My Website is finally up. Please check it out. I will be making some changes to it over the next couple of months but for now it’s good to go. In the future I will be offering raw food coaching and possibly some other raw food tools you can use.

http://www.tanishamarshall.com

You will also find links to where you can find me on Myspace, Blogcatalog, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and I have a couple more I plan to add so you’ll be able to find me anywhere.

More great post to come..

Tanisha

Over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking of how important it is for me to get more sun so I decided to do some research on why I need more and I thought this information might be useful for you.

The reason why you want to get more Sun is because it is our best source of Vitamin D. If you didn’t know Vitamin D is known for it’s ability to help with the absorption of Calcium. If you are not getting enough vitamin D there is a possibility that you are not properly absorbing Calcium.

I have also come to learn that disorders of the kidney and liver may cause an undesirable conversion of Vitamin D in the body. With knowing this I think it’s important that we try to cleanse and eat foods that are good for our Kidney’s and Liver as well as consider taking supplements like enzymes which help to produce Vitamin D in these organs.

If you are suffering from:

• Obesity
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Colon Cancer
• Liver disease
• Kidney disease
• Most likely any other disease

there is a chance that you are Vitamin D Deficient. Some signs of Vitamin D Deficiency are impaired bone mineralization and softening of the bones. I think the best way to know if you have a vitamin D Deficiency is to take a test, there are several places online where you can order your own Vitamin D test, it is a little expensive so if you can’t afford the test I would highly suggest eating raw foods, possibly taking enzymes and getting enough sun.

How much Sun do you need:
All you need to do is get out in the sun about 2 to 3 days a week. 10-15 Mins of Sun for those who have a lighter skin tone and about 20 mins or more for those of us who have dark skin.

How can I supplement Vitamin D?
Well this can be tricky, from what I know the best way to supplement Vitamin D is to use Fish oils or by eating fish and for some Raw Foodist eating fish is not an option so your best bet is the Sun.

How do Fish get Vitamin D?
I found out that they get Vitamin D by the algae’s that they consume in the water as well as other methods. I have read that sock eye Salmon are higher in Vitamin D because they eat zooplankton which is a microscopic animal(such as protozoans), found in lakes and reservoirs.

Did you Know that:
Most foods are fortified with Vitamin D2 or D3 to help prevent Vitamin D Deficiency? Foods like Milk, Margarine, and Cereals. From what I hear eating food with vitamins added are not always good for you but they are put there because during the processing of the food the nutrients that were there were processed out of the food so they had to put it back in somehow.

I don’t know about you but I plan to get outside more and enjoy the sun as 2-3 days isn’t to much to ask for. Most times we go out of the house everyday to work, why can’t we spend a little time getting the proper nutrients we need. I know for a fact that I plan to work on Cleansing my Kidneys and Liver in the next couple of months, to try and help with the absorption of Vitamin D.

As for Enzymes I currently take the Premium Enzymes and have found them to be helpful in digesting food and cleansing my body.

Here is a place where you can order the Vitamin D Lab Test
Lab Safe

Talk to you soon,
Tanisha Marshall - Certified Raw Food Teacher, Chef, Coach and Speaker

I thought I’d drop in and say hello and let you know what is going on in my life.

I actually miss writing everyday but I want to provide more detailed and in depth information and I can do that better when writing once a week, it will give me some time to actually give you something you can use on your journey to raw.

Lately I have been doing a lot of planning and finishing up my website tanishamarshall.com, I can’t wait until it is complete so that you can check out my story and some up-to-date pictures.

Yesterday I took some photos for my website and I felt so good and could see how my body has changed from what it was last year. I still have more weight to lose but I am almost certain I’ll be close to my goal by the end of this year.

I thought I’d share what I had to eat today:

Breakfast: Larabar (Most times I eat fruit but I need to go shopping)

Lunch: Salad and Green Juice(Collards, Bok Choy, Grapefruit, and Apple)

Dinner: Not sure yet possibly raw veg Sushi

If there are any any topics you would like to me to cover please post a comment or send me an email.

Talk to you soon,
Tanisha

Hello All!!

I haven’t disappeared, I just wanted to post a quick update.

From this point forward I will be posting about 1 or 2 a week. I Plan to continue encouraging you on your raw journey so I’ll be checking in with you soon in a couple of days. I think You’ll like the information that I plan to share with you so be sure to subscribe to my feed or sign up to receive emails when I post updates.

It has been a busy couple of days, it seems when times get busy they get busy. I have been learning so much about this raw journey, I can’t wait to share it with you. What I can tell you is that you go through different stages when you are on the path to being being raw. I didn’t realize when I first went raw that I’d go through various stages in my journey, It has definitley been a learning experience.

I look forward to sharing more with you.

Talk to you soon,
Tanisha Marshall
Raw Food Teacher, Coach, Speaker and Chef
http://raw.tanishamarshall.com

I was thinking today about where I am at in this journey to finding myself and healing. I’ve reached a point where cooked cravings aren’t taking control of me and I have almost no problem passing up cooked foods without even thinking twice, but I still have the memory. Having the memory is not so bad that it make you want to eat cooked but it is there. At one point during this journey I was wondering if I’d ever be able to get over the smell of cooked food and today I can say I have a lot more control and it isn’t driving me crazy like it used to. I can’t say cooked food smells bad like some raw foodist say but it doesn’t make me want to eat it. Today I smelled some type of meat dish it smelled good but I thought it really isn’t good for me and I really don’t have a taste for that anyway and kept going. Before I got to this point I use to dream about it and try to find a way to get it but now I am calm about it. I remember it, I remember why I eat raw and I keep going.

I don’t think I’ll ever claim 100% I don’t want to live under that restraint and/or label, I love Natalia Rose’s thought process on eating, I don’t want people judging me by what I eat and yes people will judge you no matter what I know that, but the last thing I need is someone critquing me.  I don’t want life to be miserable because of how I eat. As I know and I hope you know that our environment play a huge role in how long we live as well as our diet. So once again please don’t get caught up on titles.

 At this point though I’ve been drinking green juices and some green smoothies, making some simple dishes and lots of different sprouts. I am really into having fruit as a lunch or dinner it’s really nice and refreshing. Yes I still make some gourmet I keep my options open.

There are so many stages that one goes through as they continue down the raw path. It’s a path of discovery and sometimes we hit a hard rock on the way and then sometimes it seems like wow how did I get here.

Today I felt for the first time like running, I’ve never been into running and before raw I really didn’t have enough air to run, but I feel like running and really enjoying the outside world, the one I avoided for so many years.

This year I look forward to experiencing something new, I am not sure what it is but I want to do more then stay in the house like I use to, I want to get out and enjoy life, I don’t think we should be couped up in the house all of the time and I know I need my Vitamin D.

Embrace every stage you go through as you go through this journey, at least that is what I try to do. I regret none of the choices that I made even the times when I ate things without a care. I see them as learning experiences which have molded me into who I am now.

Be patient and forgiving. Sometimes people can’t forgive themselves for mistakes they’ve made in the past but you can’t move on until you do. Be patient and allow the emotions to flow through you as long as it takes, don’t hold them back.

Have a wonderful raw day!!

Tanisha

I thought I’d talk about my experience with going green. After going raw I found out there was more to protecting myself and my environment and that was being as green as possible. When I first realized this I thought I’d try changing deodarants. Well that didn’t go to well. I actually end up being allergic to the natural deodarants and I found that a lot of people are allergic to them. I thought how weird. Anyway knowing me I never give up so I decided I was going to keep trying and I found this Salt based deodarant and it works well it’s like water and salt, but to be honest right now I use that at night and I still use the toxic stuff in the morning but I am planning to tranisiton as I have really good results with the water/salt deo and it’s super cheap, I think I am make it myself.What are you using for Deo? Please leave a comment if you don’t mind sharing. You don’t have to sign in to leave a comment so it shouldn’t take to long.

Well not only did I try to replace my deo, I tried with my hair as well. I actually started using Honey and some vairous oils like Jojoba, Olive Oil, Apple Cidar Vinegar, Coconut Oil, and a natural conditioner. I no longer shampoo my hair I try to use Baking soda and water to do that now to cleanse my scalp. I enjoy putting together various concotions. I’ve mentioned this on the blog before that I use Honey and lemon to cleanse my face, it works wonders but my face also looks a hundred times better after exercising. I also use coconut oil on my face, as needed.

Clariying the hair with baking soda: 
1 tablespoon of baking soda
2 cups of water, warm or room temp, I use warm water.
Shake it up and use on your scalp.

I personally do not let it sit, I work it into my scalp and then rinse.

After I rinse this out I spray on the Apple cider Vinegar for a minute then rinse.

I noticed that after doing this my conditioner works even better on my hair it feels so good.

Well I know this is a raw blog but changing up your products is apart of going raw and living as healthy as we possibly can. We’ve also changed up our dish washing liquid, detergent and even the type of soap we use, and it is totally worth it. You might also think about getting a filtered shower head so that it can filter out the bad stuff as the stuff that comes out of the water can get into your body.

Oh I almost forgot to mention that I am now using Toothsoap instead of regular toothpast , even the tootpaste that you find in the store that says all natural includes floride, so be careful. Floride can also be found in your local water supply. Floride coats the teeth and keeps them from remineralizing. You want your teeth to be able to heal and they cannot when they are coated so think about trying some Toothsoap.
Take care,
Tanisha

Hi all!!

You know I am a bit weirded out that I am about to possibly hit a size 12 shirt, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been a size 12 ever not even in grade school. Now even more weird I’m in a size 18 -20 pants. I can fit 18 but I am not claiming size 18 yet. but wow size 12 on top and 18 on bottom. I spent most of my time in size 22 and up to size 28 I can’t believe I am hitting these sizes. When I started out eating raw I was size 28 top and bottom.

I can’t explain how happy I am to be reaching this point in my journey. I know what brought me here is believing in myself and just keeping my eye on the goal even when I had slip ups and I promise you I have had many many many and many slip ups but look I am still losing and feeling great. I am now at a point where I haven’t been craving cooked, I more so remember the memory of cooked and that can be tricky but most times I am like I really don’t want the cooked food it doesn’t seem as appetizing. Still I am not using any labels or claiming 100% but this is how I feel at this point. I just think it’s important for you to know that you don’t have to be perfect while going raw but keeping focused and staying as high raw as you can, it can yield some great results.

Sometime next week or the week after I’ll be taking some updated photos and will place them on my blog for you to see. Sometimes I feel like nothing has changed and that is only because I’ve lived in a size 22-28 most of my adult life and to be this size is totally new for me.

I hope by January of next year to be in my goal size or whatever size my body desires but I hope it’s smaller then a size 10 pants.. Right now I’m going into 12 shirts to I think I’ll hit size 10 shirt by January I’ll probably be size 6 shirt by then, based on the fact that I am losing weight fast on top.

Keep going after your goals, keep positive, and keep striving to be your best. I know if I can do this so can you. Raw for me is not about weightloss but the entire healing process that it provides. I can’t wait to hear great success stories from my readers because you are a success no matter how raw you are, the fact that you are aware of the need to eat right for your body is a great thing. Some people do not have an open mind and do not care about eating what is right but if you are reading this I know you care about yourself.

Much Love,
Tanisha

Before I jump into my thought for today I thought I’d ask you to fill out the poll below, I would like to know why you visit raw food blogs:

Eating raw brings out the best in me. When I first went raw I was hoping to heal from some of the pain and health problems that I had been having. My expectations were small, very small. Since going raw I have been able to unleash a new me a happy vibrant, and smaller me. I am almost half the size I use to be, but I still have another half of myself to release. This might actually surprise you, but when I went raw my goal was not to lose weight it was to feel better and to my surprise the weight has been coming off effortlessly.

My personality has changed, I am no longer as introverted as I use to be, I am and I will probably always be a laid back person but I am more apt to taking to people and really enjoying a good conversation. When I was sick talking to people was not apart of my nature.

Raw has really brought out the better qualities in me. I am more confident, I beleive in myself, I love myself, I feel ok when I make a mistake, I feel closer to God, I feel a lot more connected to nature and I feel like my purpose in life has become to crystal clear.

Going raw really can give you more then you ever dreamed of. I didn’t know raw would bring out the qualities I listed above, I really underestimated what raw could do.

I hope that you realize the potential of eating raw foods and you don’t have to be 100% to experience this you can be 75% raw and obtain some good experiences.

Tanisha Marshall
Certified Raw Food Teacher, Chef, Coach and Speaker
http://raw.tanishamarshall.com

Over a couple of days ago I shared with you my method of becoming more and more raw (Are you struggling with SAD Cravings). I thought it be only right to share that as you finally move into the mode where you are ready to cross over to 100% (If that is your goal) it is possible that you might or might not find it challanging. For me I came to a point where cooked food even veggies gave me pain, I also found that I really didn’t have a connection with it anymore but when it comes to my husband and me and our “PREVIOUS” association and love of food, it really made tranisitioning hard. Again as I always say I am not about the label of 100% and am not claiming it but that is the only way to explain what I am trying to say.

I found that my husband and I built a strong bond between us and food, it was a huge part of the beginning of our relationship and since going raw it feels like one of the special bonds we had is gone, and to be honest that alone makes it hard for me sometimes, but I decided that my health is more important. I want to live longer not eat toxins for the bond we had with food. Don’t get me wrong our bond is important but there has to be another way. If our relationship is only built on food then we won’t last and I know there is more to us then just eating.

You will come to a point where you will need to deal with your emotions, the reasons why you have attachment to food. Honestly any of the times that I have eaten cooked with my husband I really didn’t crave or what it but I wanted the bond that came with it and really that is not a reason to eat cooked food.

So I truly advice that when you are ready to cross that bridge, take a deep breath, and prepare to deal with your emothions, which you may have already been dealing with and start finding out why you have these attachments to food. Find out what is causing you to want them? This may be the time you will want to hire a raw coach to help you over get over the bridge comfortably. If you perfer to work at it alone then find a non-raw activity to do in place of eating.

I found that I love to write and really I’ve always loved writing. During the years when I was sick I didn’t write as much but I’ve picked that back up and it has helped me to release a ton of emotion and I have been able to get my thoughts out on paper and really think about things. I also find visiting blogs and forums to be helpful and what I find most helpful is recieving wonderful comments from my readers, you definitely keep me going as well.

Not only do I write but I pray and I am trying everyday to be positive and focused. I also found a new love, the love of being outside by the trees and just out in nature that sounds and feels so good, like never before.

I urge you to find what makes you happy, and release what doesn’t. Find that something that brings peace and balance to your life for some that might be yoga, getting massages, swimming, talking to friends, traveling. Whatever it is find it. Food is not the cure to emotional strongholds, food is fuel and that is it. There is more to life then eating but when we first go raw, we are not thinking this way.

Right now I feel great and light and free to be who I want to be. I do have struggles just as anyone else. I am not perfect and do not claim to be.

Take your time as you transition to high raw or 100% raw. When you are ready to go 100% you will know. Your body will give you signs it will start to reject some of the cooked you have been eating. I use to love fries and honestly after eating them I started to feel like a grease ball and kind of dizzy, but before raw that never happen to me. Cooked veggies make me really tired and cause a lot of pain, these are just a few of the signs that I have recieved.

The more raw you are, the more you will understand what works for your body and what doesn’t. I don’t feel there is a need to rush but I do feel you need to stay focused on your goals whatever they are. If you have a goal to stay high raw then make a plan. For instance lets say you have been having raw breakfast for quite a while you might decide to change all of your snacks to raw snacks for the next phase of your raw journey. Keep on raising the bar and slowly but surely you will achieve your goal.

Also if you are finding it just plain ole hard to kick the cooked eating habit and you want a 100% raw lifestyle, think about visiting a raw food center, where you can go and focus on your goals without any distractions.

I hope you find this helpful,
Tanisha
http://www.tanishamarshall.com

You know what I noticed a lot since going raw is that when I crave a raw food and eat it, it taste to good it is like the taste is amplified What I find most interesting is that later in the day I can eat the same food again and it doesn’t taste as good. I was thinking, hmm this is weird but that is why I believe that eating according to our instinct is the best way to eat. I am guessing that my body was able to obtain what it needed from the food.

I know this is only the beginning of me discovering what my body want but it has been interesting to see that when I eat food that I don’t want it just isn’t as good and I feel heavy.

I believe I am at a stage where I want to eat light, but I still try to make the heavier dishes because I will be teaching some un-cooking classes and for me I like to be sure I can still make the recipe.

This weekend I am making the famos Raw Sausage pizza for my meetup group, I hope they enjoy it as much as I have… It’s delicious. It helps with meat cravings that’s for sure.

I hope all is well with you,

Tanisha - Tanishamarshall.com