Raw Emotions and Juices Flowing...

I’m excited to announce that the latest RawReform ‘book baby’ is nearly ready for delivery ;) Raw Emotions was given a ‘due date’ originally of March the 1st...well, for now, that’s looking a little premature for this particular baby – however, we’re expecting arrival by no later than March the 7th though now ;) Which just happens to be the day for the new moon in compassionate, transcendent Pisces – how ideal :) Apologies for any inconvenience, for those who have been patiently awaiting this arrival...Raw Emotions will be gracing the inbox of those who have pre-ordered it, very soon...we’d just love to fully polish up the last details in the next few days for you, so that you get the best version to enjoy...If you’re unfamiliar with this new impending arrival, Raw Emotions is my latest e-book, exploring the emotional and spiritual transformations people tend to experience when they go raw and is packed with tips for easing your own transformation along... So, thanks again to all who have already pre-ordered and if you would like to see more info and perhaps place your order now, if you haven’t already, please see HERE. :)

on February the 28th I had:

1.5 quarts water
2 big handfuls of blackberries, straight from the bushes
little bowl of cherries
20 oz celery/cucumber/parsley/arugula/cabbage/carrot juice
little bowl of salad: finely sliced romaine lettuce, grated cucumber, karengo seaweed, sundried tomatoes, sunflower seed pate
1 quart water
10oz celery/cucumber/parsley/arugula/cabbage/carrot juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: babako/raspberry/blueberries/nashi pear/apple
1 quart water

Tomorrow - March 1st - is the official kick-off day for the Global Juice Feast – yeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH :) (ALL the more reason to let ‘Raw Emotions’ unfold a little slower for now and shine some more light into juicy joys instead ;)
SO, I’m very excited to say that on the eve of this worldwide foray into feasting we’ve just managed to put up a new set of Juice Feasting Calls for download. ;) This ‘Juice Feasting Conference Call’ series, comprises 4 one-hour calls, which were recorded live in May 2007, after my own 92-day Juice Feast was completed. This is a new way to access in-depth information about Juice Feasting - these calls go deeper into the 'knitty-gritty' than my 'Juice Feasters Handbook'.
In this call series, I discussed many different aspects of Juice Feasting with our wonderful interviewer Michelle, based on the questions sent in by listeners.
Here were the call themes:

Week 1. JUICE FEASTING PRACTICALITIES
Week 2. HOPES AND FEARS
Week 3. SOCIAL ISSUES
Week 4. COMING OFF A JUICE FEAST

If you didn't join us at the time and would like to listen in to these calls, you can now gain access to them all, right HERE. You can download all four calls, to listen to and access at your convenience. Hurray :)
ENJOY ;)

on February the 29th I had:

1.5 quarts water
blackberries straight from the bush, plus wild strawberries, concord grapes and a couple of little apples, all straight from the plants in the orchard – blisssssss :)
1 tbsp green powders
bowl of salad: finely sliced romaine lettuce, grated cucumber, karengo seaweed, sundried tomatoes, sunflower seed pate, served in lettuce wraps and nori sheets
1 quart water
30oz celery/kale/cucumber/zucchini/ginger/radish/lettuce/carrot juice
bowl of outrageously divine raspberry pudding – fresh raspberries blended with soaked dried mulberries, with LSA stirred in (ground linseed/sunflower seeds/almonds), plus more whole fresh raspberries and dried mulberries, to chew on
1 quart water

Ahhhh, the Global Juice Feast... I can hear the sound of juicer motors kicking into action the world over ;) I am so excited for all of you out there in liquid wonderland at the moment...or just about to dive in ;) It’s such an incredible journey to take...and indeed, so many people out there are JF-ing at the moment already...it’s truly phenomenal. In fact, I was delighted to discover this evening that there’s even now a COMMUNITY site, which has been set up my masters of the juicy ceremonies, David and Katrina Rainoshek. It's just like GiveItToMeRaw.com – for JFeasters :) There are already over 250 members, supporting each other and tuning in to the global flow...if you’re already a member of GITMR, it’s even easier to join this ‘sister’ site, as your info, friends etc can be transferred over with your ID – very cool – you can see my profile HERE.
I still haven’t decided what my participation in this feast will look like ;) LOL...yet I think, considering the fact that the event officially kicks off in less than 24 hours as I write this – it’s highly unlikely I’ll be in the game for 92 days again this time round...it just doesn't feel like my calling right now...I may indeed dip in and out a bit though – especially with the equinox coming up soon in March (Autumn for us down in this part of the world – Spring for those of you up there ;)
So, happy juicy journeys to all of you about to foray out into fluidity... Oh and if you need any last minute juicy supplies, remember to check out the Juice Feaster’s Epicentre in the RawReform store, HERE.

ENJOOOOOOOY :)
One love,
Angela. xxx

Global Galavanting and Grains...

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH :)
We’re on the South Island of New Zealand now...we arrived here last night, after a looooooong journey down from the North Island through gorgeous lush green scenery contrasted against shocking desert landscapes and abundant fruit belts, then a sweet night sailing across the Cook Strait under a phenomenal moon and star-scape...and now we’re officially landed in our next residence for the coming weeks. WOW. I think this is, quite simply, the most gorgeous, idyllic place I’ve ever stayed (see pic to the right)...it is a stone/wood cottage on 150 acres of land made by a local artist, set into green hills, overlooking the ocean in a fabulous mountain-lined bay below...just...stunning :) We are SO blessed. There is even a HAMMOCK in the living room, sheep roam the land, there’s a veggie patch, an organic fruit orchard of our own to forage in, a swing in the garden, a beautiful, very vocal Bengal cat, three fireplaces, other organic food producers all down the road and...oooo, so much to explore :) We just arrived a few hours ago...I AM EXCITED :)
The universe danced such a beautiful dance to deliver us here – we didn’t know where to stay, checked a few sites online, emailed the first place we saw that looked interesting and well, here we are – the owner ‘happened’ to be going away at the exact same time we wanted a place...and so we’ve arrived to take care of the place in her absence…and as I was writing this, another woman just came into the room and offered to take us horse riding with her in the local area – something we were JUST talking about in the car on the way here... :) SAY YES TO MANIFEST :))))))) I LOVE IT :)

Ok, prepare for a triple-whammy of food logs today again – life on the road has been monkeying with blogging regularity of late ;)

on February the 25th I had:

2 quarts water
3 mandarins
20oz celery/cucumber/parsley/radish/cabbage/carrot juice
little bowl of sunflower pate (soaked sunflower seeds/sundried tomatoes, blended with garlic), mixed with sprouts, diced tomatoes and seaweed, wrapped in lettuce leaves and nori sheets
1 quart water
10oz celery/cucumber/parsley/radish/cabbage/carrot juice
handful of hand-picked, vibrant blackberries, with 4 little gorgeous wild apples – foraging is FUN ;))))))
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: papaya/cherries/blueberries
1 quart water

So, we seem to be on a Q and A roll here in blog world at the moment, so I’m going to keep flowing with it... ;) In fact, one reader - Chris - sent in a whole list of Qs to be A-ed, so let’s delve into those now...

“Angela, Do you have a home somewhere? Do you ever settle down? Are you constantly on the go with speaking engagements? It seems like a great way to live. . . but I was just curious where you two go when this is over? and Where to after New Zeeland?”

I do not currently have a fixed home address anywhere...wherever I rest my backpack, that’s my home – and right now, it’s DIVINE :) I’m a bit of a nomad and have been on the road for most of the last decade, stopping here and there for a few months at a time...yes, it’s definitely fun and I am very grateful for the opportunities this lifestyle opens to me...I used to be a long-term volunteer before I started up RawReform – I travelled all over the world doing large volunteering projects, like teaching English in Sri Lanka, working with people with autism and Down’s Syndrome in Iceland, helping out on organic farms here in New Zealand and recycling projects in the Netherlands and so on. (The old picture to the right is of me in Scotland back in 2002, doing some voluntary work experience with a friend in a wheelchair - learning to get around on wheels that way was certainly interesting ;) Once RawReform started up, I shifted my focus into that...which led me across the waters to Uncle Sam, or more specifically, Mr Monarch ;) At that point, I do believe the dear fellow had only once set foot out of the US...then we got together and he’s rarely slept under one roof for more than a few weeks at a time ever since and been all over the globe ;) LOL... To be honest though, my biggest wish right now is simply to get onto a piece of land, put up a yurt and start growing our own food...we’re waiting for my visa for the US though and it’s a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong process...once we have that, we can go back and get on with the bigger picture – for now, we get to play out in the rest of this glorious planet ;) After NZ, the plan is that we’re heading back up to Melbourne in Australia to do another talk there around the end of April, before hopping on up to Thailand for some exotic durian-shaped fun :) YUMMY :)

on February the 26th I had:

2 quarts water
2 little mandarins
20oz celery/zucchini/cabbage/carrot juice
bowl of cherries and blueberries
1 tbsp green powder
little bowl of sunflower pate (soaked sunflower seeds/sundried tomatoes, blended with garlic), mixed with sprouts, diced tomatoes and seaweed, wrapped in lettuce leaves and nori sheets
1 quart water
a little selection of amazing dried fruits: figs, cherries, blueberries, papaya, followed by ½ tbsp green powder
3 cups water

...and some more Qs from Chris...

“Do you ever eat grains? Like brown rice? I know you can soak oats and eat them without cooking.. I am wondering if other grains can be just soaked and eaten raw.. ? They'd go great with some pesto.”

Hmmmm, I don’t really eat grains – mainly due to ‘can’t-be-bothered’-ness; things like sprouted wild rice or quinoa can be yummy – they just take a loooong time to sprout and tend to like a lot of care during that process, in my experience – it just doesn’t really match a life on the road ;) As for oats...it tends to be hard to find them TRULY raw, besides which, they contain gluten...I do like buckwheat and use that from time to time in grawnolas etc...some people also make GREAT cakes, cookies and so on by grinding buckwheat into a flour and mixing it with other things... Some raw foodies of course don’t think grains are really ‘designed’ for human consumption at all...which makes logical sense to me...really, what are you going to eat in a field of barley...? They also tend to be very mucus-forming...hmmmm...just because we CAN eat something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s optimal for us...gluten-free grains can be great transition foods though, for people to move AWAY from things like bread, wheat pasta etc...

On Feb the 27th I had:

1.5 quarts water
20oz celery/cucumber/cabbage/radish/kale juice
big amount of fresh melons – watermelon/canteloupe/honeydew (see pic for evidence of melon fest ;)
1 tbsp green powder
1 tbsp bee pollen
1 quart water
bowl of sunflower seed pate mushed with mixed sprouts, diced tomatoes and seaweed, served with lettuce wraps and nori sheets
chunk of raw chocolate – yeeeeeeeee-HAH :) (long time since I met with the cracao monster)
3 cups peppermint tea
1 quart water

...and the last Q for the day from our dear friend Chris...

“What do you sub for the pamesan/romano cheese in pesto? I know the basic recipe is basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and pamesan/or romano cheese pulverized in a food processor. Chris”

Hmmm, well, I’d just throw in pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, basil and perhaps a little raw salt and be done with it ;) ENJOY :)

One love,
Angelaaaaaaaaaallalaalaalalaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Seaweed Safety and Spices...

I’m writing from the southern tip of Lake Taupo in New Zealand today...what a STUNNING area – the lake is just vaaaaast :) We’ve been travelling quite a lot the last few days, LOVING the scenery here, marvelling at the myriad hues of green, the enormous stretches of land, land, land, sans human settlements, the gorgeous pristine waters...yummy…we also gave talks yesterday in Tauranga – thanks to ye’ all who came out to play – it was fun :) We’re on our way south now...in fact, we’ve just confirmed we’ll be speaking in Wellington in a couple of months' time. We’ll be at the Crossways Community Centre, (Cnr Elizabeth & Brougham Streets) on Saturday 19 April from 3.30pm to 7.30pm, with a raw potluck after...hope to see you there if you’re in the area – you can see full details and book your place HERE: http://www.purewellbeing.com/index1.html.

on February the 22nd I had:

2 quarts water
juice of 3 mandarins juiced in the mouth ;)
20oz of celery/cucumber/parsley/spinach/lambs’ quarters/carrot juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: papaya/dragon fruit/banana/peach/cherries/blueberries
1 quart water
1 tbsp green powders: wheatgrass and barley grass
bowl of homemade tahini/brazil nut butter mixed with mung bean sprouts, diced tomatoes/garlic, karengo seaweed, stuffed in lettuce leaves and nori sheets
1 quart water

This question came in recently about seaweed:

“I wonder about mercury in seaweed? If we must worry about mercury in fish, wouldn't it be in the seaweed also?”

Hmmmm, thanks for the Q...well, while personally I don’t feel that I ‘must’ worry about anything, I was intrigued about the content of this message and so asked our primary seaweed supplier - ‘Maine Coast Sea Veg’ for their feedback – here was what they had to say on the matter:

“Our mercury levels are so low that we actually stopped testing for several years. We started again in response to customer requests for the information.
The levels for mercury have been consistently undetected at 0.04 ppm.

We do testing for heavy metals every year, at the end of the harvest season. I have attached our Statement of Product Testing for 2007, which is the last year for which data is available. You can also check out the same document in our FAQ section online, at http://www.seaveg.com/faq6.php.

I hope that this is helpful. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours in Health,
Rae Urban”

Hmmmmm, interesting, eh? Hope that helps y’all feel even more yummy about munching on the ocean’s weedy wonders...I am SOOO into seaweeds at the moment, as you may have noticed in my daily food logs ;) Karengo, wakame, kelp, nori – LOVING it and it’s definitely nice to know I’m not massively stacking up my toxin load simultaneously... ;)
Ok, double-whammy food log now, due to being ex communicado on the road for a while there... ;)

on February the 23rd I had:

1.5 quarts water
3 mandarins
16oz carrot/cucumber/ginger/mint juice
bowl of cherries
2 cups carrot juice with Greener Grasses powder stirred in
3 cups water
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/blueberries/cherries/mulberries
1 quart water
2 cups carrot juice
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes/garlic, mixed sprouts, karengo seaweed & cumin powder, served in lettuce leaves and nori rolls
1 quart water


on February the 24th I had:

2 quarts water
3 mandarins
24oz celery/cucumber/cabbage/parsley/spinach/lambs’ quarters/carrot juice
lettuce wraps stuffed with seed pate (soaked sunflower seeds/sundried tomatoes, blended with garlic), diced tomatoes, sprouts and seaweed
1 quart water
1 tbsp green powders
bowl of chia gel with fruit salad – blueberries, cherries, mulberries and apple
1.5 quarts water

Here’s another recent Q – from Ms. Amy...

“I'm wondering: do you use any kind of spices in your dishes (pepper, oregano, etc)? I'm just curious. I don't know if going without spices is for me, so I'll probably keep them personally, but I was just curious what "real" raw foodies do! Thanks. Making The Transition in Pennsylvania – Amy”

Thanks for the Q Amy :) Well...everyone’s different of course and some raw foodies will use herbs and spices, whereas others aren’t interested in them...I’ll certainly share with you what THIS ‘real raw foodie’ does though ;)
I rarely use spices anymore in foods I make myself – I do go through spates though where I might get REALLY into something – like cumin for example – some of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while might remember I got really into eating cumin with avocado and lime a while back – I was eating it literally every day, then I was just...done, not really interested anymore – though, coincidentally, I did get some out of the cupboard here yesterday in fact and enjoyed a bit with my meal ;) Sometimes I get interested in cayenne pepper and I think that may happen again soon...I feel it coming ;) Cayenne is an extraordinarily healing food – if you’ve never looked into the properties of it, I’d definitely recommend it – especially for anyone in cold, wintery places right now ;) I also absolutely LOOOOOOOVE cinnamon and just got a new bag of it a few days ago, so will start using that again soon, most likely…other than that, hmmmm...I don’t use much myself in the way of spices...
Herbs I enjoy include parsley, cilantro, mint and basil – the first two we use pretty often in juices and sometimes in salads/savoury meals, whereas basil and mint I tend to find more awkward to use in meals – it always seems like when you buy them, they come in huge bunches and unless I make pesto or ice cream or smthg, it just seems like way too much to deal with in one go, so I tend to just not even bother getting either of them ;) I’m not much into using dried herbs myself either... HOWEVER, if I eat some pre-prepared raw food like crackers or smthg that someone’s made, which contain herbs or spices, I usually feel fine about it. Mr Monarch on the other hand has been at this raw game longer than me and is not so enamoured of spices – he’s very sensitive to them and really feels the effect strongly when they’re in foods – he prefers to avoid them. A lot of raw foodists actually don’t feel good about eating herbs/spices – usually it’s people more into Natural Hygiene ideas who feel that way . Here’s a little blurb I wrote recently on spices that might help explain why, if this seems odd to you:

“Spices tend to be powdered forms of certain plants, in concentrations you would not easily come across in nature. Spices are made by powdering down a large amount of some bark, root, or other plant matter. You might even have a spice blend. The concentrated intensity of the spice can throw the body a bit out of balance, as you are getting a much bigger ‘hit’ of this food than you’d naturally be able to get hold of if you were just foraging things to eat in the wild. This can distort taste buds, block your ability to sense when you’ve eaten enough and so encourage eating in excess.”

As for the herbs, well, as mentioned above, some of them just don’t seem that easy to use – if you can’t imagine eating a whole bunch of mint or basil for a meal, some people question the idea of bothering to use them at all...;) Well...different courses for different horses – I hope that’s given you some ideas anyway about raw foodie herb/spice interactions...

One love,
Angela. xxx

Show and Tell...

I’m going to share today a few of the things y’all have been sending in on emails and comments…
Firstly I want to share a few impressive fruit/veggie pics which were sent in recently – some of you have probably seen some of these before on forwarded emails – I have no idea where they originally came from – I just think they’re really sweet – enjoy ;)























on February the 20th I had:

1.5 quarts water
4 mandarins
16oz celery/cucumber/parsley/carrot juice
½ avo mushed with sprouts, diced tomatoes/garlic and karengo seaweed, served in lettuce wraps and nori sheets
1.5 quarts water
½ small watermelon
bowl of green smoothie: banana/blueberries/spinach/lambs’ quarters, with extra blueberries and mulberries stirred in
1 quart water

Hope y’all enjoyed the power of that majestic Full Moon in Virgo :)
There were so many sweet messages after my last post, I thought I’d share a couple of comments here:

“All of that news of the Virgo and the Full Moon has given me a great deal of hope. My birthday is tomorrow!! It's a better time than ever to become healthy. S.”

Good for you, S :) I hope your healing is unfolding with grace, clarity and joy and that your birthday was blissful :)
Here’s another yummy comment:

“I love this post, Angela. Especially the part about climbing to the top of the mountain. I'm on Day 19 of my Juice Feast and I've lost 10.5 kg so far (23 pounds) and currently weigh 146.5kg (322 pounds). Every day in Pilates class there is something new I can do. I love it! My husband and I are planning a trip to Victoria Falls in December, which will include lots of physical activities like hiking and river rafting! Previously I would never have considered these things! Every day is a new discovery and brings new hope for a better, healthier life! My husband is already eating high raw and this is how we will be living after our Juice Feast. Life is good! The part about the moon in Virgo was also fascinating. I am a Virgo and definitely believe in natural healing. Thank you for being such an inspiration! H.”

WOW, thank YOU, H for sharing your amazing ongoing transformation – I’m SO pleased for you – enjoy the juicy journey...

on February the 21st I had:

1.5 quarts water
3 mandarins
20oz celery/cucumber/spinach/carrot/cabbage/lambs’ quarters juice
sunflower seed pate (soaked sunflower seeds and sundried tomatoes blended with a clove of garlic), stuffed in lettuce leaves with wakame seaweed, diced tomatoes and mung beans
1 quart water
raw potluck food: pieces of dried durian, a few hand-picked morton bay figs, little bowl of fruit salad, piece of mango/coconut cake with 'figgy pudding'
1 quart water

Agam wrote in recently saying:

“please do a blurb on b12, it's unclear to me weather it is needed if one takes 1T/day spirulina. how much b12 do we really need? and can you really feel the difference when you take it? what are the signs of deficiency? much love, agam”

Ok, here’s some B12 blurb I wrote recently – hope this helps ;)

What about Vitamin B12?
B12 deficiency tends to be a big health concern among vegan raw fooders.
This vitamin is essential for red blood cell formation, energy and nerve function. It is found primarily in western food sources in meat and dairy produce, so vegans often have low levels of it. Deficiency can lead to exhaustion, dizziness and blackouts. Other symptoms of B12 deficiency include anxiety, pale skin, blurred vision, poor memory, constipation and in severe cases, anaemia and nerve damage. It’s a controversial issue and some suggest there are in fact no reliable vegan sources of B12.
As for me, I feel like I do now get some B12 from the foods I eat - (algaes, seaweeds etc) PLUS I rarely wash my fruit and veg - I like having some soil/micro-organisms in there to help my system produce B12 and thrive ;) I also take good care of my colon, through both consuming probiotics and doing colon cleansing, which means my internal flora produce B12 for me too. To be certain I’m getting all that I need, I also take a B12 supplement regularly, which I feel is like my ‘back up’ in case the foods and internal flora really aren’t working. (I take the Hallelujah Acres Sublingual Tabs – see HERE.)
A couple of years into my raw journey, I actually experienced a serious B12 deficiency. At that time, my food intake was quite unbalanced, I was doing no colon cleansing and taking no B12 supplement. I was pale, dizzy and low in energy and ended up having blood tests to determine the cause, after a fainting spell. After discovering I had a low B12 count, I started taking supplements and my health improved rapidly.

To your vibrant, bouncy, shiny self :)
Ms. Stokes. xxx

Reflections and Rejoice...

WOW...one year ago tomorrow – February the 20th 2007 - I broke my 92-Day Juice Feast...this was my last day in liquid world and this time last year I was busy breaking out the prunes to soak for the next day ;) Here’s a little of what I wrote that day:

"Over the last three months I have lived and juiced through the ups and downs of green juice rejection, pancreas issues, sugar withdrawals, massive mucus expulsion, intrepid hiking trips, housing upheavals and more… You could probably fill a swimming pool with the amount of
juice I’ve consumed…and going by the theory that we ‘go back in time 120 days for each day of juice feasting’, I have gone back in time over 30 years now…which means…I am pre-birth again I guess… ;) well, that’s nice…time to rise like a phoenix again then…"

…wow ;) You can read the whole of that post HERE. It seems I’d also JUST finished editing the Juice Feaster’s Handbook that day too – that crazy juicy energy was obviously working its magic…and what a long way the Juice Feasting world has come since then ;) There are an astonishing number of yumsters out there living la vida liquid at the moment and with the official kick-off of the GLOBAL JUICE FEAST on March the 1st, I suspect supplies of mason jars may very well run dry in N. America ;) To see who’s juicing what, check out the ‘Ultimate List of Juice Feasting Blogs’ compiled by Heidi and Justin over at RawFoodRightNow HERE.
The delightful masters of juicy ceremonies, David and Katrina Rainoshek are doing incredible web-weaving to bring this whole event together and EVERYONE is welcome ;) Just check out juicefeasting.com and you’ll find all the ‘juicy’ details there...(tee-hee ;) BTW – people keep asking if I’m going to JF again now with the global waves...hmmm...to be honest, I’m not sure yet...might be...might do one juicy day a week...I’ll see how it unfolds as the time draws nearer... ;)

on February the 18th I had:

1.5 quarts water
1 quart celery/cucumber/zucchini/radish/carrot juice
bowl of mulberries blended with veggie juice, stirred with fresh blueberries and more dried mulberries to chew on ;)
2 cups water
2 cups rooibus tea
1 cup green smoothie: banana/spinach/weeds
7 little mandarins and 2 nectarines
1 quart water
little bowl of avo mushed with sprouts, diced tomatoes/garlic and karengo seaweed, served in lettuce wraps and nori sheets
3 cups water

Tomorrow - Wednesday, February 20 – also happens to see the Full Moon in Virgo – time for health and healing with a total lunar eclipse, according to the lovely lady of lunar forecasts, Ms. Lisa Dale Miller. Here’s a little of what she has to share about this occasion:

“In truth, we all express our Virgo side when we strive to be our best. Virgo is the healer, the doctor, the nurse, the teacher, the therapist, the worker, the researcher, the scientist, and the engineer. Virgo is the true healer of the zodiac because in its mind, if it causes pain, it warrants attention and a cure. For Virgo, caring comes in the form of finding workable solutions to everyday problems.
This is the Full Moon to celebrate the body and take responsibility for our health. If you are currently dealing with a serious health issue, don’t take anything at face value.
Become an active partner in your healing process. Read the research, ask lots of questions and engage your practitioners in dialogue about your progress. Virgo wants to understand the mechanics of illness so that it can better affect a cure. This kind of questioning may include opening yourself to alternative treatments or new approaches.
By the way, this is the ideal Full Moon to start a weight loss or de-tox program... the Full Moon in Virgo reflects a tremendous desire to throw off unhealthy habits that create sickness and sadness in our lives.
This Virgo Full Moon also gives us all an opportunity to make friends with our inner critic; that slave driver who can be either a helpmate or a hindrance. For those of you with strong Virgo in your charts, this is the Full Moon to tame the perfectionist living inside your head. You know… the one that says, “Nothing I do is good enough.” Those inner voices of self-doubt block the ability to act with conviction. This is the time to talk back to self-doubt and take control! Use this Full Moon to say, “This is good enough!” and get your talent out there.”

Oooohhhh, thank you for that last paragraph, Lisa ;) If MY Virgo has its way, I don’t think ‘Raw Emotions’ will ever be ready for public viewing ;) Breathing deep and extending a friendly hand to Virgo here... ;)

on February the 19th I had:

1.5 quarts water
24oz celery/cucumber/radish/lettuce/cabbage/carrot juice
bowl of magical berry mush: dried mulberries blended with banana and blueberries, with more mulberries and blueberries stirred in
2 quarts water
big handful of cherries
½ a big watermelon
handful of wakame seaweed with pumpkin seeds
1 quart water

Today we walked up Mount Maunganui near Tauranga, in the Bay of Plenty. WOW :) Here are a couple of pics I took from the summit. It was a glorious day for it and so beautiful to see the shimmering waters, the fern-clad hillsides and all the sweaty, smiling joggers ;) The mountain is out on a spit, surrounded on three ‘sides’ by water and there are paths around it, as well as up to the summit. This was an especially yummy trip for me today, as when I was last here, I was not really able to reach the summit. Back in the year 2000 I weighed nearly 300lbs and was staying in this area as a volunteer on an organic farming homestead. On my day off, the ‘grand-dad’ of the family I was with suggested I might like to visit the mountain, then hastily added, ‘you won’t be able to walk to the top though’. I wasn’t sure why...perhaps it was closed that day or smthg...? Then his daughter asked him to clarify why and he bluntly said ‘well, look at her...’ I felt extremely uncomfortable and shamed. Indeed, I didn’t climb to the summit on that day 8 years ago. I did today though ;) ...and it was glorious...and I am grateful...

All love,
Angela. xxx

An Attitude of Gratitude...

Three things I am grateful for today:

1. Waking up at 7am, running to the beach and enjoying my morning yoga and meditation with the seagulls in the black sand, crisp morning air and seaspray...
2. Speaking to a delightful crowd at a packed event in Auckland. Thanks to all who turned out – it was a pleasure to connect with so many of the kiwi raw tribe ;)
3. Eating so much seaweed. I recently declared to Mr Monarch that I would happily live on papaya and seaweed...I hold this to be true...the wakame and karengo seaweeds we have at the moment are just diviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine...we found it challenging to find seaweeds in Australia, so are very happy to be munching our way through bags of it again now...if you’d like more info about just WHY one might think it jolly to eat sea shrubbery, pls see this informative video courtesy of Dr Wolfe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkUrgi7pZlY

on February the 16th I had:

1.5 quarts water
30oz watermelon/orange juice
30oz celery/cucumber/zucchini/spinach/carrot/radish/cabbage juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/papaya/kiwi/goji berries/plum
1.5 quarts water
12oz celery/cucumber/zucchini/spinach/carrot/radish/cabbage juice
bowl of ‘apple flax’: blended apples mixed with groud flax/pumpkin seeds, with goji berries and karengo seaweed stirred in...yummmmmmmmmm
1 quart water

Three things I appreciate about New Zealand:

1. The greeeeeeeeeeeeeenery...this morning we drove through what seemed like a primitive rainforest to me – I found the trees and ferns and plant life just staggering in their beauty...I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stretch of greenery that looked so...pristine...I somehow had the impression it had barely changed in many centuries...it was like I imagine the scenery would be if one was to rock up on a deserted island in the South Pacific or somewhere – lush gorgeousness and SO many shades of green...mmmmmmmmm
2. Small population – YES :) I LOVE countries with small human populations...I find that people usually tend to be a lot nicer to each other in these countries...this was one of the things I loved most about Iceland, where I lived for 3.5 years, on and off...you can drive for hours on end in some areas of both these countries and not see a single other vehicle...there are many other similarities betwixt Iceland and NZ too, from my perspective – dramatic scenery, lots of sheep – in fact, quite probably more cattle than humans, glaciers and volcanoes, no major mammal life etc...
3. Maori culture – in no other country which the British and other Europeans decided to take over have I seen as much apparent embracing of the ‘native’ culture as here. Maoris seem vastly more ‘visible’ in society here than, for example, Aboriginis in Australia or Native Americans in N. America...there are Maori statues, sayings and place names all over, museums, businesses, artwork, jewellery, cultural gatherings and so on...not that there aren’t challenges still, I’m sure – I just find it interesting to see the way in which two very different societies seem to have found a way of integrating here, compared to similar scenarios in other parts of the world...

ommmmmmmmm February the 17th I had:

1.5 quarts water
30oz watermelon juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: apple/kiwi/plum/banana
1 quart water
1.5 cups celery/cucumber/leafy greens/carrot/apple juice
½ serving of mung beans/tahini/seaweeds/pumpkin seeds mixture served in lettuce wraps
1lb of cherries
½ serving of mung beans/tahini/seaweeds/tomatoes/pumpkin seeds mixture served in lettuce wraps
1 quart water

The final thing I’d like to express gratitude for today is ‘Asana Kisses’. This cheekily named balm is one of the extraordinary products from yummy skincare company ‘Little Moon Essentials’. It is like a natural version of ‘Deep Heat’ and it performed incredible healing work on my body the last couple of days. I pulled a muscle in my back quite badly a couple of nights ago, when we were moving house. It was VERY painful. I’m not used to injuring myself much and find it a bit bizarre when I do. This injury left me unable to breathe fully into my left lung cavity without pain and any twisting of my torso was agonising. I assumed it would take quite a while to heal. I pulled out the aforementioned ‘Asana Kisses’ balm and slathered it over the painful area on my back before going to bed, for 2 nights in a row. By the third day, I was back to FULL functionality...I was amazed...this product is actually designed for ‘extreme sports enthusiasts’, to help heal injuries quickly...I’ve been carrying this pot of balm with me for quite some time on the road and had never had cause to use it until now...well, WOW is my verdict, this is potent stuff...I’d definitely recommend it for speedy, natural healing – you can check out all their products on the Little Moon Essentials site HERE and I do believe I’ve often seen their things in places such as ‘Whole Foods’ in N. America as well...we actually met Laura, the owner, many mooooons ago, in Arizona on a raw retreat – she’s a magical little raw pixie of joy and I for one am very grateful for these 'Kisses’ she offers the world ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

New Raw Arrivals...

Today we have an exciting Valentines announcement...I am delighted to say that the very first translation of a RawReform book went on sale today... The name of the book is ‘Élõ ételfinomságok receptkönyve ‘ and yep, you guessed it, it’s the HUNGARIAN version of my Recipe book... ;) WOW – who saw that coming...?
The translation was produced by the talented Ms. Valeria Urban and what a lovely job she’s done on the cover :) (I’m taking her word on the translation aspect however... ;)
Valeria Urban (pictured here below) is a woman on a mission: she is single-handedly bringing the raw food revolution to Hungary :) Yeeeeeeeee-HAH ;) She set up the first (and so far only) Hungarian raw food website - http://www.nyersetel.hu/ - studied live-food cuisine at the luscious Tree of Life in Arizona and has already translated and published Victoria Boutenko’s books ‘Raw Family’ and ‘Green for Life’ into Hungarian. GOOD WORK :)
You can see the PRINTED version of this book at Valeria’s site HERE and in the next few days, we will also add it as an e-book to the RawReform store – stay tuned ;)
If you’re reading this and thinking ‘hang on, I could translate raw books into Italian/French/Swahili’ and so on, do feel free to drop us a line to angela@rawreform.com with a few details and we can get you set up with info on how YOU could be the next star translator, helping spread the raw message ever-further ;)

on February the 14th I had:

1.5 quarts water
16oz carrot/spinach/zucchini/cucumber juice
fruit salad w/chia gel (papaya/peach/golden kiwi/plum) with a bowl of banana/maca ice cream
3 cups water
12oz carrot/spinach/zucchini/cucumber juice
bowl of banana ice cream with cherries and a couple of mandarins
1 quart water

We are so bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeessed :) After the ‘torments’ of inner-city life in Auckland, we have now headed out west for a few nights of recuperation and detox, before our talk in Auckland this Sunday. We are so grateful to now be at a STUNNING beach house, just a few paces from the ocean. Fresh air, the sound of crashing waves, rainforest-clad hills and the sound of bird call rather than truck brakes...aaaaaahhhhhh, breathing deep and giving much gratitude here...plus detoxing at a rate of knots ;) I sense some more beautiful west coast sunset moments in the coming days :) I’ll try to take some pictures this time... Ooo, and if anyone has places to recommend staying in the Golden Bay/Nelson area of the South Island here, please do let us know – angela@rawreform.com...

on February the 15th I had:

1.5 quarts water
30oz watermelon/orange juice
20oz spinach/cucumber/zucchini/carrot juice
bowl of tahini/hemp seed mushed with diced tomatoes and karengo seaweed, served with lettuce leaves and cucumber sticks
1.5 quarts water
12oz spinach/cucumber/zucchini/carrot juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/papaya/golden kiwi/goji berries/blueberries/cherries
1 quart water

Mr. Monarch already mentioned this a bit in his blog yesterday – however, I know not everyone reads both of our posts, so I thought I’d repeat this here too, especially as I’d like to see these beautiful people get as much coverage as possible... Our gloriously raw friends Kathy and Danny Living (yes, that's their real surname) recently opened a new raw restaurant in the Chicago suburbs called ‘Borrowed Earth’ and were featured in a sweet little clip on local TV a few nights ago – you can see the video HERE. Danny and Kathy are SUCH sweeeeeeeet people and it is so heartwarming to me to see their dreams animated into reality in this way...we met them for the first time last year in Chicago, when the Monarch and myself were giving talks – now, I may get some of the details of their stories a bit fuzzy, but it goes smthg like this: they had jobs they didn’t really like, then suddenly they didn’t have jobs...in fact they had no source of income and weren’t sure what direction life was flowing for them...they decided to watch the film ‘The Secret’ every day for a month. They lived by the principles of manifesting our deepest desires through positive thinking...within a few months, they were opening their own raw food restaurant and now they’re living the dream ;) Yeeeeeeeeee-HAH :)))))) LOVE IT and I love them too – they are like deliciousness embodied...friendly, funny, warm-hearted, loving, open, generous...and from this little video clip, Borrowed Earth is looking FABULOUS – it looks SO sleek and pro, yet friendly too – I LOVE the ‘rawluctant gallery wall’ for example – classic ;) Anyway, you can check out the little news item on their place HERE and you can visit Borrowed Earth itself here: http://www.blogger.com/www.borrowedearthcafe.com

We definitely plan to give talks and visit up there one day – hopefully later this year, as and when we get back to the States ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

The Raw 'Insider' List...

OOOOOooOOOOOoooooo, we’ve got a FUN announcement for you today...how would you like to join a raw ‘Insider’ list and get the best deals on raw foods? We know there are a lot of INCREDIBLE independent parents out there, doing their best to bring up sparkly raw families on budgets, plus many others who simply find it challenging to afford all the quality raw foods they’d like…well, help is now at hand ;) We have a big depot full of raw food products and from now on, as the expiration dates start getting nearer for different items, we’re going to send out an email to anyone who wants to receive updates, to let you know what’s on offer, at HUGELY discounted prices. It’s win-win all round :)
For example, in our first round-up we’re going to have items like:

*3lb bags of hemp protein powder for $15
This product is actually no-where near its expiration date – these bags are brand new – we just have an excess of them. ONE lb of hemp protein powder usually costs that amount – here you’re getting 3lbs for that price - :O – bargain...

We also have:
Probiotics, Digestive Enzymes, Hemp Seed packets, Hemp Protein packets, Flax/Raisin Bars, Coco-Chia Bars, Aromatherapy Inhalers, Raw Power Protein Powders and many more...

You don't need to learn any complex handshakes or anything to join in the fun ;) To join ‘The Insider List’, just send an email to matt@rawspirit.org and ***be sure to include the word ‘INSIDER’ in the subject line so that it sneaks past Mr. Monarch’s spamblocker ;) *** We look forward to furnishing your cupboards with many shiny bargains in the future ;)

on February the 12th I had:

1.5 quarts water
12oz celery/cucumber/parsley/apple/radish juice
½ an avo mushed with finely chopped garlic/cilantro, diced tomatoes, sprouts, karengo seaweed, served with cucumber chunks and cabbage leaves
1 quart water
6oz celery/cucumber/parsley/apple/radish juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/kiwi/peach/cherry
3 cups water

After my little update on the Andressohn family a couple of days back, one person wrote in wondering why cheques to support the family are to be sent to Dr Flora and why the parents’ Bail Bond had not been paid back already...well, here’s what I found out... ;)

It was Dr Flora who posted all the bail money for the Andressohns. 50% of it was her life savings; the rest she put on her credit cards. She's not looking for the cash part back, just the credit card principle and interest. Also, Flora is the court-appointed Guardian-ad-Litem for the Andressohn children, and has to account for all funds to the Court. Any donations are deductible on people's taxes. It is also very much appreciated if people do want to send funds to the Andressohns directly, especially for donations. The only issue is that they move house a lot, constantly seeking affordable housing.

Hope that helps ;)

on February the 13th I had:

1.5 quarts water
36oz watermelon/orange juice
24oz spinach/zucchini/carrot juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/papaya/golden kiwi/black plum
3 cups water
12oz spinach/zucchini/carrot juice
bowl of banana ice cream with dried figs
1 quart water

Here down under, ‘tis Valentines Day tomorrow – oooo lala…
Here are some fabulous ‘GREEN’ Valentines Tips from Michael Bloch over at GreenLivingTips.com :

“Around a billion valentines are sent each year globally...Valentines Day is big business and as such has the potential to have substantial impact on the environment. For example, the one billion cards laid end to end would stretch around the world 5 times! That's a lot of trees.

If Valentines Day is an important day for you or the one you love; then you can show a bit of extra love for the environment by carefully considering what you buy. Here's some ideas:

- Cards made from recycled or tree-free paper (this will be indicated on the card)

- Consider sending an e-card instead using one of the many quality services around.

- Fair trade and/or organic (RAW ;) chocolate

- Choose organic and/or locally grown flowers

- Make a donation to an environmental organization on behalf of the person (like the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation...)

- If you wish to give jewelry, consider pre-owned or purchasing from jewelers who are certified to be sourcing precious metals and gemstones in an ecologically and socially responsible manner.

- Buy the person a gift certificate for holistic therapies e.g. massage, naturopath, health spa

- Arrange dinner at a local restaurant specializing in organic or locally grown food. Eating locally cuts down on food miles

- Book a retreat in a wildlife reserve, park or natural area. Your business will help support the running of such establishments.

- Give natural perfumes and fragrances. Popular mainstream fragrances are chemical cocktails. By buying natural fragrances, you'll be showing you not only care for the environment, but the person's health."

See the full article HERE. Thanks, Michael :)

Oooo, and wishing YOU all an uber-delicious, joyful to the max, cuddly, yummy, Happy Valentines, until whence we meet again ;)
Kisses to all,
One love,
Ms. Stokes. xxx

Kiwi Life and the Master Cleanser...

Ok, there have been quite a few requests lately for more info on New Zealand - particularly where to get raw goodies here ;)
Well, we’re in Auckland for a few weeks at the moment...and as I said before, we had a challenge to locate organics to buy at all in the beginning, in the area we’re in, despite the fact that I KNOW there are many hundreds of organic farms country-wide here. It made no sense to me and we were very relieved when we started to find some goodies ;) Here’s what we’ve discovered so far...

Health Food Stores:

Ceres – This company seems to actually be a HUGE distributor of organic foods in NZ – we’re just fortunate to be located somewhat near their retail outlet in Ellerslie – see http://ceres.co.nz/ - they have fresh organic produce, plus a bulk section with dried fruits, nuts, seeds etc...

Huckleberry Farms – this company seems to have 2 big retail outlets in Auckland. The one we visited had lots of produce, a bulk section and even a juice/smoothie bar :) Apparently there is also a farmer’s market in the street across from them on weekends... See HERE for more info.

Others:

Auckland City’s Farmers’ Market – Saturday mornings, 8.30am-12.30pm, at the Britomart Precinct. A few organic growers/spray-free – not masses of choice – still, nice to buy direct from the growers ;) See http://www.cityfarmersmarket.co.nz/ for more info. It’s my understanding that there are a few other farmers’ markets at the weekends around this city too – I don’t know where any of them are though...Auckland seems vaaaaaaaast in terms of the land area it covers and we’re only just starting to get our heads round the public transport here ;)

Other than that, we’ve found that many of the supermarkets have a few organic fresh items – currently, mainly cherries (YAY), blueberries, kiwis and...dates...not much else...
As for raw food companies...well, our lovely friends Mark and Veronique here in Auckland run ‘Vital Essence’ - http://www.vitalessence.co.nz/ though they’re not doing a full raw catering business anymore.

Ooooo, one other really useful and interesting site I’ve found here is ‘Organic Explorer’ – see http://www.organicexplorer.co.nz - they have info on ALL kinds of organic contacts, resources, outlets etc in NZ...

I’m really excited to get beyond the city soon and explore more of this LUSH country...as I mentioned before, I was here years ago and worked my way round the whole country, on organic farms with WWOOF (http://www.wwoof.org), hence I KNOW they are out there ;)
If anyone reading this has more useful info to add about where to locate raw foods/services in Auckland or New Zealand in general, please do send them in and I’ll piece them together for another post – there’s definitely lots of reader interest ;)

on February the 10th I had:

1.5 quarts water
20oz spinach/carrot/zucchini juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/kiwi/golden kiwi/black plum
2 cups water
small handful of seaweeds – wakame and karengo
1.5 quarts water
2 handfuls of cherries
12oz spinach/carrot/zucchini juice
bowl of ‘figgy pudding’ – fresh figs and oranges blended together, with chopped up pieces of banana in it – yummmmmm ;)
3 cups water

Ooooo, Monika from the Raw Network of Washington (RawNOW) emailed through a link to all the items for the silent auction at their big raw fundraising event in Seattle this week, which I mentioned a few days back...the auction list’s pretty PHENOMENAL, so I thought I’d add the link here for all to ogle at ;) Monika also says that any items that AREN’T sold on the night will be put into an online auction – ooo lalalalalalaaaa – so, if you’re not able to attend the actual event, maybe keep an eye on their site afterwards, if there’s smthg you were interested in ;) Here’s the link to see the list:
http://rawwashington.org/events/auctiondonors.htm

Ooo and while we’re on the subject of raw events this week, a quick reminder that the Monarch and myself shall be sharing juicy raw tidbits and tips in Auckland next Sunday, the 16th...full event details HERE: http://www.rawspirit.org/events.php

on February the 11th I had:

1.5 quarts water
24oz celery/cucumber/parsley/spinach/lettuce/apple juice
big bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/kiwi/golden kiwi/black plum/mango
2 cups water
1 peach
16oz celery/cucumber/parsley/spinach/lettuce/apple juice
3 cups water
big bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/kiwi/black plum/mango/apple/cherry
3 cups water

There are some questions I get asked over and over again – one of them (somewhat bizarrely in my opinion, as I’ve never done it ;) is ‘What do you think of the Master Cleanser?’
Well, here’s an answer...

Hmmmmmm...to be honest, I don't feel great about the idea of the Master Cleanser (MC - also sometimes known as the 'Lemonade Diet', or 'Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanser'). For a start, it recommends to use maple syrup or molasses to cleanse, neither of which are usually raw. Even if one replaces those with agave syrup or raw honey, the glycemic content is very high. What MOSTLY concerns me abt the MC however is that it seems to be very low in nutrients - it is basically just sugars and spice.
Now, for some people it is a useful tool because they're coming from a background of SUCH toxicity and eating a lot of 'junk' foods, so merely the fact that they're NOT eating those kind of things and are giving the body a break from digesting solids is going to bring them MUCH healing, HOWEVER, I would SO much rather see someone do a cleanse on vegetable juices than the master cleanser recipe, as then they are also experiencing the benefits of putting down those other foods and getting a break from solids, PLUS getting in MASSES of nutrients from the veggie juices at the same time - seems like a much better deal to me ;) The Master Cleanser is much easier to prepare of course than veggie juices, which appeals to some people, plus tends to work out cheaper.
Another concern I have about the MC is that I often see people use it as a kind of 'escape hatch' from less-than-optimal eating patterns - i.e. - they will eat a messy intake for weeks on end, then go into master cleansing, then yo-yo out of the other side of that, straight into less-than-optimal eating again - it just doesn't seem very balanced to me - I'd rather see people eat a balanced, healthy, high-raw intake regularly, using veggie juicing to cleanse periodically...
Many people enjoy the MC though and seem to get happy results from it...so...the choice is yours, but I would certainly recommend you check out Juice Feasting in preference to living on spicy sugar-water for a week or more ;) You can see my booklet all about Juice Feasting HERE. If you want to read more abt the Master Cleanser, Stanley Burroughs' book is HERE and I believe curezone.com has a lot of good info on it ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Fruits, Friends and Fundraising...

Today I only ate fruit salads with chia gel...I was having some intestinal issues and my energy was low...my body asked for just fruits, so...that was the menu for the day, with a bit of chia gel added, to offset the sugar bursts a little...it felt good...light enough to not tax my system, yet packed with enough energy to sustain me all day...it also stirred up some childhood memories which I found really interesting...I suddenly remembered that as a kid, whenever I got ill (which seemed often...) I would only want to eat fruit salad – however, back then, that meant fruit salad FROM A TIN - :O – LOL...yes, perverse as it may sound now, back then it seems that is how my brain translated my body’s apparent request for a lighter, fruity load for the day – ‘ahhhhh, yes tinned fruit cocktail’s what we need’ ;) It worked of course, merely by virtue of the fact that – if nothing else - I stopped eating all the other junk I usually ate and gave my body a short break...yes, tinned fruit cocktail is hardly the height of nutritional excellence, yet compared to a day’s menu of processed meats, breads, chicken patties, cakes, chips and so on – it was a huge relief for this body ;) It was fun today for me to re-visit those memories and note how I’m essentially still following the same routine now when I feel a little less than completely vibrant – only now, thankfully the fruit is RAW, organic and delicious ;)

on February the 8th I had:

1.5 quarts water
20oz spinach/carrot juice
bowl of avo/tahini mushed together with diced garlic/tomatoes/cilantro, with assorted sprouts and karengo seaweed stirred in, served with lettuce/cabbage leaves and an Italian Power Wrap
1.5 quarts water
box of cherries and 3 gorgeous kiwis
bowl of bananas mushed with ground flax, goji berries, tahini, maca and dried figs
1 quart water

Oooo, yummy event alert: next Saturday, February the 16th, The Raw Network of Washington (RawNOW) will be holding a Fundraising Gala at the top of Seattle’s tallest building :) The event includes a gourmet 4-course raw vegan dinner, an extensive silent auction, with goodies donated from dozens of different raw companies and individuals – myself and Mr Monarch included ;) David Wolfe will be speaking at the event too – it will be a fantastic gathering I’m sure – we’d definitely be there if we were in the area ;) RawNOW is a non-profit educational charity, fundraising to create a raw food centre in WA state – NICE :) For more information about this vibrant annual Gala, see http://rawwashington.org.


on February the 9th I had:

1.5 quarts water
20oz spinach/carrot/kale/watercress/green pepper juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/papaya/kiwi/cherry
1.5 quarts water
12oz spinach/carrot/kale/watercress/green pepper juice
bowl of fruit salad with chia gel: banana/mango/golden kiwi/fresh figs
1 quart water


While we’re on a ‘fundraising’ note, here’s a little update about the Andressohns in Florida – the raw family who were separated and put on trial after their youngest child passed over a few years ago. It seems they received the care package of food we sent over to them, this week...YAY :) Thanks too, to all of you who have been generously sending in donations and support, to help the Andressohns pay off their bail bond and re-establish themselves after this traumatic period. Know that every gift and prayer sent their way is very much appreciated. From this message below, from Dr Flora, their friend and benefactor, it seems however that the Andressohns are still in pretty challenging circumstances...

“…One of their sons had his 7th birthday a week ago and he shyly asked me for a present the next time I come. He got underpants, but no toys. She (Lamoy – the mother of the family) is happy to know that the principle for the bail bond has been paid off...and is struggling to make sense of having to pay interest too. This innocent young family had not even had a checking account when I met them and had been trying to live just from their pocket change. ...the minute they were forced into that expensive home by the state, with the payments of $1,400/month for just the rent, there was nothing left. She has gotten her driving license, and has sent in the papers for her business license. She's almost there to being an independent businesswoman with a catering service. Help her just a little longer, and then she will make us all proud. I'm proud of her for just being a good, loving mother under the circumstances, and trying as hard as she is to help others, and never doubt God's path for her.”

Hmmmm, we’re breathing deep and sending love from here...if perhaps you feel moved to send more assistance their way, please do ;) You can send gifts or cheques made payable to ‘Flora Van Orden’ to: Flora Van Orden, PO Box 900963, Homestead, FL 33090.

All gratitude, blessings and love to you,
Angela. xxx

p.s. - thanks to ALL of you who sent in yummy wishes to Mr Monarch for his birthday - twas a yummy occasion :)