Veggie Tales: Spice of Life

Hi everyone,

I'm so happy to say that everything is going great and my Spirit is completely lifted from where I was a few weeks ago.

For this weeks blog, I thought I would take a few steps back in time.  I have been meaning to share something for awhile and that is a recipe that I came up with a few weeks ago.  So, for this week I'm going to share the photos and the recipe.   I would like to open up the comments to anyone who tries it.  I'd love to hear what you thought and if you made it with any variations.  Also, if you have questions, I will do my best to answer them.  I'm not a professional chef, but I love to cook and share with others.  Now, if you try it and you don't like it, keep it nice, O.K.? I'm only saying that, because too often I've seen really nasty comments from people toward others when they didn't like a recipe.  How uncool is that.

Now, onto the recipe....

Mary Anne's Raw Vegan Chili: Made with sprouted black lentils

I actually made a meat based chili for my partner, Mark on the same day.  I'm a Raw Vegan, he's not, although he is Raw friendly and he is respectful of my personal health choice.  So, I always make two meals side by side.  I normally create meals that are similar.  It helps for prep work and shopping for ingredients.  It also helps with the cost when I can purchase items that will be shared in both of our dishes.  

Step One: Sprout beans.  I soaked the black lentils over night and then drained and rinsed them the next day.  I put the rinsed and drained lentils into a wide mouth jar, covered it with nylon and a rubber band, tipped the jar at a 45 degree angle and let it sit until the next day.  I rinsed them off and put them back in the jar, covered with the nylon and rubberband and tipped them again at 45 degrees.  I did this for five days straight.  See final sprouts in the top right photo above.  Gorgeous sprout tails and oh so tasty.  (By the way, I purchased enough beans from the bulk section of our grocery store to go toward several different meals. I think I will sprout another batch along with sprouting long grain rice.  Hmm, something new to come up with )

Step Two: Bean Mixture

INGREDIENTS:

1 C sprouted black lentils
1/8 C chopped onions
1/2 C soaked and drained walnuts
2 cloves of garlic diced
1/4 C chopped green pepper
1/4 C chopped red pepper
1/4 C chopped yellow pepper
1/2 C diced tomatoes
2-3 sprinkles of crushed red pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne 
1/2 tsp oregano
(spices can be adjusted to your own taste.  I suggest giving it some time to absorb the flavors first, taste and then adjust to what you would like extra.  Next time I'm thinking about adding cilantro) I normally do not measure spices.  I just go with a little of this, a little of that and then a little more of this :)  But, I know there are people out there who like to start with amounts, so I gave it a shot for sharing.

PROCESS: I made this in the morning and it could be made the night before you're going to have it.  I let it sit for a few hours for spice absorption   Waiting till the next day would be even better.  I love letting spices marinate into what I make.  Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.  I used my hands and inner love to blend all of the delicious spices into the beans and vegetables.  Let sit until until ready to add the sauce mixture from below.

Step Three: Sauce Mixture

INGREDIENTS:

1 C diced fresh tomatoes
1/2 C sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 T chili sauce
1/2 T tomato paste (I use the tube so it last longer and I only use what I need)
4-6 T water (lean toward 6)


PROCESS: I made this on the day we ate our chili.  Mix all of the ingredients into a food processor until your desired consistency.  A couple of hours prior to serving, mix the sauce into your bean mixture and squeeze 1/4 lime over it, a dash of chili powder and a dash of garlic powder.  Mix it all together and let it sit on the counter for a couple of hours so that spices marinate.  I covered mine.
When I was ready to eat it, I topped it with some avocado and a few extra diced onions and tomatoes.

I know I have a picture of what my final bowl looked like, but I can't find it right now. When I do, I'll post it so you can see the final dish.




This made a nice hearty spicy healthy bowl of raw vegan chili.  It warmed up my Spirit on that cold winter day, and, as the late great Mr. Food would say, "Ooh, it's so good!"




over the next week, i will be juicing and then doing an all Raw Food Green Week in conjunction with the month of green that the beautiful spirits from RAW Inc!


Peaceful Healthy Longevity
Mary Anne

---

About our Veggie Tale Blogger

Mary Anne is the owner of Ailgif Studios, Ailgif Media, and Ailgif Memories.  She lives with the love of her life, she is a mother of two grown sons, a mother in-law to two daughter in-laws, and a Nonna to a sweet little granddaughter.  She is a photographer, videographer, and visual anthropologist with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Anthropology.  Her primary focus is in documentary photography and ethnographic multi-media projects for an applied purpose. Mary Anne's work as a photographer and videographer has been used by advocacy groups and health organizations to bring awareness to social issues and chronic health issues. She also provides her skills as a photographer to low income individuals in her community who are in need of photography services.

To contact Mary Anne email: maryanne@ailgifstudios.com

www.ailgifstudios.com | www.ailgifmedia.com | www.maryannebenner.com

facebook.com/ailgifmedia |facebook.com/ailgifmemories

Veggie Tales: Letting Go

I have learned in life that each moment, is just that, a moment.  A moment in the bigger picture of our journey and like all the moments that came before it, both good and bad, they worked to make us stronger and they worked to put us on the path we were meant to be on.

I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last update.  I almost wrote "since my last confession" but that would be the Italian Catholic coming out in me. I am an Italian Catholic from New York, with an Uncle Tony: No cliches there, right?  :)

I wanted to take some time today to apologize for being so distant the last couple of weeks.

I found it difficult to write the last couple of weeks. My Spirit was down and instead of dealing with it, I let it fester inside me to where I let it hurt my Spirit deeply and I let it bind me to the pain. I found that the more I tried to control the emotion, the more it began to take hold of my body.  Moments in which I had uncontrollable shaking in my hand and in my leg and I felt as though there was a constant pressure on my shoulders and in my chest.  It wasn't until I could release it that I could begin to let go of what I was feeling and I could begin to let what was right, back into my life and it wasn't until my body made it happen, that I began to feel a peaceful calmness in the core of my being.  My Spirit is much better now and a peace has taken the place of the fear, hurt, and frustration.  I have never experienced the kind of release that I had during this time.  It was overwhelming.

I felt like everything that was stuck inside, that had become a poison to my body, came pouring out of me in the most forceful uncountable tears and all at one time.  In that moment, I felt my most vulnerable, but just like that, all that I had been holding onto over the last several years, was released along with what I was facing most recently.  It was like my body knew what it needed to do for me to be whole again and for my Spirit to be where it use to be, where it needed to be.  In all my years, I have never felt that much emotion at one time.

I wasn't sure if I was going to share this part or not in my weekly journaling, but I decided to do so because I know, that we all go through emotional moments and struggles, and some times when going through those difficult times, it can throw us off track from what we are doing for our overall health, and,  I know that my journey into being a RAW Vegan is also about the journey of personal understanding and healing as well.

I am happy to say, that even in the midst of the things that are coming down around us, I have stayed the path I started on as a RAW Vegan and did not fall into old eating habits and I did not let myself hold onto the internal self destructive habits that have been a part of my life prior.  I finally decided to deal with it head on and I released it.  In doing so, I also began to look to my past to understand the role it has in my reactions to things and the fears that I have.  I know that if I can overcome that and I can continue down this healthy path of eating, I know that I can have a healthy body and mind so that no matter what happens around me, I can be at peace and know that I will be O.K.

Peaceful Healthy Longevity
Mary Anne

---

About our Veggie Tale Blogger

Mary Anne is the owner of Ailgif Studios, Ailgif Media, and Ailgif Memories.  She lives with the love of her life, she is a mother of two grown sons, a mother in-law to two daughter in-laws, and a Nonna to a sweet little granddaughter.  She is a photographer, videographer, and visual anthropologist with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Anthropology.  Her primary focus is in documentary photography and ethnographic multi-media projects for an applied purpose. Mary Anne's work as a photographer and videographer has been used by advocacy groups and health organizations to bring awareness to social issues and chronic health issues. She also provides her skills as a photographer to low income individuals in her community who are in need of photography services.

To contact Mary Anne email: maryanne@ailgifstudios.com

www.ailgifstudios.com | www.ailgifmedia.com | www.maryannebenner.com

facebook.com/ailgifmedia |facebook.com/ailgifmemories

Veggie Tales: Perception and Change

I thought I was getting it right until I was enlighted by this journey!

Before starting this journey, it  was hard for me to understand how I could be overweight while doing all the right things for my body, as far what I was eating.  How could that be?  How could I be doing everything that was right for my internal health and yet still be in the obesity range for my BMI and how did I get to this point? How did I go from someone, who from a very young age, was interested in living healthy, who was wanting to be a P.E. teacher, who was teaching aerobics in my 20's and who was extremely active, to someone who was struggling to keep their weight at a heart healthy place.

This journey has helped me to begin examining all of the changes that I've been through in my adult life: from the healthy and lack of healthy choices I've made in my past to my current situation in which I'm trying to understand what has changed, over the last three years, that has put me back to an unhealthy weight gain and high BMI number.

Portland, Oregon 2009

Three years ago, when I was still living in Portland, Oregon, I was at 172 and when I first began this journey, in January of this year, I was back up to187-lbs.  Throughout the last six years I have been carrying an unhealthy amount of body weight for my body structure and for my heart health and I was constantly struggling to keep off what I was losing.  Even though I was a vegetarian turned vegan, my weight was still fluctuating up and down between 170 and 190.

I realize that a number on the scale isn't always indicative of poor health nor is there a one size fits all perfect weight based on height, so I never really thought about my health in terms of the number that was on the scale and for a long time in my life, I had stopped using one.  Quite frankly the scale had become my enemy for a long time because it became a source of what was making me feel bad about who I was and I found myself using the number that was on it as an excuse for why my ex-husband was no longer wanting me in his life.  I stopped seeing it as a tool for health and I began to see it as a tool for self-pity.  Although I was still smiling on the outside at the time and putting on an external perception of being confident about who I was: on the inside I was falling apart and causing a wounded spirit from my own dialogue.  I said a lot of hurtful things to myself internally and it took me a long time to heal from the internal wounds I was causing on myself.  

Our beauty is not connected to a number and yet I let that number make me feel inferior to other women, unattractive, and unworthy of love and attention.  I let those emotions and self-doubt become an integral part of who I was and it caused me to do different types of fad diets that were unhealthy for my well being and well below a healthy calorie intake, yet nothing that I was doing was changing the way I was feeling.  This was all while I was teaching aerobics and was at a healthy weight.  I was 125 lbs and in a size 5.  I'm now 187 and wearing a size 12.  It's interesting, even though I weigh more now,  I feel less overweight now than I did then and even though I'm not as active now, I feel healthier than I did then.   No doubt it's because I changed my way of thinking.  I stopped seeing my self-worth based on a number on the scale and I'm no longer trying to chase a number by any means possible.

While I no longer feel like I need to be a certain weight for acceptance,  I do know that my number on the scale in conjunction with my BMI number was putting me onto a dangerous slope and leading me toward chronic health issues.  I needed to start this year off by thinking about the way I was doing things and the way I had done things in the past in order to avoid any health issues that I was currently at risk for.   I needed to examine why, even as a Vegan, I was still at an unhealthy weight and unable to move past it and I needed to examine what I had done differently since moving here that caused me to put the weight back on.  What was I doing there that I wasn't doing here? I will continue to think through this so I can learn from my past mistakes in order to become the healthiest I can be from the lessons I'm learning.

Next week I would like to share some of the meals I've been making and information about making meals stretch when you're on a budget. 

Peaceful Healthy Longevity
Mary Anne

---

About our Veggie Tale Blogger

Mary Anne is the owner of Ailgif Studios, Ailgif Media, and Ailgif Memories.  She lives with the love of her life, she is a mother of two grown sons, a mother in-law to two daughter in-laws, and a Nonna to a sweet little granddaughter.  She is a photographer, videographer, and visual anthropologist with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Anthropology.  Her primary focus is in documentary photography and ethnographic multi-media projects for an applied purpose. Mary Anne's work as a photographer and videographer has been used by advocacy groups and health organizations to bring awareness to social issues and chronic health issues. She also provides her skills as a photographer to low income individuals in her community who are in need of photography services.

To contact Mary Anne email: maryanne@ailgifstudios.com

www.ailgifstudios.com | www.ailgifmedia.com | www.maryannebenner.com

facebook.com/ailgifmedia |facebook.com/ailgifmemories

Veggie Tales: Letting it all out

Happy Thursday everyone, I hope it is a peaceful  one for you today and for those of you living where it's colllllllllld outside, I hope you are inside where it's warm.

I apologize for not having a lot to write this week.  I have a lot on my plate today that I need to accomplish, so this is going to be a short thursday session.

Although I have a lot to do on my plate today the one thing I didn't have on my plate this week: Solid Food...O.K. well I did have a little, as much as I'm trying not to over this five day juice cleanse.  I did find myself in need of a bite of something on the third day. I felt like I was feeling a little antsy and slightly irritable, plus, as my man sat there eating his tortilla chips while I was drinking my delicious, and yes it was delicious, third vegetable juice for the day I found myself thinking I just need something to chew on.  I tried hard not to, I did.  But my desire got the best of me.  Good news though, I did not eat the chips and never again will I. Way too much salt and no more processed food for me.

I did however get up and make some Kale chips.  My first attempt at making them and they were sooooo delicious.  It was a crunchy healthy spicy snack that left me feeling satisfied with my need for something solid.  I mixed them with crushed red pepper, a little bit of olive oil and a little bit of nutritional yeast.  I almost ate a small meal that night too, but I resisted and went for the last juice of the day.

HEALTHY EATING - HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS - HEALTHY LIFE!

I am on day five of my juice fast and I  have to say, I feel more amazing and energetic than I thought I would and on top of that when I stepped on the scale this morning I discovered that I lost 7 pounds. 7 pounds of the unhealthy gunk that has been sitting in my body for the last few years: GONE and not coming back.  I was shocked to say the least.  I knew I would be losing some weight.  I figured 1-3 pounds, the average weekly weight loss that I've come to understand and accept. At first I thought, wow that is a lot in one week, but I realize that although I lost that much I have not done anything that was an unhealthy way of losing it, such as I have done in the past.  I know that's it's from all the greens I've been absorbing and the lack of processed foods that have not been a part of my life this week.

I have learned a lot since the first day of the detox juicing.  As you can see by the recipe under the photo I shared above, I was juicing half greens and half fruits.  After talking with the lady's of RAW! Inc, I realize now that it's not right for this process.  More than half of my juice detox days need to be made with greens with the fruit being an addition for flavor and not substance.  What a difference that has made in cleaning out my system ;) I will say this though, the recipe I made on the first day was delicious and I will make it again, but not until I'm finished with my juice cleansing and it will only be used as an afternoon sweet treat.

http://rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm

I really appreciate the ladies of RAW!.  I am learning so much from them as well from the reading I've been doing on my own from information I've been finding online.  I also plan on hitting the library next week for some books on living a RAW life and on nutritional balance.

One of the sites I found online shares information about the proper ph balance for your body and which foods are in similar categories in ph for optimal absorption.  I'm using it as a guideline in understanding how to mix and match what I'm putting in my body.

Seeking further advice: Does anyone have any books, articles or videos that they recommend for nutritional education and RAW understanding?

I FEEL ENERGIZED!

This week I feel like I am getting more vegetables, with greens at the top of the list, than I have in the last six years living as a vegetarian and then vegan.  There's no way I could sit and eat as much as I've been juicing in greens during the day if it was placed in a bowl and I know from past experience that if I was to eat a bowl of salad, I would be hungry within an a hour or so.  This week, minus my moment of desiring something solid, I have been mostly satisfied as far as hunger.  Day one I had a little bit of a hungry feeling in the evening, but I managed through it and was fine the next day.  Day three as I said, I craved something solid and today, I'm thinking, O.K. even though I'm feeling good, I am looking forward to a healthy solid meal tomorrow :)

This is just the beginning and I as continue to move forward I will move forward with making juicing a part of my every day living along with eating meals that don't contain starch and that aren't processed.  I'm not getting any younger, you know and I want the remaining life I have in front of me to be the healthiest it's ever been.

I AM BEAUTIFUL AND MY WEIGHT DOES NOT DICTATE MY FEELING OF BEAUTY!

I'm no longer in my early 20's thinking I have to be a certain size to be pretty for the person that I'm with or by so called society standards, better known as magazine industry standards.  We are not magazine cover bodies and neither are the men and women who grace them.  They are photo-shoped versions dreamt up by the industry and trying to fit into some ideal is not worth it.  It's not worth the constant yo-yo diets, it not worth the lack of self esteem that we feel when we don't measure up to what is pushed in front of us.

What is worth it is knowing that what I'm doing for myself and what I'm putting in my body is what is best for living life with a healthy mind, healthy spirit, and healthy body. It is thinking and knowing that the weight loss that happens on this journey is going to benefit my overall health and the issues that I currently have internally.

I do look forward to showing that weight loss does not have to come at the expense of depriving your body of things that taste good or depriving your body of so many calories that you are down to eating 500 calories a day just to fit into some dress or some ideal of what you think society expects you to be.   I want to show first hand that you can overcome medical issues that are plaguing your body with proper nutrition and exercise.

HERE I GO: LETTING IT ALL OUT!

One of the things that has been a problem for me, and I wasn't sure if I was going to say this out loud or not, but this journey is about being honest and letting it all out there.  For a few years now, I have had urinary leakage.  Not a lot, but enough that sometimes I feel damp and I can smell it and it seems to happen wether I'm sedentary or whether I'm exerting my self in exercise or heavy cleaning.  Wow, I know once I post this, it's going to be out there.  I'm a little embarrassed, I'm not going to lie.  But I also know that I'm not the only one out there with this problem.   I know my bladder  has the potential to get weaker as I get older plus I've given birth twice, vaginally and I've been carrying excess weight over the last five years.  I have been learning in this process that weight and the types of food I've been eating could be the biggest factor in the leakage that I have.  When I started this week I was at 187 and I'm only 5'1" and that's scary.  I told myself I'd never weigh that much for health reasons, and yet there I was and here I am now, slightly disappointed in where I let myself get to but feeling uplifted and revitalized in this journey that I've begun.

So as I go through this journey, I know that what I'm doing is the best gift that I can give myself: for my mind and for my body.  HEALTHY PEACEFUL LONGEVITY.

Wow, I typed more today than I thought I would.   Until next week, peace and love.

About our Veggie Tale Blogger

Mary Anne is the owner of Ailgif Studios, Ailgif Media, and Ailgif Memories.  She lives with the love of her life, she is a mother of two grown sons, a mother in-law to two daughter in-laws, and a Nonna to a sweet little granddaughter.  She is a photographer, videographer, and visual anthropologist with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Anthropology.  Her primary focus is in documentary photography and ethnographic multi-media projects for an applied purpose. Mary Anne's work as a photographer and videographer has been used by advocacy groups and health organizations to bring awareness to social issues and chronic health issues. She also provides her skills as a photographer to low income individuals in her community who are in need of photography services.

To contact Mary Anne email: maryanne@ailgifstudios.com

www.ailgifstudios.com | www.ailgifmedia.com | www.maryannebenner.com

facebook.com/ailgifmedia |facebook.com/ailgifmemories

Veggie Tale: Week of Understanding

Hi everyone, It's been one week since I first began this journey and in this week I have spent a lot of time reading and developing an understanding of the process of preparing food and the reasons behind why it's done that way.

I've also spent a lot of time looking at recipes and looking at things that I can do as I transition from a high starch vegan to a raw vegan.  I'm still in that stage of figuring things out and in the process of waiting on an order I placed for a juicer so I can begin a week long detox.  In the meantime I've been using what I have left in my fridge as far as fruits and vegetables as well what I had left in tofu and tempeh.  I only had a little left and wanted to use what I had remaining before walking away from it completely.

While this isn't the first time that I've started down this path to being a RAW Vegan, this is the first time I have had others on this journey with me and because of them, I have a lot more information to help me as I learn.   I know I can succeed on this path and I know I can get through some of the struggles ahead while at the same time learning about nutritional balance and recipe variety.

Variety was one of my struggles the first time I tried going from a vegetarian to a raw vegan and one of the worries that I had when considering my journey this time.  Can I get the variety and tastes that I enjoy as a vegan who is use to cooking food and who is use to using tofu, tempeh, and vegan cheeses as a base in some of my meals. The first time that I turned to being a raw vegan, about four years ago, I found myself eating primarily raw fruit, a hand full of nuts, and salads.  I had no idea what I was doing. I only knew that I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle.  As tasty as the fruits, nuts and salads were, it left me feeling like I was giving up something and it left me feeling dissatisfied.  I felt like I had no where to turn for the education and recipes that I needed.  I didn't have a dehydrator, I didn't have the support I do know, and I didn't know that I could incorporate a lot of what I do now into a raw vegan eating plan.   It didn't take long for me to switch back to being a vegetarian.  I think part of it was also that I was still eating fish, cheese, and yogurt.  Switching back not only gave me the variety that I needed, but the spices that I craved as well.  It has taken me a long time to get back to this point again.  I was afraid I would run in to the same problem and I was uncertain that I could I live a life of a raw vegan without getting bored and without feeling lost.   But, I have since seen, in the last year, from companies like RAW Inc! that there are soooooo many things that can be made, including sweet tasty treats, YUMMY raw goodness.

A couple of things I did struggle with this week.  Thinking ahead for food preparation.  I didn't really put a lot of thought into what I would need ahead of time and I'm not able to go grocery shopping till this weekend.  So, I felt a little limited this week.  I also missed having hot food this week, I'm not going to lie.  I like hot food.  Especially now in the cold months.

Winter months are the months I prepare a lot of soups: split pea and lentil soup being my favorites.  I know that I can still prepare them by sprouting the beans and incorporating all the spices and vegetables that I would normally add, but it's the warmth of the soup that I crave in the winter.  I need to check to see if I can still warm it up just as long as I keep it below 115 degrees.   Advice greatly appreciated :)

RAW Vegan Fruit Blended Parfait
by Mary Anne Benner

I am excited to say that I am currently waiting on a nutri-bullet that I ordered.  As soon as that comes in I'll be juicing for a week in order to cleanse my body of the toxins that exist.

During this least week however, I have been going through what I have left in the refrigerator and working on recipes with what I currently have on hand.  This morning I made this delicious raw vegan blended fruit parfait using pears, bananas, raw almonds, cinnamon, and raw sunflower oil and seeds.   it was DELICIOUS.  It also gave me another idea.  I'm going to purchase raw vegan cocoa when I go grocery shopping this weekend and test out the idea.  If it's as tasty as I think it's going to be, I will share the recipe next week.  I'm planning on doing a video blog session for next week so I'll shoot video of me preparing it as well.  I will do my best to measure ingredients.  Normally I just cook with what feels right when I'm preparing it.  I never measure spices, but I will try for this.  Wish me luck!

RAW Vegan Stuffed Portobello Mushroom
by Mary Anne Benner

MMM, another recipe I put together last night was a stuffed portobello mushroom made with raw sunflower seeds, spinach, nutritional yeast, onions, green peppers, fresh garlic, basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary.  Great taste and aroma.  The only thing I would have preferred would be for the mushroom to be softer.  I normally prepare the mushrooms in a pan on the stove which softens them up. 

Is it wrong to warm things up?  

I still have a lot to learn, after all it's only been a week and while there are some things I'm going to miss (pasta and warm soup), I am excited to know that I have a lot of variety ahead of me and good friends for support and knowledge.  

Prepared to incorporate my italian background and my love for baking tasty treats into Raw Vegan recipes.  I am determined to tweak a lot of what I prepare normally through the process of cooking so I can enjoy it as a raw vegan.   

Peace and Love

Mary Anne 

About our Veggie Tale Blogger

Mary Anne is the owner of Ailgif Studios, Ailgif Media, and Ailgif Memories.  She lives with the love of her life, she is a mother of two grown sons, a mother in-law to two daughter in-laws, and a Nonna to a sweet little granddaughter.  She is a photographer, videographer, and visual anthropologist with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Anthropology.  Her primary focus is in documentary photography and ethnographic multi-media projects for an applied purpose. Mary Anne's work as a photographer and videographer has been used by advocacy groups and health organizations to bring awareness to social issues and chronic health issues. She also provides her skills as a photographer to low income individuals in her community who are in need of photography services.

To contact Mary Anne email: maryanne@ailgifstudios.com

www.ailgifstudios.com | www.ailgifmedia.com | www.maryannebenner.com

facebook.com/ailgifmedia |facebook.com/ailgifmemories

VEGGIE TALE: A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

Hi everyone, today I begin my journey from a high starch vegan to the life of a RAW Vegan.  Over the course of this year I will self document my journey through the use of videography, photography and written words.   As I journey forward, I will be honest about the moments in which I struggle, about the moments in which cooked food enters, and about the things that I miss the most, but also on this journey forward: I will share the positive light that exists on the road ahead of me. 

Nonna Figlia and Uncle Tony

Today, I begin writing with a step into my genetic past in order to acknowledge that chronic illness is a part of my internal make-up and how it is a factor in my decision to let go of the foods that have weighed me down physically.  

I can not escape my genetic past, but I can learn to make healthy choices that will diminish 

my chances of acquiring many of the diseases that have taken my family members and that currently plague members of my family now. I pray that my journey into a raw vegan lifestyle mixed with body movement will also be a testimony to other members of my family. 

Genetic Diseases that have plagued my family:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Multiple types of cancer
• Under-active thyroid
• Alzheimers
• Glaucoma 

My birth father passed away when he was in early 40's from a heart attack and my half-brothers, from my father, have suffered health issues related to heart disease.  Both of them are in their 40's and one of them is my exact age (I know, scandalous story on that one).  Each of them have had a heart attack, one of them has had bi-pass surgery.

My sweet beautiful mom on the left and
my sweet beautiful Aunt Marie.  A few month
before my Aunt Marie died of bone cancer.

My mother suffered from mental illness in her early adult life and several chronic illnesses throughout her life.  Some of her illnesses were genetic and some of them were due to the unhealthy choices she made.  My mother, although she has since passed away, survived breast cancer, colon cancer and uterine cancer.  She also had congestive heart failure, diabetes and an under-active thyroid.  She was on multiple medications that at times affected her negatively due to their interaction with each other.  Although unhealthy for the majority of her adult life, my mom worked hard to get healthy in the last few years of her life on this earth.  Right before my mother passed away, she was just starting to lose weight, eating the healthiest she had ever eaten and she was becoming more active, but the years of unhealthy eating, disease and excessive weight had taken too much of a hold on her body and in the end was too weak to continue.  She was a beautiful spirit and I know that she is still around me, because at times I feel her presence as though she is sitting next to me.

My aunt from my mother's side passed away from bone cancer and my grandmother was stricken with alzheimer's.  I know that there are some things that can not be avoided completely and we are still learning about the many causes of cancer and alzheimer's disease, but I do know that I can do as much as I can to be the healthiest that I can be: mentally and physically and I can give myself the best chance for holistic longevity for a better quality of life in the time that I have on this earth.  

I am not old, but I am no longer young in my years.  At 48, I am realizing even more the importance of the choices that I make for the longevity of my mind and body.  I want the next half of my life to be one that is built on health and awareness and internal peace.  Not that I have lived a life of unhappiness and unhealthiness, but I have spent too many years holding on to hurtful moments of my past and have over the last few years spent less time outside doing the things I enjoy doing and making choices, even as a vegan, that have been unhealthy for my body.  What I have held onto from my past has continued to manifest itself in insecurities and self-doubt and what I have chosen to eat has manifested itself in weight gain and bloating.  So, as I move forward in this journey, I move forward with a new lease on eating healthy, and a renewal of my spirit as I let the wounded little girl free, and as I learn to eat food that is free of harmful chemicals, starches, and that which is heavily processed.

I have a lot to learn over the course of this year and I am so thankful for the loving and knowledgable support that the ladies of Humbly Peax and Love and RAW Inc! are giving me.  I could not make this journey without them.  It is through their lessons that I will begin to understand the holistic nature of the foods that I eat, and the negative side affects that the foods I chose to eat before have had on my health.  I have been a vegetarian for six years and a vegan for a little over a year but even in that process of living a healthier lifestyle, I have chosen foods, that although seemingly healthy, were not what was best for my body.

I am not a great writer and I know that some weeks there will be less written than others, but I hope that as I document my journey over the next year, that my story will show that we are never too old to change, and with the help of community support and knowledge shared, that we can stay the course of our journey and we can alter the genetic make-up that waits to take hold of our bodies.  I also hope that in my journey, I reach others who are like me.  I do not live alone and the man that I love is a carnivore. I have already learned as a vegan how to prepare similar meals side by side, but now my journey will take me to another level of thought and preparation with what I eat, while at the same time preparing a meal for him.  I am also living in a low income situation with a food budget of $250.00 a month for the both us.  So, the choices I make and where I can shop are based on finances, but I know that it will be doable and I hope to show that you can still make healthy choices even when you are in a low income situation and living with others who do not share your eating habits.

My Journey begins.....

About our Veggie Tale Blogger

Mary Anne is the owner of Ailgif Studios, Ailgif Media, and Ailgif Memories.  She lives with the love of her life, she is a mother of two grown sons, a mother in-law to two daughter in-laws, and a Nonna to a sweet little granddaughter.  She is a photographer, videographer, and visual anthropologist with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Anthropology.  Her primary focus is in documentary photography and ethnographic multi-media projects for an applied purpose. Mary Anne's work as a photographer and videographer has been used by advocacy groups and health organizations to bring awareness to social issues and chronic health issues. She also provides her skills as a photographer to low income individuals in her community who are in need of photography services.

To contact Mary Anne email: maryanne@ailgifstudios.com

www.ailgifstudios.com | www.ailgifmedia.com | www.maryannebenner.com

facebook.com/ailgifmedia |facebook.com/ailgifmemories