Five Surprising Things I've Learnt Since Releasing 160lbs...

Five Surprising Things I've Learnt Since Releasing 160lbs:
My life has changed in many surprising ways since releasing 160lbs with a raw lifestyle...here are a few of the more unexpected things I've come to understand/recognise:

1. The more giving, open-hearted and generous I am, the more the universe seems to deliver yumminess straight back at me, in abundance...

2. The more I listen to and honour the promptings of the 'still, small voice within', the more effortlessly and synchronously my life seems to flow...

3. I cannot make other peoples' choices for them, including what they eat, how they treat me or any of their reactions...

4. Don't take anything personally (kudos to Don Miguel Ruiz especially for this gem ;). If people are behaving towards me in a way that I find confusing or rude, I find it most useful now to recognise that it is their OWN stuff they are acting out towards me and to send them blessings and let go of it... ;)

5. I have a choice in every single moment to spiral my energy upwards or downwards – life is open to interpretation and misery is always a choice ;)

I trust you're enjoying your own inner and outer explorations too...what surprises you?

on November the 2nd, I loved:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, ginger, lemon
bowl of energy soup with fermented seed cheese flax cracker samples on the side, followed by some of the AMAZING new Superfood Cereals from Living Intentions – yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :)
1 quart water
mug of spicy tea
1 quart water

LOVE this new 'Raw Food Kids' song video from the Boutenko kids - SO cool, some excellent lyrics and LOVE the costumes - these guys are true raw superheroes of our time :))) GREAT video to share with raw children methinks...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd1Z4snq2Jo

on November the 3rd I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups goji juice with Marine Phytoplankton, Merlin's Elixir and Etherium products
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley, lemon, ginger
bowl of energy soup with fermented seed cheese cracker samples on the side, followed by a little hand–mixed yumpot: lucuma/maca/mesquite/cinnamon powders with orange oil, pine nut butter and water = YUM
3 cups water
amazing flax cracker and raw cashew cheese samples at our talk, followed by 2 apples and 2 raw almond cookies
1 quart water
2 cups goji juice with Marine Phytoplankton and Merlin's Elixir
2 cups water


on November the 4th I was blissed with:

1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley, fennel, Jerusalem artichoke, ginger, lime
bowl of energy soup with fermented seed cheese flax crackers on the side, followed by a handful of the AMAZING Superfood Cereals ;)
1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, ginger, lemon
2 apples with another handful of YUMMY Superfood Cereals :)
3 cups water

I was recently reminded of the AMAZING photo exhibition 'Ashes and Snow', which I had the supreme pleasure of visiting in person in LA, back in 2006...have you seen that exhibit? Apparently it has been seen by over 10 million people now, worldwide, making it "the most attended exhibition by any artist in history". WOW ;O ...So I would guess at least a few of you have borne witness to the astounding beauty in these photos, depicting humans and other animals together. NOTE: none of these photos have apparently been 'photoshopped' AT ALL, they are all shown as taken – truly profound – check out the full gallery at the link below:

http://www.ashesandsnow.org

 

 

With effortless, breathtaking beauty abounding,

Ms. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

A Green Birthday :)

It's my birthday tomorrow (Monday the 10th) :) ...and I'll be celebrating my 31st spin around brother sun... To mark this jubilant occasion with you guys, it is my pleasure to share 31 of the things, people and resources which have most inspired me into a more blissful and enjoyable journey here since my birth on Earth. I shared this little list recently on my RawReform Newsletter - may it bring you some exciting insights, joy and adventure...

1. The 'Anastasia'/'Ringing Cedars of Russia' Books
2. Mr. Monarch ;)
3. PathwayToFreedom.com
4. BirthIntoBeing.com
5. Iceland (especially Solla, SigurRós and Björk ;)
6. The Boutenkos
7. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
8. Satish Kumar
9. Peace Pilgrim
10. The Rainosheks/JuiceFeasting.com
11. Mike Adams/NaturalNews.com
12. Kate Magic
13. Shazzle-Dazzle
14. Steve Pavlina
15. Brian Johnson
16. Spiritual Cinema Circle
17. Dr. David Wolfe
18. Cirque de Soleil
19. Alicia Keys
20. Beyonce
21. Karen Carpenter
22. Permaculture Principles
23. Food Forests
24. The Centre for Alternative Technology
25. WhiteApricot.com
26. Gmonkey
27. SunFoodTraveler.com
28. Jinjee
29. Scott Kalechstein
30. Hazelden
31. Monty Python ;)

Ok...these were the first 31 things that came to mind - there are naturally hundreds of other things, people and places that inspire me - I love and appreciate you all - let's go with these for now though ;)
I hope there's smthg in there to inspire you too - enjoy :)

on August the 7th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
1 cup herbal womens' tea from Ms. Goji Girl
2 cups greeeeeeen juice
big bowl of sauerkraut and kim chee with almond butter, followed by a little goji/cashew truffle
1 quart water
1 quart water

The results are IN for the latest RawReform Giveaway Contest to win a bag of our yummy, crunchy Chlorella 'Nuts' :) To be in with a chance of grabbing a free bag of these chlorophyll-packed yummies, we asked you to send in your bestest picture of yourself greeeened up with a green raw food mouth or similar ;) We had great fun looking through your entries and I'm delighted to say that the winner is: Shayla R. and her gorgeous little spirulina-mouthed green princess who you can see below - love it :))))


THANKS lovelies for playing the green mouth game :) A bag of yummy chlorella nuts is shimmying its way over to you...enjoy :)
See below for more of the wonderful greeeeeeeen entries people sent in - you guys are so creative and greeeeeen - we love it ;)

on August the 8th I loved:

1 quart water
½ cup greener grasses powder with coconut water
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, lettuce, leek, lemon, ginger
big bowl of beautiful wild blueberries, with almond butter and nibbles of 4 different new product samples ;)
3 cups water
2 cups goji water with Marine Phytoplankton
2 peaches and bowl of blueberries with almond butter
mug of ginger tea
2 cups water


So, here are another delightful handful of greeeeeeen pics from your lovely selves, in no particular order - enjoy ;)

Swamp-creature Sudha C from Sweden :)

The fabulously chlorella mouth-ed Tracy J.

Hannah M favours the green smoothie 'tache look...

Whereas Amanda in Northern Ireland is all in a twist over green juice...

AJ has found her pot of greeeeen gold at the end of the raw rainbow...

Gina L's little ones looooove the chlorella too...

The gorgeous Erin V is proud to keep it green...

...and sweet little Emma has a chlorella surprise behind that cheeky grin ;)

Well, this was probably the most fun contest we've had so far in terms of viewing all your entries - thank so much again to all of you for playing and watch for details coming soon for the next RawReform Giveaway Contest ;)

All love and greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen explorations,
Ms. Sto-Mo. xxx

Our Wedding - Join us for the 'Raw Union' Wedding Festival :)

Mr. Monarch and I are extremely excited to announce that I am BACK in the USA and we have a date and plan for our wedding :)

Our ‘Raw Union’ will be on Summer Solstice – June 21st –
in S. Oregon aaaaaaaaaand YOU are invited ;)

We wanted to create an event embracing the themes of raw food, love, unity, permaculture, healing and joy, open for ALL to come and enjoy – so, please join us for this love–laced ‘Raw Union’ :)
We actually have a whole week of yummy events planned around the wedding, including a raw food festival, the wedding/party itself, then a 'Honeymoon Retreat' as a post-celebration...you can read all about it on the wedding website here: http://www.RawUnion.com

The festival/expo will be on June 20th and 21st and will feature speakers such as myself and the Monarch, David Wolfe, Shazzie, the Boutenkos, Kevin and Annmarie Gianni, Philip McCluskey, Anthony the Raw Model and many more yumsters...there will also be food demos, many beautiful booths and wonderful music...

The actual wedding will be on June 21st, with a fabulous Raw Reception afterwards - expect a sumptuous raw feast and a stunning raw wedding cake, made by none other than the Boutenko family themselves...

YUMMMMY :)

*You can register for the wedding festie/expo HERE.

*If you have a business and would love to have a booth at the event, you can set that up HERE.

*If you are a yummy musician and would love to share your talents at the event, please let us know – drop me an email to angela@rawreform.com.

We are VERY excited and hope to see you in Oregon for the Raw Union of this whole tribal family ;)

on April the 5th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘horchata’ tea
big bowl of fruit salad
2 tbsp Greener Grasses powder
3 cups water
1.5 papayas, a handful of hazelnuts
3 tbsp bee pollen with hemp seeds
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, parsley, alfalfa, other greens, carrot
big yummy garden salad with guacamole, cabbage ‘chips’ and flax crackers
3 cups water


SoOooOOoOooooo, I am BACK in the US of A :)
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE–HAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA :))))))

I'm sooooo happy to be back...though I was also sad to leave Vilcabamba... ;( We’ll be back there to our land later this year sometime though, all being well...for now, we’re back here in the US and LOVING it...
We just arrived here yesterday morning after over 24 hours of travel back from Vilcabamba and now we're abt to head out on the road for a mini-lecture tour, which starts in Seattle this Friday... pheeeeew ;)
In the end everything went just fine with the process of re–entering the US with my fiancee visa – in fact one of the border guards had seen me on CNN last year and they were mainly just fascinated to hear abt raw food ;) Nice ;)

on April the 6th I had:

1 quart water
mug of mint tea
2 cups ‘mixed’ fruit juice
plate of papaya
2 tbsp Greener Grasses powder
3 cups greeeen juice: cucumber, celery, parsley, alfalfa, carrot
bowl of chia pudding with lucuma, vanilla powder, maca and goji berries
3 cups water
big chunk of pineapple and a banana
3 tbsp hemp seed with bee pollen
3 cups water


on April the 7th I had:

1 quart water
3 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups green juice, 1.5 cups green smoothie
2 cups water
an apple, a little handful of brazil nuts and a raw bar sample
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, romaine lettuce, parsley, ginger
feast of raw food desserts at a yummy potluck, including Henry‘s Raw Ice Creams, carob balls, gorgeous fruit salad and freeze–dried fruits :)
3 cups water
cup of Natural Calm

Guess WHAT? As if there isn’t enough excitement whizzing around our bubbles right now, I arrived to our warehouse here in Ojai, California yesterday (the first time I’ve actually ever seen the warehouse, as it’s been nearly 2 years since I was last in the US ;)...and guess what else had also just arrived at the warehouse? The FIRST EVER printed copy of my book Raw Emotions straight off the press ;O :) :)
I am SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED to meet the book in person :) The full consignment of the printed books is on its way to us and hopefully will be here in the next few days, depending on transport times...I’ll announce it with gleeeeee when they’re here and ready for sale...for now I have been flicking through this first copy with total joy and gratitude...this is my first ever ‘real’ printed book and it feels amazing to see it in the physical.
It was printed on recycled paper with veggie inks and we are donating $1 from the sale of every copy towards organisations that either protect native forests or plant new trees – YUMMY :) This is a revised, extended and updated version than the original Raw Emotions ebook and contains a foreword from my original raw food inspiration, Victoria Boutenko ;) FUN :)

We love yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu alllllllllll,
Miss Stokes. xxx

Go Gratitude...

MmmMmmmmm, yummy days this end of the spectrum...what about you? What are YOU loving at the moment? What are you grateful for? Here are some of the things that currently help keep the smile on my noggin:

*HOT Yoga – ooo la la, it’s steamy windows all around at the moment as we’re getting in a DAILY hot yoga session at a nearby super-lovely yoga studio...mmmmm, breathing deeeeeep, letting go, working those joints and muscles, loving the sweeeeaaaaaaat and the ruby cheeks, honouring the aches the next day and going back for more ;) lol...it seems to be getting colder by the day here in the UK, so, working out in a heated room is doing us wonders to keep the internal thermostats ticking over...love it...

*OKRA – I know I’ve mentioned this before – I am just in LOVE with okra though and would love to again recommend munching your molars into some of the delectable little treats from nature...I’m still amazed to think that prior to this summer I’d never knowingly eaten okra at all (also known as ‘lady’s fingers’ in some places). Now I am eating them pretty much every single day – we’ve found a supreme supply here of little ‘baby’ okra, which are sweeeeet, less ‘prickly’ and so fresh...YUMMM – I love the way they gel up in my mouth...amazing...

*Raw Foodie Steve Pavlina’s book ’Personal Development for Smart People’ – WOW...if you haven’t checked out Steve’s new book on self-development, I’d HIGHLY recommend it. He kindly sent us a review copy to look over and both the Monarch and I are LOVING dipping into it daily...Steve has produced a truly outstanding ‘self-help’ manual, quite unlike any other. There is not an ounce of ‘fluff’ in this book. Steve spent years reading ‘self-development’ books for all kinds of areas of life, then synthesised all the information and tips he had gathered into a model of ‘smart’ self-development that he suggests can work for ANY area of life. His logical left-brain capacities seem superlative and yet this is not some kind of dry, mechanical ‘how to’ essay – Steve also seems like a very loving, in-tune, sincere, fun-loving guy and this all comes across so well in his writing. Mr. M and I are both LOVING this book and absorbing so much great info. Thank you, Mr. Pavlina for providing such an incredible overview of the ‘self-development’ field and how to make the most of it :) You can see Steve’s book on Amazon here (check out the GLOWING reviews further down the page – amazing :)


on October the 31st I had:

1 quart water
little mug of spicy tea
2 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, Jerusalem Artichoke, spinach, kale, carrot, ginger
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and okra on the side, followed by yum-balls made by the Monarch (lucuma, goji berries, chia seeds, pine nut butter, maca)
3 cups water
1 cup veggie juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, Jerusalem Artichoke, spinach, kale, carrot, ginger
bowl of YUMMERS Grawnola from Shellbel
little mug of rooibus tea
3 cups water


on November the 1st I had:

1 quart water
1 cup watermelon/orange juice
1 persimmon
2 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, Jerusalem Artichoke, spinach, kale, watercress, arugula, beetroot, carrot, ginger
1.5 cups energy soup with okra and flax crackers on the side, followed by a little leftover ‘pomegranate frogspawn’ from Halloween ;) (Chia seeds soaked in a nut-milk mixture with pomegranate seeds stirred in)
3 cups water
1.5 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, Jerusalem Artichoke, spinach, kale, watercress, arugula, beetroot, carrot, ginger
bowl of ‘pomegranate frogspawn’ with some pumpkin seed milk and freeze-dried durian pieces
3 cups water

Last Chance to RAAWK...
Mr Gianni says it’s your last opportunity this week to get your mittens on a stack of his Rawkathon DVDs – he’s taking them off the market on Thursday evening at 11.59pm EST, so, if you liked what you saw and want a bit more, slip on your glass slippers and get on over to the Rawkathon site HERE to secure your goodies bundle before they turn into...pumpkins...at midnight ;)



on November the 2nd I had:

2 quarts water
1 persimmon
3 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, cabbage, Jerusalem Artichoke, spinach, kale, watercress, arugula, beetroot, carrot, ginger
2 cups energy soup with okra and flax crackers, followed by a little bowl of leftover chia/pomegranate pudding
little mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
1.5 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, cabbage, Jerusalem Artichoke, spinach, kale, watercress, arugula, beetroot, carrot, ginger
bowl of grawnola with freeze-dried durian pieces
3 cups water


on November the 3rd I had:

1 quart water
1.5 cups watermelon/orange juice
1.5 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, cabbage, Jerusalem Artichoke, spinach, kale, watercress, arugula, beetroot, carrot, ginger
2 cups energy soup with okra and flax crackers, followed by a couple of little yumpots made by the Monarch
little mug of rooibus tea
3 cups water
2 cups veggie juice: celery, cabbage, cucumber, spinach, kale, carrot, ginger
bowl of grawnola from Shellbel, with freeze-dried durian pieces
3 cups water


Got enough EXCITEMENT in your life...??? ;)
Well, if you could do with a boost, then here’s a little reminder that the ‘Excitement Sale’ is still bubbling with passion over at the RawReform Store...featuring 10 of our products that I’m most excited about, all at 25% off – FUN :) The sale will end at 5pm EST on November the 7th, this Friday, so CLICK HERE if you’d like to get some discounted yummables before then…
Here’s what’s on offer, in no particular order of excitability:

*Cocopura Coconut Oil
*Almond Butter
*Carob Powder (IDEA: mix the almond butter and carob powder together for a YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMY low-glycemic treat ;)
*Kelp Noodles (WOW ;)
*Chlorella 'Nuts'
*'Fresh' book - by Sergei and Valya Boutenko
*Orbiter POI
*Freddie's Blend Probiotics
*Steel Water Bottle, 1litre
*Soap Nuts


Just CLICK HERE to access these offers and...ENJOY :)
(P.S. if you didn’t yet see the ‘Almond Dream Bar’ recipe video that we put up recently on YouTube, you can see that HERE – the Cocopura coconut oil and almond butter in this sale are ideal for this recipe - mmmmmmmm ;)


All joy, prosperity and juiciness to ye,
Ms. Stokes (MA Hons). xxx

P.S. All blessings out to the USA for the monumental voting session in the coming day – we are breathing with you all, visualising a yummy, shiny, joyful future :)

Raw Food Community...

OoOooo lalala, registration for our new 30-Day Raw Food Weight Loss Programme closes TOMORROW, Saturday the 25th, at noon EST (9am west coast time, 5pm UK time).

Places have been filling up fast and this is your last window to get signed up, if you’d like to join in the jollies for 30 days, starting November the 1st...
Here’s a quick reminder of what’s involved in this new version of the uberlicious Body Enlightenment System:

*daily email coaching
*your very own living, breathing, loving BES ‘buddy’ – for mutual support
*community forum to connect with others
*suggested recipes for EVERY day of the programme – there are 2 menu planners to guide you – a ‘fruitier’ version OR the new version based around greens/healthy fats – you choose, or mix’n’match
*lifetime pass to the BES programmes – every time the programme is repeated, you get to play again, if you’d love to = FUN :)
*7-day preparation week – materials to get you set up
*a ‘success planner’ workbook that helps you address life beyond food ;)
*daily fitness challenges of 7-minutes or less, to get you moooovin’

You can see all the full details HERE and there is even a ‘risk free’, money-back guarantee, so, grab your shiniest chopsticks and we’ll see YOU in the kitchen, m’dear... ;)


On October the 23rd I had:

1 quart water
mug of rose tea yumminess
2 cups veggie juice: kale, cucumber, cabbage, spinach, watercress, beetroot, carrot, ginger
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and okra on the side, followed by almond dream bar yumpots :)
4 fresh figs
2 cups water
1.5 cups veggie juice: kale, cucumber, cabbage, spinach, watercress, beetroot, carrot, ginger
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and okra on the side, followed by almond dream bar yumpots :)
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water

For those of you in the UK or Europe, we've got a stash of yummy fun goodies here in Blighty that you're welcome to order. If you’d love to snap up a few bargains with cheaper postage than ordering from the US, then read on... ;)
Here’s what we have:

Chia Seeds, 454g (1lb) bags - £6 each
Goji Berry Powder, 4oz (113g) bags - £7 each
‘Raw Success’ by Matt Monarch - £10 each
‘Raw Spirit’ by Matt Monarch - £8 each
‘How to Go Raw for Weight Loss’ by Angela Stokes - £5 each
‘Revealing the Physical Changes’ by Angela Stokes - £5 each
‘A Juice Feaster’s Handbook’ by Angela Stokes - £5 each
DVDs of Mr. Monarch speaking at Ecopolitan - £5 each
‘Diet and Salad’ by Norman Walker - £5
'Become Younger' by Norman Walker - £5
'Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Juices' by Norman Walker - £5
‘Raw For Life’ DVD - £15 each
'Simply Raw' DVD - £15 each
'Food Combining' by Herbert Shelton - £5
‘Absolutely Abeba’s Edible Treats’ raw cracker recipe book - £5 each
'Absolutely Abeba's Krazy Krackers' recipe book - £5 each
'Raw Foods for Busy People' Book - £8
'Raw Foods for Busy People' DVD - £14
'Raw Greek' by Gina Panayi - £10
'Fresh' by Sergei and Valya Boutenko - £9
'Raw Soul' recipe book - £10
'Detox Delights' by Shazzie - £5
Nut Milk Bags - £6 each
MSM lotion coconut-rose scent (Only 1 available) - £5
4-quart/litre enema bag (missing hanging hook - this can easily be replaced with a ribbon/string however) - £25
Vitamin B12 Tablets from Hallelujah Acres - £8
Therapeutic Enzymes (8oz top quality blend) - £65

If any of that sounds exciting to you, to add to your collection, then drop me an email at angela@rawreform.com letting us know how many of each item you’d like and the address to send them to. We’ll then work out the postage for you and let you know the total cost...yummy :)
(If you’re not sure what any of the above items are, you can always look them up in the RawReform store – go to http://store.RawReform.com and use the ‘search’ box to find what you’re looking for...)


on October the 24th (my mum's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mrs. Stokes ;) I had:

1 quart water
mug of spicy tea
2 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, kale, lettuce, spinach, beetroot, carrot, ginger
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and okra on the side, followed by almond dream bar yumpots
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
1.5 cups cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, endive, fennel, kale, lettuce, spinach, beetroot, carrot, ginger
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and okra on the side, followed by almond dream bar yumpots
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water


Fun new raw food housing opportunity:
Those of you who have been reading here for a while may recall a yummy opportunity that came up some months ago for a live-in raw food chef in Sussex, England on a GORGEOUS 8-acre property called ‘Mistletoe Meadows’. Well, that position was very happily filled by one of our ever-expanding, vibrant raw family and NOW there is an opportunity for someone else to join the team there – FUN :)
The property owner, Jennifer, would love to welcome someone else to the grounds on an energy exchange basis, to help out for the winter and possibly longer. The main roles would be assisting with the daily raw food prep (sprouting, dehydrating, juicing etc), as well as providing a couple of healing massage treatments per week for Jennifer (feet/lower leg). In return for helping out with those tasks, the new community member will have their own bedroom and bathroom rent-free, share the kitchen and living room with Jennifer and of course have access to the lovely 8-acres of organic gardens and grounds, plus swimming pool – yummy ;)
If this sounds like an opportunity YOU would relish, you can contact Jennifer on: dragonfly229 (at) hotmail.com (replace ‘at’ with the @ symbol), being sure to write ‘Community Retreat Project’ in the subject title, please.
(Just like before, I imagine this position is equally open to international candidates as it is to UK residents, provided any international applicants take care of their own visa/travel arrangements, etc... ;)

ENJOY :)
All love,
Angelalalalaaa. xxx