April 6, 2011 - Posted by Maren - 0 Comments
I know that I have not been very good about keeping you all supplied with posts in the last few months. But I am happy to announce that in my absence I have been working on other projects.
This is why I am honored to tell you this… I have recently opened up my practice as a Certified Colon Hydrotherapist! I am currently working out of my beautiful healing space in Brooklyn. I have opened up my practice for personal consultations.
My new Space is quiet, clean, friendly and personal. It is located in a beautiful brownstone in the fabulous neighboorhood of Park Slope. My office is a quick subway ride from Manhatten on the F or the R train.
I hope that I will see many of you there in the future! If you are interested in learning more about my space or coming for an appointment please visit me at
www.h20flow.com
that is h2 zero not the letter “o”
I hope to see many of you in my colonic studio where I can help you achieve all of your health and beautity goals. Lets work together to make your inner beauty shine through!
August 8, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 33 Comments
Hey everyone! I hope you have all been doing well! I have wonderful posts coming finally, i have just been so busy with butter your body! Everything is really taking off! If anyone wants to order just email me and mention pure food life for a 50% discount. But anyway. My beautiful friend Lauren of diaryofanutritionist.com is having a stevia contest! Just post on her blog to enter for a chance to win tons of free stevia! So i will leave you here in the competent hands of Lauren.. who is seriously one of the best people ever!
Lauren Talbot, CCN
The average American *consumes over 100 pounds of “white sugar” a year*…
This amount does not include the amount of *artificial sweeteners **(like
aspartame, saccharin and acesilfame-K)* that are *chemically processed* and
used to sweeten popular diet foods and soda pops. Particularly,
sucralose *(brand
name, Splenda)*– is produced by the chlorination of sugar. Yum,
chlorinated sugar. *Not* quite!
*White Sugar is HIGHLY ACID-FORMING*.* *Even though, society tells us that
“diet” and artificial sweeteners are better for dieters, or the “health
conscious,” this is far from the case. In fact, studies have show that
these *calorie-free alternative may be even more debilitating and just as,
if not more, acid-forming than sugar itself*. *YIKES!*
Remember, we want to eat alkaline forming foods for a healthy body, and thus
healthy glowing skin– sugar and artificial sweeteners are not part of this
equation.
The good news! There is an alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners
called Stevia*. Stevia is a more pH-friendly (*in fact, it can be
alkaline-forming*), non-caloric, “sweetleaf” or herb. I love cooking with
Stevia, and concocting creative beverages and sweet treats with it. It is
my favorite, “not-so-secret” ingredient and you are bound to find it in
almost every one of my recipes.
*CONTEST (and free giveaway):*
*I have tried many brands of Stevia and have been loyal
toNuNaturals amazing
NuStevia products for years (they are hands down the best tasting stevia
products on the market).Guess what!? The amazing folks at NuNaturals brand
have very generously offered to award four (4) of my readers: one (1) Free
box of their NuStevia™ 50 packet boxes, plus one(1) Free bottle of their NEW
Alcohol Free Vanilla Stevia Liquid, 2 oz. Size ($21 value). How fun!! I am
sure that you will absolutely love their products and they have no funny
aftertaste like other Stevia products I have tasted.*
*Contest Criteria*: It’s easy!
1. Leave a comment with a creative or favorite recipe that you would like
to make with your very own NuStevia products. It can be an experimental
recipe! *The Vanilla Liquid stevia is my personal favorite!*
2. The contest starts now, and will end at Midnight on Tuesday the 17th. I
will choose my four (4) favorite recipes on Tuesday morning! I will contact
you first and then NuNaturals will send your prize directly to you!
If you have a sweet tooth, but are trying to ween yourself away from sugar,
and artificial sweeteners… this contest is 100% for you! Click here to
enter!!
Link:
http://diaryofanutritionist.com/2010/08/05/stevia-giveaway-enter-a-fun-recipe-to-win/
May 23, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 58 Comments
One night not too long ago, while having one of my worse days, I passed by the book Women Food and God. I found the book in an unlikely and not so enlightening place: Stop and Shop. I was currently stressed out about schoolwork, and had subconsciously decided to take out that frustration on food. I thought that finding an amusing novel would help level out my anxieties, and distract my current thought patterns from lettuce to happiness. Among the limited selection of trashy love novels, I saw Women Food and God, and the title jumped out at me. Since the word food was already at the tip of my tongue that night. After picking up the book I quickly dismissed it as just another waste of paper, but then something changed my mind. As I stood there thinking, “What could this woman possibly tell me, that I don’t already know or that can help me…” I decided that for a couple of dollars and hours of my time, listening to what she had to say was worth a shot. I purchased the book.
Upon reading, I found that the author did have many intriguing ideas that helped me shed light on my own slip; back into disordered eating behaviors. I found the book to be an interesting combination of the author’s personal experiences and practical advice. The author believes that one’s relationship with food is a manifestation of their relationship with her world, that it is a reflection of a woman’s mental state. In the case of the disordered eater, I believe that this is true. Food is the easiest resource that we have to exploit or take frustration out on. We can indulge in it, restrict it, and punish it without it ever saying one word.
Most interestingly, the author described emotional eating or restricting as an attempt to escape one’s body. This is a theory that resonated with me and made a lot of sense. When women eat blindly they are often trying to distract themselves from a painful event going on within their lives. Eating, as it seems, is the ultimate distraction. By indulging the senses, and distracting our hands, we are able to “escape” our situations. But if only for a moment, only to come crashing back into our physicality upon finishing the meal and realizing the extent of our uncomfortable fullness.
The book is filled to the brim with other theories of why women over eat. Along with the reasons the author provides for why women over eat, she also provides strategies and tools in order to help the compulsive consumer to cease their excessive consumption. Overall, she concludes that in order for women to stop over eating that they must reunite themselves with their physical body. Women must stop trying to escape their emotions and to allow themselves to feel them. Also that they must endure the experiences of their lives that bring them stress. She states that by coming into full consciousness of ones existence and their life situation, and by stop trying to escape it that they will stop eating. While this makes perfect sense, it is a hard feat to accomplish. Coming into ones full consciousness and allowing them to feel their pain without letting it destroy them can take many years of soul searching. Women Food and God is a book that may help provide women with some of the tools they need in order to embark on their search for consciousness and the resulting release from disordered eating.
I think that the book Women Food and God should be read by anyone who has ever struggled with over or under eating. It is an enlightening book that is sure to fuel the fires of our desire to change!
May 15, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 80 Comments
Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to apologize for my lack of posts this past two weeks. I have been tackling final papers and exams for school and have not had much time to devote to pure food life. But! I’m Back!
The lovely people at Blisstree.com have introduced me to their centerfold raw/vegan chef! Douglas McNish, a raw/vegan chef who is currently living and working in Toronto as the head chef of Raw Aura organic and raw food restaurant. Doug combines his professional training as a chef, and a love for cruelty free foods in order to create hit recipes that are sure to inspire even the most dedicated carnivores. His recipes are both diverse and delightful. Doug also teaches cooking classes and gives cooking demos to those who are eager to learn from his vast experience.
Since I have not posted recipes in the past, I feel that it is my duty to now provide you all with something delicious… Even if I’m not the one who created it! Therefore I would like to direct you all to Doug’s Bi-weekly recipe posts on www.blisstree.com! Doug has shared Delicious recipes with Blisstree such as, a (massaged kale salad), and his original recipe for (carrot and parsnip “fettuccine), just to name a few! And more are on their way! Please do not hesitate to visit Doug at Blisstree if you are looking for something yummy to make for dinner tonight! Also, if you are in Canada be sure to visit his amazing restaurant!
April 26, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 85 Comments
I absolutely love posting here on Pure Food Life because all of you readers bring so much energy and life to this page. In order to celebrate all of you and your various journeys in life i would like to create an open call for those of you who would like to make a GUEST POST here on Pure Food Life.
Also I would like to take this opportunity to address any issues that you find interesting within the blog. Please comment me on issues you would like to see covered and any requests for the opportunity to guest post.
Feel free to email me as well at mepstein@drew.edu or maren@butteryourbody.com
April 26, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 8 Comments
Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to let all of you know that www.butteryourbody.com Is officially up, running, and accepting orders on all products! Everything is steeply discounted and comes fully gift wrapped in eco-friendly wrapping paper in celebration of our launch! I am so honored to provide the world with safe, vegan, and natural products that will intensify the beauty of our lives!
with love and beauty,
Maren
April 24, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 104 Comments
Hey everyone!
I am so glad to tell you that Butter Your Body has officially launched! The website is up and running, but the products page still needs to be updated with more products from our skincare line and a system needs to be put in place so that orders can be made. These changes will be up by tonight! I am thrilled to finally have butter your body up! I cannot wait to start changing peoples lives with these amazing skincare creations, they have certainly changed mine! If you need any help or have any questions just comment or email me at mepstein@drew.edu
With love and living beauty,
Maren
April 21, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 34 Comments
It is so easy to eat meat in today’s society because; quite frankly meat just doesn’t look like meat anymore. Instead of seeing a bloody dying animal we see a perfectly cut and seared piece of meat. By detaching ourselves from where our food comes from we enable ourselves to eat just about anything. But is this a good thing? I don’t think so. I’ve never been a save the animals type of girl, but, the things that are done to animals today are nothing short of disgusting. I have been vegetarian for as long as I can remember and mostly vegan (aside from the occasional raw goats cheese) for the past year.
This is what made last night so interesting. Cory (the boyfriend) wanted lamb chop for dinner. So, we went out to whole foods and bought a heaping pile of lamb flesh. We went home and I reluctantly cooked this dead carcass with my clean skillet, cut it with my clean knife, and filled my apartment with the stench of death. Upon the completion of this meal, I gave him his plate and nastily said, “Enjoy your heart attack on a plate.” He then continued to tell me that I was being unfair, and that he worked hard all day and DESERVED a steak. Regrettably, Cory knows little of which he does and does not “deserve.” I sat there while he ate that nasty animal. He must have worked his way through 12 oz before I lost my cool and started telling him how what he was doing was wrong. Cory has never been one to be affected by those slaughter videos but tonight was different. In the midst of his indulgence I went to my computer and started showing him images of baby lambs, videos of lambs playing, and finally videos of them getting shot in the head with a dead bolt gun. By the end of that 10 minutes he finally understood how that steak got there, now he doesn’t want to eat Mr. Dinner anymore, he wants him for a pet. Mission accomplished!
Most people would say that Cory’s meat obsession is not my problem, and that he is free to make his own decisions . Honestly, I entirely agree. I think that we are all entitled to make our own discussions, but that they should be informed decisions. Cory was ignorant to the sweet nature of lambs and the inhumane treatment they endure upon being slaughtered. And now he knows. So I will leave him to make his own decision. Lucky that decision is what I consider to be the right one.
My point here is that It is important for everyone to know what they are eating, and more importantly how that food got to their plate. Stereo typically, men are the most ignorant when it comes to meat eating. Like Cory, most men embody the mantra, “Out of sight, out of mind.” This simply will not do for me.
As educated women (and men) it is important for us to keep our families safe and informed. This is why I personally see nothing wrong with obnoxiously showing your boyfriend, husband, father, mother, or children what they are eating for breakfast.
So here is my comic and yet obnoxious list of methods to get your man to stop eating Bambie;
1. Place images of livestock around your kitchen. Cute baby cows, ducks, sheep, you name it.
2. Take them to a petting zoo so that they can interact with Mr. Dinner
3. Explain why it is bad for ones health to eat animal proteins.
This list could go on forever but, the pictures and youtube videos should be enough. Its time to be obnoxious and show our families what they are eating and how it is affecting others.
===Equals Vegan
April 18, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 5 Comments
Emotional eating and binging is in a small sense, about indulgence. On the very surface of reasons why women over eat, binge, or purge sits the urge to satisfy an unwelcomed indulgence. Many women who eat certain things decide that they do not deserve or should not eat a particular food before they even reach for the first bite. Subconsciously women are always taught to be modest. The social messages that women are sent from a young age is that it is better to refrain than it is to take part. Women are silently told not to reward themselves with gratifying pleasures that seem unnecessary or selfish. Such as excessive shopping, speaking, and of course: eating.
Therefore, the guilt that women associate with eating indulgent foods runs deep. Also, since women already decide that the food that they are desiring/eating reflects negatively on them, weather it be due to a lack of self control or as a few extra pounds on their thighs. They are likely to have a negative attitude about the food.
We have all done things out of guilt and shame, things that we knew were wrong. If women think about how we go about doing these things it will give them a lot of insight about how they go about “blindly” indulging in forbidden foods. When we do something that we know is wrong, we generally do it quickly, as quietly as possible, and as sneakily. We don’t want any one to see the evidence of what we have done. So, as soon as the dirty deed is complete, we hide the evidence as quickly as possible! This same kind of thought pattern and preemptive planning occurs during emotional eating. A woman will sneakily creep down into the kitchen or where ever the food is hidden, when no one is around to see them. Then they will eat that food quickly, often not even enjoying the taste once past the third bite. In their haste they may be more likely to eat more than they plan to out of their guilt. Certain women may think that once they have “failed,” and succumbed to their craving that they might as well, “go all the way.” Once the eating has stopped and the dirty deed has been completed, it is time to get rid of the evidence. Women go about “disposing of the evidence” in many ways, from skipping following meals, purging, exercising, etc.
The lasting problem here is that once the deed is done, the feelings behind them are not dead. Women will feel a hole where that food was supposed to go. The problem is that the food could not fill that hole because it was not put there respectfully, and the food is not always the problem. This hole does not close on it’s own, and so out of impulsive haste women try to fill it again with yet another forbidden indulgence.
While indulgence is something that we all deserve, we should not feel guilty about it. Getting back to the above topic, eating is a type of sensory indulgence. But since it is guilty by association, women abuse it and do not allow themselves to enjoy their indulgences fully, and therefore; end up punishing themselves for it later. This is why when someone is prone to eat under a negative pretext, she should look for another way to indulge. Eating is a sensory indulgence which means that she needs some kind of mental stimulation. What women don’t realize is that they can receive this stimulation by stimulating their other senses. While this is hard and most forms of pleasurable activities don’t seem as rewarding as eating cake, in the end they are. Therefore, instead concentrating on only taste, remember that there are still four other senses that deserve attention! For instance, one could listen to music, take a bath, burn incense, watch TV, read a book, etc., or do a bunch of these things at once! The idea of deflecting the desire to binge and participating in another activity is this…
We all deserve pleasurable indulgences, but we should not have to feel guilty about them. This is why if women can do something that they enjoy as a reward that they can feel good about, they will be less likely to over eat during mealtime (or in between). A girl may be pleasantly surprised to see that she ate much less of that chocolate bar after watching a nice movie and taking a bath. This is because it takes the guilty out of the guilty pleasure, and in turn, eases the process of emotional eating.
April 16, 2010 - Posted by Maren - 11 Comments
Drinking fresh vegetable juice is the best-known way to receive a multitude of live vitamins and minerals. The vitamins in vegetable juice are so fresh and easy to digest that the drinker absorbs 95% or more of the nutrients within 15 minutes of drinking. For more information about vegetable juicing check out my post about supplements below.
With all of the benefits of drinking fresh vegetable juice it is a shame that not everyone is taking advantage of this phenomenon. Most of the people that I talk to tell me that they do not drink vegetable juice because they simply can’t stand the taste. They say that every type of juice that they drink tastes too “green” and makes them gag. I understand this because I don’t really like a particularly grassy taste in my mouth myself. This is why everyone should know which vegetables are both nutrient dense and tasty when turned into a juice. Here I would like to share my favorite yummy juice recipes and a list of tricks that will help make your vegetable juice taste great every time.
The following is a list of vegetables that taste great in a juice because they are naturally sweet.
- Romaine Lettuce
- This vitamin packed green has a high water content and a mild flavor that gives juice a crisp taste.
- Cucumber
- Cucumbers are surprisingly sweet and cooling and have no green taste. I often enjoy a juice of only cucumber. These vegetables are also economical because they have a high yield of juice
- Zucchini
- Similar to cucumber has a mild taste
- Parsley
- Parsley adds a wonderful tone to juice giving it a flavor
While these vegetables are all great, they need that extra something to bring them alive. These are a bunch of flavor enhancers that can be used to improve the taste of traditional vegetables:
- Lemon
- Lemon is very alkalizing and covers up green taste. It is also great for detoxification.
- Ginger
- Ginger’s heat takes the place of the green after taste when combined in juice. Great for bacterial infections and breaking up mucus from illness
- Apple
- Apples are sweet and combine perfectly with green vegetables to make a soothing juice that tastes like a fruity cocktail. Apples combine well with vegetables because genetically they are very close to vegetables.
- Carrot
- While carrot is not a green vitamin packed vegetable, it still has many vitamins and health benefits such as vitamin A. Carrots can be added in large quantities to juice to make them sweeter.
Now that you have a great list of palate satisfying veggies, here is how to combine them. This is my favorite juice recipe and will soon be yours too!
Maren’s Cooling Cocktail
- 2 cucumbers un-waxed
- 1-2 lemons
- 1- 2 romaine hearts
- 1 yellow, green, or Fuji apple
If you are avoiding fruit for any particular reason replace the apple with liquid stivia. I like nunutrals brand.
The next recipe is simple, easy and cheap. I like to drink this during the winter when I am craving a heavier juice
- 1/2 of the juice is carrot
- ½ of the juice is Romaine Lettuce
One more refreshing recipe that has a cool Mexican twist is
- two cucumbers
- two limes
- two bunches of cilantro
This tangy and yet refreshing juice is satisfying in the summer heat!
I will be sure to keep the juice recipes coming, but for now enjoy and tell me what you think of these recipes! Summer is here and its time to get our drink on with fresh and healthy veggie juice!