! This is what we use as a meat substitute! You can find tempeh in all grocery stores! Add this to salads, stirfrys, or sandwiches! Even having it by itself with some bbq sauce is legit.

-Nuts
Whether it be almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachio nuts, hazelnuts, what have you. Nuts are another great source of protein as well rich in calcium. Take into consideration that it is a high fat food, but, a heart healthy type of fat and help Lower Dense Lipoproteins (LDL's-bad cholesterol). It is recommended in a dietary plan to reduce Hypertension (chronic blood pressure), to have at least 4-5 servings a week.

-Raw Nut Butter
Again, whether it be almonds, or cashews, having it raw contains less free radicals and sodium. Much better than the processed flux that they create hydrogenated. No bueno.

-Tahini
Is also a butter coming from sesame seeds! You would have never guessed how much nutrients go into this little seed! It is enriched with copper, manganese, thiamin, phosphorus, and calcium! This is also low in cholesterol and sodium!

-Brown Rice Cakes
mmmmmmmmmm. shall I say more? Best snack ever invented. One of the best low calorie snacks out there! And its good for you! Just make sure it is the Brown kind! (think Brown rice-its healthier!). This would be great with the nut butters I've listed up top! How incredible a combination like that!

-Brown Whole Grain Pasta
Always, always, always look for the word "whole." That means it is 100%. It is a good carbohydrate that is unrefined, so you can be fueled up without feeling weak and it easier to digest! Plus they serve as another source of protein, vitamins and fiber as well as a phytonutrient! Who knew?
I love love love Mac n Chreese (chreese meaning vegan/plant version of cheese...ha!) and I always use brown whole grain pasta!

There you go! Stock em up and use for daily meals to help keep healthy and maintain weightloss!


references:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4393/2
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftmar04.htm
http://www.3fatchicks.com/10-ingredients-for-easy-vegan-recipes/

.pure vida.

ok. so i tried making a video about 4 times today but i just gave up. haha! i'll post a video another time! :)

so i had a very good day today! woke up and had fruit for breakfast: sliced strawberries, bananas, an orange and a bit o pomegranite juice! muy delicioso! you just feel so cleansed after having fruit. especially first thing in the morning!

but one thing i got stoked upon: making Hazelnut milk.

yes. you freaking hearrrrd me, Hazelnut milk :)


it was all just a curious experiment. I wanted to save up some money for buying milk, and usually i just have almond milk just because its packed with protein, calcium, low in fat and calories, etc. but i have had some nuts that were in my cabinet for awhile and wanted to put in some use into them. So i thought of the idea of making nut milk!

Benefits in Hazelnuts are:
protects against cancer and diseases, especially heart disease
rich in oleic acid and linoleic Acid
protein
vitamins B1, B2, and B6
vitamin E
its essential for blood formation and mental health-definatly good for kids!

How to make Hazelnut Milk:
-the day before you want milk, pour in a cup of Hazelnuts in a container and pour it with water.
-put it in the refrigerator and soak it for 24 hrs.
-next morning/day, grab your container and put it in a blender, along with a natural sweetner (I used Stevia)
(or mix in raw honey + cinnamon)
-blend it up until its pure milk!
-Voila! instant milk! weee!

right now i'm having a delictible dinner of salad that I picked up from Lazy Acres in Santa Barbara
and i also picked up falafals! yes!







i'm happy :)

err...raw milk?

people will do anything to have their dairy it seems and they think that raw milk is better?

what about e.coli and salmanella?

just the whole idea of drinking milk grosses me out.

you are still ingesting the bacteria that comes from a cow.

its not going to cure lactose-intolerance in people's stomachs.

but people do what they please.

check out the link! what do you think?

http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/04/09/pennsylvania-dairy-shut-down-over-raw-milk-contamination

Sleeping Beauty

Studies show that sleeping in sheds pounds. Because your body is burning calories while your body is in sleep mode.

This is the time when your body is recharging before the day is to begin!

It turns out that if you arn't getting your least 7 hours of rest, you are most likely to gain weight!

sleep=beauty.

but what if you can't sleep?!?

-writing things down like plans for tomorrow can tire you out

-reading a book

-taking a nice warm/hot bath...ahhhh

-drinking warm hot tea such as chamomile

-eating anything rich in Calcium/magnesium aids in sleeping.

that could include soy milk, spinach, almonds (nuts), etc

check out this article:

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/sleep-lose-weight.html

hello, my name is SuzanneMarie. This is my first "blog" i guess. I may put focus on nutrition in a holistic approach with personal touches :).

Anyhow, let me introduce myself! Obviously, I'm SuzanneMarie, or Zanna (as my friends in high school and back home call me). I'm from Atascadero, Ca and currently live in beautiful Santa Barbara! Going to the City College to finish my pre-reqs for nursing. goodness me!

On the side I study nutrition! I believe in healing naturally and starting to care more about the environment everyday. And animals too! No one seems to care these days or think logically either. Oh well. What can you do?

I'm going to get back to my studies now, but it was lovely to meet you! I'll keep you updated to things in my life! Talk with you later!

with Love,

~SuzanneMarie