Just gimme land, lots of land under starry skies above...

Today I decided to check out what was happening for me this day last year on my blog...February the 1st 2007, I was...74 DAYS into Juice Feasting and amazed to be ‘STILL having solid bowels movements’...lol…;) Those of you who followed my juicy adventures more closely will know I actually experienced solid BMs for the ENTIRE 92 days...quite phenomenal...it really shows me how much there is to release from these structures, after soooo many years of less-than-optimal eating... Here to the right is also a pretty picture I took on this day last year, while visiting a local art gallery in Costa Rica, where I was at that time...seems like a few lifetimes ago now... ;) My, my, how quickly things seem to flow these days...and how JUICILY things seem to flow too – have you noticed how many people out there seem to be Juice Feasting at the moment? It’s quite amazing to see...all power to you if you’re immersed in liquid land at the moment ;) (You can see my full post from this day last year HERE.)

on January the 31st I had:

2 quarts water
1lb cherries
12oz pineapple/cucumber juice – YUMMMM
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes, pinch of salt and assorted micro-greens/alfalfa sprouts, served with cucumber slices and carrot ‘unbread’ sticks
1.5 quarts water
1/5 tbsp green powder
bowl of fruit salad: delicious mix of papaya, banana and blueberries – absolutely GORGEOUS :)
1/5 quarts water

YAY, I’m happy to hear so many of you enjoyed the link to the free Ann Wigmore book over on the ChiDiet site :) REMEMBER that there’s still time to enter the RawReform giveaway contest for January – though it somehow already became February where we are – there’s a few days yet before the next newsletter goes out... The question this month was all about the ‘old school’ raw food pioneers, like Wiggie herself ;) The prize is a free copy of Mr Monarch’s ‘Raw Success’ on e-book and to be in with a chance of winning, just email in your A to the following Q:

If you could speak to any of the Raw Food Pioneers of by-gone days and ask them a single question, whom would you connect to and what would you ask them?

Examples of pioneers who have passed to the other side include:
Dr. Norman Walker, Arnold Ehret, Bernard Jensen, Szekely, Paul Bragg, Dr. Ann Wigmore, Herbert Shelton, St Louis Estes and Hilton Hotema... There have been some fascinating Qs coming in so far – keep ‘em coming ;)
Send your answers in to angela@rawreform.com and the winner shall be selected at random and with much joy in a few days... ;)

on February the 1st I had:

1.5 quarts water
1 golden peach and 1lb cherries
3 cups water
delicious fresh sprouts/greens salad, straight from the garden, with diced tomatoes and bell peppers, celery/spinach sauce, salad dressing, avocado and home-preserved olives – yummmmm :)
A few orange slices and a chocolate bliss ball
Shot of INTENSE kombucha
2 cups water
24oz juice: cilantro/cucumber/watercress/kale/carrot/spinach juice
bowl of chia gel with papaya/banana/blueberries and dried figs dunked in tahini on the side
3 cups water

We were so blessed today to meet the lovely Mark and Veronique of Vital Essence, who showed us some places to get organics in Auckland. We were starting to wonder... ;) We’ve actually never been anywhere that seems to have such scant access to organics – we were a bit baffled, especially as New Zealand tends to be renowned for being very eco-conscious and there are MANY organic farms here...a couple of days ago we tried our luck in one supermarket only to discover the interesting ‘health food and soap’ aisle...yes...those of you who’ve heard me give a talk may remember me joking that ‘the middle aisles will kill you’ – well, this ‘health food’ aisle definitely didn’t appear to be an exception to that, with all it’s packaged soya products and the alluring smell of soap wafting along from the adjoining shelves… Fortunately we located a couple of places to get organic goods today – hurray – including Ceres, a nice little health food store :) Then even more exquisitely, we were treated to a delicious fresh salad, straight from Mark and Veronique’s garden – YUMMMM. It was so beautiful to me to see a young family living the kind of life I would LOVE to soon settle into too – a garden full of greens and fruit trees, a beautiful, happy young raw toddler and people who are clearly curious about the joys to be explored here...FUN :)
By the way, I have the full event details now for our talk here in Auckland: we are speaking on Sunday February the 17th (N.B. - not the 16th as previously thought) at the St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont St, Ponsonby. The event runs from 1-5pm and you can see more details on the RawReform homepage HERE. Hope to see you there if you’re in the area ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Pioneering, Poi and Pendants...

Interestingly, a UK ‘food watchdog’ company recently published its annual ‘ten top trends’ report for the coming year, in which it stated they are anticipating a ‘raw food revolution’. WOW. This seems to be a pretty ‘mainstream’ organisation - their name is 'Food and Drink Towers' - and it seems their yearly reports are held in quite high regard by those in the food industry...very interesting to see they’re noting the raw food shifts currently in motion worldwide...here’s a little of what the report shares:

“Superfoods will get more specific, as the European health claims regulation makes an impact, prevention will be the aim of the health game, and we’re preparing ourselves for a raw food revolution.”

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH, food for thought indeed ;) You can see more about this report HERE.
http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=36128&hilite=

on January the 18th I had:

1 quart water
1.5 cups tulsi tea
little bunch of GORGEOUSLY vibrant black grapes
3 cups watermelon/orange/grape juice
avo mushed with diced cilantro, tomatoes and garlic, salt and chopped lettuce, served with cucumber sticks, sunflower greens and lettuce leaves
2 cups water
2 cups celery/cucumber/zucchini/broccoli juice
1 mango
bowl of soaked dried mulberries, blended with hemp seed and tahini, served with RINGING CEDAR nuts :O WOWOWOWOOOWOWOWOWW :)
3 cups water

OooooOOooooo, we had a fun trip to a place that sells Anastasia goods today – ‘Anastasia’s Garden’ - in Robina on the Gold Coast. They had all the books, cedar tree pendants, cedar spoons, nuts and oil. I was very excited :) We got a box of the DELICIOUS little cedar nuts, like Anastasia eats, out in the Siberian forest – VERY similar to pine nuts. The Monarch and myself also both got cedar pendants :) I’ve wanted a cedar necklace ever since I read the description in the first Anastasia book about the healing power these pendants can hold and bring. Here is an excerpt:

“Those who wear a small wooden cedar pendant on their chest evoke feelings of love and goodwill in themselves and others. Those people gain talent, creativity aptitude, and luck. Any cedar morsel, given to people by Nature itself (do not use chopped down trees) help to overcome illnesses. There are many healers who feel this power, but do not forget about your role - the "medallion" is nothing but an accumulator of your Love and your Light, which it gives back to you whenever you need it. These Siberian Cedars have positive power, and people who wear the pendant notice an increase in their mental and physical health.”

We’re going to get some pendants for the RawReform Store soon too, to spread the light onwards :) We’re falling in love with ours...I'll let you know when we've got some in the Store :)

on January the 19th I had:

1.5 quarts water
1 medium papaya
1 pint zucchini/beetroot/celery/cucumber/orange juice (tasted oddly like...water...)
bowl of soaked dried mulberries blended with tahini, with Siberian Cedar Nuts stirred in, plus mulberry pieces
3 cups water
1 pint celery/cucumber/romaine/sorrel/fennel/alfalfa sprout/unidentified-greens juice
big bowl of green smoothie – well, actually, more like ‘puce’ colour, from the blueberries: blueberries/banana/mango/romaine/’tree spinach/sunflower greens/alfalfa sprouts
3 cups water

Ok, so the winner of last month’s RawReform Giveaway has just been announced – I know it’s rather late in the month - well, here is the final verdict ;) The winner of the Cobra Poi set was the delightful Kristy Eggleston. To be in with a chance of winning, all you had to do was email in your A to the following Q:

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

We had some LOVELY answers from y’all – seems like a great year was had by many – hurray :) Here was Kristy Eggleston’s winning entry, picked at random:

"My top three RAW highlights of 2007 are:

1. Curing my allergies to fresh fruits! Can you imagine!!! My body had become so toxic over the years on a SAD diet that I developed an allergy to fresh fruit. I had to live without fresh fruits for 10 years!!!! Get this...I could eat them if they were cooked -- Phewy, no good!

2. Curing my allergies to nuts! Yep, you betcha..couldn't eat those either. One beautiful hazelnut would have me seeing black dots in my vision, closed up throat, and down for the count. Couldn't even attempt a nibble! Get this...I could eat SAD peanut butter, of course! Phewy, no good!

3. Hearing David Wolfe present a lecture at my school, The Institute of Integrative Nutrition (New York City), in November. Having my picture taken with him and hanging out with him at his raw chocolate charity event all evening. NEED I SAY MORE????!!!!! It was the BEST DAY EVER!

Happy New You (and Mr. Monarch)! Happy New Me! Happy New Year!!
With gratitude,
Kristy"

Thanks for sharing Kristy – and thanks to all the rest of you too who sent in your Raw Reflections – we’ve put up a selection of entries on the RawReform Prize Giveaway page HERE, so you can check that out too, for more inspiration ;)
This month – win a free copy of ‘Raw Success’ on e-book – yes, as part of his green-ing mission, Mr Monarch has now made his latest book – ‘Raw Success’ available as an e-book, reducing the amount of paper needed to make printed copies…you can see the new e-book HERE. You can also be in with a chance of WINNING a free copy, by emailing in your answer to the following question:

If you could speak to any of the Raw Food Pioneers of by-gone days and ask them a single question, whom would you connect to and what would you ask them?

Examples of pioneers who have passed to the other side include:
Dr. Norman Walker, Arnold Ehret, Bernard Jensen, Paul Bragg, Dr. Ann Wigmore, Herbert Shelton, St Louis Estes and Hilton Hotema...
Send your answers in to angela@rawreform.com and the winner shall be selected at random and with much joy in February ;)

Enjoy :)

One love,
Angela. xxx