B12, Intestinal Flora and Rejuvelac...

Quite a few people have been asking me about B12 recently, so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on the matter here...

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 seems to be found in western food sources primarily in meat and dairy produce, so vegans often have low levels of it. (Though many studies also seem to show widespread B12 issues, regardless of whether people eat animal products or not...)
B12 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.
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...

I hope that gives some answers for any enquiring minds out there...also read on below for an easy, cheap way to help support your ‘friendly’ intestinal flora to rustle up their own B12 ;)

on March the 12th I had:

1 quart water
mug of pau d’arco tea
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, landcress, parsley, Jerusalem artichoke, endive, fennel, ginger
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, landcress, parsley, Jerusalem artichoke, endive, fennel, ginger
3 cups hemp milk with cardamom/cinnamon/vanillaaaaaaaa :)
2 cups green juice
2 cups water

I was recently sent a link to a great article by the lovely Lenette Nakauchi in Chicago, on ‘22 Ways to Save Money’ as a raw foodist.
I love the number 22 and I loved this cool article too, packed with useful suggestions – check it out HERE for sweet little tips on buying in bulk, foraging, sprouting...aaaaaaand making your own fermented yummies – more on that below... ;)


on March the 13th I had:

1 quart water
mug of pau d’arco tea
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, landcress, parsley, Jerusalem artichoke, endive, fennel, ginger
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, landcress, parsley, Jerusalem artichoke, endive, fennel, ginger
an apple, sea spaghetti salad with Ms. Magic, followed by spicy tea and yummmmmmy ‘cool happy cakes’ ;)
2 cups water


You asked, we delivered ;) There have been numerous requests lately too for a video showing how to make Rejuvelac...so, I got my filming/editing hat out and put the following together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oke_kwwovX8

:) Hope that helps for any budding fermenters out there ;) I’ve been making rejuvelac consistently for the last few weeks now here in the UK, using it as the base for all my energy soups... It’s a great, inexpensive way to get live enzymes and probiotics into your body tooooooo...

Here’s a 7–Day Rejuvelac Timeline for your delectation:

Day 1: Leave wheatberries to soak in water overnight.
Day 2: Morning - discard soak water, leave wheat to sprout. Evening - rinse sprouts with clean water.
Day 3: Morning and evening - rinse sprouts off with clean water.
Day 4: Place sprouted wheat into a container and cover with lots of water to create the rejuvelac. Leave to ferment for the next 36-48 hours or so.
Day 5: Leave the rejuvelac fermenting.
Day 6: Decant the drink into containers, into the fridge. Add more water onto the wheat to make a second batch of rejuvelac.
Day 7: Decant the second batch of rejuvelac and offer the wheatberries to the local birdies ;)

ENJOY :)

All delight and joy to you...
Ms. Stokes. xxx

Gettin' Juicy with The Global Juice Feast 2009 :)

In case it somehow passed you by, this year’s Global Juice Feast is now in session :) It started last Saturday, the 7th and runs for the next 92–days orrrrr...for as long as you like ;) The beauty of the GJF is that you can participate as little or as much as you like – do a full 92–day juicy session like I did back in 2006–2007, or do one day a week for the Feasting season, or do a 3–day stint, or 47 days – whatever works for YOU ;)
If you’ve never checked out the GlobalJuiceFeast.com community site, that might be a yummy place for you to check into as well – it’s a free 'Ning' community full of juicy beings worldwide...
Here’s a very cool little juicy story one reader sent recently:

“I started a juice feast yesterday, and Boy was it so much fun too. I had so much Energy too. I Was cleaning my whole kitchen, took out the garbage, did some Laundry and then when out and watered my gardens, all 12 of them. Then I came in and got on my Treadmill for 70 mins. I had a total of 5 Quarts of juice. I never Felt Hungry. My body was getting what it needed, so there were no cravings for any kind of food. Now I am on day 2 and drinking my first Quart of juice. Oh and I lost 6 more Pounds too. WoW!!! How about that for a neat thing.”
Doug

I LOVE this little heart–felt testimonial – it totally illustrates the ENERGY and passion that so many people seem to feel while JF–ing...love it :)
You can check out the JuiceFeasting.com HQ HERE and my book on this subject – ‘A Juice Feaster’s Handbook’ HERE.
ENJOY your juicy journeys, dear ones...

on March the 8th I had:

1 quart water
big mug of pau d’arco tea
3 cups greeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, parsley, ginger, lemon
30 chlorella ‘nuts’
1 quart hemp milk with cinnamon/cardamom
3 cups water
2 tbsp bee pollen
mug of rooibus tea
3 cups greeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, parsley, ginger, lemon
2 tbsp Sproutein powder
1 quart hemp milk with cinnamon/cardamom
2 cups water


on March the 9th I had:

1 quart water
big mug of pau d’arco tea
big chunk of fresh pineapple
3 cups greeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, parsley, ginger, lemon
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, fennel, parsley, mixed sprouts, ginger
3 cups pumpkin seed milk with cardamom/cinnamon
2 cups water

Tomorrow evening (Thursday March 12th), I’ll be giving my ‘swan song’ raw food talk in the UK at the charming Manna raw food café in Brighton. The talk starts at 7pm and will likely be the last time I speak here for quite a little while, all being well with my US visa unfoldments... ;) SO, t’would be lovely to see you there if you’re in this area...you can reserve seats HERE...

Manna also have an ext–RAW–dinary looking raw chocolate superhero party coming up this Saturday with a rumba/samurai theme... ;) lol... The action starts at 7pm and there will be live music from duet Shrinari, plus all kinds of chocolate treats, elixirs and delights to devour ;)

...as ever, if these events are not in YOUR area and you’d love somewhere to play with raw friends TOO, then you can always check the fabulous online calendar at GiveItToMeRaw.com HERE, for events in your vicinity – or add events in there yourself :)
(Personally, if I was in California this weekend, methinks I would head along to either the fabulous–looking ‘2012 Quantum Leap’ event that Ms. Laura Fox is involved with, HERE or the lovely Green Lifestyle Film Festival in LA, which you can see more about HERE – please do let us know your experiences at these events if you’re attending... ;)

on March the 10th I had:

1 quart water
mug of pau d’arco tea
big chunk of fresh pineapple
2 cups greeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, parsley, ginger, lemon
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
an apple, a big bowl of YUMMY Shazzie salad and raw truffles with freshly brewed herbal teaaaaaa = yum
2 cups water


on March the 11th I had:

1 quart water
mug of freshly made herbal tea concoction
glass of watermelon/banana ‘juice’
little glass of almond milk
yummy meal at Manna of shared raw burger/pizza, followed by strawberry/coconut tart and blue lotus tea
3 cups water
3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, endive, landcress, parsley, ginger
3 cups hemp milk with cinnamon/cardamom
1 cup water

On the subject of California, HERE is a GREAT little YouTube video on suburban permaculture in SoCal that I watched recently – LOVE the natural air drier ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFIkJGAS8EI

..and for those of you in the UK, HERE is an amazing documentary on permaculture that was shown recently by the BBC and now can be seen online (unfortunately it seems like this only works if viewed from the UK though – sorry other readers – there are MASSES of great permaculture resources/videos available online though, if you poke around... ;)
Enjoy :)

All love and shiny knee-pads,
Miss Stokes. xxx

Raw Food Discounts, Contests and Yumminess :)

OoOoOoooooo lalalalaaaaaaa...that marvellous Mr. M is in a celebration frenzy right now about our visa process and if you didn’t already see, he has created a 17% OFF coupon code for his store TheRawFoodWorld.com, which you can use on ANY order between now and March 12th ;O
Just type in the code ‘VISA’ at the checkout on his store and you’ll get 17% OFF anything you order (cannot be used on appliances though ;)
Furthermore, he has wildly discounted tahini, peruvian olives and truly raw cashews – just type - fvsa - in the search field at the top right hand corner of www.TheRawFoodWorld.com to access all his latest deals...
…aaaaaaaaand if you don’t already receive Mr. M’s newsletters and would like to get in on these kinds of discounts and offers more regularly, you can sign up for his newsletter by filling in your email on the left side of the page at TheRawFoodWorld.com, where it says ‘Join the Mailing List’... :)

Happy Celebrations to us alllllllllll :)

on March the 6th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, mixed sprouts, zucchini, ginger, lemon
2 cups energy soup with tahini and okra on the side
mug of spicy tea
1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, mixed sprouts, zucchini, ginger, lemon
3 cups hemp milk/cardamom/cinnamon drink with gojis soaking in it :)
1 cup water

Many of you have been asking about the hemp milk with cardamom/cinnamon drink I keep imbibing at the moment – I am in looooooove with this liquid :) I actually made a little video showing how to make it on The Raw Food World TV show recently – you can see that HERE if you didn’t catch it already... ENJOY :) Mmmmmmm...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp9qcoJ0Wio

on March the 7th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, lettuce, ginger, lemon
3 cups hemp milk with cardamom/cinnamon and goji berries with a
little rammikin dish of raw carob cake
lashings of nettle tea
a cornucopia of raw potluck offerings: fresh fruits, chickpea (garbanzo) salad, carob cake, coconut cake, etc
3 cups water

Mr. Monarch has also ‘upped the ante’ BIG time on his current ‘Lucky 7’ giveaway contest...the prizes now include a dehydrator/rebounder/juicer, chlorella nuts, goji bars, jojoba oil and masses more – here are the details from the man himself:

WOW!!!! Thank you!!! I felt AMAZED that SOOOOOOOOOO many people already took part in this contest!!! I can sense the TRUE LOVE emanating throughout the air!!!... In fact, as I reflected on this outpouring of love, I felt moved to 'Up The Ante' on this contest and offer even more outstanding prizes :)

So now, not only are the winners going to be able to choose from the itty-bitty cute little food prizes from our last Newsletter, the TOP WINNER can also now choose between either a Needak Rebounder, a Breville Juice Fountain, or an Excalibur Dehydrator... WOW :) The 2nd & 3rd place lucky winners will also get to choose THREE items from this list below:

12 Goji Bars (Jake's Unbaked)
Vanilla Powder
Chlorella tablets
Spirulina tablets
Certified Organic Jojoba Oil (In a glass jar)
Green Earth's Living Clay (4-Pack!)

OR... You can take one of the following:

Vitamineral Green 4.0,
16oz Sun Warrior Protein (Any Flavor)
Dr. Fred Bisci's Green Food

The 'Lucky 7' contest has now been extended all the way until April 7th.
This time around, you are requested to hand write your response out on paper and either fax it to 805-669-3117 OR scan it into a computer and email it to me by replying to this Newsletter, OR lastly mailing it to: Matt Monarch, 406 Bryant Circle, Unit E, Ojai, CA 93023, USA.

If you already sent an email for this contest, you can partake again and double your chances of winning by writing your answer out and sending it in.

Remember... in the hand written letter, tell us what you love about my and Angela's work... AND... Why you love 'The Raw Food World Store' - what keeps you shopping here?

There will still be SEVEN Winners. Three lucky people will get to choose from among the food prizes mentioned in the last Newsletter, PLUS the above prizes. Additionally, these winners also have the option of me placing their letter in this Newsletter, with a link to your website/work, which will be seen by tens of thousands of people! If you place 4th - 7th, you will get to choose between the yummy foods from the last Newsletter and also have the chance to promote your work or selected link in our Newsletter! We look forward to seeing your entries...HAVE FUN!!

(...and remember, if you haven't shopped at TRFW store before, you could always tell us why you might like to shop there ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Unfolding My Wings...

WELL, as many of you know, I went for my US Fiancee Visa interview in London yesterday. It seems that all is well and I will have a visa sooooooooooon, to get back to my beloved. There is one final hoop to hop through – a few more forms they would love to eyeball, then all being well, I will have visa in hand within the next couple of weeks and will be on my way back to Mr. M :) Yeeeeeeee–HAH :) We are very excited...and also extremely grateful for ALL the amazing love, positivity and support y'all have been sending us during the last few days of this process, which has been unfolding for the last 1.5 years now...I felt the flow of support very strongly on the day and it felt immensely nourishing, so thank you, everyone :) We love and appreciate you :)

on March the 4th I had:

1 quart water
mug of dandelion tea
3 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, endive, landcress, kale, parsley, zucchini, ginger, apple
1 quart hemp milk with cinnamon/cardamom
2 tbsp bee pollen
3 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, endive, kale, parsley, zucchini, ginger, apple
1 quart hemp milk with cinnamon/cardamom
40 chlorella ‘nuts’
3 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, endive, kale, parsley, zucchini, ginger, apple
little packet of fresh jackfruit pods
2 cups water

SO...it seems I’m still here in the UK for at least the next 10 days or so...if you’d love to come out to play and give me a ‘goodbye’ wave/hug/squeeze in person, I’ll be speaking next Thursday, March the 12th, at the delightful Manna raw café in Brighton, from 7pm – details HERE. As I mentioned before, this will most likely be my last talk in the UK for quite some time, all being well with visa adventures... ;) Hope to see you there if you’re around...

…and while we’re on UK–based news, I’m excited to say that I have more bags of chia here again, if anyone would love some. They are £10 per bag (1lb/454g), plus p&p. Email me on angela@rawreform.com if you’d like to snap some up before the box is bare again ;)

I also have the following goodies here too, if you’d like any of these:

‘Raw Success’ by Matt Monarch - £10
‘Raw Spirit’ by Matt Monarch - £8
‘How to Go Raw for Weight Loss’ by Angela Stokes - £5
‘Revealing the Physical Changes’ by Angela Stokes - £5
‘A Juice Feaster’s Handbook’ by Angela Stokes - £5
DVDs of Mr. Monarch speaking at Ecopolitan - £5
'Become Younger' by Norman Walker - £5
'Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Juices' by Norman Walker - £5
‘Water Can Undermine Your Health’ by Norman Walker – £5
‘Raw Family’ by the Boutenkos – £7
‘Absolutely Abeba’s Edible Treats’ raw cracker recipe book - £5
'Raw Foods for Busy People' Book - £8
'Green Magic: Raw Foods for Busy People 2' Book - £9
‘Raw Food Made Easy’ by Jennifer Cornbleet – £12
‘Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen’ by Ani Phyo – £12
‘Raw Organic Cuisine in Ten Minutes’ DVD – Bryan Au – £10
‘Sprout Garden’ by Mark M. Braunstein – £9
'Raw Greek' by Gina Panayi - £10
'Fresh' by Sergei and Valya Boutenko - £12
'Raw Soul' recipe book - £10
'Detox Delights' by Shazzie - £5
Nut Milk Bags - £6 each

If you're unsure what any of these items are, you can see more about them on our store HERE...and just email me on angela@rawreform.com to let me know if there are any goodies you'd love to add to your collection... ;)

on March the 5th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘passion’ tea
big handful of goji berries and 2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups greeeeen juice with seed milk
a GORGEOUS whole little durian
3 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice
a delicious shared meal at Manna, including rainbow salad w/pesto, nori roll, love burger, raw sandwich, followed by apricot/pecan pie, berry cheesecake and ice cream – WOW :)
2 cups water

OooOOooooo, I am excited to announce the blossoming of the new ‘RawFu’ magazine from dear Bunny Berry. WOW, check this beauty out...I am sure this is going to be a fabulous read...if you’re not familiar with Bunny’s work and site, she is a super–sweet, sassy, funny, yummy, lovely, raw food lightworker spreading this healing message and building community with love, passion and truth. She also has GREAT design skills and style, so I really look forward to seeing this magazine as it emerges...You can subscribe HERE. Check out the pin–up boy on the cover for April ;) Brother Philip looking suave and serene...oooohhhhhhh, what a blessed, beautiful family we have :)

Alllllll love and appreciation,
Stokes in England. xxx

Review of 'Evie's Kitchen' - Raw Food Book for Vibrant Children :)

OoOoOoooo, starting today there is a special BONUS promo happening for the RevitaLive Plan, our 30-day raw food weight loss programme :)
Everyone who signs up between today (Wednesday) and next Saturday will receive the following extra bonus gifts:

*The first 3 chapters of my book 'Raw Emotions' - a 50-page sampler :)
*Three exclusive videos of Annmarie Gianni demonstrating some of Solla's yummmmmy recipes from the RevitaLive meal planners.
*Two video interviews from the Rawkathon. The fantastic interviews from Karen Knowler and Cherie Soria from last year's Rawkathon event.
*The first chapter of Susan Shenck's award-winning book 'The Live Food Factor'.

That's all in addition of course to the regular materials for the plan - * daily emails with instructional videos * 4 weeks of menu planners with recipes * community support in the 'Inner Circle' * a full instructional fitness manual * calls and chats * love and hand-holding ;)
You can click HERE to check out the programme details and sign up for the Plan - there are already hundreds of happy RevitaLivers out there raising up their vibrations... ;) FUN :)

on March the 1st I had:

1 quart water
mug of pau d’arco tea
2 cups greeeeen juice: celery, landcress, parsley, kale, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and pistachio butter
mug of spicy tea
1 quart water
big bowl of cherries and a juicy apple
mug of spicy tea
2 cups water

There were a couple of GREAT articles on GLiving recently that caught my eye...one seems to be the first in a series about why and how to grow food in a garden, wherever you are and the other article was from Mr. Raw Model Anthony, with some fantastic, simple guidance on how to jump start a healthier lifestyle – check out his AMAAAZING, shocking before/after pics...

*See the gardening article HERE.
*Check out Anthony’s pics and tips HERE.

Enjoy :)

on March the 2nd I had:

1 quart water
mug of pau d’arco tea
2 cups greeeeen juice: celery, landcress, parsley, kale, ginger, lime
2 cups hemp milk with cardamom and cinnamon
2 cups energy soup with okra and pistachio butter
mug of spicy tea
1 quart water
2 juicy apples
3 cups hemp milk with cardamom and cinnamon
1 cup water


on March the 3rd I had:

1 quart water
big mug of ginger/lemon/dandelion tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, zucchini, landcress, parsley, red kale, ginger
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
1 quart hemp milk/cardamom/cinnamon drink – yummmmmm :)
2 cups water

There’s a book review I’ve been wanting to write here for a few weeks and it has felt challenging for me to get the words down that I want to use, to express how I feel about this piece of work. I think I’m ready now ;)
‘Evie’s Kitchen’ is UK raw food diva Shazzie’s latest book and it is all about raising healthy, happy children. This book had a huge impact on me, smthg akin to the effect I felt when I started to read the ‘Anastasia’ books. Once I started reading, I just didn’t want to stop, it felt like such a magical piece of writing to dive into, so rich, sincere, flowing with love, fascinating insights and inspirations.
The ‘heroine’ of the book, Evie, is Shazzie’s gorgeous little daughter, who is now four and a half. In this book, Shazzie shares from her heart about how their journey together so far has unfolded, along with masses of interesting info on natural parenting. Shazzie covers pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, co–sleeping, baby carrying, vaccines, natural healthcare and lots more. She writes with the abundant love and care of a mother, especially offering unparalleled attention to detail about all the nutritional needs of a growing little one – Vitamin D, B12 issues, protein, minerals – she covers it all. I also loved the section where Shazzie reveals what is in her ‘medicine chest’ and explains how she makes use of products like MSM, colloidal silver, vitamin C and so on as natural ‘medicines’ for friends and family. In one section, Shazzie shares the story of Evie’s first few years here – pre–womb, in the womb and outside and I found this a very moving tale to follow, truly shared from the heart.
The latter part of the book contains over 180 raw food recipes all designed with children in mind. These are the things Evie has been eating since she got here (other than breastmilk ;)... The recipes are conveniently divided up into ages, e.g. things to start offering from 6 months, from 1 year etc...
The luscious full–colour vibrant photos make this book an absolute visual TREAT – the recipes all look amazing and most of them of course have very simple ingredients, as they were formulated with children in mind – yummmmm :)
I absolutely LOVE this book. I feel like it will be my closest handbook as and when we start to bring children into this world and I’ll refer back to it very often. I actually feel compelled these days to send this book to raw women I know who are pregnant, or people who are raising children and could use a bit more vibrancy on their plates ;) There is just SO much amazing info in here that I feel it’s essential reading for anyone wanting to raise healthy little ones...
One little suggestion for anyone in the US especially – the measurements in this book are in the metric system, not cups/teaspoons etc. SO, our best suggestion for you if you’d like to use the recipes in this book is to get hold of a simple little set of measuring scales for your kitchen (if you don’t already have some), so that you can measure out the ingredients.
As far as I know, we are the only people currently selling this book in N. America and we’re very happy to have it on offer...it is a true raw GEM :) You can see more about the book and purchase copies HERE. We've already gone through boxes of this book since it was released, it is very well loved :)
I truly hope you fall in love with this book too and appreciate it as much as I do. Thank you so much Shazzie for sharing this work of love :)

All love,
Angelalalalalaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Will YOU be one of the 'Lucky 7'...? ;)

Hellllooooooooooooo dear people :) I am sorry to not have been more in communicado this last week – I was over in the south–west of England poking about in the countryside and sharing nice thoughts about seaweeds, sprouts and simplicity with yummy people at talks ;) I had a WONDERFUL trip, thanks so much to everyone who came out to play...I’m back in the south–east again now with seagulls and cliffs, admiring the first flowers of spring that seem to be popping up all over now – YAY :)
I’m also very excited to announce that I’ll be giving a talk in the Brighton area soon as well. On Thursday, March the 12th from 7pm I shall be donning my ‘speaker’ galoshes and cape at the lovely Manna raw café in Brighton. Hurrah :) You can see all the juicy details and reserve your place HERE on the Manna site – hope to see you there if you’re around...this will likely be my last talk here in the UK for quite a little while at least – my US visa interview is coming up very soon, soooooo, all being well I will finally have my wings back and can get back to my beloved in California...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...breathing DEEP into that here... ;)


on February the 25th I had:

1 quart water
3 cups green smoothie: apple, ginger, parsley, kale
20 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 apples
2 cups energy soup with okra, flax crackers and tahini
mug of flowering tea
2 cups water
mug of ‘choco’ tea
chia/hemp seed milk pudding with cinnamon, goji berries and apple pieces, with lime/mint tea and extra hemp milk
3 cups water


on February the 26th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘throat comfort’ tea
2 cups greeeeeeeen smoothie with apple and blueberries
2 cups hemp milk with cardamom and cinnamon (YUMMMMM) with 2 apples on the side
2 cups energy soup with okra, crackers, tahini and almond butter
2 cups water
mug of ginger/lemon tea
2 cups greeeeen smoothie with a handful of gojis on the side
3 cups water

On the subject of my beloved Mr. Monarch, have you seen the contest he’s currently running through his newsletter? If you’re not subscribed to his amazing free newsletters, I’d definitely recommend signing up HERE – he sends out content–*packed* newsletters at least once a month at the moment, with articles, 'at cost' and 'below cost' deals, product reviews and more.
In his latest newsletter, he announced a fun ‘Lucky 7’ contest – here are the details if you’d love to play and didn’t hear abt this yet:

7 people are going to receive wonderful prizes. The winners get to choose two items from the first list below OR one item from the second list:
Contest Winners Choose two items:
Powerwrap (Any Flavor)
Raw Crunch Bar (Any Flavor)
Jake's Unbaked Goji Bar

OR...
Contest Winners Choose one item:
LoveForce Bar (Any Flavor)
Flax Crusts (Any Flavor)
Sesame Flax Crackers
Living Nutz (Any Flavor)
Gone Nuts (Any Flavor)

Here's how the contest works... reply HERE, telling us what you love about Matt and Angela's work... AND... Why you love 'The Raw Food World Store' - what keeps you shopping here?

The top 7 lucky winners will get to choose from the above prizes. Just submit your entry by March 3rd... :)

As you can see, the closing date is March the 3rd, so get your entries in asap if you’d love to play ;) Send in your emails HERE and Mr. M will choose his favourite entries sooooooon. (...and if you've never shopped at our stores before, you could always tell us why you might like to shop there instead ;)
ENJOY ;)

on February the 27th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, parsley, apple, carrot, ginger, garlic
1 cup hemp milk with cardamom and cinnamon
luscious lunch of nori rolls and lettuce leaves stuffed with spicy sunflower seed spread, tahini and fresh greens, followed by a little handful of goji berries
3 cups water
3 apples and a little bowl of hand–mixed sweet yummm: carob powder, lucuma, maca, cinnamon, yacon, vanilla, water
mug of spicy tea
2 cups water


on February the 28th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, landcress, parsley, kale, ginger, lime
30 chlorella ‘nuts’
an apple and a big bowl of cherrrrries :)
3 cups water
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, landcress, parsley, kale, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup made with leftover spread from yesterday, with okra and flax crackers on the side
little mug of spicy tea
2 cups water

Hmmmmm, I’m aware that some of you seem to be having issues with receiving/being able to read my blog posts...I have had messages saying that both the email delivery AND the main blog site seem to have been uncooperative at different points this week. I am very sorry to hear that and I’m not totally clear why that is or how to fix it yet at this point...I suspect that any changes with email delivery are due to the fact that the company that provides that service – Feedburner – were recently taken over by Google and maybe they are going through some ‘teething’ issues with switching over their systems...I am not sure yet and I do hope that any crumples in your reading pleasure are smoothed out soon ;)
Lemme know if you’re having trouble viewing these messages still and please do remember that it ought to be possible to go at any time to the blog site itself at http://rawreform.blogspot.com and read my latest musings there... ;)
Meanwhile, in the raw blogging world, here are two other fun new developments to go and explore:

1. Masala – just launched by those cheeky chirpy yumsters at WeLikeItRaw, this new service aggregates together blog feeds from lots of inspiring raw food blogs onto one page, so that you can easily see what different raw foodies are up to with the sweep of an eye or mouse ball ;)

2. Also posted online this week was the ‘Top 50 Raw Food and Lifestyle Blogs’, a handy list of great raw resources, which you can see HERE.

How BLESSED we are to have access to all this inspiring raw flow...let’s keep on threading that message out there, brothers and si*stars*...
ENJOY,

All love,
Miss Angela Stokes. xxx

Raw in Glastonbury :)

OoOOoOooooo I am having FUN in the south-west of England :)
I arrived here on Monday evening and have been staying with my lovely hosts Lisa and John in North Devon. Lisa runs RawLisa.com, sharing raw classes, gatherings and info in this area. Yesterday we went on a wonderful day trip to Glastonbury where Lisa organised a speaking event for me in the evening and we had major fun all day connecting with the sites and people of Glastonbury :)
As I wrote before, I'd never been to Glastonbury previously and it was wonderful to climb the 'Tor' where the Michael and Mary leylines conjoin, taking in the lovely views for miles all around. Then we visited the peaceful oasis of Shekinashram, where it turned out an old friend was now living and he showed us around :) This ashram used to be a raw food community and is now vegan with a lot of raw options. They have accommodation, courses, workshops and so on. Lovely atmosphere and a great-looking sauna too ;)
Then we went to lunch with the delicious Andrew and Angela of TheRawFoodSchool.com - YUMMMMMM :) What a treat. This gorgeous couple definitely know how to serve up the good raw eats. MASSES of fresh raw greens, simple, delicious and full of LOVE :) They run raw food prep courses both here and in London - see their site HERE for more info. They are also creating an edible forest garden around their home - love it :)
A walk through Glastonbury high street led us to, through and in to a myriad of amazing little shops abundant with crystals, eco-friendly goods, handmade clothes and crafts and so on...I suspect I could have happily lost myself into these little lanes for at least a week to explore all the shiny things ;O We pressed on to Mr. Free Love's Hemp Shop though, where we were lovingly greeted with more greeeeeeeeeeeeeeen liquid love and eye-fuls of hemp goodies...
Old friends seemed to pop up all over the place - pretty amusing in a town I'd never been to... Well, it's a small raw world... ;)
Thanks to everyone who came along to the talk last night too - it was lovely to share. I also speak tomorrow night (thursday 26th) in Barnstaple - details HERE. Hope to see you there if you're in this area... ;)

on February the 22^nd I had:

1 quart water

big mug of fresh ginger/lemon tea

3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

30 chlorella ‘nuts’

2 tbsp bee pollen

2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

2 apples

2 cups water

1 tbsp bee pollen

2 tbsp Sproutein

2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

big mug of ginger/lemon/goji tea

Great news for all you budding raw athletes out there - HealthBookSummaries.com recently released their summary of Brendan Brazier's raw book 'The Thrive Diet'. If you're not familiar with Brendan's work, he is a professional Ironman triathelete, creator of the 'Vega' range of raw nutritional products and eats 100% plant-based foods. You can see masses more about him HERE and you can access the FREE summary of his wonderful book from HealthBookSummaries HERE.

He has masses of great info to share...ENJOY :)

on February the 23^rd I had:

1 quart water

big mug of ginger/lemon tea

2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

30 chlorella ‘nuts’

3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime

2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side

cup of spicy tea

2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, local greeeens, spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime mixed with 1 cup rejuvelac

tub of fresh pineapple with a few gojis

2 tbsp bee pollen

2 cups water

on February the 24^th I had:

1 quart water

cup of ginger/lemon tea

2 cups green smoothie - orange, parsley, broccoli

3 yummy little apples

30 chlorella 'nuts', little handful of goji berries

AMAZING raw lunch with Andrew and Angela from TheRawFoodSchool.com (thanks, lovelies ;) - a gorgeous spread of lashings of green juice, homegrown kale/avo salad on a bed of fresh arugula, with crackers and outrageously delicious 'cheese' spread, followed by a slice of marvellously moist carrot cake. MmMmmMmmm :)

2 cups water

2 cups green/hemp juice from the magical Mr. Free Love's Hemp Shop ;)

mug of rooibus tea with more carrot cake and a chunk of handmade raw carob bar

1 quart water

MmMMmm, I started watching a WONDERFUL series of four videos on Permaculture before I left on this trip. They feature Bill Mollison - the 'father' of Permaculture - and they are all about using permaculture in urban settings. It was really fascinating to me to see the contrasts between a Western 'civilised' city like New York where tiny patches of food production had been eeked out here and there, compared to a city in Nigeria, where food grows abundantly all over the place and there are local markets all around the city.

Later in the vids, Bill visits the REMARKABLE looking 'Village Homes' eco-settlement in the city of Davis, N. California. WOW - what absolute blisssssful living they seem to have set up in this community. It seems long established now and listening to some of the residents discuss how amazing it has been for them to raise children there is just beautiful. The children have the run of the land, have grown up with food all around them, have many more people looking out for them than their parents alone, are healthy, strong, active, engaged with nature...just wonderful and so inspiring...

You can see these 4 videos HERE in a long playlist of Permaculture titles - these ones start at number 10 in the list - they're called 'Urban Permaculture Strategies' - ENJOY :)

All love and abundantly juicy flow,

Miss Stokes. xxx

Angela and The Raw Chocolate Factory... ;)

Aaaaaahahhaahahaaaaaaaaa, did you see my adventures with the oompah–loompahs in the raw chocolate factory this week on The Raw Food World TV show? Check it out HERE if not ;)
This was so much FUN to put together ;) ...and The Raw Chocolate Company is offering all our readers 12% off any order until the end of April – nice :)
Just enter the code ‘mcraw09’ at the checkout and your goodies will be discounted accordingly. You can order their yummy treats at www.TheRawChocolateCompany.com (To avoid confusion, customers in N. America please use the ‘international’ shipping option ;)
ENJOY :)
on February the 19th I had:

1 quart water
mug of fresh lemon/ginger tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, zucchini, kale, spinach, fennel, endive, Jerusalem artichoke, lemon
20 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, zucchini, kale, spinach, fennel, endive, Jerusalem artichoke, lemon
20 chlorella ‘nuts’
mug of fresh lemon/ginger tea
2 cups water
2 cups veggie juice: cucumber, red bell peppers, garlic, fennel, endive, kale, lime
cup of spicy tea
2 cups water

This morning I did what I believe will be my last read–through of my book ‘Raw Emotions’ before it goes to the printer – :O – YES, I am VERRRRYYYYYY very excited to see that process through :) This will be my first ‘real’ printed book and I will be so thrilled to see it appear in the physical :) In the meantime, here is a passage from the book that jumped out to me today as smthg that might be fun to share here – hope you enjoy ;)

Is it ‘You’, ‘I’ or ‘Them’…?
I recommend taking ‘ownership’ for your own feelings and experiences, particularly as you speak. When many people speak, they generalise the topic away from themselves by saying something like ‘You feel rejected when someone doesn’t like your ideas’, when the real meaning is ‘I feel rejected when someone doesn’t like my ideas’.
If we regularly use this kind of ‘distancing’ with language, it is less easy for us to be aware and present with our emotions and experiences, because we’re always ‘projecting’ them away from ourselves. Create clarity in your expression and ‘own’ your feelings as you speak. If you mean ‘I feel/I want/I am’, then say ‘I’ rather than ‘you’.
A similar pattern occurs when people speak vaguely about ‘they/them’, referring to some undefined group of people, often inferred to be opposed to ‘us’. Examples might be ‘They keep raising the cost of living’, ‘How can they let someone get away with that?’ or even ‘They say Italy is beautiful in spring’. This lack of clarity leaves questions hanging in curious minds: who are ‘they’? How did ‘they’ become something different from ‘us’? Where do the opinions and actions of this invisible ‘they’ come from?
This kind of expression reinforces an outdated, separatist model of ‘them vs. us’, often with some sense of victimisation and oppression, rather than an understanding that we are all connected. I usually sense these speech patterns as disempowering and unclear. Speaking with integrity and clarity of expression, rather than in vague, generalised terms, will assist your alignment with truth; it can help you feel more secure in your self and more aware of what you perceive. Be clear about what you think and feel and who ‘they’ really are.

;) You can get the E–book version of Raw Emotions HERE and all being well, the printed version will be with us sometime in March or April I would think, once the printers have worked their papery magic ;) yeeeeeeeeeeeeee–HAH :)

on February the 20th I had:

1 quart water
cup of dandelion tea
30 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, zucchini, kale, spinach, fennel, endive, Jerusalem artichoke, lemon
2 cups energy soup with tahini and flax crackers
mug of spicy tea
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 tbsp Sproutein
2 cups water


on February the 21st I had:

1 quart water
cup of dandelion tea
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups energy soup with tahini and flax crackers
3 cups water
2 apples
3 cups greeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, kale, spinach, fennel, endive, lemon
big mug of lemon/ginger/goji berry tea – yummmmmmmm ;)
2 cups water

LOVED this ‘Big Idea’ sent out today from Brian Johnson at the PhilosophersNotes.com site, in his free daily email:

“Tony Robbins : Rearview Mirrors

Got this one from a great Tony Robbins seminar:

My hunch is you're a pretty good driver.
Question for you: When you're driving, do you spend all your time staring in the rearview mirror? Right. So why do we spend so much time staring in the rearview mirror of life?!?

Rearview mirrors have a purpose. A very limited one. Let's look back to learn the valuable lessons our experience has to teach us. And spend the rest of the time enjoying the moment and looking at the future!”

So great :) Thanks for sharing all the amazing pointers, Brian :) If you, dear reader, have not yet signed up for your FREE account at PhilosophersNotes.com to access 25 of the self–development book summaries for free, then doooooooooo hop on over to HERE to get in on the yummy mojo action ;) Mr. Johnson’s giving away 1,000,000 free accounts, dontchaknow ;)
We. ARE. sooo. blesssssssed.

All love and jingle–jangles,
Stokes. xxx

Learning to Grow our Own Foods :)

OoOooo, fun things going on in Dr. Cousens' world: the Tree of Life centre has a wonderful-looking course coming up on how to grow your own food called 'Conscious Gardening'. It's being offered 4 times this year: March, May, August, October. I am so happy to see these skills being shared - mmmmmmm, I'd LOVE to be there for one of these courses... Wow, how wonderful - learning about organic/vegan/conscious gardening from a RAW/living food perspective - love it :) You can read ALL about the course HERE.
Dr. Cousens is also going to be sharing some good juicy juju in LA soon, at a week-long 'Juice Fast for Peace' in conjunction with the super-shiny Michael Beckwith and Agape. FUN :) That event starts on March the 1st and you can tap into all that info HERE.
BTW, remember too that those other fabulous-looking 'Anastasia'-based courses are coming up soon all over N. America as well...sharing info on how to set up your own 'kins' domain', grow food, co-create a family strongly rooted in nature and communication with the Universe and so on...I still strongly hope to make it to one of these workshops toooooooooo...you can see all about these HERE.
I am nearing the end of reading the 9th book in the 'Anastasia' series at the moment and the stories I was reading today of single women who are going out into the countryside in Russia to begin their kins' domains with their bare hands moved me to tears - the power, the passion, the vision, the love...it's all so beautiful...and it's just going to keep on expanding as more and more of us (re)connect to the land and grow our own foooooooooooooooooooooood...

WE. ARE. SOOOOOOOOOO. BLESSED :)

on February the 15th I had:

1 quart water
mug of dandelion tea
2 cups green juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with tahini and okra on the side
little mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
little bowl of sweet yum: hemp butter, carob powder, lucuma, maca, vanilla, cinnamon, water, with pieces of Grawnola stirred in :)
3 cups water


on February the 16th I had:

1 quart water
cup of dandelion tea
30 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 cups water
bowl of chia pudding with fresh cherries, chunk of Lemon Goji bar from LoveForce = YUMMM :)
3 cups water
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
1 cup water

A little reminder: I’ll be giving two talks over in the south–west of England next week. I’ll be giving a ‘Raw Food Transformation’ talk next Tuesday, the 24th in Glastonbury and then on Thursday the 26th in Barnstaple. You can check out all the details HERE and reserve your place by calling the lovely Lisa on 01769 550408, or sending her some love to: lisasture (at) toucansurf (dot) com.
Maybe see you there ;)
(As ever, if you’re looking for raw events in YOUR area, you can always check the wonderful events calendar on GiveItToMeRaw.com, HERE ;)



on February the 17th I had:

1 quart water
cup of dandelion tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
3 cups water
bowl of chia pudding with a chunk of Lemon Goji bar from LoveForce = YUMMM :)
cup of spicy tea
2 cups water


on February the 18th I had:

1 quart water
mug of dandelion tea
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with okra and tahini on the side
little mug of dandelion tea
3 cups water
2 cups greeeen juice: celery, zucchini, kale, endive, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
little bowl of chia pudding with fresh raspberries, diced apple and goji berry powder
big mug of fresh lemon/ginger tea
2 cups water

My musical muse has wandered backwards down the path a bit at present to the early 70s and has fallen rapturously in love with the late Minnie Riperton. WOW. What a BEAUTIFUL being. I have been listening to her music almost non–stop the last few days on YouTube ;) (Yes, I even have my own Minnie playlist now, HERE ;)
This new fascination expanded after that cheeky madam Ms. Kate Magic sent her latest ‘Love Mix’ over...(as you may or may not know, the talented Ms. Magic is a super–fine DJ as well as chef, mother, light–being, speaker, author, business owner, photographer, artist and myriad other creative outlets I’m sure ;) Part of this latest musical compilation was the 70s song ‘Les Fleurs’ by Minnie Riperton.
Now, I’ve heard this song a few times before – Ms. Magic says it’s one of her all–time top 5 toooons – I’d never paid that much attention to it though. This time I was listening with headphones and WOH...my whole body became covered in goose–bumps...what a VOICE, what a message, wow...I was captivated and have poked around all over YouTube unearthing old Minnie songs since then...sadly she died at the age of 31 from breast cancer in 1979 – she left behind some truly outstanding music though...she seemed to sing and express with her whole being and so much LOVE, smiles, passion, vibrancy and delight. TRULY someone on her brightest path in the short time she was here in the physical...and so very humble and sweet at the same time, aside from remarkably talented as a singer.
Minnie’s voice apparently covered a range of five and a half octaves and she could sing in the ‘whistle range’ – a rare talent for adult humans – she could easily hit those notes waaaayyyyyyy above high–C that others might struggle a lifetime to try to reach ;) She sounds almost like a DOLPHIN or something similar in many recordings – it’s really quite unearthly at times and just phenomenal to hear.
One of her best known recordings is the well–loved 1975 hit ‘Lovin' You’ (“...is easy ‘cos you’re beautiful and every day of my life is filled with loving you…” etc ;) – she hits the incredibly high notes in that song flawlessly and with ease...amazing...and I am blown away that I am only really accessing this woman’s work at this point in my life...
Mariah Carey, another singer whose work I love, has cited Minnie as the greatest influence on her singing style, which makes sense to me now, as Mariah has a range over five octaves and can sing in the whistle range too...
While reading about Minnie, I also came across the music of the Brazilian/Italian singer Georgia Brown who has been recognised as singing the highest notes recorded by a human. This woman apparently has a vocal range over 8 OCTAVES and can easily slide into the whistle range too – HERE is a truly ‘unearthly’ performance by her, singing a whole 2-minute song in the whistle range. She seems to have a very different energy to Minnie, yet I still find her talents remarkable... ;O
My heart swells as I listen to the legacy Minnie left behind – what a beautiful, inspiring woman...thank you SO much Minnie for the gifts you shared... :) Listen to my playlist of Minnie’s music HERE if you like – and wear headphones for optional extra spine chills ;)

All joy,
Miss A. Stokes. xxx