So inspiring was the recent Facebook video featuring Aris Latham, raw food chef and juicer extraordinaire, that I went out and bought cucumbers, apples, carrots, dill and greens galore! And I can’t forget the coconut water! My intention is to pump up the volume of my 2x a week juicing.
You do not have to be a vegan or vegetarian to take part in the 70-day(!) juice fast Aris recommends on the video. We all need to cleanse, he said, and juicing can be part of the fasting process no matter what our diet preferences.
Having tried vegetarianism for over one year in my 20s, I found out the hard way that I’m one of those who require red meat from time to time. About three times a year, I indulge (organic, grass fed, etc.).
A friend on Facebook said he does a juice cleanse every two weeks or so. A 24-48 hour juice and coconut water fast sounds doable. This is a way to give the body a much needed rest, improve digestion and aid weight loss goals.
I recall meeting Aris way back in the 1970s in Brooklyn, New York. He was the vanguard vegetarian at the time and taught many people how to be vegetarian and how to become juicing, raw food chefs.
I took a course from a student of his in the Bronx and learned how to make nut-meat loaf,* kush and vegetarian tuna salad. This was way before, as he put it, “the meat industry overtook the soy industry.”
Aris eventually opened a juice bar on Flatbush Avenue and sold all kinds of raw food salads and sandwiches there. We who were his “followers” were ecstatic because patronizing him kept us accountable, kept our health above the line, and gave back to the community all at the same time.
The place is no longer open, and Aris moved to Jamaica I believe and then Panama, where he is now. The movement he started stuck. There are raw food and vegetarian restaurants almost everywhere in Brooklyn now.
Enjoy a beautiful free E-book, available on his new website. I believe he said that he’ll host retreats at his place soon. Check the Facebook video and subscribe to his site to learn more.
–Rev. Niamo Nancy Muid
*Made with raw beets and almonds, I absolutely love this dish!
