Gifts and Gratitude...

WOW – ‘tis the season for awards, it seems...those yummy funsters Heidi and Justin over at RawFoodRightNow have been’n’gone’n’created RAW FOOD Inspiration Awards :) YAY :) I am delighted to have received the ‘Juice Feasters Award’...and they’ve created 2 other categories too – the ‘Raw Food Inspiration Award’ and the ‘Raw Food Courage Award’ – you can read ALL about it HERE...
In honour of this award, along with the phenomenal surge of interest in Juice Feasting of late, I finally got it together last night to move my Juice Feast Breaking video onto YOUTUBE, instead of just Google Vids. This is the infamous ‘prune eating video’ which I’m sure most of you reading this have seen before ;) Many people don’t seem as familiar with Google Vids as YouTube however and have issues finding this vid, so...now it’s hopefully more visible ;) FYI, this version also has a ‘bonus’ extra 5 seconds or so on the end for some reason (not sure how that happened) – SO, if you’ve been silently wondering what happened after prune met mouth...click HERE to find out ;)

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

on February the 6th I had:

1.5 quarts water
24oz celery/cucumber/parsley/watercress/carrot/apple juice
1 GORGEOUS durian :)
1.5 quarts water
12oz celery/cucumber/parsley/watercress/carrot/apple juice
bowl of fruit salad: banana/papaya/cherries :) Yummmm...
3 cups water

Anyone is welcome to give the new Raw Food Awards out whenever they want, which seems superbly generous ;) WOW...to be honest, I’m not sure there’s anyone in the raw food community I’ve met who I WOULDN’T want to give at least one of these awards to...for today though, I’m going to pick just one person for each category... ;)

Raw Food Inspiration Award: Happy Oasis
I love Happy… :) Have you met her? She is indeed a blessed being, doing INCREDIBLE movin’ and shakin’ in the raw food movement, with the Raw Spirit Fest growing yearly...a fabulous storyteller and humble fellow Earth-wanderer, Happy radiates shiny-eyed bliss, integrity and giggling joy :) I LOVE the latest Raw Spirit Fest ticket offer too, BTW – call them up on either 928.776.1497 or 928.708.0784 anytime in February to book your ticket, SING THEM A SONG and you’ll get a free goodie bag of Raw Chocolate :) WOW :) Beautiful...


Raw Food Courage Award: Jatinder Daniels
Dear Jatinder healed her chronic rheumatoid arthritis with a raw food lifestyle. She lives in Spain with her husband and gorgeous kids, who all made the switch to raw years ago and experienced IMMENSE relief from different illnesses. Jatinder was pretty much on her ‘death bed’ when she made the transition to raw. She demonstrated immense courage in seeing this through, however...and these days, though her body bears many ‘scars’, she is generally in fantastic health...she also makes the most INCREDIBLE raw spice mixes EVER :) See her site HERE.


Juice Feaster’s Award: John Rose
Gotta hand it to the ‘Grand-daddy of JF-ing', Mr Rose ;) Based in Houston, Texas, John has been on this juicy journey for abt 18 years now...his track record with juicing and health is awe-inspiring...twas he that did help raise Master Rainoshek from his death bed with his juicy ways...and well...now look where THAT led... ;) We met John last year in Houston and I was touched by his gentle sincerity and incredible depth of knowledge – a great man :)


on February the 7th I had:

1.5 quarts water
1lb cherries
1lb cherries
36oz watermelon/orange juice
16oz carrot/spinach juice
little handful of dry wakame flakes, straight from the bag ;)
bowl of soaked dried figs blended with HOMEMADE tahini :)
3 cups water
12oz carrot/spinach juice
bowl of raw soup - cucumber/tomato/garlic/tahini/seaweed, served with carrot sticks and a Mexican Power Wrap
3 cups water


Mr Monarch LOVES his nut/seed butters – especially tahini…and unfortunately, New Zealand seems rather unforthcoming with raw versions (if you happen to know of any suppliers here, pls do let us know ;) So...I decided to take matters into my own hands and make some tahini myself, as a little birthday gift for the Monarch for tomorrow...well, the cheeky monkey realised what I was up to and ended up making it himself ;) LOL...well, at least we know he’ll like it that way...we made it by throwing 4 cups of hulled sesame seeds in the Vitamix, blending them and adding in pumpkin seed oil as it blended – about ¼ cup...it is YUMMY – we used some immediately for a meal, plus now we have a whole tub of it in the fridge :) YAY :)
Thanks to all of you who have been sending him yummy birthday messages too, for tomorrow...sweet :) Here’s an amusing ‘virtual gift’ sent over by Lenie from N. Carolina – a mock-up version of our very selves gracing the cover of People magazine – oooo la laaaa... If you’d like to see YOURSELF on the front of People, or...Time Magazine, Cosmo and more…click HERE – thanks Lenie ;)

All blessings and bouncy birthday joy,
Angela. xxx

The Visionary Age...

Well, well, well...seems my recent post on bowel movements during Juice Feasting stirred up many curious questions in your noggins...we’ve been inundated with stool-related queries here - thank you ;) From ‘how is it that if I eat sweetcorn it comes out a day later having bypassed all the encrusted waste in my intestines?’ to ‘why am I not having bowel movements, if I’m doing juices AND smoothies?’ to ‘I’ve started Juice Feasting and am scared of doing enemas – do they really matter? I’m releasing lots of mucus through my nose…’

Ok…here’s my answer for that last one...
Enemas are very simple and not painful - nothing to worry about ;) You can even see videos of how to do them on YouTube ;) They are discussed to a degree in my book 'Revealing the Physical Changes', which you can see HERE.
Colon cleansing is EXTREMELY important while Juice Feasting - you won't be getting anywhere near the amount of cleansing benefits without doing some form of colon irrigation. Most of us are SO toxic and have so much to release - if you're not keeping up with that through internal cleansing, you can easily run into issues. Use a simple lubricant like coconut oil to help the process, take it slowly and I'd recommend some of the writings of either Dr Norman Walker (Become Younger, Colon Health) or my partner Mr Monarch (Raw Spirit, Raw Success) - you can also read many informative articles for free on Matt's website - see http://www.rawspirit.org and go to ‘Articles’.
If you really can't face the idea of enemas by yourself, maybe doing a PROFESSIONAL colonic would appeal more? Or use more Cascara Sagrada to keep things moving out of the system, or use other herbal formulas (e.g. 'Intestinal Movement Formula' by Healthforce), to move stuff out...it is imperative to keep things moving in some way though, for optimal cleansing...
Mucus is just clearing out of your body as a result of the DETOX you are triggering by Juice Feasting - DO AN ENEMA and you'll find this clears MUCH quicker - your body is just taking the opportunity to throw out stuff that's been building up for YEARS... Other things to help: do a sauna, sweat, exercise, tongue scrape, dry skin brush etc - just help your body RELEASE every way you can... ;)

on Feb the 4th I had:

1.5 quarts water
1 quart zucchini/watercress/cabbage/carrot juice
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes/garlic, masses of sprouts – whero peas/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds/alfalfa/broccoli/mung beans, karengo and wakame seaweeds, served with cucumber sticks, lettuce leaves and bits of green crackers
1.5 quarts water
1 apple
20oz carrot/celery/spinach/parsley juice
3 dried figs
¼ pineapple
1.5 lbs cherries
3 cups water

Hmmm, sorry to hear the link was broken to Steve ‘Sproutman’ Meyerowitz’s book, in my last post ;( HERE it is again, for those of you who wanted to check it out. PLUS, if you missed his talk on RawVeganRadio many moons ago, I'd definitely recommend it - it's tres inspiring ;) You can listen to that HERE - it's now been moved to the 'Premium' area of the RVR site - they have a NEW offer on right now though, to try out the Premium area for just $1, for a limited time - so, seems like an ideal time to check it out ;)
…and for those of you who still don’t believe raw food fun can happen in the garden in cold places in winter, check out this super-cool picture of ‘Mrs Raw Snowwoman’ forwarded to us from Jan in Georgia this week ;) JUICY :)

on Feb the 5th I had:

1.5 quarts water
8oz orange/pineapple juice
24oz celery/carrot/watercress/kale
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes/garlic, masses of sprouts – whero peas/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds/alfalfa/broccoli/mung beans, karengo and wakame seaweeds, served with lettuce leaves and a Mexican power stick
1.5 quarts water
24oz celery/cucumber/lettuce/radish/carrot/cilantro juice
2lbs cherries and a banana
3 cups water

February the 6th is the New Moon in Aquarius - time for radical change, according to Lisa Dale Miller – and this gorgeous occasion comes with a partial solar eclipse - oooo la la, how blessed we are ;) Here’s a few snippets of Ms. Miller’s report for this moon:
“Aquarius is often thought of as visionary: an energy that looks beyond the norm, questions accepted truths, boldly claims originality, flies in the face of reason; and flatly refuses to blindly follow the dictates of others.
The annular solar eclipse will add a bit of heightened energy to this New Moon. Partial phases of the eclipse will be visible primarily from eastern Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. For more information on the eclipse go to NASA’s Eclipse homepage http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2008.html#2008Feb07A
The Aquarius New Moon asks each of us to awaken to the reality of our lives. To see it as it truly is (no rose colored glasses allowed) and then envision a better life; one free of old rules and restrictions that reflect your “I can’ts, I won’ts, I’m unable, and I’m scared”. This is a truth or dare New Moon. Recognize your present circumstances and then dare to vision beyond them, past the boundaries of the known into the unknown.
Aquarius is all about the “power of one” to change the circumstances of the many... Aquarian success comes from connecting to the needs of your generation and making your life a testament to upliftment.
The Aquarius New Moon is all about individuation and freethinking. It is a time to get free of self-imposed restrictions and think out of the box.
Think about how you can become a force for change at your workplace, in your neighborhood, and at home. Change is good! So this New Moon, commit to changing your life and you will change the world. Ride the wave of this mind-altering, life-altering New Moon Cycle.”

Mmmmm, beautiful...from a Leo full moon into an Aquarian new moon :) You can check out Lisa’s FULL report HERE...and GUESS WHAT – in just a few days – on Friday Feb 8th – it’s my own lovely Aquarian’s birthday ;) Yes, Mr Monarch fits the above description of Aquarian energy remarkably accurately, as those of you who know him well will appreciate ;) …and this free-thinking visionary will very soon be embarking on his next trip around the sun...you can send him some big raw birthday love to matt@rawspirit.org (pssssst, don’t tell him I sent you though... ;)

One love,
Angelallalalalalalalalallaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

The Growing Advantage...

I’ve been absolutely LOVING cucumbers and sprouts the last couple of weeks...this is very curious to me, as I'm usually not that into either of them...my body just says YES though at the moment – cucumbers smell diviiiiiiiiiiiiiine to me right now...I used to take care of large cucumber greenhouses in Iceland as a volunteer (around the time I went raw in fact) and really wasn't into eating them at all...others would be biting into them as snack food at breaks and I just found them tasteless and dull...I liked working with them - not eating them ;) Lately though I find myself happily munching into whole cucs too - how things shift ;)
I’m also really enjoying exploring different kinds of sprouts...if we were settled in one place, I’d love to use one of the EasyGreen Sprouters to be growing masses of young greens, sprouts and wheatgrass...a friend in LA has her EasyGreen constantly on the go and it’s incredible to see the amount of top-quality food she churns out of it for herself, for ‘pennies’ ;)
One of the questions I’m most often asked is ‘how do you eat well as a raw foodie, on a budget’???

SPROUT ;)

Grow your own micro greens and sprouts – year round, indoors, you’ll have a healthy supply of nutrient-dense, top quality nutrition. For clear guidance on growing your own fresh organic micro-greens and sprouts at home, see ‘Sprouts: The Miracle Food’ by Steve ‘Sproutman’ Meyerowitz.

on February the 2nd I had:

1.5 quarts water
1lb cherries
12oz kale/cilantro/celery/cucumber/spinach/carrot juice
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes, SEEEEEAAAAAAAWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED and masses of sprouts – alfalfa, sunflower sprouts, broccoli sprouts, mung beans etc, served with lettuce wraps, cucumber sticks and a few crunchy dehydrated green crackers
1 quart water
little bowl of refreshing fruit salad: banana/apple/blueberries/papaya
12oz kale/cilantro/celery/cucumber/spinach/carrot juice
little bowl of soaked dried figs blended with hemp seeds
2 cups water
little bowl of fruit salad: banana/blueberries/orange/peach
2 cups water

Those working with a ‘budget’ might also look out for reduced organic items in supermarkets, or start a bulk-buying coop with other like-minded people. Buy filling/satiating, nutrient dense things in bulk or when you see offers – like spirulina, nuts or hemp protein powder…learn to forage and gather your own food…Volunteer your time at an organic farm/CSA/coop for a few hours a week, in return for good organic fruit/veg…or help out at a raw restaurant/facility if there’s any nearby…and yes, above all – GROW YOUR OWN ;)

on February the 3rd I had:

1.5 quarts water
4 black plums
3 sips of OUTRAGEOUSLY intense grapefruit juice
24oz spinach/celery/parsley/carrot juice
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes/garlic, muchos sprouts – alfalfa/whero peas/sunflower sprouts/mung bean sprouts/soaked pumpkin seeds, karengo/wakame seaweeds, served with cucumber sticks and lettuce leaf wraps
1.5 quarts water
1 peach
24oz beetroot/cucumber/carrot/watercress juice
bowl of apple flax with 1 mushed banana and a handful of goji berries swirled in to chew
3 cups water

Why is it so key to grow your own produce? Well...many reasons...among them: it’s cheaper, you can pick and use your produce fresher, you know EXACTLY how it was all grown and cared for, you can grow exactly what you love, in quantities that work for you and if you’re using the method for growing outlined in Anastasia, the plants you grow will actually be producing food that is specifically beneficial and healing for YOU – pretty phenomenal ;)
Aside from all that though, I simply think that at this point in the story, it’s wise for all of us to start taking at least a bit more responsibility for our food supply, as things are pretty much undeniably going a bit ‘wobbly’ with the food chain worldwide. Prices for foods are sky-rocketing due to the ‘oil situation’ and the cost of shipping worldwide, mysterious laws are being passed to nuke raw products and we are likely to see many more big shifts in the structure of our societies and food chains in the coming years.
There are SO many humans here on Earth now (over 6 billion of us), that if everything was to collapse today and we all tried to go out and forage from the land, it seems HIGHLY unlikely that many of us would survive – partly from lack of foraging skills, mainly because there simply isn’t enough food OUT there for 6 BILLION people to forage...OVER ¼ of the Earth’s surface is said to be used in the processes of cattle farming alone…that means more than ¼ of the land has already been damaged in such a way that it currently yields little that we would want to eat...add to that deserts, concreted cities, glaciers, levelled forests and so on...and there’s just not much space left for us to feed from...those who grow their OWN food (and know something of foraging) will be the ones to thrive.
Now, I’m not prophesising doom and ‘the end of civilisation’ here ;) I just think it’s a salient point to consider...most people these days seem to ASSUME their food is going to come from SOMEONE else – grown, picked, processed, packaged by SOMEONE else – i.e. - not nature – another human, or many humans in a long chain of production. Most of us seem remarkably dis-attached from our food source... So, I feel now is an ideal time to start being proactive and get planting and growing some yummies of your own...and for those of you in colder climates, I would HIGHLY recommend you check out the books 'Four Season Harvest' and 'Winter Harvest Manual' by Eliot Coleman, who runs INCREDIBLE farms in the States, growing and harvesting ALL year round, in colder climates. You can see those books here: http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/main/books/books_eliot2.html#harvest.
As for me, my biggest desire is to get to a piece of land and start growing my own stuff...in the meantime, I’ll keep on sprouting, foraging and renegade composting my way along this current journey… ;)

ENJOY :)
One love,
Angela. xxx

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

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

Travel and Inspiration...

Well, we’re back at base now, after nearly a week of hopping around this great continent. It’s been yummy - today we even saw kangaroos munching in the early morning light in country fields :) We spoke in both Perth and Adelaide to lovely, receptive audiences – thanks to everyone who came along :) I also got to see three stunning western-facing beach sunsets in a row...yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...I just LOVE west coast sunsets – I would love to settle near the sea on a west coast somewhere, to enjoy those kinds of moments regularly...mmmmmmmmm...
We were also extremely blessed to have some wonderful hosts to share with in both locations – the raw tribe seems to be growing daily, with so many beautiful, bright, loving beings stepping onto this path...Oooo, for any of you who may be about to set out on travels soon and are looking for places to crash – HERE’s a great article recently forwarded by a friend, which lists ‘8 Tools to Travel Long Term and Live Rent Free’. Wonderful :) I’ve used many of these services in the last years – I think WWOOF-ing was probably the most rewarding for me – working on organic farms. I ‘WWOOF-ed’ my way around New Zealand, back in 2000...LOVED it...and now we’re heading back there, in just a few days – yeeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH :) (BTW – If anyone has suggestions of where to stay in Auckland or Whangarei, please drop us a line at angela@rawreform.com ;)

Ok, it’s going to be a double-whammy of food logs again now, due to recent blog inactivity ;) Hold on tight, here we go...

on January the 24th I had:

2 quarts water
2 cups parsley/lettuce/chard/ginger/beetroot/carrot juice
2 peaches and 4 nectarines
2 cups water
¾ avo mushed with diced tomatoes, powdered kelp and sliced spring onions (green onions), stuffed in romaine leaves
2 cups green smoothie: banana/mango/romaine/baby spinach
3 cups water
2 little boxes of blueberries, 2 peaches
1.5 tbsp fresh bee pollen


on January the 25th I had:

2 quarts water
4 gorgeous little nectarines
bowl of bananas mushed with ‘LPA’ – linseed/pumpkin/almond meal
1 quart water
bowl of chopped green leafies with some raw pesto, ¼ avo and homemade sundried tomatoes, served with a flax cracker
3 cups water
2.5 cups green smoothie: mango/banana/pineapple/celery/lettuce/spirulina/maca with dried banana strips on the side
3 cups water

Internet raw radio host Revvell Revati has a new FREE e-book out, covering the ’10 Most Asked Questions About Raw Foods’. So, next time someone asks...’where do you get your protein...???’, you can feel even more prepared to unveil some nutrition illusions, by downloading this book for free HERE: http://tinyurl.com/29n8y8. (…and in case you missed our interview, HERE’s a link to myself and Revvell having a natter a few months ago ;)

on January the 26th I had:

1 quart water
2 cups dark red mulberries and a few fresh figs
½ an avocado & 2 tbsp raw pesto, stirred together, served with cucumber sticks, fresh tomatoes, a flax cracker and romaine lettuce leaves
1 quart water
handful of cherries, 2 cups mulberries and a few fresh figs
2 cups water
3 cups green smoothie: mango/banana/mulberry/romaine/kale/spirulina
2 cups water


on January the 27th I had:

1 quart water
1.5 tbsp bee pollen
bowl of fresh salad: lettuces/tomato/finely chopped cucumber&carrot/basil pesto/sprouted sunflower seeds, mixed sprouts, served with cucumber sticks
3 cups water
1 mango
2 cups water
big slice of watermelon
2 cups water

Gosh, how very delightful. After passing on the Inspirational Blogger award to a few raw lovelies back in October, it seems as if most of the raw blogging world has now felt the loving touch of this yummy award :) ...and now it’s just come full-circle back to this blog, care of the lovely Melissa and Baby Alex over at rawbabyalex.blogspot.com – thanks petals :) Hmmmm, so, as you’re perhaps aware, this means I get the fun game to play again of passing the award on to 5 more blogs of note – HURRAY :) (You can check out the ‘rules’ of the award HERE.) Ok, so, here are my nominations this time round, in no particular order:

Mr. Matthew Monarch – gotta pass it on to the Monarch ;) His dedication to sharing truth, integrity and giggles inspires me :) I don’t know anyone else who has gone completely raw overnight and never taken a step back again, for example – even 8 years now down the line...his focus is extraordinary and I find his resonance to truth and simplicity delightful...
http://mattmonarch.blogspot.com
Kevin Gianni – Mr Renegade Health has some interesting points to share, including a recent post that gathered over a hundred comments ;O Incidentally, he also has a new free ‘summit’ season about to start this week – on the 28th – with all kinds of speakers, some raw foodies – check that out HERE.
http://renegadehealth.com/blog/

Post Secret – ooooo, here’s a fun one ;) Have you encountered Frank and the fun over on PostSecret before? If not, you’re in for a treat...this blog displays postcards that people send in to Frank in Maryland, sharing their deepest, ‘darkest’, untold secrets...some fascinating things are posted – in fact, he’s even started to make books of them now...check it out HERE:
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

Steve Pavlina – Self-described ‘...left-handed, well educated, vegan, lucid dreaming, happily jobless, reality manipulating...blogger’, Pavlina is well-known in the blogosphere for his comfort-zone-pushing experiences. He is currently trying out a 30-day raw lifestyle – NICE :) A couple of days ago he actually mentioned my weight loss transformation too (see HERE) – thanks for the nod, Steve ;) Thanks also for inspiring people to keep the energy flowing ;)
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog

David & Katrina Rainoshek – yes, the juice masters themselves ;) There seem to be an astronomical amount of people out there Juice Feasting at the moment – it’s incredible to witness and the juicy Rainoshek pair are keeping up the helm on this blog. In March, the ‘Global Juice Feast’ will be kicking off, with people living on liquid the world over...oooo, la la...organic farmers, please PREPARE... ;)
http://juicefeasting.blogspot.com/

One love,
Angela. xxx

West Side Story...

We’re on the west coast of Australia now...it is HOT :O ...pheeeeeeeeeew...and a looooooong journey all the way over here – this continent is VAST...I spent most of the plane journey involved in mane management ;) Mr Monarch’s hair had become insanely knotted into dread-like masses and I eased it all out – now it looks beautiful again and we’re about to go on stage very shortly here in Perth to speak to a lovely audience above the ‘Alive Organics’ health food store, run by the delightful Jill and John. This shop is SO cool – run with masses of love, stocked with very carefully chosen raw, organic and other foods, with all kinds of kitchen appliances on display, free raw food info pamphlets, regular raw gatherings and classes in a space upstairs and so on – what an ASSET to any community... ;) They are extremely detail-orientated here about precisely which temperatures foods are processed at – they also grow a lot of their own food for the store, dehydrate fruits, soaked nuts, seeds and so on – there’s a LOT of love here...how blessed we are... :)

on January the 22nd I had:

1 quart water
1 quart watermelon juice
3 cups green smoothie: blueberries/mango/banana/sorrel/’tree spinach’, with goji berries, maca and cinnamon stirred in
3 cups water
1 pint radish/cabbage/sorrel/tree spinach/carrot/cucumber/ginger/apple juice
¾ avo mushed with salt, mixed sprouts, diced garlic and tomatoes
2 cups water
5 little egg fruits
3 cups water

Brian Johnson, the man behind incredible social entrepreneur website Zaadz (now called Gaia), has launched a FUN new site: ThinkArete.com. Here’s what he shares about this new playground:

“Emerson instructs us to "Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your reading have been to you like the blast of triumph out of Shakespeare, Seneca, Moses, John and Paul." I like Emerson. So, I’ve followed his guidance. After selling my last business (Zaadz), I decided to go through all my favorite books and journals and notes from seminars and capture the “Big Ideas” I learned. My goal is to distill the essence of these lessons into fun, inspiring, practical bits of wisdom we can immediately apply to our lives.”

There’s some GREAT stuff on there – get into the ‘big ideas’ section and poke around a bit – I’m sure you’ll find smthg to inspire ;)

on January the 23rd I had:

1.5 quarts water
3 peaches
2 cups green smoothie: mango/banana/blueberry/lettuce/parsley/mizuna
3 cups water
¾ avo mushed with diced tomatoes and sea kelp and served in lettuce leaves
1.5 quarts water
1 mango
2 cups water
handful of raw chocolate coated brazil nuts and mulberries
3 cups water

Thank you for ALL your amazing emails and feedback about my recent silent meditation experience – it’s been lovely to hear all your different perspectives on it all ;) The lovely Zelia recently sent in a little account of HER Vipassana experience in Colombia and I asked her if I could share some of it with y’all here, as I think it’s great to hear different perspectives:

“I appreciated reading your truthful description of your Vipassana experience. I wanted to share a little of mine with you. I did my first 10 day retreat in July in Bogota, Colombia. 100% raw as well. The Colombians were very gracious in accommodating my diet- though the American teacher had a few issues with my having a different diet from the other students. That’s a whole other story though. What I found was that my mind didn’t actually start slowing down until the 4th day- that’s the day that they teach the actual method. The first 3 days are just focused on breathing- the intent being to slow the mind to prepare for learning the method. The actual method consists of scanning the body from head to feet and back up, using both hemispheres of the brain at one time- to me this makes a lot of sense physiologically in terms of creating more balance. The whole intent is learning to be ok with impermanence- at least that’s what I took from it. Learning to be ok with that helps one to let go of self-created suffering. They actually have a policy that people who are new to the method cant sit for less than 10 days the first time to ensure that people get the full experience. Goenke also speaks a few times about the importance of food in meditating. I felt like he was totally validating my raw diet- though he doesn’t specifically talk about raw food- just about eating lightly etc. Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. I am hoping to sponsor a raw Vipassana retreat here in Cuenca, Ecuador in the coming year. We’ll see...”

Thanks Zelia ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx

Raw Emotions...

As you may have seen in my newsletter this weekend, I am EXTREMELY excited to say that my latest e-book – ‘Raw Emotions’ – is now available for pre-order HERE and will be officially released by March 1st :) It covers the emotional transformations and challenges that occur when we go raw, along with spiritual/psychological/mental/social and other shifts too. This book has been a loooooooooong time coming for me – a great deal of love has gone into its production...it’s in the final editing process at the moment – so, I look forward to sharing it soon ;)

Combining proven ‘self-help’ techniques with a raw lifestyle, ‘Raw Emotions’ contains 60 specific tools and action tips for embracing YOUR transformation. It is a truly unique book in the raw food movement, based on extensive research and personal experience.
Many people are familiar with my PHYSICAL transformation, having lost around 160lbs with a raw food lifestyle. However, those who are a little more familiar with my story often comment that what they find more remarkable are the emotional and spiritual shifts I have experienced. In ‘Raw Emotions’, I share the major tips and tools that helped me experience a dramatic shift from a lonely, moody, angry and defensive overeater to a life of genuine joy, vibrancy, love and balance.

You can see more and Pre-Order 'Raw Emotions' HERE.

on January the 20th I had:

1.5 quarts water
1 GORGEOUS medium papaya
3 cups beetroot/apple/cabbage juice
bowl of avo mushed with diced garlic and tomatoes, lime juice and salt, served with cucumber sticks and sunflower sprouts
3 cups water
1 pint celery/cucumber/’tree spinach’/fennel/red chicory leaves/dandelion/ginger/apple juice
Big slice of watermelon
Little bowl of buckwheat grawnola with sliced banana and macadamia/maca milk
3 cups water

I went sea kayaking today. Yeeeeeeeeeeeee-HAH...full-on, mate ;) INTENSE exercise...it was amazing :) I even got to see a dolphin leap out of the water a few metres ahead of me...and the swell on the sea was just extraordinary...I’ve never experienced anything like it...it amazed me how the landscape was just CONSTANTLY changing...I noticed how much easier it seemed to be out there to accept the fact that the only constant is change – every moment seems crisp, succinct, heightened somehow to me, out there – every next moment the landscape has changed, the waves have shifted, one is being moved and moving in a different direction...on land too, of course, the same holds true – the only real constant is change – yet here, things tend to move at a much slower pace than water...it was just so interesting to me to be out amidst that ever-flowing fluidity...
Oooooo, BTW, it’s full moon in Leo tomorrow night – the 22nd – YUMMY :) No WONDER the wave swells were quite so powerful today ;)
Speaking about the energies currently at play in the universe, master astrologer Lisa Dale Miller says this:

‘This configuration is all about enlivening brilliant, far-seeing, creative vision for global transformation.
…the Leo Full Moon provides an intense energetic field with which to release your intentions for achievement out to the world. It will be like strapping on a spiritual jet engine.
Leo loves to be the center of attention, so get out there and shine!
The Leo Full Moon assures us all that we have great personal power and we must learn to use it judiciously. This is the Full Moon to try on the role of leader. If you have wanted to come out front with your great ideas, this is the time to try.
Leo is total self-belief and it uses total commitment to gain success and glory. Yes, of course there is a dark side to power and glory. We all know that an inflated ego creates the right conditions for abuses of power. But power used wisely can be of great benefit to all.
The beauty of Leo is how much it truly cares about others, and since this is a Full Moon, let’s get into a celebratory space and bask in the light of Leo’s positive qualities.’

Purrrrrrrrrrr...for Lisa’s full fabulous report, see here: http://astrowisdom.com/thisfullmoon.htm. ENJOY :)

on January the 21st I had:

1 quart water
1 pint beetroot/carrot/celery/cucumber/red chicory/dandelion/ginger/apple juice
bowl of avo mushed with diced tomatoes, mixed sprouts and salt, served with cucumber sticks and ‘raw onion bread’
2 cups water
handful of lychees
3 cups water
handful of cherries
bowl of soaked dried mulberries blended with tahini, swirled with mulberry pieces, with a couple of little egg fruits on the side
3 cups water

…and moving on to another powerful LEO force, that loverly little Ms Andrea, the ‘Raw Ballerina’ sent a message recently calling for nominations for lion brother David Wolfe, for the annual 'Organic Leadership Awards’. NICE :) I’m up for that...
Here’s what the little tinker has up her sleeve:
‘…help spread the word about raw foods, superfoods, and healthy organic living in general! If each of us writes a quick little heartfelt paragraph recommending him and how he has touched both our lives and is changing the future of the Earth, David will have an excellent shot at winning! I really appreciate your time on responding to this -- every person who recommends David to the OTA (Organic Trade Association) makes a HUGE difference. We never know what one comment it will be that tips the scale and creates their decision into a "yes". Follow the link below!! THANKS!!!! http://www.ota.com/2008LeadershipAwardProcedure.html’

I just sent my nomination in tonight. I think Wolfie does outstanding work in this field and can definitely see how it would help raise consciousness about raw, organic lifestyles and more connectivity with nature if he were to receive this award. If you feel drawn to send in some yumminess too, just click the link above and fill in the Word doc form – there’s a few Qs – if you’re struggling, drop me a line and I’ll let you see what I wrote… ;) Nominations are due in by February the 1st...

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

Monarch Musings, Beans 'n Cheese...

Oooooooo, look what you started – Mr Monarch had such a jolly time with y’all while he was blogging here that he’s been n’ gone’ n’ started his OWN blog ;) LOL...beautiful :) I think it’s marvellous and am very excited to see what he shares there... If you’d like to visit, or sign up to get his posts emailed to you whenever he writes, just follow the link below – (N.B. the email subscription is a 2-STAGE process – be sure to click the link in the email that is sent to you, to verify and start receiving the Monarch Musings… ;)

http://mattmonarch.blogspot.com

on January the 16th I had:

1 quart water
1 papaya with lime juice, 1 mango
1 pint celery/cucumber/zucchini/lettuce/fennel/lemon juice
bowl of avo mushed with finely chopped garlic and cilantro, stirred in with mixed sprouts, lime juice & salt, served with cucumber sticks and romaine leaves
2 cups water
3 cups straight zucchini juice – yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
bowl of chia gel mixed up with a diced mango and diced dried figs
3 cups water

Time for a little TALK update again for those currently down under or headed this way...we are speaking at Alive Organics in Perth a week from today – January the 23rd from 7pm, then we speak in Adelaide at the Hillcrest Community Centre on January the 26th, from 2pm. You can see full details on Matt’s events page HERE: http://www.rawspirit.org/events.php.
We are also scheduled to move on down to New Zealand and speak in Auckland on February the 16th, then Tauranga on February the 23rd – more details to follow ;)


On January the 17th I had:

1 quart water
big handful of BLUEBERRIES – YummMmMmmmmmmmmm
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
1 pint HARDCORE green juice – red chicory leaves/’tree spinach’/dandelion/unidentified-greens/celery/cucumber/ginger/lemon
bowl of avo mushed with finely chopped garlic and cilantro, stirred in with mixed sprouts & salt, served with cucumber sticks and sunflower greens
1 quart water
3 cups zucchini/orange/ginger juice
bowl of ‘beans ‘n cheese’ :O – dried figs soaked in zucchini juice, blended with tahini and egg fruit, with pieces of egg fruit swirled in...
3 cups water

Ok...that last meal of the day today warrants further discussion...it is absolutely amazing ;) It SMELLS and TASTES exactly like refried beans with cheese...it even LOOKS like it – see photographic evidence to the right... WHO would have predicted THAT one...??? This is the kind of dish I would love to serve to some random person as an experiment, to see if they could guess the ingredients...I suspect there may not be a single person in fact who could guess the ingredients – even raw food chefs... ;) It contains just 4 simple ingredients: dried figs soaked in zucchini juice, tahini, egg fruit. Therein lies the unfortunate aspect of this recipe of course – egg fruit (canistel) is hardly the most widely available fruit…it’s pretty abundant here and in Florida though – maybe reason enough to plan a trip…??? ;) If you DO try this mixture out, we’d LOVE to hear your experience - especially if some unsuspecting volunteer manages to actually guess the ingredients... ;)
(BTW - according to the 'Doctrine of Signatures', it seems this meal would be good for both the male and female reproductive organs, amongst other things. If you haven't heard of the 'Doctrine', you're in for a fun treat - check out THIS LINK sent in recently by reader Sally ;)

One love,
Angela. xxx