Best of Raw 2009 Award Winners :)

WOW...are you feeling the INTENSE energy today? Full Moon, Blue Moon, New Year’s Eve, an Eclipse and Mercury Retrograde are combining into a powerful catalyst, seemingly catapulting us into the new year ;)

Yeeeeeee-HAH ;)

Well, as we bid a hearty farewell to 2009, I’m delighted to say that yesterday the winners of the 2009 “Best of Raw” Awards were announced and Mr. M and I were the happy recipients of *7* award placements:

Favourite Raw Food Company: (TheRawFoodWorld - number 1)

Favourite Raw Food Online Store: (TheRawFoodWorld.com - number 1)

Favourite Raw Radio Show: (TheRawFoodWorldRadioShow.com - number 1)

Funniest Raw Woman (Angela Stokes-Monarch - number 1)

Favourite Community Outreach (The Raw Food World TV Show - number 2)

Favourite Raw Vlog/TV Show (TheRawFoodWorld.tv - number 3)

Favourite Raw Food Event (Raw Union - number 5)

:) THANK YOU to everyone who voted for us – we were very excited and grateful for this sweet recognition – we posted a little video last night to share our glee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecV3oZOLJLM

THANKS :)

On December the 29th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
1 cup green juice
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
3 cups greeeeen juice
2 tbsp bee pollen/probiotics mixture
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
30 chlorella tablets
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
2 cups water

Important Reminder:

For those of you who signed up for the “Organic Acres” organic garden opportunity (mentioned a while back in THIS blog post), you only have until JANUARY the 2nd – this Saturday - to upgrade your account in the Organic Acres system, to claim your garden and “Pioneer Position”.

There are 6 easy steps to confirming your garden and ‘Pioneer Position’ at Organic Acres.

1. Go to the back office: https://myorganicacres.com/plexum.php and
sign in with your username and password.
2. On the page that opens, you’ll see where it says near the top, in
the middle of the page: “For a Garden you must click here.” Click that
link.
3. Read the Terms and Conditions, check the box to say you’ve read
them, enter your email & name, press submit.
4. On the next screen that pops up, the first words are ‘Click here’ –
click that link.
5. On the next page, choose which kind of garden/membership you’d like
(full garden, half garden, 12 month general store membership, etc),
then choose if you’d like to pay by card or Paypal. Enter your payment
details into the fields that pop up beneath.
6. Click ‘Proceed’ and the transacton will process. All being well,
you will then see a screen that says “Transaction approved and account
upgraded successfully.”

CONGRATULATIONS, you now have your own organic garden :)

If you have any issues/concerns/questions about this process, you can contact Organic Acres on admin@myorganicacres.com.

Happy Organic Gardening :)

on December the 30th I loved:

1 quart water
1 cup green juice
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
mug of herbal tea
water with sole (Himalayan sea salt dissolved in water)
3 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
3 tbsp bee pollen
3 cups greeeen juice from the Tree of Life Café
2 tbsp bee pollen with probiotics
3 cups greeeeeen juice
3 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups water

As I send this out to you all, I know that some of you are already IN 2010 ;) CONGRATS and Happy New Year to you and…indeed to all of us… Here at the Tree of Life there will be a ceremonial Sweat Lodge tonight to mark the transition into the new year – exciting :)
It is also our 16th Day of Green Juice Feasting today – wow, what a way to see in the new year ;) Don't forget to send in any JUICY Juice Feasting questions you may have for David and Katrina Rainoshek and we'll ask them in our interview on January the 7th. Just email Qs for them to angela@rawreform.com...thanks :)

Sending love, light and myriad blissings to all for a sublimely superb 2010 :)

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson

All love,
Angela. xxx

Join Us For New Year's Eve :)

Would YOU love to spend New Year's Eve with myself and the Monarch, in delightful company with a whole tribe of raw foodies, down at the Tree of Life in warm wintery Arizona? Mmmmmm, if that sounds yummy to you, then I'm blissed to say that we have a 10 day "Renew Yourself" raw rejuvenation retreat lined up for you to come and play at... The retreat is from Dec 27th to Jan 6th and will combine powerful body work with yoga, meditations, delicious raw foods served daily by the Tree of Life kitchen crew and of course, talks with us. Here's a list of some of the activities on offer:

* 5-6x/week yoga classes

* 4x/week food prep classes, on subjects such as breakfasts, savory foods, sauerkraut, and raw 'breads'

* 1x/week sprouting class - wheatgrass, alfalfa, sunflower, buckwheat, mung beans and many other kinds of sprouts

* 4x/week Nutritional Q&A sessions with Dr. Dan Engle, Medical Doctor and Psychiatrist

* 1x/week Qi Gong class

* 7x/week Evening programs/Meditations

* Access to unlimited wheatgrass, non-chlorinated pool, infrared saunas, non-chlorinated hot tubs, the world's largest Chartres labyrinth, sundecks, and nature trails

* Native American medicine wheel, teepee

* New Year's Native American Inipi (Ceremonial Lodge)

* New Year's Day Celebration Party

The arrival date is Dec 27th and the phone number to make reservations is: 866.394.2520 x215 or via email: tolrep2@treeoflife.nu

Included in the retreat fee of $2,890 is lodging (shared double room) at the renowned Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center, an abundance of 100% organic plant-based meals, 5 kundalini-enhancing, intensive "Renew Yourself" body–work sessions with Dr. George Cromack...and all the activities listed above...

We are very excited to bring in the New Year this way, with raw family :) We're especially looking forward to the Inipi (ceremonial lodge) on New Year's Eve, which we intend to all emerge from at exactly midnight... Then we're going to have a New Year's Day party on January the first, with music and delicious food, where we'll enjoy an intention circle and collectively set the course for a totally flowing, synchronous, divinely healthy 2010 ;)
We hope that you'll join us for this AMAZING, powerful, life–shifting retreat...

on October the 27th I was blissed with:

1 quart water
2 cups veggie juice: celery, fennel, spinach, carrot, ginger
2 Tbsp bee pollen, 2 Tbsp spirulina crunchies, an apple
bowl of energy soup with sauerkraut and spicy sunflower seeds, followed by a YUMMY slice of raw blueberry cheesecake :)
3 cups water
2 cups goji juice with marine phytoplankton, Merlin's Elixir and Etherium Gold
an apple with ½ a bag of Noniland Coconut Crisps and an apple–oat cookie
3 cups water

I've been doing a lot of 'mindless' work for the last week on the computer (repetitive stuff that doesn't require much of my actual attention) and when I'm doing tasks like this, I LOVE to listen to inspiring information. As a result I've been tuning into Raw Vegan Radio and also Raw Inspirations Radio – love them :) Both of these shows provide masses of free interviews with fascinating people in the raw foods movement and beyond – I'd recommend tuning in for some inspiration if you don't already and big KUDOS to Steve and Laura for providing these great services... :) What do YOU like to listen to at times like these? Any recommendations...?


on October the 28th I loved:

1 quart water
3 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley, lemon, ginger
big bowl of chia–pomegranate pudding with a couple of fresh figs and tahini on the side
3 cups water
2 Tbsp spirulina crunchies and bee pollen
two small apples with a big handful of spicy sunflower seeds
3 cups water


on October the 29th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups goji juice with Marine Phytoplankton, Merlin's Elixir, Etherium Products
2 small apples with spirulina crunchies and bee pollen
bowl of energy soup with spicy sunflower seeds on the side, followed by a hand–mixed yumpot of lucuma/mesquite/maca/cinnamon powders with a little pine nut butter and water
3 cups water
2 cups goji juice with Marine Phytoplankton, Merlin's Elixir, Etherium Products
bowl of grawnola with fresh apple and macadamia milk ;)
2 cups water

The video entries are pouring in for the current RawReform Giveaway Contest to WIN a Blendtec Blender (worth $399) – thank you all SO much for your very amusing, creative flow and sharing...the closing date for this contest is Nov 1st (this SUNDAY) and here is a little reminder of the deets again for those of you who'd still love to enter:

How do you get in on this free piece of mechanical magic for your kitchen? Well, get us giggling and you could be on to a winner ;)

To be in with a chance of winning the spangly new machine, we'd love for you to send in to us a video of no more than 3 minutes in length, explaining WHY you'd love to win the Blendtec blender, what you currently use as a blender (if anything) AND...we wanna giggle too - whoever gets us laughing the most (whether from your stage presence, hilarious costuming, witty anecdotes, charming interaction, stand-up comedy routine or whatever it is...) will win the blender...
Oooooooo, how exciting - we very much look forward to enjoying your submissions :)
You have until November the 1st to get your entries in. We suggest the easiest way to send the videos to us is to upload your entry to YouTube (or another online video hub such as Google Vids or whichever you like ;), then send us the link to the video, to angela@rawreform.com. You can set your video to 'private' if you don't want 'the general public' to see your video quite yet...;) If you would like to send us a video in any other way, you can contact us on that same email address to arrange that - please DO NOT email us massive video files however ;)
Thanks...and ENJOY :)))

All lovings and shimmy-ings,
Ms. Stokes-Monaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarch. xxx

Into the New...

Happy 2009, beautiful people.
I hope you had a FANTASTIC launch into this delightful new year...we certainly had an eventful last day of the year, between packing up to leave Mexico, doing a lot of filming for projects, dealing with dog traumas, listening in to the prize announcements for the ‘Best of Raw 2008’ awards and ‘accidentally’ doing a live 2–hour online broadcast with the Monarch and the Giannis, it was a bit of a packed day and I ended up having about 2 hours sleep last night...
Well, we had a lot of fun though, especially during the live broadcast – thanks to all of you who came out to join in – it was so fun to play games, discuss goals/resolutions for the new year, do prize giveaways and so on... :)
MY resolution was to sing more and we got straight on it, with Mr. Gianni on guitar and all of us warbling along with some of our favourite tooooons. (If you missed this gathering, I believe you can view it HERE, although I believe the first 20 minutes or so accidentally didn’t get recorded. My favourite part starts around 1h 10mins into it, when we sing 'My Life' by The Beatles ;)

on December the 31st I had:

1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, lettuces, radish, dandelion, lime, ginger
20 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 cups energy soup with kale chips, followed by a chunk of raw coconut ice cream
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, lettuces, radish, dandelion, lime, ginger
1.5 cups energy soup with kale chips, followed by a hand–made yumpot of hemp butter, carob powder, lucuma powder, stevia, cinnamon, maca, vanilla powders, water
mug of herbal tea
water of a young coconut
2 cups water

Mmmmmm, I’m excited to let you know that yesterday we also finally recorded a little video demo of how to make energy soup – which has been posted to RenegadeHealth.com – I know a LOT of you have been interested to see smthg along those lines, so you can check that out HERE if that would please you... ;)

Or perhaps you’d enjoy seeing Matt’s adventure at a San Diego Farmer’s Market, where he stumbled upon Julie and her ‘Born this Morn’ green smoothie company. Julie makes green smoothies and sells them at local markets – GREAT job, Julie :) – she also has plans to take them into schools and businesses – you can see that video HERE.

If you’d also like to meet our PUPPIES, there is a very sweet little video of them just posted to RenegadeHealth HERE. Mr. M has them with him back in the US now and we just keep on sending them love and love and love...


on January the 1st I had:

2 quarts water
20 chlorella ‘nuts’ and 2 tbsp Sproutein powder
lettuce wraps stuffed with avocado, cucumber, kelp/cayenne powder and shredded kale, followed by some freeze–dried jackfruit – yum ;)
3 cups water
2 tbsp greeeeeen powder
little bowl of raw cereal with macadamia ‘mylk’
1 quart water

I’m writing this post from Mexico City airport, amidst an epic 24 hour journey back to the UK...eeeeeeeeeek ;) It has been SUCH a blessing for Mr. M and I to be able to pass this last month in Mexico together (well, together about half the time anyway, as he came and went from the US)...Now it’s time to shimmy on back to Blighty though and visit those nice people at the American Embassy to see what happens next with my Fiancee Visa...we’re sincerely hoping to see the end of this process very soon...any bright blessings sent in the direction of that vision will be most gratefully received ;)
(P.S. a woman just gave a very sweet announcement over the loud speaker here at the airport in Mexico, in broken English that 'you will arrive at your destiny on time'...what a beautiful 'slip', I'll take that as a good sign ;)

See you on the other side ;)
Happy New Year galavantings to ye all...
One love,
Angelelelelalalalalallaalaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Crossing the Boundaries of Time...

Mmmmmm, the end of another year, eh? Thank you, sweet people, for all your jolly interactions this year...it’s been a wonderful journey, as ever…
I will say though that it feels nothing like New Year’s Eve to me here in Mexico ;) LOL...not quite sure why...I suspect it has smthg to do with time seeming to speed up constantly – it could just as easily be May or June to me...the end of December already? Well, ok, if you like... ;) I seem to have passed another year without living in any one place for more than a few months again...I would guestimate the number of places I stayed this year as at least 80 or so...HOPEFULLY all that will shift soon though, as and when our US Visa process moves along...breathing deeeeeeeeeeep for that ;)
As for New Years Eve, well, we have the honour of having the delightful Mr and Mrs Gianni over to visit for this auspicious occasion, so I’m sure we’ll have some fun footage to share with you soon ;) You can catch up with recent episodes of TheRawFoodWorld TV Show HERE on Mr. M’s blog...yesterday we went to visit the five–star, raw food healing hospital Sanoviv here in Mexico and...they didn’t seem very excited to see us – was it the shoes, was it the hair? ;) Hmmmm, you can find out more HERE ;)

on December the 29th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice: tatsoi, lettuces, dandelion, spinach, kale, lime
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a wedge of homemade raw coconut ice cream
2 cups water
water of 2 young coconuts
3 tbsp Sproutein powder
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a hand–blended yumpot of hemp butter, lucuma powder, carob powder, maca, cinnamon, vanilla, stevia, water
2 cups water

Tomorrow (31st) is the last day to vote in the ‘Best of Raw 2008’ Awards – have you cast your votes yet? If not, you can boogie on over to bestofraw.net and vote NOW – the winners will be announced live on the Raw Inspirations radio show from 7pm tomorrow evening – New Year’s Eve – a fun way to celebrate the changing of the years, with the raw family tribe ;)
You can only vote from any computer once, SO, if you haven’t submitted your choices yet, go for it HERE and enjoy :)


on December the 30th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups veggie juice: lettuce, kale, radish, dandelion, little carrot
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a wedge of homemade raw coconut ice cream
2 cups water
water of 2 young coconuts
2 cups energy soup with kale chips on the side, followed by a hand–blended yumpot of hemp butter, lucuma powder, carob powder, maca, cinnamon, vanilla, stevia, water
2 cups water

Puppy Update: thanks again for ALL the amazing guidance, love and suggestions people have been sending in about feeding/raising our rescued puppies raw. (If you don’t know about our new canine companions, you can see more about them HERE.)
Today my heart sang as Sandy, the mumma dog wagged her tail for the very first time since she came to us. :) :) :) ahhhhhh, SO beautiful to see. Imagine being around a child who you’ve never seen laugh or even smile and then they suddenly grin ;) It was so delightful and I’m so grateful to see her getting stronger each day, slowly slowly. Please do keep sending them all love, light and healing thoughts if you feel drawn to do so – it makes all the difference...
As for us humans, well, I’d like to sign off here below with a sweet little stanza that I first posted on my blog way back on New Year’s Eve 2006. I like it. I hope you do too...and moreover, I hope you have a WONDERFUL New Year, of joy, enriching connections, love, happiness, surrender to the flow, dancing, squeaking randomly and hugging spontaneously...
May all blessings be yours.
All love,
Angela. xxx

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Onwards, with Gratitude...

Ooooo, here we go then…out with the old, in with the new…I hope you’ve had a great year so far and that the closing moments of 2007 find you in loving company, with joyful thoughts and a blissful vision for our next…13 moons :)
We’d still love to hear your raw reflections from 2007 if you’d care to share :) The current RawReform Giveaway prize is a pair of our uber-popular exercise toy – POI – and to be in with a chance of winning, just email in YOUR answer to the following question:

‘What have been your top THREE raw food highlights of 2007?’

…what in the world of raw food has inspired or uplifted you this year? What stands out in your memory? Who did you love sharing recipes with? What helped you to stay motivated? Which recipe made a difference in your enjoyment? Send your answers in to angela@rawreform.com. We look forward to reading and sharing your responses :) The winner will be picked at random and with joy in a few days… :)

on December the 29th I had:

2 cups water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
big chunk of watermelon
big handful of cherries
2.5 cups green smoothie: mango/banana/red dandelion/romaine/tatsoi swirled with goji berries and incan berries
3 cups water
1 pint tatsoi/fennel/cucumber/bok choi/red dandelion/radish/red pepper/random greens/mizuna/carrot/apple juice
little bowl of soaked dried prunes blended with hemp seeds
3 cups water

Are you looking for a yummy raw place to hang out next year? Here’s a little site that you might find useful: http://www.rawcommunities.com. This has a list of – you guessed it – raw communities, worldwide…PLUS, remember to check out the Raw Permaculture Course in Hawaii in February if that appeals to you: www.livingmandala.com aaaaaaaaaaaand – guess what? There’s ANOTHER Permaculture Design Course coming up soon at another raw-friendly place: Punta Mona Community in Costa Rica. Their course runs from Jan 28th – Feb 10th at their eco-community on the east coast. I didn’t actually tread on Punta Mona ground when I was in Costa Rica this time last year – came VERY close though and I’ve been in contact with some of the lovely people there, who grow muchos amazing greens and rare plants…it’s an incredible community by all accounts – check it out at www.puntamona.org for more info :)

on December the 30th I had:

3 cups water
slice of watermelon
1 pint tatsoi/fennel/cucumber/bok choi/red dandelion/radish/red pepper/random greens/mizuna/carrot/apple juice
big handful of cherries
1 cup water
½ an avo mashed with 2 tbsp raw pesto, mixed with diced tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and a pinch of Himalayan salt, served with romaine leaves and flax crackers
1 quart water
1 pint green lettuce/fennel/cucumber/mizuna/ginger/apple/celery juice
little bowl of soaked dried apricots blended with hemp seed, swirled with slices of fresh banana and cherries
2 cups water

Tomorrow – January the 1st 2008 – the RawReform website is 4 years old. WOW :) Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to yoooooouuuuuuuu…what an extraordinary four years it has been…if you’ve ever wondered how the site started, here’s a little insight from a piece I wrote recently:

“British health magazine Zest wanted to run a piece on my story for their January 2004 ‘new year, new you’ edition. I was thrilled. My partner at that time was an extremely talented web designer and began to suggest we put up a website about my transformation too, to share this message. I laughed at first. At that point, the internet did not play much of a role in my life, other than reading about raw foods and emailing friends. I had certainly never considered having my own website. The more we talked about it though, the more I came to like the idea. It was in Greece in the summer of 2003 that the name ‘RawReform’ was given to me, as I wandered the sandy beaches, pondering which name would suit this venture. I began writing out the content for the website that autumn, which was a hugely cathartic experience for me. It helped me so much to see clearly the patterns I had lived out with food. I was also terrified. I had never spoken honestly with many of the people in my life and now I was about to bare my soul to the world. How would my family and old school friends react when they read my truth?
It took my partner just a few days to put the first website together. Then on January the 1st, 2004, the day my article was published in Zest magazine, RawReform.com went live…I was thrilled…and terrified ;) In the end, the reactions of my family and friends were mainly filled with love, appreciation and kindness. Mostly, people said they felt sad to read how miserable I had really been all that time, underneath the façade. Some seemed surprised that I was sharing so much personal information with the world. Others were silent. The whole experience left me with a huge sense of relief and fulfillment. I had shared my truth with the world and it did not seem to have back-lashed on me ;) I felt encouraged and supported to go on sharing my truth. People seemed to respond with great enthusiasm to my before/after pictures. After all, as the saying goes ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’ and many people seemed to draw inspiration from my photographs.
The journey of RawReform has continued to expand exponentially since those simple beginnings…and I had no idea at that point of what would unfold over the coming years via this website, my little portal to the world… ;)”

…and who knows what 2008 will hold for all of our ext-RAW-dinary adventures…I wish you yummy goal setting and even more delicious fulfillment of your deepest desires in the coming months… :)
Thanks for all your messages, comments and support this year – it is all greatly appreciated…

One love,
Angela (and Mr Monarch ;). xxx