Spotlight: pomelo fruit

Hope everyone enjoyed yesterday’s post on some raw goodies by Awesome Foods!

At Whole Foods, which happens to be one of my favorite supermarkets, we picked up some great produce, including berries and Chilean cherries, but we got another fruit that I had neither tasted nor heard of ever before.

Scientifically, it’s called citrus maxima, and it’s commonly known as the pomelo. Resembling an obese grapefruit, this bittersweet citrus treat has a yellow exterior, a light salmon-colored pith and, for the variety I tried, a bright pink inside.

The fruit definitely caught my eye in the produce section, looking at first like a melon. However, the squishy texture definitely indicated, upon touching the outer layer, that it wasn’t a melon but a citrus fruit.

There are many things to be done with fresh fruit, including one method of preparation that I’ve been very interested in lately, juicing. So, considering the pomelo’s size, I figured I’d toss half in the juicer after peeling it to see what would become if it.

The juice turned out to be very sweet and tasty, using my Jack LaLaine Power Juice Elite. I’ll definitely keep the pomelo in mind when looking in the supermarket! I’m sure they can be found in supermarkets around the country, considering the United States is the number 1 producer of grapefruit (including pomelos) in the world, China second and South Africa, surprisingly, third, according to Wikipedia here.

While at the Wikipedia page featuring pomelos, I stumbled upon this link from New York Magazine, which had an interesting recipe and blurb about this peculiar citrus fruit. Here it is if you like.

So, I hope you learned a little about the pomelo and are inspired to try it out (and maybe juice some), as well as some other exotic fruits like the durian, which I wrote about a while back right here, something I still want to try.

I’ll attach the pictures of my process from whole fruit to fresh juice. Enjoy and be well,

Brian

Here are the two links about pomelos in this post if you missed them:

Pomelo – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia –link–

Patricia Yeo’s Candied Pomelo Peel – New York Mag –link–

Awesome Foods

Hello all,

On my new iPhone! Trying out the new WordPress app and its pretty cool.

You all know that I’ve been interested in raw foods and of course veganism. Today we went to Whole Foods and among other great vegan treats and staples got some food by Awesome Foods company.

For now I don’t know how to add links but this unique and local (to me in PA) raw food retailer offers some unique and tasty choices that are vegan, gluten-free and low glycemic at their website as well as at Whole Foods Markets and other health stores nationwide. The link which I will directly add if I can is just their company name, Awesome Foods, .com.

I think I can add photos (sorry, getting so caught up in trying my very cool new iPhone) so let me know if they show up. I’ll take shots of the foods we got and see if they’re able to be viewed.

Enjoy and be well,
Brian

(sorry for the bland title – but I’m sure upon reading this post you’ll know why I chose it.)

Cool raw foodist YouTubers

Remember a little bit ago, I posted a preview primer post on the raw food lifestyle right here? It wasn’t much but that was when I had first started to research raw foods and things.

I’ve been watching some recipe videos & stuff and it’s pretty cool. I found these three great YouTube channels that offer some cool videos of tips, recipes and information on vegan raw foodism. If you’re kind of intimidated or opposed or just unfamiliar about the lifestyle, check it out — it’s worth looking into before making any judgments.

There’s a whole cuisine and world to raw food — it’s not just ALL spinach and cashews (although that is a large part of it ;)).

Here they are. Surely there’s more but these are three I’ve found and subscribed to at YouTube. Fun stuff:

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The Raw Food World show with Matt Monarch and Angela Strokes, authors and raw foodist extraordinaires who run the raw food superstore, TheRawFoodWorld.com. Fun, (I think) daily show about raw food living. Recipes, interviews, tips, stuff like that. Check them out here.

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Ani Phyo’s Raw Food Kitchen (pronounced “Annie Pyoh”, not Fyo or anything) show on YouTube is one of my favorites. Tons of great recipes in an upbeat, couple-minute-long “uncooking” web show, with other resources on raw food living too. What I love are her desserts! Check Ani out here at her website or at YouTube.

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Karen Knowler’s The Raw Food Coach is today’s last-but-not-least features for raw foodists on YouTube. She offers recipes and tips, like my favorite raw almond milk and “staying raw on a plane“. Check her out at YouTube or her website too.

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So, I hope this list is a helpful little resource starter for anyone interested in some high quality video content on YouTube about the raw food lifestyle. Though it may seem strange or restricting, it seems like a very healthful, fresh and rewarding way to eat and I hope you’ll enjoy checking out these experts’ videos.

Enjoy and be well,

Brian

Macrobiotics, healthy living tips and a great TV show… Spotlight: Ms. Sheri-Lynn DeMaris

Hello! Sorry I haven’t posted much lately; hope everyone’s doing well.

A while back I wrote a little tiny introduction the macrobiotic diet (by no means comprehensive), here, which featured this healthy way of living and eating which focuses on wholesome foods that lends itself perfectly to the theme here at VegLiving: living healthy, eco-conscious, and well.

The other day I was talking to my guidance counselor at Valley Forge Middle School, Ms. Sheri-Lynn DeMaris, and we happened to get on the topic of my interest in vegetarianism and healthy living. It just so happens that  she is an expert in the field and has taught around the world, organizes the Healthy Kids Cooking club at my school, Valley Forge Middle (the logo I designed at my graphic design portfolio here at right), and also is the host of her own TV show, Tea With Sheri.

She has just come out with a new book that features “a fun-packed, easy-to-read cookbook designed to teach the simplicity of macrobiotic cooking and eating well”, which is called Macro Magic: for parents and kids. I wanted to feature it here at the site to hopefully expose any readers to a little about macrobiotic cooking with some great recipes. Check out the link here for more information.

Edit 11/18: If you would like to purchase a copy, check out the page at Cedar Tree Books right here. Enjoy!

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Enjoy, and feel free to comment at this post (no need to log in or anything), or subscribe by email here to get posts delivered right to your inbox.

Be well,

Brian

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P.S. — She mentioned an interview or something with Ed Coffin from EatingConsciously.com, click here for more!

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Here’s the links within the posts — there were quite a few today!

“On the Macrobiotic diet” – VegLiving -link-

Tea With Sheri, hosted by Sheri-Lynn DeMaris -link-

Healthy Cooking Club at VFMS –here– and logos –here-at my graphic design portfolio

Subscribe for VegLiving posts –here–

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Happy Belated World Vegan Day! and Podcast Schedule Change

Just recently, November 1st marked this year’s beginning of the celebration of World Vegan Day (/month). Now what does this mean? This means that in November, since 1994, The Vegan Society celebrates the vegan lifestyle around the world, with events, for example, in Melbourne, Australia or in the U.K.

 

I’m not totally vegan (yet) but just thought it would be a good topic for the blog to recognize the vegan lifestyle, that is, vegetarianism which does not include any animal products (milk, cheese, honey, rennet, etc.).

Check out The Vegan Society’s site here as well as the homepage of World Vegan Day ’09 here.

Be well,

Brian

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P.S. – Schedule change to the podcast (VegLiving Hot Minute on iTunes). Just weekly episodes now. Explanation here. Look out for a new show on Sunday.

Lärabars: truly amazing

Awhile back I wrote a little article (and podcast to accompany) on some favorite granola bar choices here. Of all of these, you know I am a huge fan of Kashi, as I wrote in this spotlight here. But, there’s one that also has a special place in my favorites list, and that is Lärabar.

Lärabars are a tasty and nutritious bar with a cool history, too. The founder of the company, Lara Merriken, created this grassroots company based on her idea of natural, healthy but widely-enjoyable simple raw foods that would help her and others get the sustained energy they need. Enough of me talking, here’s a video about the story of the self-made phenomenon that is Lärabar. The video gives the basic gist about the product, too. Check out their site and history page here for more.

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To show my love of their product (and because I was bored and love graphic design), I made this little collage of Lärabars. Enjoy.

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The funky smelling superfruit… Video special: Durians

A delicacy to some and a disgusting dish to others, the durian is, whether it’s a favorite or not, truly a superfood in the world of fresh fruit. Nature has packaged so many phytonutrients into this… pungent… fruit that resembles, well, I guess you could say it resembles a pineapple, if it had to be compared to something.

Anyway, to get to the point, the durian is an amazing immune/DNA-cell damage-preventing and cholesterol-minimizing superfood that, despite its strong odor when prepared to eat, is truly a worthwhile addition to one’s diet.

In fact, in countries like Japan, one durian can cost as much as $80. To learn more about this bewildering fruit, this post will feature a video by National Geographic on YouTube that I stumbled on today. I like how this video humorously explains the position of the durian in Malaysian Borneo and how some love it and some, like managers of hotels in Malaysia, truly hate because of the smell that will turn away many paying customers who would be looking for a room.

Check out the video below and drop us a comment with what you think.

Be well,

Brian

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Learn more about the durian at the links below:

Nutritional Benefits of the Durian –link–

Health Benefits of Durian –link–

Durian – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia –link–