The Joy of Living Live

A Raw Food Journey
by Akote Zakhah
KNN-Dimona

Close your eyes and imagine a community of 100% vegans living a holistic lifestyle. A community virtually free of disease, crime, and immorality. A healthy environment where animals have no fear of being eaten. What would you call this place? Heaven? Paradise ?

Now you don’t have to just imagine it anymore. It is here on earth. Open your eyes and see the Village of Peace in Dimona, Israel . This is a community of former African Americans who moved to the Holy Land to establish a peaceful, harmonious, self-sustaining environment. According to the Ministry of Health of this 40-year young community, the cases of diabetes, strokes, heart attacks, cancers, STDs, HIV and AIDS are so minimal to non-existent that they are considered to be virtually eradicated. Meanwhile, these illnesses are among the top 10 killers of their African American counterparts in America.

Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee tested adult members of the Village of Peace and found that the community has essentially eliminated high blood pressure even if they had a family history of the disease. There are no nursing homes and the elders of the Village have been known to defeat the younger teams in sports activities. Since the community’s establishment in 1967, there have been fewer than 40 deaths in this community of over 2,500 residents.

The leaders of the Village of Peace see the value of a natural diet for healthy people and have incorporated it in their lifestyle. They eat only fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, and seeds. Each week, the adults in the community have 3 no-salt days, 2 raw food days, 2 no-margarine days, and one day of fasting.

Four times a year with the change in seasons, the community prepares to elevate their diet even further with the observance of a “Sugarless Week” where the only sweeteners consumed are maple syrup, date syrup, and the stevia herb; and a “Live Foods Week” where they consume 80% to 100% raw and living foods and cleanse their digestive systems.

As a result of changes in diet and lifestyle, evidence has emerged that this may be the healthiest group of collective humans existing on the planet today. And did I mention that they own the largest chain of vegan restaurants in the world? They have 13 Soul Vegetarian restaurants on 4 continents.

The “secret” to their diet and lifestyle now has been revealed in a new book called The Joy of Living Live: A Raw Food Journey by Zakhah (www,joyoflivinglive.com). This full-color photographic book explores over 100 raw and living foods tasting experiences from various regions of the world, including the Mediterranean, Asia, West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas . Complete with recipes for health drinks, breakfast, lunches on the go, desserts, and spices; recipes such as Live Spring Rolls, Pizza Wraps, Brazilian Nut Milk, Kale & Avocado Salad, and Orange Cake with Maple Cream Icing will make you want to lick the pages. Instructions are simple and easy-to-follow for food items generally found at local markets and health food shops.

They are designed for raw foodists no matter the stage of development: 50%, 80% or 100% live. These delicious pages share wisdom on diet transitioning, eating organic, exercise, meditation, prayer, fasting, food combining, sprouting, healing properties of food, low-cost superfoods, detoxification, holistic dental care, gourmet food preparation,… WHEW! In other words, this book is a powerhouse for your practical raw food needs.

One of the most exciting features of this book is the testimonies from long-time raw foodists who have been raw 5, 10, 20, to over 30 years. They are doctors, raw food restaurant owners, celebrities, raw moms and their raw children, community leaders, and more.

They answer questions like what physical health changes can be expected by eating live foods, how vegans and raw foodists can prevent nutritional deficiencies, and how to have a raw pregnancy. The Joy of Living Live: A Raw Food Journey will make you scream and jump for JOY.

Sunshine Cashew Cheese

2 Cups Cashews, soaked
¼ Cup Nutritional Yeast
2 Garlic Cloves
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
½ Cup Purified Water

Place all ingredients except water in a blender or food processor and mix on high speed. Slowly pour in water until texture reaches desired consistency. Store in a refrigerator.

Sea Vegetable Salad

2 Cups Wakame Seaweed
1 small Onion, chopped
1 large Tomato, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons Mixed Herbs
1 tablespoon Granulated Garlic
2 teaspoons Onion Powder

Chop seaweed in a food processor using slicer blade. Soak for about 1 hour and drain. Add remaining ingredients. Enjoy!

The Joy of Living Live: A Raw Food Journey is now available from www.joyoflivinglive.com and several book and health food shops throughout the US, UK and Israel . For a listing in your area, e-mail thejoyoflivinglive@yahoo.com.

Zakhah is a graduate of the Institute of Regenerative Truth as well as the School of the Prophets Institute of Jerusalem (Israel) with a degree in Divine Nutrition. She is also a raw and living foods chef and the author of the world-reknown raw food recipe book The Joy of Living Live: A Raw Food Journey, winner of the Holy Jerusalem Writers Conference Award. Zakhah is co-founder of the Elements of Truth Magazine and Catalog and a freelance health writer for various independent publications in the US and United Kingdom.