Another great class here at High Vibe last night focused on optimal diet during the winter months. We arranged our chairs in a circle and had a really pleasant evening of lecture and question-and-answer.
Dagger emphasized the importance of getting more green into our lives, especially during the winter months when there's less sunshine available. One great way to do this is to drink lots of green juices, which he described as "liquid sunshine." This is literally true, because the element that makes green juices green is chlorophyll, which is what plants create from the sun they receive! Here at High Vibe we always emphasize keeping things simple, and one of the most powerful and simplest steps towards getting more green into your life is drinking green juice, which is more widely available now than ever! Not only can you get them at juice bars, there is a wide range of juicers like the Breville Elite, recommended by Natalia Rose, the Breville Juice Fountain Plus, and the Breville compact. Juicing is a great way to get those leafy greens like kale and spinach into your diet, as well as the high water content vegetables like cucumber and celery, which are a fantastic source of pure water. Toss an apple in for flavor and you've got the tastiest greens around!
Beyond juicing ideas, Dagger also brought up a few ways to bring the greens into the holiday season. So often we go to parties where we're invited to bring dishes - so we have a few tips on what to bring. You can get really creative with salads and dressings. It's a great way to make sure there's something at the party you can eat, as well as providing others with exposure to the joys of greener living! One great way to treat a leafy green like kale for a salad is to mix it with lemon juice and olive oil - the dressing will make the leaf more tender and palatable. A really simple and wonderful dressing is olive oil, nutritional yeast and spirulina flakes, all tossed together. It tastes quite like Caesar dressing! Another possibility is to thin down your favorite nut butter (we particularly like sunflower seed butter and, of course, almond butter - another fantastic option is tahini!) , add some apple cider vinegar and toss with soy lecithin. Also - did you know that thinning down nut and seed butters are the easiest way to make nut milk? There's nothing quite like freshly made nut or seed milk made via blender and nut milk bag, but it's a great trick to keep in mind!
Dagger also spent some time on a few supplements that are easy to add to your daily foods, as needed. He reviewed the different kinds of blue-green algae. The spirulina mentioned above is harvested from the ocean, and the flakes blend well with smoothies, salads, juices.... however is easiest for you! Other options include chlorella tablets, which are harvested from lakes, or E3 AFA, harvested from the famous Lake Klamath. The purest way to get your algae is as E3 Live, a frozen supplement. Blue green algae is an astonishing source of sea minerals and B vitamins - a great way to balance the earth's nutrition of vegetables with the sea's nutrition. Another tasty and nutrient-rich food is bee pollen, which is a complete amino acid and a sweet treat to put in your food! He also brought up hemp seeds and powder, which are a great plant source of protein.
Just as important as what we eat, though, is how much we eat, how it's proportioned, and the way we eat it. Dagger really brought home the point that one of the essential keys to longevity and health is, quite simply, to eat less. Eat lightly, throughout the day, and give your body a chance to digest what you've given it. Furthermore, an ideal proportion in a meal is 70-80% water-rich foods, by weight. (This is part of why juices are so helpful!) Finally, remember that foods that are prepared with love and eaten with care and gratitude will always nourish us more!
Our next monthly class will be on detox and acid-alkaline balance, on Wednesday, January 2nd.
We at High Vibe are looking forward to a healthy and green holiday season, and wish you all the best for you, your loved ones, and this lovely and abundant planet we share!