Oh the fun of today... broken arm workshop

I tried to make it look like a distant memory by colouring the photo in sepia... this was me before they changed the old plaster cast to a new shiny white plastic strap-on one. I now look like a Storm Trooper- kind of sexy.

And this is the snapshot Carla stealthily took of my third set of x-rays when the doctor wasn't looking (apparently I have to fill out all sorts of paper work to get the official copies... even though they are photos of my own body - weird). At least the bones are somewhat in place here. My other ones are way more impressive.

This guy tells us his story of the journey to the raw food lifestyle

I really like this video because of how personal he made it, and how honest he was. He also has many other videos you can watch on youtube. Here's a really good one on why we crave carbs:
grains vs raw fruit carbs.

2 First year pre-med students go raw for 30 days: very funny and well done!

How to gain muscle mass on a Raw Vegan diet: Raw Vegan Body Builder!!

This is great! I find that a lot of men use the excuse that they cannot go vegan, and definitely not raw vegan, because they will become weak and lose muscle mass... Not true! I love that this guy is soy free as well. http://veganbodybuilding.com-

This is an awesome, inspirational resource for men and women who are athletes and body builders, or who just want to gain muscle mass! I'm glad I came across this.

This guy explains very well why raw vegan food is so important:

I like the simple way in which he explains raw food and it's importance to our bodies. This blog is not all raw but I do know that it's headed in this direction, because raw food makes me feel the most energetic, healthy and happy.

I know it's strange to include happiness into the equation, but raw food does really change your life in a positive way. I've had nothing but positive effects. I liked what this guy said about incorporating more raw food into our already existing diets- I try to make a lot of recipes this way, for example making raw sauces for pasta like the Pesto Pasta with Leeks and Sun-dried Tomatoes, or the Raw Chocolate Pudding for desert instead of it's cooked, processed cousin.

The only way to know if I'm telling the truth is to try it yourself for one week. Do it!

Claire is our reporter abroad!

We're really going to miss you here Claire, but you'll be here through your photos, videos and article postings! Nothing but love for you girl. I wish you luck and lots of FUN!

This is how I Feel Today

I was doored, I got the door prize, however you want to put it- I was riding my bike along Bloor Street and a van swung open its door as I was directly beside it, and I was thrown to the pavement. My arm is now broken completely in half (the thick top half of it), and the medication I was prescribes is making me puke my guts out.

I used to encourage everyone to ride their bikes in the city as much as possible- I used to ride to and from work every day, but to be honest with you I don't think I will get back on. It's much too dangerous, and I'm sorry but a bike lane is NOT a bike lane if there are parked cars on one side (that can swing open their doors at any given moment), and moving cars on the other!

I am now out of work for the next few months and don't really know how I'm going to pay the bills. Guess I've got some research to do on what my options are. Sorry about my foul tone but this sucks royally. Little things that I could do in a few seconds are now impossible for me and the nausea is ruining any peace of mind I might have left. I will have to stop taking the medication as I would rather live with the pain than the nausea.

I know that everything happens for a reason, so I guess I am being told by the universe to take it easy and work on a different plan for my life. I'll do my best. To all of you out there who ride your bikes religiously: Please be careful and take side roads wherever possible. We need to also push the governments to create SAFE bike lanes for people who are actually trying to make a difference in their own health and the health of the planet.

Cindy Didn't Really Trust James...

James snapped this shot of a leery ostrich, and I love it so much. I'm going to make a gallery of all his animal character portraits soon so stay tuned.

Free Vegan Recipes That Rock:

T= Tablespoon
t= teaspoon
c= cup

Kiwi-lime Pudding! Wicked.
Raspberry Crepes with French Vanilla Cream!
Decadent Triple Decker Vanilla Chocolate Oreo Cake!
Basil Avocado Dip!
Spring Simple Salad Dressing!
Raw Velvet Shank Mushroom Soup!
Raw Vegetable Soup With Almonds and Sun-dried Tomatoes!
Creamy Caesar Dressing!
Coconut Corn Bread in a Skillet!
Creamy Parsnip Soup with Pine Nuts and Sun-Dried Tomatoes!
Raw Almond or Cashew Milk!
Vanilla French Toast!
Savory Fried Coconut!
How to Open a Coconut ... The Easy Way!
Raw Spicy Zucchini Soup!
Lemon Poppyseed Love Cake!
Mom-Approved Luxurious Pumpkin Pie!
Coconut Porridge with Fresh Blueberries
Award Winning Mac & Cheese!
Raw Indian Carrot Curry Soup!
Pesto Pasta With Leeks and Sun-Dried Tomatoes!
Vegan Creme Brule with Cranberry-Blueberry Compote!!!!
Black Rice and Walnut Stuffed Squash!
Cranberry Cinnamon Pancakes!
Mocha Latte Cake!!!!
Coconut Berry Breakfast!
Creamy (and way better) Alternative to Yogurt
Spicy Raw Vegan Carrot Soup!
Almost Raw Stir-Fry!
Raw Spinach-Avocado Soup!
Raw Vegan Chocolate Pudding!!!!
Raw Cauliflower Curry with Pine Nuts!

Our Secret Forest

This is one of my favorite places to go and reconnect with what's real. You can hear yourself breathe here, and there are moss-covered rocks and trees that go on forever. James took these photos on a hike we went on last week where we found three beautifully coloured newts on the path, and moved them to a safer place. They were so soft and cute (for lizard-like creatures). I wish I could live here.

Vegan in New York

Claire is in New York now and took this photo of a go veg poster that's pretty awesome. She says there are vegan restaurants everywhere and that she's enjoying the adventure in the big city. Miss you Claire!

Water Life movie trailer: Hot Docs Film Festival 2009

I thought I'd post some of the amazing Hot Docs Film Festival trailers for you to see. I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far and I will be posting more of them tomorrow so stay tuned.

I'm a huge documentary film fan if you haven't already noticed. It's a powerful way of revealing subjects and events that are generally not seen in the main stream media. And documentaries are spreading like wild fire. They're opening the world up so we can decide what's really going on, and what are the lies being fed to us.

It is estimated that there are more tigers in captivity in the United States than roaming around in the wild of the world

Watch this! I had no idea.

Reporter: A new Hot Docs movie trailer

Black Wave: A documentary about the greatest environmental disaster

This looks really well done.

Take care of yourself and you won't get sick... simple.

A couple of places we've been to in the last few days...

Me and James at Canada's wonderland in front of the scarriest ride... the merry-go-round.

The next few photos were taken while on a hike in the Cheltanham Badlands. It was very beautiful, and strange for a place in Ontario. The trees surrounding the area were filled to the brim with Saskatoon berries too!

Almost nothing can grow in this clay-thick soil.

James was running all over red hills. We want to go back and take some black and white photos at night during a full moon.

very quick and to the point meat message:

why no one but calves should drink cow's milk:

Another really important video on why no one but calves should drink cow's milk. I have also the link to this other one here called 'You and Your Milk' (very well done too).

a cat adopts baby squirrels??

For those who haven't seen this reunion between a lion and the people who raised him:

There is now a book that has just been released by the same title: Christian the Lion, about this story- i've heard it's amazing. This video makes me cry every time.

2 Week Master Cleanse Detox Talk:

Ok, so my two week detox is over and I want to tell you some of what the results are so you might go and try this yourself. I was doing the Master Cleanse which means I only drank water with fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper and a bit of maple syrup. I also drank plain water and did salt-water flushes every morning, which is the worst part, (but I got used to it), where I mixed 1 or 2 teaspoons of sea salt in 1 litre of warm water and drank it all at once. This acts as a sweep of you colon... so you have to be near a washroom. It's very effective and I suggest doing it because with the lemonade you detox your body, but then you need to move all those toxins out or they will just reabsorb back into your system. I also drank a laxative tea every night.

I finished the detox with something that might seem odd to you... a colonic, which is where you go to a specialist who irrigates your colon with water for about an hour. It's not painful or humiliating- actually it's something pretty gentle (from my experiences), but this is not a necessary process, and not considered part of the Master Cleanse.

Main Ingredients for the Master Cleanse Recipe:

• Pure Filtered Water
• Grade B Organic Maple Syrup (the darker the better)
• Organic Cayenne Pepper
• Organic Lemons
• Sea salt - Unrefined (Not iodized)

Optional Ingredients:

• Laxative tea
• Natural Herbal Tea (not caffeinated) 

#1 (single serving):

• 2 Tablespoons of organic lemon Juice (about 1/2 a Lemon)
• 2 Tablespoons of Organic grade B maple syrup (not the commercial maple flavored syrup you use on pancakes)
• 1/10 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper powder
  
• Ten ounces of filtered water

#2 (60 oz. daily serving):

• 60 ounces of filtered water
• 12 Tablespoons of organic grade B maple syrup
• 12 Tablespoons of organic lemon juice
• 1/2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper powder

Even as a vegan I could feel that my body needed to detox, as I don't always eat organic food if it's not available, and I have a bit of a sweet addiction form time to time. Also fear and stress can store toxins in the body as well.

A sense of accomplishment comes from sticking with it. I feel wonderful now- my skin is nicer, my stomach is flat and my eyes look clear. It amazes me that I had plenty of energy during the whole process. I rode my bike to and from work every day as usual, I went on hikes, and even had the will power to bake an awesome vegan cake for a birthday party without tasting a crumb! (that was hard actually). I didn't feel hungry during the detox- I felt needy, like I wanted to eat because everyone else was eating, but I was definitely not hungry. There were no hunger pains.

I lost about 10 pounds as a side effect (that I wasn't necessarily aiming for, but it's nice). The job of our purifying organs (the liver and kidneys), are to filter out and rid the body of toxins, but they can't always deal with everything because we never give them a rest - we eat too much. So our bodies store the toxins in fat cells to be dealt with at a later date. 

When do a detox our body stops creating the strong acids that break the food down in our stomachs, and burns fat cells for energy, releasing the toxins (how many times can I say toxins?).
Well I'm so excited about what I did that I thought I'd tell whoever cares to listen. I hope you all try it- you can definitely do this! Your body will thank you soooo much and you'll feel like a brand new person when you're done.