The Raw Routine

A bit of a rant on the beauty industry

I was so excited to schedule my appointment to a "cosmedispa" to get a facial a few weeks ago with my friend Michele. We tried to coordinate our schedules to go at the same time but since we bought in on a deal (a 1 hour facial for just $25) there were no back-to-back or same day appointments.

So, we booked our appointments according to the time that was best for us individually and set out to go. She had hers on Sunday and called me up squealing about the experience saying "It's not like Exhale (a spa we frequent) but I think you'll really like it. This may be my new spot!"

I was excited. Even though I knew that this facial was only $25 the thought of having a more convenient place to go (it's a straight line from the office) was encouraging. I arrived at my appointment eager and happy. The technician took the usual look at my skin, told me how "clogged" it was and began to steam my face. She put the steam so close to my face that I had to tell her to change it because I couldn't breathe! That was the first strike.

National Vegetarian Month - Interview with Beatrice Johnston

I have a great idea and I'd like for any of you to join in with me. I would like to do interviews this month with vegetarians in honor of National Vegetarian Month. Since I'm just at the inception of this idea I'll start with myself and try to upload a new interview every few days (hopefully we'll get some video and audio interviews too) . If you're a vegetarian and would like to participate, simply go to my website at http://rawpathways.com/contact.shtml and drop me a note.

Here's the first one with me, Beatrice Johnston

1) How old are you and where do you live?

I'm 39 years old and reside in Jersey City, NJ, just across the water from New York, NY

2) How long have you been a vegetarian?

For 23 years. I became a vegetarian at 16 yrs old.

3) Why did you become one?

I did a research report on Factory Farms and I couldn't believe how nutrition-void our food was. I found out a lot about hormones, the food-illness link and how pesticides and things like MSG were entering the scene. At the time I also happened to be working at McDonalds so I was familiar enough with the mass-production industry to know that it didn't encourage health.

4) What's been your biggest obstacle?

My biggest obstacle in the beginning was finding fresh produce in my Chicago neighborhood. We didn't have any major supermarkets near me, and the small convenience stores in the neighborhood did not have produce unless it was in a can or box. It took me years to learn how to get nutrition onto my plate. For the first few years I considered my self a pasta-tarian.

5) Did you have any health issues before cutting out meat?

Not really, I think the most frustrating thing for me was that I was so skinny. Surprisingly, once I became vegetarian I started to gain wait, but this could also have been puberty? I had the typical onset of pimples and stuff like that, but going vegetarian didn't really change that much. I hated my skin, but it wasn't until years later that I'd discover other stuff, like sugar and dairy, would clear it up.

6) What difference do you see in your health?

Well, I've never had to be concerned with my weight, which is a good thing. The bigger change for me was cutting out sugar and dairy, because I had asthma and it kept getting worse until I gave up the dairy. That was major for me! I switched my dairy choices to soy choices and all of a sudden I could breathe again, and breathing is pretty important, ya know? Also, my nails and hair have always grown super-duper fast. I cut my hair less than two years ago to within 2 inches of my head and by March of this year it had all grown back past my shoulders. I'm pretty sure that had to do with nutrition. I guess another weird benefit is that when I'm working out or exerting myself I don't stink. In that way, you really are what you eat, so just like the breath will indicate to someone what you've had to eat, so will your pores.

7) What influence do you think you've had on others?

Well, that's an easy and far reaching one since I've been veggie for so long. I'm always sharing what I know on the practical side of things and have seen friends and family members transition to healthier choices. My sister has changed what she eats and feeds her kids and includes more whole grains now. There are a lot of choices that have been made by individuals I encounter just as many people that I encounter say something to wake me up and instill change in me

8) Can you describe a typical day of meals for you?

Well, no day is really typical for me, because I eat according to many things such as the season, or my mood. Generally I'll have either fruit or a fruit smoothie for breakfast though I do sometimes treat myself to a muffin, especially on some Saturdays when I treat myself to my sugar free vegan chocolate chip muffins. All of my friends, rather meat eaters or veggies absolutely love them.

Lunch will always depend on how busy I've been the day before and rather I woke up in enough time to make my lunch. I eat a lot of raw foods so sometimes it'll be salad and sometimes it may be flax crackers and nut pates or even something much less healthy like the vegetarian burrito bowl from Chipotle. I'm human and not out to be the next guru or anything so I eat for myself and my health and not to live up to any of those "label standards" that are out there.

Dinner is the most volatile meal for me, because it really depends on how much food I've had earlier that day. Sometimes I've had enough during the day and am not hungry in the evening and at other times I'll eat something quick and easy. I don't spend much time on dinner unless it's on the weekends, so it's always something easy and lite.

Within all of that I also eat some snacks too. I don't snack every day, but I do eat sweet stuff (like the muffins I mentioned earlier). I keep my fridge stocked with fruit and nuts so that my snacks are healthy and at work I keep pecans and medjool dates for an "instant candy bar". It kills any cravings that I have without depleting my energy.

9) What's your next goal in nutrition?

I'd like to get more creative and elaborate in the kitchen. There are a few recipes that I've been wanting to try but simply haven't made the time to do, such as raw taco shells and growing wheat grass. I'm hoping I'll carve out the time to make those things happen soon. I also endeavor to help everyone that I encounter to eat healthier... It's a dream, but when even one person responds positively by moving towards a healthier choice for their day, I am fulfilled. I'm cheesy like that, I really like people.

No Impact Man - my honest review about the movie and the message

Last night Darren and I went to see the movie No Impact Man at the Angelika Theatre. Initially we had planned to go to see this movie next week with our Meetup Group, but yesterday found out that it was the last night so we dropped everything to catch it.

The movie is a simple story about a Manhattan family, Colin Beavan, his wife Michelle and their 2 year old child Isabelle, who decide to take a higher commitment than normal and "go extremely green" for a year. Slowly they start to eliminate things in their lives that cause harm to the environment such as television, chemical cleansers packed in plastic packaging, eating imported foods and all packaged foods and electricity. Being a vegan that consumes a high-raw diet, I could appreciate the foundation. They actually end up buying much of their food from the Union Square Farmer's Market, right by my office.

Overall the movie was enjoyable, though surprisingly I was only slightly inspired by it. I was expecting much more motivation and jolt towards practical green living decisions but the movie only scraped the surface. Mind you, when I say scraped the surface I don't mean in their decisions, but in their portrayal of them. We see the obvious external struggle, such as having no heat in the winter, but at no point do you actually connect with them emotionally. Perhaps it's me, but in a movie such as this, you expect an emotional connection... I doubt many of us would go a week living in extreme lack such as them and not have a breakdown or a few more AHA! moments. I'm sure there were some, it would be impossible not to have some, but they don't share that with the camera which leaves a gap in the communication. I do believe this was Colin's attempt to keep the story respectable without turning it into a reality tv style farce, but connection was surely needed. Why document a year of your life, to show people that we can make proactive steps to heal the world, without showing the internal struggle involved?