Reflections From An Ancient Forest...

Mmmmmmm, I enjoyed sharing some fun reflections in my newsletter this week from an ancient Ecuadorian forest - here's a recap in case you missed the flow:


WOW...as I write this, we just got back from a powerful, inspiring walk in the nearby Podocarpus national forest here in Ecuador...I have been wanting to go hiking in the forest here ever since we came to Ecuador and today we finally made it out into the hills... What an incredible TREAT ;O
I feel very moved and transformed by this simple two-hour walk in the wilderness...my mind echoes with the quote from Henry David Thoreau: "In wildness is the preservation of the world." This feels distinctly true and significant to me right now... It was so interesting to be out there, in this ancient forest, surrounded by ferns, native trees, orchids, hummingbirds, butterflies and seemingly endless biodiversity... the air felt so *rich*, moist, nourishing and clean...
Up in the cloud forest, the range of flora, the greenery and moistness seemed to be in sharp contrast to the currently parched "dry season" landscape of most of this area...it is so odd to think that this whole area probably used to be just like this - primary forest, untouched by human madness, rich, dense, teeeeeming with life and energy, before clear-cutting for cattle raising became the norm...
It felt so REAL to be out there in that peaceful, serene wilderness, even if it has man-made nature trails with signposts for us to follow...I felt such an easy and direct sense of connection to nature/the divine... It then felt pretty surreal to come back out of there and drive along human-made tarmac roads, see road signs, houses, cars, people in clothing, churches and so on... everything right now outside of that pristine forest environment has a sense of "unreality" to me - what *are* we humans doing here...?
(Continued below...)


on August the 19th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
1.5 cups watermelon/orange juice
1 cup intense greeeeeeen/carrot juice
5 granadillas
bowl of yummmmmmers cucumber/dulse/avocado/kim chi salad, stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear, followed by a small handful of dried jack fruit pieces
water of two young coconuts
chunk of fresh papaya
2 cups water


on August the 20th I loved:

1 quart water
8 granadillas
2 cups water
3 tbsp spirulina crunchies
water of a young coconut
bowl of yummmmmmers cucumber/dulse/avocado/kim chi salad, stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear, followed by a small handful of dried jack fruit pieces
water of two young coconuts
mug of herbal tea




The majority of us seem to be living so dramatically removed from an "original" state of being in nature as to make our lives seem almost farcical from my current point of view... Walking in the forest today, we were contemplating how different a human might be if they grew up in that kind of environment - what would they eat, what would their connection with nature look like, where would they live, what would they focus their attention on...? In contrast to the kinds of possibilities that seemed to arise in th at context, even current human choices that we might consider "eco" or "green" seem frankly bizarre in comparison - running an organic farm for example, or buying food from a health food store, running an "eco-friendly" business from a computer, making a superfood smoothie in a high-speed blender or going on an "eco"-holiday rather than a standard trip... Wow, humans strike me as so very odd sometimes...such a strange presence here on Earth...our actions and interactions seem so at odds with the quietness, presence and clarity of pure undisturbed nature...which is always there in the background, quietly carrying on with its own reality, while the maddening whirl of modern human reality spins and jumbles on over the top, like a bizarre superimposed cartoon of psychotic, parasitic behaviour...
Hmmmmm, well, perhaps that may sound harsh to some people and of course we are all part of this current co-creation... my intention here is certainly not to try to "blame" anyone for our current context, I was simply really struck today by the beauty, majesty and clarity of the pristine forest and wanted to share some of this perspective here, to pe rhaps serve as a little reminder to us all, myself very much included, that as Thoreau stated, "In wildness is the preservation of the world."

Long live Gaia :)))

(You can see some more of my pictures from this trip on Facebook HERE and a little video of our forest reflections HERE - enjoy ;)

on August the 21st I appreciated:

1 quart water
6 granadillas
water of a young coconut
2 cups greeeeen smoothie: papaya, mango, greeeeens from the garden
bowl of yummmmmmers cucumber/dulse/avocado/kim chi salad, stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear, followed by a small handful of dried jack fruit pieces
water of two young coconuts
chunk of Mr. M's rawmarkable Pili Nut "Chocolate"
mug of herbal tea


on August the 22nd I was blissed with:

1 quart water
6 granadillas
2 cups "Chocolate Milk" green juice: spinach, romaine, carrot, alfalfa
water of a young coconut
bowl of yummmmmmers cucumber/dulse/avocado/kim chi salad, stuffed into nori sheets with Sea Clear, followed by yummers raw desserts at a potluck party: blackberry "cheesecake" with Andean blueberry sauce, durian ice pie, fruit salad :)
water of two young coconuts
1 cup water


In other news, it was also fun to see this week that Bernando LaPallo, the healthy Arizona centenarian, just turned 110 :) A truly vibrant leo brother - check out an ABC report on his 110th birthday reflections HERE - long live this inspiring example :)


All love,
Angelalaalalaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Free Complete Audio Download of "World Peace Diet" :)

WOW - in case you didn't see, last week saw a monumental occurence in the 'vegan' world, when Dr. Will Tuttle's book "World Peace Diet", all about veganism and our spiritual connections with food, went to #1 in books on Amazon.com ;O

Dr. Will did a huge promo launch, which I mentioned here last week, with masses of amazing freebies thrown in for anyone who bought the book on Amazon - what a HUGE response he received and how beautiful to highlight a book with this kind of message for the whole Amazon-shopping-world to witness ;)

Now, as a 'thank you' celebration for such a successful launch, Dr. Tuttle would love to offer everyone a yummmmmmy freebie download of the WHOLE of his book on audio, unabridged, 13.5 hours. This usually sells for $15 and right now anyone can access the whole audio book for free - you can pick your copy up HERE - enjoy and congrats again to Will for such a wonderful campaign :))))
(If you didn't get his book yet and would like to, the launch page with the freebies is still up for a while longer, over HERE...)


On March the 15th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
3 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with pineapple juice and sugarcane juice
bowl of green mush yum: young coconut meat, red banana, cilantro, garlic, on flax crackers with pieces of dulse seaweed, followed by a few macadamias with green raisins
1.5 cups reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
3 cups water
3 cups greeeeeen juice mixed with carrot juice and sugarcane juice
flax crackers topped with dulse seaweed, tahini, chopped tomatoes, followed by some home-made halva, made by mixing together Mr. M's tahini and local raw honey
1.5 cups reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water

Our dear friend Elaina Love is looking for an assistant for her yummy business Pure Joy Planet. Excitingly, she is relocating the business to lovely Patagonia in Arizona at the end of this month and would love to also locate a new yumster to help out with office/marketing tasks and beyond - here are the deets from Ms. Love:

Office Assistant/Sales and Marketing position available in Patagonia Arizona with a conscious, intentional, rapidly growing raw food company.

Elaina Love, raw food chef and instructor of Pure Joy Planet is looking for a high integrity, raw food educated, focused and grounded person to work 20+ hours a week beginning March 31st in Patagonia Arizona.

This is the opportunity to grow with Elaina and to help her get set up in Arizona. Position includes and is not limited to: telephone sales, marketing, filing and paperwork, newsletter organization, and product production and fulfillment. Pay is $10 to start with commissions for additional time spent on sales and marketing.

Please send your resume to Elaina at ElainaLive@gmail.com. To find out more about Elaina and her work go to www.PureJoyPlanet.com

ENJOY :)

on March the 16th I loved:

1 quart water
3 cups greeeeeeen juice with pineapple juice
'pizza' piles of flax crackers topped with avocado mush (avocado, basil, cumin, lime juice, garlic) and chopped tomatoes, followed by half a fresh lucuma fruit ;O
2 cups reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
3 cups water
slice of raw birthday cake at a 5 year old raw starlet's b-day party
a few strawberries
2 cups reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water


on March the 17th I appreciated:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeen juice mixed with sugarcane juice
bowl of chopped fruit with young coconut meat: dragon fruit, red banana, pear and a few chunks of dried banana/mango on the side from friends
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice mixed with carrot juice
shared yummers meal of kale salad with Mr. M: shredded kale, avocado, dulse, tomatoes, with *AMAZING* pieces of dehydrated 'mac cheese' mixture - WOW :) Followed by a little hand-mixed yumpot of tahini with local honey
mug of herbal tea
2 cups water

We've been having *so* much fun getting our trees and gardens going here in Vilcabamba...this week I tried fresh lucuma fruit for the first time (YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM :) and planted the seeds from the fruit - yay :) SIX of the carob seeds I planted have now come up too, plus enormous amounts of the Ice Cream Bean Seeds - those things are outrageously prolific...I'd love to hear from any of you who got some of them from our store and have been growing them too...I think every single one I planted of those has come up already... ;O
Mr. M has also been planting up a fig tree FOREST this week - very exciting - see the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjqiw2HX8NE

Excitement is building too for the raw food gathering here in Vilcabamba in May - there are over 200 members now on the "Ning" community site for this gathering - come join us if you feel drawn :) http://rawinecuador.ning.com

All love, light and grace,
Angelalalalalaalaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Anastasia Books at *20% OFF* Until Feb 15th :)

There are some *very* special deals going on over at TheRawFoodWorld.com this month, including 20% off the Anastasia books for everyone, until Feb 15th :)

Yes, we drew the winner of last month's Anastasia book giveaway a few days back (Natalya Hayes, congrats, see HERE :) ...and I felt so strongly that I wanted EVERYONE to be able to access these books inexpensively if they'd love to, that I asked Mr. M to put them into the special 'Honeymoon Suite' area on the site, where they currently await your attention, at 20% off for either the single 'Anastasia' book OR the entire set of nine books (which is a *phenomenal* bulk deal, btw, as the set of 9 books is already discounted, before the 20% off... ;).

You can find both options at the reduced cost HERE, for the next 2 weeks - offer ends Feb 15th - ooooo, you could get these as a Valentines gift for someone - they will surely love you forever if you do so... ;)There are also many other fabulous February deals to be found at that link, such as 'at cost' raw carob powder, olive oil, msm caps, pine nut butter and tooth soaps - enjoy :)

on February the 4th I enjoyed:
1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeen juice
2 cups greeen smoothie: apple, sunflower greens, parsley, chia flour, acai powder, with 4tbsp acai powder on the side
2 cups greeen smoothie: apple, sunflower greens, parsley, chia flour, acai powder, with 4tbsp acai powder on the side
3 cups water
2 cups reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups greeeeeen juice
handful of *amazing* fresh Ojai carob pods, relished with acai powder
2 cups reishi/shilajit/ormus tea
2 cups water

More Raw Job Opportunity News :)
Well, today we have two more, potentially exciting job opportunities to share with you...one in California an one in Arizona...
First up:

*Setting Up The New Raw Food World Warehouse
We recently expanded The Raw Food World warehouse to 3 times the size and our lovely manager, Zack, would now love to call for assistance from some strong muscly people to come and help get everything in place in the new spaces.
This will be a short-term job, just until everything is set up and ready to go...most likely it will be a job for 5 people max, for a few days, moving boxes of products, setting up shelves and so on... The warehouse is based in Ojai, California and the job would be during business hours, M-F, starting some time in the next couple of weeks, when they're ready to activate this project... Ideal candidates will be physically strong, active, able to lift heavy weights, efficient, preferably with some hardware skills, willing to work in a team and...fun ;) Payment is $10/hour and it is not necessary to bring any tools with you for the job...if you or anyone you know is interested to know more, you can connect with Zack about this by emailing zack (at) therawworld.com - thanks :)

on February the 5th I loved:
1 quart water
2 cups greeeeeeeeeen juice
2 cups greeen smoothie: papaya, persimmon, cilantro, sunflower greens, chia powder, water, with 4tbsp acai powder on the side
3 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups water
glass of 'sweet greens' smoothie at Rawvolution in Santa Monica, handful of fresh carob pods from Ojai
2 cups water
bowl of fruity salad of pineapple, cherries and blueberries - yummm :)
mug of herbal tea
1 cup water

*Second Exciting Raw Jobortunity: Kitchen Assistant for Vivapura in Arizona :)

Here's the info:
Vivapura, a yummy superfoods company located in Patagonia, AZ is in search of a Kitchen Assistant. The job description includes:
*Packaging & Labeling products
*Hand-crafting in-house products such as coconut cremes and nut butters
*Recipe development
*Organizing and cleaning our professional, raw food kitchen.

This job is for kitchen assistant, with the possibility to expand into the kitchen manager position within six months.
Qualifications: Joyful spirit, open to guidance and feedback, detail oriented, grounded, passion for raw food diet and cuisine, creative and drug-free. The ideal candidate will preferably be someone with prior raw food kitchen or production experience. Hours: 8:45-4:30 Monday-Friday.
If this sings to *your* heart, you can connect with Vivapura and send your resume in to: info (at) vivapura.net...

YAY :)

All love,
Angela.la.lalalalalaaaa. la. xxx

P.S. tomorrow we'll be playing at the Raw Living Bazaar in Los Angeles all day, holding a booth and speaking too - this event is *free* and open to all - details HERE - hope to see you there if you're around :)

Come Fruit Tree Planting With Us in Vilcabamba, Ecuador :)

Ooooooo, we have a *yummy* new development to announce about the intended Raw Food Gathering in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, May 4th-14th :) Join Mr. M and I, David Wolfe, the Wheatgrass Messiah, *Solla* from Iceland (hopefully - I am nudging the Universe daily to support this... ;) and many other yumsters for a fruity, earthy, delicious experience down south...
We're intending to plant fruit trees all around Vilcabamba, in areas that are open to receiving nature's bounty... As you may know, Mr. M and I pledged to donate $1 from the sale of every printed version of my book "Raw Emotions" to charities that either plant new trees or protect old growth forests. WELL...which finer charity to donate these shiny pennies to than Dr. Wolfe's Fruit Tree Planting Foundation? :)
This idea was 'downloaded' to me one morning recently during my Juice Feast as I awoke and I literally sprang out of bed with excitement about it ;) We intend to gather up baby fruit trees in Vilcabamba in the coming months and locate suitable places to help them connect to Mama Earth...everyone who comes down to play at the Raw Food Gathering in May will be welcome to join us in this community fruit tree planting adventure :) YAY :) ...and if you'd like to purchase a printed copy of "Raw Emotions" to support this venture, you can find the books HERE.
So...if you don't yet have clear plans for May and would love to come and explore Vilcabamba, plant trees, connect with the raw tribe and experience the sublime synchronous flow of the Andes, this might be a fun event for you to enjoy - we look forward to seeing you there, if you are drawn...http://rawinecuador.ning.com :)

on January the 14th it was Day 30 of Green Juice Feasting for me and I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
2 tbsp Sunfire Elixir - WOW ;O
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
3 cups greeeeeeeeeeen juice
2 tbsp coconut oil with 2 tbsp Sunfire Elixir and 30 Chlorella Tablets
1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
3 cups water

on January the 15th I loved:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
1 cup coconut kefir
2 tbsp coconut oil, 3 tbsp Sunfire Elixir, handful of Spirulina Crunchies
1 quart water
mug of herbal tea
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
3 tbsp bee pollen
3 cups water

Please vote for Mike Adams (of NaturalNews.com) to win the "Shorty Award" for Health Content:

We <3 what Mike Adams is up to over at NaturalNews.com; he has made such an impact on behalf of and in conjunction with lightworkers everywhere. Would you be willing to take a moment and vote for him to win the "Shorty Award" for best Health Content? This award has the potential to shine an even brighter spotlight on the remarkable, pioneering work Mike is doing. These awards are given to publishers of the internet's best "short-form" content, and the awards are recognized throughout the mainstream media - nice :)
This is *your* opportunity to help NaturalNews and the Health Ranger get some outstanding mainstream exposure for all the work they do to bring us all important health stories, tips and information on a daily basis.
To learn more about these awards, click HERE...and to vote for Mike, click HERE - THANKS :)

on January the 16th I loved:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
2 tbsp coconut oil, 3 tbsp Sunfire Elixir and 30 chlorella tablets
3 tbsp bee pollen
3 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice from the Tree of Life Cafe
3 tbsp bee pollen
3 cups water

on January the 17th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
3 tbsp freeze-dried acai powder - WOW :)
2 cups greeeeeen juice
3 cups greeeeeeeeen juice
2 tbsp coconut oil, 30 chlorella tablets, 3 tbsp acai powder
1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice
2 tbsp acai powder
2 cups water
mug of herbal tea
2 cups green juice
2 cups water

Sooooo...as I write, today is Day 34 of the Green Juicy adventure I am currently involved in...I have started to include some acai powder (WOW) and now that we're not at the Tree and loving having half a gallon of fresh juice provided for us daily by the Cafe, I suspect food might start to seem more and more appealing in the coming days - we'll see how it flows...;)
For now, I mainly still feel like someone who is Juice Feasting, with some other little bits here and there on the side...my body definitely seems to be wanting *simple* things in all my choices - e.g. just acai powder on its own, nothing else ;) lol... We are back in Ojai, California now, with all the incredible edibles from the local farmers - WOW, outstanding produce - we are *so* blessed here...

A few of you have been writing in to ask for my favourite juice recipes...hmmmmmm...well, here are some ideas:

*'Chocolate Milk' - spinach, romaine lettuce, carrot - tastes like CHOCOLATE MILK ;O Amazing...
*Celery/Cucumber/Apple/Ginger - sooooo refreshing and uplifting, totally more-ish...
*Romaine/Fennel/Carrot/Spinach/Sunflower Greens - subliiiiime :)

Note - these are not the kind of greeeeeen juices I've been drinking for the last month - those have all been low glycemic (no fruits/carrots etc) - these three suggestions listed above just taste great to most people, which is an important factor... ;) There are no *amounts* given for the produce items, as it is up to you to decide how to much of each ingredient to use - enjoy :)

Hope that helps - happy juicing :)))

All love,
Ms. Stokes-Monarch. xxx

Green Juice Feasting...

WELL...I am just LOVING Juice Feasting here at the Tree of Life in Arizona...it feels kind of like a circle completing in fact, me being here to JF, as this is where I first HEARD about JF-ing, from Mr. David Rain himself, back in October 2006...I thought he was a little ‘cuckoo’ at first, when he cornered me at a party in Patagonia one night and talked at greeeaaaat length to me about living on just juice for 3 months ;) Needless to say, the idea sank in and a few weeks later I found myself undertaking a 92 day JF down in Costa Rica...well, now I’m back here 3 years later at the Tree and 4 days into a GREEN Juice Feast...those of you who followed my 92-Day JF or have read my book “A Juice Feaster’s Handbook” will know that I tended to overdo it on fruit juices at many points back then ;) This time round, I’m doing a TOTALLY greeeeeeen Juice Feast and I am truly astonished at how great I feel so far – I have barely felt hungry and am not missing sugars AT ALL, which is very surprising to me...as you can see in my intake lists below, I am mostly doing green juices, bee pollen and chlorella and I feel GREAT :) I am shocked and delighted...and also amazed that I seem to be drinking around HALF what I was drinking on my 92-Day JF and am feeling totally satiated (and without any fruit/sugars ;)...the body truly does change and adapt so much over time...I am certain that being here at the Tree in this supportive community environment is helping enormously with the flow of this JF – people are so kind, fresh juices are provided daily and greeeeeeens are totally the ‘norm’ here ;) I feel so incredibly blessed to be experiencing this deeply healing process here... :) …and remember you can come and join us here from next Sunday if you’d love to – all details HERE (you don’t have to JF too ;)...

on December the 17th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
1 tsp royal jelly
3 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, zucchini, romaine
1 cup water with sole (Himalayan Salt dissolved in water)
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
4 tbsp bee pollen, 20 chlorella tablets
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
3 tbsp bee pollen, 20 chlorella tablets
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
3 cups water

Two little updates FYI:

Firstly we’re thrilled to say that Mr. M’s blog is finally back up for TheRawFoodWorld.TV daily video emails :) Blogger locked his blog up a few months back to ‘check it for spam’ ;)…and it just recently got re-opened – YAY :) If you’re already subscribed to get his daily video emails, you ought to hopefully be receiving those emails again now…if not, or if you never got them to begin with, you can subscribe now over at TheRawFoodWorld.tv – enjoy :)
Secondly, the new positions at our Raw Food World warehouse have now been FILLED, so no more applications for now, thank yoooouuuuuu... ;)

on December the 18th I loved:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
1tsp royal jelly
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, zucchini, romaine, mixed sprouts, lemon, ginger
mug of orange spicy tea
3 tbsp bee pollen, 30 chlorella tablets
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
3 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
3 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, zucchini, romaine, mixed sprouts, lemon, ginger
2 cups water


on December the 19th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
2 tbsp bee pollen
1.5 cups DELICIOUS coconut kefir
30 chlorella tablets
1 cup water with sole (himalayan salt dissolved in water)
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
1 tbsp hemp oil
2 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, zucchini, romaine, mixed sprouts, lemon, ginger
3 cups water
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
2 tbsp probiotics mixed with 2 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups greeeeen juice from The Tree of Life Café
1.5 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, zucchini, romaine, mixed sprouts, lemon, ginger
2 cups water


Finally for today, I am VERY excited to say that I’m working on a yummy new project right now that is going to be ready for you all to enjoy from Monday or Tuesday next week, all being well...I am working away on it right now and have a warm glow in my whole being to bring this to y’all before Christmas...stay tuned for info early next week and in the meantime, here’s the link again to my “12 Raw Days of Christmas” song, to get you in the mood... ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEk3FM_LNZw

All blessings,
Angelalalaalallaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Seven Tips for Eating Raw in Winter/Cold Places :)

oOOooOOooooooooo, I am DELIGHTED to say that Mr. M and I are now at The Tree of Life in Arizona, for 30 days of Green Juice Feasting, body work and relaxation - YUMMMMMY :)
Yesterday was our first day of Juice Feasting and I'm feeling GREAT so far - I've never done a JF without fruit before, so this is going to be interesting for me I'm sure, digging right into deeeep cleansing...last night I also experienced a three-hour sweat lodge here under the new moon on this sacred land - pheeewwwww ;) The energy here is HIGH ;O
We are hosting a retreat here from December 27th to January the 6th - come and join us if you'd love to (you don't have to Juice Feast with us - lol ;) You can eat the amazing raw food creations at the Tree of Life Cafe...) Mr. M just posted a little video of us last night on our first day at the Tree - see below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l__WP-pRLF8

Hope to see you here, if you can join us ;)

on December the 13th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
shotglass of orange juice
3 cups greeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, zucchini, parsley, spinach, endive, fennel, ginger
bowl of energy soup with various munchycrunchies on the side: ginger bread, Nonliand Coconut Crisps, curry flavoured sunflower seeds, followed by a JUICY apple ;)
1 quart water
3 tbsp bee pollen, 2 tbsp goji powder
2 cups water


on December the 14th I was delighted with:

1 quart water
3 cups greeeeen juice: cucumber, zucchini, kale, masses of sprouts, fennel, ginger, lemon
bowl of energy soup with crunchymunchies on the side: curry flavoured sunflower seeds, coconut crisps, followed by a juicy apple
1 quart water
little bowl of amazing green soup and slice of raw pumpkin pie at The Blue Nile café in Tempe, AZ – WOW :)
lots of lovely cinnamon/orange tea
3 cups water

Those of you who get the RawReform Newsletter may have already seen a little article I sent out this week called "Seven Tips for Eating Raw in Winter/Cold Places" - I thought I'd re-post it here today for anyone who didn't see it yet and might enjoy it...(you can see the whole newsletter HERE ;)

 -----------

One of the questions I get asked most often at this time of year (from the Northern Hemisphere at least ;) is: "how can someone eat raw in the winter time?". As I write this, I'm in Arizona, in the blazing hot desert and sweating just BEING here, yet I know many people are feeling cold and shivery this time of year...so here below are seven top tips for keeping warm, healthy and raw during the cold times - enjoy :)

1. Sprout, Sprout, SPROUT ;) Lettuce may be $4 a head and your jaws might be aching from chewing through the mounds of tough winter greens, yet a solution is easy - SPROUT your own baby greens right there in your kitchen, for pennies on the dollar, year-round. It doesn't MATTER where you live, what the weather is like outside or what your budget looks like - sprouting is easy, cheap and provides abundant crops year-round. I suggest picking up a few 'sprouting bags' plus a bag of easy sprouts to start with such as alfalfa or our 'Garden Salad' mix and get going - ENJOY :)


2. Dense Foods - you might find it beneficial to eat more dense foods in the cold/wintertime, to help your body get essential fats and buffer out the cold. Nuts, seeds, coconut meat, avocadoes, durian, olives, oils and other heavier foods might appeal to you more at this time than in the summer/warm climates.


3. Warm Drinks/Meals - I have always found warm herbal teas to be VERY useful for getting through cold times as a raw foodie (and remember, I went raw in Iceland and am from the UK originally ;)... Raw food does not have to equal COLD food. You might enjoy having foods straight from a dehydrator or warmed soups too - if you can keep your finger in a warmed soup without pain, then you're not likely causing too much damage to the enzymes in the food either ;) Avoid eating things straight from the fridge if you're feeling chilly...
 


on December the 15th I loved:

1 quart water
shotglass of orange juice
2 cups coconut water blended with Greener Grasses
20 chlorella tablets, 2 tbsp bee pollen, 2 tbsp goji powder
2 cups water
durian feast with Mr. Monarch :) ("final supper", pre-Juice Feast ;)
1 quart water


on December the 16th (first day of intended 30-day Juice Feast) I enjoyed:

1 quart water
mug of herbal tea
3 tbsp bee pollen
mug of herbal tea
2 cups greeeeeeen juice from Tree of Life Café
2 tbsp bee pollen with 1 tsp spirulina crunchies – YUM ;)
2 cups greeeeeeen juice from Tree of Life Café
1 tsp royal jelly, 3 tbsp bee pollen, 40 chlorella tablets
2 cups water
2 cups greeeeeeen juice from Tree of Life Café
2 cups water
3 tbsp bee pollen
2 cups water

4. Warming Foods - certain foods have a 'warming' effect on the body and you might find these useful during cold times, e.g. ginger, cayenne and hot peppers. I like sprinkling cayenne into my energy soup...I also know many people who love to drink straight ginger juice shots in the winter (NOT me ;)...

5. Dress Warmly - this might seem like an obvious point, yet I'm always surprised how many people complain of being cold in the winter time while wearing little clothing...dress WARMER ;) Just like other animals get their thicker 'winter coats', you might want to thicken out your wardrobe in the winter too, instead of reaching for that thermostat and turning the heating up ;) We lose the most heat apparently from our feet and heads, so keeping those areas especially warm could be beneficial...


6. Exercise/Sweat - don't go into stagnation over the winter time: sweat ;) Do your best to get sweaty at least once a day if you can. Move your body, exercise, get your circulation and metabolism going...rebounding and hot yoga are two excellent indoor winter activities to get sweaty and limber ;)


7. Spleen Support - this last tip especially goes out to all my brethren in the UK, where the winters are typically cold and DAMP...be watchful of your spleen and liver at this time of year, as these organs can often get low in energy in the creeeeeeeping cold dampness...brrrrrrrrrr... ;) You can support these vital organs with warming foods and herbs such as dandelion, astragalus and milk thistle...


I hope that helps...sending bright winter blissings to you all, wherever you are ;)

All love, 
ANgelalalalalalllallllLlllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Join Us For New Year's Eve :)

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

* 5-6x/week yoga classes

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

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

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

* 1x/week Qi Gong class

* 7x/week Evening programs/Meditations

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

* Native American medicine wheel, teepee

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

* New Year's Day Celebration Party

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

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

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

on October the 27th I was blissed with:

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

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


on October the 28th I loved:

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


on October the 29th I enjoyed:

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

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

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

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

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

Join us on Retreat in Florida :)

OOOooooo la la, breaking news: it seems Mr. M and I are holding a retreat next month in Florida – hurray :)
From October 16^th to 18^th on the Palm Coast, FL, we'll be enjoying a relaxing, rejuvenating weekend retreat at an oceanfront mansion, giving talks on raw food, sampling raw creations from talented chefs, playing with biomats, doing detox footbaths, massage and reflexology and enjoying the beautiful ocean and beach – YUMMY :)
If you'd love to join us for this unique event, just visit HERE and you can see all the details and sign–up... The retreat is just a month away from now, so be sure to register soon if you'd love to be there - the first ten people who sign up apparently also receive complimentary accommodation in the mansion - yeeeeeeeee-HAH ;)
We'll see you on the beach ;)

on September the 19^th I loved:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon juice
3 cups greeeeeeeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, parsley, spinach, ginger, lemon
1 Tbsp bee pollen
cup of herbal tea
bowl of energy soup with flax crackers/almond butter, followed by a handful of soaked Incan berries
1 quart water
2 cups goji juice with Marine Phytoplankton and Merlin's Elixir
2 cups water

Well, well, well, translations of my books into various different languages is currently underway by inspired raw beings around the globe – we currently have people scribing away in German, Spanish, Norwegian, Polish and Czech...and we already have French versions of many of my books available HERE and the Hungarian version of my recipe book is HERE ;)

If YOU are deliciously fluent in another language, excited about the raw lifestyle and would love to translate some of our books to help spread the message globally, then email me on angela@rawreform.com and we'll see what we can co–create ;)

THANK YOU :)

on September the 20^th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
20 chlorella 'nuts'
bowl of energy soup with flax crackers/almond butter, followed by a few slices of dried lucuma
2 cups goji juice with Marine Phytoplankton
3 cups greeeeeeen juice: celery, cucumber, zucchini, spinach, romaine, ginger, lime
YUMMY samples from Vivapura – bee pollen, spirulina crunchies, trail mixes, with two fresh apples
shot of coconut kefir
3 cups water

on September the 21^st I was blissed with:

1 quart water
3 cups goji juice with Marine Phytoplankton
fingertip of royal jelly and 1tsp fresh bee pollen
wonderful buffet meal at The Tree of Life Café – sprout salad, butternut/coconut soup, raw pizza, chia/plum dessert
1 quart water
mug of herbal tea
1 cup coconut kefir
3 cups goji juice with Marine Phytoplankton
3 cups water

Those lovebugs over at SimplyRaw are doing a very special 'Gratitude Sale' right now – get 50% OFF on either or both of their DVDs (Simply Raw and Raw for Life – I'm in Raw for Life ;)
This offer is only running until this Friday, the 25th, so click over HERE sharpish if you'd love to get in on the action.
I LOVE how Simply Raw is helping people (especially diabetics) to change their lives all over the place...we're in Arizona right now, visiting the Tree of Life, where Simply Raw was filmed and meeting some of the people currently on the diabetes reversal programme there – the stories of recovery are PHENOMENAL – one man told us yesterday that he released 28 POUNDS in his first 2 weeks here and almost all of them are off their insulin or on significantly lower dosages – it is SO inspiring and wonderful to witness :)
Maybe we'll get to interview some of these recovering heroes tomorrow for The Raw Food World TV Show – we already have some wonderful videos up online from the Tree – see below for the first in a series ;)

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

With all love and bountiful joy radiating,
Ms. Sto–Mo. xxx

Last Chance to Volunteer@ Raw Spirit Fest for $150...

Public Service Announcement:
If you’re thinking of registering as a volunteer for the Raw Spirit Fest in Arizona this September 12-14th, I’d highly recommend doing it NOW, as the volunteer price increases from tomorrow, May the 1st, from $150 to $200. I had intended to give a little more warning on this one – sorry ;) I hope you’re still able to register today though if this is smthg that excites you :)
Volunteers get 6 free nights’ camping, access to all the festival fun (during and outside of helping times ;) plus a free raw vegan meal daily, in return for 5 hours of helping out per shift, with a minimum of 15 hours total shared. Some of the things you could be assisting with include:

Volunteer J.O.B.s (Joys Of Being ;)

1) Set up/ Breakdown: before and after festival requiring good physical condition to set up tents, stages, etc..

2) Hygiene: maintaining the pure atmosphere of the festival

3) Food Service: preparing meals for attendees

4) Registration: administrative duties pertaining to registration.

5) Floats and other: anything from security, vendor assistance, stage work, parking, food and water pick up, presenter assistance, etc.

...and many other different joyful adventures – you can read all about it in the ‘volunteers and jobs’ section under the 'Info' category, HERE. ENJOY…and I hope to see you there :)

MUAH :)
Angelelelelelelalalalalalalalalalalalalalalaaaaaaaaaaaaa. xxx

Retro Jiggling... ;)

Ahahahahahaahahhhahaaaaaaaaa :) Look what Mr Monarch made yesterday…I LOVE it…LOL…and the picture here is just a taster – click the following link to get the full effect:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1172532853

(Watch for the special Wiggie cameo at the end - love it ;)

on December the 5th I had:

1.5 quarts water2 cups cucumber/romaine/all-kind-of-greens/carrot/apple juice
big chunk of lush watermelon
1 cup water
sauce of tomatoes and cucumber blended with spinach hummus, hemp seeds and a little Celtic Sea Salt, mixed with fresh alfalfa and fenugreek sprouts and stuffed in nori/romaine wraps. ½ a cinnamon/raisin raw bar
1.5 quarts water
1.5 cups cucumber/romaine/all-kind-of-greens/carrot/apple juice
bowl of dark yummy cherries
2 cups water
4 amazing little yellow dragon fruit and one black sapote with lime juice squeezed over it – yummmmm :)
2 cups water

Ooo la la…the last one is barely over and plans for the next spectacular Raw Spirit Fest are underway – yeeeeee-HAH :) The dates for 2008 are September the 12th-14th, back at the charming Radisson grounds in Sedona, Arizona…I certainly do hope to be back by then ;) The organisers of the festie are currently offering an ‘early bird special’ rate, until December the 31st of just $250 for the entire weekend event – bargain…now THAT would make an amazing holiday gift, methinks… ;) You can sign up HERE...hope to see you there ;)

on December the 6th I had:

1 quart water
1.5 cups sugar cane/lime/ginger juice
big chunk of watermelon
3 cups cucumber/celery/mizuna/spinach/cabbage/beet greens/apple/ginger/masses-of-unidentified greens juice
chunk of yummy soft jack fruit
3 cups water
2 cups cucumber/celery/mizuna/spinach/cabbage/beet greens/apple/ginger/masses-of-unidentified greens juice
bowl of avo blended with banana/bamboo shoot/cinnamon, swirled with sultanas and a handful of sprouts, served with cucumber sticks
3 cups water

I was inspired to do a ‘flashback’ here today, to retro RawReform ramblings…so I took a look at what I was up to this day last year…turns out I was on day 16 of my Juice Feast and tried my first fresh noni juice…eeeeeek ;) here was my opinion:

‘…definitely seems to fall into the ‘acquired taste’ category of foods…the taste to me is unfortunately rather reminiscent of…vomit…LOL…’

I also had this to note abt my juicy days:

‘I am noticing how much easier it seems to be getting to get up and going in the mornings now, compared to the first week of this feast…’

and established my first ‘rule of Juice Feasting’:

‘1. Never travel without a toothbrush...’

The most interesting part for me though is my observations about sugars going into my system:

‘I started to notice how interesting it is with sugars that if I take them into my body in conjunction with exercise, all feels great and the net effect is I feel energized. If I have that much sugar however and don’t get much exercise in around the same time, the net effect is I feel spacey and sleepy…it’s interesting to me that the effect can be so different, almost opposite, after ingesting exactly the same stuff…’

This pattern with sugars has become more and more obvious to me over the last year – this very morning in fact I was musing on this matter, after drinking some of the fabulous fresh cane juice available around here…fruit sugars necessitate exercise for me. Fruit=sugar=energy food=mooooooooove ;) If I have lots of sugar and then keep still, I slump majorly…ideally of course I prefer to exercise FIRST, then have sugars ;) Well, it was just interesting for me to see how the exact same things were on my mind this day last year... ;) You can read the whole retro past HERE:
http://rawreform.blogspot.com/2006/12/noni-and-other-new-toys.html

One love,
Miss Angela Claire Stokes, MA. xxx

Celebration Time...

On this day – November the 20th - last year, I started my 92-Day Juice Feast in Costa Rica…so this blog is now OFFICIALLY one-year-old…YAAAAAY :)
WOW…starting my Juice Feast seems like a loooooooooong time ago to me now…you can see what this day was like for me a year ago on my post from back then, HERE (WOW - check out all those necklaces back then ;).
Interestingly, my intake of the last couple of days has also been very light and predominantly liquid – not TOTALLY liquid like back then though ;) It just seems like this time of year resonates with me for lightening the load…
AaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAaAAAaaaand, to CELEBRATE, we’ve created a super-juicy 10% off coupon for the RawReform Store for y’all to enjoy…I am SO grateful for all the gifts Juice Feasting has brought to my life, as well as to those who have since ventured into liquid lifestyles for themselves…so, at this time of Thanksgiving in the US, I extend this special 10% off coupon to all readers of this e-journal, to express my gratitude… You can use it to get your OWN yummy Juice Feast supplies in the Juice Feaster’s Epicentre, or pick and choose from the site as you please…just enter the code ‘Juice’ at the checkout of the store and you’ll get 10% off your order. That means a potential $40 off a new Green Star Juicer, for example – yummy ;) This special ‘Thanksgiving’ code is valid until midnight EST on the 26th of November – enjoooooooooooooy ;)

on November the 19th I had:

1 quart water
½ medium watermelon
1 quart cilantro/cucumber/carrot/romaine juice
3tbsps chia soaked in bananas mashed with black sapote flesh, swirled with mulberries
2 cups water
little bag of cherries
2 mangoes
1 pint of parsley/celery/romaine/carrot juice
1 quart green smoothie: banana, mango, sunflower greens, alfalfa, romaine, swirled with goji berries
2 cups water

JOB Alert
A’ight, people, listen up…Mr Monarch and myself are on the search for a professional web designer/programmer. We’re looking for someone who preferably has experience with OS Commerce, Joomla and general programming. The projects we would be sending your way can be very varied – we’re looking for somebody flexible, mature and focused. We’d love to hear from you if you have at least three years experience in this field and feel your work is reliable, punctual and dedicated. Ideally you will have a very keen eye for both graphics/design AND programming matters. If this is your passion and you’d be excited to work on our projects, we’d love to hear from you – contact matt@rawspirit.org in the first instance. (We’re open to candidates from any location for this position, as all the work is web-based.)

on November the 20th I had:

1 quart water
soak water from prunes, then handful of soaked dried prunes – yummmmm ;)
1 quart watermelon juice
1 quart celery/parsley/cucumber/romaine/carrot juice
1 cup green juice blended with sunflower greens
3 tbsp chia soaked in blended banana/black sapote mixture, swirled with mulberries
2 mangoes, 1 custard apple
big chunk of watermelon
1 pint water
3 cups celery/sunflower greens/carrot juice
3 cups green smoothie: banana/pineapple/kiwi, sunflower greens, alfalfa, swirled with goji berries
2 cups water

OOOOOOOOOOooooooo, this is SO yummy – the Monarch just put together a 10 minute compilation video on YouTube of all the most delicious bits of footage he shot for me at the Raw Spirit Fest in Sedona this year – I think he did SUCH a great job editing it all together, as he’s never done smthg like that before…you can see it HERE…my favourite bit? ‘Pseudo-famous’ ;)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=u2fmXzleL0c

Infinite Blissings,
Angela. xxx