RawVegan Body-Building Muscle Mass

RawVegan Body-Building Muscle Mass

by Storm (AKA Nutman) Talifero

Note: the ebook on this page includes links to video clips.

The author at 51

As Raw Food (eating only unheated organic: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and lentils) gains more and more popularity among the mainstream America the one question that I'm asked especially by men is if it is possible to maintain your muscle mass on 100% Raw Food.

I'm writing this E-Book in the hope of answering some basic questions about Raw Food muscle mass. And also I'm writing it in the hope of maybe dispelling some of the myths that surround the traditional body building diet, and all of the supplements, therapy, and drugs that often go along with the all American male image.

This ebook is an illustrated online ebook. I'm putting it in this format because it is kind of hard to talk about body building without showing pictures to back up what you are saying.

This ebook also contains links to actual video clips to show the basic circular workout exercises and movements.

I'm now in my 56th year. All of the pictures in this book and all of the clips of me in the video were taken after I turned 50. Where it is feasible I will include my age at the time that the picture was taken. I'm doing this because I want to showcase the fact that when you have a balanced diet of Raw Food and a complete workout routine that the body ages at a much slower rate and you are able to maintain your muscle tone without sagging or cellulite which seems to over take most body builders at around the age of 40.

This is a picture of me at 53

Most of us don't think of the Raw Food Diet as a body building diet. We think of people who eat 100% raw food as being skinny and kind of wimpy. It has been my personal experience that nothing could be further from the truth. I'm going to try and explain why I think Raw Food is the ultimate body building and workout diet.

I think that the first thing you have to do is start off with a well balanced nutrient-dense diet. My personal raw food system includes the following groups: proteins, fats, carbs, vitamins, minerals, and water. I do not use supplements of any kind including protein powers, blue green algae, herbal cleansers and any foods that have been dehydrated or processed in any way. Now there are some who may say that we process food when we turn almonds into almond milk and almond butter and to a point they are right. But my thinking is that when you make your own almond milk and butter and then consume it within three or four minutes after making it that it does not have time to oxidize and go rancid. I totally believe that when we grind up almonds that have been soaked that this rich source of protein becomes much easier to absorb and assimilate.

We are just starting out on a great adventure in the realm of exploring raw food as a power food that can allow us to achieve maximum potential. I'm going to share with you a story about a young man who was over 150 pounds overweight. His name is Shannon and he was sent over to Africa to work with a very poor tribe who lived in the jungle. At the time he weighed close to 350 pounds and it was mostly fat. The tribe that he was sent to work with were too poor to afford any type of processed foods. Everybody had mango trees and papaya trees in their front yards. The first thing that he noticed was that there were no obese people in the whole village. He could not tell the 20 year olds from the 40 year olds. There was not one case of heart disease in the whole village nor did anyone have diabetes, cancer or any of the diseases that now riddle every level of our society.

So instead of trying to teach them he decided to learn from them. He in effect became a fruitarian. He is without a doubt the most muscular Raw Fooder that I know of. His fat to lean ratio is awesome.

Another Raw Fooder that I'm totally impressed with is my son Snow. He is unique in a number of ways. One is that he is the first adult I know of personally who started out raw in the womb. He was Raw for the first five years of his life and then he was vegan until he was 20 at which time he started to explore a lot of different types of diets. The whole time he was in high school he was on the track team and the basket ball team. He won a lot of medals and his first year on the track team in college he set a track record. When he switched over to a standard diet at around 21 he noticed that his performance level dropped. At the age of twenty nine he started eating mostly raw again. His weight is now 181 and his fat to lean ratio is excellent. When his mother let it be known that she was going to just eat raw food during her pregnancy all the doctors that her parents called in told her that he would be underweight and that he was going to have a lot of problems if she didn't take supplements. When he was born he was seven pounds and perfectly healthy.

At some point you have to ask is there any reason why a well balanced raw food diet wouldn't work for a person trying to build muscle mass. Are there any examples of animals in the animal kingdom that are able to build strong bodies eating the raw vegan diet. The ones that come right to my mind are: horses, bulls, apes, moose, elk, elephants the list goes on and on. These are strong powerful animals that just eat grass and leaves. But like a lot of raw vegans I at times struggled with my body weight and muscle mass. But when I finally figured it out I was not only able to achieve the body that I was not able to make on cooked meats and potatoes, I was able to totally control my body weight. I was able to put on ten to fifteen extra pounds in the winter to help fight the cold and then shed it in the summer to help my body run cooler. This is also the pattern of a lot of animals that live in the cold climates. In the fall a lot of food becomes available to helps them to put on weight that will last them through the winter. When I first discovered this way of eating in 1972 I was living in Detroit and riding a bicycle all year round. So the type of food that I ate was totally important to me in order to function at top capacity year round. The foods that I ate in the summer consisted of fruits and lots of juices which totally changed my fat to lean ratio. I was much lighter but I could do 80 to 100 miles in 98 degree blazing sun. The same diet in the winter caused the wind to knife right through me. But when I switched my diet to nuts with honey and olive oil then I was able to put on an extra 15 pounds and I carried much more fat that helped me to withstand the bitter cold.

I think that most people who have a Standard American Diet have a higher fat to lean ratio than people on an all raw vegan diet. When the average person tries to transition over to the raw vegan diet he changes or loses all of this extra fat that is really clogging up his or her systems. If you don't have toned muscle underneath when the fat drops off you will look like a skeleton. You see this in a lot of raw food people. It does not mean that the diet is not working it just means that now you have to workout to build up the muscle mass.

Building muscle mass.

There are many different types of bodies that you can build. It really all depends on what you plan on doing. Have you ever noticed that world class athletes and body builders have totally different types of muscles. The two samples that I'm including here are extreme to prove my point.

If you want a lean quick cut body then you do light weights with lot of reps.

If you want a massive body then you do very heavy weights with low reps and heavy proteins.

The main point being that in order to move you want to build a much lighter type of muscle mass. This is just a general rule of thumb.

Here is a picture of Master Oswald Rivera born in 1945 and at the age of sixty he is still going strong. Many of the body builder types have started to show massive signs of deteriorating at this age.

Yip Man

I totally believe that the reason that many of the Chinese Kung Fu type masters are able to keep practicing is because in the Orient they have a traditional diet that is much lighter in the protein intake which allows them to stay in shape way into their sixties, seventies and eighties.

I think that the first misconception is that if you just eat raw food that you have to have a much smaller muscle mass. Raw vegan protein is one of the best forms of protein for our bodies on the planet. It is the easiest for us to digest, it is the least clogging, contains the least amount of toxins and most importantly it is the easiest for us to eliminate. I think that one of the keys for building a strong healthy body on raw food is not just focusing on the diet but also on the workout. There are many different kinds of workouts and I think that some are better than others for building muscle mass on the raw vegan diet.

For years I have been doing what I like to call the circular workout. I would love to say that I invented it but the truth is that it is a combination of Kung Fu and other martial arts movements that have been around for thousands of years. The theory is based upon low impact to the joint systems and avoiding developing certain muscle groups more than others. The reason for this being that over time if some groups are stronger and more developed than the opposing groups then they will pull the skeletal system out of alignment causing all types of chronic conditions which add up to accelerated aging.

By doing series of exercises which we call the circular workout we are able to work each muscle group for the same amount of time with the same amount of weight so that each muscle develops the same amount of strength. This helps to promote a type of harmony that flows all through the body. With martial arts the end result is to be able to fight, but what we have done with the circular workout is recreate the movements without the underlying violence. When the circular workout is combined with systems of stretching such as in yoga and then combined with cardiovascular exercises then you have a complete workout that seems to be well suited to the protein levels found in the raw vegan diet.

I totally believe in cross training. Here are some of the sports or workouts that I feel promote circular energy in our bodies: swimming, biking, hiking, kayaking, jumping rope, hula hooping, leg circles, arm circles and waist circles. We also do light weights with lots of reps and also the rowing machine to strengthen and build muscle mass. Please click on video links below to see samples of workouts.

LINK TO WORKOUT 1 - http://www.thegardendiet.com/tv/snowcir.mov

LINK TO WORKOUT 2 - http://www.thegardendiet.com/tv/stormcir2.mov

We usually workout either on an empty stomach or a glass of orange juice and then we try to consume a protein shake made with either soaked almonds or sunflower seeds within fifteen minutes after the workout when the body is searching for proteins to replenish the muscles. You can vary the levels of almonds, raw fats, and amount depending on how big you want to be. You can actually build a quite massive body by repeating heavy weight training with concentrated raw organic vegan protein drinks in between sets. It is not my goal to build a massive muscluar body, but I do know that it works because I have gotten up to 200 pounds of solid muscle by doing this. But I found personally that it prevented me from moving and it cut into my endurance levels for long distance swimming, rock climbing, running, and biking. But I did feel very solid and grounded, which is sometimes hard for a raw vegan to feel.

Here are a few of the basic recipes that I consider to be part of a well balanced workout diet.

In all our recipes use fresh organic raw ingredients.

Storm's Raw Tabouli Herb Salad (provides iron, vitamin C, fiber, protein, fats, carbs - balanced nutrition):

* one bunch cilantro
* one bunch parsley
* one bunch green onions
* two tomatoes
* one avocado
* half a cup of raw almonds
* cold-pressed olive oil
* unrefined sea salt
* raw honey
* half a lemon

Chop up cilantro, parsley, green onions, avocados and tomatoes in a bowl. Blend almonds to a fine flour in blender and add to bowl. Add the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of honey, and a teaspoon of salt. Change it up each time by adding a different vegetable/herb like corn, broccoli, or fresh basil, or a different spice like Italian or Mexican seasonings. Serves 3.

Nut Milk: (an excellent protein shake)
Liquefy in blender
-1 cup soaked nuts (almonds are our favorite, soaked for 5 hours) or sunflower seeds (soaked for 2 hours)
-Blender full of water
-2 tablespoons honey
-1 banana (optional)
-2 dates (optional)
-add a dash of olive oil and dash of Celtic Sea Salt for extra taste and nutrition (optional)

Optimum Health option: Sprouted food has far more vitality, enzymes and life energy, for it is alive and growing. Sprouting the nuts you use will give you a super-food that will increase your energy and vitality too. To germinate/sprout nuts: Soak nuts in spring water for a couple of hours to as long as overnight. You'll find some nuts sprout faster than others. The longer you leave them in water, the stronger their life force becomes. You want to change the water daily if you leave them in longer than a day. Serves 3.

Almond Milk: (a lighter protein shake)
A healing version almond milk that is very benign and can also be used in conjunction with green juice fasting.
-Soak a cup of almonds overnight
-Peel almonds
-Blend almonds in blender with five cups water until liquid and smooth
-Strain milk through a cheesecloth

Drink immediately. Serves 2-3

Tahini Milk: (A quick easy protein shake, replacement to milk)
Mix one to two tablespoons of tahini with a blender full of water, add dates, honey, and a dash of sea salt and olive oil. Serves 3.

Chocolate Milk: (A chocolaty protein drink that tastes like chocolate milk)
Mix one to two tablespoons of tahini with a blender full of water, add dates, honey, a dash of sea salt , a dash of olive oil, and a tablespoon of raw carob powder. (You can use raw almond butter instead of tahini if you prefer). Serves 3.

Creamy Crisp Tacos! (For the feeling of mexican food, and that salt/oil/fat texture and flavor that is satisfying and filling after or before a workout)
(feeds four)

Tacos:
1 organic iceberg lettuce. Peel the leaves and arrange on a plate

Fillings:
-Slice up two avocados on a plate and put on table with a serving fork
-Slice up two tomatos on a plate and put on table with a serving fork
-Chop up 2 small hot chilli or jalapeño peppers and soak in olive oil in a bowl on table with a serving spoon
-Grind up a cup of Brazil nuts or almonds with some cut Wakame (optional) then add 2 teaspoons of olive oil, mix with a spoon and put bowl on table with a serving spoon

Cream:
Blend to a creamy consistency:
-meat of 1 coconut
-1/2 cup coconut water
-1 cup pine nuts
-2 teaspoons hemp seed or flax seed oil
-1 date

Take a piece of the iceberg lettuce and fill it with the fillings topped with the cream. Wrap the lettuce up or eat it open like a taco.

Nut Sushi: (replacement to sushi, meat, salty foods, also very grounding for body builders burning lots of calories)
This recipe is oily and salty and gives a feeling of having eaten meat. It provides enough protein for two adults for a day. Very rich and filling.
-One Cup of Nuts (Any combination of one or more of these: Brazil Nuts, Almonds, Pecans, Pine Nuts, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts, Hazelnuts. Eat cashews in moderation as these are processed and packaged in a way that often involves heating even when they say "raw")
-Raw Nori Seaweed (North American harvests please, as some oriental companies catch fish in the Nori nets and grind them in with the Nori. You can also use lettuce leaves, nasturtium leaves, or kale leaves instead of Nori)
-1/4 cup Cilantro
-1 Avocado
-1 Tomato
-2 cloves Garlic
Grind nuts in food processor with S-Blade. You may also want to add a handful of either pine nuts or sunflower seeds whole. Mix in one avocado, a 1/4 cup cilantro, a tomato, 2 chopped garlic cloves, and wrap in Raw Nori Seaweed which has been torn from the large sheets into 1/8ths Stick a toothpick through the middle to hold in place, or wrap one at a time and eat. Celtic Sea Salt can be added in moderation if desired. Serves 2.

Nut Loaf: (replacement to meat, meat loaf - another grounding recipe)
This is so tasty, meatloaf will pale in comparison! Filling too.

-Two cups Nuts (Any combination of one or more or all of these: Brazil Nuts, Almonds, Pecans, Pine Nuts, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts, Hazelnuts)
-1 Red pepper
-1 Tomato
-2 cloves Garlic
-1/2 Onion
-5 Mushrooms
-2 tablespoons Whole Pine Nuts

Grind vegetables and nuts in Food Processor with S-Blade. Spread Tahini Sauce on top (2 tablespoons Raw Tahini, juice of 1/2 a lemon juice, 1 teaspoon honey, and 2 cloves garlic). Serves 3.

Nut Pizza: (Pizza replacement)
Grind up two cups of soaked almonds (soak for 5 to 24 hours) in Food Processor with S-Blade. Blend in olive oil, herbs and spices. Then spread out on a plate as pizza crust. Make a cheese sauce (see Tahini Cheese recipe in the salad dressings section below). Top with favorite vegetables dipped in olive oil (Chopped Onions, Garlic, Raw Olives, tomatoes, pine nuts etc...). Put the pizza out in the sun to warm up. Serves 4.

Okraw Slaw: (fresh clean flavor with lots of calories and essential fatty acids in the okra)
Chop up two cups of okra. Scrape the corn kernels off of one ear of corn. Dice up one avocado. Mix together in bowl with one teaspoon of honey. Yummy. Serves 2.

Mashed "Potatoes": (for that heavy potato feeling, nice and filling)
Blend one and a half cups of cashews in blender on max high speed until completely ground down. Take out and next blend one whole head cauliflower chopped with 1/4 cup olive oil on max speed until creamy. Mix ground cashews and cauliflower together in bowl. Top with Celtic sea salt, and whatever seasonings you like on your mashed potatoes. Serves 4.

Raw Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce: (for those tomato saucy italian food cravings)
Blend up two cups tomatoes, 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1 teaspoon honey, 1/8th cup olive oil, and 1/4 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt. A tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice is optional. Season with fresh or dried oregano, basil, and rosemary. Pour over three grated zucchinis in a bowl. Serves 2 to 4.

Sunflower Herb Paté: (paté, turkey, tofu, bread replacement)
-two cups soaked sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds (soaked for 2 hours to overnight)
-half cup fresh basil leaves
-any other fresh or dried herbs (sage, savory, thyme, rosemary, tarragon...)
-1 clove of garlic (optional)
-1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional) (buy ginger root whole and grate)
-1 tablespoon of tahini (optional)
-juice of 1 lemon
-pinch of Celtic Sea Salt
-pinch of cayenne
-1 tablespoon of vinegar
-flax oil and or olive oil (two tablespoons)

Grind down in Food Processor with S-blade. Wrap in lettuce leaves, seaweed or grape leaves with nasturtium flowers, use as a dip for veggies. (very nice with red pepper slices!), or just eat as it is. Serves 2 to 4.

Veggie Sushi Rolls (replacement to sushi, wraps, burritos):
-Nori seaweed
-1 avocado
-2 tomatoes
-1/4 cup Wakame seaweed
-1 clove garlic
-2 green onions
-5 Brazil nuts (chopped course)
-dash of Celtic Sea Salt
-2 tablespoons olive oil

Chop everything up small, mix with a mashed avocado and wrap in Nori or lettuce such as romaine or red leaf. Add Wasabe powder with a few drops of water to make a sinus-opening paste! Can also include some grated ginger. Serves 2.

Storm's Creamy Deli Dip: (very rich and calorie-dense dip)
*1 Avocado, mashed
*4 tablespoons Raw Tahini
*Juice of 1 Lemon
*1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
*1 tablespoon Raw Honey
*2 tablespoons Cold-Pressed Olive Oil
*1/3 cup water

Mix all above in a bowl. Cut up a jicama into chip-like slices and dip in! Serves 2 to 4.

Vinegar, Honey, Olive Oil Dressing:
Two tablespoons vinegar, one teaspoon honey, one tablespoon olive oil. Mix all three in a cup for a delicious light dressing. Experiment with different measurements of each to adjust it to your taste.

Vinegar, Honey, Avocado Dressing:
Same as above dressing but mash in an avocado for a thicker dip or dressing. Stir into salad well.

Tahini "Cheese":
-Raw organic sesame tahini (buy in a jar in a health food store or you can grind up your own sesame seeds in your food processor).
-Juice four lemons or limes and mix in bowl with whole jar of tahini (about two and half cups of tahini).
-Chop up a couple cloves of garlic and mix in.
-Add Celtic Sea Salt to taste.
-Put mixture back into jar and what is left over into a bowl.

Spread it on celery with a sprinkle of cayenne (optional). You can also dip veggies in it or wrap it up in lettuce or pieces of kale leaves.

Tahini Dip:
-Use two tablespoons of tahini cheese (above) and add one tablespoon of water. Stir in and use as veggie dip.

Tahini Salad Dressing:
-Use two tablespoons of tahini cheese (above). Add two tablespoons of water or adjust water amount to desired thickness of dressing.

Vinegar, Honey, Tahini Dressing:
Mix 1 tablespoon of tahini, 2 teaspoons of honey, and 1 teaspoon of vinegar. These three ingredients give you something between a Caesar and a Thousand Island dressing.

Summer Sour Cream and Onion Dip:
Blend up a cup of sunflower seeds (that have been soaked in water for 4 hours or longer), add a handful of cilantro, a handful of parsley, a couple of green onions, a couple of pieces of broccoli, an avocado, the juice of a lemon, two pinches of unrefined sea salt, and some organic Italian or Mexican seasonings. (Check the label on the seasonings and make sure all the ingredients are names of herbs that you recognize, and there is no "other spices, other seasonings, natural flavors" or other vague ingredients, as these names are often are used to disguise MSG). Blend up in your blender or food processor. Eat on its own or dip veggies in it. If you just blend it a little it's more like a salad, blend a little more for a paté, or keep on blending for a dip!

Our Favorite Salad (Ends most cravings!):
Eat a salad a day for all the vitamins and iron (in the greens), calcium (in the greens and tahini), and protein (in the greens and sunflower seeds) you need. People who eat a cup of greens a day have significantly less chance of getting heart disease, eye failure with age, and a host of other afflictions. Green food actually heals you. If you eat a salad a day you'll find you won't crave other foods as much. The darker the green the more nutritious. Spinach is the very highest in iron and folic acid (essential for spinal development in the unborn fetus).

-bowl full of fresh organic salad mix (or spinach or any lettuces except iceberg which has little nutritional value)
-handful of alfalfa sprouts
-one avocado, diced
-one or two tomatoes
-two teaspoons cut Wakami seaweed (optional)
-two teaspoons sunflower seeds (optional)
-Tahini Dressing (see above)
-1/3 of a red onion, chopped (soak chopped red onion in juice from a lemon for a half hour to soften and flavor)

Toss and enjoy in a sunny place! Serves 2 to 4.

Super Nutritious Spicy Sprouts:

~fill a bowl with alfalfa or similar kind of sprouts
~mash up one avocado and stir in
~squeeze in a half a lemon.
~add seasonings such as Jamaican Curry Spice powder and/or Italian Seasonings
~add the kernels from an ear of corn

Mix and enjoy! Serves 2-4.

Simple Healing Parsley Pleasure Salad:

~Chop up one bunch of parsley
~Chop up one bunch of green onions
~Juice a half a lemon
~Add a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt
~Add a dash of cold pressed olive oil
~Add a pinch of hot pepper powder (optional)
~Add a pinch of Jamaican Curry Spice (optional)
~Mix in a bowl and enjoy!

Kale Subs or Kale Wraps:
A Healthy, fast and easy raw food meal.

When the lemon juice, creamy avocado, and tomato juice start to drip all over its just like a big sloppy burger! Yum! Filling, mineralizing, energizing, and delicious!

*chop up an avocado
*chop up a tomato
*chop up a handful of cilantro
*juice a half a lemon
*combine above in a bowl and add a pinch of unrefined sea salt
*optional: add some spices such as hot peppers, Italian Seasonings, etc...
*serve with 2 big kale leaves

Wrap the mixture in pieces of kale leaves as you go along or add mixture to center of a kale leaf and eat like a sub! Serves 2.

Sprouted Humus:
2 cups Garbanzo Beans - soaked overnight
1/3 cup water
Juice of two lemons
1/4 cup Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea salt

Blend in a KTek blender or food processor with S-blade. Blend down until it is super creamy with no lumps and then add and blend in 1/2 cup of raw tahini. Mix in a tablespoon of cut Wakame (optional)

Use as a dip or cut two Anaheim peppers or bell peppers lengthwise, remove seeds, and stuff the humus in. Top with avocados and/or salsa or mango salsa (below). Serves 4.

Wild Rice:
Put two cups of wild black rice in K-Tek blender or food processor for a few seconds to grind rice into small pieces. Soak in spring water for one to two days to soften. After the rice is soft enough to chew then use some of the salad dressings above for a wonderful rice dish. This dish totally satisfies rice cravings. You can also just slice avocado in to a plate of soaked wild rice with olive oil and chopped green onions. Experiment with adding different seasonings and vegetables for different rice dishes. For instance add curry and sliced celery and carrots with some shelled peas for Curried Rice. You can soak the vegetables in water for a few hours first to soften. Serves 4.

Storm's Zucchini Fettuccini with Pesto Sauce:

Pasta:
*3 Medium Zucchini, peeled then sliced into thin noodles with a potato peeler. Slice only the outer parts and stop when you come to the seedy part in the center. Put in bowl

Sauce:
*3 and a half tablespoons of raw tahini
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*1/2 cup pine nuts
*1/2 cup water
*2 tablespoons honey (optional)
*1 teaspoon cumin seeds
*1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
*1/2 lemon juiced
*other seasonings and spices (optional)
Put in blender and blend until creamy

Top with:
*2 cloves garlic finely chopped
*1 avocado diced
*1 leek finely chopped
*cut Wakame (optional)

Mix all together in bowl. Serves 4.

Amazingly, the zucchini in this sauce is indistinguishable from pasta!!! Except of course it feels much better in your tummy! :)

Stormy Salsa:
Mix in blender:
one bunch cilantro
four tomatoes
5 green onions
pinch of Cayenne powder
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Slice up jicama in thin slices to dip like potato chips!

Burrito Wrap:
Salsa and Avocado in Nori! This is a cool treat when you are traveling. It is nice and filling and tasty yet simple. Mash up an avocado and mix with salsa (above). Wrap mixture in Nori or lettuce leaves. Think burrito! Yum.

Mango Salsa:
An amazingly delicious sweet/salty salsa!

Put in blender:
2 tomatoes
1/4 of a red onion diced fine
1 bunch cilantro chopped fine
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cold pressed olive oil
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt

~Blend on 1 for 2 seconds so still chunky.
~Add 1 mango (with seed removed) and blend for 1/2 a second so pieces still chunky.
~Add spices such as oregano or tarragon (optional)
~Add finely chopped hot peppers if desired

Storm's Hot Pepper Marinade:
Storm has found a way to heat up our raw food - Hot Peppers! He makes a wonderful hot pepper "marinade" that lights up our tabouli, humus, salads, guacamole, and salsa. It would also be good on any dish that uses salt such as nut loaf, nut pizza, or seed paté.

Chop really fine:
3 Jalapeño (say Ha-La-Pi-No) Peppers
3 Chile Peppers
3 Cloves of Garlic
1/4 of a red onion
Add herbs and spices (try Basil, Oregano, fresh ground Cumin, etc..)
Add a dash of Celtic sea salt.
Add juice of one lemon
Add 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of olive oil

Let sit for 10 minutes. Use 1/4 to 1 teaspoon mixed in to your recipes. Keeps well for at least two to three days in fridge.

Marinated Vegetables:
juice of 2 lemons
1/8th cup of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/8th cup of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup mountain spring water
2 slices of red onion
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed

You can marinate mushrooms, cucumbers, broccoli, celery, or almost anything by chopping or slicing it up and soaking it in this marinade for a few hours to overnight. Cucumber and Dill is a delicious one!

Raven's "Top Almonds":
My nephew named this recipe "Top Almonds" because he thought it tasted like "Top Ramen" (noodles).

-1 cup almonds
-Celtic sea salt
-olive oil
-Italian seasonings

Put a cup of raw almonds in a blender and pulverize. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and Italian seasonings to taste! Stir up and enjoy when you have a craving for salt, bread, or such things! You can also use this as a sushi base and wrap with other veggies sliced in short thin strips in a leaf or Nori sheets.

Nuts and Seaweed:
Nuts and seaweed make a nice travel snack, and replace that chips/barfood/meat salt and oil craving. Almonds or brazil nuts with wild Atlantic Nori or cashews with cut Wakame are our favorites.

Afternoon Slaw:
A cure for the afternoon blahs!

Take three carrots, a beet, an inch chunk of a ginger root, a handful of cilantro, a handful of parsley, a clove of garlic (minus the core), the juice of a half a lemon, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of cold pressed olive oil, and a sprinkling of Italian seasonings (optional) and put it all in your Vitamix or Ktec Blender (or other high-powered blender or a food processor). Hit the buttons. You'll have what looks like a grated carrot-beet-slaw. Eat it plain or wrap it in seaweed or greens/lettuces.

Omigod! While others are having their siesta you'll be zinging through your afternoon!

It'll probably be enough for three days. Its the kind of thing that tastes even better the next day. (You could pack it as a lunch too). Serves 4.

Raw Carob Treat: (chocolate replacement)
-2 tablespoons raw almond butter (available at many supermarkets)
-1 tablespoon raw carob powder
-sweeten with 1 teaspoon honey or 2 dates
-1/2 teaspoon flax or olive oil (optional)
-dash of Celtic sea salt (optional)

Mix together and enjoy with a spoon, shape into brownies, shape into cookies, or roll into balls! You can also use this to top fruits such as strawberries or apples. You can make the chocolate dark or light by adjusting the amount of carob. You can vary the sweetness and salt to taste. You can vary the flavor by using tahini or different ground nuts (grind up in blender or food processor to desired consistency even to as fine as flour) instead of almond butter. You can create different candies by adding dried shredded coconut, raisins, or raw rolled oats. Serves 4.

Nut Candy: (Candy replacement)
Just as satisfying as a candy bar...Grind a cup of nuts. Add a tablespoon honey. Or just add honey and a sprinkle of Celtic Sea Salt to a cup of whole nuts. Try adding cinnamon for a different variation. Chew well! Serves 2.

Almond Butter Candy: (Candy Bar, Chocolate replacement)
2 tablespoons Raw almond butter, 1/4 cup raw dried shredded coconut, a teaspoon of flax oil, a handful of raisins or 2 dates, a teaspoon of honey and a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt mixed together to taste and formed into little balls or bars. Serves 3.

Basic Pie Crust:
Blend 1 cup of nuts in food processor or blender and grind down to a fine powder. Add a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt and 1/8th cup of Olive Oil. Serves 4.

Coconut Cream Pie:
Crust: Blend 1 cup of nuts in food processor or blender and grind down to a fine powder. Add a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt and 1/8th cup of Olive Oil. Filling: Blend 4 bananas, meat of two young coconuts, 5 dates, 1/8th cup flax oil, a teaspoon of raw honey, dash of cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, and optionally add 1 avocado for a rich custard-like filling. Serves 4.

Apple Pie:
Crust: Blend 1 cup of nuts in food processor or blender and grind down to a fine powder. Add a pinch of Celtic Sea Salt and 1/8th cup of Olive Oil.

Filling: Blend 4 apples not peeled but cored, 3 dates, 1 teaspoon flax oil, and a dash of Celtic Sea Salt

Serves 4.

Lemon Cream Pie:
It is funny how sometimes when you have very few ingredients around, you can come up with something delicious completely by accident. Once all I had in the house was flax oil, dried shredded coconut, lemon, honey, and a banana. So I mixed these things together for lack of anything else and it turned out just like a lemon tart! I used a tablespoon of honey, three tablespoons of dried shredded coconut, a quarter of a lemon juiced, a tablespoon of flax seed oil, one banana mashed, and one banana cut up in slices. Mixed it all together and ate with a spoon. We fought over it! If you are not into honey, replace with a few Medjool dates. Serves 4.

Coconut Caramel Cream:
Put all this in a blender: The meat of one young coconut. The juice of one lemon. Two tablespoons of raw honey. Four pitted dates. Blend it up. Very very caramel-y! Serves 3.

Raven's Raw Chocolate Fudge Cake:

*three tablespoons raw carob powder
*1/4 cup dried coconut
*dash of salt
*capful of oil
*two tablespoons honey
*1/2 teaspoon water
*one date

Put all ingredients except the date in a bowl and mix together with a spoon. Flatten it and cut in pieces. Chop the date in four quarters, top to bottom. Sprinkle more dried coconut on top. Top pieces with a quarter date. Serves 2 to 4.

Zingy Summer Gingerade:
Lemonade with ginger in it reminds me of soda pop because ginger's spice is almost fizzy, but this is so much more refreshing!

*blender full of water
*juice of one lemon
*two tablespoons of honey
*a 1" by 1/2" chunk ginger

Juice lemon and pour into blender. Add raw honey or raw Agave (cactus) nectar. Add piece of ginger root. Add a cup of water and blend until honey is mixed in. Fill blender up with water. Stir. Enjoy!

(You can add a couple of mint leaves for extra flavor too.) Serves 4.

Lemonade Frapée:
Same as Zingy Summer Gingerade above but leave out the ginger.

Pink Lemonade:
Same as lemonade above but add 3 to 10 strawberries!

Sensational Sun Tea:
Use a fresh herb such as mint, camomile, thyme, rosemary, or ginger. Add stevia leaf to sweeten. Put in a large glass jar or pitcher full of spring water. Leave to sit in a sunny window or outside for a few hours.

Optional: Add two tablespoons of honey to a cup of tea, mix in blender until honey dissolves, then add the cup back into the pitcher or jar for sweetened tea.

Raw Soup (Basics of Soups):
Soup is a delicate blend of vegetable juices.
Basic Stock: Juice of a Meyers lemon, a clove of garlic, a cup of olive oil, and season to taste.
Cream Soup Stock: To make a cream soup blend in 1/8th of a cup of tahini with the basic stock.

Celery Soup:
-5 stalks of celery
-Juice of one lemon
-1 bunch of parsley (optional)
-1 red bell pepper (optional)
-1 or two tomatoes (optional)
-1 avocado (optional for a creamier soup)
Blend everything up in a K-Tek blender
Add chopped cilantro, basil, or other fresh herbs. (optional)
Add 1 chopped avocado (optional)
Add other vegetables such as finely sliced carrots and celery (optional)

Live Soup du Jour:
You can take any vegetables and put them in your blender, add fresh squeezed lemon juice and have an instant yummy raw soup du jour! Today I just used what we had in the house; celery, parsley, cilantro, sun-dried tomatoes, and an avocado. You may need to add 1/3 cup of water to make the blender work depending on what vegetables you use.

Sprout Salad:
Mix a variety of sprouts such as alfalfa, radish, broccoli, and sunflower sprouts in a big bowl. You can also add some finely chopped tiny pieces of broccoli. Use the tahini dressing from above. Mix well.

Cucumber/Dill Salad:
Thinly sliced cucumber and finely chopped dill in an olive oil and lemon juice dressing.

Sensuous Fruit Salad (Better than candy):
-1 avocado
-2 bananas
-1 mango
Chop, mix, and enjoy this texture blend from paradise!

Smoothies: (Better than ice-cream and milk-shakes)
Blend up any fruit or combination of fruit in your blender alone or with orange juice as a base.

Berry Banana Smoothie:
With three cups of orange juice as the base, add 1 cup strawberries (or raspberries or blueberries) and one banana. Serves 3.

Coconut Smoothie:
Buy a young coconut. These are available at Asian markets and you can get a case of 9 for about $10. You shave off the white husk from the pointy top of the coconut with a sharp knife so you have a circle of brownish shell exposed. Then with a macheti knife you stab a hole in the top about an inch from the center of the circle (seek the soft spot where the knife will go through easily). Now you can use a strong tablespoon to put in the hole and pry open the "lid" (the young coconut has a natural cap that comes off easily in this way). You can drink the delicious milk plain and then spoon out the meat which is also delicious on its own. Or you can blend up the milk and meat in a blender for a creamy drink. You might like to blend in some honey or dates for extra sweetness.

Durian and Orange Juice Smoothie: (durian has many essential fats although it is a fruit)
Our kids won't eat durian but we can blend it up with orange juice and they will guzzle it! Durian is an exotic fruit from Thailand, like a giant pinecone, with a sulphuric odor, - people love or hate it - or if willing to try it several times it does grow on you! You need to get a good ripe one or it is not worth it! The meat should be creamy, not tough. To open a Durian: A Durian has pods, and in the whole Durian you can see indents between the pods. In the middle of each pod there is a seam to be seen between the spikes of the Durian's shell. With your thumbnails or a knife, open the seam carefully and scoop out the yellow custard! This fruit is available at Asian Markets. It can induce a feeling of being extremely relaxed and happy if enough is eaten on an empty stomach. (Could this be the origin of the song "Mellow Yellow"?). You can eat the Durian as it is or make a smoothie. Take out the large seeds and put 2 pieces of Durian in the blender with a blender full of orange juice. Blend until liquified. It is extremely filling. You can also add the milk of one young coconut for an even more exotic blend. Serves 4.

Watermelon Juice: (Purée, pudding, jello replacement):
Just blend watermelon in your blender. It makes a very creamy smoothie!

Cantaloupe Milk: (perfect for milk cravings):
Just take half a cantaloupe, slice it up into chunks, put it in a blender, with 4-6 ice cubes and enough water to cover the cantaloupe. Then blend it on high for about a minute. When it's whipped up, it has a sweet, creamy consistency, which is perfect for anybody who craves drinking milk. Serves 1 or 2.

Juices

Get Dr. Walker's Fresh Fruit And Vegetable Juice Book. It is our bible!
(Available at http://www.thegardendiet.com/books). Get a good vegetable juicer such as Green Star. Dr. Walker's book prescribes combinations of vegetables juices to treat almost any ailment. I've used it with great success. Dr. Walker, who lived to be 107 years old and healthy and active in mind and body, talks about enzymes and their importance.

Carrot Juice/ Carrot-Apple Juice:
Juice up 2 lbs. of carrots or 2 lbs. of carrots and 4 apples .....yum! Juice up any combination of vegetables (any measurements will work), for instance one bunch of celery, 1/2 a beet, and 3 cucumbers. Add one lemon/lime, a chunk of ginger, a clove or two of garlic, a few apples and/or a few tomatoes for taste! You can juice the whole lemon or lime in a Green Star juicer, rinds and all. Juice beets and spinach in moderation (about 2 ounces of each) to start with as they contain oxalic acids which although very healthy can cause a burning sensation in the stomach until you become used to them.

Green Juice - The Blood Of The Planet (Replacement for coffee, drugs and alcohol) (think V-8! or Garden in a Glass!):
This juice will get you buzzed! I think of it as the blood of the planet, because it is like juicing the Earth, its green-ness. It is also the highest form of energy you can intake. The sun gives its light to plants who make chlorophyll. This makes the oxygen we breathe. Plants live on sunlight. So if we eat plants we are eating sunlight once removed. That's like eating energy straight from the source. It is hard to eat tons and tons of greens, but you can juice and take in quite a bit. It is by far the most intoxicating liquid you'll even encounter. When you take vitamins, you're not really sure of the effect they are having on you. But green juice is undeniable. I feel an electrical charge going through my every cell for about 24 hours! It makes a pregnant mothers' baby kick inside just after you drink it. Green Juice increases your cellular health, rejuvenating every atom in your body, cleans out toxins, heals most illnesses, and makes you not want to put anything toxic into your body because you feel so vital and clean. It puts you in touch with your body so you can actually feel. Makes you more aware and appreciative of the sensuous world, brings you alive, increases your mental alertness and improves all bodily functions. I have heard of people from many many sources who have healed cancer, diabetes, arthritis and many other illnesses by doing green juice fasts. Try it. You might get hooked! Use any of the following ingredients:

-one bunch dark leafy greens (lettuce, chard, kale, spinach, parsley, cilantro)
-one cucumber
-one bunch celery
-1/4 of a beet (just a little at first, as the acid may be difficult for some stomachs)
-10 carrots (if it is too hard to get green juice down without this sweetener, blend it into juice. We use pure carrot juice as a chaser sometimes)
-1/2 onion and/or 3 cloves garlic for flavor
-chunk of ginger for flavor
-one lemon/lime for flavor (the green star juicer can juice the lemon/lime with the rinds)

Drink immediately . Don't store. Experiment with measurements. Serves 2 to 4.

~

Green juice is another source of nutrient rich body building food. Fruits and fruit juices are cleansers, and the dark leafy greens and green juices contain the body's building blocks. We need both to build a strong healthy body. Raw nuts contain a higher percentage of proteins than most meats. Even though a lot of nuts are marketed as raw nuts many of them have been dried at heats that destroy the natural enzymes and proteins. And other nuts have been heated up in the shelling process. But most raw organic almonds and sunflower seeds are just that. I have found that by soaking them for 24 hours and then blending them up with a few dates they are totally digestible in that format and in fact the nutrient protein level almost doubles.

One of the biggest myths that I would like to expand upon is the so-called need for huge quantities of protein to build a high muscle dense body. When we approach body building from this position then we usually end up with a program that works very well for men in their late teens and early twenties. They are able to maintain it through their thirties if they are lucky and by the time they are in their forties they are starting to break down. Especially if you compare them with their own pictures of when they were in their twenties. I think that this is due in part to the fact that we are not designed to ingest the heavy levels of animal protein that we do. We do not have the resources to break it down the way a lion or tiger does. Their digestive tract is much shorter than ours and the acids are about 20 times stronger. This is why they are able to process huge chunks of raw flesh without chewing. If a tiger were to swallow your foot it would be digested and pushed out of its system in a matter of hours. But if we on the other hand were to swallow a monkey's hand it would lay in our stomachs for days and then when we finally did eliminate it, it would still be pretty much intact. I think that this is because we are not really designed to eat, digest, break down and eliminate flesh. I think that raw flesh would be the easiest for us to breakdown, but we hardly ever eat it that way, we fry it in oil and coat it with butter and this makes it almost impossible for us to digest it as the digestive juices cannot penetrate through the oily coating. Then what happens is that since we can't digest it we also cannot eliminate it. So it hangs out rotting in our system and causes a host of other things to malfunction within us in the form of chronic diseases. However I do not recommend eating raw meat or dairy as the bacteria in it can kill you.

But if at this time we examine the true nature of proteins then we will see that all foods both plant and animal are made up of strands of amino acids which we call proteins. Some proteins are very easy for us to digest and assimilate, while others just lay in our system creating toxins and rotting. When a baby is born it has the capacity to nurse from its mother totally for the first one or two years of life. Within this time frame it more than doubles it body weight. So I think that it would be safe to say that at this time in our growth we need more proteins than at any other time in our lives. Nature provides us with 2.4 percent protein at this time. That is the percentage of protein contained in mother's milk. This is also the same percentage contained in fruit and vegetables. This is why horses and bulls are able to build such strong muscular bodies just grazing on grasses. Wild grasses and wild herbs by the way contain about 15 times more nutrients than any food that we can buy in a store.

I think that the heavy consumption of meat and dairy puts a huge strain on our whole system, I think that overall it has a very clogging effect on our bodies and that over time we break down much quicker. Here are four pictures of me taken over a thirty year period.

When I started eating raw food at 22 years of age I was not able to notice any real differences except that I was able to train at a much higher level for martial arts. I didn't gain a lot of muscle mass but I did become a lot quicker and I was able to focus on a much higher level than I was on cooked food. It was not until I was in my forties that I started to notice a real difference between my peers and myself. I noticed that they were aging at a much quicker rate than I was. Many of them had started to gain weight around the middle. This was due to the fact that when we are young we produce hormones that convert our food to muscle, but as we get older then we make less and less of those hormones so our food starts to turn to fat. I think that when we eat raw vegan organic that we are supplying our systems with a much richer level of nutrients that allows our glands to naturally produce muscle toning hormones for a much longer period of time. I truly do not feel that much different between my first child and my last one thirty years later. The only real difference would be in my stress level because of the fact that I'm now taking care of a family of 8 plus three employees. For me this is huge because it is almost a total lifestyle change. I used to not own a car. I got my first car at the age of 27 and until that time I rode over 400 miles a week on a bicycle. I now drive four hours a day three days a week just to shop for food. I also like most people of these times spend a lot of time in front of a computer. But even so by focusing on working out and eating a 100% raw organic vegan diet I'm able to maintain a certain level of fitness. I truly believe that if I were to right now return to my lifestyle of 30 years ago that I would after two or three weeks feel pretty much as I did then.

Up until now I have pretty much focused on men because most men seem to have a huge issue about muscle mass and the raw diet. Most men want to be bigger and most women want to be smaller. One of the amazing things about the raw vegan diet is that it can create the muscle mass that men are looking for while the same diet can cause women to lose cellulite and shed unhealthy body fat. Below is a picture of my wife Jinjee which is one of the most amazing before and after pictures that I have ever seen. I have never seen anyone transform so drastically just by eating a raw food diet especially after having 4 children.

Her workout is a lot different than mine. She work out much lighter. She does yoga, Pilates, and the Circular Workout whereas I work out with light weights, biking, running, and a whole set of boxer-conditioning exercises that she shies away from. We both hike, bike, swim, and do circular workout.

After being married to Jinjee for over 13 years and seeing her transform I would have to say that the raw vegan diet has a totally different effect on men than it does women. I have a more massive muscular build, she has a higher fat content but is able to stretch and do yoga on a much higher level than I am.

She did notice that being raw vegan has made her skin more elastic. I believe that is why even after four pregnancies she has no stretch marks on her stomach. The raw vegan diet seems to make skin tighter in every way.

If you hold a piece of fruit up to the sun you can see a lot of light shining through it. Whereas if you hold a piece of meat up to the sun you can't see any light shine through.So when you eat raw vegan food your body really becomes more light, like the fruit.

Storm's Secrets Revealed
(A special section by Jinjee Talifero)

There is a key secret to Storm's muscle development on the RawVegan diet that I have been encouraging him to share for years. He is hesitant because it is somewhat experimental and difficult to explain. So I am going to try to explain it instead. If you are a male your body has its own natural steroids! Did you know that steroids are made from pig testosterone? Well if a pig's testosterone can make your muscles bigger, couldn't your own testosterone act like steroids and make your muscles bigger more naturally? Yes. Testosterone is contained in the male semen. So the key (for males) to developing larger muscle and keeping weight up on a Raw Vegan diet is to limit ejaculations as much as possible.

"In conventional sexual relations, a man ejaculates every time he has intercourse, regardless of his own age or condition. This habit gradually robs him of his primary source of vitality and immunity, leaving him weak and vulnerable to disease and shortening his life span". "Decreased Testosterone Levels Caused by Aging May be Instrumental in Creating Heart Attacks, Stroke, and other unnecessarily debilitating diseases". (from The Living Web. http://www.thelivingweb.net/great_sex.html ).

"Testosterone is much more than a sex hormone. There are testosterone receptor sites in cells throughout the body, most notably in the brain and heart. Youthful protein synthesis for maintaining muscle mass and bone formation requires testosterone. Testosterone improves oxygen uptake throughout the body, helps control blood sugar, regulate cholesterol, and maintain immune surveillance. The body requires testosterone to maintain youthful cardiac output and neurological function. Testosterone is also a critical hormone in the maintenance of healthy bone density, muscle, and red blood cell production" (also from The Living Web).

"A man may attain health and longevity if he practices an ejaculation frequency of twice monthly or 24 times in a year. If at the same time he pays careful attention to proper diet and exercise he will have a long and healthy life" [Sun Su-mo]

Method: Instead of ejaculation visualize the sexual energy traveling up the spine to the top of the head and then flooding or floating down into the whole body. Literally "pull" the energy up. This can become as pleasurable as ejaculating, almost an "inner orgasm". The energy can be directed to specific parts of the body that require healing or attention. You may find that you see certain colors during this practice and that you really start to be able to sense energy moving through your body.

Problems: Storm was experimenting with holding onto his testosterone for several months at a time and we noticed that during these times our relationship became strained. So I decided that rather than have him abandon his practice I would try the practice with him, even though as a woman of course this is a very different matter. However I have found that it is helpful to learn to do the same visualization described above. At times I can pull the burst of energy up and shoot the energy out of my eyes into Storm's eyes.

At the time I happened to be studying Kundalini Yoga where I learned what is called "Root Lock" or in Sanskrit "Mula Bandha". It is done at the end of certain yoga poses. You take a deep breath, squeeze the muscles of the anus, sex organs, and navel center, breathe in a little more air, and hold for several seconds before releasing the breath and muscles. I found that doing Root Lock at the time of orgasm and practicing the internal orgasm visualization helped me to pull the energy up from the lower chakras of the root, sex center, and navel center to the higher chakras of the heart, throat, third eye and crown. I believe that other visualizations and breath work done in Kundalini Yoga class were extremely helpful in learning to visualize energy moving through the body. I would highly recommend this type of yoga for anyone interested in developing this practice. Not only did this practice help our relationship but I found I had a greater abundance of energy and feelings of well-being.

Further studies on this topic would include the study of Tantra, Kundalini, or Tao Sexual Yoga. See http://www.thelivingweb.net/great_sex.html for a starting point.

On the raw vegan diet your muscle mass is usually more compact but far more toned, stronger and healthier. The freedom of movement gained with this type of muscle allows you to stay in shape far longer than an average body builder. It also gives you speed for improved performance and flexibility for aging without pain.

Links:

Most recent pictures of Storm: http://www.thegardendiet.com/musclemass/gallery.html

Storm's Muscle Mass Photos: http://www.thegardendiet.com/storm.html

Shannon's Story: http://www.thegardendiet.com/shannon.html

Jinjee's Story: http://www.thegardendiet.com/jinjee.html

Storm's Circular Workout: http://www.thegardendiet.com/rawworkout.html

Storm's Story: http://www.thegardendiet.com/aboutstormstory.html

Jinjee's Raw Journal: http://www.thegardendiet.com/aboutjournal.html

The Garden Diet Homepage: http://www.thegardendiet.com