Here are my thoughts on what is sustainable living: 1. eating local organic food
2. using clean renewable energy sources
3. eating lower on the food chain 4. COMPOSTING! Food grown in composted soil supports radiant health (vs. food grown with artificial/chemical soil amendments.) The key to compost farming is for city councils to come together and provide gardeners and the farming community fresh, healthy compost!
Now that the kids are teens
and pre-teens, here's our:
New Approaches and Strategies
Feeding Our Kids
1.Nurture the kids' ability to come from Source
when making choices, including food choices.
2.Know raw food kids are our leaders! Raw kids are
happier, have less colds and flues and sleep better.They have stronger immune systems, mental states and
endurance. We are developing leaders, trendsetters who are more consciously
aware and have stronger life force energy!
3.Eat Organic. Studies show ¼ to 1/5 fewer
chemicals in babies' bodies when diet is changed to 100% organic food. The kids prefer the taste of organic (Louks girls can tell the difference blindfolded!)
4.Give the information, and then let it go. Watch documentaries together on where our food comes from so they can make an informed decision. Share
with them information on similarities of traditional healthy diets (no fractionalized foods, instead whole foods and uncooked fat from rich soils...), where the food hey are eating come from and how it was produced. share
with them from the heart how I deal with cravings on an emotional level.
Then...let them make their own decisions.
5.Nurture their own inner strength to make the
right choices. When they are making good choices and feeling the benefits, they
grow stronger, not only physically, but also on emotional and spiritual levels. For example, I share with them from the heart how I deal with cravings on an emotional level (for emotional "padding" or "self-medicating" pain.
6.Enjoy community potlucks with the kids and their
friends, nurturing friendships with similar aged children of like minded
parents.
7.Make it fun!
8.Laugh and sing in the garden and in the kitchen.
9.Make it cool. (Tag games, surfing and trampoline
at potlucks)
10.Diets
of 40% fruit: easy fast food.
11.Everyone
makes her own meals sometimes (they enjoy it more!)
12.Eat
together.
13.Go
to sleep early. A good nights sleep might even be more important than what foods they eat.
14.Stop
feuding and forgive each other.
15.Avoid
TV and negative commercials that sell products. Dopamine is released while
watching TV, which speeds the brain. Instead read "Fresh, Whole Foods: Fun Poems About Food" together at night!
16."My
children are my compass."
17.Encourage
kids to eat for nutrition (the younger ones don't care about this, but the teens start to care).
18.Give
choices, options, and lots of variety! Give them one or two options where they have the option to say "no" especially if there is an option they are not given much choice.
19.Have
a consistent rhythm of eating (within 2 hours of regular mealtimes)...letting our body focus on "cleaning house" rather than digestion after 7 in the evening.
1.Too rapid of a change (with the exception of sick children, who
intuitively know they need to make a rapid change.)
2.Trying to control them; being too overbearing. (My children are not my
children...they are children of their Creator)
3.Big dinners. Eat the biggest meal at lunch when kids are feeling most
creative!
Question to ponder: Which
is more important, eating raw foods or organic whole foods?
*Parents
make kids into sugar addicts, and establish patterns of diet at a young age.
Buying only whole foods sets the tone in the home. Let them make meals and
treats from ingredients the parents supply.
Here is a letter Jeff wrote in February 2011, to a friend who was reaching out and asking him how to switch to a more plant based diet...thought you might appreciate or want to forward to a spouse or loved one: Giovanna my dear, you are asking the right questions! I have been eating a raw, living foods, plant based diet for the last four years and not only do I feel the best I have felt in 25 years, I can actually say that I ENJOY eating more now than I ever have. My wife June, and I (mostly June) have done a tremendous amount of research on this subject and can speak about this much, much more than I can email you.
The mostly raw, living food plant based diet is in my opinion the way to go! Once we shift from much of the foods we are accustomed to or have grown up with into a plant based, living food diet, we lose the addiction/cravings for the unhealthy foods we should not be eating and become free and healthy. My wife wrote a book titled, "Rawumptious Recipes." In this book, she explains how she overcame her health crisis of severe migraine headaches and other ailments by eating foods we as humans are better designed to be eating. She also includes many, many recipes which are family/kid friendly and delicious. June now does raw "uncooking" classes at our home and every class is sold out! I think her next one is on March 5th. I would definitely suggest you come as it is a WEALTH of information. She basically takes everyone down to our garden where much of the food for lunch is picked here or is locally, and organically grown. She explains the nutritional aspects of each food including the protein, vitamin and minerals in the variety of foods. She answers tons of questions and then serves a delicious raw/living food lunch. Many people are so inspired they come back again and again to the classes. If you are interested I will have June forward you the time and other information.
Gio, I have personally met people who cured themselves of cancer, diabetes (type 1 and type 2) and many other ailments simply by eating the foods Man/Woman were intended to eat. It is that simple: We don't see much advertisements on television or on the radio for this because there is no money in it. All we hear is about drugs and medication to cure our ailments. All about money and profits.
Our culture is becoming more and more obese, and our children are following this trend. When one chooses to finally take control of one's life by eating naturally, the way we were intended to eat, we go back to our natural weight. We also lose the cravings and addictions to meat and dairy, and processed foods like flour and sugar combos loaded with preservatives and unnatural ingredients, which is causing most of our worlds health problems.
Anyways, Giovanna as you can see I am passionate about this subject and have a number of books and movies I strongly recommend reading. Go rent "Food Inc." or "Supersize Me." Also, there is a movie coming out in March called "Forks over Knives." This should be a great one to explain why in today's society there are so many reasons why it is better to be a vegetarian then eat meat. A book I recently read, "The China Study," by Dr. Colin Campbell is a must read. Much love Jeff
June Louks, September, 2009
It's Rawumptious!
Anxiety and
depression...it runs in my family.No
fun.For me, my challenge was
debilitating migraines and fatigue.With
four young daughters going in four different directions (think carpooling mom),
I had my share of anxiety too, but the migraines and fatigue was paralyzing and
degenerating.My vision was declining,
my brain foggy, and I was grumpy... just managing my pain.
Four years
ago, from January to June, I had 43 days that I couldn't function.I resisted going on medication with all the
side effects, and further degeneration. (My prayer was on going. I was reaching
out.)I had to do something
different.I finally got to a wall,
where I knew I wasn't going to be able to survive another migraine.I became willing to try anything...even give
up Ben and Jerry's Coffee Health Bar Crunch (really!).
I thought I
had a great diet...a typical American diet with a Californian twist — salads and
vegetables, even sprouts, almost every night as a side to our main course.But in my desperation I became willing to try
anything to cleanse...even to go as far as try only totally vegan raw food.
Did I lose
you? Yeah — that's what I thought at the time too...it sounded unappetizing...but
honestly, after working with my new parameters with a passion to find something
I enjoyed eating...I found the food to be mouthwateringly delicious (no kidding!)
and satisfying.
My first
two months I gave up white flour and white sugar. (That was tough...giving up the
sugar addiction.)I felt a bit better,
and so then began my foray into eating exclusively raw foods.It wasn't easy, changing my diet."Raw" is a completely different way of
thinking, but, boy, was it worth it!This past year, from January to June, I have been completely
migraine/fatigue FREE(!), and every morning I wake up feeling more youthful and
eager to get out and play tennis with our girls, go surfing with my husband,
Jeff, or spend time outdoors gardening.I feel at the top of my 44-year-old game.
Soon after,
watching my noticeable improvement, Jeff joined me.It was at that point that we began to take a
close look at what we were feeding the kids.We decided we needed to rethink all the junk food in our lifestyle,
socially, at school, our traditions...really at every turn.We decided to transition them to a more
principled, healthier diet...to a more whole, living foods based diet.What a difference it has made!We don't get sick anymore...and the 10 dental
fillings for cavities every year have become none! (No cavities for all of us
the past 3 years!)We share this journey
in our book, along with our "Rawumptious!" recipes: simple recipes with all
nutritious (fresh, whole food) ingredients. (Note: there is a lot of helpful
and important information in this book.If this is something you are interested in, please read the book first
before transitioning.)
Dr. de
Mello has been a wonderful support in this journey and has endorsed our book as
a well needed offering of tools for wellness and vitality. He gives me a blood
test every year now, and checks out my vitamin, mineral, hormone (etc)
levels.They are very healthy!I think it is a testament to our family's
morning blended smoothies.We load the
smoothies with green leaves (think chard, Bok Choy, kale, parsley, even
stinging nettles!), which are loaded with folic acid, calcium, magnesium,
manganese, amino acids...They are inexpensive and these blended greens really
helped my with my cravings.Dr. de Mello
is offering cleanses now as part of his services.Wow.The Akasha Center: what a special place we have right in our
backyards.How many doctors out there,
instead of simply offering an array of medication, supports us in moving to our
natural state of radiant health?Thanks
Dr. de Mello.We are truly grateful.
A book I
found helpful I'd like to share with you is Dr. Gabriel Cousens' book, "Depression Free
Living."Dr. Cousens shares how whole
raw foods (in a plant based diet) give us a healthy balance of nutrients our
body then uses to make the necessary neurotransmitters, hormones, etc. (and he
shares a helpful list of common migraine triggers.)
Now, to me,
"raw" means a willingness to let go of things that are no longer serving me,
moving into thinking more compassionately and sustainably, and connecting with
our natural environment; balance, calm, love, joy...alkaline living...and I love
it!I don't feel deprived and I can
honestly say that I actually enjoy eating more than ever before.Sorry junk food — you have been replaced...with
Rawumptious Recipes!
June Louks
Co-author of "Rawumptious Recipes"
Website: rawumptiousrecipes.com
June is currently teaching introductory and inspiring
"uncooking" classes in her Malibu home. For her schedule, you can contact her
at junelouks@verizon.net.
Sweet
— but not a food
A powerful corn lobby, The Corn
Refiners Association, writes last week in the Malibu Times Letter to the Editor about the
benefits of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in Yoplait Yogurt and how it is "nutritionally
equivalent to sucrose...provides fermentable sugars, enhances fruit and spice
flavors...and regulates tartness."
Hmmm...excuse me while I have a bite
of this strawberry...Perhaps, to be fair, it should be pointed out that HFCS is
processed, refined and chemically altered so far from it's corn derivative that
it is completely devoid of vitamins, minerals or fiber; that unless it is
labeled USDA Certified Organic, that is probably is grown unsustainably,
genetically modified, and grown with heavy amounts of pesticides and
fertilizers that pollute our waterways; that HFCS (sucrose, a disaccharide, and
relatively recent addition to our diet considering human history) is addictive!
(Rats prefer sucrose to cocaine!)
With the rising epidemics of
obesity, diabetes, ADD and ADHD occurring at the same time as the advent of HFCS,
perhaps it should be pointed out, that we might not want to feed HFCS to our
children. (Whether it is the second ingredient listed or the fifth!)
HFCS (and refined sugars) might
provide cheap calories and enhance flavors but I wonder if we are paying for it
in our high health-care costs, environmental clean-up bills and in the
disappearance of the family farm.
Pam Linn's August 20, 2009 Malibu Times column, "No
Longer Trusting the Labels" was thoughtfully written - thank you Pam! It might
not have a powerful lobby behind it (or be a big money maker), so can we also
highlight fresh, whole foods, sustainably grown (organic, local and seasonal),
readily available to us here in Malibu?
Fruit (fructose, a monosaccharide,
and a sugar we humans have been eating for thousands of millenniums) is sweet
and loaded with vitamins, as well as minerals, fiber, phytonutrients...and
calories. It is more advanced than anything the "science" from the Corn
Refiner's Association can offer us. It is nature's fast food; the ultimate in
convenience. So...bring on that farmer's market!
June Louks
Passionate Mother of 4
August 28, 2009
The Louks Family: June, Jeff, Lauren, Heather, Hailey, and Charlotte Louks | junelouks@verizon.net
