Blessed and Blissed in BC...

Alllllllllllrighty then…on we flow and here I am now in Vancouver, BC…hurray :) Despite the incessant downpour here, it seems like a delightful place and I’m very happy to be here and especially to be back with my man…ahhhhhhh, I breathe deeeeep and give gratitude ;) I was also treated to breathtaking views over the Rocky Mountains on the plane journey yesterday and today experienced the fun and revelry of the ‘Taste of Health’ expo here in Vancouver…the raw food presence was STRONG – it was wonderful to see, for a festival that was not particularly angled towards raw food…Raw BC were there with a booth, Gorilla Foods and others were around, doing food demos and selling raw snacks, one woman was promoting a raw retreat centre, Doug Graham had a booth and gave talks and Matt and I were delighted to speak to a packed room of vibrant Vancouverites…considering we were only added to the programme a few days ago, it was quite some turnout and we squished all we could into the hour time-slot ;) Thanks to all of you who joined us…

on September the 29th I had:

1 litre water
600ml green juice with apple
500ml green juice with apple
1 apple
4 tbsp chia soaked in water, mixed with mulberries
3 dried pineapple rings
500ml water
box of prune plums
500ml water
water and meat of one young coconut
700ml green juice with carrot and apple
little bowl of spirulina mixed with lucuma, mesquite, water and mulberries
500ml water

For those in the Vancouver area who didn’t hear us speak today and would like to come along to an event, I’m happy to say we have another couple lined up for you precious northern-dwelling petals ;)

Firstly, the Monarch and I will both be speaking next Saturday, the 6th of October, at a raw potluck being held at this address:
907 West 33rd Ave, corner of Laurel Street, starting from 5pm.
(Please bring an organic, raw vegan dish to share)

Then later this month, on October the 27th, I will be giving a talk at the Yoga West Studio, at this address: 2662 West 4th Ave, from 3pm.
Hope to see you at one of those events if you’re around ;)

on September the 30th I had:

1.3 litres water
700ml green juice with carrot
water of one young coconut
½ a bowl of chia soaked in water mixed with lucuma and mulberries
500ml water
a few slices of dried pineapple, an organic mango
500ml green juice with lemon
the rest of the chia mix from above, with some ridiculously yummy Artisana Amazon Bliss Butter – mmmmmmmm :)
1 litre water

When I was Juice Feasting for a few days last week, many of you wrote asking why I eat bee pollen when I Feast…well, basically, I find it very supportive during JF-ing, without taxing my digestive system…which, after all, is the whole focus of JF-ing – giving your body a break from digestion, so it can focus on elimination of old nonsense from the structure instead… Here too is what I wrote in ‘A Juice Feaster’s Handbook’ abt pollen:

“Bee Pollen – 1-2 tbsps a day. Use fresh bee pollen and keep refrigerated or in a freezer. Bee pollen is said to be a ‘complete food’ and contains an extraordinary amount of minerals, easily-assimilated protein and enzymes, making it a great digestive aid. (Again, bee pollen is obviously not a vegan product, so may not appeal to all.)”

Hope that answered that for y’all…you can also read more if you like, in the handbook HERE…

One love,
Angela. xxx

Processed Food Feels So Wrong...

In the latest thrilling installment from 'The Kitchen's Alive with Living Enzymes', Maria von Chia meets some delightful young ladies for a tea party, during which they discover the joy of raw foods...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i87l4pJ0Xcc

Here are the lyrics:

PROCESSED FOOD FEELS SO WRONG...

Processed food feels so wrong, just gimme
Rays, absorbed straight from the sun, for
Me, someone who eats raw food, moving
Far away from junk food gunge
So, I'm gonna just eat raw...
Lara Bars are good for snacks
Tea can be made in the sun...
Just keep away from toxic, cooked and processed…

…food feels so wrong, just gimme
Rays, absorbed straight from the sun, for
Me, someone who eats raw food, moving
Far away from junk food gunge
So, I'm gonna just eat raw...
Lara Bars are good for snacks
Tea can be made in the sun...
I'll just keep on eating RAWWWWWWWWWWWW :)


On September the 28th I had:

1 litre water
1 delicious persimmon
1.2 litres celery/cucumber/apple/baby greens juice
bowl of avo mashed with spirulina, lemon juice and Himalayan salt
500ml water
1 small papaya
300ml sesame seed milk sweetened with dates
1 apple
700ml celeriac/cucumber/apple/romaine juice
1 nori sheet and abt 1tbsp of sunflower seeds
500ml water
½ galia melon
handful of dried pineapple
500ml water

Mmmm, it’s been fun to edge back into the world of solids these past couple of days…today I’ve been eating small amounts, often and it feels really good to me…might continue this way for the next days…tomorrow I am movin’ on again…to Vancouver this time…
I’ve had a wonderful stay here in Alberta…the raw family I’ve been staying with are simply delightful – as I’m sure you can tell from the video above, with the two youngest members ;) I’ve been getting a LOT of kiddie time here and it’s been a real blessing…as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I avoided all contact with children for many years, as an obese person, due to fear of what they might say about my weight…it’s been a steep learning curve for me in recent years, therefore, starting to interact with younger humans…I enjoy it more and more though – we’ve been dancing with poi, playing basketball, hanging on monkey bars, making cookies and more…it’s been a very active week – well, for some of us at least…the mum of the family actually fell while we were out hiking a few days back and broke her shoulder…eeeeeeeeeek…that was a bit intense and she has been resting ever since, drinking mainly juice and sesame seed milk – for nutrients (esp. calcium) and quick healing…please do send her some loving healing vibes for speedy recovery ;)

Ok, so…adios Alberta…Vancouver, here I come…Matt and I speak at the Taste Of Health Expo this Sunday…hope to see you there ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Two Reminders...

Reminder Number 1:
This is the last week that the coupon code ‘chia’ is available for use in the new RawReform Store…use that code as you’re checking out with your purchases and you’ll get 10% off any order, PLUS a free 1lb bag of chia seeds if your total is over $150 – YUMMY :) The code stops working at the end of this month – Sunday the 30th - you can visit the store HERE. I know lots of you have been using this to enjoy big savings on what you’d normally pay for appliances, books and so on…I hope you’ve all been enjoying playing with your chia too…(and NOT as chia pets ;)
Here’s a super-easy chia recipe to get you started if you’ve just got some and are unsure what to do with it ;)

Chia Yumbowl
4-5 tbsps chia seeds
1-2 bananas, mashed with a fork
1-2 tbsp lucuma powder
small handful raisins
small handful pumpkin seeds
Pure water

Soak the chia seeds in plenty of pure water (remember it can absorb 9 times its volume in under 10 mins). Mash down the banana(s).
Mix together the chia, banana, lucuma, raisins and pumpkin seeds in a bowl and eat.
(If you want an even sweeter meal, use apple juice to soak the chia instead of water. Chia seed is very effective at slowing sugar absorption into the body, so you can eat quite a large amount of sugary foods in combination with it and not experience drastic sugar high/lows.)

On September the 27th I had:

1 litre water
800ml celery/lettuce/carrot/broccoli/green pepper juice
2 succulent, delectable peaches
800ml celery/cucumber/spinach/dandelion/lemon juice
½ galia melon
500ml water
1 tbsp green powder
INTENSE celery/cucumber/dandelion/spinach/chard/lemon juice
1½ tbsp hemp seeds
500ml water

Reminder Number 2:
This is also the final week for submitting your entries for the current RawReform Giveaway, to win a copy of the simply wonderful book ‘Anastasia’ by Vladimir Megre. To be in with a chance of winning your own copy of this incredible volume, just email us your answer to the following question:

Who inspires YOU?

I’m SO enjoying reading your stories about who inspires you on your journey. Thanks for all the entries so far… If you haven’t set in YOUR entry yet, just send us the name of who inspires YOU and THREE reasons why they inspire you and you’ll be automatically entered into the draw to win a copy of Anastasia...

Send your entries to angela@rawreform.com and the winner will be picked at random next month. We certainly look forward to hearing more of your stories :)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Juicy Flow...

Today saw the full moon in Aries…the Harvest Moon – WOW – did you see it? Absolutely beautiful…here’s some of what Astrologer Lisa Dale Miller shared abt this moon:

“Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and rules new beginnings. This is the Full Moon of the child: a celebration of innocence, adventurousness and starting anew.
On an Aries Full Moon your intention is best released with these qualities in mind: spontaneity, wonder, curiosity, adventurousness, and innocence.
…this is the Full Moon to strive for releasing your intention with childlike hopefulness and inner faith. Know that what comes from your strong intention will be evolutionary, supportive and…. well, a big adventure!
The Aries Full Moon is the time to remember that we are born knowing only love and to celebrate and share this precious gift. Though our lives seem to seesaw between achievement and loss, love and pain, there is a childlike innocence that still lives within us all.”

We went to a MAGICAL drum circle tonight to honour the full moon…it was SUCH a great experience for me…I sooooo love losing myself into the rhythms of a whole gathered circle of blessed beings, connecting together with voice and drum…that is when I really feel most connected and at one with all…it was a wonderful ceremony and SO many children were present – quite extraordinary, especially noting the full moon in Aries – the child – I really appreciated how the children were absolutely free to flow too – dancing, drumming, squealing, moving with their own energies…it was blissful… ;)

On September the 25th I had:

1 litre water
1 litre watermelon juice
1 tsp bee pollen
1.2 litres celery/beet tops/lettuce/cucumber/carrot juice
1 tbsp bee pollen
500ml water
1 litre celery/beet tops/lettuce/zucchini/green pepper/carrot juice
1 apple juice popsicle
1 tbsp greener grasses powder
1 tsp bee pollen
600ml watermelon juice
500ml water

So…yes, I’ve been Juice Feasting again the last 3 days and it’s been wonderful…full moon, change of seasons…my body was totally up for it and it has flowed SO easily…I love it when it comes so smoothly like that – no obstructions and it feels effortless and easy to juice all day long…I’ll go back to solids tomorrow I think…I just wanted a little rest from digestion and it’s been great…I felt so supported by the universe in this little venture back into the liquid realm – I even received an entire case of organic lettuce at the incredible price of $2, the day I started…thank you, universe ;)

on September the 26th I had:

1 litre water
1 tsp bee pollen
700ml watermelon juice
1 tsp bee pollen
1tbsp greener grasses
1 litre celery/beet tops/lettuce/zucchini/green pepper/carrot juice
1 tsp bee pollen
1 tbsp greener grasses
500ml water
700ml celery/lettuce/carrot/apple juice
1 tbsp bee pollen
500ml celery/lettuce/carrot/apple juice
400ml water
600ml celery/lettuce/apple juice
300ml water

Hey, a couple of event announcements:

Mr Matthew Monarch is speaking in Seattle, Washington this Friday, September the 28th, starting 6pm, at the Bastyr University Auditorium – more details at his site HERE. This is a fundraising event for the marvellous non-profit group ‘Raw Network of Washington’.

Theeeeeeeeen…myself and Mr Monarch (YAY, I get him back :) will both be speaking this weekend - 29th/30th Sept - in Vancouver, BC, at the Taste of Health expo…we’re joining the schedule at the last minute, so I’m not sure of exact time/room details yet, but we’ll be there – sorry for the late notice ;) You can see more abt the expo HERE…Looks like a great little gathering – the ‘Raw BC’ group will be there, plus food companies and even Doug Graham giving a talk too…hope to see you there if you’re around in the area…I’ll also do a talk or two later in the month in the Vancouver area, all being well…more details to come ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Beautiful, Blossoming Raw Community...

Check out this wonderful 5 minute YouTube share from raw foodie Philip McCluskey, who has lost OVER 125lbs since going raw – yeeeeeeeeeee-HAH – fantastic…I met Philip at one of my talks in Connecticut earlier this year – he’s a very sweet and genuine guy and I’m so delighted for him that he side-stepped Gastric Bypass Surgery and went the raw route ;) – check it out:

On September the 23rd I had:

1.5 litres water
1 persimmon
1 litre green juice with carrot
avocado mashed with spirulina, lemon juice and a pinch of Himalayan salt, with an apple sliced into chunks
1 litre water
an array of marvellous potluck creations – salad, crackers, guacamole, ‘fettucine’ and the most AMAZING raw ‘cream of mushroom’ soup, followed by raw desserts of persimmon pudding, peach cobbler and banana/lemon pie – WOW :)
1.5 litres water

WOW – the ‘cream of mushroom’ soup at the raw potluck yesterday was absolutely phenomenal…and SO simple – just 3 ingredients…it was a recipe from Ani Phyo’s magical recipe book – Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen…I don’t have the book with me right now on the road (you can get it HERE), so I don’t know the exact recipe or measurements or anything, but I got the basic point – the body of the soup is just brazil nut milk, with garlic and a bit of salt, then there were mushrooms marinated in oil and…hmmmm…smthg else, perhaps nama shoyu (I’m not sure) on the side – I didn’t eat the mushrooms, just the liquid part and even though that had NO mushrooms in it – just brazil milk, garlic, salt, it really tasted like cream of mushroom soup – it was one of the simplest and yummiest raw dishes I’ve ever had – I LOVE it :) I could literally have drunk the whole Vitamix jug of it myself, with nothing else (and I think my body would really have preferred it if I did, actually – I seem to get less and less tolerant of complicated food combos and my body was telling me about it today when I woke up – coated tongue, groggy feeling, puffy eyes etc…wow…hence the fact that, as you’ll see below, I moved over to just juices today ;) This potluck was such a magical little event – I find the raw community they have here in Red Deer, Alberta very endearing and surprisingly vibrant for a small-ish place in ‘cattle country’ ;) I gave a presentation for the group and it was fun – I have never been at a raw event with SOOO many incredible raw kids – there seemed to be at least a dozen of them – and most of them under 10 :O …what a blessed community :)

on September the 24th I had:

1 litre water
shot of raw aloe juice
1 litre watermelon juice
1 tsp bee pollen
1 litre green juice with carrot
500ml water
1tsp pollen
1.5 litres green juice with carrot
500ml water

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOO much to all of you who have been putting focus/attention/love towards the vision of me being present at Raw Spirit Fest next month in Arizona…I really appreciate it and I send you all BIG love for your support ;) It’s still unclear for me if/how/when I’ll be able to get there…I am letting go of the details as much as possible though and just holding still the vision of being there…that’s all that really matters, after all ;)…in the meantime, the fabulous news is that the organisers of the festie have opened up space for another 80 VOLUNTEERS to join the crew – it’s phenomenal for me to think that the festie is growing so exponentially that SO many extra hands can be used ;) It’s wonderful…last year there were around 300 of us there, TOTAL - this year it seems at LEAST 3000 people will be in attendance…TRULY wonderful…SO, if you’re interested in getting in for (now less than) half-price - $150 - by being a volunteer, just email kim@rawspirit.com with a one line 'reason why you want to volunteer' and then you’ll get to sign up at the discounted rate…HURRAY - oooo, and pls tell them Ms Angela Stokes sent you, if you will ;) Volunteers share 15 hours of their time helping out with festie tasks at the event…ENJOY and I really do hope to see you there ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Durian? At 50° North? In WINTER???

OOOOooooooo, I LOVE a bit of it – look at this nifty new raw t-shirt – I want, I want, I want… (The t-shirt and the durian ;) They’re $18 from this site HERE and they have other cool designs too, with more on the way ;) Yummy…

On September the 21st I had:

1 litre water
1 litre green juice with carrots
2 persimmons
avo/salt with tomatoes, spinach, flax crackers, jicama slices, a handful of hemp seeds
500ml water
10 gorgeous little dark plums
a few slices of delicious dried pineapple
700ml green juice with carrots
bowl of chia seeds soaked in water, with lucuma, maca and mulberries
1 litre water

I’m happy to see that more of you are able to use the ‘comments’ function for this e-journal now – very cool ;) In fact, last week sometime, the divine ‘Sara’ left a comment here that I am yet to respond to, so…here we go…here’s what she had to say:

“I was wondering how you felt about eating only local raw foods, especially if you live in a 4 season climate with longish winters? I experimented with a lot of raw foods this summer and it has been wonderful, but this question remains in my mind about whether the raw food diet is the right diet for the planet. Providing food from your local region seems to make a lot of sense to me and feel really right and indeed, most of the food I ate this summer was purchased from local farmer's markets. I noticed a lot of raw food super foods are definitely not local. Avacados, something I enjoy a lot are not local. I have thought of sprouting sunflower and buckwheat greens during the winter, but do you have any other tips on winter fare that is raw and local? I have frozen some blueberries and peaches picked fresh this summer from nearby farms. Also, i am transitoning to all of this and while I do enjoy more simple fare, I am far from the place in which you enjoy meals (after several years raw and a long juice feast). I would really, really appreciate it if you are able to find time to respond. Thanks and Namaste, Sara”

OOooooo, yummy – see my answer below…

on September the 22nd I had:

1 litre water
300ml green smoothie with banana, grapes and spinach
1 litre green juice with carrot
capful of raw aloe juice
nori rolls with avo/corn/tomato/red pepper/cumin salsa and spinach
500ml water
handful of dried pineapple rings and a banana
700ml cucumber/celery/apple/ginger juice
bowl of sea spaghetti seaweed with hemp seed, flax oil and granulated wrack
300ml beet/apple/carrot smoothie
1 litre water

MMmmmm-Hmmmmm, I hear you, sista Sara ;) Hmmmm…the perpetual pesky issues of local vs tasty vs sustainable vs healthy vs organic vs environmentally friendly and so on…many factors to consider here ;)
Here are my thoughts…in practical terms, I LOVE the Native American wisdom that everything you ‘need’ to feed yourself and your family is within 5 miles of you (or smthg to that effect)…many people simply don’t know enough about foraging to make that a viable option for themselves however… plus, yes, cold climates, winter, snow etc hardly lend themselves to an abundant local raw lifestyle…so, I love that you’re thinking abt indoor sprouting/growing greens through winter, that you’ve been freezing stuff in preparation and so on – GREAT steps, good for you :)
In terms of the question of whether this really makes sense on a global scale for humans, my feeling is this – humans have done a pretty remarkable job of spreading ourselves out and adapting to climates ALL over this globe, from starting out down round the middle, where fresh raw produce was in abundance, straight from the Earth and it is WARM…we’ve spread ourselves out and ‘made’ it work for us to be anywhere with processed/cooked foods/imports etc…and then some of us out in those colder places start to want to eat raw vegan…which just doesn’t seem to fit that ideally in the colder months in those places if you also want to eat locally…it’s like a monkey native to Costa Rica going to live in Chicago and demanding that he gets exactly the same bananas there as he used to get in the jungle…SO…hmmmmm…what to do…??? Well, indeed, you could follow other people who have spread themselves into those colder places and eat raw meat/fish to keep yourself tanked up over winter time…OR you could say ‘dickens’ to eating local/pollution issues and live on goji berries, durian and mangosteens all winter OR you might enjoy to try out some of the following:

*Focus your attention on: sprouts, dried foods, frozen foods, foraging skills and fermented foods.

*Listen to the interview with Steve ‘Sproutman’ Meyerowitz on RawVeganRadio (who have a fantastic new-look site by the way). He talks about how by growing and using our own sprouts, it’s possible to really live anywhere raw – even in isolation on a hillside with nothing growing on the land…it’s cheap and easy…a very inspiring interview…you can also see his wonderful sprouting books HERE.

*I would also HIGHLY recommend you check out the books and work of Helen and Scott Nearing and Eliot Coleman - these people work together on INCREDIBLE farms in the States, growing and harvesting year round with systems they've developed - I'd especially encourage reading 'Four Season Harvest' and 'Winter Harvest Manual' by Eliot Coleman - you can see those books HERE.

In the end, I feel we’re all just doing our best – so, whatever that means to you in terms of eating local, I hope you ENJOY it ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

On Control, Coldness and Comments...

I wanted to share here one of the amusing drawings from ‘health freedom activist’/artist Emma Hollister – Emma has a whole series of these cartoons and there’s some classics in there – take a look at her page HERE.
If anyone wanted some further evidence that things seem to have gone quite, quite insane in terms of food propaganda, here is a stunning quote from an ABC news item today:

' "Raw produce, even if you put it in a bag and seal the bag, is still raw produce. It's a high-risk food, even if the American consumer doesn't realize it is,” says Oregon state epidemiologist William Keene.'

LOL…gotta love it ;)

on September the 19th I had:

1 litre water
1 litre green juice with carrots
½ a medium-sized watermelon
sprouts, spinach, tomatoes, flax crackers, hemp seeds mixed with tomato flax oil and salt
1 litre water
juice of 2 oranges
bowl of mashed banana with maca, lucuma, spirulina, chopped figs, currants and sprouts
1 litre water

Alrighty, so…life has taken on a bitter-sweet little turn for me right now…I’m sad because Mr Monarch has gone south to the US and I am here in Canada, missing him and feeling a bit like I’m in exile ;) I am also grateful though, as it means I get to enjoy some time here in Alberta with another super-sweet raw family, sharing and flowing together ;) It’s colder here than I anticipated…and further north than I’d realised…the family have in fact started to read Anastasia and told me that a beautiful forest we visited nearby here yesterday is actually part of the same kind of forest Anastasia is in, over there in Siberia – we’re on that kind of latitude…eeeeeeeeeeek ;) I feel like it’s good for me to experience a bit of autumn/coldness though, as I pretty much avoided it last year by going down to Costa Rica and have been in almost perpetual yummy/warm weather for the last 18 months or so… ;) Today we also went to a delicious, magnificently stocked rock and gem store, which was such a treat – we revelled in the magical energy there for over an hour and I picked some gorgeous little stones to join me on this journey…jade, rose quartz, garnet…yummy ;) I'd rather have my man back with me any day rather than some pretty stones, of course...yet for now, they're pacifying me ;)

on September the 20th I had:

1 litre water
600ml green juice with carrots
2 peaches
250ml banana/cacao smoothie
baby spinach, tomatoes, flax crackers, hemp seed mixed with tomato-flax oil
1 litre water
400ml kombucha
kale salad with avo/tomatoes/lemon and sea spaghetti seaweed – yummmmmmm ;)
1 litre water

I discovered something about this E-Journal today…I realised that the way I’ve had it set up means it’s not been easy for you petals to leave comments…sorry ;) I didn’t realise that it was only allowing people who are members of Google/Blogger already to send in comments…SO…today I jiggled it about a bit and now it ought to be possible for anyone to leave a comment...just go to the bottom of any posting on the blog page – http://rawreform.blogspot.com - click on where it says ‘comments’ and leave your pearly offerings for moderation…ta ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Dream-time Meanderings into Reality...

So…the majestic trees, lakes and autumnal colours of Ontario gave way to the flatter, sparser plains of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and now Alberta and here I have come to rest for the time being…WOW…never before have I felt the contrast between travelling by land and air so sharply as the last few days…we travelled 4 full days by car to arrive here – the journey seeming to almost take on a life of its own, carving out its own rhythm and patterns into our lives as I looked on, feeling rather like a surprised participant...it amazes me to think that if I had travelled by plane rather than by land, I could have hopped from one side of this continent to the other (or even further) in just a few hours…yet we came by land and the experience was much longer and, in many ways, felt a lot more ‘real’…I have seen and experienced most of the breadth of this land now…and it seems, as a result, more ingrained/solid in my experience than before…more so than it seems it would have been if I’d jumped in a plane and flown over it…I have often thought too in the past days of the people who have made this journey before me – some of them by wagon, others by horse, some by foot, with perhaps no shelter, no supplies…certainly no ‘directions’ from Mapquest to follow ;) Their journeys took weeks or months longer than ours…and here I have sat for 4 days, speeding through time and space, suspended in a metal structure, feeling often like I’m partially in dream-space, as this journey dances its magical path through our lives and then deposits me now, gently yet indifferently, in a sweet house with lovely raw beings, in a little town in the Canadian countryside, where I will cease to move again for a while, pick up the threads of a reality it feels like I left behind many days ago, back in Ontario and get on with writing…it’s certainly been an interesting adventure… ;)

on September the 17th I had:

1.2 litres water
2 persimmons
200ml kombucha
sunflower greens, hemp seeds, flax oil, nori rolls, tomato, spirulina crackers
1 litre water
an impeccable mango
2 apples, handful of mulberries/almonds
600ml kombucha
1 litre water

The last few nights we’ve been staying in hotel rooms as we crossed country…this is something else I’m quite unaccustomed to – I’ve been on the move for about a decade now, yet almost always in private abodes…hotels, like hospitals, feel rather peculiar to me…like bizarre little bubbles of ‘reality’, extracted from standard society, where intimate pieces of peoples’ lives seem to glide past each other and interlock briefly – for a few hours or days, then it all falls into separate pieces again and they go on with their individual stories…how many other people have slept in this bed? Used this towel? Done their morning yoga on this floor…? It seems strange that there is no discernible trace of them…they are, after all, to me, all brothers and sisters, whoever they are…and they were here…yet it’s like they never existed…the maid has come and rearranged the space again…clinical, clean, functional…and so the illusion that no-one was here is recreated, again and again…in the past, if I found myself in hotel rooms, I would write messages on the backs of the framed pictures hanging on the walls…messages to those who, like me, might be curious enough to know who else had shared this space…so…next time you’re sitting in a 'characterless' hotel room, perhaps you might take a look behind that picture of a cattle farm or tulip bed on the wall and discover the loving traces of those who have been there before you… ;)

on September the 18th I had:

1 litre water
900ml green juice with carrot
ball of spirulina/mesquite/lucuma mixed with water
bowl of chia soaked in water with dried mulberries, spirulina, lucuma and banana
1 litre water
½ box of prune plums
chocolate covered figs
nori rolls, spinach, sprouts, hemp seed butter and flax crackers
1 litre water

The last hotel we stayed at prior to arriving here in Alberta had a towel policy I found very pleasing ;) It was not a hotel that was marketing itself as ‘eco-friendly’ or any such angle…and yet the towel racks were fitted with signs asking the reader to consider the number of towels that are ‘needlessly’ washed all over the world daily in hotels and setting out some clear, simple rules for where to place used towels, so that only those were taken for washing…NICE…they also had another very sweet little system wherein, in each bathroom was placed a piece of ‘rag’ towel, with a laminated card explaining that it would be very much appreciated if this clean rag was used to clean surfaces etc, rather than any of the towels…CLEVER…I love this…Mr Monarch and I make juice wherever we are and hotel rooms are no exception…they often end up splattered with juice however, with little mounds of pulp littering surfaces…this ‘rag’ was therefore a very welcome find, for clearing up our customary juicy explosions…I thanked the woman at the desk as we left and told her I appreciated their policies…imagine the impact those 2 simple changes could have worldwide if implemented by all hotels and hospitals…yeeeeeee-HAH ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Autumnal Adventures...

WOW…Canada is a seriously stunning country for me to see…it’s magnificent…we’re driving out west and are constantly met with glorious views of huge lakes and magical forests…I find it especially beautiful to see the trees starting to turn red/orange/pink/yellow for autumn – it’s amazing to see the way just a part of a tree is suddenly crimson, when the rest is still green…and it’s all just as I imagined Canada to be when I was a child – pristine air, vast tracts of land with no people/settlements to be seen, tree-fringed expanses of beautiful blue water…ahhhhhhh…it’s blissful ;) I find that my entire body instantly relaxes being out in open, gorgeous scenery like this…the tiny towns we stop in seem so friendly and gentle too…I think back to the manic-feeling hustle-and-bustle of central London for example that we were experiencing just a few weeks back and wonder why I ever subject myself to that kind of atmosphere…I feel SO much freer and happier out in places like this, with less ‘brain fuzz’ going on…cities look more and more like bubbles of insane distraction-based misery to me…LOL…gimme a piece of land to grow food on, a yurt, some trees, water, a rebounder and…a juicer and I’ll be delighted… ;)

on September the 15th I had:

1.2 litres water
400ml kombucha
600ml green smoothie – mango, banana, sunflower/buckwheat greens, green powder
cacophony of raw pie pieces/desserts at the Simply Raw festival
2 litres water

I’ve been driving a bit the last couple of days. Well…quite a LOT actually, for me…I’ve driven about 5 hours since we started out westwards…and I’m enjoying it…I am not at all accustomed to driving a car. Riding a bike is much more my style. In fact, driving is smthg I’ve had major issues with in my life – I never wanted to learn to drive, it took me hours of lessons and three times to pass the test and then after I did pass (over 10 years ago now), I drove only a handful of times, then basically stopped…I had an ENORMOUS fear/mental block that this was something I ‘couldn’t do’. Well…it seems I can ;) LOL…and in fact, it feels immensely empowering for me, after so many years of fear-based thinking about this…logically of course I always looked at other people and saw that most of them seemed to drive, so surely I could manage it too and YET…actually doing it seemed very scary. So, while I do not particularly wish to advocate driving cars/using petrol/adding to pollution and so on…I will note that for this one individual, on her little current path in life, this has been a welcome little breakthrough from old patterns/beliefs the last few days and for that I am grateful…

on September the 16th I had:

1 litre water
400ml green juice with loads of sprouts in it
400ml kombucha
500ml green juice
sprouts, nori rolls, tomato and spirulina flax crackers, followed by yummy bliss balls and a few durian pods
1.5 litres water
3 apples with mulberries, sunflower greens and hemp seeds
1 litre water

GUESS WHAT...there’s now an actual Thyroid Epicenter on the RawReform Store…I get many questions about thyroid issues, as hypothyroidism was what triggered my weight gain initially, at the age of 11 and since going raw, I have come off all allopathic medicine and my thyroid is totally naturally balanced with a raw food lifestyle and plenty of seaweed ;) The new Thyroid Epicenter has been created to group together in one place all those products which are supportive to people dealing with thyroid issues. My book ‘Revealing the Physical Changes’ has a whole section on thyroid disorders and how to support the gland naturally – now this part of the store will give you easy access to Thyroid-friendly yummies…see it all HERE and ENJOY ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Thank you for the music... ;)

Yeeeeeeeeee-HAH :) Wow…it’s been fun the last few days – lots of travelling and talks…today we spoke at the Simply Raw Festival in Ottawa, Canada – SO lovely…thanks to all of you who humoured the sudden cold snap and came on down to enjoy – I REALLY liked this festie…such a nice crowd of people, a beautiful setting in a sweet little park and I LOVE that it’s free entry for all, meaning all kinds of people make their way along, who may not access it otherwise…it’s organised by the simply lovely Natasha and Mark of Simply Raw and I feel they are offering such an OUTSTANDING service to the world with this event – they pour so much love into it, so selflessly and also seem to enjoy it so very much – absolutely beautiful ;) Attached is a photo of myself and Mr Monarch having a giggle at our booth…;) (Sent in by the lovely Uljana - thanks ;). We also spoke to a charming, vibrant crowd over in Montreal a couple of nights ago, at an event catered by the luscious beings at Cru de Essence…this little crew of light beings have secured a fabulous venue overlooking the whole city, where they hold events, produce the most love-infused kombucha I’ve ever tasted and provide fabulous raw meals…WOW…yes, we’ve had a GREAT welcome to this area – we were even interviewed for a whole segment on the daily news a couple of days back, which a LOT of people seemed to tune in to ;) …thanks to you all who’ve been part of this journey…and so…tomorrow…ONWARDS…we ride west at dawn…yeeeeeeeeeee-HAH…

on September the 13th I had:

1 litre water
500ml green juice with lemon
cup of green smoothie with purslane
plate of raw pies
1.5 litres water
500ml kombucha
plate of savoury raw food – lasagne, nori rolls, salad etc, followed by raw cheesecake with banana ice cream
1 litre water

WOW, lots of you have been making GREAT use of the current coupon code for the new RawReform Store…the code ‘chia’ currently gets you 10% off any purchase PLUS a free 1lb bag of magical chia if you spend over $150 (people seem CRAZY for chia up here in Canada by the way – wonderful :). Many of you have been making great savings with this code already – like $40 off the price of a new Vitamix – NICE ;) Just to let you know, the code is valid until the end of this month, so you have a wee while yet to get your goods in ;) See the store HERE.

on September the 14th I had:

1.5 litres water
big piece of watermelon400ml kombucha
700ml green juice
plate of raw leftovers from meal last night – lasagne, crackers, seed cheese etc
2 litres water

I’m delighted to hear that so many of you have been enjoying the latest ‘Sound of Music’-inspired warblings from ‘Maria von Chia’ on YouTube…‘How Do You Have a Social Life with Raw Food’ has been viewed around 800 times in 2 days…thanks for all your lovely comments and emails :) It’s nice to know how common salad-dressing-smuggling is among this tribe ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx