Holiday Gratitude List + New Longevity DVDs from David Wolfe :)

Trusting you've all been enjoying a fabulous Holiday weekend, if you've been celebrating :) We've been enjoying good times here in Vilcabamba - some highlights:

*Christmas rainbow over the town on Christmas Eve

*Delivering raw "yumball" gifts to our neighbours by bike (see pic ;)

*Yummy raw dessert party with friends on Christmas Day

*A spangly new VOICE RECORDER from Mr. M so that I can easily record songs

*A beautiful new digital art picture from a local artist to grace our walls

*Snuggles and scratches with Cherry our baby horse

*Fun Christmas Day walk in the hills to admire the beautiful Vilca views...

What have *you* been grateful for this weekend? :)

On December the 24th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
3 cups coconut water/orange juice mixture
3 cups greeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of papaya/mango/coconut yoghurt/maca/ashwaghanda/astragalus/carob/stevia
2 cups water
shared cucumber salad with Mr. M; salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear + lecithin, followed by a carob Brownie Batter yumpot
2 mugs horchata tea
1 cup water


I'd love to share links for three songs that I've been loving the last few days, in no particular order:

*A dear friend recently sent the link to a *beautiful*, uplifting song from Juan Luis Guerra, called "Something Good" - check it out HERE.

*Unusually, Spirit moved me to listen to Tom Jones on Christmas Eve - not sure why... ;) WOW, what a powerful voice - check him out strutting his stuff HERE.

*"Video" by India.Arie has also become a sudden favourite after the lovely Alexandra Jaye played it for us recently - LOVE the positive message in this song - check it out HERE and enjoy :)


on December the 25th it was *CHRISTMAS DAY* and I was delighted with:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
3 cups pineapple/cucumber juice blended with Ormus Greens
raw dessert party fun yummers with friends: an array of raw cakes/pies/yumballs/puddings and other desserts: fun :)
3 cups water


OOOOoOoooo lala, Mr. David Wolfe has some exciting news to share with y'all - the DVD packs from the last Longevity Now Conference are going to go on sale very soon :) I've been watching the online playbacks from the last conference a lot recently and LOVING absorbing all this amazing info from modern-day health heroes such as:

David Wolfe, John Robbins, Daniel Vitalis, Donna Gates,
Kevin Gianni, Raw Solla, Truth Calkins, Nadine Artemis and more...

The new DVD packs contain over 20 hours of exclusive footage from the Conference - it's kind of like being there at the event without necessarily having been there... ;)
Every DVD pack also comes with a free mini grounding kit and a huge array of other bonuses - David and his team are going to first be sharing a series of free video clips from the last conference, for the next 12 days, then the DVD set will be available at a special discounted rate in the first week of January - you can check out all the details HERE.

All love and fabulous spangles,
Ms. A. Stokes-Monarch, MA. xxx

We Wish You a Merry Christmas :)

OOoOoOOooooo, it's very close to Christmas now...we trust that you are enjoying yourself, whether you celebrate this event or not...we are definitely having fun here in Vilcabamba :)

Here is our Christmas E-card to the world:

Happy Holidays Everyone :)

Remember that you can also currently get 17.5% Off ANY size order at TheRawFoodWorld.com - our Holiday gift to you :)))
From now until December 31st 2010, just use the coupon code "HOLIDAY18" as you check out to get 17.5% Off... This is a Holiday gift from us to y'all, with gratitude and love for all of your ongoing support... :) More details HERE :)


On December the 21st it was Solstice/Full Moon/Solar Eclipse time and I enjoyed:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
3 cups greeeeeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of papaya/mango/strawberries/coconut yoghurt/maca/carob/ashwaghandha/astragalus/stevia
2 cups water
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M: salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and Brazil nut butter, followed by a few slices of dried mango
2 mugs of horchata tea
1 cup water


Another little Holiday gift for you all:
There's a new *FREE* raw foodie book called "The Raw Truth" by Jordan Rubin coming out in January and Mr. M and I are featured in this book, along with many other raw yumsters such as:

Penni Shelton, Paul Nison, Sarma MeIngailis,

Ani Phyo, Alissa Cohen and others...

This book will be given away for free in health food stores all over the USA next year, however the lovely people at Jordan's company, Garden of Life, gave us permission to let y'all download the ebook version of it NOW already, also for free :) NICE :)

To access your free copy of this 200+ page book, just click HERE...ENJOY :)

on December the 22nd I loved:

1 quart water
3 cups orange juice mixed with coconut water
1 quart greeeeeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of papaya/mango/blackberries/coconut yoghurt/maca/carob/ashwaghandha/astragalus/stevia
2 cups water
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M: salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and Brazil nut butter, followed by a few slices of dried mango
2 mugs of horchata tea
1 cup water


on December the 23rd I was delighted with:

1 quart water
3 cups orange juice mixed with coconut water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice
bowl of papaya/mango/blackberries/coconut yoghurt/maca/carob/ashwaghandha/astragalus/stevia
2 cups water
shared cucumber salad meal with Mr. M: salad stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear and Brazil nut butter, followed by a carob "Brownie Batter" yumpot
mug of horchata tea
1 cup water


In case you didn't yet see this beautiful, inspiring little video that people have been posting around a lot online in the last couple of weeks, please check out the link below to witness the moving work that Naryanan Krishnan is doing in India to connect with those living on the streets, share love and uplift hearts - this video has had millions of views already on different sites online and seems to be helping to inspire so many more people into viewing everyone as our brothers and sisters - enjoy ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_3BEwpv0dM

All love and happiest Holiday blissings to you all,
A. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

Photos and Freebies :)

Mmmmm, I trust you’ve been enjoying a wonderful Christmas-time, whether you celebrate this holiday or not ;) Mr. Monarch and I had a yummy relaxing Christmas Day yesterday in the sun in Arizona ;) It was day 10 of our current intended 30-day Juice Feast and we enjoyed lots of healing, an inspiring walk in the grounds and labyrinth here at The Tree of Life, some sweet gift sharing and watching some beautiful films from The Spiritual Cinema Circle – love it ;) Tomorrow the guests start to arrive for our 10-day ‘Renew Yourself’ retreat – exciting :)
One of the other activities I really enjoyed this Christmas time was going over my digital photo collection on my computer. As you may know, we recently had a big car crash, during which my ‘puter got smashed up quite a lot...a wonderful friend of ours helped transfer all my data to another computer and set up all my photos in iPhoto, which I hadn’t used much before – it’s SO great :))) Loving it...as I went through the pics, I pulled out some of my favourites from the last few years and put them together in a Flickr album over HERE, if you’d love to peruse them – enjoy ;) (Note: durian features quite a lot in these pics ;)

On December the 23rd I was blissed with:

1 quart water
1 cup greeeen juice
1 quart green juice from The Tree of Life Café
mug of herbal tea
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
3 tbsp bee pollen with probiotics
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
1.5 cups coconut kefir
2 cups water
3 tbsp bee pollen with probiotics
2.5 cups green juice
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
2 cups water


on December the 24th I loved:

1 quart water
1 cup water with sole (Himalayan salt dissolved in water)
1 cup greeeeen juice
double shot of wheatgrass
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
1.5 cups water
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
3 tbsp bee pollen with probiotics, 20 chlorella tablets
mug of herbal tea
30 chlorella tablets with 1 tbsp coconut oil – WOW :)
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
mug of herbal tea
2 cups water

My inner Virgo says it has four little reminders for you today:

1. Mr Monarch will be interviewing Mr. Paul Nison, raw food author/speaker this Tuesday, December the 29th, at 6pm Pacific time. This looks set to be a VERY fun, free interview between these two boisterous raw ‘extremists’ ;) If you’re not already signed up to access this call, just click HERE to register for the call-in details and ENJOY :)

2. December the 31st marks the final day to use the current 17.5% OFF Holiday Coupon Code at TheRawFoodWorld.com webstore. This coupon can be used on ANY size order (except appliances) – see the details HERE and enjoy ;)

on December the 25th it was Jesus’ birthday and I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeen juice
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
40 chlorella nuts with 2 tbsp coconut oil
1.5 cups coconut kefir
2 tbsp bee pollen
1 quart green juice from The Tree of Life Café
2 cups water
mug of herbal tea
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups green juice from The Tree of Life Café
2 cups water


On December the 26th I loved:

1 quart water
2 cups green juice at The Tree of Life Café
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups green juice at The Tree of Life Café
1.5 cups coconut kefir
2 mugs herbal tea
2 cups green juice at The Tree of Life Café
40 chlorella tablets with 2 tbsp coconut oil
2 cups green juice at The Tree of Life Café
2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups water
3 cups greeeeen juice
2 cups water

3. December 31st also marks the closing date for our current Blendtec Blender Giveaway Contest :) People have been sending in their contest entries streadily for the last month or so and we’re excited to view the submissions in the new year and choose a winner of another shiny new BLENDTEC high-speed blender :) You can check out all the contest details HERE – enjoy :)

4. Voting closes sooooon for the 2009 Best Of Raw awards ;) If you haven’t submitted your votes yet in the 30 or so categories such as favourite raw restaurant, book, film, educator, blog and so on, you can get in on the action HERE right now – there are actually some pretty fabulous giveaway gifts on offer too, for those who participate – you can check out the goodies on offer over at BestofRaw.net :)

All love and blissful unfoldings,
Ms. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

Happy Holidays - 17.5% OFF Coupon Code for TheRawFoodWorld.com :)

WOW, I’m delighted to say that the free “Profoundly Raw” ebook was already downloaded over 1000 times in its first day or so :) People seem to be LOVING it and I’m so happy to know it is being well received and enjoyed :))) Here are a few of the comments coming in:

“Absolutely loved it. Thank You & Merry Christmas to you and Matt”

Karen

“Many thanks Angela - great chapter you wrote - much food for thought :-)”

Shelley

"Thank you so very much! i'm enjoying it all. What a thoughtful gift - cheers!"

Sophie

A lot of people also seemed to have issues trying to download this free ebook via our online store, SOOOO, I found another, MUCH easier way for people to download it :) You can now get the ebook from this page HERE on my website – this seems to be working MUCH more easily for people and if this still doesn’t work for you, then just email us on angela@rawreform.com and we can send the ebook to you as an email attachment as a last resort ;)

ENJOY :)

on December the 20th I loved:

1 quart water
1 quart greeeeen juice
3 tbsp bee pollen/probiotics mixed together
mini-shot of wheatgrass juice (bluh ;)
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
2 cups greeeeeeen juice
mug of herbal tea
2 cups water
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
3 tbsp bee pollen/probiotics mixed together
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
1.5 cups coconut kefir :)
2 cups water

If you didn’t see my latest RawReform Newsletter, you’re missing out on the HUUUGE 17.5% OFF coupon code for TheRawFoodWorld store, which can be used on any order (expect appliances), between now and December 31st...you can check out all the details on my newsletter HERE...ENJOY :)

on December the 21st (Winter Solstice, our 6 month wedding anniversary) I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice
1 tsp royal jelly
30 chlorella tablets
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
1.5 cups coconut kefir
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
3 tbsp jarrah bee pollen with probiotics
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
2 cups greeeeen juice
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
3 cups water


on December the 22nd I was blissed with:

1 quart water
mug of herbal tea
2 tbsp bee pollen, 40 chlorella tablets
1.5 cups greeeen juice
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
3 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
2 cups water
1.5 cups coconut kefir :) LOVE it…
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
2 cups greeeeeeeeen juice
20 spirulina tablets

Wishing you all an absolutely WONDERFUL Christmas time if you’re celebrating over the next few days...I’m looking forward to a fun Christmas gathering here at the Tree of Life tomorrow evening, with festive singing and gift-swapping :)

ENJOY :)

All love,
Ms. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

Do They Know About Raw Food?

Helllooooooooooo beautiful,
A short burst of connection today to relay...
I made a little raw food song for Christmas. You can see it here if you like and the lyrics are down below:


Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Feliz Navidad and all best wishes to you for a supreme...Thursday... ;)
All love,
Angela Claire Santastokes. xxx


Do They Know About Raw Food?

It's Christmas time,
There's no need to be afraid.
At Christmas time you can still eat raw and celebrate.
Yes in a world of cooked food
We can spread a healthy glow
Take raw gojis and desserts wherever you go
But say a prayer,
Pray for the other ones.
At Christmas time, it's hard
To see the foods they munch...
But there's a world beyond that fridge door
And it's a world of love and health
Where the raw community gather to uplift you and to help
When everyone around you seems to be high on processed foods,
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you ;)
And there won't be greens on many plates this Christmas time.
The most nutritious thing they'll eat is fruit pie.
Oooooohhhhh, where no sprouts ever grow,
And no smoothies or juices flow...

DO they know about raw food at all?
Feed the World,
Let them know about raw food and
Feed the World,
Let them know about raw food
Feed the World
Let them know about RAW FOOD...

;) xxx

The Raw Food World TV Show :)

OOoOooo, well, there are SO many exciting things to share today I wonder where to start...let’s kick off with the latest fabulous RawReform Giveaway Contest – announced in my newsletter yesterday – in which you could win a SIGNED copy of Shazzie’s latest book ‘Evie’s Kitchen’ – here’s the details:

We now have British Raw-Queen Shazzie's gorgeous new raw kiddies book - 'Evie's Kitchen' - in the RawReform Store :) We are currently the exclusive sellers of this title in N. America, I do believe and we're VERY proud to have it available. Before coming out to Mexico, I spent some time with Shazzle-Dazzle in the UK and the amount of info this woman has to share on raising children raw is PHENOMENAL. I am so excited to see the book 'in person' when Mr. M brings me a copy to Mexico - and I'll do a 'proper' review soon.
As for now, YOU, my dear could get your mittens on your very own FREE signed copy of this invaluable volume, with this month's Prize Giveaway. It will be signed by both the Shazzler and Miss Evie, her divine little lovebucket daughter (aged 4) ;)
SO...to be in with a chance of winning, please send in your A to the following Q:

What's your BEST suggestion/recipe for helping children to eat healthier food?

Please send your uber-licious answers to angela@rawreform.com and one winner will be picked at random and with much jubilation sometime in the early new year. YUMMY :)

on December the 21st I had:

1 quart water
water of 6 young coconuts
3 tbsp bee pollen
3 tbsp green powder
1 quart water
little handful of chlorella tablets
(not necessarily in that order – all mixed up during space of day ;)

Mmmmm, it felt VERY good to f(e)ast on coconut water and those other yummy add-ons for the Winter Solstice...so, it's all up-hill ever-more back into the light from here, folks... Yeeeeeeee-HAH (Well, for those of us in the N. hemisphere anyway ;)

...and here's a timely little REMINDER that the intro offer to join the 'Inner Circle' and receive my eBook 'Raw Emotions' for $7.77 ends TOMORROW (Dec 24th) at 11.59pm PST - so, jump in HERE for the info, if you'd still love to come play in our new sandpit...

on December the 22nd I had:

1 quart water
water of a young coconut
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a spicy coconut bar and a little cup of spicy tea
3 cups water
3 cups veggie juice: celery, fennel, red bell pepper, carrot
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers on the side, followed by a little bowl of hand–blended yum: hemp butter, lucuma powder, carob powder, maca force, cinnamon
little cup of spicy tea
2 cups water


on December the 23rd I had:

1 quart water
1 tbsp ‘Pure Synergy’ green powder
2 cups energy soup with sugar snap peas on the side, followed by a goji bar
little cup of spicy tea
3 cups water
1 tbsp ‘Pure Synergy’ green powder
2 cups energy soup with sugar snap peas on the side, followed by a hand-blended yumpot of lucuma powder, carob powder, cinnamon, goji berries, Maca Force, buckwheaties, water
3 cups water

Introducing: TheRawFoodWorld.TV

Alright, get ready for some raw ENTERTAINMENT ;)
The Monarch and I have decided to start sharing a lot more videos of our raw adventures, in response to numerous requests...so, may we introduce: TheRawFoodWorld.TV ;)

Mr. M's inner director has been set loose and for the last few days he's been filming and posting clips up in California.
*HERE is a little vid with his mum. LOVE it - hilarious. I watched it at lunch and laughed so much I accidentally sprayed the kale chips I was eating all over my 'puter ;) You can see that video HERE.

*Mr. M also posted an interview today with another Mr. Monarch - his brother, Brian. Very funny too - and I LOVE, love, LOVE that the question 'if you know refined sugars and processed starches are not great for you, why do you still eat them?' was asked and answered. That is smthg that fascinates me about people. You can see that video HERE.

*Meanwhile, over at the RenegadeHealth.com blog, Kevin recently posted a video tour of TheRawFoodWorld.com shipping warehouse in California - so COOL to see...yes, I've never actually even seen our warehouse, as I've been out of the US for sooo long now (hopefully that will all shift soon - please send love towards that vision, if you feel drawn ;). You can see the warehouse tour video HERE.

PHEW...that oughta give you smthg more entertaining to watch than the usual Christmas TV choices ;) ENJOY...

...and on that note, I'd love to take this opportunity to wish you Happy Solstice/Hanukkah/Christmas/Holidays/December/End of Year/New Year/Fill in the Delight of Your Choice ;)

Thanks for coming out to play this last year...and we have SO much more yet to share next year - it's going to be a HUGE year for the raw food movement, methinks...so, let's all keep on peacefully and lovingly spreading the message further and further... Into The LIGHT, amigos :)
All love,
Angela. xxx

The Spoon-Licker Cometh...

WELL...as I write this, there are just 10 days until Christmas...looks like we’ll be enjoying a MeXican–shaped X–mas this year...we don’t have a Christmas tree or any decorations...we do have a lot of cacti though and a semi–adopted puppy called Barbados who likes to ‘decorate’ our floor with gifts of her own and chew the cacti ;) I’ve never toilet–trained a puppy before – hmmmm, it’s quite some task, eh? ...it’s SO rewarding though to see how she’s starting to get the hang of it more and more ;) I somehow hadn’t envisioned myself spending quite so much time here in Mexico clapping and cooing at the excretions of a canine...well, the Universe has its own peculiar games to unfold of course ;)
Incidentally, did you know that in Iceland there are 13 ‘Santas’? They come down from the mountains one per day during the days preceding Christmas Eve and they have rather unusual habits...today for example was the day for ‘spoon–licker’ santa to make his appearance...I think you can guess what his passion is...his other compadres include sausage snatcher, window peeper, door sniffer, candle beggar, pot scraper and door slammer...hmmmmm...who would YOU invite to your Holiday parties...? (btw, the mother of the 13 santas is called ‘Grýla’ and apparently she eats babies...) You can read all about the exploits of the unconventional Icelandic santa crew HERE.


on December the 13th I had:

1 quart water
2 apples with 3 tbsp Sproutein powder
2 cups energy soup with okra and kale chips on the side, followed by an almond crunch bar
mug of spicy tea
2 cups water
1 quart greeeen juice: celery, cucumber, broccoli, kale, romaine, asparagus, dandelion, ginger, lime
an apple and a pomegranate with 2 tbsp Sproutein powder
2 cups water

I would like to share here a very simple, beautiful little concept that I received in an email recently:

The best way to multiply happiness is to divide it.

LOVE that...sooo beautiful...how might YOU help to multiply the community happiness factor today? Smile at a stranger? ‘Random’ act of kindness? Gift to a loved one? There are so many ways we can share...and everything positive we share like this is radiated back to us manifold over – we are SO blessed...

on December the 14th I had:

1 quart water
little cup of spicy tea
2 tbsp sproutein powder
2 cups energy soup with okra and kale chips on the side, followed by an almond crunch bar
mug of spicy tea
2 cups water
3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, kale, fennel, romaine, dandelion, ginger, lime
1 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a little yumm bowl of hand–mixed almond butter/lucuma powder/maca/carob powder/dried pomegranate seeds
little mug of spicy tea
2 cups water

on December the 15th I had:

1 quart water
3 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, dill, kale, carrot
2 tbsp Sproutein, 2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a little bowl of hand–blended yum: almond butter/lucuma powder/carob powder/goji berries
little cup of spicy tea
2 cups water
15 chlorella tablets
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, romaine, ginger, lime
1.5 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a mixture of chia pudding and leftover blended sweet yummy stuff from lunch
2 cups water

Here’s a juicy question that came in recently from Kelly...
“Hi Angela, when you juice, do you use a juicer? Or do you make it like on juicefeasting.com using the vitamix and nutmilk bag? do you think you lose significantly more nutrients when using the vitamix/nutmilk compared to juicing with a juicer?”
Kelly

Thanks for your Q Kelly :). Well, at this point in time, we are in Mexico and we're using a Breville Juice Fountain juicer - we make the juice, then also squeeeeeeeze the pulp through a nut milk bag, to get LOTS more juice (we tend to get at LEAST another 16oz that way we find ;O... )
When we're in the UK, we have a little twin gear Kempo, Mr. M also has a Norwalk juicer in the US and when we’re travelling in other places/staying with other people, we use whatever is available – so, we use different things depending on where we are...
Yes, the juice definitely oxidises a lot faster when using a vitamix/nut milk bag combo OR when using a centrifugal juicer too - twin gear juicers or Norwalk juicers are the best choices, if you're looking for nutrient value and the potential to make juice ahead of time and store it in a fridge ;) The Vitamix/nut milk bag combo is GREAT though for ease and if you're going to drink the juice quickly ;)
Hope that helps...

All love,
Angelalalalalaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

A Time of Love...

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the streets, snow is glistening…well, not here in Australia actually…yet with some of you though I hope… ;) WOW…what a magical time this is…Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas and all sorts of other yum-fests and reflections occurring worldwide simultaneously and under the loving gaze of the Full Moon in Cancer…how blessed we are :) Wherever you are and however you may be enjoying this ‘Holiday’ period, I send you bountiful wishes of joy, upliftment and peaceful unity…
Here’s a little of what astrologer Lisa Dale Miller shares about this full moon:
http://astrowisdom.com/thisfullmoon.htm

“This is the Full Moon to swim in the unbounded ocean of love that connects us with the rhythm of life and all other sentient beings.
This is that once a year when the Full Moon is posited in the astrological sign it rules, making the force of love and trust so abundant that the heart just naturally opens.
Make this a “get real and get committed” Full Moon: a Moon for setting an intention to love yourself and others even through the hard times. Cancer rules emotional healing of all kinds and this is the Full Moon to make an effort to bring love back to all your relationships; especially between family members.
This is the Full Moon to stop and really appreciate our loved ones: to fully embrace them, look deeply into their eyes and let our hearts soar in the recognition of oneness. It is also a great Full Moon to do something wonderful for the primary caregiver in your family.
Cancer’s greatest gift is the consideration of the needs of others over our own needs. To help others and relieve suffering is strengthening for everyone: to disregard others, only weakens oneself.”

Mmmmm…what a fitting end to the major moon cycles of this year :) To check out Lisa’s full account, see HERE.

On December the 23rd I had:

1 pint water
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #1
= 8oz water, 2oz apple juice, 1 tbsp liquid bentonite, 1tsp psyllium powder
Followed by 10oz water mixed with 1tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1tsp raw honey
1 pint red chicory/spinach/mizuna/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/daikon/radish/celery/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #2
1 pint cucumber/apple/mizuna/red chicory/celery/spinach/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/daikon juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #3
1 pint beetroot/cucumber/apple/ginger juice (YUMMMMMMMM ;)
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #4
1 pint 1 pint red chicory/spinach/mizuna/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/celery/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #5
2 cups water

Here’s a quick question that came in a couple of days ago as a blog comment:

“When you make a green juice, Do you put it in a Vitamix and then nut milk bag? Why do people do this? It seems like the hard way to me...Please help!”
Laura

Hmmmmm…thanks for the Q, Laura…my current answer is that I do not use a Vitamix to make juice. We use a twin gear juicer – examples of which you can see HERE. When I was Juice Feasting this time last year, I did often use the Vitamix/nut milk bag combo however, as I didn’t have a good juicer on hand at that time in Costa Rica and actually also found it a lot easier and faster to use the blender anyway. Using the blender is MUCH faster in comparison to a quality, twin gear juicer – both in terms of food prep time (no need to cut veggies small to fit in juicer hole), machine use time and time spent cleaning afterwards. The downside is that using the blender/nut milk method leaves you with a less high-quality juice, which oxides faster and has often been mixed with a little water. HOWEVER, many people are still happy to choose the blender option, when the time/cleaning benefits are considered. Now, in comparison to the speed of using, for example a Breville Juice Fountain of course, the blender/nut-milk bag method may seem clumsy and pointless. The amount of liquid you actually get out of the produce when using something like a Juice Fountain though is less than using a twin gear OR the blender method, if you’re thoroughly squeezing the contents of the nut milk bag that is ;) Personally, I prefer to always use a nut milk bag to double-strain juice anyway, even if it’s from a twin gear, as there is always SOME pulp left in the juice and I want it as obstruction-free as possible… Hope that all made some sense – there are advantages and pitfalls to all the methods described – it just depends what suits your lifestyle and choices best… ;)

On December the 24th I had:

1 pint water
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #1
= 8oz water, 2oz apple juice, 1 tbsp liquid bentonite, 1tsp psyllium powder
Followed by 10oz water mixed with 1tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1tsp raw honey
1 pint red chicory/spinach/mizuna/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/daikon/radish/celery/cucumber/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #2
1 pint red chicory/spinach/mizuna/all-kinds-of-greens/carrot/daikon/radish/celery/cucumber/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #3
1 pint tatsoi/bok choy/cilantro/cucumber/apple juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #4
1 pint tatsoi/bok choy/cilantro/cucumber/apple/orange juice
‘The Cleansing Drink’ #5
2 cups water

So, today has been the 7th and final day of my Psyllium-Bentonite Cleanse. It’s been a great experience overall. I’ve released a LOT of old dark nasty stuff from my intestines and my energy has been pretty good throughout. Compared to my energy levels when I first did a cleanse like this, abt 4 years ago, my energy levels this time were superb ;) Back then I was almost incapacitated – I spent most of the week in bed. I’d only been raw for about a year at that point – and abt 70% raw, not fully raw like I am now, PLUS, I’d never done any colon cleansing at that point, so it was all very new to me. This time round I’ve been very functional in comparison ;)
I’m definitely excited to get back to eating solids tomorrow though and not be doing full-on enemas twice a day ;) Very different to the end of my Juice Feast back in February – as you may recall, I was not at all excited to get back to solid foods back then. Watermelons are just looking so appealing to me to EAT now though :) Tomorrow is Christmas Day here and I intend to celebrate my Christmas gift to myself of a freshly cleaned out system by gently mono-mealing on melon :) YUMMMMMMMMMM… Would I do a cleanse like this again? Yep...not for a good few years again though, if at all - it's a pretty hardcore process...

If YOU want to enjoy a cleanse soon, after the usual ravages of this season, do take a look at what Steve at Raw Vegan Radio is up to – he’s hosting the ‘Biggest Group Cleanse, EVER’, starting on January the 7th for 21 days, with tons of online support through e-books, podcasts, webinars and more…you can see all about it HERE. (Worth taking a look, if only to see Steve’s before and after pics – WOW – I’ve never seen his 'before' shot before – pretty impressive transformation… :)

Blissful Holidays to All :)
Angela. xxx