Green Harmony Living

I have assembled a collection of my favorite rawfood Thanksgiving recipes that I created myself to share with you today. Please try them and share the recipes and meals with your family and friends this day of giving thanks. Your dedication will help make this a healthier feast day and will surely inspire countless other people to do the same. I created these recipes to be relatively easy to make, healthy, and of course very tasty.

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Drink: Roland’s Favorite Cranberry Punch

Serves: 20
Special Equipment: Juicer or high power blender
Ingredients:
3 pounds organic non waxed apples
3 pounds organic oranges, peeled
1/2 organic pineapple, peeled
1 pound organic cranberries
1 lemon, peeled, leave 1/2 of skin on
1 medium sized organic red beet
1 head organic celery
2 cups agave nectar, coconut nectar, honey, maple syrup, or yacon syrup
2 cups distilled water
Put all fruits and vegetables through a juicer. Or you may blend fruits and vegetables in a high power blender, and then strain in a nutmilk bag. In batches, blend punch with agave nectar and water.


Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Roland’s Favorite Mashed Potatoes

Servings:10

Special Equipment: Food processor

Ingredients:
2 cups organic cauliflower, chopped
2 cups organic parsnip, chopped
3/4 cup organic pine nuts
1 cup organic, raw almond milk
3/4 cup organic coconut oil
1 clove organic garlic
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
3/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1/4 tsp organic black pepper (to taste)


Process all ingredients in a food processor until you achieve a creamy consistency.


Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Roland’s Favorite Kale Salad:

Serves: 10

Special Equipment: None

Ingredients:

Big bunch of organic kale, chopped small
1 bunch organic dandelion leaves or organic parsley, chopped small
3 organic celery stalks including leaves, sliced
2 medium sized organic carrots, sliced thin
20 grape organic tomatoes or 2 large organic tomatoes, chopped
1 large organic cucumber, sliced thin
1 large organic avocado, diced
1 cup organic red cabbage, sliced thin
1 organic red pepper, sliced fine
2-3 large cloves of organic garlic, chopped fine
1/2 inch organic ginger, chopped fine
1/2 cup agave nectar, coconut nectar, honey, maple syrup, or yacon syrup
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp organic olive oil
1 tbsp organic hempseed oil
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt


Mix together all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Work the ingredients together really well with your hands for several minutes. Let the salad sit for 1 hour to let the flavors blend together.
Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!


Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Entrees and Sides:Roland’s Favorite Stuffing:

Servings: 10

pecial Equipment: Food processor

Ingredients:
2 cups organic almonds (soaked at least 8 hours)
2 cups organic walnuts (soaked at least 8 hours)
3/4 cup organic coconut oil
1 organic onion, chopped
4 stalks organic celery, chopped
2 organic garlic cloves
1 tsp organic sage
1 tsp organic poultry seasoning
1/4-1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1/4 tsp organic black pepper


Process everything except celery in a food processor. Place stuffing in a large bowl. Add chopped celery and mix well. Store in refrigerator at least to let the flavors blend together.


Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Roland’s Favorite Sauerkraut:

Servings:5

Special Equipment: Food processor

Ingredients:
1 head red or green organic cabbage
2 tbsp juniper berries
1 tbsp Himalayan pink salt
1 capsule probiotics


Remove and save 3-4 of the large outer leaves of the cabbage. Chop the cabbage into pieces and process in a food processor until fine. Place the cabbage and any liquid into a large bowl. Add the juniper berries, salt, and probiotics powder (no capsule), and mix. Place the mixture into a large glass jar or ceramic crock and compact down. Place the whole cabbage leaves on top. Add a weight on top to hold it down. Let sit for 7-14 days until there is a nice sauerkraut taste. Place finished sauerkraut in large glass jars and close lid tightly and refrigerate.


Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Roland’s Favorite Mushroom Gravy:

Servings: 10

Special Equipment: High power blender

Ingredients:
1 cup organic almonds (soaked at least 8 hours)
1 cup organic brazil nuts
1 cup distilled water
1 organic green onion
2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp mushroom powder
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1/4 tsp organic black pepper


Blend all ingredients in a high power blender until smooth. Blend a little longer to make it slightly warm and serve right away.


Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

I just want to tell the whole world that my favorite trail mix is Mystic Mountain Trail Mix made by Blue Mountain Organics. In all fairness, our webstore does sell this trail mix, but I state this with all honesty. And, believe me, I have tried many trail mixes over the years, and most of them fail to inspire me, are too salty, too sweet, no flavor, awful flavor, low quality ingredients, rancid, too hard to chew, and so on. On the other hand, Mystic Mountain Trail Mix grabs your attention at first bite with its delightful flavor and natural sweetness that keep one asking for more. Once I open a bag, I invariably eat the whole thing since it tastes so good.

And, the great thing about Mystic Mountain Trail Mix is that it not only tastes great, but it is truly healthy for you too. That is because the nuts are all organic, raw, and sprouted whole nuts. This means that the nuts are the freshest, highest quality nuts with no chemicals, being raw means they contain the most vitamins and minerals, and they are easy to digest since they are sprouted which releases the enzyme inhibitors naturally found in nuts’ skin. All of the ingredients are organic, raw, and whole so they are of the highest quality.

Here is the ingredient list: Organic BTR™ almonds, org. BTR™ pecans, org. cranberries (apple juice sweetened, sunflower oil), org. hunza raisins, org. hunza mulberries. As you can see, the ingredients are rather simple and of the utmost quality. BTR™ is Blue Mountain Organics’ trademark brand called Better Than Roasted™, which is a line of their products that are sprouted, in addition to all their other products that are organic, raw, and whole pieces. So, BTR™ is truly top quality when it comes to buying nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. I invite you to try Mystic Mountain Trail Mix today and I think you will love it too!



Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

I came across this helpful article in the Baltimore Sun on Monday, 15.Nov.2010 titled “10 Ways to Catch the Flu at Work”. Here is the link to it http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-ae-workplace-flu-20101111,0,5963862.story

This tongue in cheek article is telling us things we can do to help us get the flu so that we don’t have to go to work. So, I would obviously suggest that one just do the opposite of each of the ten suggestions if one wants to not get the flu. Also, there is helpful information in the description of each suggestion.

However, from my point of view as someone who takes responsibility for my own health, the whole tone of the article is misleading and does not provide enough information. I state this since it portrays humans as innocent victims of “getting” or “catching” the flu virus with no other recourse. When, there are many actions we can take to be healthy. And, I do not suggest getting a flu shot as the solution as I believe this is one of the worst things you can do to your body.
Many people live with this false belief of being a victim. Perhaps, many cling to this belief since they don’t want to change their habits. What the article fails to emphasize and should is that by living a healthy diet and lifestyle, one can avoid getting sick with the flu or anything else. The article does mention at suggestion number ten that “physical fitness and a healthful diet will only improve your immunity, resulting in a milder case of the flu if not causing you to fight it off completely.” I think this is true, but lacks certain detail. Are you ready for the bombshell? From my own personal experience, one only gets the flu when one eats animal foods. Yes, you read correctly! I say this because the only times in my life that I have gotten the flu was when I was eating animal foods, namely meat, dairy, and eggs. At the time, I was eating animal foods as the primary component in my diet and I got sick with back to back flues one winter. As much as I can remember, that was the only time I got the flu in my life. I have changed my diet over the years, and now me and my family eat a primarily organic, raw, vegan diet, meaning organic plant foods that are uncooked. My family, including me, my wife, and our toddler son, don’t get sick now with the flu, colds, or anything else, unless one of us is extremely stressed.

I also do many other things to live a healthier and happier life. These would include, not allowing toxins in my home, spending time with other healthy people, avoiding unhealthy, angry, negative, stressful, and violent people and environments, getting daily light exercise like walking, gardening, bicycling, etc., spending quality time with my family, spending time outside to get sun on my skin and breath in fresh air, getting my hands into the soil to soak in minerals, meditating to relax and distress, playing and laughing with family and friends, going to a park or wilderness to see animals and breathe in the clean air, and so on.

So, I recommend this diet and lifestyle to everyone who wants to avoid the flu, and even better, to live a happy, healthy, long life!

If you want to learn more about truly healthy foods and living a healthy lifestyle, visit our website www.greenharmonyliving.com

Written by Roland Oehme

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

I just attended the movie screening of Food Matters at Zia’s Café in Towson, Maryland. Thank you Kendell Reichhart, Brian Hetrick, and Daniela Troia for organizing this event! I enjoyed watching this film and recommend that everyone watch it as well. Why? Because it will certainly lead you into the direction of better health and may save your life if you have a disease. This film mainly discusses how most people are undernourished, how improper foods and undernourishment can cause diseases, true nutrition from raw foods, how proper nutrition can treat cancer and other illnesses, how mercury fillings are toxic, and the sad state of society relying almost solely for their health needs on medical doctors who are misinformed and unknowledgeable about preventing disease through nutrition..

This film strengthened my commitment to eating the highest quality foods of organic, home grown, or wild rawfoods since diet has the largest and most immediate effect on one’s health. It also encouraged me to get mineralized and fortify my body with a wide array of nutrients from the highest quality source, mainly plant sources. These include organic, raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sea vegetables, sprouts, herbs, and wild foods.

Take the time to watch this film. You will gain so much!
Here is a link to the website www.foodmatters.tv

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

When I first moved to the US, I was so surprised to see that one of my friends threw out her compost or fruit and vegetables kitchen scraps into the kitchen sink’s drain. She said this is a common practice in the US and she gave me a demonstration of the garbage deposal grinding up the composts. I was amazed since I had never seen this before in Japan. I was surprised again when I asked my friend where does the compost go after being ground up, and her answer was “I don’t know.”

I think this is a key example of how the US has made everything convenient for people at the expense of what is beneficial for the environment and their own health. It is a big waste to throw out the produce scraps down the drain where it can contaminate the local rivers, bays, and soils. These scraps are a great benefit to creating compost in the home garden and enriching the soil with organic matter, especially if you buy organic produce.

Fortunately or unfortunately, we had no magic cutter in my parent’s house in Japan. I do not think it is common in Japan even today. Japanese people typically gather their produce scraps and use them in their garden and make compost with it. In Japan, even in its large cities, there is also a curbside trash pickup of organic matter in a special bin that the city uses to make compost for use in public parks. There is a growing environmental consciousness in Japan and people there also do not like to waste valuable materials.

I think it makes a lot of sense to reuse the valuable kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps to make compost for your vegetable and fruit garden. This will give you abundant and healthy harvests! It is even better to choose organic fruits and vegetables when shopping, since then you can be sure that you are feeding your garden, and your family, the healthiest home grown foods possible. After all, what could be more important than your family’s health and wellbeing? If we are asked, “Where does your fruit and veggie scraps go?”, we reply, “They feed our healthy organic garden!”

By Naoko Oehme

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!

Thanks to Kendell Reichhart and Brian Hetrick of Natural Vibrant Health (www.naturalvibranthealth.net) for bringing the esteemed to Dr. Brian Clement Zia’s Café in Baltimore-Towson where he gave a lively and informative lecture on the healthy living. Zia’s was filled to capacity as eager Baltimorean’s came to listen to one of the country’s top health professionals speak his mind about the sad state of the US culture and health of its citizens.

Dr. Brian Clement and his wife Dr. Anna Maria Gahns-Clement are directors of the Hippocrates Health Institute (http://www.hippocratesinst.org) located in West Palm Beach, Florida. In my opinion, Hippocrates Health Institute is one of the top health rejuvenation centers in the US and the world! I have never visited myself but I know it was founded by Ann Wigmore and Viktoras Kulvinskas, two pioneers of the modern rawfood diet. Everything I hear about the institute has been favorable and after hearing Dr. Clement’s talk I am even more impressed. What is most impressive is that the Hippocrates Health Institute has been conducting unbiased clinical research for 54 years! Brian Clement has written many books that are based on his thirty years of experience at Hippocrates of treating people there.

Here are the major points that Dr. Brian Clement made in his talk as I understood him (to hear exactly what he states and to gain greater detail I recommend that you read his books or review the Hippocrates Health Institute’s website; See “Resources” at end):

1) The human body is electric.
2) 60% of pharmaceutical drugs may kill you.
3) Raw meat is decomposing flesh.
4) Living nutrition are foods containing a high frequency.
5) Human health is composed of HOPE: Hormones, Oxygen, Phytonutrients, and Enzymes.
6) His new book will be called something like “Food is Medicine”.
7) At Hippocrates they test three things: Your relaxing level, microscopic level, and medical blood test.
8) If you reduce caloric intake by 1/3, you will live 30% longer.
9) Complete proteins include sunflower seeds/sprouts, sesame, sprout juice, and mung beans.
10) No 1 cause of cancer is dairy; casein causes cancer too.
11) Eating meat leaves behind fats and acidity, especially chicken.
12) Brian Clement has worked with Dr. Virginia Livingstone.
13) Vitamins are key to longevity.
14) Vitamins die at 118 degrees F.
15) Vitamins need oxygen to carry them into body.
16) Minerals and trace minerals are permanent structures.
17) Most supplements are from petroleum.
18) Brian Clement’s family breastfed their children until age 2, then started feeding blue green algae.
19) 96 cities around the world have pharmaceutical drugs in the tap water.
20) There are only three water systems that remove pharmaceutical drugs from water: Atmos, Japanese alkaline filter, and water distillers.
21) All happy and successful people have balanced hormones.
22) Everything you think and feel is hormonal.
23) Falling in love is hormonal.
24) Oxygen: need daily Vitamin B12 supplementation.
25) If you take greens and B12, anemia disappears.
26) Oxygen controls metabolism.
27) Oxygen brings hemoglobin into your blood.
28) Oxygen has a main role in the ingestion of nutrients.
29) 2/3 of oxygen is from water.
30) 60% of population is dehydrated.
31) Phytochemicals isolate and destroy disease.
32) Highest levels of phytochemicals are found in the germinated seeds of wheatgrass, spelt grass, kamut, barley grass, millet, amaranth, and buckwheat.
33) Turmeric is good for everything.
34) Enzymes are catalysts of life.
35) See “A Life is Born” video by Nilson (Swedish)
36) Enzyme activity sparks human life.
37) Seven aspects of living foods: Antioxidants, Vitamins, Mineral and Trace Minerals, Protein, Electrical charge, Energy, and Longevity.
38) Less food equals you live longer.
39) Liberate yourself to find your passion.
40) He knows Leonard Smith.
41) Joy, happiness, and fulfillment are most important to life.
42) When you have a fulfilling life, food is no longer your life (ie the dominant force in your life).
43) To stop eating meat, see film titled “Earthling”.
44) 60% of world population is vegetarian.
45) Brian Clement is involved with international summits that discuss true health.
46) The Framingham study is most important.
47) 68-78% of population has no Vitamin B12.
48) Before WW2, most people had adequate B12 levels, since all food was organic.
49) Lipid peroxide, which is found in fish 30 minutes after being killed, causes cancer.
50) To get adequate levels of Vitamin D you don’t need supplements, you just need to expose your body to the sun.
51) Regarding Lyme disease, it is best not to get it. If you get it, a sodium nitrate injection will get rid of it over time.
52) Argentine is the brand name of sodium nitrate that is used to treat Lyme disease.
53) Not only deer are carriers; all mammals and birds are carriers of the deer tick that transmit the disease.
54) Lyme disease is becoming a major epidemic that may threaten humanity’s existence.
55) Sources of Omega 3 include hemp seed, chia seeds, and sprouts.
56) Soak 12 tablespoons of chia seeds in water, sprout, and then eat a portion every day.
57) He recommends Dr. Bizan in Philadelphia.
58) Use Eniva to test to see if your gray hair is hereditary or it can be cured.
59) Using cell phones interrupt contemplation time.
60) Cell phones and cell phone towers cause cancer.
61) Take MSM every other day.
62) The French and Italians have a terrible diet. The reason that Europeans appear to be healthier than Americans is that Europeans eat less than Americans.
63) The way to be happy is to find something to do that you love. Don’t worry if people say you can’t do it.
64) Brian’s four children were not vaccinated.
65) He recommends that you do research about vaccinations and decide what is best for your family.
66) Vaccines destroy the body’s immune system.
67) He recommends that one use homeopathic medicines instead to treat diseases
68) Brian Clement highly recommends T. Colin Campbell and his book “The China Study”.

Resources:
Hippocrates Health Institute have natural health programs year round at their center in West Palm Beach, FL; For more info see http://www.hippocratesinst.org/
Brian Clement’s books:
Hippocrates Life Force
Living Foods for Optimum Health: Staying Healthy in an Unhealthy World
Supplements Exposed: The Truth They Don’t Want You to Know About Vitamins, Minerals, and Their Effects on Your Health

Written by Roland Oehme


Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Roland and Naoko want to introduce you to an easy and wonderful rawfood breakfast or lunch. Actually, we stopped eating granola and oatmeal to live healthier. Of course, we drink a green smoothie everyday, and we like to make a raw cereal with ground up nuts and seeds, like sesame seeds, sunflower, pumpkin, or hemp seeds, as the base to which we add raw mesquite powder, maca powder, vanilla powder, or cacao powder. We mix this together with a healthy sweetener like palm sugar or agave nectar, and add enough water to bring it to a moist consistency. We place some cut up fruit in a bowl, add the superfood cereal on top with some mint from our garden as a garnish! Voila! A super healthy and tasty breakfast! We even feed our toddler this superfood and he loves it! Please try!!!

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

The Green Harmony Living team (Roland, Naoko, Yuma, & Omi) went to the DC VegFest in Washington DC on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010. This is an awesome free annual festival promoting vegetarian & vegan consciousness by the oldest vegetarian society in the USA. Here is the link: http://dcvegfest.com/

It was a fun and exciting event for the whole family! We really enjoyed it and highly recommend it for everyone to attend since it is a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere with lots of diverse vendors from delectable vegan desserts, to warm sandwiches, to the hottest vegan sports drink maker, Vega! There were also many booths providing valuable information about healthy living and there were interesting books for sale!



The highlight were the many topnotch speakers from vegan body builder, Robert Cheeke, to amazing chef, Tal Ronnen, author of "The Conscious Cook", to Tracye McQuirter, author of "By Any Greens Necessary". I was personally glad to see a rawfood vendor there for the first time called "Elizabeth's Gone Raw" which has a rawfood restaurant catering business in Washington, DC. She had tasty raw lasagnas, tiramisus, and tarts for sale.

UMMM yummy!

Notable groups and vendors that were represented at the DC VegFest:



Commercial vendors: Green Earth Travel, Live Green, Max and Ruffy's (vegan dog treats), MOM's Organic Market, Pangea, Vega by Sequel Naturals (vegan fitness and athletes), Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness by Robert Cheeke, Vegan Kids　+　Mr. Carott









Vegetarian and vegan food vendors: Amsterdam Falafel, Cafe Green, Elizabeth's Gone Raw, Emily's Desserts, Sticky Fingers Bakery, Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant



Non profit groups: American Vegan Society, A Well Fed World, Farm Animal RIghts Movement (FARM), Compassion Over Killing (COK), The Humane Society of the US, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, Vegetarian Resource Group, Vegetarian Society of DC



There were many people there who support the vegan movement as well as people just curious about living healthier, happier lives. We appreciated the opportunity to connect with many interesting people there. For instance, we talked with DJ Kim, the owner of Java Green and Cafe Green eco cafes in Washington, DC, Saurabh Dalal, the president of the Vegetarian Society of DC, Rami, a friendly vegan from Baltimore, and Rezz, an amazingly knowledgable person who told us how it was better to live in Puerto Rico, especially during the winter months, than Canada.



We hope this festival helps to increase people’s interest in a greater consciousness of the vegetarian, vegan, and rawfood lifestyles, especially regarding the health aspects, environmental, and animal friendly points of view. We would like to see this festival take place in Baltimore and more cities in the future.



The DC VegFest seems to be blessed since last year and this year the weather has been warm and sunny. We thoroughly enjoyed this peaceful event with our family and friends!

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!

I have sensed for many years that unhealthy eating habits continue to be promoted as normal and even have been given the most favorable marketing and placement in newspapers and other forms of media. At the same time I have sensed that truly healthy eating and lifestyle habits, while generally known by the government and much of the American public, has continually been described as being extreme and is often hidden away in newspapers and not given the chance to be advertised.

Well, in The Baltimore Sun newspaper on Wednesday, 04.August.2010 I found conclusive evidence for the media bias against promoting true health. Hidden away on page 9, which is about the center of the 20 page main section, there is a small article titled, “Red meats eyed as possible cause of cancer”. This article cites a study by researchers led by Dr. Amanda Cross of the National Cancer Institute, that states that red meat is “a possible cause of cancer”, and the chemical additives often added to meat, namely nitrates and nitrites, “could … raise the risk of bladder cancer”. This article sounds like very important news for the public to hear, and yet it is buried in the middle of the paper. Even serving to disarm the premise of the article is a photo next to the article of a hot dog in a bun.

It looks like standard operating procedure for newspapers to hide the real science based news regarding health in the middle of the paper. The real damming evidence that the media is hiding real health information and glorifying the status quo of eating animal foods is what I found in the same paper. On the front page of the Taste section of The Baltimore Sun on the same day, Wednesday, 04.August.2010, there are large photos of hamburgers barbecuing on the grill, a sausage sandwich, a smoked crab cake, and three people chowing down on foods. The implied message is that this is great food, especially since the article is about “Charm City Food Tours” in Baltimore.

Furthermore, on the same cover there is an article titled “Charleston and Woodberry Kitchen get Zagat honors”. I have never seen an article in any newspaper about restaurants receiving vegetarian or vegan awards or honors, even though they are out there. In addition, on page 4 of the Taste section there is an article titled, “Basting with a brush made of herbs”. The article is about grilling meat and along with it there is a large dynamic photo of grilling meat with flames shooting up. Over on page 5, there is continuation of the Zagat honors with the two above mentioned restaurants basking in glory with a photo of each. I will mention that also on the cover page of the Taste section there is an article titled, “Purslane: a weed with nutritional punch”. So, sometimes a health touting article does make it through to the cover page of a smaller section within the paper, but rarely if ever to the main cover page. However, it is very noticeable that the photo of a purslane plant is tiny compared to the meat photos on the same page. This further validates the premise of my article, that the animal foods diet gets most, if not all, of the press and plant foods get much smaller press.

I think the media have an inherent conflict of interest. Media is supposed to supply the American public with unbiased truthful information, but they are not currently. The reason is, the major media corporations, including publications of all kinds (newspapers, magazines, etc.), TV, radio, & internet, all are dependent on advertising revenue from other mostly large corporations who only want the status quo animal based diets continue. If you don’t believe that this could possibly be true, when was the last time you have seen an advertisement or an article or news story or broadcast or anything that told why eating animal foods was wrong or was a positive depiction of vegetarianism or veganism? Probably never, right? In fact, I heard from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) of how they tried to advertise during the Super Bowl one year recently and the TV network at first allowed and then suddenly disallowed their commercial because many of the other advertisers threatened to pull their ads if PETA was allowed to broadcast their ad. This is the real behind the scenes news that people don’t hear about. And the reason that most of the American public still feel that eating meat and dairy is the right thing to do is because they hear any major opposing viewpoints from the mainstream media or government. I really think that if the truth was broadcast strongly and positively just as the status quo pro meat and airy is broadcast now, vegetarianism and veganism would surge in popularity and the meat eating culture would die out. This was seen when Oprah Winfrey famously declared on her show that she will never eat another hamburger after hearing firsthand about the horrors of industrial agricultures’ treatment of animals and the very unhealthy aspects of eating meat from the former farmer, now vegan, Howard Lyman. After Oprah’s show aired, sales of hamburgers and beef plummeted across the US. That is why the Texas Cattlemen sued Oprah. Oprah eventually won, but the outcome of that episode was that people in the media are still afraid to speak their mind if they believe meat and dairy is harmful since they think they will get sued.

I think the current trend is the truth about the dangers of an animal based diet and the positives of a plant based diet is coming out, however slowly and behind the scenes, and eventually an animal based diet will be in the minority and a plant based diet will be in the majority. The reason is that eventually, after scientists have performed many studies, the evidence will be overwhelming in favor of plant foods. If you research science journals and even the government’s guidelines you will see that a plant based diet being validated all the time as we become better at performing scientific studies and analyzing the data. So, I think it is only a matter of time until we see most of society living in harmony with themselves and the planet. Even today, I sense that meat eaters know that eating meat is unhealthy, but they eat meat for taste or to fit in with society. This will change as evidence to the contrary mounts and habits are changed in children. Smart people today are coming to the conclusion that an animal friendly, plant based diet is the best choice for a healthy, happy lifestyle. Let’s all choose to live a compassionate, healthy, and happy lifestyle today!
What did you think of this article? Please leave your comments if you have something intelligent to add!

Written by Roland Oehme

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!

Most likely many people were surprised, like I was, to hear David Wolfe disparage calcium supplements of all kinds in his Longevity NOW Conference and Program. I recently bought his program, which includes a book and several CDs, in Dec. 2009. Then in Jan. 2010 I bought his 10 DVD set of his 2009 Longevity NOW Conference. In these programs he shares a ground shaking revelation of how calcium supplements are causing great harm to our bodies. He calls this process of calcium supplements and other minerals clogging up the body’s systems, calcification. In fact, he states that calcification is the cause of most diseases of humankind. Is that mind blowing or what???!!! Of course, this is contrary to what most doctors, medical professionals, dieticians, nutritionists, and the general public believe. It seems, some groups, like the dairy and meat industry, have been doing a great job brainwashing the public and everyone else into believing that calcium supplements and milk are necessary to prevent osteoporosis and bone loss which becomes pronounced as most people age. Well. I believe that what is happening is that it is the meat, dairy, and processed foods based diets that are actually causing calcium deficiencies and the subsequent bone losses. The easy explanation for this is that animal foods are acid forming in the human body, while most plant foods are alkaline forming. The human body uses its own calcium reserves to counteract the acid condition in the body caused by the acid forming foods.

Well, in The Baltimore Sun newspaper, on Monday, 02.August.2010, there was an article hidden in the middle of the paper with the important headline “Adding calcium supplements may boost risk of heart attacks”. The article goes on to describe two clinical trials that Dr. Ian Reid of the University of Auckland in New Zealand led that showed an increase in risk of a heart attack for 143 women who took a calcium supplement versus 111 women who took a placebo. The article states “Although the increase in risk is small, they said, the widespread use of the supplements suggests that many women could be adversely affected.” It goes on further, “An accompanying editorial suggested that patients with osteoporosis not be treated with supplements unless they are also receiving medication for this condition.” It appears that what David Wolfe has stated about calcium supplements being harmful is true. In this case he is being backed up by mainstream science.

Unfortunately, the article was hidden in the middle of the paper where I only happened to find it since I read the full paper that day. This article is so important to the public’s health that I think it really should have been located on the cover page of the newspaper.

What did you think of this article? Please leave your comments if you have something intelligent to add!

Written by Roland Oehme

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!

Have you ever eaten nuts or seeds that were not fresh, had no flavor, not a good quality, had many broken pieces, or were just plain rancid? Have you ever noticed that is often hard to find good quality nuts and seeds? Have you ever eaten really fresh, not just goof, but great quality nuts and seeds? Maybe you are like most people and you have gotten used to low quality nuts and seeds since that is what is available at most stores. Yes, even at Whole Foods! I have not been impressed with the quality of nuts and seeds sold there.


Did you know that manufacturers will “hide” the poor quality nuts and seeds by roasting them and also by added other herbs and spices, or coat them with yoghurt and chocolate? By hiding the inferior quality nuts and seeds by cooking them and with stronger flavors, and then can charge you more for the extra ingredients, manufacturers can make more profit and sell some nuts and seeds that would otherwise be unsaleable. For example, nuts and seeds in broken pieces are hard to sell since nobody wants to eat them. But, once you mix them with a special ingredient like chocolate, or grind them up to make a nut butter, like peanut butter, they instantly become saleable and actually increase in value.

Did you know most nuts and seeds in stores are not fresh and often sit out in warm air, turning rancid (decomposing)? That is because nuts and seeds are properly stored in an airtight container in a refrigerator or even freezer in order to keep fresh for longer periods. Of course, fresh is best. It is important to not eat rancid nuts and seeds since they lose their nutrient content once rancid and they taste horrible too, meaning we should not eat them.

Did you know that many nuts and seeds that are often labeled as “raw” are not really raw or uncooked? That’s right. For instance, often cashews are labeled as raw, but during the typical processing, they are boiled to remove their toxic shells. A new occurrence has been the recent mandate by California almond growers to pasteurize all of their almonds, meaning most almonds in the US are not raw even if labeled as such. Almonds from Europe may still be raw. The way to test them is to try to sprout the nuts and seeds. If the nut or seed will sprout and start to grow into a seedling, then it is raw, if not, then it has been cooked.


We have tried many types and brands of nuts and seeds during the course of running our online store business. We have found that the best flavored, freshest, best quality nuts and seeds with no rancidity and all whole pieces are sold by Blue Mountain Organics. And they produce an extensive line of products, such as, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, sea vegetables, raw ice cream, raw snacks, cookies, cakes, bars, cereals, brownies, and so on. Since we sell their products at our store I have talked to them many times and I have learned some things. I was startled to learn that Blue Mountain Organics actually hands picks each nut and seed as they package them up. I get the feeling that other manufacturers just shovel the nuts and seeds into the bags and have no quality control. This became apparent to Naoko and I as we have eaten another manufacturer’s Pistachio nuts. Very often, every time we would eat them, there would be a rancid nut in your hand full of Pistachio nuts that would taste horrible and ruin the whole eating experience. Do I need to tell how many times I had to spit out the nuts and rinse out my mouth in order to rid myself of this terrible taste? Too many times inn my mind! I want to be able to eat nuts or seeds and to enjoy eating them every time! I don’t want to have to check every one before plopping them in my mouth, like I have been doing with the Pistachio nuts. That is not enjoyable!

Another thing I learned, is that Blue Mountain Organics does not by in huge bulk quantities like many retailers do in order to simply save costs. This practice will save money, but will mean lower quality nuts and seeds since it means you are storing them for longer periods during which their freshness will disappear and then you have rancid nuts and seeds. On the contrary, Blue Mountain Organics buys in smaller quantities in order to ensure freshness in all of their products, all the time! You might pay a little more, but you are guaranteed freshness and more nutrients for you body! I think this is much more important! After all, do you want to spend your whole life eating old, rancid nuts and seeds, or do you want to eat the freshest, most nutrient dense nuts and seeds on the planet!

So, you can imagine how happy we were to find Blue Mountain Organics. We noticed right away at how much better the quality was in their products. Blue Mountain Organics has two brands of nuts and seeds: Love Raw Foods™ (LRF) and Better Than Roasted® (BTR). Love Raw Foods™ nuts and seeds are organic, raw, vegan, fresh, whole pieces. Better Than Roasted® nuts and seeds are the same except the nuts and seeds are soaked and sprouted and then dehydrated.

This makes a huge difference in terms of taste and nutrient availability. Sprouted nuts and seeds will often taste better since the bitter tasting enzyme inhibitors found on nuts and seeds have been washed away. Enzyme inhibitors are on most nuts and seeds in order to prevent the nuts and seeds from sprouting until there is adequate moisture, which makes sense for survival of the nut or seed. Soaking and rinsing with water will simply wash these inhibitors away allowing the true nut and seed taste to shine through. Sprouting, that letting the germination process just start to begin, changes the chemical composition of the nut or seed, making more easily digestible and with more vitamins and minerals available to our bodies. So, BTR means more flavor and more nutrients! And Blue Mountain Organics is the only company with such a high commitment to quality and selling such a wide range of sprouted nuts and seeds.

The Better Than Roasted® brand includes many types of nuts and seeds including almonds, Italian almonds, apricot kernels, Brazil nuts, truly raw cashews, Extreme Nut Mix, hazelnuts, Just 4 Nuts, macadamias, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and black sesame seeds. BTR also includes even more nut butters, Love Bites (snack food), and trail mixes.

Love Raw Foods™ brand includes in addition to the nuts and seeds listed above, almond meal, chia seeds, brown flax seeds, golden flax seeds, and hemp seeds. LRF also makes an extensive range of nut & seed butters, dried fruits, spices, chocolate products, sproutable beans & seeds, sea vegetables, sproutable grains, superfoods, oils, and sweeteners.

This is only the tip of Blue Mountain Organics iceberg! Did I mention that they also make organic, raw, sprouted flours, have a whole line of raw “baked” products in the Raw Bakery™, and offer the world’s best ice cream that is raw and vegan in their Blue Mountain Cashew Creamery brand. You may view their extensive line of products here(Click Here)

In conclusion, after some bad experiences with rancid, old nuts and seeds from average manufacturers, I have come to trust and depend on the ultimate quality and taste of sprouted organic, raw, vegan nuts and seeds from Blue Mountain Organics’ Better Than Roasted® brand. Or if I want to save some money, I use their Love Raw Foods™ brand of nut and seeds and soak and sprout them myself. I dare you to try them today. You might not believe how good they taste! What have you got to lose except a lifetime of eating bad tasting, low nutrient nuts and seeds!

What did you think of this article? Please leave your comments if you have something intelligent to add!



Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!

I just received wonderful news on Tuesday that Green America, the nation’s leading green business certification organization, has accepted our company, Green Harmony Living, into its Green Business Network membership! So, what does being a “green business” actually mean? Well, this is how Green America explains it in a nutshell. “Green businesses operate in ways that solve, rather than cause, both environmental and social problems. These businesses adopt principles, policies, and practices that improve the quality of life for their customers, their employees, communities, and the environment.” And furthermore, ”Green businesses listed in Green America’s National Green Pages™ have passed a screening process that qualifies them for membership in our Green Business Network™.”

As you can imagine, Naoko and I are thrilled to officially become a member in Green America’s Green Business Network. Being approved by Green America is a great validation that what we are doing is truly green and helping the environment and our community. So, this validation reassures us that our business, Green Harmony Living, is really having a positive impact and doing the right thing. We look forward to growing our green business in exciting ways in the future. Drop us a line if you have any suggestions!



We really love Green America since they are a great quality organization promoting green values for people and the environment. The best part is they provide a huge array of resources for everyone at their website: http://www.greenamericatoday.org/ We recommend that everyone visit their website and use it on a regular basis for all of your needs.
They produce an online and printed Green Pages (look for GHL’s listing !) that lists all of their approved green businesses. They also have resources on being a responsible shopper, green investing, sane financial strategies, they produce a green publication called Green American and have email newsletters, and produce the Green Festivals across the country each year (read below). As you can see, Green America provides a lot of information for a great quality of life.
And much of what Green America is suggesting is motivated by the idea of keeping capital in the hands of small businesses and communities instead of large corporations. This idea is very important for all of us, as every time you shop at a supermarket or mall or gas station or bank, or use a credit card, etc. you are very likely supporting big corporations who are reaping large profits and often don’t treat their workers fairly and don’t care about local communities in which they operate. This ‘power in the hands of a few” system has been operating like this for years and is one of the main reasons that America and many Americans are hurting financially today. If you are sick and tired of supporting the faceless, greedy, spineless mega corporations, then we encourage you to take positive action supporting change (and yes, if we all take action we can change everything!) by supporting Green America’s programs and by following their suggestions. Visit Green America’s website now: http://www.greenamericatoday.org/

We have exhibited at Green America’s Green Festival for the past two years in Washington, DC, and now that we are a certified green business means that we can continue to do so. In fact, we have signed up to exhibit at the 2010 Washington, DC Green Festival on October 23rd and 24th. Roland has attended every Green Festival in DC for the past six years! According to Green America, Green Festival is the world’s largest sustainable festival. They are currently held in four cities across the US every year, including Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. This event attracts a lot of people, about 35,000 attended DC’s 2009 event. And all topics are covered so there is something for everyone to experience. Every year I am amazed at how much this event has grown and every year there are new companies and new speakers to see there. At the Green Festival, I really feel a green can do attitude in the air that keeps me motivated for a long time afterwards!

We invite you to visit our Green Festival booth on October 23rd & 24th in Washington, DC!
We will be located in the “Organic Food” section near the “Organic Foods Dining Area”. Our booth numbers are 851 and 852. To find out more, visit here: http://www.greenfestivals.org/washington-dc/news/ And, if you are interested in volunteering to help us at the booth, please let us know as we can always use a helping hand.

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Here is the story of our summer 2010 trip to California where my wife, baby, and I sampled the burgeoning rawfood scene at festivals, stores, and restaurants in greater Los Angeles and San Diego. We also visited places that propose various green living methods. We hope you find this interesting. Please give us feedback as to what you learned or any comments you have. Enjoy!

Index
Day 01: Sun, 20.June: Erewhon in West Hollywood
Day 02: Mon, 21.June: Mother’s Market in Huntington Beach
Day 03: Tue, 22.June: Tree People, Miyako Hybrid Hotel, and Planet Raw
Day 04: Wed, 23.June: Exotica, Barry Koral, amd Ocean Beach Coop
Day 05: Thu, 24.June: Jeff's Edible Garden
Day 06: Fri, 25.June: Dwell on Design Conference, LifeFood Organic Café, and Ani Phyo
Day 07: Sat, 26.June: MJL Meetup & Mother’s Market
Day 08: Sun, 27.June: LA Raw Bazaar & Better Life Cuisine
Day 09: Mon, 28.June: LifeFood Organic Cafe
Day 10: Tue, 29.June: Jeff’s Edible Garden & Au Lac Restaurant
Day 11: Wed, 30.June: Return Trip to Baltimore

We woke up early for our flight back to Baltimore. We had a great time visiting the Los Angeles region, but I realized that I would not want to live here again for two very important reasons: 1) Smog is still omnipresent in the sky above Los Angeles, and 2) The over reliance on the automobile and the lack of a viable mass transit or bicycle transportation system. Both of these concerns have far reaching effects on life here. The two above concerns mean that living here is never really sustainable, not environmentally friendly, not healthy, not energy efficient, and prohibits real community building.

Los Angeles is not sustainable because it wastes too much energy, there is excessive air and water pollution, there is an over reliance on the automobile for transportation, meaning there will be complete gridlock in the future, and the lack of public parks and open space to provide for recreation and a connection to nature. Los Angeles is not environmentally friendly because most everything that has been built here for the past two hundred years was built for the benefit of humans and to the detriment of the environment, including the natural ecosystems and wildlife. The smog is a clear signal to humanity that we are not respecting the planet. The Los Angeles region is not healthy because of the way most people drive everywhere to get anywhere, and many people drive long commutes, which creates a sedentary lifestyle and leaves little time to be with your family, and stresses people out too. The air pollution in this region also has detrimental effects. Much energy is wasted in the Los Angeles region with the energy inefficient homes (often there is no or little insulation) and the wasted gasoline from excessive automobile use. Lastly, since people spend so much time driving in their cars, they rarely get a chance to know their neighbors. Also, southern California is well known for its gated communities and community associations that control who visits these places and who uses their facilities. Both of these practices create more divisive living practices and less connection between people. This is the key to form real communities and to form a sustainable society.

Upon our return to Baltimore it was nice to feel the warmth of the east coast again and to see the sun and clear blue sky. Baltimore may not be a perfect sustainable city, but the thing you notice right away compared to Los Angeles is that it is literally green here. I mean really green! The summer drought in Los Angeles means many plants turn brown in the summer. In Baltimore and the east coast there is a wonderful greenness most everywhere. And Baltimore has many parks and green spaces. Recently it was reported that the air quality is bad over Baltimore especially in the summer, but compared to Los Angeles it certainly looks and feels better. People do tend to overly rely on their automobiles for transportation here as they do in Los Angeles, and this phenomenon has gotten more intense over the years. So if you compared Los Angeles to Baltimore in terms of which is a more sustainable city, I would give Los Angeles a 5 and Baltimore a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best. I give Baltimore a slightly better score because of the more green spaces, that clean the air, and the air quality is better in Baltimore as well. Both cities need major improvements to be ranked near the top of being considered a sustainable world city.

What do you think? Tell us how your city ranks and why, and what cities do you think should receive a high sustainable city ranking and why.

Naoko and I are grateful for our California rawfood adventure! We learned and experienced much about rawfoods and are ready to share our newfound ideas and optimism with the world! Here we come!

Roland’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany