Friday 31 August 2007

Raw Events, Ferments and Pregnancies... (don't get too excited ;)

Are you a luscious lady, ripe for a touch of juicy detox??? Hmmmmm…??? If so, I’d highly recommend you shimmy on over to Ronora Lodge in Michigan for their second Women’s Juice Feast Detox Retreat of the year, starting September the 12th. Unfortunately, due to visa blahblahs I will not be present to facilitate this retreat as originally planned…the first JF retreat we held there back in spring-time was AMAZING though and I would be back there in an instant if it was possible…the fantastic news is that the modern-day mumma of raw foods herself, Victoria Boutenko has agreed to step in and head up the juicy joy team…yum :) Visit www.rawnora.com for more info ;)

On August the 30th I had:

1.5 litres water
700ml warm water with lemon
700ml orange/melon juice
600ml green ‘garden’ juice with carrot
3 plums
bowl of chia soaked in blended apples/persimmons/water, with dried figs, mulberries and dates
500ml water
6 fresh figs and a little box of jack fruit pieces
1 litre water

One of you marvellous popsicles – Michelle – wrote in with a couple of questions:

If you have the time, could you share the sauerkraut recipe you enjoy so often? I've made some cultured veggies in the past but wouldn't be able to eat those daily on a bet. And when if/you become pregnant, how will you change your diet if at all? If that is not something you've considered, please forgive me asking. Thank you so much! Michelle

Mmmmmm…yes…sauerkraut…actually, the one we’ve been eating of late is an unpasteurised one we’re buying from Bionova here in the UK…here’s a quick run-down of how I WOULD make it if I were to do it myself though:

Cut up a head of cabbage, really finely. Put with enough water to cover the cabbage, in a glass vessel in a dark-ish, warm-ish place, for about 4 days (keep checking). Make sure it’s covered. Add a little probiotic powder if you want to speed the process up…

As for being raw pregnant…well…my intention is that as and when I get pregnant and have kids, I would remain completely raw - as I am now - and would also raise them completely raw. I know too though that this seems to shift for many raw women when they actually GET
pregnant, so, I'll see what unfolds - I cannot imagine being anything other than raw though...we'll see...and I would feel very unpleasant about giving any child of mine anything to eat other than raw foods...they will have their own journey to explore as they grow up - I'd love to give them what I would consider the healthiest start I can...

on August the 31st I had:

1.5 litres water
600ml warm water with lemon
700ml watermelon/orange juice
600ml celery/cucumber/carrot/radish/fennel
romaine wraps with avo, fermented sunflower seed cheese, sprouts, cilantro (coriander), red pepper, tomatoes and pumpkin seeds
1 litre water
5 fresh figs
big juicy-smoothie hybrid of carrot/apple/cucumber juice blended with spinach and ginger
bowl of chia soaked in apple juice with mulberries
1 litre water

SOOOOO…the spectacular Festival of Life kicks off tomorrow in London…yeeeeeee-HAH…I love it…I speak tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon at 5.30pm and Matt speaks earlier – at 3pm – hope to see you there if you’re around ;) More info on the site http://www.festivaloflife.net

One love,
Angela. xxx

Wednesday 29 August 2007

E-book Packs and Coconut Cracks...

De-de-de-de-de-de-deeeeeeeeeehhhhh ;) You asked, we boinged into existence: by popular request, we’ve created discounted e-book packages of Mr Monarch’s books and my own…you can see them HERE. The starter package includes one of each of our bestselling titles – my ‘How to go Raw for Weight Loss’ and Matt’s ‘Raw Spirit’ and the deluxe package contains all 6 of our book-babies ;) ENJOY :)

On August the 28th I had:

1.5 litres water
600ml warm water with lemon juice
700ml green juice with carrot
500ml water
small salad – kale, avo, sauerkraut, dulse, lemon juice, tomatoes
slice of leftover chia pie
500ml rooibos tea
1 litre water
small greens/hemp seed salad with sea salad, barley grass crackers and tahini spread
chunks of barley grass fudge, raw halva and dulse chocolate – WOW
700ml choco tea
1.5 litres water

Someone wrote today asking how to open young coconuts – here’s a GREAT LINK by RawGuru Alex (with a video demo)…incidentally, if you’ve got a GREEN young coconut (or orange for that matter) and you’re wondering what the square-ish looking white ones are all about, they’re exactly the same – they’re just green or orange nuts which have had the coloured husk removed, leaving the softer white layer underneath…inside THAT is the hard brown layer which if left to get ‘old’ is like the older cocos you see in supermarkets and so on…those are much easier to open for most people, as there’s no husk left anymore and you can just poke holes into two of the three ‘eyes’ on the top of the coconut and pour out the liquid…hope that helps ;)

on August the 29th I had:

1.5 litres water
150ml orange/grapefruit juice
double shot of wheatgrass
handful of strawberries
½ a large papaya
2 fresh figs
500ml water
1 tbsp green powder
cup of rooibos tea
½ avo, romaine lettuce, one red pepper, 3 tomatoes, handful of Japanese seaweed, sauerkraut
handful of mulberries
½ large papaya
1.5 litres water

On the subject of coconuts…THANK YOOOUUUUUUU, oh dear ones, for all the spectacular entries so far for this month’s RawReform Prize Giveaway.
To remind those of you who may still yet enjoy to send in YOUR entry, the yummies at Artisana have supplied a BLISSFUL prize…on offer is a 5-Jar Sample Pack of their amazing coconut-based products:

Coconut Butter, Cacao Bliss, Goji Bliss, Amazon Bliss AND Coconut Oil...

WOW…thanks guys ;)
To be in with a chance of winning, simply send YOUR answer to the following question to angela@rawreform.com:

What is your favourite raw recipe that involves coconut?

This could include any kind of coconut product – the young Thai coconuts, old brown coconuts, coconut butter, coconut oil, coconut flakes – whatever does it for you ;) Just email us with your recipe and you just might be the lucky yumster drawn at random next week to receive the sublime Artisana package – yeeeeeee-HAH ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Monday 27 August 2007

ATTENTION: Show Almonds YOUR Love...

Ok, things with the almond pasteurisation are at point CRITICAL right now…I hope you get this message in time to add your name to the list of those protesting the move to pasteurise almonds in the US, which is due to go through this week… If this is smthg that you feel strongly about, PLEASE do visit either of these sites:


and add your voice to the escalating DIN of those vehemently opposed to this plan…it will be soooo appreciated – the time to act is truly NOW…

On August the 26th I had:

1.5 litres water
150ml grapefruit/orange juice
7 fresh figsbig handful of incredible ‘maribel’ plums
700ml green ‘garden’ juice with carrot
500ml water
salad of greens, sauerkraut, dulse, avo, sprouts, lemon juice, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds and love ;)
700ml greens/carrot juice with greener grasses powder
chia pie – yeeeee-HAHAhahahahahahahahaaa – LOVE it ;)
1 litre water

The chia pie was SO much fun to make and delicious to eat too… the base was a mixture of soaked hazelnuts (filberts) and apricots with lucuma powder, maca and cinnamon. The filling was chia soaked in blended bananas/dates/vanilla pod, decorated with goji berries – yummmmmmmmmm…I even gave my parents a slice each – I had NO idea what they’d make of the chia – and they loved it ;) COOL ;)

on August the 27th I had:

1.5 litres water
1 litre watermelon/orange juice
800ml greens/carrot juice
500ml water
small salad – greens, sprouts, avo, dulse, lemon juice, pumpkin seeds, sauerkraut
500ml water
bowl of sugar mania ;) chia seeds soaked in blended apples, swirled with various bits of dried fruits – chopped figs, dates, mulberries…hallelujah for chia’s power to off-set sugar absorption craziness ;)
1.5 litres water

Tomorrow – August the 28th – is the Pisces Full Moon for diving into transcendent, compassionate oneness…yummy…it also happens to coincide with a total lunar eclipse – watch out for THAT ;)
According to Lisa Dale Miller, this will be ‘a very spiritually demanding Full Moon’.
She goes on to say:
“This is the night to put into action all of your intentions and give your gifts in service to the enlightenment of all sentient beings.
On this Full Moon it is important to recognize the fundamental relationship between gratefulness and non-attachment. Use this Full Moon to look at what you cling to and your fear of letting it go. Do you spend most of your time grabbing and craving for more things; trying to fill your inner emptiness with a multitude of possessions? We come here with nothing and leave with nothing.
Pisces' bottom line is to learn to love unconditionally, and to work for the collective enlightenment of all sentient beings; no matter how hard it may be or how long it may take.”

To read Lisa’s whole piece on this full moon, see HERE.

Enjoy :)
One love,
Angela. xxx

Sunday 26 August 2007

Gratitude and Suspicious Stools...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the amazing book cover designs we’ve received so far – WOW, you’re such a talented bunch :) We’re really impressed…what is also fascinating for us is that the same themes and colours keep coming through – the ones which we too have seen and spoken of since we started to plan the cover…the collective conscious is truly alive and pulsing ;)
If you have smthg you’d still love to submit to us, the deadline stands at midnight, Monday the 27th of August, PST…send entries to matt@rawspirit.org… Thanks :)

On August the 24th I had:

1.5 litres water
500ml warm water with lemon juice
700ml watermelon/orange juice
700ml green juice with carrot
romaine wraps with avo, dulse, sauerkraut, sprouts, lime juice, tomatoes and pumpkin seeds
1 litre water
bowl of chia seeds mixed with blended apples, swirled with mulberries, lucuma powder and cinnamon
500ml water
½ large papaya
500ml water

MMmmmmMmMmMMMmmmm…chia continues to light up my culinary world ;) loving it, loving it, loving it…for those of you in the UK/Europe who want to get your hands and taste buds wrapped around some of these yummy little pods, we still have a few 1lb (454g) bags available here – at £10 a bag – as far as I’m aware, it isn’t yet available anywhere in the UK, so email me at angela@rawreform.com if you want some and we can get them sent to you soon – first come, first served ;) For those of you elsewhere in the world, you can also order all the chia your heart desires – in 1lb and 5lb bags – from HERE…hurray :) We’re all going to be racing around like little road runners on chia energy soon ;)

On August the 25th I had:

1.5 litres water
700ml watermelon/orange juice
½ large papaya
10 fresh figs
handful of extraordinary ‘maribel’ miniature yellow plums
700ml green juice with carrot
big salad with greens, avo, arame seaweed, tomatoes, red pepper, cilantro, sauerkraut and sprouts
500ml water
bowl of banana/persimmon/mulberry ice cream with little rolled balls of pumpkin seed/dried apricot/lucuma powder mixture…mmmmmm ;)
500ml rooibos tea
500ml water

Some Raw Food Reflections...
Mother Nature provides us with raw food, direct from the earth…all the other land-dwelling animals eat what they like/thrive on, then defecate back onto the land the remains, including seeds and so on, to help further the proliferation of species. What do most humans do, in comparison? Well…we take that food from the earth, we process it, steam it, grind it, ‘refine’ it, distill it, boil it, bake it, bottle it, package it and sell it to each other. Humans eat this stuff…THEN we flush our bizarre feces full of Franken-food chemicals and sludge into the ocean, as if we’re trying to hide the suspicious packages of evidence from Mother Earth, who is perhaps wondering where all the nutrients from the land went and what this peculiar species is up to… :O ??? LOL…really…it is totally absurd when you look at it that way…what ARE we doing…? We are given all that we truly thrive on, direct from this land, this planet…and yet we complicate things in the most farcical manner to astonishing levels…it seems if you ask most people if they would prefer to live a simpler life, they give an emphatic ‘YES’ and yet, when it comes to eating simpler FOOD, from a simpler food supply chain…well, that’s a different matter…most of our societies simply aren’t embracing of that model yet…people aren’t accustomed to it…they don’t know where to begin…as ironic as it is, pre-packaged ‘fast-foods’ seem to appeal to most as simpler than eating food straight from the Earth…they can just grab a sandwich at a deli and get on with things…this may seem ‘simpler’ and yet, it belies the complications and processes that have gone into the creation of that sandwich…the processing of the wheat, the baking of bread, the resource-intensive raising and slaughtering of the animals that were made into that meat, the miles that lettuce travelled to get to the deli, the toxins that were released into the atmosphere from the production of that plastic sandwich box…is this really simplicity…??? Yet most of our societies are not yet well set-up to help people reach out easily for raw food alternatives…I am excited to think of how things will look perhaps 20 years from now, when delicious raw food eateries abound in all places and it DOES seem easy and convenient for people to reach out and eat truly simple foods…or gourmet raw foods even, for that matter…throw in a few compost toilets for good measure, so that we give back to the EARTH instead of into the oceans and wow…we might be somewhere near looking not so entirely insane… ;)
(Please note – the current situation with raw almonds in California is, for me, a clear case of this ‘insanity’ run wild – if you haven’t heard the latest, this looks set to be the last week in which truly raw almonds may be produced in the US…the move to pasteurize all almonds is due to go through on September the 1st…eeeeeeek…hmmm…what to do…??? See http://www.cornucopia.org/ for action that can taken TODAY to help show vehement disapproval of this plan…)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Friday 24 August 2007

Introducing...Anastasia...

Alright, it’s time…there’s something I’ve been wanting to share with you for weeks and have been holding off…this is a matter of such power, beauty and magnitude to me that I have felt awestruck just at the thought of writing about it…well…time to stop sweating the details and just share the magic…I’ve been reading a series of books that move me far beyond anything I’ve ever read before…these books are becoming known as the ‘Anastasia’ books, after the ‘heroine’ of these volumes…perhaps you've heard of them already...aaahhhhhh, Anastasia…my heart space opens at the mere mention of her name…
Anastasia is a woman who lives, contemporary with us, in the wild forests of Siberia, in Russia…she’s probably about 36 years old by now I would guess…yet she is absolutely timeless… Her spirit inspires me more than any other I have ever heard or read about…Anastasia represents, to me, pure, loving, flowing, powerful connectivity with the Universe and all within it…the books recount how the writer, Vladimir Megre, encountered her in the Siberian Taiga back in the 90s and spent three days witnessing her incredible connection with nature and the whole of the universe…
Anastasia lives alone, wild, in the Siberian Forest…she has no particular ‘home’ or shelter - a few dug-outs here and there around her glade which she may bed down in overnight, perhaps asking a female bear to lay with her to keep her warm…she has almost no clothing…no possessions of any kind…she is TRULY raw… ;) she never stops to eat meals, just picks a few berries here, or a few leaves there, or snaps her fingers and squirrels scurry to bring her nuts and dried mushrooms…she has clear, loving communication with all the animals, plants and life in the entire glade and FAR beyond it…it may sound fantastical, yet this is no work of fiction…the author was in fact a very ‘left-brained’, mainstream entrepreneur when he encountered Anastasia…he had never written anything of any significance in his life…Anastasia however informed him that he would, after their encounter, write about their experiences together and that the books would become very popular…and so, via the intense clarity of her vision and intention, it all came to pass…the books, originally written in Russian, have been translated into over 30 languages now and have been moving people worldwide ever since…they are absolutely, exquisitely beautiful to me…and many millions of other people too it seems…

on August the 22nd, I had:

1.5 litres water
600ml watermelon juice mixed with orange juice (WOW…)
800ml green juices with carrots
bowl of persimmons blended with ground flax and almonds, swirled with mulberries
1 litre water
1 banana with a little bowl of hemp seeds, goji berries and pine nuts
500ml peppermint tea
1 pear
romaine wraps with avo/dulse/sauerkraut/sprouts mixture, fresh tomato sauce and sprigs of coriander/cilantro
1 litre water

The Anastasia books have deeply affected my life and being…when I read them, I feel divinely connected to nature, to truth, to the power of all oneness and simplicity everywhere…her heart and soul resonate so powerfully with my own and I feel bliss just to think of her, out there in the forest, doing her thing… :) So…what does she ‘do’...? Anastasia is like a power house of light for this planet…she heals, she sends out love, she encourages, nurtures and supports…she ‘tunes in’ to people all over the world, all the time, via the power of her ‘third eye’ or ‘Ray’, as she calls it and supports them on their journeys…she pays particular attention to people in Russia who raise their own vegetables and other foods…these are the people she really appreciates and sends masses of supportive energy to…the people who work with and care for plants… I have, for many years, held the vision of wanting to live on a piece of land somewhere warm, where I can be growing my food and living more in tune with nature…when I started to read these books, that vision expanded and compounded itself ever more deeply into my whole being, so much so that it began to feel almost impossible to deal with my current daily tasks like writing a book and answering emails…I just wanted land…connectivity…hands in soil…and I know it will all come to pass ;) The books have apparently been inspiring MILLIONS of others into growing their own food too, all over the world – in Russia especially, hundreds of eco-villages have been forming…people have also been producing incredible works of art by the hundreds too – songs, poems, paintings…there is so much creative flow and love that has sprung forth from the sharing of these books…it is all truly awe-inspiring…I am on Book 2 now and just love it…the moments in my day when I open these books are like sacred times for me…I TOTALLY encourage all and anybody to delve into these incredible pieces of light-work…you can see more about them and order them HERE.


on August the 23rd I had:

1.5 litres water
450ml warm water with lemon
500ml watermelon and orange juice
700ml green juice with carrot
big salad of broccoli pieces, lettuce, avo, dulse, red pepper, sauerkraut, sprouts, lime juice, cilantro and remainder of fresh tomato sauce
1 litre water
500ml rooibos tea
yummyness meal of chia soaked in blended persimmons swirled with mulberries…mmmmmm ;)
400ml rooibos tea1 litre water

PHEW…wow…I did it…I wrote an Anastasia review…that was a looooong time coming…feels good…
Thanks to all of you who have already sent in your lovely submissions and suggestions for Matt’s new book cover – it’s great to see all YOUR creativity flowing too ;) This is just to let you know - in case you didn't already see - that the deadline for the submissions has been extended now until Monday evening (the 27th) at midnight, PST – that gives you the weekend too, to get in any bursts of creative flow that you might want to share, to matt@rawspirit.org ;) If you’re wondering what this is all about, or to remind yourself of the yummy prizes on offer, see my last post HERE for more details…

One love,
Angela. xxx

P.S. BTW - yesterday marked the 200TH post on this blog... :O wow...thanks for all your comments, questions and feedback since this started...I never anticipated writing this much...it's fun though, so...onwards... ;)

Wednesday 22 August 2007

A VERY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT...

CALLING ALL BUDDING DESIGNERS... ;)

We're looking for a dynamic, beautiful, eye-catching cover for Matt's new book 'Raw Success', which is due for release very soon...we're REALLY excited about this new piece of work and want to find a stunning cover to match the depth of exploration Mr Monarch has gone to, producing this amazing guide to long-term success with a raw food lifestyle...

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH ;)

So, here's the deal - you've got UNTIL MIDNIGHT MONDAY AUG 27TH (PST) to submit YOUR impressive design to matt@rawspirit.org...

If YOUR design is the one chosen, you can take your pick of one of these three yummy prizes:
OR


PLUS a signed copy of the book itself when it's printed (but of course), with your very own magical design gracing the cover ;) This is a wonderful opportunity for any budding designers out there to get their work seen by a huge audience...

So...you've got until midnight, Monday the 27th of August to get your paintbrushes splashing and your photoshop purring into action... ;)

If you want some more info about the book, see HERE - don't be fooled by the current book cover on that page though - it's just a sample ;)

We're very excited to see your raw creativity explode onto the page...the game is afoot... ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

'Passion for Paradise'...;)

On September the 1st I’m going to be speaking in London at the fabulous Festival of Life raw food/permaculture/vibrant living festie. I’m excited – it’s going to be a wonderful weekend. I speak on Saturday afternoon at 5pm and Matt will be there speaking too – at 3pm. I believe this is the fourth year of this wonderful gathering (perhaps 3rd...)– wow – it seems amazing to me that it was 3 or 4 years ago now that I first attended this event, as a visitor... It absolutely blew me away – I was in awe – it was the first raw gathering of its kind I’d been to and spending the whole day living, learning and eating among a crowd of so many like-minded beings was SUCH an amazing experience to me… One of the things I love so much about this festie is that it’s so affordable for people – entrance is just £12 for the whole weekend and all talks, sessions, food demos and so on are free once you’re in…there will be stalls, incredible raw food, yoga, music, dance and MASSES of vibrant joy…hope to see you there ;)

On August the 20th I had:

1.5 litres water
300ml warm water with lemon juice
1 litre ‘garden’ juice
1 box of blueberries
handful of mulberries and 3 tsp green powder
big green salad with avo, dulse, fresh tomato/garlic sauce, sprouts and sauerkraut
1 litre water
1 large papaya
1 litre water

I’ve stopped using deodrant. LOL…I love it…many raw foodists of course choose not to use any deodorants, or just something simple like lemon juice…well, after dabbling all over the ‘natural’ deodorants section of health food stores for the last few years, I’ve kind of lost interest…my body pretty much doesn’t produce that much odour anymore anyway – only when I’m detoxing something rough, like cracao…so, the deo’s become kind of…redundant…I’m enjoying this new experience – it feels like another happy step onwards into simplicity for me…I still OWN a deodrant stick and use it from time-to-time…overall though, my pits are mainly breathing free and easy these days…I’ve also started to sprout and regularly eat fenugreek sprouts, which have apparently traditionally been used in India for regulating body odour for generations…hmmmmm…interesting…have you TRIED fenugreek sprouts???…WOW, they smell and taste SO great to me…and are, of course, also happily packed with enzymes and nutrients…yummmm ;)

on August the 21st I had:

1.5 litres water
300ml warm water with lemon juice
150ml orange/grapefuit juice
700ml cucumber/celery/romaine/carrot juice
3 persimmons blended with 4tbsp of ground chia, with a handful of mulberries swirled in
500ml rooibos tea
500ml water
green smoothie of pear, romaine, spirulina, water and gojis
500ml water
greens/avo/dulse/sauerkraut/sprouts salad with fresh tomato sauce and hemp seeds
1 litre water

I went rock-pooling one day recently, when the weather was brighter…poking about in the rocks while the tide was out…it was amazing…I was in a stage of feeling a little tired of being incessantly ‘on-the-road’…that morning however, in my sun-kissed scramblings on the rocks, I was blessed by an encounter with a beautiful huge black crab. We stopped and gazed at each other for quite some time…I breathed deep into the experience and took the message that I, like the crab, am of course truly at home always, wherever I am…I have my backpack just as he has his shell…my style is a little more complex than his, admittedly…and yet, I resonated and felt at peace…thanks little friend ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Monday 20 August 2007

Simply Raw, Speaking and Spirulina...

I’m excited to say I’m going to be speaking at the second annual Simply Raw Festival in Ottawa, Canada on September the 15th :) Home of the infamous ‘Raw Pie Contest’, this is a wonderful FREE family event, from 10am-5pm in Ottawa’s Central Park. I’ll be speaking in the afternoon, along with Matt, Dorit and Brendan Brazier – yeeeeeee-HAH – hope to see you there if you’re in the area…



On August the 18th I had:

2 litres water
½ large papaya
800ml celery/cucumber/apple/ginger/fennel/radish/romaine juice
bowl of exquisite kale salad with heirloom tomatoes, avocado, lemon juice, dulse, red pepper, sprouts and sauerkraut
1 litre water
2 persimmons/Sharon fruit (YAY;)
700ml spinach/carrot/romaine juice
slice of leftover banana bread with cream cheese topping
1 litre water
400ml rooibos tea

One reader - Gail - wrote recently asking me to explain what ‘spirulina sticks’ are – which have been popping up intermittently in my intake of late…hmmmm...well…to be honest, I really don’t know…lol…a friend brought them back from Auroville, the ‘eco-city’ in India - they are tiny little crunchy sticks of spirulina - see pic – absolutely amazing texture and taste – like tiny little bits of crunchy spirulina-flavoured pretzels ;) As far as we know, there is nothing in there but spirulina and it’s hand-harvested and dried in the sun in Auroville…I’m very interested to know more too though , as I’ve never seen spirulina like it…perhaps this is how it looks when it’s just been harvested, before it’s ground to the powder we’re more familiar with…hmmmm…


on August the 19th I had:

1.5 litres water
1 box blueberries
800ml cucumber/celery/apple/radish/ginger juice
800ml ‘garden’ juice
box of strawberries
1 litre water
1.5 durians
3 persimmons
1 litre water

Yep...t'was another durian day ;) We went to play out in London – eat durian and go to the theatre…FUN :) We gave a homeless Chinese guy in Chinatown a whole durian, which he seemed very happy about…and we saw a darkly hilarious film from New Zealand called ‘Eagle vs Shark’ about an archetypal ‘loser’ pair who fall in love…very amusing…and inspired me to get on back to New Zealand…I was there back in 2000 – before I went raw…I absolutely LOVED it…Matt and I will in fact be down there this winter sometime, doing talks and a bit of travelling…we’d love to hear from you if you have suggestions for places you’d like to hear us talk there – email me at angela@rawreform.com and we’ll see what we can dream into being ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Friday 17 August 2007

Feedback and FABULOUS cake... ;)

I hope you enjoyed my Raw Summit interview last night – if you didn’t hear it yet, you might be in with a chance of still hearing it for free HERE, depending on when you read this ;) Thanks for all the lovely feedback about it today - such as:

Your words were true and touching...you spared nothing in revealing a side of obesity that few people, who've never dealt with it, have ever seen.

I just listened to your interview from last night with Raw Summit. It was the first time I heard someone really share about the aspect of food addictions and how they succeeded on a raw diet in spite of the addiction. THANK YOU!!


I cannot tell you how unbelievable helpful your interview on the raw summit was for me! really remarkable.

THANKS ;) I enjoyed sharing too…

on August the 16th I had:

2 litres water
200ml orange/grapefruit juice
600ml ‘garden’ juice
½ a phenomenal large papaya
500ml water
bowl of apple/flax: blended apples with ground flax seeds, ground almonds, stirred with cinammon, lucuma powder and mulberries
1 litre water
200ml carrot juice with greener grasses powder
little box of jack fruit pieces
meal of romaine wraps with avo, sprouts, dulse, lime juice, tomatoes, cilantro (coriander)
1 litre water

Thanks also for all the messages today affirming the fact that the cover image of me on First for Women magazine really doesn’t seem to look like me…phew ;) It’s a relief to know others don’t see me like that either…Matt really had me laughing about it today…he commented that I seem to have no issue with, for instance, filming myself early morning in my pajamas etc on a liver cleanse, scrunching my face in the camera on Google Vids as I drink Epsom salts, yet print a picture of me dressed up, with make-up and hair done and I feel awkward about it…lol…well, yeah, it’s all about truth, innit ;) ???…it feels odd to see some version of myself that seems like its come through someone else’s filter…anyway, one of you lovelies wrote today to say that this mag is indeedy apparently in wide distribution all over the States and often covers interesting ‘alternative’ topics like enzymes/juicing in a way that brings it ‘to the mainstream’ – so, that’s exciting…raw food renegading…I LOVE it...let’s see how it unfolds…

on August the 17th I had:

700ml water
700ml warm water with lemon juice
1.5 litres watermelon juice
1 tbsp greener grasses powder
800ml ‘garden’ juice
phenomenal ‘banana bread with cream cheese topping’ (see below)
1.5 litres water
1 tbsp greener grasses
1 large papaya
1 little gem lettuce with curry-flavour dehydrated sunflower/hemp seeds, plus sprout mix and dulse
500ml water

The banana bread today was incredible - a Monarch speciality ;) The ‘bread’ was made with a mixture of pulp left over from juicing veggies – mainly carrot pulp, food processed together with bananas and ground flax, then with pecan pieces and sultanas stirred in. The cream cheese is absolutely exceptional – a mix of avocados, dulse, lemon juice and dates – WOW…I’d recommend just making THAT on it’s own – it’s totally amazing…This is just such a cool meal, as it ‘recycles’ the pulp from the juicing and is so yummy and quick to make and filling too – packed with magic and no powders or anything – just ‘real’ foods ;) It may not perhaps look as aesthetically charming as banana breads of your past, yet it’s sure to hit the spot in terms of taste and fulfillment…yummmmmm… ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Thursday 16 August 2007

Cover Girl...

WOW…I’m on the front cover of ‘First for Women’ magazine in the US this month, which has a reported readership of over 2 million women – yeeeeee-HAH – raw food weight loss is going mainstream ;)…This picture is the cover shot…eeeeeeek…exciting…and yet…does that really look like ME…??? …it seems so peculiar to me…some of you may recall my musings on the lengthy photo shoot for this mag cover a couple of months back – quite extraordinary the amount of time and energy that is poured into creating one shot like this…and it's so interesting to me that I seem to end up looking as the magazine would like me to come across... ;) hmmmmm, well, it's all good seed-spreading...let’s see what unfolds as more people read about a NATURAL way of healing…I haven’t seen inside the mag yet – so, if you see a copy, please let me know how it looks...I believe First for Women is widely available in book stores/grocery stores etc... ;)

On August the 14th I had:

1.5 litres water
200ml rejuvelac
150ml grapefruit juice
700ml ‘garden’ juice
flesh of one ‘personal’/mini watermelon
500ml water
big salad with greens, sprouts, tomatoes, red pepper, dulse, flax/tomato dressing
1 litre water
box of strawberries
250ml rooibos tea
bowl of blended banana/mulberries/hemp seed with whole pumpkin seeds
3 guava
500ml water
400ml rooibos tea

The weather here on the south coast of England has been phenomenal the last couple of days – extremely strong winds, rain, the sea dashing against the shore…in the town where we’re staying, the sea was separated some decades back from the sheer chalk cliffs that mark the end of this island, with a wide walkway of concrete at the base of the cliffs…it occurred to me while watching the relentless thrashings of the sea in the wind the last couple of days, that it was as if the sea was enraged at no longer being able to kiss the cliffs and had conspired with the wind to beat its way passionately northwards to once again embrace its etsranged lover…

on August the 15th I had:

1.5 litres water
400ml rooibos tea
250ml rejuvelac
200ml orange/grapefruit juice
800ml cucumber/celery/apple/ginger juice
½ a phenomenal large papaya
avo/banana blend with lucuma, maca, mulberries and pumpkin seeds
1 litre water
spinach wraps with avo/dulse/sprouts/tomatoes
500ml water
slice of watermelon
500ml water

I speak tonight on Raw Summit – yeeeeee-HAH ;) Hope you enjoyed Matt’s talk last night…wow, he really went into some stuff…misery, social issues, eating issues, colonics, cracao, sex… ;) There’s no stopping the honesty with this guy… ;) If you didn’t hear it, you can catch it HERE for free still, until mine starts at 8pm EST tonight…ENJOY ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Tuesday 14 August 2007

'Urban' Raw Foodism...

MMmmmmmmm, yumminess abounding…have you been listening to the free Raw Summit calls…? Hope you’ve enjoyed the sharing so far – I’m impressed with it – I think Kevin’s such a great interviewer – I love how he delves into stuff that doesn’t always get covered in interviews – a rare talent ;) Tomorrow night (Wednesday the 15th) is Matt Monarch’s talk (yay;) then mine, somewhat appropriately, the day after, on Thursday – hope you can make it along for the calls. Remember too that if you miss the calls when they air (8pm EST each day) you can still listen to them FREE for the following 24 hours, until the next call goes out…if you are still yet to sign up, or want to read more, click HERE…enjoy ;)

On August the 12th I had:

1.5 litres water
500ml rejuvelac
tiny glass of orange juice
big glass of amazing courgette (zucchini) juice, followed by lashings of green ‘garden’ juice with apple
bowl of ground chia seed blended with banana and mulberries
bits of raw chocs and treats, sprout/greens salad with tomato sauce, apple pie and herbal tea at a raw potluck
2 litres water

We manifested such a bargain today – a Breville Juice Fountain Juicer for £1 ($2) at a car boot sale (like a big swap-meet/garage sale with many vendors in one field, selling things from the trunks of their cars) :O…wow…we’ve been using the tiny little random centrifugal juicer I bought my Dad years ago for the past few days…the Juice Fountain feels like SUCH an improvement – we are so blessed – we’d been talking about buying a new one for the house, then while out jogging, found ourselves at a huge sale, where the juicer sat waiting for us near the entrance…the Juice Fountain is one of those amazing juicers with a HUGE hole for the produce, so we can literally juice whole apples in one go – much less chopping involved – almost none in fact – it’s SO fast…I love it…see HERE for more info on them...we’ve been juicing whole giant courgettes (zucchini) – if you’ve never tried that juice straight, I’d highly recommend it – it is so smooth and milky – yummmm…

on August the 13th I had:

1.5 litres water
300ml rejuvelac
tiny glass of orange/grapefruit juice
800ml veggie juice
big bowl of salad with greens, dulse, sprouts, red pepper and flax seed/tomato dressing
400ml rose/chamomile tea
500ml water
500ml courgette (zucchini) juice
3 peaches
sprinkling of spirulina sticks
bowl of ground chia seeds blended with apple juice & bananas, swirled with mulberries and pine nuts
2 litres water

I was speaking with Rob from Funky Raw the other day and he said he no longer buys greens – he picks all his own – and he lives in CENTRAL LONDON – now, that is SO inspiring for me as a raw-foodist-forager-wannabe…imagine…freshly picked wild food is SO much more vital than shop-bought/days-old/limp/ produce that’s possibly been flown many miles…even if it IS organic ;) It strikes me often that most of what’s going on with the raw food movement at the moment seems so 'urban' – it’s recipe books and appliances and beautiful restaurants and so on – rather than foraging and getting your hands dirty and composting ;) Well, it is what it is…I know for me that my heart and body resonate a lot more towards simplicity though, in my truth…and tuned-in foraging skills would be SO exciting to me…hmmmmm…Rob says he’ll be heading up some foraging walks at the Funky Raw Festival which starts on August the 22nd, near Portsmouth...nice…more details HERE

One Love,
Angela. xxx

Saturday 11 August 2007

In Gratitude and Bliss...

WOW…
Thank you SO much for ALL the incredible, beautiful, loving messages myself and Matt have received over the last couple of days – we really appreciate all the amazing supportive yumminess you send in our direction and beam it all straight backatcha too ;) We feel extremely blessed…thank you…
I had SUCH a lovely birthday yesterday…Matt and some of the UK raw lovelies had arranged a surprise raw potluck in a park…wow ;) I didn’t know WHERE we were going – we were just wandering up through a park as far as I knew – then suddenly I saw someone waving at us from across the green and realised it was one of my soul sistas, who I hadn’t seen in over a year, who shares the same birthday as me and who I thought I wouldn’t get to see on our day of celebration – WOW – I ran across the grass to meet her and it all unfolded into a magical afternoon of raw picnic-ing with wonderful friends in the sun, as more and more people arrived to join in the fun :) I was SO happy – it was a wonderful treat…

On August the 10th (my birthday ;) I had:

1.2 litres water
big glass of rejuvelac
tiny glass of orange juice
700ml celery/cucumber/apple/ginger juice
box of raspberries
double shot of wheatgrass with ginger, apple and lime
raw chocs
1 litre water
AMAZING bits of loved-up yummies at raw potluck – freshly foraged berries, raw hummus, pesto, salads, energy balls, phenomenal raw pizza and berry cheesecake from Shell and outstanding birthday love cake from Rawlicious – WOW :)
1 litre water
lamb’s quarters with avo, tomatoes, sprouts
1 litre water

‘LouLou’ left a comment on here recently asking where to get Chia seeds from in the UK – I’m going to post the reply here too, for all to see ;)

“Hi Loulou, thanks for your message. As it happens, we have a limited supply of 1lb (454g) bags of chia seeds here in the UK. They are £10 a bag, plus postage. Email angela@rawreform.com if you'd like to order some ;) xxx”

Of course, for those of you in North America/the rest of the world, you can order them from the same link given before, if it pleases you… ;) See HERE...



On August the 11th I had:

1.5 litres water
big glass of rejuvelac
slice of watermelon
a few organic apricots
500ml water
bowl of ground chia seeds mixed soaked in blended pear/lime juice/ginger, with mulberries swirled in for chewing…
1 litre water
bits of raw chocolate, amazing nori wraps stuffed with superfood concoctions, spirulina cracker-biscuits and masterful raw cake…all made by Kate Wood – wow :) we are so blessed...
1 litre water

Tomorrow (Sunday August the 12th), is the new moon in LEO – here is some of the commentary on this powerful day from master astrologer Lisa Dale Miller:

“…this is the New Moon to uncover your own gift and then let it blossom and evolve as you give it to the world at large.
If you have had some creative project simmering on the back burner for the last couple of years, this is a powerful time to take it out, dust it off and see if it still has juice for you. If so, start to work with it again during this New Moon cycle.
...this is the perfect New Moon to look deeply at how much of what you say and do, is done to appease an inner need for attention and recognition of specialness, rather than a selfless, heartfelt, compassionate desire to heal.
True self-esteem is built by developing a calm center from which all decisions are made and all actions are undertaken. A real leader feels a tremendous responsibility to share their talent in an effort to make life better for everyone around us. Use this New Moon to look at how much of your time you share your talents to help others in need.
This is the New Moon for romance. When it comes to love, Leo loves romance; full-blown choreographed romance…if you are just not getting enough attention from your partner, or you are lonely and looking for love, this is the New Moon to create a powerful ritual to invoke and invite romance into your life.”

AAAAUUUWWWWWWWW – thanks Lisa ;) sounds divine – to read her whole article, click HERE

ENJOY ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Thursday 9 August 2007

Celebration Time ;)

I have news. I’m very excited…
I’m engaged… :O

I suspect many of you already know who the lovely male in question is…for all who are wondering however, his name is Matt Monarch…and he is a wonderful man. I feel extremely blessed.
We have known each other on-and-off for two years now and it’s been quite some adventure ;) Things became a lot more ‘solid’ between us following my Juice Feast earlier this year and then a few days ago, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him :) I was delighted to say ‘YES’ :)

I've started to look for a beautiful ring and we're waiting to see how and when wedding plans will unfold…

At the moment we're staying for a little while at my parents' place on the south coast of England – they're loving welcoming Matt into the family and Matt's loving it here too - the fresh sea air, dramatic chalk-cliff scenery and lovely sunny weather are so delicious at this time of year…we feel very blessed ;)

We both feel so fortunate to have each other in our lives now, enriching our time here – he is a wonderful partner – loving, sweet, supportive and radiant with truth…I am delighted and excited to share with him… ;)

On August the 8th I had:

1 litre water
200ml orange/grapefruit juice
700ml ‘garden’ juice
400ml rejuvelac
400ml water
blended papaya, banana, goji berries, pine nuts – amazing
raw chocolate bar
500ml rose/chamomile tea
3 apples
salad of young greens, avo, dulse, lime juice, watercress, chives, tomato sauce – fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, soaked sundried tomatoes, red pepper, blended
500ml water
slice of watermelon
500ml water

I’m enjoying my time back here in Blighty…I’ve been feeling especially blessed to be enjoying fresh produce straight from my mum’s garden – she’s got tomatoes, chives, peppermint, lemon balm, cucumbers and even a FIG ;) I’m impressed…I SO long to get to the land and start growing my own stuff somewhere and it really inspires me to see someone else already embodying that – and so simply – tomatoes trailing out of hanging baskets, chives bunched in pots – no need for a BIG space, just get planting ;) – my mum tells me that many people are starting to grow their own produce here now in the UK – more and more people getting allotments and growing in their gardens too and there’s a lot of media coverage on ‘growing your own’ – WOW – I’m very impressed…great news for everyone… ;)

on August the 9th I had:

1 litre water
300ml rejuvelac
200ml orange/grapefruit juice
piece of flax cracker
400ml carrot juice with greener grasses powder
bowl of blended banana, mango, mulberries and ground chia seeds
glass of rejuvelac
1 apple
3 persimmons
500ml water
spinach wraps with avo, dulse, fresh tomato sauce, fresh coriander and lettuce
raw chocs
1 litre water

It’s my birthday tomorrow (Friday) – August the 10th – yeeeeee-HAH ;) I’m excited…I don’t know what the day will hold yet, as Mr Monarch has taken charge of proceedings ;) FUN…I’ll be 29 and just going into Saturn Return…eeeeeeeeeek…time to hold on tight ;)
All love,
Angela. xxx

Tuesday 7 August 2007

Cacao at the Summit...


Another Public Service Reminder ;)

Raw Summit, the inspiring free series of teleconference calls with 12 of the world’s leading authorities on raw foods, kicks off TONIGHT with yesterday’s birthday boy, David Wolfe…

THOUSANDS of people from all over the world are already signed up – don’t miss out ;) If you haven’t signed up for the series yet, you can click HERE to see the impressive schedule for the next couple of weeks and get yourself on the list…

You can listen to the whole series for FREE and upgrade packages with lots of bonuses are available too… Visit the link that is emailed to you when you sign up to get the dial-in info for each call…
I speak on August the 16th – hope you can make it along for the call ;)

On August the 7th I had:

1.2 litres water
300ml rejuvelac
750ml ‘garden’ juice
big yummy salad – greens, dulse, avo, sprouts, chives, watercress, lemon juice, sauerkraut, with fresh homemade flax crackers
handful of goji berries with pine nuts
500ml peppermint tea
400ml water
600ml celery/cucumber/carrot/ginger juice
bowl of chia seeds soaked in blended pear/lime juice/ginger mixture, with sultanas, maca, lucuma and pumpkin seeds stirred in…WOW…
raw ‘conscious chocolate’ – yummmmm…
1 litre water

So, as the modern-day cacao-king kicks off the Raw Summit tonight, I'd like to, rather 'synchronistically' muse on the subject of raw chocolate...Ok, so I was away from the UK for about a year before coming back now…I was advised beforehand that it had all gone rather ‘cacao-crazy’ in the raw food movement here and well, yep, judging by the number of new raw chocolate bars I see all over the place here in the shops, it seems to me it is indeed all pretty chocolate-covered here now ;) There are many choices for people – and I can see it's a useful way of potentially opening up larger and larger numbers of people to raw foods in GENERAL – get them ‘hooked’ into raw with chocolate instead of the proverbial ‘carrot’ and THEN get them onto the real carrots and other goodies…in a nation of committed chocolate-lovers, it seems like a winning strategy ;)
BTW, it seems some of you could not find access to the link to the chia seeds yesterday…so here it is again in full, just in case:

http://www.rawveganbooks.com/product_info.php?ref=6&products_id=1001333&affiliate_banner_id=1

Enjoy ;)
One love,
Angela. xxx

Monday 6 August 2007

The ch-ch-ch-CHIA connection...


Alright, it’s time to go into it… CHIA… my new favourite toy…many of you have been noticing that in recent weeks, this magical little seed has been popping up regularly in my daily intake… I’ve been experimenting and can say without hesitation that this is my favourite new raw FOOD of the moment…yes, for all you North American readers who are reading this and reminiscing about ‘chia pets’, apparently they are indeed the same thing…sorry ;) All those little bundles of nutrition you all could have been ingesting for years were instead being used ornamentally…tee-hee ;)
Chia is an INCREDIBLE power-house food…nutritionally ‘off-the-charts’ in so many regards – take a look at this for example:

The seeds have 2 times the protein of any other seed or grain,
5 times the calcium of milk, plus boron which is trace mineral that helps transfer calcium into your bones,
2 times the amount of potassium as bananas,
3 times the reported antioxidant strength of blueberries
3 times more iron than spinach
copious amounts of omega 3 and omega 6 which are essential fatty acids...

Chia seed was used by the Mayan and Aztec cultures as mega-energy food, especially for their running messengers…it gives an incredibly ‘sustaining’ shot of energy and I have noticed for myself that it seems to have ‘running energy’ on it as a food – I have been experimenting these last weeks and would see that if I ate chia, then went running later that day, my endurance and ability to run further was enormous…pretty impressive stuff…

on August the 5th I had:

1.5 litres water
300ml orange/grapefruit juice
1 litre green juice with greener grasses
bowl of chia and flax seeds soaked in apple juice with banana, pumpkin seeds, mushed cacao balls, maca
1 litre water
1 apple with 1 small avo and a handful of dulse
fresh figs with pieces of jack fruit
slice of watermelon
1 litre water

Besides the amazing nutritional aspect of chia, it also TASTES great, looks cute (like tiny dinosaur eggs) and is ready really quickly. You soak the seeds in water, as you would flax, before eating and they very radiply absorb a huge amount of water. They're marketed as a 'dieter's dream food', as they bulk out meals and fill you up, yet burn off very easily and steadily ;). They are said to take in up to 9 times their volume in water, in less than 10 minutes…they then work like an incredible digestive broom, sweeping through your intestinal tract, helping to dislodge and shimmy out any old lurking nonsense…
I was first introduced to chia by a lovely friend in Connecticut. She had soaked some in almond milk and made it into a kind of ‘raw rice pudding’ – she was falling in love with chia and shared it with me – it wasn’t until recently though that I got hold of a bag of it myself and really got stuck in ;) Now I’m eating it almost every other day it seems…I love it…it’s SO good just soaked in water, by itself, or I like soaking it in freshly squeezed apple juice too, then stirring in some lucuma powder and other yummies…another chia property I appreciate is that it reduces the impact of sugars on the system if eaten together – so I can combine it with super-sweet tastes like apple juice and not get super-spiked – yeeeee-HAH ;)
So, now’s your chance to move from playing with your food to eating it – you can read more about chia and order some for yourself HERE – at $8 a pound, it’s very reasonably priced and will bulk up to many times that size – great for quick, easy, yummy food for kids or quick snacks ;)

on August the 6th I had:

1.5 litres water
1 litre green juice with lemon
small piece of orange melon
big bountiful amazing greens salad – lettuce, spinach, alfalfa/broccoli/fenugreek sprouts, lamb’s lettuce, rocket (arugula), lemon juice, dulse, avocado, dulse flakes, tomatoes with home-made flax crackers
500ml water
½ a large papaya
½ box of cherries
samples of totalrawfood.com chocolate bars – yummm ;)
1 litre water

THANKS to all of you who rocked up and sent in questions for the FREE Teleconference I held last night with Chef Dan Hoyt of Quintessence in New York…if you missed the call and would love to hear the playback, it is available for FREE HERE...enjoy ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Sunday 5 August 2007

In Response to Three Recent Emails...

WOW. Recently I received an email declaring:

“A new study out of Johns Hopkins University finds that 75 PERCENT OF AMERICANS WILL BE OVERWEIGHT BY 2015; TWO-THIRDS CONSIDERED HEAVY OR OBESE NOW; RATE STILL INCREASING.”

Eeeeeeeeeeek…wow, people…this situation is getting pretty extraordinary…as you may have seen in the latest RawReform newsletter, I’m in the process of writing a new book which will be printed as a ‘real’ bound volume, available in stores – hurray ;) - it is my intention to help masses more people heal themselves with this info and I want to include OUR stories to encourage them…raw food before and after pics tell it all, they encourage people towards the truth so succinctly. If you have a story you’d love to share, please email angela@rawreform.com with a paragraph about it and a before/after photo…let’s help the shift onwards into the light…

On August the 3rd I had:

1 litre water
200ml orange juice
800ml green juice with carrots
1 fresh corn cob
1 box of blackberries
raw food bar
bag of freshly picked local cherries
1 litre water
700ml green juice
avo/dulse/greens salad on fresh flax crackers
1 litre water

Somebody else wrote to me recently saying that it seems to them like I don’t eat much…this was interesting for me, as it seems to ME like I eat quite a lot..hmmm…different perspectives ;)
…things tend to change a LOT in terms of quantities consumed when you go completely raw. Over time, the body cleans and strips down and you become a more efficient 'machine' at assimilating foods, so you start to require less quantity, to get all the nutrition you need…I’ve been on this path for over 5 years now and with the 92-day Juice-Feast mega-cleanse thrown in too, I’m a pretty efficient ‘machine’ these days ;) The longer you're raw, the less your body requires in terms of quantity, which can often be very challenging for people emotionally to deal with...ahhhh, it’s all a journey and we all have our own marvellous experiments to enjoy…

On August the 4th I had:

1 litre water
250ml orange juice
800ml green juice
bag of cherries
2 pears
500ml water
bowl of banana/avo mush mixed with fresh alflalfa/broccoli/fenugreek sprouts, shavings of broccoli, pumpkin seeds and lamb’s quarters. Chocolate balls
1 litre water
300ml green juice with greener grasses mixed in
bowl of banana/avo mush mixed with fresh alflalfa/broccoli/fenugreek sprouts, shavings of broccoli, pumpkin seeds and lamb’s quarters. Chocolate balls
500ml peppermint tea
1 litre water

I received this in another lovely email message today:

“We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth." --Virginia Satir

Mmmmm-hmmmmm…I really hear that…I avoided physical contact with others for SO many years as a morbidly obese person. I deprived myself of so many years of intimacy, as I felt like it was not ‘appropriate’ for me to have physical contact with anyone – like I was too ‘disgusting’ for anyone to be near…wow…what a life perspective ;) Now sharing hugs with others is one of my simplest and most enriching pleasures ;) I am still shy at times to initiate physical contact with others, yet when I DO reach out and hug another, I feel the joyous energy flow and I know that it benefits all involved ;) ahhhhhhhh…breathe deep, send love, share HUGS ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Friday 3 August 2007

Back in the Homeland...

Golly…I’ve suddenly gone all ‘domestic’…perhaps the influence of Mary Poppins is sinking in deeper...not sure...I just know it’s FUN :) I’m back in a house in Sussex where I used to live a couple of years ago and first went 100% raw ;) I used to experiment a LOT with raw foods here and now it seems my energy has launched straight back in to that pattern…I’m sprouting seeds and making flax crackers and cookies, inventing chocolate recipes and so on – it’s a very different pattern for me from the rest of this year so far, which was all juicy at the start, then all over the place in the States…now I’ve stopped somewhere again for a little while and it feels like JOY to play and be like a ‘real’ person in a kitchen ;)

On August the 1st I had:

1.5 litres water
500ml carrot/beet/cucumber juice
1 papaya
1.5 tbsp green powder
500ml water infused with lemon balm and peppermint
1 fresh corn cob
salad of chopped romaine, spinach, avo and dulse with a tomato sauce dressing made from fresh cherry tomatoes, soaked sundried tomatoes (plus soak water), red bell pepper, fresh basil and asfoetida. (YUMMMMMMMMM)
1 litre water
½ Raw Chocolate Company ‘Twilight’ Bar
700ml cucumber/fennel/chicory/carrot/ginger/spinach juice
fresh handmade chocolate balls – containing a blend of ground poppy seeds, ground cacao nibs, ground cardomom seeds, melted cacao butter, dried figs, lucuma powder and a dash of agave
2 tbsp INCREDIBLE crunchy sundried spirulina sticks from India
400ml rose/chamomile tea
1 litre water
It was a treat to try out a bar of ‘Twilight’ from the Raw Chocolate Company – awwwwwwww, so SWEET, I feel so PROUD to see their products out on the shelves here in the UK – they are SO beautifully designed and packaged and loved ;) It was only this time last year that I was helping them out to get things going and now they’re bringing yummy raw food to the masses, helping to raise conscious awareness of raw foods, through the widely-adored medium of chocolate ;) tee-hee ;) They have also started doing raw food classes, to help pass on the ‘basic’ skills people tend to find useful to start making the transition – their next class is on August the 18th in Sussex – more info HERE

on August the 2nd I had:

1 litre water
500ml green juice with carrots
little box of lychees
½ a red bell pepper
500ml water
bowl of chia seeds soaked in apple juice with lucuma and maca powder, spirulina sticks, goji berries and a side-bowl of soaked Japanese seaweed…
400ml rose/chamomile tea
1 litre water
700ml cucumber/apple/ginger/watercress juice
raw ‘pizza’ night – lime/sundried tomato flax cracker base covered with a tomato/red pepper/sundried tomato/asfoetida sauce and a yummy stodgy dense salad mix of greens, avo, dulse and tomato…mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
500ml peppermint tea
1 litre water

Here’s a yummy question sent in recently by one of you magical reading tribe…

"Help!!! I have been feeling awful watching all those fruit and veggie "scraps" go into the trash. I live in a duplex (I rent). How do I start a compost pile? Thanks!!!!!!"

Hmmmm, thanks for this question…yep…composting is KEY…wherever you live, we all have so much to give back to the earth, ESPECIALLY as raw foodists…here are three possible options for ‘urban’ composting

-BUY A COMPOST BIN – if you have even a little space in your outside area, you can get yourself a tall, hardy plastic bin and start emptying your scraps into it nightly – collect them up in the kitchen during the day in a bowl. In the UK, there are often schemes to get free or cheap bins from local authorities – see HERE for more info. In the rest of the world, I’m not sure if such schemes exist, but anyway, compost bins are very reasonably priced – under $100 usually and just THINK of all the nutrient-rich soil you’ll be generating to give back to the earth and help grow more enriched foods…

- MAKE A COMPOST BIN – if you feel you can’t afford to buy a bin, then make a simple structure instead to contain your waste scraps – you might stack a load of old tyres, with a weighted-down wooden ‘lid’ on top, you might use an old dustbin (trash can) turned upside down, you might make a structure with wood and wire to contain the waste – there are many options…just aim at smthg that won’t leave the compost very exposed, to reduce the amount of animals it attracts and also the smell, especially if it is located near your house…

-WORMERY – this is often a handy solution for urban settings/those who live alone. Wormeries tend to be smaller than compost bins and host a colony of friendly worms who yummy their way through all your waste for you and turn it rapidly into great compost. You want to be a little more careful with what you put into the compost mix if dealing with worms on this scale, as they are not so fond of some things – like citrus skins and strong flavours like garlic, for example…you can keep wormeries inside the house…again, they’re not very expensive – perhaps $100 or so too…

If you have a large amount of waste and/or compost that you’re not sure what to do with, find out about community composting options in your area – there may be allotments or a farm or someone nearby who would LOVE your ‘cast-offs’ for their use…for more info about composting, you can do a search on the site of the Centre for Alternative Technology (where I spent a wonderful winter some years back) HERE...

THANK YOU for composting...

One love,
Angela. xxx

Wednesday 1 August 2007

Vegging...out...

Alright kiddies, this is your last chance to get your paws on a $10 gift voucher for RawVeganBooks.com – the RawReform giveaway prize for July…somehow it got to August already, so the next newsletter will be out very soon…if YOU want to be in with a chance of winning, just email you answer to the following Q to angela@rawreform.com:

‘What strategy would you recommend for raw foodies to handle mainstream social functions like dinner parties and business meetings?’

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas sent in so far…and if you haven’t entered yet, please do send in your fabulous tips. The winner will be drawn at random and announced in the next RawReform newsletter...(which you can subscribe to HERE if you don’t already receive it ;)

On July the 30th I had:

1 litre water
shot of wheatgrass juice
tbsp wakame flakes
handful of goji berries
2 persimmons
2 tbsps sunflower seeds with wakame flakes
1 litre water
3 persimmons
½ tbsp greener grasses powder
500ml green juice with apple and fennel
avo/dulse/tomato/lemon/spinach/romaine wraps
avo blended with lucuma powder and maca, with sultanas swirled in
400ml spice tea
1 litre water


Thanks to the lovely Jenny for this reply regarding the ‘pickling’ request…
“…for any summer squash or cucumber varieties, I slice them like dill spears or bread and butter rounds and fill mason jars, then add apple cider vinegar, a spoonful of raw honey and a bit of celtic sea salt and/or other pickling spices like dill or mustard or coriander seed, and some cayenne or paprika to make them spicy, and fill the rest with water, then shake it up- if the honey isn't melted, keep shaking every so often. . . and keep let it sit at room temp for awhile or keeps indefinitely in the fridge (i'm not exactly sure how long as they never last very long!!!) These taste so much better and more fresh than store bought white vinegar pickles and the variations and possibilites are quite endless!!
hope this helps. . .
xx jenny”

Mmmmm…sounds yummy, enjoy ;)


On July the 31st I had:

1.5 litres water
3 golden kiwis
500ml green juice with apple and fennel
avo/romaine/spinach/dulse/tomato/lemon juice salad
Cacao balls
1 litre water
2 fresh corn-on-the-cobs
box of blueberries with a head of romaine and some dried figs
500ml water
500ml rose/chamomile tea
1 banana, 1 tsp greener grasses
500ml water

On this evening I had a delightful ‘chance’ encounter with an old school friend I haven’t seen in about 10 years…WOW…fun…those of you who have heard me speak will know that this has been, for me, one of the more entertaining aspects of my transformation with raw foods - seeing people I haven’t seen for a long time and watching their freaked reactions as they realise it’s me ;) This particular lovely laydee was my best friend for a number of years when we were around 10 years old…I happened to be in my town of birth, very briefly, for literally about 30mins this evening – went into the supermarket I used to gorge myself in daily as a teenager, this time to pick up some fresh organics and there she was, standing next to the bananas…wow…I LOVE the way the universe works…I was really happy to see her, called out her name and went to hug her…while she stood looking confused, trying to ‘place me’ in her memory…well, after all, last time she saw me I was likely around 250lbs (18 stone)…it ‘clicked’ for her after a while and she realised it was me…she was SHOCKED to see my new appearance and very happy for me – she’d seen my website in recent years and thought it was all amazing…sweet ;) I love those encounters – great reminders for me of where I’m coming from...

One love,
Angela. xxx