Liver Cleanse Juice Fast - Day 2

Soooooo…Day 2 of this Juice Fast Liver Cleanse and all is going great – feeling wonderful – here’s another little YouTube video from today…(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQX61xYYmxw)

Today I have had:

500ml water with lemon juice
1 litre apple/celery/cucumber juice
water of one Thai coconut
500ml water
200ml dandelion, carrot and turnip greens juice
1 litre apple/celery/cucumber juice
water of one Thai coconut
2 tsp green powder
700ml beet/carrot/cucumber juice
700ml carrot/Jerusalem artichoke/watercress/spinach/romaine lettuce/sunflower sprouts
300ml water

Here’s what Dr Norman Walker says about the INTENSE dandelion/turnip/carrot juice:

“Carrot Dandelion Turnip greens – high in calcium and magnesium. This juice combination is the best calcium supplement one can take. No vegetable contains as high a percentage of calcium as the juice of turnip leaves, the calcium being more then one-half of all the other minerals and salts combined. This combination helps the hardening of the teeth as well as the entire bone structure of the body. The very high magnesium content of the dandelion together with the calcium in the turnip leaves and the elements in the carrot combine to give the bone structure firmness and strength.” (Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices, by Dr. Norman Walker, pg 59)

…yep…intense stuff and intensely beneficial for the body too…
I really sugared out this afternoon though after the apple juices and coconut waters…more balance would be nice – rather than intense greens to super-sweet – combining the two might feel more beneficial… ;) the green powders later on helped me balance out a bit too...
I noticed a nice pattern around juicing/foods today in myself…I would see something that I was drawn to EAT – be it figs or coconut meat or apples, then my mind would make me aware that it’s just juices again at the moment – but the fun part was realising: it’s ONLY 4 days – in a few days' time, I will be back on solids – not another 3 months ;) that feels fun…4 days feels like a drop in the juicy ocean now after 3 months of liquids ;)

YEEEEEEEEEE-HAH – you’re all in for a TREAT too - I’m delighted to say that the delicious beings at Raw Gaia are offering all RawReform Blog readers a special 15% discount until April 15th on their range of fabulous, 100% raw, organic, vegan, handmade beauty products…
I really appreciate the energy that goes into these products – handmade with love by long-term raw foodists Lisa and Hector…if you want to know that you’re feeding your skin the best you can, as well as the inside of your body, then these products are beautiful gifts to yourself…I love the names they give them too – like the moisturisers ‘For her babies’, ‘For her sons’ and ‘For her daughters’…
Here are a couple of yummy NEW skin-treats from their range too:

Living Facial Cleanser - leaves your face feeling fresh and uplifted. Gently and effectively cleanses the skin, removing dirt or makeup, without affecting the natural balance of your skin…made with organic cold-pressed oils, essential oils and floral waters – enriching, cleansing, nourishing…yumm :)

MSM Beauty Spray – a unique moisturizer – liquid form, made with cold-pressed oils, floral waters and MSM. No preservatives/alcohol. Helps smooth fine lines, repair damaged/scarred skin and bring a luscious glow…

Raw Gaia ship all over the world from their base in the UK. So, to claim your 15% discount, just quote ‘RawReform’ when placing your order before April 15th…and…ENJOY ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

4 Day Liver Cleanse Commences...

I started a 4 day liver cleanse today... :) I'm excited about it,
especially as it is a juice fasting liver cleanse, so I'm back in a
liquid world...yeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH...wow, my body soooooo LOVES being on juice - first day down and feeling great - really energised and delighted...I've done a few liver cleanses in the past and never got any stones or anything out - just sludge, so after my Juice Feasting, I'm interested to see if anything's different this time round...here is a little video I made today to start the process and I'll try to post smthg daily for the next few days, to check in on the unfolding of this particular juicy process...(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JStNHjq-yw)

Yesterday, on March 29th I had:

500ml water with lemon juice
500ml spice tea
500ml orange/grapefruit juice
500ml greens/carrot juice
500ml water
700ml mint tea
500ml water
250ml greens/carrot juice
6 satsumas
1 banana
amazing raw gourmet meal – including Thai red curry, jicama ravioli, raw ‘pizza’, chocolate brownie with coconut ice cream
1 litre water

We ate in the evening at the fabulous Cru Restaurant in LA...wowowowowwww...such a
wonderful place - and the owner tells me she went into raw after finding inspiration on RawReform - nice ;) ...their raw creations are just divine...the pizza and
raw choc brownie in particular are exceptional - fantastic place to
take someone who is transitioning, or new to raw...and they had this
incredible fig 'pate' made from figs blended with agave and
coriander...creative, beautiful, delicious...YUMM ;)


Today I have been back on the liquids and have had:

500ml water
500ml spice tea
1 litre water
500ml orange/grapefruit juice
500ml beets/carrots/greens/turmeric juice
1 litre cucumber/celery/apple juice
1 litre apple juice
700ml beet/carrot/cucumber juice
water of one Thai coconut with 1 tsp green powder
500ml dark leafy greens juice
300ml water

I guess it must seem bizarre to some people that I would even WANT to be on juices again so soon after a 3-month Juice Feast - but I am really delighted to be back in a fluid framework..a friend I was talking to about juicing today could not imagine feeling 'liberated' by drinking juice as I was describing - from his perspective, it looks restrictive and minimal - whereas from my point of view, it feels open, expansive and nourishing...I love how we can all view the same thing so differently ;)…liver cleansing does not usually involve juice fasting, this is just a kind of 'hardcore' version we decided to try out...lots of gurgling and moving about in my insides today – I am really curious to see what kind of results this liver cleanse will have on this body, after all these years raw and the Juice Feasting now too…when I was recently doing some colon cleansing, the phrase that kept rising to my consciousness was ‘hepatic flexure’ – the point where the liver meets the colon…so, perhaps there is some healing yet to unfold in that area in particular…we shall see…
I’d love to share the info that tomorrow – Saturday the 31st March, will see ‘Earth Hour’ – where for one hour, people all over the world will turn off their electricity supply, simultaneously, to demonstrate concern about climate change – you can read more about participating and find the designated time for earth hour in your area, here: www.earthhour.org… ENJOY the down time ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Beauty Overflowing...

The latest issue of the fabulous Funky Raw magazine is out now, including an article by me about Juice Feasting…and the great news is that Rob is now offering the mag in e-format too, so that those outside the UK/Europe can access it more quickly/easily…see www.funkyraw.com for more info and to order…

On March the 27th I had:

300ml water
500ml water with lemon juice
300ml prune soak water
200g soaked prunes
apple pie – pecan/raisins/mesquite base, apples/cinnamon/nutmeg/coconut butter/agave middle, macadamia/coconut water/vanilla/prunes sauce
500ml mint tea
500ml water
200g nut/seed trail mix
green salad with jicama, lime juice and avocado, with nori sheets stuffed with mixture of hemp seed/flax oil/Himalayan salt
500ml mint tea
300ml water

It was fun to make cake in the middle of the day…it was great for me to get into the kitchen and play with food a bit – let my creativity flow through that outlet instead for a while…it was a yummy creation…I’m still interested to hear about YOUR favourite home-made treats too for this month’s RawReform prize giveaway of cases of exceptional raw chocolates from The Raw Chocolate Company in the UK. Just email details of your favourite treat to angela@rawreform.com and three blessed beings will be receiving batches of oompah-lumpah loved-up cacao bliss early next month ;)

It’s a month until the next retreat I’m holding and I’m excited. It’s a women’s Juice Feasting/weight loss retreat at Ronora Lodge in Michigan, from April 25th to May 2nd…we’re going to be TREATing ourselves to a 5-day juice feast, yoga classes, emotional healing sessions, massage, nature walks, meditations, dancing, sharing circles and masses more…it’s going to be a magical time and there’s still room for a few more lovely ladies, so check out more details here: http://rawnora.com/Angela/
We had a womens’ song circle gathering tonight and it was soooooo yummy…I LOVE raising up the Goddess energy with other beautiful beings in a capella bliss ;) singing bowl, fresh flowers, tea, resonance, sisters united in harmonic bliss…YUMMY…singing is such an important form of expression for my being – that’s how I can tell if I’m truly feeling happy and relaxed somewhere, if I start spontaneously singing – and these song circles give me lots of new lovely tunes to fuel my song banks with… ;)

Today I have had…

700ml water with lemon juice
500ml spice tea
400ml greens/carrot juice
bowl of protein-power meal – bananas, seeds, hemp protein powder, dried figs with 2 nori sheets stuffed with hemp seeds/flax oil/Himalayan sea salt
700ml water
1 fuji apple
500ml green juice
meal of courgette (zucchini) ‘pasta’ with pesto sauce, accompanied by seaweed/jicama salad
amazing bits and pieces of raw cookie dough ice cream creations ;)
500ml mint tea
300ml water

I felt nauseous in the afternoon from all the fat at lunchtime – I was really keen to try out this amazing banana/seeds etc meal that I keep seeing here and so went for it, but it was really a bit much with the nori rolls too and my body went into a kind of nauseous state…oops…ok, message received… ;)
It was SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun today to watch my beautiful raw GODDESS friend Kate Wood on TV in Iceland - I lived up in Iceland for around 3.5 years, on and off and she went up recently to hold some raw events and explore...here was the Icelandic TV coverage of her visit - click on 'Hrafaedi' (raw food) to watch the piece:

http://dagskra.ruv.is/streaming/sjonvarpid/?file=4301758/1

Ég elska ykkur öll ;) - I Love You ALL ;)
Angela. xxx

What IS the point of salads...?

We were talking here today again about the ‘point’ of salads…during my Juice Feasting, some raw friends often told me that salads are slow and complicated to digest. I found it hard to relate to the idea while juicing, but as I came back on to solids, realised exactly what they meant. I started out eating the prunes and juicy fruits and they digested so easily, especially as mono-meals. Then the salads I started to introduce, even though very simple – just 5/6 ingredients – felt very different. It would take about 5 hours it seemed just to digest a simple salad. Wow.
So, I’ve been thinking recently about the principle of ‘eating your fruits and drinking your vegetables’ and wondering about that as a guiding principle…how might it be to just eat fruits in mono-meals and drink green juices for some time…I think it would be an interesting experiment…I bounced this idea around a bit today and received some interesting feedback…basically that yes, salads do indeed take a long time to digest, but are likely much more beneficial in the long-run as a source of solids…the ‘main point’ of eating solids can be seen as acting like a fiber broom to clear toxins out…the real nutrient hits can be received much more easily from juices…the solids are more just like cleaning apparatus when taking it to that level, so yes, eating fruit and drinking greens is a possibility, but in the long-run would likely involve more complications than enjoyment, as the sugars would instigate more gas and bloating etc, imbalances, whereas the salads are more ‘filling’, grounding and neutral overall…hmmmmmm…more food for thought, as always in these explorations….we’ll see…I’m still intrigued to try out the solid fruits/liquid veggies idea for a while sometime at least ;)

Today I have had:

700ml water with lemon juice
500ml spice tea
500ml greens/carrot juice
one avocado with lime juice, cilantro, lettuce, black salt, dulse and nori
3 date rolls
10 strawberries with vanilla/chocolate raw ice cream
500ml spice tea
500ml water
bowl of kale/tomato/dulse/peas/lemon juice/avo salad
2 date rolls
500ml spice tea
300ml water


MANY THANKS for the messages about the moth encounter yesterday and for all the info about these magical creatures – here’s what I learnt from following the links sent in…

Antheraea polyphemus (Polyphemus Moth)
This is one of the largest insects in North America and, while it usually causes a sensation when seen, it is not uncommon here. In classical mythology Polyphemus was a one-eyed Cyclops who battled with Odysseus, and this is remembered by the large transparent eye-like spot in each wing. As with other saturniids, the adult has no functional proboscis and it does not feed. The male has large, feathery antennae.
They do not feed as adults, living only for a week or so as adults in spring or early summer.
http://tdserver1.fnal.gov/peterson/tom/Moths/GiantSilkMoths04/GiantSilkMoths.html

WOW, I find it very interesting that they do not feed…that they seem to just come here and experience and then when they’re done, they’re done and they check out again…they’re so mystical to me…

Here is a lovely quote that inspired me recently from http://www.infinitebeing.com

“…realize that the one task you can best address at any given moment is the one which is most aligned with your innermost joy.”

I hear that…seek true joy and the magic will easily unfold from there…mmmmmm-hmmmmmmm… ;)
One love,
Angela. xxx

Durian and the Divine Dance..

WOW…it’s been a blissful couple of days here, involving a LOT of raw ice cream and durian in particular… ;)
We held a raw ice cream party/pot luck on Saturday night and it was soooooooo much fun…I was HIGH on a combo of durian, cacao ice cream, ecstatic dancing and blissed interactions…it was one of those parties where for me, the whole thing felt like it passed in about half an hour, it was so joyful and flowing and I found it very hard to get to sleep afterwards, I was buzzing…cacao opens me so much to the love vibration and l was in bliss ;) It was great fun to share durian and other raw yummies with people who had never tried them before and especially to experiment with giving people spilanthes flowers…ahahahaaaaaaaa – if you have never tried these buds, it’s something that really ought to be experienced ;) they are so incredibly intense, but start out so subtle, then EXPLODE across your taste buds, often leaving the mouth (and mouth-owner) in a semi state of shock…it’s like nothing else I have ever put in my mouth and the reactions watching people try them was just hilarious… :)

On the 24th of March I had:

1 litre water
250ml greens/carrot juice
350g sugar snap peas
500ml green juice
500ml greens/carrot juice
500ml water
500ml spice tea
raw ice cream party mayhem – chocolate, goji bliss, vanilla ice creams, masses of durian, dark chocolate sauce, frozen strawberry sauce…


Today I have had:

500ml water with lemon
samples of citrus fruits at the Farmer’s Market
shot of wheatgrass
3 coconut date rolls
700ml spice tea
500ml green/carrot juice
1.5 durians with raw ice cream
1.5 litres water
1 litre peppermint tea
500ml greens/carrot juice
500ml water

I had one of the most incredible animal encounters of my life today. I met a huge, majestic moth who seemed almost mythical in nature to me…he was absolutely stunning to share space with. I met him coming out of a health food store. He was laying on his side on the floor and looked to be dead. I didn’t want to leave the body there on the street, so went to pick him up with a piece of paper. He began to move and walked himself onto the paper, then my hand and up onto my arm. He was like a tarantula with wings. Big beefy hairy legs and body, the most extraordinary fan-like antennae and a beautiful wing display with eye markings and colours that shimmered and looked like decorations found on a sari…he started to shake dramatically – like a mixture of trauma and kundalini energy rising. I felt so connected to him and in awe, thrilled to be there with him…a crowd of people gathered around to see this amazing creature, before his shaking turned to stumbling forward, raising wings and fluttering up and away into the sky…I clapped and cheered his journey back off into the world and felt very blessed to have enjoyed his presence for a few minutes…hmmmmmmmm…I was inspired to check out what kind of beliefs Native Americans hold about moths and Google gave me a few responses, including… ‘a symbol of rebirth, regeneration, happiness, and joy to Native Americans in Mexico’ and ‘the happy dead in the form of beautiful butterflies would visit their relatives to assure them that all was well.’ Well, whatever meanings these incredible creatures may hold for others, I know that this encounter touched me deeply today…and I would LOVE to know the given name of this creature if anybody out there happens to know…
Ok, I think I’m just about done with durian for now…it’s becoming almost a daily ritual at the moment and I think a break would be great – they are amazing, but sooooooo full of fat, which leaves me sleepy afterwards…went out on a wonderful 6 mile bike ride to re-energise this afternoon, but will be choosing other foods for the next few days methinks ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Raising the vibrations...

I received this in an email today – it really spoke to me:

Sign on the wall of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity
children's home in Calcutta:

TAKE TIME TO THINK.
TAKE TIME TO PRAY.
TAKE TIME TO LAUGH, IT IS THE SOURCE OF POWER.
IT IS THE GREATEST POWER ON EARTH, IT IS THE MUSIC OF THE SOUL.

TAKE TIME TO LOVE AND BE LOVED.
TAKE TIME TO GIVE, IT IS THE SECRET OF PERPETUAL YOUTH IT IS GOD'S GIVEN PRIVILEGE.
IT IS TOO SHORT A DAY TO BE SELFISH.

TAKE TIME TO READ.
TAKE TIME TO BE FRIENDLY.
TAKE TIME TO WORK, IT IS THE FOUNTAIN OF WISDOM.
IT IS THE ROAD TO HAPPINESS, IT IS THE PRICE OF SUCCESS.

TAKE TIME TO DO CHARITY, IT IS THE KEY TO HEAVEN.

Mmmmmmmm-hmmmmmmmm…beautiful…thank you for that…

Today I have ingested:

500ml water
500ml spice tea
600ml greens/carrot/beet juice
hemp/flax/salt combo with nori sheets
1 litre water
water and meat of one a young thai coconut
1.5 durians
1 litre water

Wow...durian happened AGAIN today...and it was yummy, as always...I realised that the whole time I was Juice Feasting, that was the only solid food I had any real kind of interest in...so now it seems like I'm manifesting it BIG time - must have had it about 4 times in the last couple of weeks I think...
I got so much fun exercise today too ;) Aside from morning yoga, I went out to play with some friends on a nearby baseball field. We did all kinds of amazing moves on the way – skipping, running, spinning, jumping, then when we were there we danced, rolled in the grass in the sun, played tag, did sit-ups and walked around on our hands like ‘wheelbarrows’ – I was completely amazed at how far I could walk on my hands…I am really feeling stronger, fitter and healthier all the time at the moment…and I love that exercise can be fun like this – just playing games on the grass, barefoot, enjoying…then I ran most of the way home too…I love that the more active I am, the more energetic and activated I feel in all areas of my life – it seems like now I have a greater flow of exercise up and happening in my life, it is taking on a ‘life of its own’…I just had to get started with it and now it’s flowing by itself and getting established in my patterns…NICE :)
Saw a wonderful play tonight all about menstruation, called Bloodlines…it was brimming with goddess energy, dance and beautiful imagery of whites and reds – many womens’ stories of their moon times…I really love going to the theatre and connecting into other peoples’ stories and realities – it gets me out of my own head and broadens my perspective…
Hmmmmmmmm, breathe deeeeeep…
All love,
Angela. xxx

Balance, please... ;)

So, apparently raw foodists are being classified in some places of late as ‘Orthorexic’…lol…I find this quite amusing…’orthorexic’ is a new term for ‘an eating disorder characterized by a "fixation" on eating healthful food.’ (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthorexia)
…interesting…I wonder then if the opposite can also be used – 'in-orthorexic' or 'un-orthorexic' or something similar, to describe those who have a ‘fixation on eating unhealthful food’…lol ;) There are some interesting articles on this whole Orthorexia/raw foods issue here: http://www.beyondveg.com/cat/psych/index.shtml

On March 21st I had:

1 litre water with lemon
500ml tea
700ml greens/carrot juice
bowl of Lydia’s raw grainless cereal with blend of bananas/tahini/figs/water
1 litre water
3 sushi nori wraps
carob/coconut/mesquite/maca blend
1 litre water
500ml tea

I felt sooooooo full after the cereal meal in the middle of the day – it was really yummy and satisfying, but very filling in my stomach…I felt the need afterwards to get more exercise and set out on a great bike ride…I have never in fact felt so powerful when cycling. It was an incredible experience for me…I didn’t stop the bike ONCE – not on any hill or even after getting to the top of any hill – I was so powered up and loving cycling around in the clean air and sunlight…yeeeeeeeee-HAH :) I was very surprised though to feel how strong and capable my body is right now – there’s no way I could have cycled like that even 5 months ago – it seems like I have become stronger since Juice Feasting and also from the extra exercise I’ve been starting to do the last weeks – jogging, more stretches and toning routines…it feels great…

Today I have had:

1 litre water with lemon juice
500ml tea
500ml green/carrot juice
hemp seed/flax oil/Himalayan crystal salt mix with nori sheets and sunflower greens
1 litre water
bowl of banana ice cream with chopped figs and carob sauce
300ml greens/beet juice
lettuce/avo/pesto/sprouts wrap followed by DIVINE raw apple/cinnamon cake
1500ml spice tea
400ml water

Ok, I have a very cool new trick. So, as I have mentioned before, I am accustomed to having something sweet after meals. This feels yummy in my mouth, but not so delightful to my tummy, which has to handle the food combo issues. My mind wants something sweeeeeeeeeet after a meal – it does not need to be anything big in quantity, just a very intense sweet hit. This is a constant conundrum for me. Well, today I found a GREAT solution – enzymes. Digestive enzymes taste sweeeeeeet – so I can take just a little bit of them and my mouth and mind are satisfied that they’ve had smthg yummy and my stomach and indeed whole body are happy because they get lots of extra enzymes to play with…VERY nice…
The hemp seed/flax oil/sea salt combo that I made up today is one of my favourite food mixes in the world at present. WOW. It is so simple and so incredibly divine tasting and feeling - this was the first time I'd ever tried it with nori and it was phenomenal...it tasted like chocolate to me...lol...I guess that may sound bizarre to most people, but it was so delicious to me - simple and clean and tasty...(there is still time by the way to enter YOUR favourite yummy home-made raw treat into the RawReform prize giveaway draw this month. To be in with a chance to win a case of outrageously good raw chocs from The Raw Chocolate Company, just email details of your favourite home-made raw treat to angela@rawreform.com.)
There was a power cut this afternoon and it felt like such a gift to me – I stopped writing, jumped straight on the bike and got out into the glorious sunshine…I cycled along the edge of a beautiful valley and stopped to play on some swings in a playground…I choose more FUN in my life these days…I spent sooooooo many years being serious and private and ‘hidden’ from people…now is time for me to laugh and play and enjoy more…

All blessings for your own fun-filled adventures ;)
Angela. xxx

Shifts...

Happy Equinox, beautiful people :) whether you’re up in this hemisphere and moving into spring or way down there on the other side of the equator and shifting into autumn, many blessings to you at this time on change…last Sunday was the start of the new moon in Pisces…it is a powerful time for unconditional love, total compassion, and absolute oneness. Yeeeeeeeeeeeee-hah ;) Here is what the fabulous astrologer Lisa Dale has to say about the next couple of weeks:

"This is the New Moon to practice compassion and selflessness by radiating peace and calm through prayer and meditation. Pisces acknowledges our essential connectedness and realizes it through the practice of unconditional love and unwavering compassion. What can you give away? What can you share? The world needs your generosity, your caring, your compassion, and your love.
…this is a great New Moon to commit to a daily meditation practice. Think of it as a gift to set aside time each day to meditate and find the source of inner peace that resides within. This is the New Moon for spiritual awakening!
Pisces is the sign of endings: of letting go for good. Take a hard look at whatever pain you are holding on to; especially if it involves addiction of any kind. Realize that what is done to one is done to all, and create the conditions for peace to grow all around you.
Heal your life and you will make a great contribution toward healing this world. Open your heart, let compassion be your guide and become an active peacemaker. Don't be afraid to do the work of loosening your attachment to self-identification. Love yourself by loving others. We are all in this together, and together we can do the impossible. Be inspired to be a beacon of peace and light for the world. Dive deeply into this powerfully transcendent New Moon cycle.

Wow, I love her writings on the moon cycles – you can read the full piece here: http://astrowisdom.com/thisnewmoon.htm…enjoy ;)

Today I have had:

750ml water
500ml lemon tea
600ml prune soak water
8oz soaked dried prunes
500ml spice tea
300ml water
650ml greens/carrot juice
1.5 durians
500ml spice tea
400ml water

MMMmmmmmmmmm-HMMMmmmmmm, I am BACK in the prunes…and loving it… ;) They just feel so great to me – so clean and simple and cleansing…they definitely didn’t taste as vibrant to me today as they did a few weeks back, immediately after Feast-breaking, but they were great…
So…I’d like to talk about cacao… :) after blogging last night about how I’d had some cacao and it seemed to feel fine and manageable, I ended up being awake until around 4.30am, wired and blissed out…lol…yep…re-learnt that one the long way ;) The upside was that I caught up on a mass of emails, the less optimal aspect was that my body felt dehydrated, over-stimulated and bloated. I love the taste of cacao, but need to take it very gently – it really only takes the tiniest amount of it to stimulate me these days I’m sure, given the cleaner state of my body from Juice Feasting…and yesterday turned out to be waaaaaaaay too much…it felt like the same kind of pattern I used to experience when I drank alcohol – it wasn’t until I stood up from the table that I would realise how much it was affecting me…some friends in Costa Rica call it ‘crackao’ and now I can see (and feel) why… ;)
There is a poll on the RawReform website, HERE, that asks you to define your main feeling after eating cacao…Interestingly, the current results show a tie between these three responses: ‘loved up – like everything is great’, ‘kind of spacey, ungrounded, heart racing’ and ‘just the same as usual’…wow, it’s amazing how our bodies can react so differently to the same substance…I know for me it feels mainly like a stimulant and not something I choose to use every day at this point in my life – I am definitely more interested in fresh whole, water-rich fruits and veg right now…or at least my BODY is – my MIND may well be often in other places, but I am doing my best to bypass the demands of the mind and listen to the messages of the body, as after all, that is the part of me that is mostly fuelled by the physical foods I intake. The mind may dawdle in images and requests for all kinds of things, but unless the body seems genuinely in alignment and ready for that kind of nutrition, I am not going there. This feels like a real gift post-Juice Feast – to be able to separate out those messages much more succinctly and make more informed choices…
All blessings for all our health,
One love,
Angela. xxx

Pics from the Raw Film Fest

Celebrations :)

Yesterday was the final day of the outstanding Raw Film Festival in Hollywood and it was a magical time…above are some of my pics from the closing ceremony in a slide show…

On Sunday March 18th I had:

1.5 litres water with lemon juice
1 papaya
500ml water
70g sunflower greens
2 fuji apples
1 litre water
1 plate of yummy dishes from GoodMoodFood, including pesto pasta, spinach quiche and a wonderful fresh salad, followed by a selection of miniature dessert treats.
1 litre water

The final day of the festie was SO much fun – I saw some phenomenal films, the most impactful for me being ‘Birth as we Know It’, which I am SO awed by…this film shares the wonder of natural child birth and the shocking contrast between the magic of that and standard birthing procedures, especially caesarians, which now account for apparently around 1 IN 3 births in the US :O… This film totally blew me away and I would love it to be mandatory viewing for all those intending to bring another soul into this world…
I enjoyed eating really lightly throughout the day, especially in counter-balance for what I anticipated would be a more ‘complicated’ meal at the evening gala for the closing of the festival…as it turned out, the catering provided by the lovely Ursula of GoodMoodFood felt well-balanced to me and pretty gentle on the digestion. I was very impressed. I feel it is quite some task to provide food for a whole hall of raw fooders, many of whom have very specific food requirements and to make it yummy, satisfying and appealing to all present, from the seasoned 100% raw foodist to the raw newbie…I feel they did an amazing job.
The award ceremony and entertainment were so enjoyable. I LOVE the feeling of family and community I experience when at these events – meeting other members of this amazing and growing raw tribe…we danced and sang and connected and celebrated…
Considering that this was the first ever raw film festival and that the intention at the beginning was simply to put on a few films, it is quite incredible to see how it actually manifested in the end – the work, love and enthusiasm poured into this event was truly incredible and I for one left feeling totally inspired to get out there and film more – it is such an incredible medium for sharing this message ;) Thanks so much to Dorit and everyone else for creating and enjoying such a wonderful event…

Today – March 19th – I have had:

1 litre water
600ml greens/carrot juice
700ml berry tea
4 kiwi fruits
1 litre water
500ml spice tea
‘Green Glow’ soup with flax crackers and sugar snap peas
1 tbsp coconut oil/cacao/honey blend
500ml water
600ml intense green juice
kale salad with avo, tomatoes, dulse
1.5 tbsp cacao mixtures
500ml Treasure Tea
500ml water

Wow, today has been a very green day…after the more complicated festival foods this weekend, it felt good to get very green again and very ‘live’ with most of the foods I took into my body today – except for the cacao mixtures and flax crackers, everything I had was a whole, water-rich food and that felt really great, along with a good amount of liquids…I feel empowered by my food choices right now…it feels really easy for me to get really caught up in my head and preoccupied by food issues, post-Feast, but the more I let go of it, breathe deeply and keep things simple, the easier it is…the mischievous cacao monster has clearly started to work its way back into my life, but currently feels manageable, whereas at points in the past it has felt pretty wild to me...I am happy to have just a little of it here and there and not get too involved with it now - it is the water-rich fruits and veggies that feel more 'true' as fuel for my body now - my body calls for simplicity, even if my MIND asks for fun and stimulation - even blending together the lovely green soup ingredients today - apples, ginger root, spinach, sunflower greens, spirulina, lemon juice, water - felt odd to me - the ingredients were very water-rich and 'clean' - that was not an issue, but the action of blending them seemed peculiar - like my body was unimpressed with that technique - it just didn't seem to resonate as 'natural' - like my body would have preferred to receive the foods whole...I find it very interesting to observe these bodily messages...
I’m also still keen to hear about YOUR favourite home-made raw treats for this month’s RawReform giveaway…if you want to be in with a chance of winning one of three cases of YUMMY chocolate treats from the wonderful Raw Chocolate Company, just email details of how you make YOUR favourite home-made raw treat to: angela@rawreform.com and the three blessed winners will be drawn at random at the end of March…yummmmmmmmmy :)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Raw Film Fest FUN :)

This weekend is the Raw Film Festival in Hollywood and I am REALLY enjoying it – it is SO much fun to connect with many other like-minded beings and see what other people have been up to, spreading the raw message…the festival has been so incredibly managed and put together with a huge amount of love…it is a joy for me to be there and enjoy the space…:)

On March the 16th I had:

750ml water
bowl of Lydia’s grainless cereal with blend of banana/tahini/water
1 tsp maca, 2 tsp mesquite powder, 2 tsp goji berries, blended
500g sugarsnap peas
E3 Live shot
500ml green juice
1 litre water
A digestive minefield of BITS ;)

I had some maca earlier in the day with the intention of it hopefully helping my hormones to be a little more balanced – I was feeling a little moody/possibly pre-menstrual/in need of some balance…it seemed to help…munching on the peas was also so yummy – I ate them by the BAG this time last year, straight from the Farmer’s Market – they are sooooo sweet and simple and delicious…nice to get back to them…the foods in the evening turned into a huge digestive minefield for me in contrast…the opening ceremony of the Raw Film Fest was catered by a selection of the FINEST raw chefs in the LA area and it was a truly amazing spread, from the outstanding De La Mamma dish from Au Lac to Melissa’s magical Toon-ah to Good Mood Food’s amazing dessert creations and the incredible cookie-dough-like balls and coconut macaroons from Taste of the Goddess…it was truly a magnificent spread…all the nibbles from the various offerings, though thoroughly enjoyed by my taste buds, created some definite confusion for my stomach…lol… ;) ahhhhh, yes, immersion back into a more complicated ‘raw-in-the-city’ lifestyle choice again…hmmmmm…
The energy of the film festival opening night was blissful for me – all the film-makers introduced their films and the building buzzed with vibrant beings and excitement…shiny eyes, happy smiles, healthy beings connecting and rejoicing together in this life-supporting lifestyle… I LOVE It :)…I spoke a little on 'stage' about my raw background and Juice Feasting and it was so lovely to meet people who have been reading this blog and felt inspired to make shifts in their own lives and to hear how that has spiralled out into new developments and so on – that is such an exciting aspect of spreading the raw message that I enjoy so much – the joy of hearing how those seeds of consciousness go out into the world and resonate on and on – we really cannot know the full impact, but to hear little stories back from people about the impact it has had for them or others around them feels like a wonderful reflection back from the universe… ;)

Today I have had:

500ml water
water of one young Thai coconut
meat of 2 young Thai coconuts
1 tsp green powder
1 tsp maca
50g dulse
500ml green juice
1 raw vegetable enchilada with baby greens
3 dates
1 litre water
100g sunflower greens
1 fuji apple
chocolate haystacks with pecan ice cream

It’s funny when I’m writing out the things that I have had during a day now, I feel sometimes like I need to to explain that all these things are raw – e.g. – RAW ice cream, not standard stuff – it feels very different to how things were when I was recording the juices I’d had in a day, because it was all so much more simple…so, yes, I guess I can just make a big N.B. here to underline the fact that I eat 100% raw food…
I saw a couple of great documentary films at the Raw Film Fest today – ‘Vegan to Raw Vegan’ from New Zealand and ‘Supercharge me – 30 Days Raw’ by Jenna from Florida. They were both testimonial pieces about individuals who took on raw lifestyles for a set number of days and experienced massive healing and regenerative benefits and have since gone on to incorporate this way of living much more into their lives…great stuff…I am SO resonating with videos as a fantastic medium for sharing messages at the moment – I love that with films, it is so easy to tell a whole story in the space of perhaps 90 minutes, which can have a huge and lasting impact on the lives of others in a way that is usually less obvious and immediately impactful with other forms of media, like books…
Looking forward to some more impressive films tomorrow ;)
All love,
Angela. xxx

SOG - Save Our Gojis... ;)

Today I ate a few goji berries for probably the first time since breaking my Juice Feast…they were nice and got me thinking abt the bizarre news I recently saw on NewsTarget that the UK Food Standards Agency is apparently trying to stop the sale of these raw food marvels…gojis have boomed in popularity in the UK in the last year, but apparently may not be deemed as meeting European Union food standards. The NewsTarget article states that:

“To avoid a goji berry ban, evidence needs to be shown that they regularly had been eaten by Britons before May 1997, the month and year that EU regulations came into effect that change how "new foods" are approved.”

…yeeeeees…quite how that evidence is going to be produced before March 23rd – the cut-off date – I’m not quite sure, but am very interested to hear more if anyone knows more about how this matter is unfolding…if they are banned in the next couple of weeks, it will apparently be 2 years before it is possible to begin selling them again…eeeeeeeeeeek ;)

Today I have had:

750ml water with lemon juice
600ml herbal tea
500ml green/carrot juice
200g strawberries, 500g cherimoya, handful dried figs
small salad: spinach, cilantro, flax oil dressing, 3 little Luna crackers from Lydia’s Organics – yummmmmmm ;)
500ml water
1 persimmon and a tbsp goji berries
1 litre water
3 nori sushi wraps
1 banana
500ml herbal tea
400ml water

I am noticing the difference in hydration in my body now that I’m not having celery juice daily. It makes a big difference to me, especially here in a warm environment during the days…I find I am drawn to drink a lot of water in compensation, which is fine by me :) I’ll try to get back on to the celery again – have just been adjusting to life in another new place these last few days and not got round to integrating that yet…celery juice is said to be 4 times as hydrating as water, so having had a head of it a day for almost every day of the last 3 months was an amazing gift to my body and it now longs for it again…
Went out for a jog/walk today in this area – that felt so great to me, to ground myself down more into this environment…I met many beautiful creatures on the way – hawks, rabbits, cats, a cow, sheep and lizards, flowers, trees – it’s so healing for me to get out and explore in nature on my own, to reconnect… I love it, taking it at my own pace, stopping to examine this flower or that tree...when I was larger, I was always so busy trying to keep up with other people on walks that I did not really engage with my surroundings much – it feels so great to me to do that now…
Hmmmmmmmm, ENJOY :)
One love,
Angela. xxx

Raising up the Goddess...

A sticker I saw on the wall in a raw food restaurant today really spoke to me…it said…’Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History’…wow…I can really resonate with that…it seems as if there are so many social pressures for women to respond to that can contribute to them feeling like they are ‘unseen/hidden/not in their power’…isolating nuclear family structures and the role of the ‘good little wife’ and so on can create such empty spaces…well, while it is not necessarily my goal to ‘make history’ or be ‘badly behaved’ ;), it is definitely a passion of mine to see women step more into their own power and beauty, not hiding their light…I find that sharing and creating strong kinship bonds with other women is so key in that process and that is something I am drawing into my life right now – raising up the Goddess energy and LOVING it ;)

On March the 13th I had:

1 litre water with lemon juice
500ml greens/carrot juice
cherimoya/avo/vanilla bean/figs blend
raw food bar
1 litre water
1 bowl of salad with radishes, avo and sundried tomatoes
3 dried figs
400ml water

The last couple of days I have been operating at a much slower pace than usual…I pulled a muscle in my neck, which limited my mobility enough to slow me down…things like this manifest for me (nearly ALWAYS on the left side of my body) from time to time when things may otherwise get very ‘fast’ – I appreciate it as a gift for slowing down and getting back more into the body, as there feels like there is not much other choice ;)
It didn’t stop me from starting to have fun today with a friend who used to be a personal trainer…she began to teach another friend and I a workout routine today…and it was SO much fun – I have been wanting to do something like this for a while now, with someone who knows what they’re talking about and…up she popped ;) It feels so great to me to be trying out things with other people these days – I spent most of my life so far doing things on my own and being quite insular and private…now is the time for me to embrace contrasting experiences and I am loving reaching out and sharing with others :) we’re planning to run through the workout routines together a few times a week – it feels so much more fun to do it together :)

Today I have had:
500ml water with lemon juice
300ml water
1 pint of greens/carrot juice
400ml lime juice/mint ‘cooler’ drink
250ml greens/carrot juice
1 pint greens/carrot juice
200ml celery/beet/cucumber juice
800ml honeybush tea
1 tbsp green powder
one and a half durians
500ml honeybush tea
300ml water

I juice fasted most of the day today – on Norwalk juices…WOW…the contrast in the quality of that juice compared to using a little centrifugal machine these last few weeks is amazing…it tastes SO clean and vibrant and creamy in comparison, from the Norwalk…
I got very cold during the day today while fasting – I was doing an interview for LifeOnTheGreenSide TV and we were filming in the shade of a magnificent old tree in a park…the contrast in temperature between the shade and sun was enormous… plus no fruit juices meant it seemed much easier for my body to get colder with all the green juice…it felt so great to be back on liquids for most of the day though…wow…what a RELIEF…I love it…it feels so much easier to me to be on liquids than solids…I really resonate with it so much more…funny to be on a ‘fast’ again though, rather than ‘FEAST’ – mentally it felt like a very different space to me…it felt less ‘full’ than when Feasting, …then we broke the juice fast with durian and it was YUMMY, as always…and then I was ‘full’ of durian instead…or well-satiated at least ;)
I am REALLY excited about the Raw Film Festival coming up in Hollywood this weekend…here is some blurb on it if you haven’t heard abt it yet:

“The Raw Film Festival was conceived as a way to share the positive health benefits that people can experience through a raw vegan lifestyle. The festival will take place Friday, March 16 to Sunday, March 18 at the MOA Japanese Healing Arts Center (8564 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069). Tickets are available online at http://www.SerenitySpaces.org/spring.asp.”

It’s all kicking off on Friday evening with a press conference and opening reception…we are told there will be many delightful surprises throughout the weekend to enjoy ;) Yeeeeeeee-HAH :) Hope to see you there :)
Ozlem wrote today from his beautiful raw/veggie/vegan café in Montezuma, Costa Rica, to say that he is hiring…He is looking for a like-minded, raw-inspired vibrant being to get creative and experiment in his kitchens at the Organico café. You can see more info about the project and get in contact with Ozlem here: www.flickr.com/photos/ozdema2 and
www.bakingfairy.blogspot.com
This sounds like an amazing opportunity for someone to get down into the sun and lushness of Costa Rica, learn, get creative and connect with other raw beings…enjoy ;)
One love,
Angela. xxx

Dolphins and Durian... ;)

I have recently put up the answers to some new FAQs on the RawReform website, HERE…including such gems as ‘Does combining cooked food with raw food cause indigestion?’ and ‘I am concerned about my overweight/obese friend/relative, how can I best introduce them to raw?’, plus of course the perennial favourite ‘…But, how do you get enough protein...?’…there’s plenty to poke about in over on that page – check it out ;)…

On Sunday March the 11th I had:

500ml water
1 litre tea
8oz of prunes, soaked
500ml water
samples – bits and pieces of raw crackers, oils, bars, spreads etc
1 litre water
one and a half durians – oooohhhhhhhhhhhh, YEAH… ;)
1 litre water

I spent the day at the Natural Products Expo in LA again…it was amazing – so many wonderful people to connect with, doing and creating amazing things around raw foods and health in general…tried lots of yummy things, then headed from there to get some DURIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN :))) – my first since breaking the Juice Feast…it was absolute, pure, divine, enchanting bliss… ;) soooo much fun…we stocked up on a whole freezer-full of durian, as there was a stack of them in the Asian Supermarket, then took some that were defrosted down to the beach and ate them there, at sunset, watching the dolphins frolicking and gliding in the ocean just beyond us…wow…what a beautiful re-introduction to durian ;) and it was sooooooo yummy and felt so clean in my system – just straight in and digesting…I do love mono-mealing…

Then today I have had:

500ml water
500ml tea
500ml green juice
1 small box strawberries with 3 pieces of durian
1 litre water
1 cherimoya blended with 1 avocado and ¼ vanilla bean
1 medium bowl salad – red-vein spinach, beet, radish, shelled peas, avocado, tahini, lemon juice, dulse
1 litre water

…good, nice, things felt simpler again with my food intake today…lots of greens and simple fruit dishes…I love it…getting back into that zone, after a few days of ‘show food’…it has been really warm and blissfully sunny here in Cali today too and that feels like such a lot of nourishing energy for me – it feeds me on so many levels…I am also delighted to be in a place where there is access to an abundance of different organic greens and other fruits/veg…to not feel restricted to a narrow selection, as was mostly the case in Costa Rica for me…
My nose is definitely always more congested these days since breaking the feast…slowly slowly, I edge back into the world of ‘sleep’ in the eyes on waking, mucus in the nose, slightly sore throats in the morning and so on…my skin though seems to me to keep on getting clearer at the moment, which is interesting…I think lots of current clean food and air intake, sunshine and happiness has been nurturing that…

BTW, FeralFoods.org currently has a piece about my Juice Feasting experience on their front page – you can see it here: http://www.feralfoods.org/…

Enjoy ;)
Angela. xxx

Meanderings...

PHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW, well, the last 48 hours have been rather an exciting time here…Friday I went to visit the ENORMOUS Natural Health Products Expo West show and was quite amazed at the scale of the whole event – thousands and thousands of booths and products and samples and vendors…an absolute head spin of stimulus ;) It was amazing to experience...
I started the day at the fabulous Terra Bella restaurant in LA, with YUMMY green Norwalk juice, then some apples at midday and after that it all kind of went downhill in terms of optimal intake…

This is what I had:

1 litre water
400ml green juice
2 fuji apples
1 litre water
Bits and pieces of different raw samples – oils, flax crackers, raw bar samples, crystal manna, etc
500ml water
Bowl of VERY spicy blended green soup, very simple all-veggie spring rolls with a nut-based dip, bits and pieces of other dishes like a curried sprouted wild rice dish, broccoli stacked with a tomato-ey sauce and young coconut meat and so on.
A couple of bites of frozen raw desserts.

The expo was bursting with free samples and that, in my past, has been a true danger area for me…when I used to live in Iceland, I would literally walk from one shop to another through the town pre-Christmas time, when the shops all have free cookies and sweets and so on out for the customers, just so I could get the free snacks – I didn’t need anything in the shops – I was just obsessed with the food. So, this is definite scar tissue territory for me, but I negotiated it pretty well. I drew my boundary at cacao and didn’t overstep it at the expo, despite there being numerous vendors of amazing looking raw choc products…I did actually have a tiny piece of cacao right at the end of the night though, after we ate at Au Lac restaurant nearby…the buzz effect didn’t really impact me, as I’d just eaten many different things that my stomach was working on, but I did notice an instant feeling of ‘sharpness’ in my stomach and a slight bloating, which I recall happening in the past for me at other times when I have not had cacao for a while, then have some…it interested me to hear recently that no other animal in the wild eats cacao...not sure if that's true or not, but definitely 'food for thought' for me...
Au Lac was absolutely HEAVING with raw peoples from the expo – it was great fun and we shared lots of yummy dishes…silent chef Ito truly is a wonder and his love-infused food is just divine ;) By the end of the night though, this had easily qualified as my messiest food intake day since breaking the feast and my stomach was telling me about it…

Today I have had:

1 litre water
800ml tea
450ml amazing green juice with coconut water
1 cup of spicy green blended soup from last night, hemp seeds and flax oil
2 bananas with a tbsp almond butter
1 litre water
3 little raw bar samples from expo
500ml honeybush tea
1 medium bowl of kale salad – chopped kale, tomato, olives, dulse leaves combined with avocado and lemon.
500ml water

I woke to a slightly sore throat – yep, my body definitely wanted to tell me all about my food from yesterday and how it doesn’t really appreciate that kind of intake…I took the message, made some nice soothing tea and set out to have a lighter day for my stomach. It turned out more or less well…still not as clean as just a few days back, when it was just juices, mono-fruit meals and simple salads, but…I knew this slow journey back into more complicated things would unfold and am grateful that the pace of that has been gentle thus far…
I am also back in the land of the ‘dried plum’ and am putting some to soak tonight to enjoy tomorrow morning – excited to get back to that kind of simple yumminess…here in Southern Cali in particular, it is very easy for me to get distracted from simplicity by all the incredible raw creations, but I am still only recently out of feasting, so my connection to that is still strong and I can use that to help me ground and focus on simplicity more…
The kale salad this evening for example was GREAT…simple, tasty, clean, easily digested, packed with minerals and flavour…YES…gimme more of those greeeeeeeeeeeeens ;)
Back at the expo tomorrow...hope to meet more of you there...the raw food area is bumpin' ;)
All love,
Angela. xxx

Adjusting...

Mmmmmmmmm…woke, a little dazed and confused abt my whereabouts, to a beautiful blue sky, blazing sun and swaying palms on the Cali coast…went out onto the porch and enjoyed my meditation, yoga and writing in the beautiful sun, grounding back into this body after the flights yesterday. It was SO nice to just go and sit outside like that without the obstacles of many doors and gates on the way…that is smthg I won’t be missing abt Costa Rica – security is HUGE there and shuffling through three layers of gates just to get in the front door tends to feel a bit restrictive to me…
I also did some clearing work that felt SO great to me while sitting out there in the sun today. I was suddenly moved to start removing some of the jewelry that was no longer feeling good to me. I have had for many years some kind of ‘policy’ with my jewelry that once on, it does not get removed by me, until it retires itself by breaking in some way. Well, that’s felt like a great policy, but in recent months, especially due to the clearing effects of the Juice Feasting, I have felt myself wanting to remove some things myself, yet not quite feeling the right energy for it. Well, it came this morning. It was time and I removed one chain of beads from my wrist and three necklaces. WOW. The impact this had on my energy field was huge. I felt a great lightening of my being, like a relief and brightening. It felt great – very empowering. All 4 items that I removed held in some way ‘negative’ energy for me from the associations I make in my mind when I look at them – the memories they trigger - and it was time for them to leave my immediate energy field. Hurrah :)

Today I have had:

1 litre water
1lb tangerines
¼ lb spinach
1 small green salad with cilantro/lime dressing
3 fuji apples
1 litre water
3 tbsp hemp seed combined with 2 tbsp pollen
1 avocado combined with 3 small cherimoya and ¼ vanilla bean
400ml water

We cycled along the beach front to the Farmer’s Market this morning…wow…very nice to see all the people out exercising on the beach and enjoying fresh fruit and veg at the market…I bought some wonderful things…the spinach was unbelievably good…it tasted like BUTTER – I had a bag of it, that I started eating like chips and ended up just mono-mealing the whole bag of it and going back to buy more – it was really wonderful, especially after my reaction some weeks back to spinach in Cosra Rica, when my body just didn’t seem to want it anymore…
In the evening I made SUCH a yummy blended dish…avo, cherimoya (see pic) and vanilla bean…yummmmmmmm ;) I was inspired into making it while locked out of the house for a few hours today – I sat and thumbed through ‘Sunfood Diet Success System’ and saw the avo/cherimoya blend recipe…then added some vanilla to it too, which intensified the delicate flavours…wow…it was seriously delicious ;) So sweet and soft and gentle feeling – like baby food somehow…it was the first time I’ve eaten more than one type of fruit at a time since breaking the feast, but I was very happy to do so, as it was soooo satisfying and didn’t feel at all like a difficult thing for the body to digest…yummm…
I also cycled about 8 miles today I think – felt good, especially after sitting on a plane most of yesterday…I cycled at night though too and was shocked at how COLD it is here once the sun goes down – I had on 4 layers on top, plus a woolen hat, mittens and a scarf and was still cold…indeed, haven’t felt so cold in a very very long time…brrrrr...
One love,
Angela. xxx

Happy 100th :)

Ladies and Gentlemen...I am delighted...(and surprised)...to announce that this is the 100th blog entry on the RawReform Blog...wow...imagine...I never really anticipated it would get so ingrained into my life...but, I'm enjoying the sharing, so...on we go ;)

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH…well, here I am, back in the US and LOVING IT :)…ahhhhhhhhh, I do SO appreciate the energy here – I had SUCH a great day travelling back here yesterday, re-entering into the powerful vibe of abundance and joy I experience in this country…I love the feeling of open expansiveness and was grinning most of the day…people seem so very friendly and talk to me everywhere I go...I love it :)

March the 7th, I had:

600ml water
600ml celery/red pepper/garlic/orange juice
water of 5 young coconuts
700ml water
meat of 5 young coconuts
1 litre water
½ tsp pollen

Hmmmmmm…so, I packed a whole little cooler bag of salad and fruit etc for my journey today, but then left it in my friend’s car at the airport…lol…hmmmm…what to do…? Well, I went out onto the street and found a guy selling coconuts and had a great time there instead ;) It was fun – I arrived at his place just as lots of guys who work in the airport came out on their morning break to get a drink from him – it was very sweet to see them all bustling over for coconuts and bags of fresh juice and they seemed very amused to see me there too, sitting on some rocks, happily drinking a whole line up of coconuts…they helped me smash the cocos open and off I went, with a bag full of coco halves...
My flights were just great – I was feeling fantastic and excited to be heading back to the US and feeling a lot of love and joy and very much in my heart and in the flow…I stood at the back of the plane at a couple of points and felt such joy looking down the aisle, at all the little heads of all the little humans, flying through the sky together. I love those moments – when I can feel us all as parts of the bigger whole, one big family and feel my love for and unity with each and every one. I breathe deeeep and send love and blessings through the scene before me. The energy coming through me felt very very strong and buzzing with joy. When I left the States back in November to go to Costa Rica, the main intention that was in me was to Juice Feast and take wonderful care of my own health and well-being for some months – which is what I have been doing – and it felt really great to have done that and now be heading back on up to the US again…
Something I found bemusing on the flight was the adverts I saw as I flicked through the inflight mags…they seemed to circle around the theme of illness and doctors…it was quite extraordinary and I’ve never seen anything like it in fact – guess I’m just not used to American media…so many adverts along the lines of ‘I had cancer and this hospital treated me’, 'thank goodness this miracle drug has been created because my heart disease was...etc etc' - so many of them - MOST of the ads in fact...quite bizarre to me and highlighted again for me the massive potential of raw foods to help shift SO many things in terms of peoples' health and society in general...
So...looking forward to another 3 great months here – and hope to meet some more of you along the way… ;)
One love,
Angela. xxx

Adios...

SOOOOOOO, what do you think of the new blog layout? I guess many of you read this by email update, actually, so you won’t be used to seeing the actual RawReform Blog page…but it was overhauled today and I’m really pleased with it – check it out HERE… ;)
Today was my last full day in Costa Rica, for the time being…ahhhhh, it’s been a wonderful time here for the last 4 months or so for me…I feel very blessed and give much gratitude for all that I’ve experienced here – it’s been a wonderful place to pass winter and Juice Feast…and tomorrow…back to the lights and bustle of LA…yeeeeeeeee-HAH ;) I’m excited to be going back to the US for many reasons…especially the upcoming Natural Products Expo West at Anaheim this weekend and the first ever Raw Film Festival the weekend after – 16th-18th March, in Hollywood…both events look INCREDIBLE and I am really excited to go and have fun there and hopefully connect with some of YOU maybe too, along the way ;)

Today I have had…

500ml water
½ medium watermelon
500ml water
one avocado with lime juice, lettuce leaves and dulse
three small bananas
water of one old coconut
350ml chard juice
water of 2 old coconuts
¼ medium watermelon

yeaaaah, pretty simple intake today…I like it…wow…had a load of chard to use up, so decided to have it straight, with coconut water as a chaser…it was…intense…too much actually for me to drink all of it that I made, so I ended up using the foam of it on my face and the rest of the liquid as an implant in an enema…interestingly, my body did not seem to much appreciate the greens as an enema…it did not want to hold them in at all – felt ‘too strong’ somehow…indeed, the only other time I’ve ever used greens in an enema before, I had an out-of-body experience, so…it seems with the amazing absorption power of the colon, using strong things can have very big impacts for this body…

Alright, alright, I get the message :) lol…the amazing Brownie pic from yesterday’s blog seemed to stir much enthusiasm, judging by the recipe requests from readers today – and, blessed as we are, the budding creator of the piece - Jocelyn in AZ - has opened her recipe files to share this yummy treat with one and all…so, just follow this link:

http://www.rawreform.com/content/view/290/

and you’ll find all you need to know about how to make ‘Jocelyn’s Choco-nut Brownie’…thanks for sharing, Jocelyn ;)

News Target sent out a great new link today – for the all-new ‘Disease Mongering Engine’…lol…this ingenious new device “instantly generates disease names that sound similar to the fictitious disorders and syndromes dreamed up by drug companies and modern psychiatry.” Try it yourself at:

http://www.newstarget.com/disease-mongering-engine.asp

Here’s the result that I got…
Reactive Erectile Sleep Syndrome With Facial Tic (RESSWFT)
RESSWFT involves explosive, emotional behavior and responses surrounding the unexpected and unplanned stimulation of sexual organs when sleeping, worsened by involuntary facial muscle spasms.


Eeeeeeeeek…sounds dangerous… ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Satisfaction...

Don’t worry, I haven’t lost the plot and started back on the cacao brownies quite yet ;) This incredible pic is not from my kitchen today, but rather from the RawReform inbox, where mouth-watering emails have been flooding in all day from readers sharing their favourite recipes for home-made raw treats, as part of this month’s RawReform prize giveaway…on offer are three whole cases of divine raw chocs and treats from the amazing Raw Chocolate Company, based in the UK…
This pic of raw chocolate brownies drizzled with raw strawberry sauce was the entry sent in by Jocelyn in Arizona…WOW…I definitely know where to come for tea if I start to tire of prunes ;) lol…

…to be in with a chance of getting in on the Raw Chocolate giveaway action, all you have to do is email YOUR favourite home-made raw treat info to: angela@rawreform.com…and don't worry, it doesn't have to be as visually stunning as the above entry - we're just interested to know your truth of what you really prepare at home... and the three extremely blessed winners will be drawn at random at the end of the month…yummmmmmmmmy :)

Today I have had:

500ml water
½ medium watermelon
big salad – fine chopped greens: lettuces, dill, plus red pepper, flesh of an avo, dulse leaves and lime juice
500ml water
2.5 litres celery/red pepper/garlic/hot pepper/orange juice

...well, from yummy treats to post-Feast simplicity...The salad I ate in the middle of the day today totally filled me and sustained me for most of the day – it’s so funny for me to look at these lists at the end of the day of these simple fruits and veggies and think that I am so fulfilled by them, when 6 years ago or so, this kind of list would have sufficed for perhaps one meal for me – well, not that it would have been possible to get me to eat these kind of things back then of course…lol…but it’s the quantity that is so interesting to me – how little is needed to feel SO sustained when the assimilation is improved and the foods so nutrient-dense…

I learnt a great new tip recently I’d like to share, from the GLiving Community Forum - http://gliving.tv/community : Google Alerts…you can get Google to set up 'alerts' for you, really simply, on anything you choose - e.g, go to http://www.google.com/alerts and choose:

raw food, raw foods, raw foodist, raw foodists

...or whatever interests you...then every day/week/whatever you choose, you get an email that lists all of the appearances of those terms in news items, on blogs, etc...pretty cool - I just got my first msg from them today abt raw things and there's loads of interesting info in it...

ENJOY :)
One love,
Angela. xxx

'You're all I need, in life...to get by... ;) '

I sat out in the sun to eat my beautiful green salad today in the middle of the day and was amused to find that a neighbour seemed to have their ‘record player’ jammed on ‘You’re all I need to get by…’ …I felt it as a very sweet message from the universe for me, as I sat soaking up the glorious sunny rays and chomping on my simple lush greens…they are all I really need to get by – sun, happiness, simple food, love, connection with the bigger picture…nothing complicated… I eat very slowly these days – I’m happy to say that I’m a ‘fletcherising’ kind o’gal of late ;)…so, as a result I must have literally sat through about 8 or 9 renditions of ‘You’re all I need to get by’ whole chomping on my greens…it didn’t tire me though, I enjoyed the cosmic giggle – it was like a mantra and a constant re-affirmation of the desire for simplicity that has been further etched into my soul from Feasting…I wanted to share some of the experience with you, so have embedded a YouTube video of the song here (not sure abt the cheesy old vids, but I’m sure ‘Max and 99' means smthg to some of you out there… ;)…if you can’t see/hear it, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLPJqPJc_HE

Today I have had:

700ml water with lime juice
¼ big papaya
1 bowl salad – cut greens, with flesh of an avocado, dulse and lime juice
1.3 litres of celery/red pepper/garlic/orange juice
500ml water
3 small bananas
500ml orange juice
300ml water

I ate another avocado today, in the middle of the day. I opened it and ate some of it plain before using it with the salad. WOW. Phenomenal…I was blown away by HOW good the avo flesh tasted, just as it was…I was reminded of the day 6 or 7 years ago when a friend in Vienna first introduced me to eating avocadoes…I remember that it tasted so bland to me and strange and how we dowsed it with salt to make it ‘edible’…lol…my taste buds have changed so much…I am actually tempted to put avos back into their botanical category of fruits in my head and mono-meal them like I currently do all other fruits since breaking the Feast…it was just sooo great on its own…I added the rest of it to my salad as a dressing and…yes, it was great and yummy, but nothing like the pure creamy magic of eating it straight…wow…one thing I noticed though was that my heart seemed to be beating faster for a while after eating that salad today – it felt as if it was hard work for my body to be dealing with that kind of digesting again…it was adjusting back to it…

There have been some great comments flowing over on the GLiving Forum about Juice Feasting and one writer – ‘Indulge’ – had some great info to…divulge… ;) about prunes, or as they’re now apparently called ‘DRIED PLUMS’...:

“I love prunes actually. I think they have gotten a bad image. Yet who doesn't like plums, and they are a dried plum. Just as good as dried apricots or peaches. And, they just happen to be one of the HIGHEST fruits in anti-oxidants. They are always right up there on the anti-oxidant ORAC lists, yet everyone seems to gloss over them in favor of the blueberries etc. I also love them because they are low glycemic and don't spike my blood sugar like raisons and dates do.
"The prune has changed its name and is now known as the “dried plum”. The Food and Drug Administration approved the change, which was recommended by the California Prune Board. It hopes to shed the prune’s image of a food for the elderly and target it to the young and health conscious. Market surveys show the name change is a winner."

…yeah, baby, prunes are going stylish – I told you – prunes, they’re amazing, they’re so under-rated, they’re the next…cacao ;) lol…watch this space, Wolfie will be moving his oompah-lumpas up to Cali for the plum season this year, I guarantee it ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Back to the Fats...

Today I held a raw food/juicing intro day here in San Jose, Costa Rica. It was attended by a lovely group and was the first workshop I’ve done that has been simultaneously translated (into Spanish) – so, that was interesting to experience - it allowed a lot more time and space to think ;) We had a lot of fun, shared a lot, made yummy food and juice together and I was really happy to be passing on this healing raw food message on this powerful day when the moon is full in Virgo and calling us to focus on health and well-being – what a great day to share… ;)

Today I have had:

750ml water
¼ big papaya
1 medium salad –
Greens: lettuces, cilantro, katuk, red pepper, grated carrot and beetroot (beet). Dressing: avocado, dill, lime juice, ginger, hot pepper.
300ml pineapple/greens/celery juice
1 medium salad
600ml orange juice
200ml water

SOOOOOO, this was the first time I have had avocado since breaking the Feast…and I feel good – surprisingly un-heavy…a little bloated, but nothing extreme…today was also easily the most complicated food intake I’ve had since the feast – I had 2 medium-sized salads, both of which had about 10 or more ingredients in them (same ingredients)…I can tell the difference in my body from having this more complicated mix – the slower processing speed and my nose also became quite itchy – but overall, I feel fine…just super-aware of all bodily messages at the moment…

I am reading the very-inspiring ‘The Law of Attraction’ by Esther and Jerry Hicks at the moment and wanted to share this wonderful quote I recently came across that really resonated for me:

‘ …we are amused as we watch the majority spending most of their life seeking a set of rules against which they can measure their life experience, looking outside of self for those who will tell them what is right or wrong, when all along they have within themselves a Guidance System that is so sophisticated, so intricate, so precise and so readily available…’

mmmmm-hmmmmmmm, I can really resonate with that – that is really how I lived my life for so many years – trying to ‘work out the rules’, wanting safety/security/definiteness from an external source so that I didn’t have to deal with anything for myself…such a different game now, riding this wave of constant change…and I feel it’s an amazing gift to let go of those restrictions and just let it flow…

all love,
Angela. xxx