Superfoods

Note:
In progress...

The journey I have chosen requires that I invest in some equipment, special foods/superfoods and supplements. Most of these are inexpensive, a few of them are very expensive, but since I believe that they are well worth the money, it doesn't matter to me. In this post I have listed the supplements I use either on a daily basis or from time to time. Link/s to reseller/s and articles where available. Also a short comment on what to look for if you are looking for alternatives.

Florinas Superfood List:

Açaí berries - (freezedried powder, wildharvested) - açaí FAQ - açaí wikipedia.org - red23.co.uk
Make sure you buy açaí products where the powder, juice or smoothie is made from only the pulp and skin, NOT the seeds. Some (I'd say most) low-priced açaí products are made from the whole fruit, and that's not good enough. E-mail the importer, seller or manufacturer and ask them. The ones who won't answer probably either don't know or won't tell you that there are seeds in their product.
I buy my freezedried powder at red23.co.uk, but I would rather buy this product from Universal Taste but sadly I can't find anyone who sells this in Europe, and/or will do business with people in Denmark at reasonable prices.

Goji berries/Wolfberries - (dehydrated, organic) - red23.co.uk
From totalrawfood.com: "Goji Berries contain the highest content of beta-carotene among all foods on earth... Regular consumption of Goji Berries is traditionally believed to lead to a long, vigorous and happy life... has long been used by Chinese martial artists and athletes with its potent energising properties."

Noni - juice, powder, pulp or fruit leather - rawguru.com
rawguru.com has noni fruit leather (more to come)

Spirulina powder - (organic) - - red23.co.uk -
Chlorella powder - (organic) - wiki
Wheatgrass powder - (organic) -
Kelp powder - (organic) -
Barley grass powder - (organic) -
Maca powder - (organic) -
Lucuma powder - (organic) -
Mesquite powder - (organic) -
Suma powder - (organic) -
Purple corn powder - (organic) -
Camu-camu powder - (organic) -
MSM crystals (Methyl-Sulfonyl-Methane) - (organic) -

Equipment

Note:
In progress...

The journey I have chosen requires that I invest in some equipment, special foods/superfoods and supplements. Most of these are inexpensive, a few of them are very expensive, but since I believe that they are well worth the money, it doesn't matter to me. In this post I have listed the supplements I use either on a daily basis or from time to time. Link/s to reseller/s and articles where available. Also a short comment on what to look for if you are looking for alternatives.

Florinas Equipment List:

Hand-cranked blender - (GSI Vortex Blender) - wildernessdining.com
This is genious! I've looked for a non-electrical blender for ages, and I finally found it. I was actually googling for organic freeze dried fruits and vegetables, when I stumbled upon this excellent find. Ideal for people living off the grid, and a must have for camping, travel and trips. And it's only $70... YAY! This is now officially the most coveted item on my wishlist. (See also gadgets and helpful thingies)


Juicer/juiceextractor - (GreenStar Gold) - greenstar.com
You can definately settle for a blender and a cheesecloth or metal mesh-thingy (what's the word?) in the beginning. But it won't be long before you get tired of doing things the oldfashioned way, I'm sure.
When you decide to get a juicer, make sure you choose one with twin gear technology, or at the very least the kind that crushes and NOT the kind that spins and shreads! The ones that use a centrifuge technology (spins and shreads) leaves the pulp very wet, and harms a lot of the good stuff in fruits/vegetables as it gets too hot. Imho. you should go for the greenstar gold, or don't go for it at all.


Blender - (VitaMix or Blendtec) - vitamix.com or blendtec.com
Which one to choose... that is the question!
Part of a personal review reads: "...I know, it sounds like I prefer VitaMix… but I think I will use the BlendTec more often..."

I bought a "Smoothie-blender" with a faucet (KENWOOD New York Smoothie) some 5 years ago, and it does the trick (for now). It doesn't come anywhere near the VitaMix or the Blendtec in performance, though. I have to add a lot of liquids for it to blend stuff really smooth, which is a problem at times. But it's what I already own, so that'll have to do untill I can afford to buy a really good one.

VitaMix is probably the best blender on the market, and is very popular in the raw food community. Some raw-fooders use their blender for roughly every second meal of the day, which should tell you something about endurance, performance and quality. However it is quite expensive.

Blendtec has a good reputation in the raw food community as well. It's about 20-30% cheaper than the VitaMix, which might be a good argument for some.

Suggested reading if you're yet undecided:
"Pro-both" personal testimonial at the goneraw.com forum with a few comments. The author actually concludes: "...I know, it sounds like I prefer VitaMix… but I think I will use the BlendTec more often..."
and/or
"Pro-VitaMix" review of VitaMix vs. Blendtec at perfectsmoothie.com
and/or
"Pro-Blendtec" comparison chart at totalblender.com

When it comes to real life users of VitaMix vs. Blendtec, it seems like it's more a matter of taste, habit and opinion rather than any actual difference in quality. Mostly it seems that people who prefer the Blendtec over the VitaMix are arguing that the Blendtec will fit in your cabinet, whereas the VitaMix is supposedly too tall. On the other hand, the VitaMix supposedly deals better with whole fruits and frozen foods because it comes with a tamper. Also, most raw food coaches and chefs recommend the VitaMix over the Blendtec, which is the final argument that makes me side with the VitaMix.

Surely you can use other brands, but make sure you choose one that has enough power, and is designed to blend icecubes.

Hamilton Beach (commercial models) are also very powerful. They are widely used in bars and restaurants in Denmark. You might be able to find a used Hamilton Beach commercial blender at ebay or amazon for a little less than the VitaMix or Blendtec. But if you're willing and able to spend some money on a blender, I'd still choose the VitaMix (or Blendtec) any day.


Waterpurifier/ionizer - (Jupiter) - ionizers.org
If you only take one thing about weight loss with you from this lil' blog o' mine, then let it be: BUY A JUPITER WATER IONIZER!
I cannot emphasise this enough. Drinking the right amount of the right water will make you loose fat! A lot of fat. In addition to fat loss, drinking "Jupiter-water" has a huge number of other health benefits.
I'd go as far as to say that even if you don't make any other changes in your diet, then drinking
1 litre (34 ounces) of "Jupiter-water" per 18 kg (40 lbs) of bodyweight will make you loose weight.
Unfortunately they are VERY expensive. Definately worth the money, but that doesn't really help people who can't afford it.
I'm amazed that none of the resellers I could find has come up with some sort of payment plan or lease-option. I bet a lot of people really want it, but can't afford it. It is sooo frustrating when you get to the point where you are 100% determined and motivated to loose weight and just don't have the money to buy the equioment/supplements do it.
If you don't have the money to buy a Jupiter Water Ionizer, then you can buy a water-distiller and add pH drops (like AlkaLife) but it just won't be the same.
You can do you own research online, but let me save you some time and tell you this:
Water filters or other brands of water-purifiers won't give you even remotely the same quality of water.
Accept no substitutes. Jupiter really is the only brand worth spending your money on.
I've spend at least 50 hours of serching to find a cheaper alternative, and there simply isn't one.
(To get started, visit ionizers.org for a detailed informationpage about other types of water-filtering systems/methods)


Dehydrator - (Excalibur 9-tray with timer) - excaliburdehydrator.com
You can just use your oven, really. But make sure you DON'T turn your oven above 50°C (120°F) and open your ovendoor a tiny bit so the moisture can get out... which is the point in the first place ;-D


Portion-sized blender - (Tribest Personal Blender) - personalblender.com
I have both a "Magic Bullet" kind and a Personal Blender. The Magic Bullet-one isn't really a Magic Bullet, but it is exactly the same, and only cost me 1/5 of the price of an original one. The only difference is the logo on the unit. I would definately recommend the Personal Blender of the two, since you can buy spare parts and extras for it. On the Magic Bullet-type, the rubber-rings that ensure the "cup" and lid/bladeholder is sealed tight, tend to fall out and get caught in the blades from time to time, and it is almost impossible to get it back in place when you've taken it out to clean underneath it, thought you don't have to do that too often.
Make sure you get one that will blend icecubes. If it doesn't say so in the description of the blender, then chances are it doesn't.

Videoclips worth watching

________________________________________________________



Interview with Dr. Robert O. Young (author of The pH Miracle) on CNN:



________________________________________________________



Promotion video from gorawnow.com:



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Online Tools

In progress...

If you know of any online tools, you think would fit into this list, then please write a comment with a link, and I'll check it out.

Online Tools:

• Nutridiary.com - FREE
  Log what you eat, drink and do.
  You sign up (for free) and you can pretty much log everything. It has a large database of foods, and you can add your own foods and meals if they're not already listed in the database.
  You can see reports of a variety of things (i.e. calorie intake vs. expendidure) and set goals for weightloss (though that feature isn't really suited for a detox-diet).
  It's a really good tool for keeping track of what you're doing dietwise. Even though it is somewhat customizable, it's lacking a few key features for us detox-fans.
  There is no need to upgrade to the paid versions... you get everything you need for free, really.
  Tip: If you choose the option "stay logged in untill I log out" when logging in, you can keep a window open for easy access during the day.
  
  
• FoodFileOnline.com - FREE
  A database with thousands of foods. The most detailed information I have been able to find on the web. It's based on the database from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which has 7,519 foods (in the latest version).
  You can't search brands or keywords per se, but you can use it as a detailed addition to nutridiary.com especially if you have special nutritional needs, or if you simply want more detailed information than nutridiary.com provides.
  
  TYPICAL VALUES include:
  kJ, calories, protein, carbohydrates (+of which sugars), fat (+of which saturates), fiber and sodium.
  And all of the above is listed (i.e. for spinach):
  Per 100g, Per cup, Per bunch, Per leaf, Per package (10 oz)
  
  Detailed info includes amounts and units of all of the following:
  Alpha-carotene Ash Beta-carotene beta-cryptoxanthin Calcium Carbohydrate Cholesterol Copper Energy Folate Folate (dietary folate equivalents) Folic acid Food Folate Iron Lutein+zeazanthin Lycopene Magnesium Manganese Monounsaturated fatty acids Niacin Pantothenic acid Phosphorus Polyunsaturated fatty acids Potassium Protein Refuse Retinol Riboflavin Saturated fatty acid Saturated fatty acid Selenium Sodium Sugar Thiamin Total Dietary Fiber Total fat Vitamin A Vitamin A (retinol activity equivalent) Vitamin B12 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) Vitamin K (phylloquinone) Water and Zinc.
  
  Try it here (results will open in a new window or tab):
  

  www.foodfileonline.com

  
  
  
  
• NutritionData.com and TheDailyPlate.com - both FREE
  On either one of these two websites, you can find pretty much everything not already found in the database of nutridiary.com.
  However, both sites are very commercial and a lot of the functions you need on a daily (or hourly) basis simply drown in articles, adds and fancy graphics. For daily use as a foodlog they're both too confusing and complicated.
  Especially thedailyplate.com is great for when you "accidently" ;-) eat something processed that doesn't have nutritional info printed on the wrappingpaper, box, jar or whatever.
  It's not exact, but it'll give you a close-enough idea of the caloric content, and how it's distributed. Yesterday I used it to find out how many calories was in a Ritter Sport Mousse au chocolát bar, for example. Or if you accidently fell onto a McDonalds cheeseburger, mouth first (don't you just hate it when that happens?), you can find out what it cost you in calories etc.
  Great tool, especially in combination with nutridiary.com
  Both thedailyplate.com and nutritiondata.com has a food journal, but imo. none of them are as easy to use as nutridiary.com, and they don't have the same report-options either.
  
  
• OnlineConversion.com - FREE
  
  Online conversion calculator.
  From the website: "Convert just about anything to anything else. Over 5,000 units, and 50,000 conversions."
  I use this converter all the time, since a lot of articles, books, e-books, websites, recipes, explanations and instructions are written with U.S. and/or U.K. readers in mind.
  
  
• Living-Foods.com - FREE
  Convenient conversion chart for recipes.
  Not so much a tool, but a chart. Very useful when you stumble upon recipes that uses other measurements for weight and volume than you're used to.
  More handy than the converter at onlineconversion.com if you only need it for recipes.
  
  
• More to come... subscribe or bookmark or just come back ;-)
  

/Florina

Review: Top Secret Fat Loss Secret

Overall rating (2/10)
**********
Worth the money:
NO

Where can I get it?
You can order the e-book here:
TopSecretFatLossSecret.com


The e-book in a nutshell:
It tells you to do a colon cleanse.

Good things:
Uhm... The pdf document worked?

Bad things:
No index page/page of contents.

Poorly written.
No structure or logic.

Nothing - I repeat: NOTHING - in that e-book is something you can't find spending half an hour googling. And there is nothing in that e-book that I didn't already put on my blog for free.

I was very open minded, and even a bit excited when I started reading it.
It is 49 pages including at least 4 pages of (tacky and poor) illustrations/pictures.
3 of these pages are are a chapter called "Get rich right along side of me! ..." and has nothing to do with weight loss whatsoever.

It's balancing on the edge of a scam, in my opinion.
Especially since it becomes very clear that what Dr. Suzanne really wants is to recruit affiliates so that more people will buy the (useless) e-book.
The scam becomes even clearer when you sign up for the newsletter either as a customer or as an affiliate. I did both to see what I'd get. In 11 days I've received 27 e-mails on how to promote the e-book... and still counting!

The whole "The industry wants me dead"-punchline and conspiracy theory claims makes my toes crumble... Nothing in that e-book is a secret, and certainly, none of it could in any way be considered threatening to the industry.
Maybe the claimed death-threat is from someone who didn't get their money back as promised? I did try to get my money back, but they haven't responded at all. They're still sending me promotion-emails though - lol.

Extremely poor illustrations. It reminds me of a homemade birthday invitation by someone in 4th grade... you know... you would cut out a picture of a cake in one of mom's magazines and make a dozen photocopies and, fold them and hand them out in the 4th grade.

Every single page has the same header: A picture of Dr. Suzanne Gudakunst, the "Who Wants This Lady Doctor Dead? ...And Why?"-punchline, the "As seen on TV"-logo and the picture of a females bellybutton/waistline with a measuringtape around it. It's so tacky that it gets annoying after a few pages. I'm thinking that whoever wrote the e-book just never figured out how to not repeat the header from the first page on every page in the book and just thought ...oO( Oh well... what the heck... it looks like s**t, but they've already paid when they get it so who cares? )

I wrote them an email before buying, asking what the difference was between the "Option #1: Top Secret Fat Loss Secret - Pro Version" ($57) and Option #2: Top Secret Fat Loss Secret - Hardcore Elite Version" ($87).
This is a copy of the full response I got:

"The hardcore version has added exercise tips to help you lose the weight faster.

Admin-"

No Dear, or Hi, or anything whatsoever - lol

The promotion-emails are kinda "Find 5 mistakes"- excercises. I absolutely don't think it has to be perfect, but comeon... it's REALLY bad.
This is the first few lines of the most recent promotion e-mail (just as an example):

Florina,

"And there off!!..."

That's the sound we heard a while back as we launched my brand new:

"Top Secret Fat Loss Secret!"

Oh well... at least I got a "Florina," in that one - lol

There is one good thing in the e-book: A usefull chart about food combining.
You might think I should have written this under "Good things" in this review, but there is an explanation for why I didn't:
First of all: It is clearly something the author got from somewhere else, since you can see it's a paper that's been scanned and made into a .jpg (of poor quality, even).
And secondly: I just did a picture-google search with the words "food combination chart" and BINGO! Whatta-u-know... The first hit I got was the same chart, and it was FREE!

Download the chart from this website for free, or click the thumbnail:

In conclusion: Spend your money on something else, unless you're looking for a way to make money as an affiliate.

/Florina

Review: The pH Miracle for Weight Loss (draft)

(In progress...)

Overall rating (8/10)
**********
Worth the money:
YES

Where can I get it?
Order the book here:
abebooks.com (US)
abebooks.co.uk (UK/Europe)


The book in a nutshell:
It teaches you about the influence of an alkaline or acidic body on weight loss.

Watch this interview with Dr. Robert O. Young on CNN from youtube:







Good things:
Coming soon...

Bad things:
Coming soon...

Weight loss in a nutshell

Coming soon...

Everything you need to know to get started!

With this post, I'll sum up all vital information about weight loss "in a nutshell". Everything you'll need to lose weight the way I'm doing. Hopefully reading this post will either save you lots of money, or you'll feel better informed when choosing what products, plans, e-books and the likes, you want spend your money on.

This post will probably be the most important post I ever write on this blog, and this post is the main reason why I wanted to create this blog in the first place.

Since it's also the most timeconsuming one to write, I'll add a little now and then untill it is finished (enough) to publish. I published is as unfinished, so that you can bookmark it or receive notification when I have updated it.

/Florina

LIST of my REVIEWS: Books, e-books, CDs, websites and programs

(In progress...)

List of my reviews on weight loss books, e-books, CDs, websites and programs, for better overview and comparison.

List:
(in progress)

• Fat Loss Revealed (Will Brink)
  aboutsupplements.com
  ********** (7/10)
  My full review: (Coming soon)
  Click here for a FREE SAMPLE
  
  
• Top Secret Fat Loss Secret (Dr. Suzanne Gudakunst)
  TopSecretFatLossSecret.com
  ********** (2/10)
  My full Review: Top Secret Fat Loss Secret
  
  
• The pH Miracle for Weight Loss (Dr. Robert O. Young and Shelley Redford Young)
  phmiracleliving.com
  ********** (8/10)
  My full Review: The pH Miracle for Weight Loss (draft)
  
  
• Fat Burning Furnace (Rob Poulos)
  fatburningfurnace.com
  My full review: (Coming soon)
  
  
• Turbulance Training (Craig Ballantyne)
  turbulancetraining.com
  My full review: (Coming soon)
  
  
• The Secret (multiple authors)
  TheSecret.tv or Free version at cinemawiki.tv
  ********** (5/10)
  My full review: (Coming soon)

/Florina

Supplements

Coming soon...

Untill I get the time to finish this list, I would recommend anyone genuinely interested in supplements for weightloss to buy the e-book by Will Brink, where you will find detailed information about all of the below listed supplements, as well as many others.
Click here for a FREE SAMPLE

The journey I have chosen requires that I invest in some equipment, special foods/superfoods and supplements. Most of these are inexpensive, a few of them are very expensive, but since I believe that they are well worth the money, it doesn't matter to me. In this post I have listed the supplements I use either on a daily basis or from time to time. Link/s to reseller/s and articles where available. Also a short comment on what to look for if you are looking for alternatives.

Supplements:

ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar)

Avocado oil

Baking Soda

Bee Pollen

Calcium

Coconut oil

Colon cleansing program/kit
It isn't impossible to "roll your own" but it takes a lot of knowledge to put together the right and most effective combination of herbs. You shouldn't do this unless you've consulted a naturopath, herbalist or holistic health practitioner. Remember that too much of anything (even water) could potentially harm you, and too little won't do what it's supposed to.

Colonix from drnatura.com is the one I'm using at the moment. (You can read my Colonix/Toxinout review and/or my Colonix/Toxinout diary)

Another not so known brand, that has pretty much the same ingredients is The Ultimate Colon Cleanser.
It costs a little less, and they offer a 30 day trial. Supposedly you don't pay untill you tried it for a full 30 days, which is a brilliant idea, imo.
I haven't tried it myself, but it looks like it's almost a copy of Colonix from drnatura.com and I think I'll try it next time I need to buy a colon cleanse-kit. When I do, I'll write a review on my blog.
Please leave a comment to this post and share your experience, if you have tried this product.

Do your own research online. But I'm pretty sure that you'll end up with one of the two (Colonix or Ultimate Cleanser), since they're the most recommended, talked about and fair priced programs out there. Please feel free to leave a comment if you know of other (maybe cheaper?) products with roughly the same ingredients, which are:

For colon cleansing:
Psyllium Husks
Flax Seed
Fennel Seed
Licorice Root
Aloe Vera
Grapefruit Pectin
Papaya Fruit
Slippery Elm Bark
Marshmallow Root
Rhubarb Root
Alfalfa
Guar Gum
Peppermint Leaf
Uva Ursi Leaf

Against parasites:
Black Walnut Hulls
Wormwood Powder
Pau D'Arco Powder
Pumpkin Seed
Clove Bud Powder
Male Fern Root Powder
Grapefruit Seed Extract
False Unicorn Root
Myrrh Gum
Garlic Bulb Powder
Hyssop Leaf
Turmeric Root
Gentian Root
Peppermint Leaf Powder
Fenugreek Seed Powder
Elecampane Plant
Prickley Ash Bark Powder
Yellow Dock Powder

Probiotics:
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus casei
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Lactobacillus salivarius
Bifidobacterium bifidum
Bifidobacterium lactis
Bifidobacterium longum
Streptococcus thermophilus

Flax oil

Green powders

Green tea

Guarana

L-Carnitine

L-Tyrosine

Ma Huang/Ephedra

pH drops

Pro-biotics




/Florina



testing

Gadgets and helpful thingies

Florina: "Hi... My name is Florina and I'm a kitchen-gadget addict!"
Crowd: "Hi Florina!"

When I'm old and grey, it is my dream to own a kitchen-gadget museum. And I'd sleep there at night, too!
Gadgets, helpful thingies, kitchen appliances, machines, tools... you name it, and I'll probably want it, or I already have it.

Please write comments to this post if you have anything you think would fit into this list, or if you know where to buy any of the things I have listed under "searching for".

(This list is in progress)

Things I am searching for:

Manual potato-scrubber/-peeler-machine
When I was a little girl, I lived next door to an old couple who had potatoes and thick brown gravy every day. The lady had this plastic centrifuge-kinda thingy to peel off the skin of raw potatoes. It was a bowl with a flat bottom, a transparent lid and a handle. The inside was like course sandpaper, but still plastic (as I remember it). She would rinse the potatoes under water, to get most of the dirt off. Then she'd drop them into the bowl, put on the lid, and rotate the handle, making the potatoes spin inside. She'd do this for like 10-30 seconds, and then the potatoes would be peeled. I LOVED watching her do this. And when I got old enough, she'd let me do it! It felt like magic to me, and I'm sure that my inner kitchen-gadget addict was awakened by this lady. I have wanted this potato-peeler for many many years, but I can't find it anywhere. *sobs*
Pleeeease leave a comment, prerefably with a link, to this post if you know where I can get one. I'd be so HAPPY!

Things on my wishlist:

Sprouter

Seen on excalibur.com ($8.95)

Seen on freshlifesprouter.com ($99.00)

Things I have: