Here in America we hear a lot of stories about the French being able to eat whatever they want yet they don’t get fat.

This morning NPR (National Public Radio) aired a story on how the French eat in Paris. The reporter visited the produce stands, delis, butchers, and bakeries. She noticed that there were many mom and pop type of stores that were doing a bustling business. There were no franchises or large corporate stores anywhere in sight.

This piqued the reporter’s interest, so she spoke with a Paris city official in the planning commission regarding their business practices.

This is what the reporter learned:
City officials in Paris do not allow large supermarkets or corporate franchises to come into Paris. City officials do not want Paris to lose its feel and they want to maintain their availability of quality foods.

Parisians are willing to pay a little more for their food as long as it is fresh and grown or raised locally. Parisians enjoy fresh local produce, fresh local meats, and freshly baked and cultured breads, all of which are free of preservatives and genetic modifications.

The practice described above is known as sustainable living. I call it sustainable living for a sustainable future.

We have gotten away from this style of living in America and are now living a lifestyle of convenience… and it shows!

Vibrant health, along with a desirable look and feel, is not hard to achieve, but it does take a little effort.

In America we have more choices than any other country in the world. This is not a bad thing. We just have to get informed and make responsible choices for a healthy and sustainable future.

I will keep with this theme of sustainable living for the next several days. Sustainable living, also known as green living, is something that is dear to me.

I hope that you found this post of interest to you.
If you know anybody that may be interested in this blog, send them a link.

Have a wonderful day!

Alexander Morentin C.E.S.
Holistic Fitness Coach
www.AlexanderMorentin.com

In a recent post I discussed the importance of eating raw sprouted nuts and seeds. However, I didn’t explain how to sprout them.

Almonds are the easiest of all of the seeds and nuts to sprout. Simply soak them in water for 8 to 12 hours. This will sprout them.  Make sure to rinse them off thoroughly afterwards in a colander. You will see a brown film come off of them. You will say to yourself, “Man, I was eating that?” Sprouted almonds taste much different than regular raw almonds.  They have to be refrigerated and they only stay good for about a week. Only sprout as many as you think you will eat in about three to five days. 
Note: I am often asked if it is necessary to peel the almonds after they are sprouted.  The answer is no.

Isn’t that easy?

Here’s what I do: A couple of hours before I go to bed, I pour some raw almonds into a bowl and add some good clean water. When I wake up in the morning I rinse the almonds in the manner suggested above.

I sprouted some almonds last night and was able to add them to my smoothie in the morning. They taste delicious and they are easy to make.

Remember, sprouted almonds are nutritious living foods. There is no comparison between sprouted almonds and unsprouted almonds.

Try this out for yourself, you’ll be glad that you did.

Tenga un buen dia (Have a great day)!

Alexander Morentin
Holistic Fitness Coach
www.myfitlife.net

It’s Tuesday night and I am just getting home from the local Farmer’s Market.

I look forward to going to the Farmer’s Market every week. It is always an extremely rewarding experience for me.

The people are friendly; the produce is fresh; what more could you ask for?

In fact, I always leave happier than when I arrive. Why? Because I feel very fortunate that local farmers do what they do… working hard to bring us delicious healthy food at a terrific price week after week.

Which leads me to the point of this post:
How much is that produce?

Whenever I educate people about the benefits of eating fresh whole foods I will often times get this reponse: “But I can’t afford it. Those fruits and vegetables are too expensive.”

Well, I don’t really understand this statement.
Tonight, I brought home:

• 2 pounds of spinach
• Broccoli
• 5 tomatoes
• A bunch of celery
• A bunch of green onions
• 5 nectarines
• 5 peaches
• 8 apricots
• 8 plums

All of this fresh delicious produce cost me an astronomical $19.50! That is less than the price of 6 gallons of gas in Southern California. I personally think that this is one hell of a deal. 

I don’t understand why people think that buying fresh produce is more expensive, but they do.

If you are one of these people, then I highly suggest you find a local Farmer’s Market. Not only will you find affordable healthy produce, you will find a new lifestyle that I promise will be extremely rewarding.

Well, it looks like it’s time for me to go to bed.

Bye for now,

Alexander Morentin, C.E.S.
Holistic Fitness Coach
My Fit Life

The above headline was on the front page of the Los Angeles Times this weekend.

It seems that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considering for approval a list of 38 nonorganic ingredients that will be permitted in organic foods. The approval of these ingredients would affect every type of manufactured organic food.

The proposed ingredients include food colorings, flavorings, bulking agents, and fish oil. Needless to say that the approval of this list would be a huge blow to the organic food movement.

In case you are wondering, food coloring, flavoring, and bulking agents are not desirable additions to your diet.

Why is this happening?
Well, it’s all about the m-o-n-e-y!
That’s right. Big corporations have entered what used to be a small “grass roots” movement. Big business will do whatever it can to make as much money as it can with blatant disregard to the consumer (us).

According to the L.A. times: Sales of organic food in the U.S. has grown from $4 billion in 1997 to $16.9 billion in 2006. This is a more than 400% increase. Big business definitely wants a huge piece of this rapidly growing pie.

The USDA is expected to make a ruling on this issue any day.

What does this mean to me?
It doesn’t look like this dilema will affect organic produce. The proposed additives would be added to organic packaged foods.

Those of you that know me, know that I promote the consumption of fresh whole foods as opposed to packaged foods. However, I hope and pray that the USDA does not approve the list of 38 nonorganic ingredients.

Local is the new Organic
Remember to support local farmers by purchasing your produce at Farmers Markets and CSA’s - Community Supported Agriculture. By doing so, you are voting with your dollars. Together we can make a difference.

I will keep you up to date as to the outcome of this dilema.

Feel free to leave me any questions or comments you may have regarding this situation.

Yours in health,

Alexander Morentin
Holistic Fitness Coach
My Fit Life

It’s Saturday night and I have just returned home from a fantastic night out at the pre-opening party for Orange County’s newest raw food restaurant.

118 Degrees is owned and operated by raw food chef Jenny Ross.

There was music, fun, laughter, and a never ending sampling of chef Jenny’s raw and living cuisine. Raw food never tasted so good.

I had a particularly good time because I was able to connect with many people that I have not seen in a long while. Of course, I also met a few very interesting and talented people.

The energy was high and the food was fantastic. Chef Jenny gets better and better with every passing year.

Not only is the food  great, but the atmosphere is out of this world. Jenny and her partners did a fantastic job on the interior design of the place. And the location couldn’t be any better.

118 Degrees is located at the Camp in Costa Mesa:

2981 Bristol St. Ste. B-5
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714.754.0718
http://www.shop118degrees.com/

Well, it’s time for me to go to bed.
Bye for now.

Alexander Morentin
Holistic Fitness Coach
My Fit Life