My New Book is Here: "A Gentle Start" :)

Hellooooooooo everyone, I’m *SO* excited :)))))

As you may have noticed, I’ve been more-or-less “missing in action” the last few months in terms of blogs and newsletters, following the birth of our beautiful baby daughter, Oria Berry Monarch on 11-20-2011.

Well, alongside nurturing this little bundle of joy these last few months, I have also been slowly and steadily working away at another project too, which I just completed and am ready to share with the world today… I am so excited to announce the arrival of my new ebook on “conscious parenting” choices for new parents:

“A Gentle Start” is here :)))

I have never written a book that flowed as easily and clearly as this one – I really enjoyed the process and trust that others will find much value in this book too… Here’s a taste of what it includes:

*the unexpected bodily changes that pregnancy can bring
*foods/herbs and activities to avoid during pregnancy
*tips for preparing for your best birth
*Oria Berry Monarch’s unassisted home water birth story
*how to successfully Lotus Birth
*things no-one tells you about life post-partum
*guidance for optimal nourishment during pregnancy and breastfeeding
*practical guidance for “attachment parenting” techniques
*tips for raising a “diaper-free”/“Elimination Communication” baby
*shopping lists for eco-friendly/attachment parenting choices

…and here’s what people are already saying about “A Gentle Start”:

It's great! I learned a lot from it and I think it will totally be beneficial for new mamas! I loved it! :) I think that there are so many people that don't know that much about home birth and natural pregnancy and nutrition and all of that...that this would be such a gift... There is so much information from the water/lotus birth, to unassisted birth, to the burping, to the swaddling, to the supplements...it is packed with practical and simple wisdom! :)
AJ

I think the way you write and connect is sooo different. It's like you’re in the room talking to me. It's really gentle and I think the "everyday" woman would be more receptive to the ideas and choices in it because of that :) Such a different energy to most Baby/Parenting Guides, so refreshing!
Donna Marie Watson - www.facebook.com/MotheringLife

I really like your book. It is a very genuinely written account of your experience. The honesty comes through in the things that might not normally be talked about in the more visceral and personal challenges of pregnancy/birth. For me this is the most useful in reading other women's testimonies - how to face the challenges, keep faith, and rise above. You are able to cover a wide variety of topics in a concise way, which I think will be helpful for a lot of people. All the main points are introduced and then you follow up with a super helpful list of further reading and extra resources. Personally I appreciate the concluding lists of useful/not so useful baby products. I have spent lots of time browsing through them all only to close the website later on because there are so many choices. I've even Googled something to the effect of 'green baby products best list' :)
JS


Just beautiful Angela. It's clear and informative, supports and encourages parents to listen within for their answers and power...while also balancing that with some knowledge from those with passion and experience of the pregnancy and birthing process. It provided me hope, a rather intimidating reality, and a knowledge that I have the strength to see it through. Thank you for sharing YOU!
Alara Wood - raw mother to be one day.

You can get your own copy of “A Gentle Start”
HERE right now – enjoy :)))

Conscious Parenting Call Playback Available NOW :)

WOW, last night we had the absolute joy to interview our dear friend Elena Tonetti-Vladirimova for The Raw Food World Radio Show - what a *blessing* :)
We absolutely *LOVE* the work Elena is sharing with the world around conscious parenting and this 1.5 hour interview contains so much priceless information on conception, birthing, child-raising, love, clarity, relaxation and joy...the playback is available to listen to for free at www.TheRawFoodWorldRadioShow.com, from now until midnight Pacific time, Sunday May 2nd. The special offer on the call is valid until the same time. We truly hope that you enjoy this outstanding information and interview as much as we did - please feel free to share this vital info with anyone you feel will appreciate it too...we're collectively changing world consciousness, one birth at a time ;)


On April the 25th I was blissed with:

1 quart water
water of 2.5 young coconuts
lovely shared meal with friends of pineapple followed by chopped veggies with sunflower and avocado dips
2 cups water
water of a young coconut with marine phytoplankton
bowl of fresh fruit salad with chia seed gel
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water

On the subject of parenting, the lovely Philip and Susan Miller Madeley, workers and students at The Tree of Life are completing their theses on the health and needs of vegan children under the age of five. They intend to provide a vegan recipe for nursing mothers and babies without access to breast milk - wow :) They have a simple survey that they are asking people to complete to help finalise this work - if you or anyone you know is a vegan parent, please hop on over to http://livingveganchildren.com and fill in the 5-10 minute survey to help support this research and important info on breast milk alternatives in challenging situations.


on April the 26th I loved:

1 quart water
water of two young coconuts
bowl of yummmmy mango/greeeen smoothie with Mr. M, topped with dried Incan berries
3 cups greeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
3 cups water
yummmmy shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M :)
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water


on April the 27th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
water of a young coconut
1.5 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
2 cups greeeeen/mango smoothie with Mr. M
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
'gourmet' raw food meal shared with non-raw friends: 'tacos' stuffed with wild peanut 'beans', coconut 'sour cream' sauce, guacamole, chopped veggies etc, followed by banana ice cream with homemade walnut/raisin 'cookies' :)
mug of reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
1 cup water

Mmmmmm, what a yummy *treat* we have for you today, direct from Katia, a RawReform reader in Australia...Katia has generously sent in a collection of 11 delicious green smoothie recipes that she has developed in recent years and would *love* to share with you all - enjoy :)

~ Green Smoothie Recipes, Created by Katia Dupoirier ~

Goji-berrylicious green smoothie:
1 to 2 cups Goji juice (simply soak overnight a handful - or more, it is entirely up to you - of dried goji berries in 1 or 2 cups purified water, then strain through nut mylk bag)
1 cup berries of your choice (raspberries taste good in this)
1 head butter lettuce
Stevia to taste if desired
Put all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend away. Enjoy :)


Best smoothie I’ve ever had:

1 head romaine or any other greens of your choice (I've used some red oaks along with romaine lettuce for this smoothie)
1 and a half frozen bananas
2 frozen fresh figs
Big piece of fresh ginger
Few drops vanilla-flavoured stevia (if you don't have vanilla-flavoured stevia, replace with stevia and vanilla)
2 to 3 cups water (can't remember the exact amount of water to be honest but it made about 2 litres/quarts of this green smoothie)

Put all the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend. It is delicious. We believe though that the figs could be omitted and it will still have this wonderful flavour. The yumminess came mainly from the blend of the banana, ginger and vanilla :)


Creamy Fruit-Free Green Smoothies:


Chocarob-cinnamon green smoothie
1 head romaine or other greens of your choice
1 avocado (and/or one frozen banana, if you prefer)
2 tablespoons carob powder
2 tablespoons cacao powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
stevia to taste
about 1 cup water

Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and enjoy :)



Creamy choc-mint smoothie:

1 head romaine (or less, it's up to you - you could even replace the romaine with parsley or spinach if you prefer)
1 or half an avocado
1 cup filtered water (depending on the consistency you are after)
1 handful mint leaves
4 heaping tablespoons cacao powder and/or carob powder
Stevia to taste

Blend all the ingredients and enjoy :)


Creamy ginger-bread green smoothie:
Hope you will enjoy this one :)

1 head romaine
1 avocado
Two tablespoons pumpkin spice powder (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardamon)
Few drops vanilla essence with stevia or vanilla-flavoured stevia
1 cup water
Pinch of cacao or carob powder

Blend all the ingredients except for the cacao or carob powder in a high-speed blender.  Pour into a mug/glass and sprinkle with some cacao or carob powder on top.


Cucumber delight:
1 head butter lettuce
2 cucumbers
1 cup or two handfuls berries (raspberries or strawberries are good choices for this recipe)
1 small handful fresh mint leaves
1 cup water
Put all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend away ;) Pour into a glass and enjoy.



Green Smoothie Desserts:


Lemon meringue pie green smoothie:

1 cup fresh lemon juice (or you can simply use the juice of one lemon, depending how strong you like the taste of your smoothie to be)
Few drops of vanilla flavored stevia (or few drops stevia with vanilla essence/pod)
2 bananas
One head romaine lettuce

Blend everything in a high-speed blender and enjoy :)


Apple pie green smoothie:

1 cup fresh apple juice
1 or 2 bananas
1 head romaine lettuce
Apple pie spice powder to taste (Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg)

Blend everything in a high-speed blender and enjoy :)


Ginger-bread green smoothie (fruity version):

1 avocado
1 bunch parsley
Few drops vanilla flavoured stevia or few drops stevia and vanilla essence
Juice of one blood orange or any other orange
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup water

Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and enjoy. Sprinkle some chocolate or carob powder on top if desired ;)


Strawberry cream smoothie:
Meat of one young coconut
1 cup strawberries or raspberries
1 head butter lettuce
Half a teaspoon vanilla powder (or few drops vanilla extract)
Stevia to taste if desired
Water of one young coconut
Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and enjoy. Sprinkle on top some desiccated coconut and/or cinnamon if desired.


Mango cream smoothie (reminds me of those "Yum Cha’s" mango pancakes):
Meat of one young coconut
1 cup mango
1 head butter lettuce
Half a teaspoon vanilla powder (or few drops vanilla extract)
Water of one young coconut
Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and enjoy. Sprinkle on top some desiccated coconut if desired.

WOW, thanks so much for sharing, Katia :) I trust that you all enjoy experimenting with these delicious-sounding greeeeeeeeeen recipes - the lemon meringue pie smoothie sounds especially interesting to me... ;)


All love, light and peristaltic joy...
Ms. A. C. SM. MA. Hons. xxx

What to Feed a Baby if The Mother 'Cannot' Breastfeed?

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY, we are BACK on YouTube :))) For those of you who may not be aware, our daily online raw food TV show "The Raw Food World" was rather bizarrely and suddenly removed from YouTube on January the 1st, with no clear explanation as to why this was happening...we sent YouTube lots of love and emails and even had a lawyer and some others contacting them and now, PRESTO, we are extremely happy and grateful to be back on the big little screen ;)
Here is our latest glee-ful video update on this odd story (patiently waiting for Mercury Retrograde to reverse ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ti-diQJtw

(You can also hear updates on my Juice Feasting/Colon Cleansing progress in this video -

may be "TMI" for some people again... ;)

on January the 7th I experienced:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
3 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
30 chlorella tablets with 1 tbsp coconut oil
4 tbsp bee pollen
1.5 cups coconut kefir
3 cups greeeeeeen juice
3 cups water

oOOoOOoOoooo, yesterday I got the chance to transfer the rest of my missing photos to my new computer after changing Macs, post car-crash... This last group of photo imports were all from last year, 2009 - I pulled out some of my favourites and put them into a new Flickr album over HERE :) We spent most of last year on the road, giving raw food talks, hosting events, running booths at festivals and so on...enjoy ;)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29292390@N08/sets/72157623053020235/

on January the 8th I loved:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass juice
mug of DELICIOUS horsetail/reishi tea
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
mug of herbal tea
2 tbsp bee pollen
5 tbsp spirulina crunchies with 2 tbsp coconut oil
mug of herbal tea
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
3 cups water


On January the 9th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
1.5 cups coconut kefir
big handful of spirulina crunchies with 2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp bee pollen
1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
mug of herbal tea with 4 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups water

Mmmmm, today I got an email that pierced into my pain body...someone was asking what to feed a newborn if the mother 'can't' breastfeed...wow...this feels like such a HUGELY important issue and question to me that I wanted to share here too some of the links that I guided this reader towards - perhaps these may help out someone else further along the line somewhere too...

Firstly, let me give some 'disclaimers' to start with: I am not a mother, a doctor, doula, midwife or any kind of medical/nursing 'professional'. I will also say once again that I am also not pregnant or intending to be pregnant anytime very soon ;) I will offer some ideas based on what I have read though... ;)

*I have recently finished reading the wonderful book 'The Drinks Are On Me' by Veronika Robinson and this has been hugely influential and inspirational for me. http://www.therawfoodworld.com/product_info.php?products_id=1002891
Here are some of the pieces of wisdom I gleaned from this book:
EVERY drop of breastmilk any child can get is an absolutely PRECIOUS gift for their health and well-being for the rest of their lives - this is truly not a matter to be taken lightly...and there are MANY things a woman can do to help the breasts let down the milk - being relaxed is KEY, breathing deep, visualising healthy, abundant milk flow, ingesting things known to help with lactation, such as fenugreek tea, fennel or caraway tea, LOTS of fresh vegetable juices, lots of liquids in general, getting suport from others who ARE breastfeeding or have experience (e.g. La Leche League, Doulas), stimulating the nipples - either with a breast-pump or maybe massaging them in a warm shower, to encourage the milk to flow, holding the baby to the breast to encourage 'latching on' and so on...

I would TOTALLY recommend Veronika's empowering, inspiring book to any new parent or parent-to-be - you can see the book HERE. (Veronika also has another book called 'The Birthkeepers', which I have just started reading and also absolutely LOVE - so much wonderful information about natural, ecstatic birthing - see HERE.)

*If for some very unusual reason a woman truly 'cannot' breastfeed - if she has had a mastectomy or breast implants or smthg for example - then other options might be to ask a 'wet nurse' to help, find a breastmilk bank or donor to receive supplies from (www.milkshare.com is a useful resource for this), or at least start fuelling the child with organic, raw goats' milk (preferably NOT cows' milk - goats are more similar to humans in body size), some people use coconut water too, as it is like the 'breast-milk' of the Earth...
Recently, dear raw si*star* Jinjee started a section on her forum on this exact topic of what to feed a child in this situation and there are some GREAT responses and links over there, from experienced mamas - please check that thread out HERE.

*Another fabulous conscious parenting resource offered by Veronika Robinson is "The Mother" magazine, which I am also currently working my way through back issues of...and sending numerous subscriptions to this magazine, all around the world to new-parent friends... ;) See more at http://www.themothermagazine.co.uk

*Some time back, I wrote a whole article listing resources for pregnant/breastfeeding parents, centered around 'raw' parenting - you can see that article HERE - there are many resources in there that could be useful too...

*I recently came across another beautiful website on this theme, called PositiveBirthStories.com, a site packed with REAL womens' REAL stories about amazing, ecstatic, orgasmic, blissful, natural births :) There is SO much fear-mongering in our societies around birth and I am delighted to see this site where new parents-to-be can enrich their lives and find inspiration for ecstatic birthing experiences :) ENJOY :)

I sincerely hope that all of this helps some more beings out there on their unfolding paths...I can only imagine how challenging it must feel to those in a situation where it seems a baby 'cannot' be breastfed by the mother...if any of you reading this have other wonderful suggestions or links to share, PLEASE go ahead and post them in the comments below...
From my perspective, breast milk and the gift of breastfeeding are like pure GOLD in terms of a person's health and well-being throughout their entire lives... I am sending love, light and healing for the best outcome for anyone involved in these delicate situations...

All love,
Angelalalalaaaaaaaa. xxx