Lucid Nutrition

Beets Living Foods Cafe. Austin, Texas

Nourish your body and soul. Celebrate Life. Honor the Earth. A new addition to Austin's restaurant scene, Beets Living Foods Cafe features an upscale raw food dining experience. You can enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack or dessert, and take pleasure in discovering how delicious healthful cuisine can be.

I am so glad to have another place in town to enjoy raw vegan living foods! We vegans deserve an upscale place to enjoy our meals and not just holes in the walls that reek of patchouli and eighty year old furniture. This place is unique and well designed. The menu is beautiful and it is so hard to choose what to order.



Thanks to our friendly waitress, my partner and I opted to split the daily special. Out came two good sized enchiladas with tex mex cabbage salad (cabbage, tomatoes, green onion, and peas marinated in sundried tomato powder, olive oil, garlic, spices, and crystal salt) It also came with a  small side rainbow salad topped with seasoned seeds and a sweet yet tangy cilantro lime dressing. So fresh!!



We also ordered a cup of curried carrot soup, a velvety blend of carrot juice, orange juice, miso, garlic, lemon, spices, pine nuts, crystal salt. It is hard to believe a cold soup could be so warming! It had just enough kick to make it addicting. To drink we ordered a 'Green On Me' Juice (kale, celery, romaine, parsley, lemon, and ginger) and a Grapefruit Fizzy Lizzy :)

Even though I was satisfied after about three bites (all those nutrients tend to set the hunger switch off) we still decided to have something sweet. Naughty!? ;) For dessert, we ordered the oatmeal cookies. Next time we will try the 'I-Scream!' If I wasn't so full then, I would have went for it. Did I mention they gave us complimentary bites of chocolate cheese cake? It was divine. Totally worth the $6.95 a slice. People don't realize how much work and time goes into preparing raw vegan desserts. It takes practice and is a high form of art!

Overall, it was a wonderful and fulfilling experience having lunch at Beets Cafe.  We even got to meet the owner Sylvia Heisey and the super creative Chef Alicia Ojeda. They were both so approachable, friendly, and informative. They have a great selection of raw vegan books by Victoria Boutenko and dvds by our own local raw foodist informer Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo who I had the pleasure of meeting last year at her Magic in the Kitchen cooking class.

Beets Cafe will have their grand opening on Saturday, November 14, 2009

Time: 2:00pm - 10:00pm

2:00pm--Rip Esselstyn speaks about the benefit of a "plant strong" lifestyle
3:30pm--Cheryl Lynn Van Kirk demonstration Organic Food Grade Cosmetics and Hand Facials Star Flower Essentials
4:30pm--Dr Ritamarie Loscalzo speaks about fresh n fun living
5:30pm--On View "The Meatrix" http://www.themeatrix.com
7:00 pm-- Alicia Ojeda Culinary Demonstration
8:00 pm-- Live Music, Organic Wine, Signature Beet's Treats

I'll be there early. Come say hi!

Hours are Monday- Wednesday 8am to 8pm
Thursday-Friday 8am-9pm
Saturday 10am-9pm
Closed on Sunday

Location: 5th Street Commons
               1611 W 5th St. Suite 165
               Austin, TX 78703
               512-477-BEET (2338)

Go in and experience the vitality of living foods. Your body, soul, and mind will thank you.

Healthiest Foods in Mexican Cuisine

Mexican food, like the culture, is intense, spicy and full of variety, sometimes even being referred to as mestizaje, or "mixing." While corn, and particularly corn tortillas, plays a fundamental role in most all Mexican cuisine, there are many other ingredients in Mexican cooking that add not only characteristic flavors but also incredible nutrients.

1. Avocados

Avocados are probably most well known in the States for the popular guacamole dip, but in Mexico they're also used in salads, soups and main dishes. Avocado, sometimes called the "alligator pear," (yes, avocados are a fruit) comes from the Aztec word "ahuacalt."

Health Benefits: Avocados are an excellent source of the healthy monounsaturated fat oleic acid, which may help lower cholesterol and protect against breast cancer. They also contain the highest amount of the carotenoid lutein among commonly eaten fruits, along with high amounts of other carotenoids and vitamin E, which together have been found to inhibit prostate cancer growth.

Plus, because healthy carotenoids are fat-soluble, consuming avocados, which are naturally rich in monounsaturated fat, might enhance your body's ability to absorb these healthy nutrients from other vegetables.

2. Hot Chili Peppers

Fresh and dried chili peppers are what give Mexican dishes their characteristic spice, though specific peppers are used for flavor while others are used for heat. Some popular varieties include jalapeno, poblano, serrano, guajillo, chipotle, pasilla, habanero, ancho, mulato and cascabel.

Health Benefits: Capsaicin is the active ingredient in chili peppers, giving them not only their spice but also their health benefits. In fact, the hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains. This spicy compound has been found to:

• Fight cancer

• Provide pain relief

• Prevent sinusitis and relieve congestion

• Fight inflammation

• Relieve intestinal disease

• Protect the heart by reducing cholesterol, triglycerides and platelet aggregation

• Help your body burn fat and lose weight

3. Pinto and Black Beans

Beans are another major staple ingredient in Mexican cuisine, perhaps second only to corn. While a variety of beans, like pinto, lentils, kidney beans and fava beans, are used in Mexican cooking, we're focusing on pinto and black beans because they're more common in Mexican cooking and they offer a unique nutritional benefit -- lots of antioxidants. Typically, Mexican beans are served boiled or refried.

Health Benefits: Pinto and black beans are rich in antioxidants, both making it into the top 20 antioxidant-rich foods list, according to a 2004 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Plus, beans are high in dietary fiber, which is an excellent cholesterol fighter, and the complex carbohydrates they contain help keep your blood sugar levels balanced throughout the day -- essential for staying alert and feeling energized.

4. Cilantro

Cilantro, sometimes referred to as Mexican or Chinese parsley, has a strong flavor that people usually love or hate. In Mexican cuisine, it's a popular herb used in guacamole, salsas and sauces.

Health Benefits: Cilantro is rich in beneficial phytonutrients, flavonoids and active phenolic acid compounds, which may be responsible for many of its health benefits. Cilantro, and its seeds, have been found to help control blood sugar, lower cholesterol and fight inflammation and free radicals. Cilantro may also have antimicrobial properties.

5. Tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes are the backbone of many Mexican salsas and, mixed with chilies, they're used in everything from soups and salads to sauces, meat and seafood dishes.

Health Benefits: Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a carotenoid with potent antioxidant and cancer-fighting properties. Lycopene protects cells from oxygen damage, fights colorectal, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers, and reduces your risk of heart disease. Studies have found that lycopene works synergistically with other phytonutrients in tomatoes to provide these benefits. Tomatoes are also an excellent source of vitamins C, A and K.

6. Papaya

Fresh fruit is popular in Mexico, particularly for breakfast, and papaya -- said to have been called the "fruit of the angels" by Christopher Columbus -- is commonly eaten alone or as an addition to salsas and sauces.

Health Benefits: Papaya is full of antioxidants, B vitamins, folate, pantothenic acid, fiber and more, which work in synergy to provide a range of health benefits. Papaya has been found to protect against heart disease and colon cancer, fight inflammation and macular degeneration, and support the immune system.

It also contains papain, an enzyme that's good for digestion and is also used to treat sports injuries and other trauma and allergies.

Source: 6Wise

King Corn, A Conversation with the Filmmaker

"The following clips are from a conversation with filmmaker Curt Ellis brought to us by Cooking Up A Story. It is about his documentary "King Corn", the film that may open eyes across America. Surprisingly, corn is present in some form or another, in almost everything on the American plate. And, none more so, than through the food ingredient "high fructose corn syrup" (HFCS). Is it a good idea to have "HFCS" present in so many of our foods without prior public debate, or adequate science to measure its impact on the long-term health of adults, and especially our children? Should our standard meals be unnaturally skewed toward a corn based diet, in the first place? This interview, along with video clips from the documentary, may not provide the answers here, but it's a good beginning for further thought and reflection."

What do you think? Were you even aware that corn is in just about everything that is processed? That typically means all the food that comes out of a box or a bag or picked up from a drive thru. Everything from the Oreo's, to the spaghetti sauce, to most loaves of bread. You wouldn't pour sugar on spaghetti naturally, would you? So why have so many of our diets become so much sweeter than they used to be? How can we find solutions that make healthy food available to everyone and not just the wealthy?

If you're concerned about the amount of high-fructose corn syrup or other sweeteners in your diet, consider these tips:

• Limit processed foods.
• Avoid foods that contain added sugar.
• Choose fresh fruit rather than fruit juice or fruit-flavored drinks. Even 100 percent fruit juice has a high concentration of sugar.
• Go Raw.
• Go Vegan.
• Don't get your nourishment out of a box.
• Don't get your fix out of a bag.
• Don't expect healthy food from a drive-thru window.
• Do not drink soda.
• Don't allow sweetened beverages to replace milk, especially for children.

More Info:
High Fructose Corn Syrup: Not so Good for the Planet.
Double Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup.

"We may have to learn again the mystery of the garden: how its external characteristics model the heart itself, and how the soul is a garden enclosed, our own perpetual paradise where we can be refreshed and restored." ~Thomas Moore

World Peace Diet Lecture, Friday Night

If you are in Austin Texas on Friday December 5th you should stop by Casa de Luz, Center for Integral Studies to hear Dr. Will Tuttle give his lecture and presentation on The World Peace Diet from 7:00 - 9:00 pm.

And if you are unfamiliar with the Casa de Luz, you are in a special time. The vision is this:

The philosophy of how to live a great life (Macrobiotics) is the founding idea for Casa de Luz. This is an all encompassing philosophy, which includes all methods of supporting health and freedom. Our mission is to offer a sacred space for those that want to bring their disciplines to share with the community. Casa de Luz is open to all. Our reason for being is to practice and live in integrity. We believe that living with integrity includes practicing, learning, teaching, and sharing actions and philosophies to develop conscious living and cognition. It also takes commitment, authenticity, appreciation and openness to being wrong. The search of improvement is necessary, least we become arrogant and dogmatic. This is a place that is ever changing and colored by the practices that people bring to share.

In order to fulfill its complete destiny, Casa de Luz will create a full spectrum village which will be designed to include smart living modalities. Humanity's recent industrialized development has created conveniences that have proven to be detrimental to the overall health of all things on earth. The automobile, while wonderful, has proven to destroy well being. Industrialized foods have been made tasty, attractive and cheap, yet not only do they lack nourishment, but they also cause illness. By design, a village can support well being for all.

Besides being the gathering place for various forms of study including yoga, cooking classes, tai chi etc... the Casa de Luz kitchen prepares the most delicious foods all based on the macrobiotic regimen served buffet style in a communal style of seating. Every time I go there, I meet someone so interesting and on the brightest path of lucid living. It's wonderful. I will be meeting with Will before the event to capture some new video footage for his website and getting some details about his experience on th 13 month full time book tour in his solar powered RV across the country which is nearing completion. As you can tell,  he is one hard working, compassionate man planting peace daily and it has been great working with he and his wife Madeleine to help grow their online presence.

If you are unable to attend this event make sure you join the World Peace Diet Network, Read the Book, or follow Will's blog. Getting to know his mission and understanding his life work will definitely strike some harmonious chords in you and make you healthier too. Inside and Out. Really.

Oh and when you come to town call me or DM me on Twitter and we will visit Casa de Luz together :)