Yulia's Lentil Soup
Recipe makes a gallon and a half.
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, grated
5 large tomatoes, diced
3 ribs of celery
2 garlic cloves
3 cups uncooked lentils
2 bay leaves (helps with production of excess gas)
2 tsp. cumin
olive oil to taste
salt to taste
Place parsley or cilantro on top to make look pretty
Soak lentils overnight. Rinse and add new water. Add bay leaves to lentils. Bring water close to a boil then turn off stove and cover. Let sit until they are fully cooked. Strain lentils if you want thicker soup. Prepare all the vegetables by sauting them with desired amount of water. Cook until desired tenderness. Add water and vegetables to lentils. Add water if if the soup is too thick. Add the cumin. It's done. Bon Apetite!
Thoughts from the Shower
I must say this is my new favorite quote. Anyone who can add humor to insight makes the information that more intriguing! 
"Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference." Nolan Bushnell
Rejuvalac
7 cups sprouted grain, usually wheat or rye
1 gallon of distilled water
Pour ingredients together into a large glass jar or bowl. Mix every 1/2 hour to hour for 12 hours. Strain the wheat and drink until your hearts content. Tastes great COLD!
Nut Milk
1 cup of any nut but it tastes best with almonds, cashews, pine nuts, or pecans
2 cups of water
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1/4 cup sweetner (optional) honey or agave taste best.
Spices (optional)
Put all ingredients into the blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Strain through a milk bag. Pour over your favorite raw granola and ENJOY! Here's a GREAT site that demonstrates making almond milk. It's so quick and EASY! http://www.almondessence.com/photos/photos.html
What Do We Eat?
Many people ask where I do my shopping to get the best deals on produce and other healthy items. My secret is to shop multiple locations. Also, I always make sure to check the weekly ads that come in the mail. This tells me which stores have the BEST deals. Most of the items I buy is produce that is in SEASON. Remember, if it is in season it is most likely cheaper than other produce and will taste better.
I usually do my shopping on Saturdays and in response to the many inquiries I've decided to inform you of which stores I shop at and what items I might get at each. Some of this changes, so keep posted as I find new items and stores to shop at. If I find any screamin' deals, I will make sure to pass them on to you. Happy shopping!
Costco is where I do my main shopping. This is the easiest. There prices are usually the cheapest or one of the cheapest. Costco is great because they are starting to get more and more organic items. I read an article which stated that they plan on doing mostly organic. Make sure your voice is heard and let the managers of any store know you are interested in organic food.
Good Earth is the next. I get most of my organic items here. I also buy the odds and ends that I can't get in just regular grocery stores.
Ream's is usually where I buy items that I couldn't get at either of the previous 2 stores. I buy my cases of oranges here. You can also purchase them at Macey's.
Chao's is an oriental store on University Ave. just north of Center Street in Provo. I really LOVE this store. This is where I get my seaweed which my children eat by the bagful. It is called "dried laver". I also purchase 
my basil, coconuts and oriental veges here. She has pretty good prices on a lot of items you can't get elsewhere.
The Asian Market which is on 300 South and 300 East in Provo. It is next to the Thai restaurant. I just recently found out she has DURIANS!! My favorite food in the whole wide world. She also has a lot of the items that Chao's has. I buy mint, coconuts and cashews from her. Yum!! When you go in make sure you tell her that Rachel sent ya!
Lastly, Azure Standard Co-op! I just love being part of this because I can get so many things for cheaper. Plus, I can get my organic items in bulk like raisins, dates, tortillas and sprouted bread for my family. They have LOTS of other things I get too. Make sure you check it out. It's a GREAT way to save money when shopping has become more expensive because of dietary changes.
Now that it is summer, I will do a lot of my shopping at the local farmers market. I will try to keep this updated as to what deals I might find at what stand. My family lives MOSTLY on fruit and greens in the summer.
Here is a list of the foods we usually buy every week. It varies as foods come in and out of season. Whatever is in season we buy the most of and eat EVERYDAY!!
Raw Items:
- Lots and Lots of organic greens. We probably go through 20 to 25 lbs. Of greens a week
- Mangos
- 2 cases of Bananas. We go through about 80 lbs.or more of bananas a week.
- Celery
- carrots
- Zucchini
- Chinese Eggplant
- Basil
- Mint
- 1 case of Coconuts
- 3 fifty sheet bags of seaweed
1 case of oranges. We usually buy a case of whatever citrus is in season.- 20 lbs. of apples
- durians
- pine nuts
- almonds
- pecans
- walnuts
- cashews
- frozen fruit-mangos, blueberries, papaya, pineapple, and melon
- frozen veggies-corn, green beans, peas and veggie mix
- Olive oil
- Spices--these I buy in bulk through the co-op
- Dates
- Raisins
- Sunflower Greens
- Garlic
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Red Bell Peppers
- Dried coconut
- Sweet Potatoes or Yams
- Avocados
- Cilantro
Usually whatever fruits and veggies are on sale is what I will buy most of during that week. Like lately melons have been on sale and my family LOVES them so that's what we have bought ALOT of.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
I am a Livingmom
I am in such a place of GRATITUDE for this path I have chosen for this life. The more I learn and grow, the more I hear the word of my God and what I should be doing with my life. I believe in personal mission. We ALL have one. Our goal while here should be to find it. In finding it, we CHANGE ourselves. In 
changing ourselves, we CHANGE the world.
When I was young, I did all the things I thought would bring me happiness. In this process, I realized my mistakes changed my eyes and how I saw myself. I understood that by making mistakes I knew what I did or didn't want in life, what did or didn't bring me joy and PEACE. I learned life was about PROGRESSION. How I saw myself, others and the world was MY reality. I have been given the free agency to see it how ever I desired.
In the beginning of my teaching, I read a book called Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. This book opened my eyes to understanding that I could see my reality how ever I choose to see it. With this new knowledge, I understood that I can shape my life into whatever I want. I have the power of creation through how I perceive the world. Even when bad things happen, I can choose how to understand them. I can see them as good. I can learn and grow from the things that may seem bad. I can find gratitude and meaning in it all.
In May 2001, I was hospitilized with a bowel torsion. My small intestine had twisted on top of itself. I had severe pain for several days along with vomiting. I spent 10 days in the hospital with an NG tube
down my nose. I wasn't able to eat or drink. My 3 children, including my 4 month old little girl were given to others to be taken care of. I was still breastfeeding my daughter, only to be told after surgery that my mother was going to be taking care of her and she would be given a bottle. My world instantly collapsed. I vowed this would never happen again.
Eight months after this first surgery, bowel pain became a common recurrence. Chris and I were inspired on how to deal with it and what to do. Several times we ended up back in the emergency room only to learn they really could not help.
On the 28th of November 2004, the pain started once again. Thanksgiving had just ended. My husband had recently returned home from 3 months of traveling while I was living at my in-laws. During this time I had read SO MANY wonderful books that aided in my understanding of what God wanted for me. I was gaining so much spiritual insight. I was learning to hear the voice of my Savior.
When the pain hit again, we waited as we had done before, for it to stop. We waited 5 days. I think I had every alternative healing method to deal with the pain. These methods aided in some relief but ultimately the pain would return.
Finally, it was time. I HATE the hospital. Let me rephrase that. I DESPISE the hospital. Of course, I saw it as a place that my life could be spared but I felt I would lose my free agency in the process. I went. Chris carried me because I could not walk. I was malnourished and severely dehydrated.
I entered the hospital and went through the administrative routine. I met with the doctor and went in for x-rays. The x-ray technician happened to be a friend of my husband. When he finished, I asked him if it was bad. The last thing I remember for the next week and a half of my life was his response, "Let me just say, you are a very sick girl."
I awoke, in the ICU, a week and a half later to my family crying and loving me. I could not remember what had happened. They proceeded to tell me of the 2 surgeries. I was told there was 48 hours where they questioned if I would live.
After I awoke, I spent the next two weeks having every test known to man. I had two lung taps. I had tube placed in between my uterus and bladder to look for infection. Finally I was able to go home two days before Christmas with a fever, a walker and oxygen.
I went two months only seeing my children twice. My arms ached to hold them and love them and caress them. I ached to be a mother again and function normally. I wanted so badly to be able to take a shower by myself. I look back on this experience and it puts everyday decisions into perspective for me. Everything else pales in comparison to this. God saved me. He gave me tools that aided me in being able to save my life. This is when I chose the name livingmom.
This all sounds really awful, doesn't it? I'm sure plenty of other people have been through something like this. This changed my life forever. I tell people, jokingly, if they are struggling to hear the word of God, all they need to do is almost die. It works.
I would NEVER take back this experience. I am honored that I could have it. This experience may be the worst one, but I have 
had several that have changed my life in similar ways. I am grateful for each and every one. I always will be.
From this experience and others I have had, I choose to live in a place of gratitude and peace. I choose to see the world in a reality of joy. That once I have found my path, once I understand the teachings for my life, once I hear the words of my God speaking to me about my mission and his plans for me, I can always find the good in my reality. This comes, for me, from my prayer of constant gratitude. My hope is ALL of us can find this place. It is inside all of us waiting to be found. It has a name. It is called PEACE.
Verbal Truthfulness
How many times in our speaking to others do we feel the need the tell them the "truth" and exactly how we feel even if it is going to hurt them? I know in my life I have done this SO many times feeling it will benefit the person in some way and help them to change. As I am reading my "Kriya Yoga" book, I am learning this truly is not the way to treat people. It says:
"It is only establishes in intellectual truthfulness that you will be able to speak truth. Yogis are constantly reminding each other that what they speak should be spoken for the betterment of others. The Mahabharata states, it is good to speak truthfully, but better still to speak that which benefits others. The importance of this statement is emphasized in the fact that many people are compelled to speak what is truth, but do so with intentions to hurt. This statement helps us realize that there are many truths that can be spoken, but if we are truly practicing the vow of verbal truthfulness, we will speak a single truth that does the greatest good for the greatest number of people."
I am given the opportunity to change myself. In the process of changing myself, I am blessed with the opportunity to help others do the same. We ALL are. As we are on this path, let us think before we speak. Let the words be filled with LOVE not with intention to change that person. This is called judgment. With judgment intake toward to others, we are taking the "slow boat to China" in our progression. As we speak truth with LOVE and PURE INTENT, it will be heard with open, inspired ears. Our words are the key to opening the doors of CHANGE!
The Practice of Non-Violence
So right now, I have been studying the book "The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga" by Goswani Kriyananda. I consider this one of my "core"books. I try to read out of it everyday. It has helped me gain so much insight into myself and personal changes I am wanting to make. I use it to meditate and establish the Yoga positions that best help me. I would recommend this book to EVERYONE and will probably be quoting out of it quite often.
This particular entry I am posting because this is something that I see that needs understanding and light, THE MOST right now. This is the practice of non-violence in ALL forms. I am also reading another book called "Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall B. Rosenberg. Imagine the change we could all make in the world if we all used the language of LOVE when we spoke. This is the world I am creating for myself and family. I hope we all have the desire to do the same.
"As you master intellectual non-violence, non-violence speech becomes perfected. Verbal violence manifests itself in various ways, such as: 
1. Abusive words
2. Insulting statements
3. Angry speech
4. Bad Advice
Needless to say, verbal non-violence arises by acquiring the verbal habits of:
1. Speaking softly
2. Speaking gently
3. Speaking wisely
Non-violence is to be observed on all levels, not just the physical level with which most people identify it. There is a saying in the Mahabharata: A wound caused by an arrow or axe heals swiftly, but a wound caused by violent speech heals very slowly. In becoming established in non-violence, it is important to understand, intellectuality and spiritually, that Spirit that pervades your life is the Spirit that pervades all life. The dignity of your being is the dignity of soul. The spirit is the same in each and every living form. We should come to understand that the spirit in a bacterium is not small, and the spirit in an elephant is not large."
Successful Marriage
people usually don't marry because of unconditional loving; they marry for conditioned loving. Conditions are presented
to each other, including that they love one another unconditionally, based upon conditions. They often demand that the other person fill that empty, lonely, insecure space inside of them, and the person simply doesn't know how to do that. No one knows how to fill up anybody else regardless of all the romantic songs and movies. In fact, very few know how to fill themselves up.
- John-Roger
(From: Relationships: Love, Marriage and Spirit, p. 16)
Creamy Cheese
1 1/2 c cashews
3/4 c chopped red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
3/4 c nutritional yeast
3 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 c water
salt to taste
This is one of my favorite recipes. I could add Mexican seasoning and make it a nacho cheese. It is really great for any recipe that needs cheese. Put all the ingredients in the blender. Blend until creamy and smooth. YUM!! YUM!!
Pizza Sauce
4 Roma Tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 TBS. onion powder
1/4 TBS. garlic powder
3 TBS. pizza seasoning
1/4 olive oil
4 dates
6 large raw italian olives
salt to taste
Put all ingredients into the blender except for the olive oil. Start the blending process and while the blender is running SLOWLY pour in the olive oil. Blend until desired consistency. This is a tangy but sweet italian pizza sauce.
Banana Cream Pie
Crust:
1 1/2 cups fine almond flour
1/2 cup dates 
2 TBS. lemon juice
Place almonds in blender to turn into flour. In the food processor start the processing of the dates. While they are spinning, slowly add the lemon juice until a ball is formed. Mix together the dates and almond flour with you hands until it makes a big doughy ball. Flatten that into a pie dish, covering the whole bottoms and sides.
Filling:
9 bananas
1 1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup cashews
Blend all ingredients together in the blender. It will be pancake batter consistency. Pour into the crust and refrigerate 3 hours or until desired thickness.
Spark of Light
I would not interfere with any creed of yours, or want to appear that I have all the cures. There is so much to know... So many things are true... The way my feet must go may not be best for you. And so, I give this spark of what is light to me, to guide you through the dark, but not tell you what to see.
-Author Unknown
What are Living and Raw Foods?
Living foods are a bit different than raw foods. A raw food can be any fruit, vegetable, grain, nut and seed in its raw, unprocessed state. Living foods are foods that are ALIVE! The enzymatic factors are at their peak. This means the grains, nuts and seeds have been soaked and sprouted to guarantee life within it. The fruits and vegetables are at their peak of ripeness and fresh and LIVING!! At the beginning of moving to an all raw diet, the majority are educating themselves and trying to work through cravings. Just staying on a raw food diet can seem EXTREMELY overwhelming as the body processes both physically and emotional. As time passes and cravings subside and it gets easier and easier, raw foodist end up eating mostly living foods, for this is where they feel their best and can achieve their highest potential, in all aspects of life.
What are Enzymes?
Enzymes are like a lock and key to opening the cell structure to assimilating nutrients. Grains, nuts and seeds have "enzyme inhibitors" that enable them to store for longer periods of time than a fruit or vegetable. By soaking and sprouting them, the inhibitors are broken and they are much more easily digestible. When we eat food that has not been heated and the enzymes are still intact, the whole process of digestion is immensely eased. When we eat a mostly cooked food diet, up to 75% of the energy stores within the body, can be used merely in digestion and absorption. Enzymes are then taken from within the pancreas, liver, bone and tissue and all of the body becomes overworked and eventual internal breakdown can takes place. When we eat foods with the enzymes intact, it can take as little as 25% of the bodies energy stores to digest it. This eases the body’s energy to aid in healing and create ideal health. When we choose to eat raw foods, overall assimilation and absorption of the nutrients from our foods, I believe, are much, much greater. This aids in achieving the full bodied health that is desired.