Thailand Video and Raw Food Study Course ;)

We’re in Chanthaburi now – the durian-growing capital of Thailand and hence, most likely, the world ;) The smell of durian is just in the air here in many places and as it is harvest time right now, there are enormous stacks of the fruit EVERYWHERE. It is absolutely incredible to see, for us. On the bus on the way here from Bangkok, we saw literal truckloads of durian passing us on the roads, while all along the roadsides, markets are stacked high with the ‘king of fruits’ and open warehouses reveal enormous containers of the spiky spectacle...it’s phenomenal...
We went out for a wander today to the local markets in the area we’re staying in. The market vendors were amused to see our enthusiasm for their fruits, especially the durian ;) (See the video below for evidence ;) There were so many amazing fruits available, including sapodillas (another one of the Monarch’s favourites), rambutan, mangoes, jack fruit and something I’ve never seen anywhere before which tasted like a cross between a white sapote and a grapefruit – bizarre ;) Things seem SO inexpensive here – like less than $1 US for a whole fresh durian, opened on the spot by the vendor. WOW... You can check out our adventures on video HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXC4m3zr7ws

on April the 28th I had:

2 quarts water
1 coconut water with wheatgrass powder stirred in
a ‘gourmet’ raw feast at Rasayana raw restaurant in Bangkok – WOW :) We tried various things: green veggie juices followed by spicy coconut soup, vegetable sushi, coconut noodle pasta, live pizza, raw papaya salad, banana/carob pie and carrot cake.
1 quart water
little handful of gojis
1 fresh durian
2 cups water

Yesterday we visited the Rasayana raw food restaurant in Bangkok. It is a beautiful little tranquil oasis of living cuisine amidst the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. Rasayana is attached to a healing centre that offers colonics, massage, saunas, yoga and other therapies. It was SO nice to be able to access organic, fresh, loved-up raw food and green juices. The menu was wonderful – a yummy blend of more traditional Thai flavours with common gourmet raw items such as spiralised pasta, pizza and so on. The food was absolutely delicious, gorgeously presented by very attentive staff and above all, very easy to digest, which is always a huge bonus ;) There was very little fat involved in the dishes we chose – most of the dishes contained lots of veggies covered with OUTSTANDING dressings and sauces – that is a great ‘secret’ of raw food prep – get a FABULOUS dressing to work with and you can persuade people to eat all kinds of veggies ;) LOL...we loved it. I also loved the experience of being in a restaurant with a WHOLE menu to choose from again. It’s a long time since I was in a raw restaurant and having a whole menu to choose from feels, to me, almost like being a ‘mainstream’ eater again, with many choices available, instead of trying to piece together a limp salad from a menu in a place that has minimal interest in raw ;) I would DEFINITELY recommend checking out Rasayana if you find yourself in Bangkok.


On April the 29th I had a fruity day of:

1 quart water
1 lady finger banana
2 coconut waters with wheatgrass powder
a handful of rambutan, a few jack fruit pods, ½ a sapodilla, 1 bizarre sapote/grapefuit-like fruit, a couple of durian pods
1 coconut water with wheatgrass powder
4 rambutan, 4 jack fruit pods, half a gorgeous little pineapple and 1 lady-finger banana
3 cups water
2 lady-finger bananas, a couple of durian pods, the meat of a young coconut, plus a handful of goji berries with pine nuts
1 quart water

My GOODNESS, there’s quite a tempest of yum brewing over on ChiDiet.com – have you seen? They are almost ready to re-release the ‘Raw Food Home Study Course’, based on Ann Wigmore’s teachings. It’s officially going on sale on Thursday, May the 8th. This is the completely updated, comprehensive version of this home-study course that has already helped people all over the world GO and STAY successfully raw, with an emphasis on greeeeeeens, cleansing, growing, exercise and other ‘Wiggie ways’ ;)
We were fortunate to see a preview copy of the course and it is RAMMED with information. Wow. Containing a complete 300-page 13-step study manual, 10 DVDs, a huge recipe book, audio interviews with transcripts, books from Ann Wigmore herself, a ‘free’ consultation and much more, this course is a BOUNTY of wisdom from one of our Raw Food elders, condensed, organised and handed to you in a package for easy digestion ;)
As a special launch prize, ChiDiet are GIVING AWAY 2 free sets of the course, along with a free 1-hour consultation with the man behind the course – Jim Carey. You can click HERE to find out more about that. Jim is also going to be doing a live call with Victoria Boutenko this Thursday, which anyone can join, where they’ll be discussing what a yumster Ann was, along with giving away ANOTHER free copy of the course – WOW – that’s 3 free copies you could win this week ;)
We often get emails from people asking WHERE they can go and study something about raw foods. Well, there aren’t yet a vast number of places to do that – and this course can be an ideal solution ;) Just learn in your own home, at your own pace. Maybe even buy a set among friends and enjoy it together – that tends to help with the motivation ;) You can find out much more about what will be in the course, as well as get a FREE Ann Wigmore e-book called ‘Why Suffer?’ and see a nice little video presentation by Jim called ‘Dispelling the Raw Food Myths’, by clicking HERE.

One love,
Angela. xxx

Free Books and Quirky Looks... ;)

KIA-ORA - welcome to New Zealand :)
Today we shifted another couple of time zones and now find ourselves in the delightful land of the kiwis...(birds, fruits and people ;) The last few days have been a whirlwind of packing, tying up loose ends in OZ, cleaning and travelling – we are REALLY happy to have arrived now in our next abode for the coming weeks...it feels a lot less humid here so far than where we have been, which I appreciate, plus FAR fewer insects and a glut of cheap organic cherries – YUMMMMMM :) How blessed we are...We’ll be speaking in Auckland on February the 16th and then in Tauranga on February the 23rd...hope to see you there if you’re also round this way ;)

on January the 28th I had:

1.5 quarts water
1 cup prune soak water, 8oz soaked prunes
½ a green mamey
1.5 tbsps bee pollen
2 cups water
slice of watermelon
bowl of ‘beans ‘n cheese’ – soaked dried figs mashed with egg fruit and tahini
1 quart water
big bowl of cherries
3 cups water

I know a lot of you enjoyed that free book from Revvell a couple of days ago – GREAT :) (If you missed that one, see HERE). Well, here’s another freebie treat for you - in case you missed his comment on a blog post here from a few days back, Mr. ‘Chi Diet’ – Jim Carey – has kindly made available on his blog a FREE book from Dr Ann ‘Wiggie’ Wigmore herself – NICE :) Thanks for spreading the love, Jim :) He also has a very cool, rare video up there of the good doctor, doing a sprouting demo - WOW - nice to see her in action ;) To see the post where you can download the book, click HERE...
ENJOY :)

on January the 29th I had:

1.5 quarts water
2 tbsp bee pollen
½ cup prune soak water, plus 5oz prunes
3 cups watermelon juice
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes/garlic, mixed sprouts and a pinch of salt, served with raw ‘onion bread’, sunflower greens and cucumber sticks
3 cups water
1 pint parsley/bok choi/romaine/cucumber/alfalfa/carrot/apple/ginger juice
bowl of ‘grawnola’ with macadamia nut milk
3 cups water


on January the 30th I had:

2 quarts water
big chunk of watermelon
1 egg fruit
little bowl of avo mushed with alfalfa, finely chopped parsley and a pinch of salt, served with 2 apples cut into slices, sunflower greens and a little piece of ‘raw onion bread’
1 cup water
1 mango
bowl of cherries
3 cups water
1 cucumber dipped in hemp seeds
2 cups water

Did you hear about ‘The Blue Man’, Paul Karason in the US, whose skin reportedly turned blue after repeatedly using colloidal silver? Very interesting case methinks... ;) You can see a little 2 min video clip of him on YouTube below – I no longer remember where this story came to me from – thanks though, to whoever passed it along... ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XV0I6Q70Yw

One love,
Angela. xxx

Raw Media Round-Up...

Ok, we’re going to have a little ‘media round-up’ today, as so many raw links have been sent in the last few days...so hold on tight, we’re about to enter a worldwide raw media whirl…
I want to start with an update on the Andressohns, the raw vegan family in Florida I mentioned briefly last week, who lost their baby. After the death, the parents were arrested and imprisoned on suspicion of ‘malnourish-ing’ their children – the rest of whom were taken into custody. Thanks to all of you who sent in updates and news on the family. So, we have GOOD NEWS :) The parents are now out of prison, out of court and reunited with their gorgeous children. I was so pleased to read this – thanks especially to ‘Valerie’, who sent in THIS very informative link from Jim Carey’s Chidiet.com site. It seems Jim, along with Dr Flora Van Orden, have been doing a great deal to support this loving family during this whole process. Dr Flora was assistant to Dr Ann Wigmore for a long time and it seems rallied straight to the support of the Andressohns with this case, putting up her credit card for the bail bond. The family have been slowly getting back to life together and paying off the bail bond since they were reunited, helped by the generous donations of people worldwide. There is, however, still around $2000 left to pay off. We sent a cheque today in support, along with a ‘goodie box’ of raw yummies from our warehouse (shhhhhhhhh, don’t tell them though – it’s a surprise ;) If you feel similarly inclined to send something their way, please do :) Let’s help them get back on their feet asap. This is a loving, beautiful raw vegan family who are doing their best to raise vibrant children and enjoy amazing health and well-being together – we can help support that choice. They were separated from their little ones for over 30 months I believe and put on trial for feeding their children what many of us consider the healthiest food choices on the planet. I consider it an absolute blessing to know they are re-united again now and able to reconnect to their chosen lifestyle again. If you are drawn to send them some support, you can do so in the way of money energy or other loveliness, care of Dr Flora in Florida. Cheques, cashiers cheques or money orders made payable to Flora Van Orden can be sent to: Flora Van Orden, PO Box 900963, Homestead, FL 33090.

We’re going to have a double-whammy of food logs again, to get us caught up to date...breathe deep ;)

On January the 12th I had:

1 quart water
1 mango, 4 little dark plums
1 pint mizuna/tatsoi/romaine/celery/cucumber/ginger/apple/fennel/sorrel juice
1 pint water
salad of chopped romaine lettuce, cucumber, basil, garlic, tomatoes, ½ a mushed avocado, 2 tbsp hemp seeds, dulse flakes, lime juice – all squished together by hand
2 cups water
bowl of fruit salad: dragon fruit, guanabana, passion fruit, banana
1 pint mizuna/tatsoi/romaine/celery/cucumber/ginger/apple/fennel/sorrel juice9
3 cups water
10 dried figs dipped in tahini
1 quart water


On January the 13th I had:

1 quart water
1 quart watermelon/orange juice
1 quart beetroot/celery/cucumber/apple/cabbage juice
bowl of mushed soaked dried figs mixed with smashed egg fruit and tahini – absolutely DELICIOUS and VERY bizarrely tasted reminiscent of...baked beans on toast...(???)
1 quart water
3 cups romaine/celery/cucumber/ginger/sorrel/tatsoi/apple/fennel juice
bowl of mushed bananas with ½ a diced green mamey, maca powder, cinnamon and chia gel
3 cups water

Ok, now let’s hop across the water to the UK where a couple of interesting raw media eruptions have occurred in the last week or so.
First came a report in the Daily Mail from well-known British TV reporter Lowri Turner, who tried out eating raw for 7 days...how did she get on...? Hmmmm, well, it seemed Ms Turner was not exactly enamoured with the whole idea...you can read her write-up HERE.
Fortunately, various raw food yummies in the UK wrote back to present a different view, highlighting the potential yumminess and undeniable vibrancy of this lifestyle...’chief rallier’ was the wonderful Sue, who is oft found movin and shakin in the UK raw food scene, frequently in the background – this time however, the Mail loved her letter so much, they published it as another item and yanked her into the spotlight, as can be seen in this picture, pinched from the blog of Ms Suki ;)
Which conveniently leads us into UK raw media spasm number 2...last Friday, Suki, Mr Monarch and me ol’ cake mate Kate Magic and her boys were all featured in a documentary broadcast on national TV (Channel 4) called ‘Health Food Junkies’. We’ve not yet seen the whole thing – we look forward to getting a DVD of it in the post soon – we have heard a LOT of comments about it in the last days though...the general consensus seems to be that raw foodists were portrayed as ‘a bit crazy, lonely and odd’. Eeeeek… ;) Seems Ms. Suki has been receiving muchos feedback from people – many of whom are fellow raw foodies disgruntled about some of the aspects of her life she shared – like juicing, colonics and urine therapy. Yes, these choices might not appeal to everyone – I salute Suki for telling it like it is in her reality though – if you go to THIS LINK you can see a couple of little clips from the show – I love the way Suki keeps so still as she’s explaining her life – no shame, no bashfulness, no apologies – she does what she does, she’s honest about it and willing to share. Beautiful :)
(BTW – for any raw foodies in the UK who would like to reverse their loneliness, while sharing their crazy oddness together, there's a raw food potluck happening this Saturday – the 19th – from 6pm in Newton-le-Willows – check out http://www.purelyraw.com/potluck190108.htm for more info ;)

on January the 14th I had:

1 quart water
1 quart watermelon juice
1 quart beetroot/celery/cabbage/ginger/cucumber/apple juice
bowl of avo mushed with chilli Alive Hummus, salt, lime juice, mung bean sprouts and diced tomatoes, served with cucumber sticks, sunflower greens and romaine leaves
1 quart water
1 mango
1 pint celery/cucumber/fresh foraged wild greens/romaine/ginger/fennel/apple juice
2 cups water
4 tbsp chia gel with bowl of fruit salad: passion fruit, banana, plum, dragon fruit and sliced dates
1 quart water

On January the 15th I had:

1 quart water
Big handful of GORGEOUS cherries
1 quart zucchini/beetroot/apple juice
bowl of avo mushed with salt, lime juice, mung bean sprouts, mixed sprouts and diced tomatoes, served with cucumber sticks, sunflower greens and romaine leaves
1 quart water
1 pint celery/cucumber/fresh foraged wild greens/romaine/ginger/fennel/apple juice
2 cups water
bowl of 4 tbsp chia gel with dragon fruit, passion fruit, banana, plum
3 cups water

Alright, let’s bounce back over to the left side of the Atlantic for the final media melt-down…many of you sent in the following YouTube link which shows a 10-minutes or so clip from the E! Entertainment show some days ago on raw food – with Wolfie, Juliano and so on – I think it’s well made…enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtrZoWwK1pM

The final piece to share today just came in tonight – it’s a report from 6abc News in Philadephia, from a raw food potluck. You can watch it HERE. This seems to start off quite promising, then slides somewhat, into the usual interviewing of obligatory ‘nutrition expert’ who gets in some hilarious comments to the effect of ‘raw food may be dangerous in the long run – there are simply not enough nutrients in that kind of food’... ??? ...???? …????????????? ...and ends with the newscaster refusing to drink a green smoothie ;) Ho-hummmmmm…what to do, what to do...? Just keep on living our truths, growing, glowing and eating with love and embracing the differences with compassion, I guess ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx