Friday, September 26, 2025

AI Image Creation: A Night Cafe Guide & Some Philosophical Explorations

In January 2025 I wrote to a friend of mine:

When it comes to AI art, I’ve been deeply impressed. Just like human-made poor writing is everywhere, so is human-made poor art. I realize “art is subjective” – and that applies to writing too – but as someone who deeply appreciates artistic impressionism, poetic writing, and even interpretative dance, I feel there is a lot of room for intentional, carefully crafted “messiness,” and expressive impressions which aren’t fully defined. There is a lot of room for statement-making uncanniness, and odd composition. In my somewhat controversial opinion, there is also just bad art – where not much thought or care was really put into it, or where the creator is just not very skilled. But AI-generated art has proven to be capable of surpassing beauty, creating masterpieces that would have taken hundreds of hours for me to personally create in mere seconds. I can’t help but be impressed and excited.

My friend also brought up the issue of recompense for artists. Again, this is already an issue. There is a reason we have a phrase, the starving artist.

I am concerned about recompense for original artists. We completely need real artists. But I don’t think the crux of this issue lies with the AI technology itself. I believe this is an economic and political issue of tremendous scale. 

We need a way to ensure everyone’s basic needs are met, regardless of whether machines can “do it better.” People should be able to make art, get educated, and have every enriching experience they desire regardless of whether it is “profitable.” This speaks to the need for some sort of universal basic income or a similar notion that provides people with their needs – which goes beyond clean water, food, and shelter. People also need beauty, rest, and mental stimulation. 

People don’t need “jobs” to be healthy; they need the autonomy and empowerment to do things that feel good to do, such as helping a neighbor or painting an artwork. So I don’t think the issue is whether people are getting paid enough (or at all) to be artists, but whether we are moving toward a world where we simply meet people’s needs, regardless of things like intergenerational wealth and technological power.

Again and again, when people tell me about the problems they see with AI – from copyright issues, to energy usage – I feel that AI is merely magnifying the existing problems with humanity: how we have exploited the planet and one another, and how our systems do not cater to the everyday person (or ecosystem). 

Most recently I learned that cooling the servers used to give us AI-powered programs requires an insane amount of water. People in the United States (I hear) are running out of water because of this . . . And there are no regulations against this use of water. But once again, companies have been stealing the fresh drinking water of citizens – often illegally stealing from so-called protected sources – since the dawn of industrialization. This has happen in the US before, and it has been ongoing in third-world countries for a very long time.

One of personal drives to shop exclusively for organic food (and clothing!) was not just for my personal health, but because I discovered that almost all conventional food (and clothing) products are linked to atrocities – from abused work forces, slavery, ecological destruction (including cutting down old-growth rain forests), and literally taking the entire water supply from entire villages in Africa to make soda for Americans – causing hundreds of people to either die of literal dehydration, or leave their homes and lives entirely behind and walk dozens (if not a hundred) miles to the next village to beg for water.

Because AI uses tremendous amounts of energy, it is absolutely a political concern. I admonish you to only utilize AI in ways that you feel genuinely enrich your life and nourish your soul. Please do not use AI as a frivolous tool to clutter up the internet with more absurdism. (Of course, there is almost zero chance that someone who is likely to do that would even land on this website to begin with!)

This may seem like a heavy way to begin a mostly fun-centric article about making AI-art, but I feel we must learn to enjoy life whilst simultaneously holding space for the truth that our systems and institutions are failing to serve their purposes.

I will explore some further philosophical concerns toward the end of this article, but for now, I want to dive into telling you about my personal favorite AI-art creation platform. I tried a dozen of them at the beginning of 2025 seeking the perfect fit for creating the creatures for my latest board-game idea. It was a perfect fit for AI art because I needed a hundred different artworks of a fantasy creature I had invented in my mind, but these artworks would be about the size of a quarter or beer cap. It would have taken me a year to do the artwork the long way. 

As it was, I still spent a couple months doing the vector artwork (such as the logo and symbols for the game) the long-form way. Making a board game is not a small project even with AI assistance in the decoration department! And AI-generation does not replace the need for an actual artist to judge, arrange, select, combine, and edit as needed.

My board game creature artwork is one of the most perfect applications for AI-created art. It would be repetitive for a real artist and become droll quite quickly. And beyond that, it would be cost prohibitive for a small game company to hire an artist to do quality work. 

My Lips are Sealed
Boltning XL v1 Lightning

Getting Started with NightCafe: A Guide

NightCafe the most engaging and user-friendly AI (artificial intelligence) art platform I have tried. Whether you’re here to make a single image for a project or to immerse yourself in the community, this guide will help you get the most out of it. Please do check out my profile on NightCafe.

How the Credit System Works

NightCafe’s free model is surprisingly generous:

  • Baseline Credits – You start with a set amount of free credits (plus some “pro credits,” which I recommend saving for important projects unless you plan to subscribe).

  • Earn More Credits – You gain additional credits by:

    • Publishing creations

    • Participating in chats and following ten other users

    • Liking and commenting on other people’s work

    • Participating in the daily challenge

This gamified engagement encouraged me to experiment beyond my original purpose (which was creating images for a board game) and helped me learn the platform faster. And because you earn credits for these actions, it is worth it to dip your toes in the various features of the platform. In the beginning, I tried everything and enjoyed it.

Snowflake Reference in WFlow Stable Core

My Quick-Start Recommendations

  1. Complete the “onboarding” actions to earn extra credits right away (publish creations, like others’ work, join the daily challenge, etc.).

  2. Search for “open prompt gang” and experiment with prompts that catch your eye.

  3. Try the same prompt in different models to see how output changes.

Why I Prefer Prompt Revision Over Image Revision

Early on, I learned it’s often more effective to revise the prompt instead of trying to edit an existing image. 

Yes, it can be a little sad to lose elements you liked, but improving your prompt-writing skills yields better, faster results in the long run. In the world of AI-image generation, prompt mastery is your artistry.

Intimacy
Ideogram 2a Turbo

Learning From Others’ Prompts

One of NightCafe’s best features is the ability to see other creators’ settings and prompts – if they choose to share them.

  • Look for the “open prompt gang” tag – This tag signals that the creator is openly sharing their prompt for educational purposes.

  • How to View a Prompt – Open any image, go to “Settings” (location depends on your interface: beside or under comments), and check if the prompt and settings are visible.

You can then adapt prompts from images with a style or realism level you like.

Example:
My most popular creation – View Here – includes the full prompt and settings I used. I also applied a Creative Upscale, which adds detail without changing the composition.

Note: Creative Upscale is best used on images that already have good hands and faces. It’s about 50/50 for fixing faces, and it won’t fix hands.

Choosing the Right Model

NightCafe offers multiple AI models – each with its strengths. Here are some of my favorites:

  • Flux – Excellent for prompt accuracy; one of the best at capturing specific details. Excellent for people and buildings, but it does not seem to understand basic plants. (I asked for basil once and it gave me a plant that had no resemblance to basil.)

  • Google Imagine – Strong prompt adherence and clean style. This model can be so realistic that it is almost droll at times. When I asked for a beaded dragon necklace from many different models, I was surprised to find that the one that Google Imagine generated was so realistic it almost looked boring by comparison to the others.

  • Boltning – Consistently visually appealing, even if prompt adherence is looser. The composition and colors are always striking, but once you have used it a lot, it begins to seem repetitive, as if it is stuck in its own style (which it is).

  • Crystal Clear – Polished, vibrant visuals.

  • DALL·E 3 (Pro) – Versatile with a broad creative range. This is excellent for creating artistic renditions of something. But be sure to toggle prompt revision off if you want to understand how your prompt relates to your actual creation.

  • Ideogram – Handles text better than most, but AI text is still hit-or-miss – often easier to add text later in a separate program.

  • And many others, including video-creation models. Also, new models are coming out all the time, so eventually all the above will be outdated.

Example Collection:

I created a multi-model prompt experiment to show how different models interpret the same text prompt in wildly different ways.

For instance, in this example, only Flux managed to include the reins specified in the prompt, while Boltning and Crystal Clear produced the most visually appealing results despite skipping that detail.


Prompt Writing

The Anatomy of a Prompt

Strong prompts tend to contain:

  1. Subject and details – The main focus of the image, and what it is doing, like: A gorgeous woman with long, red, curly hair is sitting with her legs crossed wearing a haughty expression bordering on a smirk.

  2. Background and setting – The models know exactly what you mean when you say to put something in the background. So you can specify something as simply as galactic background, or the background is coral reef, and you will get what you asked for. You also influence the overall vibe and setting when you specify the background you want.

  3. Composition cues – Camera angles, shot types, and perspective details. This includes phrases like three-quarter view, top-down perspective, or isometric sketches.

  4. Stylistic references – Art movements, artists, or mediums. This can be something like traditional Japanese painting, or ancient Egyptian wall art, or large brush strokes.

  5. Quality and stylistic cues – Phrases like highly detailed, ultra realistic, cinematic lighting, or minimalist.

  6. Vibe and mood – This includes descriptive words for the setting (such as futuristic), and for the tone (whimsical). The end of your prompt could read: The overall tone is bright, solarpunk and cheerful.

Example:

A majestic white Pegasus, standing atop a mossy cliff at dawn. Epic sun rays. Ultra realistic yet with fantasy flourish. Cinematic lighting with dramatic contrasts. Soft pastel clouds in artistic swirls. Misty mountain background. The whole image is in warm tones, with fiery red highlights and gilded gold elements.

(View this image on NightCafe and see how this is, indeed, the prompt in the settings.) 

Important Note: Anything you specify about the image will influence the overall image. If you suggest your main subject is a fantasy creature (such as a mermaid), then unless you specify otherwise very clearly, you're likely to end up with an overall fantasy vibe – and the typical style of image that includes a mermaid. If you want a photorealistic mermaid in an office doing a desk job, you may have to work at it a little to avoid getting other classic elements of mermaid images. Furthermore, with mermaids in particular, you have to fight against all the poorly drawn mermaids. I have found it works best to specify a very extra, extra long tail (as a common mistake is drawing the tail far too short).

The same principle applies to nearly every word in your prompt. If you say a woman is holding a Japanese scroll, you will also get a Japanese woman unless you work hard at being clear that she is something else. If you just want a cultural vibe overall, your job is easy. If you want specific elements to have specific cultural elements, then become very clear about what you want and where. For example, if you want a German woman wearing African garb, you may do better to not mention either culture and instead describe the tone of skin, hair, and eyes, and describe the clothing patterns directly. But by all means, do try the easier prompt first and see what you get. The models are evolving fast and many of their old foibles are falling away. For now, expect the AI to get it wrong a lot of the time – even with a good prompt. Images containing multiple people or multiple themes can take dozens of tries. 

 

Structuring Your Prompt

NightCafe interprets prompts linearly. In other words, the order of your words matter. Think of it as “weighting” by position. The earlier a word or phrase appears, the more important the AI considers it.

Typical practice:

  • Put the subject first. If you care more about the style, put some of the style prompt at the beginning such as watercolor painting of . . . And then your subject. Write more details about the style at the end.

  • Follow with the most critical modifiers.

  • End with secondary details and style influences.

  • Note: The more subjects your image has, the more likely your result will be poor. AI images of a single subject, such as one cat or one human tend to be superb. Even images of couples (whether that is a human couple or a pair of boats) are also often quite good. However, once you expand to three or more subjects, the quality tends to dramatically decrease.

Example:

Intricate layered artwork of a flying goth steampunk clockwork metallic cat with spread wings. Atmospheric landscape, futuristic silhouette, and imaginative lighting, featuring subtle gradient textures, and nuanced shading, with a mix of sharp and soft edges, set against a vibrant, purple-indigo galaxy night sky background, with gear details and atmospheric depth.

Using Style References Effectively

NightCafe allows you to guide the AI toward specific visual styles by referencing:

  • Art movements: Art Nouveau, Impressionism, Surrealism

  • Artists: Studio Ghibli, Moebius, Klimt, Escher

  • Mediums: oil painting, charcoal sketch, 3D render, alcohol ink, gauche, stained glass

Tip: You likely will not want to use more than three style references in one prompt to avoid confusing the model.

Note: One can argue that borrowing styles from your favorite artists is a form of stealing from them. I am unsure if I personally would argue this because the nature of art is borrowing techniques and styles from our favorites. (Long before AI we noticed the massive number of duplicates on Deviant Art from artists tracing each other.)

Composition and Perspective

Adding composition cues greatly influences the final image:

  • Shot type: portrait, close-up, medium shot, wide shot, aerial view, full body view*

  • Perspective: isometric, fisheye lens, low-angle, over-the-shoulder

  • Framing: symmetrical, rule of thirds, centered subject

*If you want a full-body shot, the best trick I have found is describing the shoes, feet, hooves, fins, or whatever is at the bottom of the subject. Specifying a full body view has been far less reliable in my experience. You can also specify what is surrounding the subject on the ground, such as small flowers, clover, or a flagstone pathway, but these are also less reliable than simply describing the socks or paws of your subject.

Example:

“An isometric view of a cozy cob cottage in a snowstorm, glowing windows, warm interior light spilling out. The cottage is nestled in a gorgeous snow-shimmering forest. High detail, watercolor painting with alcohol ink.”


Lighting and Atmosphere

Lighting cues set tone and realism:

  • Natural: golden hour, overcast, moonlit, sunrise glow

  • Artificial: neon lighting, candlelight, studio lighting

  • Mood: dreamy, ominous, ethereal, gritty

Example:

“A gorgeous canvas painting of a stone temple at dusk with warm golden-hour light. The temple has a huge arched doorway which is open and emitting a soft purple glow. Large brush strokes describe mist is rising from the ground around the temple. Misty trees surround the temple. Myriad candles, some square and some round, overflow every window with wax dripping down the stone walls of the temple. Some of the candles are deep-eggplant-purple, but most are white. Most of the candles are very small, but some are very large. Cinematic shadows. Dramatic moonscape sky. Warm tones, acrylic fantasy painting, brush stroke texture.”

Seedream 4.0

Controlling Complexity

Too many ideas in a prompt can overwhelm the AI – particularly subjects. I know I wrote this above a couple times, but here is another reminder: if you describe six different cats in your image, you may not get what you asked for. The more subjects, the more likely you are to get surrealism, or something that is not what you requested.

Pro tip: Start simple. If it’s close to what you want, add modifiers gradually in new runs or evolutions. Creative upscale is one of my favorite tools for making an image more complex.

Example:

“A beautiful pastel artwork of six cats. The first cat is a large orange tabby with an attitude: she is glaring at the black cat. The black cat is indifferent and looking away, with a white marking under their chin. On top of the black cat is a tiny purple cat with faerie wings. In the background is the fourth cat: a large gray panther looking elegant in a sprawling position. The fifth cat is a fluffy white cat looking at the viewer with startling blue eyes. Beside the white cat is a sleek silver Siberian cat with extra long whiskers who is licking their paw. Artwork is done in detailed, meticulous pastel.”

The fact that the number of cats here is correct, and that the faerie cat is on top of the black cat is a small miracle. 

DALL-E 3
 

Model-Specific Prompting

NightCafe models interpret prompts differently:

  • Flux / Google Imagine – Best for prompt adherence and realism. Use precise, literal descriptions.

  • Boltning / Crystal Clear – Great for aesthetics. Focus on mood or vibe more, worry less about specifics.

  • DALL·E 3 – Strong for conceptual prompts; good balance of adherence and creativity.

  • Ideogram – Best for text in images, but still hit-or-miss.

Example Test Method:

  1. Write one detailed prompt.

  2. Run it in Flux Schell and Boltning. (These two are cheap.)

  3. Compare – does one capture your intended detail better?

Here is the same cat prompt from above using Flux Schell (for just half a credit):


Prompt Weighting & Loras

NightCafe supports weighting through parentheses and colons (depending on the model).
This lets you tell the AI “this part is more important.” This becomes particularly relevant when using community-made models, where you can assign a weight to different models you are applying. To use community-made “loras,” you will start by selecting the appropriate model (so far, I only know this to be available with Flux). You can select up to four of them. 

In this example I used three loras, including one I made myself using photos of myself. I used a weight of two (instead of the standard one) on myself to ensure the image would have my face. Then I used a very low weight on one of the loras because my experience told me that full weight did not give me the results I wanted. (I wanted the image to have a gothic flare, not a dark vibe.)

Example:

“A beautiful fantasy painting of a powerful beautiful <lora:Raederle:2.0> woman with rockstar black hair, tight leather one-piece long sleeved bodysuit with many chains, lace, zippers, high neckline, buckles, and jewelry. She is singing into a microphone. Color scheme is black, white, and purple. Goth <lora:Gothic:0.2> aesthetic. Snowy grunge setting. <lora:Goth Grunge Beauty:1.0> Snowdrop flowers on the ground.”

 

Negative Prompting

Negative prompts tell the AI what to avoid. You can use the “Negative Prompt” field for things like:

  • “blurry, deformed hands, text, watermark, signature, extra limbs”

  • “low contrast, pixelated, overexposed”

I rarely use this feature, but it can be useful, in particular for avoiding signatures and watermarks. Because so many images contain these by default, the AI often invents a signature or watermark to apply to your image. Of course, this makes it seem like you stole the image from someone else. While it is trivial to remove these in most cases, it makes sense to avoid them in the first place. 

Iteration Workflow

If you have a complex idea in mind, worry less about trying to get perfection in one shot.

  1. Draft – Write a prompt.

  2. Test – Generate with at least three different models to see which model is most appropriate for your idea.

  3. Refine – Choose one or two models to continue working with, and adjust your original prompt to fix major issues. I like to generate a single image at a time so I can make subtle changes along the way.

  4. Evolve – Use NightCafe’s “Evolve” with low noise for subtle variations. I have not used this feature much myself, but it is one of the most popular ones on NightCafe.

  5. Upscale – Apply Creative Upscale to the best image for extra polish. If you just want more detail, apply 10% or so creativity. If you want to see what other wild directions the image could go, try 60% of more creativity.

When to Use . . .

  • Evolve – When you like most of the image but want small changes in detail or pose.

  • Creative Upscale – When you want to keep composition but add detail. But be warned, this can change faces tremendously, and with the creativity high you might find some subjects in your image have changed entirely to other subjects.

  • Selective Edit – For localized changes. This works very well for removing watermarks or signatures, but terribly for fixing deformed hands. 

  • Prompt Rewrite – When multiple areas need improvement or if the hands are poor. For deformed hands or badly shaped faces, I do not try to edit the image: instead, I generate from scratch.

Prompt Debugging Checklist

If your output isn’t desirable:

  • Is your main subject at the start of the prompt?

  • Have you overloaded it with too many subjects?

  • Are you mixing conflicting cues (e.g., “ultra realistic” + “abstract expressionism”)?

  • Did you remember to turn off Prompt Magic for cleaner adherence?

  • Have you tested multiple models?

Creative Upscale

Creative Upscale is one of my favorite features on NightCafe. It can be likened to adding fine brushstrokes to a painting you already like. It elaborates on your image without making fundamental changes – if you set creativity low. At low creativity (around 10%), it will mostly just polish and increase the size of your image (without any resolution loss, of course). At high creativity (around 50%), you might create large elemental shifts even though the composition remains the same. For example, a bucket on someone’s head could easily turn into a hat, and a beard might turn into the shadows on a feminine face.

Creative upscaling an image, however, is how you can get the most intricate and incredible works. If you are looking for something large enough resolution to use for a book cover or wall art, you will want to use this tool in combination with a media-editing program. I like to generate at least three different creative upscales and then use a graphic design program to combine my favorite features of each one together. This is the method used for creating the cover art on my most of my songs and poetry; a powerful example of this can be seen here with the artwork for Trillion Codes. This image composites seven different creative upscales – a process I spent hours on. This is still more efficient (by far) than creating such an image from scratch, but it does require some art skills.

Beware: creative upscale is terrible at fixing hands, and only about fifty-fifty on fixing faces (like a lazy eye or strange jawline). Use upscaling tools only when your base image is already very strong.

Q&A

Q: As an actual artist . . . What do you feel is different between AI art prompting and manual art creation (with a brush or pen)?

I think the biggest difference between slow-art and AI-co-creation (in terms of user experience) is that slow-art provides a very different learning experience. 

When I’m AI-co-creating, I’m learning about how AI thinks, how prompts work, and how different AI models think. I am only learning minimal amounts about what makes good art. 

In contrast, when I’m creating slow-art, I’m constantly making observations based on my reference image about the nature of shapes, and how forms evoke impressions and feelings. 

I’m also learning with slow art about what looks good in a different way: instead of relying on AI to figure out a good posture, I have to figure out manually what makes an elegant tail or an attractive placement of birds. The AI seems to already be a master at composition and rarely makes compositional errors of artistic judgment (IMO; this is highly subjective). Composition is key to artistic mastery. Although, in my case, I seem to have always had a natural knack for it (I was frequently complimented on mine as a child).

All of the above said, learning prompt engineering isn’t just a matter of learning how the AI models think. You do have to learn terminology related to the medium you wish to emulate. This will be easier if you wish to create photo-realistic imagery – which AI excels at because it has been trained on so many photographs. However, if you wish to emulate an artistic style you will need to learn whether it is alcohol ink, gouache paints, watercolors over fine inkwork or something entirely different.

The same rules apply regardless of whether you’re working with visual arts, auditory arts, or text outputs. You can not ask for something if you do not know what it is called. Thus, if you are already familiar with art and art terms, it will aid you in prompting the model to generate what you’re seeking. It seems that many of my favorite creators on NightCafe are, indeed, already artists in the traditional sense.


Q: How do I create a cartoon image that is not anime? Does the model matter?

A: Yes, the model does matter. Some models are very capable of this, such as Google Imagen, but others, such as Boltning, are not. See this prompt:

“Clean black linework on a completely white background. Two stick figures with circle-shaped faces are holding hands and smiling at each other. A cute heart is above their heads. They are walking through grass although the grass is just hatch marks.”

Because I wanted the image to be very clearly a cartoon, I started my prompt with clear black linework. There is little room for interpretation there. If I said cartoon, I might get any sort of cartoon style the model is most familiar with, or that is associated with the other terms I used.

Google Imagen 3.0 Fast
Boltning XL v1 Lightning

Boltning, as I mentioned elsewhere on this page, is great with composition and makes beautiful fantasy images, but it is not good at prompt adherence. You could say it does not travel well outside of its comfort zone.

Q: Can I transfer my NightCafe credits to another user?

A: No, NightCafe doesn’t allow credit transfers. The good news is that it’s easy to earn credits through daily logins, maintaining a log-in streak (which affords an extra 25 credits per five days), liking creations, and other site activities. For many users (myself included), credits tend to build up over time rather than run out.

Q: Is it addictive?

A: Yes! But only at first. There is an element similar to gambling, as well as gamification in other ways. You more-or-less gamble each day on how many credits you will get, and then, every time you generate from a prompt, it is a gamble whether your payout (your creation) will feel exciting or disappointing. But like all novel things, eventually it stops being novel and you will do other things. Admittedly, I did have late-night NightCafe sessions during my first few weeks – I was stunned by how much beautiful artwork I found there!

Q: Is there a way to change just one detail in an image instead of generating a completely new picture?

A: Yes, this is called in-painting (in NightCafe, the “Selective Edit” tool). You can mask the area you want to change and provide a prompt for the edit.
That said, results vary. Textures, colors, and styles may not line up perfectly because the edit uses a separate AI model.

In my experience:

  • Creative Upscale with a moderate creativity setting (e.g., 45%) can sometimes change backgrounds while keeping the subject intact.

  • Evolving an image lets you control “noise” from 0% (similar) to 100% (entirely new).

  • For complex fixes – especially hands – it’s often more efficient to tweak your prompt and regenerate from scratch. I have blundered through twenty credits trying to edit an image, when I could have generated five to twenty new attempts with the same credits.

Q: What is “Prompt Magic” and should I use it?

A: Prompt Magic uses an extra processing step to hypothetically improve image quality, but it can also make your prompt less “pure” by adding interpretive flourishes. I recommend turning Prompt Magic off to see exactly how the model is interpreting your words – otherwise, you have introduced so much noise into the process that it will be harder to learn effectively.

Q: Can I delete creations I don’t like?

A: Yes – creations can be deleted or archived. Archiving keeps them off your public profile without permanently removing them.



Q: What is a LoRA-based creation?

A: LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation) lets you train AI on a specific style or subject using custom images. For example, I trained a LoRA on photos of myself and prompted (more or less), “Raederle in a doll shop, wearing a purple fridge dress.” The result was highly amusing. Everything in the scene – dolls included – had my face. 😂 It’s a reminder that AI will sometimes over-learn its subject in unexpected ways.

Q: What about the debate over AI art being “soulless” or “meaningless”?

A: Many people worry that AI-generated works lack “soul” or emotional intent. My perspective has evolved away from that notion. Some creators revisit the same theme over months – iterating on a “city in a teacup” until it became breathtaking – and to me, that feels like the work of an artist. As someone who spent decades refining their skills with traditional arts (pencil, watercolors, acrylic paints, markers, linework, and others), I still respect the effort that goes into prompt engineering. It is still an artistic skill. It is not, however, the same skill as drawing. Not by a long shot.

AI accelerates execution, but the vision, selection, and persistence are still human. We are collectively choosing to use these tools, in my opinion, because AI art easily surpasses the beauty any artist could achieve in the same time frame. The AI is doing most of the work for us. Still, we still remain the judge of what it is that we wish to display.

Q: Is AI writing as good as AI art?

A: In my experience, not yet. AI struggles with long-form storytelling, often producing repetitive or clumsy text. But that’s not unique to AI – low-quality human writing is everywhere too. AI poetry and short formats (like haiku) tend to fare better, especially when the structure is constrained.

Q: What’s the real issue with AI art – ethics or quality?

A: For me, it’s more about economics and society than the tech itself. We need systems (like universal basic income) that allow people to create and live well regardless of whether machines can “do it better.” Artists should be free to make art because it’s fulfilling, not because it has to be profitable to survive.

Q: So did you use NightCafe to create the art on Raederle.com?

A: As of 2025, yes, I did do an overhaul on my website which utilizes NightCafe art generations. The somewhat consistent style is something I developed through much experimentation with prompt engineering. However, older posts still contain sketches and vector artwork I created long-form through more traditional methods. While I do not really claim to have created artwork when AI is involved, I did prompt it, and I did so with intention. Furthermore, I do own the rights to the art I have prompted, so please refrain from borrowing it. These days it is easy enough to prompt your own – and now you know how!

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Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Why Strong Boundaries Can Feel Like Rejection

Some people crumble when their boundaries are crossed. Yet I don’t; I sharpen.

What some people have labeled stubbornness in me is actually a survival strategy rooted in how I was raised. In this reflection, I explore why strong boundaries can feel threatening to those who’ve learned to self-abandon, how healthy childhood attachment fuels emotional resilience, and why my ability to stand firm is both a great gift and, at times, a tough social challenge.

August 13th 2025

Wednesday, 1:22pm

Realizations Journal


I’ve referred to a “certain sort of discipline” I seem to possess that other people lack. I’ve also mentioned many times that I have an “emotional resilience” – particularly with regards to kink – that other people lack. This sense of perseverance – and even selfhood, and confidence in that selfhood – seems to be almost unfathomably weak in so many people. But now I have insight into why.

It came up because Lytenian and I were discussing how we felt differently about the word “violation.” He associated it with fear, whereas I associated it more with anger – and even a sense of being insulted. We soon realized that the key difference was that feeling violated caused us to have very different internal responses: he self-abandoned, while I abandoned all else in favor of myself.

We explored the roots of these behaviors and we found the key difference resided within our relationships with our mothers. In my case, I didn’t have to worry if I didn’t agree with a teacher or other authority figure, because I could rely on my mother to back up my own good judgment about what was best for me. While there were a few exceptions to that, they were rare. In contrast, Lytenian felt unsafe any time an authority figure disagreed with him because he didn’t trust his mother to be on his side. He learned that he had to self-abandon at times of feeling violated because seeking to defend himself would only result in worse consequences.

This key difference between our upbringing was what gave rise to his co-dependent leanings and my “narcissistic” leanings. I’m using narcissism here to refer to adaptive self-prioritization – not pathological narcissism as a personality disorder.

 My mother backing me up – and rightly so, as I was a smart kid – gave me the validation and confidence needed to be comfortable standing up for myself even without backup by the time I was a teen. My father also backed me up the majority of the time. Relative to most kids, this was an exceptional experience of solidarity in my home life.



In healthy – idyllic – situations, we should be able to consider our own needs and the needs of another person simultaneously, and do our best to meet both. In unhealthy situations – particularly when being violated in any way – it is critical that we have the capacity for flipping into a “narcissistic” strategy. We must shut off the regulatory rule book that tells us what’s socially acceptable and instead now act purely in our own best interest. This is how I can clearly navigate out of situations which feel intrusive or abusive.

In other words, the more other people violate my boundaries – especially people I hardly know – the more I feel insulted, angry, and resilient. Anger is an emotion that arises when we are rising to the plate to defend ourselves. We become angry to break free of a trap we can feel closing in around us. Anger is a contrasting response to fear. When Lytenian is responding with fear, that’s putting him in a fight or flight (or freeze or fawn) response.

My anger drives me to decisive action. It could be as simple as responding to a hateful message by saying, “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m done with this conversation,” and then blocking the person. It might mean cutting off a person who has not been listening every time I said I needed to leave, to tell them one final time, “I’m going now,” and hanging up the phone. These small acts are self-love – and they can absolutely be misinterpreted as the signs of having a dark-triad personality disorder.

I think many people have this weak sense of their own boundaries and sense of self; likely this is due to lacking a mother – or reliable caregiver – who would stick up for them. They couldn’t rely on someone to take their side, and thus, standing up for what they wanted or believed was unsafe. If this was the case, it didn’t leave much room for exploring one’s own truth, much less getting in the practice of honoring it. Thus, my own firmer ability to snap into my own power, my own center, can cause my personality to seem “too intense” for others. 

I’ve had to learn to soften myself and play down my convictions to make others comfortable being around me. This hasn’t been a bad thing – it’s a strategic kindness which gives others breathing room. It’s not really the same thing as a tiresome mask which is barely held in place. Instead, it’s an adaptation born from compassion for other people’s struggles with their boundaries. Yet, all the same, it would be a lot easier if everyone could have a clearer sense of self which they clearly communicated so that we could all move more rapidly toward finding genuine alignment, rather than going through a long phase where all the people involved with weak boundaries spend time negotiating their boundaries – or worse, violating themselves and then feeling resentful toward the other person for asking.

Unfortunately, as much as I would simply like to be a positive influence by being able to state my own boundaries clearly, it is often not taken that way. Someone capable of unapologetically prioritizing their own needs is often seen as too selfish. And giving a clear “no” can stir up someone’s past experiences of feeling rejected or abandoned. I’ve even suspected that my ability to be clear about myself can make others feel inadequate. At the very least, my willingness to disagree creates ruptures in the sense of connection – and that goes both ways, because their obvious sense of disconnection then creates my own sense of rupture.

All of this adds up to a paradox in my reality: I can be strong in the face of violation, yet still hesitate to be “fully myself” in many everyday contexts. Being clear about my truth creates internal safety, but expressing it can create a sense of danger for others unless I embody a heck-of-a-lot of grace in the way I express myself. I’m getting better at that, but improvement is still quite warranted.

In a way, none of this is news. Studies have verified that secure attachment figures in childhood lead to better self-advocacy and autonomy in adulthood – but that sounds so damn abstract. Whereas here I have this concrete example from my real life: I shrink into myself and withdraw from all external demands placed upon me in response to feeling violated. In contrast, Lytenian self-abandons when he feels violated. Because of our differing responses, he holds his boundaries closer and is less willing to engage in situations which might approach his boundaries. Whereas, I regularly explore situations that might push my boundaries. In fact, when it comes to safe people, I even enjoy my boundaries being pushed on. I feel that boundary-pushing can be stimulating, exciting, and downright fun in the right contexts.

This discipline – this emotional strength – is both a boon and a deep social challenge. I wouldn’t trade it, but I do wish I lived in a world where a strong personality was seen as an invitation to genuine connection, rather than a threat to it.

— Raederle Phoenix
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Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Green Living with Ethical Products

Buy Smart. Live Better.

My purchase choices, why I selected them, how they hold up, and what I recommend after years of use.

I don’t buy things on whims or impulses. This takes discipline, but it is a vital life skill when one grows up with limited resources. Leveraging limited resources and making the most of my life despite obstacles has been a theme. I have been questioned and doubted by many, which is why I wrote the book I now call 8K for short. (The full name is Living Big & Traveling Far on $8,000 a Year or Less!)
For anything over $80, I go deep — part research dive, part intuitive check-in. If it’s something I’ll use often, I want it to last, to work well, and to support my long-term health and values.
Back when I was looking into juicers, I read so many reviews it bordered on obsessive. Jack LaLanne’s model came up constantly, but the deeper I looked, the more disappointed users I found — too many complaints about parts breaking down or design flaws that made it a pain to clean. That nudged me toward the L’Equip instead. Not flashy, but more durable, and it did what I needed it to do. Each one of my kitchen appliances went through a similar vetting, and I have not needed to replace either of my two juicers, my food processor, or dehydrator in the fourteen years I have had them (as of 2025).
I care deeply about the ecology of things — not just how they’re made, but how often they’ll need replacing, and what kind of stress they’ll either add to or remove from my day. A product that lasts twenty years is almost always more ecological than something labeled “eco” that requires replacement in two. Effectiveness and longevity are part of sustainability.
It’s not just about energy efficiency on paper. It’s about real-life efficiency. If something makes my environment smoother and reduces friction in my daily flow, that directly improves my capacity to care for myself, my community, and the planet. A broken appliance doesn’t just create waste — it creates stress. Since I have been a medical anomoly since birth with inherited and unusual health issues, excess stress is not something I can easily afford. I have learned to think of the stress impact as part of the ecological impact, as increased stress decreases our overall positive impact on everything around us.
At first, I did all this research just to make my own life easier. Three hours of comparing reviews felt like a fair trade if it saved me days of frustration later. But over time, people started asking me what I use — which juicer, which dishware, which supplements — and why. So back in 2014 I decided to organize it all here. Now in 2025 I am making an effort to update this page.
This isn’t just a list of favorites. It’s a reflection of the tools that genuinely help me live with more ease, consistency, and intention — tools that I’d still choose, years later, because they’re worth it.
Consumerism tells the lie that purchasing something can fix just about anything. That is not true, but nonetheless, buying the right product (or food!) for your specific situation can make the difference between days struggling with customer service and days basking in newfound ease or simple moments of satisfaction.

Kitchen Appliances

I adore my 14-cup Cuisinart Food Processor. If I had to crown just one kitchen appliance as royalty, it would be my 14-cup Cuisinart food processor — no contest. Whether you’re raw, paleo, practicing GAPS, plant paradoxing, or just trying to eat without losing your mind to prep time, this tool is essential.
The grating attachment turns five pounds of carrots into fluffy slaw in minutes — no blood sacrifices to the handheld grater gods.
The slicing disc gives me effortless, gorgeous piles of onions, peppers, and mushrooms for salads or stir-fries.
And the S-blade? That’s my go-to for virtually everything: raw brownies, cheesecakes, apple muesli, guac, mango ice-cream, and even nut-based pâtés.
I brought this beast on a two-month East Coast road trip in 2012, because when I say it’s irreplaceable, I mean it — a high-speed blender can not take its place.
A 9-tray Excalibur Dehydrator makes food that stores well, packs well, and lasts a long time. A good dehydrator can completely reshape how you relate to food — especially if you’re transitioning into raw cuisine or just trying to kick junk snacks to the curb. For the first three months of owning a dehydrator I ran it all day, all night. I kept it full to the brim, making healthy chips and crackers of all kinds, and eating them directly off the trays.
I’ve been using my 9-tray Excalibur dehydrator since 2010, and I still love it. It’s helped me turn mountains of produce into long-lasting kale chips, carrot pulp crackers, cinnamon watermelon slices, cardamom apple rings, tomato crisps, and even spirulina snack bars. It runs quietly, holds temperature beautifully, and has never once let me down. I use it for everything from preserving garden excess to a temperature-controlled enviornment for making yogurt in glass jars. I’ve also saved money by rescuing produce before it spoiled — 40 pounds of organic bananas for $25 turns into (somewhat) shelf-stable gold when you’ve got the right tools. Four watermelons from my CSA share in 2012? That's when I learned the magic of cinnamon-coated watermelon slices dried to insanely deliciously fruit leather.
The default plastic mesh trays work for sturdy slices like zucchini and kale. But for a plastic-free option, you can trade these out for stainless steel (304) trays. Look carefully for trays that are a compatible size.
If you’re making anything wet or goopy — chia crackers, cacao pudding fruit leather, or flax crips — you’ll want a solid liner. Often people use Teflex sheets, which are made with PTFE (Teflon) — a plastic polymer that doesn’t break down easily and may release microplastics over time, especially once scratched or overused. I’ve since learned that silicone-coated parchment paper or uncoated reusable glass-fiber sheets are better alternatives. They’re not perfect, but they’re a step up for your health. I will discuss paper options in more detail in the section about chocolates, but when it comes to your dehydrator, consider shallow stainless steel trays. (We will talk more about stainless steel and silicone after appliances.)
The Omega 8005 Masticating Juicer is an excellent appliance for making nut-butter, ice-cream, wheatgrass juice (or any green juice) and puddings. A masticating juicer uses an auger to squish the food, making the juice come out through a mashing or “masticating” motion. The word mastication essentially just means mashing – which is the same thing your teeth do. It has two attachments: one is the “screen” that separates juice from pulp, and the other is a “blank” that ejects everything in one place.
With the “screen” attachment, the masticating juicer makes juice. This is the optimal juicer for leafy greens, wheatgrass, cilantro, spinach, etc. Green leafy juices aren’t extracted very well by “cutting” – which is what a centrifugal juicer does.
A masticating juicer like the Omega 8005 is the only kind of juicer that makes nut butter, ice cream, and green juice. You can see a video of me making ice cream with my juicer by by clicking here. That video is from 2012 in a kitchen belonging to a friend in Florida.
I chose this appliance because I wanted to make optimal juice that would help me detoxify and get more nutrition into my body – something vital for those of us with a compromised microbiome, history of mold exposure, or inherited traits that impair effective methyalation. (For me, all three apply – yikes!)
Click here for juice recipes I developed for my masticating juicer. As with all of my online content, check the dates if possible. While I am making an effort in my thirities to revise, rewrite, update, or take down the several thousand pages I created in my teens and twenties, it is a big task!
It’s absolutely worth owning both a masticating juicer and a centrifugal juicer, and here’s why: while the masticating juicer shines with leafy greens, herbs, and anything delicate, the centrifugal juicer is the workhorse for volume.
A centrifugal juicer can devour pounds of carrots, beets, celery, and apples in minutes — no chopping, no drama. If you’re trying to batch juice for the week or just don’t want to spend an hour processing root veggies one stick at a time, the centrifugal style will save you 95% of the time.
If you are making a week of juice, be sure to freeze the juice immediately, and avoid ingredients which are highly volitile (such as green or leafy vegetables). Juice a huge batch of apples, carrots, beets, and ginger. Fill six pint jars and put them in the freezer. (Apple-ginger juice keeps very well like this!) Keep a seventh jar or glass out for today, and if you are inspired, add celery or cucumber to today’s juice!
Over the course of the week, pull out a frozen pint jar even evening, place it in fridge overnight to thaw for breakfast tomorrow. For added bulk or greens, you can use the juice as a smoothie base and add fresh greens, green powder (like wheatgrass juice powder or moringa), and some frozen mango or banana for creaminess. And, of course, smoothies are the ideal place to add your daily nutritional powders. (For me, I always add milkthistle because my liver needs the extra support.)
I find it totally liberating to use both strategically: the masticating for medicine, and the centrifugal for momentum. While my L’Equip model is no longer being made, Breville and NutriBullet have similar models. Look for a centrifugal juicer with good reviews now.
If you’re only going to own one cooking appliance, let it be a counter-top pressure cooker. It’s a highly space-efficient, time-saving, nutrient-preserving tool. Whether you're making collagen-rich meat broth (include those skins and organs!) or steaming low-lectin veggies, a pressure cooker handles it all without overheating your kitchen or stealing your time.
As always, skip anything with a non-stick coating — they scratch, flake, and raise long-term health concerns. Go for a model with a full stainless steel interior and a stainless steel steaming insert, which lets you keep vegetables elevated above the waterline for better texture and nutrient retention. It is also ideal for batch-cooking ingredients like beets or squash without them turning to mush.
Pressure cookers use very little water and retain more minerals than boiling or traditional stovetop simmering. They can also be used to rehydrate dried mushrooms, sterilize jars, or gently cook peeled potatoes overnight alongside meats, making them an excellent multitasking solution. I set mine before bed, and by morning I have deeply nourishing food ready.
That said, I’ve had to replace my pressure cooker four times in fifteen years — mostly under warranty. For some reason, this type of electronic seems prone to failure. Despite this, it’s still an essential tool in my kitchen. Not as reliable as a good old cast-iron frying pan, but then, my frying pan will not slow cook soup for me overnight.
A spiralizer is a fantastic gadget for creating healthy gluten-free pasta. While most spiralizers are plastic-heavy, you can minimize contact and microplastic risk by choosing a handheld or pro-grade model with stainless steel or alloy parts and avoiding cheap plastic clones. If you’re mostly spiralizing soft vegetables like zucchini or cucumber, a handheld compact metal style will serve you beautifully. For firmer veggies or larger batches, look into a slicer made with more metal hardware. And no — just because the blade is metal doesn’t make the whole device safe – friction adds up. And ideally, let us think about the land it’ll eventually rot (or not) in.
I first tried the Benriner Turner Slicer, but I honestly do not recommend it. It is difficult to use and over-priced for the level of quality. Soon after I tried the Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer and was impressed with the ease of use. I use this second spiralizer in my ancient video, Zesty Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Parsley Sauce. (Please note this old video does not reflect the quality of newer content.)
Today I seek a kitchen as low in plastic as practically possible. I can not acquire a food processor made of glass, but I can use a spiralizer made entirely of stainless steel! If veggie-based noodles are an adventure that intrigues you, look into these stainless steel spiralizer options.
Despite Vitamix becoming a household word, I standby Blendtec highspeed blender as a practical alternative. It is more compact, more versatile, more reasonably priced and similarly powerful. Whatever you do, avoid cheap blenders! My friend broke two cheap Hamilton Beach blenders with just frozen strawberries!
I’ve worked with many blenders. Vitamix performs like a loyal workhorse, but the narrow-tall shape makes them harder to extract your smoothie from, not to mention harder to clean and store. Yet for blending thick, fibrous mixtures, the manual control, tamper, and durability of the Vitamix is a solid choice. If you are more into fast, simple smoothies and want something that fits easily under the cabinet, Blendtec is a great contender — but don’t expect the motor to last forever. We had to get our Blendtec replaced twice on warrantee. But the third time has been a charm as we have had ours for close to a decade now.
If zero-plastic food contact is your goal, high-speed blenders will be a compromise — but you can minimize risk by blending at low temps, avoiding acidic or fatty foods, and storing in glass immediately after. (The low-fat part is the real bummer here. Cherry milkshakes are practically what blenders were made for!)
If you want stainless steel and true high-speed performance, you will need to look at commercial blenders like Waring, and they come with trade-offs: louder, heavier, less sleek, and no fancy presets. They’re more tank than tool.

Silicone, Steel, & Paper

The Unfortunate Truth About Silicone: How To Shop for Stainless Steel Instead

For years, I praised silicone as a safer alternative to plastic — it seemed like a dream for frozen treats. But after some research, I’ve changed my stance. Most silicone products aren’t fully inert, especially when exposed to extreme temperatures. Unless they've gone through rigorous platinum-cured processing and third-party safety testing (which most consumer-grade molds haven’t), they can leach chemical residues into your food — particularly oily, citrusy, or acidic recipes. Ugh, and I learned this after I already had two dozen silicone staple products in my kitchen!
Studies have shown that certain food-simulating solvents (like fatty substances) can cause even food-grade silicone to release siloxanes — compounds that may disrupt hormones and bioaccumulate. While the research is still emerging, it’s enough to raise eyebrows, especially for those of us already dealing with endocrine, liver, or detoxification challenges.
For popsicles, I recently ordered a stailess steel popsicle mold set which has been working well for me. Instead of folding back (or pulling off) the silicone, I run them briefly under hot water and the popsicles come right out.
You can still make any of the recipes I’ve crafted — popsicles, truffles, brownies, chocolates, caroblets, cheesecake — just use stainless steel whenever possible. No fancy molds required. If you find steel molds you wish to use, you can coat them with cacao powder or coconut flakes to allow your treats to pop out easily after freezing. When shopping for stainless steel, however, you must still be careful. The actual number (grade) of steel matters. The safest, most commonly used food-grade stainless steels are:
✔️ 304 stainless steel (similar to 18/8 or 18/10):
🥕 18% chromium, 8–10% nickel
🥕 Corrosion-resistant, durable, and generally non-reactive.
🥕 Used in most food containers, baking sheets, and utensils.
✔️ 316 stainless steel (surgical-grade):
🥕 Same as 304 but with molybdenum added for extra corrosion resistance.
🥕 Better for salty or acidic environments, such as fermenting and pickling.
🥕 More expensive, but top-tier if you are dealing with long-term contact.
🛑 If a listing doesn’t specify the grade at all, or only says “stainless steel” with no number, I consider that a red flag. The same goes for silicone. If there is nothing specifying that it has been platinum treated, do not buy it. Some silicone brands, like Stashers, use this process, but most silicone is cheaply made.

Chocolates: Wax Paper, Parchment Paper, & Compostable Cups

Many of my books have raw chocolate recipes. Even if you have no interest in raw foodism, raw chocolates are for everyone. Over a decade after leaving raw foodism and they are still a go-to household staple for me, my friends, and my clients. But sadly, all my books and videos suggest silicone! Yikes! But there are many other ways to make the same recipes without silicone.
For making raw freezer chocolates, I recommend using unbleached, compostable paper cups. You can find these as two-ounce cups marketed for giving people samples. Fill these halfway for a perfect one-ounce portion. Look for cups that are specifically Quilon-free and chlorine-free, ideally with no PLA (Polylactic Acid) or plastic coatings — because even though PLA is plant-based, it’s still a processed bioplastic that can become brittle in the freezer and isn’t proven inert with oils or acids. I avoid anything with a white interior (usually bleached), a “non-stick” advertisement, or any claims without ingredient disclosure. Non-stick coatings may save you a few seconds of frustration and destroy your liver instead.
Your results will not look quite as adorable as heart-shaped (or owl-shaped!) molds, but using paper or stainless steel keeps unwanted compounds out of your food. (Sadly, this is more important than chocolates shaped like owls.)
If you want to make chocolate bark or smooth sheets of chocolate rather than serving-size bites, you can use metal trays and compostable parchment/wax paper. Again, it’s simple, effective, and safer than silicone. For chocolates, pour into a parchment-lined metal pan, freeze until solid, and then cut them into bars or bites after they’re set. For your parchment paper or wax paper, ensure it is unbleached, chlorine-free, and compostable. If it is bright white, it has been bleached. Read the label carefully: compostable will always be the safest choice, as something that decomposes safely in your garden is going to also be safer for your home and body.

Containers, Utensils, & Dishware

I can not rave enough about Glasslock Storage Containers. Glass keeps food fresher longer than plastic. The square/rectangular shape of these containers is more space efficient than using rounded glass jars. And, when you buy a set (sixteen to twenty pieces), you pay as little as $2.50 per container. These containers are dish-washer safe (lids in the top of the dishwasher only), and oven safe (without their lids), and they are also quite durable and break-resistant.
In fifteen years, none of mine have broken despite daily use, bringing them on road trips, airplanes, picnics, and potlucks. And I have dropped mine so many times! Admittedly, the lids are still plastic and they utilize a silicone gasket (which you can remove to clean, which I recommend doing yearly). This is what enables these to be water-tight, easy-to-transport, and easy-to-use. It is not a plastic-free solution, but it is still far healthier than most alternate options.
For picnics, it is lovely to have reusable options that are lighter than glass or ceramics. But are the wooden or bamboo bowls sold at your nearest box store actually ecologically sound?
Raw bamboo is just grass – a fibrous, lightweight, totally natural material which does not resemble most of the bamboo products being sold commercially. Nearly all bamboo dishware is made from bamboo fibers that are molded with adhesives and resins into shape. The most common binder is melamine-formaldehyde resin — a type of plastic. This resin leaches when exposed to heat and acidic foods (such as tomatoes), and even when simply kept in contact with food for a long time period. Leached melamine has been linked to kidney damage in animal studies and is considered a substance to avoid for infants and sensitive individuals. Formaldehyde, a component of the resin, is a known carcinogen. 🥴 So . . . Most bamboo bowls are not truly non-toxic — especially for oily or acidic foods. For daily use, your most affordable option is to stick to old-school ceramics and glass.
Seeking an exception? I know I am! For eco-conscious folks who don’t want melamine, polyurethane, or glue gunk sneaking into their meals: look for solid carved wood or bamboo made without glues or adhesives. It will be maded from a single piece of wood, coconut shell, or bamboo which has been carved, sanded, and finished with natural oils (like linseed, walnut, coconut, or beeswax). As always, read the labels! If something does not adverise the use of natural oils and beeswax, then it probably has not utilized it. Also, when it comes to hardwoods, a low price tag is a red flag. And, when it comes to bamboo and wood, describing itself as dishwasher safe is actually a red flag indicating that plastic permeates its structure.
But I have good news! You don not nessicarily have to buy a hand-carved, artisan wood bowl for the price of two weeks worth of groceries. I recently discovered these coconut-shell based bowls by Jungle Culture. They are polished with coconut oil instead of plastic-based resins, and many third-parties agree they are legit. I just ordered some for myself, as I am trading out my malamine-bamboo-hazards. (And why is this important to me? You guessed it! I am a neurodivergent who can not stand that metal-on-ceramic scraping sound . . .)
If you don't mind the sound or weight of metal, quality stainless steel is also a great alternative for small children (who throw dishes), camping, and picnis, and overall durability. While I already love my coconut-shell bowls, they are very thin and I know they are likely to break in my lifetime. But stainless steel? Who knows – maybe your great-grandchildren will use them too!
Just like we discussed with bamboo and wood bowls above, the same goes for utensils. I have been a long-time fan of wood and bamboo spoons. They have a nice light feel in your hand. And, unlike metal, there is no unpleasant clang when placing wood or bamboo utensils against your teeth. While bamboo utensils are great for scraping pots without scratching them, I now have to sadly report that bamboo utensils are, due to their construction, similar to eating with plastic. Yikes! While occasional use (for travel) is (probably) better than plastic, I can no longer recommend these for daily use. They look like the idea of being an eco gal – but that look is, unfortunately, a form of green-washing that has been marketed into our psyche. Just because something appears ecologically sound does not make it so. The ecological impact anything we consume is very complex, as I illustrate in my article Beyond Veganism.
But thankfully, there are some untreated bamboo options! As usual, a product advertising that it is compostable is a very good sign – because you can not compost conventional petrolium-based plastics in your backyard compost. Check out Bambu brand compostable dinnerware. Of course, because these are intended to be composted, these will not last for years, but these are still more ecological than many other light-weight, portable, non-clangy* options. (Because the autistics in your life really hate when the metal scrapes on the ceramic!) Another option is seeking brands like Earlywood which use solid, hard wood and natural oil finishes. You will notice these say they are not dishwasher safe, which (unlike with silicone) is a good sign.

Ceramics

If bamboo is smooth due to plastic then . . . What about ceramics!? Here is the scoop: most ceramics are glazed with mineral-based coatings that vitrify in the kiln, essentially turning to glass — not plastic. So, thankfully, that glossy finish on your favorite mug isn’t leaching petrochemicals like BPA or phthalates. But that doesn’t mean ceramics are automatically non-toxic.
Here’s the catch: some ceramic glazes still contain lead, cadmium, arsenic, or other heavy metals — especially in bright reds, oranges, and yellows, which are notoriously difficult to produce without stabilizers. If the firing process isn’t hot enough or if the glaze chemistry is off, those metals can leach into your food. Acidic and hot foods accelerate this — so your tomato soup or citrus smoothie could actually pull trace toxins right into your meal.
Vintage, artisanal, and imported ceramics are the biggest culprits here — especially pieces that say “for decorative use only,” have no labeling at all, or are sold on Etsy or at craft fairs without full transparency. I adore a good handmade piece of art as much as the next creative cat, but I don’t want to be microdosing lead while sipping my herbal tea. If you are going to support your local artists (which I hope you will!), ask them questions about their process. You can still buy their ceramics and choose to use them for displaying wildflowers instead of serving meals!
Seeking ceramic that’s genuinely safe:
✔ Always read all markings and labels. If something is not dishwasher safe, is that because it will leach toxins when exposed to heat?
✔ Look for “lead-free” or “food-safe” labeling.
✔ Brands that follow California’s Prop 65 standards are a good bet — they’ve passed tests for known reproductive and carcinogenic toxins.
✔ Avoid low-temp-fired earthenware, which is more porous and prone to leaching.
✔ Skip anything cracked, crazed, or vintage for food contact — beautiful, yes, but potentially toxic.
✔ Choose high-temp-fired stoneware or porcelain from third-party-tested manufacturers.
The good news? There are plenty of ceramic brands providing safe dishware out there. Check out Fiestaware for brightly-colored plates and mugs, Emilie Henry for beautiful dutch ovens and tart dishes made in France, Le Creuset Stoneware for shock-resistant ceramics meant to last (you will pass these dishes on to your grandkids!), Sweese for gorgeous pasta bowls, and Corelle for simple, inexpensive dishware.
There is even Tuxton Home for ceramic frying pans . . . Wait, ceramic non-stick frying pans? What is going on there? Ceramic frying pans are not clay pots with handles which you put on your stovetop. Most ceramic pans are built from a stainless steel base, often with an aluminum disc layered within to ensure even, responsive cooking heat; then they are topped with a ceramic-based, PTFE‑free, nonstick coating – a safer alternative to traditional Teflon. Note: PTFE stands for polytetrafluoroethylene; PFOA and PFAS are related chemicals which you have likely heard of. All of these should be avoided!
Ceramic pans are not as toxin as the non-stick pans they came along to replace, but some cooks report that they only last about a year before being too scracthed up to continue to use. Yikes! And what do all those so-called ceramic chips (that you are eating) contain? The base composition is silica, and consuming this is like eating sand – harmless. However, the binders and stabilizers, such as alumina (Al₂O₃), titanium dioxide (which is linked to oxidative stress and microbiome disruption), or zirconium oxide can be more problematic. There are often colorants, and these can also be concerning, although using cadmium or other heavy metals as part of the coloring process has been made illegal in the U.S. and EU. Most concerning is that some coatings may still contain trace PTFE or silicone resins – so be especially skeptical of cheap pans lacking transparent labeling.
Once again, if it is marketed as “non-stick” then your best bet is to simply avoid it. The first year with your ceramic pan will likely be pretty safe. Besides, you are likely already getting more titamium dioxide from your supplements if you have not checked your labels carefully. However, the second year, after it has become much more scratched up, could lead to intestinal inflammation, nano-particle accumulation in your body, and possibly heavy metal buildup if pigments are involved. My solution? Cook with plenty of oil in a cast-iron pan. So maybe don’t get those Tuxton Home frying pans after all – although you can find nice ceramic plateware by the same brand.
Now we have to discuss those inherited Corelle dishes you may have found at the thrift store . . . While modern Corelle ceramics (made in 2005 or after) are safe, vintage Corelle plates and mugs contain lead or cadmium in the painted patterns — particularly reds, yellows, and oranges. These decorations were applied with lead-based enamels that can wear down and leach over time, especially if the plate is scratched, faded, or used in the dishwasher. Corelle itself has issued a statement recommending that vintage pieces not be used for food contact — they suggest using them for decoration only.
The bottom line is that ceramic can be an optimal choice for your plateware. The brands above all offer gorgeous, durable, properly-fired wares that are tested for safety and built to last. And they won’t secretly poison your pesto. But remember: if you want the sacred to stay sacred in your kitchen, choose your glazes like you choose your food — with curiosity, discernment, and a touch of reverence. Read the labels!
Another must-have in a health-conscious kitchen is a quality stainless steel salad spinner. If you are eating greens everyday (which you should be unless you absolutely require a fiber-free diet for microbiome rebalancing reasons), then you likely have frequent cause to be washing greens. Shaking them out, in my strong opinion, just does not cut it. And the more salad you eat – and the more greens you grow in your garden – the more greens-washing you will be likely to do. Especially if you avoid plastic packaging – which is what all the pre-washed greens come in. When seeking a salad spinner you will find that all of them have some plastic parts, but you can at least find some models which have both a stainless steel exterior and a stainless steel strainer.
My only complaint with owning and using a salad spinner daily is that after use, they need somewhere to be upside-down to dry. Over the past fifteen years I have generally had a dedicated drying rack for my salad spinner. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 🤷🏻

Food

Many food items are simply more practical to order online. They’re often less expensive online, and they arrive right at your door — no more pacing the aisles of the health food store, hoping it’s in stock and affordable. Just put it on autoship and have it arrive monthly, every three months, or every six months.
A good pricing rule of thumb with “superfoods” like spirulina, cacao powder, chia seeds, goji berries, and goldenberries is that the price will be findable at $1 per ounce or less — that’s $16 per pound or less. In grocery stores, you’ll often find these at $1.50 per ounce, bumping the cost up to $24 per pound. Online, I often find these same foods (even by the same brands!) as low as 75 cents per ounce, or $12 per pound.
That said, not everything is better online. I highly recommend using cold-pressed, refrigerated oils on your salads (such as flax, hemp, or chia oil), and for these, I absolutely suggest buying these from your local store’s fridge. When shipped, they’re often sent without cooling, spending five days—or more—at room temperature. This damages the delicate omega-3 fatty acids and undermines the health benefits.
⚠️ A few more important caveats:
While online shopping can save money and effort, it also comes with ecological, ethical, and scam concerns. Shipping food across long distances increases carbon emissions, and excessive packaging — often plastic — is still the norm. Many warehouse workers and delivery drivers face poor working conditions, low wages, and high stress during peak shipping seasons. Furthermore, it is easy to run a scam when selling a powder or supplement, and these are increasingly common – especially through big retailers. Whenever possible, consider supporting small, ethically-minded companies, seeking sustainable packaging, offsetting emissions, and/or choosing slower shipping to lower environmental impact.
Raw organic nori sheets are a practical addition to any diet. They are nutrient dense, convenient, travel-friendly, and delicious. And, when you buy them online in bulk, you pay as little as 33 cents per sheet. Compare this to spending $1 per sheet when you buy 10-packs at the supermarket. Making your own nori wraps at home is an easy, inexpensive choice.
Chia seeds have become all the rage in health food. While the nutritional benefits are often over-stated, the fact these seeds are much easier to digest than most seeds is still a tremendous benefit.
Dried mulberries are one of my favorite snacks and recipe ingredients. These little berries are chewy (or crunchy if you refrigerate them), mildly sweet and taste a lot like honey. I use them as the vegan honey in my recipe Honeyed Turmeric Muesli.

Raederle, 2014, Mint-Stripe Chocolates
Raw cacao powder is simply ground, unroasted cacao beans, after the cacao butter (the fat) has been extracted. (For me, as someone sensitive to cacao butter, this is a plus.) Compared to cocoa powder (which is roasted), raw cacao has a richer, more complex flavor and often a far less bitter bite, depending on the variety.
Cacao does contain caffeine, but in relatively small amounts. A tablespoon of raw cacao powder typically contains about 10–15 mg of caffeine, which is less than a cup of white tea. However, it also contains theobromine, a gentler stimulant that affects the heart and smooth muscle tissue more than the central nervous system. Theobromine provides a more sustained, mellow energy boost than caffeine — often described as uplifting without the jitters. I have been known to consume as much as half a cup of cacao in a sitting and then bounce of the walls with a sort of mania; I do not personally recommend mimicing this behavior.
Commercial chocolate bars, especially darker ones, often have higher caffeine levels due to roasting, concentration, and sometimes added caffeine in the case of energy bars or certain flavored varieties.
Making your own chocolate at home using raw cacao, coconut oil or organic lard, and unprocessed sweeteners (such as date paste, honey, or green stevia leaf) isn’t just fun — it’s healthier, tastier, and actually a lot more affordable. If you love chocolate bars and find yourself paying $3 to $5 a bar on a regular (or even daily basis), then making them at home will safe you bundles! I highly recommend it!
Schisandra berries are revered in traditional Chinese medicine as a “five-flavor fruit” that supports the liver, sharpens the mind, and enhances resilience to stress. Rich in antioxidants and adaptogens, they help the body balance hormones, boost energy without overstimulation, and promote glowing skin from the inside out. ✨ All those antioxidants equals a very potent flavor; I enjoy snacking on these with a ratio of a single schisandra berry to a non-heaping handful of mulberries.
***July 24th 2025: I have not finished editing this page yet. This is where I am up to thus far! Most of what follows is still the original text from 2014. Hoping to finish this soon! I've been working on this for days!***
Raw carob powder is nutritious, delicious and relatively inexpensive for a superfood. Many have bad memories of disgusting carob muffins baked by health-nut aunts and friends, but this gives the wrong impression of carob. Carob is naturally sweet when it is raw. Roasted carob isn't nearly as tasty. Try raw carob powder blended with frozen bananas for a simple, healthy, home-made ice cream.
Cinnamon powder makes a very sensible online purchase if you use as much cinnamon as I do. Online, you can find it as inexpensive as $8 for an entire pound of organic cinnamon. Try buying a pound of regular cinnamon as well as a pound of ceylon cinnamon. If you're going to take a while to use all of your cinnamon, keep the extra in the freezer for maximum freshness. Cinnamon helps slow the release of sugars, so this is a great addition to all desserts, especially for hypoglycemic and diabetic people.
Vanilla powder is hard to find on grocery shelves and expensive even when you order it online... Yet, it lasts a long time because you only need to use a pinch to get a tremendously delicious result. Try mashing a ripe banana with a pinch of vanilla powder with a fork. Easy, delicious and healthy. I recommend powder instead of extract because the powder is pure vanilla bean, whereas the extracts all require a carrier such as alcohol, glycerin and/or sugar.
Spirulina powder is a great source of easily digested protein (amino acids), as well as chlorophyll (evidenced by its dark green color). Like most sea vegetables, spirulina is very dense in nutrients, even compared to other nutritious vegetables. It does have a strong flavor. I recommend using a pinch in ice-cream, chocolates and other sweet treats.
Kelp Noodles are a raw pasta alternative. They come in a moist packet and only require rinsing before consuming. If you prefer your noodles soft (these come fairly firm/chewy), then after rinsing, soak these for a few hours in fresh lemon juice with a little sea salt and a dash of fresh cold-pressed organic oil. These, unfortunately, are not available organic. That said, they are not GMO as far as I know, and conventional zucchinis are GMO, so if you're going to opt for zucchini noodles, make sure you choose organic zucchini!

Effective Supplements

Not all supplements do something. In fact, many of them are a complete waste of money. I've tried literally hundreds of different probiotics, enzymes, powders and so on, and below I've only listed the ones that had a clearly noticeable difference for me. Better yet, each of the products mentioned below has phenomenal reviews and they have also proven effective for my clients, friends and family!
Lugol's Iodine 5% has been a miracle for me and many people I know. Iodine deficiency is rampant in America. Healthy salts (non-table-salt) don't contain it, and you'll never get enough from consuming spirulina and nori.
To make matters worse, most people never experience any benefits from taking it in tablet form, and friends of mine also tried it at 2% dilution and didn't get any results. Something about this particular iodine really works. Iodine is a halogen molecule, similar to chlorine and fluoride. Chlorine and fluoride get into your thyroid when you don't get enough iodine and don't come out of the thyroid until you get enough iodine.
For me, my thyroid problems left me cold all the time. I started taking five to nine drops of this iodine in my hot tea daily and on the very first day I stopped being chronically cold! A friend of mine lost her need for glasses within a few months of starting this product.
Iodine has also been shown to help with the damage caused by glyphosate, which is the main ingredient in Monsanto's RoundUp and present in conventional zucchini, corn, soy, alfalfa, cotton, and canola.
Natren's Trinity Probiotics is incredible effective for any flora imbalance, including the common cold. Want to nip a sore throat in the bud? Take two of these, one the moment you notice the problem, and the next capsule the following evening. After trying literally dozens of probiotics, I've found this one most effective. I've also had clients, friends and family rave about the benefits of this product. While I'm using an Amazon link here so that you can see it and potentially get it online, it may be best to see if your local health food store has this product in their refrigerator, as it should always be kept cold for maximum potency.
Ultimate Flora Probiotics is a brand I recommend for additional probiotic support if you're struggling with vaginosis, candida, yeast infections, urinary tract infections, bladder infections and/or kidney stones. Just like with Natren's Trinity, if you can find it locally in a health food store in their refrigerated section, they may have more potent product that has been cold more consistently. However, if you can not find it locally, click here to find it on Amazon.

Essential Oils

Back in 2007, I bought my first bottle of clove essential oil for a stubborn toothache. One dab, and the pain vanished. It felt like magic. Still, I didn’t fully grasp the potential I’d just opened the door to. It took me years to realize essential oils weren’t just intense little perfumes for hippies and health nuts — they were concentrated botanical allies with numerous practical uses.
Since then, I’ve used essential oils to ward off lice, fleas, and bed bugs – even when these were already present in the same building in different bedroom. Essential oils can even help against ticks — without resorting to toxic chemical sprays. I’ve cleared congested sinuses, soothed cramps, abated mold, impoved oral hygeine, improved my scalp health, and kept my home smelling like a spa.
That said, quality matters — and the terminology around essential oils is full of marketing fluff. “Therapeutic grade” doesn’t mean anything legally; anyone can slap it on a label. “Food grade,” on the other hand, is a regulated term, but it usually means the oil’s been redistilled — which might make it safer for internal use, but it also means it’s been altered from its original full-spectrum form. Whether that’s a good thing is still up for debate. It’s kind of like comparing pasteurized milk to raw milk — safety vs. potency, and context matters.
I’ve consumed non-food-grade organic oils in small amounts with no issues — and I’m about as sensitive as they come. Still, I’m cautious. Internal use of essential oils can be powerful, and not all oils or bodies handle it well.
As of now, finding oils that are both organic and food grade is surprisingly difficult. Many companies aren't transparent about their sourcing or processing. If you find a brand that offers third-party testing, organic certification, and clearly labeled distillation methods — that’s gold.
At this point, essential oils are just part of my life — like forks, books, and kombucha. I use them because they work – without nasty side-effects. And after nearly two decades of trial and error, I trust them far more than most over-the-counter products I grew up with.
Clove essential oil is incredibly effective for killing off bacteria of the mouth. Put one drop on your finger and carefully trace the edges of your gums outside and inside before bed every other week. This will eliminate and prevent most oral discomfort.
Peppermint essential oil can be used plain instead of toothpaste. Just put one drop on your wet toothbrush and brush. Kills bacteria, cleans your teeth, and leaves you feeling fresh.
Oregano essential oil is very potent and powerful, so use with caution. If you have chronic bleeding gums that do not go away when switching to peppermint oil and using clove oil on occasion, then add in occasional use of oregano oil on your gums. Oregano will kill parasites that burrow into the gums and cause them to bleed. While not everyone has these parasites, they are highly common. To use, dilute with fractionated coconut oil or water.
Lemon eucalyptus essential oil has been my go-to for tick protection for years now, and given that my rural-Ithacan garden has been shown to be tick-rich since I moved here in 2015, I have to say that the oil seems to work. Lavender oil is still my number one for sun exposure; I rarely burn, and when I do, a generous layer usually stops it from peeling or lingering.
Are essentials oil really ecological in the big picture? That is, unfortunately, complicated. Essential oils can reduce your reliance on synthetic cleaners, air fresheners, and pharmaceuticals, lowering your personal chemical load and household toxicity. But producing just one ounce often requires hundreds of pounds of plant material, and high-demand oils like sandalwood, rosewood, and frankincense come from trees that are now endangered or at risk from overharvesting. Steam distillation consumes large amounts of water and energy, and many oils are shipped globally, adding to their carbon footprint. The ecological impact depends on how they’re grown and used: organic, sustainably farmed oils used sparingly and intentionally can support both health and sustainability — but careless consumption can quietly fuel deforestation and resource depletion in nature’s name.

Body Products

Remember that anything on your skin also shows up in your blood stream, so don't settle for conventional skin products, and definitely steer clear of parabens and ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate.
Jojoba oil, while pricey for a skin oil, is the most effective oil I've found for genuinely hydrating and smoothing the skin. Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax which balances the hormones in your skin, reducing blemishes and hydrating without clogging pores. Whenever using oils on your skin, I recommend using a hot wash cloth to rub the oil in, getting it into the pores and evenly distributed.
Coconut oil can be used for food, hair, skin and "oil pulling". I strongly believe that the nutritional benefits are hype created by the industry to sell more coconut oil, but it is a delicious culinary oil that is great in raw vegan cheesecake and other specialty foods. I find that it causes me to break out if I consume more than a tablespoon in a day, or if I consume it daily, which adds to my suspicion that this food clogs up the intestines. That said, I love coconut oil for my skin and hair.
To get effective use (and not just clog your pores and gum up your hair), create this mix prior to showering: put two heaping tablespoons of coconut oil in a tall mason jar that has a lid. Add a quarter cup to a half cup of apple cider vinegar. If you're working on increasing the health of your hair, also add five drops of rosemary oil to the mixture.
Then add very hot water, filling up the jar. Then shower with organic soap, scrubbing your whole body twice with something exfoliating. Wash your hair with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water without oil. Then rinse your body and hair until all the soap is gone. Shake up the mixture of oil, vinegar and water. If you have long hair, start by dipping your hair in the mixture and squeezing the excess back out into the jar. Then carefully pour some out onto your scalp and massage into your hair. Continue from there to apply the mixture to your entire body. Rinse with warm water if you feel you applied the mix unevenly and want to redistribute it.
The result is very hydrated healthy hair and skin. In my bathroom, the only shower products are apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, organic soap and rosemary essential oil.
Neem oil is known for its effective bacteria-fighting properties. It clears acne and is part of many effective blends for healthy gums and teeth. Unfortunately, I've been able to find a source of neem oil which is pure, powerful and organic, so I've been using the ZAJA brand. The way I use mine is by adding ten to twenty drops to a small glass dispenser with organic jojoba oil. I wash my face, then I rub the oil into my face, then I massage it in with a warm to hot washcloth, getting the mixture into my pores. I've found this very effective for eliminating dry skin and alleviating troubled skin.

Novels

I am a writer. The quality and style of writing is crucial to enjoying a novel for me. In ways, it is more important than great characters, story and setting. In fact, if the writing is poor, I don't finish the first chapter. My four favorite fiction authors have above average writing abilities: Jo Graham, Karen Miller, Naomi Novik and Steven Brust.
I recommend ebooks for seven reasons: They're less expensive for the consumer. They don't use up trees. They don't take up shelf space. They don't become dusty/dirty. They're infinitely more portable when moving or traveling. A nook or kindle is lighter in the hand than a book. Many new authors have self-published via e-books and are not yet (or may never be) available in print.
I understand that most people enjoy the turning of a page, but ultimately, ebooks are more practical for you and for the planet. If you use nook, you can download software such as Calibre to convert kindle books into nook books. Calibre can also convert nook books into kindle books.
The one thing to beware of with ebooks is that some have DRM (digital rights management) on them, which makes it so that you can't put your ebook on more than one device without entering the credit card number used when purchasing. This can be a long-term problem if you switch credit cards and can't find/recall the card used to purchase. This is to protect the seller from people sharing the files freely on the web. Not all ebooks have DRM. If this concerns you, you can look up whether an ebook has DRM on it or not prior to purchase.
The Godspeaker Trilogy by Karen Miller is a fantasy trilogy taking place in a land without technology, but rich in foreign culture and belief systems. The writing is rich and deeply reflects the culture being portrayed. Throughout the trilogy some deep messages about the creation, use, and nature of religion and faith are conveyed.
Hand of Isis by Jo Graham is my favorite book in the Numinous World series. Each book can be read as a stand-alone story, so it is okay if you read them out of order. That said, I believe the chronological order is as follows: Black Ships, Hand of Isis, Stealing Fire, The Ravens of Falkenau, The General's Mistress, and most recently, The Emperor's Agent. I've loved each and every one of them, especially the most recent two.
Jhereg by Steven Brust is the first in a series about an assassin named Vladimir with a good sense of humor. This series makes me laugh out loud repeatedly, and also stimulates thinking about ethical issues, political issues and societal social dynamics.
The Vladimir series is intended to be readable out of chronological order, but I recommend reading them in order, starting either with Jhereg or Taltos (pronouced Tal-Toe-sh). Taltos is the first chronologically and is about young Vladimir, however Jhereg tells the story of how Vladimir first got his familiar, a Jhereg (which is essentially a dragon the size of a hawk). You can get these with three-stories-in-one-book, however, they're combined in the publication order. I use Steven Brust's wikipedia page to reference the chronological order. This series is only available in ebook format if you purchase the nook books.
The Temeraire series by Naomi Novik has never failed to disappoint me. Naomi builds fantastic characters, teaches history, and depicts fantastical wars and scenery in a tasteful, enjoyable and engrossing saga. The basic theme is dragons in the Napoleonic Wars. This is the same time period that two books I mentioned above take place in, The General's Mistress, and The Emperor's Agent. I recommend reading these two books near the time that you read the Temeraire series for a different perspective on this time period. The Temeraire series is from the British perspective, whereas Jo Graham's books are from the French perspective.
The Temeraire books are astonishing in their apt ability to convey the culture, values and stigmas of the time through the eyes of dragonlore. The series takes you to China, Turkey, Russia, South America, America, Africa, Britain, France and other places besides, displaying a wide variety of cultures as well as a wide variety of ways that dragons can exist within a culture. The fascinating and fabulous thing is that Naomi somehow manages to insert dragons into history without losing any of the authentic feel of these locations and historical battles.
Raederle's Art for Raederle.com

Raederle's Book Reviews

The inspiring books I've read have been key in making me who I am. Most of my healing, motivation, and inspiration has come from books. They are powerful in their ability to hold and convey information. They're a bargain, even when you pay $30 for a single book.
These books recommended below are all books that I have read personally and was highly touched by.
The books shown below are more or less in the order I recommend reading them. Book reviews below.
The Mastery of Love is not a book you'll forget after reading. Miguel delivers concise impacting statements that startle and empower. He uses simple sentences and simple language to convey powerful, timeless messages.
“You don't need to justify your love, you don't need to explain your love, you just need to practice your love. Practice creates the master.”
 The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz
Amazon
The Art of Happiness Thumbnail Image by Raederle
Amazon
After reading The Art of Happiness cover-to-cover once I found myself reading it again, and again, in the years following. I never fail to feel uplifted after reading a chapter out of this marvelous book. It is a testament to the beauty of humanity.
Click here to read my full book review and two of my favorite excerpts from the book.
Sugar Blues by William Duffy is the perfect book for anyone looking to break sugar addiction.
“Sugar is stored in the liver... Since the liver's capacity is limited, a daily intake of refined sugar (above the required amount) soon makes the liver expand... When the liver is filled to its maximum capacity, the excess glycogen is returned ... in the form of fatty acids. These are ... stored in the most inactive areas: belly, buttocks, breasts, and thighs. When these comparatively harmless places are completely filled, fatty acids are then distributed among active organs, such as the heart and kidneys.”
 Sugar Blues by William Duffy
Amazon
The Continuum Concept Thumbnail Image by Raederle
Amazon
After reading The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff I was amazed at how differently I viewed my life and everyone in my life.
"It is no secret that the "experts" have not discovered how to live satisfactorily, but the more they fail, the more they attempt to bring the problems under the sole influence of reason... [Determining what is good for us] has for many millions of years been managed by the infinitely more refined areas of the mind called instinct. ... [The] unconscious can make any number of calculations, syntheses, and executions simultaneously and correctly."
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn illustrates how to save the world in a beautifully told story.
“Once you learn to discern the voice of Mother Culture humming in the background, telling her story over and over again to the people of your culture, you’ll never stop being conscious of it. Wherever you go for the rest of your life, you’ll be tempted to say to the people around you, How can you listen to this stuff and not recognize it for what it is?”
 Ishmael by Daniel Quinn thumbnail image by Raederle
Amazon
The Power of a Praying Wife Thumbnail Image by Raederle
Amazon
The Power of A Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian immediately hooked my attention. The wise Stormie opened up with the most important prayer... To pray for yourself to change. Pray to become strength, not for an easy life.
This book comes from a Christian perspective. Even if you're not Christian, I encourage you to try the prayers in this book. Going into a meditative state and visualizing yourself becoming a better, more forgiving, more loving, more honest person, all by itself, will have amazing impact.
"Little by little, I began to see changes... Instead of reacting negatively, I prayed... I asked God to give me insight ... My husband's anger became less frequent more quickly soothed. You have to rise up and say, "I pray for an end to this conflict ... Take away the armor we've put up. Lift us out of unforgiveness..."
Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is for any person who wants to reprogram themselves to become a money-making genious. Actually, the principles in the book could be used to achieve any goal.
“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill thumbnail image by Raederle
Amazon
Empty Harvest Thumbnail Image by Raederle
Amazon
Empty Harvest by Bernard Jensen paints a very disturbing picture that really brings home the strong importance of permaculture, aquaponics, small farms and home gardens.
Empty Harvest clearly explains the link between the lack of minerals in our crop soils and the modern day diseases associated with mineral deficiencies. The author shows many excellent examples of how mankind is slowly destroying it's future by robbing the Earth of the very things that give us and support life itself. This book is a bit "light weight" if you're interested in reading the nitty-gritty scientific aspect of things.
Raw Emotions by Angela Stokes is fantastic for anyone detoxing from emotional baggage. When you start a raw food diet or a vegetable juice cleanse, it is common to start detoxing emotions as well as the rest of it. That is where this book comes in to the rescue!
Angela Stokes is renowned for her remarkable physical transformation - a 160lb weight loss with a raw food lifestyle. Whatever your current relationship with food looks like, Raw Emotions has something to offer you. Inspiring 'self-help' techniques with a lifestyle rich in fresh raw foods is a winning combination.
 Raw Emotions by Angela Stokes thumbnail image by Raederle
Amazon
My stance on veganism is explored in this article.

My Books

My Story & My Books — A little about me, a little about my books, including:
The Ultimate Nutrition Reference — A highly comprehensive reference guide on nutrition from the unique perspective of a master of alternative diets and healing modalities.
Blissfully Balanced — A 7-Day Raw Vegan Nutritionally Complete Meal Plan ideal for beginners.
Collecting Calcium — A 7-Day Raw Vegan Nutritionally Complete Meal Plan for building bones, an ideal plan for preventing and healing degenerative bone conditions such as osteoporosis.
Experience Elegance — An 8-Day Raw Vegan Nutritionally Complete Meal Plan ideal for raw foodies looking to minimize nuts and seeds while maximizing energy.
Nut-Free Delectable Delights — A 7-Day Raw Vegan Nutritionally Complete Meal Plan with no nuts, but you still get you selenium, protein, omega-3, and zinc from whole foods!
Nut-Free Raw Recipes — A Raw Vegan Recipe Book with no nuts, loaded with gourmet recipes and desserts (and some fun savory items too).
— Raederle Phoenix
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