Send Fear Into Exile

We come into adulthood with ideas about who we are and where we are going. These ideas invariably guide our actions, and somewhere along the line, one or more of these childhood precepts trips us up. We step back and wonder, where did I get this idea? or why do I feel this way? and it is times like this that we become our most powerful and true self. Through introspection we discover more than books and school alone can ever teach.

Introspection: A Look At My Childhood Concepts

“Women who are too muscular are not feminine.” That was a statement I heard several times as a child. I was also given the false belief that being moderately active would make me muscular and would prevent me from growing voluminous breasts. These arbitrary beliefs were just straws on the back of the camel that was my health, that broke fully at the age of sixteen.

I was fearful of not being feminine enough, beautiful enough, or good enough to have a loving husband when I grew up.

“Don't suck your thumb because it'll make your teeth grow in crooked and then you'll never find a good husband.” That was the statement that made me finally stop sucking my thumb. I stopped out of the fear of never having the love of a man when I grew up.

“I will be very rich when I grow up,” I said several times between the ages of eight and eleven. If you asked me why I would be very rich, my answer would change depending on my mood. Sometimes the reason was because 'I would never let myself be poor.' I had the same logic about being fat, and said, 'I wouldn't let myself get fat.' As if I could somehow will things to be other than they were. Sometimes I reasoned that I would be rich because I would marry a rich man. Sometimes it was because I would have a very lucrative career as a mathematician.

What strikes me about these childhood beliefs in retrospect was that some part of me wouldn't even contemplate that I might be anything other than fiscally rich at the age of nine. What was I so afraid of not having due to lack of money? Who gave me the idea that money meant happiness?

Or did I think that money would give me authority?

I resented being a child because of my lack of authority. I was denied the ability to make my own decisions too frequently to feel safe. Being denied the ability to make a decision once in a month is too much for me.

I balked at anything resembling the usual child-slavery. (The usual behavior of mankind where children are told what to do with no room for their own opinions, feelings, etc.) If I was told to do something there had to be a reason. I would not simply obey.

Resentment From Fear

If you are made made to do something out of fear then you would resent the person who forced you. That is perfectly just. Why shouldn't someone feel resentment? Why shouldn't a child resent someone who is forcing them to do something in fear? Why should anyone, at any age, ever be made to go against their ethics, beliefs, emotions or comfort zone because someone is making them afraid of doing otherwise?

If you have a strong desire to paint, but your mother is a musician and insists you ought to sing... That is all well and good if she sings to you with love, and brings you to music classes with love, and you come because you love your mother and are curious about music. It is entirely different if she says she will spank you, take away your toys, ground you, or prevent you from seeing your friends if you paint, or if you refuse to sing.

Let's say someone is dirty, and they feel that washing is wrong. They are unpleasant to be around because they smell bad and make you nervous. Nobody should say, “You have to spend time around this person or else I will reject you.” And nobody should say to that dirty person, “If you do not clean yourself I will throw you into the river.” Instead, that person could learn that most people will not choose their company if they are dirty, but that it won't be hard to find love if they are clean. If the dirty person must be removed physically from a situation because they are causing health concerns for others, then that is just, but that is different because in that case it is affecting the health of other individuals.

If you are strongly against something, such as abortion, you should not be made to help another person have an abortion under the fear of losing your job. If you are strongly pro-choice, you should not be made to keep a child you do not want to keep out of the fear that society will reject you.

Domestication Of Children Today

Yet as children we're told that we're not old enough to make decisions, and that we do not have the right to choices.

We are given candies that give us cravings for more sweets, but then made to eat soggy steamed vegetables that now taste bitter by comparison. Instead of saying, “Here, take this sweet and be happy [or else]” and then following that with, “Here, you must eat this or else you'll be stunted in your growth,” we can encourage children to make the right choices. We can say, “If you love your body as much as I love mine then you must want to eat this healthy food that will nourish you. If you choose to eat something that is bad for you I won't stop you, but it's not a very kind thing to do to your wonderful body.”

The way in which we're raised is domestication, allowing us to be ready for the adult life where we are continually doing things we dislike, things we don't believe in, and working a daily nine-to-five job where we'll slave away doing things we may even be violently against if we were given enough free will to think about it.

Free Will

We may cling to the idea that we have free will, but do we?

Is it free will you have to go to that job to make that paycheck to get enough money to get by? Are there really other options if you don't get enough time off work to seek another job?

Well, of course there are, but it is very hard and very unpleasant to break out of a box that is so small and so uncomfortable that you can not even turn around within it. It is difficult to garner strength in this crouched position that causes more cramps the longer you're in it. After a while you're in too much pain to want to consider what your real condition is.

You'd rather drink (or smoke, or eat and eat and eat) and be numb and through self-destruction find a little mental peace away from the awareness of the small box you're closed within.

Everything we believe is a chain that keeps us in a pattern. If I strongly believe that I absolutely must eat a certain way to be healthy, then I am trapped.

Instead of putting myself in a box, I want to retain my free will. I do not want to be stuck with one option. I want many options. To attain many options I must educate myself. In the instance of food, if I want to be able to have options then I must learn many ways to eat that create a healthy body, and not become bogged down by one dogma. This is why I've broken out of the vegan norms and forged my own path. I am not subject to vegan dogma, or raw food dogma. I am thinking, reasoning individual. In my article, Beyond Veganism, there is a deep exploration of common vegan myths, health myths, core values and the ethics driving our actions.

Even if I do limit myself in action, it is important that I do not limit myself in thought. I may choose to to make the same choice again and again, but I do that only through my personal experience as to what is best for me. I remain empowered as long as I continue to feel free to reexamine my values and choices.

Education, ultimately, in all circumstances, is what allows us to retain empowerment and freewill.

As soon as something becomes “the only way” you become trapped. If “the only way” to survive is to keep your day job then you're stuck a slave to your boss. He can abuse you, curse at you, disrespect you and humiliate you and you may put up with it because “it is the only way” to survive.

It doesn't magically become easy to change just because you understand that you must change to be healthier and happier.

“Only when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of changing do we change.”

It is so very true. I didn't become a raw vegan because everything was all happy-go-lucky in my life. I began making dietary changes because my choices were thus: change or suffer horrifically each day unto death.

However, I am not as dogmatic as many vegans or raw vegans I've met. These values I hold are not "the only way" to create peace, prosperity and health on this planet. They are great powerful aids that I am joyful to share with others, but they are not the only way.

Why do we crave authority and riches?

Back to why I wanted to be rich so that I could have authority...

I believed that if I had authority I would have more free will. If there were no people with more power than myself then I would have full command of my actions.

I would never have to go against myself. I would never have to run a race when my body felt like it was falling apart (...thank you so very much you egotistical crass gym teachers...), and I would never have to sing with a dry, itching, swollen throat (...thank you so very much you very disobliging vocal teachers...), and I would never be scolded for being too slow when running or too raspy when singing because I'd never be made to do things so very inappropriate for my condition!

We're often made to feel that life is toil, toil, toil, but I've always felt that was absurd. I still do.

Of course, as a child I didn't think to myself, “I want to be rich, so that I may have authority, so that I will not have to fear anybody anymore.” Of course I didn't. I just thought, “If I were rich I could have lots of dolls, a big house, rich friends and anything I wanted would come easily.”

But I did crave authority and riches. I still do, but now I crave these things so that I can make a better life for myself and for my family and for anyone who wants to learn from my mistakes. I no longer desire these things out of fear, but out of love.

I didn't know I wanted those things out of fear. Most of us do not realize why we want something until much later, if ever.

Honesty In Relationships

I didn't realize until recently why I always wanted to be able to be fully honest in my relationships (including feeling inclinations towards being with other men, or having fantasies, or disliking my partner's friends). I now understand that this desire for full honesty was because I wanted to be able to give and receive full respect for who I am. I didn't want to have to be an image of myself, always pretending to be a certain way in order to be loved. That isn't love at all. That is being fake and being rewarded with small deposits of kindness in exchange for being fake.

What is a relationship worth if you can't be yourself in that relationship? If you're not even you in the relationship, is there a relationship? And if there is a relationship, what is it made of if your half of the relationship isn't even real? And what if their half isn't the real them either?

Then you're playing some sort of game where you both make an image and see if they can play nice together. You might as well play Sims online if that is what you'd like to do. Get into role playing if you can't be you and stop pretending that your image is you when it is not.

That is what it means to live a lie. Every time you do something that is against what you really want to do or say, then you are being an image for the sake of someone else, and you are lying to that person and to yourself. And when you do it for the sake of that other person, are you doing them any favor? If you tell someone your favorite color is blue when really you dislike blue and your entire house is filled with red and black, but you tell them this because they like blue, have you done something good for your relationship? Perhaps it may seem so at first, but it isn't good when they buy you a blue shirt for your birthday and then are so generous that they knit your a blue scarf for another holiday.

And now you're trapped. If you tell them, “I lied and said I liked blue to please you,” now you will be exposed for a fake and the trust in your relationship will be diminished. You will be embarrassed because they were so kind as to make you a scarf with their time and effort and you don't even want to wear it because it doesn't match any of your favorite clothing.

You didn't really lie to please them. What pleases someone is being around loving joyful people. You lied because you were afraid of not being accepted.

And what about that trust? Can you trust someone more than you feel they ought to trust you? If you feel that you have been disloyal and dishonest it is easy to believe that they are lying to you. So now everything they say becomes suspect. They say they create comic books in their spare time, but are they just saying that to impress me?

And as soon as you say to someone, “I'm not sure about my friend, I think she may be making things up just to impress me...” now you've revealed yourself. You doubt your own friends, and perhaps they ought to doubt you in return?

I am not saying that just one instance of doubting somebody automatically shows that you are not a trust-worthy person, but people who lie often have trouble believing that others do not lie often.

Of course, those who eat cooked food every day have trouble wrapping their mind around my diet, and that I do not generally cook food. The first time I ever met a vegan I didn't understand or comprehend what it meant not to eat animals or anything that came from them.

Back when I could hardly walk a quarter mile I found it impossible to believe that I could ever be athletic, and people who were athletic were as alien to me as green marsh-men that live in pineapples at the bottom of the ocean.

Perhaps it is always hard to bend our minds to something different from our own experience. All the more reason to be honest, so that we can rely upon someone's words to convey to us a set of experiences different from our own.

With my husband, I can be fully honest. I can say anything at all that occurs to me and he never loves me less, or becomes jealous. And the reverse is true. He can confide in me about his doubts, and come to me in his moments of weakness. While I might say, “I don't think that is very prudent of you,” there is still love and warmth in my voice. I do not remove human compassion and affection from our relationship because he is hurting or mistaken. Instead of judging each other we kindly prod each other to think about the real causes for our actions.

The Root Cause: Remember To Question "Why?"

How often do most people think about the root cause of something?

Not too long ago someone told me, “When my stomach hurts I eat a particular food to settle it and then it feels better.”

I began to speculate and try to conclude why that was. When I began to tell this person why that might be the case, they said, “Let's not dwell on it. I'll just eat that particular food when I don't feel well and leave it at that.”

I was honestly quiet aghast. How could they not want to know the reason why? This is their own body, and they didn't want to figure out why their choice affected it?

If the stove burns your hand, don't you wish to understand that the stove is hot and how to know if something is too hot? You don't simply live in fear of the stove and never go near it. You seek to understand and control your actions and their outcomes so that they may be desirable.

If you do not question “why?” then you will not be empowered with the knowledge of why something happens. And without that empowerment you will not be able to change what happens.

Without understanding why you are poor, you can not stop being poor.

Without understanding why you are sick, you can not stop being sick.

If someone had been able to explain all of my various conditions to me when I was sixteen and given me the knowledge of what was wrong with me I would have had a lot less years of research to do before I could have cured myself. I had to start with, “What is wrong with me? Why is this happening?”

You can not start with the question, “How can I be rich?” You must first ask, “Why am I poor?” And then it may be wisest to progress to, “Why do I want to be rich?” If you can answer these two questions, “Why am I poor?” and “Why do I want to be rich?” then you will be able to find fiscal wealth, or discover the real wealth which you crave.

I crave the wealth of free will.

I can not have free will if I am not empowered with knowledge. Only when I can say, “This choice will make me happy,” and “This choice would make me unhappy,” can I make the right choice.

Sometimes there is no way to find out without taking a risk and finding out the hard way. This is why the biggest risk in life is to avoid all risks. You must find answers somehow, and one of the most effective ways to find answers is to take risks.

Now, I'm not saying you should jump off a bridge to learn about gravity, broken bones and possibly death. That would obviously be folly.

However, some things can not be so easily learned from others' mistakes. You can not learn, for example, if you like to sing if you never sing. You can not learn if you like to draw if you never draw. Nobody can show you what is in your heart except you. Someone else might be an aid, but ultimately, your experience of life comes from your own actions and perceptions.

Living In Fear

Up until recently my actions and perceptions were very much a product of fear. This is true for most people that we encounter in the world today.

We exercise from fear of fat. We don't exercise from fear of not being feminine. We exercise too much from fear of being called lazy. We restrict our singing voices for fear of sounding bad. We don't plant a garden for fear that it will not thrive under our care. We avoid relationships because we fear rejection. We avoid personal conversations because we fear discovering the fear in our own hearts.

How absurd we can be!

Wouldn't it make more sense to exercise because you love to swim, dance, or run? Wouldn't it make more sense to eat well because we love ourselves? Wouldn't it make more sense to sing because we love singing or to not sing because it does not interest us? Wouldn't it make more sense to try having a garden and put our love into it and continue or not based on the amount of love that poured out of us as a result of planting a garden?

Isn't it better to be yourself and be rejected for being yourself than it is to create an image and have that false non-existent person loved? You can not receive somebody's full love if they are loving an image that is not who you are. You can not respect that person and love that person in kind because they love something that is not you. If you make an image and someone loves that image you may feel guilt, anger, contempt or disgust. These emotions will be a poison to your relationship.

When we're afraid of making the wrong choice, then we are doomed to make the wrong choices.

If you are constantly restricting your child because you're afraid they'll end up just as messed up as you are, then you're making them just as messed up as you are.

If you are constantly restricting yourself because you're afraid of rejection, then you are rejecting yourself and thereby are already suffering worse rejection than can be offered to you from other people.

I have a poem about this topic, and it is as follows:

Send Fear Into Exile

I am angry with you,
Because I'm afraid that you're right.
I am angry with you,
Because I'm afraid that you'll leave.
I am angry with you,
Because I'm afraid of myself.

I am feeling sad today,
Because I am afraid of tomorrow.
I am feeling sad today,
Because I am afraid of yesterday.
I am feeling sad today,
Because I'm afraid to fade away.

You are making me jealous,
Because I'm afraid you love her more than me.
You are making me jealous,
Because I'm afraid that she's prettier to see.
You are making me jealous,
Because I'm afraid that you'll set me free.

I have been struck sick,
Because I'm afraid about finances,
I have been struck sick,
Because I'm afraid of losing friends,
I have been struck sick,
Because I'm afraid.

You have forgiven me,
and I feel love.
You have given me truth,
and I feel love.
You have smiled with me,
and I feel love.

I accepted your forgiveness.
I have forgiven myself.
I accepted your truth.
I have found truth within myself.
I accepted your smile.
Now I smile for myself.

You showed me love,
and I freed myself from fear.
I am not afraid.
I live love.

~ Raederle Phoenix
January 2012

Notice that it was I who set myself free from fear. Someone else can empower you with knowledge and lend you their love, but you must ultimately love yourself and banish fear yourself.

How To Get What You Want

If you want authority, you must ask, “Why am I powerless?”

If you want love, you must ask, “Why do I feel unloved?”

If you want to be accepted you must accept yourself.

If you want to be loved and respected you must love and respect yourself.

If you want change in your life you must not balk when things fall apart, but instead you must build yourself a strong foundation with the bricks raining down upon you.

If you want to be happy you must stop living in fear. Fear is the root of most problems. It is the stem to the anger which causes us to reap a harvest of bitterness and regret. Fear is the root to the tree that bears fruit of jealousy, betrayal and anxiety.

Yet if we sow the field that is our life with love... We find that the fruit is sweet with kindness, the seeds are rich with compassion, the branches are strong with honesty, the trunk is fortified with virtues and the sun that smiles on us is warm and pleasant with love in return.

Because we love we are patient when we choose what nutrients to suck up from the land that our roots are planted in. Because we are patient and not afraid of being too slow we choose carefully and correctly. Because we love we are not afraid that we have wasted our time because we know our branches have sheltered many with compassion, and that our fruit has blessed many people with joy.

In love there is no need to fear death. When you live love there are always people who will care about you and want you to smile as you make them smile. These people will be there for you in life and in death. And why fear leaving a life well loved and lived? You will die with a smile on your face knowing you have left the world a happier more loving place than when you entered it.

In love there is no need to fear anything at all. Strong love and strong fear can not exist in the same person simultaneously. You are either living love or living fear. And no action made in love can be regretted.

The Law of Attraction

This truth is the basis for The Law of Attraction, which simplifies emotions into “good” and “bad.” I dislike an aspect of this view, which is that to call something good or bad is to judge it. We need not be judgmental. We must choose for ourselves what we like and dislike. In other words, we should discern, not judge. The difference? To judge is to find someone or something guilty. To discern is to discover the causes behind the actions. Love brings joy, and we may choose to call this good. Fear brings misery, and we may choose to call this bad.

If you wallow in fear, you reap misery.

If you bask in love, you reap joy.

This is why I strive to send fear into exile.

~ Raederle Phoenix

Originally written on Febraury 5th 2012
Edited, updated, and graphics added on September 21st 2012

Sources of inspiration: The Secret (documentary), Eyes of Horus and Lord of the Horizon (a fantastic duet series taking place in ancient Eygpt with the heart of the book being about sending fear into exile) by Joan Grant, The Art of Happiness (a practical guide to finding happiness) by Howard Cutler and the Dalai Lama, The Mastery of Love (a Toltec wisdom book) by Don Miguel Ruiz, The Continuum Concept (a book that shows us why we are the way we are and how to raise our children to live without fear), Sugar Blues (a book that shows us how to love our bodies by how to avoid some serious poisons present in today's food supply) by William D, and Many Lifetimes (a book that shows us how to stop being afraid of death) by Joan Grant.

To see all the books I recommend, click here for my habitually updated book recommendation page.

To send your own fear into exile, click here to learn about my free e-mail course with lessons that focus on overcoming fear, cravings and vices and reaching your goals.

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Saving Money On Produce

How can an average person with an average income afford to eat healthier when produce is so expensive?

Listen to this short twenty minute episode to find out: Fresh Produce on A Budget.

Here is how we manage it on a small budget:

We combine all of the following cost-cutting methods. We eat mostly organic so the prices we mention are the prices on organic produce. We believe eating organic is important for our health, and to the planet. Long-term we're saving money by avoiding illness.

Local Produce

• Local Farm Stands (out in the sticks)
• Farmer's Markets
• Pick Your Own
• C.S.A.: Community Supported Agriculture

Bulk Produce

• Order online (raw kelp noodles, raw carob powder, organic toilet paper)
• Order large volumes through a store that gives discounts

Bruised Produce

• Seek discounts on bruised fruit or wilted greens

Grow Your Own Food

• Indoor aerogarden or potted herbs
• Sprouts
• Outdoor garden
• Eat free weeds
• Plant a fruit tree

Some Notes

We went off on a bit of rant about the amazing power of weeds during this episode. Jay and I have been astounded at the power of growing weeds (for a better garden) and eating weeds (for better health). Weeds are free, hardy, and all around beneficial.

We learned about what weeds are safe to eat and the medicinal properties of weeds growing all over the United States in every kind of climate in a powerful DVD set by Markus Rothkranz. It's been a huge bargain to buy the disc set because we save money every day of the summer by harvesting healing food that is growing right in our own back yard.

To get this amazing deal for yourself, visit Markus's website.

Hope this helps you save money on your grocery bill! In the Summer of 2012 we've been able to feed the two of us a healthy nutritionally balanced raw food diet that is 95% organic for under $400 per month, including probiotics. That is only $200 per person, per month, for a 95% organic, 100% raw vegan diet with probiotics included. Our organic C.S.A. membership was indispensable in reaching this incredibly affordable summer.

~ Raederle

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Agave: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

What is Agave Nectar?

Agave (pronounced ah-GAH-vay) is a plant that thrives in the volcanic soils of Southern Mexico. They are large, spiky plants that resemble cactus or yuccas in both form and habitat, but they are actually succulents similar to Aloe Vera. The nectar made from the plant is known in Mexico as aguamiel, or "honey water."

Image from Wikipedia

How is it made?

This probably depends on where you're getting your agave nectar from, but according to one site, this is the gist of it;

When the agave has grown for seven to ten year, the leaves of the plant are cut off, revealing the core of the plant (called the "pina"). When harvested, the pina resembles a giant pineapple and can weigh fifty to one-hundred and fifty pounds.

To make the agave nectar, sap is extracted from the pina, filtered, and heated at a low temperature, which breaks down the carbohydrates into sugars. Lighter and darker varieties of agave nectar are made from the same plants.

According to one popular agave nectar manufacturer, “Agave nectar is a newly created sweetener, having been developed in the 1990s.”

This makes me think about all the other "newly created sweeteners," such as splenda, aspartame and maltodextrin. We know how poorly those ingredients treat the body...

Manufactures of agave nectar want you to believe that they make agave either in some new and amazing way that is safe for diabetics, or they want you to believe that they do it the same way ancient Aztecs did. Neither is the case.

In a recent article now posted on the Weston A. Price foundation’s website, Ramiel Nagel and Sally Fallon Morell write:

Agave “nectar” is not made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant but from the starch of the giant pineapple-like, root bulb. The principal constituent of the agave root is starch, similar to the starch in corn or rice, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of chains of fructose molecules. Technically a highly indigestible fiber, inulin, which does not taste sweet, comprises about half of the carbohydrate content of agave.

The process by which agave glucose and inulin are converted into “nectar” is similar to the process by which corn starch is converted into High Fructose Corn Syrup. The agave starch is subject to an enzymatic and chemical process that converts the starch into a fructose-rich syrup. The syrup has anywhere from 70 percent fructose and higher according to the agave nectar chemical profiles posted on agave nectar websites.

Is it really raw?

Because of the low temperatures used in processing many varieties (under 118°F) raw foods enthusiasts generally regard agave nectar as a raw food. Under 118 degrees is about as high as anything can be considered raw, and that's a pretty large leap from the 105 degree rule that many raw foodists stick to.

Think about your body temperature. If you have a fever of 104 degrees, that's a high fever. While one-hundred-degree weather is common for many people, 118 degrees is hot dessert weather.

Not all enzymes are destroyed at the same temperature. Some hardy enzymes will live up to 118 degrees F, but many are killed after exposure to 106 degrees F for several minutes. This means that foods heated to 118 degrees F do not have all their enzymes intact and are in fact mostly or wholly cooked.

Besides all that, agave "nectar" is created by a chemical process which means that it doesn't matter whether it has been heated to high temperatures or not. It's been refined, which means it is a ruined food source.

In short, it is no more raw than high fructose corn syrup. In fact, I refer to agave as High Fructose Agave Syrup, because that is what it is.

Bottled agave syrup from the store is a long way from eating the pina-sap directly off the agave plant. The pina-sap is nature made, the agave nectar is man-altered frankin-food.

More and more food gurus are learning the truth about agave. I first heard agave being denounced by Markus Rothkranz.

Is Agave Nectar healthy?

If you just read the above, you probably already have your answer.

There is a lot of conflicting information about agave.

John Kohler pointed out that agave is not a low glycemic index food, and that it has been taken off the list by the official folks who create the low glycemic index. Diabetics have been shown to react negatively to agave.

I say that the glycemic index is irrelivant.

The relevant factor is: How refined is agave? How close is it to being a chemical and not a food source?

Studies (as well as heaps of anecdotal evidence) show that regularly consuming agave is not an improvement from consuming any other sweetener on a regular basis.

If you're really healthy, you may not be noticing the negative effects because your body is dealing with the agave effectively, but it may not stay that way forever.

You don't have to take it from me. According to Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD:

"The bottom line is that refined agave sweeteners are not inherently healthier than sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or any other sweetener. Nutritionally and functionally, agave syrup is similar to high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose (Karo) syrup."

And here is what Dr. Mercola has to say about agave:

"Agave" literally means "noble." It’s generally recognized as a superstar of the herbal remedy world, claiming to offer relief for indigestion, bowel irregularity, and skin wounds. Ferment it, and you have Mexico’s favorite adult beverage -- tequila.

Agave "nectar" sellers use agave’s royal pedigree to cover the truth that what they’re selling you is a bottle of high-fructose syrup, so highly processed and refined that it bears NO resemblance to the plant of its namesake.

Such a high fructose content isn't typical of all agave products. "Depending on how the syrup is processed, it may or may not contain more fructose," says Roger Clemens, a professor at USC and spokesman for the Institute of Food Technologists, whose research has focused on functional foods, food processing and nutrition.

Depending on the source and processing method used, agave syrup can, therefore, contain as little as 55% fructose, the same amount found in high-fructose corn syrup -- in which case the syrup would offer no advantage.

If you knew the truth about what’s really in it, you’d be dumping it down the drain -- and that would certainly be bad for sales.

Most agave "nectar" or agave "syrup" is nothing more than a laboratory-generated super-condensed fructose syrup, devoid of virtually all nutrient value, and offering you metabolic misfortune in its place.

Is Agave Nectar natural?

According to one article I read, Agave is so far from being natural that "it has more concentrated fructose in it than high fructose corn syrup."

As we've already determined, the process of refining the sap of the agave plant puts the sap through a chemical process.

Anyhow, define natural. Everything came from a stone, a bit of dirt or from a plant at some point. Plastic was made from "natural" things, and yet we don't think of plastic as being "natural" in and of itself.

Has anyone reacted badly to agave nectar?

Absolutely!

I've tried raw dishes at potlucks with small amounts of agave. Afterward I was incredibly unwell; I was sweating profusely, I had a stomachache, a headache, and I became incredibly tired. On another occasion I wasn't able to sleep most of the night and had ugly leg cramps. I felt heavy-headed, sluggish and had a lot of difficulty waking up.

I've had similar reactions to a sugar made from a coconut sap, from white stevia and from yaccon syrup. But somehow I don't react poorly to massive amounts of fresh fruit. It's very obvious that the difference is man's intervention. The refinement process that strips away the fiber, minerals, vitamins and enzymes is critical in how sweet foods affect us.

I won't touch agave in any amount, no matter how small.

My husband who has severe reactions to agave as well. He became nauseous and sick after having small amounts of agave-sweetened juice, and felt tired and sore after eating an agave-sweetened raw dessert.

My husband and I are not alone. I've had dozens of people tell me in person that they can't touch agave syrup without having a bad reaction. I've had dozens of people tell me online about their difficulty with sweeteners. The bottom line is that agave syrup is not a health food.

A Side Note

By having refined sugars (white sugar, agave syrup, molasses, etc) in your diet, your tastebuds stay within a "sweet" scale. The less sweet you eat, the more sweet everything else tastes by comparison, and the less bitter.

Even if agave were the best sweetener you could use that was created by man, there is no reason not to use something less refined, such as dried fruit.

In any recipe that calls for agave you can use soaked dates blended with their soak water to create a date syrup.

In some recipes that call for agave you can use any dried fruit, such as raisins.

In a few recipes that call for agave you can use fresh fruit such as pineapple or banana.

Keep Researching

If you're not convinced, then keep researching.

For me, personal experimentation combined with common sense is plenty of reason not to use agave syrup.

If you care about your body, then why bother using something that is concentrated sugar with little/no nutritional benefit when you could eat a sweet fruit that offers many benefits?

Marketing

Beware of marketing. It is constantly trying to play on your addictions and fears. When you see an advertisement, stop and ask yourself, "How is this advertisement playing off of common fears and/or addictions?"

You don't need to sweeten foods for them to taste good. When I changed my diet and got the sugar out of it, I was amazed that romaine lettuce started to taste genuinely sweet, along with tomatoes, blackberries and carrots. Foods stopped being bland and started having flavor.

~ Raederle

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Slimcado Avocado: The Good & The Bad

How Does A Haas Avocado Compare To A Slimcado?

We all love Haas avocados.

Guacamole is incredibly awesome. So awesome that someone created a twitter account just raving about guacamole, and trend called #holyguacamole.

So when I saw Slimcados at Wegmans my first reaction was "Oh! A different sort of avocado! Let's get two."

The sticker explains that Slimcados have less fat than your regular California avocado. I didn't purchase them for that reason but found it interesting to note.

The concept of a "new kind of avocado" reminded me of "sweet avocados" which I only ever had while I was living in California. The "sweet avocados" had a smooth skin like these over-sized Slimcados, but the sweet ones were regular Haas-sized. The sweet avocados tasted different, but I prefer traditional Haas avocados to the sweet ones.

How do Slimcados match up?

I wanted to make sure I got a good one, so I picked two that appeared very different in appearance.

The dark green one was by far the darkest Slimcado in the entire display. I'm guessing that it may have actually been picked riper, which would imply a better flavor. Since there was also a chance that the dark green one would simply be spoiled, I chose the other one for being fairly light colored in comparison with the others.

I wasn't sure how to tell when a Slimcado was ripe, so I did a quick google search after I got back home to determine when I should eat them.

The internet wasn't very helpful. I found this blog entry where the person obviously opened theirs too soon. I found another blog entry which described the Slimcados as simply "gross." The author writes in conclusion, "The slimcado does not taste good, plain and simple."

After reading those two bad reviews I had to ask myself, "Was it wise to buy two of this unknown low-fat fatty fruit?"

I did some more online digging, trying to find an answer to the question, "Are my Slimcados ripe, or not?" and found some other non-useful pages such as this one, which tells me essentially that most people have not tried them, a rare person on occasion loves them, but most people who try them find them bland.

I crossed my fingers and hoped I would be one of the people who loved them, especially because they're around twice the size of a Haas avocado for the same price.

I finally found a useful review of the Slimcado here: "I won't say watery like some did, it's not, but it's a much thinner consistency. The guac tasted good, but I give more credit to DH's guac skills than it's constituent avocado. I would recommend avoiding the slimcado if you find yourself at the grocery store. The Haas avocado is full of good fats and omega 3 fatty acids and tastes a hell of a lot...more."

In another description someone called the slimcado "nuttier" than a Haas.

Are My Slimcados Ripe?

No concrete ripe-ness information seems to be available, so I just "played" it like a regular avocado, waiting for them to be soft, but not so soft that they were squishy.

It turns out that in terms of the way they feel when you squeeze them, you do want them to be just the same as you'd like your commonplace Haas avocado.

Here's what my first one looked like when I opened it:

The skin is much thinner than a Haas, similar to the skin on a sweet avocado. I suspect this large breed of avocado (the "Slimcado") is really a sweet avocado with some water weight.

I'm very suspicious when it comes to trying new things, so I cut off each and every tiny little imperfection, resulting in the bowl full of Slimcado pieces pictured above.

I tasted it plain. Sure enough, watery. It's as though a Haas avocado was blended with water. In fact, that's almost exactly what it's like since a Slimcado has about the same calories as a Haas avocado, just simply less calories per volume since the Slimcado is so much larger. Go figure.

But... It isn't just watery. It's also a shade sweeter. It does have a somewhat different flavor that would not be present if you blended a Haas with water. "Does that slightly sweeter flavor imply it would be better for certain recipes?" I asked myself; The creative raw vegan chef inside me was alive and well.

But being typical me... Guacamole! I mean, seriously, I have all these tomatoes ripe on the vine growing in my yard, how could I do anything else?

And besides that I had made some carrot-patties. Warm in the dehydrator, thick, soft, mushy on the inside... Waiting to be topped with deliciousness and spinach.

So, I picked some lettuce, tomatoes, chives and other fresh herbs from the garden, pulled out the carrot patties and....

Ta da!

This dish turned out to be surprisingly hearty. My husband and I became stuffed before we could finish it.

(If anyone is wondering about my shirt, it was a gift from a friend of mine whom I play board games with. It says "Alien Robotic Factory" which only makes sense if you've played the board game "Race for the Galaxy." It's one of my favorite board games.)

I made up a bowl containing the leftover for my father:

Now be warned: The Slimcado is bland on its own. It's got a great texture for making a smooth creamy dressing or guacamole, but without heavy seasoning, your dish will be pretty flat. In the guacamole I put home grown tomatoes, chives, red onion, tomatillo, basil and possibly some other things, and I ate this with very flavorful crackers that contained two whole fresh cayenne peppers and the carrot pulp from a bunch of carrots that were juiced.

That said, the overall effect was still delicious. It certainly wasn't a waste.

The second Slimcado actually began to change color today. I didn't photograph it before I cut it open, but to describe it: The spots that before had been spots began to consume the entire color of the fruit. It had a few bad spots on the inside, but was mostly good.

Raw Corn Chips

On a side note, I decided to make raw vegan corn chips, and was delighted with my success. I used raw corn on the cob, ground flax and chia seeds and dehydrated for around 24 hours at 110 degrees. This is what the "batter" looked like:

Today, when I saw all the delicious ripe tomatoes on the vine outdoors, and crossed that in my mind with the darkening Slimcado and the fact that I had some cucumber, green pepper, fresh cayenne pepper, and basil all ready-to-go in the kitchen... Well, this happened:

Needless to say: Yum!

Giant Raw Corn Chips + Slimcado + Fresh Home-Grown Tomatoes + Fresh Herbs = Happy Delighted Smiling Raederle

Overall, I say the Slimcado is basically an inflated slightly-sweeter avocado. It's probably best used in dips and dressings. Although it may be good in desserts as well. I don't recommend eating it plain, as it'll likely bore you to snoring.

From a nutritional standpoint, the Slimcado has four times as much phosphorus as calcium. That's a Calcium to Phosphorous Ratio of 1:4, which is really bad. You wouldn't want you main source of calories to come from avocados in general for this reason. It also has much more omega-6 than omega-3, making it a non-ideal omega-3 source. That applies to both the Haas avocado, and the Florida Slimcado, but the Florida Slimcado actually has an even more disproportion of omega-3 to omega-6. That isn't to say that avocados are bad for you. It just means that you need lots of foods that do have good ratios of calcium to phosphorus and omega-3 to omega-6. You can learn more about that by clicking here.

The lovely Ela remarks that there are "legions of varieties of avocado" and that some are watery and some are "so fatty they're almost rubbery!" She remarks that in Hawaii there are many, many kinds of avocados to compare and contrast. That is definitely a good reason to visit Hawaii in my book!

In May 2013 I actually did travel to Kaua'i island, one of the Hawaiian islands, although not specifically for the slimcados. That said, there is a plethora of wonderful tropical fruits on the island, and I've had many learning experiences with them.

Thanks for reading. If you have thoughts to share with me, sign up for my newsletter and/or e-course and reply any message you receive from me.

~ Raederle

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