But even though she’s got a huge following and we have a small one, Blythe really needs the support of our little EasyGreen community.

That’s right, us! Read on, and I’ll explain.

When I heard about her awesome Stop Monsanto! film project, I knew you’d be as psyched as I was to hear about it. So I planned to put it up on the blog and shoot you a letter, which I’m finally getting round to now – a week later. My plan was to rally the troops with a short rah-rah message, (after giving to the project myself, of course), and be done with it. But as I compared the screenshot below to the image I took today beneath it, my heart skipped a beat.

I realized Blythe’s film’s in trouble! Compare these two pictures…

Sometimes even Hollywood film producers need our help. In the six days between shots, the campaign to launch it only raised about $6,000. At that rate, they’ll never reach their $150,000 goal! Do they really need our money? Probably not; but they do need us to help spread the word and make a token gesture – a dollar or two from a lot of people helps.

When it comes to stopping Monsanto, five is a hugely symbolic number. Why five? Hang in; I’ll explain.

In the past, Blythe has provided EasyGreen’s blog followers with beautiful, nutritious recipes. She also provides countless hours of loving support to a whole raw food community in LA and far beyond. She has influenced many thousands of people to change their ways of thinking about food. I can confidently say that what she teaches saves lives. Recently, she teamed up with Hollywood’s Mariel Hemmingway and Patricia Woolworth to do something about Monsanto. Here’s their message:

“We’re fed up with Monsanto and how they’re treating farmers and consumers,so we decided to make a movie about it. We want to know whether the foods we eat contain GMOs (they better not!) and we think that all foods should be properly labeled. We hope the movie is entertaining and helps educate viewers about what Monsanto is doing and what the company stands for. By donating and supporting the film, you have the chance to help stop Monsanto!”

Stop Monsanto! begins quite innocently when the main character of the film decides to attend an anti Monsanto rally to get into the good graces of an ex-girlfriend. At the rally, his eyes are opened, and he joins forces with several like-minded young people who work together to get the word out about GMO crops. To get press attention, they decide to perform some outrageous stunts that put them directly in Monsanto’s line of fire.

Now I’m no Blythe Metz, but I do know all about David and Goliath. My dad was a missionary, and it didn’t matter what country his little family landed in, he used to teach Sunday school children this song:

“Only a boy called David,
Only a babbling brook.
Only a boy called David,
Five little stones he took.

“And one little stone went into the sling,
And the sling went round and round.

“Round and round and round and round,
And round and round and round….
One little stone went up – up – UP!
And the giant came a tumbling down.”

It’s a story about faith and grace, about a small boy beating a giant against all odds – with just five stones. And that’s exactly what the film is about – chipping away at the giant Monsanto’s hold on our food industry. By  donating and supporting Stop Monsanto!, you can choose to be a David and get some goodies, too.
Click here to show your support for Blythe. Then tell five friends about the campaign.

That little Sunday school ditty, hummed in my head for years, taught me to never stop throwing stones at giants. How about you?

Lately, vitamins and supplements have morphed into a giant industry. Need proof? Take a stroll down one of Wal-Mart’s endless vitamin aisles. Just like pharmaceutical companies, supplement manufacturers convince us we need a capsule for this, a pill for that. They promise their products will make wrinkles miraculously disappear, help us shed unwanted pounds in days, and give us the stamina of a 16-year-old chugging Red Bull. Get the picture? But you don’t need to be a slave to Walmart, you could be growing your own sprout nutrition for much less.

Before long, those companies have emptied our wallets, and we’ve got a load of plastic bottles lining our shelves to show for it – many of them hardly touched. Why? Because these supplements simply can’t deliver all they promise. Even worse, many so-called “health” products contain synthetic ingredients and useless fillers imported from countries with no regulations, ingredients like lead and even mercury  …yikes!

So how are we supposed to make sure we’re getting the right nutrition, and safely?

If you’re counting on getting your vitamins from cooked, processed or fast foods, forget it! You can only get vitamins from un-processed foods. Anything else will make your blood acidic. Unless you’re eating a mainly raw food diet and have a body pH level of 7 or below, you likely don’t function at peak levels. So what’s the answer?

If you wish to consume 100% natural vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids and other nutritional “goodies” without spending hundreds of dollars a month on artificial supplements, you need a different approach.

Call it a natural supplement factory!

Would you like to experience more energy, clear skin, and normal bowel movements? You could – and also end bloating and other aggravating aches and pains. Beginning today, you can actually grow pure, safe supplements that work right on your kitchen counter. Yes, for less than $20 per month, you could own your own “vitamin production machine.” Compare that with the $100 a month or more you might be spending on artificial, even harmful supplements.

Meet the EasyGreen – your personal sprout nutrition factory

In just 3 to 5 days you could enjoy the benefits of juicy, fresh and fully organic sprouts. Imagine the sprout nutrition! Add these “live foods” to soups, sandwiches, salads, burritos, juices, smoothies and more. A seed supply for a whole month costs a drop in the bucket compared to the price of all those empty “nutritional” supplements. But the vitamins from living, organic foods are far superior. Easier to swallow, too.

So, stop paying for those hyped-up, useless pills and get on the live food health wagon. Since 1998, thousands of people have purchased our natural supplement factory and seen their health and vitality skyrocket. But don’t take our word for it. Here’s the EasyGreen link where the health magic happens. Click the link to begin growing your own sprout nutrients today!
If you’re new to sprouting, wheatgrass or otherwise, sign up below to get notified when we post more of these useful tidbits. We’ll never, ever share your information with others.

Have you ever wondered how to start garden seeds indoors? At the risk of offending any pun-shunning readers, many people who never grew a garden have decided to venture into the field. Some people base their decision to grow vegetables on pocketbook issues. Others have decided that they just can’t trust the vegetables offered in the supermarket.

• (Let’s face it, without fair labeling of GMOs, determining how to make a healthy choice can present challenges. Incidentally, in the research for this post, I came across a cool new bar code scanning app called NxtNutrio that helps to identify whether food products definitely or may contain GMOs . If the product is GMO-free, it shows a cute little green circle with a check mark in it, the Non-GMO Project verification sign.)

But I digress. It’s the first week in March, which means those in Northern climes are dreaming of gardening to relieve their winter doldrums. Whether or not you live in the North, you first time gardeners may wonder about the best way to start seeds. In her article “Starting Vegetables Indoors that THRIVE,” professional gardener Hilary Rinaldi offers…

Six super reasons to start garden seeds indoors:

1. Your crops will get a four to six week head start on those started outside.
2. In areas with short growing seasons or in areas where the temps in summer rise quickly, starting seeds inside can ensure the success of cold-loving spring veggies, such as cruciferous varieties, peas, cabbage and head lettuce.
3. If your summers are short, you can extend the growing season for heat-loving garden crops like tomatoes. Germinating these plants early means you can pick them red and ripe before the chill sets in.
4. When you establish your plants before hot weather sets in, they will get more resistant to the heat.
5. Planting seeds is cheaper than purchasing plants, and it means you have access to heirloom plant varieties that your local nursery probably won’t carry.
6. Finally, you avoid the danger of rot that can set in when garden soil is still cold and damp.

EasyGreen Advantages

You may not know that our automatic seed sprouter provides a great way to start garden seeds indoors that you can later plant outside. In addition to providing the advantages you gain above, starting seeds in the EasyGreen offers these other advantages:

• You can leave your plants in the EasyGreen until they are several inches high. Then remove the trays and put them in a sunny place to “green up” before planting the young plants directly into your garden plot. This ensures a minimum of disruption for sensitive crops as compared to moving them from starting trays into peat pots, for example.
• There’s no need to water your seedlings while in the EasyGreen. Its mist generator takes care of that for you.
• Your crops will germinate faster than beginning them in a green house or on a sun porch. See this neat comparison of growing tomatoes in the EasyGreen versus in a greenhouse by OrganicGardeningZen.com.

Some growing tips:

1. Disinfect your EasyGreen before beginning your seeds.
2. Use seed starting potting mix, as this is fluffy and lighter than conventional potting soil and enables seeds to sprout more easily.
3. Fill your EasyGreen trays completely full. Then put seeds on top and sprinkle with a little more soil to cover. Rule of thumb is to cover seeds with a depth of soil 4 times the seeds’ diameter.
4. Use five separate trays to start five different crops. This way, you can move your plants to a sunny spot as they mature at differing rates. You can then plant these crops directly into your garden soil.
5. Disinfect the EasyGreen thoroughly before growing hydroponically (without soil) again.

And you’re new to sprouting, sign up below to get notified when we post more of these useful tidbits. We’ll never, ever share your information with others.

SPROUTING FOR PET HEALTH

Sprouting Seeds for Parrots 

• This article by bird expert Carolyn Swicegood shares how to easily sprout life-giving, nutrient-dense seeds, grains and legumes to keep your parrot or budgie tweeting and fit.

Why Use Sprouted Seeds for Dog Nutrition?

• Karen Wehrstein, Homeopath journalist explains why sprouts aren’t just for humans

HELPFUL HOW TO’S

Bean Sprouts…

• Professor James M. Stephens at the University of Florida’s Cooperative Extension Service shares valuable info on sprouting legumes (mung and soy beans).

Sprouting: Questions/Answers

• Great tips for beginners and more advanced sprouters by sprouting expert, Tom Billings

HEALING SEEDS

Broccoli Sprouts Deter Cancer in Rats

• The Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the chief scientific research agency of the USDA, discusses experiments the impact of high selenium broccoli sprouts in this scholarly article.

Enhancing the Digestion of Sprouts

• Sprout expert, Tom Billings shares information on increasing your digestive fire to get the most clout from your sprouts.

SPROUT NUTRIENTS

Want to know what “goodies” your favorite sprouts contain?

• The USDA and Agricultural Research Service’s National Nutrient Database (Searching for the term “sprouts” will bring up the nutritional values for around 36 varieties!)

Bean Sprouts and Other Vegetable Seed Sprouts

• The Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University tells why sprouted mung beans (and other seeds) pack such a nutritional punch. They also suggest ways you can incorporate them in your diet.

Good Sprout News

• Learn more about sprout nutrition at the International Sprout Growers Association News Desk page. And while you’re there, become a member!

If you’re new to sprouting, wheatgrass or otherwise, sign up below to get notified when we post more of these useful tidbits. We’ll never, ever share your information with others.

Wheatgrass is famous for succumbing to mold. Wheat seeds can be stubborn when we try to trick Mother Nature by sowing them in a seed sprouter. Truth be told, growing in a sprouter is far from the way nature intended. For example, the amount of seeds that we “plant” in a one foot square EasyGreen tray would cover about thirty square feet if we sowed it in the great outdoors!

Also, when seeds germinate, they get hotter’n a brass monkey’s gonads. You can just FEEL all that power of the life force releasing, right? Ever seen a concrete sidewalk split open by a tiny weed popping through?

Sowing seed in a field ensures that a covering of good old dirt will keep those germinating seeds cool. Sprouting in trays takes away that natural cooling advantage, so follow these tips to prevent wheatgrass mold so it’s tummy friendly!

Remember, EasyGreen’s Seaweed Elixir fertilizer actually sweetens wheatgrass, making it not just healthy, but much easier to drink!

1. Make sure you plant organic hard winter wheat seeds. Don’t be tempted to purchase these from those cute little health food store bins as these seeds are likely neither fresh nor the right kind for sprouting.
2. Test your seeds for freshness by following these instructions.
3. Soak the seeds. The FDA recommends mixing 1 gallon of water and 200cc (1/2 cup plus 5 ½ tablespoons) of unscented bleach and soak the seeds for 30 minutes. (If you’re like me and the idea of eating wheatgrass that has been treated with bleach makes your hiney pucker, use a “greener” solution such as 3% hydrogen peroxide or vinegar at the same dilution rate.)
4. Mold spores multiply like rabbits in a warm, moist climate. Wheatgrass likes room temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, so air condition, if necessary, and keep heat sources such as stoves or electric room heaters far from your machine.
5. Make friends with your EasyGreen’s timer. Understand how it works. Be sure to have at least seven toggles activated for each 24 hour period. Knowledge is power; consult this handy guide.
6. Use very cold water in the tank.
7. Try growing both in large trays of soil and trays without it to see which yields better results in your particular climate conditions.

If you’ve got any additional tips that you’d like to share with our readers, please leave a reply in the box below the sign up form.

And you’re new to sprouting, wheatgrass or otherwise, sign up below to get notified when we post more of these useful tidbits. We’ll never, ever share your information with others.

“Whole, organic, vegan foodista. Raw Food guru. Lucid dream Jedi. Up-cycling princess. Qi gong ninja. Adventurer. X-Files Junkie. Eternal Student.”

Keela Sanders, Raw Food Guru

We think she’s all of that and a bag of chips! I first found Keela tweeting like a sweet bird @renderedRAW. At the time, she was putting together a brand new raw food cookbook and offered to share the following recipe with us in return for some Wisdom Blend seeds(hint hint).

Keela’s a fresh, upcoming face on the raw food scene. A quick look at the sheer volume of tweeted recipes she invents and churns out will give you some idea of how seriously the Oregonian chef takes herself. She should; she’s got a lot of what it takes – gumption, inventiveness, ambition, and a bit of a wild side. Oh, and did I mention… an impeccable taste in food and the ability to make it look great on a plate.

It’s taken us a while to feature the recipe, but that’s just as well. Now we can announce that Keela’s new cookbook is hot off the press at Etsy and that we plan to devote a whole page to Keela and her love of raw foods in honor of  Valentine’s day. Congratulations, Keela. Keep up those tweets… and the glorious raw recipes. We’re in your corner!

Sweet Corn Polenta with Beefsteak Marinara, Sprouts and Hemp Seeds

Sweet Corn Polenta

Ingredients

• Handful of Sprouts
• 2 T. Shelled Hemp Seeds

For Beefsteak Marinara

• 1 c. Diced Beefsteak Tomato
• 1/4 c. Diced Sweet Onion
• 1 t. Italian Seasoning
• 1 T. Olive Oil
• Salt to taste
• 3 T. Diced Sundried Tomatoes

For Raw Polenta

• 1 1/2 c. Sweet Corn Kernels
• 1/2 c. Almond pulp
• 1/2 t. Salt
• 1 1/2 T. Psyllium Husk Powder

Directions

• Blend polenta ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Set aside or use a mold and cheesecloth for a firmer polenta.
• Blend marinara ingredients in a food processor until there are only pea sized chunks of tomato.
• On a plate, position polenta and top with marinara, sprouts and a sprinkling of hemp seeds.

Enjoy!
KeelaSanders on Facebook
@renderedRAW

How a diet of raw foods and juice feasting changed Dave Conrardy's life from brutal to bountiful! 

Raw Food Trucker Dave Before

YouTube phenomenon “Dave, The Raw Food Trucker,” Conrardy recently contacted us to offer us an interview. We were delighted to take him up on it, and will soon feature the whole series of videos on a page devoted to his story. We found Dave to be as remarkable as the story he told us. He’s unrelentingly optimistic, generous, and a real advocate for healthy eating and the raw food movement.

Just a few short years ago, Raw Food Trucker Dave weighed over 400 lbs. and struggled with diabetes and colon cancer. As his picture shows, he could barely squeeze into his arm chair, let alone climb into the cab of his truck. Facing the grim reality of his own mortality, Dave had written himself off and was preparing to die. In this stage of our interview, Dave describes how two fellow truckers convinced him to end his McDonald’s style diet laden with trans-fats and red meat and adopt a radical shift in his eating and thinking.

He began to follow the advice of Dr. Gabriel Cousens and started to eat mostly raw foods, juicing sprouts and fresh vegetables. After just 4 days, Dave was able to get off his diabetes medicine. In six months he was cancer free WITHOUT having chemo or radiation. With more energy than ever, he has lost 230 pounds. Now he’s a dynamo and a faithful crusader for both sprouting and juicing.

This past year, Bolivian politicians and activists made waves as they strove to pass new legislation promoting the Law of Mother Earth (la Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra). Their message? Nature deserves the same privileges and protection as its citizens. Whether or not the law has passed is not entirely clear. 

Recently, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, condemned the lack of action on the part of the U.N. to come to any agreement on climate change. He furiously told the assembly, “An increase of temperature of more than one degree above pre-industrial levels would result in the disappearance of our glaciers in the Andes, and the flooding of various islands and coastal zones.” No wonder Bolivians are fuming.

The truth is, Bolivian indigenous people are sick to death of industry trumping and trampling planetary health and environment.

Here are Nature’s rights in the Law of Mother Nature as they perceive them:

1. To live and exist the same as the rest of us
2.  To continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration
3.  To have pure water and clean air
4.  To be in balance
5.  Freedom from pollution
6.  Freedom from structurally modified cells or genetic engineering
7. Not to be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities

Tell us what you think. Vote in our poll!

Matt & Angela from The Raw Food World

Meet The Raw Food World owners Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes Monarch, EasyGreen’s new master distributors. I’m happy to report Matt’s got a sense of humor the size of my-hammy and his libido is about that healthy, too. Angela is an angel in wire-rimmed glasses with a British accent.
Matt attributes his growth from being “pretty much a fool” to “reaching heights of bliss and love” to an email inquiry he found in his inbox two years ago.
(If Matt’s any kind of fool it’s for the sake of eating and promoting raw foods, which he does with the zeal of a missionary on steroids.)

Matt describes his prior incarnation as a harried corporate employee with the “standard bachelor’s diet” of greasy carbs and a whole lot of sugar. He claims his change to 100% raw food had nothing to do with his health – in fact, he was a pretty strapping lad. He just wanted to avoid a life cut short by heart disease and diabetes. Matt attributes this decision to reading Dr. Norman Walker’s well known book on raw foods, “Become Younger.”

But…back to the email. Its sender, Angela Stokes, had suffered for years from an under-active thyroid. In 2002, she weighed almost 300 lb. and was worried about getting diabetes. Angela was a compulsive overeater in denial, with a love life only a dodo bird could envy. In short, it had been five years since her last date. Something had to give.

In 2002, a concerned friend lent Angela a book that turned her life around, “The Raw Family” by the Boutenkos. Angela describes how following a raw food diet enabled her to lose 156 lbs and 9 dress sizes. Men lined up at her door. More importantly, she began to feel healthy and whole as a human being. She began writing books about her own and the vegan experience. And these were the topic of the email inquiry. Would Matt like to add her e-Books to his website, she asked.

Matt says he rolled his eyes at the email request…that is, until he saw Angela’s picture. And that’s where the Bugs Bunny ogling line comes in; his account of falling in love is on the Raw Food World website for anyone to take a gander. It’s a great read. By the way, Matt and Angela recently welcomed their first baby bunny. It’s a girl, Oria Berry, who entered the world with a perfect pink set of lungs and all her digits intact. We wish the family all the happiness that raw foodie love can buy!

Read about baby Oria.

Watch Angela being interviewed by CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta:

Blythe Metz

We’re fortunate to be able to share this recipe from Blythe Metz, a passionate raw foodie with a large following on UStream TV.

Blythe’s philosophy of food?

“To me, RAW means being healthy and natural in what we eat, what we put on our body and how we treat the world…I believe food is the medicine for your body.”

For more info: @BlytheRawLive, www.blytheraw.com

Click on the image below this recipe to
view Blythe's December Raw Food video!

Living Butternut Basil Sunflower Soup

Yield: 4-6 servings

• 2 cups fresh diced butternut
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1-inch fresh ginger root
• 2 sprigs basil or 1.5 Tbsp
• 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
• ½ cup sprouted red lentils (optional)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 2 sprigs oregano
• 2 ½ cups water or fresh hemp or almond milk (not store bought)
• 1 Tb dried onion flakes

Simply put all ingredients in blender. Blend to desired consistency. Serve room temperature. If too thick, add water or fresh almond milk to thin.
Top with dried onion flakes and serve.

Click image to view!

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