Saturn and Cracao Controversies...

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK....Saturn moved out of Leo and into Virgo today…and so begin-eth my personal Saturn Return...hooooold on... ;)
Saturn moves into a new sign about every two and a half years and starts to turn its spotlight onto a different part of our being…so, we’re heading now from a focus on ‘personal’/leadership/creative issues to ‘transpersonal’/service/healing…
Master Astrologer Julian Venables says about Saturn:
“It’s the planet that shows us where through effort, hard work and responsibility we gain personal or worldly success. Saturn’s central function is that of making us adults (whatever actual age you are) by assigning us with emotional responsibilities that bring about maturation. Virgo is the sign of analysis and perfection, as well as being linked to health, work and service.”
He makes this exciting prediction for the coming years:
“Alternative and holistic health may be given more form and structure. Personal health issues will also feature big with further critical research into the quality of food products available to consumers. The concept behind ‘dieting’ fads may start to be replaced with learning about nutrition and balanced diets.”
To read more about how Saturn is likely to affect YOUR path, see HERE...

On September the 1st I had:

1.5 litres water
600ml warm water with lemon
400ml orange/grapefruit juice
500ml green juice
slice of watermelon
little bowl of avocado blended with banana, swirled with sprouts, maca and pumpkin seeds
500ml water
water of a young coconut
300ml hemp/mango/peach smoothie
plate of marvellous Raw Greek creations
slice of exquisite lemon/cinnamon cheesecake
cracao bliss balls from Conscious Chocolate
1 litre water

I spoke yesterday at the wonderful Festival of Life in London – FUN :) WOW…it feels like a huge family gathering to me – reconnecting with many of the magical light workers here in the UK…people selling yummy treats and beautiful clothes and amazing, loved-up, handmade products…mmmmmmm…I spoke to a packed little room of yummies – thanks to all of you who came along for it and apologies to those who were turned away due to lack of space – I didn’t realise – I’m sure we could’ve squeezed you in somewhere ;) ahhh, well…next year perhaps…or sometime sooner – we had quite a lot of requests to hold a retreat here in the UK in the near future, which sounds fun…so…keep your eyes open for news of that, or if you have a venue you’d love to suggest/offer for such an event, do please let us know – angela@rawreform.com ;)

on September the 2nd I had:

1.5 litres water
500ml rooibos tea
juice of one Satsuma
double shot of barleygrass
500ml spinach/celery/parsely/carrot juice
1 little cube of raw halvah
1.5 durians
2 litres water

OOOooooo, Mr Brian Self just published a VERY interesting article all about the effects of cacoa/raw chocolate – yeeeeeeeee-HAH ;) He draws on Native American tradition and writes about how this powerful food is a ‘medicine’ rather than a staple ‘food’. He explores the emotional and alchemical aspects of the brown stuff – the stimulating action, the alkaloids, the effect on the adrenals, the impact it can have on mood swings/balance and more…he quotes a Native American friend of his as saying “When we eat chocolate it is always after a meal or ceremony, it is not the meal and is used with great honor and respect." I’d highly recommend taking a look through this article HERE – I find it very well-written and balanced – so much of this ‘rarely mentioned’ info resonates for me…I love having some ‘cracao’ every now and then – for me it’s definitely like a stimulant/’party’ food though - not a daily staple… Thanks for sharing Brian ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Metamorphosis...

I went to see the butterflies in New York’s Museum of Natural History today…WOW…they currently have a butterfly conservatory exhibit, which contains hundreds of live butterflies in a warmed, lush green environment…it was a wonderful experience to meet so many of these amazing creatures all at the same time – all kinds of colours and sizes and shapes…stunning…there were some great info posts abt them too…one explained for example how apparently when the caterpillar goes into the cocoon to undergo the metamorphosis into a butterfly, its cellular structure gets completely altered…it sounded in fact as if it pretty much liquefies itself, then restructures into a butterfly…LOL…how incredible…I also learnt that swarms of Monarch butterflies fly THOUSANDS of miles every year from Canada and the USA down to Mexico where they winter…WOW…imagine…those tiny little beings flying all that way, through all kinds of climates and weather…yep, those Monarchs really do get around ;)

On May the 16th I had:

1 litre water
500ml green juice
avo/lime/Himalayan salt/nori
500ml water
1 apple
500ml green juice with apple
500ml water
1 raw ‘California Bread’ from High Vibe
500ml coconut water
500ml water

I spoke at the High Vibe store Wednesday night in the East Village area of NYC. This is Bob Dagger’s place – who has interviewed me a couple of times now on Tribeca radio. It was a pleasure to meet him in person and see his much-loved little store which has apparently been around for about 13 years, providing people with raw food supplies, books, supplements and other healthy living goodies in the city. Dagger is clearly passionate about his work and caring for each and every customer that comes in – it was such a pleasant, calm atmosphere there, with loads of green plants, a little fountain and even a cute little old dog ;) Outside it was POURING with rain and the windy streets were awash with water, yet inside we enjoyed a cozy little gathering of raw food souls :) nice…

Today I have had:

1 litre water
½ a large papaya
500ml green juice with apple
piece of raw pizza and piece of raw pecan pie from Raw Soul
1 litre water
1 litre water
500ml water

Wow, the raw restaurant food I had in the middle of the day today kept me going the whole of the rest of the day – hmmmm…those more complicated combinations just don’t fit this body that well anymore in terms of digestion…I stayed on just water for the rest of the day and that worked great… ;)
Thanks for all the entries we’ve received so far for this month’s RawReform prize giveaway of a whole box of Lara bars…if you haven’t yet entered this free draw and would like to do so, just drop us a line at angela@rawreform.com and let us know your answer to the following question:

What has been your strangest detox symptom/experience with a raw lifestyle?

…and don’t worry about shocking us with your symptoms ;) there have been some pretty amusing stories shared already…

One love,
Angela. xxx

Reaching Completion...

I keep forgetting to mention: NEW DATES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO MY CURRENT TOUR SCHEDULE…apologies for the extremely late notice, but a few more events are now up on the RawReform calendar – tomorrow (Thursday, May the 3rd) I will be speaking in Kansas City, then after that there are talks in both Austin (Saturday, May the 5th) and Houston (Wednesday, May the 9th) in Texas …you can check out the details here:

http://www.rawreform.com/component/option,com_events/task,view_month/Itemid,1/month,05/year,2007/

Hope to see you there if you are in the area ;)

Yesterday was…an absolutely phenomenal day for me…it was the last full day of the women’s retreat here in Michigan. We broke them out of their juice feast, we had an incredible sweat lodge and it was full moon in Scorpio…what more could we ask for…? ;) The lodge was…beyond words for me – an intensely grounding, humbling and serene space of sharing, sweating our prayers and then arising anew from the flames and heat, like phoenixes from the ashes…I don’t think I have ever sweat so much in the space of 3 hours in my life, it was an amazingly cleansing experience and my skin glowed after…and I literally could not bring myself to speak to anyone afterwards…it was a time of deep connection and wonderment for me and I was truly grateful for the experience…

Yesterday- May the 1st - I had:

500ml water
500ml peppermint tea
shot of wheatgrass
1 litre chard/cucumber/apple juice
400ml water
8oz soaked dried prunes (YAAAAAAAAY ;)
300ml water
300ml green juice
1 plate of watermelon cubes
500ml water
1 litre ‘5000 volts’ – celery/red pepper/garlic/hot pepper/orange juice
2 litres water

Going back onto solids again was an interesting experience this time round after Juice Feasting…I could see how totally indifferent I felt about foods and it was a strange thing to see…I was cutting up watermelon for example – one of my absolute favourite foods and I felt totally uninterested in reaching for a piece to eat…I DID however go back on to solids, as it felt like the time to do it, but I was very interested to witness my feelings about them…

Today I have had:

500ml water
500ml peppermint tea
½ shot wheatgrass
400ml liver cleanse drink
700ml apple/celery/beet/ginger juice
bowl of watermelon cubes
1 plate green leafy salad
meat of 1 young coconut
1 litre chard/celery juice
700ml peppermint tea
big chunk of watermelon
1 litre water

I woke up today feeling a lot of detox stuff going on, after going back on to solids and feeling the cleansing of the sweat lodge…sleep in eyes, running nose etc…interesting – that just some prunes and watermelon can make such a difference…
The power, beauty and magnificence that has been shown to us during this retreat has been magnificent to witness…the flow of energy, the love and sharing, supportive bonding and sisterhood…it has been simply joyous to hold this space here with this incredible group of sisters who have all felt enormous, powerful, life shifts occur in the space of these 7 days…how blessed we are, as they now go forth, back to their homes and loved ones and communities and can share this message of healing and light…wow…
So, it was absolutely clear that we want to hold this kind of sacred space again for another retreat and we have already put the dates in place – September the 12th to the 19th – and the places are already filling up, so please do get in there fast if you want to be with us next time round – you can see more details on Rawnora’s website – http://www.rawnora.com/ ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Shifting Deeper into Truth...

The Juice Feast retreat is going SO well, I’m delighted – today was their last full day of juicing and everyone seems to be feeling so well, losing weight, looking brighter, less ‘puffy’, calmer, more relaxed…it is wonderful to witness…and we will definitely be doing this all again – from September the 12th to 19th, I’ll be back on juicing duty here in Michigan with another group of beautiful women…if you want to be part of that, just let us know ;) (See http://www.rawnora.com/)

Yesterday – April 29th – I had:

600ml water
400ml peppermint tea
1 tbsp bee pollen
shot of wheatgrass
1 litre coconut water with greens
300ml water
1 litre ‘5000 volts’
200ml water
1 litre pears/chard/romaine juice
1 litre apples/spring greens/radish/spinach
600ml water

A highlight of today for me was a singing/drumming circle we held in the evening time…wow…music and singing move me so much at this time in my life…I love it…I sang a lot when I was younger, in shows, on stage and so on, then…kind of neglected it all for some years, but it has been definitely resurfacing for me as a passion these last few years…when I used to live in Iceland a few years back, I recorded some songs with a wonderful songwriter and now am getting more and more into women’s song circle songs at the moment – it just creates soooo much flow for me through my being…I get out of my head and thoroughly into my heart space and body instead…mmmmmmmmmmmm… :)

Today I have had:

500ml water
400ml peppermint tea
shot of wheatgrass
1 tbsp pollen
1 litre greens/apple/ginger juice
250ml water
1 litre orange juice w/ hemp oil
1 litre greens with pineapple
250ml water
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 litre coconut water with romaine/dandelion juice

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the Full Moon in Scorpio...I am EXCITED - it is a POWERFUL time of shifts and truth-telling and not only is it the last full day of this women's retreat, but we're going to be breaking the Juice Feast AND ending the day with a sweat lodge...wow...here's some of what Lisa Dale Miller has to say about this full moon - to read the whole piece, go here: http://www.astrowisdom.com/thisfullmoon.htm

"This is the truth or dare Full Moon; a time to honor the transformative power of truth-telling...Scorpio seeks deep truth by peeling back layers of lies and half-truths-within us and without us. This is a Full Moon to see things as they truly are, not as you wish them to be.
The Full Moon in Scorpio is the night for full disclosure. It is the night to empower ourselves by naming our truth and shouting it from the rooftops. This is the Full Moon to celebrate our right to know. Though your merriment can take many forms, it should be done with others. It may only take one person to uncover a secret, but it takes many people working together to break the spell of illusion and denial. The Full Moon in Scorpio is a time to release attachment to old pain and arise like a phoenix from the ashes of burned off karma; freed from narcissistic self-obsession and ready to help others heal their own pain."

WOW...what greater night for a sweat lodge to complete a transformative, healing women's juicing retreat...? It's amazing...I love the way the universe flows...this was not 'consciously' planned at all that the end of the retreat, lodge and full moon would all co-incide...it just unfolded that way itself...beautiful ;)

ENJOY :)

One love,

Angela. xxx

Juicy Details...

Alright, you asked, we delivered...there has been such a huge, wonderful amount of interest in Juice Feasting of late and so many of you have been asking to hear the playback of the first, free JF teleconference call that we held a few weeks back. Unfortunately, the recording feature was not working at that point, so there was no playback available. Well, now we've remedied that. The wonderful Michelle and I did a re-record this evening and it is now available for your listening pleasure, by calling this number:

Playback Number: (641) 985-5000

and entering this access code: 355313#

This is a one-hour, FREE intro talk all about Juice Feasting and is available for you to listen and re-listen to as it suits you - Enjoy ;)

If you would like to participate more in such calls, we are delighted to announce that we will be holding a 4-week series of Juice Feast teleconference calls, starting Monday May the 7th (US: 6pm PDT, 9pm EST) and running for 4 consecutive Monday evenings. For more details about this and to sign up, please see here:

http://www.rawreform.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,36/category_id,12/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,55/


Yesterday - April the 27th, I had:

500ml water
500ml tea
1 litre celery/red pepper/garlic/hot pepper/orange juice
250ml water
1 litre carrots/kale/spring greens mix
200ml water
1 litre strawberries/cucumber/chard/pear
200ml water
1 litre pineapple/romaine/mint
300ml water

I am feeling so great back on juice and all the women here on retreat with me in Michigan seem to be having a wonderful time of it too - we are so blessed - a wonderful group of goddesses, many of whom have never even HAD fresh juice before, all living a liquid lifestyle and loving it - we're into day 3 of this Juice Feast and it is all flowing marvellously...in fact, one woman who had never really even heard anything abt raw foods before joining us here, announced today that she might continue after the retreat for the full 92 days... ;O wow...lives are truly transforming here in front of our eyes...and it is beautiful...

Today I have had:

600ml water
400ml orange juice
1 litre pineapple/greens
1 litre romaine/dandelion
200ml orange juice with hemp oil
1.5 litres green juice
500ml water
1.5 litres greens with carrots
250ml water

It feels as if a canker sore is working its way out inside my lower lip, so I moved over to mainly greens today. It was soooo great to have the OJ/hemp oil combo again though - wow, I'd totally forgotten about that - used to have that almost every day while doing the 92-Day Juice Feast...feels soooo good to me...
A local herbalist came and led us on an herb walk today in the glorious spring sunshine - it was SO great - I love seeing the greenery through the eyes of someone who knows what they're looking at...to me it is often just a beautiful blur of green, but seeing it all with someone who can describe the different properties of the little beings we're encountering is wonderful...we are on Native American land and were watching out for encounters with any power animals too - the first one I met was some outlandish-looking BRIGHT green little bug - it was so bright it almost didn't look real - like a cartoon or smthg...hmmmmmmmmmm, I'm not sure what that says abt me... ;)
So, we're getting PLENTY of greens in here, but how about you? Remember that the RawReform giveaway this month is all about greeeeening ourselves up, with a giveaway of a free canister of green powder - to be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is email your answer to the following question to angela@rawreform.com...

How do you enjoy your greens?

Best wishes and all blessings for now,
Angela.
xxx

Juice Feasting Retreat...

I am holding a women's' Juice Feasting retreat in Michigan this week, so am not going to be writing much - just wanted to do a little update for now...
We're through our first day of juices here and I'm so pleased to say that it is going REALLY well - I am soooooo thrilled to be sharing this amazing healing tool directly with people...yesterday was our last day of solids - this is how it looked for me:

April the 25th I had:

500ml water
500ml tea
1 litre veggie juice
400g pineapple with goji berries
500ml water
1 apple
crackers with seed cheese
500ml water
seed cheese stuffed peppers with salad, 'key lime pie' and strawberries - 'The Final Supper'
500ml water

and so, back to a liquid lifestyle...it flows very easily for me now...as I wrote a few days back, after 92 days on juice, 5 days feels like a little 'drop in the juicing ocean' ;)

On April the 26th I had:

500ml water
500ml tea
1 litre celery/cucumber/apple juice
250ml water
1 litre romaine/spinach/carrot juice
250ml water
1 litre watermelon juice
1 litre kale/dandelion/apple/ginger juice
500m tea
500ml water

What an amazing retreat we are sharing here...a wonderful group of women, coming together in sisterhood to support each other on our next level of cleansing/detoxing/taking the next big step. There are some wonderful stories to how these beings ended up gathered here, from cancer survivors to someone who flew here at the last minute after picking up a magazine with an article about my story, many hundreds of miles away down in North Carolina...LOL ;) How blessed we are...
The women aren't hungry, which pleases me so much - they all seem happy and feel like juice feasting is so far easy and are excited to have massages and colonics etc from local practitioners...juicing a gallon a day for around 25 women involves a LOT of woman-power - we are fortunate to be a strong group of able women who flow together and are seeing wonderful shifts unfold ;)
We are enjoying the beautiful nature here, yoga sessions, talks, sharing circles, singing and talking a lot about enemas/bowel movements... ;)
FUN :)))
All love,
Angela. xxx

Raw in the Windy City...

Alrighty, I am now rawking it big stylee in Chicago :) WOW, this city is buzzzzzzing with raw activity…amazing…speakers, pot lucks, 2 raw restaurants…and it’s so far NORTH – it’s not the likeliest of raw locations after all – great work, people ;)
I headed out here yesterday from Michigan, on the train. It was fun – it was a long time since I’d been on a train and I do love that form of transport…it lulled me to sleep and in between snoozing I saw beautiful scenery…Michigan reminds me very much of England…it is soooooooo different to California, where I’ve been for the last month…here it seems like it’s all greens and flat corn fields and big stark heavy trees…whereas Southern Cali seems like all deserts and palms and orchards…I LOVE all the old houses I see over this side of the country too – sooooooo sweet, all the old farm houses and town houses- I’ve never noticed the contrast so clearly before between these areas that were settled so much earlier and the ‘baby’ west coast cities in comparison…

On April the 16th I had:

1.5 litres water
bowl of rawldorf salad with crispy kale croutons
500ml veggie juice
400ml green smoothie
500ml water
500ml hemp shake
2 apples
300ml water
nori rolls with spicy sunflower seed pate and salad
300ml Treasure Tea
400ml water

I stopped by Karyn’s raw restaurant in Chicago in the afternoon, which was fun – this place has been going for many years it seems, in different locations and forms…and is now a thriving, beautifully presented place…with some really pretty packaged raw foods and some of the most amazing looking raw desserts I’ve ever seen – like in a bakery – big stacked-up cakes with icing ontop that looks like doughnut icing ;) nice work…

Today I have had:

1.5 litres water
300ml Treasure Tea
500ml water
600ml green veggie juice
avo blended with basil, hot pepper and lemon with nori and flax crackers
500ml water
big slice of watermelon
500ml water
2 apples
500ml water
300ml tea

I’m really into liquids right now…my body doesn’t seem so interested in anything heavy, even though I’m in a colder place…it’s all about simplicity right now…I think the foods I had in Cali for the last month were often so complicated that my body is enjoying some ‘downtime’ right now ;) I LOOOOOOVED having straight green juice again today for example – I’ve been having my greens with carrot a lot lately and forget just how much I love the straight greens on their own…yummmmmmmmm…
Don’t forget, this month’s RawReform Prize Giveaway is all about the greens too – if you’re interested in winning a stash of yummy green superfood powder, just email angela@rawreform.com and answer this Q :

How do YOU enjoy your greens?

We ALL need plenty o’greens for balancing, alkalising and re-mineralising…so let’s share some tasty ways to pack them into our days…
I spoke at the beautiful Yoga Now studio in Chicago tonight – it has a lot of lovely cob artwork inside…very nice people and great atmosphere…we sat together on cushions and I spoke about my journey, top tips for being raw healthily and Juice Feasting – three members of the audience were all Juice Feasters – very cool ;) I love connecting with this community...
Tomorrow I speak at Cousin’s raw restaurant, which will be another exciting new experience – hope you can join us there from 6.30 if you’re in the area…
By the way, in case you didn’t catch it, today was the new moon in Aries – according to the fabulous astrologer Lisa Dale Miller this is the new moon for…

"…fresh starts, turning over a new leaf or starting a new phase. Aries is all about adventure and the indomitable spirit of the adventurer. This is also the New Moon to reinvigorate your lust for life. Go on an adventure, be spontaneous, or just do something wild and crazy. There is a time and place for play, and this is the New Moon to remember that all work and no play make us very dull people! So use your ritual to figure out how to bring more fun into your life! After all, life is just a big adventure."
"One more thing: Aries rules sports and exercise. Spring has arrived and if you have been couch-potatoing all winter long, it's time to get out and start moving your body! This is the ideal New Moon for starting an exercise program and making it a natural part of your daily routine. Just taking a 30-minute brisk walk each day can increase your health dramatically! For those of you who are already active and may want to take on a special challenge, this is the New Moon to initiate that dream of doing your first marathon or triathlon. One thing Aries knows for sure: life is what you make it! So make it exciting and full of joy!"

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm-hmmmmmmmmm…amen to that, sister ;) If you want to read her whole wonderful article about this moon, please visit: http://astrowisdom.com/thisnewmoon.htm

All love,
Angela. xxx

Healing CHI style...

I awoke around 7am this morning to the sound of people enthusiastically exercising outside the room I am staying in at the Creative Health Institute. I literally had NO idea where I was…traveller’s blur had me firmly in its grip and I lay there in a daze, trying to figure it all out…who were these people and what were they doing whooping and bounding about, right outside this room I was in – and where WAS I, anyway…? It all became clear after a while of course and unfolded into a simply wonderful day for me, playing on the re-bounders too and giving a talk here at this centre that promotes ‘teaching healing that works’.

Today I have had:

2.5 litres water
plate of CHI amazing buffet food, with celery soup
slice of lemon cheesecake
2 litres water
1 cup rejuvelac
bowl of ‘waldorf salad’ with crispy kale croutons
1 litre water

I was mainly into water today. Huge amounts of it. The food at CHI is absolutely WONDERFUL though – the Sunday buffet was a great experience…I love being at these healing centres where soooo many greens are grown and served…the crispy, dehydrated kale ‘croutons’ were a new treat for me that I really enjoyed – great idea…
I REALLY enjoyed talking here too. The audience of over 50 people seemed very interested in raw foods and it was wonderful to share my story, answer peoples’ questions and enjoy the atmosphere in this healing, tranquil, restful sanctuary space…this place has been helping people heal since 1976…wow…since before I was even BORN…what a legacy of transformations…this is also the place that the Boutenkos helped out at for a long time – the raw family whose book inspired me to turn MY life around and here I was today, to pass that message on…it felt great…
I spoke a bit about Juice Feasting and people seemed to be really into that idea too - I have in fact JUST had the first run of PRINTED versions of 'A Juice Feaster's Handbook' made and this audience nearly bought me out of them :) wow...it keeps on amazing me how interested people are in this form of healing...the printed versions of this book are now also up for sale on the RawReform site, here:

http://www.rawreform.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,37/category_id,6/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,55/

Tomorrow I’m off to Chicago for talks there – Yoga Now and Cousin’s IV Restaurant, tues and weds nights…yeeeeeeeeee-HAH ;) off to the windy city I flow/go/blow…
All love,
Angela. xxx

Back in the 'real-world'...

Ok...I'm out of the blessed sanctuary space of 'retreat-world' now and back in the 'real-world'...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek ;) There are MEN in the 'real world'...and hotdogs that turn on rotating spits...and big cities...;) and yet we can of course choose to be at peace with it all and at every moment...and I do...

On May the 3rd I had:

1 litre water
250ml orange juice
750ml celery/chard juice
400ml water
400ml hot water with lemon
slice of watermelon
400ml water
1/2 bowl of spring greens with avo/oj/lime juice dressing
500ml veggie juice
1 litre water

On Monday we're starting up the 4-week series of Juice Feasting Teleconference calls - yeeee-HAH ;) I'm excited...I love this new communication medium for sharing the message with many people at once, without us all having to be in the same place ;)
Somebody recently left a comment on this blog actually, asking why use juices rather than smoothies? i.e. why remove the fibre? Well, I see JUICE like medicine - it's like an elixir. You take a big pile of vegetables and ALL the nutrients in that whole stack get condensed down into a glass for you to drink. ALL those nutrients can then enter directly into your body and bloodstream in the most easily absorbable, assimilable way...Whereas, if you took the same stack of veggies and blended them together into a SMOOTHIE...for a start you are going to have a HUGE smoothie - a lot of volume to consume - either that, or you use fewer veggies, which of course then means less concentrated nutrients available for your body. Then, when you take the smoothie into your body, it still has the fibre in it, so it is more work for the body to use it efficiently. You are still activating a lot of energy for digestive power - whereas juices are very undemanding in terms of digestive power. The whole idea with Juice Feasting is that we're taking a BREAK from solids - we're moving the emphasis from digestion to elimination for the body's energy. So, that is why we use juices and not smoothies. The only real exception to that tends to be for those who are diabetics or have blood sugar issues - they can benefit from leaving some of the fibre in, especially at the start, to help soften and slow the impact of any sugars into their system. Hope that all makes sense ;)
So, if you have questions like that you want answered about JF, do join us for the 4-week teleconference series - you can read more about it here:
http://www.rawreform.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,36/category_id,12/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,55/


on May the 4th I had:

1 litre water
750ml veggie juice
400ml prune soak water
6oz soaked prunes
500ml water
150g watermelon
500ml celery/carrot juice
1 litre water

Right now I feel the most unwell that I have at any point in the last 5 years since going raw. Before I went raw, I used to ALWAYS be unwell, moving from one illness to another to another. These days, I just don't usually get illnesses. Right now my tonsils are swollen, my sinuses are draining in every direction they can and my voice is crackly. Wow. It is SO strange to feel so ill again and to remember that this is how I used to feel pretty much ALL the time and just accepted that as my normal state of health. So, why is this happening...? Well, it all started with a harmless little detox process of ear candling. I had never had this procedure performed and was fascinated to see what would happen...a friend administered the wax ear-tubes, which are lit at one end. As they burn, suction is created inside them and it helps to draw out any old wax and toxins lodged in the ears and sinus cavities. (See picture above to get an idea of the results - NOT mine by the way - drawn from Google.) All well and good. I had the treatment and it was absolutely amazing - the stuff that came out of me just blew me away...suddenly I could breathe more easily, my hearing was clearer and here were this inch-long RODS of old orange earwax on a plate before me that had been drawn out of my body. I was very excited. I have known for a long time that there was a blockage in the sinus tube that runs under my right eye and I hoped that this finally would help that heal. Off I went, lavender cotton buds in ears to aid their healing, feeling very pleased. The next day however, I took two planes. Hmmmmm. Sinus cavities and planes don't tend to mix so well together on the best of occasion and mine were now in a delicate state. They did not seem to appreciate the trips. I arrived to Kansas feeling immense pain in my head and sinus cavities, very weak and completely dis-embodied. It literally felt like my being was a couple of feet above my body and I could not get it down. I could barely comprehend what people were saying - my head swam. I went to the home of my host and laid down. Everything felt completely surreal. I awoke the next morning hardly able to swallow, as my tonsils were so inflamed. I coughed up a lot of mucus, yet swallowing is still an issue. When I was growing up, I often had tonsillitis. I usually used antibiotics to suppress the symptoms. It seems a lot of those old toxins are working their way out of me now...for which I am of course grateful - better out than in - but it sure is painful right now to even swallow - that's why my intake has been pretty much liquid the last couple of days...I can't handle anything else - my body is trying to heal...so, would I do ear candling again? YES, absolutely, I would just make sure I'm not going on any planes soon after ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Raw Film Fest FUN :)

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

On March the 16th I had:

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

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

Today I have had:

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

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

Raising up the Goddess...

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

On March the 13th I had:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy 100th :)

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

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

March the 7th, I had:

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

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

CELEBRATION TIME :)))

HURRAY :))) IT”S FINALLY FINISHED :))
My new e-book – A Juice Feaster’s Handbook – is ready for download NOW on the RawReform site :)
I am soooooooooooooooo happy and relieved to have this completed and ready for people to access – the response has been HUGE to this whole Juice Feasting process and I’m delighted to be able to share the info that people are really wanting and needing, all in one package…
Thanks to all of you who pre-ordered the book…hopefully you have all happily received it by now by email and are rapidly absorbing its juicy info…the 6 WINNERS have also now been selected at random for the ‘Post-Feast FEAST’ prize giveaway of YUMMY raw treat gift packs…and I’m thrilled to be able to announce that the lucky winners ARE…

(DRRRRRRRUM RRRRRRRRRRRROLL PLLLLLLLLLLEASE ;)

…Representing the UK/Europe/right-of-the-Atlantic tribe, we have:

Nadine Coulson
Jane Marriott
AND
Julia Barnes

…and on the left side of the Atlantic, we have the oh-so-lucky:

Linda Stockton
Joyce Jackson
AND
Sharon Danukos

CONGRATULATIONS and FELICITATIONS to you all…your prizes will be winging their way to you soon – ENJOY :)


So, as you perhaps noticed, in the furore of e-book finalising, blogging fell by the sideline yesterday, so, here’s how it went…

On Feb 25th I had:

500ml water
500ml prune soak water
200g/7oz soaked prunes
1 litre celery/red pepper/garlic/orange juice
3 small papayas
green salad – lettuce, cilantro (coriander), basil, hemp oil, lime juice, dulse flakes
1 litre water
½ tbsp coconut oil w/dulse flakes
water of 2 old coconuts with green powder
500ml water

…this was Day 6 of Feast-Breaking for me – officially the last day of the Feast-Breaking Protocol, which spreads out over 6 days…and…all went well :) I’m delighted in fact with how smoothly it has gone…the only thing that slightly disturbs me to see is that as soon as I eat a salad, like I’ve been having the last couple of days, my mind automatically then wants something sweet afterwards – it wants dessert – that’s how I’ve always eaten, all my life – dessert after a meal, so, that habit has been poking its head back round the door now that solids are back on the menu…I’m not very interested in letting it in though…maybe now and then for a visit, but not to stay ;) It just doesn’t serve me so well to mix too many foods into the same blend, so, catching these kinds of patterns NOW, before they start to deepen and get re-rooted again is the best thing I feel I can do to honour my new state of health…

Lots of people have been laughing about the prunes ;) lol…I know, I know…they don’t really have much ‘sex appeal’…and I’m sure we can all think of things that sound much more exciting to break a lengthy Feast with, but hey, it works ;) and they’re yummy…I think prunes are overlooked…I’m willing to become an ambassador for prunes…;) besides which, I’ve spent most of my life looking for excitement and fulfilment in food – I don’t necessarily want to choose to do that anymore…so, choosing this path of concentrating much more on the healthy, body-fuelling aspect of what I broke this Feast with than the emotion-fuelling aspect was vital for me…
Something else I noticed, while eating the papayas, was HOW much easier the fruit sugars felt to my body eaten as a WHOLE food – wow – such a difference…I really came to understand from a whole-body perspective the saying to ‘eat your fruits and drink your vegetables.’ The fruits WITH the fibre intact just seem like such a more balanced package, letting the fibre off-set the impact of the sugar-rush…the papayas were ABSOLUTELY DIVINE…yuummmmm :)

And so, to today – Feb 26th…it is 100 days today since I started Juice Feasting…that kind of puts a cap on it for me…I had always looked on it as a 100 day process, more or less, to include both the juicing and the Feast-Breaking protocol…so…today was really like my first day back in the ‘real’ world…hello :) …nice to be back…

Here’s what I had:

300ml water
500ml prune soak water
200g/7oz soaked prunes
1 litre water
1 pack sugar cane sticks
water of one old coconut with green powder
1 small honeydew melon
750ml red pepper/garlic/orange juice
green salad (lettuce, cilantro, basil) with dulse leaves and coconut oil
250ml water

Ok, so I want to get smthg clear – MANY people write asking me which fasting/retreat centre I have been staying at here in Costa Rica… I haven’t been at a centre here…I’m just living here in a house and juicing :) That’s one of the JOYS of juice FEASTing rather than fasting – it is so user-friendly – it’s designed to be something that people can do in their homes, while getting on with ‘normal life’…unlike a more traditional fast, where one might end up feeling weak/incapacitated etc and prefer to be supervised in a centre – FEASTing is all about masses of fuel and being FUNctional ;) and hey, now my Juicing HANDBOOK is out there, you can read ALL about it and get juicing yourself if you feel so inclined…;) That’s not to say of course that it’s not a wonderful experience to share this with others at centres and I’ll definitely be holding space for more and more events like that in the future – starting in Michigan this April – but I just want to make it clear that this is smthg anyone can access, in their own homes – you don’t have to be in Costa Rica (though it definitely is fun ;)…

One love,
Angela. xxx