Did you now that soda is one of the most toxic drinks for your body? They contain aspartame (rat poison), and they are filled with processed sugars, dyes, and chemicals. Here are 5 things you didn’t know about soda. Fruit juice anyone?!

1. It can be used to Clean a Toilet

2. Use it with a ball of aluminum foil for rust on chrome.

3. Clean corrosion from car battery terminals.

4. Use it to loosen a rusted bolt.

5. Hazardous materials signs are required on trucks carrying concentrated ingredients.

Now that I have your attention, here are 15 more reasons why sodas are detrimental to your health:

1. Soda will increase your cholesterol levels by up to 11%
2. Thanks to the sugar and acid in soda, it is bad for your teeth and causes tooth decay
3. Contributes to weight gain and obesity
4. Drinking soda can increase your risk of having kidney stones
5. Contains phosphoric acid which increases your risk of osteoporosis
6. Causes dehydration and contains pH levels that advance the aging of your skin
7. Studies show that drinking two or more sodas a week increases your risk of developing cancer
8. Drinking too much soda can cause insomnia due to the amount of caffeine
9. The carbonation in soda can cause acid reflux or heartburn
10. According to a 10-year study, individuals who drink two or more sodas a day have a 500 percent waist expansion in comparison to those who do not drink soda!
11. Diet sodas contain the artificial sweetener aspartame which has been shown to cause seizures, migraines, visual problems, anxiety, and other disorders.
12. Mountain Dew, Fresca and other citrus-flavored sodas contain Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) which has been banned in over 100 countries but not in the US.  Studies show that BVO, which is a flame retardant, can cause damage to the heart and muscles, liver damage, neurological conditions, and more.
13. Aluminum cans and plastic bottles of some sodas have linings that contain Bisphenol A (BPA) which can cause fertility problems, developmental and behavioral problems in infants and children, heart problems, and other disorders.
14. Increases your risk of diabetes
15. Affects your ability to regulate your appetite

If you’re trying to get “off the soda,” try fruit juices instead! They are nutritious, tasty, and colorful! They can be sweet or non-sweet, and most importantly, they are made with fresh ingredients and no chemicals. Juice organic ingredients if possible. For more information on the benefits of juicing, please check out my FullyRaw Facebook page or sign up for my June class “ALL ABOUT JUICING.”

Replace soda with fresh, FullyRaw Juices! We will have our juices at co-op tomorrow! Instead of soft drinks, enjoy our cold-pressed, raw, organic, local, and delicious juices made with love just for you!

My EAT IT RAW Class yesterday was a blast! I served a 4-course meal made fresh on-the-spot to over 100 people! Eating FullyRaw can be fun, easy, and delicious, and I’m here to show you how! This 2 hour class was completely filled, and I prepared a 4-course sample meal for each person, using ingredients only found in our ROC’N boxes! There were newbies there, and people came from everywhere from the UK to Austin to Bryan, TX to come and enjoy! I feel so honored to be able to share this message of FullyRaw health with everyone! The most exciting part is that we are doing this as a community together–creating health and self-love for ourselves, our friends, and our families alike! We are the change that we wish to see in the world. It starts with us! Thank you for being a part of this creative and amazing health movement with me!

Please be sure to sign up for the email newsletter for early sign-ups. These classes have all been sold out. At the moment, we are only able to handle feeding 100 people per class. We are preparing for larger venues and more larger classes as to serve a wider audience. In the meantime, please sign up for class announcements, free recipes, videos, and more, please sign up for the email newsletters on www.rawfullyorganic.com and www.fullyraw.com.

My next class will be on June 16th from 2-4 PM at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. This class will be very different from the others because it will be ALL ABOUT JUICING! I will have sample juices made straight from my recipes for everyone to try. We will discuss the benefits, recipes, juicers, and more! It will be a great way to introduce our new FullyRaw Juices that we are launching in June! Get excited! After the June Class, my next class will be on May 5th, and I will be featuring more 3-course Summer dishes that you can make with your Rawfully Organic boxes. To sign up for these classes, please visit the HANC website here.

In yesterday’s class, we covered several topics:

• Rawfully Organic
• How I Started Rawfully Organic
• My Story of Health
• Branching Out to New Forms of Alternative Health/Medicine
• Inspiring One’s Family to Eat Healthier
• How to Eat FullyRaw
• Exercise
• Juicing vs. Blending
• Rawfully Organic Product Merchandise
• Food Combining
• Weight-Loss
• Why People Fail Eating FullyRaw
• Why Vegan is Important
• Colon Health / Elimination
• Easy Green Smoothie Recipes
• Salad Recipe/ Buffet Line / Pasta with Marinara
• FullyRaw Carrot Cupcakes
• Endless FAQ’s for Kristina!

Each person was fed a green smoothie, a FullyRaw Pasta with Marinara, Salad Buffet, and FullyRaw Carrot Cupcakes! The entire venue was filled with smiles and gratitude, and I feel nothing but gratitude for having everyone come to enjoy the Sunday afternoon with me. For anyone thinking of coming to one of my classes, please do! The next Summer class will feature all new recipes with a focus on juicing, smoothies, summer weight-loss, co-op involvement, and more! You are welcome, and we discuss all matter of being FullyRaw at hand. For those who were not able to make it, please enjoy these pictures as if you were there! Hope to see you at the next Summer class!

For more pictures and updates, please follow my FullyRaw Facebook Page, Rawfully Organic Facebook Page, YouTube, and Instagram!

Are you ready for new beginnings? Fill up your plate with color, beauty, and love! Today marks the 1st day of May, starting a new goal of FullyRaw self-love everyday! The challenge: do one thing a day to show yourself love! Whether it be a FullyRaw meal, an intense workout, deep breathing, meditation, a green juice, bubble baths, or daily affirmations, show yourself LOVE. Celebrate YOU! Who’s ready to do this with me?!

I know this challenge may sound a bit scary to you, right? How does one…love…themselves?? Sounds a bit strange at first.

Everything that you do is a reflection of not only who you are, but also how you respect yourself–of how you treat yourself. Do you eat well? Do you exercise? Do you take time to sleep, meditate, or hug? All of these things are made in effort by you for the betterment of you. The act of taking care of ourselves properly is an act of self-love.

Many people do not take care of their daily basic needs. They may skip a meal, eat a “bad” meal, skip sleep, etc. Some even torture themselves emotionally. Our basic human needs are fairly simple: to eat, breathe, and love. Anything more than that is a privilege and has the potential to make life THAT much more enjoyable. So why not make each moment count?

The more time and effort that you put into YOU, the better that you will feel. You will feel more confident, secure, and happy. Even if you don’t feel like you love yourself now, little acts for yourself daily can actually help you develop self-love! If you have ever heard the phrase, “Fake it until you make it,” it’s almost the same concept. The thing about eating more raw foods is that these foods literally LOVE US BACK. These foods bring cause us to have better physical health; hence, increasing the joy in our moods! When we are more joyful and when we feel better physically, then we automatically have better emotional health and even spiritual health! FullyRaw fruits and vegetables are pure, vibrant, and colorful foods that infuse our bodies with nutritious goodness. We are what we eat! When we eat goodness, we become good. We feel good, and we wish to share more good!

The more acts of self-love that you do, the more that you will begin to not only respect yourself and your body, but all others around you. Acts of self-love benefit all whom we love because they teach us how to show love to everyone that we know.

My FullyRaw Challenge for you this month of May is simple: do one act of self-love daily. I’m not asking you to go FullyRaw, but I am asking to you try one act of self-love daily. Try eating one raw meal a day. You can have a fruit bowl, juice, or smoothie in the morning. You could have a buffet of fruit for lunch, and you can even have a huge salad for dinner! Get a box from Rawfully Organic once a week. Try taking a 10 minute walk outside or a yoga class. You can even try doing daily affirmations where you look at yourself in the mirror each day and simply say, “I am beautiful, strong, and unique. I have power. I have compassion. I understand, and I forgive. I love you.” You can even give yourself a hug! All of these things count, and they SHOW YOU LOVE.

This challenge is one of the most powerful challenges. If you do it long enough, it becomes not only a habit, but a powerful self-enforcement and shift in your life. These acts become stepping stones towards greater confidence and greater success in your life! Take them seriously, plan them daily, and focus on making yourself the best person that you can become. Envision that amazing person that you want to become. The coolest part: you already ARE that person; you just don’t know it yet!

Show yourself self-love this month and conquer this challenge. Please feel free to follow my FullyRaw Kristina Facebook Page, Rawfully Organic Facebook Page, YouTube Channel, and Instagram as I post here daily to encourage you with recipes, videos, and inspiration. No man is an island, so “lettuce” create a sea of love!

I LOVE YOU! Now go show yourself some love! <3

Trying to eat FullyRaw in a small space, on a tight budget, and with few resources? It’s possible! Here are my “how to” tips and tricks that will help you if you are striving to live a raw vegan lifestyle. I share with you my personal story, pictures, and encouragement. Where there is a will, there is a way! Here is how I Ate FullyRaw in college:

WATCH HERE

BREATHE GREEN. LIVE GREEN. EAT GREEN! Today is Earth Day, one of the most important days of the year to celebrate all that is good and green! This includes nature, our bodies, food, and community! “Lettuce” celebrate all the endless benefits of eating plant-based foods! Greens are the most nutritious foods on the planet, bringing oxygen and LIFE to our cells! So how do we get the most out of these foods? What is the best way to eat them? What is the best way to enjoy them? What are the benefits of eating plant-based foods?!

Plant-based foods include fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Anything that grows in the ground or that comes from the earth is plant-based. The difference between eating plant-based foods is that they will keep us thriving with energy, love, and life! They are fresh, colorful, and pure, and they contain all of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to properly function. The benefits are truly unlimited, and they become even more helpful to us the more consistently and abundantly that we eat them!

I recommend eating/blending/juicing at least 2 FullyRaw heads a day for maximum benefits.  ♥ If you are looking for fun daily recipes, you can find all plant-based recipes on my FullyRawKristina YouTube Channel, FullyRaw and Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram Facebook pages, and in the Rawfully Organic recipe archive! Stay dedicated to picking up a share each week at Rawfully Organic. Eat as many fruits and veggies as your heart desires!

Dark green leafy vegetables are, calorie for calorie, probably the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related problems, among many other effects. Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of Omega-3 fats.

Eating plant-based foods is essential for proper digestion and elimination. They are known to ease constipation as well as other digestive issues such as Crohn’s disease, heartburn, and diarrhea.

Perhaps the star of these nutrients is Vitamin K. A cup of most greens provides at least nine times the minimum recommended intake of Vitamin K, and even a couple of cups of dark salad greens usually provide the minimum all on their own. Recent research has provided evidence that this vitamin may be even more important than we once thought (the current minimum may not be optimal), and many people do not get enough of it.

More benefits of eating GREENS rich in Vitamin K:

Regulates blood clotting
Helps protect bones from osteoporosis
May help prevent and possibly even reduce atherosclerosis by reducing calcium in arterial plaques
May be a key regulator of inflammation, and may help protect us from inflammatory diseases including arthitis
May help prevent diabetes

These foods help us feel more energy, have fun, and enjoy life! Everyone knows that eating more fruits and veggies are better for you, so why not fill up your plate and enjoy all of the flavors that nature has to offer? Everyone can benefit from increasing the plant-based foods in his/her diet. Challenge yourself and try eating one FullyRaw meal a day. Try a juice, smoothie, fruit bowl, or even a rainbow salad! Give your body the opportunity to feel life. Feed it right! Share the FullyRaw love! Hugs!

Click here for the FullyRaw Spring Salad Recipe!

Sip on this Vitamin Infused FullyRaw Lemonade! Now that Spring is here, it’s important to “Spring Clean” your body, flush toxins from your system, and keep hydrated! One of my biggest beauty tips is staying hydrated with not only water, but with vitamin-infused water! Many times, you will find those vitamin packs in the stores, but those are dried powders that potentially have many chemicals in them and that aren’t even absorbed by your body. Give your body the REAL nutrients that it deserves and try infusing your own water! The best part about making vitamin-infused FullyRaw lemonade is that you can make it with any fruits of your choice! Citrus typically works the best along with berries, but this combination in particular is my favorite! Enjoy, sip, and share!

This lemonade is a 64 oz mason jar filled with orange/lemon slices, mint, and purple basil. It is then filled with water and refrigerated overnight for a more intense, infused flavor! This is REAL natural flavoring that will keep you hydrated and happy! Who’s in the mood for a refresh-mint?!

In the class, we covered several topics:

• Rawfully Organic
• How I Started Rawfully Organic
• My Story of Health
• Branching Out to New Forms of Alternative Health/Medicine
• Inspiring One’s Family to Eat Healthier
• How to Eat FullyRaw
• Exercise
• Juicing vs. Blending
• Rawfully Organic Product Merchandise
• Food Combining
• Weight-Loss
• Why People Fail Eating FullyRaw
• Why Vegan is Important
• Colon Health / Elimination
• Easy Green Smoothie Recipes
• Salad Recipe/ Burrito Buffet Line
• FullyRaw Carrot Cupcakes
• Endless FAQ’s for Kristina!

Each person was fed a green smoothie, a FullyRaw Burrito (that they made themselves), and FullyRaw Carrot Cupcakes in honor of my birthday! The entire venue was filled with smiles and gratitude, and I feel nothing but gratitude for having everyone come to enjoy the Sunday afternoon with me. For anyone thinking of coming to one of my classes, please do! The next Summer class will feature all new recipes with a focus on juicing, smoothies, summer weight-loss, co-op involvement, and more! You are welcome, and we discuss all matter of being FullyRaw at hand. For those who were not able to make it, please enjoy these pictures as if you were there! Hope to see you at the next Summer class!

I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES. DO YOU?

I hope that you have had a fun and restful weekend! Everything may be busy, but everything feels perfect when the weather is as perfect as it has been lately. The weather has allowed for us to have the most gorgeous greens that we have seen YET this year! This past week, we had everything from bushel spinach to fluffy kale and curly green leaf lettuces! Even the local strawberries tasted sweeter this week! When the weather has good energy, our food has good energy, and we absorb that too!

Speaking of energy and food, there is so much to be said about the energy that we consume and about the energy that we spread. Many of us have all heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” Of course we are! Our cells are composed of the cells that we eat. If we eat fresh, raw, and vibrant foods, we are also all of those elements. However, most people do not see food as a source of energy for the world. By energy, I mean the energy that we possess that affects our surroundings and the world.

We emit energy vibrations on a daily basis to even the strangers passing by us. I am sure that many of you have had the experience of walking by someone and thinking to yourself that they were either interesting or not. I am sure that many of you have bumped into friends or neighbors running errands and thought that they seemed well or not-so-well. I am also sure that many of you understand that different people have different energies. Some people bring a very excited or loving energy to the table, while some may need some “sugaring” up! We all deal with people on a daily basis, but what we don’t realize is that our energies touch one another. Our energies affect one another.

Energies are constantly being exchanged. My energy affects you. Your energy affects me. If we have a conversation, our energies are crossed, and they can shift our days in good ways or bring us growth opportunities. Energies touch. That being said, one may begin to think about the type of energy that one wants to be around all day. Similarly, one even begins to think about the kind of energy that one emits all day long. It is a strange thing to think that our energy can shift the tone or mood of everyone around us, but it is absolutely true! If you are feeling sad or feeling GREAT, then you have the ability to spread this emotion to others, either saddening their day or even making it completely AWESOME! Don’t you wish that you could not only be around FABULOUS and VIBRANT energy ALL day long, but also that you can be a source of this energy ALL day long?! Heck yes!!! And you can!!!

Many people continuously ask me how I get my energy all day long. The answer is simple; yet it is too complex for even my human understanding. The simple answer is pure, raw health. Having been a raw food vegan 100% for almost 8 years, my main source of fuel is my organic produce that comes straight from our boxes. If it is not in the box, it is not in my belly! My other sources of energy include the lifestyle aspects of plenty of physical exercise (which can cause us to FEEL MORE ENERGY), emotional balancing, spiritual grouping, gratitude, sleep, hugs, etc. Health is about the way in which you live, not solely the diet to which you adhere. The healthier that you become, the more  positive changes appear in your life. It is ALWAYS an uphill climb, and fruitfulness surrounds you more and more each day! Your mind cannot clear without a clean body. It simply cannot. When your body is clean, you feel things more deeply, your sense of gratitude is intense, and your energy vibrates at higher levels of awesomeness! Therefore, energy becomes one of the essential elements in how you feel and in how the world feels. Our energy CAN change the world!

Our energy affects the world. What we feel affects the world. Although you may not think it, we all affect each other. No man is a island of fruit, but rather, we are archipelagoes, capable of spreading fruitfulness! Imagine that! Just as the sun, the earth, and the rain work together as a team to create abundance and beauty, we work together to create our communities, our cities, our nations, and the world. No space is too small, and no earth is too big. Think about it. What energy to you want to send out into the world, and what energy do you want to receive? It changes the entire way that you will approach people in your day and even how you may treat yourself. A shift in one’s life begins with a simple thought.

No man is an island of fruit!

We are a network.

We ALL co-operate.

What energy do you want to create?

Start off your day by envisioning the energy that you want to emit all around you. Feed yourself the most colorful fruits and veggies, and even power up with a green smoothie! Kick start your day with a jog or some yoga! Feel the goodness of self-love, and let it invade your day! You will only share this high frequency with others. If you run into an energy-sucker, don’t let them get you down. Feel compassion for them and be sure to put up your blockade, never taking anything personally. Offer help to those in need, and you will feel even more blessed to reach people. Life must always feel good, and we have the power to make it deeply rich for everyone, including ourselves! Lettuce not miss out on this opportunity!

I hope to see you all this week as we enjoy boxes OVERFLOWING with colorful deliciousness! Even the squirrels want to enjoy!

I hope to share this good energy with all of you!

Hugs and love!

Kristina

Who wants a FullyRaw Burrito ya’ll?! Hope you’re hungry because this one is filling and satisfying to every tastebud on your palatte! It’s low fat so take a big bite!

Video Recipe Here!

All Ingredients:

• Large Collards Leaves
• 1-3 Colorful Bell Peppers
• Half of One Zucchini
• One Cucumber
• 1-2 Shredded Carrots
• Juice of 3 Lemons
• Tomatoes (Beefsteal or Cherry)
• Small Bunch of Cilantro
• Green Onions
• Few Leaves of Arugula
• Alfalfa Sprouts
• Tsp of Cumin
• Less than a Quarter Cup of Sesame Seeds
• Quarter of an Avocado
• Optional: Red Onion, Spicy Peppers, and Celery Bits

For the Awesomesauce!

• Half a Zuccini (more if desired)
• Less than the quarter cup of Sesame Seeds
• Juice of 3 Lemons
• Few Sprigs of Green Onion
• 1 Bell Pepper (preferably red)
• Optional: Spicy Pepper

Directions:

1. Take your collard leaf and destem the backend (not fully), but just enough to take away the very thick part of the stem as shown in the YouTube video above.
2. Lay out your leaf.
3. Blend the ingredients for the saucy spread! Spread on the AWESOMESAUCE with the ingredients listed above.
4. Spread the Awesomesauce on the back of the leaf.
5. Chop, slice, and dice all other ingredients and layer them on top of the sauce on the leaf.
6. Top with a slice of avocado, sprouts, or more sauce!
7. Fold in the sides and wrap around the ends.
8. Flip over the burrito “baby” and cut it in half with a knife!
9. Allow all the beautiful colors inside to be shown to you….
10. Take a BIG BITE and savor!

This recipe is created for you with love by Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram of www.fullyraw.com.