o Excuse for not eating well!!!!! Farmers markets and fruit stands are popping up all over!  This one is Fridays on Ocean Parkway and Ave Z, in front of Coney Island Hospital……that is an oxymoron!!!! Fruit stand- hospital, get it?  The people inside would be better off at the farmers market, don’t you think?  The food outside is medicine, inside they get jello, fake mashed potatoes and ices with red #40!!!!! How they expect people to heal with food like that I will never know!!!!!

I was totally sold on Agave a while back. Now I see so many “health food” products being made with this delicious sweetener. Well guess what?  It may not be all its cracked up to be!!

It is true that agave is low glycemic , but it also has a fructose content of up to 90%! I know , shocking!! High fructose corn syrup averages 55%, and we all know how terrible High fructose corn syrup is for us, part of the problem is that our insulin levels do NOT adjust to that ultra sweet substance!!  So we have the same result with agave!

From what I’ve read, the marketing of that stuff has us all duped! It is not pure (totally processed with chemicals and heat or both)! Even when it says Raw on the label.

My advice is to avoid agave and stick to Stevia, and grade B maple syrup. Figs, dates, and raisins can also add a nice sweetness to baked goods. Brown rice syrup and barley malt syrup taste okay in some recipes as well…….old macrobiotic favorites.

Like I always say, stick to the natural sweetness of sweet veggies and fruit, anything else should be a treat and not for every day.

Always stay aware of INGREDIENTS in your foods, agave is very widely used these days. It is in everything from cookies to icecream in the healthfood store. Be aware and don’t be duped, be an educated consumer.

The most heartbreaking thing I have heard thus far, was a woman telling me “I hate the kitchen!”  The cure is in the kitchen ….. literally!  I believe that if we really understand how important food preparation is, we would see our kitchens as sacred, beautiful places.
Go through your kitchen and clean out the junk.  Don’t allow high fructose corn syrup, msg, trans fats and all their ugly cousins in the door!

Fill your shelves with whole grains, nuts, seeds and foods that are really nutritious and life sustaining. I try to steer clear of most processed foods. Vegetables and fruits are number one!!  Make an assortment of delicious veggies. literally Eat The Rainbow!  We really all know what is good for us, it is just a matter of getting our taste buds used to quality food. Once we do, it is an easy and delicious adventure.

Have fun in your kitchen and make easy and interesting things.  A beautiful salad with all kinds of raw goodies (different kinds of lettuces, sprouts, olives , avocado, nuts and seeds, tomatoes, peppers, string beans, cucumbers, squash, carrots, fresh raw corn niblets, cubed raw sweet potato, beets, mushrooms…..whatever you can think of).  Come up with your favorite combinations. Add a grain or a protein of the finest organic quality you can find.  Voila! A gorgeous meal!

I love the peaceful feeling of a quiet kitchen but if you like put on some music. Most importantly find a way to  enjoy the time that you are in the kitchen. Buy some colorful and fun looking cutting boards, a new ceramic knife in green or orange, or maybe a yellow strainer to clean your veggies in.  The energy we put into the food is part of what we are eating. I feel great
when i make it peaceful, loving and happy!

The kitchen is the place where all health begins. It is the heart of the home. No food compares to the value of a meal that has been prepared with love at home. No matter how simple. Just keep asking “how do I feel?” there in lies the truth.

Chlorophyll”s composition is the closest to human blood that occurs in nature. The green color that you see in vegetables is nutritious chlorophyll. The biggest problem we have is accessing and absorbing the chlorophyll because of the tough cellulose walls in our green veggies. It takes a lot of chewing to really break down those walls and benefit. Hence my OBSESSION with the vita-mix machine.

Each morning you will hear the great rumbling of the vita-mix in the
Harari kitchen. As the members of my family make their yummy green goddess smoothies. The Vita-mix fully breaks down the cellulose walls of the greens, as well as predigests them (chews it up) and gives your body an amazing shot of nutrition.
I put about 2 to 3 cups of greens usually romaine lettuce, baby spinach, baby bok Choy , celery and or kale with about 1 1/2 cups of water. Give that a whirl, then add some fruit. Apples, pears, peaches, bananas, mangoes, berries….any combo you like. You can use 1 or all the green choices, and whatever fruit combo you like. I also like to add a superfood like acai. What a way to start your day! Energy in a glass, I tell you! A little shot of lemon gives your liver a boost……throw it in there!
Just stop for a minute, about 1 hour later, ask yourself ‘how do I feel?’ Ahhhhhhhhhh! I am hooked!