RawReform E-Journal

Raw in Reykjavik ;)

2008-07-25T15:38:00.004-06:00

WELL – it’s been a pretty full-on last few days here in Iceland for myself and the Monarch ;) Thanks to all of you who came along to our talk here in Reykjavik on Wednesday night. It was SUCH fun to share...the room was RAMMED with eager raw foodies and newbies alike – around 100 people packed into the room and it was indeedy so much fun that we’ve decided to stay here and do another event on August the 7th, to keep the motivation flowing :) We’ll be doing a raw food demo/talk evening at the organic Café Hljomalind, with yummmmy fresh raw food available from 6pm, followed by a food demo and talks.
Dear Icelandic Raw Goddess Solla will be showing how to make delicious raw meals, followed by the Monarch and myself giving practical tips and answering questions on living raw, detoxing and more. More details HERE - we hope to see you there, if you’re in this area :)
We also attended a sweat lodge here in Rvk for 8 HOURS a few nights ago...PHEW...pretty INTENSE stuff...it was easily the most hardcore experience I’ve had in a sweat...the heat was so intense at one point that it was the nearest I’ve come to bolting for the door ;) I didn’t though – I stayed and witnessed my third eye chakra open out so much in the pitch-black darkness that my whole being seemed to merge with eternity. It took me quite some time to get ‘back into my body’ afterwards...a deeeeeeply cleansing and enriching experience...amazing...

on July the 22nd I had:

1 quart water
mug of ginger tea
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, tat soi, lettuce, kale, radish greens, greens from the garden, ginger, lime
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with a little almond/tomato ‘burger’ and olives, followed by an amazing little treat of raw halva made with tahini and yacon syrup – WOW :)
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 cups water
1 cup ‘energy soup’ with a little almond/tomato ‘burger’, followed by a tbsp of goji powder – LOVE it :)
3 cups water
1 quart water
1 cup thai coconut/lemongrass soup, with a few sticks of cucumber and followed by a lime swirl
2 cups water

on July the 23rd I had:

1 quart water
mug of licorice tea
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, tat soi, lettuce, kale, radish greens, greens from the garden, sunflower greens, ginger, lime
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with a little almond/tomato ‘burger’ and olives, followed by goji and pomegranate powders
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 cups water
1.5 cups celery/cucumber/ginger/lemon juice
pack of ‘powerstix’ and a handful of hemp seeds mixed with bee pollen
2 cups water
1/5 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, tat soi, lettuce, kale, radish greens, greens from the garden, sunflower greens, ginger, lime
mug of choco tea
1 cup water

OooOOooooo, here’s another event that I think will be VERY interesting, for anyone living with diabetes or caring for a diabetic. On Sunday August the 3rd, Gabriel Cousens will be doing a 4-hour online workshop on healing Diabetes.
Here’s what’s apparently on offer:

-In-depth discussion on the cause of dis-ease brought to you by a medical pioneer in reversing diabetes
-Diabetes Q&A with Gabriel Cousens, M.D. …YOU ask the question! -Medical guidance on simple ways of how you can begin to change your life through diet, specific herbs and supplements, and lifestyle to feel what it’s like to live the Culture of Life!
-Program details on the transformational 21-Day workshop at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center founded by Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
-Self-empowerment to allow your body to begin the healing process through this gift of information and guidance

Sounds very interesting, methinks ;) It’s $50 to participate and runs from 9am-1pm PST. You can see all the details and sign up HERE. This could literally be life-changing for anyone living with diabetes...ENJOY if you participate – I’d love to hear how it goes... :)

on July the 24th I had:

1 quart water
mug of licorice tea
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, sunflower greens, ginger, lemon/lime juice
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with a little almond/tomato ‘burger’ and olives, followed by goji and pomegranate powders
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 cups water
1.5 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, tat soi, lettuce, kale, radish greens, greens from the garden, sunflower greens, ginger, lime
2 cups water
½ cup straight blended greens with rejuvelac, a cracker
1.5 cups energy soup with flax crackers, followed by goji and pomegranate powders
2 cups water

on July the 25th I had:

1 quart water
mug of licorice tea
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, tat soi, lettuce, kale, radish greens, greens from the garden, sunflower greens, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and 2 olives, followed by a little bowl of blended yum: almonds, lucuma, maca, yacon powder, cinnamon
mug of choco tea
1 quart water
2 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, fennel, tat soi, lettuce, kale, radish greens, greens from the garden, sunflower greens, ginger, lime
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers and 2 olives, followed by a little bowl of blended yum: pecans, lucuma, maca, yacon powder, cinnamon with goji berries swirled in for chewability
mug of choco tea
2 cups water

YAY :) I’m back into parasite cleanse mode again, finally :) Now I’m using the wonderful ‘Internal Parasite Formula’ from Healthforce Nutritionals and loving it ;) I started with it last Sunday – the 20th of July – and I’ll take the caps for at least 18 days methinks. As you may recall, waaaay back on June the 10th, I started a parasite cleanse that involved 2 sets of capsules, taken simultaneously. However, when I came up here to Iceland, I accidentally left half the caps behind :( Now I have this new product to use and am very happy about that :) In the interim, I continued to stay off all ‘overt’ sugars like fresh and dried fruits for the last 6 weeks, going into a phase of mostly greeeens, fats, powders like lucuma and yacon, plus goji berries. YUMMMY. I’ve been loving it...it feels GREAT to me, especially to be back on mainly liquids all day – some juices, some energy soups...and in the house I’ve been staying in the last 5 weeks, we’ve all been eating this way, which always helps to make it easier of course, to stay on track with mutual support... ;)
I’ll let you know if I sense any significant shifts with the Parasite Formula... ;)

All love,
Angelaaaaaaaaaalalalalalaaaaaaaa. xxx

Re-forming Our World :)

2008-07-22T04:23:00.006-06:00

WOW, thanks so much everyone for all the amazing feedback about the Raw Prison Reform ideas :) Seems like this strikes a chord of interest for many of you too...one reader, Jan, even sent in a link to a WONDERFUL short newspaper article from Texas, where a prison in Collin County has started to grow its own food, in response to escalating food costs. WONDERFUL :)
CLICK HERE to read the article in full – here’s my favourite part of the article, starting with a quote from one of the inmates on his thoughts about growing food:

'"It's interesting to see where it comes from instead of just buying it at the grocery store," Scalf said.

That is where Collin County is saving money. The jail grows their own fruits and vegetables on 40 acres of land.

"It's a tool we use to control behavior," said Lt. Terry McCraw. "When you are feeding them fresh fruits or corn on the cob or cantalope or watermelon, it helps behavior. If you eat good food, you are happier."'

YES, exactly – oooooooo, I find this all so exciting...let’s see where this goes... ;) Thanks for the inspiring link, Jan :)

on July the 18th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘sweet chili’ tea
1 cup green juice: cucumber, celery, tatsoi, endive, fennel, kale, chard, greens from the garden, ginger, lime
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and dehydrated sea spaghetti stirred in, with a flax cracker, followed by a lime swirl
mug of sweet chai tea
3 cups water
shot of wheatgrass
big green salad straight from the garden with tahini dressing, 2 little gorgeous almond ‘burger’ patties, okra, red bell pepper. Followed by a lime swirl
mug of licorice tea
3 cups water

on July the 19th I had:

1 quart water
mug of licorice tea
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, tatsoi, endive, fennel, kale, chard, greens from the garden, ginger, lime
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and dehydrated sea spaghetti stirred in, with a flax cracker, followed by a lime swirl
mug of sweet chai tea
3 cups water
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and dehydrated sea spaghetti stirred in, with a flax cracker, followed by a lime swirl
mug of choco tea
3 cups water

Mr Monarch is now here enjoying the delights of Iceland too :) He arrived a few days ago and has, naturally, been loving the clean fresh air and water too...we speak in Reykjavik tomorrow (Wednesday the 23rd) at the Rope Yoga Studio at Engjateigur 19, starting 7pm – hope to see you there if you’re in this area ;) It seems like it’s going to be a very full house – FUN. We’re excited to meet everyone and share... :)
With all the geothermal energy available in this country, there is SUCH massive potential for growing fruits and veggies year-round in geo-thermally heated and powered greenhouses here...I think it’s very exciting; time for Iceland to go RAW on a massive scale, perhaps...? lol – hmmmmm, we’ll see...it’s a bit of a switch in lifestyle from the traditional burnt sheeps’ heads, putrefied shark and heavy dairy products... ;)

on July the 20th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘ginger’ tea
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, tatsoi, endive, fennel, kale, chard, greens from the garden, ginger
1 cup ‘energy soup’ with fennel sprouts and dehydrated seaweed stirred in, with fresh bell pepper and a flax cracker. Followed by a little bowl of blended yum: almonds, lucuma, yacon powder, cinnamon, maca, wih gojis stirred in for chewability
mug of choco tea
3 cups water
1 cup green juice: cucumber, celery, tatsoi, endive, fennel, kale, chard, greens from the garden, ginger
little bowl of blended yum: almonds, lucuma, yacon powder, cinnamon, maca, wih gojis stirred in for chewability
mug of choco tea
2 cups water

on July the 21st I had:

1 quart water
mug of licorice tea
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with with fennel sprouts and dehydrated seaweed stirred in, with a flax cracker. Goji berry powder, pomegranate powder and little ‘bliss balls’
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 cups water
cup of green juice
3 nori rolls stuffed with sunflower pate and veggies, flax crackers, cherry tomatoes. Followed by a few little bliss balls and some goji berries
cup of licorice tea
2 cups water

MMMMmmmMMmMmMmmmmm, I expect many of you may have seen the BEAUTIFUL story of ‘Christian the Lion’ on YouTube in the last weeks. Yesterday one reader, Lynn, sent me the extended video of the story on YouTube – ahhhhhhhhhhhh, it is SOOO beautiful to me...you can check it out at the link below...I don’t think I’ve met anyone yet who hasn’t found themselves streaming tears of joy by the end of this...ENJOY :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

All love,
Angela. xxx

Raw PRISON Reform...

2008-07-18T05:56:00.004-06:00

I’ve been reading book 7 of the ‘Anastasia’ series recently.
WOW.
I really can’t over-emphasise how much of an impact these books have had on my life, perspective and visions for the future. This book is definitely no exception...in this volume, the way in which we came to be eating such bizarre processed ‘foods’ en masse in our societies is clearly laid out, from Anastasia’s perspective and I think it is absolutely FASCINATING... For anyone who isn’t yet familiar with these EXTRAORDINARY books, the main suggestion put forward in them, from my perspective, is for each person/family to get to a piece of land and start growing their own food, to start to live more in contact with nature and release ourselves from the bizarre societal system we have co-created. In the last week I’ve been reading further on in book 7 and have just finished reading the absolutely AMAZING accounts of how the inmates in one prison in Russia read these books, then asked their warden if they could each have a hectare of land to work on, in a secured area. After much deliberation, the request was granted and the prisoners happily got to work. After a while, they were producing so much food that the prison could feed itself, they sold surplus to the markets and VISITORS to the prison, rather than bringing their ‘incarcerated’ loved-ones treats, would be the ones receiving food – from the prisoners ;) LOL – I LOVE IT :) They created such a magical oasis that the WIVES of the inmates were asking to go and live there with their husbands...and when it would come to the end of someone’s sentence, the prisoners would ask for their sentences to be EXTENDED so that they could stay and be there on their land. WOW. This is POWERFUL stuff. There’s an AMAZING part in the book where a conversation is recounted between a visiting prison official and one of the inmates. The official guy asks the prisoner why on EARTH he would want to extend his sentence, when he could go out into the world as a ‘free man’. The prisoner replies that, really, there is no ‘freedom’ out there for him now – who would employ an ex-con? Where would he get land again like this? Why would he leave this incredible sanctuary he has created with his own hands? Many people ‘out there’ can’t even GET land if they want it – or if they do get hold of it, it’s because they pay large amounts of money for it – and to whom? The system is absurd, if you look at it this way... It might SEEM as if the people on the outside of the bars are the ‘free’ ones and yet…without land to grow their own produce, they are, essentially, trapped in a system that is far from serving their optimal well-being...I think this is a fascinating model, as you can probably tell from all the capital letters in the text above ;) LOL...

on July the 17th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘sweet chia’ tea
3 cups green juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, tatsoi, greens from the garden, kale, fennel, endive, ginger, lime
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and dehydrated sea spaghetti swirled in, with a flax cracker. Followed by a coconut-lime swirl
mug of sweet chai tea
3 cups water
1.5 cups green juice
bowl of GORGEOUS thai coconut/lemongrass soup , with salad fresh from the garden, tahini salad dressing and flax crackers, followed by another luscious coconut-lime swirl
mug of sweet chai tea
3 cups water

So, I would LOVE in my future work-play to get involved in bringing raw food/growing/permaculture ideas etc into prisons. I think the potential in these institutions is phenomenal...imagine, all these people who are ‘locked up’ for days/months/years on end – there are so many possibilities that could be explored, with whoever is willing...
I have been extra-inspired about this recently too, as I am staying with my dear friend S olla in Iceland, who is a major raw food advocate here and has been doing simply WONDERFUL work over the years helping people to make healthier choices with their food. She has gone into the prisons here and done raw food demos with inmates – she reports wonderful feedback and responses. I think this is VERY interesting...imagine the possibilities – this is REAL Raw REFORM ;)
Solla has been doing so much here in Iceland over the last decades in the health field – from running a highly successful and much-loved veggie restaurant, to holding countless food prep classes, sharing recipes weekly on TV and in magazines and publishing three books on healthy eating. She is an absolute BEACON of positive energy, integrity and flow. It is SUCH a pleasure to see how she effortlessly approaches all her myriad tasks with joy and abundant love, whether it’s doing a free raw food demo with a group of cancer patients, planting out more beautiful greens in the abundant garden or working on plans to help inspire children to eat more natural foods...wonderful :) You can see more about Solla’s beautiful work at Himneskt.is (and practice your Icelandic while you’re at it... ;)
THANK YOU Solla, for all the inspiration and if any of YOU dear readers have ideas/bubbles of inspiration/aspirations/suggestions or more on the theme of Raw PRISON Reform, I’d love to hear them... ;)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Roots and Fruits...

2008-07-16T13:47:00.005-06:00

OoOoooOOoooo lalalalaaaaa, you ARE a wonderfully creative bunch, aren’t you :) Thanks for all the AMAZING chia giveaway contest entries y’all have sent in so far – YUMMY :)
There’s still time to send in YOUR entry for the contest, if you’d like to – here’s a reminder of the details:

This month we’re celebrating all things chia-related: the prize is a copy of our shiny new ‘Chia Cheat Sheet’ chart, along with a 1lb bag of chia and a bag of the delicious new ‘Chia Goodness’ cereal. YUmMMmMmmMMmmm :)

To be in with a chance of winning this chia goodie basket, just email in YOUR answer to the following Q:

What is YOUR favourite chia recipe? (ingredients/description please ;)

Please send in your answers to angela@rawreform.com before July the 31st. The winner shall be picked at random and with love thereafter... ;)

on July the 13th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ginger tea
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, greens from the garden, fennel, endive, ginger, sunflower greens, parsley
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with sprouts and a flax cracker, followed by pine nut butter mixed with goji berry powder
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 nori rolls with jalepeno dip, sunflower greens, sprouts & cucumber, followed by pine nut butter mixed with goji powder ;)
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 cups water

on July the 14th I had:

1 quart water
mug of rooibus tea
½ cucumber, pack of powerstix, little bowl of blended almonds/maca/lucuma/cinnamon, with goji berries stirred in
mug of sweet chili tea
2 cups water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, greens from the garden, fennel, endive, ginger, sunflower greens, parsley
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and chopped almonds, plus dehydrated turnip crisps w/cashew dip. Followed by a little round of OUTSTANDING lemon ‘cheesecake’ – amazing :)
mug of choco tea
3 cups water

This quote from Kahlil Gibran arrived in my inbox today from the ever-delicious ThinkArete.com free email service – love it:

“ "You are good when you strive to give of yourself. Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself. For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast. Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, 'Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance.' For to the fruit giving is a need as receiving is a need to the root."
~ Kahlil Gibran, 20th century Syrian-born mystic poet, philosopher, and artist from The Prophet

How amazing is that?!?

Remember we need roots to bear fruit.”

That really spoke to me today and I wanted to share ;) You can sign up for these beautiful, inspiring, uplifting, free daily emails at thinkarete.com (if you haven’t already ;) – ENJOY :)

on July the 15th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘sweet chili’ tea
1.5 cups green juice
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans stirred in and a flax cracker, followed by a little bowl of tahini mixed with goji and yacon powders
1 quart water
mug of spice tea
a red bell pepper, followed by a yummy ‘smorgasbord’ meal of fresh veggies, greens from the garden, flax crackers and dips, followed by a little lemon ‘cheesecake’ & goji powder
mug of ‘sweet chili’ tea
3 cups water

on July the 16th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ginger tea
glass of green smoothie with chia, green powder, water, lucuma, maca
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans stirred in, with 2 flax crackers. Followed by a little bowl of blended almonds/maca/lucuma/cinnamon/water, with gojis stirred in
mug of sweet chai tea
3 cups water
1.5 cups green juice, with fresh greens from the garden
2 cups water
bowl of sea spaghetti with cashew/coriander sauce, fresh salad from the garden and olives, followed by a little lemon cheesecake yumball ;)
mug of sweet chai tea
2 cups water

Awwwww, just HAD to share this gorgeous pic of Brighton-based, 5-year-old wonder-boy Jem, who recently delivered this classic comment about the upcoming Funky Raw/Space of Lov e Festie in Sussex:

‘I think there should be a Funky Raw Festival for only people who are NOT raw because they will learn how yummy the food is.’

BEAUTIFUL :) Well, for now, for those of you who ARE raw and would still like to go and play at the festie, you can see all the details on their site HERE... ‘3 days of scrummy and nourishing ‘all raw’ food, Yoga, Massage, Healing, Sweatlodge, Raw Goddess Burlesque, live music and more, as well as Sparkle and her magical yurt full of treasures and surprises to entertain children, both young and adult.’ Sounds sublime...maybe you’ll even have the pleasure of inviting a ‘non-raw’ person to join in the fun there ;) LOL...

All love,
Angela. xxx

Free 21-Page Raw Lifestyle Guide... :)

2008-07-12T16:37:00.007-06:00

OooOooOoooo, I have a very exciting free gift for you today :) It’s a 21-page up-to-date, worldwide list of raw food restaurants, eateries and contacts. NICE :) It is lovingly compiled and care-taken by John McCabe of SunfoodLiving.com and I think it is a BEAUTIFUL offering to the world :) I’ve set it up so that you can download it for free as a word document from my site, from HERE. You’ll see the link in the second paragraph on that page.
This list is AMAZING – it's not 'just' raw food resources – it also has info on all kinds of ‘green lifestyle’ websites and contacts – composting, green energy, foraging, tree planting, gardening, biking, community living, yoga and masses more. You’re also welcome to send in updates for the list.
THANK YOU, Mr. McCabe and...ENJOY :)

on July the 10th I had:

1 quart water
mug of lime/mint tea
handful of trail mix – goji berries, almonds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts
3 cups water
mug of peppermint tea
2 yellow bell peppers, little box of cherry tomatoes = YUMMMMMM
2 cups water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, parsley, tatsoi, kale, sprouts, sunflower greens, endive, fennel, ginger, lime
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and coconut chips stirred in and a few fingers of okra on the side. YUMMMM. Followed by a little yum bowl of blended pecans/lucuma/maca/cinnamon with goji berries swirled in
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 cups water

WOW, it’s absolutely AMAZING to me how sweeeeeeeeeeeet foods like tomatoes, bell peppers and okra taste to me, now that I’ve been off ‘fruit’ for so long...it must be about a month by now that I’ve been eating this way...and I’m feeling great. I grabbed a snack of some peppers and tomatoes for lunch on this day and it was just PHENOMENAL to me how sweet and delicious they tasted. As for OKRA – WOOOOOOOOOOOW :))))) Astonishingly, I have actually never knowingly had okra before (perhaps I somehow had it ‘slipped’ into some meal, without my knowing). I LOVE it. I am not sure how I came to be nearly 30 years old and have never once eaten this amazing food before...lol...I definitely would love to be eating more of it in the future – sweet, mild and crunchy, with a slightly ‘slimy’, soft inside...mmmmmmm...VERY interesting new find...we’ve been talking of cutting some open and serving them ‘stuffed’ with a dip of some kind...yummmmm...

on July the 11th I had:

1 quart water
mug of spice tea
glass of blended chia/greens smoothie
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and coconut chips stirred in. followed by a little yum bowl of blended pecans/lucuma/maca/cinnamon with goji berries swirled in
3 cups water
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 nori rolls stuffed with jalepeno hummus, avocado, cucumber, red pepper, sunflower greens, cilantro with a few okra on the side. Followed by a little yum bowl of blended pecans/lucuma/maca/cinnamon with goji berries swirled in
mug of ‘choco’ tea
3 cups water

on July the 12th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ginger tulsi tea
3 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, parsley, tatsoi, sunflower greens, pak choi, lettuces, endive, ginger, fennel, lime
2 cups energy soup with 2 flax crackers, followed by a little yum bowl of pine nut butter mixed with goji berry powder, yacon powder, lucuma powder and gojis
mug of choco tea
3 cups water
1.5 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, parsley, tatsoi, sunflower greens, pak choi, lettuces, endive, ginger, fennel, lime
2 cups energy soup with 2 flax crackers, followed by a little yum bowl of almonds blended with goji berry powder, yacon powder, lucuma powder, cinnamon, maca and gojis
mug of choco tea
2 cups water

A little reminder for any of you in the UK area that the Funky Raw/Space of Love festie will be happening in about a month’s time, in the beautiful Sussex countryside :) The festie runs from August 15th-18th and features raw food talks, live music, stalls, raw/living café, yoga, healing area, meditation, kids’ area, fireside drumming circle and mooooooorrrrrrrrrre :) Weekend tickets are just £60 for full price, with other concessionary prices available. See www.spaceoflove.co.uk for all the details...and hopefully see you THERE, down by the riverside ;)
The Festival of Life will also be rockin’ it in London on September the 27th. The Monarch and I are both scheduled to be speaking at this fabulous annual festie – see more details here:
http://www.festivaloflife.net. The festie offers over 30 free talks and workshops and more than 40 stalls covering: raw food preparation demos, superfoods, hemp, self empowerment, self healing, intuition, permaculture and environment, nature cures, natural cosmetics, spiritual/holistic philosophy, meditation, kundalini yoga, natural parenting, kids nutrition workshop and plenty of delicious, nutritious, fresh organic gourmet vegan food stalls & juice bars. YUMMY :)
We are SO blesssssssed :)

ENJOY :)

All love,
Angela. xxx

Talking Raw...

2008-07-09T17:49:00.006-06:00

Hurray :)
The details for our talk here in Iceland are now confirmed :)
Mr Monarch will be arriving in Iceland next week and then we’ll be speaking on July the 23rd from 7-10pm at the delightful Rope Yoga Studio – everyone’s welcome :) You can see the full details on my events calendar HERE and sign up to reserve your space on himneskt.is HERE. There will be raw food dishes on offer at the studio that day, as well as raw snacks at the event ;) We hope to see you there, if you’re in the area...

on July the 8th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘choco’ tea
shot of wheatgrass
bowl of blended yum: almonds, lucuma, maca, cinnamon, with gojis stirred in for chewing ;)
3 cups water
1 cup chai tea
a red bell pepper with dulse seaweed fronds and tahini
2 cups water
mug of sweet chili tea
1.5 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, ginger, fennel, sprouts, sunflower greens, masses of fresh greens from the garden, lime
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and coconut flakes stirred in, with a flax cracker. Followed by a little bowl of blended yum: pecans, lucuma, maca, cinnamon, goji berries.
Mug of choco tea
2 cups water

HMMMMMMMMmMmmMmMmmm...seems some of you missed the free 24 hour time-slot for the call I did with Kevin Gianni last week. WELL, generous soul that he is, dear Mr. Gianni has given us another link to play with, to access the call for free again, for 48 hours this time – it is active NOW, so go listen HERE if you’d like to hear my recent musings on food addictions, releasing cravings, healing the skin and more...

on July the 9th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ginger tulsi tea
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and coconut flakes stirred in, with a flax cracker. Followed by a little bowl of blended yum: pecans, lucuma, maca, cinnamon, goji berries.
Mug of ‘choco’ tea
1 quart water
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with mung beans and coconut flakes stirred in, with a flax cracker. Followed by a little bowl of blended yum: pecans, lucuma, maca, cinnamon, goji berries.
Mug of ‘choco’ tea
1 quart water

While we’re on the subject of Mr Gianni, have you seen the amazing new ‘Health Summaries’ project he and Mike Adams have been working on? LOVE it. They are offering summarised ‘Cliffs Notes’ versions of some of the most inspiring health food books on the market, just like the PhilosophersNotes.com site offers the same kind of service for ‘self-development’ books. How BLESSED we are to have these tools coming to our fingertips at this time of mass information, when so many of us don’t feel we have the time to sit and focus on reading whole books. I so appreciate these ‘distilling’ services on offer...
With ‘HealthSummaries’ you can get the ‘skinny’ on all kinds of amazing titles like Gabriel Cousens’ ‘Spiritual Nutrition’, David Wolfe’s ‘Sunfood Diet Success System’, ‘Selling Sickness’ and ‘Beyond Medicine’ for FREE as PDF downloads. You can also subscribe to an ‘advanced’ service that brings you MP3 recordings of the summaries. Yummy. You can read all about the fun and games on offer HERE and sign up for your free summaries :)

ENJOY :)
All love,
Angelalalaallaaaaaaa. xxx

What Do YOU Love Most About...

2008-07-07T15:55:00.006-06:00

I’m VERY excited to announce a new feature here called:

‘What do you love most about...?’

The raw food movement is expanding so rapidly that I find myself often a-gasp with glee at new additions to the raw scene – new websites, restaurants, stories, books, foods, blogs, films, festivals...this glorious family is just so magnificently abundant with creativity and yummy flow...
In honour of all this, I’ve decided to create a new feature on this blog to celebrate all things raw-ly wonderful :)
There are SO many different raw resources out there these days and even if you don’t agree with EVERYTHING about some raw-related person, place or product, there is nearly always SOMETHING about what they offer, which you can pinpoint that resonates for you...that’s what we wanna know about ;) Let’s keep on bigging up the love and gratitude in this amazing network of people who are bringing forth so much light for the planet...
Here’s how it works...

*I’ll post here what I love most about the chosen raw-tastic person, place, object or similar...
*YOU are welcomed to post a comment to this blog letting everyone know what YOU love most about this raw-markable offering to the world...
*We keep on collectively spreading the love and appreciation :)

You might share about your favourite experience with that person/place/thing, your impression of their impact on the world, what you most appreciate about their contribution to spreading the raw message and so on.
If you’re not familiar with the person/place/thing in question, you could always check the link to their site and see if you’d like to share anything about your first impression of what they’re offering...
You can share as much or little as you like – all comments offered with love are welcomed ;)
In this spirit of love and thanks, it seems appropriate to start off this new feature by bigging up the majesty of: Café GRATITUDE :)

What I love most about Café Gratitude is...

The coconut crème pie. :O RIDICULOUSLY, outrageously, absurdly good...

Now, over to you – what do YOU love best abt Café Gratitude...?
(Don’t worry if you’re not sure yet how to post a blog comment – detailed instructions can be found below... ;)

on July the 6th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
2.5 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, sunflower greens, tat soi, mixed sprouts, fennel, ginger, greens from the garden
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with a red bell pepper and a couple of flax crackers. Followed by a little bowl of blended almonds/lucuma/maca/cinnamon/water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
3 cups water
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with a couple of flax crackers. Followed by a little bowl of blended almonds/lucuma/maca/cinnamon/water
3 cups water

How to Post a Blog Comment in 5 Easy Steps...

1. If you’re reading this message in an email, first of all, go to the RawReform blog p age HER E (you can also just click on the title of the blog post at the top of the email, OR the link that says ‘Blog: http://rawreform.blogspot.com’ at the very end of the email.)
2. Then scroll to the end of the post that you want to leave a comment on.
3. You’ll see a little comment count, written in green, at the end of the post. It might say ‘0 COMMENTS’ or more. Click on that link. This takes you to a new page where you can fill in YOUR yummy comment. You can submit it either anonymously, using your name/URL, using your Blogger/Gmail ID or using smthg called ‘OpenID’ – you choose ;)
4. Press the ‘Publish Your Comment’ button.
5. That’s it – simple ;) Comments are later posted to the blog and everyone hopefully gets to enjoy your delicious musings... ;)

on July the 7th I had:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with a couple of flax crackers. Followed by a little bowl of blended almonds/lucuma/maca/cinnamon/water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
3 cups water
2 cups ‘energy soup’ with a couple of flax crackers. Followed by a little bowl of blended almonds/lucuma/maca/cinnamon/water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
1.5 cups green juice
3 cups water

WOW. I had an amazing detox release experience this afternoon :) An ‘ancient’ fat cyst on my back suddenly opened and released its contents. :O Now, once again, this may all be TMI for some people – if so, please feel free to skip this section ;)
I believe this occurred as a result of the very simple, very ‘greeeeeeen’/alkalising way I’m eating at the moment – as you can see from my daily food logs, it’s pretty much green juices and green/fat energy soups going into my system at the moment. As a result, my body has more space/energy to divert into ‘cleaning house’ and seems to be getting to it ;) I suddenly felt an itch on my back this afternoon, went to investigate and found I’d scratched a cyst open. It emptied out a whole little sack of fatty white waste – rather like a little lump of lard ;) LOL...I found myself simultaneously revolted and enthralled ;)
Those of you who have heard me give a raw food talk before may have heard me speaking about the random benign fat cysts that are still on my scalp. There are at least 5 of them sitting there and I’m always curious to see when they might also be released...well, let’s see if there’s any movement up there too in the coming days/weeks... ;)

One love,
Angelaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Make Raw Food Mainstream... ;)

2008-07-05T18:12:00.005-06:00

WOW – this is my 350th blog post here :O oOoOoOooo lalalalalalaaaaaa...what a joy it is to share...
By way of a jolly little celebration, I uncharacteristically donned some make up ;) My wonderful host here in Iceland informed me that Ann Wigmore used to use beetroot (beet) as her lipstick – I just HAD to try ;) LOL – LOVE it...this pic is what I looked like with beetroot-stained pink smackers...I love the fact that the wheatgrass trays managed a cameo appearance in the corner of the pic too – that was totally unintentional – just vibing with the Wigster ;) Apparently she used to use the cut beetroot on her cheeks too, as blusher ;) Hmmmm, more experiments for next time...

on July the 3rd I had:

1 quart water
mug of pleasure tea
1.5 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, lettuce, spinach, fennel, ginger, tatsoi, bok choi
plate of assorted leftovers: a stuffed nori roll, pine-nut pesto, salad, cauliflower ‘rice’
3 cups water
1 cup water with lemon juice
shot of sweeeeeet wheatgrass juice
2 more leftover stuffed nori rolls, followed by a little rammikin bowl of yummy almond/maca/lucuma/cinnamon smoothie
mug of ‘love’ tea
2 cups water

OooOooooooo next very ecstatic announcement of the day is that Ms. Shazzle-Dazzle has launched a simply splendid free new e-book on her site :) It is called ‘Raw Britannia’ and is part of her ongoing campaign to ‘make raw mainstream’. I am VERY excited about the impact this book can potentially have to spread the raw message throughout the UK and beyond...
It is a free e-book that you can print out and then take to any local restaurants in your area that you think might be open to serving more raw dishes. It contains basic info on WHY people choose to eat raw, along with a selection of really easy, delicious recipes, so the restaurants can start to prepare raw dishes. EXCITING :) The recipes are really simple – no complicated ingredients – and the photography is BEAUTIFUL throughout – presenting raw food as fresh, vibrant and appealing :)
You can download the book from HERE, print it out, then get your walking shoes on for a bouncy trot round town, spreading the good message ;) Please also feel free to pass on this info to anyone you think may be interested – together we can all take action to manifest a brighter raw reality :)
(Check out the super-cool mugs, pens and other ‘Raw Britannia’ accessories she has on offer too...LOVE it ;)

on July the 4th I had:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups ‘energy soup’: blended cucumber, red bell pepper, assorted sprouts, greens from the garden, garlic, rejuvelac, dulse, lemon juice, avocado, with a leftover pesto-stuffed nori roll. Followed by a little rammikin bowl of yummy almond/maca/lucuma/cinnamon smoothie
mug of ginger tulsi tea
2 cups ‘energy soup’: blended cucumber, red bell pepper, assorted sprouts, greens from the garden, garlic, rejuvelac, dulse, lemon juice, avocado. Followed by a little rammikin bowl of yummy almond/maca/lucuma/cinnamon smoothie
mug of peppermint tea
2 cups water

on July the 5th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘detox’ tea
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups ‘energy soup’: blended cucumber, red bell pepper, assorted sprouts, greens from the garden, garlic, rejuvelac, dulse, lemon juice, avocado, with 3 little beetroot ‘rawvioli’. Followed by a little rammikin bowl of yummy almond/maca/lucuma/cinnamon smoothie
mug of peppermint tea
3 cups water
2 cups ‘energy soup’: blended cucumber, red bell pepper, assorted sprouts, greens from the garden, garlic, rejuvelac, dulse, lemon juice, avocado. Followed by a little rammikin bowl of yummy almond/maca/lucuma/cinnamon smoothie
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
3 cups water

The final yum-pot of the day to dip into is the uber-exciting announcement from Mr. Philip McCluskey that he is compiling a ‘testimonial’ book of fabulous raw weight loss stories :) He’s looking for inspiring stories and pics to share in this new volume – here’s what he wrote about this project on his blog:

“A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
This is the first book of its kind. Not a ‘how-to’, nor a collection of recipes, just pure inspiration. We are looking for your most awe-inspiring before and after photos, along with a one page description of your journey. We know that these photos will be an inspiration to everyone; those new to raw, as well as those who have been on this path longer.

So... what are you waiting for?
Send no more than four (4) medium resolution before and after photos, along with your before/after weights, dates for the photos and the page-long description of your raw journey. If you're chosen to be in the book we will contact you for high resolution pictures later. The deadline for submissions is July 31st, 2008. You can send your emails to philip@lovingraw.com.”

ENJOY :)
All love,
Ms. Stokes. xxx

Favourite Chia Recipe...?

2008-07-02T16:14:00.007-06:00

YAY :) That was FUN – thanks to all of you who were on the ‘Roundtable’ call last night with myself and Kevin Gianni. Thanks especially for all your wonderful questions ;)
For those of you who weren’t able to join us live for the call, you can listen in for free for the next 24 hours at the following link:

http://www.renegaderoundtable.com/angela/replay.php

ENJOY :)

on June the 29th I had a ‘pleasurable’ day of:

1 quart water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups smoothie: almonds, lucuma powder, green powder, vanilla powder, cinnamon, maca, with goji berries and pine nuts stirred in
mug of ‘pleasure tea’
3 cups water
3 cups juice: cucumber, celery, dandelion, fennel, wild greens, kale, lettuce, parsley, greens from the garden
cup of ‘pleasure tea
3 cups water

on June the 30th I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘pleasure tea’
2 cups smoothie: almonds, hemp seeds, lucuma powder, green powder, vanilla powder, cinnamon, maca, with goji berries and pine nuts stirred in
mug of ‘pleasure tea’
1 quart water
3 cups juice: cucumber, celery, fennel, kale, cilantro, dill, greens from the garden, ginger
2 cups ‘energy soup’ made by blending together avocado, cucumber, lettuce, garlic, dulse, lemon juice, red pepper, a little curry powder. Served with a dehydrated red pepper pancake
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
2 cups water

It’s time for another exciting RawReform Giveaway Contest :)
Those of you who are subscribed to my newsletter will have already seen the details for this month’s Chia Contest...MmmMMmMmm :)
If you haven’t seen the run-down, here it is:

This month we’re celebrating all things chia-related: the prize is a copy of our shiny new ‘Chia Cheat Sheet’ chart, along with a 1lb bag of chia and a bag of the delicious new ‘Chia Goodness’ cereal. YUmMMmMmmMMmmm :)

To be in with a chance of winning this chia goodie basket, just email in YOUR answer to the following Q:

What is YOUR favourite chia recipe? (ingredients/description please ;)

Please send in your answers to angela@rawreform.com before July the 31st. The winner shall be picked at random and with love thereafter... ;)

on July the 1st I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups ‘energy soup’: made by blending together tahini, cucumber, lettuce, tatsoi, mustard greens, garlic, dulse, lemon juice, orange pepper. Served with 2 flax crackers. Followed by a little smidge of delicious sweet smoothie: almonds, lucuma, maca, cinnamon.
2 cups water
a delicious 3-course exquisite raw dinner: thai coconut soup followed by nori rolls stuffed with pesto and veggies, cauliflower ‘rice’ and salad straight from the garden. Dessert was a delicious low glycemic ‘ice cream’ made from coconut meat, soaked gojis, yacon and lucuma. YUMMMMMMMM
3 cups water

on July the 2nd I had:

1 quart water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups ‘energy soup’: made by blending together avocado, cucumber, lettuce, tatsoi, mustard greens, garlic, dulse, lemon juice, orange pepper, a little rejuvelac. Served with 2 flax crackers. Followed by a little bowl of delicious sweet smoothie: almonds, lucuma, maca, cinnamon.
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, tatsoi, bok choi, fennel, spinach, ginger
2 cups ‘energy soup’ (as above), along with 1 cup thai coconut soup, with a dehydrated red pepper ‘tortilla’ stuffed with greens from the garden and tahini dressing
2 cups water

WOW, I watched SUCH an inspiring little video on YouTube today. The ‘Urban Homesteaders’ in Pasadena, California, have been developing their urban garden into an absolutely amazingly rich food-producing garden since the 1980s. Today it is a treasure-trove of fruits, veggies, edible flowers, sustainable living techniques and so much more. I have often heard of their work before, yet until today had never looked into it – WOW – I am SOOO glad I did – I find this massively inspiring – I hope you do too.
No inch of their garden space is left untouched...they seem to LOVE what they do...and they eat fresh, vibrant, organic food daily, straight from garden to plate...wow…love it…absolutely BEAUTIFUL :) You can watch the 10 minute clip on YouTube HERE and start envisioning your own magical, bountiful garden... ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCPEBM5ol0Q

All love,
Angela. xxx

Natural Energy Flowing...

2008-06-28T19:09:00.005-06:00

WOW. I am just LOVING being back in Iceland soooooooooooooooooooooo much.
Last night was UBER-YUMMY – Sigur Rós and Björk gave a huge free concert in the botanical gardens in Reykjavík, attended by around 40,000 people. The weather was gorgeous, the energy in the crowd was buzzing and the performances were...simply superlative. The concert was called ‘Nature’ and was put on to raise more awareness of environmental concerns here and celebrate nature. (There was even a stall selling raw fruits and veggies, plus raw chocolate ‘bliss balls’ – so cute :)
Sigur Rós and Björk are two of my absolute favourite musical influences and it was SUCH a gift for me to see them BOTH play live in such a gorgeous context. I’m still grinning now as I write this :)))
There was one point where Sigur Rós (along with Amiina, the gorgeous girls who share stage with them) were playing a really high energy song, then Ólöf Arnalds and Björk came on too, banging big drums. It was SOOOOO fun to watch – everyone was dressed so vibrantly and the energy was HUGE – they looked like they were having SO much fun up there - everyone just doing their thing, spirit flowing, incredible energy :)))
OOoOooOoOOoooooo, I love Iceland :)))
The night before, we had a raw potluck here too and it was so lovely for me to connect to the energy again of the meetings that used to ‘keep me going’ when I lived here as a raw foodist in the beginning...the gatherings were much less frequent then – once a month or less often at times – now raw-yumsters meet up here every other Friday for sharing...and what a vibrant, healthy, happy bunch :) Tons of fresh greens and sprouts, tasty experiments, talented chefs and herbalists...and there were around 30 of us in attendance...it definitely feels to me like raw food interest has continued to blossom here in the years that I’ve been away… ;) YAY :)
Iceland actually recently topped the charts of a United Nations ranking of the ‘best’ place to live in the world (based on factors like wealth, health, education). Icelanders were also reported to be ‘the happiest people in the world’ in a 1996 study... These topics and more are explored in a beautifully insightful article on life in Iceland, printed in the Observer last week (forwarded to me by my equally fabulously insightful editor Sue ;) You can read that article HERE if you’re interested – it’s raaaaaaaaather long, so I won’t go into it now – just enjoy, if you feel inclined :)))

on June the 27th I had:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass
2 cups smoothie: lucuma powder, almonds, green powder, maca, vanilla powder, cinnamon, water, with goji berries and pine nuts for chewability
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, watercress, parsley, fennel, ginger, sprouts and amazing greens from the garden: chard, kale, tatsoi, arugula, other unidentified yummables ;)
plate of delicious raw food potluck loved-up food :) A cornucopia of greens, salad dressings, pates, nibbles, breads, crackers and so on – wonderful :)
3 cups water

A petite note-ette for all of those who are intending to play out with Mr Gianni and I on the telephone inter-change system on Wednesday cometh. The time of the event has shifted ever-so-slighty, due to the fact that I’m currently located a few hours ahead in time from the US...(8pm EST = midnight Iceland time...even if it doesn’t get dark here, I still like to go to sleep ;)
So, we've shifted the clockage back an hour and the talk will now commence at 7pm EST, 4pm PST, on July 2nd (with the chance to listen in to the whole thing for free for 24 hours after it manifests, I do believe...) Anyway, as and when you register for the call info, you’ll get all the details on there...I look forward to answering your Qs soon :) You can read all about it and submit your Qs HERE.

on June the 28th I had:

1 quart water
mug of rooibus tea
shot of wheatgrass juice
2 cups yummmmmmmmmmmmmy smoothie: lucuma powder, almonds, green powder, maca, vanilla powder, cinnamon, water, with goji berries and pine nuts for chewability
mug of ‘pleasure tea’
3 cups water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, spinach, lettuce, parsley, fennel, ginger, sprouts and amazing greens from the garden: chard, kale, tatsoi, arugula, other unidentified yummables ;)
3 big luscious nori rolls stuffed with pine-nut/basil pesto, alfalfa, red pepper, cucumber, avocado and spinach. A little handful of cashew nuts
1 quart water
mug of ‘pleasure’ tea

OooOooOooo, exciting developments in the world of CHIA :) You may have read the ‘Chia Cheat Sheet’ article that I wrote sometime last year, outlining the background of chia, uses for the seeds, some yummy recipes and so on. It is one of our most popular articles – so much so in fact that now we’ve had it made into an attractive, colourful wall-chart that you can keep on hand in your kitchen :)
The charts are just $5.95 and are available from the RawReform Store HERE, along with bags of both ‘black’ and ‘white’ chia, ground chia, yummy Cocochia bars, ‘The Magic of Chia’ book AAAAAAAAND the gorgeous NEW ‘Chia Goodness’ all-raw cereal from Ruth’s Hemp Company. WOW, things are really movin’ and shakin’ in the chia world these days, especially since Oprah mentioned it on her show...and IMO, the attention is very understandable – it’s an amazing food – I recommend it to everyone, especially for beginners... ;)
SO, if you have yet to delve into the delicious world of CHIA, I suggest you strap on your ‘raw explorer’ love boots and get munching ;) See HERE for our whole range of Chia Yummables.

All love,
Angelalallallaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Whaddaya Wanna Know...?

2008-06-26T13:56:00.003-06:00

This is a quick little update to let you know that for the next 48 hours you can listen for free to Mr Monarch’s interview with Kevin Gianni last week, which is part of Kevin’s ongoing ‘Roundtable’ series of talks. You can access that interview HERE.

on June the 26th I had:

1 quart water
shot of wheatgrass
bowl of smoothie: blended almonds, lucuma powder, green powder, vanilla, cinnamon, maca and water, with goji berries and pine nuts swirled in for chewy-yumminess :)
mug of chai rooibus tea
1 quart water
2 cups green juice: cucumber, celery, watercress, parsley, lettuce, spinach, fennel, sprouts, ginger
3 nori rolls stuffed with spinach, mixed sprouts, avocado and a spread made from blending together jalepeno hummus with tahini, dill and water. Followed by little handful of pine nuts and goji berries
mug of choco tea
2 cups water

...and on Wednesday NEXT week, it’s time for me to have a public chinwag with Mr. Gianni too ;) On July the 2nd at 8PM EST, 5PM PST, we shall commence on a 70 minute live exploration of all things raw and especially weight-loss related...you wanna play? Everyone is welcome to join the call...and you can even shape the content of the discussion as you please, by sending in your questions ahead of time at THIS LINK. (Those of you who listened to Mr. Monarch’s interview may have caught the question I sent in for HIM ;) – if not, you can listen at the link above to find out what it was...and what his answer was... ;)
I look forward to answering your most exquisite and extraordinary questions on Wednesday :)
All blessings,
Miss Stokes. xxx