Project Mayhem discussion

What is your favorite thing about Barack?
List them here.

I like his HealthCare plan.

I think one of the biggest myths of our culture is that more refined, faster, bigger, cheaper meals are the way to go. Everything that I've read on the matter suggests differently. To be honest, as an avid meaty, takeout, fast and easy meal lover it was very upsetting and difficult to find that all signs point to a Raw Vegan diet as the most nutritious and healthy alternative for our bodies.

ugh

But where would you get your protein???
- Where do cows get their protein?

What about your calcium???
- There is plenty of calcium in green leafy vegetables

Doesn't it taste awful???
- There are so many fun raw recipes that are delicious! I made a raw mango cheesecake last week.

Isn't it expensive???
- Organic stuff costs a little bit more than regular, but one organic apple has the nutritional value of 3+ non organic apples, and the same is true across the board
- You save money on doctor's bills and insurance
- Plus, a 99 cent apple as opposed to a 99 cent burger...which one does more for ya'? People pay more for better cars, clothes, etc....why do we skimp on our food?

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I hope this paves way for a great discussion! What do you think about Raw Food? Do you care about nutrition or health? Spill it!

Oh my...SO many places to go with that kind of a topic! I guess to start I should say that I'm not the kind of eater I want to be. I don't put nearly enough emphasis on health and I think that has been because, so far, I've had really good health naturally. I've always been healthy and there's not really been push towards "change" so inertia has carried me into bad habits (I drink more soda than anyone you know, I'm sure) which aren't hurting me yet, but which will in the years to come. The body breaks down with time and just because mine hasn't started yet doesn't mean I am immune.

That said, we live in an age where eating healthy is, in my opinion, amazingly simple to do. The biggest hurdle seems to be cost and even that can be managed, if you make eating healthy a priority.


Here's a link to an interesting article about the cost of calories:
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2...

Priority...that's the key word here. Eating healthy is, almost by definition, more difficult than not. McDonalds simplified cooking a meal to saying "I want a number 2 with a coke". It's hard to get more simple than that.

But I think that fast food could be healthy, and probably should be, but it seems that corn syrup is just so damned cheap and subsidized.

Damn.

You OK Sparky?

I totally understand your frustrations, though, and luckily the only person that you are officially responsible for is yourself. So if you do what you can, others will see and follow suite and the people who differ with how you operate will fall to the wayside. What's the saying...those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind? Well modify that accordingly, lol.

This guy on here has a profile picture that says something like "Socialism Sucks, Defeat Hilary" or something...I sent him a message that said:

"Hope you don't mind the random message, but do you realize that by pushing against anything you only give it more power?

The first thing I saw when I read your pic was Hilary. I happened to glance at it again later and read the whole thing and thought "Oh, he dooooesn't like her..."

Just thought I'd tell ya'."

It's the same with this stuff. Just focus on what we can do, and the good in things and we'll proliferate those things more than the stuff we fear and hate.
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Rob, I used to WISH I was like you, able to eat and do what I wanted and not gain weight or break out or feel shitty...but now I see it as a total blessing that I gain weight and get spotty, lol.

I am a quick rendering mirror for what I do (and don't do) to myself. If I eat dairy, I immediately get bloaty and get mucusy (ew, I know)...If I drink soda, I immediately feel my face get greasy and I break out soon after....If I eat meat, I immediately want to go to sleep....when I don't exercise...OK you get the point, lol.

But man, you have to be SO much more careful because your reactions may show up as cancer or diabetes or I don't know...erectile dysfunction :-p

But I'm still a big girl even though I'm eating healthier. It's really hard to get to the fully raw vegan stage, but I'm glad that I have an answer, even if it's not one that I liked at first. I've noticed that my taste buds actually adjust. The less salt I use, the less animal products I eat, and the more I find healthy alternatives, the better things taste and the more I don't like how the crap I used to eat tastes...it's weird.

Hi Michelle,

How about giving Twenty-Third Avenue Books a try? The owner is Stephanie, she's great. They're also on Goodreads, check them out. Also, Borders downtown may be a thought. Keep us posted on where you're going to be talking.

Karen

I'd recommend Reading Frenzy. They're specifically devoted to local and/or independently published stuff.

one thing i DONT like is he supports abortion!

he does not support abortion
barack obama even said
"No one is pro-abortion"
he just thinks there shouldnt be a law forbidding it.

what ever

u r just supporting him cuz u like r in luv with him

no
he is just the best canidate

i don't care

maggie that was really random and kind of funny but mostly random

Oh my god, no I was just messing witcha. I appreciate the ferverence in your tone, honestly. I think I'm a lil too laid back sometimes...especially about things that I think are serious. I reallly tone it down as not to worry anyone, but I need to be more like YOU! These are VERY serious matters. Maybe you and Rob will rub off on me and I'll get some fire under my ass to say what I mean and not beat around the bush or be afraid I'm offending anyone.

I love you guys!

But about me? Discipline? HA!! I am like 200 lbs man...I think that's why I hesitate to push ideals that I myself believe in, but find difficult to embody. It's almost like knowing where the fountain of youth is, but being so used to taking a certain bus line that it's hard to get off and walk the unbeaten path.

But I'm doing ok, I think. I have a lot of support, I'm at least 100% vegetarian now...working on transitioning to vegan then raw. Also, I used to be a lot bigger, so I know that I'm making progress with my weight and health. About the larger picture, though...because of eating more raw and doing so much research, my family and I have cut our gas and energy usage, I recycle more, I ride my bike whenever I can so I don't have to use my car...

Don't worry about waiting for you or someone else to come up with a huge beach vacuum...sometimes you gotta just throw back the starfish that you can.

Well, I guess I just wanted to take it outside of the realm of discipline period...kinda like the old 'if I can do it, anyone can do it' argument. But wow, thank you so much. But just like I said before about things being a domino effect for the people around you, you'll be surprised at how you start one within yourself as soon as you begin to change just a little.

For instance, my interest in eating healthier lead me to see just why my eating is unhealthy to begin with, then you see the big players involved who'd like to keep it that way, then you see how others have been affected by it, then you start to try to meet other people who know about these atrocities, then you discuss how to help each other, next thing you know...you're at charity events passing out information on how you don't have to get cancer/fibromyalgia/heart disease/diabetes/arthritis/Alzheimer's/etc. in the first place.

i ment that it is not effecting me and i really don't care whos pres. as long as its not hilary


libby he just said women should have the right to chose abortion not that they have to

shut up thats what i ment. :( u r mean. jk! i dot really care either.

Personally I could never cut meat out of my diet, but I don't like to eat fast food at all, and I very rarely do. I love to cook, and making a nice pork and chicken stir fry, or home made beef and pork burgers is so much fun, and tastes to amazing... But I always balance, like if I make a vegetable and meat stir fry, I always have a side of rice, or if I make burgers, I have them on a whole wheat bun, and top them with vegetables and make a salad to go on the side. And a little fruit afterwards always helps wonders for digestion. When you cook all your own meals, balancing your diet is super easy. I love omelet and bacon for breakfast, a nice whole wheat meat and veggie sandwich for lunch, and rare steak, salad and bread for supper... Or something equally as awesome... And I love to make sushi, or have barbecued eel and mushroom rice... And baking my own goodies has always been something of a meditation for me... With a healthy and delicious reward at the end! The key is portion control and fresh ingredients. Instead of eating a huge breakfast, a miniscule lunch, and an even bigger dinner, try having a small breakfast, a small lunch, and a hearty dinner, with a small desert. Like a bowl of cereal, a sandwich or a soup, and then a nice home-made pizza or pan-fried fish and salad, with a muffin or a piece of fruit as dessert, if you even need dessert at all! Though I do recommend fruit after supper, because as I've said, it helps with digestion.

Can you are at trip, chica lol. I could have like, a whole menu for the week after that post! But the one thing I'd shy away from saying is "I could never"

I swear to God, lol, that I said that when I was working in the Hamptons and I was talking to these two little boys who were raw foodists. I had no understanding of what it was and I just remember feeling SO sorry for them that they'd never had chewing gum or a birthday cake. They said, "oh no we have birthday cakes made out of nuts and stuff" and I just got this terrible image in my head. No hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs....I COULD NEVER DO THAT!

And now I totally envy them. I WISH my parents raised me to have a better understanding of food and what it does to your body. I absolutely abhor that I am addicted to cooked food. But I'm slowly transitioning. Now, my idea of raw birthday cake is:
http://goneraw.com/recipe/image/1830/...

and my favorite...raw cheesecake:
http://goneraw.com/recipe/image/2546/...

And hamburgers?
http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photo...

Ok, so instead of "I could never" I'll rephrase it as "I don't want to," though I do admit I should cut pork out of my diet.

The thing is, even with the oldest and most simple of stove units (wood stove, you know? I'm talking time of the log cabins stove) or a simple open fire, I could still make all of my favorite dishes (it would just take a little creativity on the part of open fire cooking, because I would need to think of ways to substitute with whats around me).

But I've cut out all canned foods, almost all fast food (with a few exceptions, like when a friend takes me out to lunch), and all pre-prepared foods. I make everything myself, and its all so healthy. I mean, a lot of the stuff I make, Europe and Asia have been living off of for centuries, and they are SO healthy over there. So much more healthy than North America. So the fact is, I don't have to switch to a raw diet, mines fine how it is. Because I know I be healthier than every single person on my street, if not in my entire section of the city!

Don't we have, like, silos full of soybeans just rotting away in this country because of some sort of farm subsidy or something? Where did I hear that...?

Yeah, I heard that too. Wheat and other grains as well....

There are too many travesties in this world to really count though I guess :-p

I'm thinking of taking the slow road to vegetarianism (I've been there before, but I also tried to quit smoking about 4 or 5 times before I actually did it). Anyway, a VERY slow road, but I started last week. I'm keeping fish/seafood because I just love it and quite frankly, I dont' think those animals know they are getting killed. I think the other animals know it and that's why it's so cruel to eat meat. Unfortuantely, it does tase soooo good, and that's why its hard to give up. That and the fact that the roomie (we eat together every day, as we're more like sisters than friends) WILL NOT give up meat and she hates tofu.

ramble, ramble, ramble--I have a tendency to ramble. Ok so if y'all have any recipes, bring 'em on!

(has nothing to do with convorsation right now, but right on topic)...

When you eat a hamburger (bluh), you can be eating up to one thousand different cows, and some of their manuer!

Vegans live 6 years longer than meat eaters.

The average vegan total cholesterol level is 128. The lowest level for a heart attack is 150.

Just thought you'd like to know. XP

What matters to me is how I feel after I eat or drink something.

Generally I feel sluggish after eating meat or refined/processed foods...

Fruits and veggies as close to their natural state as possible seem to work me better.

Although there are some of THOSE that DON'T work for me but they seem to be due to my blood type...

I have to say tho that my 79 year old grandma -- who eats any and every thing -- has never ever been sick, is not on any medication (and never has been), mows her own lawns, does all her own house work, and walks for miles...